Peter

I just went to www.donaldjtrump.com where I may donate next. They don’t have that Trump icon.

Take all the leftist and Democratic “talking points” about Trump trying to overturn the 2020 election and then fast forward to now. All that the Demoncrats at the national and statewide level (as in Georgia are saying), is their attempt to illegally win the 2024 Presidential race by harming the Republican candidate, Donald J. Trump. they are making America look like a Banana Republic.

I wouldn't mess with the ballot count, but I will leave it up to the experts. People may be going to prison for ?XYZ.

As of now, From USA Today. Who's in the first Republican primary debate? Trump, DeSantis, and other 2024 candidates have qualified . . . Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Former Vice President Mike Pence . . . They must also sign a pledge agreeing to support the eventual party nominee. end quote I think President Trump should sign the agreement to support the Republican candidate nominated. Why? Because he is going to be nominated. And a Republican is more in line with libertarian / Randian / American principles too. At least more in line with those principles than President Biden. Once again, several of these candidates may be seeking their first term as President Trump’s Vice President. Oh, and Joe is doing terrible in the polls because everyone can pull up to a gas pump, or the grocery store, and feel the pain as the totals rise and rise and rise, just as Joe's handlers lie and lie and lie. Peter

I was watching the local news last night and with about three minutes to go, it cut to "the news" that President DJ Trump had been indicted for a fourth time. I went to Jimmy Kimmel and a few minutes into his show they cut into his show with the same lame news. America may be in trouble. I checked the other channels, and the same bull shit was going on. Three channels all controlled by the most corrupt, irrational, communist, etc., group in America.

On the news a woman died recently after drinking a lot of water. It's not a wise thing to do.

I made an observation some time ago, that a "person" IS who they are in their mind, but with a brain and a body existing in reality. A person is born with a physical gender but if their reasoning brain says they are in the wrong body . . . I would go with them knowing who they are. Yet there should be restrictions on actions in social contexts such as which public bathroom can be legally used. I think children should be excluded from gender modifying surgery but should be free to wear the clothes and the haircut that is most like themselves. When they are older what they do is up to them. Locally we have Rehoboth Beach Delaware, where President Joe Biden was just biking. The town is known as "the gay mecca." Interesting. As Popeye proudly said, "I yam what I yam." Proud father and grandfather, Peter

I recommend the movie, “Let Him Go,” starring Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane. It takes place in the 1950’s and there are vintage cars with fins, families, horses, prairies, and ranches but I would not call it “A Western.” It is not classified in the horror genre either. But with reservations, I think it could be considered a nightmarish, horror movie. It is riveting and for people with a strong stomach. The scenes will stick with you.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly is excellent and is playing in installments on Netflix. We are into the second season, and I highly recommend it.

From Fox: Eight candidates say they’ve reached the polling and donor thresholds mandated by the Republican National Committee in order to qualify for the initial presidential nomination showdown on Aug. 23. They are Christie, former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and entrepreneur and best-selling author Vivek Ramaswamy. From Scientific American . . . But is suddenly changing your mind really a mark of insight? Major revelations make for memorable stories, but our research shows they rarely represent how the best analytic minds revise their beliefs. Rather than doing a 180, those who excel at making accurate predictions tend to change their beliefs gradually. They revise their predictions to reflect new information, but they do so slowly, comparing it with the information they had before. From Reuters. Biden’s job approval percent is 40. Disapproval is 54. semi quote. The majority of the early Real Clear Politics polls show that if the election were held today Biden and Trump would tie or come within a few points of each other, end quotes. It is way too early to place any “emotional or biased” bets but given those Bad Biden approval ratings, then darn, a rational assessment of Trump’s handling of the economy, America, NATO, and the world . . . I would go with Trump for 2024. A lot of history has yet to occur, but it is still fun to speculate. It may be that the next election is still split and will follow the 49 to 49 percent ratio of popular vote patterns of yester years, but a lot can happen. You should definitely watch the August debate or check the news for recaps using Fox or Newsmax or a trusted internet site. I am still waiting for just one “biggie” political predictor to speak out. Peter

Good for you. I remember trying to learn to play a guitar for maybe a half an hour, and my fingers demanded I get some calusses Sp? before I tried again. As Hoyt Axton sang, "Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get? Bloody fingers."

