Is Your Brain A Democrat?
The link on facebook proposed a test. “Is your brain a Democrat or Republican” Is a democrat a noun, while republican is an adjective? I became curious about the test, and decided to brave the internet cooties and take the damn thing. If you had to sign in with a facebook account, I would have looked for amusement elsewhere. “Your brain is a Democrat” 36% conservative, 64% liberal.”
“27 strange non-political scenarios will appear. Please respond honestly and alone and we’ll guess your brain’s political ideology.” There are five options: Strongly Disagree, Mildly Agree, Neutral, Mildly Agree, and Strongly Agree. These choices generally make crunching the data a touch easier.
“I might be willing to try eating monkey meat, under some circumstances.”
This presumes you have not already, without your knowledge or consent.
“It would bother me to be in a science class, and to see a human hand preserved in a jar.”
Especially if it is political science. If it was algebra, this should be expected.
“It bothers me to hear someone clear a throat full of mucous.” It depends on what they say afterwards.
“I would go out of my way to avoid walking through a graveyard.” A road that I walk down sometimes, and drive on every day, goes between a cemetery, and a Primitive Baptist church. The church has contributed residents to the boneyard, and arguably is part of it. The thought of going a mile out of the way, to avoid this partnership, has never occurred to me. It is probably too late by this point.
“It would bother me tremendously to touch a dead body.” Or a live body, where the soul is dead?
“It would not upset me at all to watch a person with a glass eye take the eye out of the socket.”
There was a story, in a book about Tennessee Williams. Some people were having dinner in Key West. A man got upset, and threw his glass eye on the table. It landed in a bowl of soup. A lady fished the eye out of her soup with a spoon, and said “I think this belongs to you.”
“Even if I was hungry, I would not drink a bowl of my favorite soup if it had been stirred by a used but thoroughly washed flyswatter.” We do not know if the lady finished her soup.
“It would bother me to sleep in a nice hotel room if I knew that a man had died of a heart attack in that room the night before.” It depends on what he had been doing. I would be cautious about the pay-per-view. The breakfast is probably safe.
There were other statements that did not inspire supplemental commentary. On question 15, the options change. The new choices are “No Disgust, Slight Disgust, Moderate Disgust, Much Disgust, Extreme Disgust.” Enjoyment is not an option.
“You see maggots on a piece of meat in an outdoor garbage pail.”
It really depends on what animal the meat was taken from.
“You take a sip of soda, and then realize that you drank from the glass that an acquaintance of yours had been drinking from.” It depends on whether the glass is half empty, or half full.
“Your friend’s pet cat dies, and you have to pick up the dead body with your bare hands.”
With friends like that, who needs Republicans?
“You see someone put ketchup on vanilla ice cream, and eat it.”
Is it the same person who made you pick up a dead cat bare handed?
“A friend offers you a piece of chocolate shaped like dog doo.”
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer’s mom once said, to her son, “Jeff, I don’t like your friends.” “That’s ok mom, why don’t you try the mashed potatoes.”
“You see a person eating an apple with a knife and fork.”
Does amusement count? Many conservatives confuse amusement for disgust.
How does this work? There was a study, Nonpolitical Images Evoke Neural Predictors of Political Ideology “The study measured participants’ brain response to “disgusting” imagery using an MRI. The study could predict party affiliation with up to 98% confidence. The questionnaire on chartsme.com uses Jonathan Haidt’s disgust scale scale in lieu of MRI and imagery, so results are likely far less accurate. … the results for this test will be skewed for people who work in industries where they deal with “gross” things on a daily basis.” Pictures for this feature are from The Library of Congress.
Indicate Weakness
bad behavior ~ Tsutomu Yamaguchi ~ 21-year-old man ID’d as victim in shooting outside DeKalb County restaurant Levester Taylor ~ jaco pastorius ~ GBI investigating officer-involved shooting at rail yard ~ how to ~ ‘The Nation’ Apologizes for Publishing Poem With ‘Disparaging and Ableist’ Language ~ apology ~ A poet published a poem. There was a controversy. The poet pinned an apology to his twitter feed. Here is a blackout poem based on that apology. ~ poem talk ~ slippery slope ~ cottonmouth ~ copperheads ~ Black Conservative Comes Unglued When Michael Eric Dyson Won’t Bow And Scrape To Her ~ mckenna and dick ~ dick download ~ alpharetta church party ~ tyler mahan coe @BethLynch2020 I remember when the argument was… “deplatforming Milo will only make him more popular.” Where’s Milo, again? @chamblee54 Who said that about Milo? I don’t remember hearing that. Do you have any screen shots or links? @BethLynch2020 I’m busy. ~ @BethLynch2020 I’m busy. ~ philip k. dick meets g-d ~ The Death of the Author and the End of Empathy ~ Customer and worker brawl inside Brooklyn salon ~ We Jews Must Resist Assimilating Into the Whiteness Pushed by Trump and Netanyahu ~ Why the Left Is So Afraid of Jordan Peterson ~ A Lovingkindness Meditation ~ The Jesus of History versus the Christ of Faith ~ witch hunt thread ~ mother david ~ burroughs archive ~ Democratic Socialism Threatens Minorities ~ goldberg on jeong ~ the problem with twitter ~ kimmel and kayne ~ Ingraham rant ~ jason kessler/npr ~ Black Lives Matter-D.C. Condemns ‘Fake’ BLM Group That Shared Stage With Trump Supporters ~ Hawk Newsome, President of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York ~ kessler on npr ~ Morning edition 08-10-18 ~ more kessler ~ james casey ~ dui ~ d.f. wallace interview ~ Precious Okoyomon on finding poetry in everything ~ SOCIAL MEDIA WAS A MISTAKE ~ tcb ~ An open letter to the internet. The election for Governor of Georgia, between @staceyabrams and @BrianKempGA, is starting to heat up. Georgia voters are getting a lot of *help* in deciding which of these two candidates to vote for. ~ gramscian marxism ~ There is a flag, a man, a shirt, a pair of pants, and a dog tag. Which one do you want one of? ~ You should not use the phrase “bunch of pussies” to indicate weakness. The vagina is the strongest organ in the human body. ~ First They Came for the people who recite First They Came ~ The spell check suggestion for ableist is stable. ~ I have an idea. we should always substitute *asshat* for *racist* just call out bad behavior, and don’t worry if it is because you are _______ and the other person is ________ ~ @schadenfraade Q: How many performatively woke leftists does it take to change a lightbulb? A: Google it. It’s not my job to educate you. ~ @PunsWorId I got an email from Google Earth saying it can “read maps backwards” and I thought: “That’s just spam.” ~ No matter how bad things are right now, no matter how stuck you feel, no matter how many days you’ve spent crying, no matter how many days you’ve spent wishing things were different, no matter how hopeless and depressed you feel, I promise you won’t feel this way forever ~ Kbanitoplaya Sorry i don’t speak English i use translator. I’m scort service $$$ piersgavestonjr i don’t speak escortish ~ pictures are from The Library of Congress. ~ poem from last night at java monkey:
go down the foggy ruin of time control ~ know too much to argue on the breeze
gave her my heart but she wanted your soul ~ peeking through a keyhole upon her knees
oh my god am I under seduction ~ you’re an idiot younger than that now
abraham kill me a son production ~ go away from my window you’re a cow
never buy your soul back when its rotten ~ can’t help it if I’m lucky in crime
don’t tell her what i think is forgotten ~ she can look me up if she’s got the time
can’t help it if I’m lucky in crime ~ take the night time paint the daytime black
she can look me up if she’s got the time ~ an trophy artist they don’t look back
take the nighttime paint the daytime black ~ don’t tell her what i think is forgotten
an trophy artist they don’t look back ~ never buy your soul back when its rotten ~ selah
Racism Double Feature
There was a comment thread on facebook. Here is the comment that started it. “I have a Facebook friend, who is a black Trump supporter, who says he doesn’t care “if he’s racist or not.” I don’t know what to think about that. Maybe there are a few of my black friends who can help me with that?” There were a lot of comments, which is not surprising. Race, and not liking Donald Trump, are two popular topics of conversation.
