Has our victory in the Cold War come to this?
I have never seen such useless handwringing, gnashing of teeth, rending of garments and hair-pulling over such an inconsequential issue in my life. Sure, if it were proven that the Russians aided or abetted voter fraud to throw a presidential election, it would be troubling. Any American who participated in that would go to jail for a very long time. But for all the noise we've heard about this, we've seen precious little evidence of any wrongdoing.
Make no mistake: The Russians love to meddle. Since the days of Peter the Great, Russia has longed to keep its outsiders at arms' length. By destabilizing one of its biggest competitors, Russia stood not only to secure its existence (did I mention Russians are paranoid...?) but also to elevate itself in the eyes of the rest of the world. Given its size, its military and its oil reserves, Russia is in a position to dominate other countries and thereby preserve its hegemony over them. Unless, of course, the United States with our myriad assets exists to nullify the Russians' advantages and overtake them.
But is it really in Russia's best interests to weaken the US? A growing and aggressive Chinese military threatens to shut down the Pacific to the Russians. Its population is some eight times the Russian population, outstripping it by a factor of ten in the Far East. With the United States as a counterbalance, the Russians can breathe a little bit easier, although they'd still have to be wary of a belligerent China.
Still, even assuming Russia interfered in the 2016 general elections, where's the proof? Wouldn't the intelligence agencies be releasing information to Congress or the White House showing that the results were rigged? Why is Congress wasting its time chasing these non-starters about how Jr. met with this operative or Kushner talked with this lawyer or Ivanka shared a drink with this Russian? For virtually every alleged sin committed by the Trump campaign and administration there's at least one story debunking the allegation. Meanwhile, judicial positions remain unfilled, Obamacare remains unrepealed, tax reform is stalled and we look like a laughingstock to the rest of the world.
I can't say categorically that nothing happened. But unless and until someone proves otherwise, enough is enough. Especially when one considers the relative yawn coming from the MSM regarding the misdeeds of the Clintons when it came to selling assets of the country for personal profit. Again, there are two sets of standards: One for liberals and another for everyone else.
What the Russia adventure proves is the fecklessness of our MSM. There is no one willing to look beyond this Potemkin village (sorry, had to use it) and go after the Clintons, or take the Democrats to task for obstructionism, or report on the ills of sanctuary cities. Instead, the MSM has appointed itself President Trump's Javert and will dog his every step until it ousts him from the Oval Office.
Only partially sardonically, if the Russians in fact meddled in our election, they might have done us an invaluable service. If they hadn't, Cankles might have won.
What would the MSM have to do were she president...?
(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Hot For Teacher
Growing up, virtually any male going through puberty had fantasies of hooking up with the hot teacher in his school. Not that there was much chance of it happening; the 60's and 70's might have been the era of free love, but it hadn't yet found its way to the classrooms of middle schools and high schools.
Times have changed...mightily.
Nowadays, hardly a month goes by without there being a report about some teacher preying on a teenaged male student or students. Guys my age derisively and only half-jokingly ask where these women were when we were growing up, but in truth this is becoming a huge problem. One of the most recent stories involved a married woman with children who adopted a fifteen-year-old boy solely so he would be in her home for the purposes of sex. In perhaps the most disgusting of the reports, an older woman had sex with a mentally disabled youth.
And people say men are oversexed...
One might think that the women involved in these accounts are the type who can't find a man on their own so they resort to younger boys who are more pliable. From the mug shots that are put online, that isn't the case. Sure, there are some women who are probably not finding a mate of their own age, but a lot of these women are not only married, but they're attractive to varying degrees. Here's one compilation of women who engage in sex with teenagers:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/slideshow/2017/06/29/female-teachers-charged-or-convicted-having-sex-with-students.html#/slide/loryn-Barclay
And here's yet another:
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/notorious-teacher-sex-scandals/?ftag=ACQb72972c&vndid=00474a66c55d0c6edfd2589c64ab95a565
There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to the motivation of these women. It's almost a given that older men prey on young girls, sick as that is. Perhaps there's something primal in it, but civilization has not only frowned on that, it's passed laws against it. What civilization and the law seem to have overlooked is that no matter how badly men act, women can act just as poorly.
The fact that women are now making cringe-worthy movies to imitate the likes of The Hangover proves that women can't claim moral superiority as a gender. But it shocks the conscience, at first, when acts such as these are aired. As a civilization, we're not used to women acting with this level of depravity; we almost expect it of men.
