May, 2014 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Bring politeness to the playground.
(snip)
“There was a shot fired from the community beyond the tree line from the school,” Gavalas said. “We don’t know who fired the shot, why the shot was fired, was it a stray shot.”
The kids will not be permitted to play outside for the rest of the school year.
School for Scamdal, Immunity Dept. 0
Who’s to blame for Benghazi? We discussed this last night at DL.
Ask, rather, who cut the State Department security budget? (Hint: it wasn’t Democrats.)
Via Balloon Juice.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
The Galt and the Lamers 2
Tony Norman sees the fee hand of the market in right-wind reactions to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos. The excerpt starts with a quotation from Tyson:
It is views like this that have enraged many of Mr. Tyson’s critics on the right, who view his very entertaining presentation of the scientific worldview as a threat to tradition, morality, capitalism and the authority of the Bible.
(snip)
The ideology of the free market unencumbered by concerns about the present or the future always trump science based on observable reality. This is why we have a major political party that finds it a problem to admit that man-made climate change is real or that the Earth is billions of years old.
Our Failed Educational Experiment 2
In the context of a larger story about a nothingburger about a “show about nothing” is this (emphasis added):
As near as I can tell from the PDF available at the link, it’s a masters degree about icons.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Turkeys are not bald.
(snip)
Kenneth Ranfos, who has been hunting with his cousin for 40 years, shot him from just 30 yards away with a shotgun. WBZ speculated that Kenneth Ranfos may have mistaken his cousin’s bald head for a turkey when he quickly removed his hat.
Yet another person too stupid to touch firearms.
The Country’s Tanking 0
Oh, my.
The family left the Subway without him.
The man then exited the restroom carrying a plastic garbage bag and hustled out of the restaurant, reports say.
An employee checked the bathroom and found the toilet tank gone . . . .
Massaging the Messaging 0
In an effort to improve its “messaging,” the Republican National Committee goes for the obvious solution: Fewer messages.
Dick Polman comments:
In other words, they are putting the pig back in the poke.
More at the link.
Hey! Rubio! 0
Marco Rubio has decided that he’s presidential timber. The Rude One spots the indicators.
Follow the link for in-depth rudeness.
Afterthought:
Of course Rubio’s ready to be president. As Republicans do not actually believe in governance, no qualifications are needed, now, are they?
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Daniel Ruth marvels that ignorance has become a career path.
Today, they get syndication deals.
Drinking Liberally Norfolk Tomorrow 0
Drinking Liberally is a gathering place for liberals. Socialize and laugh in a friendly atmosphere.
When: 6 p., Tuesday, May 13.
Where:
Uno Chicago Grill
5900 Virginia Beach Blvd
(Janaf Shopping Center) (map)
Tuesdays for Norfolk, Thursdays for Virginia Beach to make it easier for persons with commitments on either day to catch at least one per month.
The Second Deconstruction 0
Rachel explores the racist roots of the militia and soveriegn citizen movements.
Afterthought:
When you delve into right-wing politics, they always seem to come back to racism, America’s original sin.
Speaking of Scams . . . . 1
My local rag covers “bitcoin believers” in my local area.
“Bitcoin believers.”
I find that phrase telling. Like any fiat currency, bitcoins work only if you believe in them. But it’s only ones and zeroes, guaranteed by no one and founded in nothing. (“Bitcoin believers” will tell you that they are guaranteed by math. Ask the folks who believed in Mt. Gox. Interpol is not on the case.)
Bitcoins are electronic Libertarianism–a masturbatory fantasy for the privileged.
School for Scamdal 0
Tracy Rubin, who probably knows more about the Middle East than any other reporter, finds the scam in the scamdal:
Eight congressional investigations, along with an independent review board, have laid out the facts about the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate. There have been 13 public hearings, the release of 25,000 pages of documents, and 50 briefings on the security failures that led to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. None offered a shred of evidence that White House political considerations led to their deaths.
Yet last week, as we head into campaign season, House Republicans voted to waste more taxpayer money on a new special Select Committee on Benghazi.
Read the rest.
Truth and governance matter not to the Republican Party. Power and theatre are their only concerns.
If that means that they dance on the graves of patriots, they dance on the graves of patriots.