17th March 2023
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on Today in the Biden-Harris Slow-Motion Train Wreck
17th March 2023
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on Pandemic Panic – It’s Titanic
17th March 2023
Posted in Dystopia Watch | Comments Off on Today in Progressive Totalitarianism
17th March 2023
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on Today in Witch-Hunt Culture
17th March 2023
Read it.
It seems that Progressives have a harder time having personal relationships with people with whom they disagree than do conservatives. Why?
In this post, I am using “Progressive” as shorthand for a broad range of left-ish people and policies on ideological, political, and cultural issues because that seems to be the term the people with those views prefer, even though the true definition may be narrower. And I’m using “conservative” as shorthand for a broad range of right-ish people and policies even though there is lots of debate about who and what is properly covered by that word.
Surveys and anecdotal stories seem to show that if a friendship or interaction with a family member is ended over ideological, political, or cultural differences, the ending is more likely because the Progressive (or leftist or modern liberal or Democrat) does the ending. Democrats say they are less likely than Republicans to be willing to initiate a friendship or to date a person of the other political party.
Are “Progressives” really quicker to sever personal ties over ideological differences than do “conservatives”? If so, why?
Progressives are generally fascist assholes, that’s why. That’s my guess.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Cutting Personal Ties Over Ideological Differences
17th March 2023
CNN
Which of them gets to play Ukraine?
Posted in Dystopia Watch | Comments Off on Partisan Rancor in Oregon Spills Over Into Idaho Effort to Absorb Its Rural Neighbors
17th March 2023
ZMan’s weekly podcast. Highly recommended.
Like so much from the 20th century, The Troubles has largely been forgotten, despite the fact it loomed large in the last half the century. It is a good example of how the cultural shadow of the Global American Empire warped everything. Meddling by important people in the empire played a huge role in the conflict. It was also one of the justifications for flinging open our borders.
Then all of a sudden, the conflict ended. Right around when the Cold War ended, the two sides decided it was time to get on with making peace. Just like that this generational event disappeared from our consciousness. Ireland quickly moved to the “Celtic Tiger” stage and then to the bust-out stage. Now Ireland is just another node on the Global American Empire trying to commit suicide.
Interestingly, The Troubles are a good example for dissidents trying to figure out how to combat the metastasizing blob that is the managerial state. It is not a perfect analogy, but it is a good example of a long running revolt against a cultural force. The British were not in it for the money. They were motivated by cultural factors and the Irish, for their part, rallied to their cultural banners in resistance.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Lessons From the Troubles
17th March 2023
New York Times.
The corporate culture wars have reached a turning point: A number of companies that once championed social justice and equity seem to be beating a hasty retreat.
You’d think thry’d learn.
Walgreens is trapped in a political firestorm. The pharmacy chain, which had sought certification so its stores could fill prescriptions for the abortion medication mifepristone, announced last week that it will not dispense the pill in the 21 states where Republican attorneys general have threatened legal action. Walgreens, which said it came to this conclusion before the threats began, won’t dispense the drug in several G.O.P.-controlled states where abortion remains legal. There was a swift backlash, with Gov. Gavin Newsom announcing that California would not renew a multimillion-dollar contract with Walgreens and others calling for a nationwide boycott. The hashtag #boycottwalgreens has taken off on Twitter.
But apparently not.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Walgreens Is Caught in the Cross-Fire of the Abortion Wars
17th March 2023
Read it.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that.
Posted in News You Can Use. | Comments Off on Hypothalamic Menin Regulates Systemic Aging and Cognitive Decline
17th March 2023
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Thought for the Day
17th March 2023
Read it.
Washington is not alone. Most of the nation’s major cities face a daunting future as middle-class taxpayers join an exodus to the suburbs, opting to work remotely as they exit downtowns marred by empty offices, vacant retail space and a deteriorating tax base.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on ‘The Era of Urban Supremacy Is Over’
17th March 2023
Joel Kotkin & Hügo Krüger
The Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is widely seen as a sign of a reinvigorated alliance of democracies against authoritarianism. Even historically anti-war publications like the Guardian speak volubly about the West’s heroic “defense of liberty.” Raising concerns about petty issues like a potential nuclear war over Ukraine leads one now to be dismissed as a Putinist stooge, both by those who habitually back wars, like neoconservatives and defense contractors, and those who almost always oppose them, or used to, anyway.
Amidst the relentless virtue signaling, there has been little consideration of how the Russo-Ukrainian War will change the world order, and not necessarily for the benefit of the West. Rather than join in a joint jihad for “democracy” aimed at destroying Vladimir Putin and his detestable authoritarian allies, notably China, there’s actually little support for sanctions, much less military aid, from the largest non-western democracies such as India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Brazil in their attitude to the war.
