A Medley of Extemporanea

If I still had that penchant for split second timing, schedule keeping, and train catching, I'd be at a nice seminar on moral values about two hours away. But that's not going to happen. I have a 4 pm appointment (yes, on Saturday), a 2 pm gathering, and distances.

Pfui.

So. Large chunks of computer time yesterday were devoted to Michael Jackson videos (and the two "Weird Al" parodies, which are remarkably...exact), mostly via the authorized site, where embedding has been disabled. I could watch "Thriller" over and over. But I was also reminded of what I call the Michael Jackson Rule that I declared in the '80s after one too many conversations speculating on his sexual preference: "I'm never going to sleep with him. You're never going to sleep with him. Why should you care?"

(And of course he was the poster child for the radiating damage child abuse inflicts through the years, including the trial for molestation, which was ugly on all sides.)(ETA: See Tiger Beatdown, who hits the point about his being an abuser a lot harder.)

There's a science fiction novel, probably already written, in which the society under consideration:

1. has mandatory parenting classes beginning in grade school, leading to
2. psychological testing
3. and certification.

(Hmmmm, sounds like Beta Colony!) Birthrate would probably be lower, but the children would grow up mostly sane.

Of course, they'd be overrun by Barbarians with Issues. That and the "Who controls what is being taught, tested for, and certified?" problem, at present insoluble.

In less fraught topics, Avedon Carol on the malpractice herring.

Make them come right out and say that they either can't do simple arithmetic or that they care more about the health insurance industry than they do about protecting American lives. And then comparing them unfavorably to Al Qaeda is fair game.

And fresh Fafblog.