Germany remains divided. History can remain destiny for a long time.
Category Archives: Social Commentary
The Phony War On Women
The Democrats have lost it:
What happened? For one thing, Republican candidates had better message discipline in 2014, depriving Democrats of opportunities for their demagoguery.
The incessant harping on contraception may have finally repelled women who have other concerns, such as the economy and national security, just like the millennials. But perhaps the desperation of Democrats to play this card with the same effectiveness as two years ago finally opened their eyes to the paternalistic attitude that Democrats took in positioning themselves as protectors, which implies that women can’t act on their own behalf.
Couldn’t have happened to a more vile bunch of demagogues.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Longevity
Thoughts, from Trifecta.
But Bill Whittle gets it wrong. It’s NOT “Slow traffic keep right.” It’s “LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY.”
Candy
How it conquered Halloween.
Of course, we now know that the sugar is pretty bad for us, health wise.
Social Psychology
Is it biased against Republicans?
Of course it is.
The Eclipse Of Man
I just got a review copy of what appears to be an interesting new book
The Latest Attempt To Shame Men
I’ve never catcalled a woman, and I agree with Jon Gabriel; I refuse to be ashamed because some men are boors:
All gentlemen agree that catcalling is a bad thing. In fact patriarchal Victorians were so disgusted by such rudeness, they enforced an elaborate public morality that elevated women with a higher level of respect. Thank goodness feminism and secularism drove a stake through chivalry’s heart.
Today’s Victorianism comes from the left. They too have an elaborate public morality, but one that is untethered to tradition or religion. Their guiding scripture is whatever trendy philosophy is coming out of gender studies departments and mass media in a given month. Men leering at Beyoncé on an awards show is celebrated; similar behavior on the street is anathema.
For better or worse, I’ve never followed fashion. Not only have I never catcalled, I still open doors for women, surrender my seat on public transport, and ensure that I treat them with an extra measure of kindness. I was notified by several liberal men on Twitter that this is A Bad Thing.
You see, it’s good that I oppose catcalling, but bad that I don’t oppose it for the “proper” reasons. While my outward acts of kindness are nice, they arise from a belief that gender differences exist. To these critics, my actions are unimportant; my ideology must be condemned.
Pardon my language but eff these leftist totalitarian selective puritans.
[Update a while later]
Chivalry was a system, which imposed behavioral obligations on both women and men. Women found those obligations too onerous, but still expect men to shoulder them.
And let’s be honest. What makes these catcalls offensive isn’t that they come from men. It’s that they come from low-status men. Like an unconsented kiss from President Obama, if the catcalls came from George Clooney there’d be much less female outrage.
In fact, maybe these catcalls are a way of striking back at privilege. Any grievance-studies major should be able to flesh out this line of thought…
No doubt. Except it would be politically incorrect.
A Boat In The Box
They just scrubbed the Antares launch of Cygnus to ISS, because the range was red due to a boat downrange. Am I the only person who thinks that this rule is stupid, and needs to be revised? As I said on Twitter, I don’t care if there’s an armada of boats in the box, as long as someone is flying a banner “AT OWN RISK.” Holding up a flight over this is insane. It’s the kind of hypercaution that keeps us from making more rapid progress in space.
#Gamergate
Who is the player, and who is the played?
Physical threats against women are unacceptable, but it’s not clear who has been doing that, and being threatened doesn’t magically place you beyond criticism, though the Left would like to wrap her in moral outrage as a noble victim.
Financial Planning For Life Extension
An interview with Joel Garreau. Not sure I agree with this:
Boomer octogenarians in 2030 have “too many hard miles on their chassis” to fully benefit, but younger people may have trouble imagining the onetime prevalence of sickness and death.
I won’t be quite that old, but I think that there’s a good possibility that even for octo/nonoganerians there will be potential reversal of damage, and rejuvenation by then. And current government policies based on Scenario 1 (i.e., pretty much business as usual) are doomed to bankruptcy.