August, 2012 archive
Ryan’s Hope 3
The rich, richer; the poor, poorer.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Two stories about the hollow hypocrisy of the Republican gut out the vote movement. Two nuggets.
First the facts: it’s all hypocritical hype:
The analysis of 2,068 reported fraud cases by News21, a Carnegie-Knight investigative reporting project, found 10 cases of alleged in-person voter impersonation since 2000.
Monica Yant Kinney writes of lawyer and ex-prosector Tia Sutter, who is has never driven a car and is now disabled:
“They tell me I don’t exist.”
Conventional Wisdom, Voyage to the Bottom of the Ratings Dept. 0
Now that Mitt has flipped Paul Ryan’s hat into the veep ring, only alienists (and perhaps these folks) will have any reason whatsoever to pay attention to the Republican National Convention.
Romney’s Bain 0
The Boston Globe’s Michael Kranish tries to figure out how Mitt flipped his IRA to total gazillions. Apparently it was funneled all quite legally into poker chips for Bain’s Wall Street poker nights.
A snippet:
Out of Sight, Out of Mind 0
Philadelphia’s attempt to hide the homeless comes a cropper:
Among other things, the judge said that it was clear that services for the homeless were overwhelmed and that feeding the hungry was in the public interest.
Homeless folks are attracted to that area because it’s safe and well-patrolled and there are lots of bushes and trees to sleep under.
But the city is not giving up.
Within hours of the release of the 56-page opinion and preliminary injunction by District Judge William H. Yohn Jr., the Nutter administration filed notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
It bears remembering that Philadelphia (and other cities) did not create this situation. If there were justice, these folks would be sleeping on bankster lawns in the Hamptons.
Droning On 0
After reviewing the arguments that robotic dealers of automated death from the skies are “good weapons” (follow the link for the arguments), Der Spiegel tries to assess the goodness. A nugget:
The “good” drones, on the other hand, have a much more tragic track record. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London found that the United States used drones in Pakistan 337 times between 2004 and 2012, killing between 2,524 and 3,247 people. The casualties included 482 to 852 civilians, of whom 175 were children. Of the many evils of war, civilian victims are the worst.
Read the whole thing.
Fertilizing the Weeds 0
Mike and Mark Potok explore how the myths of the purveyors of hate infiltrate the main stream.
A Picture Is Worth 0
Afterthought:
This is a much more profound, relevant, and well-reasoned position than anything from Charles Krauthammer or Cal Thom–oh, never mind.
Via PoliticalProf.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
New etiquette is being taught in school to prepare kids for the coming gun nut paradise. Connie Schultz explains:
These are not the fire drills of our youth.
“You teach your students to go to the back of the classroom, sit on the floor and be totally silent,” says Becky Young. “Police walk through the building. They try to trick you by knocking on the door.”
(snip)
Repeatedly, she mentions a gunman as we talk about school security. She sighs when I point this out.
“Yeah, I know,” she says. “I think about it a lot now. So do our students. They mention ‘gunman’ a lot, particularly after drills.”
Meanwhile, the guns-are-their-Viagra crowd continues their own preparations for paradise.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Timothy Nolan takes a detailed look at the tactics of the Republican gut out the vote movement. A nugget; follow the link for the details:
Former Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer (currently under indictment for stealing party funds) stated in a deposition released in July that a 2009 party meeting included discussion of “voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting.”
In December, Paul Schurick, a top aide to former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich, was convicted of election fraud for using automated phone calls to suppress the African-American vote during Mr. Ehrlich’s unsuccessful 2010 bid. “The first and most desired outcome is voter suppression,” stated one consultant’s memo entered into evidence. It described a “Schurick Doctrine” to “promote confusion, emotionalism and frustration among African-American Democrats.”
Mitt the Flip Dogwhistles Dixie–Again (or Is It “Still”?) 0
Dick Polman has this to say about Mitt the Flip’s latest Dixie dogwhistle, in which the Flipster invoked Reagan’s welfare queen imagery:
Chauncey Devega analyzes the tune and concludes that Mitt the Flip is playing a dangerous game. Here’s a nugget.
I help Devega is right, but it is wise not to underestimate the power of hate.
Follow the links, especially Devega’s. Read the whole thing. Educate yourself about the playbill and the intended audience for Mitt’s Dixie concert.
Pizza Panels 2
Papa John’s claims that providing health care for employees might cost as much at fourteen cents a pizza.
That’s too much for Colbert:
There has to be a line we do not cross. And it’s fourteen cents.
If we sit idly by while everyone gets access to doctors for fourteen cents a pizza, tomorrow it may be three cents a taco.
Via TPM.