Category: Politics

The stupidity to which American citizenship condemns us all.

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First Eunuch Sighting in the US Perhaps Ever

The expression on the face of the man in the picture below screams emasculation. He has lost not just control but any and all possession of whatever remnants of masculinity–physical or otherwise–he may have possessed yesterday. Dispossessed of his own gonads, he succumbed to the mob threatening to burn them and announced the start of the most useless inquiry in the history of political witch hunts. This man is proof enough–indeed, the embodiment thereof–that it takes balls to do the right thing.

The White House plans to send a letter to top US news executives on Wednesday, urging them to intensify their scrutiny of House Republicans after Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, despite having found no evidence of a crime.

Source: White House to send letter to news execs urging outlets to ‘ramp up’ scrutiny of GOP’s Biden impeachment inquiry ‘based on lies’ | CNN Business

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David Frum Redefines then Embodies the Self-Hating Jew

“Self-hating Jew” has been the epithet of choice for self-identifying “conservative” American Jews to hurl at any Jew who dares to mention or to defend human rights in Israeli occupied territories because, the perverse argument goes, these Jews care more about the minorities in these territories than the Israeli populace. This is, of course, the classic ad hominem attack instigated by those who have lost the argument based on principles, and the devoted support that the same “conservative” Jews throw behind some of the most racist politicians in the US is not, therefore, surprising. The pride with which David Frum displays it on the radio and the pages of The Atlantic is, however, novel. In his pathetic attempt to debunk the validity of the 14th Amendment clause that prohibits an insurrectionist from pursuing public office, Frum states:

Continue reading “David Frum Redefines then Embodies the Self-Hating Jew”
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The Proper Context for Oppenheimer

If you plan to watch Oppenheimer, then be sure to watch this absolute gem of a documentary, which features many interviews with the Nobel Laureates who worked under Oppenheimer during The Manhattan Project, to have the proper context. For my money, there is nothing more valuable than the original source, even it is a bunch of really lovable old men.

Pay close attention to the fact that Leslie Groves ignored all the gossip around Oppenheimer and fought to assign him as the leader of the project. This critical decision by a legendary general and even more legendary manager is a beacon for our time: the character and capabilities of people are infinitely more important than their perceived politics. Groves was perhaps the greatest judge of character.

Peripherally, the documentarty revives the ultimate debate between which is harder, science or engineering. All the scientists interviewed in this film agree that the atomic bomb was conceptually simple, and its realization was a matter of mere engineering. Who wants to dive in?

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Merchandizing: the Pinnacle, Apogee and Zenith of Cynicism

The objective behind government regulations is preventing the breaches of trust that can annihilate entire economies. In addition to the financial devastation they cause, such breaches breed cynicism at large and discourage people from participating in society and the marketplace because “what’s the point” comes to describe the prevailing attitudes. Equally nourishing to cynicism are smaller breaches–more like insults–like the sale of Wagner Group merchandising, described in the article linked below, and the application of cryptocurrency and Youtube to funding hate groups and misinformation. Though they will not make entire economies collapse, these breaches undermine optimism, trust and good will arguably in a much more harmful way.

We should not have to “take the bad with the good”. Progress means that we have figured out to how to maximize the good and to minimize the bad. The hijacking of new commodities and old marketing methods for the purpose of aiding and abetting the malfeasance of ignoble people undermines the perception and the reality of progress. And, if we don’t feel as if we have progress, then, indeed, what is the point?

Online prices for merchandise bearing the insignia of Russia’s Wagner group – a human skull against a black and red backdrop – have shot up since its abortive armed mutiny, with buyers posting five-star reviews and support for the mercenaries.

Source: Wagner merch soars in price after abortive mutiny

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Judge Musk by What He Endorses

Musk has openly said that his perception of the old Twitter board’s unfair censorship of “conservative” voices motivated him to purchase the albatross. If Musk’s judgment regarding such “censorship” is fair, then it is certainly equally fair for the rest of the world to judge Musk for what he endorses.

By allowing rampant attacks of the sort listed in the article below, Musk is clearly endorsing prejudice, bigotry, ignorance and naked hatred. South Africa is the country known for bigotry that was codified by apartheid. Elon Musk is openly conforming to the stereotypical South African that apartheid represents. Musk is not just circumspect about that fact. He is proud of it, and he has earned the judgment that he deserves.

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office has left Twitter due to barrage of what the office called vicious homophobic attacks.

Source: Los Angeles district attorney’s office quits Twitter due to barrage of ‘vicious’ homophobic attacks

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“Authority” on Manliness Wimps Out

Every transgression, fictitious or real, against which self described “conservatives” rail on a daily basis pales in comparison to the utter hypocrisy, the pusillanimity, the dereliction of duty and the deliberate contravention of every principle of morality and decency that the purported leaders of this “conservative” faction display. No action combines every one of these character deficiencies as Ben Sasse’s abdication of his duties to accept a cush job clearly organized by political patrons in Florida. The man who went so far as to publish an entire book compiling his idiotic whining about the apparent immaturity of the “younger generations” refused to castigate a president who manifestly acted against the Constitution, summarily abandoned the position of power that enabled him to act against the corruption of the same presidency, and accepted an academic position clearly designed to win his support for the anticipated De Santis candidacy. The Sasse recipe for success is lick the boots of whichever snake that will support you. Ben Sasse leaves no doubt which generation has been infantilized. It’s the one that abandons its duty to the next generation as it enriches itself with bullshit jobs.

