(1) Annual general sessions of the Legislature shall be held at the seat of government and shall begin on the fourth Monday in January. ….
(1) no annual general session of the Legislature may exceed 45 calendar days, excluding federal holidays;
Utah Constitution, Article VI
March 12, 2020 marked the end of another legislative session in Utah. For the politically unaware, Utah is a red state. Ever since 1994 the Republican party has controlled at least 50 of the 75 state Representative seats. After a quarter century of the democrats being an almost total irrelevant opposition party, it is not surprising to see the real political struggles to be between competing facti ons within the Republican caucus. By investigating the voting patterns of the members I believe we can see what factions are contained within the house and how they measure.Thankfully Utah has a very simple record of each vote taken on the floor, and the votes of each legislature in each session. With a little Python, and some HTML parsing, we are able to explore that data.
Overview/Summary of the Data
In 2020 the House voted 1324 times, on motions, bills or other items. A little under half of those were voice votes, leaving us with 699 recorded votes. The House rules are fairly strict. During floor debates all members are required to be present, unless excused, and must vote either Yay, or Nay on every motion. This means that the only abstentions in our data are from members who were not present for the vote.
The almost all of the votes were on Final Passage of a bill. Only 6 times was the house divided for a vote to amend, and only once was a vote to terminate debate held. Only 23 motions failed to pass.
Analyzing Factions
In order to analyze the composition of the factions within the House, I decided to use a hierarchical clustering algorithm. This algorithm works by plotting the “distance” each legislator is from each other, with regards to their voting pattern. In short if two legislators always voted the same, they would be next to each other, and two who were always opposed would be far away. The algorithm then builds “clusters”, by adding the two closest legislators into a cluster, and then repeats that process until there is only one cluster. In this way a “tree” is built out of representatives and you can see how close each rep is to each other and what groups they tend to vote with.
Of the 699 recorded votes, only 258 were not unanimous. For the purpose of this analysis, I have excluded all the unanimous votes as they don’t provide us any real information. The remaining data presents us with this hierarchy tree (dendrogram in analyst speak), of the House.
The Lines are Drawn…
Quickly, I’m going to explain how to read this graph. Along the bottom is the name of every legislator. The Y axis maps “Distance”. A line extends from each legislator and moves up, increasing in distance. When two legislators are within distance y of each other, their lines merge and they form a cluster. This process proceeds until all lines have merged. By selecting various height to cut the tree at we can create different clusters. When I say distance, it is best to think of it as a measure of “Dissimilarity” rather than a meaningful distance.
In my opinion I think it separates pretty neatly into 3 core factions. There are some technical analysis that I could do to get some kind of “confirmation” of that, but a lot of it is feel, and the story I want to tell. In Green you have the Democratic Representatives. They are very tightly clustered, voting almost always as a consistent block. Then you have the Republican party, split into two, almost equal factions. Looking at the names in that group, and cross matching with The Libertas Institutes “Legislatvie Index” I can see that the Red Group represents the “Centrist” Republicans, and the Teal Republicans represents the more “Libertarian” Republicans. That leaves a split of 16 Democrats, 29 Red Republicans, and 30 Teal Republicans.
But what affect do these really have? Well, i have no real data for this but I would postulate these interesting tidbits. The current Speaker of the House is a “Red Republican”, however the Charmian of the Rules committee (the most powerful committee in the house, is a “Teal” republican). I have nothing saying this did happen, but it does seem that the Teal and Red Republicans cut a compromise to divvy up the power in the house. In a follow on post I will use these groups to analyze actual votes that occurred in the House, and see if we can suss out details of backroom machinations in action.
Do you know when politicians are lying?
Their lips are moving.
Their lips are moving.They have a pulse.
I’m not convinced that’s true. I mean, just look at them, they’re clearly undead.
What exactly do you mean by “centrist” and what differentiates them from the teals?
Centrist is not the right word. But more likely to vote along with the Democratic Caucus on what i would consider bad bills. For example many of them joined with them to criminalize holding a phone will driving as a primary offense. So more like the Mitt Romney’s of the GOP.
The Teals have a lot of Libertarian impulses and generally oppose bills that limit liberty, and propose bills that expand it.
Utah House – meh to local. no international interest there
“Too local” were the words that launched this site…
…lest we forget.
On Topic for big government:
https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/14/hope-without-change-why-the-ruling-class-will-cling-harder-to-globalism-in-the-wake-of-covid-19/
I like global trade and international cooperation. I do not like locating a huge chunk of manufacturing inside one oppressive dictatorship. I absolutely understand and have no problem with using competitive advantage (in this case labor costs) to compete for business. I do however, think it was terrible idea to jump into bed with an oppressive dictatorship that insists upon having its own apparatchiks involved in one’s business and that will gleefully ignore agreed upon IP law to create cheap knock-offs of every thing one manufactures over there (a lesson painfully learned by both Games Workshop and LEGO). Am I a globalist?
