2021 archive
Maskless Marauders in Vaccine Nation 0
David marvels at the depth and craziness of the COVID conspiracists.
We are a society of stupid.
Boebert Is the New Gohmert 0
At The Denver Post, David Silverii follows the money.
Indoctrination Nation 0
We are seeing numerous attempts to deny the reality of America’s history by, for example, pretending that America’s racist system of chattel slavery somehow wasn’t. It’s almost as if some folks think that, if students don’t learn about racism and bigotry in America’s past and present, said racism and bigotry didn’t–don’t–exist, and, consequently, no one past or present need acknowledge, be held accountable, or atone for them.
At the Las Vegas Sun, Greg Wieman argues forcefully that schools should teach history, not myths. A snippet (emphasis added):
In contrast, modern-day Russia and China utilize biased curriculum and instructional materials to indoctrinate students about societal beliefs and thereby control the population. In the U.S., we should continue to move away from this method of political brain-washing. A free society grows stronger when frailties are exposed and corrected. Indoctrination is not knowledge.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Mona Charen warns that the party of the new secesh poses a clear and present danger.
Afterthought:
It all boils down to America’s original sin of chattel slavery, the racism which was created to justify it, and the racists whose self-esteem rests only on the color of their skins.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness is a family affair.
The Making of a Myth 0
Emma and her guest discuss the birth of a notion: the story of the “Lost Cause” amd the major role played in its creation by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Full Disclosure:
I had ancestors who belonged to the UDC.
A Tale of a Tycoon 0
Meet the (self-proclaimed) brilliant business man and his money laundromat.
A Case of Identity* 0
At the Idaho State-Journal, Leonard Hitchcock considers whether the Republican Party has turned into a cult of Trump. Here’s a bit:
It’s worth noting, however, that the Trump “personality” is not without policy implications. In any number of public remarks and actions, Trump has made it clear that he believes that white people are the “real” Americans and that conservative Christianity is the country’s “real” faith. It is this barely concealed racism and overt support for evangelical Christianity that seem to be the Trump traits that have produced a cult following. Admittedly, neither racism nor religious bigotry qualify as policies, in the proper sense of the word, but Trump’s immigration policy obviously flowed from his racism, and his opposition to abortion reflected his commitment to conservative Christian doctrine.
His is a thoughtful and reasoned analysis and well-worth the few minutes it will take to read.
__________________
*With apologies to A. Conan Doyle.
Routine Maintenance 0
I recently had all the water cutoffs in my residence replaced because none of them cut off the water any more. But hey! they were all over 30 years old, and stuff wears out. (I had the primary cutoff replaced about a year ago with a nice ball valve for the same reason.)
This applies to blogs and bloggers, also. I just removed “Margaret and Helen” from my blogroll because there’s not been a new post there for over six months (which, by the way, is a darned shame–it was fun to read).
Bloggers, maintain your blogrolls and remove defunct blogs. I can’t count how many times I’ve clicked on a link in a blogroll only to get a 404 or to find that the latest post was in aught-something or other.
Grumble, grumble, grumble.
Facebook Frolics 0
The Zuckerborg is a malevolent kludge that despoils society as it packs the purses of its proprietors.
Ask me nicely, and I’ll tell you what I really think.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Set a precedent of politeness for your progeny at an early age.
Maskless Marauders 0
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Bill Torpy is not sanguine. Here’s a bit from his article:
(snip)
Months ago, I thought civil discourse had bottomed out when self-deputized members of the Stop the Steal crowd stalked, yelled at and menaced election workers. But this new brand of madness is more loathsome and its perpetuators border on being domestic terrorists. They aren’t trying to undo an election. They’re playing with people’s lives.