Anthony Scaramucci

Amazing that he's out already, though I'm not sad to see the last of him. 

He was sort of like Trump's id, and that's saying a lot, since Trump is sort of already the Republican electorate's id. Trump tries to feed the voters raw meat all the time, hence his comments like, "We treat the criminals too nice." 

A lot of Trump's comments aren't quite ready for prime time, but he does know how to play to his audience. 

You got the sense Scaramucci was doing the same to Trump, like some high school kid who's trying to prove he's badass. (He also reminded me a little of a 12-year-old who uses x-rated language in an attempt to shock his parents.) 

But we don't need someone who's trying to out-Trump Trump. We need a grownup to tone Trump down. 

Competing angry

The World Swimming Championships are taking place in Budapest right now. There seem to be two basic frames of mind people have when competing: angry or worried. (This obviously applies to other sports, and activities, as well.)

The two best examples of those modes in swimming may be Clark Smith (worried) and Michael Phelps (angry).

Clark Smith has two supportive parents (both of whom were world class swimmers), and seems like a nice guy. So he worries about disappointing everyone, from his parents to his coaches to his teammates.

As a result, his nerves sometimes get the better of him, and he chokes. He didn't do well in Budapest, failing to make the finals of both the 400 and 800 freestyles, in both cases going slower than he had at US Trials four weeks before.

Phelps came from a broken home, had a difficult relationship with his father, and appears to have a somewhat domineering mother. He has ADHD, was bullied as a kid, and is apparently a (reformed) alcoholic.

Phelps was known for feeding off of other peoples' disparagement. If anyone said something negative about him, or doubted him in any way, he would tape the newspaper clipping inside his locker.

Phelps swam angry. It was obvious because even after some of his victories, he still looked and acted angry. Watch his behavior from 1:26 to 1:43 of this video, when he beats Michael Cavic to set a world record in the 100 meter fly. His anger is what made him one of the best competitors (on top of being the most talented swimmer) ever.

Anger appears to be a better fuel for competitors than fear. It puts your psyche in the right place.

Marvin Hagler (who legally changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler when promoters refused to bill him by that name) was known as a fighter who would work himself up into such a state of fury.   (Hagler is shown below defeating Englishman Tony Sibson.)

Before the their fight in 1983, Hagler was asked about Sibson. He said, "I don't like that guy. He's been sayin' bad things about me. He's been running his mouth, and I'm going to shut it for him."

When informed of this, Sibson was mystified. He said, "I don't know where he got that from. All I've said about him publicly is that he's one of the four greatest middleweight champions of all time and that it's an honor to get in the ring with him."

Hagler wasn't a brain truster, but he knew how to get himself psyched up for a fight, and that was partly why he was such a great boxer.

Roberto Duran, another boxing legend, was also famous for hating all of his opponents.

But the point of this post is that even in the non-combat sports, and maybe even in other activities, it's better to compete furious than compete worried.

If I were Clark Smith's coach, I'd advise him, before his races, to think of someone he really hates, and who hates him back. (We all have at least one person like that in our lives.) I'd say, think of how he'd like to see you fail. Think of how much pleasure that would give him. Think of that before your race, and while you're waiting behind the blocks. And think of how unhappy he'll be if he sees you win.

When I was young, I definitely fell into the worrier (as opposed to warrior) camp. And, I sometimes choked. There are a lot of things I wish I could have explained to the young me; this is one of them.

Nina van Pallandt

While reading John Heard's obituary yesterday I was reminded of one of his greatest performances, as Cutter in Cutter's Way  in 1981.

I thought it was a cool movie at the time -- and I still do -- but what may have made the biggest impression on me was Nina van Pallandt's brief appearance. She played a rich Santa Barbara socialite who pays co-star Jeff Bridges for his services. Her one line is to tell him, after they've had sex, "Buy some Vitamin E." (Her entire cameo is included at the 1:01 mark of this trailer for the film.)

That one brief glimpse was enough to sear her into my memory banks, even though she was 49 at the time (I was 27). Maybe part of the reason she made such an impression was because it was so ridiculous to think that someone who looked like that would have to pay for sex.

(She had a larger role in American Gigolo, as Richard Gere's "pimp.")

When I read later that she had been involved with Clifford Irving at the time of his fake Howard Hughes "autobiography," somehow that slightly checkered past made her seem even more alluring.

A few pictures:

Her mouth may be a touch too generous, and her nose a little hawkish. But those "flaws" and the fact that her nose actually tilts to the left keep her from being a standard issue blonde beauty. She actually looked a little like Farrah Fawcett, the leading sex symbol of that era. But van Pallandt exuded a playful intelligence that made her far more appealing.

She remained lean and beautiful and elegant-looking for a long time. Here she was in her 20's:

And here she was at 50:

Van Pallandt started her show business career as a singer, and at age 37 sang "The More Things Change" for the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. (A little ironic that she would stay behind the camera, given that she was more attractive than any of of the actresses in that movie.)

She had three children with her second husband, Frederik, Baron van Pallandt. (I Google-imaged her daughters but could find no pictures.) She was married three times, the last marriage being a brief one in the 1970's.

She turned 85 a week ago today; she probably won't make the news again before she dies. In the meantime, she seems to have led a full life, which, for some reason, makes me glad.

There seems to be a long list of actresses who are far more attractive than the ones who went on to become huge movie stars, something I've never fully understood. Here's another one, and here are a few more.

Overcoming insecurity

A young soldier, a veteran of Afghanistan, recently found himself at a party in New York City which was being held to introduce up and coming tech guys to venture capitalists. There was also a prominent film star in attendance, and a host of beautiful young women.

The vet found himself talking to one of those beautiful women, and said to her, "This party is making me feel a little insecure about my financial status. I think I'm going to start poking guys in the chest and saying, 'Hey you, you ever been in a firefight?'"

She laughed, though the exchange didn't lead anywhere.

Still, it was a good line.

The most insulting judgment on women, ever

The current doctrine that women who are drunk are incapable of consent is, when you think about it, a pretty damning indictment of women. A few drinks and they no longer even have the judgment to make a simple yes or no decision?

If you take feminist dogma seriously -- and their lackeys on campus and elsewhere certainly seem to -- its implications for public policy are staggering.

It suggests, just for starters, that no woman should ever become President. And a woman like Hillary, who reportedly likes to toss them down with abandon, should never set foot in the Oval Office.

Imagine a President Hillary. At State dinners, it's customary for various dignitaries to propose toasts, and for those present to drink to them. (To abstain would be rude.) Who knows what Hillary might have done after a few toasts.

At a State dinner with Germany, she might have consented to take all of their Syrians.

After a few toasts at a State dinner with France, she might have reversed the Louisiana Purchase.

At a State dinner with England, she might have consented to rescind the results of the Revolutionary War and pledged allegiance to the Queen.

At a meeting with the Governor of Alabama, she might have consented to bring back slavery.

And who knows whom she might have given our nuclear codes to.

This is the Hillary Presidency that the feminists envisioned, anyway.

To take the analogy one step further, Hillary could then have taken all those foreign heads of state to the World Court in the Hague for having taken advantage of her while she was inebriated.

Instead of hearing about "regret rape," we'd hear about "regret pacts."

There are plenty of other implications for the new stance on drinking and consent.

If a bride has more than two glasses of champagne at her own wedding, that could now constitute grounds for annulment.

As for the wedding night, well, forget any plans the groom had for that!

And, really, women shouldn't be prosecuted for DUI's anymore. You see, it's not that they're irresponsible and drive drunk - it's that they were too drunk to be able to make a decision about whether or not to drive. They certainly can't be held responsible for that!

It appears that feminists, for all their big talk, really believe, deep down, that men are adults and women are children. Why else would they say that a woman -- but not a man -- is incapable of consent after a few drinks?

Personally, I have a much higher opinion of women than the feminists do. I think they remain lucid and logical -- as much as they were beforehand, anyway -- after a few beverages. I don't believe that a few toasts turn them into helpless quivering blobs of insentient protoplasm.

It is interesting, though, to know that's how feminists see women.

A natural coolant

The area I live in had a heat wave for the past two days, with temperatures near 90 and the high humidity that characterizes unpleasant East Coast summer days.

The first day I just suffered through it (I was too lazy to put my window air conditioning unit in). But the second day I remembered something I'd once read about.

I filled a metal water bottle with ice water, and alternated holding it against each of my carotid arteries, and in the crook of each arm. Within four minutes I was no longer sweating, and this kept me completely cool for as long as the ice lasted, which was about an hour.

Try it, it works.

Cosmo and David

Cosmo DiNardo, the leading suspect in the disappearance of those four young men in eastern Pennsylvania, just confessed to their murders. Here's Cosmo:

When I first saw his picture yesterday (when he was still just a "person of interest," I was struck by his resemblance to David Berkowitz, aka "Son of Sam," whose murderous spree terrified New Yorkers back in 1977:

DiNardo seems to have been a mass murderer as opposed to a serial killer, as all four of those boys disappeared at the same time. It'll be interesting to find out what motivated him, and exactly what his syndrome was.

Teachers vs. Wall Streeters

Every now and then you'll hear of a gathering characterized as "high-powered." What does that mean, exactly?

The people at such a gathering undoubtedly see themselves as a group of tough, dynamic, brilliant, worldly, and successful individuals.

I've met some of them, and they were generally aggressive and workaholic and ambitious and tough (in the sense of being ruthless). But while a small handful of them were extraordinarily smart, most weren't.

The fuel that powered them was not extra IQ points, but narcissism -- and sometimes sociopathy. So their personalities were suffused with ego and a sense of entitlement.

If you want a sense of what they're like, think Donald Trump. They weren't necessarily articulate, or creative, or insightful. But their egos were monstrous nonetheless. Their basic attitude was: admire and lavish praise on me, my beautiful wife, my magnificent house, and my riches.

If you didn't, they resented you. And if you crossed them, or even gently teased them, they would come after you three times as hard. (Think of Trump and how he goes after everyone who criticizes him.)

Wall Streeters don't measure their intelligence by IQ tests. They measure it by their bank accounts. So most of them think they're brilliant, even when they aren't.

More recently, I've gotten to know a few school teachers. As far as intelligence goes, I'd put them at least on a par with the average Wall Streeter.

Most teachers remember their own school years fondly, otherwise they wouldn't be attracted to the field. And no one in the bottom half of his class would have found school a positively reinforcing environment.

Teachers generally aren't narcissistic personalities, so lack boundless self-confidence. And because they don't see themselves as world-beaters, they want a steady income and retirement benefits.

From what I've seen, teachers tend to be nice people from nice families, who went through life being relatively nice.

None absolutely love their jobs. Some may have started out teaching because they liked children, or enjoyed working with teenagers, or had a passion for imparting knowledge. But after being on the job for a while -- and especially after seeing that their passion is nontransferable -- most can't wait to get away from the kids.

Most teachers have, in a sense, settled.

I've never met one who didn't love to travel -- they take advantage of those three months off. And most enjoy reading, which requires a certain calm self-sufficiency. (Again, think of Trump, who  reportedly doesn't even have the patience to read the daily briefings that are standard fare for most Presidents.)

Teachers are dependable, if a little boring. (A teacher is not going to be your first choice as wingman at a night club.) 

Nor do they have scintillatingly irreverent senses of humor.

You'll almost never hear about a teacher who's "larger than life." But neither will you hear about one who "sucks all the oxygen out of the room."

You rarely see a high testosterone teacher. It's easy to imagine Jeb Bush teaching high school history. Donald Trump, not so much.

And, most low testosterone environs are bastions of liberalism. Teachers may also lean left because of the teacher's union, and their government paychecks. And most are simply too nice -- and timid -- to step outside the bounds of political correctness into the dangerous environs of truth telling.

Teaching, especially up through junior high school, is primarily a female occupation, and most of those teachers are part of the "nice white lady" contingent who voted for Obama. They are easily brainwashed.

Still though, teachers are, on average, as smart as Wall Streeters. At least as smart: I've never met a teacher I'd call downright dumb, and I did meet several Wall Streeters I'd classify that way.

The teachers just aren't as "high-powered."

Personally, I far prefer the company of those toward the higher end of the IQ scale, and the lower end of the narcissism scale. 

Stupidity-shaming

To make fun of anyone who is fat, or even to point out that someone is overweight, is now considered a cardinal sin. (Even though it actually encourages people to lose weight and be healthier.)

But we have even less control over our intelligence than we do our weight. So why isn't stupidity-shaming a thing?

One would think, given the alacrity with which the Left has pounced on almost every other form of "discrimination" they can think of, that they would find fault with those who judge others by their IQs.

But, it's generally open season on anyone who says anything dumb, unless it's in the service of progressivism.

When you think about it, much of what the media is attempting to do in criticizing Trump is to stupidity-shame. Along with all of the attacks on his character, they try to make him appear dumb to boot. (Occasionally, with his help, they succeed.)

But isn't discriminating against those with less gray matter the ultimate form of discrimination? Our brains make us who we are, and what we are. Every word that comes out of our mouths, every witticism we come up with, every thought we have, every action we take, is a function of our brains.

How well our brains function seems to be a matter of size, how many folds it has, how well the synapses fire off, and how many glial cells we have. And we certainly have less control over those things than we do over our food intake. Or exercise.

You'll sometimes hear people say, "I'm going to run three miles today, then I'm going to hit the gym for some incline press and pull-ups."

But you'll never hear anyone say, "I'm going to give my cerebellum a good workout today, and after that I'm going to work on my occipital and parietal lobes. Oh, and then the frontal lobe -- I'm a bit weak on ethics."

The reason you never hear anyone say that is because it would be absolutely ridiculous. You can't willfully improve your cerebellum functioning. You've got what you've got, and you're stuck with it.

But still, why hasn't pretending that all brains deserve equal respect become a cause celebre among the Left?

Might that conflict with the fact that intellectual snobbery is the media's favorite form of preening?

They do like to think of themselves as "enlightened," and conservatives as obtuse.

But imagine if stupidity-shaming were a thing, like fat-shaming.

Colleges would be one of the first targets. Why do they let in some students but not others? Why is it that every spring high school seniors across the nation must undergo such an orgy of stupidity-shaming? (Granted, there are other factors in admission beside IQ, but that is still theoretically the most important factor.)

