Monday, October 31, 2022
IPLawGuy on Fire!
I asked about comics, and we heard from Jill Scoggins, the Medievalist, an anonymous writer, but mostly we got awesome stuff from IPLawGuy!
There was this from Jill Scoggins:
Moma got my name
from The Jackson Twins. Made me
feel I was special.
And from the Medievalist:
Opus the penguin,
Is living in Bloom County,
And Dandelions.
From an anonymous Susie Derkins:
Bill Watterson saw
My kindergarten picture
I'm Susie Durkins.
And as an adult,
I grew to be Calvin's mom.
My life, in comics.
But mostly, and wonderfully, from IPLawGuy, with this:
Poor Richard Thompson
Wrote the awesome Cul de Sac
Cruel Parkinsons.
And this:
Just because its weird
The Sunday Post now features
of all things, Popeye!
And this:
Michael Doonesbury
Spoke to me: smart buy awkward
Struggling to fit in.
And this:
Zippy the Pinhead
Leapt from National Lampoon
to Washington Post.
And this:
Lampoon's comics
were subersive and naughty
Kids now don't get it
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Sunday Reflection: The Loss of a Church
Late in the day yesterday, as I was biking home after going to the Minnesota-Rutgers game (because that is how you get home from a game in Minnesota) I came across the sign above in front of a church not too far from my home. I was intrigued by the part of the sign that said "Pastor _______" I thought that was an intriguing twist, and I thought it might be related to the yellow note on the sign next to the sailing cross.
And it was, in a way. The church is slated for demolition. It's a beautiful space, too:
What happened to this church, built in 1950?
Online, other than a few stories noting that it would be demolished for a housing or "mixed-use" development. What surprised me was I didn't find: any kind of obituary for the church, explaining a cause of death.
And that may be the saddest thing of all-- no one was left, or willing, to even explain what went wrong or how this elegant church, where people gathered for decades, ended up abandoned and-- soon-- demolished. Those are the saddest deaths, aren't they?
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Vietnam on the cheap
Friday, October 28, 2022
Haiku Friday: Cartoons, etc.
I've been reading the comics my whole life, though it makes me sad that they have made them smaller these days for some reason.
When I was a little kid, I came across an old Peanuts strip with three panels. In the first one, Charlie Brown is talking to Snoopy, saying "You dog." In the second one, with the same art, Charlie Brown says "You cur." and then in the last panel, he tells Snoopy "Oh, you dog." I've been thinking about that for half a century now, and I'm still not sure what it was about. I mean... was that funny? Or was there some deeper meaning? Or, was it just an off day for Charles Schultz?
Anyways, let's haiku about our well-drawn friends this week. Here, I will go first:
Snoopy was like me
Loved to dance and imagine
Did not seem owned.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Political Mayhem Thursday: Haunted!
The Washington Post just ran a list of the 11 Scariest Places You Can Visit, which is a very questionable list. It includes the Fairmont Hotel in Banff, pictured above, which seems to be on the list because it might remind you of the hotel in a truly scary movie, "The Shining."
None of the most haunted places I've been were on the list. My own most haunted places would include the homes I lived in both in Grosse Pointe and Waco, the Landmark Inn in Marquette, Michigan, the Penobscot Building in Detroit, and IPLawGuy's Mazda CX-9, all of which are truly haunted by some ghosts who mean business-- probably of people who died in those respective places.
However, have you ever noticed how almost any government building seems haunted? You can start with state capitols from pretty much any state (except North Dakota, where the Capitol is a mid-sized office building in Bismarck with a DMV on the first floor) and immediately get a creeped-out vibe.
However, I would argue that the most haunted building I have ever been to is the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington DC, which is sometimes still referred to as the Old Executive Office Building or the "Creep Museum." It is next to the White House and holds offices for many entities within the Executive Office of the President, such as the Domestic Policy Council. It was built on the site of the White House stables from 1871 and 1888 and... well, let's stop right there. I mean, it took 17 years to build this thing, and in the middle of a pretty dark period of US history just after the Civil War and at the start of the Jim Crow era.
I've been there several times, including to the Vice President's Ceremonial Office, which is kind of the piece de resistance in terms of grandeur and haunted-ness. The has wide marble stairways, which seem perfect for ghosts to glide up and down. It has housed lonely vice-presidents, erratic secretaries of the Army and Navy, countless despondent bureaucrats, and thousands of beaten-down interns. How could it not be haunted? And it looks like this:
Case closed!
