Chappelle's Competition

This is so funny and actually quite an act of jijitsu.

The journalist goes for the classic trap question: is Kamala a DEI candidate? Did she get the nomination because she is black?

So unwritten rule in America - everyone knows that her being black was a plus. But you can't say it, because if you say it, you're racist.

Trump knows this. He doesn't fall into the trap. To say "no" is what old Republican candidates would do. They would pretend to be race-neutral and want to avoid being called racist at all costs. So they lie. 

Trump takes a different tact. He lies BIGGER. He pretends that he didn't even know Kamala was black. He knows he's lying. Everyone knows he's lying. But on a different level: he's actually playing a game. He's refusing the terms of the question and communicating: if you want to dick around, I'll dick around in a more fun and amusing way. 

Don't count him out.

Democracy

So if both sides agree to no longer to practice Democracy - the party insiders of the Democrats get to choose their nominee and Trump gets to decide his nominee - then the cognitive test, winner-take-all Jeopardy contest for President is not the worst of all possible outcomes.

Israel

My uncouth thoughts:

Could 10k Palestinian children have been saved by the savage butchery of 1000 mullahs in Tehran on October 8th?

You know who was good at containing all these various anti-Israel actors like the Houthis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Iranians? The Hussein clan.

Ties to My Theory

LA Times owner's daughter shocks with pro Hamas statements. 

We have a real problem in America - the freako weird kids of billionaires. This is going to be a new and different problem for several reasons:

1) Old time rich families had lots of kids so power and money had to be distributed around. Nowadays the rich folks are having fewer kids, so it falls into fewer hands.

2) The money is A LOT more given the world is globalized. Rich folks serve 8 billion people nowadays, so the fortunes are quite a bit larger

3) Wokeism and NGOs gives these people a belief system and the means with which to feel relevant. Look, being the son or daughter of a billionaire is both great and shitty. Shitty in that...you can never really succeed. You can't - by traditional metrics - achieve more than your parents. So the area in which they can compete will be areas like arts (Ellison kids) or social justice (Abigail Disney, this LA Times girl).

A lot of money to slosh around in very sketchy world views is a dangerous mix. 

Female Politics

The move for the Dems this week is to cast the Republicans as "weird." 

The appropriate response by Republicans would be to go: fuck yeah.

Taleb Sort of Right

When he says nothing hurts the Palestinian cause more than burning the American flag. 

I'd say the tactic of terrorism hurts their cause the most. The celebration of terrorism the 2nd most.

But it's worth asking the question why your cause attracts unhinged American haters...

French Olympic Ceremony

I didn't watch and don't overly care. But the "you don't get all the French art references in there" crowd who are saying: this isn't about The Last Supper should contend with the artist of the piece saying he took inspiration from Da Vinci's The Last Supper.

Patricia Highsmith

Compelling interview.  

Notable part: how does she start a story? With an action.

Logging

Film: Remember the Titans

Sports movies good for kids.

Book: Writing the 3rd Act 

Another book about screenwriting - nothing terrific in here. 

Logging

Film: Down and Out in Beverly Hills

A great entry in the middle aged men experiencing existential crises films. Features of this genre: middle aged man superficially has things going well in life but nevertheless is unhappy. Having some type of major secret (usually an affair or desire for one) that reflects his weakness. Often beleaguered by his job/kids/wife and other symbols of a certain class attainment. Comes into contact with some type of "new world" or "alternative world" that existed right in front of his eyes before that surprisingly gives him joy or titillation - in this case, the world of the homeless! Other examples of this genre: Something Wild, Sideways, A Serious Man, Eyes Wide Shut, The Weather Man

Logging

Film: Twisters

Solid entertainment but I have not thought about the movie once since seeing it last week. On the other hand, it's entirely possible I'll recall the experience of seeing it with my extended family - nieces, nephews, kids, etc for the rest of my life.

Book: Ab the Caveman

Well, the story ends with Ab leading his tribe to defeating and enslaving another tribe so it's not exactly going on school curriculums these days. But boy - this is an awesome book for 6-7 year olds. And how many books can you say that about?

Why is Palestine Occupied and Not China?

Why do people say Israel is occupying Palestine but not that China is occupied by the Communist Party? Can someone explain this to me? Every single Communist country in history was brought forth by a violent revolution followed by an even more violent state crushing any resistance or dissent. The Republic of China still exists - in Taiwan. This was the government of China pre-Communists. The Communists literally stole China from the Chinese people. But no one characterizes it this way. Why not?

The Problem with "Meritocracy" and its bastard cousin, Affirmative Action/DEI

We replaced the WASPY privilege and the corresponding myths with meritocracy and its corresponding myths. One of the myths of meritocracy are that the people with power and positions hold those positions through their own grit and perseverance. This is why Chelsea Clinton can make a TV show called Gutsy with the theme of "Nevertheless She Persisted." You may recall, Chelsea was raised in the White House and is the closest thing we Americans have to a princess. Now, this myth has some good features. Namely, it gets people to work hard on their own career and not fall into the trap of self-pity, there is a downside: they have no sense of duty or honor.  

We see that with this secret service agent Kim Cheadle. She is a shameless, clueless figure without a shred of honor. Obviously, she must resign. Because whatever failure occurred is her fault. She can't see it, though. Because in her eyes, she followed the best practices she knew and this incident is "bad luck" for her. You saw the same with all these female college Presidents. Nothing, you see, is their fault. Because everything they've done in their entire lives has been against all odds in their own minds. They truly believe they have earned and accomplished these bureaucratic appointments through the sheer force of their own hard work and skill.

