Is it racist to expect people who provide communications-related services in the US. to speak competent and understandable English? We have been harassed in recent weeks by one unsolicited phone call after another offering guidance on health insurance matters during the current enrollment period. A particularly incomprehensible barely English-speaking agent called my wife today, who had to keep asking her to repeat what the woman was trying to say. She finally said that she was “a socialist.” We presume she meant a “social worker.” Grace replied, tartly, that she might want to look up “socialist” before she told any other people that’s what she was. Then she said, “good-bye.”
1. Desperation Journal: On MSNBC, historian Michael Beschloss once again hopelessly beclowned himself and his thoroughly corrupted field by saying, after Joe Biden’s absurd speech last night,
“[A] historian 50 years from now – if historians are allowed to write in this country and if they are still free publishing houses and a free press – which I’m not certain of – but if that is true, a historian will say what was at stake tonight and this week was the fact whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed.”
What happened to this guy? He really used to be a respectable Presidential historian; I’ve read, and enjoyed, some of his books, like “Eisenhower: A Centennial Life” (1990) and “The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960–1963” (1991). Then somewhere before 2016 he snapped like Larry Tribe, or bias made him stupid, or something. He was the “expert” who said Hillary lost to Trump because parties almost never hold the White House three terms in a row, which is non-historical offal more worthy of an uneducated dolt like Bette Midler. His statement from last night is even worse, and an abuse of his reputation and position. No one can trust the analysis of a historian who defaults to partisan hysteria. As Thomas More might say, “But Michael, it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world if he should lose his soul… but for MSNBC?”
Here’s proof on how far Beschloss has sunk: He essentially channeled Rob Reiner:
To that, Federalist editor Molly Hemingway replied, “This type of rhetoric seems more like an IQ test than political persuasion. Like, how stupid does a grown adult have to be to find this type of argument compelling?” Well, as stupid as an acclaimed Presidential scholar, I guess… [Pointer: Chris Marschner]
2. A breather for baseball ethics... a) Last night sports casters were exulting over the Houston Astros World Series win, which was a 5-0 “combined no-hitter” by four pitchers. To me, calling a combined no-hitter a no-hitter at all cheapens the accomplishment; it would be like letting a marathon be a relay race. Three pitchers hurled one hitless inning a piece—which happened all the time—and the starter threw 6 innings of hitless ball. That’s impressive, but many, many pitchers have been clobbered and lost after doing the same. Even mentioning the sort-of “no-hitter” in the same sentence with Don Larson’s perfect game in the 1956 Series is unethical. b) According to Umpire Scorecards, Umpire Pat Hoberg made World Series history by calling a perfect Game #2 behind the plate, making the correct ball/strike call for all 129 taken pitches in the game. He sure was a lot better than the umpire in Game #1, who missed several calls in the few inning I watched. [Pointer: JutGory]
3. This is unethical, but funny: politico accused conservatives of spreading “baseless claims” about Paul Pelosi’s attack, including information reported by…Politico.
4. Another “Jacques Brel”! A CNN reporter, Kimberly Richardson, earns the Ethics Alarms award for those who, as the late, great French singer and satirist Jacques Brel intimated, will “crochet the world the color of goose shit” if we let them. Richardson believes that our dogs are a threat to Planet Earth (You know, climate change of course) because of their meat-based diet, and we need to start feeding them “insect-based” food. She also blames big dogs—like mine—for the rising seas, and says if we can’t forgo dogs entire, at least we should all get chihuahuas. Better yet, she tells us, are mall rodents, birds, snakes, turtles and reptiles. Why do I suspect that this woman has never owned a dog in her life?
5. Has any public figure or elected official so openly and flagrantly demonstrated that spite is their primary motivation as Liz Cheney? A supposed principled conservative Republican, she is now campaigning for Democrats whose policies completely clash with what she said she believes. Why? She let Trump-Hate eat her mind after he impugned the Bush Machine, including her Dad, and now she’s furious at the Republican Party for quite properly declaring her a pariah. Cheney is showing that she has no integrity, and, in the process, is proving that the unethical January 6 investigation is exactly as rigged as it appeared to be. The most prominent “Republican” on Pelosi’s kangaroo court (Oooh, am I triggering some mad ex-nudist by writing that?) is campaigning for Democrats.
Ethics Alarms 
#1: What’s he doing? He’s saying what he needs to say in order to keep getting invited to the good parties, possibly what he needs to say to stay employable and publishable in Washington DC.
Regarding Number 5: if either of them don’t win outright, I would bet the second and third places would go to Andrew Jackson and John Calhoun in a virtual tie.
-Jut
4. Ms. Richardson may not have ever owned a pet, but she has definitely never studied ocean data. If she had spent even a couple of minutes doing any kind of research, she would have discovered that ocean levels around the US have been rising at same rate (0.7-1.1mm/year) since we began measuring it…around the time of Abraham Lincoln.
Next…
5. Ms. Cheney is in a political wasteland of her own making. Having made herself a stench to something like 98% of the Republican Party, she is left to beg – Oliver-Twist style – for crumbs thrown by the Democratic Party. They’ll toss her aside as soon as she disagrees with them on anything – surely she has to know that – at which point it’s over.
She should cut her losses now and form a new political group…I recommend the Desolation Party.
Actually, the DNC will toss Cheney aside when they no longer need her and she can’t bring anything to the party. She made a deal with the devil and well pay a heave price.
jvb
We get a lot of those calls, and they typically say they’re from Medicare and want to provide you with something. Or they can get you savings on your Medicare costs — just give them your Medicare number. Or whatever. I have been known to engage some of these folks when I’m in the mood. I have some fun and that’s 5 or 10 minutes of their life they never get back.
A favorite question I have for these folks is “Where are you located?”, and they’ll say Dallas or Florida or somewhere. “Why does my caller id say you are from my area code then? If you’ll start off lying to me, why should I believe anything you say?”
Or sometimes we just hang up. One giveaway — you answer the phone and no one comes on the line for 10 or 15 seconds. You know it’s a scam — no real caller would call someone and not wait on the line for them to answer.
I actually get around twenty of these a day. Actually had this exchange today after asking who they were and they returned obfuscations:
Me: “no, I want to know your employer’s address so I can mail them something.”
Them: “blah, blah, just agree so I can connect you to the licenced agent!”
Me: “No, you misunderstand, I want to have your employer’s address so I can mail a summons for violating federal telemarketing laws!”
Them: … Call disconnects.
It’s actually against Medicare regulations to contact a Medicare recipient by phone if the company doesn’t already have a relationship with you.
1) These midterms will determine if we want to preserve our democrat experiment or surrender to the tyranny of fascism.
Actually, to some extent I agree with this sentiment. If we vote Democratic we are well on the way to fascism. I’m sure that’s what he meant, we should all vote GOP.
2)Another nail biter in the Series tonight, especially for those of us with a rooting interest. Finally the
Astros found a way to score after the 5th inning — just once but it was critical. And tonight it was the Astros making really clutch defensive plays to save the game.
I get your point about the combined no hitter. Given that Javier had thrown 92 pitches through 6 innings, I wonder if even during the regular season he would’ve been allowed to go 9. I understand Baker’s thinking, but you are correct, it is just not the same.
5) Cheney seems to have to remorse so far. I think some of the networks were speculating about her running as a 3rd party something, but that’s not going to happen. On the other hand, as long as Trump is around the networks may keep her on as a consultant. But her political career is over.
2, Sheesh. If they score umps against computers, why are umps still calling balls and strikes? All they need is an earpiece. “You know, assholes.”
Combined no hitter is an absurdity.
3. The mystery continues: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11390497/Paul-Pelosi-answered-door-cops-did-NOT-say-distress-new-police-account-claims.html
Can Nancy keep her finger in the dyke until the polls close next Tuesday? Stay tuned boys and girls.
1. Is Bechloss saying the left will erupt in violence if the GOP does well in the midterms? Sure sounds like stirring up and justifying political violence to me!
“We could be six days away from losing our rule of law and losing the situation where we have elections we can all rely on,” he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Wednesday night. “There’s at least a significant chance that this country could be consumed by violence all over the next week, after this election.”
Shouldn’t Bechloss be prosecuted?