Is anything truly random or is everything truly random?

/Somebody had to get the thread going.

I'm already getting kind of tired of the new Star Trek: Go Splody

And here we are. slate.com/blogs/bad_astr... twitter.com/Gus_802/status...

— Gus (@Gus_802) December 8, 2012

re: #1 Dark_Falcon

Is anything truly random or is everything truly random?

/Somebody had to get the thread going.

Any? Sure. Individual atomic or subatomic events (e.g., radioactive decay)

Every? Nope. For all practical purposes, classical mechanics is deterministic.

Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President @barackobama! twitter.com/charliecristfl...

— Charlie Crist (@charliecristfl) December 8, 2012

re: #5 Gus

I didn't notice Charlie Crist in that picture.. Where is he?

/

re: #6 Mich-again

I didn't notice Charlie Crist in that picture.. Where is he?

/

He actually did it though. What a hoot. Welcome to the left Charlie Crist. It's a lot more funner here.

Former Florida Governor Crist tweets that he is now a Democrat reut.rs/VtTtb8

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 8, 2012

Amazon’s special deals of the day!
[1] Slashed 47% Compromising photos of Ann Coulter and Charley Rangle in bed.
[2] Jim DeMint's cell phone numbers.Make offer
[3] Video taken by Glenn Beck's wife during his temper tantrum, Crying, screaming at his blackboard and slumping to the floor sobbing uncontrollably in a fetal position. Limited time offer. Airline tickets to a undisclosed location and paying the costs for 2 suitcases.
[4] The Women of Fox News Calender. Slashed 50% and flying off the shelves. Limited Supply
[5] TMZ offers a sex video tape of Bill and Melinda Gates. 99% off! or make offer.
[6] One of a Kind! A signed dented bumper from Lindsey Lohan’s Benz. $5,000.00! Plenty in stock.

Man Documents Lives of Island Cats lovemeow.com/2012/11/man-do... via @lovemeowdotcom twitter.com/Gus_802/status...

— Gus (@Gus_802) December 8, 2012

re: #5 Gus

Someone should ask all the nuts on that tweet why they hate Democracy.

re: #11 dragonath

Someone should ask all the nuts on that tweet why they hate Democracy.

Image: 20120221225719.jpg

re: #7 Gus

He actually did it though. What a hoot. Welcome to the left Charlie Crist. It's a lot more funner here.

Indeed...we have cookies ;-)

re: #13 TedStriker

Indeed...we have cookies ;-)

re: #5 Gus

[Embedded content]

He does look happy!

re: #15 prairiefire

He does look happy!

the cat?

re: #16 Holidays are Family Fun Time

the cat?

They look like Mr. and Mrs. Or, Mr. and Mr. cat

I think I'm going to stop reading non-fiction all together --at least in books. I'll still have to read the news etc.

The Big Rich is pissing me off more and more. Now the author is to the part how Big Texas Oil funded and founded the Religious Right. Seems the creeping socialism/sharia/flavor of the week meme started with FDR and the New Deal.

I think I already knew that, just pisses me off even more every time I re-learn it.

re: #17 prairiefire

They look like Mr. and Mrs. Or, Mr. and Mr. cat

could be Mrs. and Mrs. or siblings or just good friends.

It's really none of our business.

re: #19 Holidays are Family Fun Time

could be Mrs. and Mrs. or siblings or just good friends.

It's really none of our business.

Quite right, I'd hate to presume wrong.

I "liked" NYPD on Facebook and now I get tales of heroism, with pictures of the hunky looking do-gooders. Way better than cute animals.

re: #19 Holidays are Family Fun Time

GGT, for the record, I do enjoy your cute animal shots as well. I think a few "men in uniform" pixs rounds out the day.

re: #22 prairiefire

GGT, for the record, I do enjoy your cute animal shots as well. I think a few "men in uniform" pixs rounds out the day.

I'll bet you have a poster of a half naked hot NY Firefighter on your wall..
*wink*

re: #22 prairiefire

GGT, for the record, I do enjoy your cute animal shots as well. I think a few "men in uniform" pixs rounds out the day.

yeah, I used to post beefcake. Mostly those firefighters and Vin Diesel. Usually to counteract the Sarah Palin swimsuit shots other Lizards would post. Don't see too many of those these days . . .

re: #23 A Man for all Seasons

I'll bet you have a poster of a half naked hot NY Firefighter on your wall..
*wink*

No, only a very hairy dog.

It's a good egg.

Doncha Think?

re: #23 A Man for all Seasons

I'll bet you have a poster of a half naked hot NY Firefighter on your wall..
*wink*

Oh, my gosh. Firemen. And on that positive note, night lizards. My gal invited 18 teenagers over for a party here, at our cluttered house, tomorrow. Still so much to do...

Very Hairy Dog

You must be old, or a movie junkie, if you understand this.

either way, it's very cute

re: #28 Holidays are Family Fun Time

Very Hairy Dog

great looking Dog! I have way too many pics of Winston on my phone..

I'm going back to my book.

Have a great evening all!

ear scratches to Winston!

re: #29 Holidays are Family Fun Time

You must be old, or a movie junkie, if you understand this.

