... particularly when that trick is howling at sirens.
Howling in harmony? No. Just howling.
Bodie, the older and larger Catican Guard never used to howl at sirens. He's a really laid-back dog unless you come into our yard and he doesn't know you. Then things can get ugly. In any case, our new Catican Guards, the chihuahua sisters, Leah and Lily, both howl at sirens. Bodie has decided this is a good idea.
Sigh.
I mean, it's funny and all, particularly when you watch a little chihuahua really put her back into it and she lets rip with a tiny yet ferocious howl, but I can see how this could get old. Luckily, we don't hear sirens all that often.
... except that this one would deal with things in the distant past. The 1890s, say. Here's how it would work.
Take all of your current favorite hobby horses and pet peeves and apply them to newspaper articles from your chosen era. Walk through the events on a daily basis and write screeds and rants about all of the things you discover. Use quotes from the politicians of the day, mocking those who disagree with you unmercifully. Make predictions of boom or bust based on the way you see the world right now.
After a year or so of this, go forward 5 years and see how well you fared. Did things collapse as you said they would? Were there uprisings and riots like you said? Did the right nations prosper? What fun!
Best of all, you could rant and rave with wild accusations and slanderous assertions and no one would respond with rage and vitriol.
Mostly because no one would have any idea at all what you were talking about.
At the very least, we should all agree that Paul Krueger was a toolbox. Whoever he was.
I've tried a bunch of Catholic podcasts and they're all so serious or mild or prayerful. No, what we need is an Irish Catholic podcast where we drink beer and shout. Kind of like this.
Or maybe one where we mix Catholicism and Van Halen. Hey, God loves us and he made men and women so they were, err, compatible, right? He also gave us the intellect required to brew IPAs and build airplanes that can take us to the Caribbean for diving vacations. What's not to celebrate loudly about that?
I would love it. A Catholic podcast that opened with David Lee Roth singing Beautiful Girls and went downhill, more or less, from there.
Elections are won or lost at the margins. Given that Hillary Clinton was in favor of having the government fund any and every gruesome late-term abortion technique, probably including dropping living babies into Cuisinarts as they were delivered, there was no way on Earth I was going to vote for Ms. Abbatoir. If Instapundit ran a story telling me that Hillary was Elvis' love child and I swallowed it hook, line and sinker, it would have made no difference.
Similarly, if the Huffington Post had run story after story telling me that ObamaCare was going to lower costs and provide awesome coverage, I wouldn't have ... oh, wait. They did.
In any case, the HufPo didn't change my opinion at all.
Most of us live in intellectual bubbles, reading stories and columns from people and sites that agree with us. The actual impact of "fake news" stories is probably pretty minimal as they just reinforce opinions that are already set in concrete. The only way a "fake news" story could effect things would be if they appeared on sites who hold positions contrary to the point of the story.
If HuffPo carried the Elvis-Hillary story or Glenn Reynolds told me ObamaCare was fantabulous, it would at least have a prayer of making an effect. As it was, I can't see how any "fake news" stories did anything at all to impact the election.
Another mechanism would be to have the thin sliver of undecideds exposed to sufficient amounts of "fake news" to change their minds. How this would differ from the major news networks going all-in to stop Trump, I'm sure I don't know.
On Pandora, from time to time I hear an ad for Disneyland that talks about their Christmas celebrations with the line, "It's our most festive Christmas ever!" Those "best one yet" things always get me because they imply that last year's was worse. When I hear this ad, I mentally finish it like so.
"It's our most festive Christmas ever! I mean, it could hardly help but improve on last year's when the parade ground to a halt because one of the floats burst into flames, scorching those orphans. Man, that was pretty horrible. We're really trying to avoid a repeat of that disaster. And don't get us started on the time those lions escaped in 1973. What a mess! Anyway, if you come up this year, we promise to try not to kill or maim any of you."
While in Augusta, we saw this water lily in a pond by the Savannah River. My point-and-shoot camera took a great shot and I decided to over crop it for artistic reasons. I left the image large, so it might be worth a click. Enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving to all y'all! Here, we're celebrating with the traditional turkey at mom's. Hoorah!
Elsewhen, George Washington kicked this whole thing off with his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789. Here's the opening bit.
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Read, as they say, the whole thing. It's worth a little such reflection once in a while.
Our new Maximum Leader, Maddi*, has a habit of sprinting for the bedroom where her food is kept whenever anyone makes a move in that direction. My wife was walking down the hallway away from that room the other day when Maddi, streaking for the food dish, ran between her legs and tripped her. My wife fell and ended up with a severely sprained thumb.
It's a hard life caring for a Maximum Leader sometimes.
Oh, sure, she looks like she's snoozing, but in reality, she's like a cocked gun, waiting to zip off to the noms. Don't get in her way!
* - Her full name is now Maddi Nomeater von Dangercat
... from the deepest, darkest regions of my sin-tortured soul.
I like chick bubblegum music.
There! I said it! It's out now and I feel so much better.
