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to the syrian rebels months ago, i thought i remember reading that the USA announced it was still going to send communications equipment

yeah, here we go:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/11/30/can-u-s-communication-kits-help-syrians-get-around-the-internet-blackout/

the usa has been providing assad-less commlinks to syrians for awhile now

I'm curious to know this as well.

"Not a record low" might make sense if data was limited to the boomer generation, which it clearly isn't since they're (per TFS) reliable since 1920. In the context of a --widely documented-- plummeting of birthrates during the industrial revolution, I'd be hard pressed to think this is anything but the lowest record ever for the US. 1920, in case it needs reminding, was a year after the Spanish Flu pandemic, and in the midst of the economic depression that followed WWI -- shit tons of bad debt got liquidated almost overnight, so it didn't last like the current one. In a country that never say a battle on its soil after it entered the latter in 1917, at that.

FWIW, that birthrate seems to have "little prospects for a better economic future" written all over it. Probably for good reasons, too.

On a separate note, it might be time to open the immigration floodgates with Mexico. Oh wait!

He's a Republican In the House of Representatives. I think Ebola and North Korea are more popular in the US right now.

So why did the Republicans beat the Democrats by about 35 House seats a few weeks ago?

That's what I thought at first, having lived through Andrew in Florida -- I was all, "psh, its only a category 1". However, thi sisn't a Yankees media situation. Sandy was significantly more powerful then the category would imply.

For one thing, by the time it hit NYC, it was no longer a hurricane -- it had merged with one or two cold storm systems that were coming in from the other direction. This changed the dynamic of the storm significantly: whereas hurricanes gain their energy from the warm ocean waters, this type of storm gained its energy from the difference between the cold and hot storm systems merging together. Or something. (The precise details are not clear to me: I'm not a meteorologist)

Sandy was also *huge* -- measuring the total energy in the storm, it was bigger then Katrina. Hurricanes can get intense but the brunt of their power is focused. They may have a lot of wind speed, and strictly by that measure Sandy wasn't very impressive... but when you have a cat 1 spread out as far as Sandy was, its pulling in a HUGE amount of water.

It wasn't the wind that was so destructive here: it was the storm surge that the huge storm system brought with it.

More sciency stuff at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/sandy-packed-more-total-energy-than-katrina-at-landfall/2012/11/02/baa4e3c4-24f4-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_blog.html (Warning: yankee media)

But, really. Its not just rhetoric of omg the Yanks are finally getting hit that made this seem bad. It really was a very, very, very bad storm and the hurricane classification only makes it seem small.

The President doesn't have the AUTHORITY to change the tax structure

I totally agree with you, the executive doesn't have the constitutional authority to change taxes or issue budgets. So I wonder, why is the Speaker of the House begging Obama to do all of the hard work for his caucus?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/09/days-after-victory-obama-faces-fiscal-cliff-as-budget-office-warns-recession/

House Speaker John Boehner on Friday put the ball in President Obama's court over the so-called "fiscal cliff," calling on the president to step up with a solution to avert the double-whammy of spending cuts and tax hikes that threatens to trigger another recession.

---

the same electorate returned who returned Obama also returned a Republican majority in the all important House of Representatives.

As others have mentioned, many state legislatures gerrymandered the ever loving shit out of state districts, packing as many Democrats as possible into a single district that is usually won in excess of 70%, and then spreading the rest of the Democrats thinly enough in other districts that the Republicans will still win.

For example, Obama absolutely crushed Romney in PA, yet only 5 of the 18 districts went for Democrats. Obama also won Ohio, not by as much but he still won, and yet Democrats only won 4 of the 16 districts.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/11/07/how_ridiculous_gerrymanders_saved_the_house_republican_majority.html

In fact, more people voted for Democratic representatives in the House than Republican representatives. The actual popular vote figure across the country is 48.8% Democrat, 48.5% Republican - and yet the GOP still has a 30+ advantage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/09/democratic-house-candidates-winning-the-popular-vote-despite-big-gop-majority/

many are starting on CO2 sequestration.

For values of many that are close to none

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/10/11/so-you-want-to-stash-your-carbon-emissions-underground/

Moreover, no country has yet figured out how to capture and bury carbon-dioxide from coal-fired power plants effectively.

You complain about people demonizing "clean coal" then boast of things that don't even exist.

It's pretty well established that the tornadoes were not statistically unusual so any claims that they are the result of global warming are hogwash.

As far as Sandy goes, there are several factors in action; increased development along the coast, an unusual confluence of spring tides and the storm surge, and sea levels and ocean temperatures that have increased due to global warming. It is reasonable to assign some of the damage that occurred due to the increased sea levels and temperatures but the rest, nope.

Here's a pretty balance view of the situation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/the-whole-truth-about-superstorm-sandy-and-climate-change/2012/11/15/d3b7ceea-29e4-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_blog.html

Sandy does provide an excellent example of what happens with stupid development policies, something that is a huge problem. With decent policies the damage could have been a lot less.

Or maybe Murray is just making a political statement becase coal can't compete against cheap natural gas from fracking.