The conversation started with a link to When Someone Says They Still Support Trump, I Instantly Know 6 Things About Them. The six items, with a parenthetical summary, are: 1. You want to be ruled, not governed (authoritarianism,) 2. You are not someone I would trust to do business with (business ethics,) 3. You’re either a racist or an enabler of racists (racism,) 4. You have issues with women (misogyny,) 5. You aren’t quite as “Christian” as you claim to be (religious exploitation,) 6. You are anti-constitution (respect for rule of law,)
While those six items are more or less true about Mr. Trump, it is a stretch to say they apply to anyone who supports the man. (Many of these character traits are present in people who don’t like Mr. Trump, especially authoritarianism.) What is disturbing to PG is the way that racial attitudes dominates the conversation. This is a problem in a lot of ways. The obsession with screaming racist helped Mr. Trump get elected. Insulting potential voters is not a good campaign strategy.
There seems to be a national verdict that Donald J. Trump is a racist. A non compliant racial attitude is worse than authoritarianism, crookedness, and mental instability. If you are white, and you question this orthodoxy, then you are a racist. If you are black, and don’t believe without question, then you are asking to be insulted.
The Trump-is-racist meme follows a cynical decision to make Mr. Trump’s racial attitudes a campaign issue. The best evidence cited is a 1973 complaint, involving discrimination in renting apartments. Other evidence… attacks on nationalities, attacks on religious groups, support of unseemly white people … utilize an elastic definition of racism. Others disagree.
There was a comment: Martin C Ezeonu “Lol… I don’t like Trump cuz he is an asshole. On the other hand we know exactly where there country stands now because of him. This country is still racist as hell. these past years nobody addressed is just politicians smartly covering it up. But now to move forward something has to give. And I like that. Let people stop being deceived. Don’t care if he is racist or not I like the fact that he is not a politician and couldn’t play the game. That’s why both parties want him out.”
Mr. Ezeonu is from Nigeria. He might have little in common with most African Americans, other that his skin tone. That is all many people see. People fail to appreciate the amazing diversity in today’s African America. In the comments, Mr. Exeonu was called an idiot, mentally ill, and many other things. Not agreeing with a national consensus is dangerous.
Mr. Trump has numerous problems. In the list of six things, we see authoritarian tendencies, and ethical shortcomings. Many feel the Democrats made a mistake by screaming racist, instead of focusing on his shady business practices. Many white people were alienated by this campaign tactic. After the Trump victory, many black people feel alienated by his election. The race situation gets worse and worse. Saying that Donald Trump is a racist does not help.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
One of the touted TED talks in the weekly email is Color blind or color brave? It is by Mellody Hobson, a POC in the investment business. It is the standard call to talk more about race. Talk, talk, talk, and talk some more. The word listen is not used.
At the 3:13 mark, Mrs. Hobson makes a remarkable statement. “Now I know there are people out there who will say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity, right?” (Yes, this is a TED talk.) It is possible that someone has said that. There are also people who say the earth is flat.
PG asked Mr. Google about this. The top two results are about the TED talk. The third result is an article in Forbes magazine, Racism In America Is Over. It is written by John McWhorter, one of the “black guys at Bloggingheads.tv.” Dr. McWhorter does say racism is over, sort of. The problems that remain are a lot worse. Too much food for thought, for a population with intellectual bulimia.
There is a quote in the Forbes article that is pure gold. “When decrying racism opens no door and teaches no skill, it becomes a schoolroom tattletale affair. It is unworthy of all of us: “He’s just a racist” intoned like “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!””
