The Real Move

Would be to trade war China and vow to protect Taiwan until they get them to halt Russia. But that would take a lot of balls and brains.

Property Destruction

You'd end the campus property destruction tomorrow if you made the protestors pay for it. 

The Pakistani Bomb

Was designed and assisted by China, just for some historical context.

A Common Theme

For those who've started wars recently - Russia, Pakistan, the Palestinians - they all have the implicit or explicit "backing" of China.

Nothing to do with Trump. 

It was Barzini all along. They are testing Western resolve and capabilities.

Logging

Film: Sinners

We are being gaslit with this film, right? I don't remember Blade or From Dusk Til Dawn getting rave reviews...this is a messy mash up I tried to like but didn't give me much to hang onto. Sorry, I'll pack my bags to the gulag.

Nextdoor

My casual observation - a lot of dog-related posts. Must be some type of overlapping demographic. 

Dumber Idea Competition

Is tariffing movies or rebuilding a prison on Alcatraz a dumber idea. I can't tell. The weird thing - and I say this as an "idea" person myself - I prefer Trump's dumb ideas to his opponents who have no ideas (one of the reasons why they embrace wokeness and related concepts).

Yes

Safetyism: if the acceptable amount of risk is zero, the acceptable amount of activity is zero

Trumpism is preferable to Safetyism because it's easier to dismantle.

Movie Tariffs

Everything is a gimmick for attention with the guy and I'm increasing my odds of thinking it will end badly. 

VT

Total world stock now actually up for the year. Question. 2 weeks ago every Trump critic on the planet was using the market drop as evidence of his poor governance. Does the opposite hold? Or is the narrative the market stopped Trump's foolishness? Seems to me he got his tariffs on Chinese goods, got his DOGE, got DEI on the run -- whether the tariffs will be effective remains to be seen...

Recession In A Month Or So People

I see these folks on twitter saying we're definitely going into recession soon because of tariffs. Like for sure. And it's gonna hurt. But the thing is - if you knew this, the last thing you would do is go on twitter and tell everyone. You'd short the market and shut up.

MS-13

People keep calling the MS-13 tats photoshopped but clearly the letters/numbers are added to interpret the gang code - like subtitles in a foreign film.

I get the marijuana leaf = M, smile = S but why would the cross and skull equal 13? I guess the shapes are suggestive? Can the media actually do some reporting on this? Can someone interview a gang expert at least? The discussions around the entire thing are absurd.

Further, I could believe the tats were meant as MS-13 - but that doesn't make the guy a member for sure. Could be a poser. 

SJP

Like all Islamists, they can win tactical victories - several in a row, even but it's all wrapped up in a losing strategy. They get weaker and poorer and more and more reliant on moonshots while their opponents keep getting richer and smarter and more populous. 

Huh?

I've been trying to ignore the noise on Trump's incompetence but Bondi now says the fentanyl busts saved 258 million lives? So now she's saved 2/3s of the country? What is going on here?

I Had No Idea

That Terrence Howard has theories about math, physics, and the universe that lead him to conclude 1x1=2. 

This is now the strongest evidence presented by the folks who believe free speech is an outmoded concept.

The second strongest piece of evidence against free speech is that Rogan discusses this with him for 15 minutes.

Impressive

Pam Bondi says DEA fentanyl bust saved 119 million American lives. 1/3 of the entire country! 

Maybe they meant 119 people. Not sure.

Ironies Abound

Theory - because of grade inflation across so many domains of school there is little to no incentive to use chatgpt for the smart student. You can coast to an A already!

Yes Indeed

So should I, like, use ChatGTP for a summary of the New Yorker piece about replacing reading with ChatGTP, or just skip it altogether?

Rockets - Warriors

Fascinating game last night. After the fast Warriors start, I thought the Rockets had them figured out. Thompson on Curry. Play through Sengun instead of Green. Get Smith and Eason on the floor for outside shooting. Attack Draymond and get him in foul trouble. Make the "others" beat you. There were sequences in the game when Rockets defense was absolutely stifling. 

