Saturday, November 26, 2016

Logging

Film: The Arrival

Octopus's come to earth to bring about world peace. Gimme a freaking break. One of the most disappointing, humorless movies in a long time. Lifeless.
"Progress"

Virtual boyfriends and girlfriends.

Believe it or not, not every new technological gadget or invention is healthy or good.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Mortgage Debt

Re-financing 4 times to help pay for child's bi-polar disorder. This strikes me as a story about medical/mental illness cost and not mortgage debt, per se.

Nevertheless, if you want to think about in financial terms, taking out a series of loans on the house seems like a pretty terrible idea just on the surface. If you can't pay for the thing in front of you, what makes you think you'll be able to pay for it in the future?

Speaking of...how are families expected to pay for long-term issues like bi-polar, alzheimer's, cancer, etc.? I get how the rich do it...I don't see how anyone else does.
Last Take on Hamilton, etc.

I made the exact mistake I am going to criticize others about...commenting on Hamilton/Pence and all this stupid shit. Reading this AM, Trump is trolling Hamilton, calling it overrated, etc. Jesus. Chapelle nailed it - we've elected an internet troll as President. 4 years of this. He can't help himself. Pence seems to be handling this well, by keeping his mouth shut.
The End of Identity Politics

And good riddance. 

Hat tip, Viner.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Booing Pence at Hamilton

Certainly not courageous. Basically, it's just rude. Liberals can keep booing Pence in their safe spaces and protesting Trump for getting elected, and expect to keep losing elections and relevance - big time.

Friday, November 18, 2016

The Clinton Foundation

Chelsea is exploring running for Congress. Aye, aye, aye.

It'd be interesting to see how much less money the Clinton foundation is able to raise without a Clinton in any type of powerful government position. Then we'd know whether the foundation was a vehicle to buy influence, and, interestingly, by exactly how much in dollar terms.
Yes

The right way to oppose Trump.

Every sign I see from the Democrats and the Democratic party, however, signals they will not take any of his suggestions.
Kanye

Would've voted for Trump and "thinks black people should stop focusing on racism."

Agreed.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Both

Democrats have cried wolf too many times regarding racism, so nobody listens to them anymore (including me). An incredibly detailed piece (note: I didn't read the entire thing) suggesting the exact same thing. For someone who argues Trump is opening racist and bringing all this to the fore, it's a must read.

That said, in the story, the wolf comes to town. Has the wolf arrived? Perhaps. But I don't think the wolf is Trump. The wolf is inside all of us and the impulse to demonize the other. This applies to BLM and to high schoolers graffiting various anti-immigrant stuff. How do we combat this? Not by shutting down speech, not by opposing Bannon, not by calling everyone and anything racist. We combat on the local, specific issue at hand. It's about nuance, tolerance, discussion, and education. Most of all, it's about convincing people and not panicking, especially if you think your ideas are superior. They will win out. But the hysterical stuff turns people off and the overblown rhetoric and outright untruths (such as fake hate crimes) really make people close their ears.

How anyone can really be worried about the KKK is a bit beyond me, especially because these are same people who are silent on Islamic Terrorism.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Slippery Slope of Language

When did middle school bullying and graffiti become "hate crimes?" I remember when I first heard the term "hate crime" when Tina Brandon was murdered for dressing up like a girl. It was supposed to be a special category of crimes that were somehow worse than other crimes (yet, I fail to see how murdering someone because they are gay/lgbt is somehow worse than murdering someone because they talked shit, or murdering a spouse, or so forth). Nevertheless, it was coined to deal with serious issues. Now, the idea of hate crimes are being used to categorize any foolish utterance or middle school bullying. Ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Paul Schraeder, writer of Taxi Driver advocates violence and taking up arms against Trump, comparing himself to John Brown.

Of course, a major difference would be John Brown was murdering folks to make a point against SLAVERY and Schraeder wants to murder people because of...graffiti...being called a "cuck"...and enforcing immigration policy. I'd be surprised if he found much support.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Time for the Left to Reexamine Them(our)selves

On Left, Right, and Center, David Frum has some good thoughts for the left and those protesting Trump. Rather that indulging in "fear" and other emotions, or identity (I, as a woman, am terrified), start reclaiming American values, institutions, and symbols, and your(our) own. That is, protest not against the American Flag, but by carrying the American Flag. Appeal to American ideals. An agenda might look something like this:

1) Opposing mass deportation
2) Opposing logging Muslims into databases
3) Opposing abandoning our NATO treaty commitments

And focus on the specific, problematic ideas Trump endorsed in the campaign. In short, try to be appealing as opposed to divisive.

Kneeling and supporting kneeling for the National Anthem is looking even more foolish today. Because why the hell should the darker forces behind Trump get to claim the Flag as theirs? It's not. It's ours. It represents values of liberty, freedom, opportunity, all the things Liberals used to believe in. It doesn't break us into identity groups, it doesn't mean smashing cars and stopping traffic. Why get excited by this type of anti-social vandalism? Why protest the election results when Trump played by the rules and won. It is YOUR message that stinks. It is the way you deliver the message that stinks. If you cannot believe Trump won, it is because the Left chose to isolate itself into certain pockets of America and only engage in its own echo chamber. The Left chose emotion over rationality, it chose identity politics over individual rights, it chose relativism over patriotism, and guess what? Those ideas are rightly unpopular. Change. Adjust. Stop protesting Halloween costumes. Stop being crybabies. Stop rooting for American to lose wars. Grow up. Start acting like adults and people will start listening to you like adults.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

No Surprise

Getting off Twitter leaves more braincells.
Fake Hate Crimes Spread Across America

Someone ought to do a study of the ratio of hate crimes of fake hate crimes.
News: Young Men Almost Get Into Barfight

It's going to be the end of the country.

