Noosegate

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/06/no-noose.php

As is common the "racism" was fake -- no "noose".  Sadly(for the left)  though ...

This is a familiar story. An alleged racist outrage gives rise to the mandatory outpouring of righteous anger, but turns out to be nothing at all. As we and countless others have often observed, the demand for racism greatly exceeds the supply. Incidents like this one turn out to be either hoaxes (most often) or something completely innocuous (also common) just about every time. The fact that the race industry needs to constantly pounce on ridiculous instances like this one tells you all you need to know about the frequency of actual racist incidents in America. If racism were common, not rare, its advocates would have many more real incidents to be outraged about. Instead, they have to make do with imagined ones. 

It is a sad commentary on American life–not that racism is rare, but that so many find it advantageous to pretend that it is common.

On the leftist plantation, "racism" is one of the important whips used to keep the Deplorables enslaved. 

The State Backs Marxist BLM

https://spectator.us/black-lives-matter-state-backed-religion/


Well, not just "the state", the leftist state "church" as well ...

The religious fervor underlying these demonstrations is undoubtedly a significant factor in why they have been granted license to supersede legal strictures relating to the pandemic. In some cases, more traditional religious leaders have offered personal legitimation. Cheryl Garbe, senior pastor at First Wayne Street United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana described witnessing smoke-bombs go off in the parking lot of her church on the chaotic first night of rioting in the city. (Fort Wayne is one of many locales where riots unexpectedly broke out — much of the downtown area remains boarded up.) Subsequently, Garbe made the ‘very tough decision’ to install massive, unsightly wooden boards on the exterior of the church in order to protect the stained-glass windows. ‘I felt like if we did not protect the church and something happened, it would be another reason for people to criticize the movement,’ she said. ‘I felt like to have a church damaged could potentially be destructive to us addressing the issue of social justice.’

As I've said way too often, we ALL worship SOMETHING ... therefore it is critical that we understand that fact and pray for the Grace to be led by the Holy Spirit into the etternal Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ! 

BLM Tears Down Grant, Consistency

https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/06/20/blm-protesters-tear-down-statue-of-ulysses-grant/

I'm about 2/3 of the way through the Chernow Grant Biography, and much appreciated "American Ulysses".

Grant did more than ANYONE including Lincoln to advance the cause of blacks in America. Without Grant (and Sherman) Lincoln LOSES in 1864, President McClellan sues for peace, and the Confederate States of America live on -- with Lincoln being a total failure and butcher.

Here is Frederick Douglass on Grant:

“a man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point. In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.”

An absolute mandate of left wing thought is "consistency Is NOT an Issue" -- it isn't even a "consideration" -- in fact, consistency in anything beyond slavish agreement and celebration of the left narrative, no matter how INconsistent that narrative is, is a prime leftist virtue. Leftist thought demands INconsistency and "truth" being whatever leftist power says it is.  The prime meaning of leftism is "our power is truth, all else must bow to the power of the left".

Naturally, if whatever is the narrative is today is "truth", than history must be destroyed! History cries out that leftism is a horror, so therefore it must be destroyed and replaced by the "Insoc of today".

They of course believe that they have truth -- "just trust the science" is one example. The problem being that scientific "fact/truth" is only inductively "true", the next test, study, etc may well falsify today's "fact". It may turn out that eggs are not bad after all!  "Settled science" is one of today's cruellest oxymorons.

To be a leftist is to have no problem at all with completely different treatment of Joe Biden and Bill Clinton accused of sexual harassment, vs completely different treatment of Clarence Thomas and Brent Kavenaaugh. The only consistency required for the left is consistent fealty to their dogma. In fact, to be a leftist in good standing, you must be PROUD to support that inconsistency!

God created man to seek him, so we all seek "god" -- very often an earthy idol such as power, wealth, knowledge, or human "virtue", where "virtue" is defined as adherence to some earthly dogma  -- today's favorite being "Woke" --  Secular Humanism's "Flavor Of The Day".

"You will know them by their fruits" is what the Bible tells us. Scribes, Pharisees and the "Woke" proudly signal their "virtue" via a host of mechanisms  -- support for BLM, masks, etc.

The absolutely inhuman task (only possible through the  Holy Spirit) demanded of Christians is to not commit exactly the same sin by proudly signalling our judgement of those fallen to human "virtue" in return. We can "discern" to "be not afraid", and to put God first by continuing to worship and commune, trusting that God is ultimately in charge, and in a billion years he will still be in charge, and these seemingly "important" matters of today will be in perspective.

