Tech Executives Meet at White House, Biden Says Obama Deserves Sainthood for Being Patient About Obamacare's Failures, Fitch Withdraws Negative Outlook on U.S. Credit: P.M. Links

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White House President Obama was scheduled to meet with tech company executives at the White House this afternoon, reportedly to talk about "issues of privacy, technology, and intelligence" pinned to surveillance reform. The meeting was closed to the press, but Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, were reported to be attending.
- Speaking at a conference of community health centers in New York, Vice President Joe Biden admitted problems with the Obamacare website after its launch made it difficult to enroll, but said he wanted to recommend President Obama for "sainthood" for how patient he was about the issues that made it difficult to use the website.
- The credit ratings agency Fitch has withdrawn its "negative" outlook on the United States' triple-A credit rating. All the major ratings agencies now consider the U.S.'s outlook "stable."
- First Lady Michelle Obama is making her first visit to China, focusing her trip on education, something China seems to have a handle on, unlike, say, free speech or other civil and human rights.
- A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who allegedly assaulted a pro-life activist on campus insisted she did nothing wrong because the activists' material "triggered" her. She said her behavior "set a good example for her students."
- 83 percent of March Madness brackets submitted for Warren Buffett's billion dollar challenge were already eliminated before #3 Duke lost to #14 Mercer.
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President Obama was scheduled to meet with tech company executives at the White House this afternoon, reportedly to talk about "issues of privacy, technology, and intelligence" pinned to surveillance reform.
They no doubt brought their checkbooks.
Hello.
is it me, you're looking for?
...but said he wanted to recommend President Obama for "sainthood" for how patient he was about the issues that made it difficult to use the website.
Yeah, Obama is the one suffering through Obamacare.
What? Is he suggesting that the President of the United States should be martyred? Where the fuck is the Secret Service? Biden is a clear and present danger.
Joe doesn't realize saint would be a demotion.
Martyrdom sucks, too. I mean, crucifixion? Not all fun and games like it looks in the movies.
It is if you look on the bright side of life.
Look at the Obama photo above. He's wearing a goddamn halo.
Not the first one the sycophants have given him either.
Did slow joe remind everybody that O is also clean and well spoken as he patiently deals with the incompetents he hires (to make himself look good I suspect)?
All the major ratings agencies now consider the U.S.'s outlook "stable."
As in we're all knee deep in horse manure.
Thread to yourself, eh?
Until you jerks showed up.
A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who allegedly assaulted a pro-life activist on campus insisted she did nothing wrong because the activists' material "triggered" her. She said her behavior "set a good example for her students."
Eliminationist rhetoric?
I approve of the free speech I approve of.
It reminds me of the professor who wrote the op-ed saying that the "Innocence of Muslims" dude should be thrown in jail, and then, when called on it, responded "well of course I believe in free speech, I'm a tenured professor" which (1) was obviously wrong given her op-ed and (2) makes no sense at all, given that she has "free speech" protections built into her job as a tenured professor. Rights only apply to the privileged (in the true sense of the word) class.
(SLD: free speech does not mean protection from losing your job if you say something ridiculous.)
There's no way this defense could backfire on her.
"The bitch set me up!"
I was just laughing and thinking ' holy shit! What an idiot! What will she think when....oh look FoE beat me to it.'
That's your problem right there. Don't think, just post.
That is exactly what it is. This is what fascists do, they go around and attack people and then claim their victims are really responsible. And you think she is bad now, imagine if her victim or one of the other protestors had tried to defend themselves. Then this story would be all about how an angry mob of anti abortion protestors attacked an innocent professor. The fact that the professor attacked them and they were just defending themselves would never have been reported.
This is what fascists do and how they operate.
It's really bizarre b/c it could actually be a defense for, say, European imperialism which this idiots would decry in no uncertain terms.
"This is what fascists do and how they operate."
The funny thing is they think they are the furthest thing from a fascist, and they honestly truly believe it.
I'll never understand how people can be so blind to their own actions.
The nature of evil is that the people doing it always think they are doing good.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to rationalize it.
Teaching the wonderful behavior that if you disagree with somebody it's OK to commit violence against them.
I'd say this shows again that the State is the biggest bully of them all, but I'm sure there are professors like this at private universities, too.
I have to say it was well worth reading the whole account of the incident linked over at Volokh's WaPo blog.
Agreed. "Appalling" was right.
What are the comments like at Volokh's - I image its got to be a goldmine of derp.
Victim blaming! Isn't that something that professors often go on about?
"Sure, I raped her, but I did nothing wrong: her slutty outfit triggered me."
Triggered her? Is she a trained dog? What the hell is wrong with this bitch?
She's a Manchurian Candidate.
Is she a gun? Can we ban her?
So her excuse - which we all knew simply from watching the video/reading about it - is that she was insulted by the picture. That's reason enough for theft?
"I didn't like it, so I stole it and destroyed it! Totally justified! You kids should all do as I do!"
First Lady Michelle Obama is making her first visit to China...
Rets move!
Lacist.
"I'll be talking with students about their lives in China and telling them about America and the values and traditions we hold dear. I'll be focusing in particular on the power and importance of education, both in my own life and in the lives of young people in both of our countries."
Michelle, I think I understand the "power of education" in your own life; but I'd like to hear about those values and traditions.
Microagressor! You're turning Asians into Democrats!
Vaca in the PRC! That's some serious Spring Break!
Oh? Wha? She's 'working'? In what job?
And the suckers pick up the tab!
It was those violent teathuglicans' fault that I acted violently!
It's just President Johnson and the damned war.
She was just responding to her programming?
For Sloopy
Ooooh.
You guys annoy me at times, but at least no one says The Florida State University.
Are you aware that George Washington University is actually THE George Washington University?
If so, they're fools, too. I note for the record that it was supposed to be The Star Wars, but they wisely dropped the "The."
The Facebook
I saw that. The state government should make that law. Clearly, OSU no longer needs the definite article.
I like the comment that ruined THE joke.
I hate the insanely obvious. Like people in OHIO need that explanation. Next is a comment that Ohio State is a university in Ohio.
