Rule 5 Sunday: Gwen Stefani & The Harajuku Girls

Posted on | October 3, 2021 | Comments Off on Rule 5 Sunday: Gwen Stefani & The Harajuku Girls

OH NO! CUTE GIRLS APPROPRIATING CULTURE! LIGHT THE VIRTUE SIGNAL!

One of the kerfluffles I missed because I don’t pay much attention to celebrity gossip and even less to has-beens like Margaret Cho was the accusation that Ms. Stefani and her backup singers/dancers/entourage were committing the hideous sin of “cultural appropriation”. Given the awkward history of Japanese/Korean relations, a Korean-American ex-comedienne complaining about the appropriation of Japanese culture strikes me as a real stretch, but when nobody thinks you’re funny any more I guess you have to grab your fifteen minutes of attention where you can. Some KorAm writer for Salon also whined about it, and nobody else cared. Here’s a pic of Gwen and the girls.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

Ninety Miles From Tyranny: Hot Pick of the Late Night, The 90 Miles Mystery Box Episode #1491, Morning Mistress, and Girls With Guns.

Animal Magnetism: Rule Five Soft Secession Friday and the Saturday Gingermageddon.

EBL: MAGA Schadenfreude Coupled With Concern, Amy Winehouse, The Many Saints Of Newark, Green Day, Melissa Etheridge, Eydie Gorme & Trio Los Panchos, Julie Andrews, Whip It, Heels, Fiona Apple, and Ellie Taylor.

A View From The Beach: Rule 5 Saturday – Courtney Hansen, Fish Pic Friday, Tattoo Thursday, Diving in Wednesday Wetness, Light Blogging Ahead – Going to California with an Aching in My Heart, Tuesday Tanlines, The Monday Morning Stimulus, and Palm Sunday

Brian J. Noggle: Tawny Kitaen in Bachelor Party

Welcome to Sticks, Stories, & Scotch, who brings us Rule 5 Warship Sunday with HMS Illustrious!

Thanks to everyone for all the luscious links!

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Category: Rule 5

Tide Rolls, Dawgs Dominate, Ducks Lose, Cincinnati Defeats Notre Dame

Posted on | October 3, 2021 | Comments Off on Tide Rolls, Dawgs Dominate, Ducks Lose, Cincinnati Defeats Notre Dame

Bryce Young led Alabama over Ole Miss.

There will be a shake-up in the college football rankings after Saturday’s games, although the top two teams will remain unchanged.

Alabama faced its first big test of the season at home against previously unbeaten Ole Miss, and won 42-21 in a game that wasn’t really that close. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin had his team going for it on fourth down, and paid the price for his gambles. The Rebels could have gotten on the scoreboard first, but turned down the chance for an easy field goal, instead choosing to go for it on fourth-and-one at the ‘Bama 6-yard line. When they failed, the Crimson Tide took over and drove 94 yards on 13 plays for a touchdown, with Bryce Young hitting a 16-yard TD pass to John Metchie III. On their next possession, Ole Miss again found itself in a fourth-down situation at its own 47, went for it and didn’t make it. Alabama took over and drove for another touchdown, with Brian Robinson scoring on a 7-yard run. By halftime, it was really over, with the Crimson Tide leading 28-0. Robinson finished with 171 yards rushing and four TDs. Young was 21-for-27 passing for 241 yards.

No. 2 Georgia continued to look impressive, with a 37-0 victory over previously unbeaten Arkansas. The Bulldogs won despite the fact that starting quarterback J.T. Daniels was out with an injury. Backup QB Stetson Bennett did nothing spectacular, throwing for just 72 yards, but between their rugged defense and powerful running game, Georgia’s quarterback situation didn’t really matter. The Dawgs racked up 273 rushing yards, while their defense allowed Arkansas only 162 yards total offense. Georgia will almost certainly play in the SEC championship game, and the real suspense of this season is whether both the Bulldogs and Alabama will be undefeated when that game rolls around.

No. 3 Oregon lost to unranked Stanford 31-24 in overtime, continuing a jinx for the Ducks, who have a history of losing to Stanford even in years when they beat everyone else. For example, in 2012, Oregon was undefeated and ranked No. 1 when they got beat 17-14 by Stanford. The question now is whether any PAC-12 team will make it to the NCAA championship playoffs. Meanwhile, in South Bend . . .

