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Thursday Night Open Thread

I'm about to start watching "El Capo." Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Good week in TV (5.00 / 3) (#1)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 09:16:03 PM EST
    On Sunday the13th SHO

    Years of Living Dangerously is a 9-part Showtime documentary television series focusing on climate change that will premiere on April 13, 2014.[1][2] James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger are executive producers of the series.[3] The episodes feature celebrity investigators, who travel to areas around the world and throughout the U.S. affected by global warming to interview experts and ordinary people and view the impacts of climate change. The celebrities include Harrison Ford, Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Schwarzenegger, Lesley Stahl, Mark Bittman, Ian Somerhalder, Olivia Munn and Michael C. Hall. Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen are the chief science advisors.[4][
    The Globe and Mail calls the series "a lavish, gripping production focused on the real effect of climate change in real people's lives around the world."[6] The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media noted that the series shows what scientists do in the field "and why they're reaching the conclusion that this problem is such a serious risk to the viability of our civilization and requires urgent action. ... [The] actors [get] their 'hands dirty'. ... [The show] may ... open new avenues for climate change communications."[8] Skeptical Science terms the series "terrific and powerful. ... The series sets a dramatic, powerful urgent tone."

    On Tuesday the 15 th FX

    As bracing as the snowy vistas in the movie on which it is based, FX's "Fargo" quickly establishes itself as its own property, possessing the tone and style of the rightly admired Coen brothers classic, but pursuing a new tawdry true-crime tale, albeit in similar environs. The limited series also goes far out on a limb in proclaiming its veracity, saying its story's being told "exactly as it occurred" -- a claim that invites skepticism (artistic license has a way of encroaching), but does nothing to cool the passion the show should inspire. Boasting a stellar cast and hypnotic tone, is "Fargo" worth a 10-episode commitment? You betcha.

    All that and....Mad Men season premiere Sunday! (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by ruffian on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 09:18:27 PM EST
    My TiVo starts working overtime again.

    Parent
    The 2nd best part of Mad Men (none / 0) (#3)
    by ruffian on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 09:21:39 PM EST
    Tom and Lorenzo's Mad Style recaps. I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the show by reading their commentary on the costuming. Very entertaining and insightful.

    Parent
    I haven't the energy tonight (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 10:43:16 PM EST
    Maybe tomorrow

    Parent
    Really looking forward to (none / 0) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 09:25:22 PM EST
    Penny Dreadful.  Also on SHO starting May 11th

    Parent
    Yes, I will give that a try. Not usually a horror (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by ruffian on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 09:31:35 PM EST
    fan, but I was not a fantasy fan until a month ago when I binged Game of Thrones either.

    Parent
    From huffpo (none / 0) (#6)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Apr 10, 2014 at 09:42:12 PM EST
    check out the posters

    Showtime's new psychosexual horror thriller "Penny Dreadful" hasn't even premiered yet, but it has us excited and incredibly creeped out.

    The new series stars Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, and Timothy Dalton in Victorian era London where iconic characters from classic literature come to life, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and Dracula. From the looks of the trailers, which are pretty terrifying, "Penny Dreadful" seems like a demented British twist on "American Horror Story" -- with more monsters.

    In two new exclusive character posters from the series, we meet Dorian Gray, a beautiful wealthy young man, and Brona Croft, a poor Irish immigrant. Both characters are bleeding in the posters, Gray with a snake bite and Brona with bloody handkerchief.

    Parent

    I know (none / 0) (#26)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:47:49 AM EST
    I have fallen so far.  I am a Thronie.

    Parent
    Josh is so affected by straight spooky horror (none / 0) (#24)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:46:10 AM EST
    I might be sitting that one out. I don't enjoy horror much right now either, but earlier in life did. I think it has been a few years of too much horror in real life.  It does look amazingly well done stitching the Victorian masters of horror stories together.  I will read your reviews though.  I will save watching it for quieter life times.

    Parent
    It is clearly not for kids (none / 0) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:56:01 AM EST
    Years of Living Dangerously (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by lentinel on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:38:19 AM EST
    sounds fascinating.

    Something like this is needed to excite the American people enough to demand that our comatose politicians do something to mitigate this impending crisis.

    It has occurred to me that if any nation were to attack us in a manner in which whole towns are destroyed, we would be up in arms, singing "God Bless America" and bombing the living sh-t out of them.

    The fact is that nations such as ours are in fact causing similar and even worse disasters in poorer less "developed" countries due to our unbridled use of fossil fuels.

    For the moment, they are not mobilizing against us. But what if....

    Would that be the only language we understand?

    Parent

    The portions with Thomas Friedman in (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:22:26 AM EST
    The Middle East will be difficult for me because I am still coming to terms with my desire to punch him in the face so he knows what 1/365th of a Friedman Unit feels like.

    Parent
    Cameron certainly has (none / 0) (#12)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:55:57 AM EST
    A way of telling stories that grab people.  I saw an interview with him saying no charts and graphs.  I think that's a good start.

    Parent
    Jerry Weintraub the producer (5.00 / 3) (#57)
    by fishcamp on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:19:35 AM EST
    of The Years of Living Dangerously is a long time friend as he produced several ABC Sports World Cup ski races when I was a cameraman.  He would arrive at everybody's camera positions in a modified high speed snow cat, check camera angles, and blaze off like Rommel of the desert.  He's a wonderful and talented person.  I also skied regularly with Arnold and we both belonged to the Aspen club.  He was always in the weight room which I scooted past rapidly on my way to the indoor tennis courts.  Those were the daze.

    Parent
    Wouldn't be surprised (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:29:55 AM EST
    If he was the driving force here and Cameron and Arnold are there fmostly or the press they can get.  Arnold is doing one of the guest investigator things but I don't think Cameron is.

    I used to see Arnold pretty often when I worked in Venice.  I liked to have lunch at his eatery Schaizi.  I think it's closed now.  

    Parent

    Judging by the FX trailer ... (none / 0) (#8)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:03:37 AM EST
    ... for "Fargo," I'd say that the inspired casting of Billy Bob Thorton as the ruthless hit man Lorne Malvo certainly holds some very serious potential to offer us one of television's more memorable villains -- not an anti-hero like Walter White or J.R. Ewing, but an antagonist who's an outright, downright, all-American bad guy.

    Like William H. Macy, who scored an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor as the bumbling and browbeaten salesman Jerry Lundegaard in Joel and Ethan Coen's classic 1996 namesake film that inspired this series, Thorton is one of our country's more accomplished character actors.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Martin Freeman (none / 0) (#13)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:58:24 AM EST
    Is also a very good actor.

    Parent
    Yes, he is my draw on this one (none / 0) (#66)
    by ruffian on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:30:27 PM EST
    Would probably watch it anyway, but he makes it 'must see' for me.

    Parent
    I'm sure you know (none / 0) (#126)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:11:55 PM EST
    He is Bilbo

    Parent
    I believe he's also Watson to ... (none / 0) (#152)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 02:13:54 AM EST
    ... Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes on the PBS Masterpiece series. He looked almost unrecognizable in that "Fargo" trailer, where he's receiving some terrible advice from Thorton.

    Parent
    That's interesting (none / 0) (#155)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 08:04:50 AM EST
    Because Benedict Cumberbatch is the voice of the dragon Smaug.  I was not familiar with the name but it's funny that he is talking to Dr Watson there in the cave.
    He does a spectacular job of capturing the slithering menace of the voice described in the book.  
    In the animated movies a very old Richard Boone did a respectable job.  But Benedict does a job that is orders of magnitude better.

    For a fan of the books that voice is going to be one of the most difficult things to capture .

    Parent

    Yes, I do - also my draw to catching up on those (none / 0) (#159)
    by ruffian on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 10:23:04 AM EST
    I might not have them on my list otherwise.

    Love him and BC in Sherlock of course. I did not know BC was the voice of Smaug.

    My original Freeman love comes from the BBC version of 'The Office'.  People that only know the NBC version may not know that he was Tim, the role transferred to the more obvious romantic lead type actor John Krasinksi in the NBC  version.  Never even tried to watch the NBC version. Could not bear the thought.

    Parent

    Harrison Ford, Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, (none / 0) (#108)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:30:36 PM EST
    Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Schwarzenegger, Lesley Stahl, Mark Bittman, Ian Somerhalder, Olivia Munn and Michael C. Hall. Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen are the chief science advisors.

    Really???

    ROFLMAO

    Now, from people who are real scientists and actually are qualified.........

    Emeritus Professor Les Woodcock is one of them. When I ask the former NASA scientist about `climate change' and `global warming', he laughs.

    "The term `climate change' is meaningless. The Earth's climate has been changing since time immemorial, that is since the Earth was formed 1,000 million years ago. The theory of `man-made climate change' is an unsubstantiated hypothesis [about] our climate [which says it] has been adversely affected by the burning of fossil fuels in the last 100 years, causing the average temperature on the earth's surface to increase very slightly but with disastrous environmental consequences.

    "The theory is that the CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuel is the `greenhouse gas' causes `global warming' - in fact, water is a much more powerful greenhouse gas and there is is 20 time more of it in our atmosphere (around one per cent of the atmosphere) whereas CO2 is only 0.04 per cent.

