Is Charles on there?

A near total pants load.

Um...

How many of these people can pour sand out of a boot if the directions were on the bottom?

Dear President _________,
Congratulations! Now brace yourself for an avalanche of advice — from the 21 people in your Cabinet, from dozens of advisory councils, hundreds of members of Congress, thousands of lobbyists and pundits, and millions of voters. Everyone's got an opinion on what needs to be done. But the policies that emerge from such groupthink tend to be weird mashups of conflicting interests or warmed-over slabs of conventional wisdom. Enough of that. The country needs fresh directions and crisp action plans on intractable issues like climate change, energy, security, and defense. To help shape your thinking, we've come up with a Smart List of 15 Wired people with big ideas about how to fix the things that need fixing. Hail to the new chief — and please listen up.

Wow. The names I recognize are, most of them, smart people. And none of them have ever bombed the Pentagon.

How many of these people are dense enough to bend light?

Me? Am I on the list?

If my name is on the list? The list sucks!

re: #7 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Okay, I'm not on the list. It is better without me on it.

re: #1 infopimp

There is a Charles Ferguson, but I don't think that's the Charles you mean.

Looks somewhat okay from a first glance. But I see titles from Steve Rayner such as "Take Climate Change Seriously" (um, dude, doesn't the climate change naturally) and while at least he doesn't suggest a command-style gov't solution to "climate change", still think the "global warming" (oops, "climate change") stuff's a scam.

So, #1 is an Anti-American, #2 is a Socialist, and #15 is a Global Warming Nut! So, umm, how do we trust Wired's choice with such a list full of winners and Whiners ?

Biden, please let Biden be on the list... Or Naomi Wolf... Algore...

Seven years ago, Montgomery McFate was sitting in a bar in Washington, DC, trying to figure out what to do with her life. She was an unemployed, overeducated Army wife with advanced degrees in anthropology and law from Harvard and Yale — and few career prospects. University jobs were out. Her former colleagues in academia didn't care much for her focus on warfare, especially insurgencies. The military didn't seem like fertile ground, either: The Pentagon hadn't shown an interest in social science since the Vietnam era, when public outrage erupted over the use of anthropological research to target enemies. McFate worried that this self-imposed cultural boycott would come back to haunt the Department of Defense. She wrote on a cocktail napkin: "How do I make anthropology relevant to the military?"

Traditionally, the military has relied almost solely on so-called hard sciences like nuclear physics and electronics. But as a simple regime-change operation in Iraq descended into a baffling counterinsurgency, it became clear that you can have the most advanced sensors, the toughest armor, the most precise GPS-guided munitions, but without any insight into the civilian population — or at least some sense of how they'll react to your moves — your war effort is sunk.

By 2004, McFate had made her way into the national security establishment as a researcher at Rand. (This despite an unusual background — she grew up on a barge in the San Francisco Bay and had hung out with well-known beat poets.) McFate's ideas (shared by a growing number in the military) caught the attention of the science adviser to the joint chiefs of staff. She then codified them in a pair of landmark articles in Military Review outlining a rationale and strategy for integrating the social sciences into national defense. Today she is the senior social science adviser for the Human Terrain System, a $130 million Army program that embeds political science, anthropology, and economics specialists with combat units in Afghanistan and Iraq. "What you're trying to do is understand the people's interests," she says. "Because whoever is more effective at meeting the interests of the population will be able to influence it."

Weathering the weather.
Robots are good (ever attempted to program an industrial robot to do one task?)
IT solves the problems of the world.

Sometimes Wired does a good job. Other times they leave something to be desired.

re: #10 Egfrow

So, #1 is an Anti-American, #2 is a Socialist, and #15 is a Global Warming Nut! So, umm, how do we trust Wired's choice with such a list full of winners and Whiners ?

Did you actually read any of the articles?

re: #11 coquimbojoe

Biden, please let Biden be on the list... Or Naomi Wolf... Algore...

READ THE FUCKING ARTICLE.

The underlying fallacy in all of those ideas is that they assume a "silver bullet" approach to Organizational Behavior.

Large organizations take on their own momentum and aren't changed by brilliant ideas. It is unfortunate, because that is the approach i would prefer work, but it doesn't. More basic motivations are needed to alter large organizations - like fear.

The US Government is the largest organization on the planet. It is not likely to be fundamentally altered with a single idea other than "pink slip".

re: #11 coquimbojoe

Biden, please let Biden be on the list... Or Naomi Wolf... Algore...

Please.

This guy looks smart.

re: #10 Egfrow

So, #1 is an Anti-American

I don't know about that. Beyond the title, the description suggests he's just assuming that China and Europe will be "powers" for the near future (which is probably true), so it won't be a unipolar world. He's suggesting how America should remain strong in that context.

1. "Embrace the Post-American Age"

2. "Tweak human behavior to fix the economy"

3. "Take climate change seriously"

/Instant bullshit's gonna get ya...

Wired has had Gore on the cover, Colbert on the cover. DH ripped the covers off before he'd read those issues. I'm surprised he didn't cancel.

I'm not on that list.

Oh, wait. It's science and technology issues.

Never mind.

re: #9 mitthrawnurdo

Looks somewhat okay from a first glance. But I see titles from Steve Rayner such as "Take Climate Change Seriously" (um, dude, doesn't the climate change naturally) and while at least he doesn't suggest a command-style gov't solution to "climate change", still think the "global warming" (oops, "climate change") stuff's a scam.

It is unseasonably cool here in Florida.

Two words: MONTGOMERY MCFATE

re: #16 karmic_inquisitor

Which is almost impossible. I remember reading a phrase about governmental bureaucracies being as close to eternal life as one can get on the Earth.

re: #17 MandyManners

Please.

rofl!

re: #11 coquimbojoe

Biden, please let Biden be on the list... Or Naomi Wolf... Algore...

Yeah, he can be the History Guru.

There's some interesting stuff there- though I saw nothing on education. I would think making sure America's children are capable of living up to the expectations of the people on this list would have to come first if any of it will be followed up on into the future.

re: #24 aaron

Two words: MONTGOMERY MCFATE

Sounds like an old comic book, doesn't it?

About that first one:

In his book The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order, Khanna, 31, describes a planet dominated by a trio of superpowers: the US, China, and Europe. In this tripolar era, America's fate depends on tough national choices, not lame historical analogies. If the US wises up — by tightening trade and energy ties to the rest of the hemisphere, pursuing economic innovation at home, and establishing a "diplomatic-industrial complex" — it can grow stronger even as the globe becomes less red, white, and blue.

