2018 archive
Flagging Interests 0
In The Sacramento Bee, self-described conservative Josh Edblow calls out right-wing “snowflakes” (his word) for their position on the American flag, the NFL’s new rule restricting player protests, and NFL players’ right to protest. Here’s a bit:
They express contempt for those on the political left – “snowflakes” – who use boycotts, shout-downs and other intimidation to squash dissent or differing viewpoints that might offend or insult some group. They criticize businesses that give in to “snowflakes,” and sometimes even pull advertising.
Yet at the same time, these conservatives defend the NFL because they agree with the reason behind this specific policy. This is philosophically inconsistent. Would they feel the same way if some other NFL policy required players to address transgender persons by their preferred alternative pronoun? Not likely.
The Art of the Con 0
Josh Marshall suggests that the fire hose of news and absurdity from Washington is not an accident; he goes on to suggest that it furthers the con and enables would-be autocrats to auto their crat behind the fog of breaking headlines. A nugget:
Follow the link for the complete article.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness takes practice.
Sydney had just shot the rifle and walked down the hill to check her target. While Sydney was heading down the hill, the friend noticed she had left the rifle loaded with the hammer cocked back and he attempted to secure the device.
Arms Race 0
Reg Henry muses on American gun culture. A snippet:
(snip)
The core problem is that a sizable number of Americans have made a golden calf to worship. But that graven image is not golden; it is made of shining gun metal. As long as the almighty gun is put on a pedestal in our culture, praising the Lord and passing the ammunition in the general context of our world only perpetuates the suffering.
Do please read the rest.
Suffer the Children 0
That’s not scripture.
That’s Republican policy.
No Rest for the Weary 0
At the Hartford Courant, Emory University Professor Benjamin Reiss discusses the fascinating story of how sleeping in public became taboo and how that taboo results in differential treatement of the disadvantaged. A snippet:
Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
Afterthought:
The great American bigot seems to have interpreted the Trump presidency to say, “You, just do you.”
The Trumper-Go-Round 0
Paul Waldman looks at the spin cycle. A snippet (emphasis added):
(snip)
These are lies. They’re not “unconfirmed,” they’re not “misstatements,” and they’re not “exaggerations.” They’re lies. They should have been greeted with headlines reading, “President Trump lies to public about Russia investigation”
Follow the link for the numerous examples he was able to cite in one short article.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The term “gun butt” acquires a new meaning.
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Nero Wolfe:
No man should tell a lie unless he is shrewd enough to recognize the time for renouncing it.
Stout, Rex, Before Midnight (New York: Bantam, 1957), p. 99
The Demon under the Rocker 0
Because the internet needs another cat picture.
Twits on Twitter, Meet Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The linguistic gymnastics of the Secesh to convince others and themselves that the United States Civil War was something other than what it was–an attempt to preserve an economy based on oppression, exploitation, and theft of labor–never cease to amaze.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Shot at a sleepover:
Thus passeth another day in the NRA’s Garden of Eden.
Afterthoughts:
How craven can the use of the passive voice be? “The gun was discharged.” The weasel wording, it burns! It was discharged oh so passively, no blame attaches.
When I was a young ‘un, back in the olden days, I was taught to assume that all guns were loaded until demonstrated otherwise.
Preaching Propaganda 0
Mike discusses evangelical “Christians” devotion to Donald Trump. (Warning: Language.)