And my immediate thought was Louie Gohmert, then I second-guessed myself and said it was Steve Stockman. Shoulda trusted my instincts! Also acceptable guesses: Steve “Esteban” King, Michele Bachmann, Rand Paul. (2 comments)Lawmaker Says Woman Should Carry Brain Dead Fetus to Term
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Hors D’oeuvres
Saw this headline in the RSS reader, with no additional information:Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), makin’ with the insightful diagnosis of current events y’all, via TPM:“The President’s speech today will be viewed by terrorists as a victory,” said Chambliss, who recently golfed with the president, in a statement. > more ... (1 comments)
Sorry, folks, work has gotten crazy, and I realize I’ve been missing my (self-imposed) quota. But I’ll be back at you soon. Try to post something substantial tomorrow. (1 comments)Watching a Jerk Seize Main Chance
I so called this (pinkey swear) but I didn’t want to be the jerk who forecast somebody else f*ckin’ this particular chicken so soon:Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn will seek to offset federal aid to victims of a massive tornado that blasted through Oklahoma City suburbs on Monday with cuts elsewhere in the budget.
> more ... (0 comments)Judge Posner for the Win: Drastic Action Necessary To Un-F*ck U.S. Patent Regime
Sometimes you really have to hand it to Judge Posner.The sheer number of patents in the U.S. is fueling frivolous litigation and drastic action is needed to make patents more difficult to obtain and easier to invalidate, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit said Tuesday. > more ... (0 comments)
I continue to think that there’s no deeper scandal on Benghazi and that the IRS issue is not really something I’m inclined to worry about as it wasn’t national policy, the AP scandal is something that is very worrisome as it clearly was national policy and exposes one of the more disgraceful areas of the > more ... (1 comments)Rep. Michele Bachmann Threatens To Leave Minnesota Over Gay Marriage
So much awesome:Congresswoman Michele Bachmann threatened to leave Minnesota today if the state goes ahead with its plans to legalize gay marriage. In an interview with a local television station, the conservative firebrand said she believes God will destroy Minneapolis once the legislation is enacted, and wants to be far away when the reckoning happens. > more ... (4 comments)
Polled GOP Respondents Say Obama Hangnail Worse Than Holocaust
Announcement: Ignorant fucktards who think all this Benghazi bullshit is the worst thing to to happen since Jesus died are required to report to their local suicide booth immediately.… there’s no doubt about how mad Republicans are about Benghazi. 41% say they consider this to be the biggest political scandal in American history > more ... (2 comments)
Bioshock Infinite Causes Christian Gamer To Cry And Make Piddles
Some excitable christian fundamentalist nerd got all worked up into a lather because the game Bioshock Infinite required the main character to undergo a baptism.
“As baptism of the Holy spirit is at the center of Christianity – of which I am a devout believer – I am basically being forced to make a choice between committing extreme blasphemy by my actions > more ... (1 comments)
Just read this: This afternoon Senator Reid asked unanimous consent to go to conference on the concurrent resolution on the Budget. Senator Cruz was unavailable to be on the floor at this time to object. Out of respect for the long tradition of comity in the Senate, Senator Reid withdrew his request. Your eyes might drift to > more ... (1 comments)
As some of you have noticed, the site has been experiencing intermittent availability issues over the past many months. I’ve been working with our hosting company to try to find and fix the problem(s) – but they’ve proven themselves to be feckless, yet earnest. > more ... (0 comments)Why It's Important For Atheists To Stop Worrying About Religionists' Fee-Fees
Sean Carroll rightly calling on atheists to speak out and stop being polite about it:We have a responsibility to get the word out—to not be wishy-washy on the question of religion as a way of knowing, but to be clear and direct and loud about how reality really works. > more ... (1 comments)
We Paid For the Shadow Demon, We're Gonna Use the Shadow Demon
I realize that of all things featured in life’s rich tapestry this hardly rates a mention, but apparently another Dungeons and Dragons movie is making noise in the ‘Wood: The studio is actually quite far along in the development of the project, as it will use a script by Wrath Of The Titans and Red Riding > more ... (1 comments)The Loudly Ignorant Become Less So Once Shown They're Ignorant
I’m surprised that any of the fervently ignorant people surveyed in this study ever ended up moderating their positions. I wonder if the researchers included teabaggers in the sample population…
Four researchers at three different institutions joined forces to ask a simple question: why is it that people have such extreme positions on subjects that are rather complicated and nuanced? > more ... (0 comments)
I’m a sucker for arty books and paper inventions. (Not necessarily books about art, although those can be interesting too, if unaccountably heavy and given to making my floors creak.) The Museum of Lost Wonder, various items in the Wondermark Goodsery (no relation), the Edward Gorey Dracula Playset (of course), and pop-up books of > more ... (0 comments)Today's Trivia: Presidential IQs
Just found this Wikipedia list that has IQ scores for all U.S. Presidents (excluding Obama). The biggest surprise is how low Wilson comes considering his background and education, though it kinda makes sense considering how much stock he put in his own intellect, only to make the same mistakes again and again and never learn > more ... (1 comments)
THE GRAPEVINE
La la la, a dumb partisan take on a rather meh issue. Read Ezra Klein instead.
And besides, the Democratic left supposedly WANTs higher gas prices to curb global warming. If you both:
a) Believe global warming is a serious, pressing global issue and SOMETHING MUST BE DONE RIGHT NOW!
b) Complain about gas prices being too high.
You are either an utter hypocrite, an utter nonsense peddler, or some mix of the two otherwise known as “politics”
It would be real good if we could curb the excessive profiteering while doing something about global warming! Or do you feel that we should pay the huge profit to the big oil companies while they keep stone walling about the warming problem?
I agree that gas taxes should be higher, to drive less consumption, fund crumbling infrastructure and all that. that’s separate and apart from the various policy issues that affect (arguably in some instances) oil/gas supply/prices, such as offshore drilling, fighting oil speculation, fighting a war with iran and the strategic petroleum reserve.
Thanks for sticking a bunch of words in my mouth, Gherald! You know I always appreciate that ;) So strange that some brief little link got you all worked up that way.
Mark is right, there is zero contradiction between wanting to combat global warming and curtailing profiteering. Speculation isn’t, like, THE reason why gas prices are so high, but it was a big part of what led to the ’08 financial crisis. At the very least, it creates a good amount of uncertainty into the equation. Plus, the fairness issue.
I wasn’t aware that Republicans were pro-speculation, so I don’t see how this is a partisan issue. And I’m hardly a rote partisan, I’m quite vocal about being dissatisfied with how the Democrats operate. Your read on what the “Democratic left” believes notwithstanding, I don’t see gas prices as the whole ballgame on climate change. Cars certainly contribute to climate change, and things like hybrids and the Nissan Leaf (and just generally tighter mileage restrictions) are helpful in combating the problem. But the biggest factor is, and always has been, power plants, and specifically coal plants. Cutting those emissions would be far more significant. So, you’re wrong on where I stand.
And as for your ending, don’t make me laugh. Like I’m a major political actor here at this blog, with huge influence over what officials think. I mean, nobody in politics cares what someone like, I don’t know, Jon Chait has to say, and he’s much bigger than I am. Get real. I’m just here to amuse myself and others, and get my thoughts out there.
Mark, oil company profits, and the subsidies that make them crazy high, are an entirely separate issue from the speculation that happens on oil futures markets, like any other good that trades on futures.
Lev, my comment was a reaction to you saying “Good on him” and linking to something that’s sheer political nonsense and posturing. I did not raise the red hearing of you seeing gas prices as the “whole ballgame” on climate change. High prices are simply, and quite obviously, a necessary part of the ballgame played by Very Serious People who are Very Concerned About Climate Change (read: basically every progressive blogger in existence). People who play that game have no basis to complain about high oil prices. None. Whatsoever. STFU.
You can say that you’d like the high price to be in the form of a tax rather than subsidized oil company profits. And I’m in perfect agreement with you on that count! But again, none of this has anything to do with speculation on futures markets. Speculation goes hand in hand with finance, investment, and risk. It’s a good thing.
I don’t have anything to say about your (non)influence as a political actor and am unsure what you think this has to do with my comment about your peddling political nonsense. You want to be amusing? Be amusing. That’s fine. Peggy Noonan is amusing. Sean Hannity is amusing. They also peddle nonsense.
You know what’s less amusing? When people with real elected power, like say President Obama or Jim Demint peddle the nonsense. I, for one, don’t say “Good on him”. I say “Fuck you guys”. And that’s the nature of our disagreement.
Fair enough. I take your point.
and you really believe that the oil companies do not drive up the futures speculation!! They are connected and run by the same organization and people. If they where not the the “free economy” and the market would regulate itself, but not when both areas are controlled by the same people and the same organizations.