Author: Raymond

 
From Luis Gómez Romero, University of Wollongong, at The Moderate Voice:

Ten days before the opening ceremony of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, uniformed soldiers and rooftop snipers opened fire on student protesters in a plaza in the capital city’s Tlatelolco neighborhood.

Hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators, who were rallying against the country’s semi-authoritarian government, were gunned down.

Foreign correspondents reporting from Tlatelolco estimated that about 300 young people died, although the toll of the Oct. 2, 1968 massacre remains contested. Over a thousand people who survived the shooting were arrested.

Tlateloloco was not the first time Mexico’s government would send the army in to kill its own citizens. Nor, as my research on crime and security in the country shows, was it the last.

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From EU vs Disinfo:

A young woman walks up to a man in a subway train and pours liquid over him from a plastic bottle.

The scene is repeated a number of times with different men who all react with anger and bewilderment. We are told that they are being punished for “manspreading”, i.e. for sitting with their legs wide open.

The video went viral worldwide after it was published by In The Now – an English language social media channel owned by RT (Russia Today), which addresses international audiences.

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From Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged:

But of course he’s lashing out–he’s a narcissist, and today, he received a spectacular wound to his carefully created image–that of being a self made man! The story from the not-so-failing New York Times, via Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russ Buettner, about how Donald Trump got so rich with the help of his father’s money and a whole lot of tax evasion, is a breath of so much legal culpability (for him!) and fresh air to the miserable “work” his story has been–(“work” meaning the pro-wrestling slang for fictional backstory) of having persevered as “a builder and entrepreneur”. This sad bullshit man lost money in the casino business where people give you money to experience the thrill of losing money! He was regularly experiencing cash infusions from his father, basically money-laundering from his own family, to keep himself in the game! And his family benefited from his schemes, so, if ever this cretin wanted to deride Obama for the “dreams of his father”, look to this guy for a monograph on the “schemes for his father’s money”. He isn’t the guy some people want to think he is–and his ignorance about everything continues to become apparent to people who, you know. Know stuff.

How is this a consolation for the message given to survivors, though?

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From driftglass:

“When a donkey flies, you don’t blame him for not staying up that long.”

— Murray Slaughter, The Mary Tyler Moore Show final episode

You may know Mr. Chuck Todd as the guy Comcast hired to sit in a big chair on the set of Meet the Press and say “But What About The Democrats?” and “Both Sides Do It!” every time another Republican commits another unspeakable atrocity.

They hired him after they fired a guy named David Gregory, whose job for six years had been to sit in a big chair on the set of Meet the Press and say “But What About The Democrats?” and “Both Sides Do It!” every time another Republican committed another unspeakable atrocity.

Pretty sweet gig. Soul-destroying, but steady work and it comes with full dental.

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From North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz:

A Trump supporter just called me a “Beta Male.”

I was on social media, expressing my respect for survivors of sexual assault, in the wake of the President’s vile and reprehensible public ridiculing of Christine Blasey Ford—and he dropped (based on his commentary following) what he thought was some leg sweep, knockout punch, mic drop, designed to leave me in a quivering mass on the floor.

Apparently I was supposed to be insulted.
I wasn’t it.
I felt complimented.
I felt validated.
I realized I’m on the right track.

“Beta Male,” seems to be a Trump fan’s word for a man with decency, self-control, and compassion; someone a woman wouldn’t need to fear being around when alone or vulnerable.

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From Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger:

The Labor Department has released its official unemployment numbers for the month of September. It shows that the unemployment rate dropped 0.2% to 3.7%. This was not due to a robust job creation, since only 134,000 jobs were created in September — the lowest number in the last six months. Part of it also has to be due to more people giving up on finding a decent job, and are no longer being counted by the federal government (the marginally-attached workers rose by 134,000).

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From former pastor, current atheist, Bruce Gerencser:

I have written almost three thousand posts since December 2014, and not one of them dealt with the subject of free will. The reason for this is two-fold: first, discussions on free will always bring more heat than light, and second, I am not really certain what it is I believe about the matter. I continue to read and study the various leading voices on free will, but so far, I am not convinced one way or the other. That said, you did ask me if I believed in free will, so I will take a stab at answering it based on what I presently think on the matter.

When I look at the decisions I make day-in and day-out, it seems to me that I have free will. I am willingly and freely answering this question. Now, that does not mean that I was not influenced by outside forces or personal behavioral patterns. I have OCPD, so I crave order. I hate leaving things undone. I asked for questions all the way back in July and here I am still answering them. My mind is telling me, get it done, Bruce. Do it now. Henriette deserves an answer. Don’t delay. I also like pleasing others. I want to be well thought of, so it’s important to me answer this question. I also want this blog to be place where doubting Evangelicals can come to find answers to their questions and encouragement as they wrestle with what it is they actually believe. All of these things pressure (influence) me, leading me to take time tonight to answer this question. Yes, I am doing so FREELY, but not without influence.

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From Michael John Scott at MadMikesAmerica:

There are millions who believe the police are the enemy and millions who are sympathetic to the job they do. Most people, however, are ambivalent, unless they get a parking ticket, and then they fall into the first category.

Social media can be a dangerous place for supporters of law enforcement, particularly when confronted by the uninformed who spend their days posting anti-police videos, memes, and etc. while claiming they don’t hate cops. They are the hypocrites; liars and often criminals.

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From Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit:

Kavanaugh yelled, berated his opponents and, a time or two, openly weeps over how cruel it was that he couldn’t just step into the job that he felt that we was entitled to have.

If a woman had sat there and yelled and cried, she would have been dismissed out of hand as being emotional, hysterical and certainly not of a temperament fit for even a trial court, let alone the Supremes.

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From Iron Knee at Political Irony:

If there was any doubt that conservatives — especially social conservatives who used to champion “respectable social behavior” — have completely lost any and all moral authority, you just have to look at the current situation with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Social conservatives have been pretending to hold the moral high ground, opposing supposed sins including gay marriage, abortion, even (and especially) premarital sex. Even birth control, as if sex without procreation is a sin.

Yes, the same people who condemn birth control and premarital sex are now at best silent and at worst condoning sexual assault, claiming that if you even investigate (never mind punish) Kavanaugh for what he is accused (by multiple women) of doing, then you would disqualify all men from being on the Supreme Court.

Really?

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