Bits and Pieces for July 2018

Multiculturalism reaches out:  Conservative federal prosecutor Ryan W. Bounds (Oregon) didn't make the cut (Washington Post, May 10) for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals because a few of the usual congressional suspects didn't like his 20-year-old writings about multiculturalism, penned as a Stanford University student.  Because one major critic, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, became particularly energized about Bounds' beliefs of decades past, even though Bounds now denounces them, maybe it's only fair that we hold Blumenthal's feet to the fire about his own controversial statements years ago, leading some to believe he served in Vietnam, when he did not.

Sorry, but even televised news reports of recent years bear witness to the logic in some of Bounds' old writings regarding "sensitivity" training and race-based groups.

NBC News reported on children raised by parents as "theyby" kids, apparently a term for growing up without the curse of identification with a gender.  Especially popular among progressive parents -- of course -- not even friends or other family members may be let in on the secret of who was born boy or who was born girl, because it just doesn't matter.  Not only is the blatant denial of established gender science dangerous to the individual and, frankly, idiotic for a society, but history will record an -- we hope brief -- era during which parents and others who carelessly bought into leftist amentia were actually the clueless court jesters of society. . .

Which brings us to the NY Post of July 17, reporting about Dr. David Mackereth, a UK physician fired simply for refusing to use preferred "transgender pronouns" in the presence of TG patients.  Admitting also to the high crime of practicing Christianity, the good doctor confesses that he will never again be able to work for England's National Health Service or any government agency.  Mackereth admits to a "climate of fear" in his medical specialty, where staff are instructed to inform on one another for violating these monumentally silly and stupid "discrimination" laws.

With radical Islam running rampant in Great Britain, save throughout Western Europe, destined to become even more influential unless timid legislators actually address the issue forcefully, we think it's safe to suggest that extremists will pretty much handle the transgender issue in a murderous, final way sooner or later, and boys and girls will again become boys and girls.  Meanwhile, a country intent on attacking its physician class and others whom, by nature, feel compelled to buck a system wildly out of control, soon won't be a country at all. 

Hey, England -- like here in portions of the U.S., your damned inmates are running the lunatic asylum.  But you already knew that, did you not?

Boys in chains:  Newsmax (July 19) expresses author Scott McEwen's (American Sniper) concerns that boys spend too much time on the Internet, trading badly needed skills, exercise and time outside the home for a world of digital device enslavement.  Well, how dare he, will McEwen ever be published again?!

Not surprisingly, a University of Texas-Austin male student (re Campus Reform) caught up in the poisonous spider's web known as Title IX and found guilty regarding a non-harassment incident was mandated to watch and reflect in a paper about a film tackling toxic vs. "healthy" masculinity.  Apparently, he was instructed to outline how he would encourage "healthy" masculinity -- which, we suggest, is going to be one hell of a difficult task in a male-hating society which, nonetheless, can't even admit that genders exist, and last time we counted they numbered two. Two.  Total two.

The Infected Left

The very notion of Trump derangement syndrome may be the absurd product of a nation caught up in its own hysterics, but it seems to affect those on the left most of all.   For instance, teenage Second Amendment expert David Hogg appears to have taken to exercising in his hamster wheel once again, this time allegedly fretting something about Trump canceling elections in 2020.  Yep, sounds like TDS to me.  David, my lad, we know what a traumatic event did to you, and it must be difficult coming back -- but "the incident" aside, what the hell did public education in Florida do to your mind?   The more young Hogg babbles on in this vein, allowing the media to gobble him up, the more those around him should be concerned about his future.

Then there's New York's puffed-up Democrat governor and presidential wannabe Andrew Cuomo, running for and likely to be elected to a third term (pretty much by NY City know-nothings and who knows what electoral processes. . .), who spoke before his hypnotized masses this weekend to condemn guns, Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh and, of course, the prez.

Speaking of guns, we're more than happy to resurrect an April, 2013 photo from Colorado showing a billboard raised -- but taken down quickly by people of a dissenting opinion -- to make a point.  As sometimes happens, I'm not quite sure whom to credit, but the picture comes out of Greeley, CO.

Cuomo's blood pressure obviously hit the heights when the U.S. legal system decided that blueprints for 3-D printer guns can indeed be made available online, and we're sure he's particularly urinated off now that the AK's have been designated as sporting, not assault, weapons.  Cuomo has been right out front among state governors taking every nitpicking action possible to deprive citizens of or severely curtail their constitutional right to possess firearms, and now --especially with the likelihood that Kavanaugh will join the Supreme Court -- New York's governor obviously sees his gun control powers slowly turning to sand and heading for history's garbage heap of stupid legislation, despite his re-election potential. 

