Right Wing Granny

News behind the news. This picture is me (white spot) standing on the bridge connecting European and North American tectonic plates. It is located in the Reykjanes area of Iceland. By-the-way, this is a color picture.

Right Wing Granny

Monthly Archives: June 2022

The Current State Of Justice In America

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Trending Politics posted an article yesterday about a recent attempted break-in at the U.S. Capitol.

The article quotes a Fox News article:

“Fox confirms that group of persons associated with The Late Show Stephen Colbert were arrested last night and charged with illegal entry to House office buildings after hours. Fox is told the people were arrested in the Longworth House Office Building.”

Well, one Fox News Channel co-host, Jeanine Pirro, sounded off on how those Colbert staffers are being treated in comparison with the January 6th protesters that have been locked up for months, many of them in solitary confinement, saying during a recent episode of “The Five”:

“This was the same charge levied against the vast majority of those arrested on January 6th. A lot of those people have been in solitary confinement for months.

…Jesse Watters raised questions about the incident as well, saying:

“Over the weekend you probably didn’t hear much about last week’s insurrection at the Capitol. Seven people and a menacing dog were caught stalking the halls of the Capitol harassing and intimidating members of Congress and backing on doors late at night.

Capitol police arrested them on Thursday. Held them in jail overnight and charged them with unlawful entry. The same charge many of the January 6th rioters are facing. Why haven’t we seen their mug shots? What about the video of their arrest? We have got every angle from January 6th but nothing from last week? How is this different? Because these seven guys work for the former comedian turned Biden super fan Stephen Colbert. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and his team broke the rules and were messing around during the January 6th hearings. Apparently this was a follow-up to this bit from 2020.”

Until Americans start speaking out about the mistreatment of the January 6th protesters that are still in jail without being tried (a violation of their civil rights), the situation will not change. Please find your voice and call your congressman.

A Good Decision

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On Tuesday, CNS News reported that the Supreme Court has ruled that the State of Maine cannot limit its tuition assistance programs to non-religious schools. Six of the Justices voted against limiting the assistance to only non-religious schools, citing the First Amendment prohibiting laws that limit the free expression of religion.

The article reports:

“Maine has enacted a program of tuition assistance for parents who live in school districts that do not operate a secondary school of their own,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority:

“Under the program, parents designate the secondary school they would like their child to attend — public or private — and the school district transmits payments to that school to help defray the costs of tuition. Most private schools are eligible to receive the payments, so long as they are ‘nonsectarian.’

“The question presented is whether this restriction violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”

As the opinion noted, Maine has limited its tuition assistance payment to “nonsectarian schools” since 1981.

The petitioners wanted to send their children to accredited religious schools, but since those two schools did not qualify as “nonsectarian,” they were denied the state tuition assistance payments.

The petitioners sued the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, alleging that the “nonsectarian” requirement violated the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

As parents increasingly speak out against some of the values being taught in our public schools, religious schools that better reflect the values of parents are becoming more popular. Since the State of Maine provides tuition assistance where secondary schools are not available, the parents should have the right to choose their child’s school. I thought liberals were about ‘choice.’

More Pinocchios For The White House

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On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about the Biden administration’s claim that the biggest driver of American inflation in the war in Ukraine. It is interesting that this claim is coming out as many economists believe that the economic growth numbers that will come out at the end of this month will show that America is in a recession according to the classical definition of the word recession.

The article notes:

Inflation was high and rising long before the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.6 percent in May of 2021 after rising 0.8 percent in April., On an annual basis, prices were up 5.0 percent, the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the period ending August 2008.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, was 3.8 percent over the previous 12 months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending June 1992.

The article concludes:

The biggest factor in the rise of energy prices has been increased global demand and a lack of capital investment. The latter was caused, in part, by ESG investing, Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels, and regulators discouraging fossil fuel production.

Yet inflation is still very high even with energy excluded. Absent energy, the CPI is up 6.6 percent year over year and rose 0.7 percent in May from April. This demonstrates that Putin has very little to do with the bulk of U.S. inflation.

People who normally invest in finding oil are being very cautious right now. Banks have slowed lending to oil companies for exploration because the government is not allowing the exploration needed to keep America energy independent. The first step toward ending inflation would be open up drilling (and the necessary pipelines) to keep the income from the energy market in America. The next step would be removing at least one in three government regulations on business and people trying to start businesses. Don’t look for either solution under the Biden administration.

 

When The Government Interferes With Medical Treatment

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On Monday, Townhall reported on a lawsuit filed by a group of doctors against the Food and Drug Administration.

The article reports:

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, a group of doctors sued the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Health and Human Services for “unlawfully” interfering with their ability to practice medicine and prescribe ivermectin for use in Covid-19 patients.

Specifically, the three doctors—Robert L. Apter, Mary Talley Bowden and Paul E. Marik—argue the FDA can’t ban use of an approved human drug for “off-label” use. 

“The FDA also can not advise whether a patient should take an approved drug for a particular purpose. Those decisions fall within the scope of the doctor-patient relationship,” the complaint says. “Attempts by the FDA to influence or intervene in the doctor-patient relationship amount to interference with the practice of medicine, the regulation of which is — and always has been — reserved to states.”

The article concludes:

In a statement, Bowden said “fighting the system has been a much bigger challenge than fighting the disease.“

“Despite my excellent track record treating COVID patients, the FDA’s smear campaign against ivermectin continues to be a daily hurdle to overcome,” she said. “I am fighting back – the public needs to understand what the FDA has done is illegal, and I hope this suit will prevent them from continuing to interfere in the doctor-patient relationship.”

The government’s handling of the use of ivermectin in concerning. It was proven early on that if you administered ivermectin to Covid patients early, the results were positive. The fact that the government opposed the use of ivermectin is puzzling. Hopefully the disclosure portion of this lawsuit will shed some light on that.

Finally!

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On Sunday, The Daily Wire posted an article about a recent decision by FINA (FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE NATATION ).

The article reports:

FINA, the world’s top international swimming association, announced a new policy on gender inclusion on Sunday that further restricts biological males identifying as females from elite swimming competitions.

The move comes following a vote of the FINA governing body regarding the controversial issue of biological males participating in women’s swimming.

“We have to protect the rights of our athletes to compete, but we also have to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially the women’s category at FINA competitions,” FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said in a statement.

The new policy also seeks to consider an “open” category for transgender athletic competition.

“FINA will always welcome every athlete. The creation of an open category will mean that everybody has the opportunity to compete at an elite level. This has not been done before, so FINA will need to lead the way. I want all athletes to feel included in being able to develop ideas during this process,” he added.

The only biological males who could compete in women’s swimming under the new policy would include swimmers who have had “male puberty suppressed beginning at Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later, and they have since continuously maintained their testosterone levels in serum (or plasma) below 2.5 nmol/L.”

The new policy would prohibit athletes like Lia Thomas from competing in elite swim meets. Thomas made history earlier this year as the first transgender swimmer to win an event at the NCAA Division I women’s swimming championships.

The article notes:

Former U.K. swimmer Sharron Davies told BBC Sport she agreed with the decision.

“‘Four years ago, along with 60 other Olympic medallists, I wrote to the IOC and said ‘Please just do the science first’ and no governing body has done the science until now,’” she said.

There are some differing opinions on the decision:

“‘That is what [FINA] has done. They’ve done the science, they’ve got the right people on board, they’ve spoken to the athletes, and coaches. Swimming is a very inclusive sport, we love everyone to come and swim and be involved. But the cornerstone of sport is that it has to be fair and it has to be fair for both sexes,’” she added.

Athlete Ally, a pro-LGBT group that supported Thomas in women’s swimming, spoke out against the new policy.

“FINA’s new eligibility criteria for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex variations is discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and not in line with the 2021 IOC principles. If we truly want to protect women’s sports, we must include all women,” Athlete Ally tweeted on Sunday. International Swimming Federation

The science, however, is obvious. There is a difference between men and women physically. Allowing men to compete in women’s sports does not acknowledge that difference. Hormone shots or hormone blockers do not erase the differences. If they did, wouldn’t transgender women be trying to compete in men’s sports?

A Study Of The Obvious

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On Monday, The Conservative Review posted an article about a Covid-related study in Scotland.

The article reports:

While it’s obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense, it’s nice to see a Scottish government-sanctioned inquiry raise concerns about the way nursing home patients were treated during the pandemic. A new 143-page report published by Edinburgh Napier University on behalf of the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry found that the severe lockdown of senior care home residents “caused great distress and is likely to have contributed in a number of cases to cognitive and emotional decline and even death.”

“The rights of those in care home and their visitors should not have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic,” observes the inquiry regarding the violation of human rights and the lack of proportionality in attempting to shield seniors in care from the virus. “Any restriction of visiting rights must therefore have been kept under constant review throughout, assessed on an individual basis and in light of the prevailing situation regarding the pandemic in Scotland with clear and updated guidance being provided.”

The article notes:

Given the high rate of senior care COVID deaths, there really is no evidence that any of these measures worked. But the inquiry does note that the extreme isolation likely hastened the deaths of many people. “There is substantial evidence of the harm and distress caused to residents and their families by the restrictions imposed in care homes. This includes concerns that, particularly for people with dementia, being unable to maintain contact with their family exacerbated cognitive and emotional decline, potentially hastening their death.”

The report cites the heartbreaking examples detailed by a petition to the Scottish parliament by families of senior care residents:

    • Daughters were forced to watch from a distance as carers held a dying mother’s hand.
    • Elderly husbands peered through windows to see their distressed wives reaching out for a familiar touch.
    • Children and young adults were left distraught and with no comprehension as to why they were “abandoned” by their family.
    • The use of prison-style screens and intercom communication was cold, unfeeling, and gave no comfort.
    • iPads and online communication were impossible for the many residents with no understanding of Zoom calls or Facetime.

At the same time these draconian measures were put in place regarding visitors and family members, a number of states were sending Covid-positive patients from hospitals to nursing homes when they were still contagious. We need a study of not only the impact of the isolation of the elderly in nursing homeso, but also of the introduction of Covid-positive patients into nursing homes.

Hidu, The Electronic-Sniffing Dog

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On June 15th, The Associated Press posted an article about Hidu, the electronic-sniffing dog who aided the police in a pedophilia arrest in Mexico.

The article reports:

An unusual alliance of international activist groups, Mexican prosecutors and a dog trained to sniff out memory devices joined forces this month to catch a high-profile suspected pedophile in Mexico City.

First, Free a Girl, a Netherlands-based group that fights human trafficking, tipped off activists at the U.S.-based Operation Underground Railroad that Jason Maatman, a Dutch man who openly advocated sex with children, had gone to Mexico after fleeing pending court cases in the Netherlands.

Maatman apparently thought loose Mexican law enforcement would allow him to operate freely in Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of 21 million where most crimes go unpunished.

But he didn’t count on Hidu, a recent graduate of a dog academy that teaches canines to sniff out triphenylphosphine oxide, or TPPO, a chemical coating used in electronic devices like flash drives and memory cards.

The article notes that Jason Maatman was using online chat rooms to find victims, and the police used those chat rooms to lure him out of his apartment. When he was apprehended near a gas station, he was found to have a gun and cocaine in his possession. The problem was that authorities did not know where he lived (where he probably had his child pornography stashed). Using surveillance cameras, the police were able to find his apartment. The next challenge was to find any digital material he might have.

The article reports:

Once police obtained a search warrant, that is where Hidu came in; a black lab, he had been trained by Todd Jordan at his Jordan Detection K9 academy in Indianapolis, Indiana.

TPPO is a chemical used in small, solid-state memory devices to avoid overheating. There is just enough of its distinctive odor for dogs to locate it.

Jordan started out by training “accelerant detection” dogs, to look for evidence in possible arson cases in which an accelerant — things like gasoline — may have been used to start a blaze.

But the electronics detection dogs he’s trained — now 83 and counting — have come to be more in demand because criminals now use flash drives to store everything from contacts to cryptocurrencies used in drug deals.

…Hidu was brand new at the work; he had graduated just two weeks before and this was his first case — In fact, it was the first overseas case that any of Jordan’s dogs had handled.

O.U.R. flew Hidu and his handler to Mexico City, where prosecutors were about to search the apartment.

“My understanding is there was a cellphone hidden in a laundry basket with just rancid total terrible laundry, you know, dirty clothes in one corner that no one would go into,” Osborne said. “The dog found that phone.”

Hidu found more child porn material taped to a wall beneath a painting, Osborne said. “The dog sniffed out a couple of the hard drives in a few places in his apartment that were difficult for humans to find, but the dog sniffed it out.”

Prosecutors said the drives and devices contained about 4 terabytes of child sexual abuse material.

Godoy, the prosecutor, credited Operation Underground Railroad and Hidu for their help in the bust.

The article concludes:

“The message is clear for those who prey on a girl, a boy or an adolescent: In Mexico City there will be no room for impunity, and those that hurt or target them will be found, tried and sentenced,” Godoy said.

But questions remained. “Why was he (Maatman) not placed on an international wanted list?” by Dutch authorities, Hölsken said.

I am glad to see the amount of international cooperation among nations on this issue. That is the only way we will stop this crime.

When The Numbers Just Don’t Add Up

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On Saturday, Sharyl Attkisson posted an article about the number of Covid-19 cases among military veterans who have been vaccinated.

The article reports:

Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) is demanding that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prioritize Veteran care after learning of first-hand accounts from VA employees, who say Biden’s coercive vaccine mandates are causing VA workforce shortages, ultimately limiting care for veterans.

In response to these accounts, Johnson submitted a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough stating the following:

On May 27, 2022, I met with a group of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees regarding their concerns with the quality of care received by veterans. These health care professionals described the significant workforce shortages at the VA facilities in Wisconsin and Michigan and that the vaccine mandate is only exacerbating these shortages. The VA owes the public and our veterans answers about the steps the Department is taking to address the workforce issues and to provide the highest quality care to the finest among us.” 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin)

…Senator Johnson also presented whistleblower data he recently obtained demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines’ ability to prevent infection. 

“Based on whistleblower data from the Milwaukee VAMC facility dashboard census count between October 22, 2021 and March 8, 2022, for 31 of the 54 days I received daily reports, at least 80 percent of VA employees who tested positive for Covid-19 were vaccinated. For 8 of those 54 days, 100 percent of VA employees who tested positive for Covid-19 were vaccinated. 

The continuation of care for our veterans should be our top priority, not politically motivated policies like vaccine mandates.” 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin)

A letter written to Denis R. McDonough, Secretary U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, by Senator Johnson included the following statement:

In addition to these testimonials, enclosed data from the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee (Milwaukee VAMC) reveals the failure of the vaccine mandate to protect VA employees and veterans from COVID-19.  Based on whistleblower data from the Milwaukee VAMC facility dashboard census count between October 22, 2021 and March 8, 2022, for 31 of the 54 days I received daily reports, at least 80 percent of VA employees who tested positive for COVID-19 were vaccinated.[4]  For 8 of those 54 days, 100 percent of VA employees who tested positive for COVID-19 were vaccinated.[5]

I think it’s time to reevaluate the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Beat Goes On…

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Anyone who has been paying attention for the last few years knows that there are some politicians who would love to take the guns away from law-abiding American citizens. I won’t speculate on their specific motives, but I am cynical enough to believe not all of them actually believe that separating Americans from their guns will make anyone safer.

On Friday, Just the News posted an article about a new law proposed in California that would make owning a gun an expensive proposition in California.

The article reports:

A California state senator introduced legislation that would require gun owners to obtain liability insurance for the “negligent or accidental use” of their firearms, according to a press release from her office.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, introduced SB 505 in hopes that California would become the first state in the country with this kind of law in place.

“Guns kill more people than cars. Yet gun owners are not required to carry liability insurance like car owners must,” Sen. Skinner said in a press release Thursday. “Why should taxpayers, survivors, families, employers, and communities bear the $280 billion annual cost of gun violence? It’s time for gun owners to shoulder their fair share.”

