“Like Sands Through the Hourglass, So Are the Days of Our Lives.”

Our story today begins millennia ago, as the retreating glaciers (formed during the Ice Age) carved out the Great Lakes basin (during the earth’s last global warming period caused by carbon emissions).

Along with the magnificently clear waters of the Great Lakes this global warming phenomenon left huge deposits of quartz sand behind that over time gathered in massive sand dunes that are still here today, although they are ever shifting and changing. The largest of these dunes reside in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore…

where they rise 450 feet above the lake

Overlook at Pierce Stocking 9 Mile marker, Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore

And the sugar sand beaches they created aren’t too shabby either:

But today’s story is about sand dunes turned deadly. About 80 miles south of the Sleeping Bear Dunes are far more sinister dunes, they surround Silver Lake and spill into Lake Michigan. Operative word, “spill.”

Here’s where things turn ugly: the creeping sands of time are not just a metaphor in Meers, Michigan. Aided and abetted by the wind they actually do creep, lately at an increasing rate and they are swallowing whole cottages in their path.

This is all that’s left after it consumed a cottage in April:

Despite efforts to slow and reverse the trend,

the dune remains unsatiated; it now has its site on the cottage next door:

And it doesn’t look good. I’m sure somewhere Al Gore will be blaming this demise - as he has every other natural disaster since he invented the Internet – on man-caused global warming. But just like all of the other allegations, this is a natural phenomenon, against which we are quite utterly, completely helpless. It’s called change: constant, incremental and expected – but only for those of us who live in the real world. In the alternate universe of Al Gore’s global warmists, ‘Some Levels of the Earth System Have Crossed a Point of No Return’. I tell you what Al, you figure out how to stop the advance of this dune and then we’ll discuss your plan to change the climate, one cow fart at a time.

And while you’re at you may want to put together a plan on how to stop those approaching glaciers in case your global warming actually turns out to be global cooling. And keep in mind, in case of that eventuality you’re going to want to have as much carbon based fuel as you can get your greedy little paws on.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Sun, Sand and Beaches Trump Politics

Drama Queen linked this from Dystopic at The Declination last Saturday: I Need A Vacation

Of late, politics has been particularly nasty and overly repetitive. Russia! Russia! Russia! Trump tweeted something. Something was sexist, or racist, or some other thing…

All of this is too much. It’s headache-inducing. At one point, I could laugh at politics…

Today, the amusement has been sucked dry, and replaced with the constant bleating of sheep. It’s not funny anymore. Everything is identity politics. Everything. You can’t have a glass of milk without someone saying that milk is white, therefore racist. You can’t enjoy Chinese takeout without accusations of microaggressions…

Allow me to illustrate his point. Here’s Obama/Hillary superstar supporter Katy Perry auto-response to a trigger:

I’d say she’s a little trigger happy. And by the way, There (their, there) are only two ways to spell ‘yours’ by most English standards, unless ‘you’re’ including ‘yer’ in the count. But back to the Declination:

Most folks in the world just want to be left alone. And that is precisely what cannot be countenanced these days.

Well, to hell with that. I’m going to take a break from politics for at least a few days. Maybe I’ll write about whiskey, or technology, or Byzantine history. I don’t know.

But no politics.

I highly recommend other folks do the same from time-to-time. This level of politicization cannot be good for anybody.

Indeed, it cannot. Thanks Dystopic, don’t mind if I do. I think I’ll focus on sun, sand and beaches. Actually, I think I’ll hold that thought till tomorrow. Today I’m going to the beach. And wait for the sun to set.

Sunset on Lake Michigan at the Grand Haven lighthouse

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

FLOTUS Friday July 21

I’ve been having mega computer problems this week  - in that it refuses to connect/stay connected to any of our wireless networks, although every other device in the house is working just fine, so no, not a router issue. So…you will need to do the heavy lifting today as I am reporting from an alien computer that hates me because I’m white.

Melania, first year of the first term, totally managing the whole FLOTUS thing

Michelle, first year of the first term, totally rocking the whole, uh, whatever…

If anyone is aware of a fix for my hardware problem please advise. Otherwise I’m going to have to continue working with this alien computer until such time as mine either receives a proper H1B visa or is deported.

Carry on troops.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Do You Want Fries With Your Hamburger Problem?

Republicans clearly have problems in delivering the promises they were elected on.

But the Democrats have problems of their own. It’s what Josh Barrow (who I’d be willing to bet is a never-Trumper but I’m not interested enough to check) refers to as  the Left’s ‘hamburger problem.’

As I see it, Democrats' problem isn't that they're on the wrong side of policy issues. It's that they're too ready to bother too many ordinary people about too many of their personal choices, all the way down to the hamburgers they eat.