On Wednesday, Murray also laid off 54 people at American Coal, one of his subsidiary companies, and 102 at Utah American Energy, blaming a “war on coal” by the Obama administration. Although that charge was repeatedly leveled during the election, energy analysts say that the coal-mining business is suffering because of competition from low-cost natural gas and rising production costs of coal, especially in the Appalachian region.

The company was the subject of an article in the New Republic that said the firm forced miners to attend a Romney campaign speech in southeastern Ohio in August. Murray denied the account.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/after-obama-re-election-ceo-reads-prayer-to-staff-announces-layoffs/2012/11/09/e9bca204-2a63-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_story.html

Some quick poking around finds that the oil and gas industry has spent well over 300 million this year on interest ads and lobbying.

NASA is proposing a $2.4 billion increase in climate research through to 2015. That would be on average $800 million a year going to the scientific community, pretty much because enough of them claimed that AGW is an urgent danger. That's just one source of funding in one country for the scientific community because they propagate a particular point of view.

until Marco Rubio finds proof of it in the bible.

It's amazing, Israel has the wealth, the brains, and the resources to protect and defend its people with systems like this.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians have nothing, but to blindly lob rockets into a sovereign country.

This clearly illustrates to the world who is the civilized one, and who the savages are.

It is clear that there is one cause of this; Islam. The linked article gets it when it says:

The New York Times has figured out that Hamas has been “[e]mboldened by the rising power of Islamists around the region” and is making use of its “increased clout” with the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt. Yes — news flash! — the Arab Spring is a disaster for Israel and for the cause of peace in the region.

Of course I was being modded down on Slashdot for pointing out that the "Arab Spring" would lead to a worse situation than the dictatorships it replaced as it was happening and our foolish governments were supporting it.

Before this Dekatron came back to life, the title of being the oldest working digital computer was held by NS1978. On hearing that it lost that coveted title, it got despondent, got drunk and was seen stumbling through traffic on the Jersey Turnpike, screaming out what time each driver will get home.

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

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html

There are others and its really hard to quantify what the end result is for most of the programs. For example, CRP has a stated goal of "reducing erosion" but ends up raising food prices by providing an incentive for those who do not farm arable land. Its used a lot by those who own land primarily for hunting because you can get paid for essentially keeping the land as you would before.

That means it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the world to meet its professed goal of limiting global warming to 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.

A bastion of openness and counterculture, Silicon Valley imagines itself as the un-Chick-fil-A.

When has Chick-fil-A ever called for censorship? Last I checked, progressives were abusing government power to silence Chick-fil-A, not the other way around.

Think aboout what "cuts to pensions" means. You work until you're too old to work, and then Mr. Twinkie Man tells you "We actually CAN'T pay you what we'd promised to." The money you have literally spent your whole life expecting...

By the way, last time the same union agreed to a benefits cut, Hostess then welched on their word and went back into Chapter 11 hearings anyways...

http://m.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/why-didnt-hostess-workers-believe-the-threats/2012/11/16/0638138e-302f-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_story.html

Sure...

Sue companies for using h.264 patents they hold?

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/26/motorola-scales-back-itc-case-against-xbox/

Track everything everyone does online?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/google-tracks-consumers-across-products-users-cant-opt-out/2012/01/24/gIQArgJHOQ_story.html

Circumvent the privacy settings in safari to track people online?

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/10/business/la-fi-google-ftc-20120810

Refuse to integrate turn by turn navigation on the iDevices to try and keep android relevant?

http://www.webpronews.com/google-maps-out-of-ios-6-over-voice-navigation-dispute-sources-say-2012-09

Although there are multiple sources on the last one, some of which make varying claims. Some claim that google refused to do it, others claim that google wanted apple to include latitude (a different google product), the ability to display ads, and the ability to track iOS users. While they aren't required to provide anything at all, it is definitely bad faith since they already had the code base and back end capable of doing so, they wanted to give Android a better map. It wasn't about the code, the work, or the complexity. Apple at one point (allegedly) even offered to pay to have them do it, and it was out right refused.

This looks like a good place to post this. I took the data from this economist article and broke it down by red vs. blue state according to this map. This is what I found:

[snip]

What I found is that you have no clue how to do data analysis and have concocted some bogus correlations to push a liberal agenda. In 1984 and 1972 all states were red but one . That one shot just sank your bogus analysis and agenda, but I'll add some detail. I'll focus on a prime example we can all relate to of why these federal spending "deficits" into states exist and that they have nothing to do with which presidential candidate carried the state in the last election, i.e. whether the state is "blue" or "red". Since 1968 New Mexico has voted Republican 7 times and Democrat 5 times. It is blue after the 2012 election and was blue in 2008, Obama winning the state easily both times. In 2004 it was red when G.W. Bush won the state by a gnat's hair. New Mexico has the highest federal spending to taxes paid ratio of any state, $2.03 for each $1 in taxes as of 2005, and has been roughly equally blue and red over the last 50 years. Why such a deficit?

