Coulda Seen That Coming

Today police in Gilbert, Arizona were called to a suburban home where they found five dead people.  One of the dead, apparently the shooter, was J. T. Ready.  Another was a toddler–a fifteen-month-old girl.

I’ve written about Ready before on this blog (see April 2010).  He was many things–a neo-Nazi, a candidate for many offices–including sheriff of Pinal County, a buddy of Russell Pearce, and a self-appointed well-armed patroller of the border.

According  to the bits of news I can glean from local sources, police who investigated the bloodbath in Gilbert found several weapons in the home.  They also found barrels full of suspicious substances stored in the back yard.  At that point they threw up their hands, withdrew from the site and called the feds.

When I tuned into Rachel Maddow I discovered that she was offering fuller and better coverage than any news source in Arizona.  She called on E. J. Montini, a columnist for the Repulsive, who was willing to suggest that Ready was a terrorist.  But then Montini is the paper’s token liberal, whose rather mild criticisms of corrupt Arizona politics are regularly eviscerated in angry letters to the editor.

Had Rachel been more familiar with Arizona media, she might have called on the New Times, which has relentlessly covered Ready’s abominable activities, including his close relationship with Pearce.  Pearce now denies he ever knew Ready.  This denial is belied by Rachel’s airing of Ready’s certificate of baptism into the Mormon church, which was signed by none other than Russell Pearce, who sponsored him.  He also claims that the New Times has consistently been lying in its coverage of the relationship.

I will be surprised if any of this derails Pearce’s attempt to get himself back into the legislature.  Nor will these violent events wake up many ordinary residents of Arizona, who are perfectly happy to ignore the far reaching effects of their right-wing politics.  Arizona politics have been corrupt ever since it became a state, and there are two groups directly responsible for this state of affairs:   the wealthy first families and the Mormon church, both of whom are happy to hire thugs like J. T. Ready to do their dirty work.  And if it turns out that the dead family were friends of Ready’s, as seems to be the case, everyone’s suspicions about his death ought to be aroused.

And Here I Thought Dinosaurs Were Extinct!

On Meet the Press last Sunday, the issue at hand was equal pay for equal work.  Alex Castellanos, a Republican blowhard, took on Rachel Maddow’s contention that women earn, on average, 77% of what men earn for the same work.  Castellanos at first tried interrupting her and talking over her.  When that didn’t work, he resorted to condescension.  Rachel was having none of that:

RACHEL MADDOW: –whether or not you have a female surrogate.  It’s about policy and whether or not you want to fix some of the structural discrimination that women really do face that Republicans don’t believe is happening.

DAVID GREGORY: It’s policy is the argument.

ALEX CASTELLANOS: It’s policy.  And I love how passionate you are.  I wish you are as right about what you’re saying as you are passionate about it.  I really do.

RACHEL MADDOW: That’s really condescending.

ALEX CASTELLANOS: For example– no.

RACHEL MADDOW: I mean this is a stylistic issue.

ALEX CASTELLANOS: I’ll tell you what–

RACHEL MADDOW: My passion on this issue–

ALEX CASTELLANOS: Here’s a fact–

RACHEL MADDOW: –is actually me making a factual argument–

The transcript can’t capture Castellano’s patronizing tone.  He literally looked down on Rachel while he talked down to her.  Rachel Maddow, PhD in political science, recipient of a Rhodes fellowship, author of a currently best-selling book on the recent evolution of war.  But all Castellano could see is that she is a woman.

His arguments, such as they were, are the same arguments women heard during the Second Wave:   women make less money because they leave the workplace to have children, they want part-time work, they don’t like hard jobs that involve math or science.  Bleagh.  And the really scary part was that Castellanos, apparently, wasn’t just flacking;  he appeared actually to believe all this bullshit!  (The video can be found at MSNBC and at many feminist websites, such as feministing).

More and more I am convinced that Rethugs really believe the bullshit they spew.  They have lived inside the right-wing bubble for so long that they think the world actually works in the ways they say it does.  They seem downright astonished when someone challenges them.  Mitt Romney is the walking, talking embodiment of this blindness, as when he dissed Jimmy Carter’s courage the other day.  Let’s hope this fact becomes glaringly apparent even to so-called “low-information voters” by November.

The Maid of Tarth

This is Brienne, the maid of Tarth.  She is one of my favorite characters in Game of Thrones, a fearsome warrior who only wants to uphold honor and protect her lord.  But the world painted by George R. R. Martin is violent and unforgiving, and Brienne often finds herself in circumstances that put her honor at risk

I finally got around to watching the first five eps of season 2, and I’m delighted with the actress cast to play the role of Brienne.  Her name is Gwendoline Christie, and she is six feet three inches tall.  She towers over most of the male characters, and as Brienne she whales the tar out of any who challenge her.  That’s fine with me.

Campaigning in Westeros

I haven’t discovered the origination of this amusement but it seems to be spreading fast along the Internet’s murky waters.  I’m looking forward to take-offs.

Poor Henri!

http://www.happyplace.com/15378/the-most-hilariously-depressing-cat-video-on-the-entire-internet

Worth the Wait

Huskers Up For Consideration on Second Draft Day

This here handsome dude is Lavonte David, who should be selected in the second round of the NFL draft today.  David is, IMHO, one of the best linebackers around, but the NFL scouts apparently think he is too small at 6 feet and 233 pounds.  Nothing he can do about that, but he is fast and smart and he makes up for his smaller size with desire.  It was David who tackled Ohio State’s quarterback during the third quarter of the Huskers’ unbelievable comeback in the rain last year, turning the game around so Nebraska could beat OSU, probably for the first and last time for many years to come.

Nebraska sent first-rounder Ndamakong Suh to the Lions in 2010 and Prince Amukamara to the New Yawk Giants in 2011, plus several other guys who had big first and second years–Roy Helu and Alex Henery to name two.  But the Huskers had no alums of that caliber this year–at least according to those who make such judgements.  The next most likely recruit today or tomorrow is defensive lineman Jared Crick:

This is Crick in action.  Remind you of anyone?  Sadly, his stock has fallen because he was injured for most of his last season at Nebraska.  But he will probably be chosen in the second or third rounds nonetheless.

Last night was a hoot.  Desert Democrat and Mr. Desert came over to my house bearing beer and delicious carne asada burritos, and we watched the first round while chowing down.  Highlight of the evening:  the obnoxious guy who does the mock draft for the NFL channel was proven wrong again and again and again.  Desert, who wisely does not waste her time following such matters, asked “why is that guy yelling?”

Thanks, Desert and Mr. Desert.  Let’s do it again next year

UPDATE:  Lavonte David was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the third round.  And Crick goes to the Houston Texans in the fourth.  Hooray!

MORE UPDATES:  Alfonzo Dennard to the Patriots and Marcel Jones to the Saints.  Not bad.