Good.

Go back to the ONT now. YOU GO NOW.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:30 PM | Comments (312)
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On This Day in 1989

On November 9, 1989 Gunter Schabowski, spokesman for East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party, mistakenly announced to reporters that travel restrictions had been lifted from East Berlin into West Berlin immediately. They hadn't been - but it was too late and soon huge crowds of East Germans appeared at the Berlin Wall's checkpoints demanding to be let out.

By 10:45pm the guards had given up trying to stop them and allowed anyone who wished to travel to the Western side. Soon residents on both sides appeared with sledgehammers and began physically demolishing the wall, opening up new exits and taking away souvenirs.

Less than a year later Ronald Reagan visited Berlin and took the opportunity to knock off more chunks from the wall not far from where he gave his famous 'Tear down this wall' speech in 1986.

In fact I happen to have a piece of the wall that I bought back in 1991 for $5 sitting in the curio section of my entertainment center. Sure it's an ugly hunk of cheap commie concrete that I probably paid $4.99 too much for, but it's also a physical reminder of the defeat of communism and the end of the cold war. And I enjoy the delicious irony that capitalism still found a way to make money off the debris of a failed communist state. more...

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:09 PM | Comments (846)
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Tonight at 8pm Eastern on CNBC. That's channel 102/602 on Verizon FiOS ... the rest of you can consult your local programming guide to find out where to watch via the evil corporate entity that provides you hundreds of entertainment options at the click of a button or just click here for CNBC's coverage (livestream also here and a second one here and another here).

With almost one year to the day before the general election, this debate will be devoted to exploring the candidates’ positions on the critical issues facing voters—jobs, taxes, the deficit and the health of our national economy. [Moderators Maria] Bartiromo and [John] Harwood will be joined by CNBC’s Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer,” and a panel of CNBC experts including CNBC’s Senior Economics Reporter Steve Liesman, CNBC’s On-Air Editor Rick Santelli and CNBC’s Senior Commodities & Personal Finance Correspondent Sharon Epperson, who will also question the candidates about the major policy issues.

A few program notes:

• John Harwood is the hacktastic New York Times reporter who tried to resurrect the birther issue with Perry.


• Steve Liesman is the dumbest person on any network not called MSNBC.


• Squawk Box's Joe Kernen would've provided much needed balance to the libs on the panel. Unnamed sources at CNBC claim he had to wash his hair tonight so he couldn't participate. Sounds fishy to me.


• Rick Santelli's "Rant Heard 'Round the World" (video) was a major impetus behind the tea party movement. Expect recurring technical difficulties with his microphone.

This should be fun. And by fun, I mean why the hell do we keep letting libs run our debates?

Standard reminder: Your comments do not automatically display. So don't ask "Why aren't my comments displaying?" They don't display.

They're not posted comments a la chat room. Instead they go to queue, which the producers (cobloggers) read, and we post them, by hand, if we think they make a good point.

Liveblog thingy below the fold. more...

Posted by: andy at 03:50 PM | Comments (699)
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The therapy can be used to re-grow muscles in soldiers (or anyone else) who's lost a lot of flesh to wounds.

t isn’t quite salamander territory, but it’s astonishingly close. The Pittsburgh team’s research means that, within this decade, the thousands of soldiers who’ve suffered major muscle loss during this decade’s wars can overcome devastating impairment — a life sentence of chronic pain, disability and no viable treatment short of amputation — and experience at least a 25 percent improvement in physical function. For civilians, the impact would incalculable. The kinds of trauma and health problems that now cause amputation, from car accidents and fires to cancer or diabetic peripheral vascular disease, would no longer cause irreparable damage.

Plus, within 15 years, I might be able to get enough muscle injections that I don't have to fear Toure menacing me in a dark corner of a J. Crew outlet store.

Posted by: Ace at 02:56 PM | Comments (169)
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Toure continues his crap that white men have an "instinctual" fear of black men going after white women. What makes this hilarious is that he's saying this has to show up in polls eventually; but for now, he's just perplexed that it hasn't shown up yet.

I have to let the half-black or whatever he is Toure in on a little secret.

