Absurd

Kap is one really strange dude.

He hands out t-shirts to kids with the following:

1. You have the right to be free.
2. You have the right to be healthy.
3. You have the right to be brilliant.
4. You have the right to be safe.
5. You have the right be loved.
6. You have the right to be courageous.
7. You have the right to be alive.
8. You have the right to be trusted.
9. You have the right to be educated.
10. You have the right to know your rights.

Whatever his good intentions may be, this betrays an utter foolishness and misunderstanding of the world and of the meaning of "right." How can one have the "right" to be healthy? Does this mean Kap plans to sue the flu virus every time it strikes? Good luck with that. See if the Supreme Court will take that case. You have the "right" to be loved. Really? So, can someone force someone else to love someone, now? How's that gonna work? You have the "right" to be trusted? I'd like to see Bernie Madoff use that argument when his victims ask for their money back. This guy is utterly clueless.

One can be blessed with love and good health. One can earn trust. One can become brilliant through hard work and luck. One can be educated. But none of these - other than freedom - is a right someone, anyone is born with.

It's obvious he's never read anything about political philosophy and to listen to such an ignoramous is a deeply dumb idea.

And perhaps the weirdest element of all is Kap giving kids DNA tests. If a public school did such a thing, there would be an uproar about invading their privacy. I just think the entire thing is very strange.

I'm Suspicious of Any Notions with "Post-" In It

Article tagline: Finding Love in a Postromantic Postmarital Age

As Instapundit says, it reads as propaganda for old social conventions.

Beyond Absurd

Rapist of 10-year old boy has his sentence overturned.

Meanwhile, in America, the feminists are outraged over the Stanford student actually found guilty of rape, but not punished severely enough. One wonders whether this will yield equal outrage. I somehow doubt it.

Los Angeles

Plastered with anti-Hillary posters. 

I drove past Amoeba in Hollywood yesterday and all four corners of the street were populated with Trump supporters urging people to get out and vote. I was a little surprised, but then again, Trump supporters are more passionate.

Look Away

Despite denials by the media, the NFL, and his supporters, the Kap protests are hurting NFL ratings according to a poll of the fans.

Turns out people don't like being called racists, especially when they're not.

Low Interest Rates

Low rates are often cited as a reason to buy. I actually think they're a reason to sell because it props up the home prices. A study shows low rates do not provide savings over time to home owners, but owning still saves money over renting in the long term.

Like all things, it does until it doesn't.

Passion

When I overhear people talking in Los Angeles about Trump, it's all negative. No one can fathom he has a chance. But if ground level politics matters, he's dominating Hillary in terms of rally attendance, nearly 5 to 1.

I dunno...

Yep

The misleading promise of IVF. 

It hasn't work for all the people I know who've tried it.

Kaepernick

Bills fans boo Kaepernick. ESPN refuses to show the boos. They only show the kneeling. This is what is called media bias.

Kap says, "I don't understand what's un-American about fighting for liberty and justice for everybody, for the equality this country says it stands for," Kaepernick said. "To me, I see it as very patriotic and American to uphold the United States to the standards that it says it lives by."

He doesn't see what's not patriotic about kneeling during a moment designed to show love for his country. In other news, I'm giving my wife the silent treatment for not living up to her own standards and I don't understand why she doesn't see this as a sign of love.

Rigged Election

We should all be concerned the Trump supporters are already calling the election rigged. This is a classic move by conspiracy theorists and paranoid delusional maniacs to make claims that cannot be refuted without helping "prove" the conspiracy. What's worrying is the scale of these claims and the fact Trump himself is amplifying them.

But here's another problem: he's not entirely wrong. It's clear the media is in the bag for Clinton and trying to help her win. We know this by the leaked emails and how CNN provided her debate questions in advance of her debate with Bernie Sanders. This would be akin to a teacher telling one student the test questions before a test.

We also know the number one issue where Trump has more popular support than Clinton is immigration. This is the issue he has ridden to the nomination and could ride to the Presidency. No one is talking about it -- not in the press, not in the debates, etc. The press and the Democrats know the issue is a loser and seeks to make the election about Trump's personality and not the issues. Trump loses on personality, but could win on issues.

