Category: Good Stuff

In And Out

Good Stuff, Military, Trumpism

…and no, this isn’t some fevered fantasy involving Salma Hayek in a silk nightie.  (sorry)

But it is the best thing I’ve read in a long time.  Read it all, but here’s just a taste:

Fulcher helped redirect nearly $50 billion from bureaucratic bloat into actual defense readiness. He streamlined software procurement timelines from years to months, modernizing critical IT systems across the department. He contributed to acquisition program reviews focused on strengthening military lethality and America’s defense industrial base.

In six months.

That Suitcase Thing

Good Stuff, Travels

This silly article in the Daily Mail  (is there any other kind?) prompted a thought or two from me.  But first, an excerpt:

Despite years of obsessive searching, I’m yet to find the perfect suitcase. It’s as elusive as a desert mirage.  My attic is filled with discarded luggage experiments, lurking in the dark as memories of a different life and far too impractical for my current one.

I used to have that same problem, back when I traveled a lot (50+ flights per annum, on United — mostly — out of O’Hare).  A simple overnighter?  No problem, a decent garment bag generally sufficed.  Anything more than a couple/three nights, however, and things started getting a little more problematic.

And back when I was constantly flying to Yurp and Britishland, the problems increased exponentially.

I remember once giving in to the nylon/canvas “duffle bag” trend, and oy…never again, even with wheels.  (Without wheels?  Nope, never again in this lifetime.  No wheels — on any luggage choice, no buy.)

The only good thing to say about duffle bags is that they start off light, whereas suitcases start off being heavier.  And of course, if you’re carrying anything that’s not an anvil, the soft duffles afford no protection for your stuff whatsoever.  But if you’re going to use the wheeled duffle bag, just remember that the extendable handles need a structure to hold them when not in use, and that structure means that the bags will end up being about the same weight as a soft-sided suitcase.

Now add to all that the journey through the tender ministrations of baggage “handlers” at any airport…

(thanks,Kenny)

…and you’ll see my point.

Then there’s this little temptation:

I would love to indulge myself with really expensive, luxury suitcases such as the Globe-Trotter Safari:

…but at around $3,000 per piece, and remembering Kenny’s pic above, you’d be better off — maybe — just shipping your luggage via FedEx or something.  (Don’t laugh;  I knew a guy of considerable wealth who used to do just that:  ship his heavy luggage from one destination to the next, leaving the hotel’s concierge to handle the details.)

Or you can do what I used to do, when doing expense-account / client-funded travel:  buy cheap-ish luggage, use it once and then toss it in the trash after you get home.  Repeat as necessary.  (It actually adds to the pre-trip excitement, by the way;  buying luggage for your trip is an event all by itself.)

One last option is to see your luggage as a challenge to baggage handlers of the Delta/American/United ilk, and go with aluminum suitcases:

Just be aware that this stuff can cost a lot more than the hotel bill from your trip to Amsterdam or Tokyo.  And baggage thieves know how much this stuff costs, so the chances increase greatly of having your luggage simply stolen for its container rather than its contents.

Lastly, you can always just go with a steamer truck (or as they’re sometimes called, footlockers):

Just remember that unless you’re going to a place that has porters on call, you’ll want to make sure to get that thing with wheels.  (Another of my buddies uses one for travels with his wife;  they pack all their clothes and such into the one trunk, and he just pays the weight penalty on his air ticket, saying that the reduction of hassle is worth the extra cost.  I don’t believe him, by the way;  if you’ve ever seen Planes Trains And Automobiles,  and watched John Candy struggling with his trunk, you’ll understand my skepticism.)

Trunks, by the way, are pretty much indestructible, even for airlines.  I once used one to get a large and expensive crockery set back from Britishland, just checking it in at Heathrow or Gatwick (don’t recall which one).  I expected to lose a couple of pieces to breakage, but nary as much as a chip, let alone a breakage.  Trunks are also less likely to be stolen because they’re just too heavy to carry easily, and too bulky to be hidden away somewhere.

And unlike Alexandra Shulman, I don’t care about features like “compartments”;  just a sufficient volume will do just fine.

Afterthought:  one of the besetting problems with airline luggage is that most options (like Ford’s Model T) come only in black, which makes it a chore to distinguish your luggage from all the others on the baggage carousel.  One option is to go with something like this camping trunk:


…which should be strong enough to survive the trip, and it generally costs (and weighs) much less than the average suitcase — $50 compared to $200-$300 for ordinary suitcases.  And it’ll stand out like a dog turd on the black tablecloth of carousel luggage.

FIFO

Good Stuff, Muzzies, Two-Minute Hate

I meant to comment on this little (non-)development earlier, but I forgot:

Becky Noble brought you the story in April about a proposed massive 400-plus acre development called “EPIC City” in East Plano, Texas, which some critics contend would be an exclusive Muslim-only community and would be governed by Sharia Law. (The backers deny these claims, but their promotional materials leave many questions about their true intent.)

EPIC stands for East Plano Islamic Center.

Lone Star state Gov. Greg Abbott said it’s not happening, at least not for the time being:

Texas has halted any construction of EPIC City.

There is no construction taking place.

The state of Texas has launched about a half dozen investigations into this project. That includes criminal investigations.

And, the US Department of justice is also investigating.

This matter, and similar matters, are taken very seriously, and actions are being taken to address all concerns.

Fuck me, even our crappy Senator John  Cornyn is alarmed:

A master-planned “community of thousands of Muslims” could violate the constitutional rights of Jewish and Christian Texans, by preventing them from living in this new community and discriminating against them within the community. I further encourage the Department to investigate whether Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslim minorities would receive equal protection under the law in this new community. Religious discrimination, whether explicit or implicit, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our nation’s values, and I am concerned this community potentially undermines this vital protection.

Everyone seems to be pussyfooting around this issue, using Constitutional  concerns — which is fine and dandy — but it avoids the main issue, which is this:

Every time, every single time anywhere in the world that Muslims become a significant minority, bad things follow.

It has happened (and continues to happen) all over Africa, and the same is true in every Western nation where the local governments have allowed these fanatical bastards to set up shop.  Mosques, “cultural” centers (like their pathetic medieval culture is worth promoting) and attempts to incorporate shari’a law into national law are all, simply put, a cancer on free societies.

Allowing these Muslims to create a Muslim-only enclave in Texas will do no good at all for the state of Texas.  In fact, let me be even more blunt:  if these assholes want to live in an area where Islam is predominant, they should feel free to do so in places like Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran;  not in the U.S., and definitely not in Texas.

And by the way:  I think it’s time we looked at the First Amendment and inserted a little asterisk that says “Except for Islam”, because their malignant little death cult has no place in our free society.

Enough is enough.

Getting Tough?

Good Stuff, Immigration

Whoa.  How’s this for immigration reform?

Plans are to end migrants’ automatic right to apply for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship after five years as part of a new “controlled, selective and fair” immigration system.
Instead, they face a 10-year wait unless they are able show a “real and lasting contribution” to the economy and society.
Only migrants who show their contribution through their tax returns, work as doctors, nurses or hospital staff and other public services, or outstanding voluntary service will be entitled to apply for permanent residency before the 10-year deadline.
Indefinite leave to remain and citizenship bring with it the right to welfare benefits, free healthcare, full civic rights including voting and the ability to apply for a passport.
The changes are part of a series of measures to “substantially” reduce net migration.

Here are some details.

Language skills.
Skilled foreign workers will face tougher English language tests to get entry visas. Under the proposed rules, they will be required to have the equivalent of [12th-grade] English, where they can speak “fluently and spontaneously” and “flexibly and effectively” for social, academic and professional purposes.
They had previously only been required to be at the [8th-grade] level where migrants have to be able to understand the main issues “regularly encountered in work, school or leisure” and deal with situations “likely to arise while traveling.”
Known as B-2, [12th-grade] English will also be the standard expected of anyone seeking to apply for indefinite leave and then US citizenship, as well as for overseas students.
For the first time, spouses, children or parents of successful visa applicants who want to join them in the US will have to pass language tests which require a basic understanding of English. If the dependents want to extend their visa after two years, they will have to show improvements to pass higher-level tests.

Care workers.
Care homes will be barred from recruiting foreign staff from overseas from later this year and will instead be required to hire foreign workers who are already in the US.
Care homes would be able to recruit from a pool of around 40,000 foreign staff who came on care worker visas only for their visa sponsorship to be cancelled. As explained:
“They are here and care companies should be recruiting from that pool of people, rather than recruiting from abroad. We are closing recruitment from abroad.”

Deportation of criminals.
Under these plans, any offense committed by a foreign national will be reported to ICE rather than only those crimes where they have been jailed, as is presently the rule.
It raises the prospect that migrants could be removed for lower-level offenses. At present, only foreign criminals jailed for more than a year face automatic deportation while the removal of those imprisoned for under a year is discretionary.
The change could mirror moves already announced to class any foreign national placed on the sex offenders’ register, regardless of their sexual crime or sentence, as having committed a “serious crime” with no right to asylum protections.
The new measures would also cover any foreign national arriving on a visa who was subsequently found to have committed crimes abroad but failed to declare them, or who were found guilty of any offences in the US.

