The Trump shooting is a rare violation of Sailer's Law. Understandable, Crook was trying to make a 120 yard shot with his dad's AR15 instead of spraying bullets across the lobby of a McDonalds with a sideways handgun while holding cold fry's. Can't wait for Ol' Dave's next column for the insights about the motive! and don't forget, Guns don't kill people, it's the bullet that does all the work!
How do Keystones celebrate their new infamy? with a "Near Miss" cocktail!
Mix Bulleit bourbon with lemon, raspberries, grapefruit, mint leaves. Shake with ice then add club soda and serve in a tall glass with a straw.
Don't mix one for Trump though. He's a teetotaler.
I wonder if Trump never drank alcohol like he says. He is 78 and he must have had a beer or glass of wine at some party or wedding. Also Hitler did drink a beer or two at party events in the 1920's and early thirties but drank no alcohol during the war and also no longer watched films for the duration of the war sacrificing one of his favorite pastimes for the war effort.
Me too Tom , and this week was side-splitting! I always read choice parts out loud to my hubby (who cracks up and rolls his eyes!) A lot of choice parts this week! I love the puns!!
When a writer has thousands of subscribers they will offend a few with every column and they will unsubscribe. Everyone knows that you cannot please all the people all the time, but Ol' Dave knows he can offend all the people all the time! His subscribers are the rare tolerants that enjoy the offensive.
It was a really good column today and made me think about media coverage of these political violence incidents in a different way. Some like Sotomayor or Pelosi's husband seem to just be coincidental, they collide with a predator of some kind. Of course they never link the abundance of predators to their own lefty politics. Others like the Trump shooting are premeditated and planned out.
I am confused about why the Secret Service missed out on such an obvious threat.
I have a feeling you'll have an interesting take on the Trump shooting and look forward to reading it when you decide to talk about it. You have a really distinctive perspective.
You gotta have some respect for the shooters who plan things out and aren't totally crazy, because it makes for a more interesting story. Back in the day, the Secret Service missed the CIA gunman on the grassy knoll and now the Secret Service missed the Elephant Man on the corrugated roof.
Per the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the accused is being tried in a Japanese court, like these three who were tried for raping a 12 year-old Okinawan girl in 1995:
I love ya Dave, no that's not sarcasm, really, honestly, cross my heart. Cynical me sez: the Secret Service has a serious case of the DEI disease, a potentially life threatening malady.
Eh I don't think that's true. For all the whining about a woman being on the protection team, women do have to pass physicals etc to work in that kind of job.
When I was building a career in talent management I worked nights and weekends as event security. You have to complete de-escalation training, for some of those gigs you have to pass a physical showing you can lift 100 lbs (you have to be able to move metal bollards; lift them out of the ground and move them to let trucks in or out).
I worked on the Oscars overnight build & show, and the LAPD lieutenant who ran the show as far as security recommended me for promotion to the company I worked for. Women skew observant and good at communication; there are reasons to have us around in security functions even if we also skew short.
I also cannot tell you how many of the LAPD, FBI and DHS guys on those calls were just like, flirting and bragging and not paying attention. Frances McDormand's Oscar got stolen at the Governor's Ball, where LAPD detectives dress up and try to blend in and spend more time oohing and ahhing at celebs than doing their jobs. No private security is even allowed to walk through the kitchen because we were viewed as a risk. LAPD did not cover themselves in glory though when it came to that moment.
ETA: I think a problem in hiring for security functions generally is that it attracts guys who want excitement. The job is actually only done right if there's NO excitement. It's more about prevention than tackling people. The question everyone should be asking right now is why was an obvious psycho loner up on a roof near a campaign rally, not why wasn't it all square-jawed white guys on the security detail. A problem hiring for these kinds of jobs in general is that people smart enough to do them well usually leave for something that pays better and is less annoying very quickly. I only worked private security but all the bright people went on to like, tech jobs you can do remotely. No one who has the communication and math skills to be a successful CRE broker, or who can learn SQL, is sticking around any longer than they have to.
Other reasons to have women around in these types of jobs: sometimes children are more comfortable talking to a woman. Like if they're lost/separated or if they witness something. Women also can move through a crowd without attracting as much attention as a large guy with a cop 'stache. Secret Service stands out on purpose as a deterrent but many agencies have a real need people who blend in.
