2016 archive
Droning On 0
Boys and their toys . . . .
The UK Airprox Board investigated seven incidents last month involving drones, four of which were classified as being in the most serious bracket.
So far, a total of 30 incidents involving drones and manned aircraft from 2015 have been confirmed, compared to just six in 2014.
Trumped 0
Christian Schneider, a “conservative” columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, wonders what went wrong. Here’s part of his lament:
For instance, a conservative who listens to talk show radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin or Sean Hannity likely has a far different assessment of the Republican Party than those who curl up with copies of National Review or the Weekly Standard, or even my regular column. While ostensibly working for the same goals, these groups might not even recognize each other if they walked by each other on the street.
Missing from his tua culpa is any recognition that his vaunted Republican intelligentsia has been complicit in rationalizing Republican lies, such as trickle-on economoics and the Great and Glorious Patriot Lie for Irag, and Republican bigotry, such as the right-wing culture war, mass incarceration, and the war on black and brown people drugs.
The difference between the “conservative intelligentsia” and Rush Limbaugh is a difference in style only.
Genteel venality is still venality.
Still Afloat 0
The ship’s conservancy group issued a statement saying it has an option agreement with a redevelopment partner. No further details will be released until a news conference Feb. 4 at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York, according to conservancy spokesman Tom Basile.
The nature of the “rebirth” was not announced.
That “E” Stands for “Exploding” 0
Heh.
(snip)
Police reported on Thursday that they believe he was there to buy an new battery and an evaporator head for his own e-cigarette.
He then tried the two new parts in his device in the shop. But as soon as he inhaled on the device, it exploded, burning and wounding his face and knocking several teeth out of his mouth.
Flint-Hearted: Too Much Voting 0
Warning: Language.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 1
Cenk sees an historical trend. (Warning: Forceful Language)
Open Carryings-On 0
Daniel Ruth has qualms about Florida’s rush to become an armed encampment. Among other worries, he suspects that a bunch of pistol-packing yahoos roaming the 7-11s of the Gunshine State might have a deleterious effect on Florida’s tourism industry.
He suggests an alternative for those wishing to indulge their ammosexual urges:
Free Viagra for all. Problem solved.</blockquote>
Immunity Impunity
0
Eight Los Angeles police officers who mistakenly opened fire on Los Angeles Times newspaper delivery women thinking they were rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner in 2013 will not be criminally charged, the L.A. County district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.The short version of the District Attorney’s ruling is this: They were a-skeert, so they’re allowed.
Follow the link for more.
Fantastic Voyage 2
Josh Marshall tries to make sense of the Bundy Bund. A snippet (emphasis added):
(snip)
As I said at the outset of this story (and it’s not over), in the context of the on-going dialog about race, police use of force and violence and all the ways these wrenching issues interweave with each other, this whole ridiculous episode amounted to a sort of white privilege performance art.
Do please read the rest.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
A little better, but basically status quo ante.
(snip)
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, decreased to 283,000 last week, from 285,250.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 49,000 to 2.27 million in the week ended Jan. 16.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness begins at home.
We’ve been told the semi-automatic, loaded handgun was not placed in the gun cabinet, nor did it have the safety lock on, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.
Everybody Must Get Fracked 0
Ron Littlepage is not impressed with the oil industry’s Trojan horse of a fracking “regulation” bill.
Never mind that with Florida ground zero for sea-level rise, we should be looking for completely clean alternative energy sources to reduce greenhouse gases.
And never mind that when fracking runs awry, which will surely happen sometime, Florida’s water supply and environment will absorb another damaging blow.
The bill is promoted as a way to set statewide standards for fracking. See above about lipstick and pigs.
What the bill does is take away the rights of local governments to control what goes on in their backyards.
Given the geology of Florida, I see visions of the biggest sinkhole yet.