Ted Cruz Lays Into Mayorkas, and Its Glorious

In the era of a desiccated dry f#rt of a presidency and a GOP delegation that has traditionally been so full of RINOs it could qualify as a wildlife preserve, it is refreshing and heartening to see a Republican decide he has had it eyeball-high with this administration’s play-acting, take out his spine and use it to take a bureaucrat to school.

Such was the case during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on border security. Ted Cruz channeled his inner Popeye the sailor and pretty much said: “I’ve had all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.”

He proceeded to take DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the proverbial woodshed. Specifically, Cruz made Mayorkas face the music over the trafficking of children that is so prevalent at the southern border. According to Fox News, Cruz said:

Mr. Secretary, I want to say to you right now, your behavior is disgraceful. And the deaths, the children assaulted, the children raped, they are at your feet. And if you had integrity, you would resign. The men and women of the Border Patrol, they’ve never had a political leader undermine them. They despise you, Mr. Secretary, because you’re willing to let children be raped to follow political orders. This is a crisis. It’s a disgrace. And you won’t even admit this human tragedy as it is a crisis.

You can view the most dramatic part of the exchange below. It is all worth watching, but I suggest checking out the portion that begins at 8:56. (Yes, there will probably be an embedded ad. Use the skip button when it comes up.)

dover0beachsays:
March 29, 2023 at 2:34 pm
I find the “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual” shtick ludicrous. As far as I’m concerned, spirituality comes from religious belief.

Indeed. Distinguishable but inseparable.

Which religious beliefs? Do religions differ in understanding about spirituality?

Decline in American Values Is the Defining Trait of the Obama Generation

The Wall Street Journal released a poll over the weekend showing, in stark relief, how the values of individual Americans have changed in 25 years. Many pundits have written this week on the implications for the survival of a nation that no longer views itself as exceptional, a society in which most people don’t believe in a higher power beyond themselves, and a world in which the ideas of community involvement and having children no longer inspire citizens to do something larger than their individual concerns.

Make no mistake: this decline in American values has its roots in a lot of bad ideas over several decades but really gained its full flower in the Obama generation.

We now inhabit a nation almost a full generation removed from the famous campaign promise from President Barack Hussein Obama, on Oct. 30, 2008: “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America!”

It’s downright painful to compare the America of today to the USA of Sept. 12, 2001, but this is a reckoning every patriot must face head-on. Vodkapundit had a great take on this in his column yesterday, “Is GenX the Last Generation of Americans?“

COVID and the resulting state-sponsored fracturing of American civility seems to have accelerated the trend lines. Lockdowns vs. liberty, masks vs. faces, mandates vs. adult choices, public educators vs. everybody — if there weren’t two Americas before March 2020, it certainly feels now like there are at least that many.

Absolutely spot-on. The state-sponsored fracturing of American civility (among other civic values) accelerated the trend lines — but those trend lines have deeper roots. We simply noticed them more starkly in the pandemic crisis and our insane response to it. There remains no doubt, however, that we have taken divergent paths.

Indeed, the pandemic panic and willful suspension of constitutionally guaranteed natural rights could not have happened without Obamaism having replaced Americanism as our defining national trait.

Contrary to the (duplicitous) Clinton declaration of the end of big government, Obamaism ushered in every deleterious effect of Big Government that we see today.

Of course, some things got their start in the Bush administration, like the expansion of the surveillance state in the War on Terror and TARP. Thank goodness the Patriot Act could never be weaponized against American citizens, amirite?

So what has Obamaism wrought?

– The weaponization of Big Government against domestic political opponents: ✅

– The notion that government has rights and that they exceed those of the individual citizen: ✅

If I get the “I’m spiritual” remark, I always ask “which spirit are you in touch with?”.

Always a relief if it’s only the gin bottle. Anything else is a worry.

Okay. What about ? ?

Harrumph! Those check symbols are as boring as a ledger page. I wanted a grinning cat and got nothing.

Titania McGrath: Tweet of the day.

Nope. The other ones don’t work.

Another observation about those Nashville bodycam videos. Note the apparent planning, training and drills the school itself had done in preparation for such an incident and the courage of the school administration during it.

Look closely at what’s going on besides the action figures and you will see empty rooms and hear a loud siren going off.

So within seconds of the shooter breaking into the building the warning sirens were activated. Within moments all but 3 extremely unfortunate students and possibly a substitute teacher who were likely caught out of position or slow to react, the classrooms and hallways were empty and the vulnerable were nowhere for the shooter to find even though she had attended that school and presumably knew the layout and the drills.

The school Principle and a custodian appear to have voluntarily risked their lives to face down or delay the shooter and were sadly killed by her.

Again, impressive.

ZK2A:

I’m presuming the lady will have no difficulty reversing her earlier policy of not supporting the Voice, in favor of a treaty, in order to accept such a position?

Nope.
Hypocrisy is a White Mans social construct.
There’ll be none of that cultural appropriation here, uncle.
🙂

Steve tricklersays:
March 29, 2023 at 3:22 pm

Ive got another theory on the surprisingly girthy vagina of Mrs Obama.

She was probably using one of these.

DrBeauGansays:
March 29, 2023 at 3:21 pm
I have never understood what people mean by “spirituality”.

Spirituality is religion minus the morality plus an extra dose of superstition.

Good attempt Doc. Most religious people will not like that. Some Zen people will agree but whether or not Zen is a religion is a topic for another million pointless essays.

The truly religious man has nothing to do but go on with his life as he finds it in the various circumstances of this worldly existence. He rises quietly in the morning, puts on his dress and goes out to his work. When he wants to walk, he walks; when he wants to sit, he sits. He has no hankering after Buddhahood, not the remotest thought of it. How is this possible? A wise man of old says, ‘If you strive after Buddhahood by any conscious contrivances, your Buddha is indeed the source of eternal transmigration.’

Rinzai(who ironically spent decades chasing the myth of satori but at least he realized how wrong he was)

If you can’t find it where you’re standing, where do you expect to wander in search of it?

Unknown Zen dude.,

How wondrous this, how mysterious
I carry fuel, I draw water!

Attributed to the probably mythical Pang Zen master.

Attributed to a known king of Israel:

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

Very, very similar to the Zen master. I like the sense of wonder.

Robert Sewell says:
March 29, 2023 at 3:16 pm

Old Ozzie:
?
Heart

Robert,

just click on symbol in – https://www.copyandpastesymbols.net/moon-symbol-copy-and-paste.html

then select one you want

https://www.copyandpastesymbols.net/copy-and-paste-heart-symbols.html

❤

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🌙

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🚂

The truly religious man has nothing to do but go on with his life as he finds it in the various circumstances of this worldly existence. He rises quietly in the morning, puts on his dress and goes out to his work. When he wants to walk, he walks; when he wants to sit, he sits. He has no hankering after Buddhahood, not the remotest thought of it. How is this possible? A wise man of old says, ‘If you strive after Buddhahood by any conscious contrivances, your Buddha is indeed the source of eternal transmigration.’

One thing about Buddhism that never made sense was that they suggest that one must kill all desire as desire leads to suffering. Yet you need to have the desire to eliminate suffering in the first place. So in effect, you cannot ever eliminate desire.

Durham bombshell: Prosecutor unveils smoking gun FBI text message, ‘joint venture’ to smear Trump

Special Counsel John Durham revealed he has unearthed a text message showing Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann falsely told the FBI he was not working on behalf of any client when he delivered anti-Trump research.

Special Counsel John Durham is revealing new smoking gun evidence, a text message that shows a Clinton campaign lawyer lied to the FBI, while putting the courts on notice he is prepared to show the effort to smear Donald Trump with now-disproven Russia collusion allegations was a “conspiracy.”

Prosecutors said the text message will become essential evidence at trial to show Sussmann lied to the FBI.

You can read the court filing.

Razeysays:
March 29, 2023 at 4:34 pm
The truly religious man has nothing to do but go on with his life as he finds it in the various circumstances of this worldly existence. He rises quietly in the morning, puts on his dress and goes out to his work. When he wants to walk, he walks; when he wants to sit, he sits. He has no hankering after Buddhahood, not the remotest thought of it. How is this possible? A wise man of old says, ‘If you strive after Buddhahood by any conscious contrivances, your Buddha is indeed the source of eternal transmigration.’

One thing about Buddhism that never made sense was that they suggest that one must kill all desire as desire leads to suffering. Yet you need to have the desire to eliminate suffering in the first place. So in effect, you cannot ever eliminate desire.

That is more Hinyana\Tibetan\Theravada Buddhism. Zen is more like a proto-psychology than religion. Of course, opinions vary and Zen is practised in many different ways. I prefer D.T. Suzuki but most Zen fans don’t even read him and probably don’t like him because he is a scholar. Alan Watts very much leaned on his books to bring Zen to the West. Even satori can be fast or slow. Another feature is fat Buddha statues, that’s not about eliminating desire. The famous story of Hakuin who upon obtaining satori spent 20 years being the town drunk. There is the well known phrase: No stone Buddhas!

A crucial element of Zen is understanding the limitations of natural language, with the observation that trying to capture the world in a net of words is like trying to capture an image of the moon in a lake with a fishing net.

Of course, once you realise that there’s more to the world than our language can contain, one possible response is to improve the language. It’s called Mathematics, and it has worked well in Physics.

The Green Energy Agenda Increases Poverty. It Must Stop.

The push to ditch reliable energy is out of control. Politicians are manipulating the energy market through subsidies, tax breaks, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives in regulations and government pensions.

It’s also concerning that the “big three” investment institutions, which collectively hold over $20 trillion in assets, too often coerce the companies in which they have significant investments to bend the knee to their big-government political ideology, such as complying with the Paris Climate Accord.

Sadly, the result of this virtue signaling to prop up unreliable wind and solar comes at high costs for little benefits—if any benefits at all. And more than hemorrhaged taxpayer dollars are at stake: this green energy agenda increases poverty. It must stop.

While the media is constantly ringing alarm bells about the always-changing climate, not enough people are alarmed by the economic trade-offs these unreliable green energy initiatives create. But that requires an honest comparison of the climate change risks versus the economic costs, both of which impact future generations.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) finds that there were an expected 20 million more people without electricity globally, totaling 775 million people, in 2022. Many of these people are in sub-Saharan Africa, who are facing increasing hardship due to rising costs for food, fuel and other necessities. This situation is made worse by the left’s insistence on unreliable sources of energy that have forced many Europeans to use wood for stoves and heat instead of much cleaner-burning natural gas.

Forcing some of the population to depend on energy sources that don’t work ultimately pushes them into hardship and poverty when those methods fail.

Texas experienced this problem in a tragic way two years ago during its historic weather event of freezing temperatures and accumulations of ice and snow that left thousands without power, contributing to an estimated 246 deaths.

Such a tragedy should never have happened in America’s energy capital, but these are gambles that politicians take when offering subsidies to unreliable variable energy providers that make it difficult for reliable thermal energy to compete, even though thermal energy is the most stable and reliable form.

More broadly, if every signatory of the Paris Accord, including India and China, decarbonized by 2050, the temperature differentiation by 2100 would be just 0.17 degrees.

And according to climate change activists, the cost to get there could be as much as $21 trillion through 2050.

Businesses attempting to go green would be forced to raise their prices significantly to make a profit, a normally tough task that’s only made harder by present-day sky-high inflation. But if subsidies and other artificial means of skewing the energy market continue, then businesses that don’t receive subsidies and can’t afford to “go green” simply won’t be able to compete. This would result in a massive reallocation of resources that will contribute to less economic growth, more poverty, and less energy stability.

