Link round-up for 19 April 2020
o o o o o
I'm leaving, on a jet plane (found via Mock Paper Scissors).
This cat is smarter than a lot of fundies, plus commemorative jewelry and bad haircuts.
Will he see his shadow?
Football, tennis, golf.....
Aidan Wolfe is on target, and you can protect your horse from the virus.
Put on a happy face.
Pandemic or no, you wouldn't go out in public in these masks.
Don't go shopping for pastries here, plus a few more oddities.
You know you'd watch it.
"That's because of the walls, Phil."
A baby kangaroo attempts his first hop.
Lady M makes chocolates for the pandemic.
A stingy visitor gets a whole town out of debt.
Check out this stunning art for Cthulhu Wars.
Here's how wingnuts measure the death toll from various disasters (found via Electoral-Vote).
There's a bird in her kitchen.
The cats are getting fed up.
People are managing to keep occupied during lockdown -- well, some are re-creating great art. Read a diary of quarantine.
Nonnie9999 is unimpressed with her state's governor.
Cool house.
Eventually it's gonna come to this (found via Jerry Coyne).
Sixpence Notthewiser practices aquascaping.
A shut-in blogger uses telemarketers as therapy.
The quality of our nutcases is really going down -- meet an anti-Alice-in-Wonderland terrorist.
Take a virtual train ride.
This is Socotra.
Native English speakers don't realize the advantage they have.
There is no city in this picture.
The Daily Irritant entertainingly dissects an amazingly stupid idea. I Should Be Laughing finds an amazingly stupid quote.
This guy's God didn't do jack for him.
Losers celebrate losers.
See the distribution of covid-19 cases in the US, by state and county.
Why bother following Jesus when you can just put him on a T-shirt?
Nietzsche remains the philosopher who won't go away (I wrote about his sister's role here).
"Praying away the gay" doesn't work -- you're better off ditching religion.
Locked-down cities present a sad and creepy spectacle.
Trump's taste in movies is revealing (scroll down a bit).
The Southern Baptists are losing their own younger generation, big time.
Sixty years ago, Casa Susanna served as a refuge and social space for cross-dressers (link from Nonnie9999).
Virginia has decriminalized marijuana.
Someone needs to explain to Trump that the US isn't an absolute monarchy.
Even if Jesus really existed, we know almost nothing about him, and never can.
Your bank can seize your stimulus check for certain kinds of debt (found via Mock Paper Scissors).
Blogger Oblio has a lot to say about the Mexican heritage of many Americans.
The rules at this fundamentalist college are a monument to control-freakery.
Don't buy sex toys on Amazon (these issues probably apply to a lot of other products too).
I'm glad I wasn't working for this guy.
It's a miserable and degrading existence.
Learn how Facebook tracks you and what to do about it.
One man took a stand against fake-debt bullies.
Don't diss Social Security -- you don't know what the future will bring.
Hackwhackers has some incisive coronavirus cartoons.
A simple graph predicts the wingnut reaction to "flattening the curve".
I suspect Tom Wolf will lose his next election.
We know Trump can't "re-open" the economy, but neither can the states (see my comment too). Trump and Pence offer misleading data to support their case.
Capitalism. Socialism.
Rural America is ill-prepared for the coming of the virus. States without lockdown orders are getting a surge in infections.
Idaho wingnuts nominate themselves for Darwin awards. The anti-lockdown protesters in Michigan and Texas are basically lunatics. And you know who else was probably there.
I'm not sure how much good online petitions do, but here's one to save the Postal Service. It is worth saving.
We can't afford Christian privilege in the time of covid-19.
The pandemic is having some unexpected effects. It may eventually break down the business world's stodgy resistance to large-scale telecommuting.
A member of Tony Spell's church has died, almost certainly as a direct result of his defiance of social distancing.
More than 60 congresspeople call for a global ban on "wet markets" -- but the Western meat industry poses a threat as well. More here from a somewhat surprising source.
Trump and his toadies go into action against
This is not freedom.
Amazon is still being terrible. Some employees have had enough.
Here's how to make a CDC-approved mask.
The US covid-19 death toll is probably far higher than the official figures. If not for Trump's incompetence, it would have been far lower.
Green Eagle reads the wingnut internet so you don't have to.
Illinois buys medical equipment in secret so Trump won't steal it.
Social distancing is working -- barely -- but there's a long road ahead. We may be stuck with it for two years.
Liberty University students are suing Falwell for exposing them to covid-19.
Hospitals are now piling dead bodies in any available space (found via Crooks and Liars).
Evangelical help comes with strings attached.
The governor of Arkansas is resisting issuing a stay-at-home order. The experience of South Dakota suggests that's unwise.
"We're constantly underestimating the centrality of Christian nationalism to Trump's presidency."
Covid-19 survivors often suffer from delirium.
Remdesivir looks hopeful as a treatment, but hydroxychloroquine has some worrying side effects, and one study has concluded it's not effective against covid-19. More on remdesivir here.
Israeli technology shows the way to cope with water shortages.
An experimental process to exterminate disease-bearing mosquitoes looks promising.
British researchers use chemistry to rejuvenate senescent cells -- in hours.
No, science does not depend on "faith" the way religion does.
As Trump cuts off US funding of the WHO, other countries rally to support it.
At a British women's prison where men were among the inmates, even female prison officers were raped.
Cardinal Pell isn't off the hook yet.
Here's more on the Evangelical worship-fest in Mulhouse that spread covid-19 across France and beyond.
49% of Italians now support leaving the EU, up 20 points from a year and a half ago.
A Swiss artist projects global solidarity against the virus.
The birthplace of democracy is beating covid-19 so far.
A mysterious accident in Russia suggests that the Cold War arms race is back on.
India is seeing a wave of organized, violent religious vigilanteism.
Social distancing is a real problem for sex workers.
The pandemic is starting to overwhelm Japan.
China is a little behind the times.
The Chinese regime is censoring scientific research on the origin of the new coronavirus.
Republicans will double down on vote suppression.
Karofsky won quite a few counties outside the blue cities. Republican election sabotage has led to a predictable uptick in infections in Wisconsin.
Biden and the Democrats need to get better at using the internet.
Stand with Bernie.
More than 70% of Americans in battleground states now support voting by mail. Honor the brave voters of Wisconsin by protecting democracy.
The Republicans have become a religio-death cult.
It's either Biden or more of this.
[Image at top found via Hackwhackers.]
posted by Infidel753 at 2:39 AM
16 Comments:
I find this the best part of your blog because I get to see new blogs I've never come across on my own. But I do love reading your blog too.
Thanks for the links, Infidel--and glad to see you keeping safe and staying in.
--The "CTHULHU WARS" art is amazing! Now I have to track down that book! Thank you so much for the link. Speaking of Lovecraft, you should look for Gou Tanabe's adaptation of "At The Mountains of Madness". Tanabe is a fantastic manga artist who has been doing manga adaptations of Lovecraft's works for the past few years, but only ATMOM and a collection of short stories has been released in the US. A review of ATMOM can be found here: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/784829291/at-the-mountains-of-madness-spheroid-space-monsters-are-just-like-us
--In regards to that mysterious explosion in Russia and the massive release of radiation...I remember Rachel Maddow discussing it a great deal, and even I wondered if Putin was crazy enough to test a missile fitted with what looked like a NERVA on it. That Russia still remains a secretive nation also means that we cannot trust what that government is saying about their COVID-19 cases. They probably have many more than they are letting on.
--Seeing the red states with GOP governors either open early or not have any stay at home orders...well, they are going to be hit hard when other states start to see a reduction in cases. What's worse is that there are many good people in those states who are staying home, who are being careful, but GOP policies are going to hurt them and their families.
--Anyone who clings to the "But Biden and Trump are both bad and so I must vote third party!" is, well...a nihilist. Or worse, a smug, cruel asshole (pardon the language) who simply wants everything to burn down. And yes, there are people like that on Twitter (and sadly, they are not all bots). Expect to see more of this nonsense over the next few months. Also, it seems that the ones spouting this are well-off and White--see Matt Stoller and Walker Bragman, for instance. Still, there is room for hope--Biden has attracted new voters, and the rise in the number of voters over the past three years is very encouraging. Plus GOP efforts at suppressing the votes have ended up failing for the most part--see Wisconsin.
--The Republican Party has been a religio-death cult for years. It's not a new thing. In fact, one can trace the origins of this cult back forty years to the Reagan Administration. That so many have remained clueless to this fact--or, worse yet, saw it happening and still continued to attack Democrats more while howling about how both parties were the same--is something that should shame us all.
--Even if someone explained to Trump that the US is not an absolute monarchy...he would not care. And too many in the media are not calling him out on this. And of course the GOP isn't saying squat, because...well, he's saying what they have been thinking about for years.
--Because of the COVID-19 crisis in Japan, a lot of anime shows have had delayed premieres. Also, manga artists are setting up procedures to allow their assistants to work from home.
--That Evangelicals are still supporting Trump is...well, all I can say about that is that Trump is the farthest thing from being a "Christian". Yet again, let's compare how the Evangelicals treated President Obama, who was a loving, faithful husband and father and also, by his actions, showed that he cared for his fellow man, and believed that the nation was a collection of people of various faiths and people of no faiths, and that all were important. Trump is the exact opposite of that, yet the Evangelicals who look up to him--ah, I can't go on anymore, I might break my keyboard out of anger.
BTW, I did check out the Apple TV series FOR ALL MANKIND...and I like it! It's only Season 1 so far, but if you want a solid "alternate history" tale about the Space Race, this is it. Plus if you are a space program nut you will spot a lot of details. It was worth checking out.
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay home.
From the RS piece:
"The Christian nationalist movement today is authoritarian, paranoid and patriarchal at its core. They aren’t fighting a culture war. They’re making a direct attack on democracy itself."
No They've always been this way. Central to the entire modern evanhgelical movement since the 70's has been their stated desire to tear down the United States and erect a Christian Theocracy in it's place.
Then the internecine wars start, of course, over just who's theocracy it is...
I didn't realize that buying sex toys on Amazon would be such a risky business. Not that I have, just sayin' lol
Everyday I look at the virus maps and see the infected rate going up by hundreds where I live. It's scary.
Ha ha, the jet plane -- very inventive! Some of those re-creations of great art are really inspired! The "Jesus Loves Me" t-shirt reminds me of another one I saw -- "Jesus loves you but I'm his favourite!"
Oh and thank you for adding me to your link list. :)
Those people from Idaho are not, and cannot be, Darwin Award winners.
"Killing others: The death of innocent bystanders absolutely rules out a Darwin Award. We don't applaud those who take others out of the gene pool, even if they share some DNA in common." That's from the Darwin Awards Website.
I think the proper word for them is "evildoers."
---
Tom Wolf isn't going to lose his next election because he's not going to be in another election. Pennsylvania governors cannot serve three consecutive terms, and Wolf is in term number two. He could run again in 2026, but he would be seventy-eight then. I think he'll retire once this term is over.
Heck yah - I am losing it over the American Gothic. Those recreated paintings are so funny.
The re-creations of great artwork and the 'Put on a happy face' post...two of my favourites this week! So many interesting links today. Thanks!
Hi Infidel. As always, I hope you and your readers are safe and well.
Too bad we can't do laundry and travel at the same time. That was hilarious. Thanks. I needed that.
You would think the cat would shop by catalog.
I just had flashbacks of my grandma giving us haircuts when we were little. That would have been a good reason to stay quarantined.
I am all about raisin awareness!
The chocolate sounds delicious, but that's too much work. I think I would just eat the chocolate chips.
I need to move to Pumphandle. The cupboard is bare, and no stimulus check for me.
If I had that giant bird in my kitchen, I would have to go grocery shopping.
