Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
Barber: Gay Marriage “Devalues” The Institution of Marriage – “Exactly. If gays are allowed to get married, who knows how many straight people are going to get duped into getting gay-married because it will be impossible to tell the two apart.”
The word most politicians ignore: Jobs – The Washington Post – Let’s see — millions of Americans concerned about jobs (none, few, underpaid). A few hundred, maybe a few thousand multi-millionaires concerned about paying “too much” in taxes. I wonder which the pols in DC (GOP almost entirely, Dems far too many) will listen to?
Opponents of gay marriage getting desperate – “The notion that Walker’s ruling should be vacated is build on the flimsy assumption that gays and lesbians are different from heterosexuals in a manner that justifies denying them their fundamental rights. It’s also built on an unstated but core conservative view of the courts — that judicial ‘impartiality’ is best defined as viewing the law through the cultural prism of a heterosexual, conservative white Christian judge.”
The Right’s Freedom of Speech vs The Left’s Campaign of Intimidation – “Amazing, isn’t it, how when gay rights groups dare to speak up, the FRC sees it as a campaign of intimidation … but when Religious Right groups do it, FRC hails them for simply exercising their rights.”
DIA drops plan for Calatrava bridge – The Denver Post – Given RTD’s very tight budget, this isn’t at all surprising. I think there’s a lot that can be done as a “signature” gateway without spending a gazillion dollars. Yes, it would be nice, but not at the cost of, oh, a train station or two.
Office Français – As far as I can tell, given our offices in France, this is accurate. But it’s difficult to say because it seems 90% of the time they are off on holiday.
The shocking truth about the birthplace of Obama’s policies – Ezra Klein – The Washington Post – “President Obama, if you look closely at his positions, is a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. And the Republican Party he’s facing has abandoned many of its best ideas in its effort to oppose him.” Which is a reason, yes, to be lukewarm about Obama — but also to be dead-set against his oppose-at-all-reactionary-costs opponents.
US survey reveals that evangelicals are most likely to despise Jesus’ teachings – “Of course, conservative Americans have every right to support corporate greed, militarism, gun possession, and the death penalty, and to oppose welfare, food stamps, health care for those in need, etc. — it is just strange and contradictory when they claim these positions as somehow ‘Christian’. They aren’t.”
Mike Warnke and Marriage Equality – “Warnke controlled most of the market selling scary stories about a conspiracy of satanists, but there’s a lot more competition in the marketplace among the fraudsters selling lies about the Big Gay Menace. The audience eagerly buying those lies, however, is much the same. And that audience is still seeking the same things — excitement, simplicity and pure, uncut indignation.”
The ‘v’ word doesn’t poll well, either – I suspect “workhouses” and “medical bankruptcies” also don’t poll well. There’s a ton here the Dems can use to slam the GOP Ryan plan. But will they?
Christian Complains About Atheist Students at a High School – It’s one thing to disagree with someone else. It’s another thing to take offense that someone you disagree with is actually visible, and that other people might talk with them.
Wash Examiner: Obama Not A Nice Guy. Aw, Did He Hurt Your Fewings? – Even if one concedes the dubious assertion that Obama is no longer being the solicitous, civil, even-handed (to a fault) guy he’s been, one might ask what, exactly, it’s gotten him. Hardly cooperation from the GOP, let alone any mutual respect. So on the odd chance that Obama will have the nerve to draw a distinction between his views and that of the other party, more power to him.
TSA security looks at people who complain about … TSA security – CNN.com – So not only is the TSA expanding a program with little to no basis to demonstrate its use, but said program includes people who “arrogantly” complain about the TSA as a criterion for further screening. How long until they start scanning the Internet for those who “express contempt against airport passenger procedures”? I mean, just to be safe, right?
I now support full marriage equality – Louis J. Marinelli – A remarkable witnessing from a man who went from vocally, publicly, and devotedly opposed gay marriage to one who has recognized his hatefulness, that of his fellows in that cause, and is willing to publicly retract his previous opinion. Not an easy thing for anyone to do, and kudos to him for doing so. A must-read, really.
Calif. Christians want constitutional protection (OneNewsNow.com) – Lovely. They don’t even bother with the pretense of it being a protection for all religions to preach and comment religiously on social matters — it’s just for people who use the Bible to be specially protected.
Defective Dot Matrix Displays on the Tube – Y’know, there’s a great short story to be had here. If not a novel. Because … what if those messages aren’t glitches, but actually mean something.
Jon Stewart Grills Mike Huckabee On His Praise For David Barton – I watched the on-air portion of this, and it really made me wonder how soon Huckabee will return to the show, since Stewart grilled him fairly well and all Mike could do was deke and dodge and answer different questions than what he was asked. I need to watch he unabridged interview.
Which Airports Have the Most Unfair Fares? – NYTimes.com – (1) Margie found this article very interesting. (2) Look, another reason to fly into Houston Hobby vs IAH. (3) Amusement that two of the top 5 most overpriced large airports are named after Republicans. (4) Woot, Denver is “competitively-priced.”
How to Turn DCA Into a Parking Lot – There was always something magical about which section you were parked in at Disneyland. That said, I’m happier to see a second park (even DCA) than a vast parking lot.
The 0.00014 percent solution – Remarkable that the GOP, oh-so-concerned over the budget, spent so much rhetoric on stuff that really doesn’t affect the budget all that much.
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
When candor won’t work – ” By celebrating spending cuts, they’ve opened the door to further austerity measures at a moment when the recovery remains fragile. Claiming political victory now opens the door to further policy defeats later.”
Chinese censors ban time travel TV shows – Boing Boing – I want to make a really critical comment here — but all I can do is laugh. Maybe: “Those who aren’t allowed to write time travel fiction to the past are condemned if the authorities see it.”
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
When candor won’t work – ” By celebrating spending cuts, they’ve opened the door to further austerity measures at a moment when the recovery remains fragile. Claiming political victory now opens the door to further policy defeats later.”
Chinese censors ban time travel TV shows – Boing Boing – I want to make a really critical comment here — but all I can do is laugh. Maybe: “Those who aren’t allowed to write time travel fiction to the past are condemned if the authorities see it.”
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
Barber: Study Proves America Has Fallen Prey to Tyranny of an Aberrant Minority – Tell me again, Matt, how the gays are “tyrannizing” the straights? I mean, really? I mean, any state legislatures reaffirmed laws outlawing heterosexuality lately? Any straights being coerced into gay marriages? Straights being forbidden to adopt because of who they are sexually attracted to? Really, where is this “tyranny” of which you speak?
Racialized Abortion Campaigns and Rethinking Choice – “It’s not the parents who fail to care-about-the-children in America, it’s a government and its citizens that allow 1 in 5 to languish in poverty.” Yes.
The Changing U.S. Food Supply – Some interesting trend details here. We’re eating more mozzarella! And fewer lima beans!
Faux software interfaces in film – Most film computer interfaces would be nigh-impossible to actually work with, given how they cover the screen with flashing/twirling images with a few numbers in a giant box to show the answers.
Justice Dept. to Congress: Don’t Saddle 4th Amendment on Us – If you keep the police from doing bad things, then they might not be able to do bad things under extreme hypothetical circumstances! Eek! Or, put another way, if you don’t have a convincing reason to search something, then you don’t have a convincing reason to search something, and you shouldn’t be allowed to search it? Is that so hard?
Get Your Terrorist Alerts on Facebook and Twitter – Adding FB and Twitter are a good idea (the risk of accounts being hacked aside). I’d definitely keep the SMS side of things. And, of course, the more easily alerts can be issued, the greater the chance of false alarms. As demonstrated …
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
The reason for Boehner’s ovation – I’m sure that there are some Dems who are “rooting” for a shutdown because they think it will hurt the GOP, but the GOP not only seems to think it will hurt the Dems more, but will make their base happy (at least until their SSI checks don’t come in).
Mozilla reveals Firefox plugins that slow down performance the most – Some of these I no longer use (or have disabled except when I do use them). Others I would find it hard to use the Internet without (but may see if I can tune to determine when they check and download info).
Report: FTC Considering Giving Google A Good Probing – It’s not clear to me the basis for an anti-trust probe of Google related to Search. I’m not aware of any untoward business practices from Google on that point, and, as they point out, “The competition is just a click away.”
Obama: Giving Up on Change When it Comes to 9/11 Trials – On the one hand, it’s clear the Obama Administration wants to do civilian trials. On the other hand, it’s clear that Congress (with the GOP as the ringleaders) have made it impossible at the moment. On the gripping hand, it’s not clear how hard the Obama Administration has fought back (or how hard they should). Regardless, it’s a black eye for the US as a whole.
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
How to Fix Annoyances with Firefox 4’s New Look [Firefox 4] – Most of the “annoyances” are along the lines of “it’s not like it used to be!” Which is kind of unfair (it’s fair to not like it; it’s not fair to treat your not liking it as more than an aesthetic judgment). And re the search box — I make heavy use of that with customized search engines; not everything is best searched for through Google, folks.
Four Blondes – Always one of my favorite jokes. Though as a kid, it was about an [European nationality characterized as stupid] rather than blondes.
AT&T Users Already Complaining About Inaccurate Meters – Measuring From DSLAM Inflating Usage Numbers? – “While many ISPs say they want to be able to bill like a utility, you’d be hard pressed to find any that want to be regulated like one. In particular, no ISP wants government regulators confirming their meters are accurate, and no regulators in North America have the courage to demand it, leaving consumers alone to fend for themselves and try and keep their carriers honest.”
Rick Snyder says ban against ergonomics rules will stimulate job growth in Michigan – AnnArbor.com – And safety harnesses! Do you realize how many mroe construction jobs will be created if we don’t compel employers to provide safety harnesses for workers at heights? And fire escapes! We can stimulate dozens of jobs if we don’t force employers to put “enough” fire escapes in their plants, or keep the ones they have unlocked (which just promotes theft and smoking out back, right?)!
LePage just can’t help himself – “Celebrating working people is now, apparently, the kind of thing that might bother business interests. We’re approaching an odd sort of political correctness that restricts messages that might somehow bother the wealthy and powerful.”
Ron Johnson’s wrong — and offensive — health care attack – “Does he point to any provisions in the law — literally, anything at all — that might have prevented treatment for his ailing daughter? No, of course not. Because if he tried to address the law with some shred of intellectual seriousness, Johnson would know (a) death panels that deny care to ailing children don’t exist; (b) the law offers strong protections that protect children with pre-existing conditions; and (c) he’d have much more to worry about when it came to penny-pinching private insurers turning down procedures they don’t want to pay for.”
Americans’ appetite for deep cuts: still nonexistent – “And yet, one-sided results like these still won’t change the debate. Policymakers and the very-serious media voices will continue a foolish debate — whether to cut a little or cut a lot — while the public clamors for a jobs policy that isn’t even on the table.”
I guess Bryan was unhappy with my shifting my dolt title over to some other folks and felt the need for a shotgun doltage discharge. Here’s Bryan taking on everything under the sun … though, of course, it’s mostly about Teh EVIL GAYZ and Teh EVIL PRESIDENT WHO LOVES THEM EVEN THOUGH HE’S A CLOSET MUSLIM AND ALL MUSLIMS ARE OUT TO KILL ALL GAYZ.
(Note: I don’t really think Bryan pays any attention to me. It’s a rhetorical device.)
Here is some analysis of President Obama’s refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in Court.
Obama is violating his oath of office by refusing to defend DOMA. The Constitution he took a solemn and sacred oath to “preserve, protect and defend” requires him in Article II, Section 3 to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” This refusal to do his sworn duty makes him derelict in his duty, and is both inexcusable and even impeachable.
On the other hand, if he considers a particular law unconstitutional, doesn’t that very oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution require him to not execute (or defend) a law?
This isn’t without precedent, either in terms of protecting a lawin court, or in terms of issuing Signing Statements to not enforce a law. It’s not a tactic I particularly care for — probably for the very reasons you claim to hold, Bryan — but it’s not unprecedented, and I can understand the reasoning behind it.
Oh, sorry, I used the “R” word.
George Washington: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness…” President Obama is not just “subvert(ing)” these pillars, he is destroying them with RPGs and WMDs. He is no patriot and is a clear and present danger to his own country.
Hmmm. Religion and morality. You may not agree with Obama’s religion, but to claim that he doesn’t have them is, frankly, despicable, Bryan.
Obama says DOMA is based on “moral disapproval” of sexually deviant behavior and therefore is bad policy. But his refusal to defend it is based on his “moral disapproval” of those of us who defend natural marriage. If “moral disapproval” is no basis for policy decisions, he has no right to make that the basis for his refusal to defend this duly enacted law. He’s shamefully guilty of the very thing he criticizes in others.
Um … projecting much, Bryan?
On what basis do you determine that Obama is acting on basis of moral disapproval of anyone. It sounds like legal disapproval, to me.
The entire argument based on marriage “equality” is just gas. Homosexuals already have full marriage equality: they can get married, same as everybody else, to an adult, non-relative member of the opposite sex. Don’t let them fool you with all this “equality” bloviation.
And those uppity blacks in South in the 50s? They had the same right as any white person to ride in the front of the bus if they’re white. They had the right to buy their own bus company and make whatever policies they wanted, just like whites, too.
It’s like saying that it’s okay to persecute Jews, because they have the same equality of any Christian to … be a Christian.
They already have full equality under the law; they have exactly the same rights as everybody else. What they want are special rights based solely on sexually deviant behavior. No sane society should ever commit such folly.
But they wouldn’t have special rights in that case, Bryan. You would have just as much right to marry another man as any homosexual male would.
Here’s a thought. Obama is refusing to defend the Defense of Marriage Act because he thinks it’s unconstitutional. If he gets away with this, let’s just have the next Republican president refuse to defend a challenge to ObamaCare. Let it go down in flames. Gone. History. In the archives. Wonder how Democrats would feel about that??
I’m sure they’d be angry and outraged, too. Like they were over the flood of signing statements by George W. Bush saying that, hey, you know this law you just lawfully passed? I don’t think the following parts of it are constitutional, so I’m going to ignore them.
Yes, going tit-for-tat in that fashion is, ultimately, destructive — almost as bad as having a GOP Senate Minority game the system and control all legislation and appointments for the last two years. That’s why, in a civil society, we discourage such activities except in the most extreme cases.
DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) prevents states from having to recognize gay marriages performed in other states. If DOMA goes down, even states with marriage amendments in their constitutions may be forced to recognize sexually deviant marriages from pro-deviancy states. This is not an incidental matter. DOMA is rooted in the 10th Amendment, protecting the right of states to establish marriage policy without coercion from the central government. If DOMA is overturned, it will leave the 10th Amendment in tatters.
Um … I’m sure you’re more of a constitutional expert than I am, Bryan, but DOMA didn’t create the 10th Amendment. Even if DOMA is defeated in court, that doesn’t mean that 10th Amendment appeals on the subject of recognition of gay marriages from other states will suddenly lose all their basis.
More importantly, DOMA prevented the federal government from recognizing marriages, even in the state where they were held and were deemed legal. In some ways, DOMA is more of an assault on state’s rights (by effectively discounting what a state considers legal) than its repeal would be.
Other items of note:
Thank goodness.
Union thug calls one Tea Partier a “little s***” and then assaults another – on tape. And we’re the haters? http://ow.ly/42vCI
I grant, even without viewing the video, the gent’s actions may have been improper, even ugly and violent. I condemn it were it so. But unlike you, Bryan, I’m willing to admit that it’s not a matter of one side being all white hats and the other side all black hats. It’s not always a matter of the Forces of Light vs those of Darkness. And certainly we’ve seen similar “thuggery” (provoked or un-) from the TPers and others on the Right before. There are union thugs, just as there are management goons and police jerks and liberal assholes and conservative dolts. Look for trends, look for results.
Republicans have offered a CR that will keep government going and reduce spending. If Democrats want to grind government to a halt, let ’em.
Yes. This is just like my saying, “Sure, honey, I’ll help make dinner — oh, and I’m putting rat poison in the stew. If you go hungry, it’s your fault.”
Or, to put it in terms that I’m sure you’d agree with, Bryan, it’s the the Dems saying, “Sure, here’s a CR that will keep government going and increases taxes at the same time. If you GOPers want to grind government to a halt, on your heads be it.”
But, then, you know that.
Even wingers on the left, like the ones at Politico, …
Oh, yeah, that Politico is just full of left-wingers …
… are getting worried that this whole thing is a suicide-vest for Democrats. If they want to blow themselves up politically, Republicans should just get out of the way and let ‘em do it.
Funny, that’s what I hear a lot of folks on the Right worrying about for the Republicans in this.
Wisconsin taxpayers right nowpick up 99.4% of the cost of teacher pensions (Gov. Walker wants to reduce that to 94.2%); in the private sector, employers pick up 21.9%. Wisconsin taxpayers pick up 94.4% of teacher’s health insurance premiums (Walker wants to reduce that to 87.4%), while private employers pick up 70.1%. Bottom line: Wisconsin teachers ain’t got nothing to complain about, and won’t even if the new law goes into effect.
Except they lose the right to collectively bargain with the state government (their employer). And their funding base gets slashed.
The teachers (and other unionized public workers in the state — except, oddly enough, for the police and fire fighters unions, which supported Walker’s candidacy and are singularly excluded from the legislation) have already offered to concede on all the financial points. Walker’s insistence on moving forward without any compromise makes it clear that there’s much more to this than immediate finance.
James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal has it exactly right: when public unions “negotiate” with the politicians they bankrolled into office, it’s not a negotiation, it is a “conspiracy to steal money from taxpayers.”
And when major corporations and billionaires “lobby” with politicians they bankrolled into office, it’s not lobbying, it is a “conspiracy to steal money from the taxpayers.” Why should they get all the fun?
Utter folly: The U.S. ICE agent cut down in cold blood in Mexico by a drug cartel was unarmed! At U.S. insistence!
Actually, at Mexican government insistence. They kind of have a funny thing about American law enforcement officials walking around in their country armed. I’m sure people here in the US would be kind of worried about Mexican law enforcement officials, doing case work support for our DEA or something, wandering around armed.
Now, is that safe enough, and is that the arrangement that we want to have, in working with Mexican army and police to deal with drug cartels largely funded by sales in the US? Those are fine questions. But I think just labeling it “utter folly!” is … well, the sort of careful, nuanced, insightful analysis that I’ve come to expect from you, Bryan.
This is just as bad as forcing the soldiers at Ft. Hood to be unarmed when Maj. Hasan shouted “Allahu Akhbar” and started shooting up infidels.
Yes, because we should all be walking around armed, waiting for someone to start shouting, “Allahu Akhbar!” and shooting up infidels. It happens with such frequency, it’s staggers the mind. Or … not.
The Republican Nanny State Strikes Again – The Right seeks freedom from government interference in their lives. Everyone else’s lives, though, are a different matter.
Governor Walker’s political sleight of hand – “This broadside comes less than a month after the state’s fiscal bureau — the Wisconsin equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office — concluded that Wisconsin isn’t even in need of austerity measures, and could conclude the fiscal year with a surplus. In fact, they say that the current budget shortfall is a direct result of tax cut policies Walker enacted in his first days in office.” So by cutting taxes, Walker creates an economic crisis, which then “requires” him to try and break the public employee unions. Classy!
National Marriage Week: Married Families Are Healthier | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News. – Conservatives — Bryan Fischer among them — are reporting this story, without irony, as somehow “proof” that gay marriage is wrong … without realizing that there’s nothing being reported here that has anything to do with gender, but only about societally-recogized, -sanctioned, and -supported legal and social commitments between couples leading to healthier and happier individuals. Which sounds like a GREAT reason to support gay marriage.
Tea Party Patriots Investigated: “They Use You and Abuse You” – Yeah, here’s a shock — the TP folks getting the most press and prominence in Washington are looking less and less like TPers and more and more like the establishment (cue final scene of “Animal Farm”).
Fischer and the AFA Try To Weasel Out Of Their Latest Outrage – “So let me get this straight: the AFA lured Fischer away from the Idaho Values Alliance, named him director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy, gave him a two hour daily program on its radio network, and allows him to appear in print, on TV, and at right-wing events as a representative of AFA … but we are supposed to believe that when he writes posts for the AFA blog, he is just speaking for himself and that his views should in no way be seen as a reflection on the organization?”
Joseph and the Appalling Tyrannical Despot – Some sage words to Christians on confronting problematic passages in the Bible, rather than either ignoring or trying to justify them.
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
The Big News – HUZZAH!!! Stan and Mary are both old friends of ours whom we are quite pleased to have played some role in getting together. Congrats, mazel tov, and hey-nonny-nonny, youse guys!
Email Use Plummets Among Teens – I’m not at all surprised that for socializing purposes, text / IM / FB / Twitter is seen as easier and faster (and less involving) than email. I think it’s all a matter of tools, privacy, and convenience; different media will provide different advantages and will be used as a mix by people as technology matures.
8-Year-Old Girl Racks Up $1,400 Bill Playing “Smurfs Village” iPad Game – We take a lot of pleasure in sharing with Kay how a lot of games of this sort are out to trick her out of her money. She enjoys that (but also enjoys occasionally using some of her own allowance for something she really wants … which is fine, too).
Trying Multisite – I’ve been staying away from this for a while — probably at least a whole release level, just to let them work the kinks out. Having to update many WP installations is annoying, but there are also conveniences to it.
Tea Party Launching Magazine – It will be amusing to see how long it takes before people of a different TP purity bent criticize the magazine with a huff and start up their own in protest. Plus … a magazine? Really?
“Not everyone is a fan of Reagan” – Cults of Personality are rarely a good thing, even when the personality in question is a paragon, a genius, and a true hero. The Right’s concerted attempt to turn Reagan into an American demigod (complete with a plan to put his name on at least one public landmark in every county of the US) would be laughable if it was not being so successful.
Saudi Oil WikiLeaks [Casaubon’s Book] – Like Les, I’m sure this will push the GOP for more US oil drilling … without taking any steps beyond that to a post-petro-peak future that is increasingly less dependent on oil.
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
Local group cancels Palin visit, citing “personal attacks” – The Denver Post – Brave, brave Sir Palin, scared off from a “Patriots and Warriors Gala”(!) by “negative feedback” and “an onslaught of personal attacks.” And she wants to be president? (Or, reading the story more carefully, was she ever actually attending in the first place? Or was she attending, but shied away due to poor ticket sales?)
Bill Kristol Slams Conservative ‘Hysteria’ On Egypt, Calls Out Beck’s Delusional ‘Caliphate’ Theory – “Nor is it a sign of health when other American conservatives are so fearful of a popular awakening that they side with the dictator against the democrats. Rather, it’s a sign of fearfulness unworthy of Americans, of short-sightedness uncharacteristic of conservatives, of excuse-making for thuggery unworthy of the American conservative tradition.”
The Avengers mystery woman is revealed! (Spoilers) – I win! Um … okay, I guess. (Another clue was that the new Avengers cartoon has been pulling in movie elements from Iron Man, at least, and Maria Hill is part of the SHIELD crew there, too.)
Shadow of the Hegemon: Jon Stewart Needs to Get the Hell Over It – Comparing the GOP to Goebbels is unhelpful because then the conversation degenerates into whether the GOP is as bad as the Nazis (no, they aren’t). Noting the use of the “Big Lie” technique by various GOP pundits and pols is, on the other hand, descriptive (and accurate), and can illuminate the tactics being used by them.
D-squared Digest — Arseholes, considered as a strategic resource – “This is my advice to any aspiring dictator; early on in your career, identify and inventory all the self-pitying, bullying shitheads your country has to offer. Anyone with a grievance, a beer belly and enough strength to swing a pickaxe handle will do. You don’t need to bother with military training or discipline because they’re hopefully never going to be used as a proper military force – just concentrate on nuturing their sense that they, despite appearances, are the backbone of the country, and allowing them to understand that although rules are rules, there are some people who just need a slap. The bigger and burlier the better, but when the time comes they’ll be fighting in groups against people weaker than themselves, often under cover of darkness, so numbers are more important than anything else. The extractive industries are indeed often a good source, as are demobbed veterans (Zimbabwe) or the laity of an established religion.” Talking about Egypt here, but the lesson does seem to apply elsewhere. Even here …
Tattoo locations » This Blog Rules – It’s probably just as well that tattoos were not popular when I was much longer, or else I’d probably be really embarrassed by what lame SF/Fantasy property I was permanently carrying affixed to my body. “Space: 1999 — what the hell’s that, dude?”
Light Stalking » The 7 Deadly Sins of Indoor Photography – I’d love a compact digital camera that would allow me to bounce the flash. I hate-hate-hate indoor flash photography, but sometimes it’s a necessity. (Note that some of these suggestions apply to staged interior photography, as opposed to the candid I usually shoot).
The two paths to success – There’s a huge amount of good thinking here — but, like so much, it’s capable of being abused for excuses (“It’s not fun, so I decided not to learn how to do it well”) as the other approach described (“You didn’t do well, so you must be lazy”). Realizing that life isn’t always fun, but that it shouldn’t be drudgery either, seems to me a balanced approach. Considering what your goals are — in self-development or in helping your kids achieve and lead happy, healthy, productive lives (and even considering how those three adjectives interact) is also useful.
Lunar New Year Cooking Party Recipes – Our cooking party yesterday at Lee and De’s (pictures in posts below). The pork and the mushroom potstickers, the spring rolls, and the char siu bao were my vast faves. I contributed a modicum of labor, some beer and wine, and chauffeuring duties, so I came out way ahead of the game.
A look at most of the Huntress’ Costumes – I’ve never much cared for the Huntress as a character, for a variety of reasons, but if there’s one thing she should not be is some sexy-sexy vixen with all sorts of vulnerable skin (thighs, belly, upper torso) showing. (The linked article has a lot more info on the evolutions.)
(de)motivating employees – Most people leave jobs because of bad bosses. That’s pretty well established. Here’s an example of that in the making (and some counter-examples of how it could have been avoided).
Funny heat-gun manual – I hope it doesn’t cause them some legal grief later. it shouldn’t, in a just world, but …
The courage of journalists, the cowardice of Limbaugh [Thoughts from Kansas] – “When Rush Limbaugh mocks attacks on journalists, this is what he is attacking. This fierce drive to bring the truth to the world, to expose ugliness where it exists, and to expose love and beauty where it exists.” Not all journalists are saints, by any means, but Limbaugh’s routinized mocking of them (even his ostensible ideological allies) treats harrassment, beating, and arrest of journalists as an acceptable norm. Is that really the road Limbaugh wants to go down?
Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
They Get Death Threats – But, of course, Beck has no responsibility, right? He’s out to influence public opinion, but any specific outcome of that influence is not his fault … unless he decides he wants to take credit for it.
Less garbage at Colorado landfills is mix of good, bad news – The Denver Post – I had no idea that construction-site refuse was such a big component in some landfills. Plus, an interesting clash between better social values (recyling) and unexpected results (reduced revenues for landfills and thus for other programs). Economics can be a funny thing sometimes.
It’s not just child-labor laws – “Here we are. A sitting U.S. senator is against existing child-labor laws, and few even bat an eye.”