Sounds pretty good, dunnit?

Okay, I need to ‘fess up. These aren’t measures proposed by the Trump Administration… but by Britain’s Labour Party.  (I changed some of the words to mislead y’all, sorry.)

But I have to say that if it passes, there’ll be massive weeping and wailing. Hence I expect that lawyers will be powdering their wigs, even as we speak.

I’m normally reluctant to recommend that we copy the Brits, in just about any endeavor;  but I have to say there are some good ideas in there.

Update:  Of course, it could all be a pack of lies.

Rough Justice

Good Stuff, Righteous Shootings

As Longtime Readers know, I’ve always been something of a cheerleader when it comes to citizens defending themselves against the predations of the lawless.  And of course, the concept of “righteous shootings”, so often celebrated on these pages, is very much part of that cheerleading.

But it’s not just guns.  Let’s go with this happy little tale from South Africa:

A raging mother beat a rapist to death with the help of an angry mob after finding her disabled daughter undressed at his house in South Africa.

The 44-year-old – who has been dubbed ‘warrior woman’ in her village – arrived home after shopping in Cacadu, Eastern Province, last month to find her 20-year-old girl missing.

Neighbors told her [the daughter] was last seen walking with a 65-year-old local man to his house and when she stormed in she found the pair in a state of undress on the bed.

A furious mob who had followed the woman – who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim – also entered the suspect’s small holding and witnessed the scene.

And the good news:

The mother was arrested and charged with murder but has now been cleared following a public outcry. 

I should bloody well hope so.

Here’s another story of a goblin getting what was coming to him:

Investigators say a possible intruder at home in Coweta County was mauled to death by the homeowner’s dogs. They say the resident returned home Friday morning and discovered a dead man on his front porch.  

An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as a dog attack. Investigators say the evidence indicates the man was inside where the dogs were located at some point but died outside the home.

I’m assuming that the “evidence” included bits of the intruder found inside the home.  And:

No charges are expected against the home owner.

Once again, I should bloody well hope not.

Here’s the not-so-good aftermath, however:

Authorities had seized the dogs as part of the investigation. It has not yet been determined what happens next for them.

I’m thinking they should each be given a tasty (animal, this time) bone to chew on as a reward — but that’s not the way to bet, because the dogs may well be slaughtered, just for doing their job.

And sadly, unlike in the earlier story, there’ll be no public outcry to save them.  Here’s a pic of our two Heroes:

Imagine the look on the burglar’s face when these two puppies ran at him… and if that visual doesn’t put a smile on your face, I can’t help you.

Cornerstone, Dislodged?

Eco-Crap, Good Stuff, Trumpism

Looks like the Trumpistas are aiming their harpoons at another whale:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said that the agency will review the agency’s endangerment finding — the “holy grail of the climate change religion” that has created over a trillion dollars in regulatory impact.

Wut dat?  Breitbart explains:

The finding stated that greenhouse gas emissions are an alleged threat to public health and welfare.

And when you look at the data which supposedly supports the finding, it, like most other “environmental” data, is a bunch of codswallop.

The EPA proceeded in an unorthodox manner. Slicing and dicing the language of the statute, it made an “endangerment finding” totally separate from any actual rulemaking-setting standards for emissions from cars. EPA argued it had the authority to do this because Congress didn’t specifically forbid it from taking this approach. By taking this approach, the endangerment finding intentionally ignored costs of regulations that EPA knew would follow from the finding — and indeed ignored any other policy impacts of those regulations.

Results (that you or I would care about)?

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, the director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at the Heritage Foundation, said that the EPA regulations that arose from the endangerment finding have contributed to automobile prices to rise from $23,000 in 2009 to nearly $50,000 now.

The EPA has relied on the endangerment finding for seven vehicle regulations that reportedly have an aggregate cost of more than one trillion dollars, according to the agency’s own regulatory impact analyses. 

We all knew that enviro-bullshit was behind so much of the price increases — that, and the raft of “safety” regulations that accompanied them.

My message to Sec. Lee Zeldin:

Get rid of that stuff.

Me, I’d like to see the FedGov refund some of that trillion-dollar price increase to everyone who bought cars and trucks — internal-combustion-driven cars and trucks, that is — from 2009 until today.

Why?  Because it was taken from these buyers by government malfeasance.

And if our current government wants to “claw back” some of that money from the people and organizations who instigated this swindle, that would be fine, too.