I have mixed thoughts about this.

Border controls should’ve been imposed early in the pandemic. That could’ve worked. Now, it’s mostly too late. And I, like many people, have friends overseas that I very much want to visit. At least one of those friends is more like family to me. This is the case with millions of people, some of whom have not seen family or partners for an entire year. It’s just not tenable or compassionate to people’s mental health or actual needs to have mostly-closed borders for years at a time, which is what the (mostly) liberals will demand. In this era, international travel isn’t some bizarre luxury for many, many people.

Weird how the “open borders” push has reversed now, especially among liberals, and might have for all time. That’s not clear yet but it sure is trending that way.

Unlike a lot of people, I will even defend the right to have a holiday as vital to mental health. We can’t allow the pandemic to remove all freedom and joys of life — and I say this because I see people talking (even in the comments of that Guardian article) about how we can never go on holiday again because “variants,” even with widespread vaccination, and too bad if your friend or partner is overseas. Why, just throw them in the garbage, and too bad for you that you listened to my “open borders” claptrap last year!

I always knew that this pandemic would become the excuse for many people to force others to go into full pod mode. I even wrote about it on this blog months and months ago. I just expected more people to resist.

Boxed in: life inside the ‘coffin cubicles’ of Hong Kong.

Hey, a preview of the plute/liberal dream future of low carbon emissions — the only future for some reason many libs seem able to imagine. Me, I can imagine a future of space travel and fusion power and removal of resource constraints, but the below is more likely:

How long before we see lockdowns used as a tool to ‘prevent climate change’?

My guess is within 12-24 months

— Simon Dolan #KBF (@simondolan) February 14, 2021

I was thinking about this the other day, that it’s a natural extension of lockdowns. I’d be absolutely surprised if that doesn’t occur as an interim step to “pod life.”

The first ten on today’s playlist:

If Nicholas Kristof, premiere neoliberal, is writing stuff like this, maybe things are changing a bit.

Witnessing the torment of people I grew up with, like Mike, has led me to conclude that I was wrong in many of my own views. Like many liberals with a university education and a reliable paycheck, I was too scornful of labor unions, too unreservedly enthusiastic about international trade, too glib about “creative destruction,” too heartless about its toll.

Huh, you think? I guess we should take what we can get — though I still am and always will be irritable about being called “racist” for not wanting my fellow Americans to be thrown out of work and into the streets.

Kristof’s proposals aren’t bad, but they are hardly even a start. He can still barely manage half-measures in a time where so much more is called for. But this is the first instance I’ve seen someone like him admit any hint of being wrong or understanding the bad things that throwing millions of people in the garbage does to a nation.

The SJW quest to eliminate everything offensive is doomed to fail because the universe itself is often offensive. It’s not made for us, though it made us. This disconsonance of human-focused intent vs. human existence means that offense is part of the structure of reality itself.

Been fortunate enough to see many of my favorite acts live & in concert. BUT missed out on some due to their untimely death, break-up, retirement etc. I like to hear stories about the ones I never got to see. If you’ll indulge me-if you saw Nirvana please share in the replies

— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) February 13, 2021

Saw Nirvana live in Jacksonville, Florida, November 26, 1993, at the Morocco Shrine Auditorium. Was a great show.

But the thing I remember most about it is that The Breeders opened for them and some idiot “fan” threw a shoe at Kim Deal and it hit her in the breast. The show was stopped. Courtney Love came out and started screaming at the shoe-thrower and the fans in general for being disrespectful.

If I remember correctly, The Breeders did not play any more songs (and I don’t blame them), but Nirvana did their full set and it was pretty great.

what the fuck pic.twitter.com/gy3EzJfzu0

— maman (@chad_waifu) February 12, 2021

Yeah, what the fuckin’ hell. It’s no better for men, either.

And that’s the average size. That means half of women are even larger than that (yes, not quite right, but wouldn’t be far off). That’s a BMI of 30. 30! How is this possible. Wait, don’t answer, I know. But…even if large corporations and such are responsible in a systemic sense, take some damn self-responsibility and just put down the donut or Santa’s yumnut or whatever and regain some sovereignty. I am embarrassed for my nation.

Jamie Oliver’s meatball buns are the kind of mess you won’t mind getting yourself into.

I have no interest in getting into Jamie Oliver’s buns or Santa’s yumnut.