Nicest thing anyone's said about me in a while....

Offered without comment (but with context):

Ahistoricality’s right. Psychotic… but absolutely right.

Birther Crazy: Called It!

Back in 2009 I said birtherism was a long game, aimed at spreading Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) for 2012. I hate being right.

Comment Elsewhere: Freud's Projector

In a response to a post noting a particularly unhinged bit of public paranoia, I wrote

Some people really need to apply Occam's Razor more often. And Freud's Projector less.

I thought I was just being a little clever with the parallel construction, but Scott claims (and Google seems to confirm) that I was actually being original: the phrase "Freud's Projector" doesn't seem to appear elsewhere on the internet. I'm inordinately proud of this.

Say what you like about Freud -- I certainly do -- but the concept of 'projection' remains a powerful tool for diagnosing social pathologies.

Best Of 2008?

Jon Swift asked his blogroll inhabitants to cite their best post for the year. Here are my candidates:

• Time to Settle Up, 5 November 2008
• Echoes of Fascist Rhetoric, 20 October 2008
• Current Events Sonnet, 9 October 2008
• Exploding Head Alert, 19 September 2008
• Palin can't even tell the truth about her own faith, 11 September 2008
• Ahistoricality Alert: Unspeakably Banal, 2 May 2008
• Blog Against Disabilism Day: Chess, 1 May 2008

I'll make my pick later