by Geoff | Oct 3, 2016 | Politics, Society
Some years ago, a friend of mine, on reading the then-new Harry Potter book’s line about a ‘wretched American President’ declared he was done. And that Rowling had, in intending to insult Bush, instead insulted Clinton, the whole of the series (excepting Philosopher’s Stone) being set in the Clinton administration. Seems she forgot her own timeline.
Anyway, I then expressed my opinion that a liberal bent in an author is not exactly a shock. Wedging in an attempted insult for no good reason is a sign of being a hack, to be sure, but the political leaning is to be expected.
And it continues. Every election cycle, we get the hoary trope of the current crop of popular actors making the usual impassioned plea to elect whomever the Democratic party is running, lest the world end, movies all become ‘Birth of a Nation’ (the original), and art wither and die. And, like a Pavlovian response, conservatives decry this as spoiled, irrelevant, and likely highly uninformed twits mouthing whatever pabulum they have been instructed to. Which isn’t wrong, but is very, very tiring.
Look, unless you live in a fantasy world, which far too many conservatives seem to, you can safely assume that every single actor, writer, singer, dancer, artist, et-fraking-cetera is a leftist. Seriously. It is like assuming fire is hot. You just do it.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. The political left is usually aligned with the concerns of the arts community, so it makes sense to support those who support you. Duh.
Can we stop pretending this is a surprise, and move past it. Constantly rehashing the same tired nonsense is one of those things that hurt the conservatives more than anything, and we, as a body, need to stop. And to those in the arts, please look critically at the policies and practices of the Democratic party before doing as they ask, and blindly supporting them. You might be surprised at just what it is they are supporting…
by Geoff | Jun 16, 2016 | Politics, Society
Summary: No such animal.
Well, not exactly. There can be some common sense that is not an infringement on the 2nd Amendment, but so far it seems like that is the land beyond the fields we know. Inaccessible and alien. But there is a place for regulation that is at once smart, effective, and not placing an excessive burden on anyone.
Let me get one thing out of the way – the absolute nonsensical suggestion that we ‘ban anyone ever investigated by the FBI for terrorism’ thing. First, investigated is not convicted. We do not punish people for being suspected of crime. Except sexual or racial ones, but that is another post (preview – it’s total bullshit leftard assholes doing it, and they need to grow the fuck up). All it takes to be on that investigation list is an anonymous phone call claiming that person X has started talking about jihad, and you are concerned. That’s all. Bang, investigated. Even if all that consists of is a phone call to the local PD to see if there is anything to it. It’s still a file, still an investigation. Those advocating this seem to fail to understand that simple reality. Likewise, the no fly/terror watch list. Two lists, both easy be added to, and nigh impossible to be removed from. The Star Chamber has no place in America, despite the President using it to sanction assassinations of American citizens.
We can be better than that.
So what do I propose? It is simple, and breaks down into 3 tiers, and one dealer/manufacturer tier. A mere 4 points. I think it is simple, effective, and mostly foolproof. Yes, I know the universe is constantly inventing better fools (see Oberlin College, Mizzou, etc.), but this is both specific enough to work, and general enough to deal with new developments and information. It even scales. So here is what I think would work… (more…)
by Geoff | Mar 22, 2016 | Politics, Society
Seldom do state representatives make news. At least in a way that is not somehow tainted by scandal. Tennessee’s Martin Daniel (R) has done just that.
And oy, the balls on this guy.
He introduced a bill, the Tennessee Student Freedom of Speech Act, that put forth the intolerably radical proposition that students on college campuses should be able to say what they want without repercussions. As long as it doesn’t disrupt the proceedings of the campus. Since the media is currently filled with examples of immature, coddled macro-infants who seek nothing more than to silence by force or mob action anyone they disagree with, one might expect there to be objection to such a radical bill. And there is.
But not because it would force said macro-infants to at least pretend to maturity. Actually, that is not, it seems, possible per Democratic rep John DeBerry. He portrayed students as “half-baked”, and implied that students were incapable of making good decisions or hearing dissenting opinions.
“There are young people who are not ready yet — they’re half-baked, half-cooked — who are recruited to work against their own parents, their own nation, and I would be concerned as a parent and as a citizen,” DeBerry said to Daniel, according to the Tennessean. “Free speech is one thing; being stupid is another.” (source)
Support from the right was also not forthcoming – the above quote was from a Q&A session where Daniel was asked if this freedom of speech extended to ISIS recruiters.
He said it did. Not a popular opinion with those who usually defend freedom against the increasingly totalitarian political left.
