Joe Biden is not a serious person. He wants more gun laws but doesn’t enforce the gun laws we already have, like the ATF Form 4473, a federal form required to buy a gun in the United States. Among other things, the form is intended to prevent crack addicts from buying guns. Lying on the 4473 — for example, saying you’re not a crack addict when you are, like your son Hunter did — carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, but Hunter won’t be going to prison because he got a plea deal. And the Democratic Party is not a serious party. I haven’t heard a single Democrat say the plea deal is a joke and Hunter should go to prison. Yes I know the president doesn’t want his son to go to prison, even though he boasts about sending other people’s kids to prison for lying… Read more →
EppsNet Archive: YouTube
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 →
Pfizer Employee Flips Out on Video
As I write this, YouTube has taken down the video, I assume because it shows a Pfizer employee acting like an out-of-control cartoon character and damages the vaccine narrative. The video is still up on Twitter. WATCH: Pfizer Official ‘Physically Assaults’ James O’Keefe, ‘Destroys iPad Showing Undercover Recordings’ https://t.co/OviQpYh2Ol — Paul Epps (@paulepps) January 28, 2023 Read more →
Biden and Gas Prices
I’m seeing that the White House is now taking credit for declining gas prices: I remember the whole time that gas prices were going up to record levels, President Biden was referring to it as “the Putin price hike” or blaming it on COVID, however that was supposed to make sense, while his sycophants kept repeating that “presidents don’t control gas prices.” But he does want to take credit when prices go down. Unfortunately, his timing was a little off because gas prices are going up again. Prices where I live in California had come down to less than $5.50 a gallon but then shot up about a dollar seemingly overnight. This is what our prices look like today: I thought maybe World Was III had started when I wasn’t paying attention. Read more →
We Owe All Students High Expectations
Planet Berkeley: Strawberry Creek
Milwaukee Police Chief Accused of Being Inattentive. His Response May Surprise You!
What Does a Man Really Need?
Steve Martin Caro, 1948-2020
He was the lead singer on one of my favorite 1960s songs . . . RIP Steve Martin Caro Read more →
One
Happy Birthday, Johnny Cash
To honor Johnny Cash on his birthday (Feb 26, 1932), I played this video for my students this morning. Fortunately, God didn’t cut any of them down before the end of class, but sooner or later . . . Read more →
The Myth of Hercules: 12 Labors in 8 Bits
Teaching Computer Science: You Just Got to Really Want To
I’m volunteering a couple mornings a week in a high school computer science class . . . “Does anyone recognize this gentleman?” No one does. “Any pianists in the class?” About 5 kids raise their hands. “Do you ever go to YouTube and watch videos of pieces that you’re trying to learn?” Yes, they do. “Ok, this is Vladimir Horowitz.” Last time around, no one was able to identify Martha Graham. “I always know the name after you say it though,” one girl says. “Well, there’s more to life than technology, kids. There’s music, art, dance, literature . . . all these things help blow the dust off our ordinary existence. “I’ll get back to Horowitz in a minute. Last time I was here, I heard a conversation about how hard is it to go to college as a CS major. “I have some good news and bad news. I’ll… Read more →
Animal House Tax Policy
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland sued the federal government over the Republican-led tax overhaul Tuesday, alleging the new law championed by President Donald Trump unfairly singles out high-tax blue states. — wsaz.com I thought this was noteworthy in that I can’t remember ever in my life hearing a Democrat say anything about people in high tax brackets other than they are not paying their “fair share.” If a Democrat has ever before said that people in high tax brackets are being singled out unfairly, I can’t remember it. The new federal tax law passed last year caps the deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000, meaning that residents of high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland — and California, where I currently live — will see big increases in their federal tax bill. It reminds me of a scene from… Read more →
I Wish I Was the Moon
No pills for what I fear
This is crazy
I wish I was the moon tonight
Some Links on Listening
Are you a good listener? Find out (Quiz) Psychology Today, “Listening Skills Test.” Are you a good listener? Find out (Quiz) Mind Tools, “How Good are Your Listening Skills? Understanding Someone’s Entire Message.” Active listening and attending behaviors (Video) “Active Listening: Katie Owens at TEDxYouth@Conejo,” YouTube video, posted by “TEDx Talks,” 3:18, January 21, 2013. Getting past roadblocks to effective listening (Video) “Listening and Its Enemies: Avi Kluger: TEDxLaçador,” YouTube video, posted by “TEDx Talks,” 17:20, May 29, 2015. Good leaders ask questions and listen thoroughly (Article) Chris Baréz-Brown, “3 Habits of Humble Yet Effective Leaders,” Fast Company, October 26, 2015. Six stories from StoryCorps, where people share stories from their lives (Video) The Rauch Brothers, “Listening Is an Act of Love,” StoryCorps via POV video, 22:36, November 28, 2013. Read more →
Some Links on Effective Communication
Busting myths on gender differences in the brain (Article) Nora Caplan-Bricker, “The Idea of a ‘Male Brain’ and a ‘Female Brain’ Is Likely a Myth,” Slate, November 2, 2015. Challenges and strategies for creating safe communication spaces at work (Article) James R. Detert and Ethan R. Burris, “Can Your Employees Really Speak Freely?,” Harvard Business Review, vol. 94, no. 1 (January/February 2016): p. 80-87. Communication comes in all shapes and sizes (Video) Nancy Lublin, “Texting That Saves Lives,” TEDvideo, 5:24, February 2012. Do men and women communicate differently? (Article) Deborah Cameron, “What Language Barrier?,” The Guardian, October 1, 2007. Find out the meaning behind emojis (Website) “Emojipedia.” Game-changing communication developments (Article) Amber Leigh Turner, “5 Trends Disrupting Communication,” TNW News. How the medium of communications can change what we say (Article) “Tweets From Mobile Devices Are More Likely to Be Egocentric,” International Communications Association press release, October 1, 2015. Leaders can change their power… Read more →
Fernando and Barbara Ann
I got an email today from a guy named Fernando and I can’t get the song out of my mind . . . Can you hear the drums, Fernando? There was something in the air that night The stars were bright, Fernando. I would not want to have a name that reminds people of a song that they immediately start singing to me my whole life. Like Jude. Or Barbara Ann. Barbara Ann would be a bad name to have . . . Read more →
The Emperor’s New Clothes
I see plenty of clothes that I like But I won’t go anywhere nice for a while All I want to do is just sit here And write it all down and rest for a while Read more →
Good News, Bad News
Bad News: Americans are retiring later, dying sooner and are sicker in-between. Good News: I found this video of a rescued raccoon who thinks she’s a dog: Read more →