winsor

Of course! All these things are predicated upon a juvenile concept of reality.

While I am largely indifferent to how someone 'identifies,' having lived and worked with people from all over the spectrum, I do have a problem with people gaming the system. Admittedly this is not U.S. News and World Report, but the basic story is legit: https://summit.news/2023/01/31/trans-criminals-who-raped-women-are-women-says-scottish-leader/ A friend has made a fortune surgically altering people's anatomy to mimic the genetalia of another sex, which is all well and good. I am not, however, convinced that the end product of his handiwork is fully interchangeable with someone born with original equipment. As far as pronouns go, one friend who is biologically female but does not present as such gets annoyed when someone calls her 'sir.' Generally I'm cool with going along with whatever makes them feel comfortable, but draw the line at it being mandated. That's the 'woke' part of the equation to which I object, where one group of people see fit to inflict their world view on everyone else. I also have a problem with people supporting permanent changes made to children on the basis of their juvenile concept of reality. If they want it when they are adult, fine. Until then, it should be a felony for people who perform such life-altering processes. BSBD, Winsor

Okay, for the hard of thinking I'll walk you through it. The video is of a male to female convert, doing a terrible job in a (women's) figure skating competition. The forum rules forbid linking to a video without commentary, so I included such verbiage as might attend the former male doing very well indeed. Since it was glaring obvious that my commentary couldn't be serious, I figured that only a moron couldn't put it together. Obviously I was wrong, and truly brilliant people took me seriously. Boy, have I been put in my place.

You don't think that watching the video might have revealed the narrative that has everyone's knickers twisted to be entirely facetious? Nah, what are the odds?

Okay, so you're not amused. Mick Jagger's comment regarding being able to take a joke comes to mind. Make that Bill Murray: "Lighten up, Francis."

You didn't watch the video. Whoosh.

Transgender men => wimmen have an unfair advantage in sporting events. There's no way a natural-born woman can keep up with someone who was born male. This is proof positive:

I think that's too onerous. If someone doesn't vote, a ballot will be cast for them - for the best candidate, of course.

They're quite impressive, but they get really shitty mileage.

I bought a Tracy Chapman cassette many years ago and gave it away after hearing the lyrics once. I was thinking more of having to run a gauntlet of booths supporting unrelated causes to get into an REM concert some time back. If the lyrics are overtly distasteful I don't go. If I'm there for tunes, and if it resembles a political convention I'm not up for it. I'm not into anybody's political convention.

My main objection to rainbow canopies is the difference in permeability between the colors. It doesn't make as much difference on a 282 sf. 7 cell, but the higher the performance the more you want your flight characteristics to be symmetrical.

FWIW, 'agenda' are plural. So are 'data.'

The album cover came from before the rainbow was synonymous with 'pride.' I can understand why someone whose only exposure to rainbow flags was connected to taking a stance regarding sexual preference might assume that that was the message. Similarly, any previous definitions of 'gay' have been eclipsed by its current usage. I can understand why someone might recoil at the prospect of buying a ticket to a concert and finding themselves being 'educated' in one way or another - whether they agree with the position or not (or care one way or another, for that matter). As Frank Zappa put it, "Shut up 'n play yer guitar." BSBD, Winsor

My abiding reaction to "Q" is that its narrative is remarkably similar to the practice of recreational rumormongering. When on Red Alert, when we were recalled to base, given a series of inoculations, drew weapons and live ammunition and headed to C141s, everyone wanted to know quite what the hell was going on. I only knew what I read in the papers, but was asked what I had heard with my (nonexistent) inside knowledge as a contributor to Stars and Stripes. I'd start off with "look, I really don't want to get in trouble..." and let them 'pry it out of me.' "I was bringing coffee to the Staff Officer meeting, and overheard the Major say...," and spin some combination of flashpoint issues of the day into a skeletal scenario including 'the usual suspects.' I'd then look at my watch to time how long it would take before my narrative came back to me fully embellished, coming from the 'highest authority'. Though I was often reasonably close in my guesses, the story that returned carried my earmarks. What little I know of Q sounds just like someone who assembled a narrative for their own amusement, passing it off to the credulous. From being around spooks on and off throughout my life, I don't take much of anything about their narratives at face value. Some of it is spot on, some of it is sort of close, and some of it is made up of whole cloth. FWIW, John le Carre and Graham Greene were on the job for their whole careers. Anyone who took the 'Q' narrative at face value is, well, the epithet escapes me. Naive? Credulous? A complete idiot? I dunno. There's the story of the guy who came home from his girlfriend, putting chalk on his hands and using whiskey as perfume. To his wife's query regarding his whereabouts, he responded, "uh, with another woman?" She looked him over and said "don't tell me that, you've been out with the guys drinking and shooting pool all night. You can't fool me!" Similarly, if any of the sources claiming to be "Q" actually have inside information, it certainly isn't what is published by them. BSBD, Winsor

