News Flash: Evolution is Hard!

 

News Flash! 

Evolution is difficult. Evolutionary science is incredibly complicated. Learning even the very basics of the mechanics of evolution theory requires real effort. 

It’s little wonder that most (including yours truly…) would prefer to leave the heavy-lifting to the professional scientists, teachers and professors. It’s a small wonder that many would rather just claim ‘god made it all!’ than to actually study and grasp the intricate implications of evolutionary theory.

 

(Here, there must be a side-bar that addresses the definition of the word ‘theory’. A theory is not just a wild-hair, off-the-cuff notion that is declared without reflection or substantiation. A ‘theory’ in the parlance of science is nothing of the sort. (e.g. Your uncle at Thanksgiving may propose his theory that all ‘millennials are spoiled’ and cite his own nephew who refuses to come to the family table or purposes that the media is controlled by a certain Semitic community. (ahem) That is NOT a theory; your uncle is simply a blatherskite; he’s blowing it out his arse.)

 

Gravity, for example, is a theory. That diseases are caused by pathogens is the ‘Germ Theory of Disease’. Both ‘theories’ are the best explanation of the phenomena of gravity and disease which have been tried and tested and accepted as fact by the scientific community.

 

One is tempted to include a link to a video of Hemant Mehta listing the Top Ten list of asinine attempts to rebut evolution theory. Forrest Valkai (the Renegade Science Teacher of Tik-Tok fame) would be another video link that entices this writer. The dear reader might avail themselves of those video counter-arguments as they wish.

Caveat: Be prepared to think and to do further cursory research. As was stated at the beginning; ‘Evolutionary science is incredibly complicated.’ However, as a scientific theory, it is the best explanation available for the diversity of life on our planet.

It is no wonder that some would choose, in their utter and willful ignorance, to blurt out ‘god did it!’ 

Barr and Jan 6

 

 The obvious and pronounced reason for the televised January 6^th Committee is to gin up the public, make them aware, enlightened, entertained and pissed. The sessions are not primarily to educate the vast majority of the primary and secondary viewing public.

MAGA-dolts donated about $250,000.00 ($25 million!) to what they (in their addled brain-pans) was a ‘worthy cause’: ‘Save America!’.  Not only could they send thoughts and prayers, they could send their hard-earned money. Predictably (for those paying attention), instead, the needed trip to the dentist went into the grimy, fingered coffers of Donald J. Trump, Conman.

That should raise some MAGA-hackles. It should. They may blame Joe for inflation but reminding them on the TV that the Orange Scrounger made off with half a car payment is a very finessed move. Don the Con gets revealed as the louse he is. On the telly. And on repeat! 

That the money to ‘Save America’ would squandered on aught else but Trump perquisites should have been both obvious and expected. With the second televised hearing, that simple, fundamental fact of Trump-land – that all was for the greater glory of the Grand Persimmon and feck everybody else - was made clearly evident.

Kimberly Guilfoyle getting $60,00 for a 3-minute speech introducing El Grifto at the Rally prior to the Insurrection should make some MAGA-folks miffed at the former Scamster-in-chief and his crew of wanna-be douche nozzles. (One wonders if she got paid by the word…? $20K a minute to scream some version of her tag line seems extreme even for a former Fox regular.  Would Kilmeade have gotten that much? Or Hannity?)

As for the douche-nozzle ‘B’ team; Jason Miller had to have a filthy hand in the dissemination of ‘Stop the Steal’ missives. That little scanky merkin replacing his missing chin will not save him from prosecution. He undoubtedly signed a deal with the DOJ. The smart ones do. 

Trump’s last campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has most assuredly cut a deal for testimony. The opportune breeching of his child spared him from a ‘perp-walk’ into Committee Chambers, but his video-ed testimony, with this lawyer by his side, bland and hesitant as it was, verified the more candid remarks from the former AG, Barr.

