Saturday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Saturday, December 12, 2020
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44 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Zodiac: cipher from California serial killer solved after 51 years
America’s longest-serving marijuana prisoner freed after 31 years
Donald Trump’s legal team attempts to negotiate the justice system.
Headline of the day? Police investigate suspected voyeur over fake nude gameshow
@OzarkHillbilly:
I saw that yesterday. I wished they described the methodology a bit more. Obviously it wasn’t simple letter substitution or else they would have solved it in a few days.
The message was creepy as hell.
Zodiac by Fincher is a really interesting movie. John Carrol Lynch needs to work more. That guy is good.
“Judge Christopher Murray ruled Monday that discrimination against people on the basis of their gender identity was unlawful, but he concurrently ruled that a refusal, on religious freedom grounds, to serve customers based on their sexual orientation was permissible.
The lawsuits came after two companies barred serving a same-sex couple and a transgender individual “on religious grounds,” the opinion states. One of the two businesses is an event center, while the other is a business specializing in permanent hair removal for women, according to state licensing records.” cite
I am sure Rod Dreher will tell us this is why religious freedom is so critical.
@de stijl: We own that movie, it’s a good one. I probably watch it once or twice a year.
@Moosebreath: I’m sure Rod would be the first to defend my religious right to burn down businesses that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Trump Just Broke Through the Last Level of Neo-Fascism
@OzarkHillbilly:
I know little about the Zodiac case, but I have wondered why the killings stopped. Usually it’s because the murderer either died or was imprisoned for something else.
@CSK:
They often age out of the active phase.
@de stijl:
Some do; some don’t. The compulsion is very, very strong.
@CSK: As best I can tell, the Golden State Killer murdered his last victim in 1986, tho he did call at least 2 previous rape victims to terrorize them further as late as 2001. He was finally arrested in 2018.
Who knows why some go quiet.
@CSK: The BTK Strangler is another who went quiet for awhile, his last victim killed in ’91.
Like a lot of sociopaths, these guys have great big egos.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Indeed. For all we know about them, it’s not enough. Years ago I had studied them for something I was writing.
In some cases, I think, serial killers who appear to have gone quiet have committed murders that haven’t been detected. Transients and runaways who seem to vanish are possible victims.
@CSK: My oldest lives across the street form the brother of the South Side Rapist. He’s a nice guy, a good neighbor, a good plumber. The SSR’s case is fascinating. For his first 20 years the cops had no idea that one man was responsible for so much carnage.
@de stijl:
I got you, buddy. Here’s the codebreaker himself describing how he and his associates did it.
Let’s Crack Zodiac – Episode 5 – The 340 Is Solved!
@CSK:
A lot of us in the age range of 20 – 30 or so see a text “Yo, man! We at CC Club. Come join us” and you leap.
You hit your mid 30s and you decline the offer. It’s a weekday and I have to get up at 6:30 AM. Nah, man. Gotta pass on this. Hit me on Friday night tho.
For 0.00001 percent of the population it plays out like should I murder a prostitute tonight or should I stay home? After age 35 a lot of them just stay home. Pull out the trophy box and reminisce.
Creepy as fuck. But adult obligations burden all of us.
Many simply age out.
@Mikey:
Dude! That was super cool. Thank you!
@de stijl: look up the music video for Ingrid Michaelson’s song Time Machine. Lynch has a bit part. It’s a funny video.
I re-watched Hannibal just the other night.
Hoo, boy! That movie is crap. Well shot and the music was outstanding and Ridley Scott, but it is garbage.
Liota had a ball playing his dude. Moore as Starling had a hard row to hoe. Impersonate Foster mimicking an up holler WV Appalachian style and tone and closed mouth lockjaw.
Hopkins nails it of course. I love his improvs.
I need to re-watch Silence Of The Lambs. American Girl. Jame Gumb is Det. Stottlemeyer on Monk – I love that guy and his voice.
@Teve:
That was very cool, but John Carrol Lynch ain’t in it.
Two guys look like him.
One of the last episodes of The Walking Dead I remember actually enjoying was him and Lenny James sparring literally and figuratively.
Working out how quasi-pacifism looks like in a Z apocalypse.
@de stijl: i was like 40 episodes into Monk when I found myself thinking, “the police chief’s voice sounds familiar….”
@de stijl: oh, you’re right, that was Brian Baumgartner. Mibad.
Trump is retweeting a call that he fire Barr by the end of today. He must be too gutless to do it himself.
This is absolutely pathetic. The Jericho (don’t ask) Marchers in D.C. are thrilled because–get ready–Trump flew over them today in Marine One on the way to his golf course!!!!!
Friend of mine is a retired scientist who signed up for Trump fundraising emails to to see who they were targeting, and how. Get a load of this one he just posted to FB:
They’re targeting people with legit diminished capacity.
@Teve:
That is Nigerian prince level of bs and click begging. If this were 1994, that was effective ad.
I would dismiss it as piffle, but he is our President until Jan. 21 at noon.
That strange man is going to sow chaos until the Sheriffs chase him off the property. And more after because he can.
@Teve:
No worries.
Charley Pride has died of Covid-19. He was 86. RIP.
Sidney Powell did indeed do that
My wife and I have long made a point of tipping the people who make the trip out here to fix our stuff. I have an appliance guy who knows we appreciate him. We recently had a new roof put on our place and I gave every one of those hard working fucks a $20 dollar tip, bought them lunch or maybe a a couple six packs of beer. Whatever, I framed and hanged for 35 years, I know what hard work is and I’ll be dawgdamned if I don’t show appreciation for it.
@OzarkHillbilly: when I worked food service jobs I would occasionally get a $20 tip. Every. Single. Time. That $20 tip came from a customer who was a waitress. Because they know what’s up.
(This came up in a discussion about that new congressman elect who just said today that the pandemic was fake)
Tips
When I drove the Yellow Cab in Sleepytown 50 years ago one of my fares was a regular. I would take him to work most mornings and home at the end of his shift. He worked at the tie plant. A facility owned by Koppers where railroad ties were treated with creosote. A nasty job if there ever was one.
All he carried with him was a brown paper bag sack lunch and a thermos full of coffee.
The cabs were not metered, the town was divided into zones. Since he started and ended his trip in Zone 1 the fare was 60cents. When he gave me a dollar bill in the morning I always gave him the change and never expected a tip. I knew he needed the 40cents to put with the two dimes he had left in his pocket to pay for the ride home at night.
Election based violence has arrived.
Put this asshole in jail.
@Mister Bluster:
This summer I had to go to an appointment to get a melanoma cut off my cheekbone.
It was literally across the street from Target so I decided to go in. Going to Target without a pre-planned list is generally a bad idea, but I was good and did not rashly over-buy.
I had too much to lug home on foot so I called a cab.
Turns out it was his first day on the job and I was his first ever fare. He was from Cameroon and was busy trying to convert kilometers to miles in his head while keeping a mental map of the city in active memory.
It was a $6 and change ride. I gave him $30.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Life is a karma test. Pass / fail.
@Teve: The Birch Society underwent a major internal dispute after JBS founder Robert Welch died. By the mid-1990’s, their active membership was reduced to around 14,500. The usually grow when Dems control the Presidency but their actual impact is difficult to gauge because many people who are members do not acknowledge their status.