The Self

Your homework assignment for this weekend:

Starting at about 25:00, try not to think about Leo Strauss or Freddie Hayek (an elite group controlling the herd's animal instincts).

Part 1


Part 2
(at about 23:15 - getting the consumer to substitute your product for what she really wants - "nearly 4 inches longer...", and the lady goes "ooooooh!")
Nuthin' but brilliant.


Part 3


Part 4

Today's Pix

Watermelon Deluxe

(You're prob'ly gonna want your 10 minutes back)



Sorry.

Bad Lip Reading

I've missed these guys a lot lately.

Paulie Boy, We Hardly Know Ye

From The Atlantic:

...Ryan is both a product of and poster boy for the political city. And it is symptom of the corruption and divisiveness of contemporary Washington that a man who has not passed a single piece of substantive legislation, ever, can be hailed as a substantive and deep thinker and the voice of budgetary sanity while racking up an actual record consisting overwhelmingly of renaming post offices, honoring Ronald Reagan and Wisconsin, providing for the issuance of commemorative coins, and increasing the deficit through massive tax cuts.

And guess, what - it won't matter that Ryan is a phony; that his record is a phony.  He's the empty suit that the RNC puppet masters are looking for - a guy with just enough function in his being to sign his name to laws that get written by lobbyists, negotiated by industry shills planted on congressional staffs, and sold to us by advertising paid for by the anonymous campaign donors who will benefit most from the law itself, while "elections" are little more than the kind of corporate meeting where management says they're inviting our valuable input but are really just opportunities for us to agree with decisions that have already been made.

Welcome back to the 18th century.

My Friend, Ed

Ed Freeman is a professor at The Darden School of Business, UVa in Charlottesville.  He teaches Business Ethics (insert oxymoron joke here), and his expertise is quite probably needed more right now than at any other time in my memory.

I missed this when it came out, which I wonder about less than I wonder about why this is the kind of thing that shows up fairly prominently in the foreign press, but never makes the cut here in the US.  I do in deed wonder.

Forbes India:

Business has to be a good citizen in the community and society. The old way of business presupposes the purpose of business is to make profits. This is akin to believing that making red blood cells or breathing is the purpose of life. Yes, we must have red blood cells, just as businesses must make profits. But the purpose of business is usually determined by a passionate entrepreneur chasing a dream to change the world.

Today's Quote

Connections(?)

From The Raw Story:

Michael L. Leisner, the man who became world famous for an anti-LGBT protest gone wrong, has died suddenly at the age of 65. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the father of four abruptly passed away while sitting in his car, waiting for his two sons to finish their Saturday afternoon tennis practice.

I can feel sympathy for the guy's family and friends of course - but, here's a picture of all the fucks I give about this booger-eatin', bug-fuckin' jag-off:

It Just Gets Funner

Rhetorical violence and revenge fantasies are "just talk", so there's "no way we can tie the things that are said and the images that are seen (coming from the Right Wing of the spectrum) to the violent behavior of individuals who're obviously acting of their own accord."

If I buy the arguments of Conservative Apologists, then every time there's a shooting spree, I can only shake my head and wonder where the shooter could possibly have gotten the crazy idea to start shooting people.

Heard alla dat before.

A few things.  First, violent imagery cuts a lot of ways that aren't predictable and can't be controlled.  It might be a good idea to remind the TheoCons about that "reap what you sow" thing.

Second, I suspect we're gonna hear a lot about "See?  Liberals shoot people too", so we'll get bogged down by the usual bullshit of "both sides do it".

Third - As bad as it is for the victims and their families, for the broader society it's not really a huge problem until "the other side" starts shootin' back.

We've been in a slow-motion Civil War Redux for a good 50 years, and I'm hoping we haven't just seen an important escalation.

From Addicting Info:

The incident is being treated as domestic terrorism. What Corkins intended to do if he had succeeded in infiltrating the building is unknown and what his motivations were outside of disagreeing with the FRC’s policies is unclear.

Rebutting the inevitable False Equivalence (Media Matters):

SPLC Intelligence Project director Mark Potok attributes this dramatic increase in right-wing extremist activity to three factors: "Resentment over the changing racial demographics of the country, frustration over the government's handling of the economy, and the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories and other demonizing propaganda aimed at various minorities."

W

Speaking of missing Ol' Shrub - which night does he speak at the Repub Convention?

Is that different from the schedule of speakers and guests in 2008?

Head Wind

Wanna know why "public schools are failing"?  Lotsa of reasons actually, but here's a good one (kentucky.com):

Another committee member, Rep. Ben Waide, R-Madisonville, said he had a problem with evolution being an important part of biology standards.

“The theory of evolution is a theory, and essentially the theory of evolution is not science — Darwin made it up,” Waide said. “My objection is they should ensure whatever scientific material is being put forth as a standard should at least stand up to scientific method. Under the most rudimentary, basic scientific examination, the theory of evolution has never stood up to scientific scrutiny.”

And another'n:

"I think we are very committed to being able to take Kentucky students and put them on a report card beside students across the nation," Givens said. "We're simply saying to the ACT people we don't want what is a theory to be taught as a fact in such a way it may damage students' ability to do critical thinking."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/08/14/2298914/gop-lawmakers-question-standards.html#storylink=cpy

(hat tip = Little Green Footballs)

It just amazes me that we feel the need to send armies halfway around the world to fight The Taliban, when we have our own homegrown version right here in places like Kentucky.

And while I'm on the subject of Theocracy, here's what I wonder:  If your religion is so great and your god is so powerful, why do you need an earthly government to force it on us?

Whoa

When you've got big bad evil Phil (Mr Librul) Donahue arguing in favor of religion and against the "arrogance of atheism"; while the spiritual mentor and intellectual idol of the Theocons' darling du jour is telling us how stupid religion is - well shoot; the whole world is no longer just a half-bubble off plumb, Bubba.  It's up-fuckin'-side down.



This could get really interesting.

Ryan's Medicare "Plan"

Repub spokesnut goes on and on about how people over 55 right now shouldn't even be part of the discussion, because Ryan's plan doesn't affect us at all.  It's all about how Repubs give younger people a choice in their coverage plans, and gee golly, isn't having a choice a wonderful thing? Wait just a fuckin' minute - if having a choice is the be all and end all, how come I don't get a choice, asshole?



And then, she lurches into the "un-elected 15-member panel that gets to decide whether or not her dad gets a particular procedure"...? What the fuck was that? Are we trying to dog-whistle the Death Panels again?

It's A Wonderment

Ever stop to think why Repubs are always trying to cut the funding necessary for the CDC to study Gun Violence as a Public Health issue?

...because the NRA is lying - all the fucking time.

If Barack Obama...