First Looks category archive

Leonard Pitts, Jr., points out that the recent New York Times column about Donald Trump by “Anonymous” does not mean what its author thinks it means. He takes issue with the implication that Anonymous and his fellow insurgents are somehow bravely standing between Donald Trump and catastrophe. A snippet (emphasis added):

To the contrary, he or she shows the jellyfish spine and bunny rabbit bravery common among Republicans these days. Real courage would’ve required the writer and the “many Trump appointees” he or she says are part of this to quit their jobs en masse, find a public forum and speak the obvious truth without hiding behind the cloak of anonymity. Namely, that this tantrum-throwing child is unfit to govern.

New studies indicate that perhaps persons should stick with amateur biotics.

Read more »

Via Job’s Anger.

Just another day in NRA Paradise.

“My neighbor’s son just came over and said he was on Facetime with a friend and the kid shot himself in the head,” said the neighbor in the 911 call.

The 14-year-old’s friend then got on the phone telling the 911 operator that the shooting appeared to be an accident.

The 911 operator asked: “Did he say anything before he did it?”

The friend on the 911 call responded saying: “He didn’t know there was a live round in it. He thought it was completely empty. He just pulled the trigger and shot himself.”

Ira Hyman contemplates the assault on truth and suggests that the medium does indeed have some responsibility for the message. Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added):

When most news was presented to the public through TV news programs and traditional papers, editors and journalists followed ethical standards that helped the news adhere to the truth. When errors occurred, ethical journalists acknowledged and corrected. But today there are so many promoters of “news.” I’ve put news in quotes because some of what is promoted is known to be false. And this matters.

When social media platforms become the source of news for many people, they may have the same ethical obligations as newspapers and journalists. Social media platforms can’t hide behind claims of being neutral. Being neutral with respect to true information and misinformation isn’t neutrality. Instead, this promotes the misinformation by treating it the same as the truth. Similarly when news and opinion shows present people peddling snake oil, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, they have ethical obligations. Giving air time to people who deny climate change, for example, promotes that misinformation – even when the peddlers of false information are asked hard questions.

Methinks he has a point.

Via Job’s Anger.

Via Job’s Anger.

Practice random acts of politeness (more at the link).

Police say they believe a public bus in Utah traveling on a highway was accidently (sic) hit by a bullet when someone fired shots from a nearby peach orchard, but authorities haven’t yet found the shooter.

Davis County Chief Deputy Ty Berger said Monday that no one was injured on the bus or in a semitrailer that was also hit by a bullet when five to 10 shots were fired from the orchard before sunrise.

Yeppers, that just what responsible gun owners do: shoot randomly in the direction of a public highway that is hidden from view by trees. Yes-indeedy-do. Just a lil’ old accident.

The Fat Man.

Return to a time when a man weighing 239 pounds was considered “fat.”

Surprise politeness is the politest kind.

There was a startling sound and a frightening situation inside a hotel in Sharonville Saturday night.

A man in a nearby room called 911 after a gun was fired.

“The room next to us, somebody’s shooting and it’s coming into our room. We need, uh, we need help here now,” the man said.

Sharonville police said Booker was drinking and fighting with his girlfriend at the Quality Inn and Suites on Sharon Road, when his 9mm gun “went off by accident.”

The wheel fell off the tractor.

In other words, there are hardware issues down on the farm. Blogging will be sporadic until they are remedied.

Update:

The most excellent tech support at my ISP determined that my cable modem died. I’ve had it for a number of years, and, as my old auto repairman used to say, it doesn’t owe me a dime.

I have my beefs with my ISP, but they are mostly policy-related. Their tech support is competent and capable.

In the meantime, I’ve been using my cell phone’s hotspot capability, and it has worked quite nicely; indeed, it has exceeded my fears expectations. It’s not as fast as cable, but it’s faster than DSL.

I won’t mention my carrier’s name, but I’ve used it since it was called Voicestream, and I have no intention of changing, because, with it, I get what I pay for.

Update De-Dum-Dum:

It turned that it was the router, not the cable modem, that was kaput. I got a new router, a Netgear, today, and configured it up and it’s working quite nicely. I still need to tweak it a bit, but I am favorably impressed with the interface.

I never liked the Belkin anyway. I’m glad it’s kaput.

The tech from my ISP who identified the culprit was adept and competent, as well as pleasant to deal with.

Via The Bob Cesca Show Blog.

Always be packing. Every noise you hear is a potential target.

The boy and his stepfather had been watching the Perseid meteor shower from a remote area in Nome near Highway 90 and Highway 326 when the shooting happened according to a release from the Jefferson County Sheriff”s Office.

While the two were walking back to their vehicle the stepfather told deputies that he heard something, which he though might be a animal, running up behind him according to the release.

The stepfather, who was carrying a pistol, pulled it and fired and immediately realized he had shot his stepson the release said.

Jesus. The stupid.

Stalked by unknown twits.

Shortly before Twitter was launched a decade or so ago, I heard an interview of its founders on NPR, probably on Terry Gross’s show. They predicted great things would come of their creation, great things of openness, communication, community-building, and the like.

Boy, were they wrong.

Via Job’s Anger.

Off to drink liberally.

Another picture from my brother in Virginia’s Northern Neck: