Category: Current Events

IT HAS ALL BEEN SAID

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I’ve looked over my output for the last year.  It’s all the same thing.  It’s all been said.  I can’t say it again.

At this point talking about what needs to be done has very little value.  So, I’ll talk about things that I find interesting.  Maybe it’ll be technology or science or photography or science fiction or maybe it’ll be some current event that I think is noteworthy.  I’ll try to keep the outrage over Biden’s atrocities to a minimum since we all know they’re coming and talking about them doesn’t really accomplish anything.

If I see something happening that is progress, that’ll be discussed.  For instance, the red state governors sending illegal aliens to sanctuary cities worked!  It struck a nerve, it discombobulated them.  It was successful and that is newsworthy and worth discussion.  And if someone has some original and thought-provoking theory on how the world will be changing in the future and I think it’s worth discussing I might link to it and put in my two cents.

As I get a chance to make some progress on my sf book, I’ll probably put a few chunks of it up for comment.  And I’ll start doing more reviews of movies and books.  But banging on the “something must be done” drum has gotten too dull.  I’m preaching to the choir and the choir will start heading for the doors soon.

Things will be changing but hopefully folks will still find stuff here that they find interesting and worthwhile.  So, my daily announcement that the sky is falling has been cancelled and instead I’ll leave something entertaining.

 

Is Tucker Carlson Going to Interview Vladimir Putin?

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Now that’s an interesting idea.  Next thing you know he’ll have a debate between Putin and Biden on his show.  Now that would be fun.

The Great Sorting

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The powers that be are working to reshape the world.  It will no longer be an old-fashioned analog model where people can find their own place in the world and cobble together a life that suits their individual talents and preferences.  No, this new model is a quantized arrangement.  There are only a few allowable choices for profession, school, sexuality, race, religion, and only one choice for political party and belief system.  And that’s only the start.  Soon there will only be one kind of car, one kind of heating system and one kind of bathroom and kitchen.  And the power company will tell you if you’ve used too much power for your car or the air conditioner (if they even allow A/C to exist anymore).  And the city will tell you if you’ve taken too long a shower or flushed the toilet too many times.

But where it really gets tricky is if you aren’t from the right family and didn’t go to the right college but you still want to have a normal life.  You know, like having a wife and kids.  Well, that’s sort of a problem.  Because they don’t want just anybody having kids.  You’ve got to have the right pedigree and the right mindset.  Kids are expensive and it takes a village to raise them so unless you’re the kind of person the village approves of, you’ll just be messing up the orderliness of the hive.  So, the mechanism they’ll use is to make it almost impossible to be able to afford kids unless you’re the right kind of person.

It’ll cost a fortune to buy a house and it’ll cost a fortune to send them to good schools and even feeding and clothing them, unless you’re an illegal immigrant, will cost an arm and a leg.  So, many people, especially young men are just giving up.  It’s just not worth the effort.

Well, the alternative is family helping out with providing a place to live until a house is affordable and providing resources for a down payment and maybe foregoing luxuries like vacation homes and expensive toys to provide help with medical expenses and other incidentals that are bound to come along.  And also providing advice and contacts for the young.

And in the past, I’ve kidded about opening up my own match-making business but I think it’s a real need that exists.  Women especially could get involved by finding eligible girls who wants to get married and have kids.  Sure, I know there are all kinds of dating services and maybe some of them are selective enough to help serious, normal men and women find mates.  But relatives and friends are still a valuable source for finding a man or woman for someone looking to start a family.

It may seem like this whole thing is a silly topic.  But I think it’s serious enough to think about.  There is a great contraction already in the works.  If you want your family to survive it then you’re going to have to provide some extra help to make it work.  Now, some people probably don’t care.  A cheap apartment, a streaming service and a small government check will keep things going until your health gives out and then there’s euthanasia so what’s all the fuss?  The path of least resistance is the preferred route for some of the young.  The government is just making the choice easier.

But for those of us who want a future that includes a fulfilling human life for our descendants then it’s time to take a hand in what happens to your kids and their kids.  Lend a hand.  Or go extinct.

25AUG2023 – 2024 Primary Thoughts

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We’ll be bombarded for the next year and more with the 2024 election nonsense.  And the important political races will be things like primarying Mitt Romney out of his senate seat.  Maybe Mitch McConnell is coming up for a leadership vote too.  These are feel good events that we can all embrace and enjoy.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that short of a nuclear war, nothing will keep the Democrats from holding the White House for the foreseeable future.  And since if there is a war, I won’t be around anymore I’ve decided not to get too excited about all the hoopla.  So, the Republican presidential primary race isn’t particularly important with respect to how it plays out.  But does it serve any purpose?  Well, maybe.

A case can be made that it can provide information on the Uni-Party.  The talking points of the most obviously anointed of the candidates can tell us a lot about what the official party line of the Republican establishment is supposed to be.  You might further ask what use knowing that could be.  Well, the obvious answer is amusement.  It’s always fun to know just how stupid they think we are.  Come to think of it most people really are that stupid.  In fact, I was one of those stupid people just a decade or two ago.  I actually believed that George W Bush was a conservative and that he cared about the people on the Right.  What a dope I was.

But being mugged by Operation Iraqi Freedom opened my eyes thoroughly.  So, hearing Nikki Haley talk about how unlimited spending for Ukraine is the highest priority for the United States is hilarious.  Right now, the Ukrainians are being blown to bits in the minefields of Zaporizhzhia trying to approach the first of Russia’s three defensive lines.  Funneling more money and weapons to the Ukrainians will keep the meatgrinder going until the last Ukrainian has been fed in.  When that’s done the plan is the Poles and Balts are next.  When they’re used up it’s supposed to be our children that get fed in.  Something tells me that’s gonna land with a thud.  The Right is who usually fights these wars.  Well, we’ve been smartened up.  So now the millennials and zoomers on the Left are up to bat.  But they already spoke up back during the middle eastern campaigns, “No way bro, let someone else take care of that.  I’ve got pot to smoke and artisanal beer to brew.”  So yeah, Nikki Haley’s talking points tells you that the Uni-Party needs our kids to fight the Russians.

Aside from entertainment, the party line is valuable to know because it gives us a chance to see which of the candidates aren’t complete shills for the donor class.  For people like Haley, Hutchinson, Pence and Christie nothing needs to be proven.  Their tickets are stamped coming out of the gate.  What about this Ramaswamy guy?  Can we parse what he stands for or at least pretends to stand for?  And how about DeSantis?  Has he revealed his bottom line.  He’s already flip-flopped on Ukraine.  So, we know his donors must have given him an earful over his initial position that the war was a local affair and none of our business.  Is Ron a bought and paid for neocon?  Maybe.  That’s important information to ferret out.  After all he’s been about the best Republican governor in years.  How do these two things square?

I guess the other information that comes out of the primary will be where the pundits stand.  We’ve already seen that Fox News is now enemy territory.  Their mission is to support the establishment positions and candidates and attack Donald Trump whenever possible.  It’s been interesting to see how Tucker Carlson has become an outpost of right-wing realism in an ocean of left-wing propaganda.  Elon Musk has shown a willingness to allow free speech on his “X” platform.  That has been a veritable miracle.

And the last thing that will be interesting in the primary is what Donald Trump tells us about his plans.  He’s been kind of vague on what he plans to do either in the election or if he wins.  Of course, he’s the same old Trump and whenever he talks about his accomplishments there are no mistakes or defeats.  So, it’s an open question if he really has a plan to defang the Deep State.  It’s possible his plans have to remain unspoken to allow for the element of surprise.  But I would be less skeptical if he could share them with us.

But there it is.  We’re going to be marinated in this clap-trap for the next fourteen months and just to stay sane we’ll have to address it somewhat.  I’ll do my best not to take it too seriously.  But who knows, maybe something incredibly compelling will occur during this madness and I’ll be caught up in the excitement.  You never know.

The New JEB!

photog ArthurinCali, Current Events, Guest Contributors

H/T to ArthurinCali for the link.  When the NY Times anoints an Republican candidate they might as well include a stamp that says “NEOCON.”  Nikki Haley or Chris Christie?  Which is more emblematic of controlled opposition.  What’s next, the adoration of the magi?  Will Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Paul Ryan come bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh?

 

25AUG2023 – Babylon Bee Laugh for Today

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Once again pretty dead on.  Every day Biden has a new low point.  Telling the bereaved Hawaiians about how his car was almost burned was a another new low.  Keep it coming Joe.  Let’s these people know what they’ve voted for.  A dishonest moron.

Well, Trump’s Back on Twitter (errrr… X)

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I’m sure he’ll have a lot to say over the next year or so.  Unless they jail him to keep him quiet.  Trump has plenty of faults but no one can say he doesn’t have guts.  Then I compare him to that clown Christie and he looks even more impressive.  I don’t know if there is any hope for our “democracy” but Trump is at least taking a stand.  I wish him luck.  He needs it.

Political Theater, Hounds and Late Summer

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So, I watched Tucker’s interview.  I didn’t watch the debate.  This morning I’ve seen a few clips.  My first reaction is that Fox News is essentially MSNBC with slightly less crazy, slightly less homely teleprompter readers.  My second reaction is that Chris Christie and Nikki Haley must be competing to be Joe Biden’s running mate.  Past that I don’t think it matters.

We’re in a lot of trouble.

I guess I already knew that but watching these things drives the point home.  It’s quite disturbing.  I guess the cavalry won’t be coming over the hill with bugles blaring and sabers flashing.  We’re on our own.

Alright, snap out of it!  Nobody wants to read stuff like that.

