Lewis Black admits he’s an old, old man…
And, after he rants on about how much better things were when he was young, he yells at some kids to get off his lawn…
Indignant Desert Birds
Peaking under the Veil of Ignorance
And, after he rants on about how much better things were when he was young, he yells at some kids to get off his lawn…
Enter the Octopus asks: So, is Orson Scott Card off your reading lists, or what? My title answers the question, but not for the obvious reasons…
Quite simply, Scott Card’s work has gone from brilliant to awful so precipitously that I really do wonder if perhaps Ender’s Game was a very lucky stroke. Or perhaps Card has become more religious as he’s grown older, and that is what has led to the deterioration of his writing ability.
Any way around, Empire was so bad that I won’t read another book by him. Interestingly, it was bad because it indulged in right-wing paranoid delusions about Progressives. The book pained a picture of human behavior that was so at odds of what I know human behavior to be that I simply couldn’t believe anyone had been paid to write it.
Ah well. We’ll always have Ender’s Game…
This YouTube clip has been getting a _lot_ of play. It seems sort of inexplicable– Everyone’s telling Obama that he needs more stimulus, and he’s saying “show me (where to spend) the money!”
And then the Obama team lets us know that they don’t think we’re going to be spending enough:
That’s when it hit me. Obama doesn’t want to be the only one coming up with ideas. He doesn’t want congress doing what he says… He’s trying to get congress to stick their own ideas into the bill. He wants enough people to be invested in whatever bill comes out that they don’t dare vote against it. And he wants to set the floor at US$800B, rather than having to personally fight to get every additional dollar.
Clever, clever man. So, um, Pelosi? I could use a new pony…
So…
The Israelis are terrified that the Arab world wants to “drive the Jews into the sea”. Inflaming their fears is the fact that the above quote is real.
The Palestinians are terrified that the Israelis want to slaughter them all and steal their land. Their fears are inflamed by the fact that, well, they used to own all of what is now Israel, parts of what are now Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Naturally, there is going to be tension. The awful, tragic, asinine, terrible thing is that since both sides are terrified of extinction, leaders cannot gain prominence unless they are willing to spill blood. A failure to respond in kind to the “aggression” of the “other side” is an unacceptable weakness.
And so within a few weeks we’ll see a ceasefire. And 6 months or a year from now, the whole sorry cycle will start up again. Where are the underlying conflicts, and how can they be solved? Until we answer those questions– until one side understands why the other side is terrified– we’re going to keep seeing death.
Bah. Happy Friday, everyone.
It’s wanton frolicking’s 21st Birthday
The headline on this article is beautiful, and scary: Did Bush officials commit war crimes? Maybe, but trials aren’t likely
George W. Bush, at the behest of the American people, launched a war of aggression in violation of international law. He will not stand trial. He will not face censure. The only hope that he will admit to wrongdoing is if he is visited by three ghosts some fine Christmas eve. This is a despicable and disguising fact.
The American people– we who so blithely allowed George W. Bush to take us into war don’t wish to face our own culpability, and thus have demanded that all serious candidates for all offices take the very idea of a war crimes tribunal off the table.
I just hope the black hand of history judges Bush harshly enough to prevent a recurrence of current events. I’d hate for the Bush/Nixon ideas of unlimited presidential power and unconstrained foreign policy to haunt future generations…
Pizza time, in Lacey Washington, shut off the heat. Employees will have to work in temperatures of about 25F. The owners said:
“If you don’t want to work here quit, otherwise shut up and do your job. The next person I hear complaining is off for two weeks. We don’t have heat!! You guys screwed up, not us. You want to blame someone, look in the mirror.”
And
“They know where they work. If they can’t deal with it then there are plenty of other jobs out there,” said Benjamin.
Except, of course, there aren’t. Washington State unemplyoment is climbing: “The current statewide four-week moving average for number of initial claims filed now is 47 percent higher than last year at this time. And the current average for continued claims is 71 percent higher than last year.”
Indeed, it strikes me that if management really thought that there were “plenty of other jobs out there”, they would be increasing wages and fringe benefits– like heat.
It does strike me, in fact. Striking may be exactly what’s called for…
Well, Pink Polo moved, wanton frolicking got a new job, and I… was helping people do stuff. So, we’re back. And to prove it, here’s a picture of our favorite and most indignant of all the desert birds:
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| From People |
Is that a brand new G1 in your hand? I think so…