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Oh, baffling politics!
As we come up on the midterms, prognosticators are becoming more bullish on Republican wins at the national and state levels. Here in Minnesota, the Governor's and Attorney General races are very close, despite the success of the incumbents at, you know, doing their job.
There seem to be three key factors favoring Republicans, and they are all nonsense:
1) The unpopularity of Joe Biden
2) Inflation
3) Crime
Let's start with Joe Biden. If you have been reading this blog, you know I'm not a fan-- he was about my last choice in the primary, and he has failed to meet even my very low expectations on the things I care most about. His clemency policy isn't really a policy at all, just vague signaling that leaves unaffected the 17,000+ people whose petitions sit without any action. BUT... Biden isn't on the ballot.
And inflation? It's laughable to think that inflation is driven by politics, at least in the short term (which is what we are facing). COVID-related supply disruptions, labor shortages, corporate profit-taking, the war in Ukraine and other things beyond our control are creating inflation. In fact, the one action the elected members of the federal government could take that would probably lower inflation would be to increase immigration, to lower labor costs-- but increasing immigration is something Republicans accuse Democrats of doing. And if Republicans had any plan to actually do something about inflation-- if they really thought politicians controlled it-- they would have a plan to do something. But they don't, because realistically they can't. Notably, you know where inflation is really bad? The UK, where conservatives control the government.
Oh, and crime? As I have noted before, it is going down-- way down of late here in Minneapolis. But the press doesn't report that, and people don't know it. At any rate, crime increased in 2020 and 2021 in blue and red cities and states alike, driven by forces bigger than politics.
The irony is that no matter who wins, crime and inflation will probably improve, because that is the way cycles work. But don't tell the politicians that.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
The Academy of... oh.
The Washington Post has a fascinating report out on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which describes itself this way on its own website:
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest organization of nutrition and dietetics practitioners founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917, by a visionary group of women dedicated to helping the government conserve food and improve the public's health and nutrition during World War I. Today, the Academy represents more than 112,000 credentialed practitioners — registered dietitian nutritionists, nutrition and dietetics technicians, registered, and other food and nutrition professionals holding undergraduate and advanced degrees in nutrition and dietetics, and students — and is committed to improving health and advancing the profession of nutrition and dietetics through research, education and advocacy.
Members of the Academy play a key role in shaping the public's food choices, thereby improving its nutritional status, and in treating persons with illnesses or injuries. Members offer preventive and medical nutrition therapy services in a variety of settings.
Sounds good, right? But the full picture is a lot more complicated. It turns out that a lot of the Academy is funded by companies that make junk food-- they got over $4 million from companies including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Hershey, Kellogg's and ConAgra. They took money from entities literally names the "Sugar Association" and the "Corn Refiners Association."
The Academy, of course, claims that these financial supporters have no influence over their work.
But one wonders... why do they give so much money?
Monday, October 24, 2022
Iconic Roles
Wow! What a great outpouring of great haiku last week.
This from Jill Scoggins was so good and real:
I've lost a daughter.
Terms of Endearment and Steel
Magnolias show best
how the loss of a
(step)daughter break your heart in
a million pieces.
You are never the
same. You are forever changed.
You're always ... shattered.
Terms of Endearment and Steel
Magnolias show best
how the loss of a
(step)daughter break your heart in
a million pieces.
You are never the
same. You are forever changed.
You're always ... shattered.
My Dad made me want to see this movie:
Gary Cooper stood
alone in the street facing
his death at High Noon
I hoped that he would start
dancing to the music and
safety... not Gary
Still stone faced, only
his gun hand moved. He left town
shortly after noon.
alone in the street facing
his death at High Noon
I hoped that he would start
dancing to the music and
safety... not Gary
Still stone faced, only
his gun hand moved. He left town
shortly after noon.
I saw this one, Desiree:
Outlaw AstroTurf
and designated hitters.
Costner at his best.
and designated hitters.
Costner at his best.
But only one of these, Mary Senneka:
Two different Hepburns
Breakfast at Tiffany's and
The African Queen.
Breakfast at Tiffany's and
The African Queen.
And not this one, Medievalist:
Nutty professor
Jerry Lewis is wacky
Want the recipe.
Jerry Lewis is wacky
Want the recipe.
And we had four great ones from IPLawGuy! There was this:
Despite Co-Star role
on Mission Impossible
He will always be Spock!
on Mission Impossible
He will always be Spock!
