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PERRIN LOVETT

~ Deo Vindice

PERRIN LOVETT

Monthly Archives: August 2018

Why Bother Showing Up?

31 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

education, Harvard, playing hooky, schools, WSJ

The WSJ is alarmed that kids at the high schools of Paterson, NJ are cutting classes. The district brought in “specialists” to fix this horrible problem. But that misses the real issue. Those proficiency ratings… The Paterson district boasts 5% (FIVE!!!) proficiency in math and 18% in reading. Yet some of their schools graduate 100% of the students (for Paterson grads, that means all of them get diplomas).

If so few actually learn but everyone graduates, then what’s the point of showing up?

The specialists will surely tell us.

And in other, more pressing education news, the DOJ has weighed in on the Harvard Asian scandal and case. This will have ramifications.

New Cigar Piked by Ivan Throne

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

cigars, Empalador, good life, Ivan Throne

I’m a terrible social media user. You knew that. So it should come as no surprise that I hadn’t checked in at GAB in nearly a year (sorry #GabFam…). Anyway, I am glad I made a recent short incursion. I found out about a new cigar!

A Dark Triad cigar!, the progeny of our friend and best-selling author Ivan Throne.

Behold the Empalador (the Impaler)!

The names – of the smoke and of the man – say enough. I have not smoked one but I am assured of quality.

A Pre Review:

Expected availability in September (hey, that’s Saturday!);

Look for her in Robusto, Churchill, and Torpedo sizing;

$194 per box of Robustos;

Wrapper: Honduran Trojes (very good); Binder: Indonesia (interesting); Long-cut filler: Honduras and Nicaragua (Nica, baby!);

A real review from a real smoker, Dr. Jack Griffin, as lifted (with implied permission…) from the Empalador Site (get ye there and get on Ivan’s list):

“With a wrapper of aged Trojes Honduran, Honduran and Nicaraguan long filler, and an Indonesian binder, the Empalador (the “Impaler”) Robusto 5×50 is a delightful smoking experience.

“The scent of the foot promised a rich, complex smoke, and this fine stick did not disappoint. The aroma from the initial toasting offered notes of nut and pepper, and even an evasive hint of leather (at least to this reviewer’s nose). Smoking the cigar was deeply enjoyable paired with a fine bourbon. Although I usually allow a cigar to die a dignified death half way through the smoke, I found myself compelled to continue as there was none of the creeping bite and harshness one often finds as a cigar burns down.

“The Latin inscriptions on the band might be loosely translated as ‘the night owns the kingdom’ and ‘God wills’. Indeed it does and so does He. The Empalador is highly recommended.”

Nut, pepper, and evasive leather. Sounds outstanding! And, per my Nica-centricity, I’m going to say the magic Esteli or Jalapa (my guess) dirt adds just a hint of solid earthiness. Or so I hope. I find Dr. Griffin’s admission to burning his Robusto all the way down compelling. If it’s worth risking a burnt fingernail, it’s good. Period.

Going strictly by the pictured appearance, I’ll add that the Empalador is very well constructed. Such would be bolstered by Griffin’s account as harshness usually accompanies poor build, which does not favor an “undignified death.” A beautiful brown Maduro, it looks like a good cigar. My imagination and experience detect just enough strength and body to make the trip fun, yet not so strong as to overpower or moot any of the referenced notes.

Per my eternal habit of keeping no numerical or other rating systems, I cannot give you an “A,” a “10,” or a “+++.” But I trust Ivan and (now) Dr. Griffin.

In short: I’m looking forward to the real encounter. You should too.

5b6bb535a48df.jpeg

In the wild, in the box. Bring it! Picture by the Dark Triad Man.

PS: In keeping with the name, consider (at least once) deploying John Daly’s golf tee punching method – impale the Impaler!

PPS: Thank you, again, Ivan Throne!

Menlo Park, We (You) Have a Problem

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Menlo Park, We (You) Have a Problem

Tags

Facebook, hope, social media, society, young people

So say a few brave and honest employees at Facebook: READ THEIR OPEN LETTER:

“We Have a Problem with Political Diversity”
THE PROBLEM
We are a political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views.​ We claim to welcome all perspectives, but are quick to attack—often in mobs—anyone who presents a view that appears to be in opposition to left-leaning ideology. We throw labels that end in *obe and *ist at each other, attacking each other’s character rather than their ideas.

We do this so consistently that employees are afraid to say anything when they disagree
with what’s around them politically.​ HR has told me that this is not a rare concern, and I’ve personally gotten over a hundred messages to that effect. Your colleagues are afraid because they know that they — not their ideas — will be attacked. They know that all the talk of “openness to different perspectives” does not apply to causes of “social justice,” immigration, “diversity”, and “equality.” On this issues, you can either keep quiet or sacrifice your reputation and career.

