1 corinthians 13:11 - alternate translation

When I was a child I drank like a child. When I became a man I put childish non-whiskey drinks behind me.

And now that I'm old, its vodka clubs because i can't deal with the jamesons hangovers anymore. i think jesus did something similar, changing water into smirnoff after the resurrection.

Newt's Appeal?

So the latest explanation I've heard for Newt's appeal amongst the republican base is via Kevin Drum - basically they all still think Obama's a drooling imbecil who can't string together a coherent sentence without a telepromter. Its all just affirmative action that got him to harvard, the law review, senate and the presidency. Beside the absurdity of that opinion after 3 years of his presidency in which he's demonstrated clear oratorical skill and policy expertise, it brings to my mind another question. If Obama can become president due solely to "affirmative action", how is it that our entire public and private power structure is not filled with, even dominated by, a bunch of black and brown men and women? Surely if affirmative action could raise the likes of Obama to the presidency, then the senate and housewould be overflowing with affirmative action picks. Yet somehow congress remains 84% white and 82% male . Wierd. And of course we've had a grand total of 1 black president in our nation's history.

I wonder how the republicans screaming about affirmative action would explain this. I can only imagine many think (if they were to think about it) that all black and brown people are so damn lazy and stupid that Obama is still the best of the bunch, with just enough brain power to read a teleprompter. And now they all think Newt, with his towering intellect, is going to prove just how much of an empty suit Obama really is. Well, all I can say is, good luck with that. Newt can get some good applause lines out at republican debates and right-wing events, but I doubt abolishing child labor laws will play quite so well with the rest of the country.

Too bad our leaders don't know how to bluff

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/world/europe/europe-in-accord-on-basics-of-plan-to-save-the-euro.html?_r=1&hp

In the end, it was Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France against the European banking establishment — and the bankers blinked......
For hours, negotiators had been trying to persuade the banks to accede to a “voluntary” 50 percent loss in the face value of their Greek bond holdings. The banks, which had already agreed to a 21 percent write-down, had dug in their heels.

They knew how badly the European leaders needed a deal, and how much financial experts feared a disorderly, involuntary default. That could set off a “credit event,” throwing world financial markets into turmoil, much as the collapse of Lehman Brothers did in the fall of 2008.

But Mrs. Merkel called the bankers’ bluff, said officials present at the discussions. Accept the 50 percent write-down, she told the bankers, or bear the consequences of default. In effect, she was willing to risk a credit event, and to place the blame for any fallout on them.

Pretty much the opposite of what happened here, during the 2008 financial crisis. Instead, US banks and financial institutions got massive bailouts and paid almost no price for their excessive risk taking and idiotic decisions. And taxpayers paid the price while the financial industry booms. But god forbid we have writdowns on underwater mortgages, student debt forgivemness or expanded social services support for the poor and unemployed. That's socialism/moral hazard/class warfare. All hail the JOB CREATORS!

The future is now, and its wierd

So 3-d printers are getting more and more affordable and user friendly it seems, to the point where lots of unexpected projects are popping up. The latest interesting one I've seen (via slashdot) is a campaign to make thousands of hermit crab shells because:

Hermit crabs don’t make their own shells. They scavenge their homes. And now,
hermit crabs are facing a housing shortage as the worldwide shell supply is
decreasing. With a shell shortage, hermit crabs around the world are being
forced to stick their butts into bottles, shotgun shells, and anything else they
can find. This is not acceptable. As a community, we can reach out to this
vulnerable species and offer our digital design skills and 3D printing
capabilities and give hermit crabs another option: 3D printed shells.

http://www.shareable.net/blog/3d-printing-community-crowdsource-saving-species

It will be interesting to see if this works.

on a barney frank kick today

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You shouldn't go on Tilt AFTER you win 140k

http://wickedchopspoker.com/what-would-you-do-if-you-won-a-million-dollars/

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Occupy Elm Street

When did "manifesto" become a good thing?

WSJ pans Romney's economic plan "a technocrat's guide more than a reform manifesto.". While its true Romney's plan is terrible (for many reasons including it wants to do stuff that's basically impossible), it strikes me as amusing that the WSJ wants a "manifesto" instead of a technocrat's guide. But, no, they're not ideologically driven and divorced from economic reality at all.

73%

see, i told you.

Who are you going to listen to?

