The Veep Race

For John, BLUF:  Virginia Lieytenant Governor Winsome Sears is a great American.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Highlights of the Weeh

An extract.

From Don Surber Substack, by Opinionator Don Surber.

Here is the lede plus one:

ITEM 29: Off the Press reported that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is on his list of VP candidates.

That’s great news because it will make Winsome Earle-Sears governor

Mr Surber is a resident of West Virgina, so has been observice Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears from fairly close.

Sometimes I think it is too bad the Constitution requires that Presidents be native born.

Former President Trump could do worse than pick Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, although I understand one of my Daaughters-in-Law has threatened to march on Richmond if it looks like the Governor is going anywhere.

UPDATE:

Regards  —  Cliff

Round Cube Hits a Big Pothole

For John, BLUF:  Software companies should not release new versions without sending along some helpful information.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This is pothole season in New England and the mail client Roundcube has hit a big pothole.

Yesterday morning I transitioned my work moderating an internet discussion group from my iPad (in the bedroom) to my MacBook (in the kitchen).  That meant transitioning from the iPad Mac Mail to Round Cube.  I like Round Cube, becsuse it allows me to click a button and go underneath the hood and mess with the HTML code that defines what is displayed.  For example, I can adjust the margin width.  I like to pick 480 pc.

However, yesterday, when I opened Round Cube on my laptop it was totally different.  It was an almost totally new interface.  And, I could not find access to the HTML code.  It was not a happy experience.  I did some searching on line, but the new paths still escape me.

It is not so much that I am bothered by the change of interface.  Most of us are in the make it better mode.  That is for the good.  What disturbs me and puts me off is that this change was not only a complete surprise, but it also was unaccompanied by any help suggestions.  What were they thinking?

Yes, I did go to the web page I got from Wikipedia, but it was of little help.  And their Announce subpage was a blank. Regards  —  Cliff

Kudos to TD Bank

For John, BLUF:  There are people out there who understand providing good service.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Yesterday I went to TD Bank (Mammoth Road, Lowell) to make a deposit.  I arrived at the drive-up window lane at 4:50, and found one car in front of me.  It appear the car in front of me was waiting for the bank to complete the transaction.

The Bank closed at 5:00 PM, but I was not worried.  The line is usually very efficient.  Howeveer, the clock ticked past 5:00 PM and then up to 5:08 before the vehicle in front of me pulled away.

As I pulled forward to the window the clerk was loweing one of the two venitian blinds.  However, she cheerfully opened the tray and asked me if she could help me.  I put my deposit into the tray and she quickly processed it, returning with the receipt and cheerfully asking if there was anything else she could do to help me..

I thznked her and headed out, but her actions helped to make me a more loyal customer for TD Bnak.  She could have just closed the blind on me, but she didn't.  She provided solid service.

Thank you TD Bank.

Regards  —  Cliff

Trying to Influence the News

For John, BLUF:  The Main Stream Media trying to influence the news.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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NBC’s Secret Trump Scheme Exposed – Here’s Their Shocking Move Against Judge Cannon

From Patriot Journal, by Reporter Mick Farthing, 4 June 2024.

Here is the lede plus three:

Democrats have engaged in what some are calling “lawfare” against Donald Trump. They have launched several criminal trials in various districts, hoping, it seems, to stop him from becoming president. One of the trials is over, resulting in a guilty verdict.

Another case is in Florida, where a federal prosecutor is trying to pin Trump for the documents he kept at Mar-A-Lago.

The big problem for the left? The prosecutor, Special Counsel Jack Smith, has been outed for “manipulating evidence.” The judge presiding has postponed the case until the election to sort through these accusations. Now, it has come to light that Democrats plotted to get this judge removed to speed up the case.

From Breitbart: NBC and MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner has been revealed as the origin of an “orchestrated campaign” to file complaints against Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over former President Donald Trump’s case in Florida…

This kiind of action seems self-defeating.  And a little too activist for a legitimate news organization.

If the Biden side (including NBC) believes in the legal system, as they claim, they should let it work out its efforts without people trying to put their thumb on the scale.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Random Attacks

For John, BLUF:  There are people who find violence a solution to their problems.  Civilization can tolerate only so much violence.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Islamists Keep Stabbing People. Why Aren’t We Talking About It?

Here is the sub-headline:

Many in the West seem resigned to violence that once shocked us.

From The Free Press, by Peter Savodnik, 6 June 2024.

Here is the lede plus five:

Last week, a 25-year-old Afghan man went on a stabbing spree in a marketplace in Mannheim, in southwestern Germany, killing a police officer and wounding five other people.

In a video of the attack, the man, whose name has not been released, can be seen repeatedly stabbing several people—including the police officer, in the back of his head and neck—until another police officer shoots the assailant.

All we know about the dead police officer is his name was Rouven L., and he was 29, and he was trying to stop an attack on Michael Stürzenberger, a well-known blogger who has been critical of Islam. (Stürzenberger was wounded, but not critically.)

