1.14.2012

Snowy

Snowy by 76003
Snowy, a photo by 76003 on Flickr.

Degrees

iPhone Photo: Phil Compton

1.13.2012

Urban Dictionary: Electile Dysfunction

Electile Dysfunction
January 30, 2008 Urban Word of the Day
The inability to become aroused over any of the choices for President put forth by either party during an election year.

"Is anyone appealing to you in this years presidential race?"

"Naa... No one excites me. I think I'm suffering from Electile Dysfunction."

Oh no! Not that!

Looming downgrades, Greek debt impasse hit euro zone | Reuters

(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's was set to downgrade the credit ratings of several euro zone countries on Friday…

And put a stamp on it

Undernews: HL Mencken on editing

25 January, 1936

San Fransisco, California

Dear Saroyan,

I note what you say about your aspiration to edit a magazine. I am sending you by this mail a six-chambered revolver. Load it and fire every one into your head. You will thank me after you get to hell and learn from other editors there how dreadful their job was on earth.

(Signed, 'H.L. Mencken')

Yeah, lucky we don't have to wait for Obama to do this

Democrats fan Romney ‘Bain’ storm | The Raw Story

WASHINGTON — Gleeful Democrats fanned the flames Thursday after Republicans did President Barack Obama’s dirty work for him and savaged their likely 2012 nominee Mitt Romney as a “vulture capitalist.”

Icy morning

Icy morning by 76003
Icy morning, a photo by 76003 on Flickr.

Noted

Arthur Brisbane and selective stenography - Salon.com

Literally every day, one finds major news stories that consist of little more than the uncritical conveying of official claims, often protected by journalists not only from critical scrutiny but — thanks to the shield of anonymity they subserviently extend — from all forms of accountability.…

1.12.2012

Closed

Closed by 76003
Closed, a photo by 76003 on Flickr.
From our copious files

The most curious thing…

…about the season's first snow here and a lot of other places I've lived (but not Minnesota) is that it seems everyone who drives suddenly has to learn how to do it all over again. In the meantime, all manner of vehicles are bouncing off the siderails in the manner of billiard balls and, a little pedestrian complaint here, splashing everywhere. It's sad. I can understand this sort of behavior in Georgia or in North Carolina, but in Massachusetts? It really seems a little bit extreme. Hopefully, people learn how to drive again by spring.

A very little snow

A very little snow by 76003
A very little snow, a photo by 76003 on Flickr.
As you can see. But everybody in town with a plow is scrambling after every last flake of it. Payday! Thought it would never happen.

But…but…but…

Undernews: Gitmo stats

ACLU: 92% of Gitmo detainees were never Al Qaeda. 

86% were turned over to coalition forces for a bounty.… 

Bush released 532 prisoners. Obama: 68. 171 left. 

OK, boys and girls, let's take a deep breath here

Report: 1% of Americans paid 22% of health care costs in 2009 – USATODAY.com

WASHINGTON–Just 1% of Americans accounted for 22% of health care costs in 2009, according to a federal report released Wednesday…

I know math is hard, but just try to remember this one thing: There is always a top 1% of everything

The way it was



P1000521_Snapseed, originally uploaded by tedcompton.

Ha ha, let's play Guess Which One!

Coke Says It Found Fungicide in Orange Juice - WSJ.com

Coca-Cola Co. said it found an unapproved fungicide in orange juice made by Coke and its competitors, and alerted federal regulators that some Brazilian growers had sprayed trees with the substance.

The beverage giant, which makes Simply Orange and Minute Maid, wouldn't say which brands had shown the fungicide. Both brands contain juice from Brazil.

Well, no

Jeff Cohen: Obama, Sarkozy and Taxing Wall Street

Can you imagine Obama standing up to a resistant Congress on a Wall Street transaction tax? He can't even stand up to his own advisers on the issue, according to Ron Suskind's insider book on the Obama White House, "Confidence Men."

Ahem

Insourced

Obama said during an announcement yesterday. “I want us to be known for making and selling products all over the world stamped with three proud words, ‘Made in America.’”

Would somebody please mention to this guy the same three words could be used by the Canadians, the Mexicans, the Peruvians, the Bolivians, and who knows (You expect me to look it up, dude? I'm an American.) how many other countries in the entire western hemisphere? Please?

Yeah, but here's the thing

Poetic Justice

In their tactical attack on Mitt Romney, the other Republicans have painted themselves into a corner. They owe it to the public to explain just what is improper about what private-equity operators do, what should be illegal, and what should be subject to disclosure.