The debate on the causes, nature and solutions to our economic woes has been ongoing for years, and one side is is plainly wrong. Its not long term government debt projections that we need to worry about, or inflation, or the god damned stupid debt ceiling. Its low aggregate demand and high unemployment, private household debt and deficient federal revenue. This is plain as day to anyone smart who's looking at the data with an unbiased eye and a clear understanding of economics. I am not one of those people, but I know who they are and i know how to listen to the smart people making the logical arguments supported by the data. So lets take a look at 3 people and what they're saying:
1) Bill Gross, probably the most famous and one of the most successful bond investors in the world

2) Warren Buffet, probably the most famous and one of the most successful businessmen in the world and

3) Joseph Stiglitz, nobel prize winner and one of the most famous economists in the world

Gross - "Fiscally, however, an anti-Keynesian, budget-balancing immediacy imparts a constrictive noose around whatever demand remains alive and kicking. Washington hassles over debt ceilings instead of job creation in the mistaken belief that a balanced budget will produce a balanced economy. It will not.

The president and Congress must recognize that an AA-plus country, to remain AA-plus, must focus on growth, not debt reduction, in the short term. We have a debt problem — but primarily a crisis of aggregate demand. A 21st-century Keynes would have recognized this and sounded the alarm, pointing out that policymakers from a fiscal perspective are pointing us toward recession and the destructive 1930s instead of a low-growth but still breathing U.S. economy of the 21st century."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/americas-debt-is-not-its-biggest-problem/2011/08/10/gIQAgYvE7I_story.html

Buffet - " We raised the debt ceiling seven times during the Bush Administration," Buffett told CNBC on Thursday. Now, the Republican-controlled Congress is "trying to use the incentive now that we're going to blow your brains out, America, in terms of your debt worthiness over time....We had debt at 120 percent of the GDP, far higher than this, after World War II and no one went around threatening that we're going to ruin the credit of the United States or something in order to get a better balance of debt to GDP"..... We shouldn't be playing Russian Roulette with the debt ceiling....I would go after the very rich.....Removing stimulus too fast could be a negative

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/07/07/137684470/warren-buffett-playing-russian-roulette-with-debt-ceiling-is-silly

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/warren-buffett-debt-ceiling_n_892332.html

Stiglitz - "austerity is not only a recipe for pain now, but for more pain in years to come." And we should 1) repeal Bush tax cuts for the rich 2) End the wars 3) Use further stimulus including poublic works programs and 4) reform medicare part d to allow the government to negotiate drug prices.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/joseph-stiglitz-simple-4-step-plan-solving-america-120134116.html;_ylt=ApgO0_piB5btWZ4ROVmAPoC7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2YTVyYTF1BHBvcwMxMgRzZWMDdG9wU3RvcmllcwRzbGsDam9zZXBoc3RpZ2xp?sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=

So to all the tea partiers, the republican congress and the various and sundry republican presidential cadidates, I'll stick with these guys for advice, thanks. You can stick to looking for Obama's birth certificate and fighting against the myths of evolution and global warming.

Fuck the New Jersey DMV

So here's my New Jersey rant. About a year ago, I got pulled over for being on my cell phone. OK, you got me. Reasonable law, fine me, whatever.

But lo and behold, my driver's license is suspended. "Why is your license suspended?", asks the police officer.

"Why IS my license suspended?" asks the francis.

Turns out, a parking ticket i forgot to pay. So now I get hit with a big old driving on a suspended license ticket, plus the cell ticket and I can't drive home. I'm lucky the cop didn't arrest me, which he could have. For a parking ticket.

So i go to court, pay a butt load of money and get it all taken care of. So last week, I get pulled over for no reason. Ask the cop why and he says "I ran your plates and your drivers license is suspended. Why is that?". Well, long story short, turns out when my license was suspended the first time and I got pulled over, the DMV automatically charges an insurance surcharge of 250 bucks. They don't tell you that in court and I never got a notice in the mail. So my license was suspended again. And I had to pay 350 for that, and go to court next week with a max penalty of 750 + 10 days in jail or something crazy + resuspending my license again. FUCK NJ.

The sad plight of Rick Santorum

Stephen Colbert points out that Rick Santorum is still being dogged by the Dan Savage designed affiliation of his last name, Santorum, with the frothy mixture of lube and feces created during anal sex. Now, whenever anyone googles santorum, that's what comes up. And just by posting about it and adding another link to that definition, i've contributed to the problem. poor guy.

http://www.spreadingsantorum.com/