1
Obama proves Joe Wilson was right on a daily basis.
You. Lie!
Posted by: Andy at March 18, 2010 12:49 AM (82Zkd)
2
Um, Barry, seeing as how you're from there, you might at least try to come up with something plausible. Like a volcanic eruption or a typhoon. Or a surprise attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy.
For fuck's sake. I'm so fucking tired of hearing about how smart this fucking dunce is.
Posted by: Sean M. at March 18, 2010 01:47 AM (rLWHv)
Will be still be pouring money into New Orleans in 2015? I don't see why not, since he thinks we should still be paying for slavery.
His apparent IQ, from where i am sitting, is 100.00. Average level of bullshit, arrogance, short temper and vocabulary skills.
Posted by: vermindust at March 18, 2010 11:22 AM (ccNpT)
4
Watching him makes you dumber. He's the Jersey Shore of politics.
Posted by: Dr. Spank at March 18, 2010 06:58 PM (I1/U/)
5
If you are a student in school, or you want to enter the IT industry, passing HP0-S21 exam and obtaining Microsoft certification at least shows that you are really making your efforts and have acquired the knowledge and skills in this field.Pass4sure 650-251 will help you lead your competitors, 312-50 help you win an opportunity.
Posted by: Cisco at March 19, 2010 07:44 AM (5HPzC)
6
Katrina was five years ago. If the area is in such bad shape that it still needs "special deals" related to healthcare then perhaps the residents of that state should start looking inward at what they elect to higher office.
There is something wrong with the world
When the French are getting cool Steampunk movies and we are getting Alice in Wonderland. (Would someone please put Tim Burton in a burlap sack and beat some talent into him).
“Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill, and this administration and this House leadership have said, 'they will stop at nothing to pass this health care bill, and now they’ve gotten rid of me and it will pass.’ You connect the dots,” Massa said Several times during the broadcast Massa raised the prospect of rescinding his resignation if national news media picked up on his story of being railroaded out of office by Democratic leaders.
And therein lies the problem. How interested will the MSM be to cover this story, knowing that an uproar from the great unwashed could lead to the guy coming back? Hell, the Mediacrats are as interested in helping Teh Won secure a victory as the Party Rank And File, and mentioning this dirty detail would get inthe way of Obamacare's passage. As Ace has always stated, you don't need to spin that which you don't cover.
Between offering a judgeship to the brother of a wavering Democrat, and forcing out of office a "No" Vote, thus lowering the margin the bill needs for passage (now, all the Democrats need are 216 votes, not the more dicey 217), this is how the Chicago Way will get what they want. Just be on the lookout for military bases, contract awards/revocations, mysterious arrests in nightclubs, surprise tax audits, etc.
So that's what a spit take is.
Instructions for using this post. 1. Swallow your mouthful of coffee. 2. Hit "more". 3.Laugh. 4.Read rest of post.
Pic nearly shamelessly stolen from the Mega Independent. A totally non-biased, fact-based Intertube News Page that's totally middle of the road and totally journalism-based in the style of the NY Times and the Washington Post (Hosannas). They have such helpful stories as this one about tea and tea bags
"It's a disgusting drink," remarked one of the scientists, "Anyone who
would even associate themselves with tea after this study is obviously
just a pathetic loser with no life."
Wow, Paul Krugman couldn't have said it better. I assume we know he's a "scientist" because he had a white lab coat on. more...
1"Anyone who
would even associate themselves with tea after this study is obviously
just a pathetic loser with no life."
What is this guy, an 11 year old? Did he call tea drinkers doo-doo heads afterwords.
That's not to say that I defend tea as a beverage. In terms of early morning caffeine ingestion, nothing can beat a pint of tar black coffee. As Major John Casey once said "just how I like it, black and bitter".
Posted by: Jeff M at March 07, 2010 12:45 PM (8P3+x)
2
Jeff M gives a How To on how to not click the links.
Posted by: Veeshir at March 07, 2010 02:35 PM (RrQNH)
Many optical shops offer special discounts on prescription sunglasses if you purchase them at the same time you buy your regular eyeglasses. Ask your optician for details.
Posted by: glasses at March 07, 2010 03:33 PM (cqUZx)
For the ultimate prescription glasses suitable for all lighting conditions, some opticians recommend eyeglasses with photochromic lenses and a frame with integrated magnetic clip-on sunglasses. The photochromic lenses provide automatic sun-sensitive light adjustments for greater comfort outdoors, and the clip-on sunglasses can be conveniently stored in your vehicle for those bright, sunny days when you need a darker driving lens. (For more information, read our article about photochromic lenses.)
As with non-prescription sunglasses, your primary concern when buying prescription sunglasses is that the lenses block 100 percent of the sun's harmful UV rays. UV protection is unrelated to the color and density of the tint in sunglass lenses, so you can choose any lens color and darkness you like, as long as your optician verifies that the lenses provide 100 percent UV protection.
For added glare protection from light bouncing back from reflective surfaces (like water, snow, sand and concrete pavement), polarized prescription sunglasses are also available. (For more information, read our article about polarized sunglasses).
Posted by: glasses at March 07, 2010 03:34 PM (cqUZx)
Prescription sunglasses are available in all lens materials, including high-index, polycarbonate, regular (CR-39) plastic, Trivex (a lightweight material similar to polycarbonate) and glass. Though glass lenses arguably provide the best optical quality, they are no longer the most popular choice for sunglasses. This is because they are much heavier than lenses made of other materials, and they can shatter easily. However, they are still available if you request them.
You don't have to sacrifice fashionable style or high-level sports performance if you want prescription sunglasses. At top are Shannon, Jess and Alyssa from the JLO by Jennifer Lopez sunglass collection. Below is Akamai by Maui Jim. All can accept prescription lenses.Another sunwear option is to purchase prescription eyeglasses lenses that have a photochromic tint. These lenses are often called "transition lenses" because the leading manufacturer of plastic photochromic lenses is a company called Transitions Optical. Photochromic lenses automatically darken in sunlight and then return to a relatively clear state indoors.
