2020-12-30

What happened to the Golden State?: Dennis Prager – Orange County Register

As a graduate student studying communism, during the Cold War, I would travel through the countries known as Soviet satellites: Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. In the middle of my trips, I would stop in Austria to breathe free air.

Never did I imagine I would ever experience anything analogous in America, the Land of the Free, the land of the Statue of Liberty and of the Liberty Bell. But I did yesterday, when leaving Florida and returning to California.

There is no question that America is becoming, if it hasn't already become, two countries: one that values liberty, from small businesses being allowed to operate to people being allowed to say what they believe, and one that has contempt for liberty, from eating in restaurants to free speech.

I am asked almost daily by friends around the country and by callers to my national radio show whether I intend to stay in California.

Were it not for all the close friends who live here and the synagogue I and a few friends founded, the answer would be no. But at a given point, I am sure that I will leave this Soviet satellite for a free state.

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/24/what-happened-to-the-golden-state-dennis-prager/

2020-12-26

EXPLAINER: How does the COVID-19 vaccine work?

How Cats Secretly Keep Us All Alive

'Deepfake' Queen's Speech: Channel 4 criticised for 'disrespectful' Christmas message

This is a computer deepfake of the Queen of England.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOIoU9U9gZg&feature=emb_logo

The actual Christmas message from the Queen was religious and hopeful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxaKLG2c3ak

I think that Americans took much more interest in the monarchy when it became an entertaining soap opera.  Also, we have felt a closer connection to England as an ally since World War II.

I think that "The Crown" series on Netflix is extremely good.  Also, the movie "The Queen" made in 2003 is critically acclaimed.  I liked the movie so much that I watched it 3 times.

Queen Elizabeth is an interesting figure.  As a young lady during World War II, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (equivalent to the Woman's Auxilary Corps in America) and worked as a truck driver and a mechanic.

Biden Will Be The MOST HATED President In History, Every Republican And HALF Of Democrats HATE Him

2020-12-23

Two orca swim past some kids in New Zealand

Australia has some of the deadliest animals in the worldmostly snakes and the Box Jellyfish.

I didn't expect to see Orcas in New Zealand.

https://youtube.com/shorts/y8iipFTBanc


Epoch Times documentary on election fraud

I am still trying to process in my mind the claims of election fraud.  I thought that the Epoch Times would have a really good summary, although their video documentary fell short of my expectations.  Most of this is speculative, although there are some good nuggets of information.  The video was banned from Youtube and Facebook.


From about 7 to 30 minutes the video deals with various claims of election fraud, some of which seem plausible, but it doesn't seem strong enough to be provable in court.  

At 26 to 27 minutes the video deals with the supposed election fraud in Georgia from a surveillance video.  It concludes that the video surveillance proves election fraud, although the explanation given in the link in my last email might be plausible, where that the election workers were told by an election supervisor that they had to continue counting.  However, there doesn't seem to be any delay from when they told the poll watchers to leave because they were done for the night and them resuming the counting with a new batch of ballots, so it looks fishy whether or not it really is.  

From about 30 to 44 minutes the video deals with the susceptibility of voting machines, but it doesn't actually prove that voting machines were tampered with.  They are only showing that it is possible.  

My favorite part is from 44:30 to about 59:00 minutes, where they establish an ownership link between Dominion Voting Systems and the Chinese.  After this, they attack the motives of the Chinese, although this is more speculation. (However, the Chinese do have various agendas.)  None of this proves that voting machines were used to cheat.  The last few minutes of the video is an appeal to patriotism.

-- 

Re: Trump’s challenges to election results: What they are and what could happen - Washington Post



I found it hard to believe that the Republican Party could gain 10 seats in Congress, do better than it ever has in multiple demographics in the Presidential Election, and still lose the Presidential election.  This would imply that a bunch of people voted Republican except for the Presidency.

The Electoral College creates a situation where it only takes a small amount in certain battleground states to win those states.






Trump’s challenges to election results: What they are and what could happen - Washington Post

I have been trying to determine the validity of vote fraud claims.  (This is separate from Pennsylvania not following their own voting laws regardless of being upheld by the courts.)

The following is typical of the fact-checking I find in the press.  I see the same fact-checks in other publications.  The only problem is that the vast majority of them are strong left-leaning.  If you read enough of these then you get the strong sense that most of the vote fraud claims can be explained away.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2020/election-integrity/

I consider it well within the realm of possibility that a few leftist people in a few counties that matter enough to sway the election would cheat.  I think that the political left is highly corrupt.  However, I am not saying that this is what happened.  I can't prove it.

2020-12-15

The 7 Smartest Animals In The World | Answers With Joe

The long thought figure of 100 billion neurons for humans has been disproven.  The correct number is 86 billion.  Dogs have 2.25. billion.  Cats have 0.75 billion.  I think that it is safe to say that dogs exhibit more behaviors than cats, but cats are brilliant at being cats.  Ants only have 7 thousand.  The house fly has 100 thousand, bees have 960 thousand, while cockroaches and praying mantises have 1 million.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A84MgzOtOLA

Heartland Institute on Tucker Carlson Tonight: Justin Haskins Talks Great Reset, Biden, and Climate

2020-12-11

What’s that ringing in your ears?

Pennsylvania Urges Supreme Court to Declare Election Over

Vote Manipulation Michigan Style-8: Election Workers Testimony 3

FDA panel endorses Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for emergency use | Fox Business

I thought that FDA approval would come today, but they are saying later this week, although there is not much week left. There seems to be some concern about people with allergic reactions. There is also some talk about people being hesitant to take the vaccine. Some of my friends are saying, "You go first", which would be okay by me. We can't make progress without a vaccine.

From what I can tell by casual observation, maybe 10 to 20% of the population doesn't want to take the vaccine.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/healthcare/fda-panel-endorses-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-emergency-use

Supreme Court: 17 States Support Texas; 26 States Oppose; Michigan Audits Results | Facts Matter - YouTube

2020-12-07

Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier, dead at 97 | Fox News

We Had the Vaccine the Whole Time - GV Wire

COVID 19 Vaccine (finally)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwyxGmGXIYM

In the video, he says that the vaccine should last several months.

Fwd: fact check

Interesting quote from the comments

Dear Obama/Biden and Harris, Pelosi and Schumer,  I never cared: -I never cared if you were "gay" until you started shoving it in my face, and the faces of our children. -I never cared what color you were, until you started blaming my race for your problems. -I never cared about your political affiliation until you started to condemn me for mine. -I never cared where you were born until you wanted to erase my history and blame my ancestors for your current problems. -I never cared if you were well-off or poor, until you said you were discriminated against, when I was promoted because I worked hard. -I never cared if your beliefs were different from mine, until you said my beliefs were wrong. Now I care! My patience and tolerance are gone.     I'm not alone in feeling this way there are millions of us who do......and we have had enough !!!


Pollster Patrick Basham: Biden Victory Not Statistically Impossible, But Statistically Unlikely | Video | RealClearPolitics

When Political Censorship is Disguised as Fact Checking | Tobi Young

2020-12-06

Review of Fire HD 10

Here is my quick review of the Fire HD 10.



If 20 or 30 years ago you were to say that in the future you could have a handheld computer with a 10-inch high-resolution display, built-in telecommunications, 2 gigs of RAM, 32 gigs of expandable storage, along with an 8 core processor running at 2 gigahertz, and it would only cost $80 (on Black Friday), then people would have thought that this was science-fiction and you were talking about the year 2100.

As a tablet, it is every bit as capable as my iPad 4, even more so since my iPad 4 is out of date. When it comes to browsing the web, reading email, listening to audio, or watching videos, it works flawlessly. This is like having a computer. It is as capable and as fast as a mid-range laptop.

This tablet is designed for viewing Amazon Prime member content. Amazon tries to limit your to their own app store, but there are ways to download the Google Play Store giving you the full Android experience, and I have already done this on mine.

The 2-megapixel camera is not great, but I don't think it is terrible either. I have owned worse and I was still able to take passable pictures.

The dimensions of the Fire HD 10 are a little taller and thinner than the iPad, which makes it better for watching videos, but a little worse for holding. I prefer the feel of the iPad in my hand, especially since the metal exterior gives it a cooler feel than the plastic exterior of the Fire HD 10.

My only problem with this tablet is that all the things it is capable of I already do on my phone or on my computer. I didn't really need another tablet, except that I like gadgets, and I wanted an Android device to test apps that I want to write. The only way I might get practical use out of it is if I were to take it on a trip or on an airplane. It would be fun to have on a plane because I could play games or possibly watch videos on it. Fortunately, it comes with an earphone jack.