Yes. Next question
China today is worse than Nazi Germany. In addition to having concentration camps where according to some reports only half of internees survive (they are committing a genocide) they have slaves by the millions. The country is a nightmare.
In what moral light do we now view people who did business with Nazi Germany?
We continue to buy their products by the gigatonne, sending billions or trillions of dollars their way annually.
I wish I shared the optimism.
For the politically unaware, Utah is a red state. – better dead than red?
Of the 699 recorded votes, only 258 were not unanimous. For the purpose of this analysis, I have excluded all the unanimous votes – I would worry about those
That leaves a split of 16 Democrats, 29 Red Republicans, and 30 Teal Republicans. – libertarian moment?
Also the Jazz suck. But Utah has a chance on not being the worst state in you United States
Charmian is an interesting title though
Chairperson
Charmian Brent (1939-2014), wife of great train robber Ronnie Biggs
Charmian Campbell (1942–2009), British socialite and portrait painter
Charmian Carr (1942-2016), American actress, best known for her role as Liesl in The Sound of Music (1965)
Charmian Clift (1923–1969), Australian writer
It seems to be a chick name so chairwymmin
Just don’t squeeze them…
Unless you’re a (D)
I assume the unanimous votes are when they are really sticking it to you.
Most assuredly.
But also, the vast majority of what the legislature votes on is incredibly boring….
Since it’s Utah, I want to know the percentage of blondes and how they vote compared to the more swarthy types.
Well, I ventured forth because I wanted to get to the grocery store before I got hassled for even more illegal orders I’m ignoring.
The grocery store I went to decided to turn their checkout line into a maze with the normal routes into the checkout blocked off. I had to do to the back of the store and down a different aisle that actually led into the checkouts. I was reminded of a stockyard.
Apparently I have different taste in soup than the other shoppers, as there were ample stocks of varieties I liked while the common flavors were emptied out.
I still need to make another trip, since I forgot cheese and a few other items.
Did not check the paper products aisle.
I then grabbed a liter of khalua and some ice cream, because I have no idea how long it will be until I peek out my front door after I buy cheese.
Apparently I have different taste in soup than the other shoppers, as there were ample stocks of varieties I liked while the common flavors were emptied ou – you don’t buy soup in a store you make it.
I then grabbed a liter of khalua – why?
Because I’ll get sick of it before I get drunk from it.
I read the words, but don’t understand the concept.
Having a family member nearly die waiting for a new liver has made me disinclined to indulge in excess.
I see, sorry.
FWIW, blackberry brandy is also delicious on ice cream.
Sounds like it may be.
Blackberry brandy was our go-to shot when working behind the bar. It’s medicinal, ya see. During Mardi Gras/Bayou Classic/Essence Fest/French Quarter Fest the shot switched to Red-Headed Sluts (Jägermeister & cranberry juice).
It’s medicinal, ya see
Can confirm. Found it to be most efficacious when combined with Percocet when young me was recovering from lung surgery. Also risky, but youth knows no fear.
https://www.wfmz.com/news/reopening-could-require-thousands-more-public-health-workers/article_a45b57a3-166c-5f9a-bcd1-781ed392aa8f.html
Oh, now I get it.
FFS. Meant as a new thread.
Let’s try this again:
https://www.wfmz.com/news/reopening-could-require-thousands-more-public-health-workers/article_a45b57a3-166c-5f9a-bcd1-781ed392aa8f.html
Oh, now I get it.
#fail
I’m kind of OK with Seattle staying shut down.
Get some good Limoncillo and throw it in the freezer until it gets syrupy. Apply over ice cream or lemon sorbetto.
Bovine University!
Just ask this scientician!
Now I want Kahlua on ice cream. Or a Bailey’s milkshake. Or just Bailey’s straight up.
Do you have any of the ingredients?
No. : (
Back when I was in college, my favorite foo-foo drinks were either a shot of Kahlua or a shot of Bailey’s in a glass of milk OR a shot of amaretto in a glass of 7-Up or Sprite. (I had bad experiences with both Black Russians and White Russians, so…no.)
I do now have 11 1/2 bottles of wine, though, so I’m not entirely bereft.
Amateur
I am an unabashed lightweight. But that also means I’m a cheap date. [Disclaimer: Not available.]
Me neither
“I was reminded of a stockyard.”
When waiting in the security line at airports, I like to embarrass my kids by mooing.
You’re a good father!
Moo.
Unless you have kids to embarrass, you’re just being weird.
And?
What’s so odd about that?
Around here, it’s par for the course.
It can be both.
Hang a bell around your neck and when people ask what’s up with that explain that you are the Judas Goat.
The Wicked Witch of the West/Left is at it again.
Democrats, lead by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) shot down Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) plan to shore up the struggling fund by injecting an additional $250 billion into the program, forcing McConnell to negotiate with Democrats who want the emergency money contingent on greater payouts to hospitals and state and local governments.
