I Don’t Want To Argue

I’ll just give you something to think about, and while you are thinking about what I gave you to think about, I’ll slip away because I don’t want to argue.

I am asking you to think about the dropping of the first Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945.

People have been arguing about whether the United States should have dropped that bomb ever since that bomb was dropped. Below I will present a lot of facts for you to think about.

Are You Ready To Start Thinking?

Ø Okinawa was the last island to be taken before the planned landings on the home islands of Japan.

Ø The Battle of Okinawa lasted from April 1, 1945 to June 22, 1945.

Ø It turned out to be the last major battle of World War II.

Ø It was also one of the bloodiest battles.

Ø The Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops took part in the battle.

Ø The Fifth Fleet launched the largest bombardment ever to support a troop landing to soften Japanese defenses.

Ø Japan’s 32nd Army, some 130,000 men strong, defended Okinawa.

Ø The Kamikaze Suicide Pilots were Japan’s most ruthless weapon and on April 4 the Japanese unleashed them on the Fifth Fleet.

Ø Some of these planes crashed into U.S. ships at 500 miles per hour causing catastrophic damage.

Ø The Kamikaze attacks continued until June 27th.

Ø A total of 1,465 Kamikaze Planes were used against U.S. Ships.

Ø Some Kamikaze Rockets (MXY-7 Ohka) which could reach 620 mph in a dive were also used.

Ø The Japanese sank 36 U.S. Ships. 

Ø 368 more ships were damaged. 

Ø The U.S. lost 763 aircraft.

Ø This was the heaviest lost of men and ships in war. 

Ø Both sides suffered enormous losses in the Battle.

Ø The Americans bore over 49,000 casualties including 12,520 killed.

Ø Japanese losses were even greater—about 110,000 Japanese soldiers lost their lives.

Ø It’s estimated that between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa citizens were also killed.

Ø The Navy lost more men than did the Army and Marines fighting onshore. 

Ø Most Japanese troops and Okinawa citizens had been told and they firmly believed Americans took no prisoners and they’d be killed on the spot if captured. As a result, countless numbers took their own lives.

Ø About 7,000 Japanese soldiers did surrender but many chose death by suicide. Some jumped from high hills and others blew themselves up with hand grenades.

Ø When faced with the reality that further fighting was futile, the Japanese Commanding General Ushijima and his Chief of Staff, General Cho, committed ritual suicide on June 22, effectively ending the battle.

Speaking of Thinking, here is what President Truman had to think about…

Over 2 Million Japanese Troops were Waiting on the Home Islands of Japan for the U.S. Invasion

Do you Think President Truman was Thinking that the Japanese were about to surrender?

Think about it.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Remember Plastic?

Originally Published 12/27/20 but Modified 8/21/22...

I read where Climate Change (formerly known as Global Warming) is causing a Fungus to grow on the trees that Produce Plastic. The Fungus is causing the trees to shrivel up and dies at an alarming rate. Some really smart people are warning that we have only 7 years before the Plastic Industry will be a thing of the past.

I am pecking out this Blog Posting to the Whole World (OK, a small slight sliver of the World) to do what I can to slow the certain demise of the Plastic Industry. My stopgap delaying tactic will not fix the problem but it will be significant.

It has to do with Deceptive Containers that are all over the Fruited Plain (Actually the Whole World)…

Above is one of Offending Deceptive Containers. You go into stores and see these large containers and we say to ourselves, “Now there is a large container!” You take it home and shake away and never know how deceptively you have been deceived.

There comes the day when your large container is empty and you think to yourself, “Self, I’m going to go back to my store and buy another large container of powder! You are happy. Your store is happy.

Some call this Fat, Dumb and Happy. The truth is your Wallet Is Not Fat, You Are Dumb and the Really Happy one in all of this is the Powder Manufacturer.

Do you get my drift yet? It’s the Deceptive Large Container! The container is Large but it is only about One Third Filled with Powder! You, my Dear Reader, have been had.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “That Fella is different from me”. I am different. You go home and start shaking your powder. I go home and take the very-hard-to-get-off top of the Deceptive Container and I look down and shout out, “Eureka! They are trying to deceive me!” Almost immediately an Echo Came Back…“Eureka! They are trying to deceive me!”…“Eureka! They are trying to deceive me!”…“Eureka! They are trying to deceive me!”

Yea, I go back and buy a new Deceptive Container when my old Deceptive Container runs out just like you do but I know I have the satisfaction of knowing I been screwed and you don’t.

