I may have mentioned that I buy the local newspaper most Sundays. Coupons for the little lady, sports section for me. Sometimes I read an opinion article or two.
The paper always seems to have at least one major story describing the awful, racist country we have created.
A few months ago this gem was published.
"Fifty years after the federal Fair Housing Act banned racial
discrimination in lending, African Americans and Latinos continue to be
routinely denied conventional mortgage loans at rates far higher than
their white counterparts."
Twenty-five paragraphs later, yes, 25, the authors share a minor detail with us:
" Credit score was not included because that information is not publicly available."
Oh. Do you think that might account for the discrepancies the authors are complaining of, rather than rampant, systemic racism? The authors didn't bother to ask the denied putative purchasers they interviewed for their credit scores. Their answer might have killed the narrative. How such garbage gets published is a mystery to me.
You might wonder why I would read a forty paragraph story about a subject of little interest to me. The answer is that I love this country and as soon as I read the headline I smelled a rat. I was not at all surprised to find it. This happens far too often.
&&&&&&
I watched some of the NBA playoffs. The things these men are able to do are, to me, astonishing.
I wrote about Lebron James once before. He was complaining that no matter how rich a black man gets he still has to struggle against racism and rarely gets any respect.
He is a truly amazing athlete. And, to all appearances, a nice enough guy, like most people, in my experience.
He is also a prime example of what I mean when I suggest that white privilege is really in the heads of people of color. White people know better.
I would encourage Mr. James to think about all the respect a few other really rich guys get, because after all, if you are rich and white you are automatically afforded it. White privilege and all.
I notice Donald Trump getting all manner of respect, all day, every day, in the press. Is that the sort of respect you want Mr. James? You know, the kind that comes, in your victim's prism, automatically because Trump is white.
Perhaps you would enjoy all the respect the incredibly rich, incredibly white, Koch brothers enjoy.
"The Kochs are our homegrown oligarchs; they've cornered the market on
Republican politics and are nakedly attempting to buy Congress and the
White House". (Emphasis added.)
Mr. James, having a great deal of money does not earn you respect no matter your color.
In my experience it is more likely to earn you a great deal of contempt and jealousy.
You might earn more respect, since you seem to feel deprived of it, if you placed your right hand over your heart during the playing of our national anthem rather than linking arms with a teammate and appearing entirely disinterested, as you did last night.
You are no doubt familiar with the saying that we reap what we sow. Try showing some respect to the people from whom you want it. That strategy often works. Good luck.
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Sunday, June 03, 2018
White Privilege/Republished
I have been hearing and reading more and more about white privilege and the ever growing litany of our sins, past and present. In that light I thought it worthwhile to republish my thoughts on the subject.
As I have explained my position in conversation in the two years or so since I wrote the post I have been concerned that it may have been misunderstood as white supremacy. It is not. I try to make clear that it is the opposite.
The fact is that wherever the basic tenets of Judeo-Christian culture take hold people of all colors flourish. That is the opposite of white supremacy. Given the right tools we all flourish because intelligence, ability and determination are not constrained by race. They are constrained by culture. The amazing uplifting of humans of all origins in the last 400 years are absolute confirmation of that simple fact.
Here is the original post with some emphasis added in an effort to clarify my position.
&&&&&
I have been reading a lot about "White Privilege"(WP) lately. Apparently the perception has arisen that there is an inherent advantage deployed in favor of white people in Western society.
Humans have been on earth for tens of thousands of years; Black, Brown, Red, White and Yellow. All five color groups have developed their various cultures more or less continuously throughout those tens of thousands of years. For all but a fraction of that time they have developed their cultures in isolation, in parallel.
A number of those cultures are very well known. The Chinese Dynasties, Japanese Empires, The Caliphate, The Incas, The Aztecs, The Romans and The Greeks were all very powerful at one time or another. However powerful they all were they never allowed wealth and comfort to inure to the benefit of the vast majority of the people living in those cultures. Life for a huge majority of their citizens was one of subsistence. Abject poverty on a scale we would not recognize as a life worth living.
There was another culture developing in parallel with those I have mentioned. Judeo-Christian (JC) culture. For thousands of years, as the culture developed, the lives of most people living in it were lives we would not consider worth living.
As the culture evolved it became less feudal. Human rights began to be recognized and the trajectory of the culture became one with a goal of human dignity.
From pre-history until the 18th century the economic life of the vast majority of humanity remained much as it always had been. Humans spent almost all of their time providing for their next meal. We bred like animals, hoping to stay ahead of infant mortality and raise enough children to tend our meager farms and take care of us in our dotage at the ripe old age of 40, if we made it that far.
Two events occurred in the 18th century which proved to be entirely transformative. The Industrial Revolution and the American Revolution completely changed the economic trajectory of ordinary people.
Both events are the result of the manifestations of JC culture. As is obvious from the chart above, the benefits of this pair of miracles are by no means limited to those who are native to the JC culture.
The JC culture is an overwhelmingly white one. It was white people who created the Industrial Revolution. It was white people who created the American Revolution. White people deeply immersed in the JC culture.
Of all the cultures ever developed during the tens of thousands of years of human existence only one has produced such prosperity for so many. Over the past 400 years or so, the nature of human existence has been fundamentally transformed to such an extent that billions of us alive now could not begin to understand what life was like for our ancestors.
All of this was created by white people functioning in a culture that has proven itself to be, by far, the most successful ever conceived. Therein lies the provenance of WP, as a conscious matter or not. Members of all the other cultures and colors still in existence have watched the transformation happen and, happily, have participated in it. Nonetheless, they are only human and are jealous of our success and defensive about their own lack of success. Thus the cultural contempt for white people manifested by the Chinese, Japanese and Asian Indians, the murderous aggression against Christians and Jews by Muslims, and the unfortunately misplaced antipathy toward us manifested by so many people of color.
WP is not White Supremacy. Thanks to the amazing success of the JC culture we have more and more interaction with humans of all races, creeds and colors all over the earth. It is entirely obvious to me that the difference in outcomes has nothing to do with inherent intelligence or abilities and everything to do with the culture within which human intelligence and ability operates. JC culture is, by far, the most productive incubator for humanity in its very long and varied history.
So yes, WP exists although I don't think white people ever think about it. It is simply our legacy in much the same way that the heirs of Joseph Kennedy benefit from his incredible success even though they did not create it. It remains theirs to nurture and develop.
From the perspective of this white person, the privilege is not deployed by white people for their own benefit. It is experienced in the negative by non-whites who are, quite naturally, jealous of accomplishments they cannot call their own.
UPDATE: I wrote tangentially on this subject in an October 2006 post titled
As I have explained my position in conversation in the two years or so since I wrote the post I have been concerned that it may have been misunderstood as white supremacy. It is not. I try to make clear that it is the opposite.
The fact is that wherever the basic tenets of Judeo-Christian culture take hold people of all colors flourish. That is the opposite of white supremacy. Given the right tools we all flourish because intelligence, ability and determination are not constrained by race. They are constrained by culture. The amazing uplifting of humans of all origins in the last 400 years are absolute confirmation of that simple fact.
Here is the original post with some emphasis added in an effort to clarify my position.
&&&&&
I have been reading a lot about "White Privilege"(WP) lately. Apparently the perception has arisen that there is an inherent advantage deployed in favor of white people in Western society.
Humans have been on earth for tens of thousands of years; Black, Brown, Red, White and Yellow. All five color groups have developed their various cultures more or less continuously throughout those tens of thousands of years. For all but a fraction of that time they have developed their cultures in isolation, in parallel.
A number of those cultures are very well known. The Chinese Dynasties, Japanese Empires, The Caliphate, The Incas, The Aztecs, The Romans and The Greeks were all very powerful at one time or another. However powerful they all were they never allowed wealth and comfort to inure to the benefit of the vast majority of the people living in those cultures. Life for a huge majority of their citizens was one of subsistence. Abject poverty on a scale we would not recognize as a life worth living.
There was another culture developing in parallel with those I have mentioned. Judeo-Christian (JC) culture. For thousands of years, as the culture developed, the lives of most people living in it were lives we would not consider worth living.
As the culture evolved it became less feudal. Human rights began to be recognized and the trajectory of the culture became one with a goal of human dignity.
From pre-history until the 18th century the economic life of the vast majority of humanity remained much as it always had been. Humans spent almost all of their time providing for their next meal. We bred like animals, hoping to stay ahead of infant mortality and raise enough children to tend our meager farms and take care of us in our dotage at the ripe old age of 40, if we made it that far.
Two events occurred in the 18th century which proved to be entirely transformative. The Industrial Revolution and the American Revolution completely changed the economic trajectory of ordinary people.
Both events are the result of the manifestations of JC culture. As is obvious from the chart above, the benefits of this pair of miracles are by no means limited to those who are native to the JC culture.
The JC culture is an overwhelmingly white one. It was white people who created the Industrial Revolution. It was white people who created the American Revolution. White people deeply immersed in the JC culture.
Of all the cultures ever developed during the tens of thousands of years of human existence only one has produced such prosperity for so many. Over the past 400 years or so, the nature of human existence has been fundamentally transformed to such an extent that billions of us alive now could not begin to understand what life was like for our ancestors.
All of this was created by white people functioning in a culture that has proven itself to be, by far, the most successful ever conceived. Therein lies the provenance of WP, as a conscious matter or not. Members of all the other cultures and colors still in existence have watched the transformation happen and, happily, have participated in it. Nonetheless, they are only human and are jealous of our success and defensive about their own lack of success. Thus the cultural contempt for white people manifested by the Chinese, Japanese and Asian Indians, the murderous aggression against Christians and Jews by Muslims, and the unfortunately misplaced antipathy toward us manifested by so many people of color.
WP is not White Supremacy. Thanks to the amazing success of the JC culture we have more and more interaction with humans of all races, creeds and colors all over the earth. It is entirely obvious to me that the difference in outcomes has nothing to do with inherent intelligence or abilities and everything to do with the culture within which human intelligence and ability operates. JC culture is, by far, the most productive incubator for humanity in its very long and varied history.
So yes, WP exists although I don't think white people ever think about it. It is simply our legacy in much the same way that the heirs of Joseph Kennedy benefit from his incredible success even though they did not create it. It remains theirs to nurture and develop.
From the perspective of this white person, the privilege is not deployed by white people for their own benefit. It is experienced in the negative by non-whites who are, quite naturally, jealous of accomplishments they cannot call their own.
UPDATE: I wrote tangentially on this subject in an October 2006 post titled
You're either with us or against us...
Tuesday, May 08, 2018
Diversity
I don't watch much cable or over the air television. My viewing is generally limited to sporting events. Most recently I enjoyed several NCAA Tournament games. The student athletes are very impressive.
I deploy my "mute" button liberally, particularly during commercial breaks. I still see some of the offerings.
I find it both amusing and distressing how self-consciously multi- gender and multi-racial almost every commercial seems to be.
