Bits and Pieces
You Have to Admit… This Is Weirdly Encouraging
A Maryland man with a terminal heart problem had a heart transplant. The donor was a one-year-old pig. Not an ordinary farmyard pig, but a genetically modified specimen whose heart was compatible with the human cardiac system.
When I first read about this, I thought: “Why are they doing this? What’s wrong with human hearts?” As it turns out, in the US alone, there are more than 100,000 Americans waiting for organ transplants. And 6,000 die each year while waiting.
In any case, this is good news, right? These early-stage medical technology patients are heroes in my book. I can imagine my grandkids, when they get to my age, being offered a menu of organs, each with its own warranties and pricing.
What’s Up With the Effort to End the Filibuster?
In order to pass its election “reform” bill, Senate Democrats tried to do away with the filibuster, the 105-year-old protocol for slowing down or even blocking legislation that does not have bipartisan support. What I don’t understand is this: Given the likelihood that Republicans might gain control of the Senate in 2022, why would the Democrats give up the filibuster? During the Trump administration, they used it to slow or block Republican legislation 589 times! Click here.
2022 Midterm Elections: The Fear Wars Continue!
A few of my liberal friends are still afraid of the virus, but much less so than they were last year. They are leaving their homes, attending gatherings, and going maskless outdoors. In other words, they are behaving pretty much like my conservative friends.
That poses a problem, though: It’s harder for them to identify the enemy.
The 2020 election was a media battle between the Left and the Right, each mongering fear. For the right, it was urban violence and the decay of Judeo-Christian culture. For the left, it was COVID. COVID won.
With the 2022 elections nearing, the right is doubling down on their key issues, pumping out data on the continuing surge of violent crime and news articles on how Critical Race Theory is being taught to grammar school children.
I believe the Left intended to stick with COVID, but the fear they can squeeze from that lemon is just about zilch. So, they are putting their money on January 6. They are calling it an “insurrection” and a “threat to Democracy.” I’ve watched just about every bit of video put out by CNN, CNBC, and the rest. It was about as scary as a group of high school teens throwing cherry bombs in the school bathroom. That they have made this characterization work is a mind-boggling media accomplishment.
The other bet the Left is making is on the voting rights issue. Recent changes in various Red States have been characterized as efforts to make it more difficult for minorities to vote. The facts don’t support that, unless you believe the utterly condescending and racist notion that people of color are less able to carry an ID. (The fact is that most African-Americans and Hispanics support voter ID requirements.)
I would have never imagined that anyone would take either of these narratives seriously. But, indeed, some have. Several of my liberal friends – actually smart, conscientious people – have told me as much. They are afraid that the Proud Boys and Southerners are going to put America back to Jim Crow.
So, I’m going to be watching to see how these narratives take hold. The key will be independent voters. Since Biden took office, there has been a significant shift from registered Democrats to registered Independents. From the surveys I’ve seen, their big issues are Biden’s failure to end COVID and inflation.
The fear of the virus is nearly gone due to the low lethality of the Omicron strain. It will disappear almost entirely the moment someone in the Biden administration persuades POTUS to follow Boris Johnson’s lead.
The fear of the End of Democracy and the rise of Jim Crow will likely stay strong among the Left’s core audience. The question is: Will Independents believe it?
Three Reason to Retire in Belize
* The language in Belize is English.
* The country uses common law.
* Business owners are not required to have liability insurance.
(Source: International Living)
Interesting: About the Human Brain
This is a very good TED Talk about the human brain. It turns out that we have very ordinary primate brains, just larger. It explains why human brains soak up so much of our caloric consumption. Also, why neurons are expensive in terms of energy use. Hint: It’s all about the amazing invention of cooking! (And why raw-food diets are bad for you!) Click here to watch it.
Interesting: About Viking England
I’ve always thought of English history as a story in two parts. Everything before the Norman Invasion of 1066 was the era of the Anglo-Saxons. And everything afterwards (and every monarch afterwards) was the era of the Normans (who came from France.)
What I never knew is that half a century before William the Conqueror set his sights on England, a Dane – King Cnut – conquered and ruled over the country.
King Cnut exiled Anglo-Saxon royalty, but respected England’s past kings, created laws based on English ones, and eventually exported some English ideas to his kingdoms in Denmark and Norway.
After his death in 1035, he was succeeded by his sons, who didn’t possess their father’s talents for suppressing those lowly Anglo-Saxons. In 1042, England’s exiled Anglo-Saxon rulers returned, and the North Sea Empire crumbled.
But for a short time – caught between two great epochs of history – England was Viking territory.
(Source: Travel Trivia)
Politically Incorrect
I’ve mentioned Russell Brand – a comedian I like because he is politically incorrect – here on the blog several times. Tom Segura is one that is new to me. Click here and here to watch him in action Let me know what you think.
Readers Write…
Re the link at the end of the Jan. 14 issue
DP writes: “Please feel free to tell me to ‘fuck off,’ but in your latest blog at the end under bullshit criticism (which was hilarious) you refer to the man on the left as ‘the Black guy.’ You don’t refer to the woman on the right as ‘the white woman.’ There’s only one man in the frame so it just seemed unnecessary.”
My reply: Good catch! However, I looked it up in the usage section of my Ultimate Woke Dictionary, 2020 edition. According to that, as long as the comparison puts the Black person in a positive light, it’s considered acceptable usage. Of course, that was the 2020 edition. The rule may have changed.
Re the Jan. 17 issue, “What’s Up with That?”
MF writes: “Great post, great advice. I had this discussion today with a colleague. I came up the same conclusion.”
Words to the Wise
* A word I misunderstood: wonky. I thought it had something to do with wonks, as in smart in a nerdy way. It actually means defective, wobbly, or twisted to one side. As used by Richard Dawkins in The Ancestor’s Tale: “The prettiest real-life example I can think of is the wonky-eyed jewel squid of Australian waters, whose left eye is much larger than its right.”
* A word I never knew how to pronounce: quixotic. I knew it came from Don Quixote – the story of a man who imagines himself to be a knight and sets out to right wrongs. And I knew it meant idealistic and unrealistic. Since I pronounce Quixote as kee-HOE-tee, I thought quixotic would be pronounced kee-HAH-tik. But according to my English dictionary, the “x” is pronounced as in English, not Spanish. So it’s kwiks-AH-tik.
* A word I’m trying to use: coprolalia. It means the involuntary use of obscene language, a symptom of Tourette Syndrome. I intend to use it to correct my senior friends that continue to use the F-word unnecessarily.