Walking Dead Summary

Carl decides to be an asshole.

Rick nears death.

Michonne deals death.

Hopefully get back to live blogging it next week.

UPDATE:

OK, good Carl is back.

So... Sundays

Tonight at 9PM, we have The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey and True Detective.

The rest of the week we have bubkes.

I Got Some Dust In My Eye

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10429030/michael-sam-missouri-tigers-says-gay

This is a pretty amazing story from where we were ten... five years ago.

Winter Olympics

Ice Break Dancing, The Newest Olympic Sport

I can't really get excited for the Sochi games. Back when there were only a few options for watching sports, it was cool to see out of the ordinary sports.  But today, I curled up on the couch and watched Fulham pull a shocking tie out of Manchester United at Old Trafford.  Do I really need to watch Team Figure Skating?  I mean the testosterone soaked spectacle of curling still holds an appeal, but honestly I am not compelled to watch.

I intend, however, to say that this is a principled statement against Putin's repression of Russia's nascent civil society and absence of press freedom.

All Day Tournament

Away at a tournament for the day.

Hopefully Nicky, Carl and Locke come home with some sweet hardware.

The Party Of Nihilists

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-long-twilight-struggle-to-take-away-your-health-care-coverage

To sum up: a bunch of red states are trying to prevent people from getting federal subsidies for the federal exchanges.  This costs nothing to the states, they simply don't want Obamacare to succeed.
Basically, they are working with every fiber of their being to make sure Americans don't get health insurance.

You can argue against the role of the federal government in providing health insurance.  Every other advanced economy in the world does it, but whatever.  America, f%*# yeah!

But when the law is established and the exchanges are basically working to get millions of Americans health insurance, despite the GOP efforts to subvert it, to deny people access to the federal exchanges is just a massive dick move.

Part of it may be that as citizens get access to health care, they might vote Democratic.

But it seems like this is almost Maoist.

Mao believed in "Reds over experts"; that ideological purity trumped whatever short term practical benefit.  This gave China the Great Leap Forward which killed about 30,000,000 Chinese and the Cultural Revolution.  "Reds over experts" sucked.

But the GOP is basically saying that their ideological beliefs are more important than the practical benefit of providing millions of Americans with health insurance.

Red states over experts...

Crazy Day

From 7:05AM-9:45PM.

Pretty much non-stop.

See you tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I give you this:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/school-apologizes-for-black-history-menu

Credit Where Credit Is Due

The Zombie Eyed Granny Starver is not interested in a particular Zombie Lie.

CBO Derpitude

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-cbo-jobs-reporting

The Congressional Budget Office released a report that shows that many Americans will likely work fewer hours and move to more part time jobs, as they no longer have to work more than they would prefer in order to keep health coverage.

This report - being a nuanced and subtle thing - has led to the derpitude from the press that one might expect.

If, as the report suggests, this will lead to more early retirements and people working fewer hours, it could drive wages up.  It could also open opportunities for younger workers to move into jobs vacated by those holding on to health insurance.

But in the brain dead world of today's media, it's a bad thing for workers.

Progress!

I made it a resolution this year to turn my grading around quicker this year, and this winter at least, I'm seeing some success with that.

While I still would be watching re-runs of the The 13th Warrior at night, I feel much less stressed about the fact that I'm not procrastinating.

There's a lesson in there.  Too bad it took 47 years to learn it.

This Is A Brilliant Idea

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/do-you-need-a-scapetern

Seriously.  Given the unemployment among college graduates with few job skills, just hire a few as ScapeTerns.  Then when something goes amiss: Fire them!

Too bad for Chris Christie he didn't have a ScapeTern.

What More Is There To Say?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/03/allen-west-does-not-like-you-singing-his-songs-in-your-weird-foreign-mud-language/

The most compelling story from last night's Superb Owl was not the game, which was a Fail Fest.

No, the most compelling story was the commercials.  And by commercials, I mean the one commercial that sent the Wingnutosphere into paroxysms of anger.

No doubt Fox News is working up a demand for an apology from Coke.  I hope Coke tells them to pound sand.  One of the interesting dynamics recently is how banks are trying to get people to refinance their homes with government programs and health insurance companies are working to get Americans to sign up for insurance via Obamacare.

Meanwhile, the GOP is trying to alienate everyone who isn't old, white or extracting hydrocarbons from the ground.

Death Of A Salesman

I looked over the WSJ's comment section on Philip Seymour Hoffman's death.

Somehow this is the fault of liberals blaming business owners or something.

I don't know, but if you're feeling good about anything, go to an online comments section.  That will learn you to feel good.

Check Out #30

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/01/30_amazing_beatles_covers_you_need_to_hear/

The last cover on this list is the daughter of colleagues and friends of ours.

Here it is:

Here is the rest of her oeuvre:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-V2umvEHhqQImoccjrqG6w?feature=watch

Apologies

While I was gallivanting around the Big Apple with the Fam, I would occasionally check into TPM to see what was shaking, and well aside from Chris Christie's jowls, it seems that the theme for Thursday and Friday was "APOLOGIZE, DAMNIT!"

Everywhere around the Internets, people had said or done things that upset other people.  Those people (the second group) got all shouty and demandy for apologies from the first group.

My favorite was when some intern at MSNBC suggested that conservatives wouldn't like an interracial couple in a Cheerios ad.  That's absurd, conservatives hate the KIDS of interracial couples, not the parents themselves.  Anyway, MSNBC apologized and fired the guy.  Just like Fox News does when someone on their network says something stupid or inflammatory about a Democrat or a liberal.

I have to agree with Dan Savage, you aren't going to appease anyone with an apology.  I did think Melissa Harris-Perry's apology was quite heartfelt, but there were reasons WHY she was apologizing from her own life story.

If you are sorry, apologize.  If you aren't, don't.

But don't think when political figures demand apologies from you, that you will actually change anyone's mind by doing so.