Sales at Dick’s Sporting Goods tanked in the last quarter while most retailers are doing better with increased consumer spending. This was due to the store caving in to political correctness.
Comparable-store sales fell 4%, Dick’s said. Not adjusting for the 53rd week last year, the company’s same-store sales declined 1.9%.
The weaker-than-expected results bucked a trend in the retail sector, which largely has benefited from a surge in consumer spending fueled by a booming economy.
Consumer confidence for August, measured by the Conference Board’s consumer-confidence index, was the highest it has been in about 18 years.
That sentiment, along with other factors, has powered companies such as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. to their best quarterly results in more than a decade.
Dick’s said part of the company’s sales problems were a result of Under Armour’s decision to sell in more stores including Kohl’s. Under Armour declined to comment.
Also hurting sales was Dick’s decision to tighten its policy on gun sales after 17 people were killed in a February shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school. The retailer halted sales of any firearms to people under age 21 at all of its 845 Dick’s and Field & Stream stores and stopped selling assault style weapons at Field & Stream.
Ruger 22 is semi-automatic rifle. The stock clip holds ten bullets. It fires one bullet at a time.
Please note that there is no such thing as assault-style weapons. Anything used as a weapon can be used to attack or defend a person, family, or property. Claiming that a special class of weapons called “assault-style weapons” is the myth of illiterate Liberals and city folks. Fully automatic weapons have been illegal since the days of John Dillinger. Thus, all guns commercially since the 1930’s are only capable of firing one bullet at a time. So, Dick’s claiming to stop selling assault-style weapons is a bald-faced lie.
Dick’s has limited buying options, limited who they will sell too, and let gun loving folks everywhere know they are openly hostile to them. As a result, their sales fell. No surprise here. Had they done nothing they would have shown a profit last quarter. I hope this is a trend that hurts them in the pocketbook.
Lanny Davis used to be a special counsel to President William “I do weird stuff with interns and cigars” Clinton. As such, he was charged with defending the president at all costs against everything he was accused of, like any good attorney on retainer would. In fact, in a very sad attempt to stay relevant following the re-election of George W Bush he published a book and went on tour to promote his tome. One stop on his tour was the University “The Chief” attended when he was a freshman. At first, buying a ticket and his book was required by the faculty (after all the school was in Marin County), but then it wasn’t. As the blessed event drew near, tickets were given away for free so I decided to go. In addition to a free ticket (the event was held at my college) I was able to obtain his book for free. Scandal: How Gotcha Politics is Destroying America. Retail was $24.95 in USA, $32.95 in Canada, thank God I didn’t go to school in Canada, why would I pay $8 extra for the same book? Are these the Trump tariffs? Oh wait, this was 2004.
I was even invited to meet the speaker…again for free, he was so in demand. He walked over to me and started a conversation, we talked shop a little. He was likely triggered by my Bush Chaney 04 shirt I had on. I don’t think he really cared who I was supporting. Turns out his son is Seth Davis of CBS NCAA coverage fame. We found common ground and talked for a while about him. Like any proud father he talked, talked, and talked some more about how great his son was…….Barf. Commentators are a dime a dozen, and especially those who work like 2 months a year tops and are the definition of replaceable. But that is okay. He showed me about 5 photos, his son looked the same in each one. Finally, just as I was wishing I was wearing the “Drunken Jedi’s backpack” he was told to get ready to get on stage. My prayers were answered. I took a seat in the auditorium; it was deemed a sell out by Raider Fan standards… about 70% empty. He actually gave a good talk, basically referencing a sitting President screwing up and the other side immediately moving for impeachment, that rings true in the last 3 administrations by the way.
Lanny Davis: the man, the myth, telling legends
However this blog isn’t to talk about that speech. “The Chief” specializes in hot takes, so here you go. Lanny Davis has a history of being the angry white male while on camera. As you may recall, Lanny Davis was angry on election night while a guest of CNN…what else is new on that network. The Clinton regime sticks together or else… Maybe Davis felt he would be next in the scores of Clinton “confidants” found to have “committed suicide” (I will use the term “allegedly”) had he done any different. Surely its coincidence that those “suicides” seemed like foul play was involved; however, with the Clintons, it’s best not to leave the reservation. Clearly, William “the intern seducer” Clinton wouldn’t have had anything to do it himself because he’s too busy entertaining.