Even though No. 9 Notre Dame was undefeated going into Saturday’s home game against No. 7 Cincinnati, everybody could see the Irish were struggling. They barely beat FSU and Toledo, and were ranked No. 9, but they had a 26-game home winning streak, and who are the Cincinnati Bearcats, compared to the storied football legends of Notre Dame? Last year, the Bearcats were undefeated but were snubbed for the playoffs, and then lost to Georgia in the Peach Bowl. Saturday, they beat Notre Dame 24-13 and it wasn’t really that close, as Cincinnati led 17-0 at halftime, as Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder finished the game with nearly 300 yards passing. So even though the rest of Cincinnati’s schedule isn’t much — they do face a late November game against SMU, currently undefeated — their victory over Notre Dame goes a long way toward establishing the Bearcats as legitimate playoff contenders.

No. 6 Oklahoma struggled to beat Kansas State 37-31, while No. 5 Iowa rolled over Maryland 51-14. Going into next week, I expect Oregon to drop down to No. 8 or lower, while Cincinnati should move up to No. 6, Oklahoma at No. 5 and Iowa at No. 4. That sets up next Saturday’s big showdown between Iowa and undefeated Penn State, which beat Indiana 24-0, and should move up to No. 3 this week. With all contingencies considered, there’s a solid chance Cincinnati is a week away from being ranked in the Top 5. Oh, and look out for Kentucky. The Wildcats are now 5-0 after upsetting No. 10 Florida 20-13 Saturday. Expect the Wildcats to show up in the Top 25 for the next poll, but Kentucky faces a major test next Saturday when they travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU, which is coming off a bitter 24-19 loss to Auburn.

Category: Football

FMJRA 2.0: Positive Bleeding

Posted on | October 2, 2021 | Comments Off on FMJRA 2.0: Positive Bleeding

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

“I’m Ted F***ing Williams. *crack* I’m the greatest f***ing hitter in baseball. *crack*” – Manager Ted Williams showing these young punks how it’s done.

Rule 5 Sunday: Gwen Verdon
Animal Magnetism
Ninety Miles From Tyranny
A View From The Beach
Proof Positive
EBL

Aspiring Rapper Update
357 Magnum
EBL

The Biden Administration’s Blame Game and the Sad Fate of #NeverTrump
The Pirate’s Cove
357 Magnum
EBL

FMJRA 2.0: Draft Weekend
A View From The Beach
EBL

Manhunt for Florida Cop-Killer
357 Magnum
EBL

The Power of Political Tribalism
Hogewash
EBL

In The Mailbox: 09.27.21
Proof Positive
357 Magnum
EBL

Crazy People Are Dangerous
The Pirate’s Cove
357 Magnum
EBL

‘The Negro Problem,’ Then and Now
EBL

In The Mailbox: 09.29.21 (Afternoon Edition)
Proof Positive
357 Magnum
EBL

In The Mailbox: 09.29.21 (Evening Edition)
Proof Positive
357 Magnum
EBL

The Fall Harvest of Books
Brian J. Noggle
357 Magnum
EBL

Identity, Opposition and Hate
357 Magnum
EBL

In The Mailbox: 09.30.21
Proof Positive
357 Magnum
EBL

In The Mailbox: 10.01.21
Proof Positive
357 Magnum
EBL

Top linkers for the week ending October 1:

EBL (15)
357 Magnum (11)
Proof Positive (6)

Thanks to everyone for all the links!

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Category: FMJRA Award

Don’t Question ‘The Science’?

Posted on | October 2, 2021 | Comments Off on Don’t Question ‘The Science’?

Luke Rudkowski of We Are Change called attention to these headlines:

It’s Time to Give Up on Facts
— Jess Zimmerman, Slate, Feb. 8, 2017

You Must Not ‘Do Your Own Research’
When It Comes To Science
— Ethan Siegel, Forbes, July 30, 2020

Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole
Critical thinking, as we’re taught to do it, isn’t
helping in the fight against misinformation
— Charlie Warzel, New York Times, Feb. 18, 2021

Questioning authority has become
too much of a good thing,
and it’s killing people
— Al Cross, Northern Kentucky Tribune, Sept. 23, 2021

The general theme here is that skepticism is wrong — we must accept what we are told by those in authority. The “consensus,” as determined by university professors, mainstream journalists and government officials, should not be subject to criticism or debate. If you are not a member of the class of credentialed experts authorized to determine the “consensus,” your duty is to shut up and obey.

