Duncan Black

Apparently Some Stuff Happened This Weekend 

Haven't had a chance to dive into it fully, but my basic belief is that aside from civil liberties issues, the security/surveillance state industry is just a giant grift, a big scam there to enrich certain communities in Northern Virginia. That it is a net good is bullshit, that it makes us "safe" is bullshit, and that "making us safe," as opposed to perpetuating its own existence and fattening the wallets of its members and those that play along, has much to with anything that goes on is bullshit. 

I'm sure the Men in Black could pay me a visit and convince me otherwise. What do I know? There are known unknowns and unknown unknowns, and I can't claim knowledge of any of them. Much of what is "intelligence work" is boring, and stuff produced from that work is probably useful and the people who do it are probably doing good work for good reasons. But the unholy alliances with big businesses and third party contractors and the empire of well-paid informants and agents is just bullshit in which everyone takes their cut of your money. 

...from someone I'm not exactly a fan of.

I love DC; at Little League game, dads are talking about catastrophic consequences of Snowden on contractors they work for

You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about.

And one down:

Stuff To Do 

I don't think Pennsylvania is exactly known for its natural beauty. Like just about anywhere it has some, of course, but it's certainly not what it's known for. A bit surprised Ricketts Glen State Park doesn't get a bit more wider notice. Been a few times in my life, and the Falls Trail is one of the nicer hikes I've been on.

The photo on the left is from the Falls Trail. The image on the right is from Fairmount Park. At that link you'll find another.


Poor people don't have cars. I'm not going to link to his comments on gentrification again.

Atrios is pathologically anti-intellectual. Even when he's right he dumbs down the issues. Dictatorship in itself a not grift; it's one form of laziness and cowardice, and laziness, cowardice, and corruption are always hand in glove. When Atrios is wrong, lazy and blind to the self-serving origins of his own arguments it's just embarrassing.

"I know and have friends and acquaintances who are African-American..."
"David Duke, president of Americans in Support of Palestinian Freedom."

It's not embarrassing; it's worse than that.

I haver two bets with myself: one about Atrios, that his father-in-law was in the South Korean military;  and another about Corey Robin, that he owns the building he lives in.