Friday, January 31, 2025

Jesus

 There's a meme that gets thrown out often that equates Jesus' family with illegal immigrants.   The story tells us that Jesus' family went to Egypt after Herod wanted to kill Him.    Therefore, Jesus and his family were exactly the same as the illegal aliens that cross the US border.  

Except, Egypt was simply another part of the Roman empire, an adjacent province as it were.   Therefore the comparison is more like someone moving from Missouri to Kansas, than someone illegally crossing from Mexico to the US.  

Nice try. 

Pick My Damn Fruit Cheaply So My Smoothies Don't Get Too Spendy!

 I saw a post today, from a subsidiary or group associated with Act Blue.  For context, Act Blue is the DFL fund raising organization that's been repeatedly accused as being a vehicle for straw donors to avoid campaign finance laws.  


The post showed a sign that read as follows. 

"GOOD NEWS RED STATES!

 YOU CAN NOW PICK YOUR 

OWN FRUITS 

AND VEGETABLES IN THE BLAAZING SUN FOR $5/HOUR"

Yes, "BLAZING"  is misspelled, but I transcribed the sign as it was written.  


So, let's look at what's actually being said.   The sign/post seems to be quite clear that picking fruit and vegetables for $5/hr is pretty much exactly what the left wants for immigrants.   Based on some of the "questions" yesterday by various DFL senators, it seems as though low cost fruit picking labor is critical to keep the prices of their smoothies down.  

In all seriousness, there seems to be a stated desire from the left that immigrants be kept in these low paying, low skill, menial labor jobs and that they should not expect anything else.   They seemingly want an endlessly expanding underclass who's only real purpose is to vote blue if at all possible.   

In the abortion debate we often see those on the left use arguments similar to the pro slavery people (the baby is the property of the mother and hers to do with as she sees fit, for her pleasure or convenience).   Now we see arguments that are similar to the pro slavery position in the immigration debate.  (Without immigrants the price of fruits and vegetables will skyrocket.) 

I guess I just don't see either of those positions as particularly compassionate or civilized. 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

DEI

 "All the talk about meritocracy, but it wasn't one of the many qualified black military leaders in actual leadership positions that was hired to run the military, it was a low grade news "personality" that got the position because he was a white man and a Trump loyalist!"

 

1.  Why would or should "black" enter the discussion when searching for a SecDef?   

2.  I love how Dan denigrates Hegseth by ignoring his distinguished military service as a field grade officer.

3. Generally the leap from O6-07 is as much about political connection as it is about leadership or military prowess.   To assume that there is some magic transformation that happens once one achieves flag rank demonstrates ignorance of the military.

4.  The US military is actually set up so that it is under civilian control.     Selecting an active duty officer would require that the officer retire from their position.  

I haven't seen what's been said about the helicopter/plane crash or the F-35 crash, that's got Dan's panties in a wad.  But, if the cause is pilot error because an inadequately trained pilot was flying in DCA airspace, (or an inadequately trained pilot in the F-35) then the process that put that pilot in the left seat should absolutely be scrutinized.  

Personally, it seems like Trump might have said something out of ignorance which led Dan to conclude that his best option was to reply out of ignorance as well.  

In both cases, I'd suggest that it would be wise for everyone to put aside using these tragedies to score cheap political points and allow the process to play out. 

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

H/T WK

 https://winteryknight.com/2025/01/28/utilitarianism-and-the-moral-life-by-j-p-moreland-8/

 

I regularly hear christians make arguments that are virtually identical to the arguments made by Utilitarians.  Yet when those similarities are pointed out refuse to acknowledge them.  This is a very good, short, look at the philosophy.  

Monday, January 27, 2025

US Code Title 8 Section 1324

 https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1907-title-8-usc-1324a-offenses

 

 So, let's talk a bit about US code Title 8 Section 1324.    I could be wrong, but I'd be willing to bet that Dan or one of his friends has engaged in at least one of the enumerated actions below at least once.  If not, I'd be willing to bet that they would help an illegal alien evade one of the recent deportation sweeps. 

(a) Criminal penalties

(1)(A) Any person who-

(i) knowing that a person is an alien, brings to or attempts to bring to the United States in any manner whatsoever such person at a place other than a designated port of entry or place other than as designated by the Commissioner, regardless of whether such alien has received prior official authorization to come to, enter, or reside in the United States and regardless of any future official action which may be taken with respect to such alien;

(ii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, transports, or moves or attempts to transport or move such alien within the United States by means of transportation or otherwise, in furtherance of such violation of law;

(iii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation;

(iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law; or

(v)(I) engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding acts, or

(II) aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts,

 

FYI, the penalties range from fines to 5-20 years in prison.   

FEMA?

 There was some talk by Trump of reevaluating FEMA over the last few days.   As with many things Trump says, I'd like to get some more detail before I evaluate this potential policy change.   However, I do see some potential advantages to restructuring FEMA.  

I do think that there does need to be some federal level emergency response apparatus because natural disasters are rarely constrained by state lines and I can see benefits to a regional response, rather than state by state.   I can also see potential economies of scale with a federal agency as opposed to state by state.  

