-- Aristotle
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Quote Of The Day
March 20th, 2012
"At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst."
-- Aristotle
-- Aristotle
Monday, March 19, 2012
QOTD - Nation Building Is Bullshit Edition
March 19th, 2012
Say what you will about Joe Scarborough, the man is right on Afghanistan:
"Headline for all Republicans and Democrats that want to continue to fight this war, we won the war. It was an anti-terror campaign. We went in to get Osama bin Laden. We went in to break up al Qaeda in Afghanistan where they launched the 9/11 attacks. We killed them. We routed them. We destroyed them. We didn't go in to beat the Taliban. The Taliban is a different thing. Very different thing than al Qaeda. The Taliban doesn't want to blow up buildings in Washington, DC, or New York or Charlotte or Atlanta. They want to be left alone to run their country by second century standards. We should let them." EMPHASIS MINE
Say what you will about Joe Scarborough, the man is right on Afghanistan:
"Headline for all Republicans and Democrats that want to continue to fight this war, we won the war. It was an anti-terror campaign. We went in to get Osama bin Laden. We went in to break up al Qaeda in Afghanistan where they launched the 9/11 attacks. We killed them. We routed them. We destroyed them. We didn't go in to beat the Taliban. The Taliban is a different thing. Very different thing than al Qaeda. The Taliban doesn't want to blow up buildings in Washington, DC, or New York or Charlotte or Atlanta. They want to be left alone to run their country by second century standards. We should let them." EMPHASIS MINE
The Helium Crisis
March 19th, 2012
No. Really. The dwindling supply is threatening vital science. It would seem that children's parties and the squeeky-voiced are to blame.
The Guardian reports:
"Oleg Kirichek, the leader of a research team at the Isis neutron beam facility at the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, had an unpleasant shock last week. One of his key experiments, designed to probe the structure of matter, had to be cancelled – because the facility had run out of helium.
The gas, used to cool atoms to around -270C to reduce their vibrations and make them easier to study, is now becoming worryingly scarce, said Kirichek. Research facilities probing the structure of matter, medical scanners and other advanced devices that use the gas may soon have to reduce operations or close because we are frittering away the world's limited supplies of helium on party balloons."
For a remarkably potential species, we really are idiots.
Gawker chimes in with their dry wit HERE.
No. Really. The dwindling supply is threatening vital science. It would seem that children's parties and the squeeky-voiced are to blame.
The Guardian reports:
"Oleg Kirichek, the leader of a research team at the Isis neutron beam facility at the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, had an unpleasant shock last week. One of his key experiments, designed to probe the structure of matter, had to be cancelled – because the facility had run out of helium.
The gas, used to cool atoms to around -270C to reduce their vibrations and make them easier to study, is now becoming worryingly scarce, said Kirichek. Research facilities probing the structure of matter, medical scanners and other advanced devices that use the gas may soon have to reduce operations or close because we are frittering away the world's limited supplies of helium on party balloons."
For a remarkably potential species, we really are idiots.
Gawker chimes in with their dry wit HERE.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Quote Of The Day
March 13th, 2012
"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate."
-- Albert Schweitzer
-- Albert Schweitzer
Monday, March 12, 2012
Southern Voters "Unsure"
March 12th, 2012
A new PPP survey of Southern GOP voter opinions ahead of the next round of primaries is raising a few eyebrows. Yes, a staggering number are "unsure" about whether or not President Obama is a "Christian."
More depressing still, Benjy Sarlin notes something else they are "unsure" about:
"Interracial marriage laws were overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967, but a significant minority of Mississippi and Alabama apparently still long for their return, or are at least ambivalent about the idea. In Alabama, 67 percent of respondents said interracial marriage should be allowed, but 21 percent said it should be illegal and another 12 percent were not sure. Mississippi Republican voters were even more divided: Only 52 percent said such marriages should be legal, versus 29 percent who said they should be banned and 17 percent who were unsure."
One more time, it's 2012... not 1812. We are "unsure" if some of these folks have factored that into their thinking.
A new PPP survey of Southern GOP voter opinions ahead of the next round of primaries is raising a few eyebrows. Yes, a staggering number are "unsure" about whether or not President Obama is a "Christian."
More depressing still, Benjy Sarlin notes something else they are "unsure" about:
"Interracial marriage laws were overturned by the Supreme Court in 1967, but a significant minority of Mississippi and Alabama apparently still long for their return, or are at least ambivalent about the idea. In Alabama, 67 percent of respondents said interracial marriage should be allowed, but 21 percent said it should be illegal and another 12 percent were not sure. Mississippi Republican voters were even more divided: Only 52 percent said such marriages should be legal, versus 29 percent who said they should be banned and 17 percent who were unsure."
One more time, it's 2012... not 1812. We are "unsure" if some of these folks have factored that into their thinking.
Quote Of The Day
March 12th, 2012
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."
-- Voltaire
-- Voltaire
Obama's Numbers Hold Steady
March 12th, 2012
As The GOP presidential hopefuls (and the "conservative" movement in general) continue to alienate voters with their social issues obsession, Obama's numbers are stabilizing following months of fluctuation.
As The GOP presidential hopefuls (and the "conservative" movement in general) continue to alienate voters with their social issues obsession, Obama's numbers are stabilizing following months of fluctuation.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Quote Of The Day
March 11th, 2012
"All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers."
-- Francois Fenelon
-- Francois Fenelon
Friday, March 9, 2012
RIP Peter Bergman
March 9th, 2012
America has lost one of its comedy pioneers. Peter Bergman, a founding member of the Firesign Theatre company, has passed away. There were son many wonderful bits he helped give us. What's more, they were all socially conscious as well as somewhat absurd. My personal favorite involves the translation of an incredibly poorly constructed pamphlet for Spanish speaking American children which was, apparently, meant to lessen their community's fear of police during the upheaval of the late Sixties and early Seventies.
America has lost one of its comedy pioneers. Peter Bergman, a founding member of the Firesign Theatre company, has passed away. There were son many wonderful bits he helped give us. What's more, they were all socially conscious as well as somewhat absurd. My personal favorite involves the translation of an incredibly poorly constructed pamphlet for Spanish speaking American children which was, apparently, meant to lessen their community's fear of police during the upheaval of the late Sixties and early Seventies.
Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition
March 9th, 2012
"People think I've got this job as a leader. They don't realize that I have about 200 responsibilities and roles. I've gotta be the big brother, the father, I gotta be the disciplinarian, the dean of students, the principal, the spouse—you can't believe all the roles that I have to play! But one of them is, you know, some problems you can nip early... It's just a slice of America, it really is. We got some of the smartest people in the country who serve here, and some of the dumbest. We got some of the best people you'd ever meet, and some of the raunchiest. We've got 'em all."
-- Speaker of the House John Boehner showing some signs of career fatigue.
"People think I've got this job as a leader. They don't realize that I have about 200 responsibilities and roles. I've gotta be the big brother, the father, I gotta be the disciplinarian, the dean of students, the principal, the spouse—you can't believe all the roles that I have to play! But one of them is, you know, some problems you can nip early... It's just a slice of America, it really is. We got some of the smartest people in the country who serve here, and some of the dumbest. We got some of the best people you'd ever meet, and some of the raunchiest. We've got 'em all."
-- Speaker of the House John Boehner showing some signs of career fatigue.
Things You Can't Make Up - Conservative Hypocrisy Edition
March 9th, 2012
No one has ever accused Dick Armey of being that bright. Still, one has to wonder if his bulb is of an even lower wattage than previously suspected.
Josh Israel writes:
"FreedomWorks for America, the super PAC for former Rep. Dick Armey’s (R-TX) FreedomWorks USA, just released new radio and TV ads urging the defeat of longtime Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). The spots are the latest in a series of attacks by the group against the six-term senator, who is facing a challenge from the right in this year’s renomination process.
The new commercials note that Hatch "voted 16 times" to raise the debt limit, allowing for $7.5 trillion of the national debt. Both ads say that it’s "time to retire" the man who "wracked up half of our nation’s debt."
The ads are available HERE and HERE.
The reason this is insane is as follows:
"Prior to joining FreedomWorks in 2003, chairman Dick Armey served nine terms in Congress. Six of those debt-limit votes took place between the time Armey was elected to the House in 1984 and his retirement at the beginning of 2003. Armey voted for at least five of those six." EMPHASIS MINE
Steve Benen is disgusted:
"Armey, a right-wing Texan, even delivered an impassioned plea to his congressional colleagues in 2002, telling them voting to raise the debt ceiling was "good for America."
