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Is it October already? - 1 October 2009
Oct. 2nd, 2009 09:18 amGreetings to all who are here. Those reading, prepare for data dumps that may or may not be helpful or useful to you. Recall that the web browser you are using is likely the descendant of at least one browser war and is probably locked in another. And be glad that you do not bank somewhere that requires a thumbprint, even from the person with artificial hands (yes, old news, but useful in a pinch).
And, if I find out you are someone who deliberately infests a library with bedbugs by not following directions after staff notices them in the books you're returning, I will hunt you down and have the nearest library to you dispatch a hit squad to kill you. Or at least revoke your borrowing privileges until your offspring have offspring.
Also, don't be the person who calls someone an idiot for suggesting the Report Abuse button against Facebook groups taht say they hate you. Don't be the person who threatens suits, and especially don't get shown up when the Report Abuse button actually produces the result you wanted. In other words, don't be Jack Thompson.
History from the socialist perspective paints the PATCO strike and subsequent union-bust as a collaboration between government and trade union bosses to strike and lower the power and position of an up-and-coming working class, something they have never really recovered from. Moving forward to the present, from a socialist perspective, America is crashing hard into fascism, and the current administration will be more than willing to help the bosses crush the workers, no matter their resistance.
Out in the world today - quakes in Indonesia, right after the whole Samoa tsunami thing. Not good.
the People's Republic of China celebrates 60 years of existence, having gone quickly from peasants to powerhouse in that time.
Sanctions may be the thing for Iran, but how much and how vicious is yet to be determined. Mr. Ledeen opines that talks are useless, because talks have been useless for the last 30 years when it comes to Iran. I continue to think the United States may look the other way on what happens should Israel decide they're taking care of Iran's nuclear threat themselves.
Domestically, The Washington Times reports that the Minority Whip says the President hasn't met with the GOP's leaders since May. Has the GOP given him a reason to do so? They seem to be pretty solid on their stances on his programs and policies - "NO." Since he knows this, why waste time meeting with the opposition head if they're not showing any signs of changing that position?
Speaking of the GOP being hurt by someone, Republicans are aggravated at Rep. Grayson of Florida for calling their health care plan what it is - "Don't Get Sick, and if you do, Die Quickly". Perhaps the one misstep of the matter is the reference to people dying every day from lack of health insurance as a holocaust, but beyond that, he's pretty solid. The response from the populace has been mostly Thank Prime someone is finally telling it like it is. And someone will need to continue doing so - the Finance committee just passed an amendment that would give more money to abstinence education, which is a fruitless gesture because Abstinence Doesn't Work - the committee also then passed a bill that would fund wider amounts of teen health programs than just abstinence.
And the parade continues - Senator Ensign is back in the news for his dealings with his mistress, his mistress's son, his mistress's husband, and the payoffs his family gave to them. Why is this? Ethics probe. We know where that one is likely going.
Attempting to put pressure on President Obama to send more troops to Afghanistan (thanks, CNS, for telling us how many soldiers have died since the request was made), The GOP wants field generals to testify to the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and hopefully force the President to make his decision in the affirmative.
More...maverick-y than the above news, Sarah Palin's suddenly-complete book is already apparently a bestseller just through pre-orders, and that we get to peer inside her frustration at how she was handled by the McCain staff...many of whom have already vented their frustration at how she behaved during the campaign. Should be fun for those who want dirt, youbetcha, or those who still entertain the hope that Ex-Governor Half-Term will be a viable candidate in 2012.
In opinions, Mr. Turd Blossom accuses the current administration of attempting to outsource the fight in Afghanistan, because the Commander-in-Chief hasn't been meeting with his generals regularly. Cue the Inigo Montoya remark. Outsourcing the conflict in Afghanistan would mean paying private contractors to run the war in Afghanistan and not commit troops or personnel to it. So, yes, in a sense, the war is outsourced, but it's the previous administrator who did the outsourcing. What you're referring to, Mr. Blossom, is that the Commander-in-Chief seems to be content with letting his field generals run the show, which would be more rightly called delegation. All of your other "outsourcing" examples are also delegations - delegating the task to the Attorney General on whether to investigate or not, and delegating to the Congress to write bills that hope to achieve the Persident's aims. Boiling down the argument, Mr. Blossom says "The President shuld be more involved in running this war than he is, otherwise he will decide it isn't worth it, order troops out, and concede victory to militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan". Well, or he could talk it out with his commanders and generals and come to a decision based on their recommendations and his own feelings about the conflict, pressure from his opposition to keep the war going notwithstanding. I like the nuanced approach, Mr. Blossom. Why don't you try it sometime...after you consult with the dictionary on the proper meanings of your words.
Of course, Pakistan is not very pleased with the possibility of not having the U.S. in Afghanistan, wondering what many people here in the U.S. wondered - if we went in with no plan and are getting out with no accomplishment, then why did the previous administrator go there in the first place? The other reasons were more usual - more bombings, more violence, more unrest in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Henninger rounds things out with an opinion that the United States should do less talking to despots and dictators and more encouragement of their oppositions that want some version of democracy for themselves - to be the "we spread freedom and democracy in the world" kind of President the previous one was. Probably with the implication that more foreign work would curtail the domestic reforms currently underway ebcause they would not be in the budget.
Ah, speaking of budgets, Mr. Barro and Mr. Redlick don't see any sort of stimulus spending multiplier, and thus, Keynesian economics are as wrong as they always have been, so we should stop spending the rest of the stimulus now, before it has a chance to take effect. Instead, if we want real growth, we should cut taxes, they say.
On health care, Mr. Jenkins, Jr. says the populace is smart enough to recognize the lies of the President and others on health care reform (apparently, "pile on mandates for insurers and hide the costs from the people, and then lie that these thigns aren't driving the cost of care up"), which is why the public option is tanking. Mr. Jenkins also mentions that selling a single-payer system honestly (because everyone knows the public option is really just a step before single-payer happens) might have been better for the President.
The WSJ swings a bit wider by pointing out Canadians sometiems cross the border for faster treatment from specialists for non life-threatening surgery, and thus the United States should think twice about emulating Canada. Because Canada, you see, is thinking about a private option, while the United States is thinking about a public one. Never mind the apples and oranges comparison between a country that covers everyone but might make the nonessentials wait and one where if a person isn't covered, they have the option of dying or going bankrupt and then dying.
Piling on, Dr. Gottlieb claims to show us how Medicare already rations care and makes wasteful and inefficient decisions regarding new treatments, and implies a public option would put everyone on the same kind of care, with no chance of appeal (byzantine process) or of changing away from that option once on it.
Last out on this idea, Mr. Fund points out that because Mr. Obama has such broad appeal, it might be hurting his ability to get things like health care reform passed, because one segment of his voting bloc supports it and another segment opposes it.
In technology, the books with videos idea is not dying any time soon, rumors of what Apple's multitouch tablet might be capable of (how about "multitouch computer" and design enough apps for us to figure out what we want to do with it?), a new non-contact method of taking fingerprints that is more accurate than current contact methods, and an artificial heart that doesn't beat.
Last for the night, A story of fandom gone sideways, and/or "The Soulbonders get some negative press because of the drama some of their relationships can cause". It's still relationship drama, just different. (Squickingly so, for article-writer and many others.) The article-writer is imprecise with descriptions, referring to a 'Kin-type situation as a soulbond (of which both sides will insist they're very different), but ends it with a plea to game designers to design games that we want to grow into, instead of grow out of. So... erm, what was the point of this article again? I'm not really sure.
Maybe I'll just look at some magic lantern slides isntead. Perhaps avoiding the intimidating carrots. And seeking the most elusive of images - adverts that use phallic imagery and adverts that use yonic imagery. I'll just be sure to stock up on my flavored corn chips for the trip.
And, if I find out you are someone who deliberately infests a library with bedbugs by not following directions after staff notices them in the books you're returning, I will hunt you down and have the nearest library to you dispatch a hit squad to kill you. Or at least revoke your borrowing privileges until your offspring have offspring.
Also, don't be the person who calls someone an idiot for suggesting the Report Abuse button against Facebook groups taht say they hate you. Don't be the person who threatens suits, and especially don't get shown up when the Report Abuse button actually produces the result you wanted. In other words, don't be Jack Thompson.
History from the socialist perspective paints the PATCO strike and subsequent union-bust as a collaboration between government and trade union bosses to strike and lower the power and position of an up-and-coming working class, something they have never really recovered from. Moving forward to the present, from a socialist perspective, America is crashing hard into fascism, and the current administration will be more than willing to help the bosses crush the workers, no matter their resistance.
Out in the world today - quakes in Indonesia, right after the whole Samoa tsunami thing. Not good.
the People's Republic of China celebrates 60 years of existence, having gone quickly from peasants to powerhouse in that time.
Sanctions may be the thing for Iran, but how much and how vicious is yet to be determined. Mr. Ledeen opines that talks are useless, because talks have been useless for the last 30 years when it comes to Iran. I continue to think the United States may look the other way on what happens should Israel decide they're taking care of Iran's nuclear threat themselves.
Domestically, The Washington Times reports that the Minority Whip says the President hasn't met with the GOP's leaders since May. Has the GOP given him a reason to do so? They seem to be pretty solid on their stances on his programs and policies - "NO." Since he knows this, why waste time meeting with the opposition head if they're not showing any signs of changing that position?
Speaking of the GOP being hurt by someone, Republicans are aggravated at Rep. Grayson of Florida for calling their health care plan what it is - "Don't Get Sick, and if you do, Die Quickly". Perhaps the one misstep of the matter is the reference to people dying every day from lack of health insurance as a holocaust, but beyond that, he's pretty solid. The response from the populace has been mostly Thank Prime someone is finally telling it like it is. And someone will need to continue doing so - the Finance committee just passed an amendment that would give more money to abstinence education, which is a fruitless gesture because Abstinence Doesn't Work - the committee also then passed a bill that would fund wider amounts of teen health programs than just abstinence.
