"Now, how many speeches are worth $110,000 to a company? What could President Obama’s 2008 campaign manager have to say about “mobile technology and digital communications” that would create $110,000 in value to a telecommunications company?"

Posted by: Ace at 08:41 AM | Comments (81)
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"Reporting" deep from the liberal cocoon public fool Michael Tomasky (you remember him from "Saying ObamaCare To the NAACP is Racist" and "Mitt the Wimp"-safe links) takes a look at a closely divide country facing 8+% unemployment, stagnant growth, debt as far as the eye can see and decides, yeah, the country wants 4 more years of this! (as per HQ policy, no links for idiots).

There’s a secret lurking behind everything you’re reading about the upcoming election, a secret that all political insiders know—or should—but few are talking about, most likely because it takes the drama out of the whole business. The secret is the electoral college, and the fact is that the more you look at it, the more you come to conclude that Mitt Romney has to draw an inside straight like you’ve never ever seen in a movie to win this thing. This is especially true now that it seems as if Pennsylvania isn’t really up for grabs. Romney’s paths to 270 are few.

...

So if Pennsylvania is off the boards [for Romney], let’s look around. Imagine it’s election night, say 10:45 east coast time. Four eastern states haven’t been called yet: Ohio (1 , Virginia (13), North Carolina (15), and Florida (29). Also, in some Western states, the polls haven’t closed, or the races are too tight to project just yet—Colorado and Nevada, say. Arizona has just been called for Romney. At this point, Romney actually leads, 188 to 182. In this scenario I’m assuming Obama has won Iowa (6), which is admittedly close but where his lead has been stable at three or four points, and New Hampshire (4), where Obama has a similar fairly small but stable lead, and Michigan (16), where the gap appears to be opening up a little.

So itÂ’s a six-vote Romney edge. TheyÂ’re feeling great up in Boston. Especially with the big Eastern four still up in the air. Right?

Not really. Let’s look at these West Coast states. Even though they’re still voting in California, obviously Obama is going to win it (55). And equally obviously, he’s going to win Washington (12) and Oregon (7), where neither side even bothered to spend a dime. Throw in Hawaii (4). Those 78 votes haul Obama up to 260. That’s something to keep in mind for election night: Whatever Obama’s number is at 10 pm Eastern, add those 78 EV’s—they’re a mortal lock, and a hefty insurance policy. If he wins Nevada (6) and Colorado (9), it’s over.

I've never seen someone so eager to make a fool of themselves in public as Tomasky is. One can only hope that other Democrats are just as stupid.

You can make a case that Obama will win in a close race but a landslide? No.

First of all, there's no state that was red last time that Obama will win this time, so any win is going to be smaller than before. Much smaller. So right there landslide is off the table.

More to the point, I just did a quick look at the Electoral College map (which you can purchase for your Android or Kindle Fire) and it's pretty easy to see Mitt winning, even without Pennsylvania or Virginia. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 05:24 AM | Comments (523)
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Congratulations to NASA and its Rube Goldberg landing sequence that apparently worked flawlessly. We got our ass rover to Mars; enough with the Total Recall remakes already.

Today is the first anniversary of the worst single loss of US and allied personnel in Afghanistan. Prayers for the fallen and their families.

Today is also the 67th anniversary of our bombing Hiroshima to begin drawing the curtains on World War II. I'm sure there will be the usual lefty handwringing; it's what they do.

Russ sent along this link about the Purple Heart, which says we had about half a million of the decorations left over at the end of World War II because we didn't have to invade Japan. We instead issued these medals over nearly six decades. The casualty estimates for Japanese troops and civilians were in the millions if we had invaded, and there's no doubt the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the most humane end to the war possible. The left, of course, forgets this because atomic bomb.

And on that happy note, welcome to another work week for those of you lucky enough to still be employed in the Obamaconomy.

Posted by: andy at 02:46 AM | Comments (290)
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Tina Brown has had an awful lot of failures. An awful lot, really. And yet she's still considered a top media talent.

Meanwhile, poor Nicholas Cage has also had a lot of failures, and he's considered a goof.

Well, who's really more of a goof? Let's find out.

LOOKS

The first sign of a Goof is his or her Goofy looks. Neither Cage nor Brown is considered unattractive, per se. But is there a hidden Goof factor in their looks?

Goof potential: She's trying very hard to look smart but instead looks like she's trying to telepathically communicate the thought-cloud "WINNERSUCCESSACHIEVE" by pushing on her vagus nerve while dropping a deuce.

Goof potential: He just naturally looks like a big, enormous Goof.

This is a weird thing, but they sort of look alike, don't they? That's odd.

Here, let me show you:

Freaky. Well, now I can't even tell them apart. Was Tina Brown in black and white or was that Cage? I've already forgotten.

Advantage: TIE.

NEPOTISM GOOFINESS:

Nicolas Cage is famously the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola. He changed his name to "Cage" so that "nepotism wouldn't be an issue." Like oh, right, no one will know who you are if you use a silly Comic Book name.

And seriously what is this guy's deal with Comic Books? Yeah I love 'em too. I don't name myself after them though. Well, okay, Rick Tempest.

Okay I see where you're coming from Nick Cage.

Tina Brown, on the other hand, wasn't born in the coalmines either -- her father was a movie producer who produced the first three Agatha Christie movies. Her mother was an assistant to Sir Laurence Olivier. Her mom also wrote a magazine. So let's just say that Tina Brown had all sorts of goofy nepotistic connections to the media too.

Advantage: TIE.

EARLY SUCCESSES:

Cage came to early renown for his star turn in Valley Girl.

I didn't see it.

Brown tasted her first fame editing a magazine called "The Tattler" at age 25. Apparently it's about lolipops.

I never read it.

Well, I've got nothing on this one. TIE.

RISING FAME:

Brown came to fame for turning Vanity Fair from a magazine most often seen in New York doctor's offices to a magazine most seen in Los Angeles doctor's offices.

I didn't read it.

WEIRD GOOFY OBSESSIONS:

Nicolas Cage is sort of obsessed with the King, Elvis Presley. So much so that he married the King's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in a marriage that lasted 108 days. Some considered it odd to attempt to commune with the dead king through a marriage ceremony.

Tina Brown, on the other hand, is obsessed with the Princess, Lady Diana Windsor. Everyone considered it weird and tacky to attempt to commune with the dead queen through a... resurrection ceremony.

What Cage did was Goofy, what Brown did was weird and wrong and bad-strange. Corpse-groping isn't really Goofy, but I'm going to call it that. Tina Brown wins this one clearly, and by "Win," I mean she's the bigger Goof.

Advantage: BROWN

EMBARRASSING GOOFY MOMENTS:

The idea of losing Hillary has seemed especially unbearable at this political moment. It’s as if she has become, literally, the ship of state. She stands for maturity, tenacity, and self-discipline at a time when everyone else in Washington seems to be, in more senses than one, going off a cliff—a parade of bickering, blustering, small-balled hacks bollixing up the nation’s business. She’s a caring executive too, and that takes its own emotional toll. What a disgrace that John Bolton and his goaty Republican ilk accused Her Magnificence of inventing a concussion to get out of testifying at the Benghazi hearings. Bolton is not fit to wipe her floor with his mustache.

Her determination to defy fatigue and keep going beggars belief....

ItÂ’s not just WashingtonÂ’s antics that make us value Hillary the Stoic more than ever. These are scary times. Everyone feels terrified of economic and societal volatility. The pace of change from destructive innovation and cutthroat global competition and demographic shifts and media proliferation is making us a nervous, increasingly medicated nation....

In an era of quicksand, everyone is looking for a rock, and youÂ’re one we depend on...

Posted by: Ace at 01:55 AM | Add Comment
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Three generations of Mars rovers via Universe Today

10:31 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5 PDT; 1:31 a.m. Monday, Aug. 6 EDT. BoingBoing has put together a viewing guide.

Andy suggests a betting thread on whether this thing crashes. After watching video of the landing sequence, Ace said, "I'll take "Most Complicated Way To Land A Rover With As Many Catastrophic Failure Windows As Possible" for $800, Alex." It's going to be a nail-biter. Another video here.

Two cigar butts and a can of pruno says Obama is ready to steal the spotlight if NASA and the MSL team are successful. Takers?

Live coverage below the fold from Spaceflight Now. more...

Posted by: rdbrewer at 08:01 PM | Comments (498)
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Last call for the weekend.

So KingDouche Apologized

Over the weekend Adam Smith issued an apology video. Which would be a good start except he broke Tuco's rule of apologies: If you're going to apologize, apologize - don't keep talking trying to explain.

And Andy pointed out yesterday that Smith was likely motivated by a video by Jackson Pearce that he linked to in his YouTube channel and the idea of using a kind of biblical jujitsu on Chick-fil-A:

There's this Bible passage, Proverbs 25:21: "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink." So if you are not a fan of Chick-fil-A's stance on hate, on August 1st I suggest you go there and ask for a large water. If they say that you need to order something, cite Proverbs 25:21. I mean, technically, if they're operating on "Biblical principles," they should give you an entire combo meal if your stomach growls, but let's keep it simple.

Meanwhile someone claiming to know Adam personally posted this on the Tucson craigslist. There's absolutely no verification of what they say but to me it has the ring of truth:

I know Adam Smith.. (t-town)
Date: 2012-08-03, 2:12PM MST
And I know him rather well. Although I was shocked to see him do something this stupid, I wasnt THAT shocked. He's always been a little on the insane side.
If you care to know, and I guess you do if you are reading this, here's a little insight on his psychological profile:
Dude is super smart, believe it or not. He is also very obsessive, and if he gets an idea planted in his head, nothing can stop him from executing that idea.
This guy should be on a ton of medication, but I suspect he is currently off his meds...
He is extreme in everything he does.
He was 'super christian' up until about 2 years ago, when he suddenly became 'super atheist' and started lashing out publicly at christians. Dont know why, but he hates hates hates christians. He is obsessed with it.
He recently started alienating himself from his former peers
He is an extremely emotional and passionate person.
He is very paranoid.