We were, in particular, amused when Cuomo again tried to make a case for the kind of guns required for hunting, while again he totally ignores the fact that the Second Amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with hunting and everything to do with keeping a little protective firepower around the house in case of, oh, say. . . a government insurrection?  As if THAT could ever happen. And in New York?  Uh huh.

Cuomo's retirement from politics (if ever) can't come fast enough for many in NY, wary of government processes influenced by his way of conducting business, and that of several close-or-not associates who recently encountered legal trouble.  Meanwhile, we suspect Cuomo, too, is a victim of Trump derangement syndrome, which kinda takes away one's ability to accept, believe or even comprehend the reality right in front of one's face.  If Trump has an opportunity to name yet another SC justice or two during his term, we suspect Cuomo and governors of a similar mindset may require long-term hospitalization on a quiet locked ward adorned with cute pictures of kittens and cartoon characters and leftist heroes such as Mao and Che.

Canada needs 3-D printers right away:  Hey, Mr. Trudeau, some of us in the states wish you had just kept on dancing instead of doing whatever you do now, but if you really want to be a hero to your people, let 'em have guns for personal protection.  Obviously, some bad folk in your country already have firearms, and as they murder their way across Canada and over the border, who will stop them?  Police and Mounties arriving just in time to draw chalk lines?  Really, we suspect this 3-D printer thing is going to make tremendous strides toward personal protection in the years to come.  (Silly us, how could we think it?)

Trump Unleashes Twitter on Iran:  Thanks in no small way to Obama, Iran got away with the store.  As far as we're concerned, Trump can't criticize the Iranian religious lunatic fringe enough.  As internal hostility grows in Iran, we hope the seemingly impossible happens -- that the brutal secret police force torturing and imprisoning Iranian citizens will come to realize what dark and evil people they serve.  And for what?

The Ties that Bind (plus Golfing in Helsinki)

I hate ties.  I've always hated them. I hate trying to knot them correctly and I hate needing to color-coordinate them with everything else with which one is attired.  In restaurants, I hate watching some who dine, inadvertently sweeping the ends of their ties through food.

In hospital cafeterias, I especially used to hate watching doctors drag ties and/or stethoscopes across their plates just before rushing off to see patients, without washing either hands or loose ends.

But there's another, more substantial reason why I prefer to eschew ties, and it's nice to see that science is finally taking a closer look at these human-style dog collars.

On the street we've all seen red-faced business executives all prettied up with colorful neckties intended to convey various images, shirts buttoned to the top and necks constricted to the max.  In hospitals, I don't think there is any question that some of these folks arrive by ambulance as victims of a stroke, often seeming "too young" to have experienced the life-threatening rupture or occlusion of blood vessels in the brain.

We humans weren't built to wear restrictive devices around our necks.  Depending upon where we were born on the planet, we were either intended to go pretty much naked in warm climates or to pile on with animal skins and vegetation to insulate us from the cold.

The necktie's arrival only served to hasten our medical problems, in my opinion, including restriction of blood to the brain, facilitation of clot formation and even causing an effect on the cervical vertebral column.  Why not just put a noose on your neck and tighten it until your eyes pop?  Ouch.  Okay, call me a crank.

Except you'd also need to call the mayor Of Lancaster, CA a crank, because (per the Los Angeles Times, July 12) Mayor Parris wants to make ties optional for city employees, citing particularly health concerns.

And there is scientific precedent.  Researchers at Germany's University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein scanned brains of thirty men, half of whom wore neckties, and results indicated that at least a ten-percent decrease in blood flow affected a third of the tie-wearing subjects.

"The study does not explain how the 7.5% average decrease in blood circulation might affect brain function," states the article. "But generally speaking, poor cerebral blood flow can lead to brain tissue death and result in stroke, hemorrhage and other conditions. . ."

Also of interest is mention of a 2003 study published in the Journal of Ophthalmology, suggesting that wearing ties tightly may increase the risk for blindness and glaucoma.

So, considering the crazy social climate in the country, maybe next time somebody gives you a tie as a gift you need to call the police and have them arrested for assault?

The Trump-Putin Meeting: Putin presented Trump a ball from the World Cup affair, but in the eyes of many Trump dropped the ball of effectively dealing with Russia's favorite and, um, colorful dictator.    It's probably unfair for me to second-guess Trump, but I'd almost rather the President had met with Putin nemesis Pussy Riot instead of Mother Russia's main squeeze(r).

So what happened in Finland?  Trump was being Trump, an America lover to the core, but sometimes words spoken publicly get him into trouble.  Few apparently ponder this, but aside from poorly chosen -- and as of today, mistakenly worded -- comments, what was Trump to do?  Insult Putin before the cameras, causing Russia's leader to drop his ear piece and storm out of the room, effectively closing the door on any vestiges of reasonable peace talks?  Brennan, Schumer, Flake, McCain and all the usual Trump-hating suspects wasted no time going on the attack in "collusion" with mainstream media automatons thrilled to publicize their barbs.  The press wanted a fight and asked provocative questions to force one -- and how about the "journalist" removed for carrying an anti-nuke message, which he claimed wasn't really a. . .oh, who knows?

