Prior related posts appear below:
| Part 6 |
| Part 5 |
| Part 4 |
| Part 3 |
| Part 2 |
| Part 1 (with setup) |
Dregs of the Year Nominees
This goes out to Lesa Lamback and any of the other busybodies who accused working mom Debra Harrell of abandoning her nine-year-old daughter at a park in North Augusta, South Carolina in July (hat tip to Atrios for this).
As noted from here, Harrell works worked at the McDonald’s adjoining a Walmart about a mile and a half from the playground in North Augusta. What would typically happen during the year is that, after school, her daughter would go to the McDonald’s and (presumably after finishing her homework) play on a laptop computer at her mother’s workplace (it has free WiFi). Well, someone robbed the house and stole the laptop (I should also note that I haven’t been able to find out anything concerning the father – not making a judgment, just sayin’).
So, Harrell apparently believed that she had the right to decide that her daughter could play at a crowded open park during the summer unsupervised; the girl had a cell phone to contact the mother if necessary.
And here is where it gets sticky…
Lamback (not identified in Lenore Skenazy’s column, but I assume it was her) and others at the park decided to contact the police, who declared the girl “abandoned” and filed charges against Harrell.
Here’s a crazy thought, I’ll admit; instead of trying to persecute Harrell, why didn’t Lamback & co. go to Harrell and offer to watch her daughter instead of trying to turn Harrell into a villain, as long as they were at the park anyway? Isn’t that the “Christian” thing to do?
I must say that I have an interest in this because, as much as we love the teenaged one, Mrs. Doomsy and I look for every opportunity to get him outside to throw the ball around or play with kids in the neighborhood (kids who are likely to be reasonably well-adjusted and not cause trouble, I wish to emphasize) as opposed to playing the Xbox. However, we know (with resignation) that that seems to be the primary outlet for him to interact with his friends (the days of going outside around the corner to meet up with some random neighborhood kids whose families you more or less knew for play time is a memory; I have a feeling that that’s because of the crappy economy first and foremost, but I admit that I don’t have any data on that). Having to be the entertainment committee at times is part of our parental obligation I know, but believe me when I tell you that it can wear you out.
And here is Harrell telling her little girl to go out and play in the nice summer weather as an alternative to the electronic stuff, and she gets prosecuted.
Conservatives usually go off on stories like this, lamenting “big gumint” or “political correctness” or something or other. And on this occasion, I have to grudgingly admit that they’re right.
And by the way, if Harrell and her daughter has been white and lived in Lower Makefield, Bucks County, PA, I guarantee you that this would not have happened.
(Oh, and a week or so later – McDonald’s fired Harrell…bastards).
Dregs of the Year Nominees
Comcast and their thus-far-unnamed phone rep who argued with a customer looking to cancel service for eight minutes on the phone, as noted here (in a situation like that, eight minutes can seem like eight hours – not very “Comcastic,” I must say…can hardly wait for the Funny or Die parody)
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Stephen Elop, who oversees the devices unit of Microsoft, wrote an epically awful layoff memo here telling about 12,500 people in his division (18,000 company-wide) that they were going to lose their jobs. What makes this singularly bad is that the layoff wording appears in paragraph 11 of the memo, proceeded by a whole bunch of pretentious, high-minded-sounding corporate strategy BS.
Remember this the next time Bill Gates complains to Congress that we need more H-1b visas for more IT workers from offshore because Americans supposedly can’t do that type of work anymore (maybe they would if they had the jobs to begin with, you cretinous bastards!).
Dregs of the Year Nominees
The food pantry that operates out of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri (not the pantry itself, but the people who run it) for firing former employee Colleen Simon because she is gay; Simon has quite rightly sued over it, as noted here (another step in the long, hard slog for full LBGT rights in this country)
Dregs of the Year Nominees
This is borderline harsh I know, but I’m sorry – I have to give a dishonorable mention to the United Negro College Fund for accepting a $25 million donation from the Koch Brothers (here). And as a result, AFSCME withdrew all support to the Fund, prompting more right-wing, concern-trolling BS about “left-wing intolerance.”
Did the UNCF honestly believe that Chuck and Dave give less than a fig about educating the next generation of African American leaders in this country across a wide range of industries? No! Those two only care about pushing their talking points about how an entire “underclass” was murdered by abortion, as well as how government traps people in a cycle of dependency and how everything would be just peachy in this country if the marketplace were allowed to do its magic without the perceived encumbrances of that Kenyan Marxist socialist in the White House.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, especially when it’s utterly poisoned by wingnut propaganda.
Dregs of the Year Nominee
It’s hard to imagine fine former football player and coach Tony Dungy as not being supportive of Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the St. Louis Rams (who, as noted previously, was cut by the Rams and also Dallas), but what are we to believe from the following (here)?…
“I wouldn’t have taken him,” Dungy told the (Tampa) Tribune. “Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it … It’s not going to be totally smooth … things will happen.”
If we were talking about most NFL notables, you would just file this under the “clueless troglodyte” file somewhere. But Dungy once defended Michael Vick during a time when that wasn’t the popular move (I think it ended up being the correct one, though). I wonder why he can’t summon a more strident response in defense of someone whose only ”crime” is loving in a non-hetero way?
Dregs of the Year Nominees
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Randolph, a Bush I appointee, and Judge Thomas Griffith, a Bush II appointee, who ordered the defunding of “Obamacare” here (a verdict that is likely to be overturned on appeal – let’s hope so anyway)
Do-Gooder of the Year Nominees
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe of American Indians, who cancelled a scheduled performance here by aging, no-talent rocker and utterly obnoxious conservative Ted Nugent at an Idaho casino in response to Nugent’s seemingly endless litany of hateful rants (nicely done…I think at least one other tribe cancelled also)
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Former Panamanian strongman, dictator…what-have-you Manuel Noriega, for suing over his depiction in the Xbox/Playstation (I believe) video game “Call of Duty” here (really, Manny???)…
Do-Gooder of the Year Nominee
Michael Shafts, who waits tables at the Ginger Man restaurant in Albany, NY, earns a nod – one Thursday evening in July, he realized that he’d received a tip of $1,000 for a meal that cost about $130.
What did he do? As the story tells us, he shared the gift with the entire staff (the instruction from the individual who left the tip was to “pay it forward,” which Shafts, apparently, would have done anyway, seeing as how he’s that type of person).
So Shafts definitely earns a Do-Gooder citation, as well as the tipper, who apparently was celebrating his 47th birthday (must be nice, if I do say so myself).
Dregs of the Year Nominees
The Lancaster County school board (and an administrator), I believe, need a remedial course in common sense – they decided that the Garden Spot High School’s marching band would not be allowed to play the instrumental versions of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and Fall Out Boy’s “Thnks fr th Mmrs” because the songs “contained inappropriate wording” (here).
Um, do these idiots know the meaning of the word “instrumental”? By very definition, that means that the band will perform the songs WITHOUT LYRICS!
Of course, what else can you expect from people who (some, I’m sure) have a hand in sending this nematode back to Washington, D.C. every two years?
Full disclosure: I have never heard these songs, and I honestly cannot recall a hit from either Bruno Mars or Fall Out Boy. It doesn’t mean that I don’t think they’re talented; all I’m saying is that I don’t know anything about them (though I think I put up a Bruno Mars video once at this site because I liked it along with the song).
Do-Gooder of the Year Nominee
Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner and billionaire investor Mark Cuban for this…
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Stephen A. Smith for this – some monstrously chauvinistic comments that I thought were beneath him, but it turns out I was wrong (he later apologized)…
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Federal Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. gets it for overturning the Washington DC ban on carrying weapons within the District; as the C&L post notes, Scullin attended a seminar at the Charles Koch George Mason University Law and Economics Center, aka Mercatus Center in 2010 (but only filthy, unkempt liberal blogger types such as yours truly would be so impertinent as to suggest a correlation).
Judge Scullin Jr. will quite literally have blood on his hands as a result (somehow these people find a way to sleep at night, though I can’t possibly imagine how).
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Florida Republican (of course) state senator Alan Hays, who planned to introduce a bill requiring all 1,700 Florida high schools and middle schools to show the movie “America” by Dinesh D’Souza, which apparently tries to explain why liberals supposedly hate our country here (go ahead and try to come with a comparable example where we lefties supposedly do the same thing – I’ll be waiting)
Dregs of the Year Nominees
As noted here, the Independence Hall Foundation of Philadelphia recently “rebranded,” since they used to be called the “Independence Hall Tea Party Association”…
“We wish to pursue a larger, more mainstream conservative agenda, while respecting the mission of the broader Tea Party movement,” said foundation vice president Teri Adams, who runs the organization alongside her brother, Don Adams.
Bullshit – you changed the name of your group because you now know how quite rightly toxic any association with the Teahadists truly is. At least have the courage to tell the truth.
Wonder if they need the “Cone of Silence” for their meetings (get it, Don Adams…never mind).
Do-Gooder of the Year Nominee
Former Sixers and NBA great Charles Barkley gets a kudo here, and I need a minute to explain why (this has to do with a truly horrible story, and I don’t know how to sugar coat it, so…).
