Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
- The “pro-Constitution=pro-terrorist” canard – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com – You can defend someone’s Constitutional rights without supporting or believing in what they do. In fact, you almost always have to.
- 5 Ways Stores Use Science to Trick You Into Buying Crap | Cracked.com – “Dopamine. Sweet, sweet dopamine.”
- Amidst National Islamophobic Upheaval, Arizonans Protest Mosque That’s Actually A Church – OMG! MUSLIMS ARE TAKING OVER OUR CHURCH ARCHITECTURE, TOO! EEK!
- Random Book Blogging: Harry Potter, Pokémon, And The Danger of Psychics – Apparently anything that isn’t stamped with JESUS on it in bright shiny letters is, to Ms Jacobs’ lights, Satanic. That includes Pokémon, throwing a penny in a wishing well, Harry Potter (of course) and, probably comic books.
- A Futuristic Nightmare Ideology of Computerized Greed and Unchecked Financial Violence – Scary. Disgusting. Appalling. The problem, as described, is not solely about people being unjustly hurt, and hurt maliciously for gain, but with the disassembling of a whole system of trust — trust that property deeds and loan papers and the entire financial system can, in fact, be relied upon, accounted for, proven to be real. That destruction of trust will, in the long run, do the banks more harm than the toxic loans they were so eager to buy and flip.
- Facebook’s Social Inbox Wants to Take Over Your Email – That’s all very nice, but why would I want to tie all of my communication and social interaction into a single company’s offering? Even if it’s free?
- It’s all about priorities: Steve Benen
- Cantor’s unpersuasive walk-back: Steve Benen
- Latino Republicans Warn House GOP That Anti-Immigrant Members As Committee Chairs Will Hurt GOP – Don’t hold your breaths, Somos Republicans.
- Schools ban bracelets promoting cancer awareness – USATODAY.com – Because breasts can only be consider sexual objects, even just by reference, and even if in the context of breast cancer awareness. Right? Therefore it is lascivious and/or shameful to refer to them as “boobies.” (Would it be okay if the bracelets said “breasts” instead? How about “bosoms”? Or “mammary organs”?)
- Napolitano: Scanners are safe, pat-downs discreet – USATODAY.com – Short version: “Trust us. Bend over and be quiet, or else the terrorists win.”
- Napolitano asks fliers for ‘patience’ on body scanners – USATODAY.com – What is “patience” going to get us, ma’am?
- Ancient ice, wet and dry, from deep inside a comet – Very cool.
- Anti-Union O’Keefe Video Smears Teacher Who Jumped In Front Of Van To Save Students, Gets Her Suspended – It’s very hard sometimes not to wish violence upon people who do this sort of thing.
- Antisemitism still thrives – “I’m not a fan of Israel’s policies — they’re becoming what they oppose — but there’s clearly no possibility that they could simply stop fighting for their existence and live in peace and tolerance with neighbors who promote the kind of hate shown above.”
- An ethical dilemma! – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- The End of In-Flight Wi-Fi? – Apparently, any security threat you can imagine has to Dealt With Immediately and Promptly and Definitively.
- Iconic obelisk presents a monumental security issue – An interesting article on security and the Washington Monument.
- Airport security reaches new levels of absurdity – Ask the Pilot – Salon.com – This time, it’s taking off belts. With some extra silly twists in this particular instance.
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2. I seem to be immune to the shopping tricks. When I go into a grocery store, I stop and look at the signs to find the aisle that has chili or whatever I came in for and make a beeline for it. Shopping definitely doesn’t give me a “high;” I find it stressful and get out of the store as quickly as I can. And numbers never fool me; I always calculate price per unit (ounces, slices, whatever) when comparing products, whether the store is nice enough to provide that info or not.
I make a point to compare based on unit cost, too, most of the time.
I find shopping can be stressful, yes, but there are times when I catch the contact high (wandering the floor at the SDCC, for example).