Black History with Patriot’s Revival
A few weeks ago, I was a part of a panel discussion on Black History. I am not a fan of dividing history by race; however, if that is the current state of the matter, we must work within it to dismantle it and move to a better, more race-neutral future. The episode can be found in many places:
Vaccines are Corporate Products
The Left is of two minds when it comes to healthcare. They, one one hand, cheer and laud a broken kid who capped a CEO. On the other hand, they push sweeping vaccine mandates and attempt to destroy anyone (and that person’s entire family) if he decides to go a different path.
I recently came across this message:
This is an overbroad generalization. There are conditions (such as hemoglobinopathies) that make certain people susceptible to problems that are risks of vaccines. A quick read of the effects and post clinical results sections of an FDA insert can be illuminating. Those so-called "anti vaxxers" - as the Left calls them - do not "vax" as a result of the risks involved. Risks that were discovered strictly under doctor's orders.
I have a hemoglobinopathy and the threat is real. Further, I have a heart murmur that puts me at extreme risk of syncopic episodes. When a vaccine insert describes contraindications to hemoglobinopathies or it states syncope as a risk; I should not take that vaccine. It isn’t an ignorance of medicine, it is a deep and abiding respect therefor!!!
Vaccines are products sold by corporations. There are risks with any product and no sweeping judgment could possibly account for the efficacy of any product for all persons. It is interesting that when a CEO gets popped by a broken kid the Left celebrates, but when kids die of vaccine reactions the Left remains steadfast on the corporation's side. The assumption, "anti vax implies ignores doctors," is an ill-informed one at best and at worst a clickbaiting grift for social media self-aggrandizement.
WISD $170K Bid for Summerbridge
The Waxahachie Independent School District has a bid properly before it requesting $170K for a product called Summerbridge. This is a product that is supposed to help children retain what they had learned in school between grades. My letter to the school board and superintendent detail my feelings on the matter. This is all part of a $2M honeypot for “products.” My feelings are deeply negative for several reasons.
First and foremost, the bureaucrats are always complaining that teachers cannot be paid a sufficient wage. This is poppycock; if we have money for useless products, we have money for teachers. Secondly, the administration’s wages are bloated. Again, and again, and again, no bureaucrat in the State of TX should make more than the Governor. One cannot convince me otherwise. The Governor’s salary is about $173K; WISD has loads of folks making more than that!
The most important and striking reason for my negativity is that the products always push to parents what we pay the school district to do. They give students take home, over the summer work rather than providing the supports necessary to provide adequate instruction for students. Most people either have no degree or a useless degree - most parents are unequipped to teach their children chemistry, physics, calculus, and music.
Currently, we have the RINO, Greg Abbott, asking us if we want out money back so we can leave the public education system. That is EXACTLY what his version of school choice is asking. My issue is I have no counterargument. When our public schools would rather tell parents “here is a backpack full of shit you cannot understand, teach it to your child over the summer”, Abbott’s plan to give us our money back seems like a ray of sunshine in comparison.
WISD needs to do better than this if it wants to prove that public education and those who work within the system have our children’s best interests at heart.
Apple’s $95M Settlement
This Apple Settlement illustrates the reason why big tech keeps steamrolling through the proletariat. $95M for a privacy dispute affecting nearly every Apple user?! That's a joke, especially given the affected must make a claim to collect. History shows that, on average, about 8% of claims for such lawsuits are filed.
Even if, by some miracle, 100% of claims are filed, $95M is less than the rounding error on Apple's taxes. Apple's market cap is something over $3T. They don't care about $95M; it's a drop in the bucket. This settlement is nonsense and lacks any punitive touch. Plaintiffs contended that Apple could be liable for $1.5B if the matter went to trial. I believe even $1.5B is marginal compared to what the ad damnum should be.
When an impoverished man steals a loaf of bread to feed his family, he can face up to 25 years in prison, while Tim Cook can go into your home and invade your privacy for over a decade with impunity. There need to be real penalties for misuse of data and abuse of access. These data and access are given freely under the auspices of reasonable custodianship. When a breach of that trust occurs, the penalties should be severe.
