From Pine View Farm

January, 2016 archive

Truthful Barbie 0

Mattel introduces more realistic Barbies:  Non-White Barbie, who comes with two glass ceilings; Reproductive Freedom Barbie, who comes wiht her own Congressman trying to legislate her lady parts; Income Inequality Barbie, who earns 78% of what Ken makes.


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Still Afloat 0

The SS United States, a historic and record-breaking ocean liner that once hosted royalty and presidents, has escaped the scrap heap and will undergo a rebirth, supporters announced Thursday.

The ship’s conservancy group issued a statement saying it has an option agreement with a redevelopment partner. No further details will be released until a news conference Feb. 4 at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York, according to conservancy spokesman Tom Basile.

The nature of the “rebirth” was not announced.

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That “E” Stands for “Exploding” 0

Heh.

A young man from Cologne has suffered severe wounds including the loss of several teeth after the e-cigarette he was smoking exploded in his mouth.

(snip)

Police reported on Thursday that they believe he was there to buy an new battery and an evaporator head for his own e-cigarette.

He then tried the two new parts in his device in the shop. But as soon as he inhaled on the device, it exploded, burning and wounding his face and knocking several teeth out of his mouth.

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Flint-Hearted: Too Much Voting 0

Warning: Language.

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QOTD 0

Edgar Degas:

Boredom soon overcomes me when I am contemplating nature.

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Hissy Fit 0

Image of tall building labeled

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 1

Cenk sees an historical trend. (Warning: Forceful Language)

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Open Carryings-On 0

Daniel Ruth has qualms about Florida’s rush to become an armed encampment. Among other worries, he suspects that a bunch of pistol-packing yahoos roaming the 7-11s of the Gunshine State might have a deleterious effect on Florida’s tourism industry.

He suggests an alternative for those wishing to indulge their ammosexual urges:

In reaction to Tallahassee’s tireless efforts to turn the state into an armed camp rivaling the baptism scene in The Godfather, I would offer an alternative piece of legislation. Instead of allowing people with concealed weapons permits to openly prance about with their little friends in full view, I would offer a far better idea.

Free Viagra for all. Problem solved.</blockquote>

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Immunity Impunity 0

Get out of Jail free cardEight Los Angeles police officers who mistakenly opened fire on Los Angeles Times newspaper delivery women thinking they were rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner in 2013 will not be criminally charged, the L.A. County district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

The short version of the District Attorney’s ruling is this: They were a-skeert, so they’re allowed.

Follow the link for more.

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Fantastic Voyage 2

Josh Marshall tries to make sense of the Bundy Bund. A snippet (emphasis added):

Here, though, these guys have this bucket of nonsense hokum about Magna Carta and Sheriffs somehow being the true “sovereigns” over state governments, federal governments, the people themselves and all of this means the federal government can’t manage and charge grazing fees for land that it in fact owns. These aren’t archaic ideas that were once true but are now outdated. This stuff was never true or even made any sense. Clearly, there’s a sense of alienation and entitlement and a cultural posture driving these beliefs but I’m sorry, that’s just a complete f’ing pile of nonsense that isn’t based on anything.

(snip)

As I said at the outset of this story (and it’s not over), in the context of the on-going dialog about race, police use of force and violence and all the ways these wrenching issues interweave with each other, this whole ridiculous episode amounted to a sort of white privilege performance art.

Do please read the rest.

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Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0

A little better, but basically status quo ante.

Jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 278,000 in the week ended Jan. 23, from 294,000 in the prior period, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, decreased to 283,000 last week, from 285,250.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 49,000 to 2.27 million in the week ended Jan. 16.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Politeness begins at home.

Police say a two-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in Waldorf on Wednesday afternoon with his father’s handgun.

We’ve been told the semi-automatic, loaded handgun was not placed in the gun cabinet, nor did it have the safety lock on, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.

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Everybody Must Get Fracked 0

Ron Littlepage is not impressed with the oil industry’s Trojan horse of a fracking “regulation” bill.

The oil and gas industry, which sends copious amounts of cash to the campaign accounts of legislators, is in favor of fracking.

Never mind that with Florida ground zero for sea-level rise, we should be looking for completely clean alternative energy sources to reduce greenhouse gases.

And never mind that when fracking runs awry, which will surely happen sometime, Florida’s water supply and environment will absorb another damaging blow.

The bill is promoted as a way to set statewide standards for fracking. See above about lipstick and pigs.

What the bill does is take away the rights of local governments to control what goes on in their backyards.

Given the geology of Florida, I see visions of the biggest sinkhole yet.

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QOTD 0

Euripides:

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.

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Still Flint-Hearted 0

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The Fee Hand of the Market 0

In the Austin Statesman, Tara Trower Doolittle exposes the con inheret in the term, “health care marketplace.”

In my time on the editorial board, I’ve heard various groups attempt to explain that rising medical costs are due to a failure of families to research the costs or an inability to prioritize their spending. But when your child falls and her bone is unmistakably broken, there is no time to go online and compare costs for orthopedic surgery, there is no form to sign to require hospitals to use only “in-network” specialists, and I dare anyone to suggest that perhaps you cut back on the pain medication to cut costs. Saying “Nevermind, let’s not fix this arm today” is not an option.

Read the rest.

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How Stuff Works, Conspicuous Consumption Dept. 0

Sad-looking oil executive backed by chart showing prices and profits dropping.  Underling says,

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“Person of the Year” 0

Donald Kaul nominates Pharma Bro Martin Skrelli as best symbolizing 2015. A snippet:

What sets Skreli apart is that making a fortune by cheating people legally wasn’t enough for him. He fancied himself a financial wizard and set up a hedge fund scheme that allowed him to lie, cheat, and steal his way to another fortune. This one was illegal.

The whole thing finally caught up with the 32-year-old in December. The feds showed up and threw him in jail, from which he’s been released on $5 million bail.

Now I’m asking you: Does that make Shkreli the person of the year or what?

Do read the test.

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The Pusher Men 0

In related news . . . .

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Words Have Meanings 0

There seems to be a little dustup involving the OED.

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