May, 2009 archive
Sotomayor 0
The odious Southern strategy lives on.
Appealing to bigotry:
It’s second nature to them now,
like breathing out and breathing in.
Indeed, a lot of folks don’t seem to realize that Puerto Rico is part of the United States.
Josh Marshall:
Video link via Atrios.
Ozzie and Harriet 0
Before the television show, there was the band:
Stray Thought 0
Remind me to add Dijon Mustard to my shopping list.
Thought Police 0
At Liberty (sic) University, firings will continue until thought improves.
Oh.
Wait.
Kevin Roose writes at the Guardian:
As evidenced by the 32% of evangelicals between the ages of 18-29 who voted for Barack Obama last November, “Christian” and “Republican” are no longer synonymous in America, and Liberty’s pathetic attempt to maintain a unified political stance by silencing dissent shows how out of touch the university is with its own student body.
Twits on Twitter 0
El Reg:
He added: “I think if people were able to take these 140 characters and develop a poetic Western form – a haiku of our own in which all human existence could be compressed into those 140 characters – that would be a satisfying thing, but that’s not what I see when I read them.”
California Dreamin’ 0
The story goes on to cite the Federal bailout of New York City as a comparison.
This situation illustrates the internal contradictions (as Marx would have said) of Republican Economic Theory. Republicans have rendered raising taxes almost impossible in Cali. At the same time, they rendered cutting services almost impossible. For a long time, thanks to Republicanism, Californians have been thinking they can get something for nothing–more expensive government services (it’s called the Price Index) without paying for them.
Before you scream welfare queens, consider that schools and corrections are almost half of the total.
(Note that I am not arguing for any particular tax policy. Far be it from me to offer any solutions.)
I am merely pointing out another example that the Republican theory that cutting taxes is the economic 42, the answer to life, the universe, and everything, is just so much hooey. It is the camouflage for the Party’s mission of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Everything has a price.
Taxes are the price of living in a civilized society.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Running out of persons to lay off:
However, the number of people staying on benefit rolls after drawing an initial week of aid increased 110,000 to a higher-than-forecast 6.79 million in the week ended May 16.
On a possibly brighter note, the same story reports that April durable goods orders were up slightly.
I say “possibly” because these preliminary figures, including the unemployment figures, are often revised a month later–usually in the wrong direction. Follow the link to see what happened to the March durable goods estimate.
William O. Douglas She’s Not 0
Frankly, Douglas should be the model for a Supreme Court justice.
But Sotomayor seems to be a decent sort.
It’s kind of fun watching the righties make stuff up.
An “activist judge,” in wingnut parlance, is ipso facto any judge that does not agree with wingnuts.
Scott Lemieux writes at the Guardian:
Deborah White discusses the Republicans’ bigoted reactions here.
And Mad Kane immortalizes the whole shebang in poetry here.
What Noz Said 0
This has been the first edition of What Noz Said.
The Great Game 0
(with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
Andrew Sullivan on the Sotomayor nomination:
The more they recede into fantastickal thinking, the less influence they have.
The less influence they have, the more they recede into fanstastickal thinking.
And so on.
Watch the fantasies demolished:
Twits on Twitter 0
Phishers invade Twitter. Like most phishing schemes, this one relies on the failure of persons to pay attention to what they are doing.
From the Toimes:
Simple Answers to Simple Questions 0
The Question, from Dick Polman:
Will the GOP, prodded by its conservative base, dare to assail a woman of color who rose from humble beginnings on sheer merit; who was formally tapped for the federal district bench by a Republican president (George H. W. Bush); and who was confirmed in 1998 for a federals appeals court seat by a Republican Senate, voting 67-29? (By the way, those 67 Yes votes included 25 Republican senators…seven of whom are still serving.)
The Answer:
Twits on Twitter 0
Geekazine elucidates.