They got called a "cuck," a term I've never heard. But it's good we're finding new, made up terms to find offensive.
A Good Idea

It might be a good idea to start logging all the claims and fears of what a Trump Presidency will mean and check back in 4 years to see how many came to pass. My guess is few.
White Power Gone Viral

If one is a relativist, or an advocate of identity politics in general, it isn't clear to me on what grounds one can oppose white nationalism. If one cannot utter the term Islamic Terrorism, much less denounce it, or finds Black or Latino Power attractive, the only argument against White Nationalism is that they belong to a different, less desirable tribe. But that of course, won't do the job of convincing anyone to not subscribe to the ideology. My suggestion would be to return to the principles of individualism vs. collectivism and focus on individual rights versus group rights, ideas which this country was founded upon and the initial civil rights movement espoused.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Twitter and Facebook Calls For Killing Trump

Not just on infowars. Seems to me, these accounts ought to be shut down for committing a crime and for hate speech. They did the same for Milo, Glenn Reynolds, and a number of others for far less severe statements. But, I won't be holding my breath.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Bad Strategy, Bad Ideas

Did BLM bring people over to Trump? Or, keep Dems home?
Thank You, Stephen A

"I'm not interested in a damn word he has to say and quite frankly I hope he goes away." Steven A on Kaepernick.

I will point out that there were a number of us who identified him as a moron from the get-go, but I'm nevertheless pleased the Johnny-come-latelys recognize it as well now...
Uncivilized and Undemocratic

For all those "worried" about anger and hate spewing from Trump supporters, the rioting and threatening to kill the President suggest "Hillary supporters" are no better and no different.

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Kap 

Kaepernick isn't voting. Great role model. Calls Clinton and Trump "evil." Guy is a huge fool and needs to read a history book. Any book about anything that's happened in human history. In fact, he might want to start with a book about countries with other political systems and how those operate versus democracy. Jesus. I need to stop with this guy.
Election

I suspected this could happen. The writing's been on the wall and for those who are shock need to desperately reevaluate their understanding of the country and world we live in:

1) Clinton is a bad, unlikeable candidate. She's lost every real election she's attempted. New York Senator is a celebrity glamour position, not a real grassroots election. She went from frontrunner against Obama to getting crushed by him. She could barely fend off a socialist in the primary that was rigged in her favor from the beginning. Every step of the way, Dems were looking elsewhere - Biden, etc. She was a problem candidate from the beginning and suffered from a lack of competition.

2) On the flipside, Trump was a joke in the beginning and kept gather converts. He kept over performing. He nailed two big issues: immigration and the assault on political correctness. He didn't really trip up because he never came across as a hypocrite. All of his gaffes were consistent with what we expected of him. And his supporters were passionate in the way Obama, Bill Clinton, and GW supporters were passionate.

3) The Breexit was a warning shot that ordinary folks are deeply disillusioned with the progressive, urban, global vision of free trade, liberal immigration, environmentalism, diversity, etc, epitomized by institutions like the UN, Davos, TED, Aspen ideas, etc.

I urge people to not despair. This is democracy in action. The result may not be to our taste, but it's a pretty amazing f--- you to the political and media power structure who all thought it unfathomable Trump could win. And that's kinda cool and how it's supposed to work. It is a reckoning for the outrageous level of arrogance amongst coastal elites and should be read as a humbling reevaluation of certain sacred principals such as non-enforcement of immigration, identity politics, and thought-police levels of political correctness.

I want to add two final notes: I do not believe this is about tacit or overt racism or "hate" as you will hear people say for the next weeks, or perhaps years. There is demographic anxiety about the future of American culture and we need a new language to discuss these issues without calling it racism, which it is not. The concept of enforcing and limiting illegal immigration is not an inherently racist idea. Nor is wearing halloween costumes. Enough already. 56 million Americans are not racists and nor is Donald Trump.

538 and other pollsters were giving Hillary between 75-95% chance of winning. Now, I ask...what is more impressive - 538 picking the 2008 election breakdown right (which is really like going 8 for 8), or Public Musings predicting Trump? I'd argue Trump. I guess my point is that "data analysis" is good for telling us predictable information, but much less able to tell us unpredictable information. In short, it tells us the information least worth knowing.

UPDATE: One other tea leaf -- the tea party movement. It was dismissed and mocked by the coastal elites. This was a movement centered around the idea that government's gotten too big and unwieldy. Nothing particularly controversial. It was a popular, civil form of protest not taken seriously and Trump is the reaction.
Dialog

I challenge anyone to find a better exchange from the last five years.

"I heard you struck my son."
"Yessir, I did."
"May I ask why?"
"Yeah, well, because he stole John Wick's car, sir. And...killed his dog."
"Oh."


Sunday, November 06, 2016

Why Are Football Ratings Down?

A ton of reasons have been mentioned, but the whole "election" argument doesn't seem as strong given the World Series ratings were the highest of all time.

1. Kaepernick is annoying.

In the words of Dave Chappelle, sometimes I just want to read stats. Or, just watch a game. Social justice ideas are out there in the world. They aren't hard to find. If people are interested in them, they can find them. Social justice advoctates people want celebrities and famous people to promote their causes because they think celebrity will bring their causes attention. The problem is, they don't grasp WHY people are celebrities -- and it's precisely because they don't get on soapboxes and lecture. Kap WAS a celebrity because he was exciting to watch play football. Now that he sucks and talks out of his ass, should it be a surprise people are tuning out.

2. No Peyton Manning

This ought to be mentioned as a major factor. Manning was fun to watch play QB, even when his skills deteriorated because he knew the position and game so well.