(no subject)

A federal judge and Six others assassinated, including a small child, a total of 19 victims, including a Congresswoman: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona

Second Amendments remedies at work. She was on Sarah Palin's Target map: http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/08/congresswoman-gabrie.html

I don't suppose I should be surprised. They were saying they'd start shooting people if they didn't get their way. Yes, I know it's rhetorical, but repeatedly calling for the deaths of opposition candidates is encouragement for imbalanced fringed members to make it a reality. The assassinated judge had repeated death threats over a ruling that up held civil rights for undocumented immigrants. Representative Giffords is pro-health care, pro-choice, pro-renewable energy and had been on the receiving end of right wing 'hit lists" and rhetorical calls for people to take her out. Yes, Sarah Palin took down her target map as someone has actually been assassinated, but it seems to me that the folks using that sort of rhetoric are partially responsible for the violence they encourage.

"We need to realize that the rhetoric, and the firing people up and … for example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s ‘targeted’ list, but the thing is, the way she has it depicted, we’re in the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they’ve gotta realize that there are consequences to that action." -U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, in an interview with MSNBC after her office was targeted with death threats, vandalism and harassment following her vote for healthcare last Spring.

Westboro Baptist is already saying God sent the shooter and is planning to picket the funerals.

(no subject)

A federal judge and Six others assassinated, including a small child, a total of 19 victims, including a Congresswoman: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona

Second Amendments remedies at work. She was on Sarah Palin's Target map: http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/08/congresswoman-gabrie.html

I don't suppose I should be surprised. They were saying they'd start shooting people if they didn't get their way. Yes, I know it's rhetorical, but repeatedly calling for the deaths of opposition candidates is encouragement for imbalanced fringed members to make it a reality. The assassinated judge had repeated death threats over a ruling that up held civil rights for undocumented immigrants. Representative Giffords is pro-health care, pro-choice, pro-renewable energy and had been on the receiving end of right wing 'hit lists" and rhetorical calls for people to take her out. Yes, Sarah Palin took down her target map as someone has actually been assassinated, but it seems to me that the folks using that sort of rhetoric are partially responsible for the violence they encourage.

"We need to realize that the rhetoric, and the firing people up and … for example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s ‘targeted’ list, but the thing is, the way she has it depicted, we’re in the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they’ve gotta realize that there are consequences to that action." -U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, in an interview with MSNBC after her office was targeted with death threats, vandalism and harassment following her vote for healthcare last Spring.

Westboro Baptist is already saying God sent the shooter and is planning to picket the funerals.

(no subject)

* 230 billion dollars. That's the amount of money the Republicans want to add to the deficit by repealing health reform. Way to live up to the campaign promises to cut the defect. Seriously, why is this their first priority when the country is crisis? We get no benefit at all from this. It won't create jobs or stimulate the economy. The goal is for tax payers to pay 230 billion dollars for the privilege of having 32 million people loose their insurance and remove all the protections from insurance company abuses. It will yank away a small business tax break for insuring employees that is right now helping both small businesses and their employees all over the country. By what logic is it good for American citizens to be dropped from insurance when they get sick? By what logic should we be wasting money on this when there are so many things we need money for? Why do Republicans hate small businesses so much they want to increase the deficit to deliberately hurt them and their employees despite all their rhetoric about lowering the defect?

* I was always against grading on a curve. This is not sour grapes. My college and Grad school GPAs are a pretty solid rebuttal to that, as I was generally at the top of the curve. I was often that asshole with the perfect test, the perfect paper, the one who's essays would get occasionally used as examples for how to answer test questions or write that sort of paper. The curve didn't harm me generally.

To my way of thinking, grading on a curve is fundamentally unfair. If x number of students got 90 or above on a test, why should some of them arbitrarily have their grades lowered? More than that, though, grading on a curve means that students start rooting for other students to fail. It discourages folks from helping each other out with studying, but more than that, it creates a toxic social atmosphere.

I don't hold much with crabs holding each other down. I'd rather cheer folks on who are trying to better themselves or make art or rise above whatever than try to hold people down to make myself feel better in some twisted way. I was a lot like that as a teacher too. I would not give answers to kids or do their assignments for them, but on a fundamental level, I wanted every single one of them to do well, to achieve the most they could achieve. I think that came through in the way I taught, that sense that I genuinely wished them well. I think it's part of why they took to me.

Life doesn't have to be a zero sum game. Friendship sure as fuck shouldn't be.

* RM on language and violence: http://lettersfromtitan.com/2011/01/08/metaphor-violence-and-bullying/#comments

* Bloodwork Doctor's appointment today: My organs seem to still be working and my cholesterol improves. (Rationing works! Yay rationing!) My Thyroid is not quite bad enough to treat, as it's been for over 15 years. They will be lowering my hormones a scooch, which I was expecting.

* Meat Shower:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(no subject)

* 230 billion dollars. That's the amount of money the Republicans want to add to the deficit by repealing health reform. Way to live up to the campaign promises to cut the defect. Seriously, why is this their first priority when the country is crisis? We get no benefit at all from this. It won't create jobs or stimulate the economy. The goal is for tax payers to pay 230 billion dollars for the privilege of having 32 million people loose their insurance and remove all the protections from insurance company abuses. It will yank away a small business tax break for insuring employees that is right now helping both small businesses and their employees all over the country. By what logic is it good for American citizens to be dropped from insurance when they get sick? By what logic should we be wasting money on this when there are so many things we need money for? Why do Republicans hate small businesses so much they want to increase the deficit to deliberately hurt them and their employees despite all their rhetoric about lowering the defect?

* I was always against grading on a curve. This is not sour grapes. My college and Grad school GPAs are a pretty solid rebuttal to that, as I was generally at the top of the curve. I was often that asshole with the perfect test, the perfect paper, the one who's essays would get occasionally used as examples for how to answer test questions or write that sort of paper. The curve didn't harm me generally.

To my way of thinking, grading on a curve is fundamentally unfair. If x number of students got 90 or above on a test, why should some of them arbitrarily have their grades lowered? More than that, though, grading on a curve means that students start rooting for other students to fail. It discourages folks from helping each other out with studying, but more than that, it creates a toxic social atmosphere.

I don't hold much with crabs holding each other down. I'd rather cheer folks on who are trying to better themselves or make art or rise above whatever than try to hold people down to make myself feel better in some twisted way. I was a lot like that as a teacher too. I would not give answers to kids or do their assignments for them, but on a fundamental level, I wanted every single one of them to do well, to achieve the most they could achieve. I think that came through in the way I taught, that sense that I genuinely wished them well. I think it's part of why they took to me.

Life doesn't have to be a zero sum game. Friendship sure as fuck shouldn't be.

* RM on language and violence: http://lettersfromtitan.com/2011/01/08/metaphor-violence-and-bullying/#comments

* Bloodwork Doctor's appointment today: My organs seem to still be working and my cholesterol improves. (Rationing works! Yay rationing!) My Thyroid is not quite bad enough to treat, as it's been for over 15 years. They will be lowering my hormones a scooch, which I was expecting.

* Meat Shower:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(no subject)

Congresswoman Gifford talking about the rhetoric of violence from back when her office was vandalized last March. Seems rather prescient now:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy