Reason Morning Links: Obama Makes Recess Appointments, Lending Increases, Presence of Gays Makes Conservatives Pull Out

• Obama makes six recess appointments.
• A single tip is enough to land you on the terrorist watch list.
• Conservative groups pulling out of annual conference due to presence of gay Republican organizations.
• Commercial and industrial lending up after two-year decline.
• Mexican army failling in anti-drug effort.

Comments

[Brett L]

Tired of being panhandled by filthy hippies every time you leave the house? Carry this gauche but functional walking stick. Give the smelly bath-dodgers whatfor without dirtying your spats.

[John]

That is incredible. But I have to be honest. I don't think I could trust myself with such a device. There are just too many people who need it too badly for me to be able to resist using it.

[Brett L]

I do get a thrill thinking about putting a million volts through queue jumpers and loud talkers. It probably does belong in the same category as motorcycles -- i.e. 'things Brett shouldn't have because he cant be trusted with them'.

[John]

I love that scene in Casino when DeNiro catches the two guys cheating at blackjack. He calls for his guards to "bring in Mr. Happy" and they hit the guy with the cattle prod telling him he is having a heart attack. I would like to call for Mr. Happy about ten times a day, at least.

[Ah]

You're a humanitarian.

[Rich]

+1

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Queue jumpers"? That phrase is suspicious. What are you, a foreigner here on the American internets?

I would rather the cane look like a normal cane. That way, when the person goes down, you can shrug your shoulders and look puzzled as you step over him.

[Brett L]

I originally wrote 'line jumpers', but couldn't see a guy in spats saying that. And yes, a more subtle version would be nice.

[ClubMedSux]

I thought the single quotes were a nice touch.

[JW]

For that to be effective in DC, you would need matching .50 cals or Sidewinders mounted to the hood.

[cynical]

Now all we need are monocles that double as virtual retinal display devices.

[Mike Laursen]

Ooh, Ooh, now I wanna go all Spatpunk!

[Brett L]

I am so stealing 'Spatpunk'.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

And of course, the People's Democratic Republik of New Jersey does not allow its citizens to own such dangerous devices. Hell, last I knew, you couldn't even carry pepper spray there. No wonder the criminals are running the place.

[Nick]

The Empire State as well. And everyone wonders why hoodlum crime is high in all the places on the list of states that don't allow the old fart light saber, or guns. It's because hoodlums know they can get away with anything and everything.

I would take great joy in simply warning ne'er-do-wells that if they don't knock it off, I'll zap their asses.

[Johnny Longtorso]

Conservative groups pulling out of annual conference due to presence of gay Republican organizations.

Oh, they'll SAY they'll pull out....damn breeders....

AEI: How Government Failure Caused the Great Recession

[Colin Fraizer]

@Johnny--best comment of the day! I'm only sad you posted it first.

[Brett L]

Competition from SpaceX makes NASA's development program more efficient.

"Geyer said scaling back on layers of supervision has allowed NASA to cut Orion's overhead budget by 70 percent and allowed Lockheed to cut some of its costs by as much as 47 percent. The money saved, Geyer said, has been invested back into making electronics for Orion."

[Pro Libertate]

Comp-e-ti-tion? Is that some newfangled Six Sigma concept? Is it something we could apply to other areas of life, or does it just work in industrial setting?

[John]

It is not competition. It is just putting the right people in charge Pro. You know competition never works, only beneficent leadership by our betters ever achieves anything.

[Brett L]

"Inside NASA, some employees have taken to wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the letters "WWED," which stands for "What Would Elon Do?" ? a reference to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, the Internet tycoon who invested his own fortune in pursuit of his dream of sending humans into space at affordable prices."

I'm getting one of these made up to wear to the Shuttle launch in February.

[Pro Libertate]

Good for them. It's been tough for scientists and engineers with the space bug, as their career options have always been limited. New Space will change all of that.

To be sure, SpaceX is just today's torch carrier. If manned spaceflight really goes more private than not, it will be due to the involvement of any number of companies providing access and (and equipment and destinations) in space.

[John]

I plan to strongly encourage my children to go into the kinds of fields that will be valuable in space. I think the coming years, because of private growth, will be the best and most exciting time to be in the field since the 1960s.

[Pro Libertate]

Could be. Once cheap access to orbit is a reality, things will get really interesting.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

I had a (unscheduled) phone interview them on Monday.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

Good thing it didn't involve me writing anything down without the preview button.

[Pro Libertate]

News interview or job interview?

[Vermont Gun Owner]

Job. I'm finishing my MEng in Aerospace Engineering at Cornell this May.

[Pro Libertate]

Awesome. Good luck--SpaceX would be a great place to ply your trade. But even if you can't get on there, this is a good time to be getting into things.

[Maximum Flow Control]

Aerospace is tough, probably the one eng field where supply outpaces demand. It just sounds so much sexier than any other eng field. A U.Colorado they say they put out enough Aero Engs to supply the entire industry. Most go into other fields after grad of course

[Pro Libertate]

That's been true since the Apollo era. Still, I'd rather be entering the market now than any other time in the last forty years.

[Tim]

Orion, being a gubmint program will still be trying to fly a capsule long after Dragon reaches the Space Station.

[Pro Libertate]

NASA still has hundreds of millions in the budget for the canceled Ares rocket.

As noted in the linked post, the entire funding for SpaceX, from nothing to today, is less than that.

[Pro Libertate]

Correction: SpaceX has spent, in total, around $800 million. On everything.

[Johnny Longtorso]

Video: The obligatory "R. Lee Ermey calls Obama a socialist" clip

[Johnny Longtorso]

Best part is the clip came from a Chicago station.

[John]

There is a great SNL skit to be done redoing the Ermy Geico ad with Ermy as a psychologist and Obama as a patient.

Obama (sniffling) "it is because of my father. That is why rich people make me sad"

Ermy "You know what makes me sad? You do. Why don't we take a trip over to namby pampy land and get you some economic literacy you socialist jackwagon."

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I love that Geico ad. It's given me a new insult: jackwagon. I have no idea what it means, but I like it.

"Ya fuckin' jackwagon!"

[John]

Me to. It is just great.

[Pip]

It's a sanitized version of Jackwad:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jackwads

[CavMedic]

Not too sure what I think about him saying that at a USO Toys for Tots fundraiser...

[Audrey the Liberal]

Obama is really more fascist then socialist, technically speaking.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Conservative groups pulling out of annual conference due to presence of gay Republican organizations.

