(via Buzzfeed)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Art of the day
Artist Dave Devries' Monster Engine, an art project in which he takes shoddy drawings from our nation's overabundance of untalented children and turns them into painted nightmares of well rendered but poorly proportioned bodies, spindly legs, gruesome smiles, and random appendages and squiggles.
(via Buzzfeed)
(via Buzzfeed)
Chart of the day
Via the Floating Sheep blog come this statistical analysis of the United States of Freedom and our relationship with booze and food and the building of temples whereupon we can exchange money for said products.
It is a comparison of bars and grocery stores in the US and which areas have more of the former or the latter in comparison to one another. So if you wish to live in an area where it's easier to find a place to get blitzed than it is to buy bread, science suggests you should move to the Wisconsin area and outlying Midwest, as well as parts of Northern PA, New York and New England.
I would also just like to note, with pride, that our home town of Pittsburgh is clearly delineated with a giant chunk of 8 red dots, surely marking the city, greater Allegheny County, and outlying counties with a red badge of booze related truth I'm sure we already knew about deep down in our hearts. It has been mathematically proven that we are a drinkin' town with a football problem. Might I add: fuck grocery stores.
St. Sarah the Childlike
We all had a good bit of fun with former VP candidate, teen pregnancy advocate, and Alaska quitter Sarah Palin writing trite notes on her hand. Because she's one giant walking joke and Uncle Sean and Uncle Matt likes our material to come easy.
She wrote "energy" on her hand! Because apparently she thought she'd forget about the concept of abundant or usable power that can be used in a capacity to do work unless she had a reminder on her palm. Maybe she just wanted to remind everyone to drink Alaska brand oil or something.
But whatever you may think this says about her intellectual capacity, the lack of paper in her immediate vicinity, the inability almost two years hence to remember her rote, unchanging talking points, or the superior skin writing excellence of Bic, just know that you are wrong. Because God and Jesus and the Bible.
So, you know, the baby Jesus. That's who you're criticizing when you think you're criticizing Sarah Palin. She was merely writing words on her hand to help her brain stand up to the mighty onslaught of pre-screened questions from teabaggers, much in the manner of our infant Lord. If you're fine with that keep up with the mocking. Just know that the Lord is taking note. On His hand.
She wrote "energy" on her hand! Because apparently she thought she'd forget about the concept of abundant or usable power that can be used in a capacity to do work unless she had a reminder on her palm. Maybe she just wanted to remind everyone to drink Alaska brand oil or something.
But whatever you may think this says about her intellectual capacity, the lack of paper in her immediate vicinity, the inability almost two years hence to remember her rote, unchanging talking points, or the superior skin writing excellence of Bic, just know that you are wrong. Because God and Jesus and the Bible.
Isaiah 49:16 reads: "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."See, God did it. Sure, God is all knowing, all powerful, and omniscient, but sometimes he has to write shit on his hand to remember it. He created the Heavens and the Earth first, pens second, and just didn't get to paper until like the ass end of day six. And she's just tryin' to be like the Lord and you're tryin' to be all like that Devil guy who was like "Hey God, get a fuckin' pen and some papyrus" and tried to tempt our Lord in the desert with visions of Microsoft Office Word, Sharpies, and corrasable bond.
"Hey, if it was good enough for God, scribbling on the palm of his hand, it's good enough for me, for us. He says, in that passage he says, I wrote your name on the palm of my hand to remember you. And I'm like OK, I'm in good company," Palin said to laughter.
So, you know, the baby Jesus. That's who you're criticizing when you think you're criticizing Sarah Palin. She was merely writing words on her hand to help her brain stand up to the mighty onslaught of pre-screened questions from teabaggers, much in the manner of our infant Lord. If you're fine with that keep up with the mocking. Just know that the Lord is taking note. On His hand.
Shut up and give
What exactly is the plan for the GOP's return to power. Sure, sure: oppose everything, pull down government on top of themselves, chastise Democrats for failing to fix the problems it took them eight years to create in two... with a straight face. We all know that's the general outline and have seen it played out over the past year. But what's their actual point-A-to-Z plan to get back into power?
Well, according to RNC documents obtained by Politico, it's pretty much the plan I listed above... only with a healthy dose of seething contempt, disdain, and openly hostile scorn for the intelligence of their voters and donors, large sections of the American public, and their own lawmakers. Mostly the donors though.
There's even a section in their presentation entitled "Visceral Giving" in which the motivation of low level GOP donors is listed as "fear" and their mood "reactionary". Big ticket donors are treated with more respect as their desires are only listed as "access" and their concerns "ego-driven" and susceptible to "peer to peer pressure". On the other hand the RNC does want to "Put the Fun Back in FUNdraising".
So just in case you were wondering, no, the Republican Party doesn't have any sort of specialized disdain for you personally or some vendetta against the country and its institutions. They just feel that way about everybody and everything. You're just lucky you haven't given money to them, because the RNC really seems to have a negative opinion about those people.
And why shouldn't Michael Steele have a healthy amount of distrust and dislike of these donors? These are, after all, people who willingly gave money to the RNC. He's justified.
Well, according to RNC documents obtained by Politico, it's pretty much the plan I listed above... only with a healthy dose of seething contempt, disdain, and openly hostile scorn for the intelligence of their voters and donors, large sections of the American public, and their own lawmakers. Mostly the donors though.
The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism."Ouch. Barry and Pelosi get two of the most iconic villains in American popular culture and Harry Reid is only characterized as a hungry, yet cowardly, talking cartoon dog who the Speaker may or may not turn into a magnificent coat? ....Yeah, that seems about right.
The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.
...
Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.
One page, headed “The Evil Empire,” pictures Obama as the Joker from Batman, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid are depicted as Cruella DeVille and Scooby Doo, respectively.
There's even a section in their presentation entitled "Visceral Giving" in which the motivation of low level GOP donors is listed as "fear" and their mood "reactionary". Big ticket donors are treated with more respect as their desires are only listed as "access" and their concerns "ego-driven" and susceptible to "peer to peer pressure". On the other hand the RNC does want to "Put the Fun Back in FUNdraising".
So just in case you were wondering, no, the Republican Party doesn't have any sort of specialized disdain for you personally or some vendetta against the country and its institutions. They just feel that way about everybody and everything. You're just lucky you haven't given money to them, because the RNC really seems to have a negative opinion about those people.
