2012 archive
Fear of Facts 0
Thom discusses Texas Republicans’ attempt to ban teachers from teaching “critical thinking” skills.
Why oh why would Republicans be against facts and analytical thinki–oh, never mind.
The Entitlement Society 0
Thom dissects the zany:
Petraeus 0
I have no comment on whether Petraeus’s frat-boy conduct should have cost him his job, but the fuss does seem an eerie counterpoint to my post of several days ago.
Friends and family members have had lives torn by straying spouses. Consequently, I have little sympathy for him or his paramour, except to remind them of how quickly the Great Secret Love turns into the Sordid Public Scandal.
For some good, clean fun, though, try this:
When a politician or a pundit–especially a pol–defends or attacks Petraeus or his emploment status, check his or her positions on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.
I have only one expectation: You will find some pretzel logic and a more than a few giggles.
Facebook Frolics 0
Pay no attention to the electrons behind the curtain:
But in October, another Facebook page for the hospital popped up. This one posted denunciations of President Obama and what it derided as “Obamacare.” It swiftly gathered hundreds of followers, and the anti-Obama screeds picked up “likes.” Officials at the hospital, scrambling to get it taken down, turned to their real Facebook page for damage control. “We apologize for any confusion,” they posted on Oct. 8, “and appreciate the support of our followers.”
The fake page came down 11 days later, as mysteriously as it had come up. The hospital says it has no clue who was behind it.
More frolicking Facebookers at the link.
How To Be a Pundit 0
Keep reminding yourself:
I’m not stubborn, I’m steadfast.
I’m not mean, I’m realistic.
I’m not self-serving, I’m fair and balanced.
I’m not unscientific, I’m in touch with higher truths.
More pundit self-talk at the link.
It’s Elementary 0
When Sherlock Holmes passed away at some future date (so far as I know, he is still keeping bees in Sussex) and went to Heaven, he was immediately called into the presence of God.
“Holmes,” said God, “can you help us?”
“Why certainly,” he replied. “Please place your problem before me.”
“Well, it’s Adam and Eve. They’ve . . . disappeared. Can you find them?”
“Allow me to commence my investigation,” responded Holmes.
A few hours later (or whatever passes for hours in the celestial sphere) he reappeared with the recalcitrant couple in tow.
“What have you to say for yourselves?” thundered the Deity.
“Well,” Adam replied, “it’s all the newcomers.”
“Yes,” said Eve. “They keep asking us for autographs!”
“Hmmph!” grumped the Deity. “I can understand why you needed a break. Off with you. Now, Holmes, how did you find them?”
“Elementary, my dear God,” he replied. “They were the only ones with no navels.”
In other news, I knew the name that Holmes spoke to his friend in this episode of Elementary before it was spoken on the show.
After all, to Sherlock Holmes, she is always “the woman.”
Message Discipline 0
John Scalzi has a few words for old angry white men who are stunned that Mitt the Flip’s Etch no longer Sketches:
More words for old angry white men at the link.
Hate is a popular product, but I guess it don’t always sell.
Via Delaware Liberal.
Siren Calls 0
I wonder whether all the sirens I heard yesterday morning could have been this?
I was over that way on Witchduck Road (named after a real witch ducking) just about that time.
QOTD 0
John Archibald Wheeler:
If you haven’t found something strange during the day, it hasn’t been much of a day.
Oh! Canada! 0
Tulsa Fox affiliate gives directions to Canada for Tulsans fleeing Obamacare for Canada’s single-payer system.
Listen for the laughter in the background:
Via ABL.
Bubblelicious 0
Jonathan Schell writes in the Beirut Daily Star. A nugget:
These refusals to accept matters of plain fact reflect a still wider pattern. Increasingly, the Republican Party, once a fairly normal political party, has granted itself a license to live in an alternate reality . . . .
Read the rest.
Tom Tomorrow brings it alive with pictures:
Vulture Capitalism: The Whys of Its Rise 2
Siman Caulkin explains that it’s the MBAs. A nugget:
(snip)
But it’s not economics, it’s management, stupid. Unsurprisingly, downtrodden and outsourced workers, mis-sold-to customers, exploited suppliers and underpowered innovation cancelled out any gains from ever more ingenious financial engineering – leaving shareholders less well off in the shareholder-value-era since 1980 than in previous decades. The great crash of 2008 stripped away any remaining doubt: the economic progress of the last 30 years was a mirage. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb put it in The Black Swan, the profits were illusory, “simply borrowed against destiny with some random payment time.”
Read the rest.
Modest Proposals 0
PoliticalProf passes on suggestions for improving the polling process.