A.M. Links: Paul Ryan Opens Wallets, GM Teeters (Again), Engineering Ethical Kids

• Paul Ryan not only bumped up support for the GOP ticket, he's been a lucrative choice. The Romney camp has taken in $10 million online since the VP pick was announced.

• General Motors continues to do what it does best: Stinking up the place. The company is once again on the verge of bankruptcy, with losses far larger than the company's total value.
• Erkki Tuomioja, Finland's Foreign Minister, says that Finland already has a plan in place for when the eurozone inevitably goes to its doom. Ummm … *cough*
• The UK vows to not let Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, leave the country. And Ecuador isn't budging. I hope Julian has a comfy room in the embassy.
• We should try to breed ethically superior children through genetic engineering, says Professor Julian Savulescu. Why persuade you of the right thoughts when we can program them in.
• Oh, those hooligans! That's right, in a shocking twist, the three Pussy Riot members were found guilty of ticking off the powers that be. And the authorities got a two-fer, since they detained an opposition leader trying to attend the trial.
• The male contraceptive pill may finally be on the way. Guys will have to find a new excuse for not using protection.

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Comments

[Pip]

Fucked@!

[Pip]

Frumped!

[Fist of Etiquette]

We should try to breed ethically superior children through genetic engineering...

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.

[Brett L]

Oh great. They can all be like Jude Law with a toff accent and a chip on their shoulder. Pass.

[Auric Demonocles]

I just watched an Enterprise arc on augments last week. On the up side, it had Brent Spiner in it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Actually, the augments story leads eventually to a pretty good explanation of (don't want to give anything away here if you haven't seen it) something about the Klingons.

[Auric Demonocles]

I did like the way they handled the genetically engineered turning into authoritarians. I disagree with the Trek stance on genetic engineering, but it was well done.

[Fist of Etiquette]

So you offer the world order.

[Auric Demonocles]

I offer my new Empire order.

[AuH2O]

Once again: I don't get why everyone gotta hate on Enterprise. You guys are the hipsters of Trek, "I liked it before it was cool!"

[Fluffy]

SM Stirling was right - the most likely outcome of genetic engineering is the deliberate production of a race of slaves.

That's what Savulescu is proposing; he just doesn't realize it.

[ant1sthenes]

Who says he doesn't?

[generic Brand]

"O brave new world, with such wonderous people in it!"

[Restoras]

Of course this science would only ever be used for good. No chance in hell anyone anywhere would try to breed - superior soldiers. Or a second-class race to do icky things like drill for oil, mine for gold, etc. Nope, none of that has ever been contemplated or attempted ever before in history and there is no way it would go horribly bad.

[Jersey Patriot]

There are so many poor people desperate for work that breeding a slave race is massively uneconomic.

[heller]

Of course the science doesn't exist and probably won't ever exist because ethicists have no idea what they're talking about.

[aelhues]

"Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave." Mal Reynolds, "Serenity"

[Brett L]

The male contraceptive pill may finally be on the way. Guys will have to find a new excuse for not using protection.

You guys need to read the PM links. I was all over this.

[Rich]

"I ........ FORGOT!!"

/Steve Martin

[Auric Demonocles]

New excuse: I don't want to go sterile.

[Zeb]

Guys will have to find a new excuse for not using protection.

Does that sentence make sense?

[Suthenboy]

No it doesnt. If I had a pill, I wouldnt need 'protection'. right?

[Zeb]

Not against pregnancy anyway.

[Alack]

Why would guys not be using contraception? The government is going to force us to get it through our insurance anyway.

[o3]

well thank god the rastafarians can stick w the sticky icky

[The Hammer]

Doesn't work that way, dipshit.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Male contraceptive pill. That doesn't even make sense. Men can't get pregnant. People will fall for anything.

[Caleb Turberville]

"Sun City" was brought up in an earlier thread. My question: Did any artist ignore the boycott and actually play Sun City?

[Drake]

AC/DC played Sin City.

[invisible furry hand]

Lots of musicians did - Queen, Elton John, Sinatra. When I worked at a community radio station there was an enormous list up on the wall and we weren't supposed to play them. Since most of them were shit, no big loss

[BakedPenguin]

To be fair, a lot of the musicians who boycotted were shit. When was the last time anyone talked about Little Steven?

[invisible furry hand]

about 8 minutes ago

[Scooby]

Aside from Little Steven's wife, it was about the time The Sopranos had their final episode 5 years ago.

[wareagle]

so, what outlet other than this one will actually report on GM's troubles? Or is there something far more important - like a rich guy's tax returns or a fool's next gaffe - that will consume the news cycle?

[T]

The article linked was in Forbes, which I hear has a wide readership amongst people not of our ilk.

I actually though the last page of that article summed it up best. VW is preparing to hand leadership over to a guy who has been in the car industry since he got out of school. GM has some guy they dragged in off the street who's playing musical chairs with the executive staff. Which approach is liable to be more successful?

[wareagle]

Forbes is a niche publication. I'm talking mainstream outlets. Will this see the light of day?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I'm going to bet that they get a backdoor loan from the Fed before they go tits up.

[sloopyinca]

I thought that was forbidden from the original bailout. I know it's certainly sketchy and won't go over with the American public a second time around in 4 years.

[Concerned Citizen]

Liberals gotta have the union vote, don't put anything past them.

[The Hammer]

You mean before the election?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I read this on Yahoo finance yesterday, so it was probably on the Yahoo news page as well. In the internet age, all publications are niche publications. But judging from the comments on the article, plenty of "mainstream" people read it.

[sarcasmic]

Jeremy Clarkson: "Britain is a nation of 62million complete and utter bastards."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....d-dog.html

[Brett L]

I have to ask. Are the Brits just obsessed with the Kardashians or does the K clan own the Daily Mail?

[wareagle]

I think the Brits just remain perpetually obsessed with Yanks behaving badly. And it's not like we don't produce a steady supply.

[Zeb]

But on the other hand, they have Chavs. I think they just look to the US in an attempt to feel a bit better about how fucked their culture has become.

[Quetzalcoatl]

At least our People-Who-Aren't-Worth-Listening-To are sometimes very much Worth-Looking-At.

[Mike M.]

The British are obsessed with America in general.

[Lost_In_Translation]

"Britain is a nation of 62million complete and utter bastards."

...and clarkson is their leader...

...you would have thought he'd be better prepared for this...he's not lovable, hilarious, but not lovable...

James May or Richard Hammond would get more sympathy than Clarkson

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

Mmm...I don't know about that. Clarkson (whom I've never heard of) also said the following:

"In December last year, Clarkson provoked the wrath of trade unions when he said striking public-sector workers should be 'shot' in front of their families."

Gotta love a Brit who'll stick it to the trade unions.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Doesn't make him less a bastard, just more along the "inglorious" side of things.

He's not sensitive at all to others butthurt, so I don't get why he'd expect sympathy back.

[sloopyinca]

Wait a minute...he named his Chocolate Lab after Whoopi Goldberg?

So it's a nation of 62million bastards and a RAAAAAAAACIST!!!

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hahaha, my relatives had a black lab named Whitney who was probably born in the 80's.

[sloopyinca]

In case anyone is interested, I've got an Australian shepherd named Bernard Goetz.

[invisible furry hand]

is it true you have a weasel called Elizabeth Warren?

[WTF]

Is it a Cherokee weasel?

[Rich]

I'll bet he doesn't look too bad.

[WTF]

My neighbors had a German Shepherd named Rommel.

[sarcasmic]

I worked with a guy who had a black lab named Broccoli.

[PS]

Also the name of Dennis Hopper's rottweiler in True Romance.

[sarcasmic]

Syrian Rebels to the West: "We don't want Al-Qaeda here, but if nobody else helps us, we will make an alliance with them."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....Qaeda.html

[Lost_In_Translation]

"We don't want Al-Qaeda here, but if nobody else helps us, we will make an alliance with them."

...and if you win, you'll be killed in your sleep...and if you lose, they'll shoot you in the back...they're even less reliable than the west.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The male contraceptive pill may finally be on the way.

Ribbed for his pleasure.

[Rich]

And it goes down easily.

[Lost_In_Translation]

suppository?

[sarcasmic]

Expendables 2 is a mindless action flick? And here I thought it was a serious documentary. Sheesh!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....s-yet.html

[Lost_In_Translation]

How can you review Expendables? It would have to be on some sort of numeric scale measuring explosion size, duration and count...

[Pip]

BTW, Obama is toast.

VA BAKER SAYS NO TO BIDEN STOP...

...Customers flock in...

Radford bakery that turned Biden away sells out of 'freedom cookies'
The viral reaction to Chris the Baker shows the continuing resonance of "You didn't build that" in the presidential campaign.

[Pip]

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/312876

[NoVAHockey]

I'm sure the press is starting to dig into this guy. probably not even a real baker. probably took a loan at some point in his life. also, roads.

[Restoras]

Bet he never went to baking school or has the required Auhtorized Baker permits either.

[mr simple]

I bet he's not union licensed.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I heard a rumor that his parents collect Social Security

[Auric Demonocles]

If you've got a cookie, you didn't bake that.

[o3]

needs moar dashes missing stuff

[WTF]

^gotz plenty of derp^

[The Hammer]

What was the dash covering up, fuckhead? It was in the Whitehouse.gov transcript.

[Rich]

An administration spokesperson replied, "That's OK. If you turn down a campaign stop, you didn't disrespect us."

[Quetzalcoatl]

+4

[invisible furry hand]

Amateur inventor gadget may have killed him

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nationa.....killed-him

[Brett L]

I'm going with autoerotic asphyxiation of a gas mask fetishist.

[Brett L]

Obama takes page from Clinton playbook, examines plan to dump the SPR on the market for political gains.

[Rich]

I'll go out on a limb and say: You can count on this.

[NoVAHockey]

that's why its the strategic reserve.

and it has, what, amount a month's worth of supply?

[Ptah-Hotep]

695.9 million bbls as of Aug 3.

[Jersey Patriot]

Yes, and it can only be drawn out at 4.2 million barrels a day. (A barrel is 42 gallons.) For reference, the US uses about 15.5 million bpd and imports roughly 9 million of that.

[Zeb]

That might actually be a good strategy. Talk about this or opening up more offshore drilling will often lower prices for a while, even if nothing actually happens.

[BakedPenguin]

Isn't most of the run up due to a refinery fire? All the oil in the world wouldn't make a difference if there's no way to turn it into gasoline.

[o3]

psst - dont let the rushtards know that.

they have been sold a bill-of-entertainment that retail gas is drilled

[aelhues]

Um, it is. It's sucked out of the ground, and then converted to a useable product at refineries.

Oh wait, you were making snark, assuming those you disagree with a re idiots without any reason or evidence.

[Jersey Patriot]

The price of crude has also shot up recently. Some think traders are anticipating another round of Quantitative Easing and buying early - which is what the stock market appears to be doing. Others think it has to do with cutting off Iran's exports.

[o3]

89 Things I Learned At The Gathering Of The Juggalos
I've finally recovered and am ready to tell you about my experience. Here's everything I learned from spending 4 full days and nights surrounded by Juggalos in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois.

# 24. The back of Ron Jeremy's head is gross.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538.....e-juggalos

[generic Brand]

Is this a spoof, or just copied and pasted from the article? I see actually decent grammar and punctuation. Who are you and what have you done with o3?

[o3]

i took to running w meat cleavers

[Trespassers W]

That would be copied and pasted.

[Pip]

PREHISTORIC HUMAN BRAIN FOUND PICKLED IN BOG...

http://www.drudgereport.com/

I too have found myself pickled in a bog from time to time.

[Rich]

pickled in a bog

Nice band name.

[Quetzalcoatl]

You picked that over Prehistoric Human Brain?

[Rich]

Without hesitation.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Bog Pickle is better

[Rich]

Agree. "Put your hand together for ... Bog Pickle!"

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

A GIS for "bog pickle" generates interesting results

[Rich]

Yep. Found this photo of you-know-who (on the right) that way. Incredible!

[sloopyinca]

Pickled Brains is the best I could find in that word salad.

[Quetzalcoatl]

"Found Pickled"?

[DJF]

Two more American soldiers killed by Afghani police officers. Six American soldiers were killed last Friday. Since the official reason why US troops are in Afghanistan is to train security forces and we can't even train them not to kill us then it seems far past time to leave.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_.....ficer?lite

[ShagNasty]

Do you want us to lose?!?!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Romney camp has taken in $10 million online since the VP pick was announced.

That would have happened no matter who the choice. His pick was going to be as much the second coming of Reagan for potential donors as for leftwing talking heads.

[Restoras]

This is a good point

[Pip]

Chicago marks location of first Barack-Michelle kiss with plaque...

...at BASKIN-ROBBINS saved by Mitt's BAIN CAPITAL!

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08.....irst-kiss/

[invisible furry hand]

what, were they eating Baskin-Robins? What a hypocrite that woman is

[Quetzalcoatl]

Maybe they avoided the icecream and went straight to munching face.

[Restoras]

Fucking knew they are both bath salt zombie face eaters.

[Zeb]

Is there something particular about that company, or has she declared that no one should eat ice cream ever?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

A 3,000-pound granite boulder now occupies the corner of Dorchester and 53rd Street, outside the ice cream parlor, bearing a quote about the couple's first date.

