Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive May I draw your attention this week to the word “equity,” the increasingly popular idea that in American culture it’s not enough to maintain a society of opportunity, it must also have “equity.” Exactly what “equity” might look like in a free America is blurry. I was on a website recently that took a stab at defining … [Read more...]
Dear Abby: Gay man wishes he had straight male friends
DEAR ABBY: I am a 47-year-old gay man. I’m well-educated, but there’s something I can’t figure out. Why do straight guys NOT want to be friends? I never hit on them, I enjoy a lot of the same pastimes like games, working on cars, etc. I want to be transparent, but when I tell them upfront, they disappear. Sometimes it gets back to me that they thought I was asking them on a … [Read more...]
Is this you? Pants In The Middle Of The Road
At some point in my lifetime a movement was started to stop littering. I could look up when it started and who started it, but it really is just about learning to not litter. You remember the saying, “Every Litter Bit Hurts.” Genius. Maybe not as good as, “Where’s the beef!” But! Yes a beefy “but.” When you grow up hearing someone saying, ”OUCH” in your head every time you go … [Read more...]
Going out of business in style
I’ve got a killer new ad campaign touting Sparks as prosperity Valhalla for businesses large and small. How about “Succulently Solvent Sparks, where going-out-of-business sales never happen.” At least for the past six decades or so. Going out of business sales make lots of money. And they are almost illegal in the Rail City. Harry Spencer’s column last week reminded me … [Read more...]
Judging art by the frame
“Keep an open mind; but not so open your brains fall out.” No one is quite sure who first said that but, hoo-boy, it’s the perfect admonition these days. Consider what the Hollywood elite plan to do to the Oscars. To get consideration for “Best Picture,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will mandate minimum standards for diversity and equity. By 2024, those … [Read more...]
War news
At this writing there were reports that the Russians and Ukrainians were engaged in peace talks in Turkey. This comes as Ukrainian forces are recapturing territory that Russian Troops once held. Also, there was news that other Russian forces were regrouping. Apparently Putin’s month-long war, which decimated much of Ukraine, was not going on schedule. Whatever the outcome of … [Read more...]
Frederick Column: New thinking required on American gun violence
Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive The shootout in downtown Sacramento that left six dead and scores wounded once again underlines the irrefutable fact that one-trick-pony progressives who blame guns first for everything do not have a common-sense answer to American violence. Look, with each episode over the years of mass violence, legislators have enacted … [Read more...]
Sherman Commentary: Words get in the way for our untethered president
There’s a garden-variety gaff and then there’s a worldclass blunder. Addressing a crowd in Reno and telling them that it’s good to be in Bakersfield is a gaff. Calling for regime change in a nuclear-armed Russia in front of an enthusiastic NATO crowd is a blunder. Unforced mistakes of substantial consequence have become a trademark for President Joe Biden. As a … [Read more...]