Nations and Charities

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

At the heart of what we’re going through right now as a country — and you could say of the West as a whole — is the left’s complete and utter lack of understanding of economics.

Look, there are rich people and poor people, there are rich nations and poor nations. For the left this has absolutely nothing to do with behavior or cultural characteristics. It’s a matter of location, mostly. Or a matter of who stole from whom.

Judging from my kids’ high school economics book — and therefore what they’re teaching all the kids — the left believes the west is rich because it “stole all the natural wealth” from poor countries. Which is also why poor countries are poor.

This is nonsense. It doesn’t explain why the poor countries didn’t do anything with all that natural wealth to begin with, and it fails to explain why European countries — generally poor in resources when compared to the rest of the world — were the ones who set out to travel to other countries and somehow “steal” all the resources.

The problem is that this stupid idea is dictated by Marx’s theories of “economics”. At the heart of his theories was the idea that wealth was a fixed pie. Wealth could neither be created or destroyed, just endlessly re-distributed.

If that were true then we would still be fighting over the same rocks and sea shells our ancestors distributed and redistributed.

So the left’s grand plan to get the dispossessed of the world and bring them to the States to give them welfare and all benefits as a small compensation for our having taken all their rocks and shells is essentially insane.

The truth is that whether countries and regions create wealth and people in them are well fed and taken care of not, has to do with people’s culture. That in turn might have a lot to do with climate and various other characteristics. However, the truth is anyone who has lived in more than one culture knows approach to life in general and oh, everything from inventiveness to property rights is very different and makes a big difference.

And culture, while not genetic is sticky. In fact, I’m convinced it takes a traumatic event, natural or arranged to break a culture’s hold on you and adopt another culture. What seems pretty obvious is that people do not acculturate to a new culture when they move to that other culture in a group from the original culture. In America at least so far — though the numbers of people coming in might negate that — the incomers eventually do adapt. Not the ones who came in, or their children, perhaps, but the grandchildren will — slowly — start to intermarry and become Americans.

But when you have a very large number of people, adaptation goes both ways.

I know the left is determined that the whole reason we don’t accept Haitians and pet-eating is that we are racist racists who are full of racism.

The reason is more that we are from a culture where we are wealthy and creative and capable enough that we can afford to keep completely unproductive creatures on whom we lavish love. And that we can afford food that isn’t those animals. And we respect private property and would not eat other people’s pets in any case.

Whatever the pathologies of our culture, they’re not that the majority people even think of grilling the neighbor’s cat, or do another million things that our culture — personally — would consider unspeakable.

And though the current imports have put that in some question, the truth is that our cutlure is still high trust and respecting of property.

However that is not normal in the rest of the world, and certainly not in the third world, where we’re importing millions of people from.

And given the numbers, we simply don’t have three generations to wait. Our culture will collapse before that.

So why is the left doing it? Because they think humans are fungible and bringing these humans to the place where their wealth was taken will make them instantly rich.

In fact they are absolutely convinced that our nation, and the entire west owes it to the rest of the world to make it up to them by taking all their poor and giving them welfare and submitting to their outrages.

But nations are not charities. The purpose of a nation is not to do good for people who aren’t its citizens and who are coming through our borders with no check and no intent of assimilating.

We are not racists for not wanting them here. We might be culturalists, but that’s just sense. If we didn’t favor our culture, it wouldn’t be our culture.

Heaven knows America is the most generous nation in the world. We assist anyone in need abroad. And that, itself, might have its own issues, but the truth is that it’s still less damaging than importing vast numbers, which doesn’t help anyone and destroys our own nation and culture.

I’m not saying shut the gates. America should bring in every person wants to be an American and has the intention and ability to contribute to our society.

But that means bringing in a few, select individuals, not vast numbers. Yeah, okay, maybe I shouldn’t even have qualified when I came in. Or perhaps now. But if you shut the door completely, you’re closing the door on people like Elon Musk. So, let people in, but carefully and advisedly and only people who aren’t likely to become a burden to the nation.

And for the sake of our children, our grandchildren and our great grandchildren, the invasion of third worlders who have no allegiance to our nation and no intention of assimilating to whom the left thinks we owe something should be sent back.

They don’t have to go where they came from, they just can’t stay here.

It’s time we understand countries aren’t charities. They’re structures and territories that exist for the benefit of their own citizens.

