What is a "tiehacker"?

"Tiehacker" is a term originating in the Ozark hills of southern Missouri. It referred to a class of people from WAY back in the hills that made a living cutting trees into ties for the railroad. I first heard the term from my wife shortly after we married. I had been working outside all day and was dirty and stinky. When I came inside, she told me I looked like a "tiehacker" and had to get cleaned up. She had learned the word from her father, and thought it just meant "a bum". Never having heard it before, I looked it up. Although I am not really a bum, I thought it was interesting, and I do have a life-long love affair going with the Ozark hills, so ... there you have it!
Showing posts with label right-wing extremism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label right-wing extremism. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Interesting links (Trigger warning: they are political!)

Peter Heck writes at Disrn: Opinion: Riots aren’t the “language of the unheard,” they’re the language of the thug. It's pretty good:
I admit that I could be totally misreading my fellow Americans, but placing my figurative finger on the common man's pulse, I don't get a strong sense that many of us are into violent riots. I think most citizens regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic background thought this was bad:

[He follows this with several graphic video clips of rioting and mayhem, both from BLM/Antifa, and from the mess last week at the US Capital.]
Read it all!

Here's a great one from Laura Mize, also at Disrn: OH governor signs bill banning telemedicine abortions
This is truly good news, a step in the right direction in the fight to protect the unborn.

While you're at Disrn, check some of the other links as well. Lots of good stories there, such as the fake Chuck Norris at the riot and V.P. Mike Pence refusing to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Here's another good one, from Oren Cass at the American Compass website: Where Do We Go From Here?.
Here's a sample:
I often compare President Trump to an earthquake—a costly disaster, but one that exposes structures outdated or sloppily built and provides the opportunity to improve upon them in the rebuilding process. We are living now through the final tremors, which can do most damage because they shake foundations already weakened by what has transpired. Trump’s actions and inactions in the election’s aftermath and especially in the last week are impeachable offenses, but the Congress’s decision whether to proceed is political and prudential in character rather than legal, and impeachment and removal is more complicated than tweeting “Impeach. Remove.” I believe he should be removed as soon as possible on principle, as precedent, and because the benefits outweigh the costs, but I must confess to having weak confidence in that third judgment and I also find persuasive Philip Klein’s argument that a slow, post-inauguration process might be most appropriate. Regardless, I consider intemperate the suggestion that this is an easy decision or that only one plausible position exists. A fine example of a healthier politics would be an acceptance on all sides that “remove the president in the week his term ends” is a proposition on which reasonable people might differ.
As you can tell, it is not very flattering to the president.
Read it all!

I could add a lot more, but that's enough for today.

This picture gives you an idea of why I am leaving Facebook!


Please comment below. And keep it civil, folks! Disagreement and debate are fine, name-calling and so forth, not acceptable, and may be deleted.
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Love y'all!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Donald Trump May Be An Idiot, But He Is NOT A Terrorist

So this morning, I was sitting in a Steak-N-Shake restaurant with the Debster, eating breakfast and killing time between two of her doctor appointments. I glanced through the local newspaper which some kind soul had left there. Now understand, I don't normally read the uber-liberal Post-Disgrace, uh, sorry, Post-Dispatch, other than to get sports news. Their hard-left editorial slant doesn't normally affect that department, making it palatable even to me. But, it was there, so I just HAD to ....

Anyway, I happened to glance at the editorial page, for some dumb reason. Yeah, I know. But still, know thine enemy and all that claptrap. Anyway, I started reading Kathleen Parker's column, entitled "CAN WE TALK?" 

I occasionally find myself nodding in agreement with Ms. Parker. One example is a recent column opposing putting women in the military into direct combat roles, which I thought made a lot of sense. However, in this case, I almost went ballistic.

Ms. Parker wants to set up a nation-wide "dialogue", seeking to find common ground between moderate Americans and moderate Muslims. Her goal, an admirable one, is to reduce the level of animosity in our society. I obviously have no problem with that at all. The focal point of her ire is the call that Donald Trump made to temporarily block Muslims from entering the country. 

Look, I am no fan of Mr. Trump. I think he is a self-serving blowhard hypocrite, a right-wing version of Al Sharpton. I think his call to block all Muslims is wrong-headed and counter-productive, not to mention un-American. I don't care what Jimmy Carter did in the 70's. He was an idiot too. 

Here's Ms. Parker's sentence that set me off:
We seem to have no trouble demanding that moderate Muslims condemn the radicals, but we’re less than impressive when it comes to moderate Americans taking a stand against our own extremists. It isn’t really as painful as it looks and should be viewed as an act of patriotism, something the individual citizen can do as part of the nation’s war effort.
This basically equates Mr. Trump, and his supporters, with Islamic suicide bombers. Yes, we have a small minority of idiots that would probably like to engage in terrorist activities against Muslims. The KKK, Aryan Brotherhood, and the like come to mind. If you want to compare those ACTUAL extremists with Muslim jihadists, you could make a legitimate case for that. But to tar somebody like Trump with that brush is, well, ludicrous at best and downright sinister at worst.

I'm going to leave it at that. I need to go wash my hands with strong lye soap for even touching that newspaper!

Merry Christmas to all of you, from the Debster and me!