Somebody didn’t get the memo…

Wasn’t there some memo circulated around the DNC about toning down the violent rhetoric after the Gabrielle Giffords shooting?

I’m betting that Capuano is now wishing his life had a Rewind/Delete switch:

At the very least, he needs a Mute button.

An in-law gives me a look…

…and it’s got me wondering.

Family function at my brother’s the other day: his wife has a niece (18-19) who’s a HB8-9. I’ve occasionally gotten a look from the Niece that had me nervous, but the last one has me downright worried.

I don’t want to be the Creepy Uncle; truth be told, I think (*IF* I am reading her correctly) she might be focusing on me because my brother is married to her aunt. This would be an explosive situation if it progressed. Fortunately, these family get togethers are infrequent–the best course of action is to ignore it, and hope that her current boyfriend keeps her otherwise occupied.

But…damn, it’s been a loooooong time since I got that look from a woman. It makes you feel young (well, younger).

I’ve been much remiss in this…

This is Ferdinand Bardamu’s post on Anna Ardin & Sofia Wilens, the two feminists who brought “rape” charges against Julian Assange in retaliation for WikiLeaks’ release of US State department cables.

My personal opinion of Assange notwithstanding, I view the release of the US State Department cables as a good thing overall; if nothing else, it will convince the powers that be to stop waltzing around with their bare asses swinging in the wind. More importantly, it weakens the establishment– and the establishment has been anything but a friend to the people of the United States.

Edit: The Unfrozen Caveman links to an article on Wikileaks by Fred Reed, which sums up the situation nice and neat:

Two ways exist of looking at Wikileaks, the site that publicizes secret military documents and videos. The first is held self-interestedly by the Pentagon and by Fox News, the voice of an angry lower-middle class without too much education. These believe that Wikileakers are traitors, haters of America, who give aid and comfort to the enemy and endanger the lives of Our Boys.

Implicit in the Foxian view is a vague idea that the leaks give away important—well, stuff. You know, maybe frequencies of something or other, or locations of ambushes or, well, things. Important things. The Taliban will use this information to kill American soldiers. The notion is vague, as are those who hold it, but emotionally potent.

The other view, held usually by people who have some experience of Washington, is that the Pentagon is worried not about the divulging of tactical secrets, but about public relations. Wikileaks doesn’t endanger soldiers, insists this way of looking at things, but the war itself, and all the juiceful contracts and promotions and so on entailed by wars.

Which is obvious if you look at what the military (the president, remember, is commander-in-chief) actually does. Remember the military’s frantic efforts to suppress the photos of torture at Abu Ghraib, photos of prisoners lying in pools of blood while grinning girl soldiers play with them? These had zero tactical importance. They did however threaten to arouse the Pentagon’s worst enemy.

The American public. (Emphasis Mine.)

And that’s it in a fucking nutshell: Wikileaks threatens to wake the American Public the fuck up. There’s a generational conflict brewing right now between those who maintain the status quo (those who rule ) and those who would change the country ( those who foot the bill ). Wikileaks gives that conflict a huge push.

Justice Scalia is a prophet. Woe unto us all.

Bob Belvedere, of Camp of the Saints, relates the following over in the comments section of The Other McCain:

In 2003 people said Justice Scalia was ‘crazy’ when, in his dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, he said the decision would inevitably lead to the courts ruling ‘gay marriage’ constitutional using the 14th Amendment. Well, it is rather obvious, in light of the decisions that have come out of state and federal courts across the country, that Nino is a prophet.

None of this is surprising. Ideology inevitably leads to taking ideas to their logical conclusions outside of reality because ideas are laboratory experiments. Same sex marriage is one of the stops along the way to the end of opening marriage to every kind and type of combination — logic demands it…and soon the ideologues will, too.

In light of the logic used by Judge Walker, Matt, what is to stop a future judge from ruling that one can marry a close relative, or multiple people, or a minor? The answer is ‘NOTHING’.

And, again:

In the 1990’s, when the fight for ‘gay marriage’ began in earnest, many dismissed it chances of success as ’silly’ and ‘crazy’ – the laugh is now on them.

What is to stop the age of consent from being lowered or abolished [especially as we continue to give Sharia legal standing]?

Woe unto us.