They don't always want to prohibit those choices. But they have become smug and condescending toward anyone who does not match the personal lifestyle choices of liberal elites. Why would the voters on the receiving end of that smug condescension trust such a movement to operate the government in their best interest?

Hamburgers are killing the polar bears!

Ed Driscoll cites Kyle Smith at NRO:

Progressives have a problem: They ladle unto every decision, even the most mundane and trifling one, an unattractive glop of gooey political significance. They can’t resist warning the rest of us that we’re abetting the destruction of the planet every time we, say, tuck into a Quarter Pounder.

Josh Barro is a recovering ex-Republican who is now a member of a niche political group: the non-crazy Democrats. He coined a cute phrase — “the hamburger problem” — to describe the relentless politicization of everything by progressives and Democrats. He writes, “Democrats’ problem isn’t that they’re on the wrong side of policy issues. It’s that they’re too ready to bother too many ordinary people about too many of their personal choices, all the way down to the hamburgers they eat.” He cites nonstop Democratic hectoring on, inter alia, the team name of the Washington Redskins, the way men sit on subway trains, and even some Americans’ choice not to abide by China’s one-child standard as the reasons why the party is today as electorally wobbly as Rocky Balboa in the 15th round. Yet the GOP’s success puzzles him still, because so many core Democratic cultural ideals (notably, gay marriage and marijuana decriminalization) poll more and more strongly.

When John Stuart Mill called the British conservatives “the stupidest party,” it stuck. Today the Democrats are the Annoying Party. The Left thinks Americans are picturing Mary Poppins when they talk about the nanny state; in truth, they’re thinking of Nurse Ratched. The prospect of a new set of nuisances being dreamed up and lashingly enforced by Hillary Clinton is what led voters to roll the dice with an Atlantic City grifter.

I ask you, is there anything worse than an an arrogant, smug schmuck who has absolutely zero reason for being arrogant and smug?

“Do you want fries with that order?”

And that’s what I call a ‘hamburger problem.’

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Change We Can Believe In

Two things:

1. REPEAL AND REPLACE! – Charlie Daniels style:

OK the congress and senate we have can't work together and have proven it.
solution- replace them all until we find people who can

— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) July 18, 2017

2. He’s not just talking about the Republicans: POLL: 52 Percent Of Americans Think Democratic Party Just Stands Against Trump

REPEAL AND REPLACE CONGRESS! CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!

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Skool of Rocks

In today’s edition of “What’s Wrong With America?” we focus on education.

 Nearly half of all U.S. students graduate with an “A” average. 

That’s right: Nearly half of America’s Class of 2016 are A students. Meanwhile, their average SAT score fell from 1,026 to 1,002 on a 1,600-point scale — suggesting that those A's on report cards might be fool's gold. – USA Today

That’s up from 38% in 1998. At this rate 100% of the progeny of Gen Z should be A students. All dumber than a box of rocks. So maybe they’ll be able to figure out how to repeal Obamacare.

"And that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”

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“Now What?”

 The One Sentence That Explains Washington Dysfunction.  The political class never expected Donald Trump to become president.

…from June 16, 2015, to November 8, 2016, the feeling among the elected officials, party functionaries, consultants, strategists, and journalists in our nation's capital was that Donald J. Trump stood no chance of becoming president of the United States. And because the political elite held this view with such self-assurance, with all the egotism and snobbery and moral puffery and snarkiness that distinguishes itself as a class, it did not spend more than a second, if that, thinking through the possible consequences of a Trump victory.

Among those consequences: The expectation that Republicans might actually try to keep the promises they've made to voters over the last eight years.

That’s right, your team won; but instead of having a trip to Disney World planned you went to see a Disney movie: Finding Nemo. Of course there is a cult following that firmly believes in the conspiracy theory that Nemo is only an illusion and the movie is really about Marlin coming to terms with his loss.

No wonder they call it the stupid party.

Now what, indeed.

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Happy Ice Cream Day

In 1984 President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month. He also established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in July.

In honor of this awesome holiday I think we should eat ice cream all day long. Here’s a suggested menu.

Breakfast: waffles (with coffee ice cream and chocolate syrup)

Lunch: ice cream panini

Mid-afternoon snack: ice cream cone

Late afternoon pick-me-up: Iced mocha (made with ice cream of course)

Dinner: Ice cream casserole:

Dessert: Banana split

Keep it small: you don’t want to overindulge

Nightcap: your choice – a Hummer (invented in Detroit)

Kahlua, rum, ice cream, a blender – what could go wrong?

or a White Russian made with ice cream; if you feel you need to begin your ice cream withdrawal at this point go for the Black Russian instead. Either way you will be totally  politically incorrect.

So Happy Ice Cream Day! One of the very best of the faux holidays.

Thank you President Reagan.

P.S. Don’t forget to share with someone you love

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