What they are telling us, really, is that our own education and experience are invalid. Whatever schools you attended, whatever degrees or diplomas you may possess, whatever knowledge you may have acquired through your employment — none of your credentials count for anything, if you are disposed to challenge the authority of the expert class.

When and how did this insistence on elite authority develop? It didn’t start with the COVID-19 pandemic or with “fact checkers” telling us not to believe Donald Trump. A more obvious starting point of this expert “consensus” theme was The Great Global Warming Scare (which has been renamed “climate change” because the experts find this phrase more convenient when record snowfalls occur). You could point to the 2000 presidential election as the historic fulcrum in this regard. Al Gore shoved his chips all-in on global warming, and lost the election to George W. Bush, whose connections to the oil industry were no secret.

It was just about the time Gore came out with An Inconvenient Truth (2006) that we were told “the science is settled” about global warming, and the expert class decided that skeptics must be silenced. The Michael Mann lawsuit against Mark Steyn, et al., was the manifestation of the belief that it should be illegal to question the “consensus.”

On all matters scientific, I find myself forced to defer to John Hoge, the engineer who makes space robots for NASA. A mere journalist has no business arguing about science with an engineer, really, and so whenever such subjects are under discussion on The Other Podcast, I am compelled to leave it to Hoge. But he is at odds with those who endlessly declare that we must believe The Science™ when it comes to things like dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no such thing as The Science™ — a complete set of solutions, of which Dr. Anthony Fauci and his colleagues are the sole proprietors — because that’s not how science works.

Reasonable skepticism — citing facts and logic that contradict the liberal establishment’s preferred narrative about COVID-19 or anything else — is now being labeled “misinformation,” not because of science, but because of politics. Skeptics cannot be permitted to speak freely, to express doubt toward the “consensus” on subjects that may affect the political power of the liberal elite. And therefore “deplatforming” and other means of censorship are used to suppress dissent: Shut up, because science.

Well, we won’t shut up — you can tune in to hear more at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on The Other Podcast.

Category: Science, The Other Podcast

In The Mailbox: 10.01.21

Posted on | October 2, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 10.01.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Thanks to everyone who bought stuff through my Amazon links in September. Very much appreciated!
Usual weekend deadlines for the usual weekend posts.

Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.

Spot on.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Chicago’s Hall Of Shame
EBL: The Many Saints Of Newark
Twitchy: Meet The Black Georgia Democrat Who Would Rather Have A Statue Of A Confederate In The State Capitol Than A Statue Of Justice Thomas
Louder With Crowder: Draymond Green Refuses To Bash Unvaxxed Teammate – “That Goes Against Everything America Stands For”
Vox Popoli: The College Mating Crisis, A Rebel Without A Pulse, and California Culls The Kids
According To Hoyt: Just An FYI, also, Home!
Monster Hunter Nation: WriterDojo S1E7 – Building Characters, also, People Really Don’t Understand How Audits Work And The Media Likes It That Way
Gab News: Crush Communist Globalists – Return To Real Freedom!

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: Greasy Pole #18 – The Empowering Patriarchal Christian Episode
American Conservative: Church, State, & The Future Of Evangelism, also, Public Health Or Power Play?
American Greatness: Republicans Demand Release Of Marine LTC Jailed For Criticizing Afghan Bugout, also, Whitmer Case Exposes Pattern Of FBI Misconduct
American Power: Krysten Sinema Faces Growing Revolt From Former Supporters, also, What’s Going On In Congress?
American Thinker: The Scheller Case Is America’s Dreyfus Affair, also, Is Modern Society Finally Getting Sick Of Talking About Colonialism?
Animal Magnetism: Rule Five Soft Secession Friday
Babalu Blog: Another Cuban General Dies – Body Count Of Senior Officers Since 7/11 Hits 14, also, Cuban Political Police Warn Dissident Cuesto Morua – “We Will Not Allow The 20-N March”*
BattleSwarm: LinkSwarm For October 1
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted Americans, also, Two Nearby Asteroids Found With More Precious Metals Than Earth’s Entire Supply
Cafe Hayek: Quotation Of The Day
CDR Salamander: Fullbore Friday
Da Tech Guy: Stacy McCain Discovers The Key To Happiness
Don Surber: Musk Criticizes Biden, Not Xi, also, Pelosi’s Little Big Horn
First Street Journal: Another Priestly Problem, also, Murder In Lexington
The Geller Report: Biden Picks Communist To Be In Charge Of Our Banking System, also, Smith & Wesson Abandons Massachusetts For Tennessee
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post Of The Day, Trojan Asteroids, and The Rumor Mill
Hollywood In Toto: Antonio Sabato Jr. Won’t Fight Fire With Fire In The Culture Wars, also, Black As Night – Toothless Social Justice Vampires
The Lid: Thanks, Biden! DHS Prepares For Massive Surge Of Up To 400,000 Illegals In October
Legal Insurrection: The Left Expresses Joy & Happiness After Justice Kavanaugh Tests Positive For COVID, Cost Of Indiana U.’s “Diversity Hiring” Initiative Could Have Paid Tuition For 2,600 Students, and National School Boards Assn. Calls CT Protestors “Domestic Terrorists”, Requests Federal Intervention
Nebraska Energy Observer: Scattershot Friday – Biden Lied, Americans Died
Outkick: Dave Portnoy Jumps In On Howard Stern/Joe Rogan COVID Debate, Bengals Have Themselves A Leader In Joe Burrow, and How The SEC East Is Shaping Up
Power Line: Today’s Leftist Temper Tantrum, Keep Nope Alive, and Lefty Fairfax County Prosecutor To Courthouse Security – “Do You Know Who I Am”?
Shark Tank: Makki Accuses Former Obama Supporter Anna Paulina Luna Of Being A “Phony”
Shot In The Dark: Downfall – Ramco Edition, also, The Better Mousetrap
The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday – Can New York City Govern Itself?
This Ain’t Hell: The Three Curses Of Non-Military Service, Open Letter From A 1/6 Political Prisoner, and Sword-Wielding Ninja Trains With Special Ops
Victory Girls: Eco-Terrorist Confirmed As BLM Director, also, Rand Paul Humiliates HHS Secretary Becerra On COVID
Volokh Conspiracy: Does The Supreme Court’s Declining Popularity Matter?
Weasel Zippers: Biden’s Education Secretary Echoes McAuliffe – Parents Shouldn’t Be Primary Stakeholders In Kids’ Schooling, also, College Prof Turned CDC Chief Overrules Own Scientists, Recommends Jab Boosters
The Federalist: First Workers, Now Blacks – Democrat Betrayals For Big Business Are Piling Up, also, Debunking The 1619 Project Reveals The Difference Between History & Propaganda
Mark Steyn: We Have Met The Enemy, Part XXII

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Category: Linkagery

In The Mailbox: 09.30.21

Posted on | September 30, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 09.30.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

Cognitive dissonance

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Another Fake Hate Crime
EBL: The Largest Ostrich Subspecies Is Victim Of Good Intentions
Twitchy: Eric Swalwell Claims “Every Poll” Shows Americans Support Biden’s #BuildBackBetter, Gets Rekt, also, “NOT A Republican Vs. Democrat Thing”- Thread Goes into Detail About How Bad Government Is At Everything
Louder With Crowder: Biden Booed At Congressional Baseball Game – May Have Been By Own Party
Vox Popoli: Welcome To The Unvaccinated, Third World People, and The Nurses Know

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
American Conservative: Navigating NYC’s COVID Mandates
American Greatness: The Coordinated Attack On Ivermectin Is A Crime Against Humanity, also, Democrat Attack Ad Against DeSantis Backfires Badly
American Power: Inside Biden’s Controversial Decision To Abandon Bagram, also, The Authoritarian Left
American Thinker: The Saladin Paradigm – Finding The “Good” In Islamic Terrorists, also, Choosing Senility Over Substance
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Tax & Spend News
Babalu Blog: Equity In Communist Cuba, also, The Smackdown Heard Across Latin America – Uruguay Puts Cuba In Its Place
BattleSwarm: Matthew Dowd Running Against Dan Patrick For Texas Lieutenant Governor
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted Americans, also, A Mars Mesa Carved By Floods & Lava?
Cafe Hayek: Bryan Caplan Pens An Open Letter To University Presidents
CDR Salamander: Words Begat Actions Which Create History, also, Diversity Thursday
Da Tech Guy: The $64,000 In New York, also, My Strategy For Fighting COVID Lockdowns & Mandates
Don Surber: Only 45% Trust Biden On COVID, also, #BLM Increased Black Murders By 2,164 (28%) In 2020
First Street Journal: Feminista Jones Calls out The Philadelphia Inquirer, also, The Lexington Herald-Leader And Photos Of Accused Criminals
Fred On Everything: FDR’s Secret Plea to Hitler
The Geller Report: Manchin Trashes Democrat Spending Bill – “Fiscal Insanity”, also, Marine Who Rescued Baby In Kabul Under Investigation For Appearing With Trump
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, My Upcoming Work Schedule
Hollywood In Toto: Did Joe Rogan Just Become The Media’s Public Enemy #1? also, Why Many Saints Of Newark Is For Sopranos Fans Only
Legal Insurrection: The College Fix Launches New Database To Track Cancel Culture On Campus, also, Legal Scholars Detail The Fight Against CRT In Public Schools
Nebraska Energy Observer: TV Democrats
Outkick: Good News Chicagoans! Now, When You Get Shot, There Are Local Bleed Stations, Farewell To Our Friend Matt Loede, and Paul Finebaum Thinks Clemson’s Dynasty Is Over
Power Line: COVID Morgue RIP, The Manchin Proviso, and How Crazy Are The Democrats? This Crazy
Shark Tank: Byron Donalds – House Spending Bill Is “Not What America Needs”
Shot In The Dark: School Daze, also, You May Ask Yourself
The Political Hat: Corona-Chan Madness In Australia – Door To Door Interrogation, Choking The Maskless, & Firing On Protesters
This Ain’t Hell: Nazi On The Run, Milley Confirms The Most Egregious Part Of Woodward’s Book, and PTR, Kahr, Mossberg…
Transterrestrial Musings: Milley’s Dishing, also, Self-Replicating Protocells
Victory Girls: Border Patrol (But Not Illegals) Faces Jab Mandate, also, Our Supply Chain Is Hanging By A Thread
Volokh Conspiracy: House Votes To Apply Mandatory Draft Registration To Women
Weasel Zippers: “No Need To Dumb This Down”, also, Officials Believe Over 350,000 “Migrants” Heading For Border
The Federalist: How Turning Christianity Into A “Nice People Club” Is Destroying The Church, also, Leftist School Board Association Begs Biden To Target Concerned Parents With Domestic Terrorism Laws
Mark Steyn: Live Around The Planet, also, The Post-Democratic Era

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Category: Linkagery

Identity, Opposition and Hate

Posted on | September 30, 2021 | Comments Off on Identity, Opposition and Hate

The ‘Killing Fields’ of Cambodia

Did you study developmental psychology when you were in college? For a couple of semesters, I changed my major to secondary education — thinking I might become a high school teacher, before realizing I lacked the temperament for it — and one of the courses I took was Childhood Psychology. This provided me a lot of insights on how human personality is developed during childhood, especially identity formation.

This is the crucial question of youth: “Who am I?” If you think of classic teen comedies — Animal House, The Breakfast Club, Mean Girls, etc. — you realize how membership in a particular clique or adolescent subculture is part of the struggle to develop a sense of identity. When I was in high school, had one foot in the nerd subculture (playing trombone in band, etc.) and another foot in hoodlum subculture (smoking dope, etc.). Kids naturally form cliques, and part of what goes on in this adolescent tribalism is defining one’s own identity in opposition to The Other — you’re a Jock because you’re not a Nerd, or you are a Hoodlum because you’re not a Goody Two-Shoes, and so forth.

Because identity is so closely connected to group membership, and defined in opposition to The Other — “I’m a Delta, not an Omega” — this often gives rise to a sense of competitive rivalry inherent to one’s identity. And thus identity may lead to conflict and violence. We can see this, for example, in urban gang warfare — Crips vs. Bloods, or Gangster Disciples vs. Latin Kings — but it also explains, for example, the 1999 Columbine Massacre, where the killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold defined their identities in opposition to the more popular cliques in their high school. Columbine was a typical suburban high school where the football team was a focus of school spirit, and there was also a strong culture of evangelical Christianity, with many kids involved in church youth groups. Harris and Klebold, who were associated with a loosely identified clique of outsiders known as the “Trench Coat Mafia,” hated jocks and cheerleaders and Christians, and their bloody day of vengeance could be seen as a particularly toxic expression of adolescent identity.

This kind of antisocial identity — formed in opposition to the values of one’s community — can be understood as the consequence of psychological alienation, which generally involves the rebellion against (or rejection of) parental role models. Nearly all teenagers, in some way, go through rebellious phases, but for the antisocial personality, this kind of rebellion becomes the basis of identity. In the mind of the antisocial youth, there is a clear binary of values — the parental value system, which they reject, and the polar-opposite values the teenager adopts as an act of rebellion. A famous line from The Wild One comes to mind:

Mildred: “Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?”
Johnny: “What have you got?”

The adolescent rebel lacks the ability to view his situation objectively. His rebellion is driven by emotion, and there is a mindless quality to the destruction that typically ensues — it makes no sense, for example, that a nice suburban kid like Dylan Klebold would become a mass murderer.

All of that is preamble to my main point, which is understanding how these factors play out when identity becomes the basis of politics.

Of course, it is entirely natural and understandable that, for example, farmers care about how government policy may affect agricultural interests, while auto factory workers are concerned with how legislation might help or harm the automobile industry. Likewise, we can understand that women will take a particular interest in issues relating their lives, that racial minorities are focused on issues that affect them, etc. Anyone who has read Federalist No. 10 knows that our system of government was established with the idea of balancing out the various interests of different factions, and far be it from me to deny to anyone the basic right to judge their own interests and to advocate for policies favorable to their interests. That’s just normal politics.

What we call identity politics, however, is something else entirely, involving activism and propaganda intended to incite collective resentment — the victimhood mentality — and to demonize others as perpetrators of oppression. Identity politics is simply organized hatred, and it follows a distinctly destructive pattern of logic.

Anyone who has studied formal logic sees how claims of “systemic racism” incite antisocial attitudes. If racial minorities are universally victimized in a more or less automatic manner — because, it is claimed, “white supremacy” is ubiquitous and omnipotent — then nothing can end this oppression except the destruction of society itself.

Such is the nihilistic syllogism embedded in the work of Ibram X. Kendi, et al., and students of history know where such hateful logic tends to lead: “Year Zero” in Kampuchea under the reign of Pol Pot.

We might also mention in this context Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RLTM), otherwise known as “Radio Genocide” in Rwanda.

What is so infuriating about those who incite this kind of genocidal hatred — the logical consequence of what we call identity politics — is that they do it for mere political advantage, to obtain power by “energizing their base.” That’s what last summer’s Black Lives Matter riots were really about — generating turnout to elect Joe Biden. And yet the “base” which Democrats seek to “energize” this way is so irremediably stupid that many of them actually believe the “social justice” propaganda.

Say hello to Shardé Nabors, Oregon project manager for a Seattle-based activist organization called Social Justice Fund NW. Curious readers may ask, “What sort of ‘social justice’ does Shardé advocate?” And the answer is, the destruction of the United States of America.

So they’re straight up calling to completely destroy America pic.twitter.com/Rdduyc8Sr9

— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) September 27, 2021

“So, earlier this week I made a post saying that it doesn’t sit right with me that there are white people who own property — multiple properties, at that — in the United States of America while black and indigenous people are experiencing homelessness. And I want to expand on that, especially for my new followers who are white, who followed me because of my anti-racist content. I’m glad that you’re listening to me, but I really want to make sure that you’re hearing what I’m saying. There will never be black liberation or indigenous sovereignty as long as the United States of America exists. If you want black folks around the globe and in this country liberated, if you want indigenous folks to be able to have sovereignty over the lands that they’re indigenous to, then the United States of America needs to cease to exist. And I don’t know if y’all are ready for that, I don’t know if that’s what y’all signed up for. I’m not sure if anti-racist work is just something you do to lessen the inconvenience of racism in your life, but I hope you’re ready for this. It’s not for the weak.”

That’s the kind of 501(c)3 tax-exempt “activism” she gets paid for. This is where the logic of the “social justice” narrative leads — hatred and destruction, advocating genocide as the Final Solution.

(Hat-tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)

Category: Racism

The Fall Harvest of Books

Posted on | September 30, 2021 | Comments Off on The Fall Harvest of Books

— by Wombat-socho

When last we visited the Tonopah town library, I was fortunate enough to find Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files anthology Brief Cases; this time I found a copy of Galaxy: Thirty Years Of Innovative Science Fiction. Essentially a compilation of the various Galaxy Reader anthologies published throughout the 1950s and 60s, with some stories from the 1970s added, this is a good sampler of the kind of SF that Galaxy published until its demise in the late 1970s. Edited by former editor Fred Pohl along with Martin Greenburg and Joseph Olander, this is an all-star collection of stories from the magazine that was founded as a deliberate counterpoint to John W. Campbell’s Astounding Science Fiction, and includes short stories by Isaac Asimov, Algis Budrys, Jerome Bixby, Larry Niven, Zenna Henderson, and many other outstanding authors. Out of print, but used copies are widely available for cheap.

