Edward Snowden: we may never spot space aliens thanks to encryption | US news | The Guardian
9.19.2015
I really don't get this
DNC Chair Refuses To Acknowledge Bernie's Effect On Dem Election | The Daily Caller
"In the 2008 election cycle, the Democratic Party had 26 total debates which Schultz argued spread the candidates too thin."
Here’s an interview of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz by Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC in which the Shultz person says the 26 Democratic debates during the 2008 election cycle “spread the [Democratic] candidates too thin."
Too thin for what? She’s taking about the Democratic candidates for president, and didn’t the Democrats win that office in 2008? On this planet? So in what way did those debates damage the party?
I don’t get it.
(I guess Andrea Mitchell understands this because she didn’t ask. But she’s not telling.)
Except…well…
Hologram Porn: The most realistic sex imaginable http://t.co/s43VR4EQVk pic.twitter.com/quYRi2JISI
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 19, 2015No sense of adventure, these Brits
London-bound Virgin Atlantic flight grounded after wing hits fence at JFK airport in New York: http://t.co/IFws55UXrr
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 19, 2015Oh, the horror
DNC chair heckled with calls for more debates - CNNPolitics.com
"Calls for more Democratic presidential primary debates grew so loud at a party convention in New Hampshire Saturday that the party's chairwoman had to raise her voice…"
Right
Jeb Bush: Yes, I am a Bush - CNNPolitics.com
“…and that's why he'd be a good leader on foreign policy."
9.18.2015
As opposed to what?
Yeah, I know. Respectable as opposed to cheap, disgusting, cringe-worthy…
We’ll go quietly.
You'd almost think this guy was a Kardashian
Thongs, sports bras and cutouts — a small sampling of Pope Francis souvenirs | New York Post
"Among the tens of thousand of items, you can also get shot glasses, baseballs with an image of the Vatican and pope, Christmas tree ornaments, guitar picks, watches, iPhone covers and even a women’s thong bearing the pope’s likeness."
Whatever you do, don't flush
The High-Tech Toilet That Destroyed a Submarine | War Is Boring
"But Schlitt was not properly trained as a toilet specialist. After calling an engineer to help, the engineer turned a wrong valve and accidentally unleashed a torrent of sewage and seawater back into the sub."
Legal fictions are just fictions in the end
Super PACs and the Supreme Court - The Atlantic
"Tapper is an experienced political reporter who knows the technical difference between a campaign and a super PAC. Bush obviously knows his own campaign doesn’t have $100 million in donations. And yet the distinction between independent expenditures and direct campaign donations didn’t matter during a nationally televised presidential debate. If the candidates, the press, and the public don’t see a difference, why should the Supreme Court?"
Politifact on Fiorina's Planned Parenthood rant
At CNN debate, Carly Fiorina urges others to watch Planned Parenthood videos | PolitiFact
"We rate her statement Mostly False."
Trump shuts up
Trump silent as questioner calls Obama a Muslim at rally - NY Daily News
"'Donald Trump not denouncing false statements about POTUS & hateful rhetoric about Muslims is disturbing, & just plain wrong. Cut it out. -H,’ [Clinton] tweeted."
English majors don't get no respect
Conn. woman keyed cars with misspelled word: cops - NY Daily News
"A vengeful Connecticut woman was busted for allegedly keying two cars with the word "wore."
It was apparently a failed attempt at spelling "whore."
Shannon Csapilla, 20, bit back at critics via Instagram Tuesday posting, 'Don't worry, I'm not an English major'…"
A little helping of the dismal science for breakfast (you may need an extra cup of joe)
Income inequality: Rich Democrats don’t care about the problem any more than rich Republicans do.
"Democracy gives the mass of citizens a path for protest when the gap between ordinary views and a closed rank of elite opinion grows too great. The populist insurgencies that increasingly dominate the contests to select both the Republican and Democratic candidates in the upcoming presidential election show the protest path in action. Elites—in both parties—remain baffled by Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders’ appeal; and they prayerfully insist that both campaigns will soon fade away. Our study suggests a different interpretation, however.…"
9.17.2015
Hey. if it's good enough for the Democrats it's good for those Ruskies too
Russia's Latest Fake Election - The New York Times
"MOSCOW — After watching the local and gubernatorial elections in Russia on Sunday, one cannot help wondering: Why bother? Why does the Kremlin need to push the illusion of democracy when the results are predetermined?"
Live like a Viking classes?
Norway Again Embraces the Vikings, Minus the Violence - The New York Times
"“I am a very peaceful man. I have never plundered anything,” said Mr. Garly"
What’s the point? May as well just call it camping.
