September, 2016 archive
The Candidates Debate 0
Jack Ohman wonders what would happen were the Kennedy-Nixon debate to take place today. (Hint: It’s not pretty.)
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Inculcate politeness from a tender age.
The story goes on to point out that Tennessee has a shot at shot records this year. Follow the link for the numbers.
Fantastic Votage 0
In the Raleigh News and Observer, Duke University fellow Geoffrey Harpham offers a novel take on the appeal of Donald Trump–that he offers a vision of privilege with no responsibility and no cost, a candidate, in short, not of freedom, but of feckless self-indulgence. A snippet:
In this sense, Trump is not really a political candidate, but rather an embodiment of a fantasy of infinite power and freedom without costs (“the Mexicans will pay for it”), consequences or conscience.
“CSI: Sewage” 0
My local rag profiles investigators who are using DNA and other advanced technologies to track down sources of water pollution. Here’s a bit:
They tested seven more times over the next six months, narrowing in on concentrations of HF183 – a genetic marker for bacteria specific to human waste – in a couple of connected legs of a stormwater line. The source trackers wondered whether septic tanks still in use by some homes might be at least partly to blame. But the largest hits were detected near one of the city’s sewage pump stations.
Could there be a break there?
Yes, it turned out.
Virginia Beach Drinking Liberally Debate Watch Party Tonight 0
The Debate Watch Party, kindly organized by Patricia, will be at our usual location.
When: 7:30 p. m.
Where:
Croc’s 19th Street Bistro
620 19th Street (intersection of 19th and Cypress)
Virginia Beach, Virginia (map)
I won’t be there. As my two or three regular readers know, I don’t do debates–I read about them the next morning. But lots of nice persons will be there.
See the sidebar for links to learn more about Drinking Liberally.
Geeking Out 0
Surfing the web with w3m in the Konsole terminal emulator under the Enlightenment desktop on Linux Mint 17.
Walking while Woman 0
A University of Wisconsin student tells her story. A nugget:
But curve-concealing clothes and a low brim hat doesn’t cut it. Whether the snakes can see you or not, they can sense you.
Read it.
Immunity Impunity, the Poisoning of Flint Dept.
0
Unspeakable venality.
A Case of DJT 0
At The Guardian, Lucia Graves claims to have found a fitting analogy for the candidacy of Donald Trump. A snippet:
(snip)
But the way this election is shaping up, the better analogy might be an autoimmune disease. Such illnesses result from our body’s natural defenses being marshalled against it with destructive results. Trump is exploiting our political immune system to the detriment and potentially grave peril of the republic. He’s taken what actually makes America great, the systems of government designed to foster public good – the courts, the press, our charity and financial systems – and used them for personal gain at the body politic’s expense.
Do You Sue Yahoo?
0
According to El Reg, a prime motivating factor for the suit was Yahoo’s waiting almost two years to notify users of the theft.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Get a load of politeness (emphasis added).
The accidental shooting was said to have taken place in the parking lot of Hollywood Theaters, 6200 S.W. 6th Ave.
Why was this ammosexual stroking his piece in a movie theatre parking lot? Had he just watched Tammy Does Topeka or what?
Also, “was said“? Really now, where did it actually take place? Inquiring minds want to know.
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
Back in the olden days, when I was a young ‘un, segregationists would always claim that civil rights demonstrations were the work of “outside agitators” because, according to them, “our darkies are happy darkies.”
I guess it’s comforting that some things haven’t changed.
The Middle Finger Having Writ . . . . 0
(Open tag fixed)
William Jones, president of a small Christian* college in the midwest, tells his tale. Here’s how he begins:
They drew a chalk outline of a dead body with the words “rest in peace my friend” and “make Lindsborg white again.” They wrote messages that were disgusting and completely contrary to Bethany’s core values and intellectual identity.
A few days later, a man who is not a student at Bethany and does not even live in Lindsborg called my office at the college to say that he and four other people were the ones who had committed this despicable act. He refused to disclose who his companions were, and no others have admitted to participating. And then he said something chilling: He said that he wrote the chalk messages because Bethany College has been recruiting students of color – and because I have adopted two biracial children.
_____________
*I’ve not heard of his school, but I must say that it sounds like a “Christian” college in the “Christian” sense of the word, rather than in the “conservative” sense of the word.
Change of Address 0
The Gettysburg address, as re-imagined by Melania Trump’s speech writers.
