WAS IT OVER WHEN THE B-52s BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?!
Archive for 2024
November 19, 2024
THE TRUMP DANCE AND THE RETURN OF A CULTURAL ICON:
There are logical reasons why someone might not agree with Trump politically but the arguments against Trump have been mostly moral arguments casting him as an inhuman character who is beyond redemption. It’s why they say “He’s different”: They mean he’s not to be humanized.
Hitler is a perfect example of a person we culturally feel comfortable dehumanizing, which is why it’s the go-to comparison for the people who hate him the most. It’s a manipulative hypnotizing tactic to convince people to see him as being anything other than human.
We’re not supposed to be empathetic to monsters and we don’t give the same level of treatment to demonic characters as we do other people. There is no good faith to be had with the people who are so terrible that we reserve the right to remove their human card.
* * * * * * * *
The resounding political win by Trump has caused the public to reevaluate and appreciate him in a non-political fashion. The dance isn’t an endorsement; it’s just a fun dance that’s easy to do. The problem is that words like fun aren’t meant to correlate with inhuman monsters.
We’re not supposed to remember his long-run television show “The Apprentice” and we’re definitely supposed to forget how he was as a fawned-over capitalist figure by nearly every black rapper or else risk endangering the success rate of the “Trump is a racist” narrative.
For nearly a decade, Americans were heavily implored to neglect their fond memories of his cultural impact by disremembering how Donald Trump made a cameo in “Home Alone 2”, was beloved by Oprah Winfrey, and was a frequent favorite guest on “The View”.
You don’t have to like his politics and I would encourage people to challenge his abilities as the president-elect. However, there is nothing wrong with recognizing the duality of Donald Trump.
He’s a political wrecking ball and a cultural icon; No monster to be found.
It’s true that the left wanted us to forget how much Trump was part of the pop culture landscape, since the 1980s. But we shouldn’t ever let them forget their red-lining the Godwin meter since 2015, and then over the past two weeks simply shrugging their shoulders and attempting to pretend to (at least on the surface) go back to business as usual:
A Defiant L caught on video. pic.twitter.com/JCjPm6LbrM
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) November 19, 2024
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Even the mighty shotgun has some shortcomings. “A shotgun is a short-range tool, ideal for ranges of 40 yards and closer when loaded with standard 00 buckshot loads. While it’s true that hunters can sometimes down game at 70 yards or slightly farther, their shotguns, magnum loads and sights/scopes have been optimized for longer ranges, and therefore are not optimized for shorter ranges that are vastly more common for defensive purposes. Certainly, a shotgun can be used at longer ranges with slugs in a pinch, but expecting 100-yard groups smaller than 6 inches with your 18-inch-barreled home-defense shotgun is wishful thinking.”
If I’m shooting people at 100 yards, I’m not doing home defense anymore.
PUTINFLATION: Russia economy crumbling with food prices skyrocketing as Putin’s problems mount.
Currently, a kilogram of potatoes is at least 73% more expensive than at the start of the year, while the price of butter has increased by more than 30%, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Service on Thursday.
Russia had already experienced rising food prices before this years surge, as Western sanctions, including restrictions on imports, increased the price of staple items including milk, bread and fish.
Other areas have been hit too, with a 64% rise in inflation, mortgage rates rising to more than 28% and interest rates reaching a record high of 21% last month.
Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov has ordered an investigation into price increases and has pledged to provide a response to placate growing public disquiet.
The people who caused inflation are always the first to demand an investigation into who really caused it and the last (if ever) to admit it was them.
It’s the Hot Dog guy sketch but instead of crashing into a clothing store, it’s politicians crashing the economy.
THE POST-ELECTION MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS THAT MARK HALPERIN WARNED US ABOUT IS HERE: How Starlink Stole the Election and Other Fanciful Election-Denying Claims on the Left.
GET READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Dyson V8 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner. #CommissionEarned
WE’VE TRIED EVERYTHING ELSE, WHY NOT TRY WHAT HAS WORKED BEFORE?
