TrickstaPriest

I cannot even begin to contemplate the level of tension that will exist in faculty lounges when some of the teachers are packing.
 
How many teachers...particularly women but certainly many men...will resign, because their stress level *from their fellow teachers* is now untenable?  I don't care about money for wellness.  IT WON'T HELP.  Not when every time they step into a break room, they FREAK OUT because there's *#%@#$ GUNS in there.  
 
This is on top of bad pay, terrible hours, and immense stress from a zillion other aspects of the job.
 
This isn't gonna just backfire, it's gonna bonfire.

Oh yeah, forgot why I came over here.

NYT has a summary of day 2 testimony.  The major take:  Trump was told, repeatedly that any claim of election fraud was baseless;  this included Barr.  A characterization from Trump's campaign manager is also quite the zinger.  There were 2 'teams' offering their points of view.  Tean Normal was "no it wasn't stolen."  The other team was Team Rudy.  
 
Potentially the biggest reveal...there was never an "election defense fund."  The money went straight into a PAC.  From there, it was used in whatever way they felt.  Given that donations to a PAC are rather loosely regulated anyway...it's likely there's no crimes here.  But some of those uses certainly looked like nest-feathering.  Some Trump supporters might not appreciate that.  (Granted, many may not care.)

But only because they were careless, and were spotted getting into the truck.  That's just stupidity on their part, to do that in the open, in a neighborhood.  Let's make 1 tiny tweak:  that they kept the gear at a storage facility, and loaded everything there.  Odds are, they wouldn't have been spotted...or only by a security camera that wouldn't be able to interpret what was happening.
 
The more grave concern is, this is another case where it wasn't local.  31 people from 11 states overall, only 1 of em from Idaho.  So this is too close to Jan. 6th, in my book, with an organized rally with at least regional reach.  Idaho only borders 6 states.  Parts of Colorado and California aren't too far away.  But after that...the Dakotas, Arizona, and New Mexico...and all of those are quite a ways.  Coeur D'Alene is also well up the Idaho panhandle, not too far from the Canadian border, so even Salt Lake City to Coeur D'Alene is 700 miles.  That is extremely disturbing to me, that they'd have that kind of draw.  (NOTE:  2 of em were from St. Louis, MO...that's halfway across the country.)
 
The charge filed at this point is conspiracy to riot.  Rioting, under Idaho law, is a felony if more than $500 in damages.  5 years.  That should be plausible to prove.  Another provision says, if hostages are involved, it's 5 to 20 years.  But that probably can't be proven.  Under federal law, traveling to incite a riot is enough, and they may separate those from out of state because all they'd need to do, it looks like, is show

 
 
combined with the interstate travel, and they're guilty.  Looks a lot easier to prove.  Same 5 year sentence.  
 
Not sure if any other charges will be possible.  I don't think carrying riot gear or smoke grenades is illegal.

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/season-11-episode-41/
 
Discussion of social scientist's classic book Influence, newly reissued and expanded -- and highly relevant to our discussion of reason, emotion, and politics, because Cialdini's book is about the seven techniques used by everyone from salesmen to despots to manipulate us. These techniques work no matter how smart you think you are, but conscious awareness and wariness might at least give you a chance to resist.
 
Dean Shomshak

The June 4, 2022 issue of The Economist has some articles people might find interesting.
 
Cover story: Russia breaking the "Nuclear Taboo" with near-daily threats to use nuclear weapons, either in Ukraine or against Western countries. Even if nuclear weapons ultimately aren't used, just talking about it makes the danger greater that someone will use nukes, sometime, by treating it as a potentially feasible tactic -- especially if Russia seems to gain advantage from the mere threat. Leaders also must note that Ukraine gave up its share of the Soviet nuclear arsenal for security guarantees that turn out to be worthless. Now, Ukraine didn't have the industrial infrastructure to maintain those nukes, and it probably would have paid a high political price for doing so, so it still might have been the only reasonable choice at the time. But the leaders of every country with potentially troublesome neighbors must be thinking, "Huh, maybe I need a nuclear deterrent." This makes it vitally important, the article argues, that Russia lose hard in Ukraine, to establish that nukes are neither a Win Button nor even an Escape Geopolitical Consequences button.
 
Though the article also notes that the Nuclear Taboo may only have been held by policy elites. Many ordinary people in nuclear-armed countries think it's perfectly acceptable to use nuclear weapons on the battlefield if it would save lives of their own troops. (Presumably, of course, agaionst a foe who is not similarly armed.)
 
Disturbingly, the Russian ambassador who rec ently resigned over the Ukraine invasion claims that many Russian strategic policy people think, or claim to think, that Russia could achieve a quick and easy victor over the US by using nuclear weapons. Just drop a nuke on some small town in the US, and the cowardly Americans will drop to their knees and beg for mercy. The ambassador thinks they're insane.
 
For something completely different: Education as a way of coping with climate change. It's a truism that poor people in the Global South are the least responsible for climate change but are already suffering from it the most. Education ma not help them do anything to curb climate change, but it sure helps them deal with the effects by enabling them to improve their income, change how they farm or conduct animal husbandry, and -- not least -- just to know what's going on. The ignorant and illiterate stubbornly cling to the old, customary ways of doing things because they know nothing else and they have no margin for experimentation. Educated people gain just by knowing that things can and have been done differently, and how to find the information they recognize that they need.
 
The article particularly notes the powerful effects of educating girls and women. Doesn't say whether this is more effective than educating males, or if so, why, though I can imagine some reasons. But the gist is that of all the ways to raise the Third World out of poverty and create more resilient societies, education may give the greatest return on investment.
 
Dean Shomshak

Is it always so binary, though? Emotions mix with logic and logic mixes with emotion all the time.

Given that the Republicans will resist changes strenuously, and will invoke "FREE ENTERPRISE!!!!" loudly...and will fight in legislatures and the courts, and challenge new techniques through the approval process...getting anything done is all but impossible.
 
Note that it's not just diabetes.  Mylan and Pfizer settled EpiPen overcharge claims with sizeable settlements...probably pennies on the dollar, tho.  EpiPens were going for $600 a pop...when it should cost $10.  Oh, and parents whose kids needed em?  They needed to get one for use at school.  And their shelf life is...6 months.  So you're looking at 4 a year, even if you don't use them.  Heck, look at the mess in trying to get the oxycontin lawsuit settled.  Too many parties, too many interests, too much money, so it just drags on and on and on.
 
Our judicial system was built on trying to be fair, to avoid a tyranny of the majority and to assure both sides can be heard.  Problem is, smart lawyers have flipped that, so those mechanisms are used to be completely obstructive.

This story of the bloodsuckers who are consolidating the market for the products that keep people with diabetes alive is just infuriating:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/10/loopers/
 
That our political system allows this to continue no matter which party is in control of our government is doubly infuriating.
It seems we have no choice at all.
 

Just a random appearance in my Facebook feed…

Totalitarian states don't have much visible dissent, even under appallingly adverse circumstances.
 
Effects of Strategic Bombing on German Morale in WW2  (142-page image PDF)

I think the academics who wonder why so many Russians back the invasion are overthinking. For millennia, it was perfectly normal for a stronger group to attack, conquer and pillage weaker neighbors. Successful conquering despots got labeled "the Great." Putin is just playing by the old rules, and the Russian people respond -- not b ecause they've suffered some special historical trauma, but because they *haven't* been raised in historically unusual safety, comfort, and Enlightenment ideology.
 
So for instance, of course Russian officers aren't trying to stop Russian soldiers from (as the article notes) sending stuff looted from Ukrainians home to their wives, who are grateful to receive them. Pillaging is traditionally part of why you go to war, no matter what international law says. It's a compensation leaders offer for soldiers' risking their lives.
 
Russians aren't strange for embracing Putin's war. We're strange for finding it strange that they do so. And I dare say that many Americans, Canadians, Australians, and other folk would act exactly the same way under similar circumstances. Condemning it is, arguably, intellectually elitist. But I'm okay with that. I consider the fundamental work of civilization to be making people treat each other better than comes naturally.
 
Dean Shomshak

What I would be interested in knowing (but, you know, not actually interested enough to look it up) is what continuing education is necessary as a police officer. Is relicensure or recertification required? And if so, how often? Is there a certain amount of mandatory training one has to complete each year to retain one's job? Honestly, I've never really thought about any of this before.

Yes, she is a horrible person who is undermining democracy and fomenting rebellion in her own country just to get ahead in the world.  However, it is good to understand your opponents and the games that they play lest you find yourself playing along.

Apparently, people who actually know Ms Taylor-Greene, say that she is intelligent and a savvy media manipulator.  I'm strongly inclined to believe this.
 