McConnell introduced the emergency legislation last week, hoping the need was so evident that the $250 billion aid bill could pass on unanimous consent. But Pelosi and Schumer killed the bill, with Pelosi leading the way and even going so far as to tell her weekly press conference that there was “no data” to support the idea that the Paycheck Protection Program was in quickly running out of cash.
On Wednesday morning, in an appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi “congratulated” Senate Democrats for standing firm against McConnell’s pleas.
Instead, Democrats want McConnell to acquiesce to jumps in funding for several entities that received billions under the CARES act, including health care systems, and to demands to reconfigure the PPP system so that minority and female entrepreneurs are given priority in lending. Republicans argue that putting further, identity based restrictions on much needed small business loans ensures they will be more complicated to administer.
The PPP is officially out of cash as of this morning.
I’m hoping to get in on the second round.
Wells Fargo, by itself, processed 40B. God knows how many were fraudulent.
At least a third. Or was it two thirds.
I received an approval and loan number this morning. I guess I’ll see if I actually get any money. One of my friends received his funds yesterday.
Looks like the PPP program is now frozen – out of funds. I’ve seen some pieces on CNBC showing get-over companies who received big $$$, but were clearly far too large to qualify for this program (lost on the commentators), but structure themselves appropriately (I own 19 hotels, multiple franchises, and had each apply separately).
You own 19 hotels? Why hasn’t there been a Glibs Party at your place?
They are Monopoly board hotels.
What loathesome creatures.
They have forced it to a situation where the gop are the stingy meanies but the Dems are Just here to help. Never mind that the help contains caveats and targeted funds…
Play some hardball – take their states off the federal emergency and cut off aid.
You could see that coming if you understood Trump’s message in yesterday’s press conference. They’re not going to force any state to end any of their lockdowns, but any begging for federal assistance $$ will be limited to health care and will likely come from the $$ being withheld from WHO. Any other expenditure will have to first originate and pass thru Congress.
Expect a surge in Deep State Flu cases and “deaths” in blue states or blue-state localities as a “health care crisis” cash grab. Dr. Birx will explain that the RATE is the same or declining and the raw numbers are only as a result of increased testing, which will be completely ignored by the DNC media. Dr. Fauci will be marginalized since he’s prone to pontificating which the DNC media is happy to exploit.
George Carlin – Germs, Immune System
I wish he were still here (although I fear he’d have TDS).
Late in his life, he just seemed angry and wasn’t nearly as funny. I, too, suspect he would have had TDS.
Sorry, leon, but-
Tinkerbell needs your help. Clap, damn you!
Doing “whatever it takes” to save the global economy from the coronavirus pandemic is going to cost a lot of money. The U.S. government alone is spending a few trillion dollars, and the Federal Reserve is creating another few trillion dollars to keep the financial system from collapsing. A custom Bloomberg index measuring M2 figures for 12 major economies including the U.S., China, euro zone and Japan shows their aggregate money supply had already more than doubled to $80 trillion from before the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
These numbers are so large that they no longer have any meaning; they are simply abstractions. It’s been some time since people thought about the concept of money and its purpose. The broad idea is that money has value, but that value is not arbitrary. Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker once said in an interview that “it is a governmental responsibility to maintain the value of the currency they issue. And when they fail to do that, it is something that undermines an essential trust in government.”
Seriously, Shirley?
“Pffft. They’ll trust us. If they know what’s good for them.”
Libertarians may come back with a vengeance
Wouldn’t that violate NAP? Oh, never mind, they’re fighting amongst themselves again.
The sheep who demanded the destruction of the world economy, over essentially the flu, are going to embrace liberty? Color me skeptical.
To quote a friend, “what am I supposed to do, start shooting people?”
There are a lot of people out there who are annoyed, angry even. They don’t know what to do except bitch about it to their like minded friends. I can’t say that I’m any different. Im not gonna drive down to the capitol and protest. I’m not gonna get myself arrested by flagrantly violating the lockdown. I’m gonna sit at my desk, thank God that my employer still pays me, and hope that these tyrants take their boot off the throat of the economy ASAP.
“To quote a friend, “what am I supposed to do, start shooting people?”
It would be crazy to raise an army and declare war on the mother country over an excise tax on tea and sugar.
What kind of nutjob would do that?
McCarthyism in the late 1940s and early 1950s
?♂️
I attended a tour of the Utah State Capitol in January. The building is nice, though it’s so empty since the state legislature is rarely in session. They showed the base isolation system that was installed during a renovation 12-15 years ago. That was cool.
It is very nice, When the wife and i were first married we lived just down the hill from it and would go on walks around the grounds.
Uh-Oh: Wuhan Lab Changes Sign To ‘0 Days Since Accidentally Releasing A Virus’
The Bee is the best.
forcing McConnell to negotiate with Democrats who want the emergency money contingent on greater payouts to hospitals and state and local governments.
Reward the dumb motherfuckers who destroyed the economy?
Not just no.
FUCK
NO.
Hey, those pubsec pensions aren’t going to pay for themselves.
“Living rooms are now schools! Garages are now gyms!”
STOP. IT.
I was ahead of the curve and placed a new treadmill in the garage last November. At the time I was debating whether to replace the broken treadmill or sign up for a gym. I made the right choice.
Speaking of ice cream toppings- Creme de Menthe (green) is always a good choice.
Oh, YUM!!! ::fans self frantically::
Howdy glibs. Negroni still lives. But while teaching (contrary to union propaganda) is actually a very easy and stress free job it does take up a lot of time. Since I don’t have a real job any more I can’t goldbrick all day while reading glibs.
Anyway. I had some thoughts after teaching a class today and thought I’d share with the only people I know who won’t lynch me for saying them.
My survey US history course has begun our study of the Holocaust and I was asked by a student about the homosexual death toll. This student asked “why didn’t gay people just lie about their sexuality? I doubt many of them were out.”
That’s a great question. How did the government know who to prosecute? Surveillance and intelligence gathering on a civilian population has always been a difficult proposition for totalitarian regimes. Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for us, the greatest asset to the totalitarian governments has always been us. The people. Who snitched on the jews, gays, freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc that the nazis targeted? Their friends, neighbors, relatives, etc.
Who filled Lefortovo prison with people to torture? Sure the KGB did. But also the Soviet people did as well. The impulse to please our masters is an unfortunate side effect of being human. Some turn rat out of fear, others out of economic gain or jealousy, and still others are motivated by party zeal. But totalitarian regimes are never wholly imposed from the top down. They ARE governments of the people and by the people (although certainly not for the people). In terms of a police state, quite simply no one can police us as well as we police ourselves.
Currently that impulse is on full display in America. Hundreds of millions comply with illegal and immoral orders. Our governors have arrogated the power to dictate all aspects of life. And We The People are flooding hotlines to complain about our neighbors. We sic the authorities on anyone who dares to open their store or visit their family. We cheer stories of police brutality against violators. We flood social media to condemn anyone who complains about their economic hardships while we struggle to SAVE LIVES. As if the only lives that matter are those who have the virus. The Washington Post tells us that “Democracy Dies in Darkness” but COVID-19 has taught me that Liberty Dies in the Bright Light of Day. In full view of We The People. And even worse? It dies to thunderous applause.
Our nation was founded by people who valued freedom over security. It was a rarity in the history of the world. That was the basis of actual American exceptionalism and prosperity. Even the most pathetic economic ignoramus understand the fundamental idea that with greater risk comes greater rewards. Our ancestors embodied that. They risked all to cross the Atlantic.They risked all to fight England. They risked all to settle the frontier. They risked all to create an amazing and prosperous country for us… to squander.
The problem we face right now is that the overwhelming majority no longer “needs” reward so they are no longer willing to risk. We have the richest “poor” people on the planet. The number of people in this country who live an even marginally uncomfortable life is impossibly small (and compared to our ancestors they are non-existent). Our prosperity has led to decadence and worthlessness on a massive scale. How many people in our country today have what it takes to carve a homestead out of Comanche territory?
Virtually no one in this once great country values the sentiment behind the great slogans of our past.”give me liberty or give me death”
“live free or die: death is not the worst of evils””land of the free and home of the brave”
Personally, I don’t see any difference between a Chinese virus or a redcoat’s bullet. The rewards of a free society come from risk and death IS preferable to a loss of liberty. But the rest of our peers have decided that this sentiment is as antiquated and useless as the constitution.
This virus bullshit is just a lagging indicator of a tipping point reached long ago. But the fact remains that a populace who values safety over freedom has already decided to become a totalitarian shithole and we’re just quibbling over the pace.
Whatever. I’m gonna eat some Indian takeout then teach my next Zoom class. After work I’ll drink a craft beer and watch some mindless Netflix bullshit. I’ve got my panem et circenses and I guess I’m prepared to play my xbox while Rome burns.
Standing Ovation!
No enjoy your well-earned curry and say hi the ChiComs for me on Zoom.
That was standalone article worthy.
^^^ This.
Yes.
Concur
Thanks folks. If any of our glib overlords wanna post it elsewhere I won’t complain. I just wanted to rant for a bit
Not only have we forfeited our liberties, we’ve lost our collective minds.
Few people consider the other side of the equation – The Stress Pandemic is going to ruin more lives than the virus.
Our leaders lack the ability or inclination to perform the most basic of Cost-Benefit Analysis.
I Gotta link to your thunderous applause reference, if only because it’s one of the few times Lucas didn’t suck during the prequels.
My understanding is that homosexuals were prosecuted as a subset of mentally ill people in Germany. The zeal among the Nazis to get rid of them was much weaker than to get rid of the Jews.
And a great post.
Ernst Röhm was only useful for so long.
“How did the government know who to prosecute? ”
Why do you think it mattered? You really think they cared about precision? If you even questioned them, you were an enemy of the state and that alone was justification for the sentence they gave you.
I think this is why I get uneasy when I see all these young people walking around wearing masks. The benefit of masks aside, something just seems off about it.
“The impulse to please our masters is an unfortunate side effect of being human. Some turn rat out of fear, others out of economic gain or jealousy, and still others are motivated by party zeal. ”
Might be a good time to mention the Milgram experiments in your class. The motivation for the experiments was Arendt’s book about the Nuremberg trials, so you aren’t straying off topic.
Damn, son.
When you finally come back to us, you don’t fuck around!
10/10 Excellent rant. Will read again.
Excellent post.
Fantastic.
Bravo!
Personally, I don’t see any difference between a Chinese virus or a redcoat’s bullet. The rewards of a free society come from risk and death IS preferable to a loss of liberty. But the rest of our peers have decided that this sentiment is as antiquated and useless as the constitution.
Yes. There are so many paths I could go down to expand on the reasons why this is true, but I’ll save the words and only say this…. There’s a reason that I’m a collapsitarian, and this pretty much nails it.
The redcoats had fewer bullets, but they required greater social distancing.
HEY! Get you’re own damn article!
sorry dude. Your article was at the top during my zoom break!
No worries man, You had good post. I’m just joking around.
I’ve just finished reading Frank Dikotter’s Tragedy of Liberation about Chinese history, 1945-1957.
It’s chilling in how much the destruction in that period were abetted by the people. There was no one pathway. Some were true believers, some just wanted stability, some used the communist accusations to deal with personal enemies, some were terrified in general, some terrified they would be next. But, although the power of the state was important, it relied on a significant percentage of the population jumping on board.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to Veto Bill Reopening Businesses in the State
Gotta keep that sweet power.
He is a worthless fuckwit. It must piss him off to be second fiddle stupid to Gretchen the Wicked.
I’m just happy to see a legislature that hasn’t forfeited all of their authority.
Bravo!
I’d like to print this out and air drop it across Michigan.
Who snitched on the jews, gays, freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc that the nazis targeted? Their friends, neighbors, relatives, etc.
How do you say Karen in German?
Superb rant!
Karin
That’s great, but can you give us more specifics here?
Well said.
Great post. I’ll just add this for amplification on the “why” of people’s cowardice:
1 – It must have been 5, maybe even 10 years ago now, but there was an article about how we had gone over the “50% mark” wherein more than 50% of the populace gets its paycheck form the government. I can’t remember if that included govt contractors or not (it might have) but Twain’s quote about “where a man gets his cornpone” remains a piece of cultural wisdom because of its truth. A shitton of people in this country simply can’t afford to disagree too loudly with Uncle Sugar. No one wants to admit that their principles can be bought, but it’s true. Principles are difficult under the best of circumstances, but they’re extremely difficult when the govt pays to put bread on your table.
2 – About 1/3 of the people in the United States are obese. People can argue about the definitions and I’m not trying to be mean, but revolutions against govt overreach aren’t going to be led by fat people who can’t get off of the couch. And even if these folks aren’t beholden to govt for their pay, they’re likely beholden to “the system” for their healthcare. (That’s a big part of why Progs want to control healthcare, btw. It has NOTHING, ZERO, NADA to do with helping anyone. If the govt controls healthcare, they control you. Period. See, e.g., (
a once Great) Britain.That was an awesome, and depressingly accurate rant.
From that “revenge of the libertarians” thing:
The pandemic response arguably could represent liberal values at their best. Government, guided by scientific expertise, protected vulnerable people through a noble exercise of shared sacrifice for shared benefit.
Stop it. You’re killing me.
But enough about forced sterilization.
Remember, the experiments by noble Nazi scientists were intended to provide a better life for real people.
And those good intentions, as they always do, paved the road to Hell.
Fredo gave the ‘vid to his wife.
Personally, I don’t see any difference between a Chinese virus or a redcoat’s bullet. The rewards of a free society come from risk and death IS preferable to a loss of liberty. But the rest of our peers have decided that this sentiment is as antiquated and useless as the constitution.
Hail and welcome, Negroni. Most excellent.
My current illustrative hobby horse, which you are free to use in class, is:
As presently constituted, this nation would have unanimously, on the morning of December 8, 1941, pleaded with President Roosevely to surrender unconditionally to the Japanese. Let no blood be spilt. Let no life be lost. Freedom is not worth inconvenience, no matter how small.
Corollary to that is FDR kept the US on a war footing from early fall 1940 and refused to resume normal life in early fall 1941 when the initial 1 year call up ended. Can’t end house arrest now either. Flatten the curve!
I’ve tried to sound the waters on the liberty vs. state aspect of all this with people around me and it’s not pretty. I find generally that when I disagree with someone on a point I can sort of walk it back to a place where we agree, e.g. maybe taxation isn’t theft but we can agree that the government at best is a custodian of the money its citizens pay for services and doesn’t own or “deserve” tax money. Here, though, I’m having trouble. My first principle, something I hold on a visceral, irrational level, is that nobody has the right to tell me what to do. Life is finite and time is limited, and being kept from doing something because some authority decided you aren’t allowed to is like stealing your life from you. To me it’s doesn’t feel any different than some bureaucrat deciding to kill your children because the government said so. I can’t defend it rationally because I feel it in the same way as my own sense of self-preservation. I can’t find common ground with a person who accepts that the government has the right to keep him or her from attending a funeral because the government said so.
Some people have a slave mentality, some people have a free man’s mentality.
It’s weird, but people really are different. I guess it’s like jazz or whatever; if I you need me to explain why individual liberty is vitally important you’ll never understand or agree. Either you think it is or you don’t.
IMO, one aspect of nature v. nurture that is very hard to account for is broader environment. Concepts like the Overton window show how strong an influence society has on the opinions people hold. I don’t doubt that nature plays some role in it, but I’m guessing that culture has the biggest impact on perceptions of individual liberty. You and I and everybody else here are at the very edge of the Overton window, so it’s hard to imagine somebody over on the other side swinging in our direction.
Internal locus of control
External locus of control
you got it or you don’t
Life is finite and time is limited, and being kept from doing something because some authority decided you aren’t allowed to is like stealing your life from you.
I don’t bring it up often, but I’ve come to think that the worst taxes of all are taxes on your time. In theory you can make more marginal dollars, but you can’t make more marginal time.
Good stuff, leon. I look forward to your analysis of actual votes.
Thanks! We’ll see if i ever get around to it… I have a habit of not completing articles.
Lol. I have two started…
*gets distracted by a bird*
Yup, I think I have 3 or 4 in various stages of completion.
Still on a deep dive into SCTV. This DerpTube channel is fantastic – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6FQ0pFsQVQHh00QawTkv5A
Fredo gave the ‘vid to his wife.
There are probably a bunch of people hoping he gave it to the fat tire bike loser. Because EMPATHY.
I wouldn’t feel bad if they were both found dead with their hands around each other’s throat.
Meant Fredo and Fat Tire
Meant Fredo and Fat Tire
Fat Tire and Missus Fredo (nekkid) would be better. Then we could get a stern admonishment from the CDC about “rough sex” in these trying times.
My past risk management training says there are four methods to handle risk: 1) accept, 2) avoid, 3) mitigate, and 4) transfer. Each of these methods comes with a cost that must factored into the decision making process.
Transfer always drive engineers nuts, because we exist to solve problems. But for the general public, transfer is the default solution even if they don’t understand it.
The pandemic and the public response is the perfect example of the wrong way to manage risk: 1) transfer all risk to the government and 2) it doesn’t matter what the cost is so long as it saves one life.
People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.
+1 Tommy Lee Jones
*triggers neuralizer*
There is no such thing as Glibertaliens, you have just been talking to eccentric malcontents on the internet.
Neuralizer is not going to diminish the hots for Tommy Lee Jones.
Government is a risk launderer. They don’t really accept any risk but shake it up and place it back on other people.
Excellent point.
This just amplifies why it is such a bad fucking idea to transfer risk to the government.
This just amplifies why it is such a bad fucking idea to create a
transfer risk to thegovernment.If you define government to be the guy with the biggest stick, then there is always government.
To paraphrase/bastardize Churchill, we’re just looking for the least evil form of government to live with. However, we are a vanishing breed.
Apparently #1 is no longer acceptable to a large portion of the population.
Anyone that leaves the house each day accepts lots and lots of different risks. Of course, you accept lots and lots of additional risks by just staying home each day.
The general public unconsciously accepts all sorts of risks associated with being alive and then wants to transfer to the government any risk that actually breaks through the brain fog and become visible.
Note that “avoid” is currently interpreted by the general public as “blame the victim”.
1934 Bentley 3.5L Sport Saloon
Wood.
Ooo
I thought to be a saloon, it needed to have those swinging partial doors.
That’s a frontier saloon, this is a sport saloon.
Oh. My.
That is stunning.
For this time period, the body is a separate thing made by a different company than the final badging, correct?
You are correct.
Yeah, I remember when I was in high school and one of my teachers had a 1930-something Stutz Bearcat, but it didn’t look anything like the picture of the same car in the encyclopedia. So you can’t get exactly what you are (literally) looking for unless you know which body you were looking at.
Fisher Body
I’m having more trouble since the new Eyepiece, so here’s the link in case the one above doesn’t work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_Body
My dad used to work at the Fisher plant in Euclid, OH.
If you haven’t already, turn off the “avoid page refresh” option. It fucks with the links for some reason that I haven’t figured out yet.
Hey trsh, am I crazy or did you move the format buttons?
Yep, a couple updates ago. Moved them to the bottom because the text menu buttons on mobile covered the formatting buttons up. Made it impossible to do certain things.
OK. I’ll live with it. ?
It worked this time. Thanks for all you do.
