The top story in Twin Cities lefty alt-media, and media in general, was the “eviction” of “Camp Nenookasi”, a homeless camp in South Minneapolis:

Not really commenting so much about that…

…as about this:

According to homeless advocates – whose estimates can be expected to skew toward the, er, generous – there are about 8,000 homeless in Minnesota. We’re also told that the number is rising, which doesn’t seem to jibe with the claims for “Bidenomics”, but let’s come back to that later. Let’s be even more generous, and make the math nice ‘n easy, and call it 10,000 “unhoused” people in MInnesota at any given time.

That means Minnesota is currently spending $100,000/year (the budget is biennial) per homeless person (and that’s closer to $120K if we take the homeless advocates at their own word).

That’s enough to rent every single homeless person a place at the Calhoun Beach Club, feed them, and pay for the social workers to make sure everything’s hunky dory.

Or, y’know, flush down a bureaucratic rathole.

Mia Schem is a 21 year old Israeli who was kidnapped at the Nova EDM festival on October 7, after her arm was mangled by a terrorist with an AK.

She tells her story on Israeli TV.

I’m trying to imagine a 21 year old American of either (any?) gender responding to 55 days of psychological and physical torture like this:

In fact, given the number of Zoomers who are siding with “Palestine”, it’d seem they’ve been programmed out of this sort of resilience.

I don’t get the National Review hate – that might be worth a letter from Joe in and of itself.

Anywayt, Joe Doakes emails:

I know better than to read National Review Online but sometimes I can’t help myself.   The recent article about Nikki Haley reminds me why that’s such a dumb thing to do. 

I hate ‘gotcha’ questions.  They are inevitably out of context and intended for use in a slanted, partisan media campaign.  For instance (paraphrasing):

Q: What was the cause of the Civil War?

A: It was a dispute about who decides how a state will be run – the federal government or the people living in the state.  

Q: You didn’t mention slavery. 

A: Well, what do you want me to say about slavery?  That wasn’t the cause of the war.  

GOTCHA!!!!

Except she’s right.  Elimination of slavery was not the cause of the war.  We know this from two crucial pieces of history.  You can look it up and should, because almost everything being said today is wrong. 

First of all, if abolishing slavery was the reason for the war, why did four slave states – Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri – fight for the North?  If those states had wanted to abolish slavery in their state, they could have done it any time.  Instead, they joined the Union side to fight against the Secessionist side. Slavery was not the issue.  Secession from the Union was the issue.  

Second the publicity campaign to make the war about abolition of slavery came with the Emancipation Proclamation, announced long after the war was already going.  It only applied to the states in rebellion – NOT to the slave states in the Union – further evidence that the abolition of slavery was not the reason for starting the war in 1861, but was simply a tactic intended to divert attention from federal government over-reach to a high moral crusade of abolition which would justify Lincoln’s unconstitutional actions during the war.  

The historical evidence supports Haley but you can’t convince anybody of that today.  Slavery is everything and always the most important thing, to Liberals and RINOs alike.  Haley didn’t mention slavery so GOTCHA.  

Infuriating.

Joe Doakes no longer in Como Park

I’m going to stake out one (actually two, given that I don’t get the zing at NR) difference Joe.

“Secession was the issue”. And what were they seceding about?

• “Preserving the Union” – and what was the political issue breaking up the union? Slavery.
• “Economics” – And what was the economic issue? Competition between an industralizing society and an agrarian plantation society based around slavery.
• “Why were border states exempt?” – For the same reason the US allied with a rogues gallery of dictators when it was in their interests.

“Abolishing slavery” wasn’t the reason for the war – and yet all of the reasons for the war were one degree of separation away from slavery.

So the real answer, as usual, is everyone is wrong.

One of the moments that made me realize my old former friend known to all of you as “Dog Gone” had slipped the surly bonds of reason was their claim that gender reassignment surgery altered the patient’s biological makeup at the DNA level – that it changed gender-related chromosomes [1]

I told myself “nobody can possibly be this deluded”…

…even while knowing deep in my soul that there’s always someone more delusional out there.

And sure enough:

Part of me wants to say “someday we’ll look back on this whole period of Western history and shudder”. But I realize that’s optimistic.