As the linked story tells us, fifteen-year-old Keiearra Williams, 10-year-old Joseph Reed and 7-year-old Terrence Moore were killed on July 25th when a stolen vehicle crashed into them while selling fruit to raise money for their local garden. Their mother, 34-year-old Keisha Williams, was also injured (the two life forms who allegedly perpetrated this horrible act are in custody – they are also accused of sexually assaulting the woman who owned the vehicle; as I’ve said, I don’t believe I have the right to tell a family of a victim that they shouldn’t be allowed to seek the death penalty against someone, but I can legitimately question how that form of punishment is carried out).
Anyway, as the story tells us, Barkley has agreed to pay for the funerals of the three children, which is a giant act of kindness and support.
(I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to editorialize or pontificate any further about this…guns, drugs, economic hopelessness, people with no character or integrity – all of that comes into play here I think to varying degrees. I wish there was an easy answer out there to prevent horrors like this from ever happening again, but I know there isn’t.)
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Turning now to the merely ridiculous, this tells us the following…
A Republican congressional candidate fled her interview with a major election-forecasting group after being asked why she believed global warming was a hoax and whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States, according to a new report in The Washington Post.
In the Post, David Wasserman, the House editor at the Cook Political Report, detailed his strange encounter with the “frightening” and “fact-averse” Louisiana State Rep. Lenar Whitney.
Whitney, who is running for Louisiana’s open sixth district, gained some prominence in June when she released a campaign video blasting global warming as a “hoax” and the press as “lamestream media.” Wasserman said he pressed Whitney on the issue of climate change only to find her unable to answer his questions.
“But it’s not unreasonable to expect candidates to explain how they arrived at their positions, and when I pressed Whitney repeatedly for the source of her claim that the earth is getting colder, she froze and was unable to cite a single scientist, journal, or news source to back up her beliefs,” he wrote.
Wasserman said he attempted to “change the subject” and ask whether she believed Obama was born in the United States. Her aides then ended the interview.
BWAAK-BWAAK, would-be U.S. Rep Whitney? Looks like you don’t even have the courage of your fowl (pun intended) convictions, which makes you perfect for Not Your Father’s Republican Party (actually, though, Whitney ended up losing – c’est dommage).
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Wingnut emeritus and former Reagan speechwriter John Podhoretz for telling John Legend to “shut up and play the piano” in response to Legend’s criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which became so bad that “Bibi” Netanyahu and co even lost Joe Scar, as noted here (as karoli at C&L said, “I’m just surprised he didn’t tell Legend to shine his shoes, too.” – more here)
Dregs of the Year Nominees
The Utah-based (first hint) Nomen Global Language Center and owner Clarke Woodger for firing social media specialist Tim Torkildson here because he wrote a blog about “homophones,” which are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings — such as be and bee, through and threw, which and witch, their and there.
What was the reaction of the school to the blog post? Well, they fired Torkildson with the following explanation…
As Torkildson tells it, (Nomen owner Clarke Woodger) said he could not trust him and that the blog about homophones was the last straw.
“Now our school is going to be associated with homosexuality,” Woodger complained, according to Torkildson, who posted the exchange on his Facebook page.
Actually, your “school” is now going to be associated with social intolerance as well as a laughable lack of familiarity with the basics of the English language.
Dregs of the Year Nominee
Connecticut Repug Gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley for this – a bit of background is needed:
Workers at the Fusion Paperboard Company in that state made numerous concessions, despite heavy work volumes and a 17-day back order (Fusion is a company of about 145 employees) to Open Gate Financial, the investment firm that owns Fusion, in order to keep the company in operation (I’m sure you can see where this is going).
Well, Fusion decided to close the company anyway. And as the Daily Kos post tells us…
Near the gate of a doomed paper mill, Republican Tom Foley alighted from the back seat of a blue BMW sedan Tuesday to assail the economic policies of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, only to find himself in a raucous street debate with the local first selectwoman and soon-to-be jobless workers.
Foley, a candidate for governor, came to fault Malloy for the recently announced plans by a global investment firm to close Fusion Paperboard, costing 140 jobs in this struggling mill town. By the time he left, Foley had defended the decision of the absentee owners and told the selectwoman and workers they shared blame for the mill’s demise.
“You want to blame people who are hundreds or thousands of miles away, malign management,” Foley told the workers and First Selectwoman Cathy Osten, a Democratic state senator and Malloy supporter. “Listen, you have failed, because you have lost these jobs.”
Clueless, self-entitled, hopelessly out-of-touch Republican strikes again. And this yutz wanted to be governor (fortunately, like Lenar Whitney, Foley also lost).
More later…
Posted by doomsy 
The Liberal Doomsayer 