Presidential Penii ...

The always-hilarious Jesus' General looks at Arizona's (The Through-The-Looking Glass State) new birther bill. You know, the one that says a man running for president can prove he's American by being circumcised (really)? Well, the General has received statements of Presidential Penishood from all the Republican frontrunners.

...

It's a great idea if you think about it. American penes are unique in regard to the pressure handling capabilities of their urethra's, the masculine design of their veins, and the shape and taste of their helmets.

Candidates aren't required to present penis identification documents if they have a long-form birth certificate, but many, being men and thus always eager to brag about their little soldiers, have already submitted theirs. I'm including a few excerpts below:

...

Put. Coffee. Down. Before. Clicking. Link.

A dwindling commodity ...

Andy Borowitz:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – The U.S. policy of exporting democracy abroad has meant that there is very little of it left at home.

That is the grim assessment of a new study commissioned by the University of Minnesota, which predicts that if the U.S. continues to export democracy at its current pace it may completely run out of it at home by the year 2015.

...

The University of Minnesota study contains several proposals, such as outsourcing the U.S. government to the world’s largest democracy, India.

“The work done by Congress could be accomplished much more efficiently by a series of electronic phone prompts,” the study recommends.

But Mr. Boehner warned that eliminating Congress entirely would have disastrous effects: “That would destroy entire sectors of our economy, especially the prostitution industry.” [my em]

...

Heh ...

Thanks to Tina at The Agonist for the link.

I coulda told you that ...

Heh ...

The Air Force has problems distinguishing men from women and adults from children. Which means pilots sometimes target — and kill — the wrong people. The air service’s solution: a nationwide contest, to help the military pick out kid from grown-up.

...

Yeah, in the Air Force, the adults are the NCO corps. The officers are the children. Though, while I was in, more than once I walked up behind a female officer and said "excuse me, sir."* ;)

*Unintentionally, of course.

Bolivians ...

Are smarter than we are:

Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

The country, which has been pilloried by the US and Britain in the UN climate talks for demanding steep carbon emission cuts, will establish 11 new rights for nature. They include: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered.

Controversially, it will also enshrine the right of nature "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities".

...

And in the US, we've got Mother Nature tied up and we're ass-raping her for all she's worth. I'm waiting for the day when nations and people who are concerned with the health of this planet start taking measures to contain us from doing any more damage to the environment. We seem to be the only ones in denial about the mess we're making.

Thanks to Cookie Jill for the link.

Update:

To my Ann Landers impersonation yesterday. Remember when I said:

... And don't let personal feelings get involved. Just because, for example, Goldmine Sachs are rotten, scumbag motherfuckers doesn't mean you can't invest in them. In this shitbag system, they always come up smelling like a rose ...

Well, they just might not:

Is this the time, finally, when we see some of these bastards go to jail for crashing the economy to feed their own greed? Finally? I wouldn't hold my breath:

...

It would be nice to see them all perp-walked out of their offices by the feds.

This is a little financial lesson in the making. If indictments come down, I'm unloading as fast as I can. But, as Susie said: "I wouldn't hold my breath" for any indictments materializing. With Levin being a Dem, I'm sure the White House will do their best to nip this in the bud. Wouldn't want Timmy-boy to cry.

Update to the Update:

Comrade Misfit gives good advice too. A buncha people who should neither be believed or taken seriously.

Headline of the Day II

‘World’s first 3D porn film’ opens in Hong Kong

The old jet pilot's creed of "In Thrust We Trust" is about to take on a whole new meaning. Heh.

Tough guy, huh?

Raw Story

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) begged reporters Wednesday to "take the bat" to a 76-year-old lawmaker for collecting a pension and a paycheck.

Yeah, 'take the bat' to a widow who lost all her money to Madoff, you fucking asshole. Typical Repug bully.

Note to Secaucus Fats: I'm here. 'Take the bat' to me and I'll shove it up your roly-poly ass, pine tar, tape, and all. I'm in no danger. You ain't got the balls to take on anybody that ain't an old woman.

Headline of the Day

In case you gals live closer to a Walgreen's than to a legit women's health service provider and are looking for a place to take yer hoo-hah for an oil change, this one's for you.

In Honor of Fox & Friends, Walgreen’s to Sell The Steve Doocy Douche

Think of F** when you see the stirrups! If that don't make ya grow teeth in them things like the Repugs are convinced you already have, nothing will! Ha!

Why is John Boehner consulting Wall Street?

The Week

The House speaker is reportedly contacting top bankers to ask how far he can push the fight over the debt ceiling without roiling the markets.

[...] But Wall Street is telling Boehner that, if the markets believe the debt limit won't be raised, very bad things will happen to the dollar, U.S. borrowing costs, and global finance. Why is Boehner even engaging in these discussions? Here, four theories:

With an explanation of each.

1. Boehner is playing with a weak hand

[...] And the fact that Boehner is asking Wall Street "how much screwing around he can get away with" before raising it — rather than whether raising it is a good idea — means Democrats should be completely unwilling to trade anything for a clean vote. Republican threats are mere bluffs.

"Call the hostage takers' bluff"
...

2. The GOP doesn't want to lose Wall Street's support

Duh...

3. Wall Street knows Boehner's bluffing is harmless
...

4. The Tea Party is setting the terms of this debate

Boehner has already said* that the debt ceiing won't be raised without "something really, really big attached to it".

If the Dems stand firm (pigs are flying?!) they don't have to give him jack shit. He just wants to appease his 'bagger morons and make this look like a victory for them.

Stupid fucking Repug games. Business as usual.

*Great quote on the masthead at this site:

"Every normal must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." -- H.L. Mencken

Yep. Shiver me timbers!

Better to be the mongoose

Fixer made reference to El Rude-o's take on President Obama's speech yesterday. I really liked this part:

By the way, hearing Republicans complain about the partisan tone of the speech is like watching a group of cobras complain that the local mongoose bites them too hard. Seriously, guys, you're cobras. Suck it up. It's just fucking embarrassing.

They're garter snakes who want us to believe they're cobras. Just snakes in the grass.

Also, the mongoose almost always wins. I like that!

How in Hell ...

Do you think I can take cruises and fly first class*? Aside from the fact we don't have kids, that is? They've imposed this horrible system on us, ya gotta learn how to game it:

...

And this month I did it. Now I am planning to game the system by using the card for groceries and gas, paying it off every month when the bill comes in, and taking the cash rewards from the bank.

...

The idea is to get a credit card with benefits you can use. We, fer instance, use AMEX. The Delta Airlines AMEX to be exact. Why is that? Because the Mrs. flies around the country on business half the year. Because points add up to miles. Because we enjoy traveling so much. Of course, basic fiscal discipline is always in play (never charge up more than you can afford to pay off when the bill comes) but it has really helped out, allowing us to travel a bit more easily and reasonably.

Remember too, to read the fine print before applying for (or accepting) a new card. Too many people get bitten in the ass by the bullshit fees, conditions, and penalties but if you do your homework (as with anything) you should be able to use their bullshit to your advantage.

***

And, since I'm giving out a little financial advice (something which I am loath to do because I am no damn expert and I only know what works for me), I got a little for the younger folks who might stop by here to listen to the old farts once in a while.

Don't have kids.

Well, at least, wait until you're married (or together, cohabitating) a few years. There is nothing etched in stone somewhere that says you gotta spit out a kid a year after you're together. Take a few years to get to know each other, learn how to work together (learn if you can before fucking up some kid with a divorce) and become a team, oriented to the same general goals (financially, spiritually, with a congruous set of aspirations). And this rule is paramount: If you're having relationship problems already, a kid ain't gonna fix it and the kid will pay the biggest price down the road.

Build up trust in each other and make sure you can trust each other. Then, when that's reasonably certain, figure out which of you is the best with money and let them run it. The Mrs. (see "Discipline") is that person here. I couldn't tell you how much my paycheck was over the past 10 years, nor could I tell you my yearly salary. If I write one check a year it's a lot. I have no idea what I'm worth. The Mrs. has the answers and that's fine with me; I'm not living out of a box under a bridge somewhere.

Save.

If it's a dollar a week. Use forced savings through your employer (though avoid a 401K made up completely of your employer's stock) or get direct deposit for your check and have your bank make an automatic transfer to your savings account, even if it's just a dollar a week.

Don't look over the fence.

"Keeping up with the Joneses" is horseshit. Shy away from "impulse buys" or frivolous shit (and by that I mean, for example, how much does a Starbucks Super Fatso Latte cost every day compared to buying a pound of good coffee and making your own?). Just because your neighbor has "X" doesn't mean you should too. A lot of folks I know got in trouble by getting competitive with their friends when it comes to "stuff" (if you've watched TV for an hour recently, you'll realize we're conditioned to it). Make a list of "Needs" and "Wants" and stick to it ("Needs" = bills, gas for the car, clothes for the kids; "Wants" = anything else that doesn't keep you fed, clothed, employed, and warm). When money's tight, stick to the "Needs" list. The "Wants" only come when you can afford them without sacrificing the "Needs". Do not use credit for "Wants" if you can help it.

