July, 2011 archive
Indiana Jones Was a Piker 0
Wow.
According to the story, this has lain undisturbed for years and years:
Much fascinating detail and history at the link.
It’s being kept under guard.
Dewing Justice 0
The resident curmudgeon at my local rag felt it necessary to sound off on the Casey Anthony case in this morning’s fishwrapper.
In the last paragraph of her column, she quotes a local lawyer as saying:
“But you go outside and the grass is wet. That’s pretty good circumstantial evidence that it rained.”
Unless it were the dew or the underground sprinkler system.
And that is “reasonable doubt.”
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
For all practical purposes, this is no change from last week:
Supply-chain disruptions from Japan’s March earthquake, European default concerns and gasoline prices that neared $4 a gallon prompted some companies in recent weeks to fire workers, further weighing on the consumer spending that makes up two thirds of the economy. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast the Labor Department will report tomorrow that the unemployment rate in June held unchanged at 9.1 percent.
The decrease in persons receiving extended benefits is meaningless, as many persons are still unemployed but are aging out of benefits into destitution.
Brendan Does the Arithmetic 0
In which Boo + Hoo = 171,274.
QOTD 0
Dave Barry, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States unless you count the increasing popularity of the 9mm bullet.
Sauce for the Gander 0
Seen in the back allies of the internet:
Man: Hello, I’d like to report a mugging.
Officer: A mugging, eh? Where did it take place?
Man: I was walking by 21st and Dundritch Street and a man pulled out a gun and said, “Give me all your money.”
Officer: And did you?
Man: Yes, I co-operated.
Officer: So you willingly gave the man your money without fighting back, calling for help or trying to escape?
Man: Well, yes, but I was terrified. I thought he was going to kill me!
Officer: Mmm. But you did co-operate with him. And I’ve been informed that you’re quite a philanthropist, too.
Man: I give to charity, yes.
Officer: So you like to give money away. You make a habit of giving money away.
Man: What does that have to do with this situation?
Officer: You knowingly walked down Dundritch Street in your suit when everyone knows you like to give away money, and then you didn’t fight back. It sounds like you gave money to someone, but now you’re having after-donation regret. Tell me, do you really want to ruin his life because of your mistake?
Man: This is ridiculous!
Officer: This is what women face every single day when they try to report a rape.
Twits on Twitter 0
Political twits. Peter Funt comments at the Boston Globe. A nugget:
Quibble: The parlor game is already here. Colonel Bluster in the Youtube with a misquote.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Karen and I have been carrying on a desultory email exchange regarding the Casey Anthony case, a media circus which I have avoided most diligently.
I have no comment on the verdict.
This video puts the news coverage of it in some perspective.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thanks to Bob Cesca for the video.
Cowboys and Aliens 0
I might even go see that one for the sheer absurdity of it all.
Then, again, it might not be so absurd. Thoreau points out in discussing something else
The Republican Double-Down Double Talk 1
Steven Conn, a professor at Ohio State, reviews recent economic history and then discusses the fallacy of Republican Economic Theory. He points out that, despite the Republican Party line (that’s “line” as in “pick-up,” with all the sincerity thereof) the past ten years of Republican tax cuts for the rich have led to the slowest job growth since the presidency of Herbert Hoover.
He stops short of calling it the “Big Republican Lie.”
I don’t.
A snippet:
Remember that old definition of crazy? It’s doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Given the evidence at hand, the Republican position on taxes – that if we keep moving money from the middle class to the rich, we’ll all benefit – starts to sound pretty crazy to me.
Follow the link. The article is worth the three minutes it takes to read.
“One of My Best Friends Is Black” 0
Chauncey DeVega comments on the GOP’s new BBFF Herman Cain’s role as “the complexion for the protection” of the teabagger right:
Flipper the Dolphin Has Been Embarrassed into Petitioning for a Name Change 0
Following Mitt the Flip is like watching a tennis match in a cartoon: Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Only it’s the same player on both sides of the net:
Make TWUUG Your Lug–One-Time Shift to Wednesday 0
Rescheduled to Wednesday because of a schedule conflict for the meeting room.
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source.
What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.)
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Wednesday, July 6.
Note: Meetings are normally on the first Thursday of each month.
Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)
Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). (Map)
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Alto, Texas, lays off its police department in a move of true Galtian genius, pushing all enforcement off to the county sheriff, whose officers take at least twice as long to respond because, natch, they have a whole county to patrol:
For some strange reason, crime seems to be reaching new alto-tudes.
In the Randian paradise, there is no such thing as the public good.
If it doesn’t make a profit, it should not exist.
Drinking Liberally Tomorrow Next Wednesday in Norfolk (Correction)
0
Aside: I seriously have to learn to count. I look forward to these things so much I skipped a week.
Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.
When: 6 p., Wednesday, July 7.
Where:
Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub
241 Granby Street
Norfolk, Va. (map)
More about Drinking Liberally.
Street parking is tight at the tail end of rush hour, but the Freemason Street Parking Garage is two blocks away.
Hit Parade 2
Michael Smerconish (who is often on target when he’s considering the human condition and not actually taking positions on political issues) reviews the problems Republicans have with campaign songs, namely, their tendency to use songs whose songwriters promptly tell them to stop using the songs because the songwriter’s find the Republicans’ positions pernicious and because the candidates failed to get permission to use them.
He proposes that this problem could be avoided by having a neutral third party (i. e., Smerconish) select their songs for them and suggests appropriate ditties for Mr. Obama and the Republican field. A sampling:
Sarah Palin: C’mon, let’s face it. The race will get interesting when she dukes it out with Michele Bachmann. So put the needle down on Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever.”
It’s a cute little column.