22 April 2018

Link round-up for 22 April 2018

Define "alpha male".

Defeat patriarchy!

Right-wingers are actually a form of plant life (found via Mock Paper Scissors).

Seriously?  Metal trees?  In a place with 118°F summers?

Just in case -- some tips for the post-net-neutrality age.

Check out these Soviet space posters (found via Calvin's).  Other Communist posters have a rather different appeal.

The world of football has its standards (found via Yellowdog Granny).

Here's what these buildings originally looked like.

This person could use some help.

I'll never understand why gay Republicans stay Republican.  They're like a repeatedly-kicked dog that keeps running back to its master, hoping for better treatment this time.

This fundie effort to exploit Mother's Day backfired spectacularly.

Right-wing pastor Frank Amedia once raised an ant from the dead.  I found this after I saw him described on Mock Paper Scissors as an "ant resurrectionist" and couldn't resist investigating.

David Futrelle looks at Alex Jones's meltdown after the attack on Syria.

Catholic doctrine has evolved into a maze of sophistry and legalistic dogma, and they can't blame the Devil for that.

Liberal Christian blogger Chris Kratzer denounces the Christian Right and its unlovingness and power-hunger, more vigorously than many atheists would do.

Please watch this important video featuring President Obama (sent by Burr Deming).

Maybe we should stop leaving medical research to capitalism.

The Philadelphia Starbucks incident exemplifies the effects of racism, classism, and gentrification.  Here's more on how gentrification harms neighborhoods.

Christians made a lifelong impression on this person (found via Yellowdog Granny).

Chuck Schumer takes a strong stand for freedom, and he's not alone in seeing the light.

Theocratic Republicans crusade fanatically against abortion, but the actual direction of policy is mixed.  And they've just been thwarted in Indiana.

The global-warming-denialist ignoramus Trump chose to head NASA is also a God-hates-fags type.

This is not progress.

Don't you dare contaminate our arbitrary nonsense with different arbitrary nonsense.

Anti-Trump Evangelicals are still our enemies on most fronts.

Wingnuts love to twist words, but their own actions reveal what they are.

Eleven Republicans in Congress try to start a real witch hunt.

We need to stop destroying our own activists like this.

Online news media depend on traditional newspaper-style reporting -- but it's dying out due to costs.

A classic Christian movie series deliberately terrorized children.

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, one former slave-owner invited his former slave to come back and work for him as an employee.  Here is the ex-slave's reply.

Clerical child abuse isn't just a Catholic problem.

The horrors of lynching in the old South show the hypocrisy of the white Christianity of the time. And this shit was recent.

The innate resilience of the US system of government is reasserting itself against Republican abuses.

This dude went astray even though they gave him his own stained-glass window.

In a time when government is based on lies and delusions, the March for Science demands a return to reality.

If another species on Earth had had an advanced civilization millions of years ago, we probably would never know about it.

Global warming is destroying the Great Barrier Reef.

The Trump administration is trying to push US fundies' sexophobia on the rest of the world (found via Miss Cellania).

Arab gays and lesbians are standing up to religious bigotry and repression in their countries.

Muslim regimes and thugs react violently to the rapid spread of atheism in the Islamic world.

Dark-colored cars are being impounded in Türkmenistan because its lunatic dictator considers white "lucky" (found via Mendip).  He's also trying to eliminate air conditioners and women drivers.

India tries to get tough on its rape epidemic.

Even in China, an anti-gay stance now provokes a backlash.

Before Trump, at least two Republican Presidential candidates conspired with hostile foreign regimes to influence US elections.

The nomination of Gina "Ve haff VAYS off making you TOCK" Haspel to head the CIA faces a possible obstacle.

Juanita Jean has the week in political cartoons.  Calvin's has a Trump image dump.

Shower Cap looks at Hannity, Giuliani, and the week in Trumpian madness.  Trump's Secretary of Education is literally a joke.  A wingnut lawyer claims the media are waging Satanic war against him.

Seriously, Trump is getting dangerously worse (found via Mike the Mad Biologist).  His reign of tantrums and incompetence have created a dysfunctional regime.

Republicans have given up on running against the ACA.  They hope running against impeachment will work.  It's a natural move for an ever-more-Trumpified party.

"Play dirty"?  I'd happily accept all of this as part of the official Democratic platform.

13 Comments:

Blogger Ranch Chimp said...

I havent been through all of these yet, but want to leave a few comments before I have to run.

