2018 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Exercise politeness in your automobile.
Now, about those IQ tests for gun purchases . . . .
Just Another Day in NRA Paradise 0
The current fad among the krool kids seems to be to take a gun to school and blow random persons to kingdom come. This is a uniquely modern and uniquely American phenomena.
Yes, there are occasional mass shootings (normally defined as shootings in which three or more persons are killed or wounded) in other countries, but nothing like what we are seeing here. When I was in school (it seems like a lifetime ago, because it was), school shooting did not happen. So what’s different now?
At Psychology Today Blogs, George Everly offers five reasons for the carnage–for carnage it is. Here are the reasons he cites as primary; follow the link for his justification for each one:
1. Predatory bullying and marginalization.
2. Weaponized social media.
3. Inadequate access to mental health services.
4. Media coverage.
5. Firearms.
In related news, the Seattle Times’s Danny Westneat wonders what this means (a snippet, emphasis added):
After the inspiring gun protests this spring, I’ve noticed something disturbing creeping in that I recognize from my own generation. There’s acceptance of our country’s insane blood rituals. There’s a realization that “This is America,” as the No. 1 song says.
“Prepare to see students rise up and be called ‘civil terrorists’ and crisis actors,” wrote Cameron Kasky, a Parkland survivor. “Prepare for the right-wing media to attack the survivors.”
It’s not the America I want or grew up in, but it’s clearly the America that someone wants, or we see more other than “thoughts and prayers” emanating from Washington, D. C.
One wonders how twisted and immoral a mind must be to consider such carnage acceptable.
Twits on Twitter, Politics of Hate Dept. 0
The Southern Poverty Law Center reports on a recent study that shows a correllation between Donald Trump’s tweets and surges in hate crimes against Latinos and Muslims. A nugget:
Follow the link for the transcript of an interview with the researchers.
Trumping Up the Charges 0
Jay Bookman discusses the serial mendacity of Devin Nunes. A nugget:
Yet when the ballyhooed memo was made public, it too proved to be nonsense . . . .
Facebook Frolics 0
Firearms frolics. Here’s a sample:
(snip)
The fake accounts included the name of Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the 17-year-old student and suspect that police say is now in custody, and included a photo taken from his Facebook that had been changed to include a hat from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Soulless bastards.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness is a family value.
According to the report, Rivera-Calderon is alleged to have then pulled a handgun from his waistband, loaded it and pointed the handgun at the victim, saying “I ain’t playing with you.”
Your TV Is Hooked on Drugs 1
Pap argues that Big Pharma has an inordinate influence on TV news. He has a point.
I don’t necessarily buy his position that “mainstream media” cannot be trusted. The term is too broad; if it’s amended to “mainstream television,” which is what he focuses on, I accept it.
I long ago concluded that TV news, local or network, broadcast or cable, is not worth my while (Fox News, which is aggressively mendacious and actively toxic, is another beast entirely).
Apocalypse Now 0
Via Job’s Anger.
Afterthought:
If Donald Trump knows what “2 Corinthians” is or says, I’ll eat my hats. And I have a lot of hats.
When I worked at Amtrak, one of the conductors on my morning commute called me the “hat guy.”
The Republican Reality Sham 0
Eugene Robinson calls out the hypocrisy of Republicans’ claims to represent “real Amurricans,” implying that others are somehow ersatz Americans. A nugget:
Russian Impulses 0
Shaun Mullen does a deep dive into the reeking stew of Donald Trump, Russian agents, and Hillary Clinton’s emails, reverse-engineering the recipe and laying out the list of ingredients.
A snippet (all caps in the original):
The events surrounding the June 6, 2016 meeting — both before and after — suggest that Trump not only encouraged members of his campaign team to assist Russians working for Vladimir Putin to interfere in the forthcoming election, but expected the meeting to pay dividends for his long-shot bid for the presidency because it would provide new ammunition with which to assail the chief target of his incendiary stump speeches — Hillary Clinton.