I don't think "anti-American" accurately describes that, whatever else one might think of it.

How 'bout this guy on the list - Parag Khanna:

We should "make friends, quickly, with other power centers in the country, including the Muslim Brotherhood."

Nice selection there, Wired. Sheesh.

re: #19 Occasional Reader

I took issue with Europe being a "power", but I agree with him on most everything else.

/If Russia's demographic decline rightly excludes them from being a major power in the future, why doesn't Europe's?

re: #24 aaron

Two words: MONTGOMERY MCFATE

Well, that is her secret identity, but what super-hero or (more probably) arch-villain is she?

re: #27 solomonpanting

Yeah, he can be the History Guru.

Actually, in the Senate, Robert Byrd usually has that job. Not kidding.

re: #19 Occasional Reader

#1, Parag Khanna assumption that it is just economic and not our culture or philosophy that will make us dominate the world. He does not differentiate us from China or Europe in any other regard than industrial. Idealogy is left out of his views and a see them as Anti-American because it discounts the basis of our greatness in the first place. I see no huge case if intellect here.

I really liked reading about Montgomery McFate. Very cool story and props to her. Against the combination of her, General Petraeus and Ryan C. Crocker, the insurgents in Iraq had no chance.

Love this person! Ever read Mitchener? He talked to a bunch of really smart people before writing "Space".

re: #18 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

This guy looks smart.

That was my take. Not anti-American, either. #7 has some interesting twists on free trade.

With Wired, you can never tell (left or right) until you read everything.

re: #31 Cartman

Damn, I missed that.

/Perhaps he's sympathetic to them because he grew up in the UAE?

re: #32 mitthrawnurdo

I took issue with Europe being a "power", but I agree with him on most everything else.

/If Russia's demographic decline rightly excludes them from being a major power in the future, why doesn't Europe's?

I think that's a valid criticism, but I'd also guess the EU will be relevant for longer than Russia is.

I'd also question his judgment on including frickkin' Venezuela in the list of "stable" energy partners in this hemisphere.

But the guy doesn't seem like a shrieking moonbat.

re: #30 Occasional Reader

About that first one:

I don't think "anti-American" accurately describes that, whatever else one might think of it.

----------------
Sounds like a Republican

re: #29 Pawn of the Oppressor

or a Sam Spade kinda heroine.

I'm not so sure about #11...

Mr. President, this strategy is not just about throwing money at the problem. It will be necessary to review a wide range of policies that affect technology development and deployment, including intellectual property, defense procurement, taxation, and performance standards. Moreover, stabilizing the atmosphere does not address the legacy of past emissions. It is equally important to invest in infrastructure that will head off damage from extreme weather events caused by the climate change we've already set in motion.

I just got polled!

Montgomery McFate

Now that's just a kick ass name. And I liked her article the best so far of those I've skimmed.

re: #28 Sharmuta

There's some interesting stuff there- though I saw nothing on education. I would think making sure America's children are capable of living up to the expectations of the people on this list would have to come first if any of it will be followed up on into the future.

Returning to the 3Rs might be a good start. Dropping the social engineering might be one more. Dropping climate change might be yet one more good thing.

Schools have mission creep as well. You teach a person in the 6th grade what they need to know in the 12th then the next six years are a waste. Water down the education so that what's taught today in high school gets taught as a sophomore in college ten years from now.

I read it, out of morbid curiosity. Basically, the "advice" given by these "smart people" (none of whom you've ever likely heard of) boils down to a mishmash of about 2% potentially interesting ideas, 25% ivory-tower "post-transitional-paradigm-shift" nonsense, 33% global-warming kool-aid, 20% anticapitalist pseudo-intellectual drivel, topped off with an unhealthy 20% dose of the usual left-wing control-freak's desire to have the government force everyone to do what they want because those bitter clingers in flyover country are obviously too stupid to know what's best for them.

re: #44 Kragar (proud to be kafir)

I just got polled!

By whom? Tell!

Well, can't say I'm with Khanna on this:

Egypt
Make friends fast
Egypt is smoldering. The people are restless after 27 years of the Mubarak dynasty, and the country is ripe for revolt. We should "make friends, quickly, with other power centers in the country, including the Muslim Brotherhood."

Gah.

re: #32 mitthrawnurdo

I took issue with Europe being a "power", but I agree with him on most everything else.

/If Russia's demographic decline rightly excludes them from being a major power in the future, why doesn't Europe's?

Given that Europe spends very, very little on defense (it gets the world's best defensive capability for almost free) they are very much a power. Economically. And they have a great track record of getting American president's to implement European foreign policy aims. At least they did up until GWB. I am all for letting Europe pay their way while we focus on our knitting.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Next?

*snicker*

re: #36 Mich-again

Duh. Forgot the most important part of that. The men and women in the armed forces who made it all happen. jeesh.

re: #44 Kragar (proud to be kafir)

I just got polled!

must... resist... urge... to make... juvenile joke...

re: #44 Kragar (proud to be kafir)

I just got polled!

Oooh, that's gotta hurt!

re: #53 Occasional Reader

must... resist... urge... to make... juvenile joke...

ROFL

re: #44 Kragar (proud to be kafir)

I just got polled!

Do you need money for a rape kit?

/

Obama pledge on Iraq & on nuclear weapons

re: #48 arethusa

By whom? Tell!

Davis polling in CA, asking me how I felt about various environmental issues and how the government should deal with them.

Basically, I said they're bullshit and a waste of our money.

re: #45 Sharmuta

Montgomery McFate

Now that's just a kick ass name. And I liked her article the best so far of those I've skimmed.

First derivative skim has this:

At least one social sciences PhD is a fan: General David Petraeus. "The Human Terrain Teams have evolved into important elements in our operations in Iraq," he says.

No VDH?

Hmph

Parag Khanna's contribution ranges from the reasonable:

Iran
Regime change will lead to love
Khanna's recommendation: "Make the West irresistible to Iranians." The US president should deliver a speech directly to the Iranian people that offers them a deal: They can have, in Khanna's words, "everything they want in terms of Western investment in energy, freer trade, diplomatic recognition, and increased cultural and student exchanges — if they oust President Ahmadinejad."

...to the insane:

Egypt
Make friends fast
Egypt is smoldering. The people are restless after 27 years of the Mubarak dynasty, and the country is ripe for revolt. We should "make friends, quickly, with other power centers in the country, including the Muslim Brotherhood."