Christ, did they put plexiglass over the bathroom stall where Michelle took a piss afterwards too?

What a worthless, decadent, pozzed society we've become when a stupid first kiss is considered worthy of a memorial site.

[invisible furry hand]

Bad news, boy wizards - eBay bans sale of:

Advice; spells; curses; hexing; conjuring; magic; prayers; blessing services; magic potions; healing sessions; work from home businesses information; wholesale lists, and drop shop lists.

Where will we get our artisanal magic potions now

http://www.themarysue.com/ebay-bans-magic/

[Quetzalcoatl]

Will nothing stop your vendetta against Fantasy?!

[Lost_In_Translation]

craigslist...duh

[Ska]

Looking for magic retailers on craigslist might be more fun than reading missed connections.

[o3]

Obama better for world economy: poll 8:22am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Twice as many business executives around the world say the global economy will prosper better if incumbent President Barack Obama wins the next election than if his Republican challenger Mitt Romney does, a poll showed on Friday.

Democrat Obama was chosen by 42.7 percent in the 1,700 respondent poll, compared with 20.5 percent for Romney. The rest said "neither".

http://www.reuters.com/article.....7D20120817

[Auric Demonocles]

Because... what exactly? His feel good vibes are going to make people work hard, just like his feel good vibes were going to bring world peace?

[Brett L]

They've already paid their bribes to the Obama organization. If Romney wins, they have to bribe a whole new set of people.

[Rich]

*** rising intonation ***

But I thought Obama is anti-business.

[Brett L]

Sure, but he's pro-bribery. Its an ethical conundrum he resolves by taking the bribes and doing whatever he wants.

[Rich]

I'll, um, buy that.

[The Hammer]

He's anti-independent-business. Cronies he's fine with.

[wareagle]

Because... what exactly?

Because Obama will continue his quest to purposely weaken and downgrade America, and executives elsewhere see a zero sum game that benefits them. Execs don't want to have to compete with another exec; they would much rather have a campaigner-in-chief who knows nothing about business.

[o3]

he said quest

[WTF]

urine thinks that means 'queef'.

[o3]

snoop lion's on a quest

[sloopyinca]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Stick with me for a second. I think I figured it all out. His name is urine. He, for some reason, comments about "quest."

I'll wager a dollar of devalued American currency that Urine drives a car around for Quest Diagnostics collecting (and often sampling) piss for companies. I bet he also tries to pal around with the HR people while there, talking up his skill set and how he's only collecting piss for a laugh and that he'd really fit in well with their company culture and if they'd like a copy of his resume...

Any takers?

[o3]

sloopy made a queef

[R C Dean]

Business execs want Obama, because Obama will continue to float the equity market on a sea of printed dollars, and most of their money is in equities.

[Ken Shultz]

Democrat Obama was chosen by 42.7 percent in the 1,700 respondent poll, compared with 20.5 percent for Romney. The rest said "neither".

In other words, an overwhelming majority of the executives around the world think the global economy will "prosper better" if someone other than Barack Obama is president.

[Quetzalcoatl]

So... do we know why Ecuador is Assange's BFF? Does he have some kind of dirt on them? Dirt for them?

[invisible furry hand]

They bonded with each other in June hatin' on the US. Which is ironic considering Correa's attitude to the media

[Lost_In_Translation]

Why can't Britain just let the guy go...its not like he's Son of Sam Sweden edition. This is all a farce.

[invisible furry hand]

Apart from anything else, because the next time the UK wants someone extradited from Sweden it might get a less than co-operative response from the Swedes

[Lost_In_Translation]

OMG, not Sweden!!!

[Ptah-Hotep]

Why can't Britain just let the guy go...its not like he's Son of Sam Sweden edition. This is all a farce.

It is not Britain that wants him, it is the US. So Britain will get him, send him to Sweden, and Sweden will send him to the US. You do not embarrass the US and get away with it.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Exactly, so it IS a conspiracy.

[wareagle]

was there any negative fallout from the wikileaks stuff or this just more posturing and puffery?

[R C Dean]

The way Obama has pissed on Britain's face, I'm surprised they are willing to do him any favors at all.

From what I understand, their promise to arrest him no matter what is pretty much throwing away the diplomatic rulebook. If you make it to an embassy and get asylum, the rules of the gentleman's club generally are that you get to leave the country.

[Lost_In_Translation]

(future article) "Assange was accidently shot and killed in a raid to extract him from the embassy"

[DRM]

I have yet to have anybody explain to me why they think the Swedes would do that. It's not like they have any history of kowtowing to the US. Why would they start now?

[Auric Demonocles]

General Motors continues to do what it does best: Stinking up the place. The company is once again on the verge of bankruptcy, with losses far larger than the company's total value.

If they go under again, will this hurt Obama's campaign or will the media continue to accept the administration's "no actual loss (because we haven't sold the stock)" position?

[Lost_In_Translation]

Can't change horse midstride?

[Brett L]

That horse is pining for the fjords. It is an ex-horse. Flogging it will boot them nothing.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

No you can't change the horse but you can change the losing manager midseason.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Are you trying to tell me that GM hasn't paid its loan back in full with a profit? Because all of their commercials say otherwise.

You just hate the 99%.

[Auric Demonocles]

Well it's got to be true, because the government would never let them lie about that.

[Francisco d Anconia]

This is OBVIOUSLY incorrect, because just the other day Shriek told me that the GM bailout saved the company, making it profitable and turning the United States gubmint a hefty return on its investment.

Shriek, can you please explain to all these good people how this article is wrong?

[Rich]

General Motors continues to do what it does best: Stinking up the place.

Oh, *please* let them change their name to Best Motors, or Broad Motors, or ....

[Quetzalcoatl]

They'll probably just reduce their number of models/marques again and change their name to Specific Motors.

[Restoras]

Big Motors?

[sloopyinca]

I think they've worked hard to earn the right to be called "Twentieth Century Motors." I bet Ayn Rand's estate won't even bitch about the copyright infringement.

[Jerry on the road]

Meth-cooker Walter White on Alabama sheriff's most wanted.

[generic Brand]

At first I thought it was just some dumb sheriff thinking Breaking Bad was a documentary. Unfortunately it's a dumb white trash guy who thinks making meth in real life is a good idea.

[Proprietist]

If they don't mess up the ending of this last season, Breaking Bad will be arguably the best TV show ever.

[Mike M.]

Family Research Council head blames Southern Poverty Law Center for Wednesday's terrorist shooting.