When I need a pick me up, sometimes I turn to ZoeGirl, Britt Nicole, Mandisa or even (gasp!) Jamie Grace. In my pre-Jesus Music days, I liked the Go-Gos, the Bangles and bands like that. Not exclusively, mind you, it gets tiresome after a bit, but any good mix has to have some chick bubblegum in it. You need to add in Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Benny Goodman, Dixieland jazz and Confederate Railroad as well ... OK, not all in the same mix, that would be eclectic to an insane degree, but I think you get the idea,
And yes, I know the music was written for 11-year-old girls. So sue me.
One more post on the mysteries of racism / sexism / blah bah blah. Sorry if this is getting monotonous, but I'm trying to step back and understand this. In today's episode, we wonder just what the point of it all is.
Here's a paragraph from Charles Blow's latest screed.
Increasingly, as he picks his cabinet from among his fawning loyalists, it is becoming clear that by “Make America Great Again,” he actually meant some version of “Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again.” It would be hard to send a clearer message to women and minorities that this administration will be hostile to their interests than the cabinet he is assembling.
OK, I guess. What if it's all true? What if we had elected Hillary Clinton and ridden a wave of racial comity to the sunny uplands of freedom and diversity?
We'd still owe $20T and my kids would still have this gorilla on their backs
The Middle East would still be in flames
Iran and Russia would still be trying to form a regional hegemony
Iran would still get nukes while it shouts "Death to America"
Dittos for regional hegemony in Asia with China
Illegitimacy would still be at civilization-destroying levels in almost all, err, diversity groups
Cities like Los Angeles and Chicago would still be facing fiscal meltdowns over insolvent pension plans
As would states like California and Illinois
And so on
Driving around Savannah last week, I saw some morbidly obese people of all races*. The primary problem in their lives wasn't racism, it was their weight. Similarly, the people that lived in run-down houses with beer cans in the yard had major problems with the way they spent their disposable income. The safest space in the world isn't going to help students who don't learn the material before a test.
In short, what's the big deal? Whether or not the US is a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy or an Eden of Equality, when the pension crises hit, racism isn't going to overcome the math. If Iran decides to nuke someone, having an Eskimo, Tolerant Matriarchy isn't going to stop the place from being incinerated.
I've read several people claim that screaming "Racism!" is a substitute for cogent argument and I quite agree. I'd add that obsessing over it is simply intellectual chaff. It has no value. I don't care if you have a Black Panthers flag or a Confederate flag in your yard. Whatever your bent, it's not going to change the fact that we all owe $60K per person on the national debt and once you remove those who can't pay, it's more like $240K per person. That's a recipe for disaster.
Thought experiment: Go through a day's worth of political tweets and editorials from progressives and remove all references to diversity and see what you get. My bet is that it's pretty thin stuff.
* - On our Savannah trip, deep in Dixie, we didn't see any evidence of racism. We all seemed to be getting along pretty well. Maybe the average American is actually a pretty decent sort.
a-1-A-iii: Any person who — knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).
a-1-B-ii: in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(ii), (iii), (iv), or (v)(II), be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
I was browsing Twitter the other night when I clicked onto the stream of some actress or model or whatever. She had over 2 million followers and was spazzing out over Trump. By this time, she was howling about his cabinet appointments. Everyone was a racist. Going back through her timeline, every political tweet charged someone with racism or sexism.
I have no idea what these terms mean any more. Here are some puzzlements for me.
How does she know she's not a racist? She could claim she wasn't, but the people she was shouting about would say the same thing. If you can't tell whether or not you're a racist, then who can? Shouldn't we just assume you are one to be on the safe side?
As I understand it, if you are a minority, you can't be racist. That means that if Jose Hernandez hates white people, he's not a racist. However, the moment he sets foot in Mexico, he is one, right?
Or maybe it's about power. Can Barack Obama be a racist? He's a minority, but he also has plenty of power.
If President Obama can't be racist because he's black, then can't he become one when he touches down in, say, Kenya for a diplomatic trip?
Since we must assume he's a racist, this is a real problem.
Do we want a racist representing us in Kenya?
Wouldn't it be a better idea to send only white guys to Kenya just to make sure we weren't sending any racists?
I think you can see where this all leads. No American white person can reliably know if they are racist, but if they move to a country where they are in the minority, they stop being racist.
How to end racism
This is obvious. All white people should move to Kenya. then none of them will be racist. All black people should move to the US. Then they can't be racist, either. All Hispanics should move to China and all Chinese should move to Mexico.
Wait, what?
Hmm. That's not going to solve anything. As soon as those moves take place, everyone becomes a member of the majority in their new country. That will make them all racists.
Sacrificial lambs
Clearly, we can't end racism. However, we can minimize it in a mathematical sense. If Chinese move to Mexico so that Mexicans are 50%+1 of the population and Chinese are 50%-1, that would seem to minimize racism on a per capita basis. Of course, the remaining Mexicans would still be racists, but you can't make a racism omelette without breaking a few brown eggs. Maybe they could hold a lottery in Mexico and the losers have to stay and be racists.
