“War is Peace”
George Orwell in “1984“
Credit “Impeach for Peace“.
I’m sure you have heard of the concept of “pay it forward”. The idea is to repay an act of kindness by a similar act of kindness to another unrelated person in need at some future time. It dovetails nicely with the “Threefold Law”, and is something I have always tried to do, even before I ever heard of either concept. Then there is the Golden Rule I was taught as an infant.
But do you know where the specific “pay it forward” concept originated? Probably not where you think. Neither the movie nor the the book by that name was the original source.
The earliest reference to the actual phrase “pay it forward” of which I am aware is in a book by Robert Heinlein titled Between Planets, originally published in 1951.
Nuclear Madness
by Katrina vanden Heuvel
I like this quote, a lot. It really says it for me.
“… all the while the charge is led by a little man/would-be cowboy with a messianic vision who finds himself at the helm of the most powerful nation in history. …”
And the blathering and posturing continues. Does GW really think anyone is buying this schtick? The polls numbers say they are not. 32% approval and dropping.
Bush aims to halt gas price rise
<sarcasm>Bush, the Texas oil man, wants to slap the big oil companies. The same big oils companies who made his political career with their big contributions. The same oil companies who have been earning record profits from price gouging since Katrina. I believe that will happen, don’t you?</sarcasm>
In related news: GM breaks from big oil and starts pushing E85 (ethanol fuel) usage. E85 is a cleaner burning fuel, and it is renewable. 85% grain alcohol (from corn) to 15% gasoline. It’s the greener choice, and one I would be happy to make.
This is interesting. It’s an obvious ploy to gain favor with people being eaten alive by gas prices. The availability of vehicles equipped to use E85 is not new. My 2002 Ford Explorer is equipped for E85. What makes this news at all is the willingness of GM to thumb their noses at “Oil”.
Don’t get your hopes up, though. E85 is simply not available for public consumption. The only public station (of five total) in the entire state of Texas is in San Antonio. Oklahoma (3) and Kansas (13) are better, but by no means is it generally available, even there. E85 won’t solve anything. It’s at best a long term (years) possibility. It’s possible that the price pressure from gasoline may encourage an increase in E85 availability. Even so, it won’t help anybody this summer, or this year.
EDIT: According to NPR in Minnesota, this time last year E85 was significantly cheaper (up to 85 cents per gallon) than regular gasoline.
And here, you can see prices reported in Minnesota by consumers.
The United States of America or the Republic of Gilead?
Wow, it’s closer than even I realized…
Many of you may have read it already or seen the uneven film adaptation, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
It is a dystopian science fiction novel similar to 1984 and Brave New World in that it is a very personal look at a future totalitarian society.
The difference is that unlike Brave New World and 1984, we really are on the edge of becoming the Republic of Gilead.
Go read the entire analysis.
From sunfell via
EDIT: While I have recommended The Handmaid’s Tale before, the above is a quote from the Daily Kos article here, comparing their government to our own.
Leonard Pitts on the Duke rape scandal
So it’s all well and good to make this a story about sex and race or class.
But I believe it’s about more than that. And I suspect that one in six women would agree.
Why does it take the mixed race aspect of this to make it news? Rape is an abominable crime, and has absolutely nothing to do with sex.
And this quote:
Then there’s the e-mail sent from the account of one of the lacrosse players: “Tomorrow night, after tonights show, ive decided to have some strippers over. However there will be no nudity. I plan on killing bitches as soon as they walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off.”
makes me sick to my stomach.
I just don’t know what to say about this.
An Aging Trans Woman 