Recent Comments

1. 1 day ago on Reality Check

   After nearly 20 years of emergency dispatching I think I can safely say that it isn’t the mass of the vehicle that keeps you safe. It’s the safety features built into every vehicle these days: crumple zones, air bags, seat belts, stiff passenger cages, etc. Over my time of service we went from rollover accidents being major incidents, to the occupants walking away without injury.

   On the other hand, pickups and SUVs are getting so big and heavy that they are outstripping the protective ability of guardrails, collision barrels, and other public highway safety infrastructure. That is less safe for the driver and the passengers. These vehicles also wear the roads harder, resulting in more taxes needed to keep them in repair, and more vehicles of all types damaged by potholes.

   However, there’s also the danger to anyone outside. Heavier vehicles with taller front profiles means pedestrians and bicyclists are much more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Other cars are more likely to be collapsed or crushed.

   Maybe that last sentence is exactly your point… which means you’re stuck in a never-ending arms race of bigger and heavier vehicles until no one is safe at all.

2. 2 days ago on Reality Check

   Rent-a-Wreck still exists. And plenty of places rent pickups, like U-Haul and Home Depot.

3. 2 days ago on Barney & Clyde

   Yes, we do sometimes see Cynthia’s mother.

4. 5 days ago on Tom the Dancing Bug

   I have to start with an admission that I seriously misread Wikipedia, and have to drop the libertarian label from Bannon at least. Silly me. Discussions before coffee.

   I actually can’t find any instance of “federal anarchist” associated with Bannon via Googling. “Economic nationalist” is a pretty well-documented self-applied label. I also see that his destructive quote was, more specifically, “deconstruct the administrative state.” He favors lots of things controlled by the federal government – heavy investment in civil infrastructure, strict throttles on immigration, etc. He seems to want a state but not how it is now – which is pretty much in tune with the message of the right-wing for the last couple of decades.

   Maybe he’s just part of the right-wing grift factory, a professional anger-stirrer. We may find out more about that next month in New York.

   While “sincere-minded Libertarians” might cringe at who they’re associated with, so would anarchists, wouldn’t they?

5. 6 days ago on Tom the Dancing Bug

   While “anarchist” and “libertarian” can be quite muddy to define and often overlap, I believe “libertarian” is a much better fit for those you name.

   In general, anarchists would indeed want to tear it all down but are more or less directly opposed to the authoritarianism and capitalism embodied in DJT. Libertarians, on the other hand, are fine with capitalism, and want it unfettered by the state. Having a state is fine as long as it protects them and does their bidding.

   Bannon and Gaetz particularly are libertarian. Greene is a self-identified Christian nationalist. None of them want to just tear it all down but to reform it to benefit only those they feel are worthy – white and / or Christian – which lines up nicely with the Christo-fascist, white nationalist oligarchy.

   In broad strokes I agree with you – Putin’s rule is a carefully-maintained house of cards. I just don’t think “anarchist” is the right term, and I feel the factions are much more compatible than you suggest.

6. 6 days ago on Tom the Dancing Bug

   Anarchy is a far-left philosophy.

   The goal of MAGA, DJT, the American right et al, is far from that. It aims to rule. It aims to set the rules. It wants the power to dictate morals and laws to preserve its own privilege.

   Think about the flags and groups associated with J6 and DJT rallies. The laws enacted in red states. The idolizing of Putin. He has achieved a Christo-fascist, white nationalist oligarchy. This is what the GOP wants. This is what the rich want. This is why we’re being fed misinformation and set at each other’s throats.

   I wish it was just anarchy. Anarchists are generally much nicer people.

7. 11 days ago on FoxTrot Classics

   It was during Bush the younger’s term as president. France opposed the US invasion of Iraq after 9/11 which spurred the whole silly Freedom fries thing.

8. 13 days ago on Skin Horse

   To be fair, lady nipples should also be okay. It’s just an inexplicable cultural taboo that makes them somehow “obscene”.

9. 16 days ago on Over the Hedge

   Yes. We’ve had a king sized Tempurpedic for close to two decades.

10. 22 days ago on Flo and Friends

    With widespread adoption of Ranked Choice Voting, all candidates could have a realistic expectation, and you could vote for who you wanted without being stuck using your vote tactically. It would have a great shot at breaking the two-party stranglehold.