Background checks voted down

Christ, can you believe it? Twenty little kids, and their teachers, were murdered - just the latest in a long series of massacres - and we couldn't even get background checks through Congress!

I've seen polls indicating that increased background checks are favored by 91% of Americans (and even 87% of Republicans), but the gun manufacturers still have that much power, the NRA still has that much power. It's just incredible, isn't it?

And this wasn't even universal background checks - to say nothing of a ban on assault weapons or machine pistols - but a wimpy little 'compromise' bill, full of loopholes, designed to keep Republicans happy. Yet even that couldn't get through the Senate!

Oh, it received more than a majority of votes, but we don't have a democracy in the U.S. Senate anymore. Everything is filibustered these days (although not the old-style filibuster, because Republicans don't even have to do anything). And again this year, Democrats were too timid to change that.

What will it take? Do you know why we don't have more bombings, like the recent attack in Boston? It's because we have strict regulations on explosives.

Oh, well. This is outrageous, it's frustrating, it's maddening, but what can you do but weep for our country? How did America get to be like this? Sometimes, I really lose hope for the future.

The most hated woman in America

This was AronRa's speech at the American Atheists 50th anniversary national convention in March. (Madalyn Murray O'Hair founded the American Atheists in 1963.)

I thought it was very good, as these speeches usually are, and very short, as they seldom are - so, all in all, a good video to post here.

ArmA 3 (alpha) AI control

Arma 3 is a complicated game, and this is one of those things that's not explained very well in the game itself. Well, it's still in alpha, so that's no surprise. Nevertheless, this video could be a big help to any newbies out there (like me).

I included links to other videos in my first post about this game, and I'll probably continue to do so. But this particular video will explain how to order the AI soldiers around. That's pretty much critical if you want to play single-player missions in the game - or even co-op missions without enough people to fill every slot.

It's funny, but I'd intended to play just single-player missions in the game, since my limited experience with multiplayer games hasn't been particularly rewarding. But Arma 3 is changing my mind.

Oh, if you just try a public server at random, that's different. You're likely to end up in a heavily modded game (like the ubiquitous Wasteland games, which are very popular with some players) or just get a group of strangers who have no interest in working together.

And this is a military simulation. You need players who'll follow orders, who'll use teamwork, who'll understand that everyone has a particular part to play. If you don't have friends who play games like this, then join one of the many Arma 3 communities. They're all different, so you're almost certain to find some groups that want to play the way you do, too.

And I'm telling you, that makes a huge difference. I've been playing a little bit with a European group, Comrades in Arms. Their thing is that they don't allow respawning. When you're killed, you're out of the game. They think it makes players more cautious and that it makes the experience a bigger thrill. They might be right, though I'm not sure they've entirely convinced me.

Nevertheless, the few times I've played with them (just twice, so far), it's been a lot of fun. If you get the right group, co-op play is really something. I still play single-player missions, but that's mostly for training. (I really am bad at this stuff.) If I keep playing, it's almost certainly going to be because of the co-op multiplayer games.

Still, this video has been very useful to me. Frankly, it's hard to learn all this stuff, and it's even harder to remember it. And it's hardest of all - nearly impossible, in my case - to remember it in the heat of battle, when you're under fire and you need to give orders quickly, before you all end up dead!

Note at the end of the video where he demonstrates Voice Activated Commands. (Watch him use that in a mission here.) If I were going to play a lot of single-player Arma 3, I'd definitely look into getting that software! In fact, I can see where it would be useful in other games, too.

Thank God for killing Hitler

Wasn't that nice of God for killing Adolph Hitler for us? Heck, just think of what might have happened! We might have had to wage war against him. People might have gotten hurt.

But thanks to God, the Nazi government fell, Hitler died, and war criminals were put on trial. Wow! What can't that guy do? I'll bet he cures people, too,... sometimes,... when they go to a hospital and get modern medical care from skilled doctors and nurses.

