'You're talking about killing the Jews in Israel. Or, at least, the Iranians are sure talking about it.'
He could be wrong, but there's the very great danger that he might be right. I mean, we all saw the thing the Supreme Leader sent out that has a silhouette of Obama holding a gun to his own head. What's suicidal about war with Iran? Nothing, unless they have access to nuclear weapons.
By the way, we don't know what we promised as a condition of this deal, as no American was allowed to see it. And since neither the main deal nor the side deals treat the Bushehr heavy water reactor, we still haven't seen the terms. We have absolutely no idea what we're agreeing to.
Planning to Carry More Often?
Instapundit has a good reason to direct you to Amazon, and if you like those holsters by all means buy through him.
But if you want something a little better, allow me to recommend Mernickle. They can hook you up with an heirloom.
But if you want something a little better, allow me to recommend Mernickle. They can hook you up with an heirloom.
Those IGs Are the Heroes of this Story
I'm beginning to understand why the administration is so concerned to cut them off at the knees.
Analysis from Hot Air. An IRS love song from Remy.
Analysis from Hot Air. An IRS love song from Remy.
Tour de France
Congratulations to the winner, in what one news source is calling "the single most dominant performance in the 112-year history of the event."
The World is Upside Down
The President has given the green light to Turkey's bombing of the Kurds, the only effective resistance to ISIS in Iraq except for the Iranian-backed Shia militias. US and British veteran volunteers are fighting alongside the Kurds, and will now be at risk of being killed by NATO bombs.
Why? Turkey was just struck by a major ISIS bombing attack this week. Of course, it struck the secular opposition party, not the ruling Islamist party.
Why? Turkey was just struck by a major ISIS bombing attack this week. Of course, it struck the secular opposition party, not the ruling Islamist party.
"The Most Important Battle You've Probably Never Heard Of"
Well, the headline was written for the general public, not denizens of the Hall! The date was eight hundred years ago today, and the battle was Bouvines:
"Without Bouvines there is no Magna Carta, and all the British and American law that stems from that. It's a muddy field, the armies are small, but everything depends on the struggle. It's one of the climactic moments of European history."
Cowboy Mounted Shooting
Ed Driscoll at InstaPundit has published a couple of photos of a mounted shooting competition. This is a fun sport, although you should take it with a grain of salt. The .45s in this competition are loaded with wax for safety reasons, and it disintegrates under the pressure of the explosive gas created by the cartridge going off. That's why, in the second shot, you see what appear to be rays of light going off in many directions: they are bits of burning wax flying through the air. As you can see, they don't go all that far before burning up and falling out of the air. That means it's safe to shoot guns in the arena with spectators all around you -- as long as they are more than a few feet away, there's no danger to them.
However, it also means that the revolver is acting more like a shotgun than like a revolver being fed traditional solid bullets. The accuracy of the riders is thus somewhat difficult to judge. Would they have hit the balloon if they'd been firing lead flat nose rounds? Maybe! It's still a lot of fun.
However, it also means that the revolver is acting more like a shotgun than like a revolver being fed traditional solid bullets. The accuracy of the riders is thus somewhat difficult to judge. Would they have hit the balloon if they'd been firing lead flat nose rounds? Maybe! It's still a lot of fun.
What's the Worst Problem in Human Thought?
Overconfidence, says Daniel Kahneman. Stereotyping is unavoidable in spite of its tragic nature:
It's an issue we discuss here from time to time. It's what I mean when I talk about physical reality being analogical rather than logical. If "human" was a logical object, you could make claims about a human that would be absolutely certain to hold for any human. It turns out that you can't do this with logical certainty: even claims that hold almost all the time ("a human being has two eyes," "a human being is either male or female," "a human being will have exactly one parent of each sex") turn out to admit of exceptions. We are blindsided by the exceptions because we think of the category as logical, but it's really a stereotype -- or, as I prefer to explain it, the members of the category are members by a relationship of analogy. It's not that they really belong to a hard, logical category. It's that we've found ways in which they seem to be alike, and have made analogies between them in our minds.
