The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Rule 5 Sunday: Margot Robbie

Posted on | July 17, 2023 | Comments Off on Rule 5 Sunday: Margot Robbie

— compiled by Wombat-socho

It seems only fair that after a week of inflicting Barbenheimer memes on the commentariat that I bring you a pic of Ms. Robbie playing Barbie. While on the press tour to promote said movie, Disney and Mattel had the wit to show her off in real life versions of dresses little girls have been dressing up their Barbies in over the years. This one is a Schiaparelli dress harking back to the “Solo In The Spotlight” Barbie of 1960, which to my mind looks a lot like Lucille Ball. Hard to believe some ugly fool on Twitter called her “mid”. 
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

ANIMAL MAGNETISM: Rule Five United Nations Friday, and the Saturday Gingermageddon.

EBL: Saturday Night Girls With Guns, MAGA Ramaswamy, “The Twist”, Bastille Day, Marie Antoinette, Mirielle Mathieu, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning, Miss Nederland More Like Mr. Nederland, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Lincoln Lawyer Season 2, “Lady Godiva”, and Domina.

A VIEW FROM THE BEACH: A Girl in a Shirt – Olivia Karina, Fish Pic Friday – Goody, Some Thursday Tanlines, Are We Stuck With Biden?, The Wednesday Wetness, Tattoo Tuesday, Random Celebrity News, Biden Confesses to Hollowing out Military, The Monday Morning Stimulus, The Pizza Rebellion, and Palm Sunday

FLAPPR: T.I.T.S. For July 14

Thanks to everyone for all the luscious links!

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Category: Rule 5

Congratulations, Massachusetts Liberals: Your ‘Millionaire Tax’ Just Cost the Patriots an All-Pro Wide Receiver

Posted on | July 16, 2023 | Comments Off on Congratulations, Massachusetts Liberals: Your ‘Millionaire Tax’ Just Cost the Patriots an All-Pro Wide Receiver

Here’s a fact: Tennessee has zero state income tax.

Here’s another fact: Last year, Massachusetts voters passed a referendum approving a 4% “millionaire tax” in addition to the state’s existing 5% income tax, so that all income over $1 million a year earned by Massachusetts residents is now taxed at 9%. So in order for the New England Patriots to be competitive with the Tennessee Titans in bidding for the services of All-Pro free agent wide receiver Deandre Hopkins, they would have had to add about 10% to whatever the Titans offered.

And this competitive disadvantage, which the voters of Massachusetts have imposed on the Patriots, will also apply to athletes for the Celtics in the NBA, the Bruins in the NHL and the Red Sox in baseball.

It’s not just Tennessee that has zero state income tax — Texas, Florida and Nevada also don’t have a state income tax, so top free agent athletes now have an incentive to sign with Houston, Dallas, Miami, Tampa, or Las Vegas, rather than to go to Boston and get ripped off for 9% of their salary because of stupid liberal voters in Massachusetts.

Hey, math quiz: What’s 9% of zero? Because you’re not going to get any tax revenue from millionaires, if millionaires leave your state.

Never mind. Math is “white supremacy,” they tell me.



 

Category: Economics, Massachusetts, Sports

Math = White Supremacy

Posted on | July 16, 2023 | 2 Comments

Where did the belief arise that “white supremacy” is so structurally embedded in American society as to require wholesale changes to “dismantle” its nefarious influence? It didn’t start with George Floyd. Rather, in its most directly articulated form (of which the above graphic is an expression), it can be traced to the work of left-wing activist Tema Akun, who developed it as a training for people working in non-profit tax-exempt “social justice” organizations:

Because we all live in a white supremacy culture, these characteristics show up in the attitudes and behaviors of all of us — people of color and white people. Therefore, these attitudes and behaviors can show up in any group or organization, whether it is white-led or predominantly white or people of color-led or predominantly people of color.

The reason certain traits are condemned by Akun is that, among other things, they have to do with evaluating success. Was the project completed on time and under budget? Are resources being allocated in the most efficient way? In the world of business, questions like that ultimately get answered either by growth and profit (as the reward of success) or by bankruptcy and collapse (as the punishment of failure). In the non-profit world of “social justice” activism, however, such metrics are difficult to obtain; everybody in such organizations is trying to claim credit for “success” (whatever that might mean in such a context) and to avoid blame for failure. If they really had any valuable skills, or any desire to make a living by actual work, after all, they wouldn’t be “social justice” activists, would they? To justify their continued employment, these parasites must avoid such things as “urgency” (e.g., showing up on time, meeting deadlines, etc.) and “objectivity” (e.g., clearly defined measures of work output), and so these traits are stigmatized as being characteristic of “white supremacy culture.” Quod erat demonstrandum.

(See also, “What Does ‘White Supremacy’ Mean?” Feb. 4, 2022.)

In the aftermath of the death of St. George of Minneapolis, this work by Akun and other “anti-racist educators” got circulated around everywhere, as various organizations and institutions were seeking some way to atone for their allegedly racist sins, which explains this preposterous nonsense:

An Oregon Department of Education newsletter from February promoted an online course designed to “dismantle” instances of “white supremacy culture in the mathematics classroom.” One example of “white supremacy” highlighted by the course was “the concept of mathematics being purely objective,” an idea which the resource stated is “is unequivocally false.”
The program, known as “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction,” describes itself as “an integrated approach to mathematics that centers Black, Latinx, and Multilingual students” that provides “opportunities for ongoing self-reflection as they seek to develop an anti-racist math practice.”
The “feedback advisors” for a portion of the program include William Zahner, who is an associate professor at San Diego State University; Melissa Navarro Martell, who is an assistant professor at San Diego State University, and Elvira Armas, who is the Director of Programs and Partnerships for the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University in California.
“White supremacy culture infiltrates math classrooms in everyday teacher actions,” the guide states. “Coupled with the beliefs that underlie these actions, they perpetuate educational harm on Black, Latinx, and multilingual students, denying them full access to the world of mathematics.”
The newsletter pitched the program to educators “looking for a deeper dive into equity work,” offering to teach “key tools for engagement, develop strategies to improve equitable outcomes for Black, Latinx, and multilingual students, and join communities of practice.”
The Oregon Department of [Education] Director of Communications, Marc Siegel, told Campus Reform that math instruction should be built on an “equitable foundation.”
“Building math instruction on an equitable foundation can better ensure all our students have a pathway to success in math,” Siegel said.
Examples of “white supremacy culture” cited by the document include a focus on “getting the ‘right’ answer” and requiring students to show their work.

(Hat-tip: Instapundit.) If “getting the ‘right’ answer” is racist, does this mean my D in high-school algebra was a struggle for social justice? Are kids who fail math class being oppressed by “white supremacy”?

The spokesman for Oregon’s public school system can only babble jargon about “equitable foundations” when confronted over this nonsense, which definitely is not “a pathway to success in math.”



 

Category: Education, Racism

FMJRA 2.0: We Saw It, It Was Coming

Posted on | July 16, 2023 | Comments Off on FMJRA 2.0: We Saw It, It Was Coming

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Senators took two of three from the division-leading A’s at RFK and ten went on the road to Minnesota and got thumped in two games straight before Juan Marichal came in to shut down the Twins’ bats while the lads teed off on Sudden Sam McDowell for an 8-0 blowout in game three. Tuesday we’re on the road again in Montreal, where we will no doubt freeze our asses off, but hopefully take at least two games.
Today’s SOTD in the title is from the freshly delivered & promptly ripped volume 10 of Klaus Schulze’s La Vie Electronique. Good solid classical/electronic stuff. 
Silicon Valley delenda est.

.500 is better than .333

Are YOU a ‘White Nationalist’?
The DaleyGator 
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum
Flappr

FMJRA 2.0: Ludwig Revisited – Cozy Ludwig
A View From The Beach
EBL

The Beauty of Alaska
EBL
357 Magnum

I Guess SCOTUS Decisions Are Constitutional Amendments?
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

Rule 5 Sunday: Karen Allen
Animal Magnetism
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

Bad Movies for Bad People
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.10.23
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

CNN’s Idée Fixe
First Street Journal
The DaleyGator
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.11.23
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

With ‘Friends’ Like This…
The DaleyGator
EBL
357 Magnum
Flappr

In The Mailbox: 7.13.23 (Afternoon Edition)
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.13.23 (Evening Edition)
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

It Probably Wouldn’t Be a Good Idea for Me to Express Myself Bluntly About This
The DaleyGator
A View From The Beach
EBL
357 Magnum

Crazy People Are Dangerous
Sassywire
EBL
357 Magnum

In The Mailbox: 07.14.23
EBL
357 Magnum
A View From The Beach

Top linkers for the week ending July 15:

  1.  EBL (15)
  2.  357 Magnum (14)
  3.  A View From The Beach (10)

Thanks to everyone for all the links!

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Category: FMJRA Award

A Tale of Two Conventions

Posted on | July 16, 2023 | 1 Comment

— by Wombat-socho


Or, Taking Back SF One Convention At A Time.

Our mascot, Fission-chan.


Every year in June, there’s a science fiction convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that is so popular, memberships sell out in a matter of hours when they become available. Part of this is because (thanks to some arcane rules I don’t pretend to understand that don’t have anything to do with fire marshal regulations) Libertycon limits its membership to around 750 people. The other part is that unlike most SF conventions, the people who run Libertycon are adamant about maintaining a convention free of the ridiculous woke crap that has made a lot of SF conventions, big and small, places where conservative and libertarian authors and fans aren’t welcome. So Libertycon memberships are very much in demand, despite the facts that 1) Chattanooga is damned hard to get to unless you live in driving distance, and B, every year the hotel that hosts it seems to change hands and forget how to do room reservations.

Well, I think there ought to be more conventions like Libertycon, and having some experience at starting & running these sorts of conventions, I decided to do something about it. Thus: Son of Silvercon. I’m starting small this first year, aiming for a membership of 100+ people, and hoping in subsequent years to grow to 1000 or more, which would allow us to move from a Best Western to one of the larger hotels in downtown Las Vegas – the Plaza, say, or one of the Station hotel/casinos, which have the kind of function space I’m used to from running Anime Detour in Minnesota. My intention is not to compete with Libertycon, which has been around quite a while and has a rich tradition -not to mention a couple of anthologies- but to supplement it, provide a place for people who can’t make it to Libertycon because Chattanooga is too far/too big a pain to fly to or because they just couldn’t score a membership. We have a guest of honor (M.C.A. Hogarth) and a couple of special guests (Sarah* & Daniel Hoyt, and Jon Del Arroz) who are most definitely not part of the Pink Wave that wants to make SF as dull and intersectional and hateful as mainstream literature, and who I expect will have interesting things to say about ignoring what traditional SF/comics publishers want and going your own way. We’re going to have a con suite where you can hang out, drink sodas of various types, nibble on snacks, and talk to your fellow fans as well as our guests and other pros who wandered in from the desert. We even have a blog to keep you posted on how things are coming along.

So if you happen to live in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, or Utah (or someplace else with cheap airfares to/from Vegas), think about coming down to Son of Silvercon the weekend of October 13. Hop in the car, book a flight or a bus ride, and come on down! If you can’t make it for some reason, consider a supporting membership to help make it happen (It’s only $20) and mention us to someone who might be interested. If you’re a veteran or an N3F member, we offer a $5 discount off the attending membership price. We also have a limited number of vendor tables available, if you’re interested in flogging some books or games to the masses. Do your part for the culture war! Buy stuff from authors and artists who don’t hate you! Come to Son of Silvercon!

*Some of you may recognize Sarah as the occasional overnight blogger at Instapundit, as well as mistress of her own blog, According To Hoyt.


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Category: Nevada, Zeitgeist

New York Architect Art Vandelay Denies Role in Long Island Serial Killer Case

Posted on | July 15, 2023 | 1 Comment

As soon as I heard that the suspect arrested in the long-unsolved murders of three women in the Long Island community of Gilgo Beach was an architect, I immediately thought of George Costanza in Seinfeld pretending to be an architect named “Art Vandelay.” This just shows what my sick sense of humor, I suppose, but the story of how an investigative task force finally identified Rex Heuermann, 59, as the suspect is fascinating. According to cops, Heuermann kept the cell phones of two victims and used the phones to get numbers of their relatives, then used “burner” phones to taunt at least one victim’s family member. However, Heuermann apparently didn’t realize that having his own cell phone with him at the time he used the “burner” phones meant that he was “pinging” off the same phone tower. So cops pored over the phone information and, by a process of elimination, narrowed down the possibilities to a comparative handful of potential suspects, and then — because a witness had seen a green pickup truck near one crime scene — this brought Heuermann to the top of the stack, as he sometimes drove a green truck he borrowed from his brother. Once he became the focus of the investigation, Heuermann’s financial records and Internet activity added more evidence against him, and finally detectives got a DNA match from discarded garbage. Breaking a case more than a decade old was very hard work, and the killer is an architect? Wow.

Art Vandelay could not be reached for comment.