On the upside we had three sunny warm days in a row.  That brought out some butterflies and other large insects.  Very good for some microphotographic opportunities.  Even with the grandkids here I’ve been able to steal away to get some time with the camera and macro lens.  Next week the kids start school and Camera Girl will be sad.  But she has much to look forward to.  She has relented in her determination to get me to buy her a giant rabbit, specifically a Flemish Giant.  Other than as a source of food, rabbits don’t really seem to serve any purpose, to my mind.  But Camera Girl has been campaigning for one for several months.  After many attempts to dissuade her, I eventually capitulated to this demand.

But once it sunk in that Princess Sack of Potatoes was really starting kindergarten and she wouldn’t have anything to mother, Camera Girl knew a rabbit wouldn’t suffice.  So, she switched gears and demanded a puppy.  And I gave up without a fight.  Because a puppy in the house is infinitely better than a rabbit in the yard when it’s 10 οF outside and the rabbit needs liquid water.  Or a hundred other things that need to be done for the rabbit outside when I’d rather be inside.

So, yeah, sure.  A puppy will be joining the menagerie sometime later this year.  Not that it’s a wholly good thing.  Camera Girl is absolutely the worst dog trainer in the history of man’s association with these canine freeloaders.  Whereas with her children and grandchildren she is a loving but stern disciplinarian, with her dogs she’s useless.  They walk all over her and lack even the rudiments of obedience.  It’s pathetic and annoying.

I’ve toyed with the idea of taking over the dog training job for this new recruit.  After all, as paterfamilias it is my right and responsibility to hand down rough justice to my vassals.  And at this point, vassal-wise, this dog may be the end of the line for me.  So, the logic of it is there.  At the same time, Camera Girl will be working behind the scenes undercutting my authority and spoiling the dog behind my back every chance she gets.  Obviously, the choice is fraught with peril.  I must choose carefully.  Perhaps I will consult Marcus Aurelius or possibly Aristotle.  Homer Simpson or Al Bundy?  We’ll see.

So, this last full week before school is moving along, powered by LEGO blocks, old Disney movies, Camera girl’s short order cooking and my manly grit, determination and panache.  We will persevere and by next Thursday quiet and order will descend on the Compound and a new era of productivity will reign on the site.  Excelsior!

Real Change

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Looking at the people who run this country is a frightening thing.  Washington DC is a train wreck.  The White House and the Capitol are almost entirely composed of carny trash.  No one exemplifies this better than the Bidens.  Sure, there are a few senators and representatives who are trying to make things better but they’re outnumbered a hundred to one.  The federal agencies, especially the intelligence agencies are populated with leftist true-believer bureaucrats who should be under sedation in mental institutions for the good of everyone.  And then there is the government industrial complex with its throng of corporate vampires feeding off the lifeblood that the IRS diverts to them.  The size of the operation is staggering, and apparently, irresistible.

So, when faced with an entrenched system as powerful and as malignant as ours and as inimical to our interests, you have to wonder what the chances are that it can be reformed.  And then when you look at who is supposedly going to do the reforming and how they are currently “planning” to take back the country, well, words fail me utterly.

To put it politely, they haven’t a clue.  And I’m talking about the ones who aren’t just kidding us like Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham.  All of these people; McCarthy, Cruz, Paul, Abbott, DeSantis and even Trump they don’t have the first idea what is needed to save this country.  If they did, they wouldn’t be messing around with the presidential election or any of the absurd federal policies that they involve themselves with.

They would spend all their time coordinating the red states into a practical federation with the intent of reinforcing their individual efforts to neutralize the harmful effects of the government in DC.  But instead, they waste time trying to compete with each other to see who can lose to Biden in 2024.  Absurd.

So, for me I see little reason to hope for any substantial progress for the foreseeable future.  And that brings me to the point of this exercise in typing.  Exactly what will it take to galvanize an effective response from the bulk of this country?  What catastrophe is necessary to force all of these sleepwalkers into doing something that will have practical results?

I’ve been trying to work this out in my head.  It seems to me it won’t be a simple financial crisis.  We’ve had those already and apparently people are too stupid to see that what’s going on is the slow-motion bankruptcy of the country.  I guess until they can’t afford the price of bread they’ll continue on as if all’s right with the world right up until the apocalypse.

What I think will trigger a revolt is violence.  People will put up with a lot of economic and financial trouble simply because they really don’t know how these problems are caused or how they’re solved.  But everybody understands how law and order works and they can see when it’s slipping away.  When you’ve lived your whole life in a safe place and then it becomes unsafe it’s a very big deal.  Your wife and kids can’t walk down the streets or go to school without worrying about being robbed or assaulted.  The value of your home decreases drastically and your peace of mind disappears.

I think that will be the trigger.  The state governments will have to clean up the city gangs that operate with impunity in the Democrat controlled cities.  And these cities will have to be controlled by the state to end all the problems that fester there.  Welfare, crime, illegal immigration, failed schools, drug addiction all will have to be brought under control by the red state governments in order to stem the tide of decay.

Of course, that’s assuming there are still Americans who still have the will to fix things.  Maybe the violence will just go unanswered and things will just get worse and worse.  I think we’ll know in just a very few years.  Because if things aren’t fixed soon the whole thing will come tumbling down.