Reason Morning Links: Dick Gets Charged, Willie Gets Active, Peter Finds a Home

• Nigeria intends to indict Dick Cheney for bribery.
• For the first time in 27 years, Congress censures one of its own.
• As WikiLeaks' domain name is cut off…
• …the British police are reportedly close to arresting site founder Julian Assange.
• Willie Nelson launches a Teapot Party movement.
• Fresh from the Obama White House, Peter Orszag gets a gig with Citigroup.
• There's a substantial jump in jobless claims, and unemployment is now at 9.8%.
• Celebration, Disney's New Urbanist settlement, has its first murder.

Comments

[Johnny Longtorso]

...and so she says "Oh, a sixty nine? You want Beef and Broccoli."

[John]

Chinese Academy of Sciences questions the need for high speed rail.

http://www.theatlantic.com/bus.....ail/67282/

[John]

And some of the lefty comments are nausiating. The top one right now reads.

This is an article not based on facts at all.

Do not think the Chinese government is stupid on the High Speed Rail projects. They had careful planning and studies before they implement the projects.

If the Chinese government is as stupid as this article pointed out on the 300 to 500 billion High Speed Rail projects, then China could probably not develop so fast during the past 30 years.

Yeah, the Chinese central planners must be smart. They are central planners. How could they not be?

[Brett L]

Was that Kenneth?

[Almanian]

The Chinese are SO clever, that this is part of their plan to throw the US a curve so the US doesn't develop high-speed rail, thus falling further behind the Chinese.

Devilishly brilliant bit of psy-ops by the Chinese...

[John]

And of course the Chinese are incapable of doing a white elefant vanity project that wastes billions and does more harm than good. Just ignore that giant dam in the corner.

[Wind Rider]

Or that big wall thing they built to keep out the riff raff.

[Mike Laursen]

Latest word is the first segment of California's high-speed rail boondoggle will not even be built between Modesto and Fresno. It will be built between two tiny towns in the Fresno area: [already forgot the name of one of them] and Corcoran. The latter town's biggest claim to fame: Charlie Manson makes his home there.

[sloopyinca]

Is the other town Hanford? That's where I catch the train when I go to the bay area.

[Mike Laursen]

Just read the story again. It's Borden. So, if you're a Manson devotee that lives in Borden, and you feel it takes too long to travel down to Corcoran and visit him on weekends, your prayers are going to be answered.

[Juice]

This article (linked in the comments) enlightened me greatly as some of the reasons that passenger rail is near impossible in the US.

[generic Brand]

So instead of a train that derails and kills a few hundred passengers (already extremely unlikely) the FRA wants to create a 150 mph missile that is indestructible? Good thing they're not planning any of these tracks through developed areas... oh. shit

[Rhywun]

Interesting stuff. The same nonsense happens here in NYC - today's subway cars are something like two or three times heavier than the originals, for no obvious reason - with the predictable result that the infrastructure requires constant repair which an endless succession of ballooning Five Year Plans has done little to address (other than pile up mountains of debt).

[Ragin Cajun]

Nigeria intends to indict Dick Cheney for bribery.

Will the indictment come via email?

[Brian from Texas]

It should come with a PS stating Cheney has a dead millionaire uncle.

[John]

+100. Yes and it will require Cheney to give his chequeing account number in his response.

[Jesse Walker]

I'm sort of hoping that the briber will turn out to be some guy with an email account posing as "Dick Chany, deposed American vice president."

[John]

Who has a hundred million dollars in a bank account and needs the Wall Street Journal's help getting it out.

[TrickyVic]

It's just the setup. The real scam will be the letter about the Cheney defense fund.

[Mr Whipple]

They are getting much better. They hacked my Uncle's email server (AT&T, I believe), set up a shadow account at Yahoo, and sent this to all of his contacts, and one idiot actually sent the money.

Hi,
How you doing? I made a trip to London (United Kingdom) unannounced some days back, Unfortunately i got mugged at gun point last night! All cash, Credit card and phone were stolen, i got messed up in another country, stranded in London, fortunately passport was back in our hotel room. It was a bitter experience and i was hurt on my right hand, but would be fine. I am sending you this message cause i don't want anyone to panic, i want you to keep it that way for now!

