8 Oct 2017: Daily Homily and Tweets

by | Oct 8, 2017 | New Zealand, NZ Politics, Sport, Tweets | 28 comments

I’m happy to report that the New Zealand All Blacks won again! They played the South African Springboks in the early hours of this morning. This was the last game of “The Investec Rugby Championship” competition for both teams for this year. The All Blacks got through without losing a game and won the competition.

(The other two teams in the competition are Australia and Argentina. They played in Argentina this morning. Australia won 20-37.)

As you can see, the score was very close! There’s no doubt the All Blacks are currently the best rugby team in the world. (It’s a very good time to be an All Blacks fan!) However, as regular commentator nicky (who lives in South Africa) says, if any team is going to beat the All Blacks right now, it’s the Springboks. They proved their ability this morning. The best player on the field was a ‘Bok – their hooker Malcolm Marx. He was amazing!

Anyone who knows anything about rugby expected a close game between these two teams. That’s despite the All Blacks beating the Springboks 57-0 just a couple of weeks ago. Though the All Blacks deserved to win that game, the score wasn’t a true reflection of how the Springboks played. They wanted to prove that today. They’re also much harder to beat in South Africa. They get a great lift from the support of their home crowd.

Nicky asked the question about whether the All Blacks first try should have been awarded in the comments on another post. His question was whether there had been downward pressure as the rules require. The New Zealand commentators weren’t sure either. Their reading of the situation is that the All Blacks player knocked the ball back and the required downward pressure came from the scorer’s torso. They did agree it was a controversial try though.

New Zealand Politics

The other big news in New Zealand is that the special votes from our election two weeks ago have finally been counted. As a result, the National Party has lost two seats and the Labour Party and the Green Party have gained a seat each. That means the Labour Party is now in a much stronger bargaining position for coalition talks. They now have far more credibility in forming a stable government with the Greens and NZ First. The National Party, of course, still considers they are in the strongest position as they still have the most seats. Also, they only need one other party to form a coalition.

We expect to know the result of the coalition talks on Thursday.

 

NZ Nationwide Party Vote 2017

Source: NewsHub. (Click pic to go to source and more data and results.)

 

Political Tweets

I still can’t believe that tens of millions of people gave their votes to Trump despite this tape. (Not to mention the multiple other occasions he treated people like crap.) Donald Trump is a revolting, disgusting, ignorant, dishonest, piece of $hit. Any questions?

 

Now that’s a real man.

 

Joe Biden has it right here. He’s also saying exactly what Hillary Clinton says, but when she says it, the response is different. People say, “it’s sour grapes” or “lock her up” or “she needs a new hairdresser” or “I hate her voice.” A hell of a lot of that is just misogyny. (I wrote about some of that here.) I heard Greg Gutfeld say on Fox News that she’s obsessed with Trump! For goodness sake, he’s president! Of course there’s a focus on him, and he loves it. The real question is, “Why can’t Trump stop focusing on her?” The answer? Because deep down he knows he lost the popular vote. More importantly, he would have lost the election without the help of the Russians and James Comey.

 

This could go on for hours …

 

I sent out my own anti-Trump message yesterday.

 

Gun Control Tweets

This is one of the most shocking videos I’ve ever seen.


Here are some more of my own tweets on this topic. It’s less than half what I tweeted, so you got off easy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weather Tweets

As Ann German said when she forwarded this to me: “Scary.”

 

Religion Tweets

This is part of the origin of how woman are viewed in Western culture.

 

Scenic Tweets

Cool looking hut.

History Tweets

Wow!

 

Entertainment Tweets

My mother tells me ‘Yellow Submarine’ was my favourite song when I was a toddler. I still think it’s great!

 

Art Tweets

This finger dance by a group from Japan is so cool. (I found it via Ann German.)

Marine Tweets

How cool is this?!

 

Spider Tweets

What a lovely spider!

 

Bird Tweets

The monthly video report ‘Wild Watch’ from Slimbridge Wildlife Centre in Gloucestershire, England.

 

I pinched this one from Jerry Coyne! It can go both ways!

 

Other Animals Tweets

What great guys!

 

What a fantastic story! Wolves are cool!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Elephants have the humanity thing going too!

 

Dog Tweets

You may remember Frida. I posted a video about her working in Mexico City a couple of days after the quake hit. There are so many special working dogs around the world.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Well trained dog!

 

This time it’s human and animal working together for the rescue.

 

I thought this was great until he began kissing the dog! That’s a step too far imo!

 

Great kids!

 

Another one for my sister Brenda.

 

Cat Tweets

Jerry Coyne sent me this one. I think it more than makes up for pinching my tweets!!! Aren’t they gorgeous! ????????

 

Very cute.

 

Worth a try?

 

Here’s a challenge. Work out where one cat finishes and the other begins! Lovely aren’t they?

 

Another wee sweetie. My paws are up! Don’t shoot!


 

Isn’t this Caracal kitten awesome?! I love these cats!

 

This is a pic of Ivory (tiger) and Saraswati (lion). They are the parents of four white Liger cubs. Their names are Yeti, Odlin, Sampson, and Apollo. They live at a sanctuary in India. Go to the link for some very special pics!

 

Bed time!

 

When I saw the ball, I thought this was going to be a dog video. Instead, it’s one of the cutest kitten videos ever! There’s nothing like watching a kitten playing to make you feel good.

 

Message

There are a few topics I want to write something a bit more on than a homily at the moment, and that takes time. Hence, there’ll be no Tweets and Homily post tomorrow (Monday). I’ll probably miss at least one day later in the week too. I’m not sure which day(s) yet though. If possible, I’ll let you know in advance.

Thank you so much everybody for continuing to support me as I try and work out just what I’m trying to do with this website. It means a lot to me.

 

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider donating a dollar or two to help keep the site going. Thank you.




 

 

28 Comments

  1. j.a.m.
    j.a.m. on 8th October 2017 at 5:29 pm

    Inconvenient fact: The NRA isn’t even on the radar in terms of top political contributors.

    http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php

    Gun rights advocates are politically potent because they are numerous, they pay attention, and they show up on election day.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 9th October 2017 at 6:49 am

      No, that’s because the NRA makes their own ads in support of, or in opposition to, candidates. You are twisting the facts to suit your agenda.

      Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 9th October 2017 at 8:26 am

        No, please check your facts. The same site has ample data on independent expenditures. You will see that gun rights are still off the radar compared to other causes and organizations. Facts don’t fit the narrative, but then they rarely do.

        Reply
  2. j.a.m.
    j.a.m. on 8th October 2017 at 5:31 pm

    Prominent feminists fell all over themselves to make excuses when an actual sexual predator occupied — and defiled — the Oval Office. If one doesn’t care that Bill Clinton walked away from actual crimes including rape, then they have little credibility to complain now about some filthy, unconscionable, but legal talk.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 9th October 2017 at 7:09 am

      Whatever Bill Clinton did is not an excuse for other presidents to behave the same. The Oval Office episode was at least consensual. There are other episodes, of course, where it appears that may not to be the case plus other consensual ones.

      There are at least a dozen women who have complained about abuse from Trump that appear genuine. There are several cases where the girls are underage. He appears to have been physically violent towards women as well as sexually violent.

      However, it wouldn’t matter if there was a previous president of whichever party who was the worst sexual predator in the history of the world. That doesn’t make Trump’s behaviour okay.

      A big difference between Clinton and Trump though, is that Clinton was actually a good president. Separate from his lewd behaviour, he did a good job. Trump is not fit for office personally or professionally. He’s not capable of doing the job, and doesn’t deserve to be there.

      More people by far voted for Trump’s opponent and it is only the vagaries of the US electoral system that got him the job. He complained about those same problems with the system before he was elected and said he wouldn’t accept the result if he lost. Now he’s complaining because the shoe is on the other foot.

      Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 9th October 2017 at 8:23 am

        Clinton took office with a smaller share of the popular vote than President Trump’s, but that’s neither here nor there. Both were elected by the book, not by mysterious “vagaries”.

        The Clinton presidency was a referendum on whether a president’s character matters. Character got crushed in a landslide. After Clinton, it’s a dead issue. Liberals and feminists led the burial procession. The funeral bell cannot be unrung. That doesn’t make personal immorality okay, but it does make it irrelevant.

        Clinton was far inferior to the president and the senator he ran against. Trump, on the other hand, even with his baggage, is infinitely preferable to the ideological alternative that faced voters on election day 2016.

