Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

We will not go back.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Republicans do not trust women.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

People are weird.

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Archives for 2009

NFL Draft Open Thread

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I’m already exhausted. I’ve cleaned, worked out, then walked a couple miles, then went and played with homeless animals for a couple hours. I think a nap is in order, and then it is time to find out who will help the Steelers win their seventh Super Bowl.

Also, Pens and Flyers tonight, and around here, the local animal shelter is having their annual fund-raising dinner (tickets are only 25 bucks, so I am off to that). I’ll probably post something later on tonight. Think I might go catch Earth, or if not, I’ll rent the Wrestler.

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That Time of the Year

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I was driving some cat food out to Animal Friends when I saw this on the side of the road, immediately did a U-turn, went back, and took a picture for all the ex-pat West Virginians out there:

Only in West by God Virginia. For those who have no clue what a ramp is, here is the wikipedia entry. I’ll let some of the commenters fill in their own personal ramps stories.

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Memo To Jay Bybee: We Don’t Remember George Wallace For Recanting

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File this under legacy maintenance.

Five years along in his new life as a federal judge, Bybee gathered the lawyers and their dates for a reunion, telling them he was proud of the legal work they had together produced.

And then, according to two of his guests, Bybee added that he wished he could say the same about his previous position.

[…] “I’ve heard him express regret at the contents of the memo,” said a fellow legal scholar and longtime friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity…

Wait. Strike that post title. Comparing this indirect, self-pitying mea culpa to George Wallace is an insult to George Wallace. When Wallace changed his mind he publicly apologized. Wallace dedicated his last term of governor to correcting his earlier mistakes. Unless Bybee plans to dish more thoroughly in the future, this Friday night bombshell deserves to be filed with other empty political non-apology apologies.

Let’s start with the last line above. Bybee “express[es] regret at the contents of the memo.” The contents of the memo should reflect Bybee’s thinking. Does that imply that he regrets what he was thinking at the time? The comment makes more sense if Bybee regrets letting someone else dictate the contents of the memo to him. That is a moment of professional weakness that a sensible person would regret. Naturally that would indict Bybee (for legal malpractice, among other things) rather than exonerate him, but John Amato has hints that this might be the case. Otherwise Bybee should explain what about his inner thought process he finds regrettable.

You might wonder whether Bybee’s non-apology could get any weaker. Oh yes it can.

Says the same friend,

“I’ve heard him express regret that the memo was misused.”

Every interrogator in the US government looked to Bybee’s memo for guidance on what they could and couldn’t do to helpless prisoners. It is not clear how such a document could be misused. If the US grabbed an innocent muslim off the street, locked him in a box with spiders, starved him, froze him, beat his head against walls, shackled him to the ceiling and left him standing for more than a week without sleep then Bybee’s little note would serve exactly the purpose for which it was written.

Nobody with the brains to earn a law degree* could possibly believe that a binding legal opinion authorizing torture by government interrogators would not lead to torture by government interrogators. Bybee feels legitimately anxious because the act of writing his memo, whose legal impact guaranteed abuses that followed it, was perhaps the greatest crime of all.

Maybe Bybee regrets the agents who went farther than his torture guidelines allowed, but that doesn’t make sense either. Those interrogators did not ‘abuse’ the memos; they exceeded their legal guidelines. Ashcroft or Gonzales could have prosecuted them if either of the two did not use their soul to store oily rags. I am not even sure how a series of memos that permissive could be abused. Did they waterboard Jane Harman?

If Jay Bybee regrets what he authorized then he can cooperate with the investigations to come. Until then I will cry a little tear for how uncomfortable he must feel at cocktail parties. I bet it feels like torture.

—

(*) Regent grads excepted.

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Lead, Follow, Or Get Ignored

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The new strategy- Republicans have six months to provide input on a health care bill, otherwise they will just do it without them:

Mr. Obama has given way in some battles with Congress, but the new stance suggests he may be much less willing to compromise when it comes to health care, his top legislative priority, even if it means a bitter partisan fight.

The no-filibuster arrangement is fiercely opposed by Republican leaders, who say health care is too important to be exempted from the Senate rules that usually mean major bills must win support from 60 senators.

At the White House meeting this week, Mr. Obama told senators from both parties that he did not want a health care overhaul to fail if it came up a vote shy of the 60 needed to break filibusters, the people with knowledge of the session said. Republicans have used the procedure themselves in the past, but Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, told Mr. Obama in the meeting that that approach was likely to heighten partisan tensions in Congress.

Oh, no. Does this mean they might call him a socialist or claim he hates America or is going to take away all your guns and coddle dictators? Because that could be devastating.

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Another Open Thread

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Has anyone seen the movie Earth?

Also, I have babbled about this several times in open threads, but I have finally found a hand lotion that does not make my hands feel greasy when I use it. It is called Borage Dry Skin Therapy Lotion – 8 oz, and it is a little pricey (like 12 bucks in my grocery store) and leaves your hands smelling like an old bar, but for once I can use lotion without having my hands slippery for an hour.

And yes, I fully expect to be called prissy again.

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TGIF

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Tedisco conceded, btw.

It is just beautiful weather here today. I have no idea what I am going to do, but I think it will involve sitting on a deck somewhere. I might have to go galt on a margarita. Does that even make sense?

*** Update ***

Better grab some condoms and Plan B, because Republicans are loose in NY:

Hide the 17 year old’s.

*** Update #2 ***

I guess, technically, I did go Galt on a margarita. I talked loudly about it, told everyone I was going to have one, and then didn’t. Instead I just had some shrimp salad and a pellegrino.

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Tech Question

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Currently I am running a Windows Vista system with a 1 terabyte raid array that I had networked to my old XP system, but it (the old XP system) apparently has decided to drop dead. Is there any easy way to simply install the hard drive from my old XP box into my new system? I have a bunch of archival stuff I need off that drive and am just not in the mood to fuss with fixing the old box.

Also, I am currently playing Badmotorfinger so loud while working that I fully expect my neighbors to call the police. I can’t help it. It is beautiful out and I just want to be out in the sun, but I am stuck here doing work. Feh.

Tunch is hiding.

*** Update ***

Apparently I have some Republican commenters:

All you have to do is waterboard the XP box, and it’ll give you all the data it has.

Thanks.

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