It took four days for anyone with a uniform or in office to say publicly what was obvious, which was that this had something to do with Islamism.

“Islam belongs to Germany, but Islamism does not,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted Tuesday. “It is a deadly form of fanaticism. There is now clear evidence of an Islamist motive for the crime in #Mannheim.”

This latest violence is part of a gathering storm of Islamist stabbings, riots, and violent demonstrations engulfing the West, with Europe at the center of the maelstrom.

The question for the public is if this is just noise or if it is a serious trend, a trend that needs to be dealt with.

The examples shown in this piece are in Europe.  Do we have the same issues here in the United States.  That is to say, is this Islamists against Europe or is it Islamists against the West?  In either case, it this becomes a serious threat to Citizens anywhere it is the duty of the United States Government to (1) stand against it and (2) to differentiate between those who wish to impose Islam by force from those who wish to attract converts by their excellent example.  The first are criminals and the second are our respected fellow citizens.

We, as Citizens, have a responsibility to distinguish between conduct and belief.  We can think someone is just an evil person.  We are not free to take action against that person.%nbsp; We can say they are evil, but we can't take action against the person.  It is about civilization.

Regards  —  Cliff

OVERLORD

For John, BLUF:  Freedom of the People is something we hold in commonn with the French.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Normandy is in party mood on the eve of D-Day's 80th

From The Times, by Historian Max Hastings, Monday, 3 June 2024, 12.01am BST.

Here is the lede plus three:

Normandy, where last month I was doing book research, proved en fête before the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Every shop and restaurant was adorned with period caricatures, flags and welcome signs. Banish the legend of French rudeness — everybody was delightful. There seemed more American than British visitors. The vast US memorial at Omaha Beach was a heaving mass — take a bow, Steven Spielberg — whereas when we visited two of the Commonwealth cemeteries, Tilly-sur-Seulles and Jérusalem, which seem much more moving because they're so intimate, we were alone.

Keith Douglas lies in the former, he who wrote "And when I prepare to die behind my gun/ I shall not glow with fervour like a sun/ Then, whatever will restrain/ the coward reasoning closely in my brain/ I think it will be that I am mad to see/the whole performance and what the end will be". He never did fulfil that latter ambition of survival, shared by almost every man of the millions who fought in Normandy, being killed on June 9, 1944, aged 24.

Driving through the lush Norman countryside, with so many golden-walled manor houses such as once we coveted, I recalled the 1980s when I began to write about the Second World War, and met a host of veterans. One of my favourites was an exuberant French former officer of the Special Operations Executive named Jacques Poirier. "Since you are to write about Resistance," he cried — I was then doing a book about that experience — "we must share the drink of Resistance!" And thus he introduced me to Kir, named for Canon Félix Kir, a famous Dijon Resister.

I have been drinking white wine with cassis ever since. If one orders it in most English restaurants they overdo the latter, but on Friday at Jeremy King's newish Arlington, it was just right.

So, it seems, we (and the British, Canadians and French and some Poles) were, in fact, liberators in 1944.  And, it was not a free ride for the French Civilians.

What is interesting is that the People of France, or at least the People of Normandy, at a distance of 80 years, still are appreciative of the efforts expended to liberate their territory from German occupation.

As an American I am proud of the fact that we went to the aid of the French.  Also, I am appreciative of the fact that those liberated, and the descendents of those liberated, are appreciative of our efforts.  We have had our differences with the French, but we pull together on the idea of the inherent right to freedom on the part of the people.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Course of the Future

For John, BLUF:  If women are not having children, from where will the next generration come?♠  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The New York Times sure is pushing hard on the narrative of the middle-aged, childless, single-woman lifestyle.  Why?

From Not the Bee, by Blogger Planet Moron, 3 June 2024.

Here is the lede plus one:

I have a theory about happy people. Happy people feel remarkably uncompelled to point out to other people how very happy they are. It's unnecessary. Rather, they just go about their day, you know, being happy.

With that in mind, permit me to introduce you to Glynnis MacNicol, guest Opinion Essayist for The New York Times.

In her essay, she details three things she believes it's very important for you to know:

1. She is very very happy being single, childless, and almost 50. Really, It's like a "fantasy."  She's enjoying her age, she's enjoying her choices, she's enjoying herself, she's enjoying her enjoyment and she doesn't need you to approve of it which is why she's so desperate to convince you it's true through repetition.
2. Men are terrified of her for being happy and enjoying her fantasy life even though they don't know she exists.
3. ‘80s sitcoms were the height of feminist triumph.  Or something.

I applaud Ms Glynnis MacNicol for her success in life and her ability to do it on her own.

However, what about her responsibility to posterity?  Not that I am looking for another Reporter McNicNicol loose in Journalism.  But, what about the generation of the people who will sustain Glynnis MacNicol in her old age?  Nature says it takes about 2.1 births for every female to sustain a population.  Who does Ms MacNicol have producing the lost 2.1 babies, since she is not producing any children?  Maybe that is what President Biden is trying to fix with his open borders.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  This reminds one of South Koreas 4Bs Movement.