Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Althouse

Althouse

Dave Grohl and Mick Jagger endeavor — as only 2 old and punkish men can — to sing us all out of the lockdown.

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 09:40 AM PDT

 

Lyrics by Mick. I'm printing them out even though they're written on the screen so you'll have no trouble discerning them through the earnest noise. I'm just guessing you won't listen through. Plus, if we can read them, we can analyze them:

We took it on the chin/The numbers were so grim/Bossed around by pricks/Stiffen upper lips...

Pricks/Stiffen...  That's literary art.

Pacing in the yard/You're trying to take the Mick...

To take the mick is to tease somebody, and his name is Mick, so he's taking the butt-of-the-joke position.

You must think I'm really thick/Looking at the graphs with a magnifying glass/Cancel all the tours footballs fake applause/No more travel brochures/Virtual premieres I've got nothing left to wear/Looking out from these prison walls/You got to rob Peter if you're paying Paul/But it's easy, easy/Everything's gonna get really freaky/Alright on the night/Soon it'll be a memory you'rе trying to remember to forgеt/That's a pretty mask/But never take a chance...

He's tired of the lockdown, and you should be too. He proceeds to list the stupid things he thinks you're probably doing:

TikTok stupid dance/Took a samba class, I landed on my ass/Trying to write a tune/You better hook me up to Zoom/See my Poncey books...

"Poncey" shouldn't be capitalized there. It's not a proper name. Not like there's somebody named Poncey whose books you've been reading. "Poncey books" are just the kind of books a "ponce" would have around. What "poncey books" have you been reading (or looking at) during the lockdown?

Teach myself to cook/Way too much TV its lobotomizing me/Think I've put on weight/I'll have another drink then I'll clean the kitchen sink/We escaped from the prison walls/Open the windows and open the doors...

Time to end the lockdown.

But its easy, easy/Everything's gonna get really freaky/Alright on the night /t's gonna be a garden of earthly delights/Easy, sleazy it's gonna be smooth and greasy....

According to the Urban Dictionary, "Greasy" means "sketchy, fucked up or sleazy." We're told the word can apply to a wide range of things — "from, taking a picture of your bros nipple, to brutally raping someone." Yeah, but "smooth and greasy" must be on the nicer end of that disturbing continuum. 

Urban Dictionary adds: "Greasiness as a philosophy incorporates nihilistic and libertine values, it may be both respected by some and abhorred by others." "Greasiness as a philosophy" — what a concept!

Back to Mick:

Yeah easy, believe me/It'll only be a memory you're trying to remember to forget/Shooting the vaccine Bill Gates is in my bloodstream/It's mind control....

Ha ha ha. Mick passes on the Bill Gates conspiracy theory.

The earth is flat and cold/It's never warming up/The arctic's turned to slush/The second coming's late/There's aliens in the deep state....

Mick makes sure we understand the conspiracy theories are nutty. 

And now we're coming in for a landing. It's all repetition from here on out... except for one very funny line that harks back to the grand old Stones-versus-Beatles question:

We'll escape from these prison walls/Now were out of these prison walls/You gotta pay Peter if you're robbing Paul/But it's easy, easy/Everything's gonna be really freaky/Alright on the night/We're all headed back to paradise/Yeah easy, believe me/It'll be a memory you're trying to remember to forget/Easy, cheesy, everyone sing 'Please Please Me'/It'll be a memory you're trying to remember to forget....

Does Mick comically gives the victory to The Beatles? "Everyone sing 'Please Please Me.'" Oh, I don't think so. I think he's saying we're sick of the lockdown and sick of everyone coming together and earnestly pleasing everyone who's demanding to be pleased. Time to break out with some individualism, and please yourself.

 

FROM THE EMAIL: Khematite points to "No More Lockdown" by Van Morrison (from last October). Lyrics here. Sample: "No more lockdown/No more government overreach/No more fascist police/Disturbing our peace/No more taking of our freedom/And our God-given rights/Pretending it's for our safety/When it's really to enslave/Who's running our country?/Who's running our world?"

I never noticed that before, so I have to assume that it didn't get much attention. Why not? Too right wing?!

"This was not a two-week process, I needed to educate myself a lot. I realised I have had a date with destiny with this thing for 31 years."