My return flight leaves in a few hours but I'm having troubles sorting out the hotel bills, wondering if you could loan me some money to sort out the hotel bills and also take a cab to the airport about ($2,450). I have been to the police and embassy here, but they aren't helping issues, I have limited means of getting out of here, i have canceled my credit cards already and made a police report, I won't get a new credit card number till I get back home! So I really need your help.You can contact the hotel management through this telephone number [phone] or [phone],you could wire whatever you can spare to my name and hotel address via Western union:

Name: [*******]
Location:34 Burnaby Street, Chelsea,
Greater London
SW10 0PL.
United Kingdom

Get back to me with the details, would definitely refund it to you once i get back you can count on that! Hopefully tomorrow, below are the details needed for me to pick up the money with my passport.

My Uncle was a Director of Computer Operations at a major University.

[Mr. FIFY]

None of this would happen if we just let the government handle every internet transaction...

[lurker]

I received an e-mail exactly like that several months ago "from" an acquaintance. I googled a sentence from the letter and found out it was a common scam. You'd think the scammers would at least rephrase the message from time to time!

[Almanian]

Is it officially "rock bottom" when Nigeria indicts you for "bribery". Fucking Nigeria?

I'm putting a picture of Cheney on my front door to keep away the vampires and zombies. He is clearly more powerfully evul that Evil Incarnate itself.

[Fist of Etiquette]

For the first time in 27 years, Congress censures one of its own.

Can someone shed light on the actual consequences of censure? I keep hearing how fucking harsh a punishment it is, but this is always in the context of that fantasy world known as the United States House of Representatives.

[Brett L]

In the words of the Violent Femmes: "I hope you know this will go down on your permanent record."

I mean what constituency would re-elect a person censured by the House? Only about 240 of them.

[DJF]

It has no formal legal basis except expressing the opinion of the House. So he keeps his seat and as long as the Democratic Party supports him he will keep his committee positions

[Ragin Cajun]

I would hope it would be more like this.

[John]

I don't think there are any. They just make the guy walk to the well of the house and listen to the speaker scold him like a puppy who just peed on the floor. It is a joke.

But in fairness Congressman are such egotistical assholes who have never been held accountable for anything that this probably is torture for them.

[Pope Jimbo]

I kind of see Rangel cast in the role of Tuco. He will be sitting in the well listening to the charges and making faces while he waits for Blondie (MSNBC) to shoot the noose around his neck.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Great reference. And dead-on, too.

So who is Angel Eyes?

[Pope Jimbo]

Wouldn't it have to be Ron Paul? A loner, who everyone else thinks is evil, and he is always one step ahead of Tuco and Blondie (and doesn't suffer from their codependent issues).

And don't forget how he heartlessly lights the match on the cripple's hump. That just screams Libertarianism.

[MNG]

Blondie is not always two steps ahead. It was dumb luck that saved his ass in the desert.

[MNG]

And in the hotel.

[MNG]

OK, OK, I misread.

But I wouldn't say Angel Eyes is always one step ahead either as he ends up as the only one dead. Blondie took him with the rock gambit.

[Pope Jimbo]

But Angel Eyes is a victim of a crooked system. Blondie rigged it so that he knew Tuco didn't have any ammo so he only had to watch Angel Eyes. Angel Eyes had to watch two opponents.

[MNG]

Yes, Blondie was a step ahead of him...

[Enough About Palin]

"I don't think there are any. They just make the guy walk to the well of the house and listen to the speaker scold him like a puppy who just peed on the floor."

Scolding a puppy for peeing on the floor? Surely the House has heard of crate-training.

[Pope Jimbo]

Where is the IRS in all of this? I haven't seen anyone comment on why he isn't being audited right now.

How many stories do we read each year where some doofus wins the lottery and the IRS instantly swoops in and gloms onto his winnings due to back taxes or some other lien. Those stories openly acknowledge that the IRS monitors the press. Do they skip the front page or something?

