Reader Tips

Recommended: Ed West's "A decade after Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate, why is human nature still taboo?"

Excerpt:

…the great taboo of today is that of human nature and the blank slate is a sacred doctrine. Despite the book's impact, 10 years later the blank-slate model of human nature is still routinely discussed as fact, rather than fantasy, and continues to have serious implications for society…

[…]

As Pinker recalls: “Research on human nature would be controversial in any era, but the new science picked a particularly bad decade in which to attract the spotlight. In the 1970s many intellectuals had become political radicals. Marxism was correct, liberalism was for wimps, and Marx had pronounced that ‘the ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class’. The traditional misgivings about human nature were folded into a hard-left ideology, and scientists who examined the human mind in a biological context were now considered tools of a reactionary establishment.”

So Richard Herrnstein was called a racist for arguing, in 1971, that “since differences in intelligence are partly inherited, and since intelligent people tend to marry other intelligent people, when a society becomes more just it will also become more stratified along genetic lines”, even though he was not even discussing race. He received death threats and his lecture halls were filled with chanting mobs.

The whole thing here.

Alison Frankel: Plaintiff's lawyers to receive all the cash in Moody's derivative settlement.

Wowee.

Could the only cash payment so far from a credit rating agency in shareholder litigation stemming from the financial crisis go entirely to plaintiffs' lawyers?

It's entirely possible, based on documents filed this week in consolidated shareholder derivative litigation against Moody's. Moody's agreed to settle the cases last month, in a deal that requires the rating agency to institute corporate governance reforms but nets not a penny for shareholders. The only money Moody's agreed to pay is $4.95 million to the plaintiffs' firms that filed the suit, including Morris and Morris, Greenfield & Goodman and Kahn Swick & Foti. On Monday, the firms asked U.S. District Judge George Daniels of Manhattan to grant final approval to the settlement and fee award.

If approved, the $4.95 million may well be the only cash Moody's shells out in any of the shareholder litigation accusing the agency of misrepresenting its role in rating subprime mortgage-related securities...

h/t

One for the "The Children Are Our Future" files. This one absolutely takes the cake.

Two girls being interviewed about why they stole $150 in cash from a 9 year old girl selling cookies. Absolutely zero remorse. Chilling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzLGuJt8Qbg

h/t Ann Barnhardt

Aw shoot, a bit late. Posted on last nights tips, in honour of the Queen of Comedy, who passed away today, a couple of vids,

The Stones Satisfaction, as only Phylis could do it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTVpL4PmVXA&feature=player_embedded

Duet with Libra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mRK5A45Qrc&feature=player_embedded

Gawd she was funny!

EBD, a basic problem with the concept of intelligence as inherited is the unexamined assumption that two (or one) intelligent parent will produce an intelligent child.

This has never been scientifically validated. Indeed, the history of our particular species, has shown that highly intelligent parents can produce quite normal and even just average (Bell Curve) offspring. That is, intelligence is not a separate species and is unaffected by time, ie, it does not evolve.

Our knowledge base, as a population, DOES evolve. We gather and develop more and more information and knowledge about the world over many centuries.

Does intelligence have anything to do with enabling a 'just society'? I wonder. Many intelligent people, experts in various philosophies, sciences or disciplines (we've got Chomsky as an example on this blog) are not particularly 'just'.

I think that the individual freedom to think and debate and learn and have an economic and political role in one's society, more than anything else, assists in the development of a just society.

John G, thank you for sharing that link though I'm now deeply depressed. The two young women must be mentally ill, yes?!

Remember folks, we can't judge because we have not walked a mile in the footsteps of either gal. At least that's what our Progressive Betters keep tellin' us hicks. :-(

Bulls eye twice, EBD! Noel Coward and now Chet Baker.

Thanks!

Phylis Diller (Driver), rest in peace.

She made us laugh. I also miss Bob Hope and Red Skelton.

'So Richard Herrnstein was called a racist for arguing, in 1971, that “since differences in intelligence are partly inherited, and since intelligent people tend to marry other intelligent people...”

There may be something to this, as I see some evidence of this occurring in some of the somewhat closed communities I am familiar with in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I have nothing to validate this, just an observation over a few decades.

Those wacky Finns! Well, whatcha gonna do?

One and the same that popularized the 'Wife Carrying Competition'? Or was it the Nords?

Too much herring in the diet? Oh well, at least they know how to have fun! Some others could take a cue from it.

I somehow missed this story when it first came out:

In one of the most dramatic and deeply ominous moments in the Senate's entire history, a member of the House of Representatives entered the Senate chamber and savagely beat a senator into unconsciousness…..Representative Preston Brooks slammed his metal-topped cane onto the unsuspecting (Senator Charles) Sumner's head. As Brooks struck again and again, Sumner rose and lurched blindly about the chamber, futilely attempting to protect himself. After a very long minute, it ended…

We were a little concerned about our Herman, but we received this letter today which eased our concerns:

> Dear Mom,
>
> Our Scoutmaster, Steve, told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and got worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.
>
> Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue Jeeps. It was great. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.
>
> Scoutmaster Steve got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow up?
>
> The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes.Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.
>
> We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Steve gets the bus fixed. It wasn't his fault about the crash. The brakes worked okay when we left. Scoutmaster Steve said that with a bus that old, you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance.
>
> We think it's a super bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the bumpers. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus made for 24. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the policeman stopped and talked to us.
>
> Scoutmaster Steve is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Horace how to drive on the mountain roads where there aren't any cops. All we ever see up there are huge logging trucks.
>
> This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out to the rapids. Scoutmaster Steve wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast (it's concrete because we didn't have any plaster), so he let us take the canoe out. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.
>
> Scoutmaster Steve isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.
>
> Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew dived into the lake and cut his arm, we all got to see how a tourniquet works.
>
> Ted and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Steve said it was probably just food poisoning from the left-over chicken. He said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedal-file?
>
> I have to go now. We are going to town to post our letters and buy some more beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We are fine and tonight it's my turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.
>

From EBD's US Senate tip and the canning of Senator Sumner, the last sentence of the article, "The nation, suffering from the breakdown of reasoned discourse that this event symbolized, tumbled onward toward the catastrophe of civil war.The nation, suffering from the breakdown of reasoned discourse that this event symbolized, tumbled onward toward the catastrophe of civil war".

Are we witnessing an increase in the vitriol and polarization of the American people in the current election campaign?

New recurring theme:

"I miss the Canadian Wheat Board"

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/08/20/bumper-crop-for-manitoba-formsRecord-high commodity prices and good quality wheat have many Manitoba farmers expecting strong sales this year.

Edgar Scheurer, who farms about 5,500 acres near Dugald with his family, said his winter wheat proved to be a bumper crop when he began harvesting it about two weeks earlier than usual on July 23.

Germans take dim view of light bulb inspections

Dizzy: Re: Light bulb inspections.

Very enlightening! So you can`t have a light bulb that utilizes a filament, but you can have a range with 12,000 watt coils, a toaster with a 1200 watt element, or a room heater with 1500 watt! Go figure!

Choice words from an article about the calls for Missouri GOP candidate Todd Akin to resign following his stupid remarks:

In the course of explaining why he believes abortion should be illegal even when pregnancies result from rape, he said that in cases of “legitimate rape” the victim’s body has defense mechanisms that usually prevent pregnancy.

Give the man points for concision, at least: His remarks combined several mistakes with brutal efficiency. There is no evidence for Akin’s biological claim. The frequency with which rape results in pregnancy has no bearing on whether abortion should be allowed when it does. And while it is not completely clear what point Akin was trying to make with the phrase, “legitimate rape” should not appear in any good one.

I don't think it's a principled opposition in Germany to light bulb inspections, it's just a money thing.

We're talking about a country that bans home schooling and that didn't even manage to send the guy who stabbed Monica Seles to jail for the crime - and they tried twice.

Germany is not interested in freedom or justice so far as I can see. They've learned nothing since World War Two, and they're still in thrall to Kant and Hegel, whose writings were ultimately responsible for it.

Nice choice, EBD. Can't go wrong with any version of Blue Room.

EBD - an interesting link @ 11:49. Isn't it funny how the pro-slavery leftist saw nothing wrong in not treating his "adversary" as an honorable gentleman and challenging him to a duel, but instead attacked from behind without warning and made sure that there was never any chance of a fair fight? Yes, I would agree that there are modern parallels (with words, not canes. At least outside of "occupy-your-stuff" groups).