As for the poster who said there should be a guard at his work, I disagree. Yea, hes nuts, and getting nuttier by the day, but in the years Ive known him, I have never seen him become violent or even lose his temper.
He isnt going to go on some killing rampage, but I do think there's a pretty darn good chance he will try and kill himself though. I hope his family is keeping a very close eye on him. He is a very determined guy.

This doesn't excuse what he did but it does add some context to his behavior and makes me feel even sorrier for his wife and family. And even a bit for Adam himself since he seems prone to self-destructive behavior.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:10 PM | Comments (522)
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It seems the SCOAMF may have riled up the Turkish with his little staged tough-guy photo.

The picture, which was interpreted as vaguely menacing by some critics, caused a stir in Turkey.

‘The photo reveals from whom our Prime Minister receives orders to rule the country,’ Metin Lutfi Baydar, a lawmaker with Turkey's main opposition party the Republican People's Party (CHP), said in a statement.

CHP vice president Umut Oran asked through parliament if Erdogan had seen the picture and if he would take action against ‘an implicit insult to Turkey and its citizens.’

Is this kind of silly? Sure it is.

But it's no sillier than than the ZOMFG!!11! Mitt Romney's foreign trip was teh disasterz!! narrative the MFM was pushing last week.

The difference is that this one will get a passing mention at best in rags like the NYT and WaPo. I wonder why?

more...

Posted by: andy at 01:13 PM | Comments (378)
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At least one suspect has been shot and the officer who shot them was wounded in the exchange of gunfire and is in surgery.

Police are unsure if there are additional shooters involved.

It's early and chaotic, so check back for updates and confirmations.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:56 AM | Comments (833)
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Warning: those women don't look like real athletes to me.

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to the witty and urbane book thread. Sorry about the hiatus last week, but my father had passed away at the end of June and Mrs. Muse and I went to be with my mom for a few days and help her with the administrative details and to tie up some loose ends.

Apropos of the London games, How To Watch The Olympics looks like a fun book. It's subtitled 'The Essential Guide to the Rules, Statistics, Heroes, and Zeroes of Every Sport'. It sounds like you can just pick it up and read bits and pieces of it, which suits my ridiculously limited attention span.

I've never seen a Kindle book for $87.36, but if you want to spend that much, A Brief History of the Olympic Games is for you. I bring this up only to relate the author's observation that

"The term Olympic Games is...a bad mistranslation of Greek Olympiakoi agones." The problem is that agones gets converted into [Latin] ludus, ludi, ludicrum, ie, diversions and games. The Romans did not take Greek athletics seriously.

But the Greeks did: “the Greek word agones can never refer to ‘games.’ Rather, it means ‘struggles’ or ‘contests’; or even ‘pains.’ Our word “agony’ derives from it. The word ‘play,’ as well, has no application at all to Greek athletics. The Greek word for ‘play,’ paizein, comes from the word pais, ‘child.’” This is not what the Greek Olympiad was about: “When Greek boys competed in athletics, they were acting like men, not the reverse, as in other cultures."

So there you are. Talk about your agony of defeat; it wasn't defeat that was agonizing, it was th games themselves. Hat tip: Peter Leithart

Books By Morons For Morons

Moron Steve Poling, author of The Aristotelian, has a new book out. It's an anthology of time travel stories which, as he says:

...are written in the spirit of Human Wave science fiction (life doesn't suck, humans win, we're not all doomed). They follow a pair of time travelers who rescue lost treasures and bicker.

Its web site is here and trailer is here.

Huh. Who knew books had trailers?

And it's only $2.99 for the eBook edition, so how can you go wrong?

I feel remiss in not having mentioned long-time moron commenter Christopher Taylor's book Old Habits before now. It has received many favorable reviews by other morons in previous book threads. It is available in both paperback and Kindle editions.

Also, if any of you have progressive friends or acquaintances who are proudly boycotting Chik-Fil-A because the owner dared to express his agreement with views that have been held by approximately 99% of the people who have ever lived, Gene Wilder has a question for them:
more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:11 AM | Comments (262)
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Last week Marco Rubio introduced a bill called the Olympic Tax Elimination Act that would exempt cash honoraria and the value of the medal itself from the federal income tax.

“Our tax code is a complicated and burdensome mess that too often punishes success, and the tax imposed on Olympic medal winners is a classic example of this madness,” the Florida Republican said.

Agreed. But while I'm a big fan of Rubio, I'd suggest that further complicating the tax code to provide a special exemption for Olympians is in diametrical opposition to the kind of overall tax simplification we should be pursuing.

“We can all agree that these Olympians who dedicate their lives to athletic excellence should not be punished when they achieve it,” [Rubio] said.

Sure. But what about the young adult working two jobs to pay his or her way through college? What about the small businessman who busts his ass to make payroll each week?

It's not like Olympians are being singled out by the tax code and specifically targeted with a special tax. They're just following the (often ludicrous) rules that everybody else in the country who tries to make an honest buck contend with each and every day.

If the result seems absurd, it's just an indication of how convoluted the system is to begin with. And, even worse, Rubio's response is an indication of how it got that way.

What say you?

Posted by: andy at 06:22 AM | Comments (183)
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