May, 2013 archive
Shelter from the Storm 4
Dick Polman notes that public buildings, such as schools, in Moore, Oklahoma, right smack at the intersection of I-35 and I-Tornado, do not have storm shelters, because freedom.
Maybe I’m just a blue-state guy posing a blue-state question, but I have to ask: Isn’t it the prime responsibility of government to protect its citizens, and provide for the common good?
Apparently not in red-state alley, because this is where Freedom comes in.
Sequestrian Dressage 0
Der Spiegel points out that, come summer, the effects of Sequestration will start to have noticeable effects and looks at the absurdity of the whole darn thing. A nugget:
That, of course, was nonsense.
More sense about nonsense at the link.
Stalking Talking Points 0
Reg Henry is fed up with talking points:
But then some chronically political person decided that the plain story would never do. It would be better to arrange the salient facts into a persuasive sequence in order to win arguments. The talking point, its hour come round at last, slouched toward Washington to be born.
It is important to understand that talking points are not neutral. They serve an argumentative purpose. If repeated enough, people’s brains throw a tiny rope out of their ears and slide down to a less tedious environment. At that point, political victory can be claimed.
Read the rest.
Sequestrian Dressage 0
It is an article of faith amongst the wingnutosphere that the evul fedrul guvmint is mostly a waste of money and doesn’t do anything productive (except, natch, for blowing people up in far away places with strange sounding names). Therefore, budgets can be cut ruthlessly and heedlessly, because all that spending is for nothing (except, natch, &c.)
Then, when they discover that the evul fedrul guvmint does do real things that affect real people, and that those heedless, ruthless budget cuts might affect stuff that they care about, they make a sound similar to that of stuck pigs.
The proposal has produced sharp reaction from meteorologists and an elected official.
“The severe weather events in Oklahoma this week have further convinced me that we should not take any chance that avoidable furloughs might result in a degradation of weather prediction and forecasting services,” Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va., wrote in a letter Wednesday to the Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Another tale of youthful politeness.
The pastor’s daughter was shot shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday by a “juvenile male,” police said. County police continued Thursday to refuse to disclose details such as the shooter’s relationship to Hollifield, or whether charges will be filed in her death.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
Light Bloggery 0
Editing.
No Self-Awareness Whatsoever 0
I guess it’s because they don’t want to admit they are racists, even to themselves, that most racists cannot recognize when they are doing something racist.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
A little better:
(snip)
Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 338,000 to 360,000. The Labor Department revised the previous week’s figure to 363,000 from an initially reported 360,000.
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, dropped to 339,500 last week from 340,000.
News Ripped from the Ticker 0
The usual warning: Language, no taste.
“Wanna Buy a Bridge?’ 0
It’s a natural.
Jim Woltz has a bridge in Rockbridge County he wants to sell you — Natural Bridge.
Woltz’s company, Roanoke-based Woltz & Associates, has been retained to market the Virginia landmark and tourist attraction, along with an accompanying 150-room hotel, Natural Bridge Caverns and 1,600 acres.
