Sunday Rant - 2315

PN:

Quotables
“When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination” – Thomas Sowell
In a wonderful instance of roundabout, the “Asian American” coalitions (65 of them!) of various states have filed a discrimination suit with the DOJ against Harvard University claiming discrimination against the brightest, most qualified applicants who just happen to be of Asian descent. Read details here. This is very good news, because the other team has shown up on the field of play. The scholastic requirements for this and other elite schools are well known.

To skew the entry datum in favour of one group or another to facilitate a “normalized” distribution is more “social science” meddling which will have negative results.
Joe has always maintained the smallest minority is the individual. Period. No subordinate clauses. No elaborate excuses, explanations, or ruses. The ONLY way to ensure sanity AND civility is to write the law with this simple fact in mind. What does this mean?
For Joe and I (as an example) if it were true that every single doctor in the world came from Asian genetic stock because THEY MAKE THE ABSOLUTE BEST DOCTORS, then we would be happy. Same with engineers, scientists, mathematicians, or any of the hard sciences (the “natural sciences” of yore).
Unlike many folks, Joe and I aren’t hung up on differences between genders, “races”, ethnicities, or any of the multitude of “special conditions” that have “minorities” screaming for “fairness”. If it is a fact that one group or another is the best at a certain endeavour, so be it. The data will support the facts if left alone as data.
In reality, the best seem to come from all walks of genetic ancestry. Evolution? Mutation? Who cares?
Level the qualification requirements. Admit the best.
But make damn sure “the best” has everything to do with the discipline at hand, and not some half-baked concept of “equality”.

Who’s a Good Pee-Pee?
Let’s get this straight. Innocent women, children, and men are being slaughtered left / right / center in parts of the world in the name of something-or-other, or tortured, or enslaved, or some or all of the aforementioned. The world stands by….. Some people “Tweet” to clear their conscience. After all, the world has ALWAYS been like this, right? People get killed every day, right? We don’t want to send our people there to fix it, they should fix their own shit hole countries, right? All too much to think about, too much to bear, too guilty feeling making.
Too true. Oh well, what the hell. What do you want to talk about?
I know, let’s talk about pee-pees!

Life was simple when I grew up, even for Joe. If your pee-pee was on the outside, you were a boy. Blue was your colour. If your pee-pee was on the inside, you were a girl. Pink was your colour. Seemed simple enough, functional enough, rational enough, understandable by all. Q.E.D.
Not so fast, cowboy. Seems when a father of 6 children (with two women) decides he’s NOT really a man, this can all be remedied. Especially if he is FAMOUS!!! Of course, anyone born after 1970 wouldn’t have a clue who he / she / it is unless they were a fan of Olympic athletes.
Joe says it is all a mental disorder, tough shit about your gender assignment (from birth), and Jimmy crack corn.
I, too, have an opinion on the subject, but being more widely read than Joe (who reads technical books), I will go with the “Ace of Spades” on this particular diversion (from the world’s bigger problems). You can read all about it here.
For the link challenged, here are a few excerpts from the opinion piece we thought spectacularly on target –
…..”That he is a man who underwent sex-reassignment surgery is not a “belief.” It is not my “opinion.” It is not a wrong-headed idea of which I ought to disabuse myself.
It is in fact an objective fact. One that is, apparently, now joining the ranks of the thousand other True things that we are no longer permitted to say.
There is a word for people who despise the truth: We typically call them liars.”
…..”It is obvious that “Caitlyn Jenner” is not a woman in the way “woman” is commonly meant. Whatever he is, he is free to follow his own bliss, but I must insist that my mind be left unmolested in all this exciting Social Justice Campaigning.
He is free to pursue his sex reassignment surgery as long as I am free to say the simple truth that he has in fact has sex reassignment surgery. And, while we might politely indulge the idea that he is a woman, the short list of straight liberal men lining up to date this “hot woman” attests to the fact that he is not quite that.
As I keep saying, the number of Polite Fictions we are demanded to endorse now outstrips the number of True Things we’re allowed to say, and by a considerable number.
Is there any point coming in the near future when we slow down in our Orwellian quest to outlaw truth entirely?”
And that, folks, is that. Joe and I over and out.
Well, one more thing –

Ok, ok, just one more thing –

Ok, ok, ok, one more and I’ll stop –

I lied….. one more from Glenn McCoy that just ain’t funny ’cause it’s too true….

Texas – Water Music
Well, it’s happened before. It will again. The Lone Star State will be just fine….. Two dead guys tell an old story:

SRV is a whirlwind. He is hard to watch, hard work to listen to, totally excellent. There is no one anywhere who can maul a guitar better than this man, and his musicians are totally tight. Watch at around 12:20 when he breaks a guitar string. They didn’t miss a note! I’ll have to have a rest after watching this – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, “One Night in Texas”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyVI25osbkk

Rolling Stone gave him the honor(?) of being the 12th best guitarist ever. Their panel are the experts, eh? For a “blues man” to get 12 out of 100 impresses us all. Joe and I peeked at the number one – Jimi Hendrix. Hmmmmm…….. Hendrix some other day. Texas today. One more SRV that shows off his swinging driving relentless breath-taking high tempo blues style:

A lot of Stevie Ray Vaughn to digest. Something a little more toe-tapping knee-slapping with Teresa Russell & Acadiana – Johnny Can’t Dance (neither can Joe):

Not quite totally out of the blue. Listen to her version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” (listen past her voice and enjoy the guitar solo):

POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOROUS, STUPID

Them’s the hazards of allowing heavy trucks into congested areas –

Glenn McCoy is a fabulous cartoonist, with a broad spectrum of observations about the human condition. A few examples –

GUNS, GUNNERS, GUNNERY

An excellent overview in the form of a collage of videos, titled “Gun Control: What College Doesn’t Teach You”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP-XnBdkJH8

THE RELIGION OF PEACE (ALL OVER US)

No words today. Better said, no time to waste words on the religious insane asylum tantrifying it’s “reformation” in blood and terror across the world’s continents. A factoid from the relgionofpeace.com website – 26,061 deadly terror attacks since 9/11. THANK GOD it’s a religion of peace! Imagine the calamity otherwise.
What horse puckery…..

Sometimes, someplaces, somebodies get it right…..

SUNDAY SERMON

From the pulpit today Terry Jones presents the first episode of “Barbarians – The Primitive Celts”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKGVqXznpNU

A parallel series called “Why Do Intelligent People Still Believe in Religion? 1. On the Origin of Stupidity” Not sure of the quality OR author, but the subject matter plus the number of instalments is attractive:

WEATHER (OR NOT)

Major weather this week – rain in Spain came to our plane and stayed again and again. Friday was the change – the sun, she popped out and said “Hi!”, and stayed ’til Sunday. The forecast is more of the same –