Archive for August, 2010
Is BP an Oil Company or a Criminal Enterprise?
Or both: While the world was focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a BP refinery here released huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the air that went unnoticed by residents until many saw their children come down with respiratory problems. For 40 days after a piece of equipment critical to the [...]
August 30, 2010
· 
John Cole · 
111 Comments
Posted in: Assholes, Free Markets Solve Everything
I Know One Johnny Who Couldn’t Conform
Adding to Mistermix’s post, I’m actually very, very troubled by the turn of events the past few decades. I don’t know what to pin the blame on, whether it be overly cautious parents forcing the hands of teachers, lawsuits forcing the hand schools, distortions in the media of how violent society and our schools are, [...]
August 30, 2010
· John Cole · 187 Comments
Posted in: Domestic Affairs
Town Halls, Revisited
Some (slightly) positive news for a Monday morning: Q: What are people in your district saying about the health care law? A: What has struck me decisively is how the public mood has switched from sort of the 30,000 foot policy debate of last August and has pivoted to very practical implementation-related questions today. The [...]
August 30, 2010
· Kay · 76 Comments
Posted in: Domestic Affairs, Election 2010
Why Johnny Can’t Conform
This post has a pretty chilling list of invasions of student privacy: The increasing use of student surveillance and intrusion of school districts into students’ extra-curricular conduct should alarm us all. Whether it is a district surveilling students in their bedrooms via webcam, conducting random drug or locker searches, strip-searching students, lowering the standard for searching students to “reasonable [...]
August 30, 2010
· mistermix · 72 Comments
Posted in: Fucked-up-edness, General Stupidity, Popular Culture, The War on Your Neighbor, aka the War on Drugs
Playing Her Age
I finally saw The Girl Who Played with Fire yesterday. This is Lena Endre, the actress who plays Erika Berger in the series. She’s obviously a beautiful woman, but what’s quite striking about her is that, unlike almost every American actress around her age (she’s 55), she doesn’t appear to have had a half dozen [...]
August 30, 2010
· mistermix · 76 Comments
Posted in: Movies
Early Morning Open Thread: Dog Rescue (Reciprocated)
From commentor Felonious Wench: This is Kira, our Lab/Beagle mix. I had made up the bed 2 minutes before she wrecked it. She’s a cat-chaser, a plant-destroyer, a midnight-barker, and a general chaos machine. We adore her. 2 years ago, I decided it was time for a dog. I was home a lot by myself [...]
August 30, 2010
· Anne Laurie · 32 Comments
Posted in: Dog Blogging, Open Thread, Pet Rescue
Open Thread
Pre-season football really is not that great. On the upside, it is keeping Ben out of bars. Also, would someone get Tim Tebow and Troy Aikman a room. Please? *** Update *** Is S1 of Dr. Who just not in HD for some reason?
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 114 Comments
Posted in: Sports
The Simple Life
I saw this in a parking lot the other day. It’s a car covered with stickers (there were as many or more on the sides), but one stood out: “Simplify”. Click for a bigger version, and consider this an open thread.
August 29, 2010
· mistermix · 63 Comments
Posted in: Open Thread
Toxic Media Export
America’s always been proud of our gift for inventing both political and media tropes that become popular around the globe. But “our” latest inspiration, probably not so much: KYOTO, Japan — The demonstrators appeared one day in December, just as children at an elementary school for ethnic Koreans were cleaning up for lunch. The group [...]
August 29, 2010
· Anne Laurie · 51 Comments
Posted in: Flash Mob of Hate, Foreign Affairs, Teabagger Stupidity, We Are All Mayans Now
Alright, Geezers
Apparently every single non-insane blue hair in America has stopped their Mercury Marquis Medicare sled on the way home from the early bird special to inform me that not everyone over the age of 50 has lost their mind. So, sorry for generalizing. Although I’m betting this “apology” doesn’t help much.
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 156 Comments
Posted in: Get off my grass you damned kids
On the Upside, No One Was Lynched
So now we’re burning mosques: Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb. Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of [...]
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 211 Comments
Posted in: Domestic Affairs, Green Balloons
Figured It Out
I’m watching episode four of Season 1 of Torchwood (Cyberwoman) while folding clothes and ironing, and I figured out why I am loving this show so much even though it is uber cheesy. Torchwood is the British Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was one of my favorite series of all time. Guess I’m just a [...]
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 66 Comments
Posted in: Open Thread
Fantasy Football
A message from the Commish: Yes, downsizing is even hitting fantasy football! In this case it’s a good thing. I was surprised (and pleased) at the response to this idea. I never thought we’d get 20 teams, let alone 30 or 40. Please bear with your Commish as I take a step back and reset [...]
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 42 Comments
Posted in: Open Thread
Dead To Rights
I’d say Frank Rich has these guys pegged pretty accurately.
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 149 Comments
Posted in: Glibertarianism, Teabagger Stupidity
Open Thread
Continuing my self-imposed media blackout this weekend, and apparently my desktop computer has decided to help me. I have no idea what has happened, but I shut down my computer for two days, fired it back up this morning, and it now no longer connects to the internet. My laptop works with the wireless, but [...]
August 29, 2010
· John Cole · 42 Comments
Posted in: Open Thread