    "There is no reproducible scientific evidence CO2 has significantly increased in the last 100 years.

    "Anecdotal evidence doesn't mean anything in science, its not significant.

    Link

    Hal Lewis, Professor Emeritus UCSB

    As reported by the Gateway Pundit:  Top US scientist Hal Lewis resigned this week from his post at the University of California at Santa Barbara.  He admitted global warming climate change was nothing but a scam in his resignation letter.

    snip

    When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money flood (a threat against which Dwight Eisenhower warned a half-century ago).

    snip

    How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d'être of much physics research, the vital sustenance of much more, and it provides the support for untold numbers of professional jobs. For reasons that will soon become clear my former pride at being an APS Fellow all these years has been turned into shame, and I am forced, with no pleasure at all, to offer you my resignation from the Society.

    It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist. Anyone who has the faintest doubt that this is so should force himself to read the ClimateGate documents, which lay it bare. (Montford's book organizes the facts very well.) I don't believe that any real physicist, nay scientist, can read that stuff without revulsion. I would almost make that revulsion a definition of the word scientist.

    snip

    This scheming at APS HQ is so bizarre that there cannot be a simple explanation for it. Some have held that the physicists of today are not as smart as they used to be, but I don't think that is an issue.  I think it is the money, exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago. There are indeed trillions of dollars involved, to say nothing of the fame and glory (and frequent trips to exotic islands) that go with being a member of the club.

    link

    Parent

    GW/CC is one well organized conspiracy theory! (5.00 / 1) (#115)
    by jtaylorr on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:01:00 PM EST
    Especially considering that 97% of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities, according to Professor Woodcock's former employer.

    Of course I'm sure you already know this, and I'm sure there's no amount of reasoning that would disabuse you of the notion that you're more knowledgeable on climatology issues than 97% of the scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying the earth's climate. This comment is mostly for my own sanity.  

    Parent

    That stat is bogus (none / 0) (#120)
    by Slado on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:17:15 PM EST
    Not going to bother to link.

    Do a simple google search and find out for yourself.

    It's even worse then Obama's 77% stat.

    I ask AGW supporters two questions...

    1. why no warming in 15 plus years?
    2. what does it matter since it is impossible to stop the supposed causes of the warming.

    No government is willing to take the steps necessary to match the inflated claims so why worry?

    This is the most hyped and scientifically unserious "debate" in human history.

    The actual solution to the supposed problem would mean incredibly harmful economic sanctions of energy and that is simply never going to happen.

    So what are we doing?  Having a theoretical debate about something we're never going to have the political will to solve.

    Hmmm...sounds like standard government policy.

    Parent

    NASA's in on the conspiracy too! (none / 0) (#125)
    by jtaylorr on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:49:48 PM EST
    But I'm glad we have Slado here to expose the entirety of the climatologist profession for the fraud that it is. If you guys just did a google search like Slado says, you'd know the truth too. Wake up sheeple!!!!!

    Parent
    NASA is in such a panic (none / 0) (#164)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 11:16:43 AM EST
    over their loss of influence that have requested $3,000,000 to learn how to handled Congress.

    lol

    Parent

    I didn't say there's a conspiracy (none / 0) (#168)
    by Slado on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 12:24:24 PM EST
    Just a silly obsession with an unsolvable problem.

    No one is willing to state what it will take to really solve the problem.  Because if they did the support for the theory would be even lower

    Putting up some windmills and solar panels is like fighting a fire with a squirt gun.

    The developing world has zero interest in this problem.  The developed world likes to force policy with the issue but they don't really want to solve it.

    Because honestly what is the solution?

    The warmists  don't have one.  Just reports and threats and incorrect models and money thrown at green projects that fail and are economically unviable.

    We in the skeptic community just sit back and giggle at all the discussion about this issue with no solutions.

    It won't last.  The general public is losing interest with this issue and it's becoming politically irrelevant.

    Parent

    It's hard for me (none / 0) (#192)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:03:48 PM EST
    To imagine acknowledging there is a problem, as you seem to do, and saying we should do nothing. Because it's to hard.  I agree.  It will be hard.  And it may even be to late.  But how can we do nothing.  I don't have children.  I don't know if you do.  But how can you look any child in the face and say, sorry, it's just to hard.  We Americans wh represent 5% of the worlds population and use 25% of its resources just need to keep doing that.  Sorry kid.
    Let's be clear. We are not talking about gas lines.  We are talking about death and famine on a biblical scale.
    Saying it's an unsolvable problem is IMO almost worse than denying there is a problem.

    Parent
    It's obvious at this point (none / 0) (#169)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 12:40:42 PM EST
    that to be a good, uber alles, orthodox conservative that's fully accepted into the bosom of the larger orthodox conservative movement, one has to take a kind of "Norquist Pledge" on human-influenced Climate Change specifically and environmental issues in general.

    Hence the predictable knee jerks of Jim and Slado -- and Rush and Sean and the rest of the topsy-turvy, cuckoo clock right wing universe..

    The revenge of the South, the return of Jesus, and the accumulation of capital to prove you're one of the Chosen doesn't require an intact biosphere and a livable planet..  

    Parent

    Oh hooey, jbindc (none / 0) (#185)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:53:23 PM EST
    You sound as fevered as GA. And here I thought better of you than that.

    And speaking of predictions:

    "A preliminary draft of a report by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was leaked to the public this month, and climate skeptics say it contains fresh evidence of 20 years of overstated global warming.

    The report -- which is not scheduled for publication until 2014 -- was leaked by someone involved in the IPCC's review process, and is available for download online. Bloggers combing through the report discovered a chart comparing the four temperature models the group has published since 1990. Each has overstated the rise in temperature that Earth actually experienced.

    "Temperatures have not risen nearly as much as almost all of the climate models predicted," Roy Spencer, a climatologist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, told FoxNews.com.

    Link

    And the ability to predict is a cornerstone of a theory to become a Scientific Theory.

    A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method, and repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation.[1][2] As with most (if not all) forms of scientific knowledge, scientific theories are inductive -- that is, they seek to supply strong evidence for but not absolute proof of the truth of the conclusion--and they aim for predictive and explanatory force.[3][4
    ]

    Link


    Parent

    Roy Spencer - heh (none / 0) (#190)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 06:59:27 PM EST
    The meteorologist (as opposed to climatologist) who also claims that "theory of creation actually had a much better scientific basis than the theory of evolution"?  He's been debunked so many times that actual climatologists can't even mention his name without laughing.  He tried publishing a piece in Remote Sensing (a geography journal) trying to blame global warming on clouds.  It took only 3 days for actual climatologists to debunk his silly piece (the reason skeptics write opinion pieces rather than peer-reviewed studies) and show that the observations and data supported the IPCC models.  In fact, the Editor-in-Chief of Remote sensing was so embarrassed by the publishing of Spencer's joke of a "study" that he resigned.

    Parent
    Bogus? - not (none / 0) (#154)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 06:48:55 AM EST
    Do you even know the source of that stat?  Because - unlike your claims - the stat is real.

    Parent
    Yman (none / 0) (#167)
    by Slado on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 12:08:18 PM EST
    A simple google search reveals a series of links showing the stat is dubious at best.  Also this will be the second time I've provided a link to you personally.

    Here's a nice link with several links within it showing the stat to be false.

    Enjoy

    Parent

    Hahahahahahahahaha .... (none / 0) (#189)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 06:45:51 PM EST
    You provide a single link to a wingnut denier blog and cal it a "nice link"?!?

    Now you're just trying to be funny.

    I see your wingnut blog link and raise you a couple of real facts:

    A meta-study of scientific papers published between 1991 and 2011 found that among those whose abstracts expressed a position on the cause of global warming, 97.2% supported the consensus view that it is man made.

    Oh, and here's the National Academy of Sciences on the issue - 97-98% of the most published climate researchers say humans are causing global warming.

    "Dubious" because you read it on climatedepot.

    Heh.

    Parent

    Consensus has no place in science (none / 0) (#163)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 11:13:07 AM EST
    Because it has nothing to do with science and is so easily proven wrong.

    The amount of CO 2 in the earth's atmosphere has not increased.

    As reported in "Science Daily: Source: American Geophysical Union

    Summary: Most of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity does not remain in the atmosphere, but is instead absorbed by the oceans and terrestrial ecosystems. However, some studies have suggested that the ability of oceans and plants to absorb carbon dioxide recently may have begun to decline and that the airborne fraction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions is therefore beginning to increase. In contradiction to those studies, new research finds that the airborne fraction of carbon dioxide has not increased either during the past 150 years or during the most recent five decades.

    Link

    The earth's actions and reactions are working as they are supposed to. The increase in CO 2 by man's improved standard of living, based entirely on cheap carbon based energy, is being captured in what are called "carbon sinks." A fancy terms for the oceans, rocks and vegetation you see around you.

    You of course will claim that many scientist say that they have consensus that mankind is causing global warming. Of course they won't use the word "warming" because it isn't happening the way they claimed for years so they will parse their words and say "climate change." Why?? Because climate has been changing since day one. But that's not what they mean. The mean global warming.

    And consensus has no place in science. Consensus, as others have written, is for politics. Worse, so called consensus by so called scientists have had terrible effects causing unneeded deaths.

