The Function of NPR as explained by the recent Federal ukase regarding bodily functions in urban areas and our new dictionary definition

Recently in the news was the story of the two women who passed the tough US Army Ranger School.  Skeptics have noted that the media displayed the usual praise for distaff achievement.  The two women who completed the ranger course were tough, but had to recycle and got breaks no guy could expect.  That was not widely noted in the media and someone I know who has knowledge of the Ranger program was upset that "the press got it wrong."

To think the press got it wrong because they did not see or report the obvious is to not understand current reality.  The press got the orthodox line perfectly and reported it exactly as they should.  No where is this more so than National Public Radio.

I listen to NPR because every advanced totalitarian country has a ministry of information and one needs to know how one is supposed to feel on any subject.  Notice, I did not say "think."  

One should hardly be surprised that the official line is that the two women were trailblazers if not goddesses.  America is more and more looking like the words from Alice in Wonderland, “Everyone has one, and all must have prizes.”  Except, that is, actual rangers who are too cis for orthodox comfort.

NPR has devolved into the depths of bizarre   In a rare excursion to the Big Apple, while walking up 5th Ave, we saw a man somewhat normal looking in that he was dressed in typical American bad taste.  For the record he was Caucasian and, thank God, not of our ethnic group.  We are kinda sensitive about that.

Anyway, he walked up to a telephone stand, (there are no more booths) and urinated in broad daylight as if he had entered the men’s room.  

Bums are everywhere so what does this have to do with NPR.  About the same time as the "you go ranger girls" story was in the news they had a segment about the administration’s fight for an important civil right.  It seems holy mother state wants to have urban governments not merely help the homeless, but canonize them.  Arresting people for urinating and defecating on city streets is now a federal no no.  

NPR was true to form and despite the pretend tone of evenhandedness, it was easy to see they were on message as to the government being enlightened and only yahoos would not see the justice of the homeless loosening their bowels when they desire.

MSNBC, CNN or the networks and local stations as well as the remaining press outlets are propaganda organs, as is even Fox to a certain extent.  

NPR is special, however.  NPR is how the Inner Party communicates to the Outer Party what is Goodthink.  Now of course, there is at this point no actual Inner or Outer Party, but there might as well be for NPR true believers.

Here in the Nova Anglia the phenomenon is oft encountered.  There are many in places like Cambridge who readily hear the newscasts and believe.  Maybe in parts of the Midwest this is not evident except in some university towns.  Here it is all too pervasive.

Thus, we shall update our short dictionary when we get around to it with the following entry:

National Public Radio: American Ministry of Information.  Its news apparatus serves as the method the Inner Party communicates to the Outer Party how to feel and believe on issues.

Indoctrination in New Bedford-Alma Del Mar Charter School is an early intervention re-education camp

On December 13, 2014 in New Bedford, MA a group of scholars, reacting to injustice, protested by chanting and holding signs.  

And what university did this corps of “scholars” attend.  Ah, this advanced group was not post-secondary.  Rather, they are second graders from the Alma Del Mar Charter School.

One has to admit to being impressed.  At their age, to be so enlightened is a gift few possess.  All I remember was that my contemporaries and I thought mostly about escaping the clutches of our pedagogues.  Then again, in second grade, I didn’t consider myself a scholar.

The Boston Globe reported;

“According to Will Gardner, the school’s founder and executive director, a “handful” of the school’s students requested to hold the protest after a lesson on citizenship and the First Amendment, in which topics in the media, including the August death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., were discussed.

The students from Shabrina Guerrier’s class asked the head of school, Emily Stainer, if they could hold the protest.”

Mr. Gardner also said the teacher made clear; “was very clear with the scholars that this was not to be an antipolice event in any way,”

Mr. Gardner used the word scholars* without irony.  There is a video in which he comes across as a bit smarmy.

The Globe also reported that; “The students from Shabrina Guerrier’s class asked the head of school, Emily Stainer, if they could hold the protest.”

Now I’m going out on a limb and guess that Shabrina’s class heard a story that may not have been completely evenhanded.  It is not likely a kid that age will want to do that unless prodded a tad.

Mr. Gardner should stop using the word Scholars and maybe use a more apt term, “Young Pioneers.”

George Borden, a local policeman whose daughter was a protesting scholar was under-amused.

“I don’t think 7-year-olds can come up with the idea to go out and protest on the street,” said Borden, whose daughter Alana was among the students on the sidewalk.

Ah, but Mr. Borden, don’t you see, you are not a scholar.

There are two sides to every story and maybe Officer Wilson should have been indicted.  I was not in the class at Alma Del Mar and cannot say if Scholar-Leader Gurrier was or was not truly even-handed.  My experience, as a kid and a parent makes me a doubter.

Somehow an invitation found its way into Officer Borden’s daughter’s backpack:

“Join us for a peaceful protest in New Bedford to stand up for justice for Michael Brown and Eric Garner and to protest against the unjust systems that allow police officers to kill Black  men and boys with immunity”

This had to be a miracle as Scholar Gardner claimed “The school did not issue any kind of invitation to any protest.”

*When Gardner uses the term “scholar” maybe “snowflake” would be more accurate.

Book Review - The Talkative Corpse by Ann Sterzinger

There are authors who can spin a plot and not provide good characters, and others can do the opposite.  At the suggestion of a friend, I read one of John Irving’s books.  The plot was, to be kind, not at all worth reading.  The characters were wonderfully drawn, saving the day for me.

I ended up reading another couple of his books.  No improvement, yet the man has had the plaudits of critics and I assume made a fortune with the movie of Garp.

I don’t know why the thought came to me, but I contrasted Irving’s books with A Talkative Corpse by Ann Sterzinger after reading.

It was with some optimism that I obtained Sterzinger’s book.  She is the editor of an online venue and in her reviews and columns expresses enough thoughtcrime to pique my interest.

That, however, was not the deciding factor.  More important was the price.  I am often stuck several hours a day without anything to do.  If I have my ancient laptop, I can write.  The kindle, a tool I never thought I would like, is my break.  Still, the budget is such that an outlay for a book that displeased would be a defeat.

I found The Talkative Corpse a generous bargain.  Sterzinger’s main character, John Jaggo, is also our entre to the others.  We don’t really hear them other than through Jaggo.  Even so, we get to know, if not love them.

Interestingly, the author is a woman, but her narration in a man’s voice is correct.  On her blog and columns she displays somewhat of a tough broad persona.  It may not be too far a stretch in portraying the hard life of John Jaggo.

The action centers around Jaggo, chronicling his non-happy life to be preserved for a post-history future.  When we meet him, he is at a low point, we guess.  His life does not seem to have had many high points for contrast.  One would not think such a depressed fellow would be a promising subject.

Jaggo, when we meet him has not recovered from a devastating end of his last relationship.  Our man paints a picture of a right witch.  He burns with a vast hatred for her.

John has a profession in which he was prosperous, but is no longer part of.  The jobs usually accessible to him are those that would be referred to as soul numbing.  This is a vehicle for Ann to expound on the class and employment landscape of the 21^st Century.

It is not a lovely view.  So-called capitalism is cruel and despite the supposed safety nets available, the cracks to fall through are wide.  Jaggo is adept at finding them.

Though it is not stated, there is evidence that the man is an alcoholic.  Certainly, he seems to be doing his part to keep the nation’s beverage industry healthy.

His relationship with his ex is not completely over.  There is occasional texting at strategic points of pain and she occupies a lot of space in his head.  His bitterness is heightened during inebriation, did we mention he is no stranger to that.

In one episode he evokes a, well I’m not sure what it is.  Bertram the animani becomes his boon companion and drinking buddy.  The conjured entity has a mission.  He will kill the most hated person in Jaggo’s life, but also the one he loves.

To complicate matters, Jaggo has found love.  Up to that point, his life and person do not make him all that loveable and hardly desirable.  Yet he and May connect over music and start making beautiful music together.

It appears May has a pure love for John.  There is wonderment in this because how could such a beautiful person love someone who has come across as an unattractive specimen.  This brings us to the voice of humility maxim, - Love is not merely blind, it is oft deaf, dumb and stupid.

May, for all her nobility of spirit shares John’s inability to attain an economically advantageous position in life, so there may be a clue there.

Now he at least has some purpose in life.  Well, two goals, love May and keep Bertram from killing her because of that.

There are parts of the book I can’t really get into.  The music John and May like is not anything I have much experience of listening to, having of, being born too late.  Moi, I never got the Rebecca Black hating, as I thought her song representative of most modern music. *

As noted on her blog, Ann does have a favorite music video.  It is not to bad, having some energy.  I don’t need to listen to it again.

Sterzinger has been linked to antinatalism.  This is the idea, as far as I understand it, that we would have been better off not being born.  For a good part of The Talkative Corpse, it is hard to argue that in regards to Jaggo’s sad life.  When he meets May, all better.  Life is still hard, he has to keep May alive and work at a lousy job, but existential purpose has arrived.

After Bertram finishes his task and departs, life will be forever sweet, or close enough we guess.  He ends his missive to the future and goes on.

Sterzinger’s style and way with metaphors, with her plot bespeaks a fine talent.  She deserves to be read ahead of most contemporary writers.  Did I mention one?

Ann Sterzinger has another book out that I would have read but it is not on Kindle.  When, that happens, I shall, if it is at a reasonable price get it.  I doubt that is going to happen. NVSQVAM has been getting some good reviews that does not augur well for us cheapskates.

*A daughter had a period of fandom of a group call Fallout Boy.  I listened and the whelming was under.  Other than that, I suggest my opinions be taken with a grain of salt.

 

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With all the money spent on education, why is everybody so stupid?