Bill “can you wag your finger and have no shame” Clinton
Anyway, Davis went off the deep end the other day regarding Donald Trump…who by the way is still the President. He went postal so badly that it should have resulted in a 5150 hold. He claimed President Trump knew in advance about a meeting in Trump Tower with Trump’s campaign and the Russians. Well literally on the following Tuesday, Davis back peddled on his story so quickly that if any NFL team is looking for a cornerback, he’s your guy. Davis reversed direction so quickly he lost his lead blockers in the media by saying “I regret not being much clearer in saying I’m not sure about this story.” Davis made this admission to NBC News. “It’s a major mistake for which I am 100 percent sorry. Period. I never should have done it unless I was certain and could prove it.” Hmmmm what is your book titled again? So basically you made it all up, nice job. You’re about as phony as your low rent son.
So Davis, let’s take a look at your clients over the last few decades.
• William “I was just getting a blowie while speaking to that other countries leader” Clinton
• Martha “I knew nothing about those insider trades, I swear I have great timing” Stewart
• The embassy to the Ivory Coast regarding election fraud
You my friend have a monopoly on morally bankrupt clients, glad you share their morals! Chief no like bottom feeders. Now you have been provided a retainer by Michael Cohen “allegedly” a friend of Donald J Trump…by the way still our President. I think Cohen had a role in Shawshank Redemption, you know the grown adult crying for his mommy at the beginning of the film? Yeah, he was beaten and killed but he realized he didn’t want to be in jail, congrats Lanny, you are a failure.
Hot Take: The chief coming in hot: Davis, or should I call you Lanny, do you “hook” yourself out to your clients for free, I’m asking for a friend? Your clients all seem morally bankrupt so do you actually get paid in money or….perks, if you know what I mean?
Hotter Take: Is the reason you are so triggered that you slept with Hillary? If you did no big deal, every guy needs a
slump buster…but a couple questions, how many paper bags? (Too bad plastic bags are outlawed in Liberal places.)
And how many bottles of Viagra, I’m asking for a friend? Because no way it took just 4! Hotter Chief! Hotter! Lanny did you “hit your knees as well for el presidente?
Chief get out the flamethrower! Is this the reason you still have all your hair because you and “el presidente” did the dirty? If not why do you have a still semi-full head of hair, and Carville and Begala are bald! Chief singe your hair now! Take that!
Chief, drop a hot take from the clouds! Lanny is your son really an illegitimate son conceived by William “just the tip” Clinton and your wife…I’m asking for a friend! He looks more like Bill then you!
Don’t bring that weak stuff near The Chief. Me steer clear of swamp people in home of Great White Father.
Believe it or not, NPR (National Public Radio) is reporting that 2/3 of all school shootings reported during the 2015/2016 school year never happened.
This spring the U.S. Education Department reported that in the 2015-2016 school year, “nearly 240 schools … reported at least 1 incident involving a school-related shooting.” The number is far higher than most other estimates.
But NPR reached out to every one of those schools repeatedly over the course of three months and found that more than two-thirds of these reported incidents never happened. Child Trends, a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization, assisted NPR in analyzing data from the government’s Civil Rights Data Collection.
We were able to confirm just 11 reported incidents, either directly with schools or through media reports.
In 161 cases, schools or districts attested that no incident took place or couldn’t confirm one. In at least four cases, we found, something did happen, but it didn’t meet the government’s parameters for a shooting. About a quarter of schools didn’t respond to our inquiries.
A separate investigation by the ACLU of Southern California also was able to confirm fewer than a dozen of the incidents in the government’s report, while 59 percent were confirmed errors.
When Liberals are honest enough to admit that “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics” it makes you wonder.
Hopefully this is the last time I will ever have to write about this man. John McCain was the posterchild of what is wrong with members of Congress.
