Perhaps this will get the troop death rate up to a level the Democrats are happier with.

“We’re out of (funding) new stuff now; we’re going to have trouble sustaining current contracts after the first of December,” Meigs said...

“What I can’t fund today will not go into the field next summer or next fall,” Meigs said. “It’ll be delayed by the amount of time we wait for funding...”

In Afghanistan, Meigs said, the Taliban are making a full-fledged effort to get back into the game. IED attacks are up, and the number of effective attacks is up as well, he said. The attacks are more lethal, he explained, because soldiers conduct more dismounted patrols in Afghanistan. “A suicide bomber with a vest is more lethal in Afghanistan. It’s easier to get closer to the troops,” he said.

I wonder what the trade-off is. Every dead troop equals 1% of a Senate pick-up?

If these bastards think they've been "Swift Boated," let me tell you, they've not seen fury like they'll see if IED deaths tick upwards.

Posted by: Ace at 11:30 AM | Comments (13)
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Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control.

Okay, there's some hype here. And admittedly this CGI demo of the robot "in action" is just lovely. But if they have a real working killer robot why do they need to resort to CGI?

Thanks to dri.

Posted by: Ace at 10:59 AM | Comments (6)
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This guy lobbied the parole board to free this rapist turned rapist/murderer.

Huckabee lied, two women died.

The story references letters dug up at the Huffington Post. Their article is here.

Confidential Arkansas state government records, including letters from these women, obtained by the Huffington Post and revealed publicly for the first time, directly contradict the version of events now being put forward by Huckabee. While on the campaign trail, Huckabee has claimed that he supported the 1999 release of Wayne Dumond because, at the time, he had no good reason to believe that the man represented a further threat to the public. … But the confidential files obtained by the Huffington Post show that Huckabee was provided letters from several women who had been sexually assaulted by Dumond and who indeed predicted that he would rape again - and perhaps murder - if released. In a letter that has never before been made public, one of Dumond's victims warned: ‘I feel that if he is released it is only a matter of time before he commits another crime and fear that he will not leave a witness to testify against him the next time.’ Before Dumond was granted parole at Huckabee's urging, records show that Huckabee's office received a copy of this letter from Arkansas' parole board.

Here's the "Court Jester" spinning this godawful (irony intended) decision on MTP:

Over at Hot Air, which just posted the same stuff (common source), they note that four of the parole board members have previously stated they were strongly lobbied by Huckabee to free this fucking dirtbag rapist/murderer -- and yet he continues lying about it. Brazenly.

Oh yeah: he also lied about getting these letters from Dumond's victims, too. At least before they were produced and proven to have been delivered to him.

That doesn't sound very Christian to me, Minister.

Let's see how Huckabee shapes up:

Soft on crime. Bad policy, gives away a perennial winning issue for the GOP. It's not such a big issue now that the eighties crimewave has ended, but it's still an issue -- and Huckabee is a liberal on law and order.

Tax-and-spender. One of the biggest clubs in the GOP's bag -- not this cycle. Hillary and Huckabee are sympatico on the notion that we need to take more of people's money to do public good.

Soft on the War on Terror. Wants to shut down Gitmo, wants to outlaw waterboarding, speaks softly and carries no stick on Iran (he has been conspicuously soft in his rhetoric in debates, counseling the need for dialogue and warning against bombing). Has not been a leader, rhetorical or otherwise, for the War in Iraq, unlike John McCain or Rudy Giuliani. The primary reason for voting GOP for many of us, and Huckabee sounds more like Barack Obama on the issue than George Bush.

Soft on Immigration. The only truly winning issue for the GOP this cycle and Huckabee is right there with the Amnestias. Remember how we all pined for the day we had a President not named "Bush" who would take our side in this fight so that we didn't have to rely on filibusters and procedural blocking tactics every time the issue came up? Well, like Bush, Huckabee is a True Believer in the need to be accomodating to Undocumented Americans. So forget the issue, and forget the cause -- it's lost under President Huckabee.

Can I ask a question here? Are there Americans, Republicans, Christians, etc. out there who actually believe the GOP can win an election on nothing except the Human Life Amendment and Federal Marriage Amendment?

And do these people realize the president has no role in the amendment process? He does not need to sign a proposed amendment, nor can he veto it; it's entirely up to Congress and then (after securing 2/3rds support) the state legislatures (3/4ths of them)?

True, a president can support such measures rhetorically. But can anyone name for me the 66 Senators and 38 states they imagine will be signing on for the HLA and FMA just because President Huckabee talks them up?

Has the party gone fucking crazy? Is that all there is now, in final analysis, to the GOP? God, gays, and abortion?

Those who are primarily motivated by this troika will say the GOP cannot win without them. True. But this is also true: The GOP cannot win only with them, either. 30% does not win elections in this country, ever. We sort of need those fiscal conservatives, law and order conservatives, sovereignty conservatives, and 9/11 conservatives on board with the nominee too.

Bonus! From Hot Air's Headlines, yet another reason to vote for Huckabee -- the NEA loves him!

The 16,000-member New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association has chosen to recommend to its members Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary, according to a source within the state NEA. This is the first time the state affiliate has picked a candidate in the GOP primary, and it follows HuckabeeÂ’s showing as the only Republican who spoke to the NEA convention in July.

The state chapter's membership is more than 25% Republican, said the source, and the committee didn't want those members to be ignored. When Huckabee spoke at the convention and participated in an interview with the state affiliate, deciding members felt it would be right to point that out to members. Only education and related positions were considered, and the board appreciated Huckabee's "strong views on public education," especially supporting the arts and music.

There are only two people left in America who believe in compassionate conservatism, George Bush and Mike Huckabee. So just as we get rid of the first big-government "conservative" we're going to nominate the only other one?

In sum:

Posted by: Ace at 09:42 AM | Comments (125)
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"Friends With Benefits," a study claims, is a losing proposition for all involved.

Contrary to popular belief, having a friend with benefits may not be all itÂ’s cracked up to be.

According to the New York Times, a Michigan State study released earlier this year found that these booty call relationships only appear to offer less stress. Sure, you get more action than the casual fling, but you still have to deal with the same fears often experienced by those in “real” romantic relationships, like the fear of unreciprocated affection.

Worse yet, the open communication once cherished by two buddies, now FWBs, breaks down. Any talk beyond the titillating becomes taboo, with lovers often afraid or unable to talk about the relationship itself.

Suddenly, bearing the scarlet letter of a one-night stand doesn’t sound so bad, especially if “doing it without drama” has been your mantra as of late. Turns out that, despite the conveniences of FWBs, temporary sexual gratification comes at a price — the chance at real romance.

The Michigan State study found that friends with benefit relationships often reach the point where one friend starts to develop feelings for the other, but only one-tenth of these arrangements actually end in a full-scale romance and unreciprocated feelings can lead to the demise of the friendship.

As many as one in four FWB arrangements ultimately result in friendless and sexless situations, researchers said. The findings indicate that putting out for a pal ultimately can become anything but passion-inducing.

Hm. We needed a study to tell us sex is complicated.

Posted by: Ace at 09:40 AM | Comments (68)
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Huzzah, he's finally seen the light.

Or maybe not so much.

“Among the Democratic candidates, there’s only one that voted for this resolution. And this is exactly what [President] Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney wanted,” former North Carolina senator John Edwards said of Clinton at the debate in Iowa, the site of the nation’s first presidential caucuses, Jan. 3. “Senator Clinton has said she agrees with George Bush terminology that we’re in a global war on terror, then she voted to declare the military group in Iran a terrorist organization. What possible conclusion can you reach other than that we are at war?” Edwards added.

War is over, if you want it. It sounds better when sung.

Posted by: Ace at 09:25 AM | Comments (3)
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Huzzah, he's finally seen the light.

Or maybe not so much.

“Among the Democratic candidates, there’s only one that voted for this resolution. And this is exactly what [President] Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney wanted,” former North Carolina senator John Edwards said of Clinton at the debate in Iowa, the site of the nation’s first presidential caucuses, Jan. 3. “Senator Clinton has said she agrees with George Bush terminology that we’re in a global war on terror, then she voted to declare the military group in Iran a terrorist organization. What possible conclusion can you reach other than that we are at war?” Edwards added.

War is over, if you want it. It sounds better when sung.

Posted by: Ace at 09:25 AM | Comments (3)
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Disaster. Not because Giuliani may lose, but because now the Giuliani alternatives like Thompson and Romney have almost no growing room. Republicans seem to have chosen their alternative and it's the guy who can't win.

Posted by: Ace at 08:48 AM | Comments (121)
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...a fact the BBC did not disclose to the police once they knew it.

The issue in this story has less to do with paintball and more to do with the BBC's credulity. They accepted at face value that Islamophobia represented more of a threat than terrorism, and blithely proved the opposite with this entry in their scolding to the West. Not only did they invite a terrorist planner onto the show, he invited two of the July 21 would-be suicide bombers to join him.

It gets worse for the BBC. After the bombing, the BBC didn't bother to go to the police with the information, even after Hamid confirmed his association with the two perpetrators.

More at Captain Ed.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 08:34 AM | Comments (6)
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The coming economic apocalypse is going to be all that much worse. Note this is not the official government payroll number but a private estimate.

Private employers added 189,000 jobs in November, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday, much higher than market expectations and the biggest monthly increase in a year.

Wall Street economists had expected private sector jobs of 50,000 last month. In October, new private sector jobs were revised to 119,000 from 106,000.

The ADP report suggests Friday's closely watched payrolls report from the government, which includes public and private sector hiring, could be much stronger than expected.

Assuming government payrolls expand by 19,000, which is the average monthly increase over the last 12 months, Macroeconomic Advisers said this implies an estimated 208,000 increase in total non-farm payroll employment.

According to the latest Reuters poll of economists, the U.S. Labor Department on Friday is expected to show 75,000 non-farm jobs were created in November, down from 166,000 the previous month.

"While the market typically discounts the ADP report, a number this far out of the cloud could cause economists to revise their expectations for Friday," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist, at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. "We will also now have to keep an eye on the Fed funds futures markets go see if they price in a reduced expectations of a rate cut next week," he added.

Thanks to krakatoa for both the tip and the joke.

Posted by: Ace at 08:16 AM | Comments (20)
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I don't care about the lawsuit, but the site it mentions is frickin' hilarious.

A Pittsburgh attorney has revived his lawsuit against a date-dissing Web site where postings, he says, falsely claimed he was unfaithful and had sexually transmitted diseases.

Todd Hollis sued DontDateHimGirl.com and its creator in Miami federal court.

Many of the entries on that site are howlingly funny. My favorites are the ones where the girl is shocked and surprised at the results of her own slutty/gullible/stupid behavior:

Jean Kengs
I met this guy and he worked fro a security company. We went out and had a GREAT time. I ended up sleeping with him and then the next day at work my manager informed me that his wife had called asking where he was b/c he had not come home last night!!! If you see him please kick him in the nuts for me thank you~

You got it sista!
Spreading for a guy you barely know should be risk-free! Grrrl Powah!

Al "The Knife" Satyr
This guy is a total scumbag. Don't date him, girl! He's after one thing, and one thing only! Once he gets it he's off to the next girl. FYI: he wears thong underwear and smells like cats!!

Emphasis mine. I might just be a little tired and giddy this morning, but I can't stop laughing. It's the picture. Al "The Knife" Satyr looks like your tax guy.

Aaaanyway. If you have any websites you'd like to promote today, or anything funny to share, open thread.

Posted by: LauraW. at 08:00 AM | Comments (23)
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