-
vxbush
6/9/2021 5:41:01 AM
-
1
|
|
Morning, campers. Let's play a game. True, or false? Is this a real quote? “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” --William Casey
|
|
-
Kosh's Shadow
6/9/2021 5:47:29 AM
-
2
|
|
Is the picture on the Orient Express? Where's Hercule Poirot?
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 6:06:46 AM
-
3
|
|
Sorry to be a downer in the Pub last night; it's just that the "girl with chestnut hair" bridge in "Dress Rehearsal Rag" gets to me sometimes.
|
|
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 6:32:43 AM
-
5
|
|
Morning Sedition is really going nuts. Yesterday, they were touting a "study" by some Leftist organization called "Pro Publica," which was yapping about how millionaires and billionaires "don't pay their fair share in taxes." Leaving aside that, however slanted the tax code may be, most of the people now in government are the same people who voted to slant the code however it's slanted, the "study" relies entirely on falsely equating net worth with "income," and suggesting that money which is tied up in investments or other items of value should be annually taxed as, and at the same rate as, actual income. It's a slight variation of the Left's false equation of tax evasion with tax avoidance. Today, they were back beating the drum about the notion that the Senate has to be revamped ("Who needs <s>oil</s> to pack the Supreme Court? We'll <s>ride the bus</s> pack the Senate!") because it is somehow "unfair" that lower-population states have the same number of Senators as higher-population states. Sort of sounds like the early-20th century Progressive initiative which resulted in direct popular election of Senators, rather than having them chosen by the state legislatures---version 2.0, if you will. These people really, really hate the Constitution; I can't tell whether it's because they don't understand it, or because they do.
|
|
-
vxbush
6/9/2021 6:34:58 AM
-
6
|
|
In #5 buzzsawmonkey said: These people really, really hate the Constitution; I can't tell whether it's because they don't understand it, or because they do. I would tend to think the latter, because the entire vibe I get from these discussions is, "I know better than you do." In their mind, their idea is always going to be better, mostly because it means they get to be in control.
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 6:37:54 AM
-
7
|
|
In #6 vxbush said: I would tend to think the latter, because the entire vibe I get from these discussions is, "I know better than you do." In their mind, their idea is always going to be better, mostly because it means they get to be in control.
I suspect you're right, though the arguments are always slanted towards those who clearly do not understand the Constitution. The "3/5ths rule" nonsense springs to mind; it is clearly an anti-slavery measure, and anyone who understands the provision recognizes it as such, but it's been sold to the rubes as a Constitutional denigration of the "humanity" of blacks.
|
|
-
vxbush
6/9/2021 6:57:59 AM
-
8
|
|
In #7 buzzsawmonkey said: I suspect you're right, though the arguments are always slanted towards those who clearly do not understand the Constitution. The "3/5ths rule" nonsense springs to mind; it is clearly an anti-slavery measure, and anyone who understands the provision recognizes it as such, but it's been sold to the rubes as a Constitutional denigration of the "humanity" of blacks. Given the poor educational backgrounds 95% of the American public has, it is no surprise. Heck, I was never taught how senators were chosen by the state until the 17th amendment.
|
|
-
doppelganglander
6/9/2021 7:05:10 AM
-
9
|
|
Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 3:
No need to apologize. You're among friends here. {{{buzz}}}
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 7:13:28 AM
-
10
|
|
In #8 vxbush said: Heck, I was never taught how senators were chosen by the state until the 17th amendment. The popular election of senators was intended as a blow against state political machines. Hard to believe nowadays, but in the late-19th and early-20th centuries there were actually Republican political machines, many of them rural, against which the city Democrat machines were battling. The Republican, and often rural, machines frequently controlled the statehouses which chose the Senators---and controlled redistricting, too. The move to have Senators chosen by popular vote was a blow against the statehouses, and the independence of the states, and a way for the increasingly-populous cities, increasingly Democrat-run, to both break the power of the statehouses and to federalize the states themselves. And, it worked---not only in terms of changing the makeup of the Senate, but in marginalizing the independence of the states and marginalizing, also, people's interest in, and understanding of, and involvement with, their state government. Few people, I think, have any real knowledge of who their state senator or assemblyman is; the statehouses have become sinkholes of corruption as a result.
|
|
-
vxbush
6/9/2021 7:24:10 AM
-
11
|
|
In #10 buzzsawmonkey said: And, it worked---not only in terms of changing the makeup of the Senate, but in marginalizing the independence of the states and marginalizing, also, people's interest in, and understanding of, and involvement with, their state government. Few people, I think, have any real knowledge of who their state senator or assemblyman is; the statehouses have become sinkholes of corruption as a result. Anyone would be hard pressed to provide evidence to the contrary on this. I think the results speak for themselves.
