November, 2012 archive
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
Fiscal Cliffhangers 0
The Onion skewers the handwringing over the fiscal not-really-a-cliff by visualizing the effects. A nugget:
- Total breakdown of effective government will turn large parts of the country into an unimaginably hellish libertarian paradise
- Severe cuts to education spending, if you can fathom that
More visualizations at the link.
Tilting at Windmills 0
The “nocebo” effect.
You can catch it from any green technology I don’t approve of.
Via the Green Miles.
The Entitlement Society: Vampire Capitalism Dept. 0
Thoreau surveys the Twinkies and asks a question:
We should stop calling it “vulture capitalism.” The term slurs vultures, the trash haulers of the wild, who provide an essential service.
“Vampire capitalism”: that’s my submission.
Image via Balloon Juice.
Fighting the Last War 2
Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, writing as a private citizen, considers the current situation in Afghanistan and sees parallels between the legacy of General Patraeus and that of another legendary general from a war long gone.
It’s worth noting that when Gen. William Westmoreland told Congress how well the Vietnam War was going in April 1967, he was hailed as a hero and interrupted by applause 19 times. But years later, when an honest evaluation of his performance was made and the truth was laid bare, his name became a byword for military failure.
Read the rest.
Twits on Twitter 0
“That’s not a twit. This is a twit.”
More Makeover Magic 0
Little Ricky isn’t having any of it. The Commander Guy reports.
Student Athletes 0
The Raleigh News and Observer has a long article about the efforts of a UNC staffer to blow the whistle on the corruption eating away at college sports and about how she couldn’t get anyone to listen to her. A nugget.
They were largely filled with athletes. Other records have identified two other no-show classes – and suggest the classes go back at least a dozen years and were known within the support program as an easy path for athletes.
Take off your team sweatshirt, remove your fan flag from the garden, and read the rest.
If you think UNC is the only place this is going on, you haven’t been following the game.
Special Thanksgiving Week Drinking Liberally Virginia Beach Tomorrow 0
Fun and fellowship for liberals, on Tuesday instead of Thursday because of the holiday. Join us and talk about anything in a relaxed atmosphere.
When: Tuesday, November 20th, 6 p.
Where:
Croc’s 19 Street Bistro
620 19th Street
Virginia Beach, Virginia (Map)
More here.
Makeover Magic 0
Republicans: Watch what they do, not what they say.
Case in point:
This is good advice from a former Rhodes scholar. Yet this is the same Bobby Jindal who signed a bill that his right-wing legislature passed encouraging the teaching in Louisiana schools of creationism alongside evolution. And when the crazy birthers threatened to require a candidate to present a copy of a birth certificate to get on the ballot, Governor Jindal said he would sign such a measure.
More stories of mysterious magickal makeovers and why Republican Botox can’t hide the wrinkles at the link.
Facebook Frolics 0
Be careful what you “like”:
The pair were due to appear in court later in the day charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, said Police Inspector Shrikant Pingle in the town of Palghar north of Mumbai.
“The two women will be produced in a local court later this afternoon. They are being charged for hurting religious sentiments,” he told AFP.
It’s the Message, Not the Medium 0
Romney lost the election not because he failed to convey the Republican message, but because he succeeded.
He conveyed, displayed, even portrayed it most accurately..