Don't ever leave us, Donald
Here are all of the GOP candidates' picks for their Secret Service nicknames: http://t.co/9vVjsdxkdy #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/EsSYwh6gmS
— New Republic (@NewRepublic) September 17, 2015
Maybe I should listen to Republicans more often
I had a much better than average sleep last night and I've been getting things done right and left (or maybe I should say right and right) today, everything working fine. Plus, the weather is perfect. It's nice and warm. Possibly that's because we're so close to all those nukes in New Jersey, in which case, hey, keep 'em stoked up all winter, OK?
I ordered some little thing…
…that was shipped from Tennessee Tuesday and is scheduled to be delivered here Monday next; I wish they'd told me because I could have walked down there and picked it up myself faster than that. Unless, of course, the bridge to New Jersey is closed.
I'm not complaining, you understand, just pointing out. Walking to Tennessee would spoil my nap.
I'm not complaining, you understand, just pointing out. Walking to Tennessee would spoil my nap.
[I can't vouch for the publication…
…being unfamiliar with it, but this article does a pretty decent job explaining why a lot of people, including myself, are taking an emphatically unforgiving stance critical of the behavior of the Ms. Clinton.]
Why I'm suing the State Department over Hillary Clinton's email scandal
"It's a near-certainty that foreign intelligence agencies thoroughly penetrated Clinton's email."
That’s plenty bad enough. But more.
“In May 2015, the State Department discovered classified material in Clinton's email. In June, the inspector general of the intelligence community confirmed to Congress that classified material had indeed been discovered, and that copies of said correspondence were being stored on flash drives at the office of David Kendall, Clinton's lawyer. On August 5, the State Department confirmed publicly that it had installed a safe at Kendall's office to store this flash drive brimming with American secrets. Kendall relinquished the now-radioactive drives the next day."
There is no world in which storing classified information on a flash drive in your lawyer’s office is allowed, even for a few months. Or a few days. Or hours. And for the Secretary of State to say, well, gee, she didn’t know that is simply unacceptable. (And for the State Department’s security people to not know this stuff was going on is not acceptable either. If this is the kind of security practiced at State Chelsea nee Bradley Manning, now serving time for divulging State Department documents, deserves a profound apology and a free ticket home.)
You may have watched that CNN-Republican thing last night…
…thinking it was the most important televised event of the week but if you did, you were wrong. The most important event of the week (not exactly televised but webvised) is…
The 25th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony
for which you can download your own spiffy poster right here.
(And as a special accommodation, we note:
"A keen official observer will live-tweet the ceremony, as will many of the 1100 audience members in Sanders Theatre:
@ImprobResearch, and #IgNobel”)
9.16.2015
The debate tonight…
…will be running on a tape delay of about 30 minutes (house policy) so I'll be able to find out what's said before it happens. (It just cracks me up to hear these ponderous pundits talk about "thousands of tweets" with a straight face. This whole evening is an entertainment bonanza.)
There's slow, and then there's motionless
5 U.S.-Trained Rebels Fighting ISIS - The Daily Beast
"Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Christine Wormuth gave a relatively rosy picture of the U.S.-led effort to defeat ISIS, characterizing the Syrian train-and-equip program as merely 'off to a slow start.'"
Nothing gets away from these guys
Mass. State Police sergeant accidentally shoots himself - NY Daily News
"Police are investigating the shooting and whether the officer followed appropriate safety procedures."
Still Charlie?
Charlie Hebdo Comes Under Fire for Publishing Controversial Refugee Cartoon | TIME
" One cartoon shows a toddler face-down on the beach beside a billboard advertisement offering two kid’s menu meals for the price of one, with the caption 'So close to making it.' The other, captioned 'Proof that Europe is Christian,' depicts a Jesus-like character walking on water, while another is sinking head first, with the former remarking 'Christians walk on water' and the latter saying 'Muslim children sink.'"
Not to mention reading the articles
Don’t have sex with robots: expert - NY Daily News
“The physical act of sex will only be a small part of the time you spend with a sex robot — the majority of time will be spent socializing and interacting.”
Like a plague
Clinton's campaign is flooding the Internet with nostalgic pics in a bid to burnish her image http://t.co/VVFxE8eWB2 pic.twitter.com/McM0T4nekA
— POLITICO (@politico) September 16, 2015
This Sidney guy sure seems to get around
Is Caroline Kennedy seeking revenge on Hillary Clinton? | Page Six
"In June, leaked emails revealed that Hillary henchman Sidney Blumenthal had orchestrated news stories undermining Caroline while she was vying to be appointed to Hillary’s Senate seat in 2008."
Chew on this a while
Restaurant report card: Antibiotics in the meat supply - CNN.com
Chick-fil-A, the restaurant chain liberals love to hate, winds up rated third best (behind Chipotle and Panera Bread) by Friends of the Earth for the yummy goodness of its antibiotic and sourcing policies. You can’t get better than third (unless it’s first or second).
Nice going, Chick.
