Not as long as VOIP continues to be crap as well. Lag and dropouts all over the place. I miss my dedicated copper line that even worked when the power went out.

My cell phone company and smart phone are set up to make wifi calls. This is particularly nice when I am in Japan. I don’t use any minutes that way.

As Nonservator says, as long as cell offers better service than VOIP people aren't heading in that direction. Bit I get you live in a very dense city so your cell reception can be crap.

My cell phone company and smart phone are set up to make wifi calls.

One of my kids is in Central Asia -- Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have been very, very useful (I like WhatsApp better for voice calls).

Happy Dead Stalin Day!

https://www.americangrit.com/2019/03/05/happy-dead-stalin-day/

I've been seeing this one going around the web a bit lately, but as usual, David Thompson manages to make it hilarious:

Ms Isser’s indignation at the thought of socialist women being romantically shunned, even by fellow socialists, was aired in December in a Twitter howling session, during which extensive use was made of exclamation marks. After much exasperated rumbling, Ms Isser concluded that the fault must lie solely with men, and that “straight men are shallow and sexist even when they’re socialists.” Thereby proving that, contrary to legend, ladies of the left are in no way high-maintenance or difficult to please.

"Libertarian socialist (28, she/her) seeks similar (27-35, he/him) to join forces against non-consensual power dynamics non-consensual power dynamics (capitalism, white supremacy, etc.)" Huh? ~ from a link by Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at March 6, 2019 8:04 AM

Capitalism is "non-consensual?" Since when? Was she/her recently forced to buy something she didn't want at the store? Was she/her not allowed to choose her own brand of clothing or mayonnaise? Capitalism is, by definition, consensual.

Also, by definition, there is no way she/her can be a "libertarian socialist." The former is an individualist philosophy that abhors collectivism and the latter is a collectivist philosophy that suppresses individualism for the collective good; they're polar opposites.

A self-declared "libertarian socialist" is basically seeking societal conformity to her ideas and a societal indulgence that acknowledges her to be "quirky" and "unique" and oh so special.

A self-declared "libertarian socialist" is basically seeking societal conformity to her ideas and a societal indulgence that acknowledges her to be "quirky" and "unique" and oh so special.

In other words, "I want free stuff and nobody else can say shit!"

Puppy plays fetch

https://twitter.com/Misha19800/status/1102919475962277888

Another puppy plays fetch

You might not know this, but there are island tribes deep in the jungle of South Amersomedamnplace that won't let you take their photograph, because it will steal part of your soul.

Patty Monny tells a good one.

Taco Bell isn't worth aggravated battery. Giving or receiving.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/snap-philly-taco-bell-employees-jump-over-counter-attack-customers-who-complained-about-wait/

Yeah, but it's photogenic.

A "libertarian socialist" is, according to this article, a libertarian of convenience - deregulate for what I want, but over-regulate everybody else.

Excerpt:

People identifying as urban progressives increasingly find their own goals stymied by laws and regulations, and they’re demanding that these restrictions be overturned or limited. In other areas of city policy, though—typically, when they don’t hold a personal stake—they often push aggressively for ever more regulations and a more intrusive government. Call it a libertarianism of convenience. What these part-time freedom lovers don’t understand is that, absent a wider culture of liberty, calls for selective liberty will probably go unheeded.

A few examples of this double standard:

• legalize pot but stop tobacco use (even vaping)
• loosen traffic laws for bikes, but tighten restrictions on cars
• loosen zoning restrictions so I can afford a house in the cool part of town
• loosen food restrictions - except for trans-fats and sugary sodas

Goat

This is one of his better columns, but, as I expected, he danced around an issue that's pretty important.

"A loving parent is not defined by good intentions"

https://thecitizen.com/2019/03/05/a-loving-parent-is-not-defined-by-good-intentions/

Excerpts:

...What is now called “parenting” has become a highly emotional subject for many, right up there with religion, politics, and pit bulls. Early on in my career, it puzzled me when people became bent completely out of shape, taken over by emotion, over something I said. People storming out of my presentations was common. On three occasions, people stood up in the middle of talks and began shouting at me. Twice, sponsors had to hire security because of threatened group disruptions.

That sort of stuff has long ceased to puzzle me. Besides, it happens very rarely these days, primarily because most of the folks who come to my presentations know what to expect: to wit, psychological heresy. But, “rarely” is the operative word. After a recent talk in California, a woman cornered me and began berating me for putting too much emphasis on the need for proper discipline.

“You need to tell people to love their children!” she nearly shouted, fighting off tears, before marching angrily away. It is relevant and only fair to note that she had identified herself as an abused child. (It is also only fair to note that I had told my audience, as always, that unconditional love is no less important to proper childrearing than unequivocal authority.)

Had she stuck around, and had she been able to hear me with some degree of objectivity, I would have told her that there’s not much point in telling parents to love their children...

(snip)

So, care to guess what he DIDN'T mention in the column?

SPOILER

Namely, that showing PHYSICAL affection is important. Doing everything else except that can be disastrous.

> One of my kids is
> in Central Asia

Which part?

Gretchen Whitmer should really ask Tom Corbett how this move worked out in Pennsylvania.

Should Races Give Medals to Guide Runners for Visually-Impaired Participants?

https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a25924926/london-marathon-medal-guide-runner-controversy/

Inspiring:

Inspiring Teen Who Lost [Parts of] Legs in Attempted Abortion Stuns at Wrestling Championships

The brilliant Walter E. Williams strikes again!

Our Planet Is Not Fragile