You are not your own

With the country in a near meltdown over recent Supreme Court decisions, a few things need to be said.

These musings will not settle any issue. Like as not, they will also not convince anyone to even consider changing their mind.

Eh. I have to write it out because that is what I do. I can lead you to reason, but I can not and will not make you think.

You Are Not Your Own

While it may appear I am borrowing a page from the Sovereign Citizen movement, I am not. One thing these people and I do have in common is we believe You Are Not Your Own according to the government. In other words, you are not allowed to control your own body. The government controls your body, if you believe the current government is legitimate. 

The Dobbs decision is just a drop in an oil tanker.

Some of you are shaking your heads and calling me an idiot now. 

Here is your proof.

MEDICAL

You do not have the right to decide what medical procedures you go through. Two Supreme Court decisions from Jan. 2022 make this clear.

"The rule mandates COVID-19 vaccination, absent a medical or religious exemption, for all health care workers in institutions that receive federal funding for patients enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid," says Health Affairs.

That was Biden v. Missouri in case you wanna look it up.

The other was NFIB v. OSHA. That one said, OSHA overreached its authority.

OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has Congress. Indeed, although Congress has enacted significant legislation addressing the COVID–19 pandemic, it has declined to enact any measure similar to what OSHA has promulgated here, the decision says.

Neither ruling overturned a 1905 decision.

That one says in part, A state may enact a compulsory vaccination law, since the legislature has the discretion to decide whether vaccination is the best way to prevent smallpox and protect public health. The legislature may exempt children from the law without violating the equal protection rights of adults if the law applies equally among adults.

An aside: this is the same line of reasoning (at least where legislative action is concerned) that SCOTUS used in the most recent gun decision and the abortion decision. These matters are left to state legislatures and voters.

Can you get medical care from someone who is not trained nor certified? Yes. Most of us had a mom or dad who put a Band-Aid on us. If you are old like me, you also got dosed with Mercurochrome too. Practicing medicine without a license is illegal, but the person doing the work gets charged, not you.

Buck v. Bell was overturned. That one can be reversed yet again. While rare, we just saw SCOTUS did, can and will flip previous decisions. I've been saying for years Stari Decisis is a convenient legal fiction. This statement annoys people, particularly lawyers, but the empirical evidence is on my side.

Buck, in case you wonder, was overturned in 1978.

SCOTUS says rejecting food and water is a decision a person can legally make, except when government says otherwise.

If this has not made my point on medical matters, then anything else I add will not make a difference.

You are not your own.

SEX DISCRIMINATION

A lot of people are yelling that the abortion decision only affects women. Well, more accurately in that line of reasoning, it affects pregnant women who seek abortion. Owing to the reality of biology, men cannot have an abortion so saying this is biological sex discrimination is technically accurate, but bloody stupid at the same time.

However, sex discrimination is intentionally, deliberately and specifically built into federal law without any solid reason behind it.

Selective Service - Exclusively male. Women are not required to sign up and have never, in the US, been subject to the draft. Repeated court cases over this one have left this mandatory registration for armed services duty if needed intact. Court cases have also repeatedly declared leaving it male-only is acceptable.

It was only recently women were allowed to intentionally be in combat roles.

You, men anyway, are not your own.

VICTIMLESS CRIMES

Lemme bend your metaphorical ear for a moment about victimless crimes. In short, victimless means no one is harmed, except for someone's feelings. Yes. Feelings. 

...most offenses against morals such as gambling, which are not designed for the protection of a particular vulnerable class, should be viewed as having no real "victim"... (emphasis mine) says the DOJ.

In other words, you think it is wrong so no one should be able to do it. That kinda thinking invites other people to tell you the exact same thing and stop you from doing the things you want to do. Lemme slap you with some daffodils.

If you can prove physical or financial harm, then making the activity illegal bears discussion. Ripping a reputation to shreds has affected people's ability to earn money, so economic harm is there. Getting your feelings hurt, despite what the cantservative and liarberal crowd believe, should not be something for the law to deal with. If your feelings get hurt, put on your adult britches and move along.

While I have opinions regarding items in the list below, I am not sharing my opinion, except for one. I'm just telling you these are crimes of a moral nature. Moral = feelings in this case.

Prostitution - Except for parts of Nevada, being a hooker of any gender is illegal. Hiring a hooker is illegal most places. Prostitution is illegal in Clark County, NV, home of Las Vegas. Being a hooker is legal in most of the state. 

Drugs - Can you go out and buy heroin just because you want to? Yes. However, buying it is illegal. Some drugs you can buy over the counter, some require a prescription and some others require the prescribing doc to have a Drug Enforcement Agency permit in addition to all the other licenses required to be a legally practicing doctor. Speaking of drugs, a here is a just-in unanimous decision on prescribing drugs.You certainly can buy alcohol, legally if you are at least 21. Why the difference? You can buy tobacco products legally if you are at least 21. Do you know how old you have to be to legally work in a tobacco field? Dunno about your state, but here in Jawja, we have no minimum age at all for farm workers. 

Contraband - What is contraband and what is not varies widely and depends on the place and the time. Step across a state line and what was legal where you were is now illegal where you are. Imagine standing in one place with something in your pocket. 3/4s of you is breaking the law. It can happen. In this vein, you do not have the right to own anything. You can lease it from the government in the form of taxes. You also pay taxes for the privilege to work. If you have to pay to do it, it is not a right but a privilege. If government wants to take it away from you, just have to declare possession illegal.

Public drunk - This is not drunk driving, which is rightly illegal on public roads. If you get plastered and want to walk home, you can be arrested.

Assisted suicide - This is illegal. Doctor assisted suicide is legal in a few places. (See link). Some states say attempted suicide is illegal, which is bizarre when you think about it. Illegal to try, but if you succeed, it is not a crime. Kinda hard to prosecute someone who is dead, of course. In other words, you cannot end your own life without government permission beforehand. Paradoxically, the government can grant itself permission to end your life. Capital punishment is legal in most states and is federally legal. Add to this, sometimes just sentencing someone to prison is increasingly a death sentence. 

Gambling - Unless you live in Nevada, Atlantic City or have a however-tenuous connection to Native American tribes, as in standing in one of their casinos, you cannot legally gamble in person. I know places that have poker every weekend. It is illegal. Why? Gambling online? May be illegal. If it is your money, shouldn't you be allowed to spend it as you see fit when you do not hurt anyone?

Public nudity - Set aside the fact most of us should NEVER appear naked in public. The question is, aside from needing eye bleach (he wrote sarcastically), who gets hurt when some walks around in public in nothing but their birthday suit? The idea of protecting ANYONE from seeing a nude person who is just going about their day, albeit without clothes, is in direct contradiction to all kinds of art like statues, paintings and even live displays.

Homelessness -  Yes, it is illegal in many places to be homeless. Why? Justifications like stopping people from pooping on the sidewalk may be aimed at homeless people, but these laws also affect people who have homes. Besides which, those laws are environmental safety issues.

Trespassing - According to some, this is a "victimless" crime. According to others, me being one, it is not. I maintain property for hunting. When people walk through, it can and does disturb the hunting programs I have in place, not to mention the dangers to the person doing the trespassing during hunting season. Further, I should be able to control who comes into my house.

Raw Milk - As of this year, Georgia joins the ranks of states where you can buy raw milk. Still illegal in most states. I looked up a list of other banned in the US foods, but every one I checked listed some stuff banned when it is legal. F'r'instance, horse meat is legal in the US for human consumption. Beluga caviar is legal, sort of. Despite them growing wild, "magic mushrooms" are pretty much illegal.

You can vote if you are 18. Why the difference, is something people wiser than I often ask. If you have "body autonomy" then what you put in it is your business and yours alone. When you become an adult, it should be government hands off.

You are not your own.