But...Sengun seems to get a bit psyched out by Draymond. Not sure why. He's taller and quicker and I think the Rockets are smart to attack Green defensively to both get him in foul trouble and wear him down. Warriors have no interior D without Draymond. And Pods, Butler, and Hield showed up. Game could've gone either way. Brooks foul on Jimmy was beyond dumb. Also, soft call if you ask me. Crazy as well Butler didn't get a flagrant or tech on his takedown of Brooks. Worrisome for Rockets - they cannot expect another game like that from VanVleet...

Good Line

Once again, socialism is like a nude beach: sounds pretty nice until you see it in person

Why Dems Make Thing Suck

Obama efforts to make cars more efficient lead to larger and larger cars.

Perversely, Democrats planning, "intelligence," and sense of morality works against them. They think they understand complex systems, but they only understand 1st order effects. Republicans have all sorts of poor motivation for their policies - like selfishness and subtle racism, but they might be perversely better than the Dems attempts to social engineer outcomes.

Films...

The number of films I've seen from this list is shockingly low.

Adam Schiff

The highest I've ever thought on him in this clip.

I don't see how any of these California politicians can hold their heads high when they look upon their own state.

Copying Works Both Ways

China copies our good stuff, but we can copy their good stuff too... a 20K bare bones electric pick up.

Cutting off the Water

India cutting off the water to Pakistan. Is it genocide yet?

Rubio

I don't find anything he's been saying publicly to be wrong. Prefer him to Vance to take the helm from Trump.

I see little hope for any Democrat so long as Trump continues to moderate on tariffs and some of the more extreme deportation stuff.

PS -

A few weeks ago, every commentator was using the global stock market fall as evidence for Trump's failure (never mind that they would never use such a measure to compliment his prior Presidency). Now VT is down 1.5% YTD. Hmmm.

Who Holds The Cards?

I fail to see why any number of the 5 billion non-Chinese people in the world can't assemble iPhones and manufacture other products that are done in China on the cheap. 

India

Expelling all Pakistanis. When do the calls of genocide start on this one? Is not India guilty of stealing land from Muslims?

Times...

Looks like the world needs to wrap up this Ukraine Russia thing and the Palestininan-Israel thing so we can move onto the main event - India vs Pakistan nuclear armed standoff. 

Hmmm...Tariffs...

So after all that, VT (global stock) is down a measly 3.5% YTD and we put a 60% tariff on Chinese stuff? Isn't this the position "reasonable" tariff fans wanted?

Nancy Mace

"Are you going to host a town hall this year?"

"Stop harassing me, I'm a victim of abuse." 

MAGA is Obsessed with Trans?

She's got it all backwards. Maga uses trans issues because it's a clear political winner for them. They will keep repeating and repeating the issue so long as the Democrats are on the wrong side of it. And they are. The gender transition stuff is just absolute madness. As are boys in women's sports. Every single normal person actually has to deal with this nonsense these days. And of course it is not the biggest issue in the world! But it's horrible for the Democrats. Because it shows they have no sense of reality. When you get caught in a lie, you lose trust not on one issue, but ALL issues. This is  the hugest Democrat "own goal" of my lifetime. Even the question of how Israel treats the Palestinians has a hair more connection to reality than the trans issue. And no, Republicans didn't start the nonsense. The Democrats did, by prioritizing the most radical elements of the LGBT+ agenda. The old rule was leave everyone alone and we're cool. When it changed to make everyone accept what is patently false - that's when the Democrats lost the normies. It's political suicide.  

If I Were President...

My foreign policy would be we support our friends, crush our enemies, and compete with rivals. 

None of the Anti-Israel Positions Ever Make Sense To Me

The critics who call the war genocide also called the occupation from before the war genocide. And before the occupation, they called 1948 the Nabka and refuse to acknowledge Israel has any right to exist. It keeps going back to this circular logic that ends with supporting Hamas or PLO or basically any organization that uses violence against Israel. What makes no sense is that no one would support say, the 2 million displaced Chinese who left China for Taiwan attacking mainland China. Or for that matter, the native Taiwanese who saw 2 million Chinese migrants enter their country and then start suiciding bombing them. 

The point is, the anti-Israel folks never come up with a reasonable compromise. Never put anything but violence on the table. Never exert pressure on their own side to compromise. And thus ensure perpetual war hoping that someone else will shame Israel into not acting in their own interest. What country or state has ever voluntarily ceased to exist? It ain't gonna happen. 

Tariffs

I always thought the benefits of using tariffs was how easily they could be removed. 