Of course, God has to respect Hitler's freedom of choice, just like he respects the free will of Hitler's victims - and, indeed, of all of us. God says, "Do exactly as I say, or you'll be tortured forever in Hell."

But hey, it's entirely up to you, right? You can choose to do exactly what he wants (or what people here on Earth say he wants, at least - not that any of them can agree on what that is) or you can choose to burn. Now that's a choice!

Apparently, Bryan Fischer, of the America Family Association (yeah, this guy is a power in right-wing Christianity/politics), decided that wasn't enough crazy for one two-minute episode, so he also had to compare Barack Obama to Hitler. Well, of course he did!

And just like with Hitler, they're all praying for God to get rid of Barack Obama, too. After all, they're so much alike, right? I mean, you can hardly tell them apart!

Honestly, I started to wonder what Fischer was getting at here. Was 'God' supposed to get rid of Obama the same way he supposedly got rid of Hitler? Let's hope not.

Keep in mind that Fischer, crazy as he is, has a following. All appearances aside, he's not just some raving lunatic in a mental institution. People actually listen to him. People even ask him for advice. And he's speaking on American Family Radio, which broadcasts over more than 180 radio stations in at least 40 states.

But luckily, no, God's solution was apparently to create Ben Carson. Carson is the latest Republican heartthrob in the image of Herman Cain and Alan Keyes, a black man with right-wing political and religious views! I mean, Obama is black, too, right? And all those people think alike, don't they?

But if that still doesn't work, God has a backup plan. He's going to get someone else elected president in 2016! Oh, what a masterstroke! I'll bet Barack Obama won't see that coming, huh? After serving out his two terms as president, prohibited by the United States Constitution from running again, someone else will be elected to replace him - all thanks to God!

Wow, when they call that God "all-powerful," they really mean it, don't they? Who says the age of miracles is over, even in this sophisticated land?

Man shoots himself in concealed carry class

Just a little blurb in the local news today:

A 52-year-old man is recovering at a Lincoln hospital Sunday night after accidentally shooting himself in the leg.

It happened at Big Shots Indoor Shooting Range shortly after 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Lincoln Police said the 52-year-old was taking a concealed carry class, when he went to put the .22 caliber gun in a holster on his hip and it went off.

Hey, accidents happen. But that's kind of the whole point, isn't it? In a nation swamped with guns, obsessed with guns, more accidents happen all the time. And this guy apparently wants to carry his gun with him everywhere he goes!

Why? Does he think he's living in a Mad Max movie? Does he really think he needs a gun at hand, every minute of the day, to defend himself from... what? A 'bad guy with a gun'? ("The only thing which can stop a bad guy with a gun is the police common sense gun laws mental health screening early childhood education a good guy with a gun.") Or does he just want to feel macho?

Luckily, he only shot himself, not his own kid or someone else's kid. And he needs to have a gun at hand, in case he wants to shoot some random guy walking down the sidewalk looking black suspicious. Or in case he suddenly gets angry at his wife, or coworker, or someone he encounters in a bar, or even himself.

I don't know what his reasons are. Maybe it's just a political statement. But it's still likely to be a result of hysteria and fear, hyped by the cynical for profit and political power.

And this random shooting is so common in Nebraska - in all of America - that it gets no more than a brief mention in the local news. Other outlets kept buried the fact that this happened in a concealed carry class. The headline - "Man Recovering After Accidental Shooting" - could be from any day, anywhere in America. Ho-hum. Even a "Dog Bites Man" article would be far more unusual than that!

Of course, when some lunatic takes these readily-available guns - no, we just can't prohibit assault weapons or machine pistols designed solely for mass murder, can we? - and kills a whole bunch of children, then that gets the headlines. Briefly. We have a very short attention span here in America, and if it's not your own kid, who cares, right?

Sen. Ted Cruz

(Mario Piperni)

How big a liar is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)?

A full 54 percent of Ted Cruz's statements have been rated "false" or "pants on fire" by PolitiFact. Another 20 percent are only "half true." That's 74 percent of Cruz's statements failing the truth test.

