2020 archive
The Eye of the Beholder 0
One of the lessons of history is that a simmering pot eventually boils over. Too often, it boils over to no effect other than a messy stove top. We are at one of those boiling over points now.
It’s up to the polity–what’s left of it–to determine whether we will turn off the burner or simply clean up the stove top while leaving the pot to simmer until the next boiling over point.
Image via Job’s Anger.
A Divider, Not a Uniter 0
SeattlePI columnist John Connelly looks at the recent riots in reaction to the killing of (yet another) black man for being black. He points out that this is but one in a long series eruptions in the history of white American racism and the legacy of America’s original sin.
Here’s a snippet:
No antidote for endemic racism has been found, not even the election of a Black president. The man who succeeded him spread to falsehood that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. It “spikes” with periodic killings by police. The news media cover protests and riots, but give far less attention to what makes even nonviolent protesters angry.
We’re badly equipped for this spike. President Donald Trump is a deliberate divider, going so far as to encourage violence. . . .”
Prerequisite 0
At The Roanoke Times, retired professor of economics George McDowell suggests that those who would “reopen” the economy must first understand how it works.
I commend his article to your attention. No attempt to excerpt or summarize it would not do it justice.
Aside:
After you read the article, you will know more about economics than our preside–oh, never mind.
(Misplet wrod correxed.)
Return No to “Normal”
0
Werner Herzog’s Bear does not want to go back to “normal.” A snippet:
Follow the link for the entire piece.
If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0
Thom comments on the double standard.
An Impotent Poseur? 0
Steven M. is darkly optimistic.
Methinks he has a point; his prediction is consistent with precedent.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Demonstrate politeness to those doing honest labor.
(snip)
Vainuku said the arrested man was “next to the house where the work was being done” and had previously complained about noise because of Martinez’s work. Martinez had performed jobs at the home several times before, Vainuku said.
Suborning Violence 0
The SPLC calls out Donald Trump’s tweet of approval.
QOTD 0
Betty Cracker (nom de blog) at Balloon Juice:
It’s so confusing when creeping authoritarianism arrives not in jackboots but in a . . . diaper.
Going Viral on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
After examining what percentage of tweets about the coronavirus contain misinformation and downright falsehoods (hint: far too much), Phil Reed, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, moves on to examine why others pick them up and spread them. His answer will not bolster your faith in humans as rational creatures (but, these days, what does?). Here’s the nub; follow the link for the evidence and citations (emphasis added):
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to your neighbors.
The bullet? Shot through her ceiling.
(snip)
The man living above her was arrested. Police say he was putting a gun down, when it accidentally went off and shot through the floor.
And another gun that fires on its ownsome . . . .
Summary Injustice 0
At AL.com, John Archibald, a white (like me) American, points the finger.
Here’s his conclusion; follow the link for his reasoning:
This is on you, White America.
On me.
Twits on Twitter 0
Twits who would invoke Deuteronomy 22:20-21.
Words fail me.
Aside:
My first inclination is to put this down to an elaborate hoax, but, given the current state of our polity . . . .
