Category: BullShit

Posted on

And in Other Ironic news…

South by Southwest canceled panels on gaming harassment due to — Wait for it — Threats of violence.

One of the organizers made this observation.

We had hoped that hosting these two discussions … would lead to a valuable exchange of ideas on this very important topic,” he said. “SXSW prides itself on being a big tent and a marketplace of diverse people and diverse ideas. However, preserving the sanctity of the big tent at SXSW Interactive necessitates that we keep the dialogue civil and respectful. If people can not agree, disagree and embrace new ways of thinking in a safe and secure place that is free of online and offline harassment, then this marketplace of ideas is inevitably compromised.
– via USA TODAY

You know, when you can’t even talk about an issue, fascism is already the rule of the land.

Posted on

Black Lives Matter is a bunch of grandstanders.

Was watching the news and the Black Lives Matter crowd messing with the Mayor of LA.

It’s sad really, because they just don’t seem to understand their behavior is depriving the community at large from being able to bring other legitimate issues to the Mayor’s attention.

When you have a vocal group showing up and taking center stage the rest of the community is unlikely to show up at future meetings. After all why bother? Your crosswalk concern, or the sidewalks in your neighborhood that have become dangerous due to lack of maintenance will not be addressed because Black Lives Matter’s grandstanding will have the following effect.

The meeting will be terminated and no-one will be heard.

Black Lives Matter has been increasingly demonstrating that they’re disinterested in actually solving problems they’re far more interested in getting their faces on TV and looking like they’re important.

I respect Rev. Sauls of Holman United Methodist Church asking for an apology from the Black Lives Matter crowd. He deserves one, since the Black Lives Matter crowd was in his face and threatening him.

The Black Lives Matter crowd OWES all the other folks from the community an apology too. Because rather than allowing community issues to be discussed with The Mayor, they wasted everyone’s time.

Posted on

Damn, I wish I thought of this when I was a kid.

At first I was in complete disbelief about the Texas school acting like they had a 14 year old bomber. 

Then this picture showed up, and I was sure that not only didn’t they have a bomber, the texas school district and police also didn’t have a “Whiz Kid” either.

I Call BULLSHIT!

Clock

The large RED rectangle is a standard LED. Available in almost any digital alarm clock

The little square in the foreground is a standard transformer.

The greenish rectangular board is a production quality wave soldered board. (The kid didn’t make this). And the kid didn’t do any of the soldering 

There’s a long board between the transformer and the what I take to be the main logic board. This appears to be a control board, most probably for buttons and switches required to set and control the clock.

The 9V battery connector is, I’m betting for a backup battery.

Sorry, this kid didn’t build anything. He gutted a standard cheap bedside alarm clock, then mounted the parts in a small box.

BIG DEAL!

clock1

The kid didn’t solder one thing, he didn’t etch those boards, he didn’t create or build anything. It even looks like he kept the plastic strain relief on the A/C cord.

Initial reports said he showed this to a shop / or engineering class teacher. 

I don’t care if the teacher was unable to identify this kludge, surely the teacher recognized that there’s nothing explosive here.

The question is what was the kid trying to do? Was he trying to impress the teacher for some reason? If the teacher was in fact an engineering teacher SHAME on them for not recognizing they weren’t looking at a kit or homemade circuit boards.

I’m looking at a photo and easily see the evidence of manufacturing and standardization. 

It’s probable the original mechanism looked a lot like the photo at right.

Just because the mess is electronic it doesn’t mean that the kid is a genius!

Now this kid’s getting job and college offers and being invited to the White House!

Really? 

If I’d only known, I’d have splayed a computer across a briefcase and gone to MIT on a full scholarship years ago.

Don’t misunderstand, I applaud the kid’s curiosity.

He should be encouraged to learn how to really build electronics and put stuff together.  I saw one twitter account that offered the kid some “Educational electronic kits”. That’s constructive…

People falling all over themselves, gushing about simple transplantation into a new case is not.

There’ve been several articles reporting that the school, due to it’s Zero Tolerance Policy, had no choice but to report “Suspicious” articles students bring to school.

So, everything that followed from the point of him showing the device to a clueless teacher, was programmed by a policy based in absolute mindless following of rules, instead of common sense. Which means that the kid’s arrest  was not about race or religion, it was simply procedural. I generally hate Zero Tolerance policies, in this case, perhaps the policy highlights an issue.

Apparently there is more to the story now.

The kid is changing schools, it seems that his father is a sometimes candidate for the presidency of Sudan, and a constant voice in the narrative about islamophobia.

All of which calls into question this whole event.

I don’t believe for an instant that the kid did anything creative here. I wonder if he was just trying to rattle cages. Reports say that he was told by the “Engineering” teacher not to show this around. Okay, why didn’t that teacher simply say “Hey, leave this here with me and pick it up at the end of school.”  That would have solved any number of problems, but it also would have required that the teacher accept responsibility.