And why shouldn't Michael Steele have a healthy amount of distrust and dislike of these donors? These are, after all, people who willingly gave money to the RNC. He's justified.
I bet he didn't see that coming
We all know that our investor and stockbroker class are the best and brightest in the world. I mean, they certainly won't stop telling us that. Sure they didn't foresee the problems they were creating, the money they were about to lose, and the economies they were going to toilet, but these people aren't psychics, so their failures can't be held against them.
But what about actual psychic investors? I wonder how they would do in this economic climate.
So in the end, what is the difference between Morton and any of the financial geniuses who shitted the economy? Uh, he used the phrase "psychic" and gave mystical powers the credit for his nonexistent ability to see the shifts and changes in the market instead of using a phrase like "heuristic market driven analysis" or some other such professional, mathematical sounding authority to claim a nonexistent ability to see the shifts and changes in the market. I also don't think John Thain ever did a Tai-Chi pose with a cat on his shoulders. Oooh, and Morton doesn't have any friends in the Treasury Department, although he does know Adam West and Sting. Also, Morton didn't lose nearly as much money as the non psychic experts, though he will be doing considerably more jail time.
But otherwise? No real difference. Just where, towards what areas, and to what end these men were appropriating their giant balls. Hard to see why it all came toppling down.
But what about actual psychic investors? I wonder how they would do in this economic climate.
The SEC has charged Sean David Morton, a self-described "natural psychic, trained Remote Viewer, intuitive consultant, investigative reporter, and accomplished award winning director, screenwriter and film and TV producer," with securities fraudC'mon SEC, he foresaw EVERY high and low in the market! EXACT DATES! He has this picture of himself psychoflexing with a giant white cat standing on his shoulders. He runs a "specialized cattery". He wrote, directed and starred in Joe Killionaire. Triple threat! Shouldn't you be hiring him? Why arrest him? Isn't that a stellar enough resume to be allowed to handle and invest millions of dollars?
Morton, who is known as "America's Prophet" allegedly solicited investors through a newsletter in which he claimed, "I have called ALL the highs and lows of the market giving EXACT DATES for rises and crashes over the last 14 years."
The SEC charges that Morton and his wife allegedly "diverted at least $240,000 of investor funds" to their Prophecy Research Institute. The SEC complaint charitably refers to that as a "religious organization."Wait. So it's OK to claim you're a psychic who can foresee market changes, earthquakes, and election results and still be licensed and regulated by the SEC and allowed to take millions to "invest". But so help you God if you take some of that money really smart people have given you and divert into your prophecy research religious arm. Claiming mystical powers is allowed in this country, but you better do some damn fine accounting and bookkeeping to back it up.
So in the end, what is the difference between Morton and any of the financial geniuses who shitted the economy? Uh, he used the phrase "psychic" and gave mystical powers the credit for his nonexistent ability to see the shifts and changes in the market instead of using a phrase like "heuristic market driven analysis" or some other such professional, mathematical sounding authority to claim a nonexistent ability to see the shifts and changes in the market. I also don't think John Thain ever did a Tai-Chi pose with a cat on his shoulders. Oooh, and Morton doesn't have any friends in the Treasury Department, although he does know Adam West and Sting. Also, Morton didn't lose nearly as much money as the non psychic experts, though he will be doing considerably more jail time.
But otherwise? No real difference. Just where, towards what areas, and to what end these men were appropriating their giant balls. Hard to see why it all came toppling down.
Energy is no longer an issue. As you were.
MIT Chemistry Professor Dan Nocera believes that, thanks to a new process that employs the sun to split the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water, personalized solar energy will soon be ubiquitous.
Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy from PopTech on Vimeo.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The majesty of sound
The Oscars are once again upon us and that means several films are going to duke it out for America's heart in the categories we have deemed to be of the utmost importance. By that I mean Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. As such the Soundworks Collection has put together a bunch of featurettes about the sound designers, sound design, and sound work of some of the nominated and best films of the year. Here are a few of them.
"Inglorious Basterds" Sound for Film Profile from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.
"Where the Wild Things Are" Sound for Film Profile from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.
"Watchmen" Sound for Film Profile from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.
"Star Trek" Sound for Film Profile from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tragedy averted
Via Simon Pegg, who Tweeted this and was apparently shocked into silence by the horror of it or quietly relieved not to see his hard work sullied by American half-wits. It's the American Spaced, by McG. Or McSpaced as it was derogatorily known.
Marvel as British geeks are morphed into Hollywood style meatheads, the low rent mid-twenties post-college lifestyle is ignored, the Mike Watt character is completely stripped of anything interesting, Edger Wright's direction is ineffectively aped, and comic timing and writing is garroted and left to die bleeding and alone on the floor. On the other hand, the Brian Topp artist character seems to be OK.
Bullet dodged. Now go wash out your eyes with the original British version on Hulu.
Marvel as British geeks are morphed into Hollywood style meatheads, the low rent mid-twenties post-college lifestyle is ignored, the Mike Watt character is completely stripped of anything interesting, Edger Wright's direction is ineffectively aped, and comic timing and writing is garroted and left to die bleeding and alone on the floor. On the other hand, the Brian Topp artist character seems to be OK.
Bullet dodged. Now go wash out your eyes with the original British version on Hulu.
Cheap Blogging Crutch 03.04
Fox News Can’t Upset Murdoch’s Saudi Prince
We all know the basic rules Fox news operates under. 1.) Warp the meanings of fairness and balance to such a degree that it would cause George Orwell to hork on his Froot Loops. 2.) Hire any raving street corner maniac and give him an afternoon or evening opinion show, provided he of course decries liberals and praises Reagan in between fights with imaginary dragons and cardboard box defecations. 3.) Don't upset the Saudi Prince that bankrolls large sections of the Fox media empire with nasty mentions of the Saudi roll in funding terrorist actions worldwide. Actually that third one is a bit of a surprise. Who knew that such a jingoistic "fear the browns" network would find itself so beholden to Saudi sheiks. This seems like something that should have already fueled 12 ill though out chalkboard scribbling segments with a weeping Glenn Beck. Until then, you'll just have to make due with Joe Trento's take.
Our world may be a giant hologram
Did that headline just blow your mind? If it didn't, go get high and then re-read it. The entirety of existence might just be a 3-D hologram projection of a 2-D universe.... which may or may not be foil stamped onto the back of an even larger universal baseball card. Yes, that's exactly as weird as it sounds. And it's coming from the director of director of Fermilab's Center for Particle Astrophysics based on the theories of Stephen Hawking. You know, crackpots. If all of this sounds surprising to you, you need to read more Warren Ellis comics. Every other page mentions "3-D hologram of a 2-D universe" this or "Zero-point energy" that. You could be ahead of the scientific curve if you just read more superhero picture books.
NHS money 'wasted' on homeopathy
In a victory for science and common sense, the UK decided that paying out money to homeopathic doctors and hospitals on the groundbreaking belief that handing out millions to people who sold magic water as a "cure" was a ludicrous idea. I'd like to take this as a sign that the world is becoming smarter, but we're over here paying out millions to abstinence only education, have state legislature passing measure to decry climate science, and we can't even seem to get a functioning health care system. Still, baby steps.
Ultra-Precise Quantum-Logic Clock Trumps Old Atomic Clock
Now that we have evidence that the mole people are causing earthquakes in order to steal seconds off our clock and throw the earth off its axis (SCIENCE FACT!!!!!!), we are in need of two things. 1.) A bloody, violent, merciless and ceaseless war against the underverse. 2.) More accurate clocks. Since we all know that atomic clocks are prone to creating irradiated scientists and are unreliable if you need time calculated down to the exact second every 3.7 billion year period, scientists have luckily devised a quantum logic clock that monitors the energy state of an aluminum ion. Sadly this has not become the global time standard yet, so as such if one of us is to become a near ageless Godlike being, our watches are going to be off by a second or two every couple of billion years. Such is life.
What Is Time? One Physicist Hunts for the Ultimate Theory
Physicist Sean Carroll is attempting to once and for all finally answer what time is. Easy, it's that stuff that watches emit and is then eaten by our jobs, friends, and family so that you are not allowed to enjoy it. Or, if you want to be a science dick about it, there's probably some sort of equation that explains it with more physics and less bitterness. Whatever. In an interview with Wired, Carroll tries to explain what he's trying to do and just what time is from a physics standpoint.
We all know the basic rules Fox news operates under. 1.) Warp the meanings of fairness and balance to such a degree that it would cause George Orwell to hork on his Froot Loops. 2.) Hire any raving street corner maniac and give him an afternoon or evening opinion show, provided he of course decries liberals and praises Reagan in between fights with imaginary dragons and cardboard box defecations. 3.) Don't upset the Saudi Prince that bankrolls large sections of the Fox media empire with nasty mentions of the Saudi roll in funding terrorist actions worldwide. Actually that third one is a bit of a surprise. Who knew that such a jingoistic "fear the browns" network would find itself so beholden to Saudi sheiks. This seems like something that should have already fueled 12 ill though out chalkboard scribbling segments with a weeping Glenn Beck. Until then, you'll just have to make due with Joe Trento's take.
Our world may be a giant hologram
Did that headline just blow your mind? If it didn't, go get high and then re-read it. The entirety of existence might just be a 3-D hologram projection of a 2-D universe.... which may or may not be foil stamped onto the back of an even larger universal baseball card. Yes, that's exactly as weird as it sounds. And it's coming from the director of director of Fermilab's Center for Particle Astrophysics based on the theories of Stephen Hawking. You know, crackpots. If all of this sounds surprising to you, you need to read more Warren Ellis comics. Every other page mentions "3-D hologram of a 2-D universe" this or "Zero-point energy" that. You could be ahead of the scientific curve if you just read more superhero picture books.
NHS money 'wasted' on homeopathy
In a victory for science and common sense, the UK decided that paying out money to homeopathic doctors and hospitals on the groundbreaking belief that handing out millions to people who sold magic water as a "cure" was a ludicrous idea. I'd like to take this as a sign that the world is becoming smarter, but we're over here paying out millions to abstinence only education, have state legislature passing measure to decry climate science, and we can't even seem to get a functioning health care system. Still, baby steps.
Ultra-Precise Quantum-Logic Clock Trumps Old Atomic Clock
Now that we have evidence that the mole people are causing earthquakes in order to steal seconds off our clock and throw the earth off its axis (SCIENCE FACT!!!!!!), we are in need of two things. 1.) A bloody, violent, merciless and ceaseless war against the underverse. 2.) More accurate clocks. Since we all know that atomic clocks are prone to creating irradiated scientists and are unreliable if you need time calculated down to the exact second every 3.7 billion year period, scientists have luckily devised a quantum logic clock that monitors the energy state of an aluminum ion. Sadly this has not become the global time standard yet, so as such if one of us is to become a near ageless Godlike being, our watches are going to be off by a second or two every couple of billion years. Such is life.
What Is Time? One Physicist Hunts for the Ultimate Theory
Physicist Sean Carroll is attempting to once and for all finally answer what time is. Easy, it's that stuff that watches emit and is then eaten by our jobs, friends, and family so that you are not allowed to enjoy it. Or, if you want to be a science dick about it, there's probably some sort of equation that explains it with more physics and less bitterness. Whatever. In an interview with Wired, Carroll tries to explain what he's trying to do and just what time is from a physics standpoint.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Broken in Brief: US wasn’t interested in that hockey gold medal anyway
AMERICA—After a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and despite ratings figures that show nearly one third of all available American television households tuned into the afternoon game, the United States is insisting that it wasn’t really all that interested in winning another gold medal anyway.
“Yeah, we weren’t really paying much attention,” said US Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun after an unexplained three day disappearance, his red eyes welling up and his nose dripping. “I mean after all, we set an Olympic record with 37 medals, so it’s not like one more gold would have made any difference or anything. It’s not like going to another country, dominating them in their own sport and stealing all the glory is something that we, as Americans, like to do anyway.”
Indeed, much of the US Sporting and Olympic committee, as well as the American public and political establishment, were in total agreement.
“Frankly I want to thank our athletes for graciously allowing Canada to win the medal that was most important to them,” observed US President Barack Obama. “This gracious gesture of goodwill should help us out immensely in future trade negotiations.”
“We all know that this country is beyond merely grabbing for sporting glory on the biggest stage possible just because it makes us feel superior and crushes the morale of a close ally. We’re bigger than all-encompassing sports superiority and I hope Canada enjoys the medal for hockey. It's not like giant Olympic hockey wins are part of this country's illustrious sporting history, anyway.” he concluded, trailing off, muttering something about “Eruzione” and “the dirty Commies.”
In addition to noting how much it totally didn’t care, America provisionally announced that it didn’t care about any sports it wasn’t overwhelmingly expected to win and that it reserved the right to not care about the 2010 World Cup. Noting that it would conditionally watch some of the opening round games before deciding whether or not it cared, reserving the right to completely not care if at any point the United States did not win.
“Who cares anyway,” the bitter superpower was heard to grumble. “American teams are still the world champions in the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, and MLS.”
“Yeah, we weren’t really paying much attention,” said US Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun after an unexplained three day disappearance, his red eyes welling up and his nose dripping. “I mean after all, we set an Olympic record with 37 medals, so it’s not like one more gold would have made any difference or anything. It’s not like going to another country, dominating them in their own sport and stealing all the glory is something that we, as Americans, like to do anyway.”
Indeed, much of the US Sporting and Olympic committee, as well as the American public and political establishment, were in total agreement.
“Frankly I want to thank our athletes for graciously allowing Canada to win the medal that was most important to them,” observed US President Barack Obama. “This gracious gesture of goodwill should help us out immensely in future trade negotiations.”
“We all know that this country is beyond merely grabbing for sporting glory on the biggest stage possible just because it makes us feel superior and crushes the morale of a close ally. We’re bigger than all-encompassing sports superiority and I hope Canada enjoys the medal for hockey. It's not like giant Olympic hockey wins are part of this country's illustrious sporting history, anyway.” he concluded, trailing off, muttering something about “Eruzione” and “the dirty Commies.”
In addition to noting how much it totally didn’t care, America provisionally announced that it didn’t care about any sports it wasn’t overwhelmingly expected to win and that it reserved the right to not care about the 2010 World Cup. Noting that it would conditionally watch some of the opening round games before deciding whether or not it cared, reserving the right to completely not care if at any point the United States did not win.
“Who cares anyway,” the bitter superpower was heard to grumble. “American teams are still the world champions in the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, and MLS.”
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The coveted These Bastards endorsement
Today are the GOP and Democratic primaries for the Texas Governorship. If you happen to be from Texas, well, FUCK YOU!! Sorry, that just come rushing out of me, I don't know why. Actually, I do. You deserve it.
Irregardless, if you happen to be one of those Texas rarities we call a Democrat and you have not been driven out of the state like so much cattle, then we would like to demand you vote for someone. That man is Farouk.
I don't know if that's his last name or his first name. I don't know if he's an insane person, an average candidate, or Jesus incarnate. I don't know any belief he holds, policy he supports, or anything other than this one single fact: he authorized an autotuned rap/R&B song to remind people to get out and vote for him.
I don't need to hear a second thing.
FAROUK! FAROUK! FAROUK! is on fi-ah!
Serving the community: his numba one des-i-yah!
Please Texas, elect this man to something.
Irregardless, if you happen to be one of those Texas rarities we call a Democrat and you have not been driven out of the state like so much cattle, then we would like to demand you vote for someone. That man is Farouk.
I don't know if that's his last name or his first name. I don't know if he's an insane person, an average candidate, or Jesus incarnate. I don't know any belief he holds, policy he supports, or anything other than this one single fact: he authorized an autotuned rap/R&B song to remind people to get out and vote for him.
I don't need to hear a second thing.
FAROUK! FAROUK! FAROUK! is on fi-ah!
Serving the community: his numba one des-i-yah!
Please Texas, elect this man to something.
The Chileans broke the planet
Have you ever wished the day was a little shorter? You know, just so there were a few less minutes in your day to sit around without a job or just to make 5 o'clock come around sooner because then it's OK to drink and GODDAMNIT YOU DONT HAVE A PROBLEM, SHELIA!!!
Well then, this whole Chilean earthquake thing must have been a tremendous boon to you and a subject of some personal pride, you monster. You got your wish.
So remember, in order to fully stick it to the man and wring out every benefit you can from a 8.8 magnitude earthquake: start leaving work 1.26 microseconds early. Otherwise the time shift is just going to come out of your sleep and leisure time. And if you want to start knocking off some tenths of a second, you know, real time, then start praying for some really big earthquakes. It's all just a matter of the CIA turning a knob on their earthquake causing satellite.
Well then, this whole Chilean earthquake thing must have been a tremendous boon to you and a subject of some personal pride, you monster. You got your wish.
The earthquake that killed more than 700 people in Chile on Feb. 27 probably shifted the Earth’s axis and shortened the day, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said.So not only is the day shorter in an increment that can only be appreciated by hummingbirds and Olympic sprinters, the earth was thrown off it's axis by three whole inches. The three inch axis shift was so violent that a scientist stationed at a scientific outpost was slightly nudged into a co-worker while at the dinner table, throwing the meal into an unpleasant conversation about "personal boundary issues" about certain "creepy, bug-eyed glaciologists" that "had already been warned about the pawing and touching, Roger." Suffice to say, dessert was uncomfortable.
...
“The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds (millionths of a second),” Gross, said today in an e-mailed reply to questions. “The axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters or 3 inches).
So remember, in order to fully stick it to the man and wring out every benefit you can from a 8.8 magnitude earthquake: start leaving work 1.26 microseconds early. Otherwise the time shift is just going to come out of your sleep and leisure time. And if you want to start knocking off some tenths of a second, you know, real time, then start praying for some really big earthquakes. It's all just a matter of the CIA turning a knob on their earthquake causing satellite.
Because I hate you
Here's a rap video about the hardscrabble life of a teabaggin', Ron Paul supportin', conservative OG. It's a serious rap video about the teabaggers.
No, thank you Internet. You're too kind.
No, thank you Internet. You're too kind.
Don't drink the water
Hey, Americans like drinking poison, swimming in chemicals, and living near large flowing collections of carcinogens, right? Of course we do. Hell, that's why we all hate the Clean Water Act so much. Who wants old man government sticking his nose into the business of corporations and telling them that they can't tell us how much sewage we get to gloriously consume in our water?
You'll be happy to hear the great news then.
On the other hand the Supreme Court, in what I'm going to guess was a 5-4 ruling, thinks "navigable waters" means only a large river or a particularly big ass lake, and so help you God if that river or lake doesn't place it's ass in at least two states. Or, in other words, the Supreme Court doesn't think the Clean Water Act applies to most water. As such, regulators have had to end investigations, pull out of some states entirely, and, in what is a shocking surprise, somehow water pollution and contamination has risen because dumping poison into a stream that leads into a river is now legal. Essentially the Clean Water Act is now pretty much useless.
But don't worry, the Senate is going to pass a law that removes the "navigable" part from the law and... you know what I'm not even going to finish that sentence. They're going to attempt it, big business will shriek, Glen Beck will rant about the government stealing everyone's water, and the Democrats won't be able to get 60 votes for it.
So.... hope you like drinking soda. That's pretty much going to be the consumable beverage for a lot of areas of the country soon. On the other hand: invest in Brita water filters. I have a feeling that's going to be a boom stock. Isn't this a great country?
You'll be happy to hear the great news then.
Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators.See there's a little dispute over language. When lawmakers originally wrote the law they used the phrase "navigable waters" to define the scope of government jurisdiction. What they meant and what regulators meant is everything from wetlands to streams to rivers. I believe the legal language was "shit you can get a fuckin' canoe into."
...
Companies that have spilled oil, carcinogens and dangerous bacteria into lakes, rivers and other waters are not being prosecuted, according to Environmental Protection Agency regulators working on those cases, who estimate that more than 1,500 major pollution investigations have been discontinued or shelved in the last four years.
The Clean Water Act was intended to end dangerous water pollution by regulating every major polluter. But today, regulators may be unable to prosecute as many as half of the nation’s largest known polluters because officials lack jurisdiction or because proving jurisdiction would be overwhelmingly difficult or time consuming, according to midlevel officials.
On the other hand the Supreme Court, in what I'm going to guess was a 5-4 ruling, thinks "navigable waters" means only a large river or a particularly big ass lake, and so help you God if that river or lake doesn't place it's ass in at least two states. Or, in other words, the Supreme Court doesn't think the Clean Water Act applies to most water. As such, regulators have had to end investigations, pull out of some states entirely, and, in what is a shocking surprise, somehow water pollution and contamination has risen because dumping poison into a stream that leads into a river is now legal. Essentially the Clean Water Act is now pretty much useless.
But don't worry, the Senate is going to pass a law that removes the "navigable" part from the law and... you know what I'm not even going to finish that sentence. They're going to attempt it, big business will shriek, Glen Beck will rant about the government stealing everyone's water, and the Democrats won't be able to get 60 votes for it.
So.... hope you like drinking soda. That's pretty much going to be the consumable beverage for a lot of areas of the country soon. On the other hand: invest in Brita water filters. I have a feeling that's going to be a boom stock. Isn't this a great country?
Picture of the day
The Big Picture Blog closes it's look at the 2010 Vancouver Games. It was a spirited two weeks of luge death, event and pageantry malfunctions, puff pieces, pillorying NBC for it's coverage, Bob Costas' patented smugness, beloved Pittsburgh athletes betraying America in the name of Canada, and some athletes competing or something.
Up next is the 2012 London Summer Games followed by the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Apparently Sochi is a Russian city of 300,000 near the Black Sea on the Georgian border. I doubt that it is a real city or even an actual place, because I sure as hell haven't heard of it. I do recall hearing something about a London though.
As always, click to embiggen.
Up next is the 2012 London Summer Games followed by the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Apparently Sochi is a Russian city of 300,000 near the Black Sea on the Georgian border. I doubt that it is a real city or even an actual place, because I sure as hell haven't heard of it. I do recall hearing something about a London though.
As always, click to embiggen.
Goldman will be keeping that money, thanks for asking
The last year or so hasn't been a great one, PR wise, for Goldman-Sachs. They've been caught up in an orgy of public hate over their actions, populist rage over bonuses, spitefully insightful Matt Taibbi articles, damning news reports, shady dealings, tone deaf behavior, and a general sense they they would steal the internal organs of children if they could just find a way to leverage it in the financial markets. On the other hand, they've also been caught up in an orgy of money and probably an actual orgy or two. Which, considering the general looks and attractiveness of your average Goldman worker, could be considered a crime against decency and taste.
They are loathed and no one there seems to understand that or want to take any real action to stop a public hatred so palpable that I'm surprised Goldman execs don't have to hack through it with machetes just to get into the office in the morning. On the other hand, their shareholders do seem to get it. Unfortunately, the board seems to think the shareholders should shut the fuck up already.
So shouldn't we shut up already about all the stuff they did and continue to do to leverage our pain, misery and money into more money for themselves? While we and their shareholders might say no, the GS board says yes. And really, shouldn't we listen to them? After all they are pretty damned rich. Let's shut up.
They are loathed and no one there seems to understand that or want to take any real action to stop a public hatred so palpable that I'm surprised Goldman execs don't have to hack through it with machetes just to get into the office in the morning. On the other hand, their shareholders do seem to get it. Unfortunately, the board seems to think the shareholders should shut the fuck up already.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) board has rejected demands from shareholders that the firm investigate recent compensation awards, recoup excessive compensation and reform pay practices.Sure their dirty dealings, shady practices, and connections to the Treasury Department and Fed have basically given them a license to print money off the backs of taxpayers. On the other hand, they did cap bonuses at $16.2 billion instead of the $20 billion their employees "earned", practically dooming their brokers to a life of poverty... all in the name of the public good.
Wall Street's dominant bank, criticized for paying billions of dollars in bonuses soon after the taxpayer bailout of the banking industry, reported the board's decision in a regulatory filing on Monday.
Goldman reported the shareholder demands last year and said at the time that its board was considering them. The firm did not name the shareholders who made the demands.
So shouldn't we shut up already about all the stuff they did and continue to do to leverage our pain, misery and money into more money for themselves? While we and their shareholders might say no, the GS board says yes. And really, shouldn't we listen to them? After all they are pretty damned rich. Let's shut up.
