From Pine View Farm

QOTD 0

John Rawls:

The suppression of liberty is always likely to be irrational.

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A Tune for the Times 0

From the Youtube page:

What do you have when you lose the rule of law, due process, and justice, and almost half the population thinks that’s okay? They also think having an oligarchic authoritarian in charge is a good thing). You have USA – 2025

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The Rule of Lawless Meets a Notion of Immigrants 0

ICE Agent taking Lady Justice, who's wearing a sash labeled

Via Job’s Anger.

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Laura Loomer complains that “uppity blacks” don’t know their place.

Yup, she actually said, “Uppity.”

They’ve taken off their hoods.

They’re not even trying to hide their racism in these Trumpled times.

(Slightly edited for style.)

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

When you attend the ceremony, be sure to say farewell to the dearly departed by displaying your politeness.

One person was shot and killed at a funeral on Wednesday afternoon in Virginia’s capitol city of Richmond.

(snip)

Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards believes the shooting started after two funeral attendees got into an argument before the casket was in the ground. He says it’s something he’s never seen before.

We are a broken society.

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Bare Naked Ladies 0

Virginia State SealEvery time I think this country can’t get stupider, by heavens! it goes and proves me wrong. (Additional stupid at the link.)

A school district in Texas has removed information about Virginia from its online learning platform because of the exposed breast on the commonwealth’s flag and seal.

Words fail me.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Emily Wax-Thibodeaux tells of several persons who fled to the United States to escape tyranny and oppression. Unfortunatel, they are now hearing in the U. S. rhymes of the lands they left behind. Here’s a tiny bit:

Takloo-Bighash, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, sees parallels between how Trump is ruling from the White House and the way Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini proceeded after taking control in Iran in 1979.

“Khomeini felt that Iranian universities had turned into a breeding ground for Western and communist influences,” he said. The higher education ministry was told to end suspect activity on college campuses, which soon after were shut down. Textbooks were rewritten “to remove all mentions of what was considered un-Islamic.”

_________________-

*Mark Twain.

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The Choice 0

PoliticalProf lays it out.

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QOTD 0

Blaise Pascal:

Nothing is as approved as mediocrity, the majority has established it and it fixes its fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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The Art of the Con 0

LeBron Hill suggests that working class persons who supported Trump are starting to catch on to his con.

We shall see, but history suggests otherwise, for history teaches us that hate sells, and Trump peddles hate industriously.

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A Notion of Immigrants, Reprise 0

Mary Trump lists the lies told by the lying liars in the Trump maladministration to justify his persecution of immigrants.

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A Notion of Immigrants 0

Via the Las Vegas Son, Juan Esparza Loera notices a pattern (emphasis added):

This time, however, his (Trump’s–ed.) call for massive deportation appears to target only communities of color, especially Mexicans and those from Central and South America. Yes, the majority of the undocumented population, 7.15 million, came from those countries, according to a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center. But 3.8 million came from other nations.

Follow the link for the context of his conclusion.

Aside:

Why am I not surprised?

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Dis Coarse Discourse 0

Goat:  Is there any rule you live by?  Rat:  Just . . . if you don't have anything nice to say . . . .  Goat:  . . . don't say anything at all?  Rat:  No, go Twitter and say it there.  Goat:  It's not even called Twitter anymore.  Rat:  Is it called the mean nasty place?

Click to view the original image.

One more time, “social” media isn’t.

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The Rule of Lawless 0

The quiet part is now out loud.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Another “responsible gun owner” feels compelled to expose his portable phallus while passing on the pavement.

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QOTD 0

Michel de Montaigne:

Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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On the Spectrum, Vaccine Nation Dept. 0

Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has resurrected the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, and, in so doing, may well jeopardize the public’s health.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Sam Goldstein takes a deep dive into what science has learned about autism over the past half century or so. He makes three main points; follow the link for a detailed exploration of each.

  • Most of autism’s rise is due to (increased–ed.) awareness, not an actual increase.
  • Genetic causes of autism are firmly established by decades of research.
  • Autism now includes many with social learning differences, not just disability.

I commend his article as a worthwhile read to arm yourself against the dis- and misinformation spread by the anti-VAX movement,

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Real Big Men, Reprise 0

Via AL.com, Tom Moran marvels at the Trump administration’s and today’s Republican Party’s embrace of mean for the sake of mean.

No excerpt or summary will do his piece justice. Just go read it.

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