A PopTart for a brain - a metaphor for many a person.

Speaking of creating, I've come to the conclusion that Minecraft is one hell of a drug.

re: #2 Targetpractice

Speaking of creating, I've come to the conclusion that Minecraft is one hell of a drug.

I'm making the effort to actually do all of Skyrim.

Comedy break of this early morning.
Ailes' Whopper: Fox News Employs 1 Conservative, 24 Liberals

re: #3 Kragar

I'm making the effort to actually do all of Skyrim.

So, we'll be seeing you again sometime next year?

re: #5 Targetpractice

So, we'll be seeing you again sometime next year?

For a bit.
Then he gets The Elder Scrolls Online.

To be honest, I was disappointed in Skyrim.
Meh.
:P

re: #7 Varek Raith

To be honest, I was disappointed in Skyrim.
Meh.
:P

I was all Fallout out.

I'm currently playing Red Dead Redemption and Eve.

can somebody drop me a line when the thread gets off gaming?

re: #10 Expand Your Ground

can somebody drop me a line when the thread gets off gaming?

Someone sucked at Mario.
:P

Yeah, I'm done. :)

re: #11 Varek Raith

Someone sucked at Mario.
:P

Yeah, I'm done. :)

I do board gaming and sometimes play solitaire on the computer. But yeah, computer games never interested me at all.

re: #12 Expand Your Ground

I do board gaming and sometimes play solitaire on the computer. But yeah, computer games never interested me at all.

Tabletop gaming remains my first love

Yes, I like things you can touch and games that do not require some sort of panic reaction.

re: #14 Expand Your Ground

Yes, I like things you can touch and games that do not require some sort of panic reaction.

Well, you could always give those we call "women" a try and see if that works.

re: #14 Expand Your Ground

Yes, I like things you can touch and games that do not require some sort of panic reaction.

We're gonna need bigger tables.

Image: Games_Day_2010_Imperial_Guard_display_table.jpg

Women you can touch, problem is, they are always calling for some sort of panic reaction...

re: #16 Kragar

We're gonna need bigger tables.

Image: Games_Day_2010_Imperial_Guard_display_table.jpg

"A Year's Salary on Display"

re: #16 Kragar

We're gonna need bigger tables.

Image: Games_Day_2010_Imperial_Guard_display_table.jpg

Uhm...yeah...I ain't got nearly that much disposable income.

re: #19 Targetpractice

Uhm...yeah...I ain't got nearly that much disposable income.

Got to do it a bit at a time.

My current IG force started about 10 years ago.

re: #20 Kragar

Got to do it a bit at a time.

My current IG force started about 10 years ago.

10 years ago...I was playing GTA 3 and VC on the PS2, when I wasn't playing Battlefield 1942 on the PC. Good times.

re: #21 Targetpractice

10 years ago...I was playing GTA 3 and VC on the PS2, when I wasn't playing Battlefield 1942 on the PC. Good times.

My original batch of IG and Space Marines were started in '88

re: #22 Kragar

My original batch of IG and Space Marines were started in '88

Was still a young lad back in '88, playing Mario on the NES.

Quit it, man, you're making me feel old here!//

re: #23 Targetpractice

Was still a young lad back in '88, playing Mario on the NES.

Quit it, man, you're making me feel old here!//

He was 15 miles under the snow!
Wait....

Will not even mention the year (or even the decade) I began collecting figures...

re: #25 Expand Your Ground

Will not even mention the year (or even the decade) I began collecting figures...

Because you forgot.

re: #25 Expand Your Ground

Will not even mention the year (or even the decade) I began collecting figures...

Give us a hint, was it before or after ya'll discovered fire?

//

re: #27 Targetpractice

Give us a hint, was it before or after ya'll discovered fire?

//

Before Internet....

re: #28 Expand Your Ground

Before Internet...

Dear God, there was such a time? I'd only heard of such things in the old legends passed down by the elders. All this time, I thought they were a myth.

//

re: #29 Targetpractice

Yes, young one, we existed before the internet.

Immediately preceding the internet we used electronic bulletin boards, using our local telephone system to send messages from our primordial home computers.

And before that we used to read newsletters and magazines, and write letters back as "letters to the editor", and such. It was slower, but had its own charms.

re: #30 freetoken

Yes, young one, we existed before the internet.

Immediately preceding the internet we used electronic bulletin boards, using our local telephone system to send messages from our primordial home computers.

And before that we used to read newsletters and magazines, and write letters back as "letters to the editor", and such. It was slower, but had its own charms.

I think what you describe is a myth. Do you have any objective historical evidence for that?

Morning, all

anyone awake?

re: #30 freetoken

Yes, young one, we existed before the internet.

Immediately preceding the internet we used electronic bulletin boards, using our local telephone system to send messages from our primordial home computers.

And before that we used to read newsletters and magazines, and write letters back as "letters to the editor", and such. It was slower, but had its own charms.

We had pen pals by slow mail.

I have vague memories of a time when telephones had what they call "a dial"; if you wanted to be sure not to miss a call, you stayed home and waited for it. Also, if you wanted to watch a particular show on television, they told you when it was on and that's when you watched it.

(all of which pales in comparison to my grandfather's stories of the days when a horse-drawn cart brought ice every day that you'd chip off a bunch and put it in a metal box where you tried to keep things cold.)

Still listening to the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer, Update:

Chamberlain finally grew some balls.

I'm amazed by the ambivalence in which countries used diplomacy while allowing other countries to fall. The taking of territory was so usual and it was less than 100 years ago.

re: #35 sagehen

I have vague memories of a time when telephones had what they call "a dial"; if you wanted to be sure not to miss a call, you stayed home and waited for it. Also, if you wanted to watch a particular show on television, they told you when it was on and that's when you watched it.

(all of which pales in comparison to my grandfather's stories of the days when a horse-drawn cart brought ice every day that you'd chip off a bunch and put it in a metal box where you tried to keep things cold.)

Ah and you only had one phone in the house, usually downstairs. It was attached to the wall by a chord and you had to stand or sit in one place while you talked.

I remember getting an extra long phone cord so I could pull it into another room for privacy.

re: #37 ggt

I recall phone numbers were identified with 2 letters, followed by numbers.

re: #38 researchok

I recall phone numbers were identified with 2 letters, followed by numbers.

Wow, you are old.

:0

re: #39 ggt

HAH! I was very young.

And if the phone rang in the middle of the night, something bad- really bad- had occurred.

re: #39 ggt

Also, we were way behind the US in terms of telephone tech. The phone company was run by the Post Office.

I remember having to call over and over if the line was busy. NO such thing as an answering system.

re: #38 researchok

I recall phone numbers were identified with 2 letters, followed by numbers.

They were called telephone exchanges iirc. I think they disappeard in the 60's.

re: #42 ggt

Or call waiting.

Radio, television, record player, camera and phone were all separate devices that could not interface with each other...

re: #30 freetoken

Yes, young one, we existed before the internet.

Immediately preceding the internet we used electronic bulletin boards, using our local telephone system to send messages from our primordial home computers.

And before that we used to read newsletters and magazines, and write letters back as "letters to the editor", and such. It was slower, but had its own charms.

Nonsense.
Pure nonsense.
:P

I'm just not groking Facebook.

re: #43 EdDantes

We had them into the 70's

OMG! The excrutiating process of diplomacy with the Third Reich. Telephones and ables from one diplomat to another in different countries. Then the diplomat would have to get in a car and go to where ever the person they were to see was and WAIT. Then back again, telephone and cables diplomat --

What A PITA.

re: #43 EdDantes

They were called telephone exchanges iirc. I think they disappeard in the 60's.

My aunt had a party line until sometime in the 70's.

re: #50 ggt

She must have lived in the boonies!

re: #40 researchok

Very true! I remember as a child if the phone rang (when we had a phone) in the night somebody was dead or very sick.

re: #50 ggt

My aunt had a party line until sometime in the 70's.

So did we.

re: #53 freetoken

So did we.

You must have lived in the boonies!

re: #53 freetoken

Where did you live?

re: #55 researchok

Where did you live?

The Dark Ages.

re: #55 researchok

On the edge of a small town.

re: #56 Varek Raith

It wasn't so dark. We had Coleman kerosene lamps.

re: #57 freetoken

On the edge of a small town.

re: #56 Varek Raith

It wasn't so dark. We had Coleman kerosene lamps.

I have one of those.

re: #57 freetoken

On the edge of a small town.

re: #56 Varek Raith

It wasn't so dark. We had Coleman kerosene lamps.

Varek knows, he was undead along time before that.

I remember telegrams.

A cousin of mine got married and at the reception they read telegrams as they came. I couldn't have been older than 7 or 8 and thought delivering telegrams was the best job in the world. The messenger rode a cool bike and got tips, and free food.

re: #58 Varek Raith

I have one of those.

Kept it all these years, huh?

re: #53 freetoken

I remember my older relatives picking up the receiver and asking/telling the other parties to get off so they could make a call.

re: #62 EdDantes

I remember my older relatives picking up the receiver and asking/telling the other parties to get off so they could make a call.

I remember my friends doing that with their siblings . . .

re: #61 ggt

Kept it all these years, huh?

Sometimes I go up into the Blue Ridge Mountains to get away from it all.

re: #57 freetoken

My grandfather's home was heated with coal till the 60's

re: #57 freetoken

We would have killedfor a kerosene lamp! Whale oil was expensive.

I remember when having a car phone was something the rich or well-connected had, and when the only guys walking around with cellphones were the stock brokers and execs with the "bricks" that could kill a small animal if dropped. And pagers were something doctors carried around in case of emergencies at the hospital.

It's been great chatting wit' you all, but I'm going back to bed.

Have a great one!

re: #67 Targetpractice

When I was small we didn't even have a telephone in the house.

re: #69 freetoken

When I was small we didn't even have a telephone in the house.

Can still remember the TV shows and commercials where you could call in, but only if you had a touch-tone phone.

re: #69 freetoken

When I was little my dad referred to me as his 'remote'.

re: #62 EdDantes

I remember my older relatives picking up the receiver and asking/telling the other parties to get off so they could make a call.

...After they listened for awhile. :)

I remember the first time I saw a color TV.

Merlin could not have put on a better show.

Of course, my dad's excuse for not getting one right away was simple:

'Let' s see if this isn't just a fad'.

re: #73 researchok

I remember the first time I saw a color TV.

Merlin could not have put on a better show.

Of course, my dad's excuse for not getting one right away was simple:

'Let' s see if this isn't just a fad'.

Like that rock and roll music?

re: #73 researchok

I remember the first time I saw a color TV.

Merlin could not have put on a better show.

Of course, my dad's excuse for not getting one right away was simple:

'Let' s see if this isn't just a fad'.

Don't leave us in suspense. What happened with this "color TV" thing?

I should also note my dad was sure 8-track and Betamax were going to be dominant technologies.

re: #74 Targetpractice

Pretty much.

My dad's idea of avant garde or alternative music was Andy Williams.

re: #75 EdDantes

We finally got one- and it was great.

Of course my dad was also sure there was a conspiracy involving the battery companies- the charge was depleted pretty quickly.

My sister told him maybe he ought not buy cheap, expired Lucky Mother in Law Unicorn brand batteries for the remote.

He replied it was a good thing she was a girl.

re: #76 researchok

I should also note my dad was sure 8-track and Betamax were going to be dominant technologies.

Still got stacks of cassette and VHS tapes lying around. The VHS player even still has a spot in the entertainment center, which is pretty hilarious as it now sits below a 42" LCD flatscreen.

re: #76 researchok

I should also note my dad was sure 8-track and Betamax were going to be dominant technologies.

Anyone who was a teen driver in the mid seventies must have thrown an 8-track on the freeway after the player ate it. That is where most of mine went.

re: #79 Targetpractice

Your becoming your grandfather.
//

re: #81 researchok

Your becoming your grandfather.
//

Could be worse, at least it's not just stacked atop the dead remains of its CRT predecessor.

re: #82 Targetpractice

Where do you keep that?
//

re: #83 researchok

Where do you keep that?
//

It got relegated to the bedroom upstairs, in all its slowly dying glory. Same with the old DVD player. And I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not gonna miss the demise of CRTs one damned bit. Even the more modern ones were heavy.

If you remember the MIB. Kay says he will have to buy the White Album again because of new alien technology. I still have my original white album on vinyl, then I bought it on 8 track, then on cassette and now on cd. No more technology please!

re: #84 Targetpractice

I hear that.

I have a box stuffed with useless and outdated cables, mice, keyboards, old printers, CPUs, broken cordless phones and other assorted crap.

I don't know why I just don't throw the crap out.

re: #84 Targetpractice

It got relegated to the bedroom upstairs, in all its slowly dying glory. Same with the old DVD player. And I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not gonna miss the demise of CRTs one damned bit. Even the more modern ones were heavy.

My last crt was a Sony 36'' Wega. 225 pounds!

re: #85 EdDantes

Wishful thinking.

re: #86 researchok

I hear that.

I have a box stuffed with useless and outdated cables, mice, keyboards, old printers, CPUs, broken cordless phones and other assorted crap.

I don't know why I just don't throw the crap out.

Sentimental reasons: same as me.

re: #85 EdDantes

If you remember the MIB. Kay says he will have to buy the White Album again because of new alien technology. I still have my original white album on vinyl, then I bought it on 8 track, then on cassette and now on cd. No more technology please!

Next step seems to be totally digital. In a generation, we'll have CDs and DVDs sitting in museums next to the vinyl records and tape decks.

re: #89 EdDantes

Otherwise known as unhealthy attachment.

re: #90 Targetpractice

And hard drives.

...Gee our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days.

re: #86 researchok

I hear that.

I have a box stuffed with useless and outdated cables, mice, keyboards, old printers, CPUs, broken cordless phones and other assorted crap.

I don't know why I just don't throw the crap out.

Got stacks of old HDDs and a CD rom or two that need to be junked, but I keep telling myself I can't because somebody might find them and try to pull info off. Should just take a sledgehammer to them and be done with it.

I left my entire LP collection behind when I moved to Europe. many of them were in pretty poor shape, and i just decided that I would start over again with CD's.

re: #92 researchok

And hard drives.

Nah, those will never truly go away, we'll just switch over to smaller and faster ones, same as we have been doing. Flash drives seem to be the next standard, but they're still running into hurdles over how much you can store in one.

Figure in a generation we'll be talking quantum computers and holographic data storage, with internet access in most cities being wireless.

re: #95 Expand Your Ground

I left my entire LP collection behind when I moved to Europe. many of them were in pretty poor shape, and i just decided that I would start over again with CD's.

I really miss vinyl. There was nothing better the first few plays on good equipment. Alas, good equipment is prohibitively expensive and the stylus damaged the LP or 45 on every play. CD is the beat alternative until the fucking aliens mess that up!

re: #96 Targetpractice

Whoa, Nostradamus! I'll believe that when we finally get tv's that we can mount on the wall (kids.Gotta love 'em)

re: #98 EdDantes

Whoa, Nostradamus! I'll believe that when we finally get tv's that we can mount on the wall (kids.Gotta love 'em)

Give'em a few years and we'll have OLED screens that can be hung like pictures. And do pretty much all the current functions of your computer, video game system, and similar devices.

The 90s vision of the future is slowly coming true.

re: #99 Targetpractice

Give'em a few years and we'll have OLED screens that can be hung like pictures. And do pretty much all the current functions of your computer, video game system, and similar devices.

The 90s vision of the future is slowly coming true.

I was being facetious, of course. I believe all of this will happen in the next few years if not tomorrow.We use current technology to create the next technology. I have a 4 core microprocessor and a 1 terabyte hard drive with high speed cable internet which did not exist 10 years ago. I can download a Tolstoy novel to my Kindle in seconds, I can watch the news as it happens without a banner that says "Via satellite." All that you described and things that none of us have thought of will happen soon.

re: #96 Targetpractice

Nah, those will never truly go away, we'll just switch over to smaller and faster ones, same as we have been doing. Flash drives seem to be the next standard, but they're still running into hurdles over how much you can store in one.

Figure in a generation we'll be talking quantum computers and holographic data storage, with internet access in most cities being wireless.

I am particularly interested in quantum technology. Of all of the futuristic techno-stuff it might have the most potential and might be available very soon.

And I remember the miracle of "Telstar."

Good night, everyone. Have a fine Memorial day.

re: #100 EdDantes

I was being facetious, of course. I believe all of this will happen in the next few years if not tomorrow.We use current technology to create the next technology. I have a 4 core microprocessor and a 1 terabyte hard drive with high speed cable internet which did not exist 10 years ago. I can download a Tolstoy novel to my Kindle in seconds, I can watch the news as it happens without a banner that says "Via satellite." All that you described and things that none of us have thought of will happen soon.

No disrespect meant, I'm just too much of a techno geek to get over the fast pace of technology in the years I've been around. To me, just the fact that I'm typing on a wireless keyboard and watching an LED flatscreen monitor, on a computer that's got a quad core processor and 1TB HDD is amazing compared to what I was using even 5 years ago.

re: #104 Targetpractice

I did not infer disrespect, Target. I don't consider myself a techno geek but I do try to keep up with what is going on. I have a 19'' flat screen monitor that is 8 years old and will not die (Bastard!) I want an excuse to buy a wider LED HD monitor with HDMI inputs. Yeah, five years ago seems like the dark ages. I had a single core 2600 gig Athlon, 500 meg HDD and dsl.

re: #102 EdDantes

re: #106 freetoken

Maggie Thatcher said it was one of favorite songs.

Good night.

Well, it's official. [Link: www.rockpapershotgun.com...]

38 studios, Curt Shilling's game studio, is laying off all staff, and blaming the economic downturn rather than any mistakes on management's part.

The state of Rhode Island guaranteed their loans, so the taxpayer just paid for Tea Partier Curt Shilling to run a company into the ground while badmouthing people on government support.

I predict few people will learn jack shit from this.

re: #110 Obdicut

Never heard of them. Is their latest "single-player action role-playing game" any good?

In my continuing background research for a fabled Page someday about the whole Ehrman Did Jesus Exist? brouhaha, I've come across an interview with Bishop John Spong, who (is well known as) being a rather "progressive" Christian, in which he touches on many subjects (as the interviewer is fishing for data on answering the "historical Jesus" problem and its fall-out).

Anyway, he makes some good points - pick it up around the 13:55 mark:

[Link: religionforlife.podomatic.com...]

re: #112 freetoken

No time to listen, is there a transcript?

As for the book:

1. I actually liked it.
2. I'm glad I was inoculated against some shoddiness by Carrier's criticisms, even though Carrier has been quite shoddy himself. I specifically liked the exposition of evidence part, the part 'debunking' mythicist seems rather weak, and I don't think I can fairly evaluate his criticism since I would have to bury myself in mythicist lit first.
3. A lot of it is speculative (e.g. his sure reliance on Q, M, L, which are still hypothetical, even if strong hypotheses...), he likes to repeat that Jesus existence is "certain", as if this assertion alone shows "certainty" (in other places he correctly frames discussion in terms of probability). That said, his "big picture" is pretty convincing. I could formulate it as "existence of the historical Jesus explains evidence better than competing hypotheses". There can be varying opinions on how much better, of course.

re: #113 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

No time to listen, is there a transcript?

Not that I know of. The portion I recommended (the last half) isn't about Ehrman but rather comments on contemporary American Christianity.

re: #114 freetoken

As for Ehrman's book... I find that the big problem with it (besides the narcissism and hand waving) is exactly what you pointed out - confusing hypotheses with actual evidence.

re: #113 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

BTW, that interviewer also had Ehrman on, but the podcast isn't up yet.

re: #111 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Never heard of them. Is their latest "single-player action role-playing game" any good?

Nah. It's alright, but it's nothing special.

re: #113 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

BTW, I left a comment over on Viridar's site about the latest Doherty entry.

I'm find it quite frustrated with the various camps in this discussion, as they tend to do Arguments from Silence quite a bit.

In Doherty's case, I think he is making way too much about Hebrews' lack of discussion of physical Jesus stories.

The problem with Hebrews is that we're just listening in on part of a conversation - we don't know who wrote it, to whom (particularly) it was written, what the previous discussions were about, or what came after it.

The problem with the Historical Jesus Problem is that it's more than just one problem - rather it is many. And in some cases we have an overdetermination from conflicting data (e.g., multiple birth stories), but in most cases we have an under-determined problem arising from too little evidence.

re: #110 Obdicut

Well, it's official. [Link: www.rockpapershotgun.com...]

38 studios, Curt Shilling's game studio, is laying off all staff, and blaming the economic downturn rather than any mistakes on management's part.

The state of Rhode Island guaranteed their loans, so the taxpayer just paid for Tea Partier Curt Shilling to run a company into the ground while badmouthing people on government support.

I predict few people will learn jack shit from this.

Shilling hit the ball a mile high, but it came down where the center fielder could make an easy catch.

/Hey, the Phillies are National League, so no designated hitters. :)

re: #119 Dark_Falcon

Shilling hit the ball a mile high, but it came down where the center fielder could make an easy catch.

/Hey, the Phillies are National League, so no designated hitters. :)

(((shhh,,,, he ended his career in the A.L. with the Red Sox!!))

Looks like he's also out 30 million of his own money. The company had been servicing the loan at the expense of paychecks
[Link: www.forbes.com...]

8 Ways Christian Fundamentalists Make People Convert -- to Agnosticism or Atheism

Evangelical minister Jim Henderson recently published a book, The Resignation of Eve, in which he urges his fellow Christians to take a hard look at the consequences of sexism in the church. According to Henderson, old-school sexism has driven some women out of Christianity permanently, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For those who stay, it means that many are less enthusiastic and engaged than they would be. Churches rely on women to volunteer in roles that range from secretary to director of children’s programs to missionaries. That takes a high level of confidence in church doctrines and also a strong sense of belonging. Biblical sexism cultivates neither. Between 1991 and 2011 the percent of women attending church in a typical week dropped by 11 points, from 55 to 44 percent.

morning all!

re: #122 ggt

morning all!

I shortened your "all"

Small crowd this a.m.!!

//

re: #121 sattv4u2

Looks like he's also out 30 million of his own money. The company had been servicing the loan at the expense of paychecks
[Link: www.forbes.com...]

And he was trying to build an MMO RPG as his studio's only 2nd title.

"Nothing is too high for the daring of mortals,
They storm Heaven in their folly."

re: #123 sattv4u2

morning all!

I shortened your "all"

Small crowd this a.m.!!

//

You're here, I'm here and GGT is here, so though small, it's still a good crowd.

re: #125 Dark_Falcon

You're here, I'm here and GGT is here, so though small, it's still a good crowd.

:)

re: #125 Dark_Falcon

You're here, I'm here and GGT is here, so though small, it's still a good crowd.

trust me,,, I know me!!!!

re: #124 Dark_Falcon

trying to build an MMO RPG

I have not clue one as to what that means!!

((wait ,,, ONE ,,,,, video game term of some sort?)

Yemen: US drone strike kills 5 militants

A U.S. drone strike Monday aiming for an al-Qaida leader has killed five militants in the country's south as part of a Yemeni offensive against the Islamist group, Yemeni officials said.

They said the airstrike targeted Qaid al-Dahab, a local leader of al-Qaida, in a convoy of three cars near the town of Radda, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the capital, Sanaa. Four militants were wounded. The officials said al-Dahab's fate was not yet known.

Al-Dahab's sister was the wife of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born radical militant cleric killed by a U.S. drone strike last fall.

There was no immediate word from Washington on the latest strike.

re: #128 sattv4u2

trying to build an MMO RPG

I have not clue one as to what that means!!

((wait ,,, ONE ,,, video game term of some sort?)

MMO RPG: Massively Mulitiplayer Online Role Playing Game

A total abuse of one's authority.

re: #130 Dark_Falcon

MMO RPG: Massively Mulitiplayer Online Role Playing Game

I ain't dressing up as the French maid (again)

re: #131 Interesting Times

A total abuse of one's authority.

Unless the driver broke the law. And most likely, that what this photo depicts. But because its a doughnut truck and cops are depicted as liking doughnuts it can be taken another way.

I got a red light ticket in the mail. $100. Civil violation.

Happy Memorial Day.

A quiet morning here in the woods. A few thunderstorms about, but the sun is currently shining. No activities until 4pm or so, so I have time to read (and make) comments.

re: #134 ggt

I got a red light ticket in the mail. $100. Civil violation.

Fining you because the car you are responsible for ran a red light. Cars are like minor children in that respect.

re: #132 sattv4u2

I ain't dressing up as the French maid (again)

LOL. More like a hobbit or Aragorn. Feather duster is optional.

Think of playing Dungeons and Dragons, only the other players are at their own PCs and the computer rolls the dice and acts as ref (or Dungeon Master). World of Warcraft is the 800 lb orc in this space.

The big problem with Schilling and 38 Studios is that they bit off way more than they could chew. They were trying to develop a MMO in an already crowded space, and hoping to use the profits from the game they just released to fund that.

The stand alone game did okay, but as a new IP it just didn't have the buzz or sales to make this happen. The other aspect of this story is that Schilling, despite his political views, had no problems accepting government money to fund all of this.

What really sucks is that the people of RI are now stuck with $110 million dollar tax bill because of this, and 400+ people have lost their jobs (including health benefits).

Just so you know. As you are all gamers.

"Vente", although it is a word at Starbucks, is NOT a word on Words with Friends and Strangers.

[Link: www.telegraph.co.uk...]

Anarchist group vows to wage 'low level warfare' on Olympics

The Informal Anarchist Federation has already claimed to be responsible for damaging railway signal systems which led to travel being disrupted around Bristol earlier this week.

They said their representatives had deliberately lifted concrete slabs beside the tracks to burn out signalling cables, on a route chosen to target Ministry of Defence employees.

So if one train rear ends another because the signal system was 'disrupted" resulting in injuries and possibly casualties, does that still qualify as "low level warfare"?

Today on Memorial Day 2012. Our soldiers spill their blood in other countries to fight religious extremism.

In this country?

I don't get it.

re: #140 ggt

Today on Memorial Day 2012. Our soldiers spill their blood in other countries to fight religious extremism.

In this country?

I don't get it.

Not all religious extremism is created equal.
/

re: #136 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Fining you because the car you are responsible for ran a red light. Cars are like minor children in that respect.

Next it will want to run into a tree.

It's a young car. Less than 40,000 miles. I will have to lecture it.

re: #139 sattv4u2

[Link: www.telegraph.co.uk...]

Anarchist group vows to wage 'low level warfare' on Olympics

The Informal Anarchist Federation has already claimed to be responsible for damaging railway signal systems which led to travel being disrupted around Bristol earlier this week.

They said their representatives had deliberately lifted concrete slabs beside the tracks to burn out signalling cables, on a route chosen to target Ministry of Defence employees.

So if one train rear ends another because the signal system was 'disrupted" resulting in injuries and possibly casualties, does that still qualify as "low level warfare"?

Yes. Trains are very vulnerable to low-tech sabotage, a fact of great concern to Chicago, even now that the NATO summit has come and gone. Railroads and the CTA work to have redundant signalizing systems, and most lines have alternative control centers.

re: #137 mattand

What really sucks is that the people of RI are now stuck with $110 million dollar tax bill because of this, and 400+ people have lost their jobs (including health benefits).

From the article I linked it looks as if the loan original 75M was being serviced with about a 45M balance,,,, AND (again from the article) there seems to be no shortage of opportunities for those laid off

I"m feeling very ambivalent about this years Memorial Day.

MSNBC is taking some heat this morning.
Chris Hayes: I'm 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Military 'Heroes'
Meh. I'm not outraged. Many on the left have difficulty with the military and "patriotic" holidays. I seriously doubt the target audience thought his statement was anything unusual or offensive.

re: #140 ggt

Today on Memorial Day 2012. Our soldiers spill their blood in other countries to fight religious extremism.

In this country?

I don't get it.

That was months ago, and it was but one panel of several. The Republicans called women to testify on other panels, as did the Democrats. The topic of that panel was religious freedom, not the impact or availability of birth control.

re: #146 Killgore Trout

MSNBC is taking some heat this morning.
Chris Hayes: I'm 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Military 'Heroes'
Meh. I'm not outraged. Many on the left have difficulty with the military and "patriotic" holidays. I seriously doubt the target audience thought his statement was anything unusual or offensive.

'Effete' is indeed a good word to describe that insipid little mouse. Of course, without soldiers there would be nothing to stop the barbarians of this world from killing that little Prufrock for sport. He should shut up until he is able to grow some balls.

re: #147 Dark_Falcon

That was months ago, and it was but one panel of several. The Republicans called women to testify on other panels, as did the Democrats. The topic of that panel was religious freedom, not the impact or availability of birth control.

Religious freedom to deny availability of birth control. Where is the non impact?

re: #146 Killgore Trout

I'm not outraged.
Ditto

re: #137 mattand

LOL. More like a hobbit or Aragorn. Feather duster is optional.

Think of playing Dungeons and Dragons, only the other players are at their own PCs and the computer rolls the dice and acts as ref (or Dungeon Master). World of Warcraft is the 800 lb orc in this space.

The big problem with Schilling and 38 Studios is that they bit off way more than they could chew. They were trying to develop a MMO in an already crowded space, and hoping to use the profits from the game they just released to fund that.

The stand alone game did okay, but as a new IP it just didn't have the buzz or sales to make this happen. The other aspect of this story is that Schilling, despite his political views, had no problems accepting government money to fund all of this.

What really sucks is that the people of RI are now stuck with $110 million dollar tax bill because of this, and 400+ people have lost their jobs (including health benefits).

Most new businesses fail, and often this is because they screw up. I kind of wish Mitt Romney would comment on this particular failure, as Schillings' kind of screw-up was something Romney worked to prevent back when he was a management consultant.

re: #146 Killgore Trout

re: #150 sattv4u2

I'm not outraged.
Ditto

Actually, my 1st reaction was "who!?!"

re: #149 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

Religious freedom to deny availability of birth control. Where is the non impact?

The issue had more than one facet, and it was not an "attack on women to have a hearing panel devoted to the religious freedom angle". It's entirely OK to argue that said angle should not be the most important concern, but it is not nothing and looking at it is not wrong.

re: #144 sattv4u2

What really sucks is that the people of RI are now stuck with $110 million dollar tax bill because of this, and 400+ people have lost their jobs (including health benefits).

From the article I linked it looks as if the loan original 75M was being serviced with about a 45M balance,,, AND (again from the article) there seems to be no shortage of opportunities for those laid off

I don't know about the job opportunities. RI is not exactly a hotbed of game development. The previous RI gov offered this sweetheart deal for Schilling to move from MA. This was for a rookie studio with releasing their first game. It was a big gamble that blew up in everyone's faces.

The gaming sites that are covering this indicated that the industry is doing what they can to help the unemployed, so at least there's that.

Another wrinkle is that supposedly 38 Studios was supposed to be helping employees sell their old homes, and they fell down on that job as well.

Bad juju all around. Hope they do find work, though, be it RI or anywhere else.

re: #152 sattv4u2

re: #150 sattv4u2

Actually, my 1st reaction was "who!?!"

They all look like Rachael Maddow to me.

Chris Hayes can be an asshole. But! Newsbusters? LOL Actually, if you've been living in your mother's basement you wouldn't have noticed that many folks on "teh left" were criticizing Hayes for this comment. Get real.

re: #155 Killgore Trout

They all look like Rachael Maddow to me.

Well, thats because you're a RWNJ!

re: #155 Killgore Trout

They all look like Rachael Maddow to me.

OK, you can have a downding for being an jerk with that wisecrack.

Durr hurr, homophobic jokes about Rachel Maddow's looks are hilarious! Derp.

re: #155 Killgore Trout

They all look like Rachael Maddow to me.

I guess Richard Grenell is writing your material now.

re: #146 Killgore Trout

MSNBC is taking some heat this morning.
Chris Hayes: I'm 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Military 'Heroes'
Meh. I'm not outraged. Many on the left have difficulty with the military and "patriotic" holidays. I seriously doubt the target audience thought his statement was anything unusual or offensive.

Considering how badly the chicken hawks on the right have poisoned patriotism, I can't blame him.

Now excuse me, I'll still fly the flag & such as a lefty vet as I concern myself with the reality of those who aren't ever coming back from that last patrol and not worry about what some talking head, left or right, has to say about it.

re: #153 Dark_Falcon

The issue had more than one facet, and it was not an "attack on women to have a hearing panel devoted to the religious freedom angle". It's entirely OK to argue that said angle should not be the most important concern, but it is not nothing and looking at it is not wrong.

If the "religious sensitivities" (i.e. fear of losing patriarchal standing in and out of their church surroundings) of a bunch of men includes denying women health care, perhaps you don't think it's wrong to look at but women whose rights are being denied sure have the right to look back and say FU.

re: #160 mattand

I guess Richard Grenell is writing your material now.

There is a rare* type of gay man who regards women with complete disdain. Do you think Grenell is that kind of man?

*: Note I said 'rare'. I've known a number of gay men, and only one of them was anything like that. The link is far more to misogyny than gayness.

re: #163 Dark_Falcon

There is a rare* type of gay man who regards women with complete disdain. Do you think Grenell is that kind of man?

*: Note I said 'rare'. I've known a number of gay men, and only one of them was anything like that. The link is far more to misogyny than gayness.

Well, I think he's just a loudmouth. I wouldn't delve into his psychology too much but he just doesn't ave the temperament for national politics.

re: #162 allegro

If the "religious sensitivities" (i.e. fear of losing patriarchal standing in and out of their church surroundings) of a bunch of men includes denying women health care, perhaps you don't think it's wrong to look at but women whose rights are being denied sure have the right to look back and say FU.

And they did. But sometimes congressional hearings are designed to address particular concerns, and this was one of those times.

re: #157 sattv4u2

Well, thats because you're a RWNJ!

hey,, KILGORE

You have supporters!!

I got two downdings for calling you a RWNJ!!

:)

re: #166 sattv4u2

hey,, KILGORE

You have supporters!!

I got two downdings for calling you a RWNJ!!

:)

Lol.

re: #163 Dark_Falcon

There is a rare* type of gay man who regards women with complete disdain. Do you think Grenell is that kind of man?

*: Note I said 'rare'. I've known a number of gay men, and only one of them was anything like that. The link is far more to misogyny than gayness.

I can't really answer that as I don't know the guy. If I play armchair psychologist, in Grennell's case, his desire to be seen as a good Republican overwhelmed his better judgement.

I've actually seen something like this up close and personal. A gay friend of mine used to say the most un PC/racist things about blacks and Jews. At the time, he was still closeted and was having a hard time dealing with it.

He was also one of those guys just constantly looking to yank someone's chain. The fact no one broke his jaw in a bar is astonishing.

T-Shirt, okay
Shoes, yup
What the HELL is he wearing in between!?!?

[Link: www.dailymail.co.uk...]

re: #164 Killgore Trout

Well, I think he's just a loudmouth. I wouldn't delve into his psychology too much but he just doesn't ave the temperament for national politics.

you're likely right. The man is a hothead, that seems clear. That can be fine if you're a talk-show host who fits neatly into a big enough political niche, but not as a campaign adviser. Advisers have to keep their cool when their campaign is attacked or they're pretty useless.

So in a way, Bryan Fischer might have done Mitt Romney a favor by forcing Romney to run Grenell off. But that would still not speak well of Fischer or Romney:

"The last sin is the greatest treason: To do the right thing for the wrong reason." - Sir Francis Bacon

re: #170 Dark_Falcon

Sir Francis Bacon

I love his toasted sandwiches with lettuce and tomato

re: #170 Dark_Falcon

So in a way, Bryan Fischer might have done Mitt Romney a favor by forcing Romney to run Grenell off. But that would still not speak well of Fischer or Romney:

"The last sin is the greatest treason: To do the right thing for the wrong reason." - Sir Francis Bacon

Sad but true. Fischer doesn't want gay people working for Romney's campaign, and Romney needs every evangelical vote he can get. Hence, the gutless cave.

Leave it to Mitt, however, to pick the one gay Republican who was using Rush Limbaugh as his writing template.

It always amazes me how the thread starts off with a video then proceeds to gaming and then to historical artifacts like telephones with dials and a two letter prefix (yes I remember those too) and finally to the politics of the day. And of course since it is Memorial Day food and more politics. Those who say the internet is boring have no clue.

re: #169 sattv4u2

T-Shirt, okay
Shoes, yup
What the HELL is he wearing in between!?!?

[Link: www.dailymail.co.uk...]

A pair of pants with prints of money on them, cargo pants with zippered pockets. Wearing pants with prints of money on them is extremely bad taste on Biber's part, IMO. Deliberate flaunting of your good fortune in front of others liable to be less fortunate is rather dickish. And pushing at photographer you know won't push back just makes you look comically ill-tempered.

re: #171 sattv4u2

Sir Francis Bacon

I love his toasted sandwiches with lettuce and tomato

SMACK!

re: #147 Dark_Falcon

That was months ago, and it was but one panel of several. The Republicans called women to testify on other panels, as did the Democrats. The topic of that panel was religious freedom, not the impact or availability of birth control.

NO RELIGIOUS women?

DF, really?

re: #171 sattv4u2
lettuce and tomato on a juicy burger. yum.

re: #173 PhillyPretzel

It always amazes me how the thread starts off with a video then proceeds to gaming and then to historical artifacts like telephones with dials and a two letter prefix (yes I remember those too) and finally to the politics of the day. And of course since it is Memorial Day food and more politics. Those who say the internet is boring have no clue.

SQUIRREL!

re: #147 Dark_Falcon

That was months ago, and it was but one panel of several. The Republicans called women to testify on other panels, as did the Democrats. The topic of that panel was religious freedom, not the impact or availability of birth control.

I'm really needing links to these other panels in which women were called to testify.

