2012 archive
As Old As Jamestown 1
Marc Lamont explains why racist stereotypes persist as part of U. S. politics. A nugget:
Of course, this works only against the backdrop of white supremacy, a system that makes whiteness a coveted piece of social, cultural and emotional property. Within this system, even the most socially desperate white citizen finds pride in being white or, more importantly, not being black.
As a result, rather than aligning themselves with other poor people, these individuals instead elect to close ranks around race.
Empty Teabags? 0
Bob Cesca wonders where the yellers went:
Anyone paying attention realized that teabaggery was an astroturf movement funded and promoted by (you will pardon the expression) the 1%, destined to be discounted when it was no longer a useful diversion.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
According to the fee marketers, there is nothing like letting the market winnow the winners from the losers.
The “framework should be in place for domestically systemically important banks by the end of the year,” Mark Carney, chairman of the Financial Stability Board, said yesterday after a meeting of the group in Basel, Switzerland.
This is nothing like letting the market winnow the winners from the losers.
Incompetence, the new route to financier financial success.
Twits on Twitter 0
OhMyGov! runs down the five most common political Twitter mistwits.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., cuts through the smokescreen:
Granted, race is nowhere mentioned in the voter ID bills. It was not mentioned in bills imposing grandfather clauses, poll taxes and literacy tests either. All were officially race-neutral, yet the intention and effect was to bar blacks from voting.
As Richard Nixon once said of his War on Drugs, another “race-neutral” policy that somehow victimizes mostly blacks, the idea is to target African Americans while appearing not to.
Note: I think Mr. Pitts left out “other minorities, students, and poor people.”
TSA Security Theatre, Spinning the Top Ten 0
Not one suspected terrorist.
Trademark Madness 1
Apparently, Texas A & M has trademarked a common phrase.
This definitely puts the “amateur” in semi-pro college football.
This is like Apple’s trying to trademark the letter “i,” but succeeding.
“My Theocracy Is Better than Your Theocracy” 0
Little Ricky: Absolutely no self-awareness whatsoever..
Mitt the Anointed 0
At the Guardian, Jason Farago argues that Mitt the Flip’s nomination is a done deal. He points to the one issue on which Mitt has not flipped: his unwavering loyalty to and identification with the corporate masters of the Republican Party and his belief in plutocracy uber alles.
(snip)
The fiction that Romney doesn’t believe in anything shows just how successfully the business absolutism he espouses has positioned itself outside ideological terms – beyond question, self-evident.
Follow the link for the rest.
Meanwhile, Field, who did part of his growing up in Michigan, remembers Mitt’s father:
To measure how far fell the apple from the tree, remember that George Romney made his pile by building a company. Mitt made his by destroying companies.
A Fox in the Clown Car? 0
Der Spiegel wonders whether Fox News is willing to sacrifice Republican aspirants to the ratings wars. The publication observes that, as soon as someone grabs the front runner flag, Fox tries to capture the flag. A snippet:
It’s an interesting read. Follow the link for the rest.
Facebook Frolics 2
At Psychology Today, Steve Baskin agonizes over “What hath Zuckerberg wrought”? A nugget:
Tweeting, texting and emailing do not provide such practice. Not only are they devoid of the tone and body language necessary for clear communication, but they also lead (I fear) to the pruning of these skills.
As my two or three regular readers know, I am not a fan of Facebook or Twitter. They turn their users into commodities for sale to marketers, while propagating useless idiocy with the same ease with which they propagate useful idiocy–er, information.
Nevertheless, I cannot shake the feeling that, 600 years ago, Baskin would have been agonizing over “What hath Gutenberg wrought.”
Drinking Liberally Norfolk Wednesday 0
Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.
When: 6 p., Wednesday, January 11.
Where:
The Public House
1112 Colley Avenue (map)
Details here.
Developer Magic in Queens. Really? 0
Like Savoir Faire, the touching faith in developer magic is everywhere, even in Queens.
For those of you who have visited New York, how many of you have visited boroughs other than Manhattan?
I have, if you can call having a gig at Sunnyside Yards (which I reached by catching deadheads from Penn Station to the yards), attending a Yankees games (Yankee Stadium is maybe two blocks into the Bronx), or driving through Staten Island and Brooklyn on the way to Amityville (yes, I’ve been to Amityville) “visiting other boroughs.”
Via Atrios.