Recognizing that should do something to undermine the problem of overconfidence, as you suddenly become aware that much of your understanding of the world is built on shaky ground. It is characteristic of analogies that they always fail. Sooner or later, your analogies will break.
By the way, his examples are interesting because tables and chairs are artifacts rather than naturally occurring things like human beings. With artifacts, you really can make at least some logical claims because they were created by a human mind for a particular purpose. You can say with certainty that "any artifact that is a table will be potentially be capable of holding objects up off the floor or ground" because that's what a table is. These are actually the best case scenario for stereotypes about physical objects that hold universally.
“Think of it this way. A form of stereotyping is involved in understanding the world. So I have a stereotype of a table, I have a stereotype of chairs. Now when you start having stereotypes of social groups, it’s the human mind at work. It’s not a different mind. It’s what you need to get around in the world.” You can slow down and become aware of this, Kahneman believes, but the underlying mechanism isn’t going to change.Not that he's in favor of it: the article goes on to relate his experience as a victim of the Holocaust. But compared to overconfidence, stereotyping is at least mostly useful most of the time. It's absolutely necessary to understanding the world, even though it leads us to error now and then.
It's an issue we discuss here from time to time. It's what I mean when I talk about physical reality being analogical rather than logical. If "human" was a logical object, you could make claims about a human that would be absolutely certain to hold for any human. It turns out that you can't do this with logical certainty: even claims that hold almost all the time ("a human being has two eyes," "a human being is either male or female," "a human being will have exactly one parent of each sex") turn out to admit of exceptions. We are blindsided by the exceptions because we think of the category as logical, but it's really a stereotype -- or, as I prefer to explain it, the members of the category are members by a relationship of analogy. It's not that they really belong to a hard, logical category. It's that we've found ways in which they seem to be alike, and have made analogies between them in our minds.
Recognizing that should do something to undermine the problem of overconfidence, as you suddenly become aware that much of your understanding of the world is built on shaky ground. It is characteristic of analogies that they always fail. Sooner or later, your analogies will break.
By the way, his examples are interesting because tables and chairs are artifacts rather than naturally occurring things like human beings. With artifacts, you really can make at least some logical claims because they were created by a human mind for a particular purpose. You can say with certainty that "any artifact that is a table will be potentially be capable of holding objects up off the floor or ground" because that's what a table is. These are actually the best case scenario for stereotypes about physical objects that hold universally.
Filial Piety
For reasons I won't go into, I was looking back at some old posts about my father and grandfather. There's one in particular I'd like to bring forward.
The Ides of March.
Much of this was written way back in 2004. I was a better writer, then. Things have become clouded that were once clear. It is good to revisit the old days when skies were bright.
The Ides of March.
Much of this was written way back in 2004. I was a better writer, then. Things have become clouded that were once clear. It is good to revisit the old days when skies were bright.
Against Genocide
Mike Huckabee apparently thinks he's found the unifying characteristic of foreign and domestic policy.
Justice Ginsburg said that "at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion." The author didn't follow up to ask which populations those were, but we can see the results fairly plainly. Huckabee's language is explosive, but there's a valid point buried where he's digging.
UPDATE: Huckabee says he really means it on the dangers of genocide in Israel.
"This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven. This is the most idiotic thing, this Iran deal.An Evangelical mother I know sent me a graphic the other day that asserts that, if you kept a moment of silence for every American baby killed by abortion since Roe, you would be silent for over a hundred years. If "moment" means "minute," that's true even with the five year old data from the link. America's population would not necessarily be fifty-seven million greater since we could easily have cut into that by not opening the floodgates of immigration. It would be substantially more black and less Latino, though, as without abortion the black population would be 36% larger than it is. Around a third of black babies are aborted at their mothers' own choice, albeit a choice frequently made under the duress of poverty.
...
"The fact that [Planned Parenthood is] getting between $500-540 million of taxpayer money is really a disgrace. It is disgusting to fund an organization like Planned Parenthood that chops up babies and sells the parts like parts to a Buick. America needs to come to grips with a 42-year nightmare of taking babies from their mother’s womb. This needs to come to an end."
Justice Ginsburg said that "at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion." The author didn't follow up to ask which populations those were, but we can see the results fairly plainly. Huckabee's language is explosive, but there's a valid point buried where he's digging.
UPDATE: Huckabee says he really means it on the dangers of genocide in Israel.
You Might As Well
Headline: "CIA Mulls Pulling US Spies Out Of China After Massive OPM Hack Likely Compromised American Identities."
Sexual Orientation and Free Will
In "How Choice and Emotion Can Influence Sexual Orientation," Ronald Pisaturo argues against biological and social determinism and for free will as the determiner of sexual orientation. He takes a position that bears some resemblance to an argument I've seen here before, one of Grim's, I think, that we express free will not always in the moment, but in habits. That is, there is no moment when someone makes a conscious decision to be homosexual or heterosexual, but that these orientations are the culminations of many decisions over many years.
It is particularly interesting to me because he argues that heterosexuality is also a choice (or, a long series of choices). In the past, I have simply assumed heterosexuality was the norm and there was no need for a choice, but Pisaturo's argument here intrigues me and I will have to think about it.
In any case, it is an argument I am highly susceptible to, so I invite anyone who is interested to read and poke holes in it, or say whatever else you'd like to say about it.
It is particularly interesting to me because he argues that heterosexuality is also a choice (or, a long series of choices). In the past, I have simply assumed heterosexuality was the norm and there was no need for a choice, but Pisaturo's argument here intrigues me and I will have to think about it.
In any case, it is an argument I am highly susceptible to, so I invite anyone who is interested to read and poke holes in it, or say whatever else you'd like to say about it.
That's Exactly the Problem
“Planned Parenthood has broken no laws," Cecile Richards, the president of the non-profit, said on "This Week."UPDATE: Wonderful.
Near Miss in Austin
Apparently your immigration from California is posing the same kind of problem for Texas that migration to Atlanta has posed for Georgia these last thirty years. The Austin city council almost voted to ban... barbecue smoke.
Austin City Council members passed a preliminary plan in April to put restrictions on smoke from barbeque restaurants. Some Austin residents complain of the barbecue smoke saying they can’t enjoy their homes they purchased before some of these restaurants moved in.How do you ban barbecue in Texas, any more than in the South? And what kind of person complains about the smell of barbecue smoke? I'm not sure there's a more wonderful smell on God's green earth than barbecue smoke.
The city council’s current proposal will require... at least $100,000 in extra investments for most barbecue restaurants as they will be forced to buy extra smokers along with severely expensive diffusers, and in some cases will have to lease or purchase more property.
...
It is effectively a ban on barbecue restaurants in a town known for its barbecue.
The Great American Road in Fiction
Something we learn in perusing this beautiful map of the great American travel fiction: no one has ever written a great road novel about passing through Arkansas. That's an artifact of how the genre is constructed: Lonesome Dove has a story arc that starts there, but it was excluded as apparently too much a work of fiction and too little a fictionalized account of an actual journey that the author took (e.g. On the Road, which was included and certainly could not be omitted from the genre).
Also, apropos of the last post, it doesn't appear that any of them are about Route 66, "The Mother Road." The iconic "Chicago to Los Angeles" route has apparently never prompted a great travel novel of this particular genre. The Grapes of Wrath is, I suppose, like Lonesome Dove too removed from the parameters of the genre. But I'd have expected one from the glory years of the Mother Road, when Bugs Bunny could joke about 'taking a left turn at Albuquerque' and Snoopy could have a brother in Needles and everyone reading a newspaper from coast to coast would know what they were talking about.
Also, apropos of the last post, it doesn't appear that any of them are about Route 66, "The Mother Road." The iconic "Chicago to Los Angeles" route has apparently never prompted a great travel novel of this particular genre. The Grapes of Wrath is, I suppose, like Lonesome Dove too removed from the parameters of the genre. But I'd have expected one from the glory years of the Mother Road, when Bugs Bunny could joke about 'taking a left turn at Albuquerque' and Snoopy could have a brother in Needles and everyone reading a newspaper from coast to coast would know what they were talking about.
