(Sticky) Meta: Site Maintenance 0
Sometime this week soon one of these days I shall be making adjustments to this site. It may be unavailable for a time. But, be assured (or be afraid), it will be back. (I must confess, sadly, that I am getting lazy in my old age.)
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Show politeness to your neighbor when remonstrating with him about the behavior of his feline companion.
He went to his neighbor’s home in Umatilla and threatened to shoot the cat, officials said.
James Arland Taylor Jr., 41, asked him not to shoot the cat, according to deputies. That’s when Bliss shot Taylor, they said.
“Citizen’s Arrest! Citizen’s Arrest!” 0
The Eff looks at the proliferation of what it refers to at one point as “neighborhood watch” apps and reminds us, once again, that “social” media isn’t. They mention three apps specifically: Citizen, Nextdoor, and Neighbors.
A snippet:
A Teaching Moment 0
As I pulled into the parking lot at my barbershop for my October haircut, driving my new(er) car with the top down, a woman was coming out of the adjacent child care center with her son, who looked to be about four years old.
As I maneuvered into a parking space, I could hear her say, “It’s called a convertible.”
Immunity Impunity
0
I suspect that I’m not the only person who might find this to be rather a bit of overreach–and not just a little sadistic.
“But There’s No Other Possible Explanation” 0
New York University’s Social Justice Lab explores why persons who lean right politically are more susceptible to conspiratorial thinking than those who lean left. Here’s a bit, in which University of Cambridge (UK) professor Professor Sander van der Linden responds to a question:
Give the entire piece a read. It helps illuminate dis coarse discourse.
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
David discusses how the pandemic paranoia is being harnessed to fuel anti-semitism. (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
Here’s the link to the MIT report David refers to.
Hoist on Their Own Petard 0
And what a deliciously ironic petard it is, I must say.
All the History that Fits 0
Oklahoma wants to outlaw historical fact.
Freedom of Screech 0
Spocko wonders why bullies not only pay no price for bullying, but are, indeed, actively rewarded. A snippet (emphasis in the original):
(snip)
The media never want to be seen as being against people’s speech. But threatening speech is not protected speech. When I use that phrase, it starts questions of definitions. What is the definition of a threat? What is “true threat”? What is actionable by law enforcement? What was the intent?
The justice system is slow. Social media & TV news is fast. When the media run threat stories, they usually can’t show any immediate legal consequences to the ones making the threats. Occasionally they can show people getting fired. Or kicked off social media. But often there are no negative consequences at all.
People are rewarded for their violent rhetoric with likes and shares. In some cases it leads to donations, electoral votes and political power.
Vaccine Nation, “Fluid Metric” Dept. 0
Afterthought:
By this time, Peter Doocy should have learned not to tangle with Jen Psaki.
