Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Quote of the Day: April 16, 2024
“On the topic of human rights, even though nobody disputes that prisoners have human rights, I believe… they haven’t defended the human rights of our honest citizens. In general, they defend — and the whole international approach to human rights, and even the NGOs — are focused on the rights of criminals.
For 30 years in this country we were shot at, killed, shaken down, raped, extorted, threatened, living in fear, and nobody said a word. But if the killers, extortionists, and rapists are arrested, all of a sudden, their human rights are important. Of course they have human rights, but the human rights of our honest people are more important.”
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador (from X)
Something miraculous is happening in El Salvador. Violent crime has dropped to the lowest levels in decades, the economy is booming, and people are able to walk their neighborhoods without fear. What caused this turnaround? Bukele put the gangs in prison. It’s as simple as that.
Published in General
They must be locking up the right people.
Or sending them across America’s southern border.
Some of those are no doubt self-selecting, considering the extra incentives Biden is spending our money on.
Nope, he’s locking them up. From the article linked in my post:
As of December, more than 74,000 suspected gang members and associates have been incarcerated.
That’s good.
Most of the crimes are committed by a fraction of the population…the same people, over and over. Incarceration works. We’re going to have to get back to it in this country.
I have to admit to some personal satisfaction on El Salvador, since some of my favorite coffee comes from there.
Most El Salvador coffees are a little too acidic for my taste, but this one that we’ve been getting from S&W Craft Roasting lately is my wife’s favorite. It’s good for variety. It’s also the lightest roast we’ve been getting lately, so it’s a little more of a workout for my hands and arms when grinding it in my hand grinder. That has its good points, I guess.
This quote calls to mind the idea, certainly expressed by others somewhere that I can’t recall, that very often the people who are killed by the police in the U.S. have demonstrated the least care for their own lives. They treat themselves carelessly, but the public outcry from the left pretends that it’s the police who are to blame. If they value their own lives so highly (or at all), perhaps they shouldn’t do drugs, engage in criminal activity, resist arrest related to criminal activity or suspicious behavior, etc.
******
Here’s the Quote of the Day Signup Sheet for anyone who would like to contribute a quote.
“Suspicious behavior” is neither a crime, nor sufficient cause for arrest.
No but it’s a reason for police to be wary when they pull someone over and they don’t respond reasonably.
Too often, they go WAY overboard. On “suspicious behavior” or call it what you want. Very often what police need to do is keep their hands to themselves, and probably just move on down the road.
Can I recommend an electric grinder? I’ve used it every morning for six months and it does a great job. Rechargeable with a USB cord. And for 20 bucks, hard to argue with.
The microlot El Salvador coffee I get from Joe Bean Roasters is strongly flavored, but there’s still a lot of fruit in it. It also works well in the automated espresso machine we call The Nuclear Reactor.
(Sorry about the link I pasted in earlier…doesn’t work well from my phone.)
I have an electric grinder. My wife uses it and I use it sometimes. We have it set on a course grind for French Press. A couple years ago or so I bought a good quality hand grinder that cost 2-3 times as much as our electric grinder. I bought it for travel, so we could have good coffee on the road, but it does such a good job making fine, even grinds for the AeroPress that I now use it as my daily grinder. I sometimes cast a longing look at the electric grinder when I’m grinding stuff like that El Salvador coffee, but I figure it’s good exercise for me. I draw the line, though, at using it to make coffee for a crowd. For that I use a french press and the electric grinder.
USB-powered/charged stuff never seems strong enough to do jobs like that.
Wise man.
This gizmo does the job nicely. It even senses when it’s done, and does a backward revolution to clear the burr.
I now have a Fumpa USB-charged pump for my bicycle tires. If you’ve ever tried to get a bicycle tire up to 95 psi with one of those mini-pumps you can easily carry with you, you’ll appreciate how much work it has to do. I still use a mini-pump to get up to 45-50 psi and then let the Fumpa take it from there. It can quickly overheat, and the one pictured can’t do more than a couple of 1.25-inch tires before it needs a recharge. But I find it amazing that a USB device can do that much, so I am not surprised that there is now a coffee grinder like Douglas’s.
Last year, when I came out of my office after a session of learning about them on YouTube, my son asked if I didn’t need some new bicycle gadget for Fathers Day. So now I have a Fumpa.
Heck, I would buy one just for the name.