Take the Quiz

I scored 100%. That’s because I’m old enough to remember the Nasty Little Man. See how you do.

The Best Thing You’ll See All Day

Turns out that Suzanne Cleary & Peter Harding have an Irish Dance show. If you’re on Facebook you can check them out here. The video that got it started is here. It reminds me of an old bit I saw The Committee do on the Smothers Brothers show. The We No Speak Americano video is much better. I enjoy seeing people refine their work to perfection like this.

Searchable Scripture

You can search or browse the Koran here.

Search your favorite version of the Bible here.

Try looking up “kill” in each.

To be fair, the Old Testament is also full of nasty, violent stuff. The big difference between Christianity and Islam is that the former has been through a reformation and tempered by the Enlightenment. In other words, most Christians just ignore the parts about destroying the enemy, stoning women, etc. Lets hope Islam catches up soon.

“the hallmark of a true professional warrior.”

Read a first-hand account of the Magellan rescue.

As I walked the captain up to his bridge, he examined all the cut doors, and burnt hallways as we made our way up to the bridge on the 7th level remarking, “bastard pirates, they really did a number to my ship.”  Walking behind him I replied,  ironically: “Yeah.  They sure did.”

All the Money in the World

would not pay off our natiional debt.

Unrecognisable if not Dead

When physicists talk about God, people listen.

This point is often overlooked by apologists who grasp at any straw science will hold out for them. Such desperate clinging happened, disgracefully, in the last years of the philosopher Antony Flew’s life. A famous atheist, Flew was said to have changed his mind, persuaded that the best explanation for the “fine-tuning”of the universe – very precise way that its conditions make life possible – was some kind of intentional design. But what was glossed over was that he was very clear that this designer was nothing like the traditional God of the Abrahamic faiths. It was, he clearly said, rather the Deist God, or the God of Aristotle, one who might set the ball rolling but then did no more than watch it trundle off over the horizon. This is no mere quibble. The deist God does not occupy some halfway house between atheism and theism. Replace Yaweh with the deist God and the Bible would make less sense than if you’d substituted Brian for Jesus.

Al Gore, you’ve doomed us all

Here’s just one sample of why xkcd is one of the most consistently funny cartoons on the net.

NB: A lot of it is nerd humor, and there is some language. Still, the art is deceptively simple and some of the observations spot on. It makes me laugh. A lot.

Like the way I laughed at this one:

War Zone

Zombie proves once again why he’s one of the best bloggers in the world. You must read this entire piece.

Why, I ask myself, must they contaminate their legitimate grievances over the left-wing bias of school curricula? By coupling patriotism with creationism, they are discrediting not only their own but everyone else’s attempts to counteract the leftist agenda.

Read it all, then go on to Part 2.

In 2004, liberal historian Thomas Frank published What’s the Matter with Kansas?, a bestselling book in which the author expresses his utter mystification at how the citizens of Kansas could hold conservative values and vote Republican, when socialist economics and the Democratic Party were so self-evidently superior. While the author looked down his nose at the inscrutable ignorant rubes of Kansas, insultingly treating them like laboratory rats unable to solve the simplest maze, the book and its popularity ended up being more of a commentary on the ideological blindness of the author and his left-leaning readers: try as they might, they just don’t get it. As the book revealed, it’s not that left-wingers disagree with conservative principles; they actually cannot grasp the notion of having any principles whatsoever.

As part of the inevitable discussion of the most idiotic thing they’ve tried to do in Texas, Zombie summarizes his clear stance on evolution, which I whole-heartedly endorse:

• The debate about the reality of evolution is over. Evolution happens, and it happens through natural selection. The evidence is beyond overwhelming and is conclusive.
• If you quibble about the meaning of the word “theory” without knowing its definition in a scientific context, then you unintentionally have disqualified yourself from the conversation.
• Intelligent design, creationism, or any other euphemism you care to use to describe “directed evolution,” are not scientific theories; they are religious beliefs, and as such have no place in a science class.
• Denial of evolution is not a necessary adjunct of being Christian or having religious sentiments; it is entirely possible to be religious and to accept scientific realities like evolution, and many evolutionary scientists are also Christians.
• “Darwinism” is not some sort of faith-based religion in its own right nor is it competing with Christianity, and anyone who claims so is either seriously misinformed or is purposely deceiving you.
• The scientific community takes an extremely dim view of any official in a position of power who tries to undermine the teaching of evolution; this is a make-or-break “litmus test” issue for most scientists.
• Therefore, the insistence by officials such as the Texas State Board of Education on tampering with evolution curriculum unnecessarily creates enemies out of many clear-thinking science educators who might otherwise applaud the TSBE’s pro-America and pro-factuality stance on other issues.

