April 19, 2014

Perspective

Posted by Hube at 10:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 18, 2014

Correct: There needs to be some changes made in comics. Start with the professionals' attitudes

Erik Grove pens an op-ed today at Bleeding Cool which addresses, in part, a post of mine from yesterday. It's titled "8 Things that Need to Change in Comics – Threats, Harassment And Understanding," and not surprisingly, many of these changes need to occur from within. Let's take a look at these eight:

  • No One Should Threaten Violence or Sexual Assault – Ever
  • No One Should Use Hate Speech During a Disagreement – Ever
  • We Need to Be More Upset About Threats and Hate Speech in Our Community
  • We Need to Endeavor to Understand But Not Judge
  • We Need to Stop Pretending That Harassment Is Not Happening
  • We Need to Stop Jumping to Easy Conclusions
  • We Need to Talk To Each Other to Figure Out How to Fix This
  • We All Have to Be Part of the Solution

Grove's main point is sexual harrassment of females among the "comic community" spurred (in part) by this article regarding the supposed [in]appropriateness of a DC Comics cover. It's directed mostly at fans (the "community") but there's also this issue among the professionals. And Groves' point about hate speech and "endeavoring to understand" also needs to extend to the professionals. We've often documented here -- as have Doug Ernst and Avi Green -- how comicbook professionals (maybe I should put that term in quotes?) have often used, if not "hate" speech as it's typically defined, at the least vile speech ... and little-to-no inclination to "endeavor to understand."

Is Mark Waid telling me to "Go f*** myself" hate speech? Does it demonstrate an "endeavor to understand?" I mean, even if I was 100% wrong (I wasn't), what is up with a so-called professional responding in that manner? What about these comments?

There's also, of course, Ron Marz, Gail Simone, Erik Larsen and Dan Slott, among others. (Please venture over to Doug Ernst's place today to see how an insanely obsessed Slott is STILL ranting about Ernst's criticism of him. Check out the last update at the end of the post.) I wonder: Is a lot of their unreasonable attitude towards guys like Doug, Avi and me due to frequently dealing with ludicrous fanboy types who are completely irrational ... so that when one of us brings up a calmly worded criticism or question these guys are ready to rip our heads off? Maybe. I could see that. But, again, these guys are supposed to be professionals.

Alas, "progressivism" such as that practiced by these folks, is loaded with contradictions -- some (most?) of which aren't even noticed (or cared to be noticed). Like, for example, Grove not explicitly mentioning the comicbook professionals' behavior in "the community." And, even better, Ron Marz lamenting a lack of civility(!) regarding his article about boycotting Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. I mean, really??

Ultimately -- and ironically -- the online behavior of many of these "professionals" is astonishingly akin to that of "rabid [comicbook] fanboys" whose stereotypical image is that of egotistical, socially inept, creepy, and condescending quasi-nerds.

Posted by Hube at 03:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Watcher's Council winners

The non-Council winner was Mark Steyn with The First Amendment is Not an Area.

Full results are here.

Posted by Hube at 01:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Did anybody know ...

... that there's a Six Million Dollar Man comicbook? I didn't until I read this Bleeding Cool article. Unfortunately, the comic looks as impressive as the 1970s TV show does with contemporary viewing. For instance, last night on the Me network (which plays old TV shows like 24-7), the SMDM was on with an episode titled "The Bionic Badge." Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors, who, the lucky bastard, was married to 70s bombshell Farrah Fawcett for a time) went "undercover" as a cop ... to sniff out who in the department is assisting with the smuggling atomic bomb components. Atomic bomb components! Talk about your suspension of disbelief.

Of course, if you're around my age, how can you forget Steve's first encounter with Sasquatch? This episode was on last week and brought back some (cheesy) memories. No, 'squatch ain't really a furry giant human hybrid of some sort; he's really a robot protector of some aliens who live in the forests of the northwest!


Squatch thinking he has the upper hand ...


... before Steve casually rips his arm off.

And, this doesn't even address the utter crap that was using slow motion to depict the use of Steve's bionic limbs! I mean, the opening theme segment shows Steve running -- fast -- at his maximum 60 mph; why couldn't this be done in the show?

