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V.B. Price's Weekly Column — American Conservatism 2021: Pointless, Hypocritical, Chaotic and Crooked to the Core

American Conservatism 2021: Pointless, Hypocritical, Chaotic and Crooked to the Core V.B. Price

It was naïve of me, no doubt, to believe as a kid that conservatives in America are supposed to preserve tradition, slow inevitable change to a pace the human mind can deal with, be the guardians of the national ethos and conserve resources with the spirit of enlightened frugality. It’s the way my mother and some of my older relatives thought about conservatism in the 1940s. Even then, though, conservatives saw poverty as a moral failure and really didn’t like foreigners very much, or people who didn’t look like white people. They did, indeed, champion hard work but saw “labor” as the “enemy” and were miserly with wages, benefits and social safety nets, as if effort was enough to ensure success without good luck and the leg up of status, class and the “right” race and gender. Still, there seemed to be something honorable about their frugality and their belief in the virtue and practicality of work and saving. My late father-in-law was as honorable and as conservative a person I’ve known. We agreed about virtually nothing when it came to policy. But there wasn’t a crooked bone in his body. He was, in the best sense, an American gentleman — kind, respectful of women, hardworking, generous, neither a spendthrift nor a hoarder and a staunch Republican. He was a straight arrow and an environmentalist. He truly believed it was your duty to leave your camp site cleaner than when you found it. So what happened to his political party? How did conservatives become aligned with a profligate, egomaniacal, misogynist gold-faucet jockey, a tax evader and grifter like Donald Trump, a man who thrives on bankruptcy, who doesn’t pay his bills, who stiffs contractors, who thinks environmentalism is a form of communism, who is a sexual predator and who is adored by white supremacists and bigots, a person who would flagrantly taunt and stalk and mock his female presidential opponent during a televised debate? It has something to do, I know, with a combination of the entitlement of patriarchy, a political party that has shown itself to be generally anti-feminist, embracing a greed for power that is bonded in the psychology of self-righteousness, blaming the other, rationalization and sense of privilege that stimulates hypocrisy at every turn. What could be more hypocritical than the posturing of a Reaganesque Gentleman Cowboy like the conservatives who run the Texas legislature, who recently created an abortion ban that is as deeply disrespectful of women, and as profoundly threatening and dangerous for them, as any misogynist law in America? And on top of that, these conservative gentlemen, the upright guardians of conservative American culture, authorized in that same law private citizens becoming snoops, moral police, prying and spying on their neighbors and more than likely accusing them of being accessories to illegal abortions, all without probable cause. And to top it off, the conservative gentlemen on the Supreme Court refused to give the women of Texas a chance to contest the constitutionality of such law before it wreaks havoc on their private lives and reproductive health. So much for the gentlemanly respect for women. Hypocrisy drives people crazy. Young people in particular find it maddening, especially when adults tell them not to do something then turn around and do it themselves. “Never hit or hurt or disrespect a woman,” is the cowboy gentleman’s code. But not when it comes to abortion in Texas. Hypocrisy used to be hateful, and hypocrites used to be seen as reprehensible moral vagrants trading on their privilege while indulging their worst vices. But we don’t seem to mind much anymore. In fact, hypocrisy seems to be the dominant MO of a vast segment of our business and political leadership. Not all of it, but a troubling great swath of it. Some pundits say it has to do with American “exceptionalism” and the arrogance it spawns. But virtually every nation thinks it’s the best. The Chinese do, so do the Russians; certainly the British and the French and the Brazilians do. No nation can live up to its own hype, especially if it’s so riddled with hypocrites that its national pride seems pointless. Can a whole culture be without purpose? It can be if it’s become the victim of a class of parasites willing to say anything and do anything, damned be the consequences. We seem to be a culture that’s come to waste itself pursuing, as political scientist Richard Fox has said, “endless wars to achieve endless peace.” We’re a culture that allows whole cities to be nearly destroyed by flood and storms, like New Orleans, because we — and the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians and virtually everyone else in the industrial world — denied climate change and its dire predictions for so long that we’ve actually let them come true. We live in a culture in which a large minority of our people have been hoodwinked into believing, by arch hypocrites, that wearing masks and getting vaccinated in a deadly pandemic is an act of political coercion, a con game of “junk science” swindling them of their freedom. We live in a culture that demonizes people from other cultures, that is still racist, practicing segregation in multiple gross and subtle ways, a culture of crippling poverty and obscene wealth, a culture in which poor people are lambasted for using food stamps and rich people are thought to be clever for evading taxes, a culture that boasts of its democratic form of government while working strenuously in some states to make it next to impossible for people of modest means to vote, a culture in which a class of charlatans with political power claim the validity of “alternative facts.” Yes, we also live in a culture in which a still slim majority of us believe what Rabbi Danya Ruttenbergsays that “our job is to take care of one another. To fight for a world where everyone is safe, is free, is whole. All of us. In this together.” But ours is the same culture in which a large minority apparently believe we should only take care of ourselves and let the devil take the hindmost, a world in which even good men, seemingly selfless servants of the people can offend, threaten, sexually molest and generally abuse their female associates and employees while supporting policies that further the cause of economic and environmental justice. Hypocrisy isn’t just the province of conservatives. *Nullius in verba: take nobody’s word for it Comments can be left at the Mercury Messenger. They can also be posted on this blog, but V.B. Price won't see them.   "Do you mind if I sit back a little? Because your breath is very bad." - Donald J. Trump.

