“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Politeness is a family affair.
Channel said Friday that while the sheriff’s office continues to investigate the incident, it is believed to have been an accidental shooting.
See Foot. Shoot Foot. 0
The Inky reports that Donald Trump’s tariffs, if enacted, are likely to destroy the last U. S. company making kegs and making them with American steel to boot. A nugget:
This will be a pivotal year for American Keg, which Czachor said is losing between $50,000 and $100,000 every month.
But if the price of imported steel is inflated with a defacto tax, shouldn’t that make American-made products more competitive?
No. And the reason is counterintuitive, said Czachor. He believes the cost of American steel will rise while “American businesses will suffer,” he said.
“If there were no tariffs, that would keep the domestic steel prices lower,” Czachor said. “We understand the administration is trying to solve a problem, but it is not holistically getting addressed.”
Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
She’s standing strong on her right to proliferate poop.
More Trumpling at the link.
Russian Impulses 0
Brian Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, stands aghast at what his headline describes as the Trump you-can-laughingly-call-it administration’s “impotence” against Russian interference in U. S. politics (not that the U. S. has ever interfered in someone else’s politics, but that’s another story). I think “complicity” is a better word than “impotence,” but that’s just em.
A snippet:
Mr. Khrushchev, stand down your missiles.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
Mr. Putin, tear down our democracy and we will stand down while you do it.
Which of these statements by the president of the United States is not like the others?
Which of these statements is unlike any sentiment ever expressed by any president of the United States?
The answer is obvious, just as is the fact that the statement I have attributed to President Donald Trump is obviously false. The reality, however, is disturbingly true.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
In a court case in which Google is contesting the EU’s “right to be forgotten” law, Great Britain’s Information Commissioner contemns Google’s contention that its search results are somehow “journalism.” A snippet:
In plain English, humans (mostly) don’t decide what appears in search results so calling Google’s activities “journalism” is just plain wrong, according to the commissioner.
Stray Thought, Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Dept. 0
I once had a history professor (U. S. Early Federal Period) who was fond of noting what he called “the ironies of history.”
Today we are living one such irony.
The U. S. right wing, which has for over 40 years trumpeted the creed that “the federal government can’t be trusted” has succeeded in creating a federal government, one in their own image, mind you, that can’t be trusted.