As Communication Skills Decline, Is The Writing On The Wall?

 

Sadly, it seems possible that there may be very few—if any-- truly great writers arriving on the scene in future years. How many great young writers are extant today? Not many. By comparison, Mark Twain was 11-years-old when he published his first work, and around 22 when he started writing professionally. Ralph Waldo Emerson was also in his early 20s when he started writing in earnest. Edgar Allan Poe was a prolific poet by the age of 13. Shakespeare wrote several of his famous plays before he turned 30. Etc.

I have no problem with the progression from quill pens to typewriters to keyboards, but rather with the writing itself. In fact, communication overall is suffering; oral, written and even non-verbal. And A.I. will be a culprit going forward, in that humans will rely on it ever more heavily. On the surface, A.I. compositions can appear more than adequate for a number of applications but are not-- and cannot be--truly great. Great writing is like great art or great beauty, you know it when you see it. It inspires. It has heart. It has soul. It grabs us by the core and brings us along for the ride, perhaps even changing us for the better as it does so.

All of the afore-mentioned writers are dead, as are some of my other favorite scribblers, such as Winston Churchill and P.J. O'Rourke. Others, such as Mark Steyn, Steve Rushin, and James Lileks are, like myself, no longer spring chickens.

If we eventually lose the ability to write well, it will be the death knell of sites like this one. And the acceleration of our decline as a species.

As someone once said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” But crappy writing is kind of a bummer, too.

 

 

 

 

Murder, They Wrote? Democrats Try To Incite Violence...And A "Summer Of Love" 2.0

 

Democrats would root for tooth decay over oral hygiene and Snidely Whiplash over Dudley Do-Right. Something about them is clearly not right.

To wit: California Democrats have yet again blocked efforts to strengthen protections against underage sex trafficking, this time in the form of a bill to make it a felony to purchase 16- or 17-year-olds for sex. But, hey, who are we to judge if a California Democrat—or someone from a “marginalized” group-- wants to purchase a 16 or 17-year-old for sex?

Meanwhile, Minnesota Democrats killed an amendment to a crime and public safety bill that would have required law enforcement agencies to report illegal aliens to ICE when they are arrested for a violent crime. In doing so, they ignored the desperate and pitiful pleas of a man whose mother was brutally murdered and beheaded by an illegal alien. On the streets of a Minneapolis suburb in the middle of the afternoon. At this point, one is tempted to say, “What the eff? I mean what the effing eff?” But that would be for nought. Democrats gotta Democrat, right? I mean, the party wanted to enslave Blacks a couple hundred years ago, and now wants to free violent criminals.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently told a group of Democrat activists and donors in New Hampshire that he wants to see “mass protests” against the Trump administration. Pritzker stated, “Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.” He added, “These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.” He sounds nice.

Not to be outdone, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) appeared on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” where, when asked how people should be reacting to the arrests of rogue judges, he responded by stating that “the people need to manifest their outrage about these assaults on judicial independence.” And how should the people manifest it, Rep Raskin? Judges do not have independence from the law, prudence, sanity, or morality. And unelected district judges are supposed to be controlled by Congress, not have total control of a duly elected president.

Moreover, JoAnna St. Germain, a Waterville Senior High School English teacher, saw her Facebook posts go viral recently after she called on the U.S. Secret Service to "take out" people who support President Donald Trump 's "illegal, immoral, unconstitutional acts.” She also directly called for the president's death, stating: "The Secret Service has the perfect opportunity, if they choose to step up and take it.” In fact, St. Germain noted that the Secret Service has the ability, if not the moral necessity, to take out every single person who supports Trump’s illegal, immoral, unconstitutional acts. Wow! I guess we should take some precautions, folks.

 

St. Germain added that she was "not talking about assassinating a president" because a president is "a person duly elected" while Trump is heading "a fascist dictatorship." Note to St. Germain: Trump was duly elected, by both the popular and Electoral vote, and it is Democrats who are clearly re-enacting Fascist tactics and hoping for a Fascist dictatorship.

And then there is Canada. Unfortunately. Nell Thomas, a family physician and the Liberal candidate for Haliburton—Kawartha Lake, has been criticized after some Canadians circulated screenshots of old social media posts in which she clearly seemed to endorse letting the elderly die and preventing women from giving birth, while referencing her views on “climate change.” In April of 2023, Thomas wrote: “Imagine my thoughts when assessing a pregnant patient. I telepathically advise the fetus to sue the owner of the uterus while exiting it to this world. Of necessity, a mother must be a climate change denier.” She “telepathically advises the fetus to sue the owner of the uterus?” Thomas might be crazy. “A mother must be a climate change denier?” Apparently, Thomas is a reality denier. In another screenshotted post, Thomas stated: “Canada’s solution MUST INCLUDE stop keeping ancients alive so long/reduce expectations of patients to address every tiny complaint, AND INSERT GOVT PAID HUMAN OFFICE SCRIBES INTO FAMILY PRACTICE.” Another post reads, “Nature will ensure we are reduced to 5 billion. Trust nature.” In yet another hysterical post, Thomas avers, “You must understand eliminating meat from diet is well well well (!!!) recognized as essential – and soon nonnegotiable – if any parts of Earth are to remain habitable.” In still another she opines, “China is ahead of us on this. Chinese will rule. We are silly twits in NAmerica.” (That may well be true, but not in the way she means.) So, let the elderly die, get the federal government even more involved in people’s lives, beg women not to have kids, hope that nature kills off 3 billion of us or so, go vegan, and submit to China.

Who needs homicidal maniacs when you have “health care providers” like this?

Democrats and progressives root for the fire as opposed to the fire department. They quite literally support evil over good. If violence in the streets and/or presidential assassinations are what it takes for them to stay in power, they then say, “so be it.”

They are an existential threat to the “democracy” they purport to want to save.

They must be defeated.

 

 

 

 

Fake News Gets Nominated For An Emmy

 

Tragicomically, the "60 Minutes" interview of Kamala Harris that CBS extensively edited, so that Harris’ answers didn’t sound so much like Kamala Harris, has been nominated for an Emmy Award.

The nominations for the 46th News & Documentary Emmy Awards were announced May 1st. "60 Minutes" received numerous nominations, including one in the Outstanding Edited Interview category for its primetime special featuring then-Vice President Harris (and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. “Tampon” Timmy Walz.) This now Emmy-nominated program is the reason for Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, due to the network’s egregious attempt to help Harris any way it could, including editing her answers to make her look more intelligent and coherent. That’s not Emmy-winning journalism, folks, that’s election interference. It is also pathetically biased reporting, unethical in the extreme…and “fake news.”

This is as if I penned an article in which I employed plagiarism, blatant lies, and libelous accusations… and was promptly nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

If deceptive editing, a.k.a. “fake news,” gets nominated for an Emmy, we are now living in an Orwellian world, indeed.

Speaking of Orwell, he once said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Too bad there is no award for doing so.

Chinese Crabs Infiltrating The U.S.?

 

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recently announced that a Chinese mitten crab was caught last month by a person fishing in the Lower Columbia River in the central part of the state. This species of crab was outlawed in the state more than a decade ago due to its aggressive and highly adaptive nature, which can lead to the damaging of ecosystems and the displacement of other native species.

A question: why is every invasive species-- whether plant or animal-- more aggressive, and better at adapting and procreating than any of our native U.S. ones? Why did we get the weak-tit flora and fauna? Mirroring the Chinese themselves, it is obvious that none of the legion of invasive species which hail from China is worried about ‘toxic masculinity.’ Maybe if our native species—and we ourselves—were more masculine we could better fend them off.

Does this phenomena ever go in reverse? Does North America possess a crab that could potentially go over to China and kick some commie crustacean ass? If not, why is this just a one-way street? And what can we do about it? And why do so many damaging invasive species come from China? Did any of them perhaps escape from a lab in Wuhan?

The Chinese mitten crab is reported to be highly invasive—and capable of climbing over 13-foot-high walls! What the hell? Are they also “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?” Unsettling. “Look! Up on that wall! It's a bird! It's a plane! It’s…a…Chinese mitten crab!”

There goes the neighborhood.

Hope they taste good dipped in butter.

Love Is Love?

 

One of the phrases I most detest is “love is love.” But Eric, how can you say that? What kind of joyless, insensitive curmudgeon are you? Hear me out.

To the unthinking, these words may seem relatively benign, the mark of a kind person. They are not. In the context of those uttering this now trite expression, it means “Hey, don't feel constrained to marry a member of the opposite sex, you can marry a member of the same sex--or you can change your sex, and your betrothed can change his or hers, too. What fun! Or you could shack up with multiple partners of either, both—or all -- sexes! Even more love! Even more fun!” And what it really means is, since love is love, you can hump a horse. Plow a polar bear. Bang a beaver. Bone a badger. Tap a turtle. Diddle a Doberman. Rodger a rabbit. Pork a pig! All because the enlightened among us realize that “love is love.” Period. Beautiful! Who could argue with that? Why would anyone believe covenantal marriage between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation, and raising children in a manner most beneficial to those children-- and therefore the human race-- is in any way preferrable to banging anything that moves? Or, put more delicately, having a deep and loving relationship with, say, a blow-up doll?

What if you love certain things more than people? Is that so wrong? Say, a good steak more than your spouse? Or the ability to do whatever you want when you want more than your children? What if you happen to love rape or murder?

Think males and females were created by God to compliment each other? Don’t believe we can change ‘genders’ like underwear? Believe polyamory is wrong? Not in favor of bestiality?

Then you are a prude, a bigot, an intolerant and close-minded fascist who probably voted for Trump—or, if you are not in America, wished you could have. And you are wrong.

Love is love. No judging.

The science is settled, as they say. And you’ve got to love that. Right?

 

 

Man In U.S. Illegally Murders Father In Front Of His Two Children

 

It’s happened again. You know the story. An illegal alien with a long rap sheet, released from custody to prowl the streets. Murders someone. In this latest case (that I know of as I write this), an illegal alien from Cuba who had previously killed a man, fatally shot a Texas father in front of his two children on April 27th. 36-year-old Andres Fernandez De La Paz was captured on home surveillance video fatally shooting a 34-year-old Harris County, Texas, father in front of his family. The wife of the victim says De La Paz previously threatened to kill her entire family and flee to Mexico.

The murderer illegally entered the U.S. in 2016 and was to be removed in 2019. He was last released from prison less than 6 months ago, in November of 2024. De La Paz, who was the subject of multiple ICE detainers, apparently ran a credit card skimming scheme in his spare time.

I think we all know what this means: De La Paz will be Democrat’s next love interest. I’m sure he’s already got a GoFundMe page. I’d bet his bail will be reduced, and he will be let out of prison again in a jiffy. Democrats will fall all over themselves to visit “the Texas man.” Multiple Democrats will say something like, “Why, he’s the victim! He was driven insane by Donald Trump’s crazy and damaging policies! What chance did he have in a MAGA-ridden society like ours?!” He may make an appearance on “The View” and have an ode written to him.

The mainstream media, as always, has carried the Democrats’ water and de-emphasized De La Paz’s immigration status…to the extent it has even covered the heinous crime.

So, what’s next? Democrats may well run him in an election after his release. Unless he transitions while he’s in the slammer, in which case they will run she/her or they/them.

 

Why The I.D. Hypocrisy?

     How is it that every American must have a "Real ID" by May 7th if they wish to fly around the country, but do not need any I.D. whatsoever to vote for their president, the leader of the free world? Or to vote for anyone and anything else? 

    And why do U.S. citizens have to produce an I.D. to write a check, adopt a pet, purchase alcohol or tobacco, get a fishing license, get married, open a checking account, or rent a car, yet illegal aliens were allowed to come across our border by the millions in recent years, utterly unvetted? 

    If Democrats believe it is too hard for minorities to obtain a valid ID to vote, do they then not care if these same minorities can't open a checking account, rent a car, go fishing, or get married? 

There Goes The Sun

 

Multiple reports, such as one in The Telegraph, indicate that the U.K. is expected to grant approval for geoengineering experiments that would attempt to block light from the sun in an effort to curb global warming/climate change. The experiments, allegedly to be announced in the coming weeks, are to be carried out by something called the Advanced Research and Invention Agency. The U.K. government announced the creation of the ARIA, a self-described "independent research body to fund high-risk, high-reward scientific research” several years ago, saying that it will "help to cement the U.K.’s position as a global science superpower, while shaping the country’s efforts to build back better through innovation." It added that the agency was to be led by "prominent, world-leading scientists who will be given the freedom to identify and fund transformational science and technology."

“Geoengineering” is the large-scale attempt to manipulate global environmental processes in order to slow down or reverse global warming. What could go wrong?! Some of us far-right Christian conspiracy theorists might posit that the sun was put there specifically to shine its light on us, literally and figuratively, allowing life to flourish and the planet to avoid being locked in darkness and ice for eternity. But, what the hell. I, for one, am not particularly comforted by the agency’s “high-risk” self-description of its “scientific research.” Our recent encounters with “scientific research,” scientists, and experts are similarly problematic, especially those regarding COVID-19 and the plandemic. “Transformational science and technology” may well be transformational, but not always in a good way…and sometimes in a catastrophic one.

It never fails to amaze me how the climate alarmists who bemoan allegedly “man-caused” global warming—or climate change as their needs may be— loudly call for man to interfere, deliberately and experimentally, in the planet’s climate. And the U.K. is not alone in doing so.

Back in 2022, the White House announced a five-year research plan for geoengineering, which would  involve spraying fine aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth. Shortly thereafter, a rogue start-up firm claimed it was starting to do much the same thing.

Bill Gates and George Soros also had plans to block the dastardly sun’s light and send it packing back towards space, as noted in an article at American Thinker early last year, stating: “But how can this be? Who authorized this assault on the atmosphere? Surely Bill Gates and George Soros can’t simply, unilaterally, impose actions intended to affect weather and climate around the globe. Did I miss something? Did the world’s citizens vote on this? Was the global community consulted? Did each and every nation have a say? Farmers and botanists, the elderly and infirm?” The same could of course be said of the Biden White House’s plan and the U.K.’s.

Paraphrasing a song by The Beatles: “Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say, it’s all right. Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.”

The country that birthed The Beatles may soon embark on a program that could potentially make winters longer, colder, lonelier. For everyone.

How can any nation be allowed to do this? What if scientists in, say, Greenland discovered a way to increase the strength of the sun’s rays? Should they be permitted to execute their plans without consulting anyone else on Earth?

Geoengineering has the potential to impact, adversely or positively, all life on earth. Plant growth, dissolved oxygen content on land and in water, economies, the health of ecosystems, animals, and humans, the mood and mental health of people around the planet, etc., etc.

These planned experiments will not help the U.K.’s position as a “global science superpower.” That ship has long sailed. And, if the country truly wanted to “build back better through innovation,” it should consider ceasing the arrest of grandmothers silently praying outside of abortion mills and tasking its scientists with finding ways of stopping the incessant knife attacks that young male Muslim immigrants are perpetrating on its citizens.

Oh well, the sun will come out tomorrow. Unless it doesn’t.