Are the folks who FreedomWorks' attack ads offended by their own boss' voting record?
The larger point is that Republicans who served in Congress as recently as the Bush/Cheney era, developing reputations as consistent far-right stalwarts, are suddenly Republicans In Name Only. There's no mystery here -- as the GOP sprints past the right-wing cliff, even Dick Armey's conservative outfit no longer has any use for Republicans with Dick Armey's voting record.
The debt-ceiling issue is actually quite illustrative. As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney condemned Rick Santorum for his debt-ceiling votes at an event in Ohio, while standing alongside Sen. Rob Portman (R) -- who not only voted repeatedly to raise the debt limit, but was also Bush's OMB director, demanding routine debt-ceiling increases from Congress. Indeed, most of Romney's supporters agreed with the line that all Republicans accepted for decades -- the debt limit had to be increased regularly to protect the integrity of the full faith and credit of the United States.
Former Rep. Chris Chocola (R) of Indiana cast votes to raise the debt ceiling, and now he's the president of the Club for Growth -- which condemns Republicans for voting to raise the debt ceiling."
As we have seen with nearly every policy or legislative position "conservatives'" once championed, from the personal medical mandate to cap and trade, this is just another example of the profound denial of factual reality which is coming to define their dying movement.
Josh Israel writes:
"FreedomWorks for America, the super PAC for former Rep. Dick Armey’s (R-TX) FreedomWorks USA, just released new radio and TV ads urging the defeat of longtime Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). The spots are the latest in a series of attacks by the group against the six-term senator, who is facing a challenge from the right in this year’s renomination process.
The new commercials note that Hatch "voted 16 times" to raise the debt limit, allowing for $7.5 trillion of the national debt. Both ads say that it’s "time to retire" the man who "wracked up half of our nation’s debt."
The ads are available HERE and HERE.
The reason this is insane is as follows:
"Prior to joining FreedomWorks in 2003, chairman Dick Armey served nine terms in Congress. Six of those debt-limit votes took place between the time Armey was elected to the House in 1984 and his retirement at the beginning of 2003. Armey voted for at least five of those six." EMPHASIS MINE
Steve Benen is disgusted:
"Armey, a right-wing Texan, even delivered an impassioned plea to his congressional colleagues in 2002, telling them voting to raise the debt ceiling was "good for America."
Are the folks who FreedomWorks' attack ads offended by their own boss' voting record?
The larger point is that Republicans who served in Congress as recently as the Bush/Cheney era, developing reputations as consistent far-right stalwarts, are suddenly Republicans In Name Only. There's no mystery here -- as the GOP sprints past the right-wing cliff, even Dick Armey's conservative outfit no longer has any use for Republicans with Dick Armey's voting record.
The debt-ceiling issue is actually quite illustrative. As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney condemned Rick Santorum for his debt-ceiling votes at an event in Ohio, while standing alongside Sen. Rob Portman (R) -- who not only voted repeatedly to raise the debt limit, but was also Bush's OMB director, demanding routine debt-ceiling increases from Congress. Indeed, most of Romney's supporters agreed with the line that all Republicans accepted for decades -- the debt limit had to be increased regularly to protect the integrity of the full faith and credit of the United States.
Former Rep. Chris Chocola (R) of Indiana cast votes to raise the debt ceiling, and now he's the president of the Club for Growth -- which condemns Republicans for voting to raise the debt ceiling."
As we have seen with nearly every policy or legislative position "conservatives'" once championed, from the personal medical mandate to cap and trade, this is just another example of the profound denial of factual reality which is coming to define their dying movement.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Quote Of The Day
March 8th, 2012
"Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men."
-- Joseph Conrad
-- Joseph Conrad
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Quote Of The Day
March 7th, 2012
"A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short."
-- Bertrand Russell
-- Bertrand Russell
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
"What's Wrong With These People"
March 6th, 2012
Good question, Joe. The war on women is destroying the GOP. Here's proof.
Good question, Joe. The war on women is destroying the GOP. Here's proof.
