Friday Open Thread

stinerman - Friday, May 9, 2008 - 06:34

Hurray for the weekend! (at least for us wage jockeys!)

First Daughter (or was she second?) Jenna Bush is getting married favicon at a private ceremony at her father's Crawford, TX ranch. Congratulations to Jenna!

Hezbollah rebels have taken over favicon western Beirut and driven out the legitimate government. Fears are that this is a prelude to all out civil war in Lebanon.

On this day:

Former AG and US Senator John Ashcroft favicon was born in Chicago, Illinois (1942).
Edith Rodriguez favicon died in an Los Angeles hospital after being refused treatment (2007).
The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opened formal impeachment proceedings favicon against President Richard Nixon (1974).

Also, I received my $300 in economic stimulus today. Who else has and what do you plan to do with it?

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

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Kudos, stinerman.

You are doing an excellent job with your open thread duties. I especially like your "what happened on this date" segments. They add a nice touch.

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Republican Maverick at Large
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by: GoRight - 2008-05-09 08:01 …………

Thanks

It pays well. ;-)

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 08:14 ………… parent •

Economic Stimulus Payment

Being that I didn't pay any federal income tax again this year (AGI was just shy of $4,000), I got half what most people get. Mine, of course, went to student debts.

Perhaps if I was more patriotic, I'd buy a PS3 or something...

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 08:18 …………

Commander of Guantanamo Bay

appointed to be lead General in Pakistan, is now being reassigned.

From the Dept of What Were They Thinking favicon

But nearly two months later, the military has quietly canceled the assignment of General Hood, a 33-year Army veteran who was excoriated in the Pakistani news media for one of his previous jobs: commander of the United States prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

After releasing detainees who were not charged with a crime from Guantanamo Bay, back to their homeland Pakistan, the brilliant minds in the military decided that having the head of Gitmo serve in Pakistan would be just peachy keen?

While the United States considers Pakistan a close ally in its counterterrorism efforts, the accounts by Pakistanis who have returned to Pakistan after being held at Guantánamo Bay have added to anti-American sentiment in the country.

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It is the economy, stupid.

by: missliberties - 2008-05-09 09:04 …………

One point you chose to leave out ...

[General Hood] was credited by lawyers for the prisoners and human rights groups with having improved the treatment of detainees, and it was soon after he took over that some of the most severe interrogation methods were curtailed.

Curious but not surprising. 

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Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree

by: GoRight - 2008-05-09 09:45 ………… parent •

Credited by lawyers.

Yes curious but not surprising.

Though he may have been trying to 'improve' conditions at Gitmo, I doubt that's a hard sell to the people of Pakistan, who see their citizens unlawfully held without charges for years by the country that says it believes in freedom.

Gitmo is a thumb up freedoms a**.

__________________________

It is the economy, stupid.

by: missliberties - 2008-05-09 13:00 ………… parent •

Political Unrest in Nigeria makes $$$$$$

is good news for oil traders.

Right now oil is trading at over 125 a barrel, fueled by speculators in oil futures.

At some point could we ask these folks making money off of oil due to political unrest to slow down.

Isn't there a line where the economic stabiity and security of the US becomes a National Security issue?

Oil's records are less due to ``fundamental changes'' than ``the increasing proportion of investor demand driving prices higher,'' said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. ``I think we'll achieve a price of $150 in the coming six months.''

Bets by hedge funds and other speculative investors that prices will rise are 24 percent higher than a year ago, at 241,402 contracts, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released May 2.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=armYFIWZS8V0&refer=h...

Isn't this a bit unseemly ( and unpatriotic to boot) glutting and gorging on future profits and raising the price per barrel to a point where it starts to cause undue harm to the American economy. Hedge your bets on when this will break the backs of hard working Americans as oil traders laugh all the way to the bank.

__________________________

It is the economy, stupid.

by: missliberties - 2008-05-09 09:28 …………

Got My Economic Stimulus Check Too!

All $600 of it will be going to stimulate Delta Air Lines bottom line--I have to buy tickets for a family reunion in Mississippi July and my gf's Class Reunion in the Bahamas at the end of June. All totaling around $1400 for 4 tickets. Not too bad I guess--I wanted to do my part.

I'll probably save $100 of the $600 and put it on a few new Wii games--I buy mine after market from ebay people, so I guess I'll be helping Americans somewhere else!

__________________________

http://wealthweekly.blogspot.com
Wii FC:2805-8311-8040-2678
Brawl: 2277-7051-2186

by: Charles J - 2008-05-09 09:35 …………

dubya will be proud of me. I'll be using mine to get a new

wide screen monitor for my computer.

I've been thinking about getting one that can double as a TV as we don't have one in our "office/computer room". The idea of a 32" widescreen LCD favicon monitor/TV back there is something that while I don't really NEED, makes me drool.

Must be a guy thing.

by: kindness - 2008-05-09 10:48 ………… parent •

Yeah, I scoffed for years...

...at all the Hi-Def/LCD/Plasma TV stuff - and then our "old fashioned" set went out about two months ago. Faced with the immenient switchover in 2009, my wife and I opted to just max-out the credit and be done with the best set we could swing right now.

I'm spoiled rotten. I can't stand to watch anything not in high definition. Everything looks grainy and the colors appear much more dull and flat.

I even watch commercials now just for the eye candy!

by: Ejoiner - 2008-05-09 13:50 ………… parent •

What's this switchover about?

I saw some commercial about it but honestly didn't really pay attention.

I'd like to have a logical reason to buy an HDTV :-P

__________________________

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

by: Brendan - 2008-05-09 14:06 ………… parent •

You don't have to. TV signals received from an antenna

will stop being broadcast in analog in (I think) Feb 2009 & will switch to being broadcast in digital. Converter boxes are out there for $40 or 50 bucks.

If you get your TV from cable, you won't need to do a thing.

But I am looking forward to the Hi Def. I've gotten a new receiver this spring that's HDMI. Now I just need the big screen TV in the living room and a blu-ray dvd player.

All things in good time.

by: kindness - 2008-05-09 15:48 ………… parent •

HD is digital, but digital is not always HD

It's also good to point out that if you do get OTA broadcasts, you don't need an HDTV, just a digital one. HD is a subset of digital.

I probably won't be getting an HD set for the next few years. It'd be nice, but I don't have the money.

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 16:16 ………… parent •

I'm probably the only person here...

who has a TV that was made in this country. It's 16 years old and it doesn't work so well, but it gets me by when I'm in my bedroom.

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 16:14 ………… parent •

Ironic Item of the Day

State governments are targeting favicon the "windfall profits" of "Big Education":

Legislators have asked state finance officials to study a plan that would impose a 2.5 percent annual assessment on colleges with endowments over $1 billion, an amount now exceeded by nine Massachusetts institutions. The proposal, which higher education specialists believe is the first of its kind across the country, drew surprising support at a debate on the State House budget last week and is attracting attention in higher education circles nationally.

...

You'd be taxing success here," said Kevin Casey, Harvard's associate vice president for government, community, and public affairs. "Over time, this would put us at a real competitive disadvantage, which would drastically hurt the Commonwealth.

Now just take out "Harvard's Associate Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs" and replace it with "CEO of Exxon," and replace "Commonwealth" with "U.S. Consumer" and this becomes pretty funny to me.

It's amazing how these obscene profits respectable endowments haven't been targeted before.

__________________________

http://wealthweekly.blogspot.com
Wii FC:2805-8311-8040-2678
Brawl: 2277-7051-2186

by: Charles J - 2008-05-09 09:48 …………

Tax 'em

There is no reason for schools to get government money in the form of grants or low-interest loans when they are sitting on endowments worth billions of dollars and growing.

Either tax them or alternatively stop providing unnecessary government support to institutions that don't need it. That one would work fine for Exxon too.