Not only can over-dependence on unreliables lead to hardship, but it often counteracts the green energy innovation it wants to spur.

“The shooter has been identified by his deadname.”

Was/were.

Having spent my entire working life as a programmer (now retired), I think this very neatly sums up the whole systems development process perfectly. Although perhaps exaggerated, users never know what they want, so programmers have to guess the solution!

Answer To The Ultimate Question – The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy – BBC

Sounds like

The Science behind AlphaGo and AlphaGo Zero

A conceptual and friendly explanation

Douglas Adams also knew a thing or two about programming, and in programming an asterisk is commonly used to translate to “anything you want it to be”. In ASCII, “42” is the designation for an asterisk, so in asking a computer to come up with the ultimate answer to “life, the universe and everything”, it answered as a computer would, 42 = “anything you want it to be” so on top of it being just funny and random and everything else its presented as, it actually has a deeper meaning if you know what to look for.

DrBeauGansays:
March 29, 2023 at 5:01 pm
A crucial element of Zen is understanding the limitations of natural language, with the observation that trying to capture the world in a net of words is like trying to capture an image of the moon in a lake with a fishing net.

Of course, once you realise that there’s more to the world than our language can contain, one possible response is to improve the language. It’s called Mathematics, and it has worked well in Physics.

The point of koans, though albeit clumsy, was to impress upon the student the limitations of language. That’s why I regard Zen more a psychology\epistemology than a religion. Zen is the opposite of most religions because its emphasis is on the individual experience not doctrinal submission.

There is a movie about Zen: Why has Bodhidharma left for the east. Not much dialogue, beautiful imagery but the movie was constrained by budget issues. Can’t recommend it, very few enjoy it.

Apart from mathematics, which cannot address many of our most pressing questions, the best way to improve language is to achieve greater precision with definitions. Everyday language is a disaster for precise communication of complex topics. Wherever possible, mathematics is far more preferable.

I also think that unless you can fold space like a piece of paper, you ain’t goin’ nowhere. Which is probably a good thing – keep the contagion of stupid quarantined.

Boffins are working on that. Harold White has brought down the mass energy requirement for such exotic technologies to almost feasible levels.

If you can’t reasonably eliminate desire the only viable alternative (apart from dissolution as per Dorian Gray) is to direct it.

And therein lies the rub – for every permutation of desire you will have a guru telling you how to deal with it.

Harold White has brought down the expected mass energy requirement down from the mass of Jupiter to 2200 kg for a craft 10 m x 10 m x 10 m travelling up to an effective 10 c.

So he brought it down by a factor of quadrillion times.

That might be as important as the Alcubierre metric itself!

There is a movie about Zen: Why has Bodhidharma left for the east. Not much dialogue, beautiful imagery but the movie was constrained by budget issues. Can’t recommend it, very few enjoy it.

One of my favorite movies.

Thus the observation that if you can’t say it in algebra, you don’t really know what you’re talking about.

Only in this frame of reference. The Bible talks about a different frame of reference. Time for example is different, possibly two dimensional.

5 Theses on Time (27 Feb)

I read this article a few weeks ago, it’s pretty good, but doesn’t quite capture the differences of time as it applies in the Bible. For example if you read about the almost-sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis it is totally linked to the sacrifice of Jesus.

“I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son – Gen 22:16

Because Abraham didn’t withhold his only son, the Lord God Almighty didn’t either ~2,000 years later. The language and descriptive terminology in that passage is almost like there’s a time machine being used from 30 AD on Golgotha back to that place in the wilderness around about 2,000 BC

The problem with us humans is that we don’t have sufficient comprehension, understanding nor imagination to consider other frames of reference. And if those other collections of dimensions are acting upon our own, and are interested in it, how do you think they would seek to do that? Information is the lingua franca between all dimensions, since in essence all the universe is is information, if you think about it from the point of view of a cosmologist. And what is information if not a book.

