I’ve been hearing the plaintive stories of Americans, many of them seniors, stranded in Puerto Vallarta by the Cartels’ tantrum over their jefe being put down.  

I’ve got a simple solution.  

They should form groups, organized online, to follow the sicarios around and blow whistles at them.  

Joe Doakes, once of Como Park, emails:

A friend who owns a contracting business writes:

***

I’ve driven past a certain St. Paul grade school a few times this week, on the way to a job site. Each time, I see adults standing on the sidewalk wearing yellow vests, no kids around, apparently watching for ICE.

Just what the hell do they think they’re doing?   First off there is zero, absolutely zero, credible evidence that immigration efforts are directed at snatching kids from schools.  There is no interest in the government to waste time on that.  None.  So do these jackasses still think that’s what they’re protecting?  Or do they stand there because school administrators, janitors, indoctrinators (there are no teachers), and other adults are invaders?

And what is their plan?   Let’s assume they think they’re standing guard against ICE showing up to snatch up invaders of any type.  What do these jerks think they will do about it?  Do they intend to alert the invaders and assist them to flee to avoid arrest?  Are they intending to aid and abet known criminals?  Are they intending to engage in knowing obstruction of federal immigration enforcement?

I suspect the answer is yes to each of those and in each case it’s a crime.

They’ve been prosecuting people for silently praying outside baby murder factories for years now.  Isn’t it time to start prosecuting people who are intentionally obstructing federal law enforcement?  

***

He has a point. 

Joe Doakes

 

One the one hand, he’s got a point. ‘

On the other?  

It’s Minnesota.  Any county attorney that participated in the prosecution would find themselves doing document review for public works before the ink was dry on their motion. 

We’re all (*) familiar with the basic “logical fallacies” – flaws in reasoning that weaken or invalidate arguments. Things like the “ad hominen” (attacking the person rather than their argument), “appeal to authority” (comparing credentials rather than arguing the facts), “tu quoque” (comparing an argument with previous argument) and so on. 

I’m here to submit a few new ones. 

“Ad Foxinem” – claiming that someone’s argument is invalid because they supposedly “watch Fox News”. (And yes, the same applies to MSNow. Or would, if anyone watched it. That was an “Appeal to Ridicule” for those paying attention). 

“The Epstein Fallacy” – claiming that someone’s argument on an unrelated matter is false because the Epstein Files haven’t been released. 

“Argumentum ad Terminus” – believing that ending an argument by saying or typeing “Period” or “Full stop” makes an argument, whatever its merits, absolutely solid. 

“Faux Possibilitus – starting a claim with “What if I told you that…” does not make the claim true”. 

The Shifted Burden Fallacy: Ending a claim – solid or absurd – with “prove me wrong”. 

And “Argumentum ad LOL” – Ending your response to an argument with “LOL” is absolutely factually dispositive”. This is closely relate to the “Argumentum tu Emoji” – attacking an argument with an emoticon (for instance, the passive-aggressive “Laugh” emoji). 

Also – “Ad Omniciens” – responding to an argument with “Not EVERYONE believes that” (or its sibling, “Many people believe…”, also known as “the NPR Assertion”). 

“Argumentum pro Tantrum” – regardless of the merits of the argument, if you don’t acquiesce without question, I will unfriend you and never talk with you again. 

Discusss.

(*) I’m feeling optimistic, so sue me.

And poof, just like that, people who always venerated “due process” and chanted “NO KINGS” on demand…

…had always opposed due process and believed themselves kings. 

It’s not news – liquor licensing has always been a political meat tenderizer, used to beat businesses into whatever the powers that be want the business to comply with, frequently things most of us agree with (like punishing flagrant serving of minors or lots of unchecked brawling.   

But to “punish” businesses for patronizing a class of people who are doing something completely legal?

Joe Doakes, once of Como Park, emails:

Recently watched the Amazon Prime movie “Heads of State” starring Idris Elba as Prime Minister of the UK and John Cena as President of the United States.  They join forces to defeat the bad guys who want the US out of the NATO alliance.  

One of the bad guys gives a moving speech explaining the plan and the most amusing thing happened:  I found myself cheering for the bad guys. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Pretty good movie but a massive propaganda failure. 

Joe Doakes

Every time I’m tempted to re-up Prime, I hear something like this.

This is what’s been bothering me.  

We’re heading toward an election that might be the MNGOP’s best chance to move the needle in executive offices in a very long time.  The DFL’s fraud problem should by all rights give the GOP a shot at governor, if the GOP can pick a solid candidate (and the straw polls so far say we just might).  

And on the surface Richard Carlbom, the new chair of the DFL, doens’t appear to be the glib money master that his predecessor, Ken Martin, was.  (And don’t you dare let anyone say he looks like a young Herman Göring).

Here’s the problem.  Remember 2012?  

The Voter ID Amendment – which is an 80/20 issue nationwide, and even wins a majority of Democrats in public opinion polls- should have been an easy winner.  

But Carlbom engineering a campaign that emotionally logrolled ignorant, emotion driven Minnesotans into tying voting “yes” on same sex marriage to voting “no” on voter ID.  

And the morons did it.  

And he’s doing it again, with the ICE thing.   

Joe Doakes, ere of Como Park, emails:

Amazon just implemented two factor authentication. I hate it.

I get a daily email of free Kindle book listings which I receive on my phone

I sign into my Amazon account on my phone so I can download the free Kindle book

Amazon places a telephone call to my phone to recite the six digit authentication code. It is spoken so I cannot cut and paste

I flip from the phone app to the sign in page and enter the code they just told me over the telephone

And it’s an invalid code

Go all the way back to the beginning to start over

Even if it worked, all that would prove is that the person who’s trying to log into my account has my phone. Doesn’t mean it’s actually me. 

 I wish there was an opt out

Joe Doakes

 

It’s cut down my Amazon orders from mimimal to almost nil.  

Most of Secretary of State Simon’s, and his defenders’, responses to questions about election irregularities come off as some variant of:’

• Because I said so
• It’s the law, no take-backsies
• Don’t make me turn this car around.

I’m not convinced. 

Either is Joe Doakes, formerly of Como Park:s

For those who don’t think it could happen

Am I the only one who thinks thar either:

1. All the posturing about ICE is to deflect attention from the fraud, or
2. if the focus turns to the fraud, all those protesters will switch from casing ICE agents to hassling auditors and FBI agents?

Remember when militant militias who rejected government authority were the bad guys?

The left, either.