Verity · Brown

Time for another grump at human stupidity.

First up: Climate-Gate. Regardless of one's opinions about global warming, there's something very disturbing about the revelation that global warming scientists were privately discussing--among other iffy topics--a conspiracy to silence (by blacklisting) any scientists who disagree with their conclusions. Since non-conforming scientists have, in fact, been blacklisted (and some say they've been threatened with worse), it's evident that these emails weren't just idle chit-chat. Having experienced the ultra-liberalization of higher education first-hand, I'm not really surprised, but I am deeply disturbed to find scientists stepping eagerly into the shoes of a modern Inquisition. What happened to reasoned debate and the scientific method??

Next: Climate Stupidity. Assume for a moment that the Earth really is getting warmer. This isn't particularly unusual--we have scientific evidence that the Earth has gone through periods that were both much warmer and much colder in the distant past (long before humans ever appeared on the scene). Now, having established that we're entering a warmer period, which choice makes more sense? A - Waste a lot of time, money, and effort trying to convince billions of people to act contrary to their own immediate self-interest, on the off chance that we puny humans actually have enough of an impact on this pre-existing system to be able to stop the warming from happening, or B - Invest all that time, money, and effort into figuring out ways for humans to survive in a warmer climate. I can't help thinking that King Canute would have been better off building a seawall instead of raising his voice!

Finally, that old bugbear: Racism. The latest manifestation is the AP story on reaction to Tiger Woods' woes among the black community. Frankly, I was stunned when I read it, and I can't help thinking that if it had come from a conservative source, rather than a liberal one, it would be decried for the racist piece that it is. Apparently--according to this story--the only reason people are interested in Tiger Woods' problems is that he has a white wife and was supposedly cheating on her with another white women. (Wow, I didn't know that the race of the people involved in yet another well-publicized example of celebrity adultery was what made it an issue!) More disturbing, to me, was the negativity from the black community toward Tiger Woods (who, being only 1/4 black, doesn't identify himself personally as "African-American"). Despite viewing him as "not really black," the blacks interviewed for the article are still offended at his apparent preference for white women. I guess it's wrong for whites to be against interracial marriage, but it's okay for blacks to take that position (sort of like the n-word??). But the comment I found most disturbing of all was this quote from a black, female New-Yorker: "Had Barack [Obama] had a white wife, I would have thought twice about voting for him." .... Wow... Is there any hope of a man being judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin, when issues of skin color are apparently the way blacks are expected to judge one another?

I've been finding it difficult to get into the spirit of Christmas this year. The weather's been too autumny for it to feel like December, and after the week of chaos that was Thanksgiving and Keokon, my brain hasn't been quite ready to move on to the Next Big Thing.

Tonight, though, I convinced my family to go to the Christmas Open House at the city square in Carthage. Free snacks, pretty stuff to look at, and a chance to use our coupon for Ziggie's pizza. The pizza was good, the snacks were good--especially the warm drinks on what proved to be the first really cold night this winter.

Then, as we came out of one shop, I looked up, and there in the glow of the streetlight were snowflakes drifting gently down. Not many--the big storm bypassed us to the south and east yesterday. But they were there, just for a few minutes: real snowflakes doing what real snowflakes do.

For me, it is finally time for Christmas.

I've had type I diabetes since I was 19, and for many years, I wore those ugly, "old person" style medic-alert bracelets. But when my last one broke and fell off who-knows-where about 8 years ago, I just couldn't bring myself to replace it with another one.

Then, about 3 years ago, I discovered these:

Silicone wristbands! They have them for a variety of medical conditions, and they come in a multitude of colors (an email today about some new colors is what made me realize that I'd never shared this cool thing with my friends). Anyway, if you (or anyone you know--especially kids and teenagers) have a medical condition that you really *should* be wearing an alert for, but don't because you hate the traditional bracelets, you might want to give these a look.

After reading movie critics' reviews, I was expecting this film to be bad. But it wasn't. It was actually really fun.

Yes, the science is dubious. But since when have you seen a movie made by Hollywood in which the science *wasn't* dubious? In short, don't worry about it (unless, of course, that kind of thing just makes you break out in hives).

The special effects are awesome, although they do get repetitive after a while. How many toppling buildings can the protags manage not to have fall on them? How many gaping cracks in the earth can chase the protags from behind? Again, don't worry about it--it goes with the territory.