Remembering Dr. King, the South, and Some of Her 'Infamous Sons'

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr,who would have turned 88 yesterday. I am sure that Dr. King is looking down favorably upon President Barack Obama, soon to leave office after two terms. But I suspect he would be deeply troubled by the current political climate which has given license to bigots and their ilk to spew their vitriol, exacerbated and enhanced by the use of social media. He would be saddened by the seeming desire to return America to greatness, which to some is code for a time when America was segregated and people of color were invisible and marginalized. It's clear that we have much work to do.  

But back to honoring Dr. King.   

I have come to appreciate and admire him (and all the civil rights workers) by reading Taylor Branch's brilliant trilogy of the civil rights era: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63; Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65; and At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.

What thoroughly amazes me were the toughness, resiliency, and resolve of the civil rights workers, and how they honored King's insistence upon nonviolent resistance. Along with King, the names of heroes such as John Lewis (now a Georgia Congressman; listen to him on the Diane Rehm Show), Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Rosa Parks, Coretta King, Septima Clark, James Meredith, Andrew Young, Marian Wright, Diane Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer, James Bevel, Bob Moses, et al., are forever burned in my mind. Similarly, I shall not soon forget place names like Selma and Montgomery, or people like Lester Maddox, George Wallace, Bull Connor, Orval Faubus, Strom Thurmond, and their ilk.

As I read the aforementioned books, cringing at what humans can do to each other, one thought haunted me: what would I have done had I been a Southern white person during that time (I am actually half-North Carolina Scots-Irish WASP)? I've concluded that I probably would not have been one of the segregationist ringleaders, but certainly would not have risen to the defense of the oppressed. I probably would have (very quietly) supported their cause, but not done anything to jeopardize my comfortable middle-class lifestyle (see the quote below). Certainly Northerners were no better than Southerners when it came to desegregation; recall the Boston busing "incidents" of the 1970s.

Another thing also amazes me: how much the Southern poor whites ("poor white trash") and blacks had in common. Both were horribly oppressed, but skillful politicians kept the poor whites riled about the "uppity Negroes". If the two groups had united, there would have been hell to pay.

I do have a few interesting memories about that period, as I was a student in Virginia (College of William and Mary) from 1966-1970. One stands out. Just after I arrived in Virginia, Sen. Harry F. Byrd died - he was the scion of the infamous Byrd (members of the FFV) political dynasty in Virginia, and the whole state mourned his death. What I remember most about that time is the characterization of Byrd by a local columnist:

"Never was there a man who so dragged his feet through the sands of time."

Here is a humorous memory. I played alto saxophone in the W&M marching band, and we had been engaged to provide entertainment at the Southern Governors' Conference (in Williamsburg or Jamestown). While we stood in formation, who should start darting among the band members, fiddling with the music and instruments and being a nuisance? It was none other than  Lester Maddox, newly-elected segregationist governor of Georgia. He finally asked our band director, Charles 'Chuck' Varner, if we knew Dixie, and if so, could we play it? Varner, annoyed by all of Maddox's antics, calmly but firmly said, 'No, Governor, we don't have the music for it but we would gladly play Marching Through Georgia for you. Maddox stopped, scowled fiercely, and then darted off whence he came. Way to go, Chuck!

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963

"That's part of American greatness, is discrimination. Yes, sir. Inequality, I think, breeds freedom and gives a man opportunity." - Lester Maddox

The Donald Trump Blow-Up Sex Doll Hits the Streets

Get your own Donald Trump sex doll - it's far more useful than the real thing. Proceeds will help Syrian refugees, according to Syrian artist Saint Hoax.

Keep those Syrian refugees out of those damn Trojan horses!

Check out this article.

"You know, it really doesn`t matter what [the media] write as long as you`ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass." –Donald Trump

Memo to Ohio: Simple Solution to the Denali-Mt. McKinley Name Change - Rename Ohio's Highest 'Peak'!

President Obama has decided to restore Mt. McKinley to its native name, Denali. The Alaska mountain is the USA's highest at about 20,237 feet (6,170 meters) above mean sea level. The State of Alaska requested this name change about 40 years ago and a dispute has existed since then.

The name change has caused consternation among some, especially Ohio natives and the Ohio Congressional delegation in particular. President William McKinley, in whose honor the mountain was officially renamed in 1917 (unofficially in 1896), is a native son of Ohio. The original unofficial naming was apparently somewhat of a joke.  

So what's the solution? If Ohio thinks so much of President William McKinley, why not name its highest peak after him, not Alaska's? And what is Ohio's highest 'peak'? It's Campbell Hill, which towers 1,549 feet (472 meters) above mean sea level in north-central Ohio, north of Columbus in Bellefontaine.   

So is this a big letdown after Mt. McKinley in Alaska? Just look at some views of the new Mt. McKinley in Ohio:

View more here. Awesome!

Turns out the 'summit' of the new Mt. McKinley os on private property. But Ohio would not be claiming the property itself - just the naming rights. If the Campbells complain, I'm sure some accommodation can be reached. 

The new Mt. McKinley may not be as impressive as the Alaska mountain, but it will be a true 'people's mountain' since so many will be able to access it. Think of the tourism aspect! And it's only a few hours from Indiana's highest point.

Problem solved!

"You love to bash your city or state — but get really defensive when other people do it. Ohio might be like a drunk uncle, but it’s your drunk uncle, goddamn it." - Ohio saying

The Carnage Isn't Over Till the Last Person Shoots - Wait'll Next Time!

Never thought I'd give a shout-out to the New York Daily News but here is the NYDN's editorial about the Virginia journalists' shootings and its front page, plus a cartoon from Bill Bramhall.

You go, folks!

'How many Alisons is this going to happen to before we stop it?' - Andy Parker, father.

Now, About Your Library Vote....Perhaps You Should Reconsider? @CitizensUnTied

Naaahhhhhh....

From the good folks at Citizens UnTied and others.

 

"Politicians and diapers must be changed often and for much the same reason." - Unknown

The New York Post: Maintaining Its Journalistic Standards

Glad to see that one of my hometown newspapers, the New York Post, is maintaining its journalistic standards.

"There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil." - Walter Lippmann

How Donald Trump Sees the World

From David Phillips.

"An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud." - Donald J. Trump on Twitter, 6 August 2012

Beware of Greeks Bearing Debts: New ATMs Appear in Athens

These new ATMs should provide some relief to the beleaguered Greeks....

Who is Katie Hopkins, you ask? Check for yourself.  

Looks like our plan to eat more Greek yogurt has not helped much.

"Η φτήνια τρώει τον παρά." - Greek proverb [English equivalent: "If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly."]

Stupid Is As Stupid Tweets: An Unintended Cautionary Tale from Larry Nance, Jr.

University of Wyoming basketball player Larry Nance, Jr., tweeted this about Kobe Bryant and his rape accusation in 2012:

 
 

In yesterday's NBA draft, guess which team selected Nance? Yes, Kobe Bryant's team, the Los Angeles Lakers.  The Tweet has since been deleted, but not before attention was brought to its existence. 

The first practice could be interesting.

Read about Twitter faux pas made by other NBA draftees. 

This is a lesson for all of us.

"When you are dead, you don't know you are dead; it is difficult only for others. It is the same when you are stupid." - Unknown

One Solution to South Carolina's Confederate Battle Flag Dilemma

From the pen of Chan Lowe.

I like this idea.

I must confess - my great-great grandfather M.A. Emerson was a member of the North Carolina Company K and fought for the Confederacy.

"You can’t claim to be a proud, patriotic American while you honor the flag of the largest treasonous uprising against this country in our history." - Allen Clifton

TSA & the T-Rex: The Least of Its Worries

This was in the Oregonian earlier this week. No need to comment.

 

"Every victory is only the price of admission to a more difficult problem" - Henry Kissinger

...And My Sister Ann is Alive and Well and Living in Paraguay

The photo below was posted by Charles Frith with the Kalil Gibran quote shown at the bottom. Unsure what the point of this is. Conspiracy theory? 

So I suppose my sister Ann is alive and well and living the good life in Paraguay.

"The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply." - Khalil Gibran

Revenge is Sweet - Even After 628 Years

I took this cartoon from Jerry Coyne's blog.