Question

How is it possible we have two "political parties" who are both working against the interests of Americans?   

Logging

Film: Public Enemies

When Michael Mann makes a lower tier Michael Mann film, it still makes my top 10 of the year. Maybe even top 5. 

NY Times on Fire

First, Douthat's column on the age of extinction is a must read. I remain a hair more optimistic - my general feel is that things can change quickly for both worse and better. So this notion that we all voluntarily stop procreating and life ends can easily be turned around by simply turning off video games and porn, I think. But he's really onto something about how physical life has become so much more difficult whereas online life so much more easy. To give a simple example - little league vs video games. The fortnite video game costs something like $50 and could entertain (if I let it) my kids for 2 hours each a day. They will be safe and happy in the short run. To compare, baseball practice can similarly entertain them for 2 hours, but it takes driving 15 minutes each way, it takes me doing coaching training and filling out tons of paperwork, costs hundreds of dollars each for league fees, hundreds each more for bats, helmets, gloves...it takes tremendous coordination and effort by parents, coaches, league volunteers, parks and rec for field access, etc. It is at least 15% more difficult than when I was a kid. And that's for a well-organized system with deep roots. I can make a similar point about skiing. 

My point - recreation in the US is by some measure worse than when I was a kid whereas the video games are clearly like 5x better than when I was a kid. It's only one example, but shows why we are being pushed more into the virtual and must remain intentional to get out.

Next, this ADHD article feels urgent and important. Two things to note - the "disease" is diagnosed by behaviors and cannot be identified by any biomarker. And the disease is treated with amphetamines for kids with notable side effects. It remains unclear in a lot of cases whether the ADHD diagnosis can be separated from other issues - example being anxiety disorder. Kids may display ADHD "symptoms" and be diagnosed with ADHD when in fact they have anxiety. Well worth a read for the many folks dealing with doctors and teachers telling you your kid has ADHD. 

Remarkable

0% of Americans think the tariffs will personally benefit them. 

Who says we're economically illiterate?

A Solution to the Kilmar Garcia Case

We should bring him back to the US where he will likely commit a crime and both Dems and Republicans get to look like heroes. Dems for preserving the rule of law and the Republicans for correctly sussing out he was a criminal. As they say, solve for the equilibrium.

What Might Help, In General

Cease listening to "complainers." 

Not Helping

Hate to say it, but big long conversations with groups of women on live TV don't further the cause women's lib movement. Yes, you get one of four who know what they are talking about but those are the one's who get silenced by the others and drowned out.

And here Candace Owen's calls the NASA program fake and gay. It is funny, but not in the way she thinks it is.

UPDATE: Kanye now thinking Candace Owens might be a little crazy.

Sad But Perhaps True

Yglesias and Hanania think MAGA men want women to be poorer so they can have a better shot with the ladies. Gender dynamics can explain quite a lot in society, so I think they are onto something. The men, however, are dumb. If you are a guy with the following:

-A full time job (any, even a bad one)

-Some realistic ambition

-And remotely in-shape/attractive, ie not obese, a slob, or clearly unhealthy

-No disqualifying personality traits (psycho vibes) 

Or perhaps just 3.5 of the 4, you will attract a decent woman. 

All these incel and Maga types are the wokie's evil twin - they blame complex systemic when a simpler solution to their ailments would simply be: get a job, eat healthier, and/or jog.

Logging

Film: Furiosa

My wife: "why are you watching that?"

Me: "Because it's awesome." 

Is Every Boy's Favorite Game

To inflict violence upon his father, or just my kids? 

Moral Panic

The first moral panic I personally fell for - the Iraq War. I supported it as a 60-40 proposition that it would usher in a change in the Middle East. In that, I was wrong. I also figured getting rid of the most evil man/family in the world might be good unto itself. Still...the emotional sway of the arguments for the war was what won me over at the time. Now I've seen the playbook 10-15x since then. The same pattern being used A LOT around a lot of different issues. The environment? Remember that? What ever happened with climate change ruining earth? Is it still happening? You wouldn't know it by what folks talk about. Guns? School shootings? COVID and vaccine mandates, etc? China, Ukraine, Russia. Stolen elections. DEI. George Floyd. Each one of these issues is built into moral panic. Then it was Doge, which everyone seems to have forgotten from a measly two weeks ago. Then tariffs. Now immigration -- the Maryland man deported. Don't get me wrong. I think it's terrible. But the moral panic around issue is by design and how many times can we be told the sky is falling...