It is! And only one fellow can put an end to the speculation. DJT. I personally don't think he should go on stage or sit in the audience. They would have a special camera on him the whole time. He frowns. He smiles. He says something under his breath. One of the candidates starts mocking him, etc., etc., etc. On the bright side, it might unnerve some of those mini candidates. Does anyone think he will pick his VP from one of those who are running against him or are just a critic? I hope his choice for Veep will secure him the votes he needs.

Yeah, right, so why is no one other than the ALT news saying President Trump will be reinstated in his job as President without a vote in 2024? Why hasn’t Congress acted to halt this supposed, crime? Why hasn’t the Supreme Court intervened? Not even The Press is pushing conspiracy theories. There are a lot of pro Trump people at Fox and Newmax, to why have they just done diddly squat . . . and golly . . . fools have gone to jail for being stupid and violent! They are still trying to nab the jaspers who stormed the Capitol but have not yet been prosecuted. They're comin' to take you away ha ha! On to the real news. From POLITICO: . . . It’s entirely possible that Trump will be snacking on popcorn while watching the debate from Mar-A-Lago — or possibly from the audience to spook his opponents, as he’s suggested — and plenty of voices agree that it’s the smart move. His entire inner campaign circle is skeptical of Trump taking the stage, and as POLITICO columnist Jack Shafer summed up, “a person shouldn’t eat when he’s not hungry, drink when he’s not thirsty or debate when he’s already won.” . . . . end quote It would be odd to see President Trump in the audience at the Republican debate. You know he would have to say something, or boo. Hah!

Soooo? Can you please go after them legally since it was perfectly, obviously fraud? I don't think so. Nor do I hear thunder on the horizon. Bull shit. Now, be on the alert for November 2024@@!~

So sad. Do you remember who sings, “Do you know what I mean? Have your eyes really seen?” Love Song - Elton John (Tumbleweed Connection 7 of 10)

Fortunately, those "has beens' you mentioned above, Bush, Clinton, and Obama, and their "contracts with America" are terminated by . . . term limits. Whoever was elected after them may have tried to undo the damage they did. I don't put GW Bush in the demoncrat category either. I misspoke. I meant to say King Don and Prince Don. Those names sound a lot better. King Don will not show up for "the debates" either. Even the King only gets two terms. History will show him as President for two terms and exerting pressure on the political system for the four years in between terms. The debates are a way for Americans and President Trump to look for a VP and be entertained too. Hmmmm? I wonder if they will be saying bad things about President Trump? If they do, they may be booed in person and via TV screens across America. I saw an interesting story about how President Trump bristled at his arraignment when the judge called him Mister Trump. Somebody claimed to read his expression and body language.

King Trump? Prince Trump? Nah. That monarchy stuff is for you Canadians and Brits.

From Politico: Details of the first Republican presidential primary debate are here. The highly anticipated debate is set to take place Aug. 23 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention will be held in 2024. Fox anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate the event. end quote So, it will be on Wednesday, August 23 from 9 til 11 pm and it will be broadcasted by Fox.

I liked Sarah Palin. I bought her bosomy poster. She was terrific in many, any way. Palm Beach, Florida - Donald Trump revealed that the first Republic Party primary debates coming up later this month "might" help him choose his next vice president. On Monday, the former president took to his Truth Social platform to share that while he is not planning to attend the event, he will definitely tune in to check out the competition. "Let them debate so I can see who I MIGHT consider for Vice President!" he declared. end quote We will know in the future who will be Veep! Of course, we know who it won’t be. Pike Mence. Mope nope. Fat guy from Jersey? Not ever. DeSanctamonious? Maybe not. Well, it's a long stretch. Indian / Amerian girl? Maybe. That’s all I got. Who you predict? Peter

Thanks!

We need a pro Trump movie! If you go to the “net” all they have to say is pro left, anti freedom, and verrrry negative Trumpism and freedom. Damn / Egad. He just might win again. So much criticism. So much slime. Who you gonna call? Ghost Busters!

I hereby dub thee Murky. Alexa? Why did the alligator cross the road? Because he wanted to be bayou.

Still searching the word “extinction” and here are a few quotes from a brief portion of a larger thread. This will be the last tonight. Peter From: "Dennis May" <determinism> Reply-To: Starship_Forum To: Starship_Forum Subject: [Starship_Forum] Re: End of Man Unless... Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 13:53:51 -0500 Monart Pon wrote: >In the article, Hawking was quoted as saying, "I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet." >The human species has survived many "accidents" and catastrophes in the past, from the World Wars of the last century, to the Plague in medieval Europe, ...It seems arbitrary to suppose that humankind will be destroyed by such catastrophes, rather than to suppose that humankind can survive or avert them. Mass extinctions have occurred many times in the history of the Earth. Some of these mass extinctions have yet to be explained. The extinction of individual species happens all the time, again often without explanation. It is known that a single species can become extinct in one environment or continent while thriving in another. Speciation often occurs as a result of separation into different environments over extended periods of time. Confinement to a single niche often results in extinction. Genetic variation tells us that modern humans were nearly extinct at one time. We have extraordinary little genetic variation compared to other Old World Apes. This small degree of variability means we are more prone to disease related extinction than many other animals. Dozens of offshoots of the human family tree are extinct much less the Old World Ape family tree. We are the survivors, hundred of our cousins didn't survive. Modern humans have included several racial groups which no longer exist. Our ability to cure diseases is offset by our ability to create drug resistant strains of disease and bioengineer new diseases. This doesn't even mention other weapons of mass destruction. The primary means of averting extinction is niche diversity. In the case of humans this would mean moving into space [the largest and most diverse niche possible]. The present large numbers of humans is certainly no guarantee. Passenger pigeons numbered in the billions and would black the sky for days during migrations. >Besides, is the danger of something wiping out the human race on Earth the main reason for going into space? I, as an individual, if I find that the future of humanity in a thousand years to be irrelevant to my own life now (recall the one and the many), why should I be motivated by that hypothetical danger to go into space? Niche diversification increases the possibilities for political diversification including the creation of freedom friendly governments or communities. Civilization confined to the Earth increases the likelihood of a dramatic swing towards collectivism from which civilization might never recover. How close did the Nazis/Axis come to conquering the world? How close the communists? How close various religious groups? What about the fanatics of today? Every pendulum swing brings us again to the brink of disaster, eventually we won't recover unless it becomes physically impossible for any one group to control all humans [in space]. The question of individual motivations can only be answered by individuals. Some companies founded in Europe four hundred plus years ago still exist today. If you were an individual working for such a company you might very well care about the long term vision of the company and its goals much less the big company called humanity. Short term thinking if applied globally would prevent many large projects from ever occurring. Space colonization is clearly one of those projects requiring long term thinking and investment. I could very well die today hitting a deer on the way home from work, I've seen it happen to other people. I might live to be 100 like my great, great uncle who kept a full time job till he was 93. Medical and technological advances might extend my age well beyond what people think is reasonable or even possible today. A single scientific breakthrough could bring disaster or glory to humanity depending on what it is and how it is used. Those who don't or won't live for the possibilities inherent in long term thinking won't be a part of the rewards should they come before expected or come in unexpected ways. I have worked on several engineering projects which were continuing improvement projects without a "finish" date. Others were projects which have been worked on several times over four decades or more and still are not completed. Difficult problems often must be approached many times before the promise of big rewards becomes real. There can be many small rewards along the way giving some satisfaction but the promise of a big payoff is the real motivation. I see the promise of space as very real and tangible. The impediments are primarily political not technological. Minor changes in our political environment in the late 1960's could have lead to hundreds of thousands of people living in space today. It didn't happen not for lack of technology but a lack of vision. I become very uncomfortable when I hear people talking about the long term future not affecting them today. It makes me want to go back to 1968 and spank Nixon for canceling nuclear rocket research. No long term vision means no future for yourself or anyone else. Dennis May Dennis May wrote (10/12): ". . . It would be a grave error to assume that everyone in space or everyone with WMD can be reasoned with. Nomadic technological societies are the only solution I see, I am open to the possibility of other solutions." Peter Taylor, in response, wrote (10/16): Nomadic existence is necessary only if we know the threat exists. We have no such information now but we certainly need to find out before we go forward or advertise our existence. If the information that alien civilizations do exist, is not available, then the most logical explanation is: they do NOT exist. Nonetheless, we should at least colonize at least one other planet, asap. Why colonize another planet when we could construct our own artificial planets? The gigantic, country-sized vessels envisioned and designed by physicist Gerald O'Neill (author of _The High Frontier_) are not only earth-like in environmental suitability -- but are more in human control as to gravity, solar radiation, climate, location, and locomotion, than being confined to the surface of a planet, even one as hospital as Earth. There are some who promote the colonization of Mars because it's the planet nearest to Earth's conditions, but the Martian conditions are far more severe than any area on Earth, worse than a combination of Sahara desert and Antarctica. It's understandable why people today easily think of space settlement in terms of planetary locations, since they were born on and accustomed to living on Earth. But why struggle to escape the gravity-well of a conducive planet like Earth, only to sink down another gravity-well of a nearly airless, waterless, arctic desert like Mars? If we had to live on a planet, we'd be better off staying on Earth. But staying on Earth or eking out a living on Mars, or crammed into space submarines, are not the only types of alternatives. Living in the high frontier of free space within environmental conditions superior to that of Earth -- that's a far more appealing alternative. See my other writings on this subject, including this post on the archives: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Starship_Forum/message/80> As to Dennis' concerns about space settlements being susceptible to attack by Weapons of Mass Destruction, some answers were discussed in another thread, starting with this one at http://groups. yahoo.com/group/Starship_Forum/message/101> Besides, a civilization consisting of these free-floating, free-flying space countries could be an excellent example of Dennis' suggestion of having "nomadic technological societies." Monart