Skinner’s office describes the gun insurance required by SB 505 as “similar to car insurance.” Her office says that under the bill, gun owners would:

Be held civilly liable for property damage, injury, or death resulting from the use of their firearms Have to obtain liability insurance that covers losses or damages resulting from negligent or accidental use of their firearm, including property, damage, injury or death Have to obtain proof of gun insurance, keep that proof with their firearm, and produce it when asked by a peace officer during the course of a lawful detainment.

In other words, let’s make gun ownership so expensive and so inconvenient that no one will own a gun (except for criminals who don’t follow laws). That makes absolutely no sense and would probably increase the crime rate astronomically (see Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City for examples of cities with strict gun control laws).

Now is the time to fight to keep our Second Amendment strong. Those who would separate law-abiding citizens from their guns do not have our best interests at heart.

Maybe We Need To Rethink The Cause Of The Problem

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On Saturday, Scott Johnson posted an article at Power Line Blog quoting a recent column by Stephen Hunter:

Possibly you’re old enough to remember the great massacre spree of 1964? Classrooms shot up, strip malls decimated, scout troops blown away, fast food restaurants turned into mortuaries.

And all because, in its infinite stupidity, the U.S. government dumped 240,000 high-capacity .30 caliber assault rifles into an otherwise innocent America.

The weapons clearly had a demon-spirit to them. Compared to anything else in the market, they had that murder-most-easy look. One glance at the sinister gleam of the walnut stock which caressed the military-gray receiver and barrel of the weapon, its magazine wickedly boasting of many cartridges ready and waiting, its photo- and Hollywood associations with war, and some went screwball. They had the overwhelming desire to use it as it was meant to be used. It was not powerful enough for deer and not accurate enough for vermin. It existed only to kill human beings.

Except there was no massacre spree of 1964, despite the fact that in 1963 the United States Army surplussed 240,000 M1 carbines via the NRA. They were available through the mail at $20. Not an NRA member? Eighty bucks, then, from any sporting goods store. Denver’s Dave Cook’s–“Guns Galore at Prices to Score”– had them by mail order, magazine and sling included, postage, $1.25.

What did happen next was remarkable. It was also simple: nothing. Firearms deaths in 1964 rose modestly, in accord with statistical norms. No spurt of slaughter can be documented, much less attributed, to the sudden presence of all these weapons of war.

The article concludes:

It was clearly our first assault rifle; its appearance is meaningless. The cartridge was as powerful as the iconic .357 magnum. It held either 15 or 30 rounds, depending on the magazine. It could be fired as quickly as the trigger was pulled — 30 shots in 10 seconds sounds about right– and reloaded in two or three seconds. It never jammed. It was light and handy with minimal recoil. Certain iterations had folding stocks, reducing the 35-inch length by a third, making concealment easy. Some had full-auto capacity. All had bayonet studs. It could do anything an AR-15 can do except kill groundhogs at 400 yards or penetrate a car door at 20. Either Peyton Gendron or Salvador Ramos could have employed it to the same results.

So in 1964, the guns were there — lots of them, everywhere, dirt cheap. But Gendron and Ramos were not. We must look elsewhere for the reason why.

It is time to look at some of the cultural influences at work today–violent movies, violent television shows, and violent video games. We should also examine the impact of the destruction of the American family due to government welfare policies.

Creating More Inflation

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On Friday, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about one plan proposed by the White House to help Americans cope with the high cost of gasoline. After all, there is an election in November. Aside from the fact that this plan would further fuel inflation by putting more dollars into the economy, it does nothing to help the truckers who transport everything and have no choice but to pass on their increased costs to the consumer resulting in rising prices on nearly everything.

The article includes the following chart:

On Friday, The Washington Post reported the following:

Gas prices have been one of the most visible signs of inflation. The White House has taken a number of actions to try to address the problem, such as committing to a historic release of the nation’s oil reserves and, on Wednesday, sending a letter to the nation’s refineries calling for more production and criticizing their profits. President Biden has also tried to increase production internationally, prodding the world’s oil producers and coordinating the release from national reserves with U.S. allies.

But those measures appear not to have helped substantially. The average gas price nationally rose above $5 a gallon for the first time this weekend, a roughly 11 percent increase from just last month, according to AAA, although some industry analysts say it could fall back to $4.55 in the weeks ahead. Polling suggests widespread frustration with rising prices, increasing the likelihood that voters punish Democrats this fall and give Republicans control of at least one house of Congress next year.

We desperately need an honest election in November.

Who Is Crossing Our Southern Border?

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On Saturday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article about some recent statistics about people crossing into America via the open southern border.

The article reports:

More illegal immigrants on a terror watch lift have been caught crossing the southern border so-far this year than during the last five years combined, figures reveal.  

Since the fiscal year began in October, 50 migrants who appeared in the federal Terrorist Screening Dataset have been intercepted while trying to cross into the US between official checkpoints at the southern border, according to Customs and Border Patrol statistics. 

That’s up from just 15 for the 2021 fiscal year, three in 2020, none in 2019, six in 2018 and two in 2017 according to the enforcement statistics data released on Wednesday by CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection).

The article includes the following chart:

The article also notes:

The subject of potential terror suspects using the southern land border to enter the US unlawfully has gained increasing attention in recent months.

CBP only resumed publishing its data on the subject last month, following pressure from Republican lawmakers.

Soon after President Joe Biden took office, CBP stopped posting updates on terror watchlist encounters, labeling the issue ‘law enforcement sensitive’. 

These numbers not only need to be published, they need to be shouted from the rooftops by all Americans until Congress does something about our border security. If either party in Congress wanted to correct this situation, it would have been corrected by now. The Democrats want future voters and the Republican establishment wants cheap labor. Until we drain the swamp, we will not fix the border.

Another Way To Communicate In An Emergency

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This is a guest post by a local ham radio operator explaining the importance of ham radio.

What is amateur radio?

Amateur Radio is sometimes called “Ham” radio because some radio operators like to talk a lot. Amateur radio allows millions of people worldwide to communicate with each other using two way radios, (not using the commercial phone system). Radio amateurs even have their own satellites and can transmit TV pictures from their own homes. Many amateur radio operators serve the public as a voluntary, noncommercial, communication service for public service events like bike-a-thons, runs, and during emergencies. There is even a ham radio “Christian Missionary Net”, so people on a missionary trip to a remote area without cell service, can communicate back to the states or with missionaries in other countries.

What can you use amateur radios for?

You can use amateur radios for keeping in contact with loved ones while, hiking, camping, boating, shopping in large malls, or just house to house communication. One advantage of a two way radio over a phone is that it does not require any outside support like cell towers, landlines or even commercial power. Amateur radios typically operate on 12 volt DC power, and battery packs which can be recharged with a solar panel or generator. There are many computer programs that interface with Amateur Radio;
RTTY, APRS, PACKET, PSK-31 and many more. You can send E-mails, send text messages and track someone’s travel route on a color mapping program using Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) software.

Who else uses two way radios?

Firemen, Police, Military, Pilots, Boaters, Businesses, Private Citizens,
and the International Space station all use two way radios for the same reason, they do not want to depend on the commercial phone system.

Cell Phones do not have coverage in all areas, and they rely on cell towers. Cell Phones are actually two way radios that are patched into the phone system. Cell phone towers connect the signal from cell phones to the phone system. The average maximum range is about 5 miles from the cell tower. Amateur Radio repeaters are located on towers also, and are similar to cell phone towers. They receive the radio signal and resend it from a greater height which gives it more range. Most amateur radio repeaters have a battery or generator backup so even if commercial A/C power goes out, the repeater will continue to work.

The US government, through the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) grants all US amateur radio licenses. This licensing procedure ensures that radio amateurs possess the necessary operation skill and electronics knowledge to properly use radios. The FCC reserves certain radio frequencies for use only by amateur radio operators.

You can purchase a brand new hand held amateur radio for about $50.00, that will transmit on the VHF/UHF Ham bands and also work as a scanner, receiving the public service (Police, Fire, Marine, Aircraft) bands. A scanner is nice to have during a disaster because it allows you to monitor weather, police, and fire departments. Most handheld radios transmit about 5 watts of power, and the range is about 3 miles simplex and can be over 100 miles through a repeater.

A Ham radio that transmits on the High Frequency (HF) bands may cost around $200 for a used radio, or over $2,000.00 for some high end new models. The modern HF radios will transmit on the ham bands, and receive across the whole HF band. This allows you to receive “shortwave” broadcasts (news & music) from other countries, news that is intentionally not reported by the American news networks.  Many people that are interested in electronics like to experiment, build, and test their own antennas and radios. HF radios usually transmit about 100 watts of power, and because the radio signals are in the High Frequency Band, they bounce off the atmosphere and you can talk both locally and worldwide. You can purchase amateur radios on the internet from places like “Ham Radio Outlet” and “DX Engineering” just to name a few. There are also sales called “Ham fest” throughout the country where individuals and major companies sell Amateur Radio equipment, both new and used.

If you are interested in getting your Amateur Radio license, I would suggest locating an Amateur Radio Club in your area and talking to some of their members about the hobby, and visiting the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) website. There are three Classes (levels) of licensing; Technician, General and Extra. Each higher class gives you more operating frequency privileges. There are many online study helps for obtaining an amateur radio license. Many children, some as young as 8 years old have passed the test and got their license.

I Think The Fact-Checkers Went Home

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President Biden and his administration members have been claiming for the past few days that inflation in America is lower than inflation in other industrial countries. The claim is made with the assertion that because America has lower inflation it can’t be President Biden’s fault. The only problem with the claim is that it isn’t true.

The chart below was posted by The U.K. Daily Mail on Friday.The article reports:

In an interview with the Associated Press that was conducted Thursday, he (President Biden) slapped back suggestions he is to blame.

‘Isn’t it kind of interesting? If it’s my fault, why is it the case in every other major industrial country in the world that inflation is higher? You ask yourself that? I’m not trying to be a wise guy,’ he told AP reporter Josh Boak in the Oval Office.

While prices having been rising across the globe, the inflation in the U.S. has been higher than the G7 nations and China for most of the year.

The United Kingdom with a four-decade high of 8.6 percent has only just surpassed inflation in the United States.

But nations including Germany, France, Japan and Canada are Sall still behind the U.S. when it comes to prices.

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development from April 2021 until April 2022 shows U.S. inflation has been rising steadily above all other nations.

The data runs only until April as it is where the fullest data was available. 

It should also be noted that President Biden has consistently criticized the profit margins of the oil companies. A website called Macrotrends includes information of both oil company profit margins (and for comparison) the profit margin of Apple.

Here are portions of those charts:

I don’t think oil profit margins are the problem.

Civility?

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On Friday, PJ Media reported that a Volkswagen Jetta with a bumper sticker depicting Trump as Hitler crashed through the store window of a Lets Go Brandon shop in Easton, Massachusetts. There have been a number of Lets Go Brandon shops opened up in Massachusetts in Bellingham, Easton, Hanson, Somerset, and North Attleboro. I recently visited the one in North Attleboro, which is located in a building that was formerly a florist shop.

The article reports:

The store window was full of Trump flags. The car damaged or destroyed racks and tables of t-shirts, hats, and various forms of Trump plunder, but missed the one person who was nearby.

The police are still investigating the “accident” and no charges have been announced against the driver, a 46-year-old man from the nearby town of Raynham. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was hurt.

In a twist of suh-weet irony, the car also had a sticker with a quote by French author Voltaire: “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”

I hope this was an accident. I fear it was not.

This is the video of the incident:

Energy For Me, But Not For Thee

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The hypocrisy of those flying around in private jets telling the rest of us to deal with the unreliable aspect of green energy has reached new heights.

On Thursday, The Gateway Pundit reported the following:

Instead of installing windmills and solar panels for someone so concerned about global warming, former President Barack Obama has ordered the installation of three massive propane gas tanks, two sized at 1,000 gallons and another one at 500 gallons, at his Martha’s Vineyard estate which sits along the “rising” seashore.

According to a report from The Martha’s Vineyard Times, the office of the select board of Edgartown, Massachusetts approved an application for a 2,500-gallon commercial propane tank for 79 Turkeyland Cove Road in Katama, a property owned by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

These three propane tanks were to be installed above ground on the Obamas’ property, in contrast with the initial report that it will be buried.

The fact that the tanks will be above ground amazes me, but I can’t imagine a Massachusetts Board of Selectmen turning down any request from former President Obama.

The article notes:

Propane is a fossil fuel and is listed as an approved clean alternative fuel under the Clean Air Act of 1990.

“You might be surprised to know that propane, made when methane is purified for commercial use, takes its place on the carbon continuum close to the renewables, which is why the EPA has designated propane a clean energy alternative and why propane is designated a clean energy alternative under the Energy Policy Act of 1992,” FS company stated.

In 2016, Barack Obama tweeted that “renewable energy installations are beating fossil fuel installations for the first time.”

Energy for me, but not for thee.

When Justice Isn’t Justice

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On Thursday, The American Thinker posted an article about the incident last year where border patrol agents on horseback were accused of whipping illegal immigrants.

The article reports:

The Biden administration was left with egg all over its face when, after embracing a phony leftist narrative about Border Patrol agents “whipping” migrants illegally crossing into the U.S., it quietly dropped the matter and hoped no one would notice.

They should have apologized to the agents.

Instead, they’re coming for the agents a second time.

The article quotes Fox News:

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to discipline “multiple” horseback Border Patrol agents involved in the infamous “whipping” incident of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border back in September. 

The article concludes:

It doesn’t help that Border Patrol agents, who saved an entire elementary school from being massacred in Uvalde, Texas less than a month ago, were given the back of the hand by the Biden administration, with no real acknowledgment of their heroism at all.  When Joe Biden visited Uvalde, he studiously ignored the guys who charged the shooter and stopped his killing of kids.

While the left tried to racialize the incident with the phony “whips” narrative, a more authentic racism was starting to get obvious from the heroism in Uvalde as the Bidenites sought to punish the border agents.  That Border Patrol agents are largely Hispanic-Americans, well integrated with the border communities seeing the influx of crime and disorder from the migrant surges as well as crime in general, and are heroes in these communities.  The Bidenites still don’t notice that.

Now that Biden has a revenge thing going on against the Hispanic-American agents, it seems pretty obvious that Hispanic voters in those communities can see that the target is they.  This is why we are seeing defensive “challenge coins” like these turning up.

With the punishment/revenge drive relentless, expect these Hispanic voters in these Hispanic communities to create a bigger swing toward the Republican Party in coming elections.  Mayra Flores’s surprise win in this week’s vote for the Texas 34th Congressional District was just the beginning. 

The Bidenites, as usual, are asleep, but it hasn’t stopped their venal instincts to save their pathetic faces.  Spite and revenge are all they have left.

The Biden administration has violated all of the norms of criminal justice and enforcing laws without political bias and intent. This is simply another example of an administration that has little or no respect for the law.

Serves Them Right

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On Wednesday, The Epoch Times posted an article reporting that Ford Motor Company is recalling nearly 50,000 Mustang Mach-Es produced between May 27, 2020, and May 24, 2022, that do not have the proper repairs. Ford said it is working to develop a fix for the 48,924 cars that have experienced a loss of power, overheating, and startup problems. I understand that Ford Motor Company manufactures the Mustang, but they obviously do not understand the car. There is no way the Mustang should ever be an electric car.

The article reports:

“In the affected vehicles, it is possible that the high voltage battery main contactors may overheat, which can result in an open contactor or welding condition. Should the contactors weld closed while driving, a powertrain malfunction warning light will be illuminated on the next drive cycle, along with a no start condition,” the company said in a letter.

According to Ford, the issue stems from a battery main contactor that can overheat and may remain stuck open or become welded.

“Should the contactors weld closed while driving, a powertrain malfunction warning light will be illuminated on the next drive cycle, along with a no-start condition,” said Ford.

Ford spokesperson Said Deep told Nexstar the problem specifically relates to the vehicles’ “Direct Current” fast charging, adding that there is a chance the better can overheat, which “may lead to arcing and deformation of the electrical contact surfaces.” That may lead to the car losing power while driving, Deep said, significantly raising the risk of an accident.

Deep added that the repair will be fixed remotely through an “Over-The-Air (OTA) deployment” of a software update starting in July. Owners of the electric vehicle can take their Mach-Es to a Ford dealership for the software update.

They have ruined the Mustang. Software update indeed.

Just Because It’s Legal Doesn’t Mean It’s Right

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On Monday, The Daily Caller reported the following:

Democrats across the country are spending millions of dollars in an effort to promote Republican candidates that they believe will be weaker in November’s general elections, an analysis of campaign finance records shows.

While the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) have not spent money in primaries without an incumbent, the Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) has picked up the slack. The DGA is spending more than $17 million in several GOP gubernatorial primaries to promote candidates that Democrats believe will be easier to beat, and outside groups have chipped in millions more in Senate races. Many of the promoted GOP candidates have claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, while their opponents are supported by local and statewide Republican organizations.

The DGA has spent more than $15 million on advertising on Republican candidates in the Illinois governor’s race, the most it has disbursed in any GOP primary so far, according to Politico. The ads have generally sought to portray state Sen. Darren Bailey as too conservative for the state, messaging that would increase his support in a close primary against Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. Despite trailing for most of the race, a poll conducted by the Chicago Sun-Times found Bailey leading Irvin 32%-17%, with 27% of voters undecided.

I realize this is legal, but it is also underhanded. When the Democrats can’t honestly win an election, they do nasty things.

The article concludes:

Candidates frequently attempt to promote opponents who they believe are too extreme to win election, a strategy that has historically had mixed results. Then-Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill promoted Republican Rep. Todd Akin as “the most conservative congressman” ahead of their 2012 general election in Missouri, a race she won by 15 points after Akin claimed that women can not become pregnant due to “legitimate rape.”

During the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton frequently highlighted Donald Trump’s candidacy out of a desire to avoid a matchup against Sen. Marco Rubio or Gov. Jeb Bush, both of Florida.

A campaign memo described Trump as a “‘pied piper’ candidate who actually represent[s] the mainstream of the Republican Party,” and urged Democratic National Committee members to portray him as such.

I wonder if she regrets that decision.

Ignoring Video Evidence

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On Monday, The Gateway Pundit posted a series of pictures and videos that look an awful lot like voter fraud.

The article reports:

The Gateway Pundit and 100 Percent Fed Up with the help of the investigative team at Mc4EI, have released several videos showing individuals jamming multiple ballots into drop boxes as well as two close-up videos of individuals who appear to be signing the envelopes of other people’s ballots.

Today, we present yet another stunning discovery at an absentee ballot drop box at the Liberty Temple satellite voting center in Detroit.

Below is the link to one of the videos:

https://rumble.com/v18cps1-postal-worker-delivers-absentee-ballot-envelopes-to-detroit-drop-box-four-t.html

I have not yet figured out how to inbed videos into this blog from Rumble or TikTok, so I posted the link.

Please follow the link to read the entire article. The video evidence is overwhelming.

On A Lighter Note

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A website called Gene Slovers Navy Pages features the following story:

The following letter is a prime example of bureaucracy at its best.   It was written and sent in 1942 by the CO of the USS Skipjack in an effort to get re-supply of a most important commodity.  It did, however, ultimately result in the desired delivery.

Lt. Cmdr Coe was CO of the USS Skipjack when he wrote his famous “toilet paper” letter to the Mare Island Supply Office.

USS SKIPJACK

June 11, 1942

From: Commanding Officer

To: Supply Officer, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California
Via: Commander Submarines, Southwest Pacific

Subject: Toilet Paper
Reference: (a) USS HOLLAND (5148) USS SKIPJACK req. 70-42 of 30 July 1941.
(b) SO NYMI Canceled invoice No. 272836

Enclosure: (1) Copy of cancelled Invoice (2) Sample of material requested.

1. This vessel submitted a requisition for 150 rolls of toilet paper on July 30, 1941, to USS HOLLAND. The material was ordered by HOLLAND from the Supply Officer, Navy Yard, Mare Island, for delivery to USS SKIPJACK.

2. The Supply Officer, Navy Yard, Mare Island, on November 26, 1941, cancelled Mare Island Invoice No. 272836 with the stamped notation “Cancelled—cannot identify.” This cancelled invoice was received by SKIPJACK on June 10, 1942.

3. During the 11 ¾ months elapsing from the time of ordering the toilet paper and the present date, the SKIPJACK personnel, despite their best efforts to await delivery of subject material, have been unable to wait on numerous occasions, and the situation is now quite acute, especially during depth charge attack by the “back-stabbers.”

4. Enclosure (2) is a sample of the desired material provided for the information of the Supply Officer, Navy Yard, Mare Island. The Commanding Officer, USS SKIPJACK cannot help but wonder what is being used in Mare Island in place of this unidentifiable material, once well known to this command.

5. SKIPJACK personnel during this period have become accustomed to use of “ersatz,” i.e., the vast amount of incoming non-essential paper work, and in so doing feel that the wish of the Bureau of Ships for the reduction of paper work is being complied with, thus effectively killing two birds with one stone.

