"In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse to learn from history will be the majority and will dictate that everyone else suffer for their ignorance."
. ..by the simple fact that so very, very many people cannot see the difference between
“All ____ aren’t” and “Not all ____ are.”
The two statements say distinctly different things, but many people (most, in my experience) use the first one when they intend the second meaning.
Mind-boggling to realize that so very many people are so far divorced from simple logic.
I have found the war on fats to be suspicious for over 40 years, ever since I was notified that my contribution to a fats/diet “study” was thrown out for being too atypical. Seriously: I was asked to come back to have more samples drawn because my blood lipids were too low for their model, given my high fats intake–lots of cream, butter, red meats, eggs, etc., and then was told they couldn’t use my contribution. At least they were “honest” about the dishonesty of the “study”… THAT surprised me. Second time, I was looked at suspiciously, as though I were lying about my diet. *shrugs* What can I say? I’ve always like fat. 🙂
This article is just one more confirmation–of many over the last year or so–that I was right to suspect the “war on fats” to be based on bogus info.
The Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind viewpoint exacerbated by an almost complete lack of historical knowledge and perspective in our society exaggerates the effect of reports of current events on public awareness and opinion. The Houston flooding is a current example.
There’s no doubt the flooding in the Houston area is devastating, and is comparable to some of the worst flooding the area has experienced in the last 100 years, but–and this is in no way intended to minimize the property damage and loss of life–while the flooding there has approached record levels, several floods in the past 100 years have had higher crests and been at least as widely spread and devastating.
Of course, Houston is more populous now than it was during what was arguably THE most devastating flood of the past, in 1935, but heck, even though I’m not really conversant in Texas history, I’ve had enough relatives from Texas (including grandparents who were Texas transplants in Oklahoma) to have been aware that Houston has experienced many floods in the past.
As always, when I hear of folks devastated by natural events in locales where such things are common, I have to wonder, “Why were folks so very unprepared for such an event?” (Let alone wondering, “Why live in a flood plain?” *heh*) Now, readers here may recall that in April we were surprised by a flood that affected our own property–even invading our basement, a flood that exceeded “100 year flood” levels and was widely, throughout the county, well above and beyond any flooding in the historical record, cresting over even a 100-year-old “historical” bridge that had never been flooded.
And yes, there were folks living in flood plains who were flooded far, far worse than we were, outside any known flood plain (and I have FEMA maps–outdated NOW!–showing we are not in a flood plain, for that matter). Yes, even with the commonsense precaution we took years ago to deliberately NOT buy a home in a flood plain, though we looked at some nice places that were in a flood plain–we experienced flooding, but. . .
Lil tidbit from the link above, for additional perspective:
“Dec. 8, 1935: Flooding to second and third floors of downtown buildings; Houston central water plant inoperable for weeks. . .”
Non-stupid behavior pays off.
While its nice to be able to depend on the kindness of strangers1, NOT having to depend on it is smarter, IMO. Just sayn’.
But, it’s so much better for Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind ratings to “celebrate” (as it were), or at least not condemn, mass stupidity.
Again, not minimizing the property damage and loss of life (stupid people are people too), just noting: no one who is at all aware of past events finds the Houston flood at all surprising.
1With a tip o’ the tam to Blanche DuBois. 😉
Seen elsewhere (and very slightly redacted to obscure the source):
“If I would have [sic] known I would have went [sic] there. . . “1
*head-desk* This is what passes for literacy in our society today. When such garbled gibberish can actually pass an editor and be published, it’s no wonder folks are so badly under-mis-disinformed: they are unable, based on the evidence of speech and writing, to even think straight.
1While I cannot imagine either of my readers *heh* scratching their heads over my comments on this sentence, here:
“If I had known, I would have gone there.”
A brief, off-the-cuff mini-micro-rant and observation.
Looking askance at the economy, it seems that the single largest influence on the economy is fear. Peer pressure, uncertainty for the future, personal physical safety: all these and more are just tools for moving products. Heck, just the need for more and more (and better and better, for values of “better” that specifically include “flashier” and “new” as primary values) “stuff” and ways to preserve the “more stuff”lifestyle constitutes a delightful lode of fear for sellers of “stuff”to mine.
So, what brought this mini-rant on, apart from years of observing the selling power of fear (yeh, I used to sell insurance, so? *sigh*)? A TV ad for a home security service that portrayed a happy family get-together and proclaimed that such get-togethers are only possible when one feels safe, followed by a display of the home security service’s logo, implying that such events are only possible when one’s home is secured by such a service.
*throws the bullshit flag*
Look, burglaries, robberies and other home invasions are actually relatively rare,1 on average, and can be made rarer still in one’s personal exerience by means of several simple, relatively inexpensive measures.
Of course there is more that one can do, but those three measures will eliminate most home invasion crimes. And the last one really is probably the single most important thing you can do to prevent home invasion crimes. The data supports my personal experience. In my whole lifetime, I have personally experienced a home invasion crime one time. The week after my wedding to my Wonder Woman, while we were away on our honeymoon, our home was burglarized. Of course, our home at the time was in “the better part of the ghetto” (as it was called by its denizens) which was a high crime area, for both property and violence against persons. Since then, about 40 years, we have elected to live in low crime areas and have experienced no such things. Yes, small data set, but larger data sets support the “location, location, location” principle.
The chief measure one can take, though, even more important than choosing a relatively safe location, is to make an attitude adjustment, and make regular attitude checks. Practice little things like thinking through how you would break into your own home. Fix that. *heh* Be aware of what is going on in your community, in your neighborhood. “Keep your head on a swivel” is not just something for guys in combat.
1Stats are hard to come by since so many different definitions and circumstances are applied/recorded, but FBI stats from 2009–yeh, I know, a lifetime ago *heh*–indicate that in that year, 5 people (note, not “households” which would be a far smaller number) in 100,000 experienced a home invasion in that year.
Just about no matter where I go on the Interwebs (a few bloggers aside), I have from time to time been chastised by poorly-read folks for my vocabulary. Hey, lazy-asses! I work HARD to dumb it down for you!
Thatisall.
II Timothy 3:1-9:
3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: (2) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, (4) traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (6) For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, (7) always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (8) Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; (9) but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
This really seems like a case of “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” because when I consider what is known about people throughout history, this seems pretty. .. normal. *sigh*
That doesn’t _always_ work out all that well. . . I had a guy get really incensed with me when his ABPT preferred my company to his. . . and behaved better for me, as well. *shrugs* (I’ve only ever known one really “bad” dog–an inner city feral husky mix who terrorized a neighborhood. . . until he was stopped. *sigh* Coulda been a good dog, at one time. . . )
But it’s bullshit, now.
Example: a “Prime” order placed Monday, August 7 and acknowledged in email that day by Amazon is “expected” to ship today. . . August 10, and arrived on Monday, August 14.
That’s been pretty typical for “Prime” orders recently, and yet Amazon still says,
Of course, generating a shipping label three days after the order was received and acknowledged and “expecting” it to ship. . . soon, gives Amazon the disingenuous escape of falsely claiming it’s fulfilling its 2-day shipping claim, because it’ll only count Friday and the following Monday, while the package is expected to arrive one full week after it was placed and acknowledged.
Oh, well. It’s free shipping. I guess one can only expect what one pays for, eh? (Although, I thought that was the point of paying for a “Prime membership.”)
For most folks the seasons in America’s Third World County™ are
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Deer Season
For others, the seasons are
Deer Season Ended
Not Deer Season
Still Not Deer Season
STILL Not Deer Season
Deer Season
Thatisall.