Pipe this pic

of Christchurch, N.Z., immediately after the quake. Or click http://i.imgur.com/0vZbD.jpg to get it in all its panoramic horror.
Poor babies.

Running up the score

They're into a record year for murders in poor ol Cd. Juárez. From the world's worst newspaper:

In one of the deadliest three days that officials can remember, more than 50 people were killed in Juárez.
Among the 53 victims between Thursday and Saturday were a Juárez police officer, a municipal patrolman and a state investigator.

That first sentence really wants some editing. Read it all here, and consider this ... we've just been through a bunch of TV specials on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. There were seven people killed in that shooting, and it so upset the people of the city that it was the occasion of a massive crackdown on crime. In Wazoo, they just did in seven times that many people over three days, and nobody much notices. It's hard to believe that not so long ago, folks went across the river as insouciantly as they might run to the corner grocery store. [Marginally relevant and just remembered – there used to be a whorehouse in Juárez named the Sans Souci, same etymological root as the insouciantly in previous sentence. It was purportedly a high-class joint.]

Resistance is possible

A restaurant near the Seattle-Tacoma airport refuses to serve the loathsome TSA people that come in the place. The owner of the joint travels a lot and despises the misery dealt out by the gummint gropers. Eight-sixing them out of his establishment is his bit of revenge. A waitress explains:

 We even have the police on our side and they have helped us escort TSA agents out of our cafe. Until TSA agents start treating us with the respect and dignity that we deserve, then things will change for them in the private sector.

  
Read the whole thing here. There's more TAC evildoing recounted in the post. It makes me happy to see any signs of resistance to the obnoxious government apparatus that has made travelling such utter misery these days. Once upon a time, we Americans would have screamed our heads off about the abrogation of 4th Amendment rights to refuse arbitrary search; now we just take it.

Sorry I haven't written

Just been distracted and then taken in by the wonderful weather. This is what Feb in SoTex is supposed to be. I'll do better, I swear it. In the meantime, this big ol typo in a Chicago paper. Wonder if they're ever sorry they let all those proofreaders go?

Fred is dead

Like most people my age, I give the newspaper death notices a close look every morning. One does at this age. You'll just kinda whip through, noting the check-out age of the decedents, especially those near your own age. It's just how things are at a certain point in life. A friend, even older than I am, sent along an obit for one Fred Clark, who wrote it himself and was probably an entertaining guy to know.

In lieu of flowers, Fred asks that you make a sizable purchase at your local ABC store or Virginia winery (please, nothing French - the *censored*) and get rip roaring drunk at home with someone you love or hope to make love to. Word of caution though, don't go out in public to drink because of the alcohol related laws our elected officials have passed due to their inexplicable terror at the sight of a MADD lobbyist and overwhelming compulsion to meddle in our lives.

Read it all here in the Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch.

Memorize this

like the pledge of allegiance, and deliver it if you work somewhere they have those dreadful, bogus employee evaluations. I pilfered it from a comments post elsewhere.

Goal: To dedicate myself in a meaningful manner to a results oriented, team cooperative, project driven environment that contributes to the corporate philosophy of customer service and six sigma quality where the expectations of both the shareholders and management are exceeded in a socially and environmentally sensitive fashion.

If you work, for example, at the newspaper, you could mention a commitment to expanding new media outlets, say something about pushing the envelope, be sure and mention something including the words 'the bottom line,' and throw in a little praise for diversity in the newsroom. Don't mention raises.

John Oliver does Texas

We went from sorry cable service to sorry satellite service and lost our path to Jon Stewart's show. Stumbled on this bit of knife work on Texas Republican dumbuttery. Click through to it here cuz the usual system doesn't work. It's a hoot.