May, 2013 archive
Life on the Streets 0
There are four million stories in the naked city.
The Purpose Driven Strife (Updated) 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., looks at the rightwing tendency to manufacture panic over nonexistent threats. A nugget:
“We’re going to be under sharia law!”
Except, we’re not.
“We’ve become a socialist country!”
Except we haven’t.
“There’s a War on Christmas!”
Except there isn’t.
“They’re trying to take our guns away!”
Pitts suggest that the danger of these waves of panic is in distracting us from actual threats to the polity.
I go further.
I think that’s not only the danger of them, I think that, as far as the threat meisters are concerned, that is the purpose of them.
Addendum:
Quilting Bee 0
Some of you may have heard about this incident in Martinsville, Virginia. A summary:
“The small black person represents us before we learned all the information about it, and then the bigger gold person is how he feels after we’ve been enriched with all the different knowledge,” a student says in the video.
Hodge replied: “Excuse me, why is the small black person the negative image?” When the student tried to explain, Hodge said, “I take offense to that.”
I heard the YouTube video on a podcast. The student was unable to explain because, clearly, no thought went into the color choices. The gang at TWIB (I can’t find the exact podcast) thought that the council woman was too hard on the student.
In the Roanoke Times, Wendy Kellam has a thoughtful piece on the incident. A nugget:
We have to continuously reinforce to our children they are just as good as other races. But when our sons are of the age to drive, black parents have to inform them, by way of the dreaded conversation, what could happen to them if they are stopped by certain police officers. We have to tell our children the story of Emmett Till that happened in 1955. We have to explain to them in 2013 that what happened to Trayvon Martin could happen to them solely because of the color of their skin. Those two stories don’t even begin to scratch the surface of racism directed toward the black race, so I appreciate Hodge addressing the issue she had with the quilt.
One of my mother’s favorite terms, in criticizing my (and others’) behavior was “inconsiderate,” closely followed by “thoughtless.”
She could not abide behavior that did not anticipate its effects on others. She saw no excuse for it.
Those who argue, as many white folks are bound to do, that Not White folks should “just get over” it do two things:
- They attempt to render their own history invisible, and
- They are profoundly inconsiderate and thoughtless of the history of others.
I suspect that they are purposefully thoughtless and inconsiderate because they don’t want to think about and consider what their ancestors and perhaps even they have done (and, perhaps, continue to do).
Like my mother, I see no excuse for thoughtlessness and lack of consideration.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Children should be polite.
Mike Lukovich foresees the response:
In the Tank 2
In the midst of a larger post about one of his favorite subjects,* one in which he has expertise, Dick Destiny pens the ultimate definition of “Republican Think Tanks.”
_______________
*That is, fear-mongering about made-up technological threats in pursuit of consultancy contracts.
Spill Here, Spill Now, “Assault of the Truth” Dept. 0
Buccaneer Petroleum’s attempt to spin its way out of trouble does not appear to be going well. Facing South reports:
More on oily lies at the link.
Facebook Frolics 3
The members of the ZuckerPAC are starting to realize that they’ve been zucked.
Benghazi Bugaloo 0
Dick Polman looks at Darrell Issa and sees Geraldo:
Do read the rest.
The Laffable Curve Curse
0
The evidence is that Reagonics sounds nice, but doesn’t work.
Tim Donovan wonders why, despite the evidence Republicans are considered to be responsible fiscals, despite the evidence of Reaganomics in practice.
A snippet; read the rest.
Afterthought:
Reagonics sounds nice because every successful con has a smooth line of patter.
Boys Being Boys 0
The women at Swarthmore are fed up.
(snip)
About the only thing everyone agrees on is that underreporting sexual assaults and harassment is a national problem, not just a Swarthmore problem. On the same day as the Swarthmore complaint, 37 students and alums from Occidental College – the Southern California campus President Obama once attended – also lodged a Clery Act complaint, following complaints at a half-dozen other schools, including University of North Carolina and Amherst College.
Colleges don’t want the embarrassment of being in the news, unless it’s a victory on the athletic field.
After all, it’s not a cover-up when it’s “protecting the reputation of the institution,” now, is it?
The Old Boys Club protects not only Old Boys, but also young boys.
After all, young boys grow up to be Old Boys.
Wild oats and all that (harrumph), eh what?
Aside:
I wasn’t always cynical. Once I pinned a towel around my neck and pretended I was Superman.
Then I turned 11.
Dustbiters 0
Return of Masters of the Universe Meet the FDIC!
Today’s stricken Masters going down before the dreaded regulators include: