FRANK ZAPPA FRIDAY AND 70S POP MONDAY ON SATURDAY

Two of my facebook features exported to Real Art.




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FRIDAY CAT BLOGGING

Stella, Winkie, Frankie, Sammy

Be sure to check out Modulator's Friday Ark for more cat blogging pics!

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MINDS NOT HEARTS

Posted this on facebook last night.

I just realized I've been unfriended by two people since I've started talking about Planned Parenthood. But you know, it seems to me that if you don't have much of a defense for your beliefs, if running away seems to be the only option, then you probably don't have much actual support for your beliefs. Just beliefs. And that very likely makes you wrong.

People don't know things in their hearts. They know them in their minds.

This is how I argue, by the way. I insist on specificity. I insist on the use of facts to support views. I insist on informed opinion. Anything less than that isn't an argument, isn't a worthwhile discussion. It's just shooting the shit. That sort of thing bores me.

'Nuff said.

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Harris DA investigating Planned Parenthood

From the Houston Chronicle:

Anderson said the first step in the investigation process is to obtain the complete, unedited video. Although she said an investigation is "warranted at this time," she also said it is currently "premature" to say what crimes, if any, the branch has committed.

"We won't know until our investigation is complete," Anderson said. "So for that reason I will not speculate on which laws have been violated or any possible resulting sentences. Our investigation could reveal state as well as federal law violations, or no violations at all."

More here.

I pay taxes in Harris County, and, even though I know my tax dollars are often spent on things I revile, this really takes the cake.

Harris County DA Devon Anderson is a smart woman. Or, at least, I'm giving her intelligence the benefit of the doubt because, you know, she went to law school. This means that she knows damned good and well that Planned Parenthood isn't "selling baby parts" or whatever the hell these Nixonian-thug dirty tricksters are trying to get people to believe. So, then, why the hell is she doing this? Actually, that's pretty easy to figure out. Clearly, she's also smart enough to understand that there are a lot of confused and angry conservatives who vote in her jurisdiction, so she's throwing them a little red meat just to make sure she gets to keep her job.

That is, this "investigation" isn't much more than political pandering. And straight-up harassment. You know, a clear cut abuse of authority with which she will no doubt get away without any consequences at all. Personally, I'd rather my tax dollars go to something constructive. Like schools, or fixing streets. Or Planned Parenthood. But Republicans these days are all about wasting money on their fake outrages. My money.

Fuckers.

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QUESTIONS FOR CONSERVATIVS REGARDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD

A couple of questions for conservatives currently rending their garments and gnashing their teeth over the fake Planned Parenthood videos.

1. You all realize that we're talking about a non-profit organization, right?  I'm very curious how you reconcile the fact that an organization forbidden by law to profit on, well, anything stands accused of profiting from "selling baby parts" or whatever.  So am I to understand that there's an aspect of this scandal you all haven't yet gotten around to expressing, that Planned Parenthood is in gross violation of its non-profit status, or is it simply that none of you know what you're talking about?

Of course, I'm inclined to think the latter.  But maybe you're all just biding your time on this.  I don't know.  But I'd love to hear your thoughts.

2.  Why is Congress trying to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood?  It makes no sense to me.  I mean, if the "horrific crime" we're all talking about here, "selling baby parts," really is the issue, wouldn't it be a better idea to pass legislation illegalizing the use of fetal tissue for medical research?  'Cause, you know, Planned Parenthood could drop off the face of the planet, totally cease to exist, but that wouldn't stop the use of fetal tissue for medical research, which is perfectly legal.  And absolutely necessary, too, but that's another discussion, I suppose.

At any rate, the only legislative action we've seen so far on this coming from the Republican dominated Congress is to do something that wouldn't really fix the "problem" everybody says they want to fix.  Why is this?

More broadly, what's obviously going on here is that not only are we having to suffer the hysterical cultural consequences of these fake videos created by Nixonian-thug dirty tricksters, but we are also having to suffer through what appears to be a totally fake controversy.  That is, conservatives don't really seem to be too terribly concerned with "selling baby parts" as much as they want to take down Planned Parenthood.  For that matter, the "selling" is actually donating, with an overhead charge, but such distinctions never matter when conservatives think they might have yet another balls-to-the-walls right-wing freakout they can get going.

No, seriously.  It's Benghazi!  It's the IRS!  Hell, it's Whitewater, too, and Jade Helm, and Birthers, and Communist Nazis ALL OVER AGAIN!  I'm so sick of this stupid shit fucking up the country.  You conservatives are NOT good Americans these days.

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DUPED LIBERALS

Yesterday's post, about the hatchet men who made that fake Planned Parenthood video, got mostly support on facebook, but I also got a little push-back, too.  This was expected from conservatives.  But I didn't expect it from any liberals.  And, to be fair, the negative liberal reaction I got was less about the substance of my post and more about how I just summarily dismissed conservative rhetoric on this as inconsequential bullshit.

Still though.  It's disturbing to me that smart liberals can buy into such "controversy" as being legitimate.  Here's a comment exchange from that thread:

Jim I'm not referring to Breitbart at any point here. I'm referring to your argument with Rachael.

I am of the opinion that she had a valid point when she called your initial argument weak. As I mentioned above, I have not even really seen these videos because I don't give them the time of day. I am quite smart enough to ignore assholes crying "wolf," and was discussing something entirely different if you read what I said.

In fact, I think you are doing an excellent job of making my point for me by attacking me rather than responding reasonably to my criticism. Same thing you did with Rachael, which was why I critiqued your argument in the first place.

My critique had nothing whatsoever to do with the videos. My critique was of your failure to avoid ad hominem tactics in dealing with Rachael (and now me). You should know better than this, Ron.

I have the utmost respect for you and am simply saying you seem to have let the emotion get further into this discussion than it historically would. Your page has typically been one of reasoned discussion rather than passionate outcry, so I was a bit surprised at your angry rather than reasoned response to Rachael.

Ronald Jim, you seem to be under the impression that I made an argument about whether these Nixonian dirty tricksters have some sort of point. I never made such an argument at all. I don't need to do so. The video was almost immediately debunked, as these things always are.

The point I'm making is that giving this shit any credence at all is downright stupid. All it does is feed the false controversy. I will not play this sick and twisted game.

Yes, I am angry about this. But you, and this Rachel person, want me to take what has been clearly demonstrated to be total bullshit seriously. I don't know why you think anybody at all should do that. I don't know why you're doing that, for that matter.

Jim, this kind of thing, savage, brutal dirty tricks, aimed at creating false controversy, while ruining organizations and careers, IS NOT POLITICAL DEBATE. It's hatchet work, plain and simple. And until you regard it as such, you, too, have been duped by it.

Ronald Again, Jim, I cannot under emphasize how this, these video "stings," are not political debate. This is not a debate. It has never been a debate, nor is it intended to be debate.

Instead, it is designed to do the opposite of debate. It's all about confusing people. About fucking up individuals who do nothing but good work. About duping the nation. You think the whole Benghazi thing was bad? You think the fake IRS scandal was bad? Birthers? What about Vince Foster's "suicide" or Whitewater?

This is far, far, far worse. I will not dignify it with "debate." Debate assumes a few things about where people are coming from with what they say, and honesty of opinion is among those things. But continually throwing demonstrably fake videos out there as "evidence" for a "debate" is a travesty.

And you've been fooled into buying it all. Not that you believe the videos, but that you are interested in having honest discussion about them.

There can be no honest discussion about them because they are nothing but dishonest from the get-go. The ONLY discussion that can be had is what to do about such sabotage of the American marketplace of ideas. That's it.

Ronald Also, Jim, if you're having difficulty accepting what I'm saying, try reading this Salon essay that gives a nice rundown on how this fabulous "debate" you think should be happening is actually functioning in the real non-facebook world. It isn't pretty. And it's not even a debate.

Excelsior!

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Exposed: The Faces and Fake Names of the People Behind Planned Parenthood Attack Videos

From Democracy Now:

AMY GOODMAN: So these tapes, Sharona Coutts, David Daleiden is an associate of the discredited right-wing activist James O’Keefe, who targeted ACORN and was famously arrested for trying to wiretap Senator Mary Landrieu’s office when she was senator at the time, the senator from Louisiana. And this is from, I think, The Hill: "James O’Keefe was sentenced to three years of probation, 100 hours of community service [and a] $1,500 fine after he pleaded guilty ... to misdemeanor charges stemming from his involvement in [the break-in of Landrieu’s office. In January, O’Keefe and three others were arrested by federal authorities at Landrieu’s office on allegations of phone-tampering." Can you talk about these links? Is it guilt by association?

Click here to watch, read, or listen to the rest.

You know, political opposition is just fine. I may disagree, but we're Americans: we're going to work this out in the marketplace of ideas, and then at the ballot box. That's cool. That's who we are; we're Americans. But this flap with Planned Parenthood is something else, entirely.

The people who shot this doctored video, "The Center for Medical Progress," are Breitbart operatives, the same outfit who gave us the despicable James O'Keefe, whose faked "sting" videos took down ACORN with the outlandish suggestion that they were arranging a mortgage for a pimp and his prostitutes, whose faked "sting" videos resulted in the unjust firing of Shirley Sherrod from the USDA, and whose further attempts to put together fake "sting" videos trying to somehow "incriminate" Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu resulted in his imprisonment for trespassing. The bottom line here is that ANYTHING this crowd offers as a video "sting" is ALL LIES. That's what these people are. Liars. Scum.

