Sunday Funnies 140525

The Sunday Funnies word of the week is means:

means |mēnz|plural noun1 [usu. treated as sing. ] (often means of something or means to dosomething) an action or system by which a result is brought about; a method :these pledges are a means to avoid prosecution | resolving disputes by peaceful means.2 money; financial resources : a woman of modest but independent means | prospective students without the means to attend Cornell.• resources; capability : every country in the world has the means to make ethanol.• wealth : a man of means.PHRASESbeyond (or within) one's means beyond (or within) one's budget or income : the government is living beyond its means.by all means of course; certainly (granting a permission) : “May I make a suggestion?” “By all means.”by any means (or by any manner of means) (following a negative) in any way; at all : I'm not poor by any means.by means of with the help or agency of : supplying water to cities by means of aqueducts.by no means (or by no manner of means) not at all; certainly not : the outcome is by no means guaranteed.a means to an end a thing that is not valued or important in itself but is useful in achieving an aim : a computer is merely a means to an end.ORIGIN late Middle English : plural of mean 3 , the early sense being‘intermediary.’mean 1 |mēn|verb ( past and past part. meant |ment|) [ trans. ]1 intend to convey, indicate, or refer to (a particular thing or notion); signify : Idon't know what you mean | he was asked to clarify what his remarks meant | I meant you,not Jones. See note at intend .• (of a word) have (something) as its signification in the same language or itsequivalent in another language : its name means “painted rock” in Cherokee.• genuinely intend to convey or express (something) : when she said that before, shemeant it.• ( mean something to) be of some specified importance to (someone), esp. as asource of benefit or object of affection : animals have always meant more to him thanpeople.2 intend (something) to occur or be the case : they mean no harm | [with infinitive ] it was meant to be a secret.• ( be meant to do something) be supposed or intended to do something : wewere meant to go over yesterday.• (often be meant for) design or destine for a particular purpose : the jacket was meant for a much larger person.• ( mean something by) have as a motive or excuse in explanation : what do you mean by leaving me out here in the cold?3 have as a consequence or result : the proposals are likely to mean another hundred closures| [with clause ] heavy rain meant that the ground was waterlogged.• necessarily or usually entail or involve : coal stoves mean a lot of smoke.PHRASESI mean used to clarify or correct a statement or to introduce a justification or explanation : I mean, it's not as if I owned property.mean business be in earnest.mean to say [usu. in questions ] really admit or intend to say : do you mean to say you've uncovered something new?mean well have good intentions, but not always the ability to carry them out.ORIGIN Old English mænan; related to Dutch meenen and German meinen, from an Indo-European root shared by mind .

1. Learning to become a man of means...

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2. He's a man of means by all means...King of the Load.

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3. Ways and Means

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4. By All Means

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5. Just Plain Mean

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6. An Exchange of Means

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7. This Means War!

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8. The Means To An End

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9. He means to take the easy way out.

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10. Say What You Mean And Mean What You Say

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11. He Means Business

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 12. He Means Well

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Sunday Funnies 040518

The Sunday Funnies word of the week is opinionated:
o-pin-ion-at-ed |əˈpinyəˌnātid|adjectiveconceitedly assertive and dogmatic in one's opinions : an arrogant and opinionated man.ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from the (rare) verb opinionate [hold the opinion (that),]from opinion .

1. Back and Forth

While interesting, this analysis of the interaction between a "self-governing" populace and the Presidents they elect ignores the role played by the Congress in which a handful of "public servants" work tirelessly to keep the political pendulum swinging in order to serve themselves in order to keep their positions of privilege and power.

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2. Inanity Rhymes With Hannity

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3. The timely humor of this comic is in tense.

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4. Find the Syllogism

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5. You know how much I like jokes. This, however, is no laughing matter.

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6. Turd Blossom: Political Genius or Intellectual Pygmy?

Whichever you believe Rove to be, his actions are in no way indicative of a person who cares about you, me, or our country. Everything this man does is is designed to benefit Karl Rove.

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7. Follow The Leader

The differences that separate humans into warring tribes are matters of form, not substance.  One need only notice who benefits whenever nurturing those differences takes precedence over building bridges between people.

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8. Sometimes the differences are found within a group, not between groups. 

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9. Crazy Ideas

The oligarchs in this cartoon are truly blessed. There many other religious leaders who agree with them. You can find them on FOX "News" spreading copious amounts of fiscal conservative fertilizer (AKA trickle-down economic theory) as if it were found in the Gospels.

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10. More Crazy Ideas

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11. IMHO

Nobody ever said there were no wrong opinions. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. However, that opinion may prove to be right or wrong depending on the validity of the facts chosen (or made up) to support it.

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12. A Second Opinion

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In Defense of Science

I didn't think I'd be posting anything today until I saw this on a friend's Facebook page:

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That simple observation shatters the unassailable underpinnings of every ideology, religion, -ism, and philosophy save for one.

The lone exception is science.

All of the former require people to bend their brains into pretzels to make reality fit a multiplicity of contradictory tenets cobbled together over time to preserve "the truth" as interpreted by leaders past and present of those belief systems.

Please note that I am not condemning religion or those whose lives are guided by a moral compass rooted in belief in a loving deity, entity, force, spirit, known by these or any other appellation. At their core, most, if not all, religions simply enjoin people to follow the golden rule.

Unfortunately and all too often, a host of "supposed to bes" obscure that simple rule and divide us from our common humanity.

pray to Mecca five times a day

genuflect and cross yourself with holy water
yarmulkes and prayer shawls 

temple garments
prayer wheels
saying "Praise the Lord" at every occasion
lapel flag pins (or the failure to wear one)
elephants and donkeys and cable TV "news" channels...Oh my!

Required of those who believe, these artifices ensure that one knows who is "one of us" and who is "one of them."

Not one of these emblems of tribal identity tells us anything about reality, but all make it easier for self-serving leaders to manipulate their followers into doing what they're told without question.

Science, in contrast, has but one requirement:

Using all the tools available to you, question what is believed to be true about the physical world, and record faithfully and accurately what you find.

Sunday Funnies 140511

The Sunday Funnies theme for this week is "Blog, blog, blog."

1. An occasional reality check helps one create a better blog.

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2. Of course, so does simply posting "Sunday Funnies."

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3. A bit of sexual innuendo can add interest.

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4. Reminiscing about the good old days is always a winner.

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5. An occasional piece of political satire can add interest.

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6. An occasional piece of political satire can add interest.

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7. An occasional piece of political satire can add interest.

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8. An occasional (yeah, sure) piece of political satire can add interest.

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9. As can observations on a scientifically illiterate population.

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10. But in the end, it comes down to being honest

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Did I mention that an occasional piece of political satire can add interest?

11. The One Trick Elephant

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12. Someday she'll be a Republican governor.

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13. Yep! The legacy of Chris Christie is ensured, as is the success of my blog.

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