The S.P.L.C. may have been a great and noble organization in the early days, going after the Klan and the Aryan Nations and such, but boy have they gone completely off the rails in recent years. It's way out of line to label an organization a "hate group" just because they have a political viewpoint that disagrees with your own. And they appear to be the ones originating this bizarre stuff about lobbying for genocide of gays in Uganda and such that we have seen from some whackos (even around here) lately. It's political libel is what it is, and the F.R.C. and the victim Leo Johnson should explore all their possibilities for a civil lawsuit.

[generic Brand]

Was the SPLC a major player in the studies released by DHS saying any gun-toting militia member was a domestic terrorist? I thought I remember reading that, but maybe it was more coincidental and not directly related.

[Mike M.]

Not totally sure about that, but it wouldn't surprise me. Reason has had a couple of features in the last several months detailing how just hyper-politicized and over the top these clowns have become. Mark Potok in particular is a pretty despicable individual.

[wareagle]

you sound as though demonizing ideological opposition is something new for the left. No, it's standard procedure. They are incapable and unwilling of debating anything on its merits.

The line of attack is personal, it is filled with words like hate or anti whatever "good" end is being pursued, and fueled by a reliance on the bulk of the population being too stupid and/or too lazy to do its own research.

[o3]

so wareagle is in the professional left?

[wareagle]

is this your day to practice stupid?

[o3]

no, irony

[WTF]

is this your day to practice stupid?

He doesn't need practice.

[DJF]

The SPLC did not get started until 1971 and by that time the KKK probably had more FBI and Police informants in its membership then actual racists.

[robc]

The former head of the Southern Center for Human Rights thinks the SPLC is basically a fundraising scam.

He called Morris Dees (who founded the SPLC) a "con man and fraud".

[Lemmiwinks]

I have been assured by many liberals that GM, no matter the cost, was worth it as a jobs plan.

[Quetzalcoatl]

It probably sustained more jobs than an equivalent amount in stimulus would have created.

So if you're married to government spending to create/sustain jobs, it's cheaper.

[R C Dean]

The problem with that analysis is that it assumes that if GM had gone under, nobody would have picked up their capacity (and thus at least some of their jobs).

The real question is, how many net jobs did the bailout save over a multi-year time frame? I suspect the answer is somewhere in the zero area.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I see a similar argument from liberals regarding the stimulus as a whole.

"The stimulus saved all those construction jobs and prevented this from becoming a depression!!!"

No it didn't--it instituted "extend and pretend" as an economic policy. I predicted that the minute ARRA ran out, all those construction jobs would still end up going away, because Obama gambled that this was a depression of liquidity rather than debt accumulation.

Sure enough, two years later, we're once again seeing news reports on all this infrastructure that's crumbling, the very infrastructure that President Butt Naked said would be restored by the stimulus.

[The Late P Brooks]

I read that Forbes piece yesterday. Lots of "Leave GM aloooooooone, you anti-American traitor!" in the comments. Not much substantive response to the fact that GM can't make a competitive bread-and-butter car, though.

[Quetzalcoatl]

But, man, their Peanut Butter, Bacon Banana Sandwich cars...

[Warty]

Is it peanut butter bacon time?

[R C Dean]

Peanut butter, banana, bacon sandwiches are awesome. I understand they were a fave of Elvis.

[RBS]

I thought it was PB, banana and morphine?

[wareagle]

the problem is in expecting substantive response from the left. It does not happen. Ever. You know that.

[Lost_In_Translation]

If only we could have left them alone to begin with...then we wouldn't have the handwringing we have now. Unfortunately we dumped a ton of money into them like idiots and now they're fair game to any policy discussion.

[Mike M.]

Where are Tony and Shrieking Idiot to tell us that their coming need for another bailout is proof of how wildly successful the last bailout was?

[o3]

that plays in ohio, along w offshore bank accounts und secret tax returns

[wareagle]

according to Obama, what really plays in Ohio are windmills. Only the massively uninformed care about some rich guy's tax returns. Speaking of, did Warren Buffet's company ever settle up with the IRS?

[o3]

kasich und the gop luvs em sum wind

Wind power in Ohio has a long history, and as of 2011, Ohio has eleven utility-scale wind power installations installed or under construction, with a combined nameplate capacity of just over 1051 MW.[1] An additional 784 MW is pending approval. Some installations have become tourist attractions.[2][3] There has been a sudden increase in generating capacity, as total windpower generation in the state in 2010 was just 9.7 MW.[4]

Ohio's first large wind farm, Timber Road II near Payne in northwest Ohio, opened on October 6, 2011.[5][6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Ohio

[Mike M.]

How does bankrupting the nation play in Ohio?

[o3]

maybe bain can take-over the states, sell-off the attractive ones, load the remainder w debt...sorry, make that profit, und pose for pics stuffing yuan into their pockets.

[wareagle]

you leave out the part that companies like Bain never get involved with businesses that are doing well, only ones that are on the verge of insolvency as it is. Are you purposely lying or just unaware?

[invisible furry hand]

co-workers help guy in wheelchair get to second floor. Sackings ensue

http://news.nationalpost.com/2.....-coworker/

[Brett L]

As always regulations exist to ensure that no good deed goes unpunished.

[mr simple]

One employee, however, was disturbed at what he saw and complained to management.

There's always one.

[aelhues]

This is what disturbs me in so many of the stories like this, stinking narc toadies. Makes me long for a good old fashioned, Army blanket party.

[Quetzalcoatl]

So, Team Orange, tell me:
We hear a lot of talk about good sci-fi novels here. Anyone read a good mystery lately?

[generic Brand]

Well, there's always Asimov's Caves of Steel or Naked Sun if you want to kill two birds with one stone. I admit that I don't delve into non-science fiction too much anymore, because unfortunately it seems it is only in sci-fi that humans are capable of realizing how important individual freedom is.

[Pip]

Read that as Naked Nun for some reason.

[Pip]

Oh, and Rabbit, Skunk and the Scary Rock is a pretty good mystery.

http://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-S.....Scary+Rock

[Brett L]

If you haven't read the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais, you've missed out.

[Warty]

The least sci-fi book I've read recently is Neal Stephenson's REAMDE, and that was a thriller, not a mystery. Still, it was a fucking blast and I highly recommend it.

[Trespassers W]

Thank you. It's been sitting on my shelf for months and I haven't had the energy to crack it.

[Restoras]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a good mystery.

[Pip]

How about Where Obama was Really Born?

[Rasilio]

A good Mystery novel? Isn't that a mythical creature sort of like a good Romance novel.