"Pulling out". Tee hee hee.

[Brett L]

If God wanted them to use condoms, He woulda put it in the Bible.

[wylie]

If God wanted them to use condoms, He woulda put one in the Bible.

Just that one, though.

[Brett L]

We could start a Society of Reformed Gideons that tapes a condom to the inside of every bible we hand out. Maybe have a scripture verse printed down the side...

[robc]

Maybe have a scripture verse printed down the side...

Something from Song of Solomon I presume?

[robc]

Solomon 7:10

I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.

[robc]

Song of Solomon that is.

[Brett L]

"Be fruitful and multiply" is probably out.

[Johnny Longtorso]

"There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses."
Ezekiel 23:20

[.]

Kind of a peculiar way to talk about what were actually Samaria and Jerusalem (the sisters.) I'd say Ezekial must have had sex on the brain - maybe he hadn't been getting any.

[AlmightyJB]

Didn't they used to write scripture on sheepskin, and aren't some condoms made from sheepskin? So technically you could say that the at one time the Bible was a condom.

[PapayaSF]

Sheepskin for writing, sheep intestines for condoms.

[Pip]

So your saying you fuck Sheep ass?

[Johnny Longtorso]

Ashton Kutcher Predicts Worthless Currency And Mass Panic, Recommends Getting As Buff As Possible

Ashton Kutcher In Men's Fitness: Preparing For Armageddon
...Kutcher is stocking up on guns and spending hours and hours running the canyons near his home, pushed on by visions of being chased by wild boar. He's also taking daily bikram yoga sessions, and learning Krav Maga, a deadly Israeli combat technique taught to high-powered special ops...

[The Other Kevin]

I always liked that guy. (no homo)

[John]

I like his camera commercials. They are quite self aware. Still can't figure out why he married Demi Moore ten years past her sell by date. But, to each his own I guess.

[Tim]

Thinking you can survive the fall of civilization by living in the desert (with the rest of LA) is kind of stupid too.

[Tim]

He'll be cryin' like a pussy the first time his macrobiotic chef doesn't show up for work.

[Ah]

He's also taking daily bikram yoga sessions, and learning Krav Maga

Hey, those things did wonders for Pauly Shore's career.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Mexican army failling in anti-drug effort.

REMEMBER THE ALLAMO!

[Johnny Longtorso]

But everyone always forgets Goliad.

[Fist of Etiquette]

For the life of me, I don't know why you didn't spell that "Golliad". I insist on two jokes in every comment if you want to inhabit this nest.

[Tim]

Is that where Montgomery beat Rommel?

[Brett L]

I think San Jacinto is probably the better reference. The Alamo and Goliad were Mexican victories. San Jac was where the lazy and over-confident Mexican Army got its ass kicked by a gang of scum and villians.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Goddammit. You people are making me believe subtlety is not the way to go here at H&R.

THE JOKE IS IN THE SPELLING, PEOPLE.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Subtlety rarely works. Much safer to go with the sledge hammer to the forehead approach.

Labeling your post also helps. As in:

SATIRE

or

HUMOR

or whatever.

[Silentz]

I'm with ya FoE. Maybe these guys just haven't had their first llatte yet?

[Lost_In_Translation]

I feell for you FoE, I reallly do.

[Rock Action]

Wee got it. I was gonna write something about attentionn and etiquettte, but it wassn't funny. Kinda like thiss.

[Rock Action]

I mean my comment wasn't funny. Just clearing that up.

[John]

The Texans were not scum and villains. Santa Anna was scum. Texas wasn't the only Mexican province to revolt. Santa Anna basically destroyed democracy in Mexico turning it into the banana republic it has been since.

[Brett L]

Have you read the biographies of guys like Travis and Houston? I say affectionately as someone who grew up in Texas and can pronounce 'San Jacinto' in the Texican way that the Texan army was full of scum and villains, and was the only democratic army in any history I know of to win a war.

[Lost_In_Translation]

I'd rather have sum and villains on my side rather than a righteous man. Atleast I know what motivates scum and villains.

[John]

Well, you didn't go to Texas, which is hotter than hell, in the 1830s because you had exactly been successful elsewhere. I haven't read the biographies. But, I am quite sure there were more than a few Texans who went to Texans in order not to be found.

[Brett L]

Heroes of the Alamo:
Jim Bowie:
"Born in Kentucky, Bowie spent most of his life in Louisiana, where he was raised and later worked as a land speculator. His rise to fame began in 1827 on reports of the Sandbar Fight. What began as a duel between two other men deteriorated into a melee in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess with the knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife."

William Travis:
"His marriage soon failed for unknown reasons, Travis fled Alabama in early 1831 to start over in Texas, leaving behind his wife, son, and unborn daughter."

[zoltan]

Ah, to live in a county named after such an honorable man (Travis). What a shit.

[Brett L]

Just goes to show there's more glory in a brave death than a brave life.

[Jerry]

Boney M singer Bobby Farrell dies aged 61

[X]

RIP Daddy Cool

[Bobby McFerrin]

Don't worry. Be dead.

[VIPPER]

D A D D Y??C O O L lives on

[P Brooks]

But another senior counterterrorism official, who like some others would speak only on the condition of anonymity

What the fuck is it with these people?
Government officials, speaking as government officials, should be obligated to provide their name, rank, and serial number.

[Mike Huckabee]

And then we shall execute this government official.

[cynical]

They aren't obligated to speak at all. And... generally if you see the phrase "name, rank, and serial number", it's advocating that a government official (i.e., soldier) give out no more information than that.

[P Brooks]

Anonymity for me, surveillance for you.

Suck it, Civilian!

[MNG]

"Conservative groups pulling out of annual conference due to presence of gay Republican organizations."

Comments from our resident conservatives (John, Longtorso, etc)?

[Johnny Longtorso]

Does John/Suki count as transgendered?

[Ah]

No. He's an intelligent pig. He'll be running this farm one day. Better be nice to him.

[MNG]

Suki counts as 3/5 of a commentator.

[Episiarch]

Just like Palin's retarded kid!

[Pip]

Asshole often?

[Episiarch]

Oh, did I hit a nerve? You have a crush on Palin?

[Rock Action]

That nerve just made it two-fifths, man.

[Pip]

No, I think she's an idiot and not really physically attractive. But having worked with children and adults who have Down's Syndrome (some of the sweetest people on earth) I find your comment to be, well, assholish.

[Somebody Had To Say It]

I find your comment to be, well, assholish.

But that's what he does!

[John]

That is his move.

