tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151053612024-03-19T04:47:00.716-04:00Alencon's PlaceA Camp Ground for the Soldiers that have enlisted in the Army of the Intellectual Left for the duration of the Culture WarAlenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.comBlogger2113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-10065476211177982282024-03-15T19:11:00.001-04:002024-03-15T19:11:08.901-04:00Was Social Security Racist?<p>I ran into a claim today that the original Social Security bill was racist because it excluded agricultural and domestic workers most of whom were black.</p><p>A little background investigation led me to understand that this claim was accurate but misleading. It was accurate that agricultural and domestic workers were originally not eligible but NOT because they were specifically excluded but because they were outside of the groups that were included.</p>The Social Security Act of 1935 was a complicated bill that contained 11 Titles and authorized 7 distinct programs. Only Title II was what we now know as Social Security. It was the only one of the 7 programs that was solely a federal program. The rest were federal and state supported (think today's Medicaid). <div><br /></div><div>All of the racism claims, even those by well known historians, confuse the racial motives associated with programs other than Title II with Title II. Title II did not exclude blacks, nor did it exclude agricultural and domestic workers, rather it only included those workers regularly employed in commerce and industry. </div><div><br /></div><div>This left out a whole slew of occupations in addition to agricultural and domestic workers (which usually drives the racism claim) including the self employed, merchant seamen and members of congress. Of the 20 million workers excluded 15 million were white.</div><div><br /></div><div>So this is a highly dubious claim based upon manipulating the truth to make it say what you want it to say even though it's bullshit.</div>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-53248623032970669022024-03-11T21:38:00.002-04:002024-03-11T21:38:14.204-04:00So...I'm a lot Poorer<p>I got my taxes done today and had to fork over $9,642 for the federal government and $1,273 for the state bringing my total tax bills to $35,251 for the feds and $5,326 for the state.</p><p>Well, I suppose it could be worse.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-35963668019728859462024-03-07T23:07:00.003-05:002024-03-07T23:10:33.319-05:00The War in Gaza<p>Why is it only the Jews that aren't allowed to strike back when they're attacked? </p><p>I'd like to ask those protesting against Israel whether they agree that Hamas needs to be destroyed. If yes then how do they propose that can be done? If no then I'd like to know why not?</p><p>It's not a genocide. That's just name-calling which is a well known propaganda technique. It's war and war sucks. That's why you don't start one. Clearly these youngsters have never had the misfortune of engaging in urban warfare. Every death should be laid at the feet of Hamas. They were the ones that crossed the border and murdered 1400 people, raped helpless women and kidnapped 250 others or have they forgotten that? Hamas is the problem that needs to be eradicated. I don't understand why these young people are supporting terrorists, rapists and murderers. </p><p>Were the Allies committing genocide during World War II against the Germans and Japanese? On February 13-15, 1945 over a thousand British and US bombers destroyed the city of Dresden killing an estimated 25,000 civilians. On March 9, 1945 280 US B-29s dropped incendiary bombs on Tokyo killing an estimated 100,000 civilians. Then there was Hiroshima, 70,000 dead and Nagasaki, 40,000 dead. An estimated 125,000 civilians died during the battle of Berlin. Like I said, war sucks. That's why you don't start one.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-50295581219245313682024-03-04T19:27:00.006-05:002024-03-04T19:27:34.157-05:00Great and Small Minds<p> A quote originally attributed to Socrates and then paraphrased by Eleanor Roosevelt goes like this:</p><p>Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-74195694408234412042024-03-04T15:09:00.005-05:002024-03-04T15:09:37.987-05:00Trump Stays on the Ballot<p>Unsurprisingly the Supreme Court has decided, in a 9-0 decision, that Trump can't be kept off the ballot based upon the 14th Amendments clause about insurrection barring someone from holding office.</p><p>Three states, Colorado, Maine and Illinois, had wanted to keep him off the primary ballot.</p><p>I say "unsurprisingly" because Trump hasn't actually been convicted of anything.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-44914822640297209642024-02-20T22:57:00.004-05:002024-02-20T22:57:38.733-05:00What is Non-Binary?<p>Non-Binary is a term that literally means "not two choices." There can be one choice or three or more choices but there can't be exactly two.</p><p>But I'm confused as to what it means when applied to gender.</p>I say gender and not sex because sex and gender are different things. From the American Psychological Association: <div><br /></div><div><i>"Sex is assigned at birth, refers to one’s biological status as either male or female, and is associated primarily with physical attributes such as chromosomes, hormone prevalence, and external and internal anatomy. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for boys and men or girls and women." </i></div><div><br /></div><div>If you don't understand this you're going to always be confused. Also, a lot of people appear to be equating non binary and gender fluid. The latter is as least feasible because gender nonconformity has been a thing for a long time. But I have no idea what Non-Binary means.
</div><div><br /></div><div>Ignoring Intersex, there are only two sexes and therefore by definition only two genders. So what the hell is Non-Binary?</div>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-20793067952368397032024-02-19T18:00:00.000-05:002024-02-19T18:00:08.430-05:00Presidential Rankings<p>The results of the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey are in. The top five presidents are:</p><p>#1 - Abraham Lincoln at 93.87</p><p>#2 - Franklyn Roosevelt at 90.83</p><p>#3 - George Washington at 90.32</p><p>#4 - Theodore Roosevelt at 78.58</p><p>#5 - Thomas Jefferson at 77.53</p><p>I'm always surprised that Thomas Jefferson doesn't come in higher. The man got us a great deal on the Louisiana Purchase didn't he?</p><p>As for the most recent presidents.</p><p>#7 - Barack Obama at 73.8</p><p>#12 - Bill Clinton at 66.42</p><p>#14 - Joe Biden at 62.66</p><p>#32 - George W. Bush at 40.43</p><p>#45 - Donald Trump at 10.92</p><p>Yup, the Donald came in dead last even falling behind James Buchannan at 16.71 which is quite an accomplishment considering Buchannan sat around playing with his dick while the country deteriorated into civil war.</p><p>I'm not sure why Obama is ahead of Eisenhower at #8 and I don't get Biden at #14 either. Is he really better then Woodrow Wilson at #15 and Ronald Reagan at #16? Jimmy Carter at #22 surprises me as well. Did I miss something during Carter's presidency? </p><p>Anyway, this is this years list from the "experts."</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-45146347042049788822024-02-06T19:42:00.002-05:002024-02-19T17:41:02.333-05:00Hidden Forms of Discrimination?<p>Both the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and the feminist movement of the 1970s were enormous successes. Less face it, these movements were necessary because if they hadn't occurred then nothing would have changed.</p><p>But what both movements discovered was that equal opportunity does not necessarily translate into equal success. This realization led to the development of Critical Race Theory and a lot of feminist whining about "the patriarchy."</p><p>Once each movement had addressed the visible forms of discrimination, yet still didn't achieve what they consider parity, they concluded that there must be subtle, invisible forms of discrimination at work. Blacks developed the concept of "Systemic Racism" and feminists came up with "the patriarchy." Republicans, not to be undone, come up with the "deep state." </p><p>Notice that no one thought to look for natural differences to explain the discrepancies. Everyone immediately assumed it was some outside force working against them.</p><p>Blacks score about 10-15 points lower on IQ tests than whites. Hispanics are somewhere in between and East Asians and Ashkenazi score about five points higher than whites. No one knows why this is the case and I'm not sure that anyone really understands what IQ measures but we do know that it is a good predictor of life and academic success.</p><p>This discrepancy has persisted for decades and probably isn't going away anytime soon. Even if this discrepancy didn't exists, whites have such a huge historical advantage that it's not surprising that blacks aren't achieving parity. There is no need for any hidden discrimination in the form of "Systemic Racism."</p><p>So what about women? Women have two problems when competing with men. One is fairly well accepted and the other more controversial. The first is that men are more aggressive. If one chooses a male and a female at random there is about a 60% chance that the male is more aggressive. But at the extremes, the overwhelming majority of the most aggressive individuals are male.</p><p>Trust me, no one becomes CEO of a Fortune 500 Company without being very, very aggressive. This also accounts for the so-called "gender pay gap." Men work longer hours and take on more dangerous and higher paying jobs and that's why there's a pay difference.</p><p>The second and far more controversial problem is the claim that men and women have slightly differently shaped IQ curves. The curve for women is slightly taller and narrower while the curve for men is slightly wider and flatter. </p><p>In the average the differences are meaningless but at the extremes they become significant. As one psychologist described it the shape of the men's curve, assuming it really is that way, would mean more dumbbells but also more Nobels.</p><p>I don't hear feminists whining about men winning most of the Darwin Awards but they do complain about men dominating the CEO positions and Nobel prizes.</p><p>So, I lean toward rejecting the existence of hidden forces and suspect it's just the ways things are. This is why I reject the whole concept of DEI. Equity is not a reasonable objective if there are natural differences and variations.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-28255829014407821092024-01-24T15:39:00.002-05:002024-01-24T15:39:37.958-05:00Trump Wins New Hampshire<p>Trump won New Hampshire but not by that big a margin. Nikki Haley came in second and Ron DeSantis has now dropped out.</p><p>Unless he is kidnapped by space aliens Trump will be the GOP nominee. Can you still run for president if you're in jail?</p><p>Trump's strategy has always been to delay the various criminal trials that he's facing until after the 2024 election and that strategy appears to be working.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-87978736830018170432024-01-16T15:29:00.001-05:002024-01-16T15:29:03.293-05:00Trump Wins Iowa<p> Well, Trump had an overwhelming victory in the Iowa caucuses. No real surprise there.</p><p>His opposition for the GOP nomination is down to Nikki Halley and Ron DeSantis. Anyone want to take bets on their chances of heading him off?</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-79964106073091875182024-01-16T15:26:00.009-05:002024-01-16T15:26:58.378-05:00Trump's Chances in 2024<div>Too many people seem to think that Trump's chances are uphill in the 2024 election but I disagree.</div><div><br /></div>Writing Trump off is being too rational and logical. In a sane world I would agree 100%. Unfortunately I’m not sure that we live in a sane world at the moment. <div><br /></div><div>I have three concerns that lead me to doubt the battle is that uphill. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first is that perceptions mean more than reality and far too many people seem to believe that the economy is in worse shape than it is. The media isn’t helping here by constantly pounding the drum of doom for no reason. </div><div><br /></div><div>The second is that the southern border is a disaster and refugees being shipped all over the country is a failure in leadership. The federal government should be stepping up to help alleviate the crises in New York and Chicago. How it should do that is beyond my pay grade but that’s why they get the big bucks. </div><div><br /></div><div>The third is that Democrats are so talented at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It seems every day there is a news story about a Democrat or Democratic led city doing something that is almost guaranteed to piss people off. Examples include: </div><div><br /></div><div>* The mayor of Boston giving a persons of color only Christmas gathering. </div><div><br /></div><div>* The mayor of Chicago saying that reparations are the way to fight crime. </div><div><br /></div><div>* AOC excusing flash mobs looting stores by saying they’re trying to feed their families. </div><div><br /></div><div>* Pittsburgh paying a California firm $50k to show teachers why math is racist and how to take “white supremacy” out of the math classroom. </div><div><br /></div><div>This type of stuff appeals to emptions and emotions are often what determines elections. Luckily the memory of the electorate is short so these things should be soon forgotten but they keep doing stuff like this.
</div>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-84579197560703509902024-01-16T15:22:00.002-05:002024-01-16T15:22:13.381-05:00Modern Cost of Home Alone Groceries<p> During the Christmas season a number of places were comparing the cost of Kevin's shopping spree in "Home Alone" to current prices and coming up with some really big numbers. The Daily Mail came up with $68.99 for Kevin's $20 worth of items in 1990 which sounded a bit high to me.</p>I checked with Stop & Shop online in New Jersey and the total came out to $46.41. Of course one of the variables is size which isn't specified for all items. I included 8 rolls of toilet paper, 45.5 ounces of laundry detergent, 60 dryer sheets and a pack of 50 army men.
If we go to 105 oz of detergent and 120 dryer sheets it goes up to $54.86 but I don't think the detergent was that big or he had 8 rolls of toilet paper. <div><br /></div><div>The other side of the coin is that median household income in 1990 was $30,636. In 2022 it was $74,580 which represented a drop due to Covid because in 2020 it was $76,330. </div><div><br /></div><div> I will also say that Stop & Shop online is typically more expensive for non perishable items such as laundry detergent and toilet paper than say Walmart. The 8 rolls of toilet paper was $8.59 but I can get 9 rolls of the same brand at Walmart for $6.36. The 105 oz laundry detergent was $9.48 at Walmart rather than $10.24. The 120 dryer sheets were $4.92 rather than $5.99.
So buying the paper goods and detergent at Walmart in even the larger sizes would only be $50.88 or an increase of 2.56 times. </div><div><br /></div><div>And the really good news is if you spend $35 Walmart delivers, for free, right to your door.
So the prices increased between 2.34 times and 2.77 times according to the numbers I found and median household income increased by about 2.43 times. So this seems pretty close to right especially since I don't think Kevin bought the larger sizes. </div><div><br /></div><div> An increase to $68.99 would be a big issue because that would be an increase of 3.48 times compared to a household median income increase of 2.43 times. My advice to the Daily Mail is find a new place to shop.</div>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-78595452952757164912023-12-19T23:07:00.000-05:002023-12-19T23:07:10.977-05:00Trump on Immigration<p> Trump has been attacking immigration recently at his rallies and implying that immigrants are "poisoning" American society.</p><p>This is of course causing howls of fascism and claims that he is using the precise language of Hitler in Mein Kampf.</p><p>That is essentially using Level 1 of Graham's Hierarchy of Argument. People are calling him a fascist and comparing him to Hitler. That's just "Name-Calling." That's appropriate for toddlers in the playground but not for political commentary. I think we need to move up the hierarchy and address the claim itself. In 2023, in the US, are immigrants having a positive or a negative effect? Are some immigrants having a positive effect and others a negative one? I honestly don't know although every immigrant that I've encountered recently seems to be having a positive effect. </p><p>This is not the first time in American history that there have been people that were anti-immigrant. Refer to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. So, rather than attacking the guy who said it how about we address the claims being made? I know very little about immigration policy so I don't feel qualified to evaluate the question. I could be wrong but I suspect the quote from Mein Kampf people are mostly referring to is as follows: </p><p><i>"What history taught us about the policy followed by the House of Habsburg was corroborated by our own everyday experiences. In the north
and in the south the poison of foreign races was eating into the body of our people, and even Vienna was steadily becoming more and more a
non-German city." </i></p><p> Hitler uses "poison" or its derivatives fully 56 times in Mein Kampf. He accuses anyone he doesn't like, including Jews, political opponents (Socialist and Marxist), writers, actors and intellectuals in general of poisoning either the German people, German society, the German government or the German military. </p><p> Hitler was an equal opportunity hater. But that doesn't automatically mean everything he said was wrong. </p><p>Historically he was right about the House of Habsburg in Austria-Hungary although he was talking about an empire with essentially conquered peoples rather than immigrants so I don't really think it applies. The polyglot empire was doomed to fail because it couldn't balance all of the competing political and cultural agendas. </p><p>After WW I it was dismembered into multiple countries along ethnic lines.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-49963160016595565742023-12-06T16:12:00.001-05:002023-12-06T16:12:17.205-05:00Why Amazon Rules<p>One of my smoke detectors started acting up. It was sounding three low chirps about every minute. I knew that wasn't low battery because that's one chirp.</p><p>I knew it wasn't a carbon dioxide warning because that's four really loud beeps repeatedly and smoke was three really loud beeps repeatedly. Besides there was no smoke.</p><p>I took it down, dusted it off and changed the batteries just in case. It was OK for about three days and then did it again at about 3 AM. I took the thing down and took out the batteries to shut it up.</p><p>The next day I pulled up the manual and found, buried near the end, that three low chirps every minute is an end of life warning.