Friday Ephemera

I then brought up this debating championship video that I had just seen. Several people scoffed at me. None of whom possessed the intellectual curiosity to actually check it out.
Is it possible they already knew quite well what you were talking about (and approved) and were just gaslighting you?

A model and a fashion designer.

While I realize nerds generally have trouble with distinguishing between fantasy and reality, surely “actors don’t choose what they wear on set, that’s the costumer’s job” isn’t so had for them to grasp?
After posting I realized I should have clarified…I don’t know if they are still shooting BBT but the clothing thing was in the context of her hosting Jeopardy. I generally would not expect the true BBT nerd fans to care, no.

From a tweet on the part 426 story:

What’s just as concerning about the $400k stolen from the Kenwood Louis Vuitton Store is I had a friend tell me over Christmas that she witnessed people shoplifting there. She pointed it out to the manger and was told “Yeah we know. But we’re not allowed to stop it.” WHAT??SMH

Somewhat similar to my former coworkers who lacked the curiosity to verify what I was telling them about our universities and debating teams and such…I find it bizarre and yet at the same time no surprise that most people don’t understand that store employees, especially at big name/big box stores are trained to NOT stop shoplifters. This has been true for well over a dozen years now. Why should anyone at this point be surprised to hear such a thing? Unless…

Plato, never around to answer the hard questions.

You mean like you’re trying to do now? Or are you completely unaware that smart people, smaaaart people, especially back in 2014, get/got their news from reliable sources like PBS? Reliable news sources that wouldn’t touch such stories that might hurt the Narrative?
You are correct that “smart” people usually get their news from grossly biased sources, but I have also run into some highly educated leftists who do indeed know what’s really going on and lie endlessly to support the narrative.

A model and a fashion designer.
The number of people out there who are trapped inside their delusions is disheartening.

I have also run into some highly educated leftists who do indeed know what’s really going on and lie endlessly to support the narrative.
True, but these were establishment-friendly conservatives…”conservatives” who for the most part are financially and emotionally incentivized to believe the Narrative. Or to be highly suspicious of information coming from outside the Narrative. Especially the conservative…”conservative” Narrative.

employees, especially at big name/big box stores are trained to NOT stop shoplifters. This has been true for well over a dozen years now
Because, at most of the stores there were to be staff trained (mostly plain clothed) to spot and detain petty thieves. And most of those thieves came in singly or with just another person. Say, a couple of moms with strollers who hid stuff under the kids, or a guy with a booster bag.
Yeah, once in a while there were the gang of teens who hit a rack of clothes next to the door that opened into the parking lot … but then the mall’s big anchor stores stopped putting those racks next to the door & made sure at least one security person was close to those doors.
“Smash-and-grab” was something that usually happened at small, stand-alone jewelry stores — many responded by putting in sally port entrances.
What you have is that training hasn’t changed but that there is a lot more organized theft that has no fear of security. They come in as a swarm and are much more violent in response to anyone that dare try and stop them. They aren’t stealing for “momma needs a new pair of shoes” but as a business. A lot of this merchandise ends up on eBay or Amazon 3rd party sellers. It is a business that makes a lot of money for the criminal gangs.
It’s similar to porch pirates and mail theft. If/when caught, it is usually traced back to a house or storage space packed with boxes.
The *criminal reform* ilk would have you still believe people only engage in property theft because of “need” and we should feel sorry for them and not hold them responsible.

