I laugh every time I watch this. more...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:18 AM | Comments (18)
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Not really the other league since of course we'll compare versus each other. A bit more difficult, but we're all in this together.

I'm sorry to be so late on this but if people haven't signed up yet, here's a league that's still taking members, on Yahoo!

Group ID: 65497
password: valurite

If you're in a suicide pool, that's fine, but you will have to join a pick 'em league to compete with others.

Actually the first Ace of Spades league doesn't allow you to pick after the first game's been played (which it was, on Thursday), so if you're locked out, you might want to join this league and have your name removed from the first league.

Posted by: Ace at 08:29 PM | Comments (4)
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Those evil devils at KFC, ensnaring consumers with the scent of chicken fried in 11 secret herbs and spices.

In a ploy reminiscent to letting pies cool on windowsills, KFC is experimenting with aroma marketing, using scent to lure potential diners to their restaurants. The pilot program took place Aug. 23 at the Salvation Army offices in the Mayfair neighborhood.

Here's how it worked: plates of KFC's new "$2.99 Deals" were delivered by mail cart to employees, along with bills, packages and letters. The aroma of KFC chicken permeated throughout the office. Noses piqued, heads popped into the hallway, and the office workers were then treated to lunch.

Well, yeah. Imagine you're at your office cubicle with lunchtime a few minutes away, stomach rumbling, and the smell of crispy, succulent fried chicken wafts your way.
You'd be prairie-dogging and grabbing your car keys.

People are immune to a lot of visual noise and ignore many adverts these days. Marketing to the nose is devious, devious stuff.

No reply from The Mustang Ranch as to whether they will be also be adopting this marketing technique.

Posted by: LauraW. at 04:24 PM | Comments (149)
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The next question is "Where did the money come from originally?"

But for now, this advances the story quite a bit.

The records show that Components Ltd., a company controlled by Mr. Hsu that has no obvious business purpose and appears to exist only on paper, has paid a total of more than $100,000 to at least nine people who made campaign contributions to Mrs. Clinton and others through Mr. Hsu. The payments occurred in the spring of 2003, several months before Mr. Hsu emerged as a contributor to Democrats and more than a year before he started bundling checks from those same people for various campaigns. In all, he has raised more than $1 million for Democrats.

The records make clear that the group was more than just a loose collection of friends, family and co-workers that bundlers typically rely on when raising money for a candidate. Rather, each person had a direct financial relationship with Mr. Hsu, either receiving money from his company or paying into it, even though many of them appear to have other jobs or businesses independent of him. The purpose of the payments, and whether they related to business costs, fees or expenses, is unclear.

...

The timing of Mr. HsuÂ’s payments is important because federal law sets a $2,300 limit on individual contributions to presidential campaigns and bars fund-raisers from reimbursing donors.

...

The records show that during that one-month period, Components Ltd. took in close to $600,000, about a third of it wired to the companyÂ’s account by two people in California and New York who also were part of Mr. HsuÂ’s circle of campaign contributors. At the same time, the company issued checks and wire transfers totaling $660,000, much of it to the same group of people, including two checks for more than $100,000 apiece that bounced because of insufficient funds.

It's not a mystery. He's laundering illegal contributions, either from those not entitled to donate to political campaigns (foreign nationals) or from very rich donors who have easily exceeded the federal limits. He takes the illegal money in, writes checks to his network of straw (fake) donors, then they give "their" money to Hillary! and Co.

Thanks to David.

Posted by: Ace at 03:42 PM | Comments (56)
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They call for a 50% reduction in troop levels... in three years.

After all of the media's and Democrats' howling that we must follow the recommendations of the ISG, what will they say now?

Jeff Emmanuel Also reports from inside the surge.

In April and May of this year, and again from the beginning of August through the present, I have been embedded in some of the most dangerous combat zones in Iraq observing Gen. Petraeus’s strategy from the ground level, and have seen clear signs of the strategy’s effects on the situation there. Security has been improved, as has quality of life for the Iraqi people – many of whom have access, via the coalition, to things like quality medical care that they have never had before, under Saddam or since his fall.

...

Actual combat troop strength is, in reality, still far too low to clear, hold (read: secure), and build – the three pillars of counterinsurgency – the entire country (let alone to nation-build successfully, including leaving behind a functioning, autonomous government); in essence, fewer soldiers than it would take to fill up Washington, DC’s RFK Stadium (the actual percentage of the 140,000 total troops here in Iraq, the majority of which are support troops who rarely leave their FOBs) have been asked to secure and patrol a nation of 27 million people, which is the size of California, while also training Iraqi Security Forces and performing reconstruction projects. However, the troops who have been asked to take on this massive task – while being targeted by terrorists who would rather slaughter their own countrymen in the process of fighting the coalition than actually stand and fight an army toe-to-toe – have stepped up, despite an inhospitable environment and the strain of extended combat tours, and done an admirable job.

They're the 300.

Posted by: Ace at 03:18 PM | Comments (10)
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Joe "Sparky" Sauers says "bring it on, bitch"!

Well, no, he doesn't really say that. He says "ow" and passes out.

Joe been hit twice. That's two times more than you and me. And he's still kickin.

Personally, I think he's the most interesting combination of "unlucky" and "goddam you're one lucky sonofabitch" I ever heard of.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 02:40 PM | Comments (11)
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From Jay at Stop the ACLU.

Thanks, Jay.

Posted by: LauraW. at 02:22 PM | Comments (6)
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I'd have just said DNC press releases, but I guess lefty blogs are a safer target.

"But you read this thing, and it's like he's been sitting around reading lefty blogs, and he's one of these childish people posting rants at the bottom the page, you know, Noam Chomsky and all this stuff.

"You can't help read it and not laugh at it, occasionally, because it is just absurd. It's flying this way, and that way, weird conspiracy theories, and mortgages, global warming. He throws it all in there."

Also, at Stop the ACLU, audio of John Gibson comparing bin Laden's message to Keith Olbermann's rants. Except for bin Laden not saying "Sir" every three seconds, they match up pretty damn well.

Posted by: Ace at 02:13 PM | Comments (11)
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Whoops, forgot.

Blog. Blog like the wind.

Meanwhile, I'm apartment hunting. Fun.

Posted by: Ace at 01:32 PM | Comments (17)
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Bad news for the democrats..

Even more bad news for the democrats - the US Institute of Peace says we should stay there for another 5 years when a full handover would occur.

H/T Surber

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 01:28 PM | Comments (8)
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