Posted by Hube at 01:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 17, 2014

OK to make "correct" generalizations

I had to chuckle at this Kurt Busiek retweeted response to politically correct scifi writer John Scalzi:


Now, while the "ALL" part of her second point is certainly debatable, I would certainly buy it if she said "A LOT." But this is beside the point. A tweet like this tweet is permissible among the Scalzis and Busieks of the [entertainment] world because it impugns a politically incorrect group -- men -- and "protects" a politically correct group -- women.

I wonder: Does anyone think Scalzi or Busiek would tweet (or retweet) something like "So again, let's say we don't pretend that terrorism isn't a issue MOSTLY about Muslims. Not ALL Muslims, but certainly too many of them"? Or, "And the point isn't "MOST Muslims are terrorists." The point is "MOST terrorists are Muslims"?

Nah. Neither do I. That subject ain't "incorrect" enough for them.

Posted by Hube at 01:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Ouch

On the eve of what should be THE big summer blockbuster flick, X-Men: Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer has been accused of sex abuse:

The plaintiff, Michael Egan III, accuses Singer of forcing him into sex during parties in California and Hawaii when Egan was 17 years old in 1999, reports the Associated Press. Singer’s attorney, Marty Singer, said in a statement that the claims are "absurd and defamatory."

“The lawsuit claims Egan was lured into a sex ring with promises of auditions for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. He was paid as an actor for a digital entertainment company, but forced to have sex with adult men at parties notorious within Hollywood’s entertainment industry,” the AP reports.

Hollywood's record of such cases -- if this is true -- ain't great. Roman Polanski, anyone? But let's give Singer the benefit of the doubt, obviously. Innocent until proven guilty.

Posted by Hube at 01:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Aw, poor baby

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was "hurt" -- HURT, I tell you! -- about the "attacks" on her supposed Native American ancestry during her campaign:

Perhaps the most hurtful and high-profile attack thrown against Warren by Brown had to do with her heritage. At the height of the 2012 campaign, it was reported that Warren had listed herself as having Native American roots at Harvard University. Soon, there was a “full-blown campaign frenzy,” Warren recalls, with Republicans demanding that she prove her Native-American roots and accusing her of getting her job at the elite university by making false claims about her personal background.

Things only got worse when the Brown campaign asked whether her parents had lied to their children about her family. “He attacked my dead parents,” Warren writes. “I was hurt, and I was angry.”

Brown’s allegation that Warren had used her background to get ahead “simply wasn’t true,” she writes. “I was stunned by the attacks.”

First, she didn't use her supposed Native heritage to get ahead ... in the academic world?? That rates about a minus 5 on the Believability Meter. Second, she was only "stunned" by the attacks because she was so well insulated in said academic world where any such questioning of her background would have been met with accusations of "hate speech," and moves to subject the questioner to "re-education," "sensitivity" training, and even a disciplinary hearing.

RELATED: Funny, I don't remember hearing about this incident during the Warren-Brown Senate campaign. Surprise, that, eh?

Posted by Hube at 09:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Most Laughable Attempt at Skewing the Facts of the Day

That would be CNN's "National Security Analyst" Peter Bergen's contention that “U.S. right wing extremists [are] more deadly than jihadists.” To wit:

White supremacists, anti-abortion extremists and anti-government militants have killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda’s ideology.

OK, now let that sink in for a moment.

Ready? First, that "contention" is based on [supposed] figures from 9/12/2001 to the present. Pretty convenient that, wouldn't'cha say? Second, Bergen is a director for the George Soros-funded "progressive" New America Foundation which conducted the study from his "facts" are gathered. Also quite convenient. Third, the "political reasons" used for the "right-wing extremist" attacks are dubious. The study included "hate crimes" as "political" in its tally, and some of the killings are clearly questionable as to their "political" nature:

For example, they included a 2009 shootout in a Pittsburgh home where Robert Poplawski killed three police officers after his mother called the police during an argument. Later it was revealed that Poplawski had anti-Semitic views and was an alleged skinhead.

