"As I was saying, you should listen to me because I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about. Which is really the point of all this: the further I’ve gone down this path, the one thing I know with great resoluteness is that I know less than I did when I began. My certainties are far less certain." Writing advice about writing advice and three "truths" from Chuck Wendig.
"But this year, no one saw any (right) whales until the end of January. And most of the way through the calving season, there still aren't any calves." Just a historical note, they're called Right Whales because they were the best to harvest oil from, hence they were the right whale to go after.
"A growing body of evidence suggests that yes, sitting for long periods of time can have a detrimental effect on your health. But unfortunately, standing for large spans of the day isn’t that great either. And a recent study adds to this pile." Can't win for losin'. Your bodies, just like your boots, were built for walkin'. Being still (either sitting or standing) is a killer.
"A teen was told he likely had the flu. It turned out to be late-stage cancer." Go to the gorram doctor. Also, pay attention to your body and don't jump to conclusions.
"It's not that uncommon to hear someone complaining that politicians are corrupt. But you wouldn't expect to be thrown in jail for it… That's exactly what happened to Fane Lozman at a City Council meeting in Florida." I'm of two minds about this, one it's clear (at least to me) that Lozman did intend to disrupt the meeting and insinuate that the city council was corrupt ("My continuing investigation…") and that he wasn't "innocently" making comments (maybe it's having been on a village council and knowing people exactly like this – BTW this is why you have a "public comment period" so they are unable to disrupt by making their comments while you're attempting to conduct business). But they should have let him make the connection, and then have him arrested (their case would have been much clearer). It's also obvious that Lozman was a long-time pain in the ass and a jerk to local government. However, the comments in the closed door meeting (which, really, WTF?, if you go into executive session you only report the summary of what was discussed and the exact reason why you entered executive session) were unwarranted and show a bias against him. Yes, even if they're PIAs you can't conspire against your citizens unless you have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (to do so just because they're a PIA is wrong and smacks of misuse of power). So, yeah, a plague on both their houses.
And in the same vein, "On Wednesday, the (SCOTUS) tackled similar and even stricter laws that bar 'political' apparel inside polling places." Again, the guy is being a jerk. "Cilek wore a Tea Party T-shirt and a 'Please I.D. Me' button to vote." You're not allowed to advocate for a party or candidate within the polling place, and Minnesota doesn't have a voter ID law and the button was an attempt to intimidate other voters by trying to make them think there was one. Also note of interest to the NRA and the 2nd Amendment, "An exasperated Justice Stephen Breyer pointed out that there are restrictions on speech in many places — hospitals, schools, courtrooms." Yes Virginia, all your other rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights have limitations. The arguments are over where to reasonably draw the line so that everyone can exercise their own rights.
"During an interview on CNN on Tuesday, Georgia state senator and Republican candidate for governor Michael Williams decried the discounts Delta purportedly offers to 'members' of Planned Parenthood. There was just one problem — the discounts are a figment of his imagination." These people live in a fantasy world. Fuck this "both sides have bubbles." Yes, we only want to talk with people who hold similar views, frankly because talking to the right has become exhausting. You all get your shit together and you can come back to the table. "I saw it on the Goggle" is the new "I read it somewhere." (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)
"Australia says it collected more than 57,000 illegal firearms during a three-month amnesty last year – the first such program since tough gun laws were enacted in the wake of the country's worst mass shooting in 1996… 'Taking these unregistered firearms off the streets means they will not fall into the hands of criminals, who might use them to endanger the lives of innocent Australians,' Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor said Thursday." Noted for several things, including the fact that most criminals get their weapons through the legal purchasers (either by private sales, straw men sales, or stealing). Limiting the weapons "law abiding" citizens own limits the weapons criminals will have access to.
Sure, let's arm teachers. What could possibly go wrong? "Jesse Randall Davidson wasn't a stranger, some mysterious threat from the outside. He was a bearded, bespectacled, 53-year-old social studies teacher and the play-by-play announcer for the football games at Dalton High School in northwest Georgia… But when the teacher brought a gun to school, barricaded himself in his classroom Wednesday and fired a single shot, students quickly recognized that this wasn't just a sad local incident."
More guns make us safer, so Congress won't do squat on solving our gun addiction. Oh, wait. They did do something. "A House committee voted Tuesday to pass a resolution that would allow members to pay for bulletproof vests and security personnel using taxpayer funds." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"President Vladimir Putin said in his annual state-of-the-nation speech that Russia has tested powerful nuclear weapons that render missile defense systems useless." It would be much more convincing if they weren't computer animations. Also, you might have forgotten, both of our countries can destroy the world several times over. But basically this is psych op on our president who will now (most likely) direct the Pentagon to either develop new weapons to counter Russia, or develop new defenses. Both of which we really can't afford (especially with the tax cuts).
"But National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday there is only so much he can do. That is because, according to Rogers, President Trump has not ordered him to go after the Russian attacks at their origin." For there being "no collusion" as the President keeps trying to tell us, they sure are acting like there is collusion. And then there was this, "'Nobody is denying him the authority,' White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said when asked about Rogers' testimony." Someone really needs to sit these people down and explain how government actually works, because they're all acting like what they say on Fox News is the truth. So let me be clear, you do not want military people to take the initiative and make decisions to attack foreign powers. That way not only lies insanity, that's how wars quickly escalate and nations are destroyed. The military is beholden to the civilian government and that should never change. In a pinch, they will make the decision to defend themselves, but every officer knows (or should know) exactly what may happen because of their decisions (including courts martial and jail time).
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