Either she’s a child actor prodigy…

….or female narcissism starts out a lot earlier than I suspected:

Seriously, she’s three years old; what the hell is a three-year-old doing thinking about boys–much less obsessing about a teen pop star.

Ye Gods and Madmen!!!

What the fuck is this!?!?!?

Mother sues son she abandoned at age 15 for parental support

What!?!?!?

W hen Ken Anderson was just 15, his mother, Shirley, made it clear: She didn’t want him anymore.

Ken’s father, a long-haul trucker, had been transferred from Osoyoos, B.C., to the province’s Kootenay region. Although their marriage was rocky, Shirley followed, taking second-youngest son Darryl with her.

Ken was left behind. He had plenty of time to think about it as he wiped bug splatter off car windshields and pumped gas at the local station to make a buck. He says he can’t even remember how many couches he slept on, or how he kept himself going. He just knows he never got to go to a prom, finish high school or even think about college.

The way he sees it, he never really had a mother.

On Aug. 3 and 4, Ken, now 46, will face off in B.C. Supreme Court against the woman who gave birth to him.

What!?!?!?

Shirley Anderson, 71, is suing Ken and four of his five siblings for parental support. The case has been dragging on for years, but the August hearing should complete it.

Shirley has dusted off a little-used section in B.C.’s Family Relations Act that legally obliges adult children to support “dependent” parents.

WHAT!?!?!?!?

Ken is too overcome with a sense of injustice to know what is more of an affront: that the statute exists or that the woman who abandoned him even meets the definition of “parent.”

Ken says it’s been nearly two decades since he even spoke with his mother. “The only time she ever called was to ask for money.”

Christ’s Wounds!!! This is madness!!!

(A tip o’ the hat to Kathy Shaidle for the link).

Still alive–and that may be part of the problem…

My busy time–basically my money making season, which is why I’ve not been posting that much. I’ll probably be going silent again for a while, because I need to find a new apartment, and that is not an easy task in this city.

Two observations that got me pissed this week:

1) Driving home from work yesterday, I noticed in the car behind me that there was a dog sitting in the passenger seat. Nothing wrong with that–I figured that the owner (the woman driving) wanted to give the dog some of the AC to cool off; laudable, actually–it was close to 90 yesterday, and huskies are a cold-weather breed.
But then I saw the old man (most likely the driver’s husband) in the back seat. He was a big guy, and it was a small car, and it was pretty tight fit for him–and his discomfort was pretty evident in his face.

What the fuck?
What kind of woman puts her dog ahead of her man? And what kind of man lets himself be regulated to second place behind a dog? I love dogs, but I would never put a dog at higher value than any person–ever.

The second thing was a little over an hour ago; I was driving along listening to a local rock station, and the DJ was dedicating the show to dads for Father’s Day, talking about “guys and guys stuff”. Just as I’m pulling up to my parking lot, I hear a caller come on and complain that “you know, mothers are fathers sometimes, too”.
Yes, it was a woman. Her complaint was that nobody honors women on Father’s Day had me slack-jawed with shock. The DJ, bless him, gave her hell for it, basically calling her a greedy bitch (“Don’t women have enough holidays? Valentine’s Day? Secretaries Day? Mother’s Day? How much more do you want?!?”). And he was right–Father’s Day is pretty much the only holiday dedicated specifically to men (even if it is predominantly specific subset of men); letting women co-opt it would leave all men out in the cold. And the sad thing is, there probably will be a concentrated attack on Father’s Day by feminists in the future, arguing that there are so few fathers around that they don’t warrant their own holiday. Won’t that be a sad day.

And this is why I use an alias…

You can’t trust anyone. Literally.

Harvard Pulls a Larry Summers on an Ex-Crimethinker

It was a private dinner conversation among three friends. The topic: affirmative action and race. The debate presumably was passionate, given the divergent opinions of the Harvard Law School students.

* Full text of the e-mails

Stephanie Grace, a third-year law student, felt she had not made her position clear, so she followed up via e-mail, according to a person with direct knowledge of events.

“I just hate leaving things where I feel I misstated my position,’’ Grace wrote. “I absolutely do not rule out the possibility that African-Americans are, on average, genetically predisposed to be less intelligent.’’

The lengthy e-mail, sent to her two dinner companions six months ago, ignited an Internet firestorm this week when it was leaked and first reported Wednesday by the legal blog abovethelaw.com, followed by other websites.

