February, 2024 archive
A Pillow of the Community 0
Looks like he’s had the stuffing kicked out of him.
Lindell, natch, claims he will appeal.
Willful Blindness and the Republican Thought Police 0
At the Bangor Daily News, Solomon D. Stevens argues forcefully that we should not blind ourselves to our country’s faults, as the Republican Thought Police would have us do. I cannot say that I agree with everything he says, but I do think his piece is worth the few minutes it will take to read it. Here’s a snippet, one which I think we are seeing being validated in real time:
“Hollywood Power Couples” 0
That’s a phrase I noticed on IMDB, and, it occurs to me, that this honor is accorded to persons noted for pretending to be something they aren’t.
Vaccine Nation 0
The editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times notes that, as more and more persons are falling for lies about vaccination (politely referred to as “vaccine hesitancy”), measles cases are increasing. (I can still remember suffering from measles when I was a young ‘un, before the vaccines came along, and mumps, which is much more serious in adults than in children, nearly killed my parents when I was a pre-schooler.)
The Times offers a simple bit of advice:
Follow the link for the complete editorial, where they point the finger of blame squarely at those who propagate this stupid.
Aside:
We have over two centuries of proof, starting with the smallpox vaccine, that vaccines work.
Unfortunately, we have no vaccine against stupid.
One Thing Is Not Like the Other Thing 0
Robert Reich takes exception to a comment by noted fifth columnist Tucker Carlson:
Well, I’m sorry, Tucker. You’re wrong.
Real leadership is the opposite of thuggery.
Follow the link for the evidence.
The Fifth Columnists 0
The Pittsburgh Post’s Gazette’s Gene Collier finds Republicans’ refusal to assist Ukraine to resist Putin’s aggression to be–er–somewhat problematic. Here’s a bit of what he has to say:
It was Johnson who scuttled the bi-partisan border deal Republicans have been screaming about for decades, which he did at the urging of Trump, who has to run for president on something other than 91 felony charges. Trump was doubtless behind Johnson’s Ukraine walkout as well, which happened just as Putin opponent Alexei Navalny was turning up dead in a Russian prison.
Twits Own Twitter X Offenders
0
Her profile page showed an “Account suspended” message on Tuesday and an explanation that the service “suspends accounts which violate the X Rules.” Shortly after, the account appeared online again.
The story goes on to report that, as of press time, X had not responded to inquiries as to why this happened.
Missing the Point 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Eden King and Mikki Hebl explain that the fuss over DEI is much ado about a misunderstanding. They point out that the term doesn’t mean the bad things that those who oppose claim it does.
What King and Hebl don’t address, though, is this: The persons who oppose DEI detest diversity, equality, and inclusion, regardless of the words used.
Those folks really want to go back to the good old days, if not the 1850s–that’s where their hearts truly yearn to be–at least the 1950s, before Rosa Parks boarded that bus.
It doesn’t help if we look away, look away, look away from what’s going on here and fail refuse to recognize that they are still rising again after all these years.
The Pusher Men 0
Afterthought:
Based on my experience from a lifetime of fighting against being a fat little kid (I was scrawny little kid till I had my tonsils out in second grade, then I became a fat little kid who wore “Sears husky”–remember Sears?), if you want to lose weight, lift weights and ride a bicycle.
It works, it’s fun, and it’s cheap.
Another Fifth Columinst 0
Dick Polman looks at Tucker Carlson’s Russian impulses and finds a parallel from the past.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
If you must crash a party, be sure to crash it with politeness.
The Swift Vote Conspiracy 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Joe Pierre takes a deep dive into what may make persons susceptible to motivate persons to believe in conspiracy theories. He lists three main points in his summary:
A new poll found that 18% of respondents believe Taylor Swift is part of a secret plot to get Biden reelected.
- As many as 32% of conservatives, but only 4% of liberals, believe the conspiracy theory.
- The belief may be explained by fears and motivated reasoning about the upcoming 2024 election.
Follow the link for a detailed exploration of each.