I have lived a long time. Generally speaking life looks nothing like these commercials.
https://www.verizon.com/home/verizonglobalhome/ghp_landing.aspx
Of course, all the cigarette commercials showing vibrant, athletic and beautiful people in my younger years did not reflect reality either. There was, however, no attempt at selling a social utopia that did not exist in order to keep the social justice warriors happy. Just a blatant attempt to persuade us that smoking was a habit of the cool and the beautiful. Commercial persuasion not social persuasion.
I think I prefer the former.
I deploy my "mute" button liberally, particularly during commercial breaks. I still see some of the offerings.
I find it both amusing and distressing how self-consciously multi- gender and multi-racial almost every commercial seems to be.
I have lived a long time. Generally speaking life looks nothing like these commercials.
https://www.verizon.com/home/verizonglobalhome/ghp_landing.aspx
Of course, all the cigarette commercials showing vibrant, athletic and beautiful people in my younger years did not reflect reality either. There was, however, no attempt at selling a social utopia that did not exist in order to keep the social justice warriors happy. Just a blatant attempt to persuade us that smoking was a habit of the cool and the beautiful. Commercial persuasion not social persuasion.
I think I prefer the former.
Friday, May 04, 2018
The Horror of Life in Trumpland
On April 15 Yahoo! treated us to yet another Trump inspired horror story about a young American tech entrepreneur and his Indian partners.
The
regulation, known as the International Entrepreneur Rule, was first
proposed in 2016 after multiple attempts to pass legislation that would
create a so-called startup (sic) visa had failed in Congress." (Emphasis added)
So, the Obama administration, having failed to persuade the people's representatives of the value of their position did what it always did. Legislate by fiat.
For the left, usurping the power of Congress is not a problem if done by Democrats, but daring to undo such rule by fiat is a major transgression, assuming you are a Republican.
Glad to have the rules cleared up.
I love the language, "...Obama era regulation". Despite the fact that the author mentioned its 2016 provenance the phrasing suggests, at least to me, that the rule was in place for some time and had been acted upon by businesses which will now suffer unfairly from its undoing.
The regulation was issued three days before Mr. Trump's inauguration, so obviously, long standing policy on which major business decisions have rested. If you read far enough into the story you will find that the regulation had never been implemented, ever. Thus exactly no one could have relied upon it to their detriment.
How dare President Trump undo an illegitimate rule that has never been actually relied upon or applied when to do so would cause such an upheaval in the business community!
Or something.
..."Now
the company finds itself in limbo amid the Trump administration’s
effort to kill an Obama-era regulation that sought to grant a limited
stay in the U.S. to certain qualifying entrepreneurs, like Modon’s
co-founders.
So, the Obama administration, having failed to persuade the people's representatives of the value of their position did what it always did. Legislate by fiat.
For the left, usurping the power of Congress is not a problem if done by Democrats, but daring to undo such rule by fiat is a major transgression, assuming you are a Republican.
Glad to have the rules cleared up.
I love the language, "...Obama era regulation". Despite the fact that the author mentioned its 2016 provenance the phrasing suggests, at least to me, that the rule was in place for some time and had been acted upon by businesses which will now suffer unfairly from its undoing.
The regulation was issued three days before Mr. Trump's inauguration, so obviously, long standing policy on which major business decisions have rested. If you read far enough into the story you will find that the regulation had never been implemented, ever. Thus exactly no one could have relied upon it to their detriment.
How dare President Trump undo an illegitimate rule that has never been actually relied upon or applied when to do so would cause such an upheaval in the business community!
Or something.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
The Russians
As you know the United States, along with France and Britain, have bombed three targets in Syria in response to the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons in its effort to destroy its opposition.
You may recall that in 2013 after the Syrian opthamologist, Bashar Assad, used chemical weapons Obama turned the problem of removing those weapons over to Russia. Syria became a client state of Russia and Russia moved troops into Syria.
The world was assured that the weapons were secure and would not be used again. John Kerry and Barak Obama believed those assurances. I doubt another person not residing in a mental institution and/or over the age of 10 believed them.
When the most recent use of these weapons was reported, President Trump assured Syria and Russia that there would be a price to pay. Russia warned that we must not do anything. If we did the consequences would be grave.
Last night Syria paid the price.
Today we discovered the consequences we will suffer.
"Putin also called for an emergency meeting U.N. Security Council."
Oh my! That meeting took place today .
Our U.N. Ambassador, Niki Hailey was suitably impressed.
""The time for talk ended last night," Haley told the UN Security Council. "We are prepared to sustain this pressure, if the Syrian regime is foolish enough to test our will.
Perhaps one of Mr. Putin's advisers should have pointed out that certain members of the U.N. Security Council have the power of the veto so there would be no U.N. initiated consequences. Who are they, in addition to Russia?
You may recall that in 2013 after the Syrian opthamologist, Bashar Assad, used chemical weapons Obama turned the problem of removing those weapons over to Russia. Syria became a client state of Russia and Russia moved troops into Syria.
The world was assured that the weapons were secure and would not be used again. John Kerry and Barak Obama believed those assurances. I doubt another person not residing in a mental institution and/or over the age of 10 believed them.
When the most recent use of these weapons was reported, President Trump assured Syria and Russia that there would be a price to pay. Russia warned that we must not do anything. If we did the consequences would be grave.
Last night Syria paid the price.
Today we discovered the consequences we will suffer.
"Putin also called for an emergency meeting U.N. Security Council."
Oh my! That meeting took place today .
Our U.N. Ambassador, Niki Hailey was suitably impressed.
""The time for talk ended last night," Haley told the UN Security Council. "We are prepared to sustain this pressure, if the Syrian regime is foolish enough to test our will.
"The United States is locked and loaded," she said. "When our President draws a red line, our President enforces a red line.""
Perhaps one of Mr. Putin's advisers should have pointed out that certain members of the U.N. Security Council have the power of the veto so there would be no U.N. initiated consequences. Who are they, in addition to Russia?
"After
a heated two-hour debate, the United Nations Security Council rejected a
Russian resolution on Saturday that would have condemned airstrikes
carried out hours earlier by the United States, Britain and France
against Syria.
Russia,
China and Bolivia voted for the resolution, but eight members voted
against and four abstained. Even a majority vote would have been largely
symbolic, as the three Western powers that carried out the attack hold
veto power and would certainly have blocked it." (Emphasis added)
Perhaps the blustery Russian potentate has something else in mind as well. I guess we will see.
It is very nice to have a President who will actually do something to try and save the innocents of Syria, unlike his soulless predecessor who folded after drawing his famous red line.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Battle Space Preparation
That is what the left is always engaged in. You have likely seen any number of "Blue Wave" articles predicting a big win in November for the Democrats.
Republican members of Congress are announcing their intention not to run again in 2018 in record numbers. 35 at last count. 20 is about the average according to an article I read recently.
Apparently even Paul Ryan, the former conservative and current Speaker of the House is hanging up his gavel and heading for the hills.
The proliferation of stories suggesting that the Democrats will retake the House happens approximately every 1.5 years when they are not in control of the House as the left prepares the battle space. The objective of the stories is to demoralize conservatives. To persuade us to not even bother trying to win; the jig is up, game over, checkmate. Maybe. As the saying goes, even a stopped watch is right twice a day.
Should we believe any of what they are suggesting? There is a one word answer to that question... DonaldJTrump!
Think back to 2016. What were they telling us for an entire year preceding the election?
Correct. Don't bother. Game over. The jig is up. Checkmate. Oh, I almost forgot, they were going to take the House in the bargain.
Most, if not all of the non-returning GOP congresscritters know they cannot run on their records and be re-elected. They have played Lucy to our Charlie Brown at least one too many times. ObamaCare repeal, the Omnibus budget. Colossal betrayals of the conservative voters who sent them to Congress. The kind that cannot be forgiven.
Being the stand-up guys and gals that they are, and knowing the rules really well, I wonder what they will do with their leftover campaign money? How about;
"This option also includes creating a nonprofit organization with the leftover campaign funds."
Any bets on how many family members will be "employed" by these brand new nonprofit organizations?
We will put forward new candidates in the primaries for all of those seats and we will inevitably win many, if not most of them. Who knows, the new crop may add a few voices to the real conservatives in the House. We cannot do any worse, for the most part, than we did with those who are taking the money and running.
Be of good cheer my friends. Do not let their tsunami of propaganda affect your natural conservative optimism. It is always possible that we will indeed lose, it is a contest after all and we are up against world class liars and cheaters as usual.
We can never let the prospect of losing dissuade us from doing all we can to win.
Republican members of Congress are announcing their intention not to run again in 2018 in record numbers. 35 at last count. 20 is about the average according to an article I read recently.
Apparently even Paul Ryan, the former conservative and current Speaker of the House is hanging up his gavel and heading for the hills.
The proliferation of stories suggesting that the Democrats will retake the House happens approximately every 1.5 years when they are not in control of the House as the left prepares the battle space. The objective of the stories is to demoralize conservatives. To persuade us to not even bother trying to win; the jig is up, game over, checkmate. Maybe. As the saying goes, even a stopped watch is right twice a day.
Should we believe any of what they are suggesting? There is a one word answer to that question... DonaldJTrump!
Think back to 2016. What were they telling us for an entire year preceding the election?
Correct. Don't bother. Game over. The jig is up. Checkmate. Oh, I almost forgot, they were going to take the House in the bargain.
Most, if not all of the non-returning GOP congresscritters know they cannot run on their records and be re-elected. They have played Lucy to our Charlie Brown at least one too many times. ObamaCare repeal, the Omnibus budget. Colossal betrayals of the conservative voters who sent them to Congress. The kind that cannot be forgiven.
Being the stand-up guys and gals that they are, and knowing the rules really well, I wonder what they will do with their leftover campaign money? How about;
"This option also includes creating a nonprofit organization with the leftover campaign funds."
Any bets on how many family members will be "employed" by these brand new nonprofit organizations?
We will put forward new candidates in the primaries for all of those seats and we will inevitably win many, if not most of them. Who knows, the new crop may add a few voices to the real conservatives in the House. We cannot do any worse, for the most part, than we did with those who are taking the money and running.
Be of good cheer my friends. Do not let their tsunami of propaganda affect your natural conservative optimism. It is always possible that we will indeed lose, it is a contest after all and we are up against world class liars and cheaters as usual.
We can never let the prospect of losing dissuade us from doing all we can to win.
Saturday, March 31, 2018
This and That # 9
In This and That #8 I included two short quotes with the comment that sometimes a short statement can contain a lot of information.
That a picture can be worth a thousand words is well known. Sometimes, when we are really lucky, a picture can be worth a million words. Via Powerlineblog.com
The photo is from a weekly series posted each Saturday by Steven Hayward. It is always worth a look.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Pope Francis is at it again. This particularly foolish Pope began his papacy by endorsing socialism (I wonder what his Venezuelan flock is eating today).
He followed up with a condemnation of President Trump for promising to build a wall along our southern border.
I had the opportunity to visit Vatican City last October. Was I ever shocked to find that the city/state he rules and calls home is completely surrounded by very tall, very thick...walls.
It is a never ending source of wonder to me that leftists appear to have no understanding of irony and not much more understanding of honesty, for that matter.
Here is His Holiness' latest epiphany,
"Pope Francis: 'There Is No Hell'"
Good to know.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Speaking of the lack of honesty on the left, one of my favorite writers, Kurt Schlichter, offers this,
"Here’s the deal – everything the liberals say about guns is a lie. Every. Single. Thing."
You should read the whole thing.
Among the most important points he makes is that,
"Our right to speak and worship freely, and our right to keep and bear arms, were merely cited by the Constitution. That paper did not grant them. The government did not grant them, and the government cannot take them away. Every American was endowed with those rights by his Creator, and as long as we have the will to defend our rights, no collection of creeps is ever going to take them away from us."
Indeed.
That a picture can be worth a thousand words is well known. Sometimes, when we are really lucky, a picture can be worth a million words. Via Powerlineblog.com
The photo is from a weekly series posted each Saturday by Steven Hayward. It is always worth a look.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Pope Francis is at it again. This particularly foolish Pope began his papacy by endorsing socialism (I wonder what his Venezuelan flock is eating today).
He followed up with a condemnation of President Trump for promising to build a wall along our southern border.
I had the opportunity to visit Vatican City last October. Was I ever shocked to find that the city/state he rules and calls home is completely surrounded by very tall, very thick...walls.
It is a never ending source of wonder to me that leftists appear to have no understanding of irony and not much more understanding of honesty, for that matter.
Here is His Holiness' latest epiphany,
"Pope Francis: 'There Is No Hell'"
Good to know.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Speaking of the lack of honesty on the left, one of my favorite writers, Kurt Schlichter, offers this,
"Here’s the deal – everything the liberals say about guns is a lie. Every. Single. Thing."
You should read the whole thing.
Among the most important points he makes is that,
"Our right to speak and worship freely, and our right to keep and bear arms, were merely cited by the Constitution. That paper did not grant them. The government did not grant them, and the government cannot take them away. Every American was endowed with those rights by his Creator, and as long as we have the will to defend our rights, no collection of creeps is ever going to take them away from us."
Indeed.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Passover
The Jewish holiday of Passover starts at sundown this evening. I am proud to be Jewish but I am not a believer. As has been demonstrated literally millions of times, our enemies don't care whether I believe in the Jewish God. My blood is Jewish and so they have sworn to kill me today as they have so often in the past and no doubt will in the future. I have never been able to understand visceral racial or religious animosity. I suppose understanding these 100's of millions of crazy adherents of the Religion of Peace and their various Christian predecessors is not necessary.
The Passover liturgy insists that we remember our days as slaves in Egypt and internalize the lessons learned by once having been the "other". The scorned and mistreated outsider. To a large extent our status as the "other" has not changed. Non-Jews are just less impolite and vocal about it, except for the Islamists of course, who wear their Jew hatred as a badge of honor.
Like so many other religious stories the story of Passover is probably not true. There is no archaeological evidence of Jewish slavery in Egypt, which, as you likely are aware, is a treasure trove of archaeological finds. None. Not a shard of crockery nor an hieroglyphic tablet.
Does that mean that the lessons of the Passover "story" are not valuable. No it does not.
Whenever I bring up this lack of evidence and point out the almost endless stream of inconsistencies in the story, I am told that it is not necessary that the events described actually happened in order to learn valuable truths from the story. I agree. It is the methodology that insists on lying to children to which I object.
Also troubling is the apparent necessity our religious leaders find, as well as those of all the other religions that I have some small knowledge of, to spin heroic tales in their effort to convince the believers to believe.
Mohamed rode a flying horse to heaven to chat with Allah.
The Immaculate Conception.
Jesus rising from the dead.
Jesus walking on water.
The parting of the Red Sea.
Given that the people who believe these tales, or claim to, are solicited to donate money to the causes telling these tales perhaps the FTC should open an investigation. After all, you can't sell a car that way.
In my view religions are, in general, blue prints for a well regulated society.
For example, in earlier times spring cleaning was an important component of community health after a winter spent mostly indoors in an ever more poisonous environment.
Do you know what each Jewish household is commanded to do to prepare for Passover?
"For many Jews, one of the most vivid memories of their childhood is the seemingly endless cleaning and scrubbing of their homes during the weeks and days before Passover." The Family Haggadah, Menorah Publications, P.13.
So, in an astonishing coincidence the holiday that mandates a thorough cleaning of homes and businesses happens at exactly the time of year it is most urgent.
It is almost as though the people who made up the story were actually bureaucrats intent on persuading their charges to clean out the detritus of winter hoping to minimize parasites emerging in the warmer months. One never knows.
The Passover liturgy insists that we remember our days as slaves in Egypt and internalize the lessons learned by once having been the "other". The scorned and mistreated outsider. To a large extent our status as the "other" has not changed. Non-Jews are just less impolite and vocal about it, except for the Islamists of course, who wear their Jew hatred as a badge of honor.
Like so many other religious stories the story of Passover is probably not true. There is no archaeological evidence of Jewish slavery in Egypt, which, as you likely are aware, is a treasure trove of archaeological finds. None. Not a shard of crockery nor an hieroglyphic tablet.
Does that mean that the lessons of the Passover "story" are not valuable. No it does not.
Whenever I bring up this lack of evidence and point out the almost endless stream of inconsistencies in the story, I am told that it is not necessary that the events described actually happened in order to learn valuable truths from the story. I agree. It is the methodology that insists on lying to children to which I object.
Also troubling is the apparent necessity our religious leaders find, as well as those of all the other religions that I have some small knowledge of, to spin heroic tales in their effort to convince the believers to believe.
Mohamed rode a flying horse to heaven to chat with Allah.
The Immaculate Conception.
Jesus rising from the dead.
Jesus walking on water.
The parting of the Red Sea.
Given that the people who believe these tales, or claim to, are solicited to donate money to the causes telling these tales perhaps the FTC should open an investigation. After all, you can't sell a car that way.
In my view religions are, in general, blue prints for a well regulated society.
For example, in earlier times spring cleaning was an important component of community health after a winter spent mostly indoors in an ever more poisonous environment.
Do you know what each Jewish household is commanded to do to prepare for Passover?
"For many Jews, one of the most vivid memories of their childhood is the seemingly endless cleaning and scrubbing of their homes during the weeks and days before Passover." The Family Haggadah, Menorah Publications, P.13.
So, in an astonishing coincidence the holiday that mandates a thorough cleaning of homes and businesses happens at exactly the time of year it is most urgent.
It is almost as though the people who made up the story were actually bureaucrats intent on persuading their charges to clean out the detritus of winter hoping to minimize parasites emerging in the warmer months. One never knows.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
How Smart are They?
I have been thinking a lot lately about differing impressions of smart.
We have been told for a very, very long time how smart, brilliant even, Hillary Clinton is. Smartest woman in the world, some say.
I have never seen even a hint of any smarts greater than those required to get into and out of Yale Law School. It is a very impressive achievement and one that requires some serious smarts. But that is all. It has been done 10's of thousands of times.
She has been followed by scandal her entire public life. From impossibly successful novice cattle futures trading to her email scandal with a dozen or so assorted scandals in between. It occurs to me that some of you are so young that you might be unfamiliar with this astonishing list so here are links some major old ones and a couple that will get much louder soon. They make for very interesting reading, in my opinion.
Travel Office. Rose Law Firm Billing Records. White Water. The Uranium One and Clinton Foundation scandals have yet to be thoroughly investigated. You probably remember Benghazi. Quite an impressive list.
She lost the 2016 election by being the opposite of brilliant or even smart. She was down right stupid. The "deplorables" comment was the defining moment of her campaign and sunk her for good. She is so "smart" that she still does not recognize her folly and reiterated her opinion of us during her recent trip to India.
Really smart people do not repeat their errors.
Another luminary of the left to whom great intellectual gifts are attributed is Barak Hussein Obama, otherwise known as Barry O. I have never seen any hint of great smarts in him either. As Clarence Thomas has complained about the effects on perception of affirmative action, I can't even credit him with the brains to actually get into and out of Harvard Law.
Actually, I do know he could not possibly have gotten into and out of Harvard Law without affirmative action because he proved it.
""I'm confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress," Obama said."
Mr. President, Mr Harvard Law graduate and Harvard Law Review editor (who never wrote more than a page in that journal) the Supreme Court of the United States is in the business of upholding or overturning laws passed by the "democratically elected Congress" regardless of the strength of the vote that passed them into law. It is the primary reason the Court exists.
Does this nitwit really think that a law abridging the 1st or 2nd amendments passed by 100% of the Congress would be immune from Judicial scrutiny. Yes, apparently. He must have missed a course or two at Harvard Law.
He was speaking of ObamaCare of course. That "strong majority" was 100% Democrat in the House and all Democrat and 2 Independents in the Senate. Not a single Republican in either chamber voted for it. If one or two had, I suppose Barry could have asserted with even more certainty that SCOTUS could not have overturned it because not only was it a "strong majority" but a bipartisan one too! That would invoke his theory of proper judicial scrutiny even more strongly. Brilliance and academic achievement on proud display.
We have been told for a very, very long time how smart, brilliant even, Hillary Clinton is. Smartest woman in the world, some say.
I have never seen even a hint of any smarts greater than those required to get into and out of Yale Law School. It is a very impressive achievement and one that requires some serious smarts. But that is all. It has been done 10's of thousands of times.
She has been followed by scandal her entire public life. From impossibly successful novice cattle futures trading to her email scandal with a dozen or so assorted scandals in between. It occurs to me that some of you are so young that you might be unfamiliar with this astonishing list so here are links some major old ones and a couple that will get much louder soon. They make for very interesting reading, in my opinion.
Travel Office. Rose Law Firm Billing Records. White Water. The Uranium One and Clinton Foundation scandals have yet to be thoroughly investigated. You probably remember Benghazi. Quite an impressive list.
She lost the 2016 election by being the opposite of brilliant or even smart. She was down right stupid. The "deplorables" comment was the defining moment of her campaign and sunk her for good. She is so "smart" that she still does not recognize her folly and reiterated her opinion of us during her recent trip to India.
Really smart people do not repeat their errors.
Another luminary of the left to whom great intellectual gifts are attributed is Barak Hussein Obama, otherwise known as Barry O. I have never seen any hint of great smarts in him either. As Clarence Thomas has complained about the effects on perception of affirmative action, I can't even credit him with the brains to actually get into and out of Harvard Law.
Actually, I do know he could not possibly have gotten into and out of Harvard Law without affirmative action because he proved it.
""I'm confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress," Obama said."
Mr. President, Mr Harvard Law graduate and Harvard Law Review editor (who never wrote more than a page in that journal) the Supreme Court of the United States is in the business of upholding or overturning laws passed by the "democratically elected Congress" regardless of the strength of the vote that passed them into law. It is the primary reason the Court exists.