I know I know the Powder Manufacturer is standing (he can’t sit because his wallet is too big) in his big evil office smiling at all of us not-too-smart people.

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I have a fix. I propose that our 9% Approval Rating Congress pass a Federal Law that required all manufacturers of anything to make their plastic containers a smidgen larger than the space taken up by the Contained Product they are selling.

The Worldwide Benefit to all of world would be immediate and long-lasting…

Ø Think of the Plastic Trees that will be saved!

Ø Think of the Trapped Air that would not be trapped inside of these huge Deceptive Containers and would then be available for us to breath!

Ø Big Box Stores would be able to build smaller Big Box Stores because they would no longer have need for as much display space as they once had.

Ø Big Box Stores would have available more floor space where they could put in increased numbers of Check Out Counters with signs on them that read, “This Register Is Closed”.

I’m finished kidding u.

Smartfella

I Am Way Ahead Of My Time

I’m sorry this Blog Posting is so long but it’s worth the time it will take for you to Read It, Get Confused By It, Get Mad Because Of It and Be Shocked By It.

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Below you will find a Blog Posting I published on August 19, 2009. I am hanging my hat on this Foolishness to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I know what I am talking about. Sadly it is also proof that no one (in particular the Congress of the United States) is Paying Me No Nevermind.

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Here is the August 19, 2009 Blog Posting...

In Defense of Our 9% Approval Rating Congress

Our Congress is getting beat about the head and shoulders about a lot of things. The Smartfella is stepping up to come to their defense about an issue in which they have heretofore been made to look truly derelict…

Ø Their critics have been shouting that they Do Not Read The Bills They Sign Into Law.

Ø Should they read the bills? … Of course they should.

Ø Is it a big waste of time to read the bills? … Of course it is.

Has the Smartfella lost it? Absolutely not! Conclusive proof of my position is quoted below. As you read down you will see an excerpt (parts of pages 17 and 18) of H. R. 3200. This bill that has the subtitle… “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.”

The Smartfella is made especially nervous by that last line, “and for other purposes”. That sounds pretty open ended to me.

My contention is that this excerpt is not comprehensible by any Member of Congress who took the time to read the bill or, certainly, by us. If my representatives in Congress would say to me, “Why should we read this bill there is no way to understand it”. I would instantly see the logic of this argument and I would tell them to go to Happy Hour.

Here is the exact wording from the bill. The other pages are more of the same. Can you figure it out?

(page 17)

20 (B) EXCEPTION FOR LIMITED BENEFITS

21 PLANS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to

22 an employment-based health plan in which the

23 coverage consists only of one or more of the fol-

24 lowing:

(page 18)

1 (i) Any coverage described in section

2 3001(a)(1)(B)(ii)(IV) of division B of the

3 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

4 of 2009 (Public Law 111–5).

5 (ii) Excepted benefits (as defined in

6 section 733(c) of the Employee Retirement

7 Income Security Act of 1974), including

8 coverage under a specified disease or ill-

9 ness policy described in paragraph (3)(A)

10 of such section.

11 (iii) Such other limited benefits as the

12 Commissioner may specify.

Those last lines above again make the Smartfella especially nervous ... “(iii) Such other limited benefits as the Commissioner may specify.”

That sounds pretty open ended to me.

Or as Yul Brenner said in The King and I, "Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera".

Or as Mel Brooks said in The History of the World Part One, "It's good to be the king".

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

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Now that you know how smart I am I will show you the Paying Me No Nevermind Part of this Blog Posting...

Unless you have been hiding under a rock with a blindfold on and ear plugs in you know that our 9% Approval Rated Congress just passed a New Coronavirus / Wuhan Virus / Chinese Flu / Novel Coronavirus / COVID-19 / CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Virus / SARS-CoV-2 Virus/Flu/Pandemic Stimulus Bill.

Halleluiah! Congress has just fixed everything...Or have they?

An indication that they have not fixed everything is the fact that members of Congress are now talking about another Stimulus Bill in January. I guess this is where they will fix everything they did not fix in this Stimulus Bill...Or will they?

Ø This bill is 5,593 pages long.

Ø Members of Congress had 5 hours to read it after it was released to them. That’s about 6 weeks short of the time it actually would take to read it. Fuhgeddaboudit!

Ø Amendments were not allowed. Fuhgeddaboudit!

Ø Just like I demonstrated in my August 19, 2009 posting above, this new bill also is too complicated to understand. Fuhgeddaboudit!