However, I can also see some advantages to downsizing FEMA to a small core of people who can access resources if needed, but primarily block grants money to states to do their own response.   As with most things I believe that local government will better handle things than the federal government.  

I do think that responding to large regional or national disasters is a legitimate role of the federal government, but also believe that it may not always be the best of most efficient.  

Hopefully, we'll see more detail soon so we can evaluate the specific plan instead of speculating based on a random comment. 

Bits of Tid

 IMO one of the stories that was under reported by the MSM during the Biden/Harris administration, was the fact that they had lost track of 300,000 children who'd crossed the border unaccompanied.   This never seemed to bother many on the left enough to call for action.  Now it's being reported that 75-80,000 of these children have been found.  If this turns out to be accurate, then this is an even bigger condemnation of the Biden/Harris administration.  


https://x.com/swipewright/status/1883245577888022931?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Watch the video and ask yourself, "Was Biden straight out lying, or is this more evidence that he was not in control at all?".

 

 "You should feel free to pose this hypothetical to the regular people in your life and gauge their reaction: “You’re an American college student studying abroad in China. You meet another American studying abroad at the same time. You start dating, get pregnant, and have a kid in a Chinese hospital. You both return home to America, as planned. Is that child Chinese?” I find that for some reason when these examples are turned around into hypotheticals about other countries, people suddenly see quite clearly how preposterous they are. And they will say to you quite directly, “What, no, lol. That’s preposterous.”"

 

 https://x.com/ericabbenante/status/1882996909889011785?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://x.com/ericabbenante/status/1883005981577068707?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

This from a couple of far left wing public figures.  

 

 https://x.com/goinggodward/status/1882929012634251613?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 

 We also saw this in LA over the weekend, when Trump backed the mayor of LA into a corner regarding the city insisting that it'd take 18 months to clear the debris from the burned areas. More importantly, what stopped Biden from doing this? 

 

 https://x.com/gspellchecker/status/1882950297976455327?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

This video of a newswoman stumping a gender ideologue is amazing. 

 

 https://x.com/gspellchecker/status/1882950297976455327?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

If only there was technology available that would allow the capture of things like rain and melting snow, and preserve it for other worthwhile uses.  

 

 https://x.com/andrewkerrnc/status/1882884048328294848?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Newsome should be impeached, for many reasons.  



Europe

 Elsewhere I've posted examples from Europe regarding the effects of mass immigration, and here are some examples from Denmark.   I could be wrong, but it seems like we should be able to use the data from Europe to help craft an immigration policy that doesn't repeat their results.  

Image  Image Image Image Image Image Image

According to Dan, looking at data like this and other data from Europe regarding things like crime and immigration is racist or evil or something.  



Friday, January 24, 2025

Football

 I haven't written about football in a while, but it's conference championship weekend so here goes.  


The CFP was interesting.   The complaints about the favorites willing during the first weekend seem strange.  Isn't that what's expected of a favorite?    FYI, Indiana (which got the most crap) only lost to the two teams that played in the final.   

I'm hearing a lot of people suggesting changes for next year, but the one that probably needs to happen is to get the whole thing done by January 3 2026.   Get it done and get out of the way of the NFL.   It'll probably help ratings as well.  

Personally, I'd like to see a Washington/KC Super Bowl this time around.    Selfishly I'd like to see KC get the 3peat.   Seeing something that's never been done should be cool.  

It looks like Chicago and New England won the coaching lottery this year, congratulations.  It'll be interesting to see how they do over the next couple of seasons. 

Thursday, January 23, 2025

14

  Image 

 

" All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

 

With all of the controversy about the Birthright Citizenship issue, it's interesting that the notion has just been blindly accepted of late.   Yet, strangely I haven't seen anyone take much of a look at the actual amendment or the intent of the writer of the amendment.  


As for the amendment itself, it seems clear that the "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" is the key phrase.  Obviously this is why tourists, diplomats, and military members children are not automatically US citizens.  So where does that leave illegal aliens.  The most logical argument is that by failing to follow the proper pathway to immigrate to the US legally, the illegal alien has placed themselves outside of the "jurisdiction" of the US and therefore should not get automatic citizenship for their children.   

Jacob Howard, the author, seemed pretty clear on this as well.  "This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, ...".

This is an issue I've changed my mind on.   Rather, I simply assumed the previous conclusion and never questioned it.   At this point, I am convinced that "birthright citizenship" for "foreigners and aliens is not a thing.   The very fact that so people of so many nationalities have cynically taken advantage of this policy tells me that, at a very minimum, there needs to be an extended pause in this policy.    That we as a country are giving one of our most precious privileges away to those who don't have the best interests of the US at heart is disturbing.    To be fair, this is a problem that's been exacerbated by the open borders policy of the last 4 years, and might remain a non issue if the numbers were smaller.


I fully support Trump's decision to overturn this poor interpretation of the 14th amendment, even though it might not be fully litigated for years.  It is the right thing to do given the current situation.  