"Civilization before Homo Sapiens?" I liked ... just my thing, of liking to be able to go back in time to see what once was on this big ball (most folks want to see the future I guess) ... would love to see a time machine sort of visual going back to the start, and the evolution over billions of years. I have alwayz wondered what was here before we even thought ... just fascinating stuff to imagine. Read a theory once, (our time), that so many of the Indians back from the Mayan times, just walked away, lost confidence in the kings and such, thinking they could no longer please the Gods. But not because of pleasing Gods, but because of their deforestation and building the cities and temples, housing, etc ... it just destroyed so much forest and plant life, crops, etc. Reminds me (as far as that theory), of what we are actually doing to the planet today, and how long will the planet, and even people, be able to stand up to it? ... were doing quite a bit of destruction, guy. ... I mean, like "big time", and it's just expanding.

2 links up top .. one comment about alpha male. I had a doctor once, that done a follow up, filling in for the doctor who removed my kidney stones, she was on vacation or something, he filled in. He asked if I been resting, taking my pain pills, drinking fluids, etc ... I was in a hurry and told him, yeah, I'm good to go, and been following instructions they gave me on discharge, etc. I didnt feel like sitting, and told him I was a bit pressed for time, and that I didnt use my opiate script at all, because I wasnt in pain, just had some soreness, but am on top of cleaning and changing bandages, drinking tons of water etc, etc He said okay, and laughed, and said ... your a alpha male type ... but you need to relax and rest ... I said ok, Thanx. I didnt know what he was referring to, as far as this alpha thing, looked it up ... but I dont see it as me anywayz ... neither the link you have. Like holding open doors for women, you linked ... I just naturally do that out of habit, but even for some guys too, when I'm in public, it's more of being friendly, Texas is friendly too, others ... including women, held the door for me too .... I'm not thinking of having women obedient to me or whatever, or want to be dominant, superior over women etc, etc. Frankly, I never even spent any time thinking about this stuff, or wondering to myself, and I a alpha, beta, zeta or whatever kind of male? I'm not even into depriving women of their choice, voice or anything, my daughters know how I am, my wife of 3 decades knows me, and alot of women know me personally, and how I am, and I'm fair to women as well as men. If I sat around and thought about stuff like this, that would be the problem, in my head.

22 April, 2018 09:34  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thank you!

22 April, 2018 09:52  
Blogger Ranch Chimp said...

It's sad about Colin Caepernick and how they are doing him, but I expect that too ... they are going to try to press us more and more into trying to make everyone salute, stand or whatever ... while those doing this to us and players like Colin, are really the ones who are disrespecting our flag, constitution and everything else that we should stand for ... some of these assholes in Washington, do nothing but disrespect everything, and instead, want to have us worshipping huge banks and corporations like they do. Which is cool too, they can kiss all the ass they want in Washington, but dont think all us Americans are going to kiss up like they do. The NFL is being taken over more and more by profiteering and corporatism, military recruitment stuff, etc. Yet, like the piece sayz, some other dude can kick the shit out of his lady, like Foster, but if he playz good and boosts rating, profits or whatever ... he's cool. It sux man.

Beautiful link on the "what these ancient building used to look like! I had a dream many years back ... where I was in ancient Mayan city (guess cause I was reading so much on it) ... it's was awesome ... what I was visualizing in the dream, it was just like actually being there!

Schumer on pot decriminalization ... even Boehner. I mean ... Everybody knows this, or wants it ... pot legalization, the left and right ... one guy the other day was comparing it to the fight during alcohol prohibition, and saying how booze is worse. I told the dude, there was a strong lobby against legalization, pointing out to him what happened in Arizona .... law enforcement, private prison industry, big pharma, and big beer joint like Budweiser were against it ... go figure. And watch places like California, where it's legal, when corporations start to move in and corporatize that too.

USSR space posters were nice.

Metal trees in Vegas? ... I guess it provides some shade, but metal gets hot ... guess it's just art. I gets hot in Texas too ... but I lived in Vegas awhile also, it's a desert, Dallas is hot too, especially the next day after a summer rainstorm ... all that moisture starts to evaporate, and gets humid while doing so ... lots of trees and forest here too, which hold water.

Medical research, leaving it to capitalism ... this is a growing problem, the way I see it, Thank goodness too, for movements like the March For Science ... f**k no, I wouldnt trust corporate science ... but thats what many with wealth want to feed us, bank on it. Another thing we need to watch for, is (a link you had to) trying to tamper with abortion rights ... they been slithering this shit here in Texas on the sly, thinking it will go unnoticed. ... I'm ouuta here

22 April, 2018 10:06  
Blogger Mary Kirkland said...

Yep, metal tree's. I am not looking forward to the hot summer but at least we hardly ever get the earthquakes, or tornadoes. Thanks for adding me to the link up, I'll be sure to take a look at the other links.

22 April, 2018 11:35  
Anonymous Tengrain said...

I'm always thrilled to see MPS mentioned in your round-ups. I updated the ant-resurrectionist to my original post on it when I say it on the essential RWW. Thank you for the nudge, and I'm sorry you had to research it due to my laziness.

