Among the Deniers at Denia-Palooza

Peter Sinclair on the annual Heartland Institute gathering
Science • Views: 34,114
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Fraud Christopher Monckton goes birther and Heartland tries to get into classrooms, while sponsors flee.

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154 comments
1 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 9:56:59am

The rats abandoning the ship looks good on Heartland.

2 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:06:20am

The denialosphere lost when it came to tobacco, but unlike the rest of us, they learned from their mistakes and are doing a very effective job at convincing politicians and voters that the AGW science is fake. Even though my mother died of cancer, I would happily trade the tobacco win for an AGW win if it were possible.

3 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:07:48am

How pathetic. That clown "Lord" Monckton playing redneck dress-up in a cowboy hat with an American flag shirt complete with a giant Patriot-crucifix around his neck. Praise Jesus.

Here's a screen shot of Clown "Lord" Monckton in his costume.

4 S.D.  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:10:16am

Good video, too the point and well done.

5 darthstar  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:11:16am

Second half of Netherlands-Denmark on ESPN now...The Danes have the lead over the orangemen...

6 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:12:21am

re: #3 Gus

Ewww. Conservatism!

7 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:14:43am

re: #3 Gus

How pathetic. That clown "Lord" Monckton playing redneck dress-up in a cowboy hat with an American flag shirt complete with a giant Patriot-crucifix around his neck. Praise Jesus.

Here's a screen shot of Clown "Lord" Monckton in his costume.

Yanno, I've lived in Texas for almost 40 years and have mingled with the reddest of necks. However, I ain't never seen an outfit like that before. Who the heck is this guy's fashion adviser?

8 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:15:31am

re: #7 allegro

Yanno, I've lived in Texas for almost 40 years and have mingled with the reddest of necks. However, I ain't never seen an outfit like that before. Who the heck is this guy's fashion adviser?

Richard Simmons?

//

9 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:15:50am

re: #8 Gus

Richard Simmons?

//

LOL!

10 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:16:19am

re: #7 allegro

Yanno, I've lived in Texas for almost 40 years and have mingled with the reddest of necks. However, I ain't never seen an outfit like that before. Who the heck is this guy's fashion adviser?

Ted Nugent.

11 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:16:55am

re: #7 allegro

Yanno, I've lived in Texas for almost 40 years and have mingled with the reddest of necks. However, I ain't never seen an outfit like that before. Who the heck is this guy's fashion adviser?

TeaBagger Online Haute Couture.

12 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:17:59am

re: #11 b_sharp

TeaBagger Online Haute Couture.

TeaBagger Couture by Darlene McBride.

13 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:20:55am

Sure seemed like there were a lot of fossils at that Heartland confab.

14 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:21:08am

It's alive!

//

15 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:22:12am

re: #13 Gus

Sure seemed like there were a lot of fossils at that Heartland confab.

Correct.

16 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:22:46am

re: #13 Gus

Sure seemed like there were a lot of fossils at that Heartland confab.

I noticed that too.
I was wondering if they were actually dead but forgot to lie down.

They obviously eat brains.

17 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:24:03am

re: #16 b_sharp

I noticed that too.
I was wondering if they were actually dead but forgot to lie down.

They obviously eat brains.

I thought I noticed a bowl of bath salts at one of the tables. Bath salts and Marlboro Reds!

18 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:24:12am

re: #15 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Correct.

The picture of the old poop from Saskatchewan is the big brother to several I have from the same dig.

19 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:24:55am

re: #18 b_sharp

The picture of the old poop from Saskatchewan is the big brother to several I have from the same dig.

That's Lord Saskatchewan for you.

20 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:25:33am

Lold Monckton.

21 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:26:29am

re: #20 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Lold Monckton.

Yah, I LOL'd at Moncton too.

22 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:26:35am

re: #20 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Lold Monckton.

"Lord" Mockton: birther. I see he's expanding his horizons. Heartland is so pathetic.

23 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:28:39am

re: #22 Gus

"Lord" Mockton: birther. I see he's expanding his horizons. Heartland is so pathetic.

He's just putting all of his eggs into one basket. He already has a pile of woo credentials in there.

24 darthstar  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:29:24am

re: #22 Gus

"Lord" Mockton: birther. I see he's expanding his horizons. Heartland is so pathetic.

It's pretty sad, but it's all they've got.

25 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:29:24am

"Lord". ROTFL.

Lord Sauron! Lord Jesus! Lord Monckton!

26 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:29:48am

re: #23 b_sharp

He's just putting all of his eggs into one basket. He already has a pile of woo credentials in there.

He's right up there with that other British sub-genius, Daniel Hannan. I think ol' Danny should go birther and denier.

27 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:30:11am

re: #25 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

"Lord". ROTFL.

Lord Sauron! Lord Jesus! Lord Monckton!

That's why I use quotes. ;) Lord my ass.

28 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:30:18am

re: #23 b_sharp

He's just putting all of his eggs into one basket. He already has a pile of poo credentials in there.

ftfy

29 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:30:44am

re: #27 Gus

That's why I use quotes. ;) Lord my ass.

In the US he's a nobody.

30 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:32:09am

re: #25 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

"Lord". ROTFL.

Lord Sauron! Lord Jesus! Lord Monckton!

Too late.

I gotcha.

31 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:32:30am

Well, he should legally change his 1st name to "Lord".

32 Batmanghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:32:36am

re: #7 allegro

Yanno, I've lived in Texas for almost 40 years and have mingled with the reddest of necks. However, I ain't never seen an outfit like that before. Who the heck is this guy's fashion adviser?

David Barton. He's actually worn that same getup.

33 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:33:02am

re: #29 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

In the US he's a nobody.

In the UK he's nobody but a pretender.

34 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:33:15am

Hey, wassup, Lordie!

35 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:33:32am

re: #29 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

In the US he's a nobody.

Correct. But! Put him in front of the right audience and he'll work his magic. A British accent, regardless of region, kind of works like glasses on the ignorant masses in Muricaville. If you know what I mean. ;)

36 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:33:57am

re: #34 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Hey, wassup, Lordie!

Lord of the Flies Monckton

37 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:34:43am

re: #36 Gus

Lord of the Flies Monckton

Pretty much goes together with a pile of poo credentials.

38 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:36:17am

re: #28 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

ftfy

Shit by any other name still smells the same.

39 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:36:31am

re: #37 I'm back in the USSR (sigh)

Pretty much goes together with a pile of poo credentials.

