2017 archive
Art Imitates Life Imitates Art Imitates Life . . . 0
If you want to understand how Roy Moore and others of his ilk are able to hold on to power and status, there may be no better place to start than chapter 19 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which “the Duke and the Dauphin” are introduced to the narrative.
Image via Job’s Anger.
Aside:
If you have not read Mark Twain’s masterpiece, do so.
Many Southerners haven’t changed much since it was written.
No Ifs, Ands, or Buts
0
Dana Goetsch explores the craven, lick-spittle world of the “No Apology Apology.”
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Get a drop on politeness.
The man told police his friend dropped a handgun that discharged and struck his leg then left when 911 was called.
Class Facts 0
Badtux marvels at the obtuseness of the punditocracy in not realizing that the “working class” comes in all colors. A snippet:
Hint: The white working class hasn’t been in play for Democrats since 1964. No Democrat has won with a majority of the white vote in any election since then. Not Jimmie Carter. Not Bill Clinton. Not Barack Obama. None.
Hint: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed in 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1965 was passed in 1965.
All the News that Fits 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Sander van der Linden offers five tips for spotting fake news (also known as “lies”). Here they are. Follow the link for a discussion of each one.:
1) If it sounds too ridiculous to be true, it probably is!
2) Be aware of politically framed content.
3) Facts go viral less often than falsehoods.
4) Verify the source and context.
5) Don’t get most of your news from social media websites.
Frankly, I think the last is the most important. “Social” media has become the primary vector for facilitating fakery.*
Legitimate media sometime makes mistakes, but, regardless of its political leaning, does try to keep editorials on the editorial pages and out of the news stories. That’s something that the Boston Globe and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, just to pick two from opposite ends of the newspaper spectrum, have in common.
Those who post to “social” media make no such effort, and the “social” media platforms have no interest in and make no effort to ensure that their users are either accurate or truthful, while those users are often willfully and purposefully inaccurate and untruthful.
Oh, and by the way, that a factual news story may seem unfavorable to a cause or candidate you or I favor doesn’t mean its slanted. It means you or I just don’t like it.
This is not to imply that you should be uncritical. Critical is good. But base criticism on facts, not feelings.
_______________
*It has long puzzled me that persons will believe stuff they read on a computer screen when they wouldn’t believe the same stuff if they read it in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
On Keeping One’s Hands to Oneself 0
The Baltimore Sun’s Tricia Bishop points out the sexual misconduct can be anywhere, as it knows no party, no industry, no social strata, no political or religious affiliation. She offers some advice for men befuddled as to what constitutes acceptable behavior. Here’s the gist:
Hoist on the Elmer Gantry 0
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The hunt for politeness continues.
Does no one teach hunting safety any more?
In a Pencesive Mood 0
Timothy Egan is not impressed by Vice President Pence’s conduct during his tenure in office.
(snip)
Pence’s response ( to the recent gun massacre in Texas–ed.) “We grieve with you and stand with resolve against evil,” he said. I’ll grant him the grieving part. But the resolve has translated into squat. His best solution to the scourge of mass killings, as he told heartbroken families in Texas, is more prayer.
Follow the link for more examples.
Name Change 0
It’s now “Taking Liberties Tax.”
Out of Pocket 0
Warning: Language
Flag Daze 0
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s Maureen Downey quotes a powerful letter by a college professor about the kneeling protests at football games.
I cannot excerpt or summarize her article and do it justice. Just read it.
“In the Biblical Way” 0
Dick Polman has more on the Republican Party’s perverse response to purported perversion. A nugget:
Why? Because they say the Bible says so.
Follow the link for Polman’s analysis of the Republican Party’s novel interpretation of the scriptures.