Kudos to Garry Trudeau.

If you have some time on your hands and want to see some comments by people with far too much time on their hands, read the comments to Jerry's post. I'm incredulous. 

1387 - two years before the Battle of Kosovo.

“In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.” – Francis Bacon

Children Ask the Darndest Questions!

From good friend Caroline Ajootian.

Ahh....youthful curiosity!

"Before you call yourself a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or any other theology, learn to be human first.” - Shannon L. Alder

Memo to Self: Don't Be Fat and Ugly in the UK

Found on a car at a UK store. Looks like the fashionistas have struck again.

Read more here.

"We hear a great deal about the rudeness of the rising generation. I am an oldster myself and might be expected to take the oldsters' side, but in fact I have been far more impressed by the bad manners of parents to children than by those of children to parents." - C.S. Lewis

Former HP CEO and Savvy Business Maven Carly Fiorina's Campaign Gets a 404

So what do you see when you go to carlyfiorina.org? Try this:

You then scroll down past row after row of frowny faces till you reach the end:

I doubt Ms. Fiorina does her own domain-name registration so I can't really call her out for failing to do so. But it does not reflect well upon her campaign, especially for someone who touts her business acumen. 

And here is what you get when you visit TedCruz.com:

"If you're not humble, life will visit humbleness upon you." - Mike Tyson, in the New York Observer, via The Week. 

I'm Sure Glad They Got the Orioles - White Sox Baseball Game In!

Oh, yeah - the Orioles won, 8-2.

From Jimmie Margulies...

“The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.” - Rush Limbaugh

Bud Light: Employer of Marketing Geniuses from Delta Iota Kappa

No comment is necessary, except for 'How could they be so stupid and thoughtless?'

Read more here. 

"Bud Light....the perfect beer for marketers about to lose their job." - Jeff Barrett

She Shoots Kitties, Doesn't She? Yes, Through the Head with an Arrow

Disgusting story of the day: a sick, moronic Texas veterinarian shoots a cat through the head with an arrow, then brags about it on her Facebook page.

I guess her assault rifle wasn't available.

Fortunately, she was fired. Maybe she will have her license suspended. 

The story from Digital Journal:

A veterinarian in Texas has been fired after posting a disturbing photo of herself holding a dead cat with an arrow through its head. She boasted about shooting the cat and joked she was the 'Vet of the Year' for doing so.

Kristen Lindsey, 31, of Brenham, Texas was a veterinarian at the Washington Animal Clinic when she stalked an orange cat in her backyard with a bow and arrow and shot it dead through the head.

She posted the photo of her holding the dead cat on Facebook. She boasted of the kill and said it was a feral cat, which it was not. It was a family's cat named Tiger, one that had been missing for two weeks. A video was posted online of a cat on a tractor on a farm and the poster said it was the one Lindsey killed, but there's no confirmation it is the same cat.

 

This is what Lindsey wrote alongside the photo she posted: "My first bow kill...lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it's head. Vet of the year award...gladly accepted." 

Later, she posted a joke about how she would not be fired for having killed the cat: "And no I did not lose my job," she wrote the second time. "Psshh. Like someone would get rid of me. I'm awesome."

However, as soon as the Washington Animal Clinic heard about the photo and took a look at it, they fired her. Not only did they fire Lindsey but they also roundly condemned her for such a cruel act, making it clear that she won't be welcome back.

"We are absolutely appalled, shocked, upset, and disgusted by this conduct," the clinic wrote on their Facebook page. "We have parted ways with Ms. Lindsey. We do not allow such conduct and we condemn it in the strongest possible manner.

"Please know that when informed of this we responded swiftly and appropriately and please do not impute this awful conduct to the Washington Animal Clinic or any of its personnel."

The now-disgraced vet has also been condemned by the Texas Veterinary Medical Association and by Austin County Sheriff Jack Brandes, who said he would "get to the bottom of it and get the truth, one-hundred percent truth, and get it to the DA and put it in his hands if it needs to go any further."

So though the veterinarian who seems not to care much for cats has not yet been charged for killing Tiger, she may soon be. Meanwhile, a Facebook page called 'Justice for Cat Murdered By Kristen Lindsey' has 17,964 likes and counting.

Maybe Lindsey will learn some kindness and compassion, as well as the difference between 'it's' and 'its'.

Moron...

“We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.” ― César Chávez 

The More Things Change....Oh, Just Give 'Em a Few More Centuries

Well, maybe not, but I love this KAL cartoon from the 28 March 2015 edition of The Economist. 

 "The global importance of the Middle East is that it keeps the Far East and the Near East from encroaching on each other." - Dan Quayle

After Annoying Armenians, Starbucks Tackles the Rest of Us

Several weeks ago Starbucks succeeded in annoying Armenians by depicting Armenian dancers beneath Turkish flags (read about it here). 

Unsatisfied with that, the caffeine company sought to initiate a discussion about race in the USA with its 'Race Together' program. Nothing wrong with that, but the way it was done was questioned. Seems like that program has bitten the dust as well. 

The editorial cartoonists have expressed their opinions about the 'Race Together' initiative. Two examples follow.

CEO Howard Schultz has announced a new initiative to promote understanding and camaraderie among Azerbaijanis and Armenians, emphasizing their common ethnic origin and culture.

You go, Howard!

 

"I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude." - Henry David Thoreau (quoted in Oz.comand The Week)

Oh, No, Not in Austin! 'Exclusively for White People' Store Stickers!

I would not have been surprised to see these in certain Texas cities, but not Austin! So much for Austin's vaunted 'liberalism'!

Read about it here. 

One man has claimed credit for the stickers, saying he did it to protest gentrification of East Austin. Perhaps he could have taken a different approach.

 

 “Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.” - Rush Limbaugh

My Top 5 Picks for 'Boots-on-the-Ground' Service in Our Next Middle Eastern War

"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, when asked about weapons of mass destruction in an ABC News interview, 30 March 2003 (Source)

Dana Milbank Comes Close, But Gets It Wrong About Hillary Clinton: It's About Entitlement

Dana Milbank, the Washington Post columnist, is one of my favorites.

But he missed the point in his recent column about Hillary Clinton and 'Emailgate'. Here is what he says about Clinton in his latest missive (the picture is from his column):

So it turns out Hillary Clinton will face a serious challenger in the primaries, after all. Her name is Hillary Clinton (italics mine):

This week’s revelation that she used only private e-mail to conduct her public business as secretary of state is not a knockout blow to the likely Democratic presidential nominee; she has weathered worse. But it is a needless, self-inflicted wound, and it stems from the same flaws that have caused Clinton trouble in the past — terminal caution and its cousin, obsessive secrecy.

In trying so hard to avoid mistakes — in this case, trying to make sure an embarrassing e-mail or two didn’t become public — Clinton made a whopper of an error. What’s troubling is that she’s been making a variation of this mistake for nearly a quarter-century.

Yes, Milbank got it right - terminal caution and obsessive secrecy are at fault, but they stem from the fundamental 'Clintonian charcateristic' - entitlement. 'Billary' thinks they are better than the rest of us and don't need to play by the same rules. Transparency? That's for the little people.

Bill gets away with it more easily than Hillary because of his personality and 'Aw, shucks, down home' persona. 

The Clintons are not the only politicians who possess this trait, but we're not talking about other politicians.

Did she break the law? Apparently not. Did she do what she criticized others for doing? Yes.  

But she's still better than the Republican wannabes. Oh, yeah.

She ought to learn not to shoot herself in the foot.

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president." - Hillary Clinton

Oh, That @NYDailyNews! Is @WilliamShatner Really 'Captain Jerk'?

The front page of yesterday's New York Daily News:

'Captain Jerk' seems a bit extreme. William Shatner was at a charity event in Florida Saturday night and couldn't make it back to LA in time for friend Leonard Nimoy's funeral on Sunday morning. So he's being vilified in the press and on social media.

Some wags suggested he should have spent about $30,000 of his estimated $100M nest egg to charter a private jet.

"Regret is the worst human emotion. If you took another road, you might have fallen off a cliff. I'm content." - William Shatner

Memo to Starbucks: Armenians with Turkish Flags? Can You Spell G-E-N-O-C-I-D-E?

Starbucks recently created a massive faux pas by using these posters of women in traditional Armenian costumes with the crescent and star of the Turkish flag in the background. Duhhh....Can you spell G-E-N-O-C-I-D-E?

Read the story from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

From the story (19 February 2015):

An attempt by U.S. coffee giant Starbucks to appeal to Los Angeles' sizable Armenian population has backfired after its coffee shops displayed posters depicting women dressed in traditional Armenian garb under the crescent and star of the Turkish flag. 

The posters were spotted this week in Los Angeles-area Starbucks locations, infuriating activists and social media users who called the image offensive in light of what Armenians refer to as the "genocide" of their people by Turkish Ottoman forces in the early 20th century. 

