Overnight Open Thread (11-23-2015)

Quote of the Day I

Why is the goose-step not used in England? There are, heaven knows, plenty of army officers who would be only too glad to introduce some such thing. It is not used because the people in the street would laugh. Beyond a certain point, military display is only possible in countries where the common people dare not laugh at the army.

-- George Orwell, 1941

Quote of the Day II

An important lesson, worth remembering amid our current cluster in the Middle East.  There are times when unwavering, over-whelming force is required, with the realization that bombs sometimes go astray and collateral damage occurs.  It may be hard to transpose the lessons of a tactical engagement in Bosnia to an air campaign in Syria, but in warfare, it's sometimes necessary to put the JAGs (and politicians) on a leash and relentlessly pound your enemy.  Especially when you're fighting savages who long for the good ol' days of the 7th Century and understand nothing but the business end of a JDAM or SDB. 

By the way, the Serbs stayed quiet around Tuzla for many weeks after that October engagement.  Few lessons are as clear--or brutal--as a 105 round landing in your sniper's nest.  

-- Nate Hale in The Lawyer's War

Quote of the Day III

"When you have an axe to grind with 5yr old boys, maybe you shouldn't teach kindergarten."

-- from the story of the Kindergarten teacher who denies Legos to boys because 'gender equity.'

Quote of the Day IV

America is in the grip of a crisis, namely a shortage of normal people. Evidence indicates that the population of kooks and freaks is rapidly increasing, and there are simply not enough sane people to keep the weirdos under control. Especially among the under-30 demographic, the United States is struggling to cope with the proliferation of dangerous perverts, drug addicts, psychotics and Ivy League liberal arts majors.

-- Robert S. McCain in Is Your Kid a Weirdo?

Quote of the Day V

"If you read Vox on how to survive Thanksgiving, you are the person your family is trying to survive."

Larry Correia: Some Thoughts on Paris

Some of the most clarifying writing on the war with IS I've read yet. Read the whole thing.

Welcome to the Age of the Microcomplaint

Bellyaching for sympathy is not new behavior. But on social media, in an era in which everyone, as per Tony Soprano, is "crying and confessing and complaining," it is being legitimized and rewarded in ways we have never seen. Gary Cooper probably would not have grumbled about the Starbucks barista misspelling his name in order to gain points.

"Never tell your problems to anyone," the legendary football coach Lou Holtz said. "Twenty percent don't care, and the other 80 percent are glad you have them."

Those numbers may need some revision.

Prince Charles: Global Warming Caused the Syrian War

Question: Why Does Global Warming Only Turn Muslims Into Terrorists?

NY Daily News Shills For 'Anti-Terrorist' Gun Control Law, Shamelessly Demonizes the NRA

The problem with the law in question is that it would deny gun rights to anyone on the no-fly list or even on a terrorism 'watch-list' and there is no legal process for determining if you're on these lists much less getting off of them nor any criteria for being put on them in the first place. So all it would take is the next Lois Lerner to secretly decide that the members of a Tea Party group constitute a terrorism threat and boom all your NICS checks come back with a denied result and there's nothing you can do about it. As written the law is simply way too open for abuse. And probably unconstitutional. And sponsored by Chuck Schumer BIRM.

And of course Donald Trump fully supports this law.

Columbia Student Says She Is Traumatized After Being Forced To Read About White People In Class

So traumatized that she's now on track to take 6 years to graduate. Damn that white patriarchy.

Dartmouth Dean Inge-Lise Ameer Apologizes For Saying Conservatives Are 'Not Nice People'

She's lying of course.

Men Are Not Monsters

"Most males do not hurt females or other males, or even dogs and cats. Yet they're all treated as potential perpetrators, and our boys feel the weight of this prejudice."

And I don't blame her son from walking out of the assembly. The problem I've always had with the mantra that a man should never hit a women is that it's wrong. There are in fact times when it's okay (and even necessary) to hit a woman - to wit: when she's harming others, harming herself and in your own self defense.

Now I understand that this is simplified down to never-hit-a-woman for the younger and/or dimmer bulbs among the XY set but by the time they're 16 or so,  it should be possible to have a more nuanced conversation in which it's made clear that one should never hit a woman except in a few rather exceptional circumstances - and if you do, you better be damn sure those circumstances apply or there will be hell to pay. The problem with mantras is that they tend to replace actual moral reasoning with arbitrary unthinking rules.

Predicting Your Child's Intelligence With a Raisin

The raisin test and the classic marshmallow test have proven remarkably effective at predicting a child's future success. Which isn't that surprising since the tests measure a child's self-control and ability to plan for the future - both key factors in life success. And in surviving the Gom Jabbar.

Things to Ponder:

1. Only two people born in the 1800s are still alive today.

2. You won't live to see the final Star Wars movie.

FAA To Drone Owners: Get Ready To Register

17 Backstories To Why Actors And Actresses Were Written Out Of TV Shows

Dissing Rhea Perlman, early onset MPB, and giant boobs oh my.

Genius: Whisky and Bourbon Advent Calendars

The Yahoo AoSHQ group - it's got electrolytes and shit.

And my twitter thang.

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posted by Maetenloch at 10:45 PM

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