Plus and Minus

• Via Mercury Rising, the Digital Bodleian (Oxford) Library collections.  (I don't know how accessible it is because I haven't figured out how to use it yet.  Also, the links are a bit slower than their appearance, if that makes sense.  Also also, it continues to crack me up that Hebrew manuscripts are classed as "Oriental.")
• Zandar excerpts a long piece from the Washington Post on the gradual dismanatling of public education in North Carolina.  It's ugly.

  That’s right–our state government has maimed public schools so it can offer tax dollars to for-profit charters and private schools with totally inadequate government oversight from the same systems that declared public schools inadequate in the first place.
  
  [...]
  
  ... With an unassailable, veto-proof majority, North Carolina Republicans seized control of this state and unleashed a devastating blow to public schools.
  
  They have systematically pared budgets to the bone. They have insulted, antagonized, and demoralized teachers through stingy salary offerings–and they’ve muted the organization that had for many years protected them.
  
  As a result, public schools have suffered, and Republicans went the extra mile to design a new school rating system that exploited every weakness. It became the perfect excuse to bring private schools and for-profit operators into the mix, diverting critical taxpayer dollars from public schools into the deep pockets of companies like Pearson, sometimes without even a competitive bid process.
  
  And now? What’s happening today?

  Research Triangle slowly becomes an island?
  

Creepy Crawly Creepy Crawly Creepy Creepy Crawly Crawly Creepy Creepy Crawly Crawly Creepy Creepy Crawly Crawly Creepy Crawly Creepy Creepy

• There are reasons for separation of church and state.

  This is what freedom of religion really means in America: the freedom to inflict Christianity by law upon the rest of the people, but any other religion (or distinct lack of one) is not tolerated. I'm glad that Lincoln County finally got rid of the prayer sessions, but the journey to get there was spiteful, ignorant, and discriminatory to say the least.

  Zandar Versus The Stupid.  For the win.
• Margaret and Helen, specifically Helen, pointing out the realities of Planned Parenthood, rather than the falsehoods and lies the Republican candidates for president would like people to believe:

  Millions of women have been going to Planned Parenthood for nearly 100 years. We all remember the exceptional care and the quality of the information we received from the staff at those clinics. We remember when Planned Parenthood staff held our hands and comforted us during some of our scariest moments. We remember the relief we felt when they provided us with medically accurate information that we so desperately needed. And women of my age also remember what it was like when safe, legal abortions were not available.
  
  Contrary to what Republican men think, none of us ever went into a Planned Parenthood for a well woman exam, cancer screening or birth control and mistakenly had an abortion instead.

  No one not in possession of a uterus should have anything to say whatsoever about what possessors of uteri do with said uteri. This is the sort of thing that makes me regret that there is not nearly enough solidarity among women to pull off the Lysistrata strategy.
  

In Memoriam

Robert Conquest, historian (via File770.com)

Mr. Conquest, a poet and science-fiction buff, turned to the study of the Soviet Union in the mid-1950s out of dissatisfaction with the quality of analysis he saw at the British Foreign Office, where he worked after World War II in the Information Research Department, a semi-secret office responsible for combating Soviet propaganda.

“The ambassadors varied between people who were interested in politics and people who were interested in music,” he told The Guardian in 2003. “I wanted to study the evolutions at the top in Soviet Russia.”

Fascinating.

There Was a Crooked Man

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been booked at a Dallas-area jail on felony charges alleging that he misled investors before becoming the state's top lawyer.

Paxton arrived at the Collin County jail Monday to be processed on two counts of first-degree securities fraud and a lesser count of failing to register with state securities regulators.

From sfgate.com; the article is only a little longer.

Mentioned here exactly 1 month ago.

Because "Conservatism" Depends on Not Remembering Anything Happening Over a Day Ago

Why the Iranian government doesn't trust the U. S. (Paul Bibeau, Goblinbooks)

6. Our highest-level officials call for the destruction of their government. We know that Iranian officials are targeting US troops and calling for "death to America." But people in the most powerful positions in Washington have spent decades looking for ways to destabilize and topple their government.

(Links in article.)

It's a funny thing. People in positions holding power almost always demand total trust and almost never deserve it. But suggesting caution or skepticism or even out-and-out distrust on the part of the less powerful group or individual toward the more powerful usually yields accusations of impugned honor, whining about hate, or displays of hurt feelings.  And usually the less powerful group or individual backs down until the next reminder that caution, skepticism, and out-and-out distrust are in fact the correct response to the provocations of power.

In Memoriam

• Ivan Moravec, pianist
• ETA:  "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, wrestler

I Need To Be Out of Here in 6 Minutes

So.

