From Pine View Farm

May, 2023 archive

The Remedy 0

Older man and woman sitting a a love seat.  Man reads instructions from his doctor,

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Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! 0

Trials, not to mention convictions, on the charge of seditious conspiracy are rare, but four leaders of the they-call-themselves Proud Boys beat the odds and were found guilty.

At the Inky, Philadelphia activist Gwen Snyder details the years of harassment she has endured from the they-call-themselves Proud Boys. This was how it started; follow the link for full account.

The first time the Proud Boys came to my home to threaten me, I was out of state, traveling to attend a family function. It was June 2019, and they arrived at nearly midnight.

My downstairs neighbor was home, out on our building’s porch for a smoke break. The far-right gang members approached him, demanding to know if I was there.

He didn’t know, he told them. They demanded that he tell me to stop writing about their racist activities and posting members’ names on Twitter. Then they plastered a sticker with their logo onto my front door. They placed more around the neighborhood for good measure.

Image:  Abraham Lincoln's statute at the Lincoln Memorial holds two thumbs up.  Caption:  Jury convicts Proud Boys members of seditious conspiracy.

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Image via Balloon-Juice, which has commentary.

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Confederate cosplay.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

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QOTD 0

Paolo Lins:

Brazil is a racist country and a racist society…But the funny thing is that nobody will admit to being a racist, and that’s the problem. Blacks in Brazil are always in an inferior, subaltern position, but you can’t find a white person who is a racist.

Not just Brazil, folks.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Another “responsible gun owner” shows politeness to children.

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No Place To House 0

Badtux does the math.

Aside:

I’m so old that I can remember something that might help. What was it called?

Oh, yeah.

Public housing.”

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Unforeseeable 0

Policeman looking at three dead bodies, all holding smoking guns.  One is labeled

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The Disinformation Superhighway 0

Rat, looking phone:  Look at this crazy story on Twitter.  Goat:  You know, Rat, before you start spreading stuff you see on Twitter, you should proably do a little investigation of your own to determine if it's true.  Rat:  Okay (pause)  This snarky comment says yes.  Goat to Pig:  Remember journalism?  Pig:  Not ringing a bell.

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Toxic Positivity 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Mark Travers looks at the effects of false–I would use the term “toxic”–positivity. He sees three negatives; follow the link for a discussion of each one.

      1. It bottles up real emotions.
      2. It leads to unrealistic beliefs.
      3. It gives an untrue impression.

    Afterthought:

    I have nothing against trying to maintain a positive attitude in times of trouble, but, when doing so reaches the point of self-delusion, it becomes destructive to oneself and others.

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    Gaming the System 0

    At Above the Law, Joe Patrice plays his Clarence Thomas Bingo! card.

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    QOTD 0

    Ed Asner, in the voice of Lou Grant:

    Bartender, a drink for everyone in the house. Give them all to me.

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    And Now for a Musical Interlude 0

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    If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0

    Title:  Deficit Attention Disorder.  Image:  GOP Elephant talking to therapist:  I obsess about the deficit when I'm out of power. I ignore it when I'm i power.

    Via Job’s Anger.

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    “An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

    And another “responsible gun owner” performs a random act of politeness . . . .

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    A Strict Construction 0

    Robert Reich cites the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states, in part,

    The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

    and suggests that Republicans’ efforts to force the nation to default on its debts constitutes such questioning and may well be in violation of the Constitution. Here’s a bit from his article:

    . . . if House Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling, you (President Biden–ed.) are obligated by the U.S. Constitution and your oath of office to ignore the debt ceiling and continue to pay the debts of the United States.

    He goes on to argue that “Constitutional originalists” would be hard-pressed to find such an action unconstitutional.

    (Of course, the flaw in that argument is that “originalists” are only “originalists” when it suits their agenda, but that’s a topic for another day.)

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    Land of the Free . . . . 0

    Title:  Sun's Out, Guns Out.  Man and woman looking out window at man shooting in his back yard.  Man:  That neighbor's being loud.  Woman:  Better not complain.  It isn't safe.  Man:  Maybe I'll go play basketball.  Woman:  Just don't let the ball roll inot someone else's yard--you might get shot.  Man:  There's drag show in town that's supposed to be good.  You interested?  Woman:  If it's not shut down by threats of violence.  Man:  Hmmm . . . We cold visit my Aunt Enid.  Woman:  Be careful you don't go up the wrong driveway.  Man:  Maybe I'll just read some cartoons to take my mind off of the guns.

    Click to view the original image.

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    Artificial? Maybe. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

    Steve Wozniak is no longer fan of Elon Musk or Teslas. From SFGate:

    “Boy, if you want a study of AI gone wrong and taking a lot of claims and trying to kill you every chance it can, get a Tesla,” he said, . . . .

    Follow the link for context.

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    Facebook Frolics 0

    Grave frolics.

    Just because you see it on a computer screen don’t make it true, folks.

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    QOTD 0

    Anthony Eisley, in the voice of Tracy Steele:

    Nobody licks the world alone.

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