Rebane's Ruminations
May 2018
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[More school killings, this time with a revolver and a shotgun – no semi-autos in sight, yet the killings continue.  When do we come to a national conclusion that it is the shooters we should do better at identifying and stopping, rather than taking guns from law abiding citizens?  gjr]

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345 responses to “Sandbox – 18may18”

  1. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: M | 24 May 2018 at 10:21 PM
    Another #hitstained opinion piece from the fake news asswipe outlet of the Ethernet,,,

    You know when you get all worked up like this, you really oughta think about pirating the latest Star Wars movie 🎥…..that always seems to make you feel better!

    Like

  2. Russ Avatar
    Russ

    FBI Report Highlights Effectiveness of Concealed Carry.
    The FBI’s recently released “Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2016 and 2017” report [PDF] indicates 16 percent of crimes that qualify for inclusion in the paper were stopped by a law-abiding citizen with a gun. The figure represents more than a five-fold increase from the agency’s 2000-2013 study [PDF], when the figure was 3.1 percent.
    The 2014 and 2015 report, the first biennial study on the topic released by the agency, adds statistical weight to the long-term trend. During those years, 5 percent of the attacks were stopped by armed citizens.
    More armed citizens means more crimes stopped by armed citizens.
    https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2018/5/21/fbi-report-highlights-effectiveness-of-concealed-carry/

    Like

  3. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    jonsmith@9:42
    “Poor migrating from, smart immigrating to California.”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjXUBMkkE8&t=19m59s
    pertinent clip only runs to 20:38. I like the looks of this guy, he cracks me up.
    Of course, when you say ‘migrating from’, you are referring to US citizens.

    Like

  4. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: DonB@9:43
    That looks interesting, and it’s probably a good idea to continue development of nuclear weapons, but that sounds more like somebody ginning up missions for the F-35 in order to support the program. What’s the range on those things without refueling? 600-700 miles?

    Like

  5. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: BillT@10:41
    God knows what it would take to back out of NATO. Given the near impossibility of Soviet tanks rushing (naturally) to the channel, the whole thing is probably a waste at this point but inertia is a strong thing. No doubt there’s a whole basket of objections to changing matters.
    . US has to keep their mitts in European military matters in order to play world hegemon.
    . Giant bureaucratic infrastructure wants to keep it’s job
    . US ‘progressives’ want to be part of Europe so they can have a summer place in France with minimum paperwork.
    If anything, I’d say that the concept of forward basing (aside from the economic benefits for host countries) has evolved into something that limits your strategic moves. Great Power ownership of nukes tended to lock down borders in any case, but using your own people as a tripwire results in the kind of unthinking cascade that started WWI.

    Like

  6. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Russ @ 6:37 am
    TRIGGER WARNING:
    Here are some news items that might help us figure out how to reduce the number of school shooting victims.
    https://patriotpost.us/opinion/56150-the-doomsday-scenario-what-if-school-walkouts-dont-work

    Like

  7. Todd Juvinall Avatar
    Todd Juvinall

    JonSmith was in today’s Police Blotter at the 11:29 moment. What a guy.

    Like

  8. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: Bill Tozer | 25 May 2018 at 08:03 AM
    From the number of school shootings listed William it seems that it would be far more effective to eliminate public schools (do away with clusters of defenseless targets) than firearms. Education could be conducted online for far less money while eliminating the hazards of “socialization” associated with public schools!

    Like

  9. fish Avatar
    fish

    In the local man just doesn’t get it column…..

    Joe Koyote says:
    May 25, 2018 at 8:30 am
    No surprise there. Todd, Rebane and Co. are all political toadies. They will support whomever the Republican Party tells them to support no questions asked, no experience needed, no thought involved. After all, they support trump don’t they?

    Sorry JoKe….you have to nominate somebody palatable to the electorate to retain control of the Executive branch. The Menopausal Avenger just wasn’t going to cut it!

    Like

  10. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Poking around this morning I came across this. Nobody has been able to tell us “what/where/how/to what extent” did the Russians actually influenced the results of the 2016 elections…..until now. Did Brother Ben get duped? Did the CIA plant a spy in her campaign to protect her as well????
    Some quotes:
    Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and an NBC News analyst, said that Stein “most certainly influenced the outcome of [the 2016] election, given the outcome was decided in three states and by 78,000 voters.”
    “Her talking points on hot button issues like the war in Ukraine look like she’s reading off of a Kremlin-supplied script.”
    “Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and an NBC News analyst, said that Stein “most certainly influenced the outcome of [the 2016] election, given the outcome was decided in three states and by 78,000 voters.”
    “Despite receiving only 1.07 percent of the national vote total, her showing in the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan was greater than Clinton’s margin of defeat, and arguably denied Clinton an Electoral College victory….
    During the 2016 campaign, Stein was a favorite of RT and Sputnik, the two government-owned English-language news outlets that have been identified by U.S. intelligence as a big part of the Russian effort to influence the American presidential election. The U.S. intelligence community called the two outlets part of “Russia’s state-run propaganda machine.”
    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/why-are-senate-russia-investigators-interested-jill-stein-n831261
    Mystery solved!!!!!

    Like

  11. Todd Juvinall Avatar
    Todd Juvinall

    JoeK is truly a loon. We on the right are not in lockstep. Look at all the candidates running for Governor and other offices. If anyone is a little goose=stepper it is Joke and his liberal pals. How they keep putting Pelosi in charge is beyond common sense. But they do. And they pray at her alter.

    Like

  12. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: BillT@8:49AM
    That’s actually brilliant. I’d like to think that someone in Russia was both pro-Trump enough and smart enough to help her out.
    The amusing thing is that even if she was an FSB agent, no one would care since it doesn’t do any harm to Trump. It’s odd to build a political movement 100% built out of being someone’s enemy, but that’s where we are.
    re: Fish@8:41AM
    I like the idea of being a political toady. It sounds like a term from a Thomas Nast cartoon, but I see that it’s older than that.
    The cool thing is that in Sunny California, a non-Democrat has scarcely any power at all. You could be a ‘toady’ for the Whig Party and have about as much influence (aside from the handful of California (R) Congressmen). It’s a great petri dish to live in. Filled with brilliant people with graduate degrees pouring (pouring I tell you!) into the state and drowning in human poop in San Francisco. Given their love for the material, maybe the Green Libertarians should change their name to the Poop Party.

    Like

  13. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Sign of the times:
    If you take your AR-15 and label it as a model MS-13 rifle, the Lefties will support it.

    Like

  14. George Rebane Avatar

    Given the stats on California population’s smarts, and the fact that the state has been in a secure, one-party, socialist thrall for all these years, doesn’t that indicate that the main population of political ‘toadies’ resides on the Left? Else how can the Left luck out with so many not-too-bright people just randomly continuing to vote Democrat?

    Like

  15. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    CA is number one, tops in the nation.
    http://ktla.com/2018/05/24/gas-prices-surge-as-drivers-ready-for-memorial-day-weekend/amp/
    My, my. As the unhinged blame Trump for the spike in prices at the pump, CA Dems have pushed relentlessly for more gas taxes, higher gas taxes, can’t get enough of those wonderful gas prices, lol.
    While I am at it, can anyone explain to be me how carbon credits fight pollution, or is it just a scheme to fund our pension liability?

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  16. George Rebane Avatar

    BillT 1012am – Mr Tozer, pray whatever makes you think that the Dems will use their ever-increasing amounts of tribute payments to bolster their unfunded pension liabilities, instead of on new programs to purchase additional voting blocks and assure the loyalty of those already in their pockets?

    Like

  17. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Fair enough, Dr. Rebate. I thunk wrong. Still, how does one buying or selling carbon credits do anything to fight pollution?

    Like

  18. George Rebane Avatar

    BillT 1045am – Mr Tozer, as always, your penetrating questions stress and strain minds restricted to reason and logic. The real answer to the impact of carbon credits on pollution is known only to card-carrying progressives, especially those whose science also details the ins and outs of preventable man-made global warming.

    Like

  19. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Darn, I thunk wrong again! Let me explain:
    I have grown tired of not keeping up with Dr. Rebane’s many fine posts because of the good Doc’s links to the WSJ. So, I signed up for 2 months at 99 cents a month for two months. You can quit at anytime. I felt like I found a good bargain. But, noooooo. This weekend the WSJ is offering two months for one dollar! Darn, I could have got a better deal.
    With that said, I might as well a take advantage of getting behind the WSJ’s paywall.
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-real-constitutional-crisis-1527201552

    Like

  20. Paul Emery Avatar

    George writes ” Else how can the Left luck out with so many not-too-bright people just randomly continuing to vote Democrat? ”
    So George are you saying voting for Trump is a sign of intelligence?

    Like

  21. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: scenes | 25 May 2018 at 09:05 AM
    It’s a great petri dish to live in. Filled with brilliant people with graduate degrees pouring (pouring I tell you!) into the state and drowning in human poop in San Francisco. Given their love for the material, maybe the Green Libertarians should change their name to the Poop Party.

    Have to disagree Scenes! Their market department isn’t that inept! Instead of “The Poop Party” I could see them having some success as the “The Party of Soil Enhancement” or perhaps “The Urban Hopscotch Party”.
    Something a little less blatantly off putting!

    Like

  22. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: Paul Emery | 25 May 2018 at 11:43 AM
    So George are you saying voting for Trump is a sign of intelligence?

    …and we’re off!
    Perhaps you should come at this from a different direction…..it’s a sign of intelligence voting against Hillary!

    Like

  23. Paul Emery Avatar

    that’s not the question I proposed Fish. Do you believe it’s a sign of intelligence to vote for Trump? I voted Libertarian myself.

    Like

  24. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: Paul Emery | 25 May 2018 at 12:07 PM
    Now you of all people know that I don’t participate in your ham-fisted gotcha question sessions Paul.

    Like

  25. fish Avatar
    fish

    Oooh….on the who is evil scale this is a lateral move (excepting the compensation) at best!

    HILLARY: I WANT TO BE FACEBOOK CEO…

    Like

  26. Paul Emery Avatar

    Revealing that you can’t answer such a simple question Fish. Apparently you have no conviction that voting for Trump is sign or intelligence.

    Like

  27. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: Paul Emery | 25 May 2018 at 12:31 PM
    Revealing that you can’t answer such a simple question Fish.

    Oh I can answer it Punch….I just refuse to indulge you in your silly rhetorical games.
    I voted Libertarian myself.
    If only you had mentioned this punch!

    Like

  28. jon smith Avatar
    jon smith

    Looks like N. Korea has won its gamble for a win, win, win, win.
    Softened hard lines between itself, South Korea, and China. Already China has opened its borders to trade with Korea. It will be hard for either the South or China to re enter negotiations with Trump while saving face.
    Kim comes off looking proactive and reasonable by blowing up test sites and releasing prisoners.
    Trump comes off looking like a politically naive fool preferring to shoot from the hip rather than develop a strategy.
    While Trump was talking about a Nobel Peace Prize, Kim Jung Un was doing an end around.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/after-summit-pullout-south-korea-and-china-have-little-appetite-for-trumps-maximum-pressure/2018/05/25/e14774f4-5f74-11e8-b656-236c6214ef01_story.html?utm_term=.c3f895724911

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  29. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Commencement Day across the USA.
    https://patriotpost.us/cartoons/26177

    Like

  30. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    fish sez: “The Party of Soil Enhancement”
    I think I like that. Is voting for poop a sign or(sic) intelligence? I’ll bet you didn’t vote for Obama the second time.
    The new California state flag.
    http://blog.eternalvigilance.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/dont-tread-on-me.png

    Like

  31. Paul Emery Avatar

    I comment you Fish for voting for Gary Johnson. Why is it that you are such a Trump supporter? He is the exact opposite of a Libertarian.

    Like

  32. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: jon smith | 25 May 2018 at 12:36 PM
    Ya know what “sock of many puppeteers”…..I’m not even going to argue the point.
    You’re entitled to your victory lap!
    Go North Korea….you have many fans here in the states!

    Like

  33. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Paul Emery sez: ” I voted Libertarian myself.”
    So I take it that you are against single payer health plans and Social Security.

    Like

  34. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: Paul Emery | 25 May 2018 at 12:44 PM
    Johnson had as much chance of being President as I did Punch! Your continued reliance on your vote for Johnson carries no weight here from a credibility standpoint.
    I’ve mentioned on many occasions that I think Trump is clearly the lesser of two evils! I still think it’s hysterical that you “good government” types think that he’s worse than Hillary would have been!

    Like

  35. Walt Avatar

    LOL! Paul griping about someone not answering questions.
    At this point,, uh,, Johnson who?
    And look at all the great accomplishments Trump has done.
    No need to list. We all know what they are.