I'm surprised, astonished, and shocked that anybody at all continues to take this shit seriously. I mean, even conservatives--in spite of the fact that conservatives believe a lot of things that simply aren't true, it seems to me that when something is so OBVIOUSLY FALSE, that they would condemn it. But no. We now have voices in Congress calling for the yanking of federal support for Planned Parenthood.

All this leaves me with the distinctly bad taste in my mouth of the sense that conservatives just want what they want, and they don't care if they have to lie and destroy people's lives and careers to get it.

Is that what you are, conservatives? Right and wrong don't matter; truth doesn't matter. All that matters is that you get what you want, regardless of the cost, in money, dignity, or morality. This is just some bad, bad, bad shit. You right-wingers need to denounce it IMMEDIATELY. Or you are immoral people.

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It's Songs with the Word "Summer" in the Title Week!

Over in the land of facebook, that is.  Here are a couple of standout selections for you here in the land of blogging.



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FRIDAY CAT BLOGGING

Sammy's belly (and Frankie's legs)

Be sure to check out Modulator's Friday Ark for more cat blogging pics!

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TEH GAY

Although I would argue that, even if being gay actually is a choice, it's just fine. People should have sexual freedom. People should have the freedom to form romantic relationships with whatever human beings they love. Period.

I mean, as if gayness-as-a-choice is some kind of moral "gotcha."

Excelsior!

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PRAYER

You know, I'm all for prayer as a meditative activity, or as a means to be connected to the Almighty, or as a way to send out good vibes to the world. But prayer as a sort of quid pro quo arrangement has always seemed a troublesome proposition to me.

'Nuff said.

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The 7 most dangerous myths about the fight for $15 minimum wage

From the Daily Dot:

What was once a fringe movement led largely by far left liberals has become a major media story and trending topic on Twitter: Workers, politicians, and even business owners are fighting for a higher minimum wage. In some areas, they’re even winning. The White House has recommended a federal minimum wage of $10.10, but cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle have raised the bar, passing legalization to raise the minimum wage to $15. (In most places, the transition will take place over the next five to seven years).

And despite these successes, myths about what increased wages mean for America’s economy and workers continue to prevail, making the rounds in Facebook memes and even real news reports. There’s so much misinformation on the subject that the Department of Labor even has a “mythbusting” page.

But these myths are just that: They’re myths. And there’s plenty of data to debunk them.

More here.

A buddy of mine posted the above linked essay on my facebook timeline.  Here's what I commented:

Remember how when we were in high school there actually seemed to be a national debate about economics regarding supply side versus demand side, Keynesian versus neoliberal?

All of that eventually faded out, though, and it seems like everybody in the ruling establishment settled, more or less, for embracing neoliberalism--I blame Clinton and the New Democrats, all that triangulation shit, for that. The Democrats ended up with a new found ability to get corporate money for their campaigns, but it really did a number on how Americans conceptualize economics.

I am very happy to see that, philosophically if not yet legislatively, the neoliberal supply-side grip on the nation's psyche seems to be loosening. Really, and I get this sense from reading Krugman and Stiglitz, a few others, that it's all very much a balance between the supply side and the demand side, which makes sense because both supply and demand are, needless to say, very important to a capitalist economic system.

But right now, we are hopelessly out of balance, living in sort of koyaanisqatsi of economics. I hope this trend away from supply side absolutism continues.

Excelsior!

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Really, it’s time to shut down the GOP

From Salon:

Republicans are finally noticing that Donald Trump is a political liability. In the wake of Trump’s attack on John McCain, GOP candidates found the courage to condemn his revolting shtick — a little late, of course, but good for them. The problem, though, is that they don’t quite understand that Trump isn’t an anomaly; he’s the latest product of a party that long ago abandoned any pretense of seriousness.

More here.

It is, in the twenty first century, incorrect to describe conservatism as a political philosophy. Rather, it is now an identity, one as deeply held as religion, or gender, or occupation, or nationality. It is an identity based on anger and resentment. Yes, this identity manifests in terms of political positions, but those are just the symptoms of what lies beneath: devastatingly painful rage, a sense of persecution, of us-against-the-world, a deep need to "take our country back."

I mean, look, all politics have an emotional element. Emotion, to some extent, guides all our thinking about the various political positions we might take. And you even see similar emotionally-driven tribal elements on the left. But only on the right have we seen this sort of thing take over.

The anger identity is so strong for them it trumps science and facts, as with global warming, evolution, and even crackpot theories about throwing money at the rich, Benghazi, or finding WMD in Iraq. It makes them take bizarre positions, such as rejecting their own market based health care reform plan simply because it was offered by Democrats. And so on.

There continue to be too many reality-based voices and leaders on the left to allow whatever tribal utopians we might have to dominate: the right's thinkers, in sharp contrast, cower in fear at their tribe's rank and file, and adjust their "thinking" accordingly.