Yep. "Lord" Monckton is attracted to the pile of poop known as climate denial and most particularly the giant septic tank of the Heartland Institute.

40 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:38:14am

re: #35 Gus

Correct. But! Put him in front of the right audience and he'll work his magic. A British accent, regardless of region, kind of works like glasses on the ignorant masses in Muricaville. If you know what I mean. ;)

He's a master of the Gish Gallop with a pseudo-intellectual accent.

41 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:39:41am

re: #40 b_sharp

He's a master of the Gish Gallup with a pseudo-intellectual accent.

Gallop?

42 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:39:53am

re: #39 Gus

Yep. "Lord" Monckton is attracted to the pile of poop known as climate denial and most particularly the giant septic tank of the Heartland Institute.

He has a cure for AIDs and the common cold. I wonder why he doesn't publish?

No I don't. It's likely a homeopathic cure.

43 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:40:30am

re: #41 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton

Gallop?

Huh?

I made no mistake.

44 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:40:56am

re: #43 b_sharp

re: #40 b_sharp

He's a master of the Gish Gallup with a pseudo-intellectual accent.

45 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:42:06am

re: #44 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton

re: #40 b_sharp

Now you're just making stuff up, I'm telling!

46 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:42:42am

re: #45 b_sharp

Now you're just making stuff up, I'm telling!

Let's debate this...

47 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:42:58am

re: #42 b_sharp

He has a cure for AIDs and the common cold. I wonder why he doesn't publish?

No I don't. It's likely a homeopathic cure.

Maybe some day he'll get an honorary doctorate of osteopathy.

//

48 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:44:57am

re: #46 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton

Let's debate this...

Censorship! You're robbing me of my god given right to lie!

(I'm practising my RWNJ persona, for a call-in show Monday)

49 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:45:30am

re: #48 b_sharp

Censorship! You're robbing me of my god given right to lie!

(I'm practising my RWNJ persona, for a call-in show Monday)

Off to #TwitterGulag for you!

50 darthstar  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:45:45am
51 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:47:28am

[Link: mashable.com...]

Think your password is unique and clever? A new inforgraphic from security firm Rapid7 has revealed the top passwords stolen from this week’s LinkedIn security breach. There are hundreds of duplicates and patterns associated with the compromised log-in information.

“Link” was the number one hacked password, according to Rapid7. But many other LinkedIn users also picked passwords — “work” and “job” for example — that were associated with the career site’s content.

Religion was also a popular password topic — “god,” “angel” and “jesus” also made the top 15. Number sequences such as “1234″ and “12345″ also made the list.

bbl

52 Targetpractice  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:49:21am

re: #51 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton

[Link: mashable.com...]

bbl

"So the combination is... one, two, three, four, five? That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life! That's the kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage!"

53 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:52:00am

re: #49 Gus

Off to #TwitterGulag for you!

You mean I have to suffer the consequences of being an online asshole?

NOT FAIR!!!11!

54 kirghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:52:19am

re: #51 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton

[Link: mashable.com...]

bbl

On the other hand I recently saw:
1one2two&etc

55 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:55:04am

re: #51 Lord Baron Viscount Duke Earl Count Planckton

[Link: mashable.com...]

bbl

Mine always use dictionary words with a 3 or 4 digit number that determines which characters are upper case and I have at least 1 special character.

56 Canucknghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 10:57:21am

re: #54 kirkspencer

On the other hand I recently saw:
1one2two&etc

That works, a dictionary attack would have trouble with it.

57 goddamnedfrank  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:04:24am

re: #42 b_sharp

He has a cure for AIDs and the common cold. I wonder why he doesn't publish?

No I don't. It's likely a homeopathic cure.

Monckton's "cure" for HIV/AIDS was mandatory testing of everyone once a month and a concentration camp for the positive. Not kidding, his real life proposal was the inspiration for the treatment of gays in V for Vendetta.

58 kirghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:09:00am

re: #55 b_sharp

Mine always use dictionary words with a 3 or 4 digit number that determines which characters are upper case and I have at least 1 special character.

Not so long ago I watched a(n alleged) computer expert respond to the question "how do I remember dozens if not hundreds of unique strong passwords"?

"Use a cloud based password wallet."

I laughed. Yes, it is hard to break into. Hard is not impossible. Further it's just one password that you use all the time through a frequently accessed site, making it still vulnerable to snorts and scans and loggers.

When I taught password classes years ago, I used to teach using mnemonic based acronyms using at least eight characters. For example: kirk spencer at littlegreenfootballs might get: @1gf=>K$ (No, that is not my password). I would recommend using some habitual behavior between passwords, such as yahoo might get @y@h00=>ks# . Someone trying to break YOUR passwords might determine the pattern, but someone bouncing between sites trying a discovered password with your open login would fail.

Any security can be broken given enough time, effort, and resources. The key is to use enough security without making it so burdensome you end up breaking it yourself.

59 Kragarghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:23:50am

re: #58 kirkspencer

Not so long ago I watched a(n alleged) computer expert respond to the question "how do I remember dozens if not hundreds of unique strong passwords"?

"Use a cloud based password wallet."

I laughed. Yes, it is hard to break into. Hard is not impossible. Further it's just one password that you use all the time through a frequently accessed site, making it still vulnerable to snorts and scans and loggers.

When I taught password classes years ago, I used to teach using mnemonic based acronyms using at least eight characters. For example: kirk spencer at littlegreenfootballs might get: @1gf=>K$ (No, that is not my password). I would recommend using some habitual behavior between passwords, such as yahoo might get @y@h00=>ks# . Someone trying to break YOUR passwords might determine the pattern, but someone bouncing between sites trying a discovered password with your open login would fail.

Any security can be broken given enough time, effort, and resources. The key is to use enough security without making it so burdensome you end up breaking it yourself.

I always get a chuckle when google or any other website reminds me "Hey, you haven't given us your personal information so we can keep it safe."

I haven't given you that information because I want to keep it safe, you dummies.

60 Charles Johnson  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:28:34am

re: #58 kirkspencer

I use 1Password to manage all my passwords and other private data. I used to memorize passwords, but these days there are just too many of them.

With 1Password, I can use insanely strong generated passwords - 16-character (or more) random strings of letters, numbers, and punctuation, and never have to memorize anything. I've installed it on all my devices, and sync via Dropbox. Since the password vault is encrypted, it's extremely unlikely to get hacked.

61 kirghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:32:49am

re: #60 Charles Johnson

I use 1Password to manage all my passwords and other private data. I used to memorize passwords, but these days there are just too many of them.

With 1Password, I can use insanely strong generated passwords - 16-character (or more) random strings of letters, numbers, and punctuation, and never have to memorize anything. I've installed it on all my devices, and sync via Dropbox. Since the password vault is encrypted, it's extremely unlikely to get hacked.

My problem is that I'm (relatively) poor. I don't have a device I can carry around that would run 1password (a good program), but I sometimes need to log onto the 'net from somewhere away from my computer.

One solution is to put this or a competitor on a flash, but I lose/misplace one every couple of years.

62 Charles Johnson  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:34:52am

Just checked the good old never-ending #TwitterGulag thread in Tweetdeck, and today there's a new wrinkle in the conspiracy theory about me - now they're claiming that the dreaded Neal Rauhauser sent me his "scripts" so I could carry on his nefarious work of silencing innocent, friendly conservatives who do nothing wrong.

Evidence? We don't got to show you no steenking evidence!

(It's a complete paranoid fantasy, of course.)

63 Digital Display  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:35:02am

re: #58 kirkspencer

Our Enterprise forces frequent password changes with minimum different character rules that get parsed by a rules based server to be accepted.
It used to be a real pain because of all the different systems you need to log into..Switches, Servers, Oracle etc.
Then we began synching Passwords with Radius servers and now I only need 4 passwords instead of 50 to work at my job.
Of course we employ 802.1x security on the LAN so without a cert for your laptop and a personal Cert for a user you can't log into the Network plus even if your A/V software isn't up to date you get a disconnect..

64 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:41:54am

re: #62 Charles Johnson

Just checked the good old never-ending #TwitterGulag thread in Tweetdeck, and today there's a new wrinkle in the conspiracy theory about me - now they're claiming that the dreaded Neal Rauhauser sent me his "scripts" so I could carry on his nefarious work of silencing innocent, friendly conservatives who do nothing wrong.

Evidence? We don't got to show you no steenking evidence!

(It's a complete paranoid fantasy, of course.)

Absence of evidence is evidence!

65 kirghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:42:37am

re: #63 HoosierHoops

Our Enterprise forces frequent password changes with minimum different character rules that get parsed by a rules based server to be accepted.
It used to be a real pain because of all the different systems you need to log into..Switches, Servers, Oracle etc.
Then we began synching Passwords with Radius servers and now I only need 4 passwords instead of 50 to work at my job.
Of course we employ 802.1x security on the LAN so without a cert for your laptop and a personal Cert for a user you can't log into the Network plus even if your A/V software isn't up to date you get a disconnect..

Yep, that's work.

So what about home? and what about home for the people who are NOT working with or in strong tech areas?

My experience is the most frequent results are some or all of:
simple passwords;
repetitive (same used for multiple site) passwords;
complex passwords saved on a stickynote or text document.

66 Iwouldprefernotto  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:44:38am

Disturbing Viral Image of the Day

Not sure if the right understands how elections work or why they are important.

67 dragonfire1981  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:47:50am

Look out folks, Here comes the MONEY!

Independent Republican groups are heavily outspending their cross-party counterparts on television advertising in the campaigns for the White House and control of the Senate, eating into President Barack Obama's financial advantage over Mitt Romney and prompting expressions of alarm from top congressional Democrats.

The disparity is most evident in the race for the White House, where Crossroads GPS, Restore Our Future and other organizations aligned with the Republicans spent nearly $37 million on TV ads through the first few days of June, most of it attacking Obama. That compares with about $11 million by groups supporting the president, with much of it from Priorities USA Action.

Senate campaigns also have been affected, notably in Ohio, where Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown's commanding lead in the polls began to erode this spring after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others started a televised attack. Overall, Republican-aligned organizations have spent roughly $30 million on ads in key races, compared with about $11 million for groups supporting Democrats.

Underscoring the concern, Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who heads Democrats' efforts to regain House control, issued a thinly veiled call for his party's donors to step up. The recent recall election in Wisconsin "should serve as a wake-up call," he wrote, referring to the lopsided advantage in spending by outside groups that helped Republican Gov. Scott Walker overcome a union-backed bid to dump him from office.

Citizens United was a HUGE gift to the GOP. You have to wonder if they really have enough spending power to get Mitt in the White House. I wouldn't have thought so but now I'm not so sure...

68 Targetpractice  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 11:55:14am

re: #67 dragonfire1981

Look out folks, Here comes the MONEY!

Citizens United was a HUGE gift to the GOP. You have to wonder if they really have enough spending power to get Mitt in the White House. I wouldn't have thought so but now I'm not so sure...

Yeah, well so what? If you got the money, why can't you use it to elect the politicians you support? You're just mad because this means the unions can't put whoever they want in office anymore!

69 Eventual Carrion  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:08:30pm

re: #68 Targetpractice

Citizens United was a HUGE gift to the GOP. You have to wonder if they really have enough spending power to get Mitt in the White House. I wouldn't have thought so but now I'm not so sure...

Yeah, well so what? If you got the money, why can't you use it to elect the politicians you support? You're just mad because this means the unions can't put whoever they want in office anymore!

i know, kinda crazy isn't it. They bitch about unions which are made up primarily of US working citizens, yet praise CU ruling that lets multinational corps pour money into the election and they think that is great. Americans money participating in the elections = bad, Saudi -Chinese - who the fuck know who else money = good. Yet it is Obama that is selling us down the river to foreign nationals. Fucking idiots.

70 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:12:53pm

Hasta later.

71 Targetpractice  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:13:00pm

re: #69 RayFerd

i know, kinda crazy isn't it. They bitch about unions which are made up primarily of US working citizens, yet praise CU ruling that lets multinational corps pour money into the election and they think that is great. Americans money participating in the elections = bad, Saudi -Chinese - who the fuck know who else money = good. Yet it is Obama that is selling us down the river to foreign nationals. Fucking idiots.

They're thrilled because any advantage they can get, even if it's a Faustian one, is good because their "team" is winning. So what if the country is being bought for a bargain price by a few moneyed interests, the politicians being bought are making all the right noises, so it's all good.

Gilded Age, here we come again!

72 simoom  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:14:01pm

Anti-Religious discrimination commission discriminates against religion:
[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

Some Washington figures prominently connected with promoting religious freedom overseas are acccused in a federal lawsuit of discriminating against Muslims.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court accuses members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom of reneging on hiring a Muslim lawyer in 2009 once they learned of her faith and her work advocating for Muslim-Americans.

It quotes staff as encouraging Safiya Ghori-Ahmad, during her short period working at the commission, to call in sick on the days that particular commissioners were in the office, to “downplay her religious affiliation” and to emphasize that she is a “mainstream and ‘moderate’ Muslim” who doesn’t cover her hair.

The lawsuit, which follows an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that Ghori-Ahmad filed in 2010, lays blame on several longtime commissioners, including Nina Shea, an attorney and writer who focuses on religious freedom crises abroad, particularly the plight of Christian minorities. The suit quotes Shea as writing that “hiring a Muslim like Ms. Ghori-Ahmad to analyze religious freedom in Pakistan would be like ‘hiring an IRA activist to research the UK twenty years ago.’”

...

Shea and several other commissioners have long been accused of criticizing aspects of the Islamic faith in a way that unfairly stigmatizes all Muslims.

Others see Shea and her arguments as a bold challenge to Islamic extremism and terrorism.

The suit quotes the commission’s policy and research director, Knox Thames, as telling Ghori-Ahmad that the offer to be a South Asia policy analyst was retracted — weeks after being made, and after she had quit her other job — because “certain Commissioners objected to her Muslim faith and affiliation ... He said he was sorry this had happened,” the suit says.

Also accused of leading the alleged discrimination was longtime commission chairman Leonard Leo, a key consultant at times to Republican leaders on Catholic issues and executive vice president of the Federalist Society.

Sorry, I couldn't resist dropping the wingnut tags into the quoted text.

73 dragonfire1981  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:16:27pm

Man, a relative across the room is watching John Stossel's show on Fox News. First he was talking to Glenn Beck about the "Decline of America" now he's talking to John Bolton about foreign affairs.

Anybody got any ear plugs handy?

74 Ben G. Hazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:25:26pm

re: #3 Gus

How pathetic. That clown "Lord" Monckton playing redneck dress-up in a cowboy hat with an American flag shirt complete with a giant Patriot-crucifix around his neck. Praise Jesus.

Here's a screen shot of Clown "Lord" Monckton in his costume.

What a poseur...and a idiotic one at that.

75 simoom  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:25:48pm

re: #73 dragonfire1981

Man, a relative across the room is watching John Stossel's show on Fox News. First he was talking to Glenn Beck about the "Decline of America" now he's talking to John Bolton about foreign affairs.

I imagine they still aren't identifying Bolton as a key Romney foreign-policy adviser and top surrogate, and instead have him on as some sort of impartial foreign policy expert or fox news contributor? Rove is even worse though, he's brought on as some sort of political strategist/guru/analyst when he's actually the head of the most massive GOP superPAC and everything he says is in the service of maximizing the effectiveness his donor's hundreds of millions of dollars.

[Link: abcnews.go.com...]

Though he is not listed as an official member of Romney’s foreign-policy and national-security advisory team, former U.N. ambassador and prominent neoconservative John Bolton has been identified in media reports as an influential policy voice in Romney’s circle.

76 Ben G. Hazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:28:37pm

re: #35 Gus

Correct. But! Put him in front of the right audience and he'll work his magic. A British accent, regardless of region, kind of works like glasses on the ignorant masses in Muricaville. If you know what I mean. ;)

Pearls on swine and all that...

77 Interesting Times in Benghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:46:22pm
78 Randall Gross  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 12:59:44pm

Btw: if anyone wants to follow netroots, the hashtag is #nn12

79 Targetpractice  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:00:45pm

Apparently the RNC have decided that imitation is the best form of flattery:

Youtube Video
80 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:01:05pm

re: #73 dragonfire1981

Man, a relative across the room is watching John Stossel's show on Fox News. First he was talking to Glenn Beck about the "Decline of America" now he's talking to John Bolton about foreign affairs.

Anybody got any ear plugs handy?

Wassa matter,, your feet don't work?

81 Randall Gross  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:11:19pm

RSM Neo Nazi friend caught just South of Cancun at Playa Del Carmen.

[Link: hamptonroads.com...]

82 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:14:31pm

re: #81 Randall Gross

RSM Neo Nazi friend caught just South of Cancun at Playa Del Carmen.

[Link: hamptonroads.com...]

For something he had control over and isn't really that onerous (staying on supervised release) he'll now be going to Big Boy Prison

Good riddance, dolt

83 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:16:17pm

Man Claims His Genitals Were Burned By Urinal In Arby’s

[Link: denver.cbslocal.com...]

His first clue something was amiss should have been the flaming urinal cake!

84 Charles Johnson  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:17:43pm

re: #78 Randall Gross

Btw: if anyone wants to follow netroots, the hashtag is #nn12

[Link: twitter.com...]

85 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:17:53pm

re: #83 sattv4u2

Man Claims His Genitals Were Burned By Urinal In Arby’s

[Link: denver.cbslocal.com...]

His first clue something was amiss should have been the flaming urinal cake!

That, and eating at Arby's.

86 dragonfire1981  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:20:52pm

Wow, totally awesome video:

Youtube Video
87 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:22:20pm

re: #73 dragonfire1981

Man, a relative across the room is watching John Stossel's show on Fox News. First he was talking to Glenn Beck about the "Decline of America" now he's talking to John Bolton about foreign affairs.

Anybody got any ear plugs handy?

I feel your pain. Happens every time I visit the in-laws in SC. I just walk out of the the room or walk the dog.

Stossel can be such a tremendous nitwit at times. He was one of the first guests on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast. I should go back and re-listen to it, but my initial reaction was "This guy is a skeptic? Mr. 'Worship the Invisible Hand'?"

88 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:33:19pm

re: #87 mattand

Sometimes it's good to be an orphan.

89 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:36:33pm

re: #88 allegro

Sometimes it's good to be an orphan.

Okay Annie!

90 Targetpractice  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:41:45pm

OT:

CPAC has given it's VP nod to...Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio gets VP nod in conservative straw poll

91 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:41:51pm

re: #88 allegro

Sometimes it's good to be an orphan.

If you have curly red hair and pupil-less eyes that are the very portals to Hell, I will be both amazed and horrified.

92 Charles Johnson  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:49:05pm

Testing a new regex - auto-linking hashtags in comments to Twitter search:

#TwitterGulag

#2

93 Charles Johnson  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:50:11pm

Another test: #TwitterGulag

94 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:53:51pm

re: #93 Charles Johnson

Another test: #TwitterGulag

If that's a test of e-reading comprehension, I can follow only about 10% of the twitter interchange format. It would be nice to maintain that level.

95 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:54:40pm

re: #93 Charles Johnson

Yeesh. Quite a collection of, oh, what's the phrase? Oh, yeah; delusional psychos for the most part.

Is the Twitter Gulag meme spreading beyond the fever swamps to normal Twitter users?

96 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:54:49pm

re: #94 Decatur Deb

If that's a test of e-reading comprehension, I can follow only about 10% of the twitter interchange format. It would be nice to maintain that level.

My internal GPS system navigates me around All Things Twitter!

97 Varek Raith  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:55:28pm

re: #94 Decatur Deb

If that's a test of e-reading comprehension, I can follow only about 10% of the twitter interchange format. It would be nice to maintain that level.

Charlez iz debil!
I ar dumb!
#TwitterGulag

98 Interesting Times in Benghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:55:56pm

MOAR creation museums and bible-based educashun!!1! Derp.

99 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:55:59pm

re: #96 sattv4u2

My internal GPS system navigates me around All Things Twitter!

I'll focus on twitter traffic after I've made sense out of all YouTube comments.

100 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:56:58pm

re: #99 Decatur Deb

I'll focus on twitter traffic after I've made sense out of all YouTube comments.

See you in 2378 A.D.

101 Interesting Times in Benghazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:57:05pm

re: #99 Decatur Deb

I'll focus on twitter traffic after I've made sense out of all YouTube comments.

This might help with that.

102 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 1:58:48pm

re: #101 Interesting Times

This might help with that.

All those alphanumerics, some in patterned groups---it must mean something.

103 dragonath  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:02:25pm

Scott Walker's going to be giving a keynote speech to the Heartland Institute in a couple of months.

If you still don't think he's against science, you're blind.

104 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:03:50pm

re: #99 Decatur Deb

I'll focus on twitter traffic after I've made sense out of all YouTube comments.

I'll focus on YouTube after i've made sense of UHF TV

105 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:05:48pm

re: #104 sattv4u2

I'll focus on YouTube after i've made sense of UHF TV

We had a community access channel once, but the guy couldn't play the banjo and run the Betamax at the same time.

106 Varek Raith  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:05:56pm

Republicans Block Online Disclosure Of Campaign Television Ad Spending

The proposal, which had cleared the Federal Communications Commission in April, would require TV stations affiliated with the four top networks in the 50 largest markets to post political ad sales records online. Stations are already required to make the records available to the public upon request, but most stations keep them in paper files, making it difficult to compile and track the information.

107 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:06:12pm

Not sure what to make of this

[Link: hosted.ap.org...]

Flashlight bombs puzzle Phoenix authorities

Lone Wolf Wacko???
test for something bigger?

108 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:09:18pm

re: #105 Decatur Deb

We had a community access channel once, but the guy couldn't play the banjo and run the Betamax at the same time.

you would think Wayne could do one and Garth would handle the other!
[Link: www.imdb.com...]

109 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:12:23pm

re: #107 sattv4u2

Not sure what to make of this

[Link: hosted.ap.org...]

Flashlight bombs puzzle Phoenix authorities

Lone Wolf Wacko???
test for something bigger?

Very weird. It would have been easy to make something like that more lethal. Dimwit will probably post his how-to on YT.

110 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:15:34pm

re: #105 Decatur Deb

We had a community access channel once, but the guy couldn't play the banjo and run the Betamax at the same time.

i miss those great video editing rigs where you plug in two VCRs and go to town with cheesy wipe effects

111 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:17:26pm

re: #105 Decatur Deb

We had a community access channel once, but the guy couldn't play the banjo and run the Betamax at the same time.

though these days, the kids have figured out the magic of fractal video feedback with ancient gear

Youtube Video
112 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:18:21pm

re: #110 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]

i miss those great video editing rigs where you plug in two VCRs and go to town with cheesy wipe effects

I miss flip-books.

113 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:20:12pm

re: #112 Decatur Deb

I miss flip-books.

And baseball cards in spokes!
(the thousands of dollars of cards I must have ruined!!)

114 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:24:08pm

re: #113 sattv4u2

And baseball cards in spokes!
(the thousands of dollars of cards I must have ruined!!)

Our military boarding reform school developed a unique culture element. When a kid outgrew his baseball cards, toy soldiers, comic books he would announce a "scrambles". When a bunch of kids assembled he would throw the stuff as high as possible, straight up. Damn commie redistributionists.

115 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:28:51pm

re: #114 Decatur Deb

Our military boarding reform school developed a unique culture element. When a kid outgrew his baseball cards, toy soldiers, comic books we would announce a "scrambles". When a bunch of kids assembled he would throw the stuff as high as possible, straight up. Damn commie redistributionists.

we had somethimng similar in my neighborhood

But before the "redistribution" you had to let Joey DeAngelis go through your stuff to see if he wanted any of it for himself or his younger brothers!

(goes without saying, of course, that Joey D was the biggest, baddest MoFo in the neighborhood!)

116 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:30:13pm

re: #115 sattv4u2

we had somethimng similar in my neighborhood

But before the "redistribution" you had to let Joey DeAngelis go through your stuff to see if he wanted any of it for himself or his younger brothers!

(goes without saying, of course, that Joey D was the biggest, baddest MoFo in the neighborhood!)

So, is Joey running a corporation, union, whorehouse, or legislature?

117 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:31:38pm

re: #116 Decatur Deb

So, is Joey running a corporation, union, whorehouse, or legislature?

last I heard he was actually domesticated and living clean as a legit (multiple) small business owner

118 Ben G. Hazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:31:51pm

re: #58 kirkspencer

Not so long ago I watched a(n alleged) computer expert respond to the question "how do I remember dozens if not hundreds of unique strong passwords"?

"Use a cloud based password wallet."

I laughed. Yes, it is hard to break into. Hard is not impossible. Further it's just one password that you use all the time through a frequently accessed site, making it still vulnerable to snorts and scans and loggers.

When I taught password classes years ago, I used to teach using mnemonic based acronyms using at least eight characters. For example: kirk spencer at littlegreenfootballs might get: @1gf=>K$ (No, that is not my password). I would recommend using some habitual behavior between passwords, such as yahoo might get @y@h00=>ks# . Someone trying to break YOUR passwords might determine the pattern, but someone bouncing between sites trying a discovered password with your open login would fail.

Any security can be broken given enough time, effort, and resources. The key is to use enough security without making it so burdensome you end up breaking it yourself.

re: #61 kirkspencer

My problem is that I'm (relatively) poor. I don't have a device I can carry around that would run 1password (a good program), but I sometimes need to log onto the 'net from somewhere away from my computer.

