Scattershots – 20aug19 (updated 23aug19)

“nothing should be done by the state which can be better or as well done by voluntary effort”, William Ewart Gladstone (1809 – 1898)

George Rebane

I’m old enough to remember when TVs were the big new whizbang thing.  We common folks were then told of all the wonders that a live screen with sound would be bringing into our living rooms.  And then came computers, and the news was full of how businesses were doing this and that with those new-fangled number crunchers.  After that it was the internet, and we learned to expect all of its wonders, and now we read the breathless reports of AI starting to do all things good and also its (biased, gasp!) dark side.  All of those technologies quickly faded into commonplace roles in our lives.  The next big thing will be personal AGI (artificial general intelligence) companions whom we will demand and trust more than fellow humans.  And this will scare the crap out of autocratic governments – keep your eye on Sacramento and DC.

Meritocracy is a bad thing in modern society, so points out a recent article in The (leftwing) Atlantic. (H/T to Sandbox commenter)  It causes all kinds of bad psychological problems and promotes inequality – kids from richer homes are smarter than those from poorer homes (Stop the presses!).  Therefore, they wind up working ridiculously hard in school and the workplace, and get stressed out as they dominate the 1% class.  The solution, force universities to admit a certain percentage of the dumber students.  Or maybe in the future the smarter ones must have a noise making chip implanted into their skulls to disrupt longer thinking processes, or maybe the too smart ones will just be culled by the state like shown on a Twilight Zone episode long ago (here).

A Pence/Harris VP debate next year is anticipated with some glee by our liberals.  They can just see Harris taking down VP Pence in a one-on-one encounter.  I would counsel a little trimming of such hopes because Mike Pence is not a Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris is definitely not the brightest bulb on an otherwise dimly lit Democrat tree.  Harris commands little to no basis for arguing substantive issues; all she can do is attempt to sway the lightly read with emotional anecdotes.  These the VP can easily dispatch by pointing out the aggregate impacts that such radical leftwing policies have delivered elsewhere, and now portend for the country.

Preventable man-made global warming (PMGW) ascendant. Notice the increased hysterics in the media about all the disastrous effects caused by PMGW.  Time after time the warming data is shown to be politically motivated hokum, but that makes no never mind to the fear mongers (the lamestream does not air that side).  The new level of hysteria is being ramped up by the Dems for 2020 as a back-up argument for their policies that promise to deliver the country's new socialist sunrise.  The message – capitalism causes PMGW that will kill the planet, socialism is the only hope to save mankind.  A good fraction of our electorate has been carefully cultured to uncritically embrace such arguments.

[21aug19 update]  “… the clicking of jack boots and rifle bolts.” As witnessed on RR over the years, this is the form of governance legions of leftists have convinced themselves that conservative America seeks.  They ignore that it is and has been only the goose-stepping collectivists that have constructed leviathans in which citizens are kept in line by such displays and applications of state power.  But true to Lenin and Alinsky, they were taught early to counter political opponents by loudly accusing them of one’s own worst practices.  And as history has shown, you can fool enough of the people all the time to bring down somnambulant republics.

[22aug19 update] ‘Americans Are Richer Than We Think’ write economists Phil Gramm and John Early.  The Democrats and their lamestream lapdogs have done all they can to convince America that we live in a bad economy that doesn’t benefit anyone but the rich, and (go figger) they turn around and tell us that our good economy is about to take a dive.  And all will be well again once we fundamentally transform the country and put it on a firm socialist track. Such reasoning fits well with the liberal mindset.  Gramm and Early present loads of data that debunk the leftwing's advertised misery of the middle class.

Russ Steele has an excellent idea on how to take a census of rural folks who don’t have access to broadband.  Everyone has been trying to get their hands around that problem in order to come up with good public policies that enable government and the private sector to work together in correcting this deficit.  Russ suggests that we use the upcoming census to gather this data.  The details are in his 22aug19 ‘Overwhelmed and Under-counted’ letter to The Union.

US acquiring Greenland. Trump’s recent proposal to Denmark on the reprise of this idea (first proposed under President Truman) has been peremptorily identified as looney by the Left (and a few on the Right), and offered in the lamestream as further evidence that The Donald’s elevator doesn’t go to the top floor.  Now I don’t particularly agree with the way that our president again introduced this proposal; it should have been done quietly at lower levels of diplomatic contact.  But on the overall concept, I think that there exist several approaches in which that piece of strategically located and resource rich real estate can benefit both us and the Danes if the US got or shared sovereignty over Greenland.  The Left in their mirth appear to have put as much thought into the matter as do hyenas before beginning their bouts of ‘laughter’.  (Here is a more sober discussion of this in Politico, and here is Sen Tom Cotton's overture last year.)