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 09:20 AM PDT

"I really do apologise. I know you weren't asking for that, but it's important. I apologise for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise."

Said Hank Azaria, quoted in "Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria offers apology to 'every single Indian person'" (London Times). 

Here's the top-rated comment over there: 

As an Indian having watched Simpsons I didn't even know I was supposed to be OFFENDED and needed to be APOLOGISED to. This woke brigade has created issues out of nothing, mountain out of molehills. Hari Kondabolu does not represent us - never heard of him and now don't even want to know him. There are 1.5bn indians and this guy does not represent even 0.0001% of Indians as most are too busy working hard to get involved in wokery. Remember Indians don't play victim (according to the race report published last week) - they don't have the time as studying, jobs, hard work, looking after family, being a good citizen takes up all the time - not enough time to protest, shout, march and scream at the govt for imaginary issues or time to be offended.

Maybe you've never heard of Hari Kondabolu either, so here's the trailer for his documentary movie: 


 

FROM THE EMAIL: Hari writes:

As a Hari (and a Singh) apology accepted. Having lived my entire 62 years in New York, I have been waiting patiently for my turn to be insulted over my ethnicity, and now I finally have gotten my chance. Thank you!

ALSO: WK says:

When Hank Azaria said "Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise," I pictured Navin Johnson in "The Jerk" handwriting an individual check to everyone who ended up cross-eyed from using the Optigrab he invented.....

"Underwood said he 'genuinely' wishes he hadn't dragged people into 'my own mess of figuring out who I was.'"

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 07:46 AM PDT

"In addition to saying sorry to those women, he would said thank you because, ultimately, they and the franchise helped him get to this place. When he was named the Bachelor, Underwood said he remembered 'praying to God' the morning he found out and 'thanking him for making me straight,' thinking this would lead to him finally getting the wife and them having kids. But Underwood said he had known the truth of his sexuality since a young age, knowing he 'just felt different' from the age of 6, when he couldn't process it. He knew he was 'more emotional' than the other boys in his class. It took until high school for him to realize he 'was more attracted to the boys and the men' than he was the opposite sex. Having grown up in the Catholic church, he remembered he 'learned in the Bible that gay is a sin' in Catholic grade school...."

"Former 'Bachelor' star Colton Underwood comes out as gay" (Good Morning America).

I don't watch "The Bachelor," and I know there's fakery — more or less — in TV reality shows, but I can't believe a show about a crowd of women competing for one man doesn't make absolutely sure the guy is straight. At the very least, the problem of his confusion about his sexual orientation ought to have become part of the show. 

I mean no disrespect to a gay man who goes through a struggle — particularly a religious struggle — to come to admit to himself that he is what he is, but he went on a show — a show about raging heterosexuality. Did he deceive the show people who vetted him? Do the show people not care about this problem or are they just inept? 

Did Robin Roberts ask him any of these tough questions? Or did Underwood choose Roberts as his mode of communication because she'd give him a comfortable forum? 

Buried deeply in the article: 

Underwood was then the lead of season 23 of "The Bachelor" in 2019, with his virginity being a frequent topic of conversation and his famous fence-jumping moment being one of the franchise's most dramatic moments.

He gave his final rose to contestant Cassie Randolph but ultimately chose to not propose to her, though they later told "GMA" they had discussed an engagement. The two dated after the show wrapped until announcing their breakup in early 2020.

They later made headlines when Randolph was granted a restraining order against Underwood, accusing him of stalking and harassing her. In a police report, she accused him of putting a tracking device on her car....

Did Randolph consider suing the show? I'm guessing the answer is that she signed away all her rights to get on the show.

*** 

There is no comments section anymore, but you can email me here. Unless you say otherwise, I will presume you'd enjoy an update to this post with a quote from your email.

What'd he do?

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 07:02 AM PDT

Do I have to look this up separately? 

I google "Marco Rubio" and see 3 possible things... none of them even seems clickable!

The Lincoln Project is not known for making the best tweets. Today it may have made its worst one yet.

"Don’t have a good pic cuz it hurts too much and I need to sleep haha, and it’ll be red for a few wks , but gna be beautiful alien scars."

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 06:16 AM PDT

 

Via "Grimes shows off the 'beautiful alien scars' she's had tattooed across her back" (CNN). 