    "In addition, let me remind you that the track record of the consensus is nothing to be proud of. Let's review a few cases.

    In past centuries, the greatest killer of women was fever following childbirth. One woman in six died of this fever.

    In 1795, Alexander Gordon of Aberdeen suggested that the fevers were infectious processes, and he was able to cure them. The consensus said no.

    In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes claimed puerperal fever was contagious, and presented compelling evidence. The consensus said no.

    In 1849, Semmelweiss demonstrated that sanitary techniques virtually eliminated puerperal fever in hospitals under his management. The consensus said he was a Jew, ignored him, and dismissed him from his post. There was in fact no agreement on puerperal fever until the start of the twentieth century. Thus the consensus took one hundred and twenty five years to arrive at the right conclusion despite the efforts of the prominent "skeptics" around the world, skeptics who were demeaned and ignored. And despite the constant ongoing deaths of women."

    Link

    Now, you may ask, why would "scientist" push a fake agenda? Hard to say but consider this statement by Dr Schneider.

    "To capture the public imagination, we have to offer up some scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements and little mention of any doubts one might have. Each of us has to decide the right balance between being effective, and being honest."

    Leading greenhouse advocate, Dr Stephen Schneider( in interview for "Discover" magagzine, Oct 1989)

    Link

    Think. That is an excuse to lie. There is no other way for it to be understood.

    And why, you may ask, would any person do that?

    Because  mankind has a sorry history of doing whatever it takes to seize power, money and control their peers. Sadly, it is in our genes. As Dr. Peter Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace, wrote:

    "It is a powerful convergence of interests among a very large number of elites, including politicians who want to make it seem as though they are saving the world, environmentalists who want to raise money and get control over very large issues like our entire energy policy, media for sensationalism, universities and professors for grants - you can't hardly get a science grant these days without saying it has something to do with Climate Change.
    It is a kind of nasty combination of extreme political ideology and a religious cult all rolled into one. And it's take over way too much of our thought process and way too much of our priorities. There are millions of children dying every day from preventable vitamin deficiencies and diseases and we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a problem that may not exist."

    link

    The Left is always saying we must do things "for the children."  I call your attention  to that last sentence.

    "There are millions of children dying every day from preventable vitamin deficiencies and diseases and we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a problem that may not exist."

    We have problems. So called "climate change" is not one of them.

    Parent

    "Consensus in no place in science"? (5.00 / 1) (#177)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 03:41:58 PM EST
    Well, hell, while you're at it, why don't you also propose that we simply dispense altogether with the concept of peer review of scientific postulates, and close down such otherwise esteemed publications as JACS (the Journal of the American Chemical Society) and NEJM (The New England Journal of Medicine), which regularly reports on the findings of such reviews? Rather, we should just consult with the broadcasted musings of a fat-a$$ed oxycontin addict, which has long sufficed for righteous Americans such as yourself.

    Of all the absolutely ridiculous statements you've made on this subject here at TL, Jim, that has to be one of the most appallingly absurd.

    :-P

    Parent

    Well hell, Donald (2.00 / 1) (#187)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 06:12:53 PM EST
    while you're at why don't you quit making wild claims up and attributing them to me??

    Let me see, while you're at it why don't you give up drinking a pint of booze before dinner and beating your wife.....

    Oh, you mean you have never done that??

    Well, excuse me for bringing such a silly question up. Hope no one believes it.

    Of course I hadn't written  anything about peer reviewed articles. Can't you keep up?

    lol

    But, since you want to discuss that:

    Having an authentic name, representing a real research institution, and offering actual scientific results are apparently not required for publication in many open access journals, Science has found. A completely invented scientist--"Ocorrafoo Cobange"--who worked at a fabricated institution--"the Wassee Institute of Medicine in Asmara"--was able to get the same terribly faked paper accepted for publication in 157 journals. "My hope is that now that we have a map of at least some of the good versus bad journals, scientists can submit their paper to one of the good guys and for the same amount of money get the real deal," John Bohannon, the Science correspondent who did the investigation, told NPR.

    Many of the journals were already flagged by Beall's List, which catalogs questionable publications, but others were present in the Directory of Open Access Journals, which aims to list credible publications. One example Bohannon highlighted in his report was a journal published by Sage, which was named "the Independent Publishers Guild Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year" in 2012. "The Sage publication that accepted my bogus paper is the Journal of International Medical Research. Without asking for any changes to the paper's scientific content, the journal sent an acceptance letter and an invoice for $3,100," Bohannon wrote.

    Link

    What we are seeing is the destruction of the process brought on by the desire for power and money.

    When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money flood (a threat against which Dwight Eisenhower warned a half-century ago).

    Indeed, the choice of physics as a profession was then a guarantor of a life of poverty and abstinence--it was World War II that changed all that. The prospect of worldly gain drove few physicists. As recently as thirty-five years ago, when I chaired the first APS study of a contentious social/scientific issue, The Reactor Safety Study, though there were zealots aplenty on the outside there was no hint of inordinate pressure on us as physicists. We were therefore able to produce what I believe was and is an honest appraisal of the situation at that time. We were further enabled by the presence of an oversight committee consisting of Pief Panofsky, Vicki Weisskopf, and Hans Bethe, all towering physicists beyond reproach. I was proud of what we did in a charged atmosphere. In the end the oversight committee, in its report to the APS President, noted the complete independence in which we did the job, and predicted that the report would be attacked from both sides. What greater tribute could there be?

    How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d'être of much physics research, the vital sustenance of much more, and it provides the support for untold numbers of professional jobs. For reasons that will soon become clear my former pride at being an APS Fellow all these years has been turned into shame, and I am forced, with no pleasure at all, to offer you my resignation from the Society.

    It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist.

    Link

    Parent

    Sorry, Jim (5.00 / 1) (#193)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:08:39 PM EST
    Those "open access journals" that accepted the fake scientific paper aren't real scientific publications - as opposed to the thousands of papers on climate change that have been published in real, peer-reviewed scientific journals.

    But I understand how the guy who cites climatedepot can't tell the difference between actual studies in real journals and junk sources.

    Not surprising in the least.

    Parent

    The (5.00 / 2) (#197)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:31:43 PM EST
    consensus gap

    This 'consensus gap' is in large part due the media giving disproportionate coverage to climate contrarians. In our paper, we sought to evaluate whether that disproportionate media coverage was justified by examining how well contrarian hypotheses have withstood scientific scrutiny and the test of time. The short answer is, not well.

    Parent

    Let's see (5.00 / 1) (#194)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:16:50 PM EST
    A renowned, respected scientific organization representing thousands of members who deny Hal Lewis's claims and assertions that he makes without a shred of evidence to support them, ..

    ... vs. Lewis.

    Not really a contest.

    Parent

    Wow. That's some serious asshattery there. (5.00 / 3) (#198)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:32:17 PM EST
    This sort of paranoid conspiracy-type nonsense might fuel the Crazy Train rolling down the tracks of your own private Idaho, but back here on the reality-based planet Earth, I'd say that Hal Lewis' Ph.D now stands for "Piled Higher, Deeper."

    Parent
    How many politicians have benefitted (none / 0) (#166)
    by ruffian on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 11:23:44 AM EST
    from being on the side of scientists and environmentalists warning against climate change? I see NO political traction for that position.

    This scientist that "can't hardly get a grant" might want to check the grammar in his grant applications.

    Parent

    Time for some new links, Jim (none / 0) (#191)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:02:56 PM EST
    You keep publishing the same, old links with half-quotes, omitting the important parts of the "quotes", despite the fact that your "quotes" have been shown to be false numerous times.

    What is that word for people do that?

    Rhymes with buyers, flyers, ...

    Parent

    Would it be to much to ask (none / 0) (#113)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:48:44 PM EST
    For you to stop posting that Hal Lewis "resigned last week"?

    He resigned in 2010 and died in 2011.  Seriously, if you are going post this ridiculous junk maybe you just do that one thing.

    Btw
    Love Less Woodcock.  If that's not a porn name I don't know what is

    Parent

    That he didn't die last week (none / 0) (#161)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 10:57:15 AM EST
    is supposed to refute what he wrote??

    Gee Howdy............

    The things I learn from the Left.

    Parent

    Of course it does if (5.00 / 1) (#172)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:09:34 PM EST
    He resigned 4 years ago.  More has been learned in the last 5 years than in the last 50.  NASA launched 5 new climate observing satellites just in 2014.

    Obviously I am only making this point for the benefit of some innocent bystander who might happen by this blog and read your inane comments without knowing your rich and deep history of a$$hattery on this subject.

    Parent

    Quit making things up. (none / 0) (#181)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:39:01 PM EST
    More has been learned in the last 5 years than in the last 50.

    Parent
    Quit making things up. (none / 0) (#182)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:39:41 PM EST
    Almost funny (none / 0) (#195)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:20:30 PM EST
    coming from you

    Fast forward to 2007, and NASA had 17 space missions collecting climate data. In recent years its Earth science budget has ranged from $1.2 to $1.4 billion per year. Today, it runs programs to obtain and convert data from Defense Department and NOAA satellites as well as from certain European, Japanese and Russian satellites. NASA also sponsors field experiments to provide "ground truth" data to check space instrument performance and to develop new measurement techniques.

    Instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites have provided the first global measurements of aerosols in our atmosphere, which come from natural sources such as volcanoes, dust storms and man-made sources such as the burning of fossil fuels. Other instruments onboard the Aura satellite study the processes that regulate the abundance of ozone in the atmosphere. Data from the GRACE and ICESat missions and from spaceborne radar show unexpectedly rapid changes in the Earth's great ice sheets, while the OSTM/Jason-2 and Jason-1 missions are recording sea level rise at an increasing rate. NASA's Earth Observing System's weather instruments have enabled the first improvement in weather forecasting skill in more than a decade.

    These capabilities -- nearly 30 years of satellite-based solar and atmospheric temperature data -- helped the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change come to the conclusion in 2007 that "Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations." But there's still a lot to learn about what the consequences will be. How much warmer will it get? How will sea level rise progress? What will happen to soil moisture, and therefore agricultural production, in a warmer world? NASA scientists and engineers will help answer these and other critical questions in the future.

    Parent

    I believe Les Woodcock is first cousin ... (none / 0) (#200)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 08:19:58 PM EST
    ... to those two astrophysicists whose work is are also acclaimed by Jim, Belle Zaringen and Donnatella Yamada.
    ;-D

    Parent
    Btw (none / 0) (#124)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:43:19 PM EST
    If you know how to use the google you can learn that Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen are actual climate scientists.

    Parent
    Give Jim a break (none / 0) (#153)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 06:44:26 AM EST
    How's he supposed to know that the little dot between all those words indicates the end of one sentence and the beginning of another?

    Parent
    Since you can debate the (none / 0) (#165)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 11:17:58 AM EST
    issue..........

    you worry about.......

    Dorkiness personified.

    Parent

    Sorry, Jim (none / 0) (#196)
    by Yman on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:23:18 PM EST
    You make it too easy.  You make one of your typical, inane, juvenile comments:

    Harrison Ford, Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Schwarzenegger, Lesley Stahl, Mark Bittman, Ian Somerhalder, Olivia Munn and Michael C. Hall. Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen are the chief science advisors.

    Really???

    ROFLMAO

    ... because you don't realize that you're looking at two, separate sentences and you actually believe that the celebrities cited in the first sentence were used as scientific advisers.

    It's just too funny.

    Parent

    Schwarzenegger? (none / 0) (#129)
    by squeaky on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:33:24 PM EST
    I guess he is making amends for "inventing" the consumer version of the Hummer. At one time I think he had four of them.

    The civilian model began in part because of the persistence of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who saw an Army convoy while filming a movie.[12]

    Even compared to other heavy passenger vehicles, Hummers without the diesel engine options have very poor fuel economy. Because the H2 is built to the over-8500-lb GVW class, its fuel economy is neither published by the U.S. EPA nor counted toward Corporate Average Fuel Economy.[37] For example, H2 in one engine configuration averages an estimated 14 mpg-US (17 L/100 km; 17 mpg-imp) on the highway and 10 mpg-US (24 L/100 km; 12 mpg-imp) in the city.[37] It has a curb weight of over 6,000 lb (2,700 kg), making it technically illegal for use on some streets in the U.S.[38]

    His now run on vegetable oil and he got GM to make a hydrogen version in 2005.

    but I am sure that the wannabe heroes aka keyboard commandos who bought the monstrosities that Schwarzenegger got GM to put into production, could give a sh!t about global warming.

    Parent

    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY, vol. 327 (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by Dadler on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:37:44 AM EST
    Gramps doesn't dig those artisnal brews. (link)

    v. 326
    v. 325

    TGIF, my friends. Mrs. Dadler is back from Florida tonight. Mirth shall return to me!

    Patty Melt (5.00 / 3) (#56)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:18:22 AM EST
    Was once my imaginary drag queen name.   I think I have changed it to Penny Dreadful

    Parent
    I have the pefect porn name (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by Dadler on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:00:21 PM EST
    Granted, it works better for gay porn, but still.

    That said, I'll keep it clean for the kids and offer only the first name: Dixon. You can spend hours with the proper company thinking of a last name.

    As the Coen's wrote, "You're a sick phuck, Fink."

    Parent

    The old parlor game... (none / 0) (#82)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:24:02 PM EST
    of first pet's name + first street you lived on's name = pron name doesn't work well for city kids.  

    I mean what kinda pron name is Hobie 127th?

    Parent

    "Spot Central" (none / 0) (#87)
    by Zorba on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:53:53 PM EST
    Doesn't exactly sing as a p0rn name, either.
    ;-)

    Parent
    "Puffer Ladue", (none / 0) (#104)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:13:35 PM EST
    Or if you want me to go back a bit further, "Puffer Culver", which sounds much dirtier for some reason.  :)

    Parent
    Oh, I don't know, jb (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by Zorba on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:25:24 PM EST
    With "Puffer," I guess it all depends upon what you are puffing on.
    Further, the deponent sayeth not.     ;-)

    Parent
    If there is not a Puffer Ladue (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:02:20 PM EST
    In porn there should be.

    I assume we know what a fluffer is?

    Doesn't work for me.   I don't remember the name of my first pet (I lit ally don't remember not having one, you can't find a pic of me as a child without a dog) and I lived on a highway

    So it would be Anonymous Hwy 67

    Parent

    Ha! (5.00 / 1) (#148)
    by MKS on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:55:59 PM EST
    Very cool....or should I say very hot!

    Parent
    Whaddup, dog? (none / 0) (#103)
    by Dadler on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:12:43 PM EST
    Watch that Tom Waits clip I put up, if you haven't. That backing band is SICK.

    Played another tourney yesterday. Bubbled, but the degens voted to kick in some bills and pay bubble boy his entry fee plus a little. Such sweet addicts. But you had to be there for the cooler that took me out. We were down to 11 players, a 6 table and a 5, final 10 are the final table. I was heads up on the button with the big blind, a kid who hadn't taken off his sunglasses for three hours. I raised big preflop with Q10, small blind folded, big blind flat called. After a 10KQ flop, where I hit two pair, I went into the tank. It was very late in the tourney, one place from the money, I was pot committed, I wasn't going to check to the guy and maybe give him a free card, so I pushed all-in. And, of course, the kid snap calls and flips over J9 for a flopped straight. I had outs, but I couldn't hit a Q or a 10 on the turn and river, and that was it. At least it was a wash financially. Was on a nice streak before that. At least it ended with a good one.

    Parent

    Big John Vicksburg (none / 0) (#141)
    by MKS on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:15:32 PM EST
    This cracked me up the first time I heard this.....

    Parent
    St. Bernard (5.00 / 1) (#142)
    by MKS on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:17:32 PM EST
    Went everywhere I did and outweighed me by 50lbs.  Used to grab me by the elbow and toss me in the dirt for fun....

    My best bud...

    Parent

    Back in the day (none / 0) (#143)
    by MKS on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:21:56 PM EST
    kids used to go out and play and roam free in the neighborhood until dinner time....Me and Big John.

    That's where I learned about "Three Mississippis."

    Parent

    kdog (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:16:37 AM EST
    Can we sign you up for a session?

    Coffee With a Cop

    Two conditions... (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:47:35 AM EST
    they surrender their firearms, billy-club, mace, and taser first...and they sign some kind of immunity from arrest & prosecution agreement.  These are my firm non-negotiable terms, otherwise I'll keep my usual very wide berth tyvm;)

    Parent
    Ha (none / 0) (#59)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:24:10 AM EST
    Most of the bagel shop customers are confused about the police presence, but they agree to at least say hello. Others can't even be drawn to the men in uniform by the prospect of free coffee.

    "No thanks. I'll pay for mine," one man says.


    Parent

    In hindsight... (5.00 / 1) (#80)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:17:04 PM EST
    he should have said "What do I look like, a cop?  I pay for my coffee!" ;)

    Parent
    Coffee? (5.00 / 1) (#93)
    by NYShooter on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:16:21 PM EST
    My uncle, Joe, owned a working man's bar down around Delancy Street, right in the heart of the garment district. So, when I was a kid me and a friend would go down there for our "back to school" shopping. Every factory and outlet owner knew "Joe" and we'd get incredible bargains. For $50 we'd get a whole year's worth of clothes. You know, between the "seconds," and the discontinued stuff you'd get 10 pair of socks for a buck, and a dozen t-shirts for not much more.

    Anyway, when it was time for lunch we'd get back to Joe's bar and settle in for whatever was the "special" of the day. And, let me tell you, Joe knew how to market his business, and, how to make friends. When I say, "special," I mean you ain't gonna eat again for a long, long time. For sure, those factory workers appreciated Joe's spread, and, affordable prices.

    So, one day, during lunch, I'm watching as this cop comes in, "hello's all around, and he parks his fat butt at a table. Now, I know that gratuities for cops, and, such are standard business practice in the City, but, I wasn't ready for what I was about see coming out of the kitchen. The daily "special" was good enough for regular people, but, not for Mr. Big Shot, "Protect & Serve." A plate, big enough to double as a bathtub, piled high with a 24 oz. steak, and enough baked potatoes, bread & rolls, and, sides of all kinds, you'd think he was a Middle Eastern Prince. Oh, and, of course, a pitcher of Michelob, not a can, or a glass.

