New Ideas

Longtime Friend & Reader Weetabix writes:

Given your history with grocery stores, do you have any thoughts on the Mamdani (Commie, Muslim) plan for government-run grocery stores (“public option”) in NYC?

I foresee:
– low prices because subsidized
– private stores and bodegas priced out of business
– “public option” stores lock everything up because of theft/vandalism
– public outrage at people’s unfair treatment due to what they brought on themselves
– “public option” stores close
– wailing and gnashing of teeth at the new “food desert”

…but, of course, I’m a cynic.

I have no thoughts other than Mr. Bix’s well-reasoned points — in fact, many thanks are due for saving me from having to think about the situation.

Every time Commies try this nonsense they encounter what we call “market experience”, and they call “greedy capitalism”.  There are many such (as outlined above) but allow to address but one, that of prices.

You can’t sell anything at “cost” (i.e. what you paid for the merchandise as it arrives at the store, or F.O.B. — free on board — as usually stated).  What that does is make your retail outlet a losing proposition (what’s nowadays referred to as “unsustainable”).  This remains true even if the operating costs of the establishment (rent, utilities, equipment, salaries etc.) are wholly assumed by city government, as this Marxist asshole proposes.  The drain on tax revenue will be horrendous, even for just the six stores — which by the way will also be denied the benefits of non-issued sales taxes under this loony scheme.  And I haven’t even touched on the city’s subsidization of yet-lower prices, which will not only drain revenues but also increase demand.  And speaking of which:

…ummm only six stores to cover the whole five boroughs of NYfC?  Expect long queues and lengthy waits at the registers as the stores struggle to cope with the (unexpectedly) high demand — and high demand there will be in plenty because if they think that only the Pore&Starvin denizens of NYfC will attempt to avail themselves of these lower prices, they don’t know much about New York.  [200 examples from personal experience omitted for reasons of brevity]

To use a not-so-long-ago example from Marxist establishments of, say, Soviet Russia (Moscow Version):

Whether the famously-impatient Noo Yawkers will stay as docile as their Moscow counterparts will be established on Day One of this Glorious Leap Forward — let me get out ahead of the thing by stating that there’ll be riots and rampant looting, you betcha.

But hey:  never let it be said that I stood in the way of stupid people making stupid decisions and trying stupid experiments, especially when the victims of said stupidity actually voted for all that.

I look forward to Comrade Mamdani’s “new” initiatives (and their unexpected! outcomes) with great anticipation, as will Reader Weetabix and the rest of you.

Let the (Hunger) Games begin.

You Asked For It

Here’s one that could cause a Schadenböner:

A clip shared on TikTok  has prompted a battle of the sexes as increasing numbers of women argue men should give up their seats on public transport so they can sit down instead.

The video, which has been liked more than 1.4 million times, was filmed on TfL’s Central line and shows a whole row of men sitting down on the tube, while a row of women are standing in the aisle and holding on to poles.

[Another] user posted a clip that also showed a whole row of seats taken up by men on a Jubilee line train, while she and her other female friends stood on the side.

She wrote in text over the video: ‘Men used to go to war for us and now we can’t even get a man to let us sit down on the train.’

My own feelings on this are quite explicit.  I always stand up and offer my seat to a woman — always have, always will.  It’s how I was brought up.

However: I was also brought up during a time when women were ladylike, gracious and always grateful when a man surrendered his seat to her.  It was an acknowledgement of manners, rather than a matter of divine right.

However, young men have been brought up today in a time when men are savagely browbeaten and instilled with the mantra that women are not the “weaker sex”, are equal to men in every respect (even though they often aren’t), and equality reigns supreme.  And their attitudes reflect that:

One TikToker said he would only offer his seat to pregnant women or elderly people. ‘You equal woman can stand up just like I would if there were no seats,’ he added.

Another wrote: ‘Full grown adults expecting other full grown adults to give them a seat for no reason.’

Completely understandable.

So you womyns won’t get any privileges just because you’re a woman, then, because that would be sexist.

You feministicals wanted to live in this world, so STFU when it’s not always to your advantage.


And I apologize to my long-suffering Lady Readers, none of whom (I suspect) are women like the above womyns, would always be properly appreciative of the occasional gentlemanly gesture, and might indeed be even more dismissive of the Modern Womyns than I am.

Electric U-Turn

Someone else sees the light:

Audi has become the latest auto manufacturer to perform a dramatic U-turn on its electric vehicle commitments, writing off its promised to stop developing internal combustion engines (ICE) in 2033.

Instead, the Bavarian-based marque will continue to make both ICE cars and plug-in hybrids into the next decade, as part of a ‘completely new’ fuel-powered line-up.

CEO Gernot Döllner confirmed the brand’s revised plans, explaining that ‘flexibility’ is the new direction Audi will take so it can see how ‘markets develop’.

The German car giant had originally planned to build its last ICE-only car next year with the new-generation Q7. However, it suggested earlier this year that petrol and diesel models could run for longer.

Stupid assholes thought they could buy credibility with the wokerati Greens by putting a deadline on the eeeevil fuel-powered engines, despite all the writing on the wall indicating that EVs are not popular in the mass market, that there are serious concerns about the “green-ness” of the EV when the total energy cost of their manufacture is taken into account and not just their eco-friendliness on the road.

And speaking of “on the road”, there’s always this little EV problem:


…and the fact that the EV fires are almost inextinguishable (and can re-ignite even after they are extinguished), and give off toxic smoke.

Yeah… I can’t imagine why a company might want to rethink their position, either.

The fact of the matter is that the auto companies should never have drawn that line in the sand in the first place.

In the meantime, here are a few pics to make us all feel better about this.

There;  I told you it would make you feel better.

Flawed Methodology

Some lofty survey has ranked the top universities in the world, so go ahead and look at it — if you think that universities per se  are worth more than a minute of your time.

However, before you do that, know that “sustainability” was one of the measures applied.

Wot dat?  you ask.

Sustainability is measured in two ways: the commitment of the institution to “the climate crisis” and how its research aligns with the climate goals of the United Nations.

Those of you who think that this should be a negative factor in the ranking methodology, raise your hands.

Yeah, that’s me in Row JJ Seat 24.

Unwanted Interference

Here’s a headline for you:

Egypt deports volunteers attempting to cross border

What kind of volunteers were these people, exactly?

Gaza aid activists were violently dragged and carried onto buses by balaclava-clad Egyptian authorities.

Shocking footage shows authorities forcibly removing pro-Palestine protesters who have traveled to the region in a bid to cross the Egyptian border to Gaza and deliver aid.

Large numbers of protesters have been rounded-up onto buses and deported from Egypy, with activists claiming they have been ‘violently dragged’ and ‘beaten’.

Now video has emerged showing the aid workers being dragged by what appears to be both Egyptian authorities and civilians. 

One protester, who spoke with an American accent, exclaimed: ‘There’s people in masks dragging people out.’ Others can be heard chanting: ‘Free Palestine’.  

Thousands of people have been arriving in the Egyptian capital since Thursday, with the intention of marching to the Rafah crossing in Gaza. 

It is part of the Global March to Gaza – a protest against Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza.

So not volunteer aid workers, but a bunch of “activists”.  To quote Ace Ventura:  well alrighty, then.

Clearly, some people have not got the message that the Israelis aren’t the only ones who aren’t big fans of the Palestinians — in fact, just about every nation surrounding “Palestine” (Gaza and the West Bank) detests them, as witnessed by the fact that every time the Pals try to “flee” their benighted and self-created war-torn areas, their neighbors (e.g. in this case, Egypt) close the border and refuse them entry.

The second message that hasn’t become clear is that humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza seldom reaches its intended recipients;  the Hamas terrorists steal it for themselves and shoot any of the needy populace who attempt to get it.  And that’s only one manifestation;  here’s another:

Fears are that British foreign aid will be used to teach Gaza children to wage jihad

In the face of this reality, it’s small wonder that the Izzies are blocking aid deliveries.

But hey, as with all the “causes” espoused by mostly middle-class Western White children, let’s not let the facts spoil a good protest.

Predecessor

This from Kurt Schlichter:

The problem is that he’s bad at his job. And he doesn’t even seem to like it. Whenever you see Gavin Newsom in his gov mode, you get the impression that he’d rather be anywhere else doing anything else. It’s not like he actually does anything as governor. With guys like Newsom, it’s not the doing. It’s the being. He wants to be governor; he doesn’t want to do the hard things a real governor does. And it would be the same thing if he were to become president. He wants to be the president; the doing stuff part is a huge hassle that gets in the way of him being the center of attention.

Here’s what resonates with me about this.  Note the changes I’ve made:

With guys like Obama, it’s not the doing. It’s the being. He wanted to be a Senator; he didn’t want to do the hard things a real Senator does. And it was the same thing when he was the president. He wanted to be the president; the doing stuff part was a huge hassle that got in the way of him being the center of attention.

Same shit, different Democrat asshole.