* population of only 2 million people
* Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2.2 $bn/year, $100+ million each year on compute hardware
* Sandia National Laboratory, 2.1 $bn/year, $100+ million each year on compute hardware
* 3 US Air Force bases: Holloman AFB, Kirtland AFB, Cannon AFB, many $bn/year, no time to research exact $$
* White Sands missile testing range, unkown $
* Protection and management of 6 National Forests in the state, unkown $
* many other fed govt facilities

The reasons for these federal spending "deficits" and "surpluses" have nothing to do with red and blue. New Mexico has been blue 5/6 recent elections, and red in 6/6 from '68 to '92. New Mexico's current 2:1 ratio and the state's growth are directly linked to a single project in the 1940s called "Manhattan". The first nuclear bomb test of the Trinity device destroyed nothing in New Mexico but the tower upon which it was perched and some wooden shacks. But it was nuclear fertilizer for the state, spurred population and economic growth for decades, with nearly all of the money coming into the state economy for 50 years from Uncle Sam for nuclear weapons research.

To understand these federal spending "deficits" and "surpluses" into the states you must look at each state individually. It usually boils down to how many federal facilities and employees are in a state, and/or defense/govt contractors, vs population. California has a great number of military bases, defense contractors, govt labs, etc, but the state's population is over 1/10 of the entire US, 37 million people, greater than the population of Canada and 160 other countries. Thus private sector output and federal taxes are greater than the dollars Uncle Sam is injecting into the state's economy.

when the NYT and Tribute did a recount in Florida in two different ways, they still found for Bush no matter how charitable they were to the ambiguous ballots.

Had Gore managed to trigger a state-wide recount, he would have won.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12623-2001Nov11.html

But the study also found that whether dimples are counted or amore restrictive standard is used, a statewide tally favored Gore by 60 to 171 votes.

That wasn't Petraeus, it was John Allen, who was Petraeus' successor, and until a few hours ago was on track to be the Supreme Commander of NATO.

Holy fuck, what is the matter with these people?

This looks like a good place to post this. I took the data from this economist article and broke it down by red vs. blue state according to this map. This is what I found:

* There were 20 surplus states and 30 deficit states.
* Of the 24 states that voted for Romney, 4 of them had a surplus.
* Of the 26 states that voted for Obama, 16 of them had a surplus.
* Together, the blue states had a net surplus of 2.57 trillion, the red states had a net deficit of 1.50 trillion.
* The average blue state had a surplus of 98.8 billion; the average red state had a deficit of 63.0 billion.
* Four blue states (New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Minnesota) each had a surplus greater than all the red states with a surplus combined.

Wow, thanks for that link. Gotta love the economist.

If you compare the map from that article to a 2012 election map (e.g. this one), there is an unmistakable correlation. Texas is an anomaly.

Of the 20 states that give more than they receive, 16 of them are blue. The first red state is Nebraska at 9th place, but it's surplus (44.3bn) is tiny compared to the big surplus states (e.g. New York with a surplus of 956.2bn). Of the 4 surplus red states, only Texas (surplus of 389.8bn) tops 100bn surplus.

If the country were to split to USA_red, and USA_blue, USA_blue would have a huge tax surplus, while USA_red would be screwed (Texas would be carrying them, in fact.)

If I can figure out a way to OCR the economist data (in PNG format, FFS, why?), I'll post some numbers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/world-on-track-for-nearly-11-degree-temperature-rise-energy-expert-says/2011/11/28/gIQAi0lM6N_story.html

http://globalwarming.berrens.nl/globalwarming.htm

Marion Barry was first racist against Asians

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/74866.html

We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops. They ought to go. Iâ(TM)m going to say that right now. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too.

He then fake apologized for his racism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dcs-marion-barry-widely-rebuked-for-comments-about-asian-business-owners/2012/04/05/gIQA27SVyS_story.html

By late Thursday, Barry backed off the remarks, saying through his Twitter account that he is âoevery sorry for offending the Asian American communityâ with an âoeadmittedly bad choice of words.â But he continued to voice concern about conditions at some restaurants and other businesses in Ward 8, which he said are owned mainly by Asians.

âoeI admit, I could and should have said it differently. But the facts are still very present in our daily lives here,â he tweeted. âoeWe are tired of sub-standard treatment, tired of being kept [at] arms length distance, tired of the lack of community engagement.â

Then he slurred the Polish people while apologising to Asians

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/marion-barry-commits-new-gaffe-while-apologizing-to-asians/2012/05/24/gJQASY7nnU_story.html

At a news conference after the meeting, Barry and several Asian American leaders sought to present a united front, saying that the dialogue is an important step toward defusing long-standing tension between blacks and Asians. Asked about the underlying sources of the conflict, Barry said the United States âoehas had racial tensions since it was founded.â

âoeThe Irish caught hell, the Jews caught hell, the Polacks caught hell,â Barry said, invoking a word that Polish people have viewed as disparaging.

Marion Barry was first racist against Asians

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/74866.html

We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops. They ought to go. Iâ(TM)m going to say that right now. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too.

