February, 2014 archive
The Nugget of Nugent 0
Dick Polman thinks he knows why Republicans keep Ted Nugent around.
So why do Republicans – like Mitt Romney in 2012 – abide this guy in the first place? . . . .
But the thing is, Republicans don’t view Nugent as a mistake. They think he’s useful, that he serves a purpose, that right-wing politicians like Abbot can parade him with cynical intent.
Nugent is viscerally in touch with the haters in The Base – and the haters tend to vote heavily, especially in Republican primaries (Abbot’s first task is to win his March 4 primary). Nugent can travel the low road and say all the vile stuff that the politicians aren’t free to say. And after the haters guzzle Nugent’s red meat, the politicians play tut-tut on the high road. What a deal: Nugent does the dirty work while they keep their hands clean.
In other words, because hate sells, and hate is what they got.
More at the link.
Sharia and Sharia Alike 0
There’s a quotation, likely apocryphal, often attributed to Winston Churchill (though I have not found an authoritative citation) to the effect that
Of course, the United States will have fascism, but it will be called “anti-Fascism.”
Case in point:
I should have realized this, but it took the Professional Left Podcast (subscribe now if you haven’t already; it’s fun and it’s free) to remind me that Arizona’s “Let’s All Hate on the Gays” legislation is nothing more than Sharia law, fundy style.
Bonus Babies 2
At Psychology Today Blogs, Thomas Hills highlights the fraud of of the bonus babies. A nugget:
A recent article by Jacquart and Armstrong looks at the evidence. Their evidence consists of a review of numerous experimental studies and records of performance of thousands of firms and CEOs.
The conclusion is as simple as a day old bird: CEO incentives do not buy better performance. If anything, incentives make performance worse.
Follow the link for the evidence.
The Climates, They Are A-Changing . . . 0
It’s February in the Mid-Atlantic States.
Two weeks ago, we had eight inches of snow and temperatures in the Fahrenheit twenties. Yesterday, it was 70 Fahrenheits. And it’s still February. I grew up in these parts and can testify that this is not How It Used To Be.
In the Bangor Daily News, Gwynne Dwyer has a theory.
. . . it was the people of the rich countries in the temperate zone – North America, Europe and Japan, mainly – who industrialized early and started burning large amounts of fossil fuel as long as two centuries ago. That’s how they got rich. Their emissions of carbon dioxide over the years account for 80 percent of the greenhouse gases of human origin that are now in the atmosphere, causing the warming, yet they get hurt least and last.
Well, what did you expect? The gods of climate are almost certainly sky gods, and sky gods are never fair. But they have always liked jokes, especially cruel ones, and they have come up with a great one this time. The people of the temperate zones are going to get hurt early after all, but not by gradual warming. Their weather is just going to get more and more extreme: heat waves, blizzards and flooding on an unprecedented scale.
Picture This 0
I seldom agree with the resident curmudgeon at my local rag, as her default position seems to be that “other persons don’t deserve nice things,” but she got this one right.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Another person demonstrates the importance of being polite to oneself.
“Equality” Does Not Equal “Hate-Full-Ness” 0
I commend the musings of PoliticalProf to your attention. He said it better than I can.
It’s an empty person who must mistreat others to feel alive. There is a word for such a person.
“Sadist.”
Once a pervert, now a self-designated “Christian,” but one unknown to Christ.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Remove unwanted guests politely.
Karl Edward Hormann III is accused of shooting Brandon Smith, who officials said had returned to the doctor’s home after he had been asked to leave.
Everybody Must Get Fracked, the Rich Are Different from You and Me Dept. 0
Why am I not surprised?
The exception is when Tillerson’s $5 million property value might be harmed. Tillerson has joined a lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences in order to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife’s Texas home.
More hydraulic hypocrisy at the link.
The Fifth Freedom: Freedom To Hate 2
It’s a coordinated campaign of calumny; hate sells, and hate is what they got.
Image via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.
Facebook Frolics 0
In Alabama, wingnuts have discovered how to spot RINOs–by their Facebook friends.
Meta: Spam Comments 2
I have received well over 100 spam comments in the last 24 hours, no doubt courtesy of folks like these. The volume of spam comments has increased significantly in the past two weeks.
Thanks to Akismet, only one or two slipped into public view. The ones that did were painfully obvious and quickly deleted, having been worded in this manner (not a quotation–an exemplar) . . .
I find this website marvelous. What you have contributed to my knowledge is unmatched in my experience. Can you recommend me to other sites where I can perceive such wisdom?
. . . and containing links pointing to sites selling knock-offs to the gullible.
Aside:
I feel sorry for folks who sell themselves to do this sort of stuff. They are clearly desperate. But the folks who pay them to do it are scum.
Claim Jumping 0
I guess it was only a matter of time . . . .
According to The Harvard Crimson, an unnamed student has been stripped of access to all of the prestigious uni’s research-computing labs and systems after it was discovered earlier this month that s/he had scheduled its Odyssey cluster for use in a Dogecoin mining operation.
Dogecoins are yet another attempt to jump on the bitcoin bandwagon before the wheels fall off.
