Reminder

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Long live the Oxford comma.

- Food commercials are deceptively funny if you think about it.

- Heh Heh

- About right (BTW I was a catcher)

Some Memes I Hope You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Have to say I agree.

-  Funny because it's true!

- Still makes me laugh

- Funny but I wouldn't recommend copying that act

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Never noticed this

-  The funny thing is - this would work. Any politician would have to deploy for any war they vote funds for. If over 35-years old their kids would have to sign up

- Some economics humor

- Heh Heh

Police Quotas - Always a Bad Idea

By 1937 there were quotas for arrests just as there quotas for steel production. Crimes were simply made up to fit the punishments... Taking into account the six or seven million Soviet citizens who were sent into exile, the share of the population who experienced some kind of penal servitude under Stalin approached 15 percent. - Niall Ferguson The Square and the Tower

In the United States just under 1 percent of the population is incarcerated, mostly for just cause. However, I'm guessing if you took into account the percentage of US citizens who has had to pay a fine for speeding or other minor offenses because of police quotas the the number would approach or pass the Soviet figure of 15 percent. 

Not trying to equate spending time in a gulag to paying a speeding ticket just pointing our that police quotas are always wrong in my opinion.

I Think It's a Great Idea

Governor Ron DeSantis wants to offer "anti-vax" police offers bonuses to come to work in Florida.

Was talking about this very thing this weekend with some friends. Florida and Texas are the perfect landing spots for these cops. Two things to add:

1. Many of these cops would be taking retirement and then moving to Florida. They would thus be both experienced but also fairly flush with cash which would also help the State's economy.

2. The article originally appeared on the Huffington Post and you can see the clear lefty bias in the article.

Dem's Vaccine Mandates for Police are Bound to Backfire

Agree 100% with Glenn Reynolds on this.

I would also add that most of those who get the shots to save their jobs - there is bound to be a lot of resentment. That resentment will manifest itself in many ways - not least in who they vote for in upcoming elections.  

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh Heh (Via)

- NYPD's largest police union vows to sue over possible vaccine mandates 

- Flogged with a Turtle! Scallywags!               

- Notre Dame leprechaun considered offensive, according to survey. Do we see this story every year or what? A: leprechauns are mythical and B. how much money do you think Notre Dame makes from "Fighting Irish" merchandise. See you next year stupid story. 

Top 5 - Recommended Police Reforms

Here are my Top 5 suggestions for police reforms:

1. Too many regulations. Anything now can be a crime. We saw this during the lockdowns where businesses could be hassled even if they followed new COVID protocols. Cut back the regulations and enforce only laws (passed by State or Federal legislatures).

2. End ticket quotas. Police never should be required to bring in certain amounts of "revenue" via ticket quotas. Awful incentive.

3. End civil forfeitures. This has also caused perverse incentives.

4. Cities should only employ cops who live within the city limits. This insures they are part of the community and avoids an "us versus them" atmosphere that exists in many places. Also allows city taxes to be recycled back into the community from whence they came.

5. Hire veterans with military police experience. Let 4-years of military experience with an honorable discharge count the same as police academy training.

Bonus suggestion: require all police officers to have martial arts training. If someone knows what it is like to be "choked out" - it makes them less likely to do it to another. Or if they have to - at least they'll know the proper technique.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- VDH: Democrats No More. "So what happened to turn the party of Harry Truman, JFK, and even Bill Clinton into a woke neo-Marxist movement?" Good question.

- Matt Taibbi: The overlooked factors in police abuse cases. Article is as much a criticism of Malcom Gladwell as the police but good writing nonetheless. Liked this quip about Gladwell, "an intellectual drive-thru quality to his approach." 

- I support Eric Clapton's position. However, I feel that Dave Chappelle's is more practical. Chappelle has his audience tested (takes 15 minutes) prior to entrance into the arena with a negative test required for entry (he also takes away your cell phone but that's a separate topic).

- Matt Taibbi: The trillion-dollar lie. Two from Taibbi this morning but student loans is another area in desperate need of reform.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- How to Win: 4 Steps to Achieve Greatness. (Though for my money the fifth step is the key.) 

- This is a real problem with our justice system.

- How to think for yourself. Well worth the read.

- What happened to "the Starship" - Led Zeppelin's Boeing 720 

- Reasons why the 2020 Presidential election is deeply puzzling. I can see why so many have linked to or re-Tweeted this article.

Flotsam and Jetsam

 Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Law Enforcement Today endorses President Trump. America's largest police owned magazine has never endorsed a Presidential candidate before. Be sure to read the article to see why they felt it necessary.  I'm old enough to remember when the Democrats were the supporters of blue collar jobs like police men and women. Not any longer it seems... "Schtupping" is such a fun word. Fun to say, write and most importantly - do... Phrasing! Are we no longer doing phrasing?... If I were to make a carbonated alcohol drink I'd call it Helter Seltzer... File this under people finally seeing the light: Unfavorable views of China reach historic highs in many countries. I'd also add that the unfavorable opinions on how the US has handled the Wuhan virus are probably mainly due to how the MSM has handled the issue in an election year where they heavily have their thumbs on one side of the scale... One thing I really wanted Mike Pence to say in last night's VP Debate was, "I fully support law and order and I'm not an undercover cop." In some circles Kamala Harris has been nicknamed the "undercover cop."

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The last time an Ivy League student won the Heisman Trophy was Princeton's Dick Kazmaier in 1951. Maybe sometime in the future we'll have a trivia question about the last time an Ivy Leaguer was elected President... This was cute... I have a good feeling that this year may finally be the year that People Magazine names me "Sexiest Man Alive." I've got my fingers crossed... It would be funny if it weren't so true... On a recent Joe Rogan podcast with Jocko Willink the suggestion was raised that police should all be at least purple belts in Jiu Jitsu. That way they would know proper choke holds and have the experience of being choked out themselves (so they know how it feels). I really like this idea. I believe Joe gave original credit for the idea to Andrew Yang...  This is hopeful - URI engineering professor helping ALS patients use their brains to communicate. Nice to read some good news for a change - isn't it? And Doug Sawyer should be an inspiration for us all. (Hat tip Liberty Man)...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- What happens when the cops have had enough?

- Alaska removed infamous "into the Wild" bus after years of hiker rescues and deaths. Chris McCandless was not a hero nor someone to be emulated.

- RIP Ian Holm

- This is amazing

- Cool - map shows literal meaning of every country's name. For example Spain is "Land of Many Rabbits" and the United States of America literally means the "United States of America"

- Smart move - "the Patriots will allow season ticket holders with risk factors for COVID-19 to skip the 2020 season without losing their seats for 2021 and beyond"

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Why it is as hard to flee an echo chamber as it is to leave a cult. "Maybe political allegiance has replaced basic reasoning skills." Maybe?

- Elon Musk's Boring Company set to expand its Las Vegas tunnel system to two Strip resort properties

- Some common sense, well-thought out law-enforcement reforms from Dan McLaughlin

- Heh Heh

- Unnecessary lockdowns created social turmoil, global suffering. Lockdowns were a false choice - NEVER AGAIN!

- Interesting

Chris Rock on Bad Apples

Chris Rock hits the nail on the head. We can't afford "bad apple" police.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- I'd probably favor revoking Hong Kong's "special status" - the actions of the Chinese Communists must have repercussions.

- James Altucher with some side hustle ideas

- Study hints at how Psilocybin works in th brain to dissolve ego.

- This photo does look like a portrait. A beautiful portrait. (Credit Bill Ingalls/NASA)

- Matt Taibbi on where policing went wrong. While I agree with him for the most part Taibbi does not mention the word "quota" (and no not hiring quotas). Requiring officers to have X many arrests or hand out Y number of tickets is a real problem, Many police forces need that revenue and that need perverts justice. Also - there is no need for any city to allow officers to live outside the city limits. They should be part of the community they are policing.

- Police Union Privileges - Revisited. This is a problem.

I Am There

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Using nuclear power to directly eliminate the root cause of global warming. Interesting, technical, long-read but the proposal means a 1 GW reactor could remove 3,790 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere PER DAY

- This gave me chills - people's beautiful expressions at hearing sound for the first time

- Interesting - the world first rooftop 360-degree infinity pool

- How to donate your body to science

- An app for iPhones can automatically start to record if you get pulled over by the police

- One stat where I want to strive to be below average

- Interesting map showing the most famous person born in different parts of the US. Worcester's most famous resident is listed as H. Jon Benjamin (Archer) - I would have guessed Dennis Leary (though historically it should have been Robert Goddard)

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - what's it like to be a dolphin?

- Wow - what a difference!

- The Republican Congress's secret weapon - the CRA. Good! Use it more often!

- I hope scientists make a huge deal out of May 29, 2019

- 51 Percent Attacks. A cryptocurrency weakness. Maybe the reason why no nation would ever use a "coin" as their national currency (too easy for other nations to gang up and devalue that country's economy).

- So sad

- Heh Heh