2016 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness takes practice.
The Northwest State Law Enforcement Academy was at the range training when a student was shot in the back by another student.
“I Want To Teach the World To Sing
in Perfect Hegemony”
0
At the Boston Review, Stephen Kinzer interviews Andrew Bacevich on the mess in the Middle East and how it got way. Bacevich argues convincingly that it’s all about the oil, complicated by hubris and misunderstanding, in short, a desire to be God Emperors of Dunes.
A snippet:
AB: The rationales were becoming more diffuse. Yes, oil remained a core interest—not only oil to be consumed at home but also oil to fuel the rest of the industrialized world, meaning many of our allies. But by this stage, there is something else: an effort, however ill-considered and lacking in specificity, to capitalize on the end of the Cold War, claiming the mantle of sole superpower, with U.S. military supremacy the ultimate manifestation of that status. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the United States attempted to assert hegemony over a large part of the Islamic world. Again, there was no master plan. It was haphazard. It was arrogant. It was undertaken without any appreciation for the complexities involved or for what exertions hegemony would actually require.
Read the rest.
Animal House 2
Der Spiegel takes a look at the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. What it sees is not pretty. A nugget:
It’s not just the two bullies at the top who are to blame. Their rise was made possible through a decline in values such as decency, honesty, tolerance and fairness — a process that has been hastened by the Republican Party more than anyone else. For too long, it has pursued fiscal, economic and social policies that served only companies and the rich, the financial backers of their election campaigns.
I was wondering this morning whether it would be accurate to suggest that the Republican Party is no longer a political party in any recognizable sense, but, rather, large and unruly cabal.
Just thinking out loud, mind you.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Not much change, but still under 300k.
(snip)
Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 261,000 to 290,000. Applications in the prior week were unrevised at 276,000.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, increased to 266,750 last week from 263,250.
Bad Medicine, Bad Bad Medicine . . . 0
. . . but good news.
The $160bn (£113bn) deal, announced in November, was thrown into doubt following the move by the US Treasury on Monday to make so-called tax inversion deals, by which corporations relocate their headquarters to countries with a lower tax rate, less financially appealing.
Great Moments in You Get What You Pay For (Updated) 1
Facing South points out that among those businesses protesting North Carolina’s “It’s Okay To Hate the Gay” law are a number that helped fund the election of the legislators who sponsored and supported it.
But many of these same businesses funded two outside political groups that helped elect five of the bill’s sponsors, 13 other legislators who voted for it, and McCrory, who immediately signed the measure into law. Outside groups are unaffiliated with campaigns and are not allowed to coordinate with candidates.
At least 36 companies that have come out against HB2 so far have given a combined $10.8 million to those Washington, D.C.-based groups, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) and the Republican Governors Association (RGA), in recent election cycles.
I have nothing to add, because actions speak louder etc.
Details at the link.
Addendum, Comment Rescue Dept.:
George Smith commented:
Why don’t they just start calling these things Pink Triangle laws?
He has a point.
Southern Hospitality 0
I think I’ve told this story before, but it’s still relevant.
My Daddy had a friend* who was a high school science teacher and coach (yes, a high school coach who was smart enough to teach science–who woulda thunk?) and later school superintendent. During the late 60s he was amongst a delegation to an educators convention in New Orleans. They decided to carpool to New Orleans.
Remember, this was during the Civil Rights campaigns of the mid-last century.
Later, he told my father that the trip was fine, except that, when they got to Mississippi, the atmosphere was so hostile that they felt as if they had to adopt fake Southern accents, despite being white Southerners from a Jim Crow state and already having Southern accents.
___________________
*My first baseball glove was a hand-me-down from him. He was a good and decent person, a person of integrity.
Model Legislation 0
In the Sacramento Bee, Meredith Hattam discusses proposed California legislation to extent to fashion models (who are, after all, performers) the sane workplace protections that actors have enjoyed for decades. She starts by describing her short career as a fashion model:
I was 5-foot-9, and 135 pounds, an awkward teenager bullied in high school. My mother was in a hospital with a terminal illness, and my father was there with her. Losing weight was probably the only thing I could control. If I had the potential to be a model, why shouldn’t I at least try?
And so I only ate protein and vegetables and ran 3, 6, 10 miles a day. In eight weeks, I had lost 20 pounds, and I returned to the agent’s office. I modeled in California and New York from 2006 until 2010, when I quit to graduate from college. Most of that time, I was starving, though I denied that fact to my father, my friends, my co-workers. My period stopped. I was cold all the time. I stayed up late nights obsessively chronicling how many calories I’d eaten.
Read the rest.
The Rich Are Different from You and Me 1
They have money.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, April 7.
Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)
Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (JANAF Shopping Center). (Map)
Join the forums.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness is cleaning up.
Two men suffered wounds Tuesday morning when a gun accidentally went off while being cleaned.
One man reportedly had a bullet wound through the hand and the other was shot in the hand and stomach, . . . .
And Now, a Musical Interlude 0
I’ve always wondered, who the heck was Elmer?
Misdirection Play, Decreased Postage Dept. 0
My bank sent me an email urging me to switch to on-line statements for, I kid you not, “increased security.”
Increased security.
Right.