Tuesday, October 19. 2021
Saturday, October 16. 2021
Thursday, October 14. 2021
Today I received a note from a friend about the Christmas "risk" and it gave me pause. After all, we humans tend to think so linearly at times, we tend to miss the bigger picture. I'd never actually fallen for the 'Christmas is at risk' story, though for reasons entirely different than what I'm about to share. Her note is as follows:
"The latest fear tactic is saying that "Christmas may be at risk" due to supply chain issues. Christmas is not at risk. The ability to buy a bunch of crap no one needs or knew they wanted may be at risk, but Christmas is not at risk. Let's not allow these fear-mongers to screw with our joy, please. The joy of Christmas isn't stuff, it's family and tradition and celebrating love. And, if you're religious, it is about Jesus' birth. Not STUFF. Christmas is not at risk. Christmas will go on. Maybe in a different way for now, but...
Christmas and the way we celebrate it is not dependent upon material things.
Just sayin'...
And this is the last time I will mention Christmas until after Thanksgiving."
I realized, as real as supply chain issues are, the story circulating is just another bit of Leftist FUD. After all, good Leftists don't believe in God and certainly do not support consumerism. As a result, the 'risk' is designed to craft a narrative which simply increases the concept of class warfare among those they seek to oppose.
The real story of Christmas won't be the TV we couldn't get on time, or the doll your daughter didn't get. It's going to be the time we spend together with friends and family and enjoy each others company. That isn't at risk, though Fauci is trying very hard to push it, and we should continue to look forward positively and set aside most of the fear-mongering that the Democrats and Democrat-oriented media push our way.
Her note has altered how I was thinking about the upcoming holidays in a very positive way, and I am 100% in agreement with this point of view.
Why not get a booster? It won't kill you. Latest info is that you can mix up the shots. It makes sense to me.
Nobody likes to get sick. I got my annual flu shot today at CVS. I am required to do so, and the flu is miserable.
Wednesday, October 13. 2021
Tuesday, October 12. 2021
Saturday, October 9. 2021
Friday, October 8. 2021
There has always been national division about all sorts of things, from the time of the American revolution. Most Americans, or at least a large fraction, had no interest in separation from the crown. Disagreement is just natural but it sometimes seems surreal to me what people want from government. Like, everything they need including happiness. Good luck with that. Serfdom was a predictable life, but not something Americans wanted.
From Klavan, re national division:
Socialism is immoral because it rests on a benign fantasy that masks a malignant truth. The fantasy is that a nation’s production, distribution, and wealth can be entrusted to a benevolent state dedicated to the common good. There is no such state. There are only people with power. Long centuries of constitutional restraints have schooled these naked apes in the habits of decency. But as the restraints weaken, the habits fall away. Not sometimes—always. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Socialism, which centralizes power, leads to oppression and human misery. Like the t-shirt says, you can vote your way in, but you have to shoot your way out.
Thursday, October 7. 2021
Wednesday, October 6. 2021
Monday, October 4. 2021
I've read, and watched, quite a bit on this Facebook Whistleblower. I can't say I disagree with much of what she is saying, although I think you can apply all of it to most of our major media outlets today, not just Facebook. I began to question her motivations, in particular after she told her story of a friend who went from being a like-minded Progressive liberal to something other than this (implying 'lies' on Facebook turned that person into a conservative, I'm assuming). God forbid information should make you change your mind or your views - particularly if there's one less of these Progressives in the world!
I may agree with much of what she says she's seen or even believes. I'd even like to stop what she's hoping to stop (hate speech, misinformation, lies, bullying). I can't say she knows how to stop those things. In fact, I know she can't. She THINKS she can. After all, she writes algorithms for a living, and she believes algorithms can fix anything. She's clearly a socialist of some nature, after all, she points out that Facebook puts 'profit' before stopping 'hate speech'. I found that claim interesting, since all major media outlets do this. After all, what are CRT, Cancel Culture or Wokism if not hate speech? And the major outlets are sharing those ideas quite freely and openly. So yes, profit is put ahead of stopping hate speech.
The critical part here is that she seems to think it can be reduced or stopped. I suppose it can, to a small degree. But if you want to (as she does) rely on algorithms, which she writes for a living, then what she's really saying is "I'd like to be able to control what information is fed to people at all times, and limit it to what I believe is acceptable."
I believe in choices. And we all make them. We choose to be on (or off) Facebook, social media, the internet or TV. Once we've chosen what to engage, we choose what to believe or not believe in our information resources. Sometimes (whoops) it's a lie or misinformation, though most times it's probably not (though I suppose if you listen to Biden and Fauci and assume they are authorities on anything, you're welcome to believe almost anything is 'truth' or 'science'). Part of adulting is learning to use common sense and pursue productive, effective, and meaningful parsing of data and information. I'm not sure what the whistleblower is hoping to achieve, but if it is to 'save' Facebook (as she claims) then I'm likely to believe that she's hoping to engage more situational design leading to social outcomes she believes are 'best for society'. I doubt I share her views on what's 'best' for society.
Saturday, October 2. 2021
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‘Airplane!’ creator
Royal Doctors
Mick Jagger had a beer at Charlotte’s Thirsty Beaver —