The Fires This Time 0
Jimmy Kimmel discusses being in Los Angeles during the fires this time.
Afterthought:
I spent a lot of time in California on business trips.
I must confess, I don’t like California and I agree with Alexander Woollcott about Los Angeles. The Cali scenery is beautiful–especially the high Sierras–but I guess I’m just an east coast guy at heart.
But that doesn’t mean I dislike Californians or wish them ill.
I–all should–contemn those folks who are trying to score political points off the California fires and those who are suffering from them.
But it seems that those who sell hate always finds buyers, because hate sells, for hating is always easier than thinking.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another child . . . .
And again we are reminded that “accidental” and “negligent” are not synonyms.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
In the current kerfuffle over kids and cell phones, Peter Gray, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, hears many rhymes with “moral panics” in the past. Here’s the ones he mentions specifically:
- Penny Dreadfuls and Dime Novels in the Victorian Era
- The Motion Picture Panic of the 1930s
- The Post-WWII Comic Book Panic
- The Video Game Panic of the 1990s and Early 21st Century
Follow the link for a detailed discussion of each.
_____________
*Mark Twain.
A Blast from the Past 0
Arthur Godfrey sings “Teterboro Tower.”
When I was a young ‘un, the CBS Arthur Godfrey radio show was a morning staple in our house.
Facebook Frolics 0
Rebecca Watson comments on Mark Zuckerberg’s decision the greenlight hate speech on his “social” media platforms. (Warning: Mild language.)
Or you can read the transcript.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Truthful? Let Beloit professor Robin Zebrowski answer that:
Follow the link for the context of that statement.
Clouded Thinking 0
David discusses the storm of stupid that the California fires seem to have sparked in right-wing reactions thereunto. (Warning: Short commercial starts at the 4:30 mark.)
Because It Is. Okay? 0
Missing in Inaction 0
The Editorial Board of my local rag looks at statements by a number of Republican regarding the fires in California and editorializes that
Withholding relief from California fire victims would be unconscionable
The editorial itself is behind the paywall, but its title summarizes it nicely.
But that leads to a larger question:
- Where is the evidence that today’s Republican Party has a conscience?
Still Rising Again after All These Years,
Republican Thought Police Dept.
0
Scott Maxwell parses the perfidy of Florida AG Ashley Moody.
No excerpt or summary can do his article justice. Just go read it.
Facebook Frolics 0
At AL.com, Kyle Whitmire finds himself less than impressed with Mark Zuckerberg’s reasons for abandoning fact-checking Fakebook Facebook; Whitmire notes the irony (emphasis added):
And that’s just the start. Follow the link for the rest.
Meanwhile, in more news of the Zuckerborg . . . .
This New Gilded Age 0
Via the Majority Report, a business professor argues that “income inequality is out of control,” then Sam and the crew discuss his remarks.
Afterthought:
We are reaping the harvest of Reagan’s trickle-on economics.
The Crypto Con 0
He says it came to him in a dream, which, methinks, is a fancy way of saying he dreamed it up.
