Let There Be Art

NFL players and BLM will be getting together this weekend to demand social justice. Now that they can no longer take a knee during the National Anthem they will be pursuing new ways to display their grievances against America’s racism and protest police brutality. (I’d suggest they consult George Soros as he seems to know how to accomplish his social justice goals.) 

As NFL players consider new ways to protest, the rest of the country will be flying, waving and otherwise displaying the flag the thugs seem so bent on disrespecting.

The flag that so many gave their all for.

As the flag protestors of the NFL figure out new ways to lose fans and alienate the nation, allow me to turn your attention to the art of one man who has found a way to celebrate America’s real heroes in a joyous explosion of artistic expression. Brought to you today by UpNorthLurkin!

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Memorial Day Weekend in Lime Green and Rose

Just in time for your Memorial Day picnic: my annual public service announcement and free Costco advert:

KIRKLAND KEYLIME PIE IS BACK FOR THE SEASON!

It’s still delicious (free samples!) and, surprisingly, still only $11.95 for a yuge pie that serves 20.

(or 2 very hungry limeophiles)

 

This year I have an additional Costco item for your picnic basket: Kirkland’s house branded Rose wine. It’s made in Provence – Domaine De LaCroix to be specific – and is everything a Rose should be: light, dry, refreshing…and beautiful.

I’m not a wine expert but I drink a lot of roses and can tell you it’s delicious and a steal for it’s price of $9 or $10 (depending on your state’s tax). Most decent Roses from Provence are twice that. Here’s a review if you’re interested. But stock up now, last year they ran out of stock quickly – well before the end of the long  summer days that the wine was made for.

So that’s a wrap, my #FLOTUSFriday ode in lime and rose. Please enjoy responsibly.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Prelude to a Long Holiday Weekend

I have a few unrelated thoughts ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend which for many will start tomorrow.

1. Having a child makes you a parent for the rest of your life, but that doesn’t mean you need provide room and board to said child for the rest of your life. “The Children Are Our Future” was not intended as a threat.

2.  “Scientists” have now declared that if you drink just one additional glass of wine per week over and above what they’ve determined to be good for you, you will shorten your life by 30 minutes. Pretty precise metrics. Maybe we should have that team calculate the exact temperature we should have planet Earth recalibrated to as part of the great Climate Restoration plan.

BTW, armed with this new piece of information I figure I should have shuffled off this mortal coil about a decade ago.

3. As of today I’m officially declaring my Memorial Day Or Bust! deck restoration project to be “bust” as we’re leaving for the weekend tomorrow.

There are several mitigating factors including rain for 40 days and 40 nights. That means that the wood epoxy repairs on the deck boards, which must be done before the new coat of stain can be applied,  cannot be done as the product can only be used on dry wood. And did I mention that it’s been raining?

And the deck rails – which are painted - are taking much longer than I expected because there are a million (I counted them yesterday while taking a break) of them, each one having 4 sides. Also, I’m not as flexible as I once was so it’s more of an ordeal to reach over the handrail to reach the rails, some of which are at second story level and otherwise accessible only by ladder which I’ve banned around here.

My dream deck: Trex and wrought iron

Oh and Raj blew his knee out just before we were scheduled to get started. Convenient? I think so.

So, I’m going to go fix eggs for breakfast as I see now that “scientists” have now determined that an egg a day keeps the doctor away.

Breakfast is served!

That’s correct: the much maligned egg of yore is now potential health food. Maybe if I eat one every day I can cut that 30 minutes that every extra glass of wine a week is costing me back to just 15 minutes. Since I like wine and eggs that seems a good bargain.

In fact, I may even invest in a whole wine egg system.

Now I have to get back to those deck rails. Today I’ll be painting #400,001 through 600,000.

Linked By: BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

When Harry (Deep State) Met Sally (Fourth Estate)

What happens when a country’s super-secret spy agencies are filled with liars, dirty tricksters and #Resisters?  They will trip over their own stories, lose key “conversations,” misplace or otherwise refuse to divulge important documents.

Ultimately they will reveal themselves for the nefarious, lying weasels they are. The only question is will the MSM report it?

Not if they have anything to say about it. As inconvenient facts gurgle to the surface…

the MSM is busily ignoring them as they calculate how best to shift the narrative from “collusion” to “coverup” in delirious hope that somebody embedded in the Deep State’s war on America will concoct something, anything that will stick.

SEND IN THE JELLO!

That’s all they’ve got, and they don’t have that either, so the next few weeks and months should be interesting. And I predict it will provide material for decades – if not centuries - to come for students of history, journalism, political science and ethics.

But as of right now the story about Deep State launching an illegal search and destroy mission against the political candidate promising to eliminate Deep State is not a story. Because with the MSM nothing is a story until they say it’s a story. By refusing to do so the media cabal further implicates themselves in the conspiracy.

That will never happen

This may prove a good time for everyone to revisit their mission statements.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

I’m So Old I Remember When the University of Michigan Was a Great School

I’m so old I remember when the University of Michigan was renowned for it’s STEM programs. Clearly this is not your patriarch’s university anymore. Even if that wasn’t a sexist comment.

Summary: Everything wrong with higher education in 2 tweets - or as the Instapundit might say -

SHOT:

CHASER:

As my contribution to the ever escalating price of college credentials I am offering this complimentary course in Gender Studies from the University of Michigan for FREE! I can’t guarantee you a $100k job at the university of your choice but I will guarantee you a better education than you will get for the $250k cost of obtaining the same B. S. degree from the University of Michigan.

Comprehension of this chart entitles you to a baccalaureate degree in GENDER STUDIES from the MOTUS University of Life Sciences.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

Nevertheless, He Persisted

The FBI and CIA thumbed the eye of an armed nuclear state based on false intelligence.  Why? 

The answer is now obvious: to cover up their own election year shenanigans they thought would remain forever hidden in the inevitable Hillary Clinton victory.

It was the ultimate campaign dirty trick: a joint operation by the intelligence agencies and the media against a political candidate.  - How the FBI and CIA Restarted the Cold War to Protect Themselves

Now, two years into the ginned-up investigation of Russiagate, there has been “not one smidgeon of corruption” to be found. In fact, not a smidgeon of corruption, collusion or obstruction - at least not on Trump’s team. The same cannot be said of the FBI/DOJ/Democratic Party, as disturbing facts continue to emerge. But when PDJT demanded an investigation of these unlawful acts:

Democrats, including a former CIA director, warned he was creating a constitutional crisis:

It may have been the shortest crisis on record as the FBI almost immediately capitulated:

And Judicial Watch speculates that John Brennan may have good reason to obstruct such an investigation.

So for the crowd that has operated on nothing but Russiagate and "we hate Trump" may I suggest you stock up on your drug of choice, some light reading materials, a lot of sunscreen and head to the beach.  It’s going to be a long, hot summer. Oh, and soap-on-a-rope.

“Nevertheless, He Persisted”

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!

The Science Is Settled: Journalists ARE Stupider Than U and Me

It’s Sunday so I offer a prayer for journalists:

If you’re unfamiliar with the Dunning-Kruger Effect it states that some people are not only incompetent but their incompetence robs them of the mental ability to realize just how inept they are. Or put another way, they know not what they know not…

Physics? I don’t need no stinkin’ physics!

…and proceed accordingly.

That seems to explain the vast majority of the journalist class. And perhaps this explains why: Journalists drink too much, are bad at managing emotions, and operate at a lower level than average, according to a new study. Excerpts:

Journalists’ brains show a lower-than-average level of executive functioning, according to a new study, which means they have a below-average ability to regulate their emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and show creative and flexible thinking…

The results showed that journalists’ brains were operating at a lower level than the average population, particularly because of dehydration and the tendency of journalists to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods…

Forty-one percent of the subjects said they drank 18 or more units of alcohol a week, which is four units above the recommended weekly allowance. Less than 5% drank the recommended amount of water.

However, in interviews conducted in conjunction with the brain profile results, the participants indicated they felt their jobs had a lot of meaning and purpose…

There were two areas however where the journalists rated well:

• Abstraction, the ability to deal with ideas rather than events. It's related to the part of the brain where the most sophisticated problem-solving takes place. In other words, it highlights the ability to think outside the box and make connections where others might not see them.

Unfortunately the “ideas” they deal with are most often progressive agendas and the “abstraction” applied generally involves creating narratives that use the “sophisticated problem-solving” skills generally referred to as lying - which involves making facts up out of whole cloth as well as telling half-truths.

I will say, based on my personal experience with journalists, their abilities of abstraction are negligent; either that or they don’t think abstraction means what I think abstraction means.

• Value tagging, the ability to assign values to different sensory cues, such as whether something is a priority or has meaning. Scoring highly in this area indicates a good ability to sift through information and pick out what's important.

And for clarification of “what’s important” to journalists, see discussion re. “abstraction” above.

The take away from the article concludes that, for journalists, “the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient.”

But of course: without the “meaning and purpose” all of their lying would go unappreciated and their moral superiority be unnoticed.

 Calvin, illustrating the Dunning-Kruger Effect

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and Free Republic, Thanks!