/Perd Hapley.
Where did that guy go, anyway? I'm sure he was one of the regulars.
He was on a couple episodes ago when Leslie launched her town unification media campaign.
Oh good. I can't wait for season 6 to come to netflix. I got behind in keeping up in real time, and am now waiting to binge on netflix.
They also got renewed for season 7. Season 6 should be on Netflix when season 7 starts in October.
The first episode of season 6, when Ron Swanson ends up in the Herbideans... damn, took me back myself. I was out there in May.
Some would argue it is THE university in Ohio.
You mean Case Western? Or maybe Wooster?
THE Oberlin College.
Oh, I forgot Oberlin. They don't have the anxieties of those in Columbus, see.
Antioch
THE University of Ohio is Otterbein, you philistines.
No, its the school in Athens.
They just dont need the THE because they already have the rest and dont need to shove it down anyone's throat.
Ohio was a University before Columbus was a city.
And there's Miami University, which needs no "the" because it's great for pissing off those people in Coral Gables.
Who, I think we can agree here, are terrible people.
They may be, but are there any Miami fans in Coral Gables?
Its a fair question. Probably not.
The worst. Except maybe people in Athens, Georgia.
Well where is PDQ Bach's school?
The University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople
Precisely. As ProL said,
So I repeat, where is PDQ Bach's school?
So is Miami (one of them, anyway).
You're fucking hilarious.
Dick.
Good old American Chinese initiative: Farmer builds own drones to spray insecticide.
Each drone costs him about 120,000 yuan ($19,000)
Which seems high to me.
How much do you think a truck or tractor and trailer and 1000 gallon tank costs?
How much yield are you giving up from your land by putting roads through your crops in order to drive that truck/tractor.
Also the drones (like other farm equipment) will be leased to other farmers and their farms i am sure.
I mean a plane or helicopter which is often used to do the same thing costs a hell of a lot more then a drone...and it is often used/leased/hired by multiple farmers in an area.
Did you follow the link and look at the picture of the radio controlled helicopter/drone? I am well aware that a truck, etc. would cost more, I am just wondering why his RC helicopter costs $19 grand.
Getting the necessary government approvals
And all flown by alcoholic alien abduction survivors.
What I'm doing in lieu of productive work this afternoon.
Goddamn you. That's like crack that shit.
Shit. I got the total to 2048 before I realized what the actual goal was. Fuck that game.
hate you
When do I get to make out with a twenty year old Ashley Judd?
Microaggressions reach the Grey Lady, but at least she tells us who to blame:
Bonus sanity from John McWhorter and others:
The left has managed to create a culture where being a "victim" is a desirable condition. It is not surprising that in such a culture people would look to invent things that make them victims.
It's to mask the actual victimization - taxes.
I'm a microvictim.
But I've microvalidated you on the regular!
Microthanks.
Oh, you want me to air my microaggressions? All right, help me out. Someone called me a stupid meathead. Do I A) ignore him, B) inform him of my postgraduate degrees, C) write a one-man play about my hurt feelings, D) crush him with a 120 pound dumbbell?
E) All of the above, minus C.
public airing of racial microaggressions should not be limited to minorities, but should be open to whites as well. "That's the only way that you can produce a multicultural, ethnically diverse environment."
I thought these were called struggle sessions?
struggle sessions
Not familiar with that term... and not sure I want to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session
I thought it was called Festivus.
One MAN play? Shouldn't you do a gender neutral puppet show instead?
I thought the only way to produce a multicultural, ethnically diverse environment was to treat people as individuals instead of members of a group based solely on physical characteristics.
I thought the only way to produce a multicultural, ethnically diverse environment was to treat people as individuals instead of members of a group based solely on physical characteristics.
Treating people as groups is only bad when Racist White Men are doing it to keep minorities down as supposed to Enlightened TOP. MEN. PEOPLE. who are doing it to end White Privilege.
Never mind all of the atrocities that have occurred when groups lashed out at other groups they thought were oppressing them in some fashion. I mean according to the Nazis they felt the Jews were oppressing them and the Holocaust was just an act of self-defense and self-preservation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P....._people.22
We have the moral right, we had the duty to our people to do it, to kill this people who wanted to kill us.
Having postgraduate degrees is not proof against the charge of being a meathead, just saying.
Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of the women you just microaggressed.
Neat how these microaggressions only work against minorities and contemporary popular social labels and become more prevalent as the gov't declares more and more people members of protected classes.
Considering microaggressions didn't exist even 30 yrs. ago, I think it's probably heavily scewed by recent history.
The future of bitchiness.
2025: nano-aggressions
2035: pico-aggressions
2040: femto-aggressions
I won't be impressed until we're discussing Planck aggressions.
So close.
Planck-aggressions?
Stringgressions.
Is that like when a guy flips the bird to some dude in NY and a race riot breaks out in Chicago?
I don't DO 'micro'.
I MACRO
Speaking at a conference of community health centers in New York, Vice President Joe Biden admitted problems with the Obamacare website after its launch made it difficult to enroll, but said he wanted to recommend President Obama for "sainthood" for how patient he was about the issues that made it difficult to use the website.
I think in this case, people would have been a lot more impressed if he got pissed, demanded that everything get fixed, and fired everyone responsible.
This.
"The Man of Sorrows" chasing the moneylenders from the temple, as it were.
Also, Joe Biden should be wearing a name tag that says "Ask me about code re-use."
This is the boring version of the case I was on.
We only heard a subset of that obviously, as one conviction was thrown out altogether, the not guilty charges werent reheard.
So, we heard
1 count of intimidation of a witness (felony) --- not guilty
1 count of violating court order (misdemeanor) --- guilty
1 count of assault in the 4th degree (misdemeanor) --- guilty
1 count of wanton endangerment in 2nd degree (misdemeanor) --- not guilty.
We gave him a $500 fine on the violation of court order and 1 year in county jail for the assault.
Honestly, he is lucky the LMPD is completely incompetent.
Oh, and fun factoid. On Feb 11th, the LMPD property department was flooded and items were hastily removed to avoid damage.
On Wed March 19th, the detective went to pick up the physical evidence, including the knife that was allegedly used in the assault and the t-shirt and bra that were cut off the victim by said knife.
They are "misplaced".
Glad you survived.
A year in county for a 4th degree assault is pretty harsh. Did this guy have a previous record or something?
Not that we knew about at the time. If you read the link above, he was a persistent felon and would have got bonus time if we had convicted on the felony.
We chose to max out the sentence on the assault, except we could have fined him up to $500 too.
On the two charges we could have given him a total of 2 years and $1000, but none of us thought that the court order violation deserved jail time...he sent a letter to the victim politely (seriously) asking her to tell the judge the turth and asking her to call one of his sisters and have them arrange for a lawyer for him in his civil suit against the police department.
The latter was due to the K-9 unit biting him during his arrest.
That letter was the entire basis of the intimidation charge.
There was absolutely nothing intimidating about it. She even said that it made her "angry" not scared or intimidated or anything like that.
Frankly, I would have been so annoyed at the DA for bringing the intimidation charge, I would have been tempted to acquit on everything just to punish him for wasting my time.
The initial vote on it was 6-6, it could have gone that way. I think the guy probably strangled her too (wanton endangerment charge), but the evidence did not even approach beyond reasonable doubt.
The intimidation charge took about 30 seconds to go from 11-1 to 12-0. The one guy didnt realize it only applied to the letter, when we showed him that in instructions, he immediately flipped.
Okay, dumbass was supposedly 1 semester away from a masters degree in criminal justice but he talked to the cops without a lawyer present.
Honestly though, Im not sure the prosecution should have played the tape, I think it helped the defense, as it filled in some holes in the victim's story.
The victim was an awful witness. Five fundamentally different versions of the story: 911 call, at hospital, interview with detective 3 weeks later, first trial, Wednesday. His statement kinda helped fill in where she was lying and where she was telling the truth.
That's better than the trial I sat on as a juror, which was for a restraining order violation. Not guilty, due to the prosecution not even trying to prove one of the elements of the offense.
I dont remember if it was you or someone else who suggested I do it, but we did request the text of the statute on 4th degree Assault and the judge refused us.
Then why was the vote "guilty"? Sounds like the state has something to hide.
we did request the text of the statute on 4th degree Assault and the judge refused us
WHAT? That sounds ridiculous to me. If my job is to determine weather someone broke the law, I'd damned well better have access to the fucking law in question.
The judge came in to talk to us after and I might have got into it with her but I wanted to leave.
She didnt say it, but she didnt agree with us on the intimidation decision. She made a comment that due to her job she was biased against any contact with a witness.
I will say that no one was surprised that we didnt get the law upon request, but everyone was pissed about it.
That might have been me. It is something that had bugged me since my wife sat on a jury a few years ago. Seems to me that jurors should be able to make sure they agree with the judge's interpretation of hte law.
First comes the education, then the re-education...camps.
I just found out that Alvin Lee died on March 6 (accidentally posted this on another thread.
RIP
RIP, Alvin.
I have always wondered what happened to that Melon.
83 percent of March Madness brackets submitted for Warren Buffett's billion dollar challenge were already eliminated before #3 Duke lost to #14 Mercer.
No, I heard 99.81% were gone after Thurs, and saw only 2 perfect scores out of 2000 in one pool I'm in.
All gone now! (Fuck Duke!)
Dook sucks.
When making brackets with those chokeaholics the question is how soon will they lose
Yeah, but the answer usually isn't "round 1 to fucking Mercer." I had them going out in the round of 32, so I'm ok with my competitive bracket, but my billion is gone.
Victim of face- and hand-eating chimp want CT to waive sovereign immunity so she can sue.
And at first I thought that was bullshit, but:
So she is suing them for failing to go in and take the chimp from its crazy owner?
I am all for ending sovereign immunity for misconduct. No way, however, should we let victims of crimes and negligence sue the state for failing to fully enforce a law. Think about the incentive structure that would create.
If they knew the chimp was owned illegally and was dangerous, Imma have to call that pretty fucking negligent.
Sure. But if you are going to hold the state responsible for that, then you have to hold the state responsible for the damage caused by any other law they fail to enforce. Again, do we really want to set up that kind of incentive structure?
If it was more than just "oh we fucked up" and was something like "but we liked her and gave her a break", maybe. But I would be very leery of getting rid of immunity here.
It doesn't say so in the Reuters story, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was the latter situation. If you remember the story from when it happened, the chimp was an actor, in commercials and stuff. And the lady lived in a pretty fancy place. And it seems the po-po knew the chimp was a problem. I don't know more than that, but it does tend toward "we gave her a break" don't you think?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Think about the incentive structure that would create.
It would bankrupt every government out of existence.
I sorta like that incentive.
No, it would cause every government to tax individual wealth out of existence.
^ This. I live in NYC - I have some experience with this.
Fuck yes it does.
Barack Obama, the patron saint of failure.
He's got way more than the required 3 miraculous failures to qualify for beatification.
LOL
LOL
"And the beat goes on!"
Feeding the poor, healing the sick, and killing from thousands of miles away?
Nero deserves sainthood for being patient while the attempt to save Rome failed.
The credit ratings agency Fitch has withdrawn its "negative" outlook on the United States' triple-A credit rating. All the major ratings agencies now consider the U.S.'s outlook "stable."
See below for why the credit upgrade was possible
Five years ago, the Administration inherited the largest deficits since the end of World War II and an economy in the grips of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Since then, the President and Congress have taken significant steps to strengthen our fiscal footing by enacting the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the Budget Control Act in 2011, and the American Taxpayer Relief Act in 2013. Together, these three laws have substantially reduced the estimated longterm fiscal gap-and thanks to the tenacity of the American people and the determination of the private sector we are moving in the right direction. In FY 2013 alone, the budget deficit declined by $409 billion since the previous year, dropping from $1.1 trillion to $680 billion. The United States has recovered faster than any other advanced economy, and our deficit today is less than half of what it was when President Obama first took office.