TL;DR: Not all of the traditional hire guys who make it through at these agencies are models of competence, a lot of them are just meatheads. A lot of them love the bragging rights of a job like that but don't do much work on the job.
Let's begin with a point of agreement, I do agree with you about the "meatheads". Now on to the "meat" of my retort. Did you actually observe the actions of the females on Trump's protective detail? What a fucking joke, one of 'em fumbling with her shades and ponytail, another fumbling around trying the re-holster her sidearm. How about this fact, Trump is a large individual, as we all know, how is a short woman supposed to protect him by placing her body between him and a threat? Or manhandle him into the waiting armored vehicle? Answer is obvious, ain't it, big ol' Shaniqua's maybe, but not that bunch of clowns. The entire scene was a giant clusterfuck, simple measures such as posting an observer on the water tower which overlooked the entire area, and placing big banners that blocked lines of sight would have been effective. I am old(61) , small (5'7" 155#), former military expert marksman, even in my youth, I would have never been qualified to serve as a member of an elite security detail, and neither are 99.9+% of humanity. Like I said, re. diversity hires, the head of the USSS is a diversity hire, so is Sec. Mayorkas, organizations rot from the head down, both are rotten to their respective cores, and it shows.
Coulter today mentioned this incident from 2005 which went down in Atlanta when rape suspect Brian Nichols was being escorted by Deputy Cynthia Hall to appear in court. Deputy Hall removed Nichols's handcuffs outside his cell so he could change his clothes-- the rest is a landmark in DEI history:
Despite the cell door not having an opening for prisoners to stick their hands through to remove handcuffs, Fulton County Sheriff's policy was to remove handcuffs in the open. It was also the Sheriff's policy to send a single deputy to escort a prisoner to court. Hall, 51 years old and standing 5'4", was no match for Nichols, 33, a former college football linebacker who had studied martial arts. Hall's only backup, two employees assigned to monitor surveillance cameras from a central control room, didn't see the attack. Capt. Chelsea Lee had sent one of them to fetch her breakfast at the time.
After disabling Deputy Hall, Nichols proceeded to Judge Barnes' chambers. Once there he disarmed and handcuffed Barnes' bailiff, Sgt. Grantley White, and held others at gunpoint. Upon entering the courtroom, Nichols fatally shot Judge Barnes; while people fled, he then shot court reporter Julie Ann Brandau in the head, killing her.
As he escaped the courthouse, Nichols was confronted by Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, whom he shot multiple times and mortally wounded. Nichols next carjacked several vehicles, including one belonging to a local reporter, left the area, and eventually killed David Wilhelm, an off-duty Special Agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. A construction worker found Wilhelm's body the next day; Nichols had fled with Wilhelm's badge, gun and blue Chevrolet truck.
Early the next morning Nichols forced his way into an apartment occupied by Ashley Smith, a widowed single mother. Over the next seven hours Smith talked to Nichols about God and gained his trust. After being allowed to leave the apartment to check on her daughter, Smith called 911. Nichols surrendered without resistance.
As a side note to Nichols' headline-grabbing escape, a great deal of media attention was focused on Smith, who reportedly read to Nichols from the bestselling evangelical self-help book, The Purpose-Driven Life, by Pastor Rick Warren. She was lauded as a heroine for bringing a peaceful end to Nichols' deadly rampage. Not so much attention was focused on the reward money that Smith received for assisting in Nichols' capture, some $70,000, nor on her later admission that she provided Nichols with crystal meth, though she denied using any of the drug herself.
You know I love your writing and we agree on many things. However, DEI also kills the morale of those who belong on an elite team as well.
Also, even if some women can do a good job, are they the best and most qualified out of everyone available?
In some instances, the female instincts in personal interactions and communication can be valuable. When it is time to kill, though, well, 95% of murderers are men - we are better at it than women, and we will put our life on the line for those we love to stop it.
I would not die for Kamala Harris. Hence, I, too, am not qualified for the Secret Service.
I guess writing TWTP is a double edged sword- you do want something to happen, otherwise… but if the something is too huuuge, well, that presents other challenges.
