From Pine View Farm

2024 archive

It Could Be Worse
It’s Just a Verse
0

Here’s a little Christmas ditty.
I hope that you will find it witty.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Yet another “responsible gun owner” isn’t.

A tragic accident unfolded in southwest Harris County when a 3-year-old boy unintentionally shot his mother. According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the toddler managed to access a firearm left on the console of a vehicle and discharged it, injuring his mother.

So many guns.

So much stupid.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

The Rude One hears a rhyme. Here’s a bit from his article:

The idea of an immigrant “invasion,” as Donald Trump (who we really elected president for a second time – I know, it’s fucked up, right?) puts it constantly, has one purpose, and that’s to scare the public with a lie so that a cabal of power-mad assholes can remake the nation to suit their warped, contorted viewpoints. That should sound incredibly familiar for those of us with brains that actively remember shit more than a tweet-cycle old.

It’s weapons of mass destruction all over again.

________________________

*Mark Twain.

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The Art of the Con 0

PoliticalProf perceives a pattern.

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QITD 0

John Byner, in the voice of Cotton Dunn:

A novice looks at a real estate ad and sees “ample parking.” I see “dirt front yard.”

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A Tune for the Times 0

Mangy sings a paean to this New Gilded Age.

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The Disinformation Superhighway 0

In response to a recent kerfuffle in TikTok, Robert Bartholomew points out that you are highly unlikely to catch chlamydia on gym equipment. However, you are very likely to catch infectious influencer-induced ignoramusness from the disinformation superhighway.

One more time, “social” media isn’t.

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Promises, Promises 0

Reporter:  Will you fulfill your promise to the American people to solved the migrant crisis?  Trump:  Well, you know that's hard.  Reporter:  And what about ending the war in Ukraine on day one?  Trump:  Well, you know that's hard.  What about your campaign promise to bring down grocery prices?  Trump:  Oh, that's really hard.  Reporter:  So, it was hard to make all those promises?  Trump:  On no!  That was easy.

Click to view the original image.

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The Broligarch 0

David comments on Elon Musk’s ascension to the throne and Republicans’ rationalization thereof. (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

The polite society tries to fly the fiendly skies.

Musical NotesGuns 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.

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A Notion of Immigrants . . . 0

. . . let Texas Governor Abbott introduce you to Republican family values.

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The Lake Effect 0

All the spews you can lose.

Read more »

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QOTD 0

Jerry Coyne:

Theology is the post hoc rationalization of what you want to believe.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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it’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 0

Everyone seems to angry, and, as mentioned in an earlier post today, many in politics and news media are feeding anger to advance their agendas.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Steven Stosny suggests that

(t)he worst thing about living in an angry world is turning into what we despise

and offers some suggestions as to how to avoid falling victim to the hawkers of hate..

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Bubblelicious? Oh my yes indeedy-do.

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See Foot. Shoot Foot. 0

David parses the magical thinking of MAGA and the upcoming “I told you so.” (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)

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The Medicine Show 0

Caption:  When RFK Jr. is your secret Santa.  Image:  Man holding opened present looks at RFK Jr., who's wearing a Santa hat.  Man says,

Click for the original image and the artist’s comments.

Here’s a bit from the artist’s comments linked above (emphasis added):

Not long after announcing his plan to make cavities great again, RFK Jr. doubled down with his nonsense about the polio vaccine. How dumb is rolling back approval of the polio vaccine? Even Trump had to come out and say he was a big believer in it. It’s the “believer” part of that last sentence where we as a nation are running into trouble.

When it comes to the polio vaccine specifically, and medical science in general, there’s nothing to believe, only objective fact. . . . The Republican Party has had a troubled relationship with objective truth this past decade or so, and it’s about to start having a bigger effect on your health.

Today’s Republican Party not only values faction over country, it values faction over competence.

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Republican Family Values 0

We are again reminded that “suffer the children” is a Republican family value.

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All the News that Gives You Fits 0

Arash Javanbakht, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, notes that studies show that many Americans are not just turned off by the news, they are turning off the news because they are emotionally worn out. He looks into thee reasons why.

Here’s a bit of his article (follow the link for the rest–it is a worthwhile read):

. . . American politicians and major news media have found an ally in fear: a very strong emotion that can be used to grab our attention, keeping us in the tribal dividing lines and making us follow, click, tap, watch, and donate.

Over the past few decades, many people have felt a strong push for tribalism, an “us vs. them” way of seeing the world, turning Americans against one another. This has led to a point where we are not just in disagreement with each other. We hate, cancel, block, and attack those who disagree with us.

I agree that the news is very bad. The nation may well be in its worst crisis since the 1850s. I also agree that not wallowing in the news from dawn to dusk is wise.

But turning away from it entirely–not a good idea in these fraught times.

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