This plays back to our society’s general, slow decline in standards of expected behavior. No-such-thing-as-a-slippery-slope be damned. None of this is hard. The problem is exactly what Ronald Reagan said 40+ years ago,
“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
But of course, as Darleen says, well here we are. I still haven’t gotten over the incident three weeks ago when a local cop told me to lock my door, close my shades (which I don’t have or really need), retreat with my dinner to the back of my house, and call 911 if some idiot solicitor refuses to leave my doorstep when asked repeatedly to do so. Everything must be handled by Big Brother, who of course will maybe get around to it depending on the priorities of the moment.
We recently had some teenage boys cause a daylight ruckus at our pool. Tossed things around, pool furniture in pool used to build a diving platform, locked ladies’ bathroom stall from the inside, etc. We have video and pool fob number but unsure of the address. One board member wants to take “legal action”. While I think that this situation such would be overkill (though I was surprised by who it was that suggested it), I also have ZERO desire to speak to anyone in our law enforcement community right now as I don’t think I can keep my cool long enough. We just turned off the key fob for the pool gate, which is as far as I want to take it. My contempt for our legal system grows with every incident.

then the robbers wouldn’t get hurt.
Some idiot on an airplane picked a fight with Mike Tyson a couple days ago. Iron Mike Tyson. Former Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tyson eventually belted the guy. Of course the “grown ups” say he should have let the (105 lbs? Female?) flight attendant handle it. AGAIN, there is something deeply disturbingly wrong with this society. A former heavyweight champ cannot travel on an airplane without being harassed? More than just the “criminal reform” people need to be held responsible. Our entire legal, police, and political system, amongst many, many others, must be held responsible. Yet I can almost guarantee, in fact I’m certain it is happening today, honest people who simply fight back are in more legal, economic, and social danger than the criminal scum.

And his news feed shrank by half.

Some background on what the “indigenous astronomy” discussed here a while back is all about:
https://www.space.com/satellites-threatening-ancient-indigenous-astronomy

…”indigenous astronomy”…

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples worldwide have observed, tracked and memorized all the visible objects in the night sky.

“…memorized all the visible objects…”
(cough)bullshit(cough)

Desecrating the sky impacts Indigenous sovereignty as it limits access to their knowledge system…the Gamilaraay and Wiradjuri peoples of New South Wales observe the Emu in the Sky to gauge when it is time to hunt for emu eggs — and most importantly, when it is time to stop. How would the Gamilaraay know when to stop collecting eggs, or when to conduct annual ceremonies signalled by the Celestial Emu, if it was no longer visible?

I would suggest using yte juju like a calandar, but I am sure that is racist.
“…indigenous sky sovereignty…” Just give it a fargin rest already.

“…memorized all the visible objects…”
C’mon man! They’ve obviously got the technology to track satellites.

After all, the West has millions of liberals who think that building nice houses for ghetto punks will turn them into middle class citizens.
Where I live, substitute indigenous peoples for ghetto punks. And liberals can’t understand why there are boil water orders on the reservations where the council is driving Escalades, living in multi-million dollar homes with four or five big screen TVs. Chief Big Screen TV is more than just satire. A band council which has been screwing over its people for decades recently lost a court decision. Good luck finding that decision with google.
Here’s an article which requires a very specific search criteria to find. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

The last time that any yte people lived in huts and practiced indigenous astronomy was 1600. No white people are living in the stone age. None. Anywhere. So strange–how can we explain it?

As with Stalin, they seize the means of production but since they did not produce those means, they only know how to (or think they know how to) go through the motions the capitalist producers went through before being chased off.
Never fear, comrade: All they need is bigger computers and the Glorious World of Next Tuesday will dawn.

No white people are living in the stone age.
Close enough.

How would the Gamilaraay know when to stop collecting eggs, or when to conduct annual ceremonies signalled by the Celestial Emu, if it was no longer visible?
They could put up some trilithons, but that would require them to have invented the wheel first.

“Even if it came from someone they never heard right-wing paranoia nutjob stuff from before.”
There’s been a lot of that lately.
“Maybe we shouldn’t sneer at those cargo cults. After all, the West has millions of liberals who think that building nice houses for ghetto punks will turn them into middle class citizens.”
And that sending 50%… no, wait… update coming through… 70% of the population to university will turn us into Japan. If Tony Blair’s so smart, why doesn’t he learn from his mistakes?