The element in this that shocks me isn't that women do it but that married women do it. Perhaps there's something wrong in the marriage, something missing. But some of these women are not only married but have young children. These aren't dowagers with grown children; these are (in some cases good-looking) women in their twenties and thirties who are getting involved with teenagers, boys just years older than the women's oldest children. And in some cases, the woman are getting pregnant by their post-pubescent lovers.
Yes, there are some women in their forties who are also doing this. But the majority, shockingly, are as I described them.
Why not just have an affair with an older man, or a man around their age? Why add statutory rape to the misdeeds of which they'll be accused. I find it hard to believe there are on men of majority age attractive enough to turn the heads of these women.
Or is it just the taboo aspect of it? If that's it, the thrill of the forbidden, why not stick to older men and have an affair?
Most guys would scoff at the notion that these young boys will be scarred by the experience. If that were me, they'd say, I'd be smiling 'til my dying day. And perhaps some are. But for as parental as the laws may be, there's good reason to prohibit sex between adults and minors, one of which is the traumatic effect that such experiences may have on the minors, effects, which, may not manifest themselves for years.
As with cellphones that take pictures, trains that travel nearly 200 mph and cable television that offers thousands of channels, we're in a brave new world, one that Aldous Huxley may not have foreseen.
(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
Times have changed...mightily.
Nowadays, hardly a month goes by without there being a report about some teacher preying on a teenaged male student or students. Guys my age derisively and only half-jokingly ask where these women were when we were growing up, but in truth this is becoming a huge problem. One of the most recent stories involved a married woman with children who adopted a fifteen-year-old boy solely so he would be in her home for the purposes of sex. In perhaps the most disgusting of the reports, an older woman had sex with a mentally disabled youth.
And people say men are oversexed...
One might think that the women involved in these accounts are the type who can't find a man on their own so they resort to younger boys who are more pliable. From the mug shots that are put online, that isn't the case. Sure, there are some women who are probably not finding a mate of their own age, but a lot of these women are not only married, but they're attractive to varying degrees. Here's one compilation of women who engage in sex with teenagers:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/slideshow/2017/06/29/female-teachers-charged-or-convicted-having-sex-with-students.html#/slide/loryn-Barclay
And here's yet another:
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/notorious-teacher-sex-scandals/?ftag=ACQb72972c&vndid=00474a66c55d0c6edfd2589c64ab95a565
There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason as to the motivation of these women. It's almost a given that older men prey on young girls, sick as that is. Perhaps there's something primal in it, but civilization has not only frowned on that, it's passed laws against it. What civilization and the law seem to have overlooked is that no matter how badly men act, women can act just as poorly.
The fact that women are now making cringe-worthy movies to imitate the likes of The Hangover proves that women can't claim moral superiority as a gender. But it shocks the conscience, at first, when acts such as these are aired. As a civilization, we're not used to women acting with this level of depravity; we almost expect it of men.
The element in this that shocks me isn't that women do it but that married women do it. Perhaps there's something wrong in the marriage, something missing. But some of these women are not only married but have young children. These aren't dowagers with grown children; these are (in some cases good-looking) women in their twenties and thirties who are getting involved with teenagers, boys just years older than the women's oldest children. And in some cases, the woman are getting pregnant by their post-pubescent lovers.
Yes, there are some women in their forties who are also doing this. But the majority, shockingly, are as I described them.
Why not just have an affair with an older man, or a man around their age? Why add statutory rape to the misdeeds of which they'll be accused. I find it hard to believe there are on men of majority age attractive enough to turn the heads of these women.
Or is it just the taboo aspect of it? If that's it, the thrill of the forbidden, why not stick to older men and have an affair?
Most guys would scoff at the notion that these young boys will be scarred by the experience. If that were me, they'd say, I'd be smiling 'til my dying day. And perhaps some are. But for as parental as the laws may be, there's good reason to prohibit sex between adults and minors, one of which is the traumatic effect that such experiences may have on the minors, effects, which, may not manifest themselves for years.
As with cellphones that take pictures, trains that travel nearly 200 mph and cable television that offers thousands of channels, we're in a brave new world, one that Aldous Huxley may not have foreseen.
