2011 archive
Fracturing the Lens of History 0
For those of you who don’t understand how adherents of the Lost Cause can argue, even today, that slavery was not the cause of the American Civil War, I offer you this column in yesterday’s local rag.
The author employs a tactic which I remember from defenders of the Lost Cause during my youth, surrounded as I was by white folks whose ancestors wore the gray, as did my own, and who were distressed that the Civil Rights movement threatened Our Way of Life(TM).
He drags out the political minutiae of the last few months leading up to the war, creating a haze of detail about conventions and congresses and resolutions and proclamations, to avoid the ultimate truth:
If it were not for a desire to protect and perpetuate slavery, no Southern state would have seceded and no war would have ensued.
All the rest is sophistry, sophistry designed to avoid confronting the moral rottenness–the belief that some persons, because of the color of their skins, are destined by God to be bought, sold, and otherwise disposed of as property in perpetuity–at and in the heart of the Lost Cause.
A Sternly Worded Letter to the Editor has been dispatched.
Mania Nova 0
Josh Marshall identifies a new psychological pathology to be submitted for inclusion in the DSM:
Frankly, I think the President’s releasing the “long form” birth certificate was a silly idea.
In usenet lingo, the White House is feeding the trolls. Just makes them hungrier.
These birther trolls already have all the proof they need of Mr. Obama’s illegitimacy in office. In their eyes
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Prez ain’t white.
That ain’t right.
It is that simple.
Clown Cars 0
Clarence Page sees through the Donald’s act:
That’s why Trump steers attention away from himself, even to the point of raising questions about Obama’s college grades. “I heard he was a terrible student, terrible,” Trump said in an interview with the Associated Press. “How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard? I’m thinking about it, I’m certainly looking into it. Let him show his records.”
Of course, it is Trump who is sounding like a broken record. Sitting high and dry just like that water-barrel clown, it didn’t take the Donald long to figure out that no candidate goes unnoticed who panders to the Obamaphobes.
Follow the link to see why I chose the title for this post.
The Civility Fetish 0
Not that I’m against civility, but, as Josh Marshall points at TPM, facts matter as much as, if not more than tone of voice.
An excerpt:
Via Atrios.
Graham Plays the Trump Card 0
And gets trumped. Bearing false witness and all that.
Watch Lawrence O’Donnell trip him up in his own words.
Via Balloon Juice.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Foreclosure fashionistas:
In the 15 months through March, at least 25 houses in the Las Vegas area changed hands for more than $3 million, with at least seven doing so through foreclosure or by selling at a loss, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and Clark County property records. In 2009, 14 homes sold for more than that amount, with one trading at a loss.
Drinking Liberally Tomorrow in Virginia Beach 0
Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us.
When: Wednesday, April 27, 6 p
Where:
Kelly’s Tavern
1936 Laskin Rd, # 201
Virginia Beach, Va. (Map)
More here.
Seen on the Street 2
Oh, my.
QOTD 0
William J. Brennan, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Law cannot stand aside from the social changes around it.
On Royal Wedddings 0
Tradition at Comically Vintage, plus what Field said.
Birther of a Notion 0
Dick Polman sticks his tongue deep inside his cheek and demonstrates full birther, refusing to allow facts to distract him.
Read it. It’s a hoot.
Gitmo Wikileaks 0
Once more, confirmation of what we already knew.
From the Guardian:
And, remember, President Obama tried to close the Guantanamo gulag, but Congress refused.
Downsizing 0
The local rag discusses the stealth downsizing of groceries:
“You’re seeing it across the board,” said Ann Gurkin, a food, beverage and tobacco analyst for Davenport & Co. in Richmond.
“It’s one way to raise prices” that consumers don’t notice as much, she said. “You’ve seen both package changes and you’ve seen prices going up. I think it’s both.”
The article goes into grreat detail and is worth the five minutes if you haven’t caught on to this already.
Meanwhile, when shopping, read the labels, while admiring our corporate betters’ skill at packaging three-card monte in packaging.
QOTD 0
Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.
Spring Cleaned 0
Irregular shenanigans to resume shortly.