LeBron Mural Defaced
From the artist: "[W]hy would you even take time our of your day to go f*** up what someone else did for the community"
Now ask: how do you feel about all the statues vandalized and tore down across America last year?
Security Theater
This guy's convinced me masks are pointless now.
He makes an incredible point about the philosophical debate of personal responsibility vs. obligation to others, the dynamic of which so much of our public policy debate hinges. But here, with vaccines, we have almost a perfect real world example where we ought to have basically zero obligation to protect those who refuse vaccines from the virus because they choose not to protect themselves.
And he makes an interesting case for why partisanship in the US is actually good -- because reveals through hatred and dichotomy, the flaws of both sides. Ideal world, in other words, is one with no masks, no security theater, no safetyism, but a lot of private and public incentives to vaccinate.
On a separate note, the vaccine rollout somewhat confirms my preexisting concern that 20-25% of the population is too stupid to make even semi-optimal decisions for themselves (and much less others) and I have no idea what do about that fact given we live in a liberal democracy.
Noble Lies
I'm all in favor of noble lies if they work. But Fauci's "lies" have been transparently wrong to moderately intelligent Americans. He doesn't know his audience.
It's a noble lie to tell a 4 year old about Santa Claus. But try the same with a teenager and you're up shit creek.
The important part of a noble lie - you've got to have the right explanation for the lie once uncovered (as it will be) that will make the person understand why you needed to tell it. Fauci can't even play this 3D level chess, much less the 12D chess he imagines himself playing.
Newsom
So the camp he trusts enough to send his kids to doesn't even respect his mandate. Good luck with the red parts of California.
A Form of Projection
We might need a new word for this phenomenon, where folks criticize behaviors of out groups but simultaneously defend the same behavior by in groups. Maybe it's just hypocrisy...but the neurosis involved is such that I really think the white liberal mind really blames Trump supporters for non-vac and blocks out the fact that POC communities right next door to them are doing the exact same thing.
Logging
Film: Black Widow
Inoffensive, and rather enjoyable. Family stuff the best part.
Film: Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Pretty unique, but not a film I care to continually revisit. A good worldwide introduction/document of Bob Hoskins, however.
TV: White Lotus, pilot
Intriguing insight into the depression and unhappiness evident in our coastal elite class. And a clever twist on the murder mystery plot - who is dead? Who is the killer?
Film: Space Jam, A New Legacy
My children insisted I turn off the film after 15 minutes and it's one of the better decisions they've made this week. A disgusting Lebron vanity project - god this guy is gonna be insufferable after he stops playing bball. Are we gonna have to see a Last Dance - LeBron documentary? Is there anything I'd like to watch less? And PS - I'm a LeBron fan.
Film: The Tax Collector
Interesting as a crime drama/thriller concept -- story of Job set in the Mexican Mafia, but stretched believability for me - and not because I didn't buy Shia LeBouf in La Eme, but more because the Bloods suddenly team up with the main character at the end (spoiler). Also, let's be real, Shia didn't get to kick enough ass.
Taiwan
Agree, the US will not shed blood over Taiwan. But if Taiwan is willing to fight for their own freedom, we ought to support and fund them without condition.
Logging
Film: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The best Marvel film -- although that's not saying much. How did they get both Shandling and Redford?
Opposite Greg (Gregorio) take: Marvel Universe is one of the most brilliant innovations of the past 20 years - 22 films that manage to weave their storylines into each other using different actors, filmmakers, writers, etc, and satisfy millions (if not billions) of movie goers.
NFL
I'll be curious about the dynamic that unfolds when the NFL makes vaccinations mandatory.
You will have a number of players criticizing the heavy handedness (not unusual). But you will have the sports media, who usually takes the sides of players, perhaps jumping over to the side of the NFL on the issue.
Then, you'll have the red state fans, who normally would be on the side of the teams, perhaps taking the sides of the players.
I find this sort of stuff entertaining.
Our Species Is Doomed
For those who criticize Bezos and other billionaires going to space, perhaps you will rethink upon seeing one of your fellow Americans notions on vaccinations.
The reason they won't get vaccinated is because "they" want you to get vaccinated.
I'm hard on how the CDC, FDA, US, World, and local governments handled COVID, but at this point, it's on the rest of us to use common sense. But we gotta face reality that there's a good 25% of folks out there who a) just want to see it burn or b) cannot make rational decisions even with all the information.