Why they're angry:

The world's big trees are dying

The largest living organisms on the planet, the big, old trees that harbour and sustain countless birds and other wildlife, are dying.

A report by three of the world's leading ecologists in today's issue of the journal Science warns of an alarming increase in deathrates among trees 100-300 years old in many of the world's forests, woodlands, savannahs, farming areas and even in cities.

"It's a worldwide problem and appears to be happening in most types of forest," says lead author Professor David Lindenmayer of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) and Australian National University.

[...]

I think they should just dispense with the "judges" as those supposed judges currently just are doing their job:

ABC Rethinks Strategy for 'Dancing with the Stars' After the Show Gets Hammered in the Ratings

For some reason unknown to me, #teaparty is trending.

Let's hope that is only true in the twitterverse and not our society in general.

good night all.

Bet you didn't know about Canada's space program, eh

re: #34 freetoken

I think they should just dispense with the "judges" as those supposed judges currently just are doing their job:

ABC Rethinks Strategy for 'Dancing with the Stars' After the Show Gets Hammered in the Ratings

Replace the current Judges with Street Judges, complete with Lawgivers...

re: #37 dragonath

Bet you didn't know about Canada's space program, eh

Well, cover me with gravy and call me Poutine, eh.

re: #37 dragonath

Bet you didn't know about Canada's space program, eh

Going for the coveted "First Moose Into Space" record?

re: #40 watching you tiny alien kittens are

Going for the coveted "First Moose Into Space" record?

Zim already did it.

Misogyny meets alien conspiracy, the result is rather bizarre...

Sorry, xtainity was always a crock of shit, and I have seen inside it deeper than most….

Today, in the 21st century, we can for the first time create a pregnant virgin, so 2,000 years ago “god” was an alien, or a figment of imagination.

2,000 years ago Mary Magdalene even if impregnated via test tube in the lab on the alien space ship, gave birth via the ****, so no tight virginity there.

Ever since then, the holy trinity...

1/ God, an ethreal being that no-one ever saw, except jesus, so if he existed he was an alien ship doctor.. eg he was NOT human.

2/ Jesus, who was NOT human, even the biblical teachings stress this point, he was not a man.

3/ Mary Magdalene, the only human, and therefore the MOST REVERED human in the religion is a wimminz, who fucked an alien to get preggers and got Joe the carpenter to pay for it all and feed and house them.

Christianity has NEVER been a man’s religion.

Hell even the pristhood, the highest echelons of the meme, were not allowed to fuck.

re: #39 freetoken

Rumor is, the suit is made out of duct tape.

Ohio Sen. Turner: Men who want Viagra should get psychological evaluation

Ohio State Senator Nina Turner (D) has proposed legislation requiring that men looking to buy erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra receive a psychological evaluation, a measure she said Wednesday she proposed out of appreciation.

“The men in our lives, including members of the General Assembly, generously devote time tofundamental female reproductive issues — the least we can do is return the favor,” she quipped in a statement Thursday. “It is crucial that we take the appropriate steps to shelter vulnerable men from the potential side effects of these drugs.”

Men seeking to violate God's will by taking Viagra should at least be required to get a psych eval.

WND calls for boycotting the military.

/facepalm

Morning, all

re: #44 Kragar

Good for her- she's dishing it right back.

re: #3 Gus

[Embedded content]

I can see my house.

Epic level cat trainer.

re: #44 Kragar

Ohio Sen. Turner: Men who want Viagra should get psychological evaluation

Men seeking to violate God's will by taking Viagra should at least be required to get a psych eval.

And a mandatory ultrasound prostate check...

re: #50 Sol Berdinowitz

And a mandatory ultrasound prostate check...

With the right tool...

Image: Convex-probe.jpg

Good Morning.

And speaking of American Exceptionalism, here's Pete Seeger singing a great Tom Paxton song about teaching it in schools:

Oddly, he's singing it in Australia.

(Disclaimer: I'm not a huge fan of things Seeger and Paxton have said and supported recently. But they used to be great.)

Ok! I'm off to the airport to spend a week in Florida.

re: #54 ReamWorks SKG

Have a safe trip.

re: #47 researchok

Good for her- she's dishing it right back.

Men should go under psy evals for viagra from a female doctor.

3 of them at the same time. 2 have to be lesbian.

Men love the menage a trois, no?

‘War on Christmas’ forces Christians ‘into the closet,’ say radio hosts

That's some fine cask strength Persecution Complex right there.

re: #56 Henchman Ghazi-808

LOLOL

Another cause of ED

re: #57 Henchman Ghazi-808

‘War on Christmas’ forces Christians ‘into the closet,’ say radio hosts

That's some fine cask strength Persecution Complex right there.

You cannot begin to explain to these people that Christmas is very much a secular holiday in our country, one which contains both Christian and non-Christian (as in pagan) traditions.

re: #57 Henchman Ghazi-808

‘War on Christmas’ forces Christians ‘into the closet,’ say radio hosts

That's some fine cask strength Persecution Complex right there.

I have to keep reminding myself that these people regularly nominate candidates who stand a fair chance of getting their hands on our nuclear weapons. Otherwise it would be impossible to take them seriously.

re: #17 prairiefire

They look like Mr. and Mrs. Or, Mr. and Mr. cat

Unlikely the latter. Unneutered toms are pretty intolerant of each other. Even in an otherwise idyllic place, they'll fight to the death sometimes over territory.

slow night?

re: #62 Holidays are Family Fun Time

slow night?

People sleeping off hangovers. :)

re: #63 Dark_Falcon

People sleeping off hangovers. :)

ah!

re: #63 Dark_Falcon

People sleeping off hangovers. :)

Hey! I resemble that!

re: #65 William Barnett-Lewis

Hey! I resemble that!

I said 'people', not 'cheeseheads'. Packers fans aren't human in Chicagoland in December. You'll go back to being human after the Bears whip your team's backside!

/Nothing like some football trash talk to get the day going.

GO STEELERS! You guys still have a chance.

4:30 pm here and I am still recovering from Friday night...not any great excesses, just driving home from a gig through winter conditions (only about 3" of snow, but it came down rather rapidly) really took its toll on my nerves...

Yeah, Jerry, good luck with that.

A lawyer for former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky said Friday his client has gotten his fighting spirit back after his child abuse conviction and sentencing and hopes prison officials will find a way to house him under less restrictive conditions than he currently experiences.

re: #68 Sol Berdinowitz

4:30 pm here and I am still recovering from Friday night...not any great excesses, just driving home from a gig through winter conditions (only about 3" of snow, but it came down rather rapidly) really took its toll on my nerves...

"deep cleansing breathe, repeat"

re: #67 Eventual Carrion

GO STEELERS! You guys still have a chance.

The Steelers seem sure to beat the Chargers and Browns. If they can also take down the Bengals, then that will get them in the playoffs as a wild card.

re: #70 Holidays are Family Fun Time

"deep cleansing breathe, repeat"

by the time I got home it was just "breathe, repeat..." The road up to my village looked like the Ardennes in December of 1944, lined with abandoned vehicles...

re: #71 Dark_Falcon

The Steelers seem sure to beat the Chargers and Browns. If they can also take down the Bengals, then that will get them in the playoffs as a wild card.

They seem hellbent on losing the games they should win (see 1st Cleveland game).

too freakin' funny!

re: #73 Eventual Carrion

They seem hellbent on losing the games they should win (see 1st Cleveland game).

Well, hopefully they'll come through for you in the clutch.

Good morning Lizards! Sort of fog/mist/drizzle thing in Philly today. Just makes things dreery.

This morning is recovery from back-to-back Christmas party evenings. Last night was the party for where I work. So-so food, lots of alcohol, and unfortunately a sound system in the main room that was much too LOUD.

Between that and the alcohol I ended up with a massive headache and left fairly early and walked home. That helped clear my head, but the light rain and my lack of a hat got me there a wee bit dampened.

So it's hot tea, some buttered toast, and seeing what news of the world is out there to start my day off properly depressed by the idiocy of our species.

re: #76 Feline Fearless Leader

Good morning Lizards! Sort of fog/mist/drizzle thing in Philly today. Just makes things dreery.

This morning is recovery from back-to-back Christmas party evenings. Last night was the party for where I work. So-so food, lots of alcohol, and unfortunately a sound system in the main room that was much too LOUD.

Between that and the alcohol I ended up with a massive headache and left fairly early and walked home. That helped clear my head, but the light rain and my lack of a hat got me there a wee bit dampened.

So it's hot tea, some buttered toast, and seeing what news of the world is out there to start my day off properly depressed by the idiocy of our species.

Gus' #10 will help lift your spirits.

re: #76 Feline Fearless Leader

Hey Oaktree, so sorry about your loss of Sherman. :(

Whoa. Chris Christie is now a Democrat?

Or did ABC just punk the audience?
(jk)

mornings obligatory cuteness

Hello!

A man in India is living in exile after being charged with blasphemy for debunking a "weeping Jesus".

re: #79 Political Atheist

Whoa. Chris Christie is now a Democrat?

Or did ABC just punk the audience?
(jk)

Nothing on Google Search

Psy may well end up despised in America after something from his past bubbled up:

Then, two years later, a protest concert was held in Seoul after the killing of Kim Sun-il, a South Korean missionary and translator. He was beheaded by militants in Iraq after his country sent 3,000 troops to the region.

At this 2004 anti-war event, a group of musicians, including Psy, performed Dear American, a protest song written by Korean rock band N.E.X.T.

When it came to Psy's turn he rapped about 'killing those f***ing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives.

'Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers.

'Kill them all slowly and painfully.'

SNIP

Psy on Friday apologized, saying: 'As a proud South Korean who was educated in the United States and lived there for a very significant part of my life, I understand the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world.

'The song I was featured in - from eight years ago - was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two innocent Korean civilians that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time,' Psy's statement read.

Sorry, Psy, but that don't cut it with me. You blamed America when you should have blamed the terrorists who murdered Kim Sun-il. That your reply was to call for the murder of Americans says all I need to know about you. You're just another anti-American asshole in my eyes. Go to Hell.

Egypt arrests al Qaeda-linked Benghazi suspect

The Egyptian government has arrested Muhammad Jamal al Kashef (a.k.a. Abu Ahmed), a senior terrorist tied to the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, according to The Wall Street Journal. Kashef has direct, longstanding connections to al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri.