I really don't much like…
…playing the equivalency game but sometimes it just can't be helped. In its Wednesday briefing piece, today's New York Times refers to Carly Fiorina as "the only woman in the Republican field," which, of course, she is. But when was the last time you heard Hillary Clinton called "the only woman in the Democratic field"? Pretty much never, would be my guess.
9.15.2015
JIC you were wondering
"The nostalgic pictures are designed to present her as an average person — rather than a global brand — and to neutralize the negative image Clinton can sometimes project as the untrustworthy political insider campaigning in a rich lady's uniform of bold-colored pantsuits and a helmet of blonde hair."
And all this time you thought The Donald was the jerk
Huckabee: refugees may just want 'cable TV' | MSNBC
"'Are they really escaping tyranny, are they escaping poverty, or are they really just coming because we’ve got cable TV?' Huckabee asked, in an audience question-and-answer session at the conservative Eagle Forum conference in St. Louis."
What would there be left? A Buubio
.@ppppolls: 47% of Florida voters think @jebbush should drop out of 2016 race; 48% think @marcorubio should http://t.co/67MOvToj9c
— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) September 15, 2015
Seems like a reasonable suggestion
Never Volunteer For Your Friends’ Science Experiments | Internet Action Force
[It’s a video, just so you know.]
Trump is everywhere
BREAKING: Foreign minister says Hungary plans to build anti-migrant fence on border with Romania.
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 15, 20159.14.2015
How about this?
I'm settling in to watch the Atlanta Falcons play football on the first Monday night of the season—a rare event around here at any time or any season—when an announcer mentions this is the 50th year of Falcons football. And I remember I was at the first home game they ever played, in 1965. Pretty cool.
Today's homemaking tip: Iron in the dark
No kidding. Well, not totally dark but sorta dark, at least. Makes your stuff look smoother faster, guaranteed. And, if it's not completely smooth…by the time you want to wear it you won't care. It just works out that way.
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
You can take it home for $4.2 mil (or it can take you home)
Want to Live Like a Caveman? The Flintstones House Is up for Sale
"The floor plan includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms—perfect for a family of four, like Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, and Dino."
And now a few words from our expert
Showdown Between Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump Expected at Republican Debate
"“Carly Fiorina is a better debater than Governor Palin, and she has a great capacity to take on Donald Trump,” said former Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan, who played Ms. Palin in Mr. Biden’s mock debate sessions."
The press is doing everything they can to turn Wednesday night’s Republican debate into a let's get Donald show
Look, it's county fair season. Why not just put him in a dunk tank and have at it?
Talk about yer clueless
I don’t get this at all.
Seeking '16 spark, Walker proposes vast union restrictions - News - telegram.com - Worcester, MA
"MADISON, Wis. (AP) " Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker called Monday for sweeping restrictions on organized labor in the U.S., seeking to replicate nationwide his successful effort as Wisconsin's governor to curb the power of unions."
According to the BLS, only about 12 percent of employed wage and salary workers in the U.S. are represented by unions. So how is all this union power a big concern to anybody? And how many voters are moved on way or the other by an anti-union stance?
Granted it can make for good theater, as it did in Wisconsin a couple of years ago, but in the voting booth? Sounds like a figment of the media’s imagination to me.
And now not a mountain to his name
Nation mourns death of Pres William McKinley. Read his ‘Life of Triumphs’ in #ChronAM http://t.co/bj5r39GUSg pic.twitter.com/OMONzhCAld
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) September 14, 2015And that was before she started wearing that black-and-white striped shirt
Woman who helped 2 killers escape says she was depressed
I like the New York State fashion; that orange was getting downright boring.
Why buy one when you can be one?
Donald Trump 2016: Mark Cuban, other rebel billionaires considering runs for office - POLITICO
"Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is so impressed with Donald Trump’s success that he is now considering running for office himself.…"
Rearrange the deck chairs, Maude, this is starting to get fun.
9.13.2015
What we've been saying all along
Here’s Proof That You Are Wired To Be Lazy | TIME
"Humans are inherently lazy, which may be a trait left over from our ancestors’ days of conserving energy for the next hunt. "
Or just spending too much time with our Work Avoidance Hall of Fame (see column on right).
Once upon a time, when things were even creepier than now
Disney Mickey Mouse Gas Mask - Gas Mask and Respirator Wiki
"No chemical attack was laid onto the United States, and the desire for the Mickey Mouse gas mask vanished. The gas masks were handed to senior officials and others as mere keepsakes."
Things about football
There are 14 teams in the Big 10. And one of them, Maryland (really? Maryland?) didn't win. It's un-American.
Some of those college boys are wearing short pants. It's immoral—like those races where the jockeys sit right down on the horse, or pool.
Go Bears. (I know, I know, but go anyway.)
Some of those college boys are wearing short pants. It's immoral—like those races where the jockeys sit right down on the horse, or pool.
Go Bears. (I know, I know, but go anyway.)
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