And damn right it does. Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones, and arguably the most vital, of our Republic. Without the freedom to say what we will without official censure, we are not free citizens, but vassals of the state. As I have said time and again, if you want to rail against the vile Lilliputians, you can. And more power to you – the state cannot punish you for that. You can lose your friends, significant other, job, and so on, but there can be no legal action against you. That is what free speech is – the right to say something unacceptable without fear of prison.
Yes, that right ends at calls for violence. And that is indeed a tricky criteria. ‘Someone get those guys’ means something different at recent Trump rallies than it might at a church social. Calls for direct violence (not ‘I wish someone would do something to those #@!#$ Lilliputians’ from an average citizen) need not be ‘go beat down those protestors’. It can also have the flavor of ‘Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?’.
But absent that call to violence, there should be no expectation of official action against speech.
Martin Daniel gets this. As much as we can all agree that ISIS is a horrible organization that is a blight on the face of the world, if they want to have a recruiter on campus, then they must be allowed that freedom. Must. Be. Allowed. If for no other reason than to stand for your own right to speak. Rights denied to one are denied to all.
by Geoff | Mar 15, 2016 | Politics, Society
It is the official election day in Illinois, and so far early voter turnout is (or is reported to be) setting records. I suspect that, unlike other cycles, this one has people worried. And with good reason. At no time in my life have I ever cast a vote that was as much against a candidate as for one.
And it feels dirty, you know?
So I wanted to get some thoughts down on this primary, and on the state of the campaign as a whole. It is my opinion, and I don’t expect you, the reader, to agree. I hope you think, and hope even more that your candidate of choice was considered, and not just ‘X is winning on the Y side, so I vote for them’. But then, if that is the case, honestly, you likely will never see this.
I also want to say that I value the fact that friends are all over the spectrum – it is important to know and engage with people you can disagree with. We all need more of that, and need to remember that we are all after the same basic things in life, and life politic. We simply disagree on process. Disagreement is not a sign of deep corruption of the soul – it is just a difference of opinion.
That said, let’s look at the Democrats. Clinton and Sanders. Clinton has a lot of magical thinking attached to her – a sense that since things were not so bad last time a Clinton was President, that will happen again. Wrong, of course, but understandable. The sad reality is that Clinton is a relic of an older time, and does not see it. I know a lot of people like to equate saying negative things about Clinton as sexist (or racist if said about Obama), but the simple reality is that she has some problems, and her gender has nothing to do with them. As an aside, why are similar attacks on Sanders not antisemitic? The main problem is the potential indictment for her private server and other actions around that whilst Secretary of State. Since others (men) have been charged for far less, and had their lives ruined, this is by no means a sexist issue. This is a serious national security issue, and symptomatic of a level of arrogance that is hard to explain away.
Sanders is another issue altogether. He has the best ads I have ever seen from a politician, and seems to focus on being positive, without the weirdly exploitative Clinton ads. His main issues are economics. Yes, there is a lot of social benefit in European systems that we don’t have here. There is also a much higher tax level, across the board. And yes, your taxes would increase under that system. Maybe as much as double. The European system was also purchased with American defense commitments. Since we were there to blunt a Soviet attack, other nations didn’t need to spend on defense themselves, allowing that money to funnel into unsustainable social programs. Simply put, the European system does not work in a long run. Further, by ‘making the rich pay their fair share’, Sanders demonstrates a misunderstanding of two things – first, the richest Americans pay the majority of the tax bill already, and second these are the people most able to leave should things be cheaper elsewhere. Keep that in mind – if moving to Canada results in a lower tax bill, I can’t do it – I don’t have the money or ability to not work for a year. Only the ones Sanders refers to as needing to pay more can pull that off.
All in all, despite Sanders’ real problems with economics and history, were I to vote Democrat, I would be voting for him. Positivity counts.
Now the Republicans. Let’s get this pared down some – Rubio, Kasich, please just drop already. We get it, you believe in yourselves or something. So did the Black Knight.
You won’t. Let. It. Go.
Cruz – no one’s first choice, not even Cruz’s. But in a primary focused on tossing out the establishment, somehow Cruz became the best (least worst at least) choice. Cruz is an outsider, and anti-establishment. He is, despite it all, the best remaining choice for a Republican candidate. It isn’t the best choice we have ever had, but it could be worse.
It could be Trump. Ah, Trump. The hell of it is, I like some of what he is doing. I like the refusal to bend into a pretzel apologizing when someone is offended. We do that too much – and it makes one think that the original comment was not meant – which leads to distrust. And enough already. But refusing to apologize or admit you are wrong, even when you should, is a sign of a weak individual. I like Trump taking and espousing unpopular positions. I wish I believed he believed them. But I don’t. What I do believe is that Trump is speaking to a lot of anger in the population. People tired of being taken for granted, of the government trying to ‘save’ them as the same government actively works to destroy them. Of being mocked by politicians (Obama’s ‘bitter clinger’ comment comes to mind). Trump speaks to that anger, but has no specifics, and no real plans. As I have said before – he wants to win the election, not be the President. Trump acts a lot like the poor kid fighting to prove he is as good as everyone else.
As an aside, if you think that Trump supporters are automatically racist/sexist/x-phobic (and kudos to the left for using people with a psychological condition as a synonym for ‘hate’), you have a serious stereotype problem. That is no more or less offensive than assuming all blacks vote Democrat, all Southerners are inbred, or all homosexuals are sex fiends. Grow up. If you can’t figure that out, get out of political activity until you do – you and your rabid intolerance and hate are what is hurting this country.
In the final analysis, however, we have a system that has lasted centuries, with bad Presidents, and disputed elections that left people feeling oppressed (Japanese internment camps for 100 Alex), left out, and generally angry. No matter who the next President is, we all need to remember that there was an election, and people voted. Maybe we disagree with their choice, but in the end, the people had their say. If that is so very unpalatable to you, then you have my pity. Wait four years. Trump/Cruz/Sanders/Clinton won’t destroy the country in four years. If you really believe that to be a possibility, grow up.
by Geoff | Dec 9, 2015 | Politics, Society
So a strange combination of the anti-Rahm Emanuel /Anita Alverez groups and the Black Lives Matter group(s) just passed by up here in the Gold Coast. I got some video, listed below. The protests were peaceful, with lots of shouting, not much shoving by the protesters, and total restraint (as usual) from the police.
As unexpected as it was, the event itself was peaceful, confined to the streets (not sidewalks, not interfering with people there), and exceedingly well documented. From the media crews to the helicopters, the protesters, the bystanders, and the police themselves; everyone seemed to have a camera or phone in use.
I was highly amused by the dude in the ‘Observer’ ball cap – orange cap, name-tag sticker. So very official looking.
There were some arrests, and a squad just shot north on Division, so there may be some more to come. Interesting to see, and all credit to the CPD. Well done, officers.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?listType=playlist&list=PLKyhgKZa1cLQEHuVO8CzXcElAJ-PEL0qt&plindex=0&layout=gallery[/embedyt]
by Geoff | Dec 3, 2015 | Politics, Society
Another shooting, another litany of the dead, and it is, of course, politicized before any motive is known. As I write this, there is no known reason Syed Rizwan Farook, Tashfeen Malik, and possibly a third person (many conflicting reports on that, so I’ll leave it as ‘possibly’) decided at some point to open fire at a holiday party for county employees. We just don’t know.
But that has not stopped the blame – from CAIR rushing to assure the public that ‘not all Muslims do this’, which is laughably obvious, even to the most anti-Islamic – to the crowd calling for more and more gun control. ISIS is, of course, a popularly speculated motive. Personal offense given at the party is getting short shrift, as there seems, at least at this time, to have been an unreasonable amount of planning involved. The specifics of the attack, tactical gear, pipe bombs, possible communications rigs, and an exfiltration plan, point to a serious amount of planning.
Do you know what the one, so far incontrovertible, truth is?
That Syed Rizwan Farook, Tashfeen Malik, and possibly a third person chose to do this.
They. Chose.
They chose to pull the trigger.
They chose to kill innocent civilians and coworkers.
They chose to leave at least one pipe bomb behind.
They chose to leave their 6 month old child behind to kill people who had, to all accounts, done them no harm, and had celebrated with them on the birth of said child.
They. Chose.
The NRA didn’t choose. The Koran didn’t choose. The volume of vile ignorance spewing from left and right didn’t choose. Rhetoric didn’t choose. Climate change didn’t choose. They chose.
There needs to be an awakening here – the shooters, in the end, chose to shoot. Why is there so much effort spent to demonize some other factor? Why can we not look at finding a way to move society to a place where violence of any stripe is not the response?
We have issues with responsibility, and issues with individuals acting as such. We, as humans, have to have some greater force to blame. From blaming the mob, CIA, FBI, KGB, BSA, and every other group for the Kennedy assassination to blaming climate change for Hitler, to blaming internet trolls for Congresswoman Gifford’s shooting, we have to blame someone.
With no motive, perhaps we should blame the shooters this time.