A Honky Tonk Band Blocking the Door of a Route 66 Barbecue Joint
If you're planning a trip, they're the "Pulled Pork Pickers" and the joint is Pappy's Place in Springfield, Missouri.
I love how they take charge of making sure the door gets closed as people pass in and out.
I love how they take charge of making sure the door gets closed as people pass in and out.
"Cheer up, boys!"
I wish I could find this on YouTube, but all I have is a transcript from a 1976 SNL skit with Kris Kristofferson and Chevy Chase, "Waiting for Pardo":
Bill: Is he comin'?
Bob: I don't think so.
Bill: Have you ever seen him?
Bob: No. Nobody has.
Bill: Well, how do you know he exists?
Bob: What?
Bill: How do you know he exists?
Bob: I've heard him.
Bill: Where? On game shows?
Bob: Yes. "Jeopardy."
Bill: We can't wait much longer.
Bob: We don't have much time.
Don Pardo: Yes, you do, boys! 'Cause here's good news! [iris to an image of wristwatches in deep space - the brand of watch is IMMANUEL KANT OF GERMANY] Space and time are empirically real but transcendentally ideal, Bill! Yours from Immanuel Kant -- where Time and Space work hand-in-hand for you! [dissolve back to the tramps]
Bill: What's it like?
Bob: What?
Bill: The face of Pardo.
Bob: It's been said that it's very beautiful.
Bill: Yes.
Bob: Though no one's ever seen it.
Bill: Let's look for it. [Bob looks inside a boot that he carries while Bill looks skyward at the sound of Don Pardo's Olympian voice]
Don Pardo: Keep looking, boys! [iris to an image of luggage - brand name: Spinoza] 'Cause all things which are, are in themselves, or in another thing, Bill! Another quality idea from Spinoza! [dissolve back to the tramps]
Bob: [off his boot] Well, he's not in here.
Bill: [off his shoe] Not in here either.
Bob: [tries to put on Bill's shoe] It's a struggle.
Bill: Puttin' on your shoe?
Bob: No, puttin' on yours.
Bill: [puts his hat on his foot] I think we're losing this game.
Don Pardo: No way, big fella! [iris to an image of fine jewelry - brand name: MARX OF LONDON] The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains! Workers of the world unite, Bob! From "Das Kapital" by Marx! Back to you, Bill! [dissolve back to the tramps]
Bob: Tell me ... you like my T-shirt?
Bill: I have one.
Bob: Bloomingdale's?
Bill: Macy's.
Bob: Let's just ... keep waiting.
Don Pardo: And you'll be glad you did, you lucky devils, you! [iris to image of cruise ships with the words 5 DAYS 6 NIGHTS - I CHING TO HONG KONG] Because, from the fabulous Book of Changes, comes success! It furthers one to cross the great water! Perseverance furthers, Bill! From the good folks at I Ching!
Bill: He must be very smart.
Don Pardo: I think, therefore I am, Bill! [dissolve to image of men's designer slacks and the Eiffel Tower - brand name: René Descartes of Paris] Something to think about from René Descartes of Paris! [dissolve back to the tramps]
Bob: Knock knock.
Bill: Who's there?
Bob: Bob.
Bill: Knock knock.
Bob: Who's there?
Bill: Bill.
Bob: One hundred bottles of beer on the wall ...
Bill: One hundred bottles of beer ...
Bob: If one of those bottles should happen to fall ...
Bill and Bob: Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall ...
Don Pardo: And while you're waiting for Pardo, have a nice day, Bill! [dissolve to image of a smiley face underneath which is the name of Rod McKuen] Loosely based on a concept by Rod McKuen.
Bob: Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall ...
Bill: Ninety-eight bottles of beer ...
Bob: If one of those bottles should happen to fall ... [stage darkens]
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