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Without the South

Leftovers & Links #66 

Well, it’s about time: Major League Quidditch will rename the league, to distance it from J K Rowling’s increasingly toxic anti-trans statements.

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Biden assures Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 that they can go ahead with holiday plans despite Omicron surge.

I want to assume that Biden, being President and all, has better info than me, but based on everything I’ve read I’d advise the exact opposite.

Sorry about Christmas, people, but please be careful and hesitant to spend a day or a weekend in close proximity with a bunch of people, family or not, vaccinated or not. Especially a bunch of old people.

Also, happy holidays!

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Kellogg’s strike settled. The basics are:

• No take aways; No concessions
• No permanent two-tier system
• A clear path to regular full-time employment
• Plant closing moratorium: No plant shut downs through October 2026
• A significant increase in the pension multiplier
• Maintenance of cost of living raises

Smells like victory, but in the process Kellogg's has taken a major reputation hit. Speaking only for myself, I’ll never knowingly be a customer again.

Which is cool, because the generic PopTarts taste better anyway.

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Bob's Burgers bids adieu to Jimmy Pesto Sr. 

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A quick follow-up: Yes, YouTube does ‘subscribe’ you to channels you’ve never watched, never heard of, and have no interest in. Four new channels for me, in the past week. It’s one of many things YouTube does to annoy its audience.

Reminds me of what I used to say about the cable company, or the phone company before Ma Bell was broken up — if ever there’s an option, I’ll be gone. I’m long gone from the cable company, long gone from Ma Bell, and if there’s ever an option, I’ll be long gone from YouTube.

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I said this somewhere else some years ago, and it made some people furious, so I need to say it here as well:

Much of America’s ongoing idiocy traces back to the South. I don’t understand the why of it, but there’s no denying that the nation’s IQ dips a bit below the Mason-Dixon line, racism, rednecks, and religion are more prominent, and Republicans’ “Southern strategy” is very successfully designed to appeal to that reduced mindset. 

The South is only about 37% of the US population, but because of the way Senate seats are apportioned, gerrymandering of House seats, and the electoral college, the South largely controls American electoral power. No candidate can win the Presidency without support from the South, so the best we can hope for are middle-of-the-roadsters like Biden and Pelosi, Clinton and Clinton and Obama.

Without the South, I believe the USA would have universal health care, racism and anti-Semitism would be declining instead of resurgent, we wouldn’t have merely talked about climate change for the past 30 years, and we’d have a colony on Mars.

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And speaking of stupid, it looks like we’re going back to full COVID — overflowing hospitals, and maybe shutting down the economy a second time — all because the moronic right-wing refuses to wear a piece of protective paper on their faces, and won’t get a lifesaving jab in the arm.

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Fauci gets grouchy, and I don’t understand why it’s taken him so many months and death threats to lose a little bit of his temper.

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With too few nurses, it won’t take much to overwhelm hospitals this winter. 

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Dinosaur egg found. 

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Bad news if you’ve read the SF Chronicle: Don Asmussen is dead

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One-word newscast:

dead

police 

racism 

stupid 

Wal-Mart

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Monkeys make war on dogs. 

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What is one thing you want to say about Christmas that might piss some people off? I’ll go first.

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Eric Clapton’s assholery is well known — he’s a racist and anti-vaxxer — but suing some old lady sure seems like a noteworthy asshole accomplishment

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Cyber attack blamed for cream cheese shortage.

The supply chain for everything is fragile and teetering. Maybe, possibly, "just-in-time ordering" isn't such a brilliant strategy?

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Restarting student debt is a dumb idea, but Biden apparently wants to be a one-term president.

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I usually don’t give a hoot about billionaires’ public statements, but money talks. Jeff Green has lots of money, and he's talking about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:

“I believe the Mormon church has hindered global progress in women’s rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights.”

He's loudly quit the church and he says he’s giving some of his big bucks to Equality Utah, which is a hella better charity than the friggin’ Mormon Church, so… kudos, ya rich bastard.

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The health care racket sure is a racket. 

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I would like to find and read or listen to more blogs or zines or podcasts by and for old folks — people who know what wrinkles and sharts are, but don’t give a damn about superheroes or present-day pop music. Any nominees, please?

Also, any amateur media by and for fat folks? Or by and for the strange, the introverted, the alienated? Guess I’m looking for blogs or zines or podcasts intended for weirdos like me...

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 Mystery links  — Like life itself, there’s no knowing where you’re going:

—①—
     —②—
          —③— 

 Sing along with Doug:
Eight Miles High, by Rufus Harley

 

Sincere tip 'o the hat:
Linden Arden • BoingBoing
Captain HampocketsFollow Me Here
John the Basket • LiarTownUSA
Messy Nessy ChickNational Zero
Ran PrieurVintage Everyday
Voenix Rising

Extra special thanks:
Clayton Barnes • Becky Jo
Name Withheld • Dave S.

12/22/2021 

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2 comments:

  1. Election day seems to have become the most important day of the year. Why don't we make it a public holiday so people can vote in person without losing work time? If there are too many holidays, maybe we can skip one of them every two years. Why not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's no good reason not to do it, but one obvious reason it won't be done. One of our two major political parties wants to make voting more difficult, never easier.

      Delete

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