Flame cyber-espionage discovered in vast infection net

A new and fast spreading malware tipped to already dwarf the notorious Stuxnet has been identified, codenamed Flame and believed to be state-run cyberespionage affecting PCs in Iran and nearby countries. Spotted by Kaspersky Lab, “Worm.Win32.Flame” blends features from backdoor, trojan and worm malware, and once surreptitiously loaded onto a target machine can monitor network traffic, local use, grab screenshots and record audio, sending all that data back to its home servers. Believed to be active from at least March 2010, Flame is tipped to be 20x more prevalent than Stuxnet.

I need to vent a little bit about how damned high-handed and arrogant banksters and financial institutions have become. I started selling on EBAY at the end of March. They have a set of draconian "new seller" rules that essentially allow them to hold your money "to ensure performance" until you've proven yourself.
Once you sell something and the money is in your PayPal account (new sellers almost have to use PayPal), the funds are held until 3 days after the item has arrived with the buyer, if you use an expensive tracked shipment method like priority mail. If not, the money is held for 3 fucking weeks after the payment is made.
You CAN get out of the new seller stockade at the end of 90 days, but this is at EBAY's discretion alone (of course).

Well, you might say, they have all sorts of scammers sign up and they have to protect people. No, in the event of a scam or shipping failure, they cannot simply seize the money and refund it at the end of the hold period, they have to release it eventually. This really looks like nothing more than a device for getting the free use of the seller's money for a couple of weeks.

As for shipping, priority mail is exorbitantly expensive, especially overseas, and new sellers typically do not even try to sell internationally.
All shipments have to be insured these days. Don't even think about using parcel post, the cheapest. It might as well be called "partial post" since it only makes it partway to the destination. The disappearance rate on this method is phenomenal. If you file an insurance claim, and you will if you ship much at all, it takes up to 90 days to get your money from the post office.
Try making the post office, Ebay, PayPal, or local banksters wait 90 days for money that is due FROM you. In that case, all transfers are instantaneous and you better be quick about authorizing them, peasant.

Once your EBAY money is in PayPal, you still don't have it, because it takes up to 5 days, more with serious nickel and dime chiseler banks, for the money to transfer to your own actual bank account. You can use it online in the meantime, but not for real world purchases like rent or groceries. This is not PayPal's policy, it is the banks' and it is practically universal. They get the transfer instantly, of course, but they profit by holding it as long as they can.

On a different note, I moved my payroll account from Wells-Fargo bank a couple of years ago because they refused to cash the checks unless the employee also had an account there. This policy is actually illegal in Texas. A bank check can be refused for any number of reasons but it is an obligation, not a loan or a free service. It must be paid on presentation if its validity is not in reasonable doubt and the amount is not excessive relative to the cash on hand. The WF banksters thought I was nuts to care about people so low on the scale they don't have their own bank accounts. They simply thumbed their noses at me and at the law. To them, my half million dollar a year payroll account is pocket change and I am just another cranky peasant so eccentric as to care about even lesser peasants.

re: #179 ggt

I'm really needing links to these other panels in which women were called to testify.

I think this was from the same hearings when Rush called that chick a slut.

re: #181 Shiplord Kirel

Some of many reasons why I do not sell on eBay.

re: #182 Killgore Trout

I think this was from the same hearings when Rush called that chick a slut.

The same series of hearings, yes, and her name is Sandra Fluke, not 'that chick'.

re: #173 PhillyPretzel

telephones with dials and a two letter prefix (yes I remember those too)

Same here

I still remember out phone number when I was a kid

DUnkirk 7-XXXX

re: #183 PhillyPretzel

Some of many reasons why I do not sell on eBay.

I haven't sold anything there for a while, but I've still gotten enough items sold that I wouldn't need to go through anything like that.

re: #185 sattv4u2

CUmberland 8- XXXX

re: #185 sattv4u2

telephones with dials and a two letter prefix (yes I remember those too)

Same here

I still remember out phone number when I was a kid

DUnkirk 7-XXX

Don't remember that. I do remember getting our first color TV, though. Turns out Oscar the Grouch was green.

re: #187 PhillyPretzel

Dang It won't let me put in 4 X's.

re: #181 Shiplord Kirel

I have wells fargo here in Oregon. It's called "floating". For large checks the can hold the up to something absurd like six weeks. Of course with modern technology the money transfer is almost instantaneous but the bank can egally hold on to it and collect interest, invest or otherwise play around with it without giving it to the customer. It's absurd. I tried talking to bank managers and you can negotiate a slightly shorter float time but not by much. I just stopped depositing large checks with them. It's a waste of time.

re: #181 Shiplord Kirel

1. eBay certainly knows how to shit on their customers. I've had an account long enough that I don't have to go through all that, but I don't know if there's a viable alternative. You can try Amazon's auctions, but IIRC, their shipping policies stink.

2. Good that you voted with your business, but in my experience, the offending company only hopes that the door doesn't hit your ass on the way out (I'm looking at you, Comcast).

Looks like that Kimberlan douchebag is still harassing wingnuts. Erik Ericson claims he was "swatted" yesterday.

A small child asks: "If there is a God, why is Piers Morgan on TV?"

— Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) May 28, 2012

re: #161 William Barnett-Lewis

Now excuse me, I'll still fly the flag & such as a lefty vet as I concern myself with the reality of those who aren't ever coming back from that last patrol and not worry about what some talking head, left or right, has to say about it.

This. I woke up this morning thinking about my dad and all the other men in my family who've put their lives on the line for this country going back to the Civil War. I thought about the horrific injuries suffered by so many in the recent wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, and Vice President Biden's wonderful words last week to those who have lost loved ones in the military. I wondered if maybe there was some small way to show appreciation today—maybe make a Page or send out some tweets.

Then I come here, and what do I find? The usual morning sniping. How pathetic that on the one day each year specifically reserved for remembering & honoring our military dead, some people see fit to seize it as yet another opportunity for shooting little poisonous partisan arrows at their fellow Americans. For what purpose? Just because they can? This day isn't about that bullshit. Grow up. Show some respect.

Thank you, William Barnett-Lewis, for your service and for your wise words.

re: #194 CuriousLurker

I have my flag on display. I don't dare put it on my front lawn. It will be stolen.

re: #191 mattand

1. eBay certainly knows how to shit on their customers. I've had an account long enough that I don't have to go through all that, but I don't know if there's a viable alternative. You can try Amazon's auctions, but IIRC, their shipping policies stink.

2. Good that you voted with your business, but in my experience, the offending company only hopes that the door doesn't hit your ass on the way out (I'm looking at you, Comcast).

I use PNC, which only holds till the next business day for checks unless there is a genuine problem. Checks deposited on Friday have their funds available on Saturday, though a check deposited on a weekend has to wait till Tuesday as the bank is working off of Monday as the business day for deposit purposes.

re: #187 PhillyPretzel

CUmberland 8- XXX

1st phone I actually remember we had a "party line'

re: #195 PhillyPretzel

I have my flag on display. I don't dare put it on my front lawn. It will be stolen.

Heh, I live in an apartment building, so luckily I don't have to worry about that.

I'm outta here for a while

Have a good one all!

re: #181 Shiplord Kirel

When they required the use of the PayPal thieves, I cancelled my ebay account and have not bought anything there since. I'm not surprised by this behavior as they still owe me several hundred dollars I'll never see.

re: #197 sattv4u2

My mom had one of those years ago. She got a private line when one of her "neighbors" started gossiping about her while she and the operator were on the line.

Credit Unions are an alternative to the big impersonal banks. Friendlier too. [Link: creditunionsonline.com...]

re: #201 PhillyPretzel

My mom had one of those years ago. She got a private line when one of her "neighbors" started gossiping about her while she and the operator were on the line.

LOL

Ours wasn't that bad. We shared lines with my uncle and his family, who lived on the 1st floor of a three decker, and my aunt and her family who lived on the 2nd floor, and us living on the 3rd floor

re: #190 Killgore Trout

Large or small. I never heard of 6 weeks, but it always pisses me off how if I make an online transfer from one account to another, or another person, the money is gone instantly from my account but can take two BUSINESS days to appear in the other account even if with the same bank (BoA). If done on a Thursday or Friday, they can hold onto the money for 4-5 days, and even then it stays in their banking system afterwards.

What are they pretending to do? Checking on themselves?

re: #202 PhillyPretzel

Credit Unions are an alternative to the big impersonal banks. Friendlier too. [Link: creditunionsonline.com...]

Financed three vehicles via my Credit Union

re: #205 sattv4u2

After a local bank was "made an offer they could not refuse" I went to American Heritage Federal Credit Union. They are so nice and they have been wonderful to me. When I went through my bankruptcy I got one free money order a month to pay off the creditors without extra fees. And when I needed my interest statement for my taxes all it took was a couple of mouse clicks and I had a copy of it in my hands.

Lawyers might like the new attitude in banking and financial services, since it means that banksters are now taking some of the public contempt once reserved for the legal profession alone.
Personally, I rather like the lawyers I actually know. As a group, they are the most forthright people I encounter routinely. For instance, a lawyer friend asked my advice on getting a safe for this office. "Yeah, my dirtbag drug dealer clients pay in cash and I don't feel right just putting it in the desk drawer, even for a day." They actually can untangle some awesome difficulties and they're the only people many of society's major assholes really fear or respect.
I know we have some lawyers here. Just remember this when you hear the usual jokes: The public loves to hate on you, but who do they run to when they're in trouble? You're their best friend then.

re: #204 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

Large or small. I never heard of 6 weeks, but it always pisses me off how if I make an online transfer from one account to another, or another person, the money is gone instantly from my account but can take two BUSINESS days to appear in the other account even if with the same bank (BoA). If done on a Thursday or Friday, they can hold onto the money for 4-5 days, and even then it stays in their banking system afterwards.

What are they pretending to do? Checking on themselves?

I think it's all a relic of the old days when paper checks had to go through the mail and be processed by hand. Now that the transfers are instantaneous they banks just have a new scam to play around with people's money.

re: #207 Shiplord Kirel

We're a nation of laws. That's what makes us a country. Having a working legal system.

Some lawyers really help that system keep going, really provide the necessary underpinnings to it, and some just make money off of it. But the jokes don't differentiate.

re: #208 Killgore Trout

I think it's all a relic of the old days when paper checks had to go through the mail and be processed by hand. Now that the transfers are instantaneous they banks just have a new scam to play around with people's money.

And the fact that Wells Fargo is "too big to fail" means that any bill to change that would automatically become a national hullabaloo.

re: #207 Shiplord Kirel

People love mis-quoting that bit about killing all the lawyers but they fail to understand that it was the bad guy's saying that. Those who knew the law were the ones that could stop them.

re: #192 Killgore Trout

Looks like that Kimberlan douchebag is still harassing wingnuts. Erik Ericson claims he was "swatted" yesterday.

I re-read Patterico's analysis, and while it is possible that some of his stalkers are at work, he really hasn't proven (common sense-wise) that Brynaert was the one who swatted him, moreover he didn't mention that Brynaert is (and was at the time) an enemy of Rauhauser (instead presenting them as some cohesive group). And it is Rauhauser who allegedly has the expertise to perform swatting - no such expertise was shown for Brynaert, who is a mere journo. Finally, at this moment Brynaert and Kimberlin are vicious enemies too, they flame each other on their respective blogs.

So while it is possible that Kimberlin is connected to all this, this isn't a proven fact yet. So I'm sure you will extend him the same reasonable skepticism you granted George Zimmerman. I will even hold my breath! /

re: #153 Dark_Falcon

The issue had more than one facet, and it was not an "attack on women to have a hearing panel devoted to the religious freedom angle". It's entirely OK to argue that said angle should not be the most important concern, but it is not nothing and looking at it is not wrong.

It is entirely OK to remember that this issue has been considered laid to rest decades ago, and 98% of the participants (honest catholic priests excepted) have used birth control (including men whose partners did); therefore almost every one of them is a hypocrite, unless we assume that the panel is made up of the 2%, who then are control freaks and deserve the scorn of everyone else.

re: #210 Dark_Falcon

And the fact that Wells Fargo is "too big to fail" means that any bill to change that would automatically become a national hullabaloo.

Yup. There's not much we can do about it. Just sit and wait for them to create the next disaster.

re: #211 William Barnett-Lewis

People love mis-quoting that bit about killing all the lawyers but they fail to understand that it was the bad guy's saying that. Those who knew the law were the ones that could stop them.

Like how Machiavelli's "The Prince" is actually satire on about screwing people over, and not a user's guide.

Needless to say, even dirtbag drug dealers are entitled to legal representation. We will all be up the proverbial creek without a paddle if some moralizing teabagger "zero tolerance" type figures out a way to deny it to them, as some of them seem hell-bent on doing.

re: #208 Killgore Trout

I think it's all a relic of the old days when paper checks had to go through the mail and be processed by hand. Now that the transfers are instantaneous they banks just have a new scam to play around with people's money.

It's just another fee, like the check cashing non banks and money order people. How can the latter issue money orders without a fee? They do so by being able to hold the money and earn interest on it for a few days. The banks do the same.

re: #212 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

It seems the recent exposure has lead to an increase in harassment. If they keep it up they're going to get caught.

Shoppers hurt in 'terrorist' blast

Speaking at the charred and wrecked small shopping complex in Nairobi's commercial heart, prime minister Raila Odinga contradicted the country's police chief, who had earlier said yesterday's explosion was caused by an electrical fault.

"This is terrorism... this is a heinous act, we are under threat but we will not be cowed," Mr Odinga said.

"The lives and property of Kenyans are precious and must be protected, we condemn the terrorists and tell them that their days are numbered."

At least 28 people were wounded, four of them in a critical condition, the Kenya Red Cross said.

Kenya has been hit by a wave of grenade attacks the police have repeatedly blamed on Somalia's al-Qaida linked Shebab insurgents or its supporters.

Teabag future cam:

You can't hire a lawyer, you don't have a church affiliation or own enough property! Now off to the Christian remedial work camp with you!

.

re: #214 Killgore Trout

Yup. There's not much we can do about it. Just sit and wait for them to create the next disaster.

The thing to do is what National Review's Kevin D. Williamson and City Journal's Nicole Gelinas are doing: Keep making the case of how bad having 'too big to fail' alongside inadequate regulation of derivatives really is. That approach will take years, though, as winning over supporters will be slow going and neither party will want to mess with a major campaign cash cow before they must do so.

re: #218 Killgore Trout

It seems the recent exposure has lead to an increase in harassment. If they keep it up they're going to get caught.

And I'm sure you will withhold judgment until the moment "they" are caught. After all you wouldn't want to look like a hypocrite, but rather as a consistent skeptic. /

re: #220 Shiplord Kirel

Teabag future cam:
You can't hire a lawyer, you don't have a church affiliation or own enough property! Now off to the Christian remedial work camp with you!

Oakilee Doakilee*, Lord High Flanders!

*Spelling approximate

re: #216 Shiplord Kirel

Needless to say, even dirtbag drug dealers are entitled to legal representation. We will all be up the proverbial creek without a paddle if some moralizing teabagger "zero tolerance" type figures out a way to deny it to them, as some of them seem hell-bent on doing.

That would seem hard, given the right to counsel is clearly written into the Constitution. Even if one believed it does not cover the funding of public defenders, I cannot see how that could be extended to someone paying for their own lawyer. Unless, that is, the person making the argument does not like the Constitution in the first place, in which case they are something other than a conservative, at least as I define that term.

re: #224 Dark_Falcon

That would seem hard, given the right to counsel is clearly written into the Constitution. Even if one believed it does not cover the funding of public defenders, I cannot see how that could be extended to someone paying for their own lawyer. Unless, that is, the person making the argument does not like the Constitution in the first place, in which case they are something other than a conservative, at least as I define that term.