MARRIAGE

Sooner or later, someone is gonna point to the Obergefell decision on marriage, the one that said two ladies, two gents or two humans of whatever gender-of-the-moment they want to be have the right to marry each other. This decision does say:

The first premise of this Court’s relevant precedents is that the right to personal choice regarding marriage is inherent in the concept of individual autonomy.

Pay attention. That's the first premise, there is more:

Finally, this Court’s cases and the Nation’s traditions make clear that marriage is a keystone of the Nation’s social order. See Maynard v. Hill, 125 U. S. 190, 211. States have contributed to the fundamental character of marriage by placing it at the center of many facets of the legal and social order. Lotta "general welfare" going on here. Lotta hypocrisy too.

What we have here is the High Court being hypocrites, in addition to saying marriage is matter of legal and social order. In the abortion and gun decisions, the dissent (who was in the majority on the marriage decision) says the historical record is not valid. Here, it is valid. Pick one and stick with it, wudjaplease. But that's another blog.

Anyway, one more from the Obergefell decision, which overruled the 1972 case of Baker v. Nelson, the first same-sex marriage case to hit the High Court after Loving v. Virginia.

The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex.

Didja read that? REQUIRES. That is a stand-alone, one-line paragraph. SCOTUS decisions are carefully worded, carefully phrased, edited, revised, stomped flat, brushed off, refined in fire and so on before being publicly issued. Making this a single-line paragraph is not an accident. The judges wanted it to stand out. Someone will say also it says between 2 people of the same sex. That only means states cannot restrict licenses to a man and a woman. Do it for John and Jane, gotta do it for John and John or Jane and Jane or J and J.

Wanna get married, better ask Big Brother. Obergefell is not only about love, it is about government control over you.

Amusingly enough, the same decision also says children are better raised by married couples, not unmarried parents. Don't believe it. It's in the decision and this time I ain't doing your homework.

You are not your own.

GAME OVER

Some people are still going to argue about body autonomy. Read this and see Game Over.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

That, luddites and geraniums, is the opening statement of the US Constitution, ONE of the bodies of work the US Supreme Court, the various legislatures from City Councils up to Congress and the executive branches of government use to govern. I say "one of" because laws and various court decisions reference a lot more than just the US Constitution, but that's another blog.

Four words "promote the general welfare" mean you are not your own person. The Constitution even says as much. Slaves were 3/5ths of a person. At the time those words were written, women had whatever rights their fathers/brothers or husbands chose to let them have. Native Americans, yeah, well books are written about that too Yes, the Constitution changed, but that original intent is still very much a part of the current laws and various court decisions.

You may not care what the Founding Fathers said or meant. Reality also does not care what you say, mean, intend or think. The current reality is what I'm dealing with and that is you are not your own.

Furthermore, lots of people debate what those four simple words mean. Debate all you like. As it stands right now, only 5 opinions matter and those are the opinions of 5 Supreme Court justices, which is a majority.

No federal court has struck down a spending program on the ground that it failed to promote the general welfare. However, federal spending programs have been struck down on other constitutional grounds, says the Law Library.

So have the Supremes ever decided what the "general welfare" covers? Regularly and routinely. Most of the SCOTUS decisions have covered general welfare and spending. An excellent example of this is Jones v. Flowers. The entire court agreed property taxes are legal and necessary. They only split on minutiae in the case.

What about where it concerns body autonomy? See the Medical Decision cases and the list of banned stuff above. More? Okay

You are forced to have health insurance.

You do have the right to refuse medical treatment, sort of. People who are legally not allowed to decide the issue for themselves can have medical treatment done even if it is against their wishes. (Got a living will yet?) If the person later objects (living will yet?), think a Jehovah Witness unconscious and getting a blood transfusion, oh well. Sorry about that. (Living will yet?) In the absence of a living will, other people decide for you.

Here are a few cases the American Medical Association focuses on. As you eyeball these, bear in mind these are wins for the AMA. You have to search the archives to find cases they lost.

The debate over that "general welfare" clause is old, as in the people who wrote the Constitution argued about it old. States have specifically expanded general welfare in their own constitutions to cover matters of health and more.

Narrow this a bit more and focus on the word general. As much as it grinds my libertarian soul into subatomic particles, attorney James Rogers is spot on.

First, promoting the “general welfare” stands in relation to its antonym, that of promoting a particular or limited welfare. Promoting the general welfare certainly rules out promoting the welfare of particular individuals or factions.

Thus sayeth the Supreme Court, including the minority in the recent Big 3 cases and in so many more decisions than just the Big 3 causing so much heartburn.

dammitdammitdammitdammit Game over.

You may not like this. However, as a great friend of mine says when I object to things he supports, "This is our social contract."

You are not your own.

You are not your own.

Saying no

It is great running three different businesses in which I can say No to anyone at any time and I do not need a reason.

You read that correctly. With the businesses I run, I can refuse service to anyone, anytime and I do not need a reason.

I have said no. I will say no in the future.

This infuriates some people, be they on the right or the left. Their ire and anger amuses me.

Regular readers of my musings know that I believe a private business can refuse service to anyone, any time for any reason. I also believe you don't need to supply a reason.

If you own the business, you should be able to decide who your customers are. Dude walks in with green hair and you don't like it, you have the right to refuse service. Whether I like it or not is beside the point.

The other side of this coin means I can refuse to do business with a company that has policies I do not like. In fact I refuse to do business with some companies because of this. You can do the same.

I am very glad I get to decide who my customers are.

The wrong reasons

 Tokens

A friend put this so well.

"Wouldn’t it be nice to be honoring the newly selected and qualified Supreme Court Justice who happened to be a black woman? Instead we have cheated her that great honor because she was initially selected on qualities that she had no control over and didn’t work hard to earn. I am sure intentions were good, but a disservice has been done to the honorable Judge Jackson. I have confidence she will rise above the racist selection. She is a better person by far."

It was also incredibly well said by someone else.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

I do not know if the newest member of SCOTUS is the most qualified person to hold that job. I do believe appointing anyone to any job based strictly on things outside their control is wrong.

Those who demand an end to race-based decisions and also applaud this choice mystify me. 

Getting all stoic on you

 I have, in drafts, a pretty lengthy piece on SCOTUS, guns and abortion in light of the leaked SCOTUS decision signed by 3 of the justices.

The more I think on it, the more I intend for it to stay a draft. 

My opinion is not needed. The decision does not affect me. The Stoics tell me when those two criteria are met, I need to keep my mouth shut and turn my attention to matters wherein my opinion is needed and matters do affect me.

Nuf said.

Christians to suffer splodey heads again

In a unanimous ruling, the US Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that will shortly infuriate Christians in the United States.

Shurtleff v. the City of Boston saw all 9 justices say religious groups can fly their flag on a flagpole outside City Hall. The City denied a request from a Christian group to fly the Christian flag.

Here's a brief right from the link above: Boston usually flies the city’s own flag from the third pole. But Boston has, for years, allowed groups to hold ceremonies on the plaza during which participants may hoist a flag of their choosing on the third pole in place of the city’s flag. Between 2005 and 2017, Boston approved the raising of about 50 unique flags for 284 such ceremonies. Most of these flags were other countries’, but some were associated with groups or causes, such as the Pride Flag, a banner honoring emergency medical service workers, and others. In 2017, Harold Shurtleff, the director of an organization called Camp Constitution, asked to hold an event on the plaza to celebrate the civic and social contributions of the Christian community; as part of that ceremony, he wished to raise what he described as the “Christian flag.”

The High Court ruled 9-0 that Boston set a precedent of allowing other groups to fly their flags. The Justices said denying Mr. Shurtleff's request violated the First Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." 1A

In this case, the key part of 1A is "abridging the freedom of speech." As the decision says, "We agreed to decide whether the flags Boston allows groups to fly express government speech, and whether Boston could, consistent with the Free Speech Clause, deny petitioners’ flag-raising request." At the end of the majority decision opinion, the Court said, "As a result, the city’s refusal to let Shurtleff and Camp Constitution fly their flag based on its religious viewpoint violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment."

