Oh, yum.
1. The Zenith Of The Great Stupid? At least for stupid apologies: the Women’s March—you know, the groups that gave us Pussy Hats?—-actually tweeted this:
Deeply! I guess this means that Women’s March loyalists are expected to berate any merchant whose register come up with a charge that offends. We have offensive numbers now! Is there any point where recruits into Progressive Crazytown stop, listen to what their compatriots are saying (advocating, doing…) and realize, “Oh my God! These people I’ve been taking seriously are lunatics!”
2. In related news, a poll shows President Biden in negative territory in the approval polls of all but six states. I guessed four out of the five: I missed New Jersey, guessing New York instead. The rest, too easy for a quiz, are California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, and Hawaii. (D.C. is still not a state.) What can any state like about a Presidential performance as miserable as Biden’s so far? What is there to approve of? All I can think of is that they like the fact that he isn’t Donald Trump. Is that enough to approve of someone?
3. Do they also approve of totalitarians like this guy? Frances Collins, who will soon retire as the National Institutes of Health director, doesn’t like people expressing opinions he disagrees with, and thinks something needs to be done about it because it’s interring with scientists dictating to the public. ““What’s happening…is a very bright, blazing warning sign that we are, as a culture, in a dangerous place, that we have decided that those figures who are highly visible, who are saying things we don’t like, have to be taken down,” Collins said in an interview. “And even more troubling, that that seems to be working. It’s not a fringe activity anymore. Truth is supposed to be truth,” Collins told the Washington Post, “and the fact that your truth would be so heavily modified by your social circle or where you get your news tells you we’re in real trouble….Conspiracies are winning here. Truth is losing. That’s a really serious indictment of the way in which our society seems to be traveling…somebody’s Facebook post carries as much weight as a statement from the director of the CDC about what is the truth of a public health crisis.”
Collins told the Washington Post that he wants to identify those who are purposefully spreading false information online and “bring them to justice.” He really said this. He isn’t just a powerful Biden bureaucrat, he had is job under Trump too. Go ahead, tell me there’s no “deep state.” This guy is part of a deep Soviet state.
But the Post approves. See how little the proles trust Big Brother?, it points out. Why, “Some 6 in 10 Americans say they either believe the government is exaggerating the number of deaths from the virus or aren’t sure.’
(The government is exaggerating the number of deaths from the virus, and has been all along.)
What Collins is literally saying is the what he believes is true is the Real Truth, and everyone who disagrees must be punished.
4. I am torn regarding whether my response to such a missive would be “This is none of your fucking business” or “Bite me!” Chancellor Lewis Ferebee of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) the Thanksgiving holiday sent a message titled “Sharing My Gratitude” posted to the DCPS website before Thanksgiving asking parents to “decolonize” Thanksgiving. He wrote in part,
Thanksgiving is a day that can be difficult for many to celebrate as we reflect on the history of the holiday and the horrors inflicted on our indigenous populations. If you celebrate, our Equity team has shared resources for how you can consider decolonizing your Thanksgiving.
- If you host a Thanksgiving meal, consider doing a land acknowledgement.
- Reading recommendations:
- Two articles to decolonize your holiday
- Book recommendations for adults
- Book recommendations for children
Gee, why would parents not trust public schools to avoid indoctrinating students with ant-American and anti-white propaganda? After all, truth is truth!
Here’s a “truth” if your kids are taught in a school system run by someone like Ferebee, listen to the wise advice of the Amityville Horror house, and…
5. Now I wish I had my five dollars back...During a trip to Safeway, I was so impressed with the Salvation Army Santa’s joyous bell-ringing, shouting and dancing that I put some money in his red pot. Then I read about how the organization has gone full Critical Race Theory.
The Salvation Army’s guidebook “Let’s Talk About Racism “acknowledges with regret, that Salvationists have sometimes shared in the sins of racism and conformed to economic, organizational and social pressures that perpetuate racism.” The Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission has created a “Study Guide on Racism” stating that whites are responsible for “unconscious bias,” explaining, “The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of the dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice.” The organization presents a glossary of terms for members’ reference, like ” anti-racist,” “colonizer,” “domestic terrorism,” “fascism,” “inclusion,” “institutional racism,” “micro aggressions,” “systemic racism,” and “whiteness” to advance the lesson that “structural racism . . . is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to White people resulting in disadvantages to (blacks).” The guide explicitly rejects Martin Luther King Jr.’s advocacy of “colorblindness,” saying,
“While this might sound helpful, it actually ignores the God-given differences we all possess, as well as the beautiful cultures of our Black and Brown brothers and sisters. Instead of trying to be colorblind, try seeing the beauty in our differences, and welcome them into your homes churches and workplaces. Being colorblind also ignores the discrimination our Black and Brown brothers and sisters face and does not allow us to address racism properly.”