"Why is Starbucks selling coffee using an image of women, dressed in traditional Armenian costumes, celebrating a Turkish state that systematically victimized Armenian women during the Armenian Genocide, and that still denies this crime against all humanity?" the Armenian National Committee Of America (ANCA) wrote in a February 18 post on its Facebook page. 

Starbucks quickly apologized and pulled the posters.

'Turkey has the moon and a star on its flag. Are they in Turkey?' - Armenian official, responding to a Turkish official who complained that the Armenian flag has an image of Mt. Ararat, which is in Turkey, not Armenia (but is easily visible from Armenia and just across the border)

Nice Cartoon from the Aliens in Roswell, New Mexico

Nice cartoon. From Keith Bell in the Roswell (NM) Record News.

 

"Think about how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of them are stupider than that." - George Carlin

The Heartbreak of The Dunning-Kruger Syndrome: A Vaccine Exists!

Yes, you can read about it here.

"To be scientifically literate is to empower yourself to know when someone else is full of bullshit." - Neil deGrasse Tyson 

Riley Cooper: Featured Athlete for Black History Month? Maybe It's Not Such a Bad Idea

In case you missed it, wide receiver Riley Cooper is the featured athlete for February 2015 on the Philadelphia Eagles' official calendar.

Big deal, right? Yes, it is. Turns out February is Black History Month and Cooper is a white guy (funny thing - not many white guys are in the elite category at the wide receiver position). But a few years ago Cooper made a racial slur at an outdoor Kenny Chesney concert that went viral - something about wanting to 'fight every nigger here'. Cooper quickly apologized, was fined by the Eagles, and (presumably) made peace with his African-American teammates.

Still, eyebrows were raised when the 2015 calendar made its appearance with Cooper showing up on the February page.

Here is what the Eagles said about the mistake:

We do not oversee the production of the annual team calendar. We do not provide any input about the players who are featured or where those pictures appear in the calendar. The NFL licenses the production of that calendar to a third party and we do not have an opportunity to review the material. If anything, it was an honest mistake.”

What's done is done.

So why do I think that this isn't such a bad idea? Because seeing Riley Cooper gracing February 2015 serves to remind us all that no matter how far we've come in embracing civil rights and civility, there will always be people like Riley Cooper and the calendar designers around. And their presence indicates we still have work to do.

“Yeah, I love being famous. It's almost like being white, y'know?” ― Chris Rock 

Jeb Bush's Campaign: Hitting the Ground Tweeting!

Jeb Bush's PAC's new staffer is an adept Tweeter. So send Ethan Czahor a Tweet - below are examples of some he sent a few years ago. Let's give Ethan a warm civil welcome! He Tweets @czahor.

Wonder if Czahor is a Catholic high school grad? Just sayin'.

"I don't think a party can aspire to be the majority party if it's the old white guy party." - Jeb Bush

Anti-Vaxxers, Meet Anti-Handwasher Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)

This story comes from the Daily Kos (thanks to Eric Fitch).

Wash your hands after using the bathroom, right?

Here is a video (link here) of the 'eloquent and substantive' new Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who opines on the application of free-market economics to employee 
handwashing:  

 

If we require restaurants to place signs saying that they do not require their employees to wash their hands after using the bathroom that's regulation, right?

Here is what his website says about the Senator:

Through hard work and dedication Thom quickly moved up the corporate ladder, earning his degree at 36 and becoming a top-level executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM. Thom’s 22-year private sector career in technology and management consulting has provided him with a deep understanding of policy-making and the management of complex organizations.

Apparently the transmission of germs and disease by dirty hands was not in the cards during his meteoric rise to the U.S. Senate.

And what excellent timing, Senator! I wonder if he vaccinated his children.

My late mother, a proud, intelligent Tar Heeler, must be rolling over in her grave.

Where do they get these guys?

At least Tillis supports clean water.

By the way - an Israeli Twitter follower of mine says they don't use the term 'anti-vaxxer' but 'pro-diseaser' instead. Nice ring to that.

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

Infographic/Flow Chart: Should You Vaccinate Your Child?

From Fast Company.

One would think an infographic would be unnecessary, but for those who need one, Scott Bateman has it. Okay, maybe there is a dose of sarcasm embedded in the diagram. Well, maybe not a dose - more like a gallon.

Click here for a larger graphic.

Funny, I think our society is regressing. I recall when I was young and my parents knew what things like measles, polio, whooping cough, etc., could do to a child, something like this was superfluous.

Oh, yeah - there is a difference between causation and correlation. See today's quote below.

Just in: an Israeli Twitter follower of mine says they don't use the term 'anti-vaxxer' but 'pro-diseaser' instead. Nice ring to that.

