A Big Deal

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Yeah. Yeah, spying on a political campaign just might be a big deal.

Attorney General William Barr said on Wednesday U.S. intelligence agencies engaged in spying directed at the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and that he would look at whether the surveillance was undertaken legally.

“I think spying did occur,” Barr told a Senate hearing. “But the question is whether it was adequately predicated and I am not suggesting that it wasn’t adequately predicated. … I am not suggesting those rules were violated, but I think it is important to look at that. And I am not talking about the FBI necessarily, but intelligence agencies more broadly.

“I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal – it’s a big deal.”

If it wasn’t adequately predicated (and, on what did they have for the predicate, anyway?), then when do the treason trials/drone strikes start? Maybe about the same time as the wall?

Political Suspicion

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Mayor Pete checks all the rights boxes: gay, veteran, socialist, gay, mayor, greenie, socialist, and gay. He’s also getting, for the mayor of a town most people don’t know exits, A LOT of attention. From all quarters. From all the wrong people. People like Little Benny S.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, for instance, called Buttigieg “nice and refreshing” for his willingness to engage with those on the other side of the aisle.

New York Times columnist David Brooks described Buttigieg as “smart, modest and self-effacing,” portraying the gay millennial veteran with degrees from Harvard and Oxford as a deft politician with a unique background who could surprise people.

…

“There is a big sense that he, unlike a lot of the Democrats, is actually not ensconced in the belief system that says everyone who disagrees with him is a bad person,” Shapiro said in an interview with POLITICO, adding that he’s asked the mayor to appear on his radio show but hasn’t received a response yet.

Deep State MSM endorses “Dark Web” Shapiro. Shapiro endorses (in a way) Buttiguy. That right there…

I Joke and It Comes True

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Kind of. I just published a post I wrote on the front porch this morning, another missive on the evil of Farcebook. I wrote:

What took him so long? He’s a libertarian/traditionalist/prepper staple. The fact that any of those groups – like Freedom Prepper, or any preppers! – voluntarily remain at the Faceborg concentration camp is beyond a mystery.

If you (or Dr. M.) need to know how to delete the FB evil from your life, here’s how to do it.

Then, I find THIS.

Screenshot 2019-04-10 at 12.49.44 PM.png

Offenders are said to be sent to “re-education” camps to clamp down on social media use.

Mandatory spyware is downloaded onto citizen’s phones to restrict what citizens can access.

And police check mobiles for evidence of foreign social media apps like Twitter or WhatsApp. [Or Facebook].

In the mad West, people voluntarily check themselves into the FB concentration camp, for the fun of it. In the sane East, let them catch you with your bots and propaganda cat videos, and you go to a real camp.

I’m not sure which is worse.

Another Farcebook Departure

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Outrage o’ the day? Sure.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is calling it quits at Spybook.  He runs down a few of Faceberg’s legal laments and then does the right thing:

I’ve Decided — Mercola.com Will Leave Facebook

A while back, I issued a poll to see how you felt about my leaving Facebook. The results are now in, with a majority agreeing with my decision to withdraw from the platform.

While it will not take effect immediately, I am making plans to close my account, so, if you’re not yet a subscriber to my newsletter, I urge you, your friends and family to sign up now. My newsletter is published daily, and subscribing will ensure you get three daily articles delivered straight into your email inbox (all listed in one email).

What took him so long? He’s a libertarian/traditionalist/prepper staple. The fact that any of those groups – like Freedom Prepper, or any preppers! – voluntarily remain at the Faceborg concentration camp is beyond a mystery.

If you (or Dr. M.) need to know how to delete the FB evil from your life, here’s how to do it.

No, Real Men Do Not Dress Like or Act Like Women

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Irrespective of WSJ speculation and what goes on at the mall.

Jason Momoa, Hollywood’s shaggy-haired He-man, wasn’t up for an Oscar this year, but he did notch a very different sort of honor at this February’s Academy Awards: most talked-about male scrunchie. And not just any scrunchie but a custom pink-velvet Fendi affair to match his pink-velvet tuxedo. On Mr. Momoa’s YouTube channel, he noted that his entire pink Oscars outfit was inspired by a different pink scrunchie that was lent to him by a hairdresser on the set of his upcoming Apple TV show. “I freaked out ’cause it was beautiful,” said Mr. Momoa of discovering that initial salmon-colored accessory.

Mr. Momoa is just one of Hollywood’s many male stars who reflect the trend of men’s growing their hair long. (others in this club include Bradley Cooper, Timothée Chalamet and Dev Patel). And with long hair comes the need to pull it back from time to time. Like during workouts. Or sweaty awards ceremonies. Although the company doesn’t have specific statistics on male shoppers, Ellen Slicklen, the SVP and general manager of Conair and Scünci (known for its colorful hair ties) has seen an anecdotal uptick in male shoppers with flowing locks. “We’re finding that they’re using not only hair ties, not only our skinny headbands, but they’re using scrunchies now because they’re comfortable,” said Ms. Slicklen, who added that her 19-year-old son has recently let his hair grow out. “It is a trend,” she said.

Some men look good and manly with long hair. But, this new trend isn’t about channeling the inner Boromir. It’s about metrosexual androgyny; the look fits the new feel and disposition. It’s all dyscivilizational.

As I may mention in this week’s TPC bit (haven’t started it yet), if you’re out in public in any American city, you’ll find the scrunchy-wearing, purse-toting, swishy male masses. For fun, ask one of them if “he” is carrying a handkerchief or a pocket knife. Ask “him” if he could bench press a pocket knife. Actually, don’t. The scrunchies are depressing enough.

When Credentialization Meets Reality in London

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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It’s the same in the US and in the UK: paper credentials count for everything, actual knowledge or experience notwithstanding. Nowhere is this more evident than in the education-industrial complex. Sometimes, hilarity ensues.

Teacher at Catholic London secondary school is suspended after it’s discovered he ‘CAN’T READ or write’

  • Faisal Ahmed was given the green light by teacher training program TeachFirst 
  • This is despite having problems with reading and understanding ‘written tests’
  • Just days into his new job at St Thomas More Catholic school in Wood Green 

These elite training programs (they’re all “elite”) serve as gatekeepers, holding back those who haven’t passed through the pedagogy wringer of some college Ed Department. They deter the driven and the otherwise knowledgable while failing to catch the illiterate. I almost hope this cat wins his lawsuit.

Standardized tests for the kids. Standardized certificates for the teachers. Standardized failure for society.

Par Three Wednesday 2019

10 Wednesday Apr 2019

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The fun starts at noon (2 PM for the internet).

Golf Digest has it down:

AUGUSTA, Ga. — You can take your Home Run Derby, Slam Dunk, Skills Competition and shove ’em. Sports’ best ancillary showcase is the Par 3 Contest. Given the excitement and energy that surrounds the Wednesday tournament, one would be forgiven for confusing it as a major itself. Think that’s hyperbole? After spending the early afternoon camping out at the scene, I assure you it’s not. Here are eight reasons why the Masters’ Par 3 Contest is the best non-event event in sports.

It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing amphitheaters in entertainment

Sitting to the right of the clubhouse, two ponds comprise the Par 3 Course’s epicenter, surrounded by trees, shrubs, flowers, pine straw, and any other nature item Bob Ross ever painted, with white Augusta National cabins hovering on the horizon. Oh, and nine of the greenest, finely-manicured par 3 holes on the planet. When dotted with the patrons, it’s a confluence of color so spectacular they can’t be replicated on a palette.

The roars …

Enjoy that, live or on the Screens.

Tonight I suppose they may still run the party at Hooters on Washington Road. Is the tent up this year? Is the shopping center still there? Hmm.

Last night, the Darius Rucker Show took a victory lap around the remains of what used to be ROCK Fore!

It’s entirely possible the Sweetwater Brewpub may be operational at SRP Park. Uh…

I think I’m heading to the beach in just a bit…

Vox Day’s Take on American Socialism

09 Tuesday Apr 2019

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His view is somewhat similar to mine, adding two excellent points:

All three reasons are legitimate, though not as significant as two additional reasons. The first is that there are now tens of millions of US citizens from nations with strong socialist traditions. For example, two of the three major Mexican parties are members of the Socialist International.

The second is that the media is dominated by individuals whose politics range the gamut from Marxian to Trotksyite.

PS: always read or at least skim the comments at VP.

The (Further) Rise of Socialism

09 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Joel Mathis offers up a simplistic editorial in The Week with three reasons why socialism is rising (again) in Amerika. A quick look at them:

1. Leaders are paving the way for a second massive economic crisis within a generation.

This is correct. He even starts with the Federal Reserve. These “leaders” aren’t just paving the way, they’re rocketing us along at Bugatti speeds.

2. It is becoming more and more difficult for the average American to live life sustainably.

Here, he begins to drift. We do not have capitalism in Amerika. We have financialized corporatism. This second point, on the surface, is true. But, it’s the result of 100+ years of interference, not from capitalists, but from the government and the banksters. He leaves off the bulk of the losses, focusing of buzz issues (and without delving too deeply into those).

3. The party of capitalism put Donald Trump in the White House.

In the end, Mathis goes off the AOC end. We have no such party in this nation-shaped place.

He ends on a decent note: “Frustrated Americans everywhere are looking for an alternative to the fading status quo.”

And, on that note, I’ll add three more reasons:

  1. Americans are getting dumber. With an average IQ somewhere between 9o and 95, they literally can’t understand what has happened to them. Ergo, the desperate reach for any other solution. There’s also the dismal education of those already lacking normal intelligence.
  2. Things, on paper and just for now, are better than they have been in a while. Maybe for just a tiny bit longer, we’ll have some hollow prosperity floating around. When some people have a little money, other people feel the desire to spend it on yet more people. When – Mathis is right – things really go south, the peeps will keep clamoring for freebies.
  3. The people behind the system keep pushing socialism. The falsely exclusive “either capitalism or socialism” is part of the plan. Particular economic (and political) systems are really irrelevant; the masters just pick one or two and run. The ultimate goal is omnipresent Satanic globalism.

That last bit is what we’re truly rushing headlong into.

Book It

09 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Mental Floss composed a list of the “best book stores” in every state. I detected a slight leaning or agenda at work. But, hey, it’s books. Read ’em if you can.

20. THE BEST BOOKSTORE IN MARYLAND: SECOND STORY BOOKS // ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND

Second Story Books’s cavernous warehouse in this Washington, D.C. suburb is crammed with used books, rare volumes, antiquarian collections, art and antiques, and much more, all arranged in delightfully specific categories (Byzantine studies or polar exploration, anyone?). Be ready to hunt for buried treasure at 50 percent off the cover price. There’s another, smaller location in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood too.

Other Maryland Bookstores We Love: The Book Escape (Baltimore), Ukazoo Books (Towson), Normal’s Books and Records (Baltimore)

I noticed some conspicuous absences: Main Street Book Store, Starkville, MS, that second-hand place, McCormick, SC, Andover Books, Andover, MA, the very decent shop at Newburyport, MA, etc. And, of course, there are the ones we lost, like Oxford of Atlanta.

Go read something.