September, 2010 archive
Driving While Brown 0
Cynthia Tucker on the new Know Nothings:
As Americans, we like to think that our country is exceptional partly because of those ideals. But, at the moment, we’re having a hard time living up to them. Indeed, some of the people most enamored of the notion of American exceptionalism are among those least committed to the principles of individual freedoms — at least for those who are somehow a bit different in worship or accent. (During the Bush years, many conservatives liked to say that jihadists attacked us on 9/11 because they “hate our freedoms.” Sometimes, we don’t like them much, either.)
One Born Every Minute, Iconography Dept. 1
A toaster that burns an impression of Jesus into your toast.
This will kill the Jesus toast market on Ebay.
H/T Susan for the link.
Crux 0
Zandar points out the mask covering the hate sometimes slips.
Where Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Atheism Meet 0
Josh Marshall takes a thoughtful look at the confluence between fundamentalist Christianity and “radical secularism.”
Noblesse Oblige, Not So Much 0
Matthew Lynn at Bloomberg reports that an official from a bank has warned his staff that rich persons are difficult customers. In a way, there’s nothing new here. “Rich” and “demanding” are words that seem coupled.
But, apparently, it’s getting worse. Lynn theorizes
The growth of the financial-services industry and the bonus culture has changed that. The investment bankers and hedge-fund managers who make up most of the new rich elite don’t have much contact with ordinary people. They assume their wealth is entirely the result of their own brilliance. And they cut themselves off from normal life.
It is an industry that mints billionaires and also breeds arrogance, selfishness and snobbishness.
The Dummies’ Guide . . . 0
. . . to press conferences.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Gunning it on the road:
Hilliard became upset, honked his horn and tailgated the victim before pulling alongside him and brandishing a black handgun at the victim and his 31-year-old passenger, police said.
He was just trying to be polite and now faces criminal charges for “aggravated menacing.”
What I Did on My Labor Day 0
My friend has been asking me to try napping on the couch (I like my La-Z-Boy). She finds it not particularly nappabilicious.
(Four hours later.)
Can’t prove it by me.
The Republican Entitlement Society: Something for Nothing 0
A couple of days ago I read this column by Steve Chapman in the Chicago Trib.
Before I go on, I have to say that I have no idea of Mr. Chapman’s politics. I don’t read his work very often and frequently he seems to live on the same planet I do. But his column rubbed me every wrong way there is.
You can follow the link to read the whole thing, but here’s the crucial quote:
By “payroll tax(es),” he means social security, workman’s compensation (for injured and disabled employees), and Medicare.
By the same reasoning, one can argue against sales taxes, as they deter persons from buying (I am not a big fan of sales taxes, but that is another story); you can argue against income taxes, as they take money from consumers; you can argue against inheritance taxes, as they cause persons not to want to die (oh! wait!).
And so on.
Underlying it all is this: The Republican something for nothing society.
If an employer gets robbed, it wants police to investigate the robbery.
If an employer suffers from embezzlement, it wants the government to apprehend the embezzler.
If an employer manufactures products, it wants the government to provide roads to allow it to deliver the products.
If an employer has vacancies on its rolls, it wants qualified employees from accredited schools to fill those vacancies.
But God forbid anyone should pay taxes to provide for those police, for those qualified employees, for those roads, for anything else that benefits the public good.
The essence of Republican Economic Theory: A Free Ride.
They want something and they don’t want to pay for it.
Run You Own Webserver: The XAMPP Project 0
The XAMPP Project provides a pre-configured webserver package that you can install on your home computer. It’s useful for writing and testing websites on your local computer. It includes the Apache webserver, the MySQL database engine, PHP, and Perl.
With the proper security adjustments, it can also be used to present a site to the Big Wide World(TM). Downloads are available for Linux, Windows, Mac, and Solaris.
Recently, I made a presentation about XAMPP for Linux to my local LUG. You can download the handout if you’re interested.
Or even if you’re not.
Stupid Car Tricks 0
In honor of the holiday, on both sides of the big pond.
The Southern Strategy Redux 0
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Also, see this.
Maddow via Raw Story.
Self-Fulfulling Memories 0
About 24 minutes into this show, the Wall Street Journal guy claims that, last year, Barack Obama never even reached out to Republicans over last year’s stimulus package.
And no one called him on it.
I guess by “reached out,” he meant “gave in.”
