tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53235772026-09-19T07:24:24.885-04:00The Other Side of the HillThoughts about life and current events from the perspective of a retired guy with too much time on his hands. DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.comBlogger778125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-64144405589938479102026-03-05T22:18:00.002-05:002026-03-05T22:18:11.969-05:00Does Anyone Read This Blog? If you are not a bot and have notice that I haven't posted here since November 2025, it's because I got tired of writing stuff that nobody seems interested in. If you are human please leave a comment to let me know you are out there. Thank you.DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-37101666673473517572025-11-23T14:01:00.005-05:002026-01-20T13:18:41.694-05:00Watching Football on TV I used to enjoy watching football on TV. These days, not so much. Gone are the days when you sat on the sofa and watched for 3 or more hours, waiting for the occasional commercial break to get a fresh beer or/and go to the bathroom. Now commercials and filler dominate the time viewing more than game action. During a 3.5 hour telecast a viewer is exposed to as many as DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-5706031850842549912025-10-13T12:23:00.001-04:002025-10-13T12:23:47.809-04:00Columbus Day MusingsAs mentioned previously on these pages, I am a fan of the Columbus Day story. It may be a myth, but it is a feel good myth that makes those of us with Western European roots proud to have discovered India. Since the progressive left has taken over the Liberal agenda, there is a lot of talk about the contributions of Indigenous People (i.e. Native Americans). In the interests of DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-64598401744669890462025-10-11T12:13:00.001-04:002025-10-13T11:41:46.789-04:00Good Ideas, Bad intentions I often wonder why a free country like the United States tolerates criminal gangs and widespread lawlessness in its cities. Most people know there are neighborhoods you avoid after dark as well as subway lines you wouldn’t ride alone. Everyone talks about it, but it never seems to get fixed. Local police appear to be kept busy arresting individual offenders, but DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-63880726244383604852025-10-10T00:03:00.008-04:002025-10-13T11:51:15.044-04:00Word of the Day kak·i·sto·cra·cy/kakəˈstäkrəsē/nouna state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.plural noun: kakistocracies"the modern regime is at once a plutocracy and a kakistocracy"DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-19134617310632075612025-09-22T11:33:00.000-04:002025-09-22T11:33:54.835-04:00An Interesting Wrinkle in Free Speech It’s striking how many Americans seem to champion the Second Amendment with more fervor than the First. That imbalance surprises me.Anyone with a grasp of history and the English language knows the phrase “right to bear arms” is, at best, ambiguous. As I’ve said before, the clearest reading of the Second Amendment supports a state militia member keeping a single-shot musket at home. The DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-51470754673403933202025-08-15T10:07:00.003-04:002025-08-15T10:07:29.013-04:00Tariffs are ComplicatedTariffs are Complicated Co-Pilot: "To offset higher import costs, retailers often increase prices, passing the burden on to consumers. As a result, consumers effectively pay for the tariff."Economists who study this stuff can disagree on how to implement Tariff policy. I certainly am not claiming superior knowledge, but it seems pretty clear that Trump's ham-handed tariff DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-69535429835551847402025-08-04T10:34:00.002-04:002025-08-04T10:34:26.574-04:00A few words about Gaza Israel is being accused of genocide because of its scorched-earth retaliation for the OCT 7 attacks by Hamas. Israeli leadership says it will continue hunting down Hamas until they no longer exist as a threat. Hamas hides behind civilian infrastructure, building tunnels, command centers and weapons caches under hospitals and schools -- using civilians as shields. &DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-76953268589388809152025-08-03T15:06:00.000-04:002025-08-03T15:06:06.444-04:00Shooting The MessengerTrump just fired an administrator for the government Bureau of Labor Statistics for publishing numbers that he didn't like. Offering no evidence for his rejection of the numbers, he did the usual Trump thing with information that he doesn't like: He said the reports from that dept are "rigged" by democrats. "We are doing great!" It's troubling for sensible DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-9980974179580948582025-07-17T15:56:00.008-04:002025-08-05T10:14:51.655-04:00"Do Your Job" (Attributed to former N.E. Patriot coach, Bill Belichick)I hate extortion in any form. Consequently, I've never been a fan of workers going on Strike. This is especially true for people who work in government or other public service jobs. Refusing to do the job should result in termination. Period.Strikes cause the wrong people to suffer. The people who are hurt most by strikes are usually innocent DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-83893402034795795942025-07-13T17:01:00.001-04:002025-07-14T14:17:41.811-04:00Cuts in Medical Research I'm sure there are some wasteful practices and efficiencies that the current administration could be investigating in the awarding of grants for medical research. But what we are seeing is a spiteful chainsaw approach to a vital science that has resulted in numerous discoveries that have led to treatment and prevention of deadly diseases. Instead of doing the hard DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-69400801487710453582025-07-03T10:42:00.001-04:002025-07-03T10:42:39.093-04:00Lying Under Oath At his confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged not to remove the existing members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Kennedy assured Senator Bill Cassidy that he would maintain the ACIP “without changes”However, that promise was broken when he dismissed all 17 sitting members of the committee DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-85019962414285077062025-06-30T09:56:00.000-04:002025-06-30T09:56:11.954-04:00It Gets Worse Every Day I have a nagging feeling that the USA is morphing into an post apocalyptic state, inspired by a sci fi novel. I cannot help thinking "Lord of the Flies" "Lord of the Flies is a haunting novel by William Golding that explores what happens when a group of British schoolboys becomes stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. With no adults to guide DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-76527503728014556592025-06-02T11:51:00.001-04:002025-06-26T10:57:41.226-04:00Friendship in the Age of Disconnect We enjoy the company of others with whom we share:A sense of humorA Willingness to listenInterestsPurposeEthical valuesRespectExperienceIt seems to me that you have to check at least 3 of these boxes to qualify as a friend. Perhaps this explains why we are drifting apart from those whose company is no longer sought.To argue enjoyably is to (at least) agree on the ground rules, DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-60442664571698811982025-05-17T10:35:00.004-04:002025-07-10T14:07:02.925-04:00Fooling Half of The PeopleThe rock band "The Who" prayed that we wont be fooled again. But honey, we have remained a nation of fools.Take Donald J Trump (Please). Here is a grifter of average intelligence who has refined his art to such a degree that he fooled half the voters in America into believing that he would make America great again. (By the way, how's that working out for ya, farmers, small DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-61671892203220118842025-05-11T22:43:00.005-04:002025-06-26T10:13:16.406-04:00Things Trump Should be Doing Instead of Cutting Essential Programs I'm hearing a lot of disturbing things about cuts that the Trump administration is making with a machete instead of a scalpel. Thousands of workers have been terminated from their positions, without any serious analysis of their impact. I do not see how hollowing-out government services is going to benefit the average American, since the savings will be passed along to corporate DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-87657939430244048032025-03-06T20:12:00.000-05:002025-07-14T20:13:13.580-04:00Why? Questions for Our Time1. Why can't the phone company block spam and phishing calls automatically?2. Why do the microwave popcorn manufacturers tell you NOT to use the "popcorn" setting on your microwave?3. Why can't the stores sell tomatoes that taste like tomatoes?4. Why do men, as they age, start growing thicker eyebrow and ear hair?5, Why do fools fall in love?DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-87433688536822039802025-02-26T11:08:00.004-05:002025-02-26T11:14:22.941-05:00Found this in my desk A Vignette (May 2023) I am constantly telling my wife: "I'm going to work outside. Please don't lock me out." Typically, I go out to the garage where I keep my work boots and gloves. through the den door then I go out to the yard. through the outer door Inevitably. she decides to clean the cat litter box or take out the trash, or perhaps searches for something stored on the garage, then, DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-26713412864274361962025-02-24T14:41:00.007-05:002025-02-24T14:41:58.532-05:00Cutting Revenue to save money.I read an news article today in the NYT that likens Trump/Musk firing 6,700 IRS employees in the middle of Tax season to a business CFO deciding to cut the size the accounts receivable dept., in the middle of a successful sales campaign. Cutting-off revenue is the last thing a competent businessman would do.The CFO, however, would likely be fired for such a stupid move. What DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-26742110376843434842025-02-21T11:59:00.005-05:002025-03-08T14:52:12.607-05:00STFU if You Don't AgreeA drinking buddy of mine who has clearly imbibed too much Trump Kool-aid recently remarked that the Progressive Democrat Commies want to censor free speech. He cites Europe as an egregious offender, enacting laws against hate speech and even prohibiting criticism of government leaders, and even denying the Holocaust. I did some fact checking: In Europe, it looks like they are DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-58888192010176675252025-02-18T11:11:00.001-05:002025-03-08T14:52:40.118-05:00Phony Christians I don't disagree that the government is bloated and ineffective. But the phrase "Throwing the baby out with the bathwater" comes to mind, when you look at what the Trump team is doing. Instead of taking a considered approach and cutting stupid and wasteful programs, they want to eliminate USAID, which in fact keeps a lot of people in the world from starving to death.Where DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-60216531677082781952025-02-13T15:35:00.000-05:002025-02-13T15:35:04.604-05:00How to Fix a seized Impeller Today I fixed my snowblower. It had been out-of-commission during the recent snowstorm. Oh, the engine started-up okay, and the axel drive gears worked just fine. But the impeller (the part that throws the snow) was seized-up. Every time I tried to engage the mechanism the belt would screech like a banshee and, if I forced it, the engine would quit under the strain.&DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-52513279097374405412025-02-04T10:38:00.000-05:002025-02-04T10:38:31.832-05:00Sound Familiar? Historian Lawrence Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile) and found they had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. (Thanks to my friend Bruce G. for finding this)Powerful and Continuing NationalismFascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-63911070148554394782025-02-01T10:18:00.001-05:002025-02-04T10:39:23.701-05:00Tuning Out, Again I have deleted my social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter
and have stopped wasting my time watching the talking head shows on cable. My plan is to hide my head in the sand (like
an insurance ad emu), to avoid having
to deal with further unpleasant political realities. I’m chagrined to see that both Biden
and Trump have further eroded our trust in the justice DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323577.post-63503163461475300872025-01-28T10:22:00.001-05:002025-02-04T10:26:12.801-05:00Zen and the Art of Snowblowing It’s been a cold winter hereabouts, as it has been
everywhere else, even the Florida contingent is experiencing a bit of
unseasonable frigidity. So, where the
heck is global warming when you need it? We had about 6 inches of snow last week – a good excuse to get my trusty
Craftsman 5HP Snowblower out of the shed and cranked-up. I find clearing the driveway a most
DENhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06542797650497025693noreply@blogger.com0