There’s a lot going on, and doG I feel bad for SP grinding through the stacks.
Admittedly, I don’t enjoy sparky stuff. It was fun rebuilding starters and alternators, but when distributors went HEI I lost interest in staying current. I am not a good client in that regard. I try to follow instructions, but it seems like something always goes wrong and I can’t find it or undo it or get it to work with some other whatever.
It worked this time.
It’s an intermittent issue… Probably some sort of timeout or message length issue when posting a comment.
I usually do Eyepiece stuff when the wife goes out of town, so it may be a while until I figure this particular one out. If you start noticing Rhy’s issue where toggles turn back on after you turn them off, let me know and I’ll set the default to off for that feature.
I feel especially bad for SP as I go through the process of setting up a web server at work. So many layers that you just have to trust work well and work well in combination. When they don’t, you just have to hope that somebody else encountered the same problem and solved it.
If this is a DDoS attack, it’s aimed at suppressing our commenting ability, so I’m gonna comment extra just to flout the fuckers.
I’m a dev and dealing with servers is absolutely the worst part. Hate, hate, hate it.
It’s basically incantations and prayers.
*intones*
Ave, Machina.
Desktop issues versus network issues versus VPN issues versus actual telecom issues.
/cracks another beer
It’s Stealth.
If in the event it’s something else, I will be shocked.
If you’ve never heard of the product, be thankful.
My past risk management training says there are four methods to handle risk: 1) accept, 2) avoid, 3) mitigate, and 4) transfer.
Haha. That is eerily reminiscent of my old “Three potential responses to a problem” rule.
1) Fix it
2) Get rid of it
3) Live with it
Risk is something bad that happened yet, even if the probability is certain that it will happen. You still have time to decide to accept, avoid, mitigate, or transfer.
A problem is something bad that has already happened. At this point, you can only fix it; get rid of it; or live with it.
Not if you are government.
Many private insurers have carved out pandemic on business interruption. Our betters in various states want to add it right back.
Now insurance is a contract of adhesion, but businesses and especially larger businesses do negotiate the contract.
This is the core of the “pre-existing conditions” debate regarding health insurance.
Insurance is risk mitigation.
Pre-existing conditions are problems, not risks.
And I oop
“Risk is something bad that hasn’t happened yet, . . .”
You can’t make an informed choice without estimating:
1. The likelihood of the event
2. The cost of the event
3. The cost of the alternatives – avoid, mitigate, or transfer (insure)
Few people are really talking about the cost of the mitigation being attempted.
See my post at 26: Just prior to people a dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.
It’s snowing. Clearly this social distancing is causing catastrophic global cooling! We need to send everyone back to work to put a stop to it before it’s too late!
The snow has stopped here for now, but there’s more predicted for tomorrow.
leon,
Are there contested GOP primaries in Utah? If the incumbent is defeated, you can check if the new representative joins the different GOP faction.
That will be interesting. There does seem to be quite a few GOP seats being contested so we’ll have to see how it goes. I did do the analysis for 2019 as well and there was a shift in the factions. in 2019 the “Teal” faction was larger, and this year a few representatives have swung to the other side.
Well, fuck.
R.I.P. Brian Dennehy
81 and non-Covid.
I always dug his work. I watched Gorky Park awhile back and he was great.
81 and non-Covid.
*adds death to NYC COVID-19 fatalities*
It checks out.
You say Gorky Park and I hear winds of change.
RIP The Real Big Tom Callahan
Time to note your google score (or twitter score or MSN or where-ever you get your Brian Dennehy news score):
Look at the side panels where you’re being told the Dennehy has left the building: how do they characterize him to you!?
I get the worst score: 1/5, because this is what twitter thinks I’m the kind of guy who would remember him from Tommy Boy. Total. Interwebs. Fayul.
Hey, Tommy Boy was the Citizen Cane of movies about fat guys (unless you count the younger Orsen Welles in which case Citizen Cane was the Citizen Cane of fat guy movies).
Smith & Wesson M&P .45 ACP $330 Cop trade in, so probably never fired more than once a year. Night sights.
I wil not be buying one becasue 1) DAO, and 2) They are not selling to NY or CA.
Those LEO trade-ins can be hit or miss, though. A buddy of mine got a Sig for cheap at a local shop because it was a cop trade-in. It had pretty obvious holster wear but seemed to be alright. He took it to the range and it was one thing after another. It was still a decent deal when all was said and done but only because a mutual friend is a gunsmith and fixed the worst issues. Basically, when it was in service it was just dogged out and not taken care of.
IIRC, my first semiauto (other than a .22 plinker) was an S&W .40 cop trade-in. I don’t remember having any problems with it, but I eventually traded it in favor of a Ruger SR9 for my CC weapon of choice.
My GP-100 was a popo trade-in. It was/is in excellent shape.
At the end of the day he wound up with a P229 in good working order after $500 and a little work, so it was still a great deal.