• Terrance, Republic of T, on Sandra Bland and The Talk.
• Echidne of the Snakes, quoting someone very astute about Camille Paglia, in lieu of writing about her.
• The New Yorker finally discovers Samuel R. Delany.

"Standing in the Slide Zone"

• You're not hearing about the lawsuit against Monsanto for Reasons.

  You would think that coverage of something the whole world wants to see – the first step toward the successful downfall of Monsanto –would be a hot news item; a newsworthy tidbit that every paper, radio station, and blog would want to spread across their pages with double bold headlines. But wait. . . just six corporations own ALL of the media in America, so there isn’t much luck there.
  
  That’s why you have to go to sites like Russia Insider or Al Jazeera to find real news outside of certain alternative news channels in the US, and even those are white-washed from Facebook pages, and given secondary ratings on Google pages.
  
  Matthew Phillips, the attorney suing Monsanto in California for false advertising on Roundup bottles, has asked the LA Times, New York Times, Huffington Post, CNN, and Reuters, one of the world’s largest news agencies to report on the lawsuit (Case No: BC 578 942), and most enforced a total media blackout.
  
  When I spoke with Phillips over the phone, he said that he has tried posting the suit in Wikipedia’s Monsanto litigation section, but it keeps ‘disappearing.’ He says that he has also noticed posts on Facebook about this lawsuit get removed.
  
  Phillips points out that as long as Monsanto can keep this lawsuit off of most of America’s radar, then his client base would be relegated to just the citizens of California.
  
  If other attorneys were to follow his template-style lawsuit, which he wrote in English, devoid of extraneous legal-speak to encourage others to also take action against Monsanto, then suddenly the plaintiff count could be closer to several million.

  We shall see. (via skippy)
• Why the Republicans are unfond of the Iran deal:

  The chain of events inside Fantasy Iran Deal is actually pretty simple: Brave Republicans talk enough Democrats into abandoning the deal, it goes under, and Iran shows its "true colors" and the American people demand war and regime change. And in 2017, under a Republican president and Congress, they get that war against God's enemies, because Onward Christian Soldiers. That war is magically won in six weeks and the US, having disposed of a terror state, suddenly has everyone falling in line to appease our might.
  
  It's total lunacy, of course. They can't say it because of precisely that reason. But we know exactly what will happen should Republicans win the White House and keep Congress: war, plain and simple.

  And a war they themselves won't be fighting.  And you know why.  (via Zandar)
  

In Memoriam

Anne Rule, true-crime chronicler.

In Memoriam

• Bobbi Kristina Brown, only child of famous parents
• Peg Lynch, writer (and radio star), who I knew about because every Friday musical cues from her show were posted at The Bleat, an old blog that used to be funnier than it is now.

"Remain Calm! All Is Well!"

You might want to take a quick look at this stuff:

• The Candidate Mendacity Index as compiled for each candidate, via Paul Bibeau of Goblinbooks.  (From Politifact.com, which broke out the aspirants individually.)
• Why you don't want Scott Walker as President.  (Terrance Heath, Republic of T)
• Why you really don't want Scott Walker as President.  (Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet)
• Unravelling the safety net.  (Alex Henderson, AlterNet)
• Some good news from Echidne of the Snakes.
• Zandar Versus The Stupid:

  The problem isn't race relations. The problem is the reality of black America in the era of social media is coming into the homes, the TVs, the PCs, and the tablets of white America, and frankly white America doesn't know what the hell to do about it other than to lash out.
  
  We're seeing the results of that now.
  
  I'm sorry that existing as a black man in America in 2015 upsets you so.
  
  Naah, I'm not sorry. You needed your bubble popped a long damn time ago.

• Saying "Black Lives Matter" without weasel-wording.  (Jesse Curtis, walk on)
• Faked "scandals" and Donald Trump.  (Driftglass)

Annual Amnesia

• skippy the bush kangaroo celebrates 13 years in blogtopia, and yes, they coined that phrase.
• Which reminded me that 7 years (and some weeks) ago, I tapped the mike and proceeded to blather.  Time to accessorize re-energize.

In Memoriam

E. L. Doctorow, novelist

In Memoriam

Theodore Bikel, polytalent.

ETA:  Via File 770, though I am using a different obit.

My Hat Has Superpowers

• Hullabaloo features an article by Gaius Publius, "Serena Williams, racism [and] the subjugation of women," with excerpts from a piece in The Nation.  Gaius Publius says:

  There's much that's scary to confront in an image like this, in behavior like this. Couple that with what's known about her greatness (the correct word for her athletic accomplishments; 21 grand slam victories is a near-unbreakable record), and even ignoring what's known about her politics — more below — this is a challenging woman.
  
  I would even say this: A very frightening woman for two groups, those who fear blacks (they are many) and those who fear woman (there are a great many more). In fact, this could almost be more about fearing and attacking a woman who happens to be black than it is fearing and attacking a black person who happens to be a woman.

  I had heard she'd won her 21st Grand Slam; I missed the vilification, but then I don't poison my mind with right-wing data sources.
  
• Satanist jiu-jitsu.  Doing the rest of us a service.  Article by Amanda Marcotte at AlterNet.  Yes, I know.
• Southern Beale smacks a Tennessee legislator.  (Ableist language used.  Just so you know.)

Broke the Streak!

Happy Bastille Day!  [ETA:  Via Making Light, Jacobin's explanation of the French Revolution and why Bastille Day is important.]

• Why the plane fares have gone up.  (They swear it's not the consolidations.  The ghosts of the pirates of Standard Oil are shaking their heads ruefully.)
• Driftglass goes full Driftglass.
  

  The problem, of course, is that a long time ago the fairy tale stopped being convenient narrative hammock in which lazy media grifters could repose in comfort and instead became their basic input/output system. The thing that boots them up every day. The thing that tells them who they are, what their function is and how they should treat all the other devices to whom they are attached.

• Greece.  Greece.  Greece.
• Avedon's Sideshow features a good bunch of links for further exploration.

Tiny Purple Fishes

• Serious and not-so-serious presidential candidates, one of whom is dead.
• Greece, Macedonia, Kurdistan, and pacifism:  Why the "left" might not be into fighting.
• Obamacare seems to be working so far, so Republicans are chewing tinfoil.  Also:
• The "right" attempts civil disobedience.  Co-optation-wise, that is.
• In memoriam:  Jon Vickers, tenor,  Via Iron Tongue of Midnight.

Before the Blues

• Yes, three days in a row.  So exhausting.
• Via Just an Earth-Bound Misfit, I and AlterNet:  "Psychologists' Collusion With US Torture Limited Our Ability To Decry It Anywhere" related to "US torture doctors could face charges after report alleges post-9/11 'collusion.,'" both from The Guardian for obvious reasons.  (Links to older references to articles on torture here.  Along with occasional statements of opinion.)  Humans do much rationalizing, some of it twisty, in the service of evil; oath-breaking tends to be frowned upon, but oath-worming-out-of is the mark of intelligence (spit).
  
  Torture is still immoral. And wrong. And evil.
• The Pope's a Christian!  Who'd have thought?

Not Anyone's Friends

• Janet Allon at AlterNet summarizes Paul Krugman on conservatives' economic desires.
• What conservatives expect to happen now that marriage equality is law (via AlterNet):
  
  1. Brian Tashman of Right Wing Watch lists 10 predictions.
  2. Evan McMurry quotes a variety of people who are not being rational.
  These folks will be embarrassed to have said this stuff in five years, and in Europe may ask Google to delete references to it. Also, they're not getting the good drugs.
• Back in the day, Brian Epstein ensured placement of the first Beatles single in the Top 20 (British charts) by buying 10,000 copies of "Love Me Do."  (It's in Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation, Philip Norman, Simon & Schuster, 1981, which may still be in print for all I know.)  Apparently "right-wing" organizations have been doing the same sort of thing with books authored by conservatives/Republicans.  (It's called "strategic bulk sales" and is slightly subtler.)  Apparently the New York Times bestseller list people finally figured this out, and disallowed Ted Cruz's new book.  Predictably conservatives are up in arms.  Talking Points Memo for the win.
  
  (Did I mention going into Border's a week or so before it closed and seeing pallets of S. Palin's tome? And that no one seemed to want a copy, even at steep discount?

In Memoriam

• Omar Sharif, actor and bridge expert
• Ken Stabler, football player (that is, Raiders QB.  I only know about football by osmosis)

Paper Like Kudzu

• Yes, I know.  And I accidentally closed about 6 relevant tabs.  So more potpourri.  Deal.
• 'Twas the week before the All-Star Game, and all through the house, both local teams fighting for .500 won-lost stats.  
• So:
• First and foremost, Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Letter to My Son" should be required reading (yes, I know I have a bad reaction to the words "required reading," and probably so do you.  Bear with me) for every American, particularly (1) those who might think they might run for office and (2) every sociologist, social worker, and bureaucrat.  And everyone entering a police academy of any kind.
• Terrance, at Republic of T, on the Confederate flag, its meaning, and the "shared history and heritage."

  Slavery is inseparable from the Confederacy and its cause. It was essential to the south’s economy. In 1860, one in three people who lived in the South were owned as property. Their collective value was about $3 billion. The farmland they worked was worth much more, and only unpaid slave labor could work it so cheaply. Confederate president Jefferson Davis reminded his Congress in 1861, slavery was “indispensable” to the southern economy.
  
  Segregationists and white supremacists like Roof do not distort the true meaning of the Confederate flag by adopting it. White supremacy and the subjugation of black people were the cornerstones of the Confederacy and the “way of life” it sought to defend.

• Daisydeadhead on Confederate Memorial Day.  (Tumblr blog, rather than Daisy's Dead Air.)
• Jesse Curtis, confessing to confederacy-related blind spots.
• Not only the flag:  Dave Ettlin on Maryland's state song.
• Chauncey DeVega on the bigger picture, economically.
• The enemy of my enemy, or what's going on in Ukraine. (via Mercury Rising.)

  The regime has shown little concern about widespread reports of “death squad” operations targeting suspected pro-Russian sympathizers in government-controlled towns. But such human rights violations should come as no surprise given the Nazi heritage of these units and the connection of the Islamic militants to hyper-violent terrorist movements in the Middle East.
  
  But the Times treats this lethal mixture of neo-Nazis and Islamic extremists as a good thing. After all, they are targeting opponents of the “white-hatted” Kiev regime, while the ethnic Russian rebels and the Russian government wear the “black hats.”

• Naked Capitalism no longer allowing comments on most postings.  
• Nathan Tankus at Naked Capitalism on the economic situation in Puerto Rico.
• Sappho (Non Irritare Leones) on the Greek referendum and the "No" vote.
• "Conservatives" assert that marriage is about duty, not love or happiness.  Amanda Marcotte (yes, I know) reports.  (My own suspicion is that conservatives believe that no one would marry them without coercion, which may be true.)  
• Conservatives also believe that marriage is a cure for social and economic problems, which... may not be true.  (Rachel M. Cohen, The American Prospect, reprinted at AlterNet.)
• Echidne of the Snakes on Jeb Bush's idea of productivity.

Isn't that enough?

[crossposted]

To One Side of the Law

Via Zandar Versus The Stupid and Crooks and Liars:  Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General, is in trouble.  Specifically, felony securities fraud trouble.  Mmmm-hmmmmmmm.  The case against him is to be presented to a grand jury in upcoming weeks.

Apparently, marriage equality bad, but fraud good.

In Memoriam

• Chris Squire, musician (bassist and co-founder of Yes)
• Marva Collins, educator

Whooooooo-Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

Supreme Court.  5-4.  Same-sex Marriage is legal in all 50 states.

Excuse me while I jump up and down with glee (not Glee) and joy amd thanksgiving to the Lord.  The Pride parade is going to be especially ecstatic this year.

Court Upholds ACA. Bears Discover Cars.

Yup.  Supreme Court okayed the health care subsidies that help the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare') to work.

Naturally, the conservatives are whining.  And apparently "banana republic" is code for the UK.  Well, no.  But the conservatives quoted, especially the ones "concerned" about the cost! Oh My God, have no similar qualms about sending troops to Syria or Iran.  Because it's dee-fense.  That seems to be the excuse, anyway.

To be entirely Fair and Balanced:

• Not all conservatives are stupid
• Not all conservatives are racist
• Not all conservatives are liars
• Not all conservatives are sexist
• Not all conservatives want me, personally, dead
• Not all conservatives believe the labor movement should return to the golden days (spit) of 1910
• Not all conservatives are whining losers
• Not all conservatives want to impose their religions on everyone
• Not all conservatives are in favor of restoration of the Bourbons
• Not all conservatives are ranting xenophobes
• Not all conservatives are ranting homophobes, and those who are are not necessarily in the closet (it's hard to remember that when they keep getting outed)
• Not all conservatives believe liberals are conspiring against them
• Not all conservatives sling cant about small government and then try to criminalize as many acts as possible
• Not all conservatives are thieves
• Not all conservatives are rich, or think they will be rich tomorrow morning
• Not all conservatives lack empathy except for relatives and friends.

...but some are and do, and those form the stereotype of The Conservative, which is repellent.  Forties movies had the cliché of the Cultured Nazi, but I found that repellent as well.

(This is a piece of the rant that is simmering on the back burner while I absorb Ta-Nehisi Coates' essays on Confederate flag and race in America (there are more; these are a taste) and various postings from the last month.)

In Memoriam

Gunther Schuller, classical and jazz musician and teacher.

In Memoriam

Phil Austin, member of Firesign Theater and voice of Nick Danger.

In Memoriam

• Kirk Kerkorian, rich guy.
• Blaze Starr, burlesque queen who knew politicians

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In Memoriam

• Ornette Coleman, jazz innovator
• Christopher Lee, actor
• Ron Moody, actor