    Like

  36. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    fish: “I still think it’s hysterical that you “good government” types think that he’s worse than Hillary would have been!”
    I think there’s one area where the difference was clear. You can see it in those post voting polls that split people up into fine groups. There’s a few fairly obvious differences (married people, especially men, vote Trump. White people vote Trump, etc.), but the really big difference is in your philosophy on national borders.
    Open borders voters: Clinton
    Closed borders voters: Trump
    I think the split tends to be 75:25 or more.
    So…if you think that national borders are an evil thing, and that the free movement of people is a good thing (which tends to be a concept that capital L Libertarians hold), than Hillary is less evil than Trump.
    Everything else is a side show.

    Like

  37. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: scenes | 25 May 2018 at 01:04 PM
    That’s an excellent point….and one that certainly influenced the elections outcome (far more than “the Russians did it nonsense). Hillary did want to flood the country with double digit IQ third worlders who would have been reliable democrat lever pullers in perpetuity. That and their gun control and O’DummyCare positions!

    Like

  38. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Mark Levin loves the NYT and the Wa Compost. So do I. Everything they do blows up in their faces. I remember clearly in March 2017, Brad C reasoned, urged, implored, and leaded with me not to listen to Mark Levin on a prior Sandbox. Hmmmm. Don’t believe we have heard from Brad since. He has a good heart. Good intentions and road pavers and all that stuff.
    http://www.marklevinshow.com/2018/01/08/ten-months-ago-i-broke-down-the-case-of-domestic-surveillance-against-trump-world/
    Holy Smokes. No wonder Brad C warned me against listening to Mark Levin in early 2017. See all the “news director” stories I missed by taking all TVs in the house to the dump. Looks like I will miss Netflix’s new series “Michelle and Barrack from Gitmo” season finale. Darn.
    Two minutes
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jU0qJrfD_L0

    Like

  39. fish Avatar
    fish

    Yet another example of god looking out for children, drunks and the Republican party!

    Olbermann Signs New ESPN Deal…

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/05/25/keith-olbermann-back-sportscenter-expanded-espn-role/644277002/

    Like

  40. Gregory Avatar
    Gregory

    scenes 104pm
    I believe in fairly open borders, declaring intentions at the border and being let in if your home country has issued you a passport and you are not a criminal…
    But that’s impossible to sustain if the country in question (in this case this country, the USA) is a fairly generous welfare state. Choose one: open borders or free goodies.
    Paul is a fake Libertarian, a big government poser.

    Like

  41. Todd Juvinall Avatar
    Todd Juvinall

    So the troll jonnieS is a Nork fan apparently. What is it about these lefty people that wish good tidings for the worlds scofflaws as long as they make Trump look bad? Except Trump has a pretty good strategy and dumbasses like jonnieS and his ilk can’t grasp it at all. Makes me smile.

    Like

  42. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: Gregory@1:35PM
    “Paul is a fake Libertarian, a big government poser.”
    Of course he is, it’s what makes him so lovable. “Green Libertarian” = pro-marijuana statist.
    In terms of open borders or free goodies, I agree but have to expand it somewhat. If your country’s founders were lucky enough to find a chunk of land that has all the roads (or built up something nice where they didn’t exist), it’s only an accident of geography that the next door neighbors won’t want a piece. If the US had no welfare system at all, but was next door to Nigeria or Somalia, we’d be buried in humanity.
    I like to think of it generally as a Little Red Hen view of humanity. Everyone wants to help you eat the bread.

    Like

  43. George Boardman Avatar

    Re Dr. R’s 5/24 at 3:51 p.m.:
    Yes, I was aware of Trump’s demands as was North Korea, but Trump overplayed his hand.
    Instead of giving North Korea a low-friction path to acceptance of his demands in a way they could save face (a big deal in Asia), Trump kept pounding away at the subject in public until it sounded like he was expecting unconditional surrender. Making the other side look weak and impotent in public is one good way to stiffen their resolve.
    Then there was the mixed messages coming from the ever dysfunctional White House staff. First Bolton talks about the Libya situation without distinguishing between giving up the nukes and regime change, then Trump shoots it down, then Pence brings it up again. Who’s Kim supposed to believe?
    Of course, it never helps if you suggest your adversary is a puppet of Trump’s good friend, Chairman Xi. (By the way, how’s that trade thing going, Donnie?) Maybe Kim and Xi read “Art of the Deal,” especially the section where Trump says he starts negotiations by demanding way more than he’s willing to settle for.
    But because Trump has the attention span of a three-year-old, he lacks the patience for the drawn out negotiations these matters require. He wanted to fly to Singapore and waltz away two or three days later with a deal that will guarantee peace in our times. History shows it doesn’t work that way.
    Trump said trade wars are easy, only to find out they’re hard. He’s even willing to do a 180 on ZTE–heretofore labeled a major threat to American security–just to keep the farm states happy in the mid-term elections.
    Getting a country to give up its nukes is also hard.