Kashef served as an Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) terrorist in the 1990s and was imprisoned for years. The EIJ was headed by Zawahiri, who merged the group with Osama bin Laden's operation.

After his release from prison in 2011, Kashef established training camps in Egypt and Libya. Some of Kashef's trainees took part in the Benghazi attack, according to multiple published accounts.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Kashef "petitioned al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri to establish a new Qaeda affiliate he called al Qaeda in Egypt" and also received financing from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al Hayat, a London-based Arabic newspaper, previously reported that Zawahiri gave Jamal the go-ahead to launch terrorist attacks in Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere.

off to be productive.

Have a good day all!

re: #84 Killgore Trout

Egypt arrests al Qaeda-linked Benghazi suspect

I wonder if we could get this guy extradited? Send him down to Gitmo to face a tribunal.

re: #82 Holidays are Family Fun Time

Nothing on Google Search

Confirmation at Politico-Charlie Christ not Christ Christie...

Paged

re: #87 Political Atheist

Confirmation at Politico

Paged

That's Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, not Chris Christie, current governor of New Jersey.

re: #88 Dark_Falcon

Yup right, better get mah coffee. Large.

re: #86 Dark_Falcon

I wonder if we could get this guy extradited? Send him down to Gitmo to face a tribunal.

Probably not. I would guess he'll be held overseas Maybe the Libyans will deal with him. the Egyptians have him now but that might be problematic in the long run with Morsi and the MB running the show.

The war on Chris Christiemas continues.

Down with rationalism, science, critical thinking and skepticism!

Imprison all those who offend me!

//

re: #83 Dark_Falcon

He already apologized at length and with grace.

If you applied the same standards to GOP politicians as you did to Psy, you'd wash your hands of nearly all of them.

re: #90 Killgore Trout

Probably not. I would guess he'll be held overseas Maybe the Libyans will deal with him. the Egyptians have him now but that might be problematic in the long run with Morsi and the MB running the show.

Morsi isn't dumb enough to let someone from Al Qaeda go. He knows he'd lose aid money for doing so. For now, I'd settle for having CIA observers present when Kashef is interrogated, and that he be made to divulge all he knows about the Benghazi attack by any means of interrogation necessary.

re: #93 Obdicut

He already apologized at length and with grace.

If you applied the same standards to GOP politicians as you did to Psy, you'd wash your hands of nearly all of them.

True, but I don't apply the same standard, and if that's hypocritical I simply don't care.

re: #95 Dark_Falcon

True, but I don't apply the same standard, and if that's hypocritical I simply don't care.

Yeah, I know. And from the outside, it's very sad to see you trapped like that.

re: #83 Dark_Falcon

Psy may well end up despised in America after something from his past bubbled up:

SNIP

Sorry, Psy, but that don't cut it with me. You blamed America when you should have blamed the terrorists who murdered Kim Sun-il. That your reply was to call for the murder of Americans says all I need to know about you. You're just another anti-American asshole in my eyes. Go to Hell.

Arrest all those who disagree with me and send them to Hell™!

//

I think they arrest people like Psy in North Korea for disagreeing with the state too. :P

re: #97 Gus

There are people who are still mad at NWA for saying "Fuck da police"

re: #98 Obdicut

There are people who are still mad at NWA for saying "Fuck da police"

NWA?

re: #97 Gus

Arrest all those who disagree with me and send them to Hell™!

//

I think they arrest people like Psy in North Korea for disagreeing with the state too. :P

Did I say he should be arrested? No, I did not. Yelled at, yes, flamed on the Internet, fine, but I don't believe that he should be subject to criminal sanction for his words, and I never said he should.

re: #99 Gus

NWA?

[Link: knowyourmeme.com...]

Image: tumblr_lm72szpejY1qfspwpo1_500.jpg

Image: tumblr_lhbziaX5lc1qzjcpvo1_400.jpg

Image: 4b2.jpg

re: #100 Dark_Falcon

Did I say he should be arrested? No, I did not. Yelled at, yes, flamed on the Internet, fine, but I don't believe that he should be subject to criminal sanction for his words, and I never said he should.

I don't give a rats ass one way or the other. I've only heard that Gangnam song twice and it was only out of curiosity. Last month I had to Google it to find out what everyone was talking about on Twitter. I think it's a) a stupid song and b) a stupid dance. If you can even call that dancing. Never heard the controversial song and neither read it. I also never read his apology.

Look officer, I commit like a boatload of crimes every single day so you're going to have to be a lot more specific.

— Chelsea Lockwood (@Chelsea_Elle) November 28, 2012

re: #103 Gus

I don't give a rats ass one way or the other. I've only heard that Gangnam song twice and it was only out of curiosity. Last month I had to Google it to find out what everyone was talking about on Twitter. I think it's a) a stupid song and b) a stupid dance. If you can even call that dancing. Never heard the controversial song and neither read it. I also never read his apology.

Pardon me, sir. I did not realize I was on your lawn.

Is this your monocle, sir?

re: #103 Gus

I don't give a rats ass one way or the other. I've only heard that Gangnam song twice and it was only out of curiosity. Last month I had to Google it to find out what everyone was talking about on Twitter. I think it's a) a stupid song and b) a stupid dance. If you can even call that dancing. Never heard the controversial song and neither read it. I also never read his apology.

Wouldn't it be sad to see him go the way of the Dixie Chicks?

re: #94 Dark_Falcon

Morsi isn't dumb enough to let someone from Al Qaeda go. He knows he'd lose aid money for doing so. For now, I'd settle for having CIA observers present when Kashef is interrogated, and that he be made to divulge all he knows about the Benghazi attack by any means of interrogation necessary.

I think part of Morsi's game is he's setting himself up as the necessary evil in Egypt like Mubarak was. If he's a key player in negotiating cease fires with the Palestinians and holding terrorists for us he ends up with bargaining chips. In the long term I think it's best he has as little leverage as possible.

re: #106 Sol Berdinowitz

Wouldn't it be sad to see him go the way of the Dixie Chicks?

It's somewhat less likely, since he's apologized. I've got more to say, but I have to go.

BBL

re: #105 wrenchwench

Pardon me, sir. I did not realize I was on your lawn.

Is this your monocle, sir?

I'm not offended by it. Part of my point is that unless you expose yourself to these things you'll never even know about it. Not watching TV helps. I've gone through the years listening to people say dumb things about jazz.

re: #107 Killgore Trout

I think part of Morsi's game is he's setting himself up as the necessary evil in Egypt like Mubarak was. If he's a key player in negotiating cease fires with the Palestinians and holding terrorists for us he ends up with bargaining chips. In the long term I think it's best he has as little leverage as possible.

Yunno, it seems to me that one of the key foundations of a functioning democracy is the ability to come up with win/win situations for those involved.

We are losing that ability in America, and most of the Middle East is nowhere near being able to do so at all.

re: #109 Gus

I'm not offended by it. Part of my point is that unless you expose yourself to these things you'll never even know about it. Not watching TV helps. I've gone through the years listening to people say dumb things about jazz.

You and your jazz hats!

re: #109 Gus

I'm not offended by it. Part of my point is that unless you expose yourself to these things you'll never even know about it. Not watching TV helps. I've gone through the years listening to people say dumb things about jazz.

I was aware of Psy, but only watched it when my 10-year-old daughter showed it to me, folowed by the mashup, "Gandalf Style", which I found amusing...

re: #112 Sol Berdinowitz

I was aware of Psy, but only watched it when my 10-year-old daughter showed it to me, folowed by the mashup, "Gandalf Style", which I found amusing...

Is that popular in Germany?

//

re: #108 Dark_Falcon

It's somewhat less likely, since he's apologized. I've got more to say, but I have to go.

BBL

Obama To Still Attend Psy Charity Concert Despite Song Calling For Killing Of U.S. Troops is.gd/sR3ssS #tcot #lnyhbt #gop #teaparty

— Patrick Dollard (@PatDollard) December 7, 2012

Outrage!

re: #113 Gus

Is that popular in Germany?

//

It is popular worldwide, I think there is even a German version of the Gandalf mashup...

re: #114 Gus

[Embedded content]

Outrage!

OMG, there will be no end of the headassplosions over this one...

re: #115 Sol Berdinowitz

It is popular worldwide, I think there is even a German version of the Gandalf mashup...

The first one looked very German. Something about it.

re: #116 Sol Berdinowitz

OMG, there will be no end of the headassplosions of this one...

Twitter search psy obama tcot.

re: #109 Gus

I'm not offended by it. Part of my point is that unless you expose yourself to these things you'll never even know about it. Not watching TV helps. I've gone through the years listening to people say dumb things about jazz.

You sounded like every generation's critic of the young people's music, especially with the 'if you can call that dancing' part. Made me laugh.

I like not watching TV. If it weren't for the magazines at the checkout stand, I wouldn't know what a Kardashian looked like.

re: #119 wrenchwench

I had to ask a co-worker who this Kardashian person was. I wish I had never asked.

re: #83 Dark_Falcon

Sorry, Psy, but that don't cut it with me. ... Go to Hell.

I'm not surprised. You responded to an obviously regrettable yet reasonable emotional reaction with an unreasonable emotional reaction without regret.

re: #119 wrenchwench

You sounded like every generation's critic of the young people's music, especially with the 'if you can call that dancing' part. Made me laugh.

I like not watching TV. If it weren't for the magazines at the checkout stand, I wouldn't know what a Kardashian looked like.

I can count on my fingers the episodes of popular TV series I have watched since the 1980's: I sat through an episode of "Sex and the City" once out of cultural masochism, rather enjoyed what I saw of "Frazier", got some DVD's of "Flight of the Conchords" and "The IT Crowd", which I also enjoyed, but in general have lived almost entirely TV-free for the past four years.

re: #120 PhillyPretzel

I had to ask a co-worker who this Kardashian person was. I wish I had never asked.

Yah, I think there's more than one!!

re: #119 wrenchwench

You sounded like every generation's critic of the young people's music, especially with the 'if you can call that dancing' part. Made me laugh.

I like not watching TV. If it weren't for the magazines at the checkout stand, I wouldn't know what a Kardashian looked like.

I'm weird in that I admire virtuosity in music and dance. When it comes to dance I admire flamenco. Weird isn't it?

//

re: #123 wrenchwench

Too many. //

Kobe Bryant

The Lakers guard doesn't think much of his teammates' knowledge of American history. The team went to see Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" during an off day in Oklahoma City on Thursday. At Friday's morning shootaround, Bryant joked that some of his teammates were surprised by the movie's ending. "I don't know if the guys knew who he was," Bryant said, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLA.com. "It came as a big shock to them when he was killed." Other Lakers didn't make it to the end of the 2-hour, 30-minute biopic. "It was long," Dwight Howard said. "Steve (Nash) fell asleep at one point. He was snoring."

Outrageous!

re: #123 wrenchwench

Yah, I think there's more than one!!

I thought it was some sort of colony organism...

Am recommending that sugar now branded as "gluten-free" be repackaged as "sugar for idiots"

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) December 8, 2012

re: #126 Henchman Ghazi-808

Kobe Bryant

Outrageous!

We have to face up to the fact that the level of basic learning and education in our country is incredibly low. We cannot assume that people know anything about anything that is not part of contemporary popular culture.

re: #126 Henchman Ghazi-808

Kobe Bryant

Outrageous!

It's pathetic. Lincoln getting assassinated is a "spoiler" to the movie, Lincoln.

re: #128 Gus

Huh. I guess he has not watched America's Test Kitchen. lol

Cruelty Free Sugar™

re: #131 PhillyPretzel

Huh. I guess he has not watched America's Test Kitchen. lol

I know I haven't. ;)

re: #133 Gus

This will help. [Link: www.cooksillustrated.com...]

This is the link to the magazine. The shows are at the top.

re: #124 Gus

I'm weird in that I admire virtuosity in music and dance. When it comes to dance I admire flamenco. Weird isn't it?

//

I like Mariachi music. There's some down the street right now. Might close the shop for a bit....

But hey, everybody knows Kate Middleton is preggo and has issues with morning sickness and Lincoln hunted vampires.

re: #129 Sol Berdinowitz

We have to face up to the fact that the level of basic learning and education in our country is incredibly low. We cannot assume that people know anything about anything that is not part of contemporary popular culture.

Jaywalking - Name a Country that borders the USA

"People Are Stupid" - Common Knowledge Survey (Episode 3)

Why is this even an issue?

Republican Leadership Split On Whether To Protect Native American Women

With only three weeks left for Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), one man is standing in its way: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). The House passed a version of VAWA last May by a narrow 222-205 vote, which stripped protections for LGBT, immigrant and Native American women included in an earlier Senate version of the bill. The Senate version passed by a now-rare 68 vote super majority, including every female Senator.

So, what’s the hold up? Protections for Native American women. As law enforcement, victims, and advocates have turned up pressure to pass the widely-supported Senate bill before the end of the year, other Republican House leaders have changed course and offered a compromise. Two members of senior Republican leadership, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Tom Cole (R-OK), an enrolled member of the Chicasaw Nation, introduced a stand alone bill that responds to their caucus’ concern about the Senate bill. The concern is over a provision that restores local tribal authority to prosecute domestic violence against Native American women. The Issa-Cole compromise adds protections for defendants with a new option to remove the case to federal court. In fact, Issa tried to offer this language as an amendment during committee consideration of the bill, but was shut down by Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) who didn’t even allow a vote on it.

Obama Paranoid Government Coming For His Guns

[Link: o.onionstatic.com...]

WASHINGTON—Reflecting attitudes held throughout his personal and political life, President Barack Obama restated Thursday his long-standing fear that the U.S. government is even now putting measures in place to take his guns away.

America has always had a love-hate relationship with "book learning", I think part of it came from our inferiority compley over Europe in that area for ages, we saw our homespun simplicity as a counterpoint to their effete, self-destructive intellectualizing.

But now we have come to actively embrace idiocy at all levels of science, education and government - and often in and attempt to prove our moral superiority.

re: #142 Sol Berdinowitz

America has always had a love-hate relationship with "book learning", I think part of it came from our inferiority compley over Europe in that area for ages, we saw our homespun simplicity as a counterpoint to their effete, self-destructive intellectualizing.

But now we have come to actively embrace idiocy at all levels of science, education and government - and often in and attempt to prove our moral superiority.

University professors are all liberals!

re: #143 Henchman Ghazi-808

University professors are all liberals!

and universities are liberral indoctrination centers!

This is one of the greatest things I've ever seen:

[Link: michelepred.com...]

re: #143 Henchman Ghazi-808

re: #144 Sol Berdinowitz

University professors are all liberals!

and universities are liberral indoctrination centers!

FTFY

re: #146 PhillyPretzel

re: #144 Sol Berdinowitz

FTFY

GOP Chairman Limbaugh has been pushing this hard lately. He regularly says that higher education indoctrinates our youth AND enslaves people financially.

re: #147 bratwurst

I am not surprised.

re: #147 bratwurst

GOP Chairman Limbaugh has been pushing this hard lately. He regularly says that higher education indoctrinates our youth AND enslaves people financially.

Freedom is slavery

Education is ignorance

pale ale is lager

re: #149 Henchman Ghazi-808

Freedom is slavery

re: #150 Henchman Ghazi-808

Education is ignorance

Ignorance is freedom.

