Friday morning links

Even the most committed Darwinist could plausibly make a case for evolution over a timescale as short as 250-300 years, if by evolution one means the effect of natural selection upon gradual mutation over long periods of time. However, what might be becoming evident is the suppression of natural selection due to reduced infant mortality, a phenomenon which has greatly increased over approximately the same period. As the most advanced organ in the body is the brain, surrounded as it is by the skull, this complexity ensures it as the one most vulnerable to degradative mutations (not to be confused with the magical ones which are supposed to bring about improvements which generate evolution), which are more likely to remain viable under the influence of reduced infant mortality. In older times, these individuals would have been much more susceptible to disease as children and would have been less likely to survive.

#1 DeGaulle on 2019-09-20 08:27 (Reply)

My first sentence above should read 'Even the most committed Darwinist could not plausibly...'.

#2 DeGaulle on 2019-09-20 08:31 (Reply)

QUOTE:

These moderators, which will be drawn from either the dean’s office or from faculty and administrative personnel, will have the power to employ a “two-strike policy” at speaking events, removing any audience members who grow disruptive during an assembly.

Excellent. The two-strike policy should work well, especially if they aim for the head.

#3 Aggie on 2019-09-20 09:31 (Reply)

OT: check out this article, written by William Langewiesche, who has written great articles about aviation for a long time, formerly for The Atlantic.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/magazine/boeing-737-max-crashes.html

As I suspected, much of the problem lay with 3rd-world pilot “training”. Boeing isn’t wholly exonerated, but I damn sure wouldn’t fly on any Indonesian or Ethiopian airline.

Read this article! It’s loooong but as usual, Langewiesche writes well and it’s expository.

Apologies if BD has cited this earlier, but I haven't seen it referenced.

#4 dhmosquito on 2019-09-20 10:45 (Reply)

I enjoyed reading that.

#4.1 Texan99 on 2019-09-21 09:19 (Reply)

Never go back to cable TV...we moved a year ago and still haven't connected the TV to an antenna and only have Amazon Prime as it came with their free shipping package. Don't miss TV at all and would rather have the radio playing. Get my news on news sites on computer. Television is trash entertainment at best.
Obituary for BSA....yea, the SJW's and corporate/government board destroyed them to make them "diverse".
The left is completely insane...it's that or they have absolutely no connection to reality and spend way to much time with a doobie.

#5 indyjonesouthere on 2019-09-20 11:01 (Reply)

Same here on the cord cutting. When we moved 2.5 years ago, we got out of the habit of watching as much TV as we used to. Then 1.5 years ago, we cut out cable. We have a streaming service (PS Vue) primarily for sports and between that and Prime Video, we've got plenty to watch.

Husband was in the hospital (went very well, thanks) this past week and had cable TV in the room. After 6 days, we both felt like we were losing IQ points and spent most of the time reading or surfing the internet.

#5.1 T Migratorious on 2019-09-20 14:13 (Reply)

Cord Cutters Say.. $100 per month or more and there is nothing good on cable? One major channel has their two most popular shows that are both almost 20 years old and no replacement? Hollywood is comatose. That why there are cord cutters.

#6 Johnny Jones on 2019-09-20 12:37 (Reply)

Let's not get too nostalgic. "Hollywood is comatose"? Hardly a new phenomenon, the fact is that TV has rarely been good. The Lucille Ball Show? Bowling for Dollars? Gomer Pyle? Three's Company? Maude?

No, CaTV got greedy when Bill Clinton let them rape the US with deregulation. Prices soared, and competition plummeted, even as providers pinky-swore the opposite.

Yes, TV sucks, that's why I cut the cord 2.5 years ago. But it was mostly a cost issue. If the price had stayed low, I would have tolerated it for access to the two shows I watched, plus the ability to see football. But the providers got greedy, even as their product was lame. And SJW destruction of programs and channels didn't help either.

#6.1 DrTorch on 2019-09-20 13:38 (Reply)

Re: An Obituary for the Boy Scouts of America

That was a good, if disheartening read. I suppose I've seen this coming since they caved after winning their case. Since then, I've had what I'll call a dream for lack of a better term. The dream is that when they get to the point at which they're about to be shucked like an oyster and bankrupted, a bunch of us approach them with an offer to buy the rights to the pre-1970 names, logos, scout oath, scout law, manuals and so forth, with the object of reestablishing the Boy Scouts on a sound foundation.

I'd like to think we could pick it up at fire sale prices. Of course, it would require the assistance of a few really sharp legal minds, and a few others with some deep pockets. However, in the long term, I think it would be well worth the effort to [re]build successive generations of men with integrity, no matter how small the [re]start might have to be.

#7 Phil, Jr. on 2019-09-20 13:45 (Reply)

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Friday, September 20. 2019

Friday morning links