Posted in Dystopia Watch | Comments Off on The New Great Game
17th March 2023
New York Times.
David Brooks does his bit as the Other Left Coast’s pet ‘conservative’ in pushing the Narrative.
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on Trump and DeSantis Could Both Lose
17th March 2023
Steve Sailer.
It’s a been big day for the good guys in the growing struggle over academic freedom. While the New York Times is still trying to get tenured law professor Amy Wax fired for telling the truth at the Penn Law School, tenured business professor Bryan J. Pesta filed suit today against Cleveland State for in effect firing him for co-authoring one of the most important DNA-race-IQ studies of this century (see post below).
And University of Central Florida tenured psychology professor Charles Negy, who was fired in effect for retweeting my best stuff during the first week of the Mostly Peaceful Protests….
Posted in Democrats: Party of Moochers and Looters | Comments Off on The Good Guys Fight Back, Part II: Prof. Charles Negy Sues UCF for Firing Him for Retweeting Me
17th March 2023
The New Republic.
Specifically, librarians are fighting to expose children to Woke ideology despite the preferences of local parents and community standards.
All books are not created equal, popular proglodyte tropes to the contrary notwithstanding.
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on Conservatives Are Trying to Ban Books in Your Town. Librarians Are Fighting Back.
17th March 2023
Read it.
When the history books look back on 2023, the biggest American news story may be something that’s getting little attention right now: the school choice revolution.
This year, Iowa, Utah, and Arkansas have passed massive school choice bills, giving parents access to state education funding for their children and letting them decide if they want to use it at public or private schools.
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on A Chance for Real Change
16th March 2023
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on Today in Global Warming Hysteria
16th March 2023
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on Today in Witch-Hunt Culture
16th March 2023
Posted in Whose turn is it to be the victim? | Comments Off on Today in BIPOC Privilege
16th March 2023
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on Pandemic Panic – It’s Titanic
16th March 2023
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on Today in the Biden-Harris Slow-Motion Train Wreck
16th March 2023
TikTok says US threatens ban if Chinese owners don’t sell stakes (Reuters)
The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban (NPR)
Snap stock surges on report that Biden may ban TikTok (CNBC)
Banning TikTok is a bad solution to the wrong problem (Washington Post)
Increased minimum wages may benefit small businesses, study co-authored at UC Berkeley finds (S.F. Chronicle) Obvious tendentious bullshit–small businesses are precisely those hurt worst by minimum wage laws.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams faces thousands in fines for potential campaign finance violations (Gothamist)
Mayor Adams’ inaugural arm allegedly accepted $15,600 in ‘prohibited donations,’ but dodges fines for now (N.Y. Daily News)
UFT-hired political adviser paid $150K by NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ budget staff, exposing conflict (N.Y. Post)
More ‘woke’ companies are going to fail, former CEO warns: SVB collapse was ‘perfect storm’ (Fox)
FACT FOCUS: Claims link ‘woke’ policies to SVB’s demise (Associated Press)
Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Credit Suisse all donated to Massachusetts Democrats (Boston Herald)
Judge appears sympathetic to abortion pill challenge in consequential Texas hearing (NBC)
SVB Donated $73.4 Million To BLM And Related Entities
Wellesley Students Vote To Admit Trans Men To Historic Women’s College
Netflix Cancels Show Featuring ‘Nonbinary’ Buffalo
Leftist Groups Tapping $1 Billion To Vastly Expand The Private Financing Of Public Elections
MSNBC Claims GOP Could ‘Hurt Its 2024 Candidates’ Bigly…by Not Going on MSNBC I think not.
NYPD Cop Shortage Result of ‘Woke’ Politics
More Than Two-Thirds of the People Arrested in D.C. Are Never Charged (Washington City Paper)
No, ‘Wokeness’ Did Not Cause Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse (N.Y. Times)
Acosta Cues Parkland Dad: Forget Woke BS, Florida ‘The State Where People Go to Die’
NY AG Hosts Drag Story Hour For NYC Kids Using Taxpayer Money
First Rule of Journalism: Never Admit You’re an Obnoxious Lib (Even Though You Are)
‘You Know Better,’ Senator Calls Out CNN For Repeating Biden Spin
California Regulators Ban Gas Appliances In San Francisco Bay Area
Posted in Dystopia Watch | Comments Off on Today in Progressive Totalitarianism
16th March 2023
Read it.
The debate inside Stanford Law School, where activist students earlier this month shouted down federal circuit court judge Kyle Duncan at a Federalist Society event, has moved beyond whether those students should face any consequences for their outrageous conduct. The school has made clear they will not.
Now we debate the propriety of the conservative students on the receiving end of that vitriol expressing their displeasure with the school, and their classmates, in the press.