Art has a comment that relates to this.  The NYT (one of the most revered practitioners of real journalism) seems to have given us an interesting dichotomy in their headlines.  

When writing a story critical of a pro-life law in GA, they refer to a "Fetus", in regard to an article in favor of birthright citizenship for any and everyone, they refer to an "Unborn Child".   

Image Image


https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/digital/birthright-citizenship-a-response-to-my-critics/


An excellent piece on the issue, loaded with direct quotes from those who debated the 14th amendment.  


Wednesday, January 22, 2025

A Brief Summary

 "There's no reason that I can think of to defend very closed borders, and certainly not borders closed to refugees... and refugees, broadly defined, not so narrow as they often are"

 

Dan posted a bunch of regurgitated driven about immigration at the cesspool, and at Art's.   This sentence encapsulates pretty much all we need to know.  

"There is no reason I can think of..."

Once again Dan grounds his political views in himself.  His position seems to be that if he can't think of something, then he must be 100% correct and everyone else must be wrong.  This notion of grounding his beliefs solely in himself cuts across many topics and is always amusing for the amount of hubris it shows.  

"...to defend very closed borders..."

A (purposely) vague and undefined term, which he assumes represents the views of others (I guess, he's never very clear).     In one of his comments at Art's he says "I am not at all opposed to MANAGING moving from one place to another.".   It seems that one way to effectively MANAGE the flow of people across the US border is to "close" the borders, while designating specific places where one can cross the border and the flow can be MANAGED.   What we had during the Biden/Harris administration was a complete lack of MANAGING the border and ended up with untold millions of people who crossed without being MANAGED.    It also seems like (especially post COVID) that it would be a good move to MANAGE those who have various communicable diseases in terms of allowing them into the country.  I can't think of how one would MANANGE to check people, if one allows unfettered entry.  

"and certainly not borders closed to refugees..."

For the purposes of this response, I will say that I do not believe that any of the commenters reacting to Dan's drivel advocate border completely closed to refugees.   So, if it is necessary to misrepresent the position of your opponents in order to make your point, it seems as if you've already lost the argument. 

"...and refugees, broadly defined, not so narrow as they often are"

This right here is what it's all about.  It's about redefining the term refugee so broadly that it essentially becomes meaningless.    It's about being able to refer to the MS13 member crossing to engage in criminal activity as a refugee because maybe it's not safe to engage in criminal activity in their home country.   

I'll close with this.  It would be so helpful if we could actually look at countries that have adopted Dan's theory on immigration and evaluate the results.  I am confident that if we had the ability to do so, and had multiple examples of countries that threw open their borders to refugees, that we might be able to determine whether or not we wanted to replicate the experiences of those other countries here.

" If the gangs in a certain nation or city were so dangerous that you had a greater chance of dying young... or your children had a greater chance of rape..."

If only we could find some examples, and look at the data.  Perhaps compare pre open borders to post open borders.   If only there were examples...


It seems clear that Dan's construct of immigration (really migration) places no value on actually assimilating to the country one migrates to.   Obviously, this can (as does) lead to the migrants settling in enclaves where they live according to the laws and customs of the places they came from, not those of where they end up.   It seems reasonable to conclude that as these migrants destroy the places they migrate to, by turning them into where they left, that they will simply move along  and repeat the process. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Two Things

1.  Changing Denali back to McKinley seems pointless and kind of ridiculous.

2.  I'm not sure that a US president has the authority to change the name of a body of water that does not fall within US borders, but if you're going to waste time with that nonsense, how about The Gulf of the Americas.   Let's acknowledge the reality that the Gulf touches North, Central, and South America and be accurate. 

A Free Gift

 One of the nicest things Biden has done for Trump was his flurry of pardons/commutations over the last few weeks.  

If y'all haven't been upset by Biden's pardons/commutations of terrorists and murders, as well as his constitutionally questionable preemptive pardons (especially when he promised he's never do such a thing) as well as his pardons for family members, then y'all really can't be that mad at Trump's pardons on day one.    Especially as some of those folks had been significantly over punished by Biden.  

Biden has set a precedent regarding pardons, and gifted Trump the political cover to pretty much do what he wants.  

I'd have preferred a bit more of a selective approach to the pardons, but ...

These pardons are also the gift that keeps on giving.  Accepting a preemptive pardon comes along with a guilty plea to whatever you were pardoned from, and it comes along with the inability to exercise one's 5th amendment rights when compelled to testify.  

I guess it doesn't surprise me when Biden's actions backfire. 

Open Letter

 An open letter to President Trump.


"Git 'er done."


That's all.   Just focus on doing what you said you'd do. 

Is Defamation Mmainstream?

 https://winteryknight.com/2025/01/18/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-navy-veteran-has-to-pay-5-million/

We just saw ABC settle with Trump, and now this, but some idiots will still revere and venerate the MSM because they're clinging to an outdated memory of what the media used to be,  

Good Riddance

 https://winteryknight.com/2025/01/19/joe-biden-pardoned-37-brutal-murderers-is-that-justice/

 https://winteryknight.com/2025/01/21/what-should-we-think-about-the-democrat-party-based-on-bidens-presidency/

I suspect that when Biden dies folx like Dan will be arguing about how he was a great person and hwo he was one of the best, most moral, people to have ever held the office of president. 