I imagine the SJW backlash has already begun. But the change, the admission is refreshing. It’s in line with the pressure President Trump is placing on the socials. Let it ring.

I, myself, found a way to be free of the exclusivity – still waiting out my “delete” period.

And I’m not alone. The very young, of all people, begin to shun the virtual madness in favor of actual reality.

Good news all around.

Good News: People Aggravated by Robo Cars

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Good News: People Aggravated by Robo Cars

Tags

Arizona, cars, Perrin hates robots, robots

In fact, they “hate them.”

Alphabet’s self-driving cars are annoying their neighbors in Chandler, Arizona.

More than a dozen locals who work near Waymo’s office gave The Information the same unequivocal assessment of the cars, which reportedly struggle to cross a T-intersection there: “I hate them.”

One woman said that she almost hit one of the company’s minivans because it suddenly stopped while trying to make a right turn, while another man said that he gets so frustrated waiting for the cars to cross the intersection that he has illegally driven around them.

The anecdotes highlight how challenging it can be for self-driving cars, which are programmed to drive conservatively, to master situations that human drivers can handle with relative ease — like merging or finding a gap in traffic to make a turn.

Waymo has been testing its vehicles in the Phoenix suburbs for little more than a year and is widely seen as the furthest along in the self-driving car space, but its safety drivers have to take control of the vehicles regularly, people with direct knowledge of the issues tell The Information.

They’re counting on people to become conditioned to the annoyance and to the loss of freedom via lost driving autonomy. There’s a plan to make these droid taxis the only option available for transportation. Stay annoyed and stay vigilant, Chandler.

Dick’s Sporting Goods: Shooting Their Business in the Foot

29 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Dick’s Sporting Goods: Shooting Their Business in the Foot

Tags

business, Dick's, firearms, guns, predictions, Second Amendment

They actually admit they’re (partially) to blame:

Comparable-store sales fell 4%, Dick’s said. Not adjusting for the 53rd week last year, the company’s same-store sales declined 1.9%.

The weaker-than-expected results bucked a trend in the retail sector, which largely has benefited from a surge in consumer spending fueled by a booming economy.

Consumer confidence for August, measured by the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, was the highest its been in about 18 years. That sentiment, along with other factors, has powered companies such as Walmart Inc. WMT -0.42% and Target Corp. TGT +1.11% to their best quarterly results in more than a decade.

Dick’s said part of the company’s sales problems were a result of Under Armour’s decision to sell in more stores including Kohl’s.

Also hurting sales was Dick’s decision to tighten its policy on gun sales after 17 people were killed in a February shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school. The retailer halted sales of any firearms to people under age 21 at all of its 845 Dick’s and Field & Stream stores, and stopped selling assault-style weapons at Field & Stream.

Barring a course correction (and maybe an apology) we are headed towards my February prediction. (I told you [and them] so).

Screenshot 2018-08-29 at 3.59.23 PM

From TPC: Entering Into the Age of Post Literacy (Like Unto Illiteracy, But Lazier)

29 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on From TPC: Entering Into the Age of Post Literacy (Like Unto Illiteracy, But Lazier)

Tags

books, culture, decline, Piedmont Chronicles, post-literacy, reading, TPC

PLEASE READ AT TPC

-or here-

*****

29 August 2018

[Perrin Lovett] – Entering Into the Age of Post Literacy (Like Unto Illiteracy, But Lazier)

