It’s fine, I’m sure. Nothing to worry about. (CNN)—The US scientists who created the first living robots say the life forms, known as xenobots, can now reproduce — and in a way not seen in plants and animals. Formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) from which it takes its name, xenobots are […]
Teach Your Children Well
Race, racism, and how to teach our children about it has roiled school districts across the country. Here in Central Oregon, the Bend-LaPine School Board election school board election became a scrum over the purported threat of the infiltration of Critical Race Theory into local curriculum. The issue has been raised, albeit in muted form, in […]
The River and the Birds
Yesterday, due to the on-going calamity of representational government known as the State of Oregon, I was forced to drive six hours – round trip – to renew my driver’s license. This was because only about half of the very expensive government apparatus of this state is actually working in their offices at any one time, and also because the long-promised on-line renewal program is not on-line and no one seems to know when it might actually be on-line. By contrast, information about the next planned fire-bombing of the Federal building in Portland is readily available on the internet
A Vote for Randy is Still a Vote
In this brave new age, when we are daily assaulted by the aching sanctimonies of The Church of the Holy Woke and the militant orders of the School of Point and Screech, those of us who value liberty over lemmings are faced with some navigational challenges. These are both physical and intellectual. Avoiding the purity tribunals that dot the landscape like Taliban roadblocks has perhaps never been so difficult in our country, which seems largely to have shunned any remaining bias for either reasoned debate or the freedom of ideas.
The Trail Herd Blues
Fortunately, I’ve been able to spend most of my time this last year unmasked and unashamed, chasing cows and filming The Len Babb Movie Project. We’ve managed to visit seven states and can hours of film we will soon start editing into a rough cut of the film. That work has created great new friendships, a deeper understanding of my own convictions, and a salve for the slings and arrows of life in a nation apparently hell bent on a life of cutting, burning, and any number of the sundry indicators of self-harm.
You Don’t Need A Weatherman…
U.S. intelligence officials have little comfort to offer a pandemic-weary planet about where the world is heading in the next 20 years. Short answer: It looks pretty bleak. — The Washington Post, April 8, 2021 There is supposed to be some cold satisfaction in being able to say “I told you so.” I’m not feeling that, and I’m […]
Bootlegging the Imaginarium
I’ve been trying to figure out how it is I will navigate the asteroid belts of the Imaginarium – dodging the tumbling balls of frozen wokeness, the careening boulders of political duplicity and outright stupidity. In that process I’ve come to realize that in order to survive these hazards, and to pilot my family through them into what will certainly be some kind of mincing, fragile, and thoroughly deconstructed American future influenced, if not controlled, by the Chinese Communist Party, I must adopt at least some and maybe all of the mindset of the Star Wars smuggler and anti-hero Han Solo.
The Hue And Cry Over Qualified Immunity
Guest post by Mike Lazarus Lots of talk lately about Qualified Immunity. Much chest-beating declaring it an abomination that protects bad cops from prosecution. Like many of our public proclamations, we are enjoying a certain loose standard of facts, that — while entertaining — often fails to educate so much as mislead. First, let us clarify one important […]
Incitement To Riot
My wife Marilyn and I recently finished Season 2 of Cinemax’s martial arts pulp fest, Warrior. Inspired by a concept written down in notes by Bruce Lee many years ago, and heavily influenced by Quentin Tarantino, the adventure follows a Chinese immigrant to San Francisco in the 1870s, where he becomes a tong soldier and is embroiled in the tong […]
The Politics Of Plowing Driveways
Running Iron Report reader John Dutcher scouted up what may be a perfect example of a worldview that RIR stands against. L.A. Times columnist Virginia Heffernan was knocked sideways by a powerful gust of cognitive dissonance when when she discovered that her Trump-supporting neighbors had done her a kindness. Oh, heck no. The Trumpites next door to our pandemic […]
Racing In The Street
I told a friend the other day that I think Bruce Springsteen’s Racing in the Street may well be my favorite song. Then I had to figure out why. ’Cause it ain’t the cars or the racing. Of course, the song isn’t really about those things at all… * For 40 years, I’ve been haunted by theses lines: Some guys just […]
Wasting a Crisis
While filming the Len Babb Movie Project – we are eight months into this endeavor and making tremendous progress – cinematographer Sam Pyke and I have covered thousands of miles, visited six states, and interviewed some truly incredible Americans.