No, the President didn't endear himself to our intelligence agencies while speaking in Helsinki, so call him out on it, accept today's apology and let's move on.  But to threaten him with accusations of treason and scare the country by turning Donald Trump into a frightening monster via elite members of both government and media who carry their own curious baggage assures a pretty stupid scene.

Trump's reference to Pakistan and the missing DNC server, make that servers, frankly, should receive concerted attention, but since that turns everything back to the Democrats and their adoring media, who excel at burying their party's poop far away from the public eye, well, good luck.

Maybe nobody's noticed, but as the newest chapter in the "Cold War" marches forward (thanks Obama) Russia, not to mention China, has developed some really scary weapons.  We've two choices:  Want to engage Russia militarily and enjoy a lovely calamitous war, or should we maybe work around Trump's comments a bit and try for cooler heads? 

Cody Wilson won his long, long war with the Feds, and 3-D printer instructions for manufacturing the kind of one-shot firearm he posted online are deemed not an illegal download.  Further, the government was forced to admit that AR-type firearms fulfill the description of a sporting gun, not a military weapon.  Funny, but not unusual, how the MSM can't bother to shout out this victory for both the First and Second Amendments.

The ACLU are little more than extortionists and thugs, as far as I'm concerned.  Any group of activists weaponized with law degrees who insist on forcing hard-working, tax-paying Americans to accept, house, feed and pay for illegal alien families are a scourge of the country.  The accompanying involvement of "relief" organizations raking in obscene amounts of our money adds to the blight.  Before gangs with pitchforks and torches storm the White House to rid the nation of Donald Trump, they really need to think twice and then a third time, because actions initiated and expanded to clean up immigration corruption currently are a gift we may never see again.

Don't Hurry to Bury Roe v. Wade

Just hours before President Trump names his Supreme Court nominee (and may there soon be more), we continue to watch hard-core Republicans and members of the far right almost shouting with glee, convinced that Roe v. Wade will be overturned.  I, of course, am an Independent voter who, nevertheless, detests almost everything the left has offered and proclaims to offer as its brain trust turns ever more radical.

Still, I'm not on the list endorsing a reverse decision for Roe v. Wade.  Once we start overturning issues already decided by the highest court, does it not become easier and convenient to start busting all kinds of decisions assumed to be the "last word?"

Abortions are not going away any time soon, no matter what courts decide.  Would it not be nice if they all but disappeared?  Well, maybe so, but wouldn't it be astonishing if science invented 50 new methods of safe, effective and inexpensive birth control for males and females, substances whose manner of absorption presented no obstacles or side-effects?

Our disclaimer, obvious to those who follow this blog, is that we are not proponents for excessive human population growth whatsoever, and prefer that the ultimate solution, short of dreaded wars and grinding military action, is social responsibility.  We simply adore repeated utterances from organizations with an agenda, stating that human population is actually on the decline, but we're rather skeptical about what these assertions mean, depending upon world locations chosen for conversation.  If world hunger is bad, just wait until water wars step up and we witness how a lot of people are a lot of people.

Meanwhile, our Democrat friends persist in attracting the most outrageous leftist tripe ever, the most fantastic being calls for the abolition of I.C.E.  Frosting that cake was the win for congressional Democrat candidate and avowed socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of whom DNC chairman Tom Perez remarked is "the future of our party."  If one couldn't get enough of this pronouncement, there was also the not widely reported news tidbit announcing that one Gregory "Shoaib" Jones of Alaska plans to run for Congress.  Enhancing his resume' is Jones' membership in the radical group, Muslims of the Americas, investigated since the seventies by the government.

We, who wrote letters to newspaper editors years ago promising water on the moon (you're welcome, NASA) purely via common sense, were hardly surprised at NASA's revelation last week confirming the existence of organic molecules on Mars. 

Unfortunately, our expectations and dedicated faith about science in general were slammed to bits when a researcher recently used strong language to suggest that most -- most? -- scientific studies are simply wrong.

But aside from all of this, even as the Chinese announce production of a super-powerful rocket (among other fast-track weapons), many of us while away precious moments blubbering over uninvited adult criminals bringing or sending their uninvited children over the U.S. border, hoping to make things even worse by closing down I.C.E. 

The left and their beloved Hollywood supporters have gone mad in America, mad beyond belief, and it's a terrible sight to behold.  No matter the name Trump puts out there in a few hours, we'll be listening for the sounds of leftist lunacy turned up to high volume.