2010 archive
And Now for Something Completely Different 0
Lip synced commercial for Norwegian television, or “oh,my, how some of them have changed”:
Details here.
QOTD 0
Samuel Butler, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted, and at seeing it practiced.
Flagging Enthusiasm 1
Up the road a piece, the city of Lexington turned down a request from the Sons of Confederate Veterans to festoon the city in Confederate flags on January 10-15, 2011, in honor of the Virginia holiday, Lee-Jackson Day (Dennis G. has written extensively of the SCV at Balloon Juice). The city agreed to allow the display on January 10-13, but not on 14-15, when plans already existed to display United States and Virginia flags in honor of Dr. King.
Some folks felt that flying it on Martin Luther King Day was inappropriate. Imagine that.
Apparently the SCV felt that it had already conceded enough in voluntarily not displaying the Confederate Battle Ensign (what most folks think of as the “Confederate flag”) and cannot understand why some would object to flying Confederate flags on the day set aside in remembrance of Dr. King. (Here is a good rundown on the various Confederate flags.)
Given the adoption of the Confederate flag as the symbol of most of the representatives of hatred and bigotry (the Anti-Defamation League brands it as a “general racist symbol“) in the United States since 1865, I don’t wonder at the objections. When most persons see the Confederate flag, they think of the Klan in the same thought. It’s display bears connotations that the SCV is aware of, but which they choose to ignore.
Unlike the eagle of ancient Rome, the Confederate flag is not a symbol whose meaning is lost in the past. That meaning lives, and it lives odiously. And those who display it know that.
My ancestors wore the grey, and I don’t like seeing the Confederate flag in public display because of those who would display it.
U. S. Navy Vets Ass’n 0
The St. Petersburg Times has a long story based on interviews with Bobby Thompson’s lawyer.
Bobby Thompson (not, as they say, his real name–it was a stolen identity), you may remember, was the fellow who duped lots of folks, including pols, including our very own Ken Cuccinelli, into thinking he ran a charity.
Here’s a nugget:
No “Happy Holidays” Here 0
We know where she stands in the phony war on Christmas:
The Dream of Endless War 0
Steve Chapman discusses the wingnut lust for war with Iran. A nugget:
The Republi-con 0
Paul Harris, writing at the Guardian, analyzes the duplicity of Republicans on economic policy. A nugget:
Yet, that very same deficit would also be massively boosted by saving Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy from expiry. That, however, does not seem to bother them. It’s unfair, they howl, to raise anyone’s taxes at such a time – failing to point out that “raising taxes” is very different from letting tax cuts expire on time (as they were designed to do, not by Obama, but by President George W Bush).
It is a staggering confidence trick that the Republicans are seeking to pull off. Except that most such con jobs at least vaguely try and disguise themselves. This one is being carried out in plain sight.
Afterthought:
If you are already rich, you can never have so much that Republicans won’t want to give you more.
Crayola Windfall Profits 0
Christine O’Donnell gets book contract.
A Christmas Carol 0
Joan Vennochi in the Boston Globe:
As Christmas lights twinkle, Republicans want to cut off benefits that are paid from the revenue that workers produce. With carolers crooning about peace and good will, the GOP supports tax cuts that will add to the deficit they supposedly want to reduce.
This yuletide pageant is a study in shameless hypocrisy.
Read the whole thing.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source.
What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk-Employee Cafeteria. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.)
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, December 2.
Directions: Lake Taylor Hospital-1309, Kempsville Road, Norfolk, 23502 (Kempsville Rd. at Lowry Rd.) 461-5001
Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks) at Uno Chicago Grill, Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). Accessible through the Janaf parking lot or directly from the ramp from Virginia Beach Blvd. to Military Highway north.
Heirs 0
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Return of the Estate Tax | ||||
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Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Trend?
“Lower lows and lower highs define a downward trend, and that’s what seems finally to be emerging,” Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics LLC in Valhalla, New York, said in a note to clients. “If it continues, we should expect to see better payroll numbers over the next few months.”
QOTD 0
C. S. Lewis, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
I remind my atheist friends that faith is the evidence of things unseen and that, if I’m wrong, I’m just as dead.
The Phony War on Christmas (Updated) 0
I wasn’t sure what I thought about the City of Philadelphia’s removing the “Christmas Village” sign from a set of temporary shopping booths on Dilworth Plaza.
Dilworth Plaza, for those of you unlucky enough not to have visited the greatest city with an inferiority complex in the United States, refers to the portions of the block occupied by the Philadelphia City Hall (arguably one of the ugliest buildings on the east coast) where City Hall isn’t.
At first I thought that it was a little silly to drop the “Christmas,” even though I could understand persons’ having qualms because the so-called “Christmas village” was on public land.
Then I remembered that the “Christmas Village” sign was pimping a temporary shopping center on public property.
The whole thing had nothing whatsoever to do with the true meaning of Christmas.
It’s all about the true meaning of an American Christmas: bamboozling people into buying stuff they don’t need for people they don’t like at prices they can’t afford.
After thinking about it, I have decided it’s not the “Christmas Village” sign that should go. It’s the whole damned shopping village that should go–off to some place zoned retail.
The Inky reviews the controversy. Follow the link for the full story:
After all, there are a few Jewish and Muslim vendors among the nearly 50 wooden booths that make up Philadelphia’s version of the traditional German Christmas village, which officially opened here Thursday.
There was also a story that reached Negrin about a little Jewish girl walking with her father who asked, according to Negrin: “Dad, don’t we get a village?”
Addendum:
Via Field, the sign is back. Now everyone is once again able to worship mammon in the name of Christ. Field reports.
Republican Economic Theory Illustrated 0
Jay Bookman discusses the implications. A nugget:
It’s Not the Crime, It’s the Coverup that Eventually Comes Back to Haunt You 0
(Link fixed.)
The worst aspect of priestly abuse amongst the Catholic priesthood was not the abuse. It was bad and worse, but not worst.
You will find sickos in every profession, though they are more noticeable when their career choice entails publicly scolding others for their behavior.
The worst aspect was that management not only failed to stop it, but also covered it up for decades.
Now a jury has hit management where it hurts: in the budget:
Sometimes, eventually is a long, long time, but eventually it arrives.
As the Tables Turn . . . 0
Combating TSA security theatre with, well, theatre:
(snip)
The sad thing is, the American outcry over this issue is only because it’s about genitals and nudity. No one cares if their phone calls are being recorded or if the government detains people for years without trials . . . .