Words Fail Me category archive

If you need more evidence that the Party of Privilege has no idea what life is like for the peons . . . .

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) made the case in Lowell, MA on Friday that letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire would create a burden for well-off teachers, firefighters, and police officers.

Follow the link for the direct quote.

I met someone recently who thought “Santorum” actually means what Teh Google says it means (no, I’m not putting that definition here; Google it if you must).

Really and truly.

We explained the concept of “Google Bomb.”

So much for Twitter as a conduit of information (Warning: Language.)

Via BlagHag, who concludes that there is no hope for humanity.

Honestly, you couldn’t make this stuff up.

SeattlePI dot com reports:

Thrice-married Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich has promised fidelity in his current marriage in a letter to a conservative, anti-abortion group in Iowa.

er, yeah.

This has been nagging at me for several days now.

Wednesday, Edward Wasserman wasted precious electrons at Philly dot com wondering whether charges that Herman Cain committed long-term adultery should matter as regards his apparently defunct campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Wasserman did not mention the several charges–charges made credible by settlements paid by his employer–of Cain’s using or attempting to use his privilege, position, and power to extort sexual favors from persons subordinate to him.

Furrfu.

Offered without comment:

A new legal regulation has come into force in Hungary making homelessness punishable by a fine of around $600 (£384) or prison.

MPs from the ruling conservative party proposed the regulation, on the grounds that Budapest could not cope with the large number of people on the streets.

Also under consideration for inclusion in the Catholic Missal.

Addendum:

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the Old Boys Club:

It is sickeningly familiar, these allegations that a previously respected member of the community committed unspeakable acts against boys, and that other men in positions of power looked the other way.

Oh, my.

A woman who won €32,000 ($44,500) on a German quiz show has been fired from her part-time job by her boss who said she no longer needed money, the Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Friedhild Miller, 42, won the money on the German version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” on Monday. On Tuesday, a few hours before she was due to show up for work as a secretary in a car transport firm, she was sacked by her employer, named only as Salvador S., with a text message saying “you don’t really need money at the moment and I’ve got none to give away.”

Omerta in action:

Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former church official awaiting trial for allegedly protecting sexually abusive priests, drew words of encouragement from Philadelphia’s new archbishop and a standing ovation from scores of priests at a private gathering last month, according to people familiar with the event.

During the invitation-only dinner for Archbishop Charles J. Chaput at a parish hall in Montgomery County, Chaput singled out Lynn in the crowd and noted how difficult the ordeal has been for him, according to one priest who attended and two people briefed by others at the gala.

Much of the audience, which included hundreds of priests, then stood and applauded, said the sources, who asked not to be identified.

They went to Lincoln Center.

Oh, my.

Jennifer Abel has an update.

Just read it.

I guess I’m old and cranky, but I find treating the family pet in this manner to be somehow profoundly disrespectful to the pet.

And slightly icky.

The taxidermists at Huffman . . . also stuff house cats, dogs, parakeets, snakes and just about anything else that fits into their 3-foot- tall freeze-drying machine.

For clients, who pay from $800 to $1,800, the final product allows them to keep their best friends around forever, resting near the fireplace, at the foot of the bed, wherever.

Afterthought:

After talking with a friend, apparently it is just me.

Really, what can I add to this?

Virginia Beach officials are considering an idea to house a tent city for the homeless.

Marc Davis, media and communications manager for Virginia Beach, says this idea is merely a subject of information discussion with city officials. There has been no formal proposal or study surrounding the idea.

This just doesn’t seem right or fair:

Overnight commuters who use Pocahontas 895 in Varina (southeast of Richmond, Va.–ed.) no longer will be able to pay tolls at the main toll plaza by cash. Beginning July 31, those who pass through the toll between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily must pay either by E-Z Pass or Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards.

(snip)

The automated toll equipment will not accept cash, debit cards that require use of a PIN, or any card other than Visa or Mastercard. Cash will still be accepted at the main toll plaza between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.

So much for “legal tender.”

When my Jim Crow school system started to proceed towards complying with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Lq! all those years ago, they canceled the prom because they were afraid some little white boy would ask some little black girl to dance of (much worse) some little black boy would ask some little white girl to dance.

That was over four decades ago.

But they didn’t go as far as an Arkansas school district did just this spring. They gave the award to those who earned it; within a couple of years, a black girl earned valedictorian (in fact, I think she may have been in my brother’s class):

A high school in Arkansas would not permit a black female student with the highest GPA in her high school to be valedictorian of her graduating class, and appointed a white student with a lower GPA to serve as the black student’s co-valedictorian.

Follow the link for details and citations.

Words fail me.

Banish soft drinks from school vending machines. Cut down on Happy Meals. Load school lunches with fruits and vegetables. Pull the plug on the television and shove kids outdoors.

Those are some of the weapons that schools, doctors and parents wield to prevent overweight kids from packing on more pounds.

But there’s another possibility: Surgically implant an inflatable silicone band — known as a gastric band — around the top of the stomach to restrict food intake. That way, people eat smaller meals and feel full faster.

Banding works for many adults. Now Allergan Inc., a maker of gastric bands, is asking the Food and Drug Administration to approve its device for morbidly obese adolescents as young as 14.

In Onion there is strength.

New heights of nasty.

Gov. Scott Walker believes a new law that gives gay couples hospital visitation rights violates the state constitution and has asked a judge to allow the state to stop defending it.

Full story at the link.

Via Hanlon.