February, 2012 archive
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Outdated public records do not mean fraudulent votes.
Little Ricky, Culture Warrior 0
John Baer takes a detailed look at Little Ricky. A snippet:
But he also doesn’t like women in the workplace, doesn’t like women in combat, doesn’t like women (or men) using contraceptives.
He says that contraception is “harmful to women” and society, and that “radical feminism” ruined society by encouraging women to work outside the home, which is one reason an Inky reviewer of his 2005 book, It Takes a Family, called Rick “one of the finest minds of the 13th Century.”
Light(er) Bloggery 0
As of today, the pace of blogging here will likely decrease, as I will no longer be self-(not very gainfully)employed, but will merely be employed.
It also marks a step along a path I set for myself about a year ago, when I purchased a book, designed a self-study program, and set up computers (one physical machine and two virtual machines) running CentOS: to start a technical career working in a Linux operating system environment.
There will be no decrease in the outrage here on the Farm, merely a decrease in the frequency with which it is expressed.
So You Say You Want a Devolution? 4
Jim Henley Thoreau explains why, even though he works in Virginia, he lives in Maryland (emphasis added):
He could have just as easily pointed to the worship of warm guns or a number of other examples of “Now we’re in power and we’re going to do this just because we can.”
Congressional Republicans seem to have taken up a campaign to repeal birth control. Folks who theorize about such things are trying to figure out what grand strategy this manifests.
There is no grand strategy. There is only rampant meanness and hatefulness.
What we are seeing in Virginia and other states which elected wingnut governors and legislatures in the last election is the politics of “I’ve got mine.” These folks are determined to do every crackpot thing they can while they can because they can. Searching for sense is futile.
Republicanism has devolved into a political movement consisting of one part selfish to two parts spite.
Addendum:
I miss-attributed the post at Unqualified Offerings. See the comment below.
“All the Bishops Harmonize Their Lies” 0
And, in other news, all the bishops harmonize their lies, courtesy of Dick Destiny. Follow that link, then listen to this:
These bishops have abrogated their standing to make statements on sexual morality.
Video via John Cole.
Contraindications 2
Clarence Page wonders on this apparent contradiction: States who number among those receiving the highest amounts of government benefits have populaces who tend to be most vocally opposed to government benefits.
He suggests that it is a question of framing: To wit, my hard-earned asset is your undeserved entitlement.
Here’s a bit. Click to read the rest.
Irritated readers responded with personal arguments that basically went like this:
“How dare you refer to (Social Security/Medicare/unemployment/home mortgage income tax deduction/etc., etc.) as a ‘benefit.’ I worked hard for (fill in the blank) years to earn my (Social Security/Medicare/unemployment/home mortgage income tax deduction/ etc., etc.), you (fill in the invective.)”
Believe me, I get it. The dispute here is between what I mean when I say “benefit” and what some people hear. In the years since Ronald Reagan won blue-collar votes by denouncing “welfare queens” and the like, many voters have come to associate the word “benefits” with handouts to “deadbeats” and “losers” and “cheats.”
Riddle Me This 0
Echoing Tom Levenson, I just took the Pew News quiz and aced it.
Give it a whirl.
Aside:
It is certainly safe to assume that the persons who stumble across this quiz are not a representative sample of the populace. In view of that, I find the breakdown of scores to be rather chilling.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Exhibiting politeness in church:
Zambrana had removed the gun’s magazine, but forgot there was a round still in the chamber. The gun went off and a bullet tore through a wall into the next room, where it hit Kelley in the head.
The young lady died yesterday.
Thus endeth today’s lesson on how those who packeth heat shall inherit the earth.
Elephants Can’t Remember 0
They especially cannot remember their own actions. Indeed, they are the “Not Me” of American politics. Robyn Blumner explains:
When Obama took office, his gift from Bush was an economy in ruins, disgorging 500,000 jobs per month, and a government that could not live within its means.
By examining this year’s budget deficit of a little over $1 trillion it becomes instantly clear that very little can be blamed on any conceivable Obama “spending spree.” The numbers are far more reflective of the hand he’d been dealt.
Carts, Horses, and Colors 0
At the Guardian, Deborah Orr posits that the idea of race is a creation of racism, not, as racists like to believe, the reverse. She tries to put the horse back before the cart. A snippet:
(snip)
The most insidious thing about racism is that it is creepily self-sustaining. The more that race rather than cultural background is monitored, the more opportunity there is to pass off cultural disadvantages as racial disadvantages.
Little Ricky, Gamer Extraordinaire 0
Shaun Mullen explains it all.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Society, Too Big To Jail Dept. 0
It would appear that it’s not a crime if a bank does it. Earl Blumenauer considers this at sfgate dot com (emphasis added):
The report is only the latest in a series of incidents involving bad actors in the foreclosure crisis. Last year, I called for a moratorium on home foreclosures after Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo signed affidavits initiating foreclosure against borrowers without verifying the information they contained. In fact, problems have been so rampant that banks now require many buyers of foreclosed homes to sign contracts absolving the bank of liability should irregularities appear with the original foreclosure.
How is this not indemnifying themselves against being charged with fraud?
Endless War 0
The Booman also hears the drums.
QOTD 0
Florence Rae Kennedy, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
I approve of anyone wearing what the establishment says you must not wear.