July, 2010 archive
“Nor Any Drop To Drink” 0
I haven’t worked up the nerve to finish the story yet. I’m about halfway through.
This is why regulation is bad. Without regulation, we wouldn’t know about this sort of stuff and would have one less thing to worry about.
Plus all that glowing in the dark would cut down on the cost of lighting.
Weekly Address 0
Eistein (possibly apocryphal):
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Republicans (from the transcript):
First, he would repeal health insurance reform, which would take away tax credits from millions of small business owners, and take us back to the days when insurance companies had free rein to drop coverage and jack up premiums. Second, he would say no to new investments in clean energy, after his party already voted against the clean energy tax credits and loans that are creating thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new businesses. And third, even though his party voted against tax cuts for middle-class families, he would permanently keep in place the tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans – the same tax cuts that have added hundreds of billions to our debt.
These are not new ideas. They are the same policies that led us into this recession. They will not create jobs, they will kill them. They will not reduce our deficit, they will add $1 trillion to our deficit. They will take us backward at a time when we need to keep America moving forward.
Q. E. D.
104 in the Shade 0
That’s the reading on the electronic thermometer on the deck, which I have calibrated. It may not be the official reading, which I think comes from closer to the beach. We are within a couple of miles of the Norfolk Airport and our temperature is usually closer to theirs.
When I was a young ‘un growing up on the other side of the Bay, it would get this hot.
But it wouldn’t stay this hot for weeks at a time with no break.
“Not Insane” Is a Firesign Theatre Album 0
It has nothing to do with the Republican Party.
Spill Here, Spill Now 0
The American Association of University Professors has a beef about Buccaneer Petroleum. From the BBC:
(snip)
The BBC has obtained a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP. It says that scientists cannot publish the research they do for BP or speak about the data for at least three years, or until the government gives the final approval to the company’s restoration plan for the whole of the Gulf.
It also states scientists may perform research for other agencies as long as it does not conflict with the work they are doing for BP.
And it adds that scientists must take instructions from lawyers offering the contracts and other in-house counsel at BP.
Wonder what Virginia AG Cuccinelli would think of that? (Somehow, I have a feeling he would be okay with it. After all, is it not just the impersonal, unbiased, implacable fee hand of the market bringing new wonders to our Walmarts?)
Aside: The author at the last link casually refers to “Barack Obama’s efforts to nationalize much of the economy,” betraying his ignorance as to what “nationalization” actually is.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The way to prevent this stuff is, of course, to have more bozos packing heat. (By the way, these were both members of a Neighborhood Watch organization.)
Serbeck, 37, whose spine was severed by a bullet from Campos’ gun, claims he had placed his pistol on the ground and kicked it away before Campos opened fire shortly after midnight on July 22, 2009.
Continuing in Bankster Mode: Dustbiters 0
The genius(es) of the fee hand of the market:
-
Home Valley Bank, Grants Pass, Oregon
SouthwestUSA Bank, Las Vegas, Nevada
Community Security Bank, New Prague, Minnesota
Thunder Bank, Sylvan Grove, Kansas
Williamsburg First National Bank, Kingstree, South Carolina
Parable: A Bankster and Customers 0
Customers:
Bankster:
Grains of Salt 0
It would be easy to denounce this as a “blame the victim” article, but it’s really more than that.
I think it’s us.
(snip)
Nope. It’s us.
The thought that people get the government they deserve also applies to media: People get the media they deserve. We seem to be fleeing substance at every opportunity, perhaps because substance is painful and hard to read and understand.
In its place, we embrace whatever is put in front of us and treat it as real and bathe in it for a while until another reality presents itself. Remember health care? Death panels were a big part of that debate until they weren’t. Then there is our compelling Kenyan president. Tea party people still believe that one.
Part of what makes a cliche a cliche is that it states a truth so well that repackaging that truth is difficult. Two cliches:
- Don’t believe everything you hear (though a chestnut too many ignore). These days, it’s a good idea also not to believe everything you see, even if you see it in person (research shows that eyewitness testimony is quite unreliable).
- Consider the source, especially when the source has a record of unreliability and an ax to grind. Even reliable persons of good will can make mistakes. To an ax grinder, everything is a new sharpening wheel.
I make no claim that my choice of topics here is fair and balanced. This is a hobby; I’m a loudmouth with a website. I don’t claim to be a journalist.
This blog is opinionated; I have my own axes that I sometimes grind.
I do try
- to pick axes that deserve grinding,
- to get facts straight (and correct errors when I learn of them), and
- to make clear where facts stop and opinion begins.
One thing I’ve learned in 50 years of following news is that, if it looks like it doesn’t make sense, it probably doesn’t.
Twits on Twitter 0
And they know where you are.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
No doubt the NRA will leap to the defense of this guy.
Smoke Break 0
BBC:
The judge adjourned the trial till tomorrow. It appears that there are no smoking areas at the courthouse.
I smoked for years. It is a nasty, dirty, dangerous habit, which delivers a little bit of pleasure now for a lot of hurt later. I support banning smoking in public places.
Nevertheless, tobacco is still a legal product; this smoking-areas-not-allowed is really going too far.
Wind 0
Good news from Maryland: Anne Arundel County (home of Annapolis) approves private energy windmills.