Grimes — a musician whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher — is in a relationship with Elon Musk. You may remember that they had a baby together and named it X Æ A-12 Musk. 

Grimes is obviously very beautiful, but I guess for a super high achiever that's mundane bullshit. Something more must be invented. Even covering your body with tattoos is boring now. What else can be done?! Once you open that door, alien scars seems rather dull too. 

And yet, it's playing, transgressively, with female subordination. It's the look of having been clawed all over her back by an alien. Is Elon sharing her with an alien? Or is Elon the alien?

(Commenting can only be done by emailing me — here.)

"The danger in presenting a defense case, especially in a prosecution that is so video-dependent, is that it allows the prosecutor..."

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 08:55 AM PDT

"... through leading questions on cross-examination, to walk witnesses through the video, explaining to the jury moment-by-moment exactly what the prosecution's theory of the case is. If he does this skillfully, the prosecutor turns his 'questioning' into the equivalent of a summation.... In addition to stressing Chauvin's patent awareness that Floyd was in pain, the prosecutor had the witness concede that the defendant had been told by his fellow officers that Floyd had lost consciousness, ought to be rolled over on his side (to facilitate breathing), and had no pulse. While defense attorney Eric Nelson had made much of the crowd presence and the possibility that it could pose a threat to the police, Schleicher had Brodd conceding that the crowd was small and posed no threat to the police.... The foundation of Chauvin's defense is that he had reason to fear that Floyd would regain consciousness and begin resisting arrest again. Schleicher elicited from Brodd the explanation that there is a difference between a threat and a risk: Police may use force to counter a threat they perceive based on some affirmative act by a detainee; but they may not use force based on a mere risk that a detainee might pose a threat at some future point."

From "Chauvin Defense Expert Destroyed on the Stand" by Andrew McCarthy (at National Review). 

FROM THE EMAIL: Omaha1 writes:

I agree that things are not looking good for Chauvin at this point. But the defense part of the trial is just starting. Legal Insurrection has been covering the Chauvin trial and there many defects in the prosecution's case, which are not being covered in the mainstream media. My prediction is that Chauvin will be convicted of manslaughter. The jurors will be afraid to acquit him entirely, fearing that an acquittal could fuel further violent, nationwide riots, for which they might be held responsible. Of course for the media more riots would be beneficial, more clicks, more exciting footage of burning and looting. So in my humble opinion the media is trying to make it seem like some kind of murder conviction is inevitable, and if this does not happen it is evidence of racist jurors or unfairness in the judicial system.

"President Biden promised to usher in a golden age of bipartisan cooperation, but instead he is showing a reverse Midas touch..."

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 06:51 AM PDT

"... taking issues that once united Republicans and Democrats and making them partisan and divisive," writes Marc A. Thiessen (at WaPo).

Until Biden came along, every single covid-19 relief bill was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses.... For Biden, who promised to put his "whole soul" into uniting Republicans and Democrats, passing a bipartisan covid bill should have been a layup. I mean, Trump did it five times. But instead, the president has turned unity into division by using covid relief as a pretext to pass all sorts of liberal spending projects that have nothing to do with the pandemic....

There has long been strong support among Republican leaders for an infrastructure package of as much as $1 trillion. But instead of uniting Republicans and Democrats around a bipartisan deal, Biden is using infrastructure as a pretext to spend more tax dollars on things that have nothing to do with infrastructure. A Politico analysis of his $2.25 trillion proposal found that only $821 billion, or 37 percent, is focused on traditional infrastructure items such as transportation, electricity and Internet....

How does Biden justify the hyperpartisan start to his presidency? Just as Democrats redefined "infrastructure," the president is now trying to redefine "bipartisanship." Biden recently declared, "I would like . . . elected Republican support, but what I know I have now is that I have electoral support from Republican voters."

FROM THE EMAIL: Iain writes:

The President has spent his entire career as a windsock, showing us all the direction of the prevailing winds that would keep Joe Biden in public office and in the public eye. He's always been a partisan hack, but with his own electoral interests front and center. That he is now touting division as unity and partisanship as bipartisan is a sign of either his cognitive decline and weakened independence or of his reading that this is the way the wind is blowing. Or both. Wind direction, or the perception of it, can differ if there is an obstacle between you and the wind, or something that alters the wind in a small area to appear directionally different from the actual prevailing winds. Time will tell, I suppose, which way the winds are actually blowing.

