July, 2016 archive
Light Bloggery 0
I will be occupied by numerous things the next five or six days, so posting will be sporadic.
QOTD will hold down the fort and the drivel will be restored to its customary (I almost said, “normal”) volume next week.
Stray Thought 0
Like the wind chill, the heat index is a number created by sadists to convince us that we are more miserable than we are.
“Toxic Leadership” 0
Via TPM.
Afterthought:
Words fail me. Nothing I can say could express the depths of my feelings on this matter.
Feets of Strength 2
Oh, my.
That didn’t go down well with the younger man who took offence at the strong smell of his companion’s feet, pushing them off the seat and complaining forcefully about his particular scent, according to a report in Tagesspiegel. . . . .
“A verbal confrontation developed, which ended with the stinky-footed man being forcefully slapped,” a police spokesperson said.
. . . Because If You Don’t Study It, It Doesn’t Exist 2
This item from my local rag caused me to drop my jaw this morning. There’s a good chance that, within my children’s lifetimes, the world’s largest military complex (which surrounds me as I type this) will be under water, but Republicans want to stick their fingers in the Pentagon’s ears and go “Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah.”
Supporters say they want the military focused on enemies such as the Islamic State group, not rising seas.
Critics say flooding is a formidable foe as well.
“It’s kind of hard to attack the enemy when your base is underwater,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, a Southeast Virginia Democrat who voted against the ban.
The Republican Party, the party of willful ignorance.
More at the link.
And, in more news of willful ignorance . . . .
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness is a family value.
Police are investigating after a teenage girl was killed in an accidental shooting Monday night.
Officers responded to a home near University Avenue and Rural Road around 9:30 p.m. Police said an adult male family member was handling a gun when it fired, hitting a 16-year-old girl in the face.
In the Heat of the Summer 0
Shorter Dan Casey: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Really, just read it. Neither summary nor excerpt can do it justice.
Afterthought:
Wuss.
Funny Money 0
Man skates on money laundering charge when Florida judge rules that Bitcoin is not real money.
Aside:
One more time, all currency is fiat currency. No currency or specie, real or virtual, including gold or silver, has value unless persons believe it has value.
Driving while Black 0
Clarence Page recounts one man’s story (the man, by the by, is a Republican U. S. Senator from North Carolina). Here’s a bit:
“Was I speeding sometimes? Sure. But the vast majority of the time, I was pulled over for nothing more than driving a new car in the wrong neighborhood or some other reason just as trivial.
“I do not know many African-American men who do not have a very similar story to tell, no matter the profession, no matter their income, no matter their disposition in life.”
King of the “Subgroups” 0
In The Des Moines Register, Reka Basu challenges Congressman Steve King’s statement that no “subgroup” has contributed anything to civilization matching the contributions of European Christians. With some help, she compiled a list of contributions from others:
Here is some of what they shared:
Algebra. The number zero. Peanut butter. Accounting. Cotton. Gunpowder. Fireworks. Meritocracy. Language. Law. Government. Philosophy. Building construction. Wine. Food. Religion. Philosophy. Corn. Agriculture. Silk. Plumbing. Tools. Jazz. Blues. Beer. Pasta. Paper. Arabic numerals. Books. Writing. Gandhi. Buddha. Astronomy. Chess. Herbal medicine. Bread. Soap. Surgery. Ayurveda. Math. Wireless (Bose). Silicon Valley (largely Indians). Sanskrit. Banking. Money. Insurance. Lacrosse. Music. Hospitals. Optics. Voting. Woodblock type. Stirrups. Art. Philosophy. Farming. Human rights. Blood transfusions (African-American Dr. Charles Drew). Blood banks. Aqueducts. The compass. Porcelain. Massage. Tea. Rock ‘n’ Roll. Chocolate. Coffee. Architecture. Philosophy. Athletics. Tai Chi. Carnatic music. Bharat Natyam dance. Papyrus. The modern state. The public library. Gynecology. Universities. Acupuncture. Sewer systems. Engineering. Democracy. Original thought. Clocks. Maps. Yoga. The Sabbath.