Aren't cats always annoyed?
The recreations of the painting were all hilarious, but The Persistence of Pimento Loaf made me laugh so hard, I woke up the dog.
If leeches work, at least we know where to find a bunch of them. We can start with Twitler's Cabinet.
Aquascaping. Because I don't kill regular plants fast enough.
Why take a virtual train ride when I can sit by my clothes dryer and fly to my destination so much faster?
Not sure I really understand what an inferior mirage is, but that picture is really cool.
As someone on Twitter said, I bet Kellyanne Conway was really disappointed in Preparations A-G.
Back for the rest tomorrow. Thanks for the link to The Raisin. It's appreciated as always. I hope your readers found the photos of Casa Susanna interesting. I grew up in the Catskills, so I found it fascinating and a little sad.
Ohhh
These basically had me all caught up with so much stuff!
It's incredible the amount of fuckery going on today. The barrage of information makes us numb sometimes to the incredible stupidity of this administration.
And the religulous. Those always make for good fodder....
XOXO
Thanks again for the blog link, it means a lot to me that my feeble writing strikes a chord with you and that some of your followers will read it too. Muchismas Gracias!!!!
Leanna: Glad to hear it -- I like finding new blogs too.
Marc: I am very much staying in, thanks. No exceptions but the weekly trip to the grocery store.
Thanks for the tip on Gou Tanabe -- I may look for that -- need more stuff to read.
As in China, I'm sure Putin will try to suppress news of how bad covid-19 gets in Russia, but it will come out anyway.
I'm seeing some of the pouty I-won't-vote-for-Biden-because-blah-blah-blah stuff, but I'm also seeing a fair amount of pushback against it, even on the kind of sites that attract those fringe elements. And remember, we don't know how many of the voices pushing that stuff are actually Republicans or Russians. I suspect it's a lot.
Glad at least the manga industry is in step with the modern world in protecting its people!
Bruce: I've often thought that. The fundies believe the Catholic Church is Satanic and the trad Catholics believe the Protestants are heretics. But I don't think either group is big enough to dominate on its own.
The fundies have always been totalitarian -- it just wasn't so obvious until recently because they only recently achieved such total dominance within the Republican party, and hence the potential for power.
Mary K: This thing is definitely still getting worse. And remember, we don't really know how bad it is or how fast it's spreading because testing is so inadequate.
Debra: People can get really creative when they have the opportunity. Once we achieve a machine-based economy where most people don't need to work, the world will get a lot more entertaining.
Sam: Possibly so.....
Lady M: Some people put a lot of work into those.
Martha: Glad to provide some diversion in a stressful time.....
Nonnie: I've seen a couple of ersatz air-travel videos cropping up. Wishful thinking maybe? But with most trips, the plane flight isn't the part people remember most fondly.
Aren't you getting a stimulus check? I thought almost everybody was getting one, although some will take a long time. But one can't help be intrigued by a town where the hookers do business on credit.
If leeches worked, the Republicans would be trying to block access to them for people with pre-existing conditions.
Ah, but fake plane trips don't give you nearly as much scenery as fake train rides.
I wonder if Conway keeps hunting through bookstore sites for One thru Forty-Nine Shades of Gray.
Sixpence: Well, at least I'm providing a return barrage of information that isn't about the Trumplings.....
Oblio: Thanks for the post! And your writing is far from feeble -- it was a powerful piece.
The reason that I am not eligible for any stimulus money is that my son claimed me as a dependent on his tax return last year. I'm on disability, and my income is under the poverty line, but that and the fact that we live in separate residences doesn't seem to matter. He just moved to NYC (the week before the COVID-19 shit hit the fan), and he got sick a week later. Of course, he hasn't been able to go to his office. I honestly don't know what I am going to do, but I guess everything is okay as long as Ruth's Chris Fucking Steakhouse can get their $20 million.
Shit, what a rotten situation. Have you considered asking for donations on your blog? I did that last year when I got into a tough position due to unemployment. It can help, even if it doesn't solve everything.
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