The Other Side of the Hill

9/19/2021

New Republican Motto

9/14/2021

Aren't Fathers of Fetuses Responsible Too?

Theresa Stack Boston Globe 9-12-21 (IDEAS) has a brilliant proposition.

" If we are serious about legislating the birth of all fetuses, shouldn’t we hold the father just as accountable as the mother at all phases of gestation and life? Science has gifted us with the ability to do just that, and it could be considered a massive moral leap forward. Fetuses could now be automatically entitled to receive legal and social benefits, such as inheritance and Social Security, from their fathers. Many more could know their paternal medical histories. The government could save massive amounts of money by making fathers equally responsible for raising fetuses from conception through adulthood."

My mother used to quote Gloria Steinem "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."

I think this would be a clever way to ensure that the recent odious Texas abortion law gets repealed quickly. Similar potential laws being considered elsewhere would be smothered in their cribs. Why? Because men do not want unwanted children. They do seem to want women to be forced to deliver unwanted babies, because every baby has a right to live a miserable life in squalor and abuse.

It is a mystery why so-called right-to-life supporters insist on every pregnancy going to term, because they appear to care not a whit about the child once it draws breath, These are the same virtuous people who continually vote to cut-back on programs that would help the quality of life for such children, many of whom are doomed at birth -- born into a life of poverty and ignorance, or severely handicapped.

To me, Quality of Life is everything...from birth to death, With so many in this world living lives of pain, suffering and want, I cannot understand the thinking of those who pound the table for Birth at any cost.

The other part of the mystery is: How come those who loudly protest against "government over-reach" think that something as personal as giving birth (or opting for abortion) should be decided by government dictum. Maybe this is what shrinks mean by cognitive dissonance.

Technology has evolved to the point where the identity of the father can be established at the "heartbeat" stage. I think it is only fair to pass laws to make the father responsible for the outcome of the pregnancy. Who could object to that?

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* to read the full essay click HERE.

9/13/2021

Free The Guilty Capital Invaders?

So it seems that there are a group of delusional folks planning to return to DC on September 18th to protest the fact that the government has arrested and incarcerated some 300 suspects in the Jan 6 riot and invasion of the Capital Bldg. They cynically claim these insurrectionists were just tourists who thought it was OK to storm the Capital. The object of the rally is to get them released and the whole matter forgotten. They falsely claim that BLM protesters have not been arrested. (see below)*

In my reality, there are hundreds of film clip evidence of violence against the guards. . showing officers being pulled into the crowd trampled, assaulted with scaffolding materials, and/or bear-maced by protesters, These were not tourists. 140 officers were injured by the peaceful demonstrators. 4 officers were so traumatized that they subsequently committed suicide, One officer died shortly after the attack but no one has been charged. Clearly, the fact that he was sprayed with toxic chemicals was likely responsible for his immediate hospitalization and subsequent death.

The deluded have cynically focused on the shooting death of one innocent protester as she tried to break through a door to the chamber where elected officials huddled in fear of their lives. She was never warned, they falsely remember. But the video evidence speaks for itself.

One hopes that the Capital police have orders to shoot the first ones running up the stairs. Nothing scatters a crowd faster than police when they start shooting.

*here are some numbers from AP

9/07/2021

Chip Shortage

There is a worldwide shortage of the computer chips that modern vehicles use. That shortage is causing a backlog, forcing layoffs here and elsewhere.

The increasing computerization of automobiles has been an un-necessary "advance" if you ask me. There was a time when I could change my oil or replace a sparkplug. Now I don't even know where the dipstick is. I recently had to spend $300 to replace the transmission cooling lines. Who invented transmission cooling lines? We never needed that when we had a clutch!

I have a solution: Make cars simple again.

My 1957 4 cylinder Volkswagen "Beetle" ran on 36 horsepower and got over 30 miles per gallon, I didn't have a radio or A/C or even a gas gauge. It had 4 forward gears and got me where I wanted to go.

That's all we need folks. We don't need luxury cars or electric vehicles, or all the stupid stuff that drive the cost of a car beyond affordable -- or fixable by the local gas pump jockey. Call me a Luddite! We are on the wrong road, and our cars have become too big to park and too automated.

BRING BACK THE BUG!

Inclusion for all

The Boston Marathon is scheduled for October 11 this year. The race was cancelled last year due to the Pandemic, and delayed this year, in hopes that Covid 19 would be under control by then. Lately, though, the surge in cases has been disturbing with the Delta variant raging primarily through the unvaxed population and causing "breakthrough" cases in people who have been "fully vaccinated." So far, it looks like the vaccine is still effective against serious cases requiring hospitalization. Choosing the October 11 date is not without controversy.

Holding the famous race that date has been criticized for stealing some of the thunder from Indigenous Peoples day, which is the result of the cultural police's efforts to replace Columbus Day. For the record I still think the previous term "Native Americans" was an acceptable and more correct appellation for the poor savages that were driven out of their lands by marauding Europeans. But replacing Columbus Day with a fancy virtue spawned holiday celebrating...what?

But back to the Marathon, one can hardly call them insensitive. Look at all the divisions they have invented to include those with handicaps and genders. This is the order of runners starting times:
Mobility Impaired 8:50am
Men's Push rim wheelchair 9:17
Women's push rim wheelchair 9:19
Handcycles and duos 9:22
Elite Women 9:32
Elete Men + Wave 1 10:00
Next wave 2-4 (every 25 minutes)

I'm assuming these divisions are to make the running field more level in terms of the apparatus and skill required to race. It still seems unfair to me that some obvious diversity/mobility issues have been overlooked. For example, When do elite They/Them/Its line up?
How about midgets? Homeless Runners ? Gluten Intolerant? Old Farts? Hispanic? People with humps?
It's pretty clear that these groups also need to be included to erasing any semblance of unfair competition. If it were up to me, I would make the Kenyans run separately. That way, maybe an American could win. I want this Marathon to be great again.

9/03/2021

Disturbing Distopian Goings-on

SCOTUS has just chosen not to block an evil law that the Governor of the State of Texas has signed into Law. The law prohibits abortions after the fetus has a detectable heartbeat. Many proponents of abortion see this as a guaranteed way to kill more young women who are not ready for motherhood. Because abortions will happen whether lawful or not. And this raises the risk to women's' health. But the god-fearing men of Texas are committed to ending the killing of unborn. No matter the cost.

Curious, because they seem quite willing to enforce rules that will ensure that more children will die of COVID 19. or malnutrition or the violence of poverty. They hate living, breathing people who come to the border seeking a better life. Well I guess the "sanctity of life" is not that important to them, so what is?

Why this obsession with the rights of the unborn unbreathing insentient potential mouths to feed.

But I am not writing today to argue the abortion question. Practically no one has changed their mind about abortion. It is one of those kneejerk positions that separate liberals and moderates from right wing conservatives. I can understand how horrified the conservatives have been since roe v wade. Watching the county fall under the spell of guiltless sex and fewer orphanages.

No my truck with this law is how it will be enforced.

The gutless legislators are not responsible for enforcement. They want citizens to sue people who are in any way involved in abortions. This is so close to the techniques of the Maoist Communists and Taliban to force people to stay in line. Totalitarianism - when the state pays a bounty citizens to rat on their neighbors, there is no freedoms of speech.

The Texas Republicans and Governor are un-American, and need to be ousted in the way America knows how. Vote em out! Recall them. Investigate them.

We, America, must be better than this.

8/13/2021

Reinstatement Day

Well here it is: The day that the former president is supposed to be restored to power. If you are one of those loony tunes denyers, you are probably heading down to DC to be part of the celebration. Maybe storm the Capital again. Oh, wait. They just posted a picture of the growing throng

And This:

https://www.thebulwark.com/not-my-party-the-trump-reinstatement-is-here-in-his-imagination/

8/09/2021

Finally!

No more store-boughts till after first frost.

Varmints = 1, Me: = 7

I've been waiting for these babies to ripen since the plants went into the ground in early May. Now I can pick some fresh basil and slice some fresh mozzerella to make a delicious homegrown caprese salad.

Last year, I had a lot of throwaways because of rodents (Squirrels and chippies) taking a bite and leaving them. I have started rubbing the green globes with wet coffee grounds and so far have not seen the same predation by varmints.

Also am spraying with BT which is an organic compound that kills caterpillars if they nibble on sprayed plants. (Pain in the neck because you have to spray after every rain.)

8/06/2021

Acting Mayor of Boston, Kim Janey, has defended her position NOT to enforce proof of vaccination (or negative COVID test) for people attending functions and going to restaurants. She bases her opinion on the fact that more than 50% of residents -- many of whom are minorities -- have not been vaccinated, and it would be unfair to exclude them.

Wait. Is it racist to say that I do not want to risk going into any public space where there are a lot of unvaccinated/untested people -- regardless of their social status, gender or nationality?

Science says the unvaxed are the most likely spreaders of Virus. A reasonable and fair person might conclude that those who refuse to get the jab have chosen to forfeit their right to sit next to me in church*, at the bar or theater or subway. It has nothing to do with equity.

Show us your proof!

Vaccine shaming does not work. Public pleas do not work. Knocking on doors and being nice does not work. It is time to give-up attempts to persuede the hard-headed to get the jab so their family and friends will be protected, What will work is isolating those refusniks so they cannot infect others.

We make kids get vaccinated before they can attend public school. We can do the same with adults at Gyms, Restaurants, Concerts, Rallies, Bowling Allies, Swimming Pools and Cornhole Tournaments.

*Don't laugh, I might be attending a funderal or wedding.

Irony, Sarcasm and Ink

I received an email from HP thanking me for using the HP Store to buy something and urging me to review the product --which was a yellow ink cartridge replacement for my printer.

Usually I ignore such silly requests to "share my experience," but I was feeling sarcastic so I racked my brain to find a truthful statement that I could make. Finally I came up with:

4 out of 5 stars.

14 hours ago

It fit the slot perfectly

I took it out of the package and inserted it into the yellow slot. It Fit! The official ink cartridges are too expensive but I had no choice, of course.

The editing board may have been counting stars rather than looking at content, so they published it on their website. Looking further, I noted that I was not alone in mocking the review process:

5 out of 5 stars.

a month ago

It's Yellow1

I'm so happy that when I opened the package the ink was indeed yellow! Why am I being asked to review an ink cartridge?