[Tim]

You might say they're fighting a rear guard action.

[Destrudo]

I see what you did there.

[Johnny Longtorso]

My other comment is below. This is MNG admitting total defeat. Basically his "libertarian = conservative" stance is "you oppose my social programs so YOU MUST WANT ALL GAYS IN DEATH CAMPS!!!!!! Lets now leave off any discussion of my political views and limit the debate on death camps for homosexuals."

That is an admission that he cannot defend his position on any subject.

[MNG]

You're almost a comedian JT. We're always hearing from the conservatiariat here that liberals and conservatives are equivalent on gay rights. Not even conservatives believe that...How wrong you are on other programs is a different and separate matter...

[Johnny Longtorso]

We're always hearing from the conservatiariat here that liberals and conservatives are equivalent on gay rights

Where did Obama stand on gay marriage during the 2008 election again?

[Whitey]

Like most "blacks," he was again' it. This is problematic for those of us who think in terms labels and teams and races. It almost forces us to think outside the box. Almost. Am I right, "libertarians"?

[Anomalous]

Gay men always think outside the box.

[Steve]

Ah shute!

[MNG]

He was for civil unions that gave full legal marriage rights but not the term. This is in fact better than many recent same-sex marriage bans that were pushed by conservatives at the state level. So if you were going for equivalency there, fail.

[PapayaSF]

I believe that puts him in the same camp as Rush Limbaugh, Elton John, and Ann Coulter.

[Maximum Flow Control]

Just don't group us with those goddamn plygs and their fear of booze.

Really though isn't it funny that Mormons are the biggest opponents of Gay Marriage, when the best example I can think of for marriage rights being total BS is the laws against polygamy.

[Steve]

The Mormons will be using that argument soon, you can be sure.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Not likely. The Mormons want above all else to be in the mainstream these days.

Most would like to forget polygamy ever happened.

[Bill Dalasio]

Two groups (CWA & FRC) out of out of 60 (and that's only sponsoring groups). Sorry, but that's not exactly evidence of rampant conservative homophobia.

[zoltan]

Why does anyone listen to CWA? They should change their name to Concern Trolls of America (subtitled: Suburban Mothers Who Can't Drive).

[Bill Dalasio]

Why does anyone listen to CWA?

Does anyone listen to the CWA? Last I heard of them, they were getting snickered at for trying to palm the notion that "We Tea Partiers need to stick together and support our line on social issues." when they had played no actual role in the Tea Party movement.

[Audrey the Liberal]

No, but it is evidence of rampant homophobia on CWA & FRCs part.

[Bill Dalasio]

Fine, Audrey, and that's great reason to conclude CWA & FRC are homophobic. But, that's not the suggestion MNG made. MNG indicated that this was evidence conervatives are homophobic. When two groups out of sixty behave in a particular manner and the remaining fifty-eight tell them to go screw themselves, I think it's fair to conclude that the bulk of the movement isn't homophobic.

[Bill Dalasio]

Also, it would be helpful to note that it is FRC & CWA - the bigots - that are leaving CPAC, not GOPac.

[Bill Dalasio]

That should read GOProud.

[John]

A lot of people don't like homosexuals. As a group blacks are more anti-homosexual than most and are about the same as evangelicals. So what? of course the conference goes on without the evangelicals and with the gays. So, what is the issue? If they had kicked the gays out, you would be peeing your pants screaming. They didn't and the evangelicals left, so you pee your pants and scream. But hey, that is your move. That is what you do. You are a liberal afterall.

[MNG]

They are leaving the conference because gays will....be present? That's the issue, he conservatives, your bigoted fundies are showing!

[John]

So if conservatives are responsible for evangelicals not liking gays then why are not liberals equally responsible for blacks and Hispanics not liking gays? Could it maybe be that blacks, evangelicals, and Hispanics are responsible for their own views rather than everyone associated with them for any reason?

I forget sometime how handicapped your thinking is as a liberal. The whole idea of individual responsibility and logic applying to both sides equally just elludes you doesn't it? I really didn't think I had to explain things to you. I figured the reference to black attitudes made the point clear. And indeed, it did for everyone on the board except you. We need like a special explanation thread for liberals.

[MNG]

Keep pedaling John, this is not a liberal event with black groups pulling out over the presence of gay groups, it's a conservative event with conservative groups pulling out over gays being there.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Not to rush to John's defense, but here's John's point and there's you missing it.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Or, more likely, simply avoiding it. The equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears, closing your eyes and going "la la la la la!!"

[John]

And the event went on meaning the Conservatives told the evangelicals to get over it or die that way. That says pretty good things about the conservatives running the event I would say.

[#]

"That says pretty good things about the conservatives running the event I would say."

Exactly.

Similar to when that college kid was booed by the audience at this thing last year for going on an anti-gay rant.

[ClubMedSux]

Don't forget the hispanics! They no le gustan los putos.

[Brett L]

Ricky Martin calling for you on line 1.

[cynical]

Not a conservative, but: it's a conservative conference (that's the "C" in "CPAC" -- well, one of them), and most conservative groups didn't pull out. So, it doesn't really say much about conservatives in general.

The only takeaway is some conservatives tolerate gays at least enough to make common political cause with them regarding their shared interests, and some that are so blinded by hated or so uncompromising on their agenda of sexual purity that they cannot do so. Shocking revelations, I know.

[Brett L]

On balance, I think its a good thing that the gay groups are in the tent and the anti-gay groups are leaving. Brings the US one step closer to where I don't have to give a shit who you screw as long as they are of age and mentally capable of giving consent.

[P Brooks]

Daily News columnist weeps for overworked, oppressed union sanitation workers; says Goldsmith is a monster.

You'll have to look for it; I'm not going back to link.

[Tim]

Bastard.

[MNG]

Miss. Gov. Haley Barbour to free sisters sentenced to life in prison for robbery

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....id=topnews

[Brett L]

I wish I weren't such a cynic. I really want to believe that this is a wild case of human decency, but in the cold cockles of my libertarian heart I see it as a sop to the NAACP for his off-color statements about the 60s in Miss. not being so bad.

[cynical]

In that case, should we hope he keeps making gaffes?

[Rock Action]

Of course she did, she's obviously one of those feminists.

[zoltan]

LOL, nice.

[John]

http://dailycaller.com/2010/12.....joying-it/

If you really want Mayor Bloomberg to do something about the snow, just tell him people are enjoying it. Classic.

