Author: Mick

  • Thoughts on: Honestly with Bari Weiss 2025 01-09 Podcast on England’s Rape Gangs

    https://www.thefp.com/p/the-uk-grooming-gangs-and-the-cowardice-05e Bari Weiss moderates a discussion between Julie Bindel and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Bindel is a journalist and advocate that relates an account of the events that is largely in line with what I recall of the coverage at the time. Hirsi Ali is, as I understand, more broadly an anti-Islamicist and critic of immigration… Read more

  • Thoughts on: Our Willful Disinformation Ecosystem

    Frank Bruni’s recent column (which I thought was the past Sunday, but is dated December 19) is dead on. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/opinion/donald-trump-promises.html Donald Trump and Republicans simply will not, and cannot, be ‘held to account.’ These are people who believe verifiably false information. Trump will claim victory no matter what the actual conditions or consequences of his… Read more

  • Hobby Progress: 2024 12-26 New Space Orks

    Things have slowed down in the lab over the holidays, and I didn’t even bother to confirm that last night’s conference call was cancelled for Christmas. A friend has re-sparked my interest in 40k and I have returned to my pile of shame. A full weekend at home followed by two days off with just… Read more

  • Thoughts on: WSJ 2024 12-26 Covid Lab Leak Article

    https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/fbi-covid-19-pandemic-lab-leak-theory-dfbd8a51?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink I read this reporting with great interest this morning, but on first read it does not contain any new information beyond naming a source within the FBI that believes in the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab leak theory of Covid-19 origins. It also, I feel, conflates a ‘lab leak’ with the more pernicious idea… Read more

  • Thoughts on: Aaron Renn’s podcast 2024 12-23 with Musa al-Gharbi

    Entitled “Is America Actually Woke” and covering al-Gharbi’s book. https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/is-america-actually-woke-al-gharbi Al=Gharbi is a sociologist who argues that America has experienced four cycles of ‘wokeness/political correctness’ in the last century and that the current wave began in 2011. Presumably he has some sort of quantitative measure for ‘wokeness’ — he didn’t get into it. The broader… Read more

  • Thoughts on: Meet the Press 2024 12-22 “Finding Common Ground” Special

    https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/december-22-sens-raphael-warnock-and-james-lankford-227692613726 I think special episodes are a mistake. A lot happened this week, including last-minute passage of a continuing resolution for federal funding, ABC News capitulating to Trump’s libel lawsuit, continuing war in the Middle East, and a school shooting here in Madison (off the top of my head). Meet the Press should consider its… Read more

  • Thoughts on: WSJ Editorial Regarding Drones and Lost Trust 2024 12-16

    https://www.wsj.com/opinion/drones-and-the-cost-of-lost-trust-ufos-government-swarm-new-jersey-3bc5e936?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink “Drones and the Cost of Lost Trust” published Dec. 15, 2024 at 5:15 pm ET. The summary of this Wall Street Journal opinion from the Editorial Board reads: “Conspiracy theories fly and public anger builds when Americans don’t believe their government.” Somewhat predictably, WSJ says this distrust blooms from the compost generated by the… Read more

  • Thoughts on: The Dispatch Podcast 2024 12-13

    Somebody DIED. How DARE we discuss anything about this. Meghan McArdle seems to believe that Americans are totally fine with our healthcare system because she found some poll results. I always find it rich that a group of Never Trump conservatives think they have such keen insight into how The Left has lost the American… Read more

  • Hello

    So the story is I need a place to reference back and remember “when did I plant this” and “what paints did I use for these space orks.” I have attempted this in the past, both written and electronically. I have not been successful. However, I just accepted a new job with guilt-free PTO, a… Read more