And this:
Keaton, Clooney, Bales?
Pattinson, Kilmer, Affleck?
Adam West was best.
Pattinson, Kilmer, Affleck?
Adam West was best.
And this:
Not just one but two
Maynard G. Krebs, Gilligan
Bob Denver (not John).
Maynard G. Krebs, Gilligan
Bob Denver (not John).
And this:
Don Addams, voice of
Tennesee Tuxedo, but
He IS Maxwell Smart.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Sunday Reflection: Balance
I watched all of the Star Wars movies, though I was never a hard-core fan. Some of the acting was just terrible, and all the light-saber fighting got pretty tiresome after a while.
The most interesting part of it, though, was the theology. A few of the theological points, about balance and fear.
On fear, Yoda tells Anakin Skywalker "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." It's true. And out politics have become much too rooted in fear. I see it in my own field, as those running for office are stoking the fear of crime for political gain even as crime is going down (at least here in Minneapolis). And that fear, as intended, does lead to hate-- and too often, racial hatred. And yes, that leads to suffering. Nothing good comes of it, and it does nothing to actually solve the problem of crime. Jesus said "Fear not," and that is pretty good advice.
The idea of "balance" is at the center of the Star Wars theology; bad things happen when there is an imbalance in "the force." I think about that a lot, though it is not a central part of Christian theology. It is a part of many religions and philosophies, though--think of the ying-yang. It does appear in a passage of the Bible that speaks to me, though: Micah 6:8 tells us to seek justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Justice and mercy are in tension within my world; the key is to humbly seek balance between them.
For what it is worth, Jar-Jar Binks plays no role in my thinking, ever.
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Meanwhile, in the UK....
Friday, October 21, 2022
Haiku Friday: Iconic Roles
There are iconic roles in movies and television, on the stage and sometimes in our own lives. I want to explore that a little this week... in haiku!
Here, I will go first:
Midnight in Fall, so
Let's do the time warp, again!
Sarandon in bloom.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Political Mayhem Thursday: Biden being Biden
One thing that cracks me up is when someone reacts to something I write by commenting "I don't remember you criticizing Obama about this!" when if they had done a four-second Google search they would have found me doing exactly that in the New York Times and Washington Post. Most of my writing on politics, actually, has been critical of my fellow Democrats. That is, I think, because I expect something good from them, and I'm so disappointed when they don't deliver.
I never really expected much from Joe Biden, who never was much for criminal justice reform (despite being our only president, I think, who had worked as a public defender). Still, he has managed to not even meet my low expectations. As I explained a few weeks ago, his clemency grants have been mostly symbolic.
Yesterday, I addressed his troubling U-turn on the death penalty in an essay published at The Hill, which you can read here (it wasn't my only piece out yesterday; I also had an op-ed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on the County Attorney's race, which you can read here).
I'm hoping that Biden will get more focused on these things (or at least his staff will) after the midterms, but I fear he will not.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Talking talking talking
Yesterday I gave a lunchtime talk at my school about crime in Minneapolis. It was a wonderfully broad subject so I had a lot of fun, and there were a ton of questions afterwards.
It's always worth it to break out of the same old lectures and try something new. I loved to see new faces in the audience, too-- some of whom will be in my 1L Criminal Law class in the Spring.
I started out with something that people don't think about often: That the criminal justice project is innately in tension with freedom. In other words, criminal laws restrict what people are otherwise able to do. I think such laws are necessary, but in a freedom-loving society we must be careful only to criminalize things and restrict the freedom of individuals when that actually solves a problem.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Recipe Time: Apple Crisp!
I love Fall. And I love the food of fall-- cider, pumpkin pie, caramel in everything. And nothing says "Autumn" to me quite like apple crisp. So here's a recipe! I got this one from the Chunky Chef, a site I recommend for the kind of food you really want to eat rather than just look at. Also, don't try to substitute Honey-Nut Cheerios or something for the oats. Trust me on that.
Ingredients
- 6 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped (other varieties can be used, can also be sliced)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced into small cubes
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter an 8×8 baking dish, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add chopped apples, granulated sugar, 3/4 tsp of the cinnamon and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then transfer to prepared baking dish.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add topping ingredients (brown sugar, oats, flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter). Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the oat mixture, using a slight downward twisting motion, until mixture resembled pea-sized crumbs. Alternatively, you can use two forks or even your hands to cut butter into the mixture.
- Spread topping over apples in baking dish, and gently pat to even it out. Bake 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Monday, October 17, 2022
IPLawGuy and his many cars!
Ah, first cars! I knew IPLawGuy would jump in with both feet. And he did! Once:
I got Dad's Cricket
a crappy English Hillman
Plymouth's "first" small car.
a crappy English Hillman
Plymouth's "first" small car.
Twice:
Short Fall College Break
Drove back in Mom's old Wagon
Beat up Satellite.
Drove back in Mom's old Wagon
Beat up Satellite.
Three times!:
Took College grad money
Bought a Decent Dodge K-Car
Fancy 400.
Bought a Decent Dodge K-Car
Fancy 400.
As did Desiree:
Haggled with my dad
To buy my cool new Dodge Colt.
Dog riding shotgun.
To buy my cool new Dodge Colt.
Dog riding shotgun.
And Anonymous:
‘70 Pinto.
I was hit from behind. But
no explosion! Whew.
I was hit from behind. But
no explosion! Whew.
From my Dad, something I did not know!:
In 1950
dad bought an Olds 88
He sure loved that car
College senior year
just like a Norman Rockwell
painting he handed
me the keys and so
much more. Most important car
that I ever drove.
dad bought an Olds 88
He sure loved that car
College senior year
just like a Norman Rockwell
painting he handed
me the keys and so
much more. Most important car
that I ever drove.
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Sunday Reflection: Escape
This was a week where I shifted gears a little. At work, I carved out time to write-- which means I closed my door, got deep into the words, and lost myself a little in the subject. I walk around and mutter and then type some more.
And then there was some time in the woods. Minnesota is good that way.
It's common for people to talk about that kind of escape as getting closer to God. Of course, God is there wherever you go, and whatever you are doing. You don't control God, after all. Perhaps it could be that when we escape we have more ability to perceive God, but that doesn't speak well to what we are doing the rest of the time, does it?
But I do know that life is meant to have cycles, long ones and short ones, and that rhythm between engagement and escape is something writ into our blood.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Lizzo!
I wasn't there, but Lizzo came back to Minneapolis for what was reported to be a fantastic show this week. I really like her music and her positivity. And I love the way she works with this band (which kind of reminds me of Fleetwood Mac and the USC Marching band perfoming Tusk, which you can see here, complete with Stevie Nicks doing baton tricks).
Friday, October 14, 2022
Haiku Friday: My first car
The beautiful Fiat 500 pictured above was not my first car. It might have been someone's first car, though! Let's haiku about those memorable (or not) vehicles. Here, I will go first:
Volkswagon Fox. white
Made of tin in Brazil
Well hello, freedom!
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable formula and have some fun!
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Political Mayhem Thursday: Big Huge Lies
Yesterday, a jury in Connecticut ordered "Infowars" host Alex Jones to pay $965 million to the families of children killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting.
Jones had repeatedly, to a big audience, told a big huge lie: that the shooting was faked and was all a ploy by gun law advocates. He described the grieving parents as actors, and he mocked them repeatedly for years.
And people believed it, because it aligned with their political beliefs, and someone in the media was saying it over and over.
This wasn't someone being wrong about a policy or a slip of the tongue. It was a factual lie-- a set of lies, really-- that he repeated over and over. And those lies caused some of his listeners to try to find the parents and harass them.
It wasn't a criminal act. But some of the very worst things people do are not criminal acts. That's one problem with having your own personal values determined simply by what is legal.
There is something happening in our society and our politics right now that is making Big Huge Lies a regular part of discourse, and that may a really terrible sign for our democracy.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
The Phenom
He's 7 foot, 5 inches tall. He's French. He's 18 years old. And he's positioned to be the hottest young basketball player to come into the NBA in years.
Victor Wenbanyama is going to be something. As usual, you read it here first, on your number one source for sports news: The Razor!
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Me and Goldy
It's taken me a while to warm up to the University of Minnesota. It's not that I have a problem with state schools-- I went to one, after all--but it's just hard to hedge on my lifelong allegiance to the University of Michigan. Yeah, I never attended Michigan. It's just always been my favorite team.
But, Michigan doesn't have a mascot, which is ridiculous. Think of the fun you could have with a vicious wolverine! But, no, they take things too seriously for any such tomfoolery.
But Goldy Gopher has drawn me in. I trust Goldy. Plus, he's a happy gopher, not a moody violence-prone mammal like Bucky Badger.
Is this a problem?
Monday, October 10, 2022
On fall colors!
So good! Thank you Jill Scoggins (I agree 100%):
Brilliant reds, yellows,
oranges fill my sight. Why
I love fall the most.
oranges fill my sight. Why
I love fall the most.
And Ingrid Fournier:
Sunlight shines on leaves
One soft breeze caresses trees
The falling begins.
And also Your Tim(e) Has Come (I really liked this one):
Beauty birthed in oaks
Vibrant colors splashed against
Towering evergreens.
Vibrant colors splashed against
Towering evergreens.
And Dad, what got into you? (and are you still burning leaves in the street?):
Early fall is a
short lived showoff soon to
be put by the curb.
short lived showoff soon to
be put by the curb.
Sunday, October 09, 2022
Sunday Reflection: Old friends
A strange thing happened this week. President Biden granted some pardons for those convicted of marijuana possession (usually a misdemeanor or less) and some media people called me to help explain. One of them was PBS NewsHour, a show I like, and who I have talked to before. Here is the clip:
The weird thing about this one was how many people saw it! I heard from friends from childhood, people from college, many of my students at Baylor and people from here in Minnesota that they had seen it-- which gave me a chance to catch up with many of them.
So many people enter (and sometimes leave) our lives, and in their own way I think that each one changes us some little bit or more. For some of those who reached out-- like Hulitt Gloer-- the truth is that they changed my life in a big and positive way.
In Luke 17, Jesus heals 10 people of leprosy, and only one comes back to thank him. Too often in my life, I have been one of those other nine; I have failed to recognize and honor those who have been so good to me. I hope to do better at that. This was a good chance to start that process.
Saturday, October 08, 2022
Vampire music
It's October, which is not only my favorite month, but also the spookiest. The perfect music for this time of year is French pop, which often sounds like vampire music. For example, check out this classic from Vincent Delerm:
Friday, October 07, 2022
Haiku Friday: The Colors of Fall
Last week, there was a color explosion here in Minnesota. It was just... boom! And the reds and yellows were out in full force.
Let's haiku about the colors of all this week. Here, I will go first:
One perfect red leaf
Can stop me on my walk, cold
"There you are!" I say.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, October 06, 2022
Political Mayhem Thursday: Crime truths
The folks at Pew Research have measured this and describe the odd dynamic this way:
Americans tend to believe crime is up, even when the data shows it is down. In 20 of 24 Gallup surveys conducted since 1993, at least 60% of U.S. adults have said there is more crime nationally than there was the year before, despite the generally downward trend in national violent and property crime rates during most of that period.
One problem with this media-driven delusion is that people live in fear needlessly, prodded on by politicians who critique incumbents of whatever party as ineffective because people think crime is "out of control."
Here in Minneapolis, things are getting better regarding violent crime. The two firmest measures of violent crime are homicides (it's hard to avoid a dead body) and shots fired report in places (like Minneapolis) that have an acoustic "shot-spotter" system. Looking at that, the news is really good: Comparing the last month here with the same time period in 2021, homicides are down over 33% and shots fired are down over 31%, according to the city's crime dashboard. For the year to date compared to the same period last year, homicides are down 18% and shots fired are down about 15%. That's great news. It's also a really dramatic decrease.
But no one is reporting it. I reached out to some people to pitch the idea, but... nothing came of it.
We're really not doing this right.
Wednesday, October 05, 2022
Green Eggs and Crack
A while ago I was thinking of using my vocational knowledge to write a children's book about the mischievous FNU LNU, who sneaks into a kid's house and commits various felonies, told through a series of indictments. It hasn't gone anywhere. Neither have these ideas I threw out there:
1) Green Eggs and Crack
In
this illustrated future classic, a hapless citizen is the recipient of
endless offers of free crack by a shady character known only as "Son of
Sam I Am." This will bring new meaning to classic phrases like "would
you, could you, on a boat?"
2) Frog and Toad are Felons
"Good morning, Frog."
"Good morning, Toad."
"Would you like to hold up a convenience store?"
Toad looked up. "I suppose," he said.
3) The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Execution!
Here,
the ageless bears are hired to conduct lethal injections in Texas. As
one might expect, mayhem ensues until wise old Mr. Abbott arrives to put
everything back in order.
4) The Runaway Bunny and the U.S. Marshal
Baby
Bunny is a parole violator! Luckily, an important community helper is
there to gun down Baby Bunny when he appears to be reaching for a
metallic object once he is cornered after a high-speed chase.