I have really enjoyed the Bloomburg snow debacle. In some ways, I almost feel sorry for the rat bastard. When NYC gets two feet of snow, things are going to suck for a while. No mayor no matter how good can prevent that. But post Katrina we now hold every elected executive strictly liable for all that befalls his constituents.

[Himmler]

I don't know why Hizzoner doesn't ban all cars except cabs. Problem solved.

[Rock Action]

No soda, no salt, no fats, no smoking, no cars, no private property, no labels, man.

[Himmler]

Exactly!

[Ms. Klein]

and No Logo!

[Rock Action]

Nice.

[Rhywun]

The Post ran a story this morning saying that some road crew went to a local pol yesterday and admitted that their union superiors directed them to participate in a deliberate slowdown, which is why this recovery has been a complete clusterfuck compared to previous, much more severe storms.

I sincerely wish that this is true, because people are hopping mad, and maybe this will make them think twice come next election day.

[John]

I drove through NYC on Tuesday and was stuck in a thirty mile (no I am not exaggerating) traffic jam on the Jersey Turnpike. I spent a lot of the time listening to WCBS Radio. It was wall to wall horror stories and people being pissed. The planes stuck at JFK were appalling. The damned CBP went home for the night and people spent 12 hours stuck on the tarmac after a trans ocean flight. Congress needs to just barbecue these people.

And if the thing about the union is true, the contracts need to be voided.

[Rhywun]

Hmph. You guys are way ahead of me. That's what I get for doing "work" every once in a while.

[Johnny Longtorso]

I'm not a conservative. I'm a fiscal conservative but a social liberal. My only position (no homo) concerning the conservative boycott is that lower spending should come before butt sex.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Politically speaking, I think the Republicans are better off with the support of the Christian Right rather than the Gay Right. I believe (guessing) there are still too many gays who consider themselves a victim class to support anyone but the Democrats, and therefore the numbers will remain too small to make an electoral difference for the Republicans.

I believe the Republican Party - and this country that they cyclically govern - would be better off without the social conservatives. But so many Evangelicals (like so many gays) will never get over their identity politics and be happy serving the Lord personally rather than through public policy, and will always vie for control of the party and of public policy.

[Masturbatin' Pete]

I believe the Republican Party - and this country that they cyclically govern - would be better off without the social conservatives.

Lose the social conservatives and you lose the fiscal conservatives, too.

A lot of people like to say that they're "socially liberal and fiscally conservative," but you'd be a fool to believe any politician who tells you that. It wasn't the social cons who gave us Porkulus. You know who it was? It was the GOP's social liberals: Specter, Snowe, Collins.

For reasons that are a little too complicated to get into at this point, I contend that the "social liberal/fiscal conservative" is a mythical animal. (Mostly it's because social liberals are inclined to use the public purse to correct perceived social injustices and mitigate the consequences of the antisocial and self-destructive behavior they endorse). If you can show me a nationally known politician who actually fits that mold, I'd love to learn his or her name.

[Maximum Flow Control]

Rand/Ron Paul?

[Masturbatin' Pete]

In what sense is RandRon a "social liberal"?

[Maximum Flow Control]

I thought they were ok with marryin who you want and smoking what you want. Could be wrong though...

[Masturbatin' Pete]

There are liberal, libertarian, and conservative reasons to oppose the war on drugs. For example:

Liberal - "the war on drugs hurts blacks and enriches whitey."

Libertarian - "people should be able to consume whatever they want."

Conservative - "the war on drugs costs too much and empowers public sector unions to rob the public purse."

So I don't think that taking positions that overlap with the positions held by some on the left necessarily makes anyone a social liberal.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I would settle for fiscal conservative/social don't-give-a-fuck. Anyway, I was thinking more about the supporters/voters than the politicians. Politicians are greasy liars who will fly into whichever pigeonhole gets them the most votes.

[Masturbatin' Pete]

I was thinking more about the supporters/voters than the politicians.

Fair enough, but I think you'll find that, when push comes to shove, most soi disant "socially liberal, fiscally conservative" will go for expensive intrusive government. For the most part it wasn't the social cons who flipped to Obama; it was the axis of cosmopolitan righties: Brooks/Parker/Frum/Christo.

Some of this brush can be cleared away with more precise definitions. I do not see significant overlap between "socially liberal" and "libertarian." A social liberal sees government as the solution to social ills. But no libertarian would ever tell a business owner that he has to hire people he doesn't want to hire, nor would a libertarian respond to an epidemic of fatal disease spread by buttsex by demanding that tax dollars go to research to make sphincter spelunking consequence-free. That's what social liberals do, and those principles are incompatible with fiscal restraint.

[zoltan]

There is some confusion about the use of liberal here. Some people are using it in the old sense; some in the money-grubbing douchebag sense.

[Voros McCracken]

I dunno, when you look at the Republican names for repeal on the DADT vote, you see both Flake and Paul on there, and their fiscal conservative bonafides are about as well established as anyone in Congress.

Problem is that's only two.

[Masturbatin' Pete]

As I said slightly above, I see little overlap between "socially liberal" and "libertarian" positions, although there is some.

It isn't necessarily "socially liberal" to agree that there's no valid reason for the government to discriminate against its employees on the basis of what makes their pants tight.

But social liberalism is much more than ordering the government to treat people equally. It involves an active government. When Flake or Paul sign up for that, let me know.

[zoltan]

Yeah, when I see the kook who doesn't want single women teaching school votin for more social freedom I'll believe that on average, fiscal libertarians want social libertarianism too.

[Fatty Bolger]

Blog post title of the day:

If you really want Mayor Bloomberg to do something about the snow, just tell him that people are enjoying it

[MNG]

Hey John's, you're crossing your talking points...

[Fatty Bolger]

Um, what?

Bastard beat me by 1 minute. But I'll get him next time.

[MNG]

er, we know you're Longtorso, and John not only beat you to this story he shamelessly used the headline as his own.

[Johnny Longtorso]

Nope, I'm my only me.

[Fatty Bolger]

And I'm not him.

Why in the world did you think we were the same person, MNG?

[P Brooks]

Much of the pursuit group's work is filtering out irrelevant information.

"We get a huge kick out of" handing a lead to the FBI, the official said. "But . . . the ruling-out is almost as important as the actual finding of leads."

"ALMOST" as important?

Fuck.

[John]

http://m.nypost.com/;s=fqDbHRB.....OJlekSSDJK

Sanitation Department's slow snow cleanup was a budget protest

If this is true, the union bosses need to be up for murder. People died because of this, including a new born baby who was born in a hallway because the ambulance couldn't get there in time. These people are just scum. Their leaders need to be jailed. And their organizations need to be de-certified and banned. And anyone above to lowest rung on the ladder needs to be fired.

[Johnny Longtorso]

John, that is no way to talk about your Moral And Intellectual Superiors. They know best. Just consider that dead baby a necessary sacrifice for the massive left wing ego of the likes of MNG.

[Warty]

What the fuck, John, don't you like the weekend? You should be thanking unions.

[MNG]

John
If the manufacturer of a certain drug went on strike (or lockout) because it did not like the terms of a contract, and an infant died because he did not get the drug, would you feel the same way?

[Johnny Longtorso]

MNG, if the govt banned (or dragged its feet in approving) a drug and an infant died because he did not get it, would you feel the same way?

Govt can't beat us into rhetorical submission with "ROADS! ROADS! ROADS!" then, ahem, not clear the damn things to squeeze more $$ out of us.

[John]

I knew you would take the bait. You really will defend these scumbags no matter what they do. I honestly have to feel sorry for you. Supporting these people and defending them causes you to completely lose your moral bearings. The city depends on these people to in many ways exist and live. They knew that if they didn't work it would be a disaster and people would die. They have been using this power to bankrupt cities and states all over America in what amounts to an extortion racket. And took their revenge not by striking, which the city maybe could have delt with by hiring other services or the community could have reacted to. No, by having a work slowdown, which meant they told everyone they were going to work and then didn't at any reasonable rate. And people died because of it. And you will defend them. You think that is okay. And not only that, you think they should be rewarded with no doubt more money. You have really hit rock bottom here.

[MNG]

I see, so it is an employee (or an employer's) DUTY to work for the good of others apart from matters of satisfaction with pay, benefits, etc.

And, you did not answer my question I note.

[John]

So I have a right as an employee to show up at my job, take my salary and intentionally do slow or incompetent work as revenge on my employer because I don't like my wages? You think that that is just okay?

And as far as your question, the people at the drug plant, if they struck, could and should be fired. And if they showed up and intentionally vandalized the production, yes they should go to jail. What if the employees showed up and made bad drugs that were sent out and resulted in people's deaths? Should they go to jail? That is what happened here. The employees showed up and sabotaged the work and people died as a result.

[MNG]

The employees did their job in a slack manner. If that is covered under their contracts then yes they should be reprimanded. But certainly employees have a right to perform their job in a less than enthusiastic manner when unhappy with compensation if they are willing to take the consequences from the employer. They are under no special duty to work hard when they are unhappy and willing to take a reprimand for not working hard, that would be the altruistic socialism you rail against so much.

And you still didn't answer the question. The factory owner was unhappy with the terms of the contract so he slowed down or stopped production of the drug. An infant at a government clinic doesn't get the drug as a result and dies. What's the difference here?

[John]

If my doing my job in a slack manner causes people to die, I can and should go to jail for that. By your logic it would be okay for engineers to do shoddy work that resulted in a bridge collapsing. And this wasn't one employee. And I didn't say every employee should go to jail. I said the leaders. Here, the union leaders specifically plotted to sabotage the city's response to a major disaster that resulted in people dying. That is depraved indifference. Imagine if FEMA had been pissed about budget cuts and decided to slow the federal response to Katrina. Mike Brown would have gone to jail. And you would have cheered it. But because these are good Dem union types, you will defend them no matter what.

And I love how you say reprimanded rather than fired because in MNG world no public employee no matter how loathsome can ever be fired and is ever not worthy of defending. Your idiocy and moral bankruptcy on this issue speaks for itself.

[Johnny Longtorso]

At what point is this Breach of Contract on the unionn's part, voiding the contract and freeing the taxpayers from pension obligations?

Oh, yea, that's right. Contracts are documents and documents exist only to empower progressives, not to ever restrict them.

[Pip]

Dear MNG,

DIAF.

[Destrudo]

I second that. Dude makes no sense.

[X]

so everyone pays high taxes, the public sector employees have unions with great benefits, and what do we get: SNOWMALIA, NO ROADS!

[Doctor Jay]

I agree with MNG.

In fact, to protest ObamaCare's reduction of payment for services performed on Medicare patients, I plan to really, really slow down my efforts at reviving Medicare patients who are flat lining. Sure, some of them may die as a result of this, but as long as it sends a message to Obama, Pelosi and Reid, that's all that matters.

[Walsh]

Hey MNG. Fuck you.

"The snitches "didn't want to be identified because they were afraid of retaliation," Halloran said. "They were told [by supervisors] to take off routes [and] not do the plowing of some of the major arteries in a timely manner. They were told to make the mayor pay for the layoffs, the reductions in rank for the supervisors, shrinking the rolls of the rank-and-file."

[Tim]

"Hey MNG. Fuck you."

If I had a nickel for every time I've read some version of that here...

[Somebody Had To Say It]

Lighten up. It's what passes for rational debate.

[Pip]

Can you spell "Depraved Indifference"?

[creech]

If it violated a freely accepted contract, of course.

[Destrudo]

This is just stupid. The heart of the problem is that no union contract is ever "freely accepted". It's legally protected extortion. In a just world, the workers would certainly have the right to do a crap job, but the employer also has every right to summarily terminate them. MNG's factory example makes no sense at all and only shows his intellectual shortcomings. Said factory owner can produce drugs at any rate he wants (contracts aside) - he is the owner. The analgous idea would be if the factory's workers intentionally slowed down, in which case the owner would be able to respond by firing them all. Why is this hard. Seriously, how old is MNG anyway? Cuz I'm guessing high school or undergrad based on the delusion of intelligence.

[cynical]

Yeah. But drugs are a special case for private industry, insofar as, like public sanitation service, drug companies have a government backed monopoly until their patents run out. With other industries (or private sector unions that don't go on an industry-wide strike), someone else can always step in to fill the void, so it isn't as important.

That said, I've never heard of a manufacturer going on "strike" outside of Objectivist fantasy.

[Old Mexican]

Re: MNG,

If the manufacturer of a certain drug went on strike (or lockout) because it did not like the terms of a contract, and an infant died because he did not get the drug, would you feel the same way [that they should be prosecuted for murder]?

Leaving aside the issue of 'feelings', the manufacturer is only liable for breaching the terms of the contract, not by what 3rd parties do or fail to do (like surviving.)

In the case of the Sanitation Department's scumbags, they should be tarred, feathered, hang, drawn and quartered, and the department disbanded, and have people simply contract private snow clearing companies like God intended to when he created the earth. But they are not liable for the child's death.

