Random News and Notes 18 August
There are few literary figures I would call genius. I could probably count them on both hands. Near the top of that list would be George Orwell. Today marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of his critique of communism, Animal Farm.
The thread is worth a gander, but I’ll give you the 10 truths without the commentary.
- Revolution contains the seeds of its own corruption
- Power corrupts incrementally through small compromises
- Language becomes a weapon to control reality itself
- Ignorance is manufactured to enable oppression
- Historical memory can be erased and rewritten
- Propaganda is more powerful than physical force
- Scapegoating enables political manipulation
- Fear and violence reshape consciousness itself
- Mass conformity is engineered, not natural
- The working class’s loyalty becomes their exploitation
All that in an allegorical story about farm animals who revolted against their farmer. Genius. It’s sad that Animal Farm is no longer required reading in most schools in the US. As one reply in that thread said: too many Pigs working in the teachers unions.
Frau Gauleiterin Hochul, my governor, has decided to protect illegals over New Yorkers again. This time, she pardoned a slew of immigrants – some of them illegals – with criminal records, one of whom was a convicted murderer. The killer, Somchith Vatthanavong, an illegal from Laos, killed someone outside a pool hall in 1990.
“They’ve paid their debt, and I’ll be damned if I let them be deported to a country where they don’t know a soul,” she was quoted saying a NY Times piece. Here’s the issue: the pardons do not shield anyone from immigration actions. If the pardonees are here illegally, you can bet your ass that they are now on ICE radar. I would expect ICE to scoop up Mr. Vatthanavong tout suite.
The worst part about this whole thing from my perspective as a right thinking person in New York is that the Bitch in Albany tried to hide the pardons until the Times caught her. I really hope Elise kicks the shit out of her next year.
The State department has revoked some 6000 student visas in recent weeks.
“Every single student visa revoked under the Trump Administration has happened because the individual has either broken the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States,” a senior State Department official said in a statement. “About 4,000 visas alone have been revoked because these visitors broke the law while visiting our country, including records of assault and DUIs.”
Attending school here in the US as a foreigner is a privilege not a right. You are here as a visitor, and if you break the law, you need to go home.
Hurricane Erin – currently a strong category 4 storm – has tracked further west than originally predicted. Tropical storm conditions including high winds, high surf and heavy rains are hitting the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas today. Strong winds and heavy rains are expected in the Outer Banks and the North Carolina coast into Wednesday.
If you are located in the coastal regions on the east coast, be aware of the potential for heavy rains, strong winds, high surf and dangerous rip currents.
