winsor

Get specific. The interviews I referenced were on a PBS documentary (NOVA?). The woman who claimed untoward behavior by Till EXAGGERATED, there is nothing to suggest that Till didn't harmlessly flirt. In the same sense that a child playing with an unexploded cluster bomblet likely wouldn't if the gravity of doing so was made clear, Emmett Till likely would have avoided drawing the attention of the woman who later accused him of whatever exaggeration she conveyed. I think this thread is a prime example of saying one thing and hearing something else. BSBD, Winsor

Such as? 'Him' who?

A little trick I picked up in Moscow: when there appears to be no comprehension because we're speaking different languages or something, say it slower and louder. About the closest I can get here is to go to caps, and I'd rather not. It's also tough to follow the drift here with half of it being killfiled. The short form is that if someone is sent into a minefield without being properly warned, it is the responsibility of the people who should have warned said individual, not to mention the people whose mines they are. To characterize that as "victim blaming" is silly. I have been informed that Emmett Till's murder was the result of racism (you figure?). I can't properly respond to that without waxing facetious/sarcastic, which appears to be beyond the grasp of some folks here (though they may feign ignorance as a matter of rhetoric). The bottom line is that Emmett Till was sent into a minefield/viper's den/whatever without being properly warned and came to grief. It was OF COURSE 100% the fault of the evil racist bastards who abducted, tortured and killed him - but it would have improved his odds if the people who sent him there and the people with whom he stayed had made crystal clear to him what dangers lurked, which they knew all too well. If my kid wants to point out that the apostrophe on the colors saying " Pagan's" makes it plural rather than possessive, I let him know that these guys are easily confused and get violent when they're confused, so it's best to let it drop. If he had done so and he and I got maimed or killed it would not be his fault, it would be the Pagan's for being vicious morons and mine for failing to warn him. Anyone who thinks that's victim blaming isn't giving it a lot of thought. BSBD, Winsor

I contend that being in a different environment can have different rules, and one should heed warnings regarding these differences. Going to Alaska, one should understand that the fauna there are not Walt Disney creations and you're not in suburbia. Perhaps it should have been made crystal clear to Emmett Till that the white people that lived near his cousins were vicious, murdering morons, and that they should be treated like the rabid assholes that they were. Unfortunately, the warnings he got didn't convey quite how dangerous these people were. Lara Logan getting gang raped while covering a demonstration in Cairo is an example of how simply being there put her in danger, and failing to make herself look massively unattractive was enough to trigger the attack. Or something like that, I don't understand rapists or murderers - maybe a donkey would have faced the same risks You'd go further in your disagreement with one point or another if you didn't go right to ad hominem. BSBD, Winsor

If someone has something worthy of consideration, great. There are people with whom I disagree, but I appreciate their input. Having said that, dialogue too often is disingenuous from the start Too much of what crops up in this forum is ad hominem or raw abuse, so the killfile is a nice touch. Thus I'll have to take your word for who said what. I apologize for expressing exasperation over being expected to defend positions I don't support. If nothing else, it's pointless. BSBD, Winsor

Since I have been accused of sentiments I neither espouse nor conveyed, I should respond with a "bless your heart" and let it go.

Since the reading comprehension here is abysmal, likely clouded by righteous indignation, let me walk you through this. Let us all agree that the fate that Emmett Till suffered was unjust, undeserved and a very bad thing by any measure. Also, misreading one's audience is hardly justification for being murdered. I watched a documentary some time back, on PBS IIRC, where Emmett Till's family members were interviewed, to include his mother and cousins. His mother had warned him to be very careful what he said and did when he went down South, since things were different there, and he assured her that he'd be fine. His cousins said that while in Mississippi he claimed to have dated a white girl back home (Chicago?), and was cavalier about it. The overall picture that was painted was that of a brash, very naïve and generally typical adolescent, out of his element, who had no idea how dangerous was his environment. I do not suggest for a second that it was his fault, and think his behavior as described was harmless. My point is that he unwittingly triggered the reaction of the people who then murdered him. I don't condone for a second the senseless violence inflicted upon him, but have some idea of why these people targeted him. I have spent time among easily confused people whose response to being confused is to become very violent, and I have gone out of my way not to confuse them. The penchant for violence is theirs, and when they become violent it is almost always unjustified. Doing anything that could be perceived as a threat is bad policy, harmless joking doesn't get a pass. Making a wrong turn in Los Angeles and trying to ask directions can be fatal. This is hardly 'victim blaming' the hapless motorist for turning into a gang dominated cul de sac, and this does not put me on the side of the gang. Emmett Till may or may not have been a saint, but he worked out to be a useful martyr. BSBD, Winsor

I dunno, Ike managed to breach quite handily the seawall that was built to block a storm surge on a par with the1900 hurricane. The only reason you did not have a much greater death toll was that people had ample warning and got to high ground. Reducing any model to Single Input-Single Output form tends to limit its validity. Regardless of the impact of humanity of climate, Climate Change orthodoxy is simply too dumbed - down to merit serious consideration. Unless, of course, one must pay homage to it to receive grant money. BSBD, Winsor

If I went to a Muslim country, whistled at one of the Ninja women and lost my head as a result, my cause of death would be listed as "suicide." Anyone criticizing the process would be labeled an "Islamophobe." By all accounts Emmett Till was told in no uncertain terms that flirting with white women in Mississippi was a Bad Career Move. Emmett, however, made light of it, claimed to have dated white girls back home, and made a point to demonstrate to his cousins that it was no big deal. That did not end well. Though I consider Klan types to be every bit as evil as Muslim fundamentalists, I know better than to goad either when they're in a position to kill me - in the same sense that I don't tell Hells Angels that Harleys suck and that people who ride them are trying to compensate for undersized genitals. If the upshot of Emmett Till's slaying throughout the Black community was a binding commitment to foreswear race based violence, that would be one thing. That has not been the case, and it often seems the response has been more of "two can play at this game!" Back to the simplistic view of things. BSBD, Winsor

Jews are a big, dysfunctional family (quite literally the children of Israel). Those who have adopted our bronze-age family lore/mythology as the basis for their systems of delusion (for reasons that escape me) are not Jews but wannabes.