6. It is believed by this command that the stamped notation “cannot identify” was possible error, and that this is simply a case of shortage of strategic war material, the SKIPJACK probably being low on the priority list.

7. In order to cooperate in our war effort at a small local sacrifice, the SKIPJACK desires no further action be taken until the end of the current war, which has created a situation aptly described as “war is hell.”

J.W. Coe

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here is the rest of the story:

The letter was given to the Yeoman, telling him to type it up. Once typed and upon reflection, the Yeoman went looking for help in the form of the XO. The XO shared it with the OD and they proceeded to the CO’s cabin and asked if he really wanted it sent. His reply, “I wrote it, didn’t I?”

As a side note, twelve days later, on June 22, 1942 J.W. Coe was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on the S-39.

The “toilet paper” letter reached Mare Island Supply Depot. A member of that office remembers that all officers in the Supply Department “had to stand at attention for three days because of that letter.” By then, the letter had been copied and was spreading throughout the fleet and even to the President’s son who was aboard the USS Wasp.

As the boat came in from her next patrol, Jim and crew saw toilet-paper streamers blowing from the lights along the pier and pyramids of toilet paper stacked seven feet high on the dock. Two men were carrying a long dowel with toilet paper rolls on it with yards of paper streaming behind them as a band played coming up after the roll holders. Band members wore toilet paper neckties in place of their Navy neckerchiefs. The wind-section had toilet paper pushed up inside their instruments and when they blew, white streamers unfurled from trumpets and horns.

As was the custom for returning boats to be greeted at the pier with cases of fresh fruit/veggies and ice cream, the Skipjack was first greeted thereafter with her own distinctive tribute-cartons and cartons of toilet paper.

This letter became famous in submarine history books and found its way to the movie (“Operation Petticoat”), and eventually coming to rest (copy) at the Navy Supply School at Pensacola, Florida. There, it still hangs on the wall under a banner that reads, “Don’t let this happen to you!” Even John Roosevelt insured his father got a copy of the letter.

The original is at Bowfin Museum in Hawaii:

It’s Not The Flag

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On Monday, Fox News reported that in honor of Flag Day on Tuesday, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered 51-star American flags to be displayed along Pennsylvania Avenue. There are only 50 states, but the Mayor wants to have Washington, D.C., declared the 51st state. There is a reason that our Founding Fathers did not recognize Washington, D.C., as a state. Because the Founders sought a government that did not concentrate its power in Washington, D.C., they did not make it a state. The only reason that Mayor Bowser and the Democrats want to make it a state is that because it has a solid Democrat majority of voters. That would give the Democrats two more Senators and at least one more Representative in Congress.

The article reports:

Republican lawmakers have argued that because Washington, D.C.’s establishment is based in Article 1, section 8, clause 17 of the Constitution, any change to the district must come in the form of a constitutional amendment – not legislation from Congress. They’ve also argued that the idea of D.C. statehood amounts to little more than a power grab by Democrats to expand the majority in the Senate by adding two more senators from a liberal enclave.

If the residents of Washington, D.C., are not being represented, one alternative might be the reduce the actual property of Washington, D.C., and cede most of the land to the neighboring states. If lack of representation is the problem, that would solve it. However, I don’t believe lack of representation is really the problem.

 

 

The Plot That Was Ignored

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On Monday, The Independent Journal Review posted an article about the media silence about the attempted murder of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The article reports:

It has not even been a week since an armed man was arrested after allegedly aborting an attempt to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and yet the story appears to have largely disappeared from the headlines.

Kevin Tober of the conservative Media Research Center’s NewsBusters tracked the amount of time major news outlets’ Sunday shows spent on the incident.

According to Tober, ABC News spent zero minutes on the Kavanaugh story and 19 minutes and eleven seconds on the Jan. 6 committee hearings.

It may well be that the mainstream media is reluctant to report on the attempted murder of Justice Kavanaugh because too many Americans will remember the following statement by Senator Schumer (source of quote here):

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price!” Schumer shouted. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions!”

There was a time when that statement would have at least resulted in censure by the Senate, but in the current political paradigm, the statement was barely noted. Senator Schumer did not cause the planned attack on Justice Kavanaugh, but he certainly set the political climate for the attack.

If You Had Any Doubt…

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There may be (or not be) some good ideas in the current gun legislation moving through Congress. However, those of us who believe in the Second Amendment need to be very wary of what is happening. On Monday, Townhall posted an article that should give all of us pause. Public Safety may not be the goal of the Democrat Party.

The article reports:

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) praised the details of the bipartisan framework from the Senate on the issue of gun control but noted this should be used to pursue even more aggressive restrictions.

In a statement on Sunday, Murphy said the framework is a great step “in restoring sanity to our national dialogue” on firearms and “while this agreement is only a narrow first step, it is recognition that the ability of the gun lobby to block any and all common sense gun safety laws by its mere presence is waning and reform is possible. The door has cracked open. We must open it wider.”

One of my main concerns in this debate is the acceptance of ‘red flag laws.’ These laws are unconstitutional as they deny the person whose guns are confiscated his day in court. The only way I would support a ‘red flag law’ would be if it came with a promise of an appearance before a judge within 4 hours of the guns being seized. Even then, the constitutionality of the law is questionable.

Section I of the Fourteenth Amendment states:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The Second Amendment is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, how can it be denied without due process?