If you read the End User License Agreement (EULA) for any software-based tech product, you will see page-after-page of legalese protecting the developer and distributor. You will see little-to-nothing protecting the user. The fix is simple: add a clause saying something substantially of the form “In the event of a data or privacy breach, the collective users of the software will be entitled to 5% of the average of the vendor’s last 3 years of revenue”. That’s real skin in the game.
For Apple, we would have ‘22, ‘23, ‘24 revenues of $394B, $383B, $391B. This would give us a payout of about $19.4B for a breach of trust such as this. I think this is acceptable, and if it is contractually obligated through EULA, the Court proceedings after a breach would be simplified. If there are no real consequences, the behaviour does not end. By putting a de facto price tag (such as $95M) on such a breach, we are letting companies of sufficient size know they can do whatever they want with limited issue.
We are smarter and stronger than this, America. Stand up and fight.
Black History Month
A lot has been said since President Trump’s Administration announced they would not fully endorse Black History Month as the Federal Government has done in the past. I have been in the trenches talking and chatting with We, the People, on the subject. My position is that I don’t really care for a Federal admission of any group, race, or creed. The government is not my daddy; it is not there to make me feel warm and fuzzies. The Government exists to shut up and stay out of the way until We, the People, as a whole, require protection.
A fellow black man I respect greatly posted this nonsense image, and I was compelled to respond.
To wit, I stated:
“People who could not walk got around just fine before DEI. Furthermore, Blacks were a strong and capable people before DEI. Just read some Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington (both born as slaves) and compare it to your standard white college graduate's writing today. There were plenty of persons who did big things hundreds of years before DEI was even a thought. The first Black elected to office I believe was Wentworth Cheswell. This was before, during and after the founding of the nation; he rode information missions during the same period as Paul Revere and was even a Judge. We were not to be fucked with before DEI; we won't be anything to fuck with now that it is gone. Stay strong, stay Black, stay above the noise!“
The ongoing effort to rewrite history to make it seem as though blacks, women, the handicapped, mentally infirm, and otherwise “othered” persons had nothing to do with building this great nation is a Leftist move I cannot tolerate.
The first thing Leftists do each and every time they attempt to take over a nation is rewrite history to divide the masses. Instead of bringing us all together based on our similarities, the Left continues to pull us apart because of our differences. Another such angle is the Morgan Freeman angle on the matter. Years ago, Mr. Freeman had a discussion with Mike Wallace about Black History Month and how he was against the very idea of it.
When Wallace asked, “How are we going to get rid of racism?” Mr. Freeman responded with, “Stop talking about it. I’m going to stop calling you a white man, and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.” There is a lot of power in these statements. We speak truth into race; it is an oversimplification of biology. For example, we say “blacks have a higher rate of hypertension than whites” because it is a lot simpler and easier to understand than “differences in ionic transport mechanisms, the renal epithelial sodium channel, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, and vasoactive substances can cause some to be at heightened risk for hypertension.“ The second is gibberish to the layperson, but it provides a basis for the medical industry to solve problems.
This is very similar to the “Black History Month” debate. Having a black history month is easy. It says, “Look at me! I am specifically calling out that blacks have history!” People understand this, it gives certain types of folks the warm and fuzzies. It is convenient but not useful. Having black history month; however, like stating “blacks have a higher rate of hypertension than whites,” hides the reasons for the disparities and provides no basis for a people correcting those disparities. Talking about race - forcing actions and discussion around race - causes a perpetuation of racism. We can only move forward, by teaching the fullness and richness of all history and solving real socioeconomic problems. We cannot move forward by whining about mere phenotype expression.
Anti Family Bills
A multitude of anti-family bills have been filed in the legislature. We must fight the assault on family at every turn. My response to a few especially egregious bills is linked here.
A brief summary of the bills, their sponsors, and content are: