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MEME: The Fourth Monkey has emerged
Sunday, August 3, 2025
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MEME | Tagged: Hear no evil, Phone monkey, See no evil, Speaks no eveil | 
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Posted by reinkefj
POLITICAL: Why does the USA fund the Israeli Gaza extermination?
Sunday, August 3, 2025https://tuckercarlson.com/john-aguilar-highlights-2
Firsthand Witness: They Shoot Into Crowds Of Unarmed Starving Civilians, Highlights
Premiered 1 day ago•13 mins
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-08-02>>
*** begin quote ***
Tucker and Tony Aguilar discuss the horrific animal-like treatment of civilians in Gaza at the hands of Benjamin Netanyahu.
*** end quote ***
Ok here’s a post that will probably offend about ½ the country, get me kicked off Social Media sites again, and get a lot of <synonym for excrement> from family, friends, and strangers.
BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), here goes!
I am moved to almost tears — and I’ve only cried real tears a few times in my life — I’m not a “crier” or a “Karen” about most everything. I try an emulate The Buddha, WWJD, and be the pessimistic optimistic (i.e. plan for the worst and be pleasantly surprised when it turns out better than expected) I think I am. On most things, I figure “small stuff” “this too will pass” and “it could be a lot worse”. I sit at my keyboard nearing the end of my adventure and “Face Life”. Just like this blog’s title “Reinke Faces Life”.
This <synonym for excrement> in Gaza has got to stop. Killing starving humans and inflicting savage trauma and death on little children has really gotten to my heart and soul.
While there is little I can do about it directly, other that sit and rant, I don’t intend to sit and let it go on without speaking up. Pastor Martin Niemöller spoke up when there was big price to pay.
Now I am a gun-owning pro-life pro-choice little L libertarian and think that the “system” is the problem. But this has gone on too far and for too long.
The President DJT4547 can stop this with a stroke of a pen but seems to be unable to muster up the moral fortitude to say to Israel: “Stop! The USA is not giving you another dime until it stops.” (He could do the same with Ukraine but that’s a topic for another day!)
I have never been a fan of the US foreign policy for as long as I can remember. The Christian Brothers, all vets from WWII and Korea, made me anti-war. I remember the pro-Israel propaganda back when I first recognized it in the movie “Cast A Giant Shadow”. Bit I also remember the USS Liberty being attacked by Israel and the US Gooferment didn’t say “boo”!①
Yes, I remember the atrocity of October 7th. It was horrific. But, when you have humans in box and are torturing men, women, and children, don’t be surprised when the “worm turns … … into a snake” and bites you. When you back men into a corner, they will attack with savagery and mercilessness that will stun you.
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand? . . .” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Seems like Palestinians are a lot like the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
So starting today, I am going to annoy all the politicians and bureaucrats to stop funding Israel.
##
FOOTNOTE:
① USS Liberty. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/06/08/were-fed-it-survivors-of-uss-liberty-look-answers-55-years-later.html
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Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Benjamin Netanyahu, DJT4547, Pastor Martin Niemöller, Tony Aguilar, Tucker Carlson, USS Liberty, Warsaw Ghetto | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
TECHNOLOGY: Microsoft is killing its ChromeOS competitor — “Microsoft Mothball”?
Saturday, August 2, 2025Microsoft is killing its ChromeOS competitor:
Back in 2021, Microsoft announced Windows 11 SE as a lightweight platform to rival Google’s ChromeOS, but now, the company is pulling the plug on the offshoot.
Leave a Comment » | Technology | Tagged: Google Graveyard | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
TECHNOLOGY: Individuals should be able to maintain their own verified digital identity
Saturday, August 2, 2025https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/07/how-solid-protocol-restores-digital-agency.html
Schneier on Security
*** begin quote ***
How Solid Protocol Restores Digital Agency
The current state of digital identity is a mess. Your personal information is scattered across hundreds of locations: social media companies, IoT companies, government agencies, websites you have accounts on, and data brokers you’ve never heard of. These entities collect, store, and trade your data, often without your knowledge or consent. It’s both redundant and inconsistent. You have hundreds, maybe thousands, of fragmented digital profiles that often contain contradictory or logically impossible information. Each serves its own purpose, yet there is no central override and control to serve you—as the identity owner.
