Friday Fiction: 100 Word Challenge

Posted on | May 14, 2021 | Comments Off on Friday Fiction: 100 Word Challenge

by Smitty

“Stop right there!
“We know that you’re carrying the data in an inner pocket. If you cooperate, you will live.

“Your rebellion and its listening post will no longer steal government data.
“You may slowly turn, and–PUT THE UMBRELLA DOWN RIGHT NOW!”
**BOOM**
“Arrrgghh!”
Her face took on a malevolent laugh as the acid rained down on the Secret Police. Completely unprepared for this surprise, they broke and ran.
**BOOM**
She turned away and strode away under the cover of her protective gear. The light mortar covered her retreat, while her thoughts turned to who had betrayed the cause.

—
via Darleen

Category: Friday Fiction

In The Mailbox: 05.13.21 (Evening Edition)

Posted on | May 13, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 05.13.21 (Evening Edition)

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

There’s actually a surprising amount to talk about.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Lies, Damn Lies, & Statistics
Red Pilled Jew In Exile: Church Of The Covidian – Blank-eyed & Mindless
EBL: Retro Gas Line Rule 5
Twitchy: Drew Holden Offers Up A thread Explaining How Rebekah Jones’ Grift Went On For So Long
Louder With Crowder: CBS News Offers Brief Moment Of Honesty
Vox Popoli: Canceling Biology, also, The Modern Constant

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: If You’re An Anti-vaxxer You’re An Antisemite
American Conservative: An American Identity Crisis
American Greatness: AZ Election Auditors Claim Maricopa County Deleted Databases From Voting Machines Before Handing Them Over
American Power: A Middle East Powder Keg
American Thinker: Are Retired Generals In France & The U.S. Standing Up Against Tyranny?
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Things Are Bad News
Babalu Blog: How To Respond When told That Cuba Suffers From An Illegal & Immoral Blockade
BattleSwarm: Texas House Passes Ban On Teaching Critical Race Theory
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted Americans, also, The Insane Engineering Of The X-15
Cafe Hayek: Everyone’s A Social Engineer
CDR Salamander: Claude Berube – Teaching, Legacy, Mentorship, & Opening A New Chapter
Da Tech Guy: Lack Of Resistance To Lockdowns & Mask Mandates Is The Price We’re Paying For Decades Of Liberal Indoctrination, also, Five Reasons Why Signing Tebow Makes Sense But Kaepernick Doesn’t
Don Surber: Inflation Is Part Of The Democrat Plan
First Street Journal: If Only The Global Warming Climate Change Emergency Activists Understood What They Ask
The Geller Report: Smoking Gun In AZ Audit, also, Energy Secretary Granholm On Gas Crisis – “If You Drove An Electric Car This Wouldn’t Be Affecting You”
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, More Reporting On Rebekah Jones
Hollywood In Toto: Xfinity’s Parental Guide Run By Openly Liberal “Common Sense Media”, also, You Won’t Believe How Trevor Noah Spun Hamas’ Assault On Israel
The Lid: 124 Retired Military Officers Slam Biden For “Full-Blown Assault On Our Constitutional Rights In A Dictatorial Manner”
Legal Insurrection: Anti-Israel Social Media Agitators Rip Gal Gadot’s Plea For Peace, also, AG Merrick Garland Claims White Supremacists Are “The Most Dangerous Threat To Our Democracy”
Nebraska Energy Observer: It’s Mental
Outkick: Zach Wilson’s Mom Goes Off On “Maskholes”, Triggering Ensues, also, All Seven Yankees Who Tested Positive For The Coof Were Vaccinated
Power Line: Twitter Banned Trump, But Allows Celebration of Attacks On Israel, also, The Green Fantasy Is A Nightmare
Shark Tank: Wassermann-Schultz Slams Ilhan Omar For Defending Attacks On “Apartheid” Israel
Shot In The Dark: Things Big Left Can Still Learn
The Political Hat: Tennessee Vs. Critical Race Theory
This Ain’t Hell: Nursing Aide Sentenced In Veterans’ Deaths, also, Retired Flag Officers Sign Letter Questioning 2020 Election, Biden’s Mental Health
Transterrestrial Musings: Sophia The Talking Robot, also, Elon’s New Rocket
Victory Girls: Israel Strikes Back Against Hamas, Takes Out Leaders
Volokh Conspiracy: Michigan Legislators Seek To Require Bonding, Registration Of Fact-Checkers
Weasel Zippers: Feds Finally Admit Inflation Is Rampant, also, Gas Prices Hit $7/Gallon In Virginia
The Federalist: McCarthy Leads House GOP In Honoring Fallen Police Officers After Democrats Spurred Riots & Defunding In 2020, also, Chrissy Teigen Finally Admits She’s An “Insecure, Attention-Seeking Troll”
Mark Steyn: Out Of Fashion

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Category: Linkagery

In The Mailbox: 05.13.21

Posted on | May 13, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 05.13.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

In Chantilly and ready to get caught up on the linkagery before going to hang out with friends.
Silicon Valley delenda est.

You know it’s true.

OVER THE TRANSOM
Ninety Miles From Tyranny: The 90 Miles Mystery Box, Episode #1350
357 Magnum: Because Keeping Violent Felons In Prison Would Be Unfair
EBL: State Of Play – A Review
Twitchy: “That’s Not Science – It’s Something Much Darker”
Louder With Crowder: Black Mother Obliterates School Board Over Critical Race Theory
Vox Popoli: DC Goes Webtoons, also, Did Hitler Save Europe?
Gab News: Pregnant Woman Destroys Mask Shamer

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: The Hoff
American Conservative: Here Come The 70s
American Greatness: The Strange Death Of The British Labour Party
American Thinker: How The Left Plans To Put Boots On The Ground To Subdue Middle America
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Hump Day News
Babalu Blog: Leftist Latin American Terrorists Behind Recent Colombian Riots
BattleSwarm: Palestinians Do What They Do Best – Fire Rockets At Israeli Civilians
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted American, also, NASA – Commercial Demand Exceeds Supply At ISS
Cafe Hayek: A Subtly Misleading Report On COVID-19
CDR Salamander: LCS – The Maintenance Edition
Da Tech Guy: The Brave Men Of Canada Then And Now, also, The Coddling Of College Students
Don Surber: Liz Is The Start Of RINO Season
First Street Journal: Political Correctness In The City of Lexington, also, It’s Time To Leave Afghanistan
The Geller Report: Terror Top Dog Abbas Wants More Blood, also, The Fruit Of Biden’s Incitement Against Israel
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, Liz Cheney Fired
Hollywood In Toto: Cancel Culture Yawns As Oscar Nominee Dances With Antisemitism, also, The Wait Is Over For Sebastian Maniscalco
The Lid: This Week’s Attacks On Israel Wouldn’t Have Happened Under Trump
Legal Insurrection: New George Mason University Diversity Hiring Practices Emphasize Skin Color Over Qualifications, also, American Medical Association Rejects “Equality” & “Meritocracy” In Just Released “Equity” & “Racial Justice” Strategic Plan
Michelle Malkin: Check Your Obama Privilege
Nebraska Energy Observer: The Coltishall & Horstead Scarecrow Festival
Outkick: Someone Finally Speaks The Truth About The Race-Baiting Kaepernick Vs. Tebow Debate, also, Door Opening For MLB Franchise In Nashville?
Power Line: Scenes From The College Meltdown, also, Aggravating Chauvin’s Sentence
Shark Tank: Army Vet Rep. Brian Mast Urges Biden To Reverse Pentagon Decision On Veterans’ Motorcycle Rally
Shot In The Dark: Baited, Switched, also, The Great Shun
The Political Hat: Mickey Mouse Goes Woke
This Ain’t Hell: 200,000 Veterans’ Medical Records May Have Been Stolen, also, Drill Sergeant Marries Trainee, Gets Reprimanded, & Is Now Out Of The Army
Transterrestrial Musings: SpaceX Envy, also, The New Space Council Secretary
Victory Girls: Liz Be Gone – Go Join Your Friends On The Left
Volokh Conspiracy: 6th Circuit Rules Property Owners Can Sue Under Takings Clause To Bar Seizure Of Home Equity In Tax Delinquency Foreclosures
Weasel Zippers: Even After Fuel Shortages, Psaki Says Biden Considering Canceling Existing Pipelines, also, Cheney Declares War On Trump & His Supporters Following Ouster
The Federalist: A #BLM Activist Pulling A Gun On Bystanders Should Be The Last Straw For This Destructive Group, also, Lockdown Mongers Can Point Fingers, But The Science Is In – They’re To Blame
Mark Steyn: Living In Truth, also, Of Pipes & Peaks

