Failed Propaganda

The morons at “Our Dogs” posted this graphic, to which I responded:

“First they came to end slavery, but I did not speak up because I did not own slaves and knew it was wrong.

“Then they came to impose food standards, and I did not speak up because I ran an honest business and did not poison my customers.

“Then they came to impose wage and hour laws and work safety standard, and I did not speak up because I opposed child labor, paid good wages, profit-shared, and liked the folks in my community to not be blind, crippled, or disfigured.

“Then they came to me and I spoke up, voting for the politicians that made my community safer, more prosperous, less oppressed, and healthier.

“And we all saw it was good.”

American Hunting Vs UK Shooting

South Dakota is about 1.53 times larger than England, and is a primary state for pheasant hunting in the US.

For comparison purposes — and because I am a demographer by training — the population of South Dakota is 935,000 as compared to 59 million for England.

South Dakota pheasant hunting is (for the most part) *hunting* and not merely bird *shooting*, as is far more common in the UK.

Over at Outdoor Life, Natalie Krebs notes that South Dakota pheasant hunters are now out-numbered by out of state hunters, and that public lands hunting (unheard of in the UK) involves actual work.

“DIY public-land pheasant hunting, especially during poor bird years, isn’t for the faint of heart. I’ve had to work for my limits of wild roosters over the seasons, slogging miles through nasty weather, thick cover, cattail sloughs, and rolling hills. Last weekend I hiked 9 miles over public ground with my dog (who covered 15 on his own four legs) and two buddies to fill our three limits. It was one of the best days of pheasant hunting I can remember.”

That said, in an America raised on one-minute rice and 200-channel television, more and more heavily-stocked commercial pheasant shoots are popping up.

“In the last quarter century, the number of licensed pheasant preserves across the state has grown substantially, from 157 in 2001 to a record 237 last season. Preserves must be a minimum of 160 acres (and no more than 2,560 acres). And over the past nine seasons, the harvest of released captive pheasants shot on preserves has climbed 50 percent (this excludes incidental harvest of wild birds). During the 2025-26 season, hunters shot about 400,000 pheasants on preserves — a record high.”

How do those numbers compare to pheasant shoots in the UK?

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and the RSPB estimate that roughly 42.5 million to 47 million pheasants are released across English estates annually, with total British releases estimated around 50 million.

So, to put a point on it, even US commercial “pheasant preserves” are not the potted chicken shoots found in the UK, where so many birds may be shot that over 50 percent are not even plucked or eaten.

The full Outdoor Life article is here >> https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/south-dakota-pheasant-hunting-traditions/

For more about proposed licensing of bird shoots in the UK, see >>  https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/aug/23/new-licensing-for-game-shoots-could-stop-poisoning-of-birds-of-prey

Dear White Evangelicals…

From John Pavlovitz, a Christian minister, circa January 2018: 

White Evangelicals, This is Why People  Are Through With You — 

Dear White Evangelicals,

I need to tell you something: People have had it with you.

They’re done.

They want nothing to do with you any longer, and here’s why:

They see your hypocrisy, your inconsistency, your incredibly selective mercy, and your thinly veiled supremacy.

For eight years they watched you relentlessly demonize a black President; a man faithfully married for 26 years; a doting father and husband without a hint of moral scandal or the slightest whiff of infidelity.

They watched you deny his personal faith convictions, argue his birthplace, and assail his character—all without cause or evidence. They saw you brandish Scriptures to malign him and use the laziest of racial stereotypes in criticizing him.

And through it all, White Evangelicals—you never once suggested that God placed himwhere he was,
you never publicly offered prayers for him and his family,
you never welcomed him to your Christian Universities,
you never gave him the benefit of the doubt in any instance,
you never spoke of offering him forgiveness or mercy,
your evangelists never publicly thanked God for his leadership,
your pastors never took to the pulpit to offer solidarity with him,
you never made any effort to affirm his humanity or show the love of Jesus to him in any quantifiable measure.

You violently opposed him at every single turn—without offering a single ounce of the grace you claim as the heart of your faith tradition. You jettisoned Jesus as you dispensed damnation on him.

And yet you give carte blanche to a white Republican man so riddled with depravity, so littered with extramarital affairs, so unapologetically vile, with such a vast resume of moral filth—that the mind boggles.

