I haven’t done one of these lately, and the “FUT COL” folder is beginning to bulge. Therefore…
1. Today’s Telescreen.
The deal was a simple one: free TV included ads, and pay TV didn’t. Not only are streaming services altering the deal, but your TV manufacturer is also turning your TV into a two-way telescreen straight out of George Orwell’s “1984.”
Big Brother is watching you watch TV for real.
Frustrated consumers have watched almost helplessly as their smart TVs and streaming boxes — hardware we paid for! — have become digital ad platforms.
I dislike the word inevitable, but what Steve tells us about above comes close to being exactly that. The streaming services are in competition with one another, and their basic tool is content. But among content creators, some stand out while others can barely stand up. To purchase the creations of the stand-outs takes money – an increasing amount of money as more and more players attempt to get into the streaming game.
It will shake out in time. Here at the Fortress, we’ve been enjoying a lot of shows on Freevee, which is available through Amazon Prime. Yes, there are commercials. So what?
Apropos of Steve’s larger point, the easiest way to minimize your TV’s monitoring of what goes on in your living room is to plug it into a power bar with a switch on it, and to turn it off from the power bar when you’re not watching anything. It works for us, anyway. Of course, we could stop watching televised entertainment altogether, but… nah. Even a Certified Galactic Intellect needs some downtime.
2. Doings Across the Pond.
Britain’s in bad shape, but few Americans know just how bad:
🇬🇧 When British Christian Preachers are arrested in the Street but Islamic Prayer is allowed to bellow out over London
There may just be a two tier policing system & attack on Christianity itself
Do you see it yet? pic.twitter.com/PPtvmC17hf
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) August 17, 2024
Over at Vlad’s place, Eeyore expands thus:
In France, a bakery stopped serving pork because muslims threatened to burn down the shop if they didn’t stop serving pork. Clearly the bakery felt they had no recourse in law, so they stopped serving pork. In France. A country built on pork second only to China. And maybe Germany. A better example of defacto vs. dejure would be hard to find. But also an example of the phrase Coughlin repeats in most briefings:
“It’s time to stop seeing what you know, and start knowing what you see”. And what you see is sharia law, and communism. Not “two tiered justice” or hypocrisy. It is in fact a non-corrupt form of a different system. If your cat is replaced by a dog, it is not a corrupted cat. It is a dog, Keep treating it like a cat and it will not go well for you.
I could not have put it better. America isn’t all that far from happenings of this sort. It is indeed time to “know what you see.”
3. Now For A Few Words From Our Founder:
By way of Moonbattery, we have this:
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Superior asked the Supreme Court [Friday] to overturn a decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and recognize that its care for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled is part of its religious mission. In Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 earlier this year that Catholic Charities’ service to the poor and needy did not count as “typical” religious activities. This means that Catholic Charities is prevented from leaving the state’s unemployment compensation program and joining the Wisconsin Catholic Church’s better program. …
Under Wisconsin law, non-profits that are operated for a religious purpose are generally exempt from the state’s unemployment compensation program. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, however, ruled that Catholic Charities was not exempt because it serves everyone, not just Catholics.
But the Founder of Christianity – you may have heard of Him – said this to His disciples:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Yet Leftists say there’s no “war on Christianity” in progress.
4. Back To The TV For A Moment.
A few years ago, the C.S.O. and I decided to unsubscribe from our regional television cablecaster. We had our reasons:
- Disproportionate representation of homosexuals in dramas;
- Preponderance of Negroes as brilliant scientists and technical specialists;
- Many shows promoted interracial romances, especially a Negro man with a Caucasian woman.
Since then we’ve surveyed alternate sources of entertainment for our evening hours. Most have disappointed us. Even the ones we’ve remained with have problems similar to the reasons we “cut the cord.” It’s been an education, to say the least.
However, a few nights ago we stumbled upon an older series on Freevee that we hadn’t previously experienced: The Librarians. We’ve only seen three episodes of it so far, but so far, there are:
- No homosexuals or other perversions on display;
- No Negroes in positions that require exceptional brilliance or technical savvy;
- No interracial romances!
Looks promising. I wonder how it got past the “diversity officers” and “sensitivity monitors?” To companies contemplating entering the streaming game: You might find that there are a fair number of families who prefer entertainment that doesn’t slather the viewer with Leftist bullshit about race and sex. Give it some thought.
5. Finally, A Revelation From The CDC.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the birth rate in America has dropped to a historic low, decreasing by 3% since 2022.
The rate has been on a steady decline since 2014, except for a brief 1% increase from 2020 to 2021.
In recent years, the priorities of young Americans have been changing, including the desire to have children, the data suggests.
No, really? What an incredible surprise. 🥱 Given all the disincentives a modern couple has to surmount before deciding to procreate, any other outcome would have been a jolt, a portent of massive changes to come. But the CDC has to say something informative now and then, to retain the shreds of its former reputation as a genuinely useful government agency.
In other news, you can get a free vasectomy or abortion at the Democrats’ National Convention in Chicago this week. Such a convenience!
That’s all for today, Gentle Reader. Be well, stay safe, and try not to drive through the puddles. They may be deeper than you think.