*** and ***
The economics of Web 2.0 pushed us toward centralized platforms and surveillance capitalism, but there has always been a better way. Solid brings different pieces together into a cohesive whole that enables the identity-first architecture we should have had all along. The protocol doesn’t just solve technical problems; it corrects the fundamental misalignment of incentives that has made the modern web increasingly hostile to both users and developers.
As we look to a future of increased digitization across all sectors of society, the need for this architectural shift becomes even more apparent. Individuals should be able to maintain and present their own verified digital identity and history, rather than being at the mercy of siloed institutional databases. The Solid protocol makes this future technically possible.
This essay was written with Davi Ottenheimer, and originally appeared on The Inrupt Blog①
*** end quote ***
Good luck wresting control of “digital identity” from the all-powerful omniscient Gooferment. Never mind the technology giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple. And, of course, the completely subservient “We, The Sheeple” who don’t know how they are getting <synonym for the past tense of the procreation act.>!
Argh!
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Posted by reinkefj
RANT: Clear cutting a small green island in 08901
Friday, August 1, 2025Dear Mayor
It’s a shame no one asked about the impact of clear cutting the “island” at Paulus Blvd and Route 18. Today, the Public Works men show up and devastated the “island” of brush, trees, and anything green. So much for ecology and green spaces. Expect to see birds and deer displaced; maybe even more “accidents”. Spoke to the crew chief and hey said they had “orders from the mayor”. Argh!
Supposedly, a fatal accident occurred there which was blamed on limited visibility. We never heard or read about it. An internet search did not revel any accident.
Now let’s chat about the impact on my house.
- The traffic noise for 18, which was significantly muffled by the green space, is louder than ever.
- Drivers coming up the ramp to “make the light” or “get ahead of the 18 traffic” don’t even have to pretend to stop at the stop sign. Talk about an accident waiting to happen.
- The value of my property has be hurt but I can’t quantify the amount.
Now what happens next:
- Will the city put up a big ugly sound barrier?
- Raise the berm to cut down on the noise?
- Replant some hedges or trees?
If a neighbor did something like this, the various city agencies would ask for public comment. But the city does it with aout any “impact statements”.
My wife and I are very upset and we vote.
s/ Ferdinand J. Reinke
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Posted by reinkefj
HEALTHCARE: Father Saved Son AMA From Hospital
Friday, August 1, 2025WOODS2665: Father Saved Son AMA From Hospital
Tom Woods Podcast #2665
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2665-we-saved-our-son-by-ditching-the-hospital/
Will Boytim’s son drowned several years ago, and his experience with the medical establishment was harrowing yet revealing and instructive — they knew nothing about the kind of treatment that would eventually save him (outside the hospital), and “organ donation” ghouls kept implying that they should just let the boy go — think of all the lives they could save!
# – # – # – # – #
Listening to this podcast episode was mind blowing.
Especially listen to the Czech doctor, who went along with the treatment plan, to humor the parents and figuring it couldn’t do any harm. He rewrote “the book” (i.e., the standard plan for drowning victims) based on what he saw with his own eyes.
Points that I took away:
- Never EVER leave your child alone in a hospital;
- You MUST be prepared to be a VOCAL “patient advocate”;
- Have an organized way to keep a record of EVERYTHING that impacts you or your patient;
- Be familiar with, and keep your own, SOAP <<Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan>> notes (a highly structured format for documenting the progress of a patient during treatment)
- Have pre-set up an effective communications tool to keep my family and friends informed about conditions with the minimum of effort. (I recommend Caring Bridge. It’s free and puts readers in control of how they receive information. I have one for myself with two co-contributors for when I’m not able to update either.)