Oh yeah, in this world, acceptance of responsibility is strictly forbidden.

My Bad!

Since I started writing this piece there’ve been several other pieces written which have debunked the narrative of “Brilliant Whiz Kid.”

I also find myself unable to refrain from pointing out the rather large elephant in the room.

In the Middle East IEDs are commonly built from re-tasked devices.  Is it Islamophobia to point that out? Is it Islamophobia to say the school may have acted properly and with caution?

Originally, when the first reports were blaring across the airwaves, I though “Oh God, Texas you’ve got to be kidding” 

Now, I think the school, and LEO acted completely within reason. 

Posted on

I’m exonerated!

SouthPark

The South Park season premier last night seemed like I could have written it.

If ONLY!  I’d love to work with Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

But quick highlights are:

Caitlyn Jenner, Political Correctness, Public Shaming, White privilege, & herd mentality, as only South Park can take these issues on.

If you don’t watch South Park regularly you should start. I’m guessing that they’re going to have a whole lot of social commentary this season.

Posted on

Not a “Hero”

kimdavis1

Kim Davis is not a hero, no matter what the religious right or ultra conservatives say.

She is a very narrow minded person who is a classic case of a person living in a glass house throwing stones.

She’s a hypocrite and spectacular failure at marriage, not to mention an adulteress and obvious fornicator, both I should point out were punished harshly under biblical law.

When she starts spouting about religion, and God, and all that stuff, all I can think is that she’s damn lucky she’s living in the United States now. Just a hundred years ago she’d have been in a much different circumstances. Even today if she where in the middle east she’d be stoned.

kimdavis2

Mrs. Davis is in jail for defiance of the law, and rightfully so.

She defied multiple court rulings and a direct order from the governor of the state. I argue that she should have been FIRED for failure to do her job and obstructing others in her office in the completion of their jobs.

Mrs. Davis as a public official is required to execute the lawful duties of her position. She can take vacation time to picket a law she doesn’t agree with. She can speak out against the law. She can hold prayer vigils, and light candles. She’s welcome to handle rattlesnakes and scorpions and spiders, while asking God to make the gay go away, for all I care.

kimdavis3

What she CANNOT do is pick and choose which laws she will obey. She’s not allowed to look at her job as a buffet.

As I was thinking about it,  I pictured that if Mrs. Davis were not the clerk, and instead the clerk had been a devout old school Catholic,  Mrs Davis wouldn’t have been issued a marriage license due to religious reasons.  Think about it, In the eyes of the church she wouldn’t be divorced unless her former marriage(s) were annulled.  Henry VIII had the same problem, the Catholic church’s refusal to grant him divorces resulted in several murders and the creation of the Church of England.

supremecourt

Had my hypothetical situation occurred, Mrs. Davis would have been screaming bloody murder about the violation of her legal rights, by a religious zealot. It’s doubtful that anyone would be rallying to a Catholic clerk jailed for refusal to issue marriage licenses to a known adulterous person. That whole religious argument cuts both ways. 

Neither Mrs Davis, or any of the other people across the nation, refusing to issue marriage licenses or perform their legal duties are heroic, they’re misguided hypocrites using religion to selectively deny a specific group of people the ability to enter into a contract. 

Yes! It’s a contract nothing more.

contract

The contract put simply says “We’re gonna share everything equally, if you die it’s all mine, if I die it’s all yours.” This contract is freely entered into, and broken thousands of times a day. There is nothing special or divine about it except the specialness the participants bring to their joining and that the state (the government) recognizes and enforces the financial aspects of the contract.

The state was essentially providing privileged status, (which was otherwise unavailable to non members of the class), to selected  members of the population. If that’s not segregationist and unfair I don’t know what is.

The minute GLBT soldiers were accepted in the military, the government had a problem. Two service people married in a state which allowed same sex marriage were entitled to survivors benefits. But if that couple was transferred to a state which did not recognize same sex marriage, what is their status then?

Can you prosecute under the UCMJ adultery in a state where to gay people aren’t legally married anymore? Does the military still pick up the tab for spousal healthcare? Are survivor benefits still payable?

whatmarriageis

The legal wrangling could have, and probably would have, gone on for years. The governments only logical choices were to forbid same sex relationship in the military, OR simply allow any two consenting adults to be married. The court decided in favor of the simplest, fairest, and most direct solution based on common sense.

We’re all equal under the law. Marriage is an important aspect of many people’s lives, we should all be allowed to participate equally in every aspect of our society.

If these hypocritical religious people were really smart, they’d be going to school to become wedding planners and divorce attorneys. I have a feeling these will be the next growth industries.

Fired

Since I started writing this I noticed that Mrs. Davis has doubled down on her stupidity. Now she’s asking the 6th circuit to exempt her from following the law and the governor’s orders.

Why the hell doesn’t someone relieve her of her JOB? That would spare her from all the pain to her soul and spare those of us who call the South Home, and specifically those of us who grew up in Kentucky continued embarrassment.