Lazy poors
Jim Bunning is a crotchety old man. Really crotchety. He might be all crotch. He of course is the man singlehandedly holding up an uncontroversial vote on a bundle of several measures in the Senate. Because he's refusing to consent to a unanimous consent and voice vote and has forced a cloture vote, several days will have to pass before a vote can be taken and in that time several things will expire: unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA health care for laid off workers, highway funds that resulted in the unpaid furloughing of thousands of employees, a Medicare reimbursement rate that will result in a 21% cut for doctors, and provision that allows people to watch local TV on satellites. That last one isn't that important.
It's a small bill, around $10 billion, and it's passage was so obvious and necessary that even Senate GOP leaders were going to let it pass on a voice vote. Bunning had other ideas, gummed up the works, all these programs expired, and his response to the overwhelming negative reaction and demonization of his bullshit has been, alternately, to whine about how he had to miss a basketball game in order to fuck people over who lost their jobs, yell out "tough shit", and flip off reporters. Because he's an adult.
But because he's a Republican and Republicans can only be criticized for being too liberal and not too conservative, GOP Senators can't quite bring themselves to criticize this politically disastrous and unpopular move. John Kyl is one of those people.
Just when you think Demcorats have annoyed and pissed off enough people to make their loss in November all but ensured, the GOP roars back and yells at the top its lungs "Don't forget, we're massive uncaring assholes. Here, watch us spitefully hurt you for no reason!" Perhaps next time, head Crazy Uncle Jim off at the pass and explain to him why what he's about to do is a bad idea, and after he flips you off and ignores you, at least have the common sense not to publicly support it and claim that what he's doing is good, because in the long run it'll help with the self-esteem issues of the long-term unemployed. Just a suggestion.
It's a small bill, around $10 billion, and it's passage was so obvious and necessary that even Senate GOP leaders were going to let it pass on a voice vote. Bunning had other ideas, gummed up the works, all these programs expired, and his response to the overwhelming negative reaction and demonization of his bullshit has been, alternately, to whine about how he had to miss a basketball game in order to fuck people over who lost their jobs, yell out "tough shit", and flip off reporters. Because he's an adult.
But because he's a Republican and Republicans can only be criticized for being too liberal and not too conservative, GOP Senators can't quite bring themselves to criticize this politically disastrous and unpopular move. John Kyl is one of those people.
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Republican whip, argued that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting "because people are being paid even though they're not working."Yes, life is grand on unemployment. Who wouldn't want to live on the king's ransom that is a sub-poverty level stipend that you will invariably use to buy cheap government COBRA health insurance to cover the health insurance you just lost. Or would, if Bunning didn't also block that. Plus in this economy, we all know the reason unemployment is at 10% is because people just don't want to take jobs. "Life's too good on unemployment," they say, "I'll just wait until something catches my eye." It's not so much an economic and jobs crisis in this country as it is a lazy poor people and socialism crisis.
Unemployment insurance "doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work," Kyl said during debate over whether unemployment insurance and other benefits that expired amid GOP objections Sunday should be extended.
Just when you think Demcorats have annoyed and pissed off enough people to make their loss in November all but ensured, the GOP roars back and yells at the top its lungs "Don't forget, we're massive uncaring assholes. Here, watch us spitefully hurt you for no reason!" Perhaps next time, head Crazy Uncle Jim off at the pass and explain to him why what he's about to do is a bad idea, and after he flips you off and ignores you, at least have the common sense not to publicly support it and claim that what he's doing is good, because in the long run it'll help with the self-esteem issues of the long-term unemployed. Just a suggestion.
Monday, March 1, 2010
That health care bill
You know that health care bill? Yeah, you know, the one that is seemingly never going to get passed. The one that is simultaneously a strong people first approach to dealing with health care problems, a total corporate sellout to insurance and pharmaceutical interests, a progressive back-stab of epic proportions, an average timidly incremental bill that does little to seriously move this country's health care system forward, and also an unending dark veil of socialist misery that will enslave our children as it grinds up our elderly into a paste we will be forced to spread onto our sandwiches of government bread and cheese?
Yeah, well according to Kaiser Health News it's also almost completely indistinguishable from Senator John Chafee's (R-RI) GOP counter-proposal to Bill Clinton's failed 1993 health reform effort. One that, at the time, was considered an unacceptable right wing proposal and deal breaker by 1993 Democrats and is now considered the best plan ever by current Democrats; was considered the serious principled conservative solution to health care problems by 193 Republicans and is now considered a grandma liquidating Bolshevik plot by today's GOP.
Funny how that worked out. That is if you happen to find not getting decent health care reform passed in 1993 and 2010 funny.
The full Kaiser chart is after the jump.
Yeah, well according to Kaiser Health News it's also almost completely indistinguishable from Senator John Chafee's (R-RI) GOP counter-proposal to Bill Clinton's failed 1993 health reform effort. One that, at the time, was considered an unacceptable right wing proposal and deal breaker by 1993 Democrats and is now considered the best plan ever by current Democrats; was considered the serious principled conservative solution to health care problems by 193 Republicans and is now considered a grandma liquidating Bolshevik plot by today's GOP.
Funny how that worked out. That is if you happen to find not getting decent health care reform passed in 1993 and 2010 funny.
The full Kaiser chart is after the jump.