</p><p>Great, the detector I had was a First Alert, battery operated, CO and smoke detector that screwed into a ceiling mount. What I really wanted was the exact same detector so I could screw the new detector into the existing mount.</p><p>On to Amazon. I typed in First Alert and the model number into the search function and, as is usual with Amazon, I got a page of options. However one of them was marked "You Bought this Last in 2016." </p><p>The problem of finding a compatible detector was immediately solved AND they delivered it that afternoon. I didn't even remember that I had bought it on Amazon.</p><p>But, Amazon knows all. All hail the great god Amazon.</p><p><br /></p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-43047245057370798832023-11-17T17:03:00.004-05:002023-11-17T17:03:54.108-05:00Gallup's Poll on Transgender Athletes<p> Gallup has released a poll done in May of 2023 that reports that 69% of Americans hold the opinion that "birth gender" should dictate sports participation. I assume what they actually mean is birth sex.</p><p>This is up 7% from 2021. This doesn't surprise me given the number of cases of trans athletes dominating female competition.</p><p>More Democrats are starting to get the message as now they agree with everyone else by a slim 48%-47% margin. In 2021 it was 55%-41% in favor of athletes competing in sports based upon their gender identity.</p><p>This strikes me as a no brainer. We segregate based upon sex and not gender. Athletes that have gone through puberty as a male should not be competing against athletes that went through puberty as a female.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-22142515629942502532023-11-16T23:08:00.009-05:002023-11-16T23:08:55.489-05:00That 75 Year Number<p>When discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict people keep throwing around 75 years. While that may mark the birth of the state of Israel it's not really accurate.</p>75 years would be 1948 and the war of 1948 in which an Arab coalition attempted to destroy the newly declared nation of Israel. Now it doesn't matter whether one believes that war was justified or not. What matters is who controlled what at the end of it. <div><br /></div><div>The UN had voted to kick the British out (see Mandate for Palestine) and partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. That plan fell apart pretty quickly as the Arabs rejected the plan and the Jews declared the existence of the state of Israel. What was a Palestine civil war spread as Egypt, Jordan and Syria joined the conflict. </div><div><br /></div><div>Once the war ended Jordan controlled the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza and Israel controlled everything else. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. Egypt set up a puppet Palestinian government in Gaza which never really had any authority. Things remained that way until 1967. </div><div><br /></div><div> In 1956 the Egyptians nationalized the Suez Canal because, why not, it's on their territory. They also closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. This led to an invasion of Egypt by British, French and Israeli forces which captured the canal. After both the Soviet Union and the United States expressed opposition to the invasion the British, French and Israeli forces withdrew essentially with their tails between their legs. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 1967, Egypt again closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping despite warnings from Israel that this would be viewed as a casus belli. The resulting war saw Israel capture the West Bank from Jordan, Gaza from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jordan relinquished all claims to the West Bank in 1988 and recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." </div><div><br /></div><div>Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 and the Golan Heights in 1981. In 2005 Israel withdrew from Gaza and Northern Samaria. </div><div><br /></div><div>The West Bank is currently divided into three zones A, B and C. Zone A (18%) is administered by the Palestinian Authority. Zone B (22%) is administered by the Palestinian Authority but with joint Israeli security control. Zone C (60%) is administered by Israel, contains all of the Israeli settlements and divides Zones A and B into hundreds of separate areas.</div>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-75938164479322318392023-11-16T18:25:00.005-05:002023-11-17T16:42:05.702-05:00The Israeli-Gaza War Continues<p>The Israelis have invaded northern Gaza and continue to use airstrikes against targets. The casualty are rising and reportedly have exceeded 11,000.</p><p>This is urban warfare and civilians are caught in the crossfire. It's also the type of war where it's difficult to tell the difference between Hamas fighters and civilians. In other words it's a mess.</p><p>Two incidents stand out in particular.</p><p>The first was a bombing by Israel of a refugee camp where a Hamas senior commander was reported to be located. The attack killed about 50 people and the last I heard it was unclear whether the senior commander was killed.</p><p>The other is actions around the Al Shifa hospital which is Gaza's largest hospital. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. The hospital has no power and almost no supplies. Newborn premies are dying because there is no electricity to run their incubators.</p><p>There has been fighting near the hospital and the Israelis have entered the hospital grounds in search of Hamas fighters, weapons caches and tunnels. The IDF has claimed they have located a tunnel, a vehicle with weapons and the body of one of the Israeli hostages.</p><p>The hospital has effectively been occupied by the IDF and isolated from the outside world. This means that every day that goes by will result in the death of more patient including babies.</p><p>Israel is walking a fine line here. Two wrongs don't make a right and you can't avenge an atrocity by committing another atrocity or at least hopefully we're better than that.</p><p>Now I'm going to capture some history here for future reference.</p><p>The Palestinians have had Gaza since 2005. They have had total autonomy. Instead of focusing on building a decent life for themselves they voted to give Hamas control and Hamas has used Gaza as a staging ground for attacks against Israel. </p><p>This has led to a blockade of Gaza by both Israel and Egypt and hardships for the people living there.</p><p> Jordan controlled the West Bank from 1948 until 1967. They could have established a Palestinian state. Instead they decided to annex the territory in 1950. Jordan renounced claims to the West Bank in 1988 recognizing the PLO as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." Of course they lost control of the West Bank to Israel in 1967. </p><p> Egypt controlled Gaza from 1948 to 1967 and set up a puppet Palestinian government which never really had any political power. Egypt could have established a Palestinian state but chose not to. Israel took Gaza from Egypt in 1967 and withdrew in 2005.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-73179375948117083492023-10-28T16:21:00.001-04:002023-10-28T16:21:12.199-04:00The Question of Transgender<p>You probably need a doctorate in psychiatry or psychology to understand what Gender Dysphoria is but I'm not going to let that stop me. I am simply amazed by the misinformation going around on both sides of this argument. </p><p> You cannot change your sex. Sex is a physical attribute that is unchangeable. You can't go into every cell and flip an X chromosome into a Y chromosome nor is there any surgery that I'm aware of that can give someone with XX chromosomes the ability to produce sperm or someone with XY chromosomes the ability to produce ovum. Then again there are some males that can't produce sperm and some females that can't produce ovum so it's not that simple. </p><p> But gender is not the same thing as sex. Gender defines societies expectations about the attitudes and actions associated with a given sex. When you have the physical characteristics of a male but the psychology of a female (sorry feminists but men and women do have different psychologies) or vice versa that causes all sorts of stress and psychological issues. </p><p> Some people decide to go with their psychology and have reconstructive surgery to change their physical attributes to line up more with their psychology. Others simply accept gender non-conformity as their normal. Honestly, as long as someone isn't negatively impacting someone else, I don't care what they decide to do.</p><p>Note that "as long as someone isn't negatively impacting someone else." I think allowing athletes that have gone through puberty as males to compete against athletes that went through puberty as females is negatively impacting female athletes. </p><p>The same goes for people who still have male plumbing invading female privacy areas such as locker rooms and rest rooms.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-26876770965419709452023-10-25T16:00:00.000-04:002023-10-25T16:00:03.915-04:00Mike Johnson Becomes 56th Speaker<p>Well the Republicans finally managed to agree on a Speaker and have elected Mike Johnson. </p><p>I don't think this is a good pick but I suppose we'll have to see how things work out. Honestly, I wouldn't be thrilled with Hakeem Jeffries either.</p><p>Let's face it; I'm old and grouchy and nothing makes me happy anymore.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-81533578540499369762023-10-24T22:33:00.005-04:002023-10-24T22:33:43.290-04:00The Republicans Pick Mike Johnson<p>The latest pick by the Republican Party for Speaker is Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Johnson is an asshole Republican which may be redundant these days.</p><p>He claims expertise in Constitutional Law yet signed an amicus brief in 2020 signed by 100 Republican congressmen supporting the Texas Lawsuit attempting to overthrow the 2020 election. </p><p>You remember that lawsuit right? The one the Supreme Court drop kicked out the door? The one not even the SCOTUS conservatives could stomach?