July, 2021 archive
Limitations of Statues 0
The Roanoke Times carries a letter written to the presiding Judge in Floyd County, Virginia, regarding a Confederate monument. Remember, these monuments were erected around the beginning of the Twentieth Century to remind black persons of “their place.”
A snippet; follow the link for the rest.
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Nero Wolfe:
That of course is the advantage of being a pessimist; a pessimist gets nothing but pleasant surprises, an optimist nothing but unpleasant.
Stout, Rex, Fer-de-lance, (New York: Bantam, 1992), p. 3
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Practice random acts of politeness.
“It felt like somebody had smashed a hammer on my head basically — after I saw the blood on my hand, it started coming down on my face… It was scary,” Martinez said.
At first, she thought a rock hit her until her friend discovered a small golden bullet on the ground. Martinez was in shock.
Phoning It In 0
I received a call from a telephone solicitor yestoday on behalf of an organization which I wholeheartedly support and to which I contribute when I can. Because I support said organization, I answered the phone.
When the caller started her spiel, I interrupted and told her that I preferred to do my supporting by mail. She informed me that she could mark my file “Do Not Call” and I asked her to please do so. Then she said, “Please understand, I’m just doing my job.”
I said, “I know, and I’m not upset with you at all. At least you did not tell me that the warranty on my 18-year-old pick-up truck is about to expire.”
That’s when she laughed.
Aside:
It was rather a treat to answer a call and find that a real live human being was on the other end.
All the News History that Fits
0
As one who trained as an historian (focus on ante bellum U. S. Southern), who has never lost interest in it, and who has ancestors who held slaves (as the saying goes), I can attest what Hawley would pass off as America’s history is a fable, a tale told by an idiot, unmoored from fact and adrift in a sea of white supremacy. (I’ll stop now, lest I sink into profanity).
We are a society of stupid.
The Common Good
0
Robert Pawlicki takes a look at the tales we tell ourselves to rationalize the perpetuation of privacy and deprivation and at the consequences thereof to the polity. Here’s a little bit of the article; follow the link for the rest.
- “We worked hard for our wealth, and those who aren’t well-off are either inferior or lazy.”
- “We live in the land of the free, and anyone putting their nose to the grindstone can make a good living.”
- “Too many poor people are living off of the government because they want to.”
- “Giving money to the poor is socialism.”
Such beliefs, and many more, contribute to political policies that prevent the government from additional funding of public schools, offering government-paid preschool education and national health care, thereby preventing all citizens a necessary platform from which to move forward. Instead, the threat that the poor will have additional assistance to raise out of poverty grows the fear that some portion of American society will get something for nothing — or that we’d have to pay more taxes.
If You Want Your Pet Cats To Annoy You Feign Affection . . .
0
. . . try putting the overweight beasts little darlings on a diet.
Denial Is Not Just a River in Egypt 0
If you wonder why there’s so much fuss over critical race theory, which nobody outside of academia had heard of until a couple of months ago, the answer is simple.
To paraphrase Jack Nicholson, “They can’t handle the truth,” so they want to look away, look away, look away, to Dixieland.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another group of friends parties politely.
Vaccine Nation 0
Thom finds himself explaining the concepts of “public health” and “the common good” as they relate to vaccination to a somewhat skeptical caller.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Methinks Atrios is onto something.
If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0
And for the “they can dish it out but they can’t take it” dept. . . .
Aside:
This is not to imply that I endorse confronting lying racist mongers of hate on their days off, but, really, the irony.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
He politely “stood his ground” by shooting a woman who was running away in the back.