A Tell
That China won't support a transparent investigation into the virus origin is the "tell" that makes it much more likely it was created in a lab. I mean for crissake, they were testing "gain of function" coronaviruses in a Wuhan lab where the weird, new coronavirus first showed up. Then they covered it up for months and scrubbed all the evidence and punished anyone who talked about it. And the "natural transmission" story is pure speculation based upon...what evidence? The word of the government whose main interest is not taking blame for the lab leak theory? Even in the best case, the natural transmission hypothesis is still just a hypothesis and no new information has come out in the past year to further support the thesis. It's all very fishy.
Yep
The best defense of Fauci. Here is the issue:
Essentially, Paul is outraged by the 12D chess official system and wants to break out one question. Fauci wants to protect that system which probably believes that it’s safer to be in bed w/ CCP than to be shut out. Fauci is playing dumb on GoFR and Rand is insinuating too much.
and this:
In the end the system creatures are correct that we need grand strategies that are at times counter intuitive. The populists are correct that many grand strategies are batshit crazy. Hence the two incompatible world views. I expect this thread to be popular with neither. Alas...
Eek
Fauci does not come across well here. He makes a deliberately narrow point in order to avoid answering Paul's question about gain of function and NIH funding of the Wuhan lab.
"Did you cheat on your wife?"
"No, I did not cheat on my wife on December 22nd as you allege."
"Sir, I did not say that, I said did you cheat on your wife?"
"My whereabouts on December 22nd are well documented. And let me say this: to suggest I cheated on my wife on December 22nd -- well, that's an outright lie."
This might get ugly.
Gen Z / Millenial Contributions to Society
My favorite is the term "extra" which is perfect descriptor/insult for a certain type of person or behavior that existed, but lacked a word to aptly describe.
In contrast, I don't care for the term "fire" nor the emoji for it. It has the same meaning as the word "rad" or "awesome" from earlier generations.
Plot Twist
Are we all about to regret #freeBritney?
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Jerry gets sentimental but is scared straight when George tells him his deepest darkest feelings.
CA Energy Policies
So, the state government is asking people to limit their energy use. Hmmm. Is this the same state government that's been hell bent on promoting the use of electric vehicles.
Does this add up?
Vague, Generalized, and Probably a Series of Lousy Thoughts
The powerful have always told the public lies. But in the old days, the lies were noble in intent. They were hypocritical for sure, convenient for those in power, but the lies had an ennobling purpose. Today, the ruling elite still lie, but the intent is no longer noble...the intent is to seize power at all costs and eliminate dissent. It feels different because it is.
While a lot of the economic reports are good with respect to jobs, household debt, etc, it's pretty obvious to me we are borrowing heavily against the future.
Newsom Recall
He should be recalled for the EDD scandal alone.
If the CEO of a company lost $31 billion to scammers, he would've been removed by the board months ago.
And it would be another thing if EDD actually functioned, but it both doesn't work for Californians and has been scammed by criminals. It's unbelievable.
Logging
Film: The Tomorrow War
Halfway through, but I want to make note that in the story world of this film, human beings can travel through wormholes to the future, but opt to fight an invincible alien species with untrained, out of shape 40 year old draftees carrying machine guns and pistols. Hmmm.
Note
There are few things I hate more than CRT or the obscurantism of "anti-racism," but I also don't favor laws banning it. And I'm also coming around to the idea that this CRT shit is a drama being acted out by sick liberals and conservatives who want a culture war to give their sad, lonely lives meaning.
All that is to say, this fire needs no more of my oxygen.
Smart
A twitter thread about what's going on in our "culture war."
We ignore at our peril - and yes, this is part of my book's argument - the idea that a bored and affluent middle-class, raised on a steady diet of narcissism and self-actualization are the real danger here. We have to stop making up noble excuses for illiberal ideas.
More Violence
Twitter thread on increased violence in America.
But it definitely doesn't look as simple as "the protests caused the violence." And any explanation needs to account for the effects of gun proliferation and carrying which pre-dates the killing of George Floyd.
I'm So Confused
By what's going on in the world these days. Here's an essay about loneliness being the root cause of our political isolation.
He seems onto something.
Every day you read about some additional form of craziness consuming our institutions, the temptation is to go somewhere else. But I ask: where? Where can anyone go when what consumes our culture is being experienced internally most of all--