July, 2014 archive
A. A Prion 0
Q. What do you get when you cross a Prius and a Scion?
A Question of Character 0
The Regent wants himself some character witnesses. A nugget:
Prosecutors argued in their motion last month that any more than three character witnesses would be redundant. McDonnell’s attorneys disagreed.
In my experience, persons who have character don’t need wi–oh, never mind.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Hand the gun back to its owner politely.
When officers arrived, they tried performing CPR on Martel.
He was pronounced dead at Essentia St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes.
(No day goes by without its daily dose of politeness.)
Do Nothings 0
I wonder how many persons will get the reference to the Maynard G. Krebs Congress?
Sightings 0
The story goes that Mom pulled into the driveway after taking the kids to visit Grandma for a week.
The kids piled out of the car and rushed to their father for a hug.
“How was the trip?” Dad asked.
“Great!” said the oldest boy. “And guess what?
“We didn’t see a single bastard or sonuvabitch aaaallllllllll week!”
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness rebounds.
They were target shooting near the Hassayampa River bottom when a bullet fired from a handgun ricocheted and fatally injured the boy.
Investigators determined that the male teenager fired the bullet that struck the 9-year-old, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Wars and Rumors of War 0
John Nichols points out that the “civil war” between teabaggers and “establishment” Republicans is but a rumor, a fuss over appearances, a big nothing.
(snip)
For the most part, this year’s supposedly significant Senate contests between the establishment and the “Tea Party” have explored the range of opinion from what would historically have been understood as the right wing of the Republican Party to what is now understood as the right wing of the Republican Party.
Some very wealthy people take these distinctions very seriously. They have money to burn, and they are burning it up this year on political purity tests that pit those who like their economic and social conservatism straight against those who want it with a twist of Ted Cruz.
Sex, Consequences, and the American Taliban 0
The Booman nails the reason for wingnut joy over the Hobby Lobotomy (emphasis added).
This battle isn’t really over abortion. It’s over female equality.
Republican Party, Origins Issue 1
Dick Polman reviews the origins of the contemporary Republican Party and of the New Secesh. Do please follow the link and read the rest.
In other words, just as America was finally poised to reject institutional racism, the GOP made common cause with the people (primarily, southern whites) who liked institutional racism. Sadly, Goldwater’s reactionary fervor, at the expense of African Americans, became a foundational cornerstone of the conservative moment.
Goldwater wasn’t personally racist, but his rhetoric was packed with what we now call “dog whistles.” Angry whites deciphered his code phrases, and they got the message loud and clear.
I was detailed to paint the corn stack in the summer of 1964 and listened to coverage of the Republican Convention on my portable radio as I worked. At the time, Jim Crow was still in force and the school I attended was still all-white.
As a child of the Jim Crow South, I can attest that we all knew while it was happening that Goldwater and his Republican Party were on our side and on the side of preserving segregation and what grown-ups referred to as “our way of life.”
Remember, when someone says “states’ rights,” ask, “States’ rights to do just what exactly?”
Activist Judges and the “Constitutional Monarchy” 0
I’m not sure I agree completely with Thom. The Supreme Court has from time-to-time been a force for good, not just a force for evil as now. His views are worth a hearing, though.
Facebook Frolics 0
In related news, Daniel Ruth tees off on “experimentation” in the ZuckerDome. Just read it.
Scams and Scammers 0
I have never been a fan of states’ choosing to raise money through gambling. I have nothing against a friendly game of poker (though I will not participate–I spell “gamble” “L-O-S-E”), but I’ve always considered state-sanctioned lotteries, casinos, and slots to be legislators’ pusillanimous strategy to avoid facing up to doing their jobs, to avoid their responsibility to “govern.”
Taxes are the price of life in a civilized society. (One could go further and argue that those who oppose all taxes on “principle” ipso facto oppose civilized society, but that’s another post.)
Establishing state-run lotteries and authorizing slots parlors and casinos with the justification that they raise revenue to pay for essential public services such as schools, pensions, roads, and the like is, at best, a dodge, and, at worst, a scam. It is legislators’ and governors’ admission that they are too cowardly to govern.
It is fundamentally dishonest.
In Pennsylvania, the scam is starting to fail.
In New Jersey, it’s been failing for years.
Atlantic City started the year with 12 casinos. By Labor Day, it could be down to nine.
For years, economists and analysts talked in theoretical terms about “casino saturation” in the northeastern United States. But there’s nothing theoretical about what’s happening in Atlantic City now.
Buy your Powerball ticket if you must, but, as you do, remember two things: You have a better chance with Publishers Clearing House and you are suborning fundamentally dishonest governance.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Despite the hype, no real change: Still well above 300k.
(snip)
Jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 315,000 in the week ended June 28. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 313,000 claims. Economists’ estimates ranged from 305,000 to 325,000 after an initially reported 312,000 in the week ended June 21.
In June, applications for jobless benefits ranged from 313,000 to 318,000. Fewer firings typically foreshadow an acceleration of job growth.
Still Unsafe at Any Speed 0
Shaun Mullen tries to figure out what’s wrong with General Motors. He thinks it may be a cultural thing. A nugget:
I have a GMC Sonoma pick-up; I got a truck so I could pull my boat back when I had a boat. It has been a fine vehicle; it still has almost all of its original components, except for the battery and the radiator. After over 100,000 miles, I can’t complain. Stuff does, after all, wear out.
I also once had a Chevette, which I purchased used in a hurry because I had to have a car right then. It lasted till 138,000 miles; by the time it finally died, the floorboards had rusted out (I replaced them with cookie sheets because I couldn’t afford to get a different car), the fuel gauge could no longer be relied on, and it had gone through three clutches (one of which my mechanic replaced under warranty after telling his supplier, “Look, this guy’s driven a shift for 20 years and he’s been my customer for 10–I know he didn’t mistreat your damned clutch”).