Are MAGAs Christian?
I spent my entire life having no lasting friendships. I found few people I could connect with; people who shared my passions, and with whom I could have the intellectual conversations I craved. Then I got on the Internet and everything changed. I found several forums that aligned with my interests, met people who were like me in many ways, people who were smarter than me about many things, which I liked, because I could learn from them. Many of the people I became online friends with were pretty wonderful Christians. Then Facebook came along, and I began hanging out there, along with a few hundred people who followed me…
Just the Bird Flu Facts, Ma’am
I’m seeing a ridiculous amount of misinformation going around about the bird flu outbreak, including every kind of conspiracy theory. Maybe I can clear up a few misconceptions and provide some accurate information. Bird Flu has been around for years. Why are they killing chickens now when they didn’t before? There are several different viruses that cause bird flu. For years, a class of bird flu called Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) has periodically circulated through domestic poultry flocks and among wild bird populations. LPAI usually doesn’t cause serious illness. Many birds can carry the virus without showing symptoms. Affected flocks commonly recover and continue producing eggs. But what we’re…
I’m Tired of Debunking MAGA
I started this blog because I want to post about history and science. I have dozens of text documents with partially written posts and lots of notes about those subjects, and for debunking conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, and other interesting topics. But I can’t concentrate on any of that when my country is crashing and burning around me. So I find myself spending my already limited time trying to discredit Trump’s solipsistic foibles, which are exacerbated by MAGAs repeating everything he says like it’s the gospel truth. From his outright lies to his fundamental misunderstandings of how things work, MAGAs praise him for actions that will destroy this country. I’ll…
The Truth About the Federal Aviation Administration and DEI
Almost immediately after his inauguration, Trump began essentially dismantling several government agencies which have varying degrees of aviation safety, some more and some less. He fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up and eliminated all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee. He fired 100 top Federal Aviation Administration security officers and froze the hiring of all Air Traffic Controllers, even though there is already a shortage of tower controllers. The Aviation Security Advisory Committee will technically continue to exist but it won’t have any members to carry out the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports. TSA…
The Trump-Canadian War
It started as bartering. Archaeologists have uncovered undeniable evidence that hunter-gatherer groups met up to trade goods. Hunter-gatherers and nomadic groups that still exist today continue to engage in this practice. Then cities sprang up, ships and writing was invented, and long distance trading commenced. Partnerships and allies formed. Civilizations became prosperous. International trade strengthens the economy for everyone involved. A good example is our steel and cars trade with Canada. We import steel from Canada. We use it to make cars. Canada then buys the cars from us. Trump said we don’t need Canada’s steel because we have our own. Unfortunately, that’s not true. The primary ingredient in making…
The Trump-Colombia Crisis
I have to back-track a little to lay the ground work. Here’s how deportations worked under Biden: Per Biden’s agreements with Mexico, Mexico was stopping as many illegals as possible before they crossed the border into the US, and sending them back where they came from. For illegals already in the country, ICE agents would pick them up and transfer them to the nearest detention facility. A judge would determine if an immigrant should be deported, and if so, they were flown either via a chartered commercial plane or by one of ICE’s 10 planes to a staging locations along the southern US border to await deportation. Deportees would then…
LA Fire Conspiracies and Hoaxes
Nothing new, just the usual ridiculous out-of-control conspiracies that spread every time anything happens. IT’S ALL THE FAULT OF THE DEMOCRATS This is an odd thing to say, since 44 Republicans voted against HR 10545, the American Relief Act of 2025. Part of this bill is to provide funds for wildfire prevention measures, including $75,000,000 for the “construction or maintenance of shaded fuel breaks in the Pacific Regions.” These fuel breaks will help slow down the spread of fires, and increase the efficiency of firefighting efforts. Fortunately, the bill passed and was signed into law in December 2024, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to get the extra fire breaks…
History of Presidential Pardons and Clemencies
How Pardons Work The plenary power to grant a pardon or a reprieve is granted to the president by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution; the only limits mentioned in the Constitution are that pardons are limited to federal offenses, and that they cannot affect an impeachment process. The president can issue a full pardon, reversing a criminal conviction as if it never happened. Executive clemency may take several forms, including pardon, conditional pardon, commutation of sentence, conditional commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, respite, reprieve and amnesty. Since 1789, various offices within the federal government have provided the president with administrative support for the…
JoAnn Morgan, Aerospace Engineer
JoAnn Hardin Morgan was born in 1940, during a time when women were expected to stay home, keep house and raise kids, while the husband was out in the world making a living. JoAnn loved math and science, and entered high school during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union were trying to outdo each other in rocket technology. JoAnn watched rocket launches from near her home in Florida. But it was when Explorer 1, the first United States satellite, was launched into space on January 31, 1958 that she became determined to be a part of the space program. It’s not the kind of career…
Trump’s Troublesome Tariffs (Update Nov 10)
Rather than make a new tariff post, I’m adding an update to my original post, which you can find below. I’m seeing an incredible amount of confusion, ignorance and misinformation about Trump’s proposed tariffs. He’s saying he wants a 60% tariff on everything imported from China, and 20% on anything imported from any other country. People are not understanding that this will cause higher prices across the board on everything, and I mean everything bought and sold in this country. That includes anything manufactured or grown here. Almost everything manufactured here requires imported components, materials and parts, because we are unable to produce/supply those components, materials and parts, or we…
Fox News is Fake News [UPDATE OCT 31]
TWO UPDATES OCT 31. Scroll down. They’re clearly marked. By now you’ve probably seen the meme going around on social media saying someone shouted Jesus is Lord at one of her rallies, and she told them they were at the wrong rally. Maybe you’ve also seen the Fox interview with those two hecklers. I watched the rally in question. I saw the part where the boys started shouting. What I heard was Lies! Lies! and something unintelligible as the crowd erupted. Following is the UNEDITED clip, exactly as I saw it while watching the rally. I don’t know how to get the Fox video on the page, but you can…
Iceland & Baby Names
I’ve always been fascinated with other cultures. Some of them have traditions which seem strange to those who live in other parts of the world. But keep in mind, if somebody else’s custom seems strange to you, they probably find your customs just as strange. One that I find odd is the baby-naming rules in Iceland. Iceland has very strict laws concerning what you can name your baby. They have lists of approved and forbidden names for girls and boys. If you want to use a name which is not on one of those lists, you have to submit your request to the Icelandic Naming Committee (with a fee), and…
