Going random and comments on the culture of caving in

It's hard to believe, but Goat Rope has been coming out for over 5 years now, usually six times per week aside from holidays, disasters, and random events. Usually, I've tried to post early in the morning, when possible before 6:00 a.m.

That schedule is going to slide for a while. Posts will still appear at about the same frequency but they may show up at any time. When you least expect it...expect it.

MEANWHILE, THE BIG NEWS is the standoff over the federal debt ceiling, in which right wing extremists are willing to throw the economy in the tank in order to protect tax cuts for the rich--while "moderates" seem willing to pretty much cave in to the blackmail.

Paul Krugman argues here that the biggest threat doesn't come from the Whackadoodles of the right but rather from those who appease them in the name of "centrism" and "moderation":

Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it’s increasingly obvious that what we’re looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

And no, I don’t mean the fanaticism of the right. Well, OK, that too. But my feeling about those people is that they are what they are; you might as well denounce wolves for being carnivores. Crazy is what they do and what they are.

No, the cult that I see as reflecting a true moral failure is the cult of balance, of centrism.

The cult of centrism goes like this: right wing extremists make ludicrous demands. Rather than saying "That is bat sh*t crazy," members of the cult of centrism attempt to meet them halfway, now matter how extreme that is. When that happens, as Krugman argues, there is no penalty for extremism.

That's not the way to deal with bullies. They need to hit the wall sometimes.

All things in moderation. Including moderation.

GROWING UP HARD. Poor kids face all kinds of challenges in school. I found this NPR story on that to be compelling.

HOT TIMES. Here's an interesting look at the connection between hot weather and violence.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED