2022 archive
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
New vistas of fiendliness open before you every day.
Or you might even find yourself sitting next to Florida Man.
We are a society of stupid.
Stray Question 0
Who would have thought that, if you conspire to overthrow the government, you could be found guilty in court of conspiring to overthrow the government?
QOTD 0
Vincent Price, in the voice of Simon Templar*:
_____________________
*In The Missing Bridegroom
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society,” Reprise 0
Ned Barnett runs the numbers. A snippet:
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another child is sacrificed on the NRA’s idol of lead.
One more time, “accident” and “negligence” are not synonyms.
Afterthought:
Some years ago, when I lived in Delaware, I took a defensive driving course so as to reduce my car insurance rates. (No, I didn’t have any tickets or anything like that. It was all about the Benjamims. The one ticket I ever got came later, and I richly deserved it, as I forgot to come off cruise control in time, but that’s another story.)
The Delaware state trooper who taught the course mentioned that, in the course, they no longer referred to “accidents”; rather, they referred to “collisions,” because, in almost all cases, if a driver had done something–even one thing–different, the accident collision would not have happened. (As an aside, the traffic reporters on my local NPR station do not talk of “accidents”; they talk of “crashes,” I suspect for a similar reason.)
It is well beyond time that police spokespersons and news outlets reporting on gun nut negligence should have adopted the same practice.
The Deposit 0
Honest to Pete, you can’t make this stuff up.
Dis Coarser Discourse 0
Arnie D. Fielkow and Tracie Washington, writing at NOLA.com, have a history of political disagreements. However, writing at NOLA.com, they report that there is one thing on which they do agree. Two snippets:
(snip)
Clearly, the actions and dog-whistles of certain political leadership have empowered and legitimized bigots. Most thought neo-Nazis and the KKK were in the past, but frighteningly they have publicly re-emerged with new allies from QAnon, the Proud Boys, and others. Who would have ever thought that our nation’s Capitol would be attacked or, maybe worse, that some would try to justify one of the worst days in US history? Is this really the America we all want?
Meanwhile, Will Bunch offers a theory as to the underlying cause; follow the link for his complete essay:
Cored Values 0
Michael in Norfolk notes that Republicans, particularly evangelical they-call-themselves Christians have redefined “freedom of religion” to “freedom to religion.” A nugget from his article:
(Broken link fixed.)
“Look in the Mirror, Boy” 0
A reader of the Portland Press Herald channels Pogo in her letter to the editor.
(Syntax error corexxted.)