This process would then be repeated around the world until racism was minimized globally.
That's "totally adorable" for you non-Internet-abbreviation types.
Going through one of the airports I was in yesterday, I saw Wolf Blitzer interviewing some CNN chick about Trump and his failure to blah blah blah. It was so cute! Little Wolf was pretending to be part of a "news" organization while the girl was pretending to be a "journalist." I wanted to pat their little heads and tousle their hair, the sweeties.
One of the best things about this election and the WikiLeaks stuff, the MSM's frantic efforts to drag Hillary's dessicated, limp body across the finish line and their endless fixation on racism, sexism and homophobia is that after Trump's win, their powers are almost completely gone. We can see them for what they are, children playing make-believe, imitating competent and trustworthy newspeople.
So next time you see someone on ABC, CBS, NBC or CNN "reporting," just smile and shake your head and say, "Well bless your little hearts. You're so precious!"
Seeing Wolf Blitzer makes me think of a child playing with this as mommy drives the car. "Beep! Beep! Vroom! Mommy, I'm a real driver!" "Yes you are, sweetheart. And you're doing such a good job, too!"
I'm in Houston Airport on the way home, but neither snow nor sleet nor travel shall keep this blogger from his appointed blather!
We rented a boat in Savannah and cruised around the marsh waterways for a while. As I looked across the endless tracts of swamp, it occurred to me that this would be a perfect zombie barrier.
It's nearly impossible to walk through the low country marshes even for healthy people. Zombies, with rotting, misshapen limbs would be practically immobilized. Pick an island that could be isolated with a drawbridge and voila! A zombie-proof fortress with plenty of delicious seafood!
Does anyone still get that reference? It's from the ghastly 1970s movie, Love Story, a rancid, gooey, teen-date movie if ever there was one. Lots of guys endured it because it practically guaranteed a make out session.
But I digress.
Better title: The Supreme Court Means Never Having To Campaign For Votes.
Dig this map of state government trifectas. Red means the state has a Republican governor and both legislatures. Blue is Democrat, grey is split.
Transgendered rights, it turned out, wasn't a winning argument.
Imagine trying to get a constitutional amendment passed recognizing gay marriage in that environment. Not. Gonna. Happen. However, the Supreme Court blew right past that hoary tradition and simply decreed what was effectively the same thing.
And you rubes thought you were allowed to vote for things. Ha ha ha. What a laugh.
See also: Constitutional amendment legalizing abortion, chances of passage of.
Of course, we've got an opening on the Supreme Court now and a bunch of geriatric liberals as well. Ted Cruz and a few like-minded individdles might push the country back towards a real democracy where if you want to remake the culture, you'll have to, you know, like, convince the people that it's a good idea.
Gasp! The horror! No wonder they're rioting in Portland.
Anon recommended a few places in Savannah for us to visit, among them Vic's By The River. Well, we went to Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (stunning photo below, left large, worth a click) and then took a walk to the Savannah River for brunch.
We ended up at Tubby's instead of Vic's because it had a second-story veranda overlooking the river. We later stopped at Vic's for some coffee, just for anon. It was great, by the way.
Tubby's has a special deal that if a container ship goes by while you're sitting on the veranda, you get a free shot.
And thank you Wallenius Wilhelmsen! Drinks all around!
Savannah is gorgeous. It's not very large, so you can get a feel for the whole place in a couple of days, but it has an undeniable grace which far outstrips most other American cities.
Say you lived in the 1500 block of Campbell St. in Oakland.
Maybe this is your house.
City Hall in Oakland, where Democrat mayor Libby Schaaf runs the show, is 1.4 miles or 5 minutes drive away. The place is pretty darn Democrat all the way around. Wikipedia says, "The Cook Partisan Voting Index of Congressional District 13, which includes Oakland and Berkeley, is D+37, making it the most Democratic congressional district in California and the fourth most Democratic district in the US."
San Francisco County, managed by a board of supervisors, all 12 of which are Democrats, has County Clerk offices 9.2 miles or 15 minutes away from your house. Only 8.6% of all registered voters in San Francisco County are Republicans. Meeting 20 people at random in the street, on average, you will encounter only 1-2 Republicans.
Sacramento is the home of the California State government. The State Capital Building is 79 miles away or a little over an hour's drive if there's no traffic. The state government is managed by Democrat Jerry Brown and a super-majority of Democrats in both chambers of the legislature.
If you live in Oakland, every appointed government official, from top to bottom, has been appointed by a Democrat, save for a few possible holdouts from Governor Schwarzenegger's administration which ended in 2010 or from George W. Bush's administration which ended in 2008.
The congressional delegation from the state of California is made up of 39 Democrats and 14 Republicans. That's 73% Democrat. Both US senators from California are Democrats.
The White House is 2,814 miles away or about 40 driving hours by car. Starting in January of 2017, the fellow occupying that position will be a Republican.
That many Republicans in positions of power in my world and that close to me would make me lose my mind, too.