Apart from mathematics, which cannot address many of our most pressing questions, the best way to improve language is to achieve greater precision with definitions. Everyday language is a disaster for precise communication of complex topics. Wherever possible, mathematics is far more preferable.

Tightening the precision of definitions rapidly creates insiders who ‘know’ and outsiders who ‘don’t’. I saw this in Landmark; it operated like a cult for marketing itself, and the insiders ‘got it’ because they adopted the redefinition of key English words into ‘insider’ meanings.
Two things that I found great for improving communication and focusing in on clarity of meanings were the facilitated decision analysis techniques taught at BHP Steel in the early 90’s (the book was Kepner and Tregoe “Rational Process”) and the argument mapping developed by Tim van Gelder and Paul Monk (now a web tool called Rationale Online).
These techniques do not do well with people coming together in bad faith; intellectual charity and collegiality have rather been driven out by the politics of the last dozen years or so.

Senator Thorpe: I want to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the lands—

Senator Hughes: How many times has that happened today?

It’s honestly just like the endless “Heil Hitler” in Jo Jo Rabbit and much much more absurd.

Albanese to invest $15bn in manufacturing.

All the people who knew how to make shit are retired.

Munty seems to be spending a lot of time with family following his trans twerking.

The Australia Institute reports that Australians will have to forego their love of big utes and 4WDs if we’re to meet our 2030 emissions target

Well they would wouldn’t they. I know anal and his pubic pals in canbra want to but they’re not game to say of course and I’m not sure if they’ve worked out how.

‘It’s Not Going to End Nicely’: Chris Christie Thinks He Will Be the One to Take Down Donald Trump In 2024RINO prick-another fuking lawyer too

Hahaha. The Voice is a rerun of the republic referendum.

You mean stating “give us a blank cheque to legislate after you vote yes” isnt the vote winner Elbow the inconceivable thought it would be?

After 2 years of public bastardry/lockdowns and police brutality the plebs arent falling into line?

After overturning one of the most fundamental of human rights, that of bodily autonomy and medical decisions made free from coercion the same truculent turds ask for a leap of faith to ennoble a group of grifters with perpetual powers above and beyond those given to other citizens.

Because ‘muh feelz’.

Yeah, nah

The Australia Institute reports that Australians will have to forego their love of big utes and 4WDs if we’re to meet our 2030 emissions target, suggesting the government introduce carrot and stick measures to achieve this.

What they actually mean is only the wealthy will be allowed to drive big utes and 4WDs. Wait until this hits air travel.

In the end, what they are going to do is allocate a carbon allowance (tonnage CO2) per person. If you go over it, you may purchase carbon credits. ie: only the wealthy will be unaffected. But the sheep will still vote for these neo-slavers.

It pisses me off that the loudest voices for destroying our civilisation come from the parasites who have contributed nothing.

It’s easy to see why. If you are incapable of making a useful contribution to the society in which you live, then you’ll be full of anger and hatred of it. It will force you to recognise your inadequacy, so you’ll do what you can to bring it down.

Politics really does attract the most repulsive people imaginable. How can you hate the white settlers when more than half your DNA is European? And what’s with the Viking name?

Politics really does attract the most repulsive people imaginable. How can you hate the white settlers when more than half your DNA is European? And what’s with the Viking name?

Coz to be socially accepted means you got to be a victim of something. The left appear to have a hierarchy of victimhood and sort themselves in that fashion.

Bragg and other Soros-owned big city DAs and elected leaders marching orders have nothing to do with putting hombres behind bars and upholding the highest standards of public safety. They have nothing to do with the canard of “racial justice.” They have to do with the Marxist imperative of destroying to rule over the ruins. Better to rein in Hell than serve in Heaven.

Top Endersays:
March 29, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Any day now, Thorpe will get her name changed to “Auntie Proud Woman Bunga Bunga” and therefore every time the Senate Prez calls on her he’ll have to say that…

It should be ShoutyMcShoutface.

