A Real Head Scratcher

From Chron:

A Houston man has been arrested in connection with a suspected arson at a mosque on Christmas Day, but the motive for the crime remains a mystery, with the suspect maintaining he was a regular at the mosque.

Yup, it's a big mystery. I mean, no chance he got tired of waiting for an expected injustice, right? Right? 

Come on America, don't you feel played yet?  Now they're doing arson to get your attention. 

Makes me long for the good old days when an injustice could be had by taking a deconstructed alarm clock to school and acting suspicious all day. 

Merry Christmas

Hope you got all the good presents and your castle was lousy with smiles.

Our Broken Utopia

Victor Davis Hanson seems to have the grievance generation's number:

Deans and mayors promised utopia. When it did not arrive, the only concession they had left was more failed efforts to achieve the unachievable. People turn on their own more violently than they turn on others, as if a liberal, paternal dean should be able to snap his fingers and make liberal students happy. When he so promises, his ensuing failure only makes things worse. 

All the banned micro-aggressions, all the safe spaces, all the trigger warnings, and all the fired deans will not make today’s postmodern students happy, much less appreciative, any more than would mandating authentic ethnic cooks and more year-round hot-tubs. Like addicts, they believe one more cheap fix from a compliant supplier will finally do the trick. Don’t expect the addict to show gratitude to his dealer. 

Leftist revolutionaries cannot be satisfied, because they have long ago been given all they asked for, and are now rebelling for the idea of rebelling against something, even if it is reduced to a micro-aggression or founded on a myth like “Hands up, don’t shoot.” Millions of inner-city youths are as furious as are elite students. They got the liberal city and the liberal university they wanted — only to rage that human nature is not liberal and that contentment cannot be found through mirror-image government, but only within themselves. How can you rebel against that age-old truth?

Read the whole thing.

I've Had Days Like This

best bit... the rattling can sound at the end

Happy Guy

Yet More Evidence

They just don't make feel-good movies anymore:

Studio DENIES Leonardo DiCaprio is 'raped twice by a bear in his new film The Revenant' in actor's latest bid for Oscar glory

Hillary's New Avatar

OK, I changed it a little. But she's responsible for the granny-glasses. (and cloven hooves)

Jimmy Carter Celebrates

No longer the worst president!

Islamic Terror

Sad to hear about the atrocities in Paris. The world is outraged. I expect our president to respond with a devastating hashtag.

Doing the Math

Via NRO, this is almost not farfetched:



 If you're offended by this, please state your grievance in the comments* so that apologies and lamentations can begin as soon as possible. I do not desire that any victim suffer longer than is absolutely necessary to harvest their sweet sweet tears.

* in Urdu please

Freedom

(enhugenate via click)

forgot where I found it

One Quick Question

Just answer the question, sir, are these, 

or are these not your underpants?

One [Becky] Quick question, get it?

(clickabiggen)

Clock Boy Moving to Qatar?

The Dallas Morning News:

The Mohameds announced today that they’ve accepted a foundation’s offer to pay for the 14-year-old’s high school and college in Doha, Qatar, which Ahmed visited a few weeks ago as he began a world tour.

Are they moving to Qatar? Maybe. But if they're "moving to Qatar" like little Ahmed "built a clock", this could just mean he's put up a Qatar travel poster in his bedroom.

Because the Science

David Siegel:

What is your position on the climate-change debate? What would it take to change your mind? 

If the answer is It would take a ton of evidence to change my mind, because my understanding is that the science is settled, and we need to get going on this important issue, that’s what I thought, too. This is my story...

Well, We Tired Them Out

I suspect Putin is looking to turn a profit from his adventure in the sand, but it looks like he may also be making friends:

The reactions [in the region] underscore that while the West may criticize Putin for supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, there is some relief in the region at the emergence of a player with a coherent - if controversial - strategy. 

"Putin does more than just speak," said Sohban Elewi of Damascus, summing up the views of Syrians on opposing camps who regard U.S. policy in Syria and Iraq as fumbled and confused.

Hey, Obama does more than just speak. Obama golfs.

Divider or Uniter?

Sure, you can make the case that Obama has divided the US as never before along racial and economic lines. But Obama isn't a small minded regional player; he thinks globally. And now he seems to have united Russia and China, at least in regards to the Middle East.

It's  strange, feeling that something good might come from those two intervening in Syria and/or Iraq. But if they don't fight the war on global terror, who will? Obama seemed to harass ISIS to just the extent necessary to be able to claim involvement.