As for those other poor people, from benighted cultures, they can perhaps over time change their culture to better suit them.

Or not.

It’s not our fault or our responsibility. It’s their own.

The purse must be closed. And the border too.

128 thoughts on “Nations and Charities”

  1. The vast majority of citizens (on both sides) don’t agree with what’s going on, but TPTB don’t CARE. They’re not affected by the results of their actions, so why should they care?

    They will continue to use their power to punish their enemies, destroy communities that either fight against them or are at a strategic disadvantage, make sure they remain in power, and they will use any tool they can to achieve total power, regardless of the consequences.

    Given time they will eventually go too far and destroy the very structures they rely on (what do farms mean to someone who thinks food comes from the grocery store?) but I’m afraid that long before that the people they are importing will say “Why should they be in control? I want it.” And they will find out exactly what they’ve let in.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It’s useful to remember that likely the single biggest reason why the Tories were voted out in the UK was voter disgust over the immigration policies.

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      1. That and they were obvious public hypocrites during the Covid funtimes. They burned their previous massive win on Covid overreach and backroom opposition and slow walking to all the Brexit stuff they rode in on, which includes the “immigration”migrant” issues.

        Well, plus all the Tory PMs after Boris had the personality of the bottom side of a rock.

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    2. i kinda prescribe to the theory that its us vs them, the us being pretty much everybody not in the elite political wealthy club who is the them.

      by making people desperate they can manipulate and control them easier be it as low wage workers or activist or whatever flavor they desire.
      its screwed up for sure, but just looking at whats going on this seems to be the goal.

      My hope is that when it comes unglued, they quickly find they are not as sheltered and immune to the chaos as they think they are.

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    2. I suspect that’s who is profiting from the slave labor of the Haitians. For certain someone is, and it’s someone high up on the power structure.

      If they just wanted warm bodies they could have filled those factories a dozen times over with people already here. Instead they fly in 300k from an island nation and give them protective status.

      Someone needs the smokescreen of legality, and they need a workforce whose current situation is so much better than what they left that they will fight to maintain their slavery.

      Liked by 2 people

      2. Always follow the money. Ban plastic straws, look who owns the paper straw companies, also note those paper straws are covered in a plastic wrapper to maintain sterility.

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  3. So why is the left doing it? Because they think humans are fungible and bringing these humans to the place where their wealth was taken will make them instantly rich.

    –

    That is what the Left appears to be doing, and many of the 2nd and 3rd tier minions believe that.

    Step back and start at first principles. Look at the major players, the connections, the conferences/meetings, the documention, the money flow, the undiscussed/unreported news and history.

    At the tippy top, it’s all about absolute raw power and nihilism including destruction of nations and genocide. See the 20th Century and the recent/current Neocon Wars of the 21st Century.

    Mass immigration is invasion. Bringing additional warm bodies to breakdown community and social nets is the intention. It reduces the public’s power and demoralizes the citizens. It adds a spiritual and logistics complication to opponents of tyranny.

    Same with the welfare state, climate change, DEI and reparations. These are tools designed to break down rational civilization.

    (Also in the toolbox are bio-weapons and a possible nuclear exchange.)

    The purse must be closed. And the border too.

    –

    The ivaders and their children must be removed.

    Individuals involved in planning, assisting or allowing this “attack” must be stripped of their assets and be removed. (Haitians need to eat something besides cats. Somalis need something to “cuddle” besides their goats…)

    Liked by 3 people

      1. They did a very good job with online parties on faceborg with lockdowns: lots of women suddenly living full time in their homes, sprucing up their homes. (Sister-in-law is a Tupperware lady: started in 2020, has been all online, earned a Tupperware car.)

        Tupperware is pretty durable, though, and they have a lifetime replacement policy, so once the ladies get their kitchens in shape, they don’t buy much more, and it is a luxury item.

        I don’t think it’s covid lockdowns, I think it’s the economy, and I think this because I have semi-inside information from watching a family member in the business.

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        2. Lifetime replacement isn’t worth squat if the company goes out of business. Of course we’re only talking about bankruptcy; and I don’t know if this is just forcing a reorganization of the company, or if they’re about to dissolve.

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          1. Dillon Precision, which makes ammunition reloading equipment (highly recommend), has a rather generous lifetime replacement policy on most of their product. Electric motors on the case polishers are 1 year, but the basic press, dies, and related parts are lifetime-transferable.

            I have personally called them with “I did stupid and broke X” which they shipped to me no charge, despite “I did stupid”.

            They have about 80-90% of the basic reloader market, despite the best efforts of Lee, Hornady, and RCBS.

            There is much more to bankruptcy than generous warranties.

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            1. No, I mean Tupperware is in competition with cheap and consumable, with what is functionally a non-consumable and expensive product. (Also all Tupperware is USA made. So really, expense is built in, when compared to ChiCom exports.)

              In a bad economy, people buy the cheap junk that works enough, knowing they’ll have to replace it sooner rather than never, but . . . maybe money will be less tight in the future, and at least they have something that works enough. See Vimes Theory of Boots.

              What I’m hearing sounds like Tupperware expected the lockdown boom to continue, borrowed money, boom did not continue, and now bankruptcy. Chap. 11. They have assured the Tupperware ladies that they are not closing the business, and please carry on.

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                1. I saw something on Insty; they’re going Chapter 11 (so reorg) and looking for a buyer. One claim is that the youngest generation of potential Tupperware buyers has been scared off from Plastic by the usual suspects (Greta and the stop-oil buffoons).

                  Most of our Tupperware disappeared when we moved to Deepest Oregon, so we’ve counted largely on Rubbermaid stuff. Snapware is good, though I keep wondering about the flaps. OTOH, with steady use of a variety of boxes, I’ve had one failure and figured out how to avoid it. (On an oblong container, snap the end flaps first. That leaves the lid centered and makes for an even strain. The long edges don’t see that much movement.)

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              2. I’ve had Tupperware crumble (age, after 45 years, piece crumble), and pieces (plates) wear through. Problem is, I don’t want the items replaced. A few things that when they go, the pieces are no longer in the catalog.

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    2. That’s recent? I thought they had died out years ago. I much prefer the semi-disposable plastic containers. Tomato sauce turns it pink? Throw it out. Microwaving bubbles the sides? Throw it out. Lose the lid? Throw it out. Tupperware was too expensive for that.

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      1. I also think the current microplastics and BPA scares played into the companies woes.

        There has been a stampede against using plastic to store food.

        Then, of course, the use of any fossil fuel based items are very problematic for the planet conscious, as well. Microplastics, or no…

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Also guilty of this. OTOH like Tupperware for sugar, flour, flour mix, and other storage items. Use Tupperware for leftovers or to freeze? Heck no.

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      3. Tomato sauce in Rubbermaid is fine if a) you don’t heat the damned thing, and b) clean it. I use excess sauce from Saturday night’s pizza for part of my Sunday breakfast, and no signs of pinkening.

        We transfer anything in plastic to glass/ceramic/Corningware/Corel (original or post-Corning) for heating. The only plastic that goes in the dishwasher is melamine, and that’s on the top. (We also have the dishwasher set to airdry. Overnight works fine.)

        This all works for us, and we’d rather not spend money on replacement storage.

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        1. Also dismissed almost all our Tupperware for Rubbermaid when we moved up here, and OXO for non-cooking storage (flour, sugar, etc).

          I don’t care about pinkening or little bubbling, so into the microwave goes the Rubbermaid, and after that into the top rack of the dishwasher.

          It’s part of my culture to save and re-use leftovers, and sometimes to deliberately make extra to freeze for meals later. Forethought and some frugality help.

          —-

          On completely another tack, today was the funeral Mass for my wife. I had all my family here- sisters, children, grandchildren. I can’t tell if I am just a little numb, or relieved that this last obligatory public event is complete. They all left for their respective hotels about an hour ago.

          Elections and stuff like that just have no immediacy for me these days.

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          1. Oof. Sorry for you. Not a fun tshirt to have.

            Most of our cooking is mass production and freeze. Do 20 burgers on the grill, eat two the next day, and 18 over the next 9 weeks. Same with chicken. Even our scratch-built pizza (for reasons) entails dinner plus lunch the next day. Some minor exceptions on special days, but the freezer/microwave is a Godsend.

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            1. We’re more the types to, bulk buy, prep to size, and wrap and individually freeze VS cook, then freeze. Then depending on who is coming for dinner the next night, pull for defrost exactly what is needed. Worked great for no prep at site camping plans too (even with a trailer. Bonus, plan for everything to be grilled? I don’t cook.) Leftovers? We rarely actually eat leftovers. Mostly will keep restaurant doggy bags, then toss after a couple of days, before science experiments start. Homemade leftovers? Tossed immediately. Exception is pork fried rice will get mixed into scrambled eggs a couple of times. Never use all of it but some gets used. Rolls/bread brought home and frozen, from Texas Road House or Red Lobster, etc., get used by one of us.

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              1. Costco runs are infrequent (usually 6 months. Now 3 months with one retina showing signs of scar tissue/epiretinal film coming back), so mass buys. We break up the booty into dinner (or packages for later mass cooking for the country ribs).

                Canned veggies guarantee leftovers. 3 bean (green, black & kidney) last 4 dinners, green beans & corn, maybe 3. If I buy dinner in town (now rare because of unfortunate/disastrous recipe change at the taqueris), there’s likely a leftover lunch.

                As the food budget is getting squeezed, more leftovers. Extra chicken from one day gets to be taco fodder. A Costco rotisserie chicken breast maps to multiple meals, even for me. (Did these people mix Emu genes in the birds?)

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                1. “Costco rotisserie chicken breast”

                  ……………….

                  Our Costco’s rotisserie chicken kiosk is down. Last time I was shopping (which is generally every week, it is only 5 miles away), 3/4 of the meat counter was curtained off (behind glass). Still had fresh meat in the coolers. But, what?

                  Interestingly enough, now trying to shop Fred Meyers, on Friday, then Costco on Saturday or Monday. Fred Meyers there is always stuff I could get at Costco, but don’t because it’ll go bad before used, and other reasons. This last summer, Fred’s has had stuff that is normally less at Costco. Case in point: Hamburger – 10% 3# packages at $3.99/# VfS 12% at $4.99/#, Pepsi (hubby drinks it) – $9.99 / 24 case or (better) 12 case buy 2 get 3 free (bonus can get hubby caffeine free diet, and son cherry regular which Costco does not carry) VS $14.99/30 can diet Pepsi, and $17.99/36 can Coke). Never seen Fred’s beat Costco rib or rotisserie chicken prices.

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                  1. I don’t understand the glass bit for the meat by you. Is that blocking off self-picking fresh meat or is it something else? I’ve seen a lot of stores (Freds, among others) with stuff in glass cases and clerks with keys.

                    I hit Costco just after Labor Day (didn’t know they were closed for the holiday, but the medical appointment set the timing). No obvious changes at the Central Point (north of Medford) Costco. I picked up four birds to take home and got The Look from some people, but the ovens were cranking out chickens pretty quickly.

                    Long gondola cooler for fresh meat, and no shortages. (I was impressed that they were well stocked, especially the day after a holiday.)

                    We get our ground beef at Chef’Store. Not cheap at $28/5 pounds, but we like the 93% lean stuff, and the chub maps to 10 weeks of weekly burgers.

                    Fred’s has the Kroger sparkling water at $1/liter. Tried it and liked it, and bought a bunch for market day lunches. With safe and affordable alternatives dwindling, it’s going to be some brownbagging. We keep coolers in the Subie, so it’ll work. Looked at Denny’s menu. There’s one skillet I can eat, but only one. Not a fan. The local diner is good, but expensive. Sigh. Chinese once a month is as much as I like, so a GF sandwich will do for the default.

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                    1. Kroger/Albertson’s have behind counter not packaged meat where you can pick out (more or less) the # or count wanted (14 pieces of pepper bacon …). Costco does not. Behind the long meat cooler, with different meats (what is where rotates), but behind that is a wall of windows, where you can observe the packaging process. That was curtained off. It was later in the evening, but never seen that.

                      I get 1/2 liter Ice flavored sparkling water (no salt, 5 cals) Costco carries it, but then I have to get the flavors bundled. Not that I do not like the bundle, but some of the flavors really disagree with my stomach (Lemonade), or are too sweet depending on the fruit juice combinations (given very little sweetener, that takes talent). Freds reg. price is $1.29. Sales run 10/$10 to 10/$8. (FYI. Freds had $4.99/12 Pepsi today.)