This is where we are now. Put aside the question of intelligence, and look at the situation itself: a private conversation is no longer sacrosanct–the only safe place left in the world is the interior of your own skull (and even that is a questionable spot). Is approach anxiety really all that mysterious?

Edit: Well, now I’ve heard the rest of the story: a jealous “friend” went back into her e-mail archive and dug out the six-month old letter, then forwarded it to Black Law Students Association. The BLSA then forwarded it nationally, leading to what is happening now. Hell hath no fury–just ask Tiger.

I could have written that letter.

Obsidian posted this letter on his blog, and only half-way through, I found two thoughts racing through my head:

1) A sympathetic “Oh, you poor bastard”; and,

2) “I could have written this letter.”

Truly we live in a world run amok. I have experienced moments like those the author relates, and have heard stories from others just as bad (and in some cases–worse).

Ultimately, this is a letter of despair: “why bother?” is the rallying cry of those men who have decided to go omega, to just chuck the whole nasty mess and do without. It’s a bothersome question, one that a lot of people can’t answer. Lord knows, I’ve asked myself that question a number of times down through the years–and the only response I could muster was, “why indeed?”

But a wise man once told me, “Despair is a sin”, and the sin of despair has its opposing virtue: Hope. By all accounts, I should be lying in a palliative-care unit somewhere, drugged into a stupor by morphine as the race to see what would run out first–my cancer-ridden liver or my health insurance. Yet, here I am–alive, and kicking like a motherfucker. Where there’s a chance, there’s hope. You have to have faith that that one out of ninety-nine women will say yes, and that it will be worth it.

Mind you, it’s not all faith; part of the problem with the author of that letter seems to do a lot of reading about Game, but he hasn’t internalized any of what people like Roissy et al teach. I mean, consider the moment that his hook-up said “Do you think I just have sex with random people”?, he should have flipped the script and thrown her last minute resistance in her face (“No, I don’t; I thought you were into me. I’ll see you later.”, and then go back downstairs and sarged right back into the crowd.). All the theory in the world doesn’t mean shit if it isn’t tested and tried–you don’t go swimming without getting wet. It’s the whole point behind that proverb by Alexander Pope:

“A little learning is a dangerous thing;
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
and drinking largely sobers us again.”

Or, to put it in more colloquial terms: “Do, or do not! There is no try!”

Edit: Ok, having read some of the responses to the letter over at TOF, I realize my advice wasn’t the best–he should have said, “No, I don’t”, and gone for the kill. See why I’m not getting any? Live and learn.

It’s not like I’ve been having any more success that this kid–Mr. Wiggly is starving here, folks. But giving up now begs the question of why I should have survived cancer–what’s the point of going through all the pain of surgery and chemo if you’re going to live life in a dark hole in the ground?

Fuck that. I can do better. I fucken’ deserve better–and so does this guy, if he’d actually think about it. We all do. I have faith in that.

So, I’m going pub crawling this weekend. I’ll probably get shot down again; maybe I’ll get a slap in the face–the modern equivalent of a “red badge of courage”. Sooner or later, I’ve got to find that one-in-ninety-nine (or nine hundred ninety-nine)–I have to, dammit.

It ain’t much to have hope for, to have faith in–but it’ll do, for now.

Facebook gives you syphillis?

Just forwarded to me by a friend:

Facebook gives you the clap: Official

The sharp rise in syphilis cases in Teesside has been partially attributed to social networking sites which incautious locals are trawling in search of casual sex.

According to the local Evening Gazette, the number of reported cases jumped to 30 last year, up from less than 10 in 2008. Professor Peter Kelly, executive director of public health for NHS Tees, said that “reports from doctors and nurses diagnosing and treating patients suggest some sufferers are using social networking sites to find and arrange meetings with new lovers”.

He added: “Unprotected sex, especially with casual partners, is the biggest risk for syphilis. Social networking sites are making it easier for people to meet up for casual sex. It is important that people avoid high risk sexual behaviours and practise safe sex to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections.”

I know there’s been a lot of sex on Facebook; all the friend invites I got on Facebook were from women promoting their adult websites. I just find it surprising that people hooking up on Facebook (or other social websites) would think that the risk for catching a disease was lesser than hooking up with someone they met at a bar. Some people have all the intellectual capacity of a thimble.