Overnight Video: Colombia - Timelapse

High dynamic range in Bogota
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Colombia - 2012

On my second holiday to this stunning country I decided to do the fatal thing and take my camera along with me. I thought about shooting a timelapse shot or two… I ended up filming on average 2 shots per day over the course of 4 weeks and it really became a working holiday!

I was a little nervous to begin with. I had been there before, but didn’t take my DSLR along with me. Now Colombia is vastly safer than it was 20-30 years ago – however its still a little risky if you don’t know where to go. Also, the very nature of timelapse means your stuck in one place for an hour or two and it could be a nice target for opportunists! Luckily I had my father in law and new camera assistant Moises - He even took a small baseball bat along with him on an evening in Bogota! In the end we weren’t troubled at all and I’m so glad I managed to capture so many great images.

Quite a bit of this film was shot in Bogota, and in the Quindio region, including Armenia. We also travelled to Melgar, Manizales and Pereira.

I was limited in what I could take kit wise due to travelling with a baby. So I took a very lightweight tripod, a Canon7D and my trusty 17-55mm f2.8 lens. Had a few problems with camera shake in post, but actually the small tripod held up OK!

This time round I shot a fair amount of HDR timelapse – and had days of processing with Photomatix. On balance I think it was really worth it. So many of the scenes had extreme exposure contrast and I really wanted to preserve detail in the sky and in the landscape itself. It was cut using FCP, and graded with Magic Bullet Looks. All of the tilt shift effects are done in post using Magic Bullet.

Please do go ahead and visit this country if you get the chance!

Ed Beck
MB Films

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345 comments
1 goddamnedfrank  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:12:35pm

"A word to the wise is infuriating."
-Hunter S. Thompson

Away from the cameras, and with all the usual assurances that people aren’t being quoted by name, there is an unmistakable consensus among Republican operatives in Washington: Romney has taken a risk with Ryan that has only a modest chance of going right — and a huge chance of going horribly wrong.

In more than three dozen interviews with Republican strategists and campaign operatives — old hands and rising next-generation conservatives alike — the most common reactions to Ryan ranged from gnawing apprehension to hair-on-fire anger that Romney has practically ceded the election.

2 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:18:01pm

re: #1 goddamnedfrank

"He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all!"

James Graham, 5th Earl of Montrose
1612 to 1650
Royalist General during the English Civil War

3 Obdicut  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:26:38pm

re: #2 Dark_Falcon

The Royalists lost. Badly. They got embarrassed by Cromwell and Lambert. Partially because they had this stupid romantic attitude towards war.

That general probably got a lot of his own troops killed.

4 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:27:29pm
5 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:32:33pm

re: #3 Obdicut

The Royalists lost. Badly. They got embarrassed by Cromwell and Lambert. Partially because they had this stupid romantic attitude towards war.

That general probably got a lot of his own troops killed.

Cause of Death: Execution

6 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:35:46pm
7 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:36:23pm

If Paul Ryan can't handle an interview with soft-ball throwing walrus Brit Hume, then he's as ready for prime time as his predecessor in the VP slot from 2008

8 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:37:19pm

Melchett: Now let's talk about something more jolly, shall we? Look, this is the amount of land we've recaptured since yesterday.

George: Oh, excellent.

Melchett: Erm, what is the actual scale of this map, Darling?

Darling: Erm, one-to-one, Sir.

Melchett: Come again?

Darling: Er, the map is actually life-size, Sir. It's superbly detailed. Look, look, there's a little worm.

Melchett: Oh, yes. So the actual amount of land retaken is?

[Darling whips out a tape measure amd measures the table.]

Darling: Excuse me, Sir. Seventeen square feet, Sir.

Melchett: Excellent. So you see, young Blackadder didn't die horribly in vain after all.

9 Obdicut  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:38:51pm

re: #5 Gus

Actually, Montrose was a pretty good general, but he never fought Cromwell. I should have recognized the name.

Isn't it weird, though, that some people gave their lives for the idea that they'd be ruled over by someone who happened to be born inside a particular bloodline?

10 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:39:58pm

re: #9 Obdicut

Actually, Montrose was a pretty good general, but he never fought Cromwell. I should have recognized the name.

Isn't it weird, though, that some people gave their lives for the idea that they'd be ruled over by someone who happened to be born inside a particular bloodline?

It is but I think more people have died for kings and nobles than they have presidents and prime ministers.

11 erik_t  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:41:19pm

re: #9 Obdicut

Isn't it weird, though, that some people gave their lives for the idea that they'd be ruled over by someone who happened to be born inside a particular bloodline?

What, like Free Market Baby Jebus?

12 Obdicut  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:41:25pm

re: #10 HappyWarrior

More people have died for Stalin than anyone else, in battle, anyway.

13 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:41:45pm

re: #7 darthstar

If Paul Ryan can't handle an interview with soft-ball throwing walrus Brit Hume, then he's as ready for prime time as his predecessor in the VP slot from 2008

[Embedded content]

Seems that way. But this is what happens when you choose someone for the explicit reason of making the base happy and not thinking beyond that.

14 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:43:26pm

re: #12 Obdicut

More people have died for Stalin than anyone else, in battle, anyway.

Pretty crazy isn't that? Have you read about how many of hte Gulag victims were convinced that someday that Stalin would set them free and that if he knew of the horrors going on there, he would have been repulsed. Cult of personality is a powerful thing when a mere human being is put to a God like level./

15 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:44:02pm

re: #9 Obdicut

Actually, Montrose was a pretty good general, but he never fought Cromwell. I should have recognized the name.

Isn't it weird, though, that some people gave their lives for the idea that they'd be ruled over by someone who happened to be born inside a particular bloodline?

It's odd, but monarchists were a long standing force in Europe. Even during World War II, those grandsons of the Kaiser who were in the German army were very well regarded by many of the troops they served under because of their. The ordinary soldiers looked at monarchy as a source of tradition and stability in troubled times, and some may have come to see those traditions as providing a bulk wart against the tyrant who'd gotten gotten them into their (then) current war.

16 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:44:06pm

Cromwell was almost as bad as most of England's kings. Probably worse.

17 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:44:47pm

re: #12 Obdicut

More people have died for Stalin than anyone else, in battle, anyway.

Battle of the Somme

18 Obdicut  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:45:09pm

re: #16 dragonath

Cromwell was almost as bad as most of England's kings. Probably worse.

He was a hell of a democider. Complete fanatic.

19 jaunte  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:45:52pm

re: #13 HappyWarrior

He might have been chosen for more than that:

Mr. Ryan could provide Mr. Romney with a critical political and intellectual bridge to the rising conservative counterestablishment represented by the Kochs and their allies, who are planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars and deploy thousands of volunteers to defeat Mr. Obama. Should Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan win in November, a constituency that has for years fulminated against the failure of Republicans to live up to their own principles could soon have a close — and powerful — friend in the White House.[Link: digbysblog.blogspot.com...]

20 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:45:55pm

re: #16 dragonath

Cromwell was almost as bad as most of England's kings. Probably worse.

He deserves all the hate he's gotten from the Irish over the centuries.

21 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:46:35pm

re: #17 Gus

Battle of the Somme

Not even close, when compared to the Terror Famine.

22 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:46:38pm

re: #19 jaunte

He might have been chosen for more than that:

Ah so a nod to the base and a nod to the Kochs. Lovely.

23 Obdicut  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:46:57pm

re: #17 Gus

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

8.8 million people died 'for' Stalin.

Of course, that's all nonsense. A lot of them were there because they'd get shot if they didn't go. They were just conscripts. Others joined up to fight against the Nazis who were, well, being Nazis. There were probably very few that actually were fighting for Stalin.

24 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:48:00pm

Again?

SPLC slams AP, Daily News, Times-Tribune for calling neo-Nazi's org white people's rights group

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is criticizing the Scranton Times-Tribune, Philadelphia Daily News and Associated Press for running an article last week that described an organization led by prominent neo-Nazi Steve Smith as a "white people's rights group.”

“It’s a shame that the European American Action Coalition is being described, ridiculously, as a ‘white rights group,’” SPLC senior fellow Mark Potok tells City Paper. “The reality is obvious from the group’s website. The EAAC is a white supremacist group that promotes well-known right-wing extremists like Derek Black, the son of former Alabama Klan leader Don Black and a racist activist in his own right, Canadian neo-fascist Paul Fromm, and the conspiracy-minded John Birch Society, which once accused President Eisenhower of being a ‘communist agent.’ A simple Google search would have made this plain to anyone who took five minutes to look.”

A Google search would also have quickly produced a photo of Smith, head shaved, standing before a framed portrait of Adolph Hitler. One of the state's most outspoken white supremacists, Smith is described by the SPLC as “a longtime racist activist with a history of violence and top-level ties to numerous white nationalist hate groups.”

Continues.

25 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:48:50pm

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

Not even close, when compared to the Terror Famine.

Battle.

26 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:49:32pm

re: #23 Obdicut

[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

8.8 million people died 'for' Stalin.

Of course, that's all nonsense. A lot of them were there because they'd get shot if they didn't go. They were just conscripts. Others joined up to fight against the Nazis who were, well, being Nazis. There were probably very few that actually were fighting for Stalin.

Right. That's not dying "for" Stalin.

27 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:52:12pm

Read something about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge killing like a fourth of the population in Cambodia. It's a good thing those guys never had a country the size of China or the USSR because we would have seen destruction the likes this world has never seen. Not that Mao and Stalin weren't evil too but Pol Pot's evil really astounds me for its destruction and he really isn't that well known.

28 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:54:43pm

What about Gondor? Dying for the Royal Steward doesn't sound very exciting, does it.

29 Mostly sane, most of the time.  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 8:58:07pm

In the 20th century, and probably all centuries, people have died for I. stupid ideas and II. the greed and ambition of vile men.

Of course, way more have died at the "hands" of viruses and bacteria.

30 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:00:50pm

re: #28 dragonath

What about Gondor? Dying for the Royal Steward doesn't sound very exciting, does it.

Everyone knows you're supposed to die for the Emperor.

31 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:02:21pm

re: #29 Mostly sane, most of the time.

In the 20th century, and probably all centuries, people have died for I. stupid ideas and II. the greed and ambition of vile men.

Of course, way more have died at the "hands" of viruses and bacteria.

The Spanish Flu

32 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:02:31pm

In the video there was a quick scene of a twisting mountain road with cars and trucks zooming along in fast forward and the first thing that came to mind was that it looks like a typical place for a bus plunge.

33 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:05:12pm

re: #12 Obdicut

More people have died for Stalin than anyone else, in battle, anyway.

If God is an "anyone", he wins that contest hands down a thousand times over.

34 erik_t  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:05:16pm

re: #31 Gus

The Spanish Flu

I suspect malnutrition wins, if we're integrating over all time.

35 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:06:13pm

re: #34 erik_t

I suspect malnutrition wins, if we're integrating over all time.

Natural causes.

//

36 Targetpractice  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:06:33pm

re: #35 Gus

Natural causes.

//

"Severe lead poisoning."

37 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:07:35pm

re: #35 Gus

Natural causes.

//

What can be more natural than dying when a length of steel impales the body with significant force?

38 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:10:04pm

re: #27 HappyWarrior

As Eddie Izzard once pointed out, Pol Pot killed his own people, and here in the West, we're sort of fine with that. It's why he's not as well known as someone like Hitler or Stalin, since they killed people next door.

39 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:10:40pm

Commemorative, limited edition "Mr. Spock" Plates.

The only thing worth fighting for.

40 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:11:37pm

re: #37 Kragar

What can be more natural than dying when a length of steel impales the body with significant force?

Getting mauled by a bear.

/Colbert

41 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:12:25pm

re: #38 Lidane

As Eddie Izzard once pointed out, Pol Pot killed his own people, and here in the West, we're sort of fine with that. It's why he's not as well known as someone like Hitler or Stalin, since they killed people next door.

I dunno. Most of Mao's victims were domestic. It's a fair point though. I think the fact that Cambodia's obscurity plays a role too. I knew a bit of Cambodians growing up. Their parents and grandparents had to have been some tough people

42 erik_t  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:13:27pm

re: #41 HappyWarrior

I dunno. Most of Mao's victims were domestic. It's a fair point though. I think the fact that Cambodia's obscurity plays a role too. I knew a bit of Cambodians growing up. Their parents and grandparents had to have been some tough people

Quite so. It seems like nearly anyone who has heard of Cambodia at all (or could find it on a map with eight guesses and a clue-by-four) has heard of Pol Pot and/or the Khmer Rouge; the same could not be said of Germany, Russia or China.

43 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:13:46pm

re: #38 Lidane

As Eddie Izzard once pointed out, Pol Pot killed his own people, and here in the West, we're sort of fine with that. It's why he's not as well known as someone like Hitler or Stalin, since they killed people next door.

Eddie: Pol Pot killed one point seven million Cambodians, died under house arrest, well done there. Stalin killed many millions, died in his bed, aged seventy-two, well done indeed. And the reason we let them get away with it is they killed their own people. And we're sort of fine with that. Hitler killed people next door. Oh, stupid man. After a couple of years we won’t stand for that, will we?

44 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:14:13pm

re: #38 Lidane

As Eddie Izzard once pointed out, Pol Pot killed his own people, and here in the West, we're sort of fine with that. It's why he's not as well known as someone like Hitler or Stalin, since they killed people next door.

Maybe that explains why no one seems too concerned about stopping Assad in Syria. No one cared when his old man did the same thing back in the '80's.

45 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:16:26pm

Eddie: Hitler ended up in a ditch covered in petrol on fire...so, that's fun. And that's funny. Because he was a mass-murdering fuckhead!

46 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:17:16pm

re: #42 erik_t

Quite so. It seems like nearly anyone who has heard of Cambodia at all (or could find it on a map with eight guesses and a clue-by-four) has heard of Pol Pot and/or the Khmer Rouge; the same could not be said of Germany, Russia or China.

I have to admit, I only really know Cambodia because we have such a relatively large Cambodian immigrant community here. I really think my experiences growing up in a culturally diverse environment made me more world of the world around me. Plus my Dad worked with immigrants from all over in the restaurant industry.

47 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:18:21pm

Idi Amin died in Saudi Arabia. Pinochet died in the UK. For every dictator that falls in a bloody revolt, there's another that dies with no punishment whatsoever.

48 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:19:49pm

re: #47 HappyWarrior

Idi Amin died in Saudi Arabia. Pinochet died in the UK. For every dictator that falls in a bloody revolt, there's another that dies with no punishment whatsoever.

Idi Amin...now there was a classy dictator.

49 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:20:55pm

re: #47 HappyWarrior

Idi Amin died in Saudi Arabia. Pinochet died in the UK. For every dictator that falls in a bloody revolt, there's another that dies with no punishment whatsoever.

Pinochet also has a lot of admirers among some conservatives here in the States. He's become a kind of hero to them, which is fucking weird. The guy was a brutal dictator. It's like admiring Duvalier or something. WTF.

50 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:21:55pm

re: #48 darthstar

Idi Amin...now there was a classy dictator.

That one movie with Whitaker scared the crap out of me. There was a story about how Whitaker called up his girlfriend using the Amin voice and scared the hell out of her. I think what made it scary aside from the obvious was you saw how a cult of personality develops. Whitaker's Amin had a certain charisma to him like in the scene where he's telling James MacAvoy's character how much he loves the Scots and MacAvoy's character being a Scot eats it all up.

51 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:23:18pm

re: #49 Lidane

Pinochet also has a lot of admirers among some conservatives here in the States. He's become a kind of hero to them, which is fucking weird. The guy was a brutal dictator. It's like admiring Duvalier or something. WTF.

I've seen some of them try to rationalize his brutality by bringing up his economic policies. Yeah because that excuses murder on a grand scale. I pointed out that he let a Neo-Nazi cultist pedophile operate in his country for years. I believe the guy's name is Paul Schafer. Only remember the name because of its likeness with Letterman's pal.

52 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:25:24pm

re: #43 Kragar

Eddie: Pol Pot killed one point seven million Cambodians, died under house arrest, well done there. Stalin killed many millions, died in his bed, aged seventy-two, well done indeed. And the reason we let them get away with it is they killed their own people. And we're sort of fine with that. Hitler killed people next door. Oh, stupid man. After a couple of years we won’t stand for that, will we?

Stalin died in bed because the USSR was too powerful to attack just because of its internal policies. Democratic nations may and should boycott said tyrannies, but they tend not to be willing to pay the price they would have to pay if they attacked and lost.

53 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:26:02pm

The Khmer Rouge were nuts enough to try to attack Vietnam. They lost a lot of people in that war but that ended the genocide.

Cambodia is now a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, in a reversal of the "domino effect".

54 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:27:36pm

re: #53 dragonath

The Khmer Rouge were nuts enough to try to attack Vietnam. They lost a lot of people in that war but that ended the genocide.

Cambodia is now a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, in a reversal of the "domino effect".

What made them decide to invade Cambodia? I've always forgotten who of the two which one the PRC and USSR supported. It's amazing the sheer destruction they caused in such a brief time.

55 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:28:48pm

re: #52 Dark_Falcon

satire: sat·ire [sat-ahyuhr] noun
1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

56 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:31:40pm

re: #54 HappyWarrior

What made them decide to invade Cambodia? I've always forgotten who of the two which one the PRC and USSR supported. It's amazing the sheer destruction they caused in such a brief time.

The Khmer Rouge attacked Vietnam. Parts of Vietnam contained ethnic Khmers and Pol Pot decided that the Khmer Rouge should "take back" those areas. This "take back" idea was just as stupid as when Sarah Palin says that, maybe even more so since Vietnam had an immense material superiority and its troops had far more experience.

57 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:32:25pm

re: #49 Lidane

Pinochet also has a lot of admirers among some conservatives here in the States. He's become a kind of hero to them, which is fucking weird. The guy was a brutal dictator. It's like admiring Duvalier or something. WTF.

Of course Argentina ended up killing and torturing many more than Pinochet. Since so many were involved we don't have one name to associate the roughly 30,000 that went "missing."

58 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:32:43pm

re: #56 Dark_Falcon

The Khmer Rouge attacked Vietnam. Parts of Vietnam contained ethnic Khmers and Pol Pot decided that the Khmer Rouge should "take back" those areas. This "take back" idea was just as stupid as when Sarah Palin says that, maybe even more so since Vietnam had an immense material superiority and its troops had far more experience.

So nationalistic reasons, got it.

59 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:34:49pm

Pinochet, Stalin, Amin, Hitler...We're still talking about a Romney/Ryan presidency, right?

60 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:35:09pm

re: #57 Gus

Of course Argentina ended up killing and torturing many more than Pinochet. Since so many were involved we don't have one name to associate the roughly 30,000 that went "missing."

I had to read about that when I took Latin American history in the spring of 2010. It was horrifying. The Processo Regime would kidnap men and women off the street. Force women to give birth in captivity and then give the children to a family friendly to the regime or military family. The mothers of many of those kidnapped started a foundation to help find the children. I was very happy when Videla got convicted recently. It's just too bad that those guys weren't prosecuted immediately after the regime's fall. It's akin to high ranking Nazis being let to roam free until the 1960's.

61 Amory Blaine  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:36:01pm

"TRICKLE DOWN FAIRY DUST"

Youtube Video

He he.

62 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:36:44pm

re: #57 Gus

Of course Argentina ended up killing and torturing many more than Pinochet. Since so many were involved we don't have one name to associate the roughly 30,000 that went "missing."

Yes, but because the junta was thrown out of power after the British Army and the Royal Navy booted them out of the Falkland islands, thy are not remembered as well.

63 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:36:48pm

Image: 574679_10151107306801749_917971687_n.jpg

64 Dark_Falcon  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:37:52pm

Good night, all.

65 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:38:28pm

re: #58 HappyWarrior

Yeah, and during that occupation of Cambodia, the Chinese decided to invade Vietnam. That didn't work out so hot either.

66 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:38:57pm

re: #9 Obdicut

Actually, Montrose was a pretty good general, but he never fought Cromwell. I should have recognized the name.

Isn't it weird, though, that some people gave their lives for the idea that they'd be ruled over by someone who happened to be born inside a particular bloodline?

Sure, but on the other hand, giving your life not to be ruled over by a theocratic dictatorship with genocidal tendencies might be seen as quite reasonable, so I guess it all depends on how you see Cromwell.

67 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:39:36pm

re: #65 dragonath

Yeah, and during that occupation of Cambodia, the Chinese decided to invade Vietnam. That didn't work out so hot either.

Sounds like a big mess.

68 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:39:51pm

re: #14 HappyWarrior

Pretty crazy isn't that? Have you read about how many of hte Gulag victims were convinced that someday that Stalin would set them free and that if he knew of the horrors going on there, he would have been repulsed. Cult of personality is a powerful thing when a mere human being is put to a God like level./

My mother used to work with a lady who remembers sobbing the day Stalin died. It was as though the world had ended.

69 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:41:08pm

re: #26 Gus

Right. That's not dying "for" Stalin.

Dying OF Stalin?

Or, as they say (or rather stitch on samplers) at Regretsy, "People are dying of communism!"

70 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:42:21pm

re: #66 SanFranciscoZionist

Sure, but on the other hand, giving your life not to be ruled over by a theocratic dictatorship with genocidal tendencies might be seen as quite reasonable, so I guess it all depends on how you see Cromwell.

I always tell myself I would have gotten the hell out and gone to the far west of Ireland where everyone was speaking Gaelic. Fortunately, that's pretty much where all my relatives that lived in that region ended up being anyhow. I must confess, despite my staunch anti monarchism and thus even staunch anti absolute monarchism, I always felt a little bad for James II being overthrown by William and Mary. Yeah they signed the English Bill of Rights but I think James II's Catholicism more so than despotism was used to justify the coup. Always did think it was funny how Northern Irish Unionists celebrate a Dutchman who defeated a British king when they celebrate the Battle of the Boyne I must confess.

71 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:42:57pm

re: #33 Mich-again

If God is an "anyone", he wins that contest hands down a thousand times over.

How would you define that?

I mean, plenty of people go into battle for 'God and country', but a reasonable interpretation might be that it's mostly country.

What would you narrow 'dying for God' to?

72 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:43:14pm

re: #37 Kragar

What can be more natural than dying when a length of steel impales the body with significant force?

"Being murdered is natural causes for a king."

73 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:43:36pm

re: #69 SanFranciscoZionist

Dying OF Stalin?

Or, as they say (or rather stitch on samplers) at Regretsy, "People are dying of communism!"

We were talking about the largest casualties in battle. Not the systemic starvation of a population. So in the case of a battle it is know that those who die "for" their country, king, etc.

74 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:44:25pm

Interesting snip from a story about Paul Ryan..

Paul Ryan says that he read her books as a youth but was not influenced by her. In April, he gave an interview to National Review in which he repudiated Rand entirely. In the interview, he called reports of his adherence to Rand's views an "urban legend" and said that he was more deeply influenced by his Roman Catholic faith and by Thomas Aquinas.

Odd. St. Thomas Aquinas would be completely opposed to the GOP's anti-science agenda. Aquinas said abrogating reason was a sin. He said when religious people are purposely ignorant and reject truth to preserve their faith that they make a mockery of their faith. In the 13th century, Aquinas had a more sophisticated view of reason and faith than does anyone leading the GOP today. I would quiz Ryan to see if he actually knows a freaking thing about what Aquinas said. My guess is that he is talking out his arse to appease the base.

75 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:45:00pm

re: #47 HappyWarrior

Idi Amin died in Saudi Arabia. Pinochet died in the UK. For every dictator that falls in a bloody revolt, there's another that dies with no punishment whatsoever.

Story is that some American troops saw Idi Amin at a grocery store in Saudi during the first Gulf War. They were picking up stuff for their camp, and suddenly Martinez comes back all bug-eyed and says that Idi Amin is in the cereal aisle.

76 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:46:15pm

re: #74 Mich-again

Interesting snip from a story about Paul Ryan..

Odd. St. Thomas Aquinas would be completely opposed to the GOP's anti-science agenda. Aquinas said abrogating reason was a sin. He said when religious people are purposely ignorant and reject truth to preserve their faith that they make a mockery of their faith. In the 13th century, Aquinas had a more sophisticated view of reason and faith than does anyone leading the GOP today. I would quiz Ryan to see if he actually knows a freaking thing about what Aquinas said. My guess is that he is talking out his arse to appease the base.

I don't get Ryan. Talks about hos religion is important to him but yet has said in the past that RAnd influenced him. I think he's very selective in what he chooses to take from philosophers. Wait he's seriously calling the Rand stuff urban legend? When he's on record in numerous interviews praising her and her influence on him? Who does he think he is, Mitt Romney?

77 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:46:46pm

re: #60 HappyWarrior

I had to read about that when I took Latin American history in the spring of 2010. It was horrifying. The Processo Regime would kidnap men and women off the street. Force women to give birth in captivity and then give the children to a family friendly to the regime or military family. The mothers of many of those kidnapped started a foundation to help find the children. I was very happy when Videla got convicted recently. It's just too bad that those guys weren't prosecuted immediately after the regime's fall. It's akin to high ranking Nazis being let to roam free until the 1960's.

Jorge Videla is sitting in jail again. 50 years and he will finally die in prison. I say again because that piece of shit Menem pardoned him in 1990 after being in jail for only 5 years.

78 Amory Blaine  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:47:23pm

Paul Ryan loved Ayn Rand, before he said he didn't

Back in 2005, an up-and-coming lawmaker named Paul Ryan credited the polemical novelist and libertarian Ayn Rand as a central inspiration for his entry into public life. Ryan toiled in those days in relative obscurity, a well-respected but low-profile member of the House of Representatives.

By the spring of 2012, the boyish congressman had become a Republican star, widely named as a possible vice presidential pick. He also had become considerably less comfortable being linked to the controversial Rand, an atheist with a tartly Darwinian world view.

79 SanFranciscoZionist  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:48:14pm

re: #74 Mich-again

Interesting snip from a story about Paul Ryan..

Odd. St. Thomas Aquinas would be completely opposed to the GOP's anti-science agenda. Aquinas said abrogating reason was a sin. He said when religious people are purposely ignorant and reject truth to preserve their faith that they make a mockery of their faith. In the 13th century, Aquinas had a more sophisticated view of reason and faith than does anyone leading the GOP today. I would quiz Ryan to see if he actually knows a freaking thing about what Aquinas said. My guess is that he is talking out his arse to appease the base.

That's why Aquinas is the Angelic Doctor, and Ryan's a congressman from Wisconsin.

80 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:48:51pm

re: #71 SanFranciscoZionist

How would you define that?

I mean, plenty of people go into battle for 'God and country', but a reasonable interpretation might be that it's mostly country.

What would you narrow 'dying for God' to?

Over the last few thousand years, a lot of people have died fighting in wars that were based in religious conflict. Some fought and died by choice, the rest, not so much choice in the matter.

81 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:48:56pm

re: #77 Gus

Jorge Videla is sitting in jail again. 50 years and he will finally die in prison. I say again because that piece of shit Menem pardoned him in 1990 after being in jail for only 5 years.

Yeah Menem pardoned a lot of those guys. Disgusted me to read.

82 goddamnedfrank  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:49:29pm

re: #74 Mich-again

Interesting snip from a story about Paul Ryan..

Odd. St. Thomas Aquinas would be completely opposed to the GOP's anti-science agenda. Aquinas said abrogating reason was a sin. He said when religious people are purposely ignorant and reject truth to preserve their faith that they make a mockery of their faith. In the 13th century, Aquinas had a more sophisticated view of reason and faith than does anyone leading the GOP today. I would quiz Ryan to see if he actually knows a freaking thing about what Aquinas said. My guess is that he is talking out his arse to appease the base.

Yeah, he's lying his ass off.

I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are and what my beliefs are. It's inspired me so much that it's required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff.

Again, that's workplace abuse verging on an OSHA violation. I love that Republicans are going to vote for this mendacious little prick.

83 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:49:57pm

re: #74 Mich-again

Interesting snip from a story about Paul Ryan..

Odd. St. Thomas Aquinas would be completely opposed to the GOP's anti-science agenda. Aquinas said abrogating reason was a sin. He said when religious people are purposely ignorant and reject truth to preserve their faith that they make a mockery of their faith. In the 13th century, Aquinas had a more sophisticated view of reason and faith than does anyone leading the GOP today. I would quiz Ryan to see if he actually knows a freaking thing about what Aquinas said. My guess is that he is talking out his arse to appease the base.

"The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false."
- Noted liberal Marxist, Thomas Aquinas

84 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:50:26pm

re: #78 Amory Blaine

Paul Ryan loved Ayn Rand, before he said he didn't

Only because she was an atheist.

85 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:52:02pm

re: #83 Kragar

"The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false."
- Noted liberal Marxist, Thomas Aquinas

That is an awesome quote. I'm so stealing that.

86 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:52:55pm

re: #78 Amory Blaine

The thing I question is the "Darwinian world view" bit, as it's a stereotype writers use who don't really understand the difference between what Darwin actually wrote, what evolution actually is, how the ideas of such have changed over time, and how the label "Darwinian world view" has changed over time.

Ayn Rand was just a loner, with a self-centered worldview which was put on paper with a developed use of the English language that many of the atavists today envy.

87 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:53:24pm

I think he was picking and choosing with Rand's belief system in the first place. I'm no fan of Rand but her views on social issues do not compute with Ryan's record on social issues at all. I think he's either stupid and really didn't know Rand's views on stuff outside of economics which I doubt since while I don't think he's an intellectual like he's made out to be, it's obvious that Rand wasn't a socon to someone with even the basic knowledge of Rand. On the other hand and far more likely, I think he picked and chose with her much like he now does with Catholic theology. So, my verdict on Ryan is opportunist more so than idiot. Kind of like Mitt I guess.

88 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:53:30pm

Ugh. Some of my Republican FB friends are parroting Mitt's line about Obama being the most divisive POTUS ever and ripping this country apart. WTF.

Some days, I weep for this country. And it's going to be a long slog to November.

89 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:54:09pm

re: #88 Lidane

Ugh. Some of my Republican FB friends are parroting Mitt's line about Obama being the most divisive POTUS ever and ripping this country apart. WTF.

Some days, I weep for this country. And it's going to be a long slog to November.

Tell them they sound unhinged.

90 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:54:32pm

re: #88 Lidane

Do you challenge them on it?

91 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:54:36pm

re: #85 Mich-again

That is an awesome quote. I'm so stealing that.

My personal favorite:

Beware of the person of one book. - Thomas Aquinas

92 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:55:22pm

re: #91 Kragar

My personal favorite:

Beware of the person of one book. - Thomas Aquinas

Misters Fischer, Huckabee, Robertson, etc on aisle 1? Seriously that's a good one.

93 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:55:47pm

re: #86 freetoken

The thing I question is the "Darwinian world view" bit, as it's a stereotype writers use who don't really understand the difference between what Darwin actually wrote, what evolution actually is, how the ideas of such have changed over time, and how the label "Darwinian world view" has changed over time.

Ayn Rand was just a loner, with a self-centered worldview which was put on paper with a developed use of the English language that many of the atavists today envy.

Darwinian is of course the observation. As in survival of the fittest in an the evolutionary process of the human species. Like "dog eat dog..." All of which I know you're aware of and I'm probably just typing. ;)

94 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:57:18pm

re: #90 freetoken

Do you challenge them on it?

I try to keep politics off my FB as much as I can. I've got too many relatives on there and it would just start family drama which I don't need. Plus, politics aside I actually like the people parroting Mitt's idiocy. They're my friends in spite of their politics, not because of it.

It's just annoying to see it is all.

95 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:57:46pm

"Because of the diverse conditions of humans, it happens that some acts are virtuous to some people, as appropriate and suitable to them, while the same acts are immoral for others, as inappropriate to them."

- Thomas Aquinas

Liberal commie pinko agitprop obviously.

96 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:58:12pm

re: #94 Lidane

I try to keep politics off my FB as much as I can. I've got too many relatives on there and it would just start family drama which I don't need. Plus, politics aside I actually like the people parroting Mitt's idiocy.

It's just annoying to see it is all.

One of the many reasons I skip social media.

97 Amory Blaine  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 9:59:41pm

re: #86 freetoken

Right. The bad analogies have helped distill the theory of evolution into simple snippets and talking points poisoning the whole debate.

98 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:00:40pm

re: #88 Lidane

Ugh. Some of my Republican FB friends are parroting Mitt's line about Obama being the most divisive POTUS ever and ripping this country apart. WTF.

Some days, I weep for this country. And it's going to be a long slog to November.

I have a few FB friends like that. I unfriended some of them, unsubscribed from some of them, and just ignore some of them.

99 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:01:27pm

Man, I forgot how much of what Aquinas said would make him the mortal enemy of so many Evangelicals.

100 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:02:51pm

re: #99 Kragar

Man, I forgot how much of what Aquinas said would make him the mortal enemy of so many Evangelicals.

It's ironic that they are getting smacked down by a guy who lived 700 years ago, before the printing press was invented.

101 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:02:57pm

I have one FB friend that gets really obnoxious. He's posted links to Hannity and has done the stupid "If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, vote against him in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot. Now it's funny in 2000 when the two of us in Middle School, he was claiming his father was supporting Nader because both Bush and Gore were "commies." Maybe I remember this wrong.

102 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:03:01pm

re: #96 Kragar

One of the many reasons I skip social media.

I just keep it off FB since it's not worth the agita.

When I remember I have a Twitter feed I post and RT political stuff there. I don't have any relatives or high school friends on there, so it's all good.

103 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:03:26pm

Survival of the fittest is about natural selection. It's not a political philosophy it's science.

104 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:03:53pm

re: #100 Mich-again

It's ironic that they are getting smacked down by a guy who lived 700 years ago, before the printing press was invented.

Well people still had brains 700 years ago. But yeah give me him over Bryan Fischer or any of the other mental giants out there.

105 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:05:05pm

CNN - Why America doesn't like Mitt Romney

Romney doesn't irk us because he was born into privilege. He irks us because he behaves as if being born into privilege had nothing to do with his success. His wife, Ann, was supposed to make her husband more appealing. It didn't work. Now the question is: Can Paul Ryan make Mitt likeable?
I doubt it.

Articles like this are enough to make a candidate come a little...unhinged.

106 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:05:44pm

re: #100 Mich-again

It's ironic that they are getting smacked down by a guy who lived 700 years ago, before the printing press was invented.

"Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches."

"Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality."

"Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need."

107 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:06:49pm

re: #105 darthstar

CNN - Why America doesn't like Mitt Romney

Articles like this are enough to make a candidate come a little...unhinged.

Oh man it nailed it. It's exactly right. We've had candidates born into wealth before. JFK, GWB, etc before but none of them acted like Mitt when it came to privilege and success.

108 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:07:00pm

re: #98 Mich-again

I have a few FB friends like that. I unfriended some of them, unsubscribed from some of them, and just ignore some of them.

I just scroll past it and ignore it for the most part. It's better than getting spammed endlessly with Farmville requests, I guess.

The one time I legitimately got irritated was with my relatives in Mexico during the last presidential election they had over there. They all supported different candidates and the constant electoral spam was annoying and made my news feed hard to follow. Thankfully their elections don't take 18 months like ours do. =P

109 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:07:33pm

re: #107 HappyWarrior

Oh man it nailed it. It's exactly right. We've had candidates born into wealth before. JFK, GWB, etc before but none of them acted like Mitt when it came to privilege and success.

And it was on Fox-lite!

110 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:07:43pm

This is the first Presidential election in the Facebook era. It was around last time, but it was still pretty new and not that many people had accounts. It is becoming more of an antisocial network these days. People who are accustomed to posting ridiculous nonsense anonymously in echo chamber blogs and media sites think they can get away with the same crap on FB where everyone knows who they are.

111 goddamnedfrank  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:08:20pm

re: #105 darthstar

CNN - Why America doesn't like Mitt Romney

Articles like this are enough to make a candidate come a little...unhinged.

He's a despicable candidate who really only appeals to despicable people. Most of the GOP even hates him at this point and are cloaking their mixture of disappointment and animosity behind a very thin veneer of partisan loyalty.

112 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:09:26pm

re: #93 Gus

Hey, we all need to exercise the muscles in our forearms and if typing is your thing, go for it.

As for "dog eat dog" - that sort of misses the whole point. Even if the "red in tooth and claw" bit gets overplayed, the whole point is that populations of organisms change under the influence of their environment, but that was not a statement on ethics.

In our human world we've created "ethics" - it is a human creation, part of our culture, along with all the other things we've created, like art.

And in this world of ethics we've determined that helping others to be a goal for which to strive, and our governments have been created to foster this goal.

Some might label it "socialism", but it's a very old idea. Kings and rulers of old would set up food stores for the poor, and raise armies to protect the whole society, not just themselves.

Where libertarianism fails, and I'm thinking here specifically of the magickal-thinking "glibertarianism" that has become the in-thing in certain parts of the American faux-intelligentsia, is that they've excluded the role of the person as a part of the society to such an extent that they've gone into anarchy, even though they nominally protest the "left" as anarchists.

Paul Ryan is just another example of a shallow mind glomming onto Ayn Rand's self-centered worldview, trying to pretend it was something meaningful. In the Western world at least, the noblesse oblige concept transformed into the idea that post industrial revolution our collected wealth ought to be shared and that we all have obligations to the poorer, and that this is part of governance.

The idea of charity is very old, but over time we've grown it into a form of collective (e.g., government) action.

Paul Ryan and today's glibertarians want to pretend either that didn't happen or that it did but it is immoral.

I hope that during the "debates" to come that this can be explained clearly to the public. I don't have a lot of faith in Obama or Biden to be able to clearly delineate just how different Ryan's (and by now Romney's) proposals are from American society's expectations post FDR.

113 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:09:45pm

re: #106 Kragar

"Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches."

"Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality."

"Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need."

Good times.

114 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:11:08pm

re: #111 goddamnedfrank

He's a despicable candidate who really only appeals to despicable people. Most of the GOP even hates him at this point and are cloaking their mixture of disappointment and animosity behind a very thin veneer of partisan loyalty.

The more it becomes obvious that Mitt's yacht is heading for the rocks, the uglier the attacks aimed at Obama will become. Its like political death spasms.

115 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:14:20pm

The story of the redemption will not stand examination. That man should redeem himself from the sin of eating an apple by committing a murder on Jesus Christ, is the strangest system of religion ever set up.
-- Thomas Paine

116 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:14:44pm

He's got to be the least likable candidate I've ever seen. I remember them saying that Ann would show his human side but she really hasn't changed the perceptions of him. In fact, one could argue, she reenforced and strengthened the belief that he's a snobby dick. Ryan won't humanize him much either because Ryan's cut from the same cloth- I think I'm better than you.

117 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:17:59pm

Reza Madadi saves drowning child and father

Swedish UFC fighter Reza Madadi is on a huge win streak. His victories include wins over Yoislandy Izquierdo, Rich Clementi, Carlo Prater and death. He saved a drowning toddler and his father in Sweden on Aug. 3.

After kayaking in the Stockholm Archipelago, he was headed to lunch when he saw a 1-year-old fall off of a pier into the water. The child's father jumped in after his son. Instinct kicked in for Madadi, who once trained to be a firefighter, and he jumped in after the father.

118 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:21:15pm

re: #116 HappyWarrior

He's got to be the least likable candidate I've ever seen.

The guy's a white bread, draft-dodging version of John Kerry, but with less charisma. He's a rich, patrician Masshole that no one really wants at the top of the GOP ticket, but they don't have any choice.

119 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:23:02pm

re: #118 Lidane

The guy's a white bread, draft-dodging version of John Kerry, but with less charisma. He's a rich, patrician Masshole that no one really wants at the top of the GOP ticket, but they don't have any choice.

Ironic that the same GOPers that refuse to compromise with Democrats on any legislation at all are so willing to plug their nose and support Mitt.

120 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:25:40pm

re: #118 Lidane

The guy's a white bread, draft-dodging version of John Kerry, but with less charisma. He's a rich, patrician Masshole that no one really wants at the top of the GOP ticket, but they don't have any choice.

Actually, they do. If he sinks over the next two weeks, the delegates can refuse to vote for him at the convention and they can anoint someone else as candidate. It wouldn't win the presidency, but it might save a lot of down-ticket races if the GOP simply said, "We fucked up! Romney would make a terrible president!"

121 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:26:05pm

re: #120 darthstar

Actually, they do. If he sinks over the next two weeks, the delegates can refuse to vote for him at the convention and they can anoint someone else as candidate. It wouldn't win the presidency, but it might save a lot of down-ticket races if the GOP simply said, "We fucked up! Romney would make a terrible president!"

RON PAUL!

122 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:26:27pm

re: #121 Kragar

RON PAUL!

You beat me to it!

123 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:26:43pm

At least with Kerry though, you really didn't see the whining that you do with Mitt.

124 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:27:28pm

re: #122 Gus

You beat me to it!

Because I'm awesome.

125 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:27:50pm

Rmoney is big on Projectionism.

Romney calls Obama 'desperate,' accuses campaign of 'division and anger and hate'

126 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:28:01pm

re: #115 Gus

The funny thing about Paine is that he was considered radical in the US...

...then he ran into the Montagnards who considered him too much of a moderate!

127 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:28:14pm

re: #124 Kragar

Because I'm awesome.

Too much heat again and the fan's been blowing in my face most of the day. Think my head might explode.

128 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:28:46pm

Oh and Rmoney wasn't a typo. ha

129 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:29:07pm

re: #120 darthstar

Actually, they do. If he sinks over the next two weeks, the delegates can refuse to vote for him at the convention and they can anoint someone else as candidate. It wouldn't win the presidency, but it might save a lot of down-ticket races if the GOP simply said, "We fucked up! Romney would make a terrible president!"

Yeah, but who would be willing to take that nomination if the delegates stripped it from Romney? Anyone who actually wants to run their own campaign for the White House in 2016 would refuse just so they wouldn't be a loser now.

The only people stupid enough to take that anointing would be Crazy Uncle Liberty and Caribou Barbie, and she's not even invited to the RNC.

130 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:29:27pm

People who consider themselves "real" conservatives don't even like Romney.

131 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:30:18pm

re: #129 Lidane

The only people stupid enough to take that anointing would be Crazy Uncle Liberty and Caribou Barbie, and she's not even invited to the RNC.

How about a Paul-Paul ticket? HA

132 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:32:52pm

Important to know...especially since Walter isn't here anymore to tell us produce codes.

Image: 430221_10151991721065123_1879063582_n.jpg

133 dragonath  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:33:08pm

Does anyone see Paul Ryan running for president (on his own) someday? I can't really see it.

Right now he's running for president ala Cheney.

134 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:33:42pm

re: #133 dragonath

Does anyone see Paul Ryan running for president (on his own) someday? I can't really see it.

Right now he's running for president ala Cheney.

I could see him losing in a run for president of his local PTA after this election.

135 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:33:58pm

re: #125 Mich-again

Rmoney is big on Projectionism.

Gosh want some whine with that Mitt? Seriously this guy fights as dirty as the next person and that's something his primary opponents pretty much all agreed on but the minute he gets hit back, he starts whining like he's this innocent guy being attacked. Romney's growning more and more angry by the day. Maybe by the end of the campaign, we'll see him curse up a storm and blame Obama for all his troubles.

136 bratwurst  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:34:30pm
137 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:35:01pm

I'm not going to come to any conclusions about this election until the votes are counted. Right now I'm sitting in a rather liberal city but I can hop in my car and drive either to NYC or San Francisco and I will encounter nothing but right-wing conservative Americans who will vote for Romney and Ryan.

138 HappyWarrior  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:35:58pm

re: #133 dragonath

Does anyone see Paul Ryan running for president (on his own) someday? I can't really see it.

Right now he's running for president ala Cheney.

I think so. I think he was chosen to be "next in line" in the GOP ascendency. They probably wanted to bypass Santorum who is a turd that even they can't shine. But I think they're going to find out that Ryan was a mistake like Palin real fast. They'll of course afterwards say that Ryan was fine and there were other difficulties like "Obama's mudslinging" even while they ignore the fact that they've played the same agem.

139 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:36:24pm

re: #120 darthstar

Actually, they do. If he sinks over the next two weeks, the delegates can refuse to vote for him at the convention and they can anoint someone else as candidate.

The GOP convention could turn out to be an actual circus. They have clowns, tightrope walkers, trained poodles, dancing elephants, and a ringleader.

140 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:37:39pm

re: #130 Gus

People who consider themselves "real" conservatives don't even like Romney.

Hehehehe....

Myth Romney 2012 : Resistance is NOT Futile -- A Tea Party Patriot says "NUTS !" to Myth Romney

Myth Romney’s desperation reeks all the way to Planet Kolob, the Mormon Planet in the Constellation Cancer.

Mitt Romney‘s satanic cult worship A brief documentary about racism witchcraft and devil worship practiced by Mitt Romney and the cult of mormonism.


Mitt Romney & Mormons Can’t Shake Collectivist Nature

And that's just the tip of the iceberg from the past 24 hours.

141 Lidane  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:38:02pm

re: #137 Gus

I'm not going to come to any conclusions about this election until the votes are counted.

Same here. But it's fun to speculate, even if I know better than to take a damned thing for granted. :)

Anything can and will happen between now and November. And the RNC promises to be hilarious and scary in equal measure, especially if Mitt sinks between now and then.

142 Kragar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:39:50pm

re: #136 bratwurst

[Embedded content]

FRANK!!!

143 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:40:03pm

re: #132 darthstar

Important to know...especially since Walter isn't here anymore to tell us produce codes.

Image: 430221_10151991721065123_1879063582_n.jpg

And if it is a six digit code starting with "666"?

144 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:41:20pm

I'm sure Mitt is working the system so that after he loses he can take Sheldon Adelson's unspent millions with him.

And that brings up a nice made up conspiracy theory I am going to use on my not-so-sophisticated conservative friends and associates. That the more the Romney campaign spends on political ads, the more cash flow and profits that those evil media outlets will have to promote Obama.

145 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:41:49pm

I've seen ads that were more inflammatory than this one, and ads that were in various ways more reprehensible than this one (not many, but some). But I cannot recall a single presidential campaign ad in the history of American politics that lied more blatantly than this one.

146 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:43:53pm

re: #143 freetoken

And if it is a six digit code starting with "666"?

Then the fruit is gay...or Christian...hard to tell the difference anymore.

147 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:47:15pm

re: #140 freetoken

And that's just the tip of the iceberg from the past 24 hours.

Mitt reminds me of the typical villain early in an episode of Scooby Doo before the crew in the Mystery Machine has figured it out.

148 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:47:32pm

Woman in Arizona spends 4 1/2 months in jail on suspicion of being an illegal alien.

[Link: www.phoenixnewtimes.com...]

Recently, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office alleged Briseira Torres, a shy, 31-year-old single mom from Glendale, was here illegally and that Briseira Torres was not her real name.

She was accused of three counts of forgery, in part because her driver's license had her real name on it, which the MCAO thought was bogus. Following her arrest, she was held without bond in Estrella Jail for 4 1/2 months.

Torres lost her home and car because she couldn't make the payments as she endured Estrella's harsh conditions, lousy food, and detention officers.

Worst of all, she was separated from her 14-year-old daughter, who stayed with Torres' friend Amy Diaz while her mom was behind bars.

149 darthstar  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:48:09pm

re: #148 darthstar

Woman in Arizona spends 4 1/2 months in jail on suspicion of being an illegal alien.

[Link: www.phoenixnewtimes.com...]

Remember, this is the law Mitt Romney said was a 'model' for US immigration policy.

150 Targetpractice  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:50:05pm

It's kinda hard not to think that the Romney/Ryan ticket has nowhere to go but down when half of it doesn't seem able to acknowledge reality:

Ryan ‘Absolutely’ Thinks Romney Can Win On Medicare

151 Mich-again  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:51:03pm

re: #148 darthstar

Woman in Arizona spends 4 1/2 months in jail on suspicion of being an illegal alien.

[Link: www.phoenixnewtimes.com...]

Wow. just wow. I hope she sues and wins a lot of money from the idiots in Maricopa County who keep electing that anti-American piece of shit Sheriff Joe.

152 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:56:39pm

re: #150 Targetpractice

It's kinda hard not to think that the Romney/Ryan ticket has nowhere to go but down when half of it doesn't seem able to acknowledge reality:

Ryan ‘Absolutely’ Thinks Romney Can Win On Medicare

The only way they can pull that off is if they say "we're not going to do what we said we were going to do."

Cough.

153 Dancing along the light of day  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 10:59:33pm

I miss the rooster.

154 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:01:50pm

I don't know if any of you watch the US version of MasterChef - I check it out online and compare it to the other (UK, Australian, Korean, Romanian) versions - but the producers of that show, like so many other "reality TV" shows, must have a very, very low opinion of the US television audience.

And many more people will watch these shows than, say, check out Paul Ryan's past.

More voters this November will know more about the last winner of American Idol than they will know about Paul Ryan.

This is America.

155 Gus  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:03:14pm

re: #153 Dancing along the light of day

I miss the rooster.

Gaza?

156 AK-47%  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:10:11pm

re: #91 Kragar

My personal favorite:

Beware of the person of one book. - Thomas Aquinas

The Bible is two books. The Old and the New Testament...

157 AK-47%  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:14:57pm

re: #137 Gus

I'm not going to come to any conclusions about this election until the votes are counted. Right now I'm sitting in a rather liberal city but I can hop in my car and drive either to NYC or San Francisco and I will encounter nothing but right-wing conservative Americans who will vote for Romney and Ryan.

I would give obama slightly better thatn 50-50 odds right now, but I am still not convinced tht the GOP is going to keep floundering the way it has: I assume they have some things up their sleeve that they are saving for the convention or directly thereafter.

And we can count on a spike in food and gasoline prices this fall which will hurt Obama, as the responsibility for them will be laid at his door.

158 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:24:55pm

re: #156 Expand Your Ground

The Bible is two books. The Old and the New Testament...

The English Bible is 66 books... but who's counting?

159 Targetpractice  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:26:48pm

re: #157 Expand Your Ground

I would give obama slightly better thatn 50-50 odds right now, but I am still not convinced tht the GOP is going to keep floundering the way it has: I assume they have some things up their sleeve that they are saving for the convention or directly thereafter.

And we can count on a spike in food and gasoline prices this fall which will hurt Obama, as the responsibility for them will be laid at his door.

Way I look at it, plenty of things can change, plenty of bad shit can still happen. But the larger Obama's margin grows, the better I see his chances in November. Yeah, anything can happen, let's not fool ourselves. But what I see for at least the next week or so is the Romney campaign foundering as it keeps coming up short in how to explain away Ryan's budget as well as his past votes. Something that's complicated by Romney's current unfavorability and Ryan's still to be determined as a result of people finding out about his budget. I remember reading a poll saying that most folks still don't know the guy, and those who have heard his budget described thought it was a joke before being told it really existed.

160 freetoken  Tue, Aug 14, 2012 11:33:43pm

The producers of SchoolHouse Rock!, which started out as a commercial venture, shot for a higher level of intelligence than the producers of MasterChefUS have done:

Youtube Video
161 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 12:04:57am
MP3 Audio
162 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 12:14:06am

Zhao Kun Yu with "Don`t Tell Me You Don`t Care About Your Tears":

MP3 Audio
163 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 1:09:18am

I didn't see it commented upon here yesterday, but over at National Review Racists Online, VDH helps them pour on fuel on the fire:

‘White’ on the Brain

Yes, blaming Obama for "racism" in America.

164 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 1:35:28am
SoundCloud
165 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 1:36:37am

Hmmm, don't know why the player didn't embed.

Let's try this again:

SoundCloud
166 Cannadian Club Akbar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 2:01:50am

I have to get ready for work so I can't stay. But I did want to share with you the fate of the douchebag who killed my friend's mom 3 years ago.

Jury unanimously recommends death penalty for Smith
[Link: www.bradenton.com...]

167 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 3:53:10am

Aha! Now we know why he picked him:

Ryan's 'Roadmap' would have slashed Romney's tax bill

The sweeping fiscal plan proposed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan in 2010 would have driven GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's effective tax rate down to 1 percent or 2 percent on the $21.6 million income Romney and his wife, Ann, reported that year.

The evidence for that comes from the Romneys' tax return and a Tax Policy Center analysis done for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the wake of national media reports on the issue after Romney named Ryan his running mate.

[...]

One or two percent, on $26 million?

Wow, just wow.

168 AK-47%  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 3:56:41am

A good analysis of why they brought Ryan on board: to try to fill in Mitt's sincerity gap.

"[Ryan] certainly conveys the impression of meaning what he says and saying what he means, and in so doing he’s aiming directly at President Obama’s greatest political strength."

That was always Dubya's strength: people looked at Gore and Kerry and did not find them sincere.

And there are a lot of voters who prefer someone they might disagree with on issues but convincingly conveys the image of being morally consistent in his views and actions.

Something that does not describe Mitt at all...

169 Sheila Broflovski  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:18:58am

I keep seeing this "FourSquare" crap in people's Twitter feeds. WTF is this? Is it some kind of automatic app that sends out a Tweet whenever their GPS shows they have stepped inside some random Starbucks or Burger King?

Stupidest. App. Ever. (Also I have read that burglars are using it to track their marks)

170 Aye Pod  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:26:48am

re: #160 freetoken

The producers of SchoolHouse Rock!, which started out as a commercial venture, shot for a higher level of intelligence than the producers of MasterChefUS have done:

[Embedded content]

Ice can sing the preamble to the constitution.(she's doing it now)

171 Decatur Deb  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:27:51am

FDR understands the Ryan Budget:

Youtube Video

(from Left in Alabama blog.)
[Link: www.leftinalabama.com...]

172 Digital Display  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:28:22am

The Hoopster's Road trip Journal.. Day 12
Word to the wise..Don't ever stay in a motel by the Airport. I'm over jets flying overhead all night long.. Big mistake.
So I go get breakfast in the lobby at 6am..Fuzzy eyed and pissed off by Jets taking off over head.
And a ton of cops show up to raid a room at 6am. It was surreal...Is this really happening? And you know me..A really cute lady cop walked by ready to kick ass and I say. ' How are you doing?'
Didn't even get a smile...This may end up being a long day. :)

173 Aye Pod  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:29:21am

Btw freetoken, can you get Masterchef UK?

It's like Masterchef US, except that it's a cooking competition (as opposed to a bitchfest).

174 Aye Pod  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:32:59am

re: #172 Digital Display

And a ton of cops show up to raid a room at 6am. It was surreal...Is this really happening? And you know me..A really cute lady cop walked by ready to kick ass and I say. ' How are you doing?'
Didn't even get a smile...This may end up being a long day. :)

Hi Hoops. I think you got off lucky there (been watching "COPS") :)

175 freetoken  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:35:42am

re: #173 Aye Pod

It can be viewed online.

The top guy running that competition is from Australia, and he shows up on the Australian version as a guest sometimes.

I do notice that the UK version tends to be a bit more, I don't know, "somber" comes to mind, but maybe it's just that British stiff upper lip thing going on. The Australian version is very bubbly, sort of the Disney-esque version.

The American version, as you've indicated, really ought to be called MasterBitch.

Last year, in it's first version, MasterChef US got caught in some fauxtography scandal.

The whole franchise is part of the Murdoch empire, which kind of explains everything.

176 Shropshire_Slasher  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:39:12am

I'm not versed in the latest software, Is Magic Bullet a good upgrade if my wife already uses mac's Final Cut (I think)? That would be an easy burfday gift!

177 Aye Pod  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 4:56:36am

re: #175 freetoken

Sombre? Nah - gotta remember though that colour was still being rationed here until a few years ago;-) - they just don't have that Fox TV style of fever-pitch editing and general air of hysteria.

Also, they don't chuck a couple of psychopaths in to the mix just to liven things up, then encourage everyone to hate each other. But that's the Murdoch Empire for you at every level.

178 Eventual Carrion  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 5:09:28am

re: #60 HappyWarrior

I had to read about that when I took Latin American history in the spring of 2010. It was horrifying. The Processo Regime would kidnap men and women off the street. Force women to give birth in captivity and then give the children to a family friendly to the regime or military family. The mothers of many of those kidnapped started a foundation to help find the children. I was very happy when Videla got convicted recently. It's just too bad that those guys weren't prosecuted immediately after the regime's fall. It's akin to high ranking Nazis being let to roam free until the 1960's.

Many of Pol Pot's henchmen and higher ups have just been facing trial at the end of last year into the beginning of this year. I haven't seen what the outcomes have been from it (just came across it channel surfing many months back).

179 Eventual Carrion  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 5:48:50am

re: #128 Mich-again

Oh and Rmoney wasn't a typo. ha

That is how I type it too. It has the meaning of "this candidate is a product of the R's money people, so you get Rmoney". He is nothing but what the repub monied people say he should be.

180 Interesting Times  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 6:00:24am
181 Mattand  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 6:15:54am

re: #137 Gus

I'm not going to come to any conclusions about this election until the votes are counted. Right now I'm sitting in a rather liberal city but I can hop in my car and drive either to NYC or San Francisco and I will encounter nothing but right-wing conservative Americans who will vote for Romney and Ryan.

This is why I keep saying the election will be much closer than it should be.

Look what happened in Wisconsin. However you feel about the recall, thousands of union members voted to keep a Governor who wants to destroy their unions once and for all.

Never, never, underestimate the stupidity of the American voter.

182 darthstar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 6:18:55am

Who the fuck shakes hands like this? It's kind of creepy, the more I look at it. Meet me on the tarmac in the middle of the night and we can stand there and shake hands for a while.

Image: slide_244576_1374332_free.jpg

183 darthstar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 6:45:45am

Okay...everyone's sleeping in but me it seems. Time to go run the dogs (early today, as they got skunked two hours ago and I've been up scrubbing the hell out of them).

Have a good day, all.

184 Daniel Ballard  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 6:50:33am

Not good-
Why 90 million Americans won't vote in November

185 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:00:07am

re: #172 Digital Display

The Hoopster's Road trip Journal.. Day 12
Word to the wise..Don't ever stay in a motel by the Airport. I'm over jets flying overhead all night long.. Big mistake.
So I go get breakfast in the lobby at 6am..Fuzzy eyed and pissed off by Jets taking off over head.
And a ton of cops show up to raid a room at 6am. It was surreal...Is this really happening? And you know me..A really cute lady cop walked by ready to kick ass and I say. ' How are you doing?'
Didn't even get a smile...This may end up being a long day. :)

I learned the "don't stay at hotel right by airport" lesson in Oklahoma City in the late-90s. One of the worst hotel stays I ever had. Noise (jets). And the management/cleaning staff messed up cleaning the room not once, but twice!* So I had the empty pizza box and litter of the previous tenant there for two days -- before I got royally pissed off and complained loudly and publicly at the front desk.

* - First time was sort of forgiveable. I arrived early and they were heavily booked. So they put me in a room they knew had not been cleaned with the promise that the staff would come through and clean by early evening (I was out visiting folk down in Norman, so not big deal.) They didn't do that. And then, for no apparent reason, missed the cleaning the next day as well.

186 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:09:15am

Good morning Lizards. Sunny and muggy today in Philadelphia. Humidity yesterday was oppressive enough it converted to rain for an hour or two by mid-morning.

Today is the "slow" day of a busy week. The furniture and computer equipment is off the project floor, so I am essentially done dealing with that (beyond a copier that may have to be moved and stored for a few weeks.) And the building is having a power outage for maintenance this weekend, so I get to turn off all the equipment on Friday, and then come in Sunday morning and turn everything back on.

Fun, games, and job security.

187 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:18:27am

Once again, we find ourselves together, in this special place,

in the morning . . .

How are you?

188 Interesting Times  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:18:39am

Several jokes to be had here, but I'm too weirded out to make them o_O

189 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:20:35am

re: #188 Interesting Times

Several jokes to be had here, but I'm too weirded out to make them o_O

[Embedded content]

I'll be it's, well, shrivelled.

190 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:20:55am

re: #187 ggt

Once again, we find ourselves together, in this special place,

in the morning . . .

How are you?

Need more coffee.

And have to go check on His Imperial Crankiness in a few hours. He's acting off his feed and resisting taking his pills. (I think he is still irritated that I fixed bacon the other day and he didn't get any.)

191 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:22:45am

re: #182 darthstar

Who the fuck shakes hands like this? It's kind of creepy, the more I look at it. Meet me on the tarmac in the middle of the night and we can stand there and shake hands for a while.

Image: slide_244576_1374332_free.jpg

Usually guys shaking hands with a girl. They tweek the elbow --I've always found it creepy when a guys does it to me. I don't know if it's supposed to be a come-on or some wierd gesture at reassurance. Always leaves me with a bad first impression.

192 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:23:16am

re: #190 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste

Need more coffee.

And have to go check on His Imperial Crankiness in a few hours. He's acting off his feed and resisting taking his pills. (I think he is still irritated that I fixed bacon the other day and he didn't get any.)

Yeah, well, you were taking your life in your hands with that move!

193 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:25:28am

re: #163 freetoken

I didn't see it commented upon here yesterday, but over at National Review Racists Online, VDH helps them pour on fuel on the fire:

‘White’ on the Brain

Yes, blaming Obama for "racism" in America.

blaming him simply because he exists?

194 Amory Blaine  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:39:20am

Good Morning everyone. Got up to this piece of grotesque news.

Obama death threat: cat impaled, burned alive next to Obama campaign sign

Authorities are investigating a possible threat to President Obama after a burned cat was found staked to a tree stump using an American flag, next to an Obama 2012 campaign sign.

Longfellow Park, the site of the incident, is located in southern Minneapolis. The park is also used as a polling area. Minnesota primary elections are being held Tuesday, August 14, 2012. It is not known if the display has anything to do with the local election.

The display drew the attention of law enforcement agencies from all over the Minnesota area, including Homeland Security, The FBI and The Secret Service who investigate every threat made against the president no matter how benign.

Agencies report there are no immediate leads, and the closest security camera was at least a half a mile away from the incident.

195 makeitstop  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:40:31am

I eagerly await Rmoney's daily escalation of campaign rhetoric in his campaign speeches today.

Yesterday's attack on Obama was so over the top, I'm left wondering where he goes from there.

And the Obama camp should have some pretty good responses today. I'm loving how they seem to have found the sweet spot for kicking Mittens into whine mode.

196 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:43:38am

re: #191 ggt

Usually guys shaking hands with a girl. They tweek the elbow --I've always found it creepy when a guys does it to me. I don't know if it's supposed to be a come-on or some wierd gesture at reassurance. Always leaves me with a bad first impression.

Conscious or not, it's a control action. If I have your elbow you can't pull your hand out of my grasp. Every time you see it, it's someone who has or wants or believes they should have dominance.

197 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:44:38am

re: #196 kirkspencer

Should have added:

This changes if the off hand is grasping the upper arm or shoulder. Then it's an intimacy/friendship gesture.

198 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:45:28am

re: #195 makeitstop

And the Obama camp should have some pretty good responses today. I'm loving how they seem to have found the sweet spot for kicking Mittens into whine mode.

Personally, I like how the POTUS takes the time to compliment Mitt as a decent family man then goes on to heap praise on Romneycare, basically saying he admired it so much he implemented it nationally.

Talk about stabbing someone with a smile on your face. Romney HQ underestimates the President at their peril.

199 Mattand  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:46:45am

re: #195 makeitstop

I eagerly await Rmoney's daily escalation of campaign rhetoric in his campaign speeches today.

Yesterday's attack on Obama was so over the top, I'm left wondering where he goes from there.

And the Obama camp should have some pretty good responses today. I'm loving how they seem to have found the sweet spot for kicking Mittens into whine mode.

I'm not wild about negative campaigning, but let's face it: Obama is beating the GOP at their own game. I really believe that Karl Rove is in his office screaming "WTF? They're not supposed to fight back! This isn't fair!"

It doesn't hurt that Romney is the walking definition of a tone deaf, out of touch, spoiled rich kid.

201 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:48:43am

re: #199 Mattand

I'm not wild about negative campaigning, but let's face it: Obama is beating the GOP at their own game. I really believe that Karl Rove is in his office screaming "WTF? They're not supposed to fight back! This isn't fair!"

It doesn't hurt that Romney is the walking definition of a tone deaf, out of touch, spoiled rich kid.

Romney is what Kerry was accused of being. And the slams against Kerry were both recent and frequent enough that the negatives reverberate.

202 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:48:53am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

why Ann?

203 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:49:04am

re: #196 kirkspencer

Conscious or not, it's a control action. If I have your elbow you can't pull your hand out of my grasp. Every time you see it, it's someone who has or wants or believes they should have dominance.

It's creepy.

204 darthstar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:52:03am
205 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:53:20am

Heh:

Devo to release song about Mitt Romney's dog

Devo are set to release a track later this month entitled "Don't Roof Rack Me, Bro! (Remember Seamus)." It is inspired by Mitt Romney's notorious road trip from Massachusetts to Ontario, during which he transported the family dog, Seamus, in a kennel strapped to the roof of his station wagon.

According to the Orchard, the distributor behind the track, the digital single will be released on Aug. 25.

206 darthstar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:53:51am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

We know who wears the pants in that family.

207 Mattand  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:55:34am

re: #201 kirkspencer

Romney is what Kerry was accused of being. And the slams against Kerry were both recent and frequent enough that the negatives reverberate.

Seriously. At least Kerry fought for his country.

As for Romney's flip-flops: either Jon Stewart or Bill Maher said this, but it's like the GOP doesn't believe in video tape. 35 years ago, you may have been able to get away with constantly denying something you said, mainly because the info was hard to track down. Not any more.

208 Amory Blaine  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:56:58am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

What an infuriating sense of entitlement.

209 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:57:12am

re: #203 ggt

It's creepy.

Yep. Most control gestures are creepy. The power stare. The handshake that's held for a little bit after you let go. Stepping just a little into your personal space. so on and so forth.

210 Mattand  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 7:58:29am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

Romney reminds me of something a friend of mine told me years ago. As a kid, he was constantly in trouble. His rule of thumb was to deny, deny, deny, in even the face of overwhelming evidence. Sooner or later you'll wear people down.

Ann Romney's latest statement about not releasing taxes is proof of that. They just don't care how it looks, and sooner or later both the press and the mythical independent voter will get bored and move on.

Also, if Mitt wants to hide behind his wife, fine. He needs to remember that if she's involved in the campaign, she's just as open to criticism as anyone else. None of this "How dare you attack my wife" horseshit.

Which is exactly why he's doing it.

211 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:00:02am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

oh, snicker. The distraction (Ryan selection) lasted three days total.

212 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:00:05am

re: #210 Mattand

Romney reminds me of something a friend of mine told me years ago. As a kid, he was constantly in trouble. His rule of thumb was to deny, deny, deny, in even the face of overwhelming evidence. Sooner or later you'll wear people down.

Ann Romney's latest statement about not releasing taxes is proof of that. They just don't care how it looks, and sooner or later both the press and the mythical independent voter will get bored and move on.

Also, if Mitt wants to hide behind his wife, fine. He needs to remember that if she's involved in the campaign, she's just as open to criticism as anyone else. None of this "How dare you attack my wife" horseshit.

Which is exactly why he's doing it.

Patriarchal Prick. Welcome to the year 2012, Mitt. I know you and Ann are still living in the 1950's, but you want to be POTUS in real-time.

213 darthstar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:00:15am

re: #208 Amory Blaine

What an infuriating sense of entitlement.

And she's supposed to make her husband seem more personable?

214 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:00:49am

re: #209 kirkspencer

Yep. Most control gestures are creepy. The power stare. The handshake that's held for a little bit after you let go. Stepping just a little into your personal space. so on and so forth.

What about when an Asian steps into your personal space --like if you don't move they will knock you over just by being so close?

215 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:01:24am

Holy shit, Romney's interview this morning is hilarious.

On the Obama campaign: "The president's campaign is all about division and attack and hatred."

On whether his remarks seemed unhinged: "They were very measured. I can be much more dramatic, I think. I think unhinged would have to characterize what we've seen from the president's campaign."

On whether Republicans, including Paul Ryan, have used the unshackling/unchaining metaphor: "You know, I can't speak for anybody else, but I can say the comments of the vice president, as I heard them, I thought were one more example of a divisive effort to keep from talking about the real issues. Look, no one is talking about deregulating Wall Street."

On what has really got him mad: "The president's campaign has put out a campaign that's talking about me and attacking me. I think it's just demeaning to the nature of the process, particularly when we face the kinds of challenges we face."

Planet Clue to Mittbot, come in Mittbot.

216 makeitstop  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:02:05am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

Geez, you'd think that such a refined, superior human being such as Ann Romney would have a better grasp on basic grammar and syntax.
/

217 Mattand  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:03:16am

re: #213 darthstar

And she's supposed to make her husband seem more personable?

I wonder if part of the reason Ann is front and center is that they're trolling for misogyny/anti-woman complaints.

It's ready made for Fox and the RWNJ blogosphere: "See, liberals are anti-feminist! They hate strong women! See how they're treating poor Ann! Now here's why we should destroy Planned Parenthood..."

218 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:06:13am

re: #214 ggt

What about when an Asian steps into your personal space --like if you don't move they will knock you over just by being so close?

Yeah, I thought about that after I noted the personal space issue. That one's a bit fuzzy because different cultures have different distances. There are some classic jokes told about the "diplomatic waltz", where ambassador x and ambassador y are talking, and since the respective comfort zones are different they dance around the room.

Look to see what's "normal" for that population, then see if the individual is pressing those bounds.

219 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:11:12am

Good morning lizards!

220 lawhawk  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:18:56am

re: #215 erik_t

No one is talking about deregulating Wall Street, except that Romney's own campaign website calls for repealing Dodd-Frank (Wall Street regulations).

Eliminate Undue Economic Burdens

One of the greatest problems with the federal bureaucracy is that each incoming presidential administration leaves in place much of what its predecessor constructed. The result is layer upon layer of often unnecessary or inconsistent regulation. President Obama has compounded this problem with unprecedented federal power grabs over wide swaths of the economy. Obama-era laws and regulations must be rolled back, and pre-existing ones must be carefully scrutinized.

Repeal Obamacare
Repeal Dodd-Frank and replace with streamlined, modern regulatory framework
Amend Sarbanes-Oxley to relieve mid-size companies from onerous requirements
Initiate review and elimination of all Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy

Never mind that SoX and Dodd Frank were responses to Wall Street businesses ignoring existing rules or flouting common sense in pursuit of profits.

221 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:28:09am

Ambassador: Iran planned to blow up Israeli Embassy

WASHINGTON - On Sept. 29, 2011, Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen living in Texas and holding both Iranian and U.S. passports, was arrested at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and charged with plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. in Washington.

What escaped the attention of many was another alleged high-profile component to the plot, according to an Israeli envoy.

"They also planned to blow up the Israeli Embassy, my embassy in this town," Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren confirmed in an exclusive interview with WTOP. Oren says there additionally was a plan "to blow up a restaurant not far from where we're being interviewed in Washington." (Oren was interviewed at WTOP in NW D.C.)

222 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:29:07am

"Tactical" marketing obsession in the gun industry. This is the red-hot buzzword in the gun biz these days, with the term being applied to practically every product offered.

Lever action rifles are most familiar as props in Western movies. I happen to like them myself but this seems positively weird:
Mossberg 464 SPX Tactical Lever Action Rifle
Chambered in the trusty 30-30 deer round no less. If Bambi goes rogue.

There are a lot of .22 assault rifles on the market these days, for holding off rampaging swarms of rabbits or squirrel zombies I guess. Though not ideally suited to the task technically, .22s also kill a lot of humans.
Umarex Colt M4 Semi Auto Rifle .22 Long Rifle

Naturally you're going to need some appropriate "tactical" ammo for that, and CCI has it:
.22 LR CCI AR Tactical CPRN 40 Grain

223 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:29:22am

re: #220 lawhawk

No one is talking about deregulating Wall Street, except that Romney's own campaign website calls for repealing Dodd-Frank (Wall Street regulations).

The funny thing about flip-flopping is that you need to hold only one position at any instant in time. Thus I think Mittbot is actually a quantum computer.

224 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:35:34am

re: #222 Shiplord Kirel

Looks like they are currently sold out of these.

Umarex Uzi Semi Auto Handgun .22LR 5" Barrel 20 Rounds Polymer Grips Steel Frame Black

225 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:39:23am

Huh. My in-person job interview for tomorrow has been switched to a phone interview because the hiring manager who was supposed to fly in from Cali had something come up and can't make it.

This should be fun.

226 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:41:00am

re: #225 Lidane

Huh. My in-person job interview for tomorrow has been switched to a phone interview because the hiring manager who was supposed to fly in from Cali had something come up and can't make it.

This should be fun.

Good luck!

227 Kronocide  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:41:25am

re: #220 lawhawk

Never mind that SoX and Dodd Frank were responses to Wall Street businesses ignoring existing rules or flouting common sense in pursuit of profits.

Yes, that's the point. Never Mind
 because liberal/regulation/taxes.

228 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:41:31am

Btw, my radio show has been cancelled. It wasn't producing adequate revenue and the station owner got an offer he couldn't refuse from an agency that specializes in those fake talk-show infomercials.

229 allegro  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:42:55am

re: #228 Shiplord Kirel

Btw, my radio show has been cancelled. It wasn't producing adequate revenue and the station owner got an offer he couldn't refuse from an agency that specializes in those fake talk-show infomercials.

Well, that blows buffalo cookies. What was your show about?

230 Eventual Carrion  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:43:50am

re: #225 Lidane

Huh. My in-person job interview for tomorrow has been switched to a phone interview because the hiring manager who was supposed to fly in from Cali had something come up and can't make it.

This should be fun.

I hate phone interviews. You can't read the persons face or body language. Can't tell if they are looking like they would like more info on the subject just asked, or what you already said seemed to satisfy them. Just hard to get a feel. Like snark on the interwebs, from someone you don't know in meat life, without emoticons.

231 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:44:05am

re: #228 Shiplord Kirel

Btw, my radio show has been cancelled. It wasn't producing adequate revenue and the station owner got an offer he couldn't refuse from an agency that specializes in those fake talk-show infomercials.

That sucks.
Local radio programming is going the way of the Dodo

232 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:44:50am

re: #229 allegro

Well, that blows buffalo cookies. What was your show about?

We did all kinds of subjects, mostly local and national politics with an emphasis on local activism, but quite a bit of technology/science news and some arts/culture stuff.

233 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:46:31am

I regret I have but upding to give!

234 dragonfire1981  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:51:40am

re: #215 erik_t

Holy shit, Romney's interview this morning is hilarious.

Planet Clue to Mittbot, come in Mittbot.

I can kind of buy Romney's thinking on that. That is to say, he believes that if Dodd-Frank gets repealed, Wall Street will still have some form of "regulation" even if those regulations are largely useless.

Again, he's splitting hairs here.

235 Daniel Ballard  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:52:07am

re: #232 Shiplord Kirel

We did all kinds of subjects, mostly local and national politics with an emphasis on local activism, but quite a bit of technology/science news and some arts/culture stuff.

Ugh. Good content keeps getting beat by popcorn (at best) content. Sorry to read that Shiplord

236 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:52:31am

I am not getting the new RR strategy.

Paul Ryan's interview on FOX! was awful. He could not articulate a budget plan/tax policy/medicare options...Nothing!
This was supposed to be the man with the plan. Substantive issues!

All they seem to be doing is whining about how mean Obama is, while lying like a rug in their own ads.

It smells like desperation.

237 Sheila Broflovski  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:53:59am

re: #230 RayFerd

I hate phone interviews. You can't read the persons face or body language. Can't tell if they are looking like they would like more info on the subject just asked, or what you already said seemed to satisfy them. Just hard to get a feel. Like snark on the interwebs, from someone you don't know in meat life, without emoticons.

Phone interviews with someone who can barely speak English are the WORST.

238 AK-47%  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:54:34am

re: #205 Lidane

Heh:

Devo to release song about Mitt Romney's dog

more hatred and divisiveness...

239 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:55:23am

re: #230 RayFerd

That's what worries me. I really want the job and I always prefer the personal touch of shaking someone's hand and being able to have less of an interview and more of a conversation with them. I'm just going to have to hope for the best.

I'll just have to make sure to wake up early, drink some coffee and get the cobwebs out of my brain long before he calls so I can be on my game.

240 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:56:54am

Germany arrests four suspected of busting Iran embargo

Police arrested four men suspected of supplying valves for a heavy water reactor in Iran. The deliveries were part of an order worth several million euros for a project Western powers fear will be used for weapons.

German police arrested four men on Wednesday who are suspected of delivering valves for a heavy water reactor to Iran and breaking an embargo of such exports to the Islamic Republic.

Prosecutors said about 90 customs officers were involved in the arrest of the men, one German and three with dual German and Iranian citizenship. They were arrested at their homes in the northern cities of Hamburg and Oldenburg and the eastern town of Weimar.

"In 2010 and 2011 the suspects are believed to have helped in the delivery of special valves for the construction of a heavy water reactor in Iran and therefore to have broken the Iran embargo," prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.

To avoid export controls, the men are suspected of having described the customer as a firm based in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"The deliveries were part of an order worth several million euros which Iran was trying to use to secure the necessary valve technology to make a heavy water reactor," said the prosecutors.

241 Our Precious Bodily Fluids  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 8:57:44am

re: #225 Lidane

Job interview:
[Link: xkcd.com...]

242 Mattand  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:00:54am

re: #236 blueraven

I am not getting the new RR strategy.

Paul Ryan's interview on FOX! was awful. He could not articulate a budget plan/tax policy/medicare options...Nothing!
This was supposed to be the man with the plan. Substantive issues!

All they seem to be doing is whining about how mean Obama is, while lying like a rug in their own ads.

It smells like desperation.

I'm surprised that Hume didn't softball Ryan. I guess I should apply Occam's Razor and assume that Hume was a journalist asking tough questions, but this is Fox we're talking about. I don't get why they would damage their preferred candidates like that.

243 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:02:18am

re: #236 blueraven

I am not getting the new RR strategy.

Paul Ryan's interview on FOX! was awful. He could not articulate a budget plan/tax policy/medicare options...Nothing!
This was supposed to be the man with the plan. Substantive issues!

But, but, but, Joe Biden had better watch out in that VP debate! Because something!

244 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:02:31am

re: #241 What Would Spalding Gray Do?

Job interview:
[Link: xkcd.com...]

Ha! I like that. :)

245 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:04:53am

LOL.

In regards to their finances, she said "there's nothing we're hiding."

"It's been managed by a blind trust since before Mitt was governor, you know, 2002 forward,” she told Morales. “And so, you know, I'll be curious to see what's in there too."

Which is it? Do you know it's all legitimate, or have you not seen them?

Of course, the evil librul media declines to point out the disconnect.

246 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:05:23am

re: #242 Mattand

I'm surprised that Hume didn't softball Ryan. I guess I should apply Occam's Razor and assume that Hume was a journalist asking tough questions, but this is Fox we're talking about. I don't get why they would damage their preferred candidates like that.

meh...Brit Hume can be an ass, but he has a reputation as a good journalist. He is no Sean Hannity. The interview was bad because the "budget wonk" was totally unprepared for basic questions.

247 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:05:56am

re: #228 Shiplord Kirel

Btw, my radio show has been cancelled. It wasn't producing adequate revenue and the station owner got an offer he couldn't refuse from an agency that specializes in those fake talk-show infomercials.

I didn't know you had a radio show. I'm sorry to hear that it was cancelled.

248 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:17:29am
249 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:17:51am

re: #200 Lidane

Ann Romney: ‘There’s Going To Be No More Tax Releases Given’

And not a single tax release was given that day, or any other.

250 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:19:06am

re: #210 Mattand

Romney reminds me of something a friend of mine told me years ago. As a kid, he was constantly in trouble. His rule of thumb was to deny, deny, deny, in even the face of overwhelming evidence. Sooner or later you'll wear people down.

Ann Romney's latest statement about not releasing taxes is proof of that. They just don't care how it looks, and sooner or later both the press and the mythical independent voter will get bored and move on.

Also, if Mitt wants to hide behind his wife, fine. He needs to remember that if she's involved in the campaign, she's just as open to criticism as anyone else. None of this "How dare you attack my wife" horseshit.

Which is exactly why he's doing it.

Yeah. Making Ann the face of this is a real sneakysnake move.

251 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:19:27am

So far it looks like the right wingers on Twitter are pretty happy about this shooting.

252 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:19:41am

re: #248 Gus

Guns: Not the right way to resolve your political differences.

Really tired of people needing this clarification.

253 The Ghost of a Flea  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:20:15am

Romney Sharpens Old Message: Obama Runs On ‘Hatred’

From that line through the out-of-context “you didn’t build that” attack that fueled Romney’s campaign for much of the last month, Romney has run on the idea that Obama does not respect success and wants to punish those who have done well by redistributing their wealth to people who have less.

The presumptive GOP nominee has run TV spots rejected by fact-checkers that recast the president’s position of welfare reform to suggest Obama’s desired outcome is a system in which “you wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you your welfare check.”

Now, using the miniature explosion over Vice President Joe Biden’s “chains” remark Tuesday, Romney is tossing a racial component into the have vs. have-not fight as well. Romney is also using deep Republican resentment and media attacks on an ad from an Obama-supporting super PAC that indirectly suggests decisions by Bain Capital led to a woman’s death from cancer to push forward his idea that Obama’s allies will stop at nothing.

Obama is running “just to hang on to power,” Romney told CBS.

254 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:20:40am

Families of Iranian nuclear scientists assassinated in 2010 file lawsuits against Israel, U.S. and Britain for being responsible for their deaths

The families of nuclear scientists from Iran who were assassinated in 2010 have filed a lawsuit against Israel, the U.S. and Britain, saying the countries are responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.

Rahim Ahmadi Roshan, father of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the slain chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, said the families are demanding those behind the killings should be brought to justice.

At a press conference in Tehran today, he said: 'We've filed an indictment against the Zionist regime and the arrogant powers.

'(The judiciary) is to pursue this case with the relevant international bodies.'

255 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:20:54am

re: #211 kirkspencer

oh, snicker. The distraction (Ryan selection) lasted three days total.

Well now everyone wants to see HIS taxes. It just keeps mounting up.

Peter Scheer has a theory I think is ludicrous but funny, which is that what Romney actually doesn't want anyone to see on his taxes is donations to mainstream liberal nonprofits. Sierra Club, NARAL...I do doubt it, but it's an amusing concept.

256 Kragar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:21:19am

re: #251 Gus

So far it looks like the right wingers on Twitter are pretty happy about this shooting.

"YAY!!! WE CAN CLAIM WE'RE ALL UNDER ATTACK NOW! HUZZAH!"

257 allegro  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:22:16am

re: #245 erik_t

In regards to their finances, she said "there's nothing we're hiding."

"It's been managed by a blind trust since before Mitt was governor, you know, 2002 forward,” she told Morales. “And so, you know, I'll be curious to see what's in there too."

Sooo... there's nothing in there we're hiding but if there is we didn't do it. Jeez, do they ever take any responsibility for anything?

258 AK-47%  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:22:38am

re: #248 Gus

Those poor victims.

(And I do really mean it as regards the people who were actually shot.)

Those poor victims

/

(second one applies to the bastards who are going to milk this for full Vicimization Mode potential)

259 dragonath  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:22:40am

Well, %&$�!.

Judge Won’t Block Pennsylvania’s Voter ID Law

I thought this was toast after the state official in charge of the law said they didn't "know what the law says". Or, because the process is a presumption of guilt before being "proven" innocent.

The state admitted the law does not stop the most common type of voter fraud, and the PR group that the state hired to "educate" people about the law is run by Republican insiders.

Now it's up to the state Supreme Court.

260 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:22:43am

re: #256 Kragar

"YAY!!! WE CAN CLAIM WE'RE ALL UNDER ATTACK NOW! HUZZAH!"

Something like that. They're already starting with the politics. The main talking point seems to be "shooting in DC WHERE GUNS ARE BANNED!" wink, wink, cough, cough.

261 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:22:49am

re: #214 ggt

What about when an Asian steps into your personal space --like if you don't move they will knock you over just by being so close?

Hasn't been my usual problem. I went to mostly Chinese schools. When I went off to college with other white people, they freaked me out. Why do white people get so fucking CLOSE when they talk to you? Until I got the hang of it, people could back me across a room during the course of a conversation.

262 Kragar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:22:53am

Liberty Law School and Others Hit With RICO Lawsuit Over Lisa Miller Kidnapping

Yesterday Kenneth Miller was convicted of aiding an international parental kidnapping for the role he played in helping Lisa Miller (no relation) flee the country with her daughter rather than abide by a court order transferring custody to her former partner, Janet Jenkins.

But that was not the only interesting development in the case, as Jenkins has now filed a civil RICO lawsuit [PDF] against Kenneth Miller and several others who allegedly played a role in helping Lisa Miller kidnap her daughter and leave the country, including Liberty University Law School and Thomas Road Baptist Church:

263 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:24:26am
264 Kragar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:24:51am

re: #261 SanFranciscoZionist

Hasn't been my usual problem. I went to mostly Chinese schools. When I went off to college with other white people, they freaked me out. Why do white people get so fucking CLOSE when they talk to you? Until I got the hang of it, people could back me across a room during the course of a conversation.

Its cultural. You'll also find certain cultures are more prone to gestures during conversation.

265 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:25:07am

re: #251 Gus

So far it looks like the right wingers on Twitter are pretty happy about this shooting.

Anyone who is happy about some innocent person being shot is sick.

266 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:25:07am

Another:

M●̮̮̃•̃nbat Catnip ‏@MoonbatCatnip
FRC Shooting = Liberal Glee. They truly are America's Palestinians (never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Good.

267 jaunte  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:25:47am

re: #263 Gus

She's always quick to break open a bag of martyr cookies.

268 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:26:14am

re: #266 Gus

Another:

M●̮̮̃•̃nbat Catnip ‏@MoonbatCatnip
FRC Shooting = Liberal Glee. They truly are America's Palestinians (never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity). Good.

Seemingly only twitter and LGF even know about the shooting. So one wonders where the glee is happening.

269 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:26:50am

re: #264 Kragar

Its cultural. You'll also find certain cultures are more prone to gestures during conversation.

And white people make EYE CONTACT. The whole time they talk to you. Like they're checking you for forming cataracts while they talk.

(And it's hopeless to try to explain to people who think your body language is weird that it's because they're not acting Chinese, because you yourself are obviously not Chinese.)

270 AK-47%  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:27:07am

re: #265 NJDhockeyfan

Anyone who is happy about some innocent person being shot is sick.

"Smug" and "self-justified" are the words we wanna use here...

271 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:27:35am

re: #268 erik_t

Seemingly only twitter and LGF even know about the shooting. So one wonders where the glee is happening.

You don't actually need to see the glee. You just know that liberals are gleeful over stuff like this, and you extrapolate.

272 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:28:03am

Security Guard Shot at Family Research Council in Downtown DC

A security guard has been shot at the headquarters of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian organization based in downtown D.C.
A suspect is in FBI custody.

The shooting occurred at approximately 11 a.m. Wednesday in the lobby of 801 G Street NW. The guard was struck in the arm. His condition is currently unknown.

NBC4's Derrick Ward reports that the shooter entered the building displaying a gun, and was confronted by security guards before he fired.

It's unknown whether any guards fired back, he said.

273 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:29:13am

You can read the Twitter feed here.

274 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:29:40am

re: #271 SanFranciscoZionist

You don't actually need to see the glee. You just know that liberals are gleeful over stuff like this, and you extrapolate.

My head hurts already.

275 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:29:50am

re: #272 NJDhockeyfan

Security Guard Shot at Family Research Council in Downtown DC

Boston Herald says the guard is conscious and breathing, so there is that.

What a fucking...

They got any ideas? The cops, not the twitterati.

276 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:29:51am

re: #261 SanFranciscoZionist

Hasn't been my usual problem. I went to mostly Chinese schools. When I went off to college with other white people, they freaked me out. Why do white people get so fucking CLOSE when they talk to you? Until I got the hang of it, people could back me across a room during the course of a conversation.

totally opposite of my experience --with Vietnamese anyway.

277 Kragar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:30:15am

No motive yet. Guy could have been fired or have a personal problem with someone working there.

278 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:31:19am

re: #273 Gus

You can read the Twitter feed here.

Dan Loesch writes:

Nice to see the same anti-Christian bigots who lied about FRC are the first to exploit the FRC victims for attention. Disgusting.

First, I don't know who the hell she's talking about, because there's barely any information, let alone exploitation, that I've seen so far.

But also, victims plural? Someone else hurt? I know the security guard was.

279 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:31:24am

re: #248 Gus

[Embedded content]

They are treating it as domestic terrorism. I wonder if that will shut the wingnuts up.

280 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:31:34am

re: #277 Kragar

No motive yet. Guy could have been fired or have a personal problem with someone working there.

My first thought was disgrunted employee.

281 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:31:45am
282 AK-47%  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:31:58am

re: #277 Kragar

No motive yet. Guy could have been fired or have a personal problem with someone working there.

Of course not, it was a person who hates Christianity, and by extension, America.

(puts fingers in ears, sings "America the Beautiful" while all other relevant information is made known)

283 Kragar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:31:58am

re: #278 SanFranciscoZionist

Dan Loesch writes:

Nice to see the same anti-Christian bigots who lied about FRC are the first to exploit the FRC victims for attention. Disgusting.

First, I don't know who the hell she's talking about, because there's barely any information, let alone exploitation, that I've seen so far.

But also, victims plural? Someone else hurt? I know the security guard was.

They're all victims.
///

284 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:32:09am

re: #251 Gus

So far it looks like the right wingers on Twitter are pretty happy about this shooting.

Bunch of sickos.

285 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:32:25am

Assholes.

286 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:33:06am

re: #277 Kragar

No motive yet. Guy could have been fired or have a personal problem with someone working there.

No way to tell at this point. Guess I'd rather have it be that than someone with a political ax to grind. For a lot of obvious reasons.

Glad they had good security, and everyone responded fast.

287 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:33:10am

re: #253 The Ghost of a Flea

Romney Sharpens Old Message: Obama Runs On ‘Hatred’

Romney just sounds desperate.

288 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:33:22am

re: #279 Sionainn

They are treating it as domestic terrorism. I wonder if that will shut the wingnuts up.

No.

289 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:33:33am

FBI probing shooting of guard at Family Research Council HQ

A security guard at the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington, D.C., was shot in the arm by a gunman who sources said expressed disagreement with the conservative group's policy positions.
The guard, who was not identified, was conscious after the shooting and was being treated. The shooting occurred in the Chinatown neighborhood Wednesday morning. The gunman was apprehended and was being questioned by the FBI, sources said.

290 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:33:44am

re: #287 Sionainn

Romney just sounds desperate.

Well that would be the first honesty he's displayed in this entire campaign.

291 Sheila Broflovski  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:34:50am

Hooray! We're victims!

292 Kragar  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:34:53am

Romney Sharpens Old Message: Obama Runs On ‘Hatred’

293 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:35:23am

re: #263 Gus

[Embedded content]

WTF is she talking about?

294 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:36:03am

re: #293 Sionainn

WTF is she talking about?

Just the usual 12 year old Twitter-conservative stupidity.

295 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:36:38am

Jon G. ‏@ExJon

FRC shooting is another reminder that the #NOH8 crowd isn't against hate at all -- they just want you to hate different people.

296 Gretchen G.Tiger  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:36:57am

Have a wonderful day all!

297 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:37:36am

re: #295 Gus

Jon G. ‏@ExJon

FRC shooting is another reminder that the #NOH8 crowd isn't against hate at all -- they just want you to hate different people.

BUT DON'T POLITICIZE SHOOTINGS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH!!!1

298 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:37:38am

re: #289 Shiplord Kirel

So, we apparently have someone who disagreed with FRC's various positions, as many do. His solution though was to go there and try to shoot the place up. What an asshole. The security guard is going to be okay and noone else was hurt. The shooter is in custody. Throw away the key

299 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:37:38am

re: #257 allegro

Sooo... there's nothing in there we're hiding but if there is we didn't do it. Jeez, do they ever take any responsibility for anything?

From the leaders of the party who espouse "personal responsibility" and no Constitutional right to privacy. If anyone ever invents a generator that could run off hypocrisy the oil companies would be put out of business by the Romney campaign. (maybe that investment is what Mitt is hiding in his tax returns...)
/

300 AK-47%  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:38:32am

From Newsmax: Romney: Obama Just Trying to 'Hang Onto Power'

"In an escalation of an increasingly acrimonious campaign, Romney went on national television to say he thinks Obama is "running just to hang onto power, and I think he would do anything in his power" to remain in office."

Duh, it's called "campaigning". Romney is spending millions to get into power, where he would also probably try to hang on again in 2016

301 Feline Emperor of the Conservative Waste  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:38:39am

re: #259 dragonath

Well, %&$�!.

Judge Won’t Block Pennsylvania’s Voter ID Law

I thought this was toast after the state official in charge of the law said they didn't "know what the law says". Or, because the process is a presumption of guilt before being "proven" innocent.

The state admitted the law does not stop the most common type of voter fraud, and the PR group that the state hired to "educate" people about the law is run by Republican insiders.

Now it's up to the state Supreme Court.

What odds the arguments and scheduling for that cause the decision to be delayed past November?

302 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:39:22am

re: #273 Gus

You can read the Twitter feed here.

So one douchebag means that all liberals are gleeful? Dumbasses.

303 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:39:39am

re: #297 erik_t

Exactly. That's what I mean by happy. It's odd. They seem to be ecstatic about this shooting. Fortunately it looks like minor wounds -- so far. Sorry about the shooting and my thoughts go out to them. However, the Family Research Council is still a hate group with awful ideas. Violence of course is never the answer. I will not be silenced because of the acts of one lone crazy.

304 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:39:58am

re: #302 Sionainn

So one douchebag means that all liberals are gleeful? Dumbasses Right wingers.

FTFY

305 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:41:22am

re: #288 SanFranciscoZionist

No.

I know...wishful thinking on my part.

306 Decatur Deb  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:42:54am

re: #303 Gus

Exactly. That's what I mean by happy. It's odd. They seem to be ecstatic about this shooting. Fortunately it looks like minor wounds -- so far. Sorry about the shooting and my thoughts go out to them. However, the Family Research Council is still a hate group with awful ideas. Violence of course is never the answer. I will not be silenced because of the acts of one lone crazy.

Devil made him do it.

307 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:43:41am

re: #304 Gus

FTFY

How about dumbasses = rightwingers?

308 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:46:24am

re: #303 Gus

Exactly. That's what I mean by happy. It's odd. They seem to be ecstatic about this shooting.

Which is fucking stupid. Shootings should never be celebrated. Also, aren't these the same assholes who whine about politics being brought into things when someone else goes off half-cocked and starts firing?

I don't like the FRC's politics at all, but that's no reason to celebrate anyone getting shot. WTF.

309 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:48:18am

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded security guard. It doesn't sound really serious, but I know from experience that even "minor" bullet wounds can hurt like the fires of hell.
They didn't put the shooter out of our misery, but it appears that they did put him out of the shooting business for good. Kudos for that.

310 lawhawk  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:48:30am

re: #275 SanFranciscoZionist

Capital Police and FBI are investigating, but not clear who will be lead agency. No word on motive. Gunman is in custody.

[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

311 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:48:39am

re: #308 Lidane

Which is fucking stupid. Shootings should never be celebrated. Also, aren't these the same assholes who whine about politics being brought into things when someone else goes off half-cocked and starts firing?

I don't like the FRC's politics at all, but that's no reason to celebrate anyone getting shot. WTF.

Just to clarify. By ecstatic I mean to say that they're happy to use this shooting as a way to slander "the left." With a great deal of energy I might add.

312 Sionainn  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:49:50am

re: #311 Gus

Just to clarify. By ecstatic I mean to say that they're happy to use this shooting as a way to slander "the left." With a great deal of energy I might add.

Which is kind of weird because don't liberals hate guns and don't own guns?
/

313 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:51:28am

Security guard shot at Family Research Council in downtown D.C.

A security guard at the Family Research Council was shot and wounded Wednesday morning after a scuffle in the lobby of the group’s headquarters in downtown Washington, authorities said.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the shooter walked into the lobby of the building at about 10:45 and was confronted by the security guard as if the guard was asking him where he was going.

The man then took out a gun and opened fire on the guard, Lanier said. The guard and others wrestled the man to the ground, disarmed him and waited for police, she said. The guard was then taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, the chief said.

The shooter is in FBI custody and has not yet been charged, authorities said.

“The security guard here is a hero, as far as I’m concerned,” Lanier said. ”He did his job. The person never made it past the front.”

Damn, that guard didn't run and hide, he tacked that asshole down after being shot. Awesome!

314 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:51:46am

Another day, another high-profile shooting.......

315 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:51:50am

re: #311 Gus

Just to clarify. By ecstatic I mean to say that they're happy to use this shooting as a way to slander "the left." With a great deal of energy I might add.

Oh, I know. But the point still stands -- these are the same cretins who whine about shootings being politicized when anyone else goes off and starts firing, and now they're the first ones to play the martyr card again.

316 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:51:57am

Senator Rand Paul Touts False Claim From ’9/11 Truth’ Conspiracy Site

...That a United States Senator would lend even a smidgen of credence to this conspiratorial nonsense is disgraceful. But perhaps we shouldn’t be a surprise: InfoWars’ biggest mainstream booster is Matt Drudge, one of the most influential news sources on the American right. Naturally, InfoWars’ story on the NWS ammunition order was Drudge’s top link yesterday.

317 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:54:00am

re: #312 Sionainn

Which is kind of weird because don't liberals hate guns and don't own guns?
/

Seriously. I thought liberals were supposed to be afraid of guns or something.

///

318 Killgore Trout  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:54:24am

This is curious.
Israel 'prepared for 30-day war with Iran'

Israel's outgoing home front defence minister says an attack on Iran would likely trigger a month-long conflict that would leave 500 Israelis dead.

Matan Vilnai told the Maariv newspaper that the fighting would be "on several fronts", with hundreds of missiles fired at Israeli towns and cities.

Israel was prepared, he said, though strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities had to be co-ordinated with the US.

Meanwhile, a US blogger has published what he says are Israel's attack plans.

Richard Silverstein told the BBC he had been given an internal briefing memo for Israel's eight-member security cabinet, which outlined what the Israeli military would do to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.

His wiki page says that he's had verified scoops before so he does seem to have access to reliable leaks. However, checking his blog and blogroll he's a lefty loon with Mondoweiss and MJ Rosenberg on his blogroll. He could have a real document of he might just be spreading misinformation.

319 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:55:13am

These are not serious people, Part Infinity:

Mitt Romney: Slash Amtrak, PBS Funding, But Defense Cuts And Middle Class Tax Cuts Off The Table

320 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:56:09am

re: #313 NJDhockeyfan

Damn, that guard didn't run and hide, he tacked that asshole down after being shot. Awesome!

Good for him.

321 Killgore Trout  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 9:58:31am

FBI probing shooting of guard at Family Research Council HQ

The gunman was apprehended and was being questioned by the FBI, sources said. Sources said he is in his twenties and may have been posing as an intern.

The suspect "made statements regarding their policies, and then opened fire with a gun striking a security guard," a source told Fox News. WJLA-TV7 reported the suspect was also shot.

322 NJDhockeyfan  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:02:20am

re: #321 Killgore Trout

FBI probing shooting of guard at Family Research Council HQ

Brian Ross is currently searching the Tea Party websites for a connection to the shooter.

//

323 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:03:26am

I suggest some people control their urges today.

324 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:04:03am

re: #318 Killgore Trout

This is curious.
Israel 'prepared for 30-day war with Iran'

His wiki page says that he's had verified scoops before so he does seem to have access to reliable leaks. However, checking his blog and blogroll he's a lefty loon with Mondoweiss and MJ Rosenberg on his blogroll. He could have a real document of he might just be spreading misinformation.

30 days with Iran? No. Or rather, of the same concept as a "short and victorious war."

Because the two lands are not adjacent, neither can invade the other. And as we've shown again and again, as recently as the "shock and awe" attempt in Iraq, air power doesn't finish the war.

What truly bothers me about every alleged Israeli plan I've seen is the assumption that nobody will support Iran (or those that do are immaterial). As I keep pointing out, both Russia and China have vested interests. China's got a treaty or two that, while vague, can be read as mutual support against invasion -- and I can't decide if the vagueness is in the original or if it's the result of translation of chinese and farsi to english.

There's the question (in my mind) as to whether the various leaderships of the region will really look away if Israel is the aggressor. Will Pakistan honor its treaty, and if so how does this impact our Afghanistan operations?

So on and so forth, all boiling down to making me feel like we're seeing history's rhyme of 1912-1914.

325 Shropshire_Slasher  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:04:16am

re: #323 Gus

Which one!?

326 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:06:49am

re: #321 Killgore Trout

FBI probing shooting of guard at Family Research Council HQ

The suspect "made statements regarding their policies, and then opened fire with a gun striking a security guard," a source told Fox News. WJLA-TV7 reported the suspect was also shot.

This may be true, but I will wait for more than an unnamed source from Fox news.

327 Lidane  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:08:58am

Dear GOP,

Tell me again how this guy is supposed to make Mitt Romney more likable:

Paul Ryan Sponsored a Bill that Would Allow Rapists to Stop their Victims from Aborting

I'll wait. Take your time.

Sincerely,
Me

328 Killgore Trout  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:09:51am

re: #324 kirkspencer

I doubt China or Russia will stick their necks out. Their interest in Iran is selling them military surplus which has already been paid for. Pakistan can't do anything, and probably wouldn't even if they could. Conflict would at least temporarily fuck up the world economy, oil prices etc. There would also probably up an uptick in international terrorism but I think a world war is unlikely.

329 makeitstop  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:10:10am

Weird weather here on LI today.

I'm looking at the map on Weather Underground, and it shows an area of sever t-storms over the middle of the island.

Nothing east, west, north or south of us - just that weird little area that seems to be generating a storm that is not moving, just hovering here.

The same thing was going on last night, generating a thunderstorm that woke my wife and myself out of a sound sleep and sent the animals into full tizzy mode.

Who was the dude in the Lil' Abner comic that had a storm cloud follow him around? I'm starting to feel like that dude.

330 dragonath  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:11:14am

re: #329 makeitstop

Joe Btfsplk!!

331 dragonfire1981  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:13:13am

I'm surprised to see the shooter hasn't been labeled an OWS commie yet.

332 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:13:39am

re: #331 dragonfire1981

I'm surprised to see the shooter hasn't been labeled an OWS commie yet.

It's early yet.

333 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:13:56am

re: #327 Lidane

Dear GOP,

Tell me again how this guy is supposed to make Mitt Romney more likable:

Paul Ryan Sponsored a Bill that Would Allow Rapists to Stop their Victims from Aborting

I'll wait. Take your time.

Sincerely,
Me

Seriously? But he's young and somewhat attractive so people will like him. Really Ryan just seems like another socon nut that hides behind the fiscal conservative label because he knows that being exposed as a socon nut would destroy whatever viability he has.

334 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:14:00am

re: #331 dragonfire1981

I'm surprised to see the shooter hasn't been labeled an OWS commie yet.

Give it time.

335 Daniel Ballard  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:15:01am

re: #324 kirkspencer

Lets keep in mind that nations like the Saudis have been pining for an attack to set back the Iranians for quite some time now. I think both see themselves as who should be the top Islamic leader in the area. Sunni vs Shia of course. Iran wants the bomb (IMO) for Saudi as much as it wants it for a fight with Israel. The 10% fear the 90% very strongly.

Israel and Saudi Arabia both want us to do it. I'm thinking we better not.

336 Shropshire_Slasher  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:15:12am

re: #329 makeitstop

I like to use this radar map


[Link: radar.weather.gov...]

337 kirkspencer  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:20:12am

re: #328 Killgore Trout

I doubt China or Russia will stick their necks out. Their interest in Iran is selling them military surplus which has already been paid for. Pakistan can't do anything, and probably wouldn't even if they could. Conflict would at least temporarily fuck up the world economy, oil prices etc. There would also probably up an uptick in international terrorism but I think a world war is unlikely.

a) China gets almost 10% of its imported oil from Iran. It is building a naval base in southeast Iran. Both these are a bit more than military surplus.

b) Russia has been lobbying for better access to Iran's off-shore gas fields. If they support the other side they still won't get better access. If they support Iran, however, there's a lot better opportunity.

c) Pakistan. Pakistan can restrict the logistic route to our forces in Afghanistan. That closes a significant second front. It's also important to remember that Pakistan has nukes, so pushing them is something to be done cautiously.

d) If Iran's attacked the deterrence of economic problems becomes moot. As to world war, I'm going to repeat: it is looking a lot like 1912-1914. There are a host of people who said it wouldn't go beyond a minor dust up. Nobody plans world wars, they happen because too many people walked too close to the edges.

338 lawhawk  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:21:00am

re: #324 kirkspencer

Russia and China both have vested interests in seeing that they retain a client state in the Middle East/Southwest Asia. They'll prop up Tehran but may stop short of actively participating in a war against parties acting against Iran.

The closest analogue may be how the Soviets backed Syria and Egypt in the Yom Kippur War and forced Israel to a standstill by threatening direct action to support their clients once Israel regained tactical and strategic superiority as the war dragged on (by and through threats to the US to withhold action). Cold War pressures ended up establishing a stalemate from which a ceasefire agreement was crafted (similar to how the Six Day War ended).

Israel might be able to carry out an initial wave of airstrikes, but they wouldn't be able to carry out follow up attacks, let alone mount any kind of widespread ground action (inserting special forces by sub is a possibility though). And the Russians and Chinese would definitely put pressure on Israel through any number of channels including the Security Council if that were to occur.

339 Killgore Trout  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:21:15am

re: #335 Daniel Ballard

Lets keep in mind that nations like the Saudis have been pining for an attack to set back the Iranians for quite some time now. I think both see themselves as who should be the top Islamic leader in the area. Sunni vs Shia of course. Iran wants the bomb (IMO) for Saudi as much as it wants it for a fight with Israel. The 10% fear the 90% very strongly.

Israel and Saudi Arabia both want us to do it. I'm thinking we better not.

Nobody in the region (aside from Assad) want to see a nuclear Iran,

340 lawhawk  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:21:45am

re: #329 makeitstop

We just had a cloudburst here in Lower Manhattan. Heavy rains, but it's only the start of what's likely to be a wet and wild day here in the NYC metro area.

341 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:23:21am

Man that Americans for Prosperity Super PAC ad is a bunch of passive aggressive bullshit. It's the one with the two voters.

342 lawhawk  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:24:00am

re: #339 Killgore Trout

Pakistan may have some interest - though they aren't above double dealing since they also apparently have an agreement to supply Saudi Arabia with weapons should Iran declare itself a nuclear power. Pakistan is up to its eyeballs in nuclear proliferation activities so that shouldn't surprise anyone, and it will look to clients where it can.

343 Killgore Trout  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:32:59am

After a bit of thought I'm pretty sure the leaked memo is fake. Possibly intentionally leaked as a red herring. If this guy was releasing stolen battle plans he probably would meet with an unfortunate accident is short order. It's not the kind of thing an average human can dabble in.

344 Our Precious Bodily Fluids  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:36:59am

re: #319 Lidane

These are not serious people, Part Infinity:

Mitt Romney: Slash Amtrak, PBS Funding, But Defense Cuts And Middle Class Tax Cuts Off The Table

Corporation for Public Broadcasting gets 0.012% of the federal budget, and for 2011 Amtrak got a little over three times what CPB got.

So brave, so bold.

345 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:42:26am

re: #344 What Would Spalding Gray Do?

Corporation for Public Broadcasting gets 0.012% of the federal budget, and for 2011 Amtrak got a little over three times what CPB got.

So brave, so bold.

Heh yeah like we needed that Mitt's deficit approach is a load of shit. By the way, slashing Amtrak is a terrible idea. It may not take much up of the budget but it's very useful as I'm sure Biden can attest. It's very useful.


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