A Round-Up of News and Miscellany

I've been wandering around the web working VERY hard, honest. And, I've somehow managed to find some interesting links:

Sharyl Atkinson's new book - The Smear (with a much longer subtitle that I don't want to bother about right now).

The reviews I've seen are good. I'm on the wait list for an e-copy at my library. I have reading a-plenty for my trip to Cleveland this week (mostly family-related). I've checked out some of D'Souza's works, including his most recent, Stealing America.

I saw a 3-part interview with Bill Whittle, and it was riveting. Here is a link to the first part.

The Progressive Media Meltdown continues.

You may not have been aware of it, but - did you realize that you Deplorables are just not Smart Enough for the Progressive Stars? They don't want you in their audience, and have said so.

Naturally, this means that you will be limited to Pat Boone records and Hee-Haw re-runs, because you will have no other choice. Until you cave in, and abandon Trump and his allies.

Because, there are NO alternatives to them.

Oh, really?

Where's Waldo? has nothing on this guy.

The LEAST lucrative college majors. Mine was worse - History. Fortunately, I had a husband who advised me to minor in a subject that I also liked - Science - with my coursework being spread out sufficiently to qualify me to teach General Science. I later took more Chemistry and Physics courses, which led me to teach those subjects.

One caveat: I majored in History, but my specialty was analysis of quantitative data, which I did well enough that a professor had me assist him in a class teaching students about databases and quantitative analysis. I was the tech assistant, and learned both dBase and SPSS.

That was quite useful to me, as I was able to get several jobs with that expertise.

Valedictorians - not as successful as you might think. It's one of those things that drive women CRAZY (OK, crazier). They often get better grades than the guys, yet see those same men stepping into better jobs, promotions, and success.

The ONLY possible explanation is that the system is rigged, right?

Wrong, as the video explains. Success at the highest levels is often tied to breaking the rules, which is NOT a trait that will mesh with high grades.

Another trait of many men that succeed - especially those joining frats - is high social intelligence - People Smarts, as it has been called. The more daring, the more adventurous, and the more willing to break rules a guy is, the more he is admired by the brothers.

In contrast, sororities are all about conformity, not opposing the other sisters, and not getting too much attention.

YES! The  Russians WERE bribing American politicians!

And, finally, just one more Weinstein story - from someone who saw, and didn't speak out. He admits his complicity in keeping quiet, but says that the full story wasn't known at the time.

He challenges all the people who knew about this to come forward, and - maybe - make up for their past ignoring the problem.

Expect a stampede of confessions from those who fear being outed for their 'playing dumb'.

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Russia, Russia, Russia

Fans of the old show The Brady Bunch will get that reference.

I found a good list of questions to ask about the "Russian Influence on the 2016 Election" story - emphasis on the word STORY.

To me, # 5 is the most critical:

5. Precisely what meddling occurred? Somebody meeting with a Russian does not constitute proof of anything. rather, this is the classic witch-hunt accusation of the McCarthyite "Red Scare" of the 1950s--guilt by association: you were seen conversing with a Communist, thus you must also be a Communist--or at a minimum, you are tainted by association and thus under a cloud of suspicion that can never be cleared because no accusation of guilt in a court of law is ever made.

Guilt by association is insidious because it can't be cleared in court. Those accused of guilt by association are not innocent until proven guilty--they are guilty until proven innocent, a proof that can never satisfy the accusers.

A precisely defined chain of verifiable actions is required to prove meddling beyond reasonable doubt. So date, all the accusations have failed to meet this most fundamental standard of evidence of wrong-doing.

If Republicans/Conservatives are still being accused of 'McCarthyism' for any pointing out that someone is verifiably Socialist/Communist, then why are the Democrats/Progressives/Liberals/Leftists using that smear tactic to associate the Trump administration with the Russians?

If McCarthyism is the Ultimate Bad Thing, why are THEY doing it?

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So, If Mueller is Concerned About Collusion With the Russians...

He could start here.

BTW, I'm for accuracy in government. Not this.

Why do people buy the argument that government actions are so much more efficient?

If FederalGovCo were to set out to bake you a nice apple pie, it would require 200 paper-pushers to oversee the job; it would take ten years for the FDA to approve the recipe; it would end up costing about 700 dollars; and it would be so disgusting as to be inedible. If your grandma—who had baked a million of the things, all of which were perfectly delicious—tried to come into the kitchen to help out, she would be jailed for not having the proper license. If you complained about the taste, your honesty would get you a serious denunciation for “hate speech” for hurting the feelings of the eighteen transgender lunatics involved in the process as mandated by law, despite the fact that not one of them had ever baked so much as a Swanson’s chicken pot pie in their entire lives.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend.

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Homer Capeheart - A Cassandra For His Times

I was in 6th grade during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  I followed the news reports.  Later, I watched the TV movie about the crisis, in which the Kennedy brothers were portrayed as the heroes of the day for their efforts in dealing with the Soviet and Cuban governments.

The main message I always heard was the surprise of the missiles arrival.  There was no forewarning.  There was no way to have known about the missiles, before that moment of crisis.

B.S.

That's what the American Spectator has on it's blog today, the true story about Homer Capeheart, and his fight to get the Kennedy administration to take his warnings about the menace seriously.

You would think that, after the crisis was over, Capeheart would be a hero in the press.

You would think.

Instead, Capeheart's prescience was ignored, both by the media, and by the Kennedy administration.

I never heard of him, until this post in the Spectator.  He lost his seat in the next election (to Birch Bayh),  and was relegated to obscurity.

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Tell Me Again, How That "Hope & Change" Thingy Is Supposed to Go?

Russia doesn't seem to fall in line with the "every thing is beautiful" (cue song) stuff.

In fact, one MIGHT say that reducing our weapons is a REALLY, REALLY STUPID thing to do, right now.

Maybe we can try it after the O-dust has a chance to work on the Russian leaders.

I've lived through Jimmy Carter, I suppose that I can live through this.

At least, I HOPE I can.

End of the First Week

Some ups:

1. I finished my first week in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.  If they got a grade on how they moved the new teachers through the system, they'd get a 97.  Not perfect, but, compared to the chaos of many major school systems at this time of year, it's a screaming success.
2. And the HR staff are professional, competent, and absolutely the essence of Southern charm.  Kudos to them all.
3. I managed to find many of the items I had packed from my last school.  And, I managed to get access to some software that I needed in the new school's computers - they are iMacs, version 9.1 OS.  Thanks to Vernier, who rushed me the information I needed - they're tops.  Call them if you need WONDERFUL science hardware and software.
4. I finished the week having gone to Bally's EVERY DAY - I'm so proud of myself.  I'm moving better now, and expect that this change will pay off in increased flexibility and, hopefully, a loss of weight.

Some downs:

1. Russia invaded Georgia.  The Olympics DIDN'T kick them out, which I think they should have, however much it hurt the athletes.  Bush spoke out against the invasion, and is supporting Poland, who has been threatened by Russia.
2. The Chinese seem to value appearance more than honesty.
1. The substitute singer - the original wasn't photogenic enough, they thought.
2. The rebuke they delivered to Bush, who brought up their human rights abuses.
3. The computer-augmented fireworks display, which went unmentioned by the media.
4. The apparent cheating - both the questionable judging, and the use of underage gymnasts.
3. A beloved semi-son (his mom is alive, but we were privileged to have him in our home for a time) has cancer.  He is only 29, and he has a wife and a young son.  We're praying for his recovery.  Please add your own.

In all, a good week.  Hope yours was the same.

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