At least it’s not going to be melted down, but instead sent to North Dakota.
A modest proposal: relocate all of the statues, pre-modern art and historical/science museums from the coasts into the interior (“flyover country”), and relocate all the hippies and “social justice” and “mostly peaceful” protestors from the interior to the coasts. The National Air and Space Museum can be split between the SAC museum in Nebraska and the USAF Museum in Ohio; perhaps some can go to the Wings over the Rockies museum in Colorado.
And then relocate all the gender/ethnic studies programs from the interior colleges and universities to the coastal ones; all of the STEM studies from the coasts to the interior. Trust, me, *everyone* involved would be happier.
Democrats are claiming that Republicans want to restrict the right to vote because Republicans want voters to prove that they are who they claim to be by displaying a valid ID like a drivers license or other state-issued identification card. To rational, sane people, this doesn’t sound like such a chore. But there are those who expand the concept of “valid identification” rather further:
4. If proper identification is not available, what documents are sufficient to allow a Non- US/Canadian citizen to clear TSA’s checkpoint before proceeding into the sterile area of an airport?
As mentioned, in coordination with its DHS counterparts, TSA established a process where it will accept certain DHS-issued forms for non-citizens and non-U.S. nationals who do not have otherwise acceptable forms of ID for presentation at its security checkpoints. In this instance, the TSA TDC will look at the DHS-issued document (for example, I-94, I-862) for an alien identification number (A-file) and validate the document either by the CBP One™ mobile application or by the TSA NTVC. For all travelers, if an individual does not have acceptable ID as listed on TSA’s acceptable forms of ID list, TSA will accept additional forms of ID that have the individual’s name, with preference given to Government-issued ID. One of the two forms must have the individual’s name and identifying information such as a photo, address, phone number, social security number or date of birth. For all travelers who lack acceptable ID, TSA uses the NTVC, which attempts to verify a traveler’s identity by using the individual’s information along with information from government and commercial databases. All such individuals receive additional screening procedures as described in the Checkpoint and Specialized Screening Standard Operating Procedure.
a. Please list each document.
DHS-issued forms that TSA may accept at the checkpoint include the following:
ICE Form I-200 – Warrant for Arrest of Alien
ICE Form I-205 – Warrant of Removal/Deportation
ICE Form I-220A – Order of Release on Recognizance
ICE Form I-220B – Order of Supervision
DHS Form I-862 – Notice to Appear
CBP Form I-94 – Arrival and Departure Form (including a print-out of an electronic record)
DHS Form I-385 – Alien Booking Record
…yay?
Now, if what’s *actually* going on is some devious scheme to convince illegal aliens to present their deportation orders at the airport, upon which the TSA calls the border patrol who snatch the illegals and divert them to a plane on a one-way flight to Tierra Del Fuego… I’d be *all* in favor of that. But somehow I suspect that’s not what actually going on; the TSA agents are doubtless as helpless to act against foreign invaders as a Walgreens employee in San Francisco is to act against a shoplifter.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to make it so that SpaceX can’t use their Boca Chica launch facility for a “Starbase.”
Not only are FAA’s hands tied on the EIS front, a full Section 4(f) Evaluation is a potential nightmare. This evaluation requires the identification of a suitable alternative that is both “Feasible and Prudent.” If this Feasible and Prudent alternative site will have a lower Section 4(f) impact, the FAA is prohibited from giving the Green Light to Starbase. At all. This is outside of NEPA as well. So if, for example, the Cape Canaveral LC 39 pad that SpaceX is developing is determined to be a feasible and prudent alternative, Starbase is dead. Dead Dead.
As a surprisingly fast followup to the immediately preceding post, there’s this modest proposal which, once again, I can’t rightly tell if it’s satire or not. There are some strong hints that the author thinks himself a Jonathan Swift, what with the use of the term “modest proposal,” but again we’re living in a time where a whole bunch of people will read this and nod along.
The rich should give their children to the poor, and the poor should give their children to the rich. Homeowners might swap children with their homeless neighbors.
And so on.
Arguing *against* satire is that the author repeats the usual tired lies about political conservatives:
Over on the right, Republicans are happy to jettison parents’ rights in pursuit of their greatest passions, like violating migrant rights. Once you’ve gone so far as to take immigrant children from their parents and put them in border concentration camps, it’s a short walk to separating all Americans from their progeny.
Sometimes you stumble across a sentiment that could be a lunatic raving, or it could be a parody… and you just can’t tell which. Such as this supposed twitter post from early 2019… the account existed, but has been banned for some reason. There are a number of posts about this tweet, all asking the question: “real or nah?”