Yeah… I’m not gonna hate on him, since he’s passed, but for those of us that had to see him everywhere, back in the 80’s, in his “prime”, let’s just say that he was difficult to like.
For the record, I'm not sure if 1% of the population knows the word "supine"... Hell, I'll bet at least 60% of English speaking American citizens don't actually know precisely what "prone" means either. "Just laying down?"
Let's face it, we lost "the Literacy Battle" sometime in the late 1800's.
I agree, I had to look up the words to see the difference-- I think I got it now: supine is lying on one's back, prone is lying on one's front. And then there's "arms akimbo"....
Ah, verr! ** I didn't know the difference either. But now I do! ヾ(●ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ
** "Ah, verr" is a common expression in Montana and North Dakota used about something negative, bad, unfortunate. It's from the Norwegian word for "worse." Bet ya didn't know that! But now you do.
Is that kind of like "Oy, gevalt!"? I say that all the time. I was adopted as a baby, suspect I may have had a Jewish father, but from the way things have shaken out genetically, I think he must have been shtetl-class (and not in the shtetl because of discrimination either).
They're both kind of SAT words at this point. Unless you work in a job where you'd have to describe someone that way neither is really a word you use once you're working and don't have time to read novels.
That now iconic picture is the perfect bookend to the American Empire. It began with the flag raising on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima and ended with the fist raising in Butler Pennsylvania 79 years on. Not a bad run for a near global imperium.
Here's a classic in case anyone hasn't seen it before:
“Dr. Einstein Takes the Problem up with God” by I.F. Stone
New York, February 14, 1950
Far off, unbelievably far, beyond a distant star cluster, a delegation of elderly men trudges slowly through the Pearly Gates. They seem to be expected, and attendants take them at once to a huge reception hall where a majestic figure rises to receive them.
To the leader of the delegation He says, “Ah, dear Dr. Einstein.” Dr. Einstein’s eyes twinkle. “It looks as if theology has overcome the exact sciences, sir,” he says. “How shall we address you?”
“Shall we say,” is the answer, “that it would perhaps be easiest for such distinguished scientists to call me Mr. X?” He waves the delegation to chairs and the interview begins.
MR. X. I am told you and your colleagues wished to see me about the H-bomb, Dr. Einstein?
DR. EINSTEIN. In a sense, yes. In another sense, no. The H-bomb has created a new crisis. But the H with which we are concerned is not the H of hydrogen. We can handle that. It is the H of humanity that has driven us in despair to see you.
MR. X. But the H of humanity is an old story, Dr. Einstein.
DR. EINSTEIN. Forgive us, sir, but the more we examined the problem the more we began to see that the real destructive and explosive power lay not in the H of hydrogen, but in the H of humanity.
MR. X. Why did you come to me?
DR. EINSTEIN. Because this H is your creation, and we do not understand its operations.
MR. X. Please explain.
DR. EINSTEIN. In our studies and laboratories, when we seek to solve a problem we look for the missing element. When we find what is missing, we add it to complete our formula and the problem is solved.
MR. X. I understand. Go on.
DR. EINSTEIN. All war is hateful to those of us who are men of good will. The H-bomb intensified the necessity of solving the problem of peace. For by the bomb’s use humanity may destroy itself.
MR. X. I am listening.
DR. EINSTEIN. So we put the problem to ourselves as we would have put any other scientific problem. “What can we do,” we asked ourselves, “to bring about a peaceful coexistence and even loyal cooperation of the nations?”
MR. X. A very old question.
DR. EINSTEIN. But never more urgently in need of an answer. We decided that what was missing was mutual trust among the nations. We saw that in the relations of nations, as in the relations of individuals, government was necessary to create an atmosphere in which mutual trust might grow. For if every man were at the mercy of the strong and the unscrupulous, there would be no peace and security.
MR. X. So?
DR. EINSTEIN. So we had found the solution. We declared that mutual trust was the missing element, that a world government was necessary to foster it, that the new weapons were far too destructive to permit lawless anarchy among the nations.
MR. X. Well, what happened?
DR. EINSTEIN. Nothing. People listened and then brushed us aside.
MR. X. I still don’t see why you came to me.
