March, 2018 archive
Russian Impulses 0
Brian Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, stands aghast at what his headline describes as the Trump you-can-laughingly-call-it administration’s “impotence” against Russian interference in U. S. politics (not that the U. S. has ever interfered in someone else’s politics, but that’s another story). I think “complicity” is a better word than “impotence,” but that’s just em.
A snippet:
Mr. Khrushchev, stand down your missiles.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
Mr. Putin, tear down our democracy and we will stand down while you do it.
Which of these statements by the president of the United States is not like the others?
Which of these statements is unlike any sentiment ever expressed by any president of the United States?
The answer is obvious, just as is the fact that the statement I have attributed to President Donald Trump is obviously false. The reality, however, is disturbingly true.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
In a court case in which Google is contesting the EU’s “right to be forgotten” law, Great Britain’s Information Commissioner contemns Google’s contention that its search results are somehow “journalism.” A snippet:
In plain English, humans (mostly) don’t decide what appears in search results so calling Google’s activities “journalism” is just plain wrong, according to the commissioner.
Stray Thought, Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Dept. 0
I once had a history professor (U. S. Early Federal Period) who was fond of noting what he called “the ironies of history.”
Today we are living one such irony.
The U. S. right wing, which has for over 40 years trumpeted the creed that “the federal government can’t be trusted” has succeeded in creating a federal government, one in their own image, mind you, that can’t be trusted.
Land of Plenty 0
Warning: Mild language.
Apocalypse Not 0
Deemie then drove the stolen SUV to the Peoria airport, where he sought to crash into the terminal. He then somehow bypassed security and got aboard an empty plane parked on the tarmac.
We are a society of stupid.
Tale of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
Crashing the convenience store:
(snip)
Horsley, a 27-year-old who has served in the Marine Corps and is a former East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy, allegedly told police he damaged the store because he thought the owners were Muslim.
“He blamed Muslims for killing his fellow service members overseas,” Sheriff Jason Ard said in a news release Monday. “He was also upset that Muslims, in his mind, were having an easier time prospering than he was despite his time in the service.”
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Plumb the depths of politeness.
Of course, if he had had more guns, this would no doubt not have happened.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Fools of the Road 0
A couple of weeks ago, I was driving home on the Expressway at about 8:30 p. m.
As I started to overtake a pickup truck, I noticed a rectangle of light through its driver’s side window. As I gained on it, I could see that the driver was holding his “smartphone” in his left hand, typing out a text with his right hand, and steering with the back of his left wrist.
Smart phones.
Dumb people.
