“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
At the Colorado Sun, Mike Littwin notes that yet another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” has put the moron in oxymoron.
American Regress and the Rule of Lawless 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, seasoned diplomat and professor of international affairs at the Pennsylvania State University Dennis Jett looks at Republican plans to gut the Civil Service and return to the “spoils system” of the Nineteenth Century. He determines it to be a disastrous idea. Here’s a bit:
Afterthought:
I can’t but suspect the motive for this is quite simple: to exempt the (next Republican) President from the rule of law.
This New Gilded Age, Suffer the Children Dept. 0
Sam and the crew talk with Terri Gerstein, director of the Wagner Labor Initiative at New York University, about efforts to bring back industrial child labor.
The Voter Fraud Fraudsters 0
My old NPR station points out that today’s Republican Party is recycling an old lie. A snippet (emphasis added):
(snip)
The myth that immigrants are exerting undue influence on American elections has been floating around U.S. politics for more than 100 years.
Individual states began banning noncitizens from voting more than a century ago, and Congress passed a law in 1996 that explicitly banned the practice in all federal elections.
Numerous studies have also confirmed that it almost never happens, but as more conservative voters say immigration is a key issue for them, it’s become clearer that election misinformation in 2024 will center on the topic as well.
Establishmentarians 0
Disestablishmentarian readers of The Denver Post weigh in on the threat posed by establitarianism.
(I have so wanted to use “disestablishmentarian” in a post.)
Merchants of Death 0
Francis Wilkinson considers a contradiction.
Follow the link for considerable consideration.
Disseminators of Defamation, or Accountability for the No Account 0
Sam and Emma talk with Mark Bankston, partner at the law firm Farrar & Ball, about a new case that he is taking up. A quote from Bankston:
“Today, my co-counsel Greg Adler and I filed suit against Fox, Newsmax, Univision, Timcast, Steven Crowder, Owen Shroyer, Simon Ateba, and Hollywood Unlocked for falsely portraying our innocent client as a neo-Nazi mass shooter.”
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
An oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” jumps to a conclusion–a wrong conclusion–and concludes an innocent person’s life.
We are a broken society.
Patriot Gamers 0
Aside:
I do not think it a stretch to suggest that today’s Republican Party, at the portion of it in the House of Representatives, is not interested in (small-d) democratic governance.
It is interested in dictating getting its way.
And Now for a Musical Interlude 0
The Lord Peter Wimsey BBC theme song.
If you have not read Dorothy Sayers’s Lord Peter mysteries, do so now. They are most excellent.
My favorite is Murder Must Advertise.
A Sure Thing 0
At The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jonathan Zimmerman looks at the effects of the sudden burst of sports betting and, in particular, the advertisements therefor. He is less than optimistic. A snippet:
Methinks he makes some good points and commend the article to your attention.
Aside:
I find the spate of solicitations for suckers to be most off-putting.
And the thought of a betting app on a phone, well, that’s an invitation to dumb scrolling.
To Live in the Past 0
Thom looks back in time and finds context.