Sunday, September 27, 2020

Living in Joe's world

Rod Dreher finds a better use for his time on the radio than listening to NPR - the Joe Rogan Experience.
It feels like every time I get in the car and turn on the radio, I don’t have to wait long before I hear a story that highlights in some new way what a racist country America is, or how hard illegal immigrants have it in America, or how put-upon sexual minorities are, and so forth. I don’t know if NPR’s liberalism has always been like this, or if it has gotten worse — or if I have simply become thin-skinned about these issues. I have always known NPR was liberal, but that didn’t stop me from being a big fan, and even a contributing member. I feel that my NPR — the NPR that I cherished, even though it was liberal and I am conservative — has gone away, and I don’t know why. I used to love listening to it in the car, and not conservative talk radio, because I don’t want to have a voice on the radio rubbing my nose into some political narrative. NPR used to stand out because it proposed new ways of seeing the world, or at least ways that seemed new to me as a conservative. Now listening to NPR is giving oneself over to hosts who seek to impose a worldview that constantly says, about people who don’t fit the progressive narrative, that you aren’t worthy of our consideration or attention. That you are what’s wrong with America.
I switched over to Spotify to listen to Joe Rogan’s September 17 podcast episode with Douglas Murray, on the advice of a friend. It was excellent! Murray is more conservative than Rogan, but still, he’s a gay secular Briton, and Rogan is a pro-drug, pro-gay marriage, comedian and MMA commentator who has some conservative beliefs (or at least instincts), but who, above all, seems curious about the world. On paper, neither of these guys has a lot in common with me, but I hated for their conversation to be over, because they sounded like people I either know, or would like to know. They talked for a while about how bonkers the left has become, but neither one sounded like right-wing zealots, not in the least. What they sounded like was real people who were broadcasting from the real world, not from an aerie in the thin, cold air high atop Mount Progressive. Joe Rogan is profane, but when I listen to him, it feels like I’m listening to an actual person I might meet, and with whom I might enjoy a robust discussion, like people used to have. With NPR, it’s like listening to the Vatican Radio of the Religion Of Secular Progressivism, and you get the idea that if you met one of its young reporters, you would feel like a pot dealer who wandered into a Police Benevolent Association fundraiser.

Lots of knowledge, little wisdom

Daily Wire features a sermon from John MacArthur on our society's current problem.
You might assume the average person today knows more and understands more than all his ancestors because of the vast wealth of information on the Internet. That’s an illusion. It’s true that almost any tidbit of data you want can be called up instantly by a search engine. Wikipedia will give you a marginally reliable crowdsourced overview of practically any topic in summary form (with large headings that facilitate speed-reading). Thus without any real intellectual effort, you can appear to know far more than you truly understand.
Such a casual, superficial approach to learning feeds the worst tendencies of a pragmatic culture. People see no need to master any field of knowledge or remember specific facts. Old-style education seems a waste of time for a generation weaned on smartphones. Why study mathematics — or anything, for that matter — when you can get speedy answers to almost any question on a hand-held device?

Friday, September 25, 2020

Undefeated team watch

Through two weeks, 11 teams won both games.
This weekend, there's two matchups between 2-0 teams - the Rams at Buffalo and the Monday Night matchup between Baltimore and Kansas City.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins are watching.

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Saturday song





A reminder to Democrats today - you can't always get what you want.

Monday, September 14, 2020

Let my people go

I have friends and family in Pennsylvania.
Trapped by their governor under burdensome lockdowns.
Not in the future.
While those restrictions were "well-intentioned," wrote U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, "good intentions toward a laudable end are not alone enough to uphold governmental action against a constitutional challenge. Indeed, the greatest threats to our system of constitutional liberties may arise when the ends are laudable and the intent is good—especially in time of emergency."

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most

Try searching "Does Joe Biden have dementia?"
Or "Joe Biden dementia"
Google is not very helpful.
Maybe Google has dementia.
If you persist, you can find information on the topic.

Friday, September 11, 2020

Boos and more

 You may have heard fans in Kansas City boo the "unity" moment between the teams.
Did you catch them doing the "Tomahawk chop" right after that?
The players want to be heard about their concerns.
So do fans.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Tale of two brothers

Joe Biden has two sons.
One he talks about - Beau.
One Republicans talk about - Hunter.
Both sons fit the narrative each side wants to tell.
Joe hides behind Beau, now deceased.
Republicans highlight Hunter as what a Biden presidency will offer.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Shave and a haircut, two bits

Who had the most famous visit to a hair salon in 2020?
Nancy Pelosi appears to top the list.
A clean win for President Trump in this story.