The Center Left's Skewed View

FAR RIGHT: literally doing Nazi salutes
FAR LEFT: free health care for all LIBERALISM: these are the same http://pic.twitter.com/vELSsfswD4

— Jeeves of Manhattan (@Jeevesmeister) November 27, 2016

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Confederacy of Dunces

Confederate flag photo upsets Chapel Hill students | abc11.com

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Concerned parents told ABC11 Monday that a photo posted to the social media site Instagram has upset many students.

The picture was allegedly taken by an East Chapel Hill High School student. It shows two girls waving confederate flags. The person who posted the picture included the caption "South will rise."

Under that, someone commented "Already bought my first slave."

The school confirmed to ABC11 the photo was taken in Gettysburg during a school trip focused on the Civil War a few weeks ago.

Update: I saw a comment on the ABC11 post about how the person who posted "no, no" was one of the girls in the photo, who was horrified that people started posting racist stuff and didn't realize what that flag signified to some people. I think it's very possible OP didn't mean to make a racist statement, only to show a picture from their class trip. I also assumed the comments shown were by friends or fellow students, and represented a common attitude. This may well not be the case.  Again, I think it's important the school be very careful about it addresses this with the students, and doesn't hold them accountable for what more explicitly racists commenters on their post said.

Disgusting. Stupid. But ... does the school need to be involved in disciplining the kids who are in and took this picture? My first thought is this is something the kids' friends and parents should be able to deal with. That it happened on school trip and now East Chapel Hill High looks like a neo-Confederate enclave to the rest of the country, so they've got their reputation to consider.

I highlighted in the screengrab because what I'd have liked to have seen happen is for the kids's peers to have schooled them, publicly so that when the picture came down, we'd know it was because they were truly ashamed. I bet you would've seen the 'likes' come off as people realized what fools they looked like.

Hopefully, the lesson was learned.

As a parent raising kids in North Carolina, I hope we're teaching our kids to be the ones with the courage to publicly say "no, no" if (it's NC, so more likely when) they have classmates that do stupid crap like this some day.

WSJ Supports Freeloaders to Sabotage Unions

WSJ: Union Benefits Are So Good, Non-Members Should Get Them For Free | Blog | Media Matters for America: 

Image via mediamatters

In a May 4 editorial, the Journal sided with the suing teachers, calling their lawsuit an opportunity "to end the political extortion" by unions, despite the fact that the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of agency fees. The editorial took special exception to the fact that non-members aren't covered by a disability insurance program that provides paid maternity leave, claiming that it is unfair for teachers to have to "ante up to receive substantial employment benefits ..." 

... But benefits like legal representation in certain employment disputes and specialized disability insurance aren't "employment benefits" -- they're union benefits, and they cost money. As the California Teachers Association pointed out in a brief filed in a similar case, most school district employers opt out of a state program that would provide similar maternity leave benefits, but because full union members want the additional coverage, the union offers it as an earned benefit. In other words, the four teachers want all the benefits of full union membership without having to pay for it.

NC man's obit urges readers to reject Hillary Clinton

NC man's obituary urges readers to reject Hillary Clinton :: WRAL.com:

A North Carolina man's obituary asked two things of friends and family: instead of sending flowers for the funeral, give the money to charity. And don't vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016.

Because of the politics, I react to this with a Massive Eye Roll. Thanks, NC Man & Family, for giving us another headline to read in the national news next to more-nefarious-than-usual redistricting and a pregnant woman being shot to death.

But, honestly, I think this is great. By all means, use the obituary to crack wise and share something about yourself and what you believe. We regular folk don't get many chances to experess ourselves in the newspaper. Sure, there's the internet and blogging for that, but your community's paper of record is more august platform than your twitter. Who are we to deny you that last howl from your deathbed?  I applaud this family for honoring their departed loved one with a bit of cheek.

When I go out, I hope my obituary will speak to more than just my birth date and name those survived me.

P.S. To the family of Mr. Upright, you'll be glad to know I plan to vote for a candidate to the left of Hillary Clinton.

Would-Be President Ted Cruz Doesn't Quite Understand (Among Other Things) How To Internet

www.tedcruz.com | Home

Ted Cruz sure has his ducks in a row:

Racist. Science denier. Not a "natural born citizen." Hypocrite. Incompetent. Essentially, a malevolent buffoon. Or, put another way, the perfect Tea Party candidate for President.

By all means, please nominate him. And, hey, if he can't get the nomination, you folks that like him, please empty your wallets to help him run as a third party candidate.

Why am I a member of the FFRF? Clown Shoes like this guy ...

Federal lawsuit challenges Warren’s rejection of atheist display - Freedom From Religion Foundation:

Would like to remind Mayor Fouts that secularism is an American value,
state-sponsored religion is a Taliban value. 

To protect the First Amendment rights of all residents of Warren, Mich., regardless of religious or philosophical beliefs or non-beliefs, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a federal lawsuit this morning challenging the city’s ban on an atheist booth in a city hall atrium where the city allows a prayer station.  

The atrium has been set up by city officials as a public space that can be reserved by a wide variety of groups and individuals, including civic organizations and Warren residents. But the mayor is not allowing an atheist to use space in the atrium because his belief system “is not a religion.”

No, YouTube, I'm not a demented conspiratorialist, but thanks for suggesting it ...

Good grief. Does NBC's Chuck Todd make the suggestions for YouTube?

I mean, look at this:

No. I didn't click the link. I'm sure it's a fascinating 36 (!) minutes though ...

Innumerate Rich People Who Don't Know How Tax Rates Work Puzzle Us All

The Rich People Who Don't Know How Tax Rates Work: 

You see these idiots every time a tax hike becomes possible again. They have no apparent idea how marginal rates work. Right now, if her and her husband make $250,000, they pay at most a 33% tax on some of that income. If they made $251,000, they would have to pay the same rates for everything except that last $1000 -- that, they'd be taxed at 35%. If the rates increase across the board that top rate becomes 39.6%. 

How do people still not understand that, and how does it color the debate over taxes?

I found the above cartoon with a quick google image search; on the same results page, I found another that complained about marginal taxes and gave the ignoramus reason that earning into the next income bracket resulted in all income being taxed at the higher rate.

My last post praised editorial cartoonists for highlighting idiocy in an accessible way ... I guess I should have pointed out that only the cartoonists willing to talk about reality, and with a commitment to the truth, have merit.

Experimental audio post. Plus: why I'm off facebook for a couple days ...

Yeah, the problem is Communists ... errr ...
Democrats are trying to vote, right Mr. West? 

First, I want to try this thing where I record myself exasperated by NPR coverage of Florida early voting. I recorded myself basically scolding the radio to preserve the immediacy. So yeah, it's rough. But, neither loud nor profane. For a change.

Why a crab? NPR made me a crabby -- I know, I know -- and, more to the point, blogger doesn't allow mp3 files in posts, but they do allow videos. So, hastily select a photo from the hard drive and slap the audio on it in Movie Maker and presto ... there you have it.

About facebook ... yeah, I'm muting so many Romney supporters, and so tempted to unfriend/block/report people for being complete morons -- what do you mean that's not a reportable offense? -- that I'm afraid I won't be able to control my temper. It's easier to talk to you folks here on my soapbox where I'm easier for you to ignore ... and I don't have to worry burning bridges.

Win or lose tomorrow, I just want to keep above the fray over there.

Are you as depressed by your association with Romney supporters -- assuming you have at least one close family member or friend so afflicted -- as I am with mine?

The Hartford Courant getting a little sloppy in the rush to get all their Calhoun tributes up ...

I trust these will be fixed soon.

@MittRomney Should Probably Stop Using Facts To Support His Arguments (Since Both Tries Backfired)

Mitt Romney Should Probably Stop Using Facts To Support His Arguments

"[Robotic laugh] Well, if you lived in Massachusetts, em ... er ... *koff* [robotic laugh] I mean, put up or shut up! OK, because, corporations are people my friends. By the way, these cookies taste like crap and there's no way you guys will ever host an Olympics as good as mine! Romney out."

To be replayed for every idiot Republican that makes a teleprompter dig about Obama.

Romney is such a tool. He's your man, Republicans, own it:

Nice. Romney read aloud the teleprompter note "[end of quote]," invalidating one of his side's favorite digs at Obama. bit.ly/OxNwah
— James Urbaniak (@JamesUrbaniak) July 11, 2012

You've got to click the link to see the video. It's priceless.

Will you hypocrites stop now? Forever?

Not that the Snowbilly Grifter's notes on her hand hadn't made this an untenable criticism long ago ...

Also, the fact that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A TELEPROMPTER TO BEGIN WITH, JUST LIKE THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANYTHING WRONG WITH USING PREPARED NOTES FOR PUBLIC SPEAKING SINCE THE INVENTION OF PUBLIC SPEAKING.

Brilliant takedown of the NYT Style page. #♥

The New York Times Profiled the Brant Brothers Because the New York Times Hates You: 

Born on third, being told they hit triples. 

"For a teenager, Peter Brant can sound like a been-there-done-that dowager countess, not that his Old World pretensions aren't refreshing in the Internet age."

No. No no fucking no. They aren't refreshing. A rich teenage hipster with Old World pretensions isn't refreshing. In fact, there are entire Tumblr feeds dedicated to eradicating that particular species from the universe.

ᔥ

RT @daveg Brilliant take down of the worst section in the worlds worst newspaper, the New York Times gawker.com/5920269/the-ne… <--- LOL for reals
— Meg Hourihan (@megnut) June 22, 2012

Bank Of America Self-Sueing (Sue-icide?) No Doubt A Delight For Attorneys

Bank Of America Sues Itself In Unusual Foreclosure Case:

" ... And suing the piss out of ourselves when we do."

But in Florida's Palm Beach County alone, Bank of America has sued itself for foreclosure 11 times since late March, according to foreclosure fraud activist Lynn Szymoniak, who forwarded one such foreclosure filing, dated March 29, 2012, to The Huffington Post. (A white-collar crime expert, Szymoniak was recently awarded $18 million for her work helping the government recover $95 million as a result of bank foreclosure problems in North Carolina.) 

In the March 29 filing, Bank of America is seeking to foreclose on a condominium and names the condo owner and Bank of America as defendants in the suit. The company is literally seeking damages from itself in order to foreclose on the condo owner.

Masterlitigabation?


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OMG LOL http://t.co/YlybwIt2 (h/t @srl2126)Sat Apr 21 16:40:49 via webChristopher Hayes
chrislhayes

The mental process of sizing up your next-cubicle neighbor at work ...

I give him a hard time, but he's a good guy.
He really needs to move on though. 

A glimpse into the inner workings of my mind ...

The Dingus

Yesterday, I was presented with a 'traveling trophy' at work. (For Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence, if you must know.) It's a crystal globe thing-a-ma-bob, fairly heavy for it's size. As I accepted it, my mind flashed to an image of Captain Jacobi, fresh from San Francisco docks where his ship, all afire, was still being extinguished, bringing the Falcon to Spade's office. The only thing I could think was, "Oh no, I can't remember the name of Jacobi's ship off the top of my head! I need to read and watch The Maltese Falcon again, ASAP!" [Don't worry. If you've forgotten too, I've hidden it behind the spoiler barrier below ... ]

The Maltese Falcon
Image ᔥ Trees for Lunch

I only read Trees's masthead and saw the post I borrowed this image from after taking a copy of it. Good grief, that's some wingnuttia going on there.

It was the La Paloma.

Nike Adds Insult to Injury With Abominable Husky Illo #UConn

Chitwood & Hobbs, Rise As One For the NCAA’s March Madness Nike has...: 

For the NCAA’s March Madness Nike has put together a fantastic set of movie poter-esque prints for a few of the usual contenders. Well, they were considered contenders at the beginning of the tournament — sorry, Duke.

"Sorry, Duke"?!  No, it's UConn that gets the shaft here. All the other posters look to have been made to celebrate the programs depicted, ours looks like it was slapped together by some C-student in the UMass Graphic Design program.

Husky Nation, surely somebody out there can do or has done better?

The 'Re-Nig' bumper sticker and a suggested response ...

We're moving backwards.
Why do they have to revert back to this? Our nation has become a place of shame.  More photos from Mark Pogue

I've prepared a printable document that I will place on the windshield of any car I happen to see, and I hope I don't, with that sticker on it.

Please feel free to share and revise as you see fit. If you do, I'd love to see your response; please share a link or the text in the comments.

Jeremy Lin diagnosed (by me) with Tebowitis #atheism #Linsanity

Jeremy Lin says his storybook run with NY Knicks is ‘a miracle from God’ - NY Daily News:

via NYDailyNews

TORONTO — Jeremy Lin is calling his rags-to-riches NBA story "a miracle from God", adding that it is more than just a coincidence that everything is suddenly breaking right for him.

"Anytime something like this happens, a lot of stuff has to be put into place, and a lot of it is out of my control," the Knicks phenom point guard said on Tuesday. "If you look back at my story, doesn't matter where you look, but God's fingerprints are all over the place where there have been a lot of things that had to happen that I couldn't control.

Right. Because some omniscient, omnipotent being decided it was more worth its time to make you play NBA basketball well for a few days than heal an amputee or some shit like that.

Went to Goodnight's last night, saw Charlie Viracola's stand up act ...

How Do I Bleach My Butthole - Ask.com:

Not for buttholes.

Answers to Other Common Questions
What happens if you bleach your butthole?

Butthole bleaching is something I would not have guessed was real. But it is.

Viracola is pretty funny, by the way.