2019 archive
Ralph Northam 0
I waited a bit before commenting on this story, as I have found that initial reports are often flawed, especially when promulgated by twits on Twitter and frolickers on Facebook. He is the governor of my state and I supported him.
And he has been a decent and reasonable governor.
My primary reaction is disappointment. Plunging-to-the-bottom-of-the-well disappointment.
As my local rag pointed out in an excellent editorial, these events happened in 1984, not in 1924, and there’s no conceivable excuse for someone over the age of consent not knowing that blackface and Klan robes are vile and racist.
Hell, I’m two decades older than him, and I knew that when I was still in high school.
Should he resign? Not for me to say–who am I to call for resignation? I’m just a third-tier blogger with opinions and a keyboard–but I suspect he likely will eventually do so.
It’s frustrating, though, as Republican office-holders with track records of overtly racist conduct while in office serve out their terms and, indeed, seek higher office, with impunity.
Are his political career and his effectiveness as a leader toast? Oh, yes-indeedy-do, with butter and marmalade.
Afterthought:
I’m from the Eastern Shore, as is Northam (though I never knew any Northams when I was growing up). I’m still scratching my head about why my local rag decided to describe the Shore as “rural and rugged.” It is a lot of things, including rural, but “rugged” isn’t one of them.
What You Don’t Drink Can’t Hurt You 0
Farron has the latest from the Environmental Predation Agency.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Children should be polite to their parents.
(snip)
(Sgt. Ryan Abbott of the King County, Washington, Sheriff’s Office–ed.) Abbott said the boyfriend – and father of the child – told deputies he had just moved the gun from a higher location and placed the loaded gun between the mattress and the box spring Friday night, after hearing some noises outside their home.
“He (the child) found a handgun that was unsecured there and he grabbed it, and before anyone knew what happened, heard a pop sound. And the mom was shot on her face area,” Abbott said.
Gaming the Game 0
In the lead up to the Super Bowl (which I shall honor by watching a mystery show or two*), Peter Certo points out that those who bemoan the “politicization” of pro football conveniently forget who promulgated said politicization.
Here’s a bit from his article; I commend the rest of it to your attention:
But it wasn’t the “social justice warriors” who politicized football.
In fact, professional football has been deeply politicized for years. Maybe you didn’t notice before Colin Kaepernick took a knee, but the fact that one guy on one knee sparked a national firestorm highlights the politics of the stage on which he acted.
It wasn’t until 2009, for example, that NFL players were even required to leave the locker room for the national anthem, much less stand for it.
That year, the Pentagon was gearing up for a major troop surge in the Afghan war, which even 10 years ago was already old, unpopular and largely forgotten. It needed recruits, and it needed a compliant public.
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*I’m not sure what turned me off first: the blatant corruption of the NCAA or the brutality (think CTE) of the NFL. Whichever it may be, I can no longer enjoy watching large men run into each other at high speed.
The Trumpettes May Blow . . . . 2
. . . but Leonard Pitts, Jr., doesn’t care to listen. Indeed, he publishes his “don’t bother to read” list. An excerpt:
(snip)
At this stage of the game, how much satisfaction is there in being able to say, “I told you so?”
About as much as there is in buying a fire extinguisher after the house burns down.
Follow the link for more.
“The Bible Tells Me So . . . .” 0
The Las Vegas Sun concedes that Sarah Huckabee Sanders may have a point in stating that God wanted Donald Trump to be the American President. It examines the evidence. Here’s a bit:
- Plague of fiery hail. What is Trump’s Twitter account if not the modern, digital version of this form of torture?
- Plagues of flies and lice. See Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, Michael Cohen, Rick Gates, Roger Stone, Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, the Mooch, etc.
Follow the link for more witness.
The GOP Health Plan: “Don’t Get Sick. If You Do Get Sick, Die Quickly” 0
Thom tries to understand why Republicans are so dead set against affordable health care. Callers propose various theories.
(I think the second caller may be onto something.)
None Dare Call It Terrorism 0
Will Bunch is considers the continuing cascade of mass shootings. A nugget:
Terrorism.
A Picture Is Worth, Democracy Inaction Dept. 0
Headline: McConnell: Making It Easier to Vote Is Undemocratic
An illustrative rendering thereof:
Image via Job’s Anger.
