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It is not some twisted, crazy view

Aug 13th, 2017 5:30 pm | By

Awesome. Peter Singer also thinks James Damore shouldn’t have been fired. He says why in the Daily News. (Shouldn’t it be David Brooks writing for the Daily News and Peter Singer writing for the Times? This arrangement seems backward to me.)

James Damore, a software engineer at Google, wrote a memo in which he argued that there are differences between men and women that may explain, in part, why there are fewer women than men in his field of work. For this, Google fired him.

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, sent Google employees a memo saying that “much of what was in that memo is fair to debate,” but that portions of it cross a line by advancing “harmful gender

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Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 21 comments
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Slogans including “Beware the International Jew”

Aug 13th, 2017 12:06 pm | By

The Guardian tells us a little about that Charlottesville driver.

The man accused of murdering a woman by deliberately driving into her during protests against a far-right rally was photographed earlier in the day standing with the white supremacist, neo-Nazi group Vanguard America.

James Fields, 20, of Maumee, Ohio, allegedly killed Heather Heyer, aged 32, and injured 19 others when he rammed his car into a group peacefully protesting on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Photographs from earlier that day appear to show Fields rallying with Vanguard America and carrying a shield bearing the group’s insignia. He wears the white polo shirt and khaki pants that are the group’s uniform.

Vanguard America were a highly visible presence at the

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The sickness unto death

Aug 13th, 2017 11:20 am | By

I was this agitated about the Charleston murders. I remember feeling this sick and horrified and sad and furious. I forced myself to do a little research on the victims and write about them even though it made me cry every time. I wrote many many posts about it.

Just one of them:

Rebecca Carroll yesterday at Comment is Free.

Six black women were shot to death during a community prayer service by a young white man who allegedly declared: “You rape our women.”

These women and men welcomed a white man into their close-knit church, and likely encouraged others in their community to join and listen and pray and let God into their hearts.

I read somewhere else … Read the rest

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God bless him

Aug 13th, 2017 10:31 am | By
God bless him

Ok I took a deep breath and went to Daily Stormer, so that you wouldn’t have to.

Last night:

The reaction to Trump’s “many sides, many sides” observation.

… Read the rest

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The “of course” brigade appears

Aug 13th, 2017 9:17 am | By

Now Trump’s people are dutifully lining up to say of course he condemned the Nazis in Charlottesville, it’s obvious that he did, he was unambiguous about it.

The White House said in a statement Sunday that when President Trump condemned “all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred” that were on display in Charlottesville this weekend “of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.”

Of course. Of coursey course.

But inclusion of Nazis wasn’t what was needed. That “and all extremist groups” at the end wasn’t and isn’t what was needed. “Everybody was to blame” isn’t what’s needed. A robust condemnation of racism and racist hatred and incitement of racist hatred is what’s needed. … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 11 comments
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Moral idiots

Aug 13th, 2017 8:39 am | By

The Trumpists are trying to spin this as a matter of “division,” with the solution being for all of us to UNITE behind AMERICA. Trump’s idiotic point-missing xenophobic tweet yesterday sent the signal:

The others are taking the hint:

… Read the rest

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The nadir

Aug 12th, 2017 6:04 pm | By

Vox typed up his remarks in full:

We’re closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.

It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama, this has been going on for a long, long time. It has no place in America.

What is vital now is a swift restoration of law and order and the protection of innocent lives. No citizen should ever fear for their safety and security in our society. And no child should ever be afraid to go outside and play or be with their parents

… Read the rest

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He hasn’t done his job

Aug 12th, 2017 5:41 pm | By

The Times details Trump’s avoidances and lies.

President Trump on Saturday condemned thebloody protests in Charlottesville, Va., but did not specifically criticize the white nationalist rally and its neo-Nazi slogans beyond blaming “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.’’

Mr. Trump made the comments to reporters after initially tweeting a statement in language so vague that he omitted mention of Charlottesville…

…

The president, who has spent much of the past two days threatening North Korea and congressional Republicans on Twitter and in other public statements, remained silent on the violence for most of the morning even as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, and dozens of other public figures condemned a march by

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Choose

Aug 12th, 2017 4:27 pm | By

https://twitter.com/trekonomics/status/896237129235185664… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 2 comments


One dead, at least 19 injured

Aug 12th, 2017 4:10 pm | By

This country has fallen into the abyss.

Violence erupted on Saturday as hundreds of white nationalists had gathered here for a rally and clashed with counterprotesters, resulting in at least one death and prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

After the rally at a city park was dispersed, a car plowed into a crowd near the city’s downtown mall, killing at least one person and injuring at least 19 others, according to a spokeswoman for the University of Virginia Medical Center. The authorities did not immediately say whether the episode was related to the white nationalists’ demonstration, but several witnesses and video of the scene suggested that it might have been intentional.

Well, if you look … Read the rest

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The noise and the silence

Aug 12th, 2017 10:10 am | By

This is highly edifying.

