Category: Unintended Consequences

About that $15 per hour minimum wage……….

Taco Bell opens its first digital-only restaurant in the US

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Taco Bell is opening its first digital-only restaurant in the U.S. on Wednesday in NYC’s Times Square.

To purchase a Chalupa or an iconic Mountain Dew Baja Blast, customers will be able to use one of the 10 automated kiosks inside the new Midtown Manhattan location.

Taco Bell

A look inside the digital-only Taco Bell. Photo credit Taco Bell

The restaurant will also serve alcoholic beverages, which must be purchased the old-fashioned way by speaking with an employee who can verify that the customer is over the age of 21.

Taco Bell noted that customers will be able to watch their food being prepared, but once it is ready, the order will be placed in a cubby which lights up to show the food is ready for pick-up.

The location, inside the iconic Paramount Building, also features a separate entrance for mobile and delivery order pick-ups from the cubbies.

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With all the past history of the same thing happening every time a demoncrap does crap-for-brains idiocy like this, I’m starting to wonder if ‘unintended consequences’ really fits anymore.

Thousands attend gun show in Jacksonville after Biden orders gun control actions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thousands of people attended the North Florida Gun and Knife Show over the weekend at the Duval County Fairgrounds.

The two-day event was held after President Joe Biden announced a half-dozen executive actions to combat gun violence. The president also called on Congress to pass legislation to reduce gun violence after recent mass shootings in Atlanta, Colorado and South Carolina.

“Anytime something comes out of Washington and they say the word ‘gun,’ everything goes up,” said Victor Bean, the owner of Southern Classic Gun and Knife Shows.

This weekend’s event attracted firstcomers and gun enthusiasts.

“Just a good selection of firearms, and today is my birthday, so maybe I will get myself a good birthday present,” Chris Carroll, who lives in Clay County, told News4Jax on Sunday.

Mike Chance, a Jacksonville resident, said he was looking forward to looking at ammunition.

“Well, it’s millions and millions of dollars’ worth of guns and ammo,” Bean said.

More than 283 vendors and 386 displays were at the show in Jacksonville, according to Bean.

“Everybody wants the self-defense right now, and the high-capacity mags, of course, they are talking about legislation right now,” Bean said.

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I’m almost positive, this wasn’t a part of the plan.

Biden’s COVID Relief Checks Help Spur Another Record Month of AR-15 Sales

There are a lot of ironies when it comes to increased Democrat calls for more gun control — which always happens when they are in power — and corresponding record increases in gun sales, but this one might just be the granddaddy of them all.

As reported by “Washington Secrets” columnist Paul Bedard, gun sales hit another record in February as Joe Biden and congressional Democrats once again ramped up calls for new gun control measures, politically exploiting, as they always do, a series of tragic mass shootings.

Bedard writes:

For the second time in three months, the FBI broke its record for gun sales, concealed carry, and other firearms background checks in March.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System conducted 4,691,738 checks, an all-time high. It broke the record set in January of 4,317,804.

Gun sales generally track with the NICS numbers, though the FBI doesn’t make public how many were for gun purchases. Gun industry groups typically release those numbers after the FBI.

However, the numbers show that sales also likely hit a record high, a trend confirmed by sellers.

But this gets better — or worse, depending on your Second Amendment perspective.

Firearms groups note that Biden’s threat to use executive authority (if he, in fact, actually has the power to do so) to expand background checks and even ban the sale of semi-auto rifles like popular AR-15 models are what is driving the new sales (and take note, many gun calibers were already in short supply).

Here’s the irony: Gun sellers say that many buyers are using their $1,400 COVID stimulus checks to buy new firearms, and in particular, AR-15s.

Like we said, the ultimate irony.

Keep pushing business for the $15 minimum wage?

Boston Dynamics’ Newest Robot Can Move 800 Boxes an Hour.

Warehouse workers can rejoice as a robot has just been unveiled that removes one of the worst chores in warehouse work.

Video Transcript

– This is Stretch, the most recent robot being showing off by leading automation company, Boston Dynamics. And while sure, their are other robots maybe a bit flashier, capable of overcoming obstacles, running at high speeds, and even dancing in step with one another, Stretch addresses a very specific problem in a very specific workspace, unloading trucks at a warehouse. Here’s Boston Dynamics Vice president of Business Development, Michael Perry, to explain.

MICHAEL PERRY: Every new automation project that we go into we start off by asking the people who work in a physical location, what is your most difficult challenge? We heard pretty much universally across warehousing that truck unloading is one of the most physically difficult and unpleasant jobs. You can actually see that in a lot of the turnover rates where people are entering that position and then leaving pretty quickly because it’s really, really tough.

– Stretch is outfitted with what they call a smart gripper, which is a series of suction devices allowing it to safely handle and move boxes. And using its omnidirectional base, the robot can then move even heavy boxes onto a conveyor, unloading at a rate of 800 boxes every hour. As online shopping continues to increase experts say they expect the warehouse sector to continue to rise through 2021 as well. With Boston Dynamics saying that other jobs could soon be automated too, explaining that it might not be long before home delivery robots could be moving up and down city streets.

Gun Control Laws Result In Police Selling Guns To Public

California Provides Multiple Examples
In Mexico, one of the most common sources of firearms, both for criminals and for people who simply want to protect themselves, are police officers.  Obtaining firearms legally is nearly impossible, creating a money making opportunity for cops, who can easily buy firearms and resell them.

Ironically, the same thing is happening in the state of California.  For decades, California has required an increasing list of features of handguns placed on the “approved list” of handguns that may be sold in the state.  Originally, this was done to drive to cost of handguns up, so that poor minorities could not afford them – and yes, the Democratic authors and supporters of the bill actually said this.  More recently, the state has required “micro-stamping” of fired cases – something that no gun maker has been able to accomplish.  This has resulted in an ever shrinking list of guns legally available for retail sale in the state.

There are, however, two legal sources of pistols not on the approved list.  The first is private purchase from an average resident who either bought the gun before the law took effect, or before the handgun was dropped from the list, or before moving into the state.  The second is police officers – who can but any handgun they wish. Private citizens can sell their guns privately to anyone able to pass a background check.  Police used to be able to do so in the same way, although this has changed in recent years.  The idea was that if a cop bought a gun and did not like it, they could sell it privately, buy something else and not be in violation of state laws.

However, more than a few cops have seen a money making opportunity.  They bought guns using their police exemption and then sold them privately.  They were typically careful to conduct the sale through a dealer with a background check as required by state law.  However, in many cases, the state found out – and although they may have been in the clear as far as state laws were concerned, they still were in violation of federal law.  Since they were buying guns with the intent of reselling them, they were “in the business of selling firearms” without the required federal firearms license (FFL).  The state simply contacted the feds and they brought charges.

I would point out that if these cops had not been concerned about following state laws, and had simply sold the guns without a background check, it would have been much, much harder to catch them.  This is exactly what happens every day in Mexico.  It is also what likely is happening right now in California, to at least some degree.

As a pastor, I worked with many people in recovery from drug addiction.  I never once had an addict tell me, “I wanted to get high, I had money to buy drugs, but could not find anyone to sell them to me.”  Not one.  I don’t like drugs – I don’t even touch alcohol – but I have to conclude that drug laws do not keep people from getting drugs.  Instead, they corrupt our police and turn otherwise law abiding people into criminals.  Why should we think that gun bans will be any different?

Gun bans around the world have exactly the same effect – and we are beginning to see it happen right here in America.  Passing more gun bans will only make it much worse.   Supply will rise to meet demand.  Guns will be smuggled in from other countries, diverted from the military, made in underground factories and yes, diverted and sold by police.

Rev. R. Vincent Warde

News From the Soft Secession

WOW: North Dakota House Passes Bill Making Mask Mandates ILLEGAL, Bill Sponsor Calls Mandates ‘Diabolical Silliness’

The North Dakota House of Representatives has passed a bill that will make any future mask mandates illegal in the state.

Monday’s vote passed 50-44 and is now heading to the state senate.

“Our state is not a prison camp,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Hoverson, said.

The state’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum had put a mask mandate in place three months ago, but had previously expressed doubt about if mandates were really the way to go.

They aren’t.

Sheriffs Given Powers to Arrest Feds Who Violate Citizens’ Gun Rights in Missouri | Neon Nettle

The Newton County Commission in Missouri passed an ordinance that criminalizes the enforcement of any federal law that infringes upon the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

To further justify the legislation, the “Second Amendment Preservation Act of Newton County Missouri” cites the state’s own constitution:

“All federal acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations passed by the federal government and specifically any Presidential Administration whether past, present, or future, which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution shall be invalid in the county,” the act reads.

The Newton County Second Amendment Preservation Act will nullify any unlawful federal restrictions on firearms that may be passed under Joe Biden’s administration.

The legislation also stipulates that “any and all federal agents trying to enforce the regulations listed in Section (1) shall be subject to arrest by the Newton County Missouri Sheriff’s Department,” and “the Newton County Missouri Sheriff’s Department shall be given the full authority to make the arrest of any and all federal agents that violate state laws and enforce the regulations listed in Section (1).”

I’ve mentioned these actions before, but I’m doing so again because they are important.  We will have to remove as much of America as we can from the federal power, which has become a tyranny operated by oligarchs and communists.  And we have to start doing so from the very lowest levels.

Push your local representatives to represent your wishes.  If those wishes contravene the federal tyranny, all the better.  Secede from their laws.  Nullify them.  Let your battle cry be, “I will not.  And you can go fuck yourself.”

Indiana, which already has a reasonably liberal concealed carry law, is now pushing toward statewide constitutional carry.  I’ve contacted my state senator and representative already, and I am going to try to organize some sort of get together locally where my friends and neighbors can also express their wishes on the matter.

Do this everywhere you can, or at least support those who are trying to do this.

UPDATE:  When I say “nullify them,” I also mean using jury nullification as it was constitutionally intended:  As a bulwark against tyranny and tyrannical laws.  If you are seated on a jury to try some patriot for resisting a tyrannical law, never vote to convict.  Try to achieve an acquittal, but at least get a hung jury.  Don’t tell anybody what you are doing or why you are doing it, just do it.  Don’t attempt to avoid jury service.  It is one of our most basic protective rights.  Use it.

Lets do some arithmeticking, shall we?
There were a total of just 74,222,958 votes cast in the last election for Trump.

Lets round down to 74,000,000 to keep things conservative.
My calculator (check yours out to see if you get the same result) shows 45% of that to be 33,300,000, Thirty Three Million Three Hundred Thousand.

Think on that. Somewhere about 20 % of the voting population is just fine and dandy with letting Congress & the rest of TPTB in D.C. be told exactly where to go and how to get there.

Lets go with the old “3%”  Revolutionary War conjecture of Mike Vanderboegh and that gets you just under One Million (999,000) who might be of the age, physical condition and with the intent and resolve to actually be on the pointy end of the stick with millions more in support positions.

With yesterday’s kinetics, the new administration tries much of anything and there’s a high probability that events can spin off everywhichway imaginable.

We do live in interesting times.

45 Percent of Republican Voters Support Storming of Capitol Building: Poll

Almost half of Republicans support the pro-Trump protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, putting them at odds with Democrats who largely oppose the actions of the demonstrators, a poll has found.

The survey released by YouGov on Thursday morning found that 45 percent of Republican voters backed the attack on the Capitol building, while 43 percent said they “strongly or somewhat” opposed the protesters’ behavior.

Six percent of Republicans were unsure while a further 6 percent said they were unaware of the events.

Enough with the outrage.

Like pretty much all conservatives, I have consistently criticized riots and other forms of political violence for many years. That includes yesterday’s Washington, D.C. riot. You can’t say the same about liberals, however. Until yesterday, one might have thought that liberals consider rioting and other forms of political violence to be as American as apple pie.

You could write a book in support of that proposition, but for now let’s cite just a few examples. Do you remember when President Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017? Leftist Democrats rioted in Washington that day. That riot was arguably worse, more violent and more destructive, than what happened in D.C. yesterday. The liberal rioters destroyed stores, set vehicles on fire and battled with the police. Six police officers were wounded.

I don’t recall a single Democratic office-holder denouncing the Democrats’ Inauguration Day riot, and the Associated Press came perilously close to praising the rioters.