One solution is to put this or a competitor on a flash, but I lose/misplace one every couple of years.

I love LastPass (cloud-based) for the past couple of years I've used it; I pony up the 12 bucks a year for the paid service which gets me access to their smartphone apps (Android for me), but for most people that just plan on using it on a computer, the free version is more than good enough. Any computer, any browser...as long as you've got an Internet connection, you can access your password vault from anywhere through the LastPass website, even if the dedicated program (with browser plugins) isn't installed. Everything is encrypted client-side and the LastPass folks stay on top of any security problems that might affect their users.

Before LastPass, I used KeePass for a long time and it was pretty good...a free standalone program for PCs (and some phones). It has some good, solid features, but the weak portable device support as of a couple of years ago was why I went to LastPass; maybe that's changed by now, but I don't know.

As for my personal password security, it's pretty simple. At my job, we are required to change Windows/Exchange passwords every 45 days; they must be at least 8 characters long, with at least one letter, one number, and one special character. I make mine at least 12-14 characters long, with a mix of letters (upper- and lower-case), numbers, and special characters, something short enough to remember after a few uses, but long enough to be harder to crack; every time I change my password, I also use it for my Windows logins for my home machine, as well as my LastPass password, so that I learn it by rote very quickly without having to write it down anywhere (and it's the only instance where I use a password for multiple places). I figure that if anyone did ever try to bruteforce my master password, by the time they made any headway on it, I'd be on another password by then; the passwords in my LastPass vault for everything else (including LGF) tend to be as long as allowed and unique to each site.

119 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:33:55pm

re: #117 sattv4u2

last I heard he was actually domesticated and living clean as a (multiple) legit small business owner

Some red-headed girl must actually have been the baddest mofo in the neighborhood.

120 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:35:20pm

re: #119 Decatur Deb

Some red-headed girl must actually have been the baddest mofo in the neighborhood.

Except for the red-headed, we had many of those!

121 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:45:03pm

Heaven is a Bombay Sapphire Gimlet on a hot afternoon after the work is done, the dogs are walked, and the stinky is washed off with lavender bath gel.

That is all.

122 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:50:11pm

re: #121 allegro

Heaven is a Bombay Sapphire Gimlet on a hot afternoon after the work is done, the dogs are walked, and the stinky is washed off with lavender bath gel.

That is all.

If it were really heaven there wouldn't have been any work OR stinky to begin with!!
just sayin

123 Achilles Tang  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:52:19pm

re: #103 Be Zorch, Daddio

Scott Walker's going to be giving a keynote speech to the Heartland Institute in a couple of months.

If you still don't think he's against science, you're blind.

It is a mistake to say they are "against science". They are ignorant, or they are hypocritical opportunists; most likely both.

124 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:52:43pm

re: #122 sattv4u2

If it were really heaven there wouldn't have been any work OR stinky to begin with!!
just sayin

Naw, a world without work and stinkies would get tedious real quick.

125 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:55:18pm

re: #123 Achilles Tang

It is a mistake to say they are "against science". They are ignorant, or they are hypocritical opportunists; most likely both.

They don't know how to have fun. I spent the last two days editing a doctoral thesis on a myxovirus that was very exciting. Outstanding work from a brilliant young woman who has a very, very bright future.

126 sattv4u2  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 2:55:48pm

re: #124 allegro

Naw, a world without work and stinkies would get tedious real quick.

Spoken by someone who never had to ride the packed Boston T to and from work!!!!

127 Achilles Tang  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:00:23pm

re: #98 Interesting Times

U.S. companies are struggling to fill 3.7 million job openings, many of them in science-related fields.

If this is true then the Democrats should make more of it. Cutting education!?!?

128 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:04:53pm

Rosemont, IL (a Northwest Suburb adjacent to Chicago) hosted Chicagoland's first Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday. Great stuff, and I say that with no sarc. Here, have an excerpt:

Neither Romney, who was campaigning in Iowa, nor Walker, who was meeting with business leaders in his home state, attended the conference. Walker released a letter through Wisconsin radio talk show host Charlie Sykes.

“In a moment of crisis, there have been men and women of courage who dared to think about the future of their children and grandchildren more than they did about their own personal futures. Let this be one of those moments, not only in Wisconsin but across America,” Walker’s letter stated.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, also a potential vice presidential candidate, offered “my condolences” to Illinoisans in the crowd. Christie said that when he was a federal prosecutor and even now as governor, he thanks God in his nightly prayers for keeping Illinois ahead of New Jersey when it comes to government corruption and higher taxes.

Christie labeled as an “outrage” Obama’s comments Friday faulting Republicans for not doing more to help state and local governments because “the big challenge we have in our economy right now is state and local government hiring has been going in the wrong direction.”

“The president fundamentally believes that the way to support our economy is to take more taxes from all of you and spend it on more public workers who will then pay a fraction of that money back in taxes. If anybody ran a business like that, they would be out of business quickly and Barack Obama’s leadership is driving this business, the United States of America, towards a fiscal cliff,” Christie said. “He’s the one who put forward an ineffective, wasteful stimulus plan that did nothing to help this economy.”

Whether the New Jersey Devils win or lose tonight they should give Christie a personalized jersey, because he slapped Obama around like a hockey puck!

129 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:13:52pm

re: #128 Dark_Falcon

The president fundamentally believes that the way to support our economy is to take more taxes from all of you and spend it on more public workers who will then pay a fraction of that money back in taxes.

You mean by protecting us (police), educating our kids so businesses have literate workers (teachers), and extinguishing fires before the entire city burns down (fire fighters)? You mean by letting our roads and bridges fall to ruin so the corporate trucks can't get their goods to market? Or those who keep our water supplies clean and flowing and food safe to eat? How about those university researchers who are driving technology?

If anybody ran a business like that, they would be out of business quickly and Barack Obama’s leadership is driving this business, the United States of America, towards a fiscal cliff,

Oh there's a cliff there alright but it isn't Obama who's driving the rig over the edge.

He’s the one who put forward an ineffective, wasteful stimulus plan that did nothing to help this economy.

Absolute bullshit. A lie and he knows it. How much of that stimulus money was used in NJ?

they should give Christie a personalized jersey, because he slapped Obama around like a hockey puck!

Nope, he just made an ass out of himself.

Do you ever think these things through?

