2013 archive
Troglodytes Who Text 0
The racists just can’t help themselves, can they?
The Inky has a more MSM take.
Be sure to read the transcripts. (You may have to use your browser’s “zoom” feature to read them clearly.)
Honest to Pete, you’d think folks smart enough to land jobs as “senior administrators” in a school system would be smart enough to know what they shouldn’t put in writing. It leads one to wonder whether they really cared about the students in their charge.
Via Atrios.
Unbalanced Line 0
Flavor Wars 0
Asia Times reports on the spread of proprietary seeds in the Balkans (they are already dominant in the US).
A nugget, about that special species produced when some big seed company crossed a tomato with a styrofoam cup:
“Most probably you’ll end up with one which has a white, inedible middle. It comes from the gene that was introduced to keep the tomato firm,” she told IPS. Such tomatoes are never ripe; they only get red from the outside, Zdravkovic said.
According to Zdravkovic and experts from the Faculty of Agriculture at the Belgrade University, indigenous species have lost the battle against the big international seed-producing companies. Native species have been reduced to being cultivated either in private gardens or in small local areas.
Read the rest and weep for the loss of food and flavor, as food gets replaced by stuff like this.
The Circular Firing Squad Cruzes On 0
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
More politeness on the highways, more happiness is a warm gun, yes it is.
If everyone had been armed, this would not have happ–oh, wait.
Never mind.
Corporate Takeover 4
Wisconsin State Representative Chris Taylor recently attended an ALEC conference.
Here’s a snippet from his report. It speaks for itself (emphasis added).
This is where democracy can win over special interest influence. In ALEC nation, people are irrelevant and democracy a burden. When the people’s interests are truly represented by policy-makers, and the origin of bills exposed, ALEC fails.
ALEC’s corporate funders, who are also campaign donors to many ALEC members, have shrouded themselves in secrecy for this reason.
Read the rest.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Pubescent politeness.
The girl was sleeping in her Hayward home early Thursday when a stray bullet from a nearby shooting wounded her in the buttocks.
Misdirection Play, an Emily Post Post 0
Cleveland area school district arranges for an etiquette consultant.
(snip)
The class will cover the importance of respecting others, making eye contact, social graces, cellphone etiquette, how to write thank you notes and more.
“Bad manners are at an epidemic level in our society. We’ve made kids today so reliant on technology that many are incapable of sitting in a living room and having a conversation.”
Technology does not cause rudeness.
It may facilitate it, especially when the rude can hide behind anonymity, but blaming some hazy “technology” for causing rudeness is as absurd as blaming automobile engines–also a technology–for causing bad driving.
I used to do “communications” training for supervisors (known in the trainer’s locker room as “how to talk good”) back before there was a computer in every pocket.
People were rude in the olden days too.
Only they left behind no evidence thereof engraven in eternal electrons.
Afterthought:
If the kids learn anything, more power to the class.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Picture the God Squad.
Cooch and the Coal King 0
Know them by the company they keep.