DR. EINSTEIN. Forgive our frankness, sir. You created this H of humanity. Its irrationality is appalling. Reason, logic, and the scientific method can do nothing with it. When we create a machine and it does not work right, we find what is wrong and change it. Our only hope is that you will change the nature of humanity. We fear that otherwise the earth is doomed.
MR. X. (after a long pause). Dear Dr. Einstein, you remind me of an old assistant of mine, dimly known on earth in the legend of Lucifer. He was proud while you are humble. But you make the same criticism. He could not stand the endless bloodshed, war, cruelty, and evil that man did on earth. He revolted, blaming me for man’s irrationality, since man was my creation. Is that not your complaint also?
DR. EINSTEIN. (softly). It would be untruthful to deny it. Yes, I blame you. If I create a formula or a machine which does not work well, the blame is mine. If humanity is obsessed with criminal and self-destructive folly, the blame is yours.
MR. X. Dr. Einstein, when you make a good machine, it works smoothly, doesn’t it?
DR. EINSTEIN. It certainly does.
MR. X. Is a machine rational?
DR. EINSTEIN. It is built and operated on rational principles.
MR. X. Built by whom?
DR. EINSTEIN. By men.
MR. X. Could a machine have done the thinking of Euclid or Newton or Riemann or yourself?
DR. EINSTEIN. No.
MR. X. It is not rational then, as men can be?
DR. EINSTEIN. No
MR. X. Would you like men to be as machines? To operate invariably and according to the strict logic of their mechanics? Could anything be expected of such creatures? Would they yearn for truths beyond their grasp, and create in their turn?
DR. EINSTEIN. I suppose not.
MR. X. I could not make man free to aspire without also making him free to destroy himself. He could only be truly rational if he were free to be irrational. Unlike your machines, he lives. And the essence of life is freedom. It escapes the subtlest formulas. It is powerful, explosive, and risky.
DR. EINSTEIN. Granted, but can’t you intervene just this once to save your creation?
MR. X. I cannot. It is no longer mine. I provided the spark, but that was only the beginning. Man beyond that is his own creation. History is the record of his painful struggle to mold himself. The process is too much for formulas. In the struggle against evil, good was produced, and often in striving for good, man did evil. This is the counterpoint of his self-creation. Man cannot evade his freedom. If he fails its test, there are other beings, other worlds.
DR. EINSTEIN. Have you no pity? What purpose is served by so much agony?
MR. X. (rising). The violins in the orchestra do not understand their agony, either….
The system is systemically racist! How do I know? They let the white boy crack a shot at the Bad Orange Man before they shot back. If he would have been a black man they would have shot him before he even climbed the ladder left by the deep state agent.
The Trump shooting is a rare violation of Sailer's Law. Understandable, Crook was trying to make a 120 yard shot with his dad's AR15 instead of spraying bullets across the lobby of a McDonalds with a sideways handgun while holding cold fry's. Can't wait for Ol' Dave's next column for the insights about the motive! and don't forget, Guns don't kill people, it's the bullet that does all the work!
How do Keystones celebrate their new infamy? with a "Near Miss" cocktail!
Mix Bulleit bourbon with lemon, raspberries, grapefruit, mint leaves. Shake with ice then add club soda and serve in a tall glass with a straw.
Don't mix one for Trump though. He's a teetotaler.
You know who else was a teetotaler? . . . HITLER!
I wonder if Trump never drank alcohol like he says. He is 78 and he must have had a beer or glass of wine at some party or wedding. Also Hitler did drink a beer or two at party events in the 1920's and early thirties but drank no alcohol during the war and also no longer watched films for the duration of the war sacrificing one of his favorite pastimes for the war effort.
That cocktail sounds great!!! I don't usually go fo de dahk licker, but I might give this a try!!!
I actually read The Week That Perished this morning before I read the other news. I always check your columns first thing on Tuesday and Sunday
Me too Tom , and this week was side-splitting! I always read choice parts out loud to my hubby (who cracks up and rolls his eyes!) A lot of choice parts this week! I love the puns!!
Thanks Dave!! We need the levity!
When a writer has thousands of subscribers they will offend a few with every column and they will unsubscribe. Everyone knows that you cannot please all the people all the time, but Ol' Dave knows he can offend all the people all the time! His subscribers are the rare tolerants that enjoy the offensive.
It was a really good column today and made me think about media coverage of these political violence incidents in a different way. Some like Sotomayor or Pelosi's husband seem to just be coincidental, they collide with a predator of some kind. Of course they never link the abundance of predators to their own lefty politics. Others like the Trump shooting are premeditated and planned out.
I am confused about why the Secret Service missed out on such an obvious threat.
I have a feeling you'll have an interesting take on the Trump shooting and look forward to reading it when you decide to talk about it. You have a really distinctive perspective.
You gotta have some respect for the shooters who plan things out and aren't totally crazy, because it makes for a more interesting story. Back in the day, the Secret Service missed the CIA gunman on the grassy knoll and now the Secret Service missed the Elephant Man on the corrugated roof.
The Secret Service did not miss the gunman on the Grassy Knoll. Because there wasn't one!
Pfft, next you're gonna tell me that John Wilkes' Bluetooth died on Garrett's farm!
JWB used a digital twin to assassinate ol' Abe.
Don’t be so naive. The Booth twin only shot Abie’s Jewish twin (in the temple). It was a coup attempt by the powerful Build-A-Bear Group
Bastards charge high prices for their bears, too!
I agree the US armed forces should remind every girl who gets raped that diversity is our strength.
Per the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, the accused is being tried in a Japanese court, like these three who were tried for raping a 12 year-old Okinawan girl in 1995:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident
I hear that prison in Japan is unpleasant.
Death Row in Japan is cruel. They don't set a date for the execution. When it comes up then they inform the prisoner that today is the day.
Makes planning difficult.
One of the 1995 trio, Rodrico Harp, complained the Japanese authorities made him perform slave labor, making auto parts and such:
https://www.stripes.com/migration/ex-marine-decries-nature-of-japan-prison-work-1.21905
Take it for Team Diverse
I love ya Dave, no that's not sarcasm, really, honestly, cross my heart. Cynical me sez: the Secret Service has a serious case of the DEI disease, a potentially life threatening malady.
Eh I don't think that's true. For all the whining about a woman being on the protection team, women do have to pass physicals etc to work in that kind of job.
When I was building a career in talent management I worked nights and weekends as event security. You have to complete de-escalation training, for some of those gigs you have to pass a physical showing you can lift 100 lbs (you have to be able to move metal bollards; lift them out of the ground and move them to let trucks in or out).
I worked on the Oscars overnight build & show, and the LAPD lieutenant who ran the show as far as security recommended me for promotion to the company I worked for. Women skew observant and good at communication; there are reasons to have us around in security functions even if we also skew short.
I also cannot tell you how many of the LAPD, FBI and DHS guys on those calls were just like, flirting and bragging and not paying attention. Frances McDormand's Oscar got stolen at the Governor's Ball, where LAPD detectives dress up and try to blend in and spend more time oohing and ahhing at celebs than doing their jobs. No private security is even allowed to walk through the kitchen because we were viewed as a risk. LAPD did not cover themselves in glory though when it came to that moment.
ETA: I think a problem in hiring for security functions generally is that it attracts guys who want excitement. The job is actually only done right if there's NO excitement. It's more about prevention than tackling people. The question everyone should be asking right now is why was an obvious psycho loner up on a roof near a campaign rally, not why wasn't it all square-jawed white guys on the security detail. A problem hiring for these kinds of jobs in general is that people smart enough to do them well usually leave for something that pays better and is less annoying very quickly. I only worked private security but all the bright people went on to like, tech jobs you can do remotely. No one who has the communication and math skills to be a successful CRE broker, or who can learn SQL, is sticking around any longer than they have to.
Other reasons to have women around in these types of jobs: sometimes children are more comfortable talking to a woman. Like if they're lost/separated or if they witness something. Women also can move through a crowd without attracting as much attention as a large guy with a cop 'stache. Secret Service stands out on purpose as a deterrent but many agencies have a real need people who blend in.
TL;DR: Not all of the traditional hire guys who make it through at these agencies are models of competence, a lot of them are just meatheads. A lot of them love the bragging rights of a job like that but don't do much work on the job.
Let's begin with a point of agreement, I do agree with you about the "meatheads". Now on to the "meat" of my retort. Did you actually observe the actions of the females on Trump's protective detail? What a fucking joke, one of 'em fumbling with her shades and ponytail, another fumbling around trying the re-holster her sidearm. How about this fact, Trump is a large individual, as we all know, how is a short woman supposed to protect him by placing her body between him and a threat? Or manhandle him into the waiting armored vehicle? Answer is obvious, ain't it, big ol' Shaniqua's maybe, but not that bunch of clowns. The entire scene was a giant clusterfuck, simple measures such as posting an observer on the water tower which overlooked the entire area, and placing big banners that blocked lines of sight would have been effective. I am old(61) , small (5'7" 155#), former military expert marksman, even in my youth, I would have never been qualified to serve as a member of an elite security detail, and neither are 99.9+% of humanity. Like I said, re. diversity hires, the head of the USSS is a diversity hire, so is Sec. Mayorkas, organizations rot from the head down, both are rotten to their respective cores, and it shows.
Coulter today mentioned this incident from 2005 which went down in Atlanta when rape suspect Brian Nichols was being escorted by Deputy Cynthia Hall to appear in court. Deputy Hall removed Nichols's handcuffs outside his cell so he could change his clothes-- the rest is a landmark in DEI history:
Despite the cell door not having an opening for prisoners to stick their hands through to remove handcuffs, Fulton County Sheriff's policy was to remove handcuffs in the open. It was also the Sheriff's policy to send a single deputy to escort a prisoner to court. Hall, 51 years old and standing 5'4", was no match for Nichols, 33, a former college football linebacker who had studied martial arts. Hall's only backup, two employees assigned to monitor surveillance cameras from a central control room, didn't see the attack. Capt. Chelsea Lee had sent one of them to fetch her breakfast at the time.
After disabling Deputy Hall, Nichols proceeded to Judge Barnes' chambers. Once there he disarmed and handcuffed Barnes' bailiff, Sgt. Grantley White, and held others at gunpoint. Upon entering the courtroom, Nichols fatally shot Judge Barnes; while people fled, he then shot court reporter Julie Ann Brandau in the head, killing her.
As he escaped the courthouse, Nichols was confronted by Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, whom he shot multiple times and mortally wounded. Nichols next carjacked several vehicles, including one belonging to a local reporter, left the area, and eventually killed David Wilhelm, an off-duty Special Agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. A construction worker found Wilhelm's body the next day; Nichols had fled with Wilhelm's badge, gun and blue Chevrolet truck.
Early the next morning Nichols forced his way into an apartment occupied by Ashley Smith, a widowed single mother. Over the next seven hours Smith talked to Nichols about God and gained his trust. After being allowed to leave the apartment to check on her daughter, Smith called 911. Nichols surrendered without resistance.
As a side note to Nichols' headline-grabbing escape, a great deal of media attention was focused on Smith, who reportedly read to Nichols from the bestselling evangelical self-help book, The Purpose-Driven Life, by Pastor Rick Warren. She was lauded as a heroine for bringing a peaceful end to Nichols' deadly rampage. Not so much attention was focused on the reward money that Smith received for assisting in Nichols' capture, some $70,000, nor on her later admission that she provided Nichols with crystal meth, though she denied using any of the drug herself.
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2006/apr/15/repercussions-from-georgia-courthouse-escape-shootings-continue
And Nichols got his own Wikipedia page!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Nichols
The Purpose-Driven Life . . . fueled by meth !?
You know I love your writing and we agree on many things. However, DEI also kills the morale of those who belong on an elite team as well.
Also, even if some women can do a good job, are they the best and most qualified out of everyone available?
In some instances, the female instincts in personal interactions and communication can be valuable. When it is time to kill, though, well, 95% of murderers are men - we are better at it than women, and we will put our life on the line for those we love to stop it.
I would not die for Kamala Harris. Hence, I, too, am not qualified for the Secret Service.
The Great Khaan really likes Dave too, he only has love for his harem. Oh yeah, pillage, slaughter and conquest are always good fun!
That Khaan dude, he is crazy as hell, how do I know? Well, he is in fact, my bipolar other.
Trump got shot!?
I guess writing TWTP is a double edged sword- you do want something to happen, otherwise… but if the something is too huuuge, well, that presents other challenges.
Cheers!
RIP Richard Simmons, the world’s chubbiest fitness guru
Yeah… I’m not gonna hate on him, since he’s passed, but for those of us that had to see him everywhere, back in the 80’s, in his “prime”, let’s just say that he was difficult to like.
For the record, I'm not sure if 1% of the population knows the word "supine"... Hell, I'll bet at least 60% of English speaking American citizens don't actually know precisely what "prone" means either. "Just laying down?"
Let's face it, we lost "the Literacy Battle" sometime in the late 1800's.
Cheers!
I agree, I had to look up the words to see the difference-- I think I got it now: supine is lying on one's back, prone is lying on one's front. And then there's "arms akimbo"....
Ah, verr! ** I didn't know the difference either. But now I do! ヾ(●ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ
** "Ah, verr" is a common expression in Montana and North Dakota used about something negative, bad, unfortunate. It's from the Norwegian word for "worse." Bet ya didn't know that! But now you do.
Is that kind of like "Oy, gevalt!"? I say that all the time. I was adopted as a baby, suspect I may have had a Jewish father, but from the way things have shaken out genetically, I think he must have been shtetl-class (and not in the shtetl because of discrimination either).
I never thought of that, but it could be. If you add the German prefix "ge" to "verr" it's pretty close.
Yeah, "oy vey" is probably closer, means "oh woe!" according to Wikipedia....
Yup! I only know it because like many other dorks, I actually "read" the dictionary, which exposes me to such wonders as: Brobdingnagian.
They're both kind of SAT words at this point. Unless you work in a job where you'd have to describe someone that way neither is really a word you use once you're working and don't have time to read novels.
That now iconic picture is the perfect bookend to the American Empire. It began with the flag raising on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima and ended with the fist raising in Butler Pennsylvania 79 years on. Not a bad run for a near global imperium.
Here's a classic in case anyone hasn't seen it before:
“Dr. Einstein Takes the Problem up with God” by I.F. Stone
New York, February 14, 1950
Far off, unbelievably far, beyond a distant star cluster, a delegation of elderly men trudges slowly through the Pearly Gates. They seem to be expected, and attendants take them at once to a huge reception hall where a majestic figure rises to receive them.
To the leader of the delegation He says, “Ah, dear Dr. Einstein.” Dr. Einstein’s eyes twinkle. “It looks as if theology has overcome the exact sciences, sir,” he says. “How shall we address you?”
“Shall we say,” is the answer, “that it would perhaps be easiest for such distinguished scientists to call me Mr. X?” He waves the delegation to chairs and the interview begins.
MR. X. I am told you and your colleagues wished to see me about the H-bomb, Dr. Einstein?
DR. EINSTEIN. In a sense, yes. In another sense, no. The H-bomb has created a new crisis. But the H with which we are concerned is not the H of hydrogen. We can handle that. It is the H of humanity that has driven us in despair to see you.
MR. X. But the H of humanity is an old story, Dr. Einstein.
DR. EINSTEIN. Forgive us, sir, but the more we examined the problem the more we began to see that the real destructive and explosive power lay not in the H of hydrogen, but in the H of humanity.
MR. X. Why did you come to me?
DR. EINSTEIN. Because this H is your creation, and we do not understand its operations.
MR. X. Please explain.
DR. EINSTEIN. In our studies and laboratories, when we seek to solve a problem we look for the missing element. When we find what is missing, we add it to complete our formula and the problem is solved.
MR. X. I understand. Go on.
DR. EINSTEIN. All war is hateful to those of us who are men of good will. The H-bomb intensified the necessity of solving the problem of peace. For by the bomb’s use humanity may destroy itself.
MR. X. I am listening.
DR. EINSTEIN. So we put the problem to ourselves as we would have put any other scientific problem. “What can we do,” we asked ourselves, “to bring about a peaceful coexistence and even loyal cooperation of the nations?”
MR. X. A very old question.