Do you see where this will cause splodey heads among fundamentalist Christians?

Because of Mr. Shurtleff, who had support from the ACLU and other liberal organizations, other religions can fly their flags. Like who? Any group that has a flag.

Satanist. Muslim. Buddhist. Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The Church of the Latter Day Dude. Mormon. Hindu. Voodoo. Jewish. Sikh. 

I hear splodey heads now, especially among some of my fundamentalist Baptist kin. "THAT'S NOT WHAT WE MEANT! YOU CAN'T LET SATANISTS FLY THEIR FLAG. THAT'S AGAINST THE BIBLE," they will scream.

Well, yeah, it is what the Supreme Court meant. It is what the Found Fathers meant. No? Yes! “(O)ur civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions.," so wrote Thomas Jefferson. He also wrote in his autobiography that 1A was written " “to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslim], the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination.”

Freedom, as defined in the Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court and the founders of this nation, is available to all regardless of faith or lack thereof. If this causes you a splodey head, then you are the reason 1A was created in the first place.

Severances

Just spent a long time on the phone with one of my oldest friends on the planet. He also happens to be a first cousin, once removed, and shares this chronological distinction with another first cousin once removed and another more distance cousin.

Three people I have known and stayed in touch with longer than anyone else on the planet.

The 1st cousin mentioned here is one of the few people I know I can count on. He called when Momma died. To my eternal chagrin, I did not reciprocate under the same circumstances. Few others called. I am sorry for my failing.

In our discussion, a mutual cousin was mentioned.

1st Cousin has been talking to her for about a year now, sometimes even on the phone. T'other cousin ... yeah.

Some wounds.

Just for the record, I consider both as blood kin. They are quick to point out they were adopted. Irrelevant. They are blood kin. 1st Cousin even moreso.

T'other cousin, well...

Some wounds.

1st Cousin wanted details after I said I was wary about renewing a relationship with t'other Cousin. 1st Cousin is aware of part of the reasons.

Some wounds.

That's a part of my existence I have not discussed with anyone. I probably need to. I ain't gonna and even writing this blog post is questionable. Were it not for some of Kentucky's finest, I'd probably not even be posting this. However, as remarked repeatedly in various literatures, the fruit of the vine (or grain) will loosen the tongue and brain. 

Eh. I may. But only in the memoirs I am writing, which may only be published with permission of people mentioned therein or after my demise. That is, if I ever get finished with them. Yet another person (closer than blood) is beta reading and wants me to finish. Mebbe...

Some wounds.

T'other cousin ... yeah. Time has a way of ameliorating certain circumstances. In other words, time heals all wounds. More time may be needed in this case.

Or, maybe not.

No, more time is needed. That was a significant issue. You want details, even as 1st Cousin sought them tonight. 1st Cousin at least was willing to accept the statement "I will explain when we meet again in person." And so I shall, should he bring the matter up because I said so. Some things are thicker than even blood and a word, a promise, a guarantee to one such as 1st Cousin is that.

I also note, that on this night another person received a distinctive accolade. This person lied to me thrice from a position of high authority. But that's another post. This is naught but a a straw man, a diversion, an attempt to draw your attention away from the real matter at hand which I dance about, trying to avoid a direct confrontation that has been simmering for far too many decades and yet may continue to simmer until one or both of us carry this to our graves where it will be forgotten by all but us.

This assumes t'other cousin is even cognizant of matter. Of this, no gaurantees.

Some wounds.

What do I write? How do I write it? What words are adequate?

I am nearly overwhelmed by the not quite betrayal but neither a momentary slight. The words get in the way. I need a broader palette. I need to paint the sky and the earth to express these thoughts that ravage me, these thoughts which I once thought (erroneously) were buried. Long healed scars can either be dead or painful. Apparently this is painful.

Ah so.

Some wounds.

And now, with the distillate affecting my ability to properly transcribe these thoughts (as if lack thereof would make this easier), I beg your leave. The morrow brings new challenges which I must face. This evening... This evening I fear will resurrect the ghosts of times past to haunt my nocturnal slumbers to jolt me to consciousness because of this conversation with 1st Cousin. Attribute no blame to 1st Cousin, I beg of you, no matter who you are reading this. Any fault my rest squarely upon my Atlas shoulders, even though I be unable to bear the weight. T'other Cousin and 1st Cousin must in no way share any of the blame.

Peace unto you, albeit it shall not come unto me.

The problem with elves and blood

I warn you now, this is NOT for everyone. It involves maths, elves, iron, snakes, peanuts and allergies. I’ll warn you when the maths start so you can skip to the next maths-free paragraph.

This is one of those things that makes me an ubernerd and sometimes keeps me awake at night.

A while back, I noted that a lot of the mythology about elves says they are highly allergic to iron. I wondered, if elves are so allergic or iron, then how do they manage to fight human beings and not die from human blood exposure.

I was told by some fellow nerds, the amount of iron in human blood is not sufficient to cause an allergic reaction. I doubted that, but could not think of a way to challenge it.

I figured it out this evening.

Compare it to peanut allergies in people. Peanuts are a serious allergy and can kill people.

I also thought, while writing this, of doing various venoms, which take a far, far smaller amount to kill people. 

Peanut proteins are what cause allergic reactions and kill people. Venoms are also proteins.

Someone is gonna point out elf and human physiology are not the same. No, but they are close, hence the half-elf, which has a parent from both species. With that kind of genetic closeness and the reaction of elves to intoxicants same as humans, I think it is safe to posit a lot more similarities.

I am not gonna get into how a species that is allergic to the blood of the other can successfully reproduce with each other. At least not now. 

Dammit. Now I have something else to occupy my brain.

VENOM

MINOR MATHS! So, venom - "Australian Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis ), Australia. One 1/14,000 of an ounce of this venom is enough to kill a person."

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2003/stoneley/strength.htm

MINOR MATHS! An ounce has 28.3495 grams.

Given those numbers (you can do the maths), it is now highly likely one drop of human blood is enough to kill an elf, especially since even a flesh wound with cold iron is enough to kill an elf. Even touching an iron sword causes immediate blisters, according to some of the literature.

Prove it? Sure.

BLOOD

MATHS! Two thirds of body iron is present in circulating red blood cells as hemoglobin. Each gram of hemoglobin contains 3.47 mg of iron; thus, each mL of blood lost from the body (hemoglobin 15 g/dL) results in a loss of 0.5 mg of iron.

https://www.medscape.com/answers/202333-153125/how-much-iron-is-in-hemoglobin

MINOR MATHS! A drop of water is roughly equal to .050 grams.

MINOR MATHS! 1 gram is 1,000 milligrams. 

MINOR MATHS! 1 gram is 1 milliliter, roughly.

Running the information through my head says that a drop of blood contains more iron, by weight, than the amount of brown snake venom needed to kill a person.

Now, if you look at how fast iron-poisoning kills an elf, in most of the literature, v. how fast brown snake venom kills a person, well, elves are WAY more reactive to iron than a human to snake venom.

PEANUTS

Back to the peanuts, which are far less lethal than a brown snake bite.

MATHS! "The dose calculated to elicit an allergic reaction in 1% of patients with peanut allergies was 0.052 milligrams of peanut protein, about the weight of a single grain of salt, says Haber. The eliciting dose for 5% of patients was calculated to be 0.49 milligrams of peanut protein, or about the weight of a single grain of sugar, says Haber."

https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2021/03/uc-researcher-says-eliciting-dose-may-help-some-individuals-determine-how-much-peanut-is-too-much.html

Even highly allergic people can hold a peanut for a minute or so with no ill effects. Ingestion or absorption is where the problem happens. Elves touch iron and have a reaction.