As you know, McCain was another Vietnam era veteran that capitalized on his experience in that conflict and turned it into a lifetime political career. McCain was the son of a high-ranking Navy Admiral. The story goes that daddy pulled some strings and got John into the military as a pilot. McCain flew planes off the carrier USS Forrestal. He was a crew member during the 1967 fire aboard the carrier. The fire left 134 men dead and 161 more injured. It was the worst loss of a life on a U.S. Navy ship since World War II.
McCain’s troubles did not end there, later the same year he was shot-down over Vietnam and captured. When he was shot-down, his rank was Lieutenant Commander. He remained a POW until 1973. McCain was always haunted by stories that he collaborated with the North Vietnamese. This in part was due to him being offered an early release from the POW camp and turning it down. He also made a propaganda film for the North. This was a result of torture. McCain retired from the military as a Captain in 1981.
(FYI give the number of years in service (1958 – 1981) and his background, this is not a very high rank.)
US Navy Officer Ranks From 1973 to 1981, McCain advanced only two ranks
The following year, voters in Arizona elected him to the House of Representatives. After two terms he was elected to the Senate, replacing Barry Goldwater.
Sadly, McCain is best known for his grandstanding and obstructionism. He was a frequent foe of conservatives and like Goldwater, had an open hatred for Christians in the public square.
Shortly after his election to the Senate, McCain was part of the Keeting Five scandal that sank three of the five political careers of the participants. As was frequently the case, he was the only Republican involved.
McCain blocked immigration reforms and judicial appointments. At one point, he flirted with switching parties, but the Democrats didn’t make him a good enough offer.
In a year when Republicans offered their worst possible Presidential candidate and Democrats did likewise, McCain lost to Barack Obama in a landslide. It was his second and final time to run for the highest office. Like Bob Dole before him, Republican leadership cleared the decks of opposition because it was “his turn” to run.
McCain is best known for courting the Liberal media and thwarting Republican legislation.
Even after his diagnosis with terminal cancer, he refused to resign. His hatred of Donald Trump was so deep that he wouldn’t step aside. Much of this Russian election tampering attack on Trump over the last year and a half is the direct result of McCain’s hatred of Trump. He chose to team with Hillary Clinton and the Democrat’s proven fake dossier on Trump just, so he could hurt a person that he didn’t like.
But that has always been the case with McCain, he was so thin-skinned that every disagreement with him is personal; never policy. At his core, he was a selfish, petty, and vindictive man. Any time he could take someone or something down a few notches, he felt it elevated him.
He was a deplorable character on the national stage and I for one will not miss him. I hope Arizona can find a statesman to take his place and not another politician.
Blogger’s note:
I am disguising my identity due to my standing in a group that aids and assists the Catholic Church where I worship on Sundays due to my status as the 3rd highest ranking officer. The opinions in this blog represent one man’s experience and opinions, not those of the Blog Father or his other contributors. Additionally, some graphic nature of this blog may be disturbing to some of our readers, I apologize in advance.
When I was a young lad, I was brought into the church the old-fashioned way, I was forced to attend. While I was usually allowed to look at a picture book or sit and read the bulletin, I was a weekly attendee at every Sunday service. Mom insured that I was always dressed up as if I was going to the Oscar’s immediately afterward. Upon receiving the final blessing and going forth after the procession leaving church I was always told to say hello to the priest (or father) as they call them in the Catholic Church. I always complied and was very impressed with our priest. As a young lad I found it more interesting that this person said Mass every weekend, and always seemed to wear a different robe, and when he spoke everyone listened. Fr. Barry Brunswick always captivated the audience. The highlight of my Sunday as a 5-8-year-old was Fr. Barry saying make sure you go to the social hall and grab a donut; good boys get donuts for free.
Church for me as a young lad was like golf, many attended but few understood. I certainly didn’t, except for the whole “your sins are forgiven go forth” at the end of each Mass. I thought this was like a get out of jail free card, I was happy going to church each Sunday. Fr. Barry was eventually moved, the Catholic Church does this every 6 years or so, and as a result we found a new church to attend as we moved as well. I found out this past week a reason we moved was the priest incoming was transferred from Florida and had child molestation in his background.
