Winter Olympics Officially Open, Republicans Fight EPA's "Secret Science" Rules, Research Says Voice Votes Are Useless: P.M. Links

• 

  world-econ-forum-cc-by-nc-sa

  Rejoice, comrades! The 2014 Sochi Winter Olymics are officially open, and an attempted airplane hijacking targeting the city has been prevented.

• Republican House lawmakers are pushing legislation that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing new regulations based on science that is not transparent or not reproducible.
• Research shows that, except under unrealistic controlled circumstances, voice votes are useless.
• The U.S. Postal Service saw its losses shrink significantly in the last quarter of 2013 to a measly $354 million compared $1 billion during the same span the previous year.
• Montana Lt. Gov. John Walsh (D) will fill the seat of U.S. Sen. Max Baucus (D), who is resigning to become the next ambassador to China.
• Georgia lawmakers introduced a measure that could effectively shutdown rideshares like Uber and Lyft, insulating the taxicab and limousine industries from competition.

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Comments

[SIV]

Early they were

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[Snark Plissken]

and mimsy were the borogoves.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Did you just call me a queer?

[110 Lean]

If the mome rath fits...

[Nooge.]

Why does this comment make want to gird up a giant codpiece and drink milk laced with drugs?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Republican House lawmakers are pushing legislation that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing new regulations based on science that is not transparent or not reproducible.

"Like the GOP would even understand our science!"

[Pro Libertate]

Transparency and reproducibility have nothing at all to do with science.

[Irish]

The best science is the kind that is handed out by men in lab coats to the gibbering masses with no explanation of method, no capacity to be reproduced, and no publically available numbers.

Personally I think scientists should just speak in Latin so that we wouldn't be able to understand enough to question them.

[Mad Scientist]

+1 pontification

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, I see. So you posit a merger of the scientist and the lawyer--who already acts as a high priest for totally incomprehensible and illogical concepts--into, what, a scienyer? Attornist? Scienttorney?

[Protagoronus]

Politientist

[gaijin]

inquisitors

[Irish]

No. Attorneys would be like priests who talk to the public on a frequent basis. You could see them spouting gibberish every day on Fox News or MSNBC, for example.

I envision the scientist being more like an oracle who emerges periodically from his cave in the mountains to issue proclamations that were handed to him from on high.

[Pro Libertate]

And lo, did the Quantum cause Uncertainty and be thus Unknowable.

[Clich? Bandit]

+ 1 cat, very confused

[R C Dean]

Or very dead. Depending.

[Bobarian]

Don't open the box.

[PD Scott]

"It's falling at 32 feet per second squared, but I know the DA, I think I can get it knocked down to 25, 30 tops."

[gaijin]

^Something tells me this conversation has actually happened.

[Pro Libertate]

They don't call it the law of gravity for nothing.

[CE]

Minister of Science and Chief Defender of the Faith.

Like Dr. Zaius.

[Pro Libertate]

Really, that's it. The perfect blend of scientist and lawyer.

And I have a title for the new position now, too: The Sciencegiver.

[Sevo]

+1 turbo encabulator

[Mad Scientist]

This paper is entirely written in English, but I still don't understand it.

[playa manhattan]

Me neither, but it made me hungry.

[Bobarian]

I think that guy plagiarized my thesis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin.....egree.html

[Nooge.]

Ah. Sanjay Gupta science. For your health!

[Corning]

The consensus is invisible therefore transparent!!

and

The consensus can be reproduced!!

[SIV]

PM links were up a full minute early.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I disagree.

[Mad Scientist]

If congress would quit delegating their authority to the executive branch they wouldn't need to do this.

[Nooge.]

W. Peck is about to go on a fucking rampage.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Research shows that, except under unrealistic controlled circumstances, voice votes are useless.

They allow the vote caller to get whatever results he wants.

[playa manhattan]

Case in point: The DNC vote.

[R C Dean]

And, without any accountability.

I would say that voice votes aren't useless at all. In fact, they are ideal.

[Auric Demonocles]

FTFA (so many clicks away!):

"In a house like [the DNC], I don't think there is an alternative," Titze said. "You can't use buttons or another electronic vote and you can't pass out pieces of paper to 5,000-10,000 people."

I think he's saying that Democrats can't operate an iClicker.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...and an attempted airplane hijacking targeting the city has been prevented.

Was it PETA?

[PD Scott]

A step forward for cyborg kind: "Feeling" prosthetic hand allows man to touch again.

"The bionic hand, which is able to detect the shape and solidity of objects, uses implants connected to nerves in Dennis Aabo S?rensen's upper arm to transmit electrical signals from sensors attached to the fingers to his brain. While wearing the artificial hand, Mr S?rensen, a 36-year-old amputee from Denmark, was able to distinguish between hard, soft, round and square objects even while blindfolded and wearing earplugs."

[110 Lean]

Mr S?rensen, a 36-year-old amputee from Denmark, was able to distinguish between hard, soft, round and square objects even while blindfolded and wearing earplugs."

Earplugs...or tiny wireless ear buds receiving the right answers?

[PD Scott]

You could just watch the video and save your cynicism for something else.

OTOH, cynicism is seemingly inexhaustible, so no doubt the Danes are trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

And it probably isn't even real wool.

[110 Lean]

Why they're not even wireless!

[Nooge.]

It's DANISH wool.

[Irish]

Warty posted that This is Thin Privilege blog again, and I have found the greatest post in the history of the internet.

It begins as follows:

Overweight is the majority

According to the CDC the percent of adults aged 20 or over who are overweight, including obesity, is 69.2%. Why would over two thirds of a population help keep a system around that only benefits less than third of it?

Now, this is really stupid. The CDC's definition of overweight is ridiculously expansive and calls far too many people overweight. However, dumb though this post is, one of the mods responds with a Real Comment of genius:

And only 1% of the population is really fucking rich, yet our society continues to privilege them hugely. Men are a minority, white people are a minority. You don't have any clue how privilege works.

...White people are a minority? I assume she's talking globally, but who the fuck cares if you're a minority on a global level?

[Warty]

I like the complaint that rich people have privileges. The privilege to buy things, presumably.

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

All i hear in those comments is a sobbing 9 year old screaming "MOMMY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!" while flailing helplessly on the floor.

Yes, little child, it is your fault that you suck at life. Blaming successful people doesn't make it any less your fault.

[wareagle]

and because economics is a zero sum activity, a rich person buying something means that no one else can buy that thing. Well, maybe another rich person to buy it from the original rich person, but the poorz are cut out altogether.

[Ted S.]

Yeah, they can buy a BDSM experience from Warty.

[R C Dean]

I like the complaint that rich people have privileges.

Does being non-white or non-male permanently immunize you against privilege?

Can a rich black woman be privileged?

Can a poor white woman be privileged?

We all know, of course, that all white men are privileged regardless of wealth or income.

[110 Lean]

I'm a white guy and I don't feel the least bit privileged when I'm walking in my neighborhood after dark.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I am a white male, but I am also a ginger. Where do I rank on the privilege scale?

[Bobarian]

You have the highest privilege, because when the old gods come, your soulless vessel will be exalted.

So you got that going for ya.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Gunga, gunga ga lunga.

[playa manhattan]

I misunderstood what you were linking to. I though that was going to be a photo blog of hot chicks making use of their thin privilege.

Instead, it seems to be a miserable person humble bragging about being fat.

[mr simple]

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi

It seems like the fat phobes are moving from ridicule to fighting. Thank you for keeping up the good fight and inspiring me everyday to reject fat hate.

What will they win? Is it sweet and delicious?

[Bobarian]

I'm sure it's wrapped in bacony goodness.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Speaking of fat bitches plus size women, Proof That You Can Be A Wildly Talented Dancer At Any Size

Yes, that is the earth shaking under you.

[Bobarian]

Did you notice that the film stopped every 3-5 seconds? I wonder why?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Speaking of fat bitches plus size women, Proof That You Can Be A Wildly Talented Dancer At Any Size

Yes, that is the earth shaking under you.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/w.....g-22399058

They did the same thing to the Jamaican boblsed team raiding their whey powder.

Let the mind games begin. I predict much controversies.

[Rich]

Sen. Charles Schumer ... said export trade rules should have nothing to do with it, since the yogurt isn't for sale and is to be eaten only by U.S. citizens in Sochi.

That slope is slippery with yogurt.

[gaijin]

It's yoghurt1

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Putin will make sure Russia wins all the medals even if he has to perform the sports himself.

[gaijin]

That's funny. I was watching NBC last night and they mentioned how Putin had been involved in details of the venue's planning while hsowing a picture ofhim skating in Russian hockey gear. World Leader, Engineer, Hockey Playa...he is All.

[CE]

Instead of hockey between glorious Mother Russia and glorious People's Republic of Korea, can't we just have Putin and Kim Jong Un in single combat to the death, with swords, on ice?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Putin could become the most popular person in the world.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Well, the most popular person in Korea.

[Ted S.]

The repulsive Mr. Schumer is also trying to get folks in the other 49 states to subsidize NY-made "Greek" yoghurt in schools.

[playa manhattan]

"Chobani yogurt is safe, nutritious and delicious"

Somebody is going to get a nice campaign donation next season.

[Rich]

You know what else is safe, nutritious and delicious ....

[Ted S.]

Soylent green?

[Rich]

Yes, but there's something else.

Think Captain Beefheart.

[110 Lean]

Ice cream? Crows?

[Mad Scientist]

Vegemite?

[Rich]

"Delicious"?

