Chicago, ensuring fair elections since never

I'd be more outraged if the Green Party candidate had a snowball's chance in hell of winning.

The last name of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney is misspelled as "Whitey" on electronic-voting machines in nearly two dozen wards -- about half in predominantly African-American areas -- and election officials said Wednesday the problem cannot be corrected by Election Day.

The misspelling turned up on touch-screen machines in 23 wards overall. Whitney's name is spelled correctly on the machines' initial screens showing all of the candidates' names, but it is misspelled on review screens that later show a voter his or her choices, said Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections

I blame Arne Duncan.  The proofreader is probably a product of Chicago Public Schools.

(I may be updating this with a source later, I'm not sure how secretive the moron who posted this on Facechimp is.

Update: H/T Wodeshed.)

Posted by: Alice H at 10:13 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Half-empty or half-full?

Is Michelle Obama now more popular than her husband, or has her husband sunk so low that he's less popular than even her?

Posted by: Alice H at 12:28 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Post-Racial Administration?

Post-racial administration!

Yeah, this should end well.

Posted by: eddiebear at 01:43 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Well...

I'm not going to say God's visiting a plague on Washington D.C., but...

Posted by: Alice H at 11:38 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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An Obamacare success story

Say, guess whose health insurance premiums are going up, starting next month?

*points thumbs at chest*

This guy.

This was posted at the Mothership (Ewokship? Do the Ewoks have ships?) earlier, but it lays out/repeats some excellent points about how fucking awful this piece of shit is.

On the local news here in SoCal, they mainly interviewed people who think they'll "benefit" from the legislation, like...

• College students, who think it's just Jim Dandy that they and their friends will now have to be covered by their parents' group policies until they're 26.

• People on the street who said it's great that insurers will now have to cover children (I guess that includes 26-year-olds) with pre-existing conditions.

• "Health Policy Experts" from UCLA and USC who, in spite of the cross-town rivalry, couldn't be bothered to disagree with one another that this was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Seriously, I expected at the very least a slap-fight from UCLA and USC profs.

But, say, how's about we look at some of the reasons why my premiums (not paid by a group plan under my employer, I might add) are going up soon:

There are a whole bunch of boring and cheerless individuals called "actuaries" who look at "tables" on sickness and mortality, on which they base insurance rates. Sure, the twenty-something crew doesn't tend to come down with life-threatening diseases, but adding them to their parents' employer-provided group health insurance adds a shitload of new people to the "risk pool," which includes everyone who the companies insure. So, when "Sally-Womyn's-Studies-Major" can't find employment in today's tough job market gets her legs broken in a car accident, you can be happy about the fact that your individual premiums helped her to recover. YAY!!!

Oh, and, hey, when the group plans can't exclude those individuals, guess who those costs get passed to?

*points thumbs at chest*

It's also nice (in theory) that insurers can't deny kids with preexisting conditions coverage, but there was a reason why they used to do that, and it's heartless and sensible at the same time (I know, I know) why that was their policy. Namely, because insurance companies (like all other businesses that hope to be successful) were formed to make money, and people who already have life-threatening diseases ARE NOT GOOD CLIENTS. See, health insurance companies are collecting premiums in the hope that you're not going to get sick or injured, but will pay out if the unfortunate thing happens to you.

Life insurance works similarly. Such and Such Life Co. looks at the way you live your life. If you smoke like a chimney and jump off of the Sears Tower with a parachute to make a living selling EXTREME VIDEOS, S&SLC may sell you a policy. However, they're going to sell the same policy with the same "death benefit" to a non-smoking schoolmarm who doesn't engage in any deathsports for (get this) much less money. Because (and this may be hard to wrap your head around if you're a Democrat) S&SLC is probably going to be able to collect those premiums for many, many more years. They will thus be able to use their PROFITS to hire employees and also invest in industries that do not involve people plummeting to their deaths from tall buildings.

Look, if you have a business where you rely on a pool of investors and someone comes in and says, "Hey, I'd like to get in on this, but I don't really have any money and I may cost you a shitload of cash in the next few months and may have already engaged in some seriously risky behavior," would you be excited about having that partner? Um, no.

And if you had a business where you an investor who said, "I'd like to invest, but I also have a bunch of silent partners who really don't have any stake in the game, but could become liabilities down the road, though they would still like to get up in on this," would you take that person on as a partner? Again, no.

And let me issue a preemptive "fuck you" to BiW. This isn't the H2.

Posted by: Sean M. at 05:21 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Your tax dollars at work

Well, I guess it's gotta be five o'clock somewhere.

Posted by: Sean M. at 12:22 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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His work here is done.

Obama surveys the health care industry.



There are more and he's promised to do more if we want.

Posted by: Veeshir at 11:23 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Buy Popcorn Futures

So the DOJ's former Voting Section Chief, Christopher Coates, is going to testify before the Civil Rights Commission after all.

Could this be the first case of a Friday News Dump that doesn't bury the story?
I'd buy popcorn futures Friday before the market opens.*

Updated because I forgot to put this in.
Maybe law talking types could tell me it's normal, but wasn't it odd the New Black Panthers didn't respond to the suit? Almost as if they knew they didn't have to worry about it.

That they just didn't bother to respond has always struck me as odd. Why wouldn't you at least scream "racism" or something? Get the Right Revs and their renta-mobs flashing outside,.maybe a few bused in union thugs. Something.

* (I am not a stock picking guy, this is not serious advice, void where prohobited by law, do not take without alcohol).

Via the puppy blender

Posted by: Veeshir at 09:25 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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They're eating their own

Even though he's doing it in a nice way, Walter Mondale takes President Teleprompter down a peg.  And he's only the first in line to lob tomatoes at Obumble.

I liked the 'secret insider' article last week, but I have to take it with a grain of salt.  In a way, this article is more fun for me - Obama's trying so hard to avoid comparisons to Carter that we can only hope that he'll decide being President is too much of a similarity.

Posted by: Alice H at 10:32 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Update?

So I was all upset with Obama because he wouldn't allow some Korean Garands into the country because terrorists and gang-bangers are all clamoring for 10lb, 3 1/3 feet long, 8 round clip capacity battle rifles.
Because they're so easy to get through the gun show loophole or something.
So here's an update.
I think.
I don't know the blogger and he(?) quotes an anonymous person from ODCMP.
For what it's worth, he says that the Korean Garands are actually owned by the US already, they were given under a lend/lease sort of deal.
So they need to return them to the US who would then sell them to CMP to get some more Garands into the country.
Which I'm pretty sure won't happen until after the current admin is not in charge, so I hope Korea can hang onto them for another couple years.
No Garand should ever be destroyed.
Besides, Korea might need them if the poofy haired maniac's successor needs a war to cement his claim.

It sounds plausible, that's why I'm passing it on. I just hate being Shep Smith and passing on every unsourced thing I see.
If it's wrong, blame Say Uncle .

Posted by: Veeshir at 05:23 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Blago guilty of lying to the feds

All other counts were deemed mistrialey.  I'm sure there's some correct way to put that, but I don't know it.

I'll update this with a link as soon as I find one.  Everyone's got it on their front page but no one has posted an actual news item yet.

Update: Link.  Anyone care to speculate why the jurors asked for a copy of their oath?

Posted by: Alice H at 04:43 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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When you gallivant around like Marie Fucking Antoinette, the peasants revolt

If the Obamas have the money to take trips like this, maybe they're not paying enough in taxes.

Posted by: Alice H at 03:55 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Sonomabatch

Now this really pisses me off.

South Korea hasa crapload of Garands they want to sell to Americans but Obama won't let them. No, Obama isn't named, but he's in charge of the US Gov't.
The story says, "Hundreds of thousands" early on but then they say 86,000 Garands and 22,000 carbines so that's only about 100,000, as we all know, journalists are all stupid and/or ignorant, so I'm going with bad math, but that's still enough for me to get one of each.
Bastids. Mudder pocking sonsomabatching icehole bastids.
Via Say Uncle, who's not nearly as pissed off as I am.

Posted by: Veeshir at 07:13 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Can we have a President who acts like a President? Pretty please?

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that Obama is defending the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. 

As I'm sure some of our three readers have noticed, I'm a believer in separating the terrorist acts of Islamofascism from the religion of Islam.  I think blaming all Islams for 9/11 is not that different from blaming all Catholics for the pedophilia scandals in the Catholic Church, or blaming all Christians for the bombing of abortion clinics.  Granted, Muslims have been slower to speak out against violence done in the name of their religion, but it's happening more and more and I believe that movement will continue to grow if it's received with welcome from non-Muslims. 

That said, I think the idea of a mosque so close to the site of an act of terror committed in the name of Islam is a horrible idea.  The builders are well aware that this is repugnant to the majority of New Yorkers and especially to people who lost loved ones or survived 9/11.  Continuing to build a mosque at this location in light of the opposition to it demonstrates that it is meant as a direct affront.

And of course, Obama has to stick his nose in local matters again, giving an opinion on something he has no right or reason to be concerned with in an offiicial fashion.  His support of the mosque is not coming in an offhand remark to a friend, it was expressed at a podium in prepared remarks at an official state function.  This is even more of a gaffe than the "the Cambridge police acted stupidly" comment a year ago, as he's purposely weighing in on something he has no business sticking his nose in and once again, he's on the wrong side.  Obama claims this is a freedom of religion issue, but I don't recall hearing Obama weighing in on the side of Catholics when we oppose tax dollars paying for abortions - he says one thing and then does whatever the hell he wants.  I understand that Obama wants to be a hip and unconventional president, and if that's how he wishes to be viewed that's fine and dandy, but there's a difference between being the president who doesn't want to give up his Blackberry because he's the hip, tech savvy Commander in Chief and a president who doesn't recognize the boundaries of his job and uses his podium to express official opinions on happenings the Office of the President has no legal standing to weigh in on.

I am so hopeful that the GOP can get its act together enough to present a strong presidential candidate in 2012.  I previously thought that Obama would be a one-term president because he has a lack of stick-to-itiveness and would be thinking that he could just move on to run the UN, but he's been given such an easy ride that he'll continue in office.  It's up to Republicans to lose the 2012 race; unfortunately, we're really good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Posted by: Alice H at 10:15 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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Wait, you mean bowing down before you doesn't make you respect me?

Alternatively: Lessons I learned from my first girlfriend.
Quote
in 2009, only 29% of those polled said that Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons would be "positive" for the Middle East; in 2010, 57% of those polled indicate that such an outcome would be "positive" for the Middle East.

So kissing people's asses doesn't make them respect you. You'd think Obama would know that, considering his contempt for Minitru.

Via The Belmont Club who links to a bunch of places showing this trend, including this gem from the Asia times
When respondents were asked to name the world leader they admired most, Obama’s standing was less than 1%. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was cited most often (20%), followed by last year’s top pick, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (13%), and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (12%).


RTWT, it's pretty funny.
You know, in an endy way.

Posted by: Veeshir at 02:18 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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How About That Obamacare?

Yeah, it's looking worse and worse every day.

Oh, and fuck everybody who supported it. Fuck them all with the fuckzeppelin of fucking fuckery.

Posted by: eddiebear at 11:22 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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And in other birthday wishes...

Our President's birthday is coming up, so please go sign his birthday card and send him your kindest wishes.

I'm not going to inflict a picture on you, but WTF is wrong with his left (your right, morons!) ear?

Posted by: Alice H at 11:30 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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WTF is wrong with Wisconsin, part eleventy billion and five

WTF is wrong with Wisconsin that doing a Google search for "WTF is wrong with Wisconsin" gets 5,000+ hits?  Hell, "WTF is wrong with Google" gets 22,000, and Google is way bigger than Wisconsin, definitely well over five times as big.  And "WTF is wrong with Spencer Pratt" (hey, it came up in the Googlevomit suggestions) only gets seven.

tmi3rd could start his own Linkiest-type blog with all the great stuff he posts on his FB account, but instead he leaves it to us to spread to the Intarwebs all the insanity he shares with us.

Wisconsin politics almost took a turn for the awesomest this election cycle.  Those party-pooper election officials just had to go and ruin it.

Unlike candidates from the established Democratic and Republican parties, independents are allowed a five-word statement of purpose on the ballot to explain to voters what their candidacy is about.

I personally would have dinged her for the use of 'whiteman's' instead of 'white man's'.  Hell, girl, you've got five words to express what you're about, you'd better milk the system for each and every one of them!

Posted by: Alice H at 01:09 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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I'll have my kids paint you one for five bucks

I'm really trying to understand this, I truly am.

How the FUCK does a road sign cost ten grand?

Can someone explain this to me, pretty please?  A friend of mine puts up road signs for a living, I'd be surprised if he makes $20 an hour doing it despite having to spend every week away from home.  For that sort of price, I want signs that will give my car a handjob as it's driving down the road, or at least blow fairy dust and ground-up unicorn horns into my AC system.

This is the government that we're supposed to trust to cut costs in health care?  Is there some reason we should expect this sort of reckless extravagance on something completely unnecessary to not predict even crazier expenditures on lots of nothing in our medical system?

Update: @KatMcKinley (RWS) proves my point.

Posted by: Alice H at 03:17 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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A simple solution

I'm not sure why this hasn't occurred to anyone yet, but it just popped into my head. We could get President Present focused like a laser on the problem at hand if Congress would just approve a resolution changing the name of the region to the "Golf" of Mexico.

Only one vowel changed and the problem is solved. It's elegant, really.

Posted by: Sean M. at 03:35 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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