Another thing I've been wondering about: If Obama was a timid man, so afraid of making mistakes that he, in essence, only voted "present" on the international stage -- how would that man be distinguishable from the Obama we've seen over these last 6 years? Yeah, he continued the hunt for Osama bin Laden, but that was a no-brainer.

Obama's boldest move was to completely withdraw from Iraq despite predictions from every side that it would bring about, well, the current situation. But he waited until he was able to blame the withdrawal on a breakdown in Status of Forces negotiations. It was riskier to push hard for a SOFA and be responsible for 5,000 troops than to just throw up his hands and blame the Iraqi government.

Now the initiative has been taken from Obama in Syria. I don't think Obama sees Russian involvement as a humiliation, I think he's secretly happy that the ball's not in his court. He may make some face saving gestures but no bold action is required of him now. He's off the hook.

You Heard Me

"I said I wanted some damn jalapeño bacon mac and cheese." 

Dairy Dairy Quite Contrary

I use real cream, love butter, and drink whole milk.

I long ago gave up trying to justify my Dairy Lust to other people. After all, the government said to avoid dairy fat, and the government is sometimes right. Right? Well, not this time:

One of the flaws of nutrition studies is that they rely on people to accurately recall what they’ve eaten over the course of a year. Those recollections are vulnerable to inaccuracy, especially for dairy fats which can be found in small amounts in many different foods. This inaccuracy may be one of the reasons studies have yielded contrary results on the link between milk and heart disease. 

To improve estimates, Otto and Mozaffarian used a blood sample for each of more than 2,800 U.S. adults. Using the blood sample, they could detect how much dairy fats each had consumed. And over the eight-year follow up period, those who had consumed the most dairy fat were far less likely to develop heart disease compared to those who had consumed the least.

Course, it will take years for the zeitgeist to change. People still avoid salt and think styrofoam cups harm the ozone layer. I won't try to change anyone's mind; I'm content to nibble on my salted stick of butter and watch the parade.

I Surrender

not mine (via)

Horns

Funny. People have noticed Obama's apparent horns 

but nobody has mentioned his flaming trident yet.

Boston Mooninite Panic

Anyone remember Boston going nuts back in 2007 over a promotional campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever? I remember hearing that possible IEDs were being found throughout Boston on my way to work one morning. By that evening it was all a big Never Mind. The "bombs" were identified as flashy-flashy LED boards.

Looking back on the "device" now, it's pretty easy to see that they weren't bombs. The Boston police were ridiculed by fans of the show and by those who were predisposed to ridicule the police. But I remember thinking at the time that stupid or not, it was at least an honest mistake.

And I could see that to someone who didn't know anything about electronics, or the Comedy Channel, the devices could easily cause concern.

Fast forward to last week, when 14 year old Ahmed Mohamed takes apart an alarm clock, puts it in a box, and takes it to school. Then he shows his fake invention  to every teacher in turn until he can find one who will take the bait. Then he grabs his knee, drops to the turf, and whines islamophobe.

Seems transparent and silly to me, but it worked. The kid has been invited to the White House. And Hillary Clinton, and other liberals, are tweeting like the campfire-bean scene from Blazing Saddles.

To sum up:

Those Were the Days

Nail Head Doesn't Know What Hit It

VDH at the NRO regarding using Obama tactics to undo the Obama mess:

It would be quite illegal to ignore emissions standards the way Obama has ignored the Defense of Marriage Act; or to reduce, by fiat, the EPA to the present toothless status of ICE; or to allow a new sort of “sanctuary city” to refuse to marry gays, in the manner of San Francisco’s refusing to hand over illegal immigrants; or to arbitrarily remove particular owls and newts from the protection of the Endangered Species Act as Obama has picked and chosen which elements of the Affordable Care Act at any particular time he considered legally non-binding. Payback is very tempting, but eight more years of it would ensure that we would become another Zimbabwe or Venezuela. Instead, the next president must, as never before, obey both the spirit and the very letter of the law to restore to us what Obama has almost destroyed.

In the article VDH is closing the book on this American nightmare. My fear is that Obama isn't done writing yet. He still has many months to save us some more. I just hope we can get through it.

 

Oh

m

They Think We're Stupid

Hillary "answers questions" about her e-mail server:

Asked by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Friday whether anyone in her inner circle ever expressed concern about the setup, Clinton responded, “I was not thinking a lot when I got in.” 