[Mad Scientist]

It's an acquired taste.

[playa manhattan]

I acquired it big time.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Maple cookies?

[R C Dean]

Deep dish pizza?

[CE]

Chobani is.... people!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Huffpo: Show This To The Next Person Who Calls Obama A Socialist Dictator

[Irish]

God, they're stupid. Those numbers they use for government workers don't include government contractors.

According to the numbers HuffPo is using Edward Snowden was not a government employee. He worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a company that gets 99% of its funds from the federal government, but he and all of his co-workers were not technically government employees.

When someone like Snowden is not considered a government employee, that phrase has no meaning.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Show us the number of contractors added then, hotshot. Broken down pre 2009 and post 2009. I seem to recall the TSA and Homeland Security as well as Kellogg Brown and Root big numbers were under that socialist dictator Bush.

Still, government is smaller since 2009 - no doubt.

[Protagoronus]

Screech!

[gaijin]

no doubt.

and that's the problem.

[Corning]

Government grew under Obama then when Republicans got control of the house the number of Fed employes backed down to normal levels seen under Bush.

One thing that is interesting is that spending is still way over what bush spent.

Why do we have the same number of employees as bush but spend so so so so very very very much more money then we did under bush?

Also Obama and Dems bitch a lot about republicans stopping them from spending even more money. Obama is a socialist...he is just hamstrung from implementing socialism.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Federal spending when Bush left was $3.52 trillion. It is barely up under Obama - about 2%.

Clinton left spending at $1.9 trillion - Bush increased it about 40%.

(CBO figures)

[Root Boy]

Everybody knows Bush blew the budget and deficits up astronomically.

Obama has increased the debt by 6T (more than Bush)

Are you purposefully obtuse about those facts? Do you really think the current budget would be only 3.9B if Dems had both houses of congress?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Obama has increased the debt by 6T (more than Bush)

That is true - but only because Bush handed Obama a $1.2 trillion annual deficit and falling tax revenue along with increased entitlement obligations.

And two wars to boot.

[Root Boy]

If you are a democrat you have to take credit for both wars as well. Iraq was approved by the Senate (with Hilldog voting yes).

And don't forget that 2/3 of the military deaths in Afghanistan have happened under Obama

[Palin's Buttplug]

"If you are a democrat"

Not a Dem - just a classic liberal.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ha, ha! There it is again!

Classical liberal.

/pounds fists on table laughing.

[Mickey Rat]

Apparently, Senator Obama had nothing to do with that deficit.

[Corning]

Federal spending when Bush left was $3.52 trillion

$800 billion of that was from the Obama stimulus passed by dems in both houses and signed by Obama.

So Bush was only $2.7 trillion.

Why do you keep pretending like Bush spent the stimulus?

[Irish]

Why do you keep pretending like Bush spent the stimulus?

For the same reason HuffPo keeps pretending government contractors don't exist.

[Palin's Buttplug]

So Bush was only $2.7 trillion.

Not true. CBO said on Jan 9, 2009 that fed spending would be $3.52 trillion - BEFORE Obama was inaugurated.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/41753

[Corning]

would be

So in a hypothetical universe in 2008 Bush was hypothetically projected to spend hypothetical money greater then what Obama actually spent...

Why don't you look at actual spending when making your bullshit claims.

Oh wait...I remember because facts conflict with you bullshit narrative.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Nothing "hypothetical" about laws Bush signed like TARP, the $300 per person stimulus of 2008, Iraq, and so on.

[Corning]

Nothing "hypothetical" about laws Bush signed like TARP, the $300 per person stimulus of 2008, Iraq, and so on.

The argument is not about Bush being a big government spender.

The argument is about you lying about all the current spending coming from Bush (who left office by the way) and making false claims that Obama is some sort of budget balancing fiscal hawk when the facts show he is worse then Bush by about a factor of two.

"BOOOOOOSSSHH!!!" Is all that comes out of your mouth and it is bullshit. Obama has been in office for 5 years and he has spent and spent and spent driving up gargantuan deficits and debt.

The fact that you blame Bush and only bush at least signifies that you think massive spending is a bad thing. When are you going to take off you blinders and admit Obama's massive spending is also bad? You know actually blame the guy who is in power now and spending truckloads of money that is driving our economy into the ground.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I linked you to the CBO report showing Bush spent $3.5 trillion his last year.

Don't play stupid - it may work for you.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I linked you to the CBO report showing Bush spent $3.5 trillion his last year.

Don't play stupid - it may work for you.

Bush never signed the FY2009 budget--which some people don't know, but I'll just repeat since I've refuted this bit of your bullshit time and time again.

Obama signed a budget in March 2009 that placed a $1.8 trillion deficit in place. That was YOUR boy, not Bush.

CBO figures don't mean shit. Real numbers do.