The Educational Testing Service is an even worse malefactor, since SAT scores are really about nothing but stupidity-shaming. (The correlation between IQ and SAT scores is .9.)

And whenever anyone ever disparages someone's logic or memory or grasp of abstract reasoning, well, he's the one who should be ashamed -- of stupidity-shaming.

If stupidity-shaming actually became a thing, some interesting tactics would develop. Just as, despite the current frowning upon fat-shaming, everybody knows that nobody wants to be fat, so would everyone know that no one wants to be thought stupid. So, people might call to task those who criticized their enemies, pointing out that they were stupidity-shaming.

It'd just be a roundabout way of calling the opposition stupid.

For the same reason, no one would ever accuse others of doing this to their own side.

I'm certain guilty of this theoretical sin, in fact much of this blog is devoted to it.

Just, please, don't accuse anyone else of doing it to me.

Redefining beauty

"Fled the Undertow" had a trenchant comment after the previous post:

In order to see feminism in casting, you have to watch America's Next Top Model. Not only was Tyra Banks pushing the heavyset girls, in later seasons she openly declared that she "wanted to re-define the concept of beauty" (as though it needed a new definition).

To that end, she cast every manly, tattooed, weird-looking, or misshapen girl she could find, especially brown and black ones. She had at least two trannies (I guess they got lost on the way to the RuPaul auditions), one girl with vitiligo, one burn victim, and several who could have passed as boys. When audiences got tired of her liberal agenda and quit watching, Tyra doubled down on her odd choices, then hectored her audiences about being closed-minded. (Unfortunately, the UK and Canadian versions of the show do the same thing, but luckily Australia's franchise still cast beautiful girls on its show thanks to its head judge and sponsor, designer Alex Perry, who won't be cowed by PC casting trends.)

I have no idea whether these choices are being made at Tyra Banks' initiative, or whether it's something she's been instructed to do by her network bosses. Either way, it's a little ironic that Banks would pursue that agenda given that her own success is due at least partly to a nose job which made her more "conventionally" beautiful:

The idea that the Left can somehow succeed in reprogramming what people find attractive is really no different in spirit than those gay conversion camps that the Left decries so bitterly. I happen to agree with them about conversion therapy: the idea that you can simply "pray the gay away" is silly.

But, neither can you get heterosexual guys to be attracted to a type they never found attractive to begin with. We're attracted to whatever we're attracted to, and no amount of heterosexual conversion therapy in the guise of a media campaign will change that.

The hypocrisy is glaring.

Political correctness can force us to watch our words in public, but it can't change our natures. 

Those fat-shamers at NBC

Fat-shaming is a concept which has gained a lot of currency recently. For better or worse, it's now a thing. And the campaign against fat-shaming has been led by the feminists.

NBC -- and its affiliates MSNBC and (to a lesser extent) CNBC -- are known for their liberal slant. All three nominally support feminist causes. If anybody were to ever suggest to the brass at NBC Universal that women should be judged by their looks, they would, publicly at least, act extremely offended.

But it's one thing to pay lip service to feminism, and another to actually practice what you preach. Let's take a quick look at some of the women whom NBC Universal has hired as their newscasters, and ask ourselves precisely what qualities these women were hired for.

Was it because of their keen journalistic instincts?

Their original insights and penetrating analysis?

Their mellifluous voices?

Or might it have been because of their looks?

Here's Amanda Drury of CNBC:

NBC's Alex Wagner:

CNBC's Courtney Reagan:

Maria Menounos, a former reporter for NBC Nightly News:

Tamron Hall, who's worked for both NBC and MSNBC:

Natalie Morales of NBC's soft news show Today:

Melissa Stark, a former reporter for both NBC and MSNBC:

Michelle Kosinski, former foreign correspondent for NBC News:

Norah O'Donnell, back around the time she was MSNBC's chief Washington correspondent:

And Lindsay Czarniak, who covered the 2008 Olympics for NBC:

Where are the fatties?

NBC may pay lip service to feminism, disapprove of fat-shaming, and claim to be against judging women by their looks. But whom do they choose to represent them? Slim, trim beauties.

Does anyone honestly think any of these women would have been hired if they'd weighed 40 pounds more? Of course not: you could even have thrown in 20 extra IQ points along with the 40 extra pounds, and they'd never even have been considered.

It's true that hiring a good-looking woman is not the same thing as mocking a fat woman. But when almost all of your news reporters are slim and attractive, does that not essentially send the same message?

(If you're fat, we don't want you.)

And when overweight women sitting at home watch the beauty parade on NBC, do you think that message doesn't sink in?

Fat-shamers are merely saying what the brass at NBC communicate only a bit more subtly: that nobody wants to look at a fat woman.

NBC's dramas, soap operas, and comedies also feature mostly slim, beautiful women, at least in the lead roles. (Comedic sidekicks are allowed to be unattractive.)

The movies they run almost all feature beautiful women.