    When the feast was over I said to Joe, "Unc, I know these guys get free meals, and, stuff, but that was more than just a free meal. What gives?" So, Joe tells me the story about what greeted another bar owner who thought he'd open a business downtown, and, not give in to this blackmail. Not only were his plate glass storefront smashed, but, his car, and, his service vehicles. They, also did in a few of his neighbor's storefronts, just in case he didn't get the message, his neighbors would remind him.

    Like I've always said, "not every cop is rotten, but, every cop knows his partners are rotten, and, every cop knows to keep his mouth shut."


    Parent

    What's wrong with Florida (5.00 / 1) (#127)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:17:21 PM EST
    I just heard a couple of legal talking heads say that the poor woman who drove into in ocean with her kids in the car could very well be convicted of 2nd degree murder and the old f@rt who shot a guy for texting in a theater may very well get off.

    What the f@ck.  is this true?

    Well (none / 0) (#131)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:40:49 PM EST
    one case could be claimed under the stand your ground law and I'm guessing it's the one where the guy was texting. I mean if you can shoot and kill someone becase they were playing their music too loud it stands to reason that texting would be just as threatening. All they have to do is claim that they thought the phone was a gun.

    Parent
    Don't know which (none / 0) (#133)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:50:16 PM EST
    Of those two outcomes would be more disturbing.

    Btw
    She is black. He is white.


    Parent

    The whole (none / 0) (#137)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:41:02 PM EST
    freaking thing is disturbing.

    Parent
    I can't explain it (none / 0) (#160)
    by ruffian on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 10:31:47 AM EST
    I was going to link to the Orlando Sentinel for another  bizarre local case, but it has ads now that you can't close. Basically local motorcycle gang leader got acquitted after he and his gang shot up a party and 3 people died. Apparently they did not prove that he was trying to kill anyone.

    Parent
    They should have moved to Texas first. (none / 0) (#162)
    by Mr Natural on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 11:08:25 AM EST
    The Texas judge who sentenced the "affluenza" teen to probation after said teen's drunk driving resulted in the death of four has added to the frivolity by ordering the teen's parents to contribute only $1000/month of the teen's $21,000/month treatment costs.  

    Socialism, American Style - reserved for the rich.

    Parent

    We recorded Rachel's new documentary (5.00 / 1) (#173)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:18:36 PM EST
    'Why We Did It', and didn't watch it until this morning.  It is very validating for me, but it causes depression for my spouse.  He said that after the first year he knew the justification was all lies, but the blatant evidence of it that has been leaked and declassified really hurts.

    It's the evidence though.  The pain will fade, but the evidence must never be allowed to.  The suicides continue though among the Vets, I wish I knew what to do about that.

    Validateing (none / 0) (#174)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:31:54 PM EST
    That's a good word.  Enjoy definitely doesn't work.

    Parent
    One of the days this week I saw a notice (none / 0) (#175)
    by ruffian on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:35:59 PM EST
    of the 10th anniversary of Casey Sheehan's death in Iraq. 10 years. I first noticed you online going down to Cindy Sheehan's protests in Crawford when I was thinking I should be there.  Time goes by and it is too easy for most of us, those with no skin in the game, to be glad we are getting out of these wars and move on.  Thanks for reminding us of the millions that do not have that choice.

    Parent
    I'd offer that the Iraq War will be ... (none / 0) (#199)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 07:57:18 PM EST
    ... remembered and discussed by future historians as the American equivalent of the Second Anglo-Boer War, a moment when the world's prevailing and pre-eminent power choked on its own prey while greedily attempting to swallow it whole.

    Parent
    Kathleen Sebelius to step down (none / 0) (#10)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:18:04 AM EST
    Meet the woman in line to replace her - Sylvia Burwell.

    Interesting timing (none / 0) (#11)
    by ruffian on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:02:35 AM EST
    Can't decide if you was made to stay and clean up the web site mess, or let stay until she could go out on a high note. Probably the latter.

    Parent
    Still, weird timing (none / 0) (#14)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:59:04 AM EST
    She was testifying on the Hill just yesterday.

    And leaving now?  In an election year to have a confirmation hearing, where the Republicans will get drag up everything about Obamacare again - even things people forgot about?  Before that "7.5 million" number really gets analyzed, before insurance companies start announcing their 2015 rates (which are expected to be much higher), and before other parts of the law get implemented (or more likely, delayed again) such as the employer mandate?

    Seems like strange timing....

    Parent

    Sounds as if we have a new meme (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by christinep on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:26:55 AM EST
    I understand that Repubs and other ACA opponents are reprising the old "unskewering" argument about the ACA now.  Well, the claims in 2012 about "unskewering" the polls didn't really work; so, some are trotting out the argument -- aka something-must-surely-be-wrong-with-the-numbers-and-all-the-good-news-data -- again.  (Calling Karl Rove ....)

    Frankly, of course Sebelius was going to leave.  Leaving after recovering the process and achieving the goals of this ACA phase was the only good, if not the perfect time, to do so.

     It really will be something to watch during the confirmation hearing for OMB's Sylvia Burwell ... can't wait to see the Repubs tear into another high-level female appointee (sn>), especially the present OMB director who was earlier confirmed without a dissenting vote.  One prediction: The Repubs will overplay what they perceive to be their hand as the good news and metrics about the ACA keep coming ... heck, it may well look again (for all to see) that they are attacking all the individual popular and well-used provisions in the ACA.

    The poor overworked Repub strategists who are said now to be advising their clients that the ACA is a given, that the ACA is not going away, and that the Repubs might want to turn the corner and start looking for acceptable fixes here & there.  Yes, the confirmation process here has wonderful layers to it.  

    Parent

    A little more (none / 0) (#39)
    by christinep on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:36:38 AM EST
    Excuse me ... I can't resist:  And, then, there is always Benghaaazzzziiii!

    Also as to timing:  One of the quieter news cycle times often occurs in the week before Easter.  A nice time for the first stage of a transition.  Then, we can break out the popcorn in later spring to watch the Repubs try to beat up on policy and economically savvy Burwell!

    Parent

    And IRS and (5.00 / 1) (#144)
    by MKS on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:27:17 PM EST
    and...and...it all started with Fast and Furious....

    The Republicans know all the ins and outs and just talk in code to each other....

    Parent

    As far as of course she was going to leave (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:00:44 AM EST
    That makes that huff po interview I linked to below rather mystifying.  If you watch she was quite emphatic that she was not leaving before November

    Parent
    Would also say (none / 0) (#41)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:09:16 AM EST
    That as an avid defender of the law I have been constantly mystified and enraged by the stunning ineptitude of whoever is making the decisions for this thing.

    Personally I think it borders on criminally stupid. And this is just one more example.  Let's take the first few weeks of good news we HAVE EVER had and crap all over and stomp it into the dirt with a resignation/firing story.

    It was one more unforced error.  She has to leave fine.  Do it quietly in a few weeks.

    Parent

    Obama (none / 0) (#42)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:18:13 AM EST
    just is not a good politician nor understands policy very well nor the effect that policy can have on people. That is why this stuff continually happens.

    Parent
    Oh (none / 0) (#44)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:28:29 AM EST
    And a very high profile confirmation where the right will have lots of face time to recycle every BS talking point on their list

    Parent
    Actually (none / 0) (#46)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:39:46 AM EST
    The fact that they have a nominee ready to go tells you this discussion has been going on a long time.

    But weird about the timing.  

    Could have waited until school was out - no one watches TV then.  But now we are heading into TV sweeps, and despite what christine thinks below, lots of people are tuned in right now. Maybe not politically, but they are still watching TV.  And with the news not reporting much else besides MA 370 consistently, this will be very much in the news.

    And the Republicans don't have to try and prevent Burwell's nomination, but they certainly get a free podium to talk about Obamacare from now until the nomination, and they sure as heck get to question her about all the failures and what she knew about it and what she's going to do differently, and what she plans to do with things like the employer mandate, the upcoming rate increases, etc.

    Parent

    Once again (none / 0) (#48)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:43:30 AM EST
    If it was planned you would think they would have told Sebelius befor she did an interview last week saying she was "absolutely" staying through nov.

    Parent
    It was planned by someone (none / 0) (#49)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:44:52 AM EST
    While she resigned, I think she was forced out.

    This wasn't a surprise to the administration.

    Parent

    Interesting read (none / 0) (#50)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:47:27 AM EST
    Link

    But Sebelius's absence on April 1 may have been a sign. The New York Times, which broke the story of her resignation, reports that she tendered her resignation earlier this week and Obama accepted it. Burwell's appointment may be read as an implicit rebuke to Sebelius's style: Her successor is known as an effective manager. "The president wants to make sure we have a proven manager and relentless implementer in the job over there, which is why he is going to nominate Sylvia," White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told the Times.

    So, they waited for a Friday news dump to announce thinking no one would pay attention.  Bet this makes all the Sunday talk shows.

    Parent

    Of course it will (none / 0) (#51)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:49:46 AM EST
    Absent this passing the enrollment goal would have been the healthcare news on the gab fests

    Parent
    Burwell will be confirmed (none / 0) (#52)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:55:30 AM EST
    Harry Reid only needs 51 votes.