... and I look forward to having a cigar in heaven with old "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

Community

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/07/thoughts-from-the-ammo-line-333.php

A thought provoking discussion of what "community" really is. Here is what it isn't:

You ever notice the flagrant misuse of the word “community”? As in, “the gay community” believes this, or “the Black community” thinks thus and so, because they are monolithic GroupThink people with no individuality? 

If you have competing criminal gangs living a few blocks from one another that have drive-by shootings by fatherless sociopaths, where’s the “community” part? Especially when the stray bullets kill little kids and old ladies hiding in their houses rather than the rival drug dealers. I ask again: how is that a “community” just because they all have the same skin tone? Oh, there were and are definitely black communities throughout this great and good land, but not every neighborhood deserves that appellation just because everybody in it is a shade of the same color.

"Community" is a set of individuals  that may have LOTS of diversity of thought, however due to being in fairly close physical proximity and having similar transcendent beliefs in what is ultimately important -- historically, all some sort of Christian, or at least "God fearing", and American -- as in they actually believe that the written Constitution and the history of America is important, unique, and a critical advancement in world history. Being blessed to live in an exceptional nation and being blessed to freely worship the God of the universe as they saw him were primary -- from there on down, their priorities valued having friendly relations with their neighbors, and treating all people, even their "enemies" with respect and possibly even love.

On the long list of things we have lost, yet many choose to fake like we haven't -- as in "smart mask wearing community" signalling the "virtue" of their "community" over those not wearing masks in some location.

Goodnight Dad

Death remains a reality that we would love to deny, however, like actual real facts, it is a stubborn reality. In this age of postmodern woke relativism, "facts" are very hard to agree on, however death remains a stark fact in defiance of relativism. It is a worthy reality to reflect on rather than avoid.

My dad and I could argue for hours on virtually any topic, and exceeding rare in our time, we truly enjoyed it, He detested Reagan, big business, the military/industrial complex, all the oil companies "in cahoots", and "the rich". Everyone should be limited to a maximum of $50K in wages, anything else was gouging. The idea of an expanding economic pie was always "malarky" for him -- there was only so much, and when you took more, someone else got less.

So, being I thought Reagan was great, the USSR deserved the ash heap of history, I worked for IBM (in the old days, the poster child for big business), I found most military (and other) technology to be cool, I thought oil prices were controlled by supply and demand ... and a host of other differences, we always had great plenty to discuss / argue about -- and then we had ice cream.

This miracle was possible because both of us were trained to discuss without "losing it" by true masters  -- he by his dad, me by him. Men could discuss any issue, it was the foundation of America for sure, and probably just being a man. Being able to state and defend positions was a key virtue.

It was also possible because both of our priority systems at least desired to put God first, then followed by family, friends, and then in some order, things like work, baseball, fishing, FLOWERS (for dad), books (for both of us). At times, on some issues, politics might make it to "5 or 6", but that was was the max -- with God, family and friends being locked at top, and the virtue of NEVER "losing it" being so critical that the shame of such was unconscionable. It worked.

Aside from his perpetually sunny outlook that I will always covet, our age symmetry was a special blessing -- we were 30 years apart, so the 30/60 and 60/90 birthdays allowed us to see things in a perspective that was somewhat unique. I wrote on this after the 60/90. http://www.moosetracksblog.com/2016/12/30-60-90.html

So the last month or so, I've taken a vacation from Facebook. While dad and I loved to discuss, we never "solved" anything. When the USSR fell, Reagan had nothing to do with it, it was all the greatness of Gorbachev (NPR agreed with him on that).

The discussions WERE "good" -- they certainly helped me know him better, and I assume vice versa. They sharpened our minds. As I retreated from FB, I time travelled back to the Civil War through first "Fierce Patriot" and now Chernow's "Grant", one of the last books dad read.

As BLM shows us, Jim Crow, the 60's riots and much else makes obvious, there isn't much of anything "solved" in this vale of tears. What does sadden me is that not only are we definitely not "progressing", we are clearly regressing. Longstreet was Grant's best man, and after the war, they were friends. Grant's (and Lincoln's) wives were slave holders. Grant and Lee amicably shook hands at Appomattox and had respect for each other as men and warriors.

Today many find the wearing or not wearing of a mask being of more importance than God, family, friends, etc. That doesn't strike me as "progress", however I'm certain that nothing that I say will change any hearts and minds. Only Christ can do that.

In but a little while I will be able to discuss with dad for eternity. I believe there will be discussion in Heaven. Moses and Hezekiah changed God's mind, Jacob wrestled with God and at least sort of prevailed. I personally look forward to shore lunch with Jesus -- and dad.

Facebook is high on my list of temporal trivia. In the face of eternity (or even 100 years) it is as significant as one hand clapping. I'm sure I'll be drawn back in -- I enjoy the "good stuff". The kids and grandkids, the pretty views, support for those going through challenges, important info from my Pastor and other Christian leaders -- I certainly don't want to be a social media scold, especially since it would be just more evidence of my being a hypocrite. All things in moderation.

As a Christian, I suppose I "should" not feel as sad as I do ("should" is a word I seek to banish) -- I have faith, though certainly short of a mustard seed, and no doubt "little" even compared to disciples on stormy seas. A great light in the my existence has been extinguished -- for "a little while".

Goodnight Dad, and sleep tight. When Christ returns for all to see, we will enjoy that eternal morning together.

NY, NJ, MA, Half Of Covid Deaths

https://fee.org/articles/3-states-account-for-42-percent-of-all-covid-19-deaths-in-america-why/

"There are lies, damed lies, and statistics"  ... maybe Disraeli, maybe Balfour, apparently through Twain. 

Why is it a true statement? Because one can select the stat that appears to "prove" your point, while ignoring statistics that would appear to disprove it. Like the blind men describing an elephant by which part of it they are feeling, stats strongly depend on selection -- often both in the sampling and in the reporting.

Pretty much, if anyone quotes a raw number, you know that they are lying to you. Without scaling, the information is useless. Scaling to magnitude is the MINIMUM to engage in anything approaching statistical honesty.

Indeed, Sweden’s death rate is remarkably close to that of France, which Williams praised as a model in contrast to the “utter disaster” in the US. However, the US actually has a lower per capita death rate than both Sweden and France—at least for now. (While it’s true COVID cases are on the rise again in the US, deaths recently reached three-month lows.)

So NY, NJ and MA account for nearly half of all the Covid deaths in the US. Seems like anyone interested in understanding how to deal with Covid or future similar viruses would be focusing there as opposed to surges in CASES elsewhere. 

However, in this age of everything being political, the only really important part of the narrative is "Orange Man BAD"! 

Masks, Drunks, Streetlights

https://threader.app/thread/1281600911006142464

Not far down in the linked it makes the common assessment of many "safety things" ... "why not"?

The classic joke is of the drunk looking for his keys under a streetlamp. Somebody is trying to be helpful in the search and asks if he is certain he lost them here. "No, he replies, I lost them up there, but the light is better here!"

Good for a laugh, but so true of a lot of "science", especially the social type. Why are we looking here or in this way? Because we CAN ... we have data, or can get it somehow! (or often extrapolate based on other data, selected by similar availability)

Our modern world is full of "can't hurt, good light here" logic. The real world is notoriously hard to measure, and  there are VERY few "can't hurts" in that real world.  The real world tends not to give mercy for being certain, but wrong. Telling kids to wait an hour after they eat to swim "can't hurt" ... so maybe they go off to another spot with nobody around, swim anyway, and drown.

Doing a lot of keeping kids from dirt and doing a bunch of disinfecting "couldn't hurt" -- except their immune systems didn't develop and various allergies, Asthma, and who knows what else exploded.

We could go on to nausea, and the REALLY nasty stuff is the stuff we don't even think about, or is purposely hidden -- think statins, fish oil, ???? The "unknown unknowns" can be especially viscous. They are the shadows behind the mysterious "how did we get HERE???" We are SURE we followed all the expert direction!

I certainly DO NOT know if masks hurt anything beyond critical thinking, independent thought,  and "common sense" ( now called "stupidity, not caring for others, etc) by the mask zealots. You MUST comply or we will call you names -- oh, and who knows what we may do later. Rest assured, it will be for your own good! The smart folks just know better! (and today we are assured that words definitely DO hurt you, unlike the old "sticks and stones" admonishment in the less "progressed" time.) Name call away -- hurting "bad and uncaring people" would be GOOD!

This is the age of "If all your friends are jumping off a cliff, are you going to follow them?" Having the correct answer of; YES, OF COURSE! for the culture at large today.

The authorities are mostly certain now that masking is so good it needs to be mandatory. (like most left wing ideas) Are they as certain as they were in the 1970's that we were out of oil, in the 1980's that the USSR was never going away, in the 1990's that "the Internet Economy" has made things like profits obsolete, or up until like 2005, the "food pyramid" -- the primary reason Americans are fat. Look at those carbs at the base!

