Wisconsin court race jolted by uncounted ballot find | The Raw Story
But late Thursday, the county clerk in Waukesha, a Republican stronghold, said workers had found 7,582 votes uncounted votes for Prosser.
4.07.2011
Surprise!
Taibbi on a roll
Paul Ryan, the Republican Party’s latest entrant in the seemingly endless series of young, prickish, over-coiffed, anal-retentive deficit Robespierres...
Corporate education
Charter Schools Outsource Education to Management Firms, With Mixed Results - ProPublica
Contrary to the idea of charters as small, locally run schools, approximately a third of them now rely on management companies to perform many of the most fundamental school services, such as hiring and firing staff, developing curricula and disciplining students.
4.06.2011
But it's not about "regime change," where did you get that silly idea?
Clinton: Gadhafi must go before NATO airstrikes stop – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi must leave power and Libya to stop the NATO military strikes in the country, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
Ouch
"I think we just don't care that much [about Microsoft] anymore," Zemlin said. "They used to be our big rival, but now it's kind of like kicking a puppy."
So if the BBC can figure this out...?
BBC News - What does 'government shutdown' mean?
If the US government shuts down after 8 April, it will mostly be because Republicans believe the government is too costly and inefficient.
But some estimates put the cost of government shutdowns in 1995 and 1996 at over $1.25bn - much of it due to inefficiency.
Just in case you're wondering how it is the government could be allowed to freakin' shut down...
Local News | How a shutdown would affect you | Seattle Times Newspaper
Members of Congress, the president, presidential appointees and certain legislative-branch employees are not subject to furloughs.
Preview of things to come
UNDERNEWS: Huckabee records as governor destroyed
Mother Jones - Send a public records request seeking documents from his 12-year stint as Arkansas governor, as Mother Jones did recently, and an eyebrow-raising reply will come back: The records are unavailable, and the computer hard drives that once contained them were erased and physically destroyed by the Huckabee administration as the governor prepared to leave office and launch a presidential bid.
Badgers wake up in re-count land
All She Wrote | Talking Points Memo
To borrow from the language of polling, the margin of uncertainty tied to outstanding precincts, absentee ballots and possible tabulation errors is just bigger than the margin separating the two candidates....
Which is something right there. The Supreme Court candidate linked to the Scott Walker guy, endorsed by Sarah Palin, some train called the Tea Party Express, lots of money and—oh yeah, did I mention?—incumbent should have been a slam dunk but, instead, might join the ranks of the unemployed, however briefly, soon. Perhaps time will, as it is believed to do, tell.
Meanwhile, hooray.
The morning after
It froze last night, as you can see, and there was a howling wind and this morning, well, as I said, you can see. Only the purebred Michigan racing duck and that one in the back with the turban (actually I think it's a towel but anything would work on a morning so icy) are left standing. But the sun is out. Maybe some day the ice will melt.
4.05.2011
Big turnout in Wisconsin...
...we're hearing from Charlie, who notes: "Looks like Wisconsin is taking a supreme court race seriously." Might be more fun than the NCAA Women's finals, tonight on ESPN.
Because, you know, democracy
UNDERNEWS: Hidden news: 100,000 protest new regime in Egypt
In recent weeks, the new regime has increasingly demonstrated that it is just as hostile to the Egyptian people’s democratic and social rights as was the ex-dictator, Hosni Mubarak, throughout his 30-year rule. Under Tantawi’s leadership, the military on March 23 banned all strikes and protests that interfere with the economy or public life...
Hundreds have been arrested, hauled before military courts and sentenced to prison since the military junta assumed power....
And this guy's surprised because...?
The worst idea in Washington - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post
Bruce Bartlett takes a look at the Balanced Budget Amendment all 47 Republicans signed their names to and pronounces it “quite possibly the stupidest constitutional amendment I think I have ever seen. It looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin.”
Too big to jail
Wachovia was at the heart of one of the world’s biggest money laundering operations, moving $378.4 billion into dollar-based accounts from Mexican casas de cambio, which are currency exchange firms...
Feds want money back
After Maine’s governor removes labor mural, feds demand their money back | The Raw Story
Whoops: The governor of Maine's decision to remove a pro-labor mural from the state's Department of Labor may cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, all because he wanted to "send a message."
Apparently unknown to Maine's recently elected Republican governor, the mural targeted by his ire was initially paid for by a federal grant -- the terms of which he violated by having it removed.
4.04.2011
Swim, ducks, swim for your lives!
It's been raining hard all afternoon. Thunderboomers, everything. Out back is an extreme expanse of puddles, swarming with ducks, some of them floating to and fro, some just lying on their sides, forlorn (a few of them do not swim well). Meanwhile out in front is a pile of snow. Go figure. It's too weird for me.
Obama, as you may have heard (and if you haven't, you will) is running for re-election (there, now you have)
Obama Reverses Course: No Civilian Trials for 9/11 Plotters | Common Dreams
In a sharp reversal of the Obama administration's policy on trying Sept. 11 suspects in U.S. courts, mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-conspirators will be tried in a military commission at Guantanamo Bay.
Libya: Better than a trade show
Libyan War: A Showcase in the New Arms Race | Common Dreams
Times change, allegiances shift, but weapons companies will always find takers for their goods. Libya won't be buying new kit any time soon. But the no-fly zone has become a prime showcase for other potential weapons customers, underlining the power of western combat jets and smart bombs, or reminding potential buyers of the defensive systems needed to repel them.
"This is turning into the best shop window for competing aircraft for years. More even than in Iraq in 2003," says Francis Tusa, editor of UK-based Defense Analysis.
Gearing up for 2012
Today, every politician in Washington takes bribes, from the president on down. Only please call them campaign contributions....
And so we came to a time during the Clinton administration when the Supreme Court actually ruled that a law prohibiting the giving of gifts to a public official "for or because of an official act" didn't mean anything unless you knew exactly what the official act was. In other words, bribery was only illegal if the briber [sic] was dumb enough to give you a receipt.
Persuasion
The Truth About Climate Change, Still Inconvenient - NYTimes.com
...as Upton Sinclair pointed out long ago, it’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
—noted by our Midwest bureau.
4.03.2011
Right, and can you spell "fat chance"?
Obama’s Imperial War in Libya Subverts the Constitution - The Daily Beast
Suppose President Obama announced that, in order to protect the nation while carrying out his constitutional duties as commander in chief, he was issuing an executive order restoring federal income tax rates to their Clinton-era levels.
Tomorrow's forecast: Pluvosity
Schott Op-Chart: Pluviocabulary - NYTimes.com
“April showers bring forth May flowers” – that much is uncontested....To aid the discussion of precipitation, we present some of pluvial terms to be found in the inestimable “Oxford English Dictionary.”
Also the only person who complains about potholes
Nebraska woman is mayor — and only resident — of her town | The Raw Story
KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) - Elsie Eiler is the most admired person in Monowi, Neb. She is also the smartest, wealthiest, best-looking and youngest.
"And the oldest," she is quick to add....
Eiler, 77, is the lone inhabitant of Monowi, a village in northeast Nebraska.
4.02.2011
Really, if you're paying attention, an anti-kiss
Being There Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
"Being There," the 1979 movie with Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine and based on Jerzy Kosinski's novel of the same name actually has a kiss in it but if you're paying attention it's really an anti-kiss and anyway to hell with it, it gets 95 on the Tomatometer and it's going on our Movies with No Kissing list, so sue me.
BTW, the movie as viewed last night is better than I remembered it but book is still much better so there's a decision to be made here. Or not. You can always read the book and then watch the movie anyway, just to watch Peter Sellers work.
The running of the ducks
Well, it's not likely to snow today and it's possible—just possible—they won't freeze tonight so now is as good a time as any. And there is a kid next door—he's in kindergarten this year—who's been waiting for the ducks for a week or so, and now he gets to go splashing around in the puddle all he wants and there's nothing his mom can say about it. Go kid.
I haven't seen an open convertible yet this spring but I did see some people loading furniture into a pick-up truck this morning, so the running of the tenants seems to have begun, as well.
Now if we can only get the temp up to, say, 50º, everything will be good.
I don't really have to point this out, do I?
Fighting rages in Ivory Coast with 800 dead in west
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Soldiers backing Alassane Ouattara met stiff resistance from incumbent Laurent Gbagbo's fighters in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan on Saturday as the two sides fought for control of the West African country....
In a sign of how bloody the conflict has become, the International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 800 people were killed....
If at first you don't succeed...
UNDERNEWS: CEO pay up 27% in 2010, workers pay up only 2%
USA Today - At a time most employees can barely remember their last substantial raise, median CEO pay jumped 27% in 2010 as the executives’ compensation started working its way back to pre-recession levels...
Bush Lite Lite
Clinton To Congress: Obama Would Ignore Your War Resolutions | TPMDC
The White House would forge ahead with military action in Libya even if Congress passed a resolution constraining the mission, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a classified briefing to House members Wednesday afternoon....
Lines
You just have to love these Republicans. They can contradict themselves in the same sentence and then deny that they even opened their mouths...
Now Duffy Loses Joe Johns? | Talking Points Memo
Not since the first parricide asked the judge for mercy because of his orphanhood has anyone punched the chutzpah card as hard as freshman Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)...
Oh yes, Bunky, things are soooo much worse than you thought
Read this graph from this morning's Wall Street Journal and see if you can spot the italics I added myself:
Libya's Rebels Set Back; Exit Jolts Berkshire - WSJ.com
The rebels battling Libyan leader Gadhafi are suffering from significant military shortcomings, including too few trained fighters, a limited ability to control their own troops, and Western warplanes' difficulties in distinguishing between Libyan army forces and civilians.
Did you find it? Yes?
4.01.2011
Dulpickles! Booberkins! Yea!
The First English Dictionary of Slang, 1699 - NYTimes.com
Several months ago, Oxford University’s Bodleian Library republished ... “The First English Dictionary of Slang, 1699,” with an introduction by John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary....
"Relinquishing their determination": Awesome
Libyan rebels offer cease-fire. Does Qaddafi have the upper hand? - CSMonitor.com
Benefiting from a change in tactics, Colonel Qaddafi's forces have made significant gains against rebels with more nimble units that are harder for Western allies to target by air. Rebels, now lacking the curtain of airstrikes that paved their rapid westward advance last weekend, appear to be relinquishing their determination to battle Qaddafi's forces all the way to Tripoli.
How the Arab League got on board?
Exposed: The US-Saudi Libya deal | Common Dreams
You invade Bahrain. We take out Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. This, in short, is the essence of a deal struck between the Barack Obama administration and the House of Saud. Two diplomatic sources at the United Nations independently confirmed that Washington, via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave the go-ahead for Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain and crush the pro-democracy movement in their neighbor in exchange for a "yes" vote by the Arab League for a no-fly zone over Libya - the main rationale that led to United Nations Security Council resolution 1973.
The story of another war in North Africa
An Army at Dawn (Rick Atkinson)
(This book is not on the official book list yet because I haven't read it, but JIC you can't wait.)
Down the hatch
Beer Tax Break Brews Bipartisanship - The Daily Beast
Budget deficit be damned, lawmakers of both parties are supporting a $67 million tax break for microbreweries.
More from the Washington Post: What passes for achievement in DC
The unemployment rate dipped from 8.9 percent in February. The rate has fallen a full percentage point over the past four months. That’s the sharpest drop since 1983.
Brilliant!
April Fools’ storm creates winter wonderland in New England, knocks out power for thousands
Dude, that's the Washington Post—the Post of Washington, DC, we're talking about here, the very Washington DC that is reputed to faint dead away at the very idea of snow, the prediction of snow, not to mention the white, fluffy stuff its ownself, suddenly going all Norman Rockwell about snow dropped on us, the amount of which, although just barely worth mentioning in this year of friggin' endless winter with piles of snow up to friggin' here, would by all accounts would be enough to send DC into meltdown mode. Not to mention, what's so friggin' wonderland about thousands of people being without power on a day when the high is going to be around 36º degrees or so, never mind how everything's going to freeze solid overnight.
Although, now that you mention it, this does quite possibly go a long way toward explaining why the cost of fuel oil's so high and why assistance for the folks who can't afford it has been cut.
Jerks.
Wait. What?
Florida Republicans upset Democrat said ‘uterus’ on state House floor | The Raw Story
He said Republicans told him they were concerned about young pages hearing the word.
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