We Swim in Violence

Talk of violence surrounds us. It fills our movies and our TV shows. We use the language of war to talk about sports, business and politics. We fight wars on drugs, terror, litter and poverty.

We surrounded every day by talk of violence and recreations of violence. But we have very little real violence in our live. If you live in certain neighborhoods or are a soldier in one the wars violence may find you, but for most people, including the kind of people who meet with Congresswomen at events, never come close to real violence.

Even now, we are not anywhere near this violence. We watch the coverage, we talk about why, but its never real.

Gay Panic is not Freedom

Why is junk touching the last line to be crossed? We torture people. We fight wars. We get monitored on video. We get surveilled without warrants. Everything and anything get justified in the name of security, but a light brush past your crotch is the last straw? We give up all kinds of rights all the time, but the slightest hint of the wrong kind of sex (Dudes! Near my Junk!) and we suddenly turn into raging libertarians.

Now, a Pep Talk from Al

The Danger of Privilege

Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, who helped make Alaska a State and gave us "the Internet is a series of tubes" has died today along with four others in the crash of a small plane in Alaska. Being killed in a small plane crash is one of those particular dangers that politicos face. TPM has a rundown. It is a surprising long list. I'm still sad over loosing Paul Wellstone. Politicians have to get to some out of the way places to campaign, and they are the sort of privileged folks who get private planes. But the truth is, small private aircraft are much, much more dangerous to ride in that the big commercial jets.
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So just think how safe you are, stuck back there in coach. Those privileged suits in front of you in their private little puddle jumper are the ones in danger

Yes!

Really good piece on terrorism, fear of terrorism, and all that.

More Restrictions

It comes like clockwork. Attempt gets foiled and more restrictions get put in place. How long before flying just becomes impossible. At what point do we kill that which we are trying to protect?

An Illustrated Point

This guy:



is not this guy:



Ezra Klein explains.

Treat Islam like Communists

Some folks just crave a witch hunt.

Halloween Links of Fun

Remember, you have nothing to fear from candy.

25 Awesome Costumes.

Death Panels would be scary, if they were real.

Skull Chic

25 Sexy Halloween Costumes.

I leave you with Thriller:

Hunting

We are getting pretty close to "Have you now or ever been a Muslim" territory here. Of course, intelligence standards have fallen among the McCarthy Right over the years. At least McCarthy was hunting Soviet spies. Imaginary Soviet spies, but still. Interns. They are hunting Muslim interns.

What Fresh Hell Is This?

Something new to worry about.

My advice: stay way from any pig with a cough.

Evolution of Fear

Giraffes get longer necks. The giraffe with the longer neck can eat the really nice leaves on the top of the tree, becomes healthier and sexier and scores more. Thus we have more giraffes with longer necks. That's evolution. Evolution for right wing talk show hosts means hosts get more and more insane over time. The crazier they are, the more you can't stop watching. Madness is the comparative advantage of right wing talk.

The natural outcome of this evolutionary process is Glenn Beck. Case in point:



This is insane. And completely expected. Glenn Beck is the walking personification of fear winning out over reason:

Fear of what? Take your pick. Fear that the U.S. is on a long march to fascism. (As evidence, Beck cited — on April Fools' Day but apparently seriously — the inclusion of fasces on the Mercury dime in 1916.) That fat cats and bureaucratic "bloodsuckers" are plundering your future. That Mexico will collapse and chaos will pour over the border. That America believes too little in God and too much in global warming. That "they" — Big Government, Big Business, Big Media — are against you. Above all, that you, small-town, small-business America — Palinville — have been forgotten. Dismissed. Laughed at. Just like him.

Glenn Beck: good for ratings, bad for the species.

No Fallen Sky = Win!

Don't be afraid, that's just the Republicans talking.

The good news is that "the sky will fall if you do this" only works the first time. Obama ends torture, closes Gitmo, start obeying the law and...

American still stands. Which means he can keep doing what he's doing. He can do more. As long a America is still here, he's doing the right thing.

No matter what evil or stupid thing Bush did, the justification was always "At least we haven't been attacked" Well, we can turn that augment to support the good and the smart just as easily.

Going to the Mattress

I am pleased to announce the opening of the First Craig Mattress Trust. I am happy to offer my mattress for anyone who wishes to stuff their life savings. Feeling unsure about your bank, mutual fund or hedge fund? With the mattress trust I offer an absolute guaranteed rate of return* and the very best security. I have a deadbolt. I am a very large and intimidating figure. I live in a very nice neighborhood (We have lots of Obama-Biden signs.) Plus, I'm very messey, and thus maintain the illusion of semi-poverty so no one would look in my mattress for any kind of payday. That's security you can depend on.

Put your faith in the First Craig Mattress Trust. Because everyone else is going to screw you.

*0 percent annual rate of return. Guaranteed.

Rogue Scientist

Everyone remember the anthrax attacks? How's this for an plot twist:

A top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned.

Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who for the last 18 years worked at the government's elite biodefense research laboratories at Ft. Detrick, Md., had been informed of his impending prosecution, said people familiar with Ivins, his suspicious death and the FBI investigation.

Ivins, whose name had not been disclosed publicly as a suspect in the case, played a central role in research to improve anthrax vaccines by preparing anthrax formulations used in experiments on animals.

Regarded as a skilled microbiologist, Ivins also helped the FBI analyze the powdery material recovered from one of the anthrax-tainted envelopes sent to a U.S. senator's office in Washington.

The government expert did it? The very expert who was brought in to investigate the anthrax? The man was part of the team that worked on the anthrax vaccine that our troops use. Its a closed loop. One man discovers the threat, counters the threat, and is the threat. Who watches the watchman indeed.

Glenn Greenwald has more.

Hold Me

The GOP is trying to scare us all to death.

A proper rant from Glenn Greenwald can be found here.

Fear Not

TPM has an amazing stat for you. Of New York City's roughy 500 (or less) murders this year, only 35 were committed by strangers. Think about that. Think how we are taught to fear strangers. From infancy we are taught that its people we don't know are the danger, when it turns out that its the people we know that could kill us. Think of all your friends, family and coworkers. If you don't know anyone on that list who wants to kill you, turns out that you are pretty damn safe.

Whole political movements are based around this fear. Here's LG&M knocking down a effort to turn pranks and false alarms into a global terror threat.

Terrorist are not going to kill you. Random strangers are not going to kill you. Just be nice to people you know and you will be safe.

More Fake Fears

As has been discussed previously on this blog, there has never been a real case of a kid being poisoned by Halloween candy. Now we add a new fake fear to Halloween: Sex predators are coming for your children! Snatching them up as go about trick-or-treating! Of course, there are no actual cases of children ever being attacked on Halloween, but sense when has that ever stopped the fear mongering.

Rock On

Special Halloween Party Edition

Chris Brown - Wall To Wall



And of course Thriller. You can't have Halloween without Thriller.

Scary

Forget Ghosts and Goblins.

Some Ideas for truly scary costumes.

Bill Maher's idea.

Tom Tomorrow's

I myself will be going as Fear Itself. Pretty scary eh.

Or maybe I'll go as a French Maid. Now that's scary.