    She will be the one left to have to defend the numbers when they all filter out.

    Parent

    Valerie Jarrett (none / 0) (#53)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:07:36 AM EST
    Just told Andrea Mitchell that she (the secretary) notified the president in early march.  then apparently on March 10th said she was absolutely staying through nov.

    Parent
    It wasn't a surprise to anyone (none / 0) (#68)
    by christinep on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:36:18 PM EST
    Whether forced out or not ...  Again, I'm looking forward to the next phase.  

    Parent
    Of course you are (none / 0) (#70)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:51:48 PM EST
    You beat me (none / 0) (#16)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:08:00 AM EST
    Great minds and all that (none / 0) (#19)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:32:24 AM EST
    Seems like bad timing to me. (none / 0) (#15)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:05:42 AM EST
    They were finally getting some news cycles so what do they do?  Fire somebody.  Oh wait, she has planned to leave for weeks, MONTHS maybe.

    So why did she say this a week ago..

    The Week Before Resigning, Kathleen Sebelius Said She Was 'Absolutely' Sticking Around

    Seems like they could have waited a few weeks.  But what do I know

    Parent

    Almost seems like a GM type situation (none / 0) (#69)
    by ruffian on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:39:53 PM EST
    Get someone new in charge that can't be blamed for the old stuff, if anything comes back to haunt you. Good strategy, IMO. Keeps the focus more on the future.

    Parent
    I don't have a problem (none / 0) (#85)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:44:05 PM EST
    With getting rid of her.  I'm all for it.  I just don't understand the timing.  

    Parent
    Maybe she means... (none / 0) (#145)
    by unitron on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:27:43 PM EST
    ...that she's sticking around DC as a high paid lobbyist for someone as soon as she's off the civil service payroll.

    Parent
    Watched the ceremony (none / 0) (#79)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:12:44 PM EST
    I don't know what her normal mannerisms are, but she seemed very stressed to me.

    Parent
    Hillary artfully dodges a shoe (none / 0) (#17)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:21:22 AM EST
    Then makes sting of jokes about it.  "Who knew solid waste management was so controversial?"

    A woman was taken into custody after throwing what she described as a shoe at Hillary Clinton during a Las Vegas speech.

    All I can think of is (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by CoralGables on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:53:30 AM EST
    Who throws a shoe? Honestly. (none / 0) (#36)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:05:45 AM EST
    I hope we find out who she was and what her point was.  Apparently she was carrying some classified papers about some military operation in Bolivia ??

    Parent
    Was it a spare shoe? (none / 0) (#38)
    by CoralGables on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:35:59 AM EST
    A stolen shoe? Was it one of Carrie Bradshaw's stolen Manolo Blahniks?

    If the suspect is convicted does she have to give up her woman's right to shoes?

    Parent

    Apparently it was (none / 0) (#47)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:40:37 AM EST
    When arrested she was wearing flip flops.   Throwing a flip flop would be pretty lame.  Unless it was one of those Japanese wooden ones

    Parent
    Did you follow rhe murder trial of the (none / 0) (#117)
    by oculus on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:13:27 PM EST
    Texas woman convicted of murdering her sign. other?  With repeated pounding of her shoe into his head. Prosecutor:  stiletto. Defense:  more like a platform shoe.

    Parent
    Maybe it was a counterfeit Prada shoe, ... (none / 0) (#149)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:13:22 AM EST
    ... and she was a sales associate from Rodeo Drive who was attempting to make a definitive public statement about cheaply made Chinese designer knock-offs.

    Parent
    It wasn't the first time (none / 0) (#105)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:18:52 PM EST
    I guess (none / 0) (#111)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:36:11 PM EST
    the Benghazi hoaxers that now have latched onto the shoe conspiracy theory need to hear about the tomatoes.

    Parent
    Hmmmm (none / 0) (#63)
    by squeaky on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:50:20 AM EST
    I think that this was the reference.

    Parent
    Turns out (none / 0) (#18)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:29:56 AM EST
    "Thank goodness... (none / 0) (#20)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:33:55 AM EST
    ...she didn't play softball like I did."

    Parent
    The secret service guy (none / 0) (#23)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:43:05 AM EST
    Standing behind her was not laughing

    Parent
    "what she described as a shoe". (none / 0) (#21)
    by oculus on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:35:16 AM EST
    Very strange. Also, what the heck does one say in a speech to a waste mgt. association?

    Parent
    If it's (none / 0) (#22)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:41:03 AM EST
    Brown flush it down ......?

    Parent
    Sorry (none / 0) (#25)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:47:45 AM EST
    It was to early for that joke

    Parent
    Or, if is. (none / 0) (#146)
    by MKS on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:32:06 PM EST
    .....let it mellow....

    Why not...

    Parent

    That's easy... (none / 0) (#28)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:20:29 AM EST
    something like "It's people like you, the waste managers, that are the backbone of this great country."

    h/t Chris Rock in "Head of State"

    Parent

    She's picking up a fat check (none / 0) (#43)
    by Dadler on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:28:14 AM EST
    Absolutely nothing more.

    Parent
    All I gotta say is... (none / 0) (#29)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:22:00 AM EST
    thank god it was a woman who tossed the shoe, or there might well have been a hate crime enhancement to the charges.

    Parent
    She sure (none / 0) (#34)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:03:42 AM EST
    handled that well.

    Probably one of those people who have fallen for the Benghazi hoaxers.

    Parent

    Might be much older than Benghazi... (none / 0) (#54)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:13:36 AM EST
    reports state that the shoe-tosser had a DOD document relating to "Operation Cynthia", a Bolivian Army operation to capture/kill Che Guevera back in '67.

    The tosser might be a radical leftie.

    Parent

    Then (none / 0) (#58)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:19:57 AM EST
    she's also insane since Hillary was 20 in 1967.

    Parent
    I want (none / 0) (#61)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:33:13 AM EST
    To know more

    Parent
    CIA recruits 'em... (none / 0) (#64)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 11:50:39 AM EST
    younger than that GA...don't be so naive! lol

    Though it would be much more likey for the CIA to put her on the campus CoIntelpro beat circa '67 than the supporting brutal South American dictator/battling leftist revolutionaries beat.  But maybe her CIA handlers threw her a bone so as not to damper any domestic political ambitions;)

    Parent

    Oh, (none / 0) (#67)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:35:18 PM EST
    I know but there's no evidence of her doing anything like that.

    Parent
    Any evidence... (none / 0) (#71)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:53:36 PM EST
    that might exist is surely classified until 2067.

    Parent
    I just prefer (none / 0) (#75)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 01:38:22 PM EST
    to not go down the same road the Benghazi conspiracy theorists are traveling.


    Parent
    You're no fun! j/k n/t (none / 0) (#77)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 01:59:01 PM EST
    Can't imagine how Hillary would have anything (none / 0) (#83)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:31:32 PM EST
    To do with it.  But she was SoS.  Maybe this person is just trying to,draw attention for something she thinks is worth the attention.

    Or maybe she is a mental patient.

    I would just like to know more.  When it comes to someone with a real issue who is made to look like a nut, well, I've seen that movie.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#88)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:55:58 PM EST
    since the secret service is involved do you think we will? It seems everytime the secret service is involved people get interviewed and then nothing. Maybe they will release a statement or maybe Hillary will.

    Parent
    I would rather hear from her (none / 0) (#91)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:05:05 PM EST
    I suspect that was the point.  She seemed eager to be arrested.

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#101)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:10:14 PM EST
    just to let you know the Benghazi hoaxers are watching this film over and over and think that it was planned by Hillary.

    Parent
    That makes me (none / 0) (#109)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:31:09 PM EST
    Even more curious.  It suggests she is not s right winger.

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#112)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:39:30 PM EST
    who knows? I guess if she was talking about the CIA she probably was not unless she's a Paulhead. She might be a Larouchie.

    Parent
    She might (none / 0) (#114)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:52:21 PM EST
    And she might be some one who wants people to know the US gov tried to kill Che.

    Parent
    Maybe (none / 0) (#118)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:14:44 PM EST
    Hey, kinda looks like a road (none / 0) (#122)
    by christinep on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:26:25 PM EST
    taken by all the conspiracy theorists at one time or another.  From John Birch to the Teapots.  Thanks for slowing down their gambit, GA.

    Parent
    Temperatures here (none / 0) (#31)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:34:50 AM EST
    Have been consistently higher than predicted all spring.  Yesterday mid 70s was predicted and it was high 80s.

    Looks like the same today mid 70s predicted and we are already there at 8:30  Might be a long summer.

    Miami (none / 0) (#33)
    by CoralGables on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:59:56 AM EST
    made it to 91° on Tuesday afternoon. Spring is just about over here.

    Parent
    CG, not sure where the bike path (none / 0) (#65)
    by fishcamp on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 12:04:05 PM EST
    down here in the keys is not paved yet.  They have completed several more miles since we last spoke about it.  Maybe Monroe County has some info regarding our All American Highway.  It is getting hot down here and you're still welcome at fish camp if you ride the path.  I'm at mile marker 75 and very close to the bike path.