(thanks to 'gaijin' yesterday for the link)
Wasn't this line of bullshit just debunked yesterday?
Tell Fitch to throw our credit watch back into the shitter then.
H&R green eyeshade types debunked our financial statements from the GAO.
Palin's Buttplug|3.21.14 @ 4:56PM|#
"Tell Fitch to throw our credit watch back into the shitter then."
Shitpile makes up excuses! No film at 11!
Fuck off, asshole.
The rater noted that the federal budget deficit has fallen significantly as Washington cut back and the economy grew.
Don't worry, with Obo being on record wanting to pour on the spending again, if he gets his way, they will. you can't even comprehend entire paragraphs, can you?
Where did Washington cut back?
They cut back the growth of spending. It was a huge deal and they immediately tried to undo it.
the President and Congress have taken significant steps to strengthen our fiscal footing by enacting the Affordable Care Act in 2010
There is only one thing to say...
LOL!
It did raise various taxes in advance of full implementation.
Could you please explain to me why you've been giving Obama this 6 year long blowjob?
Why do you constantly post on here just to show us how much you enjoy blowing Obama?
He's still trying to convince himself that, not only is blowing Obama a great time that he really enjoys, but also that no one else is hip enough to understand.
The United States has recovered faster than any other advanced economy
Except Canada.
"Advanced" economy. Harvesting whale semen and seal clubbing doesn't qualify.
Sorry I can't hear you over the sound of all the oil and gas we're pumping and sending your way.
I thought you fucks were supposed to be polite. Eh?
I DON'T SAY EH AND I DON'T DRINK MILK OUT OF A PLASTIC GOD-DAM BAG. STOP OTHERING ME.
And Germany. Austerity - real austerity - works.
Germany is getting wobbly but it still works. Better examples are the Baltics. Estonia embraced austerity and it worked brilliantly. Ireland was stuck in a weird crony-capitalism austerity with bailouts for banks and austerity for everyone else. They stuck with it and kept their low taxes and now their economy is doing a lot better especially compared to the other PIIGS.
Well, there are different types of austerity. One is where you jack up taxes and spend about the same to make sure the government workers don't revolt. That's what the UK did. That's not what Estonia did.
The credit ratings agency Fitch has withdrawn its "negative" outlook on the United States' triple-A credit rating. All the major ratings agencies now consider the U.S.'s outlook "stable."
I knew Rand Paul was the early front-runner for 2016, but I'm surprised the ratings agencies agree with me.
Gaze with fear and trepidation upon the People's Liberation Army Navy's newest ship, the guided missile destroyer Kunming.
It's their version of an Arleigh Burke. VLS, phased array radars and everything.
PLAN digicam is even uglier than the USN's.
I still can't stand white belly dancers
"You're a racist!" Please, save us both time, watch this, and learn how that's not possible.
OK, now I'm triggered.
Ultimately, that's not the discussion I want to have.
Pretty sure it is, actually...
Why can't people just validate her for taking a strong position?!
She doesn't want the list discussion. Cause if they follow it, then she can't play gotcha with white people she dislikes.
I swear Coeus is not one of my sock puppets! 😉
She doesn't want to have a lecture at all, honey. She wants to lecture everybody else and have them shut up.
Why do I have to mansplain all this stuff to you, Nicole? 😉
This is appropriation of Southern culture, right? Or did the South become culturally dominant sometime since Reconstruction?
Don't be sad that yinz never took off nationally.
He's wikkid saaaad!
As a Southerner I am deeply, deeply offended at her appropriation. Y'all's our thing, y'all.
Apparently she's a recent transplant to Austin. I'm sure she's already bitching about all these people moving to Austin and ruining the place.
Hey, maybe you can answer a question for me. On occasion I'll hear someone use "all y'all." Is that a redundancy like saying "ATM machine?" Or does it mean some set even larger than "you all?
y'all generally means one person. One would say all y'all to an audience of two or more people.
"You all" means one person? What a country!
I learned this while living in Atlanta.
That's because Georgians are retarded.
Exhibit A: Shriek.
The usage is best described by a co-worker of mine from up north who got pulled over in rural South Carolina in college with 3 other people in the car. Officer comes up to the window and says, "Y'all get out of the car." Four doors open, the cop takes a step back, puts a hand on his gun and says, "I didn't say all y'all!"
Its a perfectly cromulent 2nd person pluralization of an often singularized plural.
Actually, Southerners appropriated it from Scots-Irish (seeing as most southerners are of Scots-Irish stock, hence them being accounting for the fighting portion of the single most dominant military force this planet has ever witnessed).
The phrase originates from ye all, not you all.
Um aren't Arabs and other semetic groups Indo-European people, and thus white?
Semitic peoples are by definition not Indo-European. You're thinking of Persians and some Indian groups. It's entirely subjective whether one wants to say that Indo-European = white
I was actually quite comforted by reading the comments, where except for a couple reeeeeeal true believers, everyone is calling her an imbecile, posting details for local belly-dancing events, and threatening to stop reading Salon.
Better late than never. Also, drink.
I can't even honor this level of idiocy and entitlement with a response
Love it. Peak oblivious.
The author might be shocked to learn that there have been "white people" in the middle east for 1000s (10s of thousands probably) of years before the US and Briton existed.
And many of them were slaves, expiating all that white guilt!
Wow.
All cultures that are not totally isolated are nothing but cultural appropriation. Does she think that Arabs never invaded and conquered places? That contemporary belly dancing is not the result of various different cultures and traditions mixing?
Can I just say how utterly corrupt and broken the VA disability system is? A recently retired military friend of mine voiced his displeasure with the fact that the VA only gave him a 20% disability as a result of the brain tumor he had several years ago?a condition that mind you did not drive him out on a medical retirement as unfit for duty, he retired under normal conditions. He's physically capable enough to do all the activities he's used to doing and even expressed his frustration for having chosen to stay in shape since it hurt his chances for a greater percentage of the free cash. He's mentally capable enough to have left one day in uniform and came in the next as a contractor pulling down at least 6 figures. And the prescriptions he says he needs to stay alive as a result of the tumor are essentially paid for from his Tricare health insurance. So I ask, what is his impairment? What does he need more money for? Since isn't that what a disability (tax-free pay) is for? Lost time, unable to work, etc, etc.
Well, good news for him since they reevaluated him and it turns out he's 100% disabled. Yes, his 20+ military pension is now 100% tax free since he had a tumor that affected him so greatly he's only able to bounce around the pentagon his usual vibrant self pulling down a lucrative contractor salary?at least until he spies an opening in the civil service where the money really starts to flow.
As someone who is nearing 20 years myself, I am thoroughly disgusted by this since everybody does it. That's what everyone wants to know before retirement in their 'transition' classes: what's the deal with VA disability. Part and parcel of why this country is broke.
It is appalling. There are people out there who have no arms or legs or worse who actually need the VA. No way would I want to be a part of taking money away from those people in the name of scamming what amounts to a tax break.
When I got out of the Navy I attended a lecture where the VA practically begged people to bring in their medical record so they could give them 20% disability and "get them in the system" where they could then raise the percent.
Your single-payer health care system in action!
Obamacare - VA for the rest of us
A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who allegedly assaulted a pro-life activist on campus insisted she did nothing wrong because the activists' material "triggered" her. She said her behavior "set a good example for her students."
Can she be charged with a hate crime?
There are various crimes she *could* be charged with...I wonder what (if any) charges will end up being filed?
I'm sure she hated to have to do it, but those pro-lifers needed some ass kickin.
The student? They're working on it.
Go to the links and read the comments. There are some real doozies.
magwitch
12:16 PM CDT
So views about abortion are religious beliefs? And we should legislate to make sure all people follow the religious beliefs of some?
Stop holding us to the same standards we use to attack others!!!
For the record, my younger brother is severely schizophrenic, and has lead an extremely difficult life since he had his break, and its been an enormous involvement and heartache for everyone in our family. I have had more intimate experience with mental illness than you can imagine, and appreciate dimensions of it that most people aren't even aware of. I also have infinite sympathy for those who suffer from major conditions like this as well as their family members and loved ones who have to learn to live with it.
That said =
I call my brother "Shithouse Nuts, Batshit Crazy, Loony-Toons, Whackjob, 'servant of the space-people', Barking-at-the-moon insane" to HIS FUCKING FACE, not even mentioning how I describe said condition to others. And it means *nothing*.
Now, if you're one of these douchebags who takes some prozac or wellbutrin because oooooh, you're not as happy as *you'd like to be*? and maybe your period makes you cranky? And you had a fucking eating disorder as a kid? and maybe you have body-image issues or some shit? GO FUCKYOURSELF WITH A CHAINSAW because you diminish the problems of REALLY crazy people who barely make it through the day without throwing themselves out a fucking window. You're just a loser on meds who wants to be given a "special" label.
Creationists Demand Airtime On 'Cosmos' For The Sake Of Balance
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/.....z7mWv.dpuf
Palin's Buttplug|3.21.14 @ 4:45PM|#
"Creationists Demand Airtime On 'Cosmos' For The Sake Of Balance"
Stinking piles of shit are granted space on BBS to lie about Obo!
Fuck off, asshole.
In other news only 8% of people actually gives a shit, because it doesn't effect anyone's life in one way or another.
Cosmos 2 is a ratings bomb anyway. This might save it.
Headline I'd like to see:
"Physicists demand equal time at all church services"
It could have poor ratings because it's just like every other Science Channel etc. show out there. It's just a clone of those. The first show was cool because it was in a very small pack of TV science shows. And it had Carl Sagan, man. If the new version did something new or even talked about things in a new way then it might do a lot better.
Actually they need to put me on that show for equal time to tell everyone how much bullshit the Big Bang is.
...are you looking to get schooled again?
"I'm also suspicious of the libertarian right's reasons for the sudden embrace of prison reform. Call me cynical, but I have a hard time believing they've seen the light and now support the agenda for racial justice despite the efforts of Rand Paul, Grover Norquist, Mike Lee and others to persuade us differently. From my perspective, the right's embrace of prison reform is consistent with their broader vision of limited government. Over the past decade we've seen an aggressive campaign by conservatives to promote privatization of many traditional government services."
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/.....d-and-abet
Education and corrections are two 'big-ticket' areas of government expenditure. They have the additional benefit (from the right's POV) of being areas that primarily serve low-income and minority populations ? groups with limited clout and even less resources. Reducing government expenditures in these areas through displacement and/or privatization accomplishes the economic and political objectives of right-leaning conservatives, especially if any savings derived from such "reforms" are returned to the 'public' in the form of tax cuts. Grover Norquist said as much during a remarkably honest exchange on the "PBS NewsHour," where he appeared with then-NAACP E.D. Ben Jealous, ostensibly in support of the organization's Smart on Crime Initiative.
God Alterman is a lying leftist piece of shit. Since when are Rand Paul, Grover Norquist the same as the various law and order conservatives who push the drug war and such?
Go fuck yourself Alterman. You side has had two, two term Presidencies in the last 22 years and both Presidents have been a new version of the great jailor. How fucking dare you ignore your side's sorry ass history on this and claim the few people that are actually trying to do something don't really mean it and are just evil Republicans.
If Obama and Clinton had been anything but craven pieces of shit, Rand Paul wouldn't be able to make a political issue out of this.
So alternet defends the draft and now suggest prison reformers are anti-government racists. I suppose segregation, slavery and feudalism will be okay as long as TOP. MEN. are doing it to benefit the People? Oh wait...
I don't remember going to alternet before, but the comments on this piece are completely unhinged.
Crow T Robot ? 31 minutes ago
I think we all owe Deberah a vote of thanks for exposing these racist reich-winger libertards for what they really are and reminding progressives that they can't work with libertards! Progressives need to remember that only the Democratic Party represents progressive values! HILLARY/WARREN 2016!!!
Painfully stupid. Worse than HuffPo.
Tha fuck?
"increasing food stamps and other income support; investing in early childhood education; protecting consumers from predatory financial institutions and expanding the vote."