Stanford administrators are hoping this public relations nightmare will blow over if everybody, particularly the Federalist Society students targeted by the activists, would be so kind as to shut up and take this one on the chin.
The administration aims to run the operation like any abusive parent would: Don’t say a word to anybody about how you got that bruise, or else!
Posted in Dystopia Watch | Comments Off on At Stanford, Public Accountability for Thee But Not for Me
16th March 2023
Read it.
As record numbers of fistfights are erupting amid a behavior crisis in the American public education system, more schools are attempting to use restorative justice—even though that process often makes behavioral problems worse.
Restorative justice is a remediation theory that suggests students respond better to affirmation-based conversations in which an adult de-escalates any problem situation by calmly discussing the students’ feelings about the problem until everyone agrees.
Restorative justice relies on student investment and commitment to say, “I am willing to do this.”
…
Proponents often point to schools that adopted the practice of restorative justice and saw a sharp decline in suspensions—Oakland Unified School District in California, for example. Although suspensions in Oakland Unified have decreased, the level of violence and total number of police incidents in the school district have not.
Few, if any, schools that have adopted restorative justice as a replacement for traditional discipline have seen a healthier school environment that is safer for teachers and students.
Posted in Whose turn is it to be the victim? | Comments Off on ‘Restorative Justice’ Is Killing American Classrooms
16th March 2023
Read it.
Plenty of other falsehoods and misrepresentations animate the fable of January 6. But for those honestly seeking the truth, consider this a cheat sheet for future use.
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on A Handy January 6 Fact Sheet
16th March 2023
Steve Hayward at Power Line.
About a decade after the end of the Vietnam War, by which time the bloodbaths of the Communist takeover of South Vietnam and the spillover of the carnage to Cambodia were undeniable, the West German journalist Uwe-Siemon-Netto, who had specialized in anti-American reportage as a correspondent during the war, caused a stir in Europe when he publicly suggested that for him and his fellow anti-war activists, the most appropriate course of action was a prolonged period of silence.
This recommendation comes back to mind just now in watching the neocon freakout over Gov. Ron DeSantis expressing doubts about our Ukrainian policy. Bill Kristol had an embolism on Twitter, his most prominent public platform these days. (How the mighty have fallen.) The Ukraine romantics (I’ll call them) rushed to say that Gov. DeSantis’s position was “pro-Putin,” even though DeSantis said he supported aid to Ukraine, but worried that the Biden Administration and other cheerleaders for our Ukrainian support don’t have a clear strategy and seem heedless of—or frightened by—the risks. It looks more and more like Vietnam all over again, in which we thought we could calibrate “graduated pressure” to achieve a precise outcome while always fearful of what a more forceful strategy might entail. War doesn’t work like that. As Ronald Reagan liked to say in the 1960s, we should either win, or get out. Everyone said he was irresponsible and naïve.
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on The Great Neocon Freakout
16th March 2023

Apparently the Blue states are having a hard time reproducing themselves. I guess Nature doesn’t like socialism.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Thought for the Day
15th March 2023
Read it.
Casual introduction to the uncertainty principle from quantum mechanics and how it leads to neutron stars and superfluids
Just in case you were wondering. I know I was.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Degenerate Matter: How Reality Deals With Uncertainty
15th March 2023
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on Today in Global Warming Hysteria
15th March 2023
Posted in News You Can Use. | Comments Off on Today in War
15th March 2023
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on Today in the Biden-Harris Slow-Motion Train Wreck
15th March 2023
Posted in Dystopia Watch | Comments Off on Pandemic Panic – It’s Titanic
15th March 2023
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on Today in Witch-Hunt Culture
15th March 2023
Read it.
Five years ago, a team of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) was able to regrow cochlear hair cells in mice for the first time. These hair cells are found in the cochlear region of ears in all mammals. They sense sound vibrations, convert those into brain signals, and eventually allow a person to hear and understand the different sounds around them. The new study from URMC researchers sheds light on the underlying mechanism that allowed the ear hairs to regrow in mice.
Mice get all the best stuff.
Posted in Is this a great country, or what? | Comments Off on Can We Reverse Hearing Loss? Yes We Can, Here Is How It Works
15th March 2023
John Stossel.
Your flight is delayed? Blame your government.
OK, it’s not always government’s fault. Sometimes it’s weather or mechanical problems. But often we suffer horrible flight delays because politicians won’t relinquish power.
In January, flights were grounded when the government’s “Notice to Air Missions” system broke down. That was just the latest incident.
America rightly prides itself on being on the cutting edge of innovation. But it’s the private sector that innovates. Government rarely does.
Asked if America’s air traffic control system is out of date, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg paused a long time before answering, “The system is continuously being upgraded.”
