many robots

So yeah there's that whole swine flu thing going on now.

Rove's argument was picked up by House and Senate Republicans, who made it an essential message in their attacks on the legislation. Even as Rove and his compatriots argued that a stimulus bill should include initiatives designed to shore-up and maintain any recovery, they consistently, and loudly, objected to spending money to address the potentially devastating economic impact of a major public health emergency.

The attack on pandemic preparation became so central to the GOP strategies that AP reported in February: "Republicans, meanwhile, plan to push for broader and deeper tax cuts, to trim major spending provisions that support Democrats' longer-term policy goals, and to try to knock out what they consider questionable spending items, such as $870 million to combat the flu and $400 million to slow the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases."

Famously, Maine Senator Collins, the supposedly moderate Republican who demanded cuts in health care spending in exchange for her support of a watered-down version of the stimulus, fumed about the pandemic funding: "Does it belong in this bill? Should we have $870 million in this bill No, we should not."

Even now, Collins continues to use her official website to highlight the fact that she led the fight to strip the pandemic preparedness money out of the Senate's version of the stimulus measure.

Labels: fail, politics

Two things:

1. Has nobody behind these protests ever heard of the alternate definition of "teabagging"?


2. This:
   

   "She said she retired on disability from M&T Bank three years ago after undergoing knee replacement and back surgeries. She lives on her Social Security and disability benefits. Last year, she petitioned the bankruptcy court for protection from creditors.
   
   She said she did not have to pay federal income taxes last year because her income was too low.
   
   "I don't want to see this country turn into a welfare, nanny state, where we stand in line for groceries, and we're in welfare lines, and in socialized medicine lines," Wilder said.

Labels: fail, politics

The Aussies have their pants [do they use it that way or is it just Brits?] in a twist over some drunken legislative action:

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Politicians in Australia's most populous state could be breath-tested for alcohol before voting on laws after a series of late-night incidents that have embarrassed the center-left government.

New South Wales state lawmaker Andrew Fraser resigned from his conservative opposition frontbench role after shoving a female colleague in the wake of Christmas party celebrations.

"Breath test this mob," said a front page headline in Sydney's mass-selling Daily Telegraph newspaper. State police minister Matt Brown was dumped from his portfolio in September after allegedly "dirty" dancing in his underwear over the chest of a female colleague after a drunken post-budget office party.

Conservative Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said he would support alcohol breath tests for drunkenness for lawmakers before they entered parliament, while Green MPs John Kaye and Lee Rhiannon also backed the plan, along with the parliament's speaker.

"Honestly, if you are going to have breathalyzers for people driving cranes you should have breathalyzers for people writing laws," Kaye told the Telegraph.

That last sentence really does bring up a good point. I'm sure some truly inspired politics have happened over a three Martini lunch now and again but this does sound dangerous. Inhibited decision making due to intoxication by a politician can have far more devastating negative impact than just about any other job. Maybe we should start drug testing them too...

Labels: booze, politics

You can donate on behalf of anybody you like like your mom, a family pet, that nice guy at your corner store, etc.:

Labels: politics

Awful Forums member "iw" puts together some stats from when Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasalia, AK

1998 Wasilla rates per 100,000 vs. National average vs. average for towns under 10,000:

Assault (aggravated & all others)
National: 702.5
Wasilla: 1750
Small Towns: 789.3

Burglary
National: 125.5
Wasilla: 1950
Small Towns: 135.8

DWI
National: 521
Wasilla: 2816
Small Towns: 818.2

Drugs
National: 596.2
Wasilla: 850
Small Towns: 537.2

Larceny:
National: 505.6
Wasilla: 3566.0
Small Towns: 574.3

Robbery:
National: 46.9
Wasilla: 116.6
Small Towns: 25.2

Sexual Assault (forcible rape + "sex offenses")
National: 47.3
Wasilla: 166.6
Small Towns: 42.4

Looks like Joe Six Pack has a taste for check fraud and meth.

Labels: politics

From Paul Krugman's blog:
Here’s what John McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:

"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."

What could possibly go wrong, right? Healthcare companies are too big to fail and it's all that pesky regulation that's been holding them back!

Labels: politics, stupid

Some wisdom from good old Ike Eisenhower:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

Just a little pre-weekend stuff to make you think.

Labels: politics, serious

Thanks to greatn on the Something Awful forums for a follow-up to his brilliant analysis of the March primaries.

TIMES TEN!

Obama did just that last night in Nc and kicked Hillary(Vegeta's) ass.

But then she went Oozaru mode and turned into a giant ape, inceasing her power level by 20 to try and beat him in Indiana. But high black turnout(Yajirobe) cut off her tail and with the spirit bomb it was essentially a tie and she barely escaped with her life.

Now Obama has to train in 100 times gravity(Kentucky and West Virginia) but he's the nominee basically.

Labels: anime, politics

The Tallahassee Democrat brings word of a grave threat to our patriotic ability to display camouflage yellow-ribboned testicles on our collective tow hitches:

The Florida Senate on Thursday passed an amendment to impose a $60 fine on Truck Nutz, one brand name for the novelty item on vehicle trailer hitches that resemble the dangling southern end of a northbound bull.

Is there anything quainter than the phrase "the dangling southern end of a northbound bull"? There's more gold here:

Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said he had a set on one of his vehicles, which he described as "all pimped out." They are no more than "an expression of truckliness," he said, although he'd acceded to his wife's request to take them off.

"An expression of truckliness" should be engraved in stone somewhere for future archaeologists to discover and puzzle over the meaning of. Maybe it's my latte-sipping, public television watching elitist upbringing or something but I really do find this fascinating.

Found on Wonkette

Labels: nutz, politics, stupid

Wisdom from the mind of Something Awful forums member "greatn"

It's basically this.

Hillary Clinton is Freiza.

After Goku(Obama), together with help from Piccolo(Edwards) was able to defeat her(Iowa), she revealed her final true form and was too powerful for the two of them(New Hampshire). As last ditch effort Goku used the Spirit Bomb(Nevada) and barely defeated Frieza, or so he though but Frieza was still alive. A bunch of minor characters were then killed off, including Krillin(Kucinich). Goku got so angry he went Super Saiyan(Super Tuesday), and began to outfight Frieza. His power level was off the charts(everything post Super Tuesday). Then Frieza decided if she couldn't win nobody could(scorched earth campaign), and threw her most powerful blast at the planet Namek(Democratic party), ensuring its destruction because Frieza can breath in space and Goku could not. Goku continued to defeat her though(Wisconsin), and Frieza decided to unleash her full 100% power(today). Gan Goku the Super Saiyan defeat Frieza and save the planet Namek?

History tells us yes.

Howard Dean back on Earth will gather the dragon balls and wish the planet Namek(Democratic party) back. Obama will make it back to Earth in time for the general elections, though Hillary will return in some Cyborg form... to be destroyed by Mitt Romney's son from the future?

Basically, that's how it is.

I'm speechless.

Labels: anime, politics