I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Linkee-poo, je suis Parisien

"In the wake of controversy of any kind, even terrorist attacks, U.S. politics is never far behind. The American political response — from President Obama to the candidates vying to replace him — in the hours following the Paris attacks has been unsurprisingly split along party lines."

Jeb! Bush proves himself a real Bush by declaring war in the face of terrorism and threatening to invade Iraq. Third time is a charm.

Jim Wright on what comes next being more important than what we do now.

Just a reminder that ISIS kills Muslims daily, repeatedly, and in large numbers. For all those who think this is a matter of a clash of religions and Islam vs the West. ISIS in an equal opportunity slayer, they are actually not very religious. (Grokked from Janiece)

"A woman who identifies herself as a Pastafarian, a follower of a religion that teaches that an airborne 'spaghetti monster' could have created the universe, has succeeded in her bid to wear a colander on her head in her driver’s license photo." (Grokked from Tania)

You know, I'm of a certain age and of such a geek nature that Princess Leia in the "gold bikini" (now known as "Slave Leia") holds a special place in my sexual development. And yes, I understand the misogynistic aspects of the imagery. So when I see this, my first response is, "Fuck You Wal-Mart." As something between consenting adults, have fun. If you want to wear the costume, have at and enjoy (and if you run into someone wearing said costume, there is a difference between the gaze of an admirer and the piercing stare of a stalker). As a toy for kids, um, no. Not appropriate.

"Supporters of universal health care have gathered enough signatures to put on next year's ballot a plan to make Colorado the first state to opt out of the federal health law and replace it with taxpayer-funded coverage for all." Oh noes, creeping socialism. "The ColoradoCaresYes campaign says those taxes would raise enough money to cover children and adults who do not work. They say the plan will cost $3 billion a year but will save $9 billion in health care administration costs compared with the current system." So, naturally, the health insurance industry is having a freak out. (Grokked from Janiece)

Why is universal healthcare important? Well, here's one reason. "Almost 20 percent of the people in low-income communities who die of colon cancer could have been saved with early screening… Lower-income communities in the United States face $6.4 billion in lost wages and productivity because of premature deaths due to colon cancer, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

David Brooks on the $120,000 per person, round the world vacation through the Four Seasons. I just don't have the words for this. Okay, I really do, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions. For the record I have stayed and worked at various Four Seasons properties (when I worked at Ernst & Young doing partner level events). I really enjoyed my stays there, but had little time to take advantage of the situation (typically working 16-20 hour days while on site). So note that I say from experience that the rich are not like you and me.

Fred Clark with some rules on how to discern if you're being fed bullshit. I've had private conversations about rule #1 and how it relates to Fox News. I used to be told by people that they like Fox because "it made sense and they connected the dots." As I told them then (and will say today), it's easy to do in the new business when you lie.

And speaking of Fred Clark, the second volume of his take on the Lef-Behind series is out.

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