[R C Dean]

Clinton left spending at $1.9 trillion - Bush increased it about 40%.

Does that include giving Bush credit for passing the 2009 stimulus bill?

[Root Boy]

Don't forget local gov jobs, I just listened to Sec of Labor (so you don't have to) say participation is down because of all those lost teacher jobs.

Also, the way to fix our employment drought (which we don't have) is minimum wage, legalization, and stimulus!!!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"conservatives like to throw words around like socialists without knowing what they mean."

You hear the above quote a lot from progs. In my experience, (and I do hold a university degree - major history; minor political science), conservatives tend to have their definitions in good order.

Progressives, on the other hand, adjust definitions on the fly and make for terrible historians.

But that's me.

[Irish]

They also don't understand how numbers work. As I stated above, the number of government workers they're using doesn't count contractors and is therefore essentially meaningless.

That's not even getting into the fact that number of government workers is a poor proxy for government interference in American life. It would have literally been impossible for the NSA to spy on people to the degree they are doing today even twenty years ago. Thanks to the labor saving technology of computers and the internet, a couple thousand NSA employees can scour millions of emails without much effort.

For that reason, the government can have fewer workers interfere in the affairs of the public to a much larger degree, so a brute accounting of government employees is a ludicrous proxy for overall socialism/state control.

[110 Lean]

There is a huge steaming pile of shit below this post.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I hear idiot conservatives call Warren Buffett and George Soros "socialists" - including Eric Bolling and Stu Varney of Fox News.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And the left think everyone's an extremist for not thinking like them. Point?

I'm talking about what I observed in a university setting.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I don't know about what universities think today. I am an 80's grad - a Reagan yuppie in fact.

I am an expert on the media bullshit though.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

You can't see me, but I am laughing.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I escaped the GOP plantation, pal.

They don't own me or my loyalty - never again after the Bushpigs ran roughshod over this country and the Middle East.

[playa manhattan]

I am an expert on the media bullshit though.

Agreed.

[Zeb]

Well, there is some argument to be had about what exactly makes one a socialist. Are you talking about someone who wants the government to own all of the major industries, or someone who wants a generous welfare state and new bike lanes? Both of those get called socialists, but there is a big difference. I'm not saying either use of the word is wrong, but some clarification is sometimes necessary about just what you mean by "socialist".

[Irish]

I'd argue that modern progs actually do want state control of everything.

Is there any instance they would argue against state control? If someone said "Weed should be legal, but all weed distribution should be handled by the government" progs would agree with that wholeheartedly.

Look at how many progressives defended a Communist like Jesse Myerson. They are totalitarian extremists and I don't think calling them socialists is inaccurate.

[Zeb]

I think that there certainly are a good number of people like that. But there are also a lot of liberals who do see that government running industry is a bad idea doomed to fail, yet favor a strong welfare state/safety net. Maybe those people aren't progressives. And maybe there aren't that many of them. But I am not convinced that the entire left, or even a majority, actually favors direct government control of industry. Who knows? I can't read minds.

I'm certainly guilty of throwing around "socialist" as an epithet too. But a bit more nuance is called for sometimes.

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

I don't think they really think too deeply about whether or not industry should be taken over. They are more worried about equality and fairness and if somebody can make an argument that strokes their equality woody, they'll be for it.

That's why green energy subsidies are "good" and corporate welfare is "bad"

[110 Lean]

Be careful, there's another steaming pile of shit below this post too.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It's why I'm careful to group liberals with progs. Progs are socialist-lite.

[R C Dean]

Is there any instance they would argue against state control?

Oh, sure.

Abortion.

Now, throw in "state control and/or funding", and there is not one single exception to their desire to dominate and control.

[Irish]

They're absolutely fine with state control of abortion.

If someone said "The government should run abortion clinics" I don't think progressives would see that as a problem.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

If they weren't on the defensive against the pro-lifers after Kermit Gosnell's butcher shop of horrors I'm sure they would be bold enough to propose socializing reproductive health clinics.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Well Zeb, the US certainly does not have a generous welfare state. We do have a generous ENTITLEMENT state however. Of the $2.6 trillion of entitlements handed out annually the big majority are "earned" by the elderly (SS, Medicare, veterans retirement) or just handed out to the elderly (Medicaid).

Add food stamps and TANF (welfare) together and you get only $100 billion or 1/36th of federal spending.

So yes, we hand out the goodies - but the main body of "takers" by dollar amount are GOP voters - the elderly.

[Zeb]

That's nice.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't call Soros or Buffet socialists. Rent seekers and crony capitalists is what they are.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, I hear that all the time here. But the Kochs spend 10x more on lobbying than Buffett does and Soros does not lobby at all.

PAY THOSE CONGRESS CRITTERS OFF!

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

KOCHTOPUSSSSSSS!!!!!!

[playa manhattan]

"Soros does not lobby at all".

Then what would you call it?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.publicintegrity.org.....orge-soros

Lobbying?

[Bobarian]

He preaches the gospel!

/SHREEEEEK!

[Corning]

austerity measures have cost the U.S. about 2 million jobs since the recession.

Meh those people would have retired anyway just like the 2 million jobs lost because of Obamacare.

Isn't that right huffingtonpost?

[Irish]

Austerity has saved those 2 million Americans from job lock.

[Ted S.]

What austerity?

[Mad Scientist]

You know. That austerity where they wanted to increase the deficit by a few trillion but had to settle for one and a half.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Obama has cut the deficit from $1.2 trillion Bush left to $520 billion.

[Root Boy]

Obamaphone, is that you?

[Corning]

$1.2 trillion minus $800 billion = $400 billion.

So Obama is still $120 billion above Bush.

Why do you keep acting like Bush passed the stimulus in 2009?

Could it be that your claims fall apart otherwise?

[R C Dean]

Obama has cut the deficit from $1.2 trillion Bush left to $520 billion.

Where do you get that $520BB figure, PB?

Debt to the Penny tells me debt held by the public went up @ $666BB in FY 2013,and that's before the massive and bizarrely inexplicable issuance of a crapload of new debt in early FY 2014.

So far in FY 2014, we have added over $350BB to the debt held by the public.

[Corning]

Wikipedia says $680 billion (actual) for 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2.....ral_budget

Nice catch on shrike's bullshit RC.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Fatal Car Crashes Involving Marijuana Have Tripled."

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/20.....e-tripled/

Episiarch could not be reached for comment.

[Mad Scientist]

Epi uses a transporter, not a car.

[Slammer]

Do they include speeding cops on way to busts in their figures?

[Warty]

Epi has a hard time driving. He needs a booster seat and special pedal-lengtheners.

[Bobarian]

And he's always got like 20 other clowns in the car with him.

[mr simple]

"If a driver is under the influence of alcohol, their risk of a fatal crash is 13 times higher than the risk of the driver who is not under the influence of alcohol," Li said. "But if the driver is under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, their risk increased to 24 times that of a sober person."

It's almost as if they're picking that stats that will cause the most outrage rather than tell the whole story. Nah.

[paranoid android]

But if he's under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, and he's blindfolded, and getting a BJ at the same time...

[Mad Scientist]

And texting...

[PD Scott]

Dammit!

[PD Scott]

And texting! Don't forget the texting!

[Zeb]

"Fatal Car Crashes Involving Marijuana Have Tripled."

What from 1 to 3?

That article is terrible. What does "involved" mean? Sounds like the same sort of bullshit you get about alcohol where if anyone involved in any way with the accident has had a drink that day the accident is "alcohol related".

[Apatheist ?_??]

Yes the same way tobacco "related" deaths are counted as well.

[R C Dean]

Its worse than "alcohol-related", because they are undoubtedly going off of post-crash drug screens, which will throw off a positive if you were high last week.

[rts]

Ladies and gentlemen, your next panic about what the young 'uns are up to:

An online drinking game called Neknomination in which participants chug large amounts of alcohol, post the video online and then challenge others to do the same, is raising concerns at universities across B.C.

Last week in Ireland two young men died in incidents related to the drinking game.

An Irishman died drinking? Well, I never!

[Irish]

Let's be honest: Anyone who dies doing this is improving the gene pool.

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

Quickly! My fainting chair! I feel quite woozy!

[playa manhattan]

A few of my friends have done that. Same old behavior, new hashtag.

[Slammer]

An Irishman died drinking?

And now there's one less drunk at the wake.

[Ted S.]

This must be an old panic. I heard about it a week ago, and I'm usually nearly the last person to hear about these sorts of things.

[rts]

Likewise, but it finally made its way to my neck of the woods.

We just got Miami Vice on television...

[Rich]

"We really just wanted to nip this in the bud."

"Nip"? "Bud"? Sorry, I just can't take you seriously!

[gaijin]

An Irishman died drinking? Well, I never!

Indeed. Had he died drinking something other than alcohol, that would be news.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I posted this, like, a couple of days ago.

Where's my high-five?

[rts]

Where's my high-five?

Being buried by the Cleveland Browns.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The city of Cleveland - where sports go to die!

[gaijin]

5
----
| |
| |
Here you go

[Brandon]

Next month: CBC reports on "Power hours," a disturbing new trend among young adults!

[Zeb]

I'll be interested when someone dies from butt-chugging.

[Ted S.]

At a rainbow party, no less.

[CE]

We did that when I was in college. Minus the Internet thingy.