| Major Provisions | Senate Bill 2009 | Sen. Chafee (R) Bill 1993 | Rep. Boehner (R) Bill 2009 |
| Require Individuals To Purchase Health Insurance (Includes Religious and/or Hardship Exemption) | Yes | Yes | No (individuals without |
| Requires Employers To Offer Health Insurance To Employees | Yes (above 50 employees, must help pay for insurance costs to workers receiving tax credits | Yes (but no requirement to contribute to premium cost) | No |
| Standard Benefits Package | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bans Denying Medical Coverage For Pre-existing Conditions | Yes | Yes | No (establishes high risk pools) |
| Establish State-based Exchanges/Purchasing Groups | Yes | Yes | No |
| Offers Subsidies For Low-Income People To Buy Insurance | Yes | Yes | No |
| Long Term Care Insurance | Yes (sets up a voluntary insurance plan) | Yes (sets standards for insurance) | No |
| Makes Efforts To Create More Efficient Health Care System | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Medicaid Expansion | Yes | No | No |
| Reduces Growth In Medicare Spending | Yes | Yes | No |
| Medical Malpractice Reform | No | Yes | Yes |
| Controls High Cost Health Plans | Yes (taxes on plans over $8,500 for single coverage to $23,000 for family plan) | Yes (caps tax exemption for employer-sponsored plans) | No |
| Prohibits Insurance Company From Cancelling Coverage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Prohibits Insurers From Setting Lifetime Spending Caps | Yes | No | Yes |
| Equalize Tax Treatment For Insurance Of Self-Employed | No | Yes | No |
| Extends Coverage To Dependents | Yes (up to age 26) | No | Yes (up to age 25) |
| Cost | $871 billion over 10 years | No CBO estimate | $8 billion over 10 years |
| Impact On Deficit | Reduces by $132 billion over 10 years | No CBO estimate | Reduces by $68 billion over 10 years |
| Percentage Of Americans Covered | 94% by 2019 | 92-94% by 2005 | 82% by 2019 |
Picture of the day
Photographer Mike Stimpson recreates famous photos from history using the magic of Lego. Just part of his larger photographic work with Legos and, most importantly, Star Wars Legos.
The Gilded Age
It's tough out there for rich people. Us poors and our tenement shacks are sometimes within full view of their well moneyed eyes, there's a slight possibility that they might have to pay taxes at the same rate they did in the late nineties, and while we in the hobo underclass are poorly educated (or at least massively debt ridden for the education we were able to cobble together out of twigs and $200 textbooks) we are not so uneducated as to be unable to realize the massive inequality in income distribution that has only increased over the past decade. Plus they also have all those additional rich guy problems like an unclean mansion, road salt stains on their Bentley, and constant fear of a peasant uprising.
But good news is still out there for our beleaguered riches. It's that whole income disparity thing I mentioned. It's truly staggering how good the news is for them.
I'm just thankful all those Bush tax cuts went through. Sure it might have added $1.8 trillion to the deficit and put income inequality at 1920's robber baron levels, but thankfully all the jobs and economic growth that these rich people have been able to provide because of the tax cuts they received have been able to stave off drastic job losses because of the financial crisis they also caused. It's great that it was able to work out that way.
But good news is still out there for our beleaguered riches. It's that whole income disparity thing I mentioned. It's truly staggering how good the news is for them.
The figures for 2007, the last year of an economic expansion, show that average income reported by the top 400 earners more than doubled from $131.1 million in 2001. That year, Congress adopted tax cuts urged by then-President George W. Bush that Democrats say disproportionately benefits the wealthy.$138 billion for 400 families. On the other hand, the bottom fifth of this country, 24 million people, are worth a collective $247 billion. If they just pooled their money, they could out fancy pants our financial elite. So, you know, poor people win again.
Each household in the top 400 of earners paid an average tax rate of 16.6 percent, the lowest since the agency began tracking the data in 1992, the statistics show. Their average effective tax rate was about half the 29.4 percent in 1993, the first year of President Bill Clinton’s administration, when taxes were increased.
...
The top 400 earners received a total $138 billion in 2007, up from $105.3 billion a year earlier. On an inflation-adjusted basis, their average income grew almost fivefold since 1992, the data show.
I'm just thankful all those Bush tax cuts went through. Sure it might have added $1.8 trillion to the deficit and put income inequality at 1920's robber baron levels, but thankfully all the jobs and economic growth that these rich people have been able to provide because of the tax cuts they received have been able to stave off drastic job losses because of the financial crisis they also caused. It's great that it was able to work out that way.
The Empire
What is this? Is it merely a look at the cupola window that NASA installed on the International Space Station so that astronauts could better gawk and gander at the earth below? Or is it merely evidence that we hold in our possession a Sienar Fleet Systems modified TIE Advanced Starfighter AS FLOWN BY DARTH VADER HIMSELF!?
I say yes. The ISS has been made into a TIE Fighter in fitting with NASA's goals of fashioning itself into the space battle arm of our new Galactic Empire. I say we skip past a new space shuttle or rocket system and move straight on to the Imperial Star Destroyers.
Furthermore These Bastards would like to commend NASA for making actual space more like the space we remember from the sci-fi films of our youth. We know you're doing real science up there, but it doesn't really count for us unless we can make PEWPEWPEW laser sounds and whooshing starship engine sounds while we crash together toys we're at least two decades too old to be playing with.
You're up next, genetics industry. Make a wookie.
I like the sound of this
It seems that this might be the week that Democrats finally get off their asses to begin taken the steps to considering having the House vote on the Senate bill and the Senate using reconciliation to pass the conference committee changes to the health care bills that they already passed.
But that second part, the reconciliation part, has some of our friends on the GOP side screaming bloody murder. See, reconciliation isn't supposed to be used to pass things like health care, it's supposed to be used to pass things like tax cuts for the rich that add $1.8 trillion to the deficit. And even then, only Republicans are allowed to do it. But Sen. Lamar Alexander, not only sees the danger of reconciliation, he's warning us of possible horrible horrors that await.
I just want to know how the four previous times Alexander voted for reconciliation didn't end the Senate. Maybe it's a cumulative thing.
I wonder why Democrats would have to take this extraordinary, Senate murdering step to trample over the "minority right" of the GOP to completely halt any attempt at governance? Could perhaps an unrelated news article explain it to me?
So sure, I'd like it if we might get to have a semi-functional government again and get health care. But if it throws GOP Senators into a hilarious hissy fit and destroys the US Senate? Then I'm doubly for it. Triple even. Get destroying.
But that second part, the reconciliation part, has some of our friends on the GOP side screaming bloody murder. See, reconciliation isn't supposed to be used to pass things like health care, it's supposed to be used to pass things like tax cuts for the rich that add $1.8 trillion to the deficit. And even then, only Republicans are allowed to do it. But Sen. Lamar Alexander, not only sees the danger of reconciliation, he's warning us of possible horrible horrors that await.
"But the difference here is, that there’s never been anything of this size and magnitude and complexity run through the Senate in this way. There are a lot of technical problems with it, which we could discuss. It would turn the Senate, it would really be the end of the Senate as a protector of minority rights, the place where you have to get consensus, instead of just a partisan majority."Wait, so not only would this country improve it's health care and coverage systems... it would also end the Senate? Theoretically end, fundamentally end, or end in a fiery explosion that sends flame covered blowhards from Tennessee cartwheeling through the sky and into the Potomac? And it's it's the third one, can the Senate end that way by the weekend and can we get extensive HD coverage of it?
