March, 2013 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to your elders.
According to the story, at least two of the victims were shot.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
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.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, March 7.
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)
Bags of Air 0
No, not the ones that Wall Street sells.
Real bags of real air.
Investigators say thieves seem to be targeting Honda cars.
Police say in most of the cases happen overnight.
Thieves are busting in passenger side windows and taking the driver’s side airbag.
Too Big To Jail 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Ken Eisold, in a piece headlined “Crime without Punishment,” marvels at the implications of Daniel Gross’s theory as to why banksters still stalk the streets. A nugget:
So just as banks deemed “too big to fail” are supported to keep the economy robust, now, the argument goes, all but the most inconsequential financial institutions have to be supported because prosecuting those who violated the guidelines and laws would send the wrong message. This is not only an extraordinary vulnerability in our jerry-built financial system, but also “moral hazard” on an astonishing scale.
Facebook Frolics 0
A cry for help, or just too stupid to have access to a computer?
Misfire 0
That would diminish the gun lobby’s clout as it tries to block Congress from enacting new legislation in the aftermath of the December mass shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, the advocacy groups reason.
I doubt this will work.
I suspect that persons do not join the gun fan club for the discounts.
I don’t know whether I am typical–probably not–but I support several organizations which offer travel discounts, and I never think of them when I’m actually traveling.
When Will the Madness End? 0
Teachers who want to know about firearms got their chance this weekend in Rowan County.
The Salisbury Post reported that the Rowan County Wildlife Association offered free classes in firearms instructions in case legislators approve bill to let teachers carry guns.
Try as hard as I can, I cannot imagine Mrs. Yagley packing heat.
Please make it stop.
The (Job) Creationism Myth: Dr. Wolff Exposes the Lie 0
The myth is a cover for greed, folks, and one of the most successful bits of P. R. hype in recent political memory.
Sequestrian Dressage 0
At New York Magazine, Kevin Roose explains the choreography in words of (almost) one syllable. A nugget:
Okay, so let’s use a different example: Imagine you have two tickets to the next One Direction concert, and you’re negotiating with your BFF John over who gets to sit closer to the stage. In order to motivate each other to reach a deal, you say, “Okay, John, if we don’t figure this out, we’ll tear up both tickets and go see my uncle’s crappy grunge band play in his garage instead.” And now, it’s the day of the show, and you and John still haven’t reached an agreement, and now you’re headed to your uncle’s house while Harry Styles is doing a soundcheck. Your uncle’s crappy grunge concert is the sequester.
Misdirection Plays 0
Barbara Ellen calls out the UK government’s “blame the victim” tactics. Seems they have their own variety of Ronald Reagans “welfare queen” lie:
The report argues that the government is “deliberately misrepresenting” the poor, blaming them for their circumstances while ignoring more complex reasons, including policy deficiencies. Moreover, they feel that this scapegoating is the result of collusion between politicians, the media and the public.
Zero Tolerance, Zero Sense 0
(snip)
Klink said the student told officers he found marijuana in his dad’s truck and took it to school with him to show his teacher he wanted his dad to stop using it.
Grown-ups are stupid.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
In the Roanoke Times, retired professor Jim Marchman fears that fear has conquered all.
Today’s political and social discourse is crippled by fear. Many live in fear that some deranged killer will mow down our children or grandchildren unless we turn our schools and churches into virtual prison camps. Others have been convinced by self-interest groups that, despite constitutional guarantees and Supreme Court rulings, the federal government is intent on taking away all of our guns, even our single-shot .22 rifles.
Read the rest. It’s worth a look.
The reason is simple: fear sells.
Both Sides Not 0
Micahael Cohen, writing at the Guardian, dares to point the finger of blame.
Why is this so hard to understand?
