September, 2023 archive
The Marjorie Taylor Greene New Deal 0
Aside:
Methinks David’s suggested term for posts by X Offenders is well-worth adopting.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Here in NRA Paradise, it would appear that politeness is a family value.
Aside:
Many years ago, back in the very early years of this blog, I decided to pursue this topic after having seen a car with “An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” bumper stickers plastered all over it. Knowing something about guns (I was a darned good shot when I was in practice, but it’s been a long time since I lived in a place where I could safely target shoot in my back yard the way I could at Pine View Farm) and gun nuts, I recognized that sentiment to be–er–somewhat misguided. Dodge City confiscated guns for a reason back in the olden days, long before I was a young ‘un.
I set up a “news alert” with a particular online “service,” an “alert” that I haven’t modified since. Granted, the “alert” sometimes hiccoughs and includes items that don’t involve firearms, but that is very much the exception; it also sometimes references the same event in multiple notifications. In addition, many of the “alerts” reference multiple news stories. In other words, the “alert” is hardly statistical evidence in any scientific sense in and of itself, but I would argue that it is more than merely anecdotal.
Anyway, what I’m leading up to is this:
When I first set up this news “alert,” I would get maybe eight to 10 “alerts” a day, often fewer.
Now it’s usually between 30 and 40, sometimes more.
We have become a polity poisoned by poseurs possessed of their portable phalluses.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much 0
The editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asks an AI bot to incriminate itself, and it willingly complies.
Speaking of Polls . . . . 0
Froma Haroop agrees with Buzz (see below):
Follow the link for her reasoning.
QOTD 0
Buzz Burbank:
A new poll just out shows that most Americans think it’s too early to be talking about polls.
Yeah, there is no such poll. But methinks he’s right.
We get too many polls, not enough truth.
The Medicine Sham in This New Gilded Age 0
Thom takes a look at how truly inefficient and ineffective America’s health care system industry oligarchy actually is.
The Man Who Would Be King 0
Susan Estrich finds many of Vivek Ramaswamy’s proposals to be somewhat alarming. Here’s a bit from her article; follow the link for the rest.
(snip)
But that’s the least of it. His plan is to do all of this unilaterally — without Congress. In other words, forget about the Constitution.
So much for separation of powers. So much for checks and balances. These agencies are created by Congress and subject to congressional oversight as well as executive supervision. Vivek Ramaswamy is not running for president; he literally wants to be king.
There might be a bright side.
He’s exposing today’s Republican Party by saying the quite part out loud.
Republican Eden 0
In case you wondered what you can expect from a faction that no longer believes in securing the general welfare . . . .
Selling Snake Oil on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
Rebecca Watson parses the piffle.
or you can read the transcript.
And, while touring the Disinformation Superhighway . . . .
Get Your Program Here!, Dis Coarse Discourse Dept. 0
You can’t tell the players without the program!
Still Rising Again After All These Years 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Leonard Hitchcock looks at the current threat of the New Secesh. His summary gives one pause:
Nevertheless, he finds some straws at which to grasp. He outlines them at the link.
The (Corporate) Welfare State 0
At AL.com, John Archibald runs the numbers and concludes that Alabama is happy to pay welfare to rich corporations, but not to poor individuals.
I suspect you can find similar numbers for other states.
Afterthought:
Archibald doesn’t address this in his column, but it occurs to me that persons who can’t afford, say, for example, day care for their children and therefore have trouble finding jobs likely also cannot afford campaign contributions.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Mike and Farron point out that the “crazy right’s” (to use their term) hate exacts a price.
Roast Zucchini 0
We tried this recipe recently and really like it, and it’s remarkably easy to prepare.
I suggest reducing the cooking temperature from 400 Fahrenheits to 390. The result is a bit more toothsome and a mite less limp. I also add basil and dill weed to the mix, because I quite like basil and dill weed. At some point, I’ll try some thyme and rosemary, but probably not sage. Methinks sage would be a bit strong.
H/T Susan for suggesting finding an alternative to sauteing the stuff, though zucchini sliced thin and sauteed with chopped onion, minced garlic, and herbs and spices to taste is also a treat.