Invest, if you can.

I realize, in this day and age, for a lot of people even putting a sawbuck aside every week is a big ask. But this comes back to gaming the system again. This is what's there, we might hate it, but if you want to get anywhere in it, bitching about how bad it is ain't gonna work. When you have some money saved, see if you can take a portion (never put all your eggs in one basket) of it and invest it in something long term and safe. Our rule was to invest in things we use and it's helped out too. Carnival Corp, fer instance, where we get anywhere from $150 - $750 in shipboard credit (each) on every cruise, just because we own more than a hundred shares. So far, the credits have more than paid for the stock (plus I earn dividends on the stock in good times, which we reinvest to buy more). And don't let personal feelings get involved. Just because, for example, Goldmine Sachs are rotten, scumbag motherfuckers doesn't mean you can't invest in them. In this shitbag system, they always come up smelling like a rose. Why not take advantage of that and make some scratch for yourself?

And I just remembered, rereading this: Don't forget about your investments. Check on them quarterly to see what's doing what. I know financial statements are eye-glazing, believe me, but you have to see if shit you got is making money. If the value of something (this is very general because of many factors) doesn't improve in a year, you're not making anything. Might as well take the cash and put it in a savings account where it'll at least earn a percent or two. Always remember, this is cold shit. Do not let personal feelings get involved (i.e. don't feel bad because you love X Products - you use their stuff - and you can't bear to part with it even though it hasn't done shit since you bought it). Money that's not making anything is just an interest free loan on your part to some shitbag corporation. They're fucking you enough.

Discipline.

Maybe, thanks to the military, my German and British heritage, and being married to a woman who comes from a long line of accountants, I got a leg up on others in the discipline category, but discipline can be learned and must be applied. Also a long-term view (this is why I emphasize "congruous goals" in a relationship) of where you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years. If your partner doesn't want the same things you do for the future, it'll be that much harder to save for it.

Well, that's it. I might put something up in another couple years but these I think, are important. And, when I get the inevitable "but F-man, you're pretty well off and it's easy to give advice from that point of view" (one of the reasons I shy away from giving financial advice), I'll just answer with this: 23 years ago, I was homeless. A little over 15 years ago, the Mrs. and I were counting change in order to buy a soda to share. I never won the lottery, never had a rich relative die and leave me flush. Nobody ever gave us anything (except for this house when my mother died and that's cost me $150K so far) but with discipline, a lot of talking, planning, and sacrifice we've gotten to a comfortable place and we have a nice nest egg set aside for our retirement.

Like I said, I know there are a lot of different situations and I'm not saying to follow my advice to the letter or at all. Just something to think about that worked for me.

Addendum: A very important thing I almost forgot. You are not in touch enough with the markets to "day-trade" (or whatever it is they call it now). Short-term, high-risk investments, trying to make money on small, daily fluctuations in the markets is a sure recipe for disaster for the average person. Find a good financial guy who'll sit down and listen to you, ask you about your plans for the future, and try to design a realistic plan for you to meet your goals. This could be difficult and it is paramount you do your research. Take years to find the right person if that's required. These are decisions that will affect your long-term solvency and a crook, or an idiot, will dash your dreams in a New York Minute. Just look at the news nowadays and you can very well assume that if you're not on Social Security now, you're never going to be. Plan ahead. Ain't nobody, especially in these times, looking out for you but you.

And one more and then I'll shut up: Gold? No. The rise in gold prices is a bubble created by Friends of Beck. If you got in and bought a load when they first started, when the price was about $400/ounce, sell it now and retire in Liechtenstein. Buying high (gold is at record prices) and expecting the market to go higher is the same way people lost their shirts in the Dot.Com bubble, and the Housing Bubble, etc (I was around for the Hunt Bros. silver scam about 30 years ago and remember how that went). No gold, period.

*And don't look down your nose at me for flying first class. It ain't the ass-kissing we're after but the waiver of luggage quantity and weight fees (and the use of the SkyClub at the airport). Packing two people going for a few weeks on a ship with formal occasions can cost enough to actually buy a plane ticket for the luggage. Okay, I'll admit, it also lessens the chances of me having to put up with somebody's screaming kid on a night flight to Europe.

Can't-do ...