Does this nitwit really think that a law abridging the 1st or 2nd amendments passed by 100% of the Congress would be immune from Judicial scrutiny. Yes, apparently. He must have missed a course or two at Harvard Law.
He was speaking of ObamaCare of course. That "strong majority" was 100% Democrat in the House and all Democrat and 2 Independents in the Senate. Not a single Republican in either chamber voted for it. If one or two had, I suppose Barry could have asserted with even more certainty that SCOTUS could not have overturned it because not only was it a "strong majority" but a bipartisan one too! That would invoke his theory of proper judicial scrutiny even more strongly. Brilliance and academic achievement on proud display.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Guns Again, Again
We are all very well aware of the children's crusade in support of "ending gun violence". Is there any sane person who would prefer the perpetuation of gun violence? I know, but they can be forgiven for failing to see the obvious. They are, after all, children who by definition know very little about anything. Which explains why we call them "children" not "adults".
The gun control advocates, adults who are enabling and using them, are not so blameless.
Typical among the signs these poor kids are being told to carry is the evergreen "Ban Assault Rifles". There is no weapon that is so described by weapons manufacturers.
It is almost impossible for a US resident to buy a firearm of any description that fires more than one bullet per trigger pull.
"When silly people like Seth MacFarlane and Susan Sarandon say they want to ban “automatic weapons,” what they mean is that they want to ban guns that look scary. They don’t understand that you can’t walk into a gun store and walk out with a military-style assault weapon (one that can fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull). That’s because 1) most gun dealers don’t carry the military version of the scary looking gun, 2) you have to jump through an obscene number of hoops with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to even obtain a tax stamp that says you may purchase such a weapon (a process that takes months, if not years), and 3) the actual versions of rifles used by the military are really expensive and unaffordable for the vast majority of prospective gun owners.
What you can buy from your local gun dealer, after that licensed gun dealer has confirmed that you passed a federal background check (yep, that’s required by existing law), is a semi-automatic rifle. And now, a bunch of gun controllers who don’t understand the slightest thing about guns have decided that rifle needs to be banned. Not because it’s more deadly than a typical hunting rifle (it’s absolutely not), but because it looks scarier."
In 1994 Bill, Clinton signed into law a federal "assault weapons ban".
"...The 1994 assault weapons law banned semi-automatic rifles only if they had any two of the following five features in addition to a detachable magazine: a collapsible stock, a pistol grip, a bayonet mount, a flash suppressor, or a grenade launcher."
All of the items listed are cosmetic. They do not alter the operation of the device. They don't make it shoot any more than one bullet per trigger pull which is the only metric by which a semi-automatic gun becomes more destructive than it already is. Try getting your hands on a grenade to mount on the launcher. No, gun dealers do not sell those either.
There is a device called a "bump stock" which allows for much more rapid fire of a semi-automatic (one bullet per trigger pull) rifle. The Las Vegas shooter is said to have used these devices to increase his rate of fire and destruction. President Trump has called for their banning and I see no reason to disapprove of that position. Unlike the list of items referred to above, this one actually does make a rifle more destructive and does not appear to serve any useful purpose.
17 people really did die as a result of a gunman's attack in Florida last month. A tragedy of impressive proportion even though no bump stock was used. Examination and evaluation are required by any responsible society in the face of such carnage.
In order that useful conclusions are reached the examination and evaluation of policies which made this disaster possible must be conducted in good faith and those participating must have some understanding of what they are talking about.
Such good faith and knowledge are in extremely short supply among the advocates of more anti-gun laws.
For example.
As I wrote in my previous post, that tragedy was completely preventable. Every single adult with responsibility for the shooter and those murdered failed completely, for years in many cases. There are no gun laws that will fix this.
The only fix is to refuse to be side tracked into a discussion of just how much we should deprive law abiding Americans of their 2nd Amendment rights and demand that the people responsible for promoting the culture in which this shooter and so many like him evolved are held accountable. That might prompt others pursuing similarly stupid policies with respect to school discipline and gun free zones to re-think their positions.
As we are only too aware the Florida shooter was spared from responsibility for many of his previous transgressions by the Obama administration's "guidance" on discipline.
Note how this absurdity begins,
"The Office for Civil Rights together with the Dept of Justice released a Dear Colleague letter on January 8, 2014 on (sic) to help schools administer school discipline without discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin."
So now we are to believe that teachers and school administrators, among the most liberal people in the country, are racists. Right. Here is a link to the causes their union, NEA, supports. Obviously a bunch of racist rednecks.
The "guidance" produced by Obama's department of Justice had a single goal. Force schools to stop disciplining minority students, consequences be damned.
Well now you have your consequences and somehow I am to blame for that lunatic..
I am not his parent, his teacher, his social worker, the local cops who failed to arrest him, the FBI agents who failed to act on information they received or the idiot who suggested that it is racist to discipline students or the even bigger idiots who bought into such nonsense.
I will not be shamed into accepting the narrative that guns are the real problem here. You shouldn't either.They are not.
You have heard no doubt of a term made popular recently; Intersectionality.
Here is a great example of it. We find ourselves at the intersection of mind-numbingly stupid politically correct policy choices and the carnage their pursuit predictably produces.
It really is not that complicated after all. Too bad 17 people had to die to prove it.
The gun control advocates, adults who are enabling and using them, are not so blameless.
Typical among the signs these poor kids are being told to carry is the evergreen "Ban Assault Rifles". There is no weapon that is so described by weapons manufacturers.
It is almost impossible for a US resident to buy a firearm of any description that fires more than one bullet per trigger pull.
"When silly people like Seth MacFarlane and Susan Sarandon say they want to ban “automatic weapons,” what they mean is that they want to ban guns that look scary. They don’t understand that you can’t walk into a gun store and walk out with a military-style assault weapon (one that can fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull). That’s because 1) most gun dealers don’t carry the military version of the scary looking gun, 2) you have to jump through an obscene number of hoops with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to even obtain a tax stamp that says you may purchase such a weapon (a process that takes months, if not years), and 3) the actual versions of rifles used by the military are really expensive and unaffordable for the vast majority of prospective gun owners.
What you can buy from your local gun dealer, after that licensed gun dealer has confirmed that you passed a federal background check (yep, that’s required by existing law), is a semi-automatic rifle. And now, a bunch of gun controllers who don’t understand the slightest thing about guns have decided that rifle needs to be banned. Not because it’s more deadly than a typical hunting rifle (it’s absolutely not), but because it looks scarier."
In 1994 Bill, Clinton signed into law a federal "assault weapons ban".
"...The 1994 assault weapons law banned semi-automatic rifles only if they had any two of the following five features in addition to a detachable magazine: a collapsible stock, a pistol grip, a bayonet mount, a flash suppressor, or a grenade launcher."
All of the items listed are cosmetic. They do not alter the operation of the device. They don't make it shoot any more than one bullet per trigger pull which is the only metric by which a semi-automatic gun becomes more destructive than it already is. Try getting your hands on a grenade to mount on the launcher. No, gun dealers do not sell those either.
There is a device called a "bump stock" which allows for much more rapid fire of a semi-automatic (one bullet per trigger pull) rifle. The Las Vegas shooter is said to have used these devices to increase his rate of fire and destruction. President Trump has called for their banning and I see no reason to disapprove of that position. Unlike the list of items referred to above, this one actually does make a rifle more destructive and does not appear to serve any useful purpose.
17 people really did die as a result of a gunman's attack in Florida last month. A tragedy of impressive proportion even though no bump stock was used. Examination and evaluation are required by any responsible society in the face of such carnage.
In order that useful conclusions are reached the examination and evaluation of policies which made this disaster possible must be conducted in good faith and those participating must have some understanding of what they are talking about.
Such good faith and knowledge are in extremely short supply among the advocates of more anti-gun laws.
For example.
As I wrote in my previous post, that tragedy was completely preventable. Every single adult with responsibility for the shooter and those murdered failed completely, for years in many cases. There are no gun laws that will fix this.
The only fix is to refuse to be side tracked into a discussion of just how much we should deprive law abiding Americans of their 2nd Amendment rights and demand that the people responsible for promoting the culture in which this shooter and so many like him evolved are held accountable. That might prompt others pursuing similarly stupid policies with respect to school discipline and gun free zones to re-think their positions.
As we are only too aware the Florida shooter was spared from responsibility for many of his previous transgressions by the Obama administration's "guidance" on discipline.
Note how this absurdity begins,
"The Office for Civil Rights together with the Dept of Justice released a Dear Colleague letter on January 8, 2014 on (sic) to help schools administer school discipline without discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin."
So now we are to believe that teachers and school administrators, among the most liberal people in the country, are racists. Right. Here is a link to the causes their union, NEA, supports. Obviously a bunch of racist rednecks.
The "guidance" produced by Obama's department of Justice had a single goal. Force schools to stop disciplining minority students, consequences be damned.
Well now you have your consequences and somehow I am to blame for that lunatic..
I am not his parent, his teacher, his social worker, the local cops who failed to arrest him, the FBI agents who failed to act on information they received or the idiot who suggested that it is racist to discipline students or the even bigger idiots who bought into such nonsense.
I will not be shamed into accepting the narrative that guns are the real problem here. You shouldn't either.They are not.
You have heard no doubt of a term made popular recently; Intersectionality.
Here is a great example of it. We find ourselves at the intersection of mind-numbingly stupid politically correct policy choices and the carnage their pursuit predictably produces.
It really is not that complicated after all. Too bad 17 people had to die to prove it.
Sunday, March 04, 2018
Guns Again
As we have all observed the election of Donald Trump has exposed the media and the left in general for who and what they really are.
The mask has been removed. They think we are evil and, for the most part, no longer attempt to hide their contempt for us. That is a very, very good thing.
The Parkland massacre has also been a liberating event for them. Anyone who is a 2nd amendment supporter is now a killer with blood dripping from their souls.
It is no great surprise that, once again, they insist against all of the evidence, very, very loudly, that our gun control laws are lax or non-existent and that the only solution to the problem of lunatics getting their hands on guns is to deprive law abiding citizens of their 2nd amendment rights.
An excellent summation of the situation is provided by Branco, via Steven Hayward,
Being big government enthusiasts the left is not able to blame those responsible for the complete failure of the elaborate gun control regime and maintain any credibility. Every single government agency, schools, police, social services and the FBI, involved in the shooter's life failed completely and spectacularly. As I have written before, this sad state of affairs is the norm, not an aberration.
The situation is much worse than it appears. Via Instapundit, we have this, incomprehensible to ordinary people, outcome in a "straw purchaser" and illegal resale of multiple guns prosecution.
"A Chicago-area woman arrested last year for her role in illegally selling guns to prohibited buyers, some with gang affiliations, was sentenced to probation and community service last week."
So, not only are the police, school administrations and FBI apparently disastrously indifferent to our safety, in the occasional event that the authorities actually arrest someone for breaking our supposedly non-existent gun control laws, there is no meaningful punishment for the offender.
The cognitive dissonance is deafening.