Part 3:

If anything, the textbooks approved by the California State Board of Education are even more politicized than Texas textbooks, and more ideologically biased. So: Why does the media ignore what happens in California textbooks? Because the state’s bias goes the other way. California-approved social studies textbooks are politically correct in the extreme, with multiculturalism and “social justice” as the defining characteristics. The pressure groups and board members setting policy for California’s (and hence a substantial portion of America’s) textbooks exceed their Texan counterparts in their extremism, but since California pushes the “correct” kind of extremism, you never hear about it.

Part 4:

This was a significant change from Marx’s and Lenin’s original ideas about communist revolution, which basically involved simply seizing power, public opinion be damned, and afterward propagandizing the masses to accept the new order. Gramsci realized that Marx had it reversed, and that the propaganda and indoctrination must happen first, in order to make the populace open to the idea of revolution; otherwise, rendered complacent by middle-class values and comforts, the populace would never consent to the upheaval of a revolution.

The media and public schools were correctly identified by Gramsci as the most influential cultural institutions, and it was therefore those that the left realized must be targeted.

And:

This explains the otherwise mystifying insistence by leftist educators on ignoring facts in favor of “politically correct” ideas and frameworks. I have little doubt that the majority of teachers and educators don’t even know they’re part of a Gramscian project but still plow ahead with their ideologically driven careers anyway, unaware that they are myrmidons paving the way for revolution.

Part 5:

Many good suggestions, most of which I agree with. One of the most important comes near the end: Break the teachers’ unions.

Teachers’ unions have become a major hindrance to decent education in this country. They prevent the firing of bad instructors, impose political orthodoxy on curricula, and in general resist any reforms which threaten their own power.

Furthermore, the teachers’ unions have been the driving force behind the Gramscian control of education (as discussed in Part IV of this essay), and are one of the reasons schools are politically biased in the first place.

I have no idea how to diminish the power of unions, so for now we’ll have to file this one under “wishful thinking.”

The teachers’ unions are arguably the most destructive force in the country. Part of breaking them will be opening education to a free market. Part would be pulling the plug on the cabinet seat given them by the Nasty Little Man. The entire Department of Education is unconstitutional anyway.

I seriously hope you read all five part. I’ve bumped this post to encourage it.

Rug Burn

The president continues His high standards of research.

By the way, do you know what a nanobarack is?

The Power of Music

Speaking of Hate

You’re going to love this.

What I do know is, One, a hyperinflationary event will happen, following the crash in Treasuries. Two, commodities will be the go-to medium for value storage. Three, all asset classes will collapse in short order. And Four—and most importantly—civil society will not collapse along with the dollar. Civil society will stumble about like a drunken sailor, but eventually right itself and carry on with a new normal.

During that stumble, opportunities will present themselves. I hope I have explained why.

I spent time in Chile from 1975 – 1977. Everything he says about what happened there rings completely true. What he doesn’t mention is how horribly violent Allende’s Marxists were. It’s fashionable to consider Pinochet the thug and Allende the man of peace, but the opposite is closer to the truth.

Meanwhile,  ammo is a commodity, right?

Hate! Violence!

Yes, that’s what really brings you to Buttle’s World. You skulk here hungry for the hate and violence that fuels your rage!

Or, at least, that’s what the nincompoops at Net Nanny think. Here’s what one reader found when he tried to get here on his son’s computer:

Action: Block
URL: buttle.wordpress.com/
Reason: Hate/Violence

My guess is that it’s because of my pro-gun stance. Net Nanny is infamous for its hoplophobia.

I will wear the Net Nanny Block as a badge of honor.

Meanwhile, the wisdom of trusting one’s children to anything with “Nanny” in the name is left as an exercise for the reader.

So is “nincompoop” hate speech or merely violent?

Songs that have lyrics

but shouldn’t.

Update: Tip O’ the Hat to Lane for these:

If the embedding doesn’t work (seems broken right now) the video is here.

And this one is here.

Another addition from Lane: (and bumped)

The updates keep rolling in. I may not flag them in the future, but just keep adding to this. It’s becoming quite a collection.

(Love Dusty Springfield, though.)

Mmmm. Barbara Eden.

Also proof that some people should never be let near video editing software.

If you know of more, leave them in the comments. Eventually i’ll add them here.

Green Eggs and Spam

I do not like this Uncle Sam,
I do not like his health care scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
or how they lie and cook the books.
I do not like when Congress steals,
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker Nan ,
I do not like this ‘YES, WE CAN’.
I do not like this spending spree—
I’m smart, I know that nothing’s free.
I do not like your smug replies,
when I complain about your lies.
I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it. Nope, nope, nope!

Go green! Recycle Congress in 2010!

(Collected on the internet, August 2010)

I’m from the government. I’m here to…

I don’t think you guessed the right verb.

You give “public servants” riches beyond imagination, force that cannot be attained in the private sector, and authority to destroy the wealth and livelihoods of others, and then you expect them to abide by penny-ante rules about gift bags?