Mr. Philadelphia and Avedon have picked up on something I posted on last June, when reading one of Bob Herbert's articles:

...

For a nation that can’t stop bragging about how great and powerful it is, we’ve become shockingly helpless in the face of the many challenges confronting us. Our can-do spirit was put on hold many moons ago, and here we are now unable to defeat the Taliban, or rein in the likes of BP and the biggest banks, or stop the oil gushing furiously from the bowels of earth like a warning from Hades about the hubris and ignorance that is threatening to destroy us.

...

Atrios says something that hit home with me:

I've commented on this before (as with most things), but I continue to be amazed at the completely pervasive can't do spirit that seems to have gripped the country. Maybe we need to win a hockey game against the Soviets or something to bounce back.

I was in an argument on Facebook with a few people at the Major League Soccer page the other day. I made a smartass remark about the quality of the American game versus the European or South American teams. I was stating there were a few things we could do to improve the quality of the way it's played here and maybe get a little more credibility on the world stage. Basically, the response I was met with was "this is America and we do it our way so shut up" to "the rest of the world has been playing football for a century before we were so we will never be able to compete with them (on the club level)".

And the thing that struck me, maybe because I grew up at a time when we went to the Moon and believed anything was possible, was how nobody wants to do things better. Nobody wants to say "we're Americans and we can do anything we put our minds to" instead saying "we could do it better if we wanted to, we just don't want to". They'd rather the status quo than any attempt at improvement.

Now, to me, football (soccer) is an elegant game when played well. To watch people like Wayne Rooney or Lionel Messi or Ronaldinho, in his prime, and so many others is enthralling. If my only experience with soccer was the US game, I doubt I would be such a big fan. I want US soccer to be as big here (and played as well) as it is in England, France, Germany and the rest of the world. I'd like to stem the tide of the best US players running to Europe or South America to play their football. 75% (16 of 21)of the US Mens National Team plays their club football on a different continent (we send them our best, they send us their "has-beens" and "never-weres").

What is wrong with wanting the type of football here that would give our stars (and we have some great American players) pause before signing a contract with an English Premier League or Bundesliga team? What is wrong with seeing "The Beautiful Game" played by the people who invented it and attempting to emulate it? What is wrong with wanting to be the best you can be?

Seems that in America, we only talk about how good we could be (or think we are), and we're satisfied with that.

Fascism R' Us ...

Carl has a good post up at Michael's place, a civics lesson as such, on the Fascist society we have built:

...

Here's the thing: power attracts money. Money creates power. That vacuum no longer exists, and society must be vigilant, eternally so, against that slop-over. As we see, the combination of business and government is a most dangerous one. It creates fascism.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: a free society is a three-legged stool: government, the people, business. Any one of those legs gets chopped down, and the stool tips over. In fascism, the government and business carry axes. The people do not, precisely because of the regimentation and conformity that is imposed.

...

While most believe they "know Fascism when they see it", through their votes they've welcomed it unnoticed:

...

When fascism has been imposed in the past, in nations like Italy (where it was born) and Nazi Germany, it came from the government.

Here in America, it's been creeping in through the corporatocracy, aided and abetted by the government and the Brownshirt thugs who support the cause.

This is why the signs of fascism, as plain as day, are ignored by many people, who have been indoctrinated that free enterprise is their ally and government is the enemy, when in fact government is the sole bulwark against the encroaching fascist state.

...

And when did this happen?

... The second the business sector was allowed to participate fully in the political process, America was doomed to fascism.

...

The quotes I pulled don't do it justice so I'd urge you to read the whole thing.

We've allowed corporations and the rich to extort our democracy away from us and I get the feeling we're never going to get it back. They're too entrenched in our political process, with money and personnel, to weed them out. That is, unless we change the campaign finance laws and those concerning "corporate personhood".

Wait and see ...

As Gordon said below, it was a good speech. Greg Sargent looks at it, especially the part that struck me:

...

Finally, Obama placed tax hikes for the rich at the very center of the debate, arguing that the “worst” thing about the GOP vision is this: “Even though we can’t afford to care for seniors and poor children, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy.”

There’s no ignoring the fact that such stirring rhetoric jars against Obama’s recent deal with Republicans to continue the tax cuts for the rich, and some will be understandably wary of his stated moral conviction about them. But the President did draw a sharp line — one that will be hard to climb down from — on the coming fight over whether to let them expire: “I refuse to renew them again.”

On entitlements, it’s true that Obama repeated the formulation — disliked on the left — that we will reform entitlements without “slashing” benefits for future generations, which leaves the door open to mere “cuts.” But Obama did draw a hard line on defending Medicare’s core mission, and crucially, he did so while reiterating the speech’s larger message, which was that the Democratic version of the social contract is inviolable.

...

It was a great speech but, after seeing so many of Obama's promises left on the side of the campaign trail, after seeing him cave to the right on more than one occasion (whether from lack of a spine or by design), I'm taking a wait and see attitude. I'll be thrilled if he comes through and actually holds this high ground (as opposed to bargaining it away as soon as the Orange Boner opens his pie hole) but I'm not expecting miracles.

I quote my dear friend once again: "Talk, however, is cheap."

"She was lucky ..."

One of the reasons* I believe we should burn all the "holy books" and the "holy men" who use them to control their congregations.

A 15-year-old rape victim was forced to stand terrified before her entire Baptist congregation in New Hampshire to confess her “sin” of having become pregnant.

What Tina Anderson wasn’t allowed to tell the congregation was that she had become pregnant after she was raped by a church deacon, a man twice her age.

...

Power-mad, sadistic bastards. And it ain't confined to the so-called Christians. Even the rabbis are ratfucking each other in NYC:

It is certainly one of the more unusual cases coming out of the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

And one that now raises questions about one recent child molestation case.

"Imagine what happens when someone is motivated by greed and causes false or exagerated claims to be made about such terrible abuse," said DA Hynes.

...

Nobody knows whether the original molestation charge is bogus or not (of course that doesn't matter to the DA), but it gets better:

...

"Kellner then hatched a plot to make a profit out of this terrible situation by offering a second young man money to falsely claim that Libovits had molested him as a child," adds Hynes.

Kellner is accused of trying to pay him $10,000. Rabbi Libovits went to trial last year on child molestation charges and strangely at the time, even his attorney questioned one of the alleged victims.

But Kellner, the District Attorney accuses, carries his alleged plot even further.

...

Another power-mad "religious man" using an awful situation to get ahead, then making it worse by witness tampering, maybe even allowing a rapist to go free.

As you know, I'm for freedom to worship, or not, but it really kills me that a decent percentage of Americans want to basically ban Islam (they ain't no better than the others) because they're scared of the terrorist bogeyman, yet willingly bring their children to places, on a regular basis, that seem to be breeding grounds for pedophiles, molesters, and rapists.

What am I missing?

Update:

It's too early. I knew I wanted to add another link to this post and my friend WK reminded me in comments. Another who should be burned in a 55gal. drum with a stack of bibles used for kindling is the Catholic League's Bill Donowhore:

It would serve Bill Donohue and the Catholic League well if they went through some basic public relations training. Their latest attempt at bomb-throwing is a full page ad in the New York Times that blames the sexual abuse crisis on an overzealous media, scam artists, and, of course, "the gays."

...

Another apologist for rapists and pedophiles. If there was the god all these holy assholes claim there is, these fuckers would all have been smited by now.

*Great thanks to Ol' Fez for the link.

Paul Ryan Has Balls

Dangling from his chin. Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone:

Paul Ryan, the Republican Party’s latest entrant in the seemingly endless series of young, prickish, over-coiffed, anal-retentive deficit Robespierres they’ve sent to the political center stage in the last decade or so, has come out with his new budget plan. All of these smug little jerks look alike to me – from Ralph Reed to Eric Cantor to Jeb Hensarling to Rand Paul and now to Ryan, they all look like overgrown kids who got nipple-twisted in the halls in high school, worked as Applebee’s shift managers in college, and are now taking revenge on the world as grownups by defunding hospice care and student loans and Sesame Street. They all look like they sleep with their ties on, and keep their feet in dress socks when doing their bi-monthly duty with their wives.

Every few years or so, the Republicans trot out one of these little whippersnappers, who offer proposals to hack away at the federal budget. Each successive whippersnapper inevitably tries, rhetorically, to out-mean the previous one, and their proposals are inevitably couched as the boldest and most ambitious deficit-reduction plans ever seen. Each time, we are told that these plans mark the end of the budgetary reign of terror long ago imposed by the entitlement system begun by FDR and furthered by LBJ.

The absurd thing is that Ryan’s act isn’t even politically courageous. It’s canny calculation, but courage it is not. It would be courageous if Ryan were, say, the president of the United States, and leaning on that budget with his full might. But Ryan is proposing a budget he knows would have no chance of passing in the Senate. He is simply playing out a part, a non-candidate for the presidency pushing a rhetorical flank for an out-of-power party leading into a presidential campaign year. If the budget is a hit with the public, the 2012 Republican candidate can run on it. If it isn’t, the Republican candidate can triangulate Ryan’s ass back into the obscurity from whence it came, and be done with him.