The really important thing to remember is that this movie, in spite of being nominally an "end of the world" movie, is actually structured and paced like an old-fashioned disaster movie. Predictable? Yeah, to a degree. But that's sort of the *point* with that genre: the protags find themselves plunged into a disaster, and of course you know that--for at least some of them--everything's going to turn out okay. This is NOT The Knowing (thank goodness!). And the movie does manage to pull one really interesting surprise toward the end (no, I refuse to spoil it).

One critic I read claimed that the movie lacked a human element; I think they must have not been paying attention! Mind you, this isn't Titanic--you don't get so wrapped up with the main characters that you end up crying over their fates. Like the traditional disaster movie, this story has a large cast of fairly important characters. And the *real* tragedy here is not about characters with names--it's the unspoken realization that all of these glorious special effects actually mean a horrible, unavoidable death for most of humanity. The "human element" of this movie is more about little things: individual choices (noble or not so noble), human mercy (from the smallest to the biggest scale), and human desperation and will to survive. The people act like real-life people in every imaginable way, and for me, that was a great strength in this movie.

At one point, a crazy conspiracy theory radio host says (roughly), "You make them laugh, and then you make them think." That's a really good description of this movie as a whole.

Turn off your disbelief sensors (it shouldn't be that hard) and enjoy the ride!

Do these things come in batches or something?

Recently in Massachusetts a Brookstone manager who was visiting another store began to repeatedly mention her marriage to her lesbian partner to the store's second deputy manager. He says she knew how he felt about homosexuality, and she seemed to be trying to intentionally goad him into commenting. Finally he told her, "Regarding your homosexuality, I think that's bad stuff." She immediately went to Human Resources and had him fired for "harrassment."

I do fault the guy for giving in to this woman's game, but where was the real harrassment here?

I've seen how conservatives are shut out of academia and certain other professions. Now that ways of ejecting them from ordinary jobs have been discovered, work life is going to get a lot rockier for those on the right.

Up next on Free Speech Erosion Watch: the interfaith organization That We Might See has called for the FCC to investigate conservative talk show hosts for "hate speech." The official petition actually makes the claim that Rush Limbaugh's  comments about Mexican immigrants (made in March 2006) caused four teenagers to beat up and rob two Mexican men in June 2006.

Why is this significant?

Well, "free speech" has never been entirely without limitations. There are laws against slander and libel. You can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater if there isn't a fire. And inciting violence is illegal.

Now, Rush Limbaugh didn't call for violence against Mexicans--according to the petition, the actual words that Rush Limbaugh used (quoted without any indication of context) were "a renegade, potential crime element that is unwilling to work." But apparently, according to the petition, this comment by Rush Limbaugh is the reason why four teenagers (hardly the usual listeners to talk radio) attacked (three months later) the two Mexican men (accusing them, in the process, of stealing American jobs...please note the contradiction in basic philosophy). Aside: *this* was the best example of the effects of  "hate speech" they could come up with???

This post hoc fallacy has been being used extensively of late to accuse conservative talk show hosts of "inciting violence." Apparently, if you make any sort of unfavorable comment about a person or group of people, if anyone--at any point the future--commits a violent act against them, you are held to be guilty of inciting violence, regardless of whether or not it can be shown that the criminal heard your remark!

Recently, a hate crimes bill was passed (it was tacked on to a defense spending bill) that broadened the definition of a "hate crime." And while the bill contained language to suggest that it should not be used to impair free speech, the only thing necessary to make an end-run around that provision is to claim that the speech incites violence.

How far can this go? Well, in Sweden (which, like most of Europe, has the sort of anti-hate-speech laws that the Left would like to enact here), a Pentacostal minister was convicted of a hate speech crime for a sermon against homosexuality (expressly *not* against homosexuals).

The FCC will be acting on this petition. The FCC commisioner has already been in consulation with the That We Might See group.

A few more inches of bedrock wearing away....

Picture this Halloween costume: an orange, prison-style jumpsuit with "Illegal Alien" printed on it, a space alien mask, and a fake green card.

Target has pulled the costume from its shelves, and ebay is taking down auctions of this item...because it has been deemed to be "offensive" to people who are in this country illegally.

So, is this a reasonable response to an outrageously offensive costume, or is it PC-run-amok?

If you've never read the food blog "The Pioneer Woman Cooks," you should. This recipe in particular, which appeared today, looks SO good:

Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

I got my Penzeys catalog yesterday, and I was realizing that I haven't shared the wonders of Penzeys with very many of my friends.

Our friends the Langfords introduced us to Penzeys' spices several years ago via their China Cinnamon. This is still one of my must-buys--it's a thousand times better than the cinnamon you buy at the grocery store, and a perfect addition to hot chocolate. Another must-buy is their Ceylon Cinnamon, or "true" cinnamon--for baked goods where the flavor of the cinnamon will really show (say, cinnamon rolls), this is the best choice around.

Most of their other single spices are good (I particular favor their Ginger), and they have some unique spices that aren't readily available in the U.S. For example, Mahlab, which is a kind of Middle-Eastern sour cherry pit that is ground up and added to baked goods. You have to grind it fresh (which is why I finally got a small mortar and pestle), and it is SO worth it--my hot cross buns would not be the same without it.

The real place where Penzeys shines, though, is in their spice blends. They sell a number of varieties of curry, of which Balti Seasoning, and Tandoori Seasoning are essential at our house. Their Herbs de Provence (with lavender!) turns chicken into bliss. English Prime Rib Rub (which I would never have ordered at first myself--they usually throw in a random small jar of spice for free when you order online) gives a similar boost to beef. Northwoods Seasoning is vital for jo-jo potatoes (otherwise known as potato wedges). But the real king of all their spice blends is Mural of Flavor. It's a salt-free blend that makes *everything* taste better. If you only buy one thing from Penzeys, it should be Mural of Flavor. I have huge jars of this in my kitchen because we use it so much--anything not taste quite perfect? Mural of Flavor will perk it up.

I know this sounds like a commericial (I am not benefitting from this in any way, and I don't work for them!), but they really are *that* good, and with "cooking season" coming, I thought I'd give my friends a head's up. If at all possible, you should go to a Penzeys store--they have locations now in many major metro areas. There's nothing like actually opening their sample jars and smelling the spices to help you know which ones you really *must* have.

/end gushing

I guess I spoke too soon the other day when I said that racism was second only to molesting a child in being considered the worst thing a person can do.

To judge from the media's response to Roman Polanski's arrest, molesting a child isn't considered that bad anymore. After all, it happened 30 years ago, and his victim has publically forgiven him, so it's not worth making a big deal about, right?

Of course, the fact that Polanski is a liberal Hollywood elite wouldn't have aaaanything to do with the media's eagerness to forgive him....

In other news, registered sex offenders in Georgia are camping out the woods because draconian laws prevent them from living anywhere else.

Just wanted to give a heads-up on an interesting video. It's rather long, but you only have to watch the first couple of minutes to get the drift. Basically, you have audio of MSNBC's Rachael Maddow talking to guest Frank Schaeffer about how comparing Obama to Hitler is "an implicit call for politically motived violence." Meanwhile, the pictures show protest signs from a few years ago, depicting Bush as Hitler and calling openly for his assassination.

Now, I didn't like Bush, and I don't approve of calling Obama Hitler, but the hypocrisy of the media on this subject astonishes me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEr65ZX6gLw&feature=player_embedded

Wonderful quote:

"The 24-hour news cycle and cable television and blogs and all this -- they focus on the most extreme elements on both sides," Obama said. "They can't get enough of conflict. It's catnip to the media right now."

"catnip to the media"--I've got to do something with that. Maybe an icon. It's brilliant!

It's positively uncanny for me to write this many posts in one day. I just went and read my horoscope for today (several, in fact), and there was no hint of what a truly upsetting day this would be...in spite of my efforts to perk myself up this evening by taking myself out to a movie I've really been wanting to see: Julie & Julia.

I'd been looking forward to this movie for months, because the previews made it look brilliantly funny. And it was funny. But it was also ultimately kind of pointless--you could cut the lack of tension with a knife. All but one of the few potential issues are resolved easily and positively. And the ultimate anti-climax--( spoiler )--not only ruined the rest of the movie for me, it also touched on a sensitive personal nerve.

Like the food blogger Julie, I was inspired by someone. From the age of 13 to the age of 33, I looked up to him as the author of my "book of gold." I felt like I knew him--a kindred spirit, as Anne Shirley would put it.

Then I met him at a book-signing. I was a 23-year-old girl, just beginning to be noticeably pregnant, and with my husband in tow. And yet, presumably because I happened to be female, he jumped to the conclusion that my earnest fan letters (I wasn't brave enough to write the first one until I was 22!) meant that I wanted to come on to him (a man old enough to be my father!). He made a sly joke about it to one of the people assisting him. It was so beyond anything I would have expected that his implication about my intentions didn't really sink in until afterward. The sad thing is that, while it really shook me, it didn't demolish my opinion of him as thoroughly as it should have (especially when I wrote in my next letter that I had been offended by his assumptions, and his reply contained not one word of apology). We really, really hate to lose our heroes. :~(  Ultimately it took something else in my life altogether, something only tangentially related to him, to finally wake me up to a fact I should have realized 10 years before: that he was, in so very many ways, a self-centered rat bastard, unworthy of my admiration. Painful, painful disillusionment.

Not a pain I really wanted to have revived tonight!

Meryl Streep is brilliant as Julia Child. Go for the laughs. Expect to be disappointed in the end.

I had no idea when I posted my comment this morning that the day was going to provide an example of geniune racism for comparison.

I was on my way home from teaching my class this morning, when I pulled up at the stoplight by McDonald's. Since my husband is also running for mayor, I tend to notice the many candidates' yard signs, but the one I saw this morning confused me at first, because there's no one running for mayor named "White." It took a moment for me to realize that someone had defaced one of Carol Mardis's signs in the most offensive manner possible. You see, Carol is probably the first black (and maybe the first female) candidate for mayor that our little town has ever had.

I called the cops to report it as vandalism and a hate crime, but they said there wasn't much they could do. I suggested fingerprints, and they said it would take 6 months to get a report, since the lab is so backed up, and Carol would have to press charges before they could take any action anyway. I am NOT impressed--not with our worthless cops, not with the pondscum who did this, and not with the hundreds of people who must have driven by that sign this morning without doing anything.

This is what REAL racism looks like.

It would appear that now, anyone who disagrees with the government, is a racist.

No less a figure than former President Jimmy Carter has said that Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst during the President's speech was motivated by racism. Congressman Hank Johnson has said of Wilson, "I guess we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside intimidating people. ... That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked." MSNBC's David Schuster called Saturday's 9-12 protest march in Washington an "intolerance festival."

It's the perfect strategy, really. Racism is one of the biggest taboos in today's culture--probably the only thing considered worse than being a racist is being a child molester. And racism is an impossible charge to refute. How can anyone see inside your soul to know how you really feel about people who don't look like you? There is nothing you can do, nothing you can say to prove that you are not secretly a racist. Once the charge is made, once the label is applied, the sticky stuff never really comes off. And since the charge requires no proof on the part of the accuser, what easier way could there be to hamstring your opponents?

Just as I feared last November, the climate in this country is becoming increasingly like the climate of my department in graduate school. Fortunately, I haven't seen this occurring on a personal, local level yet, but where the media leads....

Of course, there's always the possibility that this labeling may backfire. Surely most people are capable of recognizing that it's entirely possible to disagree with a person's policies and ideology without being motivated by the color of the person's skin?

So why am I still worried?

This post was inspired by babsbybend , who has been reading the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. I tried to write an essay about this subject in response to her post, but LJ ate it. :~( So it's probably safer if I post it on my own journal. Also, that will give other people access to it, if they are interested.

( This contains serious Old Kingdom spoilers--be warned! )

Remember Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war protester who camped out in front of Bush's ranch? Now that she's protesting Obama's handling of the war, the media's response to her is "Enough already."

Obviously, if you are not with this administration, you are headed for the round file.

I try to keep my temper in check about these things, but every now and then, something pushes me over the edge.

MSNBC's Contessa Brewer was commenting on an incident at a town hall that President Obama recently held in Phoenix, AZ. Apparently, "open carry" is perfectly legal in Arizona, and one protester showed up a nearby rally with a semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.  This is what Ms. Brewer had to say:

"...there are questions about whether this has racial overtones. I mean, here you have a man of color in the presidency and white people showing up with guns strapped to their waists or to their legs."

Well, here's a picture of the man who was carrying the assault rifle. I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions about whether this was a "racist" incident....

I just had to share this--it's the most sensible take on UFOs that I've ever heard.

Lord Hill-Norton, former head of Britain's armed forces, wrote of a 1980 UFO incident in Britain, that if the sighting was real, "British airspace and territory are vulnerable to unwarranted intrusion to a disturbing degree," whereas if it wasn't, "a sizable number of USAF personnel...are capable of serious misperception, the consequences of which might be grave in military terms."

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539901,00.html