"The idea that vaccines are a primary cause of autism is not as crackpot as some might wish. Autism's 60-fold rise in 30 years matches a tripling of the U.S. vaccine schedule." - Jenny McCarthy

The Great Satan Reads About The Axis of Evil, Part 1: Marjane Satrapi's 'Persepolis'

As some of you know I traveled to Iran in early January for a scientific meeting in Isfahan, a city of around 2 million about five hours' drive south of Tehran. I have not posted about my trip save for a brief description about the meeting on 10 -11 January over at my WaterWired blog.

This post deals with the 'graphic memoir' Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, written by Marjane (Marji) Satrapi, an Iranian born in 1969 who now lives in Paris. I read the book after I returned from my trip. It was a revelation.

In the book she recounts her childhood from just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution till about 1984. At that time, during the Iran-Iraq War, her parents sent her to high school in Vienna.

The book is absolutely delightful. Some would call this a children's book or a comic book, and that's fine with me. Satrapi was a terribly precocious, bright, and observant child and her comments on life in Iran during the turmoil are remarkable and insightful. She's not a fan of the Islamic state, and that comes through without polemics - she just describes what happens (usually stupid things) and the reader can draw his or her own conclusions. In case you're wondering, the Shah - Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi - doesn't come off as a great guy. Yeah, he started out doing some good things - women's suffrage, among others - but he became a despot. Still, he was the 'USA's despot' so he was okay. 

The illustrations are simple and add much to the story.

The book was also made into a movie.

All in all, I highly recommend Persepolis, a good window on the turmoil that was Iran 30-35 years ago, penned by a very good observer and excellent writer.

I also just discovered that there is a Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, another graphic memoir that deals with Satrapi's life in Vienna and her return to Iran. It's already on my bookshelf.

Enjoy!

"The real war is not between the West and the East. The real war is between intelligent and stupid people." - Marjane Satrapi

Mitt Quits, Will Spend More Time with His Money

Great one from The Week.

 "I'm happy to learn that after I speak you're going to hear from Ann Coulter. That's a good thing. I think it's important to get the views of moderates." - Mitt Romney - right before Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot"

O, My! Paying the Ultimate Price for Incompetence: Challenger Explodes 28 January 1986

From the New York Times.

Read about it here and give thanks for Richard Feynman. O-rings, anyone? 

Not the space program's finest hour. It was entirely preventable.

"If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize." - Richard Feynman 

'All Is Forgiven, I Am Charlie' - Est Que La Vérité?

Is that the truth?

Here is the first cover of Charlie Hebdo since the murders in its editorial offices.

Below is an example of the type of cartoons that Muslims found objectionable. A loose translation of the cover: 'The Quran is shit that does not stop bullets.'

Enjoy - or not.

"All too many Muslims fail to grasp Islam, which teaches one to be lenient towards others and to understand their value systems, knowing that these are tolerated by Islam as a religion." - Abdurrahman Wahid

Look, Pa - I (Heart) White People with KKK Radio!

Yeah, we've come a long way, baby. 

This is no joke - I think the station is in Arkansas.

And here is the show schedule (click on the graphic to enlarge):

Here is the schedule as a PDF:  Download Show Schedule | KKK Radio

Enjoy?

"What is it you most dislike? Stupidity, especially in its nastiest forms of racism and superstition." – Christopher Hitchens

Play-Doh Does a Play-Duhhhh. Up Next: The Dil-Doh?

Hasbro's latest Play-Doh accessory, 'The Extruder'. The company has decided to replace it.

Wonder what they'll think of next? I shudder at the thought.

"The incompetent with nothing to do can still make a mess of it."- Laurence J. Peter 

New York Daily (Newtown) News: We Failed Them (@NYDailyNews)

Who could have imagined that this would be the front page of the 14 December 2014 New York Daily News?

Hard to believe that the Newtown massacre is two years old. Still seems like the SOS prevails.

"Where you have the most armed citizens in America, you have the lowest violent crime rate. Where you have the worst gun control, you have the highest crime rate." - Ted Nugent

"Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror." - Eliot Spitzer

The Times of India Defines 'Manhood'

From The Times of India (January 2013). Read the story here.

"In the meanest are all the materials of manhood, only they are not rightly disposed." - Henry David Thoreau

So You Think Barack Obama is a Muslim?

From Jeffrey Levin.

Here's a worthwhile piece on the subject of religious violence from Baby Dokes.

 "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.'" - John 8:7 (KJV)

From the War to End All Wars, A Christmas Ad to End All Christmas Ads

Pretty remarkable, and it's based upon an actual event.

