Every drug commercial you see on TV, half the commercial is a voice-over listing all the side effects, many of which are worse than the disease that the drug is intended to treat. May reduce your body’s ability to fight infection, which could lead to serious illness or death . . . “Death” is almost always in there somewhere. And these are drugs that have been through years of trials, full FDA approval, not just emergency approval or experimental approval or whatever it’s called for the COVID vaccines. What are the side effects of COVID vaccines? Who knows? There wasn’t time to test for them, except very short-term stuff like you might feel tired or you might have a sore arm. In the software business, we call this “testing in production,” meaning we don’t have time to fully test the product in a non-destructive way, so we slam it into… Read more →
Author Archive: Paul Epps
Why Is a Same-Sex Marriage Bill Historic When It’s Already Legal in Every State?
I’ve seen a lot of coverage on this and I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve seen the bill described as “historic.” I can, however, count the number of times I’ve seen mention of the fact that same-sex marriage and interracial marriage are already legal in all 50 states: Zero. I know people, probably you do as well, who’ve been in same-sex marriages for decades. I know people (including me) who’ve been in interracial marriages for decades. So what is historic? Read more →
The Employment Numbers WERE Wrong. Implications for Elections?
It looks like I was right about the employment numbers not making sense, which is maybe not such a good thing, in that everyone could see the same things I saw and yet I didn’t notice anyone (including “reporters”) asking “Why am I being told things that do not match up with reality?” Thank god I’ve been assured by powerful people that there is no possible way our government could propagate these same kinds of mistakes (lies?) with regard to election results. Read more →
What Does “Woke” Mean?
Recently I’ve heard “woke” defined as being awake to injustice, particularly racial injustice. That takes the edge off it. It makes it sound like a good thing, except to the extent that it propagates untrue ideas like racism is everywhere, or anything you don’t like is racist. Having an awareness of injustice is universal though, isn’t it? Although people have very different ideas about what’s just or unjust, everyone has their own sense of it. It doesn’t require a new word. We have words like “compassionate” and “empathetic” that seem to mean the same thing. I don’t think even the person or persons who coined the word “woke” meant it to be as inoffensive as “being awake to injustice.” I think it was intended to be confrontational. Here’s another possible definition: Making sweeping, prejudicial generalizations about race, gender and sexual orientation. I like that definition better. I think it’s useful… Read more →
My Dismay at Bruce Springsteen’s Facelifts is Boundless
Bruce Springsteen never had good skin. And his face was kind of puffy. Take a look: And that’s when he was still young. Now who is this 70-year-old guy? You might say he works out, eats right, that’s how he stays young-looking. There are no exercises to tighten your face, as far as I know. 70 years of gravity takes its toll. You might say that the photo is retouched and you’re probably right, but there are enough unposed Springsteen photos available with the same tight face. The hair is fake too, by the way. Here’s a selfie taken on the occasion of becoming a grandfather. Didn’t have time to slap on the toupee. I’m not taking a position against cosmetic surgery or other artificial ways of looking younger. Getting old and having to look at yourself sucks. But you have to be true to who you are, and Springsteen… Read more →
Twitter Files and Two-Party Politics
Most major media outlets united to disseminate an absolute lie concocted by the CIA: the Biden archive was "Russian disinformation." Not one media outlet that spread this lie has admitted that they did this or explained what happened. https://t.co/BYsLbH5lbR — Paul Epps (@paulepps) December 10, 2022 The media outlets listed above, along with most others, will not and cannot recognize any scandalous or improper behavior by leading Democratic politicians. Ask them to name any. The same is true for individuals who are quite happy to parrot the statement that Twitter is a private company that was perfectly entitled to enforce its Terms of Service. Hence, a nothing burger. I don’t know if anyone is even arguing that point. However, the Terms of Service violation cited for killing the laptop story had to do with hacked materials. Of course, there were no hacked materials and there was no evidence of hacked… Read more →
Maiden Name
Marrying left your maiden name disused. Its five light sounds no longer mean your face, Your voice, and all your variants of grace; For since you were so thankfully confused By law with someone else, you cannot be Semantically the same as that young beauty: It was of her that these two words were used. Now it’s a phrase applicable to no one, Lying just where you left it, scattered through Old lists, old programmes, a school prize or two Packets of letters tied with tartan ribbon – Then is it scentless, weightless, strengthless, wholly Untruthful? Try whispering it slowly. No, it means you. Or, since you’re past and gone, It means what we feel now about you then: How beautiful you were, and near, and young, So vivid, you might still be there among Those first few days, unfingermarked again. So your old name shelters our faithfulness, Instead of… Read more →
Equality vs. Freedom
The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because the passion for equality made vain the hope for freedom. — Lord Acton Formal equality before the law is in conflict, and in fact incompatible, with any activity of the government deliberately aiming at material or substantive equality of different people, and any policy aiming directly at a substantive ideal of distributive justice must lead to the destruction of the Rule of Law. To produce the same result for different people, it is necessary to treat them differently. To give different people the same objective opportunities is not to give them the same subjective chance. It cannot be denied that the Rule of Law produces economic inequality — all that can be claimed for it is that this inequality is not designed to affect particular people in a particular way. It is very significant and characteristic that socialists… Read more →
Thomas Jefferson on Same-Sex Wedding Websites
My fellow Americans – The Supreme Court has been asked to decide whether the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act requires a website designer named Lorie Smith to create wedding websites celebrating same-sex couples in violation of her religious beliefs. The state law requires equal access to places of public accommodation regardless of disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion. “Places of public accommodation” include any business engaged in offering sales, services, or facilities to the public. It’s an un-American law, anti-freedom. If you’re gay, you’re gay. If you want to get married, get married. That doesn’t mean everyone has to accept you and love you and make websites for you. Also note that the law places an unequal burden on the parties involved. The couple can hire any website designer they want for any reason. They’re under no legal obligation to show that they didn’t reject a designer based on the designer’s… Read more →
Suck it Up, Censors!
This is kind of obvious but have you noticed that when someone is revealed to have done something they shouldn’t have done, they try to deflect the blame to whoever revealed the wrongdoing? It’s becoming customary, almost compulsory, on any point of contention to assert that your opponent’s position is not only wrong but that it would result in a loss of safety for, and in fact the probable death of, some unfortunate person or persons. Suck it up, censors! Read more →
What They Said vs. What They Meant
Recall how Twitter touted its purpose back in 2016: “Twitter connects you with the people you’re interested in — whether that’s someone across the world who shares your love for science-fiction, your friends and family, a politician, or your local sports team.” If, from the beginning, Twitter had declared that, “We are a progressive company, and we are only interested in connecting progressives with other progressives, and we will suspend the accounts of conservative users with little warning and with vague explanations, and we will block the public’s ability to see news that we think might make them want to vote against Democrats,” well, at least then it would have been honest, and most conservatives never would have bothered to set up accounts on Twitter. — Jim Geraghty Read more →
Another Reason Dogs are Better Than Cats
That is a badass sheepdog. Killed 8 coyotes single-handed! Btw, I don't mean to offend cat people but cats are useless for killing coyotes. https://t.co/Luy9qX0Ezg — Paul Epps (@paulepps) December 5, 2022 Read more →
Let’s Go, Brandon!
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Los Angeles Times (@latimes) Read more →
Merry Christmas to Hunter Biden and Some of His Offspring
The Biden family stockings were hung by the chimney with care but the stocking for Hunter Biden’s out-of-wedlock daughter was not there. 🙁 For the second year in a row, just in case she thought last year was an oversight. The Biden family policy on Navy Jones Roberts, whom Hunter fathered with former stripper Lunden Roberts in 1998, is to pretend she doesn’t exist, beginning with Hunter denying being her father, and claiming in a 2021 memoir (who would buy a Hunter Biden memoir, btw?) that he had “no recollection” of Roberts or the “encounter” that led to the birth of their child. DNA tests later confirmed “with scientific certainty” that he was the father. Still no stocking however from the Grinchy and/or delusional Bidens. Read more →
Schadenfreude Squared
I’m a little late on this but I read not too long ago about a couple of Twitter employees who called out Elon Musk via public tweets. I’m not sure “called out” is the right phrase . . . one employee implied that Musk has no idea what he’s talking about and the second just gratuitously insulted him. Both were fired. Musk actually announced the first guy’s firing on Twitter. The tone of the media coverage surprised me. It sounded like Musk was some kind of monster. But ask yourself this question, and I will do the same: “If I posted something on Twitter to the effect of ‘I work at Company X and our CEO is an idiot,’ what would happen?” My answer is: I don’t think it would go well. I’d probably lose my job. But really the most intoxicating angle on this is Twitter employees losing their… Read more →
Musk vs. Markey: A Battle of Wits With an Unarmed Man
.@elonmusk could respond to my tweets but failed to respond to my letter by yesterday’s deadline and answer basic questions about Twitter verification. Congress must end the era of failed Big Tech self-regulation and pass laws that put user safety over the whims of billionaires. https://t.co/BEn6n9EitW — Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 26, 2022 Pardon me for stating the obvious but Senator Ed and a lot of other pissy little congresspeople were fine with Big Tech’s self-regulation when that meant censoring people and ideas that they didn’t like. They’re also fine with the whims of billionaires like Zuckerberg, Soros, (former billionaire) SBF and so on when those whims include making massive donations to Democratic candidates and causes. A quick Web search on Ed Markey reveals that he went to law school, went into politics, has apparently never done a productive day’s work in his life, but he wants to tell the… Read more →
Schadenfreude
Now that a federal appeals court has blocked the Biden student debt relief program, I have to admit that I really like to see people make terrible decisions and have to face the consequences, like taking on a colossal debt load in order to obtain a college degree with no commensurate value. I bet the Germans have a word for that. Germans have a word for everything. Read more →
All You Need is Love?
We saw The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. It was a fun show. My only quibble is that there’s about the right amount of buffoonery for, say, a Marx Brothers tribute, but a little too much for a Beatles show. A friend tells me his favorite Beatle is John, followed by George, which I’d say are not bad choices. I’ve always thought George was underrated as a singer-songwriter compared to Paul. One thing that always bothered me about John is that he was telling people that all they need is love, while he himself had a fondness for fashion, drove a Rolls Royce and lived in the most expensive building in New York. I’m not aware that anyone ever asked him about the apparent contradiction but it would have been a good question: “You’re telling people who may be living on the street or can’t afford… Read more →
The New Transgender Standard
A person's gender is what they say it is or what Natalee Bingham says it is? Also: a person who is clearly a man in a dress says another can't be female because they don't look female. https://t.co/542CEueO2B — Paul Epps (@paulepps) November 25, 2022 Read more →
Danger, Folly and Presumption
The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume an authority which could safely be trusted to no council and senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it. — Adam Smith Read more →