October, 2012 archive
Deck the Bride . . . . 0
There is no truth to the rumor that the Wedding Industrial Complex has gotten completely out of hand. None whatsoever.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
At Tampa Bay dot com, Bill Maxwell, who worked with the SCLC to register black voters in the 1960s, remembers the roots of the gut out the vote effort:
To keep blacks out of voting booths back then, whites used practices that included poll taxes, proof of residency, physical intimidation and even murder.
The Republican Party has based its electoral fortunes on dressing bigotry in a nice new suit called “Voter ID.”
It’s still bigotry, still craven, corrupt, and contemptible.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
More signs of our times.
Not only was our gentle recovery shattered, but also we found ourselves afraid — angry and afraid. This was not the first incident regarding that small political sign. During the two previous weekends someone had thrown bags of dog “poop” at the sign. Were we under attack? Would these attacks escalate? When I first wrote about the dog incidents on our neighborhood online bulletin board I refused to identify which candidate’s sign was the target. It didn’t seem to matter as far as I was concerned. It was the behavior that bothered me. That kind of behavior from either side was inexcusable.
The Little Dead Schoolhouse 3
At one time, California had one of the best public education systems in the world.
No more. At Asia Times, Andy Kroll takes a look at what happened.
California’s public higher education system is, in other words, dying a slow death. The promise of a cheap, quality education is slipping away for the working and middle classes, for immigrants, for the very people whom the University of California’s creators held in mind when they began their grand experiment 144 years ago. And don’t think the slow rot of public education is unique to California: that state’s woes are the nation’s.
Venus of Cupertino 0
For iJunkies, available for $199.00:
If he can get iJunkies to spring two hundred simoleons for this, more power to him. They are already willing to pay twice as much for half as good.
A World of Their Own 0
Rachel Maddow on fantasy worlds, both left and right.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Via Raw Story.
PSA: No, You Didn’t Win a Gift Certificate 0
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a long article about cell phone text message spam.
Text spam has increased significantly with sales of smart phones, since the recipient can click on a link right there on the handset. Carriers do not believe that your number has been specifically compromised, but that the spammers are using war dialers.
I’ve gotten a few of these and, following instructions from my carrier, forwarded them directly to 7726 (that’s S P A M on the dialer). Once I do, I almost immediately get a text from my carrier asking for the “from” number for the text, so be prepared with the number.
If you have a smart phone, read the article. It will help you practice Safe HEX.a href=”http://www.ajc.com/news/business/text-spam-messages-on-the-rise/nSW3C/”
Signs of the Times 0
Feelings are running high in Greensboro, North Carolina:
(snip)
President Barack Obama’s supporters also have been the victims of vandalism, said Bess Lewis, who runs the Democratic Party’s election headquarters in Greensboro. She said the Obama sign in front of the party’s office was stolen.
She said her office has not been reporting the incidents to police.
“In Starmount, an Obama sign was removed from the stand, filled with dog feces and stuffed in their mailbox,” Lewis said. “We’ve had a lot of reports of stolen signs — reports of cars with bumper stickers that have been keyed or the stickers pulled off.”
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Bay Citizen reporter Rick Jurgens writes that the bank’s debt collection unit, Credigy Receivables, began filing foreclosure lawsuits recently that take advantage of a loophole in California’s laws that lets them go directly for a debtor’s home even if that property was not offered as collateral for a loan.
Jurgens explained that one of the people targeted by the new legal tactic is 71-year-old Helen Jones, an Oakland resident who lived in her home for 37 years before Credigy sued in 2010 over $1,636 in credit card debt her ex-husband ran up. She claimed the bank offered to settle the debt and drop the foreclosure for $7,000, and that she ultimately paid them $3,800 just to get it all over with.
But they are Canadian, so they are doing it politely.
Snaking Toilets 0
Not a job I’d fancy–The Sacramento Bee profiles the Ramirez Rattlesnake Removal company. A nugget:
Arresting Headline of the Day 0
Navy Operational Support Center groundbreaking planned today in Moon
You can get there via the Imperial cruiser.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Tamba Bay dot com’s John Romano confesses the error of his ways:
They knew better, I knew nothing.
When I recently criticized the state’s Republican leaders for chasing nonexistent voter fraud, I should have bowed to their insider knowledge.
After all, they were the ones paying $1.33 million to a company that has apparently turned in phony voter registration forms across Florida.
Facebook Frolics, Cheap Thrills Dept. 0
Facebook: self-love.
Turns out that when you think of Facebook, you may be feeling a hunka-hunka burning love.
Cue the Barry White makeout music.
Researchers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business say the desire to indulge in Facebook, Twitter and other social-media pastimes is among the strongest temptations we now face — right up there with sex and cigarettes.