As I grew I attended High School at Jesuit High in Carmichael, here in Sacramento County. I loved my time there, even more so I really grew to like my art teacher my freshman year Brother Charles Onorato. I couldn’t draw a stick figure very well, but Brother Onorato challenged me, and I grew better for it. Then everything changed, news of some Catholic Priests abusing young boys came out. I still remember our Pope saying it was a couple rogue priests and the problem was isolated, I believed it. Then one day Brother Onorato was not at class. We were told by the Dean of Students Karl “Hiel” Hanff he was removed due to accusations of him abusing young boys. I was devastated, like anyone would be. I figured Onorato was the least likely to be accused. As of this writing I am unsure if anything happened to him, and if anything did I don’t want to know, it would break my heart.
Brother Charles Onorato, whatever caused his removal at Jesuit High School, is still a Jesuit in good standing
Hundreds of priests were accused, rounded up, and shipped out, much like the Salem Witch Trials. I thought this was only a few rogue priests Mr. Pope? I questioned my own faith, these same people preaching from the pulpit about morality, and telling me not to lie….lied. They did not practice what they preached. I thought very long and hard about switching faiths, the Catholic Church was no longer for me.
Over time, the tragedy quieted down, and faded from the news, I didn’t leave the church, in fact I mistakenly became more involved. I rose through the ranks after just a few years and became the number 5 in command, I was required to attend a meeting put on by members of Supreme from Connecticut. At this meeting we were told EVERY MEMBER of our group would be required to do online training and get fingerprinted at our own expense and have the results turned over to the local church office to remain a member in good standing. Keep in mind the church office staff are not priests and would have access to anyone’s criminal record check. Several members asked why it was our group being singled out and not the actual priests who had a history of crimes in their past? We were told that issue is in the past and we could have members with child molestation in our ranks. So, we all had to pay for background checks, with our own money by the way. To this day I have not heard of a single member being thrown out due to any criminal past. Just as an addition, the Sacramento Diocese stretches from Sacramento County over to Nevada and all the way north to Oregon, one of the largest by land mass in the Catholic Church. The church is divided up into sub groups called diocese, run by the bishop.
The issue largely went silent and many, myself included were under the impression that the church had cleaned house and a new day was here. We were proven wrong. A bombshell report out of Pennsylvania alleges that over 70 years 300 catholic priests in 6 out of the 8 dioceses sexually abused over 1,000 victims. Even more disturbing is in that same grand jury investigation, priests and bishops urged victims not to report the abuse, and law enforcement not to investigate it. I guess the collar has a separate set of rules from the masses that attend church. Perhaps even more disturbing, the cover up was ordered by the archbishop of Pennsylvania, this person is akin to being Governor of a state, the top law enforcement officer. This report came out on the heels of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington DC resigning after reports surfaced he abused young priests, seminarians, and minors. Seminarians are those who are studying to become priests, apparently McCarrick didn’t discriminate age wise. The cardinals vote to pick the Pope by the way, you can see how powerful they are. Some of those named in this report not only avoided prosecution but they were promoted in the ranks. One of those bishops named is now the archbishop of the Washington DC diocese. One priest named, abused 5 sisters in the same family, including one when she was 18 months old. Luckily for most named in the report the statute of limitations has run out, so they will avoid any penance for their sins. This just in, the diocese has appealed to the 3rd Circuit to keep the names in the report sealed, so much for that whole transparency thing promised 15 years ago.
Now some excerpts from the report…again, these are very disturbing in nature:
“It catalogs horrific instances of abuse: a priest who raped a young girl in the hospital after she had her tonsils out; another victim tied up and whipped with leather straps by a priest; and another priest who was allowed to stay in ministry after impregnating a young girl and arranging for her to have an abortion.”
Abortion is a sin that the Catholic Church prays for an end to each week by the way.
“Despite some institutional reform, individual leaders of the church have largely escaped public accountability,” the grand jury wrote. “Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades.”
The grand jury said that while some accused priests were removed from ministry, the church officials who protected them remained in office or even got promotions. One bishop named in the report as vouching for an abusive priest was Cardinal Donald Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington. “Until that changes, we think it is too early to close the book on the Catholic Church sex scandal,” the jury wrote.