130 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:17:39pm

re: #128 Dark_Falcon

Rosemont, IL (a Northwest Suburb adjacent to Chicago) hosted Chicagoland's first Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday. Great stuff, and I say that with no sarc. Here, have an excerpt:

Whether the New Jersey Devils win or lose tonight they should give Christie a personalized jersey, because he slapped Obama around like a hockey puck!

That's pretty funny since CPAC Chicago was partially sponsored by the Heartland Institute. It even included many Heartland losers in their schedule:

• Joy Pullman, Managing Editor, School Reform News, Heartland Institute
• David Kreutzer, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Energy Economics and Climate
Change, The Heritage Foundation
• James Taylor, J.D., Senior Fellow and Managing Editor, Environment and
Climate, Heartland Institute
• Jonathan Ingram, Healthcare Policy Analyst, Illinois Policy Institute
• Nina Owcharenko, Director, Center for Health Policy Studies and Preston A.
Wells, Jr. Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
• Benjamin Domenech, Managing Editor, Health Care News, Heartland Institute

Of course they have a right to gather like this. Someone has to stick up for rich old white dudes.

[Link: conservative.org...]

Same nice folks who hosted the white nationalists from Vdare at the primary national CPAC gathering earlier this year.

131 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:28:10pm

re: #129 allegro

Christie was teeing off on Obama for peddling his rejected 'jobs bill' with the added comment that "The private sector is doing fine". Chris Christie knows how bad the debt problems in states an municipalities are, heck even Gov. PAt Quinn of Illinois knows that. But Obama wants to add on more state and local workers, which after a small numbers will be costs borne by the states and municipalities, states and municipalities that in many cases are already in financial trouble due to bloated payroll and pension expenses.

When you find yourself in a debt hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. Chris Christie understands this, Scott Walker understands this, Pat Quinn understands this: Why can't Barack Obama understand this.

132 Gus  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:32:10pm

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

Christie was teeing off on Obama for peddling his rejected 'jobs bill' with the added comment that "The private sector is doing fine". Chris Christie knows how bad the debt problems in states an municipalities are, heck even Gov. PAt Quinn of Illinois knows that. But Obama wants to add on more state and local workers, which after a small numbers will be costs borne by the states and municipalities, states and municipalities that in many cases are already in financial trouble due to bloated payroll and pension expenses.

When you find yourself in a debt hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. Chris Christie understands this, Scott Walker understands this, Pat Quinn understands this: Why can't Barack Obama understand this.

If you hurry you can listen to Joe Bast speak at this CPAC conference in Chicago:

6:05 Joe Bast, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Heartland Institute Ballroom

He's the same asshole mentioned in the video above.

133 allegro  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:38:59pm

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

...states and municipalities that in many cases are already in financial trouble due to bloated payroll and pension expenses.

That's why they're in financial trouble? Not because of corporate welfare gimmes like infrastructure, sales tax waivers, state tax waivers, etc. given under the guise of "job creation" for jobs that never happen or minimum wage jobs that have to be supplemented with state welfare? Not because of multi-million dollar sports stadiums that primarily line team owner's pockets at taxpayer expense?

Really?

134 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:40:01pm

re: #132 Gus

The conference was yesterday. It ended before 7pm to allow everyone to get their dinner at the wonderful restaurants right near the convention center. Especially Gibson's, which is just across River Road. Great wine, superb steaks and chops, and everything in large portions. It's expensive, but you get a terrific value for what you pay. Also good and close are the Capital Grill and Morton's.

135 Achilles Tang  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:46:39pm

re: #128 Dark_Falcon

What have you been drinking lately?

136 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:47:21pm

re: #133 allegro

That's why they're in financial trouble? Not because of corporate welfare gimmes like infrastructure, sales tax waivers, state tax waivers, etc. given under the guise of "job creation" for jobs that never happen or minimum wage jobs that have to be supplemented with state welfare? Not because of multi-million dollar sports stadiums that primarily line team owner's pockets at taxpayer expense?

Really?

Sports stadiums, yes, those can be a big issue. But what's killing Illinois isn't corporate giveaways, its an unsustainable pension system and Democrats in the state legislature who preferred to advance a gambling bill than to reform that pension system. And guess who's helping to block that needed change? That's right, its the public sector unions who would be one of the main beneficiaries of Obama's bill!

So, we come to the heart of the matter: The bill Obama was pushing would saddle state and local governments with additional employees they can't really afford in the long run and empower the government unions who are blocking desperately needed pension reforms. Those facts are the heart of why Obama's idea is so foolish.

137 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 3:48:05pm

re: #130 Gus

• Benjamin Domenech, Managing Editor, Health Care News, Heartland Institute

Ahh, the thief!

Why can't conservatives write? All they seem to know how to do is steal

138 Achilles Tang  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 4:02:14pm

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

What you can't understand is balance. You can't have growth without investment, whatever form that takes, and employing people is investment, even teachers, police and the like, believe it or not.

As to the private sector doing fine; believe it or not the corporate sector has actually been doing better than fine and that is why the stock market has been doing just fine even in the face of enormous global uncertainties; because profits for many businesses are better than they have ever been. But the "job creators" are laughing all the way to the bank instead of hiring.

Local government has laid off more Americans (that's Americans, not some anonymous "public sector drain") than the private sector has in the past couple of years and it is because of that as much as anything that unemployment is still above 8%.

Perhaps local government could make an effort to create jobs for those they laid off, instead of pretending that is the president's job.

You hope the GOP wins, and you hope that things will get better just by reducing taxes and firing public workers and closing schools, and maybe bombing Iran and Syria.

Tell us what the GOP will do to help the economy if they win, since they do nothing now. So far all I have heard is fire people and cut services, and make the rich stay richer.

139 Obdicut  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 4:29:11pm

re: #136 Dark_Falcon

When are you going to understand that pensions represent money that was promised to people? The attempts to get out of paying pensions to people who they were promised to is ludicrous. The time to negotiate pensions is when they're agreed upon, not years and years after the fact.

140 Romantic Heretic  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 4:39:24pm

re: #66 Iwouldprefernotto

Disturbing Viral Image of the Day

Not sure if the right understands how elections work or why they are important.

I looked at that picture and wondered, "At what point did the U.S. military start using T55 tanks?"

141 ozbloke  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 5:05:48pm

re: #139 Obdicut

When are you going to understand that pensions represent money that was promised to people? The attempts to get out of paying pensions to people who they were promised to is ludicrous. The time to negotiate pensions is when they're agreed upon, not years and years after the fact.

But their probably someone else's pensions.