Fourth, the study cites the ridiculous Southern Poverty Law Center as a source. Lastly, Doug Ernst picks up on this hilarious nugget from Bergen:

Yet the disparity in media coverage between even failed jihadist terrorist attacks and this latest incident in Kansas is emblematic of a flawed division in the public’s mind between killing that is purportedly committed in the name of Allah and killing that is committed for other political ends, such as neo-Nazi beliefs about the need to kill Jews.

What a riot. Bergen actually believes there's a paucity of media inclination to cover incidents like that in Kansas City the other day as opposed to jihadist-inspired violence. What freakin' planet do guys like Bergen live on?? Because it's certainly not the same planet on which its American mainstream media immediately pounces on any smidgen of evidence to link conservative/right-wing/Republican-based/Tea Partyesque groups to a terror-style attack. Just ask ABC's Brian Ross, for cripe's sake. This, not to mention, the reflexive MSM screaming of "Islamophobia" whenever [radical] Islam is questioned or implicated in a matter as if it's endemic, when in fact anti-Jewish hate crimes far outnumber those that are anti-Muslim. Not surprisingly, Bergen doesn't see fit to mention Muslim anti-Jewish hate, which is just as virulent -- and overall much more common -- than that of neo-Nazis.

The NARRATIVETM, natch.

Posted by Hube at 08:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Watcher's Council nominations

Honorable Mentions:

And the non-Council submissions are here!

Posted by Hube at 07:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 15, 2014

The real concern regarding the right to vote

A panel on the execrable Al Sharpton's "Politics Nation" argued the usual swill about the GOP the other day, but this nugget upped the ante to the Nth degree: They (Republicans) want to make voting illegal.

RYAN GRIM, HUFFINGTON POST: I think it actually goes back to that old cynical bumper sticker that a lot of people have seen which says, it says something like, "If voting could change anything, they'd make it illegal." Well, voting can change things, and so they actually are trying to make it illegal.

You can give that insanity all the credence it deserves (aka zero), but more interesting regarding the voting issue is what I heard on the Dick Morris Show on Philly's WPHT 1210 yesterday while driving home. There's a movement out there which has garnered next to no mainstream media attention called the National Popular Vote. It's not what you may think at first glance; it's not a movement to abolish the Electoral College and elect the prez on a purely popular vote. What it is is a push to get states to agree to allocate all their electoral votes to the national winner of the popular vote -- not to the popular vote winner of an individual state. The mainstream media, natch, is more concerned about electoral college touch-ups such as this, where electoral votes would be cast on a proportional basis related to congressional districts. This, as the NY Times frets, has the potential to harm Democrats. Or so they argue.

But although the National Popular Vote website includes positive testimonials from Democrats and Republicans alike, what Morris pointed out on his radio show indicates a BIG worry for the GOP if NPV gets passed -- and NPV is very close to doing just that. Keep in mind, first, that no Constitutional Amendment would be necessary for the NPV to take effect as it does not constitutionally alter the nature of the Electoral College. But just as no amendment is necessary for the NPV, there is also no specific constitutional requirement that one be a citizen in order to vote. The 14th, 26th and 19th Amendments clearly mention citizenship and voting; however, there is actually no absolute constitutional requirement that one be a citizen in order to cast a vote. And, in fact, there is NO explicit right to vote for anybody enshrined in the US's founding document. Inherent right? Yes. Explicit? No.

And this is what Morris pounces on.

The Center for Immigration Studies offers up plenty of evidence on how individual states could allow non-citizens to vote. Most of the states that are "pro" non-citizen voting are blue states (surprise), and some of these states already allow non-citizen voting at the local level. Morris argues that if the National Popular Vote measure takes effect, blue states will be much more inclined to vote (via their respective state legislatures) to allow non-citizens to cast ballots beyond localities, i.e. for president. The reason for this is simple: Again, since the NPV would give all of a state's electoral votes to the national winner of the popular vote (not an individual state's), and that non-citizens are much more likely to vote Democratic, it's all a pure numbers game. The GOP would never again see the White House, Morris argues.

While some scholars note that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment "clearly" grants states the right to impose a citizenship qualification (chee-yeah, tell that to Eric Holder), again, the numbers for the GOP just wouldn't cut it. Red state legislatures could impose such a requirement to vote, but it wouldn't be enough to overcome blue states that "opened up" voting to virtually every resident within their borders.

Naturally, one may wonder if blue states, even those dominated by Democrats in the governorship and state legislature (like my own Delaware), could get away with passing such voting allowances. They may be successful initially, but it's a good bet many independents and other moderates would subsequently object. The ensuing statewide races would have Democrats having to defend why they voted to allow non-citizens to vote. I think that would be quite a tough sell to anyone but a committed "progressive." In addition, even some advocates of non-citizen voting believe liberal states would be hesitant to allow what Morris fears:

To my knowledge no state has seriously considered extending the franchise to aliens during the past half century, and I very much doubt that any state would now make the move except at the insistence of the Supreme Court, says legal scholar Gerald Rosberg.

I tend to agree. However, this doesn't mean "progressives" won't be up to their usual electoral tricks while denigrating common sense measures like voter ID (supported by approximately three-quarters of the American public) as "voter suppression."

Posted by Hube at 04:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Doesn't fit the NarrativeTM

The former KKK nutjob who killed three Jewish folks the other day in Kansas City had some, well, "uncomfortable" (uncomfortable for the mainstream media, that is) influences -- notably that of Max Blumenthal, former writer for The Daily Beast, Al Akhbar, and Media Matters, and son of former President Clinton advisor Sid Blumenthal. The killer, Glenn Miller, quoted Blumenthal:

Jew journalist Max Blumenthal exposes and explains this attempt by a foreign government Israel, to buy the presidential election for the neo-con, war-mongering republican establishment.

Like I’ve been saying, the k***s simply do not trust a lame-duck black president with the name Hussein. Jews fear his re-election, thus this jewish Super PAC to defeat him.

What's more, the "progressive" Nation's own publisher, Nation Books, put out Blumenthal's book to which Miller refers.

Do I think this really somehow "implicates" Blumenthal as a legitimate fellow purveyor of hate like Miller? Certainly not. Though I find Max's views preposterous, any clear-thinking person realizes that virtually any nutjob can find a quote from virtually anybody to suit his/her twisted purposes. But if Miller had quoted, say, Rush Limbaugh, you can bet your bottom dollar that this "connection" would be frontline news among the big three networks and CNN, and get 24-7 coverage on MSNBC.

Posted by Hube at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 13, 2014

Let's check in with the moonbats

No, not the usual LGOMB, but our 'ol pal Perry who has been banished from just about every right-leaning blog imaginable due to his perpetual inanity and threat-making. Amazingly, the proprietor of the First Street Journal has remained quite the gentleman, still donating bandwidth to this loser for his own blog. At any rate, check out this image recently put up by Perry to make his case about the "superiority" of "progressivism." Aside from the fact that several items on the list are certainly morally questionable (like "compulsory education?" ObumbleCare??), two can play at this game. For instance:

  • Conservatives opposed the 1917 Marxist Revolution in Russia.
    (Liberals won)
  • Conservatives opposed the Castro Revolution in Cuba in 1959.
    (Liberals won)
  • Conseravtives opposed the Cultural Revolution in China.
    (Liberals won)
  • Conservatives opposed the expansion of the USSR into eastern Europe.
    (Liberals won)
  • Conservatives opposed Hugo Chávez's reign in Venezuela.
    (Liberals won)
  • Conservatives opposed Pol Pot's regime in Cambodia.
    (Liberals won)

See a pattern here?
Well, it's the truth, isn't it?

Posted by Hube at 10:07 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Idiot Ron Marz applies "law of the land" very selectively

Our pal Ron "STFU" Marz believes the now-deflated "stand off" between the feds and a Nevada rancher is a simply understood matter: The rancher is a deadbeat who owes the feds around $1 million, and the whole dispute is a conservative "plot":


Now, keep in mind, again, that this "stupidity" that is "manufactured" by Fox News and talk radio warrants the attention and denunciation of dedicated "progressives" like Marz -- who are sooooo concerned about the rule of law and the obedience of such:


Which leads one to ask: Where the f*** was Marz during the innumerable times Boss Obama unilaterally altered the "established" law known as ObumbleCare? Answer: Completely silent. Because shut up, you simpletons deluded by Fox News and talk radio.


Indeed. Much like LIVs like the ignorant and woefully uninformed Ron Marz. Guys like President Lemon NEED folks like you, Ronnie. Keep truckin', brotha!

Here's ABC's report on the apparently resolved situation.


Ron Marz: Hit in the head one too many
times by that mace.

UPDATE: Uh, Ron, "uber-conservative?" Just because someone points out what an LIV moonbat you are doesn't make him the same on the other side. Wrong once again. It's an on-going trend with you. Not too many "uber-conservatives" I know have this or this up on their websites/blogs.

Idiot.

Posted by Hube at 09:35 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

April 12, 2014

MSNBC comes out and admits it, at least

Chris Hayes comes out and says what we all knew one helluva long time ago: That the network (and, increasingly, "progressives" in general) see everything through the "prism of race":

The racial prism I use to analyze American politics has grown sharper and I think in some ways more pessimistic in the Obama era. I will cop to that, unquestionably. Like, I do think, see things more thoroughly through the prism of race.

*Sigh* Who are the racists, again??

Posted by Hube at 09:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Hans Bader's latest

Unconstitutionally Overbroad New Jersey Anti-Bullying Law Challenged; Reference To “Head Lice” Deemed “Bullying”

Posted by Hube at 09:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 11, 2014

Refreshing lunacy

Despite his ultra-moonbattery (as we previously demonstrated), 'ya just gotta like Democrat Mike Dickinson, who's running for GOPer Eric Cantor's Virginia House seat. He is anything but shy and dodgy; indeed, he has absolutely NO qualms about offering up even possibly illegal "solutions" (via Twitchy):

Destroy a completely legal (and popular) group? Have the IRS go after a completely legal (and popular) political organization??

Sounds like a winning strategy to me.

Posted by Hube at 07:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Watcher's Council winners

The non-Council winner was Matt Walsh with Hey gay rights militants: your fascism is showing.

Full results are here.

Posted by Hube at 07:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Comics film updates

io9 has some updates regarding a few coming comicbook films, including X-Men: Days of Future Past. It seems the "pivotal event" that leads to the story's dystopian future is the murder of Sentinel creator Bolivar (not "Boliver" as io9 writes) Trask by Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique. (In the comic, it was the assassination of Senator Kelly, featured in the first X-film.) I wonder, since it's been hinted that DOFP will "fix" the numerous continuity gaffes of the X-films, if it will be explained how this Trask (played by short guy Peter Dinklage) is related to the "Trask" of X-Men 3 played by Bill "I'm Gonna Have Me Some Fun" Duke. They'll probably not even address it, leaving us to assume they just shared a last name.

It seems my (and many others') fears about Amazing Spider-Man 2 are coming to fruition in that there are too many villains in the movie. Who couldn't see that coming? Electro, Rhino, and a new Green Goblin?? There's also news on the sequence of future Spidey flicks: A "Sinister Six" film, a Venom movie, and THEN Amazing Spider-Man 3.

One saving grace for ASM 2: Not having a scene like this:

Posted by Hube at 07:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

More regulations on shoes now considered

Manufacturers will soon be required to "decrease footwear aerodynamic characteristics by 50% by the year 2017." The incident which served as the catalyst for this? A shoe tossed at Hillary Clinton.

History check: Remember this?

Posted by Hube at 07:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

April 10, 2014

Battlestar Galactica and spirituality

io9 has a discussion about it. Be sure to check out the comment section as there's a good convo about how both BSG series dealt with spirituality.

I certainly concur with several commenters about how the re-imagined series (2004) got so muddled with questions (like WTF happened to Starbuck? What about the Cylons' monotheism?). As I've often opined (most recently here) the newer series started out phenomenally, then withered to one big dud. But, at least that series did have an ending. We'll never know how the 1978 version could have closed; however, I have some neat [spiritual] ideas about how it could have. As I also noted in my most recent BSG-related post, a later season two-parter, "War of the Gods," featured a thinly-veiled Biblical analogy to God and Satan with the "Satan" character, Count Iblis (played by Avengers -- the British TV series, not the Marvel Comics movie -- star Patrick Macnee) using subterfuge and deviousness to convert many in the Galactica fleet to his "congregation."