Obviously more laws that we will enforce occasionally at no real detriment to the criminals involved will ameliorate the problem. Good luck with that.
Several corporations which have offered discount programs to NRA members for years have discontinued the programs in the face of SJW social media attacks encouraging boycotts of anyone and anything connected to the NRA. Some retailers have announced changes to the guns they will sell and to whom they will sell them in service to the same SJW's. A very bad business model in both cases. The SJW's are never satisfied.
I will no longer rent cars from National. I have been renting from them exclusively for a very long time. I unsubscribed from Dick's Sporting Goods email list.
Yesterday I joined the NRA. I don't own any guns. Yet.
The mask has been removed. They think we are evil and, for the most part, no longer attempt to hide their contempt for us. That is a very, very good thing.
The Parkland massacre has also been a liberating event for them. Anyone who is a 2nd amendment supporter is now a killer with blood dripping from their souls.
It is no great surprise that, once again, they insist against all of the evidence, very, very loudly, that our gun control laws are lax or non-existent and that the only solution to the problem of lunatics getting their hands on guns is to deprive law abiding citizens of their 2nd amendment rights.
An excellent summation of the situation is provided by Branco, via Steven Hayward,
Being big government enthusiasts the left is not able to blame those responsible for the complete failure of the elaborate gun control regime and maintain any credibility. Every single government agency, schools, police, social services and the FBI, involved in the shooter's life failed completely and spectacularly. As I have written before, this sad state of affairs is the norm, not an aberration.
The situation is much worse than it appears. Via Instapundit, we have this, incomprehensible to ordinary people, outcome in a "straw purchaser" and illegal resale of multiple guns prosecution.
"A Chicago-area woman arrested last year for her role in illegally selling guns to prohibited buyers, some with gang affiliations, was sentenced to probation and community service last week."
So, not only are the police, school administrations and FBI apparently disastrously indifferent to our safety, in the occasional event that the authorities actually arrest someone for breaking our supposedly non-existent gun control laws, there is no meaningful punishment for the offender.
The cognitive dissonance is deafening.
Obviously more laws that we will enforce occasionally at no real detriment to the criminals involved will ameliorate the problem. Good luck with that.
Several corporations which have offered discount programs to NRA members for years have discontinued the programs in the face of SJW social media attacks encouraging boycotts of anyone and anything connected to the NRA. Some retailers have announced changes to the guns they will sell and to whom they will sell them in service to the same SJW's. A very bad business model in both cases. The SJW's are never satisfied.
I will no longer rent cars from National. I have been renting from them exclusively for a very long time. I unsubscribed from Dick's Sporting Goods email list.
Yesterday I joined the NRA. I don't own any guns. Yet.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Massacres and the Government
I have written before about reliance on government for your safety and the safety of those you love.
"The real problem stems from one word in the sentence above beginning with "Let's". That word is government.
The latest shooter was a convicted felon who bought his weapons from a licensed fire arms dealer who received the all clear from the government. There is that word again.
The arm of the government that convicted the shooter of multiple felonies failed to post those convictions in the government data base.
I have another "sensible step" to suggest. Do not ever assume that the government will get anything right. Look after yourself and those you love. As the saying goes, when seconds count the police are only minutes away."
As you know, another lunatic went nuts a few days ago. Another lunatic whose bizarre behavior foreshadowed his killing spree. Another lunatic who was known to the authorities. Even the FBI. Nothing was done, other than warning the FBI, and 17 people were massacred.
The usual braying about gun control is swamping the media. It is a useless reflex.
How many of these lunatics have walked into a police station and opened fire? None.
How many of them have walked into a "gun free zone" and opened fire? All of them.
A few years ago an Islamic nut fired into a Navy recruiting office. Correct, another gun free zone.
"We realized it was an actual shooting, so we then initiated our active-shooter drill: getting down low to the ground, moving to a safe location. And we waited until everything seemed to be clear.”
Several years ago a US Army Major went on a shooting spree in an army processing center. You guessed correctly. Gun free zone.
" According to testimony from witnesses, Hasan passed up several opportunities to shoot civilians, and instead targeted soldiers in uniform,[25] who – in accordance with military policy – were not carrying personal firearms." (Emphasis added)
I do not know the provenance of the rules that prevent members of our Armed Forces from being Armed. I do know they appear to be ridiculous and occasionally deadly.
You do see the real problem here I am sure. It is well-intentioned but incredibly, predictably, stupid policies promoted by people who so abhor human nature that they pretend it does not exist and legislate accordingly.
The crazy people who carry out these awful crimes are crazy, not stupid. They do not choose venues for their mayhem that might result in them being disarmed or killed quickly. They follow the path of least resistance. A very common human trait.
Be prepared to defend yourself. Our various governments have failed miserably at doing the most basic job the Constitution assigned to them.
"...insure domestic Tranquility..."
"The real problem stems from one word in the sentence above beginning with "Let's". That word is government.
The latest shooter was a convicted felon who bought his weapons from a licensed fire arms dealer who received the all clear from the government. There is that word again.
The arm of the government that convicted the shooter of multiple felonies failed to post those convictions in the government data base.
I have another "sensible step" to suggest. Do not ever assume that the government will get anything right. Look after yourself and those you love. As the saying goes, when seconds count the police are only minutes away."
As you know, another lunatic went nuts a few days ago. Another lunatic whose bizarre behavior foreshadowed his killing spree. Another lunatic who was known to the authorities. Even the FBI. Nothing was done, other than warning the FBI, and 17 people were massacred.
The usual braying about gun control is swamping the media. It is a useless reflex.
How many of these lunatics have walked into a police station and opened fire? None.
How many of them have walked into a "gun free zone" and opened fire? All of them.
A few years ago an Islamic nut fired into a Navy recruiting office. Correct, another gun free zone.
"We realized it was an actual shooting, so we then initiated our active-shooter drill: getting down low to the ground, moving to a safe location. And we waited until everything seemed to be clear.”
Several years ago a US Army Major went on a shooting spree in an army processing center. You guessed correctly. Gun free zone.
" According to testimony from witnesses, Hasan passed up several opportunities to shoot civilians, and instead targeted soldiers in uniform,[25] who – in accordance with military policy – were not carrying personal firearms." (Emphasis added)
I do not know the provenance of the rules that prevent members of our Armed Forces from being Armed. I do know they appear to be ridiculous and occasionally deadly.
You do see the real problem here I am sure. It is well-intentioned but incredibly, predictably, stupid policies promoted by people who so abhor human nature that they pretend it does not exist and legislate accordingly.
The crazy people who carry out these awful crimes are crazy, not stupid. They do not choose venues for their mayhem that might result in them being disarmed or killed quickly. They follow the path of least resistance. A very common human trait.
Be prepared to defend yourself. Our various governments have failed miserably at doing the most basic job the Constitution assigned to them.
"...insure domestic Tranquility..."
Friday Document/News Dumps
I love Friday. No, not because it generally marks the end of the work week, I am retired.
I love Friday because the juiciest news tries to dribble out quietly.
No doubt you have heard that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russian election meddling grand jury indicted 13 people yesterday. Big news! Trump is finally going down! His whole family is going down with him! It wasn't a hoax after all!
Or not. 13 Russians! Not a Trumpian among them, only person currently within our jurisdiction and he was indicted for money laundering and identity theft. It is just too funny. Read the article to enjoy the outrage and surprise expressed by the writer at the discovery that Russians attempted to make mischief in the USA. Who knew!
Then there is this gem from Deputy AG Rosenstein,
"Rosenstein noted that there is no allegation in the indictment that Americans had any knowledge of the operation.
"There is no allegation in the indictment on the outcome of the election," he also stressed." (Emphasis added)
It gets better.
"In addition, the defendants allegedly promoted allegations of "voter fraud" in the Democratic Party beginning in the summer of 2016, through their personas on social media and political advertisements."
Really. Was Donna Brazile part of the Russian operation?
"Brazile writes the DNC was rigged (emphasis added) in Clinton's favor because her campaign was largely financing the party early on in the presidential election."
Sure sounds like voter fraud to me.
Speaking of making mischief you may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew about this,
" The Obama presidential election team has set up camp in Tel Aviv with the mission to defeat Netanyahu in our upcoming election.
The “Anyone but Bibi” mission is headed by Jeremy Bird, Obama’s National Field Director in his successful presidential campaigns."
Here is a beaut I never knew about courtesy of Instapundit contributor Charles Glasser.
"According to The Week, the Most Qualified Candidate Ever said, regarding Palestinian elections:
Whatever it is, meddling in elections included, it is ok when they do it.
I think I have mentioned before that if it was not for situational ethics the left would have no ethics at all.
"...With the intent to have a fair basis for judgments or action, one looks to personal ideals of what is appropriate to guide them, rather than an unchanging universal code of conduct,..."
What could go wrong!
I love Friday because the juiciest news tries to dribble out quietly.
No doubt you have heard that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russian election meddling grand jury indicted 13 people yesterday. Big news! Trump is finally going down! His whole family is going down with him! It wasn't a hoax after all!
Or not. 13 Russians! Not a Trumpian among them, only person currently within our jurisdiction and he was indicted for money laundering and identity theft. It is just too funny. Read the article to enjoy the outrage and surprise expressed by the writer at the discovery that Russians attempted to make mischief in the USA. Who knew!
Then there is this gem from Deputy AG Rosenstein,
"Rosenstein noted that there is no allegation in the indictment that Americans had any knowledge of the operation.
"There is no allegation in the indictment on the outcome of the election," he also stressed." (Emphasis added)
It gets better.
"In addition, the defendants allegedly promoted allegations of "voter fraud" in the Democratic Party beginning in the summer of 2016, through their personas on social media and political advertisements."
Really. Was Donna Brazile part of the Russian operation?
"Brazile writes the DNC was rigged (emphasis added) in Clinton's favor because her campaign was largely financing the party early on in the presidential election."
Sure sounds like voter fraud to me.
Speaking of making mischief you may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew about this,
" The Obama presidential election team has set up camp in Tel Aviv with the mission to defeat Netanyahu in our upcoming election.
Here is a beaut I never knew about courtesy of Instapundit contributor Charles Glasser.
"According to The Week, the Most Qualified Candidate Ever said, regarding Palestinian elections:
“And if we were going to push for an election,” Clinton went on, “then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.” (Emphasis added)
Whatever it is, meddling in elections included, it is ok when they do it.
I think I have mentioned before that if it was not for situational ethics the left would have no ethics at all.
"...With the intent to have a fair basis for judgments or action, one looks to personal ideals of what is appropriate to guide them, rather than an unchanging universal code of conduct,..."
What could go wrong!
Sunday, February 04, 2018
This and That # 8
Sometimes a statement conveys far more information than its length would suggest.
Two examples.
"What’s remarkable is that the Democrats still haven’t caught on to the fact that there’s usually a hook inside Trump’s bait." Stephen Green, contributor, 2/1/2018 on Instapundit .
Margaret Thatcher, "The facts of life are conservative." Indeed.
