Assad Gonna Be Sad

Assad is playing the fool. Messing with Turkey is not a wise course of action during Syria's civil war. I think that Turkey has a right to and will exact payback along the border in a way that Syria's dictator won't like. Assad should be sending Turkey valentines and roses, not any heat-seeking missile. They found the heat, alright, and it's going to be breathing down their necks.

Overbearing Government Agents

One of my pet peeves is government agents that act like bullies. I think that if TSA agent, or any government agent for that matter, disturbs human remains, as in this case, then an arrest and prosecution should follow, as it would if any one of us had done the same. "Searching for drugs" is not an adequate justification for poking a finger in a man's remains, especially when X-rays and other technological gadgets are available.

Felids

I'm pretty conservative in most things outside the political realm, so that may be why I haven't tried Felids until now, but they are an interesting species. I never cared for Vampires (too much bother with the blood), but Felids seem low maintenance. One needn't even bother with weapons or armour.

Precipitous Actions in Paraguay

I don't like it when people or nations act in a precipitous manner. That is how the South behaved after Lincoln won the Presidency, and it is how Paraguay's Senate behaved in ousting President Lugo. To give the man only two hours to prepare a defense was simply ridiculous, no matter what he was accused of (incompetence? who knows?). Clinton was given ample time after the Lewinsky scandal to prepare his defense against impeachment.

The world is complicated, and people need time to consider all the details and facets of a situation before leaping to a rash conclusion. Chessplayers, at least, understand the value of taking one's time before making a decision.

The Sandusky Case

This writer for USA Today seems to suffer from Histrionic Personality Disorder himself. I agree with the verdict that Sandusky is in general guilty of the crimes for which he is accused, but I think some voices in the media are blowing the case out of proportion. No one was murdered, maimed, or wounded. All over the world, worse things are happening to people and to children than the disgusting things that Sandusky did (now after the guilty verdict, it can be said he did these things). I would like to see such words spoken for victims who are bullied, beaten, driven to despair and suicide or even killed. No one spoke up for me when I was getting bullied in high school, and I thought suicide was the only way out. Is it because sex was not involved? Is sex the magical ingredient that makes people care? I don't see why sex is worse than bloody beatings.

It is reasonable to assume that some, though not all, of the victims who came forward were motivated by the benefits of proclaiming their victimhood, in terms of future financial rewards and also the ability to blame all their misdeeds, past, present and future, on Sandusky, and also the sympathy they are bound to receive from all quarters. However, they need not be "scarred for life," a common mantra repeated by too many people. The idea that one is scarred for life is harmful and should be rejected. People are more resilient than that or should be. If I were scarred for life by the tortures I endured as a young man, then I would prefer not to think about it, even if it were true. One has to move on. An uncouth, horny, sad old man who couldn't control his urges will be punished in due course and that should be the end of it, but it is likely that some people will sue Penn State to enrich themselves. I would have liked to have sued my high school for a million dollars for all the bullying I endured. As for my gym coach, there has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that he deserves a life sentence for what he did to me. I would stand in the jury box and I would testify and I would attend every court hearing and every parole hearing in order to see justice done.

Target Shooting

When target shooters cause wildfires, they should be held liable for all property damage caused by those fires. Target shooters are also guilty for littering when they fail to retrieve a bullet casing or bullet.

The Witch

I encountered another ex last week and again felt relief at having dodged another bullet. I do regret my last and final sowing of wild oats, but the blood must out and there's nothing to be done about that. To be born a man is to feel instinct about certain things at certain times of life and at such times instinct can overpower Reason. At any rate I am on civil terms with all my exes and that is the best to be expected, all things considered. But when I embraced this individual I thought to myself, now here is a real witch, and thank the Heavens my destiny did not intertwine with this one.

I'm at peace with not procreating, but I notice many people don't have the same kinds of qualms that I do about it. It does seem to me that there are a lot of people procreating that haven't given very much thought to the future for themselves or their offspring or considered whether the time, place, and most especially the choice of partner is right or wrong. I don't know whether this practice is for good or ill (and it could even be for good), but in any case it doesn't matter to me as an individual, since my remaining lifespan in this world is limited. It may or may not be a problem for future generations. Of course if the race is diluted very much, then the ancient corrective methods will emerge to reset the balance, but that unpleasantness is for others to worry about. The question of right or wrong in this area is very contentious and hypothetical, although I am in favor of birth control and family planning and careful selection of partners, more careful than I ever was.

Kaspersky Labs

Since Kaspersky Labs aids and abets Iran and its acquisition of nuclear weapons, it may reasonably be regarded as an enemy of the United States. Any firm in the United States that purchases products from Kaspersky Labs may be regarded in a similar light.

Friends That Are Not Friends

I remember when I was a youngster, there were boys that would point a gun at their friends, supposedly in jest. Let me be clear: anyone that points a gun at another person is not a friend, but has become exposed as an enemy. Guns and other weapons are not toys and anyone who thinks they are is a damned fool and an enemy of the human race and all that is good. I was at a friend's house one day when his friend pointed a rifle at me. Afterward, I slipped away without a word and did not return. It is unwise to associate with fools. I have made it my lifelong policy to avoid fools. This recent news article is illustrative of my point.

Liberal Scandinavia

In modern times, Republicans in the U.S. scorn Scandinavia (as "socialist"), because it is highly educated, healthy, wealthy, and not involved in continual warfare. One thing Republicans are correct about is that Scandinavia has had a liberal and inclusive thread in its culture for a long time. Scandinavia was liberal many hundreds of years ago, when peasants were permitted delegates in the early parliaments. At that time, the only other European parliaments to permit peasants' delegates were Switzerland and some areas in France. I am sure that Republicans, if brought via time machine back in time, would have disapproved of peasants' delegates.

McCain

McCain looks sillier than ever for his foot-dragging on letting gays in the military. I will always remember his silly and illogical remarks and objections during those hearings on Capitol Hill. Turns out that there have been no problems as a result of "gay being OK" in the armed forces. The experience of other military forces, such as Israel, should have made it obvious that there would be no problem. Once again, McCain got burned trying to cater to the dwindling number of religious right bigots. If he had only listened to the more enlightened and charming members of his family then he would have been better off.

Stanford Goes to Jail

The sentence of 110 years for yet another business criminal was exactly right. Stealing millions from little investors all over the world is a crime that does untold damage to people's lives. It also shakes the confidence that people have in our financial system. The reason our economy is in such poor condition is because of all the business criminals selling out workers and middle-class people. Through their actions, it is quite clear they care about no one and nothing save themselves.

Putin, the New Soviet Dictator

Looks like Russia is sliding back into Sovietism again under Putin. It's no surprise really, coming from a former KGB officer. To work in the KGB, one basically had to have no conscience. So Putin fits the bill on that count. He's a psychopath who has no problem trampling on the flower of Western civilization. Once again, George W. Bush's blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan are clear. Russia, China, Syria, Iran, and North Korea are the new Axis Powers, sworn to evil and nothing but evil all the time and everywhere. North Korea in particular is so evil that it is comically and ridiculously evil.

 I think evil has a lot to do with stupidity. Stupid people and stupid leaders tend to be evil, because they fail to understand a great many things about the world and about human beings. Evil and stupid leaders tend to be boring, predictable, and very narrow in their interests. Certainly the leaders of Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Russia fit that bill. I don't know about China, because their leaders tend to stay in the shadows or else do not get much press in the West.

I never understood the fascination that certain people have with Hitler. To me, he seemed boring, bland, and tasteless. Just because a human has great wealth or power does not make him interesting. A toad with a crown is still a toad. In the case of Hitler, the toad was particularly loathsome.

Ogre Death Knights

I don't know why Death Knight is not a recommend class for Ogres. No other race is better suited to the profession. Injury Mirror works best with a character that has high hit points.

Guns

With the exception of hunters or people in high-risk professions, a fascination with and collection of guns is a good indicator of a person who has problems with anger management.

The Telegraph

I'm reading the UK-based Telegraph for the last time. That conservative rag manufactures bogus "news" slanted against gay marriage on a daily basis. First, a "poll" showed "statistics" that said gays didn't want gay marriage. Today, teachers will be forced to "promote" gay marriage to kids. I don't know what is wrong with the owner of the Telegraph, whether he is a closet case homophobe or what, but the Telegraph clearly promotes a negative hate-mongering agenda. Newspapers are useful if they print news. If they print lies, then they are not useful. The Telegraph is like the Fox News of the UK.

Time for Socialism?

Has the time come for socialism in the U.S.?

The elite in the U.S. has abused the working class, in many cases denying them health insurance, job security, jobs, and sending them off to die in pointless wars. If the owners were competent, wise, and benevolent, it would be a different story. If they were just competent and wise, but not necessarily benevolent, it would be a different story. But the owners are incompetent, foolish, and malevolent to a great extent. Leaving so many decisions in private hands now looks like letting the animals run the zoo. They don't know how to wipe their own behinds. The government needs to step in and teach the owners how to tie their shoelaces.

The Good Old Days

I often read editorials, essays or books with precious claims that times were better in the past, people somehow more ethical or gentle. Such hogwash. Our ancestors were as stupid as the day is long. History is a series of wars, with just a few scientists sprinkled along the way to enable us to enjoy the fruits of technology today.

I was not too surprised to read a recent report at the U.N. that the world has not done much about the environmental problems facing humanity. People can only see to their immediate selfish ends. Instead of doing anything about the environment or the economy, the Bush Administration got the U.S. bogged down in two pointless wars, wasting over a trillion dollars.

Due to Republicans, the U.S. has declined since the year 2000, not advanced, and it continues to contract, getting weaker every year. There are fewer jobs, and what jobs there are pay less and tend to be menial. Crime is up, education is down, and more and more pollution and war is likely in the foreseeable future. This is the fault of the Republicans, who want the U.S. to turn into a Viking nation, waging war for profit and pillaging other nations. They hate the Democrats because the Democrats won't let them pillage, rape, and kill due to an annoying concept known as "morality."