I'm not wearing masks outside because it makes no sense to me. If the virus is THAT contagious, it IS going to you unless you are in HEAVY isolation.  Yes, I understand that to some folks, that will make me foolish and worthy of mask shaming.

In situations where there are "clear majority masks" or mandated, I'll go along to get along. Yes, I also understand that for some folks, that means that I'm "stupid, don't care about others, rebellious, etc" -- again, that is their judgment, and in the virtue signalling world, judgement is a virtue (the harsher the better)!

I'll never criticize somebody for wearing a mask, lifting it, rubbing their nose, etc  -- even if their nose is totally out (as is common), it doesn't cover completely, or whatever. They are trying to do what they see as best for whatever reason -- they hope it protects them, protects others, they don't want to be shamed, they want to look smart, or they have a PHD in public health, virology, etc I respect their choice.

I'm one of those old idiot Bible type Christians that believe that judgement of others -- even about things much more eternally serious than Covid, is above my pay grade. My creed declares that I even need to love those that judge me harshly and possibly even hate me.

Not that I do that well at all -- my mask of being Christlike certainly leaks (badly) and I trust in his Grace to see me home -- by his plan, which IS being carried out in spite of Covid, accidents, and perils unlimited. I'm safe in his eternal care.

Resigning From The Times

https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter

Bari Weiss was hired by the NY Times to try to get the paper to have some concept of what "average Americans" were thinking. She has been fired -- the entire linked is worth reading, I found the following especially compelling.

But the lessons that ought to have followed the election—lessons about the importance of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society—have not been learned. Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.

It is the age of "woke orthodoxy", and those who fail to comply must be "punished" in the terms of our current left -- "cancelled".

Are they really so certain? Eventually "power" will boil down to pure physical power. How will they do then? Is the pen truly mightier than the sword? Or just wishfully.

Perhaps just "arming themselves" will be insufficient.

The Democrat Plantation

I maintain that the biggest example of the power of media, the Administrative/Deep State, and public "education"(indoctrination) was the conversion of the party of Slavery and Jim Crow to the party where Joe Biden can truthfully say "If you vote for Trump, you ain't black". Like much of left wing truth, this so true it must not be stated. It is a Democrat truth like "we care more for left wing women's votes than we do for the lives of babies", or "we believe that totalitarianism is the best form of government" (because people that don't agree with us are BAD)!

It is the conversion of leftist politics and the "progressive" world view into a religion that killed America. America required a religious people, it also required that a specific political orthodoxy could never become a state religion. "Progressiveness" became the state religion, and those not of the "progressive" faith became heretics. Understanding our inability to have faith in SOMETHING is well described in "Moral Believing Animals".

It took reading the excellent book "The Great Society" for me to finally understand how this marvel of national brainwashing was achieved. The simple answer is that they bought the blacks with government money. They created massive spending programs to funnel money through a myriad of agencies that worked with the Black Panthers, unions, etc. They created positions like "Community Organizers" ( A Saul Alinsky innovation) paid by the Federal government to act as "Democrat bosses" in the manner of the Daley machine in Chicago, or the old Boss Tweed in NYC. The difference being that now these "bosses" had the Federal bureaucracy and purse behind them!

As Welfare increasingly replaced fathers in the black community, families were destroyed and the federal bureaucracy became "daddy" -- as a black person, you OF COURSE voted for "daddy"!

So blacks still live on the Democrat plantation -- just as they did through the age of Slavery and Jim Crow. They MUST obey their Democrat masters, or they will even lose their racial identity. In many ways, the Antebellum South was better -- at least 2/3 of black families were 2 parent families, compared with only 40% today.

Living in a stable two parent family is indeed a privilege -- one which the modern Democrat Plantation Slavery has denied blacks.

Yale, Honoring Slave Traders!

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/06/how-long-yale.php

Yes, Yale was named in honor of a slave trader.

We are living in a time of slavery to "woke". It is our master, and it's rules are whatever the purveyors  of "woke" decide they are. As always, consistency is NOT an issue!

My guess is that Yale's name will not be changed because ... well, just BECAUSE! For "reasons" similar to why ancient charges against Brent Kavenaugh are very very serious, and similar charges against Joe Biden are scurrilous and of no interest at all.

What do I think? As anyone that follows me knows, as long as we live in the age of "PC, tribalism, Post Modernism, BLM,  etc", it doesn't matter what I think. I'm not in power in any manner -- "truth" is whatever the latest pronouncement from the "woke" is.