shsilver.)MTA Rip Off — An excellently cranky letter about a ticket. Apropos of that, the somewhat amusing story of my long-ago parking ticket, with extensive ramifications and legal idiocy. I won, but it definitely was not worth the cost.
Brewster Rockit on the threshold for outrage — 386, anyone?
Liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to IQ — This makes me laugh. I don't believe it, but it does make me laugh. PZ Myers explains why the study is bs.
Afflicting the Afflicted — Paul Krugman on the Healthcare Reform summit, and the Republican ideas. While some people would gain insurance, the people losing insurance would be those who need it most. Under the Republican plan, the American health care system would become even more brutal than it is now. And yet ordinary people still vote for them.
The End of the Tea Party — Right-wing populist fads catch our attention -- but they burn out quickly. Money shot: "the idea that there is a "conservatism" that is measured, responsible, decent, and worthy of the word is a bit of a myth." In a word, yes. Hell, in their own words, yes. And no, I really don't think the Tea Party is going away any time soon. Not til the economy and unemployment get sorted out. I just wish their outrage were based on actual factual information instead of the drumbeat of conservative rhetoric. It would be nice for a start if the Tea Party recognized that the ballooning deficits, the bank bailouts and the foreign wars originated with Bush — a noted Republican and decidedly not a Socialist — and not Obama.
Can We Have Our Electricity Back, Please? — Anti-Chinese pogroms in 19th century Tacoma. I'm particularly struck by The New York Times report on the end, about the utter lack of agency to be found among Tacoma white after the fact.
It's George Wallace's GOP Now — Like Wallace and his supporters 40 years ago, today's conservative populists are long on anger and short on coherence. Money shot: "The history of the modern Republican Party in one sentence: Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller got into an argument and George Wallace won." A lot of interesting stuff in this one.
Hand Me Down World — Specific examples of the sociopathic lack of empathy in conservative America. Are you proud of your Republican Party?
Rep. Trent Franks: Blacks Better Off Under Slavery — Speaking of sociopathic lack of empathy, guess what party he belongs to? The stupid, it burns. Ta-Nehisi Coates nails it, saying: "This is what happens when your knowledge is capped, and your ignorance is boundless." Which is not a bad description of the current conservative movement as a whole, especially the Tea Party and the Palinite wing.
Two posts about denialism, climate change and otherwise — Bad Astronmy with links to discussion of denialism. I was struck by this observation. ...when faced with overwhelming evidence, Simpson’s lawyers attacked the court process instead of the actual case. That's exactly how the GOP has opposed HCR, by attacking the process rather than the merits of the question.
?otD: Who is the master of fox hounds?
2/27/2010
Writing time yesterday: 60 minutes
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 8.0 (slept decently)
This morning's weigh-in: 224.4
Yesterday's chemo stress index: 3/10
Currently reading: [between books]