He then fake apologized for his racism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dcs-marion-barry-widely-rebuked-for-comments-about-asian-business-owners/2012/04/05/gIQA27SVyS_story.html

By late Thursday, Barry backed off the remarks, saying through his Twitter account that he is âoevery sorry for offending the Asian American communityâ with an âoeadmittedly bad choice of words.â But he continued to voice concern about conditions at some restaurants and other businesses in Ward 8, which he said are owned mainly by Asians.

âoeI admit, I could and should have said it differently. But the facts are still very present in our daily lives here,â he tweeted. âoeWe are tired of sub-standard treatment, tired of being kept [at] arms length distance, tired of the lack of community engagement.â

Then he slurred the Polish people while apologising to Asians

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/marion-barry-commits-new-gaffe-while-apologizing-to-asians/2012/05/24/gJQASY7nnU_story.html

At a news conference after the meeting, Barry and several Asian American leaders sought to present a united front, saying that the dialogue is an important step toward defusing long-standing tension between blacks and Asians. Asked about the underlying sources of the conflict, Barry said the United States âoehas had racial tensions since it was founded.â

âoeThe Irish caught hell, the Jews caught hell, the Polacks caught hell,â Barry said, invoking a word that Polish people have viewed as disparaging.

\http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150446.htm

http://inhabitat.com/carnegie-institution-study-finds-there-is-enough-wind-power-to-meet-global-energy-demand/

We can do this, but we have to contain and neutralize the political power of the fossil fuel companies and their ideological compatriots.

In comparison, climate change, here, anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is not going to get dramatically worse, if we don't do anything about it. For example, they generally forecast the loss of about as much land over the next century from rising water levels (assuming a one meter rise) as are lost each year from desertification due mostly to bad agricultural practices.

This is a joke. This is the exact opposite of what every scientific report says.

Your post is a classic example of someone holding forth in an authoritative tone who knows exactly zero about the subject he's pontificating on.

Global Warming Threatens Our National Security IISS: âoeA Global Catastropheâ For International Security

A recent study done by the International Institute for Strategic Studies has likened the international security effects of global warming to those caused by nuclear war. [On Deadline]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/09/climate-change-.html

U.N.: As Dangerous As War United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this year that global warming poses as much of a threat to the world as war. [BBC]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6410305.stm

Center for Naval Analyses: National Security Threat In April, a report completed by the Center for Naval Analyses predicted that global warming would cause âoelarge-scale migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over food and water.â [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/320929_secured.html

Genocide in Sudan
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon charges, âoeAmid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change.â [Washington Post]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501857.html

War in Somalia
In April, a group of 11 former U.S. military leaders released a report charging that the war in Somalia during the 1990s stemmed in part from national resource shortages caused by global warming. [Washington Post]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/14/AR2007041401209.html

Starvation
A study by IISS found that reduced water supplies and hotter temperatures mean âoe65 countries were likely to lose over 15 percent of their agricultural output by 2100.â [Yahoo]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070912/ts_nm/climate_security_dc

Large-Scale Migrations
Global warming will turn already-dry environments into deserts, causing the people who live there to migrate in massive numbers to more livable places. [MSNBC]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19479607/

More Refugees
A study by the relief group Christian Aid estimates the number of refugees around the world will top a billion by 2050, thanks in large part to global warming. [Telegraph]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/14/nclimate14.xml

Increased Border Tensions
A report called âoeNational Security and the Threat of Climate Change,â written by a group of retired generals and admirals, specifically linked global warming to increased border tensions. âoeIf, as some project, sea levels rise, human migrations may occur, likely both within and across bo

In comparison, climate change, here, anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is not going to get dramatically worse, if we don't do anything about it. For example, they generally forecast the loss of about as much land over the next century from rising water levels (assuming a one meter rise) as are lost each year from desertification due mostly to bad agricultural practices.

This is a joke. This is the exact opposite of what every scientific report says.

Your post is a classic example of someone holding forth in an authoritative tone who knows exactly zero about the subject he's pontificating on.

Global Warming Threatens Our National Security IISS: âoeA Global Catastropheâ For International Security

A recent study done by the International Institute for Strategic Studies has likened the international security effects of global warming to those caused by nuclear war. [On Deadline]

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/09/climate-change-.html

U.N.: As Dangerous As War United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this year that global warming poses as much of a threat to the world as war. [BBC]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6410305.stm

Center for Naval Analyses: National Security Threat In April, a report completed by the Center for Naval Analyses predicted that global warming would cause âoelarge-scale migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over food and water.â [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/320929_secured.html

Genocide in Sudan
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon charges, âoeAmid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change.â [Washington Post]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061501857.html

War in Somalia
In April, a group of 11 former U.S. military leaders released a report charging that the war in Somalia during the 1990s stemmed in part from national resource shortages caused by global warming. [Washington Post]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/14/AR2007041401209.html

Starvation
A study by IISS found that reduced water supplies and hotter temperatures mean âoe65 countries were likely to lose over 15 percent of their agricultural output by 2100.â [Yahoo]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070912/ts_nm/climate_security_dc

Large-Scale Migrations
Global warming will turn already-dry environments into deserts, causing the people who live there to migrate in massive numbers to more livable places. [MSNBC]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19479607/

More Refugees
A study by the relief group Christian Aid estimates the number of refugees around the world will top a billion by 2050, thanks in large part to global warming. [Telegraph]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/14/nclimate14.xml

Increased Border Tensions
A report called âoeNational Security and the Threat of Climate Change,â written by a group of retired generals and admirals, specifically linked global warming to increased border tensions. âoeIf, as some project, sea levels rise, human migrations may occur, likely both within and across bo

You're very wrong. The CPI is exactly what you suggest we do - they check prices of common consumer goods in real stores. If the government bogeyman scares you, look at MIT's billion price index. It's an online survey of many prices, updated in real time. And it matches the CPI very accurately.