Rgds,

TG

22 April, 2018 14:53  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Ranch: A pre-human civilization in, say, the dinosaur era is a fascinating thought, but I can well believe that after all this time, there would be almost no trace of it -- and as the linked post says, even for what little remained, we would have no idea where to look.

"Alpha male" is just a term for a dominant or tough male, and in science it's used of other animals, not humans. Bullies like to call themselves alphas, though. Hence the snark definition I linked.

The football kneeling protests are really the ideal form of protest. There's no violence, no smashing windows or blocking traffic, no violation of anyone else's rights at all -- yet they're impossible to ignore. The fact that the establishment has reacted with such vehement condemnation shows that they're determined to leave black people no avenue at all to express their views.

I loved the gifs of the Parthenon and the Temple of Jupiter. It hurts to know I'll never be able to see those structures as they originally were.

Richard: You're welcome!

Mary: I love those little oddities you bring out on your blog. Where I live, we have real trees in great abundance, huge ones -- but the threat of a super-earthquake is ever-present. I guess every place has its good and bad.

Tengrain: Thanks! The fundies are always coming up with some new craziness, but raising an ant from the dead? O brave new world, that has such wingnuts in it!

22 April, 2018 15:11  
Blogger Adam said...

India really has a problem

23 April, 2018 07:31  
Blogger W. Hackwhacker said...

As always, thanks for the support!

Picking one - the Juanita Jean piece about serial molester / Southern Baptist deacon/ Republican nabob Paul Pressler just encapsulates the almost daily reveals of the Bible- thumping hypocrites among us that you catalog all the time (there's another one that just got busted in Arizona - Les Hughey). If that stained glass portrait of Pressler stays, I hope someone comes along and paints an open zipper on him; that would be "preaching"! (Also loved the Molly Ivins quote in the comments - to the effect that the only thing wrong with Baptists is that they didn't hold them under water long enough when they baptized them!)

23 April, 2018 09:51  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Adam: India has a lot of problems, but that's certainly one of the kost disturbing.

Hackwhacker: I don't know what it is about religious leaders and sexual abuse. Maybe they just feel they can get away with anything, since they're surrounded by people who never question them, and they believe God always forgives the "righteous" people.

23 April, 2018 19:53  
Blogger Ranch Chimp said...

Just wanted to add, good point you make above to Hackwhacker. I mean, let's face it ... many of these religious clergy think their shit dont stink, they are "divine", the "chosen messengers", etc, etc ... they just automatically think, they, because of their position (which followers and themselves put them in that position, not some external deity), that they're immuned to be prosecuted ... some of these ilk will actually go into the court of law, and use God in their defense, same as folks who may use demons in court. Telling the court, that they will answer to God, but not the victims, society, court or whatever. I know a guy, Larry, that worx with a friend of mine, he worx for a good mechanical contractor place, they pay him at least $35 and hour, he sits on his ass most of the day, alwayz bitchin about work, he does inventory control, just making guyz in the field sign for parts and equipment, breeze job (he also uses the company to purchase parts wholesale, so he can peddle business on the side), he is the "righteous- preachy" type. He eats the clock, overcharges the shit out of the company, goes on personal time all day, charging the company time/ hours and even gas, he's a scammer basically (SOB should feel lucky he has that job). The thing about him is, he is also a preacher on weekends (legal minister licensed) at some poor inner city church in West Dallas (and he dont even live in the community!), which there, he has a reputation for hitting on the ladies. I go by my friends job often, Larry tried preaching to me one, day ... I ran circles around that SOB on Jesus' teachings, he thought I may have preached, was a christian or whatever ... I told him, "no, never was a christian, and never had no use for it, or what it stands for, etc. Like LaVey said ... "they wear their good guy badge" ... more like "flaunt it". The guy that owns the company is a devout christian, he has let Larry slide on so much, time after time, over folks that have told the owner Larry was kind of shady ... If I were the owner, I'd show him the door in a heartbeat!

24 April, 2018 07:01  
Anonymous Blurber said...

The video about Frank Amedia rresurrecting an ant must be about the dumbest thing I have ever seen. But I bet he gets lots of donations from his followers.

24 April, 2018 09:35  
Blogger Mary Kirkland said...

Infidel- Thank you. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying my blog.

24 April, 2018 12:21  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Ranch: I don't know whether being a clergyman somehow makes people worse, or if it's the people who are worst to start with who become clergymen. But there's definitely a correlation.

Blurber: The religious nuts always come up with some new stupidity. I'm surprised he didn't claim he'd raised as AIDS virus from the dead so it could do God's work of killing more homosexuals.

Mary: And thank you for writing it.

24 April, 2018 17:50  

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