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Tuesday, November 3. 2020

Excitement and anxiety are running high in the USA today. All I can say is that Trump "left nothing on the playing field." What a campaigner. It will be interesting.

'You Are No Longer My Mother' — Families Torn Apart by Tuesday's Election

Win Or Lose, This Isn’t Over. Trump Wasn’t A Cause, He’s A Symptom

Friendly's Restaurant Files For Bankruptcy, Expect Many More

Discipline Suffers as San Diego Schools Adopt ‘Anti-Racism’ Grading System

Dr. Dalrymple:

My favored scheme would be for the rest of the population to go about its business as normal, with the over-65s remaining as much as possible indoors, taking precautions and not mixing with younger persons except with great circumspection. The degree of risk they were prepared to run would be up to them; there is no objectively “correct” level of risk to run.

Boris Johnson Orders UK Into Month-Long COVID-19 Lockdown

WHO Struck Deal With China on COVID-19 Probe

A woman says American flags are 'disgusting' and a 'public display of force'

Biden Plans To Create “Equal” And Public Credit Reporting Agency That Would Give Out “Social Credit Scores”

A Grim—and Ignored—Body Count. The problem in the American inner city is not racism but drive-by shootings of blacks by other blacks.

Earliest election results ever: PA Attorney General calls it for Biden.

Powerline: Is there a Red Mirage?

Democrats are masking Biden’s frailty

Doesn't matter

Biden Stumbles Through Another Campaign Speech: “America Is Dead Because Of COVID-19”

Doesn't matter

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:37 | Comments (25) | Trackbacks (0)

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In early February, before the New Hampshire primary in 2016, I came across a news story in the local paper. It described two rallies, one for Trump at a university arena in nearby Massachusetts and another featuring Bill Clinton in NH. Despite the cold, thousands turned up for Trump compared to a few dozen for Clinton; I’m guessing that the Clinton attendees were mostly press and staff. This was my first inkling that something was going on. Note, that from the get go, Trump required large venues for his rallies. But still, I remained skeptical and pessimistic, not believing that there were still enough real Americans to make a difference, until I turned on the news, Nov 4th, 2016.
What ever happens, thanks to Trump, I don’t think we can unsee that the Powers that Be do not wish for the well being of Middle America or Working America, in any way. Their minions in the governing class, the media and academia have made that clear. They are eager to deny Middle America a voice in determining their own future. That's how you get Trump.
I am in agreement with Yuval Harari that there is a major realignment underway driven by Big Data, Automation/AI, Globalism, and the Internet/Social Media. This may lead to millions being economically redundant. As in all things, there are trade offs. As far as I know, no one has any solution, least of all the Karens and histrionic teenage girls that make up the Democratic rank and file with their fixation on personalities instead of policies. Think "The View" on steroids.

#1 Exasperated on 2020-11-03 08:33 (Reply)

I’ve never been so happy to watch an election from afar. I left the US 5 years ago, for love and money non of this silly “I’m moving if I don’t get my way BS” and seriously can’t see moving back, no matter who wins. Y’all gone crazy.

#2 DblTap on 2020-11-03 08:55 (Reply)

Sooooo, where?? Inquiring minds...

Win or lose, this isn’t over. Trump wasn’t a cause, he’s a symptom. And the Democrats are the losers. We are riled up, and not agonna take it no more.

Discipline Suffers as San Diego Schools Adopt ‘Anti-Racism’ Grading System: Ah, California. The state no longer golden, it's just colored sand.

A woman says American flags are 'disgusting' and a 'public display of force': The STUPID is STRONG in this one.

A Grim—and Ignored—Body Count: Where Black Lives DON'T matter...to other blacks.

Josh Shapiro: His predction is fading, f a d i n g....GONE!!

Red Mirage? Well, 'tain't no Repubs looting, trashing, burning...

#2.1 Sam L. on 2020-11-03 09:14 (Reply)

Having seen enough of the world in my own travels there are precious few 'better' places. Most have problems they sweep under the rug or otherwise hide in some fashion.

Yeah we have nutty moments. Not gonna disagree. The 60's were pretty crazy. We're going someplace like that again, probably.
But we come out better on the other side. Other nations muddle along as if nothing is wrong...but nobody pays much attention when things do go wrong. The US is on everyone's mind.

That is a blessing and a curse. It also opens the door for misunderstanding what we're all about.

My wife likes to say we (as in our family) lives in a bubble. So does everyone else. But there's a way to get out of the bubble from time to time and see what's really going on. Travel a bit, read more, and don't dismiss rural people as hicks, rednecks and uninformed/uneducated. Often they have more common sense than a city dweller whose boundaries are literally the city limits (I know more people who have never left the city than rural people where I grew up who haven't left where they are).

Urban elites believe they 'understand' because everyone "comes to the city" so they don't have to travel to see what's going on. They can pass judgement from afar. That's why the media is bicoastal - it never really spends time in Paducah. If it did even for a little while, the national discourse would be significantly different.

We're going to be fine, thanks. Some hiccups, some riots, some anger...maybe even a drift down the path of severe socialism if Biden wins (doubt it). But we'll muddle through. Americans like freedom to be stupid. And freedom to be smart. The smart part usually wins. Usually.

#2.2 Bulldog on 2020-11-03 09:46 (Reply)

Could not be said better!
Travel is a 'key'' for anyone.

#2.2.1 RL (Link) on 2020-11-03 19:10 (Reply)

No matter how the election turns out, the USA is my home.

I wouldn't run away just because times got a little tough. Men don't do that.

#2.3 feeblemind on 2020-11-03 09:59 (Reply)

The grifters have gone crazy. This was always true. But now with internet and every news outlet owned and run by the left the grifters seem to be in charge. They have learned how to play the system, how to extort money and power. The problem with most Americans is that they are too busy living their lives and with jobs and family. It takes a lot to get them to take their attention away from their busy lives and discover that their government, the deep state, is stealing their rights and their money. But 2020 is different and in spite of everything that the media and big tech has done to cover up the crimes we have seen them. This could change everything in the election.

#2.4 OneGuy on 2020-11-03 10:25 (Reply)

Well, aren’t you special.

#2.5 B. Hammer on 2020-11-03 10:59 (Reply)

If you are in a foreign place, you are influenced by its press - and the cumulative effect upon those around you - far more than you know. After leaving the USMC, my fourth son took a job in Norway. He is originally from Romania but came to the US in 6th grade. He was never a good student, and does not read widely. He was extremely conservative when he left the US - in fact, I was beginning to grow worried that he was hanging out with some strange alt-right types. Ten years later, he still thinks of himself as conservative - likely true by Norski standards. He believes every myth about Trump, however, as this all happened after he left.

Your peer group creates 90% of your politics, or more. This is even more true of adults, as we choose our peer groups, which is self-reinforcing. The politics of your peer group, in turn, is formed by the prevailing media influences. Unless you are taking intentional steps to correct for this, and examining yourself sternly, DblTap, you will become like them. Not because you are of worse character than average, but because that is what all human beings do.

#2.6 Assistant Village Idiot on 2020-11-03 12:13 (Reply)

Valid points. To that end my peer group here views Trump as kind of a squish and Biden as probably worse than Castro. However the key to me is that we are able to share these views widely and still have a pleasant dinner with people who identify as socialists. Voices get raised of course but there is no, or next to no, personalization of the politics and we would all rather talk rum, guns, dogs or cigars. I love and will always love the US deeply and be an American. I’m just not built to keep my views to myself.

#2.6.1 DblTap on 2020-11-04 03:28 (Reply)

Re: Dr. Dalrymple

Nice article. What was left out was that when people do think (very little of that going on) and consider risks (even less of that happening) they only consider risks associated with the Wuhan flu to the exclusion of all other risks such as the risks from any other communicable diseases or walking across the street or slipping in the bathtub.

#3 mudbug on 2020-11-03 10:04 (Reply)

Orwell's Review of Hitler's "Mein Kampf": A Lesson for Today

About a 16 minute video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA4gI69CMsg

The whole thing is good, but if you are pressed for time. Start it at the 13 minute mark.

#4 feeblemind on 2020-11-03 10:06 (Reply)

That's a great video, feeble, and I think his point is important.

Maybe i'm self-centered and myopic but I don't think what we're fighting over in this election is in any way insignificant. On the other hand, I agreed with all his examples, which are primarily examples from the left. So I think his point - that we want to fight a threat more than live an easy life - may more accurately refer to the left. They are the ones instigating conflict over trivial things.

#4.1 mudbug on 2020-11-03 15:15 (Reply)

That Orwell video was chilling.

"What if the real reason we're fighting (between socialism and capitalism as economic systems) is not that too many people are suffering, and so we need a change, but because too many people are comfortable, and so we're looking for a fight?"