First off, Obama did what he could with a Republican party that wanted nothing more than for him to lose his second term. Dont believe me? They even said this.

You might want to get away from your liberal blogs from time to time: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/when-did-mcconnell-say-he-wanted-to-make-obama-a-one-term-president/2012/09/24/79fd5cd8-0696-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html

Secondly, the Republican party is full of nut jobs and puppets.

Totally, like this nut who thinks Guam is going to flip over and capsize: http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0410/Georgia_Dem_Guam_crowded_might_capsize.html

We have something now called the internet, and despite the large amount of false data out there, the real data (and recordings) remain.

Funny that, and you can't even get your own facts straight.

We are smart, educated, and intelligent, something the Republican Party has feared for years.

Spoken like a teenager who "knows it all." It's a good thing you figured everything out. I was worried for a bit because we had some difficult problems out there.

I counter with this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/did-the-stimulus-work-a-review-of-the-nine-best-studies-on-the-subject/2011/08/16/gIQAThbibJ_blog.html

And what you cite as a the broken window "fallacy" is not necessarily a fallacy.

Further, many investors are sitting on cash such that there is not a shortage of investment money in this down-turn.

And most cases of stimuluses being used appear to have helped at least some.

There are majors where all you need to know is how to read and write, where arriving at a correct solution is nowhere near as important as sounding like you arrive at a correct solution. These are not most STEM majors. If a student has not worked to internalize the math and science in high school or on their own time, free tuition is not going to help them succeed, especially since tuition is often the least expensive component of the overall equation.

Furthermore the last thing I wanted in my college classes were students how were there because it was the path of least resistance. I was all too often that student, and I know how horrible I was. But at least I had an intrest in the subject, and took the classes a little seriously, not just to make a grade, but to learn. One thing I liked about upper level science classes was that all the testing security and micromanagement went away, and we were free to just explore and learn.

Good thing our alternative, Obama, is not dishonest.

Except.. didn't he promise to shut down Guantanamo, end warrantless wiretaps, and restore habeas corpus? Perhaps your +5 Insightful is evidence Obama is a better liar than Romney.

Don't worry, Republican friends, Mitt will just claim he wasn't actually running for President anyway.

It is often the little things that are most revealing:

Over in Chicago, the Obama campaign had invited 10,000 to fill the floor of the McCormick Place convention center. But here in Boston, Mitt Romney favored a more genteel soiree for an exclusive crowd.

Romney's election-night event was in a ballroom at the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center that could accommodate a few hundred. Most men wore jacket and tie; women donned dresses and heels

Outside the ballroom, waiters in black tie tended bar, and Jumbotrons showed the election results on Fox News. Downstairs, Romney's big donors assembled in private rooms for finer fare; guards admitted only those whose credentials said ''National Finance Committee.''

But the election results, even filtered through the rose-colored lenses of Fox News, were not promising.

Michigan fell to Obama, and then so did Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Obama was holding his own in Florida and Virginia, and things were looking grim for Romney in Ohio. The ballroom was as quiet as a library as the audience listened to the Fox personalities on-screen.

''Romney would have to draw to an inside straight'' at this point, pronounced Brit Hume, who predicted ''an awful lot of recriminations.''

Romney had spent nearly two years, and hundreds of millions of dollars, trying to convince Americans that he wasn't an out-of-touch millionaire unconcerned about the little people --- that he was more than a caricature who liked to fire people, who didn't care about the very poor or the 47 percent who pay no income tax, who has friends who own NASCAR teams.

He very nearly achieved it: Polls showed him neck-and-neck with Obama in the campaignâ(TM)s closing days. But his final day in the race showed why he couldnâ(TM)t persuade enough working-class Americans that he spoke for them.

On election night in 2000, George W. Bush hosted an outdoor rally for thousands in Austin. In 2008, Barack Obama addressed a mass of humanity in Chicago's Grant Park.

The very location set the candidate and his well-heeled supporters apart from the masses: The gleaming convention center, built with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, is on a peninsula in the Boston harbor that was turned into an election-night fortress, with helicopters overhead, metal barricades and authorities searching vehicles. Only a few gawkers crossed the bridge from downtown to stand outside.

At Romney headquarters, the defeat of the 1 percent

but not to make Obama look bad. They should obstruct his "agenda" because it is the wrong direction for the country.

Yes, it would be bad form for the country to help veterans find jobs. I am sure every single one of the republicans that voted against this bill had also opposed the unfunded wars that created these veterans in the first place
Oh, wait...

VA - Filed registration 45 days ago, didn't take effect, told yesterday by three election offices to vote where I was previously registered, two hours of driving, turned away, told to file provisional ballot where I live, provisional ballot where I live must be defended.

Apparently these guys made their money and did their job:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/virginia-voter-fraud-case-expands-to-focus-on-gop-firm/2012/11/02/76285252-24eb-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html

I've read about this happening to other people but can't believe it happened to me. Understand what voter ID laws are. They are voter fraud laws - they create voter fraud. Can't believe it happened to me.

This is what worries me. The election is, by most polls, a dead heat. It was bad enough in 2000 with all the jockeying done then and the accusations flying back and forth. But this time around there's been so much interference via both official and unofficial channels that getting a generally-accepted winner in the event of a tie is going to be next to impossible.

VA - Filed registration 45 days ago, didn't take effect, told yesterday by three election offices to vote where I was previously registered, two hours of driving, turned away, told to file provisional ballot where I live, provisional ballot where I live must be defended.

Apparently these guys made their money and did their job: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/virginia-voter-fraud-case-expands-to-focus-on-gop-firm/2012/11/02/76285252-24eb-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_story.html

I've read about this happening to other people but can't believe it happened to me. Understand what voter ID laws are. They are voter fraud laws - they create voter fraud. Can't believe it happened to me.

In Northern VA myself. Voted thrice in Minnesota and many times in Virginia. Have to say that Virginia requirements are ridiculous for voting and are almost designed to stop people who don't have their shit together from voting. In 2000 on the U of MN campus I was walking around campus on election day and outside they had a big thing setup for me to vote. I had my student ID and driver's license and that was all they needed to register me, take my vote and give me a voter registration ID! They asked if I had a utility bill and I told them I was living in a dorm room on campus. No further questions needed, just had to fill out a form.

I arrive in September of 2004 in Virginia ... totally different story. After producing my birth certificate and about five other forms of documentation at a Virginia DMV, I get my VA license. A month later I check out what I have to do to vote. Guess what? You have to register 22 days before the election SO I was basically shit outta luck. Good thing I was able to absentee ballot for Minnesota (having recently moved).

Seriously, I check five or six times each election year that my stuff isn't messed up on the VA voter website because if that stuff isn't accurate down to a T you aren't voting. One of my friends moved across town, showed up to his old precinct with his last residence on his voter ID card and his new residence on his driver's license. Aaaaaaand they wouldn't let him vote. The real kick in the pants was they told him that if he hadn't shown them his driver's license and he could have recited his old address, they would have let him through.

So my experience today? Showed up at 5:45 am today. Waited until 7:15 am in line to vote. Voted on paper (line was much shorter than the electronic line) and was out. I only saw one advertisement on my way to vote: a portly fellow came in through the doors and removed his jacket to reveal a Romney/Ryan shirt upon the vast real estate of his chest. As he walked by he looked large and in charge. It should be noted he was only the former.

Can someone tell me why voter registration can't happen at the polls?

that has quite a bit to do with a hostile Republican controlled congress the last 2 years

You'd be hostile too if you had to deal with this kind of smug, ideological stubbornness: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3231645&cid=41890361

They made their intentions very clear that their only goal was to make him a 1 term president.

I'm sorry you fell for the Democrat talking point: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/when-did-mcconnell-say-he-wanted-to-make-obama-a-one-term-president/2012/09/24/79fd5cd8-0696-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html

I don't think Obama knew how polarizing of a figure he would be.

Really? http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/11/president_obamas_i_won_to_repu.html
"The president added, "I won. So I think on that one, I trump you."

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdb11f_you-can-t-drive-says-obama_news
"No. You can't drive."

http://ponderingpenguin.blogspot.com/2010/10/obama-tell-gop-to-go-to-back-of-car.html
"They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back"

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/11/obama-i-shouldnt-have-used-the-word-enemies/1
'we're going to punish our enemies and we're going to reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us

Ya, that guy isn't polarizing at all...totally "work across the aisle" mindset there...clearly begging Republicans to give him some good ideas. It takes alot of chutzpah to claim the other side of refusing to work together and obstructing everything while maintaining this kind of attitude. It honestly boggles me how anyone can vote for these people.

"Right off the bat, they actually came out and said that their top political goal was to stop Obama from getting elected to a second term."

Was it really "right off the bat"? Or was it in after the 2010 elections -- and the President had made if fairly clear that he really wasn't willing to compromise and work with the other side?

You may want to read this before you answer.

of course, our infrastructure is in fine shape, our roads don't need upgrading. neither do our comms infra or any of the other social programs that help raise the overall qualtiy of life for everyone.

oh, but the infra can go fark itself. it will just self manage. right? that rotting bridge or overpass - we don't need to invest in fixing that.

You'll never make any real progress until you start identifying the actual source of the problems.

