Archive for 2023
September 17, 2023
DISPATCHES FROM WEIMAR AMERICA: Lauren Boebert’s New Boyfriend Owns LBGT-Friendly Bar Which Holds Drag Shows.
MILE MARKERS ON THE ROAD TO DETROIT: What happened to the great West Coast cities?
Migration patterns have changed as well. During the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Seattle participated in the region’s boom, which saw the addition of 187,000 domestic migrants. But now the Seattle metropolitan area is losing net migrants while many residents are moving to the state’s smaller metropolitan areas such as Bremerton, Spokane and Olympia.
Portland never achieved Seattle’s economic dynamism but was widely hailed as a model for dense, progressive planning and social liberalism — it positioned itself as a leisure-oriented San Francisco where “young people go to retire.” Despite being the whitest of America’s big cities, it was wracked with almost constant violent protests for much of 2020, extending even to the gentrified Pearl District. Spurred by crime and disorder, the Portland area is now losing domestic migrants. The region added 252,000 net domestic migrants between 2000 and 2020, but since then the Census Bureau has found that Portland’s urban core county, Multnomah, lost 13,000 net domestic migrants while the surrounding suburbs grew modestly.
Some still praise Portland as “an anarchic wonderland.” But now its streets are best known not for quirky food trucks and street musicians but growing fentanyl use. Over the past three years, the LA Times reports, the number of unhoused people in the Portland metro area has jumped from about 4,000 to at least 6,600. Shootings in the city have tripled. Homicides climbed from thirty-six in 2019 to ninety-seven last year. Lower-level crimes have spiked too: more than 11,000 vehicles were stolen in 2022, up from 6,500 in 2019. According to Portland’s KGW-TV, “every forty-two minutes there is a report of vandalism,” often involving broken windows. There were more reports of broken windows last year than during the 2020 riot year.
It is certainly too early to write off the once mighty Pacific cities. They retain many critical natural assets: they’re near mountains and spectacular water views; they have relatively mild climates (likely a big plus in a period of global warming), and a concentration of promising industries. The education base from the University of Washington, Berkeley, UCLA, Caltech and other top schools still gives the region a headstart in many promising industries.
In each of these Western cities, the key challenge is political. No one should expect a GOP resurgence, but there has been some modest pushback to the progressive agenda. San Francisco, for example, removed some particularly radical school board members and replaced its ultra-lenient DA, as did Seattle. There are stirrings in minority communities, as evidenced by a growing shift of Asian and Latino voters to the right, and in Oakland, the local NAACP recently denounced lax policing as a cause of growing violence, particularly in the black community.
Gooder and harder.
READER FAVORITE: Sperry Men’s Authentic Original 2-Eye Boat Shoes. #CommissionEarned
LOL: Harvard student newspaper calls new 200-word limit on admissions essays racist.
Harvard University’s new application essay requirements, including a 200-word limit, put racial minorities at a disadvantage, the editors of its student newspaper wrote this week.
In an editorial Tuesday, The Harvard Crimson student editorial board said the new short-essay questions “seemingly cater to those from highly privileged backgrounds.”
Relax, kids. The essay is just to give the applicants a chance to say that they’re black, while letting Harvard claim it doesn’t ask about race. 200 words is plenty for that.
DEAL OF THE DAY: Under Armour Men’s Packaged Base 4.0 Crew T-Shirt. #CommissionEarned
IT WOULD BE LEGAL, BUT POOR POLITICS: White House Gives Biden’s Stance On Pardoning Son If He’s Convicted Of Crimes.
OF COURSE SHE DOES: Jennifer Granholm Throws Staff Under the Bus After Charging Station Fiasco. “Granholm during a congressional hearing confirmed the ordeal, which took place during the Biden administration official’s June electric vehicle promotion tour. She did not, however, take responsibility for the incident, instead blaming ‘somebody’ on her team for making a ‘mistake.'”
#JOURNALISM: CNN’s Fake ‘Fact Check.’
As I’ve said before of the evidence in the case, it’s a smoking gun next to a bloody corpse. If I could get in the face of any of these CNN propagandists, I’d destroy them with a single question: Why did these “shell companies” exist? The only answer an honest person can give is, “To conceal the bribery money.” If the millions of dollars received from foreigners by Hunter Biden and his associates had any legitimate purpose — if it were something other than bribery — they would have no need to hide it. And what was it that Hunter Biden and his associates were selling? What service did they have to offer, except the influence of the then-Vice President? Isn’t the nature of this arrangement self-evident in the fact that Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Hunter’s client Burisma for corruption, was fired in 2016 on the demand of Joe Biden? Joe Biden publicly bragged about this. . . .
The media’s Trump Derangement Syndrome pandemic was not cured when Biden became president. Instead, we’re living through something akin to the Stalin era, where the purged Trotsky became a propaganda bogeyman used to frighten the public and justify repression.
The Jan. 6 protesters are sentenced to federal prison, Biden’s opponents are censored on social media platforms, and dishonest spin about the Biden bribery scandal is published as “fact checks,” all because liberals live in dread of what is to them the worst possible nightmare, the return of President Trump. How can they cope with the cognitive dissonance caused by having to pretend to be independent truth-tellers, when they know damned well that they’re telling lies on behalf of a corrupt old fraud like Joe Biden? No intelligent person believes a word they say.
Intelligent people aren’t their audience.
September 16, 2023
OPEN THREAD: It’s all you.
DISPATCHES FROM THE PARTY OF TOLERANCE FOR DIVERSITY: Jann Wenner Removed From Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Board of Directors.
The move comes directly following an interview published by the New York Times Friday, in which Wenner, 77, addressed criticism of the scope of coverage in his new book The Masters, published through Little, Brown and Company.
