Iran Contra broke 25 years ago today. Reagan still sold weapons to Iran and started an illegal war in Central America.

Outsourcing to Charles Pierce: The Lost Opportunities of Iran-Contra, 25 Years Later

Rich assholes save more than you and I make

From ThinkProgress: The Average Bush Tax Cut For The 1 Percent This Year Will Be Greater Than The Average Income Of The Other 99 Percent.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who co-chaired the super committee, explained that the major sticking point during negotiations with the GOP was what to do with the Bush tax cuts. With that in mind, the National Priorities Project points out that those tax cuts this year will give the richest 1 percent of Americans a bigger tax cut than the other 99 percent will receive in average income:

The average Bush tax cut in 2011 for a taxpayer in the richest one percent is greater than the average income of the other 99 percent ($66,384 compared to $58,506).

Looks like I'm in the bottom half of the 99%. NOt surprising, because I'm still quite young. Hopefully the 1% will keep taking a disproportionate share of US income, and you and I can get poorer together and then everything will be fine.

Thanksgiving

Tis the time to offer thanks for Squanto, manifest destiny and so on

Get some.

Fuck Steve Jobs, he was an asshole and a shitty aesthete

As usual, something excellent from the Awl: Less Human Than Human: The Design Philosophy of Apple.

The widespread admiration for Apple's design ethos is in two parts: one functional, the other aesthetic. The functional aspects of Apple's products can indeed be magical and thrilling. But the vibe of Apple's product design is uniformly cool and impersonal, and the monolithic sterility of their glassy retail palaces is really something shocking. So far as design goes, it's an imperial aesthetic, entirely lacking a human dimension—or a potted plant. And this remains so, no matter how much the marketers have tried to soften things up with the aid of Justin Long, John Hodgman and sassy dancing silhouettes. Bow down, Apple seems to say. And in the cold, Big Brotherly sway of uniformity that it holds over millions upon millions of people, Apple seems to deny or even thwart the natural world, and with it the individual, the mutable, the unscientific, the instinctive, the flesh and blood. It won't surprise me a bit when they provide snow-white Matrix plugs to poke tidily into the back of your head. Or maybe even the heart plugs from Dune.

Steve Jobs was also a shameless exploiter of Chinese laborers, had bad taste in literature, and was an unrepentant hoarder of his wealth for no purpose. John Galt anyone?

Stay classy cops

From Crooks and Liars: Pregnant #occupy protester miscarries after police abuse.

After being pepper sprayed and hit in the stomach, a Seattle woman miscarried.

Apparently, she questioned their authority.

There's a lot of wierd shit in Chinese deserts

That is a pool that is 10 miles long and 5 miles wide. Look at google maps for a sense of scale: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40.452107,90.85693359375&ll=40.445379,90.814362&spn=0.357427,0.705185&t=h&z=11&vpsrc=6.

One hell of a cement pond. 5x10 miles.

Social control.

Michael Parenti:

There's really no economic interest involved in it.
They're not protecting the banks!
The police are just doing this because they're on a power trip,
or they're macho, or uh they're control freaks.
That's why they do it. No! Of course it's an economic,
of course they're defending the banks.
...
You see, there are people who believe that the function of the police is to fight crime.
And that's not true, the function of the police is social control,
and protection of property.

He's right, you know.

MIT Professor uses proper language about Romney

Mitt Romney has been desparately trying to distance himself from his signature achievement in Massachusetts: (near) Universal Healthcare for Bay State residents. In his ongoing commitment to his perpetual candidacy for higher office, he has tried to make distinctions between the Mass. Healthcare law and the one signed by President Obama. There is one issue though:

From TPM: Obamacare & Romneycare are the same fucking bill.

MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber:

“The problem is there is no way to say that,” Gruber said. “Because they’re the same fucking bill. He just can’t have his cake and eat it too. Basically, you know, it’s the same bill. He can try to draw distinctions and stuff, but he’s just lying.”

Way to tell it like it is prof. Rich assholes like Romney get what they want by lying through their teeth and saying anything their supporters want to hear. Unfortunately for Romney, the Affordable Care Act was modeled directly on his accomplishments in Mass.