Good evening all y'all - how is everyone doing tonight?
Did anyone watch that Larry King interview and if you did, how come you're all still awake?!

I'm a fan of anyone named Ram.

Know who they are before you kick their asses!

Can't disagree there!

re: #62 realwest

Hi {real}.
Didn't watch it. I already have a headache and I don't know what channel CNN is, anyway.

did any of the smart people say we should "stop worrying about what the rest of the world thinks of us"?

Bedtime for jwBonzo.
Don't post anything I wouldn't.

re: #14 Pawn of the Oppressor

Did you actually read any of the articles?

Indeed, They were very short. I don't see how these people are being touted as the Smartest People.

#2 David Laibson, disregards the moral basis of Capitalism and our culture and tries to parse it down it SOCIAL habits and behaviors from a physiologist point of view. Breaking down all our beliefs into neurological disorders. Of course discounting the real causes of our current economic crisis has been to cater to SOCIAL economics in the first place. He assumes that a couple of on the couch sessions with an "Ecomomic Analyst" will cure us.

re: #62 realwest

hey RW! How you doin' tonite?

re: #61 Jimmah

The latter one makes me want to roar, Kirk-like:

KHANNN-AAAA!

re: #65 J.D.
Hi {J.D.} LOL - I don't either. I know Nat Geo - for The Dog Whisperer and HGTV cause it's an easy channel to watch when you're bored.
That's about it!

re: #35 Egfrow

#1, Parag Khanna assumption that it is just economic and not our culture or philosophy that will make us dominate the world.

I don't see what you're deriving that from, at least in the blurbs printed in the link.

re: #61 Jimmah

More to winning over the Iranians than having the short guy have a Mussolini moment. Got to get rid of all of the imams as well.

Egypt? Very corrupt politicians that we support for a relative stability. Wish that we would learn our lesson on that one.

re: #43 gop_patriot

I'm not so sure about #11...

It is equally important to invest in infrastructure that will head off damage from extreme weather events caused by the climate change we've already set in motion.

He doesn't leave room for the possibility he could be wrong. What's the weather next month, smartypants?

Not too crazy about the word..."fund".

re: #69 ggt
Hey ggt! I'm doing ok tonight, thanks - how about yourself?

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

re: #71 realwest

Hi {J.D.} LOL - I don't either. I know Nat Geo - for The Dog Whisperer and HGTV cause it's an easy channel to watch when you're bored.
That's about it!

never underestimate the food channel!
hi real

re: #57 J.D.

Obama pledge on Iraq & on nuclear weapons

Thanks for the reminder why i cant stand that creep

re: #64 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Know who they are before you kick their asses!

Can't disagree there!

___________
Being put to use in the DLI, Monterey.

They left out Stinky Beaumont !?

Article. I. - The Legislative Branch
Section 1 - The Legislature

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2 - The House

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

re: #74 solomonpanting

"Climate Changers" are never wrong. And if you come across data suggesting they are, why, you've been bought off by the oil industry or you just haven't set your doomsday clock far enough in the future.

re: #75 Fat Bastard Vegetarian LOL! I read as far as "president and cofounder of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, California-based environmental think tank." and stopped.
No need to read anymore, thankew very much!

Hmm- there were some interesting points about dealing with water needs now, but nothing in any of the "solutions" towards technology such as desalinization. The technology is there, but as usual, government regulations tie the hands of people who can make a difference.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section 3 - The Senate

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by 17th Amendment, section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; (and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 17th Amendment, section 2.)

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

For sure the next president will not want to get any type of advice from Joe Biden, who today alienated western PA's coal producing region, and by extension a good chunk of the whole of PA's economy.

And how is China's coal going to pollute the US? Won't they be keeping their coal for themselves instead of exporting it to us?

re: #66 ggt

You read my mind.

To me, it goes back to the obsession of the "global test" and being a citizen of the "world" for them.

Most of the time, I accept someone's intellect by virtue of their actions, or how well they speak to me. (rhetorically that is)

An evolution has occurred within me, that whenever I see something like this Wired article, having to impress upon me that life is incomplete without surrendering some of your will to the "smart people", I pretty much disregard whatever they are going to tell me off the bat.

Is it me being pretentious for their pretentiousness?

Okay, yeah. You just go for that openness.

Sheesh!

I like this from Jagdish Bhagwati:

The Truth About Globalization

1. The world isn't flat.
Thomas Friedman's metaphor aside, we don't live in a 2-D world in which all countries compete for the same jobs. For instance, China may never be as innovative as the US, which has a stable venture-capital model and an entrepreneurial culture that promotes creativity. Globalization helps nations discover their unique strengths.

2. Free trade is green.
Trade foes argue that it spurs the creation of cheap goods at the planet's expense. Bhagwati points out that undemocratic countries are often the worst environmental offenders. Since globalization promotes democracy, it should make the world more green, not less.

3. Nafta ain't free.
Agreements like Nafta are for free trade among members but increased protection against nonmembers, Bhagwati says. Ultimately, such protectionism divides the world into exclusive trading zones, a return to the tit-for-tat alliances of the 1930s.

4. But intellectual property should be.
Many globalization fans freak out when they see Indian patients buying generic drugs. But draconian copyright laws are protectionism in another form. The creation of knowledge often requires using previous knowledge, he says. Globalization isn't just about the free flow of labor and capital, but of ideas, too.

Obama pledge on Iraq & on nuclear weapons

Well, if Obama didn't tell Iraq not to negotiate with the administration, he couldn't keep the promise he makes here about how he would end the war. Say what you will about the man, but at least he tries to keep his campaign promises.

/sarc

re: #78 HoosierHoops
Hi ya Hoops!
How are you doing tonight? Didja read the "thumbnail sketches" of this brainiacs? Would you buy a used car from any of 'em?

re: #85 Sharmuta

Hmm- there were some interesting points about dealing with water needs now, but nothing in any of the "solutions" towards technology such as desalinization. The technology is there, but as usual, government regulations tie the hands of people who can make a difference.

A classic intellectual shortcoming of many supposed Big Thinkers; they assume the parameters of the problem will remain static, and don't factor in human creativity.

re: #86 MandyManners

Quote away baby! I loves ya!

re: #77 MandyManners

Now you've got me singing it. :)

re: #70 Occasional Reader

The latter one makes me want to roar, Kirk-like:

KHANNN-AAAA!

LOL

re: #72 Occasional Reader

I don't see what you're deriving that from, at least in the blurbs printed in the link.

Based on his descriptions of his own book, "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order", he sees the United States as just one of the Three empires that will rule the world. I rather back VDH's view that we are not an empire in any traditional sense. Never have and Never will. His who train of thought overlooks the philosophy and culture that has allowed the United States to become so powerful and prosperous. That is individualism, property rights, and freedom. This is just another example of someone who doesn't get it.

re: #94 Occasional Reader

Humans can't be creative without the imput of deep thinkers, silly.

/sarc.

How about:

Dale Carnegie
Machiavelli
Orianna Fallaci
and maybe
T. Boone Pickens

Section 4 - Elections, Meetings

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in December,) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 20th Amendment, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section 6 - Compensation

(The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by the 27th Amendment.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section 7 - Revenue Bills, Legislative Process, Presidential Veto

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

re: #87 Intrepid

For sure the next president will not want to get any type of advice from Joe Biden, who today alienated western PA's coal producing region, and by extension a good chunk of the whole of PA's economy.

And how is China's coal going to pollute the US? Won't they be keeping their coal for themselves instead of exporting it to us?

I am guessing here...Prevailing winds?

re: #91 Jimmah

I like this from Jagdish Bhagwati:

Can't say I like #4. Surefire recipe for technological stagnation. "Globalization isn't just about the free flow of labor and capital, but of ideas, too." Sounds very sweet, but if in practice in means "you, American tech company, spend billions on research to come up with technological breakthrough X, and then we, Indian/Chinese companies, will just take your blueprints and produce cutrate knockoffs without having to charge for our amortized R&D costs"... not such a good idea.

re: #85 Sharmuta

Sharmuta, that is the next grab coming down the pike.

I remember reading about that issue at least 10 years ago.

This planet is majority water, and we need more regulation on water.

I could beat this to death, but I won't.

Love this guy!...kill 'em and kill 'em quick!

re: #77 MandyManners

hangin' in there, allergies are the same. Thanks for askin'!

While touting his plan to wean us off foreign oil, Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens makes no bones about being heavily invested in the natural gas he wants us to use in our cars. Nor does he deny the wind generated on his 200,000-acre wind farm would inflate a fortune accumulated selling fossil fuel. But he says little of his intention to market fossil water.

(Wind man: T. Boone Pickens / Bloomberg News)

That's what conservationists call finite supplies of water dating to prehistoric times. The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest such supply on our continent. It underlies the Plains all the way from Pickens' North Texas to South Dakota. Thanks to help he obtained from the Texas Legislature, he has stacked the board of a tiny water district. By the power of eminent domain, also granted him by the Legislature, he can force landowners to sell him rights to a 320-mile strip of land connecting him to Dallas. He will pipe the water down the same corridor he plans to use transmitting his wind power. ...

Easy Pickens?
Scarce water supplies in Great Plains need better government protection

Oh, for pity's sake!

re: #100 itellu3times

Thomas Sowell.

/ He was suggested by someone in the comments section.

Some of these people are a little out there, some are on target.

President McCain could handle any of those people. I am not so sure that they all could handle him.

re: #45 Sharmuta

Montgomery McFate

Now that's just a kick ass name. And I liked her article the best so far of those I've skimmed.

I saved the link to her profile into a new folder: "Women who kick ass."

It's a folder for my female LLLib friends who are conflicted about Sarah Palin. I think they love her - but they can't seem to admit it.

OT

MN Vikings Linebacker Wally Hilgenberg Dead at 66.

Later, the NFL's all-time ironman [Jim Marshal] said: "We lined up together for every game, and for every practice, for all those years. We relied on each other on the field, but it was in our personal lives where we were close.

"I'm always linked with Alan [Page] and Carl [Eller], as it should be, but Wally was as close a friend as I had with the Vikings. Our lives were intertwined. Those Vikings teams ... our families grew up together."

Football in the 70s. They were co-workers. They were friends. They were drinking buddies.

Randy Moss has a posse.

OT:

Evangelist: 'Puberty' is age of sexual consent

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Since Tony Alamo's start as a California street preacher more than 40 years ago, the self-styled evangelist's story has been colorful and checkered. When his wife died of cancer, Alamo claimed that she would be resurrected and kept her body on display for six months while their followers prayed. It would be 16 years before her body was returned to her family.

For a time, his elaborately painted denim jackets were a must-have in Hollywood, but sales contributed to tax problems that landed him in prison for four years in the 1990s.

Alamo was charged but not convicted of other crimes, including child abuse. Now the 74-year-old is accused by former church members of abusing children and running an organization in which girls who just reached puberty can marry. Agents raided his southwest Arkansas compound Saturday and placed six girls in state custody.

On Monday, Alamo spoke of the allegations with a mix of denial and defiance, saying that he never promoted sexual abuse but that he believes there's a mandate from the Bible for young girls to marry.

"In the Bible, it happened. But girls today, I don't marry 'em if they want to at 14, 15 years old. Because we won't do it, even though I believe it's OK," Alamo said.

On Saturday, he had said that for girls having sex, "consent is puberty."

CNN.com

re: #104 formercorpsman
Hi there formercorpsman - aw, go ahead, beat it to death!

re: #104 formercorpsman

Sharmuta, that is the next grab coming down the pike.

I remember reading about that issue at least 10 years ago.

This planet is majority water, and we need more regulation on water.

I could beat this to death, but I won't.

Yeah- something about creating a commission to deal with the water needs of multiple states made me cringe. Perhaps it's just the conservative in me.

OT

This is from a video Michelle Obama sent out to their supporters....

Hi everyone, this is Michelle Obama. The first presidential debate is coming up on Friday, the 26th. It's gonna focus on foreign policy. The candidates will debate their different views on how to keep America safe, strengthen our relationships with our allies, and restore our role in the world. Many Americans still don't know much about Barack or his plan to bring the change we need. They don't know about his timeline to bring troops home from Iraq responsibly, or his plans to rebuild our military and to achieve energy independence so that we can end our reliance on foreign oil once and for all. And they don't know his plan to restore the middle class, to cut taxes for 95% of American families, to provide healthcare for every American, and to improve our schools. They also don't know that John McCain shares many of George Bush's views. In fact, he's voted with George Bush more than 90% of the time, including not investigating the government response to Katrina, not supporting college benefits for returning veterans, and passing tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the middle class. So, this debate is a great opportunity to introduce Barack to your friends, family, and neighbors. That's why all across the country, people are coming together for debate watch parties. A debate watch party is a great opportunity to get together with other people who support Barack, and to reach out to folks who are undecided. That's what this movement's all about: people coming together to talk about the issues that matter to them. So, I hope you'll host a debate watch party in your home, or attend one in your community. Visit this website to get more information: my-dot-barackobama-dot-com-slash-debate. You know, there are just a few weeks left 'til election day, so now more than ever, we need to come together. Thank you.