In The Masters Wenner looks back at a collection of his interviews conducted in his years at Rolling Stone — all with white men, including Bono, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend.
* * * * * * * *
“When I was referring to the zeitgeist, I was referring to Black performers, not to the female performers, OK? Just to get that accurate,” Wenner told the NYT‘s David Marchese. “The selection was not a deliberate selection. It was kind of intuitive over the years; it just fell together that way. The people had to meet a couple criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them. Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level.”
Wenner clarified: “It’s not that they’re not creative geniuses. It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test. Not by her work, not by other interviews she did. The people I interviewed were the kind of philosophers of rock … Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as ‘masters,’ the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level.”
Why is the left such a cesspit of racism and sexism?
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Germany signs Artemis Accords. This is a piece of diplomacy that started under Trump but has contunued smoothly under Biden, which is a great thing.
THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED, UNTIL IT WASN’T: We’ve Been Misreading a Major Law of Physics For The Past 300 Years.
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GOOD: “Diversity Ditching” Is Becoming A Trend In Companies.
Newly implemented DEI protocols were met with mixed reviews. Some praised the inclusion efforts while others argued that people should get jobs based on their skillset instead of which marginalized group they represent.
Since then, companies have started opting out of diversity commitments. DEI positions have been reduced to cut costs while other inclusion efforts have been put on the back burner. This shift in dynamic comes fresh off the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to prohibit colleges from admitting students solely based on their race. Over a dozen Republican attorney generals have sent letters to Fortune 100 CEOs warning them not to consider race as a factor during the already complex hiring process.
But DEI experts have spoken out against companies backtracking on their responsibility to make diverse hires, saying that their flip-flopping could have long-term consequences.
The long-term consequences are mostly good, except for the incomes of “DEI experts.” And starving them of income is also good.
OLD AND BUSTED: Pirates of the Caribbean.
The New Hotness? Pirates of the Oakland Estuary!
Pirates are taking over the Oakland Estuary Marinas. Yes, pirates. And local and federal authorities says it’s getting so bad – the U.S. Coast Guard is deploying help to patrol the area.
“Boat owners attacked by pirates,” said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. “There are no excuses for that.”
From shipwrecks to sunken sailboats to pirate attacks, the shoreline around the Oakland estuary is seeing a new level of violence that’s leaving the area torn up and trashed. The irony is it’s happening right in front of one of the agencies responsible for addressing it.
“I’ve heard it’s gotten to the point of near fist fights on docks,” said former Harbor Master Brock de Lappe.
The vessels abandoned are covered in graffiti — left like a battleground scene of an action movie.
Wait, I thought the Oakland Raiders had moved to Las Vegas in 2020. Now they’re back? In any case, gooder and harder, California: Oakland NAACP Blames ‘Defund the Police’ for Rampant Crime in City.
STACY MCCAIN: A New ‘Broken Windows’ Discovery? Violence Linked to COVID Relief Fraud.
Maryland’s U.S. attorney found a big connection between violent crime and COVID-19 pandemic fraud.
Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek Barron told the 11 News I-Team that his office found that 60% of violent criminals are also committing some type of COVID-19 fraud, and because of that, his office investigates every single violent crime target to see whether they’ve committed pandemic fraud.
Barron told the I-Team that the 20% reduction in homicides and the 10% reduction in nonfatal shootings in Baltimore City can both be explained by his office prosecuting COVID-19 fraud.
Barron said that if his office can’t lock up violent offenders for those crimes, there’s a good chance his office can prosecute them for pandemic fraud.
Barron said the bottom line is to get violent criminals off the streets by any legal means necessary.
Read the whole thing.
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Auto CEOs Struggling With Whether To Replace Striking Workers With Robots Or Mexicans.
WAS IT OVER WHEN JOE BIDEN BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?! Trump says cognitively impaired Biden will lead us into WORLD WAR TWO — during gaffe-laden speech in which he appeared to say he was leading OBAMA* in the polls.
While questioning Biden’s cognitive decline, Trump says it could lead us to World War 2….
77 isn’t much better than 80 when you’re talking about a 4 year term.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) September 16, 2023
* Okay, given who’s actually running the White House, we’ll give him that one.
NOW #1 ON AMAZON: Mark Levin’s The Democrat Party Hates America.
COMPLIANCE BE DAMNED: 2023 Toyota bZ4X FWD Limited First Test: The Last Compliance Car? “Toyota grudgingly relents to producing a mainstream electric vehicle. We grudgingly review it.”
OUT ON A LIMB: Sen. Kennedy is right: It’s not anti-gay to want books such as Gender Queer removed from schools.
This stunt shocked the audience, with one witness calling it “very disturbing.” But it effectively raised an important question: If it’s too outrageous to read these books out loud in a room full of adults, why on Earth are they freely available in some middle school classrooms ? And why are liberals and Democrats fighting their removal in the name of “gay rights” and “opposing book bans”?
“Politicians have targeted books that include LGBTQ subject matter,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) lamented in his opening statement. “One of four banned books features LGBT characters and themes.”
“No parent should have the right to tell another parent’s child what they can or cannot read in school or at home,” he continued. “Every student deserves access to books that reflect their experiences and help them understand who they are. These efforts to ban books violate our most cherished principles as Americans and betray our values as a nation. We must protect our students and their freedom to read and learn.”
Though as Jim Treacher notes, “During a Senate Judiciary Hearing, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy read aloud explicit excerpts from books like Gender Queer and All Boys Aren’t Blue. Look, if I want politicians to talk dirty to me, I’ll subscribe to their livestreams.”