I say pardon him. This simply isn't important enough to inflict President Harris on us.

Sounds like a PA to me.

Maybe if he was to choke on a chicken bone, he could be misremembered in a manner beneficial to all. One can only hope.

Gen'l Curtis LeMay's stated intent was to reduce Japan's population 'by half.' If that goal wasn't achieved, it wasn't for the lack of trying.

Kinda bouncing around countries observing rather a broad range of holiday traditions at the moment. Vietnamese Christmas carols aren't as obnoxious as those in the US, with nobody exhorting one to purchase a new Mercedes Benz for the event. Australia does have significant seasonal marketing. Hanukkah is a minor holiday and treated as such in Israel. There's not as much competition with Northern Yule traditions. Having read the news about how ghastly the weather has been stateside (have family in Buffalo), I hope everyone is staying warm and safe through the season. Happy Festivus to all!

It's unfortunate that one effective way to discredit a stance is to have a clueless spokesman support it. Having bushy-tailed, bright-eyed youngsters convinced they are going to "save the planet," tends to dilute the work of people who actually have any idea about the fundamentals involved. Nitwits discussing the radiation heat transfer characteristics of the planet as though it was some kind of holistic exercise is painful to watch. One problem regarding the 'Climate Change' movement is that it has all the trappings of a religion. It is founded on beliefs ('the science is settled...'), is singularly intolerant of heresy ('deniers!') and cherry picks the 'data' used to support its system of belief. When someone comes up with claims of 'cold fusion,' 'perpetual motion' or whatever, physicists typically evaluate the claims using dispassionate challenges before rejecting the claims as unfounded. With 'Climate Change,' anyone who questions much of anything about it is labeled a 'troll' immediately, subject to scorn and abuse. P.A.s that would be be cause for being banned on much of any other topic are not only accepted but put forth by 'moderators.' When I run the numbers it appears that 'Climate Change' is a symptom more than a problem in and of itself. Systems optimization entails the use of a 'cost function,' and this cost function is not set in stone. The cartoon showing a home as seen by the homeowner, tax assessor, insurance adjustor, fire department and so forth is an example of this. The idea that there is one universal set of values regarding much of anything is fundamentally flawed, but is characteristic of most any religion. The conclusions drawn thereby are not necessarily wrong, but they may as well be. BSBD, Winsor

When I was a youngster, I'd think "gee, she's good looking." Somewhat later I found myself thinking "I wonder what her mom looks like." Now it's more along the lines of "I wonder if her grandmother is too young for me."

I marvel at people who get worked up about adults with other lifestyles. I guess I spent too much time in art colonies/gay Meccas, but I'm a lot more concerned about True Believers of any stripe than I am drag queens. Religious fanatics have a long track record of killing those with whom they disagree; drag queens not so much. I very much prefer cultures where other people's preferences are a matter of indifference, so long as everyone is of the age of consent, no animals are harmed and so forth. Then again, I'm not going to hebbin, so my opinion doesn't count for much. BSBD, Winsor

Russians that don't invade Ukraine are left alone. What's your point?

Your standpoint is as charming as the recommendation that, if rape is inevitable, to relax and enjoy it. First off, the presence of Russian speakers is largely the result of resettlement into areas devastated by the Holodomor (look it up). Russians who don't attack Ukraine are safe from Ukrainians. Since losing to Russia means that Ukraine will cease to exist, seeking peace by expelling Russian military forces from Ukrainian territory is the only option. You seem to think there is a Plan B, but there isn't. I know rather a few Ukrainians, Russians from Ukraine, Jews from Ukraine and combinations thereof, and can assure you that everything you think you know is wrong. BSBD, Winsor

Two weeks in prison that equals a life sentence guarantees no chance of parole.