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Category: Linkagery

Falling Down and Falling Apart

Posted on | May 12, 2021 | Comments Off on Falling Down and Falling Apart

Last night, for the first time in a long time, I watched the 1993 movie Falling Down on YouTube, and was struck by the final line: “I’m the bad guy? How’d that happen? I did everything they told me to.”

William Foster is a guy who believed in the system. He followed the rules, and yet lost everything. His wife divorced him. He lost his job. His wife has a restraining order against him so he’s not even allowed to attend his daughter’s birthday party. The world has ceased to make sense.

Falling Down is a classic — some of the scenes are funny as hell, in a dark way — and what is the message? It’s about incentives.

Why should we play by the rules, if the rules don’t work? What is the incentive to be a good citizen — an honest, hard-working taxpayer — if the system does not reward you for compliance with the rules?

There are two kinds of incentives — the carrots of reward and the sticks of punishment. What has happened to William Foster in Falling Down is that he finds himself being punished (divorce, unemployment and a thousand other tiny humiliations) despite having followed the rules.

We have heard a lot of rhetoric about “social justice” lately, by which liberals mean a redistribution of rewards and punishments in the system, for the benefit of those allegedly suffering oppression. In reality, however, oppression is not neatly distributed according to the identity-politics formulae of the Left. Everybody has their own grievances, and attempts to explain human frustrations by such simplistic labels as “systemic racism” — or “patriarchy” — fail to capture this reality.

The lessons of Falling Down were on my mind as I watched Tucker Carlson’s opening monologue for his Tuesday program:

There are a lot of unprecedented things happening, but not all of them are shocking. For example, it probably shouldn’t surprise you that, once they got their hands on real power, the same lunatics who don’t believe in human biology immediately made a serious mess of our economy. It took them less than six months to do it.
First, they acted like the U.S. dollar had no value. They spent money like they’d just printed it for the occasion, which, needless to say, they had. Predictably, we wound up with frightening levels of inflation, which for the record they still deny exists. But inflation does exist, as you well know if you live here.
Corn prices, to name just one example of a staple commodity that’s now out of control, have risen by 50 percent just since January. But that wasn’t bad enough. The lunatics decided to make it worse. They paid millions of Americans more than they make at work, to stay home and do nothing. To justify doing this, they used the word “COVID” quite a bit, but it had nothing to do with the pandemic. They just wanted to break the system. And so they did. And the rest of us immediately wound up with a bewildering combination of rising unemployment in the middle of a severe labor shortage.
So, at the very same time, we found ourselves with too many workers, and also too few workers. That doesn’t even make sense, but thanks to their policies, that’s now exactly what we have. And then, finally, in case 2021 didn’t remind you enough of a grimmer version of the 1970s, we now have serious gas shortages, in a country that just recently was energy independent. All along the east coast of the country today, people couldn’t fill up their cars. The footage looks like Venezuela.

And so forth. The real point — why it reminded me of Falling Down — is that ordinary citizens are powerless to fix this manmade disaster. The people in charge don’t give a damn about ordinary citizens, because if they did, they wouldn’t have done what they’ve done. We find ourselves in a broken system, where the incentives have gone haywire, and the world has stopped making sense. We’re all like William Foster, stuck in that L.A. traffic jam with a broken air conditioner. Everything seems to be falling apart, and we find ourselves helplessly falling down.