For The Record...

...I'm glad Harvard is standing up for themselves but they and other colleges put themselves in this situation.

...I don't support deporting our citizens even if they're criminals. Question, though: why doesn't the Left consider this a fringe, small issue that doesn't impact many people like they do with transgender stuff? Curious minds want to know...

...Yes there probably is a smarter way to do the tariffs, but if that were the case, why don't we have it?

...And yes, there is probably a smarter way to do DOGE, but again if that were the case, why don't we have it?

...I'm starting to wonder if Russia and China might have screwed themselves over... Could Trump and the West switch course and just decide to buttress Ukraine for the long haul and continue to bleed Russia? Could we transfer all the most useful lessons and tech from Ukraine to Taiwan in the meantime? Let the tariffs hurt an already fragile Chinese economy. People think Xi is tough, but he folded on zero COVID when the Chinese people started watching the world cup. His country doesn't want to be a pariah. Also...China doesn't need to invade Taiwan. This is a paranoid, absurd idea and if the Chinese are as smart as everyone thinks they are, they should know this. I hope the CIA is in touch with all the generals Xi has fired over the past several years and coaching them how to organize a revolution from within.

Yes Please

A basic EV truck for 25K.

I would pay 30K for a basic ICE with either 4WD or rear wheel drive, stick shift and no computer whatsover. Basically a modern E90 BMW 3 or 5 series but built brand new with safety features and gas efficiency. 210 HP or better. 

Death Penalty

I'd be in favor of the death penalty for this one. 

Or...

Is Trump Natasha Rothwell about to get 5 mil in the bank because he knows China/Gary stand to lose a lot more than we do. 

Logging

Film : The Wild Pear Tree

Watched it like I was reading a novel. Slowly, over the course of several nights. Loved, loved, loved it.

Story: Brokeback Mountain

I'll admit I got a little teary. Also, the story isn't about LGBTQ blah blah blah. It's about what time does to memory, about the impossibility of recapturing the past, relationships that matter and only realizing it too late. It's about love and life. 

And What of The Palestinian Strategy?

Taleb likes to critique the Israeli strategy of needing to kill more and more people to survive. But what of the Arab strategy? To keep being killed is surely a worse strategy, especially for a guy who places such a high premium on basics like "survival."

Bonkers

A hilarious exchange where BBC news hosts insist this politician needs to watch Adolescence. My God.   

And she calls it a documentary. Unclear. Does the women think the story is real? Or based on reality and not understand it's a fictional drama?

"Strategy"

I see. Trump's tariff plan was modeled after Saxon's pick up technique - just hit on every available girl who crosses your path and see how they react. 

Maybe the world is this way...much as we'd like it not to be.

President Camacho's State of the Union

Our Political Class

We replaced dumb Democrats with even dumber Republicans. I didn't think it was possible.

And So We Get Tariffs

Astonishing. 

This is one of those stories that could only happen in California: 

1. Mayor of Los Angeles issues an executive directive making it fast & easy to build 100% affordable housing. 

2. She doesn’t include any new public money in the order, so it’s supposed to just be a fake messaging thing. 

3. But there normal process to build housing in CA is so terrible, new policies that make it easy to build can be profitable (even for affordable housing). 

4. So private developers start building a ton of new housing using this streamlined process. 

5. Faced with a surprising pro-housing supply policy success, the mayor immediately started amending the directive to be more burdensome and revert to the status quo.

We can literally do nothing anymore. Probably best to just start learning Chinese.

Forget It

Had I known it would cost me 25% of my net worth to get rid of DEI, I would've said let's keep it. I'll do the land acknowledgements, even. 

Logging

TV: White Lotus S3 Finale

Season was worth it for Parker Posey's proud mama look when her daughter decides she can't stand the food at the Buddhist retreat and will remain a spoiled princess.

Biden/Harris vs. Trump

Instead of the slow spiral toward totalitarianism we were getting with the Democrats, now we have a sped up spiral toward poverty with the Republicans. 

Pick your poison.

Agree

When he doesn't talk about Palestine, his stuff makes sense:

If the US wants to reduce its external deficit there is only one way: fiscal discipline, end to budget deficits, price and salary devaluation, structural reforms in education and innovation, more competition in product markets

One could include housing into this morass as well. 

True

People who support Trump imposing the tariffs will also Trump support lifting the tariffs. 

Although it should be also pointed out, when the stock market went up during Trump 1, people criticized him for making the rich richer and now that it's going down, they are also criticizing him for making everyone poorer.

Stock Futures Plunging

Once again, Warren Buffet the only one publicly going to cash last year - the man remains undefeated. 

The shocker with this one - entirely triggered by non-emergency public policy choice by an American president. Normally, these things happen for financial or economic reasons, but this one purely induced by policy. Live and learn.

Ouch

If we really want Russia to bleed, you know what we should do? 

Impose free trade on them. Surely they will wince and holler once free trade makes them worse off. Free trade will hollow out their middle class! Ukraine will have the Donbas again in no time

My Read on Trump and the Tariffs

My sense of Trump is that he can read the room and learn from mistakes. My guess is that he'll adjust the tariffs to make more sense over time. Perhaps this is being generous, but I see him as pragmatic and opportunistic, not fanatical. I know others see him different. I guess time will tell. But as Tyler Cowen always says: "are you short the market?" 

Trade War

So now Americans can't buy the newest Nintendo Switch. Are we so sure we can win this trade war?

The Tariffs

Seem like a bad idea being handled in the way they are. Bluntly. The best argument seem to be: we've already lost our ability to be a global superpower and keep free trade secure around the world. So we might as well retreat to our hemisphere and re-shore industry here. Taiwan will belong to China and Ukraine to Russia. And let's cross our fingers and hope things work out.

Trump's Newest Book

"How To Diss Friends and Alienate People"

I wonder if Trump has considered the possibility that Apple and Tesla would just become Chinese companies rather than re-shoring.

The Algorithms No Longer Work 

Because people got wise...

I took my kids and their cousins to the computer history museum over Christmas where they had various AI robots and the kids immediately began bullying the AI. This was their natural reaction. When I see a robot delivering food, my initial reaction is to kick it over. You think something is wrong with me? I think something is wrong with you. Who wants these robots doing anything, much less calling the shots. Only the autistic. I'm not going to apologize for being a humanist...

Now we see even the cleverist systems breaking down. I noticed this on my own film - 29% rotten tomatoes critics, 97% rotten tomatoes audience, 5.2 rating on imdb, 2.4 rating on letterboxd. So the film ranges from shitty, to mediocre, to great on all the different algorithms. And Snow White. 1.9 on imdb, 40% critics on rotten tomatoes, 70% audience on rotten tomatoes, 2.0 on letterboxd. None of the numbers make any sort of sense. They might as well be monkey shit spraying all over the place. It's obvious with Snow White, the 1.9 on imdb are being rigged by "haters" but isn't the audience on rotten tomatoes "reacting" to the "haters". At some point we're going to get algorithms that algorithm the algorithms and every film ever made will be a perfect 5/10.

Re: Tariffs

I don't think America can sustain ourselves by simply being a consumer market and living on financial products, ie stock growth.

We need industries. We need to build. The past 25 years we've been carving up every industry but tech. 

So will the tariffs work? Probably not, but no one else has any other ideas so tariffs is what we're doing.

Start Reading The Chinese Perspective

Because we'll be soon living under it whether we want to or not. 

The added benefit is this guy is more rational than 80% of American commentary on the Ukraine war.

What Subject Am I Studying?

Core texts: The Crying Game, Silence of the Lambs, and Ace Ventura Pet Detective.

Logging

TV: 21 Jump Street 2 part pilot 

In it, Johnny Depp didn't love high school, joins the drama club, solves a drug case, and a high school girl develops a crush on him... More elements of the 2-part pilot show up in the film than I would've guessed. But where the film places emphasis is significantly different. The film is a 2-hander and the tone satirical and humorous. The show has humor, some of which is unintentional and of the era. I remember shows like Miami Vice and MacGyver each had similar tonal elements - a strange mix of seriousness, humor (some intentional and some not), and a surprisingly big nod to social messaging (for those who object to wokeness...might want to consider whether it's providing a message or the content one objects to). 