- With the Patient, it is important to stay optimistic and positive. To a certain extent, I agree that the Universe does supply what you focus on; so NEVER let patient see anything but your “happy face”.
- With everyone else, it is important to stay realistic and objective. Facts only; not opinions since you as PA are not an “expert”.
- But with the Medical People (i.e., doctors; specialists; nurses; bureaucrats), you ARE the “expert” in your patient (i.e. complete history with lots of data).
- As her PiA (I call it being the “patient advocate”; been called PIA), I keep all the notes, do the RXes, nd generally fuss over her like a mother hen.
Clearly in my mind, the medical establishment is NOT your benevolent friend with your or your patient s best interest at heart.
I should write up my experiences with my sainted wife’s medical struggles as I tried to be her patient advocate.
Maybe it might help all future patient advocates get ready for their mission!
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Posted by reinkefj
POLITICAL: Why do we have special deductions in the income tax code
Thursday, July 31, 2025FROM FACEBOOK
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-07-24>>
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19L9n3gvEj/
S Kent Troy, @skenttroy
*** begin quote ***
OK, a quick question, how many of you are aware that the BBB includes a provision for a $ 1,700 tax credit for a donation to a non public school scholarship program? If I owe uncle $ 15,000 next year I’d much rather give him $ 13,300 and spread the other $ 1,700 among the Catholic Schools I and my kids attended. Thanks to the “Jewish Weekly Standard” for the info!
*** end quote ***
A more important question to this little L libertarian is “Why?”
- Why have this “loophole” when the USA has the current 137T+ national debt and the guesstimated 200T+ in unfunded liabilities that our posterity will have to deal with.
- Why is the Gooferment “picking” winners and losers with the manipulation of the tax code — best to figure out how to end Gooferment Skrules and put parents in charge. (They had them; they feed them; they should school them.).
- Why don’t we stick to the Dead Old White Guys’ vision of a very limited Federal Gooferment? Why do we continue to accept the “bad behavior” of politicians and bureaucrats at all levels of society?
Why …, … why …, … why …?
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Posted by reinkefj
POLITICAL: Is it time to “refresh” the whole SCOTUS?
Wednesday, July 30, 2025Solidifying President Trump’s Judicial Legacy
- The importance of being ideologically earnest.
John Klar
Jul 23, 2025
*** begin quote ***
It seemed that, when nominated, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was noted for her gender and skin color more than her intellectual prowess. Yet the Constitution registers no consideration of these attributes as necessary to fairly and impartially adjudicate the nation’s laws. Deviating from longstanding precedent, Jackson has a strong ideological bent toward activism. Ironically, her intersectionality includes womanhood and a feminist inclination, but she famously could not define what a woman is.
Several aspects of the modern American judicial system have steadily veered away from its traditional role of simply enforcing laws passed by Congress or issued by the executive in favor of insinuating deeply held political views into a system designed to be apolitical. It is no wonder that public confidence in the courts has declined. Rarely have SCOTUS decisions been as politically predictable as on the current Court, where the left-leaning allegiances of Justices Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan routinely place them in a dissenting face-off against the other six justices.
*** end quote ***
Seems like “We, The Sheeple” need a “codification” of SCOTUS.
I’d suggest:
(even though no one has ever or will ever ask how “King Ferd” [me] how I’d have set it up. I’m sure the Dead Old White Guys would not believe how their SCOTUS has evolved.)
- There should be a minimum age of 30 and a maximum age of 70;
- The selection should be limited to sitting Federal Appeals Court and State Supreme Court judges;
- End lifetime appointments to SCOTUS and each judge should be appointed for 36 years;
- Terms should expire at the first anniversary of each Presidential election;
- So, that each President will get to appoint at least one judge to SCOTUS;
- Should a judge die in office, the sitting President should name a replacement for the balance of the deceased judge’s term;
- SCOTUS should establish “ethics rules” for itself identical to any impose on lower Federal Court judges.
I’d like to see that done and run for a few decades, then evaluate how it turns out.
Sort of like planting a shade tree that you’ll never sit under.
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Posted by reinkefj
TECHNOLOGY: AT&T introduces its variant of the Google Graveyard, the AT&T ashcan
Tuesday, July 29, 2025Download your photos before AT&T shuts down its cloud storage service permanently
- Come October, AT&T’s Photo Storage service will stop backing up your files. Here’s how to grab them before they’re gone.
Written by Lance Whitney, Contributor
July 22, 2025 at 8:33 a.m. PT
Reviewed by Elyse Betters Picaro
*** begin quote ***
Starting Oct. 20, 2025, AT&T Photo Storage will stop backing up your files. At that time, the app will be removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play. The service itself, however, will still remain available until Feb. 1, 2026, at which point your stored photos will vanish as well.
*** end quote ***
Of course, the monthly nut I pat to AT&T will OF COURSE be reduced proportional to the cost of this service.
Yeah, right.
It’s just a technological form of our old friend, SHRINKFLATION!
Back in the day when I worked for Old Ma Bell, no one would dare harm the Customer. It was part of the credo, ethic, or morals of the employees.
Then Judge Green broke up the “monopoly” and the USA went from a stellar phone service to a mixed jumble of offerings. Bell Labs and Wester Electric were fatal casualties of the distruction.
Were phone calls “cheaper”? The phones certainly weren’t a durable and the politicians and bureaucrats ruled “rates” at all levels of Gooferment.
Unfortunately, unlike the leadership of IBM who told the Gooferment to go <synonym for the act of procreation> themselves, Ma Bell just rolled over and played dead.
Roll the clock forward and we have expensive phones and service (such as it is) and the AT&T ASHcan!
Argh!
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Posted by reinkefj
RANT: Barbie debuts first doll with type 1 diabetes; I’m not a fan
Monday, July 28, 2025Barbie debuts first doll with type 1 diabetes, boosting visibility and inclusion
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
This article was originally published on July 18, 2025
*** begin quote ***
Mattel introduced its first-ever Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes in an effort to improve representation and produce dolls that truly mirror real life. Created in partnership with Breakthrough T1D, a nonprofit focused on type 1 diabetes research and advocacy, the new Barbie aims to normalize life with the condition and inspire empathy, understanding, and pride.
*** end quote ***
Argh! This makes me think of Evy and her brother Jack. Both Type 1’s. Is this “Barbie” going to have a shortened lifespan, infertility, ill-health, vision problems, and blood sugar swings that make life a wild painful ride?
It seems like it trivializes the problems they had all so that Mattel can make a few bucks. I am not against making a few bucks. And maybe it can make children feel differently about themselves.
BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), I suspect that Mattel’s motives are not all altruistic. If they said their profits were going to fund a research prize for a cure, then I’d be positively impressed. Otherwise, Argh! I suspect that any “donations” will come off their taxes and will go fund (what I call) “Red Cross style” bureaucrats① (i.e., high paid “leadership”) and a never ending (what I call) “March of Dimes” charity organizations② (i.e., an organization which when it cures its disease — like polio — rebrands to a “disease” that can never be cured, ever. Hence the organization attains “immortality” of lucrative high-paying jobs).
# – # – # – # – #
FOOTNOTES:
① Salaries of “Leadership”
$832,241: Gail McGovern, President and CEO ARC https://paddockpost.com/2024/03/24/executive-compensation-at-the-american-red-cross-2022/
Compared to:
Reports suggest the General earns between $13,000 and $79,000 annually, depending on the country and organization structure.
② “March of Dimes” rebrands to fight “birth defects”
What began in 1938 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personal struggle with polio led to the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, better known as March of Dimes.
In 1958, the organization expanded its purpose to “broader medical causes” but retreated in 1965 to a narrower, birth-defects focus. In 1979, the group changed its name to March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, but the phrase “birth defects” was removed in 2006.
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Posted by reinkefj
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