June 24, 2016

A massive blow to mediocre white people coasting on their racial privilege

Abigail Fisher’s Supreme Court loss

Amanda Marcotte writes in Salon...

Abigail Fisher, the plaintiff in the latest round of affirmative action cases heard before the Supreme Court, is the perfect villain in a liberal morality play about the evils of racism.

Fisher’s case before the Supreme Court, in which she demanded that she be admitted to the University of Texas at Austin despite not having the grades to get in, confirmed every liberal suspicion about the opposition to affirmative action, namely that it’s not about “equality” at all, but about making sure white people are always first in line, ahead of all people of color, for job and education opportunities. That her lawyer, Edward Blum, has made a career out of creative litigation designed to keep people of color from getting jobs, schooling, and even political representation simply confirms it further.

But all this just makes it all the more emotionally satisfying to report that Fisher was handed a huge defeat in the Supreme Court on Thursday, when conservative justice Anthony Kennedy sided with the liberal side of the court to preserve UT Austin’s admissions protocol aimed at promoting racial diversity at the school.

“A university is in large part defined by those intangible ‘qualities which are incapable of objective measurement but which make for greatness,’” Kennedy wrote in his decision. “Considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission.”

http://www.salon.com/2016/06/23/abigail_fishers_supreme_court_loss_a_massive_blow_to_mediocre_white_people_coasting_on_their_racial_privilege/

Aww dey shud letter in anyway cuzz shes PURDY!

June 23, 2016

Police in Pretoria shoot dead two as violence flares over ANC mayoral candidate

Source: The Guardian (United Kingdom)

Riots and looting in South African capital after party overrides choice of regional branches for election

Wednesday 22 June 2016 10.59 EDT

South African police said on Wednesday they had shot dead two people suspected of looting shops in South Africa’s capital in continued violence triggered by the ruling party’s choice of a mayoral candidate for local polls.

Police said they had also arrested 40 of the rioters who were targeting foreigners’ shops as public anger mounted over economic hardships in the build-up to elections on 3 August that are likely to become a referendum on president Jacob Zuma’s leadership.

Residents of Pretoria’s townships started setting cars and buses alight on Monday night after the ruling African National Congress (ANC) named a candidate in the Tshwane municipality where the capital city is located, overruling the choice of regional branches. Burned-out cars blocked roads on Wednesday.

The two killed were shot on Tuesday night. “Two of the suspects were shot and killed following looting at Mamelodi,” police said in a statement, adding that those arrested would face charges of violence and theft. “Incidents of protests and looting continued in other areas while situation is tense in others.”

Violence continued in parts of the capital on Wednesday.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/22/violence-flares-in-pretoria-over-anc-mayoral-candidate

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Violence also continued across this entire fucking planet on Wednesday, and will continue on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday again. Halle-fucking-lujah!

June 23, 2016

Dead Trees Adding to California Firefighters’ Battle

Source: Climate Central

Published: June 22nd, 2016
By John Upton

With drought and climate change conspiring to push California’s summer wildfire season into premature overdrive, the state’s lead wildfire agency has acquired a multimillion dollar arsenal to help it cope with unprecedented numbers of dying trees.

California recently bought $6 million worth of chippers, mobile sawmills, portable incinerators and other equipment to help its firefighters remove some of the nearly 30 million trees that now stand dead across the state, killed by drought and insects.



The equipment is being used as parched southern California landscapes explode in the types of summertime flames that wouldn’t normally be expected until August. Grasses that fattened up following winter storms in central and northern California are expected to fuel major blazes in the weeks ahead.

“The more time that goes by, the dryer the fuels are going to become,” said Tom Rolinski, a U.S. Forest Service meteorologist who forecasts fire conditions in southern California. “As this summer unfolds and we get into the August and September timeframes, the fuels are going to be that much dryer, and we’re probably going to see more intense fires.”

Read more: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/california-firefighters-wrangling-with-dead-trees-20471

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I live in San Diego. Thus, I beg your indulgence for posting threads about this issue, which is ultimately a national---indeed, global---one.

June 22, 2016

NHL approves Las Vegas expansion team

Source: CBC (Canada)

Posted: Jun 22, 2016 3:08 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 22, 2016 7:06 PM ET

The NHL is officially rolling the dice on Las Vegas.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league's board of governors has accepted an expansion bid from Las Vegas with the new team to begin play in the 2017-18 season.

He said Wednesday's vote was unanimous.

"We think this is a tremendously exciting opportunity, not just for Las Vegas, but for the league," Bettman said. "This expansion comes at a time when our game is more competitive than ever, ownership is stronger than ever, the player base is more talented than ever and the business, and the future opportunities for the business, are greater than ever."

The board also decided to defer Quebec City's bid, despite the city having a brand new arena as part of its application to become the 31st NHL franchise. Bettman said the fluctuation of the Canadian dollar and the league's geographical imbalance — there are currently 16 teams in the Eastern Conference compared to 14 in the West — were factors that worked against Quebec City's bid.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-expansion-las-vegas-1.3647754

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What a crock of shit! Arizona, The Sequel. And the reason Quebec City (which actually gets snow and ice in winter!) got the shaft has nothing to do with the reasons given in this article. If there are follow longtime hockey fans here, they know exactly what I mean when I say Eric Lindros!

June 22, 2016

Stephen Colbert Takes The Gloves Off: Gun Control

I don't care what anybody says
He's still got it!

June 22, 2016

If Guns are Such a Gawd-Given Right,

then why do we have to pay money to acquire them?

June 22, 2016

Hundreds of new evacuations across West as wildfires surge

Source: Associated Press



By JOHN ANTCZAK
Jun. 21, 2016 11:51 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Surging wildfires on Tuesday forced new evacuations of hundreds of homes across the West, while firefighters began beating back a pair of big adjacent blazes looming over suburban Los Angeles.

Near the U.S.-Mexico border southeast of San Diego, a two-day-old, 9-square-mile wildfire moved toward a new community and forced the evacuation of about 600 homes and more than 1,500 people in Lake Morena Village. Previously only about 75 people had evacuated from that fire. It was 10 percent contained.

In the Los Angeles area, firefighters stopped the progress of two adjacent fires in the San Gabriel Mountains 20 miles northeast of downtown LA.

The blazes were 10 percent contained and had burned about 7 ½ square miles, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Nathan Judy said.


Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0d369887eb3e438a8faa6f9331c6c5e7/2-big-wildfires-la-area-foothills-burn-toward-each-other

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I can smell the smoke as I type this.

June 22, 2016

I Ought to be in Niagara Falls, NY Right Now

Nope! My wife's uncle died last night (Monday), so I get to spend the first three days of my summer vacation in Tustin, up in Orange County. If you think I'm being callous, I dunno, maybe you're right. But she was never that close to the guy. Hell, I've never even met him!

June 21, 2016

Your Favorite Song Criticizing Us (Mercuh!) by a Foreign Musical Act

Here's my #1 choice:

But you might have a different take. Hey, don't hesitate to share it!

June 20, 2016

Hillary Clinton is off to a faster start than Donald Trump is in Ohio -- and it isn't even close

Source: Cleveland.com

By Henry J. Gomez, cleveland.com
on June 20, 2016 at 1:55 PM, updated June 20, 2016 at 2:01 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio – When Hillary Clinton speaks Tuesday in Columbus, she will continue what has been a remarkably traditional beginning to her general election campaign.

The presumptive Democratic nominee for president is sticking with a battleground map that served President Barack Obama well. She and her allies have unleashed a blitz of early television ads aimed at shoring up their base. And Ohio, as always, is right in the thick of things.

~

Democrats say they now have 150 full-time employees on the ground in Ohio. It's a mix of Ohio Democratic Party and Democratic National Committee staff. In the weeks since Clinton locked up the nomination, all factions appear to be working harmoniously toward her election and toward the election of Ted Strickland, who is challenging Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

"Ohio Democrats – state party, Clinton and Strickland campaigns – are all singing from the same hymnal," Kirstin Alvanitakis, communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party, said Sunday in an email. "It's unclear if Ohio Republicans are even in the same church."

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/06/hillary_clinton_is_off_to_a_fa.html#incart_m-rpt-1

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Yes, you're right, I went there to read about the Cavs, but then I found this news story, which I urge you to read in its entirety, as it'll put a smile on your face.