I haven't tested this myself, but reportedly it has really good battery life.

--

No Forbes, The Xbox Series And PS5 Are NOT "Disappointments"

I'm 60, and a former videogame programmer. I got started with arcade videogames in 1975. I still love games and get excited over new hardware.

Let's take a brief look at history. In 1986, the typical home computer was an 8 bit CPU with limited sprite capabilities if you were lucky. I had a Timex Sinclair 2068 which had no sprite hardware, but I was still able to write games for it. In 1986 I bought an Atari ST for a ton of money, and it had no special graphics hardware either, but I could write games for it because it was a 16-bit system.

Most arcade games in 1986 were 8 bit, but they had sprite and other graphics capabilities that allowed them to have good games. Arcade machines cost $2,000 to $3,000 and this kind of hardware did not exist in consoles nor home computers. If you wanted to play the best videogames, you had to go to the arcades or your local 7-11 to play them. 

The hot new arcade game in 1986 was Super Mario Brothers. Along came a new videogame console, the NES, which for about $100 could play the same game. I could not believe my eyes when I saw it. For a relatively low cost, this system was almost as good as any 8-bit arcade game. No home computer was as capable, except maybe the Amiga, which cost $1,600. 

My point is that home consoles used to have capabilities that we could not get on computer hardware, at least not for a reasonable cost. This trend continued throughout the 1990s. BTW, the introduction of arcade-quality consoles pretty much killed the arcade videogame industry.  

Now the new generation of consoles is exciting because they do have hardware beyond what most people have on their computers. If you are willing to spend 3 times as much for a gaming PC then you can do as well or better, but the new consoles give you an amazing amount of power for the money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gBzfTOLlQg

2020-12-05

Vote Manipulation Michigan Style 4: The Testimony of Col. Phil Waldron

Jordan Peterson Critique | Philosophical Genius?

Jeffrey Epstein Analysis | Was He Murdered? | Mental Health & Personality

Bobby Fischer | Mental Health & Personality

This is an interesting take ...

https://youtu.be/ZmkM7eZm4BQ

Casually Driving On 3 Wheels - YouTube

This is interesting stuff, especially the 2nd half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIoKJyg8R58

The Elitists Who Control You

I don't want to downplay the danger of COVID-19, because there is too much of that already, but I find the video funny, and it has a point about freedom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suCeNgAzQhA

The Brilliancy Prize || First Ever Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities - YouTube

I only share this because I used to see Michael Aigner almost every year at the National Open.  I spoke to him briefly.  I didn't realize that he is a chess master.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo8s_uZo7go

SUPERCUT: Bombshell MI Hearing Highlights! | Louder With Crowder

2020-12-04

Lawrence Jones on Biden-Harris CNN sit-down: 'This is why he doesn't do interviews' | Fox News

Fusion is a Terrible Way to Produce Electricity: Princeton Physicist


I find this discouraging.  The fusion prototype in France was originally supposed to be working by 2020 or sooner, but now it is scheduled for 2027.   I saw their website years ago stating that this was the energy for the future.  However, now I learn that this won't even be close to a practical fusion plant.  

We have been told repeatedly that we are a decade or two away from fusion energy, but the author thinks that it might be the end of the century.  

This makes me wonder what happened to algae fuel?


2020-12-02

Fwd: So Apparently Skyquakes Are A Thing | Answers With Joe


Frozen ground produces booms all the time.  It is common here in Indiana.

Best wishes,

John Coffey

Fwd: millions of votes

The vision of ousting Donald Trump has been wildly attractive, drawing 79 million votes, more Americans than have ever voted for anything. As Michelle Obama put it, they voted against "lies, hate, chaos, and division." If by this she means Trump, then lies, hate, chaos, and division turn out to have quite a constituency themselves, commanding 73 million votes, more than her husband won in either of his races.


Map: Turnout surged in 2020.

Several states in the upper Midwest had remarkable turnout numbers. In Minnesota, its turnout rate was greater than 75 percent — tops in the nation — while Maine, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Wisconsin were close behind, with turnout ranging from 72 percent to 74 percent.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/map-turnout-surged-in-2020-see-the-numbers-where-you-live/ar-BB1byPko

Green New Deal Explained #1 - YouTube