[Fist of Etiquette]

I suppose it's to Rangel's continued advantage that he's not an engine of actual private sector wealth creation (as if there's any other kind). The Administration has no interest sending the IRS after his "earnings" to pay down the debt.

[Mr. FIFY]

Two reasons it won't happen to Rangle, Pope:

1. He's a politician.
2. He's black.

Well, three if you count his Vietnam service, which is his ONLY redeeming quality.

[James Ard]

That would be his Korea service.

[Mr. FIFY]

Oops, you're right. Not enough coffee today.

[Finchy]

I thought they were the same thing. Like Holland and the Netherlands.

[Nigel Powers]

There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.

[Johnny Longtorso]

Longing for the bad old days
For some greens, the problem with the recession is that it just isn't deep enough to force people into eco-poverty.

[cynical]

I think as a nation we spend far too much on technocrats (yes, I'm speaking for the British too). I hate to say it, but I think we have to fire them all or at least have the government force them to accept massive cuts to their compensation. I'm thinking sub-minimum-wage or so, no bennies.

[Warty]

Peter Orszag gets a gig with Citigroup.

Who could have seen that coming?

[Brett L]

He must have been an abject failure not to get scooped up by Goldman Sachs.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

Cafe Hayek had a post on this a few days ago. It's really ridiculous how closely Wall St. and those in D.C. work together. If one good thing came out of the market crash, it's that many people have had their eyes opened to how things really work in the world of finance.

[Most Americans]

Yeah, I heard....oh, Idol's back on. (nom nom nom)

[J sub D]

But, but, but ...
Hopey McChange nailed the revolving door shut.

File this under Another Thing Nobody Could Have Foreseen.

[Tulpa]

Forget nailing it shut. They should just put one of those staggered-rod things on a post next to the revolving door like they have in subway stations. That way anyone who attempted to go the wrong way would get crushed to death.

[P Brooks]

Poor Orszag, now Obama will call him a fatcat.

[robc]

Campaign Promise #2:

(#1 for those not following was to use the phrase "Fuck off Slaver!" during a televised debate)

I promise if ever elected to congress to be censured (probably for using the word "fuck" on the house/senate floor too often).

[Ragin Cajun]

(probably for using the word "fuck" on the house/senate floor too often)

Wouldn't they have censured Rahm Emanuel by now?

[Rahm Emanuel]

Fuck you.

[Joe Biden]

This is a big fuckin' deal!

[Brett L]

If its for dropping trou and crapping on spending bill, you've sold me.

[Ted S.]

If Carl Levin could get away with saying nothing but "shitty", I think you could get away with saying "fuck" over and over.

[Mike M.]

As unemployment officially starts rising once again in our ongoing depression, house democrats pass a chicken crap bill that allows taxes to go up for high-earners (aka employers).

What a complete joke these despicable, dishonest, double-dealing douchebag democrats are. These people who are now engaged in the class warfare garbage are the same guys who have bailing out these same rich people to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Hey Nancy baby, here's a crazy idea for you: if you really believe that the rich already have too much money, how about how just not bailing them out in the first place??

[Joe M]

Hilarious. The unemployment rate goes up as more jobs are gained? Why? Because more people are looking for jobs now. Proof that the way they count is idiotic and disingenuous.

[creech]

How would you count? If a college student graduates and enters the job market, should he count? So why not count a person whose spouse lost a job and now starts looking? Or whose kids are now at an age that Mom no longer has to stay at home?
Unemployment should always be a percentage of those who want to be employed and can't find a job.

[Joe M]

They stop counting someone when they become "discouraged" and stop looking. There are numerous other flaws in the methodology.

In fact, there are a few million people receiving unemployment that aren't counted. How much sense does that make?

[Yikes]

In fact, there are a few million people receiving unemployment that aren't counted. How much sense does that make?

That's how politicians keep the unemployment rate down.

[creech]

If one isn't looking, then one isn't unemployed. Those "on unemployment" and no longer looking should be tossed off unemployment compensation. Prove you are looking to get your check. And, after so many weeks, start reporting for some sort of community service - e.g. mopping up the cafeteria at the local public school - so many hours per week.

[Isaac Bartram]

- e.g. mopping up the cafeteria at the local public school - so many hours per week.

-

There's already a unionized school board employee doing that job. Good luck going anywhere with that.

[BakedPenguin]

There are also the "under-employed". I'm currently making about 1/4 of what the jobs I'm applying (and qualified) for are paying.

[generic Brand]

Having a girlfriend who lost her job of 3 years and legitimately went on unemployment, I can tell you that the process is shitty at best. Even though I joked about it, I had a serious problem with her leaving the country to visit me in Japan for a month and then going back and continuing to check unemployment checks. Yet another example of love trumping reason. (Wish I could) Drink!

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Charlie Rangel's crocodile tears make me smile and feel warm and squishy inside.

He said at his age he doesn't even buy green bananas.

Here's hoping he doesn't have time for bananas to ripen.

I can't stand that fucker nearly as much as I can't stand his fucker buddy Chucky Schmucky Schumer.

[P Brooks]

"Censure is an extremely severe penalty," said Rep. Peter King (R) of New York, one of two Republicans to vote against censure. "Why are we being asked to reverse more than 200 years of tradition and precedent?"

Cruel and unusual; jeepers, this is *just like* being flayed after being put on the rack. How can we even call ourselves "civilized"?

[Jerry]

Peter King is quickly becoming my most hated Republican congressman.

[TrickyVic]

As John said,

""But in fairness Congressman are such egotistical assholes who have never been held accountable for anything that this probably is torture for them.""

That explains King's stance.

[Tulpa]

Are you kidding me? This is the guy who basically said we should send a Predator drone to take out Julian Assage. Nice priorities.

[Nick]

As a New Yorker, I can tell you, we have no good politicians. Not one. Yet everyone loves the politicians here. I hate to say it, but New Yorkers are stupid as a rule.

[cynical]

So, if terrorists nuke New York, America wins?

[Nick]

No, because the rest of the country's politicians will retaliate. We really just need the people to be killed off in some sort of alien hit & run.

[Sportsfan]

His bloviating columns in Sports Illustrated suck unbeleivable amounts of ass as well.

[generic Brand]

Damn I should have read further.

[generic Brand]

I always confuse him with Sports Illustrated's Peter King. Not a huge difference; they're both colossal douchebags.

[R C Dean]

Wow. Multiple felonies don't even rate a censure in this guy's opinion? What would?

[J sub D]

Being Muslim.

[MNG]

Not wearing a flag pin.

[0x90]

Reporting the news.

[cynical]

Revealing embarrassing information about Peter King to the press.

[Mike M.]

Bad news for Ron Bailey and the whole gang of global warming fraudsters: down in Cancun, Japan has just driven the final nail into the coffin of the fantasy of a global climate treaty.

Money quote:

"Japan will not inscribe its target under the Kyoto protocol on any conditions or under any circumstances."

-Jun Arima, an official in Japan's economics trade and industry department

[Wesley]

The community's famous friendliness is what brought investigators to Matteo Giovanditto's body: Neighbors hadn't seen him for days, so they filed a missing person's report, then went into his condo a day later and found him.

What better hiding place for someone hiding from the Mob than Celebration, FL?

[John]

Kind of like The Firm. Hey, lets go hide from the Mob we stole all this money from in the Caymans. They would never look there.

[generic Brand]

Celebration, Disney's New Urbanist settlement, has its first murder.

This is even more incredible considering Disney does everything within its power to keep people from being declared deceased on their property.

[Mo]

IF Cheney gets convicted on bribery charges in Nigeria, I wonder if the DoJ will go through and indict him under the FCPA. Somehow I doubt it because of government connections and because presidential administrations have "professional courtesy" towards each other.

[Tulpa]

I wonder, will Interpol send out a "red letter" for Cheney in response?

At the very least, he'll have to be careful about avoiding connecting flights in Nigerian airports.

[robc]

You mean that airport that led to signs all over that basically said "If you connected thru Nigeria you gonna get anally raped". Or was that Zaire?

[robc]

From wikipedia:

From 1992 through 2000, the US Federal Aviation Administration posted warning signs in all US international airports advising travelers that security conditions at LOS did not meet ICAO minimum standards.

