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Open thread 5/24/24 — 47 Comments

  1. Much of old roscoe is now illegal
    Or leaves you open to unsavory end
    Majority of guys want nothing to do with it to the complaints of very demanding ppl who bring nothing to the table

    Anyway ..
    The collapse will be ‘fun’

    Much of what people enjoy is a math game in which smaller populations make things impossible…

    So much to talk about
    But it’s the biggest elephant in the room!!!!

    Amazing

    Why paying women to have more babies won’t work
    Economies must adapt to baby busts instead

    As birth rates plunge, many politicians want to pour money into policies that might lead women to have more babies.

    Fertility rates are falling nearly everywhere and the rich world faces a severe shortage of babies. At prevailing birth rates, the average woman in a high-income country today will have just 1.6 children over her lifetime. Every rich country except Israel has a fertility rate beneath the replacement level of 2.1

    And the best part is that women are rotten partners… with the wave hitting the wall and freaking out…

    Gen Z men opting out of the dating scene. WASHINGTON (TND) — New research shows romantic relationships are a rapidly disappearing part of the American teenage experience with nearly half of Generation Z men opting not to date, according to research from the Survey Center on American Life.

    Funny!!

    Gen Z Men Have Given Up On Dating. And Honestly, Who Can Blame Them?
    80% of men are deemed “unattractive” by women

    And

    I am Gen Z. Men in my generation are not dating. Why should we?
    Sixty-three percent of men aged 18 to 29 say they’re single, as Gen Z men have given up on dating

    This is the funniest stat

    According to a new Pew Research study, 63% percent of men aged 18 to 29 report being single. That means the number of single young men is nearly twice that of single young women, indicating a large breakdown in the social, romantic and sexual lives of American men. The big question is: Why?

    Those single young women are sharing more than just the men they can’t have!!!

    And the drizzle drizzle soft man stuff is hilarious… as its a comedic response to the serious sprinkle sprinkle stuff

    Nothing really matters if no one here to make it matter… whatever ideas you have about the future… they are all wrong because those who are having babies are not interested and will be here… the others didn’t have kids to pass it down too

    These are the boys that watched two generations of real court fairness…

  2. Ifv you think this is not a problem..
    Then when the number hits the low point you find acceptable… will the women suddenly have more to stabalize it or will the pop continue to half each generation?

    What force would cause this breaking as the more fecund who really are taught to really hate them becomes a different minded unasailable power base?

    Each woman that had no children
    Requires another woman to have 6 kids to just keep things stable… more than 6 to grow

    I dint see that happening

    Maybe if the band played louder and e rearrange the deck chairs we might ignore the cause started 40 plus years ago and is so normal we ignore it like the air we breathe

    Funny…
    In the big picture sort of way

    Like watching a small island people struggle and bust a hump
    And the tsunami that will scour them away is not in their awareness as seriously a the stuff they are doing that they do think is serious

    To whom did this baton of ideas and ways get passed to

  3. Just saw an aerial view of the pier in Gaza. Looks like a disaster just waiting to happen.

  4. If the MSM doesn’t cover an event, did it really happen? Journalism version of the tree falling in the forest.

    Many reports this morning of the 25k attendance at the Trump rally in the Bronx yesterday. Except CNN makes no mention of it. I even did a search on their website to no avail. Not surprising, but I bet my D friends will not have heard of it either which is the real travesty.

  5. Related:
    “Did terrorists just do a dry run at a Marine base? Team Biden needs to fill the nation in”—
    https://nypost.com/2024/05/23/opinion/did-terrorists-do-a-dry-run-at-a-marine-base-quantico-biden-needs-to-fill-the-us-in/
    H/T Powerline blog.

    + Bonus: A sea change?
    “Silicon Valley investors embrace Trump after years of leaning left: ‘Impossible to support Biden’”—
    https://nypost.com/2024/05/24/business/silicon-valley-investors-turn-against-biden-embrace-trump/
    I bet the Democrats are already printing out those ballots….
    – – – – – – – –
    And some tremendously heartwarming news…
    “Rodeo star Spencer Wright’s son, 3, wakes up after being considered brain dead: ‘LEVI WOKE UP!’”—
    https://nypost.com/2024/05/24/us-news/rodeo-stars-son-wakes-up-after-assumed-to-be-on-deathbed/
    (Not entirely out of the woods…but “My baby is so tough”.)

  6. Kamala: “Speaking Without Thinking” – see the video:

    One clear sign that the Democrat-Hollywood Axis is in panic mode about Biden’s re-election is that the reliably left Daily Show has produced this devastating takedown of Kamala Harris, because even the dim bulbs among Democrats know that Harris would fare even worse against Trump in November if Biden somehow drops out. So the ground needs to be prepared for a completely new ticket.

