2023 archive
A Tune for the Times, Armed Society Dept. 0
On the Youtube page, Mangy describes what led to this tune:
In Kansas City, an 85-year-old man shot a 16-year-old black student who’d mistakenly come to the wrong address to pick up his twin siblings. Some gun owners believe that if you’ve got a gun, you’ve got to shoot SOMEBODY, otherwise, why have it. Mangy Fetlocks sat down for half an hour and just imagined what some of the repercussions from this shooting might be. The thought wasn’t comforting.
And, while on the topic, Atrios asks a question.
The Privatization Scam, Establishmentarian Dept. 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Victoria Hugo-Vidal argues forcefully against public funding of religious schools. Some snips:
I went to private Catholic schools from kindergarten all the way up through high school . . . .
But it was often a financial struggle. . . .
That being said, I absolutely, positively, utterly, completely and steadfastly oppose using taxpayer money for private religious schools.
Follow the link for her reasoning.
Parallels 0
Thom discusses how Hitler rose to power by exploiting fear, bigotry, and hatred.
Aside:
Speaking of culture warriors . . . .
This New Gilded Age 0
Michael in Norfolk sums up the strategy. A snippet (emphasis added):
Stray Thought 0
My friend, upon receiving an appeal from the Heart Association:
What if there were a heartless association?
Me:
There is. It’s called the Republican Party.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Louisiana Republicans want to ban history because truth is divisive might open someone’s eyes.
We are a society of stupid.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Hardly. 0
At The Roanoke Times, Dan Casey offers a case study in real stupid.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
Mangy Fetlocks can’t imagine how it must feel to be so damn insecure and fragile as to worry about whether or not your beer is woke or not, manly or not, or conservative or not. Living in the north, Mangy has seen a lot of snowflakes but he never imagined being one. Having seen the pathetic video of musical has-been, Child Pebble, Adolescent Stone, or something like that, shooting at cans of Bud Light inspired him to write this song.
Doubting Thomas 2
At AL.com, Frances Coleman looks at Justice Clarence Thomas’s acceptance of largess (actually, multiple largesses over multiple decades) from a politically active right-wing moneybags and reminds us that can appearances matter. A snippet:
A judge breaks the rule even if he (or she) does things that don’t affect his decisions, but where a reasonable and well-informed person would believe that his conduct would affect his decisions.