Here is a good one, on relocation…….brought to us by Cardinal Wuerl named above:
Father Paone was relocated successively to Los Angeles, San Diego and Reno in the following years, with Pittsburgh’s bishops attesting to his fitness as a priest. Among those bishops was Cardinal Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington. He accepted Father Paone’s resignation from ministry in good standing in 2003, allowing him to collect his pension.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, an architect of sexual abuse cover-up
Wuerl even nominated himself for sainthood prior to this report coming out, check this out:
Cardinal Wuerl released a letter to his priests on Monday, saying that while the grand jury report would be “critical of some of my actions, I believe the report also confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the survivors and to prevent future acts of abuse.”
This quote from a person who attempted to commit suicide due to abuse by a priest:
“From her hospital bed, she asked for one thing,” the grand jury wrote in the report, “that we finish our work and tell the world what really happened.”
Some victims were plied with alcohol and groped or molested, the report says. Others were orally, vaginally or anally raped, according to the grand jurors.
“But all of them were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all.”
Among the more egregious cases, the grand jury reports that:
• In the Greensburg diocese, a priest impregnated a 17-year-old, forged a pastor’s signature on a marriage certificate and divorced the girl months later. According to the grand jury, the priest was allowed to stay in ministry by finding a “benevolent bishop.”
• Another priest in Greensburg groomed middle-school students for sex, according to the grand jury, by telling them that Mary had to “bite off the cord” and “lick” Jesus clean after the Nativity.
• In Harrisburg, a priest abused five sisters from the same family and collected samples of their urine, pubic hair and menstrual blood.
• Also in Harrisburg, a priest raped a 7-year-old girl who was in the hospital after her tonsils were removed, according to the report.
• In Pittsburgh, church officials said that a 15-year-old boy “pursued” and “literally seduced” a priest. A church report later acknowledged that the priest had admitted to “sado-masochistic” activities with several boys.
• In the Allentown diocese, a priest admitted sexually molesting a boy and pleaded for help, according to documents, but was left in ministry for several more years.
• Also in Allentown, a priest who had abused several boys, according to the grand jury, was given a recommendation to work at Disney World.
• In Scranton, a priest who later served prison time for abusing children was found to have been HIV-positive for years.
Tuesday’s news conference began with a short video of three victims who told how they were abused and how it changed their lives.
An 83-Year-Old Man Said He Couldn’t Show Any Affection To His Wife And Children As A Result Of The Abuse he suffered. A woman said the abuse started when she was 18 months old. Another man said, “When you have the priest touching you every day, that’s a hard memory to have. The first erection that you have is at the hands of a priest.”
Church officials followed a “playbook for concealing the truth,” the grand jury said, minimizing the abuse by using words like “inappropriate contact” instead of “rape”; assigning priests untrained in sexual abuse cases to investigate their colleagues; and not informing the community of the real reasons behind removing an accused priest.
“Tell his parishioners that he is on ‘sick leave,’ or suffering from ‘nervous exhaustion.’ Or say nothing at all,” the report said.
He said that the cover-up by senior church officials “stretched in some cases all the way up to the Vatican.”
In summary, it’s once again crisis time at the Catholic Church, and once again they proved they never learned from the past. Churches in Canada and the Midwest are closing at alarming rates, and no one seems to care. A weak-kneed email was sent to all members of the group I belong to saying anyone who has abused someone should be removed from public service……I guess the church feels priests are akin to a government worker. Removed from public service, like teachers who get put in a room and continue to accrue service time and when the time comes enjoy full retirement? The Blog Father and I agree on this; they should be defrocked and removed from the clergy permanently in shame. The cardinals elected a Pope who is nothing more than a weak-kneed social justice warrior who cares more about America accepting more immigrants than policing his own. He would rather look the other way and hope the issue blows over as opposed to taking a stand and saying there will be a worldwide review at every level of the church and no one is safe. However, he won’t do this, because sadly Catholicism has essentially become a multi-level marketing scheme, they care more about bringing in new members than retention or finding true believers. Try it for yourself, put a few dollars in the basket when it comes around and regardless of your views on marriage, abortion, or the death penalty they will accept you. Nebraska and Illinois have pending investigations and Australia apparently has a huge investigation into this…..buckle up folks this is going to get very ugly. Let priests get married you will find a better pool from which to pull from and these issues likely will not be as prevalent…..in the mean time I may be searching for a faith that actually practices what it preaches. I am embarrassed and upset about my own faith. They are led by weak kneed, spineless people who literally turned a blind eye to abuse of children, innocent young children.