Running these numbers, this also shows a drop of blood contains a LOT of iron. Given the peanut allergy numbers, that drop of human blood has plenty of iron to induce at least some allergic reaction in an elf.

More than a drop? Dead elf.

Imagine an elf already having an allergic reaction, even mild, on the field of battle. With each spot of blood, he gets a little more reaction.

In short order, in a really nasty fight, he is a goner.

BATTLE

In a pitched battle blood goes EVERYWHERE. I’ve never been in a pitch battle with swords, but I’ve butchered more animals than I want to count. Blood gets everywhere. I do not care how careful you are, you are going to get blood on you. Open wounds will get the critter’s blood in you.

That’s under controlled conditions where precision, patience and exacting work are found.

A battle is chaos.

Elves in battle are going to get blood on them and in them either through wounds, in the eye or mouth.

Dead elf. Every time.

CONCLUSION

Short of magic as a barrier to keep human blood away, in a real swords & spears battle with humans, elves are going to be in trouble unless they have seriously overwhelming numbers.

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Not a religious discussion - Water into wine

This is not a religious discussion. It is a discussion about a chemical/biological process and culture.

In my studies of the Bible, I have often wondered about the wine mention in that book.

What was it? How strong was it? Was it consumed straight or diluted?

This guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6FVh-etEtw&ab_channel=ReligionForBreakfast addresses some of these questions, but not all.

On the first question, it pretty clearly was fermented juice. Grapes probably, but could be other fruits as well. As the gent in the video notes, the ancient Jews probably added other fruits to change the taste of whatever they were drinking.

It had to be fermented. Don't believe me? Buy a bottle of your favorite juice. Open it. Leave it on a counter for a day. Close it the next day. Fermentation IS gonna happen.

POTENT

How strong was it? Ahhh, now here's where we get into something.

Most Bibles I have use the word "strong drink" to refer to potent brews. The Holman Christian Standard Bible puts the word "beer" in that place. To date, I have not been able to learn why the translators chose beer. As the HCSB is mostly developed by Baptists, I have some strong suspicions about that translation.

I seriously doubt the translators are aware of something called ice distilling. More below. I reason this because academics, such as those translating the Bible, are highly specialized and not very conversant with matters outside their speciality. I can provide plenty of examples where extremely respected intellectuals are just flat wrong about things outside their area of concentration.

Is beer stronger than wine? Smoke this'n. http://archive.jsonline.com/entertainment/dining/15-beer-and-wine-facts-that-may-surprise-you-b99117052z1-227119841.html

I hear the arguments now. "But they had different yeast than we do now."

Yeah. The same yeast was used to make wine and beer. Stands to reason that the wine back then would still be stronger than the beer back then, given the same yeast. Grape juice has more sugars to ferment than the grains going into beer, despite the fact that part of the grains had to convert to sugars to ferment.

Arguments about the sugar content of grapes v. now are equally applied to the starch (which converts to sugar) content of grains back then v. now. Let's compare apple home brew to apple home brew here, please.

If you bothered to watch the video, you'll see a test run doing wine the same way (we think) it was done back then delivered a brew of 12 percent alcohol, or 24 proof. More than enough to get you knackered. By way of comparison, today's "fortified wines" like Mad Dog 20/20 and some others kick it at 26-34 proof.

I've made home brew using bread yeast, not the high potency stuff used by brewers today. I made some undistilled brew that would flatten you if you drank enough.

At the same time, as the video guys notes, one of the ancient historians BEFORE the time of Christ references a wine that would catch fire. Anything 40 percent or 80 proof will ignite. https://www.askmen.com/fine_living/wine_dine_archive_300/303_how-and-why-to-set-drinks-on-fire.html

ICE BREW

As best we know the ancients didn't have access to Grandpa's still. Also, alcohol above a certain percent kills the yeast that make it. How'd they manage to crank the proof? 

Ice distilling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UbnHw0qIzo&ab_channel=Whats4Chow

Northern Italy has mountains where the temps drop low enough to make me want to move to the equator. Ice distilling is certainly possible there. While the temps in the region Jesus hung out are not generally low enough to ice distill, traders could certainly bring the high proof stuff south.

Generally is not specific. Getting specific, they didn't have to go to northern Italy. https://www.timesofisrael.com/golan-sees-record-low-temperatures-during-storm/ That's plenty cold enough for ice distilling.

DILUTED OR NOT

So was the brew diluted?

We. Don't. Know.

A couple of Bibical sources mention diluting wine. 

Parts of the non-Protestant Bible (a whole 'nother discussion) mention mixing wine to dilute it.

Isaiah 1:22 says, "Your silver has become dross. Your best wine mixed with water." The reference to Jews who degraded their culture and religion is clear in context. If Isaiah says degrading the culture is bad, why would he use a wine reference to make clear, if diluting wine was not a bad thing.

More in the video.

At the wedding, when Jesus DID NOT turn the water into Tang, the wedding party said the host saved the best for last. Hrm.

An argument surely presented is: the historical documentation on hand says the Romans diluted their wine.

The Jews were Roman citizens, but were not Romans. As much as they were allowed to, the Jews of the time (at least the observant ones) did not follow Roman custom. Jewish writings well after the time of the Christ, almost certainly written by Hellenized Jews, speak to diluting wine.

Two verses in Proverbs specifically say, "You need to get that dude so drunk he passes out." Other Proverbs discuss the problem with drinking alcohol to access.

Diluted wine? Certainly in some cases. Straight wine? Equally certain in other cases. How do we know which is which? Gotta judge that by the when that section of the Bible was written.

Me? I'm on the side of a brew strong enough to make the average person wobbly after a cup or three.

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Georgia's new election law - what other media is not telling you

 A news analysis

Before I jump into this, a few things.

1) Everything in quotes without attribution comes from SB 202.

2) You may not like what the law says. It is the law and flaming me over the law will only get you blocked.

3) My opinion is clearly my opinion. You may debate my opinion. Attack me or anyone else in the threads, you will be blocked. Stick to the subject.

4) A SERIOUS lot of what I read online from media outlets is not telling the whole story. Reasons behind the Legislature's decision, as explained in the law, are left out.

This is a long post. I tried to summarize what the public believes are important. The whole law is 96 pages.

What does the new Georgia elections law actually say?

Some parts of the new law appear to increase the chances to vote. Other parts appear to restrict voting.

State law calls a voter an "elector." Why? Because legislators and the court system do not have to make sense.

Here's a breakdown of the major parts of the law. Read the new law here https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59827 .

STATE LEVEL

SB 202 sets up a process to appoint and remove members of a new state election board. This board has some powers that appear significant at first, but really amounts to very little.

INTIMIDATION HOTLINE

It creates a "voter intimidation and illegal election activities hotline." In other words, if someone is being harassed or sees illegal activities, they can call the hotline.

This is a good idea, but. Given the effectiveness of other state "hotlines" operated by the Attorney General and other state departments, this is not going to work. On election day, the hotline will be overwhelmed. The AG's office is not very responsive to requests for help anyway.

CANDIDATE DEATH

If a nonpartisan candidate dies before the election, the new law sets up procedures to handle that.

Of all the provisions of this law, this one is the most stupid.

"[S]uch candidate's name shall remain on the ballot and all votes cast for such candidate shall be counted. If the deceased candidate receives the requisite number of votes to be elected, such contest shall be handled as a failure to fill the office." The same applies to a runoff.

Our General Assembly is, point blank, STUPID on this one. If the person dies before the election, votes for that person should not count! While this kinda thing does not happen very often, it does and can. This creates unnecessary expense.

MAJORITY VOTE

Any candidate has to get majority of the votes cast for that office to take office, unless the law says otherwise. In other words, a candidate has to get 50% of the vote plus one vote to take office. Not precisely sure why this needed to be in the new law. An exception is granted for plurality elections.

Many small towns have plurality elections. Everyone runs on the same ballot. Districts are not used. The top vote-getters take office and no majority vote is needed. Ashburn, Rebecca and Sycamore operate this way.

The law is also specific about this. "If the municipal charter or ordinances of a municipality as now existing or as amended subsequent to September 1, 1968, provide that a candidate may be nominated or elected by a plurality of the votes cast to fill such nomination or public office, such provision shall prevail."

MULTI STATE REGISTRATION ROLLS

Georgia will now participate in a multi-state voter registration system. This is aimed at reducing duplicate registration and removing dead voters from the voting list.

"Secretary of State shall obtain regular information from such entity regarding electors who may have moved to another state, died, or otherwise become ineligible to vote in Georgia."

Makes sense.

VOTER CHALLENGE

The ways someone can challenge a person's right to run for office and vote are changed.

"There shall not be a limit on the number of persons whose qualifications such elector may challenge."

The law requires a hearing within 10 days of the written challenge handed in. The new law also spells out the challenger has to prove his case.

SAFETY PAPER

Printed ballots now have to be on "safety paper" whatever that is. Making copies of ballots apparently is a problem.

"[B]allots shall be printed on security paper that incorporates features which can be used to authenticate the ballot as an official ballot but which do not make the ballot identifiable to a particular elector."

Again, this law does not say what the security paper is.

"Ballot duplication for provisional ballots and other purposes places a heavy burden on election officials. The number of duplicated ballots has continued to rise dramatically from 2016 through 2020."

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS

Provisional ballots are also addressed. Among other things, voters now are told to vote in their precinct instead of whatever polling place they show up to.

"Electors voting out of precinct add to the burden on election officials and lines for other electors because of the length of time it takes to process a provisional ballot in a precinct."

If they cannot get to their precinct, they can vote a provisional ballot "after 5:00 P.M. and before the regular time for the closing of the polls on the day of the primary, election, or runoff."

For some reason, this law uses the word "runoff" and sometimes "run-off." I imagine someone had a valid reason for this, but I'm not researching that part.

Election officials reifying  provisional ballots can also use "but are not limited to, information from the Department of Driver Services, Department of Family and Children Services, Department of Natural Resources, public libraries, or any other agency of government including, but not limited to, other county election and registration offices."

ABSENTEE BALLOTS (a whole lotta info!)

 

Changes are made to the way people can ask for absentee ballots and how the ballots are handled.

"[T]he enthusiasm of some outside groups in sending multiple absentee ballot applications in 2020, often with incorrectly filled-in voter information, led to significant confusion by electors."

In other words, some people got multiple letters about absentee ballots. This created confusion. Some people thought they had to request an absentee ballot. Others thought they were getting an absentee ballot automatically.
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/absentee-ballot-applications-private-groups-causing-confusion/ZSEWON2WUVGS5BK2ZHDSRZURBI/

Also, "The lengthy absentee ballot process also led to elector confusion, including electors who were told they had already voted when they arrived to vote in person." This happened.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/us/politics/georgia-double-voting.html

Who can request a ballot has changed.

"In the case of an elector residing temporarily out of the county or municipality or a physically disabled elector residing within the county or municipality, the application for the elector's absentee ballot may, upon satisfactory proof of relationship, be made by such elector's mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of the age of 18 or over."

Applications for the absentee ballot has to be done "on the form made available by the Secretary of State. In order to confirm the identity of the voter, such form shall require the elector to provide his or her name, date of birth, address as registered, address where the elector wishes the ballot to be mailed, and the number of his or her Georgia driver's license or identification card issued."

An exception is granted for people who do not have a state driver's license or DMV ID card.

"If such elector does not have a Georgia driver's license or identification card issued pursuant to Article 5 of Chapter 5 of Title 40, the elector shall affirm this fact in the manner prescribed in the application and the elector shall provide a copy of a form of identification listed in subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-417."

Read that code section - https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-21/chapter-2/article-11/part-1/21-2-417/

Other forms of ID are:

• US passport
• Military ID card
• Tribal ID card

If the voter can't do any of that, he can vote a provisional ballot. "Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section within the time period for verifying provisional ballots."

A lot of people object to the voter ID law. ID is required to do many other things, at least two of which are also Constitutional rights:

• Buy a gun.
• Buy alcohol. The 21st Amendment makes alcohol a right. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

While not a Constutional right, a valid ID is needed to fly.

Identification laws are very controversial.

The application for an absentee ballot will be posted online.

Other groups who send out absentee ballot must use the official form for the voter to apply for the ballot. Their mailing must include this phrase:

"This is NOT an official government publication and was NOT provided to you by any governmental entity and this is NOT a ballot. It is being distributed by [insert name and address of person, organization, or other entity distributing such document or material]."

This part of the new law also has requirements for how the notice must appear.

With exceptions for handicapped folks or those in jail or prison, an absentee ballot must be mailed to the permanent address on record at the elections office. Exceptions are also made for folks under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Ballots, except as noted, cannot be mailed to temporary addresses or out-of-county addresses.

Only one absentee ballot will be mailed.

NPR reports Georgia had at least 1,000 cases of people voting twice.
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/08/910653086/georgia-reveals-double-voting-cases-but-no-evidence-of-malign-intentions

A lawsuit filed in December claims people from out of state came here to vote in the US Senate runoff.
https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2020/12/18/lawsuit-claims-out-staters-coming-ga-vote-senate-runoff-ossoff-warnock-perdue-loeffler-lin-wood/3961950001/

If the application is incomplete or filled out wrong, the elections people "should promptly write contact the elector in writing to request the necessary additional information and a signed copy of the oath."

The new law sets a defined period for absentee voting in hopes of ending this confusion.

"[M]any absentee ballots issued in the last few days before the election were not successfully voted or were returned late."

Absentee voting, with some exceptions, can start 78 days before the election day. Absentee ballots have to at the elections office at least 11 days before the election day. Some exceptions are allowed.

Absentee ballots can be counted early. This should speed up the vote count process.

Absentee ballots can be mailed or delivered to other offices if the election superintendent sets up such places. Advance voting can also be allowed at places other than the elections board office.

"[P]rovided that any such site is a building that is a branch of the county courthouse, a courthouse annex, a government service center providing general government services, another government building generally accessible to the public, or a location building that is used as an election day polling place, notwithstanding that such location building is not a government building."

Drop boxes to collect absentee votes are allowed. Absentee ballots must be collected each day during advance voting.

If information on the absentee ballot doesn't match voter's information on file, "the registrar or clerk shall write across the face of the envelope 'Rejected,' giving the reason therefor." The voter must be told and has until the end of provisional vote counting to provide the needed information.

The requirement to match signatures is removed from the law. This makes sense. Even handwriting experts with years of experience can have problems verifying signatures.

Opening and counting absentee ballots must be done so the public can watch. "The proceedings set forth in this paragraph shall be open to the view of the public, but no person except one employed and designated by the superintendent shall touch any ballot or ballot container."

 

ADVANCE VOTING

Advance voting times and procedures are changed.

"More than 100 counties have never offered voting on Sunday and many counties offered only a single day of weekend voting. Requiring two Saturday  88 voting days and two optional Sunday voting days will dramatically increase the total voting hours for voters across the State of Georgia, and all electors in Georgia will have access  90 to multiple opportunities to vote in person on the weekend for the first time."

Advance voting begins: "On the fourth Monday immediately prior to each primary or election; and as soon as possible prior to a runoff from any other general primary or election but no later than the second Monday immediately prior to such runoff and shall end on the Friday immediately prior to each primary, election, or runoff."

