Two days ago, the wind blew a lot of leaves into our yard.  The next day, the wind direction changed and blew them all out to our neighbor's yard.  I expect this back-and-forth will continue until we get out there and rake them up. :-)

At last!  No smoke in our sky.

Marking time waiting for vax availability.....

Help identify music composition

The following link is to an M4a audio file containing a snippet of a composition I heard on the radio.  Can anyone identify the larger work it came from?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12sdH8HWjwqBsV0veo7huFiO-DEthZt-j

Problems Problems: My Android Internet Radio Part III

It is possible the problems with annoying downloads are behind us. To recap, the Internet radio was receiving a barrage of downloads that interfered with audio streams. After installing the Norton Mobile Security app, actual installations were blocked but the downloads were still a problem. Eventually, Norton gave a list of apps to disable; one of which was an app titled "phone." After disabling this app the download activity immediately quieted down. I believe this one app was key.

There was another app, titled com.google.provision, that Norton flagged as malware but was impossible to be rid of permanently. This particular app seemed to be associated with Alibaba Express which was downloaded shortly after the former installed itself. The solution for this is to allow Alibaba Express to install then remove com.google.provision to save storage space. The Alibaba app has been relatively benign so far and com.google.provision has not reinstalled itself.

There is a final issue of storage space: there isn't a whole lot of it available and there eventually may not be enough available to do updates. The solution being used so far is to delete the Alibaba app (and the Amazon app if present) to allow updates to happen. Afterwards com.google.provision will reinstall followed by the Alibaba app whereupon I will simply delete com.google.provision and move on.

The End (?)

Problems Problems: My Android Internet Radio Part II

As reported previously, Google Play seems to think my Sungale Internet Radio is a game machine. And, it has been busily downloading unneeded and unwanted games to my radio. Well, it seems it (Google Play) has outdone itself. I began seeing notifications that Unfortunately com.google.provision has stopped. So far, so good. I am no longer having my radio programs being interrupted by the latest (did I mention unwanted?) game starting up.

Then the notification Unfortunately Google Play Services has stopped. appeared. Not so good. Apparently Google Play used up all the available memory and had insufficient elbow room to operate. The solution was to go to Settings/apps and uninstall one of the unneeded and unwanted games. Voila! My radio will play uninterrupted.

I expect new games will once again be downloaded and the cycle will repeat. What I don't understand is why Google allows this situation to exist.

Problems problems: My Android Internet Radio

Okay, this blog's formatting has gotten a bit ragged since I last posted. I will need to put some work into it.

My current issue is a beef I have with Google/Android. I recently purchased a Sungale Internet Radio. Note the last word: Radio. The Sungale device has been described as an Android phone device without the phone. But, it is a radio. That is it's purpose. So, why is Google Play persistently downloading video games? More to the point, why does Google Play feel their download is so important that it can interrupt your streaming music source with it's latest game download? I pity the people that own an Android smart phone.

And, what about this little virus com.google.provision. Apparently it is also the source of many unwanted downloads. You can delete it but it pops up again. But, no-one seems to know who is the source or how to eliminate it from your device once and for all. I am calling for Google to step up and acknowledging the existence of this problem and providing a fix.

Anyone else having problems with their Android device?

Ignorance IS a defense

FBI director Comey today characterized Hillary Clinton's handling of State Department email as extremely careless--but not intentional, and declined recommending prosecution to Justice. This despite finding Secret and Top Secret messages on Clinton's private servers.

So, contrary to everything I was taught, ignorance of the law is a defense.

A nice quote on politics

Here's a nice quote to keep in mind when observing politicians today: (Consensus) should be about finding the middle ground in the national interest. But in reality it always becomes about finding the middle ground between political parties.

KASSAM: UKIP Doesn’t Need ‘Forward Thinking’
It Needs Someone With The B*llocks To Smash The Establishment

Entitlement Reform

Entitlement reform is one of these perennial topics of discussion in politics with the usual theme: Yes, we must reform Social Security and MediCare. What is usually forgotten is that those two items are not entitlements. Rather, they are benefits that were paid for with paycheck deductions.

But, goes the counter argument, those programs are out of or nearly out of funds. To which one should reply: Yes. That is true because Congress spent all the money on other programs. So, Congress can now raise funds by, perhaps, selling off public lands. Certainly not by putting a greater burden on the taxpayer or taking away the benefits retirees have paid for.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Kristol Clear

I had been getting an email newsletter from Bill Kristol (Kristol Clear). In a recent mailing, Kristol allowed as how he couldn't support Donald Trump. That he and all the other conservatives would likely rally around an independent Republican for president. So, I rebuked him saying he would do well to remember the fate of the Whig party.

That was the last I've heard from him.

The Eleventh Commandment

All you Republican hopefuls out there running for election in 2016 listen up.

You would do well to obey the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican.

So repent and get back to the issues. Prove to us you are running for something and not against someone.

We are on temporary hiatus. Be back soon.

Town Hall reported on a speech by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on what the Republicans must do going forward if they expect to win the confidence of voters. I feel it is worth repeating here:

So let me suggest an alternative course: opportunity conservatism. Republicans should conceptualize and articulate every domestic policy with a single-minded focus on easing the ascent up the economic ladder.

Americans want to stand on their own feet, and Republicans need to champion policies that enable us to do so: ownership, choice and individual responsibility.

Opportunity conservatism is a powerful frame to explain conservative policies that work. It covers the gamut of issues. Republicans shouldn’t just assail excessive financial and environmental regulations; we should explain how those regulations kill jobs and restrict Americans’ ability to buy their first home.

Don’t just say no to new taxes — fundamentally reform the tax code so that every American can file his taxes on a postcard. Eliminate the corporate welfare and complexity that enrich only accountants and lawyers.

Don’t just criticize union bosses; explain how closed shops confiscate wages and make it harder for low-skilled workers to get jobs.

Don’t talk generically about education; advocate school choice to empower parents and expand opportunity for children struggling to get ahead.

Don’t just dwell on the long-term solvency of Social Security; promote personal accounts to allow low-income Americans to accumulate wealth and pass it on to future generations.

Well said. One hopes the GOP leadership will take it to heart.

Budget negotiations--whose responsibility?

President Obama has been going around saying it is up to the Republicans to come up with a budget solution that avoids going off the so-called fiscal cliff.  But the Republicans control only the House, not the Presidency.  So what's wrong with this picture?

Here's what's wrong:  The responsibilities of the Members of the House and Senate rest with their districts and their States, respectively.  They are expected to vote the wishes of the voters that sent them there.  The President, on the other hand, is president of the whole People.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon the President and no-one else to forge an agreement concerning the budget.

If Barack Obama is incapable of fulfilling that responsibility, then we have the wrong man in the Oval Office.

Fiscal cliff--who's fault if we go over?

The President is on the campaign trail yet again beating the drums for a job-killing tax increase on the wealthy while warning of dire consequences if we go over the cliff.  But, doesn't the legislation now exist which avoids the cliff?

[A] bipartisan majority in the Republican-held House of Representatives passed a package of measures to solve the fiscal cliff back in August.  The legislation maintained the current tax rates for the middle class (and everyone else);  other Republican efforts aimed at offsetting the devastating defense cuts outlined in sequestration -- which the president's own Secretary of Defense has likened to the US military shooting itself in the head -- also passed.  Democrats will hasten to point out that the Republican bills were not "balanced" with tax increases on the rich. [Link]

So,  it seems,  the Democrats are perfectly willing to hold the middle class hostage so they can extract their pound of flesh from The Rich (you know,  the people also known as 'employers').  The Dems get their tax increase or we go over the cliff;  either way they expect to be able to blame the GOP for any negative consequences.  It's a tough situation for the GOP, the media bias being what it is.

It's over

ALLEN WEST CONCEDES AFTER PRELIMINARY RECOUNT

Allen West has conceded the election to Democrat Murphy.  But, it seems to me, it was more the idea that the recount was such a fiasco West simply gave up rather than the recount showed who really won. 

Then there is Gertrude Walker, the 32-year-veteran election supervisor of St. Lucie County, who has spent much of the last two weeks explaining why her office completely botched the count.  She admitted that her office had acted in “haste” in issuing election results, and that “mistakes were made.”  Among her mistakes was failing to count 40 of the 94 precincts under her jurisdiction on Election Night — and then counting the other 54 twice.  Indeed.  On Friday, her office announced it had “discovered” 304 additional early votes left in a box.  None had been counted.

Allen West fights on

ST. LUCIE COUNTY CANVASSING BOARD ORDERS RETABULATION OF ALL EARLY VOTES IN ALLEN WEST RACE Allen West continues to fight the Democrat machine:

The St. Lucie County Canvassing Board has ordered the retabulation of all the county’s early votes in the highly contested congressional race between Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) and Democrat Patrick Murphy, according to Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, a volunteer lawyer for the West campaign. The board voted 2-1 in favor of recounting the votes.
…

St. Lucie County was the only one of three counties in the district that Murphy won. The St. Lucie County elections office previously admitted double-counting some votes and missing others on election night. West has refused to concede and relentlessly pushed for a recount of early votes in the county. Now he hopes he can pick up enough votes to force a full recount, which would bring Martin and Palm Beach counties into the mix as well.

What went down in Cuyahoga County on election day?

First St. Lucie County, Florida now Cuyahoga County, Ohio.  According to news reports Obama got more than 99% of the vote in over 100 Cuyahoga County precincts.  Sixteen precincts reported zero votes for Romney,  24 precincts reported exactly one vote,  and so on.

Considering how important the swing state of Ohio was to the national election, one would think that such improbable results would get the attention of somebody out there.  Could we be looking at evidence of election fraud hidden in plain sight?

Read more at Election Fraud? Barack Obama Won More Than 99 Percent Of The Vote In More Than 100 Ohio Precincts

Evidence of election fraud

The Chicago motto—Vote early and often—apparently has gone national this election:

BREAKING: Massive Voter Fraud in St. Lucie County, Florida

UPDATE: Partial Recount in Tight Florida House Race Between West and Murphy

Obama Likely Won Re-Election Through Election Fraud

The Romney campaign team was stunned at the election results and are now trying to figure what they did wrong.  Beeson, et al of the campaign are blaming themselves for letting Romney down.

I think they should look elsewhere.  And, soon.