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The other day I was getting worked up over Oklahoma requiring Bibles in every classroom. Then, I began to think why. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a bad idea and we should try to stop it. On the other hand, as bad ideas go, it is far down the list on what is important. Some religious people think that the mere presence of the Bible in the classroom will somehow magically change the children forced to sit in a room with it into Christians.

I am betting this won’t happen. If I seriously thought that these proponents of the Bible in the classroom could create an effective educational program that incorporated the Bible I might be worried. They really have no ideas beyond prayer and patriotism and if they tried to do anything more they would begin to fight among themselves. Christians, if you recall, have violently argued with one another for centuries about Christian Doctrine. Indeed, this was the main reason why the Founding Fathers wanted a religious neutral government — Christian sects have a tendency to rumble if it is possible to get an upper hand with another Christian sect.

So why is this meaningless gesture getting me so worked up? Because it is headline news. The press is only interested in controversy. Controversy brings in readers which brings in ad revenue and so the press will search for controversial issues to feed to the American public. They aren’t feeding the public anything that is particularly nutritious either. It is more like a table filled with desserts that we can’t help but pile onto our plates and finish them off in one sitting. Until we make ourselves sick.

It is an easy enough bon bon to make too. Anything to do with religion in public schools was sure to piss of every secular humanist in the country while getting the full fledge support of fundamental Christians. Some editor somewhere decided to fed this particular controversy to the American public because they knew their readers would lap it up and then raise their fists ready for battle. Sadly, they were correct.

What is so annoying is that I know this is the game. Sensationalism is the only consistent menu item and I keep falling for it. There is a good chance that the Bibles in every classroom will never happen or it will be slowed down in the courts for years to come and, after a few years of squabbling over this, and realizing that it is way too difficult to make it happen, the combatants will move on to something new to argue about.

More worrisome, is it illustrates the Media’s focus on divisive topics. Anyone looking at education would think that the most important topic in American education is the treatment of Trans children because a lot of people are talking about it. In reality, there are 73,000,000 people in the USA under the age of 18.. Of those 73,000,000, 42,000 of them have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and only 4,200 of these children have started hormone therapy. This means that when people are talking about this, they are talking about .00005 % of the student population.

The treatment of Trans children in public schools and religion in the public schools need to be addressed but that it dominates any discussion regarding education in the 2024 campaign is out of all proportion to how it affects the vast majority of public school students. It is there only to instill rage and division which is all really great fun for the Press but does very little to improve public schools.

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Donald Trump apparently calls Kamala Harris a bitch. In private. So what? Why is this a headline? Why is this shocking?

  1. It is private behavior. He can say what ever wants to say in private including calling Kamala Harris a bitch.
  2. Donald Trump has a history of bad mouthing almost everybody including members of his own party. Is it really that shocking to discover that he calls a political opponent who is presently besting him a bitch? And, least we forget, he did it in private.
  3. What are people supposed to do with this information? So Trump calls Harris a bitch? Yes it is sexist but so what? Bitch sometimes is the right word. I mean would bastard be better? If I am mad at someone, I might call them a bitch. I find it hard to condemn a man for doing something that I might do particularly if it is done in private.

The only interesting thing about this little tidbit is that someone close to Trump wants to screw him over and they are talking to the press. Now that is interesting to me.

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J.D. Vance was overheard telling his son to shut up about his Pokemon passion the other day. Of the many sins of Vance this is way down on my list of something to be concerned about. In fact, it puts him in a relatable situation the many parents might experience — their children being annoying while he is trying to get something done. Maybe he could have handled it a bit better but when a person is busy and a child is pestering him about Pokemon, it seems like a reasonable place to snap. Shut the Hell up seems about right. This is an unremarkable bit of justifiable annoyance. It doesn’t make him a bad parent and it is certainly unworthy of a top position on the Daily Beast’s top 10 Cheat List.

Nor do I care much about Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband, having an affair while he was married to his first wife. To be clear, I wouldn’t care even if he had been having an affair while being married to Harris. If Harris and Emhoff have made their peace about it, it is none of my business. Wait, let me expand on that thought. Even if they still were fighting about it today, it wouldn’t be any of my business. And I really think it’s ballsy for Republicans to leak this bit of news to the press when Donald Trump, a frequently unfaithful husband, is their standard bearer.

However, I don’t blame the political operatives dredging up such nonsense though. They are just doing their jobs. They are paid to find dirt and to publicize it. They are hoping that some piece of dirt might influence voters to decide for them.The problem is the press and selling newspapers. They can print the dirt or not. Dirt sells newspapers, so the press will headline any and every personal indiscretion in the hopes that this bit of salacious gossip sells more newspapers. Sadly, it must work or else the press wouldn’t be spending so much time talking about these trivialities.

This doesn’t excuse the press in the least. It is comparable to a parent feeding his child only sweets because that is all she will eat. A diet of chocolates would damage the health of the child. They aren’t getting the fruits and vegetables required for a healthy diet. Just because the American Public buys bull shit doesn’t mean you have to serve bullshit. Every headline taken up with Doug Emhoff’s first marriage and J.D. Vance’s snappy parenting, is space taken away from topics that really matter — things like homelessness, or immigration, or inflation or the situation in the Middle East.

