Damn you Muslims, get off my lawn

Damn you Muslims, get off my lawn:

"Maybe in this greater truth, we can find a hint of reassurance. This too shall pass. The Islamic center will or won't be built, the media frenzy will die down, the Tea Party will self-flagellate itself through the mid-term elections, and suddenly no one will care about Muslims anymore because, well, we are an ADHD culture. We grow bored so easily. We gotta keep it fresh. We gotta feed the voracious 24-hour news cycle. No one can hold the title of Enemy No. 1 for very long. Praise Allah for that."

I would like to hope that this is the case but there is a lot of ugly out there at the moment and I am wondering how long it is going to take to dissipate.

R’s Scoping � LingPipe Blog

R’s Scoping � LingPipe Blog:

"There’s been an ongoing discussion among computational statisticians about writing something better than R, in terms of both speed and comprehensibility:"

During my current period between jobs I have been futzing around a little with R.
Nothing really to add, just wanted to tell someone that.

Whiskey Fire: Dieu et Mon Left Nut

Whiskey Fire: Dieu et Mon Left Nut:

"Blair was once upon a time not such a... person you would have felt good about hitting, frankly. And I honestly challenge anyone with even a smidgen of self-respect nowadays to merely glance passingly at Tony Blair and not want to walk off with his lunch money, his skivvies hooked up high on a locker knob."

I think that something happened to him along the time that he decided to be Bush's poodle.

There's no point in converting... it's already too late. - The Squid Zone

There's no point in converting... it's already too late. - The Squid Zone:

"This has always been one of the things about Christianity that caused me to question it from the get-go. In human terms, disavowing something isn't really that terrible. People do it all the time. Humans seem to be able to overlook that sort of thing. But it's such an affront to the Christian God that it is irredeemable! Most humans would have a tough time overlooking mass murders and all sorts of heinous crime, but God has no problem with that as long as you're sorry. Just don't deny God, or else.

How many Christians have ever really thought about this? How can it be rationalized by educated, intelligent people? Remember here, it's not just atheists... it's anyone who clings to any religion (or non-religion) that doesn't have Yahweh/I am/Allah at the head of it. So all those people, no matter how good they are, go to eternal punishment because they blaspheme against the Christian sky-fairy, meanwhile Christians have a licence to be total cretins as long as they can repent and ask forgiveness before death. Talk about unfair... Although it explains a lot about how the world works."

There they go ... using logic on religion again.

Go read the rest. Is a good post

Blame the Messenger - Swampland - TIME.com

Blame the Messenger - Swampland - TIME.com:

"In the Jones case the global communication revolution has brought into direct conflict the American tradition of protecting abhorrent forms of speech with the potentially violent response of some Third World followers of Islam to the desecration of their holy book. That's a hard, 21st century problem. But blaming it on the media is like blaming us for misrepresentations in Bush's speeches."

Actually, it is more like blaming you for not pointing out the misrepresentations at the time. Thanks for playing.

The Pope Is Not Gay - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

The Pope Is Not Gay - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

It seems pretty obvious to me - as it does to Angelo Quattrochi, whose book is reviewed by Toibin - that the current Pope is a gay man (just as it was blindingly clear that John Paul II was straight). I am not claiming that Benedict is someone who has explored his sexuality, or has violated his own strictures on the matter. There is absolutely no evidence of that, or of hypocrisy of any sort. But that does not mean that he isn't gay. In fact, Ratzinger's command that gay priests should actively lie about their orientation makes any public statement about this on its face lacking in credibility. But when you look at the Pope's mental architecture (I've read a great deal of his writing over the last two decades) you do see that strong internal repression does make sense of his life and beliefs. At times, it seems to me, his gayness is almost wince-inducing. The prissy fastidiousness, the effeminate voice, the fixation on liturgy and ritual, and the over-the-top clothing accessories are one thing. But what resonates with me the most is a theology that seems crafted from solitary introspection into a perfect, abstract unity of belief. It is so perfect it reflects a life of withdrawal from the world of human relationship, rather than an interaction with it. Of course, this kind of work is not inherently homosexual; but I have known so many repressed gay men who can only live without severe pain in the world if they create a perfect abstraction of what it is, and what their role is in it. Toibin brilliantly explains this syndrome, why the church of old was so often such a siren call for gay men who could not handle their own nature. In Benedict, one sees a near-apotheosis of this type, what Quattrocchi describes as "simply the most repressed, imploded gay in the world."

Interesting take...

A note of apology to readers | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

A note of apology to readers | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram: "

We made a news decision on Friday that offended many readers and we sincerely apologize for it.

Many saw Saturday's front-page story and photo regarding the local observance of the end of Ramadan as offensive, particularly on the day, September 11, when our nation and the world were paying tribute to those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks nine years ago.

We have acknowledged that we erred by at least not offering balance to the story and its prominent position on the front page"

Translation:

We are sorry that we have offended the bigots in the crowd. We promise that next time we say something positive about Islam we will make sure to run a column by Marty Peretz or Cal Thomas to compensate.

Fuckwits.

Balloon Juice � Blog Archive � Proving He Loves Us

Balloon Juice � Blog Archive � Proving He Loves Us:

It is something where I have a legitimate blind spot, because for me, even if I am not that thrilled about voting for Democrats (and I’m going to have to bring an air sickness bag and put menthol cream under my nose while voting for Oliverio this fall), I am entirely enthusiastic about voting against the Republicans. I don’t like a lot of things the Democrats have done, and Obama has sure pissed me off on any number of issues, but the other guys are CRAZY.

Yup

AMERICAblog News: Gingrich plays the race card against Obama, again

AMERICAblog News: Gingrich plays the race card against Obama, again:

The era we face, that is soon upon us, will require a great deal from our leaders.

They had better be sturdy.

They will have to be gifted.

There will be many who cannot, and should not, make the cut.

Now is the time to look for those who can.

And so the Republican Party should get serious, as serious as the age, because that is what a grown-up, responsible party—a party that deserves to lead—would do.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is not a SINGLE republican politician today that fits this description.