Zulu Kilo Two Alphasays:
March 29, 2023 at 7:20 pm
Felt ‘cheated out of her extortionate quote’ would be more accurate.

Going rate for a “welcome to country” around here is $1500 – per head.

Every participant doing the welcome to country ceremony must prove their credentials by demonstrating they can make their boomerangs come back.

Pussy cat?
?

Zulu Kilo Two Alphasays:
March 29, 2023 at 6:55 pm
The racism claims follow the firebrand senator being interrupted while giving an acknowledgement of country.

It’s some time ago, that the Dodson brothers were told that, not being “full bloods”, they had no right to speak on behalf of Aborigines, and were threatened with tribal punishment should they presume to do so……

We need that rule to be part of the Screech. At least there will be no urban fauxborignes lecturing us incessanttly.

Top Endersays:
March 29, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Any day now, Thorpe will get her name changed to “Auntie Proud Woman Bunga Bunga” and therefore every time the Senate Prez calls on her he’ll have to say that…

At least it will indicate that she knows what a woman is. Has m0nty=fa come up with a definition yet?

Bolt’s tone, repetition and hand movement is starting to replicate that of the uncle who turns up once every eight months, plonks on the comfy recliner and begins telling the family pets what’s wrong with the country before falling asleep.

JC, thanks for the UBS musings, something to think about. Thinking that even if UBS got it wrong what’s the chances of the US Gov bailing them out?

This bloke should have a statue erected in his honour, as one of the great men of our times (the Courier-Mail):

One of the UK’s biggest lottery winners burned through a mind-blowing $50 million in eight years — splurging on a soccer team, race horses, and extravagant cars — before his luck ran out, documents revealed on Thursday.

Colin Weir, of North Ayrshire, Scotland, spent a stunning $131,000 per week after winning a record-breaking $257.6 million EuroMillions jackpot in 2011, reported The New York Post.

Weir, a former cameraman married to a nurse, bought a 55 per cent share in Glasgow’s Partick Thistle Football Club before he died of sepsis at age 72 in 2019.

However:

But the lottery curse reared its head in 2018, when he divorced his wife, Chris, after nearly four decades of marriage — and she took much of his fortune.

But:

The big spender also plunked down big bucks for a vintage Bentley Arnage, Jaguar F-Pace SUV, and a Mercedes-Benz E Class Estate, according to The Independent.

Along with a $6 million home he reportedly spent millions more to renovate, Weir also snapped up three prized racing thoroughbreds, including an Irish mare named If You Say Run.

If I win $257+ million at 64 (quite some way away, mind) and spend the lot before I cark it at 72, I would consider that a well-timed and perfect run. Traded the missus in to boot.

No downside. Well played, sir. Well played indeed.

JC, many senior members of vicpol have done exactly what you suggest and are resigning in big numbers. Many were just waiting for the maximum super benefits to kick in.

Long term this will be very harmful, both to vicpol and the people of Victoria.

The Referendum will fail, and the States will bring out their own version of it.

Only if it increases Dictator Dan’s power.

JC, time to put the bottle down for the evening.

I’d ask you to help us with the FSU but we need clear thinkers, not vitriol.

Cheers
Stephen Williams

JC “Total bullshit. You’re just making that shit up.”

You obviously have no idea how ‘Defined Benefit’ super schemes work.

Tomsays:
March 29, 2023 at 5:46 pm

Thorpe has tenuous links to be ATSI, her and her mother are odious people. The grandmother at least tried to help people from what I can read.

The fact she hasn’t been censured or even a motion bought by Hughes or any other tells me the Liberals are playing a double game here. Till Hughes stumps up with a motion to censure over Thorpe being a bikie mole, support for desecrating my heritage with the Parliament House fire and slut shaming Hughes herself she will get short shrift from me.

Enough with the cattiness put up or shut up.