 

Category: Crime

In The Mailbox: 07.14.23

Posted on | July 15, 2023 | 1 Comment

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Usual weekend deadlines for the usual weekend posts.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: When You Outlaw Guns, Only Outlaws Have Guns
EBL: I refuse to join a club that would have me as a member, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and Bastille Day
Twitchy: Federal Judge In Oregon Upholds Measure 114, Which Stomps on 2A Rights, Congresscritter Annoyed By People Of Color Being Called Colored People, Watch As Tucker Carlson Ends Mike Pence’s Campaign, and Interest In Threads Seems To Be Unraveling
Louder With Crowder: CNN pinned all their hopes and dreams on Kaitlan Collins and her new show is losing to SpongeBob, also, A costumed vigilante is taking the San Francisco streets back because crime has gotten that bad
Vox Popoli: The Media Knows, Everything is Fake, and Snow White and the Seven Diversities
According To Hoyt: View From Normal Street, Boobs, and It’s Time To Take The White Pill
Monster Hunter Nation: Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever – eARC is out now!, also, Don’t Be THAT Guy
Stoic Observations: How Stoics Win

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: Mourn Bastille Day
American Greatness: Don’t Believe The Leftist Media Narrative About The State of the 2024 Race, also, ‘Anti-Woke’ Alternative to Amazon to go Public This Month
American Thinker: Will Someone Please Wake Me From This Nightmare?
Animal Magnetism: Rule Five United Nations Friday
Babalu Blog: Desperation in Cuba worsens two years after the massive July 11 protests, Number of confirmed ‘femicides’ in Cuba climbs to 52, plus 4 more unconfirmed, and Reports from Cuba: Are we living in a new Special Period?
BattleSwarm: LinkSwarm for July 14
Behind The Black: Solid-fueled second-stage motor for Japan’s new Epsilon-S rocket explodes during static fire test, ULA officially admits first Vulcan launch is delayed to end of year, India successfully launches Chandrayaan-3, NASA survives first budget review in Congress, and Farewell Skipper
Chicago Boyz: History Friday – The Care of an Army
Da Tech Guy: As US Troops Are Called Up for Ukraine A Reminder to All Who Enabled The 2020 Steal
Dana Loesch: Feminist Eyebrow Beat Reporter Attacks Casey DeSantis’ Looks
Don Surber: Fire Sale at Disney
First Street Journal: How wealthy New Englanders fight #ClimateChange
Gates Of Vienna: Taking Care of Their Own
The Geller Report: Despite Supreme Court Ruling, Biden’s Rogue Regime Cancels $39 Billion In Student Loan Debt
Glenn Reynolds: Free Will, Children, & The Great Filter
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of the Day, also, Where Does Space Begin?
Hollywood In Toto: Adam Devine Blasts Hollywood for Forcing Messages into Comedies
The Lid: Dems Attempt To Cram The ERA Amendment Through Congress
Legal Insurrection: Jewish Advocacy Group Demands Removal of CUNY Law School Dean Over Student’s Anti-Israel Speech, House Passes Defense Bill That Restricts ‘Woke’ Policies, Sen. J.D. Vance Criticizes Colleges Over ‘Intention to Circumvent’ SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling, Little Girl Squirms as Biden Nibbles Her Shoulder and Tries to Kiss Her During Finland Trip, and “What’s Happening At LinkedIn Is So Important” Because Discrimination By Algorithm Is The Future Of Affirmative Action
Nebraska Energy Observer: Scattershot Friday
Outkick: Florida Hunters Catch World Record Burmese Python The Size Of A Giraffe, Charles Barkley Says ‘F–k You’ To People Upset About Bud Light But Is He Missing The Point?, NCAA Hands Down Final Ruling On Tennessee Football, Vols Get Probation, Hefty $8 Million Fine, Gunslinger Philip Rivers Welcoming TENTH Child With Wife, Tiffany, and Sean Payton Calls Jon Gruden A ‘Dumbf-ck’ For Paying $100k Fine For Not Wearing His Mask Properly During 2020 NFL Season
Power Line: How Creepy Is Joe Biden?, John Kerry explains, and Thoughts from the ammo line
Shark Tank: Rep. Waltz Questions John F. Kerry’s* “Shadow Diplomacy”
Shot In The Dark: Duck Duck Gray Duckspeak, also, Misattributed
The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday: Confidence and Betrayal
This Ain’t Hell: Sex and the Military Friday, Valor Friday, American artillery ammunition running low, North Korea may shoot down U.S. military aircraft, SECDEF- Promotion Hold “National Security Crisis”, and Veteran owned brewery lured to Norfolk, VA, some residents not happy
Transterrestrial Musings: Public Schools
Victory Girls: Transgender Soldiers Impede Battle Readiness
Volokh Conspiracy: Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Watts Up With That: CHECC Has Petitioned the DC Circuit for Rehearing as To Its Standing to Challenge the Endangerment Finding, Claim: Climate Change Threatens “Synchronised Harvest Failures” Worldwide, and Concerns Over Interstellar SUVs: Greenhouse Gas Fears Reach a Cosmic Scale
The Federalist: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Can’t Get His Story Straight On His Aimless Drug Policy Withdrawal, Biden Regime, Corporate Media Blame The Military Abortion Fight They Started On Republicans, Librarian-In-Chief Joe Biden Dreams Up Illegal Federal Library Code For Public Schools, No Subsidies For Big Food Is The Only ‘Based’ Position, EXCLUSIVE: Ethics Complaint Filed Against Congressman Who Slurred Whistleblowers, and Leftists Are Lying To You About Tommy Tuberville And ‘White Nationalists’
Mark Steyn: Live Around the Planet

