August 21, 2020

Just heard from an old friend..

We worked together for about 10 years. We got along great, even though he listened to Rush Limp Paw every day. Today he wrote, "Trump has made me a yellow dog Democrat." There is hope. BTW, he now lives in ME. I'll try to convince him to vote for Sara.

August 20, 2020

After reading Mary L. Trump's book, I almost feel sorry for the man.

Almost, but not quite.

August 11, 2020

FB is blowing up!

My entire newsfeed is about Biden/Harris and the campaign.
Let's get to work gang. We need this ticket.

August 11, 2020

The Dark Side of Being a Female Shark Researcher

I was 21 years old when I encountered the place where sharks and television intersect. It was my first research internship, working with a famous shark scientist I had long admired but only just met. My second week, I was on a boat with a film crew, chumming for sharks in the background while the senior scientist dispensed expertise in the foreground. At one point, the film crew suggested I sit next to my hero on camera and repeat the prompt: “So, [Dr. Hero], why did you become a shark scientist?”



For the beautiful green-eyed assistants, of course,” he replied, gesturing at me. I froze, silent, a nervous half-smile on my face.

Don’t worry,” a member of the film crew assured me afterward. “We won’t use it.” I felt a wash of relief and gratitude. It was years before I thought to wonder why I’d felt I was the one who would have looked bad if they had.


This isn’t the worst experience I’ve had as a woman in shark science, or even in the top 10. It barely makes my list at all. I remember it mainly for how small and ashamed it made me feel in the first moments of my career as a scientist; for the way his joke told me clearly who I was to him, and how he thought I fit into the story.

<snip>
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-dark-side-of-being-a-female-shark-researcher

August 4, 2020

The most dangerous person

"The most dangerous person in a democratic society is one who doesn't know, (and it's ok not to know), a person who doesn't know but thinks he does and has the power to affect other people's lives." Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

July 29, 2020

America's Children are our most precious resource.

They are America's future. Some will be leaders. Some will be scientists, inventors. They are too precious to squander by reopening schools without proper health and safety measures in place. Sadly, too many "leaders" are following Betsy DeVos' playbook, demanding in person classes without sufficient PPE or social distancing. In other places, schools will be teaching remotely without equal access to technology or broadband internet. Unfortunately, the students without equal access to remote learning will be students of color living in underserved communities, and they will be left behind while their more privileged peers will get a head start in life.

July 26, 2020

Some thoughts about the murder of George Floyd

As I understand it, Mr. Floyd was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
I have never seen a report which confirms that the bill in question was in fact counterfeit. That is something I would like to know.
If the bill was in fact counterfeit, I haven't seen any reports as to whether or not he had any more in his possession that day, nor any reports of an investigation into how he happened to have one. It seems to me that this is the kind of information which the Secret Service would desperately want to know.
Of course, even if he were guilty of knowingly passing counterfeit money, the punishment he received most emphatically did not fit the "crime".

July 21, 2020

Not even Nixon

Richard Nixon would not have dared to send Federal agents into American cities to detain unarmed people who were exercising their Constitutional rights. Dolt45 is truly desperate, as are his sycophantic advisors.

July 18, 2020

Rude Pundit: Portland Becomes the Testing Ground for the Next Level of Trump Fuckery

https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2020/07/portland-becomes-testing-ground-for.html

What follows is a list of actions by day on, near, or against federal property, and, gotta tell you, it's just fuckin' embarrassing and overwrought, like trying to hype D-Grade meat as a quality Trump steak. This is really from the DHS doc:


For three days, apparently anarchists violently spray-painted graffiti. I'm not really sure how you do that. Maybe you scream, "Fuck Trump" as you write that. Maybe you punch the wall. What I'm saying here is that you kind of water down your accusations of violence if you include wanton tagging in the category. Basically, you look like a pussy or a drama queen, which is really the two modes that Trump and his lackeys operate in.

And even when Secretary Wolf's weak-ass list of alleged crimes gets to more serious stuff, any credibility has been destroyed by the image of the federal government shitting itself before the terrorism of the graffiti artists. Oh, and it's destroyed by the fact that most of it is complete hyperbole.

June 14, 2020

Perhaps the Dotard is doing us a favor inadvertantly.

Before the Tulsa Rally was announced how many white Americans knew of the significance of Juneteenth, or of the Greenwood Massacre? I dare say very few, but many more do now, thanks to the extensive coverage in the news and on social media.
Before the announced move of the RNC to Jacksonville, how many knew of Axe Handle Saturday? Again, I dare say very few, but again many more do now.
This may be a good thing as more white Americans become more aware of the horror black Americans have suffered over the course of US history and we come to recognize more how our white privilege has harmed our fellow citizens.