In the end, the message here is listen to your parents and cops.

TV: Adolescence - end "season" which is just 4 episodes...

Another 99% on rotten tomatoes viewing experience. The pitch on this should be - an episode of Law and Order SVU strung out over 4 episodes shot in long, continuous takes. As one might expect this yields both positives and negatives. I find it impossible to believe audiences are impressed by "oners" anymore, but who knows...on occasion this show finds memorable small moments with characters by its formal choice - I'm thinking of the father and the psychologist, in particular. So at times you can appreciate this effort. But in the end, the "mystery" lacks even the psychological truth of a Law and Order SVU. The depiction of the family and community in relationship to the crime is so implausible as to defy reality. If one is offended by how thin the 21 Jump Street pilot depicts of black criminality, one should be equally (if not more) offended by the depth in which Adolescence "explains" white working class criminality - by essentially not explaining it - and suggesting a 13 year old from a decent family would simply knife to death a fellow schoolgirl simply because he was an incel without any prior red light warning signals. Utterly absurd. 

Why Trump Is President

Listen and learn how Democrats couldn't even implement their own policy to expand broadband access.

7 More Bil

If you wonder why we have/need Doge, look no further than CA high speed rail. An absolute heist from the taxpayer to do-nothing bureaucrats and their construction firm patrons. What a joke.

Logging

Film: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

I enjoy Gerard Butler in this role traipsing around Europe hanging with Serbian jewel heisters. The heist parts are well filmed, but I'm afraid Ice Cube's son weighs down the production. I remembered quite liking the original, so I re-watched the trailer and was like - oh yeah, there were a ton more memorable, chaotic characters in that one. I wonder if this is a sustainable filmmaking model where a filmmaker just basically says: I'm making a batshit crazy Heat rip off and then I'm making a sequel that's a batshit crazy version of Ronin. Maybe it is.

 

Democrats

Opt to die on this hill of trans shit while the costs mount - losing abortion rights, tax breaks for billionaires, continuation of a dysfunctional medical system, out of control housing costs, neutered educational systems, and betrayal of allies round the globe. But you can be accepted at lame social events with other Democrats. Good job folks.

They are electing JD Vance for 8 years with this shit.

Schools

Remember when public schools argued the most fervently for keeping closed during COVID? In hindsight, isn't this totally upside down? You would think schools would've been their own biggest advocates? Shouldn't the schools have been arguing for their central importance to children, families, and the society at large? Instead, they tacitly argued they were the LEAST important institutions in the country.

Their Strategy is Death

"I'm not sure what Hamas's strategy is?" 

Come on people, we regard these folks as rational actors at our peril. They yearn for death and would like to take Israelis with them. It's not complex.

Democrats

I agree if Democrats embraced policies that would prevent medical bankruptcies, providing affordable housing, and raising the minimum wage they could (and should) win. (I don't agree with the minimum wage thing because I actually studied economics, but I can see how it could be politically popular). Problem is, this is fantasy land. Because Democrats controlled congress and the Presidency for four years and did none of the above. And...Democrats controlled California for the past 25 years and did none of the above. So the truth is, either a) Democrats don't actually care about those things or b) Democrats don't know how to deliver government policy. Or both.

So when the Dems who had political power during these times - I'm looking at you AOC, Gavin Newsom, etc - now want us to believe they are shifting and refocusing priorities - sorry, no one buys it. You had your chance. You chose hypocritical COVID lockdowns, high speed rail boondogles, the woke and trans agenda, the green new deal, and forgiving student loans. Everyone was here for it and saw it. 

Okay...

Macaes "I said here on October 9 2023 that if we did not all made our best to pressure authorities in the West, 100,000 or more children would be killed by Israel in Gaza. Today I don’t know anyone who doubts this has already happened."

Strange framing. Never did it occur to him from 2007 to 2023 that Hamas could've been "pressured" to not commit mass murder?

Other strange phenomenon with Taleb and Macaes - their obsession with "debunking" the "propaganda" of Hamas committing mass rapes on October 7th. I'm not a forensic expert on the subject but it would seems to me similar to focusing on how the Nazi guards actually weren't always as bad in the concentration camps as depicted in movies or some official accounts. It's like...okay. And...? So? Perhaps some reports of mass rapes were exaggerated in the aftermath of October 7th just like after every earthquake the numbers of dead are misreported. How does that materially change anything that happened on October 7th. 

