2016 archive
How Stuff Works: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Con 0
Chris Busby gives an example:
Of course, the pier wouldn’t have been in bad shape to begin with had those same city officials done their jobs and maintained the waterfront infrastructure for which they are responsible.
Follow the link for more.
Dreams in the WitchHouse 0
As I was driving home from dinner with my friend, who had an engagement, I was passed by an SUV (SVU might be more like it) with the word, “T-R-U-M-P,” on its rear window in luminous tape.
That sight would have given H. P. Lovecraft himself the willies.
Afterthought:
My other thought was, “There goes a racist.”
By the company they keep shall ye know them.
Times Change 0
Warning: Language and innuendo.
I believe the psychological term for what Jeffrey Lord (“Helmet Head”) is doing is “projection.”
Via Raw Story.
American Taliban: Jingo Unchained 0
Werner Herzog’s Bear thinks that the punditocracy is overlooking the central appeal of Donald Trump, even as they clutch their pearls and fall on their fainting couches, in the grip of the vapors at his ungentlemanly behavior.
Mr. Bear believes that uniting Trump’s appeals to bigotry, racism, and xenophobia is an overweening theme of aggressive nationalism*. I urge you to read his full piece; here’s a bit:
About the same time that Mr. Bear was forming his post, Giles Fraser of The Guardian offered his theory as to how Americans who loudly and vociferously proclaim their fealty to Jesus Christ can espouse policies that directly counter his words as reported in the four Gospels:
In short, he suggests that American fundamentalists evangelicals whatever they call themselves today you know who I mean have replaced the Prince of Peace with a God of War–that they have built their own Golden Christ, wrapped in an American flag, carrying an M16, and piloting a Predator drone.
Frankly, I think that both writers are onto something. In particular, it is much easier for persons to change their god than it is for them to change themselves. Christianists (or, as Michael in Norfolk calls them, “Christofascists”) have taken that step.
______________________
*Left implicit is the “white’ in nationalism.
“Their Kind of People” 0
Chauncey Devega thinks that the Republican effort to rebrand their party has succeeded. Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest (emphasis in the original).
By these criteria, the post-civil rights era Republican Party is the United States’ largest white identity organization, one in which conservatism and racism are now one and the same thing.
Droning On 0
Let more robotic death rain from more skies.
“We hope to proceed to the next phase in 2017 to prepare for the full-fledged development of operational demonstrators of air combat drones by 2025,” the statement said.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
No selfie awareness.
No selfie awareness whatsoever.
-
Guns and carnage! guns and carnage!
They go together like a horse and carriage.
Let me tell you, brother,
If you’ve got one, you’ll get the other.
“Watch Out. It’s an Emoji and It’s about To Go Off!” 0
I’ve wondered before, just how stupid do you have to be to qualify to be a school administrator.
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, March 3.
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.
Berning Bridges 2
Elie Mystal has a theory as to why minorities are not feeling the Bern. Those excerpts convey her main point.
Can I just throw out there the possibility that Sanders is under-performing with minorities because Sanders is doing something wrong?
(snip)
It is insulting to minorities to suggest that most of the things we hoped could be accomplished under Barack Obama can be done now… if only we put an old white guy in charge. Immigration reform! Justice for Trayvon! An economic recovery that works for all! Everything is possible again, as long as it’s a white guy leading the charge!
Do please read the entire piece. She says much more.
I think she has a point.
I’ve mentioned before in these electrons that the lefties I find most irritating are the purists, the ones who, if they don’t get the whole loaf, every crumb including the one still left in the loaf pan, get all up in a huff and take their ball* elsewhere–the sort of folks who voted for Nader because there wasn’t a bit of difference between Bush and Gore.
Though Sanders is a good and decent person and he and Clinton are conducting as principled a campaign against each other as we have seen in some time–a minuet compared to the Republican dog fight in a latrine–too many Sanders supporters behave like officious sneering jerks. They’ve even earned their own nickname.
Officious sneering jerks may not win friends, but they sure as hell influence people.
_______________
*Yeah, I know it’s a mixed metaphor.
It’s my blog and I can mix what I want to.
You would mix too if it happened to you.