Is it not insane that a major piece of the Republican platform is to deny healthcare to people?

In which old grannies are pepper sprayed

Looks like the cops in Seattle have it in for little old ladies. I have a hard time believing she was resisting arrest.

From Olbermann via Crooks and Liars: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/occupy-seattle-octogenarian-activist-dorli-.

Grannies? Really?

Courts say Occupy Boston can stay.

From the Globe: Judge issues temporary restraining order barring city from evicting Occupy Boston protesters.

Just in case Mayor Menino was thinking of trying his Bloomberg pants on:

A Suffolk Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order this afternoon barring the city of Boston from evicting Occupy Boston protesters from their encampment in the downtown area.

The order applies unless there is a fire, medical emergency, or “outbreak of violence,” Judge Frances A. McIntyre ruled.

Menino made a statement saying he didn't know why the Occupiers would go to the courts about this, conveniently forgetting the 100+ people, including veterans arrested on the Greenway a few weeks ago.

Cop not beating the shit out of a protester

Nothing to see here folks:


Move along. The protester is about to start attacking the cop's fist with the back of his head.

From Yahoo News and the AP (caption to the above photo):

An Occupy Wall Street protestor draws contact from a police officer near Zuccotti Park after being ordered to leave the longtime encampment in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, in New York, after police ordered demonstrators to leave their encampment in Zuccotti Park. At about 1 a.m. Tuesday, police handed out notices from the park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, and the city saying that the park had to be cleared because it had become unsanitary and hazardous. Protesters were told they could return, but without sleeping bags, tarps or tents. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

As we all know, cops never, ever hit innocent civilians. And besides, this kid is obviously resisting arrest. Look at him try to flee!

Side note: cop looks a bit like Michael Keaton.

Presented without comment:

Give Wikipedia a couple bucks

Click the nice button and throw them some scratch. Just a bit is still a contribution.

Democrats keep moving to the right? No Shit.

From Ezra Klein at the WaPo: The Democrats' peculiar negotiating strategy.

So far, Republicans have not said yes to any of the deals the Democrats have offered. They continue to assume a better deal is just around the corner, and thus far, they have been right. Currently, they may be assuming that yet a better deal could be struck with, say, President Mitt Romney, and if he wins the election, they may well be right. If Obama wins, a reinvigorated Democratic majority might prove them wrong. But the fact remains: Their strategy of saying no has, thus far, paid great dividends, though not ones Republicans have decided to collect.

Holy Space Ghost! Why do congressional Democrats and the Administration keep offering the republicans republican-idea based plans? Every time, they are derided as being the product of Kenyan Muslim socialism, which in turn spurs the Democrats to make their next plan even more friendly to republican ideologues. The new plan is then derided as the product of Kenyan Muslim Socialism, and the cycle repeats.

Perhaps actual left-wing policies could be proposed? Maybe then when the compromise happens it will actually be a compromise and not the just a republican proposal from a few years back.

Fuck.

Newtmentum!

And... Newt Gingrich takes the lead.

Sweet Christ. Does no one remember what an asshole this guy was 15 years ago? Bueller?

Some are oblivious to reality

If you actually can't see the correlation between what Occupy Wall Street is doing and the easily identifiable inequalities inherent in our system pictured above, I officially abandon hope for you. Cripes, its not that hard to stay informed. Look at a graph

Chuckles?

I think this is a joke: http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/some-thoughts-on-jack-and-jill. Who can say?

Still down with The Awl, either way.

They will call it judicial activism...

And they'll be assholes. It's called justice fuckers.

From Matt Taibbi: Finally, A Judge Stands up to Wall Street.

The amazing thing about the wave of corruption that has overtaken the financial services industry is that most of it couldn’t happen without virtually every player at every level signing off on these deals. From the ratings agencies to the law firms to the accounting firms to the regulators to the bank executives themselves, everybody had to be on board in order for a lot of these fraud schemes to work.

Judges are a part of that picture, and too often, members of the bench sign off on dirty deals made between banks and regulators when the law says that such settlements must be “fair, reasonable, adequate and in the public interest.”

It’s great that Rakoff is behaving as any decent human being would and rejecting these disgusting settlements. But equally disturbing is the fact that more judges haven’t done the same thing. Are people with backbones really that rare?

To those who still ask "WHY IS OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTING?"

Well, in simple terms I would say they want justice. Economic justice perhaps? Judge Rakoff understands that banks and financial firms are not above the law merely because they control vast sums of wealth, and through it, wield disproportionate amounts of political and social power. The people at the various Occupy Everywhere protests understand this as well and are tired of it. Their demand is economic justice, not handouts. Props to them and props to those like Rakoff who do the right thing.

It rains.

Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops of water heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated leading to rainfall: cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air. Virga is precipitation that begins falling to the earth but evaporates before reaching the surface; it is one of the ways air can become saturated. Precipitation forms via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Rain drops range in size from oblate, pancake-like shapes for larger drops, to small spheres for smaller drops.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain

And there you have it.

Douglas Rushkoff has interesting things to say

Check this interview with him out at hilobrow.

Intriguing?

Would you look at that...

Jerry Sandusky wrote a book called "Touched"

And he fucks little boys in the showers. Jesus tits, what a world. It like he knew he'd get caught and have a movie made about him and the boy touching and whatnot, right?

Hippie Punching on Whitehouse,.gov

From It's Just a Ride:

White House: FUCK YOU HIPPIES!

Indeed, when this website was first announced, it seemed like Obama and his team were making an honest attempt at testing the waters regarding American's feelings on a lot of contemporary issues. That is until some of the responses started being released.

Unsurprisingly, supporters for change regarding marijuana legislation teamed together and gathered a staggering number of signatures for their petition - topping the threshold that would demand an official response in its first day. For half a heart-beat, stoners and sobers sympathetic to the cause shared a brief unifying moment of hope, holding on tenaciously to the dream that maybe someone in power would finally lend an interested ear. That is until the site posted their official response from Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In his response Gil basically says "Fuck You, hippies. These are the rules." Which of course is the perfect response for anyone hoping to set the stage for constructive democratic discussion. You can read Gil's response here.

"Sure we'll listen to you. Just don't expect new or sensible answers." Hippie punching doesn't make republicans vote for you fuckers, it just alienates your own base. Jesus tits.

Take that stereotypes!

From McClatchy:
Black and Asian teens are less likely than whites to abuse drugs or alcohol.

Black and Asian adolescents are much less likely than their white peers to abuse or become dependent on drugs and alcohol, according to a Duke University-led study based on an unusually large sample from all 50 states.

"There is certainly still a myth out there that black kids are more likely to have problems with drugs than white kids, and this documents as clearly as any study we're aware of that the rate of . . . substance-related disorders among African American youths is significantly lower," said Dr. Dan Blazer of Duke's Department of Psychiatry, a senior author of the study.

Surprise, surprise! I wonder what the heartland, corn-fed, Tea Party (the GOP base) has to say about that?

Don't be absurd

I implore you to listen to Bill Moyers

He is a very good journalist.

Why New York’s Zuccotti Park is filled with people is no mystery. Reporters keep scratching their heads and asking: “Why are you here?” But it’s clear they are occupying Wall Street because Wall Street has occupied the country. And that’s why in public places across the country workaday Americans are standing up in solidarity. Did you see the sign a woman was carrying at a fraternal march in Iowa the other day? It read: “I can’t afford to buy a politician so I bought this sign.”

We know what all this money buys. Americans have learned the hard way that when rich organizations and wealthy individuals shower Washington with millions in campaign contributions, they get what they want. They know that if you don’t contribute to their campaigns or spend generously on lobbying,

WHY ARE THEY PROTESTING!!!!!???

They have....A plan?

Throw this shit at people who say the Administration has put forth no effort.

Facts!

Tucker Carlson & The Daily Caller are full of shit.

A fine friend of mine, who is also a gentleman & a scholar, pointed me to this story from Tucker Carlson's shitrag the Daily Caller: NYC Arrest Records - Many Wall Street Protesters Live in Luxury. He noted he "bet this shit is bunk but here you are." He was right. 2 minutes of googling sheds some light on just how disingenuous the Caller story is.

