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Politico: Far Right wants more babies.

Real Clear Politics: Have more babies.

Based on recent articles, we are supposed to worry about not having enough babies and people who worry about not having enough babies.

Back in the 1980’s, before we were afraid all the time, I supported several environmental groups.  Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund and a few others.  Never Greenpeace, they were already crazy.  World population was an issue of interest, so I supported a group called Negative Population Growth.

They were completely reasonable, but in retrospect, I can see how they could go off-the-rails in a catastrophic way.

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Philadelphia Inquirer: Enforcing order on campus

Philadelphia Inquirer: Storming Campuses

I value free speech and celebrate this commentary from an agent of chaos.

They are destroying the American university in order to keep it “safe.” In a week when decades happened, the lowest moments in what became a nationwide assault on college free speech by militarized police veered from shock to tragicomical irony.

Police should always conduct themselves as professionals and use an amount of force necessary to maintain order.

BLM, Occupy Wall Street and any other mob of thugs intending to disrupt lives and seize property should be arrested, charged and have their day in court. 

It is a relief to see university and government officials doing their jobs without regard for their own political opinions.

NYT: The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV

NYT: The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV

NYT: The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV

This NYT article makes some good points, but without a good conclusion.  Many TV shows are good, but not great.  It is suggested that actors who were in great shows are used to make new, uninspired shows.

In February, Glover and Erskine returned in the action thriller “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” on Amazon Prime Video. It’s … fine? A takeoff on the 2005 film, it updates the story of a married duo of spies by imagining the espionage business as gig work.

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Sparky meets a tick.

Sparky is mortified that I’m telling this story.

Ticks are bad this year.  Sparky is treated with Frontline Plus, but that kills ticks after they bite and, hopefully, before any pathogens are transmitted.  I prefer to get any ticks before they bite Sparky or me, so I watch for any signs.

Sparky had a bath today, which he doesn’t enjoy, so I wanted to give him some extra quality time.  When we sit on the floor watching TV, Sparky likes to snuggle up.  We were nice and comfy when Sparky set to licking his undercarriage.  Not that unusual, but he had to stand up to squirm around so he could really get in there.  That seemed rather vulgar for a gentleman like Sparky.

I got him to lay down, then I rolled him over.  I didn’t see anything at first, then I found a tick on the end of his dick.  Seeing a wretched little tick, with those pointy barbed legs, crawling around on his little soft pink spot, made me shiver.

Sparky wasn’t sure what I was playing at, but when I removed the tick, he was relieved.  The photo above is from shortly afterward.  No need for a photo of the tick in action.  That mental image will haunt me.

Guardian: Kristi Noem makes a bad call.

 

Guardian: Noem kills dog

By taking Cricket on a pheasant hunt with older dogs, Noem says, she hoped to calm the young dog down and begin to teach her how to behave. Unfortunately, Cricket ruined the hunt, going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life”.

“I hated that dog,” Noem writes, adding that Cricket had proved herself “untrainable”, “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog”.

“At that moment,” Noem says, “I realised I had to put her down.”

Nope.  No sale, sister.

It’s not because my winsome dog Sparky has turned me into a bleeding heart. 

I understand that some dogs are vicious.  Some dogs have to be put down, and as a practical matter, in a rural setting, the owner does the wet work.

Several aspects of Kristi Noem’s account are disturbing. 

As a rising star in conservative circles, she decided to put this account in her book.  Why?  She is trying to send a message that she thinks will be appealing to voters.   

Noem “hated that dog”.  That is an emotional response that shouldn’t be used to justify a killing.  If the dog had to be put-down, it should be related in a clinical and detached manner.

The dog was 14 months old.  Puppy brain lingers until a dog is a few years old.  It may be routine to start training a dog for hunting at such a young age, but many dogs must fail that test.  If that proves the dog will be untrainable for hunting, surely the dog retains some value.  Give the dog away or keep it as a pet.

I am not squeamish or opposed to killing animals. 

I use traditional mouse traps.   I don’t celebrate a mouse with a snapped neck or brag about my trapping prowess.  Mice are free to live in the wood pile or make a nest in the woods.  A mouse invading my home has crossed the line and forfeited the right to live unchallenged.

Deer hunting is a subject about which I’ve posted.  Deer in our area live a blessed life.  They have no predators and freely roam, devouring our landscaping.  I have passed on many deer that were too small or presented only a marginal target.  I only take a clean shot and eat what I kill.  It is exciting to shoot a deer, but it’s adrenaline, not blood lust.  I don’t mount the heads, but do have an antler mount.  I’m not nuts about those photos that hunters take with the deer’s tongue hanging out and the visible blood.

Noem demonstrates bad judgment for not realizing that her story is appalling and for the actions she took with regard to the puppy.

WSJ: The Uglification of Everything

WSJ: Uglification

WSJ: Uglification

I wish to protest the current ugliness. I see it as a continuing trend, “the uglification of everything.” It is coming out of our culture with picked-up speed, and from many media silos, and I don’t like it.

Peggy Noonan recognizes a trend that has been going on for many years.  We see it in movies and TV all the time.  Hollywood seems to be embarrassed by feminine beauty.  Noonan sees a broader trend.  I have many examples, but let’s start with Noonan’s.

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