Is it possible that you are thinking that Congress read my August 19, 2009 Blog Posting and made this one understandable? If so, this is proof that you are not too smart. To prove how smart you are not, below is an excerpt from this new Stimulus Bill...

In the interest of being completely random, I went to my wife and asked her to pick a page between 1 and 5,593. I fully expected she was going to pick 4,489 but she picked page 57, so I reproduced page 57 below. If you think you can understand it...

Fuhgeddaboudit!

Page 57

1 Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(h)(4)) is amended in the first sen

2 tence by striking ‘‘For fiscal year 2020’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘For fiscal year 2021’’.

4 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR

5 WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC)

6 For necessary expenses to carry out the special sup

7 plemental nutrition program as authorized by section 17

8 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786),

9 $6,000,000,000, to remain available through September

10 30, 2022: Provided, That notwithstanding section

11 17(h)(10) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

12 1786(h)(10)), not less than $90,000,000 shall be used for

13 breastfeeding peer counselors and other related activities,

14 and $14,000,000 shall be used for infrastructure: Pro

15 vided further, That none of the funds provided in this ac

16 count shall be available for the purchase of infant formula

17 except in accordance with the cost containment and com

18 petitive bidding requirements specified in section 17 of

19 such Act: Provided further, That none of the funds pro

20 vided shall be available for activities that are not fully re

21 imbursed by other Federal Government departments or

22 agencies unless authorized by section 17 of such Act: Pro

23 vided further, That upon termination of a federally man

24 dated vendor moratorium and subject to terms and condi

25 tions established by the Secretary, the Secretary may

December 21, 2020 (12:59 p.m.)

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Breaking New Alert!

One of my many sources in Washington DC just texted to tell me why it has taken so many months to cobble together this bill. In the interest of transparency, Congress was waiting until they were assured that the bill was Clear and Concise...Or is it?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

I am what I think I am! ... Am I Not?

I better quit stumbling around the Internet. We all know that everything we stumble upon on the Internet is Absolutely True and, therefore, by Federal Law we are obliged to accept it as Absolutely True. I, however, still have misgivings about some of these “truths”.

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OK, I have confused us (you and I) enough. Here is what I stumbled upon on the Internet that has caused me to start pecking out this Foolishness...Or Is It...

University Researchers: We Have to Accept People Who ‘Identify as Real Vampires’

Sociology researchers are now insisting that we as a society start accepting people who choose to “identify as real vampires” — so that they can be open about the fact that they’re vampires without having to worry about facing discrimination from people who might think that that’s weird.

The study, titled “Do We Always Practice What We Preach? Real Vampires’ Fears of Coming out of the Coffin to Social Workers and Helping Professionals” was conducted by researchers from Idaho State University and College of the Canyons and the Center for Positive Sexuality in Los Angeles.

“Most vampires believe they were born that way; they don’t choose this,” said Dr. D. J. Williams, the study’s lead researcher and the director of sociology at Idaho State.

The study is based on the experiences of eleven “real” vampires — which, by the way, are different from “lifestyle vampires.”

“Lifestylers,” the study explains, are people who just do things like wear fangs and sleep in coffins as lifestyle choices, and although “real vampires” may do these things too, they all also have one major thing in common that distinguishes them from the “lifestylers:”

“The essential feature of real vampirism is their belief in the need to take in ‘subtle energy’ (called feeding) from time to time from a willing ‘donor’ in order to maintain physical, psychological and spiritual health,” the study explains.

“Unlike lifestyle vampires, real vampires believe that they do not choose their vampiric condition; they are born with it, somewhat akin to sexual orientation,” it continues.

Williams explained that no one should be bothered by a person wanting to drink another person’s blood because “it is generally expected within the community that vampires should act ethically and responsibly in feeding practices,” and it’s not their blood-drinking that’s the real problem here — it’s the fact that they have to worry that other people will judge them for their blood-drinking.

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I may be done with this Silliness. I’m sort of speechless. I will now slide out of this Blog Posting by simply giving you the link to the article that got me started on this craziness to prove that I am not responsible for making up this craziness.

The link is https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/07/vampires-identify-study-discrimination/

I said above that I was done with this but please allow me one last comment... In the last paragraph Dr. Williams explains, “People understand themselves in very different ways, and that’s OK. We’re all human”. Maybe that’s where I got so off base with this article. I did not know Vampires Were Actual Human Beings!?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

You Are Wrong If You Are Thinking What I Think You Are Thinking

If you are wondering how I know what you are thinking, don’t spend too much time wondering. I don’t know how I know either. It is a gift.