[1] Side issue – if they did have surgery or medication that altered the human body’s entire chromosomal makeup, it occurs to me that curing cancer would be a pretty trivial matter, wouldn’t it?.

Football? Baseball? Hockey? Hoops? Soccer?

Nah.

But collecting memorabilia from a band whose career bell curve peaked during the Carter administraiton?

We are – or at least, one of us is – the champion!

Vern Simon received certification that his collection of KISS memorabilia has earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records

Today his collection reflects his loyalty to the original four members of his favorite band: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.

Vern’s collection also reflects KISS’ reputation as a prolific marketer, lending its name and the likenesses of its members to clocks, lunch boxes, and even a coffin. The latter is one of the few KISS items Vern does not own, though he does have a KISS coffin displayed on a poster.

“I want to be number one,” he said. “I’ve never been number one in anything.”

You have climbed to the mountaintop, Vern Simon. You are among the rarest species of Minnesotans – one with an actual championship.

…who the real victim in the Claudine Gay flap at Harvard (according to the university’s governing “Corportation”) actually is.

It’s Claudine Gay:

“And she’d have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for those darn meddling pouncing conservativesI”!

And while Gay is gone, let’s remember that it’s not for the reason she should have been tossed:

And that’s the real atrocity, here.

UPDATE: The “community” is speaking:

My question: Is the AP proverbially “saying the quiet part out loud” – is plagiarism the new norm among “elite academics”?

In a conversation with a couple of other conservative alternative media pluggers a few months ago, the question of where the trans argument goes from here popped up.

The consensus was that eventually, given the exceedingly experimental nature of the “treatments” involved, is that eventually the courts are going to settle this – making a lot of plaintiffs attorneys exceedingly wealthy.

Exhibit for the plaintiff provided – the initial tweet is included with the entire thread unrolled in text below (numerous attached references available in the Tweet thread):

To understand what PBs [puberty blockers] do to cognitive development and IQ, you first need to understand what IQ is, how it is constructed and how it’s measured. The following explanation is of one model of IQ. There are others. 

Definition: IQ is a property of the mind encompassing many related intellectual abilities, eg the capacities to reason; to plan, to solve problems; to think abstractly; to comprehend ideas; to use language; and to learn. 

Definition: When aggregated, these factors determine the individual’s ability to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with their environment. This is their IQ, or their level of cognitive functioning. The average IQ falls between 85 and 115. 

Types of IQ: Intelligence can be split into two subtypes: Crystalline (Gc) and Fluid (Gf). Gc (Crystalline IQ) is LEARNED or ACQUIRED knowledge: eg ‘When was the Magna Carta signed’?; ‘What is the name of the Earth’s satellite’? It is heavily dependent on education. 

Gc remains stable and/or increases over time as knowledge is gained. Gf (Fluid IQ) is related to novel problem solving, eg, how to put up an Ikea wardrobe, or how to plan a journey from say Cornwall to Aberdeen. Gf increases as the brain matures from childhood to adulthood. 

Because Gf measures NOVEL problem-solving it is largely independent of educational attainment. 

IQ is usually measured using the 3 Weschler scales:
WIPPSI young children (2-7); WISC children (6-16); and WAIS adults (16-91). There are between 10 and 15 subtests, aggregated to give the overall FULL SCALE IQ score (FSIQ). The test also yields separate Index scores. 

Impact of PBs: PBs are given when the brain is maturing, through the creation of neural connections and the laying down of fatty tissue (Myelination). PB’s interrupt this process. The following table shows the cognitive decline in a Brazillian child over 3 years on Lupron

Her FSIQ fell from 80 to 70. From Low Average to Borderline Learning Disabilities. Her performance also fell on EVERY Index score. This is unprecedented. It is really important to know that IQ is a very STABLE construct. It does not change significantly over the lifespan. 

Using the various Weschler scales, IQ should be roughly the same measured at ages 5, 25, 55 or 85. There will be some small changes (depending on external factors like fatigue, rapport, testing conditions, etc). These are accounted for by reporting the Confidence Interval 

But generally, IQ does NOT change significantly over the lifespan. Unless there is an ‘insult’ to the brain: eg head injury, infection ordisease etc, IQ absolutely SHOULD NOT be dropping by 10 points over 3 years!!!!! 

