Friday, December 18, 2009

Headlines - Friday

Chihuahuas in toy car
 
It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, "Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu."
 
"Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!" said Rosita.
 
"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.
 
"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Rosita.
 
"Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me."
 
Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu."
 
Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....
 
"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."
 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
 
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Watch Senator Franken shut Lieberman up.
 
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The ten coolest places to swim.
 
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It's always the fine print. "Ten months after the Obama administration began pressing lenders to do more to prevent foreclosures, many struggling homeowners are holding up their end of the bargain but still find themselves rejected, and some are even having their homes sold out from under them without notice. These borrowers, rich and poor, completed trial modifications of their distressed mortgage, and made all the payments, only to learn, often indirectly, that they won't get help after all."
 
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$57,077.60 per minute in Afghanistan 
 
By the end of December, the first 1,500 U.S. troops will have landed in Afghanistan, a nation roughly the size of Texas, ranked by the United Nations as second worst in the world in terms of human development.

Women and men from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will be among the first to head out. It takes an estimated $1 million to send each of them surging into Afghanistan for one year. So a 30,000-person surge will be at least $30 billion, which brings us to that $57,077.60.  That's how much it will cost you, the taxpayer, for one minute of that surge.

By the way, add up the yearly salary of a Marine from Camp Lejeune with four years of service, throw in his or her housing allowance, additional pay for dependents, and bonus pay for hazardous duty, imminent danger, and family separation, and you'll still be many thousands of dollars short of that single minute's sum.

 
And then there are all of the contractors. And Iraq.
 
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Oh Costco, how could you?
 
Via HuffPo:

A Costco in Utah took tomatoes off the shelves during a visit by Sarah Palin, after the Alaska Governor was pelted with the fruit on a stop at the Mall of America.

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Ol' Chuck Norris seems to have bitten off a little more than his punchdrunk brain can handle.
 
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Chutzpah? You're soaking in it!
Via TPM:
 
If Ted Alvin Klaudt had his way, we'd owe him $500,000 for the first clause of this sentence. The former South Dakota state representative has sent a notarized letter from prison -- where he is serving time for the rape of two of his foster daughters -- notifying several news organizations of a "Common Law Copyright" on the use of his name.
 
Air must be pretty thin on your planet, Klaudt, because you are obviously oxygen-deprived.
In case people don't remember this particularly unsavory wingnut, a refresher:
 
Ted Klaudt, 49, a Republican rancher from Walker, faces a long list of charges: eight counts of rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of witness tampering, sexual contact with a person under 16, and stalking.
 
Court documents mention five possible victims. Three were foster children between the ages of 15 and 19 who lived with Klaudt's family. One is a cousin of one of those girls, and the fifth is a friend of Klaudt's daughter.
 
In the most disturbing accusation, the girls say Klaudt had them convinced they could earn up to $20,000 by donating their eggs to a fertility clinic. And even though he has no medical training, the girls say Klaudt did all the supposed "exams" and "procedures" himself.
 
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With Oral Roberts "called home," televangelist Rod Parsley (McCain's spiritual guide) appears to have taken up his message of "give me money or Satan will win."
 
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carrie prejean
 
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Growing food is not always easy, but it's based on a simple principle: put aside part of the harvest as seeds to produce the next year's harvest. Failing to do so is called "eating your seed corn" and is the fastest way to create famine.
Which is precisely what giant chemical corporation Monsanto is doing.
 
Hmm. Do you think it's really a good idea that one multinational corporation controls the vast majority of the international food supply? Haha, just kidding. Of course it's a good idea! That's why one of the first things we did when we invaded Iraq was to announce a law that farmers could no longer save their own seed: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/ap-investigation-shows-monsantos-reac
 
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Sam "Are you going to kill me?" Brownback and the talking embryos
 
Brownback prays for healthcare reform to fail. Literally. The converted Catholic ought to get a little bit of pushback from the Catholic Diocese of Wichita and Hutchinson over that, since it is incumbent upon all Catholics to "feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick." Perhaps the Diocese could recommend that the current Senator and future Governor should personally dig the graves for uninsured Kansans who will die because they lack access to care. Because the other thing it is incumbent upon all Catholics to do is "bury the dead."
 
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There are two kinds of hairpieces: those that have
spent time behind bars, like Jim Traficant's,

and those that should, like Ben Nelson's.
 
Even if he gets anti-abortion language in healthcare bill, Ben Nelson now wants to let states opt-out of bill's remaining main provision.
 
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Home Free
 
And while we were all arguing about the Lieberman/Nelson Hippie Retribution and Anti-Abortion Act of 2009, look what happened:
 
A Congressional tax standoff has opened a window of opportunity for wealthy Americans determined to avoid paying up post-mortem.
 
With lawmakers unable to agree on a year-end fix for a quirk in the Bush-era tax cuts, the federal estate tax is set to be repealed for one year as of Jan. 1, meaning that those who suffer a timely death could escape the usual certainty of taxes.
 
Not like we could have used that money or anything. You do have to appreciate the fact that the Republicans are still achieving the legislative goals even in the minority. 
 
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What's in your water? Find out by clicking the link and entering your zip code. The database has information on over 47,000 public water services in the United States.
 
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                                                                Where contributions to political parties go
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                                                              Ben Bernanke Named 'Bankster of the Year';
                                               Tiger Woods Named 'Sexual Athlete of the Year';
                                            Papuan Tribesman Named 'Body Piercer of the Year'
 
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What a cynical exercise this entire health care reform debate has been.

Now we have a situation in which Joe Lieberman, who rakes in cash from the insurance industry and whose wife is a lobbyist, and others stuffing their pockets with insurance company cash, are holding hostage real reform on the backs of those who can't afford insurance.