[23aug19 update]  Union publisher Don Rogers writes an enticing, yet in the end disappointing, meditation on the meaning of life in today’s paper.  In his ‘The Meaning of Life?’ he takes us on a short journey of futility while keeping hope alive, and then (trigger warning) summarily drops us off with “Life is what life does”? -86-  OK, but then why bother to lead us “befuddled pilgrims” by the nose to ‘It is what it is.’?  Actually, I’m just exposing my naivete here.  One should always temper one’s expectations when reading our beloved Union. 😉

Comments

[Russ]

Extreme Climate Fraud Has Arrived At The Washington Post (Corrected Version)

https://youtu.be/nkV05rFuXcQ

[Bill Tozer]

“Or maybe in the future the smarter ones must have a noise making chip implanted into their skulls to disrupt longer thinking processes, or maybe the too smart ones will just be culled by the state like shown on a Twilight Zone episode long ago (here).”

Wow. Didn’t see that one coming, Dr. Rebane.

[Bill Tozer]

Re: PMGW, the backup plan.

“The new level of hysteria is being ramped up by the Dems for 2020 as a back-up argument for their policies that promise to deliver the country's new socialist sunrise. The message – capitalism causes PMGW that will kill the planet, socialism is the only hope to save mankind.” —Dr. George Rebane

As a CYA for the Leftinistas, why not cover all the bases and tie White Supremacism to evil capitalism with a fascist desire to save the planet. Bingo! (Everything below is in quotes):

The alleged El Paso shooter’s document is full of existential despair: “My whole life I have been preparing for a future that currently doesn’t exist.”

Gee—where would these kids have learned these ideas about our despairing future?* Oh that’s right—from just about any eco-tract, university course, or leading politician (let’s recall the similarities between the Unabomber manifesto and Al Gore’s Earth in the Balance.)

But don’t worry: Environmentalists are on it, and stand ready to make sure their essential creed can be fit into the current main party line of the left:

Michelle Chan, vice president of programs for Friends of the Earth, said, “The key thing to understand here is that ecofascism is more an expression of white supremacy than it is an expression of environmentalism.” . .

There is a danger of “apocalypticism,” said Jon Christensen, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who has written extensively on the use and misuse of dystopian environmental scenarios.

Because isn’t everything about white supremacy these days?

Much of what the German émigré critical theorist Theodor Adorno had to say about fascism and democracy in 1959 applies equally well to fascism and environmentalism today: the survival of these tendencies within environmentalism could be potentially more menacing than the survival of fascist tendencies against environmentalism.

Heh. Pass the popcorn please.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/08/the-left-discovers-eco-fascism.php

[Bill Tozer]

PMGW

“.... A good fraction of our electorate has been carefully cultured to uncritically embrace such arguments.”

https://www.facebook.com/RowdyConservatives/photos/a.217983685002343/1698151350318895/?type=3&theater

[Bill Tozer]

Re: Meritocracy is a bad thing in modern society

“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
✔
@AOC
One of the most manipulative tactics plutocrats use is convincing people that the systemic issues we face are a character flaws instead of policy flaws.

Working people aren’t dumb or inferior; nor are they why insulin costs $300 or huge co’s pay starvation wages.”

Reply from Shapiro

“She says that, "One of most manipulative tactics plutocrats use is convincing people that the systemic issues we face are character flaws instead of policy flaws." Well no, I'm not saying it's a character flaw to take two jobs. Obviously, I'm saying in fact that very often it's a character benefit, it's an attribution of great character. What I am saying is that it's a "you decision," it's a "you problem."

“She is saying, "Working people aren't dumb or inferior." Obviously, no one is saying they are — except for AOC — who apparently believes they're not capable of negotiating their own salary. They're not capable of creating income mobility. They're not capable of working two jobs to get ahead.

“[AOC says,] "Nor are they why insulin costs three hundred dollars and huge companies pay starvation wages."

“I'm always confused by AOC's bizarre understanding of economics. She says corruption is responsible for huge companies paying quote-unquote "starvation wages." Really? Is that corruption or is that people choosing to take a job with Wal-Mart because that is a free exchange. You may not like what Wal-Mart pays. Good news, you don't have to work there. Again, that would not be Wal-Mart's problem, that would be a you problem. It doesn't mean a character flaw in you. It means that you're not wanting to work at a place, in a free country, is something that is your choice.

“When I say "you problem," I mean a choice made by you. One of the most manipulative tactics used by socialists is suggesting that free decision-making by individuals is actually the result of systemic pressures that cannot be avoided other than by people like AOC running your life. The tactic that the Left likes to use is that there is no income mobility. You can never rise. You're being crammed into this job against your will, and that you're a victim of circumstance, therefore give me all the power. It's manipulative, it's garbage, and it makes people's lives worse. It's just gross.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/50717/shapiro-responds-ocasio-cortez-only-one-trashing-daily-wire?

[Russ]

Remember, Last month was the hotest July ever recorded in Alaska.

Alask Winter Storm Warning
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
Aug 20 2019

Northeastern Brooks Range above 2000 feet-Including Anaktuvuk Pass, Atigun Pass, Galbraith Lake, Sagwon, and Franklin Bluffs

WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 AM WEDNESDAY…

Heavy wet snow expected. Plan on difficult travel conditions. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches expected.

Snow will develop this morning, then become heavy this afternoon through late tonight. Snow will taper off Wednesday morning.

Significant reductions in visibility at times. Below 2000 feet, only 1 to 2 inches of snow expected.

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-149.477&lat=68.133#.XVwJUONKiUl

[Scott O]

Russ 9:07 - "...Last month was the hotest July ever recorded in Alaska."
I remember reading that.
When were the 2nd, 3rd, etc hottest months recorded and what were the differences?
And for how many centuries have we kept accurate temps in Alaska?
I can remember when we were taught SCIENCE in schools.
Now it's hysterics.

[Russ]

[email protected]:02PM

Best I could find: Alaska’s average temperature in July was 58.1 degrees (14.5 Celsius). That’s 5.4 degrees (3 Celsius) above average and 0.8 degrees (0.4 Celsius) higher than the previous warmest month of July 2004, NOAA said.

Wow, it took 15 years to warm up

[Scott O]

Well, yeah Russ - but the NARRATIVE, the FEAR!!!
Hottest EVER!!
It's a CLIMATE CRISIS!!
Pound the drum, shake the rattle - It's a CRISIS!!
But Bernie's gonna fix it -
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/08/22/bernie-sanders-climate-plan-green-new-deal-follow-costs-16-trillion/2081655001/
Just remember - it's not a 'cost', it's an 'investment'.

[Russ]

[email protected]:18 AM

CBS has a new Eye on Earth segment where they spread AGW propaganda and fear of climate change. Yesterday the segment as on the sea-level rise and the drowning islands in the Mississippi Delta. No mention the islands are sinking and have been since flow control was applied to the river in the 1930s. The total blame for having to leave one of the islands was climate change. Another Eye on Earth this week was Greenland Ice Fields Melting. That is what they do in the summer. No mention at the current melt rate it would take 12,000 years to melt the ice cap, nor any mention that the last two winter snowfalls were above average. Fear was the message; the coastal cities should drown, falling to mention it would take 12,000 years.

[Gregory]

NPR news programs have an obligatory piece (or more) on AGW every hour.

[Russ]

Wiser heads at the DMC know the danger of debating how to sit on a stool with no legs! There are no legs under the anthropogenic climate change the environmentalists are promoting.

— THE DEBATE DEBATE: Activists pushing for a climate change debate were dealt a blow at the DNC's summer meeting in SF Thursday. POLITICO California's Carla Marinucci was on the scene in San Francisco and reports: The DNC's resolutions committee was the focus of vocal protests from environmentalists Thursday after it rejected a resolution backing a climate-specific televised climate debate. Some DNC delegates argued that while the issue was vital to the Democrats' 2020 agenda, mandating a debate on the topic would simply be too unwieldy at this point in the campaign schedule.

— Symone Sanders, a lead strategist for former VP Joe Biden's campaign, led the charge to oppose the climate-specific debate inside the packed committee meeting — saying it would be disruptive to an already lengthy and complex debate process. "This would throw the entire primary process into a free for all,'' she told Democrats at the meeting.

— Though the resolution was struck down, "this issue is not dead ... this is not the end,'' Lincoln Oliver-O'Neil of the Sunrise Movement told POLITICO, vowing DNC members will raise it at as a fight on the floor of the general session on Saturday.

— And SFChronicle's Joe Garofoli explored the possible effects of that move on critical young voters and Millennials.

From the POLITICO California Playbook

[Walt]

Must have been a fun Burnie love in. NON of the LIBs here have woke up yet.

[Walt]

Hummmm.. The one dirt job I have never had. But willing to give it a try. Would "grave digger" look good on a resume'?
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/08/23/report-billionaire-david-koch-dead-at-79/

[George Rebane]

Russ 634am - As we skeptics have informed the sans-science true believers for years now, the Democrats will avoid a global warming debate like the plague. Their local echo chambers should take note that when met in an open forum by science-savvy skeptics, they would go down in flames as they are reduced to name calling and bald-faced lies, their only forte so far. Preventable man-made global warming is central to their narrative for growth of government and control, and must never be relinquished.

[Bill Tozer]

Meritocracy is a bad thang in society and at UCLA

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that female-only science programs may run afoul of Title IX — the federal statute that prohibits discrimination based on gender. A study released that same day from Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) — an organization that works to secure due process rights for students accused of sexual misconduct. The group is now working on a project that challenges the abundance of single-gender programs in higher education — most of which benefit only women.

"A new study released Tuesday found that 84% of about 220 universities offer single-gender scholarships, many of them in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math," the Times wrote. "That practice is permitted under Title IX only if the "overall effect" of scholarships is equitable. The study, by a Maryland-based nonprofit advocating gender equity on college campuses, showed the majority of campus awards lopsidedly benefited women."

The Times also interviewed a female professor who has previously filed a Title IX complaint against the University of California-Los Angeles for workshops available only to women. She told the outlet that she filed the complaints because she was tired of female favoritism in the sciences, which she said has replaced meritocracy. She also told the outlet that she mentors male and female college students, and has found more men concerned about whether they could succeed in a STEM field given the current emphasis on women.

"I obviously want women to be able to have opportunities to further their education and have employment in STEM, but I feel everything is being pushed for women," she told the Times. "For me, Title IX is about being completely fair."

https://www.dailywire.com/news/50926/men-now-face-discrimination-stem-college-programs-ashe-schow?

Fairness? Where did that dinosaur get such a crazy idea?

[Scott O]

I'll post this here since the topic up first was a nod to the coming world of AI -
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jordan-peterson-deep-fake
Since Jordan is one of, if not THE most prominent thinkers of the world today (and one of the most compelling) it's not surprising he would be one of the first to be 'faked' by modern tech. So I suppose he is to be forgiven for being so freaked out and wanting such draconian laws to be passed. He is professionally a man who needs to have the confidence of many people who are not mentally stable and sees the immediate problem of those whom he treats being gulled into believing false things on the internet about him and being thrown into a worse condition. I understand his point.
He needs to understand the 'deep fake' has been going on in various ways for centuries and with new tech, the fake game has simply upped it's game. The 'people' in various nations and areas of the world have been whipped into a froth over totally bogus nonsense for quite a while now and there is in fact, nothing new going on. Of course every new development in tech brings a new round of problems. We have always dealt with them (eventually) in the past and we will in the future.
The answer, as always, is to educate the populace to think about the totality of what they know and to keep a deep and broad bandwidth of data flow coming in for information gathering.
As Jordan himself says "Are we entering a future where the only credible source of information will be direct personal contact?"
So be it.
Just turn off the noise and listen to your neighbors.
I hope it doesn't come to that, but consider that our world ran on that basis for eons.
The 'noise' is run on the premise that it will make money.
When the populace turn off the noise, the game stops.

[Don Bessee]

The snowflakes who live in their phones do not understand the realities of why getting Greenland as a national asset is a strategic issue. The socialist dems are playing checkers to the Presidents chess again. -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_Greenland_from_the_European_Communities#Greenland_Treaty

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/08/16/greenlands-not-for-sale-but-it-is-strategically-important/

http://eu-arctic-forum.org/publications/opinions-publications/greenland-a-key-for-future-developments-in-the-arctic/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/08/16/whats-so-great-about-greenland-why-trump-wants-it-and-why-denmark-wont-sell/

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

Michael Mann refuses to produce documents, loses court case.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/08/michael-mann-refuses-to-produce-data-loses-case.php

[Bill Tozer]

The US is not warming lately.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/08/no-u-s-warming-since-2005.php