&&&&&
A week or two ago our President was engaged in negotiations with Democrats and Lindsey Graham, a rino, over the status of the "Dreamers" and other immigration issues.
It was eagerly reported by Dick Durbin, Democrat senator from Illinois, that when referring to places like Haiti, and some African countries President Trump described them as "shitholes". Mr. Durbin claimed that the President's use of such language severely damaged our standing in the world. He did not mention that if he had not eagerly reported the alleged comment no one would have known about it so our reputation would be intact. Oh well, politics above all, always, for Democrats.
President Trump expressed a preference for immigrants from Norway. The Prime Minister of Norway was not amused.
Durbin reported that Graham's reaction to the President's comment (Mr. Trump denies using the offending term) was to point out, angrily, that the country Mr. Trump's grandfather emigrated from in 1869, Germany, was no paradise. Probably true and momentarily effective. Have we become such snobs and/or racists that we look down our noses at the world's downtrodden, most of whom today are people of color?
No. America's needs and our fiscal environment have changed dramatically since 1869. How much foreign aid did we distribute in 1869 to help poorer countries? None. How much did we contribute to the U.N. for redistribution to poorer countries? Nothing.
We were then a vast and underpopulated country of about 39,000,000. That's right. About 10% of today's population in a country of almost exactly the same size it is today. ( We had just bought Alaska. Hawaii was added later.) We needed bodies. Lots and lots of them. We no longer do.
Just as importantly the enormous welfare regime we have developed did not exist in 1869.
What government benefits and programs were available to Fred Drumpf? None. Was it partly welfare benefits that might have attracted him to America? Obviously not. Immigrants were essentially on their own. Private charities, family, religious and fraternal organizations were the only sources of help or support for immigrants. None could afford to be terribly generous.
We provide billions of dollars every year to help the downtrodden where they live now.
What we need now are immigrants with skills to help our country move forward and compete. What we certainly do not need are more people to compete for low end jobs thus keeping downward pressure on the wages those jobs pay.
&&&&&
James Clyburn is one of many hacks masquerading as a congressperson. Below he displays the depth of his knowledge of history.
"Having
studied history and having taught history, I can only equate one period
of time with what we experience now, and that was what was going on in
Germany around 1934 right after the 1932 elections when Adolph Hitler
was elected chancellor," Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn
(D-S.C.) told CNN"
Mr. Clyburn, Hitler was never elected Chancellor.
As to the rest of his assertions, well, what can you say. These people live in a universe reserved to the ill-informed and dishonest.
Two examples.
"What’s remarkable is that the Democrats still haven’t caught on to the fact that there’s usually a hook inside Trump’s bait." Stephen Green, contributor, 2/1/2018 on Instapundit .
Margaret Thatcher, "The facts of life are conservative." Indeed.
&&&&&
A week or two ago our President was engaged in negotiations with Democrats and Lindsey Graham, a rino, over the status of the "Dreamers" and other immigration issues.
It was eagerly reported by Dick Durbin, Democrat senator from Illinois, that when referring to places like Haiti, and some African countries President Trump described them as "shitholes". Mr. Durbin claimed that the President's use of such language severely damaged our standing in the world. He did not mention that if he had not eagerly reported the alleged comment no one would have known about it so our reputation would be intact. Oh well, politics above all, always, for Democrats.
President Trump expressed a preference for immigrants from Norway. The Prime Minister of Norway was not amused.
Durbin reported that Graham's reaction to the President's comment (Mr. Trump denies using the offending term) was to point out, angrily, that the country Mr. Trump's grandfather emigrated from in 1869, Germany, was no paradise. Probably true and momentarily effective. Have we become such snobs and/or racists that we look down our noses at the world's downtrodden, most of whom today are people of color?
No. America's needs and our fiscal environment have changed dramatically since 1869. How much foreign aid did we distribute in 1869 to help poorer countries? None. How much did we contribute to the U.N. for redistribution to poorer countries? Nothing.
We were then a vast and underpopulated country of about 39,000,000. That's right. About 10% of today's population in a country of almost exactly the same size it is today. ( We had just bought Alaska. Hawaii was added later.) We needed bodies. Lots and lots of them. We no longer do.
Just as importantly the enormous welfare regime we have developed did not exist in 1869.
What government benefits and programs were available to Fred Drumpf? None. Was it partly welfare benefits that might have attracted him to America? Obviously not. Immigrants were essentially on their own. Private charities, family, religious and fraternal organizations were the only sources of help or support for immigrants. None could afford to be terribly generous.
We provide billions of dollars every year to help the downtrodden where they live now.
What we need now are immigrants with skills to help our country move forward and compete. What we certainly do not need are more people to compete for low end jobs thus keeping downward pressure on the wages those jobs pay.
&&&&&
James Clyburn is one of many hacks masquerading as a congressperson. Below he displays the depth of his knowledge of history.
"The third-ranking Democrat in
the House said Monday said that if one was comparing America today to
Europe before World War II, "this president would be Mussolini and Putin
would be Hitler."
Mr. Clyburn, Hitler was never elected Chancellor.
As to the rest of his assertions, well, what can you say. These people live in a universe reserved to the ill-informed and dishonest.
Monday, January 22, 2018
Thanks Mr. President, Again
So here we are, one full year into the Trump term. Are you tired of winning yet? Me either.
Looking back over this eventful and tumultuous year a few things become clear.
Donald Trump is, in fact, a genius. He ran for his first public office at age 70. That office is the most powerful in the world, thus a very highly prized one, attracting some of the smartest people around into the contest.
Not only some of the smartest. Some of the richest and best connected. He torched them, all of them. The Bush and Clinton dynasties are left in smoking ruins.
The enormity of his accomplishment is breathtaking.
Then there are the talking heads and members of the democrat and republican opposition. Each smarter than the next, if they do say so themselves. All completely, utterly, undeniably wrong.
Trump has no idea how to wield the levers of presidential power they insisted. Wrong, as he has already proven dozens of times.
Predictions of stock market collapse in the wake of his victory? Wrong. Not only wrong, spectacularly, unprecedentedly wrong.
Predictions of trade wars. Wrong.
Predictions of blundering into new wars. Wrong.
Predictions of congressional intransigence. Wrong.
Predictions of impeachment. Wrong.
The Obamacare mandate is gone.
Hundreds of billions of dollars sequestered overseas to avoid US corporate taxes are headed home.
Announcements of new corporate investment in US manufacturing arrive on an almost daily basis.
The tax cut legislation he shepherded through the process his critics claimed he could not possibly understand will begin to dump billions into the pockets of hard working Americans next month. Almost as exciting as that prospect is, it also means less money for the federal government to fritter away.
A truly amazing performance made all the more enjoyable by the President's fondness for tweeting his thoughts in order that heads explode daily among the intelligensia, left and right.
Keep up the good work Mr. President.
Looking back over this eventful and tumultuous year a few things become clear.
Donald Trump is, in fact, a genius. He ran for his first public office at age 70. That office is the most powerful in the world, thus a very highly prized one, attracting some of the smartest people around into the contest.
Not only some of the smartest. Some of the richest and best connected. He torched them, all of them. The Bush and Clinton dynasties are left in smoking ruins.
The enormity of his accomplishment is breathtaking.
Then there are the talking heads and members of the democrat and republican opposition. Each smarter than the next, if they do say so themselves. All completely, utterly, undeniably wrong.
Trump has no idea how to wield the levers of presidential power they insisted. Wrong, as he has already proven dozens of times.
Predictions of stock market collapse in the wake of his victory? Wrong. Not only wrong, spectacularly, unprecedentedly wrong.
Predictions of trade wars. Wrong.
Predictions of blundering into new wars. Wrong.
Predictions of congressional intransigence. Wrong.
Predictions of impeachment. Wrong.
The Obamacare mandate is gone.
Hundreds of billions of dollars sequestered overseas to avoid US corporate taxes are headed home.
Announcements of new corporate investment in US manufacturing arrive on an almost daily basis.
The tax cut legislation he shepherded through the process his critics claimed he could not possibly understand will begin to dump billions into the pockets of hard working Americans next month. Almost as exciting as that prospect is, it also means less money for the federal government to fritter away.
A truly amazing performance made all the more enjoyable by the President's fondness for tweeting his thoughts in order that heads explode daily among the intelligensia, left and right.
Keep up the good work Mr. President.
Saturday, December 09, 2017
Projection
As you know "projection" has many meanings. We will explore only one of them for the purpose of this post.
Projection includes,
"...a psychological defense mechanism whereby one "projects" one's own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, feelings—basically parts of oneself—onto someone else..."
I have written recently about the sexual harassment epidemic consuming left wing institutions. See "Good News" and "This and That #7."
As I mentioned we on the right have been accused, as a group, of misogyny and hypocrisy for a very long time. Right wing men in particular.
I have always assumed that the accusations were a manifestation of projection.
Since no one I know engaged in the often complained of behavior and most of those with much higher profiles than mine also had only very rarely been demonstrated to have manifested those behaviors (Newt Gingrich comes immediately to mind) I often thought projection might be at work. But, like our accusers, I had precious little evidence to support my theory.
Not anymore.
We now know that Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein were not outliers, they were main stream for lefty institutions.
CBS, NBC, NPR, Broadway, and a thoroughly astonishing list of other cesspools are now being exposed as hotbeds (forgive me) of sexual predation.
And apparently everybody involved in those institutions knew. The most egregious example of the extent of that knowledge is the 2008 "secret" roast of Matt Lauer . Do not follow the link unless you are prepared to be offended.
The audience was filled with all the people who claimed ignorance once he was exposed.
So where did the Republican War on Women and Republican Misogyny come from?
Unfortunately it was projection. More unfortunately the women complaining loudly appear to have been cowards (a very common human condition) at best, and enablers at worst. These unfortunate people were living and working with misogynists and predators so they naturally assumed that all men behave this way. Surely these ugly impulses could not be confined to just their men.
Well ladies and all you feminist gentlemen of the left, it seems, for the most part, that they are. Enjoy what your constant efforts to be "progressive" have earned you. Destroy all the rules of civility as you have been doing for 40 years and people will behave badly.
Those of us who have been watching in horror as women turned themselves into Victoria Secret wannabes are not surprised at the world you have created.
Projection includes,
"...a psychological defense mechanism whereby one "projects" one's own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, feelings—basically parts of oneself—onto someone else..."
I have written recently about the sexual harassment epidemic consuming left wing institutions. See "Good News" and "This and That #7."
As I mentioned we on the right have been accused, as a group, of misogyny and hypocrisy for a very long time. Right wing men in particular.
I have always assumed that the accusations were a manifestation of projection.
Since no one I know engaged in the often complained of behavior and most of those with much higher profiles than mine also had only very rarely been demonstrated to have manifested those behaviors (Newt Gingrich comes immediately to mind) I often thought projection might be at work. But, like our accusers, I had precious little evidence to support my theory.
Not anymore.
We now know that Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein were not outliers, they were main stream for lefty institutions.
