Muda69

Student Punished for 'Implied Threat' After Putting High School on Craigslist: https://gizmodo.com/student-punished-for-implied-threat-after-putting-high-1826289639 “They tried to relate it back to all the recent school shootings and everything—they tried tying it back to that,” Scheele told the Fox 4 Kanas City. “But I don’t see how it was a threat at all.” Scheele’s mom Denetra Clark is trying to see the bright side of the school district’s decision. “He’s going to get his diploma no matter what,” Clark said. “But maybe the party will start sooner.” Yay for zero tolerance policies, and the words "implied" is ground zero for a myriad of interpretations by government school bureaucrats.

https://reason.com/2019/06/05/if-we-told-you-neal-stephenson-invented-bitcoin-would-you-be-surprised/ Snow Crash, Anathem, and Seveneves are my favorite Stephhenson novels. His recent collaboration with author Nicole Galland, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., was an enjoyable read as well. But Seveneves is my absolute favorite, a book I have read multiple times now. Simply fantastic science fiction and world building.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/youtube-block-discriminatory-content?ref=bfnsplash YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, can do what it wants since it is a private entity. But I wonder; who exactly is forcing individuals to watch these videos that they may view a discriminatory or may offend them? If the title of a video indicates a subject I find distasteful chances are I won't watch it, and after a while the YouTube 'algorithm' will stop putting such videos into my 'recommended' list.

Warrior-Mayor Pete’s Sanctimonious Chest Thumping: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/warrior-mayor-petes-sanctimonious-chest-thumping/

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/06/poll-poor-want-more-opportunity-not-more-entitlement-spending/ Agreed. The poor need less government in their lives, not more.

https://reason.com/2019/06/05/study-shows-that-extreme-poverty-statistics-have-been-overestimated-especially-among-families-with-children/ What? According to many the USA is one step away from third-world country status, and that only by increasing the forceful confiscation of wealth from others can the scourge of extreme poverty be defeated.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2019/06/05/iu-football-purdue-football-finally-trying-win-after-years-neglect/1341505001/ So IU is pricing students and locals out of the game in their quest for gridiron glory, as well as effectively adding the letter "I" to the word "team". And it appears that Purdue now has the highest paid public employee in the entire state. What price gridiron glory?

https://reason.com/video/stossel-the-paid-leave-fairy-tale/ Yep, be careful of what you wish for, especially if it provided by government fiat.

https://www.jconline.com/story/sports/2019/06/04/frankfort-baseball-seniors-change-culture-leave-legacy/1336117001/ Congratulations to the Hot Dogs on a fine season.

https://jalopnik.com/ev-credits-mostly-go-towards-rich-people-who-would-buy-1835233701 And, for the 109,449 EVs purchased in 2014: This is critical, the researchers note, because assuming EV buyers are replacing vehicles with average fuel economy would overstate the environmental benefits EVs have had by 27 percent. ... Still, the broader conclusions the paper reaches with their model aren’t too out there: in 2014, EVs were generally much more expensive than the median car, so the maximum $7,500 tax credit didn’t balance out the price difference. It makes sense EV buyers would value EVs for reasons that go beyond pure cost comparisons. Nevertheless, from a public policy standpoint, this raises important questions about the tax credit. Why pay rich people to buy a car they’re already going to buy, or to buy a slightly more efficient car than the one they might have otherwise bought? For one thing, this is simply how new technology tends to work: it’s expensive at first, rich enthusiasts are the only ones who can afford it, but that spurs further cost-cutting innovation and mass production, until eventually it reaches a price the masses can afford. Taking the researchers’ model at face value, that still means about one in three EV buyers during a critical growth phase were spurred to buy EVs at least in part due to the federal tax credit. Indeed, the researchers don’t use these conclusions to argue against government tax credits for EVs, especially now that the industry has matured some. Instead, they argue the findings suggest the efforts need to target price-sensitive consumers—especially those with lower incomes who may want an EV but can’t afford one—or those driving fuel-inefficient vehicles where the environmental benefits would be greatest. California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project already takes household income into account, but there’s currently nothing in the country that additionally incentivizes replacing gas-guzzlers. Maybe there should be. Good question. Sounds like a waste of taxpayers money. Perhaps any our of GID residents who have or currently own an EV can speak to this.

https://reason.com/2019/06/03/the-new-theocrats-are-neither-conservative-nor-christian/ The small beginnings of a real-world Gilead? What say the conservative Christians on this very forum? Is Mr. Ahmari speaking truth to power, that is truly is time for conservatives to abandon their commitments to tolerance and civility, all for restoring the common good?

Bipartisan Senate Effort Predictably Kills Rand Paul's Plan to Balance the Federal Budget: https://reason.com/2019/06/03/bipartisan-senate-effort-predictably-kills-rand-pauls-plan-to-balance-the-federal-budget/ Cowardice in the Congress. Why am I not surprised?

These things suck. When my 25+ years old gas can finally bit the dust these stupid "safety first" models were all I could find for new. So I removed all the safety crap and now just pour the gasoline using a funnel.

Parents can buy a National Spelling Bee spot for their kid if he or she loses at regionals: https://sports.yahoo.com/parents-can-buy-a-national-spelling-bee-spot-for-their-kid-if-he-or-she-loses-at-regionals-143045399.html Not sure I'll be able to watch this event anymore, unless they tell us which contestants were "invited" and which ones were not.

Tonight's episode is the mini-series finale. Should be a good one. Chernobyl Is About What Happens When Citizens Believe Telling the Truth Is Futile: https://reason.com/2019/06/02/chernobyl-is-about-what-happens-when-citizens-believe-telling-the-truth-is-futile/ I wonder what the U.S. response would have been had a similar level of catastrophe happened at someplace like 3-Mile Island?

South Bend abortion provider can operate without a license, federal judge rules: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2019/06/01/south-bend-abortion-provider-can-operate-without-license-federal-judge-rules/1316295001/

Back in the day we played a 10 game regular season, along with a scrimmage. Of course now that 10th game is a guaranteed spot in the state tournament.

I like the South Street Smokehouse.

The state of Illinois desperately, desperately needs the tax income. The city of Chicago and the hellhole most of it has become is bleeding the state dry, at least that is what my inlaws who have lived in downstate Illinois for multiple generations now tell me.

The MLK Story No One Wanted To Read: https://spectator.org/the-mlk-story-no-one-wanted-to-read/

Some Good And Practical Ideas For Making Sure The Spelling Bee Never Ends In An Eight-Way Tie Again: https://deadspin.com/some-good-and-practical-ideas-for-making-sure-the-spell-1835148529 Some good ideas, the bolded ones are my personal favorites.