I just want to know how the four previous times Alexander voted for reconciliation didn't end the Senate. Maybe it's a cumulative thing.
I wonder why Democrats would have to take this extraordinary, Senate murdering step to trample over the "minority right" of the GOP to completely halt any attempt at governance? Could perhaps an unrelated news article explain it to me?
Last year, the first of the 111th Congress, there were a record 112 cloture votes. In the first two months of 2010, the number already exceeds 40.Seems to me like that's the sort of thing that should be combated with the tyranny of majority rule. Majority rule, of course, being confined to measures that slightly modify already passed bills that only affects the budgetary process and does not add to the deficit.
That means, with 10 months left to run in the 111th Congress, Republicans have turned to the filibuster or threatened its use at a pace that will more than triple the old record.
So sure, I'd like it if we might get to have a semi-functional government again and get health care. But if it throws GOP Senators into a hilarious hissy fit and destroys the US Senate? Then I'm doubly for it. Triple even. Get destroying.
Keep the money flowing, boys
It's been a banner year for people who think that corporations, industries, and big money donors don't have enough influence and power within our political system. First there was the Supreme Court affirming the rights of corporations to spend as much money as they want in our elections. Now, we have a Congressional ethics panel affirming the right of our elected betters to trade votes and influence in return for campaign contributions.
Thankfully we have a supposed ethics panel to tell us that "Simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor does not, on these two facts alone, support a claim that a member's actions are being influenced by campaign contributions," and that as long as there is some nebulous, invisible "independent criteria" for handing over million and billions of government contracts in return for a couple thousand in campaign contributions, everything is copacetic. Sure that kind of thing might look like and, in most cases, actually be pay-for-play, but.... it isn't. Because.... HEY LOOK OVER THERE!
Whew! We almost lost the self-perpetuating low ethical and moral standards of Congress. Some form of common sense and a pointing out of the obvious was not allowed to worm its way into the conversation or block off the money spigot between our elected betters and our corporate masters. We, as a country, have dodged that bullet.
The House ethics committee ruled Friday that seven lawmakers who steered hundreds of millions of dollars in largely no-bid contracts to clients of a lobbying firm had not violated any rules or laws by also collecting large campaign donations from those contractors.Finally! I was worried for a second there that the nakedly shady relationship between corporate donations and earmarks would be seen for the open graft and corruption that it is.
In a 305-page report, the ethics committee declared that lawmakers are free to raise campaign money from the very companies they are benefiting so long as the deciding factors in granting those "earmarks" are "criteria independent" of the contributions. The report served as a blunt rejection of ethics watchdogs and a different group of congressional investigators, who have contended that in some instances the connection between donations and earmarks was so close that it had to be inappropriate.
Thankfully we have a supposed ethics panel to tell us that "Simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor does not, on these two facts alone, support a claim that a member's actions are being influenced by campaign contributions," and that as long as there is some nebulous, invisible "independent criteria" for handing over million and billions of government contracts in return for a couple thousand in campaign contributions, everything is copacetic. Sure that kind of thing might look like and, in most cases, actually be pay-for-play, but.... it isn't. Because.... HEY LOOK OVER THERE!
Whew! We almost lost the self-perpetuating low ethical and moral standards of Congress. Some form of common sense and a pointing out of the obvious was not allowed to worm its way into the conversation or block off the money spigot between our elected betters and our corporate masters. We, as a country, have dodged that bullet.
Bipartisanship
Some lament the current tone in Washington and how the legislative process has been dominated by so much political bickering that it seems impossible to pass even the most simple bills. Filibusters are invoked, cloture votes forced, and harsh 60 vote thresholds that have to be met with strict party line votes are required for bills that often finally pass with near universal support of both parties. Just look at health care, or the jobs bills, or economic packages, or anything really.
But there is hope. There is one area of action where our elected betters come together to pass bills with true bipartisan support, warming our hearts with their commitment to bettering this country: when the legislation involves stripping Americans of privacy protections and giving the government greater surveillance powers. That's right, the Patriot Act!
So let's recap. If a bill can be marginally seen as to benefit a section of the American public: filibustered to death, partisan gridlock. If a bill gives our lawmakers a freedom boner and allows them to think of themselves as macho manly men waging the war on terror in a manly way: no need to even press a button to vote for it, we'll just pass it based off the loudness of grunts and then move on to post-vote drinks in the coat room. Ain't this country great?
But there is hope. There is one area of action where our elected betters come together to pass bills with true bipartisan support, warming our hearts with their commitment to bettering this country: when the legislation involves stripping Americans of privacy protections and giving the government greater surveillance powers. That's right, the Patriot Act!
Democrats have retreated from adding new privacy protections to the primary U.S counterterrorism law, stymied by Senate Republicans who argued the changes would weaken terror investigations.That's right, we can't pass an extension to unemployment insurance and transportation funding by a voice vote because of Jim Bunning, but the Patriot Act? No problem. And forget all those little thingy dingies about improving privacy protections and curbing the numerous stories of abuse we've heard about the Patriot Act provisions that were able to get through committee with bipartisan support. No, as Pat Leahy said "some Republican senators objected to passing the carefully crafted national security, oversight and judicial review provisions in this legislation." So, best not try it or force a public fight over something like rights.
The proposed protections were cast aside when Senate Democrats lacked the necessary 60-vote supermajority to pass them. Dashing the hopes of liberals, the Senate Wednesday night instead passed — by voice vote without debate — a one-year extension of key parts of the USA Patriot Act that would have expired on Sunday.
Thrown away were restrictions and greater scrutiny on the government's authority to spy on Americans and seize their records.
So let's recap. If a bill can be marginally seen as to benefit a section of the American public: filibustered to death, partisan gridlock. If a bill gives our lawmakers a freedom boner and allows them to think of themselves as macho manly men waging the war on terror in a manly way: no need to even press a button to vote for it, we'll just pass it based off the loudness of grunts and then move on to post-vote drinks in the coat room. Ain't this country great?
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