CBS, NBC, NPR, Broadway, and a thoroughly astonishing list of other cesspools are now being exposed as hotbeds (forgive me) of sexual predation.
And apparently everybody involved in those institutions knew. The most egregious example of the extent of that knowledge is the 2008 "secret" roast of Matt Lauer . Do not follow the link unless you are prepared to be offended.
The audience was filled with all the people who claimed ignorance once he was exposed.
So where did the Republican War on Women and Republican Misogyny come from?
Unfortunately it was projection. More unfortunately the women complaining loudly appear to have been cowards (a very common human condition) at best, and enablers at worst. These unfortunate people were living and working with misogynists and predators so they naturally assumed that all men behave this way. Surely these ugly impulses could not be confined to just their men.
Well ladies and all you feminist gentlemen of the left, it seems, for the most part, that they are. Enjoy what your constant efforts to be "progressive" have earned you. Destroy all the rules of civility as you have been doing for 40 years and people will behave badly.
Those of us who have been watching in horror as women turned themselves into Victoria Secret wannabes are not surprised at the world you have created.
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Good News
Today marks one year since we awoke to the absolutely astonishingly good news that Hillary Clinton had lost the election. Thanks again President Trump.
There has been a lot to cheer about during this last year.
Consumer confidence is at heights not seen since 2000.
US stock markets are at all time highs.
The Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Scalia has been filled by another reliable conservative, Neal Gorsuch.
ISIS is in the process of being thoroughly destroyed.
We appear to be well on our way to defanging North Korea, one way or another.
There may be some tax reform on the way.
Liberal men, particularly those in, or connected to, Hollywood, have been exposed as the miscreants I have always assumed they were.
Liberal women, particularly those in or connected to Hollywood, have been exposed as the self-righteous dilettantes I have always assumed they were.
They never tired, male or female, of lecturing us about the evils of republican men while allowing a culture of actual sexual assault to flourish as they remained silent lest their careers be adversely affected by speaking out. The primary by-product of that silence was to expose other young women and men to the predators.
There are other by-products coming from the exposure of the Hollywood cesspool.
Some mythical liberal narratives seem to have disappeared.
Republican war on women. Anyone?
Campus rape culture. Anyone?
Donald Trump has a potty mouth and said some boorish things. Anyone?
Regarding Hollywood and its inhabitants I have an observation. How can anyone writing, producing or acting in the rot that Hollywood has been producing for years be assumed to have anything remotely resembling ordinary morals. Actors and actresses (why has that word disappeared) happily engage in on screen nudity and sex apparently thinking it very avant-garde to disrobe and perform sex acts for the public. It isn't. It is the simple substitution of exhibitionism for talent.
I realize there are a few high profile actors and actresses who do not engage in such on screen self-abasement but they are few.
Democrats won some elections for a change yesterday. They are celebrating. Allow them their moment of pleasure. They have endured a lot of pain in the last year.
Their paroxysm of glee will be short lived. Retaining the governorship of Virginia is no great accomplishment. It is what should have happened given that the republican candidate was an establishment rhino of long standing running in the Trump era.
They won the governorship of New Jersey proving, with finality, that Chris Christie's political career is, happily, over.
Be of good cheer my friends. All is well.
There has been a lot to cheer about during this last year.
Consumer confidence is at heights not seen since 2000.
US stock markets are at all time highs.
The Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Scalia has been filled by another reliable conservative, Neal Gorsuch.
ISIS is in the process of being thoroughly destroyed.
We appear to be well on our way to defanging North Korea, one way or another.
There may be some tax reform on the way.
Liberal men, particularly those in, or connected to, Hollywood, have been exposed as the miscreants I have always assumed they were.
Liberal women, particularly those in or connected to Hollywood, have been exposed as the self-righteous dilettantes I have always assumed they were.
They never tired, male or female, of lecturing us about the evils of republican men while allowing a culture of actual sexual assault to flourish as they remained silent lest their careers be adversely affected by speaking out. The primary by-product of that silence was to expose other young women and men to the predators.
There are other by-products coming from the exposure of the Hollywood cesspool.
Some mythical liberal narratives seem to have disappeared.
Republican war on women. Anyone?
Campus rape culture. Anyone?
Donald Trump has a potty mouth and said some boorish things. Anyone?
Regarding Hollywood and its inhabitants I have an observation. How can anyone writing, producing or acting in the rot that Hollywood has been producing for years be assumed to have anything remotely resembling ordinary morals. Actors and actresses (why has that word disappeared) happily engage in on screen nudity and sex apparently thinking it very avant-garde to disrobe and perform sex acts for the public. It isn't. It is the simple substitution of exhibitionism for talent.
I realize there are a few high profile actors and actresses who do not engage in such on screen self-abasement but they are few.
Democrats won some elections for a change yesterday. They are celebrating. Allow them their moment of pleasure. They have endured a lot of pain in the last year.
Their paroxysm of glee will be short lived. Retaining the governorship of Virginia is no great accomplishment. It is what should have happened given that the republican candidate was an establishment rhino of long standing running in the Trump era.
They won the governorship of New Jersey proving, with finality, that Chris Christie's political career is, happily, over.
Be of good cheer my friends. All is well.
Tuesday, November 07, 2017
This and That #7
Harvey Weinstein et al...
It has apparently come as a surprise to those who aspire to be viewed as the most sophisticated among us, that wealthy, powerful men have been known to prey on the women who depend on their wealth and or power for their own livelihoods.
They can be forgiven for never having heard of Bill Clinton or Ted Kennedy I suppose, two wallflowers who never made a headline.
Kennedy should have been prosecuted. Clinton should have been prosecuted. Hopefully Weinstein will be prosecuted.
I do not begrudge Weinstein's victims their outrage. I do begrudge them their phony naivete while repairing to the fainting couch.
It takes a great deal of courage to bite the hand that feeds you. Very few of us are courageous, human nature being what it is, as the otherwise self aggrandizing denizens of Hollywood have clearly demonstrated.
&&&
Massacres and Gun Control.
Another massacre, another appeal for "sensible steps" to ameliorate the problem of gun violence.
I have a "sensible step" to suggest. Let's create a government data base of everyone convicted of a felony and insist that the name of any putative gun buyer be run through that system before being permitted to possess one.
Oh, wait. We have one of those already. So how did the latest shooter get his weapons? Was it through the so-called gun show loop hole ? No it wasn't.
The real problem stems from one word in the sentence above beginning with "Let's". That word is government.
The latest shooter was a convicted felon who bought his weapons from a licensed fire arms dealer who received the all clear from the government. There is that word again.
The arm of the government that convicted the shooter of multiple felonies failed to post those convictions in the government data base.
I have another "sensible step" to suggest. Do not ever assume that the government will get anything right. Look after yourself and those you love. As the saying goes, when seconds count the police are only minutes away.
Last week another Muslim lunatic killed a bunch of people in New York City. He had been interviewed by the ICE in 2015. He was not interviewed because he had jaywalked. He was interviewed because of association with people who had overstayed their visas, a common terrorist profile. No action.
Remember the Boston Marathon bombers.?
"The brothers were Muslim; Tamerlan's aunt stated that he had recently become a devout Muslim.[174][175] Tamerlan became more devout and religious after 2009,[185][186] and a YouTube channel in his name linked to Salafist[185] and Islamist[181][187][188] videos. The FBI was informed by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2011 that he was a "follower of radical Islam."[187] In response, the FBI interviewed Tamerlan and his family and searched databases, but they did not find any evidence of "terrorism activity, domestic or foreign."" No action.
Remember the San Bernardino killers??
"They said he had contacts with five people whom the F.B.I. had investigated for possible terrorist activities — including one associated with the Shabab, the Islamist militant movement in Somalia, and another associated with the Nusra Front, the wing of Al Qaeda in Syria. In all five cases, the investigations were closed and no charges were filed."
Are you seeing a pattern here? Sclerotic bureaucracy is the problem, not the solution.
Do not allow yourself to be brow beaten into agreement with the apparently endless legion of our fellow citizens who, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, believe that government should be the repository of all power.
It has apparently come as a surprise to those who aspire to be viewed as the most sophisticated among us, that wealthy, powerful men have been known to prey on the women who depend on their wealth and or power for their own livelihoods.
They can be forgiven for never having heard of Bill Clinton or Ted Kennedy I suppose, two wallflowers who never made a headline.
Kennedy should have been prosecuted. Clinton should have been prosecuted. Hopefully Weinstein will be prosecuted.
I do not begrudge Weinstein's victims their outrage. I do begrudge them their phony naivete while repairing to the fainting couch.
It takes a great deal of courage to bite the hand that feeds you. Very few of us are courageous, human nature being what it is, as the otherwise self aggrandizing denizens of Hollywood have clearly demonstrated.
&&&
Massacres and Gun Control.
Another massacre, another appeal for "sensible steps" to ameliorate the problem of gun violence.
I have a "sensible step" to suggest. Let's create a government data base of everyone convicted of a felony and insist that the name of any putative gun buyer be run through that system before being permitted to possess one.
Oh, wait. We have one of those already. So how did the latest shooter get his weapons? Was it through the so-called gun show loop hole ? No it wasn't.
The real problem stems from one word in the sentence above beginning with "Let's". That word is government.
The latest shooter was a convicted felon who bought his weapons from a licensed fire arms dealer who received the all clear from the government. There is that word again.
The arm of the government that convicted the shooter of multiple felonies failed to post those convictions in the government data base.
I have another "sensible step" to suggest. Do not ever assume that the government will get anything right. Look after yourself and those you love. As the saying goes, when seconds count the police are only minutes away.
Last week another Muslim lunatic killed a bunch of people in New York City. He had been interviewed by the ICE in 2015. He was not interviewed because he had jaywalked. He was interviewed because of association with people who had overstayed their visas, a common terrorist profile. No action.
Remember the Boston Marathon bombers.?
"The brothers were Muslim; Tamerlan's aunt stated that he had recently become a devout Muslim.[174][175] Tamerlan became more devout and religious after 2009,[185][186] and a YouTube channel in his name linked to Salafist[185] and Islamist[181][187][188] videos. The FBI was informed by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2011 that he was a "follower of radical Islam."[187] In response, the FBI interviewed Tamerlan and his family and searched databases, but they did not find any evidence of "terrorism activity, domestic or foreign."" No action.
Remember the San Bernardino killers??
"They said he had contacts with five people whom the F.B.I. had investigated for possible terrorist activities — including one associated with the Shabab, the Islamist militant movement in Somalia, and another associated with the Nusra Front, the wing of Al Qaeda in Syria. In all five cases, the investigations were closed and no charges were filed."
Are you seeing a pattern here? Sclerotic bureaucracy is the problem, not the solution.
Do not allow yourself to be brow beaten into agreement with the apparently endless legion of our fellow citizens who, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, believe that government should be the repository of all power.
Transgender Tragedy
I was minding my own business when suddenly confronted with some astonishing "facts".
Men could "become" women and vice versa.
Humans of the same gender could "marry".
Those men who became women and vice versa are now referred to as transgendered.
Here are some facts.
Men cannot become women and women cannot become men.
Men can pretend to be women and women can pretend to be men.
They cannot ever "become" the gender they aspire to in the same way that I cannot "become" Donald Trump. I could dye my hair and put on a hundred pounds and look a lot like Donald Trump but I can never, ever, be Donald Trump. Seems pretty simple to me, but then, as I wrote recently, to me, The David is just a giant statue. Perhaps I am nothing more sophisticated than a contrarian. I am not! (sorry, could not resist)
There are, unfortunately, some real world consequences to being forced to enable the gender fantasies of some unfortunate souls.
This is a tragedy. A boy is being allowed to "compete" with the girls. This is not competition. It is as thoroughly unfair as the legendary doping of female athletes during the Soviet era. Turn athletic women into testosterone fueled athletic women and your team will win a lot of medals.
I stopped paying attention to the Olympics years ago and was surprised to find that the Russians have continued the practice.
So, getting back to our tragedy, authentic girls are being forced to compete against a naturally doped boy.
No doubt you are aware that in most sports the sexes are segregated because boys are, generally, bigger, stronger and faster than women.
Now the unfortunate authentic women are forced to lose so that this arguably deranged and at the very least, incredibly selfish, or clever, boy can force us all to indulge his idiotic fantasy.
Will the athletic scholarship committees at the schools these young women apply to take into account their victimization? One can only hope so, but that hope is a dim one.
The "girl" had this to say after winning a state championship race,
“It feels really good. I’m really happy to win both titles,” Yearwood of Cromwell High School told the Day after winning at the May 30 meet. “I kind of expected it. I’ve always gotten first, so I expected it to some extent. … I’m really proud of it.”
"I've always gotten first...", yes, of course, those with an unfair advantage usually do.
The girl who won last year had this to say,
“It’s frustrating,” Hall of Stonington High School told the Courant. “But that’s just the way it is now.”
Unfortunately she appears to be resigned to being relegated to second place by a man.
Sound familiar?
Men could "become" women and vice versa.
Humans of the same gender could "marry".
Those men who became women and vice versa are now referred to as transgendered.
Here are some facts.
Men cannot become women and women cannot become men.
Men can pretend to be women and women can pretend to be men.
They cannot ever "become" the gender they aspire to in the same way that I cannot "become" Donald Trump. I could dye my hair and put on a hundred pounds and look a lot like Donald Trump but I can never, ever, be Donald Trump. Seems pretty simple to me, but then, as I wrote recently, to me, The David is just a giant statue. Perhaps I am nothing more sophisticated than a contrarian. I am not! (sorry, could not resist)
There are, unfortunately, some real world consequences to being forced to enable the gender fantasies of some unfortunate souls.
This is a tragedy. A boy is being allowed to "compete" with the girls. This is not competition. It is as thoroughly unfair as the legendary doping of female athletes during the Soviet era. Turn athletic women into testosterone fueled athletic women and your team will win a lot of medals.
I stopped paying attention to the Olympics years ago and was surprised to find that the Russians have continued the practice.
So, getting back to our tragedy, authentic girls are being forced to compete against a naturally doped boy.
No doubt you are aware that in most sports the sexes are segregated because boys are, generally, bigger, stronger and faster than women.
Now the unfortunate authentic women are forced to lose so that this arguably deranged and at the very least, incredibly selfish, or clever, boy can force us all to indulge his idiotic fantasy.
Will the athletic scholarship committees at the schools these young women apply to take into account their victimization? One can only hope so, but that hope is a dim one.
The "girl" had this to say after winning a state championship race,
“It feels really good. I’m really happy to win both titles,” Yearwood of Cromwell High School told the Day after winning at the May 30 meet. “I kind of expected it. I’ve always gotten first, so I expected it to some extent. … I’m really proud of it.”
"I've always gotten first...", yes, of course, those with an unfair advantage usually do.
The girl who won last year had this to say,
“It’s frustrating,” Hall of Stonington High School told the Courant. “But that’s just the way it is now.”
Unfortunately she appears to be resigned to being relegated to second place by a man.
Sound familiar?
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
This and That Italian Edition
My wife and I just returned from our first trip to Italy.
It is a very beautiful country. We spent time in Rome, Florence, Venice, Messina, the Amalfi Coast and a couple of other small towns. We also spent one day in Sibenik, Croatia. It is just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. Very pretty place.
Seeing the Colosseum was a great treat for me. As with so many other buildings in Italy, it is an amazing example of engineering, particularly considering the time at which it was built.
I had not considered, before embarking on the trip, that most of the sites I would tour would be focused on the Catholic Religion. I know, you were just about convinced I was a smart guy! Anyway, never gave it much thought.
The tours we took were all very similar. Churches, Cathedrals, and Basilicae. Being an areligious person, these soon became quite boring although the buildings were all quite beautiful.
A few comments, in no particular order of importance.
When viewing the Colosseum I was reminded of the "bread and circuses" style of governance. Keep the people fed and entertained and they will not complain too much. Seems like not much has changed in 2000 years as massive numbers of citizens of the welfare West are on the dole and kept cheaply entertained.
The Sistine Chapel was an odd experience for me. It is very beautiful, very elaborate. Every inch of all the walls and the ceiling is covered in art produced by many masters. It all looked very similar to what I had seen in the many other churches we had visited.
While Michelangelo's ceiling is clearly an enormous feat of human endurance and productivity, the artwork itself looked to me quite ordinary. The usual assortment of humans, angels and other religious objects. Really much ado about not so much, in my opinion. It was an Emperor's New Clothes moment for me. Then again, perhaps I am just a philistine, incapable of appreciating real art.
The David was a similarly odd experience. It is massive, 17 feet tall. Another demonstration of Michaelangelo's ability to take on and complete huge projects. It has less detail than any child's plastic super hero doll mass produced today. Well, except for his genitals. Nude men appear to have been an obsession of Michaelangleo's. According to one guide he is said to have stated that the male body is the most beautiful thing on earth. Not in my opinion.
In the Uffizi museum in Florence hangs the only individual picture authenticated as Michaelangelo's work. It is a strange painting. The background is full of naked men. One might draw conclusions, might one not?
The Vatican Museum contains an incredible array of art and religious artifacts. Much of the place, like many of the churches we visited, is gilded. There are elaborate gold and silver pieces everywhere. It occurred to me that much of the gold and silver these items were made of was stolen from the Americas. Much of the rest, not to mention the buildings themselves, were funded by the tithe. In other words, money extorted from working people to benefit the priestly class in exchange for promises of a heavenly hereafter. A disgrace, in my opinion. The Catholic Church is, in my opinion, a giant criminal enterprise.
I mentioned that we had visited Sibenik. Croatia is, apparently, a very Catholic country. Our guide was a lovely young lady of 32. She mentioned her age in passing. While in the most important church in the area she was asked where all the beautiful statuary had come from. Her answer was confirmation of my opinion of the Church. She said that some local nobles had donated some of the statuary but that most of it was paid for by the tithe. She rolled her eyes as she said it. An acknowledgment, in my view, of the basic unfairness of taxing working people for the churches' aggrandizement.
One last thing, in the nature of a tip on being a white tourist in Italy.
At many tourist sites there is a substantial army of very tall, handsome Nigerian men with beautiful smiles and arms full of trinkets. They will approach you and say "I like your shoes". The approach is intended to disarm you and cynically prey on the inherent niceness (and perhaps racial guilt) of white people. I never saw any of them approach a person of color. Tell them to fuck off and turn away. It is, unfortunately, the only method I found to stop them trying to guilt me into giving them money.
It is a very beautiful country. We spent time in Rome, Florence, Venice, Messina, the Amalfi Coast and a couple of other small towns. We also spent one day in Sibenik, Croatia. It is just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. Very pretty place.
Seeing the Colosseum was a great treat for me. As with so many other buildings in Italy, it is an amazing example of engineering, particularly considering the time at which it was built.
I had not considered, before embarking on the trip, that most of the sites I would tour would be focused on the Catholic Religion. I know, you were just about convinced I was a smart guy! Anyway, never gave it much thought.
The tours we took were all very similar. Churches, Cathedrals, and Basilicae. Being an areligious person, these soon became quite boring although the buildings were all quite beautiful.
A few comments, in no particular order of importance.
When viewing the Colosseum I was reminded of the "bread and circuses" style of governance. Keep the people fed and entertained and they will not complain too much. Seems like not much has changed in 2000 years as massive numbers of citizens of the welfare West are on the dole and kept cheaply entertained.
The Sistine Chapel was an odd experience for me. It is very beautiful, very elaborate. Every inch of all the walls and the ceiling is covered in art produced by many masters. It all looked very similar to what I had seen in the many other churches we had visited.
While Michelangelo's ceiling is clearly an enormous feat of human endurance and productivity, the artwork itself looked to me quite ordinary. The usual assortment of humans, angels and other religious objects. Really much ado about not so much, in my opinion. It was an Emperor's New Clothes moment for me. Then again, perhaps I am just a philistine, incapable of appreciating real art.
The David was a similarly odd experience. It is massive, 17 feet tall. Another demonstration of Michaelangelo's ability to take on and complete huge projects. It has less detail than any child's plastic super hero doll mass produced today. Well, except for his genitals. Nude men appear to have been an obsession of Michaelangleo's. According to one guide he is said to have stated that the male body is the most beautiful thing on earth. Not in my opinion.
In the Uffizi museum in Florence hangs the only individual picture authenticated as Michaelangelo's work. It is a strange painting. The background is full of naked men. One might draw conclusions, might one not?
The Vatican Museum contains an incredible array of art and religious artifacts. Much of the place, like many of the churches we visited, is gilded. There are elaborate gold and silver pieces everywhere. It occurred to me that much of the gold and silver these items were made of was stolen from the Americas. Much of the rest, not to mention the buildings themselves, were funded by the tithe. In other words, money extorted from working people to benefit the priestly class in exchange for promises of a heavenly hereafter. A disgrace, in my opinion. The Catholic Church is, in my opinion, a giant criminal enterprise.
I mentioned that we had visited Sibenik. Croatia is, apparently, a very Catholic country. Our guide was a lovely young lady of 32. She mentioned her age in passing. While in the most important church in the area she was asked where all the beautiful statuary had come from. Her answer was confirmation of my opinion of the Church. She said that some local nobles had donated some of the statuary but that most of it was paid for by the tithe. She rolled her eyes as she said it. An acknowledgment, in my view, of the basic unfairness of taxing working people for the churches' aggrandizement.
One last thing, in the nature of a tip on being a white tourist in Italy.
At many tourist sites there is a substantial army of very tall, handsome Nigerian men with beautiful smiles and arms full of trinkets. They will approach you and say "I like your shoes". The approach is intended to disarm you and cynically prey on the inherent niceness (and perhaps racial guilt) of white people. I never saw any of them approach a person of color. Tell them to fuck off and turn away. It is, unfortunately, the only method I found to stop them trying to guilt me into giving them money.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)