Month: February 2020

Burr Deming was the victim of a serious automobile accident, but escaped with minor injuries.

Doctors say he will be fine. Still, he will not be with us for a few days.

 

From Dave Dubya:

Bernie Sanders tweeted: “I’ve got news for the Republican establishment. I’ve got news for the Democratic establishment. They can’t stop us.”

The corporate establishment media joined the chorus of outraged corporatist establishment Democrats and authoritarian, establishment, Trump loyalist Republicans.

For some reason they all resent any challenge to their establishment privilege and power.

Bernie is in good company.

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From Nan’s Notebook:

When I was a Christian (many, many years ago), I was told (more than once) that “Scripture has Power!” It was “my sword and my shield” against a depraved world.

In essence (and briefly put), all I had to do was use words from the bible and sinners (those folk who don’t believe in supernatural beings) would acknowledge their evil ways, fall to their knees, and worship god.

Imagine my disappointment when it didn’t work.

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From North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz:

You are a mystery to me.

I watch you standing there with-wide-eyed, breathless adoration, and I simply can’t fathom how you ended up there in that spot, what it is you’re feeling in that moment, how this has become a voice you feel affinity with.

Why are you here?

I’d never stand behind someone who makes fun of stutterers.
I’d never stand behind someone who uses a person’s physical appearance as a slur.
I’d never stand behind someone who speaks about women as though they are things.
I’d never stand behind someone who mocks people with disabilities.
I’d never stand behind someone who exploits racial and ethnic stereotypes.

I’d never choose such a person as a friend, let alone choose them to make decisions regarding hundreds of millions of people or to represent me in the world or to shape the place my children call home—and the reason has nothing at all to do with politics.

It’s a human decency thing.

I’d never do these things, because as a Christian I was raised to treat people with a dignity that I was taught they deserve as solely unique human beings fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of a God who was love.

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From The Propaganda Professor:

Let’s try a little thought experiment. Imagine you are a journalist. A real journalist — not a hack for Fox “News” or OANN or Breitbart, but someone who actually has an interest in keeping the public reasonably informed. Say you’re writing a story about a particular development and you want to, or feel obliged to, report what several public figures say about it. At least one of these public figures is blatantly lying. Now here’s the question: do you identify the blatant lies as lies, or do you simply report faithfully what everyone said and hope (naively, one must say) that the public can sort it all out? Does your journalistic commitment to impartiality require you to avoid fact-checking? Or does your journalistic commitment to truth require you to fact-check?

This is more than just a hypothetical scenario. It’s become the day-to-day reality in our era of alternative facts. And very often, journalists are opting for the first course of action: they are giving truth and falsehood equal time, and not distinguishing between the two. This has been the new norm for several years now, but it has become glaringly apparent during the media coverage of the impeachment.

The front page of the New York Times, reproduced above, is a prime example.

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From Andy Borowitz:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Asserting that his personal interests put him in direct conflict with the interests of the United States of America, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has demanded that Donald Trump recuse himself from all decisions involving the future of the U.S.

Speaking from her office at the Supreme Court, Ginsburg said that Trump’s oft-stated allegiance to himself makes it impossible for him to render unbiased decisions on issues affecting people other than himself.

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From Max’s Dad:

Years and years ago while in a college documentary class a young woman was watching an ancient film about the infamous Joseph McCarthy. She was appalled at the liberal bias shown in the documentary which was basically allowing McCarthy and Roy Cohn to hang themselves with their own words. Being the loudmouth I was I spoke up in defense of the film and was soon joined by the rest of us 1970s radicals. The woman backed down meekly saying “I always thought McCarthy was a good guy”. That young lady was Ginni Lamp, now known as Ginni Thomas, the goofy wife of the mute Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Yep, I know someone famous, well knew, well once argued with her.

Ginni Thomas is now doing what her hero, Joe McCarthy, would have loved.

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From Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara:

Government makes the laws. It needs this lawmaking power to fulfil its responsibility to protect us from and prosecute criminals. But it’s for this very reason–its power of the gun–that we have a constitution designed to limit that power; that is, to prevent the government from becoming the criminal.

Giving the same freedom to police to collect our data as Cambridge Analytica amounts to giving the police free reign to search our homes without a warrant. Cambridge Analytica or Facebook or “Big Pharma” should be free to collect our freely given data, so long as it operates within the law–e.g., obeys the government’s privacy and contract laws. They cannot force us. They can only offer us a product. The police, as agents of the state, should be barred from accessing data without a warrant–that is, without “probable cause.” Isn’t there something in the Fourth Amendment about this?

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From Hackwhackers:

Demagogue and Kremlin asset Donald “Tovarich” Trump has a casting call out for a confirmable Director of National Intelligence, since his acting Director, Richard Grenell is utterly incompetent for that job, among other factors. Trump said he wanted Georgia wingnut Rep. Doug Collins, who performed for Trump on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment hearing by trying to obstruct and derail it. Here’s what unfolded…

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From JoAnn Williams at Biased Unbalanced and Politically Incorrect:

His political beliefs meet all the qualifications for a so-called “Deplorable.” I first wrote about him this past November.

I ran into him last week and he told me he is recovering from a serious illness. His doctor recommended more tests and a consultation with a specialist.

He has no insurance.

He is not able to work full time because of his illness.

Due to his reduced income, he cannot afford the extra tests or a visit to a specialist.

I did not ask him if his virulent opposition to President Obama and the affordable care act had changed.

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