Things are likely to go from bad to worse, and the only question is just how much worse the situation will get. We cannot expect Joe Biden (or the people who are running the government in his name) to experience a sudden insight as to the cause of their failures. There will be no sudden reversal of their “progressive” agenda, and it is far more likely they will just double-down on the bad policies they’ve embraced.

Probably a lot of people aren’t going to be able to cope. We’re going to see more and more people going berserk — seemingly random massacres, “suicide by cop,” acts of domestic terrorism — because what do you expect people to do when the rules don’t work anymore?

“I’m the bad guy? How’d that happen? I did everything they told me to.”

Category: Crime, Movies

In The Mailbox: 05.11.21

Posted on | May 12, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 05.11.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

The Komi-san anime will be released in October. Early trailers look really good.

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Why Do You Have To Hit Lawyers With A Brick?
EBL: Why Melinda Left, also, Was Corona-Chan Made In A Red Chinese Lab?
Twitchy: Dr. Fauci Didn’t Like Sen. Rand Paul Questioning Him About His Support Of NIH Funding For The The Wuhan Lab
Louder With Crowder: Oh, Thank God! OJ Simpson Endorses Liz Cheney For GOP Leadership
Vox Popoli: The Free Speech Fraud, also, Leaving Los Angeles

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: Just So You Know Who Our Enemies Are
American Conservative: Biden’s Immigration Policies Prove His “Jobs” Program Is A Con
American Greatness: Why Is The Government Hiding January 6th Footage? also, Liz Cheney & “The Big Lie”
American Power: Anthony Beevor, The Battle Of Arnhem
American Thinker: The “Woke” Follies
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Insurrection News
Babalu Blog: Will The UN Do Anything About The Communist Regime’s Misuse Of Donated Food?
BattleSwarm: Flu Manchu Wallops India, also, Huffines Challenges Abbott
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted Americans, also, The Atomic Hydrogen In Mars’ Atmosphere
Cafe Hayek: “This Is Mental Illness”
CDR Salamander: The Answer To DarkSide Is Well Known
Da Tech Guy: Report From Louisiana – Full Time School? also, Very Quick Thoughts Under The Fedora
Don Surber: AP Has A Strange Take On Children Abandoned At The Border
First Street Journal: Another One Bites The Dust, also, Philly DA Krasner Doesn’t Deserve Reelection, He Deserves Jail!
Fred On Everything: A Dolorous Imbalance
The Geller Report: Liz Cheney’s Husband Works For CCP-Linked Law Firm, also, Jihadi Scum Opens Fire In Times Square, Hitting 4-Year-Old Girl & Three Bystanders – Still At Large
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, Carter’s Second Term may Be The Best Case Scenario
Hollywood In Toto: Riders Of Justice Injects New Life & Laughs Into Vigilante Genre, also, “Defund The Police” Celebs Fall Silent
The Lid: Traffickers Abandon Five Girls Under 7 On Texas Bank Of Rio Grande
Legal Insurrection: As “Critical Race Theory” Becomes Toxic Term, New Codenames & Keywords Emerge, also, Stacey Abrams Spins The Job Report
Nebraska Energy Observer: Don’t Dwell
Outkick: NBA Ratings Prove The League Is In Undeniable Decline, also, A-Rod’s Bid For Timbermutts Ends With No Deal
Power Line: The Walt Disney Company – Dismayed By America, Inspired By Red China, also, CRT – What It Is & What To Do
Shark Tank: Gaetz – “The Deep State Is Real”
Shot In The Dark: Firing Across Big Karen’s Bow
STUMP: Which Public Pension Funds Have The Highest Holdings Of Alternative Assets?
The Political Hat: A Surplus Of Healthcare Is Not A Problem, also, Arizona Vs. Critical Race Theory
This Ain’t Hell: Civilian Climate Corps Proposal, also, I Don’t Even Know If I Recognize The Army Any More
Transterrestrial Musings: Civil War 2.0, also, Starship
Victory Girls: Hamas Attacks Israel & The Squad Cheers
Volokh Conspiracy: Poetry Tuesday
Weasel Zippers: Biden Concedes That Under His Policies Businesses Might Only Be Able To Hire Part-Time, also, Bad Orange Woman Says Hacking Of Pipeline & Restoration Being Ransomed Is “A Private Matter”
The Federalist: Mollie Hemingway Is Writing The 2020 Election Book The Media Doesn’t Want You To Read, also, Biden Won’t Change His Mind On Anti-Oil & Gas Policies Despite Fuel Shortages
Mark Steyn: South Of The Border, also, When The Base Doesn’t Know Its Place

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Category: Linkagery

Of Course, Evolution Is Racist

Posted on | May 11, 2021 | Comments Off on Of Course, Evolution Is Racist

Our friends at Breitbart are having a point-and-laugh carnival about the fact that England’s Sheffield University has made Charles Darwin the latest historical figure to be “cancelled” because, it is alleged, his theory of evolution was used to “justify white male supremacy.”

While we may enjoy the fun — “Hahaha! Crazy academic radicals!” — I must soberly remark that the wokies may be onto something here.

What are the logical implications of Darwin’s theory?

The most obvious inferences one must deduce from evolutionary theory is that there is no God and the Bible is not true. And this is why every atheist claims to be a devotee of Science with a capital S.

What Darwin proclaimed was that the origins of the world (and all life in the world, including human life) were the result of random coincidence, rather than the creation of God: “Fiat lux.”

This first logical implication of evolutionary theory leads to a second: There is no divine Law, no transcendent Truth, no discernible moral order in human life, no fixed standard of right and wrong.

In a world where there is no such thing as sin, where there is no fear of eternal punishment for wickedness, then everything in human life ultimately must be a struggle for power, as Nietzsche foresaw.

The philosophical path from Darwin to Nietzsche is entirely logical, if one accepts the Darwinian premise of a godless world, a random cosmic accident without divine law. Human life has no inherent value — no meaning or purpose — in the Darwinian scheme of things, and if one accepts this as true, the Nietzschean “will to power” must rule.

That such beliefs led directly to the totalitarian nightmares of the 20th century is certainly no accident, nor was it accidental that the Jews — whose scriptures formed the basis for worship of the Creator as the norm in Western culture — were chief among the victims.

If you are inclined to theological contemplation, it is difficult to ignore the significance of what happened in the 20th century as a consequence of atheistic philosophies based on belief in Darwinian evolution as Science with a capital S. Of course, Darwinism is racist, regardless of whether Darwin himself intended it to be so (he didn’t). However, many evils in this world happen that way — well-meaning intellectuals promote ideas that they believe will be beneficial to mankind, but which lead to the most dreadful results. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked.”

God rules the universe, all men will be judged by Him, and “there is no respect of persons with God.” The high and the low, the rich and the poor, men of every race and tongue — all shall acknowledge God’s authority at the final day. Never doubt that for a minute. Selah.

Category: Racism, Religion, Science

In The Mailbox: 05.10.21

Posted on | May 10, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 05.10.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Going to be in the Washington area from Tuesday afternoon to next Monday morning, with a debut on The Other Podcast this coming weekend. There will doubtless be other shenanigans, but the flow of daily linkagery may be interrupted occasionally.
Silicon Valley delenda est.

Meanwhile, in 1945 Finland…

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: People Do Value Privacy
EBL: Elon Musk Brings his Mom To SNL
Twitchy: President Biden’s Message That The Unemployed Must Accept Suitable Work Isn’t Popular
Louder With Crowder: Controversial Billboard Shows Biden & Harris As Actual Piles Of Poop, also, Dave Chappelle Offers Deep Thoughts On Politics In America
Vox Popoli: A Different Kind Of War, also, The French Military Warns The Government
Stoic Observations: A Nation of Stooges

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: Beyond Trump
American Conservative: The Black Deaths Nobody Wants To Discuss
American Greatness: Tuning Out Wokeism, also, What Are The Paleoconservatives Conserving?
American Power: Eric Adams For NYC Mayor!
American Thinker: If There’s Nothing To Hide, Why Are Democrats Freaking Out About The Arizona Audit? also, Biden’s Woke Military Will Embarrass America
Animal Magnetism: Goodbye, Blue Monday
Babalu Blog: Lifestyles Of The Rich & Communist, also, Cuban Yankees Pitcher Aroldis Chapman Refuses To Play For The Castro Dictatorship
BattleSwarm: Trump Red-Pilled Hispanics, also, Labour Kicked In The Yarbles Again
Behind The Black: NASA Jacks Up The Price For Commercial Use Of ISS, also, Today’s Blacklisted American
Cafe Hayek: Costs Are Subjective, also, Bob Chitester, 1937-2021
CDR Salamander: Why Kiribati & Kanton Matter
Da Tech Guy: Obama & Pritzker Exposed As Frauds On Illinois Gerrymandering, also, Shocked Faces On Jobs & Other Thoughts Under The Fedora
Don Surber: Republicans Getting The Job Done, also, So Woke, People Turned Down $300,000 To Run It
First Street Journal: Gov. Beshear Tries To Finesse COVID Orders To Escape A State Supreme Court Decision
The Geller Report: Policeman Saves Jews From Muslim Lynch Mob In Jerusalem, also, Documents Reveal Chicom Plan To Weaponize Viruses Before Pandemic
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post Of The Day, also, Washington, Baltimore, Skittles, & Galactic Evolution
Hollywood In Toto: The Color of Money Let Scorsese Go Hollywood – On His Terms, also, Critic Confessions – It’s Time For SNL To Go
The Lid: The Biden Regime Has Declared War On Trump Supporters
Legal Insurrection: DOJ’s National Security Division Hires Russia Hoaxer Who Defended Illegal FISA Warrants, also, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby Claims Fox Affiliate Coverage Of Her Is “Racist”, Files FCC Complaint
Nebraska Energy Observer: Random Observations, also, Grant Moves South
Outkick: Peter King Gets Triggered By Braves Game, also, Facebook Scrambling After Learning Starbucks May Leave After Hateful Comments
Power Line: The War On Standards, U.S. Army Edition, also, The Rising Body Count Of Liberalism
Shark Tank: Blogger Peter Schorsch Forgot He Made These Racial Slurs
Shot In The Dark: When The Truth Leaks Out, also, Renovation
STUMP: Mortality Nuggets
The Political Hat: Green Equity
This Ain’t Hell: Man Busted For Creating Fake Army Unit, also, Dear Abby Stolen Valor Incident
Transterrestrial Musings: The Spectre Haunting The Democrats, also, Mickey Mouse Goes Woke
Victory Girls: Roger Daltrey Has No Fear Of Miserable Wokesters
Volokh Conspiracy: Pre-Writing Justice Breyer’s Obituary
Weasel Zippers: #BLM Rioters Block Traffic In Plano TX, Pull Guns On Complainers, also, Prices For Everything Going Up
The Federalist: Democrats Celebrate Swindling Americans Into Thinking Biden Is A Moderate, also, Texas House Passes Measure To Yank Funding From Cities That Defund Police
Mark Steyn: Miracle Mile, Or How I Learned To Love Worrying About The Bomb, also, Happy Mother’s Day

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Category: Linkagery

Rule 5 Sunday: Not From The Black Widow Movie

Posted on | May 9, 2021 | Comments Off on Rule 5 Sunday: Not From The Black Widow Movie

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Though you could hardly be blamed for thinking so, since Russian cosplayer Helen Stifler could pass for Scarlett Johansson’s twin sister in this costume. You can see more of her work on her Instagram page.
Ceterum autem censeo Silicon Valley esse delendam.