Bits & Bytes

CHICOMS: BREAKING … The lockdown has ended!! But I’m SO SURE it was ALL ABOUT THE SCIENCE (and had nothing to do with … you know … the protests).

• https://notthebee.com/article/behold-chinas-zero-covid-policy-is-so-insane-that-people-have-to-wait-for-hours-in-frigid-snowstorms-in-order-to-take-their-daily-covid-tests
• https://igorchudov.substack.com/p/china-ends-lockdowns-says-covid-is?publication_id=441185

MEDIA: In March 18, 2021, Rachel Maddow claimed on her show that Devin Nunes accepted a package from U.S. government-sanctioned Russian agent Andriy Derkach and “refused to hand it over” to the FBI. In fact, Nunes never got the package. His staff intercepted it and turned it over to the FBI promptly and unopened. Nunes sued NBCUniversal for defamation and, this week, a judge who tossed the rest of his lawsuit, permitted the part dealing with Maddow’s statement about the package to proceed to trial.

• https://dailycaller.com/2022/11/29/nunes-maddow-defamation-nbc-lawsuit/

SAN FRANCISCO: A 10-month-old baby overdosed on Fentanyl while playing at an outdoor SF playground. Thank God, paramedics diagnosed him quickly and administered Narcan in time. The baby has recovered. I’m guessing his parents … not so much.

• https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-authorities-investigating-whether-a-17621718.php#photo-23223547

SATIRE: Today’s post is really short, so I’m going to include this in total. We all need to laugh more!

“Elon Musk: worse than Hitler” By Titania McGrath. Published in Critic Magazine and reprinted here without any permission whatsoever.

It is no exaggeration to say that Elon Musk’s annexation of Twitter is the most terrifying development in recent history. Only a fascist would seek to impose free speech on humanity.

This is why there has been such a chorus of execration from left-wing commentators, celebrities and influencers. On the day that Musk seized control of Twitter, Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz noted that it was “like the gates of hell opened on this site tonight”. Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic wrote that there was “an apocalyptic feel to the ordeal”.

But it was the Independent that really grasped the full gravity of this moment. Its headline read — “RIP Twitter, 2006-2022: Dead at the Hands of Elon Musk”. It is a testament to the cool-headed stoicism of left-wing journalists that they have managed not to overreact.

I also am trying my best to keep matters in perspective, but Musk’s takeover of Twitter is far worse than anything Hitler ever did. I do not approve of mass genocide, but it pales in comparison to providing a social media platform where Eddie Izzard might be misgendered.

The whole point of Twitter is to ensure that the masses aren’t exposed to wild conspiracy theories. If tweets aren’t censored, people might start to think that Covid-19 could have originated from a lab in Wuhan, or that there was something dodgy on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Musk has argued that Twitter ought to be a place where all political viewpoints can be aired. But keeping people informed can have dire consequences. Democracy has no chance of working properly if people keep insisting on voting for the wrong candidates.

Like many on the left, I have decided to delete my Twitter account in protest. Musk won’t know what hit him. Without my wisdom on the platform, the company will soon collapse into oblivion. There will be an outcry, share prices will plummet, and Musk will come begging for me to return. But I shall stand firm.

Come to think of it, maybe I should wait until next week to delete my account. I’ve got a book to sell.

• https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/december-january-2023/elon-musk-worse-than-hitler/

GRAMMY NOTES: [Begin at 22:00] – Our bishop celebrated Mass at our sister parish yesterday. His homily had me in tears.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hyU7D4t5zy8 … hee hee. I actually got it before he said. 🙂