She is known to be one of the GOP's top fund raisers.  Her base feels enormous resentment towards the democrats and the "costal elites" who they believe look down on them and mock them. So when people dogpile and ridicule MTG over a mispronunciation or an incorrect word choice, they identify with and love her more.  That Gestapo/gazpacho mix-up and the resulting field day that that liberal twitter and media had with it probably brought millions in donations to Ms Taylor-Greene's coffers... and if there was a way to know the truth of it I would be willing to wager real money and offer 2 to 1 odds that the mix-up was entirely deliberate. 

This is a different societal ill at work, I'm afraid. Constant source of danger at emergency rooms in cities that have become overrun with people experiencing homelessness and addiction. People frequently threaten and attack ER staff, including with weapons, up here, where we have similar problems. One perk of quitting my job: Less likely to end up stabbed or worse on any given day.

They're holding him on the weapons charges...which seem rather clear-cut.  That should give them time to run a full background check, and the Interpol (presumed) fabrication, to file rather sharply amended charges later.
 
In some ways, just bringing in a BB gun feels stupider than bringing in real weapons.  With body armor?  No legit investigation justifying the use of body armor, is going to be carried out armed with only BB guns.  But hey, starting with the "I'm with Interpol, I'm doing an investigation" is MTG-end stupid.  Interpol would always, I believe, coordinate with local authorities to avoid jurisdictional disputes.  AND, when around the Capitol, the State Department would likely be involved.  There is NO way, IMO, that the man wouldn't have an escort.  

Which invites the follow-on question of "well then why are you wearing the symbols of the slavery?"
 
The man has a right to refuse to answer...particularly when it's a blatant setup.  The other answer I'd also respect would've been "**** off."  
 
Just because we agree with Selvig, doesn't mean his tactics are acceptable.
 
The CMA is banning Confederate flag imagery because it's at least adjacent to hate speech, IMO.  Makes sense.  In a large gathering, where both sides are likely to be present, it'd be foolish to allow what would be such a potential flashpoint.  One can argue that they're singling out the Confederate flag, while seemingly allowing, say, BLM gear or LGBT/Pride gear, but that's false equivalency.

Heller vs. DC ruled that it is  indeed an individual right, but not unlimited. So, his points are moot.
 
On the bright side, since stare decisis is about to be tossed out the window with women's right to regulate their own wombs, Heller might one day be reversed.
 
The conservative court kind of shot themselves in the foot on that one. (Pun intended.)

One would hope, but I'm not so optimistic. When people claim that wearing mask is the same as raping your children (my sister actually witnessed this months ago), it tells me people have stopped listening to reason in favor of whatever fits their narrative, no matter how crazy the idea sounds.

I swear to god, if some yahoo challenges me as a voter I may lose my #@$#

If I may conflate the last 2 posts...
 
Cygnia's article shows why Pariah's article is never going to work.  Cygnia's article demonstrates the lack of rationality on the right;  Mr. P's is an exercise in rationality.  
 
The Republicans and their propaganda engine disguised as news media, peddle a mix of fear, exaggeration, and dismissal.  They play purely on emotion, and that's almost impossible to counter with rationality.
 
Upside:  the NRA's membership itself is declining.  This may tie into LL's point from earlier...their complete refusal to ever even *consider* tightening gun laws is hard to support in the face of so many dead kids.  This makes some sense to be the more convincing crack in the Republican armor, and getting some people to turn away from them.
 
We can hope, but I'll believe it when the elections show it.  Because  they're still nominating the Vance types.  Not all the time, it's by no means a lock-step, but still fairly often.

The last paragraph of that article is especially telling--
 
Moms for Liberty also seems to be concerned with a very specific subset of literature. “Nobody’s complained about the Stephen King books. They have just as much profanity. They have blood, guts, and gore in them,” Holly observed. “So I have to wonder, as a librarian: What are you really concerned about?”

Nope.
 
But one can also argue, define mental competency.  Show me a valid test or measure to prove mental competency...that's accepted as such.
 
And always recognize that the Trumps and MTGs were elected.  The indictment isn't on them, it's on the electorate.

I don't have any peach tree dishes.  I do, however, have a nice aspen tree dish.  Nice, small tray, basically.
 
I don't really think MTG is mentally ill;  I think she's that willfully ignorant.  Do like one line from that story...she's a walking, breathing SNL skit.
 
Snowmaggedon...<sigh>.  Too much like the most overused phrase of recent times...the "perfect storm."  And of course, the puerile need to exaggerate/shock that seems to be endemic with the media.
 
OK, I'm grumpy this morning.  Not enough coffee yet....

Stupid implies a lack of education.  I fear more a lack of empathy.