And the commercials NBC runs are even more skewed toward beauties.

All of these actions speak louder than any words a perky news reporter can utter.

NBC may be the proud voice of liberalism. But it's certainly not the body. 

"Sentence held for deranged rapist who 'enjoyed the hunt'"

I saw the above headline this morning which ran with this accompanying photograph in the NY Post:

I was all set to put up a snarky post along the lines of how this guy actually looked the part, but then I read the article:

An appeals court upheld the maximum prison sentence for a deranged Pennsylvania man obsessed with raping real estate agents, according to reports.

Frank Yeager compiled a list of some 200 potential victims he hoped to violate, and claimed in his diary to “truly enjoy the hunt,” NBC 10 reported.

After spending months compiling his sick list, he tried to rape a real estate agent in 2012, according to prosecutors.

Yeager, 33, went to a real estate agent’s office in November 2012, and asked her to show him a secluded model home. She refused because he was acting strangely.

He returned minutes later, claiming there was a water leak in the home he wanted to see, and begged her to go with him. When a male colleague entered the room, Yeager panicked and fled.

Later, the Realtors went to the house to see whether in fact there was a leak. They found all the house’s lights out and curtains drawn — but no water leaking anywhere, so they called cops.

Yeager, who was born with facial deformities, confessed to the plot, which he attributed to a lifetime of bullying and being shunned by women.

Yeager said knew he would never get the wife and home he wanted, so he planned to kill himself after carrying out his violent sexual fantasies.

“I know it is wrong but I cannot fight the urges…I truly enjoy the hunt and cannot wait for my prize,” he wrote in the diary, prosecutors said.

His parents said in court that Yeager was forced to undergo several facial surgeries as a child and was mentally ill.

The article about this case in The Sun said that Yeager had "endured a lifetime of cruel taunts by strangers."

I don't doubt that Yeager in fact did go through a lifetime of bullying, and he obviously would have been shunned by women. All he wanted was a normal life, and that was clearly not going to happen. 

I'm not suggesting Yeager's not being punished appropriately -- he attempted the crime, so he should pay. 

But I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. 

He evidently has two parents who love him, and who basically tried to plead for leniency from the court. That means there must be some decency in him somewhere. 

The fact that he "panicked and ran" when the male realtor entered that room indicates that he's probably not even a sociopath, since sociopaths rarely panic.

Yeager himself was honest about the attempted rape, and his motivation. And he probably did plan to kill himself afterwards. 

It was his monstrous face, which he was stuck with through no fault of his own, which turned him into a monster.

How many of us can say that if we had spent our entire lives looking like that, and being bullied for it, and even being taunted by passing strangers, that we wouldn't be bitter and want revenge on mankind?

I couldn't. 

I certainly don't blame any of the women who turned him down. But the real monsters in this story are the passing strangers who would see a deformed kid and mock him for it. 

Those jacked Brazilians

Seven weeks ago I wrote a post about how Brazilian Nicholas Santos, age 36, had just swum a 50 meter butterfly in 22.61, the fastest time in history in a textile suit. I segued from there into an description of how steroids mold the body.

Last night SwimSwam.com reported that Brazilian Henrique Martins, 25, had swum a 50 meter butterfly in 22.70, the third fastest textile time in history. 

Here is a picture of the 5'10" Martins from 2012 (he's on the left):

And here is another picture of him from circa 2012:

Here is a more recent shot of Martins:

You've got to hand it to those Brazilians. They really know how to put on the muscle.

Gwyneth Paltrow as metaphor for Hollywood

Gwyneth Paltrow has a well known lifestyle site, Goop, in which she touts her expensive tastes to the hoi polloi. Two of her better known quotes:

"I'd rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a tin."

“I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set.”

(In other words, it's much tougher to be a movie star who works several weeks a year and has nannies and tons of money than it is to be a regular mom.)

These and other quotes show how out of touch Paltrow is, how little sense she has of what life is like for the vast majority.

Her political quotes are, given her occupation and lifestyle, unsurprising: when Paltrow addressed Obama at a DNC fundraiser at her home in Brentwood in 2014, she gushed that she was "one of his biggest fans, if not the biggest," and that he was "an incredible role model." (Was there a touch of unintended condescension in that characterization?) 

She then said, "You're so handsome I can't speak properly." (Her personal long term relationships have been with Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and Chris Martin, none of whom bear the slightest resemblance to Obama.)

Paltrow may now be the widely mocked actress in Hollywood.

But really, is she so different from all the other celebrities who grace us with their wisdom?  

While social media tends to focus on Paltrow, practically every other Hollywood activist is equally out of touch. And when they speak up, it's usually all about burnishing their own image as "good" people.

When Leo DiCaprio and John Travolta lecture us about how we have to cut back our carbon footprint while they travel by private jet, are they really so different from Gwyneth?