And the parade continues - Senator Ensign is back in the news for his dealings with his mistress, his mistress's son, his mistress's husband, and the payoffs his family gave to them. Why is this? Ethics probe. We know where that one is likely going.
Attempting to put pressure on President Obama to send more troops to Afghanistan (thanks, CNS, for telling us how many soldiers have died since the request was made), The GOP wants field generals to testify to the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and hopefully force the President to make his decision in the affirmative.
More...maverick-y than the above news, Sarah Palin's suddenly-complete book is already apparently a bestseller just through pre-orders, and that we get to peer inside her frustration at how she was handled by the McCain staff...many of whom have already vented their frustration at how she behaved during the campaign. Should be fun for those who want dirt, youbetcha, or those who still entertain the hope that Ex-Governor Half-Term will be a viable candidate in 2012.
In opinions, Mr. Turd Blossom accuses the current administration of attempting to outsource the fight in Afghanistan, because the Commander-in-Chief hasn't been meeting with his generals regularly. Cue the Inigo Montoya remark. Outsourcing the conflict in Afghanistan would mean paying private contractors to run the war in Afghanistan and not commit troops or personnel to it. So, yes, in a sense, the war is outsourced, but it's the previous administrator who did the outsourcing. What you're referring to, Mr. Blossom, is that the Commander-in-Chief seems to be content with letting his field generals run the show, which would be more rightly called delegation. All of your other "outsourcing" examples are also delegations - delegating the task to the Attorney General on whether to investigate or not, and delegating to the Congress to write bills that hope to achieve the Persident's aims. Boiling down the argument, Mr. Blossom says "The President shuld be more involved in running this war than he is, otherwise he will decide it isn't worth it, order troops out, and concede victory to militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan". Well, or he could talk it out with his commanders and generals and come to a decision based on their recommendations and his own feelings about the conflict, pressure from his opposition to keep the war going notwithstanding. I like the nuanced approach, Mr. Blossom. Why don't you try it sometime...after you consult with the dictionary on the proper meanings of your words.
Of course, Pakistan is not very pleased with the possibility of not having the U.S. in Afghanistan, wondering what many people here in the U.S. wondered - if we went in with no plan and are getting out with no accomplishment, then why did the previous administrator go there in the first place? The other reasons were more usual - more bombings, more violence, more unrest in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Henninger rounds things out with an opinion that the United States should do less talking to despots and dictators and more encouragement of their oppositions that want some version of democracy for themselves - to be the "we spread freedom and democracy in the world" kind of President the previous one was. Probably with the implication that more foreign work would curtail the domestic reforms currently underway ebcause they would not be in the budget.
Ah, speaking of budgets, Mr. Barro and Mr. Redlick don't see any sort of stimulus spending multiplier, and thus, Keynesian economics are as wrong as they always have been, so we should stop spending the rest of the stimulus now, before it has a chance to take effect. Instead, if we want real growth, we should cut taxes, they say.
On health care, Mr. Jenkins, Jr. says the populace is smart enough to recognize the lies of the President and others on health care reform (apparently, "pile on mandates for insurers and hide the costs from the people, and then lie that these thigns aren't driving the cost of care up"), which is why the public option is tanking. Mr. Jenkins also mentions that selling a single-payer system honestly (because everyone knows the public option is really just a step before single-payer happens) might have been better for the President.
The WSJ swings a bit wider by pointing out Canadians sometiems cross the border for faster treatment from specialists for non life-threatening surgery, and thus the United States should think twice about emulating Canada. Because Canada, you see, is thinking about a private option, while the United States is thinking about a public one. Never mind the apples and oranges comparison between a country that covers everyone but might make the nonessentials wait and one where if a person isn't covered, they have the option of dying or going bankrupt and then dying.
Piling on, Dr. Gottlieb claims to show us how Medicare already rations care and makes wasteful and inefficient decisions regarding new treatments, and implies a public option would put everyone on the same kind of care, with no chance of appeal (byzantine process) or of changing away from that option once on it.
Last out on this idea, Mr. Fund points out that because Mr. Obama has such broad appeal, it might be hurting his ability to get things like health care reform passed, because one segment of his voting bloc supports it and another segment opposes it.
In technology, the books with videos idea is not dying any time soon, rumors of what Apple's multitouch tablet might be capable of (how about "multitouch computer" and design enough apps for us to figure out what we want to do with it?), a new non-contact method of taking fingerprints that is more accurate than current contact methods, and an artificial heart that doesn't beat.
Last for the night, A story of fandom gone sideways, and/or "The Soulbonders get some negative press because of the drama some of their relationships can cause". It's still relationship drama, just different. (Squickingly so, for article-writer and many others.) The article-writer is imprecise with descriptions, referring to a 'Kin-type situation as a soulbond (of which both sides will insist they're very different), but ends it with a plea to game designers to design games that we want to grow into, instead of grow out of. So... erm, what was the point of this article again? I'm not really sure.
Maybe I'll just look at some magic lantern slides isntead. Perhaps avoiding the intimidating carrots. And seeking the most elusive of images - adverts that use phallic imagery and adverts that use yonic imagery. I'll just be sure to stock up on my flavored corn chips for the trip.
