"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
I’ve blown hot and cold on the populist gripe against red light cameras, that they’re only about enhancing municipal revenue. When Tucson set up red light cameras last year, the city probably enjoyed a significant revenue spike. But people learn fast, and now almost no one runs red lights . . . so there goes […]
Here’s another roundup of banned book news: First, some small victories: Washington state library board stands up to censors Wisconsin mother who challenged school library books overruled by board of education Graphic novel Bone survives school library challenge Still, there are miles to go before we sleep: Mom checks out teen books, keeps them to […]
“Integrity is a bugger, it really is. Lying can get you into difficulties, but to really wind up in the crappers try telling nothing but the truth.” – David Mitchell, Ghostwritten The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins The familiar arguments against the familiar arguments for god, well arranged and cogently stated. If you’re a member […]
“You can’t handle the truth.” — Jack Nicholson (as Col. Nathan R. Jessep) in A Few Good Men (1992). El Norte (1983) Hey, I tried, but this film is so sociopolitically earnest I instinctively turned against it. It begins graphically enough, with Mayan peasants being brutally suppressed by Guatemalan landowners and their military lackeys, but […]
My father died of liver cancer three years ago this month. May 31st, actually. It’s the kind of anniversary one remembers quietly, and I wouldn’t mention it here except that Lois, my stepmother, called this morning with news of Dad’s remaining siblings. Uncle Lindley, one of Dad’s older brothers, has lung cancer. Uncle Fay, the […]
Somehow this seems relevant: Original Video – More videos at TinyPic
What part of “illegal” don’t I understand? Uh, the part where loudmouthed white assholes get to speed and smoke pot and cheat on their taxes, while American citizens of Hispanic descent have to prove they’re not breaking a law any time a cop looks at them sideways, and oh by the way while Mexicans, Hondurans, […]
A few more photos from my motorcycle trip. Click any photo to enlarge: Top row, left to right: Riding lessons for my grandson Quentin, 4/24/10 Spring Mountain to Pahrump, en route to Death Valley, 4/25/10 Bottom row, left to right: Old borox mine, Death Valley, 4/25/10 California poppies in the Mojave Desert (w/bee), 4/26/10 My […]