[Longtorso]

Crime scene investigation: The premeditated assault on the prime mortgage
...Also in 1995, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations were revised to be more quantitative and outcome based. Banks were now measured on their use of "innovative and flexible" lending standards, and their performance was compared to market competitors. As pointed out by Fed Chairman Bernanke in 2007: "Further attention to CRA was generated by the surge in bank merger and acquisition activities that followed the enactment of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994." CRA's stick of denying a merger application was now combined with CRA's carrot of announcing a big CRA commitment to flexible lending standards to help assure merger approval. The result was trillions of dollars in CRA commitments, largely "negotiated" by community advocacy groups....

[o3]

it makes a funny

[Warty]

Erkki Tuomioja, Finland's Foreign Minister, says that Finland already has a plan in place for when the eurozone inevitably goes to its doom. Ummm ... *cough*

I assume the plan goes something like this: ISKE! ISKE! ISKE! ISKE! ISKE!

[Quetzalcoatl]

F U N E X?

[invisible furry hand]

Perkule!

[Pip]

I got your death-panel rye cheer:

HILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania woman whose autistic adult son was not recommended for a heart transplant said she wants to bring more attention to the decision-making process so that those with ailments or disabilities are not passed over without careful consideration.

Karen Corby said Thursday that her son, Paul, now 23, was denied a heart transplant from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania last summer over what it said were concerns about his "psychiatric issues" and "autism," among other factors.

One expert on medical ethics said it's legitimate for the mother to raise the point, but there's an even bigger one, too.

http://www.startribune.com/lif.....23616.html

[wareagle]

folks act like death panels are a bad joke. No, they are a necessary component of socialized medicine. Not even a country as wealthy as ours can afford all treatments/meds/procedures for all people.

[o3]

perfectly describes brewer's death panel in AZ

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Right after the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, a bunch of liberals pulled out the standard talking point that "now all these people using the emergency room will have to pay for their own healthcare instead of me!!"

My response to that was, well, if you consider healthcare to be a basic "right," then what the fuck are you complaining about regarding how they go about getting treatment? I still haven't gotten a coherent answer to that one. Lefties want all the benefits of universal healthcare with none of the associated costs.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Yep, but my sympahty only goes so far. If you want money out of the equation, you're going to have a panel deciding things like this.

[Quetzalcoatl]

The problem is that in a private health system you can run a fundraiser or solicit charities and get the money for a transplant.
If the Board denies you based on merit, where are you going to go?

[Lost_In_Translation]

nothing, or hope you can fund research to grow a human heart in a pig...mmm...new heart and bacon...*homer drool*

[R C Dean]

Here's the deal:

A successful transplant requires a patient is willing, and able, to follow a pretty significant medical regime the rest of their life. And the organ committees take the likelihood of success pretty seriously.

At least part of the problem, I don't need to tell this group, is the shortage of organs due to the prohibition on compensation.

[wareagle]

this story also speaks to something larger - the sense of entitlement from this woman, and most Americans, re: health care. Our system is geared to say 'yes' to damn near everything. Socialized systems necessarily say 'no', often, because they realize money is a finite resource.

In a cold, clinical world, people with "ailments and disabilities" will be on the low end of the cost/benefit spectrum. Proponents of universal health care either purposely ignore or are ignorant of the inherent restrictions that exist within a socialized system.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Proponents of universal health care either purposely ignore or are ignorant of the inherent restrictions that exist within a socialized system

I know many liberals enthralled with UHC and yes to the former in most of them. They know what it costs, but they're cynical enough to know they'll never convince the prols to do whats right for them if they're honest.

[sloopyinca]

New Jersey cop arrested in New York for assault. Gets one day (paid) suspension.

I especially like how the paper was too fucking lazy to find out the details of the arrest and/or make them public.

[sloopyinca]

Maybe the department already has too much on its plate to worry about her?

[ant1sthenes]

Julian Savulescu... I know I've seen that name before somewhere. Oh, right. He ran the journal that published a article suggesting that killing newborns and infants is morally acceptable.

What a fucking piece of human garbage.

[The Late P Brooks]

This just in (via Bloomberg):

GM CEO says they will reorganize their management structure *again* in order to make the company more nimble and efficient.

World awaits breathlessly.

[NoVAHockey]

"more nimble and efficient"

like a German built car?

[Rich]

*** mumbles something about "You know who else ...." ***

[LTC(ret) John]

Hans Guderian?

[Restoras]

Heinz! I am disappoint in you, LTC.

[Auric Demonocles]

Any day now we're going to sell all that stock for a huge profit and pay down the entire debt.

[Ken Shultz]

GM CEO says they will reorganize their management structure *again* in order to make the company more nimble and efficient.

How 'bout reorganizing their ownership structure?

Oh, I guess the problem being the government or the UAW is unpossible.

[Warty]

I've been drinking coca tea again during the last few days, for the first time in like maybe a year. I had forgotten how lovely it is. COCAINE

[Lost_In_Translation]

I wonder what it would be like to snort pure powdered caffiene?

[mr simple]

Smells like heart attack.

[Rich]

Then go the homeopathic route.

[tarran]

What a lovely album that is.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is it?

[Warty]

What is coca tea? Um...tea from coca leaves. It contains alkalines.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Huh. I didn't know that was a thing.

Apparently they dealkalinize it in the US though.

[Warty]

It's supposed to be, but this stuff must have been brought through customs illegally. It definitely has a stimulant effect.

[The Late P Brooks]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a good mystery.

DASHIELL HAMMETT.

Fuckin' kids.

[Quetzalcoatl]

True dat.
I liked the Maltese Falcon. Are any of his others essential reading?

I've thought about The Glass Key because of Miller's Crossing.

[Brett L]

No. They are okay but not great. Definitely not rising to the level of Chandler's most boring work.

[Ted S.]

The film version of The Thin Man is well worth it.

Nora: What hit me?
Nick: The sixth martini.

The second of the Thin Man movies is also quite good.

I can also recommend the film version of The Glass Key; at least the 1942 film with Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd.

[invisible furry hand]

Fred Durst tries to sound enigmatic and deep, ends up being an inarticulate prannet

http://gawker.com/5935624/end-.....socialflow

[Brett L]

Hadn't heard anything about that guy in a while. I hoped he was dead.

[Ken Shultz]

Fred Durst who?

[mr simple]

The Romney camp has taken in $10 million online since the VP pick was announced.

But the media keeps telling me Ryan was a terrible choice and everyone hates him.

[invisible furry hand]

As they say in the classics, Perkule!

[invisible furry hand]

which was meant to be a reply to Warty up thread. Fuckin' squirrels...

[Ted S.]

You misspelled it: it's perkele.

Perkeleet oravat!

[The Late P Brooks]

Somebody else wanted to breed ethnically superior children.

What was that guy's name?

[invisible furry hand]

George Bernard Shaw?

[BakedPenguin]

Oliver Wendell Holmes?

[Trespassers W]

Susan St. James? Jill St. John? Eve Marie Saint?

[LTC(ret) John]

Hugo Drax?

[Restoras]

Margaret Sanger?

[RBS]

From Facebook:

I like Bill Maher comedy (especially in DC Cab), but when are liberals going to stop treating blacks as second class citizens? I don't know any blacks who don't have an ID. I never had a black friend say "I can't go to the bar get through security with you because I don't have an ID." Apparently we are all poor, take the bus, or are just too lazy to get an ID. If I had listened to liberals growing up, I would have concluded that blacks could never succeed and would always need someone to take care of us. Glad my parents taught me better

[RBS]

Oh yeah, this was from a black guy. Of course someone responded that he's from Connecticut. So I guess he's not "really black" or something.

[Auric Demonocles]

So I guess he's not "really black" or something.

But Obama is!

[Mr Whipple]

He be an Uncle Tom.

[wareagle]

liberals can't help themselves. Blacks, on the other hand, may want to stop acting like the idiot children they are treated as and stand up for themselves. Where is the prominent black to stand up and say "we know how to get ID; we drive cars, we have credit cards, we cash checks, we get on planes, we do a million things that require photo ID."

As long as blacks allow themselves to be patronized, there will always be a white liberal willing to do the job.

[NoVAHockey]

PJ O'Rourke has a great line about this. In an essay about education he wrote:

"Also, why are liberals so convinced that poor people are stupid? Is it because poor people vote for liberals? That is a fair point. But if smart liberals want to find out if poor people are stupid, I suggest that smart liberals go to the worst neighborhood they can find and get in a craps game."

[LTC(ret) John]

"...I suggest that smart liberals go to the worst neighborhood they can find and get in a craps game."

Reporting live from The World Series of Dice!

[R C Dean]

How is it that the Dems lurv them an amnesty for illegal aliens that requires all sorts of documentation, including foreign birth certificates, proof of school attendance, etc., but think requiring a US citizen to produce a photo ID is a horrendous burden no person should have to bear?

[RBS]

Easy, they get the hispanic vote by being pro amnesty and get the black vote by convincing them that Jim Crow is just around the corner. So, as long as they get the votes they don't care about consistency.

[Robert S]

Exactly. This also explains why liberals think "These Mexicans are taking OUR jobs" is racist, but think "These rich people are outsourcing OUR jobs to Chinamen" is not racist. We could garner much more support for globalization if we could convince the liberals that the Chinese and the Indians are America's fastest growing constituency.

[wareagle]

it's a cheap way of appealing to emotions and hoping no one will consider the merits of the point being made. When you blame whitey for some horrible, further explanation is seldom needed.

[Auric Demonocles]

Two quick rants on income taxes:

I just got paid my quarterly bonus today. The total income tax (fed+MA) for this come out to 35.9%. But the rates aren't high enough! We need to tax the rich more!

Last night I received a letter from the IRS. This is in regards to an error on my 2010 returns which I've mentioned here previously. My father sold some stock that year and the bank accidentally reported that I sold it, so the IRS thought I made $40k that year instead of $8k. They tried to get me to pay them another $5000 in taxes for the stocks (which my dad already paid in 2010). I sent them a letter explaining this along with proof, a few days after I got their initial letter. The one I received last night said that they have received my letter and will review my evidence to determine what I owe. As it actually turns out, I won't owe anything more than the $30 adjustment I already sent them.

But the interesting part is that the letter says "if you owe any more in taxes you should consider paying it now, as the law requires us to charge you interest from the date that your original return was due". The letter that I sent them was received on July 17th, and the letter they sent me was mailed on August 14th. So if I theoretically owed them money, I would have to pay them for a month of interest in which all they did was say "Okay, we'll look into that." As well as the 15 months it took them to notify me that they wanted more money.

[wareagle]

taxes on bonuses are a scam; the rate is much higher than for typical income. But if you say the system punishes success, then you're just an evil rich fatcat who hates puppies and wants to starve kids.

[Auric Demonocles]

It is true that I make more than the median household income in my state. And I haven't fed any kids in ages. I even went to an Ivy. I'm a monster.

[Auric Demonocles]

Also, this bonus is directly based on and paid out of my company's profits for the quarter. These profits, of course, are after taxes. So because our owner thinks he should reward his employees instead of keeping it all for himself, the government gets an extra grand a person by taxing it a second time.

[wareagle]

well, this cannot stand. First, your boss is nothing more than a profit-driven madman. Secondly, he ignores that by "rewarding" employees, someone is being punished since everyone knows that ours is a zero-sum economy; for you to get a bonus means someone else lost money. Third, he is pulling off a slick ruse under the guise of giving the govt a second swipe at money when we know full well that a much larger portion is being siphoned to some bank in the Caymans or Switzerland.

I am aghast. On the other hand, I may apply for employment with your company.

[Rasilio]

Actually this is not quite technically true.

The problem with a bonus structure is it is impossible to project what your final end of year income will be because there is no way to know what other bonuses/irregular payments you will recieve in the future will be. Therefore the IRS requires companies to withhold at the highest possible rate when issuing all irregular payments to employees. However, the actual tax rate owed is still based on your annual income.

What this means is that unless your total income puts you into the highest income bracket by more than the amount of the bonus you will have too much withheld from that bonus check and then get it returned to you at the end of the year.

It does of course end up screwing you because it is a way for them to force you into giving them an interest free loan in the amount of the difference between what the tax owed was and the tax withheld was but the actual tax rates are not different.

[Auric Demonocles]

The problem with a bonus structure is it is impossible to project what your final end of year income will be because there is no way to know what other bonuses/irregular payments you will recieve in the future will be.

Or you could just adjust my end of the year income by the bonus amount. Or since this is a quarterly bonus, 4x the bonus amount.

Or even better, just charge my interest based on the amount I've actually earned this year. (E.g. I don't pay 25% until April when I have earned enough that all my income starts being taxed that high). That way it's always correct, regardless of starting/stopping jobs or getting raises (or bonuses).

[generic Brand]

I'm in a similar awful situation. I had a poor understanding of how much Uncle Sam would try to take come tax day, so I had max exemptions in order to keep more of my own money each pay period. When it came around to filing, I owed $900 (a significant amount as I live mostly paycheck to paycheck).

I set up an account through EFTPS.gov to pay electronically. After making an initial $300 payment when I filed my taxes, I owed about $600. I then made a $200 payment. Now when I should owe maybe a little over $400, the IRS has sent me a letter stating I still owe $600. I refuse to pay an additional $60 to set up an installment plan, as the amount I owe in the first place (the $900) is already absurd in my opinion; I am willing to pay any interest that accumulates, so I hope that this is just a case of the IRS being THAT slow.

