Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Petty moves from a petty man.

We still have time to mess this up!

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

This fight is for everything.

Wait, what?

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

You are here: Home / Archives for 2008

Archives for 2008

Also, I Hear A Lehman Brothers Executive Chipped a Tooth On a Silver Spoon

by | 161 Comments

This post is in: ,

ATTN: CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and the rest of the MSM

I simply can not take one more puff piece on the sad times falling on the wizards of Wall Street. CNN just ran another piece about the closing of a restaurant (Maggie’s, I think) that catered to the Wall Street crowd, complete with crying customers and accompanying funeral dirge-like music, and I almost barfed. Making it even more ridiculous, it followed a five minute piece in which we learned that the banking/financial sector is now switching to white shirts from multi-colored shirts- complete with interviews of owners of up-scale British boutiques.

While I am sad about the employees of the restaurant, I really can not take another story about the rough lifestyle changes facing the rich and stupid. I don’t care that they are having to sell their summer homes in the Hamptons. I don’t care that they now are opting to fly first class instead of using their private jets. Do the folks at CNN and elsewhere not realize how deeply offensive this is to the other 99.5% of the country? You know, the folks who, during the current economic disaster are losing their house, their life savings, and their medical care, not their lunchtime reservations at a Manhattan eatery?

I may have to just shoot my tv.

Also, I Hear A Lehman Brothers Executive Chipped a Tooth On a Silver SpoonPost + Comments (161)

The ME Mess

by | 277 Comments

This post is in: 

I suppose I should be talking about the disaster in the Middle East, but what can I say? Obviously it is untenable to have Hamas lobbing rockets whenever they feel like it, and obviously the Israeli response is disproportionate but completely understandable in one regard, but for the life of me I can not figure out why anyone thinks bombing the living shit out of the Palestinians is going to lead towards peace. Even if the Israelis are attempting to target only those in Hamas, it goes without saying there will be collateral damage, and killing someone’s friends and family in bombing runs in reaction to military actions undertaken by someone else is a sure fire way to create more terrorists. When you consider they are trapped in the area, the Egyptians are shooting at the folks trying to get out, the IDF is quite literally shooting fish in a barrel. The whole thing is mortifying and awful, but my understanding of the ongoing crisis is as superficial as most Americans, so it would be really stupid for me to try to pretend otherwise.

The situation is just awful, as it has been for years. That region really seems to specialize in creating awful situations, and I have no idea how it will be solved.

The ME MessPost + Comments (277)

CBS Sunday Morning

by | 34 Comments

This post is in: 

Have at it.

*** Update ***

Goodness, a lot of people died this year.

It occurred to me this morning that the absolute happiest time of the week for me is Sunday morning, sitting on the couch with Tunch, in my pajamas and slippers, drinking coffee, watching CBS Sunday Morning, and reading the paper. It may be the best hour and a half of the week.

CBS Sunday MorningPost + Comments (34)

This Is Excellent News For Peak Wingnut Theory

by | 34 Comments

This post is in: ,

Your social science hit of the week.

Together, this group of experiments show that the need to feel in control is so powerful that people will resort to psychological solutions that return the world into a predictable state – pulling patterns from noise and causality from randomness.

The researchers used three tests to connect lack of control with hyperactive pattern recognition (i.e., a tendency to believe in superstition and conspiracies).

* Subjects took a basic symbol-matching test which a reasonable person could either pass or fail. Then they were asked to see a faint image (or no image) in a noisy background. Subjects who failed the image-matching test more often saw an image in pure noise.
* Subjects first recalled a situation when they either had complete control, or they had no control at all. Say, I could compare my time as a commenter versus a blogger. Then the subjects played an investment game where two companies, A and B, had equal positive/negative reviews. However, company A had twice as many total reviews as company B. Control subjects invested in the companies equally. By contrast subjects preconditioned with feelings of helplessness invested heavily in the company with more reports.
* Subjects again pre-visualized situations of control or no-control. Then they evaluated a scenario in which a superstitious person skips the daily ritual (stomping three times before a meeting) and has a bad day at work. Subjects with the pre-conditioned helplessness had a higher chance of concluding that a connection exists between the superstition and the bad day at work.

These experiments do a good job of exposing a flaw – people who feel out of control are more likely to see patterns even when they don’t exist. It is nice that they established the point with several independent tests, however, the next step added a refreshing and rare level of proof. If perceived helplessness causes sub-rational behavior as the group claims then restoring a feeling of control should ‘rescue’ the defect.

When subjects started the experiment with a short questionnaire that reinforced closely-held personal beliefs, a step that makes people feel more in control, the helpless-visualizing group did not believe in conspiracies or see nonexistent images any more often than the other subjects. Ergo the defect (healthy pattern recognition) was rescued by adding back the hypothesized cause (a feeling of control). It would be nice to see this done more often, including in my own field, cell biology.

Anyhow, about peak wingnut theory. Republicans (and Republican bloggers) will spend at least the next two years with about as much political control as a bug in a jar. You can make your own conclusions.

This Is Excellent News For Peak Wingnut TheoryPost + Comments (34)

Eers v. UNC

by | 45 Comments

This post is in: 

Obviously I hope the Mountaineers win, but what I really want to see is a solid football game. I just feel like the Mountaineers were never very consistent this season. It would be nice to see them go out with a win and having played a solid game.

And, of course, it would be nice to win one for the Seniors.

*** Update ***

Based on the first ten minutes, it looks like we might have a defensive struggle on our hands.

*** Update #2 ***

Before there is too much crying from WVU fans, that was a clear safety and the refs made the right call. More importantly, it was a hideous play call. Who the hell is in the OC’s booth? Don Nehlen?

*** Update #3 ***

31-30, Eeers. A win is a win, so I will take it. You know you are a Mountaineer fan when you intercept the ball with under two minutes left, and are convinced as your LB is running it back that he will fumble it, the other team will pick it up and run it back, so you are standing in your living room screaming “GO DOWN GO DOWN GO DOWN DAMNIT TO HELL JUST GO DOWN!”

At any rate, seemed like a clean game with minimal scrapping and no cheap shots, which really reflects well on WVU and UNC. Good game.

Eers v. UNCPost + Comments (45)