From Pine View Farm

QOTD 0

Don Marquis:

If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.

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Break Time 0

Off to drink liberally.

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Monnica T Williams explores the harm done by racist (and, by extension, other bigoted) microaggressions. She points that their being “micro” doesn’t make them any less “aggressions.” A snippet:

When a white family member understands that a loved one’s pain isn’t an isolated incident, but part of a larger pattern of racism, their perspective deepens. Instead of dismissing microaggressions as misunderstandings, they begin to see them as reflections of a systemic problem that needs to be addressed.

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Twits Own Twitter X Offenders, Truth-in-Advertising Dept. 0

Caption:  Musk updates his logo.  Image:  Elon Musk with paint labeled

Click to view the original image.

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The Crypto Cons 0

Yes, it appears that there’s more than one.

Via Balloon Juice, Bluesky user “jon of the north” talks taxonomy and offers a classification of the cons.

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Not a Leg To Stand On 0

Read the article that Farron is reacting to.

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Prioritization Nation 0

Methinks Atrios makes a valid point.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

One of those “responsible gun owners” apparently decided that politeness if for the birds.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a mature North American Bald Eagle was found dead on December 8, in the Mt. Hope community. The Service said that an x-ray of the bird’s carcass revealed “many” shotgun pellets.

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QOTD 0

Dorothy L. Sayers:

Of course there’s truth in advertising. There’s yeast in bread, but you can’t make bread with yeast alone.

Sayers, Dorothy L., Murder Must Advertise, in a dual volume with The Five Red Herrings
(New York: Doubleday, issue date unspecified, first published 1933), p. 366.

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Recommended Viewing 0

Mr. Lucky.

The tongue-in-cheek humor is quite delightful. And, as someone who was a fan of The Wild Wild West when I was a young ‘un, I quite enjoy watching Ross Martin in this earlier role.

I’m watching it on Tubi, but, given the proliferation of streaming “services,” you can likely find it in other places.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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Twits Own Twitter X Offenders 0

The Portland Press-Herald’s Victoria Hugo-Vidal has had enough of Elon Musk’s antics. Here’s a tiny bit from her article:

The functions of the site degraded — more errors, more downtime — as he fired a huge chunk of Twitter employees. He allowed Neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorists and violent misogynists back onto the platform. He didn’t seem to think the moderating department was necessary, so harassment and spam on the website has multiplied.

Remember the porn bots? They’re everywhere now. And there’s a lot more vitriol and insults. Musk’s management has turned it into an angry, stewing right-wing playground. I logged in just now and the first notification I received was someone commenting, “Leftist filth destroys states and communities.” It was a reply to a picture I had retweeted of Maine Gov. Janet Mills dressed as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

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It’s All about the Benjamins 0

Man sits in office before wall emblazoned with

Click for the original image.

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This New Gilded Age 0

Thom follows the money.

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Courting Disaster 0

Yet more Cannon law.

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Under a Spell 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Robin Stern discusses a topic which methinks sheds some light on the appeal of Donald Trump.

Go give it a read.

In a similar vein, Michael in Norfolk addresses a contributing factor.

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Stray Thought 0

There is no sign more convincing of the end of intelligent life than the sight of grown men walking around in cargo shorts in near-freezing weather.

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QOTD 0

Shirley Temple Black:

Politicians are actors too, don’t you think?

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Among other things, Thom and former FBI agent Mike German discuss the origins of the Second Amendment. It’s likely not what you expect it to be and certainly not what the NRA and its dupes, symps, and fellow travelers would want you to think.

Frankly (I do everything frankly), it rather took me aback, but it did not surprise me.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Shorter Mark Zuckerberg: Facts schmacks.

Here’s a bit from the CNN report:

“Fact checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created,” Zuckerberg said in a video announcing the new policy Tuesday. “What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas, and it’s gone too far.”

Zuckerberg, however, acknowledged a “tradeoff” in the new policy, noting more harmful content will appear on the platform as a result of the content moderation changes.

Methinks “politically biased” in the passage above is Zuckerspeak for “keep calling out right-wing lies,” but that’s just me.

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