Photochromic lenses are very convenient, but they do have a drawback: UV rays are required to activate the tint. Because most car windshields block a significant amount of UV, photochromic lenses usually don't darken very well inside a car.
Posted by: glasses at March 07, 2010 03:38 PM (cqUZx)
If you have a vision problem that requires corrective prescription eyewear, you have several choices when it comes to sunglasses. Prescription sunglasses are available for virtually any lens prescription, including bifocal and progressive lens options if you are presbyopic and need lenses to help you read that magazine or book at the pool. These types of sunglasses also can help you if you need reading glasses only or if you wear contact lenses to correct only your distance vision and still need that additional boost for reading.
You might also consider prescription swimming goggles when it comes time to take a dip.
The styling of prescription sunglass frames is nearly the same as with non-prescription sunglasses. Almost all of the same fashion, designer and celebrity eyewear options apply.
One area where availability is limited is when it comes to certain wraparound sunglasses that curve around the head. Prescription sunglasses made with extreme curves typically distort vision. However, several manufacturers offer wraparound prescription sunglasses with less extreme curves. Typically these are available in a limited prescription range, so you would need to discuss options with an optician.
Posted by: glasses at March 07, 2010 03:39 PM (cqUZx)
You may sometimes find yourself driving down the road, sun shining in your eyes, as you search in vain for those clip-on or magnetically attached sun lenses that came with your prescription eyeglasses.
At times like these, you might find that prescription sunglasses are much more convenient and more than worth the additional investment.
Contact lens wearers, too, may find wearing prescription sunglasses is sometimes a far more practical alternative outdoors. For example, you may not want to wear your contact lenses on the beach where your eyes can become itchy and watery as you battle the effects of sand, sun, wind and water.
Even the non-prescription sunglasses you wear over your contact lenses may not provide enough protection. Also, wearing your contact lenses while swimming is a bad idea because of the possibility of potentially serious eye infections caused by microorganisms in the water.
But with prescription sunglasses, you have the option of wearing them anytime outdoors without the need to search for clip-on sunglasses or deal with contact lenses.
Posted by: glasses at March 07, 2010 03:39 PM (cqUZx)
8
I don't have time to click any links. I'm a busy man.
Posted by: Jeff M at March 07, 2010 07:23 PM (8P3+x)
9
I have a sudden urge to buy new glasses, and I don't know why?
Posted by: Johnnosk at March 07, 2010 07:33 PM (6mQLY)
Posted by: Ember at March 07, 2010 08:01 PM (LdRAG)
11
I don't know what the protocol is since I have no links, etc, but thanks for the link and writeup.
I actually posted here last week as "Authentic Replica Burberry Scarf" in the lace wigs thread. I've been linked by a blog that's been spammed by lace wigs. That's like two degrees of lace wigs. I have arrived.
Posted by: The Mega Independent at March 07, 2010 11:29 PM (5I0Yr)
1
So if I'm reading this correctly - and I am, as an engineer I am unintimidated by colorful lines and numbers - it looks like we will have sub-trillion dollar deficits for 5 of the next 10 years. After that, we will apparently have trillion dollar deficits... forever.
Posted by: Jeff M at March 05, 2010 07:07 PM (8P3+x)
2
While that is indeed what the chart says, Jeff, you need to apply more cynicism to your analysis. In other words, as the economy continues to be a pile of shit, expect all the lines to move upward as they move from the 'projection' stage to the 'reality' stage.
Posted by: Hermit Dave at March 05, 2010 07:29 PM (WhFvm)
Classless and Petty
This vid is good for a couple reasons. First, we see Obama acting in his normal, classless and petty manner. Second, we see the CNN tool admitting they spend their time just gazing at Captain Wonderful in their "iso" camera shot. CNN has vid of Capt. Wonderful listening attentively to Republicans last week.
Via No Runny Eggs (Just so you know, I'm not taking sides in the "runny/no runny" eggs debate)
1
I interpret most of those faces as disagreement, not mere disapproval. Obama believes his own hype. He really believes costs will go down, etc.
Posted by: JoeCollins at March 04, 2010 09:55 AM (iqSYm)
2
I'm certain he's just shaking his head at the mess he's created.
Posted by: Alice H at March 04, 2010 10:36 AM (qJHYy)
3
I watched with the sound off. In some of those shots he looks like a little kid pouting. Mostly he looks like he's fed up with people not agreeing with him and not letting him lead them by the nose. After all, bipartisan, as has been well established, means "agreeing with everything the winner wants."
Posted by: Nicole at March 04, 2010 11:41 AM (Lgaa+)
Allow me to don my conspiracy theory hat for a bit
Hey, it's got flowers and I'm in a festive mood.
Infidelesto is questioning the recent change of heart by the Obama administration with regards to the Fort Hood attack. Apparently Janet Napolitano has decided to put on her big girl panties and call Nidal Hasan an Islamic terrorist, rather than toeing what has been the official line about the attack being the work of a lone crazy.
I don't think Napolitano is stepping away from the official line, I think the line has moved. Just last week, at the National Governors Association's Special Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety, Napolitano stated that domestic terrorism is as big a concern as international terrorism. She was followed shortly by John Brennan:
Countering violent extremism is not just a federal issue, Brennan told the governors; it's something that needs to be addressed as a nation.
The White House hosted a meeting to discuss these issues Friday, Brennan said.
"There needs to be community engagement," he said.
Let's take a moment to contemplate what "community engagement" means in this context...
Does "community engagement" mean approaching domestic Muslim leaders to promote a pro-America message?
Does "community engagement" mean pressuring mosques to stop allowing terrorists an unsupervised place to meet?
Or does "community engagement" mean the civilian national security force that Obama promised us in July 2008?
Am I conspiracy-mongering? Is the Obama administration so completely stupid that they really didn't
recognize until this past week that all the Obama-infatuation in the
world isn't preventing terror attacks on American soil? Or is the new attitude in the White House that the plan to increase domestic surveillance is better served by playing up the terror angle, rather than downplaying it as the administration has been doing for the past year? I'm not sure which is worse, stupid or conniving. How pathetic is it that I'm hoping that the administration is merely obtuse rather than actively planning to tell us, "We didn't want to have to bring in surveillance, we didn't want to have to create a civilian security force, but in light of all this domestic terrorism..."
To quote a wise dude: "I always pray the government
is stupid instead of evil. Stupid doesn't end up anywhere... evil does."
Posted by: alexthechick at February 25, 2010 11:08 AM (lvYSc)
2
My brother gave me some words that have brought me comfort over the years. I now give them to you, Alice. Use them in good (mental) health.
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."
Posted by: MikeD at February 25, 2010 12:11 PM (FkL60)
3
Yeah, I dunno, they keep going back to the National Security Force idea, so I can't help but wonder if that was a reference to it, or if this was a token, We're gonna do unspecified stuff about things and stuff and get it done, type statement.
Posted by: doubleplusundead at February 25, 2010 12:27 PM (GcfAO)
4
Somebody wise on the intertubes (or some wise guy on the intertubes) once said, "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by malice and stupidity."
Words to live by.
Especially when discussing the people who work for an alinsyite-Chicago-Machine-Politician.
Posted by: Veeshir at February 25, 2010 01:04 PM (12Tcn)
5
Having been snarky, now I'll be serious. I'm deeply concerned about this "domestic terrorist" language because I view this as setting the stage for justifying expansive investigations. Like DPud said, the civilian police force thingy keeps getting brought up. I'll stop believe there's a portion of the Obama admin wants that when they stop mentioning it.
Posted by: alexthechick at February 25, 2010 01:14 PM (lvYSc)
I was watching NCIS the other day, and Gibs was interrogating a man that was suspected of having provided radioactive material to - get this - a PERUVIAN terrorist group bent on setting off a dirty bomb in Washington DC. (Can you say political correctness?) Anyway, that wasn't the point of me writing this.
The point was, that during the interrogation, the guy asked for a lawyer, and Gibs denied him a lawyer because, and I quote:
"You are a terrorism suspect."
The man was a US citizen.
A couple years ago I was almost banned from a different conservative site because of my constant railing against the Patriot Act and its built-in erosion of our civil liberties, just as long as what we are arrested for can be spun a "terrorism" in some way or another (they said "Bush would never use it in that way - of course, they boned up when I aksed if they intended for Bush to always be president forever). Of course, the act has no way to determine how to decide what is terrorism and what isn't, so the LEOs in each case basically get to make the choice themselves.
Terrorists caught by US military in a war zone are unlawful combatants caught on the battle field, and should be treated as such.
US citizens on US soil? Not so much, in my opinion. All they have to do is decide that you made "terroristic threats" and they get to throw the 4th and 5th amendments out the window, and you are royally rat-fucked. Case in point? A drug dealer in Okalahoma that the people in the neighborhood that he worked in "feared". He was a terrorist, and therefore, sneak-and-peek non-probable cause ad hoc, no judicial review "search warrants" were issued by the police officers investigating the case, and the charge stuck.
So, the moral is, under the USAPA, you'd better not let anyone "fear" you in any way, or else you're a terrorist.
It is fucked. Royally, irredeemably fucked, that we have allowed fear of thrid world backwater douchbags to erode our civil liberties, and it is only a matter of time before the USAPA is used so broadly that it becomes the defacto law-enforcement tool in America. Finally, no more of that pesky waiting for warrants and such, LEOS just get to go in (as long as they can prove that someone is afraid of you - and really, how hard is that?)
I believe that the plane crashing into the IRS building is what is driving this. They get to say "See? Domestic terrorism is really big problem, so we need to use the USAAPA more frequently". Just my two cents.
Posted by: Goober at February 25, 2010 02:35 PM (Pzz/u)
7
To add to my last sentence, I think this goes hand-in-hand with them trying to spin the douche that crashed the plane as a "teabagger." My opinion is that this change or heart is a calculated attempt to garner public support for going after fringers on the right as domestic terrorists. But I'm crazy like that, and I want to point out that I haven't been wrong about this shit yet...
Posted by: Goober at February 25, 2010 02:38 PM (Pzz/u)
8
That's more than a bit of an irony, but Gibbs deal was a bluff, just like with the two drug dealers that yielded the AQ plot, Just like the L&O crew probably violate more rights per week than the night crew at Gitmo
Posted by: ian cormac at February 25, 2010 03:03 PM (MZoau)
LEOs can't bluff about not giving a suspect a lawyer. And don't get hung up on the example, Ian, because the USAPA says exactly that - terrorist suspects don't get lawyers, they get waterboarded.
So exactly who deicdes who is a terrorist and who isn't? Janet Neopolitano? The same woman who wouldn't accept that not-so-white guy Nidal Hassan was a terrorist (just a "lone nut" twisted by PTSD - for a war he'd never been to) but quickly denounced a white guy who crashed his plane into the IRS as a domestic terrorist (teabagger) without batting an eyelash?
When you get arrested because you lose your temper and threaten a person in your neighborhood, and some overzealous LEO decides you're a terrorist, like that poor (but evil, drug-dealing) bastard in OK, what are you going to do? They don't have to tell you why they arrested you. They won't let you confront your accuser. They can search and seize your property without a warrant. You don't get a lawyer (in fact, you are barred by law from even speaking to one about your arrest). You can't build a defense because you don't know why you're in jail. You don't get the right to remain silent, and they can coerce confessions out of you however they please, including waterboarding you. You effectively disappear - lifelong vacation in Siberia time, pal!
I know it hasn't really happened yet, but they came close with that drug dealer in OK (or the baby-food smuggler in Vermont, that evil bastard!), and they get closer every time some communist nut job crashes his plane into a federal building and gets turned into a right-wing teabagger by the media. When something CAN legally be done by the government, but HAS NOT been yet, all it means is that they haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't trust a man simply because he has a badge on his chest, and I don't trust ANYONE who thinks that he should be in charge of my actions and effects in any way, so I guess that means I trust politicians and LEOs even less than your typical person (unless proven otherwise - my brother is a county sheriff's deputy, and I trust him)...
Posted by: Goober at February 25, 2010 05:00 PM (QNRoi)
Obama's appearance has convinced me of two things:
Michael Bennet is, indeed, going to lose his seat. Since Obama's done such a stellar job for everyone he's campaigned for so far.
Obama is like that pimply desperate boyfriend, the one who got the hot girl by pretending to be her friend, getting her drunk, and then fooling around with her while she was out of it. He's convinced that if he brings her back to the place where he first 'seduced' her, if he can just get one more everclear-and-punch cocktail into her so he can blur her judgment again, he can convince her to stay. Obama keeps coming back to Colorado thinking that if he just does things right this time, he can get back that faux-Parthenon magic from a year and a half ago. But the hot girl is starting to realize her friends are pointing and laughing at her and she gave up her virginity to someone who can't even string together a coherent sentence.
Shock: Banks and the US government don't give a crap
I found this to be a fairly well balanced article on the student loan debt problem. I am in basically the same position as the woman in the article, though thankfully not at quite those heights. I took out debt for law school. Through a series of things that were not my fault bad life choices, I deferred until I ran out of time. The principal amount tripled and I'm now making hellishly high payments. My choices, my consequences and I try not to whine about it too much. It sucks, it restricts my life choices and I try very hard not to think about how old I'll be before the loans are paid off.
I am somewhat torn about this entire situation. It is utterly self-serving of me to want there to be student loan reform. Would I like my interest rates dropped and principal payments lowered and the 20% default fee removed? Hmmm. Let me think about that for a minute. Of course I want that to happen. But I knew the details of the loans. I knew the consequences of failure to pay.
I am less than persuaded by those who claim they did not know the details. Read the fine print, people. Having said that, the loan process is stunningly opaque. The schools have a vested interest in getting as many people to take out as many loans as possible. What does the school care if you can't pay it back? They got theirs. Getting answers to questions such as "what will my payments be?" and "how much will I have to make to not starve in the streets?" are not easy. So while I don't particularly have sympathy for those who claim they didn't know the terms and didn't know about the default fees, etc., I do think the process can be far more open.
People do not realize that student loans are the one debt that does not go away. There is no discharge in bankruptcy. There is no negotiating a lower rate. There is no bargaining about the amount. The default fee is usually about 20% or so the then outstanding balance. Think about that. A person who has demonstrated that s/he cannot pay is now slapped with another huge principal amount. Interest then piles up on that as well. Loan sharks think that's insane.
What to do? Again, from a totally self-serving position, I think it should be easier to come up with some type of workout program. I understand that people who pay on time will be pissed about someone else not paying and then getting a lower rate. Think about this though. By the time that point is reached, the outstanding interest will be capitalized and will now be part of the principal. I think that alleviates some fairness concerns. There are supposedly limits as to how much can be garnished in order to prevent people from being pushed below the poverty line. In reality, it is nearly impossible to get any loan servicing agency to correct an error.
I am extremely hesitant to make loans dischargeable in bankruptcy. Even with the new bankruptcy laws, within 7-10 years that bankruptcy will fall off a credit history. Absolutely there will be those who use that to get a free ride for law school/medical school/business school. For that matter, I would argue that is a rational choice to make. Not moral, mind you, but rational.
If we're going to insist that everyone go to college, then kids need to be told about the true costs. They also need to be told that there's nothing they can do to get out of the loans. That's only fair.
1
There are some professions that could arguably be considered essential to national security. Currently Arab linguist would be one (as an example) I would not be opposed to the government picking up the tab for a certain percentage of people attending those programs.
On the other hand we have too many lawyers (no offense Alex) and MBAs are the painful ass cancer of society so no government grants / loans or guaranteed loans should ever be given to people attending those programs.
Posted by: chad98036 at February 15, 2010 11:41 AM (WNcvq)
So. We go to college. We have to borrow money to go ...because our parents cannot help us (or can't help us enough, or we don't have parents, or whatever). We're stupid, barely adults, with little (or no) experience in financial matters. We're lucky if we can balance our pathetic little check books (we're lucky if we even figure out that you should balance your check books ...and if you've never had an NSF fee for a check you wrote to buy groceries that went $3.92 over your balance, which cost you $20 in NSF-fees before you could borrow $30 in an embarrassed panic from your best friend to cover the check & those fees, well bully for you). We get in over our heads.
It's what idiot kids do: make bad - or more correctly, thoughtless - choices.
"I didn't know" ...or think ...or consider ...or have any clue at all ...
...is normal for a late-teens/early 20's pampered darling in 20th/21st century America.
And SOME of us - yes, us alex (I both sympathize and empathize) - took out those loans WAY before student loans were "bankruptcy proof" (my loans, my college career, were well before Congress passed the laws saying student loans could not be bankrupted).
...and - some of us - found it took us years to get any kind of decent paying job at all upon graduation. Or find a continuous job, that lasted for more than a year or two. Or even find any job (I was unemployed and/or underemployed for far more fucking years after college then I was able to find work ...any work, menial, "out-of-my-field" or what-the-hell ever ...I mowed lawns one summer, one very-bad-year).
...and - some of us - just made "bad decisions' about life and money and what-the-hell-ever. (Kind of like those people who bought homes they couldn't afford, that avaricious bankers loaned to anyways, that the government is so sympathetic over.)
...but now - some of use - are making decent money (though not enough to service those loans, for whatever-the-fuck reason), but we're paying commensurate taxes of those decent-money jobs.
But those fees, that interest, has grown to - perhaps - insupportable sums.
I've paid more than enough in additional state and federal taxes (never being lucky enough, or wise enough, to have been able to avail myself of various tax-advantaged programs, like the federal mortgage deduction for example IYKWIMAITYD, has meant I often paid $10K - $17K more per year - for years - in taxes, than the average of other people in my tax bracket) to cover that fucking idiot kid's debts. ADDED taxes that I - and that other, protected-class taxpayers did NOT.NOT.NOT have to pay - that would have paid off those fucking loans in ANY one.fucking.year period. (I apologize if I come across as the resentful bastard that I am btw: not.)
...which debt grew - and continued to grow - rather exponentially in the various unemployed/underemployed interim periods.
The student loan program is a fucking racket. Don't you dare feel guilty about desiring reform, alex. Don't you dare buy into the fucking guilt that those bastards want you to feel.
You were screwed. You continue to be screwed.
Reform is owed to all those kids - now adults - and their families, who were told that they would forever be second-class citizens if they didn't some way, by hook or crook, get that fucking useless piece of shit college degree at whatever cost ...and bought into that piece of propaganda.
Yes. I have an opinion about this.
You ain't the Lone Ranger dear.
Posted by: davis,br at February 15, 2010 11:50 AM (uCShA)
3
So, the very smart kids who go to Law school can't understand the fine print in the contracts they sign. These are the same folks who go on to become the Lawyers who write the fine print.
How the hell are the rest of us (not quite bright enough for Law school) supposed to understand?
Doctor heal thyself.
Posted by: Lazy at February 15, 2010 12:06 PM (/Kj6n)
1
There are some professions that could arguably be considered essential
to national security. Currently Arab linguist would be one (as an
example) I would not be opposed to the government picking up the tab
for a certain percentage of people attending those programs.
The Army has a Student Loan Repayment program for enlistees with outstanding student loans, which, the last I heard, paid up to $65k in student loans for a 3 year enlistment (AND, as an added bonus, college grads enlist at paygrade E-4).
Posted by: XBradTC at February 15, 2010 12:57 PM (kSlh5)
8The Army has a Student Loan Repayment program for enlistees with
outstanding student loans, which, the last I heard, paid up to $65k in
student loans for a 3 year enlistment
I was totally going to go into JAG but I have some health stuff that prohibited it. Also the short and fat thing and while I can fix fat there's not much I can do about the hobbitry.
Posted by: alexthechick at February 15, 2010 01:12 PM (8WZWv)
Posted by: TGSG at February 15, 2010 01:17 PM (VftRc)
10We're stupid, barely adults, with little (or no) experience in financial matters. *snip* We get in over our heads. It's what idiot kids do: make bad - or more correctly, thoughtless - choices.
I'm so fucking sick of this bullshit.The insinuation by people in their 40s that late teens and early 20s people are by default drooling morons incapable of even the most simple of abstract thought and planning.
Look. The people who took out loans without even considering whether they will be able to afford them did not do so because they were in their 20s, they did so because they were morons. If they hadn't gotten into the student loan trap at 18, they would have gotten into the interest-only mortgage trap at 27.
There is a certain percentage of people who will be financially responsible without having to see what irresponsibility reaps, and a much larger percentage who will only be financially responsible after the consequences of their idiotic decisions crash down around them.
And I think that not allowing student loan debt to be forgiven through bankruptcy is the single largest contributing factor to the exploding cost of college tuition. Companies don't even have to think twice before evaluating whether it is a wise idea to loan somebody $110,000 for a degree in underwater oboe playing, because those loans have to be paid back. Incidentally, this attitude was also a contributing factor to the mortgage bubble. Mortgage originators would approve anybody and everybody, because they knew they could always turn around and sell the loans to Fannie and Freddie, or some other bank. The people who were approved for their mortgages assumed that the banks wouldn't approve them for more money than they could afford to pay, so they bought the most expensive houses they could.
Posted by: Jeff M at February 15, 2010 02:18 PM (8P3+x)
11
I suppose one solution would be to stop offering student loans. Then people who can't afford to pay for college out-of-pocket and who weren't high enough performers in high school to earn scholarships won't have to be bothered with those pesky loans whose terms they can't understand.
Posted by: Alice H at February 15, 2010 03:47 PM (qJHYy)
12
I'm in most of the same boat as Alex, without the default fee (ouch). My first few years out of law school weren't exactly as high-paying as I'd imagined before I went in, so I deferred my loans for as long as I could. Unfortunately, when my deferral period ended I couldn't afford to make the minimum payment on my federally-guaranteed loans so I "refinanced" them thru the gummint right before interest rates took a nosedive. So now I have a mortgage at 7+% and I rent a crappy one-bed apartment. Combine that with some rather pointless use of credit in college and I'm just now getting out of that hole as I prep for my 20-year HS reunion.
I'd think (and this may still be the case, I'm not sure) that proof that you're no longer able to work in your chosen field due to circumstances beyond your control should still be grounds for discharging student loans in BK. Not, perhaps, for getting your law license yanked for malfeasance, but certainly for traumatic head injuries or something similar. Even if you couldn't get rid of default fees or any capitalized principal, why not make it possible for student loans to be refinanced like mortgages? If you've got fixed-rate loans, at least allow the students to take advantage of lower rates as they come along. That and maybe extended repayment terms (I know, lower payments, higher total paid) could allow students to have a bit more flexibility in choosing their careers once they finish borrowing the money.
Posted by: Greg at February 15, 2010 10:34 PM (RRwb4)
Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C.
Nearly $2 billion in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been spent on wind power, funding the creation of enough new wind farms to power 2.4 million homes over the past year. But the study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines.
Eighty. Fucking. Percent? What. The. Fuck?
Hey, I'm all for alternative fuels and shit like that, but is it too fucking much to ask a President and Congress allegedly on the side of "the working man" to fucking help American workers and manufacturers?
1
Dude. WTF is right.
I sent this up on Twitter & FB late last night with a demand to know who will defend this BS. No takers so far.
When you manage to fuck up (royally) a signature piece of signature legislation...
Posted by: Johnny I at February 10, 2010 10:14 AM (PfOvi)
In April of 2009, during a discussion about offshore exploration in San Francisco, Salazar said that President Obama directed him to “to make sure that we have an open and transparent government” and that “these are not decisions that are going to be made behind closed doors.” Salazar went on to say that President Obama wanted to make sure that DOI was “maximizing the opportunity for the public to give us guidance on what it is that they want to do.”
Yet, more than four months after the comment period ended, the Department of the Interior has failed to make any public announcement about the results, even though sources have told American Solutions for months the comments show a 2-1 advantage in support of offshore drilling.
It took American Solutions almost four months and the power of the Freedom of Information Act to finally uncover indirect confirmation that, out of over 530,000 comments submitted, pro-drilling comments outnumbered anti-drilling comments by a 2-1 margin.
In an email dated October 27, 2009, Liz Birnbaum, director of the Minerals Management Service, informs other Interior officials that a preliminary tabulation of the results of the comment period had not yet gone to Secretary Salazar, adding “{so} the Secretary can honestly say in response to any questions that he’s {sic} has not yet seen the analysis of the comments – staff is still working on it. I did, however, confirm to him the 2-1 split that these guys {at American Solutions}are emphasizing.”
Yaknow, I get the feeling Obama and his crew really don not care how the people feel about oil drilling and jobs. But that's just me.
1
And the funny part? They were surprised at the results. After years of patiently explaining to us retards we still don't realize that drilling and using oil is bad.
Why, I remember when they told us about how Prudhoe Bay was going to be an ecological nightmare, littered with the skeletons of dead caribou. I mean, just because the caribou herds increased and you always find them and other mammals cuddling up to the heated pipeline in winter, they were still right. Cuz oil is bad. It leads to increased standard of living and people actually thinking, gasp!, they're as good as our political, social, intellectual and moral betters.
I used to think they were commies, now I just think they're luddites, thinking of a better time when man lived in harmony with nature. Just because that's never actually happened doesn't mean it shouldn't have happened. And isn't that what really matters?
Posted by: Veeshir at February 09, 2010 12:55 PM (Yxu/y)
Another one bites the bus
This could get interesting. Speculation is that Holder's about to go under the bus. So far nobody's who gone under has really been harmed. Sure they're blamed for something, but it didn't affect their careers too much.
But Holder is big beans. If Obama blames too much on him, his livelihood could be affected. And I wonder if he engenders the same devotion as the Clintons. It used to amaze me that people would go to jail for them. But the Clintons didn't throw everybody under there, they were selective about it.
Holder might just defend himself and then what happens? He could muddy the waters a lot for Obama leading to a cascade effect where Obama has to throw more people under to "fix" things. Obama has thrown too many people under the bus for me to think the rest will fall on their swords. And if he'll roll Holder, his preacher and his mom under the bus, well, who won't he?
What happens when it's Rahm's turn? Rahm knows where the bodies are buried and he's not so pleasant to his enemies. I know he was in the Daly machine, but he also worked for Clinton and he really is a son of a bitch. He could probably bring down any prominent Dem politician he wants.
The next year or so could get interesting. And by "interesting" I mean fucked up. Roll President Biden around in your mind. His handlers can't keep him off the TV if he's the president. Imagine the first press conference where he opines about how the Shah should tone it down and stop trying to develop nukular weapons. Or the jokes about Alabama defending them when Russia invades Georgia. Or... Hmmm, maybe this belonged in "Funniest End of Civilization Ever"
1
I'm just pissed off it's Saturday, I want another snow day. Hopefully it's another foot plus and they'll still be dealing with it on Monday. Around here they mostly just push snow around and use solar snow removal.
Posted by: Veeshir at February 04, 2010 08:31 PM (iDkua)
2
I think it's hilarious that you're getting snopacalypsed and I'm getting like 2 inches.
Posted by: alexthechick at February 04, 2010 08:32 PM (TtXKB)
3
Srsly I stood in line at Ghetto Giant - not shopped, STOOD IN LINE - with @MarkDC for 40 minutes tonight.
Posted by: See-Dubya at February 04, 2010 08:52 PM (tAku4)
5
Yeah, I'm off work for the weekend and I'm out of coffee so I went to get some. The place was packed, I left and went to "Bottom Dollar" (no ghetto prefix needed) and they had something labeled "coffee". Root for me.
Posted by: Veeshir at February 04, 2010 08:53 PM (iDkua)
6
Well, #oldman told us to bring our snow shoes tomorrow. Which means I'll be one of the only people in the District working. Bananas.
7
Alex, the Lehigh Valley weather geeks are gnashing their teeth over this one. They're hella-pissed that PHL/SNJ will get tons of snow and leave them out of the fun.
Posted by: Mink Monica at February 05, 2010 09:46 AM (8NdkP)
8
Alex, the Lehigh Valley weather geeks are gnashing their teeth over
this one. They're hella-pissed that PHL/SNJ will get tons of snow and
leave them out of the fun.
Heh. I know. I'm taking glee in this. Of course, it's also annoying because boy BFF was going to be coming up here from Philly and I need him to do some heavy lifting for me. Now it's going to have to wait a week or so. Stupid weather.
Posted by: alexthechick at February 05, 2010 09:49 AM (TtXKB)
With the liberal green energy push, I'm not surprised that the new suggestion from Teh Won's administration is nuclear energy. With cap-n-tax looking like it will never see the light of day on the Senate floor, Big O has to do something new to maintain his status as Super-Green-Man; nuclear power is as good a way as any to do that, I suppose.
He used the SOTU to talk about nuclear energy, and now wants a whole new crop of nuclear plants (that's right - crop of plants, how cheese-tastic was that, huh?):
To back that up, he is expected to seek $54 billion in additional loan guarantees for nuclear power in his 2011 budget request to Congress on Monday, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the request has not been made public.
White House officials say Obama's actions reflect his long support of nuclear power. But lawmakers from both parties say the speech reflected a new urgency and willingness to reach out to Republicans who have criticized Obama for not talking more about the role nuclear energy can play in slowing global warming.
The 104 nuclear reactors in operation in 31 states provide only 20 percent of the nation's electricity. But they are responsible for 70 percent of the power from pollution-free sources, including wind, solar and hydroelectric dams.
Several analyses of the climate bills passed by the House and under consideration in the Senate suggest that the U.S. will have to build many more plants in order to meet the 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 called for in the legislation. One of those studies, by the Environmental Protection Agency, assumed 180 new reactors would come on line by 2050.
Something that is being glossed over in the MSM, however, is Obama's decision to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility. It merits a whole sentence in the article I quoted above.
This may get a little long, so if you're interested, go below the fold.
1
Of course you can just handwave it, it's in Obama's way.
Posted by: alexthechick at February 01, 2010 10:53 PM (TtXKB)
2
George Carlin once said, "You know what's all natural? Dog shit. You know something else that's all natural? Nuclear waste."
People think that nuclear waste is something exotic that isn't supposed to exist in nature by itself. Wrong. Nuclear waste just happens to be the natural decaying byproduct that would have happened on its own, except we sped up the process by several orders of magnitude, harvesting a bunch of heat energy off of it in the process. Nuclear waste already exists in nature, buried in the ground.
Think of it this way. Nuclear material came from the ground. It'll go back into the ground.
Posted by: EC at February 01, 2010 11:15 PM (iWj1i)
3
Yes, it's natural, but not regularly in the kind of quantities that nuclear power plants produce it, if I'm not mistaken.
Posted by: Ember at February 01, 2010 11:20 PM (LdRAG)
4
It's not the quantity, it's the concentration. All of the U-235 that exists now has (more or less, some has decayed from Plutonium and other heavier elements) has been here since the Earth cooled from a swirling cloud of gasses. All we did was find a whole bunch of Uranium that was super diffuse - covering a very large area - filter out all of the crap we don't need, and use it to power a vapor power cycle.
So the obvious solution is to de-concentrate it. Since even spent fuel rods still have something like 95% of the original energy content, all we need to do is re-enrich the spent rods, and filter out all of the crap again. Then we have a small amount of highly radioactive shit.
From there, what you do is mix that highly radioactive shit whit a whole bunch of dirt; something like a football-stadium-full. Then you give a shoebox of this very slightly radioactive dirt to a bunch of families, and have each of them bury it in their yards, about 5 feet deep.
That way the radiation is once again spread over an incredibly vast area, and nobody is harmed!
Or you could just store the shit in a cave for 10 million years. That would work too.
Posted by: Jeff M at February 01, 2010 11:53 PM (8P3+x)
Newer facilities have better waste control, don't they? I thought I remembered reading awhile back about miniature nuclear plants on truck beds or somesuch that had a smaller waste footprint? I may have been sniffing glue though, so...
And I'm not sure how he expects the green crowd to get on board with this. They are the same crowd that wants an end to nukes and equates all nuclear anything with Chernobyl and Hiroshima.
Posted by: Nicole at February 02, 2010 08:36 AM (Lgaa+)
6
Our idiot gummint made it illegal to reprocess spent nuclear fuel due to ridiculous fears of weapons proliferation. Like Jeff M said, spent fuel still retains 95% of its energy. But you can't move it because the greenies will sue, and you can't reprocess it because you'll get arrested by the feds. So it just sits at on-site storage facilities, slowly decaying and no use to anyone, while we sit around waiting for the wind to blow and the sun to shine.
Posted by: Rich at February 02, 2010 09:58 AM (Qrjpn)
7
Nicole, What newer facilities? None have been built in over 35 years. There have been great changes in technology but nothing has been built (here).
As mentioned above if reprocessed the actual waste from the largest plants operating for a year is equal to about a pickup truck bed full volume wise. Reprocessing takes most of the hottest and longest lasting isotopes out of the waste, making it less dangerous to store.
Posted by: Vmaximus at February 02, 2010 11:14 AM (EESSb)
8
Sorry, I'm not going to criticise Teh Won for this one. More nuke plants ARE the way to go. We just need to get a handle on the NIMBY shit, the enviroweenie shit, and the waste handling. We've got several workable plans available (including glassification, MOX, and long term burial, or a combination of these), but everyone wants to play their political games with this. You know one of the stupidest debates I've heard attached to Yucca Mountain (or any other long term burial site)? "How are we going to mark it so someone doesn't try to dig it up in 10,000 years?"
The theories included pictograms (since we don't even know if English will exist as a language in even 2,000 years, much less 10,000... history says no), skulls and crossbones, and even not marking it at all. The latter because any warning might be taken as "the Curse of the Americans" and encourage digging. My idea? Fuck them. I won't know anyone alive 10,000 years from now. Hell, if I had kids, in 10,000 years their descendants would be less related to me than eddiebear is now. And I don't even know him.
The point is, we just need to make a decision on where to store the shit, re-process as much of the fuel as we can for re-use, glassify the rest and bury it deep in as stable a location as we can find (i.e. out west somewhere). Any state wanting to bitch about transporting waste across their borders can suck a dick. Federal highway = federal property, you get the benefits Iowa, you get the suck as well.
Posted by: MikeD at February 02, 2010 11:18 AM (FkL60)
9
Science is a weapon anymore. Or rather, "science" is a weapon. They've spent the last 40 years explaining how evil and bad nukular power is and how the wasted is GONNA KILL US ALL!!!!!! so most people just think, "Duh, nukular power bad. Mmmmmmkay?"
This means changing people's minds is nearly impossible. Teddy Kennedy killed more people than Three Mile Island and yet TMI is the worst thing in the world and Teddy K was a saint.
The Big Lie works in many, different areas. People who want to make a difference but don't have the brains to learn how to do real science and make a positive accomplishment instead 'shade the truth' (read, lie) for a greater good. This way nothing good happens but they get to feel better about themselves, and isn't that what life's all about?
Posted by: Veeshir at February 02, 2010 12:20 PM (ayh+f)
10
I have buddy that works in the business of designing and permitting new (cough) plants. (there are a few that have been in the permitting stages over 10 years) The easiest way to overcome the NIMBY factor is to build it next to a existing plant, and the few that are in permitting are doing exactly that.
Another plus is unless someone is really old, the immediate question before a public review is "how long have you been living next to a nuclear power plant?" if the answer is less than 35 years then the obvious question is; do you mean to say you willingly bought a house next to a nuclear power plant but object to living next to it?
Posted by: Vmaximus at February 02, 2010 04:16 PM (EESSb)
Not new facilities, I guess, but I thought I had read about small reactors that were to power homes? They don't exist in the market now, but apparently the tech does and this company is supposed to be developing them for sale, 2013-2023.
I realize this comes from the Guardian, so may be total bunk, but I thought it sounded like a neat idea.
Posted by: Nicole at February 02, 2010 05:58 PM (iUBlB)
12
The little that I know about those small plants Nicole, is they are not reactors. They have Hot isotopes that can run a steam generator with no fusion involved. They absolutely work as advertised, but they do not run on fusion. Nasa uses similar power plants for some of their stuff. Radioactive yes, fusion no.
Posted by: Vmaximus at February 02, 2010 11:05 PM (EESSb)
13
Ah... I see. Thanks for the clarification. If it wasn't abundantly clear already, I don't know nothin' 'bout no nuclear power.
Posted by: Nicole at February 03, 2010 08:45 AM (Lgaa+)
You know what America needs? More jobs. Apparently, in Obama's 7 billionth speech last night, he said something about how investing in high-speed rail trains was teh ultimate fix to our broken economy. Which is funny, since I thought that a health care bill was teh ultimate fix to our broken economy. Or, wait, was it the stimulus program? Although I could have sworn there was something about carbon credits in there. Or maybe it was Hope And Change™? I get all jumbled up sometimes. The story changes so often, it's no wonder that Teh Won can't keep it straight. Or a silly little tattooed right-wing extremist tea-bagging blogger.
While Big O was talking about how awesome building trains was going to be (seriously, man?), the AP was deciding that they are kind of done with all this Obama worship. I know, it's fucking bizarre, but I think we should take what we can here.
But the jobs to design and make the rail cars and engines, signaling and track for the fastest trains will mainly go abroad to the European and Asian companies because it will take time for the U.S. to develop its own domestic high-speed rail industry, rail experts said. There will be U.S. manufacturing and engineering jobs for slower trains often described as "higher speed" or "midspeed." Much of the domestic high-speed work, however, will be the kind of construction and earth-moving work typical of highway projects, they said.
European and Asian high-speed trains average over 110 mph and some reach top speeds of around 220 mph. There is nothing equivalent in the United States. Indeed, most of the grants announced by the White House Thursday will go to rail projects that aren't in the same league as the fast trains being built elsewhere.
For the U.S. to decide to build high-speed train systems using primarily U.S. companies, "would be like Bangladesh deciding they want to have a space program and only use technology they have developed and manufactured themselves," said Anthony Perl, chairman of the National Research Council's intercity rail panel.
The technology gap between true high-speed trains and the slower trains in use in the United States is equivalent to the gap between the planes flown by World War I flying aces and today's jets, said Perl, an American who teaches transportation policy at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.
Some of the equipment purchased for high-speed rail like train cars might be manufactured abroad and the parts bolted together in assembly facilities in the U.S., he said.
"There will be some jobs that come out of it, but unless people are prepared to double the cost and take at least twice as much time to ramp up the capacity to supply this high-speed technology in the U.S., it's not there," Perl said.
1
He was in Tampa spouting that drivel today. They have been pushing for a bullet train along the I-4 corridor for decades. They put it on the the constitution a few years back but it has been held up by lack of funding.
It figures teh one would waste $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on this project so 1 or 2 tourists can go to Clearwater from Whorelando for a couple of bucks.
But if in Clearwater I hearty recommend http://www.shephards.com/restaurant.asp
Posted by: Vmaximus at January 28, 2010 11:09 PM (EESSb)
2
What is w/ Lefties and high speed rail?! Is it part of their Gaia-worship?? A desire to be more like Europe?? Tell me!
Posted by: ECM at January 29, 2010 01:56 AM (nYKDd)
What is w/ Lefties and high speed rail?! Is it part of their Gaia-worship?? A desire to be more like Europe?? Tell me!
A little from column A, a little from column B, some complete idiocy thrown in the mix? Just guessing, since I would never want to fully comprehend what's going on in a liberal's mind ...
Posted by: Ember at January 29, 2010 02:02 AM (LdRAG)
4
They just had a story on the local news about a high speed rail project that they're trying to get going here that will whisk you from SoCal to the Bay Area in a mere three hours.
A cheap-as-dirt Southwest Airlines flight takes one hour.
Yeah.
Posted by: Sean M. at January 29, 2010 02:16 AM (rLWHv)
5
I'm all for highspeed rail from NYC to my area and not because I plan on buying up cheap acreage and then reaming New Yorkers when they try to move out here or anything. No. My motives are pure.
If you'll excuse me, I have to go polish my halo now.
Posted by: alexthechick at January 29, 2010 09:30 AM (8WZWv)
6
A cheap as dirt flight takes an hour, but you've got to go through security, which adds at least another hour. Because people try to blow up planes, and people don't try to blow up trains, because there's no security on them.
Posted by: Alice H at January 29, 2010 09:40 AM (qJHYy)
7
I suspect they love rail because it includes centralized control over mass movements of supposedly free people.
Better roads and cars... why, people could just go anywhere they wanted, any time they liked, we can't have that going on.
Posted by: leoncaruthers at January 29, 2010 09:55 AM (PH0UW)
9
Of course they'll be made overseas, you don't just make mag-lev trains the same way you make diesel/electric ones.
Trivia: At least some of the subway cars in the DC Metro are from Italy. That disturbs me like buying a cap with an American flag on it made in China on Fort Belvoir.
Posted by: Veeshir at January 29, 2010 10:34 AM (RYrwv)
Barack Obama, world unifier
Maybe this guy's just the crazy brother of the heads of parliament and the judiciary, I dunno.
"When Barack Obama was sworn into office he talked of verbally engaging
Iran," the U.C. Berkeley graduate was quoted as saying. "What has
changed is that today this [the equivalent of the N-word in Farsi]
talks of regime change in Iran."
Update: definitely evidence that "what we've seen is a dramatic difference in terms of how the United States is perceived around the world," according to Valerie Jarrett.
With everything else going on, it's no wonder that this particular story has been largely ignored. After all, who wants to discuss the fact that one of Obama's first acts as President was to announce that Guantanamo Bay would be closed by, oh, tomorrow? Here's my favorite observation of the article:
Since Obama took office a year ago, more than 40 detainees have been removed from the naval base in Cuba — sent off to their homelands or to other countries. If the administration cannot quicken that pace, it would take until a hypothetical second Obama term to actually empty the site.