One might be inclined to give an appreciative nod to Bill Barr for throwing The Donald so colorfully under the bus. We must take measures not to lionize this pole-cat. Barr is the under-handed arsehole who scuttled the Mueller Report, recall. He made like a Romanian gymnast in bending over for Trump and warped the rule of law to serve the Orange Monstrosity. He has done the good guys a favor with his colorful language but one must conclude that it was to save his own fat back-side. 

Hopefully, Barr’s apostasy will induce other MAGA-muddle-heads to break ranks with ‘El Trumpissimo’. That the damn has burst and the wall fallen may seem too Pollyanna, but considering Ivanka Trump sided with Barr against dear-ol’ dad… That speaks volumes.

Kevin, listen up!

This article is meant to go towards answering the dissatisfied clamor over what is perceived as Merrick Garland’s inaction.  The DOJ ain’t going anywhere and neither are Trump’s crimes.

The aim of the televised committee hearings is this;

First, get the more peripheral MAGA-folks riled up enough to turn against Donald Trump.

Second; present clear facts of criminality for those who have been paying attention all along.

Third, prosecutorial referrals fall like cleansing rain on the seditionists.

Stay tuned.

WTF and Why?

 

There is one, all-encompassing question that has plagued me since the first evidence that the GOP were actually englamoured by Trump.

Why?

Why fear this bumbling bozo of a clown, born on third base but thrown out at home trying to steal countless times?

Why attach oneself lamprey-like to such an infamous fraud?

To the point, why do Kevin McCarthy, et al. continue to provide aid and comfort to such an enemy of democracy as Donald J. Trump?

One can understand the warped reasons that impel McConnell to pitch in on the evil; Supreme Court picks and association with a fellow graft-master.

But McCarthy, Jordan, Cotton, Hawley? What’s the deal?

(Notice I left off Boebert, MGT and Gosar from that short list. They all, clearly, grabbed the short-end of the stick. When they passed out brains, these three heard ‘rain’ and ran for an umbrella.)

I have always suspected blackmail as the glue that adheres these venal people together. Given the Donald’s crime-blotched past and well-known use of such tactics, blackmail has suited me as the motivating factor.

However, there was always a niggling reminder that Trump, himself, would be subjected to counter-slander in a heartbeat. Then, it hit me; another part of the dark substance that holds the GOP in thrall to the Orange Pumpkin.

It might be called ‘Alt-blackmail’. It was also known in former times as ‘calumny’, vicious, false gossip. Nowadays it’s called ‘slander’.

Such accusations, founded or unfounded involve lawyers, court cases, suits and counter-suits, motions and motions and motions upon motions. This is a game that Donnie excels in; backed by Daddy’s money, this is how Trump survived all his failures and scandals

Playing the shady side of the legal system was what Donnie had learned at Roy Cohn’s knee.  

To wit: Should any of the GOP muckety-mucks choose to throw-up their hands and back away from The Donald (as Kevin tried to do in the emotional wake of the insurrection), then the muck-raking would commence. Dirty laundry would be displayed with no regard to the source or in-authenticity of the soiled undies in question.

None of these folks are like driven snow; they all have dark secrets. Hence, though acclimated to potential blackmail, the fear of prolonged expenditures in attorney’s fees, retainers and court costs with little hope of out-lasting The Donald’s neurotic resolve is call for concern. On an existential level.

As Trump loses his influence more Republicans will draw away from him. His failing forays into social media and "Tish" James having the Donald’s yarbles in a vise both went a good way to that end.

Kevin (et al.) trashed their lives and tossed away any shred of honor or reputation they had clung to in order to serve The Donald’. How they deal with it will be at the core of the book deals they sign.

 

The Woefully Myth-taken (part, the first)

 

Pilfering the term ‘myth-taken’ from Terry Pratchett’s lexicon, myth-taken can be applied to the actions of a disturbingly large demographic in the US of A.

Take the Trumpian/MAGA/Q GOP for example; they are seriously myth-taken. They are not simply mistaken on issues such as climate change, gun control and pandemic mitigation, bodily autonomy, etc., they are, more fundamentally, wrong. Yes, they espouse a contrary view to those on the ‘Left’, (or anyone slightly left of extreme right) but they also have a deeper problem; a melding of confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance. In short, they buy the lie. They are heavily invested in delusion. They take lame metaphor as truth, The delusions they cherish are many and layered, intertwined and inter-dependent.