There are times, however, when I think it is a curse because I tune in to some of you only to find it very unsettling when I see what you are thinking.

Let’s get back to the Subject of this Foolishness. I saw that you are thinking that I am so gifted at recognizing and recording Foolishness I must be the only one recognizing and recording Foolishness. You are wrong in that thinking because you forgot about the herculean efforts of the Journal of Animal Ethics. These guys are Experts in the Creation, Promulgating and Invention of Silliness!

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Do you own a pet? Would you call yourself a pet owner? The Journal of Animal Ethics would disagree with you if you did. Its editors have decided that the word “pets” is insulting to animals. They have been trying to replace the entire spectrum of words related to owning a cat or dog. The result was a diktat to call pets “Animal Companions” and owners be called “Human Carers”.

Amusingly, they also tried to squash out animal-based idioms from the English Language...

• “Eat Like A Pig”… They determined that, just because pigs eat like pigs it was insulting to say they pigs eat like pigs. I’m sure, if I had looked hard enough, I would have found that they had taken a similar position with regard to Eating Like A Horse.
• “Sly as a Fox”… Is being Sly bad? I bet this disappointed a lot of Fox because they thought being Sly was kinda Cool.
• “Drunk as a Skunk”… They say Skunks aren’t alcoholics and to imply that they were alcoholics would be derogatory.
  
  
  ************

Their Change for The Sake of Change Idea is even extended to Wild Animals. The Journal insisted they have to be referred to as “Free Living” to avoid offense. (I can’t help but wonder how the “free-living” animals managed to tell them they were offended.)

Other bad words…

• Beasts… Something tells me that this objection only applies to Animal Beasts. Really rotten Human Beasts can still be Beasts.
• Vermin… We have to stick up for the Rats out there.
• Pets… This is the word that started all of this confusion. This is diminutive and has a negative connotation, as if the animal is beneath the status of the human...Which it is.
• Pets (more)… A really smart Bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker smarter than I am smart says this... I use the word "pet" in a colloquial fashion but when writing scientific papers I am always careful to say "companion animal," which provides more respect to our animal partners.
• Animals… This is the second word that started all of this confusion.
• Master… How dare you think you are superior to an animal just because you are capable of Rational Thinking and the animal you are Thinking about is not capable of Thinking.
• Wildlife… Might as well throw out anything “wild”. Can Wild Cherry, Wild Fire, Wild Flowers, Wild Hairs or Wild Ideas be far behind? I guess this is why we no longer see commercials for Wildroot Cream Oil on TV.

Other words/phrases we should use…

• Companion Animals (I thought we were not to use “animals”.)
• Free-Living Animals (I thought we were not to use “animals”.)
• Animal Guardian (Instead of Animal Owner.)
• Pet Parent (Instead of Pet Owner.) (I thought we were not to use “pet”.)
• Differentiated Entities (This could very well be my favorite, if I knew what it meant.)

The hope of the Journal of Animal Ethics is that avoiding language with negative baggage will help nudge our culture away from views of animals as mere property, resources or threats…Or will it? We would probably be too confused to feel the Cultural Nudge.

************

More Confusion…

• How Well Do You Speak Your Dog’s Language?
• Is the Word "Pet" Harmful and Demeaning to Animals?
• We Should Watch Our Words When Speaking About Animals
• Are Emotional Support Dogs Always a Cure-All?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe:

Wildroot Cream-Oil is a men's hair-tonic sold in the United States from the 1940s to the 1960s by the Wildroot Hair Tonic Company, based in Buffalo, New York.

The company first started selling Wildroot Hair Tonic in 1911. In the 1920s, the tonic was primarily marketed to women, with advertisements warning that bobbed hair and tight hats would cause baldness, unless they used the Wildroot product. Wildroot started marketing the product to men in the 1930s. In 1937, the company was scolded by the Federal Trade Commission for claiming that Wildroot Hair Tonic keeps the scalp "healthy", "penetrates" the sebaceous glands, cleans up dandruff "completely", and that the results were "guaranteed".

The company's original tonic was alcohol-based, which became more scarce during World War II. In the early 40s, chemist Emanuel Gundlach invented a new alcohol-free formula. At first, Gundlach presented the Wildroot executives with a cream that came in a tube, but they rejected that formulation. Adding more water to the mix, the company bottled the product, and the new Wildroot Cream-Oil was a success. The product's main ingredient was lanolin, also known as wool grease, which is a wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of domestic sheep.