No matter what, Ryan’s gambit, ultimately, is all about trying to get middle-class voters to swallow paying for tax cuts for rich people. It takes chutzpah to try such a thing, but having a lot of balls is not the same as having courage.

The worst part of this is that the President is going to address the budget in a few minutes and I fear he will give up any leverage he has in his speech. The Repugs know they have him buffaloed, so they swing for the fence knowing he will meet them halfway before serious talks even begin. Then they can bluff him with threats and he'll cave even farther to the right.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'll bet I'm not.

Update:

Well, he didn't give away the store and he pretty much told Ryan NO on undoing 75 years of progress of the New Deal and Great Society, but when all is said and done, I'm afraid more will have been said than done. As usual. We will see.

It was a good speech, but all his speeches are good. Talk, however, is cheap.

Smells like Utah, tastes like Holland

If it's Wednesday, it must be Morford. He rambles a little today. You'll see. I think his title is a clever play on something not very nice that isn't true anyway.

And then it came to pass that they almost shut down the entire U.S. government over -- what was it again? -- condoms and pap smears and those ever-horrifying, omnivorous vaginas? Right.

Ah, abortion, the single issue no one in America save for fringe religious fanatics cared to have regurgitated in the public debate, a fact that didn't stop the GOP, which saw an opportunity to create wedge and hate and gain evermore power, as women across the nation felt an all-too familiar icy shudder pass through their ovaries, the same bolt of cold misogyny they've felt ever since the first church elder put quill to parchment declaring them all whores and temptresses and repositories of unclean menstrual blood. Except for the virgins. Who were, of course, even scarier.

But let us not get caught up in the savage and unsolvable abortion debate right now, because there are far more fascinating and demonic energies afoot; why, just over here we find that, in the latest example of our insatiable appetites for cheap energy no matter what the cost to land, life, beauty, or anything of value beyond powering the bleak engines of capitalism, a Canadian company is now fast proposing to start strip-mining huge and pristine swaths of Utah.

Fear of hoo-hah to stripmining hordes of commuters in Utrecht to organic everything. It's a mixed bag today.

Scared shitless ...

This is what we've come to as a nation:

NEW ORLEANS -- Some civil rights advocates are outraged after a 6-year-old girl received an intense pat-down at Armstrong International Airport security on April 5.

Someone caught the pat-down on video [At link - F.], and it's making its way around the Internet.

It has many asking, are the intense security screenings really necessary, especially for a little girl?

...

I tell ya what. Why don't we all just hide under our beds and never come out? It's amazing how we talk so big, yet we're so scared that we're reduced to frisking a 6 year old girl. What, did they think her mother shoved a bomb up her ass? Do they think the kid joined a terrorist cell all by herself? What everybody calls "security" is nothing more than feel-good theatrics for public consumption and a welfare program for Homeland Security-related corporations.

"The sane wing ...

Of the GOP."

I'd posit to my friend Michael, that there's no such thing anymore, at least not amongst those who aspire to, or wish to retain, political office:

...

Back to Romney, though. He's evidently trying to capture the "sane" wing of the GOP, positioning his apparent sanity (non-Birther) against the insanity of so much of the rest of the party (including Trump and the Birthers). Will that get him anywhere? Not with his RomneyCare record, not with his flip-flopping over the years, and not with the general lack of credibility he has with the hardcore conservatives/extremists who make up the Republican grassroots and who, in a year without a leading establishment candidate (e.g., Dole, Bush II, McCain), will very likely determine the winner. (Pawlenty is trying to be the establishment candidate, but he has a lot to overcome, not least his lack of broad national appeal. The establishment, such as there is one anymore, is so desperate that the party could end up with an embarrassingly unelectable nominee like Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann that draft-X campaigns are springing up around potential "sane" candidates like Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, and Jeb Bush.)

...

Personally, I'd be more afraid of Romney appealing to supposedly "sane" Democrats if he won the nom, but there's too much loony in the Crazy Old Party for that to happen.

Austerity ...

Well, so much for the prepaid envelope that used to come along with my New York State Vehicle Inspector license renewal paperwork. At least the price of the renewal hasn't gone up. I'll betcha next time I have to do it (2014), it won't be anywhere near $15 anymore.