Pure genius from the IOC

 Apparently, people are all bent out of shape because the Tokyo Olympic organizers lied about the weather conditions prevalent in the city in July and August.  Because after all, it's not like people can look up average weather conditions in the city at that time of year and figure out that it's awfully hot, with a lot of humidity coming off Tokyo Bay, or anything like that.  Except that's been the case for something like, oh, the last century, with clear indications in Japanese literature of oppressive summer weather in Tokyo going back, oh, "just" a millenium or so.

Really, it's more like "The IOC doesn't care", because the Olympics in my life have been hosted in Atlanta, Los Angeles (heat plus smog!), Barcelona, Rio de Janiero, Athens, and Beijing (more smog!).  As long as there are big stadia and lots of fans and taxpayers willing to pay the cost, the IOC will send them an Olympics.

As Simone Biles will tell you, sports authorities don't give a (redacted) about athlete well being as long as the money is coming in.  Maybe it's time to change our attitudes towards "sportsball". 

Inspiring honesty from Dr. Fauci

 ...was shown in his recent exchange with Senator Rand Paul, in which Dr. Paul pointed to a paper by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, funded in part by the NIH, where "chimeric" coronavirii, modified by workers at WIV, were created.  In these "chimerae", it was found that transmissibility between animals and humans increased.

When Dr. Paul noted that this is gain of function, the response by Dr. Fauci was that the research funding had been vetted by experts (the appeal to authority fallacy), and that the particular virii would not end up as SARS-COV-2.

Well, yes, but Dr. Fauci certainly ought to know that both funding and research are fungible, money spent on capital for one type of gain of function research benefiting other research, and the lessons learned in gain of function research for this kind of virus would likely be applicable for others.

It's not total proof that WIV is responsible for leaking or creating COVID-19, but Dr. Fauci's obfuscation is a sign that we ought to look a little bit more with this.

What could possibly go wrong?

 Apparently there are 101 murder suspects out on bail on electronic monitoring in Chicago now.  I am so old, I remember the days when people thought that there was a risk to having likely murderers out on the streets.  Times change, I guess.

Confirming what we all knew

 The Inspector General's office has concluded that the FBI mishandled the investigation of Dr. Larry Nassar.  Well, actually, it's far worse.  Failures by the FBI include lying, failing to document what little investigation they did, failure to realize that the accused was crossing state and national lines and was extremely likely to have violated federal law, and a lot more.  The only thing they did right was to forward hard drives containing Nassar's stache of child porn to a federal prosecutor, really--and you don't get a whole lot of credit for sending that obvious of an open and shut case to the prosecutor.

Needless to say, Rachael Denhollander has some very pointed thoughts about this that are worth reading.  The rather bitter joke among rape survivors is if you want to smuggle something past the police, just put it in a rape kit box, because you know the police won't look at that.  Sad to say, the FBI has given survivors a lot more reason to make that joke.

It's sadly one of a long list of strange decisions by federal investigators that brings to mind a question; are people at the FBI for sale, or are there political motivations at play in what they investigate?  Nassar didn't merit a grand jury or a subpoena, as far as I can tell.  Martha Stewart was investigated for years after Jim Comey determined her stock sale was not criminal--destroying thousands of times more investor equity than was gained or retained in her stock sale.  The same Jim Comey didn't convene a grand jury or issue a single subpoena in the Hilliary Clinton case that appeared to be open and shut.  Patrick Fitzgerald chased after Scooter Libby for process crimes for years after he knew that there was no crime committed by unmasking Valerie Plame's status, and the same guy mysteriously "leaked" the Rod Blagojevich investigation right when the list of names would have been really interesting--and potentially devastating to the Democratic Party in Illinois.

The same Patrick Fitzgerald "exonerated" MSU in the Nassar case without as much as a report.  Half a billion dollars in lawsuits later, and I think we know what quality of investigation he did there, and yes, it does suggest the man is for sale.

It reminds me of something I pointed out when a former coworker exulted in the return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba because my coworker didn't like Cuban exiles; "If the law doesn't work for people you hate, it won't work for you, either."  It's time for a serious house-cleaning in federal law enforcement.

As the proud owner of a flip phone...

 ....I'm quite frankly used to my teen children making fun of it, and it was even tolerable when fellow engineers and technical people started to do the same.  I may have to upgrade, however, as I've just learned that there is a federal program to buy smartphones for the homeless.

Alternatively, when panhandlers come to call, maybe I should just say "if your phone is nicer than mine, I'm not giving..."  

Asking for your help

The "Washington Football Team", formerly called the "Redskins", is asking for the nation's help in selecting a new name.       Apparently the "Warriors" is too close to the Native American stereotypes they're trying to avoid, so this site figured we might do something to help them.

The goal, of course, is to inspire fear in opponents and fanatical loyalty in fans in a way that's appropriate to the city.  So here are my suggestions:

IRS Agents

Corrupt bureaucrats

Swamp lizards

Grifters

Whatever they choose, I'll be happy to cheer against them whenever I get the inclination to watch overpaid rent-seeking thugs beat the snot out of each other.

Triangle Shirtwaist fire, again

 ...in Bangladesh.  52 are confirmed dead in a factory fire, 26 injured, and the top two floors of the five story building have yet to be investigated.  It's the latest in a series of nasty industrial incidents (not accidents, they were forseeable) in the country.

Of course, with the condo collapse in Florida that's most likely killed about 150 people, we ought not point fingers too eagerly here in our country.  It's a sad and terrifying reminder that we may not be able to take for granted that "responsible parties" are caring for our safety.  I may not be able to totally prevent issues, but I can draw attention to things like cracked concrete and doors that are blocked or (illegally) locked.

