I’M SO OLD I CAN STILL REMEMBER WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE WAS BROKERING MIDDLE EAST PEACE TREATIES: 9 Signs That Chess Pieces Are Being Moved Into Place For A Major War In The Middle East.
Archive for 2021
March 9, 2021
JOY REID AND COMPANY: GOP Is ‘Cocktail’ of ‘Fascism’ and ‘White Supremacy.’
More or less so than the days of John McCain — and Calvin Coolidge?
THAT SOUNDS USEFUL: Highly porous synthetic melanin can protect skin from toxins, radiation.
MICHAEL WALSH: Saying ‘No’ to the Cancel Culture.
As the Lebanese-born essayist and statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb has written, huge cultural changes are wrought by the smallest minorities: “It suffices for an intransigent minority to reach a minutely small level, say three or four percent of the total population, for the entire population to have to submit to their preferences. Further, an optical illusion comes with the dominance of the minority: a naive observer would be under the impression that the choices and preferences are those of the majority.”
Taleb’s point is that a small number of intolerant people with a passionate commitment to their cause can command the culture; he calls this “the minority rule,” and cites Alexander the Great’s famous aphorism that it’s better to have an army of sheep led by a lion than an army of lions led by a sheep.
So the next time the Left comes for some institution, act like a lion and just say no. Say no to wokism, no to the media robinettes, no to the platoons of captious hall monitors, Karens, and other assorted muttonheads who seek to shame you publicly for transgressions against the voices in their heads and the fillings in their teeth. Treat them with the same respect they treat you, which is none.
In short, take it from Dr. Seuss: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Read the whole thing.
I LIKE THE CUT OF HER JIB: Kristi Noem Celebrates International Women’s Day by Protecting Women’s Sports.
DOG DAY AFTERNOON: A ‘Major’ Incident Occurred in the Biden White House Last Week and We’re Just Finding Out.
It turns out that Major, “the dog version” of Joe Biden, isn’t a good boy after all. According to a report from CNN, both dogs were sent back to Biden’s Delaware home last week due to Major’s aggressive behavior. According to the report, there was a “biting incident” with a member of White House security. Biden’s other dog, Champ, returned with Major, in order to not separate the dogs. “The exact condition of the victim is unknown,” reports CNN. “However, the episode was serious enough that the dogs were subsequently moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where they remain.”
It is not clear when last week they were relocated, or why we’re only finding out about this now.
Major was also involved in an incident back in November that resulted in Joe Biden getting hairline fractures in his foot.
As of yet, Major has not been accused of being a Russian agent, but there’s still time.
All the warning signs were there. We just weren’t looking hard enough for them:
IT’S LIKELY THAT SERIOUS COVID IS MOSTLY A DISEASE OF OBESITY AND VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY: CDC: Obese adults at higher risk for hospitalization, death from COVID-19.
“JUSTICE:” Biden Justice Department Sides Against Free Speech Advocates in Big First Amendment Case. “The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this term in a case that pits free speech advocates against public school officials who seek to punish students for certain off-campus social media posts. Last week, the Biden Justice Department entered the fray with an amicus brief that opposes the free speech side.”
You will be informed of your opinions, comrade.
COME SEE THE RACISM INHERENT IN THE LEFTISM: New editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue accused of anti-Asian racism after old tweets resurface.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE SPACE INSTITUTE RESEARCHED THIS STUFF BACK IN THE 1980S: You have a big tank of hydrogen (or any other gas, really) a much smaller tank of anti-hydrogen, and a thrust chamber full of tungsten or iridium sponge. You shoot the hydrogen in, bleed in pulses of tiny amounts of anti-hydrogen to heat it to the desired temperature, and the sponge structure stabilizes the temperature in between pulses. As I recall, you got specific impulses in the high five figures. Storing the antimatter is the biggest challenge; I think there was some thought of freezing it. There was an OTA report, I think. I couldn’t find anything on the UTSI website, but then it’s pretty old stuff.
Reason for this discussion: Is SpaceX Secretly Working on an Antimatter Propulsion System?
HMM: Education matters more than race for longer lifespan in U.S., study says. “A four-year college degree is becoming the key to living a longer life in the United States, a new study argues. In fact, education appears to be a more potent factor in determining lifespan now than race, researchers say.”
I doubt very much that education is protective; it’s almost certainly just a marker for certain traits of discipline, etc., that contribute to longer life. Efforts to extend lifespan by encouraging education will likely fall afoul of Reynolds’ Law.
GERARD VAN DER LEUN: The Eyes Have It: A question for my readers.
I’m going to have a meeting regarding cataract surgery and lens replacement at the local Chico Eye Center.
What I would most like to know is if any of my readers have has these procedures done, what they had done, how they fared after the recovery, and what they might do differently if they had it to do over again.
Read the whole thing, and then, if you’ve had cataract surgery, contribute your thoughts and advice in Gerard’s comment section. I had cataracts removed from both of my eyes in the fall of 2019. I was terrified at the prospect of eye surgery (when he created the infamous shot of an eyeball being sliced for his 1929 film, Un Chien Andalou, Luis Buñuel knew what universal fears he would be triggering). But I slept through each procedure, and in both cases, I was back to blogging a few hours later, the same day. And a couple of weeks after both eyes were done, I was back at the gym, no longer sweating up the glasses I had worn for decades. I still need glasses for the sharpest reading, but I can drive without them if I want (to wear sunglasses, for example). And I can drive at night again, something that was becoming an increasing challenge.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: A Quick Guide To Free Speech And Avoiding Big Tech Online.
LEFTISTS: BULLYING IS OUR THING! Don’t let QAnon bully Congress.
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: After Long Day Of Burning Books, Progressive Unwinds By Calling People Nazis.
GRANNY-KILLER CUOMO SKATES AGAIN: Hollywood’s Double Standard Strikes Again: Pepé Le Pew Cut from ‘Space Jam 2,’ Cuomo Keeps His Emmy.
INSTITUTIONAL SEXISM: Nearly three dozen Stanford programs discriminate against males, complaint alleges.
VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: Cancel Culture Comes for Cuomo.
Insanity Wrap needs to know: What do you get when you combine Andrew Cuomo, a St. John’s University outrage mob, the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Bill Maher, and Pepé le Pew?
Answer: We don’t know, but it sure does stink.
Welcome to a special All Cancel Culture All the Time edition of Insanity Wrap.
Bonus Sanity: Bill Maher says “Liberals need a Stand Your Ground law… for cancel culture.”
So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.
HIGHER EDUCATION IS A MONEY LAUNDRY FOR CONNECTED LEFTISTS: UMN pays former Obama task force member $25k PER MONTH for ‘consulting.’ See also “speaking fees,” and book & documentary sales.
HMM: Sen. Roy Blunt won’t run for reelection in latest blow to GOP. “The veteran Missouri lawmaker is the fifth Republican incumbent to say he won’t be on the ballot next year.”
Politico link, so of course the spin is relentlessly negative, but losing incumbents is always a concern.