2016 archive
Twits on Twitter 0
On my heavens. The update that Juanita Jean posted after I first read this post is absolutely insanely chilling.
I shall have to stop eating mushrooms. They remind me of Trumpian clouds.
Phoning It In 0
Tony Norman seems to get spam phone calls from the same persons who call me.
I probably have more “blocked contacts” than I have entries in my contact list.
Tunes for the Times 0
And now a big hand for Questionable Mark and the Austerians!
Gaming the Numbers Game 0
Dick Polman does the math.
All that Was Old Is New Again, Throwing Granny under the Bus Dept. Reprise 0
The kleptocrats are coming for the olds.
Precedented 0
At the San Franscisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko speaks with historians who are looking for historical parallels with Donald Trump. Here’s what one had to say:
Rakove said the closest comparison might be Richard Nixon, who famously told an interviewer in 1977 — three years after resigning from office — that “when the president does it, that means it is not illegal.” But Nixon at least knew what the laws were when he ordered a cover-up of the Watergate break-in, he said.
Follow the link for more from a Trumpled parallel universe.
Playing the Race Card 0
Thom discusses how the Republican Party chose to become the party of the New Secesh. It happened a long time ago, folks.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Still under 300k, but up a bit.
(snip)
The four-week moving average increased to 263,750 last week, from 257,750.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 15,000 to 2.04 million in the week ended Dec. 10. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.5 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Lap guns; they’re a thing. Sort of like lap dogs, but with a stronger bite.
McIver, who was in the back seat, had a gun resting in his lap for fear of carjackers, and it discharged when the car hit a bump as they traveled through Midtown, the friend, Bill Crane, has said. The bullet went through the front seat, where Diane McIver was sitting, and struck her in the back, according to media reports and accounts from Tex McIver’s spokespeople.
The stupid. It burns.
TOS POS
0
Pretty soon, you won’t be able to own anything. Everything will be licensed. From the EFF:
The document purports to govern “any Software, data files, documentation, engine calibration tables, proprietary data messages, and controller area network (CAN) data messages that are in or communicated to or from any” covered product. Many of these items are numerical values that do not contain any copyrightable expression. The document forbids you to, among other things, “modify,” “reverse engineer,” or “reproduce” the covered information. These are necessary steps to understanding, repairing, and improving upon your equipment.
The Fakery Factory 0
In a column syndicated at the Portland Press Herald, Anne Applebaum, who was once herself a victim of a false news story originating in Russia, tries to understand why “fake news” has become a thing. She suspects that there is more to it than the lies and lying liars who propagate them or the gullible who gobble them up. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
The problem also lay with Hillary Clinton, who was hardly a trusted figure to begin with.
But it is also true that we are living through a global media revolution, that people are hearing and digesting political information in brand-new ways and that nobody yet understands the consequences.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to your furry friends.
(snip)
Tooele City Police say Collins had set up a target in his back yard. He was firing at that target from inside his living room, through an open door. According to a search warrant, inside the home officers found several firearms, including a rifle, shot gun and pellet gun.
