First Looks category archive

Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us.

When: Tuesday, February 21st, 6 p

Where:
Lubo Wine Tasting Room
1658 Pleasure House Road (Map)

More here.

As of today, the pace of blogging here will likely decrease, as I will no longer be self-(not very gainfully)employed, but will merely be employed.

It also marks a step along a path I set for myself about a year ago, when I purchased a book, designed a self-study program, and set up computers (one physical machine and two virtual machines) running CentOS: to start a technical career working in a Linux operating system environment.

There will be no decrease in the outrage here on the Farm, merely a decrease in the frequency with which it is expressed.

Echoing Tom Levenson, I just took the Pew News quiz and aced it.

Give it a whirl.

Aside:

It is certainly safe to assume that the persons who stumble across this quiz are not a representative sample of the populace. In view of that, I find the breakdown of scores to be rather chilling.

And many happy returns.

At the Guardian, Deborah Orr posits that the idea of race is a creation of racism, not, as racists like to believe, the reverse. She tries to put the horse back before the cart. A snippet:

All this monitoring of “race” is predicated not on some essential and basic genetic division between humans, but on the existence of racism, which tries to promulgate the idea that essential and basic genetic differences between humans exist, when they don’t. And racists succeed very well in promoting this empty agenda.

(snip)

The most insidious thing about racism is that it is creepily self-sustaining. The more that race rather than cultural background is monitored, the more opportunity there is to pass off cultural disadvantages as racial disadvantages.

The Booman also hears the drums.

If you really have to have something to hold, how about an unlit, empty pipe?

A faulty battery caused an electronic cigarette to explode in a Florida’s man’s mouth, taking out some of his front teeth and a chunk of his tongue and severely burning his face, fire officials said Wednesday.

If lawyers ever wonder why their profession has a bad name, they need look no further than stories like this:

Lawyers for the Philadelphia cleric accused of enabling priests to sexually abuse boys have asked the trial judge to step down, saying she compromised her impartiality when she said anyone who doubted there was “widespread” child abuse in the Catholic Church “is living on another planet.”

Nope, never happened, except in the United States, Austria, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, The Phillipines, Australia, New Zeal . . . .

Nope. Never.

Off to drink liberally.

Trying to reduce the number of spam comments I have to delete every day, I have just set the blog to automatically close comments on any post older than 14 days, since a goodly number of spam comments are applied to older posts.

Persons wishing to comment on older posts are welcome to email me using the “Email” link at the top of the sidebar.

Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.

When: 6 p., Wednesday, February 8.

Where:
The Public House
1112 Colley Avenue (map)

Details here.

About three miles from where I grew up:

Crews are working to clean up an accident on Route 13 near Route 627 in Machipongo* involving a tractor trailer and a box truck.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya said the accident was reported around 4 a.m. and 41,000 pounds of frozen pork spilled onto the roadway.

Picture at the link.

___________________

*It’s pronounced exactly as it’s spelled.

A skin-grease cosmetics ad. Photoshopped?

Oh noes.

The Advertising Standards Authority (UK–ed.) has ordered skincare outfit L’Oreal to lay off the Photoshop, after it ran a magazine ad showing Rachel Weisz in improbably good form as a result of slapping on Revitalist Repair 10.

(snip)

The watchdog was responding to a complaint from MP Jo Swinson, who “challenged whether the ad was misleading, because she believed that the image of Rachel Weisz had been digitally manipulated and therefore misrepresented the results that the product could achieve”.

“Maroons” was a term applied to escaped African slaves rumored to have hidden for generations in the Great Dismal Swamp, which at one time covered over 1,000,000 acres in this part of the world (what’s left is about a tenth that size and still trackless).

The local rag has an excellent story on the efforts of an archaeologist to discover whether the rumors were true. While you are reading it, ask yourself this:

If slavery were so benign an institution as supporters of the Lost Cause pretend (here’s Chauncey Devega dismembering one such statement by Ron Paul), why were the slaveholders’ biggest fears escape and revolt?

Rally at the Bell Tower to preserve the franchise, sponsored by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, keynote speaker.

When: 9 a. m., January 31.

Where:
9th and Franklin Streets
Richmond, Va. (map).

More Info: Call 757-287-0277 or email vlbc2011@yahoo.com.

View the announcement (jpg).

Marc Lamont Hill contemplates Mitt the Flip’s tax returns. A snippet:

I cannot complain about closing libraries in North Philly or unfilled potholes in Germantown if I’m actively resisting the responsibility of paying my fair share. I can’t cry about the crime rate if I’m not contributing the necessary funds for supplementing unemployment, building community centers, creating mentoring programs. Every year that I’m blessed to earn a good wage, I’m charged with a heightened responsibility to secure our nation, strengthen our schools and protect the most vulnerable members of society.

Sadly, we live in a moment when the rich are let off the hook. By constantly crying wolf that another penny in taxes will prevent them from spending, investing or risk taking, the wealthy have pump-faked us into passing the tax burden to the middle class and working poor. Any attempt to fix the system is declared “class warfare” or “wealth envy.”

Off to Drink Liberally.

Radio Times takes a look at the Great Pacific garbage stream. From the website:

Last year’s Japanese tsunami provoked fears of widespread radiation leaks and set off a nuclear crisis as clean up crews furiously raced to contain the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Meanwhile another environmental concern resulting from the devastation has emerged. Several recent reports indicate that over 15 million tons of wreckage and debris are heading toward Canada and the West Coast, and some scientists have confirmed that it is beginning to wash up on the coast.

Among other appalling tidbits is this one: The most common items found in the stomachs of dead Albatrosses are plastic bottle caps.

Follow the link to listen or listen here (MP3).

Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us.

When: Wednesday, January 25th, 6 p

Where:
Lubo Wine Tasting Room
1658 Pleasure House Road (Map)

More here.

No place to hide:

Meanwhile, the widespread domestic use of drones is on the horizon. In January, the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the US aviation regulator for information about the deployment of drones by law enforcement and other public agencies in the US. Drone Wars UK published the results of their Freedom of Information request to the CAA on the same issue at the end of 2011.

While we might get excited by the potential for the use of commercial drones by citizen journalists to live-stream powerful footage from protests, we are likely to be less thrilled once drones are in the hands of the paparazzi.