Sometimes I think the income tax is the lowest form of thievery, but they have so many other weapons that it does a disservice to ignore them (property taxes, asset forfeiture, etc.)

[sloopyinca]

so I hope that this is just a case of the IRS being THAT slow.

It's not. Prepare for the worst. I'm not sure if I've chronicled my tax situation here, but let's just say that they got their hooks into me for back taxes one year a long time ago and it's been hell getting it all taken care of.

My situation started when I claimed my kids on my taxes as my ex-wife and I were separating. No divorce decree and no support order had been entered and I had the kids as much as she did that year (we lived together for most of it). I filed before she did and claimed them. She did the same a month later. Three years later, I got dinged for the deductions and the penalties and interest that go with them. When I pointed out to my auditor that there was no court order as to who could claim them and she and I had equal custody that year, all I got was a blank look. The result of the audit was that I owed them and she didn't because:
1. The judge ruled that she could claim them a year later and
2. I was being audited instead of her.

Ever since then, they've made sure to audit me every other year and also fucked me on my mileage deduction because a taxable fringe benefit put me into the AMT. That one cost me at least $7500 alone, and not a single other soul in my company that made the same or more than me got their mileage taken away. Probably because we kept meticulous logs and accounted for every single mile that was personal and/or business.

Fuck the IRS.

[Auric Demonocles]

But sloopy, you're a dude. Therefore you're a deadbeat dad who's just claiming the kids to save on your own taxes and you weren't even paying child support!

[VG Zaytsev]

So if I theoretically owed them money, I would have to pay them for a month of interest in which all they did was say "Okay, we'll look into that." As well as the 15 months it took them to notify me that they wanted more money.

Cause ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Unless your a cop, irs agent, cabinet secretary, elected representative, potus or on the scotus.

[invisible furry hand]

Pussy Riot get 2 years in the slammer

http://t.co/NbYsdTRL

[Mike M.]

Needed moar pink balaclava, I guess.

[invisible furry hand]

And now Madonna is being prosecuted. At least she has a few more options than Pussy Riot

http://thedailyswarm.com/headl.....believers/

[Ken Shultz]

General Motors continues to do what it does best: Stinking up the place. The company is once again on the verge of bankruptcy, with losses far larger than the company's total value.

There's a word for people who think that the government owning a company in consortium with a labor union is a good idea and that it doesn't matter whether such a company turns a profit. That word is "socialist".

And if Barack Obama thinks that the government owning GM in consortium with the UAW is a good idea and that it doesn't matter whether GM turns a profit?

Then Barack Obama is a socialist.

[Auric Demonocles]

Barack Obama is a socialist.

Racist.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Okay Auric. Barack Obama is a racist socialist.

[Auric Demonocles]

You're saying a black man is racist? You're doubly racist.

[VG Zaytsev]

There's a word for people who think that the government owning a company in consortium with a labor union is a good idea and that it doesn't matter whether such a company turns a profit. That word is "socialist".

Fascist is a better descriptor, but socialist works for me.

[The Late P Brooks]

Since I hate to pass up a chance to kick the supine General Motors in the midriff:

I rented a Chevy Cruze about a year ago. It was fucking horrible. Everybody responsible for bringing that abomination to market should be flayed alive and then burned at the stake. Obviously, nobody at GM knows how to build a torque converter; they should kidnap somebody who does.

[Loki]

I rented a Chevy Sonic on a trip back in May. I'm still suffering PTSD every time I see one. What a pathetic piece of garbage.

And don't even get me started on my wifes Pontiac G6. If you ever have a chance to drive one of those, pass.

[Hyperion]

Just one question, Loki, if you don't mind. Did either of the lowbeam headlight bulbs repeatedly burn out on the G6, forcing you to change the entire headlamp assembly when you discovered the incredibly shoddy wiring? Or was it another of a myriad of shoddy worksmanship that you had to deal with? I told my wife to not buy a GM product, but she wouldn't listen. Now she knows. Yeah, the car was a great deal, and for good reason.

[Loki]

She hasn't had too many problems with her headlights, although one is currently out. She's had more problems with her brakes and suspension issues. Some of the problems might have been caused by a shoddy mechanic as opposed to being entirely GM's fault. We think they installed the wrong calipers. She's had to have the brakes done 3 times in the last year, the tie rod ends replaced, and a wheel bearing replaced just recently.

Also, lots of generally shoddy build quality.

[Hyperion]

Don't be surprised if you replace the headlight that is out, and it goes out again quickly. The wiring is shit in the headlamp assembly.

The brakes on my wifes G6 are wearing out way too quickly also. We are going to trade it next month for a Nissan, Toyota, or Honda before I have to replace the front brakes or something else starts to go wrong. No more GM products around my house.

[sloopyinca]

I love my Chevy truck. Absolutely love it. I'll pass 100k on the odometer in a couple of hours actually and I'm sure it'll go a lot further.

Their passenger cars, on the other hand, are pieces of shit that I'd never consider buying again. I traded in an Impala for the truck (used as well because I will never, ever buy a post-bailout GM car). Plenty of problems with it and none could be fixed easily.

If I get another new car, it'll be German. If I get a new SUV, it'll be Japanese and if I get another truck, it'll probably be American* but at least 10 years old.

*In my business, it pays to drive an American truck.

[Hyperion]

I had a Chevy truck and before 40k miles, all of the paint peeled off of it all over the hood and other places. Transmission went completely out and had to be replaced before 60k miles.

[Hyperion]

Will mention though, that I did have one American truck, a Ford F100 that I put 300k miles on. But that was a long time ago.

[Ken Shultz]

They were good at trucks because they had to build vehicles with high profit margins--like trucks--in order to cover the high costs of their union members.

They couldn't compete in the low margin passenger vehicle market--because there wasn't enough margin there to cover the high costs of their union members.

Which is to say that the high cost of their union membership isn't just something that destroys their bottom line; it drives their product mix as well.

If they went into bankruptcy the first time because their product mix didn't reflect where the market was in the post-SUV world, then their bankruptcy the first time was also driven by the high costs of their union membership...

So, what did bailing them out do to make them solve that problem?

The correct answer is "nothing long term".

And, you watch, if Obama is reelected, he'll push for the government to take the UAW pension program over directly and make the taxpayer responsible in the name of making GM competitive again.

It is a fact that until GM addresses the issue of their legacy union healthcare and pension issues, they will never be competitive. The only question is whether GM is forced to solve that problem by being subjected to market forces, or whether the taxpayer will take over GM's pension issues.

[Ken Shultz]

By the way, if the UAW is driving huge corporations out of business and destroying whole industries--and does so, in part, because the taxpayer is always threatening to support it--then the president has the duty to seek to decertify the UAW.

