Month: April 2016

 
Raymond: Max’s Dad explains the many things he doesn’t get.
 
From Max’s Dad:

I will be the first to admit this. I didn’t get it. And I am not speaking ill of the dead here, but I am just admitting what may well be a flaw in my head, I didn’t get Prince. He broke in the 80’s. Didn’t get it. Purple Rain hit the theaters. I didn’t even like it. The symbol. Didn’t get it. All of it. Sorry.

Prince died at age 57 this week. Prescription drugs? Seems to be the killer of the rich and famous the last few years. It also kills the poor, the middle class, the young, the old, the not so famous rich, everybody. But its all ok cuz the drug companies are doing it and not the dealer down the street. You aren’t found dead in a back alley with a needle sticking out of your arm nowadays, you are found dead in your nice bed or lying on the bathroom floor. How quaint.

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From Michael A. LaFerrara at Principled Perspectives:

Not all global warming catastrophists are created equal. Some want to shackle fossil fuels at all human costs, leaving energy privation and poverty in their wake.

But others are more sober, realizing that a transition away from fossil fuels they desire must proceed in accordance with the advance of heretofore unforeseen development of technology that will make “green” energy reliable and economical and a viable replacement. Of course, the radical catastrophists talk of “transition” as well, but the more sober catastrophists are willing to put their policies where their mouths are.

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From The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser:

Evangelical number one says to an unbeliever, you need to read the Bible. Within its pages you will find the good news of the gospel. Through this message you will find the forgiveness of sins and life eternal — that is, if God decrees it to be so and you haven’t committed the unpardonable sin.

Evangelical number two says to an unbeliever, the natural (non-Christian) people cannot understand the things of God (the Bible) because they are spiritually discerned. Since non-Christians are dead in trespasses and sins and the Holy Spirit does not live inside them, they cannot understand the Bible. Unless God gives non-Christians ears to hear and eyes to see, they are unable to discern and comprehend the only supernatural book ever written, the Bible.

Confused?

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Another Fine Example of the Conservative Way of Doing Business

 
From Green Eagle:

Poor i-heart radio, formerly Clear Channel, the force behind Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and most of the other right wing liars that have polluted our nation’s politics for the last couple of decades. And it may mark the end of the obscene $40 million a year paychecks that Limbaugh has gotten as a reward for lying the American people into disaster. It seems you should be careful which of your fellow right wingers you get involved with, because they are not always dedicated solely to the best interests of your company. From a very good article at Media Matters, the following excerpts, then of course my own cranky take on the whole thing:

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From Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger:

I’m not calling for Bernie to terminate his campaign. If he wants to go through all of the primaries (which last thru June 7th), that is his right. But after that date, it will be time to end his now futile campaign. How will he do it. Will he be a sore loser, and try to destroy his adopted party — or will he end it with the same kind of grace and unifying fervor that Hillary Clinton displayed in 2008? It could matter — even if the Democratic nominee gets to run against a weak candidate like Trump or Cruz.

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From Jonathan Bernstein at Bloomberg:

Good news for democracy in the United States: Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is restoring voting rights to some 200,000 citizens who were convicted of felonies, served their time and completed parole.

While this move is likely to help Democrats (ex-felons in Virginia are disproportionately African-Americans, and black voters overwhelmingly favor Democrats), it’s wrong to cast it as a partisan move. Virginia did not represent the status quo nationally. It has been one of only 12 states where conviction on a felony strips you of voting rights for a lifetime.

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From Capt. Fogg at Human Voices:

I was watching Samantha Bee gyrating on my TV the other night, dressed an a homemade Eagle costume festooned with plastic guns and made to resemble an NRA mascot. It was one of those Bones and Tambo moments.

She had just finished telling us you could now buy guns on TV and not telling us you still had to go through a Federally licensed gun dealer and complete the transaction including any waiting periods and background checks just as though you’d bought it from his stock. Guns on TV! Oh so shocking and when the demo includes using a watermelon as a target, you just know people who own or buy guns are all dreaming of mass murder. You just know and because you just know, most anything you say that furthers the cause of angry prejudice is just fine. Empty mockery, slander, malicious stereotyping — no less revolting than a minstrel show done in blackface used to provide.

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From Jack Jodell at the Saturday Afternoon Post:

Like far too many of today’s Tea Party-infested reactionary Republicans, Texas Senator and presidential wannabe Ted Cruz is often much too self-absorbed and self-centered for this blogger’s liking. From his “notice ME!” grandstanding efforts to shut down the federal government to his latest whining about the sacrifices and hardships he has had to endure during his soon-to-be-aborted run for the White House to, really, his entire career in the Senate, this opportunistic blowhard has shown an appalling lack of sensitivity toward not only his Senate colleagues but also toward his fellow citizens as well. Here is what this selfish crybaby Cruz addressed to his campaign staff:

“You see, running for President of the United States is a significant sacrifice. Only by the grace of God – and with unwavering help from wonderful supporters like you – have we reached this point – on the verge of capturing the Republican nomination.

And while I’m on the verge of victory, I need to share something with you.

The sacrifices for our campaign are steep, but I’m proud to be making them on your behalf:

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From Last Of The Millenniums:

‘The underlying basis for the Sanders campaign is that a grassroots revolution is surging and making their voices heard in these primaries and caucuses. Sen. Sanders argument for why he should be the Democratic nominee is based on the claim that he increases turnout’.

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• Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson protests against those protesting against a Christian themed lunch hosted by parents in a public park. The park is leased to the Middleton High School and the lunches occur during school hours. I suppose that’s the focus of the protests. The protests strike me as having a foundation of sand, but then I’m a Christian, so what do I know?
   
• NOJO at Stinque reduces the 10 Commandments to 10 easy to understand emoji.
   
• At Crooks and Liars, Frances Langum, the Artist formerly known as Blue Gal, has a solution to problems with North Carolina’s new transgender bathroom law.
   
• Lots of commentary about whether convoluted delegate rules are fair to candidates. After all, they should have known the rules, right? The Big Empty seems to think the issue ought to be what is fair to voters.
   
• Nancy Hanks at The Hankster believes non-Democrats should choose who will represent Democrats and non-Republicans should choose who will represent Republicans on November’s ballot. She conducted a small informal poll on whether whether three Sanders voters and one Trump voter agree with her. They do.
   
• tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors brings us John Kasich, Governor of Ohio, candidate for President of the United States, and Talmudic scholar