Wildroot Cream-Oil was first sold in 1943. In the 1950s, the product was associated with the greaser subculture, teenage boys who slicked their hair down into a ducktail style.

The Wildroot Company was sold to Colgate-Palmolive in 1959 for $10.5 million dollars. A "Wildroot Hair Groom" is still being marketed today by the Oakhurst Company.

 

It Is Incumbent Upon The Non-Silly Among Us To Ignore The Silly Among Us

The fact that this Seattle Silliness is more than 2 years old does not mean it should not be blogged about. The fact that it ever happened makes it Eternal Blog Material.

According to a July 2017 article in the Seattle Times the area surrounding King County Superior Court reeked of Urine and Excrement. Desperate for help with the disgusting environment, two of the court’s judges asked the city to please power-wash the poop-covered sidewalks. 

That seemed like a pretty reasonable request, but apparently, one councilman was worried that doing so might be a form of Micro Aggression and he feared it might be Racially Insensitive.

According to the Times, the Councilmember “said he didn’t like the idea of power-washing the sidewalks because it brought back images of the use of hoses against civil-rights activists.”

After much debate and wasted time the sidewalks were power washed. In 2019 the long-serving councilman was voted out of office but that was probably because his replacement was better looking or he parted his hair on the other side of his good looking head.

************

The real story is that fact that a councilman actually took this position in the first place. Why does Silliness tie society into knots like this? Why aren’t these people just ignored while we continue trying to do things that make sense? 

There was a problem outside of Seattle’s King County Superior Court. Anyone should have been able to see that but this councilman raised his nonsensical objection to this very logical fix. He did not propose an alternative fix. He just objected and the wringing of hands and debate started. 

He should have been ignored. More appropriately he should have been given a Hazmat Suit and a spoon and assigned the job of cleaning up the problem he seemed to want to perpetuate.

************

Don’t think that this was the end of Foolishness in America. If you want to see if Foolishness is still with us today, turn on your Radio or TV because there is probably a public official somewhere in the Good Ole USofA (very likely Seattle) this very day that is poking holes in the air with his finger saying, “Urine and Excrement Do Not Get the Respect They Deserve”.

Seattle is lucky that the Micro Aggression Hose was put to work. What if the poop had continued to pile up and the Superior Count would have become completely covered up?…

• The courthouse would have had to be condemned.
• A new courthouse would have had to be built.
• Taxes would have had to be raised for the construction costs.
• In order to get away from the stench of the old courthouse, Seattle probably would have had to build the new courthouse a long way away from the stinky old one so that his citizens would be safe from the hazards coming out of the old covered up courthouse. (My guess is Idaho.)

************

Seattle is lucky this Councilman was voted out of office. If his hose ban had worked, he might have moved on to his next project of proposing the banning of Winnie-the-Pooh from Seattle’s Public Libraries because he was certain that Po Bear is the same as Bear Poo. 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: From my Count Your Blessings Department…Thank heavens this Councilman was only a Councilman. If he had been the Dictator of Seattle he would have Banned the Seattle Fire Department ever using Fire Hoses to Put Out Fires in the Once Great City of Seattle.

Rain Man (Dustin Hoffman) Said He Was An Excellent Driver & I Say I Have What It Takes To Be An Excellent Bureaucrat

My Concealed Carry Permit was due to expire on December 2, 2020. I applied for renewal on October 12, 2020. I thought that would be more than enough time to get it renewed by my Expiration Deadline, however, I thought wrong again.

On December 9, 2020 I called the Probate Court to ask the status of my Renewal Request. I got an answer but the circumstances surrounding that answer left me thinking that my Renewal Request had been put into a Bureaucratic Pile of Miscellaneous Stuff and that Pile had then fallen off a Bureaucratic Cliff into a Bureaucratic Black Hole.

I will now lay out the circumstances surrounding that answer which lead me to doubt that I would ever see the day when my Renewed Concealed Carry Permit would find its way into my wallet…

• I gave the details of my request to my Assigned Bureaucrat and got my Bureaucratic Answer immediately…
  >I was not put on hold so that my Bureaucrat could look up my Concealed Carry Permit Application.
  >I did not hear clicking of my Bureaucrat’s Computer Keyboard as she looked up my Concealed Carry Permit Application.
  >I did not hear my Bureaucrat shout, "Hey, Josephine have you seen Fella’s Concealed Carry Permit Application?"

• None of the above happened but I did hear sounds coming over my phone…
  >I heard the unmistakable sound of a Swizzle Stick stirring a Fruity Caribbean Alcoholic Beverage.
  >I also heard the unmistakable sound of that Swizzle Stick bumping up against a Small Cocktail Umbrella inside a Fruity Caribbean Alcoholic Beverage.
  >I heard the unmistakable sound of a Government Issued La-Z-Boy Chair being reclined into the Ignore this Minion’s Problem It’s My Afternoon Nap Time Position.

I forgot to tell you what my Bureaucrat’s Bureaucratic Answer was. It was, “Wait a Week”.

************

That’s when I knew I had all the qualifications needed to be an Excellent Bureaucrat…

• I can not bother to look up Concealed Carry Permit Applications.
• I can not bother to click my computer’s keyboard to try and find minions’ Concealed Carry Permit Applications.
• Josephine retired last week.
• I can Swizzle a Fruity Caribbean Alcoholic Beverage with or without an Umbrella in it.
• I am very good at taking naps in a La-Z-Boy.
• I certainly can tell Faceless Minion Callers to Wait a Week!

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Since this is the Bottom of this Bit of Foolishness I will give you The Bottom Line…

My Concealed Carry Permit Arrived 7 Days After I Was Told To Wait a Week!

I know I can handle the job because being a Bureaucrat Is Easy!

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Are Smart People Really Smart People?

Elizabeth Bartholet is the Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law at Harvard Law School,[1] and Faculty Director of Harvard Law School's Child Advocacy Program (CAP).[2] She teaches civil rights and family law, specializing in child welfare, adoption and reproductive technology. She calls homeschooling 'a threat to children and society'.

Elizabeth Bartholet has called for a “presumptive ban” on homeschooling — claiming that the freedom to do so under our current laws is “authoritarian”.

“The issue is do we think that parents should have 24/7 (essentially authoritarian) control over their children from ages zero to 18? I think that’s dangerous,” Elizabeth Bartholet said in an interview with Harvard Magazine.

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Professor Bartholet does get support from another “smart” professor…

William and Mary School of Law Professor James Dwyer, has stated:

The state needs to be the ultimate guarantor of a child’s well-being … The reason parent-child relationships exist is that the state confers legal parenthood. 

Thank heaven both William and Mary are too long dead to roll over in their graves.

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There may be a Federal Law prohibiting me from me from commenting contrary to a person who is so smart that she specializes in Child Welfare, Adoption and Reproductive Technology so I am going to have a go at it quickly before there is a Federal Law prohibiting me from me from commenting contrary to a person who is so smart that she specializes in Child Welfare, Adoption and Reproductive Technology…

Elsewhere in her 80 page legal opinion paper Professor Bartholet says…Children should “grow up exposed to...democratic values, ideas about nondiscrimination and tolerance of other people's viewpoints”

• Fella thinks Professor Bartholet’s Brush is far too wide. She is saying that all Homeschooling Parents are all teaching their children Discrimination and Intolerance of Other People’s Viewpoints but “All” is a Big Word.
• If some homeschoolers do something that Professor Bartholet does not approve of, does that mean that all (there’s that word again) should not be allowed to home school their children? 
• Would she also concur that, if some public education teacher taught something that she did not approve of, then all Public Education should be terminated?
• Is Fella getting too picky when he asks if Professor Bartholet is being Intolerant of Other People’s Viewpoints when she advocates that they not be allowed to have Their Own Viewpoints?

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It seems to me that a parent has an absolute right to raise their children based on their Life Experiences and Beliefs. If this were not true we would quickly run out of Muslims, Outdoor Campers, Amish, People Who Like to Read Books, Gardeners, Christians, Football Fans, Knitters, Joggers…need I go on?

If we are not to be allowed to pass on our Life Experiences and Beliefs, who’s Life Experiences and Beliefs are we to be allowed to pass on?

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I have been known to pile Common Sense on top of Silliness and I am going to attempt to do that now…

If really smart people like Professor Bartholet are going to be put in charge of us all, are we going to find where we are now required to teach the opposite of what we believe?

 To carry this Non-Thinking to its Illogical Conclusion, this may be the only way we can prevent the “sin” of Powerful People (parents) Being Put In Charge of the Powerless (their children).

(Quote Professor Bartholet, “I think it’s always dangerous to put powerful people in charge of the powerless, and to give the powerful ones total authority”.)

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Someone smarter than both Professor Bartholet and Fella once said if you have two people always think exactly alike, you probably have one person who is not thinking (or, in this case, not allowed to think).

Fella is on a roll and while he is rolling he would like to propose that we ought to put in place a National Yes Man Day. Its purpose will be get all Americans adhere to a Nationwide Practice of, “Don’t be a Yes Man! Next time your boss says ‘No’, you say ‘No’!”

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Deuteronomy 6:6-7: And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 

Barbers and Tennis Players Are Smart

Barbers have a reputation for being smart people. Whether this reputation is deserved or not has now been called into question because someone has uncovered the fact that 87% of those who are saying Barbers are smart are Barbers.

As for the other grouping in the above Subject…Tennis Players…I have some first-hand knowledge of those guys and I say that they are as smart as or smarter than Barbers because I have participated in at least 12 conversations where we put our smart heads together and solved the Mid-East Situation.

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This week’s brilliant discussion on the courts involved the Coronavirus / Wuhan Virus / Chinese Flu / Novel Coronavirus / COVID-19 / CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Virus / SARS-CoV-2 Virus/Flu/Pandemic and how it has become The Big Excuse for all kinds of businesses to Not Be Responsible for Anything Because the Virus/Flu/Pandemic is Responsible for Everything.

For example, every time we call a business we have to listen to a Disclaimer about the Virus/Flu/Pandemic and the Disclaimers are getting longer and longer as the lawyers get more and more involved.

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Back to my Smart Tennis Players and their Smart Heads, we started giving each other examples of this Virus/Flu/Pandemic Big Excuse Intrusion…

·      Banks: Because of the Virus/Flu/Pandemic we are sorry that, for the foreseeable future, we will not be able to pay you interest on the savings accounts you have with our bank.

·      Grocery Stores: Because of the Virus/Flu/Pandemic we are sorry that, for the foreseeable future, we will not be able to put the groceries you have just purchased from us in your shopping bag. Until this crisis has passed we will be returning your groceries back to our shelves for safe keeping so that others of our customers (who are also important to us) can shop with us.

·      Toll Roads: Because of the Virus/Flu/Pandemic we are sorry that, for the foreseeable future, we will not be able to allow you to venture out onto our Toll Road after you have paid your Toll. We cannot guarantee your safety out there, and until we can, please make a U-Turn right past the Toll Booth.

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I can just see that some of you think I am kidding. I will now give you Conclusive Proof that I’m Not Kidding U. This is a picture of a sign I saw in a store I was giving my money to yesterday…

Don’t ever doubt me.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

It Is Now Fella Official! ... We Are Nuts!

Nasdaq has now joined the... We Are Out of Our Gourds Club

Maybe I should modify the above sentence by changing it to... We at Nasdaq Are Proud to Announce the Creation of the We Are Out of Our Gourd Club

This Blog Posting could become very complicated. I will try to peck it out so that even I can understand it.

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Excerpt #1 about Nasdaq’s Plans to Advance Diversity Through New Proposed Listing Requirements...  

NEW YORK, Dec. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt new listing rules related to board diversity and disclosure. If approved by the SEC, the new listing rules would require all companies listed on Nasdaq’s U.S. exchange to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics regarding their board of directors. Additionally, the rules would require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have, or explain why they do not have, at least two diverse directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority1 or LGBTQ+. Foreign companies and smaller reporting companies would have additional flexibility in satisfying this requirement with two female directors.

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Did you see the little “1” hooked onto “underrepresented minority”? This is the Nasdaq Manager of Confusion’s attempt to clarify things for us. (I told you this was going to be confusing)...

1 - An “underrepresented minority” is an individual who self-identifies in one or more of the following groups: Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander or Two or More Races or Ethnicities.

I hope this has helped.

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Did “Latinx” throw you for a loop? Fella is again glad to help...

Latinx is a gender-neutral neologism, sometimes used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States.

Glad I could help, again.

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I will not bother to explain the full Nasdaq Quoted Paragraph above because I don’t understand what the heck Nasdaq is talking about but I am sure you understand it fully...Or am I or Do You?

If you want to read more than I want to read about all of this, here is the link that will allow you to do that... https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/nasdaq-to-advance-diversity-through-new-proposed-listing-requirements-2020-12-01

Good Luck.

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Excerpt #2 comes from the Wall Street Journal and reports what Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett thinks about Nasdaq’s venture into Confusion and Absurdity...

Nasdaq vs. Warren Buffett

The more we think about the new racial, gender and LGBTQ mandates for corporate directors that Nasdaq announced on Tuesday, the more absurd they seem.

How is a company supposed to find out if a board candidate is gay if that isn’t already known? Is it supposed to hire private detectives to look into it? Once that person joins the board, does the company then have to broadcast his or her sexual orientation in the annual report so progressives can be satisfied that the quota is met? We could go on.

For a dose of sanity, we thought readers might enjoy Warren Buffett’s views on what he looks for in a director. The following is from the legendary investor’s 2006 letter to shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report:

“In selecting a new director, we were guided by our long-standing criteria, which are that board members be owner-oriented, business-savvy, interested and truly independent. . . .

“Charlie [Munger, Berkshire vice chairman] and I believe our four criteria are essential if directors are to do their job—which, by law, is to faithfully represent owners. Yet these criteria are usually ignored. Instead, consultants and CEOs seeking board candidates will often say, ‘We’re looking for a woman,’ or ‘a Hispanic,’ or ‘someone from abroad,’ or what have you. It sometimes sounds as if the mission is to stock Noah’s ark. Over the years I’ve been queried many times about potential directors and have yet to hear anyone ask, ‘Does he think like an intelligent owner?’ “The questions I instead get would sound ridiculous to someone seeking candidates for, say, a football team, or an arbitration panel or a military command. In those cases, the selectors would look for people who had the specific talents and attitudes that were required for a specialized job. At Berkshire, we are in the specialized activity of running a business well, and therefore we seek business judgment.”

Nasdaq is nuts.

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Now We Can Wrap Up All Of This With... Fella’s 2 Cents

Fella Cents #1...Is not Nasdaq an Indicator of How Things Are Going In The Stock Market kinda thingie? If it starts kicking companies out because of Various Social Justice Requirements for Membership (currently 3,300 companies) does it not dilute and destroy their ability to be an Indicator of much of anything?

They may end up changing their motto to...

We Don’t Have Enough Members For You To Pay Any Attention To Us But, If You Have Nothing Better To Do, Would You Please Look At Our Trading Day Ending Averages As If They Were Still Important Like They Used To Be Important?

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Fella Cents #2...Is it a Federal Law that All LGBTQ+’ers must declare their Sexual Idenitity? What if some of them, for whatever their reasons are, do not care to declare their Sexual Identity or just do not want to get mixed up in all of this...

Ø Are the LGBTQ+ Police going to arrest them for not wanting to be a part of all of this?

Ø Are the LGBTQ+ Revenuers going to fine them for not wanting to be a part of all of this?

I shudder to think of where this is taking us!...

Are we going to see a plethora of imitation LGBTQ+’ers claiming to be actual LGPTQ+’ers just so they can get on Nasdaq Boards?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

I Demand You Let Me Pay For Something!

If you have watched TV in the last 2 months, you have seen (actually have been bombarded with) commercials for Medicare Advantage. The Fella Perspective has this to say about that...

I have a lot of skepticism for a Health Care Program...

• Where you will not have to pay co-pays.
• Where you will not have to pay monthly premiums.
• Where Medicare will pay you a “Refund” each month.
• Where Hearing Aides are included.
• Where Prescription Drugs are include.
• Where Dental Care is included.
• Where Eye Glasses are included.
• Where Meals are delivered to your house.
• Where Joe Namath will come to your house and pick you up and take you to all your doctor appointments.

What the heck is wrong with you guys? Have you forgotten...

• There is no such thing as a Free Lunch!
• If it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t true!
• Maxwell Smart who, after he told you a lie and he saw that you had not fallen for his lie, would say, “Would you believe...?” and look you straight in the eye and try and see if you would fall for a new and different lie.

Breaking News: This just in from the Office of Joe Namath... “Hey guys, I certainly did not mean to imply that I personally will pick each and every one of you up and take you to your doctor appointments. That would, of course, be an insurmountable task. I have, however, hired 2 assistants to help me. Don’t worry you none. Fred, Sidney and I will get you to your doctor on time! I Guarantee It!”

Would I kid u?

Smartfella 

Lagniappe: Forget about all of them (Medicare, Medicaid, Hillary Care, Obama Care, Biden Care, Medicare for All, Medicare for Illegal Citizens)!

This seems like a No Brainer to me...

Put everyone in the Good Ole USofA on Medicare Advantage!

Don’t worry about where the money will come from. Congress could pass a law that Medicare Advantage stop their TV Ads for 7 days, Congress could confiscate the money saved and that would be more than enough.