Category: Things that make you say hmmm?

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Its Baaaack…

Hunter Biden’s laptop is back in the news.

Apparently, The New York Times walked back its claims that Hunter’s laptop was a Russian hoax. The Times is now saying the laptop and the information it contained is authentic.

Politico also ran a similar story that the laptop in question was part of a disinformation campaign. I don’t think they have retracted their stories yet.

NewsGuard claimed that there was no way the information could be verified. They, however were talking about the New York Times original article.

I’ll admit, there are intelligence organizations that could have spent the time to put together something as intricate as the email chains contained on that laptop. They could have put together a bunch of the videos and pictures too. They could have forged the text messages easily.

The question I always asked about it was why? Why would Russia expend such significant resources to paint a known drug addict, even if he was the son of a presidential candidate, in a negative light?

If the Russians were behind Trump then it would make sense that they’d try to keep Trump in office. That being said, the general thought pre-election was that Trump was going to win.

Unless the Russians knew something that the general public didn’t. Was it that the Russians were worried Biden was going to win?

That makes no sense. If the Russians were interfering in our election process, and they were backing Trump then it would have been pretty much a “Lock” Trump would win.

On the other hand, If the Russians were not significantly involved with Trump but instead wanted to return to the Obama/Biden era where they could engage in their expansionistic goals, then again it makes no sense for them to have expended the resources. Had the laptop been taken seriously pre-election it could have derailed the Biden campaign and undermined the Russian expansionism.

Then there’s the data on the laptop itself. The email threads I was able to read before the data disappeared were boringly routine. Yes, the emails were talking about the business of making connections with the “Movers & Shakers” of various governments but once you get past the shock of that, it was boring routine scheduling and money transfers.

The videos were shocking, but the male in the videos (whether it was Hunter or not,) was very consistent in his voice patterns. His speech had the proper accent for someone from the northeast. Moreover, the sounds he made during sex were consistent.

Let’s be frank, we all know that during sex, we make sounds that are pretty unique to us. Ask your spouse, and you’ll find that there’s a certain pattern to your breathing, a slight guttural vocalization, a particular sound that you only make pre-orgasm. If your spouse is paying attention, they’ll use those cues to get you there, or back off so that the fun continues.

The male in the videos that I saw demonstrated the same patterns over and over again. This doesn’t prove it was Hunter, but it does suggest that it was the same guy. I can’t say too much about the women in the videos, there were many, and rarely did two videos have the same woman or girl.

If you want an example, watch some porn. Choose one particular performer, watch several movies they’re in, and listen. You’ll see what I mean. It’s more prominent with males in porn because “The Money Shot” is often repeated from different angles.

All of this led me to believe that the laptop was in fact authentic. It’s no one thing, it’s the intricacy and consistency.

On my laptop, I do things the same way. I have habits and patterns that are like a fingerprint. The way data is laid out is recognizable to me. I can grab an unlabeled data storage device and know it’s mine just by the way information is stored.

It’s my opinion the volume of information on the laptop, and its associated consistency couldn’t have been created by a hundred Russian agents. It looked more like one person over time.

I’m not saying that a disinformation campaign is impossible, I suggest that it is unlikely.

If we believe that the laptop is in fact Hunter’s. Then it opens a nasty can of worms. Was Hunter brokering access to his father, The Vice President, during the Obama years? If this is true then do we have a Sitting President who is compromised?

That was the fear during the Trump administration. Isn’t that possibility what triggered the first impeachment proceeding? Do we have a smoking gun so to speak that points to graft, corruption, pay for play, and all the things of which Trump was accused?

Is it possible that Congress had all the “right” crimes but the wrong man?

It’s unlikely that anything will be done about it at this point. Biden is one year into his term, Congress took almost three years to impeach Trump and. they were fast walking the process. Congress will no doubt drag their feet in any impeachment proceedings for Biden. I’d bet that we won’t know the full impact of Hunter’s laptop for at least 8 years.

By then the laptop will just be a minor footnote in history.

The question is this;

If this laptop had belonged to Eric Trump would it have been swept under the carpet?

The question is rhetorical. We all know that it would have been front page world wide.

The larger question is;

Why? Why do we allow this difference? A crime is a crime. That is supposed to be absolute, not money, leader, or party dependent. The FBI has had the laptop for almost 2 years, yet there have been no arrests and very few subpoenas.

Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason. She’s supposed to represent the best of equal justice under the law. She’s not supposed to see race, or wealth, or power, or anything at all, except was the law broken.

Our Justice system is supposed to enforce the law absolutely. Exceptions may be made in extreme circumstances, (such as self defense), but exceptions should never become the rule.

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Huh! Life imitating conspiracy websites now?

Several month ago I was reading an outlandish theory on one of the “Conspiracy” websites.

You know, those sites that are identified as places where Qanon, or Proud Boys, or white supremacy nuts, or COVID conspiracy nuts, hang out and post all sorts of mis-information.

You know, one of those sites that big tech like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and all the rest bans, blocks, or outright censors.

I forget what led me to the site, or even what the site was. I think it was some report on a “True Approved and Certified” news feed talking about the outlandish misinformation being published. I recall that the site was full of a lot of crazy shit. I read a few articles and dismissed the site from my memory. It wasn’t worth my time.

Anyway, on that site was a really weird article discussing how Hillary Clinton could end up as President. From what I recall, the article presented the theory that Biden would probably not be able to finish his term due to declining mental abilities. The article went on to say that America would never accept Kamala Harris as president.

(Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

The author of the piece said this wasn’t about her gender or color, it was about her complete and utter unlikability and how poorly she’d performed as VP and prior to that, as a presidential candidate.

The author suggested that this left the Democratic Party in a real bind because they’d have to retire Joe, then deal with Kamala, and perhaps impeach her. The author suggested that she’d not go quietly, and that the Democratic Party wouldn’t have control over her vice presidential pick.

The author said this left a bad option that would require impeachment of both Kamala and Biden which the republicans wouldn’t support because removal of both would put Nancy Pelosi in the office of The President. Americans would really cry foul and definitely cripple her presidency with a Republican majority in the House and Senate.

.

The author suggested that the only path would be to get Kamala out of the way with a juicy Supreme Court position. The author wrote something like Kamala’s ego wouldn’t be able to resist the allure of being the first “black” woman on the Supreme Court. Kamala would also choose security of a lifetime appointment over obscurity at the end of her VP stint.

The person writing the article posited that it would go something like this;

An older liberal justice is cajoled into retirement. Kamala is nominated to fill the slot and is a shoe in as a liberal replacement for a liberal retiring justice. The Republicans wouldn’t be able to block the appointment and Kamala takes the slot.

Biden, then of his own volition or through manipulation, nominates or chooses Hillary Clinton as his new VP.

Once Hillary is sworn in and has some time to marshal her forces, Biden then is removed via the 25th Amendment or impeachment.

And the Democrats get what they’ve been after since 2016.

Hillary Clinton becomes the rightful “Queen” as she was supposed to in 2016. Righting the egregious wrong of Donald Trump’s election by the ignorant, uninformed, unwashed, deplorable, masses.

The author said that all of these machinations had to happen in 2021 prior to the midterms or the Democrats would lose their opportunity to establish the dynasty they wanted.

I saw yesterday that Pelosi announced she’d be seeking re-election. She knows there’s likely to be a red wave in Congress and that she’s unlikely to retain her speakers role if that happens. Why would she after months of rumors of her retiring suddenly make that reversal?

At the time reading the article I thought, “What a load of horse shit!” No one in the Democratic Party would or could be that Machiavellian.

But today?

I wish I could find that article…

It makes me wonder if sometimes something that is called an insane conspiracy theory is actually truth written anonymously by someone with a guilty conscience?

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Apparently Irony is a Misunderstood Concept…

I stumbled across this one today.

University of Northampton have issued a trigger warning for George Orwell’s novel

The Orwell novel in question is none other than 1984

The University says that the trigger warning is necessary because  the book contains ‘explicit material’ which some students may find ‘offensive and upsetting’.

Northampton is ranked 101 out of 121 in UK university rankings. So one could say that it’s among the UK’s remedial institutions of higher learning.

Perhaps that is why Northampton also has warnings for other works, including the Samuel Beckett play Endgame, the graphic novel V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and Jeanette Winterson’s Sexing The Cherry.

The article linked above goes into more detail.

One has to wonder, is there a point when Irony reaches critical mass? What happens then, do heads explode, or is it simply a more quiet brain aneurism? Can the human brain self lobotomize as a protective measure?

It should be interesting to see where Northampton’s ranking ends up next year. Perhaps they understand that can’t reach the top rankings and are instead racing for the bottom of the barrel.

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It’s the language…

That’s primarily what keeps bringing me back to American Thinker.

Most of the articles are written at an English proficiency level beyond those of Slate, Mother Jones, or often The Atlantic.

This was underscored for me this morning as I read the following piece in American Thinker, “The Top 10 COVID Villains of 2021“

I know, the title alone is enough to put most of my liberal friends and acquaintances off. I ask them, “Where’s your egalitarianism? some of you correctly demanded that I broaden my reading scope. Surely, reading one article will not cause your “Progressive card” to be revoked.” Unless of course you’ve submitted to constant monitoring of your data stream by “The Party”

By no means, do I think the article was written as anything more than a “Fun Piece,” with a bit of a sting… In being a “Fun Piece” the article excels. When was the last time in any main stream press article that you saw words like, consigliere, execrable, harpy, fatuously, cudgel, avuncular,  and brucellosis (Had to look that one up) in one place used correctly?

When was the last time one of those articles mentioned, Jimmy Hoffa, Michael Corleone, Grendel’s mother, Donna Reed, Margaret Hamilton, Oompa Loompas, Machiavelli, Mister Rogers, Dr. Evil, Dr. Strangelove, and Marcus Welby MD, in the same piece?

For the linguistic legerdemain and funny callbacks to cultural icons, the article is worth the 5 minutes to read.

Something else that caught my attention. As I read aloud some of the bits that made me chuckle to the other half, I noticed that the vocabulary was unapologetic. If your vocabulary wasn’t sufficient you wouldn’t be amused by the article. Same goes for your knowledge of cultural references. This piece was written for Americans who spoke American English and have shared American experiences.

Then while pondering this. It occurred to me that many of the other articles in mainstream publications are written very simply. They often have typos which are artifacts of either someone who speaks English as a second language, or the author is using some kind of transcription software, rather than actually physically typing their article manually.

I have used similar transcription software but find that it is often more trouble than it is worth. I spend far more time editing the results than I would’ve done just typing what I had to say in the first place. It’s also far easier to miss errors if you’re editing a large block of transcribed text.

This lead me to ponder when the next major evolution of the English language would happen. For the moment people seem to have contented themselves with rendering all pronouns utterly useless. I will not be surprised to discover that, “To, Two, Too, Their, There, They’re, & Your, You’re,” are next on the agenda to be eliminated. I’m sure those offensive words will be followed shortly by homonyms.

The obvious justification for these words elimination from our lexicon will be that they are racist. Clearly these words are a plot by white supremacy to confuse the language, making it harder for BIPOC folks to score well on English Exams. That will be the selling point.

The reality is much more mundane. The transcription software can’t differentiate which of the words is meant. Rather than tell “Journalists” or journalism majors, that they have to type instead of dictate, it’s more in line with equity to remove the words entirely.

Et Voilà, suddenly, there will be another tell tale by which White Supremacy can be detected. If a writer or speaker, has a broad vocabulary they must by definition be part of the patriarchal white supremacist group.

The above argument is stupid on its face. However I’ll not be surprised by some variation of this stupidity being touted as truth and justice, or CRT.

I keep coming back to American Thinker because the articles are more often than not well thought out, and they use English. I love reading English that isn’t dumbed down, homogenized, and written on par with a Dick and Jane book. I enjoy reading something where the words used, have the meaning intended.

Any article will quickly lose my interest if there are multiple examples of the incorrect word being used in the piece.

I’m reading the article because it had something in the title that caught my attention, if I’m having to guess at the intended meaning of paragraphs or sentences then I conclude that the author doesn’t know what they’re talking about and is quite probably wrong. Therefore there is no need to waste further time on a piece.

There was a recent article (within the past year) in a mainstream publication where the author asserted that our planet orbited our star in the center of our galaxy, which in turn orbited an almost infinite solar system that contained at its center, a massive black hole. This was repeated several times in the article and clearly demonstrated a very flawed understanding of at best, the terms Galaxy and Solar System. At worst, astronomy in general. I’ll leave it to the reader to pick apart how horribly wrong the author’s statements were.

Where are the fact checkers for that kind of misinformation? It’s pretty easy stuff to look up!

I’m also bored very quickly if an article in a publication requires me to have the Urban Dictionary open in the background so that I may decode the bastardization of common words.

I remember when Urban Dictionary was a satire site, you went there during lunch to amuse yourself while eating at your desk. Now it’s almost an indispensable reference, especially if I happen to read a Rolling Stone article.

I’d prefer to think this is not a function of me getting older. However there is only so far my powers of denial will go.

If you’d like to read opinion pieces more complex than Dick and Jane, but not as heavy as War and Peace give American Thinker a go. As I discover additional media that doesn’t require a lobotomy or drug induced haze to read, I’ll pass them along.

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Okay, this is just insane.

By now, you may have heard of or seen the altercation that happened on a Delta Flight from Tampa to Atlanta. When I read the text of their exchange I was laughing my butt off.

The other half said, “Thank God you weren’t that old man…”

Yeah, I do have a bit of a temper and do not respond well to phrases like, “Stand your ass up!” Believe me, I’d have probably stood up, then given this particular “Karen” a verbal dressing down she’d not soon forget.

Had she slapped me, all bets would be off. As annoying and frustrating as flying anywhere has become I’d already be edgy. A slap to the face and her rearing back as though she was going to punch me, (as some reports have indicated she was doing,) would have resulted in extreme violence and rage on my part.

I think the older gentleman handled this “Karen” situation far better than I would have.

According to some of the police reports I’ve read, this whole thing started because Patricia Cornwall was trying to get back to her seat after coming from the bathroom. She was blocked by the beverage cart.

Most civilized people who have flown before know that you have to wait for the cart to clear the aisle, you have two choices, remain standing or “borrow” an empty seat until the cart has passed your seat row. It’s not a difficult problem if you think about it.

I’ve been in the exact situation and simply asked a passenger seated next to an empty seat, “May I borrow this for a minute?”

Ms Cornwall demonstrated that she was clearly a product of the American Educational system given this simple logic problem evaded her.

Things went off the rails when the flight attendant told Ms. Cornwall to grab an empty seat until the beverage service was complete. At this point Cornwall replied, “What am I Rosa Parks?”

According to reports, this is when the elder gentleman pointed out that Cornwall wasn’t black, they were not in Alabama, nor were they on a bus.

I’d have added, “Unlike you lady, Rosa Parks had a point!”

It appears that after this exchange the two of them were, “off to the races” so to speak.

At some point during the dust-up Cornwall was demanding that the gentleman put his mask on, (hers however was being worn as a chin diaper,)

There may have been the word “Bitch” tossed around, and the elderly gentleman is quoted as saying, “Sit down Karen.” If the elderly man called this woman a bitch, he was being as polite as possible given her behavior. I’d have called her much worse, and stood by my descriptors.

In the ensuing scuffle, Cornwall appears to have injured two other passengers and at least one Delta employee.

Ms. Cornwall was taken into custody in Atlanta and paid 20,000 bail to get out of jail.

This is one of those things that speaks volumes about the society.

There was a time when you treated elders, even crotchety elders with respect. When you’re on a flight, or a bus, or any other public transportation you are supposed to mind your manners and be cooperative. Apparently Ms. Cornwall missed those days in etiquette class.

But hey, she was a playboy bunny and an actress right? She’s special… Uh huh.

It’s been reported that the gentleman is 80. Given that he is about 30 years her senior, he legitimately called out Ms. Cornwall on her poor behavior. She was being childish. He may well have been a father, or grandfather. I’m betting that slipped into “Dad” mode without even thinking about it.

Even I, as much of an ass as I can be, I listen to an Elder. One telling me to cool my jets would be met with a contrite, “Yes Sir.”

Too many women like Cornwall seem to think that it’s perfectly okay to smack a man and that they’ll get away with it. Those same women run to the police when, after smacking a man, he hits ’em back.

A man’s only recourse today is to involve the law and doing so makes us feel weak and powerless, even if the police take the matter seriously, (often they don’t).

That’s why I hope this gentleman presses charges and doesn’t just let it go. I hope he puts it all out there. Elder abuse, Assault, pain and suffering due to the public nature of the crime, and anything else his attorney can toss into the mix.

The trouble is, as men we’re taught to “Suck it up,” and move on. If he happens to be a “Southern Gentleman” I’d say the odds are high that he’ll let it go.

In the same situation, I might do the same even knowing that letting it go would be tacitly condoning women getting away with abusing men.