*Who, as Rush Limbaugh reminded us, served in Vietnam. 

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Category: Linkagery

Crazy People Are Dangerous

Posted on | July 14, 2023 | Comments Off on Crazy People Are Dangerous

The de-institutionalization of the mentally ill has been a disaster for American society. Many cities are plagued by homeless encampments largely populated by people who would probably be better off locked up in a psych ward, but the state mental asylums got shut down decades ago, and the healthcare system doesn’t have enough facilities to deal with all the kooks and addicts out on the streets. Even when someone is clearly a danger to themselves and others, keeping them institutionalized is difficult. So the cops find themselves confronted by lunatics who do obviously suicidal things like charge at them with hatchets:

Chesterfield’s police chief calls for changes within our mental health system after he says it failed Charles Byers, who was shot and killed by police Saturday, July 8.
Byers’ death occurred just days after he was taken to into a mental health hospital. Chesterfield police say a temporary detention order (TDO) was issued for the 34-year-old.
His father tells NBC12 the family admitted Charles on July 5 after they realized he was experiencing a mental health crisis. He went to an area hospital, but the next day he was charged with battery on a healthcare worker.
He was given a court date for General District Court in Manchester but never showed up.
“This is every family’s nightmare when a family member is in a mental health crisis and clearly needs help, and the family does everything that they can to obtain that help,” NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin said.
NBC12 received the arrest warrant, and Benjamin says it looks like the magistrate released Byers. He says with a TDO, Byers should have been ordered to be returned to the facility after his arrest, not released.
“It appears that this individual was released, probably because of just a failure of communication, which is exactly what the law tries to prevent. Nobody wants this to happen,” Benjamin said.
It’s a miscommunication that cost a life. Benjamin says we do not know enough if anyone is at fault.
“It may very well have been that the Richmond Sheriff’s Department did not know that he was under a temporary detention order,” Benjamin said. “If he was took before a magistrate who also may not have known that there was a TDO, so he’s released by the magistrate. If the deputy did not know that he was under an order to be returned to the facility, then it would not have been the deputy’s fault.”
Following his release, Byers went to a Chesterfield neighborhood Saturday.
Officers say he had a hatchet and tried to get into homes, and police were then called to the scene. Police say after trying to de-escalate the situation, Byers charged at them, which is when police shot him.
Benjamin says the purpose of a TDO is to keep someone safe who may not realize they need help or may not realize they could be a harm to themselves and others.
“This is what has Chesterfield police calling for change in the system,” Chief of Police Col. Jeffrey Katz said in a statement. “Our mental health system failed Mr. Byers, his family, our community, and my officers. I feel compelled to speak on behalf of their interests and to support the needs of those in crisis, their loved ones, and the professionals who dedicate their lives to aiding people in need.”
Katz calls our country’s mental health infrastructure shameful, saying in his part, “Virginia has made overt strides to address this problem in recent years, but substantive changes must come faster. Lives are at stake.”

Whatever happened to straitjackets and padded cells and Thorazine? Back in the day, someone “experiencing a mental health crisis” would have gotten such treatment, especially if their behavior included “battery on a healthcare worker.” A hatchet-wielding lunatic is prowling around your neighborhood? Call the cops. What happens if the lunatic charges at the cops? BANG! BANG! BANG! Problem solved. Maybe this wasn’t what the ACLU had in mind when they pushed for de-institutionalization back in the 1970s, but as a treatment for someone “experiencing a mental health crisis,” police gunfire has the advantage of being permanent.

Have I mentioned lately that Crazy People Are Dangerous?



 

Category: Crime
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