And the change in you is unmistakable. It has been an astonishing conversion to behold: a being born again.

With him, you suddenly find religion.
With him, you’re now willing to offer full absolution.
With him, all is forgiven without repentance or admission.
With him you’re suddenly able to see some invisible, deeply buried heart.
With him, sin has become unimportant, compassion no longer a requirement.
With him, you see only Providence.

And White Evangelicals, all those people who have had it with you—they see it all clearly.

They recognize the toxic source of your inconsistency.

They see that pigmentation and party are your sole deities.
They see that you aren’t interested in perpetuating the love of God or emulating the heart of Jesus.
They see that you aren’t burdened to love the least, or to be agents of compassion, or to care for your Muslim, gay, African, female, or poor neighbors as yourself.
They see that all you’re really interested in doing, is making a God in your own ivory image and demanding that the world bow down to it.
They recognize this all about white, Republican Jesus—not dark-skinned Jesus of Nazareth.

And I know you don’t realize it, but you’re digging your own grave in these days; the grave of your very faith tradition.

Your willingness to align yourself with cruelty is a costly marriage. Yes, you’ve gained a Supreme Court, a few months with the Presidency as a mouthpiece, and the cheap high of temporary power—but you’ve lost a whole lot more.

You’ve lost an audience with millions of wise, decent, good-hearted, faithful people with eyes to see this ugliness.
You’ve lost any moral high ground or spiritual authority with a generation.
You’ve lost any semblance of Christlikeness.
You’ve lost the plot.
And most of all you’ve lost your soul.

I know it’s likely you’ll dismiss these words. The fact that you’ve even made your bed with such malevolence, shows how far gone you are and how insulated you are from the reality in front of you.

But I had to at least try to reach you. It’s what Jesus would do.

Maybe you need to read what he said again—if he still matters to you.

Fun With Maps, Alaska Edition

At 586,000 square miles, Alaska is larger than California, Texas, and Montana combined.

Alaska’s population is 738,000, with nearly half of the state’s residents live in Anchorage.

Brachy Breed Registrations Plummet

From VetTimes >> https://www.vettimes.com/news/vet-nursing/small-animal-vets/is-message-finally-hitting-home-brachy-dog-registrations-plummet

Fresh figures show that registrations of English bulldogs, pugs and French bulldogs have plummeted in the past year.

The UK Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG) welcomed newly released data from the Royal Kennel Club (RKC) showing registration of the three key brachycephalic breeds respectively declined by 30%, 37% and 44% between 2024 and 2025.

The drop is well above the underlying reduction in overall RKC registrations in that time – which fell 15% from 187,772 to 158,901 – said to indicate a disproportionate reduction in their popularity within the registered population.

Amid extensive BWG campaigning to raise awareness of the health issues caused by extreme conformations including flat faces, excessive skin folds, spinal abnormalities and congenital short tails, RKC figures also demonstrated a decade-long fall in registrations of the three breeds.

The RKC revealed a 92% drop in pug registrations between 2016 and 2025 (10,408 to 834), while French bulldog registrations fell by 64% from 21,470 to 7,750 and English bulldog registrations dropped by 65% from 7,785 to 2,711.

The decreases are said to have continued year-on-year over that period.

BWG chair and RVC professor of companion animal epidemiology Dan O’Neill said: ‘After a decade of BWG campaigning, it is heartening to see signs that the British public as a nation of animal lovers are recognising and taking action to ensure no dog suffers due to selective breeding for a flat-faced look.

We urge the British public to continue to ‘Stop and think before buying a flat-faced dog’ whether RKC registered or not.’

Last year, Prof O’Neill co-authored a study that indicated public preference for less extreme body shapes among brachycephalic dogs.

But veterinary and animal welfare organisations insist there is still more work to be done, with a ‘new normal’ emerging among younger owners driven by social media.

BVA senior vice-president Elizabeth Mullineaux added: ‘These new figures are an encouraging sign that campaigns such as BVA’s #BreedToBreathe and collaborative work by the BWG are beginning to have a positive impact on demand.”

“Of course, we know that there’s a large population of flat-faced dogs who aren’t RKC registered who’re being bred and brought across the UK, or being imported from abroad, so there’s still work to be done to tackle irresponsible breeding and to improve the overall welfare of these breeds.

“Our advice to anyone looking to get a puppy continues to be to prioritise health over looks.

Battersea recently launched a new ‘Cost of Cute’ campaign seeking to raise awareness of the significant financial, emotional and welfare tolls that extreme physical aesthetics can carry with them for owners and their pets.

Caroline Jenkins, Battersea’s head of campaigns, said: “The registration data is a promising sign that the public demand for flat-faced dogs may be decreasing; however, among younger owners our research shows that expectations of how animals should look, behave and be treated are changing with a ‘new normal’ emerging.

“‘Pets that have exaggerated features remain incredibly popular on social media and online sales platforms – yet our social media feeds rarely show the full picture.”

New From F-Elon Musk?

My New Business Venture

I will sell you a real one for less. Mine are made in America, organic, fair trade, ethically-sourced, foraged by an artisanal craftsman. See >> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HKLLB7J?

Two Truths and AI

Racist Oregon

“The Oregon black exclusion laws were a series of measures enacted in the 19th century to prevent black people from settling within the borders of the settlement and eventual U.S. state of Oregon. The first such law took effect in 1844, when the Provisional Government of Oregon voted to exclude black settlers from Oregon's borders. The law authorized a punishment for any Black settler remaining in the territory to be whipped with "not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes" for every six months they remained. Although the 1844 law authorized whipping as a penalty for Black residents who remained in Oregon beyond the prescribed period, there are no documented cases of anyone being whipped under the law. The whipping provision was replaced later in 1844, before the prescribed removal periods had resulted in its enforcement. 

“Additional laws aimed at African Americans entering Oregon were ratified in 1849 and 1857. The last of these laws was repealed in 1926. The laws, born of anti-slavery and anti-black beliefs, were often justified as a reaction to fears of black people instigating Native American uprisings.”

See >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_black_exclusion_laws

The Radical Notion of Direct Consequences.

You Pay More So They Don’t Pay At All

Fines Are Permission for the Rich

Trust, Built Over Years, Is Shattered In An Instance

No Small Thing

Election Work

This is what Tuesday was about for my wife and I — 17 hours as poll workers and judges. Democracy is a participatory sport. Thanks to all who participated.

You Get More of Whatever You Tolerate

One Giant Leap for Mankind

Attack of the Killer Monkeys

The only thing more absurd that women’s magazines are men’s magazines

It seems “monkeys on a raft” was a  popular cover story for men's pulp magazines in the 1950s for some reason. 

Calling Sigmund Freud!

Of course, for all I know this may be the very few times there is a small element of truth behind the story (perhaps a sinking boat with a load of monkeys for the laboratory and pet store trade?), and so it was picked up and repeated by the pulp magazine purveyors of shlock and fantasy.  

Call Dr. Jung too.  This may be a TWO psychiatrist situation!

——-

And no, *none of us* want our daughter to marry an American… but what are you gonna do? 

Space, the Final Frontier

My son-in-law built a Space Shuttle for the kids, Milo and Leo, who are going trick-or-treating as astronauts.  My daughter and SIL are going as aliens. Isn’t that a terrific Space Shuttle? 😀❤️

Big Mushroom On Top of Beehive

Two Truths and AI

Oregon’s Shameful History

From Wikipedia (link):

“The Oregon black exclusion laws were a series of measures enacted in the 19th century to prevent black people from settling within the borders of the settlement and eventual U.S. state of Oregon. The first such law took effect in 1844, when the Provisional Government of Oregon voted to exclude black settlers from Oregon's borders. The law authorized a punishment for any Black settler remaining in the territory to be whipped with ‘not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes’ for every six months they remained. Although the 1844 law authorized whipping as a penalty for Black residents who remained in Oregon beyond the prescribed period, there are no documented cases of anyone being whipped under the law. The whipping provision was replaced later in 1844, before the prescribed removal periods had resulted in its enforcement. 

“Additional laws aimed at African Americans entering Oregon were ratified in 1849 and 1857. The last of these laws was repealed in 1926. The laws, born of anti-slavery and anti-black beliefs, were often justified as a reaction to fears of black people instigating Native American uprisings.”

Not Careless… Sociopathic Predators

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Whiter Shade of Pale

Every Halloween I dress up as a serial killer.  They look just like everyone else – only whiter.

Patti Smith :: People Have the Power

Tortured Trees

Most downtown street trees are hammered by road salt and dog urine, shoe-horned into too small a space, with neither enough soil or enough water, and buffeted by pollution.  It’s a miracle that any survive to age 10.

Shit to Gold and Back to Shit

American politics is like driving: "D" for driving forward, and "R" for reverse.

Austin Running the Marine Corps Marathon

My son ran his second Marathon today — 26.219 miles with a total elevation gain of approximately 699 to 787 feet (213 to 240 meters).

His time (including 15 minutes not running due to leg cramps) was 3.32, which put him near the top 10 percent of all runners in the Marine Corps Marathon, and near the top 13 percent of all men, and for his age group (he’s 38) despite the sit-out.

His splits for the first 20 miles were fantastic.  

His next Marathon is November 15th in Richmond, Virginia and then it’s the Los Angeles Marathon on March 7th.

Make Average People the Metric

Jack O’Lantern Mushrooms In the Yard

Reading the Labels

My “27 grain” bagel this morning was made of fine Whole Wheat Flour, Oat Flakes, Brown Flax Seed, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, White Buckwheat, Golden Flax, Millet, Hemp Seeds, Corn, Triticale, Rye, Long Grain Brown Rice, Einkorn Wheat, Emmer, Durum, Spelt, Barley Flakes, Organic Khorasan Flakes, Wheat Flakes, Red Fife, Chia Seeds, White Quinoa, Amaranth, Sorghum, Poppy Seed, Teff Seed, Sugar, Vital Wheat Gluten, Molasses, Salt, Yeast, Cultured Wheat Flour, Vinegar, Degerminated Yellow Corn Meal, Inactivated Dry Yeast, Ascorbic Acid, Enzymes, and Gum Acacia.

Trump Is the Anti-Christ

How Do You Know That?

Most people have walked past a lot of gold mines because they were, essentially, lazy. 

“That’s just a pile if dirt,” they sniffed. 

And that was exactly what it was until someone who had the fire called desire produced a deep dish and began carefully washing the dirt.

It was slow work, and it took months, but in the end, there was a small vial of gold dust, and that gold was forever. It was gold that could neither be created nor destroyed. But could it be found? Oh yes. But not by everyone. Only by those with the fire called desire. 

And the lesson is this: If you truly want Gold, there is nothing I can say or do that will stop you. And if you don’t truly want Gold, there is nothing I can say or do that will help you, because all you well ever see is the dirt. You will never look at a pile of dirt as opportunity to find gold.

This is why I hate the question so often directed at me:  How do you know that?  

People ask as if knowing stuff is some sort of magic trick.  As if there’s some secret stash or magic URL.

The question is to trivialize the mining of the gold — to minimize the effort to know stuff and to be right more often than not.

Insatiable curiosity is both a blessing and a disease.  What it is most assuredly **not** is a magic trick.

When mining for information, you never stop at the flash.  You keep washing and reducing, separating the stones from the black sand and then the black sand from what appears to be gold.

But is it really gold?  

You test it, weigh it, fire it, treat it with mercury, and then — after thousands of hours — you reconstitute it as a small ingot, perhaps no larger than a little finger.

How did you get that you are asked, as if it must be an accidental or easy thing.  Where can I casually find gold like that?  Surely it’s some sort of alchemy, the kissing cousin of magic?

You point to the dirt and the pan.

It’s never the answer they are looking for, and it’s rarely one they even understand.

Surely there must be some trick? You can’t possibly have panned 40 tons of dirt to get what you got. Tell me the trick.

But there is no trick beyond sitting at river’s edge and shoveling tons of dirt into a sluce, followed by swirling the pan over whatever settles in the traps.

There is no magic.  It’s all suspiciously like work. 

———————-

Related Post:  Magical Thinking.

The New Patriotism Needs Grit

Fifty Years Ago

1976. This is equivalent to $34,800 today.  

My cell phone has 256 gigabytes — 256,000 megabytes.