Understanding Reality

Elon Musk seems to have tweeted this, which came out highly compressed and pretty much unreadable. Several others came up with larger, more readable versions, and I rearranged it into 5 pages which you can print in landscape format if you like, and read easily in any case. Click to enlarge the pictures and reduce your biases.

Human Nature

 Rather depressing, but probably true, these 20 observations by a British rapper.

Political Science

Looking through an interesting post at Armed and Dangerous on the topic of the definitions of fascism, socialism, communism, and to a lesser extent, capitalism, I came to a conclusion which explains a number of things, primarily why lefties keep telling me that capitalism and fascism are the same. RTWT and don't skip the comments.

So the definitions of all ----isms is a socio-economic system in which harmony pervades the relationship between the governed and the governors, and happiness and prosperity are found everywhere. This seems to be the bedrock definition of all ----isms. To the extent that this happy state of affairs comes up short, the ---isms are obviously being implemented wrong, and someone is found to be at fault for this, and must be corrected/reeducated/arrested/eliminated. When the whole edifice collapses, it's then an example of the ----ism not being implemented correctly, or not "real ----ism".

Or as Robert Heinlein said:"Bad luck".

Goes a long ways toward defining why I went into engineering instead of the softer sciences since I have a lot more faith in the calculated breaking points of materials than I do in the durability of theories built on guesswork regarding human and/or divine nature.

Tangentially related: If you want to depress yourself* get up one spring morning to find a late cold snap has arrived with temps barely above freezing, settle down to read Indian Country by Schlichter, then periodically take a break from his dystopia to check the news.

*Don't know why anyone would want to unless you need some inspiration to sit down at the bench and run off another several hundred rounds of ammo.

Arguing With Liberals

Found at Power Line Blogs week in photos which is always worth the clickover:

To my observation, asking questions back is the quickest way to silence a liberal.

Next year I plan to attend the hearings for the anti-gun bills and ask a lot of questions.

May Day

Here we are again at that iconic holiday celebrated the world over for different reasons, some better than others. The older and more light-hearted version goes

Hurrah Hurray
The first of May
Outdoor f*****g
starts today.

Your climate may vary. This year around here while most of the 7-12" of snow we got 2 days ago has melted, the water saturating the ground is only a couple of degrees warmer than the remaining snow.

In the last 100 years or so May 1 has become an excuse to skip work and carry red banners denouncing the dehumanizing effects of working. By contrast, remember the successes of the capitalists, who recognize the humanizing effects of eating regularly and sleeping indoors, at the Battle of Berkley and the 2017 D.C. inauguration. Try this in consideration :
  
Hurrah Hurray
The first of May
Bash a Commies
head today.

Some of the participants in the inauguration are complaining that after dutifully following the lead of some shadowy Fearless Leader had gone out to beat people and break things, are finding themselves on the wrong end of federal anti-rioting charges, looking at 1-3 years in the Federal joint, and seem to  have been hung out to dry with no one in a position to order the justice department to stand down to help them.

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series

 Nice sentiment in the right context. Seems however that Mencken was unaware that a major religion had already incorporated this into their fundamental doctrine.

Light Reading

(Snicker)

Here's some good stuff to peruse:

First here's Scott Adams who touts his 100% correct prediction rate in the presidential circus so far:
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/137137359536/today-i-help-you-see-the-future

Here's the money quote:

Identity always beats analogy

Analogy always beats reason

Reason beats nothing

Nothing at all. Reason is a voice crying in the wilderness it would seem. This would explain why Trump is leading on the Republican side identifying with the "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more" crowd, and why Hillary is (was?) leading on the Dem side identifying as a woman. Hills problem is trying to identify as a feminist while getting a big warm endorsement from Bill.



Trumps weakness is the same one Sanders has, namely no real answer to the question of "How you gonna do that?" which is cropping up occasionally to both of them, but hey, Reason beats nothing.

Jeff Deist at Mises daily on PC
https://mises.org/library/pc-about-control-not-etiquette-0

Jeff talks about the PC culture, where it comes from and what to do about it. this seems to be a scholarly and much shorter version of Vox Day's book on SJW's who live or die on whether people buy into the PC they're selling.

Like all propaganda, PC fundamentally is a lie. It is about refusing to deal with the underlying nature of reality, in fact attempting to alter that reality by legislative and social fiat. A is no longer A.

And Sarah Hoyt on persuasion
http://accordingtohoyt.com/2016/01/12/truth/
 

This covers how to sell a lie.
She's seen a lot of it.

First Amendment Not Applicable In D.C.

Among other things the first amendment forbids the establishment of a state religion, "state" being generally accepted as government at any level, federal to local. The D.C. city council is however demanding that the Catholic church include doctrine from the A/SH school of theology in its teachings. This elevates the D.C. city council to the status of Municipal Committee for Catholic Theology, displacing the Pope in that respect.