Over the ensuing four years, Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioted countless times, bringing devastation to cities like Portland, Seattle, Kenosha and Minneapolis. Did any Democrats denounce these riots? Not that I remember. Many Democrats endorsed them, or seemed to do so. Kamala Harris, for example, said about the riots in June:

They’re not going to stop. They’re not going to stop. This is a movement, I’m telling you. They’re not gonna stop. And everyone beware because they’re not gonna stop. They’re not gonna stop before Election Day and they’re not going to stop after Election Day. And everyone should take note of that. They’re not gonna let up and they should not.

This was after 12 people had been killed in Democrat-sanctioned rioting, and billions of dollars in destruction committed. Have any Democrats denounced Black Lives Matter for its role in the riots? Not one. Has any Democrat denounced Antifa? Not that I know of, and some, like Keith Ellison, have specifically endorsed Antifa’s political violence.

Democratic Party journalists have joined the party’s politicians in excusing riots. The New York Times, for example, published an admiring profile of Antifa. The Washington Post, likewise, has carried water for Antifa.

The litany could go on for a long time. Yesterday’s assault on the Capitol was outrageous, but let’s not forget that last time out-of-control demonstrators interrupted business at the Capitol, shouted down senators and pounded on the doors of the Supreme Court, it was Democrats objecting to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

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Seen online:

Two groups of people (call them A and B) both see themselves as victims and have grievances they feel aren’t being heard.

Both resort to violence.

Dem reactions to group A:
“People will do what they do”
“Tell me where it says protests have to be peaceful”
“Don’t judge a whole group by the actions of a few”
“America is racist”

Dem reactions to group B:
“They are traitors”
“Violence is never acceptable”
“Arrest any people who agree with them in Congress”

This doesn’t go unnoticed.

Woman Shot Climbing Through Doorway inside Capitol Dies From Gunshot Wound

A young woman was shot while climbing through a doorway window in Washington DC today. It appears from the video, a woman attempted to climb through a side-door window; she was shot from inside the hallway and fell back into a small group behind her.

In the image below she is wearing a red and white backpack, climbing through a broken window next to a doorway when a shot is heard. She falls directly backward as people, including two uniformed police officers, attempt to render aid.

There were two uniformed police officers directly behind her who seemed surprised at the gunfire. [Twitter Video Here] Reports are now surfacing that the young lady died in the hospital following a single gunshot to the neck.

It’s the Word on Everyone’s Lips Today
Secession.

I agree with Ace – WE didn’t start saying it, THEY did.

We liked our country, just fine, the way it was. We really weren’t all that anxious to leave when Obama was around. We just started ordering guns, to have them available, just in case he wasn’t a-funning with that ‘gun grab’ thing.

But, now?

It’s not JUST the election theft, although that is a part. It’s happened before, but never like this – incredibly obvious, and completely denied. That it came after we agreed to a re-do for the NC seat, after shenanigans surfaced with the vote, is just more proof that we play by the rules – even when it hurts us.

But, they don’t. Didn’t. And never will.

So, yeah, I think It’s ON. Or, very close to that point. Continue reading “”

I don’t think the city council understands that if there is no Police ‘interaction’ , the citizenry will handle whatever problems arise, and it won’t be pretty. Then again, maybe they do……………

NYC Seeks To Bar Police From Any Interaction With Homeless.

Having already slashed the budget for the NYPD, the City Council in the Big Apple is looking to enact even more restrictions on the actions of the police department. Multiple members of the Council have drafted a bill that would bar the police from any interaction with homeless individuals on the streets. That would include both responding to complaints about possible criminal behavior and outreach efforts where officers attempt to get the homeless into shelters. To say this is going too far is an understatement. Even the notoriously liberal Mayor is opposed to the measure. (NY Post)

The NYPD would be prohibited from conducting any outreach to New York’s homeless under a new bill before the City Council, handcuffing cops from protecting municipal workers on the frontlines of the crisis — a move opposed by police unions and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“Experiencing homelessness on the street or on the subway is not a crime,” insisted Councilman Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn) during a Monday hearing of the council’s general welfare committee. “I hope that this bill will ensure that there is less harm done by limiting the involvement of police in these interactions.”