142 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 5:25:12pm

re: #128 Dark_Falcon

Rosemont, IL (a Northwest Suburb adjacent to Chicago) hosted Chicagoland's first Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday. Great stuff, and I say that with no sarc. Here, have an excerpt:

Whether the New Jersey Devils win or lose tonight they should give Christie a personalized jersey, because he slapped Obama around like a hockey puck!

I'm repeating myself, but here's what I don't get about conservatives and the GOP: they essentially ran the country from 2001 to 2008 and utterly fucked it up. And now their answer is to put someone in charge more conservative than George Bush. Who apparently wasn't a "true" conservative.

On what planet does this make any sense?

As for Christie: try living here before you lionize him. He just announced he's going to fill the budget gap by raiding the funds of other departments. Just like every other governor before him. Yet every other state seems to think he's this political genius because he yells at teachers and threatens people with state troopers in town halls.

143 Kung Fughazi  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 5:37:40pm

re: #142 mattand

As for Christie: try living here before you lionize him. He just announced he's going to fill the budget gap by raiding the funds of other departments. Just like every other governor before him. Yet every other state seems to think he's this political genius because he yells at teachers and threatens people with state troopers in town halls.

Proof for the bolded statement.

144 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 6:31:25pm

re: #139 Obdicut

When are you going to understand that pensions represent money that was promised to people? The attempts to get out of paying pensions to people who they were promised to is ludicrous. The time to negotiate pensions is when they're agreed upon, not years and years after the fact.

I understand the money was promised, but Illinois doesn't have it. Neither did Wisconsin. On pensions, what both Pat Quinn and Scott Walker are in effect saying to state workers is:

"We're sorry, but there is just no way to give what you were promised. The money just is not there on our end and we cannot realistically raise it by increasing taxes. Therefore, we must regretfully insist on an increase in contributions from you in order to fund your retirement."

And before you say either Quinn or Walker is welching, please do remember that the mistakes that left both Illinois and Wisconsin with underfunded, overpromised pension systems happened before they got into office. Both governors have been left to clean up the messes made by other people.

145 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 6:38:38pm

re: #144 Dark_Falcon

I understand the money was promised, but Illinois doesn't have it. Neither did Wisconsin. On pensions, what both Pat Quinn and Scott Walker are in effect saying to state workers is:

"We're sorry, but there is just no way to give what you were promised. The money just is not there on our end and we cannot realistically raise it by increasing taxes. Therefore, we must regretfully insist on an increase in contributions from you in order to fund your retirement."

And before you say either Quinn or Walker is welching, please do remember that the mistakes that left both Illinois and Wisconsin with underfunded, overpromised pension systems happened before they got into office. Both governors have been left to clean up the messes made by other people.

basically, you're for theft

just say it!

146 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 6:52:30pm

re: #145 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]

basically, you're for theft

just say it!

No, I'm not for theft. Illinois already tried raising taxes, and is raising some taxes again. But the money just cannot be raised, and so Illinois is going to default on this obligation is some form or another. Increasing contributions is the least damaging form of default available.

Again, this is not something anyone wants to do, but there is no alternative. Illinois and Wisconsin took on pension obligations that they ended up unable to pay. Yes, there was a time when a tax increase in either state might have greatly mitigated the problems both states faced, but those increases were not enacted at that time, and now it is too late. The monies needed to pay cannot be raised without permanently crippling the state. Gov. Walker recognized this reality last year, as did Tom Barrett. Pat Quinn realized the situation early this year, but has been unable to change the states course due to an unwillingness to take action on the part of the state legislature. But he's going to keep pushing the issue, because he has no other choice.

147 Decatur Deb  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 7:03:27pm

re: #146 Dark_Falcon

No, I'm not for theft. Illinois already tried raising taxes, and is raising some taxes again. But the money just cannot be raised, and so Illinois is going to default on this obligation is some form or another. Increasing contributions is the least damaging form of default available.

Again, this is not something anyone wants to do, but there is no alternative. Illinois and Wisconsin took on pension obligations that they ended up unable to pay. Yes, there was a time when a tax increase in either state might have greatly mitigated the problems both states faced, but those increases were not enacted at that time, and now it is too late. The monies needed to pay cannot be raised without permanently crippling the state. Gov. Walker recognized this reality last year, as did Tom Barrett. Pat Quinn realized the situation early this year, but has been unable to change the states course due to an unwillingness to take action on the part of the state legislature. But he's going to keep pushing the issue, because he has no other choice.

If you wonder why the next generation of state employees isn't quite up to the job, it will be because only the very stupid will work for an entity that abrogates its contracts. So don't bitch when your vision of public employees becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

148 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 7:08:52pm

re: #147 Decatur Deb

It is what it is.

Steel PH, please post and reply to this. You're downdinging without proposing any solution. What I'm saying is that the obligations incurred cannot be met, and states cannot declare bankruptcy. so increasing pension contributions is that only way to go. If you disagree, post and explain why.

149 SteelGHAZI  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 7:10:30pm

re: #148 Dark_Falcon

There's nothing I can add that hasn't already been said better than I could.

150 Dark_Falcon  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 7:58:47pm

re: #149 Artist

There's nothing I can add that hasn't already been said better than I could.

Then do something other than downding. Because it seems to me that your onjection is the situation, not what I'm saying.

151 Obdicut  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 8:03:54pm

re: #144 Dark_Falcon

I understand the money was promised, but Illinois doesn't have it. Neither did Wisconsin.

Sure they do. They can borrow it, since interest rates are at a historic low.

Why is THIS the money they don't have, and not all the various other payments? Why is it pensions, which are monies owed to people for work done? Why not some tax breaks that we can't let people have this year, or some subsidies? Why is it pensions?

152 Obdicut  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 8:04:54pm

re: #146 Dark_Falcon

It is a lie to say that there is alternative. There is no other word for it. You are lying. What the truth would be is that there's no other alternative that would be acceptable to you.

Please, if you're going to make your argument, do it honestly.

153 ozbloke  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 8:11:03pm

re: #152 Obdicut

It is a lie to say that there is alternative.

Not sure that's what you meant here Obdi.

Are you expecting republicans to give a shit about those who worked all their lives, and through no fault of their own have lost their life savings?

/ Shame on you, you should know better!

154 Obdicut  Sat, Jun 9, 2012 8:12:12pm

re: #153 ozbloke

Not sure that's what you meant here Obdi.

Yeah, sorry, obviously I mean it's a lie to say there's no alternative.


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