This Monday, August 27th, the mighty Vox Day explained why he retired his former weekly column. He stopped because, in brief, his contributions – as great as they were – made no difference in the grand scheme of things. His admission came in response to a recent Fred Reed article, in which Fred pondered why anyone writes columns anymore. What a way to start a column, huh?
Thanks for bearing with me so far. I was struggling with a subject matter appropriate for (worthy of) today’s discussion. There’s so darned much going on all the time! And I try very hard to find the best, most interesting, and more important topics to cover. Even now, as I’m stream-of-consciousness-ing this thing together, I’m still fighting to cobble the pieces. But, there is a reason why I mention the foregoing – a seemingly futile reason:
People Aren’t Reading Anymore!
No, no, no, no. That “people” reference obviously does not include my beloved, enlightened, and better-smelling-than-most audience here. But, in general, it is a growing problem.
A recent study found that among today’s high schoolers, only two percent read the daily news and a third haven’t read anything in the past year. Staggering. A silver lining is that fewer teens are watching pre-programmed nonsense via movies and traditional television. But they still stare at screens all day, jumping from one app to the next in a frantic effort to communicate something trivial to someone largely unknown. A mass of media, a dearth of intellectual understanding. Sadly, it’s not just the kids.
They call this new bookless thing the “postliterate society.” I think I shall refrain from membership therein. But I’ve used the term “postliterate” myself from time to time, perhaps without really understanding what it is or how it truly affects the culture.
Hook the book in the nook. Picture from Medium.
In the brave new world, some say that reading and writing is no longer a necessity. We’re led to believe that many know how to read, they just don’t want to read. Per Bruce Powe: “the literate sensibility no longer occupies a central position in culture, society, and politics.” I hesitate to agree, but I think that is us in a nutshell … maybe an accurate description of the literary lives of the under-40 generations.
Ironically, Fahrenheit 451 is noted as a fictional postliterate society. If no one reads the books, what’s the point in burning them? Ah well, at least we’ve got the mechanical hound.
Education professionals have noticed the ramifications. Says Connecticut high school history teacher Christopher Doyle:
Books, long idealized as foundational shapers of intellect, no longer mold young people’s minds. While continuing to tout their merits, educators marginalize books and have not come to grips with the book’s declining role in society. Over the last few years, my high school students’ facility for print culture has atrophied markedly. They also exhibit cognitive blind spots for narratives and higher meanings. Their educations even contribute to post-literacy.
…
Post-literate schooling does isolate students from narrative structures conveying meaning. It also juvenilizes via technologies that oversimplify and denigrate analysis. Such tools contribute to overwhelm and disconnect: Kids drown in data bereft of higher logic.
[Double Emphasis, mine].
Those unable to critically process or synthesize the information “drown in data bereft of higher logic.” As I said, “A mass of media, a dearth of intellectual understanding.” Otherwise capable minds atrophy as one lesson after another passes unobserved right before the eyes. Those not capable of grasping the obvious are much more susceptible to the various maladies of greater society. They fail to recognize patterns in reality. One could easily use this as a partial explanation for falling IQ’s, rising BMI’s, drunkenness and drug addiction, rising debts, falling longevity, declining health, collapsing morals, political superstitions, economic ignorance, the trading of freedom for security, and even the emulation of hideous “celebrity.”
Even when concepts are semi-understood, there’s often a lack of appreciation for concomitant context. Worse, some are just smart enough to attempt to derail the thought train for everyone else. Here – I get to work in another topic – please see the example of “Saint Gamma” and his misplaced (and incorrect) comments on last week’s TPC column (about number six, as added by me from Facebook).
Last week I made the twin points that Christianity is under attack and that child molestation is bad. I also warned against Facebook participation via my endnote. Sooooooo, the Right Rev. Just-Bright-Enough-to-be-a-Nuisance chimed in, on Facebook!, with concocted nonsense, demonstrably false and 100% off topic. He ignored what I wrote, planted his own fantastic ideas which render just about everyone other than himself a heretic, and then failed to offer any solution to the fake problem of his own creation. His addition was useless outside of helping me make a point, here, and giving me something to rebut, there. Thanks, Bub…
In fairness, I did a modicum of research on the man. He seems harmless, well-meaning even. But he has a very limited and biased grasp of his own chosen field of expertise. Bereft of higher logic (in this case about Higher Logic), he embraces cognitive blindness to deftly dodge the narrative. Based on my own observations of late, casual and professional, I think he’s in the majority now. But,
We Can Fix It! Here’s How:
  • Read! Everything. Reverse the curse. Read books, newspapers, and the back of the cereal box. Skim words in languages you don’t even know.
  • Aside from however you peruse TPC, lay off the screens. Someone else will crush the candy.
  • Consider (strongly) at least a partial boycott of TeeVee and the Mooo-vies. By and large, they both jumped the shark a long time ago. And went back and did it again. And then started beating the poor fish. It’s a stinking mess…
  • Read some more. Seek out things in which you previously had no interest. Look for ideas and opinions contrary to your own. Challenge yourself.
  • Exercise. Pump iron. Run. Walk. Move. Physical exertion (and healthy eating) not only improves the body, it also stimulates the mind.
  • So stimulated, start thinking hard about everything you read and, especially, everything you see and hear outside the written word. Learn to run a little critical analysis on everything. If nothing else, it makes life more fun.
  • Finally, whatever else you do, please remember to always check in with TPC at least once per day. Twice a day is even better.
Seriously. Don’t let MB down.
That’s it for today, for this week. A preview of possible topics for next week (to which I am not bound in the slightest): there’s an election coming (I can smell it); someday soon we may all find out what happens when there is too much debt; or too much migration; a new Tolkien book (yes, a new Tolkien book) is due imminently; there’s a new cigar in the making, and, of course; there’s always the threat of another short fictional story. Or something.
*Another Facebook Note: Your author has fled the Zuckerberg plantation. While not expecting anyone else to join me in freedom, I do ask that cogent comments to these articles be directed here, via the cute little comment button due south. In theory, I suppose one could still comment on FB: “If a reader comments on Facebook and Perrin isn’t around to read it, will Zuck and the Trust Brigade still ban it?” I may never know…
Perrin Lovett 

