Sorry for last week, I messed up but the show must go on so gaming below more...

Posted by: Gang of Gaming Morons! at 11:18 AM | Comments (83)
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Don't forget it's Mother's Day tomorrow.

Game of Throne's Mother's Day cards. more...

Posted by: CDR M at 06:01 PM | Comments (563)
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The brilliance that is the Washington Post has seen fit to publish a blog post that completes the circle of profound ignorance of all economic thought that has been validated by...you know...reality.

[Via Nedermeyer's Dead Horse]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:30 AM | Comments (398)
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This is one of the official news organs of the PRC saying this, so that means something. It ain't some renegade bloggers or underground paper that simply hasn't been raided for impure thoughts yet.

China has its difficulties in dealing with the North Korean issue. The US and its military allies have enhanced their strategic deployment around the peninsula. Such military deployments exert huge negative impact on China's security interests. However, China cannot blame the US for making these deployments because according to the US, these arrangements are aimed at North Korea.

China has to punish North Korea for its stirring up regional instability. But China cannot permanently cut off its military assistance to North Korea as the West is trying to persuade China to do.

In short, we cannot simply "abandon" North Korea. No matter the nature of the regime in North Korea, China always has security interests in the Korean Peninsula.

Beijing has already adjusted its policies toward North Korea. Targeting North Korea's unfriendly actions, which have threatened peace on the peninsula, China has issued warnings and punishments. The relationship between China and North Korea has reached its lowest point since 1953.

2) The US rational for repositioning was accepted at face value without question -- which implies the DPRK are in fact crazy loons from the PRC's POV.

3) The " North Korea's unfriendly actions, which have threatened peace on the peninsula" language is unequivocal. The PRC is explicitly blaming the DPRK for being crazy loons inconveniently stirring shit up.

I'm guessing this is why the DPRK backed down a couple of days ago. They twisted the tiger's tail once too often and caught a face full of sharp claws.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:51 AM | Comments (116)
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... but this might be a bridge too far.

A man from northwest suburban Roselle, in DuPage County, faces a charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty after police said he sexually abused his pet peacock.

Posted by: andy at 08:17 AM | Comments (106)
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Tonight and tomorrow night are your best opportunities to spot elusive Omega Centauri, first discussed in the spaced-out thread a few weeks back, for residents of much of the United States. This month's Sky and Telescope has it as their binocular highlight of the month, as well it should be: with over three million stars crammed into a space only a hundred and fifty light years across, even in the murky southern haze it is a sight to behold. Just further north, we have several other objects targeted in previous editions, and for those very lucky morons living in the Florida Keys, a very, very special quadruplet skates across your southern horizon. With the moon setting early enough to give a darkened view, you don't need much else to spot these gems:
more...

Posted by: CAC at 01:00 PM | Comments (266)
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A peer-reviewed study comparing/contrasting the effectiveness of various lubricants in easing the pain of having Comprehensive Immigration Reform jammed up America's collective squeakhole. In descending order of effectiveness:

1. Astroglide

2. Vaseline

3. Spit

4. Nothing (control group)

5. Assurances that "Hispanics are a natural GOP constituency, and will rocket conservatism back into the White House for the next 50 years"

6. Sand

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 04:26 AM | Comments (295)
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If you haven't ordered your mom's flowers yet, you still ...

Oh. Wait.

Yeah, you're toast.

Posted by: andy at 03:06 AM | Comments (188)
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Universal biometric IDs for every American? What could go wrong?

The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in the U.S., in what privacy groups fear could be the first step to a ubiquitous national identification system.

Buried in the more than 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation (.pdf) is language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named “photo tool,” a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID.

Seriously, You Guys. It's not like it's a tattoo or anything.

Posted by: andy at 03:18 PM | Comments (647)
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Are you kidding me?

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has gone hat in hand to health industry executives, asking them to make large financial donations to help with the effort to implement President ObamaÂ’s landmark health-care law.

Her unusual fundraising push comes after Congress has repeatedly rejected the Obama administrationÂ’s requests for additional funds to set up the Affordable Care Act, leaving Health and Human Services to implement the presidentÂ’s signature legislative accomplishment on a shoestring budget.

Sebelius has, over the past three months, made multiple phone calls to health industry executives, community organizations and church groups and directly asked that they contribute to non-profits that are working to enroll uninsured Americans and increase awareness of the law, according to a Health and Human Services official familiar with the SecretaryÂ’s outreach who spoke on condition of anonymity.

What do these calls sound like, "Hi I'm HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. You may recall I have tremendous discretionary power over your company and entire industry. Would you like to donate to my favorite cause? You would? Thank you so much."

How much power over the healthcare industry does ObamaCare give Sebelius?

There are more than 2,500 references to the secretary of HHS in the health care law (in most cases she’s simply mentioned as “the Secretary”). A further breakdown finds that there are more than 700 instances in which the Secretary is instructed that she “shall” do something, and more than 200 cases in which she “may” take some form of regulatory action if she chooses. On 139 occasions, the law mentions decisions that the “Secretary determines.” At times, the frequency of these mentions reaches comic heights. For instance, one section of the law reads: “Each person to whom the Secretary provided information under subsection (d) shall report to the Secretary in such manner as the Secretary determines appropriate.”

The powers given to Sebelius are wide ranging. In the coming years, if she remains in office, the former Kansas governor will be able to determine what type of insurance coverage every American is required to have. She can influence what hospitals can participate in certain plans, can set up health insurance exchanges within states against their will, and even regulate McDonaldÂ’s Happy Meals. SheÂ’ll run pilot programs that Democrats have set up in an effort to control costs, and be in a position to dole out billions of dollars in grant money.

But the full breadth of her powers will be known only over time, due to the ambiguity of the language in many parts of the health care legislation. As conservatives make the case for repealing ObamaCare over the course of the next several years, it will be imperative to highlight the arbitrary new powers given to an unelected bureaucrat.

I'm sure people who decline her generous invitation to pay up won't suffer and negative consequences. Why it's not like we just found out today Obama used the IRS to target conservatives. Oh, right. And naturally there won't be a little something extra in the regulations for those that pony up. They are just doing it out of the goodness of their tiny, black, capitalist hearts.

You may recall, Sebelius was previously cited for violating federal law for mixing politics with her official duties.

Second look at Richard Nixon?

Posted by: DrewM at 12:42 PM | Comments (415)
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