Monday, October 31, 2016

Setting up your own blog

About 10 years ago, I posted a series about setting up your own blog. Looking back on it, a lot has changed.

When I looked at free blogging platforms, they included LiveJournal, which is now owned by Russians. Really.

Another free option was MSN Spaces. Remember that? No? Now you know why it isn't around any more.

There was AOL Journals. It's nowhere to be found.

There was ... um ... well, that was about it. Except for a couple called Blogger and WordPress.com.

At the time, I suggested those two and none of the other ones for free blogging. There may be some other decent free blogging platforms around, but I'm sticking with those two.

Paid options are available, too. WordPress.com has a paid option. Or, you can use a third-party Web host and install WordPress there. But, you'll need your own domain name for that. And that means we're getting ahead of ourselves.

But, this is a good time to talk about domain names.

Your Own Domain


Do you want your own domain name? If you use Blogger or WordPress.com, you don't need your own domain name to have a blog. But, if you want your own for whatever reason, then you have plenty of options. However, that means your blog is not really free.

If you don't care about your own domain name, skip to the next part. If you do, though, here are some options you have. There are more options than I'm going to mention. I'm just focusing on a few of the cheapest or most popular options.

Basic Registration


To get your own domain name, you'll pay around $12 ... or more. Often more. Sure, registrars will offer sale prices for multi-year or bundles with other services, but here's the basic one-year price (rounded to the nearest dollar) for some of the most popular registrars.

Google: $12 ($12 first year)
GoDaddy: $15 ($12 first year)
Network Solutions: $38 ($20 first year)

Many hosting companies will offer to register your domain for you, so you may find good prices if you go the hosting route. However, the idea here is to do it most economically.

Private Registration


Then, there's private registration. That is an extra service that's above and beyond the standard domain registration. It's totally up to you whether or not you want your information private. I choose to do that. If you don't, anyone can look up your name, address, and phone number. Nope. I'm going private.

Google: Free
GoDaddy: $10
Network Solutions: $16

Net Registration


Here's the yearly price for registering a domain and having the information private:

Google: $12
GoDaddy: $25
Network Solutions: $54

I've used all three of these services. I have moved all my domains to Google Domains because it's cheaper, the interface is easy to use, and it does everything I need it to do.

Choosing A Platform


If you don't want your own domain name, you'll likely want to use Blogger or WordPress.com for your blog. Your URL will be http://yourblog.blogspot.com or http://yourblog.wordpress.com

If you do want your own domain name, you can use a third-party for hosting, which means add around $100 or more per year to the cost.

Or, use either Blogger or WordPress.com for hosting. Here's the total yearly cost.

Blogger: $12 (hosting is free; $12 for domain registration)
WordPress.com: $18 ($13 for hosting; $5 for domain registration add-on to hosting; net is $18)

You can't register a domain name through WordPress.com unless you buy it with a hosting plan.

So, whether you get your own domain name or not, I'm suggesting Blogger or WordPress.com for your blog. I've used both. I like WordPress better, but not enough to justify the extra cost. For some, it's worth it.

Money Money Money


If you want to monetize your blog, fine. Keep in mind that if you bombard people with ads, that turns them off. I have ads on this little blog, but they don't get all up in your face. Blogger lets you put your own ads on your Website. They also have their own advertising service for which you may apply. I participate, but haven't made a lot of money on it. Very little, in face.

WordPress.com does not let you put ads on your Website. Well, they do, but that's with the $5,000/month package. They have their own advertising service that's available with the $100/year plan.

If you're going to pay WordPress.com $100/year to host your Website, you might as well pay a third-party host and get the full WordPress software, which is more setup, but lets you put ads on your Website.

Blogger clearly has the advantage in price on this topic.

Before we leave this topic, let me reiterate: if you attempt to monetize, don't be obtrusive with your ads. Put yourself in your readers' place.

Nuff said.

Summary


So, do you want your own domain name? If so, I'm suggesting to use Google domains. Cheaper.

For hosting, either WordPress.com or Blogger (Google). I'm suggesting Blogger because ... cheaper. Unless you aren't using your own domain name. Then they are the same price: free.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Pub-D-Hub

I got my first Roku device in early 2011. And I've been a big fan of Roku ever since.

For those that don't know, Roku is a device to allow you to stream online content to your TV. I've written a little about it, but there are Websites dedicated to the whole topic. Here's one that has a lot of good info.

Anyway, Roku has a lot of apps (they call them "channels") that offer a wide variety of content. Just about anything you'd want. Anything. Yep.

Of course, it has all the major services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google Play, HBO, Sling TV, ... well, the list goes on and on.

One little app that I enjoy, though, is called Pub-D-Hub. And, like the name indicates, it's a hub for public domain content. ("Pub-D hub" get it?) I don't like that the Website is a ".info" address -- that just screams spammer -- but my concerns have been alleviated over the years.

Pub-D-Hub has a decent amount of public domain content. Sure, it's all free content that you can get from other places, but I like the fact that I don't have to search all over for it. It puts a lot of stuff all in one place. It's convenient.

Pub-D-Hub also has a "Gold" package. Now, charging for public domain content? Not cool. But, I don't mind it in this instance. First, the price is really cheap. It's less than $5/year. I don't know but I strongly suspect the subscriptions from me and from others helps defer, and maybe even fully cover, the cost of running the servers. I suspect that if it does -- and I'm not even sure it does -- that it barely does.

Next, it's not really mandatory to get the Gold package to use the service. It offers more, but there's still plenty to watch using just the free plan.

The Gold plan doesn't get rid of commercials. The free plan doesn't insert commercials. Pub-D-Hub is one of the few free services that doesn't interrupt content with advertising.

The Website isn't some slick, Netflix or Hulu looking Website. It's functional and easy to use. Not a lot of extra bells and whistles, but they aren't needed.

Content is updated regularly. Monthly for free plans and weekly (Sundays) for Gold plans. And, like I said, it's public domain content.

Old movies. Episodes of old TV shows. Classic TV commercials. Educational films. Old time radio programs. Newsreels.

I enjoy watching content from Pub-D-Hub. If you have a Roku, check it out.

Friday, October 28, 2016

World Series

I've never been to a World Series game. I've not had a lot of opportunities to go, since I don't live near any teams that actually play in the Series. Well, often, anyway.

I've established before that I like baseball. A lot. But to go to a World Series game, I'd only pay to go if it was a team I followed. And that's the Braves. Now, to be sure, the Braves have been to the World Series. Both trips while in Boston were before I was born. One Milwaukee trip was before I was born and the other was a few months after I was born. Of course, I wasn't following baseball that year, and if I had been, I wouldn't have cared if a team from Milwaukee went or not. I'd have probably been following the Cardinals or the Reds. Most people from Georgia followed one of those teams before the Braves moved to Atlanta.

Anyhow, when the Atlanta Braves made it to the World Series, it just wasn't financially feasible to go. I couldn't afford it. So, I've never been to a World Series game.

I'm not excited about this year's matchup. Sure, there's a lot to be excited about, but if it's not my team, I really don't care as much. But, the fact remains that either the Cleveland Indians will break a 68-year World Series championship drought, or the Chicago Cubs will break a 108-year World Series championship drought.

Before this year, the Cubs hadn't even been since 1945. The Indians have been and lost three times since their 1948 victory, most recently in 1997 and 1995.

Either way it works out, it'll be a big deal. Even before it started, though, it's a big deal for Jim Schlegal, a World War II vet who attended the Cubs' last series (a 4 games to 3 loss to Detroit) in 1945. CBS Sports reports that someone heard about family attempts to raise money to send him to a game and made it happen:
CNBC host Marcus Lemonis has given Schlegal two tickets. So Schlegal will get to see another World Series in Wrigley Field, 71 years after he saw his first one.
[Tip: Diane Meyer at Respublica]

The series moves to Chicago tonight, and Schlegal will get to see his Cubs play. Good on all the parties involved in making that vet's dream come true.

I'd like to see blog buddy Don Surber celebrate a Cleveland victory, since I don't have a dog in the fight. But if the Cubs win and a World War II veteran gets to see his life-long team celebrate, I'm okay with that.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

What are today's kids going to remember?

I remember how different things were when I was much younger. For one thing, we said the Pledge of Allegiance in school. School lunches were a quarter. You didn't act up in school.

Things were different then. Of course, being from the south, we said "sir" and "ma'am" without being reminded to. We had fireworks on Independence Day. We had...

Well, what brought this about, you might ask.

No really. Go ahead and ask. I'll wait.

...

Well, since you asked, I read a post that Carol Marks wrote over at Moxie Beautiful:
We learned how to tell time on a clock with a face. Some of us fixed popcorn on the stove, in a pan. We passed paper notes during class or in between classes. We used textbooks in school and the aroma of ditto machines lingered in the air. We took our film, from a camera, to the store to be developed.

Our generation received the news from news anchors on one of the three big major networks. We listened to the radio and called in to request our favorite tunes. We also listened to vinyl records on a turntable. We waited in long lines to get concert tickets.
She's a few years younger than I am, so some of the references she makes fit me and some don't (doggone kids). Of course, every generation does this. My grandparents (they've all passed on now) would talk about seeing an airplane for the first time, or seeing something called television. Paved roads. Riding in an A-Model car.

Our parents did the same thing. And now we're doing it. And, of course, our children and grandchildren will do it too.

I do wonder what today's youth will be going on about. "I remember when iPhones actually had a button on them. And when you had to drive a car itself. And cars only went around on the ground. And we only had 500 channels..."

But, it's not really those kind of things that make us different. I mentioned in the first paragraphs about love of God, family, country, and school. I don't see that so much today.

We were young American children, and we loved our God, our families, our country, and our schools. Maybe we didn't know better. I think that today, they just know worse.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Both ways

This whole "Trump won't accept the results if he loses" nonsense is ... well, nonsense.

It's be almost funny if it just wasn't so ... well, okay, it is funny, despite everything.

On the left, including the media, they're getting their panties in a wad because Trump wouldn't agree to unconditionally accept the election results. This is the same left that backed Al Gore's refusal to accept the 2000 election results until the Supreme Court ended that hissy-fit.

The other group that's jumping on Trump is the #NeverTrump crowd, many of whom have a field day with Hillary's rigging of the Democrat nomination.

I understand the dislike of Donald Trump. I'm no fan. But the #NeverTrump crowd getting in bed with the pro-Hillary crowd ... well, let's just say I'm torn between disgust and disappointment. Some of those carrying the #NeverTrump banner are people I've thought a lot of over the years. I'm hoping they wise up.

Back to the election rigging thing, The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler nailed it:
After the farcical “investigation” by Comey’s FBI of Hildebot Clintoon’s clearly treasonous and criminally negligent handling of classified material, not to mention every single other investigation of Congress’ ending up in nothing at all no matter how damning the evidence? After Project Veritas publishing, on a daily basis, irrefutable proof of ProgNazi operatives not only admitting to, but bragging of their massive vote fraud operations? After the IRS being used as the armed goons of the ProgNazis to suppress dissent up to the 2012 election (and the inevitable pointless show “investigations” not leading anywhere afterwards)? After the too numerous to count reports of precincts voting more than 100% Democrat in previous elections? We could go on for another 200 pages, but we trust you get the point.

Yet we’re supposed to just forget all about that and hand our lying, cheating, thieving oppressors a blank check to go forth and continue using us like a rented mule?
Like I said, I'm no fan of Trump. But I'm not going to call him out when he's right. And on this, he's right.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Vote early and vote often

I'm not a fan of early voting. The reason is simple: it gives Democrats more time to rig an election.

Now, don't think I'm biased against Democrats. My dislike is based on experience. But I have no illusions that many Republicans wouldn't do the same thing.

If a bunch of Republicans could rig the vote and get away with it, they would. But, since the media is full of Democrats and their ilk, they'd be all over the Republicans while ignoring the Democrats.

Now, not all media members are dishonest. I suspect if Chris Wallace (Fox News) or Jake Tapper (CNN) became aware of voter fraud, they'd report on it, regardless of who did it. But most members of the media are so full of Democrat Kool-Aid that they would believe any excuse a fraudster would spew.

So, the Republicans won't get away with vote fraud. Democrats will. And have. And do.

And the biggest avenue they have is this whole "early voting" thing. It's nothing more than a way for crooks to be crooks and commit fraud.

Voting should be on a set day. One day. And, if someone can't be bothered to vote on that one day, great. We have too many low-information voters already.

I'm voting on election day, not before. If I am out of town, I'll vote by absentee, as I did when in the Army. But, my schedule will have me where I can vote at home on election day, so I will. You should too.

Friday, October 21, 2016

When is it God's fault?

I read a thought-provoking post over at The Scratching Post just a bit ago. It brings up the question of God letting things happen. Specifically, the Holocaust.

Of course, atheists believe in not believing in God, so they take events like the Holocaust as proof that God doesn't exist. I choose to think of events like that as proof of how much men need God.

Anyway, K T Cat suggests that people should have seen it coming in regards to Hitler:
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf long before he came to power. Anyone who read it knew he was trouble from the get-go for Jews in particular and Europe in general. Never one for subtleties, while he doesn't lay out the blueprints for the gas chambers, it's hard to see how it all ends well for the Jews. When he finally did seize power in Germany, the sequence of events, including Kristallnacht, made it clear to everyone where this was headed.
People can't be bothered to learn from history. And it's not just those that are doomed to repeat it. They're going to drag the rest of us with them. Unless we act.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Did they throw Hillary off the bus?

When I first heard about it, I was worried for Hillary.

Sure, I don't like the woman and certainly don't want her to be president, but I certainly don't want anything bad to happen to her.

What I'm talking about is a story that led me to think that one of Hillary's campaign bus had deposited her on the side of the road and she fell in a sewer. Turns out I misunderstood what actually happened.

The report from WGCL in Atlanta said
[City of Lawrenceville ]cops investigating claims that #Hillary #ForwardTogether bus dumped human waste into storm drain. Follow @cbs46 for updates.
[Tip: MoonBattery]

And the DNC confirmed it.

Naturally, when I saw that a Clinton campaign bus had dumped human waste into a storm drain, I thought they were talking about Hillary.

It's an easy mistake to make.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Why wait till the election to start rigging things?

A lot of people seem to be getting their panties in a wad about the possibility -- check that -- the likelihood of vote fraud in the upcoming election. What these people seem to not realize is that it's already begun. At least, I think it has. And, I suspect you know it, too, whether or not you think much about it.

Isaac Schrodinger was one of the ones pointing out that the polls are all conflicting:
...one poll has Clinton up by 10 while another has Trump up by 6.

Of course, they both can't be correct. It's likely that they're both wrong.
So, what's the truth?

The truth is, I think, that if enough polls showing Hillary in the lead make that the expectation, then one of two things will happen:
  1. Those opposing Hillary won't bother to vote, since they figure she's going to win anyway.
  2. If Hillary loses, they'll use the rigged polls (accepted as truth) as evidence that the Republican must have cheated.
What evidence do I have? Well, what evidence would satisfy you? Obviously you don't recall those same arguments in elections in the past. Not wide-spread, but they were there?

Didn't see or hear those? Maybe you weren't paying attention.

The polls are rigged. Many of them, any way. And that's important in perception, because people put a lot of faith in polls.

An honest, scientifically accurate poll will give a good indication of how things stand at a point in time.

Polls are a tool for research. The problem is they are used as tools of manipulation. By tools.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Monkey Hillary Clinton

I got an odd search result the other day. Let me explain what I'm talking about for those that aren't familiar.

Google does the stats for this little blog. That includes page views (totals and per blog post page), audience (where, what browser, etc), and search results that led to the page. And that's what I noticed as a little odd.

Google said that the third most popular search result this week that people used to find this little blog was, and I quote, "monkey hillary clinton" -- no I am not making this up.

I don't think I've ever used the phrase "Monkey Hillary Clinton" ever in my life. Until now.

I'm not sure if it refers to this image of one of Hillary's Flying Monkeys:

Monkey Hillary Clinton

This one where we wonder who wore it better:

Monkey Hillary Clinton

Or this (which means we can do monkey pictures of politicians again):

Monkey Hillary Clinton

I'm not sure why anyonw would search for "monkey hillary clinton" or why such a search would turn up here.

But, if it's my destiny to be the one-stop shop for Monkey Hillary Clinton images and other items, so be it.

Of course, maybe they were searching for a monkey named Hillary Clinton. But why would someone name a monkey Hillary Clinton? I wouldn't. There is already a jackass with that name.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

All better now

Everything's finally back to what passes for normal at la casa de Basil. The power was finally restored this afternoon, and Comcast service resumed tonight. The tree is out of the tree, thanks to a neighbor and some hired help. Missed work in the process, so there's that still to make up. But, that doesn't really matter.

A lot of people had it a lot worse. Some houses in the neighborhood has electrical boxes torn off the side. One other had a tree in a tree. Only, it was a full tree in a tree, not a partial tree like I had. And that one is still there. A neighbor's pine tree didn't fall on another neighbor's house because the pine tree got stuck in an oak tree. That could still turn out bad, so despite my silly rants, I actually had it pretty good.

The things I've experience most during and after Hurricane Matthew is a lack of misfortune. And I'm not complaining. Lacking severe misfortune is a good thing.

My sister wrecked my mother's car, complete with my mother inside it. Something about running into a tree that fell on the road in front of them while they were taking a two-lane back road at nearly midnight the night the hurricane hit. They're all okay. Well, apart from making decisions to be on a two-lane back road near midnight in a hurricane. But that's just them. The car's being repaired. They're counting their blessings.

Yes, we got through it all without injury or major damage to residences. Some inconvenience, but that's all.

We are truly blessed.

Monday, October 10, 2016

I really need to get my tree out of the neighbor's tree

Hurricane Matthew came by for a visit this weekend. Friday, actually. I was out of town anyway, and had events in Perry on Saturday and Millen on Sunday, so it was Sunday night before I got a chance to see what all Matthew had wrought.

I did know that the power went off at 8:36 Friday night, because, well, I have it tell me things like that. And here it is Monday afternoon, and the power isn't back on yet. Georgia Power says I'll have service by 10:00 tonight. They, as well as the local EMC, have had workers out all day and all night working on things. I have no complaints. Sure, I wish my power was one of the first back on, but I can understand them focusing on nursing homes, restaurants, grocery stores, and such. Or so it seems.

Now, we've had hurricanes before. When David came through in 1979, it hit closer, but it had already weakened by then (thanks, Florida). When Hugo came through in 1989, it was more powerful than David, but further away. We even managed to get in some football during that Thursday night strike.

Matthew, though, was more of a problem than either of those. At least, it seemed to put down more trees and tree parts in very inconvenient locations. Driving out of Millen, for instance, there were several traffic lights out on U.S. 25 in Statesboro. Most people knew to treat such circumstances as a four-way stop. But some didn't. You know what you call dumbasses like that? Dumbasses.

Anyway, same was true for Claxton (the place famous for fruitcakes -- the kind you have at Christmas), Glennville, Ludowici, and Jesup. Yes, those are all real places. Brunswick, where my son lives, is in pretty good shape. They have power, at least.

Me? No power. But I do have a tree in a tree. The tree that's in the ground is actually the neighbor's. It just hangs over into my yard. Free shade!

The tree in that tree is my tree. Well, actually, it's part of my tree. A good chunk of it, at least. And, I need to get it out of the neighbor's tree. The neighbor isn't there, so the neighbor doesn't know my tree is in their tree. I'd kinda like to keep it that way.

So, any tips on getting a tree out of a tree? I've tried offering it treats, but it just won't ... leave.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Taking a stand

All of the "protests" going on during the National Anthem has achieved the goal of getting people talking. Only, the talk is about the protests, not what they say they are protesting. And that doesn't seem to be a problem to the "protesters." Why is that?

Texas Fred has the answer:
So, take a look at these pictures and tell me what the difference is. These folks are ALL standing for their race, their pride, their nation, their beliefs and what their hearts tell them to do.

Sadly, none of them are standing for the United States of America.

They stand for Black Power, Black Panthers, NAZI’s, neo-Nazi’s, the Ku Klux Klan and the supposed Black Oppression they suffer.

After you see those pictures please see the LAST picture and you’ll know where, and for WHAT I stand, as do ALL of MY friends and family.
I didn't wear my country's uniform so some jackass could act like those protesters. Except, I did. I wore it so they could be a jackass.

Folks acting like jackasses is actually okay. It's helpful for me to know where I don't want to spend my money.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Football weather

A hurricane
There's a storm coming.

Oh, I'm not talking about when things finally come to a head and the revolution comes and 3/4 of the politicians are lined up against a wall. Yeah, that's coming. But I'm actually just talking about the weather right now.

Some hurricane is bearing down on the southeastern United States. And, since that's where I live, I'm impacted. And maybe you are too.

But, what about this storm? Well, it's gonna hit somewhere in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, or something. But we've had storms before.

Matthew is a Category 4 storm as I write this. What it'll be when it hits the U.S. mainland I don't know. But, I'm not too worried.

You know what we call hurricanes around here?

Football weather.


[The YouTube]

I was at that game. I'm a season ticket holder for Georgia Southern, and, if they were playing in Statesboro Saturday, I'd be at the game if my nephew wasn't getting married. But he is, and GSU is playing Wednesday night in Arkansas anyway, so no football in the rain for me this weekend.

If you're out in the storm, stay safe. Take a canoe with you if you must. Have fun, but be smart. Or not totally stupid.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Avoiding Google's links penatlies

I haven't posted blogging tips in quite some time. One of the reasons is I haven't had anything new to offer. Well, that I got around to writing about.

Anyway, I ran across an article the other day about what Google has done to penalize Websites, particularly blogs, that are doing things that Google considers improper. The article is actually a couple of years old, but it does have some good information. I remember when Google started doing some of the things mentioned and the uproar it caused. However, Google's intent for this is, I believe, correct.

Some of the things that you shouldn't do include:

Link exchanges

Truth be told, I got away from that a long time ago. My links policy is, and for years has been "We don't do that." Here's the full policy.

Google came to this conclusion because it artificially raised a blogs' status. This little blog even benefitted from that. However, I began to get requests for link exchanges from, well, all kinds of blogs. Some were pretty much useless and were for the sole purpose of showing ads.

I finally decided that if someone was linking to me simply because I was linking to them, then my content wasn't something they'd normally link to. If they were legit, a link to my blog was actually a disservice to them. And, of course, the same was true from my end. So, my policy became I'll link to you if you want, whether or not I link back. And I won't promise to link to you. If I want to, I will, and if I don't I won't. Treat me the same way.

My reason wasn't exactly the same as Google's, but the result was the same. No link exchanges.

Don't do it.

Blog networks

Google doesn't like blog networks. They feel it artificially raises the members' status. And they're correct.

Some networks were created solely for the purpose of raising blog status. Some were for other reasons. I've participated in both.

A network for the sake of helping readers interested in certain topics easily find other blogs of interest is, I think, a good thing. But, those networks still do artificially raise the status of members. I understand Google's reasons for this. It's unfortunate (for interest networks, not links networks) but it's a reality.

There are 15 more items the article talks about. It's actually a pretty good read, despite being over two years old. Read it here.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Signs of Global Warming Climate Change TM

At the Pirate's Cove, our favorite pirate, William Teach, muses on the latest proof of Global Warming Climate Change TM: Hurricane Matthew.
The United States hasn’t been hit with a major hurricane (category 3+) in over 10 years, almost 11. We are fast approaching 4,000 days since that last strike, Wilma in October 2005. So, obviously, 'climate change'
Now, for the nit-pickers, there have been category 3 or higher hurricanes since October 2005, but none have hit the U.S. So, yeah, Teach is correct.

Anyway, wasn't the lack of hurricanes considered a sign of Global Warming Climate Change TM at one time? Yes.

So, there you have it. Fewer hurricanes is proof of Global Warming Climate Change TM. So is more hurricanes.

See how easy it is to be an expert on Global Warming Climate Change TM?

A social experiment

Over on The Facebook, one of my friends there, Rachelle Jones, had a great idea. I thought it was great, anyway. You could check it out, but you'd have to be a friend of hers on The Facebook to read her post. So I'll tell you what she wrote. I'm sure she won't mind.
Go to Donald Trump's page and see how many friends like it. Then, go to Hillary Clinton's page and see how many friends like it. Do the same for Gary Johnson.
Why I never thought of that, I have no idea. Anyway, I did it, adding Jill Stein to the mix. And here's how it came out. Some liked more than one, which complicated things. So I have two ways of showing the results:

Clinton 15%
Trump 55%
Johnson 50%
Stein 0%.

or

Clinton 5%
Trump 40%
Johnson 35%
Clinton & Trump 5%
Clinton & Johnson 5%
Trump & Johnson 10%

Now, I'm trying to imagine someone liking both Hillary and Trump ... unless they're a chronic liker. I'm not really surprised that Trump and Johnson had the most page likes of the people I know on The Facebook. The likes for Hillary, though? Yeah, I was kinda surprised when I found out who liked Hillary.

Of course, most of my friends on The Facebook didn't like any of them. They probably have the right idea.

Anyway, are you up for that? Or are you afraid you'll get a shock or two that you just don't feel like dealing with?

Sunday, October 2, 2016

It doesn't matter what any other country thinks. But it is nice to hear.

In an interview with CNN, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi talked about the Republican and Democrat nominees for U.S. president. Breitbart reports that the Egyptian president has some good things to say about Trump:
I think 90 percent of Egyptians would prefer Trump because he will not cooperate with terrorists. He [Trump] will not cooperate with Muslim Brothers and our main concern in Egypt now is terrorist attacks as you saw two days ago in the United States. We saw it daily in Egypt on the hands of Muslim Brothers so we know very well that Muslim Brothers are a terrorist group and we want to build up our democratic regime.
Full story at Breitbart

CNN was asking about remarks made by Trump that they called anti-Moslem. CNN also asked about remarks made by Clinton that were critical of Egypt's government, to which he responded:
"in Egypt there will not be a chance for any dictatorship because in Egypt there is a constitution, there is law, and there is the will of the people which will refuse to allow any leader to stay in his position for any period longer than his term which is four years."
I really don't care what another country thinks of the president, past, present, or future. I do find it interesting to know what countries think, though. I not thinking we should not insult our friends, but that's what Clinton did. The remarks by el-Sisi seem proper, though, considering the circumstances.

Tip: Wild Thing at Theodore's World.

The Scratching Post explains unemployment numbers

The Scratching Post nails it:
COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.
The "Who's On First" style routine goes on from there. It's great: Abbott And Costello Go To Wall Street

It'd be funny if it wasn't true. Okay, it's true and funny. But a sad commentary.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Voting your conscience

David over at Third World County had an interesting take on one person's use of scripture to pick a candidate. He called BS on one person's statement that Christ gave "very specific vetting lists for consideration when choosing candidates for leadership of a nation."
I'd like to have the scripture citations where Christ noted the qualifications for "candidates for leading a nation," please. TY. I do recall the scripture where he told some folks to "render unto Caesar [a pagan with questionable morals by biblical standards] that which is Caesar's," but cannot seem to put my finger on his "vetting lists" for candidates to be voted into civil office. . .
Link

David has a point. I do know of some Old Testament references to choosing judges and other leaders, but I don't recall anything from Christ in the New Testament about it.

Why is that? Is it because people didn't elect Roman emperors? Is it because the Bible is more focused on helping you be a better person and not on electing someone to solve your problems for you? Or something else?

I think a little of both.

So, should you use the Bible and the teaching of Christ to choose a president? Sure. All Christians will. But, all Christians won't come to the same choice. Some will vote Trump, some Hillary, some Johnson, some Stein, some someone else, and some won't vote at all.

Some will attempt to say that God, Jesus, or the Bible told them to vote a certain way. They may even believe it when they say it.

Me? I think if we've learned or tried to learn the lessons the Bible has for us, and sincerely pray for wisdom in our votes, and then we go where we are truly led, we'll be okay.

Most, though, I suspect, will try to use it as a justification of their choices arrived at by selfish means.

The truth is, no candidate does -- or can -- live up to the standards set for us. None of the voters do, either.

Bad Example: How to Draw Attention to Your Product

Found this one from Harvey:

Bad Example: How to Draw Attention to Your Product

The story behind Band-Aids. Who knew that a clumsy wife could lead to such fame and fortune.