Category Archives: Evolution

Stupid, or lazy, Millennials

“Now Americans aged 16 to 24 rank at the bottom of a 22-country evaluation of numeracy, literacy, and technological problem-solving.

“Poor student performance should be no surprise: America’s family structure is falling apart. Nearly 30% of non-Hispanic white children are born out of wedlock, as well as 53% of Hispanics and 73% of African-Americans. When Reagan took office, 18% of all American births were to unmarried mothers. By 2014 the figure was above 40%.

“Catch-up ball doesn’t begin to describe our predicament. We need nothing short of a great national turnaround. There are two Republican candidates who made clear from the outset that it isn’t business as usual — Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Another Romney wouldn’t be relevant.”

And Spengler, aka David Goldman, prefers Our Ted. Millennials, however, will almost certainly vote for the Hildabeast whose policies will continue the decline.

Happy 180th Texas

On this day in 1836, a date few native Texans, let alone the hoards of newcomers fleeing the Democrat-Obama economy, actually remember, Texas broke away from Mexico and became a republic.

Of course there was a little matter of a war to win to make it so, but that proceeded more or less apace. After looking pretty dicey at San Antonio and Goliad. But all’s well that ends well, eh? Texas became the 28th state nine years later, on Dec. 29, 1845.

Via Legacy of Texas.

No Worries

You see this phrase a lot in texts. Sometimes in emails. The meaning is obvious. Or is it?

My question is, is it really from Australia? And if so, how did it become an artifact of the email/texting technology? A part of Internet slang.

Just because it’s short?

Well?

Evolution at work

“The explosion on board Daallo Airlines Airbus A321 at 11,000 feet Tuesday killed the suspected bomber, who was sucked out of the plane…”

Rarely seen, evolution-at-work is a sight to behold.

Why Trump?

“What we are seeing is a public that is coming to the conclusion that the game is rigged. Vote Republican or Democrat and the results are the same and always at odds with the wishes of the people. There are other social forces at work, of course, but the people in charge are undermining the legitimacy of the system over which they preside.”

So we see a Trump riding to the rescue. Except he’s not likely to turn out to be any less crooked than the rest of them. The system needs an overhaul. But I  have no idea how it’s to be accomplished. Armed revolution? Revolutions usually turn out badly, the American one was one of the exceptions. Unless you were a Tory. But that was long ago. In a much smaller and more heterogeneous galaxy far, far away.

Via The Z Man.

Too funny, too true

antitheft

Got this from sportswriter friend Cedric Golden of the daily. Made me laugh. Reminded me of the mechanic the other day at the dealership who was amazed at the 5-speed in my Honda CRV. Hardly ever see them, he said, but he heard they were fun to drive. If you know how, sure. Even Mr. B.’s driving lessons are strictly with an automatic. Manual is a complete mystery to him.

Snapchat’s new use

Snapchat, the latest social media app, was designed for the transmission of photos. It later became a vehicle for sexting—the sending of intimate selfies.

Its big advantage is that after opening a Snapchat missive, it eventually disappears, making the photo ephemeral, a quickie look with no evidence left behind.

That’s the part that now appeals to teens of Mr. B.’s 15 years. The no evidence left behind part. So,  instead of just sending photos, intimate or otherwise, they now send messages with content they don’t want to be caught sending.

The msg gets through and the evidence disappears. Convenient, eh?