Yesterday, on the car radio I'm listening with all my heart (not) to the news that the two parties are disagreeing about the interest rate for student loans. It's 3 something percent and could double. Oh my gosh, can't these solons be compassionate? Can't they solve anything? Well, no. The whole debate is a joke. The interest rate is a minor annoyance in the scheme of things. Little Brad or Heather spends four years at a nice school studying philosophy. It has been a rewarding experience. Something may have been learned, the brewery industry has been kept healthy. After the graduation ceremony when the relatives have all gushed, it's back to the room with the Muppet decor that they grew up in. If you can't get work that will pay off the $150thou what does a few percent on the debt really matter. Don't get me wrong, there is value to studying the soft majors, but not at any price. Besides, remember the Wizard of Oz granting a degree. You don't need it to actually be a philosopher. That's why Socrates never had to rip up all those please give letters from his alma mater. He was his alma mater. Let's call this bill what it really is, The Let's Keep the Faculty in Clover Relief Bill. Update, From the Huffer, Number Of PhD Recipients Using Food Stamps Surged During Recession.

Oh no, Taxajawea took away the fun.

Elizabeth Warren's got some splainin' to do. Except she doesn't. Her buddies are going to call anyone who call her a fraud a hater. truth is not an absolute defense here in the Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts. It seems the great great great grandmother who made her the trumpeted 1/32 Cherokee may have been Skandanavian. Unless someone in her fam stowed away when Leif was going home, the lass is 32/32 fraud. Yeah, I think she knew she was full of it. It's like the guys who claim to be Indians and have the drumming circle in my town. They look they have more relatives in County Cork than I do. Actually, she is going to put it behind her. I wish she would continue to claim that laughable 1/32. The jokes would have been fun. She may have been an Okie, but she is like any Yankee Puritan. always stopping people from having fun.

Who Cares? Tim Tebow and Class Warfare

The holy war is over. God lost as the secularist Patriots won.

Who cares about Tim Tebow and God? One heck of a lot of people in this country do. It should not have become all that important. In our ongoing class struggle, however, how one thinks on an issue marks one's position in society.

First, a wee primer on class warfare in modern, or, postmodern America if you will. In prior centuries, class was marked on you at birth. King at the top, then nobles and after that commoners. Commoners were either bourgeoisie or peasants at the bottom. Guess what, your ancestors were peasants. Yeah, maybe you can get a slight connection to Lord So and So on Ancestry.com, but the pre-modern world was often on the edge of famine. Producing food occupied the time of most of the world's population. Nobody really cared what the peasants thought.

Today, in a "First World" with a stable food supply, class is not assigned at birth. That does not mean we don't have markers. Some are blatant such as income and occupation. An internist is considered higher on the scale than a plumber, even if the plumber might make a little more.

Some are more subtle. In this sense, class can be considered cooties for adults. The question becomes who is cool and who is not. What is cool is a detached, above it all persona, except when it's not. If someone does not play the game, it's inquisition time. This explains why people got bent out of shape over Sarah Palin. The lass never said anything profound. What politician does? Just being flyover girl was a problem.

Actually, she had a greater sin than that. It is one that Tim shares. He doesn't care what the cool people think. This bugs the chattering classes. Consider the words of über-cool guy, Bill Press:

Jesus said a lot of strong things. But one of the strongest things he ever said was: When you pray, don't be like those hypocrites who like to stand on a street corner and pray, so everybody can see them.

Somebody ought to tell that to Tim Tebow.

Broncos quarterback Tebow's not only a Christian. He wants everybody to know he's a Christian. He brags about it, constantly. He wears Bible verses on his face. He kneels in prayer after every touchdown. And he thanks his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for every win.

There's only one thing wrong with that. By dragging God into every football game, Tebow makes a mockery of Christianity - and trivializes religion. The truth is, God doesn't care who wins an election, a bingo game, or a football game. Sorry, Tebow, Jesus is not a Broncos fan.

That first paragraph is true. Press is correct. Time and place is everything. Of course, when the déclassé stand up and display their faith, it can be a powerful thing. When all the Polish Solidarity members publicly went to confession in the Gdansk shipyard, the atheist regime got antsy. Press is really saying, "Stay in the closet, don't be uncool." Bill is a Catholic layman. He forgets how, at least a few decades ago, all us Papist little leaguers would cross ourselves coming up to bat.

Tebow himself has made it clear that God does not care about football. Is he sincere? Maybe Bill Press has a window into his soul. You can be sure Press was a New England fan yesterday.

Press also said, Now, if you're one of the silly millions of Americans who loves Tebow's in-your-face kind of Christianity, consider this. What if he were a devout Muslim, who bowed to Mecca after every touchdown and shouted "Allahu Akbar?"

Somehow, I don't think we'd be celebrating him as a national hero.

That's my parting shot for today.

One would not be surprised if when that happened, Bill would find a Moslem standing for his faith refreshing.

Moi, I hope God, no matter how he is perceived, does not care. Football is boring. That's why they need cheerleaders.