Definitions have changed. If you look at the silly mental gymnastics people like David Barton can perform with the Constitution, it's easy to believe they could find a way to subvert the right to counsel. Their campaigns against abortion and gay rights pay no heed to explicit rights like due process or search and seizure, let alone the implied right to privacy. That they want to abolish these rights, and therefore do not seriously respect the Constitution, is not seriously in doubt.

Schools Barred From Handcuffing Students

Public schools in Jackson, Miss., will no longer be allowed to handcuff students to poles or other objects, under a settlement with the Southern Poverty Law Center reached in U.S. District Court.
[snip]

According to the settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, district employees will stop handcuffing students younger than 13, and can only handcuff older students for crimes, and no student may be handcuffed to railings, poles, desks, chairs or other objects.

Presumably other objects means things like emergency fire exits.

re: #146 Killgore Trout

MSNBC is taking some heat this morning.
Chris Hayes: I'm 'Uncomfortable' Calling Fallen Military 'Heroes'
Meh. I'm not outraged. Many on the left have difficulty with the military and "patriotic" holidays. I seriously doubt the target audience thought his statement was anything unusual or offensive.

Maybe not "heros",,, but they sure are BRAVE!

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

re: #225 Shiplord Kirel

Definitions have changed. If you look at the silly mental gymnastics people like David Barton can perform with the Constitution, it's easy to believe they could find a way to subvert the right to counsel. Their campaigns against abortion and gay rights pay no heed to explicit rights like due process or search and seizure, let alone the implied right to privacy. That they want to abolish these rights, and therefore do not seriously respect the Constitution, is not seriously in doubt.

And here we come again to a coalition breaker: I cannot seriously believe that conservative thought publications like NR or the Weekly Standard would go along with such ideas. Conservative legal experts such Ken Starr surely would not, to say nothing how badly such ideas would be received by Antonin Scalia. Most likely an attempt to push such ideas would simply end up splitting the Republican coalition apart. I think Barton would be publicly rebuked and denied by those listed above, and he'd respond by publicly flouncing and commanding his followers to join him. What happened next would depend on how many obeyed him at that point.

re: #174 Dark_Falcon

I've known Beiber was a douche since that incident with both Indonesia and the UK.

re: #229 ProGunLiberal

I've known Beiber was a douche since that incident with both Indonesia and the UK.

He's a 'little hothead', a barking Chihuahua.

Dammit

I forgot to RSVP
Now I can't go!!

[Link: www.rt.com...]

re: #169 sattv4u2

T-Shirt, okay
Shoes, yup
What the HELL is he wearing in between!?!?

[Link: www.dailymail.co.uk...]

[writes down in a little black notebook:] Satty spends his time looking at photos of Justin Bieber. NTTIAWWT!!

BBL

re: #232 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

[writes down in a little black notebook:] Satty spends his time looking at photos of Justin Bieber. NTTIAWWT!!

{writes down in a little black notebook:} I'm back has a little black notebook
NTTAWWT!

re: #230 Dark_Falcon

He called the nation of Indonesia a "random country with bad studios." Never mind it is a rapidly developing nation that is so diverse your head will spin, and gorgeous to boot. No, the studios define it for this ignorant little twerp.

And then he made fun of the British Accent. He is a grade-AAA Douchebag. Johnson & Johnson is filing a patent infringement lawsuit.

We are reduced to discussing ridiculous clothing on teeny bopper idols??

Oh, well...

re: #236 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

We are reduced to discussing ridiculous clothing on teeny bopper idols??

Oh, well...

I blame satellite television. /

re: #236 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

Satt started it, and I finished it! :D

re: #236 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

We are reduced to discussing ridiculous clothing on teeny bopper idols??

Oh, well...

We could discuss this brilliant plan to win the election just posted over at Dkos.
Can We Stop Pussy Footin W/ Romney & Fruk'n Arrest/ Indict Bain Already

Fruk'n ARREST SOMEONE ALREADY - PLEASE?

Mitt Romney's campaign has lied, his has money off shore (and no one has ever mentioned Bermuda/ Sankaty yet - where the REAL money is). After all, lawyers willing to break the law will be in heaven. If Romney, Bain & Goldman Sachs can do this much when he is just an over priced John Doe citizen; what do you think will happen when he actually controls the Department of Justice and can hand pick his own Attorney?

Otherwise, we may just see Romney, whose camp has managed to get Clear Channel, its Limbaugh and others to propogate the Lies. So much so that even when Romney did not win Iowa, Maine etc - he was reported to win and the public was duped.

This is what democracy looks like!
/

re: #236 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

We are reduced to discussing ridiculous clothing on teeny bopper idols??

Oh, well...

Let's talk about religion.

re: #240 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Let's talk about religion.

I'm agin it. You ferrit?

re: #240 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Let's talk about religion.

Whose?

re: #241 Obdicut

I'm aging. You ferrit?

Let's define "am" first.

re: #242 Flame Fin Tomini Tang

Whose?

Your choice.

Because it was such a great idea in the first place...

Mississippi Schools now barred from handcuffing students

Public schools in Jackson, Miss., will no longer be allowed to handcuff students to poles or other objects, under a settlement with the Southern Poverty Law Center reached in U.S. District Court.

Jody Owens, director of the Mississippi office of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the Capital City Alternatives school in Mississippi's largest district must immediately stop handcuffing students, a practice used to punish even such things as dress-code violations.

"The focus should be education, not incarceration and it's tantamount to child abuse when children are handcuffed to railings for something as simple as not having the appropriate belt or inappropriate shoe strings," Owens said.

The way students had been disciplined in the school was abusive, she said.
"We have some students who have gone on record to say it's happened to them three or four days in a row," Owens said. "We know there are some students who actually had to eat their lunch with one hand handcuffed to a railing."

According to the settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, district employees will stop handcuffing students younger than 13, and can only handcuff older students for crimes, and no student may be handcuffed to railings, poles, desks, chairs or other objects.

re: #244 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Your choice.

Let's talk about how Buddhists have had shitloads of wars and yet somehow Westerners think about it as an inherently peaceful religion.

re: #246 dragonfire1981

Because it was such a great idea in the first place...

Mississippi Schools now barred from handcuffing students

What has this world come to? Damn liberals.

re: #247 Obdicut

Let's talk about how Buddhists have had shitloads of wars and yet somehow Westerners think about it as an inherently peaceful religion.

Or about the myth of the pre-Chinese Tibetan lamaist paradise...

re: #239 Killgore Trout

We could discuss this brilliant plan to win the election just posted over at Dkos.
Can We Stop Pussy Footin W/ Romney & Fruk'n Arrest/ Indict Bain Already

This is what democracy looks like!
/

We should either have a test to qualify to vote, or we should (like some countries) make it a legal/constitutional requirement that everyone must vote, kind of like the jury service requirement.

Now, I'm not entirely sure that either one would be an improvement overall, and the first has obvious downsides, but at least the latter will reduce the influence of special interest groups since they would then have to preach to the unconverted to gain advantage.

re: #249 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Or about the myth of the pre-Chinese Tibetan lamaist paradise...

Heh. That's one of my favorites. Asking people with "Free Tibet" signs what Tibet was like before the Chinese invaded.

Rarely do they know.

It's like Spanish vs. Aztecs: Two shitty civilizations facing off.

re: #244 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Your choice.

Nah. I'll pass. Gratuitous critique is no fun.

Here's something for you Obdi

@neiltyson
Manhattanhenge draws near - stunning sunset across the canyons of Manhattan's street grid. Be there: bit.ly/IJVz

re: #246 dragonfire1981