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                    2. Same configuration at the Central Point store. Never have seen it curtained off, either. Perhaps some intensive cleaning or new equipment installation going on. I’ve been to that Costco in the evening, but maybe once in 5-6 years. When I’m homeward bound, I hit it when it opens. Otherwise, midday.

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          4. My condolences.

            ” I can’t tell if I am just a little numb, or relieved that this last obligatory public event is complete.”

            ………………

            Both?

            Liked by 1 person

            1. On a good note. BIL is home from hospital and a brief stay at a rehab (nursing home) center. He is doing better than he was. Knee surgery “went well”. Temporary knee, what doctor called a “spacer”. Now that home, sleeping and eating better. Still weak. Still can be incoherent, which he wasn’t when at the rehab. OTOH he wasn’t getting his pain medication on time, ever (to get even close, he’d set an alarm for 3 1/2 hours instead of 4 hours, so he’d get them sometime between 4 1/2 to 5 hours, or longer. Plus if he’d dozed off, they would not wake him to give them. But at home he is now getting the pain medications on time. SIL is lessening the dose, and waiting for him to call for them, over the 4 hour dosage limit. Seemed to help this afternoon. But already had a “fall” (went to sit back down in side chair, then slow slid off chair to floor, fall. Took SIL and both her brothers to get him up off the floor onto the bed.)

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    3. I’d like to say it couldn’t happen to a bigger bunch of assholes, but…sadly, there are even worse bunches of assholes out there. And the Leftroids revere them, too.

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    4. Too bad they didn’t double the amount of explosive. But then blowing a big chunk of a murderous Muslim’s butt off so he can’t sit straight for the rest of his life sounds good too.

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        1. Tragically, one of the nine fatalities of the Pager Day was a kid: some Hezbollah Achmed lost his 9-year-old daughter for his crimes.

          The child is mourned, but no pity for the parent who put her there.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. /shrug

            Anyone who weaponizes their kid deserves to lose them. Of course, the kid doesn’t deserve to have that happen; but then the kid didn’t deserve to have psychopaths for parents either.

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            2. Assuming said kid even exists, or didn’t die of something else before a post-mortem application of mayhem.

              Pallywood is pretty blatent.

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    5. all sounds like fun n games, but how long until government uses that tactic on us? Kinda like how those emergency messages come through no matter what seemingly, me thinks theres ways they can do that selectively with the cell phones, beepers and radios easy, its all about frequency etc, im sure theres ways to do it with your phone too, collate all the numbers associated with visiting the oppositions websites and news outlets and send them a message, few minutes later pop pop pop.

      not impossible, not with the info the nSA collects

      just sayin is all

      gotta get a frag bag for the cellphone

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      1. That can only happen if there are explosives in the device, set to be triggered by an incoming signal. You cannot cause even a lithium battery to explode with a signal unless the device it’s in is built to explode.

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        1. ok, ill bite that line,

          so just curious how they were able to get explosives into these devices, and how come they generally will not ship lithium batteries via air because they have that little explodey hazmat symbol?

          just curious,

          my old phone was being regularly remotely turned on by uncle and it would get so hot it was almost not able to be handled and i had these weird blackouts. New phone with new security measures, problem goes away. Just an odd correlation.

          personally, i think all this stuff has alternative means of control, just depends on who and how bad they want access and what their goal is.

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          1. I saw a diagram–no idea how accurate it is. Two spaces for batteries, but one of the “batteries” is a pass-through with an explosive charge and a reciever.

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            1. Could be (it sounds like the sort of thing I’d expect competent operatives to come up with, and they had experience with explosives in communication devices; I remember a “telephone lobotomy” from a while ago), but that’s probably a conceptual “they could have done this” thing.

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          2. Three points:

            Hezbollah bought all the pagers at one time, making it trivially easy for Mossad operatives to intervene in the manufacturing or shipping process to add a bit of “spice”.

            It’s been firmly established that the pagers use alkaline batteries, which cannot be made to explode.

            Even if they had used Li batteries, his wasn’t an “overheat badly, then catch fire and/or explode” series of events as can happen with Li batteries; it was an “all devices simultaneously explode” event, consistent with explosives triggered by a common signal.

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            1. I’ve seen three or four “definitive” explanations of how the detonations occurred. All of which were mutually incompatible. I’m going to invoke the 72 hour rule on how they did it.

              Talk tech to a journalist and weep at the results. Or laugh, easier on the soul.

