Savatage - When The Crowds Are Gone

Brag about your current Wordle streak!

I hit 50 today which is a record for me. I expect the DU linguistic experts to be much higher.

Shermann's take on abortion

Occum's Razor is a problem-solving principle which leads us away from complicated or convoluted explanations and solutions, and towards simpler, more straightforward ones. It is an epistemological approach and not a rule. It is not guaranteed to provide the right answers, however it maximizes the chances of finding truth and minimizes the chances of committing logical errors.

This principle can be applied to any problem, including the problem of policymaking. Democratic policies arguably are better aligned with this common-sense strategy than their Republican counterparts, as seen in the following examples:

- Gun proliferation correlates with gun violence, therefore the number of guns should be reduced
- Carbon dioxide acts as a pollutant at industrial scales, therefore emissions should be reduced
- Many have limited access to healthcare, therefore this access should be increased
- The United States ranks poorly in terms of wealth inequality, therefore wealth redistribution is required

Trumpians might argue that building a border wall is a simple, common-sense solution to the problem of uncontrolled immigration. However, upon closer inspection, this policy is revealed to be neither of those things.

These types of issues often negatively impact innocent people and disadvantaged groups. Being on the wrong side of them is obstructionist towards real progress and can therefore be seen not merely as illogical, but also immoral. Therein lies the major optics problem for Republicans. It is possible to defend the seemingly complicated or the convoluted. However, when this is the scenario with issue after issue, it takes a bit of a MAGA-apologetic tap dance to pull of (or distract from). That brings us to the right-wing talking point. Not all Republicans are capable of improvising these intricate twists and flourishes when challenged at the water cooler, so these scripted explanations (and distractions) are conveniently provided for them to stick to.

That leads us finally to the abortion issue. Republicans are desperate for issues where they can claim the moral high ground and position themselves as the sole champions of victims' rights. The abortion "debate" is largely manufactured around the mythological concepts of souls and God's plan and employs pseudo-scientific assertions of the significance of early heartbeats among other things. Republicans get to be the heroes of the unborn, and Democrats are the illogical, unrelatable villains. The "victims" never actually speak for themselves. It's all unfalsifiable and the perfect issue to create talking points around. There aren't many issues like this, and this strategically valuable ground will never be surrendered.

Abortion is a big thorny issue that has meant different things to different people over time, but I believe this is the crux of the politics behind it today.

Come on Down: The Kreig Teague Story

Here's an oddly entertaining time capsule from 1979.

Great White - Lady Red Light

Musk should stay on as CEO of Twitter

...and step down as CEO of Tesla.

Put a left-leaning no-nonsense CEO at the helm who can take a longer view and remain focused on it. Taking the company private now that the stock price is down would help with that.

There's something seriously wrong when Democrats are cheering at the misfortunes of the world's largest electric vehicle company which just happens to be an American company with over 100,000 employees. Musk is proof that liberals can sometimes be mesmerized by shiny objects as well.

He can run Twitter into the ground for all I care. Tesla is strategically important to the green energy movement and can be saved.

Six specific reasons why soccer blows

1) The game clock counts up instead of down and never stops. So, it counts up to some period (can never remember what it is) plus some minutes for stoppage (never know what that is either). This is less dramatic than a countdown to freaking ZERO.

2) Not enough scoring. If a team miraculously gets a 2-point advantage at halftime, they act like the game is all but over. Zero to zero final score is a thing. Ties are way too common.

3) Most scoring occurs on penalty kicks. Goalies often jump the wrong way. Why don't they just do a coin flip for the point instead?

4) Injuries seem largely faked. NFL players roll around on the ground in agony far less than these candy-asses. Get up and rub some dirt on it.

5) You can get penalized for merely kicking the ball to your teammate. OK hockey has this too, but at least hockey violence is real.

6) Announcers get way too excited when there is no actual scoring action. If you are listening to it in the background, you'd think the score is 24-23 (instead it is probably 1-0, or 0-0). Calm down, euro-dudes.

Did I forget any?

Another Brick in the Blue Wall

Warnock's Senate seat will be immutable blue during the 2024 and 2026 elections. With Senate control coming down to the wire in every recent election, you can't overstate the significance of this. This is as strategically important in the medium term as the widened Democratic majority is in the short term.

Any chiliheads on DU?

I've slowly been increasing my tolerance level of chili peppers and have a few tasting notes.

Hellfire Hot Sauce Fiery Fool: This one is considered a puree so it is not the greatest to drizzle on as a topping. However, as an ingredient which is mixed in it is my go-to hot sauce. As a puree you get a bit of chunkiness and even some seeds. You also get the flavor of the Trinidad Scorpion, Carolina Reaper, Bhut Jolokia, and the Red 7-Pot without any extra artisanal ingredients.

Cajohn's Vicious Viper Hot Sauce: I have some nostalgia for this one. My first encounter with the Vicious Viper was around ten years ago at a Firehouse Subs. I just grabbed it off the counter and nonchalantly slathered it on my sandwich. Oh man did I get snakebit. This sauce is based on the relatively nonlethal habanero, however it is spiked with chili extracts. This is a good all-around hot sauce.

Torchbearer Sauces Garlic Reaper Sauce: This has Carolina Reapers as an ingredient so it deserves some respect. This sauce has great flavor and is my go-to mustard when making sandwiches. You can't get carried away with it, a little goes a long way.

Do we really need to wear out Fleetwood Mac songs?

Yeah, so Chevy is wearing out that Fleetwood Mac Everywhere song. As a music fan, this trend really drives me nuts.