November, 2021 archive
Maskless Marauders 0
A marauder who must pay the price.
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Nero Wolfe:
In a world that operates largely at random, coincidences are to be expected, but any one of them must always be mistrusted.
Stout, Rex, Champagne for One in a dual volume with Too Many Cooks (New York: Bantam, 2009), p.71
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
At the Des Moines Register, Marty Ryan writes of the current movement among some, mostly on the right, to ban books that tell truths which challenge the prejudices of make said book-banners feel uncomfortable. Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest.
President Ronald Reagan’s attorney general, Edwin Meese, established the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography in 1986. It was commonly known as The Meese Commission. At the end, the commission issued a bulky two-volume report, much of it consisting of detailed narrations of the plots of pornographic movies dutifully set down by FBI agents who’d been assigned to view them – at taxpayers’ expense, of course.” Not one of those FBI agents turned into a sexual predator. However, the commissioners believed dysfunctional predators who had testified to the commission that “Porn made me do it.” It was laughable. More laughable was the fact that former Attorney General John Ashcroft had blue drapes made to cover the bare breasts of Lady Justice.
Twits on Twitter 0
I might have mentioned this before, but . . . . I remember, oh, maybe 15 or 16 years ago listening to an interview on NPR with one of the founders of Twitter. I think it was on Terry Gross’s Fresh Air show and I think the interviewee might have been Jack Dorsey, but after all this time, I’m not sure and attempts to find it via web searches have been fruitless.
Said founder went on and on about how Twitter would be a positive tool for enabling persons to connect with each other.
Yeah, and Dr. Guillotin was proud of his invention . . . .
Lies and Lying Liars 0
Sam and his crew call out Dennis Prager’s lies.
Aside:
I’m so old that I remember when AIDS was referred to as “GRID (gayrelated immunodeficiency disease.”
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness takes practice.
A South Carolina sheriff’s office is investigating after two children were shot by a family member.
According to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the family member was doing target practice Sunday when the kids were hit.
Investigators say it appears to have been an accidental discharge.
Afterthought:
There is no such thing as an “accidental discharge” of a firearm.
There are only two kinds of firearms discharges: intentional and negligent.
Gutting Out the Vote 0
Thom and Greg Palast take an in-depth look at efforts to protect the right to vote.
Dis Coarse Discourse, Vaccine Nation Dept. 0
Republicans now have Big Bird in their sights:
President Joe Biden prompted reacted to Big Bird’s tweet, saying, “Good on ya, @BigBird. Getting vaccinated is the best way to keep your whole neighborhood safe.”
Reaction from the anti-vaccine crowd led by Sen. Ted Cruz was swift, saying Big Bird is spreading government propaganda while others called it “brainwashing children.”
More tales of dis coarse discourse at the link.
Misdirection Play: the Hawley Smut Act 0
Josh Hawley certainly has an active fantasy life.
QOTD 0
Alfonso Ribiero:
“Multitasking” is a fancy way of saying “Doing two things wrong instead of doing one thing right.”
America’s Funniest Home Videos, October 17, 2021
Stray Thought 0
As I watch episodes of the old Bob Newhart Show, the opening always takes me back to my road warrior days, when I was on the road one or two weeks a month.
When I worked for the railroad, I had many business trips to Chicago–it’s a railroad hub–and the scenes of Chicago in the intro to that show take me right back to those days.
They show Newhart walking in places where I have walked.