So what is A/SH you wonder? Easy. It's the religion of Atheism/Secular Humanism which recognizes the supremacy of the state over all matters secular or spiritual.

In an article in the WSJ (paywall) it is noted:

On Dec. 2, the Council of the District of Columbia passed an amendment to the D.C. Human Rights Act, repealing protections for religious schools and colleges to determine their own rules regarding gay and lesbian student activities. If the current or incoming mayor signs it, the amendment will become law and likely force the Catholic University of America and the Archdiocese of Washington schools to provide recognition, facilities and perhaps even funding to gay and lesbian student clubs that oppose Catholic teachings.

Now every religion in the world has a list of things it disapproves of and the usual reaction to this is that if you don't like their list, there is probably another religion with a different list for you to hang out with. The notable exception being Islam where if you don't like their list, you can simply go hang.

The solution to the D.C. Council's decision is of course to formally recognize A/SH as a religion and point out to the council the first amendments prohibition with regards to establishment. How about it? Write your congress animal and ask for a resolution recognizing A/SH as a religion. This would instantly put a stop to petty government agencies anointing themselves as Writers of Holy Writ over every real religion in the world.

"Crom's Devils! Let men worship what gods they will!" Conan, King of Aquilonia.

10 Commandments, Revised

The original commandments don't have any wiggle room. They state what a person should or should not do in no uncertain terms. Things like no lying, no cheating, no stealing, and no fooling around with someone elses' spouse are pretty iron clad.

This lack of wiggle room is what makes putting up a copy in front of a government building an act of creating a hostile work environment. Now the Atheists, AKA Secular Humanists have come up with their own list of commandments which they say will offset their complete lack of moral and ethical guidance without invoking God. Or at least without invoking Him more than once.

Here they are.

Remarkably non-judgemental and free of specific compulsions to do or not do anything you like.

Someone needs to inform the Freedom From Religion bunch that their beliefs constitute a religion no different from any other, and attempting to impose it upon everyone else by statute law is just as unconstitutional as declaring anything else to be the official state religion.

Pander Bear Escapes Zoo

Behaves pretty much as expected. To commemorate the Eid feast celebrating the end of Ramadan for Muslims the president said:

On Sunday, President Obama and First Lady Michelle released a statement thanking Muslim Americans for their many “achievements and contributions… to building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy.”

Perhaps he'd like to cite some of these achievements.  The P.M. of Turkey once describes democracy as like a trolley which you take until you get where you're going, then you get off.

Slow Bloging

So are people generally behaving like nincompoops? Yes.
Are our elected leaders doing the same? Yes.

As Hamlet said:
To be, or not to be--that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

 

I favor the arms approach even if it's just singing in the wilderness. You got to have faith in humanity in spite of the historical experience. Still as Kipling remarked:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

 

 On the bright side, I've got the earliest crop of raspberries I've ever had. Probably means the ice age starts next month.

 

 

Imposing Religious Doctrine

For one religion to attempt to forcibly impose its doctrine on members of another faith is generally looked upon unfavorably as the first amendment defends the free exercise of religion. In the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby the Supreme Court essentially said that those who worship the government may not impose their theology on those who don't.

The ruling is narrowly limited to the imposition of government doctrine to specifically religious beliefs so modification of say Catholic doctrine is still exclusively the job of the Pope.

It leaves open the question of whether the practice of human sacrifice is exclusively the privilege of the federal government or if other religions may also practice it.

The Future - Looking Bleaker?

Found here at Power Line Blog is an article that references Rasmussen polls taken 8 years apart. Poll #1 taken August 2008 during the campaign:

45% of voters think America’s best days lie ahead, while 37% think they have come and gone.

Poll #2 released Friday, Oct 18th:

31% of Likely U.S. Voters think America’s best days are still to come… Just over half (52%) think the nation’s best days are in the past.

Quite a fundamental transformation of the country isn't it?  Here's a description of what it will look like when the transformation is complete. Ace of Spades is always a good read.

Reconquista

Last night as I was reading about the 5th straight night of car burning and rioting in Sweden, I wondered what it would take for what was once one of the most feared and respected peoples on Europe to finally say enough. Had the Swedes really been multiculturalized into disarmed submission or were there still a few that remembered their past and could figure out what a replacement 30" table leg from the local IKEA outlet was good for in a pinch.

Tonight it seems some of them have. They are being called all sorts of names of course, like Nazi and vigilantes. Nazis I doubt, at least in the old-school sense, but vigilantes certainly. The tradition of the people banding together in the face of an assault in the absence of any official forces goes back a long ways.