[PD Scott]

A step forward for type 1 diabetic kind: Producing insulin-secreting pancreas cells from skin cells

"When the researchers then transplanted PPLC's into mice that had been modified to have hyperglycemia, the animal's glucose levels started to drop and gradually approach normal levels. When the transplanted cells were removed, the researchers saw an immediate spike in glucose levels. Even more promising, when the team tested the mice eight weeks after the transplantation of the cells, they saw that the PPLC's had led to the rise of functional, insulin-secreting beta cells."

[Ted S.]

OMG, we're going to have GMO people!

[Zeb]

The absolute horror of a GMO SugarFree.

[playa manhattan]

"The U.S. Postal Service saw its losses shrink significantly in the last quarter of 2013 to a measly $354 million compared $1 billion during the same span the previous year."

I have noticed that they are delivering a lot more of my Amazon packages.

[gaijin]

In government accounting, isn't a reduction in losses the same as a profit?

[playa manhattan]

Yes, in the same sense that not taking is giving.

[Pro Libertate]

Last mile. That's the in thing right now--UPS or FedEx from the DC to your local area, USPS for the "last mile."

[playa manhattan]

Makes a fair amount of sense. If the mail truck is coming to my house anyway....

[mr simple]

I'm sure it's difficult to deliver all the packages that people used to ship via USPS and keep to their delivery schedules. These days people can check the app on their phone and see it's been delivered to their city and will wonder why it's not at their house yet.

[Ted S.]

They give you a card saying the package is too big for the mailbox, and make you go to the post office to pick it up.

[playa manhattan]

That sounds about right. "The last mile".

[Virginian]

I love how Florida keeps bringing the derpy shooting stories.

[Rich]

800Kyo human footprints outside Africa discovered in England

Kinda cool, even if they were "searching for food" in *England*.

[CE]

Holy cow. A million years ago people were already 5-9?

[Suthenboy]

And in England.

Maybe there really was a Hyborean age, but the glaciers swept away most of the evidence.

[Suthenboy]

Sorry, not England, Pontain?

[PD Scott]

All the... cotton? in China: China hoards half of world's cotton supply -and wishes it didn't.

"China started its buying spree in 2011, when prices were headed down, but still ranged between about 95 cents and $1.50 a pound. In that time, the country quintupled its holdings. Many of China's purchases were made at the higher end of that range. The country has since amassed about 10 million tons, and world prices now are at about 85 cents a pound as of early February, per the benchmark ICE March futures contract."

[Rich]

"Old Man Ree-BAH!"

[Pro Libertate]

Huh. I'd heard that Milo had found a buyer for his Egyptian cotton, but I didn't know it was China. Little word of wisdom to the Chinese--chocolate-covered cotton is inedible.

[PD Scott]

But it's so high in fiber!

[Brandon]

Beat me to it.

[Ted S.]

Why don't they just make a lot of cheap underwear? Everybody can use more underwear.

[playa manhattan]

Do you go to Chipotle everyday or something?

[Rich]

"Turn your underwear inside out, and it's good for another ten days!"

[PD Scott]

Or drape the Great Wall. It looks terrible, so drab and dusty.

[Irish]

New York Times surprised to discover that women like masculine men.

A study called "Egalitarianism, Housework and Sexual Frequency in Marriage," which appeared in The American Sociological Review last year, surprised many, precisely because it went against the logical assumption that as marriages improve by becoming more equal, the sex in these marriages will improve, too. Instead, it found that when men did certain kinds of chores around the house, couples had less sex. Specifically, if men did all of what the researchers characterized as feminine chores like folding laundry, cooking or vacuuming ? the kinds of things many women say they want their husbands to do ? then couples had sex 1.5 fewer times per month than those with husbands who did what were considered masculine chores, like taking out the trash or fixing the car. It wasn't just the frequency that was affected, either ? at least for the wives. The more traditional the division of labor, meaning the greater the husband's share of masculine chores compared with feminine ones, the greater his wife's reported sexual satisfaction.

The science has spoken! Why are feminists anti-science?

[Mad Scientist]

The more traditional the division of labor, meaning the greater the husband's share of masculine chores compared with feminine ones, the greater his wife's reported sexual satisfaction.

False consciousness due to patriarchy. Or something.

[paranoid android]

Don't you mean, "why is science anti-feminist?"

[Ted S.]

Perhaps these women want to have less sex with their husbands.

[Corning]

I think those men are just doing it wrong.

If you folded sheets and vacuumed all manly like I am sure they would get laid just as much as the dude who works on his car.

[Bobarian]

If you folded sheets and vacuumed all manly like then the sheets would be wrinkled and shit would be all over the floor.

[lap83]

Feminists are their own worst enemy. That's all there is to it.

[Coeus]

Feminists are their own worst enemy. That's all there is to it.

It's long been known that behaving as feminists want you to removes you from the majority of dating prospects. Something that the feminists are loather to acknowledge, however, is that even the majority of them are turned off by it.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"it went against the *logical assumption* that as marriages improve by becoming more equal, the sex in these marriages will improve, too." [emphasis added]

Feminist logic is a nightmare funhouse-mirror version of real logic, only stupider.

[Coeus]

Reap what you sow.

So do you meet guys who pass the feminist test but then turn out to be disappointments for other reasons?

JF: Oh God. There is a type of feminist guy who is so eager to fall over himself to be deferential to women and to prove his feminist bona fides and flagellate himself in front of you, to the point that it really turns me off. And it makes me sad, because politically, these are the guys that I should be sleeping with! You know what I'm talking about?

YES.

JF: Everyone knows what I'm talking about. And some of them are even really cute! I want to say to them, "If you could be a person, like a whole, complicated person, who I feel like I could crack jokes around, then I would really like you." But they're so serious about their feminism at every moment that I don't feel like a person to them. I feel like I'm on a pedestal, almost. I know that they're not going to disagree with anything I say under any circumstances. And I don't feel like I can make a raunchy joke about sex, because they'll be horrified. . . . I hate to be critical of our allies in any way, because we need them, but there's something about that certain kind of hyperfeminist guy that makes them unappealing to date, to me. I suspect it has something to do with our internal conceptions of masculinity, which is terrible on my part.

[Zeb]

voice votes are useless.

What about the applause-o-meter?

[Jesus H. Christ]

Hooray! The Obama admin is screwing up left and right (har de har) and the Republicans are going to pick a fight with the EPA. They are the part of stupid.

[Jesus H. Christ]

"party of... "

[110 Lean]

Don't see a problem. Perhaps you can elaborate.

[Jesus H. Christ]

Fighting the EPA, while sensible from a libertarian perspective, is actually a divisive thing to do, as many people have a knee jerk attitude about the ecology. There are so many other issues where the Republicans could focus their attention that would actually attract voters.

The main opposition to the reds, is the blues, and the blues are screwing up on so many levels, why start a fight another front, when there are other battles that are much more imminently "winnable" for the Republicans. It's just dumb.

[Mike Laursen]

re: "Georgia lawmakers introduced a measure that could effectively shutdown rideshares like Uber and Lyft, insulating the taxicab and limousine industries from competition."

The verb is "to shut down" (two separate words). You also should "log in" or "sign in" to a computer, not "login" or "signin" to it.

[Palin's Buttplug]

CNN poll today - Americans still blame the Bushpigs for the economy although the pct is falling:

http://politicalticker.blogs.c.....r-economy/

We know that 2008 was the year it fell apart - all on the Bush gang.

[SForza]

Hmm. I thought Dems took Congress in 2006 and Bush was an unpopular lame-duck president who couldn't be bothered to stand in the way of their agenda.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Clint Eastwood saves the life of choking golf tournament director

Eastwood attended a volunteer party on the eve of the PGA Tour event when he noticed tournament director Steve John choking on a piece of cheese. The 83-year-old actor quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver Wednesday night at the Monterey Conference Center.

"I was drinking water and eating these little appetizers, threw down a piece of cheese and it just didn't work," John said Friday. "I was looking at him and couldn't breathe. He recognized it immediately and saved my life."

Eastwood is a prominent figure at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, formerly as an amateur contestant and now as chairman of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. It has raised over $100 million for charity as the host of the PGA Tour event.

He's often in the CBS tower on the weekend and presents the trophy to the winner, a list that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker in recent years.

The Hollywood star wasn't expecting an additional duty this week.

"I looked in his eyes and saw that look of panic people have when they see their life passing before their eyes," Eastwood told The Carmel Pine Cone. "It looked bad."

He said it was the first time he had used the Heimlich maneuver.

"I can't believe I'm 202 pounds and he threw me up in the air three times," John said.

I bet he feels lucky now.

[Pro Libertate]

Not every punk does, it's true.

[lap83]

Now that's a manly chore.

[CE]

Some people need savin'.

[anon]

Some people need killin!

/jayne

[Mad Scientist]

There's two kinds of chokers in this world.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Man's gotta know his limitations. Clint just doesn't have any.

[Pro Libertate]

Did he say, "Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy" as he performed the maneuver?

[paranoid android]

I hear he practiced on an empty chair first.

[Palin's Buttplug]

oops:

Five years into Obama's presidency, only a third of the public believes that Obama and the Democrats are primarily responsible for the country's current economic problems.

More Americans continue to blame former President Bush and the Republicans. But the number who say the GOP is more responsible - now at 44% - has dipped below the 50% mark for the first time since Bush left the White House. Fourteen percent blame both parties equally.

[R C Dean]

Oh, well, CNN. I'm sure they've stopped tinkering with the polling sample to "adjust" the results.

[Contrarian P]

And the opinion of poll respondents has what to do with the truth? Loads of Americans believe in ghosts and angels too, despite the lack of evidence supporting them.

[Virginian]

http://davebratforcongress.com/

So this guy is running against Cantor in the Republican Primary. Seems pretty decent.

[110 Lean]

Kate Upton Poses for Annie Leibovitz's 100th-Anniversary Vanity Fair Cover

[anon]

Shame on you for linking to autoplay.

[Coeus]

Let's Stop Rewarding Powerful White Misogynists (NSFW)

Powerful black and brown misogynists still A-OK.

[Irish]

I like that they inject race where it doesn't belong but still manage to convince themselves they're not racists.

What does being white have to do with that?

[Irish]

I think it's hilarious that they include Eminem in that list for having sexist rap verses in a list that otherwise consists of rapists, child molesters, and kidnappers.

One of these things is not like the others.

[Coeus]

He is if your main gripe is that he's white.

[Corning]

One of these things is not like the others.

You would think but judging from the reaction on Kotaku, another gawker site, over the journalist who told a game developer on facebook that he wanted to "kiss her vagina" there is no difference between saying sexist things and actual rape.

The gawker sites seem to be more simply bat shit crazy. They, at least to me, are pushing a very specific type of bat shit crazy.

[Coeus]

Feminists just about as compassionate as you'd expect when the shoe's on the other foot.

Kim then skipped class for the rest of the semester, instead turning in work online and getting poor marks on assignments because ? surprise, surprise ? participation, even participation with girls, is kind of important.

"I believe if you want to attract more males to these courses, you have to work with them," Kim said in his complaint. "My request for accommodation was reasonable."

Yes, Wogene. Your request that Professor Trimble change her entire grading scale especially for you because you're too scared to be around women is entirely reasonable. How could you lose this open-and-close case of discrimination?!

But lose he did. ("What? How? Wogene, noooooooo!" - you, right now, I bet.)

[BiMonSciFiCon]

The comments show some amazing lack of self-awareness.

Honestly, life is so unfair! Just think of all the discrimination lawsuits you could file if you were a white male!

This from the people who believe in affirmative action and granting women and minorities preferential treatment in a whole host of situations.

[Irish]

But lose he did. ("What? How? Wogene, noooooooo!" - you, right now, I bet.)

Why are feminists such terrible writers?

[anon]

Research shows that, except under unrealistic controlled circumstances, voice votes are useless.

Who the fuck would pay for a study on something as self-evident as this?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Slate says yay to big corporations:

The HHS contraception/abortion/sterilization mandate "helps ensure that women can protect their health and control their reproductive lives." Of course corporations should be subject to this mandate despite the religious objections of the owners, which are now being considered by the Supreme Court. And the big, non-religious-fanatic corporations are staying out of this fight - or they're taking a courageous stand against religious freedom! Many of these courageous corporations argue that it would be unfair if they have to obey the mandate while religious objectors don't have to - and so their logical conclusion is that *all* business should be subject to the mandate!

And some corporate law professors are concerned that letting owners exercise First Amendment rights through corporations could endanger the legal fiction distinguishing between corporations and the human beings who operate them.

Oh, and "Correction, Feb. 4, 2014: Due to a production error, a caption on a previous version of this article misstated that no secular companies filed briefs on Hobby Lobby's behalf. A few isolated briefs from companies similar to Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood have been filed."

http://www.slate.com/articles/.....fused.html

[Coeus]

Wellesley Students Complain That a Statue of a Man in His Underwear Is "Sexual Assault"

I'm sure this story is on its way to a conservative media outlet near you, where some white, privileged man in tighty-whities will roll his eyes about the hysterical feminists, which, in this case, well?good call. Still, one thing I've been trying to keep in mind is that the women getting wound up about the statue are really young and just starting to explore the identity of "feminist." College is a time for taking everything too far, from drinking beer to sports fandom to sexual drama to using your fancy new vocabulary words picked up in women's studies courses. Which doesn't mean that one should refrain from having a laugh over this, of course. Let's hope Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are taking careful notes for the next season of Portlandia.

Amazingly, even Amanduh didn't try to defend this idiocy.

[Coeus]

Further evidence of Eip's theory of proggie animism

Some school officials aren't happy about the stickers because they contain a very basic image of a gun.

"It is bothersome to have to post a sticker of a gun that says, 'Hey, folks, leave your guns at home,'" Theresa Nolan, principal of Tinley Park High School, told the SouthtownStar.

Nolan stressed that she is very concerned with "safety and security" and concerned that, somehow, someone could wrongly interpret an image of a gun emblazoned with the universal sign for prohibiting something.

"I think the general public will be alarmed by it and wonder if people have been allowed to bring guns to school in the past," Nolan also fretted.

She said she would prefer "something more subtle."

[cheap kits]

I hear idiot conservatives call Warren Buffett and George Soros "socialists" - including Eric Bolling and Stu Varney of Fox News. Haa, really funny