Author: Derek

On This Independence Day

July 4, 2019 / / 0 Comments

A local clown who managed to get herself elected to the House of Reps (because they can smell their own?) proved why we needed not only a Declaration of Independence from the old giver , but a Bill Of Rights for the new one.

I’m also worried that someone who is frightened by people making fun of them online is a Congress-critter. Because they make such great laws when they’re frightened (cough, PATRIOT Act, cough).

So, to Miss Rhinestone Cowgirl, let me make this clear:

You’re stupid and your momma dressed you funny for so long your confused about real style.

Oh, and fuck you very much.

The Dining Wars

July 3, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The owner of the Red Hen, infamous for refusing service to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, wrote an op-ed in the WaPo to declared that new social rules apply as to who should expect service in “respectable” establishments.

Quote:
So when the day comes that the world feels returned to its normal axis, I expect we’ll see fewer highly charged encounters making headlines. In the meantime, the new rules apply. If you’re directly complicit in spreading hate or perpetuating suffering, maybe you should consider dining at home. (Emphasis added)

That sounds nice, except the definition of hate has been twisted beyond recognition by people like the author. Moreover, I very much doubt that she would support a restaurant refusing someone like Jessie Smollet. His hoax did a lot to spread hate on both sides.

She speaks a lot about firms needing to recognize their values, but it’s clear from her tone that only counts if it’s the values she wants people to have.

From my libertarian side, I can support her not wanting to serve people she thinks do not share her values or those she considers evil. (But I repeat myself.) However, like the free speech debate, this bifurcation of those deemed worthy and not worthy in the marketplace does little to help the political atmosphere.

Quick Trip

July 1, 2019 / / 0 Comments

At the end of last week, The Wife and I flew out to Oklahoma City to visit some of my family. Mostly, I wanted her to get a chance to meet my grandmother. Grandma is 92 and in the very early stages of dementia. I’m not sure how many good years (months) Grandma will have, and I didn’t want to wait.

You know how important this was because I was willing to fly out. I hate flying. Not the actual flying, but I hate TSA and I hate not having my normal set of toys. The former proved itself at the start, because whomever is in charge of Tampa’s TSA agents implemented a customer service initiative they must have borrowed from HK. Just without the basic quality to offset the arrogance. Another lesson learned on this particular trip is never rent a car from Hertz. Especially if all you have is a debit card. Also, the rep’s customer service skills were just slightly above Tampa TSA. Enterprise was more than willing to rent us a vehicle with a debit card and a deposit.

The Wife loved the Tucson. I have a feeling that when we get her vehicle paid off, one of those SUVs might end up in our driveway. Plus, CarPlay makes things so much easier.

Friday, we went to Bombing Memorial. It was quite emotional. If you’re in the OKC area, take a few hours and go. The museum is excellent, and the memorial itself evokes a stark harshness of the event with a dollop of hope. Some events move you by showing the worst and the best in humanity.

Saturday, I did something I hadn’t done for two decades – I played some Magic: The Gathering. My young nineteen-year-old cousin has become involved in the cardboard crack. I got beat down, but it was fun. My family also got to see me in my kilt, which they enjoyed. Overall, it was a good visit.

The trip home was uneventful except for TSA needing to pat me down for some reason. Although the OKC folks were much more respectful than Tampa. Feck it. Next time I have to fly, I’m wearing my kilt, and let them deal with that.

Woo in WHO

June 24, 2019 / / 0 Comments

From Science Based Medicine comes an article about the World Health Organization (WHO) giving tacit approval to alternative medicine.

So it is extremely disappointing that the WHO, in its latest International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), has chosen to include a chapter on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnoses.

The ICD codes are, as the name implies, an international standard for medical diagnoses. They are used in the US for billing and epidemiological records; all doctors are familiar with them and many, like David, are not fans. The codes are obsessively at the “splitter” end of the spectrum, and can make an otherwise simple task rather challenging and frustrating. But at least they are based in reality.

With the coming ICD-11, and the chapter on TCM, this is no longer strictly true. There is no way to honestly view the TCM chapter as anything other than a full-throated endorsement of pseudoscience in medicine.

I know many of my fellow libertarians aren’t big on regulators going after AltMed remedies and “therapies.” After all, consenting adults should be able to choose what they do with their own bodies. I have issues with trusted organizations for reliable information- which the WHO normally is – kowtowing to popular pressure against practices that they know do not work.