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              1. One version I find appealing is that Hezbollah bought their electronics from a European company that’s actually a shell company owned by Israel.

                So if true, Hezbollah paid for the sabotage.

                Liked by 1 person

              2. “Talk tech to a journalist and weep at the results. Or laugh, easier on the soul.”

                ……………

                Guarantied better off to have the incorrect processes in the news, than what actually works.

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              3. The 72 hour rule sounds good; all we really know at the moment is that the explosions were apparently simultaneous (or nearly so), the pagers were bought in bulk, and that model uses alkaline batteries.

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          3. malware can trigger a battery overheat.

            Airline concern is a battery fire, because the usual drychem extinguisher won’t put it out. They stock fire mitts and fireproof heavy bags to contain smokers and limit the spread of combusting batteries.

            the videos of the recent mayhem are true high-explosive events. The visual signature is distinct. Not a battery flare/burst, not blackpowder (no thick white smoke, no sulfur stench) Not thermite.

            HE

            Circulating story is PETN, which is a precursor for various “plastic” (aka serious putty). It is sensitive, thus easily detonated, say by sudden high heat, unlike c-4 or other stabilized “plastic” explosives.

            my guess was Semtex, which is a Soviet plastic that is rather hard to detect compared to more common stuff. But probably too stable to detonate with a hot battery.

            And now, as all sorts of other things are going boom, indicates “soneone” got -way- inside HezBoom supply channels, and far enough back to set up a very complex multi-axis ambush, of -epic- execution and effect.

            Just… a -magnificent- ambush.

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          4. so just curious how they were able to get explosives into these devices, and how come they generally will not ship lithium batteries via air because they have that little explodey hazmat symbol?

            Because some people were getting lazy and careless and shipping cells with an excessively high state of charge, leading to fires.

            Liked by 1 person

          1. Erick Erickson (not a Trump fan but is utterly disgusted by Harris and Co) commented he was surprised no one in DC was injured.

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        1. I’ve had one for about 25 years; started with a Nokia 3/4-pound “brick” back in the Stone Age; now it’s a flipphone (hey, I only want it to make phone calls, not surf the Web or watch movies!). And every one I’ve used has a plug-in replaceable battery, and no room for anything but the battery and the circuit card; no space for ‘splody things.😉

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          1. Given the thinness of phones these days, only room for battery and circuit board. We only have our cell phones these days. Never watched a movie or even clips on it. Too much of a PIA. As far as tracking us? We’re out of cell range a lot of the time. Otherwise? Watching paint dry is probably more fun.

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        2. We have a shared dumfone, but it’s getting VERY annoying how the local groceries are starting to do “sale with smertfone app” prices. No, I don’t have your AAAAPPP (lord, that word is annoying), because I don’t have a smertfone….and I’m not going to rush out and buy one just for your sale.

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          1. Usually store phone apps can be bypassed. Actually tied to internet site. At least Fred Meyer/Kroger’s is. Can go click on the digital coupons wanted, then it is tied to the reward card. No need to use the app. Even if you run across one in the store (because it posted sometime between last on web page and in store), just note it, tell checker (even works self checkout) that you couldn’t bring up the app (truth, don’t have it). Checker will honor the discount, or whatever (even 4x fuel points earned).

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            1. Yeah, that’s what I do for my shopping. I’ll hit the weekly ads from Fred’s and if there’s something that needs to be activated, I click away. I stay with the flip phone for 99% of my cell usage.

              I have a smart phone, but it’s intended for the travel trailer (some cheapskate couldn’t be bothered to put all the functions in the control panel). Said phone is partially set up; Google says I have a gmail address with them, but I’ve not been in there in recent memory.

              I had a QR code decoder program in the Linux box, but the last time I tried it, no luck. Haven’t bothered to try to debug it.

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              1. Actually. Turns out, you do not have to use their google account. They’d like you to. But you don’t have to. They do make it harder, but not a requirement. Son used his MSN account to activate his phone. Hubby has a gmail account but he never uses it. I use my gmail account, and just have MSN forward to that one.

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        3. I had to get a cell phone in 2005. Was waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the Amtrack from California to make it to Flyover Falls with Mom on board. Payphones in F-Falls were almost extinct, and $SPOUSE was not happy. By the time Mom got here, I had a Nokia brick. When that provider went under, I got a Tracfone, and have stayed with them.