DR. EINSTEIN. But never more urgently in need of an answer. We decided that what was missing was mutual trust among the nations. We saw that in the relations of nations, as in the relations of individuals, government was necessary to create an atmosphere in which mutual trust might grow. For if every man were at the mercy of the strong and the unscrupulous, there would be no peace and security.
MR. X. So?
DR. EINSTEIN. So we had found the solution. We declared that mutual trust was the missing element, that a world government was necessary to foster it, that the new weapons were far too destructive to permit lawless anarchy among the nations.
MR. X. Well, what happened?
DR. EINSTEIN. Nothing. People listened and then brushed us aside.
MR. X. I still don’t see why you came to me.
DR. EINSTEIN. Forgive our frankness, sir. You created this H of humanity. Its irrationality is appalling. Reason, logic, and the scientific method can do nothing with it. When we create a machine and it does not work right, we find what is wrong and change it. Our only hope is that you will change the nature of humanity. We fear that otherwise the earth is doomed.
MR. X. (after a long pause). Dear Dr. Einstein, you remind me of an old assistant of mine, dimly known on earth in the legend of Lucifer. He was proud while you are humble. But you make the same criticism. He could not stand the endless bloodshed, war, cruelty, and evil that man did on earth. He revolted, blaming me for man’s irrationality, since man was my creation. Is that not your complaint also?
DR. EINSTEIN. (softly). It would be untruthful to deny it. Yes, I blame you. If I create a formula or a machine which does not work well, the blame is mine. If humanity is obsessed with criminal and self-destructive folly, the blame is yours.
MR. X. Dr. Einstein, when you make a good machine, it works smoothly, doesn’t it?
DR. EINSTEIN. It certainly does.
MR. X. Is a machine rational?
DR. EINSTEIN. It is built and operated on rational principles.
MR. X. Built by whom?
DR. EINSTEIN. By men.
MR. X. Could a machine have done the thinking of Euclid or Newton or Riemann or yourself?
DR. EINSTEIN. No.
MR. X. It is not rational then, as men can be?
DR. EINSTEIN. No
MR. X. Would you like men to be as machines? To operate invariably and according to the strict logic of their mechanics? Could anything be expected of such creatures? Would they yearn for truths beyond their grasp, and create in their turn?
DR. EINSTEIN. I suppose not.
MR. X. I could not make man free to aspire without also making him free to destroy himself. He could only be truly rational if he were free to be irrational. Unlike your machines, he lives. And the essence of life is freedom. It escapes the subtlest formulas. It is powerful, explosive, and risky.
DR. EINSTEIN. Granted, but can’t you intervene just this once to save your creation?
MR. X. I cannot. It is no longer mine. I provided the spark, but that was only the beginning. Man beyond that is his own creation. History is the record of his painful struggle to mold himself. The process is too much for formulas. In the struggle against evil, good was produced, and often in striving for good, man did evil. This is the counterpoint of his self-creation. Man cannot evade his freedom. If he fails its test, there are other beings, other worlds.
DR. EINSTEIN. Have you no pity? What purpose is served by so much agony?
MR. X. (rising). The violins in the orchestra do not understand their agony, either….
The scene fades out.
I think the solution is diversity - hence, the Tower of Babel...
"..from beyond the grave Mishima screamed, “Tojo so!”" Mishima was a good writer, but I wouldn't lose my head over him (rimshot)
Mishima screamed, "Tojo so!"
An obscure reference - making it all the more hilarious!
Steve Sailer Who Fell by Race Into the Sea..... OK, it needs work....
I'm surprised Dave didn't mention Bran Johnson's blaming Dick Nixon for Chicago's high murder rate:
https://x.com/theblaze/status/1810406488344809573
Dave mentioned Sotomayor's car horn playing "Tequila"-- this is the website she used to hear audio samples before purchasing:
https://hornblasters.com/pages/audio-samples
Damn fine website!
The system is systemically racist! How do I know? They let the white boy crack a shot at the Bad Orange Man before they shot back. If he would have been a black man they would have shot him before he even climbed the ladder left by the deep state agent.
I read Takimag every day rain or shine and have for years. And I have no idea what to believe about you. Drunk/not drunk? Who knows?
I don’t read Takimag when it’s raining. I don’t like getting wet