Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 31, 2019 10:06:38 GMT -8
Thomas Lifson at American Thinker has an article this morning wherein Ted Cruz Educates Pete Butt-gig. Rightly or wrongly, you know my present orientation (and I’m not talking about the 40+ plus flavors of fabricated gender out there). I mean that I prefer to talk, if I must talk, about the larger causes rather than the endless and mind-numbing fine-grained tit-for-tat arguments, without which American Thinker would have almost no content at all and Facebook would quickly go bankrupt. That Butt-gig is wrong on this subject is obvious. Whether he is just misinformed misses the point. The larger and real point of his point of view is that it caters to the needs of The Golden Children. They must always be right. Everything in the past is wrong because these were things that existed before The Golden Children — who know all things — have had their say. Last night I watched the first episode of Desperate Romantics on Britbox. I’ll watch at least one more of this six-episode series to see if it gathers any strength. It’s more than a bit thin in this first episode. I’m hoping for some mojo to eventually come from this historical drama bout the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. If you thought that Brotherhood was about a lot of drinking, sexing, and sitting around thinking about how wonderful and superior they all are, you wouldn’t be far from the gist of things so far. Whether this series intersects factually on this historical brotherhood is almost beside the point for my present purposes. But even back in whenever-the-hell this was, you can see that yute must have their day. Yute (partially as an effect of actually not knowing all that much) can carry the pleasing delusion of knowing everything and being superior. And in regards to anything that requires knowledge or skill, such yutes will always be wrong. But in regards to fashion, such things operate according to different rules. If “new” and “different” or “revolutionary” are all that is required to show the supposed preeminence of yute ambitions, then there is, of course, no objective measurement as to whether the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painted pictures any better or were just different. And in fashion, simple bold novelty can be all that is necessary to establish a new fashion. In present terms, that can equate to that noted (by Dennis Prager often) German sculpture of the female police officer squatting over a puddle of urine. As one reviewer summed up this series: “Juvenile, so-so, tiresome, and horribly inaccurate.” I have little doubt of that. But this brings us back to Butt-gig who is yet another yute who comes to us full of his own supposed superiority. He and his kind have simply turned politics into fashion. One could argue that Trumpism is an ugly fashion as well. And I’d have no argument against that. Something was in the water starting in the 1960’s. As we see with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, that water has been drunk from for ages. And often yute will bring new ideas and perspectives to things. But I think the conceits of the 60’s, where you were taught to trust no one over the age of 30, are based on the central aspect of being one of The Golden Children who know all and for whom precedent has no hold or meaning for them other than as as a self-evident sign of something that needs overturning. That the ideological equivalent of children have such a hold on our politics doesn’t say much good about us. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 31, 2019 10:39:23 GMT -8
While reading Durant's "The Reformation" I came across this line which referred to a brilliant Muslim historiographer, Abd-er-Rahman ibn-Khaldun who wrote about himself as a youth:
To which Durant observes:
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Post by timothylane on Dec 31, 2019 11:00:40 GMT -8
When I was young (I especially recall this as when I was reaching my teen years), I had an unlimited self-confidence in my intellectual abilities -- and a corresponding total lack of confidence in my ability to get along with people, which no doubt was related one way or another to my extreme morbidity.
Somewhere along the line (probably when I reached and passed the limit on my abilities in math, which happened the first semester of my sophomore year in college) I realized that the first was a bit excessive. But that's all right, because eventually (probably a lot later), I also realized what should have been clear already, that I had a decent number of friends. (Indeed, one college friend visited yesterday on his way from his family home in the Indianapolis area to a condo he owns in Spartanburg.)
As for my politics, I varied somewhat, usually reacting emotionally as far as I can recall now, until I read Atlas Shrugged fairly early in my senior year in college (it was recommended by a friend, and I picked it up -- I think right before Thanksgiving). From that time on, though there were many other influences of all sorts, I've been generally conservative with a strong libertarian bent.
If Battygeek ever actually paid attention to the Constitution, he might notice that the word "slavery" never appears until it was banned by the Thirteenth Amendment. They refer to "other persons" in the notorious three-fifths rule (the purpose of which he undoubtedly doesn't understand, but that's another matter), and similar circumlocutions elsewhere.
And if knew the history of that period, he might know that the first anti-slavery law in our history was the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, which banned slavery in that territory. He might even be aware that this predates the Constitution -- it was passed under the Articles of Confederation, which required a unanimous vote by states (including slave states) to approve it.
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 31, 2019 11:15:01 GMT -8
Brad, get up-to-date! With Greta Thunberg in charge, the "ideological equivalent of children" are passe'. The children are now in charge.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 31, 2019 11:22:49 GMT -8
That describes a universal reaction to even the faintest reckoning that the world is a heck of a lot larger than we had ever imagined. To know is suddenly to know how much you don’t know. Indeed, the “characteristic delusion of youth.”
But let’s point out the Pete Butt-gig is 37 years old and yet he is still thinking like a child (and/or like a cynical politician who will say anything to acquire power over others).
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 31, 2019 11:49:22 GMT -8
In charge all over the place. Kyle Smith (the same guy at NRO who has such horrible taste in movies?) has an article titled: Adults are acting like kids, and it needs to stop. He mentions a hot trend in publishing: coloring books for grownups. I’ve got a graphics program that is a de facto coloring book for adults that I have on my iPad. It’s called “Millie Marotta,” presumably because it comes with images by Millie Marotta that you can color in like a coloring book. I was using it to test out my stylus. As you can see, I didn’t get very far with it.  But I would put this into the realm of craft rather than “coloring book.” I have little artistic talent in regards to drawing so this isn’t for me. But others could do quite remarkable things coloring in this image. Given that such things may be sold as “art therapy,” or just as a means to explore what it is like to draw (tablets and phones these day are ubiquitous), it sounds like a good way to actually “man-up” otherwise juvenile adults. I guess it depends what one is drawing. However, apparently this is not the aspect that Kyle Smith is addressing. He continues: Okay. Holy smokes. There’s no way I can parse that as anything but weird. Great point. Never have been much of an Adam Sandler fan although he is so outrageous, I have seen some funny moments from him. [Language alert.] Okay, I’m honest enough to admit at laughing at that when I first saw it. But there’s no mistaking how juvenilism has completelly overtaken the arts and politics. Rimshot. So true. So true again…at least from what little of seen of the wasteland that is now television (not to mention the plethora of awful Marvel comic book movies which is a furtherance of this trend). A good and frank article by Smith. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 31, 2019 12:45:36 GMT -8
I cannot stand the man and admit I have never seen one of his movies. The trailers were enough to keep me away from them. The other "actor" of this type, who I also can't stand, is Rob Schneider.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Dec 31, 2019 17:16:58 GMT -8
Even tough he voiced Lou Strickland in Top Cat: The Movie? I didn’t see that one. But if memory serves, he did play a good quirky role in the Judge Dredd movie with Stallone. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Dec 31, 2019 21:21:09 GMT -8
Here is a piece by Dennis Prager that reminds us of what we are fighting against when we talk of the left. It is good to recall this at the end of one and beginning of another year. The war goes on. Happy 2020!!!
I would swear that Prager has been reading our pieces at ST and here. Probably listening in our some of the telephone conversations between Brad and myself as well.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 1, 2020 8:56:27 GMT -8
The Left: The place for dissatisfied and angry women looking for meaning by telling everyone else what to do.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jan 1, 2020 12:14:57 GMT -8
Are you saying a place for the motherly instinct to manifest itself, especially in women who have forgone the actual state of motherhood?
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 1, 2020 17:27:04 GMT -8
There seems like an airtight syllogism in that. I'll assume I was saying something like that. When I think of angry Leftist females with no maternal instinct, the picture I have in my mind is of Madame Thénardier from Les Misrables — in particular, as amazingly played by Jenny Galloway:  |
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Post by kungfuzu on Jan 1, 2020 19:54:05 GMT -8
All I can say is.....Run for your lives!
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 2, 2020 8:10:59 GMT -8
Speaking of Greta Thunberg and toxic females, Ann Coulter’s latest article deals with a particularly toxic Jewish liberal female. You have better things to do than to read that article, so my suggestion is let me sum things up: This liberal Jewish woman hates men, particularly white, normal men. Celine Robinson is a writer/producer for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” I have watched more than my share of this show. It’s got some good characters. We’d watch it at lunch and could tolerate it because it was so mockable. Every villain was a white male. And if they feinted toward a black guy as the who-done-it, his crimes would always be the lesser one, or his crime was understandable in terms of The Bad White Male who would almost always be the ultimate villain. I have a theory about this as you knew I would. For men, pornography is pornography. If we set the standards for Twitter and Facebook it would be 100% tits and ass. For women (who do set the standard), it’s all about emotional drama. So “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” can be rightly understood as pornography for women, particularly liberal women. But as I said (particularly regarding some of the early seasons), they had a lot of good characters and it was watchable on some levels. And as long as you knew a white male was always going to be the villain, you could turn that into a running joke, which we did. One commenter writes: If men were ever to boycott these bitchy females, you wonder if it would make any difference. They love their drama so much. And I like it too when it doesn’t turn into a ridiculous feminist/bitchy-female/man-hating caricature. To fit the overall narrative here, the necessary and inherent side of The Golden Child is The Spoiled and Angry Child. Because The Golden Child’s self-centered utopian fantasies can never give the satisfaction that is hoped for, The Golden Child is always the flip side of The Spoiled and Angry Child — what we also refer to here as “Little Monsters.” |
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Post by timothylane on Jan 2, 2020 8:21:27 GMT -8
I guess you know I read that article, since my comment on it was just a little above that one (which I recall from when I read it last night).
One thing I considered pointing out is that this sort of thing isn't new. The movie Starman is a fine movie in many ways, but every single character in it comes off as you would expect from a politically correct leftist. I noticed it as soon as I had finished viewing it -- over 30 years ago.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jan 8, 2020 8:20:09 GMT -8
I love Ricky Gervais’ attack on the libtard Golden Children at the Golden Globe Awards. A friend said something to me like “How can he say those things to the people who paid him?” I answered “These libtards at the awards shows have been saying these things, and worse, for decades to the people who pay them — the public who buys the tickets.”
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 6, 2020 8:34:40 GMT -8
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Post by timothylane on Feb 6, 2020 10:34:57 GMT -8
We read "The Man Without a Country" in high school, and even had a video of a version. Richard Armour played around with it in It All Started With Columbus -- he said Benedict Arnold "changed to Edward Everett Hale, the man without a country" (I'm sure Armour knew that was the name of the author, not the character, of course). He even added that Nathan Hale acted as he did to save the family name.
One of the things Nolan had at the end was a US flag, including as many stars as he thought in now had -- but of course he couldn't be sure.
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Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 6, 2020 11:32:22 GMT -8
I remember reading “ The Man Without a Country,” either in Junior High or High School. And, in retrospect, I think it turned me on to the short story as a literary form. |
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Post by kungfuzu on Jul 29, 2020 12:22:43 GMT -8
Today a friend, of 60 years, took me for lunch as a birthday present. We generally have lunch together 3-5 times a year, and our discussions tend to cover current events and personal past experiences. Today we spent more time on current events.
I have little contact with younger people so I don't have much of a feel for what they think. My friend has a son in his late 20s thus has much more contact with these kids than I do. I often ask for his observations as to what is going on with the yutes of America. Today, he confirmed some of my worst fears about this group of snowflakes.
As I have mentioned, I do not wear a mask unless I am forced to for a medical appointment or the like. My friend is of a similar disposition, but probably somewhat less adamant than I. His wife and most of his friends appear to hold similar ideas. Yet, according to him, the 20-somethings are fanatical about wearing masks. He related his experiences with some of the little darlings. All of these nuts wear masks and demand anyone around them also wear masks. My friend has been told that he must wear his mask when he is in their presence and some have even told him that unless he puts on his mask they will leave.
When he suggests they look at the facts, such as people in their 20s are virtually impervious to the KFF, they get snarky. One cannot have a reasoned discussion with them.
My friend is not so comfortable with how the 20-somethings will develop politically. Due the economic catastrophe which has been visited upon the "little guy" by the KFF shutdown and the plutocrats engorging themselves at the cost of the middle class, he sees a good possibility that the yutes of America will turn to populism in a socialist form.
I am glad to have the opportunity to hear about these things from someone I know and trust and has contact with today's yutes. Clearly, I do not have a good feel for what is actually happening in the country. As recent as 15 years ago, I would have bet everything I had on Americans reacting strongly against the rioting and looting which have been going on over the last couple of months. The "silent majority" would have swung strongly to the right. Today, I am not so sure.
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