Ah Yes, That Old Evil

Predictably, we’re starting to see that old bugbear start to rear its ugly head again:

Just to address Item #2:

She describes “a sense of urgency” as a damaging characteristic, arguing that it discourages inclusivity, long-term thinking, and learning from mistakes.

This “urgency” argument has even been used to criticize white workers who complete projects quickly or work overtime. Some activists also claim deadlines and strict arrival times are unfair because they don’t account for cultural differences—such as “Black time.”

“Black time” (or “Colored People’s Time” / CPT) is a term sometimes used to describe habitual tardiness in Black communities. NPR’s Karen Bates explains that she learned about CPT as meaning “clock-challenged” and used as a self-referential joke within Black culture.

Still, some academics take this idea seriously.

“Unjust experiences of time are the reason that due dates and deadlines are so harmful—they amplify racism, sexism, classism, and ableism that already deprive the most vulnerable in our communities of their basic rights and dignities,” certain professors argue.

We used to call this “Africa Time” back in my old homeland, and it wasn’t very fashionable amongst Blacks during the apartheid era (because they’d get fired for habitual tardiness), but since the Blessed Mandela’s ANC took over, it has become very much a thing (surprise, surprise).

And the other items on the list are equally wrong-headed and utter bullshit — prime examples of “you should have to change the institution to accommodate me”, and not the other way round.

Bloody hell, as if the airlines aren’t already using Black Time.

Not that this Oklin pustule is a solo act, mind you.  Here’s another one:

A University of North Dakota history professor who studies the American West believes monuments depicting the pioneers “reinforce white supremacy.”

In an interview this week with KJZZ Phoenix, Cynthia Prescott (pictured) discussed her research on pioneer monuments, including a book that argues the artwork promotes “white cultural superiority” and “gender stereotypes.”

Much like with Confederate monuments, the professor said America should re-examine artwork honoring American settlers.

“A lot of people have talked about Confederate monuments in particular, as being monuments that were put up in the late 19th, early 20th centuries for the purpose of enshrining a racial hierarchy. And through my work, I argue that Western pioneer monuments were doing very similar cultural work,” she told KJZZ.

Fucking hell;  left to non-Whites, the U.S. would still have the Mississippi River as its western border and not the Pacific.

Yup, it’s just another “deconstruction” of history to change it into something that’s more to the bullshit philosophy of Wokism and “racial justice”.

Just for identification purposes, here are the two above pseudo-academics, just to make recognition easier:

I know;  you never expected them to look like that, did you?

And by the way, the “bugbear” I referred to in the opening is not “White supremacy”, but the continued efforts of academia to undermine the very fabric of our nation.

Quote Of The Day

“The United Kingdom is in trouble; their energy supplies are insufficient for their needs, and the policies that put them in this position are the same policies that the climate scolds want to implement here.” — Ward Clark

This comes as Norway is going to cut off their sales of natural gas to Britishland, because those sales (and likewise to Germany — another country with a bad energy policy) are causing domestic prices of gas to rise… and the Norwegian voters, unsurprisingly, don’t see why they should have to subsidize other countries’ bad energy policies.

By the way:  the UK’s backup gas provider is the U.S., which would sting them because the hated POTUS has ordered natgas production to ramp up.  Sadly for them, though, DJT has indicated that said increased gas supply will be used to drive down Biden-high energy costs for Americans.

Rock, meet hard place;  and it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of smug Green assholes.

Classical Interlude

I have often marveled over the astonishing virtuosity of Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in posts of yore, so there’s no need to add yet another video to her collection here.

However, I would be remiss in not pointing out that she was dazzling (in every sense of the word) in her Wiesbaden concert back in 2012, at age 25.

In the dozen or so years since then, however, she got married and had a sprog — and the effect on her appearance, so to speak, has been quite remarkable.

AND:  apparently she now has an OnlyFans account.

No need to thank me;  I like to keep everyone abreast of great developments in classical music.

And she’s still blowing the lid off her piano.

Too Merciful

In any organization, when the head guy issues a policy directive (or a budget change which requires a policy directive ), the general reaction from his subordinates is to implement that directive within the time frame allocated.

Failure to do so generally results in a reprimand or eventual termination;  active resistance to the directive — or the undermining thereof — generally results in immediate termination, the latter being very definitely “cause” for termination, and few agencies or indeed even labor unions can quibble too much with the outcome.

Which is what happened here, in an agency of our beloved federal government:

President Trump has ordered as many as 60 senior bureaucrats in the US Agency for International Development placed on indefinite leave for taking actions to evade his executive orders. A memo from acting USAID administrator Jason Gray says, “We have identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the president’s executive orders and the mandate from the American people.“ As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions.”

Then this happened:

Enter Director of Employee and Labor Relations Nick Gottlieb, stage left. He countermanded the order placing senior staff on administrative leave, by flat-out refusing an order to terminate contract employees: 

Today, representatives of the Agency’s front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees without due process. I refused and have provided Acting Administrator Gray with written notification of my refusal. I have recommended in that written notification that his office cease and desist from further illegal activity.

It is and has always been my office’s commitment to the workforce that we ensure all employees receive their due process in any of our actions. I will not be a party to a violation of that commitment.

…so then this happened:

I was notified moments ago that I will be placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.

LOL.  This is what happens when you try to fight against the CEO.  Whether you agree with his directive or not, you are bound to implement it — that, or resign.

Now here’s my problem with all this.

This rebellious little apparatchik should have been shit-canned outright.  Instead, he’s been placed on “administrative leave”, which continues all his benefits and perks until such time as he’s finally terminated.  What bullshit.  Outright insubordination deserves no such forbearance.

And yes, I know:  our beloved federal government employees are somehow spared such treatment because it’s forbidden by their union, which is another fucking travesty:  why should government stooges be protected when their employment is regarded as “service” and not a commercial contract?

At some point, I hope that POTUS/DOGE casts a baleful eye at this nonsense, and gets Congress to outlaw public-sector unions outright.

There is plenty of precedent for this action, by the way, going back all the way to the Founding Fathers.  Even liberal icon Franklin D. Roosevelt said this:

“All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service…. The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with government employee organizations.”

Yet somehow this nonsense managed to get traction, especially during the 1960s, thanks to an Executive Order by none other than John F. Kennedy (quelle surprise).

If POTUS / DOGE achieve nothing else, the elimination of public-sector trade unions will be a signal victory for the people of this country — not that the well-being of our citizens has ever been a concern to government workers.

No, government agencies such as the State Department and the aforementioned USAID have always been far more concerned about the welfare of foreigners — in the latter case, to the tune of over $20 billion.

That, it seems, is about to change and not a moment too soon.

Fire away, Mr. President.