I know a lot reedy, weak-looking black guys who are all about this idea, that white men fear them in some way.

This is important to their egos. They want to believe that everyone is kind of afraid of them and their sexual prowess.

Guys? Let me let you in on a little deflating secret:

The black guys white men are afraid of are the same black guys you're afraid of.

That is, the big ones who look like they could do some damage.

The little half-a-hanky lightweights like Toure? Um, no. Not afraid.

I know this is something you're kind of banking on -- White Men Fear Me! -- but if you're about the same size and build as "Ben" from Parks and Recreation, no, sorry, I'm about as afraid of you as I am of, well, "Ben" from Parks and Recreation.

Look upon my virility, and despair!

Racists like to claim the achievements or attributes of others in their race. Visit any motley scrum of bucktoothed KKK retards and you'll hear about all the great things The White Man has achieved, like radio and bridges and the moon landing.

But they speak of these achievements as if somehow they were linked to them.

They're not. The "White Men" who did those things had nothing at all in common with the losers talking up the achievements of other White Men.

But similarly, black racists -- like Toure -- can't seem to stop associating themselves with the "Scary Factor" of, say, a Shaquille O'Neal. He seems to think that while I would, in fact, be plenty scared if Shaquille O'Neal accosted me, I must have similar fears of Toure accosting me, because Toure and Shaq share about the same amount of genetic inheritance as Leonardo DaVinci and the average Cyclops in the KKK.

In other words-- not too much.

I keep hearing this from pencil-necked geeks like Cornell West, this kind of getting-off-on-it idea that someone who looks like a Nubian Woody Allen might be scaring the bejesus out of some crackers.

No. Not so much.

If you want to be scary, I've got two words for you: Lats work.

So we get exhibitions like this pencil-necked pansy ass, who frankly looks like he's had more dick in him than a season of Bewtiched, laying down all sorts of smacktalk about quavering white men.

Let's try to ease up on the racial stuff, huh, sweetie?

No Offense Meant To Adam Scott. He seems like just a completely likable guy. Instantly likable.

Maybe he's a total dick in real life, but in that case, he's blessed with total affability.

Anyway, no offense. I just mean he's not threatening, not that he's a wimp or anything.

More Scary:

When Toure blows the lid off of Clarence Thomas' secret marriage to a white woman, the whole conservative movement will collapse in an internecine bloodbath. -- Gristle Encased Head

Posted by: Ace at 02:16 PM | Comments (346)
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Complainey-Face Syndrome.

Kraushaar's former supervisor at the INS, who was named in Kraushaar's complaint, characterized the 2003 complaint to ABC News as "frivolous," and said Kraushaar may have been offered a few extra sick days as compensation.

The supervisor alleged that Kraushaar had a "poor work ethic."

The supervisor, a self-described Democrat, decided to speak out about Kraushaar's complaint because of "doubts about her credibility."

Let's look at her demands again:

Kraushaar was injured in a car accident at an intersection in late 2002. After the accident, Kraushaar asked to be allowed to work from home. She filed the complaint when her repeated requests to work at home were denied, according to a former supervisor. The former supervisor told ABC News that Kraushaar wanted a "large payout" of tens of thousands of dollars, a year-long fellowship at Harvard, a raise and the reinstatement of sick leave.

No pony? Why not ask for a pony? How do you know you can't get a pony until you specifically ask for pony?

She tried to get a ridiculous amount of money out of the INS -- plus a pricey paid year off and paid tuition at grad school! -- over a vague complaint of "unfair treatment." Because she wasn't permitted to work from home -- how many people are? or were, especially, in 2002 or whenever?

And of course to up the pressure, she added in that complaint about the silly Men Are Like Computers Because X/Women Are Like Computers Because Y thing. Which is wholly unrelated to her actual complaint -- just a little throw shit at the wall and see what sticks and/or implied coercion.

An earlier story had her calling Cain a "monster."

A monster? Did he forward you an email about Blondes or something?

Given this history -- attempting to blackmail a payoff out of a government agency over a silly email forward -- I'm categorizing her as a False Accuser.

If she has something, she has something. But she is not credible.

