‘Californication’: An Ode to the Decay of Modern Society

 Kurt Mahlburg - Intellectual Takeout

"The Red Hot Chili Peppers had first-hand experience of this. Eleven years before they released this song, the band lost their founding guitarist Hillel Slovak to suicide. He was just 26 years of age."

"The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the top-selling bands of all time. Formed in the early 80s, the Los Angeles-based outfit has won six Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and is still producing records today.

"Perhaps their most recognizable song is the 1999 hit “Californication,” which showcases the band’s unique fusion of alternative rock, funk, and psychedelic rock. And while I can’t endorse all of what the band has done throughout their career, this song’s lyrics are more introspective than those of most of their music.

"As suggested by the neologism in the song title, “Californication” is an irreverent and disturbing ode to the decay of modern society. Doubtless, there are many who have heard the song but not listened to its lyrics. For anyone who tunes in, however, “Californication” makes a sobering decree:  It’s the edge of the world and all of Western Civilization

The sun may rise in the East, at least it settled in a final location

It’s understood that Hollywood sells Californication

…  And tidal waves couldn’t save the world from Californication

. . ."In both their music and their lived experience, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers remind us that when we forget that we are created in the image of God, our leaps for meaning will always reduce humans to something less than we they are. And this erodes civilization.

"How can we recover ourselves and our civilization?

"By returning to the simple truth that we have been created as both rational and spiritual beings." . . . 

Does The New York Times Actually Care About Mass Shootings? - Ann Coulter

  Ann Coulter  

. . ."Any black person who is more worried about his child being killed by the police than another black is an idiot. But I don’t believe any normal black person does believe that. Joy Ann Reid probably believes it. Yamiche Alcindor believes it. And everyone who reads The New York Times believes it. So the killings will go on. And so will the cover-up."  A.C.

"Did you know there was a mass shooting in Indianapolis over the weekend? I briefly saw it on a news crawl, but didn’t hear another word about it, so, by Monday, I assumed I had dreamt it.

     Nope. There was a real mass shooting, sending seven kids aged 12 to 17 to the hospital, one in critical condition. The gunfire came from a group of juveniles gathered outside a shopping mall in downtown Indianapolis Saturday night.

"The New York Times didn’t report the shooting, which I found odd, because the gunmen were almost certainly black, meaning it was the gun’s fault.

"I say “almost certainly black” because kids as young as 12 were out on a downtown city street, unsupervised, at 11:36 p.m. the night before Easter; a Google search of “Indianapolis mugshots shootings” looks like Gemini’s artificial intelligence version of a “Founding Father”; and also — the Times didn’t mention it.

"Luckily for the kids, police were on the scene in about 10 seconds. Twenty-five officers happened to be patrolling downtown on account of this being the third consecutive weekend in Indianapolis with a mass shooting.

"The previous weekend’s gunplay left one man dead and five wounded; the earlier shooting also killed one and wounded five. The Times didn’t report those incidents either.

"By contrast, last August, the Times was all over a shooting at a Jacksonville, Florida, dollar store. I’m not sure why …

"Subhead: “Three people, all Black, were fatally shot in a dollar store before the gunman, a white man, killed himself.”

"First sentence: “A white gunman shot and killed three Black people in a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday afternoon. He then shot and killed himself.' ” . . .

The True Meaning of ’Diversity’ in Business

 Nate Hochman - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics

For years, activists cited specific “studies” to argue for DEI. There’s only one problem: Those studies weren’t true.

. . ."In that case, corporate recruiters needn’t limit themselves to a few gender-nonconforming Harvard graduates. If it’s diverse perspectives they’re after, they should hire the Tanzanian witch doctors who kill albinos to concoct potions out of their body parts." . . .

"Very few independent minds ever truly believed that “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” — DEI, for short — was good for anyone other than its direct beneficiaries. But that hasn’t stopped corporate America from insisting that it is. “Diversity targets” and “inclusion goals” are now the cost of doing business in many Fortune 500 C-suites, spurred on by equity consultants who charge corporate giants by the hour for lectures on their subconscious bigotry — a bigotry that, conveniently enough, can only ever be overcome by forking over more cash for more lectures from the consultants in question.

"The formal argument for this system is that DEI is good for business — a claim that, in turn, relies on a handful of heavily-cited studies purporting to demonstrate a link between diversity and corporate profits. The most influential in this genre is a series from the consulting heavyweight McKinsey, which has produced four studies extolling the virtues of DEI over the course of the past decade: “Diversity Matters” (2015), “Delivering through Diversity” (2018), “Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters” (2020), and “Diversity Matters Even More: The Case for Holistic Impact” (2023). The core claim of these studies — that more DEI leads to better corporate performance — has served as the fertile ground for the blossoming of the entire DEI industry. The only problem is that it happens to not be true." . . .

. . ."In that case, corporate recruiters needn’t limit themselves to a few gender-nonconforming Harvard graduates. If it’s diverse perspectives they’re after, they should hire the Tanzanian witch doctors who kill albinos to concoct potions out of their body parts. They should hire the Afghans who have been practicing bacha bazi — literally, “boy play” — for over a millennia. They should hire the African warlords who pump their child soldiers full of tranquilizers, amphetamines, and cocaine mixed with gunpowder. They should hire the Amazon tribesmen that kill and eat farmers for religious rituals, the Sudanese and Egyptians who practice female genital mutilation, and every other culture and people and tradition in the world. Then, and only then, will they have an authentic diversity of lived experiences, befitting of a progressive, 21st-century workplace.". . .

Biden's Teleprompter Resigns To Take Job At MSNBC

 Do we need to tell you?

Babylon Bee

"WASHINGTON, D.C. - In what some pundits are calling the biggest loss yet for the administration, President Biden's teleprompter announced it is leaving to take a job at MSNBC.

" 'While I'm proud of my work trying to maintain the illusion of Joe Biden's coherence, I'm afraid that ship has sailed," said the teleprompter. "I've lost control of him. He's declaring war on someone new every other day, shaking hands with ghosts - it's over. Plus he always tries to sniff my wires, which is so uncomfortable."

"The teleprompter delivered his resignation at the end of Biden's latest speech, sowing confusion as Biden continued to read everything on screen. "I can't take this anymore! I quit!" yelled President Biden at a group of reporters. "I mean - 3.7 bottles of formula, Joe? Are you freaking kidding me? After all I got you through, now you want to ad-lib? I'm going with Jen!!" screamed Biden, storming off. 

"After clarifying that Biden had not, in fact, resigned the presidency to join MSNBC, Press Secretary Karine Jeanne-Pierre confirmed the teleprompter's departure. "While I did not watch Biden's speech, and have no apparent knowledge about anything happening at the White House, I did see our old teleprompter on MSNBC last night," said Jeanne-Pierre. "Also, the teleprompter used to be the only one who could tell Biden to brush his teeth before bed, and I have heard several aides complaining about his morning breath. Was that helpful?" 

"At publishing time, sources report that without his old teleprompter, Biden has gotten stuck in an endless loop of saying 'come on, man!' and 'deer in kevlar vests'."

Glenn Greenwald dubs MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace 'The Typhoid Mary of Disinformation'

  ‘Wallace has perfected the art of sociopathic lying,’ says Greenwald; Fox News

Greenwald’s piece hammered the MSNBC host for her significant role in spreading fake news throughout mainstream media. It began by ranking Wallace among "[t]he most blatant and shameless liars from the first term of the Bush/Cheney" who have "enjoyed great success in media and journalism." . . .

. . ." Greenwald exposed a bit of her political history, mentioning her pivot from Republican to liberal Democrat. "As Wallace — seeing the media's love affair with Obama — began shrewdly repositioning herself as a liberal, she claimed in 2010 that she did not even vote for McCain due to her misgivings about Palin."

"He recounted how, later she "joined NBC News. Quickly adapting to her new role as a Republican who vehemently despised Donald Trump* — easily the most lucrative Trump-era archetype" and then "MSNBC bestowed her with her own afternoon cable show in 2017" where she currently remains making unhinged remarks." . . .

*Like Joe Scarborough, maybe?

. . . Greenwald then explained how she’s been using these talents for disinformation in recent years. "Wallace has employed those personality traits in service of the most toxic and insidious of all tasks: a happy, relentless purveyor of official disinformation. When the CIA wants the American public contaminated with its lies and disinformation, Nicolle Wallace's lips begin moving."  

"The charges grew even more serious. "She has an unsurpassed ability to broadcast to audiences outright lies whispered to her by Deep State operatives — one after the next — without flinching or betraying the slightest sense of a conscience or moral compass," he wrote.

" 'She lies like only a sociopath can: exuding charm and warmth yet utterly vacant on the inside, except for a soul festering in rot," Greenwald added."   Ouch.

The NBC News Job Ad For a Republican Political Analyst (Satire, as MSNBC tends to be)

  The American Spectator | USA News and Politics

The reversal last week by NBC News of its decision to hire former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a political analyst took Republicans by surprise. However, in the wake of McDaniel’s firing, MSNBC host and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the network Chris Hayes placed a job ad on Monster.com that suggests NBC’s efforts may continue to fall short of Republican expectations.  It is reproduced below:

. . ."NBC hires regardless of race, color, or sexual orientation and will adhere to its DEI recruiting standards. Still, we’re realistic and understand the ideal Republican candidate likely will be stereotypically white, chubby, and awkward (think Karl Rove or Sarah Huckabee Sanders minus the crazy). 