Boy is that interesting dialog. You bet! no one knows much about your husband!

Check out the video here on Wizbang

Keep in mind the Culture of Wired Magazine. They are full of Ron Paul backers on one side and Multiculturalism socialist on the other. I used to read them for many years and have stopped because I started to see their Bias and Ideologies creeping into article which otherwise should be just technical and scientific. Wired is a techno-Political magazine and has no credibility in any other regards.

re: #107 J.D.

Easy Pickens?
Scarce water supplies in Great Plains need better government protection

Michigan and Wisconsin should hurry up and sell fresh water to Texas before the Canadians do it.

POST THE CONSTITUTION, FOLKS!

Do it. Do it now.

re: #93 realwest

Hi ya Hoops!
How are you doing tonight? Didja read the "thumbnail sketches" of this brainiacs? Would you buy a used car from any of 'em?

LOL
good to see you real..I'm just goofing off..The Mrs and Jordan will be home soon from vISITING EVERY SINGLE PERSON WE KNOW...
HaHA
He flies back to camp P weds. evening..
I'm getting sleepy..

re: #108 MandyManners

The Founding Fathers were pretty smart too? That what you're sayin'?

If they could talk to our current dolts, I would give the FFs VETO POWER!

re: #111 Noam Sayin'

And I'm totally in that folder of kick ass chicks next to Mandy, right?!

re: #88 formercorpsman

I've come to understand the many people simply do not know how to think for themselves. I think I called it my Albert Jay Nock epiphany.

re: #109 mitthrawnurdo

Thomas Sowell.

/ He was suggested by someone in the comments section.

Sowell good, at least I can't name a better current political economist. I thought about including Adam Smith.

re: #62 realwest

Good evening all y'all - how is everyone doing tonight?
Did anyone watch that Larry King interview and if you did, how come you're all still awake?!

We were all puzzled by who looked goofier.

The search continues.

re: #115 musicman

OT

This is from a video Michelle Obama sent out to their supporters....

Boy is that interesting dialog. You bet! no one knows much about your husband!

Check out the video here on Wizbang

-------------------------
Many Americans still don't know much about Barack and will never know if he is elected.

re: #104 formercorpsman

This planet is majority water

Actually, it's mostly iron, IIRC.

The surface is mostly water.

I've never heard of any of those guys. As for the first one, Parag Khanna and his thesis, "Embrace the Post-American Age"? Go piss up a rope, Parag.

re: #112 sngnsgt

He was absolutely nutso back when he kept his dead wife's body in a sealed room so that she could be raised from the dead, and I see he's gotten even worse.

He should have stuck with designing gaudy rhinestone clothes for country music stars.

re: #118 MandyManners

POST THE CONSTITUTION, FOLKS!

Do it. Do it now.

Um, why?

G'nite you all and again thanks.

re: #130 newsjunkie_ky

Good night and I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.

re: #116 Egfrow

Keep in mind the Culture of Wired Magazine.

They were fun for about a year, back when they began, and have been getting steadliy weirder since then, and passed the borders of sanity at least a decade ago. The culture of wired is about like that of month-old cottage cheese, something good past its expiration date.

I was rather dissapointed that I'm not on the list,
but then again I'm painfully stupid.

re: #115 musicman
Hey wait just a sec here - I thought we weren't supposed to criticize her?
If she's gonna carry on like that, seems to me she's fair game, no?

re: #127 Ward Cleaver

C'mon Ward! Did you read it. Not Anti-American at all! Or...I don't think it was.

CURSE YOU WARD!

I'll read it again.

re: #128 Intrepid

when he kept his dead wife's body in a sealed room so that she could be raised from the dead

Oh, come on, who hasn't tried that at least once?

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The t enth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savi ngs).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20', declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right', exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

re: #134 realwest

I say yes!

re: #136 Occasional Reader

Oh, come on, who hasn't tried that at least once?

Four...but who's counting!?

re: #111 Noam Sayin'
HEY NOAM! Well

Football in the 70s. They were co-workers. They were friends. They were drinking buddies.

Randy Moss has a posse.

you have that one right! But hey, the members of his posse have to make a living too, right?!

You know here is a list of 15 folks, some of who are eligible to run for Congress or the Senate but they won't.

Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.
-- Thomas Edison

That's usually where the good ideas die. It takes on heck of a load of talent and work to carry good ideas to an arena where they can actually be put into effect.

That is not to say that these folks have not put in there fair share of sweat but usually someone else has to take the good ideas and fight to get them recognized and adopted.

re: #114 Sharmuta

Man you are not kidding.

I think it was last week in the office, I was having a conversation with a patient, and we were discussing where we lived, etc.

I informed him, we had well water, and septic, and it was my preference because I am not paying to the government for this.

My folks who live in Maryland, have the same set up, and the Maryland legislature passed a tax, even for folks not even using these public utilities, in the form of a flush tax.

You flush to your own back yard, and state can still tax you.

This guy, commented to the effect, he was diverting the rain water from his gutters, going to something else on his property, (cistern IIRC) and the township came by and more or less told him this was illegal.

They made him take it apart.

He moved.

re: #129 Occasional Reader

Um, why?

Why not?

re: #130 newsjunkie_ky
Good night newjunkie_ky! Don't know why you're thanking folks, but I hope you're doing ok!

Regarding the ideas on water -

The smart idea is nationalizing water decisions and then rationing from there?

How about floating nuclear powered desalination plants ("desal barges") instead? Build an aqueduct-to-terminal system where multiple terminals are located on the coastline where a desal barges can simply pump desalinated water out of the ocean and up into reservoirs inland. Fill a region's reservoirs and then float the thing to the next terminal that needs a fill up.

Use the existing infrastructure to then treat and distribute the water from the reservoir.

Why ration and assume a forced flat demand curve from a dynamic industrial society which will have more and more water demands as time moves forward.? Put the ocean to work and do it in a flexible manner.

Strike first!

re: #136 Occasional Reader

Oh, come on, who hasn't tried that at least once?

Ah, the foibles of youth!

re: #143 MandyManners

Why not?