We're used to politicians lying to us, of course. But the frequency of Cruz's lies is actually staggering. Compare Cruz's 74 percent lying rate with Rick Perry's 48 percent and John Cornyn's 56 percent. Cruz is in rarified company with Michele Bachmann as one of this country's biggest political liars. Whenever Ted Cruz opens his mouth, there's a 3/4 chance he's lying.

Lying, of course, is mostly what Ted Cruz is known for. He's made a name for himself with McCarthy-ite accusations against Chuck Hagel, paranoid fantasies about our government shutting down golf courses and building "hobbit homes," deliberate Medicaid distortions, and general obstructionism.

And that ain't no lie.

That's from Burnt Orange Report, and no, it's not a lie. And if it's an exaggeration,... it doesn't seem to be much of one.

First of all, Politifact isn't rating every Ted Cruz statement, obviously. But right now, they list 15 specific statements by Cruz. Eight of those are completely untrue (with half of them so false they get the "pants on fire" designation).

That's 53.33%, so not quite 54%, if that comforts any Cruz fans. Another three are "half true," which is the same thing as "half false." Together, they make up more than 73% of the total.

Only four of Cruz's statements are labeled "true" or "mostly true." That's almost 27% - not a good record, I'd say.

Admittedly, he beats Michele Bachmann, who's been on the political scene a lot longer, and so has more statements to rate. Only 16% of her statements are rated "true" or "mostly true" by Politifact. Really, you should be able to beat that just by accident, don't you think?

And a whopping 61% of her statements are flat-out lies, with a full 25% so egregious they get that "pants on fire" designation. Cruz isn't there yet, not quite, but give him time. That's clearly what he's aiming for.

GOP rebranding

(Nick Anderson)

Here's a history of GOP attempts at rebranding, beginning with the problem:

(Lalo Alcaraz)

(Gary Markstein)

(Stuart Carlson)

(David Horsey)

(Mike Thompson)

Hmm,... that guy looks kind of familiar...

(Rob Rogers)

(Chan Lowe)

(Mike Luckovich)

The party of Lincoln,... and Strom Thurmond

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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I've had Republicans try to tell me this, too. It's actually the Democrats who are racist, you see. Just look back at the 19th and early 20th Centuries!

Yes, absolutely. The Democrats used to be racist. Republicans used to be progressive. But if you're going to vote for the GOP today because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, you've really missed the past 150 years - or, at least, the past 60 or so - of our history.

America's Deep South was solidly Democratic for more than a hundred years. It was, after all, the election of a Republican - Abraham Lincoln - which caused them to attempt secession. And for more than a century after that, the South was a Democratic stronghold.

African Americans tended to vote Republican,... to the very limited extent that they were allowed to vote at all.

But things started to change in the mid-20th Century as northern Democrats started supporting civil rights. The Dixiecrats - those white, racist Democrats from the Deep South - were furious. In fact, in reaction to Harry S. Truman's civil rights proposals (a Southern Democrat himself, he went so far as to integrate America's armed forces), the Dixiecrats ran their own candidate, Strom Thurmond, for president in 1948 on a Dixiecrat Party platform of strict racial segregation.

That almost cost Truman the election, because Thurmond took several Southern states - states which otherwise would have been guaranteed to go for the Democratic candidate. Remember that famous photo of Truman holding the Chicago Daily Tribune? That election wouldn't have been so close without the defection of many Southern Democrats who voted for Thurmond, instead.

(Wikipedia)

The Dixiecrat Party didn't last long, but those racist white Southerners became increasingly unhappy with the Democratic Party. And the last straw came when Lyndon B. Johnson - another Southern Democrat - pushed through the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed state-sponsored racial segregation.

And that was when the Republican Party saw its chance. While Democrats did what was right, regardless of the political impact, Republicans did what was wrong, but would help them politically. In their notorious 'Southern strategy,' Republican leaders set out to deliberately woo white racists.

And it worked like a charm! They took the entire South from the Democrats. Heck, even Strom Thurmond, that former Dixiecrat presidential candidate, became a Republican. The South became as solidly Republican as it had been solidly Democratic.

Not surprisingly, African Americans left the GOP. So did many Northeastern Republicans who were uncomfortable with pandering to racists. (Note the the Northeast had previously been the Republican stronghold. Now, it's the South. That's meant a huge change in the party.)

Now, those Republican leaders were probably no more racist than most people back then. They were just politically ambitious. This was about using those Southern racists in order gain power (after the Great Depression, Democrats had been dominant for quite a long time) and to pass laws favoring the wealthy (which was the main GOP concern even back then).

Even into the George W. Bush administration (even today, to a large extent), Republicans worked for what they really wanted - tax cuts for the rich, corporate welfare, and lots and lots of spending going to the military-industrial complex - while throwing an occasional bone to the racists and the religious fundamentalists they thought to use.

As I say, that worked. They were able to turn America hard to the right when it came to the economic issues they really cared about, and they've dominated national politics for decades now, with just a brief setback due to the Richard M. Nixon debacle.

But as they wooed white racists, Christian fundamentalists, and unrepentant Confederates, they started losing moderates. Those Dixiecrats joined forces with the John Birchers and other crazies already in the GOP, driving out moderate conservatives, driving out rational conservatives. So, as time went on, those right-wing fanatics became the Republican base.

And now, they control the Republican Party. These days, they're not satisfied with an occasional bone thrown their way. These days, they're not satisfied with rhetoric. Now, the lunatics have taken control of the asylum, and they mean to stay in control and to actually run things.

Now, Southern whites aren't as racist as they used to be, but they're still pretty racist. And, by deliberately wooing white racists, the Republican Party has filled itself with racists from all parts of our country. Again, America isn't as racist as it used to be, but that doesn't mean we're 'post-racial,' not at all.

So, given all this, is it a surprise that African Americans overwhelmingly vote Democratic these days? Of course not! And it's no surprise that Hispanics also favor the Democratic Party, if not in such overwhelming numbers.

But when Barack Obama receives 93% of the African American vote, it's easy to forget why. And it's easy to forget that Al Gore received 90% of the African American vote in 2000, or that 88% of African Americans supported John Kerry in 2004. There are good reasons for that.

Indeed, blacks have overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party since... about the time Republicans started deliberately wooing white racists. Funny how that works, isn't it?

Republican politicians are trying to persuade racial minorities that things are different now. Why? Well, they want more votes. It's as simple as that. They don't plan to change their policies, of course. They just want to use racial minorities as they used white racists and religious nuts, to pass more tax cuts for the rich.

Frankly, despite Rand Paul's speech, they've pretty much given up on African Americans, I think. But they are trying to appeal to Hispanics, where they think they still have a chance. However, it's all rhetoric. They don't plan to change anything else. Indeed, given that the GOP base has been filled with white racists, they probably can't do too much to appeal to Hispanics without risking a backlash from the people who actually control the party now.

Anyway, that's your history lesson. And yes, I know you've heard this from me a million times. But it bears repeating, it really does. Republicans are trying very hard to rewrite history, so it's very, very important to remember this stuff. Therefore, I guess I'll keep repeating it, over and over again.

We've become our own worst enemy

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Yeah, this is the second video segment of last night's show (the first is here), but this one has the insanity I wanted to showcase. It's similar to my last post, in fact, thanks to Republicans who have become batshit crazy on the subject of the United Nations.

When did this happen? I remember trick-or-treating for UNICEF when I was a kid. Do kids still do that these days? Not in Nebraska, I suspect, since the UN seems to be about as popular as Satan (with just about as much evidence).

But the Republican Party has done this deliberately, just as they've ratcheted up the hysteria and the insanity about almost everything else these days. This is how they keep ignorant and gullible yokels supporting them with money and votes. And those people do vote - much more reliably than Democrats - so I guess it works.