My point as to who is pulling the triggers was addressed in the Freakonomics movie: They're a lot more polite about the demographics than I am likely to be. BSBD, Winsor

Be advised that referring to "gun violence" is on a par with using "the N word" conversationally. It tells me too much about your perspective on the issue. It is also equally offensive.

Unfortunately, the dumb sonofabitch could kill someone on 5th Avenue, get a life sentence, and STILL get elected. The only shot is to invoke the 14th Amendment. It does not require conviction for insurrection, just participation, and he's disqualified for holding any office. Having said that, it would be nice to see him in the slammer. BSBD, Winsor

Ukraine apparently uses the sub munitions singly, as delivered by drones. Works like a champ on armored vehicles.

Translation?

As my Rabbi pointed out, when asked whether Adam was 'created' knowing how to count, the significance of his age and so forth, "Bubbie, it's Bronze Age family lore - don't read too much into it." Opinions apparently vary on the matter, but that seemed to sum it up.

I am guessing the OP is in favor of Juneteenth. I invite anyone interested to read the raw, unredacted text of the 'Emancipation Proclamation.' Among other tidbits, the author specifically excluded from scope all Union Slave States and Commonwealths, as well as (for some reason) the counties and parishes proximal to Norfolk, VA and New Orleans, LA. Thus, it is an historical fact that, after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, there were Yankee Generals who still, quite legally, owned slaves in the United States. Also, since the Confederacy was a separate country at the time (how many Confederate citizens voted for or against Lincoln in 1864?), Lincoln had the same legal authority over the areas he specified that I do over Laos. While I applaud freeing the slaves of Texas - Texas seceding from Mexico and being amongst the United States specifically because Mexico forbade ownership of human beings (come to think of it, I don't recall the U.S. supporting Mexico's attempt to quash the secession of a state to enable slavery) - after June 19th slaves in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the aforementioned portions of Virginia and Louisiana were still slaves. It wasn't until the 13th Amendment was ratified and signed on 06 December 1865 that the slaves in the areas specifically omitted from the Emancipation Proclamation were freed. I view slavery as repellent, but see our revisionist view of the subject to be an exercise in ignorance. BSBD, Winsor

The applicable principle is that one should never wrestle with a pig. You get muddy and the pig enjoys it. Trump's career has been one of ignoring rules without consequences. It would be no surprise if he walked away from this one. The closest we have to Elba is Gitmo, but I'd be pleased if he wound up incommunicado in either place. I guess the best we could hope for would be if he choked on a chicken bone or suffered a similarly ignominious fate. If he suffered a stroke like Woodrow Wilson he'd probably get reelected. At least it would shut him up. BSBD, Winsor

I have the same problem with Marx that I do with Ann Coulter, the lack of a volume knob. I finished "The Communist Manifesto" but gave up on a Coulter book because of her penchant for screaming on paper. Yeah, I get that you think badly of those that disagree with you, but let me come to the conclusion that they are poopyheads without you insisting that this is the case. "Mein Kampf" is a truly awful read, which I suppose is a qualification of a religious screed. BSBD, Winsor

I'm looking at copies of Mein Kampf, The Koran, The Book of Mormon, et al. on my bookshelf, and don't recall being swayed by any of them. If anything, while reading them my reaction was that anyone who bought into this dreck is FUBAR. In general, anyone who takes much of any religious writing at face value has something severely wrong with them. Reading the Greek Myths as historical artifacts is enlightening, the same goes for the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Is any of it the Revealed Word of God (tm)? I have to remind myself that the question is more than rhetorical; though the very idea that the prime mover of the universe would generate such badly written compilations of applied ignorance as the basis of communication with the denizens of this particular backwater speck of dirt is beyond absurd, it is frightening to consider that easily half of humanity buys into some variation of that concept. I've read Plato, and he would have qualified for the ancient Greek version of NAMBLA. I wasn't swayed by his discussion of the ideal version of True Love, but do not think banning his work is a good idea. Much of what is subject to banning preys on the intellectual vulnerability to which our species is subject, but, as Ron White pointed out, you can't fix stupid. BSBD, Winsor

Pretty much the only thing I want to see come of this is the removal of Trump from the political scene. Unfortunately, it turns out that The Donald could well follow in the footsteps of Mayor Curley of Boston, who was simultaneously in office and incarcerated. I would much rather have our former president go back to 'reality tv' and give up any further political activity. He is possessed of raw intellect on a par with Kim Kardashian, so it is fitting that his fortune should be made alongside the likes of her. He deserves to go to prison, but I suspect we would be better served with and exorcist than a prosecutor. Whatever we have done to deserve the likes of him, it must be pretty bad. BSBD, Winsor

I know, relax and enjoy it.

I'll take your word for it.

Perhaps, but if it keeps him too busy to return to office it's worth it. Whatever it takes to drive a stake through his political heart has my blessing. He's almost as old as Biden, so we only need to keep him tied up to run out the clock. Both of them were unfit for office at any stage of their careers, but being geriatrics should further disqualify them. The next crop on either side of the aisle demonstrates the principle that the scum rises to the top, but having someone with better shelf life is still preferable. At least I haven't heard reference to him tweeting anything recently.