November, 2011 archive
QOTD 0
Oscar Levant:
A politician is a man who will double cross that bridge when he comes to it.</blockquote>
Take the Money and Run 0
That would mean customer accounts are missing about 22 percent of their total of $5.4 billion. A shortfall of 11 percent had been previously estimated by a person with knowledge of probes into the firm’s collapse. James Giddens, the trustee, said yesterday that forensic accountants and investigators are working “around the clock,” and the estimate may change.
Know, grasshopper, that, behind that curtain, they have no idea what they are doing.
They know only that someone else will be left holding the bag.
Back from the Shadows Again 0
The Firesign Theatre–Proctor, Bergman, Ossman, and Austin–unite at Radio Free Oz.
Live it, or live with it.
Words Matter 0
Philly dot com says:
Last time I looked, President Obama was not in the negotiation room.
More accurate would be
The failure of the congressional supercommittee to trim the federal deficit is the latest example of Republican
intransigencerefusal to compromise with Democrats.
A Rundown of the Republican Field 0
And I do mean rundown.
MSM on OWS 0
Documenting the distortions:
A nugget:
It is clear that those that question the methods have a problem with the message.
Zero Tolerance = Maximum Stupid 0
When I was in high school, I went with other members of a club to a school-sanctioned convention which involved an overnight stay in the old Roanoke Hotel. Our old maid (sorry, that’s the only phrase that truly conveys what she was like) teacher/club sponsor/chaperon warned us that there should be no “promiscuous intermixing” (there wasn’t any, but we chuckled mightily over her phrasing for the duration of the stay).
Even she wouldn’t have pulled something like this:
School brass actually reported the impromptu buss as a possible sex crime, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
(snip)
The kiss apparently occurred after two girls debated over whom the boy liked more. That’s when one of the girls “went over and kissed” the boy. The redacted sheriff’s report notes that Haring “stated there were no new allegations of sexual abuse as far as she knew.”
And a spitball would likely be classified as assault.
Children cannot learn good judgment from adults who have none.
Aside:
At that conference, we somehow got into a discussion of guest behavior with one of the hotel managers, wondering if a hotel full of high school juniors and seniors was troublesome.
I recall his saying that we might be a little noisy, but otherwise no trouble at all. Then he said that the most troublesome conventions would surprise us: Teachers.
This was back when the state did not allow restaurants to sell liquor and the attendants at the state stores wore uniforms and kept their stock locked behind a counter. His theory was that teachers were under such scrutiny at home that, when they got a chance to cut loose, they damn well did.
Back to my teacher, I understand that my father dated her once or twice in high school. Narrow escape.
The Sporting Life 0
How refreshing to open the sports section not see headlines about pederasty.
Instead, there are only heartwarming stories of stabbings and twittering twits.
. . . . . . . .
Oh, wait.
Danger Most Intents 0
At the Guardian, Joshua Clover explains the threat from the Occupy Movement. A nugget:
The sin of the Occupy Movement has been to exist.
Freedom of speech exercised against what in my younger days was called “the Establishment” is tolerated as long as it stays in the backwaters (sort of like this blog). Once persons start actually to notice it, the tear gas, or, these days, the pepper spray and tasers come out.
And Now for Something Completely Different 0
Face it, everyone has dreamed of doing this at least once.
Everybody Must Get Fracked 0
I am certain this tour will be as fair and balanced as a Fox News show:
Where Are They Now? 0
Click for a larger image.
Via Some Guy with a Website, whose comments on the cartoon are worth reading.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Promoting politeness (click for the whole article, which details existing law and the dispute):
Gun-rights advocates have lobbied Gov. Bob McDonnell to scrap the program, arguing that it is redundant because a federal background check system can replace it.
Gun-control groups say doing so would take a valuable law enforcement tool away from Virginia State Police and undermine state gun laws.Efforts to cancel the state’s 22-year-old background check system, known as the Virginia Firearms Transaction Program, could be debated in the upcoming General Assembly session. Republicans will control state government for the first time since 2001 and a determined push to loosen state gun laws is expected.
Just what we need, an environment friendlier to more Columbines and Virginia Techs.
Gun nuts will not rest until every city is Dodge City and every hill is Boot Hill.
This will for killing machines has nothing to do with the Constitution, the intent of the Framers, or personal liberty and everything to do with dark Freudian lust. All that other stuff is smokescreen.
Willie Sutton for President 0
Newt the Gingrinch wants to steal your Christmas and give it to Wall Street Banksters.
Driving while Brown, International Incident Dept. 0
Incidents with poor citizens of Mexico clearly no longer count as incidents, but incidents with wealthy citizens of predominantly white, northern European countries may turn out to be something altogether different.
Afterthought:
I’m certain that Alabama never expected its law to apply to white folks and the only reason this is news is because someone did apply it to a white folk.
Your reaction, when you read the story (admit it, you thought, “Gosh, they arrested a white folk”) is sufficient evidence of the law’s origin in bigotry and of its immorality.
Drinking Liberally Virginia Beach, Special Thanksgiving Movable Feast Edition (Updated) 0
Be sure to check the Meetup page. Changes may be pending; I will be spending tomorrow baking (sweet potato pies and sweet potato biscuits, if you must know) and will not attempt to keep up with them. In the meantime, I’m sticking this to the top of the page.
Now unstuck from the top of the page as the time is past.
Moved to Tuesday so as not to interfere with holiday plans.
When: Tuesday, November 22th, 6 p
Where:
The Jewish Mother
600 Nevan Road (Map)
More here.
QOTD 0
P. J. O’Rourke, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
You can’t shame or humiliate modern celebrities. What used to be called shame and humiliation is now called publicity.
CTRL-Z, Republican Style 0
On this week’s episode of Wait! Wait!, someone joked that, whereas the Democratic Party might want to undo the last 30 years of Republican ascendancy, Republican goals are much loftier: Undoing the Enlightenment.
Actually, it’s too true to be funny. From the Concord, New Hampshire, Monitor (registration may be required):
They are members of a committee set up earlier this year to study the impact of federal aid and programs in New Hampshire. A few weeks ago they made their report, and it’s a doozy. It is not a sober, serious analysis, replete with facts, expert testimony and sophisticated analysis.
Instead – as my incredulous lawyer husband noted after reading it – it’s more of an incoherent manifesto that might emerge from a late-night college dorm bull session. One fueled by several six-packs of beer. In this case, the kids are tossing out, willy-nilly, a grab bag of ideas of how governments should be run. Or, more to the point, not run.
