The Justice Department, under the direction of the NRA’s boy, President Donald Trump, has moved to reclassify bump stocks as machine guns. I should begin by saying that I do not own any bump stock, and I have never fired a weapon equipped with one. I think they are a silly toy, and I have…
Category: Politics
Mortise & Tenon Joints
I am building a workbench using mortise & tenon joints. Somehow, this is the first time I’ve attempted to do so, despite owning a mortiser and a tenonning jig for two decades. I’m finding that they are both well suited to fairly flat tenons, one width of the chisel, or up to two if the…
North Korea and Our Crazy President
I hate to say it, but perhaps having a rash, unpredictable President is just what the United States needs once in a while — at least where it concerns unshakable foreign policy problems. North Korea and their nuclear aspirations are one such problem. The actors have settled into comfortable complacency. Right now, however, the status quo…
Are Immigration Controls Working?
Two articles posted by NPR twelves hours apart made me think the same thing: Yes, that was the intent. NPR: With Fewer Available H-2B Visas, Employers Struggle to Find Seasonal Workers NPR: Deportation Fears Prompt Immigrants To Cancel Food Stamps Both of these articles were written from a negative point a view, describing harmful consequences…
If Suicide is “Violence”
If you can classify suicide as violence*, then we can classify abortion the same way. (* Two-thirds of “gun deaths” are suicide, and the CDC and all anti-gunners classify suicide as violence.)
Anti-Trump Politics and Coverage
My social media feeds are obsessed with criticizing every little thing that the president does. It’s certainly a natural reaction, but what purpose is served? What action can be taken? What recourse is there? He has been elected. Convincing your friends that he is a bad choice was a sensible thing to do — back…
Accepting the Faults in a Democracy
My first experience managing others was at a small, rapidly growing tech company. My job became too much for one person to do, and some people were hired to assist me. They were smart guys, and I spent some time training them. However, the first months weren’t very productive because I was reluctant to assign…
Still More Things
I have rather suddenly developed an interest in local history. Most specifically, I’ve decided I want to know all there is to know about Flamm City, a place that was probably never actually any kind of a city, but which has intrigued me for many years. I’ve discovered a ton of historical resources at the…
You Voted for It
The voting skills of the American electorate have frustrated me for some time. Our Presidential candidates this year are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton of all possibilities, and now the UK has had Brexit. I have long wondered what to do about it. Restore journalism ethics? The driving motivator isn’t there. Educate voters about the…
Gun Control is Anti-Intellectualism [Edit: or Maybe Not]
[Edit: Since posting this, I have gained more clarity about the definition of “anti-intellectualism”, which is hostility specifically and directly toward intellectuals, education, and reason. It is not merely the rejection of reason, facts, and scientific knowledge in the context of some other issue. That said, gun control is not anti-intellectualism. The rejection of well-established…