2018 archive
Comin’ Round the Bend 0
Shorter Jay Bookman: You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The Austin, Texas, city council has passed a measure eliminating “fee waivers” for Confederate groups who wish to march in the Austin Veterans Day Parade. Said groups, natch, are protesting that they are being discriminated against. At the Austin Statesman, Alberta Phillips points out the ludicrousness of their plaints. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):
Follow the link for the rest.
Spinning Tales 0
At Delaware Liberal, Jason 330 tracks the evolution (revolution?) of Donald Trump’s spin.
Bandwidth 0
Jim Wright, who had a career in intelligence work, theorizes as to why the American polity is vulnerable to dis- and misinformation. It is worth your while. Here’s a bit:
More powerful, more far-reaching, more scalable, more destructive to the very fabric of our society than any nuclear bomb.
This form of warfare is incredibly powerful, far more so than any other weapon – because it reaches directly into your mind and shapes how you see the world.
Information warfare is infinitely scalable, it can target a single individual, or the entire global population, it can target a single decision-maker, a government, a population, or alter the course of history.
For example: The president of this country watches a certain news/talk/infotainment show. Every day. Without fail. And that show, the information presented there, directly shapes how he sees the world. You can watch this happen daily in real-time. Those who control that show, has direct and immediate influence on the president, and thus on the country, and thus on a global scale. It is a astounding national security vulnerability. One our enemies are well, well aware of and one, a vulnerability that our own counter-intelligence people cannot plug due to the very nature of their own Commander-in-Chief.
This is unprecedented in our history.
Taylor-Made 0
My local rag digs into a story about a signature accomplishment.
.jpeg)
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
. . . and a polite society is a clean society.
The argument escalated as Randell Wright got his gun to emphasize the point, but he claimed Jakari wouldn’t back down, saying “Then we started wrestling for the gun, and it went off.”
Presidented and Unprecedented 0
Mike mulls the implications of thirteen former intelligence heads’ decision to sign a statement criticizing Donald Trump’s revocation of John Brennan’s security clearance (warning: language).
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Play politely.
“She was pointing it in his direction, put her finger on the trigger, and fired the gun,” said Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Patrice Casian. “It subsequently struck the victim in the head and it was a fatal wound.”
In a rather unusual twist, “playing with a gun” has not served as a “Get Out of Jail Free” card; charges have been filed.
Fantastic Viewerage 0
At The Guardian, two Amherst professors imagine how today’s Republicans would respond if Donald Trump did, indeed, shoot someone (say, maybe, just for instance, Michael Cohen) on Fifth Avenue in plain view of passers-by. Here’s a snippet; follow the link for the rest:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders:
Associated Press: “Ms Sanders, did the president shoot his former lawyer in an effort to stop him from testifying against the president?”
Sarah Sanders: “No, he did not.”
AP: “Are you saying that the shooting was not motivated by Mr Cohen’s recent plea deal, or rather that the president did not shoot him?”
SHS: “You’ve got my answer, Jim. No, no, no.”
AP: “Ms Sanders, I’m still not clear what –”
SHS: “The answer is no. No as in no. N. O. It’s these kinds of questions that have turned the American people against the press.”
Via Juanita Jean.
Married to the Mob 0
Field describes a match made in Manhattan.