Donald “president” Trump has not said a word about the Charlottesville rallies.… Read the rest

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NPR spreads the Brooks around

Aug 12th, 2017 9:36 am | By

NPR gave David Brooks a chance to repeat his very inept reading of James Damore’s memo yesterday.

[AUDIE] CORNISH: One last idea that came out of Silicon Valley, and this is a debate over a viral memo from a Google engineer who argued, among other things, that Google had a left bias that created a politically correct mono culture that shamed dissenters into silence. Also made some comments about men and women and biological differences. David, you argue that the person who should have been fired is Google’s CEO. How come?

BROOKS: Well, you know, all of this starts with a long debate we’ve been having for decades about evolutionary psychology and the differences between men and women. And there’s

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Torchlight

Aug 12th, 2017 9:03 am | By

Last night.

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 8 comments


Emboldened

Aug 12th, 2017 9:00 am | By

White supremacists are holding rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Last night it was a torchlight parade.

In daylight they skip the torches.

https://twitter.com/AndyBCampbell/status/896385942495285248

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 2 comments


You have become extremely famous all over the world

Aug 12th, 2017 8:18 am | By

I think Trump is getting stupider every day – noticeably stupider, strikingly stupider.

He called up the governor of Guam to tell him the North Korea thing is just wonderful for him and for Guam, because it’s making them famous. They’re celebrities! Tourism will soar!

You think I’m exaggerating for sarcastic effect as usual. I wish I were.

The threat by North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to create “an enveloping fire” around the tiny United States territory in the Western Pacific will boost Guam tourism “tenfold,” Mr. Trump is heard saying in the recorded conversation with Gov. Eddie Calvo.

The recording was put on the Republican governor’s Facebook page and other social media accounts.

Mr. Trump said: “I

… Read the rest

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Her own child

Aug 12th, 2017 7:51 am | By

Alabama’s Attorney General is appealing a ruling by US Magistrate Judge Susan Russ Walker that blocked aspects of a state law requiring minors to get written permission from a parent or guardian before they could legally end a pregnancy.

“We’re disappointed that the state of Alabama has chosen to continue defending this reprehensible law,” Andrew Beck, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement. The ACLU brought the original lawsuit against the Alabama law, resulting in Walker’s ruling.

“While many teens turn to their parents when faced with an unintended pregnancy, others — particularly those with abusive parents — just can’t,” Beck continued. “Forcing a teenager to go on trial to get

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Tuff

Aug 11th, 2017 4:25 pm | By

Childe Pinhead has been making yet more threats at North Korea. It’s worked beautifully so far, so why would he stop?

President Trump made fresh threats of force Friday against North Korea, writing on Twitter that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded” and later telling reporters that the isolated country would “truly regret it” if it attacks Guam or any other U.S. territory.

“This man will not get away with what he’s doing, believe me,” Trump said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose nation, in open defiance of the United Nations, has been developing nuclear weapons capable of reaching the United States. “I hope that they are going to fully understand the gravity of what I

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Guest post: How the cake got burned

Aug 11th, 2017 3:51 pm | By

Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey on Let’s debate his points, so his bad ideas can be defeated.

Pastry Chef: So, I see the cake got burned. Weren’t you supposed to take it out of the oven when the timer went off?

Assistant: Well, I agree that the cake is burned. But I believe that we need to investigate the role of sugar in this.

Do we really?

Oh, absolutely. You see, this cake recipe uses a full cup of sugar, but I found a couple of recipes on the internet that only use 11/12ths of a cup. Sugar tends to burn. That’s just science.

What time were you supposed to take the cake out of the oven?

2 … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 2 comments


The GI tract is not a clean place

Aug 11th, 2017 11:41 am | By

I don’t think I’d heard of “clean eating” before. Apparently it’s a thing.

In the spring of 2014, Jordan Younger noticed that her hair was falling out in clumps. “Not cool” was her reaction. At the time, Younger, 23, believed herself to be eating the healthiest of all possible diets. She was a “gluten-free, sugar-free, oil-free, grain-free, legume-free, plant-based raw vegan”. As The Blonde Vegan, Younger was a “wellness” blogger in New York City, one of thousands on Instagram (where she had 70,000 followers) rallying under the hashtag #eatclean. Although she had no qualifications as a nutritionist, Younger had sold more than 40,000 copies of her own $25, five-day “cleanse” programme – a formula for an all-raw, plant-based diet

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Women are supposed to take care of Wally and the Beaver

Aug 11th, 2017 11:14 am | By

One or two comments on Brooks’s dopy gurlz R diffrunt frum Us piece.

LT:

Mr Brooks, as someone paid to express opinions instead of say, writing software, you may be surprised to learn that most companies are not interested in providing a platform for employees to express controversial opinions outside of their job scope.

When such opinions interfere with the employees ability to effectively perform their job they are often asked to leave.

Mr. Damore expressed his thoughts in a way that made leading and working with a diverse team of engineers who may not share his opinion, difficult if not impossible.

You may feel Damore made several good points but Google is not a debating club and Pichai

… Read the rest

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