I think it would have been very cool to have these two camps indeed be "God" and "Satan," on which Earth's main religions are based. After all, Earth is supposed to be the "lost" (13th) colony of BSG humanity. That 13th colony, Earth, had encountered these two all-powerful entities long before the Galactica did, and shaped its entire civilization around them. The original BSG could have ended with the Galactica discovering present-day Earth, and subsequently putting everything together about how Earth's population was affected by their beliefs in these omnipotent beings. Of course, we cannot forget the Cylons; how about Count Iblis -- Satan -- assuming control of the robotic race and leading an all-out assault on Earth and its new defenders, the Galactica fleet. The benevolent aliens appear before Earth, too, to aid in humanity's defense. This is the Second Coming prophesized by Christianity (or First, if you're Jewish). Earth and its defenders win in the end, thus fulfilling humanity's greatest legends/prophecies/sermons, etc.

What do you think?

Posted by Hube at 07:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

What does this mean for Boss Obama, then?

Ah, Illinois. A Democrat minority legislator (I add the description as it's necessary for the whole report), a Ms. Linda Chapa LaVia, was busy ripping charter schools and "appealed to her fellow minorities within the chamber." She snarkily added “we’re all over on this side [of the aisle], right?” but Republicans took issue with that.

“Wait, we have a half. We have a half,” LaVia said. She was referring to GOP State Rep. John Anthony who is apparently half black. Isn't that soooo tolerant? Welcoming? Understanding? Empathetic?

Good thing our president is no longer in the Illinois legislature. He wouldn't rank very high in Ms. LaVia's notions of racial purity. Here's LaVia's yammering:

Posted by Hube at 06:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

A good GOP ad for November

So, Boss Obama and his acolyte Democrats are planning to make "equal pay" an issue this year ... even though the White House itself pays its women employees less than men, and LIVs like comics guy Ron Marz fall for the oft-cited myth.

Not only would yesterday's mumble-mouthed Jay Carney presser be campaign ad gold, but so would these little nuggets:

  • Hank "Guam May Tip Over" Johnson lamented the pay "gap," but pays his female staffers less than men.
  • Mark Udall pays women 85 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
  • Mary Landrieu pays women 88 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
  • Mark Begich pays women 82 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
  • Mark Warner pays women 75 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
  • Gary Peters pays women 67 cents for every dollar that a man makes.

(h/t to Insty for the last five examples.)

Boss Obama and co need LIVs to fall for this crap, but they'd better get their own talking points straight if they plan on going full force with the likewise mythical GOP "War on Women."

Posted by Hube at 06:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 09, 2014

Remember -- they're so much smarter than you

Those at Rolling Stone magazine, that is:

That's supposed to be the Constitution on Julia Louis-Dreyfus's back. Except that ... John Hancock never signed the Constitution. He signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Constitution: For "progressives," a document so living, it grows on it signatures never before present ... like magic.

Posted by Hube at 06:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

World of L.I.V.s

Our pal Ron "STFU" Marz shows off his prodigious intellect once more:


51%? Only if the female population were entirely comprised of LIVs, Ron. Y'know, like you. And that's what "progressives" like Boss Obama and the current Democrat Party rely on -- not knowing the truth. And cripes -- the freakin' White House doesn't even pay its women what it does its men ... arguing precisely what those against silly laws like "Paycheck Fairness" do!! You just can't make this sh** up.

But LIVs like Marz sure will try.

Posted by Hube at 05:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Watcher's Council nominations

Honorable Mentions:

And the non-Council nominations are here!

Posted by Hube at 05:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The competition of Delaware charter schools

The News Journal asks today: Why do Delaware parents pick charter schools? Twenty state legislators are apparently upset that one of New Castle County's "big four" districts is primed for five more charter schools. They worry that more charters will continue to drain resources from [traditional] public schools. As for parents, "What prompts them to leave? What attracts them to the charter schools?" the editors ask.

Occam's Razor, my friends. More discipline, less constant behavior issues, and a streamlined process to get rid of said problems.

While I certainly agree with the Journal's take that traditional publics have to have an "answer" for the competition of charters, the editors have to understand that the competition has to take place on a level playing field, as well as play by the same rule book. How is it fair that charters can establish guidelines as to who can get in, and can much more easily get rid of a student if he/she doesn't measure up? Traditional publics have to take everybody ... and have to jump through innumerable hoops before a student can be removed? This, not to mention, that traditional publics have a maximum number (per year) of kids who can be permanently removed from their schools, so they have to really "be careful" that they pick the most disruptive.

Oh, and special education students? They can only be suspended out of school for ten days maximum. Per year. No matter how disruptive they may be.

Posted by Felix at 05:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 08, 2014

Battlestar Galactica "reboot" movie in the works

... and thankfully, it doesn't appear it will follow the "reimagined" SyFy series starring Edward James Olmos as Adama. Why do I say "thankfully?" Well, if you've been following Colossus since near the beginning you'd know I started out a huge fan of the "reimagined" series, but quickly lost interest around early season three when stories began to make little-to-no sense.

While the 2004 series was "grittier," the original 1978 series was much more optimistic (if you can call a series about the near-annihilation of humankind "optimistic"), with one of its last (two-part) episodes being a barely-veiled battle in the war between God and Satan. That, and the original wasn't a Terminator-esque "human created their own destruction" meme in that the Cylons were originally a reptilian race that had begun dying out, and hence created robotic replacements. The Cylon Imperious Leader was one of the few -- only, perhaps -- lizard Cylon remaining alive.

Count me in for a film based in the original BSG universe.

Posted by Hube at 08:31 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Dopey-ass Comment of the Day

A member of national champion UConn men's basketball team, Shabazz Napier, claimed he "goes to bed starving" because he doesn't have enough money for food.

Let that sink in for a moment. A player on a full scholarship at one of the elite sports team universities in the country ... goes to bed "starving."

Anyone buying this BS? Be sure to read the comments at the article.

Of course, ideologues in the Connecticut state house jumped on Napier's remarks. State Rep. Matthew Lesser (party unidentified by CNN, of course; he's a Democrat) said he and others "are considering legislation that would allow athletes at the University of Connecticut to unionize."

"He (Napier) says he's going to bed hungry at a time when millions of dollars are being made off of him. It's obscene," Lesser said. "This isn't a Connecticut problem. This is an NCAA problem, and I want to make sure we're putting pressure on them to treat athletes well."

Since Lesser looks like the only sport he ever played in his life is Xbox, it's no wonder he actually buys into the utter garbage that Napier goes to bed "starving." This reminds me of the hilarious quote from former Philadelphia Eagle Terrell Owens when he said he needed a new contract from the team in order to "feed his family."

Let's be real: My daughter is a college sophomore on a partial academic scholarship. She's never once complained about "going to bed hungry." Her freshman year she often made that college student staple Ramen Noodles to satisfy any off-dining hall hours munchies she had. So,a guy on a full ride at one of the most prestigious sports colleges -- a member of a group who are notoriously pampered on campus -- goes to bed hungry??

Pardon my guffaws.

Posted by Hube at 08:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

April 07, 2014

Delusion of the Day

Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso on politics in comics: "We don’t take sides and we avoid raw politics. We focus more on ethics.”

Read Avi's take-down of Alonso here.

Posted by Hube at 06:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

New at the Watcher's Council

Forum: Have Your Views On Same Sex Marriage Changed Recently?

Posted by Hube at 06:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 05, 2014

A day in the life

... of a Social Justice Warrior:

(Thanks to Nate!)

Posted by Hube at 03:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Sequel to Inconvenient Truth?

Really? REALLY?? Environmentalist Laurie David said "Everything in that movie has come to pass." Uh huh:

Was there an increase in destructive tornadic activity? We're in our third straight year of record low activity. Increase in hurricanes? Nope. Obama has the lowest hurricane frequency of any President. North Pole will be ice free? Nah, multi-year ice is growing. What exactly did come to pass then from that movie?

Hopefully, any sequel will be under the "fantasy" section of Netflix, etc.

Posted by Hube at 08:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Mozilla CEO forced out due to radical P.C.

What's more, his donations to the "controversial" cause were leaked by the IRS to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group. Brendan Eich was recently named CEO of the Mozilla Corporation, makers of the popular Firefox web browser. What Eich did with his own money a few years back is what -- gasp! -- is so "controversial":

Why, then, the ruckus? Amazingly enough, it is entirely due to the fact that Eich made a $1,000 donation to the campaign urging a ‘yes’ vote on California’s Proposition 8. When this fact first came to light in 2012, after the Internal Revenue Service leaked a copy of the National Organization for Marriage’s 2008 tax return to a gay-advocacy group, Eich, who was then CTO of Mozilla, published a post on his personal blog stating that his donation was not motivated by any sort of animosity towards gays or lesbians, and challenging those who did not believe this to cite any“incident where I displayed hatred, or ever treated someone less than respectfully because of group affinity or individual identity.”

Upon being named CEO last Wednesday, Eich immediately put up another post which among other things pledged in direct terms first that he would ensure Mozilla continued offering health benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees; second that he would allocate additional resources to a project that aims to bring more LGBTQ individuals into the technology world and Mozilla in particular; and third that he would maintain and strengthen Mozilla’s policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It’s worth emphasizing that Eich made this statement prior to the storm of outrage which has since erupted, and that with these policies and others Mozilla easily ranks among the most gay-friendly work environments in the United States.

It wasn't enough. Eich resigned yesterday. Amazingly, numerous employees had taken to social media to call for Eich's ouster. How d'ya like that? The supposedly "tolerant" employees call for their boss and part founder of the company for which they work ... to leave??

Because he donated to a campaign promoting traditional marriage.

You see, it's not enough in today's society to believe as Eich does -- favoring traditional marriage yet simultaneously holding anti-discriminatory views about gays. I wonder if Eich has an issue with gay civil unions; I would doubt that he does, based on the quote and statements above. A Google search did not provide anything specific. Granting Eich has no issue with civil unions (and California's Prop 8 had nothing to do with [gay] civil unions, by the way, just the definition of the term "marriage"), that still would have been insufficient for the gay lobby. Don't agree? Then see here. Even though civil unions would [have] confer[red] precisely the same governmental benefits as traditional marriage, the gay lobby argues it would "relegate [gays] to second-class citizenship, maybe third-class -- and that's not enough." And it's about rights and not politics? Uh huh: "Being married and wearing a wedding ring sends a message to society," said Jeffrey Zarrillo, one of the plaintiffs who sought to overturn Prop. 8.

Lastly, here's Andrew Sullivan (who, if you don't know, is gay):

Will he (Eich) now be forced to walk through the streets in shame? Why not the stocks? The whole episode disgusts me – as it should disgust anyone interested in a tolerant and diverse society. If this is the gay rights movement today – hounding our opponents with a fanaticism more like the religious right than anyone else – then count me out. If we are about intimidating the free speech of others, we are no better than the anti-gay bullies who came before us.

I simply await the day when a socialist/leftist who harbors sympathies with, say, Maduro in Venezuela, or Castro in Cuba, or Morales in Bolivia is hounded and forced out of his/her job. Oh wait -- that sounds like 1950s McCarthyism?? BINGO.

Douglas Ernst has more on this.


Two can play at this game: One of these will NOT
be used anymore.

UPDATE: Business Insider and Slate reporters call Eich's donation to Prop 8 as akin "to someone who 'donated some money to the KKK'" and said that "support of traditional marriage to supporting the 'the civil right to own slaves.'" I'm surprised they omitted that it was like the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Sheesh.

UPDATE 2: James Taranto contradicts the earlier report that the IRS was the culprit behind the revelation of Eich's Prop 8 donation. He notes that Califorina law requires "disclosure of personal information–name, address, occupation and employer’s name–of anybody who gives $100 or more to a campaign for or against a ballot initiative."

Posted by Hube at 08:20 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Watcher's Council winners

The non-Council winner was Matthew Continetti/Washington Free Beacon with The Grandfather.

Full results are here.

Posted by Hube at 08:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)