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Tuesday, December 13. 2011

Started thinking about Christmas shopping yet? I began to think about thinking about it last night. At the Farm, the immediate blood-related BD family (my two parents with five kids, each with a very nice spouse, countless grandkids of all sizes) decided years ago to prohibit presents as an interference with just getting together for drinks, food, and fun - just too many people. For my in-laws and my kids, focusing on theater and music tix and restaurant vouchers in NYC. Cool memories last longer than things. Maybe some Christmas socks or a book too. (The Jesus part is the bigger deal for me, says the sanctimonious Bird Dog - but I do mean it.)

'God Particle' glimpsed at Hadron

Sheesh. Let's see God this Christmas!

What is attractive to men, and what to women

Boston: Oldest Black Church Building In US Reopens After Repairs

Mead: Christians Are Still Having Sex

Say it isn't so. That's terrible.

Colt Tells Connecticut, “You Can Keep Your Unions, Gun Bans, and Taxes”…Hello Florida!

Media Matters Blames Christians For Poverty

People who won't take a job until the unemployment runs out

I have seen this too. How can these people look at themselves in the mirror, knowing they are milking their working neighbors and avoiding opportunities?

European Central Bank Research Shows that Government Spending Undermines Economic Performance

There's a lot more to the presidency than debate performance

She is right about that. Newt is refreshingly blunt and smart, but is he a jerk too?

Jerry Brown's Disastrous Plan for California - The Golden State governor champions higher taxes when he should be cutting spending.

Via Driscoll:

Question: If warming really threatens to destroy human civilization, why was [Chris Jones of the Climatic Research Unit] hoping for warming?

And if the world was still warming in 2009, why did Jones refer to “lack of warming”?

If you ran this scam in the business world, you'd be in jail

NYU to Offer Courses on Occupy Wall Street

Good grief. Would a sane parent want to pay for that course?

Sultan:

The dystopian fantasies which imagined that a police state would be the product of some right wing takeover never seemed to anticipate that just as in the east, it would be the left that would resort to it. That is where George Orwell, who came out of the left, proved far wiser than many other writers. The police state is a consequence of the left's failures, its economic failures and its demographic failures. That is as true in the United States as it is in the UK as it is in Israel and throughout what was once known as the free world.

Chicago: Feds probe union pension deals - Subpoenas show feds investigating how 11 leaders qualified for inflated retirement payments

Great news: Congress trusted less than lobbyists and used-car salespeople

I'm Rich, Bitch! - A Peasant Theory Overview (h/t Vanderleun)

Romney now all negative all the time, just like in 2008

That's a terrible strategery, unattractive. He needs to show he can campaign against the O admin, not Newt.

Obama Wants His Drone Back: Look for one at WalMart soon

Insty:

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D); Gallup: In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level. With reason.

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 06:07 | Comments (15) | Trackbacks (0)

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God Particle

Ok, so what's the next particle - you know the particle that makes up the Higgs-Bosun particle. You know that is going to be the next quest because the HB has to be made up of something right?

The closer we get to the fundamental underpinning of the material universe, the more questions we have that can only be answered by admitting that God, in whatever form, exists.

unemployment runs out

True story - car dealer went under and the service manager was offered a job at a competing dealer - same position, same money. He went on unemployment because, get this, he would make MORE money than if he had a job.

That was Massachusetts
.

#1 Tom Francis on 2011-12-13 07:43 (Reply)

My wife lost her job a little over 2 years ago. She got full unemployment benefits, plus the top up Obama added, plus the extra weeks.
She was making more, after taxes and 401(k) than she was while she was working. We had quite a bit going on with the kids, so she decided it was 'worth it' to not work and stay home with the boys. I didn't like it one bit, but my input was ignored. After all, as she said, "where can I find work right now?"

It was a lousy response, but hard to argue against at the time.

As her unemployment neared its end, she kept saying she would start looking for work. Problem is, all the jobs paid far less than unemployment. Eventually it ran out. Now she had a bigger problem. Her time off meant she was no longer 'viable' to most employers. So she had to work twice as hard to find a job.

One day, a friend of mine calls about an entry level opening at their office. My wife goes down, interviews, gets the position and is working again. Her take home, after taxes and 401(k) is less than unemployment.

