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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Little Green Footballs

Charles Johnson, who writes a very right wing blog called Little Green Footballs, has jumped off the trainwreck:

  1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.)
  2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)
  3. Support for throwing women back into the Dark Ages, and general religious fanaticism (see: Operation Rescue, anti-abortion groups, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, the entire religious right, etc.)
  4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.)
  5. Support for homophobic bigotry (see: Sarah Palin, Dobson, the entire religious right, etc.)
  6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)
  7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)
  8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)
  9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for fascism, violence, and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.)
  10. Hatred for President Obama that goes far beyond simply criticizing his policies, into racism, hate speech, and bizarre conspiracy theories (see: witch doctor pictures, tea parties, Birthers, Michelle Malkin, Fox News, World Net Daily, Newsmax, and every other right wing source)

And much, much more. The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff.

I won't be going over the cliff with them.


*****
Remember this is only a glimmer of sanity from an otherwise far right blog not an epiphany and a move toward democracy on the part of the blogger. We can wish for his speedy recovery if this momentary sanity takes root, though.

France delivers another health care advance

Ooohhhh, scary!
It is once again clear that we would never want anything that comes from a socialist health care system.
Obviously the system does not promote innovation as the teabaggers love to tell us.
Whatever we do, we do not want this kind of system.
French scientists have found a way to create human skin rapidly from stem cells, a discovery that could save the lives of many burns victims who are vulnerable to infection and now wait weeks for a skin graft.

The scientists made the breakthrough by creating a patch of human skin on a mouse's back using stem cells -- cells which have the ability to develop into any human cell.

Skin grafts have traditionally been created from cell cultures taken from the patient -- a process that takes three weeks, too long for some patients suffering extensive burns.

Teen beating posted on YouTube

A YouTube posting of two middle-school girls attacking a classmate has led to the arrest of the suspects.

Teen beating posted on YouTube

Addictive foods we can't stop eating

Addictive foods we can't stop eating

From the sugary-sweet to the super-salty, we can't stop at just one bite of these tasty treats.

Wingnut blogger Hal Turner subpoenas Chris Christie

Governor-elect Chris Christie was subpoenaed Tuesday to testify as a defense witness for a wingnut blogger, shock jock and former FBI operative from North Bergen who is on trial for threatening the lives of appeals court judges in Chicago.

Wingnut blogger Hal Turner subpoenas Chris Christie

Dying man robbed in ER waiting room

From the "These assholes should be shot on sight" Department:

Police say three people who noticed a Philadelphia school counselor unconscious and dying in an emergency waiting room robbed him instead of going for help.

Dying man robbed in ER waiting room

Man escapes car crash unhurt, gets hit by train walking home

A Croatian man who escaped a high-speed car crash without a scratch was killed by a train as he walked home just hours later.

Full Story

Tasteless food fair in Paris

Forget haute cuisine - a new food craze is hitting the streets of Paris using "improper" ingredients like raw horse meat and rotten cheese.

Jon Stewart meets jailed journalist

Jon Stewart meets jailed journalist

The "Daily Show" host meets the man he was partly responsible for sending to jail for 118 days.

The reality of selling cupcakes

The reality of selling cupcakes

The latest entrepreneurial fantasy involves a sweet product, but it can be a very bitter business.

'$10-an-hour job'
Also:

Get paid well for working outside

Get paid well for working outside

If you can't stand the thought of working in an office cubicle, these careers may be for you.

The priciest foods & why they cost so much

The priciest foods & why they cost so much

Some expensive foods undergo unique preparations; others are extremely rare.

Top 9
Also:

Dubai isn't alone in debt overload

Dubai isn't alone in debt overload

Nations across the globe are groaning under the weight of debts that may never be fully paid back.

How to avoid auto repair rip-offs

How to avoid auto repair rip-offs

Asking the right questions can prevent you from falling into these common traps.

Americans don't have the biggest homes

Americans don't have the biggest homes

U.S. residents can no longer boast that they have the largest homes in the world.

Reality TV family faces home foreclosure

Reality TV family faces home foreclosure

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" redid the Wofford family's house, but the bills are too much.

Hammerhead sharks may have human-grade vision with one major blind spot

2935553971_b4c86cf410.jpgA new study conducted in Florida has given scientists reason to believe that hammerhead sharks may have vision comparable to that of humans. The researchers measured electrical activity in the eyes of half a dozen sharks from three different hammerhead species. They then put electrodes under the sharks' corneas and recorded electrical activity while shining lights in horizontal and vertical arcs around each eye. Compared to normal-headed sharks, the hammerheads had three times the visual overlap — that's what creates stereo vision and depth perception in animals with eyes that face forward. This, of course, helps them be faster and more efficient at hunting prey. But there's a catch: because their eyes are so far apart, hammerheads have these giant blind spots right in the middle of their head. As study leader Michelle McComb put it in an interview with National Geographic:

There's actually been anecdotal claims by divers that they see little fish schooling right in front of the hammerheads' heads. It's like the fish are swimming by and saying, Ha, ha, ha, you can't see me!

Kids are quick

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria
________________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
_________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
___________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

Good thing the repugican’s aren't in charge

Stimulus Bill Created up to 1.6 Million Jobs, Increased GDP by 3.2%.

Blue Texan posted this over on FireDogLake:

John Boehner, in June.

After all of this spending, after all of this borrowing from China, the Middle East, our children and our grandchildren, where are the jobs?