5) Charlotte's Web of Conspiracy
Wilbur
the pig is living an unremarkable life on the farm until he meets
Charlotte, a spider whose unusual ideas lead to several overt acts and
the eventual indictment of all the barnyard friends.
6) James and the Giant Bong
James' friend Lil' Wayne has a special and amazing surprise for James!
Of course, some of the best stuff has already been done:
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Go, Onion!
IPLawGuy tipped me off to the most awesome story of the week, and perhaps the millennium: The Onion submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, in a case involving the nature of parody where someone was prosecuted for making fun of the police on Facebook. You can, and should, read it here.
At issue is something important: the doctrine of qualified immunity that protects police officers from legal consequences when they violate rights. The police of Parma, Ohio, arrested Anthony Novak for creating a parody police department facebook page. Novak was tried for "disrupting public service" but was acquitted by a jury. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the doctrine of qualified immunity protected the police from the civil suit that Novak had filed against them, and now Novak is urging (with the support of the Onion) that the Supreme Court take the case.
The Onion's brief begins this way, describing the "interests of amicus curiae":
The Onion is the world’s leading news publication,
offering highly acclaimed, universally revered coverage of breaking national, international, and local news
events. Rising from its humble beginnings as a print
newspaper in 1756, The Onion now enjoys a daily readership of 4.3 trillion and has grown into the single most
powerful and influential organization in human history.
In addition to maintaining a towering standard of
excellence to which the rest of the industry aspires,
The Onion supports more than 350,000 full- and part-time journalism jobs in its numerous news bureaus
and manual labor camps stationed around the world,
and members of its editorial board have served with
distinction in an advisory capacity for such nations as
China, Syria, Somalia, and the former Soviet Union.
On top of its journalistic pursuits, The Onion also owns
and operates the majority of the world’s transoceanic
shipping lanes, stands on the nation’s leading edge on
matters of deforestation and strip mining, and proudly
conducts tests on millions of animals daily.
And really gets going in this passage:
Parodists can take
apart an authoritarian’s cult of personality, point out
the rhetorical tricks that politicians use to mislead
their constituents, and even undercut a government
institution’s real-world attempts at propaganda.
Farah, 736 F.3d at 536 (noting that the point of parody
is to “censure the vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings
of an individual or society”) (cleaned up).
Time and again, that’s what has occurred with The
Onion’s news stories. In 2012, for example, The Onion
proclaimed that Kim Jong-un was the sexiest man
alive. China’s state-run news agency republished
The Onion’s story as true alongside a slideshow of the
dictator himself in all his glory. The Fars Iranian
News Agency uncritically picked up and ran with The
Onion’s headline “Gallup Poll: Rural Whites Prefer
Ahmadinejad To Obama.” Domestically, the number of
elected leaders who are still incapable of parsing The
Onion’s coverage as satire is daunting, but one particular example stands out: Republican Congressman
John Fleming, who believed that he needed to warn his
constituents of a dangerous escalation of the pro-choice movement after reading The Onion’s headline
“Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex.”
It had to happen. And finally, it did!
Monday, October 03, 2022
Storm Poems
All right! So much good work here.
My Dad's, of course, described something familiar to me:
Storms come low across
Lake Saganaga turmoil
followed by blue skies.
Lake Saganaga turmoil
followed by blue skies.
As did the Medievalist:
Icy snow blows cold,
Stings my eyes, freezes the heart,
April makes me cry.
Stings my eyes, freezes the heart,
April makes me cry.
IPLawGuy had a truth:
Go! Evacuate!
Easy if you have the means
Most, sadly, do not.
Easy if you have the means
Most, sadly, do not.
Christine was on it:
Unpredictable
Missed the house in Florida
Found us in N.C.
Missed the house in Florida
Found us in N.C.
Twice, actually:
Evacuate from
Tampa... all routes in storms path
must shelter in place
Tampa... all routes in storms path
must shelter in place
Desiree told another familiar tale:
The tent was cozy
'til the storm started. Now we're
sleeping in the van.
'til the storm started. Now we're
sleeping in the van.
Jill Scoggins brought it:
Light before a storm:
Colored gray-green, it’s unlike
all others you'll see.
Colored gray-green, it’s unlike
all others you'll see.
And I loved this from Meghan Willome:
baseball-sized hail knocks
pollen out of live oak trees—
Come out and breathe, y'all
pollen out of live oak trees—
Come out and breathe, y'all
