The Woke Stuff

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PJ Media Biden’s Woke Budget

I guess I’m a romantic, but I thought there was one place where merit still reigned.

But now Biden has promised to put a woman and/or minority on the moon as part of his budget that mentions ‘equity’ over 100 times.

Somewhere there is probably someone who checks the right gender/race boxes who is truly qualified, but we will never know. Whoever goes will either have robbed the most qualified of that place, or someone truly deserving will never be seen as such, always presumed to have been there in the name of equity.

Either way, the experience is ruined.

I hate wokeness more than any of you will ever understand.

Published by Don Tabor

I am a former Chairman of the Tidewater Libertarian Party and was the 2007 LP candidate for the 14th district VA Senate. Previously, I was the Volunteer State Director for the FairTax. I am married 50 years with two grown children and 5 grandchildren.

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60 thoughts on “The Woke Stuff”

  1. Uh, I fully understand as I share significant disgust to this woke narrative game. It’s massive discrimination that appears to be acceptable to liberals.

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    1. In your sick, bigoted world, inclusion = discrimination.

      Again, you show that if they ain’t white male cisgender misogynists, they don’t deserve consideration. Screw the women, the Blacks, and anyone else that doesn’t live, love, pray or look like you.

      Got it, yet?

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      1. Um, go see a shrink. Your delusions are really getting more paranoid schizophrenic every day. I hope you don’t own any firearms cause your diatribes fit the profile of a bonafide fruitcake.

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  2. And where were your romantic ideas when highly qualified women and minorities were being passed over in favor of less qualified white males? Congratulations on seeing that discrimination is wrong. You are finally “woke.”

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    3. Are you suggesting that I ever advocated anything other than merit for those choices?

      Of course, in the early days of the space program, upper body strength and military aviation experience were part of that merit.

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      1. You are not the problem. There are 100 years of history that were, however.

        Cultural norms swing, and sometimes the changes are more than some of our 330 million want to accept. And that goes both ways, of course.

        Ms. Radford is correct. We had “woke” for centuries that heavily favored White males. Now that the laws have toned that down, there is a natural desire to balance the scales by those who suffered before. And that was only a generation or so ago.

        So now, instead of White males getting preferential treatment over better qualified Blacks or women, with its obvious problems, the balance has changed a bit. Not nearly as much or as blatantly, however.

        But the resentment is pervasive.

        “ Your children and your grandchildren are going to have to take orders from people like her.”

        “And what’s amazing is that she kind of has an attitude too.”

        Charlie Kirk

        Transcript:

        https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-ketanji-brown-jackson-what-your-country-looks-critical-race-theory

        Translation: Do you want to take orders from an uppity Negro?

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        1. I don’t know that there was ever preferential treatment in the space program based on race or gender.

          Certainly, prohibitions on women in combat prevented female pilots from getting the experience male pilots got.

          But you correct that kind of problem by eliminating the barriers where you can, but you DON”T put less qualified women in those places to ‘make up’ for past disadvantage.

          Neil Armstrong landed the Eagle on the moon with dry fuel tanks because he had to maneuver until the last second to get a safe landing spot. A pilot even a little less good and that would have been the end of the lunar exploration program.

          Sometimes the best is the only choice.

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          1. “Sometimes the best is the only choice.”

            “Merit” being almost entirely subjective and having been abused for decades to exclude people based on their race or gender, it is entirely appropriate to set diversity as a goal in government programs paid for by a diversity of people. IMHO. It does not mean – as you people imply – that merit and competence are no longer important. Of course, they are.

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          2. Merit is not subjective when it comes to demonstrable skills and knowledge.

            If your daughter needed brain surgery, would you want the best available Black female surgeon, or the best, and if she happens to be a black woman, fine.

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          3. ” . . . demonstrable skills and knowledge.”

            Demonstrable to whom? Used to be in the Old South you had to demonstrate you could read in order to vote. Entirely fair, right? With half the population being supporters of Trump, it is not enough to rely on the good will of people to make those “merit” decisions.

            It is a good thing that nowadays an astronaut candidate with the qualities of an Ed Dwight, Jr. is greatly desired and that he cannot be passed over without damn good reasons. These aren’t the “good old days.” Not anymore. Get used to it.

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          4. And what if Mt Dwight were white. WOuld it then be OK to pass him over?

            Merit is objectively measurable and race or gender have nothing to do with it.

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          5. “Merit is objectively measurable and race or gender have nothing to do with it.”

            You obviously have very little experience – if any – of life inside of large organizations. When push comes to shove, performance appraisals (where “merit” is documented) are subjective.

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      2. “Of course, in the early days of the space program, upper body strength and military aviation experience were part of that merit.”

        Plenty of black men had those qualities. Ed Dwight, Jr. for example.

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        1. Referring to the video about Ed Dwight, Jr. above I am going to point out a moment which you “woke” haters ought to pay attention to. It comes at about 2:10 in the video when a reporter asks a question at a press conference. The question is. . . “Was there a Negro boy in the last 30 or so you brought here [for astronaut training]?” The answer, of course, was No. This moment is representative of the racism embedded in American culture. The astronaut candidates were MEN in their thirties or more. Ed Dwight, Jr. was a thirty year old Air Force test pilot with a degree in Aeronautics. But still referred to as a “boy” probably by someone who was not a racist. This is not ancient history.

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          2. “But you always see the wrongs and never the progress.”

            Not true in the least. I am very aware of the progress. It is impossible not to see it with the experiences I had as a teen in the Old South. I was raised there when petty Apartheid was legal and common, when shotguns were brandished on election day, and the black school was a dilapidated tobacco warehouse rented from a fellow good old boy by the School Board.

            On the other hand, you always grossly overstate progress. You think that there has been so much progress that it almost literally makes your blood boil to hear people say that much more is needed. What were your words. . . “I hate wokeness more than any of you will ever understand.”

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        1. Woke: advocating the use of racism and discrimination against things that don’t exist but claim they are real.

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      2. You’re right. Dr. Tabor isn’t woke. He still asleep in the 1950’s when Black people and women were left out, almost completely.

        Ms. Radford may not be aware of the understood sarcasm emoji used here regularly. If you can’t see the sarcasm in her comment, you aren’t “woke” either. 😇

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      1. How about the idea of giving EVERYONE a chance based on merit which for DECADES was ignored. Only white men were considered merited enough to even get a look-see. Now giving everyone a chance to be evaluated on merit is the idea. But it’s considered “woke” to do that? Culture war silliness.

        Also, does “woke” include providing a $32 billion dollar INCREASE for police funding? Doesn’t sound like “woke” or “defund the police” which Biden laid to rest in his State of the Union Address.

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        1. What does police funding have to do with the selection of astronauts?

          It is quite true that Black men, like the Tuskegee Airmen did not get their fair shot after WW2 ended and we went to jets. There is no excuse for that, but was 60 years ago, and it has been corrected now.

          Women were barred from combat until recently, and even so, in the days of turn-and-burn 7 gee dogfights, women just didn’t have what it took(ever see a fighter pilot’s neck?) Now, with different demands, they might have a chance.

          But when it is time to land on the moon, I want Neil Armstrong, not Kejanti Brown.

          ‘The Right Stuff’ isn’t based on gender or pigment. It’s there or it isn’t.

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          1. “women just didn’t have what it took. . .”

            LOL!

            You just cannot help yourself, can you?

            Would that be ALL women?

            In fact, there is a considerable range of capabilities to withstand G-Forces between and within genders. In a 1986 study 88% of 24 women and 80% of 213 men completed the G-Stress run successfully. The “wisdom” you cite about what women are capable of us does not stand up to objective scrutiny.

            https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3753357/

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          2. You missed the part about the neck, didn’t you.

            A flight helmet of the Korean to Vietnam war period weighed abot10 pounds with attachments. Your head weighs almost as much.

            So, have a 60 pound weight strapped on top your head and rapidly look over your right shoulder then your left while your wife sits on your chest. Do it for 20 minutes.

            I couldn’t do it. Only very fit and strong men can.

            Possibly some women MMA competitors could, but they aren’t pilots, are they.

            Today’s technology has made it possible for women to be fighter pilots, but in the time period when the Apollo astronauts were coming of age, nope.

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          3. I am just going to follow your favorite Napoleon aphorism and let you tell us more about what women can’t do and how discrimination against them has been totally based on their lack of “merit.” Carry on.

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          4. Your complaint was about “wokeness”. All I am doing is pointing out that the “wokeness” you believe is there, isn’t.

            “I want Neil Armstrong, not Kejanti Brown.” (Was the misspelling a mistake or an insult?)

            It would be silly to overlook KETANJI Brown Jackson if she were an astronaut. Your apples to kumquats comparison is idiotic, especially for you.

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          5. I get the spelling of a lot of those pseudo-African names wrong.

            But the point is that of course she is not an astronaut, but if Biden is going to make race and gender the first priority instead of qualifications, why not her?

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          6. …”pseudo-African names wrong.”

            So now you are making a point about how a family names their children and embrace their heritage? Chillingly close to being a racist comment, don’t you think?

            Probably not, but if you aren’t paying close enough attention to the individual, who has been nominated on her MERIT, to spell her name properly, what does that say about what you REALLY believe?

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          8. You really believe that, don’t you? She can’t have merit because she is a Black woman?

            Inclusion and having a court that looks like America is important. Having to fix too many years where it was white men only takes time and diligence. She would not have been nominated if she wasn’t HIGHLY qualified. Lindsay Graham let his pants get all in a wad because his Black woman of choice wasn’t nominated. I am sure she is highly qualified, But it isn’t Graham’s choice; it belongs to the President.

            Advise and consent has become challenge the opposing party’s nominee on frivolous grounds. If the GOP has a good foundational reason to vote against her, I would love to hear it. All they have is BS and base-feeding rhetoric.

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          9. I agree that it is the President’s prerogative to appoint justices I don’t approve of.

            But no, we will never know if she was the best pick, or the tenth best or whatever. because she was chosen for her race and gender. We will never know if she would have been in the running were it not for that

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          10. “but if Biden is going to make race and gender the first priority instead of qualifications”

            Uh, where is it written that race and gender are to be “the first priority.” With your stable genius you should be able to comprehend that diversity being a priority does not mean that it is the only priority. Or the highest priority. Personally, I believe that if race and/or gender are not treated as negative factors, diversity will take care of itself. “Merit” is not limited to white men.

            “I get the spelling of a lot of those pseudo-African names wrong.”
            Could that be because you don’t try and don’t care?
            It is not really all that difficult to get it right.
            Open Google in another tab and start typing something close and you will get it.

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          12. “Missing the point.”

            No, you are missing the point.

            Telling fibs is not the way to defend your opinions.
            Your characterization of the diversity goals is not honest.
            It would NOT advance unqualified people.
            Diversity is NOT “the first priority.” It is a goal.

            And, no matter what you think, “merit” is inherently subjective in all but the most simple of situations. Your own example demonstrates that. What is the “right stuff?” How is it measured? Who decides who has it and who does not?

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          13. “The Right Stuff’ isn’t based on gender or pigment.

            How many people with other than white “pigment” were even considered worthy to be considered in those days?

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          14. I don’t know, I don’t know how many applied.

            But of course, military aviation was pretty much closed to Blacks after WW2 so I don’t know if any had the required experience.

            But the wrong there was in the military not thespave program.

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          15. The space program was, and still is, an extension of the military. By extending the wrong to the space program, you ignore the fact the meritorious PEOPLE were overlooked BECAUSE of the color of their skin. They were not even considered to have merit.