The United States has not issued a Letter of Marque since 1812.
The Cartels frequently uses the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean to smuggle drugs into the United States.
Make American Privateers Great Again. pic.twitter.com/TZIUb1LKlh
— Josh Brooks (@F530Josh) November 19, 2024
Glenn was writing about issuing letters of marque and reprisal for al Qaeda and other terrorist groups during the very early days of the GWOT but, sadly, no one in power listened.
Maybe the DOGE boys can change that.
DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Joanne Jacobs: Is everybody cheating?
Cheating has become the norm on college campuses, professors tell Beth McMurtrie, who reports for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Students use AI to cheat on information discussion boards, says Amy Clukey, an associate English professor at the University of Louisville. They cheat on essays.
A few weeks ago, she emailed a student to say that she knew the student had cheated on a minor assignment with AI and if she did it again, she would fail the course. Clukey also noted there were several missed assignments. The student replied to “sincerely apologize,” said she was “committed to getting back on track,” and that she regretted “any disruption [her] absence or incomplete work may have caused in the course.” But her next paper was essentially written by artificial intelligence. Curious, Clukey asked ChatGPT to write an email apologizing to a professor for plagiarism and missed work. . . “It spit out an email almost exactly like the one I had gotten.”
“Professors in writing-intensive courses, particularly those teaching introductory or general-education classes” say “AI abuse has become pervasive,” writes McMurtrie. “Clukey said she feels less like a teacher and more like a human plagiarism detector, spending hours each week analyzing her students’ writing to determine its authenticity.”
Well of course they’re all using AI to cheat. All students dream of one day being as cool as the people who appear in Apple’s latest iPhone ads:
ORBITAL MECHANICS MAKE THAT DIFFICULT: Why can’t we just launch all of Earth’s garbage into the sun?
NO WONDER THE LEFT HATES TWITTER:
And no wonder they want an echo chamber where they can reign supreme. So how is it going over at Bluesky?
More details here: Twitter rival Bluesky fights a flood of spam, scams, and harmful content as millions join.
Millions join, but they may not stick around all that long:
End Wokeness got banned from Bluesky in record time—just 30 seconds—for stating a biological fact. 🤦♂️@EndWokeness
— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) November 17, 2024
AFTER SPENDING ALL THAT EFFORT NOT GETTING COCKY, NOW IS THE TIME TO GLOAT: Democrats in Crisis as New Poll Shows Voter Confidence in Trump.
DOUGLAS HOLZ-EAKIN ON CUTTING ENTITLEMENTS.
SPACEX PRESIDENT PREDICTS RAPID INCREASE IN STARSHIP LAUNCH RATE: “It’s going to be hard to catch us, but I certainly hope people try.”
IT WOULD TAKE A HEART OF STONE NOT TO LAUGH: DNC union rips leadership for laying off employees without severance. “According to the statement, staff working on Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) presidential campaign were provided with three weeks of severance. The DNC union letter said that to its employees, unlike Harris-Walz staffers, DNC senior leadership chose to ‘leave loyal staff scrambling to cover rent, medical expenses, and childcare costs.'”
It’s a shame what’s happened to loyal employees but the cruel hypocrisy on the part of the DNC is almost as funny as it is predictable.
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY:
Let’s check in on Rosie O’Donnell two weeks after the election… pic.twitter.com/GHmSdWlAJZ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 18, 2024
THE HOUSE OF STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump Has No Mandate:
Time magazine: Hold my Sauvignon Blanc:
But hey, it’s the DNC-MSM: Their party’s presidents get “mandates” no matter if they needed a third party candidate to help them squeak by; the other side isn’t allowed a mandate no matter how popular he was at the ballot box.
Of course, prior to the election, Whoopi Goldberg, the co-host of the ABC News program was predicting that “Donald Trump Will ‘Disappear’ Journalists And ‘Gay Folks,’” and that “Trump will break up interracial marriages by deporting the spouses of White men.” Now they’re simply discussing how big of a mandate for change he will have.
(Curiously, she was also using the same level of inflammatory rhetoric about the now sainted John McCain in 2008, asking him during his appearance the show, “Do I have to worry about becoming a slave again?”)
THE VALUE KEEPS SHRINKING AS THE EXPENSE KEEPS GROWING:Hooray? You Won’t Believe How Much More Government You’re Buying.
THAT’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T SPANK THEM: Poll: Many parents struggle to manage kids’ anger.
FAIL, BRITANNIA:
This is Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke.
She just sentenced ex-soldier Daffron Williams to TWO YEARS in prison for attending a protest.
She previously gave a rapist a supervision order and allowed a pedeophile to go free because of prison overcrowding.#TwoTierJustice pic.twitter.com/4ICbmdrLfg
— Peter Lloyd (@Suffragent_) November 18, 2024
Gad Saad calls it “suicidal empathy,” but I’d call it “suicidal self-loathing.” Whatever the motive, though, the outcome is the same.
IT’S THE ONLY CHOICE IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CITIZENS AND THE PLANET: Italy and Czechoslovakia Plead for Nuclear Energy.
NOW’S ZE TIME ON SPROCKETS VEN VE DANCE! Jaguar Decides to Burn Its Brand to the Ground With New Confusingly Woke Ad Campaign.
After Bud Light contracted Dylan Mulvaney, a “transgender influencer,” for an ad campaign that blew up in the company’s face, you’d think other major corporations would learn some lessons. To be fair, some did. Others, not so much, and that includes Jaguar.
The “luxury” car brand has decided to set itself on fire with a new confusingly woke ad campaign. What’s conspicuously absent? Any mention of cars.
Copy nothing. #Jaguar pic.twitter.com/BfVhc3l09B
— Jaguar (@Jaguar) November 19, 2024
I have no idea what I just watched, and judging by the replies to the video, I don’t think anyone else does either. At least one man in women’s clothing is marching around along with what appears to be a male child in drag. The phrases “live vivid” and “delete ordinary” flash across the screen. “Break moulds” (that’s not a typo on my part) is also shown with what looks like a man in a dress holding a sledgehammer. To be fair, though, it’s hard to tell. Which I guess is the point of the ad?
To reassure British motorists that Tata Motors, the Indian company that has owned the Jaguar brand since acquiring it from Ford in 2008, still understands who its primary buyers are:
I’M CONVINCED: MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin fuels ‘Morning Joe’ boycott after Trump meeting: They don’t ‘appreciate’ their audience.
MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin is encouraging a boycott of “Morning Joe” after its hosts revealed they had a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
“Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, two of Trump’s fiercest critics, shocked the nation on Monday by disclosing their visit to Mar-a-Lago on Friday, suggesting that reviving communications and extending an olive branch was the best path forward following Trump’s historic election victory.
“Disgusting,” Rubin reacted to the meeting on the social media platform Bluesky.
Rubin later ratcheted up the rhetoric, encouraging her followers to turn off “Morning Joe” to send a message.
“The market works great. You can stop watching Morning Joe anytime,” Rubin wrote Monday evening.
I’m totally convinced by Rubin’s argument, to the point where I stopped watching shortly before Morning Joe debuted in April of 2007.
Say, when does Rubin resign from the Washington Post for their non-endorsement of Kamala Harris, after she egged on L.A. Times staffers to resign when their paper’s management similarly refused to endorse her last month?
In response to Sewell Chan’s resignation from the Times, she wrote, “Bravo. All respect.” Followed by, “and where are the rest of them?”
The implication is clear: now that her paper, too, is refusing to endorse the sainted Kamala Harris, Rubin must be set to join the charge of resignations in disgust, along with Robert Kagan, as a sort-of Potomac Joan of Arc. The prospect brings a tear to Cockburn’s eye. Such bravery.
Or the lack thereof:
When does the branch she’s sawing give way?