2014 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Another polite gun that decided to initiate politeness all on its ownsome . . . .
Family members identified the victim as 11-year-old Lucas Templin. They say the Tri Valley fifth grader was playing at his best friend’s Fifth Street home when a gun went off.
Image via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Slightly better:
(snip)
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, declined to 311,750 from 315,500 the week before.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 54,000 to 2.56 million in the week ended June 7, the fewest since October 2007.
The astounding thing was that Bloomberg’s experts were, for all practical purposes, right on the money. I think it’s time to buy a lottery ticket.
Stray Thought 0
The phrase “Twitter conversation” is an oxymoron.
Water Rights and Wrongs 0
Dry gulched:
If found guilty of malicious wounding, he might not have another water bill for two decades.
“The Lines on the Map Moved from Side to Side” 0
I have no interest whatsoever in Game of Thrones, which seems to have cast its spell over a good portion of the podcasters I listen to. I stopped paying extra for HBO 20 years ago and haven’t missed it.
Now comes Shaun Mullen to point out that you don’t need to pay for HBO; a Game of Thrones has been playing out in the Middle East since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the perfidy of France and Britain towards the Arabs who, under the sponsorship of T. E. Lawrence, had allied themselves with them against the Ottomans. A nugget:
Subsequent episodes of this real-life Game of Thrones, minus scantily clad maidens and a dwarf named Tyrion, but with plenty of civil wars and bloodshed to go around, have been playing out for nearly 100 years beginning with the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement, which set the artificial boundaries of colonial Iraq, Syria and Lebanon (and eventually the state of Israel) and provoked never ending cycles of ethnic strife, poverty, disenfranchisement, religious extremism and, of course, terrorism. Which brings us to the current episode — the disintegration of Iraq — where all that is on offer.
If you want to understand what’s happening in the Middle East–to have some context for today’s events–this is a good place to start.
“American Taliban” 0
It’s not an exaggeration, folks.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Footloose, fancy-free, and extremely polite:
As he was approaching his truck, the gun fell out of his waistband, hit his foot and discharged, according to Orlando police.
(These folks parody themselves.)
“Not Me” 0
Chauncey Devega explores the dynamics of the wingnut echo chamber and domestic rightwing terrorism with Mike Papantonio. Visit Chauncey’s website for his reflections on the conversation.
Part One: The Foot Soldiers.
Part Two: “The Gimp in the Box.”
Special Drinking Liberally Virginia Beach Tomorrow 0
Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us and talk about anything in a relaxed atmosphere.
When: Wednesday, June 18th, 6 p.
Where:
Hair of the Dog Eatery
4000 Virginia Beach Blvd, Ste 120 (Loehmann’s Plaza)
Virginia Beach, VA (map)
More here.
Sick-Making 0
When I was a toddler, my parents nearly died of the mumps, which is quite serious in adults. I’m old enough to remember when parents lived in fear that their children would catch whooping cough and other diseases that, because of vaccinations, have become no longer a worry–at least, not until the recent anti-vax fraud and the hysterical fools who fell for it.
Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health, said 3,458 cases of whooping cough have been reported since Jan. 1 — including 800 in the past two weeks. That total is more than all the cases reported in 2013.
I trust that Jenny McCarthy and her ilk are happy about the harm they have done.