[Nick]

Full liability, I suppose not, but if we're going to consider snow removal persons as emergency workers like police, fire, and EMTs, then they have agreed to take on a job that requires busting ass when the snow falls, and the reason we expect that of them and treat them as emergency workers is because babies could die if they don't. So, at the very least they should be fired. MNG wants to reprimand them by giving in to their union demands.

[deluded1]

As a cog in the wheel of Big Pharma, I'd like to point out that the scenario that MNG put up has existed, and yes, they do get jailed.

It's called the fucking FDA and cGMPs you moron. You can and will be fined and incarcerated for criminal negligence if someone dies from your product. If you have a contractual obligation and cannot provide and someone dies, you will owe big in civil as well as criminal suits.

[Progressive Guy]

No blood for union benefits!

No blood for union benefits!

Nah, it's just not working for me.

[MNG]

More news concerning Miss. Girthy Governor, and other GOPers defending First Lady's Fat Fight with Palin

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....eheadlines

[Mike M.]

Like most liberal douches, Michelle O. is a big hypocrite. When she's not hectoring the nation about our eating habits, she's usually stuffing her pig face full of ice cream.

[Masturbatin' Pete]

No woman with an ass that big is in any position to lecture anyone about diet and exercise.

[Steve]

No woman with an ass that big...

On most black women, that a feature, not a bug.

[MNG]

Maryland beats East Carolina, 51-20, in Ralph Friedgen's final game as coach

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....03548.html

Friedgen took a team that was predicted to stink to a 9-4 record an a convincing bowl victory and for that he loses his job. WTF is up with this trend in college football? This is an age of parity, your school is not going to be in the top 10 every year. If you are bowl eligible every year your coach has done a good job, don't fire him. WTF?

[CavMedic]

Yeah-I'm appalled at the way they treated the Fridge. I remember how bad Maryland was for years before he came. In 10 years he was 75-50 and ACC coach of the year at least twice-not bad at all. I guess the powers that be figure that the former Texas Tech coach will come in and lead them to the top, but it was a pretty sorry way to treat the man who came in and turned the program around (plus the fact that he was an alumnus-just no loyalty from the College Park bosses at all).

[MNG]

TT under Leach was never much better than 9-4 with a minor bowl win. It's really an evil, stupid decision.

[Nick]

Firing a football coach is an evil decision but shirking your duties during an emergency that contributes to the deaths of human beings is just an acceptable reaction to a contract dispute? You are one sick lowlife mother fucker.

[Mike M.]

+1

[Montani Semper Liberi]

Leach coached in the Big 12. Big 12 >>>>>>>> ACC. The only reason the ACC isn't the worst conference is because the Big East exists. Also, Friedgen has only had 3 winning seasons in the past 7 years including going 2-10 last season.

[CavMedic]

Here's the issue as far as I'm concerned: The Fridge took a programs that from the time Bobby Ross left (1987) had gone 55-88 (.385 winning percentage) with only two winning seasons and one bowl appearance. The Fridge turned that around and led them to seven bowl appearances and a .600 winning percentage in 10 years. He only had one year left on his contract and Maryland couldn't just wait until that was done and go get someone else? It was a pretty sorry way to treat someone who had done a lot for their program.

[Mike M.]

They fired him because they're pissed that they can't sell out their games and don't seem to generate more excitement among the fan base.

But if Maryland seriously thinks that the "right" coach is going to make them the equivalent in popularity to the Redskins, they're kidding themselves. It's never going to happen in a million years.

[Steve]

It's Maryland, they'll just steal a coach from some other state as is their wont.

The Turtles, like my soon-to-be ex-wife and most things from Maryland, suck.

Dig those crabcakes, though...

[P Brooks]

If the manufacturer of a certain drug went on strike (or lockout) because it did not like the terms of a contract

Wheeeee!

[Warty]

Former President of Israel Is Convicted of Rape

Could a president ever be convicted here? I doubt it.

[MNG]

He should have offerd as his defense that he had to do it, the Palestinians were firing rockets!

[Starland]

Sky Rockets (in flight).

[XR4L]

- No internets for you.

[Rock Action]

Not if he was a lefty accused of sexual assault. I mean...

[Pro Libertate]

It's not a crime if the president does it.

[Rock Action]

Oh, funny. Or a righty for foreign policy. Strange how they do our bidding sometimes.

*washing hands, coming out clean*

[Rock Action]

*whistling, too*

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Gays make conservatives pull out

There are just so many ways to read that.

[Tim]

Attempt by Burlington Vermont to socialize the cable TV business leads to millions in missing tax funds, criminal investigation.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.....prosecutor

[P Brooks]

I think the Republicans are better off with the support of the Christian Right rather than the Gay Right.

I'm not so sure about that, but I'm undoubtedly projecting.

I believe there is a very large "conservative gay" population out there; it sounds like an oxymoron, but think in terms of stable monogamous working people who like to decide for themselves how their money is spent. And, if stereotypes have a basis in truth, they have more household income and are better-educated than the bible thumpers.

And you sure as hell don't win their support by portraying them as child molesters and sex fiends.

[John]

Gays as a group are better educated and make more money than the population at large. A lot of them own their own businesses and such and (gasp) make money they don't really want to give to the government. I don't see any reason why being gay should necessarily mean you are an economic communist.

[robc]

Ive never understood why the LP had a problem attracting gays (well, moreso than they have trouble attracting anyone).

Special pleading is the only reason I can think of.

[John]

I think the first generation of gay political leaders were as much leftists as they were gay. And for that reason gay people took up a spot on the liberal plantation. But as the movement becomes more mature and the leadership more representative of the group at large, they will become less reliably economically liberal and Democratic.

[Pablo]

I think that's correct. Another factor is the AIDS epidemic which exploded in the early 80's just as Reagan was cutting programs which were critical to address that crisis. There are a lot of horror stories from that era about the CDC, NIH, NIS etc being terribly negligent in figuring out what was going on and how to address it. A lot of people just didn't care because it was a gay disease. Many gays old enough to remember that have never forgiven Reagan or the Republicans for their response, or lack of such.

Without getting into the debate about the adequacy of the federal government's initial response to AIDS, I would say that communicable diseases are one area where the government really should get involved, at least when (as in the early days of AIDS) the method of transmission is/was not entirely clear.

[Mike M.]

Man, I am so sick and tired of this mythical bullcrap about how the evil, heartless Reagan wanted the gays to die.