Well, that’s the last cent the racist Salvation Army gets from me. Let the Santas get their money from Black Lives Matter from now on.
Ethics Alarms 
1–My first thought would be that there actually exist those who interpret the world, through a WOKE prism, by how they can leverage perpetual offense with laughable minutiae like this?
A close second? That average donation is (IMO) $14.90 WayTF too high; the balance being my…um…2 ¢…
An even closer third? An exploitable niche, and accompanying Degree Program/Field, exist.
The big WOKE organizations who desire to reel in the monumentally imbecilic need to seek out the best-n-brightest whose specialty is manufacturing/inventing indignation out of thin air.
Were I not so consumed with my other pursuits…
5. A great, great family friend was a SeaBee in the Pacific in WWII. He was always a big, big fan of the Salvation Army because they did the most for the troops in the Pacific. So much for that. Fuck you guys and the horse you rode in on, Salvation Army.
My brother-in-law was in the Coast Guard, and he gives generously to the Salvation Army, and never, ever to the Red Cross. The Salvation Army was always there to help; the Red Cross charged soldiers and sailors for every cup of coffee, and it didn’t surprise him when it was revealed that 90 cents on every dollar went to ‘administration,’ including multi-hundred thousand annual compensation for its leadership.
The Salvation Army has a long history, and some of it might not seem very modern or ‘inclusive’ today. If they are trying to put this right, more power to them. Inept, yes. Evil, no. I will continue to give, and will never support the Red Cross.
I disagree E2. At some level, the organization has been infected and led astray. That’s toxic stuff.
1. Apparently not. An important transitional year in history, which marked the expulsion of the Moors from Spain and the discovery of the New World is now so offensive you can’t even mention the NUMBER, lest the black and brown people be triggered by its mere mention.
C.S. Lewis wrote in the Narnia origin novel “The Magician’s Nephew” of a world of wizardry in which there was a spell consisting of a single word, called the Deplorable Word, which, if spoken in a certain way accompanied by a certain rite, would destroy all life save the speaker. For ages the kings of that world, even the ruthless ones, swore they would never seek to learn it, much less use it. However, as is often the case with plots based around Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, the last queen of that world did choose to learn it, and, at the end of a war over the throne with her sister, used it to wipe out all life but her. The ancient Greeks used to only refer to the god of the dead as Plouton, the Rich One, for they believed that if they spoke his true name, Hades, they might attract his attention and he might send for them. We’re all also well familiar with people think the number 13 is bad luck, partly due to the old Norse tradition that there were 12 good gods and one evil god, Loki, who one day would bring about the death of Balder, favorite of the gods.
The fact is that words and numbers have only as much power as we give them. If you were to refuse to do an important task on the 13th of the month, most people would look at you like you were crazy and tell you to stop being so superstitious. Now we’ve given certain words and phrases too much power, to the point where if someone, regardless of any other factors, says “nigger” or “faggot,” or even “all lives matter,” he needs to lose his livelihood and be completely socially ostracized, but not arrested, yet. $15,000,000 worth of punishment for a $50 crime. Now we’re going to “niggerize” dates and numbers as well? Are they going to change the title of the 1619 project as well?
I don’t think the people who are doing this are lunatics, although there may be a sector of true believers who are. I think, as with everything else that is flowing from this movement, it is all about power and control. Keep making certain words, numbers, facts, and ideas unmentionable, and eventually you limit people’s thinking to what you believe to be proper. Eventually, there has to come a point where a majority decides it’s necessary to do the harder right over the easier wrong and stand up to these people, telling them “no, we’re not going to walk on eggshells constantly because you get triggered too easily.”
2. They like and approve of the D next to his name. That’s enough for a critical mass of people in those states, although the numbers are shrinking here in NJ. Others liked and approved of the fact that he was not his opponent, but those numbers have now evaporated now that they’ve seen his performance. I am frankly surprised that Oregon and Washington are not on that list, although there is more to Oregon than Portland, and more to Washington than Seattle (the city that just MIGHT be coming to its senses).
3. Some do. It’s a very easy path to power as long as you don’t overreach. However, it’s also one fraught with peril, since there’s always the danger that people will see what you are doing and say “no, this is a bridge too far.”
4. Personally, I’m more partial to “No. Go to hell.” If my child came to me with ideas from school to “decolonize” anything about our lives, holidays, or whatever, that teacher and I would be due for a little talk, the kind where I tell Ms. (because it can’t be Miss or Mrs. anymore) Alvarez or Mr. Bloom-Silver (wouldn’t want to patriarchally oppress your wife by not taking her name) who just breezed in from Bowdoin or Williams, to stop feeding my kid this disruptive tripe or a bunch of us are going to the Board of Education and making damn sure your contract is not renewed.
5. The Salvation Army was probably afraid they had missed the boat on gay marriage and gay rights and thought they needed to get out ahead of black lives matter before they got hit again. Unfortunately, in the process, they have probably now alienated a lot of what was their base.
Sadly, Steve-O, regarding your number 1 comment that “Eventually, there has to come a point where a majority decides it’s necessary to do the harder right over the easier wrong and stand up to these people, telling them “no, we’re not going to walk on eggshells constantly because you get triggered too easily.”, I’m afraid I don’t share your optimism. In toxic relationships of most stripes, constantly shifting goalposts and the resultant walking on eggshells result in more compliance, not less. Once the abuser has gotten the abusee to ignore their own judgment as to what is right and wrong, and instead listen to their partners, then the shifting goalposts keep the victim perpetually off balance. Once so, they cling ever more desperately to the abuser, praying that they will make it all make sense. Add in a healthy dose of gaslighting, and the fond remembrances of “it hasn’t always been bad… I do love you, you know…” and the victim will move heaven and earth to make the abuser happy, even at the cost of their own welfare.
When I worked at McDonald’s as a college student, there were customers who would give me an extra penny if the order rang up to $6.66.
I got it, sure. But even I thought it was a little off.
This is just deranged.
I wonder what would happen if one of the vaccines was number 1492.
Or $17.76…
There were a couple of funny tweets listed in the LI story. One person said he looked at the tweet at the perfect moment — it had just reached 1492 likes. 🙂
I think I might be paying $1066 for my new computer — do I have to send it back in horror now?
I am pleasantly surprised CT was not among the five states….maybe there is hope that I can continue living here?
Good luck!
And re Frances Collins. We should trust the NIH and CDC? We all know the CDC has been politicized, and so here comes the NIH as well. To be clear, NIH is a research institution, the CDC is supposed to be a proactive agency for ‘disease control.” A rather significant difference.
I don’t want to hear Frances Collins or any other scientist crying about their inability to dictate to the public. That is simple arrogance. The NIH charter is to conduct research, to communicate that research to the medical profession and the public, to treat patients on a limited basis. Period.
The increasing hubris of all government agencies under Biden is a direct result of his leadership — or at least of his example of leadership. Collins can do screw herself. (In my own ignorance I am assuming she’s a woman, as her first name ends in “e-s” rather than “i-s.”)
Appendix D of Let’s Talk About…Racism begins with the testimony of the lived experience of a Salvation Army officer who grew into manhood during the Civil Rights movement.
First of all, the author flat out refuses to mention the progress that was made since the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. Progress was very obvious in the 1990’s, the same decade that the Good Ol’ Boys Roundup scandal was blown wide open.
This new generation is, to put it plainly, exaggerating the claims of racism. this new generation were the ones who marched in Mizzou and demanded the resign ation of the university president over nonviolent private assholery.
And here he is contributing to the problem, on claiming that only one particular group of people have the duty to create “racial reconciliation and healing”, merely because of their skin color.
People keep exaggerating the existence of indicidual and systemic/institutional racism.
Not true at all.
This is like suggesting David Duke’s My Awakening.
5)So, the Salvation Army has always been the only people I would donate to on the streets, and I made a special effort to find something to toss into the pot, even during those days when money was very tight.
Well, no more of that. If they choose to embrace that sort of anti-American creed, not another dime.
To add to that depressing news, I read today that they are joined by Goodwill International, which is hiring a director of anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion. According to a story at Legal Insurrection, they brag about their anti-racism quest on their website and other places.
Sheesh.
Now I never have donated stuff to Goodwill, but I have shopped for books in their thrift stores on occasion. I suppose it is fortunate for me that they are not a very productive source.
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I cannot fathom why companies cannot be content with going about the businesses that they are in business to do. When I sell someone a book, I don’t deliver a lecture on federalism. Why is this so hard? Why do these people persist in disgusting and pushing away a large segment of their customers or patrons?
Perhaps if the SA started seeing their pots filled with little notes saying “Go Woke, Go Broke”, instead of cash, they would reconsider.