[SugarFree]

Strident harpies at Jezebel never get invited to holiday parties, so they declare them a myth.

[John]

That is funny. My wife and I have a big Christmas Party every year. We get up to 30 people. and we would have more except that some people decline because they have other parties to go to. But they are all a myth.

[MNG]

Do ya'll have waterboarding at your parties?

[Pope Jimbo]

Yeah, but with eggnog instead of water. We just call it noggin'.

[capitol l]

If eggnog counts as a cocktail, then John has some 'splainin to do.

[John]

Depends on how you make it and what you put in it. Properly made, it can very much be a cocktail.

[capitol l]

Four Loko-nog?

Every Christmas eve at my home I whip up some red, white, and blue gel tabs. Friends and family gather to partake.

As we peak we do a historically accurate reenactment of the signing of the declaration of independence.

"Hello, my name is Thomas Jefferson, and I like to fingerpaint."

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Every Christmas eve at my home I whip up some red, white, and blue gel tabs.

If you take the blue pill, do you just go back to sleep in your little fluid-filled pod, with no memory of what happened? But the red one takes you down the rabbit hole?

[Enough About Palin]

What a petty, little asshole.

[MNG]

EAP, EAP!

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

For a second I thought you wrote "pretty" instead of "petty". Reminded me of a girl a used to know.

[hmm]

If they spent more time dealing with charities they might get invited to more charity events that are often semi formal or black tie. Maybe the problem is their selfish self serving woe is me attitude.

[Mo]

Apparently, so do they.

Don't get me wrong: I and most of the people I know go to our fair share of gatherings come December. There are casual open-houses, and latke parties, and hot drinks, and even an office party or two. But none of these calls for the sequin-shrouded, champagne-filled fantasia that fill magazine pages.

It seems the article just states that, shockingly, holiday parties aren't the way advertisers portray them. Not sure why that needs to be stated. What's next, "Sun Rises From East Putting Women with West-Facing Apartments at a Significant Disadvantage"?

[Ragin Cajun]

You aren't going anywhere, I reminded myself.

No kidding.

[Finchy]

No one has panic attacks outside the doors of said parties or sits in a corner awkwardly trying to look knowing, or is a friend-of-a-friend of the host who really hopes the host knows that she brought that bottle of wine on the table.

Jesus Christ, panic attacks? Yes, we saw you come in with the magnum of Yellow Tail. Nice turtle-neck. Now I'll go back to drinking until you become bearable.

[T]

There ain't enough booze for some people, Finchy.

[Ska]

Good analysis.

[R C Dean]

Hilarious. The unemployment rate goes up as more jobs are gained? Why?

Because there are brand-new entrants into the workforce every month. You know, people graduating from school, that kind of thing.

Roughly speaking, there are about 180K - 200K of them every month, as I understand it. Any month that doesn't show at least that much job creation is a month in which we have lost ground, economically.

[John]

It is not that simple. People leave to, retire, get sick, move out of the country and so forth. Actually, UE going up at the end of a recession can be a good thing. It means that discouraged workers are starting feel they have a chance and are looking again.

[Joe M]

Yes, that's what I was getting at. Just like it wasn't a good thing when the rate went down at the beginning of this year, because people had given up on looking for the time.

[doomboy]

Except, in this case, the participation rate did NOT increase, which means relatively few discouraged workers became undiscouraged.

[Mo]

It is that simple. RC Dean is correct. The net of it is after people exiting the workforce for assorted reasons, the workforce usually expands about ~200K every month. Our population is growing, not shrinking.

[generic Brand]

Even though there are typically only December, May, and August graduations?

[Pope Jimbo]

Really? No one has linked to this TSA gem yet?

If this isn't getting play, then I have to admit that the new scanners have truly jumped the shark.

[Mr. FIFY]

Was she taken to a back room for enhanced interrogation?

That would've happened if she were a dude.

[Vermont Gun Owners]

I would think it'd be more likely given how clearly not a dude she is.

[Mr. FIFY]

Her non-dudeness is exactly why she was not dragged into a back room and threatened by the TSA. A dude would have been.

[Warty]

Anyone who doesn't realize by now that the patdowns are just an intimidation tactic is a fucking moron.

[TrickyVic]

Only twice? I figured they would have called over a few supervisors and do it a few more times.

[Pope Jimbo]

The female TSA goon looks like she is drooling all over herself at the prospect of getting down with the pat down.

All she needs is Lord Humungus holding a leash on her.

[John Pistole]

These sorts of stunts are generally attempted distractions for cavity smuggling. They always fail.

[Vermont Gun Owners]

Anyone else notice the agent at the end telling him to shut the video off?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Yeah, I was kinda wondering myself why I hadn't seen that one here yet.

I gotta say - I would totally hit that. A 52 year-old woman who looks like that? That's totally what I'm talkin' about.

Yeah, she does look a little looney, but that's all the better. She's nuts, but she's got a pretty smokin' rack.

[P Brooks]

Multiple felonies don't even rate a censure in this guy's opinion? What would?

I'm guessing the release of embarassing Congressional committee "discussion notes" would merit the death penalty.

[Enough About Palin]

Drudge brags about how many hits it gets, but I wonder if their numbers are inflated. The page self-refreshes every couple of minutes (which is annoying). Do you think they count each refresh as a "hit"?

[Some Internet Lurker]

Drudge counts unique ip's not page hits in his stats, so his auto refresh does not boost the count.

[TrickyVic]

Don't know if the auto refresh boosts the count or not. But I'm pretty sure that me going there a few times a day doesn't count as one hit.

[Brett L]

Dude quits smoking (but not breathing) at 106. There's always a woman behind it.

[John]

They have never figured out exactly how smoking causes cancer. They just know it does. But only 1/3 of smokers ever fall ill because of it. My grandmother smoked from age 13 until 90 and died with very strong lungs for her age.

I wonder if maybe some are more genetically disposed to being harmed.

[Pope Jimbo]

Imagine the day that they figure out why smoking kills some, but not others and use that knowledge to come up with a treatment to make all of us immune to the deadly effects of smoking.

I see a lot of us getting baptized by Agent Van Alden for our own good.

[Warty]

Bart: Wow, Dad, you took a baptismal for me. How do you feel?
Homer: [reverently] Oh, Bartholomew, I feel like St. Augustine of Hippo after his conversion by Ambrose of Milan.
Ned: [gasps] Wait! Homer, what did you just say?
Homer: I said shut your ugly face, Flanders!
Ned: Oh, fair enough.

[Brett L]

Cancer almost certainly has a genetic component. Almost all forms of cancer are more likely if someone else in your family has any form of cancer. I think skin cancers are the least likely to follow that pattern; breast cancer already has an identified genetic risk factor.

[Wesley]

My Grandfather's uncle (who was younger than my Grandfather) smoked two packs of unfiltered Camels a day, from a teenager until he died in his late nineties. He had a small family farm that he ran until the day he died. He looked like living death, but he never got sick from the cigarettes.

[Warty]

John, that reminds me of the part of Mark Twain's autobiography where he's talking about General Grant's throat cancer. And since I haven't quoted any MT in a while, here you go.

He intimated that the reports were rather rose colored and that this affection was no doubt a cancer.

I am an excessive smoker, and I said to the general that some of the rest of us must take warning by his case, but Doctor Douglas spoke up and said that this result must not be attributed altogether to smoking. He said it was probable that it had its origin in excessive smoking; but that was not the certain reason of its manifesting itself at this time; that more than likely the real reason was the general's distress of mind and year-long depression of spirit, arising from the failure of the Grant & Ward firm.

[bookworm]

Isn't throat cancer usually associated with drinking alcohol? As we all know, Grant was known for his excessive drinking.

[bookworm]

Maybe your grandmother didn't inhale.

[Warty]

She sure as fuck swallowed.

[0x90]

Anecdotal, but though I have known many smokers, and also many people who have had, and several who have died from, various cancers, the following statements are completely true:

1) every cancer sufferer I've known has been a non-smoker
2) no smoker I've known has ever been diagnosed with cancer

Also, I have never had the flu since I started smoking (pack-a-day, kool filter kings or sometimes luckys) about 18 years ago. I've never gotten a flu shot either, and would likely have had flu once a year or so, prior. I get colds like anyone, but never the flu. I noticed this after about 8 years and assumed it to be a fluke, but by now, it's starting to seem a little ridiculous. People do get the flu, don't they? Maybe you just get it more when you're younger.