Alexis Gilliland is probably better known as a BNF* and cartoonist, but the man could write. In addition to the excellent Rosinante trilogy, he penned a fantasy trilogy about the adventures of the water mage** and (reluctant) adviser to royalty Wizenbeak. W.W. Wizenbeak is originally sent off to the northern wastes to found a farming colony for the kingdom of Guhland, but just as he manages to get things started, a civil war breaks out and he finds himself the target of the vengeful Witchfinder General and protector of the heirs to the throne. Managing to survive this and place his apprentice on the throne as Regent, Wizenbeak finds his troubles have only begun in the sequel, The Shadow Shaia, and they only get worse in the trilogy’s conclusion, Lord of the Troll-Bats.*** Unfortunately, the latter two books aren’t available from Amazon, but you can find them very easily and somewhat inexpensively through Alibris, which a lot of used book stores deal with in preference to Amazon. The flavor of the trilogy is more Three Musketeers than the usual medieval elf & dwarf crap (N.B.: there are no elves or dwarves in the trilogy, but there are dragons) and there’s plenty of political skulduggery if you like that sort of thing, and I strongly recommend it.

Since I’m currently in a protracted struggle with the 1969 major league baseball rosters, it occurs to me that I should recommend a few of my favorite baseball books. starting with Bill James’ New Historical Baseball Abstract. This is a huge mulligan stew of a book, containing snapshots of baseball history through the decades, spiced with sly jokes, amusing and terrifying anecdotes about the players, and pages upon pages of comments about the hundred best players at each position. Since it’s not trying to be the exhaustive reference book that Total Baseball is, the Kindle edition is probably okay, more so if big thick books strain you arms and your bookshelves. Another excellent read from Bill James is Whatever Happened To The Hall Of Fame? Frankly, I liked the original title, The Politics Of Glory, better, but it’s not my book so I don’t get a say. Anyhow, this is a history of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the players elected to it, and how they got there, along with some ways of thinking about what players are likely to go into the Hall, what players probably should have been elected, and quite a few players who arguably don’t belong there but were lucky enough to have friends in the right places. All of the preceding will probably piss people off, along with his comments on the Negro League players (in the Hall and out), but like almost all of Bill’s books, it will make you think.

There are three newer editions of Jim Bouton’s Ball Four out there, not to mention the sequel I’m Glad You Didn’t Take It Personally, which is mostly about the screams of outrage and other reactions to the original book, which is a fun and funny look at Bouton’s season with the hapless expansion Seattle Pilots and contending Houston Astros in 1969 as a knuckleball pitcher. The great thing about Ball Four, you see, is that Bouton told the truth – he didn’t sugarcoat anything, he didn’t lie, and quite a few people – not all of them his teammates – never forgave him for it.

There has been very little good baseball fiction, in my opinion. Robert Coover’s The Universal Baseball Association is the kind of self-indulgent mainstream garbage you would expect from a third-rate Professor of Literary Arts at a second-rate Ivy League school, so of course the critics loved it. The UBA is the creation of a miserable accountant who loses himself in a self-invented baseball game and becomes entirely too wrapped up in his fantasies about the imaginary players in the eponymous early 20th-century league. Couldn’t finish it. Bernard Malamud’s The Natural is better, but still a downer with a depressing ending; the movie with Robert Redford is orders of magnitude better. On the other hand, W.P. Kinsella’s The Iowa Baseball Confederacy is arguably better than his better known Shoeless Joe, perhaps because it’s less tied down to reality. A tale of one man’s quest to prove that a 2000-inning game between the 1908 World Champion Chicago Cubs and the amateur players of the I.B.C. actually happened, this surrealistic tale immerses you in the superstitions of the age and takes you on a strange trip into a fantastic world where a good-natured challenge leads to a seemingly endless nightmare – and yet, all ends well, for almost everyone concerned. I was also amused by his story collection Box Socials, which is mostly about small-town semi-pro baseball players and their lives off the diamond.

*Big Name Fan.
**”Like a civil engineer, except with spells instead of bulldozers,” as one reviewer put it.
***How was this not a Meat Loaf album title? Jim Steinman, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!

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