September, 2016 archive
Libertarianism, a Sucker’s Game 0
Thom gets a bit heated towards the end.
“Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go” 0
No significant change:
(snip)
The less-volatile four-week average of jobless claims dropped to 260,750, the lowest level since the end of July, from 261,250.
That’s 80 weeks under 300k.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
I recently had occasion to take issue with someone who, in the context of another discussion, characterized the American Civil War as a “mass uprising” against government misconduct.
As my two or three regulars readers might guess, I begged to differ. Well, maybe “begged” isn’t exactly the right word. I’m rather proud of what I said, so I’d like to share it here, with some slight editing. It’s below the fold, if you are interested (in fact, it’s below the fold even if you are not interested).
“Facts Are What People Think” 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., laments the passing of truth. A nugget:
So reads an email sitting in my inbox.
Not shockingly, Snopes, the fact-checking website, has rated the claim it makes as false. . . . .
That truth is not offered in hopes of persuading my correspondent. It is presented simply as a snapshot in time, a postcard from post-factual America. Meaning America of the last 20 years, where untruth is gospel, reality is multiple choice and “facts” are whatever you have testes enough to say and somebody is dumb enough to believe.
Read it. And weep.
Deplorable Things Politicians Cannot Say 0
Charles Blow. A snippet:
Trump is a deplorable candidate – to put it charitably – and anyone who helps him advance his racial, religious and ethnic bigotry is part of that bigotry. Period. Anyone who elevates a sexist is part of that sexism. The same goes for xenophobia. You can’t conveniently separate yourself from the detestable part of him because you sense in him the promise of cultural or economic advantage. That hair cannot be split.