          The default phone is a flip phone. Voice and minor goodies like a calendar. I do the shopping and let $SPOUSE know when I’m coming home. When I’m over the Cascades for business (medical and/or Costco runs), the cell gets used a lot.

          We had a wildfire nearby, starting 8/31. The next day, we lost power. An hour after that, we lost the landline phone. On 9/13, the landline phones for $TINY_TOWN finally came up (I think the fiber optic bus from the main trunkline to our town got severed.) The only communication I had was via cell phone. This included one of those medical trips, so it was my cell to $SPOUSE’s cell. (Neither of which get used a lot, but when we need them, they usually can do the job. Waggles hand; we have interesting, and radio-blocking terrain.)

          $SPOUSE doesn’t have a Ham radio ticket. I do, but…

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          1. Years ago, got a call from our daughter to come get her at school after play practice.

            Hopped in the car, drove the short couple miles and parked, And waited, and waited and got madder and madder and finally went home steaming, to find out she had caught another ride.

            We all had Nokia something phones the next day.

            All of us have had our tracking devices ever since.

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            1. Similar. Son started HS. Got recruited to the Cross Country Team, which had practice before the buses showed up at school. Rode his bike (not that far distance wise, < 2 miles, but across 5 lane highway, with turning lanes … Hwy 99). Rained. Phone got ruined. All 3 of us had new phones that week. Son’s was double bagged so if backpack got wet, again, phone was safe. None of us are ones to constantly have phones in our hands. Near by, not using. Nor do we immediately answer text, or unknown phone calls. One benefit over cell VS landline. Landline didn’t know who was calling until picked up the phone, until caller ID. Cell? Pick it up, who is calling shows, ignore unknown number. If someone I should talk to? They can leave a message, I call back, could even add that number to contacts.

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              1. We held off getting caller ID until the spam calls got too much. It’s particularly bad during election season, but I get frequent calls from something identifying as “NRA” (which the phone tries to pronounce as one sylable). Never answered. I’m still a member, but…

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                1. I don’t let the phone speak. Number displays on screen. Bonus, current phone just have to click the on/off toggle to shutdown the screen and the ringing, does not cut off the call.

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                  1. Chatty telephone has the base unit in the living room with a handset in the kitchen and a second one elsewhere. If we’re doing something, it’s nice to know if it’s a call that wants to be answered ($SPOUSE’s sister or medical clinic).

                    Liked by 1 person

    6. As a supporter of the Society for the Liquidation of Antisemites and Marxists, I rejoiced. I offer my heart-felt congratulations to Mossad and hope they keep up the great work!

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    7. I felt a great disturbance in the Force. As if millions of voices cried out in terror and were silenced.

      Or maybe not silenced so much as wailing in agony.

      It could be that. My midichlorian count isn’t really high enough for an actual reading.

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      2. Sorry Sarah. I didn’t mean to imply that you had said that. I should have used the sarcasm font. I know that’s not what you meant. I just immediately thought of a counter argument.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. There’s also the leftist/Marxoid idea that value is absolute, that reality has a GM Price List of True Prices with deviation from those prices being badwrong criminality. (With a large side of “Government Almighty can arbitrarily change those Prices, with only teeny-tiny unnoticeable disruptions, and can use that power to make things Nice and Good.”)

    But value is relative. Which is why the ‘right wing’ economic blasphemy of free exchange leaves people better off. (“INCONCEIVABLE!”)

    And:

    https://x.com/_Mark_Atwood/status/1823924470974963927

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The quote on x.com was “Most politics is a cope session for why economics shouldn’t apply. However, it always does anyway, eventually, hard.”

      (WPDE. An edit function would be nice. Failing that, a post preview function. But WP(DE))

      Liked by 1 person

    2. As much as it would be wonderful to blame that on the Marxists….. no. It seems to be part of the deep core of what naturally feels “right” to people.

      Trying to force the “real” price isn’t a bizarre aberration; rather we live in a near miraculous time when some people understand that there is no such thing.

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      1. True. My mistake.

        I’ll retreat to the claim that Marxists take advantage of a fixed “Just Price” naturally feeling “right” to people.

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  12. I live for the day the liberals lay broken in an alley selling their body to get a fix to get them through the night.

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  13. The rate cut won’t effect the economy much before the election, except psychologically for the clueless.

