evil trump

trump is an authority on evil. Tracking Trump on Evil – Citizen Critics

it takes one to know one.

image by Gage Skidmore

Donald Trump | Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a ca… | Flickr

had enough? 

who do you trust?

- someone who you know who has similar values to yours?
- or someone who trashes other people? an instigating bully who divides (instead of a leader who unifies)? a foul-mouthed womanizer? a person who separates children from their families simply because they seek asylum or a better life in the USA? who doesn't keep his promises? who is a charlatan and a liar? 
- or someone who thinks that they're above our laws, conducting government business on private, unsecured email, failing to protect classified government documents? who has no more regard for an innocent child than to support killing that child moments before the child would have been born?
- or do you trust political parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs? 

here's how government operates: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

the fix to our dysfunctional government is simple--stop voting for lousy candidates who don't have values similar to yours, and who don't represent our country. 

If you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party--the hand that holds the puppet/money strings. 

In the next election--national, state or local--vote for someone who shares your values who is not a democrat or a republican. 

even with their billion dollar donors, the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die if no one votes for their lousy candidates.

Nothing will be better for our country.

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

can you see the similarity?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Shkreli_House_Committee_on_Oversight_and_Government_Reform_2016.jpg

image by Brian Solis

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Zuckerberg_-_South_by_Southwest_2008_-_5.jpg 

#facebook

#zuckerberg

#shkreli

the sad state of home construction in the US

many who bought new houses in the past 50 years know what this chart shows:

File_Construction-non-farm-labor_1964-2003.jpg

that the quality of construction of new houses over the past 50 years is poor when compared to the quality of homes built 50 years ago. basic systems, e.g. structure, roof, floors, windows, weather protection, HVAC, appliances, etc., are less reliable in many new houses today than those built 50 years ago.

why? the reasons are probably many--

• builder incompetence and greed 
• decline in skilled labor 
• government's failure to protect consumers 
• consumer reticence 
• a costly legal system that protects builders more than it protects consumers

whatever the reasons, the chart is clear--while productivity and quality of non-agricultural products have more than doubled over the past 50 years with advances in technology, productivity and quality in construction have declined, despite advances in technology. many who bought new houses in the past 50 years are left with fixing builder messes at their own expense--the ones that can be fixed--while the productivity and quality of new homes continue to decline.

what's the solution? I honestly can't tell you. It looks to me like the trends that are so obvious in the chart will continue--bad news for new home buyers--that's you and me. 

virginia

shenandoah county

strasburg

stony pointe

toothman

alan toothman construction, woodstock, va

facts: 

1. the gutter is flat, or very near flat. 

2. flow in the gutter is open channel. 

3. Manning's formula for open channel flow is: . 

4. if the slope (S) is 0, then the velocity (V) is 0 and the flow in the gutter (Q=V*A) is 0. 

5. if the slope is 0.0014, then the square root of the slope is 0.037. the velocity and flow in the gutter are very small--near zero. 

6. if the gutter is full, and the slope is 0, or near 0, then all or most of the water coming off the roof overflows the gutter.

  

7. there are two outlet pipes from downspouts--mine and my neighbor's.
8. the pipe on the right is buried. look closely--only a small part of the top can be seen.

9. question: where will the water go? answer: nowhere--this is a fact. 

close-up of the buried pipe

10. if the open end of the pipe from the downspout is buried, with nowhere for the water to go, then water backs up in the plastic pipe from the downspout.

11. when the plastic pipe from the downspout is full, then water backs up in the downspout.

12. when the downspout and the gutter are full, then water coming off the roof flows over the gutter and washes out the ground beneath it.

close-up of the washout

13. this is a new house, purchased less than one half year ago.

14. the house has a one year warranty.

15. the builder says that the gutter is not level. fact: the gutter is level or very near level. (in other words, "don't believe your lying eyes.")

16. the builder says that the plastic pipe is not buried. fact: the plastic pipe is buried. (in other words, "don't believe your lying eyes".) 
17. fact: the buried pipe looks the same today as the day that we bought the house.

18. the builder says "it's not our problem."
19. fact: the builder created the problem by installing the gutter level, or near level.
20. fact: the builder may have created the problem by installing a gutter that is too small for the roof area and rainfall intensity.
21. fact: burying the outlet end of the plastic pipe created the problem.
22. fact: we did not bury the outlet end of the plastic pipe. it was buried the day that we bought the house.
23. fact: the builder created the problem.

builder: Alan Toothman Construction Inc., Woodstock, VA

also,

• grading and drainage look like they were done by Rube Goldberg
• most of the crawl space is flooded 
• floors creak
• HVAC is poor
• inside trim is sloppy

virginia
shenandoah county
strasburg
stony pointe
toothman

whack job Santorum

Rick Santorum says Parkland students should learned CPR - NY Daily News

had enough? who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours? The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

minds of mush: voters

Father of Sandy Hook victim thinks school safety legislation will pass | New York Post

common sense. this legislation should have passed weeks after Columbine in 1999. why does it take so long for common sense to occur? answer: politicians. when will common sense solve this problem? when voters stop voting for republicans & democrats. common sense.

the good, the bad & the ugly: we need new George Washington style representatives in government

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours? The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

gullibility 101: lucy, kim jong un, vladimir putin, trump, charlie brown, et al

Charlie Brown, Lucy and the Football - YouTube 

how many times will lucy pull the football away before charlie brown realizes that lucy can't be trusted?

when will those with minds of mush realize that kim jong un, vladimir putin, donald trump, et al can't be trusted?

for those with minds of mush, the answer is never.

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours? The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

the solution is obvious: repeal the 2nd amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
second amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• question: in the 21st century does the U.S. need individual citizens who privately own assault rifles for "a well regulated militia"?
• answer: obviously, no
•  question: in the 21st century does the U.S. need state militias for security of its citizens?
• answer: ? debate? (even if state militias were deemed to be a good thing, individual members of state militias wouldn't need to furnish their own weapons any more than members of the military or local police need to provide weapons and ammunition for their jobs.)
• question: in the 21st century U.S., can local, state or federal government protect its citizens from deranged individuals who commit mass murder?
• answer: obviously, no

then the solution is obvious: repeal the 2nd amendment. 

image by LeftPolemicist

File:Repeal the 2nd Amendment logo.svg - Wikimedia Commons

citizens would not have an automatic, constitutional right to privately own an assault rifle. Private ownership would be strictly regulated and taxed, e.g., permit application, rigorous background check, criminal record, committing a crime with an illegal weapon (felony), unlawful possession of a firearm without a valid permit (felony), providing false information on permit application (felony), yearly re-application and tax, etc.

10 days after I posted this blog--John Paul Stevens, ex-SCOTUS justice, shocks with call to repeal 2nd Amendment - Washington Times

"...shocks..."??? what's so shocking about repealing the 2nd amendment? as Justice Stevens says, "the second amendment is a relic of the 18th century".

"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."
Article V, U.S. Constitution

• question: has anyone in Congress pursued repealing the 2nd amendment?
• answer: not that I'm aware of
• question: has any state legislature proposed repealing the 2nd amendment?
• answer: not that I'm aware of
• question: why?
• answer: no guts?
• question: why don't politicians have guts?
• answer: party politics ("don't bite the hand that feeds you")
• question: what is the "will of the people"?
• answer: according to polls, most Americans want stricter gun control laws
• question: had enough?
• answer:

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours? The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

mush minds

"A nuclear densometer is a field instrument used in geotechnical engineering to determine the density of a compacted material. Also known as a soil density gauge, the device uses the interaction of gamma radiation with matter to measure density..." 
Nuclear densometer - Wikipedia 

Nuclear densometers are strictly regulated. They must be clearly marked as containing a relatively small amount of nuclear material. Exposure to people when the instrument is in use is strictly controlled, e.g. distance from the device, time of exposure, frequency of exposure, etc. When not in use, nuclear densometers must be stored in a locked, lead-lined container and the container must be stored in a locked storage area.

Likewise, use of x-rays in dentistry is strictly regulated. Patients and employees alike are warned of the dangers of exposure to even small amounts of radiation.

Why aren't assault weapons in the possession of mentally unstable persons similarly regulated? Certainly the threat to public safety is far greater from an unstable person with an assault rifle than it is from a soil densometer or a dental x-ray machine. 

In interview after interview yesterday, government officials acknowledged that for the past 20 years that government officials have been saying that "the mass shootings have to stop". Yet, nothing has been done. The problem just keeps getting worse. 

had enough? 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours? The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

blowhard

blowhard
    

a person who boasts and

blusters in an obnoxious way

synonyms: braggart, egotist,
big mouth, windbag, swellhead

had enough? 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?

The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again

2. someone who doesn't?

3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

after the IRS' targeting scandal in 2010, who should be surprised if the FBI abused their power in 2016?

Byron York: Republicans and those 'attacks' on the FBI 

IRS targeting controversy - Wikipedia

federal government officials who allow politics to influence their actions are not doing their jobs. the same can be said for our elected federal representatives and the biased news media. 

and, who is surprised when no one is held accountable when government employees screw up? like the FBI not following up on a warning about Nikolas Cruz? like employees of the Secret Service, the VA, the IRS, etc. who screw up regularly? 

had enough? 

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us. 

tired of the same old actors?

no matter what your cause, having spokespersons like these don't do your cause any good. out with the old--in with the new.

who do you trust? 

1. someone who has values similar to yours?
The good, the bad & the ugly: let's make America great again
2. someone who doesn't?
3. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

we don't need congress to change our two party system of government, or to pass a law limiting terms. why would they? neither would be in their, or their party's, best interests. 

we can use our vote to change our two-party system of government and to limit terms. 

out with the old and in with the new.

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for anyone except a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

if we:

• don't vote 
• vote republican or democrat because "that's the way that ___________ (parent(s), church, media, teacher, friend, etc.) always votes/voted" 
• always vote straight republican/democrat regardless of the candidate or issues 

then are:

• we responsible citizens of a free government? 
• or are we slaves to government that is not "of the people, by the people, for the people"?

if it's the latter, then freedom will "perish from the earth". (Abraham Lincoln)

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die--a triple win for honesty in government, for integrity in reporting the actions of government, and for us.