In reality, the HIV lobby was one of the most successful lobbies of its time. More government propaganda and money was spent in battling HIV by far than any other disease. The current national battle against breast cancer is the only thing that even comes close.

[Pablo]

"More government propaganda and money was spent in battling HIV by far than any other disease."

Probably correct unless you are talking about the first few years of the epidemic (1981-1986 or so). The initial response really was pathetic. After that the pendulum swung in the other direction. Now it is a political issue, special pleading, and all that.

[JW]

I know 1 gay libertarian. I know about 100 gay liberals. Zero gay conservatives.

Not sure why, but the political orientation seems to be cultural.

[Rhywun]

"political orientation seems to be cultural"

And that's true for most people.

[zoltan]

You'd see more in Texas.

[Rock Action]

If Bloomberg admits that "we can't do everything all the time," what does that say about the role of public and private services? What if you have have closed shops/unions, like the recycling conundrum brought up the other day? Trolls?

By the way, he's one of the most odious politicians around today, and it becomes clearer every day.

[Brett L]

So fucking prioritize. Maybe they could bump snow-plowing and winterizing ahead of, I don't know, salt bans, transfat bans, and his idiotic, unconstitutional project of sending out NYC detectives to attempt to buy guns illegally in other jurisdictions.

[Rock Action]

Then clearly, he can't. I think we're in agreement. What if he *actively* prevents people from providing services that gov't can't fill by his own admission?

[Brett L]

Yes. We agree. Bloomberg doesn't want any labels because he doesn't have any good ones attached to himself.

[John]

City governments like NYC exit to do two things; keep the minorities down so rich white liberals can enjoy the city without fear of too much crime, and provide as much graft and corruption as humanly possible for the public employees' unions.

Snow removal doesn't fit into either of those categories. So, it isn't going to get done, period. Stuff like transfat bans provide jobs and union dues to the employees' unions. So that stuff will get done.

[Rock Action]

Didn't realize you'd linked to that above. Good stuff.

[Rock Action]

What's sad is that all I had to do was watch ten seconds of a video and guess that it was partly a labor issue.

[Rock Action]

*prioritize, that is. And so how are we supposed to hold his "no label" ass up as one of sanity, and not stupidity?

[Warty]

Blackwater Park

[Destrudo]

Unquestionably one of the greatest metal albums of all time.

[Redland Jack]

I'm not a particularly big Opeth fan, but that is the album that sparked my interest in Black/Death Metal and is one my top 25 albums.

[Rich]

senior counterterrorism officials say they have altered their criteria so that a single-source tip, as long as it is deemed credible, can lead to a name being placed on the watch list.

"Deemed credible."
1) How about posting credibility criteria, in order to cut down on spurious tips?
2) Two such tips can lead to you being placed on the drone-strike list.
3) Nice band name.

[John]

"as long as it is deemed credible"

You are only as good as the people who make up your system. A single tip, if it is the right tip, ought to put you on the list. The 12-25 bomber's father came into a US embassy and told them he thought his son was going to blow something up. That is a hell of a tip. Yet, some fucking Ivy educated DOS moron living the good life in Amsterdam decided that that wasn't good enough. But rest assured, there are any number of totally innocent people on that list put on there for horrible reasons by other morons. There is just no fixing stupid. And we are fucked.

[cynical]

Well, surely you can see the downsides -- somebody puts your name on the list as a mean prank, and the government gives you shit for the rest of your life and you can't get any job that requires a national security background check.

I mean, a single tip can get you arrested, but that doesn't you can't be held indefinitely without a trial. Same principle should apply to watchlists. You ought to be able to demand that the government run a full investigation and prove that you're a threat, or clear you.

[robc]

Gold Vending Machine

[Solanum]

Refuse a breath test at a DUI checkpoint in Florida, get a mandatory blood draw.

"I think it's a great deterrent for people," said Linda Unfried, from Mother's Against Drunk Driving in Hillsborough County.

"We don't want to violate people's civil rights. That's the last thing we want to do, but we're here to save lives," Unfried said.

I wonder if Linda was able to keep a straight face when she said that last part. MADD's barely even pretending anymore.

[Brett L]

They stopped being anything but a neo-Women's Temperence Union years ago. When an organization succeeds completely (which MADD did years ago, driving drunk is no longer casually acceptable) they must either find a more radical mission or disband. MADD has chosen to be ever more crazy.

[Gray Ghost]

Agreed. Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy in action. Still surprised that the BAC limit hasn't been pushed down to 0.04% yet.

[cynical]

I'm just waiting for the lawsuit after someone refuses a breathalyzer, gets blood drawn, and then gets in a wreck shortly thereafter from passing out while driving.

[Steve]

DUI defense attorney Kevin Hayslett sees the mandatory blood test as a violation of constitutional rights.

"It's a slippery slope and it's got to stop somewhere.

The gulags are being designed as we speak, I'm sure. (In a black, female gay, union shop with plenty of green technology)

[Gray Ghost]

Been this way in Texas for awhile. Google "No-Refusal Weekend" for more. Further, a lot of the blood draws aren't being done by professional phlebotomists (sp?) or ER nurses; they're being done by cops on the hood of their car. Forcefully, if need be.

Absolutely fucking disgusting. Just slap the suspect with an administrative refusal to submit to testing if you have to (We can discuss later the pros/cons of consenting to blood/breath/urine testing in order to exercise the "privilege" of driving.) , but forceably getting a blood draw is utterly barbaric. But, most people think the sharp end of the executive branch will never stick them, so....

[Johnny Longtorso]

Here is Andrew Sullivan saying it is 'absurd' to say that deliberately poor snow clearing is a strike against govt.

The Politics Of Snow

[Rhywun]

Actually that's some dude named "Conor Friedersdorf" and it's missing the rather crucial bit (if true) about the deliberate union slowdown. Ordinarily I too take great pleasure in knocking down those idiots at National Review but this time they got it nearly right (even if they don't know why).

[Brett L]

The Atlantic?

[cynical]

Does he have a pen name now?

[John]

No. He has ghost bloggers. He has had them for years but only recently admitted to their existence. Andrew Sullivan is more of a brand of idiocy than a person these days.

[creech]

There's a snow removal problem in NYC because union employees slacked off?
Wow, who knew. But the morning national news show out of NY (whichever network is on Ch.10 in Philly) did a ten minute interview with the ditz Christine O'Donnell over some charges she may have spent some campaign money on personal expenses.
Whatever, it was far longer than any interview I saw with Rangell or with Geithner and his tax problems.