    Parent
    Thankfully (none / 0) (#35)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:05:22 AM EST
    it hasn't been that hot here yet but for the last 7 years summers have been miserably hot here.

    Parent
    Glad it's warm we're you are (none / 0) (#121)
    by Slado on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:25:17 PM EST
    Most of the country is ready to thaw out.

    Buurrrrrr

    As a native Floridian but now Midwesterner I can honestly say this is the coldest Winter I've ever spent on this planet.  It's been horrible.

    And it's not over yet, despite the early blooms in my garden.

    High of 48F on Tuesday.  Whoopee!

    Parent

    It was the same here (none / 0) (#123)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:36:07 PM EST
    Until just a few days ago.  Then BAM.  Today it was 88.

    There was all kinds of fuel shortages here last winter.  You couldn't find wood and propane was past record prices.  

    Parent

    So what's the deal... (none / 0) (#72)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 01:13:05 PM EST
    with the Rancher v. BLM stand-off in the Nevada desert?  Anybody following that story?

    Probably a lot of wrong to go around on all sides, who knows...lookin' like the a potential Ruby Ridge or Waco though.  The heavy-handed federal response is bringing every militia nut in the country outta the woodwork....not a good recipe.  

    Bundy (none / 0) (#74)
    by jbindc on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 01:17:48 PM EST
    sounds like a nut job.

    Parent
    I hear that... (none / 0) (#76)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 01:39:53 PM EST
    I mean you have to be nuts to stare down the barrel of the federal government...but that doesn't mean he is totally in the wrong either...I'd say he certainly has at least a somewhat reasonable claim to acenstral grazing rights based on the little I've read/heard. If it is true his family's cattle has grazed these lands since long before we had a BLM. I don't know if the endangered desert tortoise thing is/was a legit reason or not to start the beef.

    My gut says a lot of blame to go around.  And one thing for sure, the government doesn't fight fair...one way or another Bundy is gonna lose, the question is if the government makes a martyr outta him to all the milita nuts, or if they can break him peacefully without martyrdom. Not a good start with the oxymoronic "free speech zones" they erected (and since demolished) and tasings and sh*t.

    Parent

    I think he's a nut (none / 0) (#81)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:23:07 PM EST
    The fight dates  to at least 1993,  since which Bundy has refused to pay the federal government fees for his grazing cows, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 1998, a federal court told Bundy to stop letting his cows graze there. And, last July, the same court reaffirmed that order, giving Bundy 45 days to remove the cows before the federal government would. They started  Saturday, acting on two federal court orders, they said in a statement that day.
    "The BLM and the [National Park Service] have made repeated attempts to resolve this matter administratively and judicially," the Nevada BLM statement read. "The agencies are now implementing two Federal District Court orders to remove the cattle. The BLM and NPS are working closely with local, state and federal officials to ensure that removal occurs in a safe and orderly manner."

    I spent some time reading abut it and every other word is "Obamacare".   He is the new darling of the Fox News crowd.
    They should not let him get away with it.

    Parent

    I hear you too... (none / 0) (#84)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:34:07 PM EST
    but just because he's a real winner doesn't automatically mean the state is in the right. aka you should get away with simply being a douche.

    It's not as cut and dried as "he stopped paying his land use fee" from what I've read...don't know if it is true but the family has said they offered to pay the fees to Clark County while in dispute with BLM over changing the terms of the long-standing agreement back in the 90's for the stated reason of the endangered desert tortoise (and possibly unstated reasons), but Clark County refused to take the fees.  

    Court orders and well-worded statements don't impress me...that's no evidence of justice being done.  People get railroaded everyday by legally binding court orders....nobody knows that better than a TL reader.

    Parent

    Yeah (none / 0) (#86)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:48:17 PM EST
    I read the part about Reid contributors.  I just think it's bull (pun intended).  They have been trying to deal with this guy in a reasonable way since the 90s when a republican judge told him to get his cows off the land.

    Parent
    Whose land? (none / 0) (#89)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 02:56:10 PM EST
    Ours...he's welcome to graze my 1/319,000,000th;)

    And I don't how reasonable the state has really been...if it was you or I's ox being gored (pun intended), we might not think it so reasonable.

    To look at it somewhat objectively you need to forget the guy is a douche. And on the flip, I'd need to check my anti-government bias.  I thought I was being pretty fair thinking there is blame to go around on both sides.

    One thing for sure, most of my sympathy lies with the cattle.  There were reports of government backhoes in the area, I hope no cattle were needlessly harmed or killed in the man v. state d*ck-swinging match.

    Parent

    I wouldn't worry about the cows (none / 0) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:03:30 PM EST
    They are worth at 1000 each.  Meaning don't worry they will be somebody's hamburger.  The Gov of Utah said they can't sell them in Utah.  Which made all the ranchers in Utah happy because it will not dilute the price for them.

    As far as who's land.  It's government land.  I don't think anyone Is disputing that.  As far as Imcan tell the dispute is if he has grazing rights or not.   The government and the courts say he does not.


    Parent

    The government and courts... (none / 0) (#96)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:35:27 PM EST
    also state we have no inalienable right to smoke our preferred smoke...so we know they can and do get it wrong, sometimes painfully so.

    I don't know or care enough about this case to research it and come to my own educated conclusion...so I'm just gonna enjoy the show and root for the longshot, even if he does seem like a total d*ck;)

    Parent

    Bringing my own baggage into (none / 0) (#94)
    by sj on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:29:20 PM EST
    this situation, he sounds just like the sort who fenced my families "ancestral land" which precedes by centuries the claims of this guy and this particular land grab.

    I'm not impressed with his claims. One used to be able to drive a car without a drivers' license as well. Times change.

    Parent

    More than happy... (none / 0) (#97)
    by kdog on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:39:30 PM EST
    to entertain the superceding claim of your ancestors sj.

    The whole concept of land ownership bugs me out when I really think about it...but I guess it's  a necessary evil for a species such as ours so adverse to sharing and prone to greed and violence.

    Parent

    To be fair (none / 0) (#99)
    by sj on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:50:38 PM EST
    the land granted to my ancestors didn't really belong to the Spanish king, either. He was giving away land that was already occupied (cue jimakaPPJ and his cannabalism fantasy). I actually give more deference to the claims of Native Americans. That's what happens with land grabs, you know?

    Like I said. Times change. I'm just tired of the blowhardism. And especially this bit of blowhardism when the land in question is public land.


    Parent

    Was there a gift shop? (5.00 / 2) (#119)
    by oculus on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 05:16:49 PM EST
    Was there a tourist attraction? (5.00 / 1) (#147)
    by sj on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 10:49:17 PM EST
    heh (none / 0) (#100)
    by jimakaPPJ on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:08:14 PM EST
    Historians[7] have described the cannibalism as related to war rituals. Columbus and his people did not understand what they were seeing, and they were shocked at this cannibalism. In 1503, Queen Isabella ruled that only people who were better off under slavery (a definition which explicitly included cannibals) could legally be taken as slaves.

    Link

    Parent

    It's too bad the Caribs didn't eat Columbus. (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:49:23 AM EST
    They could've saved Native Americans a lot of subsequent trouble.

    Parent
    There are very few ... (none / 0) (#102)
    by sj on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:11:33 PM EST
    ...bridges in northern New Mexico. You're going to have look very hard for one of your very own.

    Parent
    Hey, Jim, you've got a friend (none / 0) (#106)
    by NYShooter on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:22:35 PM EST
    Somali-born writer, and, scholar, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, says:

    "The Muslim mind today seems to be in the grip of jihad."
    She warns of the insidious, intransigent enemies in our midst.
    Islam oblige its followers to wage jihad on Westerners
    Muslims today, Hirsi Ali believes, must be forced to choose between the darkness of Islam and the light of the modern secular West.

    LINK

    Parent

    Yes (none / 0) (#132)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:41:41 PM EST
    attempting to exterminate an entire religion has worked so well in the past.

    Parent
    Wow (none / 0) (#110)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 04:33:29 PM EST
    Lucky for the slavers that the people they were brutalizing were better off huh.

    And convenient as well.


    Parent

    heh (none / 0) (#170)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 12:45:23 PM EST
    As I said before Einstein, what you're doing is demonizing 400 distinct people who spoke 400 different languages..

    You're that same guy who said the Jews were all big nosed userers a few decades ago, aren't you? I remember you now..

    And btw, were the Spanish "shocked" when they realized that THEY were burning people at the stake and chopping off slaves feet?

    Heh.

    Parent

    burning at the stake.. (none / 0) (#171)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 12:46:36 PM EST
    breaking on the rack..

    Shocking.

    Parent

    Look at that band behind Tom Waits (none / 0) (#73)
    by Dadler on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 01:15:22 PM EST
    I like Eric Holder (none / 0) (#92)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:13:39 PM EST
    more and more.  If Hillary doesn't run maybe he should

    But it's easy to look good when you are dealing with this

    "The attorney general will not cast aspersions on my asparagus," said Gohmert, in a malapropism for the ages.

    Holder quipped, "Good luck with your asparagus."

    It's about time (5.00 / 1) (#98)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:43:07 PM EST
    somebody blew a gasket at Crazy Louie. Sometimes I wonder if there aren't crazy steriods in the water in Texas.