I have a bunch of LEO turn ins. Zero problems. Most were in excellent shape, and some had a bit of holster wear.
Those are striker fired, not DAO?
I think you’re right, but I was just going off the description
For some reason S&W always describes them as DAO. Which they obviously aren’t.
Can’t striker fired pistols be DAO if the trigger mechanism fully cocks and releases the striker spring as opposed to a Glock or similar where the spring is always partially cocked?
AFAIK, the M&P has fully cocked striker.
That’s what she said.
If I may, your able question implies that the “second” way of firing (ala DA revolver) in and of itself is what makes them DA.
To me, it is the inventory of having two ways of firing that make them (or any gun) DA. To me, if you can only fire a gun one way, it doesn’t matter what that way is: it’s SA.
/ cowboy thinking may not apply to normal folk
I though the single/double refered to the ‘actions’ performed by the trigger, not modes of operation? In other words a double action is a trigger that both cocks and releases the hammer, or other firing mechanism, and single action is a trigger that can only release the firing mechanism. Hence SA/DA firearms which can be cocked by hand and fired single action, but can also be fired double action from an uncocked state.
Michigan getting fed up.
If these governors stick to their current timelines,, they’re gonna need the national guard to keep people in line.
Our county just mandated masks in stores for shoppers and employees. I’m predicting that by May 1st if they don’t start relaxing restrictions there are going to be more and more people blatantly ignoring these orders. At that point, the authorities will have a choice: enforce them with police, which will result in violent resistance in at least some cases, ignore the violations, or run to the front of the parade and lift the restrictions.
So… the UP is different than Detroit?
/shocked face
I never tired back in the day to tell out-of-towners to meet me at my office on Big Beaver
Exit 69, Big Beaver. I also had an office (actually, a few) there. Small world.
I’ll never tire of driving through Beaver Falls, in Beaver county, on the Beaver river.
Well, those spots are Up North, but still south of the bridge. Close enough though.
It’s finally beautiful enough weather, I’m taking a day off to be outside, read, garden, etc.
It’s hard to forget about government though because government has forced its way into all aspects of my life. Maybe that would be the case if we all followed the constitution.
?
I laughed
is it Friday yet ?
Nope.
/takes a sip of beer
Beer. Hmmmm, good idea.
/* wanders off to the drinks fridge in the kitchen */
You violated social distancing orders to throw that reg flag!
*cites Tundra*
?
“Just as there are famously no atheists in a foxhole, it would seem that there are few small-government libertarians in the midst of a pandemic.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/16/the-shutdown-backlash-is-coming-soonwith-a-vengeance-189809
Fuck. You.
Slowest and smallest pandemic ever.
Oh, no, that was the minipox.
*raises hand, continues milling lower*
Something something drugs, ass
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/dozens-cops-tactical-gear-aggressively-show-california-church-easter-pastor-now-facing-fine-six-months-jail/
FTA: “You still have freedom of speech, you still have freedom of religion, you’re just gonna have to do it a different way,” he said. “I’m not telling you you can’t worship, I’m just telling you where you can’t go to do it, and that’s based upon this health directive.”
This was supposedly in response when the pastor made claim his 1st Amendment right to assemble was violated…notice how the sheriff didnt address that piece.
Thats in the redacted part of the constitution.
In the FYTW clause on the back in invisible ink that reacts with with citrus and can only be viewed with special glasses.
Damn it! I haven’t been to a church (except for weddings/funerals) in over 25 years. This shit is making me want to go to a church out of spite.
It’d be nice if I had any confidence whatsoever that the courts would smack this shit down, but I don’t.
A California court? I almost choked on my fried chicken when I read that.
When was the last time we saw PBR?
What is the current incarnation of Just Sayin?
Don’t remember seeing Just Sayin’/TGA – nor anyone with a G.K. Chesterton avatar – for many weeks now.
I forget what PBR stands for (other than the beer.) ::hangs head in shame::
PBSstreetgang: yeah, I think beer
We added 172 to the death count (don’t worry that nearly 40% of those are for funsies.
Got to keep that panic ratchet going.
They’ve gone from vote harvesting to death harvesting.
And they will have more dead from which to harvest votes.
“You still have freedom of speech, you still have freedom of religion, you’re just gonna have to do it a different way,” he said. “I’m not telling you you can’t worship, I’m just telling you where you can’t go to do it, and that’s based upon this health directive.”
And, I am pleased to announce, the chocolate ration has been increased.
I actually wouldn’t have so much of a problem with his statement, if it didn’t mean that drive-in, stay-in-your-car services were also excluded.
I can’t remember who said it here, but To these people “Church” is just a hobby some people do on Sundays. If your Sunday hobby of bike riding in the park can be canceled, then of course church can be canceled.
Coronavirus: Trump’s WHO move makes zero sense, says Melinda Gates
That’s OK, Melinda as Microsoft Bob made no sense either, but it did land you one of the first geek sugar daddies!
Double action-
The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer (firing mechanism)
?