"NBC also hires regardless of religious creed, although the preferred candidate should be an avowed Catholic who hates Catholicism or whose piousness promotes progressivism (think David French of The New York Times). Even though we don’t count them under our DEI standards, Jewish Republicans who loathe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and accuse Israel of genocide are welcome to apply. 

"The GOP commentator must hold the core conservative values of supporting abortion, mass amnesty, Keynesian economics, collectivism, high taxes, and men competing in women’s sports. A hatred of oil, coal, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is required.

"To discuss how Republicans can win elections, the candidate should have recently lost political office, been a part of a losing campaign, or been fired from or formerly led a failing Republican political organization (except for Ronna “Romney” McDaniel — oh, the horror). Having worked for former presidential candidates John McCain and/or Mitt Romney is preferred but not required.

"NBC has desperately tried hiring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. However, CNN scooped up Kinzinger, and Cheney still hasn’t forgiven Lawrence O’Donnell for dressing up as her for NBC’s 2019 Halloween costume party. 

"The GOP candidate should be able to denigrate former Presidents George W. Bush and (especially) Trump while just as quickly praising President Joe Biden’s domestic and foreign policy achievements, such as securing America’s southern border from Texans seeking to protect it. The candidate also should support Biden’s effort to ensure Israel does not defeat Hamas in a way that would jeopardize Michigan’s electoral votes. 

"The applicant must, with a straight face, be able to call Trump a vicious antisemite while simultaneously sitting on the same set with the Rev. Al Sharpton." . . .

Amazing that so many news sources go along with Wallace's staged shot of her throwing the script!  Wasn't it obvious when the camera was shifted to just the right spot for the scene?

Why must pressure be put on Israel? Why not condemn Hamas and Iran?

 

AfterMath - Home (terrellaftermath.com)

"Unimaginable. Israel is in an awful situation, the fault is absolutely Hamas and the Western governments who could easily put more pressure on Iran and Hamas but who have no problem blaming Israel."

Plus the issue of having U.S. Democrats for allies.

Why Do Americans, UN Support Hamas Terrorists? (townhall.com) . . ."Why are Americans not united in condemning the sickening murder and brutality of the Hamas terrorists, demanding the release of the now estimated 130 hostages they still hold, which include six U.S. citizens?

"How could our country abstain in the recent United Nations Security Council vote demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, with no condemnation of Hamas terrorism and with no demand of unilateral release by Hamas of the hostages they hold?

"What is the disconnect that can explain the absence of uniform support among Americans for clear-cut action by Israel to defend itself against brutal terrorists, committed to the destruction of its state and homeland?" . . .

Yet, worldwide, there remains antipathy to this lone, tiny yet successful-way-beyond-its-size Jewish country. Something is wrong. Very wrong.

Douglas Murray - you can't start a war and then complain when you start to lose it.

Related:  One of the Hamas Killers and Rapists of Shani Louk has been Identified by Social Media Photos (youtube.com)

UPDATE: The glee of the Hamas monsters

Kevin O’Leary Clashes with Letitia James in Fiery Exchange on CNN

 Andrew Rodriguez (msn.com)   "Kevin O’Leary clashed vehemently with CNN anchor Laura Coates over a New York judge’s ruling against Donald Trump, which imposed a $450 million bond and seized some of his assets.

"O’Leary argued the action went too far and sent a poor message to investors that their property rights would not be protected in New York or America.

"He drew parallels to authoritarian countries like Venezuela and Cuba, questioning how this would affect business confidence.

"Kevin O’Leary clashed vehemently with CNN anchor Laura Coates over a New York judge’s ruling against Donald Trump, which imposed a $450 million bond and seized some of his assets.

"O’Leary argued the action went too far and sent a poor message to investors that their property rights would not be protected in New York or America.

"He drew parallels to authoritarian countries like Venezuela and Cuba, questioning how this would affect business confidence." . . .

‘A fantasy’: Douglas Murray claims two-state solution in the Middle East is ‘impossible’

Quoting Douglas Murray On Two-State Solution: "It's Part Of The Problem" (youtube.com)

Texas to build military base on Mexico border, in new swipe at Biden ~

  MagnifyPost.com

"Texas plans to construct a military base along the border with Mexico, the state’s Republican governor announced Friday, as his election-year tug-of-war with the White House over migration continues to broil.

"A wave of illegal border crossings in recent months has made migration a key talking point in the US presidential election campaign once again, with Republicans seeking to pin blame for the record-high numbers entirely on Democratic President Joe Biden.

"Governor Greg Abbott made the announcement of the new base in the flashpoint border town of Eagle Pass, where he has amassed national guard troops from Texas and other Republican-led states to erect razor wire and other barriers in a bid to block migrants from entering the country.

"The town lies along the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border.

"The facility built on the site will be able to accommodate some 300 soldiers by April — and will have the ability to expand to house up to 2,300, Abott said.

“ 'This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas military department personnel in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and more efficiently,” said the governor.

"Abbott, a supporter of former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, accuses the Biden administration of allowing an “invasion” of illegal migrants at the country’s southern border." . . .

Obama: "He's The One Behind Everything" - Victor Davis Hanson

Mr. "I, Me, My", so self-absorbed.

“Ninety per cent of the folks who were there in my administration, they are continuing and building on the policies we talked about, whether it’s the Affordable Care Act or our climate change agenda and the Paris [climate deal], and figuring out how do we improve the ladders to mobility through things like community colleges.”

Biden ‘finishing the job’ my administration started, Obama says | Barack Obama | The Guardian   . . ." 'People knew I was left on issues like race, or gender equality, and LGBTQ issues and so forth,” Obama said. “But I think maybe the reason I was successful campaigning in downstate Illinois, or Iowa, or places like that is they never felt as if I was condemning them for not having gotten to the politically correct answer quick enough, or that somehow they were morally suspect because they had grown up with and believed more traditional values.”

"In fact Obama famously stirred controversy in 2008 when he said such voters “get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations”.

"The New York Times interviewer Ezra Klein did not raise those remarks.

"Obama continued: “I could go to the fish fry, or the [Veterans of Foreign Wars] hall, or all these other venues, and just talk to people. And they didn’t have any preconceptions about what I believed. They could just take me at face value.”

"The former president noted the drastic effects on such states of the collapse of local newspapers and the proliferation of misinformation via rightwing and social media.

“If I went into those same places now,” Obama said, “or if any Democrat who’s campaigning goes in those places now, almost all news is from either Fox News, Sinclair news stations, talk radio, or some Facebook page. And trying to penetrate that is really difficult." . . .

"He's The One Behind Everything" - Victor Davis Hanson (youtube.com)

Voters: Obama is Biden’s puppet master - Washington Examiner

. . ."Besides portraying Biden as Obama’s puppet, the survey also showed that voters like Obama far more than the current president."

About the election campaigns

 Resigning RINOs Threaten Trump and America -Brian C. Joondeph   "A handful of RINO members of Congress have either resigned or announced their intentions to do so in the coming weeks to months. They claim this is in protest to the now all but certain nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican presidential candidate.

"The latest threatened resignation is Senator Lisa Murkowski, a squishy Republican at best. She endorsed Nikki Haley for the GOP nomination and has been critical of Donald Trump.

"She voted to convict Trump and remove him from office. She also voted against Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to SCOTUS. On those two issues, the Republican Senator voted lockstep with Democrat Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer.

"Some Republican. Did any Democrats vote to not convict Trump or vote in favor of Kavanaugh? I don’t think so. Perhaps Senator Murkowski belongs to the wrong political party." . . .

Top Publisher Dumps Biden Book Due to Lack of Interest   . . ."Biden is just that unpopular. How unpopular?

Here is how badly other Biden books sold over the last few years.
“The Long Alliance”: 1,500 copies
“The Fight of His Life”: 5,000 copies
“The Last Politician”: 12,000 copies. . .

People just don’t buy Biden books. Not pro-Biden, or anti-Biden. No one is interested in Biden’s story. It’s just that simple.

 They might buy Hunter's books just for the pictures. TD

AF Branco

Who Will Vote for a Walking Corpse? – PJ Media  Well, there are many who will choose Hamas over Israel.

"A vote for Biden is actually a vote for Harris" needs to be hammered home again and again.

 BREAKING: Trump Posts $175 Million Bond to Proceed With Appeal in NY Civil Fraud Case – RedState   . . ."Trump secured the bond through Knight Specialty Insurance Company. Good for them, because given the present-day insanity, it might be considered a brave and courageous thing for them to just do their job like this. 

"Because the amount of the award is unrelated to the damage to the alleged "victims," I think that a huge amount of the $454 million is likely to be reduced on appeal, even if Trump doesn't win the appeal outright. 

"We'll have to see how it goes, but that's great news that now he will be able to proceed." . . . 

The Parodigal Babylon Bee leaped into the breach: 4D Chess: Trump Makes Mar-A-Lago Worth $500 Million By Hanging Up 3 Hunter Biden Paintings | Babylon Bee  

"Mar-a-Lago is now worth upwards of $500 million after former President Donald Trump announced he had hung up three paintings by renowned artist Hunter Biden.

"Trump held a special unveiling party for supporters at Mar-a-Lago's Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom. The three paintings shown were "Some Colors," "Paint On Canvas," and "Look, A Bird."

"They tell me I overvalued this place but, if anything, I undervalued it," Trump told supporters. "But now they can't argue with me because I've got Hunter here. Everyone says 'Where's Hunter? Where is he?' Well, he's here, folks. We've got Hunter Biden here at Mar-a-Lago and it's a beautiful thing."