//

re: #147 bratwurst

GOP Chairman Limbaugh has been pushing this hard lately. He regularly says that higher education indoctrinates our youth AND enslaves people financially.

btw, have you reserved your site at the Schalke 04 cemetery stadium?

You only need one book.

//

re: #152 bratwurst

[Embedded content]

what a lying sack of shit, he enouraged everyone to get some kind of higher educatin or training beyond high school.

tell me a single job outside McD's that you can do with only a HS degree...

W.Va. senator to MTV: Cancel 'Buck Wild' series

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin is asking MTV to cancel the West Virginia-based reality show "Buck Wild" that's set to air next year.

Manchin's office said Friday that he sent a letter to the president of the network saying the show profits off of "poor decisions of our youth."

The senator also said the show set to begin airing Jan. 3 plays to ugly, inaccurate stereotypes about the people of his home state.

The network ordered 12 episodes of the show last fall, and a trailer shows the cast drinking and swearing, four-wheeling and fighting, even filling a dump truck with water and using it as a swimming pool. It was shot in Sissonville and Charleston.

MTV declined comment Friday through a spokeswoman.

Anyone lost a huge amount of cannabis in the Chelmsley Wood area? Don't panic, we found it. Please come to the police station to collect it.

— Solihull Police (@SolihullPolice) December 7, 2012

re: #158 Gus

rofl

re: #159 PhillyPretzel

rofl

In the USA the owners would come to collect it. :O

//

re: #154 Sol Berdinowitz

btw, have you reserved your site at the Schalke 04 cemetery stadium?

Noch nicht, aber Ich werden nächstes Jahr dort zu sehen!

re: #160 Gus

In the USA the owners would come to collect it. :O

//

[Link: www.digtriad.com...]

NC Man Loses Drug Money, Asks AZ Police For Written Excuse

re: #161 bratwurst

Noch nicht, aber Ich werden nächstes Jahr dort zu sehen!

...kostet nur 10,000 Euro

Happy Hanukkah Lizardia! Here in Israel we have already lit the Hanukkah lights. Then we are going to stay up all night! (Not to celebrate, we need to be at the airport by 3:00AM.) Amsterdam was crushed by a snowstorm on Friday but it looks like arrivals and departures are back to normal.

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

:)

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

Happy Hanukkah to you too. I am waiting to light my menorah this evening and to eat my Hanukkah Gelt.

re: #163 Sol Berdinowitz

...kostet nur 10,000 Euro

So you are saying it is either that or two Rolling Stones tickets...hmmm.

Neck hurts. Grumble. Grumble.

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

They were having some godawful singalong in the Y when I passed through, and had the menorah set up in the lobby.

I got told "Happy Hanukkah mon" by one of the security guards from Barbados.

re: #168 Gus

Do you want a couple of aspirins or the heated neck collar?

re: #170 PhillyPretzel

Do you want a couple of aspirins or the heated neck collar?

Just took two generic naproxens.

Fun Science: Saturn

re: #172 Gus

Fun Science: Saturn

[Embedded content]

[Link: www.slate.com...]

re: #126 Kronocide

Kobe Bryant

Outrageous!

The Titanic sank.
Apollo 13 came home safe.

re: #135 wrenchwench

I like Mariachi music. There's some down the street right now. Might close the shop for a bit....

It was a group made up of 14 and 15 year old girls. Pretty good, considering.

Supreme Court To Hear Trial Determining Whether Human Beings Deserve Equal Rights onion.com/TI2qhq

— The Onion (@TheOnion) December 7, 2012

re: #174 Varek Raith

The Titanic sank.
Apollo 13 came home safe.

WWII: the Germans lose.

JFK. Spoiler alert.

re: #174 Varek Raith

The Titanic sank.
Apollo 13 came home safe.

SHUT UP. SHUT IT.

re: #179 Kronocide

SHUT UP. SHUT IT.

Anakin built C-3PO.

Wut?

Amsterdam to create 'scum villages'
Amsterdam is to create "Scum villages" where nuisance neighbours and anti-social tenants will be exiled from the city and rehoused in caravans or containers with "minimal services" under constant police supervision.

Holland's capital already has a special hit squad of municipal officials to identify the worst offenders for a compulsory six month course in how to behave.

Social housing problem families or tenants who do not show an improvement or refuse to go to the special units face eviction and homelessness.

Eberhard van der Laan, Amsterdam's Labour mayor, has tabled the £810,000 plan to tackle 13,000 complaints of anti-social behaviour every year. He complained that long-term harassment often leads to law abiding tenants, rather than their nuisance neighbours, being driven out.

"This is the world turned upside down," the mayor said at the weekend.

The project also involves setting up a special hotline and system for victims to report their problems to the authorities.

The new punishment housing camps have been dubbed "scum villages" because the plan echoes a proposal from Geert Wilders, the leader of a populist Dutch Right-wing party, for special units to deal with persistent troublemakers.

Continues.

re: #180 Varek Raith

Anakin built C-3PO.

Spoiler alert for the movie "Jesus."

re: #182 Gus

Spoiler alert for the movie "Jesus."

Lived happily ever after.

re: #181 Gus

not surprised by article or by who is pictured in article.

re: #184 PhillyPretzel

not surprised by article or by who is pictured in article.

Sure is weird. It's like a "residential prison" of sorts.

Don't tell me about The Alamo. I know Ozzie pees on it...

re: #181 Gus

Wut?

Amsterdam to create 'scum villages'
Amsterdam is to create "Scum villages" where nuisance neighbours and anti-social tenants will be exiled from the city and rehoused in caravans or containers with "minimal services" under constant police supervision.

Is that where they are going to put drunk and reckless bike riders?

re: #187 Vicious Babushka

Is that where they are going to put drunk and reckless bike riders?

Only if they're repeat offenders I guess. Did you encounter many?

re: #174 Varek Raith

The Titanic sank.
Apollo 13 came home safe.

Other Lakers didn't make it to the end of the 2-hour, 30-minute biopic. "It was long," Dwight Howard said. "Steve (Nash) fell asleep at one point. He was snoring."

Nash is Canadian, hence he may not have been super duper interested in Abraham Lincoln.

re: #188 Gus

Only if they're repeat offenders I guess. Did you encounter many?

They would probably put me as a nuisance pedestrian since I kept stepping into the bike lanes.

If I recall correctly on "Rick Steves' Europe" he visited something like that on one of his shows to the Amsterdam area. That and those "coffee shops."

Future Darwin award winners...

Trainsurfing - Russia

Just saw this floating around Facebook...

Dear Mr. President:

During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive Shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.

While glancing over her Patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer.

And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care?

I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture", a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance.

It is a culture based on the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.

Respectfully,
STARNER JONES, MD

re: #193 dragonfire1981

who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.

Obamaphone!

This alleged "emergency room visit" just stinks of total bogus. The alleged ER doc (I doubt this was even written by a medical professional, much less an ER MD) manages to notice everything about the patient except for the freaking condition that caused the ER visit. ER personnel do not take into consideration a patient's cell phone or body art when performing triage.

Oh and maybe the patient was just taking Mitt Romney's advice!

re: #193 dragonfire1981

re: #194 Vicious Babushka

fwiw, the "doctors" FB page

[Link: www.facebook.com...]

Hamas Leader Vows Never to Recognize Israel

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has vowed never to cede any territory to Israel or to recognize the Jewish state, in a speech in Gaza marking the 25th anniversary of the Palestinian militant group.

Speaking to more than 100,000 people in Gaza City, Meshaal said Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. He said the land will remain Islamic and Arabic.

He also said armed resistance is the only way for Palestinians to recover their rights.

Surprise!
/

re: #196 Killgore Trout

Hamas Leader Vows Never to Recognize Israel

Surprise!
/

Well , that should move the process right along!!

re: #194 Vicious Babushka

re: #193 dragonfire1981

It's actually legit, but it's from 2009.

[Link: www.snopes.com...]

re: #193 dragonfire1981

Just saw this floating around Facebook...

This is the original letter:

Why Pay for the Care of the Careless?

During my last shift in the ER, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient with a shiny new gold tooth, multiple elaborate tattoos and a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ringtone.

Glancing over the chart, one could not help noticing her payer status: Medicaid.

She smokes a costly pack of cigarettes every day and, somehow, still has money to buy beer.

And our president expects me to pay for this woman's health care?

Our nation's health care crisis is not a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. It is a crisis of culture - culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance.

Life is really not that hard. Most of us reap what we sow.

Starner Jones, MD
Jackson, MS

A follow up:

America is Still the Land of Opportunity - For Everyone

Starner Jones, M.D.
Jackson, MS
January 11, 2010

I continue to receive numerous phone calls, letters, emails and face-to-face comments about my letter ("Why Pay For the Care of the Careless") which appeared in your newspaper a few months ago.

Most people express highest approval for the opinion set forth. Indeed, the truth has an illuminating quality all its own.

However, a few have disagreed and all of them falsely assume that a person who holds the views which I espouse must have been raised in a privileged home. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I grew up in a lower middle class, single parent home in the rural hill country of Pontotoc, Mississippi. While attending public schools, I paid attention in class and did my homework. I ran with the right crowd and stayed out of trouble. My dedication in school resulted in a full-paid scholarship to the prestigious University of the South in Sewanee, TN. After college, I left to go to medical school with everything I owned in three bags. The rest is history.

Motivation, not entitlement, is the key to personal success and happiness in life.

[Link: urbanlegends.about.com...]

re: #158 Gus

[Embedded content]

Anyone lost a huge amount of cannabis in the Chelmsley Wood area? Don’t panic, we found it. Please come to the police station to collect it.

What would be really funny is if someone went to the police station and then said "Oh, never mind, that's not mine -- mine was greener."

re: #198 The Mountain That Blogs

re: #193 dragonfire1981

It's actually legit, but it's from 2009.

[Link: www.snopes.com...]

That was before Mitt Romney recommended that people without health insurance should just go to the nearest emergency room for "free care."

re: #187 Vicious Babushka

That makes my skin crawl. Makes me ashamed to be plurality Dutch.

re: #167 bratwurst

So you are saying it is either that or two Rolling Stones tickets...hmmm.

Rolling stones tickets are good for three hours max or 20 years "auf Schalke"...

Spammer.