That's what I always say about my Adriana Lima pic links, and you never give me any credit for that as an explanation.

re: #126 Occasional Reader

True, and thank you for correcting me.

tough crowd this lgf.

... Why do liberals believe that if Obama loses it will be due to white racism?

One reason is the liberal elite's contempt for white Americans with less education -- even if they are Democrats.

A second reason is that it is inconceivable to most liberals that an Obama loss -- especially a narrow one -- will be due to Obama's liberal views or inexperience or to admiration for John McCain.

The third reason is that the further left you go, the more insular you get. Americans on the left tend to talk only to one another; study only under left-wing teachers; and read only fellow leftists. That is why it is a shock to so many liberals when a Republican wins a national election -- where do all these Republican voters come from? And that in turn explains why liberals ascribe Republican presidential victories to unfair election tactics ("Swift-boating" is the liberals' reason for the 2004 Republican victory). In any fair election, Americans will see the left's light.

If Obama loses, it will not be deemed plausible that Americans have again rejected a liberal candidate, indeed the one with the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate. Liberals will explain an Obama defeat as another nefarious Republican victory. Combining contempt for many rural and middle-class white Americans with a longstanding belief in the inevitability of a Democratic victory in 2008 (after all, everyone they talk to despises the Republicans and believes Republicans have led the country to ruin), there will be only one reason Obama did not win -- white racism. ...

Liberals' Warnings About Obama Loss May Prove Self-Fulfilling

re: #145 karmic_inquisitor

Two things I can't understand:

Paying for water (Spring Mountain or whatever those little bottles say) &
Paying for dirt (potting soil, etc)

Then again, I don't live in the desert and we have to dig about a gazillion inches of topsoil before we get to clay or rock in the midwest.

re: #137 J.D.
Just excellent J.D.- just excellent!

re: #151 ggt

Two things I can't understand:

Paying for water

Water is "free".

Clean, safe, drinkable water delivered to your home, isn't.

OK...prolly, oh, about every one of these people are smarter than me.

About 5 to 8 of them are really smart...and full of shit.

Didn't leave a doubt about (made a rhyme there) who I liked.

But I'm right.

Mandy was the rightest tho.

G'night friends.

re: #152 realwest

Just excellent J.D.- just excellent!

Thank you!
I thought that explained things fairly well.

#3 Carolyn Porco: Use Big Robots — and Big Rockets

That could have been worded a tad differently. Jus' sayin.

re: #148 Occasional Reader

That's what I always say about my Adriana Lima pic links, and you never give me any credit for that as an explanation.

Oh, schnookem!

re: #145 karmic_inquisitor

Regarding the ideas on water -
Put the ocean to work and do it in a flexible manner.

But wouldn't that cause the ocean levels to go down? And what will happen to the polar bears then?

/

re: #121 Sharmuta

And I'm totally in that folder of kick ass chicks next to Mandy, right?!

Well, yes. Of course, you exist as artist renderings.

Funny, you both wear stiletto heal, thigh-high boots and leather boustiers; one with a clueX4 and the other with a cat o' nine tails.

And you both have killer bods.

_{nice tushies, too.}

They're in a sub-folder labeled, "Women you don't f*ck with"

re: #153 Occasional Reader

I understand paying for it to be piped in and out. It's all those little bottles that people buy when there is usually a drinking fountain nearby.

re: #137 J.D.

Just read that to my liberal 20 year old. He actually understood it and saw the big picture. There may be hope yet.

re: #103 Occasional Reader

Can't say I like #4. Surefire recipe for technological stagnation. "Globalization isn't just about the free flow of labor and capital, but of ideas, too." Sounds very sweet, but if in practice in means "you, American tech company, spend billions on research to come up with technological breakthrough X, and then we, Indian/Chinese companies, will just take your blueprints and produce cutrate knockoffs without having to charge for our amortized R&D costs"... not such a good idea.

Yeah, that part makes no sense. There has to be a reward for innovation.

re: #158 Walter L. Newton

They will have to take up golf.

re: #155 J.D.

I've gotten it in my email several times. Too simple for most brains.

re: #158 Walter L. Newton

Well, at least they won't drown like some of them say the polar bears will after the glaciers have melted. I guess polar bears don't swim any more?

re: #145 karmic_inquisitor

You don't even need to go that far- the desalinization technology is there without resorting to nuke powered barges. However- the government does need to get out of the way with all their regulations if it's going to be dealt with. Creating more government bureaucracies is not the answer.

re: #143 MandyManners
Why not? Um, bandwidth? (and NO I don't know why Charles has such skinny members in his band!).

re: #158 Walter L. Newton

But wouldn't that cause the ocean levels to go down? And what will happen to the polar bears then?

/

They may have to relocate to Antarctica. Then they'll be Bipolar Bears.

Thomas Sowell,could be the most iteligent person in the US.
OMG dont let this be taken as racist.But a black man i would proudly vote for as president.
Never mind,that cant be taken as racist.

re: #159 Noam Sayin'

LMAO!

re: #168 Occasional Reader

No, that is actually those polar bears who started smoking their Time magazine clippings.

re: #116 Egfrow

When did Wired ever have credibility? I mean, other than outside of its core audience of narcissistic dot-commers who got so caught up believing their own press that "the internet changes everything" that they forgot all about basic business principles like, ohh, actually having a product that people would pay money for, and blithely insisted that the brave new world of e-commerce had permanently ended the old-fashioned brick-and-mortar "business cycle."

Yeah, how'd that work out for you guys again? :)

re: #161 musicman

Just read that to my liberal 20 year old. He actually understood it and saw the big picture. There may be hope yet.

Good!
My 25-year-old was born more right than I am. Bless his heart.

re: #162 Jimmah

why bother to think for yourself and work to improve when other people will reap the benefits of your work and you will not?

i think a lot of employers miss this point. a manager or boss will take someone else's good idea has his/her own and forget to give credit where credit is due. Hurts the business world immeasurably.

I am so going to bed. Only had ten hours of sleep last night.

You're prolly sayin... "He's so fat, but soooo tough!"

Well, humility stops me from going any further...

re: #159 Noam Sayin'

That's funny, I have a similar folder...

/What is it with males and their fascination with leather and boots on women?

re: #154 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

About 5 to 8 of them are really smart...and full of shit.

I think the phrase you're looking for is "educated beyond their intelligence." :D

re: #62 realwest

Hello, rw -

how are you feeling these days?

re: #177 Siberian Khatru

I think the phrase you're looking for is "educated beyond their intelligence." :D

Yeah! That!

So, I've played Brudda Iz about a million times since last night. It is wonderful background music. Absolutely nothing about it is grating or annoying.

Thanks to whichever Lizard originally posted it last night.

re: #137 J.D.

up-dinged, and favorited. Great post. Thank you.

re: #177 Siberian Khatru

Why can't there be some piano-playin' savants in the list? I always liked piano...

re: #180 ggt

So, I've played Brudda Iz about a million times since last night. It is wonderful background music. Absolutely nothing about it is grating or annoying.

Thanks to whichever Lizard originally posted it last night.

I have used that song for pictorial memorials several times.

re: #181 Noam Sayin'

up-dinged, and favorited. Great post. Thank you.

You're welcome!
btw, what does the heart thingy do?

re: #177 Siberian Khatru

but what does really smart mean? They can memorize and regurgitate lots of complex information? They can properlyl fill the little dots on the standardized tests made by PhD's without any background on the subject matter.

How are they smart? Can they communicate with anyone effectively? Can they calculate 6 digit equations in their heads? Can they fix a broken toilet? Boil water?

re: #178 apb1
Hello! I'm feeling ok, how's about yourself?

re: #180 ggt

I love that.
It always makes me feel better when I hear it.

I left some snarky comments there last night. Haven't checked to see if anybody snarked back.

re: #184 J.D.

J.D.! You have a favorites page on LGF --upper left box is the link. Right now yours is probably blank.

Absolutely HAVE to go to bed now. Clay Aiken came out.

He's gay.

Didn't see that one comin'.

More shocked than when I found out Liberace was gay.

My head hurts!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

re: #180 ggt

Lovz Bruddah Iz!

re: #137 J.D.

Thank you very much for that.

re: #180 ggt

I think it was me..? LOL You're welcome if so.

It is a very, very calming version of that song. :) I love it.

re: #190 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Is CV stayin' up with us?

re: #180 ggt Charles first posted the music itself (not the YouTube video) back in the day when he'd provide us all with anywhere from 4-10 songs on a thread.
I'm forever grateful too - I musta listened to that at least 50 times!

re: #185 ggt

Probably can't construct a house; rebuild a motor; weld; care for a firearm; fish; hunt - maybe any other skill you might need to exist without the 'collective.'

re: #190 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Who's Gay Gayken?

Bruddah Iz iz a bunch more!

re: #196 apb1

or any skill that might make you valuable to the collective?

re: #189 ggt

J.D.! You have a favorites page on LGF --upper left box is the link. Right now yours is probably blank.

I have three, one of which is #137 since I clicked the heart to find out what it does.
I can't keep up with all this fancy new stuff...

re: #186 realwest

Doing well, thanks - haven't been on in a couple of weeks; vacation in God's great country, and incommunicado...

re: #198 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

i WISH he were still. I've been wondering how much we've missed and the angels have.

re: #190 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Can some one please tell him his 15 is up?

re: #135 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

C'mon Ward! Did you read it. Not Anti-American at all! Or...I don't think it was.

CURSE YOU WARD!

I'll read it again.

No, but I try to drag myself through it. The "post-American" thing just pissed me off.

re: #192 solomonpanting

Welcome.
Glad you liked it!

re: #200 J.D.

LOL, you and me both. I have the option for a new cell phone on my current contract and I keep ignoring the notices. I don't want to learn a new phone.

re: #200 J.D.
"I can't keep up with all this fancy new stuff..."
Welcome to the club! LOL!
I do appreciate all the great improvements Charles has made here in just the last year or so, but I can't honestly say I understand 'em all, just how to use 'em!

re: #199 ggt

My skill is as a worker bee - no great 'brain-in-a-jar' thoughts to make me command others to pay attention to what I say...

re: #176 mitthrawnurdo

What is it with males and their fascination with leather and boots on women?

That's one of those questions that doesn't really need an answer.

We just like it.

It's like asking, "Why does a woman (wearing thigh-high stiletto boots and a leather boustier) with a Glock 24 9mm holstered to her hip drive me nuts?"

It just does.

Oh, and progressive tear-drop diamond earrings...

re: #201 apb1
Um, does that mean you were traveling around the USA or just a particular spot?

re: #207 realwest

"I can't keep up with all this fancy new stuff..."
Welcome to the club! LOL!
I do appreciate all the great improvements Charles has made here in just the last year or so, but I can't honestly say I understand 'em all, just how to use 'em!

You're way ahead of me, then!

I think what Khanna fails to remember when talking about the Middle East, and much of the rest of the world, is the corrosive effect of Cold-war-era Soviet programs that not only may still be running, but have also poisoned many groups against working with anything wearing red, white, and blue.

Iran, in fact, is a prime example. It seems to be an open secret now, so my dad won't get in trouble if I tell you that the French Communist Party gave Ruhollah Khomeni a lot of support and help in overthrowing the Shah. And we all know how independent Communist parties in most Western countries were from Moscow during the Cold War (i.e. they weren't). The end of the Cold War has obviously done nothing to soften up Iran. Many other movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, are much the same way. The leadership is trained to hate the Americans, mostly because they have always been trained to hate the Americans, back when Ivan paid the bills.

re: #203 formercorpsman

Can some one please tell him his 15 is up?

Thought you were talkin' bout Iz! Clay's 15 ended for me about 16 minutes ago for me.

Bruddah Iz and Eva Cassidy. Never got their 15, but needed eons.

Maybe that's just me.

re: #210 realwest

Beautiful Lake Powell on the Utah side. Great time with family in rented houseboats...no cell service!

re: #184 J.D.

You're welcome!
btw, what does the heart thingy do?

That's the favoriting thing. Click it, and you've saved that post for reference later. You can go into your account and give it a tag or two. Later, when you want to use that particular information, just jump into our favorites and look for it.

I admit I'm only populating my favorites right now, and should really get in there one day and start adding tags and stuff. Believe it or not, I think I actually favorited a Cognito post.

re: #202 ggt I wouldn't be surprised if Iz wasn't teaching the angels to sing better!

re: #208 apb1

You know, in all honesty, in some ways I think that is the best way to maintain your sanity.

Go in, do a good job, a hard day's work, and get paid.

I am always, always, always, taking my job home with me, and I absolutely hate it sometimes.

Sometimes I dream of driving a truck. Just driving, long haul, nobody bothering me. Clear my mind, just driving.

re: #214 apb1

"ding" for no cell.

Aahh. Blissful. No cell!

G'night!

Really!

re: #206 ggt

My first and only cell phone is a Razr and I held out until Jan. 2006. I still miss those days before I had the thing...

re: #218 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Have a great one...

re: #57 J.D.

Obama pledge on Iraq & on nuclear weapons

McCain should run this nonstop till the election.

re: #216 realwest

true!

re: #215 Noam Sayin'

Believe it or not, I think I actually favorited a Cognito post.

I can believe that. He has his moments.

re: #213 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Yeah, Clay.

I have had it with celebrity. If it was not for some stroke of luck at the mall, he would still be working at the mall.

re: #214 apb1
Ah, yet another place (and another state I wish I could visit)! Musta been really grand and peaceful!

re: #221 HelloDare

Someone who knows how should save it before it disappears from youtube (if you know what I mean).

Gee, this article sounds interesting. Let's start with the first person on the list, Parag Khanna, and the first sentence of his article.

Here's one view of America circa 2008: The US is a modern-day Roman Empire — overstretched, underperforming, slowly crumbling into history's dustbin.

OK. I'm done reading. That was a short piece.

re: #217 formercorpsman

You're preachin' to the choir, pardner! I'm in management in real life - I'd love the open road and earn pay for fair work...

re: #215 Noam Sayin'

I should also add, that the Favorites feature is one of the most ingenuous, and beneficial features Charles has ever bestowed on us. He should be thanked.

... by maybe hitting the tip jar.

Charles, speaking as someone who just about never "Reports" posts, but just did, is there a way you could add a small "Report Form" so the reporter could say why they're reporting?

Reason I ask, is that on the previous thread and at least one earlier one, someone was listing a tinyurl.com URL that was getting blocked by my (Windows XP/IE) URL checker (Spybot's IE Helper btw, said "Spyware" both times). I reported it not as an offensive comment but in hopes that you or Stinky could check the URL to see if it's hazardous to the lizard clan or if Spybot was just having a bad day.

Thanks for your fine efforts ;-).

re: #190 Fat Bastard Vegetarian Uh, who is Clay Aiken?

re: #219 J.D.

I actually like my cell --when the bluetooth ear bud keeps it's connection. I like being able to make my calls where ever and whenever I can. I also like the "Ignore" feature. I like text messaging. I just wish I could figure out how to use the calendar feature. I had it mastered on my old phone , but now learning it seems like work. Instead, I bought one of those little monthly calendars that fits in my purse. I know how to use it.

re: #231 realwest

Uh, who is Clay Aiken?

AND...GOD BLESS YOU!

re: #231 realwest

Uh, who is Clay Aiken?

I didn't know, either.

re: #137 J.D.

Excellent.

re: #232 ggt

It's handy sometimes, no doubt. It just rings too much! LOL!

re: #231 realwest

OH REAL! he was a runner up one season on American Idol. The winner dropped out of the scene, but Clay has built a nice little career.

re: #225 realwest

Beautiful country - 160 K acres of lake. We saw only a fraction of it in a week, and we traveled over 35 miles... canyon walls enclose most of it. Kind of like a mini-version of the Grand Canyon. Beautiful!

re: #236 J.D.

ah, but you can turn it off, turn it on silent or just ignore it.

re: #237 ggt

OH REAL! he was a runner up one season on American Idol. The winner dropped out of the scene, but Clay has built a nice little career.

Is there an echo in here?

re: #235 ciaospirit

Thanks!

re: #240 musicman

yes

I just read the Wired "Smart People" list.

Puh-leeze.

From my cursory skimming of the people and their ideas, my breakdown would be:

One third have some interesting and viable ideas.

One third earn a "Duh": They're saying things that may be true, but everybody already knows the problems and knows the solutions, so they're just confirming the obvious.

And one third are utopian knucklehead moonbats, with pie-in-the-sky fantasies that either could never happen in the real world or should never happen in the real world.

All in all, it's a wash: You could probably pick 15 people off the sidealk at random and get the same results.

re: #228 apb1

I actually got rid of the cell phone. Not on call anymore.

It was so bad, I would twinge any time that thing rang.

I bet if they put a Holter Monitor on me, and dialed the cell number letting it ring, I would throw PVC's at the same time.

It was a bear.

re: #242 ggt

yes

Whew! There for a minute I thought i had a bad case of deja vu.

re: #230 Sylvester_T_Cat
He does have a feature pretty close to that, but it doesn't work in IE - I forgot why Charles said it doesn't.
So I usually report it and then post a comment about why I reported that comment and then report that post!

re: #231 realwest

You know, sometimes I just envy you.

re: #231 realwest

Uh, who is Clay Aiken?

Some guy trying the be the gay equivalent of Charlie Pride.

re: #239 ggt

ah, but you can turn it off, turn it on silent or just ignore it.

Voicemails. I am not a fan of voicemails.

re: #233 Fat Bastard Vegetarian Well I sure hope so - I could use God's blessing right now, but otherwise don't understand your answer at all!

re: #244 formercorpsman

Glad to hear you're kicking the habit! Looking forward to it myself...someday!

re: #237 ggt
Oh, American Idol - I saw that show once. Don't remember him at all though!
What's he do?

re: #252 realwest

If this did not kill any doubt, then nothing will.

re: #15 MandyManners

READ THE FUCKING ARTICLE.

Goodness gracious, I was just building up my anticipation at seeing all the names I have been told for years of people who are smart...

Hiya Mandy!

These are all people that wish they had more power than what typically accompanies a cloistered San Francisco clique of B-grade intellectuals.

re: #253 formercorpsman

He won?

re: #244 formercorpsman
Well mom and I got our first cell phone - paid for a certain number of minutes up front, at the start of hurricane season cause the Govenor of NC had a press conference and said if you can't evacuate call us - and since neither of us drive or has a car, we'd figured we'd get one just in case.
Minutes run out in mid October - last time I'll get one, too.
There is such a thing as being TOO available!

re: #253 formercorpsman

Elton=George=Clay.

Wake me up, before you go gay/.

I'm not a big fan of cell phones, at least when they're being used by those piloting moving vehicles. I would say that maybe 70% of the close calls I've had this summer riding the Harley have involved the driver of the offending vehicle yakking on a cell and oblivious to everyone else on the road. Driving and cell use are a dangerous mix, IMO.

re: #247 formercorpsman
Huh? Why cause I'm ignorant of popular entertainment
or just ignorant?!

re: #253 formercorpsman

Stop it! Yer killin' me!