Romney's Not So Super Tuesday
March 6th, 2012
The brutal infighting, the extremist pandering and the recent Limbaugh affair are something of a perfect storm for the GOP. Outside of the base, the negatives are soaring. This is particularly acute for the establishment favorite.
The brutal infighting, the extremist pandering and the recent Limbaugh affair are something of a perfect storm for the GOP. Outside of the base, the negatives are soaring. This is particularly acute for the establishment favorite.
Quote Of The Day
March 6th, 2012
"Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish."
-- Richard Dawkins
-- Richard Dawkins
Monday, March 5, 2012
Not Good Enough, Rush. Not Good Enough At All
March 5th, 2012
Again, one of my conservative heroes steps up to the plate. He also hits it out of the park.
Regarding Rush's phony "apology," David Frum gives what may be the most dignified smackdown in recent political history.
He has four points over at CNN regarding the Limbaugh/Fluke spectacle that all ring true:
"Point 1: Even by the rough standards of cable/talk radio/digital talk, Limbaugh's verbal abuse of Sandra Fluke set a new kind of low. I can't recall anything as brutal, ugly and deliberate ever being said by such a prominent person and so emphatically repeated. This was not a case of a bad "word choice." It was a brutally sexualized accusation, against a specific person, prolonged over three days.
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| Frum's Bullshit-Detector is pinned |
Regarding Rush's phony "apology," David Frum gives what may be the most dignified smackdown in recent political history.
He has four points over at CNN regarding the Limbaugh/Fluke spectacle that all ring true:
"Point 1: Even by the rough standards of cable/talk radio/digital talk, Limbaugh's verbal abuse of Sandra Fluke set a new kind of low. I can't recall anything as brutal, ugly and deliberate ever being said by such a prominent person and so emphatically repeated. This was not a case of a bad "word choice." It was a brutally sexualized accusation, against a specific person, prolonged over three days.
Rush's Rank Hubris
March 5th, 2012
Well. Apparently poor, little Rush is quite saddened that no one fell for his "apology."
He took to the air today to tell everyone that he really, really, honest to goodness meant it.
Really.
But, being the slop-swilling propagandist, egomaniac and narcissistic fiend that he is, he had to explain that his real transgression last week was, in the words of Politico's MJ Lee, "stooping down to the level of Democrats in discussing the issue of contraception coverage."
Uh huh. Right. It's really the fault of the left that he couldn't contain himself. So much for the party of "personal responsibility."
You know? "Slut" and "prostitute?"
That just leaves the other fifty individual smears upon Sandra Fluke's character and humanity he has yet to address. Yeah, some folks are counting.
Also, when you follow an apology with a "but?" It's not an apology.
The sponsors continue to flee and the pressure isn't letting up. Nor should it. With any luck, this is the beginning of the end for his vicious, over-ripe festival of lies.
One more time, remember how this all started:
An educated and informed American woman had the audacity to speak publicly after the elected GOP leadership said she was "not qualified" to do so.
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| Image via |
He took to the air today to tell everyone that he really, really, honest to goodness meant it.
Really.
But, being the slop-swilling propagandist, egomaniac and narcissistic fiend that he is, he had to explain that his real transgression last week was, in the words of Politico's MJ Lee, "stooping down to the level of Democrats in discussing the issue of contraception coverage."
Uh huh. Right. It's really the fault of the left that he couldn't contain himself. So much for the party of "personal responsibility."
Limbaugh: "In fighting them on this issue last week, I became like them. Against my own instincts, against my own knowledge, against everything I know to be right and wrong, I descended to their level when I used those two words to describe Sandra Fluke. That was my error. I became like them."Sure, he "apologized" for calling her "those two words."
You know? "Slut" and "prostitute?"
That just leaves the other fifty individual smears upon Sandra Fluke's character and humanity he has yet to address. Yeah, some folks are counting.
Also, when you follow an apology with a "but?" It's not an apology.
The sponsors continue to flee and the pressure isn't letting up. Nor should it. With any luck, this is the beginning of the end for his vicious, over-ripe festival of lies.
One more time, remember how this all started:
An educated and informed American woman had the audacity to speak publicly after the elected GOP leadership said she was "not qualified" to do so.
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