I continued to look for “extinction” and I found a page of quotes from some guy. What was his name? All of the following quotes are from President Ronald Reagan. “Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” “One way to make sure crime doesn't pay would be to let the government run it.” “Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.” “I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.” “We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much” “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.” “Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.” “Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” “Today, if you invent a better mousetrap, the government comes along with a better mouse.” “Man is not free unless government is limited.” “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction” “Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They're just braver five minutes longer.” “They say hard work never hurt anybody, but I figure why take the chance?” “Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.” “We need you, we need your youth, your strength, and your idealism, to help us make right what is wrong.” “Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.” “Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.” “These young Americans sent a message to terrorists everywhere. . . . You can run but you can't hide.” “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” “When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.” “To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last -- but eat you he will.” “There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” “Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.” I know it's hard when you're up to your armpits in alligators to remember you came here to drain the swamp. (February 10, 1982)” “There are no such things as limits to growth, because there are no limits to the human capacity for intelligence, imagination, and wonder” “There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.” And I guess everyone remembers the one about tearing down that wall. Peter

Well said Anthony. I searched my saved documents for the word “extinction,” and I found a speech by someone famous. I just quote a couple of her thoughts. Peter Barbara's lecture delivered in 2006 at The Atlas Society summer conference (the link, posted elsewhere on OL by Ed Hudgins, to this article on The Atlas Society's own website has been broken). Objectivism and Rage by Barbara Branden. A lecture presented at the TAS 2006 Summer Seminar, July 4, 2006, Chapman University, Orange, CA . . . How much more difficult it is to see into other people’s minds. We cannot know precisely what information they possess or how their minds dealt with that information. We cannot know the degree of their intelligence or their context or their life experiences. We cannot know how or why they have arrived at ideas that we may find abhorrent and irrational. Yes, we may feel, when an opponent seems invincibly ignorant: “The world is racing toward disaster and we all face extinction because you refuse to think!”—but our emotions are not tools of cognition. Justice demands that we withhold moral censure where we do not have certainty. Life would be much simpler if the line between honesty and dishonesty, between intellectual integrity and evasion, were self-evident. But that line is not self-evident. . . . My own understanding of maturity is that it requires the ability to live with uncertainty. Because no matter how much we know, how much we learn, we always are faced with many uncertainties—uncertainties about ourselves, about other people, about the world. No one can once and for all tie reality into one pretty parcel for us and tell us we need never doubt or wonder again. If we cannot accept this fact, and live comfortably with it, we are in very deep trouble indeed. How wonderful it is to find answers in an area where before we had only doubts and questions and uncertainties. And it can be equally wonderful to find new questions where before we thought we had certainty—and then to leap into the unknown in the search for knowledge. Surely this is a substantial part of what the richly lived life is all about.