The head of Twitter endorsed this article on eliminating the political opposition, so you might want to read it.
It's not well-argued, and there's almost nothing of value in its extremely loose historical analogies. The endorsement thus isn't based on the notion that this is a tightly argued piece that maps out a plausible way forward. The endorsement is of the overarching vision of a nation where only Democrats exercise political power, where Republicans and conservatives are as powerless as in California, and where 'the wrong side' is crushed and subordinated.
California accomplished this, the author says, so the nation as a whole can as well. There are in fact substantial road blocks to doing that in the rest of the country, but you might usefully ask how California became so reliably Democratic. The answer is straightforward: Democrats endorsed mass immigration, Republicans opposed it, and the massive number of immigrants voted for Democrats as a result. It's actually completely unlike the historical analogues chosen by the author, i.e., the Civil War and the FDR era that arose in the Great Depression. Those political outcomes were the result of calamities that persuaded people to accept a new order. In California, they just imported enough new voters to tip the scales.
California also exported a lot of Republican voters, of course, as they fled the state for Texas or other friendlier climes. In the envisioned scenario, there would be nowhere to go.
The Great Leveler
On Jordan Peterson's recommendation, I'm about to start "The Great Leveler," an attempt to analyze how much income inequality has occurred from 9,000 B.C. through the present. The general consensus is that the author is descriptivist not prescriptivist and has no political agenda to push. His overall conclusion is that income inequality is persistent, interrupted only by cataclysms like war and pestilence, which foster an equality by general immiseration.
It's interesting to read the most positive and negative reviews, as I usually do before taking a chance on a book: about the same number of negative reviewers object that his political bias is obvious. Some, however, object that he is betraying a bias to the left by arguing that inequality must be bad, without explaining why or noting that what's important is how tolerable life is for those on the bottom. Others object that he is betraying a bias to the right by arguing that equality can be achieved only by violent disaster, whereas all sensible and compassionate people know that inequality occurs only when bad men use violence. The positive reviews tend to find him apolitical, whether the reviewer betrays a disposition towards the left or the right. The author himself apparently offers no suggestions other than to be careful what we wish for.
It's interesting to read the most positive and negative reviews, as I usually do before taking a chance on a book: about the same number of negative reviewers object that his political bias is obvious. Some, however, object that he is betraying a bias to the left by arguing that inequality must be bad, without explaining why or noting that what's important is how tolerable life is for those on the bottom. Others object that he is betraying a bias to the right by arguing that equality can be achieved only by violent disaster, whereas all sensible and compassionate people know that inequality occurs only when bad men use violence. The positive reviews tend to find him apolitical, whether the reviewer betrays a disposition towards the left or the right. The author himself apparently offers no suggestions other than to be careful what we wish for.
"I'm the Majority" - the Law Abiding Citizen
Four minutes that perfectly explain the gun issue. Thank you Mr. Mark Robinson of Greensboro, North Carolina. I'll say no more and just get out of his way...
Pueblo Sin Fronteras
More looking-glass-world news coverage this week. President Trump announced that there would be some really unpleasant consequences to Mexico if a caravan of illegal immigrants from Central America were ushered politely through Mexico to the southern U.S. border, and magically, they called the march off and dumped the participants into Mexico City. Now it seems that there is an annual caravan of this type, organized by a group called "Pueblo Sin Fronteras" (People Without Borders), whose website asks for donations but doesn't give any information about where it's based or who runs it. PSF explained that the halt had nothing to do with Trump, whatever you might have assumed, but was a rational response to the fear of the dangers of an arduous train ride that normally forms the next link in this standard trek.
You might think that the news coverage would stress the fact that this is an annual organized attempt to challenge the U.S. borders and to spin up favorable news coverage for open-border enthusiasts, but instead the coverage is . . . strange. This NBC story, for instance, explains that President Trump is misleading everyone into thinking that there's a large organized group of illegal immigrants being shepherded through Mexico on their way here, because it's really an annual publicity stunt that's been going on for years, what's the big deal? Snopes takes the same strange view: you may have heard that there's a caravan, etc., but a quick look at the facts shows that it's just the usual annual, etc. What's more, no one is planning an illegal entry. Instead, they intend to ask for asylum, as usual. It's true that, in order to ask for asylum, they have to present themselves to immigration officials inside the U.S., having first crashed the border, but what's the big deal? Why is Trump being a meanie all of a sudden? The whole purpose of the annual march is to highlight the plight of people on an annual march to crash the U.S. border, and suddenly you guys want to make it harder?
I think "People Without Borders" is a better description of us than of the organization that organizes the annual caravans. PS, as the Washington Examiner points out, there is also an American organization called People Without Borders that facilitates assimilation of legal immigrants, but it is getting flak from people who have confused it with Pueblo Sin Fronteras. PSF's Facebook page is short on background but identifies itself as an "International Migrant Outreach Collective," whose "product" is "humanity."
You might think that the news coverage would stress the fact that this is an annual organized attempt to challenge the U.S. borders and to spin up favorable news coverage for open-border enthusiasts, but instead the coverage is . . . strange. This NBC story, for instance, explains that President Trump is misleading everyone into thinking that there's a large organized group of illegal immigrants being shepherded through Mexico on their way here, because it's really an annual publicity stunt that's been going on for years, what's the big deal? Snopes takes the same strange view: you may have heard that there's a caravan, etc., but a quick look at the facts shows that it's just the usual annual, etc. What's more, no one is planning an illegal entry. Instead, they intend to ask for asylum, as usual. It's true that, in order to ask for asylum, they have to present themselves to immigration officials inside the U.S., having first crashed the border, but what's the big deal? Why is Trump being a meanie all of a sudden? The whole purpose of the annual march is to highlight the plight of people on an annual march to crash the U.S. border, and suddenly you guys want to make it harder?
I think "People Without Borders" is a better description of us than of the organization that organizes the annual caravans. PS, as the Washington Examiner points out, there is also an American organization called People Without Borders that facilitates assimilation of legal immigrants, but it is getting flak from people who have confused it with Pueblo Sin Fronteras. PSF's Facebook page is short on background but identifies itself as an "International Migrant Outreach Collective," whose "product" is "humanity."
Amazing Grace
This song in one form or another has come up in my life several times over the last week. Might as well put the Dropkick Murphy's version up.
I Can Only Imagine
Also a good movie, though of the two I preferred "Paul, Apostle of Christ."
If you aren't familiar with it, the song "I Can Only Imagine" launched MercyMe's career in the Christian music world and I believe is the best-selling Christian single ever.
If you aren't familiar with it, the song "I Can Only Imagine" launched MercyMe's career in the Christian music world and I believe is the best-selling Christian single ever.
UK Holds 78 Year Old For Defending Himself
A pensioner in London is under arrest after stabbing one of two men who invaded his home and assaulted him.
The injustice of this is apparently not obvious to British authorities. One begins to suspect it is the desired future for some of our fellow Americans, too.
The injustice of this is apparently not obvious to British authorities. One begins to suspect it is the desired future for some of our fellow Americans, too.
The California Secession
States control their own ballots for their own state and local elections, and they can let non-citizens vote if they want to do. However, in Federal elections, they must ensure that only citizens vote. If they knowingly register non-citizens to vote without ensuring that those non-citizens can be excluded from Federal elections, they're out of order. What's to be done about it?
Imagine a better alternative. Suppose that President Trump announces today that the new California law has made all future elections unconstitutional and illegal, because foreigners are now allowed to tilt the outcome. Neither he nor the Republican House and Senate will accept the credentials of anyone elected by California (one of eight states, incidentally, that have more registered voters than voting-age citizens).I can imagine that, but what's the mechanism for not counting the votes of Presidential electors appointed by California? Does the Office of the Federal Register have the authority to do that? Would they exercise it?
Imagine after November's vote that California's two Democratic senators and 53 members of Congress (39 of whom are Democrats) are not seated until a new California election purges all illegal aliens and other foreigners from the voter rolls in federal elections. No California presidential votes will be counted in 2020. Imagine the federal government requiring voter IDs and declaring it a felony punishable by permanent forfeiture of future U.S. citizenship if a non-citizen votes illegally in any federal election.
Two Against the Conventional Wisdom
This first one shouldn't be a surprise. Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs suggests that only people who have succeeded at fulfilling more basic needs will have attention for ideology. It takes a high degree of resources to have time and attention for the processes of radicalization, which involve study and thought. All the same, it will be a surprise, because the basic assumption of many is that some sort of actual injustice is behind radicalization: poverty and its resentments.
The second one isn't surprising either, since the numbers they're putting up mirror the population far better than the ones the NYT ran. In a high-stakes election like 2016, it makes sense that the population would turn out in numbers that are more representative than less. But, again, it'll be a surprise even though it shouldn't be.
The second one isn't surprising either, since the numbers they're putting up mirror the population far better than the ones the NYT ran. In a high-stakes election like 2016, it makes sense that the population would turn out in numbers that are more representative than less. But, again, it'll be a surprise even though it shouldn't be.
Swinging Hammers
London has surpassed New York in murder in spite of nationwide gun control laws that would make an American blush. So, what's next? "London mayor looks to Glasgow's anti-knife unit."
Not that there aren't already knife controls, too.
The UK has followed Pakistan and Bangladesh in introducing "acid control" laws aimed at common household chemicals, which for some reason people have been throwing in each other's faces.
Whether this succeeds or fails, expect to be reading soon about "hammer control laws" and "common-sense limits on how large a rock you can own." Unfortunately the only way to make the rocks smaller is with hammers, so those laws will be a bit at cross-purposes.
Not that there aren't already knife controls, too.
The UK has followed Pakistan and Bangladesh in introducing "acid control" laws aimed at common household chemicals, which for some reason people have been throwing in each other's faces.
Whether this succeeds or fails, expect to be reading soon about "hammer control laws" and "common-sense limits on how large a rock you can own." Unfortunately the only way to make the rocks smaller is with hammers, so those laws will be a bit at cross-purposes.
The Interesting Story of Otto Skorzeny
How Otto Skorzeny Went from Hitler's Favorite Commando to Israeli Hitman
It's a compelling story, though possibly his funerals gave me the biggest surprise.
Of course they would. But I have this naive ... feeling ... that after WWII ended and the horrors of the holocaust were revealed, the Nazi veterans would have been too ashamed to give the Nazi salute or celebrate Hitler. I know that's not true or realistic, but it's still there.
It's a compelling story, though possibly his funerals gave me the biggest surprise.
On July 5, 1975, Otto Skorzeny died at the age of 67 from lung cancer. He had two funerals, one in Madrid, and the other at his family plot in Vienna. At both, he received a full Nazi send-off with Nazi veterans giving him the Nazi salute and singing some of Hitler’s favorite songs.
Of course they would. But I have this naive ... feeling ... that after WWII ended and the horrors of the holocaust were revealed, the Nazi veterans would have been too ashamed to give the Nazi salute or celebrate Hitler. I know that's not true or realistic, but it's still there.
Ugly's Son
The surname MacLeod (pronounced mc-loud) (Scottish Gaelic: MacLeòid) means son of Leod. The name Leod is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic name Leòd, which is thought to have been derived from the Old Norse name Ljótr, meaning ugly.The man might be, but the pipes are not.
Easter
I can't improve upon AVI's Easter post, which brought attention to an aspect of the story I hadn't thought about before. I'll simply refer you to it.
Happy Easter, all.
Happy Easter, all.