There are a lot more results. PG is getting tired of looking. If you want to see for yourself, google “the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity.” Except for a rogue title editor at Forbes, almost nobody has said that. This is a repost. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Flapper Valve
The commode in the back bathroom was not working. I usually don’t use this facility, and had put off taking a look. When I took the lid off, and took a test flush, the flapper valve floated off to one side. The water was not collecting in the tank. This is a problem.
Like most reasonable people, I don’t like to work on toilets. I usually screw things up, and make them worse than before. The potential for getting hurt is there. Finally, I took a deep breath, and found a video about how to do this. It seemed pretty simple. The pipe next to the flapper has two pegs on it. The flapper has two holes, one on each side, that fit over the two pegs.
The only troubling detail was the fact that the commode to be fixed did not have mounting pegs, on the pipe. It was an older model, and the flapper was attached to the piple with a flexible rubber flap. This was going to be a problem.
After a trip to the store, to purchase a new flapper, the work started. Yes, a closer examination of the pipe did not reveal any mounting pegs. Maybe if I secure the flapper in place, then it would not float away. I took an old bicycle inner tube, cut off about 9″. I wrapped the tubing around the base of the pipe, on top of the flapper flapper. The 9″ of inner tube was held in place with a cable tie. This did not work. The good news is cutting the cable tie off, and not my finger.
Maybe what I needed to do was take off the old school flapper, take it to a store, and see if they had one. To do this, I had to remove the flapper. To remove the flapper, I had to take a bracket off the pipe. The bracket had two little holes in it. Originally, there was a pin that went through those holes to the flapper. When you flushed, a that pin went up, and the pin pulled the flapper up. The pin is long gone, but the bracket remains. Unfortunately, this metal part has been underwater for 64 years. It was not going to come off. Searching for the funny shaped screwdriver was of little use.
The next plan was to hold the flapper flapper in place, with a cable tie only. This cable tie was 8″ long, and had a few inches left over, after wrapping it around the 1″ pipe. Wrapping this around the base of the pipe did not work, until I noticed 2 holes in the side of the flapper. These holes are in the same location as the holes on the modern flapper, which you can put over the pegs on the pipe. What would happen if you twisted the cable tie, so that the leftover cable tie formed a psuedo peg, which you then thread the flapper hole through? And then you attach another cable tie to the pipe, positioning the leftover cable tie to the other side, and stick this leftover cable tie through the other flapper hole. When you turn on the water, and flush the toilet, this works. Sometimes you do more good than harm. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Jason Kessler On NPR
Alt-Right whiz kid Jason Kessler appeared on National Public Radio this morning. Nobody looks good in this episode. The interviewer was arrogant and dismissive. Mr. Kessler spouted nonsense about freedom of speech. If other groups organize to support themselves, white people should to. This line of reasoning has a two-wrongs-make-a-right feel to it. If black people behave badly to promote their cause, then white people should be able to do the same.
Noel King, the NPR dude, asked Mr. Kessler “What are the differences between races?” and “Do you think white people are smarter than black people?” These are not a good questions for a white supremacist. You are inviting him to spew out nonsense, and Mr. Kessler does not disappoint. There was talk about iq studies, most of which are discredited. What was not mentioned are the sociological differences. When multiple populations live apart from one another, there are going to be differences.
After getting a stupid answer, to a stupid question, Mr. King snaps back with “You don’t sound like someone who wants to unite people when you say something like that, you sound like someone who wants to tick people off.” “Kessler shot back , “Well, you sound like someone who doesn’t respect science.!” Can’t we just get along?