The Nebraska senator has often clashed with Donald Trump and other Republican Party conservatives

Source: Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse expected to resign to become University of Florida president

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Israel Has a Recurrence of Herpes

Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated reappearance on the Israeli political stage can only be compared to the recurrence of herpes. Herpes enters the body because of careless acts on the part of the host, it emerges when the immune system is weak, it is an unsightly sore that causes much burning and pain, it disappears after frustrating the host for an unbearably long time, and it finally seems to disappear without leaving any marks only to return when the host least expects it. Like herpes, Netanyahu ascended to power during the chaos of the early 2000s, which definitely made the Israeli electorate careless. Since then, he has managed to engineer enough chaos to create political channels to reinfect the Knesset. He causes inordinate pain and burning through his ugly visage and uglier rhetoric. He seems to leave no trace as the governments that follow his ouster are decidedly more centrist and pragmatic, but he managed to resurface as soon as the propaganda apparatuses at his disposal weaken the psyche and will of the Israeli electorate.

Some people are very lucky never to have a recurrence of herpes. For most, death is what relieves them of another recurrence. Though it is likely that Israel will outlive Bibi, it is not a certainty.

Herpes reemerges on the Israeli political system, well before the previous scabs healed.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday appeared set to return to power as head of Israel’s most right-wing government ever after winning this week’s national election, with the current caretaker prime minister conceding defeat.

Source: Netanyahu set to return to power in Israel after PM concedes

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Brett Favre Exposes How Rich People Define Charity

Brett Favre has justified every brutal joke standup comedians have told about football players. The poignant side of the story, however, is the sinister side of charity that Favre’s abject stupidity exposes. Favre, whose net worth is easily in the hundreds of millions of dollars (as judged by the $100 million contract extension he received in 2001), had the audacity to accept, willingly, welfare money from his home state of Mississippi in order to erect a volleyball court at his alma mater. Such financial dealings expose the typical understanding of the people in his tax bracket of charities–namely, that they are vehicles for self enrichment–but his obliviousness to protocol will likely lead to his being ostracized by the billionaire community for being a stupid jock. It will not effect any change in which way charities operate in the US.

Therein lies the real tragedy of this allegory. Favre gets singled out while the rest of the nonprofit industry continues to be used as a vehicle to enable the ultra-wealthy to bilk everybody else’s funds to create appearances of beneficence, like the paradigmatic Trump charity that was shut down by the state of New York for not accounting for the funds it received from donors. Given the excesses documented in the Panama Papers, it is difficult for one to resist cynicism every time one discovers that every charitable organization operated by the extremely wealthy is solely a vehicle designed either to enrich themselves or to avoid taxes. It is entirely obvious to everybody that the wealthy elite who control the political system through their patronage are the least qualified to operate it. Those who are complaining about millennials are oblivious to the world outside that hole in which their head is lodged.

Source: Texts: Mississippi governor knew of welfare payment to Favre

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Newly revealed text messages show how deeply involved a Mississippi governor was in directing more than $1 million in welfare money to retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Instead of the money going to help low-income families in one of the nation’s poorest states, as intended, it was funneled through a nonprofit group to Favre and spent on a new volleyball facility at a university that the football star and the governor both attended.

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Why? Because They Can.

AP News | How do Mass Murderers Obtain Guns?

In the end, there is no difference between New York and Texas or any other state. What all American states have in common is that they allow anyone to act on that most primitive whim of desiring to kill. Over 10,000 years of civilization have inculcated a certain tolerance and civility in mankind, but the outrageously permissive gun laws of the past twenty years have enabled and empowered those few among us who cannot control their primitive instincts to act on them without hesitation. When it is this easy to kill someone, it is not a mystery why people keep killing. They do it because they can.

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The Destinations for Russian Petroleum Exports

The data in the Energy Information Agency report linked below is somewhat dated, but it is hard to imagine that the values have changed very significantly over the past 5 years, unless US dependence on Russian oil was deliberately expanded between 2016 and 2021. Based on the graph below, the United States derived a scant 50,000 barrels per day of its oil supply from Russia. It is clear that China, Netherlands and Germany are most dependent on Russian oil, with China receiving nearly 1 million barrels per day from Russia. The exploitation of this oil dependence by Russia for the purpose of destroying Ukraine is nauseating, and it is additionally dispiriting to learn that banning Russia’s oil supply from America is unlikely to affect Russia’s revenues in any truly meaningful way. It is positively feasible, however, for the US to wipe out Russian oil from its supply, but it remains an open question whether, in addition to the crushing sanctions, this act will act as the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

The destinations for Russian oil as of 2016, according to US Energy Information Agency

The data are unequivocal. The US can reject Russian oil.

Source: Russia exports most of its crude oil production, mainly to Europe – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)