HALF-FULL REPORT 03/03/23
Things That Fail
"In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life and lost everything: security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society, but for society to give to them when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again."--Edward Gibbons, on the fate of Ancient Greece.
Things fail, and sometimes things fail bigly. Back in the days of Athens, civic virtue fell, and this is undoubtedly happening today.
This week's HFR looks at the failure of the things the left counts on to gain ultimate control. Take A.I., for instance; central planners hope that the computer algos will lead to total control of the world's emotions and thoughts.
Sure, A.I. can do many cool things, but it can't identify fitness for purpose. It produces answers to questions and artwork without the underlying meaning. Given the enormity of available data, it is surprising how clunkish and unnatural it becomes when asked to innovate. It cannot.
The power grid is in serious trouble as EGS, and federal mandates will begin to remove much of the base generating capacity within the next few years. In the end, people will not stand for it. But until then, you might think about a backup power source. Regulations are cutting deeply into the small generator supply, and shortages have emerged. They will get worse, with some jurisdictions requiring licenses and fees on generators. Be proactive.
Wokism is fumbling as Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind Dilbert was banned almost everywhere. It's not what he said that caused the ban; he occupied a box to be checked before the 2024 election.
His response? Rather than grovel and promise to support Biden in 2024, he gave it up. He went off to Galt's Gulch. We will see more of this as people expect it to be canceled. Cancellation is now being factored into career planning.
Institutions failed the world badly, as shown during Covid. The Duning-Kruger Effect is essentially to blame. Moderately qualified people tend to have much more confidence in themselves and their roles than highly talented people. We learn through Congressional testimony that government policy was distilled down to whatever conservatives proposed, but the government did the opposite.
So poorly prepared were the leaders at the CDC and other institutions that these leaders could not envision that actual scientists stood for fundamental research. Somehow, no quality score was placed on research, so the work of the political hack was valued more than the deep research of actual scientists.
We live in a technological world, and this is no way to manage technical problems.
Finally, there is light emerging from the void. The voters fired Lori Lightfoot. Even Chicago natives are getting tired of violent crime. Lori's failure probably ruined the chances for the next unqualified black lesbian in Chicago.
Bye Bye, Lori; it's time to roll up our sleeves and save the country. It will help if you stay out of the way.
THE REMOTEST SWIMMING POOL
This is St. Paul’s Natural Pool on Pitcairn Island, where in 1790 Fletcher Christian and his mutineers of the Mutiny on the Bounty settled, and where their descendants live to this day. They were awed by the uninhabited island’s lush beauty, with huge banyan trees rising above them like giant cathedrals, and thought it a Garden of Eden where anything grew, coconuts, bananas, taro, breadfruit, mangoes, guavas, passion fruit, yams and sweet potatoes in the rich volcanic soil.
Pitcairn has no beaches, though, so this was their swimming hole – and still is for Pitcairners today. They are happy to take you here, and to the island’s colorfully named spots, like Where Dick Fall, Oh Dear, Break Im Hip, Down the Hole – and to Fletcher Christian’s Cave, his lookout for British warships hunting them (they failed for 25 years) .
It’s not easy to get here – fly to Tahiti, then remote Mangareva from where you sail for two days on a supply ship. But you’ll be so welcome upon arrival. You stay in one of their homes in Adamstown and be treated like family. It’s a travel experience like none other. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #63 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 03/02/23
Well, that didn’t take long. Yesterday (3/01) in TTP, your read Betsy McCaughey’s Biden’s ‘America Last’ Health Treaty. And voilá, there it suddenly is in the New York Post this morning (3/02), retitled Biden’s WHO Pandemic Treaty Would Kill Americans In The Name Of ‘Equity’.
Enter “global health equity” in duckduckgo, and you’ll see dozens of entries advocating it without any criticism of it whatever, led by WHO and the CDC. It is the latest example of how pathologically blatant Woke Fascism has become.
This is likely to be very important! It looks like Elon Musk is going to create a non-woke AI company:
Elon Musk Allegedly Forming New AI Venture To Take On 'Woke' ChatGPT
There’s so much more and so much more fun. Jump right on in – let’s go!
LORI THE LOSER
You can see why Lori Lightfoot is nicknamed “Mayor Beetlejuice.” The resemblance is striking.
On Tuesday, the Chicago Mayor lost her reelection, and not by a little. Lightfoot limped into third with 17 percent of the vote.
Naturally, like any good radical leftist, Lightfoot took no personal responsibility for her loss, choosing to blame it instead on others. In this case, the entire city of Chicago is guilty of being sexist and racist as reported by the New York Post:
“I’m a black woman in America. Of course,” she replied when asked by a reporter if she had been treated unfairly.
“I am a black woman — let’s not forget,” Lightfoot, 60, told the New Yorker in a piece that ran Saturday. “Certain folks, frankly, don’t support us in leadership roles.”
Apparently, the city that elected her to the mayorship in the first place suddenly became racist and sexist during her time as that city’s mayor.
BIDEN’S ‘AMERICA LAST’ HEALTH TREATY
Joe Biden's diplomats are negotiating a treaty with the World Health Organization to promote so-called “global health equity”.
The premise is that in a pandemic or other worldwide disease emergency, Americans should not get better or faster health care than inhabitants of third-world countries. If Biden rams this through, Americans will suffer and die needlessly.
Under the draft treaty, presented in Geneva on Feb. 1, the U.S. will be obligated to hand over a whopping 20% of its medical supplies, including diagnostic tests, antiviral medications and vaccines, to WHO for global distribution. Article 10 of the treaty specifies this will be done in "real-time," not after American needs are met.
Read on… it gets treasonously worse.
THE POLYNESIA PARADISE YOU NEVER HEARD OF
Have you ever seen the ocean turn day-glo pink? It does here naturally during a sunset (this is not photoshopped). Between Samoa and Tonga in the South Pacific is a raised coral atoll, 100 square miles of old limestone between 60 and 200 feet high: the island of Niue (new-way), and it’s is uniquely fabulous.
With no silty river runoff, the water is incredibly clear – visibility can reach over 200 feet. There are a multitude of chasms through which you clamber to these out-of-a-movie tidal pools perfect for snorkeling surrounded by colorful reef fish. The limestone cliffs encircling the coast are riddled with caves with multi-colored stalactites and stalagmites.
You can snorkel or dive with spinner dolphins and humpback whales. The big game fishing is world class – within a few hundred yards off shore. The Niueans are unfailingly friendly and welcoming, the beautiful Matavai Resort is the best bargain in the Pacific, the food and beer is inexpensive, the weather is balmy. It’s a Polynesian paradise you never heard of. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #48 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE SOLUTION TO BALLOT FRAUD
The irresistible force:
Mail-in ballots, nonexistent signature verification, phantom voter rolls, a feckless Republican Party, Republican governors donating tax money to a George Soros–funded entity to clean voter rolls — election commissions changing ZIP codes so mail-in ballots stack up — courts refusing to remove dead people from voter rolls unless they miss two consecutive elections, and a Republican presidential candidate who thinks he can win with ballot-harvesting.
Years of Republican acquiescence and temerity brought us here — the end of free and fair elections. Election fraud is baked into every state's voter rolls — protected by government.
This week, we demonstrated a solution. Here it is.
ZENNIALS WAKE UP TO REALITY
Go to any social media feed today and you'll find an endless array of Zennials entering adulthood who are discovering that they are indeed expected to work, struggle, sacrifice, and make their way up the ladder of life like 99% of all human beings.
The next generation is finding out, slowly but surely, that they will not be YouTube celebrities or Instagram influencers or Big Tech executives; they will not be raking in easy money or be showered in gratification. Many of them have stacked up sizable college loan debts in exchange for degrees with minimal demand. Even if they have a legitimate goal they will have to work hard to achieve it.
Reality is hitting younger Americans like a freight train and they are enraged. Here are some questions they should ask themselves when they stumble upon that internal existential crisis of career and future.
THE RED-OCHERED WOMEN OF THE HIMBAS
The Himbas are a tribe of nomadic cattle herders in far northern Namibia. Himba women make a paste of butter fat and red ochre clay called “otjize,” to protect their skin from the burning African sun and braid their hair for beautification.
The Himbas’ exotic practices are not for tourists. This is the way they live as one of Africa’s most genuinely traditional peoples. Living on the move in remote roadless regions, it takes an effort to find them. But when you do, coming with an attitude of respect, you will be welcomed with smiles and hospitality in return. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #66 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
KEEPING YOUR SANITY BY EMBODYING EMOTIONS
For many of us, emotions are something of a mystery.
On the one hand, they can be delightful; they give life meaning and depth that would be impossible without them. On the other hand, they can be uncomfortable; they can hinder and disturb us; and anger in particular can sometimes cause a whole lot of very big trouble.
Learning to feel, understand, and use our emotions is central to mastering the complexity of life. Our emotions become much clearer and easier to use the more we pay attention to the physical sensations that go with them.
Here’s how to do just that.