    Like

  44. jon smith Avatar
    jon smith

    Trump doesn’t listen to anyone including Putin when he said, “They’d rather eat grass than give up their nukes.”
    I doubt KJ-u ever had any notion of giving up his nukes, but instead took a lesson from Chairman Mao and turned Trump’s eagerness for a quick win” against himself and made him look like an idiot on the world stage. In one brilliant feint Jon-un has regained Xi as a trading partner and distanced both China and South Korea from backing any US sanctions. Trump’s flat footed flip flop is not going to help with Iran negotiations either.
    In the next episode we’ll see Trump stepping all over his tongue as he tries to get back to the table. He has lost face with the N. Koreans and will lose bargaining chips in his effort to win a Nobel prize.

    Like

  45. Todd Juvinall Avatar
    Todd Juvinall

    Boardman give it up. You don’t have a clue. But of course, you have a bigger view of your diplomatic skills than say, Charlie Brown.
    It appears the strategy is working and all you Trump haters will just have to accept his successor get even more marginalized.

    Like

  46. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Draining the swamp-
    The new executive orders will “empower good workers,” “advance a merit-based system,” and allow federal agencies “to remove poor-performing employees,” said Andrew Bremberg, director of domestic policy for the White House.
    The orders stem from an announcement in Trump’s State of the Union address where he said Congress should “empower every Cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.”
    Despite Trump including this issue in his wish list to Congress earlier this year, the administration is no longer waiting on lawmakers to take action. “The president called on Congress … they haven’t done so yet. In the meantime, the president is using all available tools in the executive branch to come as close as he can,” a senior administration official said.
    The executive orders will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes for federal agencies to go through the process of firing a federal employee; reward “performance over seniority”; order agencies to work on renegotiating union contracts and publish them in a database; and require all federal employees to devote at least 75% of their work hours for agency purposes, senior administration officials said. The administration estimates that these actions could save taxpayers at least $100 million a year.
    https://www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/trump-firing-federal-employees-executive-order?utm_term=.dc6kJMBqP#.jk6yaKxkl
    😉

    Like

  47. George Rebane Avatar

    PaulE 1143am – Paul, I think your question has another answer than the simple choice you always present. As other commenters have already responded, the choice was between Hillary and Trump – for half the country that was not really a choice. But my 942am ‘intelligence’ comment was in response to the “toady” charge made by Koyote where the evidence that CA’s Dems are toadies is overwhelming.
    GeorgeB 223pm – Mr Boardman, your 1038am gave no indication that you understood the sequence of exchanges (please reread it), especially in that Trump has said from the gitgo that the summit will only proceed under the pre-condition that NK will give up becoming a nuclear power. You seem to think that this was a recent add-on demand, instead of one known to the UFK before Pompeo even stepped off the plane in Pyongyang.
    And your 223pm prescription is a reissue of the one practiced for the last 50+ years with nothing to show for it save 1) the deaths of millions of north Koreans, 2) the material progress in NK’s weapon capabilities and belligerence, 3) NK’s continued threat of invading South Korea, and 4) NK’s continued service to Red China as its compliant and handy burr under the blanket of the free world’s Far East policies. That you continue satisfy Einstein’s famous assessment is to me more than a puzzlement, since otherwise you have so many redeeming attributes.

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  48. fish Avatar
    fish

    Posted by: jon smith | 25 May 2018 at 02:44 PM
    I doubt KJ-u ever had any notion of giving up his nukes, but instead took a lesson from Chairman Mao and turned Trump’s eagerness for a quick win” against himself and made him look like an idiot on the world stage.

    The irony of this statement is delicious coming from such an ardent Obamaphile!

    Like