URLs du Jour

2018-01-16

Hands Off Social Security!

■ So far, Proverbs 16 has had a lot of advertising for how neatly the Lord arranges His divine justice. Proverbs 16:7 continues that:

7 When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
    he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

The contrapositive is: if your enemies are not making peace with you, the Lord is not taking pleasure in your way. So shape the hell up, President Trump!


■ At Reason, Veronique de Rugy has good advice for any American likely to be alive in 2034 (est.): Start Saving Now, Because Social Security Is Screwed. This is not news to anyone paying attention:

The Social Security trustees have calculated that the cash-flow deficit over the next 80 years will amount to a staggering $44.2 trillion, and that's after adjusting for inflation. Under current projections, the make-believe assets in the [so-called Old Age Trust Fund] will only be enough to pay full benefits until 2034. At that point, the system will have to revert to paying out only the amount taken in through annual taxes. And that means benefit cuts across the board of 25 percent.

Today's picture is from an allegedly pro Social Security rally. Apparently it's an article of faith among Democrats that they can intone "Hands Off Social Security" until it comes crashing down. Then they will blame Republicans for the disaster.

And I also liked how the photographer lined up the speaker's head with the hand on the poster behind her.


■ Like me, Patterico is no fan of the President, but he'll object when he sees him getting a bad shake in the NYT: The New York Times List of Donald Trump’s “Racist” Quotes Is Garbage.

For example, one of the "racist" claims: "Trump frequently claimed that Obama did not work hard as president."

I’ll grant you that Trump’s criticism of Obama as someone who spent too much time playing golf seems comical today, as the Linksman in Chief never misses a chance to whack the little white ball around the course. But calling Trump’s criticism of Obama’s schedule “racism” reminds us that, according to Big Media, every criticism of Obama by everyone under the sun was racism. Give me a break. Every single president in modern history has been criticized by the opposition for the length and expense of their vacations, for the amount of time they spend golfing (if they golf), and so forth. Calling it “racism” when this completely normal criticism is applied to Obama is absurd.

Trump is not a racist. He's an asshole.


■ At Minding the Campus, Peter Wood takes on Princeton prof Joan Scott, who has been getting some notice for her claims that the the "Right has weaponized free speech." True?

Professor Scott believes that academic freedom is under assault from an anti-intellectual right that hates academics because it fears “excellence, difference, and culture.” Conservatives have some sharp criticisms of the way universities are handling themselves these days, but none that I know of have expressed disapproval of “excellence,” hold “difference” in disapprobation, or quake on encountering “culture.” Indeed, conservatives are more often accused of elitism, precisely because they consider the pursuit of excellence the sine qua non of higher education. They uphold distinctions (“difference”) that the left prefers to flatten. And they are the standard bearers of traditional culture.

Universities that have institutionalized Bias Response Teams and then worry about the threat to academic freedom from conservatives do not exhibit a strong level of intellectual consistency.


■ At Cow Hampshire, Janice Webster Brown reminds us how it was 100 years ago, when Your Federal Government mandated Heatless Mondays. And this was in January.

Janice discourages copying even "fair use" excerpts from her blog (she's been burned by plagiarizers in the past), so I won't do that. But it's a literally chilling story, and yet another example of how the US flirted with Progressive Fascism in that era.


■ James Lileks brings the good news: Diet Coke's new flavors are fully contemporized, bro.

Diet Coke has announced its new flavors. They are:

Frog Sweat

Zesty Plasma

Virginia Ham

Perverted Guava

Well, no. The actual names are Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange and Twisted Mango. Yes, “Zesty Blood,” as though they’ve discovered some athletic vampire portion of the market previously unserved.

The cans also sport a sleek new design. This reminds me of those far off days of 2006, when I "reviewed" Coca-Cola BlăK. Yes, that's how they spelled it. It was ignominiously discontinued in 2008.


■ And finally, your Babylon Bee Tweet du Jour taking on social injustice:

It's an outrage, I tells ya!


Last Modified 2018-12-28 4:45 AM EDT