Why is it we are waiting for the Republicans to explain this sort of freebooting behavior to the public? Because the Democrats didn't do it years ago. And haven't been banging on it ever since. The kind of thing Bain Capital and others (the Carlyle Group, for example) is just plain old everyday mainstream "free-market" rich-guy behavior and the Democrats–well, most of them–have made nary a peep about it all these years. Some, beyond all doubt, have participated.  

Come to think of it, let's start hearing about them.

The laughs are where you find them

People Are Awesome: The Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else's Drinks - News - GOOD

A medium cup of coffee at Corner Perk costs $1.95. That may not seem like a lot…

No, no, Bunky, it seemed like a lot when it went up to 25 cents. Now it just is a lot. 

1.11.2012

In case you were thinking...

Supreme Court: Woman can't sue over firing from Redford church | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

WASHINGTON — In a groundbreaking case, the Supreme Court today held for the first time that religious employees of a church cannot sue for employment discrimination.…

No, Bunky, it will never end

Supreme Court’s naked truth (read-this roundup) - In the Loop - The Washington Post

There’s nudity in the Supreme Court! Yesterday’s debate in the high court over the government’s role in regulating naughty words and images on the public airwaves revealed a shocking fact sure to rile conservatives of delicate sensibilities (and where’s John Ashcroft when you need him?).

Waiting for winter (be here soon)

Man in the M

1.10.2012

File under Stuff I Never Finished Reading

Comment on DOE Shale Gas Recommendations

The subcommittee was tasked with…

 

Ayup

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I suppose he could have been dressed as the Easter bunny

Arkansas Grandma Was Taped To 'Bomb,' Forced To Withdraw Money From Bank | Fox News

Police said they have yet to arrest a suspect and are looking for a white man of unknown age who was wearing blue jeans and a shirt at the time of the incident.

You absolutely can not make this stuff up

Brazilian councillor proposes law demanding brides wear underwear when they marry | Mail Online

A Brazilian councillor has proposed a law to force brides to wear knickers at the altar.

Ozias Zizi claims that a growing number of women in his south-eastern town of Vila Velha are turning up to church with nothing on underneath their wedding dresses.

The superstitious brides believe it will make their marriages last longer, he explained.…

The councillor admitted that the law would be hard to enforce – ‘we couldn’t do any checks’ – but suggested that an educational campaign could ‘preserve our sacred places’.

1.09.2012

Thought you'd already laughed as much as you could, Bunky?

Well, think again:

Todd Palin endorses Newt Gingrich; Sarah Palin still undecided in GOP race  - NY Daily News

Todd Palin jumped into the 2012 race on Monday, but only to offer an unsolicited endorsement to Newt Gingrich.…

And wait. That's not even the best part. Check this:

He said he supports Gingrich…because he’s not one of those "beltway types."

And it's still only January. W00t!

That's what you get for being born too late, kid

I hear a guy in the grocery store this morning complaining to another guy about how his basketball team got beat by a team with a girl on it.


Well, OK, there's that

Undernews: What I learned from four hours of GOP debate

- Anti-gay politicians like those in the debate should probably be a bit more careful, given that their purported religion was started by a guy who never got near that "sacrament of marriage," never dated any women, and hung out mainly with twelve close male buddies.

No, I think they're not jokes (although I never saw one myself)

Vintage Ads - The Airline Sleeper Berth

1.08.2012

When you're on a roll, you're on a roll

Immigration Officer Puts Wife on the No-Fly List - Lowering the Bar

According to the Daily Mail Online, an immigration officer who worked for the UK Border Agency managed to get his wife out of his hair for three years by putting her name on the no-fly list while she was visiting the in-laws overseas.…

[Story is about a year old, but still.]

Lamplight

Evening arrives

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No more piling on

New Hampshire Debate: The Trickless-Dick Mitt Fix Is In, by Charles P. Pierce - Esquire

In brief, Saturday night may have been the most naked piece of point-shaving and game-throwing since the 1919 World Series. I've seen fixed prizefights where the issue was more in doubt. The other candidates went so far into the tank for Willard that they may not dry off until next August.…

I watched part of that show last night myself. Watching any more would be just piling on. I already know more about those guys than I need to, want to, or ever in my life hoped to. (And what strange kind of fantasy world does that guy Perry live in, anyway: Iran will get back into Iraq at the speed of light?) Enough is enough.

Our Midwest bureau editor noticed a line from Maureen Dowd's column this morning: "It's like they're running for president of Leave It to Beaverland." Sounds about right to me.