What else ya gonna do on the way to your next gig?
Mar 27, 2012
Mar 26, 2012
Connecting Dots
Ya gotta be careful with correlations (not everybody lying down with their eyes closed is dead), but when these things pop up, we need to take a good look to make sure there's no real causatives in motion.
This one really bugs me because the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been another one of those "bloated and evil bureaucracies" the Repubs are always complaining about, and trying to defund and defang.
From USA Today:
Don't be fooled - this is exactly what Tort Reform is about.
This one really bugs me because the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been another one of those "bloated and evil bureaucracies" the Repubs are always complaining about, and trying to defund and defang.
From USA Today:
Children's product recalls dropped 24% in 2011, but injuries and other incidents associated with these recalls grew 7%, a report out today says.Product liability is a big deal. It's one of the mainstays of an appropriately regulated Free Market System because if the customers have the kind of recourse that can kill a company (one that's been proven grossly negligent and is thereby in for a much-deserved major ass-whupping), then companies have to be aware of the stick that goes with the profit carrot. But if the companies can buy some coin-operated politicians and first, make it harder to get good safety info; and second, make it a lot harder for us to mete out those beatings, then they improve their profits and shift more of the risk onto the buyers.
The decline in recalls is likely due to companies' adherence to a new children's product safety law, according to Kids In Danger, which did the report. But the advocacy group says that the secrecy surrounding product safety recalls makes it difficult to draw conclusions.
Don't be fooled - this is exactly what Tort Reform is about.
Music
For a Monday morning - Moby Grape's 8:05.
These guys were 2nd tier, but I think that was mostly because they were under-produced. A better producer would've pushed them to write better tunes and to tighten up the all around execution. But this is Revolution Rock, so "the old guy influence of the establishment" is nowhere to be found, which makes for a raw and visceral feel. You just play; you let it happen; you turn it loose in the cosmos and it goes where it goes, man.
Anyway, it's easy to hear where guys like Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot came from in this cut.
These guys were 2nd tier, but I think that was mostly because they were under-produced. A better producer would've pushed them to write better tunes and to tighten up the all around execution. But this is Revolution Rock, so "the old guy influence of the establishment" is nowhere to be found, which makes for a raw and visceral feel. You just play; you let it happen; you turn it loose in the cosmos and it goes where it goes, man.
Anyway, it's easy to hear where guys like Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot came from in this cut.
Cue The Silliness
Get ready for the PhotoShop versions, which should start to surface any minute now.
Mar 23, 2012
Perspective
Abortion is about the biggest decision anybody is ever likely to have to make.
Which is pretty much why government should probably stay out of it.
Which is exactly why "conservatives" should be against letting the government anywhere near it.
hat tip = bluegal via facebook
I Love A Parody
You've prob'ly seen this junk before - surely you have some chowderhead relative or a half-bright buddy who sends you those emails everybody loves.
Here's an interesting little twist courtesy of shortpacked.com.
(hat tip = JG)
Once you get to the site, mouse over the figures in the painting for the commentary.
Here's an interesting little twist courtesy of shortpacked.com.
(hat tip = JG)
Once you get to the site, mouse over the figures in the painting for the commentary.
Voter ID
Getting on airplanes and driving cars and cashing checks and having a drink are all things I dearly love being able to do.
But I actually have an obligation to go out and vote. It's my right, and since every right carries a responsibility, it's the duty of everybody in this country to participate in our little experiment in self-government.
So I have to insist that you get the fuck outa my way and let me do it. Thank you.
According To Pew
“Too Much” Religious Talk by Politicians
I won't go along with the part about "most people think churches should stay out of politics altogether", but I do think we've been flirting with disaster by allowing religious leaders to enact certain of their beliefs into law.
The US was founded by people who generally indicated they held religious beliefs that ran from Full-On Ayatollah to 'meh', and a lot of them mentioned God in public and in private - usually, I think, more as a rhetorical device than anything else, but maybe that's just me. Here's my deal though: the US was founded by guys who believed in a variety of tenets from the Judeo-Christian smorgasbord, so it's almost a flat-out lie to say "this is a Christian Nation". Can we knock that shit off now please?
I won't go along with the part about "most people think churches should stay out of politics altogether", but I do think we've been flirting with disaster by allowing religious leaders to enact certain of their beliefs into law.
The US was founded by people who generally indicated they held religious beliefs that ran from Full-On Ayatollah to 'meh', and a lot of them mentioned God in public and in private - usually, I think, more as a rhetorical device than anything else, but maybe that's just me. Here's my deal though: the US was founded by guys who believed in a variety of tenets from the Judeo-Christian smorgasbord, so it's almost a flat-out lie to say "this is a Christian Nation". Can we knock that shit off now please?
Mar 22, 2012
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