Consequently, conservatism, as a philosophy, has devolved into angry vagueness. It is now a fear-based tribal identity, not a system of ideas connected by thoughts. It is incapable of articulating a clear and workable vision for America's future; it can only fume about what it hates. No way forward. Continual outraged stasis.

And the Republican Party is in utter chaos because of it.

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204 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2015, crowd-sourced tracker says

From the Houston Chronicle:

A mass shooting that killed three people Thursday at a movie theater in Louisiana is only the latest in a string of more than 200 such shootings this year, a website that tracks U.S. gun deaths says.

Forty U.S. states this year have seen mass shooting incidents "when four or more people are shot in an event, or related series of events, likely without a cooling off period," according to the crowd-sourced website Mass Shooting Tracker.

The total number of shootings in 2015 under that definition stands at 204, the website says.

More here.

If we're supposed to refrain from talking about politics for, what, a couple of weeks after any mass shooting, so as to respect survivors, the bereaved, etc., but the shootings are happening at a rate of around one per week, WHEN THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT THE POLITICS?!?

My guess is that the answer is "never."

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FRANK ZAPPA FRIDAY AND 70S POP MONDAY ON SATURDAY

Two of my facebook features exported to Real Art.




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FRIDAY CAT BLOGGING

Frankie, in silhouette.

Be sure to check out Modulator's Friday Ark for more cat blogging pics!

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LOCAL STATION GOES AFTER ALEC

From Media Matters for America:



One of the many ways American democracy has been rendered inoperative. If you want to see some shady backroom deals going on, this is it. Excellent television investigative journalism, the likes of which we rarely see these days.

Oh, and if you don't know ALEC, asshole corporate legislative cabal, click here.

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Armed civilians are guarding military recruiting centers

From the Houston Chronicle:

Armed civilians stood watch Wednesday outside an Army and Air Force recruiting office in McAllen and other recruiting storefronts around the nation, prompting the military to advise its service members working there to contact local police.

Civilians carrying weapons turned up outside military recruiting centers in at least four Texas cities over the past day or two, a reaction to last week’s shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee that left four Marines and a sailor dead.

More here.

Yes, because apparently the attack in Chattanooga signals an oncoming wave of drug-addicted, mentally ill, American-born jihadis attacking military recruiting centers from coast to coast. And they all need protection provided by civilian patriots armed with the second amendment.

I love this country's can-do spirit.

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Check out this letter then-Governor Jeb Bush wrote to the swiftboaters in 2005

From Daily Kos:

Who could forget the vicious campaign Republicans waged against John Kerry for his service in Vietnam? Secretary of State John Kerry received not one, not two, but three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star during his combat time in Vietnam. Nevertheless, Republicans mocked and belittled his military service throughout the campaign. It was a key feature of the 2004 Republican National Convention, when delegates and supporters wore cutesy purple bandages in an effort to degrade the Purple Hearts Kerry was awarded.

More here.

What Trump said about McCain is totally lame, of course. Say what you want about his politics: the Senator from Arizona is DEFINITELY a war hero, and deserves our respect, if only for that. Of course, Secretary of State John Kerry is also a war hero, and, a little over a decade ago, when he was running for president as the Democratic nominee, THE ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY went totally to town on his record of distinguished service.

So I call bullshit on all these crocodile tears being shed about how wrong it was for the Donald to go there.

Republicans don't really care about this shit. I mean, it could be freaking Sergeant York, Sergeant Rock, Sergeant Fury, Audie Murphy, whatever, and his war record would only count in his favor if he was a conservative. There's a lot of things regarding Trump about which Republicans can be honestly angry. Trashing John McCain is not one of them.

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'We Are In a Revolutionary Moment'

The fictional right-wing narrative:

Atheist, communist, hate-filled "liberals," a.k.a. "progressives," run the nation, ultimately seeking to disarm, imprison, even murder, God-fearing real Americans, and to destroy forever freedom and the American way, replacing our democratic republic with a dark conformist totalitarianism.

The reality, as articulated by Chris Hedges, courtesy of AlterNet, in the interview linked below:

If things unravel [in the U.S.], our backlash may very well be a right-wing backlash — a very frightening right-wing backlash. We who care about populist movements [on the left] are very weak, because in the name of anti-communism these movements have been destroyed; we are almost trying to rebuild them from scratch. We don’t even have the language to describe the class warfare that is being unleashed upon us by this tiny, rapacious, oligarchic elite. But we on the left are very disorganized, unfocused, and without resources.

More here.

That is, there's hardly a left at all in this country, and those who call themselves "liberal," at this point, are neck deep in the corporate dirty work they do almost every day. But there is a right wing in this country. They're wealthy, influential, powerful, and very, very angry.

Things are looking dark and grim as our nation continues its long, slow collapse.

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