__________________________

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

by: Brendan - 2008-05-09 10:37 ………… parent •

On a related note, I'm getting really upset that the three

biggest contractors for services in Iraq all run their companies and payrolls through the Caiman Islands so they don't end up paying any Federal Taxes, Social Security, or Unemployment favicon to the government. I mean, we the people are funding these guys to the tune of tens/hundreds of billions of dollars a year and they are stiffing the very same government and citizens that are paying them.

It's legal. I'm saying I'm pissed it's a contract that our government has signed. If it were up to me I'd make them use American companies instead of off shore shell companies and PAY THEIR DAMNED TAXES just like I have to.

by: kindness - 2008-05-09 10:57 ………… parent •

Republicans vote against moms

Too funny favicon (via ObWi favicon).

__________________________

Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson

by: Brendan - 2008-05-09 17:16 …………

ahhhh

"The People's Business".

What a beautiful thing...

by: John - 2008-05-09 17:23 ………… parent •

Some say the classics never go out of style, but they do...

To induce this working together, Boehner decided to stop the House from working at all. As House Democrats tried to pass legislation to ease the mortgage crisis on Wednesday, Republicans served up hours of procedural delays, demanding a score of roll call votes: 10 motions to adjourn, half a dozen motions to reconsider, various and sundry amendments, a motion to approve the daily journal, a motion to instruct and a "motion to rise."

The high point came just after 6 p.m., when, after one of the motions to adjourn, 61 members lined up to change their votes, one by one. Forty-six went from aye to no, while 15 changed from no to aye. The maneuver ate up 28 minutes in all -- and caused an eruption by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who accused the minority of a "filibuster by vote changing."

__________________________

In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,

by: Brutus14 - 2008-05-09 17:51 ………… parent •

Ridiculous

If the vote is scheduled as a 15 minute vote, then the speaker should bang the gavel after 15 minutes. No more of this crap. If Republicans are using procedural tactics to stall the House, then Pelosi and Hoyer should start having regular Saturday and Sunday sessions.

The Medicare Part D bill was famously held up for around 3 hours so that the Republican leadership could twist enough arms for it to pass.

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 20:57 ………… parent •

Sometimes I just can't help

Sometimes I just can't help myself. Some wisecrack occurs to me, and even though I know it will get me in trouble and there's no one around to appreciate it except me, it comes out of my mouth.

I'm at my girlfriend's place tonight. She's perfectly slim. Until recently pretty much not an ounce of fat. Recently she put on maybe 3 or 4 pounds and she's self-conscious about it.

For some inexplicable reason I chose to amuse myself by calling her my "Stay Puft Girl".

She didn't know what "Stay Puft" referred to. She's much younger than me and grew up in China.

So I googled the Stay Puft Marshamallow man and showed her an image.

Long story short: Blogging will be the most exciting thing I do tonight.

by: B Rational - 2008-05-09 23:09 …………

There's always room for Jello

That's a good movie, btw.

Yeah ... bad move there.

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 23:32 ………… parent •

What movie? I know the Stay

What movie? I know the Stay Puft marshmallow man appeared (in giant form) in Ghostbusters. Is that the reference? Or is there some Jello thing I'm missing.

by: B Rational - 2008-05-09 23:44 ………… parent •

I apologize for my references

Having my old friend Brutus14 around gets my mind jogging.

The Jello line is from Ghostbusters II. The slime has covered the art building and one of the guys says it looks like a giant Jello mold. Winston says that he hates Jello. Venkman replies, "There's always room for Jello".

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-10 00:12 ………… parent •

Ah, I missed the sequel.

Ah, I missed the sequel.

by: B Rational - 2008-05-10 00:18 ………… parent •

Interesting new website

For when you're trying to prove a point about budget numbers, you may want to head to Fedfolder favicon. It has budget numbers from 1962 to 2009 (projected, obviously) and you can adjust for inflation, GDP, and population.

__________________________

I'm listening to... favicon
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén

by: stinerman - 2008-05-09 23:36 …………