It's Only...

Scroll down the link to read the litany.

And, on a different topic, it's ONLY another American company dumping Americans for foreigners.

Good thing I learned how to make granola last week - the recipe is here. And, it was good - VERY good. Now that I know how it's made, I'm planning to make a batch every week or so, and keep it on my shelves.

Sometimes I feel as though we are just surrounded by 2-year old children. You know how they are - they get their way because they have the stamina to be incredibly annoying, hour after hour, saying the same things over and over. At some point, you would give ANYTHING just to shut them up.

But, every time you do that, you just reinforce that whiny, obnoxious behavior. Hell, I'm not saying anything most of you haven't experienced in your lives. Either you HAD kids, or, and  for this I truly pity you, you knew a so-called adult who used the same tactical set to get their way.  Maybe it was a parent, sister/brother, spouse, or a boss - in those cases, you are - at least for a time - bound together with them, and trying to keep your sanity.

It only stops when you either walk away - temporarily or permanently - and disengage from that game.

If it's a kid, usually they learn that, no, you aren't putting up with all that. Most of them do, and generally turn out well.

If it's an adult, well, I'm less hopeful. For many of them, this was their go-to when thwarted. After a few decades of using the same method of interacting, I just don't think most of them are capable of change - by that time, they are almost hard-wired to keep doing the Same Old S--t.

We may need to turn out the Whiny Left for a LONG time, to begin to make that change happen. Or else, be prepared to walk away from them, and refuse to have any interactions with them - ever.

What I’ve Been Reading Lately

 Some fluff, some practical, some deeper topics. 

The fluff:

• Murder mysteries of the most airy kind, barely concealed crimes with a lot of romance mixed in.
• Pop culture
• Celebrity bios

The practical:

• Cookbooks - online and offline
• Home repair, sewing techniques/patterns, decorating tips
• Writing techniques, plot development
• Radio topics - these I’m taking in small bites. Very dense reading, mostly

Deeper topics:

• History
• Political theory, preferably not at night. I fall right asleep

One I picked up a long time ago - To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs, and the New Media Defeated John Kerry, is my go-to reading when taking a break. The story is familiar enough to keep me engaged, yet continues to surprise me with new information about the events that brought in Bush II.

The beauty of reading history is that it gives you background on how things today got started, takes your mind off immediate worries, and keeps your brain active.

Better than stewing about the chuckleheadeded politicians busy paying off their donors, running the economy into the ground, and personally enriching themselves.

What is the Minimum Duty of a Decent Person?

I'm referring to what a person who would characterize themselves as moral would believe is the very least that he owes to his society.

If he is in a group, and some of them begin playing "He deserves it" pile-on towards one of the group, do you step up, and point out that they are being abusive and bullying towards that person? Do you point out that the person maintaining civil interactions should receive an apology? That their mud-slinging insults were unworthy of an adult?

Or do you just try to stop the interactions entirely, asking for "everyone to stop arguing"?  Are you satisfied to simply get the active fighting to end?

The thing is, though, as long as the bullies aren't called out on their abusive ways, they will continue to use those tactics. By simply shutting down the fight, you haven't stopped the ill-feeling:

• On one side, there are people who feel entitled to insult, berate, and slander their opposition. And, that defending the object of their assault makes you a valid target for the next round of attack.
• On the other hand, there is the person who was attacked, who is due an apology (at a minimum), but, thanks to your acceptance of a cease-fire, won't get it. He will be urged to "make friends", despite them having insulted him and abused him.

Neither side will thank you. They will be primed to re-start the fight later, and you can bet you won't be invited to the show.

Those who call themselves "peacekeepers" are the most likely to want to end the fight without a true resolution. They fail to see that the issue is NOT the differences that have erupted into a head-to-head discussion, but that both sides were not conducting themselves equally. Ground rules have to be established, AND ENFORCED EQUALLY FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS. 

1. No personal insults. No name-calling. No slander.
2. One topic at a time. Keep to that topic until both sides have agreed that they have reached the end of it, or until one side quits the discussion.
3. One on One - all others must sit down and SHUT UP!
4. Those not debating must act decorously; failure to do so means immediate ejection, and banishment from the forum/group for a time.

That's a minimum. The very least that an American citizen has to expect from any forum, whether public or private, government or otherwise. Larry Correia lays it all out here.

When Have You Ever Seen a Government Program that STAYS Temporary?

Short Answer: Never.

Longer Answer: Really, Never.

All of this is why I'm focusing on a couple of small things:

• Paying off my modest home
• Building up CA$H reserves - those that are under MY control, not the bank's
• Prepping - not only food, water, and other consumables, but also tools and equipment
• Helping my family to do the same
• Re-building the local connections (after having lived out of the state for many years, I've lost touch with a few people)
• Improving fitness (yeah, I know - I'm one of the MANY who vow to do that, every year - then don't)
• Getting any necessary medical conditions dealt with
• Stockpiling a 6-month supply of meds; locating sources, once those are nearly depleted

I think it's clear to any thinking person that we ARE going broke. The only question is, when will the slow-motion collapse begin to accelerate? And, what will trigger the bug-outs in the smarter people (before the unprepared and panicked respond by turning highways into parking lots).