It is just such a strange, strange mindset that doesn't grasp the impossibility of dealing with a group of people who elect Hamas to do their bidding. 

The Back Nine

Bought a nice new ski jacket and realized given how I commit to things, it might well be the last one I ever buy.

Logging

Film: Black Bag

Soderbergh and Koepp doing a stylish spy flick with 97% rotten tomatoes? Seems like a home run. But it wasn't for me. Why? Some indecipherable dialog masks what felt to me like an entirely joyless enterprise. I'm all for melancholy, but this felt like a movie about miserable people for miserable people. A few strong plot twists were impressive. I wasn't bored. But never did my pulse raise, never did I feel much emotionally, and never did I laugh or even chuckle. If I want misanthropy, I prefer something like Fincher's The Killer which takes it all the way...

TV: White Lotus s3e5

I wonder if Jason Isaacs ever questioned Mike White and was like - are you sure you need me to be distracted during dinner and leave to make a phone call again? Could I try something else? In case it wasn't obvious, this is my least favorite season so far although Walt Goggins-and Sam Rockwell surprise visit was enjoyable. 

China Offers "Stability"

China out there promoting "stability" as if their foreign and domestic policy is a more desirable model than the US. If you consider active complicity in Russia's aggression, enabling the largest land war in Europe since WW2 and creating the biggest global pandemic in living memory "stability," then...enjoy your stability! Careful what you wish for...

The Phones

While a lot of the smartphone discussion centers around whether kids should have them in school, etc (of course not), the bigger issue might be - should adults be using them as much as we do? For which the answer is also, of course not.

Good Argument

This is a good argument against deporting the Columbia protest leader.  The government should be making the case he wasn't exercising speech, but rather was promoting vandalism, etc. But instead they ARE making the case his opinions/politics alone are the reason he's being deported. I still think the government has an argument that he's a guest in the country and shouldn't be here on a secret Muslim Brotherhood mission to tear down Western civilization from the inside (which is he is attempting to do...and if you doubt this, please read any basic philosophical tracts from the Brotherhood, of which Hamas is a branch). But nevertheless, we are a country of laws and amongst those laws is the First Amendment. Point is, we have the tools to handle this fool and are not using the best one.

What Is A Screenplay?

A blueprint? A self-contained work of art? 

New working theory - a suggestion of a film. 

What I'm Not Gonna Do

Is learn about the nitty gritty details of immigration law to see whether the Trump admin is out of line by deporting a Hamas supporter. From what I can tell the guy seems to be an unemployed grad student with enough spare time to disrupt classes for tuition paying students. Am I worried about the impact to free speech? Let me think about that - how much will we miss one extra robot repeating the same unpopular, anti-western slogans the Muslim Brotherhood's been spreading around the world for the past 50 years? 

Not at all. 

Will this cool radical leftist and Arab students from studying at American universities? One can only hope.

That said, I'm a huge proponent of free speech. He can speak all he wants from his home country.

Trump

Gets Ukraine to agree to a 30-day ceasefire putting the ball in Putin's court. He got the mineral deal, took Zelensky to the woodshed in public. Does this put some heretofore unknown pressure on Putin from within his own coalition? Will this give cover for elements in the power structure of Russia to gently convince Putin to cut his losses and move on? We can't know. But worth a try, right? Better than the meat grinder.

Logging

Film: Only The River Flows

Each genre has about one unbreakable rule - a comedy must be funny. A mystery must be solved. But other than that, a good one. Still...I have yet to love a mainland Chinese film.

Interesting Takes

On Trump, Ukraine, China, etc. 

America dealing with the fact that our allies are much weaker than before.

Let The Local Communities Decide

Haha. Democrat's now saying "let the local communities decide" regarding men in women's sports. Of course this was always the right answer. The only problem was the Democrats deciding to use Title IX and Civil Rights law to impose men in women's sports. Just conveniently forgetting their own agenda...nevermind the cultural pressure imposed by the activists.

Can We Stop With The "Firsts" 

A lot boasting these days about being the "first" whatever whatever to win or become whatever whatever. Here is among the most ridiculous - the first man in England to become naturally pregnant. Of course this is really just a women who took hormones and accomplished what I dunno - all of our mothers and most animals accomplish in the course of their lives.