UPDATE: Cheadle resigned before I could finish my post. Note, she only resigned after literally everyone called for it. She started to feel unpopular and disliked and got the clue she wasn't welcome at the party anymore. Not because of what I outlined above...

Still...

All that said, I personally prefer Kamala to Gavin Newsom mostly because she's done less. Newsom however is electorally battle tested. Won two terms as Governor and Mayor and fended off a recall. He seems to know something about politics, much as I dislike how he governs.

Democrats Doing It Again

I know people think it's racist when you say Kamala Harris is a DEI candidate, but the real reason she's a problem: she's not battle tested. She's won one real election. She became a US Senator for 1 term running against another Democrat in California. This means she has literally never beaten a Republican candidate except as a VP candidate as part of a ticket. Democrats are doing the same thing as with Hillary - Hillary hadn't won real elections. They thought marrying into power meant something to voters. They though serving as Secretary of State was good experience for winning elections. These things only meant something to diehard democrats who really wanted to see a women in power. Even Young Obama had been both a State Senator and a US Senator and overperformed when he ran against Hillary in the primary. Harris has the opposite track record. She underperformed when running against other Democrats. 

Yes, there is a chance she overperforms in the same way there's a chance every season that Anthony Edwards or Devin Booker or someone rises from a behind position from pack to take an NBA championship. It's just rare and quite unlikely.

Maybe the Dems think this election is lost anyway, so get Kamala out of the way for the future. 

Good Question

Why didn't America use its world historical wealth to build beautiful cities? 

He Doesn't Want to be President

By signing this bill, Newsom signals he doesn't want to be President. 

For Example

An example of what I outlined below perfectly illustrated by this: True Detective Night Country emmys.  

I stopped watching the show. And yeah, fine the creator of the show casting shade on the remake was unprofessional and perhaps in poor taste. But celebrating what was so obviously inferior television. Come on now. Perfect example of sacrificing quality for the feelings of the people who worked on the show coupled with this bizarre obsession with boosting the self-esteem of marginalized groups.

The esteem of the people on the show more important now than the audience. 

Toxic

The toxic combination of DEI, safetyism, and bureaucracy almost got Trump killed. 

On ABC News, the director of the US Secret Service said the "sloped roof" of the building the would-be Trump assassin carried out his attack from was a safety hazard and that a decision was made not to have an agent on it.

Because the point of overly feminized workplaces is to serve the workplaces and not the mission. So here, they prioritized the safety of the Secret Service rather than the duty of protecting the President. This happens nearly everywhere now in America and it's why we're in decline. 

Tim Robbins

Used to be a poster child for deranged leftism, now he seems like a reasonable centrist. 

To anyone drawing a parallel between my film Bob Roberts and the attempted assassination of Trump, let’s be clear. What happened yesterday was a real attempt on a presidential candidate’s life. Those that are denying the assassination attempt was real are truly in a deranged mindset. A human being was shot yesterday. Another killed. They may not be human beings that you agree with politically but for shame folks. Get over your blind hatred of these people. They are fellow Americans. This collective hatred is killing our souls and consuming whatever is left of our humanity.

Time doing a number on us all. 

Assassin

Seems like he was a lonely, bullied kid. My guess: suicide by secret service. 

Sad all around.

Observation

I get these DEI workshop things from work sometimes. Latest one is let's learn resilience. In the past, they offered "coloring" sessions. Often about decompressing, destressing, etc. It feels to me like stuff kids do. I dunno what's going on with these people - it seems like they want to go back to kindergarten or something. 

Meloni Faces

This is my favorite ongoing bit in international news - Meloni faces. 

It started with her "death stare" to Macron.

Now, it's her Biden eye roll and scowl.

What I love about facial expressions - they harken back to childhood and even ancestors - I feel like some of these expressions obviously came from her own mother, father, or grandparents. It's like ghosts from the past reacting to the present.

Marlon Brando Once Quoted 48 Hrs. Back to Eddie Murphy During Dinner

Eddie Murphy is weird, but there's quite a number of glimpses into the old star in this interview. I laughed out loud at the joke toward the end. 

Logging

Film: Axel F

Turned off.

Film: Unfrosted

Okay, but finished.

TV: Presumed Innocent

Not as good as the film I remember, but I'll finish it.  

A Lesson From Joe Biden...

...you can ignore the noisy intellectuals because they have no real influence or power to make anyone do anything.

Israel

Seems to me the timing is right to come to some sort of a deal.

In fact, this Saudi position does not seem crazy.

One thing that needs to be explained to me: why can't Gaza and the West Bank have different statuses? Could a Palestinian State be formed in the West Bank with Gaza TBD after 5 years of disarmament or something along those lines? I can see why Israel cannot be seen to be rewarding Hamas. But at the same time, they don't seem to be able to "finish the job." Israel needs to fight quickly and remain flexible. So why not give the carrot to the West Bank and the PA since they've already given the stick to Gaza?

Ukraine

Fascinating video here of a young Ukrainian guy arguing with some young Russian babes over the internet. He makes such strong, compelling arguments. They are floundering between various innuendos and lies, none of which make any sense even to themselves. Oddly, they cannot even bring themselves to criticize the United States - it almost seems like they admire the US. 

Is there a Palestinian equivalent? And no...I do not mean some European or American leftist...an actual Palestinian who can make a similar argument? Probably not. One of his most compelling points is this: you attacked us. We started nothing. No Palestinian can make the same case. 

Uruguay

Is favored against the US in soccer today. The country has a population of 3.4 million.