We might, indeed, get lucky. We might stop the decay, shore up the financial system, trim the fat in government, and return to a saner world.

But, probably not. So, HOPE and PRAY for the best, but PREPARE for the worst.

Should We Be Concerned About Systemic Racism?

Short Answer: Not Really.

Longer Answer: It's Complicated.

Does Racism, in fact, exist? Absolutely. But, is it something that all of American society needs to be concerned about?

Maybe not.

Here's some thoughts about this:

If Systemic Racism is such a problem, where should the responsibility for making the corrections needed to alleviate/eliminate it be placed?

You might think that this is a problem for Systems to deal with:

• Government
• Military
• Justice
• Education, particularly those schools/colleges that have benefited most from their Elite status, and from excluding people based on ethnicity
• Banking and other Elite institutions
• Geographic enclaves that have seen the most financial benefit from not being racially diverse

That's a starter list (feel free to add your own ideas in the comments).

Government

During and immediately after the Civil War, many state, local, and federal authorities put a lot of work into making sure that color-based barriers to access were eliminated. That included setting up Freedman's Bureaus, whose main purpose was to help the newly freed slaves to get access to housing, food, medical care, and other needs. They also established schools and provided legal assistance. Many of those working in the FB were current or former Union soldiers.

Military

The US military was one of the FIRST groups, post-WWII, to be open to servicemen/women on an equal basis. It wasn't an easy change. After Reconstruction was over, the Federal government kept Black men out of many units, or assigned them to support positions. In WWII, under Wilson (Democrat), the military was specifically segregated.

Even when Black men could serve, they were often openly discriminated against. The location of many military bases in the South made it tough for them to take advantage of recreational time, house their families, and take of their personal business off-base without harassment.

But, once the Federal government accepted the goal of integrated units, the military became one of the best ways for Black men to get ahead - whether on the job, educationally, or in terms of post-service benefits.

Justice

This is one area that has left mixed outcomes. True, many Black people have moved into jobs in this career path, from police to the court system, to lawyers. The Civil Rights bills made it less likely that Black people would be railroaded to prison on flimsy evidence.

But, the concern about rising crime, and its connection to the illegal drug trade brought in changes that put a lot of people in prisons - Black and White - and made it hard for them to re-establish themselves after (given the ban on those with drug felonies getting financial aid for college, working in schools, or getting just about any federal money). A short sentence could lead to years of unemployment, and no way out.

Additionally, carrying large amounts of cash (much more common among non-White people), could lead to confiscation (the price paid to NOT be arrested for involvement in the drug trade). Add to that, the confiscation of personal property, homes, cars, and other valuable possessions - BEFORE conviction - and you had people who were unable to hire a lawyer for lack of cash, making deals for less time.

Then, too, the increased fervor of the State to criminalize failure to follow civil  regulations has led to jamming up the judicial system with questionable cases that trim private property rights to a mere fraction of what they had been.

How does that lead to racism?

It does so, because, as the protection of rights under the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution become 'mere paper' and ineffective in keeping the government off our a$$, ALL Americans - even minority ones - without special access to special treatment by bureaucrats will find their ability to function without interference blocked. It hits the less monied Americans harder - and that would include a higher percentage of minorities.

Education

From the crappy quality of many city school systems, to the use of Affirmative Action to scrape the top ranked Black people into expensive private universities, the system has done them wrong.

Charter schools - realistically, the only alternative available to many concerned parents - have been demonized by the teachers unions.

If those White Elite stay in the public schools, the parents will move Heaven and Earth to make sure that THEIR child is in classes that largely exclude the lower classes - Major Work, Honors/Gifted & Talented/IB - whatever the system calls it, you know them when you walk into the classes, as, suddenly, you see where they've been keeping the Elite White kids.

In colleges, the biggest issue is Affirmative Action, which assumes that the ONLY reason that there aren't more Black people on Elite campuses is because they are deliberately being excluded. Therefore, a certain number/percentage of places are held for the most highly rated Students of Color that the administration can find. The problem of AA is that, if a student's skill level is not within range of those White people he is going to school with, he will be at a distinct disadvantage in STEM classes. Many who start off with that pathway in mind, eventually change majors, and graduate with a useless Liberal Arts degree.

The effect of AA on legal education has been extensively studied, and it's clear that, if a student starts with lower LSATS than the rest of the class, he may get a degree, but he is unlikely to pass the bar, without multiple attempts, if then. Whereas, if that same student was educated with others with similar scores, he will likely perform as well as any other student.

Banking/Finance

This is a VERY Elite White sector of the economy. Some Black people are successful (the film The Pursuit of Happyness was based on the life of one such), but the odds are against it. Most Black people don't have the connections, nor the family wealth to make it in those fields. For that matter, most non-Elite White people are no more successful than the Black people. It's just an Upper-Class Club, and non-Elites don't have the key.

Geographic Enclaves

No True Liberal/Progressive/Leftist wants to talk about this touchy subject, but the Well-Off Classes will spend a LOT to get away from the lower classes - particularly the Black ones.

There is a reason that Gated Communities are so popular, and it isn't because they welcome everyone. They are income-stratified, class-stratified neighborhoods that Keep The Non-Elite OUT!

Funny how the same Progressives who wax lyrically about the 'vibrancy' of the city, so often feel it necessary to move out of them, once they have children. Those that stay are BOTH living in secured building (both public police and private security will be deployed to make sure that no hint of violence, poverty, or crime touches their doorstep), and have the cash for private school for their precious offspring.

They just LOVE Black people - just not too close to them. Allowing too many to move into their neighborhood will affect their property values, and they just can't have that, now can they?

What do all of the above sectors of the American Life have in common?

Just about all are controlled by Democrats, Progressives, and those who want a many-colored rainbow of people - just not too close to them.

What Does Actual Race-Based Hate Look Like/Sound Like?

This is not as simple a question as it might seem to be. I suggest that you might start identifying it by closing your eyes, and listening to the words coming from that person's mouth. You might even want to picture that person being a different color, and see if your impressions are the same.

Summing up the Situation

Here, at The Tablet.

It's Friday. I have things to do this weekend. I need to do laundry, clean up the kitchen, work  on some Christmas prep.

I need to get making some calls, and deal with some financial/paperwork issues. Get to an ATM and get some cash. Gas up.

So, I won't be online as much today. Which is a GOOD thing.

I have, however, been active online long enough to see this.

And, with no surprise at the stupidity of modern women, this.

The very first task of a Non-Leftist administration should be to SHUT DOWN those agencies riddled with partisans. Turn any legitimate functions, such as technical analysis, over to a related, but less tainted agency. (The top 4 on the list below could be sent over to the US Marshalls). Let them hire any former employees if they need to fill slots - AFTER extensive vetting to make sure that they aren't importing tainted goods.

5-9 could be shut down completely. Any research in process can be offered to the affected states (much of that research is regional, or specific to a part of an industry).

The State Department is one that needs to be investigated. What ties exist between the long-term employees and foreign countries? Are they "on the take"? Do they have blackmailable incidents in their background? Are some just flat-out ideological enemies of America or spies? Find out, prosecute if necessary, and just let attrition - TARGETED attrition - take care of the rest.

My list:

1. FBI
2. AFTE
3. Justice
4. Attorney General's office - really, just about all of these people need to GO
5. Education
6. HHS
7. HUD
8. Energy
9. EPA
10. State
11. Consumer Affairs
12. FDA
13. CDC

That's just a short list.

In unrelated topics:

Do/should Black parents bear the same responsibility for making poor parenting decisions as White parents do? That's an excellent question.

There really is no reason that SOME people causing chaos in public, committing crimes, and generally making neighborhoods into hellholes, should be excused their crimes because of their color.

The idea that bail was intended to make sure that the accused showed up in court is just wrong. It was always intended to put violent criminals in jail, off the streets, and reduce the likelihood that they would strong-arm their victims to change their stories. All the high-flying words that dance around that basic concept are wrong, wrong, wrong.

Blaming Christianity and Traditional Values for Society's Ills

It's not new - Gibbon's Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire was highly popular in the Elite anti-Christian circles of the early 20th century.

And, yet, the factors that actually were quite damaging to society were not Christian, at all. Will Durant wrote:

The breakup of the old religion had begun long before Christ…Moral disintegration had begun with the Roman conquest of Greece [in the 2nd Century B.C.], and had culminated under Nero [in the mid-1st Century A.D.]; thereafter Roman morals improved, and the ethical influence of Christianity upon Roman life was largely a wholesome one. It was because Rome was already dying that Christianity grew so rapidly. Men lost faith in the state not because Christianity held them aloof but because the state defended wealth against poverty, fought to capture slaves, taxed toil to support luxury, and failed to protect its people from famine, pestilence, invasion, and destitution; forgivably they turned from Caesar preaching war to Christ preaching peace, from incredible brutality to unprecedented charity, from a life without hope or dignity to a faith that consoled their poverty and honored their humanity. Rome was not destroyed by Christianity, any more than by barbarian invasion; it was an empty shell when Christianity rose to influence and invasion came…. The political causes of decay were rooted in one fact—that increasing despotism destroyed the citizen’s civic sense and dried up statesmanship at its source.

As for Christianity's influence on a secular society, I offer you Telemachus, the lone monk whose death ended the gladitorial games of the Empire.