        Your notion that a subordinate can “consent” to sexual harassment is actually not how the law works. (And frankly that attitude is a weird echo of Trump’s oen attitude on that tape.)

        Reply
        • j.a.m.
          j.a.m. on 9th October 2017 at 8:32 am

          You’d think Trump’s flouting of bourgeois mores would make him a liberal hero.

          Reply
          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 9th October 2017 at 8:43 am

            That is not what he does. He screws small business owners by threats of legal action, he destroys lives by getting his trolls to go after them, he encourages violence, and he causes fault lines in society to widen and deepen. He is not an honourable man and no decent person on either side supports his behaviour.

        • j.a.m.
          j.a.m. on 9th October 2017 at 8:32 am

          You’d think Trump’s flouting of bourgeois mores would make him a liberal hero.

          Reply
        • Heather Hastie
          Heather Hastie on 9th October 2017 at 8:34 am

          You are like the Evangelicals. You will excuse anything as long as you get the candidate that allows you to force your religion on the rest of the population. Don’t pretend to care about what is right, or even, at least, your constitution. You do not accept the separation of church and state and don’t care how you get your way. Principles don’t matter, as is so often the case with religion. What’s important is power and control – just like every rapist.

          Reply
          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 9th October 2017 at 1:28 pm

            Isn’t the obvious trouble with that spin (for starters) is that I’m the one who wants the state to have LESS power, while you consistently argue the opposite?

          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 10th October 2017 at 8:12 am

            No. I want decisions to be made fairly, using data. You want an imaginary being in control.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 10th October 2017 at 10:34 am

            And who decides what’s “fair”? (Let me guess: You!)

            The only “fair” system is one that respects every person’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by the lights of her or his own conscience. It is you, not I, who would usurp those rights and force your values on the rest of the population.

          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 10th October 2017 at 3:55 pm

            So it’s up to you to decide what women do with their bodies, based on your opinion that a blastocyst has a soul?

            Every wank is murder, and all those nighttime emissions are involuntary manslaughter. You’ll be prosecuting women for menstruating next. All those wasted eggs.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 10th October 2017 at 5:09 pm

            Let’s talk about the thousand and one ways you propose to empower the state and limit everyone’s rights and freedoms — and then we can talk about a civilized society’s first duty, to protect the right to life.

          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 11th October 2017 at 6:12 am

            Tell me what those ways are? The only things I have proposed increase freedom. Look at international indices. NZ is ahead of the US on almost every index there is. We’re way ahead on press freedom. We’re even ahead on business freedom. The things I propose don’t create less freedom, they create more. When people don’t have to worry about paying for healthcare, they’re more likely to start a business for example. In the US people stay in jobs they hate or aren’t good at for the sake of health insurance. How is that freedom?

          • Diane G.
            Diane G. on 10th October 2017 at 8:37 pm

            j.a.m.: “I’m the one who wants the state to have LESS power, while you consistently argue the opposite?”

            A recent comment from a WaPo article about gun control:

            Republicans – we cannot restrict the 2nd Amendment, it is an affront to freedom!!

            Republicans – we must restrict a woman’s rights to a medical abortion
            Republicans – we must keep gays from marrying
            Republicans – we must keep women from getting easy access to Bc [birth control]
            Republicans – we must force everyone to stand for the National Anthem, regardless of whether they want to

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 10th October 2017 at 9:55 pm

            @DG: The above comment referred to opinions that I personally have posted on this site (I don’t speak for “Republicans”), and no one can honestly deny it is accurate.

            Everyone in America has easy access to a wide range of birth control. The only thing I’ve heard Republicans say on the matter is (a) there should be greater availability without a prescription; and (b) the government has no right to force anyone, even an employer, to violate their conscience.

            And of course no one has ever said anything about forcing anyone to stand for the national anthem. That’s just a canard.

            The difference between the Second Amendment, and the amendments redefining marriage and restricting the right to life, is that the Second Amendment actually exists.

            The bottom line is that, while neither major party is purely libertarian, there really is no contest as long as the Democrats flirt with the radical authoritarian left, and are so keen to turn over ever more power and resources to busybody politicians, bureaucrats and social engineers.

          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 11th October 2017 at 6:52 am

            Actually, Donald Trump did say everyone should be forced to stand for the national anthem.

            Paying taxes is against the conscience of some people. Should they be allowed to opt out?

            Governments spend taxes on all sorts of things a citizen may find offensive. Should a pacifist be forgiven the portion of their taxes that fund the military? Should those against any form of marriage have to pay for the bureaucracy of marriage registration? Should those who think that God controls health for all not have to pay the portion of their taxes that goes to HHS?

            Why is it that religion is so effing obsessed with everything to do with sex? Because it’s a good way to control people that’s why. Employers should not have to right to know whether or not their employees use birth control. In addition, their are several medical conditions for which it is prescribed that have nothing to do with birth control. Also, for many women contraceptive pills are dangerous and buying them otc is not a good idea. They should only be taken after consultation with a doctor.

            And when are Viagra, Cialis, Avigara etc going on to the list if drugs that religion objects too? Surely erectile dysfunction is God’s way of saying He doesn’t want a man breeding any more. Oh, and perhaps you shouldn’t take those heart pills either. A dicky ticker means God wants you dead. The point is, religion can be twisted any way you want it to be, and those who object to contraception shouldn’t have more rights than the rest of the population. They do at the moment of course because Trump wants to mollify his supporters.

          • Diane G.
            Diane G. on 11th October 2017 at 8:59 pm

            Everyone in America has easy access to a wide range of birth control. The only thing I’ve heard Republicans say on the matter is (a) there should be greater availability without a prescription; and (b) the government has no right to force anyone, even an employer, to violate their conscience.

            https://www.google.com/search?q=republican+attacks+on+birth+control&oq=republican+attacks+on+birth+control&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.14346j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

            And of course no one has ever said anything about forcing anyone to stand for the national anthem. That’s just a canard.

            https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/26/donald-trump-wants-nfl-create-rule-mandating-players-stand-national-anthem/703318001/

            The difference between the Second Amendment, and the amendments redefining marriage and restricting the right to life, is that the Second Amendment actually exists.

            https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2015/06/26/supreme-court-rules-same-sex-marriage-is-a-constitutional-right/#6d1c3c65cdd0

            https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-14/31-abortion.html

            Really, stop pulling this stuff out of your you-know-what, j.a.m.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 11th October 2017 at 10:59 pm

            “Actually, Donald Trump did say everyone should be forced to stand for the national anthem.”

            When exactly did he say that? He said that multi-millionaire employees, like anybody else, should be subject to disciplinary action for inappropriate conduct on the job. That’s not “everyone” and it’s not “forced”. (If the inappropriate conduct is so damned important to them, they can own up to the consequences. Heaven forbid they have to part with a little scratch.)

            “Governments spend taxes on all sorts of things a citizen may find offensive.”

            Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? Even so, there is a world of difference between requiring someone to contribute to the public treasury, versus compelling them to undertake specific affirmative acts, like engaging an enemy in lethal combat.

            “Employers should not have the right to know whether or not their employees use birth control.”

            Totally bogus issue. There is no such right. Employers do not have access to any individual employee’s medical information or claims. And there is zero evidence of employers investigating individual employees’ use of birth control. That’s a red herring to distract from the real issue of conscientious objection to abortifacients.

            “those who object to [abortifacients] shouldn’t have more rights than the rest of the population”

            Nor should they have fewer rights.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 12th October 2017 at 4:14 pm

            @DG: I wish you had read the articles you linked because they show I got it right:

            — Expecting a well-compensated employee to act appropriately on the job does not equate to “forcing everyone” to do something.

            — The availability of a product is not a function of who pays for it.

            — There is no anti-life amendment and no amendment redefining marriage.

      • nicky
        nicky on 10th October 2017 at 2:28 pm

        Vagaries of the US electoral system? I’d say fraud. As I pointed out earlier, there’s quite some prima facie evidence of fraud in the counting of votes in the ‘swing’ states. I suspect we may call Mr Trump an usurper.

        Reply
  3. Diane G.
    Diane G. on 8th October 2017 at 7:57 pm

    What a welcome bunch of feel-good animal–& humans helping animals–tweets! Just what I needed. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Lee Knuth
    Lee Knuth on 9th October 2017 at 2:39 am

    Look forward to seeing your posts. Find they are the perfect mix of serious and lovable tweets. Thank you.

    Reply
  5. nicky
    nicky on 10th October 2017 at 2:32 pm

    I liked most of the gun cartoons, some were really very good.

    Reply

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