These are all DNC talking-point names for policies which have NOTHING to do with any sort of 'social justice' or 'improving the condition of the worst off' and simply the most slimy and venal means which Dems use to generate constituents via pouring more money into a) federal handout dependency, b) teachers unions c) fleecing the financial system and investors d) reducing barriers to voter fraud.
They act like these things are patent, self-evident 'social goods' and that libertarians are just cruel meanies for opposing them. They expose their own partisan cronyism with this particular shopping list of bullshit demands.
Australian newsbabe betrays the sisterhood
Natalie Barr, an anchorwoman for Channel Seven in Australia, is telling working women that it's time to stop blaming men every time they don't get a promotion or a job.
"I'm not angry at men. I can't remember being passed over for a promotion because of a man and I have never felt undervalued because I'm a woman," Barr wrote for Australia's Daily Telegraph.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2546014
Blaming other people for your misfortune is just immature and stupid, especially at work. Even if there was a conspiracy to keep you down at your job, why would you stay there?
"Biden Says Obama Deserves Sainthood for Being Patient About Obamacare's Failures"
And the captain of the Titanic? What sort of award does he deserve?
He's famous (or infamous). Name another early 20th century non-military steamship captain other than Smith.
Jones?
"A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who allegedly assaulted a pro-life activist on campus insisted she did nothing wrong because the activists' material "triggered" her. She said her behavior "set a good example for her students"
this... 'triggered' thing....
I have asked prior to this = what does this word *really mean* outside of the internet, where people seem to have invented it as a excuse-term to explain their own ridiculous overreactions to things other people say?
in other words - it almost makes sense on the internet...where everything is *just words*, and imperfect translations are common, and perhaps people *will* be set off by perceived slights/agressions/insults or whatever in ways that they wouldn't in real life.
But applied to real life, what then does it actually mean?
I think the answer is = "a way to claim my own behavior is someone elses' fault"?
i.e. = "Liberalism in Action"?.
it makes perfect sense for them to borrow gun-terminology too. Without utter lack of self awareness it would be incomplete.
"I think the answer is = "a way to claim my own behavior is someone elses' fault"?"
I don't think there's any doubt. Slimy lefties use it to excuse their behavior.
Why, our own slimy lefties claim there is no "personal responsibility".
It's a tactic commonly used by mental 12-year-olds that means, "I'm not responsible," or "you made me do it."
"you made me do it."
As I recall, a comedian made a career out of claiming 'the devil made me do it', and now it's an excuse for some scumbag victims-study 'professor'.
I really don't have a problem with this as her defense. She's come out and admitted she has no self-control and can't be trusted to not act violently towards people who aren't harming her. It sounds like she'll have to be put down, but that's the unfortunate end for any face-biting monkey.
And another thing!
...a good comment from the WaPo story on the UCSB kerfuffle, from someone I think people might remember as an old H&R participant? =
"'TallDave2 wrote:
....any institution that has to designate specific areas as "free speech zones" probably doesn't actually have any."'
It's a technical term for things that set off your PTSD.
So another term that is being appropriated without licence by the progs to be completely meaningless except as an excuse to suppress dissent?
How can we forget "trigger warnings" on feminist blogs whenever they post?
That they use the word trigger just reinforces the idea that the reason they don't want people to own guns because they know that they would shoot someone in anger if they themselves owned one. Very revealing.
So basically they think that people are nuts so we need TOP. MEN. to keep everyone in line. TOP. MEN. aren't crazy because they are TOP. MEN., duh.
A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who allegedly assaulted a pro-life activist on campus insisted she did nothing wrong because the activists' material "triggered" her. She said her behavior "set a good example for her students."
More of that "social tolerance" Rand Paul, Reason and the progs go on about.
What the fuck are you even talking about, moron?
The progs think pro-lifers are intolerant and should be silenced? And it's foolish for Rand Paul and Reason to try to co-opt this term (back?) from the progs?
How does the NAP work again?
Point is that isn't what the progs mean by "social tolerance."
A feminist studies professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who allegedly assaulted a pro-life activist on campus insisted she did nothing wrong because the activists' material "triggered" her. She said her behavior "set a good example for her students."
I find it interesting to see one of these people things admitting it has no self control or concern for the rights of others. However, I also find it incredible disturbing that this lack of self control is now considered a "good example" that I can only assume is being taught in college classrooms.
The left embraces the use of force to obtain compliance with their beliefs. Always has, always will. They are truly immoral.
I like how she weaseled in that she was pregnant and tried to use it as an excuse for her actions.
Girls, listen to the insane guido.
He doesn't seem insane to me!!!
Recent Right-Wing-Nut-Job claim - OBAMA WON'T LET US SHIP GAS TO EUROPE!!!
DOE approves Dominion Cove Point LNG exports to non-FTA countries
WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 11
09/11/2013
By Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor
The US Department of Energy approved Dominion Cove Point LP's application to export LNG from its terminal in Calvert County, Md., to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the US.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/20.....tries.html
Palin's Buttplug|3.21.14 @ 4:53PM|#
"Recent Right-Wing-Nut-Job claim - OBAMA WON'T LET US SHIP GAS TO EUROPE!!!"
Recent shitpile claim - O-care is fine!!!
Fuck off, asshole.
to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the US.
Of course, only 8% of Europe doesn't have a FTA with the US.
the facility on Chesapeake Bay received conditional authorization to export as much as 0.77 bcfd for of 20 years, DOE said on Sept. 11.
Oh goody. Conditional authorization.
The company sought approval for them in March from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Oh goody it only took an entire fucking year.
Oh goody it only took an entire fucking year.
When Obama finally approves keystone or the next guy does Shrike will claim Obama was pro-keystone the whhhoooole tiiimmme and he facilitated the deal.
Fuck Europe. Let them drill their own gas.
Cut them off and see how many greenies have to freeze and starve before they convert.
They don't have to worry, I'm sure Putin would be more then happy to sell Europe some more of Russia's natural gas.
It won't be the greenies who freeze or starve. It will be the working class.
If last night's TCM airship movie marathon wasn't enough for you, Goodyear's new semi-rigid airship has made it's first flight.