Advance voting is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, except on official holidays and the 3rd Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the elections superintendent's option, advance voting can be 7 a.m.-7 pm. weekdays. The superintendent can set advance voting on the 2nd and/or 3rd Sunday prior to the election. The elections superintendent sets the Sunday hours, but it cannot be longer than 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Exceptions are made for official holidays.

"The lengthy nine-week runoffs in 2020 were exhausting for candidates, donors, and  120 electors."

POLL MONITORS

Poll monitors from the various parties are allowed. Republican, Democrat and Libertarian parties are the most common. If the only item on the ballot is a referendum, the chief judge of the Superior Court must appoint two monitors. Must. Not optional.

Poll watchers are also allowed. "No person shall be eligible to serve as a poll watcher unless he or she has completed training provided by the political party, political body, or candidate designating the poll watcher." The Secretary of State will provide training materials.

 

POLL HOURS

If needed, the hours at a specific polling location can be extended by order of a superior court judge for the county.

BAD BALLOTS

Handling defective (bad) ballot now has a set procedure.

"If it appears that a ballot is so torn, bent, or otherwise defective that it cannot be processed by the tabulating machine, the superintendent, in his or her discretion, may order the proper election official at the tabulating center or precinct a duplication panel to prepare a true duplicate copy for processing with the ballots of the same polling place, which shall be verified in the presence of a witness. In a partisan election, the duplication panel shall be composed of the election superintendent or a designee thereof and one person appointed by the county executive committee of each political party having candidates whose names appear on the ballot for such election, provided that, if there is no organized county executive committee for a political party, the person shall be appointed by the state executive committee of the political party. In a nonpartisan election or an election involving only the presentation of a question to the electors, the duplication panel shall be composed of the election superintendent or a designee thereof and two electors of the county or municipality."

This section of the law continues to cover multi-county elections, but says the same thing.

COUNTS AFTER THE ELECTION

Recounting the ballots after the election must be done in public. Candidates attending this count are allowed to keep their own records of the count.

"The superintendent shall arrange for the computation and canvassing of the returns of votes cast at each primary and election at his or her office or at some other convenient public place at the county seat or municipality following the close of the polls on the day of such primary or election with accommodations for those present insofar as space permits. An interested candidate or his or her representative shall be permitted to keep or check his or her own computation of the votes cast in the several precincts."


Runoff elections have some changes. If a person in a runoff dies before the runoff, the other two top vote-getters go into the runoff.

This makes sense.

In a local race, a runoff election "must be held on the twenty-eighth day after the day of holding the first primary or election, unless such run-off date is postponed by court order."

In this case, it appears any court can order a postponement. This also makes sense.

FILLING OFFICES

When the governor can appoint someone to fill a vacated office, a new set of rules is in place. This is probably a direct result of the US Senate seat held by Johnny Isakson, filled by Kelly Loeffler and then won by Raphael Warnock. I say probably because there's little way of telling how the General Assembly thinks, when the members bother to think at all.

"At least 29 days shall intervene between the call of a special primary and the holding of same, and at least 29 days shall intervene between the call of a special election and the holding of same."

In other words, the special primary and election campaign season has to be at least 29 days long. Qualifying for the election has to be at least 2.5 days.

If the special primary or special election falls at the same time as a general primary or general election, the campaign season has to start at least 90 days before the election.

Special primaries and elections can only be held:

Odd numbered years - (i) The third Tuesday in March;
(ii) The third Tuesday in June;
(iii) The third Tuesday in September; or
(iv) The Tuesday after the first Monday in November; and

Even numbered years -
"(i) 3rd Tuesday in March," except in a presidential preference primary year when the special election is held on that day.
(ii) During the General Primary
(iii)The Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The idea that all this is based on the Isakson-Loeffler-Warnock election is borne out in Section 45. "Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the representation of this state in the Senate of the United States…"

This section of the law also spells out when that Senate election can be held.

SCANNING BALLOTS

A pilot program to scan and publish ballots is in the law. The Secretary of State is in charge of this, but no details are given.

BALLOT INSPECTIONS

 

Inspecting and copying original ballots by certain people after the election is now allowed.

MACHINE SETUP

The public is allowed to see voter machine setup and the counting process. Machines have to be tested and the public told about the testing so they can attend.

VOTER PRIVACY

Voters must be allowed to vote so that no one can see how they vote. Taking pictures of ballots is illegal.

VOTING OVERSIGHT

"Elections in Georgia are administered by counties, but that can lead to problems for voters in counties with dysfunctional election systems. Counties with long-term problems of lines, problems with processing of absentee ballots, and other challenges in administration need accountability, but state officials are limited in what they are able to do to address those problems."

In other words, counties with voting problems are now subject to state oversight.

ABOUT THAT FREE WATER

 

What other people can give voters standing in line is limited. This is part of a far-reaching effort to protect voters.

"The sanctity of the precinct was also brought into sharp focus in 2020, with many groups approaching electors while they waited in line. Protecting electors from improper interference, political pressure, or intimidation while waiting in line to vote is of paramount importance to protecting the election system and ensuring elector confidence."

This is called "line warming."

"The secretary of state referred to the practice as 'line warming' - i.e., warming up the people in line to your position as you give them free pizza, for example," reported an Atlanta TV station.
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/elections/georgia-elections-officials-line-warming-crackdown/85-afb28fc8-f0aa-4cab-800d-443bc58ddca8

"No person shall solicit votes in any manner or by any means or method, nor shall any person distribute or display any campaign material, nor shall any person give, offer to give, or participate in the giving of any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink, to an elector, nor shall any person solicit signatures for any petition, nor shall any person, other than election officials discharging their duties, establish or set up any tables or booths on any day in which ballots are being cast, (1) Within 150 feet of the outer edge of any building within which a polling place is established; (2) Within any polling place; or (3) Within 25 feet of any voter standing in line to vote at any polling place."

The polling location can have self-service water stations set up.

If you think line warning does not exist, you've likely never hung around the polls all day as observer.

I am not saying I support this provision of the law. Neither am I saying I oppose it. Rather, those of you who object to this, please tell me how you will stop line warming. Make it illegal? Already federal law.

"Rewarding voters with discounts or food quid pro quo is illegal when federal candidates are on the ballot. Accordingly, generally, these kinds of freebies are advertised as being for everyone in the general vicinity, whether or not they cast a ballot."
https://www.eater.com/21536548/feeding-voters-food-at-the-polls-election-day-voting

Federal law is also specific. Campaign materials, this includes signs and wearing shirts, and campaigning are not allowed with 150 feet of the building where the voting happens. In other words, if you show up to vote wearing a T-shirt that clearly supports a person, a party or an agenda, you are breaking federal law. If you have signs on your vehicle and you drive within 150 feet of the polling location, you are breaking federal law.

So tell me how you will stop line warming.

POSTPONED ELECTIONS

State and/or local elections can be postponed up to 120 days in case of an emergency. The State House of Representatives or the Senate Committees on Judiciary can overrule a postponing order.

LOCAL LEVEL

The bill allows the state to do a performance review of local election officials. The state or local elected boards can request the review.

It sets up a process for the state elections board to remove and appoint an elections superintendent and a board of elections. Before the bill, the local elections board and superintendent were generally under the County Commission's control.

This sounds like a major matter. It is not really. Given the scrutiny applied to Georgia's voting, existing laws and what SB 202 does, replacing the election superintendent has no effect on the ability of people to vote. As poll workers also have to be trained, before the election, replacing an elections superintendent during an election means the same people will continue to man the polls. Elections board members also need training to serve.

With the amount of public oversight and observation now allowed, an election superintendent has very little chance to do something really bad.

Further, the state can only take action against four election superintendents. If a 5th problem comes up, the state board has to abandon one of the four it is working on.

An elections superintendent has to:

• Commit at least three violations within 2 elections or 2 years

• Not correct those violations.

State Elections Board deliberations are held in secret. The vote and testimony must be done in a public meeting.

PROBATE OVERSIGHT

In some counties, the probate court oversees the elections. If the probate judge is not able to do the job, then the chief judge from the superior court circuit can appoint an elections superintendent and set the pay for the job.

REDUCE PRECINCT SIZE

Some precincts can be made smaller. The idea here is to speed up voting.

"If …a precinct contained more than 2,000 electors (voters) and if all those electors desiring to vote had not completed voting one hour following the closing of the polls, the superintendent shall either reduce the size of said precinct so that it shall contain not more than 2,000 electors."

More poll workers and more voting machines is another solution to the long lines.

The law puts this under the election superintendent's discretion. In other words, if the superintendent says it needs to happen, the city or county has to do it.

Polling places can also be changed.

"The superintendent of a county or the governing authority of a municipality shall select and fix the polling place within each precinct and may, either on his, her, or its own motion or on petition of ten electors of a precinct, change the polling place within any precinct."

The public must be told when a polling place is moved. A notice has to be published in the local legal organ (newspaper) and signs posted around the polling place.

MOBILE POLLING PLACES

Limits are put on mobile polling places, such as buses.

In selecting polling places and advance voting locations, the superintendent of a county or the governing authority of a municipality shall select, wherever practicable … schoolhouses, municipal buildings or rooms, or other public buildings for that purpose."

Mobile polling locations are only allowed in emergencies as declared by the governor.

BALLOT INFO

The precinct name and designation (whatever that is) must appear on the ballot.

OPTICAL SCANNING & VOTING BOOTHS

If the election uses "optical scanning voting systems", a computer that reads the ballot, in a state-wide general election each polling place must have one voting booth for each 250 voters.

This one doesn't make a lot of sense to me in light of the other ways the law tries to reduce time spent waiting in line. Gonna be a huge waste of money.

Fortunately, an exception is granted. The elections superintendent can set the number of voting booths to accommodate voters.

NO PRIVATE $

Local elections boards cannot accept private money.

"Some counties in 2020 received significant infusions of grant funding for election operations, while other counties received no such funds. Promoting uniformity in the distribution of funds to election operations will boost voter confidence and ensure that there is no political advantage conferred by preferring certain counties over others in the distribution of funds."

In other words, taxpayer dollars have to pay for the election. Cities must foot the bill for city elections. Counties have to pay for county elections.

POLL WORKERS

Poll workers can come from other counties. In other words, someone living in Colquitt County could be a poll worker in Tift County and vice versa.

"Poll officers appointed pursuant to Code Sections 21-2-90 and 21-2-91 shall be  judicious, intelligent, and upright citizens of the United States, residents of or otherwise  employed by the county in which they are appointed." An exception is granted.

If needed, a poll worker can come from an adjacent county, if that person is otherwise qualified and the election has a need for more workers than it has locally.


Home rule is changed. Now in places with districts, changing those districts has to wait until the Census is complete.

RESULTS POSTING

Results have to be posted by 10 p.m. on election night. The law has no provision for extending this deadline.

I'm just guessing - with the state legislature that is always a very serious risk - if the power goes out, Internet goes out, printer and computers die, the deadline will extend.  The problem is the 10 p.m. deadline is absolute. In plenty of other places in SB 202, exceptions are granted and explained.

No word on what will happen if the Elections Office doesn't meet the 10 p.m. deadline.

Another case of the elected reps in Atlanta not bothering to think something through.

REFERENDUMS

Local referendums can only be held:

"In odd-numbered years, any such special election shall only be held on the third Tuesday in March or on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November."

"In even-numbered years, any such special election shall only be held on:
i) The date of and in conjunction with the presidential preference primary if one is held that year;
(ii) The date of the general primary; or
(iii) The Tuesday after the first Monday in November."

Recall elections continue to be governed by laws created in 1989.

The referendum must have at least 29 days between the call of the election and the election date.

MAGISTRATE COURT

If a magistrate court judge dies, retires or resigns while in office, the governor appoints a replacement. That appointment is good until the next general election and when the new judge is sworn in Jan. 1.

Don't do it

 Seems like prit near every company around has a Box of the Month.

Yes friends and neighbors, for the low, low price of just about exactly what you can afford to throw away every month, you to can get a box of junk no one really wants and companies could not sell.

Yeah. I did. Yeah.

Bespoke. Boxes for men. Customized boxes that are tailored to fit a man's lifestyle. I'd been seeing this for a while. Then one of the boxes offered a knife. I signed up.

Before I could get the knife, I had to fill out a profile. I picked the outdoors profile. That had the knife. I use knives, a lot. I also break and lose knives a lot. 

Much to the chagrin of knife purists everywhere, I also use a plain old metal file to sharpen my knives. Fast edge, good edge. Makes me miss the cabbage knives we used when I grew up. Cheap steel, took an edge in a few strokes and I could cut a wagon load of cabbage.

Anyway, the knife arrived today.

https://www.bespokepost.com/store/barebones-ultimate-tool

It is the best $10 gardening trowel you can buy for $50.

1/8th inch thick steel. The plain knife side is sharpened, and not very much, on one side only at one seriously steep angle. You will need a file to re-edge this thing. Or a bench grinder.

Opposite side is a serrated knife which is exactly the wrong size (too big) for being the perfect steak knife and exactly the wrong size (too small) for any useful sawing needs.

It has a bottle opener at the hilt, which is probably exactly wrong too. I've not tried to open a bottle yet.

The whole blade is curved like a gardening trowel. It has depth marks on one side in case you need to know how deep you are poking into the dirt. Not sure exactly how far part the marks are.

The hilt is chunks of bamboo glued together. Not even thin laminate, which is strong stuff. The bamboo will probably swell and split at the joins if it spends too much time in water.

The handguard is simply HUGE, dang near a club. It has a cut one side of the blade guard. That, at least, is handy as it gives you a place to rest your thumb. Well, rest your thumb provided you are right handed and want to use the blade only or left handed and want to use the serrated only.

The pommel appears to be a healthy hunk of the same steel the blade is made from. It looks tough enough to stand up to serious pounding. Except it's held in place with screw which will quickly deform under hammering.

The steel is supposed to be heat treated stainless steel.

The promotional info says it is in "This Old House's top 100 new outdoor living tools for 2015."

The folks running This Old House apparently think outdoor living is gardening.

Bulldozing the bullwarks

I have really scaled back my attempts at firing up the bulldozer to wade through the bullwarks of hypocrisy people keep throwing up, around, down and every which way.

I refer you here to the attacks on #45, two specifically.

1) He lied.

Yep. He sure did. So did #44, #43, #42, #41 and on down the line.

They lied.

Totally copacetic with you and anyone else calling out the lies. Truly am.

I just want you to do the same thing to the other presidents. Be fair. If you call out one, call out all of 'em. I do.

2) Deaths.

Much hullabaloo is being made over the C-19, or Kung Flu deaths and how #45 is handling the matter.

"A total of 563 strikes, largely by drones, targeted Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen during Obama’s two terms, compared to 57 strikes under Bush. Between 384 and 807 civilians were killed in those countries, according to reports logged by the Bureau."

I still hear no bitching about this. I heard little when it was going on and absolutely ZERO complaints from #44 fans. They sure raised hell when #43 was doing it. When #44 expanded the war, his supporters were so silent it was like the room went to Absolute Zero.

Which is more horrific? The deaths in the US from Kung Flu or the civilian deaths in other countries from #44's drone strikes.

How much control does #45 have over Kung Flu? None. Despite flat out orders around the nation for people to wear masks, social distance and etc, Kung Flu deaths happened. How is this #45's fault? People made the decision, one by one, to ignore the advice, instructions and orders from their elected leaders.

For those who do not know:

• My momma died from Kung Flu.
• I do not wear a mask, unless I have to go into a private location which requires masks. If I can avoid the place, I do.

How much choice did the civilians under #44 have when the drones came a'bombing?

I have never banned someone because of their political views. I have stopped injecting myself into these arguments online. My sanity requires it.

If you are one that rips into any president while putting on Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses to examine another president's record, then know this:

I am judging you. I am calling you a hypocrite. I am putting you in the same category as liars, politicians, lawyers, despots, tyrants. You sadden me. You are part of the problem. You are one who creates discord despite pleaing for harmony. You are a disgrace.

If you are one of the few who calls all of them out, who looks at all the records the exact same way, you I salute. You are honest, fair, forthright and you are actually trying to forge ahead and make a better world. Keep it up.

Just the facts, ma – OH HELL NO THAT'S A LIE

Some people cannot stand facts. Some people will not accept the truth. Some people reject anything that contradicts their perception of reality.

These people are easy to identify. They explode with vitriol when corrected. They get mad as hell when shown the truth. They lose all objectivity. They result to insults, pejoratives, ad hominem and other emotionally laden invective.

Eliminate these people from your life, both in-person and online. They choose to live a lie and you should not.

FACT CHECKERS 

The Internet has many different fact checkers these days. You can easily find the top ones. The granddaddy is Snopes.

 As I'm seeing it, those on the ends of the spectrum call fact checking sites "fake news," "liars," "biased," agenda-driven and so forth. The far right is more incensed, from what I see, than the left, but that could just be my perception. The attackers swear the fact checkers are not correct and make up stuff and get it wrong.

You can tell if one fact checker is correct by comparing that report to the report of all the other fact checking sites. When they all agree, then you are guaranteed to have the facts in front of you.

Some people will still reject reality, preferring to cocoon themselves in a comforting lie.

Eliminate these people from your life, both in-person and online. They choose to live a lie and you should not.

I'M FROM MISSOURI 

Not really, I am from South Georgia, but the colloquialism remains. Show the mistakes. Show me the error. Show me the bias. Show me where they intentionally distorted the record.

I'm not gonna wait. You (you being the fact-check haters) can't do it because it does not exist. Of course, the haters will say even my links proving my point cannot be trusted.

Some point to a mistake Snopes made some years back. The error was quickly corrected. Since then, no problem.

Someone usually then points out the Snopes founders got a messy divorce. Exactly how does that affect the website's ability to find and report facts? It doesn't. It is a communist baitfish (red herring) whose only purpose is to be a straw man to deflect the argument away from what is at hand.

Eliminate these people from your life, both in-person and online. They choose to live a lie and you should not.

LIARS ABOUND 

Be certain, liars abound. Every president (the right-leaning link proving this) I can personally remember has lied (the left-leaning link proving this) to the American public. Pick one. You got it coming from both directions.

He lied.

#44? He lied.

#45? He lies.

#46? The two main contenders to take office in January 2021 are both proven liars. Their record of lies is easy to find.

Of course, the supporters of these and other presidents deny this. Never mind the live and recorded video, live and recorded audio, transcripts and news stories that prove they lied. The supporters categorically reject this as media manipulation.

Even more amusing to me is how so many of these supporters at one time gleefully shouted "liar!" as they supported someone else.

Bernie Sanders is a great example of this two-faced, hypocritical showmanship. When running for pres, Bernie said his opponents should not be entrusted with the job of the leader of the free world. Now, that same opponent who months ago was not fit for the job is now the savior of the human race.

Who ya gonna believe?

Eliminate these people from your life, both in-person and online. They choose to live a lie and you should not.

CHECK YOUR FACT

FB has again launched a program to tag lies. When so tagged, a post will have a variety of fact-checking websites pointing out the truth. This is driving some people incoherent with rage.

Eliminate these people from your life, both in-person and online. They choose to live a lie and you should not.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Hey, don't believe the fact checking websites. Do your own research. I do. Fact checking is what I do. I've done it for so long that it is now just a part of who I am.

A great example is the sex offender registry in California. So many people are saying this legalizes child molesting.

FULL STOP – Before I go any further, I tell you child molesters should be scraped with a cheese grater, taken offshore and trolled behind the boat in hopes of catching sharks. I'll buy the cheese grater, the rope, the boat, the gas and oil to make this happen.

Resuming - I went and read the law. Everyone claiming it legalizes child molesting has either not read the law or read it and chose to misinterpret the law. Again, I read the law. It says judges have discretion on whether or not to put SOME offenders on the sexual offender registry. If convicted, the person still faces all the rest of the penalties outlined in California law. I personally think the law is too broad. Regardless, child molesting is still illegal in California, at least right now.

Go. Read. Research.

When you do all this, then accept what you have learned as fact, whether you agree with it or not. Facts remain. Your opinion of the fact will not change it.

If you can accept the fact, regardless of your opinion, excellent. This is the way. If the fact, such as the California sex registry law, is something you do not like and can change, then do so.

This is the way. If you cannot accept the fact and instead must lie about it, then you are a problem and should be avoided.

If the truth hurts, yer living wrong. Accept the truth and it cannot hurt you any longer.

Of racism and emails

Crost my email desk several times a week are messages from various racist organizations. I did not sign up for these. I did not request them. I get 'em because I run a newspaper. I could mark them as spam and they'd get dumped in the trash folder before I ever see 'em. I do not do this.

SELF JUSTIFIED 

Before I go any further, lemme tell you this. These groups say they are not racist. Instead, they self-promote as heritage, rights, justice and a whole bunch other jingoist adjectives aimed at rallying the troops. This is how they self-justify. They are still racist. Any group that seeks to promote one group of humans OVER another is racist.

 Also, some of these groups are separatists. A separatist can be racist, but does not have to be a racist. A separatist says "we should be apart." Some say "We should be apart because we are better than the others." That's racist. Some say, "We should be apart, but we are not better than anyone else, we just want to be a distinct group." Not racist.

BUT WHY?

So why do I let these pejorative missives continue to come in?

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

I can learn about these people. I can learn their tactics, what they try to do and how they think. In learning about them, I also learn how to counter them.

Here's another Bakerism for you - If you listen long enough, people will tell you everything they do not want you to know.

TRUTH

Every once in a while, my curiosity gets the better of me and I read one of the emails. It confirms, at least to me, these people just do not get it.

More to the point, they do not want the truth. They want to hide behind lies. If the truth hurts, yer living wrong. These folks are going to extreme measures in an effort to avoid pain. In doing so, they bring more pain on themselves.

  HATERS GONNA BE IDIOTS

It's easy to say they are misguided and some may be. It's more accurate to say these people are consumed by hate. By letting their hate rule them, they also let those they hate guide their thoughts. The haters are actually managed by the people they hate. Haters gonna be idiots.

 "No," you say? Then you tell me.

If these racists are so consumed with thoughts of how they are being mistreated by another group, where is their focus? If their attention is so riveted on the people they hate, then where is their energy directed? If they devote so much of their time and resources to building their hate, their cause and attacking the other people, then how much time do they have to pursue other activities?

  AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT

 I read the emails from these people. I sadly shake my head and delete the email. I shove their information into a mental file, drop that in a mental filing cabinet in a mental closet. Then I turn off the light and lock the door as I walk away. The information is there, if I need it to counter them later, but it is NOT going to occupy my thoughts. Ain't nobody but fools got time for hate.

 I'm not smart enough to hate anybody. I don't have the mental acumen to be a racist. I can't understand their lines of reasoning and thought. Frankly, I'm not investing the effort to understand them on that level.

For me, it's enough to know that reason, logic and real science is enough to disprove them. I'll keep getting their emails. Most of the time, I'll click the little box to left and hit delete.

Every now and then, I'll read one just to confirm to myself they continue to be idiots.