And so the appeal of Hitler and Stalin, who offer not a good life but a good death.

My family, who are Biden supporters, would see Trump in the role of Hitler, no matter what he ever does or says--even after four years of an opportunity to watch what he does and says. They continue to tell me confidently that he's a racist hater who divides the country for his own personal gain. They can't tell me what he does or says to lead them to this conclusion. It's self-evident to them. No amount of economic or job growth can convince them. Their answer is that GDP growth is meaningless if it's built on suffering, whatever that means in an economy that drastically increased employment at all socio-economic levels and within all ethnic groups.

#5 Texan99 on 2020-11-03 10:45 (Reply)

"but because too many people are comfortable"

To me, this is somewhat along the lines of G. Michael Hopf's quote:

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

Which reminds me a bit of Sir John Glubb and his 'Fate of Empires'. (24 pg PDF)

http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/glubb.pdf

A sample:

"The heroes of declining nations are always the same—the athlete, the singer or the actor. The word ‘celebrity’ today is used to designate a comedian or a football player, not a statesman, a general, or a literary genius."

"They deeply deplored the degeneracy of the times in which they lived, emphasising particularly the indifference to religion, the increasing materialism and the laxity of sexual morals. They lamented also the corruption of the officials of the
government and the fact that politicians always seemed to amass large fortunes while they were in office."

That last quote is from Baghdad in the tenth century!

Cheers

#5.1 Russtovich on 2020-11-03 12:22 (Reply)

Biden Plans To Create “Equal” And Public Credit Reporting Agency That Would Give Out “Social Credit Scores”

The article in Politico summarized in Weasel Zipper does not mention "social credit scores" in the Biden plan. Apart from the obvious intended scare because "social credit scores" is a much derided Chinese policy, why lie about this? Why didn't you read the source article or any of the hundreds of other sources that outline the proposals?

Biden's plan and Trump's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency both propose an alternative government run credit reporting agency to compete with EquiFax, Experian and TransUnion.

Obviously inflating credit scores is not going to fool lenders any more than inflating grades are fooling employers. This point and other rational criticisms should have been honestly made.

#6 Henry Jackson on 2020-11-03 10:47 (Reply)

Does anyone really believe that the government will do it better?

What the left wants is preferences not equality. The Democrats are intending by legislation to remake the credit rating into a "everyone gets a trophy" system. Everyone gets good credit and no reporting on negative information. What could go wrong?

#6.1 Saul on 2020-11-03 14:00 (Reply)

Friendly's restaurants, and the ice cream maker, have been in serious financial difficulty for a long time now. Covid-19 and the government's response is having the effect of culling the herd of these companies. Personally I'm more concerned about all the local enterprises, retail and restaurants, that are hurting and likely to fail.

#7 steve walsh on 2020-11-03 11:22 (Reply)

First off, why do we need yet another government agency? While the Politico article doesn’t say explicitly that social credit will be used, Senator Brown says the current system, “ perpetuates systemic racism and economic inequality." We know what that lingo means.

Look who else is making a big push for the new bureaucracy, Senator Maxine Chinese “Spy” Driver for twenty years Waters.

This you just can’t make up:
"We've been complaining about problems with the credit bureaus for decades now," said Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "It's time for reform."

I see how the Politico article notes the data breach of Equifax in 2017. Why not note the data hack from the Chinese, of the Office of Personal Management? Every single one of us that served in the US military, and or worked for the government, had their personal data exposed to the communist Chinese.

Keeping a good credit score ain’t rocket science. Pay your bills and don’t borrow more than you can afford. Creating a new government agency to replace three private sector businesses, over a few hundred thousand complaints, doesn’t sound like good policy to me. It sounds like the creation of yet another democrat created disaster, much like the housing bubble.

#8 B. Hammer on 2020-11-03 11:52 (Reply)

Discipline Suffers as San Diego Schools Adopt ‘Anti-Racism’ Grading System
As if the grading system is at fault! Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb, invited John Ogbu, a UC Berkeley anthropologist, to investigate the disparities in academic achietement between black and white [non-black] students. Editor's Review of John U. Ogbu's Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement.

QUOTE:

Ogbu also describes academic disengagement found in Shaker Heights among Black students. He suggests that Black students in these schools subscribe to a “norm of minimum effort” (p. 23), positing that “low-effort syndrome” — defined as low engagement in schoolwork and homework — contributes to Black student disengagement. For example, when asked what advice they would give to a relative who was transferring to a Shaker Heights school, Black students at all levels agreed that it takes hard work, studying, and applying oneself to succeed in school. However, many Black students in the study did not heed their own advice and reported doing “just enough to get by” in many of their classes. Interestingly, the students did not believe they lacked the intellectual ability to do the work; they merely chose not to do it or to enroll in higher level courses because it took extra effort. As one student stated, “I maintain a 3.0, but I won’t do anything over that” (p. 23). These types of responses from Black students encourage the reader to question the origin of these attitudes. Black students attributed their minimum effort to boring and uninteresting classes, a lack of motivation by school personnel, poor study habits, other priorities that derailed academic effort (such as part-time jobs), and peer pressures (i.e., “it’s not cool” to work hard or show you’re smart). It should be noted that these reasons provided by the students represent systemic and individual factors, indicating the complex nature of these students’ academic disengagement. Ogbu is right to highlight the students’ roles in this problem. However, his data indicate that the systemic factors also cannot be ignored.

Explanations for Black Student Underperformance

A very engaging portion of the first section of the book is Ogbu’s critical examination of conventional explanations for Black underperformance. Because Black students’ performance on IQ tests did not predict their academic achievement in Shaker Heights, the reader must question the assumption long held by many that Blacks are genetically intellectually inferior....

According to Ogbu, black students "performed considerably lower on the SAT than predicted by their performance on the IQ test." Similarly, black performance as measured by D or F grades or scores on state tests was lower than IQ tests would have predicted.

Sorry, San Diego, there are no quick fixes.

#9 Gringo on 2020-11-03 12:09 (Reply)

RE: Friends and family coming apart over politics.

It has been known for several years now (Leslie/Al Gore split up) that the feminist party grabbed the idea of Silver divorce as one more tool to obtain their ultimate ideal--NO FAMILIES. The "trainers" have set up very obedient younger women in ways of developing cult like responses. They will not engage in conversation--they will however, point out to the other partner (mommy or daddy) how slightly evil "the other" is. Liberating older women from the shackles of a lifelong marriage has become a major goal of some of these gals. It also helps to free up any inheritance issues by setting two sides so hatefully against each other. Because they have been practicing these skills it was easy for them to develop the same isolation strategies for anyone voting for Trump. The techniques of cultural indoctrination are the same--isolate--isolate--isolate--point out if one or the other has slightly irritating habits, or slightly human differences, etc. The Dems have this process down pat! "Daddy's little girl is at it again!"

#10 faculty wife on 2020-11-03 12:21 (Reply)

This read calls to mind gov.Gretchen Whitmer. She is a child of divorce - her father a high up exec at Blue Cross and her mother a litigator i think. Gretch herself divorced her husband to marry her dentist. Her daughters and his sons all live with her. With that much divorce and family wealth and welfare negotiating, which she's been doing her whole life, i'm guessing she has mastered those very skills you mention. Mean, punitive people-skills.

Furthermore, I would wager that since the passage of No Fault Divorce a tremendous percentage of people have grown up and out of divorced situations and enter more willfully after that... these people are now the Policy Makers. They are master manipulators without realizing that a lot of people have had loving homes where those skills were not needed.

Gosh, that gives me a whole new social development to consider...

#10.1 Jpac (Link) on 2020-11-03 14:27 (Reply)

When G.K. Chesterton went back to Great Britain after his time in the U.S. he proposed that they have their own Thanksgiving, to give thanks to God for getting rid of their Puritans. I understand his sentiments.

If a person disowns you because of who you voted for, he's a Puritan through and through, and you should be thankful that you found out sooner rather than later. Don't look back.

#10.2 Jack Walter on 2020-11-04 09:41 (Reply)

Biden's "social credit score" sounds just like China's: if you don't have the right views you lose points and can't get a loan or a passport. The purpose of a credit score is to assess risks for loans. This would destroy that.

#11 cc (Link) on 2020-11-03 15:20 (Reply)

It's not like the China policy.

You don't know that because you didn't read the actual proposal or any of the hundreds of commentaries in the financial press that dissect it. The purpose of the Weasel Zipper article linked in MF is to make you think that Biden proposed something like China's policy.

#11.1 Henry Jackson on 2020-11-03 18:04 (Reply)

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Tuesday, November 3. 2020

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