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 7:29:25 AM
-
12
|
|
Reply to vxbush in 11: There is probably a "Law of Intended "Unintended" Consequences" here.
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 7:30:23 AM
-
13
|
|
In #5 buzzsawmonkey said: It's a slight variation of the Left's false equation of tax evasion with tax avoidance. Within recent years, in policy-type circles, I've seen the term "improper tax avoidance" coming up as a concept. Of course, this makes the whole thing entirely subjective, up to the whim of the government. Sure, you folllowed all applicable laws in minimizing your tax exposure.... but we think you did so "improperly", or something, so: You're under arrest.
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 7:32:43 AM
-
14
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 13: Not unlike the wokies at school who were yammering at me to meet with them about an "incident" they would not specify, after they'd certified I'd completed Re-Education Camp---which meant that any such "incident," if it even existed outside their fevered brains, was moot.
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 7:33:06 AM
-
15
|
|
In #7 buzzsawmonkey said: The "3/5ths rule" nonsense springs to mind; it is clearly an anti-slavery measure I wouldn't quite call it that. It sprang from political confrontation between slave and free states, yes. But it wasn't per se an "anti-slavery measure".
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 7:37:15 AM
-
16
|
|
In #14 buzzsawmonkey said: Not unlike the wokies at school who were yammering at me to meet with them about an "incident" they would not specify, after they'd certified I'd completed Re-Education Camp---which meant that any such "incident," if it even existed outside their fevered brains, was moot.
Yep, that's a good analogy. Basically, the Rule of Law means nothing to these people; they want the Rule of the Saints. And, of course, they're the saints. This sort thing starts off as sort of amusing, and ends with gulags and killing fields.
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 7:45:50 AM
-
17
|
|
In #14 buzzsawmonkey said: I'd completed Re-Education Camp Speaking of which, I've received a notice reminding me that space for the online Diversity and Outreach Seminar is filling up, and that space it limited! Oh, dear. I'd sure hate it if I continued to forget to sign up for the thing, and all the spaces were taken.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 8:00:38 AM
-
20
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 18: It's an American flag
It's an American flag
When antifa comes round
They'll try to tear it down
It's an American flag ---Grand Junk Movement channeling Grand Funk Railroad
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 8:17:41 AM
-
21
|
|
In #19 JCM said: She identifies as 13, where's the problem with that? Because Joe Biden is deeply disappointed, that's what.
|
|
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 8:34:24 AM
-
23
|
|
In #15 Occasional Reader said: But it wasn't per se an "anti-slavery measure".
I'd disagree with you there. It was "anti-slavery" in that it limited the representational apportionment of the slave states. At the time the Constitution was ratified, voting was limited to property owners, even if apportionment was based upon straight population, i.e., property owners who had the right to vote, and non-property-owners, who didn't---but who could become voters if they acquired property. Slaves were not, could not be, property owners; they themselves were property. And, because plantations took up a lot of space, i.e., limited the number of property owners and potential property owners, they limited the number of possible voters. The 3/5ths rule recognized that the limited number of voters did act on behalf of the people-who-were-property, but also made it possible for both population growth and property acquisition to offset the voting power of the slave states. It was a combination of kick-the-can---shove the issue down the road for later resolution---and an attempt to allow demographics to make it possible to peacefully resolve the slavery issue.
|
|
-
doppelganglander
6/9/2021 8:35:11 AM
-
24
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 21:
+++++++
|
|
-
JCM
6/9/2021 8:36:48 AM
-
25
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 21: LMAO! Needed that.... now cleaning the coffee of my keyboard.
|
|
-
JCM
6/9/2021 8:37:10 AM
-
26
|
|
Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 2: Yes, I think that is the Orient Express.
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 8:50:38 AM
-
27
|
|
In #26 JCM said: Yes, I think that is the Orient Express.
RACIST!!!
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 8:56:01 AM
-
28
|
|
And here I thought "O'Rient" was Irish...
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 9:06:37 AM
-
29
|
|
In #23 buzzsawmonkey said: 'd disagree with you Well, then, you're a racist.
/angling for that tenure Ivy League job
|
|
-
Kosh's Shadow
6/9/2021 9:26:01 AM
-
30
|
|
In #13 Occasional Reader said: Of course, this makes the whole thing entirely subjective, up to the whim of the government. Sure, you folllowed all applicable laws in minimizing your tax exposure.... but we think you did so "improperly", or something, so: You're under arrest. This can be used as an argument for the flat tax, but the leftists won't use it that way.
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 9:38:06 AM
-
31
|
|
In #30 Kosh's Shadow said: This can be used as an argument for the flat tax, Yeah, I actually think that's a red herring. What's complicated about the tax code isn't that there are varying rates; what's complicated is "what is taxed" . A flat tax (rate) doesn't address that.
|
|
-
JCM
6/9/2021 9:41:21 AM
-
32
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 27: How very occidental of me.
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 10:33:46 AM
-
33
|
|
In #32 JCM said: How very occidental of me.
Gonna take an occidental journey With my fate held in my hands Gonna take an occidental journey Like they do in Western lands...
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 11:18:56 AM
-
34
|
|
Reply to JCM in 32: Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 33:
I think I've already recounted the exchange I had with a Japanese-American colleague in law school, when I asked her to explain to me why the term "Oriental" was "racist".
/And this was the same one who claimed the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan, but not Germany, because of... you guessed it... racism.
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 11:40:54 AM
-
35
|
|
In #34 Occasional Reader said: /And this was the same one who claimed the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan, but not Germany, because of... you guessed it... racism. I have, perhaps, mentioned this---but people used to come up to my father when they'd learned he worked on the Project, and asked him "Did he have any regrets about having done so?" He always looked them dead in the eye and said, "Yes. I deeply regret we did not get the Bomb done in time to drop it on Germany." It was always fun to see them slink away after that.
|
|
-
vxbush
6/9/2021 12:03:43 PM
-
36
|
|
In #35 buzzsawmonkey said: It was always fun to see them slink away after that. Oh, I bet. Would I be correct in guessing that those who asked were significantly younger than he was at the time? Something about anachronistically applying today's ethic to the past?
|
|
|
|
-
buzzsawmonkey
6/9/2021 12:19:54 PM
-
38
|
|
In #36 vxbush said: Would I be correct in guessing that those who asked were significantly younger than he was at the time? Something about anachronistically applying today's ethic to the past?
Not always; some were about his age, but merely assholier-than-thou. A number of years ago I was teaching a calligraphy course during the summer at my then-synagogue, and the class date fell on Hiroshima Day. One of the students started to go on and on about how terrible it was that we'd dropped the Bomb on Hiroshima, and I pointed out that it wasn't until the second bomb hit Nagasaki that the Japanese began to come close to surrender. I say "come close," because the War Party in the Japanese government tried to assassinate the Emperor when he was trying to surrender. The two bombs---and it's not like we had a lot more---saved probably a million and a half lives, if you combine the Americans who would have died in the course of an actual invasion and the Japanese who would have tried to stop them; they were a great piece of humanitarianism. Here's a song to put things in perspective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 12:56:50 PM
-
41
|
|
In #40 buzzsawmonkey said: Atomic Cocktail
Nothing like drinking one of those while relaxing with one's Atomic Dog.
|
|
-
JCM
6/9/2021 12:58:45 PM
-
42
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 34: If oriental is racist then the colallary should be occidental is racist. Not that anyone uses the term anymore.
|
|
-
JCM
6/9/2021 12:59:43 PM
-
43
|
|
Reply to JCM in 42: Give me an idea. An forms where they ask for ethnicity, I'm going to mark other and write Occidental.
|
|
-
vxbush
6/9/2021 1:18:17 PM
-
44
|
|
In #43 JCM said: An forms where they ask for ethnicity, I'm going to mark other and write Occidental. I like it.
|
|
-
Occasional Reader
6/9/2021 1:40:02 PM
-
45
|
|
In #42 JCM said: If oriental is racist then the colallary should be occidental is racist. Not that anyone uses the term anymore.
And "western" is also, therefore, racist (since it means exactly the same thing as "occidental").
That was, by the way, one factor mentioned by my former law school colleague in trying to explain why "Oriental" is racist. "Well, we don't say 'occidental' about Europe, do we?" I replied: 1) Yes, the word is used exactly that way in Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.; 2) It's used in English, too, just not as frequently; and 3) instead we tend to say "western" in English - western civilization, western literature, etc. - which means exactly the same thing as "occidental". So... we're west of you, you're east of us, it's all relative; so how is that "racist"?
|
|
|
|
-
Kosh's Shadow
6/9/2021 2:15:17 PM
-
47
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 46: I believe a professor recently did mention a "permanent cure" for "whiteness" when she said she fantasized about shooting whites. I guess "permanent cure" is kind of like "final solution"
|
|
|
|
-
JCM
6/9/2021 3:14:16 PM
-
49
|
|
Reply to Occasional Reader in 46: Complete gibberish. However the bobbleheads in academia heads all nod in uniform agrement.
|
|
You must be logged in to comment.