Logging

Film: Wild Robot 

The most searing critique of this film is that it's made for over-moms. You can imagine this type dragging her child to this film and Taylor Swift concerts, giving the children no space to be themselves, viewing her child as a "runt" who can only survive due to the mother's effort. Munchausen by proxy propaganda.

3 Nights

Taken me 3 nights to get through 40 minutes of White Lotus S3E3. Not a good sign. We've passed peak White Lotus.

Good Luck With That

Palestinian woman says she will "never surrender." Not really sure exactly what she means but that. Oh wait...yes I do. Her people will be further immiserated for the next 75 years.

The obvious thing for the Palestinians to do is give up the violence and get rich and beat the Israelis demographically. But that would require discipline, patience, and strategic thinking.

Democrats

Used to be fun and have their hearts in the right place - standing up for the little guy against the powerful. 

Now...they've become the party of the dysfunctional neurotics - joyless, envious scolds.

No wonder they're losing.

This Bit

Is better than anything in the film. 

Logging

Film: Conclave

My least favorite film of the nominees so far (that I've seen). Ridiculo 3rd act.

Zelenskyy-Trump-Vance Blow Up

I watched the entire interview. Several thoughts:

1) This was not a prep-planned ambush as some in the American media ridiculously suggest. Clearly, it was a formalization of a deal that did indeed blow up at the last minute.

2) Anyone whose ever dealt with a difficult deal in business or law will recognize the emotionality and tone of the discussion. The strange element was that it was all caught on live TV. But don't listen to pearl clutchers.

3) Zelenskyy did indeed "start it" but Vance quickly escalated, rather than de-escalated. I found this dynamic rather odd as Vance had been silent the entire time and it was clearly Trump's show. But Trump then seemed to jump to Vance's defense and get really mad at Zelenskyy.

4) Deep annoyance with Zelenskyy clearly preexisted.

5) I really did not like Vance's escalation, asking a guy fighting for his country and life to come here and "thank" (grovel at the feet) the current admin. Trump and Vance are perfectly willing to fawn over Putin in diplomatic terms. How about giving a guy and a country who are fighting a much larger and more powerful foe a bit of respect for being the front line of freedom.

6) Side note - for those of us few true blue "liberals" who remain, the person in the US we should most worry about is Vance. Trump is a moderate, a deal maker and egomaniac who wants things like peace and economic opportunities to build. Is this such a bad thing? Vance is not cut from the same cloth. This guy is a real deal hardcore social conservative the likes of which we have not seen wielding significant power in the United States. Stop comparing him to other conservatives for a moment and think about this. JD Vance is smart and learning on the job. Consider how Biden sidelined Kamala within the first year of his presidency and sent her to the kids table. She did nothing for four years. Trump is training Vance. He's in the room with Zelenskyy and Putin. This guy is young and in 4 years will inherit Trump's campaign and political apparatus. He stands to be elected President for 8 years. And this guy is hardcore pro-life. He is not joking around on this issue. This guy would abandon Ukraine in a heartbeat. He does not for one second care "what's happening over there." This guy is not what we would call a "man of the world." He believes in "America first" and we will find out what that means. He's a hillbilly, essentially. Is he evil? No. Not at all. But he is also not a liberal. And he's going to run a superpower unless somehow the democrats can get their act together (they won't).

7) Despite the blow up, all the same incentives for a deal exist. And they will continue to exist. 

8) I wish Trump or Vance could articulate this better, but the proper historical consideration here is Germany post WW2. We did not insist on "freeing" all of Germany and go to war with the Soviets over it. The West kept hold of what we could - West Germany and drew a line in the sand. I recognize what Zelenskyy is saying about not rewarding invasion, etc., but ideas are not concrete reality. Europe and Ukraine cannot deter or defeat Russia on the battlefield. They can hold the line and so hold the line is what they will do. They cannot expect America to jump into the fight against a nuclear armed power and risk WW3 for 19% of their territory. It's a ludicrous ask.

9) And here's what needs to be said behind the scenes. Of course Putin will break the ceasefire when he can. So make it difficult for him to do and play for time. Crimea was 10 years ago. So keep your country alive for 10 more years. What happens then? Putin will be 82 years old.