Thanks for the information though I am sure I will find it helpful on November 5.

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Speaking as a sexy man, I just don’t think this particular fig leaf is worth the effort.

First, there are way too many straps. I prefer that my underwear is easy to put on and take off. I am pretty certain I would get caught in the tangle of straps and that the flame of passion would be extinguished before I could untangle myself from my underwear.

Then, the straps would need to be adjustable for the improportionate man. Let’s face it that is most of us. Which means it will either sag who knows wear or be so tight as to make breathing impossible and endangering younger men’s potential for children.

There would also be problems if the straps were adjustable. The challenge would be to balance the straps so that the whole ensemble looks enticing. The more straps, the more time spent adjusting. This looks like a good half an hour of adjusting just to get it on. Every minute spent dressing is one less minute spent seducing, not a very good distribution of effort to result ratio if you ask me. Better to spend it on sweet nothings than strap encumbered underwear.

Creeping underwear syndrome would cause further problems if the gentleman is entertaining the object of his desire with a candlelight dinner first. How many trips to the bathroom would a man have to make before he got the straps adjusted in such a way that he could both sit and stand comfortably? I shudder to think what his date might think is going on after the fifth trip to the restroom. I am betting it isn’t I can’t wait to seem him in his multiple strapped underwear.

Sorry, I think I am going to stick with simple pair of jockeys and hope that the sinewy display of abs and gluts will make up for the lack of straps.

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So a Florida Millionaire was trying to kill his wife. After numerous failed attempts, he only managed to scare the shit out of his wife and his children. He upped the game a bit by paying a hit men $150,00 to kill wife with an additional $150,000 if the hitman could complete the task before their court date.

The man had hundreds of millions of dollars but he would rather kill his wife than give her a divorce settlement. I don’t know about you but I can’t understand such foolishness. He would still have a fortune if he had to give her 50%. But no, he would rather risk killing her than give her a penny. His wife, however, got the better end of the bargain as the cops found out about it. He was forced to commit suicide before they arrested him. I also am assuming that she might get a portion of his estate, so win win for her.

This man clearly had way too much money. Better that it went to taxes to buy solar panels in Seattle.

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I am of two minds about the Olympic opening ceremonies Last Supper controversy. In a previous blog, I explained how I think that the people behind the opening ceremonies were being disingenuous in their denial that they were showing a Bacchanalian Feast and not satirizing da Vinci’s the Last Supper with a transvestites, transexuals and gay people. I personally thought they were satirizing the Last Supper while I was watching it. Only to be told, after the shit hit the fan, that it was something else altogether.

It simply defies logic that millions of people around the world would think the Last Supper and be so wrong. Denying it is insulting to the intelligence of the people watching the show and, more importantly, an out right lie. The controversy is still going on and now nobody rightly believes the Paris Olympic Committee. It would just be easier to own up to it and thank them for bringing it to their attention. You know the typical Customer Service response you hear when the company has no intention of doing anything about the complaint.

I also have a big problem with the people who got bent out of shape about it. People have been using the Last Supper for years without any backlash from the Christian Community. Buzzfeed has put together a list of 50 plus examples if you are looking for some evidence. How is putting Marilyn Monroe or Albert Einstein or Homer Simpson at the head of the table any more blasphemous than a transvestite? It is a joke.

It’s the painting that is being satirized not Jesus. I think it is highly unlikely that the good Christians complaining about the Paris Olympic version of the Last Supper have never seen a satiric version of the painting. A simple google search provides numerous examples as I have shown. I remember seeing one in the basement of one of my Dad’s friends. The Last Supper was with dogs instead of Jesus and apostles My Dad’s friend was practicing Catholic as well as my Dad who thought it was pretty funny. So now you are getting mad. So now anyone who uses the Last Supper in a satiric way is anti-Christian. Spare me the faux outrage because I don’t believe it for one minute.

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When I first saw the tableau of the Bacchanalian Feast at the Paris Olympics, my first thought was they are making fun of the Last Supper. It popped into my mind almost at first sight. Millions of other people had exactly the same thought which leads me to question the official explanation that it had nothing to do with da Vinci’s the Last Supper and was merely showing a Bacchanalian Feast with Greek Gods.

This explanation might fly a bit better if a good portion of the world wasn’t so familiar with the Da Vinci painting. It is also a little insulting to your critics to say you idiots can’t you see this has nothing to do with the Last Supper. These are Greek Gods sitting there at the table. This is all Bacchanalian Feast and no Last Supper. It isn’t our fault that you ingrates can’t tell the difference.