(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Trilogies
What is it with trilogies? As audiences, when there's a good first story, we like to continue with it and be entertained. Certainly, this is only possible in fiction, unless a non-fiction tale lends itself to three chapters. As a result, the authors typically follow a very distinct pattern: First book/movie either great or tantalizing, followed by huge expectations of a sequel that either disappoints or underwhelms, followed by the final chapter that either blows the first two away or equals the first installment.
Why is this?
Think about it: Whether it's a movie or a book trilogy, the pattern is almost inviolable (with the noted exception The Godfather trilogy, which miraculously turned this analysis on its head and had The Godfather III not only better the first movie, but perhaps is one of the best movies of all time, followed by one of the worst final acts in all the trilogies in existence).
Take the Indiana Jones movies. Raiders of the Lost Ark was a great movie. It grabbed one by the throat and held on until the doors of the warehouse shut. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was, well, too cutesy. It's probably best known for finding Steven Spielberg his wife, actress Kate Capshaw. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was fantastic. The last scene where Indy has to find the Holy Grail guarded by the Templar was fantastic. Thus, original and final good, middle one mediocre.
(Don't even tell me there was a fourth movie. If anyone's paying attention, that fourth movie, a travesty, was a simple money-grab and made nearly a decade ago. That no other movie in the series has been forthcoming is telling.)
In literature, some recent trilogies support the thesis. The Dragon Tattoo series -- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest -- were all phenomenal books. They were so good, in fact, that I read all three inside of a month. But if I had to be honest and rank them, the first and the third were superior, however slightly, to the second. This is the rare trilogy where all three parts of the trilogy are exceptional. Even so, there's a slight dip in the second book compared to the first and the third.
Another trilogy that's presently being expanded to a fourth book is The Shadow of the Wind series. Not only is that title my favorite book title of all time, but it's a heck of a book to start a series. The first chapter alone is as gripping as anything ever written. Still, the follow-up, The Angel's Game, suffers not only from not being as interesting as The Shadow of the Wind, but in trying to be a prequel, explaining what set the first book in motion. The final book (until recently), The Prisoner of Heaven, is better than The Angel's Game, although it's not nearly as good as The Shadow of the Wind.
So where does this leave us? I don't know whether the authors got tired, lazy or too cute, but in almost every case, the second effort pales by comparison. Sometimes the third installment exceeds the first, but in almost every case, the first and the third installments are superior to the second.
Of course, one could try to equate this to the middle child always being troublesome. Perhaps there's something to that theory after all.
(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
Why is this?
Think about it: Whether it's a movie or a book trilogy, the pattern is almost inviolable (with the noted exception The Godfather trilogy, which miraculously turned this analysis on its head and had The Godfather III not only better the first movie, but perhaps is one of the best movies of all time, followed by one of the worst final acts in all the trilogies in existence).
Take the Indiana Jones movies. Raiders of the Lost Ark was a great movie. It grabbed one by the throat and held on until the doors of the warehouse shut. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was, well, too cutesy. It's probably best known for finding Steven Spielberg his wife, actress Kate Capshaw. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was fantastic. The last scene where Indy has to find the Holy Grail guarded by the Templar was fantastic. Thus, original and final good, middle one mediocre.
(Don't even tell me there was a fourth movie. If anyone's paying attention, that fourth movie, a travesty, was a simple money-grab and made nearly a decade ago. That no other movie in the series has been forthcoming is telling.)
In literature, some recent trilogies support the thesis. The Dragon Tattoo series -- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest -- were all phenomenal books. They were so good, in fact, that I read all three inside of a month. But if I had to be honest and rank them, the first and the third were superior, however slightly, to the second. This is the rare trilogy where all three parts of the trilogy are exceptional. Even so, there's a slight dip in the second book compared to the first and the third.
Another trilogy that's presently being expanded to a fourth book is The Shadow of the Wind series. Not only is that title my favorite book title of all time, but it's a heck of a book to start a series. The first chapter alone is as gripping as anything ever written. Still, the follow-up, The Angel's Game, suffers not only from not being as interesting as The Shadow of the Wind, but in trying to be a prequel, explaining what set the first book in motion. The final book (until recently), The Prisoner of Heaven, is better than The Angel's Game, although it's not nearly as good as The Shadow of the Wind.
So where does this leave us? I don't know whether the authors got tired, lazy or too cute, but in almost every case, the second effort pales by comparison. Sometimes the third installment exceeds the first, but in almost every case, the first and the third installments are superior to the second.
Of course, one could try to equate this to the middle child always being troublesome. Perhaps there's something to that theory after all.
(c) 2017 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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