November, 2024 archive
This New Gilded Age 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Todd R. Nelson argues that Walt Whitman’s words from a century and a half ago ring true today in this new Gilded Age.
Here’s a bit of his article:
It gets worse. “The depravity of the business classes of our country is not less than has been supposed, but infinitely greater,” Whitman writes. “The official services of America, national, state, and municipal, in all their branches and departments, except the judiciary, are saturated in corruption, bribery, falsehood, maladministration.”
Aside:
In these days of our Supreme Supremacist Court, he might rethink that bit about the judiciary.
Dissonance 0
As I was preparing to hang the flag out–something I do for national holidays–I thought of others who fly the flag, maybe just not only on holidays as I do but every day, some of them even flying maybe multiple flags from their “I am an inadequate male” pick-up trucks.
I thought of how they congratulate themselves on being such patriots.
And I wondered, as they do that, do they think of the pledge, do they repeat the words
. . . and liberty and justice for all . . . .
to themselves, even as they vote for Donald Trump, the man who puts children in cages?
Real Big Men 0
Police say it happened while Shashaty was firing a “Dragon’s Breath” 12-gauge shotgun.
This type of ammunition contains magnesium shards, that can ignite flammable materials, which is illegal in New Jersey.
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
“A Republic, If You Can Keep It” 0
At AL.com, Kyle Whitmire looks at events over the past few years in his home state of Alabama and concludes:
When voters don’t punish crooked politicians, politicians just do more crooked things.
For some fool reason, he seems to suspect that we are about to see this play out on a larger stage . . . .
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” performs random acts of politeness.
We are a broken society.
Establishmentarians 0
Sociology professor Art Jipson takes a deep look at New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), one of the right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christian groups that have anointed Donald Trump as Jesus 2.0.
Afterthought:
Methinks the right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christian movmment is not at all about the spreading the gospel of love.
It’s about the propagating the power of preachers.
A Tune for the Times 0
(Warning: Mild language.)
Running Nekkid through the Inner Webs 0
The EFF explains some ways of protecting yourself from being tracked via your cell phone.
In these days of the surveillance economy, this is a worthwhile read.
Unjust Deserts? 0
Thom takes exception to Elie Mystal’s column about the recent election, in which Mystal argues that “Trump is our reckoning.”