Walker's Win

Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisc.) did not so much "win" as survive a recall election, and upon reflection over Wisconsin, his survival is not surprising. I do not think the recall election has major implications for the Presidential election, although it does suggest that Romney could win overwhelmingly white, Republican Wisconsin in 2012.

I am always puzzled when otherwise decent people vote for Republicans. However, I remind myself that in 1860, a large majority of the United States either was neutral about slavery or was even willing to die to defend it. Only a minority favored abolition and not many supported forcible abolition. The experience of slavery in the United States demonstrates that people in general tend to have an ill-developed moral sensibility. They will go along with whatever they are told by their social superiors to go along with. What matters to most people is how they seem to others. The people who vote Republican today are the descendents of those that fought and died for slavery. In that light, they have progressed a long way toward morality, and one should not expect much more from them. However, I suspect that they would accept slavery once again if they were told by their social superiors that it was okay.
 

---

On a different subject, Gore Vidal maintained that the Civil War was not about slavery, but was about President Lincoln waging war to force the South back into the Union. I suppose he felt that the South should have been permitted to go its own way, or else that Lincoln should have made the war about slavery from the very beginning. Vidal said he would have supported the war if it had been about slavery, but since it was about states' rights versus federalism, he did not support the war. Vidal is technically correct about Lincoln's initial intentions I think, in that Lincoln was not adamant about ending slavery in the beginning, but intentions don't matter so much as the final result. Vidal does tend to quibble quite a bit, for what reason I don't know, but he seems to favor radical opinions (the Civil War was unjust, and Lincoln was a dictator) just for the sake of provoking obscure scholars. I think he craves attention. Lincoln was a few shades closer to dictator than some other Presidents, but he was no Mussolini. The Civil War probably could not have been avoided, because the South fired the first shots and seized federal forts and lands. The South did not even wait for Lincoln to make a provocation, but acted in a precipitous fashion based on dislike of Lincoln's anti-slavery views.

I would prefer that the Civil War had been avoided, but the Southern elite was extreme and radical itself, eager for conflict and unwilling to compromise. Their ideological descendents now populate the Republican Party, weaving conspiracy theories about Obama (socialist, communist, Muslim, gay, non-American, and the list goes on) and, before him, Clinton and just about anyone who is a Democrat or liberal.

I don't know whether it would have been a good idea for Lincoln to let the South go its own way. I think that slavery would have persisted for a long time, and that the South would likely have remained a thorn in the side of the Union for generations to come, even allying with Hitler during WW2 and bringing at least one of the world wars, if not both, to North America. Where I fault Lincoln is in his poor choice of generals. Commanders should always be chosen based upon ability, not political or social connections. Lincoln was also impatient for victories and tended to press his generals to attack even when their troops were not ready or the conditions were not favorable. It takes cold blood to wage successful war, and hot heads tend to lose themselves. Conditions at the military hospitals were abominable. Either Lincoln did not devote sufficient time or thought to the prosecution of the war or else did not have sufficient ability.

Sober View of Syria

Usama Matar, an optometrist who has lived in Russia since 1983, said he did not harbor any illusions about Russia’s motives for defending Syrian Christians like himself, whom he called “small coins in a big game.” But he said there were few international players taking notice of Eastern Christians at all.

“The West is pursuing its own interests; they are indifferent to our fate,” he said. “I am not justifying the Assad regime — it is dictatorial, we know this, it is despotic, I understand. But these guys, they don’t even hide their intention to build an Islamic state and their methods of battle, where they just execute people on the streets. That’s the opposition, not just the authorities. And we are between two fires.”

--From the New York Times

I think that is by far the best explanation for Russia's position regarding Syria and it is comprehensible. Muslim regimes such as Iran and Saudi Arabia tend to be barbaric, backward, and bloodthirsty, and Syria certainly sounds like a candidate for another Islamofascist regime. In many places around the world, Islam is intolerant of other religions, of atheism, of women, of homosexuality, and of sexuality in general. Until some of these Muslims crawl out of the Middle Ages, they will not be ready for self-government. They merely would replace Assad with something worse, as in the case of Iran where the Shah was replaced by Khameini, who rules as absolute dictator and pursues the acquisition of nuclear weapons with a single-minded mania. It is better for Syria to remain in a permanent state of civil war than to emerge as another Islamofascist regime, committing assorted cruelties against women, gays, and minority religions such as Christians, Jews (if any live there), atheists and others. I am glad that so far our leaders have shown enough wisdom not to intervene. Syria is not our concern, but Syria's, and I am sure the opposition has no love for the United States. However, I do detest Assad and would like to see him get his just desserts for committing so many crimes against civilians. Perhaps there could be some way for the Syrian opposition to overthrow Assad without installing another Islamofascist regime.