Why Psychics are the Bunk.

We've all seen them. Commercials on late night television -- someone selling their services as a psychic, medium or tarot reader. What most people don't realize is, they're all Bunkum. 

Bunkum, Hoax, Fraud, Flummery, Mummery Smoke and Mirrors, Bullshit. They're all synonyms for something false or fake that some few believe to be true.

Well, the Republican Convention is all over but the shouting.

Personally, I am unimpressed. Donald Trump promised "The best convention ever" and in my opinion he fell far short of the mark. 

The Republican National Convention is not officially over yet, but the main business they gathered for is done -- Donald Trump is now the official nominee of the Republican Party. As I write this, the delegation from Alaska has held up the works, demanding that their vote be re-counted. They re-counted the vote or something and then Dana White got up to speak. Yes, Mr. UFC. Mixed Martial Arts Impresario Dana White. Their prime-time speaker. After Appearances by Un-Stars Scott Baio and Antonio Sabato Jr. What next ? is Jon Voight going to talk to a mattress so as to upstage 2012s empty chair discussion held by Clint Eastwood ?  Look, I don't expect to see "Hamilton" or "Cats" or "The Producers" or even an off-broadway rendition of "Death of a Salesman".  But really. Chachi ? Dana White ? These were the best speakers Trump could draw ?

Then and Now.

Then and Now. A perspective on violence and vigilantism.

In the 1980s, I drove (among other vehicles) a 1972 Buick Skylark GS.
Aside from being a Banker's Hotrod, the car had a sound system which I (budding electronics wizard that I was) tweaked and pumped up until it would rattle the air in your lungs at close range.
My favorite tunes in those days were bands like AC/DC, Jethro Tull, Molly Hatchet, Judas Priest , Jimi Hendrix and others. In other words, early metal. I played it, as every other 17-19 year old did, turned up to 11. If you were stupid enough to tell me it was too loud, I was stupid enough to tell you "you're too old" or a simple"Fuck Off." I was young, inexperienced, angry and had teenage invulnerability. But then, the worst that might have happened to me was that someone would take exception to my taste in music with their fists, and I would of course offer a rebuttal in kind.

Nice, France.

Word has just reached me that a lone terrorist has driven a truck into a crowd of people. 

Nice, located in the Southern coast of France near the Italian border, was the scene of a horrific terrorist attack tonight. At this hour, BBC and French government officials are reporting some 77 people killed and 15 seriously injured.

Shootings, both civillian and police.

After two days of two black men being shot, now 4 Dallas Police Officers are dead after being shot, and 11 others are injured. 

As I write this, the chief suspect in the shooting of 11 Dallas Police officers is negotiating with police, exchanging shots with them and shouting defiance. 

Brexit

I'm not British, but I would like to share a few thoughts on the upcoming vote in Britain whether or not to remain in the EU.

I know, it's odd, an American voicing an opinion on a strictly European issue, but here goes :
Europe is currently operating in an economic balance, with France and England balancing out Germany in economic power. A change in this structure could cause unknown damage. The other European powers could, and probably would, institute some forms of Tariffs on trade, which would cause an economic slump, first in Britain, and later spreading to the other EU countries. The EU would probably recover from this in a few years, but in the meantime there would be a loss of jobs, and a slowdown of the EU economy, which would probably spread to the USA and Canada, in a time when economic slumps are more dangerous. Many more people now are living close to the bottom, just a paycheck or two away from disaster. Do we really want to risk it ?

Update : (post Brexit vote)

I had originally written this a couple days before the vote, intending to come back to it, but other events pushed it off my plate. Post-Brexit vote, I'm adding a few thoughts.
 -- DLC.

Conspiracy Theories and political extremism.

I've been doing some thinking about political extremism and conspiracy theories lately.
Mostly, I've been wondering how it is people who subscribe to various conspiracy theories also mostly happen to be political extremists -- anarchists, libertarians, extreme conservatives and so forth. But what brings these people to jump on the conspiracy theory bandwagon ?