Eric Cantor, in August.

Since the stimulus bill passed and was signed into law, unemployment is up in Richmond, up in Virginia, and up across this country. The stimulus has failed.

Mitch McConnell, in August.

By any measurable index, the stimulus package has been a failure.

The Congressional Budget Office, Monday.

The stimulus bill enacted earlier this year has resulted in as many as 1.6 million jobs saved or created this fall, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Monday evening. [...] Additionally, the CBO said, gross domestic product (GDP) was as much as 3.2 percent higher than it would have been in the absence of the stimulus.

Remember, not a single repugican in the House voted for the stimulus bill. In the face of the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s, they voted to do nothing, and if they’d gotten their way, another million Americans would be jobless, and the economy would still be shrinking instead of growing.

And while the stimulus was, in fact, producing jobs in their home states, they were publicly trashing it, right alongside the Teabaggers.

Serious question: when was the last time these clowns were right about anything?

*****

Ah, and the answer to the question is ... Never.

Rare diamond sells for staggering sum

Rare diamond sells for staggering sum

A five-carat "vivid pink" diamond sets off a bidding war and smashes the previous sale record.

Leave My Mug Shot Alone

A West Virginia man whose iconic mug shot has gained him worldwide infamy is considering legal action against companies that have placed his image on products without his permission.

Leave My Mug Shot Alone

States place ban on new beer

It's Sam Adams with quite a punch -- and a price to match.
The new brew from Samuel Adams has the highest alcohol content of any beer on the market, 27 percent.

13 states place ban on new beer

How to save some money every day

How to save some money every day

You could easily save thousands of dollars every year with these simple, daily changes.

Was Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mother Azeri?


Italy's greatest-known Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci, may actually have been born of a Muslim mother who hailed from the Azerbaijan region nestled between the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea.

International scholar, scientist, artist and diplomat, Louis Buff Parry put forward the new theory on the roots of Da Vinci after discovering new documents in 2002 in Da Vinci’s home town of Vinci in Tuscany.

The theory is supported by several leading scholars and researchers.

Full Story

Poor 'Cavemen' inherit billions

Two penniless brothers who are so poor they live in a cave could be set to inherit a share of a 4 billion fortune.

Full Story

Knox murder trial evidence 'flawed', say DNA experts

Knox is pleading not guilty (Image: Alessandra Tarantino/Press Association)On the eve of the verdict on their murder charges, DNA evidence implicating Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito is being called into question.

Knox murder trial evidence 'flawed', say DNA experts

Police Fatally Shoot Suspect Accused In Washington Officer Deaths

A sheriff's spokesman says Seattle police have fatally shot Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of killing four police officers.

Police Fatally Shoot Suspect Accused In Washington Officer Deaths

New Laws today

Some of the new laws include making Salvia illegal, texting while driving illegal, and making cyber-bullying a misdemeanor crime.

From License Plate Frames To School Bus Stop Arms, Dozens Of New Laws Effective Today

North Carolina Unemployment Debt Could Reach $2 Billion

The state has borrowed money for unemployment claims since February, sometimes as much as $20 million a day.

North Carolina Unemployment Debt Could Reach $2 Billion

Headlines

Headlines:

Dinner crashers' path to the president

Dinner crashers' path to the president

Sources reveal the leading theory on how the Salahis gained access to last week's state dinner.

How probiotics can help you lose weight

How probiotics can help you lose weight

New studies suggest eating this friendly bacteria may help you get your body size under control.

Wingnuts hammer Mike Huckabee over shooting

The wingnut blogosphere unleashed a torrent of criticism against Mike Huckabee on Monday after a man whose sentence he commuted as Arkansas governor was suspected of gunning down four police officers in Washington state over the weekend.

Wingnuts hammer Mike Huckabee over shooting

Yes, how dare he revel their true nature.
More evidence of how divorced from the truth and reality the wingnuts are ... and how they do not like it when truth and reality slap them in the face.

But it is hilarious to watch.

Demjanjuk trial opens on Nazi death camp charges

John Demjanjuk sat in a wheelchair wrapped in a light blue blanket, his eyes closed and his face pale as his trial opened Monday on charges he helped kill 27,900 Jews as a Nazi death camp guard.

Demjanjuk trial opens on Nazi death camp charges

Five eco-crimes we commit every day

If you really want to save the planet, you should rethink how you clean your clothes – and your bottom.

Five eco-crimes we commit every day

Science News

From BBC-Science:
Minke whales and iceberg
Melting Antarctic ice is likely to contribute to a sea level rise of about 1.4m by 2100, says a major review of climate change on the continent.

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

There are none today but if you truly want to get 'into' the true spirit of this 'holiday season' then you should know there are only 24 shopping days until xmas!

Daily Almanac

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 1, the 335th day of 2009.

There are 30 days left in the year.

Today In History December 1

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania
London, England, United Kingdom
Durham, England, United Kingdom
Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Watford, England, United Kingdom
Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
Montrose, Scotland, United Kingdom

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

You're uncharacteristically scatterbrained at the moment, and you can't seem to remember even the most trivial of things.
Stop for a minute and give yourself time to adjust to this new sensation of confusion.
You have the feeling you might just lose your head if it weren't attached to you right now.
It won't last forever, but it might last long enough to frustrate you thoroughly.
You might want to start writing things down so you can at least remember where you put things.

Now, where did I put that list?