Isn’t art a personal experience? So even though your intention was to show a Bacchanalian Feast, I saw the Last Supper. And, if you were to show it to me again. I am pretty sure I would still see the Last Supper because my familiarity with Greek Gods is minimal while I know a great deal about Jesus and Christianity. It isn’t likely that I will ever see what you are intending me to see, so your vehicle might not be the best one to convey a Bacchanalian Feast if, indeed, it was your intention not to make fun of the Last Supper. To be clear, I was amused when I first saw it. But I was amused because I thought they were making fun of the Last Supper with drag queens. Since I am not a Christian, I can enjoy the joke.

On the other hand, if I were a Christian, I might have other feelings which, I would think, people who were putting together such a show for a large and diverse audience might take into consideration. I seriously doubt that the smart and cultured people putting the Olympic show together are unfamiliar with the Last Supper. It is, after all, one of da Vinci’s most famous paintings, one that a large portion of the Olympic audience might be familiar with. So, the Bacchanalian Feast response to the uproar this performance caused is more than a little disingenuous. They knew what they were doing and they maybe were even a little suspicious of the reaction they would receive and they went ahead any way.

So, yeah, obviously a Bacchanalian Feast, can’t understand why people are making such a big deal about it.

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Every gay person’s coming out worry is the reaction of their parent’s. Will they be supportive or will they go bat shit crazy? I was terrified even though I was fairly confident that my parents would be fine and they were. It still scared me and I was in my 30″s. What if they reject me? What would I do? What would I say?

Elon Musk telling the world his child is dead to him because she underwent puberty blockers and transitioned into being a woman is disturbing. He could have kept his mouth shut or say he doesn’t talk about his family publicly. Sadly, he is done with her — she is dead to him.

It sounds very much like the daughter gives as good as she gets which might explain some of Musk’s animosity towards her. The difference is he is in the public eye. When Elon Musk speaks, people listen. Because of this, he has a certain responsibility to speak decently and thoughtfully where she does not. What kind of message is he sending to the world when a parent publicly behaves in such a horrible way towards his own child? How many children had their worst fears confirmed about how their own parents might act because of how Musk acted in disowning his daughter?

Nothing is forcing a person to say unkind things in public. Saying nothing at all delivers a message. It shows people his family is off limits for public consumption and he isn’t going to play that game just to get headlines. He is going to protect his family from the limelight especially when he has trouble with his child’s decision. People in the public eye don’t have to feed the media monster.Giving them what they want only encourages them to get even more. Musk would have done the world a great favor by modeling decent behavior.

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Throughout my work life, I have been told numerous times that my wages were in line with industry standards. For some reason, this bullshit answer actually shuts down any follow up questions regarding increases in workers wages. How can you argue with wages that are in line with industry standards? Every one else is getting the same.

But we should. Start with why is keeping wages in line with the industry standard even the goal. Wouldn’t you want to have the best wages to attract the best workers? Keeping wages in line with a standard wage is unfair to the regular worker particularly if the company is a financial success.

I understand if a company is struggling and needed wage concessions to survive, the employees might agree to those cuts in order to keep the company going. People wouldn’t be saying you have to keep your wages in line with industry standards. The company needs saving, sacrifices have to be made.

Then why would you say that when the company is successful? Shouldn’t the workers share in the success of the company?

The concern is that if one company gives their low wage workers a pay rise, that other companies, within that industry, will have to pay higher wages in order to compete. Yes, exactly, after all isn’t that what market capitalism is all about. The best workers should get best wages. But, no, this isn’t the case. Wage increases at the low end of the scale causes inflation.

This same philosophy, however, does not apply to wages at the high end of the scale. Large increases at the high end of the scale doesn’t cause inflation to the broader economy because fewer people receive them. It does, however, cause wage inflation for those few people who get them. This is why there has been such a dramatic rise in wages for upper management.

This isn’t, however, capitalism because the low wages are artificially low to control inflation which everyone agrees is important except when it comes to prices and executive wages. There is an industry standard for low wage workers and companies want to adhere to this standard to keep wages low across the industry. Inflation, you know.

So whenever I hear people moan about how bad employees are today, I ask — are you paying above market wages in order to get the very best people. If you want good workers, you have to pay for it. Right? Isn’t that the whole spirit of market capitalism. If not, then why exactly do you think your industry standard wages will get you the employees you want? It makes no sense in a capitalist economy. You should expect mediocre employees with little interest in putting in their full effort into the job because they could lose their jobs today and find a comparable job tomorrow.

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Here is the thing If rich people put money back into their business and their employees, I can see giving them some kind of tax break. But a lot of their money is spent on bull shit. If they can afford the bull shit, they can also afford the additional taxes. It isn’t taking money away from investing in their business either. It is taking money from them spending it on bullshit. There is this notion out there that we can’t afford to help the poor with government programs that bring more equity to the society. The money is there it is just misallocated.

Here is another glaring example of this misallocation.

Andrew Garfield’s new girlfriend is apparently a witch. She charges $1,000 for a Tarot reading. I would rather it went to a street person buying cheap wine than it went for this bullshit. At least the homeless person would get drunk for a number of days which is certainly a much more tangible result than telling the fortunes of rich people and bilking them out of a few dollars.

Every time someone claims we just don’t have enough money, I hope you keep these waste’s of money in mind.