September, 2014 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Parents, foster politeness.
The girl was shot in the hand, and her injuries were not life-threatening, police said. Investigators said Heather Nicole Davenport, 27, faces a charge of failure to properly secure a weapon.
Via C&L.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Texas edition.
Same everywhere else, folks. Republicans know that, if the people turn out to vote, Republicans lose.
Via Job’s Anger.
American Sports Are Broken 0
So much for “playing for the fun of the game.”
Back when I was in Little League (I wasn’t very good, but I still enjoy baseball), the worst aspect of the game was the parents. The parents of one team, sponsored by a local fraternal organization, became notorious as the “Moose Mothers.”
Girls (and boys) may just want to have fun, but the parents seemed determined to poison the game.
If you wonder why big-time football and other sports are hopelessly corrupt, just look at their “fans.”
RIP Tony Auth 2
Many, including me, will miss him and his work.
He was a brilliant cartoonist whose cartoons reached for truth.
Is Nothing Sacred? 0
(That’s a rhetorical question.)
I stopped at a local convenience store and discovered that the great American Marketing Mafia has developed a new way of assaulting us with their cowpies: GSTV.
That is Gas Station TV. The screens are mounted in the gas pumps and the volume comes on when you start the payment process. An unrelenting stream of commercials pours from the pump along with your gasoline.
“Why Did God Let It Happen?” 0
According to the pastor of the Union Street Brick Church, He didn’t. We did. A nugget (emphasis added; also feel free to substitute “fate” or ‘karma” or some other term if the word “God” gives you discomfort):
If God doesn’t hold us responsible for things we do when we’re crazy, then what about when a whole society, or societies, goes crazy together? To ask the question Firesign Theatre asked 43 years ago, “Are we all bozos on this bus?”
I say we are. I think we have exceeded our capacity to act rationally in our own best interests (the premise of capitalism), or to act with love in the interests of others (the premise of Christianity). We are failing to take responsibility for our actions as humans, and we are of a mind to blame God for all of it. To destroy ourselves and the world God gave us, and to blame God (for what? for giving us life and what was a paradise in the first place?) is the height of smug paranoia, and it can only lead to further destruction.
Sometimes, random bad stuff just happens. Too often, persons do bad stuff because they think that harming others will benefit them.
There is such a thing as evil, and it is man-made.
Afterthought:
The persons who do bad stuff concoct elaborate theories to convince others and themselves that they are doing good stuff. Such theories are commonly referred to as “the Laffer Curve,” “Libertarianism,” “Reaganomics,” and “Neoconservatism,” to mention but a few examples.
Boys and Their Toys 0
Steel-plated self indulgence.
A Soviet Scud surface-to-surface missile was a no-problem purchase for him at $349,000. A rusty and inoperable Cold War-era M55 self-propelled howitzer was a comparable bargain at $45,000.
But when it came to an authentic Panzer IV, a World War II-era German tank, Allen, an avid collector of historical military planes and other equipment, has had to go to court in Redwood City, even after paying $2.5 million for it.
Remember Summer 0
We have had very few butterflies this year. According to my local rag (I can’t find the story now), the screwy weather has had something to do with it–hard rains alternating with one- or two-week hot spells–but they are starting to appear.
Facebook Frolics 0
Mark Sanford facebooks his Republican Family Values (follow the link for even more Republican Family Values):
No self-awareness, no self-awareness whatsoever.