Media ignoring October Surprise?

If a strike on Iran is made prior to the election, Obama is much more likely not to condemn Israel.
It just wouldn’t be a popular political move for him.

But here’s the quandary – not only for Israel but for Americans who want to see Obama defeated in 2012:
Will that kind of “October surprise” indeed help Obama to win the November election?

-

http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/when-israel-strikes-iran-in-october/

Has Whoppi Goldberg phoned Todd Akin to explain what "rape - rape" is?

The state broadcaster has another "We all loved Jack" story up on their website. By my count,that is four articles and a podcast over the last four days,with still about 24 hours left to the official kick-off of Jackapalooza.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/08/20/pol-layton-chow-interview.html

Highly placed sources within the Liberal party ,speaking anonymously,have siad that they are aware of the shift in coverage and are countering by encouraging Justin to take up heli-skiing. The insider said " We have to be pro-active,if we lose the cbc,we may lose everything".

'Problem is, wallyj, re the Adoration of Jack Layton, his followers just haven't polled -- won't poll -- the right people.

If they asked me, I'd have to say though I felt no joy in Jack Layton's death, my second thought was "thank God this wanker's socialist rhetoric and lies can't be foisted on the ignorant masses anymore." Third thought? "Why won't they tell us what kind of cancer he died from?"

I realize that Mulcair is doing his best to fill the Jacka** vacuum, but he's not as photogenic.

Thank you for the Chet Baker link, I have enjoyed his music for many years.
Browsing in a small record shop in Calgary a few years ago, I came a cross a compilation CD of Chet's music that had many recordings I did not have.
I took it up to the counter to purchase it, the clerk was a young 20 something female, that was probably quite attractive, but I couldn't get past the dreadlocks, tattoos, and multiple facial piercings she sported to truly determine that.
She surprised the hell out of me when she took the CD, looked at the title and said "Wow, Chet Baker! He is one of my favorites!" We ended up in a discussion of his music while the transaction was completed.
I sure never expected her to be a Chet fan.

JL's Gallery Presents.
...-

"Layton's presence felt in making of emotional film
TheChronicleHerald.ca
An oral history of Jack Layton's last letterMacleans.ca"
...-

"Of Sex, Massage, Jack Layton, and Scandal

A funny story popped up in the closing hours of the 2011 federal election. A story of how Jack Layton was caught in a “rub and tug” massage parlour during a police raid. Jack Layton swears that he did no wrong doing. He was there to get a treatment by his “massage therapist” and was unaware of any illicit activity that was going on there. The story is troubling on many fronts, but I am most offended that he kept referring to his masseuse as a “massage therapist”"

http://www.kenshim.com/2011/05/sex-jack-layton/

Mike (No Breathalyzer) Bryant pisses on the grave of the guy he scraped off his car with a fire hydrant, and the CBC mops it up with our money.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/08/20/michael-bryant-interview-28-seconds.html

OMG!!!!!!

Truth is stranger than fiction!

La Leche League Canada rejects breastfeeding dad’s bid to become lactation coach

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1243822--la-leche-league-canada-rejects-breastfeeding-dad-s-bid-to-become-lactation-coach

@ snagglepuss at August 21, 2012 12:00 AM

Funny. Made my day.

I wrote 3 comments on the Globe's stories on the renowned and loved Jack. All 3 were deleted for offensive and abusive language. I guess the Globe does not want anyone slurring Jack's memory with comments on his debauching of a young asian woman forced into prostitution by Chinese gangs at a Rub n Tug, his living with his wife and mother in law in publicly subsidized housing while income must have topped $100,000, and his use of private health care clinics.

Oh well.

GM

I wrote 3 comments on the Globe's stories on the renowned and loved Jack. All 3 were deleted for offensive and abusive language. I guess the Globe does not want anyone slurring Jack's memory with comments on his debauching of a young asian woman forced into prostitution by Chinese gangs at a Rub n Tug, his living with his wife and mother in law in publicly subsidized housing while income must have topped $100,000, and his use of private health care clinics.

Oh well.

GM

Guy disrupts flight, forces landing. Movie producer who is present concludes that the blame for a bi-polar former heroin addict was screwed up by the war, not mental illness or drug use: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/how-to-deal-with-an-unruly-passenger-on-a-cross

I thought this was good:

Theo Fleury ‏@TheoFleury14

“If you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm” ~ Yiddish Proverb

https://twitter.com/TheoFleury14/status/237962439658962944

Photo Of The Day: Teleprompter Of The USA

http://www.reutersgallery.com/reutersgallery/?mode=view&id=1060

Ron- thanks, I was just going to post the same marvellous Photo of the Day. Says it all about Obama. Perfectly.

ron, that was the best picture of Obama I have seen.

Akin is a 100% moron. He's on Hanity again today and I gotta tell you he's a democrat plant for sure. There's just no way someone could be this stupid for real.

PET Cemetery Quiz: Who is?

Q: "a former advisor to Pierre Elliott Trudeau,"?

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Features/2012/08/20/20121886.html

Hints here:

"I'm not cynical. I'm optimistic. That's precisely why I'm in the race. The Liberals have to re-think, get back to fundamentals and there is most certainly room for them in the national political world."

Lies damned lies and stats etc., but this is just too good:

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/08/racism-by-political-party.html

Stolen from Ace of Spades.

Note, BTW, that slightly more white democrats than republicans favoured laws against interracial marriage (in 2002), and a slightly higher percentage of "strong republicans" over "strong democrats" said they'd be willing to vote for a black president.

While I don't consider these differences statistically significant, I do plan on emailing this to a few people.

Sanctimonious, big-bone-ded junkfood gobbler tortures little children by forcing them to eat kale and "cabbage sloppy joes" on what should be an exciting and wonderful day for them because she's a horrible witch.

http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=146132

I do love our cbc.

They have gone to the robocall well again and drawn a bucket of feed for their readers,expensive feed it is.

Remember the 31.000 complaints. The complaints that were touted by Bob Rae and reported on daily by the cbc. The complaints that were generated partially by a direct link at the cbc site. They have been downgraded again.

First ,they were 'complaints'. Then they became 'contacts'. Today ,they are 'expressions of concern'.

" to clear the air after an online campaign attracted 30,000-plus expressions of concern by Canadians."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/08/21/pol-cp-robocalls-complaints-elections-canada.html

A billion dollars doesn't get you much ,and I am concerned.

"Obama Administration Announces Seven Major Renewable Energy Infrastructure Projects"

"White House ^ | 8/7/2012 | Office of the Press Secretary"

"Today, as a part of his We Can’t Wait initiative, President Obama announced that seven nationally and regionally significant solar and wind energy projects will be expedited, including projects in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2921276/posts

...-

"Obama Curbs on Coal Pollution Rejected by U.S. Court"

"A federal court threw out a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule aimed at cutting pollution from coal-fired power plants, dealing a blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to curb harmful emissions.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington in a 2-1 ruling today struck down the EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule, saying the agency overstepped its legal authority and issued standards that were too strict. The court sided with power companies and mining groups challenging to the measure, which caps emissions in more than two dozen states."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/u-s-appeals-court-overturns-cross-state-air-pollution-rule.html

"Romney calls on Akin to stand down"

"Mitt Romney says Missouri congressman should quit Senate race in wake of 'legitimate rape' interview"

...-

"George Galloway condemned by party leader over rape comments

Respect party leader, Salma Yaqoob, describes MP for Bradford West's remarks as 'deeply disappointing and wrong'"

...-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

MSM didn't hear 'bout/cover "Let’s Erect A Plaque At 787 Dundas St W To Remember Jack Layton"?

It's "the official kick-off of Jackapalooza." (SDA)

...-

"One year later, still 'hard to believe' Jack Layton is goneMetroNews Canada
Public memorial marks first anniversary of Layton's deathToronto Sun
Readers respond: What do you think was Layton's greatest accomplishment?
Globe and Mail
Highly Cited:Olivia Chow reflects on life without JackCanada.com
In Depth:Layton's family still mum on his cause of deathCBC.ca"
"See all 72 sources »"
http://news.google.ca/

I recall a study of Question Period a couple of years ago that rated the worst offenders, the most partisan members and Jack was top of the list.