February, 2012 archive
A Modest Proposal 0
Eric Zorn, at the Chicago Tribune, considers the kerfuffle over attempts by the Catholic church, its adherents, and the element of the punditocracy that will attack the current Federal administration for any old reason at all to control what goes on between women and their doctors. He offers a bit of perspective:
Instead, Millman suggests in a recent commentary, pretend it’s the Church of Scientology.
And pretend that the flash point of controversy isn’t coverage of contraception, which violates Catholic teachings, but coverage of mental-health services — psychology, psychiatry and mood-stabilizing drugs, all of which violate the teachings of Scientology.
If the Scientologists operated a network of schools and hospitals, would the pundit classes be rushing to the ramparts bellowing about religious liberty in defense of the right of these schools and hospitals to deny mental-health coverage even to employees who don’t belong to their faith?
More likely, Millman suggests, the dispassionate public-policy question would be, “Should it be OK to systematically disadvantage employees of Church of Scientology schools because that church has a weird hang-up about mental-health services?”
Read the rest.
Assault of the Banksta Robots 0
Thom Hartmann demonstrates:
Chasing Down the Stupid 0
You might see this on COPS or, more likely, World’s Dumbest: A thousand dollar fine for attracting attention.
When asked why he started the chase, Hughes said, “I just always wanted to do that,” according to the police report.
Proselytizing Pupils with Political Prayer 0
Florida is considering a new strategy to enforce prayer in public schools by calling religious messages “inspirational messages.”
At Tampabay dot com, John Romano analyzes the issue, pointing out that prayer is not now banned in public schools. What is banned is agents of the state (teachers and administrators) from organizing or compelling prayers. I recommend his column for setting forth a balanced discussion of the issue.
Near the beginning of it, he gets to the heart of this issue.
Drinking Liberally Norfolk Tuesday 0
Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.
When: 6 p., Wednesday, February 8.
Where:
The Public House
1112 Colley Avenue (map)
Details here.
Answer 0
Atrios thinks he knows what’s with the skeevy desire of Republican (usually) men to control the sex lives of women to whom they’ve never even been introduced.
Whistling to the Dark Side 0
No longer content with silent dogwhistles, members of the Republican Party have ratcheted up the racism as the election draws closer.
The latest is Congressman Pete Hoekstra’s re-packaging of the “yellow peril,” which Chancey Devega demolishes in a stunning takedown in a post whose title recalls the dog whistes, Me Love You Long Time, Me So Horny: More than Dog Whistles, Republican Pete Hoekstra Embraces the Yellow Peril Strategy.
Any but the most rabid racist today goes out of the way to avoid accusations of racism by using code words and dog whistles. So why does the GOP keep drawing the accusations?
George Monbiot, writing at the Guardian, thinks that conservatives have built themselves and their constituency into such a fact-free, hate-full fantasy world that the appeals work:
Don’t take my word for it. Listen to what two former Republican ideologues, David Frum and Mike Lofgren, have been saying. Frum warns that “conservatives have built a whole alternative knowledge system, with its own facts, its own history, its own laws of economics”. The result is a “shift to ever more extreme, ever more fantasy-based ideology” which has “ominous real-world consequences for American society”.
Lofgren complains that “the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital centre today”. The Republican party, with its “prevailing anti-intellectualism and hostility to science” is appealing to what he calls the “low-information voter”, or the “misinformation voter”. While most office holders probably don’t believe the “reactionary and paranoid claptrap” they peddle, “they cynically feed the worst instincts of their fearful and angry low-information political base”.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Reaching for the skies:
The 1,023-foot Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta is scheduled to be auctioned Tuesday on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse.
The picture would be complete if it were owned by Bank of America, but it isn’t. It’s owned by some Los Angeles outfit that bought it at just the wrong time.
Facebook Frolics 0
Ken Eisold considers Facebook and asks, “Where does all the money come from?”
A nugget:
In other news, Facing South reports on Facebook’s holding the few jobs it provides (less than 3,500 worldwide) hostage for tax breaks.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The gunnutty Virginia state legislature is working to spread politeness everywhere, including the voting booth.
This presents a contrast to their other efforts to keep citizens from voting.
It seems that, to this bunch, someone packing heat is ipso facto a better citizen than someone who doesn’t have a car or a driver’s license.
I wonder what Freud would think about this, or, more appropriately, Krafft-Ebing?
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Creamy foreclosure goodness for everyone:
More than 1,500 Bay Area homes with mortgages of $1 million or more were scheduled for auction last year, more than double the number in 2008, according to ForeclosureRadar, a foreclosure tracking service.
“The fact is, upper-end folks are starting to feel the crunch,” said Barbara Safran, president of the Contra Costa County Association of Realtors.
Super Bowl 2
A desirable outcome.
Also, a football field is not a theatre stage. Bring back marching bands.
Also also, Madonna is now officially a has-been.
Of Courts, Converts, and Catch-22 0
Scientology makes its followers keep a positive balance on deposit to pay for future “spiritual counseling” as a condition of membership.
Two converts have fallen into apostasy and want their money back.
The organization is fighting back.
He argued: “Only Scientology law applies.”
It’s the best catch there is.
Visitation 0
Ed Quillen, admitted Democrat, writes in the Denver Post of a recent visit from his “favorite inside source, Ananias Ziegler, media relations director for the Committee That Really Runs America.”
A snippet. Follow the link for the full apparition:
“That would be a challenge,” I consoled.
Ziegler snorted agreement. “He’ll talk about things that people care about, like jobs and houses. Then he’ll babble about making a state out of a lunar colony. And to think we used to call Jerry Brown ‘Governor Moonbeam.'”