(PS. Did you catch that comment, from a Texas politician - naturally - where you can literally drive a tank through that UN treaty? I think you can do that with any treaty, can't you? At least, if you get it printed on a big enough sheet of paper?)

Stephen Colbert had a segment about this last night, too - at least in part:

The Colbert Report
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Yeah, so what's the "real problem" with gun violence in America? Video games, of course!

Forget the fact that researchers have never found a link between video games and real-world gun violence. Forget the fact that video games are hugely popular all around the world, but only in America - where guns are everywhere - is gun violence a big problem.

But if there's one thing almost as popular in America as guns, it's scapegoats.

States ban sustainability and 'hobbit homes'

Crazy, isn't it? I like how worked up Cenk Uygur gets over these things, since I do, too.

And I particularly like this bit about Kansas (I live in Nebraska, after all), where some loony Republican wants to ban sustainable development! Don't they own a dictionary? Or do they know what "sustainable" means and are still this stupid?

We should ban life jackets

(My[confined]Space)

Click to embiggen.

And note that I got the image here, but they admit that they don't know where it came from, originally. (Certainly, the idea behind it comes from the GOP.)

Public reaction to stealing a bicycle varies by race

Interesting experiment, isn't it? These people weren't trying to be racist. It's just that racial stereotypes are ingrained in all of us. Note that even the black people in this video assumed the best when it came to the white kid.

This is why Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a white vigilante who thought that a black kid walking down a sidewalk was automatically suspicious. This is why blacks are stopped more often by police - even by black officers.

But what gets me is that, even when the white kid admitted that he was stealing the bike, most people just shrugged it off. Not so when the kid was black. Why is that, I wonder?

When I was a kid myself, I used to accuse my parents of being racist. They'd indignantly deny it,... and then turn around and say something racist. They couldn't seem to understand why common stereotypes - shared by everyone they knew - were racist. I mean, it's not racist if 'those people' really are lazy, right? :)

This is a more difficult problem than you might think. We're all racist, to some extent. It's not just the blatant racists, the KKK types, the white power loons. No, we all make assumptions based on race, even when we don't want to be that way.

Hairy frog breaks own bones to produce claws

(Gustavocarra)

Why do you need fantasy when the real world is this strange?

Harvard biologists have described a bizarre, hairy frog with cat-like extendable claws.

Trichobatrachus robustus actively breaks its own bones to produce claws that puncture their way out of the frog's toe pads, probably when it is threatened.

David Blackburn and colleagues at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology, think the gruesome behaviour is a defence mechanism.

The researchers say there are salamanders that force their ribs through their skin to produce protective barbs on demand, but nothing quite like this mechanism has been seen before. ...

At rest, the claws of T. robustus, found on the hind feet only, are nestled inside a mass of connective tissue. A chunk of collagen forms a bond between the claw's sharp point and a small piece of bone at the tip of the frog's toe.

The other end of the claw is connected to a muscle. Blackburn and his colleagues believe that when the animal is attacked, it contracts this muscle, which pulls the claw downwards. The sharp point then breaks away from the bony tip and cuts through the toe pad, emerging on the underside.

The end result may look like a cat's claw, but the breaking and cutting mechanism is very different and unique among vertebrates. Also unique is the fact that the claw is just bone and does not have an outer coating of keratin like other claws do.

Because Blackburn has only studied dead specimens, he says he does not know what happens when the claw retracts - or even how it retracts. It does not appear to have a muscle to pull it back inside so the team think it may passively slide back into the toe pad when its muscle relaxes.

"Being amphibians, it would not be surprising if some parts of the wound heal and the tissue is regenerated," says Blackburn.

Males of the species, which grows to about 11 centimetres, also produce long hair-like strands of skin and arteries when they breed (see image). It is thought that the "hairs" allow them to take in more oxygen through their skin while they take care of their brood.

Wild, isn't it? Sadly, global warming, along with other human activity, is threatening amphibians worldwide with mass extinctions. How many more of these neat species will we never know?

Savage Chickens

(Savage Chickens)

This is why I don't like public water fountains. :)

Truths

I was reading a comment in my local newspaper the other day, where this right-winger started talking about "truths" regarding gay marriage. And I suddenly realized how often I hear that word from the religious right.

...But it seems to mean something different to them than to the rest of us. Have you ever noticed that? To the religious right, "truths" seem to have no connection to reality. "Truths" don't have to be backed up by evidence. "Truths" don't even need to be true - indeed, they usually aren't.

It's a weird use of language, don't you think? Now, as a skeptic, I care what's true and what isn't. I want my beliefs to line up with reality, as closely as possible. So I want to make sure I have evidence backing them up. But none of that has any connection to "truths" as the religious right uses that word.

"Truths," as they use it, is just a synonym for "beliefs." And since you can believe anything you want, for any reason you want, they think that "truth" is whatever you want it to be. They don't bother to supply evidence, or even reasons backing up their beliefs, because they don't seem to connect "truth" with "true" - or with reality at all.

This is so common that I've heard at least one atheist say he's stopped using the words "true" and "truth" entirely. Instead, he emphasizes "reality." He simply wants his beliefs to match up with reality. Well, so do I, but I'm not willing to abandon "true."

"Truths," on the other hand,... I can do without, I think. Inevitably, when I hear the word "truths" (sometimes "truth," but usually plural), I'm guaranteed to hear something we have no reason to believe is actually true. Indeed, the vast majority of the time, we have abundant evidence that it's false.

So, my honest advice to the religious right is to give it up, too. Stop using "truths." It just makes the rest of us doubt what you say, before we even hear what it is. Use the word "beliefs." It's a fine word, and it's what you really mean, anyway.

Discovering Religion: A sadomasochistic God

Warning, this contains some very disturbing images - notably, of the Holocaust. It's not an easy video to watch.

This is by Discovering Religion, and you might be more comfortable with his original series of videos, or others on his channel. I'm posting this one, since  it's a powerful video with an important point to make, but it's not pleasant viewing.

Still segregated proms in Georgia

It's the 21st Century, but this kind of racist bullshit is still going on in America! Well, in Georgia, at least, and last time I looked, Georgia was still in the Union (though maybe not by choice).

Separate proms for white kids and black kids? Separate homecoming kings and queens? And they won't allow a white 'king' and black 'queen' to appear in the same yearbook photo?

Do you wonder at the hysteria over our first black president when crap like this is still going on? They won't even integrate a high school prom, so what do imagine they think about a black man in the White House?

FYI, here's the local news story, which was picked up by The Washington Post and then by TYT.

Key of Awesome tribute to ridiculous voices

I thought this was kind of fun. And maybe it will tide you over while I try to get some work done today. :)

Spring

Just a heads-up that I won't be posting as often, now that spring is finally here. It'll probably vary a lot, depending on the weather and what I find to post, but I'll be a lot busier now than I was this winter.

I'm likely to post video clips, because those are quick and easy. Indeed, I've been posting more and more of them, anyway. But don't call the morgue if I miss a day or two. :)

An Honest Liar

I'm either late or early with this - or both - but I simply hadn't heard of it before. This is a trailer for a documentary on the life of James Randi. It looks great, doesn't it?

I'm late, because there was a Kickstarter project to finish the film, but it ended February 15th (with nearly twice the pledge money of their $148,000 goal).

Or I'm early, because the film hasn't been completed yet. But I did think this trailer was intriguing. In particular, I liked seeing James Randi as a young man. I really knew nothing about his early career, before he became the scourge of fake psychics, faith healers, and other scam artists everywhere.

Here's the home page of An Honest Liar: The Amazing Randi Story. More clips from the film are here. But if I read the Kickstarter info. correctly, the whole documentary won't be completed for another year and a half, or so.