N.U.A.N.C.E. -- its what's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I couldn't make this kinda shit up as a parody even if I tried...

I wonder if this was done as a "pump and dump" favor for some folks invested in stem cell research outfits who wanted to get out? Sucker the rubes back in, let the fat cats flee.

H/T SDA

Bonus video below the fold - Bill Clinton failing high school biology. High school biology apparently isn't required for politicians, lawyers, or Rhodes Scholars. more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 06:06 AM | Comments (2)
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(This is from yesterday, but the overnight thread was already packed to the gills.)

No, not the P-I, but rather the mathematical constant. Politico has an article about the House of Representatives honoring Pi.

”With the world swirling about it, the House took a moment Thursday to honor pi, the Greek letter symbolizing that great constant in mathematics representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.”

”But there’s always one: “We were never good at math in my family,” said Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.). “I thought I was voting for p-i-e.””

So how did you spend Pi day? Hopefully gathered around something circular with your friends and family. More on Pi can be found here. Now that it’s an official federal holiday, I can imagine that other math interest groups will start agitating for their own recognition and holiday. For example, I was trolling around on a Pythagorean Theorem advocacy forum this evening, and boy are they pissed off. They’re talking about a march on Washington and promising “trouble in the streets” if they don’t get the recognition they feel they’re owed. They claim that there’s been a long history of Circular oppression against Triangular –Americans and that now is the time to end the discrimination once and for all.

An artistÂ’s depiction of Pi is below the fold. (thanks to Jubal Anderson Early for yet another fine tip)
more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 08:25 PM | Add Comment
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Ouch. Results not good...

...Mrs. Obama Says: "I'm Positive About The Economy Because I Believe In This Nation And In My Husband"

Her True Belief: "I Don't Believe In This Nation Nor In My Husband, At Least When It Comes To The Economy"...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:36 PM | Comments (2)
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Every once in a while, one of you barely literate morons sends me a poorly typed e-mail asking me what exactly I do in Washington D.C.

Until today, I blogged under the burden of having to preserve that terrible secret like a blogger burdened with a terrible secret to preserve. But thanks to the investigative work of Sy Hersh and the forum provided to him by Keith "Cornell Ag" Olbermann, I can finally come clean about my "work".

For I was one of the legion of super secret stealth assassins at Dick Cheney's disposal. more...

Posted by: Jack M. at 03:24 PM | Add Comment
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Okay, I still haven't watched last week's episode, so I won't be watching tonight's episode. Obviously, I don't have a recap done.

At this point, I think I'm over it. It's weird to give up now; I've watched the show since the miniseries and even took a break from studying for the bar exam to go to an early screening of last year's mid-season finale. Discussing it with my mother last week (she also watched starting six years ago), she conjectured that the story and the characters have simply been exhausted.

I'm sure I'll get around to watching the last few episodes at some point. For now, here's the usual discussion thread.

As always, for those of you who have seen the final episode, keep the spoilers to yourself. You can wait a week.

Also, did you hear that the U.N. will be hosting a discussion and "retrospective" about the show? Whoopi Goldberg is going to moderate.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:58 PM | Add Comment
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Are very real, says Sy Hersch, but he just can't quite prove it yet.

Posted by: Ace at 12:03 PM | Comments (2)
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Not just the use of the term, but the legal precept it describes, that enemy combatants can be detained just because they're, um, enemy combatants.

From now on only a "substantial" quantum of aid to the Taliban or Al Qaeda will justify detention.

Not sure what "substantial" means. Defined one way, it could produce a regime barely any different from Bush's; ending the use of the term would be, like so much with Obama, an empty public-relations exercise.

On the other hand, defining it another way could mean that, say, Osama bin Ladin's driver couldn't be detained.

As usual, Obama is vague, elusive, and prefers to operate on the surreally superficial level of catch-phrases, slogans, and semantic sleight-of-hand.

Yup: I made the Obama/Osama error again, which I have decided to call the Senator Edward Kennedy Confusion in Islamic First Names Memorial.

Posted by: Ace at 11:42 AM | Comments (3)
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Why, it's almost as if Obama is battling his goateed evil twin from the parallel dimension of Bizzaroverse.

By now, itÂ’s clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bringÂ…

And a month later...

Confronting misgivings, even in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the economy Thursday, declaring the national crisis is “not as bad as we think” and his plans will speed recovery.

He does this a lot, by the way. If you notice, we're always on the brink of a depression to make the Great Depression seem like a blip right before a vote on one of his bills.

The next day? Everything's pretty cool.

And then when another bill is coming up: The Grim Depression is back with a vengeance.

One can pretty much tell what's on the congressional schedule by how alarmist, or how easy-peasey-lemon-squeezey, Obama's remarks are that day.

Posted by: Ace at 11:17 AM | Comments (2)
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This article, from the Tulsa World, is a story that I've been just waiting to hear since the inauguration. Not that I knew it would happen in this arena, but I knew it would happen SOMEWHERE.

Sort summary: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation volunteer hunter safety instructor starts out his class with the question "How many of you voted for Obama?" When the Obama voters in the class raise their hands, Mr. "I'm The Only True Patriot In This Room" demands that they immediately leave or else he'll cancel the class for everyone else. Obama voters leave, class goes on as scheduled, and after a phone call the ODWC asks this instructor to please not let the door hit him in the ass on the way out of their building.

I do sympathize with the instructor on one point: Given Obama's antipathy towards firearms and firearm owners, I think its appropriate to point out the fact that people who want to hunt should maybe vote for anyone BUT Obama. But throwing a hissy fit & demanding that they leave HIS classroom? Not cool. Not cool at all.

Think of it from an "Evangelical Conservative" position: If liberals never learn about guns and gun safety, they will never become active sportsmen. Keeping them from taking a class where firearms are presented in a positive light just guarantees that they'll continue to be braindead morons on Second Amendment issues. And becoming active sportsmen is the gateway to becoming conservative, at least on Second Amendment issues.

I'm not saying that shooting a squirrel makes you appreciate lowering the capital gains tax to 15%; but realizing that guns are simply tools that are as good or as evil as the person holding them can be a real eye opening experience for some people.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 11:08 AM | Add Comment
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Tough decisions. It was so much easier to compose vague rhetoric cynically designed to make everyone think he agreed with them, eh?

Just seven weeks into office, President Obama is being forced to confront one of the most sensitive social and political issues of the day: whether the government must provide health insurance benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

In separate, strongly worded orders, two judges of the federal appeals court in California said that employees of their court were entitled to health benefits for their same-sex partners under the program that insures millions of federal workers.

But the federal Office of Personnel Management has instructed insurers not to provide the benefits ordered by the judges, citing a 1996 law, the Defense of Marriage Act.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama said he would “fight hard” for the rights of gay couples. As a senator, he sponsored legislation that would have provided health benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

...

Now, Mr. Obama is in a tough spot. If he supports the personnel office on denying benefits to the San Francisco court employees, he risks agitating liberal groups that helped him win election. If he supports the judges and challenges the marriage act, he risks alienating Republicans with whom he is seeking to work on economic, health care and numerous other matters.

But does he have a choice -- isn't Obama bound by the law? Don't worry; liberals are suggesting he just ignore it. Sort of like Constitution-shredding George Bush.

Posted by: Ace at 10:59 AM | Add Comment
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