There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Friday, July 22, 2016

Linkee-poo, 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 going through

Don't forget to register to vote. If you are registered, but haven't voted in a while, you might want to check to see if you're still registered. (Grokked from Joshua Parker)

So, conservatives live in a an alternate universe that exists only in their bubblesphere informed by Fox News. Anybody still question that? As Winston Churchill once said, "Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together - what do you get? The sum of their fears." I think that is a good description of the Trumpster's speech (although we could quibble about their actual qualities). We'll see what the poll numbers are over the weekend. Remember, the Trumpster should see a bounce here. Last numbers I saw still had Clinton in the lead, but it was close. If Trump can't be on top right now, it's the Democrats race to lose. Fife-thirty-eight still has her well ahead on their forecast predictor.

Kameron Hurley on professional jealousy. It's a common refrain that a lot of writers start because they read a "crappy" book and think, "I can do better than that." "Seeing a shit writer getting a seven-figure movie deal when you’re doing your timesheets can be super annoying." Yep. But as she says, you need to believe you're playing your own game. Your career is your own, as well as your path through that career. A majority of the people I "started" off with who are still writing are at a much more advanced stage of their writing career than I am. And they're not shitty writers, some of them have made "best of" and won many prestigious awards. And when I think about that, it can be soul crushing. But I'm still here. I'm still writing, even if most of my word count is here on the blog (working hard to change that). And this is why the best writing advice is write what you love, write the story you want.

Seven things writer should know about cybernetics. (Grokked from Steven Burst)

Wonder Woman stamps. (Grokked from Elizabeth Bear)

Two centuries (starting in the mid 15th century) of hard drought in Africa couldn't get people in Ghana to change their diets from preferred to less preferred foods. However, after the drought and during a time a plenty the archeological record starts showing signs of food insecurity. So what happened? "According to (the researcher), two key things: The slave trade siphoned off many young farmers and artisans, and Banda was incorporated into Britain's Gold Coast colony in the late 1800s." The research "parallel(s) what economists and historians have already found — that food insecurity isn't caused simply by drought."

"An African bird called the Greater honeyguide is famous for leading people to honey, and a new study shows that the birds listen for certain human calls to figure out who wants to play follow-the-leader." Interspecies communication is already going on.

Let's open the door and check on how the Brexit economy is working. About as well as expected. Let's close that door. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)

"John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5, said… 'It is sad that to win an election Mrs. Clinton must pander to the interests of people who do not know all the facts, while the men and women they seek to destroy are outside protecting the political institutions of this country," he wrote in Wednesday's statement… Clinton's campaign responded that two members of law enforcement are scheduled to speak at the July 25-28 convention, including former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey." Classic conservative attack, say the catch phrase, "people who don't know all the facts" before it can be used against you. Dear John McNesby, part of the problem is you think this is a black and white divide. It's not. But by clinging to that philosophy you're continuing the beliefs that are causing the problem in the first place.

A party with the trolls. "Milo peddles a pageant of insincerity that is immediately legible to fellow Brits. Americans understand irony differently, and sometimes not at all. The crowd of excitable young and young-ish people gathered to hear him pontificate believe what he’s saying, even if he doesn’t. Which he doesn’t. And it doesn’t matter." Yes, Virginia, there are people who just want to watch the world burn. And they aren't as charismatic or charming as the Joker. "They ventriloquise the fear of millions into a scream of fire in the crowded theatre of modernity where all the doors are locked, and then they watch the stampede, and they smile for the cameras." Welcome to the modern GOP. (Grokked from Jason Sanford)

NC Governor McCrory blames the Clintons for the NBA pulling the All Stars game from his state. I'm sure it had nothing to do with their horrible law and the fact that actual people can see through their explanations to see the hate and homophobia. See, they're used to being the smartest people in the room and they don't understand that they haven't been. It's not like this was unexpected or not telegraphed including what was necessary to keep the All Stars Game. Next up, "We didn't want them anyway."

"Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. dropped 12 percentage points in the past month, amid high-profile police killings of black men and mass shootings of police. Currently, 17% of Americans are satisfied with the state of affairs in the U.S." That may explain it a little bit. Also pointed to because of the chart with a breakdown on what people think is most important problem in the US. Race relations and gun control saw big increases last month.

The religious right's attempts to strong arm the Trumpster. Noted because the writer actually uses that name (although they hyphenate it as "Trump-ster"), but also as a "I don't believe it." They got their way on the party platform, fielding perhaps the most socially conservative platform of any party in the US ever. Also, while they've had to strong arm the evangelicals to the Trumpster's campaign, the Trumpster has also proven quite pliable to their desires. So I don't buy their tears. Sure, he's no Ted Cruz or Mike Huckabee, but he doesn't care except to know which way the win is blowing. Also note Trumpster's list of SCOTUS judges, all of them hard right social conservatives.

Jim Wright pretty well outlines both the fear mongering and exactly how conservative operatives view this election.

"As Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday night, a tweet from a white supremacist account was broadcast through the convention hall at Quicken Loans Arena." Gee, why does the Trump Campaign and RNC keep retweeting white supremacist tweets?

John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN that was so horrible, our Ohio senator sent him basic management books after he was confirmed, is feeling a little disturbed by Trumpsters comments regarding NATO. "Bolton told the Florida delegates that Trump's comment 'doesn’t change my mind that I’m going to vote for Donald Trump in November…'" and then went on about how he couldn't believe it. John Bolton. You know, they guy who said they could lop off the upper floors of the UN and it would be an improvement. But, hey, he's still going to vote straight ticket. (Grokked from Dan)

Oh that Trumpster NATO thing, "the media takes everything out of context." The transcript of the interview. Next up, "Yeah, but he had his fingers crossed behind his back." (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)

"Donald Trump's top aide, Paul Manafort, and communications director, Stephen Miller, rejected criticism of the real estate mogul's speech Thursday at the Republican National Convention as 'dark.' Instead, they argued Trump's address was 'profoundly optimistic.'" How many lights are there?

"We were promised a riot. In Cleveland, we got a block party instead." 'Cause that's the kind of people we are. Also, our police chief was a hoopy frood about the convention. There was a lot that was let go, and because of that everyone's temperature remained low (for the majority of people). Rock on, Cleveland. You done well. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)

Tweet of my heart: @LOLGOP I guess that was a great convention. David Duke gave it 3 Ks up.

As a side note, the Trumpster has given Asshole Duke the courage to run for office again.

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