    Parent
    At least he talked to him (none / 0) (#128)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:19:34 PM EST
    The fat cracker from TX blake farenthold would not even address him directly.

    Parent
    I simply (none / 0) (#130)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:38:54 PM EST
    cannot believe how naive Obama has been for years with regards to the GOP. The GOP is party of unreconstructed Dixiecrats and the sooner people start dealing with that fact the better.

    Parent
    Four years (none / 0) (#138)
    by NYShooter on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 08:11:18 PM EST
    WASTED!

    Parent
    Do you think experience matters? (none / 0) (#139)
    by oculus on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:11:52 PM EST
    Not out here! (none / 0) (#150)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:42:20 AM EST
    The Hawaii GOP nowadays appears to be composed primarily of old-money Chinese families from Nuuanu Valley and wealthy white matrons from Kahala and Portlock who love to do lunch and complain about the quality of the hired household help, but very little else.

    Parent
    Is it alright here if (none / 0) (#157)
    by Wile ECoyote on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 09:23:52 AM EST
    we apply a variation of your post to Sharpton?

    Parent
    Not sure what that means (none / 0) (#183)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:46:16 PM EST
    Al is not fat anymore.  He is quite svelte.  Have to say there was a time when I really really did not like Al.  In the 80s when I lived in NY he was not my favorite person.  
    But either he has changed or I have or more likely both but I have come to have a healthy respect for Rev Al.

    Parent
    This (none / 0) (#95)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 03:31:50 PM EST
    is true

    "The last five years have been defined by significant strides and by lasting reforms even in the face, even in the face of unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly and divisive adversity," Holder said. "If you don't believe that, you look at the way -- forget about me, forget about me. You look at the way the attorney general of the United States was treated yesterday by a House committee -- has nothing to do with me, forget that. What attorney general has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment? What president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?"

    Storm front dot org - to which I will not link - is not happy

    It is the 50 year anniversary of LBJ's civil Rights legislation.
    A sad day for every White person in the ussa.
    (I was 10 so don't blame me!)
    True to his uppity, HNIC nature, Holder was whining about his unprecedented, hateful treatment at the hands of congress.

    It goes on and on but I will spare you

    Parent

    I said this in another thread (none / 0) (#134)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 06:54:59 PM EST
    But it's worth repeating.  And this is a new poll with 10 point lead

    Eight months from Election Day, the centrist Democrat is still neck and neck with or ahead of his GOP opponent in private and partisan polls. An independent poll this week showed Pryor up 3 points and a second on Thursday put him up 10 points, despite a sour national climate and $6 million in negative ads already spent against him.

    Pryor is going to win

    And it will be because of the flood of outside money being spent against him.  People who don't love Pryor hate the flood of money coming in here

    More AR news (none / 0) (#135)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:25:32 PM EST
    possibly not unrelated

    A medical clinic in Mena, Ark. announced that it would be closing, citing a large drop in need for the clinic as people have signed up for health insurance under Obamacare.

    "Because people are qualifying for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, our free medical clinic will not be needed anymore," Stacey Bowser, the director of the 9th Street Ministries Clinic, told the Mena Star.

    "We've gone from seeing around 300 people a month on a regular basis, but as people were enrolling in Obamacare, the numbers we were seeing have dropped. We were down to 80 people that came through the medical clinic in February, all the way down to three people at the medical clinic in March. Our services won't be needed anymore, and this will conclude our mission," she continued.

    Parent

    I don't know (none / 0) (#136)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 07:38:23 PM EST
    Pryor's voting record but his opponent is just down right odious, a Rove apostle is what I understand. I hope the good people of AR send Cotton packing.

    Parent
    Just been watching a pretty (none / 0) (#140)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Apr 11, 2014 at 09:36:20 PM EST
    Amazing doc on showtime about Gaddafi

    "Mad Dog: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi" is set to premiere on Showtime on Friday, April 11, 2014 (9 p.m. ET/PT), according to a media announcement emailed by Showtime Networks on Feb. 20, 2014.

    The most interesting stuff I didn't know was not about him, although there is some pretty amazing stuff I didn't know, but about what the US and British and other western governments did.

    AN AXE LENGTH AWAY, vol. 328 (none / 0) (#156)
    by Dadler on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 09:15:18 AM EST
    Because the GOP has devolved into the worst bumper- sticker copy ever. (link)

    v. 327
    v. 326

    Mrs. Dadler has returned, and so, it seems, has my sanity. Peace to all.

    Les Blank's "A Well Spent Life" (none / 0) (#158)
    by Dadler on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 09:28:28 AM EST
    The late director's moving portrait of the Texas blues singer Mance Lipscomb is so simple and beautiful it'll make you weep:

    "This world is made for everybody. We got to share this thing. Combine with one another. You know what I'm lookin' to see happen? I'm lookin' to see that the young race of people combine with one another, black and white. If you got a little, then me and you is together. You gotta eat? Then we together. We gonna be one nation...of people."

    Here's a LINK to the film's trailer.

    If you like Jackson Browne's music (none / 0) (#176)
    by ruffian on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 01:40:26 PM EST
    but have been listening to only him sing it for 40 years...there is a really good new tribute record out called "Looking Into You", with various artists covering his songs Some highlights: JD Souther - My Opening Farewell, Shawn Colvin - Call it A Loan, Bruce and Patty - Linda Paloma, Keb Mo - Rock Me On The Water, Lucinda Williams - The Pretender, Don Henley - These Days.

    Check it out.

    It sounds interesting. (none / 0) (#179)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:25:50 PM EST
    But honestly, Jackson's Browne's 1976 album The Pretender -- which rose to No. 5 on the Billboard charts and was ranked No. 391 on Rolling Stone magazine's list as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time -- is arguably one of the most emotionally resonant, hard-edged and ultimately heartrending musical memoirs in the history of rock and roll, having been written and recorded by him in the months following the devastating suicide of his first wife Phyllis, who took her own life in March 1976, some 27 months after the birth of their son Ethan.

    (A photo of Ethan as a toddler adorns to back cover of the album, and the lyrics of the single Here Comes Those Tears Again, which charted on Billboard at No. 23 and where you can very distinctly hear a young Bonnie Raitt singing back-up, are credited to Nancy Farnsworth, who is Phyllis' mother and Ethan's grandmother.)

    Personally, I might find it rather difficult to listen to other artists cover its tracks The Pretender, Linda Paloma and Your Bright Baby Blues.

    Knowing the backstory of The Pretender as I do, I never fail to be stunned by the sheer and alternating depths of Browne's sadness, anger, angst and vulnerability whenever I hear it, which I believe to really be best conveyed and understood by listening to that album in its entirety.

    (Upon its conclusion, one might be surprised to realize that the entire album is actually less than 36 minutes in length.)

    There are times while playing it when I see Browne consciously teetering on the edge of a precipice, as though he's pondering whether or not to leap. As such, The Pretender is an album to which I can listen only sparingly, because its raw intensity retains an innate capacity to oftentimes drag me down a dark road and overwhelm me.

    And as talented as Lucinda Williams and Bruce Springsteen are, their covers of selected tracks from that seminal work will probably ring hollow to me.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I try to avoid posting animal videos (none / 0) (#178)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:19:05 PM EST
    I really do.   But this one made me laugh out loud.

    True Facts About The Owl

    This one did the trick for me. (5.00 / 1) (#180)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:32:38 PM EST
    That is not only awsum (none / 0) (#184)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:51:26 PM EST
    But a similar thing happened to my stupid fat fundie niece and her nasty little yap dog.  Sadly there is no video and I had to hear about it later.

    Parent
    Did that sound heartless? (none / 0) (#188)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 06:18:00 PM EST
    You really have to know the person.  And the dog.  Both obnoxious beyond belief.  My sister ( her mother) who herself has three chihuahuas laughed out loud while telling me about it.  She tried really hard not to, starting with a very long and solemn face,  but lost it when I started guffawing.

    Parent
    My mother has a neighbor ... (none / 0) (#201)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 09:29:55 PM EST
    ... across the street whose chihuahua was attacked four years ago by a great horned owl, right in from of his startled owner while he was on leash and they were taking a leisurely weekday afternoon stroll down Sierra Madre Blvd.

    The dog survived only because the woman beat the big bird with her purse, which caused it to fly off. But the dog was very seriously injured from the aerial assault and required surgery for the severe puncture wounds he suffered from the owl's talons, one of which also pierced his abdominal wall but fortunately not any internal organs. They were lucky in the sense that the attack occurred literally just down the block from their neighborhood vet, and she ran there with him in her arms.

    The poor little guy is actually a very friendly fellow, unlike your niece's late dog, but he doesn't even like to go outside in the back yard anymore unless accompanied by a human or two. I don't blame him. That must've been a very traumatic experience.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Cut the grass for the first time today (none / 0) (#186)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Apr 12, 2014 at 05:57:10 PM EST
    AFTER I changed a flat tire.

    And my take this opportunity to officially curse John Deere and all in their line for making it necessary to buy a specialized little f@&king tool to be able to get the stupid wheel off.

    20.00 before I could even buy a new tire.  It's a conspiracy.