Month: February 2012

#rsrh xkcd gets a rare one wrong.

There is a problem with this argument:

And it can be summed up as follows: you read newspaper articles online, yes?  And you know full well that the comments sections to said articles are universally filled by crazy people who write like they had to cram to pass the Turing Test, yes?  And so you know to either not read newspaper comment sections, or else simply skim them for particularly good examples of Teh Crazy, yes?

Yes?

…So why are you assuming that you’re unique in all of that? – Because, well, you’re not. Continue reading #rsrh xkcd gets a rare one wrong.

Sweet monkey Jeebus: OOTS hits 1 million on Kickstarter.

Burlew, of course, celebrates it in the only appropriate way possible.

Seriously, at this stage of the game signing up for a pledge is a bargain, if you like the Order of the Stick webcomic: you end up with a LOT of original PDFs and goodies even at $10 or $25. Plus, the entire freaking book line has a guaranteed print line. It’s almost alarming.

Moe Lane

PS: Rich. Buy yourself a new computer. You can even buy one that supports Skyrim. Your readers won’t mind.

Awww.

Cute:

Michael Mastalski used his girlfriend’s love of animals to plan a one of a kind proposal.

[snip]

He told girlfriend Chelsey Bass they were going to the Sedgwick County Zoo to watch the elephants paint pictures for kids. The elephants painted but this picture was particularly special. Mastalski had written a special message on it before hand.

Marriage proposal, of course.

Paul Babeu’s career is over.

Strikes one and two:

An Arizona sheriff who became the face of Sen. John McCain’s stand against illegal immigration threatened his boyfriend, an illegal immigrant himself, with deportation if news of their relationship ever leaked out, an alternative newspaper in Arizona reported Saturday.

[snip of Paul Babeu denying that he threatened his ex with deportation]

The Phoenix New Times first reported the threats early Saturday after interviewing the boyfriend, a 34-year old Mexican man, and his lawyer. The boyfriend alleges Chris DeRose, Babeu’s campaign manager, demanded he sign a confidentiality agreement; if the relationship became public, the boyfriend says DeRose hinted it would focus attention on the boyfriend’s immigration status.

I don’t care whether Babeu’s gay or not, of course; and under normal circumstances bringing it up would be irrelevant to the situation. The man’s not married and what two consenting adults get up to in their private lives is largely a matter of indifference to me. And, of course, a person’s sexuality is independent of his or her views on illegal immigration. There are plenty of gay people out there who take a tough stance on the issue.

But. Those people generally don’t go out with allegedly illegal immigrants and then threaten them later. The Phoenix New Times article can and will be contested, but it’s definitely clear that there was a relationship, it went fairly spectacularly south, and Babeu made some statements in the aftermath that do not reflect well on him. As in, statements that can be construed as being potentially abusive-of-power.

And then there’s strike three: Continue reading Paul Babeu’s career is over.

#rsrh Kennedy clan shuffles out new zombie scion.

In case you missed it: Joseph Kennedy III is running for office in Barney Frank’s soon to be former district (Frank is kind-of, sort-of threatening an endorsement). Kennedy, of course, didn’t have the guts to run in Rep. Delahunt’s suddenly-open seat last cycle; guess he figures that he has a better chance this go-round.

I should be nicer; it’s not this kid’s fault, strictly speaking, that his family history simultaneously smooths the way for a career in politics and makes Kennedy look exceptional for managing to avoid too-public exhibitions of substance abuse. I should, but I probably will not. Contrary to Kennedy mythology, not having one in MA politics is not a violation of the Commonwealth’s constitution…

Getting it wrong from the start on the atheist march story.

You know, I got nothing in particular against atheists, but when one of them says something nonsensical like this:

“There are 40 to 50 million atheists [in the United States].”

…you’d think that the reporter would check that, given that the number sounds a bit, well, high. Continue reading Getting it wrong from the start on the atheist march story.