Jim Tweto, the patriarch of a family aviation business in Alaska whose fame endured a decade after his somewhat reluctant star turn on television, died June 16 when the Cessna 180 he was flying failed to gain altitude after takeoff. — aopa.org “At least he died doing what he loved.” “He loved crashing planes?” Read more →
Author Archive: Paul Epps
Censorship is Not “Misinformation”
YouTube says it has removed a video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking with podcast host Jordan Peterson for spreading what the company says is vaccine misinformation. https://t.co/lIVNxVBbpq — NBC News (@NBCNews) June 22, 2023 Vaccine misinformation has nothing to do with it. “Misinformation” is a meaningless but useful term because no one wants to just come out and say “We love censorship and we are silencing the views of anyone we disagree with.” Instead, under the guise of “misinformation,” they can say that certain content cannot be allowed, in the interest of safety and the Common Good. Google, which owns YouTube, donates vast sums of money to the Democratic party, and they are not going to have RFK Jr. clips on YouTube because if they do, people might decide to vote for him. The Democratic party doesn’t like voting, they don’t like elections, what they like is to just… Read more →
Progress on DEI
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. — Deuteronomy 22:5
Far-Right ‘Moms for Liberty’ is a Hate Group?
Moms for Liberty, the far-right parental group known for protesting at school board meetings, has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “hate group” for the first time ever. — msn.com “Far-right” is an empty phrase assigned to, as far as I can tell, people who do not subscribe to neoliberal orthodoxy and who question U.S. institutions of power, like government and teachers unions. And the lead paragraph, quoted above, indicates that “protesting at school board meetings,” which is actually a right protected by the Constitution of the United States, will earn you an SPLC designation as a “hate group.” The SPLC also labeled 11 other “right-wing ‘parents’ rights’” groups as extremist groups. The use of quotes in the story is noteworthy. The author has scare-quoted “parents’ rights” and labeled the parents’ rights groups en masse as right-wing, as though the idea that parents have rights is… Read more →
Definitions of “Woke”
A “woke” person, or “social-justice warrior,” is someone who believes that (1) the institutions of American society are currently and intentionally set up to oppress (minorities, women, the poor, fat people, etc.), (2) virtually all gaps in performance between large groups prove that this oppression exists, and (3) the solution to this is equity — which means proportional representation regardless of performance or qualifications. — Wilfred Reilly The attitude of a person who regards his or her opinions as so obviously correct and so profoundly enlightened that they may not legitimately be doubted or challenged, and that only hate or bigotry can explain others’ holding different beliefs. — Robert P. George At an American university, a conductor rehearsing a chorus said, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, please turn to Section B,” or whatever. A student reported him to administration. Administration gave him a warning. . . . My colleague… Read more →
Book Banning
Biden administration to appoint anti-book ban coordinator as part of new LGBTQ protections — cbsnews.com Oh, I’ve got the perfect candidate! This guy: Seriously though, what does LGBTQ have to do with book banning? Book banning has a long history completely unrelated to LGBTQ, and the book banning that is attributed to LGBTQ seems to be either fake or due to the age-inappropriateness of the material. Read more →
Have you built your ship of death, or have you?
Oh build your ship of death, for you will need it.
— D.H. Lawrence, “The Ship of Death”
Gay Woman Talks About Pride Marketing Campaigns
From Tammy Bruce, a gay TV and radio person: I realize that there’s all kinds of different people in the world. Lord knows I live a marginal life myself and I like my life. But what this [i.e., pride commercials and marketing campaigns] does is it sends a message it’s really kind of an extremist framework. [Pride is] really about being left alone but being treated equally and fairly . . . it’s as though there has to be another step forward, another kind of push for something, for everyone to be a victim or for some kind of new dynamic. Those kinds of ads really do damage to the gay and lesbian community. Because it’s pandering, it’s extreme… It does not respect the audience in a sense. [Companies are] not used to how Americans are usually quiet and that while we might not be having riots and marches, that… Read more →
TIL About Hormone Therapy
The following information is from the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Hormone Therapy web page. Children’s hospital. There are two types of hormone therapy (obviously): feminizing hormone therapy and masculinizing hormone therapy. Feminizing hormone therapy This means giving estrogen and possibly androgen blockers to people “assigned male at birth.” (That is a phrase I don’t like. People “assigned male at birth” are male and will be male their entire lives no matter what. Do a DNA test if you have any doubt about it.) Here are the changes you can expect from feminizing hormone therapy: Body fat redistribution Breast growth Decreased muscle mass and strength Decreased libido Decreased penile function Decreased testicular volume Decreased sperm production Slowed growth of body and facial hair Softening of skin To maintain these changes, you need to keep taking hormone therapy for the rest of your life. Masculinizing hormone therapy This involves giving testosterone to… Read more →
Another Reason Dogs Are Better Than Cats
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Reject the Evidence of Your Eyes and Ears
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. — George Orwell, 1984 Joe Biden has said that the American economy is “stronger than hell.” In other news, the percentage of non-retired Americans who expect to have enough money to retire comfortably is now at 43 percent, an 11-year low. Read more →
Where’s Waldo’s Phone?
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You Get What You Voted For
I can think of one, and you did that Joe! pic.twitter.com/nAQJMyF6nx — Vernon Jones (@VernonForGA) May 12, 2023 To put in context what’s happening here, these are South Chicago residents complaining about immigrants being bused into their neighborhood. In the 2020 presidential election, one candidate promised (sincerely, I think) to do everything possible to prevent illegal immigration, and one candidate, well . . . Democrats don’t really care about illegal immigration because the people coming across the border are almost certainly going to be Democratic voters. South Chicago voted 97 percent for Biden, the “I don’t care about illegal immigration” guy. So what are they complaining about? They got what they voted for. Yes, I’m sure they all thought that the problems created by illegal immigration would be borne by somebody else — somebody closer to the border, probably redneck Texans — not by them. They voted to create problems… Read more →
Bring Back Mental Hospitals
My Boyhood Sports Icons Are Dying: Vida Blue
Vida Blue was a left-handed pitcher between 1969 and 1986, most notably as a member of the starting rotation with the Oakland A’s dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships between 1972 and 1974. He won the American League Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971, the youngest American League player to win the MVP Award in the 20th century. He had a 24–8 record, an AL-leading 1.82 ERA, eight shutouts and 301 strikeouts. Those were the days when starting pitchers throwing a shutout weren’t taken out of the game because of a pitch count. Today, pitchers throwing no-hitters are pulled based on pitch counts. So eight shutouts is more than a current pitcher will likely throw in a lifetime. Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader and a good guy to go to for an opinion like this, said that Vida Blue threw as hard as… Read more →
Parents Should Be Jailed as a Threat to Democracy?
You Don’t Know Jack
Biden Nominee for FAA Chief goes 0-for-7 on Aviation Policy Quiz by Senator Ted Budd. Yes, 0 for 7. The nominee withdrew last night. Victory.pic.twitter.com/ORoo11cHpo — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 27, 2023 I like this technique. I’ve seen it a few times now. Instead of partisan gotchas, the incompetence of Biden nominees is exposed by asking them basic questions about the job for which they’ve been nominated. In this one, the nominee for FAA Chief goes 0-for-7 on questions about aviation policy. I’ve seen judicial nominees who couldn’t answer questions like “As a judge, how do you handle a Brady motion?” or “What does Article 5 of the Constitution do?” Read more →
2 + 2 = White Supremacy
2 + 2 = White Supremacy: How Woke Ideologues Corrupted Canada’s Math Curriculum — nationalreview.com White supremacy? Wasn’t arithmetic invented by the Babylonians? Were Babylonians white? How great a threat is white supremacy in Canada? I’m thinking not much since when I’ve been in Canada, I didn’t see anything but white people and a few Asians. From the above-linked article: Two plus two no longer equals four, according to members of the Ontario Mathematics Coordinators Association (OMCA), who consider the equation to be a white-supremacist dog whistle instead of a basic mathematical truth. According to a webinar created by OMCA president Jason To, proponents of math’s political neutrality who use the phrasing “2 + 2 = 4” are engaged in an act of “Covert White Supremacy.” Former OMCA president Heather Theijsmeijer, who originally publicized the webinar, pointed to commentary by Laurie Rubel, an associate professor of mathematics education, explaining that… Read more →
NPR Issues Correction After Claiming There’s ‘Limited Scientific Evidence’ Men Have Physical Advantages In Sports
NPR didn’t really concede much with its correction. Here it is: Correction: An earlier tweet incorrectly stated there is limited scientific evidence of physical advantage. Existing research shows that higher levels of testosterone do impact athletic performance. But there’s limited research involving elite trans athletes in competition. To me, NPR’s statement is so stupid that “scientific research” is not required to refute it. Let’s look at some anecdotal evidence: Lia Thomas, a biological male, a total nobody as a swimmer in men’s competitions, won an NCAA championship when swimming against women. CeCe Telfer, a biological male, a total nobody as a hurdler in men’s competitions, actually won a national championship by a full second-and-a-half when competing against women. Tiffany Thomas (no relation to Lia AFAIK), a biological male, recently won a New York City women’s cycling race. Thomas is a Category 1 (i.e., elite) women’s cyclist, despite being 46 years… Read more →