Monday, July 22, 2019
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Opus 2019-128: Weather I’m Right, or Weather I’m Wrong
As the current hurricane, I believe it is called Barry, plays itself out in the gulf, a word of reminder might be in order. If you are into watching the weather on TV you need to keep in mind that even the weather can be Fake News. We forget that the programs we watch are not really there to inform and educate. Like public schools, the broadcasters are there to generate revenue to pay their salaries and indoctrinate to their own position.
The weather man is probably not hired because he is a highly trained, professional meteorologist. He is hired because he can hold your attention until the next advertisement comes on and get you to tell your friends the exciting things you heard on their channel. If the weather man is a sexy babe then you can add “sex sells” to the mix. Their job is to take some dry data and make it into a remake of Gone with the Wind crossed with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
All the data I could pick up said our current hurricane was a minor issue. I am sure that if you were at the wrong place at the wrong time with no awareness you could have some problems but for those of us 600 miles away in the opposite direction it is not time to buy extra water and put up the storm shutters. We were in Texas for Hurricane Harvey. It swamped Houston and caused a lot of havoc on the Gulf coast. Where we live we got some robust winds and heavy rains.
I remember being in California when we had some serious rain and a few mud slides. My mother in law called from out of state to see if we were still alive. Seriously. She was worried that we had been overcome with mud slides when we lived on the top of a rise. Such is Fake News Weather.
As President Reagan said about a more serious issue, “Trust, but verify.” If the bouncy babe on the news tells you it is raining the least you can do is look out the window.
homo unius libri
The weather man is probably not hired because he is a highly trained, professional meteorologist. He is hired because he can hold your attention until the next advertisement comes on and get you to tell your friends the exciting things you heard on their channel. If the weather man is a sexy babe then you can add “sex sells” to the mix. Their job is to take some dry data and make it into a remake of Gone with the Wind crossed with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
All the data I could pick up said our current hurricane was a minor issue. I am sure that if you were at the wrong place at the wrong time with no awareness you could have some problems but for those of us 600 miles away in the opposite direction it is not time to buy extra water and put up the storm shutters. We were in Texas for Hurricane Harvey. It swamped Houston and caused a lot of havoc on the Gulf coast. Where we live we got some robust winds and heavy rains.
I remember being in California when we had some serious rain and a few mud slides. My mother in law called from out of state to see if we were still alive. Seriously. She was worried that we had been overcome with mud slides when we lived on the top of a rise. Such is Fake News Weather.
As President Reagan said about a more serious issue, “Trust, but verify.” If the bouncy babe on the news tells you it is raining the least you can do is look out the window.
homo unius libri
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Opus 2019-127: On the Street: Fooling Only Yourself
I was a witness to attempted deception yesterday. I think it is called a “comb-over”. It has been awhile since I have noticed one. If you have never seen it count yourself lucky. A comb-over is when a guy who is bald on top lets the hair grow long on one side and combs it over the top of his head to try and cover up the baldness.
I don’t know why people bother. It is futile. It looks worse than just accepting the shiny pate. I am not sure why being bald is such a big deal. The only problem I have with it is dealing with the shine in my eyes when I am looking in a mirror and the light reflects. It is who I am and has nothing to do with my value as a human being.
Of course I feel the same way about dying my hair and jewelry. I don’t understand the concepts. I think of it as being like the ancient Chinese tradition of binding the feet of upper class women to keep them small.
So guys, if you have lost your hair embrace the reality. At the same time I am willing to let the ladies wear wigs if they choose.
homo unius libri
I don’t know why people bother. It is futile. It looks worse than just accepting the shiny pate. I am not sure why being bald is such a big deal. The only problem I have with it is dealing with the shine in my eyes when I am looking in a mirror and the light reflects. It is who I am and has nothing to do with my value as a human being.
Of course I feel the same way about dying my hair and jewelry. I don’t understand the concepts. I think of it as being like the ancient Chinese tradition of binding the feet of upper class women to keep them small.
So guys, if you have lost your hair embrace the reality. At the same time I am willing to let the ladies wear wigs if they choose.
homo unius libri
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Opus 2019-126: New Laws: Minority Opinion
What minority groups am I a part of?
The list is as long as I want to make it. I would start with being a serious Christian. I am not sure what kind of label to use for that because all of them have their baggage, but that gives you an idea. From there I can proceed down a long list to being someone with big feet.
We all face discrimination of one sort or another. Let me take the most ridiculous example, big feet, and give extreme applications to make my point. People with big feet cannot go out and buy shoes at just any shoe store. You normal people can probably walk in, look at the display on the wall, make a choice and take it home. I have never been able to do that. When I was young and my feet were smaller, my parents had little money. By the time I was in Junior High I was in a size 14 and in those days all that got you were guffaws.
This is serious. I saw a kid wearing iridescent, lime green kicks the other day. I wanted some. My first pair of the current style athletic shoes were bright orange Nikes. I found them at an outlet mall for $10. It was awesome. Since then I have found some glowing yellow Under Armors and I have a pair of red New Balance. Lime green I have not been able to find. It makes me feel less of a human being and a victim of small feet privilege. It isn’t fair. I demand justice.
I cannot sit comfortably in restaurant booths. Have you ever tried to move a pair of size 17's past the pole holding up the table? Have you ever tried to keep you toes from being stepped on? If you have not then you don’t know the daily trauma that I must live with.
I cannot participate in fun activities such as roller skating or skiing. They require special shoes and most people just walk up and state their size. They get skates. I get giggles. I am excluded from my rightful place in society.
Now picture how our world would change if my “rights” were guaranteed by legislation. Every manufacturer would be forced to make every style in all sizes. Every store would be required to carry them in stock. Either shoes would get too expensive for anyone or the shoe business would curl up and die, leaving people bare footed. I guess another choice would to only have one style of shoe so they would have room in the back for all sizes.
Ridiculous? Of course. But it would be fair. It would make me feel safe and avoid any hint of discrimination. Multiply that by the accommodations that would need to be made for every variance in the human condition. Life is not fair. Deal with it.
homo unius libri
The list is as long as I want to make it. I would start with being a serious Christian. I am not sure what kind of label to use for that because all of them have their baggage, but that gives you an idea. From there I can proceed down a long list to being someone with big feet.
We all face discrimination of one sort or another. Let me take the most ridiculous example, big feet, and give extreme applications to make my point. People with big feet cannot go out and buy shoes at just any shoe store. You normal people can probably walk in, look at the display on the wall, make a choice and take it home. I have never been able to do that. When I was young and my feet were smaller, my parents had little money. By the time I was in Junior High I was in a size 14 and in those days all that got you were guffaws.
This is serious. I saw a kid wearing iridescent, lime green kicks the other day. I wanted some. My first pair of the current style athletic shoes were bright orange Nikes. I found them at an outlet mall for $10. It was awesome. Since then I have found some glowing yellow Under Armors and I have a pair of red New Balance. Lime green I have not been able to find. It makes me feel less of a human being and a victim of small feet privilege. It isn’t fair. I demand justice.
I cannot sit comfortably in restaurant booths. Have you ever tried to move a pair of size 17's past the pole holding up the table? Have you ever tried to keep you toes from being stepped on? If you have not then you don’t know the daily trauma that I must live with.
I cannot participate in fun activities such as roller skating or skiing. They require special shoes and most people just walk up and state their size. They get skates. I get giggles. I am excluded from my rightful place in society.
Now picture how our world would change if my “rights” were guaranteed by legislation. Every manufacturer would be forced to make every style in all sizes. Every store would be required to carry them in stock. Either shoes would get too expensive for anyone or the shoe business would curl up and die, leaving people bare footed. I guess another choice would to only have one style of shoe so they would have room in the back for all sizes.
Ridiculous? Of course. But it would be fair. It would make me feel safe and avoid any hint of discrimination. Multiply that by the accommodations that would need to be made for every variance in the human condition. Life is not fair. Deal with it.
homo unius libri
Friday, July 12, 2019
Opus 2019-125: Asking the Simple Questions
When I was teaching, one of the highlights of the beginning of the year was the number of teachers who would ask for help because their computer was not working. I took great joy in asking, “Is it plugged in?” From the look on the face you could tell they had not thought of that. Usually I would hear no more.
One time my wife spent a few hours waiting for the AAA man to show up. She would not let me try to figure out why the car would not start. As soon as he got there and climbed into the car he said, “I can tell you why it won’t start.” Evidently it was not in park.
It is always a good to ask the simple questions first.
When the two stroke engine on my string edger would not start I tried everything. I used the choke. I let it sit and tried it again. Nothing was happening. I walked away. The next day I was ready to try again and the first thing I noticed was the kill switch said, “Stop”. I am glad no one was near by to hear my opinions about my native intelligence. I moved the switch and it started right up.
If only all of life’s problems were so simple.
homo unius libri
One time my wife spent a few hours waiting for the AAA man to show up. She would not let me try to figure out why the car would not start. As soon as he got there and climbed into the car he said, “I can tell you why it won’t start.” Evidently it was not in park.
It is always a good to ask the simple questions first.
When the two stroke engine on my string edger would not start I tried everything. I used the choke. I let it sit and tried it again. Nothing was happening. I walked away. The next day I was ready to try again and the first thing I noticed was the kill switch said, “Stop”. I am glad no one was near by to hear my opinions about my native intelligence. I moved the switch and it started right up.
If only all of life’s problems were so simple.
homo unius libri
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Opus 2019-124: The Calculated Risk
Progressives are taking a calculated risk. They are pushing the traditional Americas as hard as they can and hoping that they can get us to the point of impotence before we wake up and get angry.
They have good reason to be optimistic. Turn your inner clock back twenty years and ask yourself if you would have accepted men claiming to be women competing in girls wrestling. Would you have accepted what we now call “social media” blatantly censoring the speech of anyone who criticizes a liberal position? They keep pushing. We keep backing down.
What happens if they push too hard and too fast? What happens when the man on the street decides that he has had enough? What happens when he realizes that his children are threatened. What happens when someone runs out of cheeks to turn? Antifa will find themselves met by armed gangs who also have lost their respect for reasoned discourse. Obstructive and arrogant clerks in government agencies may find out what “going postal” means when it is “going DMV” or “going city hall”. What happens when the left bets on an inside straight and the latent wolf on the other side of the table sees the card being slipped out of the sleeve?
I hope it doesn’t come to that because if things blow up then we all lose.
Two things can avert the coming explosion. The first and best is if the left would have a “come to Jesus” moment and decide that working in the system honestly is what they should be doing. Wouldn’t it be great if word went out from the DNC that a lot of judges needed to be putting in for retirement or there would be impeachment proceedings in the near future and they would not be for the president? I wonder what would happen if the IRS would start admitting that the tax-payers are their employers. What if congress stopped exempting themselves from their own oppressive laws. It would be great, but don’t hold your breath. Oxygen deprived blue does not go well with your favorite colors.
The second solution would be if traditional Americans would simply stop going along to get along. Investigate voter fraud and put some people in jail. Look into treason and apply the death penalty as granted by the Constitution. Find out where members of congress get all that money to buy those palaces. When the fascist goons of the left riot in the streets demand that the police respond according to the law. Apply the law. Demand it by paying attention, voting with our principles and hounding people out of office. It is most effective to start with the local city council and elected sheriff.
When we know they are bluffing we don’t need to turn over the table and start shooting like it was an Italian western. We need to see their bid and call.
homo unius libri
They have good reason to be optimistic. Turn your inner clock back twenty years and ask yourself if you would have accepted men claiming to be women competing in girls wrestling. Would you have accepted what we now call “social media” blatantly censoring the speech of anyone who criticizes a liberal position? They keep pushing. We keep backing down.
What happens if they push too hard and too fast? What happens when the man on the street decides that he has had enough? What happens when he realizes that his children are threatened. What happens when someone runs out of cheeks to turn? Antifa will find themselves met by armed gangs who also have lost their respect for reasoned discourse. Obstructive and arrogant clerks in government agencies may find out what “going postal” means when it is “going DMV” or “going city hall”. What happens when the left bets on an inside straight and the latent wolf on the other side of the table sees the card being slipped out of the sleeve?
I hope it doesn’t come to that because if things blow up then we all lose.
Two things can avert the coming explosion. The first and best is if the left would have a “come to Jesus” moment and decide that working in the system honestly is what they should be doing. Wouldn’t it be great if word went out from the DNC that a lot of judges needed to be putting in for retirement or there would be impeachment proceedings in the near future and they would not be for the president? I wonder what would happen if the IRS would start admitting that the tax-payers are their employers. What if congress stopped exempting themselves from their own oppressive laws. It would be great, but don’t hold your breath. Oxygen deprived blue does not go well with your favorite colors.
The second solution would be if traditional Americans would simply stop going along to get along. Investigate voter fraud and put some people in jail. Look into treason and apply the death penalty as granted by the Constitution. Find out where members of congress get all that money to buy those palaces. When the fascist goons of the left riot in the streets demand that the police respond according to the law. Apply the law. Demand it by paying attention, voting with our principles and hounding people out of office. It is most effective to start with the local city council and elected sheriff.
When we know they are bluffing we don’t need to turn over the table and start shooting like it was an Italian western. We need to see their bid and call.
homo unius libri
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Opus 2019-123: New Terms: Minority Groups
I know that this is not really a new term but the left, as they have done in so many areas, is trying to re-vocabulary us by redefining how we understand words. As I was editing the previous post I noticed I used the following sentence,
A “minority group” was any common grouping that was not in the majority. It was something that usually had a political or religious implication. Thus the Quakers were a minority group and their religious convictions as pacifists was recognized. In current times we recognized the right of Jehovah’s Witnesses to refuse blood transfusions based on their religion. Currently we are watching to see if the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns, will be forced to accept abortion because the government says so. Keep in mind that what happens to them will someday happen to you.
So grow up and put your mind back in gear. The truth about “minority groups” is that we are all a part of them. To paraphrase the famous Pogo insight, “I have met the minority and it is us.” In some area of our life we are in a minority. The reason the Founders put the Constitution together the way they did was not for majority rule but to keep the majority from trampling on the minorities. That is why we have the checks and balances of our three branch government. That is why we have a federal system. That is why we have an electoral college. Mess with them at your own risk.
If you have no area of your life that you stand in the minority, you have my sympathy. It must really be boring to be you.
“We have a constitution that protects the minority groups instead of allowing the mindless to be manipulated.”It occurred to me that many people have been brainwashed in their understanding of important historical ideas. The Founders were concerned about “minority groups” but their minds had not been put into little boxes that associated “minority” with skin color.
A “minority group” was any common grouping that was not in the majority. It was something that usually had a political or religious implication. Thus the Quakers were a minority group and their religious convictions as pacifists was recognized. In current times we recognized the right of Jehovah’s Witnesses to refuse blood transfusions based on their religion. Currently we are watching to see if the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns, will be forced to accept abortion because the government says so. Keep in mind that what happens to them will someday happen to you.
So grow up and put your mind back in gear. The truth about “minority groups” is that we are all a part of them. To paraphrase the famous Pogo insight, “I have met the minority and it is us.” In some area of our life we are in a minority. The reason the Founders put the Constitution together the way they did was not for majority rule but to keep the majority from trampling on the minorities. That is why we have the checks and balances of our three branch government. That is why we have a federal system. That is why we have an electoral college. Mess with them at your own risk.
If you have no area of your life that you stand in the minority, you have my sympathy. It must really be boring to be you.
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