Jake the Snake
Disclaimer: any resemblance to this author and some other guy named Jake is purely coincidental; furthermore, Jake is not related to the snake in the account of Adam and Eve.
Loyal followers know that The Chief very seldom holds back when it comes to hot takes, but this story actually had blood gushing out of my eyes. Verizon Wireless serves many purposes, largely they are known as a wireless provider “allegedly” they also are the second largest of wireless provider behind AT&T. Fun fact: Verizon is actually a former “Baby Bell” spun off from the breakup of the old AT&T. As almost anyone with a cell phone knows, every so often you get the dreaded message “You are close to going over your data limit” or “You must upgrade your plan to get faster download speed” knows you generally must relent and agree to the additional charges. As far as I am concerned, I don’t have much of an issue with this practice, since usually a swift change in your lifestyle will yield your old plan working just fine.
Here is my “chief issue” with Verizon, they used a similar practice on firefighters fighting a blaze in Mendocino County. They used a term called throttling which in laymen’s terms means reducing the data speed rates that are used by folks surfing the internet. While I disagree with data throttling and other manipulation, to do it to firefighters, in the midst of fighting a major forest fire, is downright despicable. Verizon Wireless in their infinite wisdom, cranked down the data usage by our firefighters fighting a huge blaze. Yes, you read that correctly, they were in Mendocino fighting the biggest fire in state history—which as of this writing is still only 67 percent contained—one where communication among everyone was key. Just to clarify for all of you from Rio Linda as Rush likes to say, this was not a drill, or a daughter or son texting their boyfriend or girlfriend and causing a data overage, this was a real life or death situation.
Mendocino Complex Fire – currently combined 425,177 acres have burned
In order to get more data for their command center in the midst of fighting this fire, they had to agree to pay double
their current monthly bill even though they supposedly had an unlimited plan.
Verizon says the fire department was subscribed to an “unlimited” data plan that was limited. The company has come under fire for its use of the word “unlimited” while placing limitations on plans. In this case, the plan firefighters were under was “unlimited” until they hit a certain data point, then their data would be throttled to a slower speed.
Look at this quote from Santa Clara Fire Chief Anthony Bowden “This throttling has had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services. Verizon imposed these limitations despite being informed that throttling was actively impeding County Fire’s ability to provide crisis-response and essential emergency services .”
Per KOVR’s report, the fire Chief went on to say:
“Verizon representatives confirmed the throttling, but rather than restoring us to an essential data transfer speed, they indicated that County Fire would have to switch to a new data plan at more than twice the cost and they would only remove throttling after we contacted the Department that handles billing and switched to the plan.”
At this point, Bowden says fire personnel had to rely on their own personal devices rather than the mobile command center. Verizon eventually lifted the throttling, but not until the department signed up for a new plan.
Editor’s Note: In the same testimony the fire chief listed other fires he had fought where Verizon did the same thing to them in the midst of firefighting.
How many additional structures burned as a result of this action Verizon took? Also, one firefighter died; was he trying to get into contact with his colleagues but unable to due to “data overage?” While I am no fan of investigations led by the government this is one that needs to happen. Was Verizon responsible for any structure being destroyed or fire fighter deaths? If so they should be charged criminally, very similar to how PG&E was held liable for some of the fires their wires started. Verizon may actually be the lowest of the low, Warren Buffett may be blushing. Verizon has since come out and apologized, interesting that the apology was issued as Congress announced they would be investigating. Also, this has not been reported but Verizon announced today, they would offer a new program with unlimited “emergency data” to first responders plan for about double the normal price for an unlimited data plan, I guess as Rahm Emanuel said, “never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Verizon messed up badly, and likely are responsible for additional millions in damage and likely the death of a firefighter due to their “greed.” Exceptions can and should always be made, and during emergencies is one. While most people run from fire, firefighters run towards the fire with every intent to save structures and any people in its path. Verizon halted that, all due to corporate greed. They put additional structures and people in harm’s way all in the name of profit. In all likelihood they will be fined, both federally, the state will also get their pound of flesh, a couple of counties may get a pay off as well, but nothing will change. No lessons will be learned, apologies do not bring back memories or loved ones unnecessarily killed or destroyed. I’m sure Verizon has their legal department on overtime looking for ways that their insurance policy can cover this. Who is more morally bankrupt? Wells Fargo, PG&E or Verizon……I’ll take all of the above.
The lesson here is life goes on, regardless of whether your possessions or loved ones do, corporate profits are far more important, got to hit next quarter’s numbers!
Editor’s Note: Hey Chief, if they do this for a rural fire what do they do when we finally get hit with “the big one” and much of L.A. or San Francisco is in rubble?
“You’re a legend in your own mind.”
—Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry in Sudden Impact (1983)
Elon Musk is not just a legend in his mind but for many that uncritically accept his claims. Musk follows the axiom of selling the sizzle not the steak . The difference is that Musk is finding that he can’t deliver and a few folks that he has bewitched are waking from their stupor to find that reality is a cruel thing.
Is Tesla really the future?
Below are some quotes pulled from a New York Post story on Musk and Tesla.
Musk is walking a razor wire, another source says, between the things he’s promising and the things he can actually deliver. Until recently, Tesla investors and employees bought into Musk’s vision, even though Musk was “saying things that don’t make sense, because he’s accomplished so much.”
“He is very difficult to move off his stance,” says the source. “He’ll say, ‘The car can do X, Y or Z,’ And yes, that is possible — two decades from now,” the source said. “He bases his argument on the physically possible rather than the practical reality.”
One insider … says that when Musk tweets about a new functionality or feature, it’s often in response to a fan who has asked when such a thing might be available. Musk, says this source, will often email the tasked department, then tweet back to the fan the date it will be done, no matter how unrealistic the request.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s current great hope, the (relatively) affordably priced Model 3, is having its own issues, as is the sales force responsible for moving them.
On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that although Tesla hit its production goal of 5,000 Model 3s by the end of June, 4,300 of those vehicles required substantial fixes. That’s 14 percent making it through “first pass yield,” or an initial production line that requires no fixes at all.
This Tesla employee isn’t surprised.
“The Model 3s come in [to the showroom] scratched or damaged,” he says. “They don’t fit together properly. If you look at the panels, they’ll be mismatched. They won’t line up.”
On Thursday, Business Insider reported that Wall Street analysts tore apart a Model 3 to find multiple failures, including “inconsistent gaps & flushness throughout the car, missing bolts, loose tolerances, and uneven & misaligned spot welds … The results confirm media reports of quality issues & are disappointing for a $49k car.”
Even as doubts fester within Tesla’s factory walls, few want to believe the trajectory may be downward.
“Elon emails us directly, saying ‘We’re on top, we’re going to prove [everybody] wrong,’” this employee says. “Everyone realizes it’s f–ked up, but everyone’s afraid of losing their job before Tesla ‘hits it big.’ It’s a mess.”
Doubtless you are familiar with the phrase “Crime doesn’t pay” but actually is does; just not much unless you are in elected office.
I came across the latest wage schedule of what prisoners earn per hour when working inside the prison system. When compared to what Apple pays people to make iPhones, these guys are really doing well.
Depending on which report you believe, Apple pays somewhere between five to thirty dollars in manufacturing costs to assemble each phone. The hourly wage is estimated to be about $1.78. The guy in China making $1.78 per hour is probably having to support a wife and their government permitted one child plus all his household expenses.
Note: no recent cost estimates were found, Apple keeps this info under wraps
On the other hand, incarcerated individuals pay no housing costs and get three squares a day. Their income is tax free and used primarily for their own use. They also get free healthcare that is better than whatever you’re getting on the outside. If they had to pay Medicare, Social Security, plus State and Federal taxes, they would have to be paid much more (as a percentage) to clear a dollar an hour in wages.
2018 prison wage schedule
In many cases, taxpayers pick up this slack for guests of the California penal system and pay their families welfare, Obamacare, and other benefits.
I was inspired by the Sith Lord several years ago to consider doing Ancestry DNA and 23 and Me.
