January, 2022 archive
Vaccine Nation 0
Michael in Norfolk looks at recent actions by Virginia’s incoming Republican governor and is less than favorably impressed. A snippet:
Patriot Gamers, Reprise 0
The Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini minces no words. A snippet:
So how else should we view the men and women who signed fake electoral certificates after the 2020 election hoping to subvert that constitutional work of the Electoral College, overturn the outcome of a duly certified election and, in essence, stage a coup that would have kept Donald Trump in office?
More unminced words at the link.
Navigating the Disinformation Superhighway 0
Snopes offers some suggestions for avoiding the hazards on the toxic throughway.
QOTD 0
Mary Frann, as Joanna Loudon:
She just wants to come over and pick your brain. How long can that take?
Funny Money 0
It is a storied right-wing position to question “fiat currencies” and to yearn for a return to, say, the gold standard. And bitcoin and its imitators are the ultimate in fiat currency. Yet right-wingers seem fascinated with bitcoin, as Paul Krugman notes:
So what’s that about?
Follow the link for his theory.
Misdiagnosis 0
Joe Pierre, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, looks at dis coarse discourse and argues that attributing belief in political or scientific fairy tales to “mass delusion” or “mass psychosis” is, as my old boss used to say, “in error.” Rather, he suggests that such beliefs are symptomatic of a sick society, not of sick individuals.
Here’s a bit of his piece (emphasis added); follow the link for the complete article.
Aside:
I would argue that the ultimate “real root cause”–to use his term–of our present poisonous politics is America’s original sin of chattel slavery and the racist ideology created to justify and excuse it, which is perpetually promoted by political actors for power and profit.
But that’s just me.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Expose children to politeness at an early age.
Practicing License without Medicine 0
Rebecca Watson traces the trajectory of a quack-up.
Geeking Out 0
Mageia v. 8 with the Fluxbox window manager. Thunderbird and Firefox are shaded in a tabbed window. Xclock and GKrellM are on the right. The wallpaper is from my collection.
Both Sides Don’t 0
Llewellyn King suggests that the current model for American journalism may not be–er–optimal. A snippet:
You can’t give the lie the same credence as the truth or you will hide in false equivalence and fail the public.
Sauce for the Goose . . . 0
The Orlando Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell has a modest proposal. A nugget:
I have a better idea:
Let’s force legislators to strap on body-cams and mics on themselves every time they’re around lobbyists.
Follow the link for his reasoning.
Vaccine Nation 0
The Des Moines Regisster’s Rekha Basu takes a look at the recent Supreme Court decision nullifying OSHA’s regulation requiring employers to take reasonable steps to combat COVID-19. A nugget (emphasis in the original); follow the link for the rest.
Isn’t that what COVID itself is doing? . . . .
Gutting Out the Vote 0
Excerpt:
They (Republicans–ed.) talk about winning the battle of ideas. They have lost the battle of ideas. . . . They are winning with gerrymandering, they are winning with making voting difficult . . . .
Warning: Short commercial at the end.
See the news report that David discusses.