</p><p>Signing that brief alone should be enough to disqualify him.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-10822343472165950732023-10-24T18:24:00.006-04:002023-10-24T18:24:37.485-04:00The Republicans Select Tom Emmer<p>From the nine candidates the Republicans selected the majority whip Tom Emmer from Minnesota as their choice for Speaker of the House.</p><p>This makes sense. After all many people consider the majority whip the number two guy.</p><p>He didn't come close to getting the required votes.</p><p>Reportedly six new challengers have entered the lists.</p><ul class="break-above" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; list-style: none; margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: var(--article-body-bullet-width); padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-top: 0px; position: relative;">Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; position: relative;">Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; position: relative;">Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; position: relative;">Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; position: relative;">Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); position: relative;">Rep. Roger Williams of Texas</li></ul><div><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, Publico Text, Times New Roman, Times, Baskerville;">We shall see what we shall see.</span></div>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-13772372766990185232023-10-23T21:56:00.005-04:002023-10-24T18:18:32.348-04:00Speaker of the House<p> The House of Representatives has been without a Speaker for about three weeks now. How did this happen you ask? Well, I'll tell you.</p><p>Kevin McCarthy was Speaker and, in order to prevent a government shutdown, came to a temporary solution with Democrats to keep the government operating for 45 days.</p><p>A number of the right wing caucus types didn't like this and essentially put a motion to kick McCarthy out. It was essentially a no confidence vote. The Democrats gleefully jumped on this and went along with. I think this was a big mistake but there's not much we can do about that now.</p><p>First the Republicans put up Steve Scalise but he couldn't get enough votes because the Republicans are hopelessly fractured and the Democrats all voted got Hakeem Jeffries so no one could get an absolute majority. Scalise then withdrew.</p><p>Next Jim "The Traitor" Jordon threw his hat in the ring but even the Republicans aren't that far gone so he couldn't get enough votes either. Finally, in a secret ballot the Republicans voted to remove his name from consideration. Again the Democrats all voted for Hakeem Jeffries.</p><p>Now nine Republicans have stepped up for the job. eight white guys and one black dude. Apparently there are no women in the Republican Party.</p><p>This is happening because the Republicans have a very small majority and a right wing caucus that played hooky when the brains were given out. The rules are also stupid. If simply the person with the most votes, rather than an absolute majority, won then the Republicans would be forced to vote for the guy their party put up or accept a Democrat Speaker.</p><p>I have a solution. We rent out MetLife Stadium. We put these nine guys on the field with socks packed with horse manure and let them fight it out. The last man standing becomes Speaker. We could sell tickets plus put it on pay per view and take a big chunk out of the budget deficit.</p><p><br /></p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-48029361219520640912023-10-16T21:32:00.000-04:002023-10-16T21:32:00.663-04:00A Tale of Two Wars<p>The war in the Ukraine continues to drag on. As far as I can tell it's bogged down into a stalemate. Casualties are serious with estimates nearing 500,000. </p><p>I can see no end in sight especially now that the Israelis are looking for weapons from the same US stockpiles as the Ukrainians.</p><p>Now that McCarthy has been kicked out as Speaker and the post remains vacant I don't see any new appropriations any time soon either. To make matters worse the Republicans would probably strongly support aid for Israel but for Ukraine not so much. </p><p>I don't think the Democrats are stupid enough to hold up aid for Israel if aid to Ukraine isn't included but the Democrats have surprised me before with their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.</p><p>In Gaza civilians and foreigners are trying to get out of the way of a possible Israeli ground invasion by fleeing south. Unfortunately the Egyptians have closed the Rafah crossing from Gaza into the Sinai.</p><p>This is causing multiple problems. First people with foreign passports, including a number of Muslim Americans, are unable to leave Gaza; second, Palestinians refugees fleeing the fighting have no place to go and third, aid supplies can't get into Gaza. There is a long line of trucks waiting to bring relief supplies into Gaza but the crossing is closed.</p><p>Whether the Israelis will actually launch a ground invasion remains to be seen. It could be a big bluff intended to get civilians out of the area so more airstrikes can be launched without worrying about extensive collateral damage.</p><p>There continue to be reports about fighting in the north between Hezbollah and Israel and the Israelis have reportedly bombed airports in Damascus and Aleppo to prevent their use for ferrying in supplies from Iran.</p><p>The US has dispatched Strike Group 12 with the USS Gerald R. Ford to the eastern Mediterranean. Strike Group 2 with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is also enroute to the Mediterranean but its ultimate destination hasn't been announced. Britain has dispatched a Royal Navy task force to the area to help in "humanitarian efforts" or at least that's the official word.</p><p>That's a whole lot of firepower moving into the area.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-22607910532013410642023-10-13T22:57:00.001-04:002023-10-13T22:57:10.160-04:00You Have to Know When to Fold Them<p>Democrats in general, and so-called Progressives in particular, do not seem to understand when they have a loosing hand and should just fold.</p><p>Supporting the Palestinian cause after the horrific terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians is a loosing hand.</p><p>That doesn't mean people can't express humanitarian concerns about the impact of the war on Gaza civilians. Israel is apparently preparing a ground invasion and has warned about 1.1 million civilians to vacate southern Gaza within 24 hours. That may not be logistically feasible.</p><p>The UN feels it is not feasible and a number of Democratic Representatives have chimed in as well. Leading the charge are Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The former has already demonstrated that she's a traitor and really should STFU. The latter has no iron in this fire and should just sit quietly in the corner and allow the adults to handle things.</p><p>I understand that people are concerned that this could become a humanitarian crisis but war sucks and Hamas started the killing. Maybe they should have thought of the consequences before they went around murdering children?</p><p>Actions have consequences and Gaza has happily allowed Hamas to rule the area for over a decade. Now they're about to pay the price for that.</p><p>However, Israel needs to be a little careful. An all out assault with little or no concern for the welfare of civilians, including large numbers of woman and children, would not only be morally wrong but could backfire on them in the International Court of Opinion big time.</p><p>I don't think Netanyahu has the intelligence to realize this but hopefully smarter, and calmer, heads in the Israeli government understand the danger. I doubt delaying any planned assault for 48 hours to give civilians a chance to get out of the way is going to matter all that much.</p><p>If you are sensing a bit of uncertainty on my part that's a good call. I'd like to see Hamas eradicated but not at any cost.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15105361.post-47560985791987040222023-10-11T16:43:00.000-04:002023-10-11T16:43:57.097-04:00Hamas Attacks Israel<p> Hamas has launched a massive terrorist attack from Gaza against the people of Israel. I say the people of Israel because they appear to be more interested in targeting helpless women and children than in taking on the Israeli military.</p><p>This isn't a military operation. It's an exercise in terrorism.</p><p>Israel has responded with extensive military operations against the Gaza strip. Unfortunately the extent of the reprisal insures that many Palestinian women and children will die as well.</p><p>Here's a fucking idea. Let a battalion of the Hamas cowards meet a battalion of the IDF in the Negev and see how things work out.</p><p>There have been reports of exchanges of gunfire in the North between Hezbollah and Israel as well so there is the danger of a widening of the conflict.</p><p>There are several questions that need to be asked.</p><p>First, who's actually behind the attack? Is it all Hamas or are the Iranians involved? Early US intelligence reports seem to indicate that Iran as surprised as anyone else.</p><p>That's brings us to our second question. How did Israeli and other western intelligence services miss this?</p><p>Finally, what impact will this have on the Israeli-Saudi Arabia negotiations?</p><p>So-called Progressives haven't covered themselves with glory over this with Representatives Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib actually calling for the US to END Israeli assistance.</p><p>Now I have another reason for hating those two and they can go to Hell.</p>Alenconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757027241438397244noreply@blogger.com0