Even in the most restrictive states, where you would be shot for visiting a small independent business, were you ever prevented from going to the big box stores to buy your cheap Chinese junk. Oh no. Those were always open, everywhere.
Right on, pede. I am the IT guy for my office and I am in, pretty much every day. You know who else is in? Facilities staff, cleaning crew -- going in to every office, cleaning up every kitchen and bathroom. But do they ever get described as "heroes?"
It's pretty much that way now. It's not like you can run down to the Nuclear Weapons Shop and buy one off the shelf.
As far as acquiring parts to build your own, even if you were to stumble across a little pile of fissile material, what would you do with it? I am pretty sure that most people would die before they could get it out of the box!
"covid speakeasies," I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
But it's all about the FEEEEEELINGS isn't it? I mean, who cares what the practical effects of your actions are -- they are Speaking Truth to Power! Or however it is that they describe their virtue signaling.
And now, thirty years later, we are all paying the price.
Thanks! Now that I think about it, while it is true that certain things would not have happened without the spark of a key leader, you are also correct in that the leaders by themselves might not ever be successful.
Had Washington been born in Germany, for example, what would have become of him or his country? How would his life have been different, growing up in German society of the time, instead of colonial America?
Had Trump been born fifty years earlier, how would he have turned out?
Where would the world be, if Churchill had been born in the US?
Just musing here -- your point of consensus, and my point of a strong leader, are certainly both valid, but does there need to be some other sort of X Factor? Being in the right place at the right time?
Anyways, sorry to ramble. You definitely got me to think, though, so thank you for that! :-)
Sortof -- yes there was what we would call guerilla fighting during the several years of fighting during the American Revolution. But for every King's Mountain and Francis Marion scrap, there was a set-piece battle between uniformed combatants using rules and tactics of the day (Monmouth, Saratoga, the Cowpens, etc etc).
Cornwallis had set up shop in Yorktown. Washington gathered his forces and marched them hard to block Cornwallis in on the peninsula, as you said. But Cornwallis was not initially worried -- he had sent to New York and massive reinforcements were on the way. They were already at sea. Washington would be crushed; Cornwallis settled in to his commandeered digs in Yorktown to await Washington's inevitable defeat.
But as you note, the French admiral Comte de Grasse intercepted the reinforcement fleet and forced it turn back at the Battle of the Virginia Capes. At which point it was all over for Cornwallis and for the British themselves. This was in 1781.
To your point about consensus, some people claim that de Grasse would not have been able to send so many warships, had not the Spanish agreed to protect their bases and trade routes from the British. French soldiers were also instrumental throughout the Revolution but especially so at Yorktown.
But to offer a counter to your point, without the contributions of a few strong-willed individuals, the American Revolution would not have been successful. Chief among these would have to be Washington himself, who largely by sheer force of will kept the Continental Army from collapse after the disastrous retreat from New York and devised the attack on the Hessians at Trenton, which galvanized support for the Revolution. This was in 1776.
Remember, the French had been fighting the British for years. In America and around the world. But it was Washington who orchestrated the final defeat of the British during the Revolution.
Could Washington have won without the French? Unlikely. Possible, but unlikely.
Could the French have won without Washington? No.
Could any other American revolutionary leader won without Washington? No.
Washington's contribution, truly, cannot be overstated. Without him, it just wasn't happening.
If you are interested, reading about the impact a few key individuals had on Washington himself is very helpful. Especially Lafayette.
How they speak of Rush today is certainly relevant. But will it be appreciably different than how they have been speaking of him for 30+ years?
Elder pedes will remember those "Rush is Right" bumper stickers from way back in the 90s. Even back then, lefties would cut them up and rearrange them to say "Rush is Shit."
Seeing these cut-up stickers on cars, and noting how the lefty would have had to acquire at least two different stickers to make their version, told me quite a bit about how they felt about me.
And those feelings have only gotten stronger, more unhinged, more rabid in the decades since then.
"Think of the press as a great keyboard, on which the government can play."
-- Joseph Goebbels
Tool rolls? Sleeping bags? Liners for doggo in the back of the SUV?
Man I thought I was gonna be the champ, moving from Florida to Virginia, but...
Yeah you win. So sorry, pede....
Or as my father used to say:
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.
Teach him how to fish, and you get to sell him fishing stuff for the rest of his life.
Some Toyotas are made in Japan. Toyota Pious is, I think, and 4Runner certainly is. 100% made in Japan.
Japan, I think, is the proverbial "exception that proves the rule."
Safe, peaceful, classy, elegant, intelligent, industrious -- maybe a little odd, but overall a net positive to the world.
Also with a totally dominant culture and ethnicity with very limited immigration.
Japan's net decline in population, due to low birth rates, is a looming problem. Japan needs to resolve that, or somebody is going to resolve it for them.
When what we really need are Hugin and Munin.
"WhiteTrashJesus and Co. Haberdashery"
I like the way you think and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Singapore, as I have heard it described before, is "Disneyland with the death penalty."
I think that is a fairly accurate description. It is a very nice place, many wonderful things and people, top schools, you can have a good life there and provide very well for your family.
IF you follow the rules. When the state wants to shut down Mister Toad's Wild Ride, there won't be a damn thing you can do about it.
Modern Singapore has been, as far as I can tell, the textbook definition of a benevolent dictatorship. But make no mistake -- a dictatorship, it still is.
Very nice! If I had another updoot I'd give it for that cassette I see lurking over there haha... also, is that a Behringer mixer?
Nice mic setup too. I am impressed. I do not see a mic on the kick drum though. Not needed?
Sigh... such a goddess. Seeing Kayleigh doing the YMCA dance at the Trump rallies was just... enchanting haha....
Updoots for Ampeg. Very nice!
And... Marshall head?
Well that sign clearly refers to a full-size 92 so you are good to go. Carry on, pede!
Made right here in my home oblast of the Minnesooootskaya Special Economic Administrative Region!
Back around the turn of the century, and for the first few years of it, she certainly was. Darling of the western liberal elite. Movies! Time Magazine covers! Glowing NYT pieces!
But then she got lumped in with Myanmar's treatment of the Rohinga muslims, and as you know, muslims are a Specially Designated Protected Victim Class™ of which no criticism is permitted.
As far as I recall, she herself was not involved in anything, but she did not recite any Party-approved slogans condeming treatment of the Rohingas. And as we all know, Silence is Violence™, so she got de-personed. The end.
I was satisfied with some percentage of our donation going to Trump and some percentage going to RNC. I just wanted to do my bit to support GEOTUS.
But NONE of it going to Trump?!? ALL of it going to RNC backstabbers?!?
No. No! NO!!!
Thank you so much fren for posting this. I followed your instructions and they confirmed my refund just now. Now we wait.
Thank you fren. I feel good.
We just received another pillow (we now have four) and some flannel sheets. The sheets are very nice! Not too hot, but soft and comfy on a chilly night.
Not only are we supporting Mike Lindell, but we are also getting quality stuff.