Author: polistra
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Balkanic eruptions
We used to iconize the Balkans as the home of unending unforgiving disputes over tiny points of doctrine or loyalty, incomprehensible to outsiders. The disputes are still there, as US learned when it tried to take one side in the tangle of Serbia vs Kosovo vs Albanian Kosovars vs Albanian Kosovars Who Like Serbia vs…
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How do getters work?
Probably said this before, but seems to want another repeat. Trump and Nixon were both loyal servants of Deepstate. Both gave Deepstate what it wanted. Trump gave Deepstate lockdowns and muzzles and needles and infinite QE. Nixon donated environmentalism, affirmative action, abortion, and total takeover by finance. Both were “punished” afterward, but the “punishment” had…
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Narrowly true
Nikki’s latest pullquote: China has been preparing for war with the US as it has built up its military over the last few years. While China had been expanding its military presence America has been complacent and ‘taking gender pronoun classes’. Technically true but misses the point. China already owns us COMMERCIALLY. Nixon invited them…
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Fruitful branch
The rental house kittycorner from me has a landlord with a remarkable talent for selecting good families. Most are Air Force types from Fairchild. Air Force is a reliable source of good citizens. The latest family is pure 1950s Hallmark Americana, but not Air Force. Dad is always out working on the car, and his…
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Another sign of spring
Another small but significant sign of turnaround. The port of Naples has banned demon ships. Corriere della Sera reported that the media tycoon Barry Diller was also forced to renounce Naples after the Mergellina harbourmaster banned yachts of more than 75 metres in length for security reasons. Business and civic interests are protesting, since they…
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Today is UFO day!
Time to revisit the UFOdeo! We’re looking at an old tourist court, with a shady-looking truck and trailer parked in one of the spaces. It’s a 1915 Pierce truck, with some unique features. The four-speed transmission had a semi-freewheeling device. When you pushed the clutch down all the way, the input shaft of the gearbox…
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Cheapskates unite
Random thought, undoubtedly wrong because not based on experience. All US automakers of any size had a Canadian division at one time or another. We ‘carlonized’ other countries less regularly. Our Canadian products were different in two ways from our US cars. (1) More variety. (2) More practical and economical choices. I’ve discussed more variety…
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Know your customers
Reading one of Pat Foster’s books on Willys. This one answers a question I’d been wondering about, and couldn’t find the answer in magazines or online sources. Joe Frazer was the head of Willys from 1937 to sometime in the war. He didn’t design the Jeep, but he organized the effort to gain the contract…
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Speakable now!
Just after writing previous item, checked DailyMail for the latest SHOCKING news. This one is GENUINELY shocking, and reveals that the Inquisitors are no longer in absolute control. Truth about gender is returning to speakableness. = = = = = START QUOTE: Melanie Nipper, a 28-year-old gender studies professor at the University of Cincinnati, has…
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Unspeakable now
A single 1947 episode of ‘ABC Hollywood Tour’ is preserved. It was a Hollywood gossip show mixed with a sort of quiz. The lady who could answer the question would get the DREAM OF A LIFETIME: A BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR OF HOLLYWOOD!!!!!! Host: Do you want to take a Hollywood Tour? Audience in unison:…
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More Manhattan
Previous item detoured me into Manhattan history. The Manhattan city website had a recent record of archeological finds. Some of the locations (like the Goodnow house) are thoroughly familiar. I used to do my own digging there in an old midden, without thinking of it as archeology. I was just looking for old auto parts.…
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Dubious, obvious
Three hot decisions by the Supremes today. One is dubious, the second wildly obvious, the third meaningless. = = = = = Dubious: They said Biden couldn’t forgive student loans. There’s no principle involved at all. Student loan programs already include forgiveness when the student meets certain conditions. If you become a teacher in a…
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Today is Food Truck Day!
= = = = = START REPRINT: A lively article on fast food by Addison Del Mastro tied in nicely with my Great Smith screen-side truck. Del Mastro misses a big part of the timeline for fast food. He seems to think that fast food developed mainly as a result of American car culture, spurred…
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It’s all about the delta
A constantly shifting landscape is the mark of the psychopath. Rules and expectations change abruptly without warning. Each rule doesn’t matter. The delta is what matters, what keeps the Losers from feeling stable enough to function and learn. Since Elon bought Twitter he’s been changing the rules all the time. I never joined, so I…
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Ford is nature
Assembly-line work is supposedly an unnatural invention. In fact it’s far more natural than artisanal craftsmanship. Every cell includes dozens of factories, each turning out repetitive proteins and neurotransmitters. Our cerebellum is a library of repetitive routines. When deprived of daily assembly-line work, humans still need to run an assembly line. We see the result…
Polistra's Mill 