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  4. The article cites the following agencies as allocating substantial funds to pursue some sort of woke or “equity” agenda: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Corps of Engineers—Civil Works, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Department of State, Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services.

    This is madness.

    Reading through some of the projects, I get the impression that their objective is to give politicians bragging rights for “making America better.”

    Which seems foolish to me, since the consequences of the war in Ukraine are almost certain to make America worse. Our politicians should be dealing with that, not bread and circuses.

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      1. I don’t think anyone suggested that.

        Merit is color blind and considers gender only when applicable.

        That’s the point of choosing by merit. Only what is relevant to the task is considered.

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        1. For what it is worth, here are the current requirements for astronauts:

          https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html

          Not much in here that can’t be done by anyone with the education and will no matter the gender or race.

          So if 100 people qualify, then at that point, gender or racial priorities could take place. We are supposedly building a program around another moon landing, but deep space exploration, like Mars, are in the long term planning stages. The effects of space travel might vary by race or gender, as do many other physical issues. So having a variety might very well be more important than just raising profiles. There could very well be genetic advantages or disadvantages with XX chromosomes or blood pressure variables.

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          1. Any woman going to Mars better have her children first, or at least freeze some eggs.

            Sci Fi writer, and JPL employee Jerry Pournelle had a part in selecting the Gemini astronauts. After narrowing the field, they still had too many. so they had them sit on blocks of ice in their boxers while they were asked technical questions. It wasn’t to determine who got the right answers, but who wanted it more and could focus under adversity.

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          2. We have evolved to live on our Goldilocks planet. The next nearest is many light years away.

            Early explorers here on earth might be compared to future space travelers except they could breathe, walk, fish, hunt, grow things and enjoy life such as it was.

            Even the longest journeys would get you home in a few years in 1500.

            Depending upon technology, it could take hundreds if not thousands of years to get a few light years out. Like the Monarch butterfly, original generations would die out before reaching the planet.

            I’m all for exploring our universe. But I also think we need to keep our home in good shape. There ain’t no other until worm hole travel.

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          3. Yes but the problem I’m referring to is radiation. Mars does not have enough atmosphere to shield us. We’d have to live underground.

            Men make new sperm until they get very old, a woman has all the eggs she’ll ever have when she’s 9.

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        2. But when Black or female candidates aren’t even given the opportunity or are deemed to be lacking merit BECAUSE of their gender or skin color, that is the problem. And that is the HISTORY of this country.

          They weren’t even considered on merit in the past. It continues to day because of “merit only” thinking and the historical context of that notion.

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          1. If you’re going to discuss the history of the country, get it right.

            If the military and our colleges denied Blacks or women the experience and education required to be an astronaut that is not the fault of the space program that they were not considered.

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          2. So you now admit that institutional racism was a big part of this country, Not just the founding, but throughout the history.

            Good grief, Don. You may be “woke”after all.😇😱

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          3. Nope. Recognizing that wrongs were done, and that some continue, does not place any obligation on me to atone for wrongs I did not personally do, nor to do anything beyond doing what I can to see that lingering wrongs do not continue.

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          4. “Recognizing that wrongs were done, “..

            The definition of “woke”.

            Who asked you to atone for wrongs. I just want you to admit they have existed and in some instances still exist.

            Yes, progress has been made. However, the party you support (the GOP) seems to be doing quite a bit to take us back to the days BEFORE that progress. ANd you trumpet those efforts.

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          5. Where?

            I advocate for government that is an impartial referee, excluding force and fraud(including external costs) from the marketplace, but otherwise leaving us free to do as we please.

            That requires government to prevent ongoing wrongs but does not allow for wronging someone alive today for the wrongs of those long dead.

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          6. No one is being wronged. YOUR choices are being lowered on the list of consideration.

            You talk about progress but the advocate for taking things back to a time before that progress was made.

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