2016 archive
Sing a Song of Trump 0
At The Bangor Daily News, Marena Blanchard chronicles a day in the life of Trumpery. A snippet:
“Vote Trump! Make America great again!”
Tanya Lima, 25, of Portland, looked up from her lemonade and into the faces of three white men aggressively yelling at her as they walked by.
“White lives matter!”
Lima had been relaxing at a Portland coffee shop on a recent Wednesday morning before work. Now, confusion and anger built in her body. She watched, almost from a distance, as everyone else continued their day. No one around her offered support. They even avoided eye contact.
Donald Trump has accomplished one thing: He’s given his supporters confidence to wear their, their white sheets (or their black uniforms, if they prefer) in public. For example.
Nature Red in Tooth and Claw 0
Cali otters put up “No Trespassing” sign.
But this family of North American river otters wasn’t there to give the boys an escort to shore.
They were furious.
On the other side of the lake with a beer in his hand, Chris’ father, Ryan Whitney of Cottonwood, said he heard 14-year-old Jacob scream first. Then 13-year-old Chris.
Ryan Whitney said he could see the animals in the water, but he assumed the boys were merely frightened because the otters had gotten so close. He grew more alarmed as he watched three of the otters chasing the boys as they swam frantically back across a narrow section of the lake’s Sacramento River arm.
Real animals are not Disney characters. Animals in the wild are called wild animals for a reason.
True Confessions 0
Jim Jenkins tells all:
Follow the link for the jarring revelations.
The Privatization Scam 0
Some good news:
Deputy attorney general Sally Yates announced the decision in a memo to Thomas Kane, the acting director of the federal prisons bureau, which was published on the justice department’s website.
(snip)
Yates said in her memo that research had found private prisons “simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources” and “do not save substantially on costs” either. Essential government education and training programs for prisoners “have proved difficult to replicate and outsource” in the private sector, she said.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Daniel Ruth reiterates that Republican concerns over almost non-existent “voter fraud” is a con and a fraud.
Details at the link.
Afterthought:
It’s a comment on Republicanism that its adherents know that they cannot win a fair election.
Once More into the Breach 0
If you want a sane discussion of the DNC email leaks and similar hacks by persons who
- know how email and networks work,
- are not grinding political axes, and
- can explain stuff good,
listen to the latest episode of The Sunday Morning Linux Review.
Never What It Said It Was 0
Francis Wilkinson points out that Teabaggery has never been about what it claims to be about.
It is not a tax revolt; it is a tax grab.
A snippet (emphasis added):
Until Donald Trump came along.
Trump, whose genuine populist instincts appear unconscious of, and unencumbered by, American history, dispensed with the tri-corner hats. His offer required no validation from neo-colonials, no resort to hallowed principles of limited government. Trump’s deal was straight up: He would secure the government programs — Social Security, Medicare — that benefit older, whiter Tea Party voters while chasing younger, browner Americans away from the public trough. He would even clear out of the country anyone who failed to prove citizenship.
More at the link.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Status quo ante:
(snip)
The figure has been below the 300,000 level for 76 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since 1970. That is typically consistent with an improving job market.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 15,000 to 2.175 million in the week ended Aug. 6, the highest level since April though still historically low. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits was 1.6 percent for a fourth straight week. These data are reported with a one-week lag.
“Extreme Vetting” 0
PoliticalProf offers a preview of Donald Trump’s “extreme vetting” of immigrants.
