May, 2014 archive
Chipotle Putcsh 0
If Not-White persons pulled stunts like these, Wingnuts would be all “New Black Panther Party” all the time.
How To Identify Astroturf 0
In the Bangor Daily News, conservative commentator Jim Fossel offers advice for identifying phony “advocacy” groups.
Given the current tendency for the proponents of the most venal causes to wrap themselves in the most colorful display of American flag bunting, like buzzards in pheasant suits, his guidelines are timely. The Society for Puppies and Kitty Cats, from which you received a touching appeal, may turn out to be a front for the CCCCFF (Corporation for Commercially Canning Canines and Freezing Felines).
Another telling indication of partisanship is legislative ratings. Many organizations rate legislators, supposedly on how well they agree with their issues. Groups that are merely partisan fronts will have highly polarized ratings — for example, almost all Democrats getting 10 percent or less, and all Republicans getting 90 percent or more. Of course, though it’s rare, an issue may be truly partisan, so it’s not fair to judge based on that alone; this is just one indicator.
Der Spiegel Finds a Bright Spot 0
Der Spiegel looks beyond the distressingly rightward leanings of the EU elections to find a ray of hope. The EU is starting to be noticed.
For the first time in the European Union’s history, the major parties in the European Parliament launched top candidates who campaigned for the job of European Commission president and gave stump speeches across much of Europe in an experiment that affected more than 400 million voters.
I don’t know enough about the European Union to have an opinion beyond this: that the states of Europe, whose petty wars inform the curriculum of “Western History,” are trying to work together is an unavoidably good thing. Just read the rest.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness demands R*E*S*P*E*C*T.
Moments later, she heard a “pop, pop, pop” on the telephone line, according to Sheriff’s Office reports released Monday.
(snip)
When deputies arrived at the Stewart Road home Sunday evening, John Douglas — Doris Douglas’ husband and Patterson’s stepfather — was on the front porch smoking a cigarette.
John Douglas told detectives Patterson came home drunk and “began to disrespect him,” reports said.
I trust he will get a lot of R*E*S*P*E*C*T in J*A*I*L.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to drop-in guests.
After the crash someone emerged from the house and fired on the 18-year-old driver, Hidalgo County sheriff’s spokesman JP Rodriguez said.
School for Scamdal 0
To call this a “kangaroo court” is to insult kangaroos.
Stray Thought 0
I have one Windows computer.
It’s set to dual-boot Windows and Linux (currently, Mageia–it’s not Slackware, but it is a good solid distro).
I’m currently booted into Windows to pick up recent updates and to play a bit with Rainmeter, run virus scans (something not usually needed in my Linux world), and keep my Windows skills fresh. If you are a Windows user and want a decent system monitor program, you might want to take a look at Rainmeter.
Every time I boot into the Windows side of this box, I am reminded how really and truly clunky and annoying Windows can be.
Hollow Thanks 0
I agree with Leonard Pitts, Jr., that “Thank you for your service” uttered to a member of the armed forces is a callow and empty phrase. Indeed, I have had veterans of my personal acquaintance tell me that their reaction to hearing it ranges somewhere between apathy and loathing.
It’s as empty as “I’m sorry for your loss” said by the detective on the telly vision to another character just before starting the third degree.
Pitts points out that the empty thanks have been expressed for a long long time–indeed, for much longer than he cites. A nugget from Pitt’s column:
It would not look like Veterans Affairs facilities across the country requiring sick and injured veterans to wait months to see the doctor, then falsifying records to make it appear they were actually being seen much more quickly. This, of course, is the scandal that has roiled the White House and put Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on the defensive.
But look past that. A love they could see would also not look like a backlog of disability claims that peaked last year at more than 900,000, forcing some veterans to wait a year or more for their benefits. Nor would it look like the 2007 Washington Post report about wounded men recovering in a military hospital with rotting walls, creeping mold and vermin sauntering about.
Point being, this new scandal is not new. Rather, it is but a variation on a sadly recurrent theme: the neglect of our veterans.
Read the rest. Then read this. And this.
Voices in His Head 0
Honest to Pete, you can’t make this stuff up.
Alpha Male 0
He couldn’t get a girlfriend.
So he killed girls, and, as Chauncey Devega predicts, no notice will be taken.
I got nothing. Just follow the link.