Today's challenge: How do we reliably tell whether a social justice account like @SentientJessica is sincere, or parody? What criteria do y'all suggest? pic.twitter.com/Nt618cJ8mz
And in looking this one up, other “I can’t tell if they’re joking” posts come up. Such as a video showing someone attempting to park and doing it very, very badly. That’s mildly amusing with no further context, but the driver is purported to be Delegate Elanor homes Norton of D.C, nominated by the Biden Administration for a top spot on the House transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
That’s the sort of irony that you gotta scratch your head over. Someone wholly incompetent at basic transportation, being put in charge of transportation? The idea is so ludicrously stupid that it seems not just plausible, but inevitable. Like those goombahs who blather on about how awful guns are and how we should listen to them and do their bidding about banning guns, when they don’t know the first thing about guns but are happy to stand in front of the press and wave an AK-47 around.
How U.S. Universities Support China’s Military-Industrial Complex
Imagine how J Edgar would have reacted had the Nazis or the Soviets had such blatant tentacles in American institutions.
I’m reasonable deeply set in basic libertarian philosophy, but at some point practicality has to override ideology. And in this case, the role of the government is at it’s most fundamental to defend the people of the country. To that end, using the power of the government to cut off the ability of foreign powers to influence American culture, laws and such, as well as to *steal* our stuff, sure seems like a good idea.
The short form: an author wanders into a bookstore (“Waterstones”) and asks the staff on hand if he can sign a couple of his books sitting on the shelf. The staff asks him for his ID to make sure it’s actually him. THAT’S IT. That’s the outrage. Waterstones has issued a groveling apology for their staff having the temerity, the gall, the outright *racism* to try to make sure that some rando who wandered in the door isn’t going to just scribble all over some books and ruin them.
As I’m sure I’ve made abundantly clear, I’ve had a book of mine on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. It was kind of a thrill the first time I saw them sitting there (rather less of a thrill when I saw them still sitting there months later… sigh…). But it did not occur to me to just start scrawling in them. And now that the idea has been brought to my attention, if I *did* decided to enscribble books on a shelf I’d *want* the staff to make sure I am who I say I am.
a spokesperson for Waterstones said: “We are incredulous and dismayed that any bookseller would ask an author for their ID when they have offered to sign their books. Of course, rogue individuals will, from time to time, want to sign books of which they are not the author. Any sensible bookseller can discretely and easily compare the author photo – present on almost every book – and, if there is an obvious mismatch, make a joke of it.”
Make a joke of it? For frak’s sake. Not every author is JK Rowling, with a bagrillion copies of their books on the shelves. Some of us have books printed in numbers that are relatively tiny, and having even a few ruined is kinda painful to contemplate. And no, there are no photos of me in or on “SR-71,” B-47/B-52,” or probably *any* book that may come down the line. Ain’t nobody need to know what I look like (is your life better knowing what Steven King looks like? Does it make the experience of reading “Cujo” better?). But if I go into a place of business to mark up the merchandise, I’d *want* them to check on things like ID.
– – –
Which reminds me. This is hardly the only news story of late regarding morons getting PO’ed about the idea of being asked to show their ID. the current decrepit President of the United States has been telling some whoppers lately to rile up the ignoratti about how terrible it is that they might need to prove that they are who they say they are before they vote:
When you are planning a move, it’s wise to know something about where you are moving to. What the taxes are like, what the weather is like, reliability of gas, electricity, phone, internet, public transport; all that stuff. And knowing if you are going to be regularly robbed, raped and murdered is something most people would want to know in advance, so they can plan accordingly. But is seems that having that information makes you a bad, bad, terabad person:
“We believe that Redfin–and all real estate sites–should not show neighborhood crime data.”
I believe someone should develop some sort of app/add-on that automatically displays crime data when you pull up mapping or real estate websites. With appropriate warning based on the severity of the local criminality and incompetent governance. “WARNING WARING: The city has defunded their police. Do Not Approach. Do Not Invest.”
Yet another major American city devolving rapidly to third world status.
There is no single issue that is more important to me, or the members of the PPD, than fighting violent crime. One of the more disturbing trends that we have seen is the startling increase in the number of carjackings. Here is what we're doing about it: https://t.co/mKJZZL363Upic.twitter.com/yVHsFNLdkM
I’m told by law enforcement these @UPS bags are especially sought after by thieves opening cargo containers… they are often full of boxes with merchandise bound for residential addresses. More valuable than say, a cargo container full of low value bulky items like toilet paper. pic.twitter.com/Tj5bQNIeby
As you can see, trains frequently slow or stop in this area as they get worked into the @UnionPacific Intermodal facility near Downtown LA. The thieves use this opportunity to break open containers and take what’s inside. I’d say every 4th or 5th rail car had opened containers. pic.twitter.com/PHpujyB84M
Responsibility for policing the railroad right of way falls on Union Pacific Police… not local agencies like LAPD. We did see Union Pacific police chasing two people today off the tracks and keeping an eye on things. pic.twitter.com/M5aQSrkGZW
Seems to me that there is an opportunity to develop locks on the containers that are hooked up to high voltage + high amperage systems, or explode, release chlorine, emit napalm… something. At the very least automated systems that detect looters and not only photograph them but lash out with hooked whips that take DNA samples. Those identified are put into databases and never again receive any assistance from the taxpayer. The same databases that Antifa insurrectionists and terrorists need to be on.