And it's not as if this just came about on this election. People will erroneously make the argument, well shouldn't the "responsible" press be in favor of Clinton because Trump is such a volatile person? First of all - that's not what we want from the press, although they've taken it upon themselves to play that role. Go back to Romney and McCain who now look like centrist candidates -- and see how the press treated them. They shit all over Romney for being rich, out of touch, racist, etc. They make McCain seem too old with too many health issues to be President.

It reminds me of when lunatic gamblers lose and claim the refs are in the bag, but it turns out Tim Donaghy WAS is the bag. This doesn't make the gamblers right, it makes both sides wrong.

Money Where Your Mouth Is

For those who argue a Trump presidency will be a "disaster," I wonder how many of these people are selling equities in advance of the election. If one truly believes Trump would be a chaotic disaster in the White House, it would make tremendous sense to hedge this potential outcome. Even if one believes Hillary will win, one must acknowledge a reasonable chance (even as low as 25%) that Trump could win.

I doubt many are doing this, which I why I consider their predictions of disaster to be hyperbolic.

Logging

New HBO

Westworld - Fallen asleep twice trying to watch the first episode. Not that it was bad, but I wasn't a fan of the Groundhog Day element. Second episode, however, was pretty awesome. Probably the one show I'll be keeping up with weekly.

Divorce - Ouch. Painfully bad. Again, the HBO trend of mistaking awful people for "realism." Too bad, because I enjoyed Catastrophe.

Insecure - A mumblecore movie with African American female characters. Made without dramatic craft. Pitch for pilot: a girl tries to cheat on her boyfriend. Maybe Issa Rae is a compelling personality...and I emphasize the maybe...I could see an Ellen DeGeneres like future for her.

Random other things:

The Good Wife - I can see why people like it.

Midnight Run - ages really well. Probably better than any movie released this summer.

Ray Donovan - definitely in a league below the great cable dramas, but watchable nonetheless. Jon Voigt stands out.

Trump

6 Reasons why people are voting for Trump.

I'd call it a must read.

I'm Not Alone

Ruth Bader Ginsberg says the NFL protesters are "dumb."

I'd add ignorant to the mix as well.

A Local Story

Caught this story in my local newspaper that comes with the Saturday LA Times. A man killed by cops after getting tasered. When you read the story, the incident makes sense. And while it's sad someone died, maybe it wasn't the greatest idea by him to attack the police. Or for his brother to pull a gun on the cops. Nevertheless, one wonders why this is a local story rather than a national one that garners protests by NFL players. You tell me.

Not About Free Speech

This article is correct: Kap's protest isn't about free speech. He concludes:

It’s wonderful that this young man wants to use his privileged position to call attention to the nation’s continuing scar of race. I’m just not sure it’s working. The jeers from the stands and the vehemence on the talk shows do not suggest any elevation of dialogue. Nor does it make sense to blame those who boo. The booers may be boors, but for all that Kaepernick’s intention might be to provoke conversation about race, he has instead provoked conversation about himself and his rights -- the very problem of which Doctorow warned.  

The principle of diminishing returns applies to protest as it does to other investments of resources. When the focus of the debate becomes not the issue but the protester, it is not unreasonable to consider a change in tactics.

Here's where I disagree: this was always about Kaepernick. It is about his feeling about what's "happening in this country," not about what's actually happening. It's attention seeking, pure and simple. It's a public display of narcissism and it's not a mistake about the way it's going down.

How It Works

NFL ratings are down 20% and the protests are a factor.

Kap's gesture is deeply unpopular because it is ill informed and ignorant. Of course he has a right to do it, but it doesn't mean we need to like it. Or watch it.

I support those who are tuning out. I'm not so up in arms about it, so I' still watch with mild annoyance and less enthusiasm. In general, I'm already annoyed with big sports.

Side note: I also support people dropping off twitter and facebook for it makes the culture worse, imo.

Almost Famous

Been a long time since I saw this one...and I always liked the film, but can't say I loved it. Still don't. But damn, it's a hell of a movie. All heart. It made me deeply sad to finish the film because it feels like it was made ages ago...and I cannot imagine it getting made today. There's just a million reasons why it wouldn't work - no stars (or, all stars, could be another way of looking at the casting), I can see it being taken apart on the internet for being too white. It's a period piece. A drama. Funny to see how many character actors went on to headline tv series from the movie - Zooey Deschanel, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, Anna Paquin, Jay Baruchel.

I don't know. A lament for an era of cinema that's gone.