July, 2010 archive
Down the Drain 0
Then back up again:
They wanted rid themselves of them without having to worry about hazmat rules.
Parking Wars 0
In Philadelphia, where else?
Twits on Twitter 0
“‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves . . . .”
The Galt and the Lamers, Reverse Look-Up Dept. 0
A while ago, I demonstrated that there is an assumption which dare not speak its name underlying Republican Economic Theory (follow the link for the demonstration):
From this touching faith in the beneficence of the rich comes the Laffable Curve and voodoo economics, as well as the castration of the regulatory structure–those strategies which have worked so well to send the United States economy into a tailspin, dragging the rest of the world behind it.
The corollary which dare not speak its name is that the poor are inherently not virtuous, that they are poor because they either deserve or want to be, and therefore must be punished.
This accounts not only for the Republican Party’s opposition to unemployment payments (since obviously all those unemployed folks laid themselves off), but also for its slavering and slavish desire to cut taxes for the rich.
Excerpt:
Framing the Debate in Colorado 0
Mike Littwin in the Denver Post:
No further comment is needed.
Youth Culture 0
Emphasis added.
The 18-year-old Charice, whose singing career rocketed after appearing on Ellen DeGeneres’ and Oprah Winfrey’s talk shows, underwent a 30-minute Thermage skin-tightening procedure and Botox to make her “naturally round face” more narrow, celebrity cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo told ABS-CBN television.
Greater Wingnuttery LII 0
At the Booman’s place.
Stray Thought, Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television Dept. 0
I’m much less offended by language I hear on the telly vision (the stupid is far more offensive) than I am by the language I hear from middle schoolers at the school bus stop.
And it’s a pretty good bet that they didn’t hear it on telly vision first.
QOTD 0
William Makepeace Thackery, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
The wicked are wicked, no doubt, and they go astray and they fall, and they come by their deserts: but who can tell the mischief which the very virtuous do?
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Polite, maybe (I’ve made my thoughts on this clear).
Bright, not so much (emphasis added).
Police say an Enfield man accidentally shot his friend in the head while showing him a gun.
(snip)
Police say 27-year-old Raymond Moule was inside his apartment showing the victim a handgun when it went off. Moule faces charges including assault, reckless endangerment and possession of marijuana over four ounces.
Spill Here, Spill Now, Duck! 0
Even if the cap holds, it isn’t over.
One water sample blew up when tested for the spawn of Buccaneer Petroleum’s wild well.
WKRG.com News
Story here.
Via the Booman.
No (Stimulus) Signs of the Times 0
It’s there, but Virginians don’t get to see it:
Spokesman Jeff Caldwell said VDOT officials made a decision last year not to put up signs to indicate where stimulus money is being spent.
“We thought the money could better be spent on highways,” Caldwell said.
That reasoning doesn’t give me heartburn, at least, not in and of itself. Signs, especially one-of-a-kind signs, are expensive.
What gives me heartburn are Republican claims that stimulus spending has not led to keeping or creating jobs.
A little advertising (we old folks can remember the “Your Tax Dollars at Work” signs from the Interstate Highway program) would help more persons consider those claims with the derision skepticism which they deserve.
Indeed, more “Your Tax Dollars at Work” signs would remind persons that governance is the means to civilized society, while taxes are the price thereof.
Afterthought:
The Regent recently took credit for creating 71,500 jobs since assuming the Recency. Just for grins and giggles, here’s a breakdown (H/T JCWhite).
Spill Here, Spill Now, Side Effects Dept. 0
The world’s mine oyster, which I shall ope with my swo–oops:
The deaths are blamed on the opening of release valves on the Mississippi River in an attempt to use fresh water to flush oil out to sea. Giant diversion structures at Caernarvon and Davis Pond have been running since April 25 on the orders of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and local officials with the consent of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Weekly Address 0
Excerpt:
Suddenly, Republican leaders want to change that. They say we shouldn’t provide unemployment insurance because it costs money. So after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit, including a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, they’ve finally decided to make their stand on the backs of the unemployed. They’ve got no problem spending money on tax breaks for folks at the top who don’t need them and didn’t even ask for them; but they object to helping folks laid off in this recession who really do need help. And every day this goes on, another 50,000 Americans lose that badly needed lifeline.
Struck by a Duck 0
Unlike the one in Philly, this duck boat accident was on dry land:
According to the story, the fuse box fell out from under the dashboard and jammed the brake pedal.
A Step Ahead of the FDIC 0
Virginia’s TowneBank to buy North Carolina’s Bank of Currituck, saving the FDIC some paperwork:
With the rise in non performing assets and the need to write off more of its troubled assets, the bank suffered an erosion of capital.
Misdirection Play 0
(Link fixed.)
The Philadelphia Inquirer speaks sense on Teabags, the NAACP, and racism. A nugget:
Case in point, the beat-down the NAACP has been receiving for having the audacity to point out the obvious: that racists have been infiltrating tea-party movement gatherings because any criticism of America’s first black president gives them a buzz.
A resolution passed by the NAACP at its national convention this week didn’t say being a tea-party member was equivalent to being a racist. It asked the movement to condemn the extremists too frequently seen at its meetings who carry racist signs and make bigoted comments.
(snip)
Tea-party leaders such as Matt Kibbe, CEO of the conservative public-policy group FreedomWorks, say the movement has already made it clear that it doesn’t tolerate racism. Apparently, they need to make the point more strongly. Instead of acknowledging that fact, however, tea-partiers have tried to turn criticism away from them to the NAACP.
Two thoughts:
- No racist I have ever known has admitted to being racist. They have always had elaborate justifications to convince themselves that they have respectable, acceptable reasons for hatin’ on the black or the brown.
- Polls suggest that Teabaggers represent less–some indicate substantially less–than 20% of the population
while seeming to get 18,000% of press coverage. Take away the ones motivated significantly by racism, and the movement turns into a burp.
