From Pine View Farm

September, 2015 archive

Abnormal Psych 0

A clinical psychologist tries to figure out the appeal of Donald Trump.

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“Like a Business” 0

A North Carolina school board member explains what it would take to run schools “like a business.” Here’s how he starts (emphasis added):

I am often challenged by constituents to run the school system like a business. Of course, what they mean is to run the school system like a successful business.

Success in every business I have worked in or read about starts with leadership, especially leadership at the top. And a common trait of successful business leaders is to insure that the business is properly funded before the beginning of each year.

Follow the link for the rest.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Republican racism frolics, just down the road a piece.

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Sinking 0

Three persons in sinking row boat holding up SOS sign.  Republicans on GOP Coast Cuard Cutter holding up LOL sign.

Via Job’s Anger.

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Code Words 1

Gerald Haslam explains how they work in the Party of the New Secesh.

Just read it. No summary or excerpt can suffice.

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Chartering a Course for Disaster 0

AKA, The Art of the Steal.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Get a leg up on politeness.

According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, the 49-year-old man was with a group of men shooting at a 55-gallon drum that contained two pounds of Tannerite, which is an explosive used in making exploding targets for firearm practice. The drum splintered into several jagged pieces and one of the pieces nearly severed the leg of the man about 150 feet away. The man was sitting behind a tree, but had his leg exposed.

I can visualize the conversation:

“Hey, dudes, let’s go shoot up a barrel full of explosives!”

“Sounds like a plan, bro! What could possibly go wrong?”

Now, about those intelligence tests . . . .

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QOTD 0

Theodore White:

Power in America today is control of the means of communication.

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QOTD 0

Benjamin Cardozo:

Prophecy, however honest, is generally a poor substitute for experience.

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TSA Security Theatre 2

There’s nothing like a skilled, trained, competent security agency. And this is nothing like a ski–oh, never mind.

Anyone with a 3D printer can now unlock every single TSA-approved padlock, thanks to a security lapse by the American government agency.

Read the rest. Just do.

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“You’ve Got Mail” 0

Brian Greenspun, owner and publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, thinks that, as regards Hilary Clinton’s email, it’s time to move on. A nugget:

There are congressional hearings and investigations galore trying to determine whether there was any wrongdoing, and those will play out on the political schedules of others. (For some reason, I keep thinking Whitewater and other conspiracies that never happened when I think of congressional investigations by Republicans). We may one day know for sure that there is no “there” there when it comes to all the allegations being bandied about. But, until that day comes, shouldn’t we be entitled to hear her vision for America and her plan to help us fulfill the promise that is the United States?

Anyone who has been paying attention knows that this kerfuffle over email is much ado about nothing whatsoever; neither policy nor law was violated. Furthermore, no one who understands how email works, not even the most right-wing geeks I know, thinks that there is any there there.

The answer to Greenspun’s question, though, is simple. Republicans can’t afford to focus on stuff that matters, because the facts lean left. Therefore, they must make stuff up.

Follow the link for the rest of his article.

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The Climates They Are a-Changing 0

Meanwhile . . . .

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Chris-Crossed 0

Shorter Chris Christie: What you don’t know won’t hurt me.

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Droning On 1

Nutshell:

The thing about autonomous weapons that really appeals to the major military powers is that, like the current generation of remote-piloted drones, they can be used with impunity in poor countries.

More at the link.

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Preventing Prevention 0

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette covers the deplorable HPV vaccination rate, which is somewhere under 50%.

Here’s the short version: Parents can’t deal with concept that their kids might have sex,* just like their parents didn’t.

_____________

*This has puzzled me for some time.

Why is it we say, “have sex,” like it’s a cup of coffee and a doughnut, when “sex” (you know, it) is something persons do, like bowling or golf (well, not like golf–sex can be entertaining–let’s say “like pool”)?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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Bigotry without License 0

Man weeping on side of road next to car covered with Confederate flag bumper stickers.  Bystander says,

Click for a larger image.

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“An Armed Society It a Polite Society” 0

. . . and, as observed previously, a polite society is a clean society, and a clean society is a happy society.

Officers were called to a home in the 4000 block of Lori Circle where a man reported he’d shot the woman while cleaning his gun.

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QOTD 0

Antiphanes:

The quest for riches darkens the sense of right and wrong.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Shall the frolics be unsultried?

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The Internet Is a Public Place 0

Leonard Pitts, Jr., laments the end of privacy (and of common sense).

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