Author: Kim du Toit

News Roundup

Bad News

Please note the health warning.

The Great Win11 Update Fuckup nuked all the links for today’s Roundup, but somehow I managed to recover almost all of them.  You may thank me later.


...never mind the little donut shops;  how about Archer-Daniels-Midland and Hormel meat packing operations?


...we don’t need a psychiatrist for this one.  Two words:  bad boys.


…

In similar news:


...and apartheid never existed, either.

In the Hearts Of Stone Dept.:


…

And in more news from The Great Cultural Assimilation Project©:


...only because those damn spoilsports at the Fed wouldn’t let us use the place for Air National Guard bombing practice.


....because they just don’t have enough criminals in the country yet.  (see below)


...gosh, who could have seen this coming?  Oh, all of you, huh?

And still on the topic of crime:


...oh wait, did Diddums think that stabbing someone to death was just a childish game?  Welcome to Death Row, choirboy.
#NorthCarolina.

In the Dept. of Health News:


… …  AND:


...which isn’t going to do anything, because the whole service is irretrievably fucked.

In Green Business News:


...but-but-but I was told by all the knowledgeable people that EVs were the future of the automobile industry!  Also:


...serves them right for thinking that Aston buyers actually wanted a Duracell version of the DB.

Turning to Entertainment News:


...so what?  It’s already a trashy movie series — and has been since From Russia With Love.

And now, the part everybody’s been waiting for — 

And in a hard drive [sic] down :


...ah yes, young Paige:  how we have missed you.  For those with short memories, a brief refresher:

 

 

 

 

Consider yourselves refreshed.  Or something.

And About Damn Time

Language

I’ve gone on and on about this topic so many times I’m starting to bore myself, but this is indeed a welcome development:

You might have thought the United States had an official language, considering it was founded by British colonizers who were looking for religious freedom and wanted to distance themselves from the overbearing English monarchy. Virtually all official documents in our republic have been penned in the English language, from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on down, but for some reason, it has never been designated as our official national tongue.

That all changed on Saturday, as President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order mandating that we now have one unifying language tying us all together.

Nothing repeat nothing has the power to divide a society when we aren’t able to communicate with each other.  I speak here after having grown up in an officially bilingual country and seeing for myself how bitterly divisive that can be.

And I absolutely do not care if newcomers to this country are unable to understand what’s going on because they don’t understand English.  The English expression for that is “tough shit”, and that might as well be the first expression — and concept — that should be learnt when the huddled masses arrive here.

I’m not going to hold up other nations as examples — although try conducting any kind of official business in France without understanding French — and considering that our republic’s foundation was laid upon the English language, we have been foolish in not establishing that principle from the outset.

And frankly, Margaret, I don’t actually care if that seems cruel or uncaring to the newly-arrived.  If we choose to accommodate foreigners by posting signs that read “Itt magyarul beszélnek“  or whatever, it is purely an accommodation and not an obligation.

To quote POTUS:

From the founding of our Republic, English has been used as our national language.  Our Nation’s historic governing documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, have all been written in English.  It is therefore long past time that English is declared as the official language of the United States.  A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language…

Accordingly, this order designates English as the official language of the United States.

Quote Of The Day

Taxes and Theft

From Bill Hoge, in discussing POTUS’s plan to close over one hundred I.R.S. offices:

“Why do we need taxpayer assistance centers? Why are our taxes so freaking complicated that people with graduate degrees have to fork over thousands of dollars to their CPAs because the tax code is so convoluted that only a full-time tax nerd can figure them out?”

That’s a really good question.  My favorite story about the I.R.S. is the one where someone called a few of these “assistance centers” because he had a problem with something on his return.  Every single one of the centers gave a different answer to his question — in other words, the I.R.S.’s own staff couldn’t navigate their way through the code.

I remember Mr. Free Market’s tale of paying his income tax in Hong Kong, back when he lived there (pre-CCP takeover).  Every December he would go to the local tax office with the HK equivalent of an IRS Form 1099 from his employer (which stated only that his salary was $x — there were no deductions or withholdings whatsoever).  He would then write out a cheque for 5% of that amount, the clerk would stamp his 1099 as proof of payment… and that was it.

Frankly, I would have no problem with paying a flat (and fixed-forever) tax rate of 7% on that basis.  (“Why 7% and not 5%, Kim?”  Because unlike Hong Kong, we need to pay for things like naval carrier groups and interstate highways, which I like and support).  I would even support paying 7% of my Social Security, as long as everybody — including welfare recipients — paid the same tax rate on gross income, without exemption (or deductions).  Only if you have skin in the game should you be allowed to vote on the subject, e.g. raises to the rate, which I’d want protected by a Constitutional amendment anyway.

Feel free to explain to me why I’m wrong.  Good luck with that.

R.I.P.

Bad News, Entertainment

Like most people, I suspect, I was saddened to hear of the death of actor Gene Hackman a couple of days back.  I know he retired from acting well over a decade ago, but his career was so long, and featured such brilliant roles that he deserves to be in any pantheon of great actors. He might even be the best.

While his forte was dramatic roles, he showed an unexpected flair for comedic ones too, and some of his best performances were when he combined the two.

So my question for the day:  What are your 5 favorite Gene Hackman performances?  (list is here)

Mine:

  • The Conversation (Harry Caul)
  • Unforgiven (Sheriff “Little Bill” Dagett)
  • Mississippi Burning (FBI agent Anderson)
  • Get Shorty (Harry Zimm)
  • Target (Walter Lloyd) — by the way, a totally silly movie, but Hackman is beyond brilliant in it.

Honorable mentions (next five, any of which could have been in the top 5):  The French Connection (Popeye Doyle), Bonnie & Clyde (Buck Barrow) Under Suspicion (Henry Hearst), Hoosiers (Coach Dale) and The Royal Tenenbaums (Royal Tenenbaum).

Honestly, considering that Hackman’s career spanned sixty-odd years, I could have picked yet another five quite easily;  and it was absolute hell to pick only a Top 5.

I’ve seen pretty much all his movies, and I’m trying to think of a bad performance.  Can’t.  (Some of the movies stank — see Target, above — but that’s not his fault.)  I have several Hackman movies on DVD, and I think I’ll watch a couple tomorrow.

Random thought:  he had the worst hair of any actor, ever.  Yet he still turned in brilliant performances regardless.

R.I.P. Gene, and thanks for all of them.

For what it’s worth, John Nolte agrees with me, more or less.