How not to fight a stereotype

 The San Francisco Gay Men's Choir has released a song telling the world "We're coming for your children".  If you look at the lyrics, it gets worse.

I could tell them "this is not how you fight a stereotype", or I could think "huh, maybe there's something to this."

Update: here's the Babylon Bee on this.  

Paging Harry Callahan

 After Proposition 47 encouraged governments not to prosecute shoplifting, and the city responded by failing to prosecute the same, upscale retailer Neiman-Marcus is pillaged, Target is closing its doors at 6pm, and Walgreens has closed 17 stores altogether in San Francisco.  Hopefully voters respond appropriately by showing the current crop of municipal leaders the door.  

Update; in Chicago, apparently 36 of their police officers have been shot or shot at so far this year.  While thankfully good medical care, ballistics vests, and the John Woo grip have kept fatalities down so far, this isn't going to help morale or retention on the force, either--not to mention behavior.  If you're primed to believe you're going to be shot at, you're primed to be ready to shoot back.

The courts around Chicago are apparently doing their part as well by freeing violent offenders (accused and convicted) at a high rate.  Because nothing says "public safety" by letting people accused of murder one out on bail, I guess.  Maybe I'm getting old, but I remember the days when courts thought that those indicted for murder were worth keeping in jail.  Something about a public safety hazard or something like that, if my senile mind remembers correctly.

The left is, by their failure to prosecute crime adequately, reminding us why Clint Eastwood's character became so popular in the early 1970s.  Hopefully the survivors of their victims will remember in the next election.

Now this could be fun

 Apparently the Biden administration, taking a cue from Mormon missionaries, is going to go door to door encouraging people to take the COVID vaccine.  

Fair enough.  If they come to my door, I'll ignore the fact that I've already had the vaccine, and volunteer to take it if, and only if, they admit that the vaccines are the brainchild and creation of Donald J. Trump, and they'll have to say "Make America Great Again" ten times.

Narcissism: what's really going on

 In this article, the author gives a fairly thorough description of how those who are narcissistic--clinically or otherwise-manipulate their neighbors to get their way.  NO, "pretty girl with long hair and shiny stuff over her hips" is NOT one of them.  Get your eyes off the picture and read the article, please.  :^)

(why on earth they used that stock photo is beyond me....maybe someone else gets the point, but I must have missed something)

Seriously, the ways are gaslighting, projection, "nonsensical conversations", blanket statements, straw men, "moving the goalposts", changing the subject, threats, name calling, conditioning/brainwashing, smear campaigns/gossip, "love-bombing" and devaluation, "preemptive defense", "triangulation", "baiting", "boundary testing", "aggressive jabs disguised as jokes", condescension, shaming, and control.  

Now when I look at these, I describe the categories somewhat differently.  All of these things would have been described by our ancestors as a mixture of falsehood/lying, gossip, personal attacks/ad hominem attacks, straw men, and other basic logical fallacies.  While perhaps there is a certain point where a sin issue (and lack of decent education) becomes clinically diagnosable, it strikes me that if I were to consistently apply these criteria and start "diagnosing" my neighbors, I'd quickly get to a point where....I'd find that I was diagnosing most of my neighbors as mentally ill, and I'd have to admit that what I thought was mental illness was in fact the normal condition of mankind.

Now let's consider that sequence as well; if we are "medicalizing" our normal condition, we have also participated in "name-calling", "threats", "conditioning", "gossip", "baiting", and.....hey, wait a minute.  If I apply this list consistently, I will implicate myself as a narcissist, at least to a degree.

So while maintaining some room for an actual clinical diagnosis, I'm going to dare suggest that the actual Biblical categories of "lying", "slander", and "gossip", combined with a good appreciation for the rules of informal logic, might be a far more effective way of dealing with these kinds of problems than by throwing the "bomb" of claiming someone is a narcissist.

News from Congress

They've goted to remove a bunch of statues of racists.  Not coincidentally, all of those racists were....Democrats.  Kinda reminds me of how our current President once reminded voters that his native Delaware was a slave state. 

Just sayin'.  

In other news, and sad news IMO, a U.S. athlete has been suspended for a month, ending her Olympic dream in the 100 meters, for using marijuana.  Now I'm not a fan of getting stoned, but precisely what advantage would be conferred by use of marijuana?   She gets the munchies and gains ten pounds, and that helps her?  

Moreover, given that she was mourning the death of her mother (a way too early death, given that Ms. Richardson is only 21), this comes close to the exception Proverbs 31 charts for intoxication--"give strong drink to those who are perishing....let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."

Let's restrict the list of prohibited drugs to those which actually enhance performance, or where the use of these drugs would actually endanger athletes, OK?  My best wishes to Sha'Carri for consolation in her loss, and many more brilliant years of running.

Why is it...

...that when many people get a nice windfall of cash, they put it all into things like homes and luxuries instead of investments?  Picture here is Stacey Abrams, who's used whatever income she has for a series of homes in the same county.   I can get upgrading one's home while putting something in the bank or investments to keep it paid for, but several homes in the same county?  It smells of "look what I can do now that I've got big speaking fees and book royalties."

I sort of get owning a second home in one's favorite retreat, but this perplexes me.

Also in the news, Ken Cooper, arguably the "Godfather of Aerobic exercise" since the 1960s, must be screaming at the screen at this bit; the Air Force is removing running and push-ups from their physical fitness tests.  For the uninitiated, Cooper is the doctor who discovered that the physical fitness standards for the Air Force in the early 1960s were leaving personnel, especially pilots likely to be shot down in Vietnam, woefully unprepared.  If you're running from the Viet Cong, a bit of aerobic fitness is a bit of a good idea, and the 1.5 mile run that's being abandoned is the Cooper aerobic fitness test he devised all those years ago.