  7. arfldgr,

    Mark Steyn’s 2006 book, “America Alone” goes into a lot of speculation about what the future will look like in the West now that the West seems to have forgotten how to procreate. As Steyn presciently stated, “The future belongs to those who show up for it.”

    Islam is way ahead of atheism, agnosticism and secularism, in that regard. Orthodox Jews (you mention Israel), the Amish and Latin Mass attending Catholics are giving the Muslims a serious run for their money in the fecundity department; but they are way behind Islam, as a starting point.

    Could get interesting…

    (P.S. I enjoy reading your comments, but you almost always chastise neo and her readers of being ignorant of what you espouse, “we ignore your prophecies, etc…” That’s not true. Neo and others write a great deal on this site about this topic, and others you opine on. The question is, “What does one do about it?” I don’t see you advocating for a Handsmaid Tale theocracy. It appears that when humans get enough of their needs reliably met they reproduce less. It’s not just Western women’s attitudes that create the problem. Japan is far worse and far ahead of most all Western, formerly Christian nations. It even happens in Muslim countries when the standard of living rises above a certain level.

  8. Another one in the “no mention” column are the actual on-the-ground reports of events in Gaza and Israel… This from LI yesterday:

    https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/05/hamas-father-son-duo-confess-to-raping-and-killing-israeli-women-on-october-7/

    Warning… The first item might be tough for some…. you can read it, if you don’t feel like watching.

    Instead, the news is dominated with the ICC and campus uprisings, etc. At least the polling (Harvard-Harris Poll, for example) shows us that a great many in the country are not supportive of the campus BS and that cause, even if the legacy news outlets are. Maybe more people than we realize are checking places like this blog and those of the same ilk for their information. The “silent majority” still exists, maybe.

  9. Good day, neophiles and neophytes!

    I’m quite busy lately, but at the end of most days I still try to find some time to check in here, read neo’s posts and peruse the comments. Even though I’m transitioning to a lurker, I greatly appreciate the work you all do and your writing helps me make sense of the nonsense that are current events.

    Thanks!

  10. The walls are closing in on Bibi – I’ve always liked Benjamin Netanyahu and have no clue why he is so disliked. Maybe I’m just a worrywart, but am hoping he doesn’t come to America to speak before Congress. Too many Govt & Legal characters are aligned against him (including his own), and now talk of International Criminal Court arrest warrants…

  11. Rufus T. Firefly:

    Glad to hear you’re fine. We’d been getting concerned.

    I had emailed you, but maybe it was the wrong address. Anyway, I’m glad all’s well.

  12. Neo’s readers are a cultured, erudite bunch, so this is likely known by all who congregate here, but if you want to see Howard Keel, the urban sophisticate in the smoking jacket in the above clip from, “Kiss me Kate,” playing a completely opposite character, here he is as a backwoodsman in, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” How many of today’s “stars” could play such a wide variety of roles. And sing, and dance?

    https://youtu.be/z7OEKs7hAEk?si=TfTcPnAJmHCtS9Fx

  13. RTF, good to hear from you! And “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is one of my all-time favorites! I wonder if Gen Z even understands the concept of a shotgun marriage.

  14. Rufus T. Firefly:

    Keel was a great singer and a good actor, but not much of a dancer. In 7 Brides, he stayed out of the dancing limelight. The wonderful barn dance scene only has 6 dancers and one isn’t dancing much, but Keel isn’t dancing in it at all.

  15. Karmi:

    I hate to quote Stalin, but … how many divisions does the court have?

    International law is a joke – a bad one. See this, written by me 18 years ago. Note the incident that is referenced at the beginning of the post.

  16. Neo:

    Yeah, I know – America’s Laws & Courts are better than the rest of the world’s Laws & Courts…

  17. Israel has also not signed onto the ICC. If Netanyahu comes to the US, he’ll just have to be careful about where any interim stops are.

  18. Neo & Kate:

    The ICJ (another ‘Beloved‘ human Court), also known as the World Court, is apparently the one to have ordered Israel to halt operations in Rafah.

    Ought to be a Capital Crime for humans to create Laws & have Courts to enforce them…

  19. There are a few commenters here whose comments on particular subjects I routinely skip. Now there is another. Just my personal preference.

  20. artfldgr —

    I have a facebook friend who is Gen X, single, never married woman in Manhattan. She (over)shares her dating issues on Facebook. Her primary method of meeting men to date is one of those dating apps. You know, swipe right, swipe left. No man seems to be good enough. She won’t consider someone who doesn’t have a college degree. She finds the most nit-picky reasns to reject.