When Whoopi Goldberg and Alec Baldwin and Miley Cyrus threaten to leave the country if the Republican is elected, but somehow always seem to end up staying, are they so different?

When the women of The View gush over Barack Obama's looks, are they so different?

When Paltrow talks about the high class products she uses, she's merely trying to show what a classy, discerning, right-thinking person she is. Just like all those other Hollywood celebs with their virtue-signaling political opinions. 

Paltrow is not exceptionally pretentious; she is merely representative.

The National Geographic perspective

When I was around ten, my parents subscribed to the National Geographic, and I would always look through it and marvel at the different cultures it showed. How exotic they all seemed.

I would look at the pictures of women peering out from their burkhas in Afghanistan, and think, don't they get hot? And, you can't even tell if they're pretty or not! But it all seemed so mysterious, and different, and, in its own way, appealing.

I would look at the pictures of the Tarahumara Indians who had that 50 mile race in which they had to kick a wooden ball the entire way, and I would think, what superhuman endurance they must have!

I would look at pictures of South Americans in their native garb and think, how festive!

I would look at pictures of the sacred cows wandering around Indian streets and think, they're so silly -- we would never have sacred cows in this country -- we're too commonsensical!

I would look at pictures of the New Years' festivities in China with lines of men inside dragon floats, making them swirl around, and think, that looks like fun!

I would see pictures of Masai tribesmen and think, it must take a lot of courage and skill to kill a lion with only a spear!

I would look at pictures of the Uro fishermen on their reed boats on Lake Titicaca and think, what a funny name for a lake! (C'mon, I was ten.)

I would see pictorial representations of Aztec and Mayan human sacrifices and think, wow, those Central Americans sure were bloodthirsty!

All these cultures were foreign, and different, and primitive, and often, dangerous. So, to this ten-year-old, they all seemed cool and exciting.

But to this sixty-three-year-old, those peoples now seem best experienced from a distance, perhaps through a picture magazine, or as a tourist, if one is adventurous enough. When people from those cultures move to the US, many seem to combine the worst of their own cultures with the worst of this country. Low IQ's and lack of respect for human life do not always mix well with easily available welfare and access to guns.

Some of those beautiful -- or not so beautiful -- Muslim women may be inclined to blow us up. I can't entirely blame them, given that the US exploded over twenty-six thousand bombs in Muslim countries last year alone. But why give them the opportunity?

And MS-13 shows no more reverence for human life than did their ancestors in Central America.

You used to hear a lot about what a shame it was when certain Stone Age peoples would be corrupted by modern societies, and how their wonderful way of life would be lost forever.

Let's not corrupt any more of them by bringing them here.

Third wave feminists as spoiled children, and their coming clash with Muslims

When parents bend over backwards to indulge a child, that doesn't lessen conflict with the child. Buy the child the dog he wants, then he wants a horse. Buy the horse he wants, then he wants another horse. It just keeps going until eventually the parents have to say no. And, inevitably, the child, who is used to getting his way, throws a fit.

Looking at the evolution of feminism over the years, it's hard not to see a parallel.

First wave feminism, which extends back to the 19th century, was about things like the right to own property, execute a will, attend college, and vote. Today these all seem like very fundamental rights, and no one argues with them.

Second wave feminism extended from the 1960's to the 1980's. It was concerned with issues like abortion rights, the establishment of rape crisis centers and battered women's shelters, changes in divorce law, the glass ceiling, and Title IX. (Title IX was first established to provide the opportunity for girls to compete in scholastic sports, though it has since been used as justification for more controversial things.)

Third wave feminism is generally considered to have started in the early 1990's. It's the third wave which has given us the knowledge that if a man cracks a dirty joke in the presence of a woman, that constitutes sexual harassment.

It's the third wave which has informed us that women are fragile, helpless creatures who after a mere two drinks are incapable of giving sexual consent -- but at the same time, women are capable of being Army Rangers, and mixing it up with the roughest and toughest of men.

Third wave feminists have agitated for 18 weeks paid pregnancy leaves while simultaneously using the mantra "equal pay for equal work."

The third wave has pushed the "free the nipple" movement, insisting that women should have the right to walk around bare-chested too. But they have also decreed that if a man stares at a woman, that constitutes sexual harassment.

The third wave has given us slutwalks, Take Back the Night, and Hollaback.

Some feminists now insist that the government should pay not only for all contraception, but should also provide free tampons as well, since men don't have periods. After all, fair is fair.

And some have tried to redefine beauty so that slimness is no longer a prerequisite. And they have termed those who prefer slenderness to be "fat-shamers." (If you can redefine truth, why not beauty?)

It seems to be human nature that the more you get, the more you want. No matter how unreasonable and ridiculous and self-indulgent it makes you sound.

The ironic thing is, almost all of these feminists are Leftists through and through, meaning that they support virtually all Leftist goals, including increased Muslim immigration. What will happen if they get their wish?

Many of the Muslims who come to this country would like to repeal first wave feminism.

In many of the cultures they come from, women can't vote. Or drive. Or attend school.

How will the wearing of burkhas accommodate the Free the Nipple movement?

Will The Vagina Monologues have to be adapted as the Clitoris-less Monologues?

And will the anti-slut-shaming movement be hampered at all by slut-stoning-to-death? Or by honor killings?

The coming culture clash will be interesting to watch. I don't support the importation of a medieval culture. On the other hand, the feminists do seem a little overdue for some un-spoiling.

Perhaps the Muslims will be the fourth wave of feminism -- the tidal wave that washes away all feminism has achieved so far.

Teacher cheat sheet

Every year around this time, schoolteachers have to fill out their report cards. And school administrations put a lot of pressure on them to put a positive spin on those reports. (Administrators don't want to be bothered with disgruntled parents.)

Here's a guide for all those teachers on how to put a positive spin on various personality types. Like much of life, it's all about euphemism.

ADD, ADHD: Say he is exuberant, energetic, and lively. He has a lot of life force, and manages to stay interested in many things at the same time. He is active, dynamic, spirited, bouncy, ebullient, and tireless.

A bully: Say he is a strong presence in the classroom, forceful, and socially dominant. He has a strong will, and the other children look up to him. He is assertive, and knows what he wants, and strives to get it.

A crybaby: He is sensitive, caring, and very aware of what's going on around him. He is socially perceptive, appreciates others' feelings, and is in tune with his own feelings.

Dumb: He moves along at his own pace, and eventually catches on to everything. He enjoys learning on his own. He is making good progress, and taking some amazing steps forward.

Autistic: He has an original view of the world, and marches to his own drummer. He offers a refreshing change of pace from the run of the mill children. He enjoys his own sense of humor, and has amazing focus when he puts his mind to something.

This should also be a guide for the parents of young children: if you hear any of the above expressions, be aware they may be euphemisms.

Michelle Carter has Munchausen-by-proxy

It just struck me why Michelle Carter, currently on trial for manslaughter, was trying so hard to get her boyfriend Conrad Roy to commit suicide, and why, when he hesitated, she tried to shame him into doing it.

It wasn't as if she was about to inherit any money from him, or stood to gain anything material. They were just high school classmates. And it wasn't as if she had any particular reason to hate him: she was, after all, his girlfriend, and he was by all accounts a nice guy.

She simply wanted him to die so she could pose as his bereaved girlfriend and get lots of sympathy. There's no other explanation.

Carter sent a number of texts to other people, expressing worry about Conrad's well-being and professing ignorance as to his whereabouts. She was setting up a scenario where she could act as if she was utterly heartbroken and inconsolable because of her great love for him.

Carter had probably played out these scenes in her head beforehand. She had undoubtedly thought about how she would burst into tears while talking about the life she and Conrad had planned together, how they had even discussed marriage, and how he was the love of her life.

All her female friends would feel great sympathy. (And oh would she ever enjoy making them feel as if they were somehow lacking for not being capable of feeling as great a love as hers.) And all the boys.....well, she just knew that all of them would sympathize, and each would secretly want to replace Roy.

And Conrad's family would simply adore her. Every time they'd see her they would think, oh, that sweet little girl, she cared for Conrad so much. And she might have even been our daughter-in-law. Carter undoubtedly planned to remain a presence in their lives, making a big show of weeping at the funeral and then showing up at their doorstep on the anniversaries of his death to remind them that Conrad was not forgotten.

It would all be so very gratifying. She would be the absolute center of attention in her community. And everybody would say, oh, poor Michelle, she's so heartbroken. That poor girl, we should do whatever we can for her!

(It's called Munchausen-by-proxy.)

Look at that practiced expression of sadness and confusion on Carter's face:

There was only one little thing wrong with Carter's scheme: text messages are retrievable.

So now, people think the opposite of what she wanted them to.

"Ex-basketball phenom busted with car filled with loaded guns"

From this evening's NY Post:

Former Big Apple basketball sensation Sebastian Telfair was busted early Sunday in Brooklyn with a bulletproof vest and a small arsenal inside his truck, police sources said.

The 32-year-old had been with another man, identified as Jami Thomas, 18, when cops pulled him over in Bed-Stuy around 2:50 a.m. and uncovered the weapons cache during a routine traffic stop, according to authorities.

All in all, officers found three loaded pistols, a gas-operated submachine gun, extended magazines, ammunition and the ballistic vest.

The pair had been driving in a Ford F-150 pickup truck without the headlights on, prompting officers to stop them, sources said.

They had been parked illegally on a median on Atlantic Avenue near Classon Street just before the incident and drawn the officers’ attention.

After being pulled over, cops smelled marijuana and eventually spotted a burning joint inside the truck. They then asked Telfair and Thomas to step out of the vehicle and placed them under arrest.

