February, 2023 archive
Motivations for Meanness 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Bernard Golden explores seven factors which he posits contribute to group violence. Here’s part of what he says about one of them, characterized as “Relative Deprivation and Basic Needs”; follow a link for a discussion of the seven.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” is hoist on her own petard.
We are a society of stupider.
Stray Thought 0
It occurs to me that the fatal flow in Tesla’s self-driving car fantasy is that the developers–and Elon Musk–think that life is a video game.
Obsession 0
David discusses the right-wing’s obsession with transgender persons (who, remember, are an almost infinitesimal portion of the population).
Aside:
The ugly truth is that right-wing pols really dsn’t care about transgender persons one way or the other.
What they care about is using hate to get votes, because hate sells.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
Greta Thunberg follows the money.
Aside:
Yesterday, I had to turn on the AC for a short while to drive some of the humidity out of the house. A few hours after I turned it off (it had done its job), the temperature dropped 30 Fahrenheits in about three hours.
Meanwhile, Down on the Animal Farm . . . 0
Jeffery Leving considers Florida Man’s attempt to prevent the teaching of America’s history and reminds us that George Orwell knew whereof he writ (emphasis added):.
It’s ironic that one of the arguments DeSantis is making in favor of limiting what can be taught in schools is that these actions are in the interest of academic freedom — when the exact opposite appears to be true. It reminds me of another Orwell quote, from his novel “Animal Farm”: “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
Riding the Republican Road 0
Aside:
I never drove the L. I. E. The few times my job took me to Long Island, I cut across Staten Island to the Verrazzano Bridge to the Belt.
I had a gig in Amityville once. It was not horrifying. In fact, it was rather nice.
All the News that Fits 0
At Fox News, the truth will out the door . . . .
Follow the link for more.
Afterthought:
It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to me to suggest that Fox News is the right-wing’s own Pravda.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Treat your your neighbors with politeness.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
I ran an errand today and put my convertible’s top down because the temperature was in the low 70s Fahrenheit. I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt because it was not long-sleeved weather.
In February.
This is not the weather that I knew when I grew up 40 miles north of where I sit.
I fear for my grandchildren.
I fear that they will be faced with relentless peril because we refuse to admit that the peril exists.
Foxy Shady 0
(Short commercial at the end.)
