Schools
I spotted this over at John Scalzi’s Whatever and it brought back some memories. A woman in Ohio has received a felony conviction for deceptively sending her kids to a school in a district where she didn’t live. Her father … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2011
A Little Bit About Writing
I’ve been nattering on about politics and related matters for a while now. It’s crazy-making because no matter how much sense you might make, or think you’re making, there are a lot of people who basically say “I don’t care, … Continue reading
Ahistorical Nonsense
Representative Michelle Bachman is the national voice of The Tea Party. Recently, in speaking to a group of Iowans, she made some claims about American history that would be laughable if they had not come from someone who likes to … Continue reading
Posted in Absurdity, culture, current affairs, history, Philosophy, Politics
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Arrogance
We all use words sometimes in ways not intended. We don’t, after all, have a dictionary to hand in every conversation and memory plays tricks, not to mention there is always some “drift” in common usage that’s culturally-driven. Often it’s … Continue reading
Words Don’t Matter
The message being put forward, especially by the Right, in the aftermath of the shootings in Arizona, is that it is absurd to blame the rhetoric of violence and hatred for the actions of anyone, let alone Jared Lee Loughner. … Continue reading
Posted in culture, current affairs, Literature, Personal, Whimsy, Writing
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Crazy Is As….
I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but bear with me. A bit of confessional time. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m an atheist. To put it simply, I basically grew up and got over … Continue reading
Other Buzzzzzzzz
I am not going to go see the new Green Hornet movie. I knew that long before its release, when I heard Seth Rogen had been cast as the Hornet. I just knew it would be a waste of everyone’s … Continue reading
Posted in Absurdity, Art, culture, film, Literature, Movies, Personal, Television, Writing
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Challenge the B.S.
Let’s be clear: no one should advocate censorship. That said, we need to understand the power of language. Images matter, words matter, what you say has an effect. Every propagandist in history has grasped this essential truth. Without oratory, Hitler … Continue reading
Posted in culture, current affairs, Philosophy, Politics
8 Comments
Taking Cues
I’d intended to give this a little more thought, but the events in Arizona have prompted a response now. In the last post, I opined about the atmosphere in the country generated by overheated rhetoric and the irrationality that has … Continue reading
Posted in culture, current affairs, history, Life, Politics
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If You Can’t Play Nicely With Your Toys…
We finally have our Kennedy Moment in the current political climate. Saturday, January 8th, 2011, is likely to go down as exactly that in the “Where were you when?” canon. On that day, Jared Lee Loughner, age 22, went on … Continue reading
Posted in culture, current affairs, Philosophy, Politics
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