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Cease Fire, Closing Argument

 It appears that there is finally a cease fire deal in place between Israel and Gaza.   I haven't seen a lot of details, but there is the return of some/all of the hostages, along with the cessation of hostilities.  I'm obviously pleased that the hostages are finally going home, despite the fact that to many of them are being returned dead.   I'm ambivalent to the cease fire because Hamas will spin this as a victory against the Zionist oppressors, when it's much closer to a defeat for them.   Three thoughts on this news.  

1.  This looks a lot like the return of the hostages by Iran.  A last minute capitulation in order to avoid the harsher consequences of a Trump administration.   The reality is that Trump gets some credit for this, and I doubt we'll ever know how involved his representatives were.

2.  If I had to guess, I suspect that Hamas will violate this cease fire first.  Because that's on brand for them.  Start a small war, get the crap kicked out of them, whine about being oppressed, finally hide behind a cease fire to rearm.  

3.  Any deal that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza is a bad deal.  


Biden gave his farewell address last night and whined about billionaires taking over, as if there weren't more billionaires supporting Harris than Trump and we haven't had Soros, Zuck, Gates, and the like involved in leftist politics for the last 4 years.  He also whined about multiple things that he wants to ban (Dark money, congressional stock trading, etc), yet that he's done nothing about for the last 12 years.  (really 50, but who's counting)    The fact that he thinks that trying to condemn these things as he shuffles out the door is somehow going to make him look good is absurd.   The entire Biden/Harris campaign seems based on the notion that they'll do all kinds of stuff that they ignored if only they'd get elected again.  

Good riddance. 


Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Hypothetical

 Let's say, hypothetically, that a local church hires a staff member for a specific job.  Let's say that, hypothetically, this job has a written, defined set of responsibilities and that the church has a similar set of written guidelines for their employees.   Let's say, hypothetically, that this employee regularly fails to actually fulfill the responsibilities of their job well.   Let's say, hypothetically, that one of their job responsibilities is to submit all volunteers for background checks.   Let's say, hypothetically, that this has not been done (although it's been discussed regularly for months) for over 6 months.   

What should this person's immediate supervisor do?

How does this person's failure to do their job affect other staff members?

What level of responsibility does the church leadership have for these continued failures?

Now let's say, hypothetically, that the church expects (in writing) all of it's full time/salaried employees to work 40 hours a week.    Let's say, hypothetically, that the church understands that ministry is not a 9-5 M-F job and generally is very accommodating of  the actual schedule worked, and flexible about it.   Let's say, hypothetically, that this employee agreed to work from 6AM-2PM M-F as their primary work schedule.   Let's also say that this employee has never actually worked an entire week according to the agreed upon schedule, and has never worked 40 hours a week in their tenure.  

Is it equivalent to theft to intentionally and consistently work less than the amount of hours you are paid to work, while also not completing the duties of your job?

If the above answer is yes, does the fact that it's at a church make it worse, or is it no different from any other employer?  

Finally, hypothetically.  Let's say, hypothetically, that this person's spouse got a pert time job at the same church.   At some point they realized that with the combined incomes that they were making too much for them to have the taxpayers of the state pay for their health insurance.   They faced a conundrum in that they could not afford the health premiums on their combined income.   (Leaving aside the affordability or not of healthcare for the moment.   The costs are what they are, the choices are what they are.  It's pointless to argue about this here.  Further, the fact that there is a hard cut off on things like this is stupid.)   What do they choose to do?

1.   The part time spouse seeks a full time position that would allow them to afford health insurance.

2.  The part time spouse quits their job so that the taxpayers (the remaining spouses fellow employees) can pay for their health insurance.  

3.  If the answer is 2, is that a moral or ethical choice for a believer?

Ultimately as one of many people who financially support this church, I would have serious questions about the stewardship of the money that members donate to the church.  It seems reasonable for me/us as stakeholders and financial supporters of the church to expect that our donations be spent wisely and that those who are employed would respect the fact that their salaries are paid via donations.  


Thoughts?

Untitled

 " I don't know nothin' 'bout economics, just what makes sense to me"

 

Coming from someone who's written extensively on economics, this is fascinating.  

Old Man Rant

Okay, I've been sitting on this for a while and it's time for a grumpy old man post.  


One of the hot political topics of the last few years is the minimum wage and what the appropriate pay for law skill jobs is.  The result of this conversation is that fast food and convenience store employees are making $15/hr plus here in the people's republic.  As someone who's employed people before, one thing I expected from my employees, before they got a raise, was competence.   

So, what sorts of things do I expect from fast food and convenience store employees for $15+/hr?

1.  Get my order right.   If I order Diet Coke, don't give me Coke.  If I order "unsweet tea", don't give me sweet tea.  If I order something with "no cheese", don't give me cheese.   

2.  Move the line along.  Y'all have extra windows and reserved parking spaces where people are supposed to wait for their food.   Get the simple orders through more quickly.   

3.   (related, but not the fault of the employees)   The point of fast food is the fast.  Stop adding more and more complicated "coffee" drinks, that slow things down.   If you have to add them, don't hold up the line because someone wants 10 Frappachinos.  

4.   When there are more than 3-4 people in line at the convenience store, one employee working a register, and 2-3 employees standing around, open the other registers.  

5.   Learn how to make change.   It's really not that hard.  Especially if the machine does the math for you.

6.   (for customers)   If there's a long line behind you, don't make 5 minutes of small talk with the cashier, don't get involved with having them check 35 lottery tickets for you, know how you are going to pay and have the payment ready.   

Call me crazy, grumpy, and old if you like, but I see this as a simple issue of respect.   People choose to patronize your place of business, so get them though the transaction as quickly as possible and get the transaction correct.   

One last thing, I'm basing a lot of this on interactions at places I visit regularly enough that this isn't a brand new employee thing.

That's enough for now. 

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Focus?

 I'm a bit confused by Trumps recent spate of "policy proposals".    I'm not quite sure how they fit with what he campaigned on, and whether or not they make sense as priorities.  

I've addressed the port issue, and believe that Trump is wrong in his blanket support of the union.

I believe that it was a mistake to cede control of the Panama canal, leading to China gaining an inordinate amount of control over a strategic US asset.   I agree that we should look at reacquiring control of the canal.

I don't know enough about Greenland to understand what value it would bring to the US, beyond it's obviously strategic position in the North Atlantic.   I'm not sure how much of a threat the Russian navy is at this point, but a foothold in that area seems less valuable now than it would have been during the Cold War.   I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just that it's a bizarre thing to prioritize, with very little explanation of the benefits.  

Likewise with Canada.  I know we've all joked about annexing Canada, but seriously.    I get that they have natural resources that would be more assured if Canada was a state, but is that really enough?   Do we really want another 41,000,000 citizens, most of whom are so liberal that they make Dan look conservative?   Again, would there have been strategic benefits to having control of part of the Arctic at one point, sure?   Now, I don't know.   Are the other reasons why having the US extend into the Arctic, possibly.    Is that worth annexing Canada, who knows.  Again, interesting theoretical conversation, but is this a priority?  

Personally, I'd have hoped for focus on the economy, reigning in the federal government, getting his cabinet approved, and dealing with immigration.   But that's me.  

Finally, why in the hell is Trump selling freaking watches?  Especially analogue watches? 

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Compasses

https://geomag.nrcan.gc.ca/mag_fld/compass-en.php

 "Regardless of their intended purpose or the complexity of their construction, most mechanical compasses operate on the same basic principle. A small, elongated, permanently magnetized needle is placed on a pivot so that it may rotate freely in the horizontal plane. The Earth's magnetic field exerts a force on the compass needle, causing it to rotate until it comes to rest in the same horizontal direction as the magnetic field. Over much of the Earth, this direction is roughly true north, which accounts for the compass's importance for navigation."

 

A compass is an interesting device.  It is very simple in construction, yet it's effects go far beyond its simplicity.    In short, a compass works because there are objective conditions in the created world that cause the magnetized needle to behave (roughly) the same way at (almost) all times and (almost) all circumstances.   The objective reality is that a magnetic compass as accurate enough, in enough times and places, so as to reliably allow people to find their way to a destination.  Therefore that reliability of pointing in the same direction (virtually) always allows people to define the other directions relative to that fixed direction (magnetic north).    Now because there are a relatively few areas where that earths magnetic field shifts enough to throw off a compass, there are also tools that will allow people to continue to use magnetic compasses to accurately navigate, despite those fluctuations.   

So, if one of (if not the single) distinctive features of a compass is that it reliably and consistently points in the same direction and reliably and consistently allows people to use that fixed/objective information to determine direction of travel, wouldn't that feature apply to a "moral compass" as well?   Would not a "moral compass" provide moral direction that was the same regardless of who and where they used it?  Would not a "moral compass" provide a fixed, objective, indication of the morality of an action?   Is a "moral compass" like a magnetic compass in that not everyone has access to one, and that one must actively seek out a "moral compass"?  If a "moral compass" is something that is innate to all humans, then how does one account for the fact that so many cultures (countries/religions/clans/tribes/etc) hold such different moral values?   

As we are seeing in the UK right now, the Pakistani culture clearly believes that it is moral to rape non Muslim girls.    Which raises the question, where does the "moral compass" of these people point.    Does their moral compass point the same way as most of the rest of humanity which says that raping girls is bad behavior, or does their "moral compass" point in a direction that tells them that their behavior is appropriate?   

If there is a "moral compass", and the metaphor has any utility at all, would not everyone's "moral compass" have to reliably and consistently point in the same direction?   Of what utility is a compass (moral or otherwise) that doesn't point toward the same north as every other compass.   (In acknowledgement of the weakness of the metaphor, there are circumstances where a magnetic compass won't point to the north.   Yet, in those circumstances all compasses will still point in the same direction.  Not in contradictory directions.)  So when someone suggests that one's "moral compass" is broken because it doesn't point the way they believe it should, it only seems natural to wonder about the nature of the "moral compass" and how it relates to a magnetic compass. 

Monday, January 6, 2025

More Rape Ring

 https://x.com/jonatanpallesen/status/1875253382992085163?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/15/child-sexual-abuse-gangs-white-men-home-office-report

There is so much wrong with this.  Most obviously that a UK newspaper is blatantly trying to mislead people as to the nature of the rape ring problem in the UK.   Of course the notion that there are a significant number of "sexual abuse gangs", regardless of their ethnic background, doesn't seem to be a big concern at all.   


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWP9LxnYmy4

https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1875054148489732250?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

UK police asking if a 5 year old had consented to sexual abuse.    What in the hell is going on in the UK?


https://www.rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk/your-rotherham/girl-by-age-of-16-id-slept-with-100-asian-men-court-told-4323693

1.  Nice victim blaming by the Rotherham Advisor.

2.  Nice job trying to hide the fact that the Asian men were Pakistani.

 https://x.com/msmelchen/status/1875229883044901288?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

For whatever reason Musk has jumped on this rape ring story and has been writing and forwarding relevant tweets on the story.   Yet somehow, the thing that has certain brits pissed off is that Musk is exerting pressure on the UK to deal with the problem, not that there is a decades long history of Pakistani men raping young girls and getting away with it.

 https://x.com/msmelchen/status/1875229883044901288?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://x.com/astor_charlie/status/1874924677820461073?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

If I was one of the victims, I'd be suing the UK government, the Labour party, the MP's and officials personally, and the media for how this has been handled.   

 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/zakir-naik-courts-fresh-controversy-says-rape-murder-accused-can-be-forgiven-if-/articleshow/114119663.cms?from=mdr

I though that we'd gotten past the "she was wearing..." defense.  

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1874668504835817491?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

https://x.com/msmelchen/status/1874945562912670024?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

https://winteryknight.com/2025/01/07/how-the-uks-secular-left-government-covered-up-sex-trafficking-of-children/


 


Bits of ROP Tid (and abortion)

 https://x.com/lporiginalg/status/1875255851704852652?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

  Image 

This is not wrong at all.

 

 https://x.com/realmaalouf/status/1875602593206170018?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://x.com/realmaalouf/status/1875293513442865298?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Using the Twitter link because I can't pull the video out.   But hey, y'all who make apologies for Muslims are silently letting crap like this go uncriticized.  

https://x.com/radiogenoa/status/1875240261921755201?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

While I do not believe that immigration by Muslims as a whole should be banned, public statements like this absolutely should be grounds for deportation or a bar to immigrate.   This is clearly a call for the overthrow of the government.   

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40731035

Yup, this is the Sharia that so many Muslims want to impose on others.  

https://x.com/bgatesisapyscho/status/1874969448442114259?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Words fail me.  


Now, many on the left will simply brush this off as "extremist" language and assert that this does not represent Islam as a whole.   Yet these extremists have millions of followers, and are in the process of increasing the number of rapes in Europe massively. Yet, the leftist/PC folx have made it a cancleable offense to even mention these things.   These animals should be caught and executed, they don't deserve to get deported back to where they came from because they'll be heroes.    


At this point, how can anyone argue that the left wing in Europe doesn't bear a large degree of culpability for every single rape committed by immigrants in general and Muslim immigrants specifically.  

As for leftists in the US, who are busy marching in solidarity with Hamas (also rapists),  your silence on this issue is telling.   Your refusal to acknowledge that the US and Canada are headed down this path if we don't change things simply increases your culpability if/when we see this sort of thing. 

Saturday, January 4, 2025

Nothing to See Here

 A large number of people were killed or wounded in NO last week (and the breaking rape circles story), and the cesspool is more interested in a hagiography of Jimmy Carter than even offering a tiny bit of sympathy for the victims or criticism of the perpetrators.  

I know, I know, the cesspool has previously expressed blanket condemnation of any and every act committed by anyone in a demographic group that the left generally supports, and a vague expression of sympathy to the victims of these acts.   I guess that's enough, and those on the right will no longer be hectored about condemning incidents from those the cesspool deems "right wing extremists", every time something happens. 

Friday, January 3, 2025

Narrative v. Data?

 https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1874952833818140678

 

I'm posting the Twitter link because this is a lengthy post, with  multiple charts and graphs and it's easier not to try to reformat it.   I'll note that Shellenberger is hardly some right wing extremist.   

I saw some data the other day bout this trope which showed that the highest number of "right wing" plots and actions was around 160 a couple of years ago.    The things that seemed strange is the combining of "plots" with "actions" or "deaths".  I can't conceive of a situation where a "plot" could ever be equated with (for example) either of the two "recent" truck attacks by non "White/Right Wing extremists".   It's like combining suicides and defensive deaths into the "gun death" metrics as a way to make the problems appear to be something it's not.     I'm not encouraging anyone, especially those on the right, to engage in any violent action.  I am encouraging an accurate and unbiased look at the data to determine the real risks we face. 

Rape rings

 https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine/2115109/rotherhams-collaborators/

I wrote a bit yesterday about the "Grooming" rings rampant in England.  First, from here on out they will be referred to as rape rings as that is more accurate.  Second, this has been known and ignored by the UK government since 1997.    How in the literal hell is this possible in a 20th/21st century western European country?   

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/22/rochdale-grooming-ring-abusers-not-yet-deported/

"A convicted Rochdale grooming gang ringleader is still living in the city where he abused children, nearly nine years after he was ordered to be deported.

Qari Abdul Rauf, 54, was part of a nine-strong gang of Asian men convicted of sex offences against vulnerable girls in 2012.

Up to 47 girls as young as 12 were plied with alcohol and drugs and gang-raped in Rochdale during a two-year reign of terror.

Rauf was jailed for six years but released in November 2014 after serving two years and six months of his sentence.

Theresa May, the then home secretary, ordered him to be sent back to Pakistan as it would be “conducive to the public good”.

Rauf and fellow gang leader Adil Khan, who got a 13-year-old girl pregnant, fought their deportation orders.

They lost a lengthy battle in 2018 but later launched another case, insisting the order breached their human rights as they both had wives and children in the UK. Their appeals were rejected.

But nearly nine years later, Rauf remains in Rochdale, where his victims are forced to live alongside him."

 

So, this guy is convicted of child rape, gets out early,  and now lives in freedom 9 years after he was ordered to be deported?    I get that Pakistan doesn't want him back, but why let him out of jail?   Why the light sentence (6 years) for raping at least 47 girls?    Why aren't people like Dan and the rest of the pro Islam/pro Hamas folx screaming about this?   Is it because "love is live", or "MAPS are just one more sexual expression."?     It's unlikely we'll ever really know.  Maybe it's because the MSM (you know, the real journalists) aren't reporting on this story.  

https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-cousin-marriages-create-high-risk-of-genetic-disorders/a-60687452#:~:text=Scientists%20say%20inbreeding%20is%20causing%20an%20unusually%20high,of%20consanguineous%20marriages.%20Still%2C%20this%20social%20custom%20persists.

The vast majority of the perpetrators of these rape rings are Pakistani and I saw a piece that explains some possible reasons why their inbreeding plays a role in their normalization of raping young, non Muslim, girls.    The premise of the piece is that the inbreeding leads to the overwhelming importance of the clan to Pakistanis and this leads to the attitude that anyone outside of the clan has little or no value.    If I can find it, I'll post a link.   

 https://x.com/jonatanpallesen/status/1874783967519326305

"A central aspect that is important to understand regarding the Pakistani child-rape gangs: Pakistan is the most inbred country in the entire world. You can go all your life here in Denmark without meeting a child born to close relatives. In Pakistan it's above 60%. This is completely different worlds in a fundamental way. Inbreeding gives rise to mental problems and disorders due to harmful recessive variants. But the problem goes deeper than that. Inbreeding permeates the culture in Pakistan, and has done so for countless generations, spanning into the distant past. This has shaped a society centered around kinship ties, around family and honour. This is deeply different from the more atomized, personalized societies of the modern West. The society in Pakistan is more fractured into a number of patrilineages with a strong sense of internal loyalty. This creates a threat to those outside the lineages - the more distant, the larger the threat. But their society is also resilient to this threat. The patrilineage clans are strong protectors. They watch out for the weak and vulnerable within them to a degree that is foreign to North-Western Europeans. (Less so to for example people from southern Europe or Southern U.S.) Their 12 year old girls would not walk out alone at the mercy of hostile clans. They would be watched over and protected by their family. If someone hurt a vulnerable girl from their clan, they would take violent revenge. This cultural system has co-evolved with inbreeding. Inbreeding helps bring the clans much tighter together. Inbreeding ensures that family ties and allegiances stay within clans to a much higher degree, especially over time. There is also an evolutionary genetic aspect: If you share a larger part of your genome with your cousin, your genetic interest will be more closely aligned. If you look at many of the convicted Pakistani child gang-rapists, a pattern you notice is that the gangs are often centered around close relatives such as cousins or brothers. See for example this clip: x.com/alexmaccaroon/. Here we have three brothers: Sangeer Hussein, Arshid Hussein and Basharat Hussein, organizing child gang rapes and torture together. In the clip the Pakistani child rapist also blames the girls for what they were wearing, and stresses the fact that they are allowed to go out on their own. The Northern European culture is as alien to him as his is to us. He cannot comprehend a culture that would not watch over its young girls at all, and even let them tempt strangers in this way. Now, given this knowledge, what is the very most reckless thing you can do? It is to take millions of people from the most inbred, clan-based culture in the world and insert them into a personal freedom-focused Western culture, without taking any precautions. The Pakistani culture understands the threat, it can handle the threat. The Northern European culture is not prepared for the threat, at all. It hardly even understands the threat. Even after reading about thousands of accounts of child gang-rapes, the Northern European still doesn't comprehend. It's alien to them, surreal. They on a fundamental level do not understand, and do not understand how to deal. That's why we can read about deranged things, such as a British father being arrested by the police when he attempted to rescue his daughter from a rape den. Or about the child gang-rape victims some years later seeing their Pakistani-born abusers in the local supermarket, walking around with a new female child victim. If we had any sense of the deep differences between peoples of the world, we would know that this spells disaster. But regrettably, the modern Western world has memed (and shamed) itself into thinking that all peoples are identical. Such deep mistakes in understanding of the world can come with an enormous price for socities and for victims. Such as the years of repeated gang-rapes and torment for vulnerable 12 year old girls."

Note the section in bold.  

While I agree that the protection of the vulnerable is an admirable trait, the dismissal of the protection for anyone outside of the clan seems barbaric. 


The ROP

 While I know that making generalized statements about all of the people in any demographic group can be problematic, there are times when it is appropriate to do so.  

Apparently a large numbers of those who profess Islam as their faith, including most of their religious leaders, and most of the government/legal systems of Muslim majority countries have made one thing clear over the past 75 years.

They can't live peacefully with other Muslims who don't agree with them (Sunni/Shia/Sufi).

They can't live peacefully with Muslims who leave Islam. 

They can't live peacefully with Hindus.

They can't live peacefully with Jews.

They can't live peacefully with Christians.

They can't live peacefully with Atheists.

They hate the LGBTQXYZPDQ folx.

They hate free speech.

They hate religious freedom for any faith other then Islam.

They oppress women. 

Then they complain about Islamophobia.   

 

To be clear, some secular Muslims/countries can live without active wars between the various groups mentioned.   Yet they still do not allow for religious freedom in any meaningful sense, and still advocate for the removal, conversion of those who follow all other religions.  

Further, it is possible that individual people who are culturally Muslim can and do live in peace and harmony with all of the above groups and who assimilate into other cultures.   Unfortunately, they would be considered apostate by a large number of other Muslims.  




Thursday, January 2, 2025

Bits of Tid

 “If I were rich, I would have a plaque made up, and sent to every judge in America, bearing a statement made by Adam Smith more than two and a half centuries ago: ‘Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.’” — Thomas Sowell

This is pretty profound. Aside from the obvious issues with recidivism, having a lower standard for the guilty cheapens the value of innocence.  

 

 https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/17/house-probe-into-matt-gaetz-relies-on-witnesses-doj-found-lacked-credibility/

Maybe the Gaetz allegations weren't as represented. 

 

 "We often hear that Christian men are Exhibit A of toxic masculinity. The co-founder of the Churchtoo movement, which followed theMetoo movement, said, theology of male headship “feeds the rape culture that we see permeating American Christianity today.” But social scientists were listening to these accusations and asking, where’s your evidence? You’re making these charges, but where’s your data? So they went out and did the studies. And they found that evangelical family men who attend church regularly are actually the most loving husbands and the most engaged fathers. Compared to the average American family man, evangelical men are • More loving to their wives 4 (and yes, they do interview the wives separately) • Evangelical fathers are more engaged with their children -- 3.5 more hours /wk than secular men • Evangelical couples have the lowest rate of divorce -- 35 % lower than secular couples • And surprisingly they have the lowest rates of domestic violence of any group in the US. Sometimes a quote can help crystalize a point, so here’s a quote from the sociologist who did the largest study—his name is Brad Wilcox of the University of Virginia, and this is from article he wrote for the New York Times: “It turns out that the happiest of all wives in America are religious conservatives. Fully 73 percent of wives who hold conservative gender values and attend religious services regularly with their husbands have high-quality marriages.” Wilcox then turns to his secular colleagues and says: “Academics need to cast aside their prejudices about religious conservatives and evangelicals in particular. Conservative Protestant married men with children are consistently the most active and expressive fathers and the most emotionally engaged husbands.” This is not a pep talk from a religious leader. These are the results of rigorous empirical testing. These are evidence- based findings showing that Christianity does have the power to reconcile the sexes, as I put it in the subtitle to my book. We should be confident about bringing into the secular arena to debunk the negative media narratives."

 

Nancy Pearcey

Adapted from The Toxic War on Masculinity

 

 https://winteryknight.com/2024/12/27/gay-couple-gets-100-year-prison-sentence-for-raping-adopted-boys/

100 years seems light. 

 

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-orleans-vehicle-crash-bourbon-street-crowd-casualties-shooting/

 It's still early, but the "white conservatives" are the problem narrative just took another hit.  One more example of how the left and their "anti weapon" narrative goes silent depending on the circumstances. 

 https://x.com/eOrganiser/status/1874541937031888934

The increasing number of reports of Pakistani men grooming young girls for sexual slavery is disturbing. Than virtually no one in the MSM or APL is talking about this is even worse. 

 

Oy, Yeah. Jimmy Carter died. He was an average man, a below average president, and became more and more extreme as he got older.  While I feel for his friends and family, the sanctification of Carter seems a bit excessive.