What the ad forgot to mention was that World War I was such a huge waste (more so than most wars) and could have been avoided (like most wars, I suppose). It also indicates who bears the brunt of such folly, and it's not the national leaders. I recall my father, a historian born just a few months before World War I began, describing the events leading up to the start of the war and the miscalculations and stupidity of the European leaders. There was anger in his words.  

Thanks to Sainsbury's and Elaine Hanford.

Besides tears to my eyes, this video also conjures memories of the I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag by Country Joe and the Fish. 

 

"War is good business. Invest your son." - Unknown, from the late 1960s, referring to the Vietnam War

"Tell my soliders what they really fight for and the ranks would be empty in the morning." - Frederick the Great

Is One Person's Terrorist Is Another Person's Freedom Fighter?

The title of the post is what I thought of when I saw this picture, Tweeted by someone named Holly R. Fisher.

I think she is the one on the left.

"The rest of my life I will have to take time out of every day to SLOWLY explain this to liberals. Education is key." - Holly R. Fisher

Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Moron

Hard to believe she really said this. Even harder to recall that a lot of people wanted her to be POTUS.

"I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another, then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence.'' - Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), on the 1976 Swine Flu outbreak that happened when Gerald Ford was president (28 April 2009)

The Secret Service: Finally Going to the Dogs!

Fortunately, the Secret Service has finally gone to the dogs!

"Whenever you're faced with an explanation of what's going on in Washington, the choice between incompetence and conspiracy, always choose incompetence." - Charles Krauthammer

Big Noise from Winnetka: Adam Baldwin, The Last Ship, Ebola, and GamerGate

I like Adam Baldwin as an actor. No, not that Adam Baldwin of the Brothers Baldwin - this Adam Baldwin.  I enjoyed him in Firefly and its film continuation, Serenity. He played a tough guy living on the fringes of society, outside the law, sort of a loose cannon, but a real good-bad guy to have on your side.

He currently plays a similar role, but one constrained by the uniform of the U.S. Navy in the TV series, The Last Ship. It's a good show that just got renewed. The premise of that show is that an engineered virus has destroyed 80% of humanity. One ship, the USS Nathan James (Baldwin plays XO Mike Slattery), holds the key to a cure as it sails around seeking supplies and refuge from a Russian ship out to destroy it, but not before obtaining its vaccine. 

But after reading an article by Tabatha Southey in today's Globe and Mail about the 'Gamergate controversy' (Baldwin apparently first used the Twitter hashtag #GamerGate) I'm wondering if Baldwin is taking the script of The Last Ship too seriously. Southey had this to say about Baldwin:

An actor best known for playing a lovable jackass on Firefly who now plays a significantly less loveable jackass on Twitter. Baldwin coined the term Gamergate, which replaced the much-less-likely-to-be-taken-seriously-even-on-the-Internet term Quinnspiracy, and keeps it, and several foundling libertarian conspiracy theories, alive.

Only a man bold enough to tweet questions like, “What hard evidence is there that Obama doesn’t want Ebola in America?” [emboldening mine] can frame the debate around game-journalism ethics without drawing distracting parallels between the arrangements and sympathies occurring within that industry (free games for preview, camaraderie) and the relationship that exists between film critics and movie studios, or between the travel industry and travel writers, about which there’s little hysteria and no threats. (See “Rape.”) How it is that Adam Baldwin is as huge a jackass as he seems to be without being one of the infamous Baldwin brothers remains one of the great mysteries of this whole affair.

As some gamers might say, 'Consider the gender of the writer.'

Why the title of this post? Baldwin was born in Winnetka, IL, namesake of a famous jazz tune. 

He should be moving out of his parents' basement any day now.

I need to rest now. Way too much information for my first day in Vancouver.

"Rape: A hilarious word (like wombat!) to be used whenever you find yourself in an argument with a woman. You don’t even have to wait for an argument. Is there a woman attracting attention of any kind on the Internet? Consider threatening to rape her. Later, suggest she needs to lighten up." - Tabatha Southey, in her Globe and Mail article

Want Some Fries With That Ebola?

From Jack Ohman. Excellent!

Don't forget the flu - 54,000 deaths per year from influenza and pneumonia. 

 "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

A Book for the Ages: The Atlas of Prejudice

Check it out here: The Atlas of Prejudice.

Some samples follow.

What's with the 'WTF?' for the South Caucasus?

Wonderful!

Thanks to Fast Company.

"Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts." - E.B. White

Equal Rights? Whose 'Equal Rights'?

From Jeffrey Levin. 

'Exactly.' - Jeffrey Levin