I have no real point here; these are obviously only my personal observations.

[Pope Jimbo]

I've known a lot of smokers who ended up with some sort of cancer.

The key is to be an asshole. How many assholes get cancer and you say "Good, good. About f-ing time." That is right, none.

Cancer seems to only hit nice people. The guys who are decent and it makes you groan to hear that they have the big C.

Think about it. How many commenters on H&R have dropped off because they've been stricken with cancer? I rest my case. Assholes are immune from cancer.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Awesome. I should live to be 112.

Well, the C won't get me, but I might rupture a brain artery or have a coronary before then. After all, one can barely suppress so much rage only so long.

[0x90]

Interesting; your contention also happens to correlate perfectly with my observations. Perhaps I could work up a model which would identify the intersection.

[Joe M]

What would the Tick have to say about this?

[P Brooks]

Krugabe am disappoint.

The truth is that America's long-run deficit problem has nothing at all to do with overpaid federal workers. For one thing, those workers aren't overpaid. Federal salaries are, on average, somewhat less than those of private-sector workers with equivalent qualifications. And, anyway, employee pay is only a small fraction of federal expenses; even cutting the payroll in half would reduce total spending less than 3 percent.

[Joe M]

Every single word that Kruggie spews makes me sick.

[Kruggie]

Word.

[Joe M]

*vomits copiously*

[Vermont Gun Owner]

Federal salaries are, on average, somewhat less than those of private-sector workers with equivalent qualifications

And what about their total compensation? Or do employee benefits not count as government expenditures?

[R C Dean]

Krugabe, Kruggie, please.

Around here, he's Pauly Krugnuts. Tow the lion, people.

[Joe M]

Can't you see I was just condensing that down into one word to save time? Perhaps you'd have preferred Paulnuts, but I thought that was already being used for Tea Partiers.

[P Brooks]

-And-

Whatever is going on inside the White House, from the outside it looks like moral collapse ? a complete failure of purpose and loss of direction.

Krugabe turns his tear-streaked face toward Washington, and asks, "Why hast thou forsaken me, oh Lord?"

[Pope Jimbo]

Isn't it only acceptable to utter such a phrase after some massive carpentry mishap where you end up nailed to some wooden structure?

[T]

With nail guns, it's easy and quick to accidentally nail yourself to things. No massive mishap needed.

[hmm]

I found a friend nailed to a door jam with his hammer and belt across the room on a saw table. Funniest thing I ever say. He was there for about 30 minutes.

[Knutsack]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-.....a-tax-cuts

Did I just read that Ron Paul sided with the Dems on taxes?

[Fluffy]

The bills are being presented as bills to cut taxes.

Paul votes for every bill that cuts taxes.

All that "strategery" stuff about "Let's not vote for this one set of tax cuts because there's a better bill out there that cuts even more taxes" is not something he plays.

[Fluffy]

There should be a rule that anyone who talks about ANY PROGRAM whose costs are measured in the billions as "chump change" is driven from public life as a result.

Billions of dollars are not chump change.

Before you can save a trillion, you must first save a billion.

Krugman = douche.

[R C Dean]

Krugmannuts = douche.

Lion, tow, you know the drill.

[Ben Franklin]

A billion saved is a billion earned.

Wait a minute, what? A billion? Are those real fucking numbers? You people actually have tiny slices of government expenditure that can be measured in the billions of dollars? Fuck me, I'm glad I'm dead.

[P Brooks]

Around here, he's Pauly Krugnuts. Tow the lion, people.

BAH!

Fie on your petty tyranny; you should be ashamed.

[Steff]

I'm trying to figure out why Rangel gets to stay when Traficant got booted out. o.O Jim was a nutjob and a smalltime wanna be mobster, but Rangel...

Wonder how many palms Rangel greased.

[alaamiah]

Fresh from the Obama