It's no wonder so many people put off work. My wife sheepishly admits that her response wasn't responsible in terms of the public good - but in terms of what's best for her and us, it was the best choice at the time. The long run ramifications (9 months with no income at all when unemployment ran out, and a less enticing resume), aren't what you consider when you see the check.

#1.1 Bulldog on 2011-12-13 15:18 (Reply)

BD, What would your top voucher be in NYC?

#2 joe luke on 2011-12-13 08:56 (Reply)

Jean Georges over by Columbus Circle, or the Grand Tier with opera tix - with dessert during the intermission!

Cool thing about Jean Georges - prix fixe lunch for $30. Amazing food.

#2.1 Bird Dog on 2011-12-13 09:01 (Reply)

Congrats to the Maggie's bloggers. You rate #31 in somebody's top 40 conservative blogs list for 2011. Wow. Cool.

http://rightwingnews.com/lists/the-40-best-conservative-blogs-for-2011-version-4-0/

#3 feeblemind on 2011-12-13 08:59 (Reply)

We're Centrist, not right wing.

#3.1 Bird Dog on 2011-12-13 09:02 (Reply)

Hmm....

0bama says he is a centrist too. I guess Maggie's has something in common with him.

Heh.

#3.1.1 feeblemind on 2011-12-13 10:36 (Reply)

BD, don't, don't, don't align with BO. Centrist is now a leftist term. Mushy politics isn't going to make it in this election.

#3.1.2 jma on 2011-12-13 12:49 (Reply)

Good grief. Would a sane parent want to pay for that course?

According to the law, parents (even those who pay the tuition) have no right to student records such as grades, attendance, or even class schedule.

My guess is that there will be parents paying for that stupid course and not know it.

#4 mudbug on 2011-12-13 09:21 (Reply)

"I have seen this too. How can these people look at themselves in the mirror, knowing they are milking their working neighbors and avoiding opportunities?"

Several possible reasons:
1) they're leftists who see nothing wrong in stealing from their neighbours
2) they've paid decades of premiums and taxes without ever getting a cent out of it, and now see a chance to get something back
3) unemployment benefits offer a higher income than the job they could get

not saying I necessarily agree with either sentiment, but 2) and 3) certainly did cross my mind when I was unemployed for a while a decade or so ago.
Especially 3), I'd have done my darnedest to not be hired at a job if it'd mean a net reduction in income, especially as unemployment money was already a 30% drop from my last job which I lost through no fault of my own, and barely enough to pay the rent and insurance.

#5 J.T. Wenting on 2011-12-13 09:25 (Reply)

I've been wondering--just wondering mind you--why is it that those multi million dollar drones do not have the ability to self destruct when "lost"? D'ya suppose somebody cut corners on the budget, or is somebody just tryin to help out the bad guys without getting arrested for treason? Could someone here offer some explanations for this debacle? Thank you!

#6 apple pie on 2011-12-13 11:06 (Reply)

AP, here's one clue --what the drone was broadcasting as it came in for a landing and taxied up to the mullah's front door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpPdl0StUVs&feature=related

#6.1 buddy larsen on 2011-12-13 13:06 (Reply)

My guess is that they do.
Since the drone is in reasonably good condition, I believe 1 of 2 things occurred:
1. The communications link was broken somehow, and the command to destruct was unable to be implemented. Which would lead me to believe they should have a default self-destruct that activates after X amount of time without communication.
2. The Iranians are telling the truth and they hacked into the system.

I think point 2 is most likely. Iran has the technical competence available to do something like this.

I wonder whether or not this is really a 'black eye' in any way more than PR, though. Certainly reverse engineering the reflective paint is a negative, but I believe the information to work out that is already out there (particularly since the helicopter crash during the OBL episode).

#6.2 Bulldog on 2011-12-13 15:41 (Reply)

Aww shucks Buddy! Good to see you are still in top form!

Same to you!

#7 apple pie on 2011-12-14 22:39 (Reply)

Unemployment. My brother, after quitting his college-professor job because they didn't offer tenure track to him, was quite proud of the fact that he had used unemployment "the way it was intended:" not to take the first job that came along, but to wait until he could get something appropriate in his field.

That didn't happen. He said this while he was splitting his time living with me and with his ex-wife, BTW. I simply don't understand how a person could say that. I didn;t argue, because I realised I no longer know the person I was closest to for many years.

#8 Assistant VIllage Idiot (Link) on 2011-12-14 22:58 (Reply)

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Tuesday, December 13. 2011

Tuesday morning links