Category: Politics

Florida Executed A Murderer, And That’s Not A Good Thing

One of the many reasons I hate the current state of the judicial system – it has forced me to be against the death penalty.

I don’t think it’s morally wrong to put certain people to death. There are some crimes that are too heinous and some people who are too dangerous that I truly believe the death option needs to be there.

However, with something where someone is paying the one penalty with no reversal, the most rigorous safeguards should be in place to prevent an innocent person being executed. Except, the people charged with ensuring those protections are enforced are instead ignoring them. Particularly, the prosecutors.

Time and again we see prosecutors breaking evidentiary rules to win a conviction. We see people let off of death row because of evidence suppressed by the prosecution.

So thank you to all the scumbag prosecutors. Thank you for making me want to save the life of a murderer.

Story Idea – Narrative Cop

I’ve been binging the latest season of Hawaii Five-O. I don’t know why I enjoy it.

The show’s tropie, oversimplified, and generally a popcorn action flick every episode.

While watching, an idea came to me. A cop show/novel/story where the protagonist is considered a brilliant detective. Why, because (s)he can identify the narrative and solve the crimes based on how it interacts with the current media narrative.

Uniform Cop: The deceased is a known gang member who was seen making a drug buy two days ago. Probably killed by a rival gang.

Narrative Detective: No, I talked to his relatives outside. He was turning his life around. This was a corporate hit. Probably some nefarious scheme to keep essentials out of the hands of the poor.

Language and Cultural Appropriation

One of my weekly podcasts is Econtalk. This week’s was on the changing nature of language. Highly recommend, especially if you constantly feel the need to correct people’s grammar.

As a writer, it’s important to understand how language is used – especially for dialogue. Knowing the “rules” helps to properly convey the movies in my head to the reader’s. Much to the frustration of many an instructor or curmudgeon, language is not static. Especially not the English language. The meaning of words and the usage of words change. Trying to force people to use “proper” English (or whatever language) is in the end, foolish.

And now we get to the second half of today’s title. Culture, like language, is not static. No one practices the same culture as their ancestors did. Cultures change with technology and new ideas. Moreover, cultures share and absorb new things as their practitioners come into contact with others. In short, appropriation is a feature, not a bug.

Time For Unpopular Opinions

1. Confederate statues – I think they should be taken down. People shouldn’t be forced to pay for art that is offensive, whether it be a statue of a fighter for slavery or a jar of piss with a cross in it.

That being said, if local groups want to raise funds and move the statues to private property and spend their own money on upkeep, go ahead.

And yes, I’ve seen the George Orwell quote ad nauseam. First, if you want to remember your history, pay for it. Also, there’s how many books, films, and Wikipedia articles of the Civil War?

2. President Trump – Bumbled a golden opportunity to support free speech and decry the violence on both sides. Instead he gave the packs of jackels everything they wanted. Because he’s such a mealy mouthed boor with no articulable values, everyone gets to project their desires onto him and read into his words what they want. And would someone on his team get him off Twitter?

3. The “Alt-Right” coalition – A pathetic bunch of losers following dead religions in hopes of some relevance. Everyone thinks Trump emboldened them (including themselves), but really it was the left’s hatred of Trump and need to link him with scum that shone a big limelight on these pathetic losers. (Tikinacht? Really? Who thought this was a good idea?)

Oh and to the “alt-right,” even though I’ll defend your right to peaceably assemble and spew their brain dead dogma, please don’t confuse that with agreement. Any of you who raise a hand to my friends that you consider “subhuman” will quickly find yourself stopped with all legal and necessary force. And I really don’t give a damn if you survive the experience.

4. The “Ctrl-Left” / Antifa / Counterprotesters – They are not righteous heroes, but rather the flip-side of the alt-right. They have no problem with violence against those who disagree with them and also subscribe to discredited religions.(Seriously, the communist regimes made Hitler look like a piker when it came to state-sponsored mass murder.)

Your temper tantrums do not make you look like valiant, they make you look like thugs. If you want to be taken seriously, stop.

Same warning as above in regards to threats to my friends you don’t like.

5. The Media – Yes, you hate Trump. We get it. We also get that you have the attention span of a cocaine-infused ferret. Your breathless reporting of anything that can be remotely considered bad for the administration is tiring and unhelpful.

Fox, you’re the inverse, except just as tiring and unhelpful.

2016 President Election – My Two Cents

To the people who are ecstatic that Trump was elected because he’s going to be some sort of Conservative God-King and fix all of your problems – stop that shit! You’re acting like the Obama supporters in 2008, and your jiggly bits aren’t as attractive as their jiggly bits when you jump up and down celebrating.

To the mainstream media – Congratulations on getting the candidate you created elected while destroying your credibility at the same time. And the same goes to Fox News and Breitbart.

To the reluctant Republican voters – Great, Hillary was defeated. Now you’re going to have to fight even harder when Trump continues the socialization of America. Also, try to remember that not everyone on the other side is a rabid SJW who wants to destroy America.

To the reluctant Democrat voters – You got screwed by your party, and for that, you have my sympathies. I look forward to working with you on some issues and opposing you on others. Also, try to remember that not everyone on the other side is a racist, sexist homophobe bent on turning America white by sword and flame.

To those who think Trump’s elections means minorities are about to be oppressed – for fuck’s sake FIGHT. If you really think the Klan and its ilk have been given some sort of mandate, arm yourself and get some training on self-defense. Hell, I’ll help you. Hell, I’ll stand with you against those trying to do you harm. That being said, your constant harping on minute things as racism/sexism/homophobia is getting old and it makes people less likely to help when real problems arise. Please read “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” again.

To the Libertarian Party – This could have been your year to really make a difference, and you let your ticket fuck it up by the numbers. I mean, come on, Bill Weld?

To everyone else outside the nation screaming about how insane we are – Fuck you. You scream and bitch, and then the moment there’s a fucking problem, America is supposed to fix it.

To my fellow Americans – We survived. We survived the shittiest election that I can remember. Guess what? We’ll keep surviving. It’s what we do.

Friday Quote- P. J. O’Rourke

“It’s not an endlessly expanding list of rights – the ‘right’ to education, the ‘right’ to healthcare, the ‘right’ to food and housing. That’s not freedom. That’s dependency. Those aren’t rights, those are the rations of slavery – hay and barn for human cattle.”

P.J. O’Rourke

Michael Shermer Blasts Lack of Ideological Diversity in Social Sciences

His article in Sci-Am is worth a read.

Shermer begins with saying the insanity taking place on college campuses can be laid at the feet of having no other ideologies to act as a reality balance. Locked in an echo chamber, it’s a race to the extremes – kind of like a primary race. 

Then Shermer lays out that bias affects not only the descriptive terms used during studies (conservative values as indicators of mental disorders), but in how the data is interpreted. 

RTWT