(FYI it’s called 23 because you have 46 chromosomes with 23 from each parent.)
The Sith Lord said that each website does it differently and provides different information. I’m still working on getting both done. At a retail price of $99 per test, you really have to want to do it.
In brief the Ancestry test gives you two things:
First, the obligatory breakdown of origins. Where in the world did your ancestors come from? Some of the breakdown is logical but there are some trace outliers that raised a few questions with me. Hopefully 23 and me will address these when I get around to doing their test.
Second, Ancestry provides a list of other people that are related to me in some way. The trick is they don’t say how. It claims that 998 people in their database are my 4th cousins or closer. I know one person in their list but the others, nope.
Ancestry lets you use an online version of Family Tree Maker to try to add information to build-out your family tree. If you haven’t done this before you can really get carried away. Ancestry treats all family trees on their website as containing valid data and relationships. The old saying about garbage in, garbage out applies here.
I have some information about my family history and I still had to correct instances of the same spouse or child appearing on the tree as different people. You can only go back so far before the trail gets cold, unless someone really famous crops-up in the list. I traced my mom’s father back to William the Conqueror in 1066 AD. To get such results you must rely on other people and if one relationship is incorrect then the whole tree turns to nonsense. Ronald Reagan’s “trust but verify” applies to genealogy research too.
I researched a couple of nagging issues from a few years ago and did turn-up new facts while on the website this time around. The main one being a wedding record of my great-great-grandfather. His first wife died three years before the birth of my ancestor and this has always been unexplained until this summer. Since I looked last time, Ancestry has added more records to their database and I was able to answer one of my questions about this period of the family history.
I think its worth doing if you’re curious about genealogy.
The Left is getting all charged up because they think they finally may have the leverage to take-out the President. Sorry but I don’t get it.
Paul Manafort was found guilty of stuff that happened long before he ever went to work for Trump. He was convicted of on 8 of 18 counts. That means the prosecutor threw everything including the kitchen sink at him and less than half stuck. We all know that you only prosecute what you think you can win because almost everything gets plea bargained.
What you have to remember about Trump is that he came into the political world when none of the established campaign consultants were available. His only choices were second and third tier players—bottom feeders if you will. Those with proven track records were already committed to other candidates.
Nobody took him seriously as a candidate. Hiring quality personnel has always been a problem for Trump. Those he knew in the business world were often ill suited for the political world and frankly couldn’t afford the pay-cut even if they could handle it.
Cohen, Manafort, Omarosa, and a host of others have made the Trump campaign and subsequent Administration a revolving door. I knew this would happen and said so many times before he even took the oath of office.
Trump has done nothing criminally wrong. His ethics are not in question either. Trump trusted people to do what they were hired to do but many were deeply morally flawed and gold-diggers. Anything they did illegal is on them. The liberals and many Republicans are hoping for guilt by association that somehow translates into Trump being impeached or resigning.
Drudge Report headline August 22, 2018
Richard Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment; not for committing a crime but for subsequently covering it up to protect his friends and associated. He was guilty of blind loyalty.
Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath and nothing happened to him. He and his surrogates attacked— vilified is more like it—his accusers and destroyed them in the public. He just laughed it off and stayed in office.
Trump has had the full power of one and a half political parties plus much of the Obama era appointees gunning for him for three years now. They have unleashed hell on him. Most of what they have done has been based on demonstrably false and phony information but as the old saying goes, why let the truth ruin a good story.
Don’t forget that the backdrop of this is that the unions and Democrats are fighting for their very existence. November is their last shot to change the direction of the government. The amount of money they have been able to spend in the past will no longer be available after this cycle. The Democrat Party is in turmoil. After this cycle, the unions will diminish and the Silicon Valley billionaires will be in a position to take the reins of power. Their Party will never be the same either way but if the existing leadership wants a hand in how the Democrat Party will be remade then they need to have a good showing in November.
So the real story is not that Trump’s existence is at stake, the Democrats are trying to nationalize their fractured party by uniting against the strawman of Trump that they themselves created. Remember that in the weeks ahead as Mueller does whatever he does. Mueller’s goal is the bleed Trump prior to November not to take him out.