“… NPR transitioned to an interview with a Black Lives Matter activist, a setup implying that white supremacists and people advocating for racial justice are two sides of the same coin.” NPR made a curious choice, with Hawk Newsome, President of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. “The Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists that shared the stage with Donald Trump supporters at the “Mother of All Rallies” on Saturday are a “fake” imitation that “does not share our principles, politics, or values,” according to the movement’s official chapter in Washington, D.C. … By the end of the event, news cameras had captured images of Trump fans — and their children — posing for pictures alongside activists from an organization called Black Lives Matter of Greater New York (BLM-NY). That scenario has created confusion for those unable to differentiate between BLM knockoff groups and official BLM chapters. “We don’t want handouts; we don’t want anything that’s yours,” Hawk Newsome, President of BLM-NY, told the crowd of mostly Trump supporters gathered on the National Mall. “We want our God-given right to freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
@DMVBlackLives “.@nycDSA FYI @BLMGreaterNY is NOT part of @Blklivesmatter and does NOT share our principles, politics, or values.” Why did NPR choose Hank Newsome to represent the “BLM side”? Chamblee54 found this information in less than a minute on google. Pictures for today’s entertainment are from The Library of Congress.
How To
“Read the controversial poem and let me know what you think.” It has been a while since a poem was controversial. Somebody made a fuss about How To, a feature at The Nation. It is not sure how many people complained, or whether The Nation amplified the protests to create awareness.
‘By the time most people heard of it, the magazine had apologized. The author, @AndersWeePoet, took a sincerity pill, and pinned an apology to his twitter feed. Many observers are not amused. “Katha Pollitt, a columnist for the magazine, wrote: “I can’t believe @thenation’s poetry editors published that craven apology for a poem they thought was good enough to publish … [it] looks like a letter from re-education camp.” “In the morally illiterate idiom of the moment, a white poet’s “appropriation” of Black English serves “white supremacy,” putting it in the same category of things as lynchings, cross-burnings, and segregation. The Nation is neck-deep in that nonsense.”
@pdacosta Trying to find anything poetic in these racist scribbles — nada.
Whiteness really is one hell of a drug.
@illuminatemics yo fam. I’m trying to understand the voice in this poem. It feels offensive to me and like it’s trafficking inappropriately in Black language but is there something i’m missing? Help me understand. @illuminatemics Let me just say that folks saying “lower class Southern dialect” as a way of saying it’s not about race should consider the South is disproportionately Black and the lower class in the South is disproportionately Black because of RACISM. (@illuminatemics lives in Chicago.)
@donte_thepoet hey @thenation, you recently published a ridiculously offensive poem ‘how-to’ by anders carlson-wee that flattened & appropriated identities already rendered invisible. aave isn’t a costume. here is my response. do better
@DisDeafUprising your poem is also ableist & problematic in regards to HIV+ status & so there is more to say than just “oops, sorry I was racist.” the harm you caused is multi-faceted. & we note your use of “eye-opening,” we note ableism inherent in (your) language.
@lustycomic_ is this a parody account
PG was puzzled by this. He did not think the poem was important enough to warrant a tweetstorm of this magnitude. It is encouraging to see poetry receiving attention, even if it is from re-education camp. One response was a blackout poem, based on the politically incorrect doggerel. The next step was to re-write the poem in his own style. Should Part Two say you, or you’re?
How To Part Two
if you’ve got hiv say aids told her
go say you’re pregnant if you are a girl
if you’re young say younger old say older
hardly even there so give it a whirl
crippled don’t flaunt it don’t tell me to pray
stops’m from counting when they drop it rough
splay a knee cock your leg funny today
let them think that they’re christian enough
say you’re homeless whatever you call it
they don’t know what opens a wallet
you gonna lower yourself to spend
little shame they’re going to comprehend
people passing by listen for the kick
what you believe about sin is the trick
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Famous Last Words
The elephant in the room is a popular internet cliche. In this picture, the elephant looks like the ghastly wallpaper, both of which are best ignored. PG wanted to make a comment. The only appropriate thing to do, in a situation involving wallpaper and an elephant, is to quote Oscar Wilde, on his deathbed. “This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. Either it goes or I do.”
When discussing Oscar Wilde, elephants, and wallpaper, it is important to get the correct quote. Mr. Google has a great deal to say, on the subject of last words. Peggy Lee sang about it. Unfortunately, the chanteuse was in very bad health at the end of her life. Peggy Lee probably did not say “Is that all there is?” on her deathbed.
On October 14, 1977, Bing Crosby “… finished 18 holes of golf carding an 85 … After his final putt Bing … remarked “It was a great game.” As he was walking to the clubhouse … he collapsed from a massive heart attack. … “We thought he had just slipped,” said one of his golfing companions.”
Adelaide Eugenia Bankhead “… first child, daughter Ada Eugenia, was born on January 24, 1901. The following year, Tallulah was born on their anniversary. Ada died tragically of blood poisoning just three weeks following Tallulah’s birth. On her deathbed, she told her sister-in-law to “take care of Eugenia, Tallulah will always be able to take care of herself”. This, like many other legendary last words, may too good to be true.
The Atlantic had a tasteful feature, “What Are the Best Last Words Ever?” Here are a few.
John Adams July 4, 1826 “Thomas Jefferson survives.”
Unbeknownst to Mr. Adams, Mr. Jefferson had died about five hours earlier.
Richard Feynman “I’d hate to die twice—it’s so boring”
O. Henry appeared to have stopped breathing, but was he really dead? Touch his feet, suggested one of the mourners clustered around his bed: Nobody ever died with warm feet. Whereupon, the short-story writer raised his head from the pillow, mumbled “Joan of Arc did,” and fell back dead.
Dylan Thomas “I’ve had 18 straight whiskeys. I think that’s the record.”
Union Major General John Sedgwick “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Said while reprimanding his men for ducking for cover, just before he was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania.
Ludwig Von Beethoven “I shall hear in heaven.”
An unverified tumblr contributes a few more zingers.
Edgar Allan Poe “Lord help my poor soul.”
Thomas Hobbes “I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap into the dark.”
Alfred Jarry “I am dying…please, bring me a toothpick.”
Washington Irving “I have to set my pillows one more night, when will this end already?”
Leo Tolstoy “But the peasants…how do the peasants die?”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “More light.”
Karl Marx “Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough!”
Voltaire “Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies.”
François-Marie Arouet was asked by a priest to renounce Satan.
James Joyce “Does nobody understand?”
A certain popup crazy website has a few more last words. Some of these were really said. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
James Dean “That guy’s gotta stop… He’ll see us.”
Henry James “So here it is at last, the expected thing.”
Marie Antoinette “Pardon me, sir, I did not do it on purpose.”
George Appel “Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.” Mr. Appel was executed by electric chair in 1928; these were his last words. Here’s two more: “Gents, this is an educational project. You are about to witness the damaging effect electricity has on Wood.” Said by Fredrick Charles Wood before he was electrocuted in 1951. “Hey, fellas! How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? ‘French Fries!’” James French, 1966.
Be Kind To Your Enemy
Did Jesus say to “Love your enemy” ? Some believe this, and do it. Some claim to believe this, and practice the opposite. There are others who claim to love their enemies, but you have to understand what they mean by it. It can be very confusing. This is a repost.
PG went to a source for documentation. Oh, the blessed conjunction of copy paste with public domain. When PG entered enemy (singular) in the search engine, 100 verses came up. When the request was made plural (enemies), 237 entries popped up. The last mention of enemies is Revelation 11:12 “And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” Loving your enemies does not include bringing them to heaven with you. There is also the star of the show.
Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
There is scholarly debate about what Jesus did, or did not, say. The words available to modern man have been copied by hand, edited, translated, and interpreted. PG does not know Aramaic from Alabama. Like anyone else, PG can only read and listen, and think for himself.
In a sense it does not matter what Jesus “really” said. The cult of Jesus Worship is going to believe what it wants. More important, it is going to practice what it wants. As far as the difference between what Jesus “really” said, and what his believers say and do…they can explain.
What follows is a humble suggestion. Maybe the translators and scribes got it wrong. Maybe Jesus did not say to love your enemy. Maybe what Jesus said was to show kindness to everyone. This is a practice thing, rather than a belief thing.
It is not as much fun to be nice to someone, as it is to scream about life after death. Kindness does not need to be justified by a quote from a magic book. You just need to do it.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
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