Levin, who reps areas including Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg, is co-sponsoring the bill along with Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal, a Democrat representing Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The insinuation in this bill is obvious. The liberals on the Council who have been pushing to defund, if not entirely abolish the police are suggesting that the cops can’t be trusted to deal with the homeless or are somehow looking to abuse them. This flies in the face of the reality on the streets, where the city’s Department of Homeless Services has routinely partnered with the NYPD and relied on them to provide officers to accompany workers when engaging the homeless. This is done not only to ensure that help is provided to the homeless but to protect the workers in case any of the people they are trying to help become violent, as often happens when they are engaging with people having mental health issues.
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This is goobermint at its finest. I almost want to call it intended consequences because anyone in their right mind would and should expect this.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges in 70% of the protest-related cases that have been referred to them since May, although District Attorney Mike Schmidt has said he would pursue cases that involve “deliberate” property damage, theft or force against another person or threats of force. [but guess what. He Has’nt]

Insurers balk at covering Portland businesses; brokers say downtown upheaval has made carriers wary

Eric Murfitt watched helplessly from a live security feed as looters trashed his downtown clothing store, Mercantile, during a riot on May 30. Murfitt said the business suffered $1 million in losses due to the break-in and had to file an insurance claim to stay afloat.

But in November, Murfitt was informed that his insurance carrier would not be renewing the store’s policy. Nearly a dozen other insurance companies declined to even offer Mercantile a quote.

So earlier this month, Murfitt settled for a policy that nearly quadrupled his premium, had a significantly higher deductible, included a much smaller cap on coverage related to robbery and excluded any property damage related to civil unrest.

Commercial insurance premiums were rising even before the coronavirus, while coverage was decreasing. The pandemic exacerbated those trends. Premiums for commercial property and casualty insurance increased by an average of almost 11% in the second quarter of 2020 , according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

But brokers say insurance companies have become particularly wary about covering Portland businesses, especially those downtown, as ongoing protests have given the city a reputation for upheaval and led to a spike in vandalism and destruction, often committed by a small group of people. Brokers say this trend could be transitory and better coverage opportunities might resume quickly if the level of risk perceived by insurance companies changes. Continue reading “”

I think you’ll find many ‘intellectuals’ have crap-for-brains when it comes to real thinking.

Melinda Gates Admits “We Hadn’t Really Thought Through the Economic Impacts”

In a wide-ranging interview in the New York Times, Melinda Gates made the following remarkable statement:

“What did surprise us is we hadn’t really thought through the economic impacts.”

A cynic might observe that one is disinclined to think much about matters than do not affect one personally.

It’s a maddening statement, to be sure, as if “economics” is somehow a peripheral concern to the rest of human life and public health. The larger context of the interview reveals the statement to be even more confused. She is somehow under the impression that it is the pandemic and not the lockdowns that are the cause of the economic devastation that includes perhaps 30% of restaurants going under, among many other terrible effects. Continue reading “”

Man Tries to Grab Trump Flag From His Car, But Then Instant Karma Strikes

I wrote an earlier feel good story that CNN might be sold, because AT&T was in financial trouble, and posited what a great idea it would be if President Donald Trump were to buy it and completely change the network, if he did not prevail ultimately in the election.

But we have another feel good story that just says so much about what Trump Derangement Syndrome can lead Biden supporters to do and how karma can bite back.

Trump supporters were out in force this weekend, supporting Trump and supporting the concerns being raised about the election.

But one man driving by in a car didn’t take kindly to one man who was holding a Trump banner. He allegedly tried to grab the banner and then spit on the man holding it. But talk about instant karma when he tried to speed away.

Open Source Firearms Introduces The Ghost Gunner Flex

The Ghost Gunner FLEX is a hardware clone of the Defense Distributed Ghost Gunner 2 with several variances designed to make the unit easily reproduced and manufactured by hobbyists. Just like the Ghost Gunner 2 that precedes it, the design of the FLEX is fully Open Source hardware. The FLEX is built from 3D printed parts, aluminum T-slot extrusion, and commonly available motion components all ubiquitous within the RepRap community.

The FLEX features modular and swappable work-holding and accessory mounting methods, making it extremely flexible for a variety of tasks. The machine frame is suitable for use with conventional machining, fused deposition 3D printing, laser engraving, and grinding with straightforward toolhead swaps. The design is scaleable, allowing build envelopes up to 10x22x4 inches (250x550x100 millimeters) by a simple swap of motion and frame components without significant modifications to overall design. Having all square and flat features, the FLEX is also easily enclosed to control dust and temperature variations. Continue reading “”