April, 2016 archive
States’ Rights . . . 0
. . . are a sometime thing.
Without taking a stand on the specific legal issue at at stake, I can still point out that some states clearly think that they are more equal than others.
“Outside Agitators” 0
When I was a young ‘un, back in the olden days, the proponents of segregation and of the War in Viet Nam (not necessarily the same persons, mind you) loved to blame “outside agitators” for civil rights sit-ins and anti-war demonstrations.
The chorus of reaction hasn’t changed, but it wasn’t “outside agitators” then and it’s not “outside agitators” now.
QOTD 0
Pierre-Marc-Gaston de Lévis:
Sensitive people wish to be loved; vain people wish only to be preferred.
Kochodile Tears 0
Whatsoever they sow, therefore shall they weep.
Afterthought:
The Kochs sowed the wind. Now they reap the whirlwind.
There is truth in scripture, if you read it aright.
Malpractice 0
About damned time (more at the link).
“I don’t think I have any other choice,” said Senior Judge Justin Quackenbush, after rejecting the claim of the psychologists’ lawyer that the two are immune from civil liability, according to the Huffington Post.
The lawsuit was first filed in a federal court in Spokane, Washington in October 2015 by Suleiman Abdullah Salim, a Tanzanian citizen, Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, a Libyan citizen, and the family of Gul Rahman, an Afghan citizen who froze to death at a secret CIA prison in Kabul. All three men allege that they were subject to some of the harshest physical and psychological torture methods while in CIA custody.
Psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, the defendants in the case, were paid $81 million to help teach the CIA torture methods based on past experiments on dogs and were deeply involved in their implementation.
For a measly $81,000,000, they were complicit in throwing a veneer of science over sadism. But the persons truly responsible–those who wrote that $81,000,000 check–will, I am certain, never face any penalty, let alone anything remotely resembling justice.
The Art of the Pitch 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Gleb Tsipursky tries to understand the appeal of Trumpery and concludes it’s all in the pitch.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness starts young.
The child was taken to a hospital, but he eventually died from his injuries.
Police believe the child somehow got ahold of the firearm, and accidentally shot himself.
According to the story, a man is being held on charges of “negligent homicide.” To find out why this is a crime and not just another tragic accident, follow the link; the reason should be immediately apparent.
The Rights Balance 0
In NRA Paradise, the “rights” of ammosexuals to play with their ammosexual appendages trump all other rights, but there are worms–nay, wormwood–in the NRA apple. Bruce Greenspun writes eloquently at the Las Vegas Sun. A snippet.
But none of those, I submit, is as precious as the right of a young child to be able to grow up free from the constant fear of being shot to death on the schoolyard, in the classroom, in a movie theater, in a church parking lot or anywhere else that has long been a violence-free zone in America. Until recently.
I am certain I am not the only grandfather or father who fears the phone call that says the school where a grandchild or child attends is on lockdown because some crazy person with an assault rifle or machine gun or whatever else he could get his hands on is shooting up the place.
Just read it.