[P Brooks]

but we're here to save lives

Die in a fire, you lying cunt.

[Old Mexican]

Mexican army failling in anti-drug effort

Not even the well-trained and highly-disciplined Mexican army can violate the laws of economics. Imagine that...

[Johnny Longtorso]

MNG, I have a question for ya. If govt unions play these kind of "shut down the city" games on roads when it snows, won't govt provided mass transit just enable govt unions to do the same thing to us any day, regardless of weather?

[Rhywun]

They already do. Many NYC bus drivers were observed in a "slowdown" during a recent dispute which hadn't led to a strike.

[Slut Bunwalla]

How does a slowdown work for bus drivers? They drive even slower? Like 10 miles an hour?

[Rhywun]

They show up late, they stop the bus to grab a cup of coffee, or they stop more than usual for "scheduling reasons".... they have their ways.

[Nick]

When the guy stops for coffee in the middle of a route, passengers need to start pelting him with their coffee. This is why it's a problem that Starbucks has raised American cup of coffee prices so much. People will toss a dollar at a bus driver, but not seven dollars.

[Pip]

Teacher-run school wins praise
A study found that Avalon students scored higher on state reading tests and that a large portion went on to college.

Teachers are in charge at the Avalon School in St. Paul. There are no administrators or secretaries or librarians at the charter school.

Similarly, students have almost as much power as the teachers. They take charge of their own curriculums and can grade themselves with the help of their peers and families.

According to a recent study by an education reform scholar, Avalon is producing results. "Teacher-run schools are delightful islands, freed from many of the battles that rage around conventional public schools," wrote Charles Taylor Kerchner, a professor at Claremont Graduate University in California.

"They are unlikely to constitute the 'next' public education, and there are probably significant limits on how fast and far they will grow. Still, they exhibit changes in responsibility and job roles that would have great promise if they were artfully borrowed by district-run schools."

Kerchner spent months at Avalon for the study, "Can Teachers Run Their Own Schools?" He conducted extensive interviews with teachers, students and parents, and analyzed surveys and test scores.

http://www.startribune.com/loc.....UUycaEacyU

[cynical]

Well... not sure how to respond. If it works, great. As much as I loathe the education establishment and their unions, I always had more sympathy for teachers than administrators and so on (and I have had good teachers in public school, as well as truly terrible ones).

If teachers are also free to drive out bad apples and take ownership of the performance of their school, and have wide latitude to act in the interest of children, that's a step in the right direction.

[Nick]

From the Brickbats: In Columbus, Ohio, a mother and her 12-year-old daughter, who weren't identified by the media, face drug charges after officials at Baker Middle School found prescription-strength ibuprofen in the girl's purse. The girl has been charged with possession of a dangerous drug, and the mother has been charged with distributing a dangerous drug.

It's ibufuckingprofen!

[Slut Bunwalla]

Hey, man, taking too much of that stuff over a really, really long period of time is damaging to your liver! They have to protect the childrens!

[cynical]

As a native of cbus, I want to reiterate that this shit happened in Columbus, GA, not here. Scared the shit out of me until I double-checked it, though.

[P Brooks]

On the topic of refusing the Breathalyzer: a few weeks ago, there was an editorial in the Billings paper (calling, of course, for the criminalization of refusal to blow) which claimed some enormous annual number of incidents of drivers refusing to submit during a traffic stop.

The obvious implication was that each and every one of those incidents involved a staggering, stumbling, totally incapacitated drunk driver who pulled a magical "Get Out of Jail Free" card and slapped it down on the hood of the police cruiser, and then proceeded to zoom away tossing Four Loko cans out the window while blasting through the roadside shrubbery.

[Maximum Flow Control]

Surprising to hear it came from Billings. My understanding was that the only punishment for a DUI in MT was a stern talking to by the cops. At least it was when i was in high school...

[Walsh]

Introducing the hundreds of NYC sanitation workers who earn more than $100,000

http://dailycaller.com/2010/12.....an-100000/

[Pip]

New York City sanitation bosses think they've got it so bad that they intentionally delayed snow-removal, according to the NY Post.

So how bad have they got it?

City workers enjoyed steady employment through the recession, killer benefits and a generous pension package. And then there's the pay. 315 sanitation workers earned over $100,000 in 2009, according to SeeThroughNY. The top guy, John Doherty, earned $205,180 in 2009.

There are also perks that come with the job. While delaying clean-up for the city, sanitation workers promptly plowed the street in front of Doherty's Staten Island home, according to the Daily News.

[Me]

I'm a sucker in the private sector. How do I get one of these government employee positions?

[Pip]

ALBANY ? Outgoing Gov. David Paterson called this morning for a criminal investigation into allegations that a slowdown by budget-squeezed plow operators contributed to the city's blizzard woes.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l.....MILU1zz95N

[Fatty Bolger]

Possible good news?

Republicans Vow War on Government Red Tape

The REINS act is an especially good idea. It would require that any "economically significant" regulations be approved by Congress & the President before going into effect. No more fire & forget, and no more taking political cover behind regulators when expensive new rules are created.

[John]

http://gothamist.com/2010/12/2.....50k_in.php

Stay away from the junk. That girl looks terrible.

[John]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....mates.html

The Playboy Mansion is apparently really gross.

[Paul]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....one-insane

[Kreel Sarloo]

As an American expat living in the European Union...

And yet for all the anecdotes by this "American expat living in the European Union" the migration traffic is still predominantly going in a westerly direction across the Atlantic.

[Brian from Texas]

Seeing as how the GOP got 30% of the gay vote in 2010 the Religious Right better get used to sharing the party. More and more gays are becoming disallusioned with the false promises of the Left.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Another factor is the AIDS epidemic which exploded in the early 80's just as Reagan was cutting programs which were critical to address that crisis.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Name one program that Ronald Reagan cut!

The Reagan budget "cuts" are figments of the imagination of liberals who think he was evil and conservatives who think he walked on water.

Anybody with a dispassionate recollection of the age knows otherwise.

And the notion that the Reagan Administration dealt with the AIDS crisis in any way that would have been materially different than how any other administration would have is utter bullshit.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Oh, and PBS doesn't count.

While it's true that CPB gets less money now than it did pre-Reagan, the money that used to go to PBS now goes to the states as arts or education grants and is then paid out to local PBS stations and then funneled back to CPB in higher payments for programming.

Accounting tricks don't count as budget cuts.

[????? ??????]

Thanks