    The full effects will not be seen until next year after the inauguration. If Trump pulls off a win, inflation will go through the roof.

    If Que Mala wins inflation will also go through the roof but they will cover it up and pretend it isn’t happening. And if it is, it’s a good thing. Then when people don’t believe that it will become the Republicans fault because, reasons.

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  14. As the husband of one immigrant (39 years now) and the sponsor of two (2) others, one of whom waited ten (10) years for his visa, I have nothing but contempt for people who jump the queue. Deport, Deport!, DEPORT!

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  15. Deep Lurker writes “There’s also the leftist/Marxoid idea that value is absolute…”.

    Yep. What is the true value of water? To a person drowning in a lake it isn’t worth anything at all. To a person dying of thirst in the desert it is beyond price.

    I learned that from Thomas Sowell, may he live forever.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think it was Paul Johnson who pointed out one of the big unexpected problems with Western settlement in the U.S.: Water rights.

      Riparian law in England was written for an environment that had too much water, and the main concern was building ditches to drain off the excess so the land could be used. Suddenly that legal framework had to be adapted for a country that had too little water, so that it was valuable in itself and access to irrigation was a matter of life and death. Much trouble ensued before the laws were rewritten (and a lot of unwise water usage was grandfathered in when they were).

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Hey, I enjoy reading your posts immensely. Still, this is the first time I’ve posted a comment. I often share your posts with my friend group. One commented, ” as always, her economic theories are odd”. Odd , says I, odd how? He responded that, “Marx didn’t spend much time talking about zero-sum games as she says.” This flummoxed me as I thought Marx was all about haves and have-nots. But I couldn’t FIND anything in a Google search but, well, my Google-fu is weak. I’ve never actually read Marx’s work. Could someone point me in the right direction, please?

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    1. Neil,
      For my sins I had to study Marx in three disciplines in school — history, economics and sociology — so I’ve read his work (ew) and I’ve slept since then, so I don’t remember if he ever explicitly states it, but it is at the back of all his reasoning, including things having an inherent price, the state needing to seize things to redistribute, etc
      I mean, there are several oddities to his “economics” which take a leap of idiocy to believe. He never understood distribution, for instance, so resellers were evil “profiteers.” (That also goes back to the idea that there is a natural price to everything.)
      And he thought it was very very bad to take raw materials to work on and it impoverished the people it was “taken” (read bought) from.
      Communism only makes sense if your mind is on a fixed pie. New value can’t be created. Everything, including labor has a “fixed price” which works regardless of demand and supply, etc. And the state’s goal, until perfect communism is achieved is to “distribute” those goods and services, so no one gets more than others.

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    2. Part of the oppressed people got their “wealth” stolen from them is the Gramsci retcon of Marx.
      So, when the working classes not only failed to rebel but went all nationalist in WWI international communism was in a quandary. Then Gramsci retconned Marx to where the exploited and expropriated were the third world.
      But again, it only makes sense if there’s a limited quantity, nothing can be invented or repurposed,and we just eternally redistribute.

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  17. I’ll just leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lXfQSuwuDY
    Such a change in just 11 verses.

    Psalm 16 (King James Version)

    1. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

    2. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

    3. But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

    4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

    5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

    6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

    7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

    8. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

    9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

    10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

    11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. I agree with all of this except one thing. At the higher levels of what we refer to as “the Left” they do understand culture. What they have done and continue to do in our educational and media is to implant a new culture into the young.

    As I have said in the past in a number of places, culture at it’s root is a set of learned emotional responses to things/words/ideas that are picked up mostly in childhood. They can be rewritten later but take some hard experiences to do that. You can do it yourself by choosing immersion in a different culture. Or it can be done to you by forced immersion with punishments and rewards. That is what our schools/media are doing. This thing has a name, it is called “brainwashing” and it does work, at least for a while.

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  20. BTW, none of us thought of Ivanova regarding booms? I mean, is Hezbollah having a collective anxiety attack today, waiting to see if there’s another boom?

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    2. “is Hezbollah having a collective anxiety attack today, waiting to see if there’s another boom?”

      …………….

      Oh. Please!

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  21. The left’s view of compassion is for anyone that has any more assets than they do climbing to the top of the Empire State Building and throwing $100 bills off until equilibrium is achieved.

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