August, 2010 archive
Rich Cordoban Lather, Reprise 0
Some people understand civil liberties; if they are for some, but not for others, they are not liberties. From TPM (emphasis added):
A follow-up question asked: “Regardless of whether you personally support or oppose the proposal to build the Cordoba House, do you believe the developers of the Cordoba House have a Constitutional right to proceed with the construction of the mosque and Muslim cultural center or not?” Here the answer is 64% yes, to only 28% no. Indeed, the internals of the poll show that even a majority of people who didn’t support the center in the previous question still affirm the right of the organizers to construct it, by a 51%-42% margin within that sub-group.
Ted Olson, also via TPM.
(There is a graphic in it which illustrates how far the structure is from the World Trade Center site. In Manhattan, crossing a street can take you to a whole nother world. From the sidewalk in front of the Southgate Hotel at 7th and 31st, you cannot see the Empire State Building at 5th and 33rd.)
I also commend this column in the Denver Post to your attention; the writer attempts to look at the situation rationally and reasonably. I had a nit to pick with it, which is too small to mention here, emailed the author, and received a prompt and courteous response.
Also, listen to this.
Facebook Frolics II 0
(Link fixed.)
Check those privacy settings.
(snip)
Talvitie-Siple told the Patriot-Ledger that she did not realize the page was a public one.
Spill Here, Spill Now 0
This is good news:
That means an end, at least for now, to the kind of exemptions that allowed BP to drill its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico with little scrutiny.
“Clone Me, Dr. Memory” 0
Then, again . . . .
But a study published in the journal PLoS Biology has dashed that hope.
Dr Dilara Ally and her team at the University of British Columbia, Canada, found that the fertility of clones declines with age.
The Fifth Freedom 0
Freedom of
- speech,
- the press,
- religion,
- the press,
and, most dear of all, freedom of rude:
The conservative advice maven made the announcement on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” saying she wants to “regain her First Amendment rights.”
Spill Here, Spill Now 0
Oil does not magically disappear, however much Buccaneer Petroleum would like you to think it does.
It’s still out there and it’s still poison.
Virginia Beach Democratic Committee Third Thursday Dinner 0
Two hours earlier than usual to allow persons to attend the debate among 2nd House District candidates Glenn Nye, Scott Rigell, and Kenny Golden at 7:00 PM, Princess Anne High School, Virginia Beach.
- What: Third Thursday Dinner
- When: August 19th, 5:00 PM
- Where: Kelly’s Hilltop Tavern, 1936 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23454 (map)
Show up, order off the menu (separate checks), socialize, and talk politics–or whatever else interests you.
I have attended several of these. They tend to be smaller gatherings, highly informal, and a lot of fun.
For more information, email VaBeachBoy@aol.com
Facebook Frolics 0
Words fail me.
The detective testified that he went to Adams’ home and that Adams agreed to meet with him at the police station. Less than 10 minutes later, Adams posted a second Facebook message that “he needed this girl knocked off right now,” Billie testified.
Breaking: Fishermen Fib 0
And it can mean big money in tournaments:
So tournament directors across the country use polygraphs to keep things on the up and up.
Yep – lie detector tests for fishermen.
The story contains this gem, down towards the end:
T.V. O’Malley, the polygraph expert who administered the Big Rock tests, agrees.
“The people who fish in most of these things own million-dollar boats and pay thousands of dollars to compete,” said O’Malley, who has performed polygraphs at fishing tournaments all over the world. “They are professional people who have to worry about their reputations. There is a lot of honor in this sport. They want the pride and bragging rights.
This quotation is supported by the sidebar detailing fishy frauds over the years.
Brendan Makes a Phone Call 0
Hoo-Boy! This one’s a doozey.
Rich Cordoban Lather 0
“This is America, where speech, unlike religion, is completely protected . . . .”
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Mosque-Erade | ||||
|
||||
Follow the Money 0
Daniel Schultz writes in the Guardian:
Read the whole thing.
Aside: I visited Bob Jones University when I was a senior in college as part of research for a sociology paper I was writing on the radical right.
It was one eerie strange place.
True Colors 0
Bob Cesca (follow the link for context):
The only thing extreme about this is the language.
Let us look at it critically. Suppose he had said
-
The most prominent spokespersons for the Republican Party emphasize cultural differences with a view toward garnering support from those who trace their lineage to a western European heritage.
Is that better?
It’s the same damn thing.
I’m a Southern Boy.
I know the damned code.
It is the odious Southern strategy.
It’s all they have.
(Of course, it’s not all about race. Race is a stalking horse, just as race was a stalking horse for the monied classes of the Old South to justify slavery and secession.)
Great Moments In Telly Vision 0
Timmie and Lassie: The Later Years
Timmie, taking advantage of his eerie ability to fall into the nearest well, moves to Phoenix and opens a dowsing franchise. . . .
The Fee Hand of the Market 1
When my father died, one of his life insurance companies took the benefits (payable to my mother) from his policy, stuck them into an account, and sent us vouchers to draw on it. It’s a way insurance companies have devised to keep their hooks in your money as long as they can.
The National Associatioin of Insurance Commissioners has now come out against that practice. From Bloomberg:
“You may be able to earn a higher rate of interest on the life insurance proceeds if you select a different payout option,” the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said in the alert. “While the documents you receive might look like a checkbook, it might actually be drafts, which are similar to checks, but different in some ways.”
The alert was issued after an NAIC panel met yesterday in Seattle to review retained-asset accounts. The regulators created the panel after Bloomberg Markets magazine reported in July that insurers profit by holding and investing $28 billion owed to 1 million beneficiaries.
We eventually closed the account.
Even though my mother was a resident of Virginia, we set my Delaware address as the mailing address, since she is not well.
Nevertheless, the company kept withholding Delaware taxes, even after being put on notice that doing so was not called for, so that, every year, my mother had to file a Delaware tax return to get the withholding back, even though she had no taxable income in Delaware.
I wrote them that, if they can’t get the withholding right, how could I expect them to get anything else right?