They are myth-taken.

Offered here is an primer list of myths of the myth-taken.

One of their shared delusional myths is the one of white supremacy. The myth-taken are so invested in the myth of racial superiority that there is a separate, supporting myth called ‘The Myth of the Lost Cause’ which glorifies the Confederacy as a noble enterprise. The ‘ Cause’ was the preservation of a gentile way of life; one based on chivalry, honor and tradition. according to the myth. 

This supporting myth to the myth of white supremacy is meant to enable confirmation bias. The ‘Lost Cause’ is suffered by the perfect Southern man, a gentile and noble patriot. To assert that the Myth is not founded in truth is to deny each of them the role of ‘perfect Southern man’.

This is a regional myth, less substantial than Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed and less believable. The fundamental tenet of the ‘Myth of the Lost Cause’ is that the American Civil War  - ‘War of Northern Aggression’, in the parlance of the Myth - was about the struggle for ‘states’ Rights’ and only incidentally about the issue of slavery. The Daughters of the Confederacy (arguably the initiators and propagators of the Myth) erected monuments to the glory of a seditious, treasonous, rebellious bunch of traitors so as to sow the meme-seeds of the Myth of the Lost Cause’.  Many Americans wear and display the emblems of the Lost Cause. Many consider these ensigns as ‘call-signs’ to other white supremacists and white nationalists. White supremacy groups in Germany (fascist right-wingers) have taken to displaying the Confederate battle flag, the Stars & Bars, as replacement for the banned Nazi flag.

Much has been done and written on the subject of slavery, reparations and civil rights. Constitutional Amendments were enacted, for instance. Yet much yet needs to be done. Dismantling the myth requires more than enactment of legislation. Criminalizing the display of sigils, signs and flags of the treasonous Confederacy would deprive the myth-taken of their symbols.  

Imagine a MAGA-mutt without his hat. Imagine the Jan 6 insurrection without Trump flags.

 

Here's Kevin!

 

Kevin McCarthy (GOP, Cali) is prepping for his role as featured, recurring goof-ball in the January 6^th Committee televised ‘poli-com’ premiering soon. Kevin will play the outspoken neighborhood dolt reminiscent of Eddie Haskell but without the inherent wit or intelligence. 

In his role as foil for the likes of Adam Schift and Liz Cheney, Kevin will be punching far above his weight-class intellectually. His innate bone-headed ineptitude will be the staple of his character. Whether he testifies before the Committee or not is yet to be determined but his sustained bleating of ‘witch-hunt’ will become his catch-phrase in press scrums, there is little doubt.

That such a shop-worn utterance will mark his nearly every media interview must be expected. Kevin, by dearth of his limited intelligence will find his catch-phrase and the narrow mind-set behind it a challenge, nevertheless.

However, as comic as the catch-phrase might be to some, it will be the intermittent faux-pas and ironic bon mots which will accentuate his role of spoil-sport dope. Much as his blurting out of Russia’s owning of a fellow GOP Congress member disconcerted Paul Ryan, Kevin will bring his Dunning Kruger ‘A’ game as half-wit and nincompoop in a daft attempt to thwart the Committee and frustrate its members.

Riotous hi-jinx will ensue!

Cue the laugh-track.

 

Gun Laws

 

Texas Congressman, Dan Crenshaw was squawking to CNN’s Dana Bash that he was against 'red flag' laws (both on the federal level as well as the state level) because 'such laws would require enforcing the law before it was broken' (!) What utter gibberish.

'Red flag laws' are prohibitions, first and foremost; one cannot vote or buy booze or automobiles or life insurance or a house, before a minimum legal requirement is met. The minimum requirement for each is determined on both the state and the federal level. Similar prohibition already applies to gun sales; one must of a certain minimum age to legally buy and sell a firearm or ammunition.

In a similar way to the right to vote, the right to bear arms is restricted until a minimum requirement is met. (By the way, there is no constitutionally guaranteed right to own a firearm. Chief Justice Warren Burger proclaimed as fraud that notion.)

There is no sensible reason that one prohibiting stipulation be that the potential purchaser of a firearm must be of sound mind and character. Nutters and spouse-beaters need not apply.

For example, if one is required by law to go door to door announcing oneself as a pedophile, then said person would be prohibited from buying a gun. Similarly, if one was convicted of a violent crime (e.g. murder, rape, armed robbery, assault, etc.) then that one would be also be prohibited from the legal purchase of a firearm.

Apologists for ammosexuals and opponents to new gun laws will sputter that gun laws won’t deter the determined criminal. Duh… A quite wonderful (snark) argument for undermining the basic tenets of the Rule of Law. Following that fallacious logic: Why write the Magna Carta when the nobles knew that King John was going to transgress and break the law to assert himself? Why engrave ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ on stone tablets if people would continue to kill each other through the ages?

For reasons too obvious to state, we must have laws and regulations in a civilized society. Ask Hammurabi.

Let us be stalwart in our efforts to enact sensible gun legislation and deny the NRA such specious arguments as the aforementioned against common sense and public safety.

Call, write and pester your law-makers to bring the USA up to the level of the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and countless other nations where the mass slaughter of children and citizens is not a regular occurrence.

Putin's Folly

 

Mr Putin’s fundamental folly is that he wanted more than life itself to return to the vainglorious eras of the Russian Empire and the USSR. His folly was two-fold; first, to think that anything of the kind of was remotely possible and second, that a return to the Soviet era would not necessitate the inherent presence of M.A.D. (mutually assured destruction). 

Putin has provided us further evidence of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Vlad has over-estimated his talents, his resources and has misplayed his hand based on those faulty estimates of his own infallibility and genius. He has committed the age-old caveat about under-estimating your opponent. The invasion of Ukraine has been far more than he bargained for militarily, economically and diplomatically.

He and his sycophantic general staff have botched up their ‘special combat operation’ at ever phase and in every aspect of war: tactics, strategy, logistics and operations.

As example; tactically, the surrounding/investment of Kyiv should have been accomplished in the first few hours of the very first day of the war. The task bogged down from the very git-go; under-supplied and traveling only on roads and highways. (Lessons taught by the Germans ‘Blitzkreig’ were not learned, obviously.)

Strategically, sighting on Kyiv, such an obvious target, and announcing for weeks beforehand that attacking Ukraine and taking Kyiv was the Russian plan was both asinine and amateurish. For the vaunted Russia military - which defeated both Napoleon and Hitler - to bungle so badly is baffling.

Operationally, the Russians left themselves open to the ever-alert monitoring of communication by the Western allies. Generals used unsecured cell-phones which Ukraine and NATO could accurately geo-locate. Ooops. Jam up communications and see how far a modern army gets when they’re deaf and blind.

Logistics seems to have been absent from the curriculum of military colleges in Russia. It was as though the general staff never considered that a modern mechanical operation might need… fuel! WTF? Columns of mobile armor sat motionless for days and weeks for lack of petrol. Fuel was so scarce that soldiers were suffering frost-bite because they couldn’t even run the heaters in their vehicles. Not to mention that they were sitting ducks sitting dead still on the highways.

The old maxim; ‘An army travels on its stomach’ was another lesson Putin was ignorant of. The news is rife with tales of Russian conscripts looting grocery stores sacking the larders of babushkas and mugging citizens for food.

The word ‘cock-up’ does not begin to describe the military bone-headedness of the invasion of Ukraine. Any war-gamer or amateur military historian could do a better job than Putin and his general staff have done. 

Sadly, the military screw-ups are bloody and deadly. The effects of diplomatic isolation and economic strangulation, not so much. However, those less deadly effects will have to be endured for many years by the entire world, not just those on the battlefield of Ukraine.

This is Putin’s legacy: Folly, disaster and calamity.