As it happens, the same feelings are surfacing in England where the official mollycoddling of the bloody attack on soldier Lee Rigby is resulting in widespread anti-muslim backlash.

The Muslim model to this point is to move en-masse into a European country, go on the dole, whine that the dole payments aren't enough to live on and make no effort to join the society they have invaded. Those who lack the commitment to actually carry out acts of violence support this behavior by donating to "charities" and Imams who sponsor it.

The rioting, car burning, rapes and murders have been going on in France for some time now and the French seem to have gotten used to it. At the rate they're going, France may well be the first EU country to adopt Sharia.

If the peasants are revolting, I say more power to them! Take your countries back and vote out the people who sold you into this sorry state. This war is now 1500 years old and will not end until the last place of worship has been converted to a mosque or the last mosque has been converted to a McDonalds and serves McRibs.

You Want Me To Do What?

The "iron river of guns" flowing from the U.S. to Mexico turns out to have its headwaters in the U.S. Justice department.

The flow of military weapons to Al Quaida in Lybia seems to have its headwaters in the U.S. State department.

The proposed sale of 20 brand new F16's to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has its origins in the U.S. White House.

And they think we're going to turn our guns over to them?

Quote Of The Week

Found on Moonbattery, the original and the original rewrite are here on Texas CHL.

“Do not blame Obama, blame the people of America who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and given him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the new wonderful good society which shall now be America’s, interpreted to mean more money, more ease, more security, and more living fatly at the expense of the industrious.”

The original was from Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC). Some things never change.

Ballot Fun

Filled out my ballot today and sealed it up so I have officially voted.

When I got my first ballot it was Nixon v McGovern and 5 others. My reaction to the list was "Do I have to?". Of course I did. If you don't vote, you can't bitch and I haven't missed a single election since. This year's ballot has the usual suspects plus 14 additional wannabes; 4 on the right and 10 on the left.

In the following years I believe I actually voted FOR a candidate exactly once. To my observation, most of the time the best you can do is decide which of the bums will do you the least damage, hold your nose and mark the ballot. This is depressing if you think too much about it because it implies that in the long run the end will be the same regardless of who gets elected this time and the only difference will be the time frame involved.

It has been observed that elective democracies tend to last only 200 years or so until the people discover the joys of voting themselves largesse from the public coffers. This democratic Republic is now some 236 years old and shows signs of severe abuse. If it was a car, you'd be thinking of trading it in. That or a complete body-off restoration.

Commenting on the Commentators

James Taranto of the WSJ online has a collection of clips from various newspapers, usually the NYT, which espouse conflicting viewpoints, frequently on the same day. Here's today's example:

Two Papers in One!

• "To be sure, many citizens of conscience find parts of the Brooklyn exhibition repugnant, and it is understandable that many Roman Catholics would find Chris Ofili's image of the Virgin Mary [covered with elephant poop] offensive. . . . Yet a Daily News poll shows that the majority of New Yorkers support the museum over Mayor Giuliani by a ratio of two to one. Those numbers show a broad-based support for New York's role as the nation's cultural capital. The people understand intuitively what Mr. Giuliani ignores for political gain. A museum is obliged to challenge the public as well as to placate it, or else the museum becomes a chamber of attractive ghosts, an institution completely disconnected from art in our time."--editorial, New York Times, Oct. 2, 1999
• "However offensive the video is, it could never justify the violence in Benghazi and Cairo. But Mr. Jones, Mr. Sadek and whoever made the film did true damage to the interests of the United States and its core principle of respecting all faiths."--editorial, New York Times, Sept. 12, 2012 

This only reenforces my position which is that the Catholics, and everyone else for that matter, will get no respect whatsoever from the media until they learn to build a decent car bomb.

Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash - World Revenge Tour

7pm – Close, 21 July 2012
The Old Mill Brewery & Grill, Littleton, CO

For all the Rocky Mountain bloggers and their close personal stalkers friends. 

The reason and instigator is Zombie.

Economic-Social Isolation

Are you a member of the hereditary upper class? Did you and everybody you know grow up in one of the better neighborhoods, graduate from college and never punch a time clock in your whole entire life? Find out here. There's 20 questions, and if you score too low, you may be a member of the 1% or something.
Me?

On a scale from 0 to 20 points, where 20 signifies full engagement with mainstream American culture and 0 signifies deep cultural isolation within the new upper class bubble, you scored between 13 and 16.

In other words, you don't even have a bubble.

It's a fancy gold-stamped certificate, so I'm probably some kind of snob.

Gettum Young

No, not the founder of the religious cult, but here.

And before I start getting flak about being religiously intolerant, here's my definition of a cult, based on observation of other peoples definitions:

A cult is any religion that is younger or smaller than yours.

Leaves lots of room, no?