The Crypto Con 0
A picture is worth . . . .
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The writer of a letter to the editor of the Las Vegas Sun asks (and answers), “What’s in a name?”
(Methinks his answer is spot on, and my ancestors wore the grey.)
Religious Apparel 0
At AL.com, John Archibald argues that the “Bible Belt” is a very real thing.
I had this Bible Belt thing all wrong.
I used to think it was just a swath of Southern land where churches outnumbered liquor stores, where people read that Book and sought, in public or on their better days, at least, to live like the protagonist of its last chapters.
But no. Turns out the Bible Belt is a real thing.
It’s a strap pious folks wear around their waists. Until they whip it off to flog others in the name of their God.
He explains his reasoning at the link.
Control Freaks 0
Thom, reacting to a Mastodon post, suggests that the right’s campaign against abortion is not about life, but that it is, rather, about control (and, by extension, I would add, about patriarchy and dominance and fragile male egos, but that’s just me).
Methinks there is something worth considering in this concept.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
A life-long aficionado of skiing, primarily in the mountains of Colorado, Andreas Kluth looks at the prospect of snowless slopes and fears that his grandchildren may not get to share his joy at strapping boards on their feet and falling off a mountain.
On the bright side, they may get to enjoy the beachfront and swim in the coming inland sea.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Bring your politeness to the party.
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
Neoliberal Nihilism 0
Emma and Neil Vallelly discuss his book, Futilitarianism. From the Youtuve page:
. . . Neil Vallelly explores how neoliberalism has transformed the relationship between maximizing utility and the common good. He uses contemporary examples to demonstrate how the practice of utility maximization in neoliberalism traps people in useless and repetitive behaviors that foreclose the possibility of collective happiness. The book maps the historical relationship between utilitarianism and capitalism, develops an original framework for understanding neoliberalism and recounts the lived experience of uselessness in the early 21st century. It argues that countering the futility of neoliberal existence is essential for building an egalitarian, sustainable and hopeful future.
The Brady Punch 0
Stephanie Hayes looks at the who-shot-john over football player Tom Brady’s age and has a momentary seizure of sauce for goose, sauce for the gander.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Writing at Psychology Today Blogs, Charles Harper Webb, dismayed by dis coarse discourse, points out that an “argument doesn’t have to be a fight.” An excerpt (emphasis added):
Methinks this to be a timely read.
All the News that Fits 0
Steve M. parses the perfidy in a “news” report in Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post.
Phoning It In 0
Afterthought:
It occurs to me, as I watch persons go about with their faces buried in their “devices,” that said devices’ algorithms, designed to “attract eyeballs” and “promote engagement,” lead said persons to forget that they are amidst real persons in a real world.
The Microcosm 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Debbie Peterson suggests that George Santos is, in many ways, the personification of this New Gilded Age. A snippet:
The Pandora Papers Investigations (citation at the link–ed.) identified high-level officials, oligarchs, and billionaires from around the world who were shielded with the help of attorneys, commercial real estate brokers, title companies, banks, and company formation agents who were able to act anonymously and, in turn, obscure the identity of their clients. Corrupt overseas corporate investors operate through virtually unidentifiable shell companies and trusts, unrecorded real estate and company formation transactions, and offshore accounts. The service providers who facilitate corruption also escape regulation, supervision, and accountability.
Do please take a look at her article.
An Empty Suit 0
Liz Dye delights in reports on Donald Trump and his attorneys being fined just under a million dollars for filing an empty suit against Hillary Clinton et al. An excerpt from her article:
And the reason he persisted is that Trump’s lawsuits are not really lawsuits at all, in the sense that they don’t function to vindicate any legally cognizable injury.
“The Complaint and Amended Complaint were drafted to advance a political narrative; not to address legal harm caused by any Defendant,” the court writes, adding later that “this case is part of Mr. Trump’s pattern of misusing the courts to serve political purposes.”