  21. Thanks, om. I’ve been keeping up with most of the goings on at neo’s place, including your comments. Just haven’t had time for typing, and also don’t feel like I have much to add to the discourse.

    I hope all have a relaxing and reflective Memorial Day weekend!

  22. Neo – hermits don’t do or promote “anarchy” .. 😉

    UPDATE: looked it up, and anarchy seems to have a lot of meanings.

    ..a defense of the state of nature

    Maybe I could be a hermit in that definition of anarchy…

  23. Defense of the state of nature

    In contrast, Edmund Burke’s 1756 work A Vindication of Natural Society, argued in favour of anarchist society in a defense of the state of nature. Burke insisted that reason was all that was needed to govern society and that “artificial laws” had been responsible for all social conflict and inequality, which led him to denounce the church and the state. Burke’s anti-statist arguments preceded the work of classical anarchists and directly inspired the political philosophy of William Godwin.

    Yeah, “artificial laws” is probably a better term than Human Laws…

  24. The only natural law I’m aware of is the law of Survival of the Fittest.

  25. Brian E.:

    I don’t believe Edmund Burke is talking about “natural law,” but have never read any of his works. That quote was from Wikipedia.

    Ought to be a Capital Crime for humans to create ‘Artificial Laws‘…nah, I like my original one better.

  26. I don’t think reason is the natural state of man. The natural state of man is self-interest/selfishness.

    If you going to rely on reason– i.e. logic, then your only option is between natural and artificial laws (as you state them). Reason is taught using those “artificial” laws you rail against.

  27. “artificial laws” was a quote.

    This blog is filled with posts that “rail” against Law and Order…so to speak whilst smiling.

  28. Rufus T. Firefly:

    Hi there and welcome back! Someone mentioned Fredonia and I went off on Freedonia, i.e. I’m watching “Duck Soup”:
    _______________________________________

    I’m sorry, but I’m inclined to agree with the People. The government has been mismanaged.

    I will lend the money [to Freedonia] on the condition that His Excellency withdraw and place the government into new hands. Freedonia needs a new leader, a progressive fearless fighter.

    A man like Rufus T. Firefly.

    –Margaret Dumont, “Duck Soup” (1933)
    _______________________________________

    Help us, Obiwan T. Firefly. You are our only hope!

  29. Karmi, railing against the misuse of Law and Order isn’t the same as railing against Law and Order.

    You also said, Yeah, “artificial laws” is probably a better term than Human Laws…

    Which is it?

  30. Brian E:

    Yeah, I know, you and other Republicans/Conservatives are the only humans qualified to determine what constitutes “misuse” of Law and Order.

    Ought to be a Capital Crime for humans to create ‘Artificial Laws‘…nah, I like my original one better.

  31. Karmi is trolling again.

    It’s a good thing that Democrats/leftists/commies have no interest in justice and laws.

  32. I am happy to see you back, Rufus, you are a favorite of mine, in a site of favorites.

  33. A younger friend passed me a link to the first hour of MTV after it was launched. It wasn’t 100% great, but it was an epochal moment when he discovered he was part of a new youth culture.

    Been there…

    Anyway, I got to thinking of a-ha’s “Take On Me,” for me the zenith of MTV. Turns out there is a mesmerizing “The Making of…” two-part video.

    The “Take On Me” story (song and video) is a beautiful artistic journey that — thank the gods — did work out in the end. There were brilliant people working at every stage.

    Magic.

    a-ha – Take On Me (Official Video) [Remastered in 4K]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914.

    a-ha – The Making of Take On Me (Episode 1)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlTHJJX7QVU

    BTWd, those boys were … Norwegian!

  34. ”The ‘Take On Me’ story (song and video) is a beautiful artistic journey that — thank the gods — did work out in the end. There were brilliant people working at every stage.
    Magic.”

    For those of you not familiar with 1980s culture, the video for Take On Me was to music videos what Star Wars was to movies — it changed everything. Easily the most influential music video of all time.

  35. Thanks for the clip from “Kiss Me Kate,” neo. It’s my second favorite musical after “My Fair Lady.” I love the music in both but I also love the original plays on which they are based.

    KMK was made as a 3D film and husband and I saw it in its original form at Alamo Drafthouse in Austin many years ago. It’s absorbing and oddly disturbing. In the scene that the clip is taken from, you feel like you are actually in that apartment with the characters.

  36. In the movie version of Kiss Me Kate, Howard Keel had a no-dancing role, but who needs it. You had Ann Miller and Bob Fosse. There was some fabulous dancing in that film, but the most surprising to me was James Whitmore’s, clicking his heels effortlessly.
    I have the DVD.

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