The solution sure as hell isn't to shield GM from market forces with taxpayer money. Ultimately, if the UAW can't survive in the real world of market forces, then the solution is decertification.

[Loki]

My dad had a Chevy truck once. The timing chain snapped after less than 100 miles.

It was built at their Shreveport, LA plant, and when he took back to dealership to get it fixed, the service guy said "It's probably either a Monday or a Friday truck. On Mondays, all the workers are too hung over from the weekend, and on Fridays they're too busy thinking about the upcoming weekend to care about what kind of job they do." IOW, only 3/5 of the output (assuming equal output for all 5 days) from that plant were any good. Needless to say that the last time my dad bought a GM product.

[sloopyinca]

My question is: why would they have people put the timing chain on when a robot could do it right 100% of the time. That's GM's problem and that's why we'll keep paying to bail their dumb asses out.

Jesus Christ! The Japs are building sexbots and we can't even build a robot to install a timing chain. So much for American exceptionalism.

[Ken Shultz]

nobody at GM knows how to build a torque converter; they should kidnap somebody who does.

It's hard to believe that a company owned by the government and the UAW wouldn't be run well.

[BakedPenguin]

Coming soon: The GM Trabant!

[LTC(ret) John]

Ossi!

[Delroy]

In Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown (D) has a campaign ad that features him and a Chevy Cruze. He goes on about the parts that are built in various Ohio cities and the Cruze is assembled in an Ohio plant. Then, of course, he states how proud he is that he voted for the auto bailout that saved so many Ohio jobs. Jeebus, I hate that guy.

[Randian]

Sherrod Brown is the absolute worst. Followed by Mike DeWine.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

His colleagues should do the same thing for all the plants that make parts for our various weapons programs.

Representative Douchebag #1: "The propellors are built here!"

Senator Douchebag #1: "The engines are built here!"

Representative Douchebag #2: "And the plane is assembled here!"

All Congressional Douchebags: "We're proud to continue voting for programs that create good-paying jobs right here in the US!"

Then shove that shit in Brown's face and dare him to vote against any defense spending bill that comes across the way.

[Jersey Patriot]

I rented a Chevy a few months ago while on vacation. I've driven Hondas since 2000, and I've never driven a Chevy. What a complete pile of crap that thing was at 35,000 miles: hard to steer, made a godawful racket. My 1993 Accord with 200,000 miles was a better car.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I was forced to rent an Aveo about three years ago, and it solidified why I will never buy a Chevy product, and will disown any children who buy Chevy products. The gas mileage was garbage, and the tires made this horrible whine on the freeway whenever I went over 55 mph.

[Loki]

General Motors continues to do what it does best: Stinking up the place. The company is once again on the verge of bankruptcy

But the GM bailout was such a huge success, how can this be? Surely this must be an evul right wing KOCHTOPUS meme. Afterall, the Messiah says it's a huge success and we should do for other industries what we've done for GM. Surely he wouldn't lie to us. Surely. /left-tard

[Hyperion]

Oh, fer Christs sake, Loki, who cares about wasting trillions of our tax dollars on failed ideas, just get us Romney's tax returns now! Get your priorities straight!

[The Late P Brooks]

If Dan Akerson wants to learn about GM products, he should go for a little cross country jaunt with me. I'd be happy to explain their faults in detail.

[Hyperion]

I lernted myself about them when my x wife werked for GM and I had to drive their products for a few years. Lesson well learned and not forgotten. Dumped x and GM ferevermore, not look back.

[Hyperion]

Gubmint motors, ugh. Just say no. They had a really great plan. Make a car that looks really nice right out of the box, but underneath all the glitter and shine is a pure piece of shit and falls apart quickly. Then you have to buy a new one. Then along came Japanese imports and that plan fell apart. They never came up with a new plan and so our brilliant current administration decides to keep them going. Another failed plan.

In other news, has Reason done an article on this Nazicunt yet?

Nazi Czar of VA

It's time to take down this biiiatch.

[R C Dean]

Yes, Reason has.

[mr simple]

Kick! Punch! It's all in the mind.

Powerful punch is all in the brain, study finds

[Lost_In_Translation]

might have something to do with physics also...

[Loki]

Dr Ed Roberts, from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, who led the study, said: "The karate black belts were able to repeatedly coordinate their punching action with a level of coordination that novices can't produce.

"We think that ability might be related to fine tuning of neural connections in the cerebellum, allowing them to synchronise their arm and trunk movements very accurately.

Gee, it's almost like maybe practicing something over and over again might, I don't know, "reinforce" the neural pathways from the brain to the motor cortex to the muscles, allowing one to execute the movement with far better fine motor coordination than a novice who hasn't practiced.

Most people really have no idea how much fine motor control goes into properly executing martial arts techniques. On the surface it appears to be just "Hulk smash!", but there's actually about a hundred little things going on that the naked eye can't see, and even the martial artist isn't even consciously aware of.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Yeah, it's really nothing new--Vince Lombardi used to have the Packers run nothing but the sweep in practice for half an hour or more. Their muscle memory was so fine-tuned by all the repetition that even when their opponents knew the sweep was coming, and the direction it was going in, they still couldn't stop it.

[heller]

It's the same in fencing, most of it is instinctual muscle movement.

[Trespassers W]

Thanks to Cracked, I've finally found a place where I can gambol freely:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sentinel_Island

See you later, suckers! I'm off to experience my first taste of real freedom, away from state-based lifeways!

[RBS]

Watch out for thenatives.

[Jerry on the road]

On January 26, 2006, two fishermen were killed by Sentinelese when their boat drifted near the island.

Have fun!

[Trespassers W]

You guys are just prejudiced against non-state lifeways. They'll accept me as one of their own.

Did you know they harvest nuts? There's plenty for all, with no agriCULTure!

[AuH2O]

So, probably a little late... but I find it very interesting that there have been no stories on Kos or Jezebel, and the dumb comments by the FRC guy about the SLPC finally made it pop up on Gawker, about the FRC shooting...

Meanwhile, the sikh temple shooting was, according to Jezebel, a referendum on "Guns, Race, and Madness" in our society.

Also, the Gawker comments are pretty disgusting "Yeah, but the SLPC is amazing and the FRC IS a hate group!"

[Lost_In_Translation]

Jezebel exists to finely distill stupidity into pure insanity. Kos is a much rougher cut and contains too much banal self deception and bargaining. Not nearly as crazy a finish.

Gawker is bargain basement shit. Nobody over the age of consent pays it any mind.

[Loki]

Gotta love it when assholes get beaten by an 11 year old girl. Poetic justice.

"But that karate stuff doesn't work." /ignorant meathead