"The new airship hits a top speed of 73 mph (117 km/h), which is an improvement on the 50 mph (80 km/h) that the GZ-20 manages. According to Goodyear, this increase in speed will allow the airship to attend events much farther from its home base."
Let me think. There's Black Friday. And some old Disney movie with the guy who used to host Good Morning America. Wasn't there a zeppelin in View to a Kill?
Actually, none of those were on. The Hindenburg, starring George C Scott (anti-Nazi sabotage to blame, with the guy who was the Ghostbusters' EPA nemesis as the bomber - who didn't intend anyone to get hurt, damn landing delays), followed by Frank Capra's Dirigible from 1931, Hell's Angels and I forget what else.
Oh, right, that's the movie version of the Hindenburg disaster. Completely forgot about it.
Jerry blew up the Hindenburg? Wow, did not know that.
Actually, increasingly anti-Nazi Luftwaffe intelligence officer George C Scott sets it off, because otherwise his insubordinate Gestapo underling will prevent it.
Much more dramatic than "they had a gas leak and static electricity caused an explosion."
Still not a very good movie.
Maybe they'll just show the Archer episode on repeat, I'm cool with that.
Non-flammable Helium!
That's a shitty gif and you should feel bad for posting it.
Why not post this.
73 mph
Hello, airplanes? It's blimps. You win.
RIGID AIRSHIP!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/.....ent-admits
QE was a "massive gift intended to boost wealth" says Fed President. Well, I am sure it boosted the wealth of a few people. But I doubt those people are the ones the Fed President is trying to convince.
And it just goes to show you, you racist Tea Bagging bastards should be grateful the Fed is destroying the value of your savings and assets.
"Wealth."
Talking to Facebook and Google about privacy is like talking to the Chicago Cubs about championship baseball.
Look, there are a couple of people on the planet who were alive when the Cubs last won.
The need to tear down Wrigley and get a ballpark you can build a team around. The problem with Wrigley is that it is a pitcher's park when the wind is blowing in and a hitter's park when the wind is blowing out. That means the Cubs can never build a team to fit their ballpark like other teams can. That makes it nearly impossible to win a championship.
What? I fucking excommunicate you from baseball.
I'm no Cubs fan--never have been, never will be--but Wrigley is an awesome park. The best park. The Cubs lose because they keep doing stupid stuff, not because it's a tricky place to play.
As a Braves fan, I say thanks for Maddox, though.
It is an awesome park, as long as you don't give a shit if the Cubs win. If you do, you should hate that place.
But truthfully most Cubs fans don't give a shit. The Cubs are like "Nermal the world's cutest kitten" from the old Garfield cartoons. They really don't serve any purpose other than to inhabit the ballpark and look cute.
I knew they would never win when I first heard locals calling the team "the Cubbies."
Why of course! It was the BALLPARK that lost those games against the Marlins in 2003, not Mark Prior's and Moises Alou's conniption fits and Dusty Baker's narcolepsy.
They wouldn't have won the next round anyway. And part of the Reason why Prior melted down was because they had to pitch him so many innings his arm fell off and his career ended.
If they could ever build a team to fit their ballpark, maybe they wouldn't have to send their ace out there until his arm falls off.
Really? You're going to blame Mark Prior, the pitcher that Dusty Baker effectively murdered in exchange for 1 playoff run?
No, what I'm saying is Mark Prior was having a hissy fit in the Bartman game and ol' Sleepy Baker left him in to get his ass beat in. The Cubs were winning that game at the time the Bartman incident concluded. Prior and Alou were both going off the rails and Baker didn't do a damn thing to calm the team down. Prior couldn't throw a strike after that except right down the middle.
Yeah, my roommate at the time was a Chicago boy. Bartman was a comedic treasure-trove for me. He walked around the house for an hour saying "what the fuck was that?"
That means the Cubs can never build a team to fit their ballpark like other teams can. That makes it nearly impossible to win a championship.
As a Rockies fan, this makes me sad. But at least I don't have to live in Chicago.
That whole sport need to be drug out into the street and shot.
Baseball? Nah, it's a ton of fun to play. Not so much to watch. Except in Coors Field in late April, when the sun is shining and there are 20,0000 spectacularly hot women who have been waiting 5 months to let the girls get some air. Then it's fun to watch. Because Denver has the best ratio of any city I've been to of guys who follow rule 2.
Aren't they the same 4 women who still receive Civil War pensions?
They wont hold the lead, but GO EKU!
Upset city!
The New 400ppm World: CO2 Measurements at Mauna Loa Continue to Climb
CO2 at 400 ppm...average global temperature, unchanged in 17 years
Talk about a failed hypothesis.
My favorite excuse is the new "the heat went into the deep ocean and is hiding there" one.
Okay. I am no physicist but I do recall something called the first law of thermodynamics which states that since energy is conserved, the energy of an entire system increases when heat flows into it. That means the heat is gone and absorbed into the deep oceans and will not someday return to earth to punish the unbelievers like an avenging messiah.
They actually make that claim and pretend that since the heat went into the deep ocean it is going to some day return.
I'd love an explanation as to how the heat got into the ocean without first warming the atmosphere, and why such a mechanism started working in 1997 and wasn't previously.
Did Al Gore throw the "giant ocean heat sink switch"?
It is a feedback loop or something. The whole thing is just fucking ridiculous
HE BOUGHT US SOME TIME BECAUSE HE CARES
Not Al Gore, Manbearpig.
To be fair, I think there's been pauses before. It's like a staircase. The models are all worthless, but AGW is not toast.
No the theory will never be toast, much like the religious groups that keep predicting the end of the world, they will keep moving our date with destiny up every few decades.
True, but we have to be cautious and not claim disproof when there isn't disproof.
AGW is toast because there are better models that actually fit the past data much better, explaining the 1940-1975 cooling and the current plateau. CO2 levels have increased every year for 150+ years, so how to explain the declines - only something more significant than AGW can do it.
Correlation is not causation. But anti-correlation is anti-causation, ie the model fails.
I don't care if AGW is true or not, the answer is the same either way: Once people are able to obtain a certain level of wealth, they begin putting resources into giving themselves a cleaner and more pleasant environment. So let them obtain that wealth, and the problem solves itself.
Have you guys read the comments on the Huffpo about this? Amazing levels of derp.
Also isn't 400 ppm about the lowest CO2 level at anytime in the last 300 million years of Earth's history?
No, during ice ages it would get down to below 200 ppm.
Hey, Joe! Patience, indifference, and quiet contentment all look pretty much alike.
Anyone watching Death Row Stories on CNN 9when it's not preempted for MH370 coverage)? I haven't watched it, but it looks like a great step for those of us concerned with the criminal legal system in this country.
Cops only come in at #7???
As an accountant, I was shocked that accountants came in on the - list.
I just got back from getting a drink at the gas station up the road from me. It got robbed last night. I asked the clerk if the clerk was armed (since this is Texas) and she said the person working the night shift was not licensed to carry.
They got good pictures of the guy and his truck. We'll see what happens.
Your gas station has a bar?
Hopefully they catch the guy.
It has canned margaritas and brisket sandwiches!
What? A gas station better than Buc-ee's?
Texas has the best bars.
They even serve gasoline.
? Buy me some brandy!
A snifter of wine...
who am I kidding?
I'd drink tur-pen-tiiiiiine!
Maybe an aviation or S&R person can answer this - why do the searchers wait until dawn for the planes to take off? Wouldn't they take off pre-dawn so they'll be on scene right at daylight?
(in reference to MH370, of course)
And why not use drones? Aren't they perfect for this duty?
Some joe blow on CNN said drones operate at too high an altitude for the ceilings in the area.
I haven't heard anything about ships with helis being in the area. You'd think they could get some of them down there, too.
Since I missed them earlier, here's what I would have said:
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was a kid. The only ones that I still like are Loony Tunes, the Simpsons, and South Park. Daria was pretty good for a while.
I got spanked with a belt when I was a kid. It didn't happen often, and I get the impression that my dad felt guilty about it. Hitting children doesn't teach them anything except mistrust of authority and that it's OK to beat up people weaker than you.
Hopefully you are referring to The Simpsons and not Zombie Simpsons. Zombie Simpsons is horrible.
Thank you to whomever linked to Dead Homers Society the other day.
Watching the decline of The Simpsons was like watching a dear grandparent suffer from Alzheimer's.
Season 10 is my cut-off, except for Behind the Laughter.
A couple years ago, I tuned in to watch to see if it was truly as bad as I remembered, or if I wasn't giving it a fair shake because it wasn't as good as the "good old days." The episode began with Bart, who I think was supposed to be good at baseball, dropping a fly ball and then not being able to pick it up, instead kicking it around on the ground for around 30 second. I believe it was intended to be "funny." It was not.
On the other hand, I recently watched "Homer at the Bat" and it was every bit as good as I remembered. "LORD PALMERSTON!"
It's hard for me to pick a favorite. Here's my short list:
1. Homer in the navy
2. Homer the bootlegger
3. Homer the garbageman
4. Mary Poppins parody
5. Monorail
6. Whacking day
7. Bart's Elephant
8. The chili pepper hallucination one
9. The angel skeleton
Ah brings back memories of twelve years ago when they was open debate on the interwebs as to whether or not the Simpsons had declined in quality and whether or not the decline, if real, meant the show was still very good or mediocre or outright bad.
When the show finally ends it will be nice to see someone watch all 600 or so episodes with fresh eyes and see if the "classics" are as good as they supposedly are and if the rest are as bad as certain fans claim.
Personally I haven't seen the show in about 12 years. I did catch the episode with Homer as a Grunge Rocker and I don't think I've been missing much. And I have read about the episodes with Bart's child bride and I still don't think I am missing anything.
I watched a lot of cartoons when I was a kid. The only ones that I still like are Loony Tunes, the Simpsons, and South Park. Daria was pretty good for a while.
WHAT?!?! No Thundarr the Barbarian?!?!1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhAobPugvsk
K-mart He-man.
Anyone else remember the Hannah Barbera Bible cartoons?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5R6ir0AG5I
Or Mormon Disney?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkNcQDZ9vgA
'Zo is pushing Ocare during the NCAAs.
F that shit bag. Always hated him. G'town sucked worse than Dook, in the day.
Female students protest over dress code, conveniently forgetting that the men's dress code is 3 times a strict.
I'm focusing on airships here, trying to figure out what would've run on TCM. Was there ever a theatrical Hindenburg movie? I remember a couple on TV.
an amazingly lifelike puppet called Tanya Roberts.
Supposedly she was a geologist. *snicker*
Also it features Roger Moore's stunt double snowboarding to the Beach Boys.
Pretty funny that A View to a Kill came out in 1985 and in 1984 there was a Bond novel featuring computers and an airship. Does that remind you of anything?
Well, they are still acknowledging that she's a woman, so that's progress.
She looks kinda like the hot wife on Duck Dynasty. They will flay her alive.
No one is buying that. And if they're dumb enough to, your movement is welcome to them.
This makes me think of Eva Green. God I love Eva Green.
I thought Halle Berry was the Bond chick named Christmas?
And the Duran Duran theme song! And the awesome accompanying video with the band playing around on the Eiffel Tower, interspersed with footage from the movie.
That's not the video for A View to a Kill. This is.
(of course, they cut out the punch line where Simon mistakenly types "Eiffel Tower" into his snazzy Walkman detonator and a postcard of the tower blows up).
What can I say? I'm a middle aged woman. It's like being a 16-year-old boy, horniness-wise.
Oh, right. I mixed up my terrible Bond movies. However, Denise Richards is hot, and I'd rather suspend disbelief and have her as a nuclear physicist than suspend disbelief and have one of these ladies as a Bond girl:
http://www.aps.org/programs/wo.....h/2012.cfm
Really? Sweet. So I just have to stay married for 10-15 more years and reciprocity will kick in?
Well, you probably have to factor in that I don't have kids.
yes, but unfortunately you'll "be at an age where you know how to get things done."
Dammit. Dream killer!