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Today, my memory was refreshed why I really do not like the VA. Couple of weeks back, I got snail mail from them advising me that I could enroll directly for VA Care if 1) I deployed to a combat zone, 2) I've never signed up for VA healthcare, and 3) I left the service between 9/11 and 1 Oct 2013. Yes, yes, and yes. Since I retired with 24 years, I've had Tricare this whole time, and never had to deal with the VA at all. I'd approached them a few years ago to check on possibly filing for my tinnitis, but when they got to the part about performing a virtual fiscal colonoscopy, I told them no thanks.

So, since I was wondering how this would interact/affect the Tricare coverage (which has been very nice), I called for more info.

And, it figures, the reps I talked to had no idea, as my concerns were not on the list of pre-programmed responses for frequently asked questions. But it did reveal what was not included in the letter, that this was a targeted effort, specifically for vets that maybe, might, possibly pop up with a list of claims, such as oil well fires, burn pits, agent orange. . .and oh, yeah, they wanted the fiscal colonoscopy (whole household revenue), and to agree to a raft of conditions, including making the VA and various political appointees "attorneys in fact" with the power to reach in any time they felt like it to. . .

Pretty much stopped it right there with a "nah". Not doing that. Like things the way they are. Not giving the clown show any encouragement. Once it became clear what it was about, the letter I got took on a whole other meaning, and the attempt at the manipulation of ignorance and fear stand out in almost bold face print. . .and is really kind of insulting, but in a weaselly, passive aggressive way, but included an "act now before time runs out (30th of September deadline. . .oddly coincident with end of the Fiscal Year. Hmm)

I can take solace that I didn't take it out on the call agent, and remained unflappably civil, and ended the conversation cordially. Also, it was confirmed that my DD214 data is on record electronically, and it does accurately reflect that I was in Desert Storm, so there is that.

But man, I really, really hate the VA. Government, and government employees, doing government things to people, in the most government of fashions.

Bleh.

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November 30, 2023
On the Lighter side of things…

I came across this on my morning jog.

00:00:45
November 27, 2023
Need the knowledge of our community!

Marion found this at the beach. It’s clearly a bone. We just have no idea what kind. Anyone got a good guess?

00:00:31
November 26, 2023
I keep telling my kids that if you just leave the house, good things happen

This happened today. Just an alligator eating a snapping turtle!

00:07:21
The Barnes Brief, Podcast Format: Monday, July 17, 2023

Closing Argument: Birthright citizenship is deeply American, and wholly Constitutional.

The Barnes Brief, Podcast Format: Monday, July 17, 2023
Declaration of Independence

Audio podcast style.

Declaration of Independence
Barnes Law School: 2nd Amendment Victory!

Enjoy this podcast deep dive into the case, much like a single session of a law school class.

Barnes Law School: 2nd Amendment Victory!
November 30, 2023
Actually unfriended by a former actual friend

Today I had a 2+ decade-old best friend formally cut ties with me. We hadn't really been in touch since Covid. Whenever I came back to Canada I would DM, to grab a coffee / lunch, and would get a run-around which I chalked up to busy lives. I suspected other issues were at play, but I thought I was being over cynical - even for myself.

In anticipation of coming back for the holidays, I reached out yesterday with a humorous "Are you still alive" (the thought that my friend has actually died did occur to me). The response was a terse and formal "I have no interest in catching up" (paraphrasing).

It was weird. An emotional gut-punch that I could actually feel physically.

We hadn't been in touch for years, so there is no actual day-to-day loss. It's not even the formal death of the potential "we're friends and will catch up when we catch up" type thing that hurts so much either.

It's trying to understand what happened in the mind and soul of a 25+ year friend who knew and knows me in a way few people do....

3 hours ago
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Great sunset tonight. Turned from yellow to orange. I love seeing hundreds of Grackles and European Starlings roosting on the wires...

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The Barnes Brief: Substack-Style, Weekend of December 1, 2023

Schedule

  • Sunday: Law For the People at 6 pm eastern
  • Closing Argument: The Utility of Resistance Against Futility

Introduction: Top 10 Headlines of the Week

  • Santos expelled
  • J6 committee destroyed evidence
  • Kissinger died
  • Charlie Munger passed
  • Kochs back War Karen Nikki
  • Venezuela seeks to annex Guyana
  • The Tax Man cometh
  • China-Biden ties grow as corruption evidence builds against Biden
  • tells blackmailing advertisers where they can go.
  • Trump trial shows
    placeholder
    fraud.

*Bonus: Alex Jones’ video game.

Wisdom of the Day: "the effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death." Monty Oum. 

The Evidence: Top Ten Curated Articles from The Barnes Library

  1. Hunter Biden testimony controversy. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/12/01/the_biden_family_grift_and_hunters_fake_offer_to_testify_150133.html
  2. Mail-in voting problems. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/30/mail-in-voting-republicans-00129139
  3. Left populist: Democrats crime position is irrational.https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/the-democratic-position-on-crime
  4. Hamas history. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/12/01/the_unhinged_among_us_150137.html
  5. Market educates Disney. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4326247-happy-birthday-adam-smith-the-invisible-hand-just-slapped-disney/
  6. Texas sues Pfizer. https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/30/exclusive-texas-ag-ken-paxton-sues-pfizer-for-false-deceptive-covid-jab-con/
  7. Hitchens’ book on Kissinger. https://www.amazon.com/Trial-Henry-Kissinger-Christopher-Hitchens/dp/145552297X
  8. Kissinger’s multiple sides. https://unherd.com/2023/12/the-two-faces-of-henry-kissinger/
  9. The many legends of Kissinger. https://www.ft.com/content/02ce3837-41ea-4c05-bc7a-8329b285ed54
  10. Charlie Munger’s truths. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/en-us/insights/market-commentary/timeless-truths-from-charlie-munger

*Bonus: Babies love ice cream. https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjust.4fun/video/7306228800864521504

 

Closing Argument: The Utility of Resisting Futility 

  • Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet, said it best: Do not go gentle in that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light. Be more like the wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, and in the same vein, the greatest trick the system ever pulled was convincing people you cannot resist. The argument is simple, short, and, in this vein, sweet: never forget our own ability to change the world, no matter how long the odds may seem. Do indeed never go gentle in that good night.
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The Barnes Brief: Substack-Style, Weekend of October 27, 2023

Schedule

  • Friday Book Club at 9ish est: American Political Scripture Series: Chapter 8, part 2, Unconstitutionality of Slavery, by Lysander Spooner
  • Saturday Box Office at 9 est: TBD by Board poll
  • Sunday: Law For the People at 6 pm eastern
  • Closing Argument: Constitutional Rights Against the Courts

Introduction: Top 10 Headlines of the Week

  • Gaza escalation; IDF targeting Hamas.  
  • New Speaker.
  • Major fashion brands accused of running sex-trafficking operations.
  • SBF takes stand in FTX trial.
  • Biden coverup expands.
  • New maps in Georgia demanded by Obama judge.
  • Lies spread about Meadows exposed.
  • Trump moves to
    .
  • South Park satirizes Disney.
  • Elon wants X to be your bank, but can’t restore George Gammon’s hacked
    .

Wisdom of the Day: By “ingenious sophisms” the history of courts show how they “extended the sphere of their jurisdiction” much beyond their original limits. Centinel.

The Evidence: Top Ten Curated Articles from The Barnes Library

 

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The Barnes Brief: Substack-Style, Weekend of October 20, 2023

Schedule

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