And Bob Boyd writes:
"Biden...promised to put his 'whole soul' into uniting Republicans and Democrats"

That's like promising to put a mouse turd into a double batch of oatmeal cookies.

The editorial board of The Washington Post says: "Biden takes the easy way out of Afghanistan. The likely result is disaster."

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 05:37 AM PDT

From the column:
The bargain struck by the Trump administration with the Taliban required it to break all ties with al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. According to U.N. and U.S. military officials, it has not done so. Nor has it been willing to negotiate seriously with the Afghan government about a peaceful settlement. It rejected a Biden administration proposal for a conference in Turkey to jump-start those talks, and it ridiculed U.S. proposals for a power-sharing arrangement with the government, as well as for new elections.

The group's leaders project the conviction that they will easily rout the government militarily once the United States leaves, and restore a harsh "Islamic emirate" such as the one they fashioned in the 1990s. U.S. officials offer various rationalizations for abandoning the elected government of Ashraf Ghani to what will be, at best, a bloody fight for survival. Mr. Ghani also has resisted U.S. peace proposals, and his rule has been feckless. A strategy of leaving troops in the country in an effort to force the Taliban to compromise could extend the U.S. commitment for years without achieving a durable peace. Perhaps, too, some officials say hopefully, the Taliban will moderate its denial of women's rights and other repressive policies to preserve international aid, without which Afghanistan's economy would implode.

If that assessment proves wrong, Mr. Biden's decision to remove U.S. forces by the symbolic date of Sept. 11, 2021, may simply result in the restoration of the 2001 status quo, including terrorist bases that could force a renewed U.S. intervention.
(To comment, email me here.)

Raging innumeracy of the Covid kind.

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 07:58 AM PDT

FROM THE EMAIL: Hari succinctly highlights the problem:

For every 100 people who fly, 100 could die in an airplane crash.
The word "could" carries all the weight.

If you love Thoreau and are irritated by interlocutors who assert "He was just a self-centered misanthrope"...

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 07:39 AM PDT

Here: Peter Bagge makes the pro-Thoreau argument in comic book style (Reason).

FROM THE EMAIL: Balfegor writes: 

Isn't the characterisation of Thoreau's critics in that comic a bit of a straw man? I had heard that he was a self-centred misanthrope, yes, but mostly I hear people mocking him for play-acting at self-sufficiency while his mother was still doing his laundry. He strikes me as a recognisable type: the 19th century equivalent of a trust fund socialist.

Sunrise.

Posted: 13 Apr 2021 05:35 PM PDT

IMG_4006 

IMG_4011 

IMG_4015 

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Snippets of comments — received via email — that can be found on recent posts.

Posted: 13 Apr 2021 05:39 PM PDT

Let me nudge you to some posts that have comments emailed in by readers. These lines — ripped out of context — are here to hold a link so you can see where to go. And I want you to know that I've been receiving some great contributions from readers. I like to think the new approach — sorry, I had to do it — is working really well. Thanks to all who've emailed in comments.

1. "If gender is purely subjective, how can being what us oldies would call 'feminine' be incongruent with a male gender identity?" 

2. "Too many of us, and I clearly include me in this, strongly suspect a massive foul play — a coup — took place on November 3."

3. "The ADL is a D operation and a long standing embarrassment to Jews.... a D organization wearing the clothes of a former Jewish group."

4. "I was shocked that NBC identified some as 'Antifa,' since they're only an idea." 

5. "To distort their expressions into happy school kid smiles dishonors the dead and the horror they faced. It's bad art too." 

6. "Watch the guy trying to cuff Daunte." 

7. "They were dressed in pistachio-coloured shirts and khaki shorts into which their huge bottoms were crammed so tightly that you could study every dimple." 

8. "I'm impressed by the shoes." 

9. "I cannot imagine surviving childhood without daydreaming." 

10. "My husband told a pollster in 2020 he was going to vote for Joe Biden, and then laughed about it for 3 days." 

11. "As a former soldier and S2 (intelligence staff officer) I am disturbed about the use of the words 'soldiers mindset.'" (There are 9 comments at that link.)
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