Update: Link corrected.

I’m thinking of a number

There is an integer number answer for each of these questions. See if you know what it is.

1. The number of rights granted by the constitution
2. The number of private sector jobs created by government in American history
3. The number of private sector jobs saved by government in American history
4. The number of taxes with rates that are too low
5. The total wealth produced by government

Ray Stevens Rides Again

Yeah, it’s from last December. I fail to see how it’s lost any relevance in the intervening months.

A Question for Harry Reid

This is not really racism on the part of the good senator, since “Hispanic” isn’t really a race. But it’s still stupid.

Now my question for Harry Reid:

How could a Mormon ever be a Democrat?

I’ve wanted this for a long time

In fact, it shouldn’t even be necessary. If you can read plain English the constitution already says this. Still, it would be a good idea to pass it.

Our Viral Past

A fascinating story on the viral contribution to our DNA. I’ve tried to explain to creationists that even if we hadn’t found a single fossil, the DNA record would be more than sufficient to confirm the theory of evolution. The things we’re learning are just fascinating. Viruses may have been a key component in our own survival and evolution as a species.

That the sequences, some of which may have been integrated into the genomes more than 40 million years ago, have been largely conserved over evolutionary time suggests that they give the host a selective advantage, perhaps protecting them from future infections by viruses from those families. The study shows that integration of the ancient viral sequences was probably mediated by movable elements, LINEs, which are abundant in mammalian genomes.
“In a way, one might even think of these integrations as genomic vaccinations,” says Skalka.

How’s that for cool?

Dan the Man

All We Are is Dust in the Wind

Dude.

Now Here’s a Pastor I Could Get Behind

Best Movie Review Ever

io9 on The Last Airbender.

Shyamalan has boiled every epic heroic story of the past 20 years down to its most basic, primal soup-y essence, so he can spray it all over the audience, in a kind of Hero’s-Journey bukkake. You will be finding chunks of Joseph Campbell’s calcified spooge behind your ears for three days after watching this film, no matter how many times you bathe.

It gets even better. Read the whole thing. (NB: There is some language, and you may not want to actually look up bukkake. Your first guess is likely close enough.)

Kicking Someone’s Ass is Bound to Help

I have no idea why oil leaks or, for that matter, hurricanes, are the president’s job. A lot of people, including this president, apparently think that they are. This column at the WSJ makes me wonder if our Thug in Chief really is that dumb.

The answer, for His supporters at least, is apparently yes.

Update:

Apparently it is His job.

Clean Water Act – Section 311

(A) If a discharge, or a substantial threat of a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance from a vessel, offshore facility, or onshore facility is of such a size or character as to be a substantial threat to the public health or welfare of the United States (including but not limited to fish, shellfish, wildlife, other natural resources, and the public and private beaches and shorelines of the United States), the President shall direct all Federal, State, and private actions to remove the discharge or to mitigate or prevent the threat of the discharge.
(B) In carrying out this paragraph, the President may, without regard to any other provision of law governing contracting procedures or employment of personnel by the Federal Government–
(i) remove or arrange for the removal of the discharge, or mitigate or prevent the substantial threat of the discharge; and
(ii) remove and, if necessary, destroy a vessel discharging, or threatening to discharge, by whatever means are available.

But lefties still haven’t an economic clue.

Home movies are a little different

when dad works in the effects business.

It’s Draw Muhammad Day!

I read Ann Althouse’s objections to the idea here and here. I’m not convinced. This is nothing like burning flags to protest an anti-flag burning law. The target of the putative offense is not a law (except in the fevered minds of people who think Sharia is an actual law). When she quotes Taranto, both she and he miss the point.

The problem with the “in-your-face message” of “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” is not just that it is inconsiderate of the sensibilities of others, but that it defines those others–Muslims–as being outside of our culture, unworthy of the courtesy we readily accord to insiders. It is an unwise message to send, assuming that one does not wish to make an enemy of the entire Muslim world.

The point is that Islam is unworthy of courtesy. You have to put on the blinders of suicidal multiculturalism not to see that it’s an abhorrent culture. Note that this is not the same thing as saying that all Muslims are abhorrent. There are indeed moderate Muslims, but there is no moderate Islam.

Which reminds me,, I have a question for the parts of the “right” blogosphere went apoplectic over a Muslim woman winning the Miss U.S.A. contest:

Are you nuts?

What could be more western, more American, than parading around in a bikini? And what could be more opposite to that misogynistic burka that extremist Islam wraps its women in? This is a very encouraging sign of moderation and integration into our culture.

Besides, how could she not win?

Update:

Shame I missed this until the day after:

Bill of Rights 2.0

I can do anything good.

When The Time Is Ripe

A fourth-year CalArts film.