In 30 years of giving hundreds of IQ tests, I have only seen such a decline ONCE (a few weeks ago), in a man with severe Autism. Otherwise, a fall of this magnitude, without a head injury, tumour or other disease process, is simply unprecedented. 

This finding ALONE, in this single child, should have been enough to immediately halt ALL administration of PBs worldwide until more data was collected. In medical terms, this is almost as unusual and alarming as if her blood type or fingerprints had changed. 

But here’s more evidence: Below shows an average 7-point drop in IQ of 25 kids after 2 years on PBs. This rate of decline is consistent with the Brazilian finding. It’s not an ‘artefact’ of testing. Something very serious and dangerous is happening as a result of PBs.

This data is known. This information is out there, yet PBs are still being pushed as ‘Affirming’ and ‘lifesaving’ care for children. In reality, PBs are causing significant and possibly IRREVERSIBLE BRAIN DAMAGE. They are impacting both Gf and Gc. 

ALL children should routinely have their IQ tested at the beginning of ‘treatment’ and periodically whilst on PBs. But gender clinics are not collecting this data, so the true scale of the disaster in terms of the cognitive damage to children is not yet known. 

It’s possible these children’s IQs are CONTINUING TO FALL. A 10-point drop is the difference between getting a degree or not. A 20-point drop is the difference between living independently or staying at home with parents because you cannot manage life without help. 

This is a scandal of unprecedented and unimaginable proportions. But there’s also mounting evidence that X-sex hormones are also causing a decline in IQ in adults even AFTER the critical Myelination process is complete (age 25 to 30). I will do another thread on that. 

 Please Rx. Transgender ‘healthcare’ for children is a Crime Against Humanity. It MUST be stopped. By us. 

PBs do have a role: For a 4-year-old who starts menstruating, the risk of cognitive impairment is less than the psychological consequences of CPP. But they have absolutely NO place in ‘treating’ the psychological dysfunction of otherwise perfectly HEALTHY children. 

Somehow, shockingly, puberty is now seen as an illness which must be blocked. Regardless of the consequences to children. But PBs affect the ENTIRE body. Not just sexual development They don’t mysteriously and miraculously stop working above the shoulders! 

And, before I get all the usual, nonsensical pushback: I am a ‘real’ psychologist; I do have a DClinPsych; I am not, and have never claimed to be a medical doctor; I’m not a ‘crackpot’; my views are not outliers; every clinical psychologist knows the truth of this thread. 

Side question: so what do PBs do to the adult brain?

And in the case of adults – is transition a treatment for mental illness, or a symptom? Or self-medication?

Among the many laws that went into effect on Monday, Governor Klink was proud to announce this:

For starters: 68? Sweet Jesus, what is this, “Cool Hand Luke” sweat fetish pr0n?

Beyond that?

Mandatory temperatures (outside the obvious safety habitability rules, which already exist) combined with rent control = less housing.

Or does nobody study economics anymore?

You’re on a cruise ship. It hits an iceberg and sinks. You climb into a lifeboat with nine other people, and break out the oars.

One of the people starts rowing toward the cruise’s destination. They paid for it, dammit.

Another starts pulling toward Florida, because Florida would be cool.

A third starts rowing toward where they think the nearest land is.

#4 starts rowing toward their home, in Cleveland.

A fifth just starts pulling. She hasn’t gotten her cardio and she’s feeling stale.

Six? She just complains that #3 is “mansplaining”, and pulls in a random different direction.

#7 just sits and heckles the other rowers, dangling the oar cynically in the water.

An eighth person stars rowing toward the light of what might be a rescue ship.

Number nine just says “We’ve got to dooooo something” and just picks a random direction.

You? You pull in whatever direction the current is taking you.

After an hour, the boat has just been spinning about, the light has disappeared, and you’ve moved nowhere.

“Diversity” in and of itself isn’t a virtue. It’s only meaningful if everyone is pulling in more or less the same direction.

…that 45% of current university students will think that this…

…is a documentary.