Obama and the Women’s Lobby

. . . The 2009 stimulus program set the pattern. The president had originally called for a two-year “shovel-ready” plan to modernize roads, bridges, electrical grids, and dams. Women’s activists were appalled. Op-eds appeared with titles like “Where Are the New Jobs for Women?” and “The Macho Stimulus Plan.” More than 1,000 feminist historians signed an open letter urging Mr. Obama not to favor a “heavily male-dominated field” like construction: “We need to rebuild not only concrete and steel bridges but also human bridges.” Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), attacked the “testosterone-laden ‘shovel-ready’ terminology.” Christina Romer, who chaired the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, would later say, “The very first e-mail I got . . . was from a women’s group saying, ‘We don’t want this stimulus package to just create jobs for burly men.’”

The president’s original plan was designed to stop the hemorrhaging in construction and manufacturing while investing in physical infrastructure. It was not a grab bag of gender-correct transfer programs. The whole idea was to get Americans back to work, and it was “burly men” who had lost most of the jobs following the financial collapse of 2008. But as protests mounted, the president’s team reconfigured the bill according to NOW’s specifications. In a column entitled “Economic Recovery: What’s NOW Got to Do with It?” Gandy could hardly contain her elation: “As we looked through the act, over and over we saw reflections of the very specific proposals that we had made, and with big numbers next to them. Numbers that started with a ‘B’ (as in billion).” To read Gandy’s column is to understand why shovels are still standing idle and the stimulus was such a disappointment . . . .more . . .

No Country for Burly Men - How feminist groups skewed the Obama stimulus plan towards women's jobs.

A "man-cession." That's what some economists are starting to call it. Of the 5.7 million jobs Americans lost between December 2007 and May 2009, nearly 80 percent had been held by men. Mark Perry, an economist at the University of Michigan, characterizes the recession as a "downturn" for women but a "catastrophe" for men.

It’s the public sector that’s ‘doing fine’

- - - - -

but lets give the rich more reasons to not help out. they'll just naturally be good people on their own, right?

right??

left to their own devices, they'll steal you blind. this class of people need to be watched more than the worst criminal among us.

You could watch the rich all day long and completely miss what happened to the stimulus as noted above. You would be better off watching the government and governing class with vigilance rat

The wind speed might have only reached a cat 2 but it was among the strongest storms ever for storm surge intensity and the lowest pressure storm to ever make landfall north of Cape Hatteras. In fact Sandy packed the second highest total energy (IKE) of any storm in modern history.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/dutch-nix-weed-pass-plan-leave-it-up-to-cities-to-bar-foreigners-from-buying-marijuana/2012/10/30/5b9ba0d2-22bc-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

One thing I've learned, is man has a pretty high capacity to give reason to the most evil of actions. Going Godwin here but .. this guy looked crazy at the time

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/blogpost/201202/Images/hamburg.jpg?

Well, if your friend told you so, then by all means you're right to be modded "informative"

Oh give me a break, it's not like this is something unheard of, it IS an accepted fact that tax evasion in Greece is a huge problem for the government. And of course it's not just the taxpayers fault, nor is everyone doing it (if you have been following American politics at all "47%" of the US doesn't effectively pay any taxes - "the minority" of people doesn't mean it's a small amount of tax revenue - the wealthy in Greece have higher tax bills, and are doing most of the evading). But blaming "the government" for everything (hello, ALL governments spend money on stupid things and are corrupt to some extent) is such a cop out.

And just in case for some bizarre reason you want to pretend it's something I just "heard from one person", here are a few of the thousands of articles written on the topic:

[Some of my favorite quotes - and I'm pretty sure "only the stupid pay tax" would be considering evasion "as an obligation"...]

    * Cash provides a convenient escape route for lawyers, accountants and builders. The government has published the names of almost 70 doctors it says have cheated the taxman and some surgeons are said to be earning €900,000 a year and not declaring tax.

    * “Only the stupid pay tax,” one eye surgeon told a Greek state radio.

    * Helicopters have been hovering over plush suburbs in northern Athens in the search for swimming pools in the homes of professional people who claim they are living on only €35,000-€43,000 a year. ... The swimming pool fraternity are also responding by using nets to cover the pools to avoid detection.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8585593/Greece-loses-15bn-a-year-to-tax-evasion.html

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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/09/greece-tax-evasion-professional-classes

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/09/how-greek-tax-evasion-sunk-the-global-economy/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/business/global/greece-warns-of-going-broke-as-taxes-dry-up.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/09/tax-evasion-greece

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203937004578076801161935378.html

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2011/07/11/110711ta_talk_surowiecki

Not really related to TFA, but:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ap-poll-majority-of-americans-still-express-negative-view-of-blacks/2012/10/27/421d683a-2009-11e2-8817-41b9a7aaabc7_story.html

Here's one:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061700727.html

Before there were the new atheists and their best-selling books, there was Paul Kurtz promoting humanism and skepticism through his many publications and institutions:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/remembering-paul-kurtz/2012/10/23/4d4dbdb0-1d19-11e2-9cd5-b55c38388962_blog.html

Dawkins is brilliant, as ever, but Paul Kurtz brought secular humanism an intellectual clarity that helped pave his way. They are tremendously complementary reads.

