brickhistory

The Democrat-controlled House sets up a Jan 6 Committee and wants the Republicans to play. Despite multiple investigations on-going. Whether they should or not is another thread. The Republicans offer up 5 GOP representatives. The Democrat Speaker of the House rejects two of them. If they can't determine their own members to serve on this Committee, the GOP declines to play. The Democrat Speaker then chooses two 'GOP' members to serve on the Committee, thus making it 'bipartisan.' As "Pelosi Republicans," this seems totally legit... as tame talking heads for various CNN/MSNBC/MSM gigs. Oh, and don't forget the "Stunning and Brave" memoirs that are sure to be out soon. Funny how books like that get the 'author' a hefty advance, but never actually sell and make a profit. I have got to get in on that economy.

Well, that oughtta take care of any more fly bys...

Well done to today's winner. Quite a chase. BS on the penalty. A) it's racing B) other driver was moving right as well. Horner and Red Bull are drama queens...

Enjoyed the sprint race qualifying format today way more than the traditional method. Except I'd make the "sprint" much shorter. They did 17 laps which made it a short race with the inevitable cars on parade dance. Make it 5 laps and it forces them to mix it up immediately and for the entire sprint.

I shall try to get through my day knowing this is your opinion...

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/16/hunter-biden-probe-prosecutor-499782 Maricopa County officials, the same ones who fought in court to prevent, then stop any audit, say the results being found is wrong. Totally legit. Hmmm? So is the incumbent responsible for what happens on his watch? Pretty sure the answer is yes. And the government "asking" private companies to censor citizens on the government's behalf seems totally not a bad thing. Especially since the government can sue said company into oblivion with lawsuit after lawsuit, regulation after regulation. Sure, the company can do what it wants. But I do admit twitter is a more cheery place now. So you do you.

- Justice Dept admitting it covered up the Hunter Biden laptop story which includes them actively investigating him for tax evasion (say, while you're at it, you might want to check on him for lying when purchasing a handgun..) because they "didn't want to seem political during an election." - WH Press Secretary admitting this Administration has been working with various Big Social Media companies to have voices silenced "because they are spreading 'disinformation.'" Say, who decides that anyway? I'd like to be part of the 'in crowd' deciding what the plebes can say or see... - Fulton County had at least 4,400+ illegal votes during the 2020 election. In a state that Trump lost by 12,000-ish votes. So one county had 1/3 of the difference and the only one that had an audit. And this coming from reporting by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, about as liberal a paper as there is. - Maricopa County audit looks like 74,000 mail-in ballots received than were sent out officially. Nothing see there, yet Congress wants to investigate the investigators. - The DOJ IG hammers the FBI for missing/covering up for years info on the now imprisoned Olympic Committee doctor who abused young girl athletes. Sure does seem like the FBI's been "missing" a bunch of stuff in the last years - San Bernadino shooter, the Lakeland shooter, the Pulse Night Club shooter, etc, etc. - Groceries and gas seem to be a tad bit more expensive nowadays as well. But twitter has been remarkably upbeat and nice so that's a fair trade.

Another win that should force the useless Roberts' "led" Supreme Court to actually decide something. https://www.rollcall.com/2021/07/13/appeals-court-finds-aged-based-handgun-purchase-ban-unconstitutional/ In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Va., found that the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms is no different from other constitutional rights that start at age 18, so the government must have a justification to restrict that right.

!Haley! is another !Jeb! creature of the establishment. Noem is a maybe. Crenshaw doesn't have the large-scale leadership experience. DeSantis would be my pick if not for Trump. But I'm past the wanting to bring it together. I, and millions of others have been repeatedly and for a very long period of time, rejected. I will reject them right back. Happy to see it burn if needed. It's like those racist, misogynistic, privileged Founding Fathers were on to something including the rewatering of the Tree of Liberty at times.

Since the 2004 election, with the discontent brewing before that, a very large swath of the GOP, and, I imagine some centrist Democrats/Independents, have been unhappy with the sudden and ever-increasing growth in the size and scope of the federal government. The 2010 Tea Party movement was a direct result of that. The GOP did it's best to ignore/patronize/hijack the movement because it represented a threat to the good deal enjoyed by the Establishment class. Those "ugly" townhalls upset their merlot glasses. So what did the GOP do? It ran Democrat-lites like McCain in 2008 and Mr. Great Hair but can't fight Romney in 2012. Meanwhile, government growth and overreach marched on. Come 2016 and the slate was overly full of the same Establishment candidates. Trump, as a disruptor, beat 16 of those types of candidates. And the GOP did it's best to tamp him and his voters down. Obamacare still exists due to McCain, Murkowski, et al. Despite the very real and clear signals that the peasants were revolting. They ran during that election on specifically repealing Obamacare and when it came time, they supported it to stick it to Trump. Some profiles in courage fellas... With numerous other similar items unpassed or unrepealed because it would've been a win for Trump. Came 2020 and some unprecedented events and Trump still scored more votes than any other GOP candidate ever. I will leave off the voting shenanigans for another time. I So I'm not a fan of Trump the man, but of the idea he represents - mainly, a very large percentage of Americans are aghast at the size of the federal government, at the unbelievable overreach that is being tolerated and encouraged, and at the intentional fraying of the American societal fabric by that same Establishment group - is something that people want to rally around. Me? I want Trump to run again. To disrupt the same ol' GOP that they'll try to run again and get the serfs back on the turnip fields. And to absolutely piss people off to see that they aren't always the ones running the show for us peons. This inconvenient truth was demonstrated once and the amount of caterwailing and pushback by both parties was incredible. I look forward to it again. Or burn it all down. Barring Trump, then DeSantis.

So now that the possibility of China releasing this thing upon the world, intentionally or unintentionally, can be discussed without the black helicopters of the NIH/CDC/WHO and MSM/social media giants descending and disappearing the transgressor, what does the US and/or the world do if it's found to be the case? Is it a "ok, mistakes happen. Try to do better?" Is it a world opinion suing CCP and in what venue? Is it an act of war? My hunch is the world, and the US, will pick the first option. We suck up the dead, the losses to our economy and national psyche, and the rest. After all, we did manage to pick up some more government control over a lot of things so that's probably worth it.

Totally coherent and able to recognize what's happening moments when asked about leaving Afghanistan, about Russian cyberattacks of the week. We can discuss the WH putting together a deal so that Hunter can sell his "art" for $.5M each and it not be seen as buying access later. And those danged courts striking down the farm loan repayments for everyone, literally, except whites. I look forward to having the jacovid witnesses come by my place to ask for my vaccination papers...

This was what my brain translated...

Well done McLaren! Bottas finally caught a break. BS penalties for outside moves that didn't work out. That's called racing...

The Professor and the Madman on Netflix True-ish story of the start of the Oxford English Dictionary. Mel Gibson goes back to his Scottish accent as the guy chosen to do the dictionary. All noble, dedicated, family man. Sean Penn (whom I detest, but did a good job here) as a convicted but insane and in an asylum Civil War doctor who made major contributions to the project. Premise is pretty good and the acting is really good. Snobby Oxford Brits trying to sabotage Gibson's efforts, Victorian era mental patient treatment, and a lisping Winston Churchill. Gibson dusts off the two-handed broadsword and slays with abandon...(ok, made that part up) YMMV.

Had to watch last week's and today's races today. Last week - pretty good, although the battle at front took all the cameras off the midfield mostly. This week - it sure does look like Mercedes is kinda coasting (pun intended) this year while they, in their own words, focus on the massive rule changes for next year. Good on Leclerc for his recovery-ish. Is it a 3-D chess corporate move on Merc and/or F1's part to break the endless dominance of Mercedes so that fans don't become more bored or a gamble that seems to not be paying off by relying on past technical work to carry them this year? Bottas is gone next year, I believe. Norris continues to kick Riccardo's ass. Wonder if he, Riccardo, will try to run to another team next year? This'll be third time he's faced a better racing partner. His tactic has, thus far, been to try another tea where he can be the top dog.

Absolutely NO government source would be accepted by me. From nearly the get go, federal/state/local "leaders" have politicized this goatrope to the point where nothing is trustworthy. It's a scary world; I'll make my own decisions for me and mine.

For the uneducated, can you explain "fix it" email?

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-stelter-asks-jen-psaki-what-the-media-gets-wrong-in-covering-biden/ “Busy summer ahead, infrastructure, election reform,” Stelter began. “What does the press get wrong when covering Biden’s agenda?”

'Member those times when Trump's son was found to be a crack addict? Denied fathering a child from a one night stand with a stripper? Cheated on his wife with his brother's wife? Popped positive on DAY ONE of his US Navy career? Sure am glad he didn't use racist language regarding blacks and Asians in leaked e-mails that barely have gotten any coverage. His multi-millions came from...somewhere. His ties to the CCP can be discussed later, I guess.

One of the all time most brilliant business moves I've ever heard of: https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2021/06/16/patriarchal-sexist-victorias-secret-replacing-the-angels-with-soccer-star-megan-rapinoe-and-the-rest-of-the-vs-collective/ No doubt they'll soon be replacing silk bras and thongs with flannel shirts and hiking boots. "Hello, LL Bean? I'd like to place an order..."

In the last few days under the Biden/Harris Administration and a Democrat-controlled legislative branch: - a federal judge ruled Biden's cash for only farmers of color is unconstitutional. Something about any race being singled out for special treatment or something... - another federal judge struck down the Biden EO stopping the development of already sold gas/oil leases on federal lands. Something about contracts being honored or something... - President Biden was corrected, publicly, several times by the Prime Minister of the UK over names of various G7 guests and topics. Guess the picture of the First Lady "prepping for the G7" should've been taken seriously and had her answer instead of Jello Pudding Pop guy... - President Biden said "Libya" instead of "Syria" three separate times, despite being, gently corrected after the first gaffe, in discussions about Syria at the G7 summit. - President Biden nodded directly and affirmatively when asked by a reporter if he trusted Putin prior to the on-going US/Russia meeting. The White House Press Office issued a correction, "The POTUS wasn't answering that or any other specific question when he nodded." - Inflation is equaling that of the late 1970s. Good and hard. I hope those that voted for this current debacle get it thusly.

The Hitman's Bodyguard was a solid movie - good, fast-paced writing, witty, along with exotic locations, lots of cool guns, and explosions. I gave it a sold "B" at the time. Just saw The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard and it gets, barely, a "D."