Upon searching the truck, sources said officers discovered two bags of pot and the pair’s gun collection — which included a SIG MPX Pistol, a Ruger LC9s, and a Springfield Armory XD9 Mod 2 Pistol....

If you've got a carful of illegal stuff, rule number one is, don't attract attention. Drug dealers making the Miami to New York run are always told by their bosses to never exceed the speed limit, and not to drive a flashy car. They are instructed to wear conservative clothing and be clean cut. And if by chance they do get stopped by the police, they are to always reply "yes sir" and "no sir."

You'd think the same rules would apply to someone who's carrying a cache of illegal weapons. 

So what does Telfair do? He drives without his lights on at 2:50AM, an hour when nobody is up to any good anyway. Then he parks illegally on the median. And all the while he's smoking a joint, so that the smell of marijuana wafts out of his truck. 

What's going through the head of someone who does that? 

If I were driving around with an illegal armory in my trunk, I'd be extremely nervous and paranoid. I'd be worried that my worry was causing me to look worried and that that look on my face might attract undue attention. Which would make me worry even more. 

But not Telfair. He just puffs away on a doobie as if he hadn't a care in the world. 

Telfair was evidently one of the most highly recruited high school players in the nation in 2004, but chose to go directly into the NBA. He never quite lived up to his promise, however, and ended up playing for eight different teams over the course of his 12 year career. 

Hard not to wonder if this wasn't in part because his court sense didn't quite match his physical abilities. 

Tim Cook's MIT speech

Apple CEO Tim Cook gave the graduation speech at MIT yesterday. Among his comments:

“Whatever you do in your life, and whatever we do at Apple, we must infuse it with the humanity that we are born with.”

“I’m more concerned about people thinking like computers without values or compassion or concern for the consequences. That is what we need you to help us guard against. Because if science is a search in the darkness, then the humanities are a candle that shows us where we have been and the danger that lies ahead.”

“The internet enabled so much and empowered so many, but it can also be a place where basic rules of decency are suspended and pettiness and negativity thrive.”

“Don’t let that noise knock you off course. Don’t get caught up in the trivial aspects of life. Don’t listen to trolls, and don’t become one. Measure impact in humanity; not in the likes, but the lives you touch and the people you serve.”

These are all noble-sounding, "uplifting" sentiments, the type you'd expect at a college graduation. But any honest appraisal of Cook's career would have to center around the fact that his rise was facilitated by having been Steve Jobs' right-hand man. And Jobs was an obvious sociopath.

After listening to that speech, it's hard not to wonder exactly how Cook helped enable Jobs to be the incredibly nasty and self-serving bully that he was. Did Cook ever lecture Jobs on how he should be a better person?

Somehow, that seems doubtful.

One does not become a right-hand man and heir apparent to the CEO without flattering, catering to, and making oneself constantly available to him.

Apple assembles its iPhones in China so that they can pay their workers less than they would have to in the US. How does Cook not consider that to be behavior "without values or compassion?"

Some of those laborers have been as young as 14, and several lawsuits have been brought alleging poisoning of workers from the hexane used to clean iPad screens, as well as overwork from up to seven day workweeks. Is that what Cook considers infusing his plants "with the humanity we are born with?"

Apple also keeps a large chunk of its huge cash hoard abroad so that it doesn't have to pay US taxes on it -- taxes that would help pay for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Not only that, Apple has routed as much as one-third of all its worldwide revenues through Ireland, where it pays a 2% tax rate. How does Cook square that with the "basic rules of decency?"

Cook was theoretically selected as the graduation speaker because he's someone whose success the current crop of graduates would like to emulate. So rather than high-flown sentiments, some of them were probably hoping for a few insights along those lines.

A more honest speech about how Cook became so fabulously wealthy would have outlined how to kiss ass, how to enable a sociopathic boss, how to avoid paying taxes, and where you can get the cheapest labor.

I don't hold it against Cook that he does his job as a CEO. But let's not lose sight of the fact that a CEO's job is to make as much money as possible for his shareholders, his employees, and himself -- by any means he can.

What I do hold against Cook is the sanctimonious front he puts up. (Although, in all fairness, that's probably part of a CEO's job as well.)

Note that Cook also did his job as CEO by telling the grads that they should "measure impact in humanity; not in the likes, but the lives you touch" -- that snide reference to "likes" being a little dig at crosstown rival Facebook.

It's a little surprising Cook didn't warn the graduates about "the googolplex of obstacles" they would have to overcome in life.

Anyway, you should now be ashamed of yourself, because you have just done what Cook advised you not to: you listened to some of the "negativity" on the internet - from someone Cook would undoubtedly call a "troll."

But you also just got a dose of reality, since I don't have to put on a false public face. And what some call "negativity," others call truth.

Here's my advice to those MIT grads: any time you hear an "uplifting" message from the likes of Cook, just remember that old adage about actions speaking louder than words.