2015 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Get a load of politeness.
Joshua Miller, 27, of New Roads, picked up what he thought was an unloaded handgun and fatally shot his younger brother, 25-year-old Jeremiah Miller, of Ventress, in the chest . . . .
Readers’ Corner 0
If you have not read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, do so now. I just did, for the first time I feel shame to say. Douglass was a fine writer and the book is short; you can read it in three hours or so. Be prepared for discomfort; words are not minced.
Do yourself an extra favor and skip the bloviating introductions by William Lloyd Garrison et al., which illustrate every pomposity of Victorian writing. Go right to Douglass’s narrative.
When you are done, you will have a better understanding of and historical context for today’s Republican Party and the “religious right.”
A Salad of Words, Followed by a Diet of Worms 0
In my local rag, Bernadette Kinlaw tries to figure out the menu gibberish currently favored by restaurants. Consider this an appetizer:
I’m used to seeing homemade on a menu, but restaurant people must have heard too many times: “How can it be homemade? Is this your home?”
Replacing it in some places is “housemade.” I have yet to see “frozen and shipped in” or “straight from the bottle.”
Chris-Crossed and Trumped 0
Alfred Doblin sees similarities between a certain two loud-mouthed substance-less bullies. Here’s a bit from the opening of the article; follow the link for the rest.
The campaign message was: “Trust me. Details to come.”
Christie bested Corzine.
Rock beat paper.
Now Donald Trump is soaring in the polls, while Christie, a politician with a record to defend, is in a free fall. Trump is running Christie’s 2009 campaign. No details. Just loud assurances that if elected, he will fix things.
Rock still beats paper.
Eight Glasses a Day 0
Bennett Cerf told the story of an American tourist who visited a little shop in the provinces.
Eventually, he picked up a wine skin, wandered over to the clerk, and asked, “What about water?”
The clerk gasped. “Water. Non non. Water rots the insides, water erodes the brain, water destroys!”
The tourist says, “So you mean I can’t put water in the wine skin?”
“Oh, monsieur, of course you can. I thought you were going to drink it.”
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
A polite society is a clean society.
And a clean society, it seems, is a stupid society.
The Impending Hangover 0
I saw a car sporting one of those bumper stickers the other day when I was running errands. I need a word for my reaction. How’s about “creepy” + “icky” = “creecky”?
Via Job’s Anger.
Public Health Notice 0
Shaun Mullen explains Trumposis. Here are some characteristics of those susceptible to it.
- They vote Republican when they vote, which is not particularly frequently and sometimes not at all.
- People who hate complexity and want simple solutions to difficult problems seem especially vulnerable.
- If they see something on television, they believe it must be true, and many sufferers worship celebrities.
- Even though sufferers think they hate the super rich, they secretly worship their extravagant lifestyles.
- They are racist and nativist in outsized numbers and believe America was made for whites and should remain white.
- They are prone to hysteria and Nobody Understands Us convulsions.
Learn more about this scary new ailment at Shaun’s place.
Note that epidemics of this nature are not unprecedented in American history.
Misdirection Play, “Black Lives Matter” Dept. 0
From the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass:
James E. Causey calls out a misdirection play much in the news these days, one used to distract from one real issue by talking about another one (emphasis added).
Follow the link for more.
Theft of Labor 0
It’s a thing.
My local rag has an extensive story about it.
Neither the federal nor state government has a solid handle on how often it happens. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, estimated in a report in June that 10 percent to 20 percent of employers misclassify workers.
Virginia audited 2,120, or about 1 percent, of the state’s 188,585 employers in 2010. About 28 percent, or 584, had misclassified workers.