Today Paul Krugman joins the "Pass it, it's better than nothing" side:
http://brilliantatbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/12/krugman-calls-for-health-care-reform.html
 
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Yeah, like nobody saw this coming
WASHINGTON -- Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems.
I find it astonishing that there apparently are people in our government who have never heard of the terms "electronic warfare" or "signals intelligence." Anyone in our government who does not understand that there are other nations who have a real interest in monitoring all of the various electronic signals to and from the drones in use and then figuring out ways to hack into them has mush for brains. There may be a mindset among some in our government that our opponents are a bunch of cave-dwelling goons who, other than using Kalashnikovs, prefer to live at the technological level of the 7th Century.

That would be an incredibly foolish mindset to have.  
 
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You cannot make this shit up
MOSCOW (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asked Russia on Wednesday to give the Western military alliance more help in Afghanistan but failed to get an immediate pledge of assistance from the Kremlin.
I suppose that "Вы курите крак?" (are you smoking crack) would seem to be the appropriate response.

"Please get involved again in Afghanistan" is a request to the Russians that would be about as attractive to Moscow as if the Chinese had asked us for help with their little border war with Vietnam in the late `70s and early `80s. Either that, or the sound that the Muscovites are hearing now is laughter emanating from the Kremlin.
 
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funny pictures of cats with captions
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What do you think of the nickname "Murder?" Would it influence you as a juror in a murder trial? How about "Savage Viking" or "Extreme?"

The US Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed an attempted murder conviction for a Blackwater guard, citing what it called the prosecution's "gratuitous exploitation" of the defendant's nickname, "Murder." Now lawyers for two other guards want to mount the same defense.

Lawyers for two of five Blackwater guards charged in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians, killed in a shootout in September 2007, want their clients' nicknames stricken from use by prosecutors. Their nicknames, according to the lawyers' motion, are "Savage Viking" and "Extreme."

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/blackwater-guards-lawyers-nicknames-jury-savage-extreme/

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funny pictures of cats with captions
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Greenspan says more immigration could clean up the economic mess HE left behind: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/17/greenspan-immigration-economy/
 
More on Greenspan here.
 
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The perfect stocking-stuffer for anyone on your Xmas gift list this year: food stamps. Reuters
 
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REPUBLICANS FINALLY ADMIT THEY HATE THE TROOPS, TOO: "On a 63 to 33 vote, Democrats cleared a key hurdle that should allow them to approve the must-pass military spending bill Saturday and return to the health-care debate. After years of criticizing Democrats for not supporting the troops, just three Republicans supported the military funding." Washington Post
 
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Terrifying footage of Michele Bachmann prayer ritual
 
Hey guys, nevermind, you don't have to bother asking God to forgive our nation anymore while everyone else in the room moans, Michele Bachmann just took care of that. Oh and also, you don't need to shout-pray in your raspiest whine for God to kill the Senate health care bill anymore either, some other crazy person already up and did it.
 
 
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Rethug moral values

Old and busted: visiting ACORN as a pimp and prostitute.
New hotness: using the repuke voters database to
stalk women:

More misconduct has been alleged against Arizona Republican Party executive director Brett Mecum, who is now the subject of a criminal complaint alleging he used the Republican's voter database to stalk a young female graduate student...

None of the women were willing to speak on the record. Some were afraid of Mecum. Others were afraid of hurting the party. Each, for her own reasons, was afraid to speak out. In fact, the only woman who feels safe enough to file a formal complaint against Mecum did so as she was moving out of state.
Of course, the RNC is standing behind their man. Just far enuff back that it doesn't look gay.

 
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C&L: Fear of a Gitmo Planet

Sir_robin

It's hard to listen the GOP reaction to President Obama's decision to move the detainees to a nearly empty prison in Thomson, Illinois, without cringing at their statements. After the US government has tried and sentenced so many maniacs, hard-core criminals, and yes, other international terrorists, there is this feeling within the Republican party that this one prison - located on the Iowa-Illinois border, miles from civilization, with a local population who fervently welcomes the opportunity - is somehow the greatest threat to liberty today. Here's a memo the Repubs are circulating and its statements.

  • Importing terrorists from Guantanamo into the United States likely gives them more legal protections than they have now. 
  • Voluntarily bringing Guantanamo terrorists into the United States increases the chances they will be ordered released into the country.
  • Creating Guantanamo in Illinois will not appease the Democratic base.
  • Creating Guantanamo in Illinois certainly will not appease al Qaeda.
  • So who is coming to dinner? – Reviewing the Guantanamo population
  • Hasn't the Senate clearly opposed this move?
  • At the end of the day, the President has not explained how this decision makes America safer.

It almost doesn't deserve a response, these statements are so ridiculous. But I can't help myself.

  • They have to get more legal protections, since the Bush administration started them with zero. Even if we have military tribunals, it will mean that they finally have more legal rights than they have for the past six-seven years.
  • How asinine is the statement that the US government will release detainees - which haven't been found guilty as terrorists - into the country? The really bad ones are probably not even getting the hearing. This line is really for the stupid and those fearing their own shadows.
  • No, Gitmo in Illinois will not appease Dems, but those people who elected Obama will understand that he keeps his promises - to close Gitmo's prison system.
  • No, Gitmo in Illinois will not appease al Qaeda, but it will ensure that they can't claim that the US government is running a gulag for Muslims.
  • Who's coming to dinner? Is that a racist crack? Yeah, we don't need any more brown people here. Keep 'em out of the country. Very nice attitude, guys.
  • The Senate is ruled by eunuchs who need to remember that they have a pair of balls. The original signers of the Declaration would be embarrassed to watch this spectacle. 
  • Obama has in fact explained that the United States endorses the principle of "rule of law," that to try all people under formal courts that will determine their guilt or innocence will in fact reduce the chance of more people joining terrorist groups.