But the government’s been “upgrading” air traffic control for decades, promising to switch to a “NextGen” system that uses satellite navigation. But implementation keeps being postponed. Now the Federal Aviation Administration won’t even say when NextGen might be done.
Air traffic control is still a lot like it was in the 1960s. Controllers use paper strips to track flights. Instead of using computers, they move paper around manually.
“This is your government at work,” says Diana Furchtgott-Roth in my latest video. Furchtgott-Roth worked for the Transportation Department during the Trump administration.
I yell at her. “Air traffic control was in your department. You could have fixed it. You should have fixed it!”
She smiles and explains that although she had control of $1 billion, she wasn’t allowed to move those funds to where they were needed.
Government managers must fund projects pushed by politicians, like “Justice40,” meant to fix “underinvestment in disadvantaged communities.”
“Sounds like they mean well,” I say.
“It sounds a lot better to talk about social justice,” answers Furchtgott-Roth. “Nuts and bolts like computer hardware for air traffic control gets left behind.”
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on It’s Past Time to Privatize Air Traffic Control!
15th March 2023
ZMan watches them squirm.
Just a few months ago, Western media was hailing the wonderfulness of their bosses in the political class over the decision to send tanks to Ukraine. The West was going to send modern battle tanks. The first batch would be Leopard II tanks from Germany followed by Abrams tanks from America. On top of that, the Poles donated their Patriot system to Ukraine. This would cure the missile problem. Maybe F-16’s were not far behind, the media told us.
Here we are entering the spring and the mood has shifted. This story in the Washington Post would have been called Putin propaganda a few months ago. It explains the terrible condition of the Ukrainian army. Six months of Russian grinding with artillery and now air power has killed tens of thousands of Ukraine’s best soldiers. This story published in Politico is about the growing troubles in the collective West over how to go forward with the Ukraine war.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on The Shifting Ukraine Narrative
15th March 2023
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Thought for the Day
15th March 2023
Read it.
Back in 2018 I reported on a bestial murder by a Somali (or Djiboutian) culture-enricher in Germany. The young “asylum seeker” entered the doctor’s office and stabbed him to death, while also wounding his assistant.
Now it has been revealed that the young perpetrator, who was determined to be mentally ill and has been housed in a psychiatric facility, is currently allowed to walk free in the city for several hours a day.
Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.
Posted in Living with Islam: The world's most intolerant—and intolerable—religion | Comments Off on Culture-Enriching Doctor-Killer Walks Free in Emmendingen
15th March 2023
The Guardian.
No rich person ever said that, Arwa Mahdawi.
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on The Biggest Lie the Rich Ever Told? That Money Can’t Buy You Happiness
14th March 2023
Read it.
Emergency preparedness is serious business but not all of our endeavors need to take on the gravity of life and death. This is a fun list, and while the suggestions are solid, it is by no means a list that covers everything you need to be prepared.
Posted in News You Can Use. | Comments Off on Emergency Preps From A To Z
14th March 2023
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on Today in the Biden-Harris Slow-Motion Train Wreck
14th March 2023
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on Today in Trump Derangement Syndrome
14th March 2023
Posted in Axis of Drivel -- Adventures in Narrative Media | Comments Off on Today in Global Warming Hysteria
14th March 2023
Posted in The Hunt for Heretics and Sinners | Comments Off on Today in Witch-Hunt Culture
14th March 2023
Posted in Whose turn is it to be the victim? | Comments Off on Today in BIPOC Privilege
14th March 2023
Posted in Your tax dollars at work - and play. | Comments Off on Today in War
14th March 2023
Read it.
No word on whether it will give you super powers.
Posted in News You Can Use. | Comments Off on First Transient Electronic Bandage Speeds Healing by 30 Percent
14th March 2023
Read it.
The readings from gauges planted throughout the company’s twin wells showed that pressure quickly began to build, as water that had nowhere else to go actually flexed the rock itself. When they finally released the valve, the output of water surged and it continued pumping out at higher-than-normal levels for hours.
The results from the initial experiments—which MIT Technology Review is reporting exclusively—suggest Fervo can create flexible geothermal power plants, capable of ramping electricity output up or down as needed. Potentially more important, the system can store up energy for hours or even days and deliver it back over similar periods, effectively acting as a giant and very long-lasting battery. That means the plants could shut down production when solar and wind farms are cranking, and provide a rich stream of clean electricity when those sources flag.
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on This Geothermal Startup Showed Its Wells Can Be Used Like a Giant Underground Battery
14th March 2023
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Car engines, bespoke medicines, organs for transplant, food, fashion and now even a whole street of houses… Is the all-conquering promise of 3D printing finally coming true?
Posted in Think about it. | Comments Off on Has the 3D Printing Revolution Finally Arrived?