My response:

Tucker Carlson and his gang tend to be full of shit. The median home value figure he sights for the country is more or less correct, but most of the occupiers live in NYC, where the average (mean) home value is 457,800 according to the same website he sites: http://www.zillow.com/local-info/NY-New-York-home-value/r_6181/.

The rent figure he uses is also low compared to the NYC average of $2800 according to: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-10-21/news/29441696_1_rent-jon-pastor-miami-tops.

The shittiest thing in the article does is use the median figures for the protesters instead of the mean (average). This can heavily skew the numbers up if there are a few very wealthy people in the sample. The median is the one in the middle, not the actual average.

So, in short: fuck Tucker, fuck the Daily Caller, and fuck right wing figure mangling to prove their spurious points and discredit anyone they disagree with.

When it comes to your news sources, remember: caveat emptor.

Selah.

p.s.
Since when is $1800 rent for a city apartment high? I pay that in a less than ideal section of Boston (albeit with 3 roommates).

I can't get enough Charlie Pierce

Read this: The Case Against David Brooks, Man of the Privileged Few.

It is about this man, who is among the cleverest of right-wing hacks (but who remains a hack, nonetheless):


It was written by this man, who is not only not a hack, but a fine sportswriter as well:



And it stirs my brain-meat into remembering its fondness for this man, who was also not a hack, and was another fine sportswriter:

You can't make this shit up

From Mother Jones: The story of four old white guys who planned a Constitution saving killing spree at Waffle House.

Also, this smacks of FBI instigated terror sting operations.

Damn right!

Borrowed from :http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal-aka-fran/open-thread-165.

Well That's Reassuring...

From ProPublica: U.S. Government Glossed Over Cancer Concerns As It Rolled Out Airport X-Ray Scanners.

Research suggests that anywhere from six to 100 U.S. airline passengers each year could get cancer from the machines. Still, the TSA has repeatedly defined the scanners as “safe,” glossing over the accepted scientific view that even low doses of ionizing radiation — the kind beamed directly at the body by the X-ray scanners — increase the risk of cancer.

“Even though it’s a very small risk, when you expose that number of people, there’s a potential for some of them to get cancer,” said Kathleen Kaufman, the former radiation management director in Los Angeles County, who brought the prison X-rays to the FDA panel’s attention.

About 250 X-ray scanners are currently in U.S. airports, along with 264 body scanners that use a different technology, a form of low-energy radio waves known as millimeter waves.

Robin Kane, the TSA’s assistant administrator for security technology, said that no one would get cancer because the amount of radiation the X-ray scanners emit is minute. Having both technologies is important to create competition, he added.

“It’s a really, really small amount relative to the security benefit you’re going to get,” Kane said. “Keeping multiple technologies in play is very worthwhile for the U.S. in getting that cost-effective solution — and being able to increase the capabilities of technology because you keep everyone trying to get the better mousetrap.”

Thanks TSA! I guess by this point, "Only 100 of you will get cancer this year while we violate your 4th amendment rights, so fuck you and stop complaining" isn't really a surprising thing for the TSA to be saying to the citizens of the United States.

Good news everyone!

Rad. Weak speed doesn't fuck up your heart.

An analysis of data collected from more than 1.2 million children and young adults between the ages of 2 and 24 years of age found no evidence that the medications increase the risk for heart problems, as had been feared.

Just don't tell the Crue:

You may want to buy your processed chicken sandwich elsewhere

Apparantly, the owner of Chick-Fil-A is a bigot.

On a side note, I don't now about you, but I'd have to be pretty drunk to eat something that looked like the sandwich above.

In Which Ann Coulter Proclaims Black Republicans Superior to Other Blacks

My, my. Ann Coulter continues leaving the rails on her train of crazy:

From Balloon Juice: Ann Coulter on Cain: “Our Blacks Are Better Than Their Blacks”

Coulter once again praised the conservative black people she had known, arguing that “our blacks are so much better than their blacks” because “you have fought against probably your family, probably your neighbors… that’s why we have very impressive blacks.” She went on to compare conservative black Americans to the family of the President, arguing that “Obama… is not a descendant of the blacks that suffered these Jim Crow laws,” that he was “not the son of American blacks that went through the American experience,” but the “son of a Kenyan”

Keep wagging that finger, Coulter.