Category Archives: Society

Importante, Politics, Society

Different Kind of Shutdown

We were re-reading our last post and had to think a bit to remember that the shutdown being discussed at the time was a government shutdown for want of a spending bill to keep government offices open. While that was occupying the media’s attention and the politicians’ minds, COVID-19 was already in the wind and getting ready to precipitate a whole different kind of shutdown.

The media and most talking heads have been pretty slow to talk about where we’re headed with this COVID-19 shutdown. Back at the beginning, when people were stocking up on toilet paper and disinfectant, Bandolero suggested that what we really needed to stock up on was ammo. Sure enough, various Democrat/Liberal executives took advantage of the “emergency” to issue orders banning the sale or transfer of firearms and/or ammunition. Kansas, to its credit, passed legislation specifically banning the banning of firearms and ammunition. But it’s not just the Second Amendment that’s in peril. The First Amendment has also been suspended. It guarantees that the government shall not prohibit the free exercise of religion, and shall not  abridge the right of the people to assemble peaceably. Nevertheless, it’s been done by “executive orders”. Some have pointed out that Constitutional rights have always been held by the Supreme Court to be subject to reasonable restrictions, and that the current “emergency” justifies the restrictions that have been ordered. The term “police power” is something people ought to learn about. It is not a reference to the uniformed police who are being reviled these days. It is, actually, a frightening standard behind which the government can undertake all manner of power and control over We the People. Bandolero would argue that a suspension of Constitutional rights is not the same thing as a reasonable restriction, and that police power should be subordinate to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. We suppose scholars can debate the point, but far more disconcerting than the enactment of such suspensions (or restrictions) is the ease with which they were done and the blithe acceptance of them by the vast majority of the populace and its leaders and the media which purports to be the government watch dog. From Bandolero’s perspective, it has become more of a lap dog.

We once saw a list of things you have to believe in order to be a good Democrat. One of them was: “The reason socialism hasn’t worked in the past is because the right people weren’t in charge”. The Democrats have been working hard to convince us that it will work fine if they’re in charge. They are willing to do anything to win the argument, including lying, cheating, and abusing legal process. And they’re winning. Incredibly, they’re winning. Why? We hesitate to denigrate the intelligence of the electorate but, frankly, it isn’t really their fault. The Democrats and liberals have been in charge of public education for decades, and we have at least a couple of generations now who don’t know much, if anything, about the reasons that gave rise to the principles expressed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights; and who don’t appreciate the blood that was shed, or why those who shed it were willing to do so, to give it birth and then nurture it for two centuries.

At this point it appears inevitable that the United States is headed for socialism. To save the economy the government will decide it has no choice but to nationalize certain companies and industries. And to take care of those who don’t get jobs we’ll all get at least a “living wage” from the government; social security that starts at 18 instead of 65, and further provides free health care, especially for abortions **. Mark Bandolero’s words! This pandemic will not only be the death of thousands, but the death of the greatest republic the world had seen. The shutdown of the United States of America will be to the great glee of the Chinese, and the Russians, too, who don’t realize they’ll be next. But, it will be interesting to see if the Democrats end up being surprised. It may not be them who is in charge but, rather… the Scientists! The suspension of Constitutional rights hasn’t been the action of elected representatives following the will of We the People, but politicians following the dictates of “experts” whose pronouncements are deemed to be validated by “science”. And who would dare argue with science? Just look at what it has told us about global warming!

** At the rate sperm count has been decreasing, it won’t be long ’til abortion is no longer a social issue.

 

Anecdotal, Misc, Politics, Society

Intimate

“How self-centered is man, and how darkly do his own petty interests overshadow the giant things of life. Thrones may totter and fail, monarchs pass to the limbo of memories, whilst we wrestle with an intractable collar-stud.” — Sax Rohmer, The Orchard of Tears

There’s a lot to think about in that quote from the famous author who warned of the Yellow Menace and created its most formidable general and the world’s most insidious pharmacist, the pinnacle of evil, Dr. Fu Manchu. For one thing, what’s a collar-stud? Is it the same thing as a collar stud? For another thing, would it be politically correct, or incorrect, to point out the sexist reference to “man” in the opening phrase? In doing so would we be accused of intimating that women are also self-centered? As we know from popular (or is the proper term “populist”?) teachings, it’s the male that is self-centered. Females are empathetic and polyglotenous. Yet, this observation fails to account for the LGBTQ (Lapdog Globalist Bilingual Testicular Quietude) community or Bandolero’s favorite lunch, the BLT, which is not to be confused with the infamous DC BeLTway. 

For another thing, one would expect a throne to totter and fall, not totter and fail. It could fail and totter, in that order. Or it could totter and then fall. But to totter and then fail is incomprehensible, if not just plain non-prehensile. 

Which leaves us with the quandary of whether to try to wrap our mind around the notion of wrestling with a collar-stud (which gives rise to the thoroughly incredulous image of a sumo wrestler trying to get a half-nelson on a button) or to grasp the concept of a memory limbo. A memory could be in limbo, we suppose, as could several memories, now that we think about it. But just what is a limbo of memories? Is the word being used along the same line as “pride” when one speaks of a pride of lions? Well, maybe. Oh! Oh! Limbo as in the place between “here” and “there”; or the “nothingness”. Should I stay or should I go? I’m stuck in limbo. He’s using it as a noun, though, like the Chicago of memories. But that suggests a place memories could visit and leave, which I don’t think is meant. I’m thinking something like an inescapable Neverland. How about a place that’s “insubstantial”, as in “without substance”? Like where ghosts live. I remember something about a limbo song, with dancing in a limbo line. Well, I should check a dictionary, shouldn’t I? You should, too.

Seems like a good time to order another beer. Is there anybody else in the world who recalls that the word “intimate” (rhymes with “mate”) is also a verb that means “suggest”? Or did we just dream that up out of limbo?

Anecdotal, Misc, Society

Rumination No. 2

(The following is a guest post by an anonymous guest)

There are several times pretty much every day when I think there’s really not much to be said for the human race and that, in the grand scheme of the universe, or even just this planet, its disappearance would be no great loss, perhaps even a good thing. These thoughts usually occur while listening to talk radio, or while pausing a few seconds on some progam while channel surfing the TV, or after a day at the courthouse.

Where was I going with this? Actually, I had just been browsing this website: http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/ (which doesn’t seem to be there any more, sorry about that) and realized there are hundreds of thousands of people who are capable of wrecking websites and flooding the internet with spam, viruses and spyware, but only a tiny percentage who engage in such pursuits. This struck me as, perhaps, hope for the human race.

But it probably isn’t material evidence about the state of humanity. If you spend any time looking at sites like that one I mentioned about that isn’t there any more, plus security sites like Symantec, CERT, or McAfee, you can only conclude that on the internet you’re in the same position as a homeowner, traveller or citizen: you can do a few things to try to protect yourself from criminals and the government but, what it really comes down to is, safety only comes from being overlooked (or maybe anonymous).

Still, as a whole, maybe the great majority of the human race is worthy and honorable, though ripe for plucking by those who aren’t. On the other hand, watch about 60 seconds of Jerry Springer or any of those daytime TV court shows, and then ask yourself what you’d get rid of first if you were cleaning up the universe. Same question if you watch what real judges and juries are dealing with, and how they deal with it.