If Huawei (and all equipments from all Chinese companies) are suspicious, what makes you think that equipments from Germany or Japan or Britain or Korea or Canada or USA aren't?

Hmmm . . . are there any other one party communist states with aspirations of hegemony, a long history of enmity against democratic government, free enterprise, and personal liberty, that currently have intense foreign espionage efforts directed against the West, that make direct threats against the United States while being armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons, on the list? No, China. . . make that the People's Republic of China, one of the few remaining Communist dictatorships on earth, is unique in that regard. Isn't that clear? China is reforming economically much faster than politically, although that is coming along in small fits and starts. But fundamentally, China is still a dictatorship run by the Chinese Communist Party.

Which equipment the Stuxnet virus targeted?

That was SCADA controllers made by Siemens, a German company, being used by Iran - a Shia lead theocratic government imposing Sharia law in Iran while they seek hegemony in the region. Iran is using that equipment to run centrifuges to develop highly enriched Uranium, and has been discovered to be engaged in activities applicable to only nuclear weapons development. Iran tries to intimidate its neighbors, is a state sponsor of terrorism world-wide, fund, trains, and arms Hezbollah with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles to control Lebanon and attack Israel until it can make good on it barely veiled threats of genocide against Israel, and general threats against Europe and the United States. Until the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, Iran and Israel had been on good terms. It is the theocratic government in Iran that has declared them to be enemies - the conflict isn't Israel's fault - Iran was not part of the Arab-Israeli wars. And yet some people take the bankrupt position that it is Iran that needs protection from Israel. Stuxnet and its kin may be the only reason the world isn't in a shooting war in the region now.

It's easy to bash China - as China has become the poster boy for bashing orgy - from Presidential debate to this one in Slashdot - but I do expect MORE from those who come to Slashdot. Unlike the tweedledee and tweedeldum on the presidential debate, you guys do have brains. It's time you use your brain to think, rather than letting others doing the thinking for you.

Some people use their powers of reason to understand the facts above and their implications, others use their reason to rationalize away uncomfortable facts, like those above.

In much of the West, the well educated have been taught to believe that they can know nothing and that they can draw no independent conclusions about truth, unless they cite a study and "experts" have affirmed it. "Studies show" is to the modern secular college graduate what "Scripture says" is to the religious fundamentalist. -- Dennis Prager

That means Mr. Romney got a return of at least 44 times his initial investment. If you don't think that's suspicious, maybe you're the one wearing a tinfoil hat...

44x Even assuming your numbers are correct, Romney is a piker. I'll show you a real rate of return:

Under increasing pressure from the media on Whitewater, Hillary Clinton called a dramatic press conference in the East Wing of the White House in April 1994. She answered the questions with calm authority, momentarily silencing her critics. . . .

First, reporters had discovered that Mrs. Clinton had realized a $100,000 return on a $1,000 investment in commodities futures back in 1979. Jim Blair, a friend and chief attorney for Arkansas food giant Tyson, had advised her. Now, the first lady said she had made the trades by herself. Later, she would admit that Blair and others had taken the lead. . . . -- Arkansas Roots

That would be 100X for Secretary Clinton. No doubt it was that sort of savy that landed her the Secretary of State's job.

And Mr. Romney's IRA is something I'd like to know more about, too.

It looks to me that Romney was a good investor and business man that made the most of the opportunities available, including getting in on the ground floor of several very successful companies. He also did it starting almost 30 years ago. That is a long time for investments to compound, especially for large amounts put in up front, and investments bought at a discount. Maybe this will help:

Myths Vs. Truths: The Truth About Saving for Retirement

You go to work for a brewery, you might get discounts on beer. You go to work for an investment firm, you may get interesting financial opportunities. Pretty straight forward, I think.

Mitt Romney exited Bain Capital with rare tax benefits in retirement

Before Mitt Romney retired from Bain Capital, the enormously profitable investment firm he founded, he made sure to lock in his gains, both realized and expected, for years to come. . .

Romney’s former colleagues say his retirement package is a well-justified reward for a chief executive who built Bain from scratch in 1984 into a financial powerhouse that backed business successes such as Staples and the Sports Authority.

The structure and tax treatment of his retirement, including the IRA, was legally sound and appropriate, they say, adding that he has earned less money over his career than some other top private-equity executives, who earned billions of dollars during the same period.

His severance package, for instance, allowed him to continue sharing in the profits of the company as if he were still a partner managing it, according to his 2010 tax return and interviews with present and former Bain executives. And because he benefited from the firm’s investments as if he were an active Bain partner, he paid taxes at a lower rate on these earnings than if they were treated as ordinary retirement income. Romney negotiated the package when he was leaving the firm, Bain executives said, while he set up his IRA long before.

. . . Under the law today, individuals may contribute up to $5,000 per year and employers may contribute up to $50,000 a year to an employer-sponsored IRA. The money is invested, and the investments grow tax-free until retirement. There is no limit on how much money an IRA can earn tax-free.

What determines an IRA’s growth is the performance of the investments, and Bain enabled Romney, its other employee