And now I will give my annual "Get out and vote" line. Get out and vote. No, I don't really care whom you vote for (well, yes, I do, but not enough to stop anyone from exercising their franchise). If you're eligible and registered to vote, please go and vote. I understand there are more hurdles this time, but if you don't vote there will be even more next time.
"The end of the six-week trial for seven people who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon can be summed up in two words: not guilty." Seriously, Oregon? It was an exceptionally low bar you were asked to cross, the charge of carrying firearms on a federal facility. There are fucking pictures that the defendants took (and posted to the internet) themselves showing them breaking the law. However the Bundy brothers weren't set free (as their lawyer protested to the point of being determined to being out of order and then being tased) as they're still wanted for extradition to Nevada to stand trial there.
Teri Windling on Godfather Death and the personification of death through myth and fairy tales. From the section about the Danse Macabre, "This (morality play) was paired with sermons stressing that death could strike anyone at any time, exhorting the audience to prepare themselves and live free of sin." And I thought, wow, the Rapture has replaced Death in many evangelical lives.
Can't do NaNoWriMo but think some structure like that may help? Okay, how about some alternatives?
Just in time for Halloween, brains. Dinosaur brains in fact. "What's different about this particular example, (Alex Liu of the University of Cambridge) says, is that the outer millimeter or so of this fossil 'is actually mineralization of some of the soft tissue structures that were preserved before they decayed away within the original dinosaur brain case.'" Brains.
Rocket cats (and birds) of history. That siege warfare scene in your book? Yeah, you're doing it wrong. Think that's a one-off? How about flaming pigs used to panic war elephants and break a siege? (Grokked from Dan)
"When catering a prestigious event, any waiter may fear clumsily dropping a plate or spilling a drink on an eminent guest. Few will suffer the indignity of accidentally knocking a thumb off a priceless Roman statue with their head." Note they're not inviting that caterer back, but not rethinking the idea of holding high-priced soirees in the galleries of the museum. That would not do. (Grokked from Tania)
"By genetically sequencing (HIV) samples from people infected early on, scientists say they have figured out when and where the virus that took hold here first arrived. In the process, they have exonerated the man accused of triggering the epidemic in North America." Patient Zero was actually "Patient O" for "outside of California". But America need a villain (at the time people realized that AIDS/HIV wasn't just for "teh Gayz"), and for most people he fit the bill.
"It’s easy to see why the Overton Window holds such appeal. For one thing, it offers a universal theory of change in an age of polarization and fracture… For another thing, it has the virtue of simplicity: Overton did little more than repackage the basic negotiating principle that if you ask for a lot, you will likely get more than if you ask for a little. And although the window offers a theory of change, its central element—the window itself—actually describes the norm from which reality has deviated." The flaws of the mentality of an Overton Window mechanism driving the current election. Instead of moving what we consider "normal" or "acceptable", Trump on the right and Sanders on the left only appealed to an installed base with ideas they already held. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
So, how our ubiquitous "black friend" faring in these "post racial" days? "A black 15-year-old in Mississippi shook in fear as he described how white schoolmates put a noose around his neck and pulled it tight, leaving no physical scars but perhaps a life-changing emotional wound, his mother said Thursday." Fuckstockings!
Sure the GOP isn't a festering racist abscess on Democracy's behind. Except last night US Sen. Mark Kirk (R) mocked his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. (and US Army veteran) Tammy Duckworth (D) by saying he had "forgotten (that her) parents came all of the way from Thailand to serve George Washington" during a debate. To which I believe some people in the audience had the thought, "he does realize this is being broadcast live, right?" Dear Sen. Mark Kirk, please fuck off and die at your earliest convenience.
What harm could come from those "religious freedom acts"? An Indianapolis woman's lawyer argued Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act gave his client the right to discipline her children according to her "evangelical" beliefs. Apparently in the evangelical Bible is doesn't say "suffer the children to come unto me" but "make the children suffer with a coat hanger." I'm pretty sure my Bible didn't say that.
"Since then, though, the Koch operation has decided to sit out the presidential race, reduced its spending goal to $750 million, failed to maintain the support of some top donors including Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, announced that it was consolidating or eliminating some of the groups and initiatives in the network, and irked Republicans by opting not to advertise heavily on television in the final month of the campaign." The after shocks of the Trumpster's candidacy are starting. But don't worry, even through the Kochs are cutting back and realizing they don't have much impact on the national level, they know they're highly effective at the state and local level. That's a dangerous lesson for them to learn (as in dangerous for the rest of us). Although it's interesting to see that they don't understand their own role in helping Trumpster get nominated (or they are denying it so as to hope to avoid blowback). (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
"'We call on you to form up incognito intelligence gathering and crime spotting teams and go out into public on election day, dressed to blend in with the public, without any Oath Keepers hat or T shirt on, and with video, still camera, and notepad in hand, to look for and document suspected criminal vote fraud or intimidation activities,' (Oath Keepers founder Stewart) Rhodes wrote on the group’s website." We have met the enemy and he is us.
You know that joke where the Trumpster fails so bad he just quits where he is and declares victory? "Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump… unveiled a new campaign strategy on Thursday ― simply calling the whole thing off and declaring himself president." Yeah, I thought it was faked to, but there's video. There's always video. (Grokked from Brandie Tarvin)
Yes, the numbers on 538 are moving in favor of Trumpster, but it was expected the race would tighten, and my guess is we'll still be at 80/20 come election day. Note those are percentages of winning the electoral college vote, not popular voting numbers.
No comments:
Post a Comment