Fellow Terry College of Business (UGA) grad Brother Perrin Lovett is a true renaissance gentleman & scholar. A recovering attorney, he’s into guns & cigars, and the US Constitution. A published author, Prepper columnist & YouTube personality, and an acclaimed blogger, TPC is very proud to have our old friend on board as the C.F. Floyd Feature Writer of National Affairs. 

You Can Fall Into the Net…

29 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on You Can Fall Into the Net…

Tags

culture, economy, safety, society

Or they can throw it over you. A net, even of the “saaaaaafety” variety, can trap just easily as it can catch. Most miss that. See: This Story.

“There is such a need for safety nets, so many people are in this position,” she said.

The Urban Institute survey comes at a time when lawmakers are considering cuts to some safety-net programs, such as Medicaid, SNAP and housing assistance.

The researchers said that lawmakers run the risk of increasing the rate of hardship if they reduce support services.

It is the first study on the subject by the DC-based organization, which looks at economic and social policy issues. The institute plans to conduct the study every year to track the well-being of families as the economy and safety net systems evolve.

The problems are real but the root causes are frequently misidentified. The proposed solutions are always more of the same roots.

I should have a little more on the general lack of reasoning in this age of “post-literacy” via today’s TPC bit. That, then, here.

Naming the Nine

28 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ Comments Off on Naming the Nine

Tags

idiots, society, Supreme Court

Your compatriots can’t do it. Though they vote…

But when it comes to knowing the name of a justice, the public falls short, with 52 percent unable to name one of the nine justices.

The most well-known is liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was the focus of the documentary ” RBG.” Some 25 percent could name her.

Next up were Justice Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts, at 14 percent.

I got two: Kamhul and the Witch King!

Big Trouble in Little Merkel-Land

28 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

≈ Comments Off on Big Trouble in Little Merkel-Land

Tags

Germany, invasion, justice, Merkel

The Chief FDJ SLag really won’t like what’s coming- of her own making.

CHEMNITZ, Germany (Reuters) – Far-right demonstrators clashed with leftist protesters in the eastern German city of Chemnitz on Monday after an Iraqi and a Syrian were arrested over a fatal stabbing that had triggered violent demonstrations.

Police said they brought in water cannons after fireworks were thrown from both sides, causing injuries.

State and local officials appealed for calm as thousands of people took to the streets and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Germany would not tolerate “vigilante justice”.

The unrest reflected a growing schism in German society after Merkel’s government allowed about 1 million asylum seekers to enter the country in 2015, triggering a shift to the right in German politics.

Import an army of violent savages. Experience the predictable results. See your own citizens naturally upset. Side with the savages. This, Slag, will supercharge the vigilantes. Idiot.

MerkelFDJ

At least that other failed Chancellor left some plausible art.

Ancient Lessons for Modern Snowflakes

28 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ Comments Off on Ancient Lessons for Modern Snowflakes

Tags

Cicero, Rhetoric, Trump

Cicero would certainly be banned by the Tech Cabal.

More than 2,000 years ago, the famous Roman politician Marcus Tullius Cicero once accused his enemy Clodius of incest with his brothers and sisters.

But far from being shocking to people living at the time, this type of insult was just a part of normal everyday life, according to one prominent historian.

Professor Dr Martin Jehne of the Technische Universität Dresden says modern insults are nothing compared to those flung around ancient Rome.

According to the historian’s findings, Romans could be even more cruel than the trolls of today and would often stoop to sexual slurs to insult their opponents.

Professor Jehne said withstanding and overcoming insults can ultimately have a politically stabilising effect in society, with those who exchanged vile taunts often working together in the near future.

Recall, if you can, the recent insults hurled back and forth between Trump and Kim and the ensuing peace plan (still a work in progress). Greater minds still get it. The art of the insult. Still works sometimes. Calm the Tweets.

READERS: My departure from the mainstream socials has freed me dramatically. But it has also produced a noticeable drop in traffic. Quality verses quantity, I suppose. Still, try to help by continuing to spread the word. Bring me the intelligent and the inquisitive! Thanks. P

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