2014 archive
The Galt and the Lamers 0
It appears that the price of human lives, as determined by the fee hand of the market, is 57 cents each.
Theft You Can Vouch for 0
John Romano, in the Tampa Bay Times, has concerns about the Florida school voucher program. Here’s a nugget–follow the link for the rest:
In theory, this is a commendable attempt to break the cycle of poverty. In practice, it falls short.
Why?
Because, after more than a decade of micromanaging public schools to ensure uniform accountability across the state, legislators are zealously pushing an agenda to hand over your tax dollars to private schools that are completely immune to accountability.
I will be charitable and consider that the first sentence in the excerpt above is a concession to his writing for an audience in Florida. Someone who knows the ancestry of school vouchers knows that there are no legitimate reasons for taxpayers to fund private schools directly or indirectly.
Consider the history of private schools in the South. Few existed prior to the 1960, and the ones that did tended to be boarding schools; they were the province of the well-heeled who could afford them. Then came the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and private schools sprang up all over the South; two appeared where I grew up (one still survives).
And, surprise! all their students were white. In the parlance of the day, these “private schools” were referred to as “seg academies.”
Contemporary efforts to divert public money to private schools are the descendants of the seg academies, all dressed up in Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. Today’s rhetoric is more sophisticated and the color-separation is not so obvious, but underlying the voucher movement is a desire on the part of some to resegregate the schools with as much segregation as they can manage without being noticed.
Regardless of the cover story, attempts to divert public money to private schools are always attempts to favor the privileged while subverting the education of the rest.
Everything else is smokescreen.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness begins at home.
One of the children in the house later found the gun, according to the complaint. While they were playing with it, the gun accidentally went off and (four year old–ed.) Keyontist Moffett sustained a bullet wound to the forehead.
More guns would certainly have prevented this.
Under the Table 0
I used to know someone, a someone of high integrity, who owned an “after hours club” in Philly. He told me stories about his encounters with L&I, so this comes as no surprise.
A Slant on Slint 0
For you rock historians out there:
Twits on Twitter 0
You’ve heard of Teapot Dome? (That was a Republican thing, by the way.)
Now comes Teapot Tempest.
Afterthought:
This is why I have no interest in twitting.
Lies and Lying Liars (Updated) 0
TPM reports that facts have overtaken Republicans’ favorite lies about the Affordable Care Act.
Will Republicans notice? I suspect not. Facts are meaningless in Wingnut World.
Addendum:
Remember these rules, which I have learned from experience (no, I did not used to be so cynical–I just paid attention):
Rule One: Don’t believe anything Republicans say.
Rule Two: If in doubt, consult Rule One.
Bigfake Revealed 0
This surprises you just how?
Surprising is that people watch the cavalcade of stupid spewing out of their cable boxes.
On second thought, no. It’s like the tabloids in the supermarket checkout line; they are comic books for persons who don’t read comic books. I can understand why folks read them; fantasy is amusing.
What I cannot understand is why folks believe them.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Learn how to use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
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, April 3.
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)
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
A question of identity:
Police said he was trying to shoot a rat when he shot himself instead.
QOTD 0
Bertolt Brecht:
Though the rich of this earth find no difficulty in creating misery, they can’t bear to see it.
(QOTD was late to work today. It has been suitably disciplined and place back in line.)
Cheese Wars 0
Via Michael Feldman’s Whad’ya Know, Mike Shorthorn of the Wisconsin Cheese Congress strikes back at the EU’s recent cheesy power grab. A snippet:
La vache qui rit was unmentioned.
Follow the link for the full spread.
Citizens Benighted 0
Dick Polman looks at Republicans’ genuflection to Sheldon Adelson this past weekend and sums up today’s political process (emphasis added):
Driftglass has his own take on this.
That Sinking Feeling 0
(Short commercial that will make you think of this at the beginning.)
Read the accompanying article.
Afterthought:
We were wrong. Cali will not fall into the sea because of an earthquake. It will sink into oblivion because of climate change.
It is likely not a good idea to build farms in a desert.