On Twitter, a Chicago Teachers Union leader rallied teachers to refuse to go back to the classroom to 'stay safe.' On Instagram, on the same day, she posted pictures poolside in Puerto Rico. https://t.co/eiC4CqH1k2 @WGNNews — Ben Bradley (@BenBradleyTV) January 1, 2021 Oopsie! Bad timing! As Albert Shanker — former president of the United Federation of Teachers (1964-1984) and the American Federation of Teachers (1974-1997) — used to say: “When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of schoolchildren.” Read more →
To Quarantine or Not to Quarantine?
I’m reading that Los Angeles County, which is adjacent to where I live (Orange County) is now requiring travelers to quarantine for 10 days. By comparison, I also just read that Sweden, which didn’t do lockdowns, continued to send kids to school, adults to work, didn’t close bars, restaurants, gyms, etc., will have about the same death rate in 2020 as they’ve had every year since 2010. One explanation would be that people tagged as COVID victims were on track to die within a year or so anyway. I looked at COVID death rates for California and found that residents age 80+ are 3% of cases but 43% of deaths. If we go down to age 65+, we see 11% of cases but 76% of deaths. In a large majority of cases, the decedents had one or more comorbidities. Read more →
You Do Not Need Many Things
My house is buried in the deepest recess of the forest Every year, ivy vines grow longer than the year before. Undisturbed by the affairs of the world I live at ease, Woodmen’s singing rarely reaching me through the trees. While the sun stays in the sky, I mend my torn clothes And facing the moon, I read holy texts aloud to myself. Let me drop a word of advice for believers of my faith. To enjoy life’s immensity, you do not need many things. — Ryokan Taigu Read more →
Why Are They Working and Why Are We Not?
As I walked out all the streets were empty The government said everyone should stay home And they spread fear and loathing and no hope for the future Not many did question this very strange move Well, on the government website from the 21st March 2020 It said COVID-19 was no longer high risk Then two days later Boris put us under lockdown Then why are we not being told the truth? By all the media outlets and the government lackeys Why is this not big news, why is it being ignored? Why no checks and balances, why no second opinions? Why are they working, and why are we not? Why are they working, and why are we not? Why are they working, and why are we not? Why are they working, and why are we not? Why are they working, and why are we not? Why are they working,… Read more →
How Will the Media Treat President Biden?
Obviously the media hate Donald Trump but he has been sensational for ratings. Obviously the last four years of screaming partisan trainwreck reportage is interesting to some people. What will happen when (alleged) president-elect Biden takes over? Will we continue to get the same puff pieces we’ve been getting on him all year? He seems remarkably coherent today. What energy! Look at him go! I think he’s figured out how teleprompters work. Thank god he’s got the keys to the nuclear codes! Who’s going to watch that nonsense day after day? Nobody, is what I would assume. Will the press have to turn against Biden just to maintain ratings? I’m interested to see how that will play out. Read more →
Too Lazy To Be Ambitious
Too lazy to be ambitious, I let the world take care of itself. Ten days’ worth of rice in my bag; a bundle of twigs by the fireplace. Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment? Listening to the night rain on my roof, I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out. — Ryokan Taigu Read more →
Begging
today’s begging is finished; at the crossroads i wander by the side of hachiman shrine talking with some children. last year, a foolish monk; this year, no change! — Ryokan Taigu Read more →
Two True Stories About 2020
Looking back over 2020, it was a year of fear, suffering, and pain . . . but also a story of courage, compassion, heroism and accomplishment. Do our brains have an automatic negativity bias? It seems we much more easily remember and give attention to bad experiences. But both stories are true. Read more →
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” — Isaiah 6:8
New York Times Publishes True Story!
There was a story in the New York Times citing a recent scientific study which found that people can lose weight by exercising more. Stop the fucking presses! Follow the science! On the bright side, it may be the only factually accurate story the Times has published in the last four years. Possible follow-up: Is there scientific evidence that people can also lose weight by eating less? Read more →
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting– over and over announcing your place in the family of things. — Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese” Read more →
Woke White Boy on Sexist Toys
Continuing to segregate toys based on gender just works to perpetuate nasty sexist stereotypes, plus it severely limits the development of all young people. Be sure to engage in a conversation about sexism with your friends and families over the holidays! — WWB Read more →
Two Main Enemies
I feel like I have two main enemies: Myself Everyone else Read more →
God Cannot Feel Disappointment or Pain
“Your god must feel a bit disappointed,” Doctor Colin said, “when he looks at this world of his.” “When you were a boy they can’t have taught you theology very well. God cannot feel disappointment or pain.” “Perhaps that’s why I don’t care to believe in him.” — Graham Greene, _A Burnt-Out Case_ Read more →
Woke White Boy on Education Reform and Anti-Racism
“K-12 schools across the country must urgently profess solidarity with Black Lives Matter, vow to dismantle white supremacy and remake themselves into racism-free zones. “We need to eradicate white supremacy and heteropatriarchy in all of our institutions.” “‘Heteropatriarchy’?” “We declare war on the intentional barriers white people have built to harm Black people. We grieve for all of the Black lives taken by white supremacy.” “Sounds like indoctrination is the key word here.” “No, it’s an opportunity for engagement. What’s really different now is talking explicitly about whiteness.” “Parents must be thrilled with the use of words like diversity, equity and inclusivity to group and stereotype human beings by skin color and attribute characteristics to your personality based on skin color, not to mention the anti-white and anti-American messaging.” “Well, I’m tired of White people reveling in their state-sanctioned depravity, snuffing out Black life with no consequences. They gleefully soak… Read more →
Thomas Jefferson: I’m Spinning In My Grave
My fellow Americans – I read a Rasmussen report stating that 47% of voters think the presidential election was stolen via fraudulent behavior by Democrats. You might say, well, those 47% are just the Republican losers, but the numbers include 30% of Democratic voters and 39% of independents. Huge: "How likely is it that Democrats stole votes or destroyed pro-Trump ballots in several states to ensure that Biden would win?" Democrats – 30% – 20% say Very Likely (VL)Unaffiliated – 39% – 29% say VLRepublicans – 75% – 61% say VLAll Voters – 47% – 36% say VL https://t.co/NMDryxyLzq pic.twitter.com/EblRuV2AXY — Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) November 20, 2020 As I understand it, on election night, ballot counters in several states (WI, MI, PA) all got tired at the same time, sent Republicans home, then caught a second wind and found hundreds of thousands of Biden ballots. If you think of it… Read more →
People I Thought Were Dead
Jean-Luc Godard, film director, screenwriter Tony Kubek, baseball player and broadcaster Steve Lawrence, singer John le Carré, novelist Jill St. John, actress Clarence Williams III, actor Updates John le Carré, died 12/12/2020 Read more →
Incompetents
Politics and political office are not and never have been the method and means by which we can govern ourselves in peace and dignity and honor and security, but instead are our national refuge for our incompetents who have failed at every other occupation by means of which they might make a living for themselves and their families; and which as a result we would have to feed and clothe and shelter out of our own private purses and means. — Faulkner, The Mansion Read more →
Woke White Boy: Giving Tuesday
I wanted to remind you that today is “Giving Tuesday,” a day set aside every year to interrupt the Christmas shopping blitz so that Americans like you can give to non-profit causes like attacking free enterprise, capitalism, freedom of expression, religious values, and everything that makes America remarkable. Please fight back. — WWB Read more →
How is the Utah Monolith Like the 2020 Election?
If something is valuable — in the case of the monolith, because it became internationally famous — and unguarded, someone is going to steal it. Read more →