I am really focusing on sneaking that "And I got an offensive email, too!" part of her complaint. That has nothing at all to do with her actual complaint. She is just throwing that in to suggest Unless I am appeased, there might be some trouble for you. Just give me my paid year at grad school, and this will all just disappear.

Apology time: This woman is not credible at all, plainly wants to be paid to not work, and yes, I should have been more skeptical of her.

Posted by: Ace at 12:33 PM | Comments (464)
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Walking away from the Super Committee now.

As I said yesterday: Their electoral plan is to do Mediscare, so they will not actually agree on any reforms, no matter what the GOP proposes. They will always contrive a reason why Sacred Honor compels them to walk away.

The Republicans proposed $300 billion in tax increases, which obviously would be a big problem with our base.

But Kerry rejected that as plainly insufficient -- apparently even insulting.

So now they walk away, based on their political calculation that they can blame the scheduled Defense and Medicare cuts on Republicans, despite the fact they are actually bringing those about.

Posted by: Ace at 11:10 AM | Comments (303)
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Who to root for?

Injuries, I suppose.

Via Jammie Wearing Fool, who catches OWS letting their hair down about the real 1% they hate -- Jews.

Posted by: Ace at 10:58 AM | Comments (75)
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(By the way, I've been trying to find out for a half hour how this document "smeared" the whistleblower Dodson. Most accounts gloss over this key background detail. I don't think the reporters actually checked. Anyway, found one that explains it.)

Dennis Burke now admits he leaked the document used to smear Dodson.

A politically-connected U.S. Attorney who resigned in August over the Operation Fast and Furious gunrunning probe acknowledged through his lawyers on Tuesday that he leaked a memo as part of what lawmakers say was an effort to smear a federal law enforcement agent who publicly criticized the probe's tactics.

Dennis Burke, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in August as part of a Justice Department reshuffle of personnel involved in Fast and Furious, acknowledged to internal department investigators weeks earlier that he released the memo written by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agent John Dodson. Dodson testified publicly at a House hearing in June about his unsuccessful attempts to persuade ATF higher-ups to abandon the tactic of gunwalking, in which government agents deliberately passed up opportunities to intercept suspicious shipments of weapons believed destined for Mexican drug cartels.

That's from the NPR account, quoted at Sipsey Street Irregulars. The NPR account continues:

Chuck Rosenberg, a lawyer for Burke, told NPR that "Dennis regrets his role in disclosing the memo but he's a stand-up guy and is willing to take responsibility for what he did. It was absolutely not Dennis's intent to retaliate against Special Agent Dodson or anyone else for the information they provided Congress."

From Politico:

Prior to his sudden exit in August, Burke was extremely well-regarded within the department and enjoyed close ties to President Barack Obama's cabinet. He served as a top aide to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, both in Washington and earlier when she was governor of Arizona. Burke was also frequently mentioned in Arizona as a potential Democratic candidate for statewide office.

So, he deliberately leaked a memo to smear Dodson, who was telling the truth about the murderous Fast and Furious program.

In what way did the release smear Dodson? Well, the Daily Caller actually explains that bit.

The leaked memo actually revealed Dodson's attempts to get his higher-ups to realize Fast and Furious was a terrible operation and was killing people. And how could that be used to smear Dodson?

By making it appear as if Dodson leaked the highly-sensitive document, and was therefore a lawbreaker:

The memo was leaked to press and had the names of criminal suspects deleted — but kept Dodson’s name on it. Attorney General Eric Holder came under fire during Tuesday morning’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing when he wouldn’t answer any questions from Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley about the leaked memo, who was held accountable for it and how they were held accountable.

So, while the document actually confirmed the details Dodson was talking about, Burke attempted to set Dodson up by making it seem as if he was leaking confidential documents.

Burke claims it was just "a mistake." And yet, when people began accusing Dodson of leaking the memos, I don't see any note that he began telling reporters that wasn't true. Seems he sort of permitted people to draw that conclusion.

Dodson doesn't think Burke acted alone.

Posted by: Ace at 10:00 AM | Comments (329)
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I'd like to be a cotton farmer, if you know what I mean. more...

Posted by: Ace at 09:27 AM | Comments (155)
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