“There was so much work to be done,” Clinton continued. “We had so many problems around the world. I didn’t really stop and think — what — what kind of e-mail system will there be?”

 So, as to why she needed a server, she said the didn't want to have to carry around two devices. (because you have to use one device per e-mail account?) Now she says she was too busy to give her new e-mail server much thought. (because it would be too complicated to use the State Department system that was already in place and had had an experienced IT department on call and ready to help her?)

When she took the job she got an existing office, a desk, a chair, a computer, a door, a coffee maker, etc.  etc., and an e-mail address.  Changing to her own server made things more complicated, not less.

xkcd

xkcd

No Huevos Aqui

Regarding stopping government payments to Planned Parenthood:

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who wants to avoid a shutdown, said in an interview with a Kentucky TV station this week that his party lack the votes to halt the payments. 

“The way you make a law in this country, the Congress has to pass it, the president has to sign it,” he told WYMT. “The president’s made it very clear he’s not going to sign any bill that includes defunding of Planned Parenthood … that’s another issue that awaits a new president.”

 So the president would shut down the government if he doesn't get everything he wants? Then let him shut down the government.

Ever since Bill Clinton blamed the Republican Congress for shutting down the government the Repubs have been running scared. Let the Republicans say, "It's obvious the American people do not want payments made to Planned Parenthood, and if the President wants to shut down the government over this, then it's on him."

Trump is doing well because he says he'll stand up to the liberals. I've had it up to here with timid Republicans.

Kanye and Kim

(clickabiggen)

Trump Out In Front

"And coming around the bend, it's Donald Trump taking the lead on the inside..."

not my art, original here

Black Transgender Lives Matter

I was waiting for this:

Black Transgender Lives Matter activists disrupted a Hillary Clinton campaign stop in Ohio Thursday...

Up next: Black Transgender Real Estate Professionals Lives Matter, and Hispanic Gluten-Intolerant Left Handed Lives Matter. 

Seems like eventually we'll get around to All Lives Matter, we're just doing it piecemeal in order to make the point that Scandinavian forklift mechanics are dead last. 

2 Signs

(clickabiggen)

We Think the Ducks Like It

Animal Rights activist beducked:

Madrid (AFP) - An animal rights activist was beaten with a duck by a Spanish woman defending one of the country's most bizarre and controversial festival traditions.  

The man was whacked with the bird while he filmed the annual "duck chase" in the Catalonian seaside town of Roses, where every August ducks are thrown into the Mediterranean and then caught and brought back to the shore by swimmers. 

"Continue, continue. Continue to abuse, I am filming you. A little bit of empathy for the animals. They also have a life, like your children or your family," the man who was filming can be heard saying in a video of the incident released by animal rights group Animal Rescue Espana. 

The footage shows a young woman wearing a white bathing suit attack the man with a duck -- holding it by the legs as she repeatedly lashes him with it. 

As the attack goes on, animal rights activists gathered on the shore can be heard chanting, "You would not do that to your dog," before they were removed by police. 

Every year since 1918 about 50 ducks are thrown into the sea in the town north of Barcelona, with swimmers then racing in to catch them and bringing them ashore however they can.

We can only hope that the activists hung around to dry off the ducks. (with recyclable hemp towels)

Ashley Madison Hack

A hook-up site for married people? You mean like 

a coat hook? I swear, thought I was joining Netflix.

Don't Count Hillary Out

She can still draw a crowd.

Irrefutable Truth

Over 95% of all problems can be solved 

with a wooden spatula.

It Worked Well

until Dmitry sneezed.   

Barack Obama is Fixin Stuff Again

The White House sends me their "dear idiot" letters because they think I'm a big supporter of Barack Husain Obama. This latest one starts out: (emphasis mine)

Our biggest step yet in fighting climate change:President Obama just announced America's Clean Power Plan -- the biggest and most important step our country has taken in the fight against climate change. 

Our power plants are responsible for about a third of America's carbon pollution -- more than our cars, airplanes, and homes combined -- and that pollution is fueling climate change. But until now, there have never been federal limits on how much carbon pollution existing power plants can generate...

  What he's talking about is his move to shut down all coal fired power generation. And he claims that our power plants put out more CO2 than cars, airplanes, and homes combined. Just how does he think our homes get their electricity? I get mine from those power plants.  Idiot

Destroying the coal industry and raising energy prices is all well and good, I mean, we have to destroy America somehow, and collapsing the economy is as good a way as any. But it's a pipe dream to think this will have any effect on the climate at all.

China puts out nearly twice the CO2 we do and their trend is upward. Our trend is downward, thanks to a president who knows how to throttle growth.

And anyway, the world's 34.6 million kt won't be much changed even if we cut our emissions by half. (2.6 million kt) Also, cutting CO2, a proxy for energy use, by half will make us all envious of the Kenyan economy. Maybe that was the point all along.

Meanwhile, there will be almost no American manufacturing and all of our Dollar Stores will have changed to Eight Dollar Stores. Way to go B.O.

About this Trump

I can't help but remember a few years back...



And then there's the failure to love Michelle Malkin, which I believe is a crime in my state:

Here's something about @realDonaldTrump: He supports Kelo, cheered socialized medicine, smeared "my past" & called me a dummy. #phony

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) March 21, 2013

So now he's a conservative? I dunno. I'd feel more confident of his conservatism if his fall on the road to Damascus had happened years before his decision to run for the presidency. The timing bothers me. Watch this guy, I fear he is Ross Perot with a comb-over.

Has anyone ever seen Perot and Trump in the same room at the same time?

Early Interwebs

The first internet came on 35mm film and you sat in a theater to watch your cats.

Only a Matter of Time

I've been waiting for this. The only question was which would come first; attaching a handgun to a drone, or rigging one to drop a flaming bag of dog poop.

For the Pope Who Has Everything

At least you can be pretty sure he doesn't have one already.

Pluto

Good news! We'll soon have the best pictures ever of the planet Pluto. That's right, Bill Nye, it's a planet. In your face, planet killer.

How and when to watch the flyby

At 7:30 a.m. ET, NASA will start streaming the flyby of Pluto on NASA TV. The stream doesn't offer live video because of the distance from Earth. But, the stream shows a simulated version of what NASA sees with a preview of what the flypast, estimated to take place at 7:49 a.m. ET, will reveal.

Scientists expect the craft to "phone home" by 9 p.m. Tuesday with real footage, including some highly anticipated images.

OK,  the version they're going to show at 7:30 AM is a simulated version of what they think is going to happen... So why do we have to wait until 7:30 AM to watch it? In fact, why watch a guess of what the planet will look like at all? We'll soon have pictures of the real thing.

And the best stuff will be the surprises. What's the surface going to look like? Are there monoliths? Is there evidence of of an evil lair?  Abandoned water parks?

Conflict

xkcd

Take Us Out, Mr. Sulu

Modern Problems

Abedin: Can you hang up the fax line, they will call again and try fax
Clinton: I thought it was supposed to be off hook to work?
Abedin: Yes but hang up one more time. So they can reestablish the line
Clinton: I did.
Abedin: Just pick up phone and hang it up. And leave it hung up.
Clinton: I've done it twice now.
Clinton: Still nothing. Call Oscar if they need help. I'll be out of pocket for an hour or so.

Oscar must be the tech who knows how to stop picking up the fax line.

Puzzle Me This

I saw this one years ago so it didn't take me long to figure it out. If you haven't seen it, don't cheat, you'll really like trying to figure it out on your own.

And if you need a hint... don't read it yet... no really don't....






consider the properties of an incandescent bulb.
answer here

via DRB

VDH

Victor Davis Hanson must be reading my mind. He's noticed the liberal hysteria that's been bugging me for awhile now.  Regarding gay marriage:

...A sort of collective hysteria took over from there. In 2008 there was common assent on the part of the Democratic party’s leadership that the three-millennia-old belief that marriage involved different sexes would prevail, while a separate rubric, “civil union,” would be invented for homosexual couples. But by 2012 that notion was not merely outdated, but taboo. Almost overnight, supporting the erstwhile Obama position of permitting civil unions but rejecting gay marriage became tantamount to career suicide. 

Ditto on illegal immigration. Barack Obama likewise swore between 2008 and 2012 that he was no despot who by executive fiat could legalize violations of immigration laws that had been passed by Congress. Yet by 2015 anyone who would agree with Obama’s past vows is now rendered little more than a nativist and xenophobe — so powerful is the Orwellian engine of groupthink...

The populace is bombarded with "news" from dawn to dusk, yet somehow seems to be the least informed it's ever been. We're jumping from obsession to obsession so fast that there's no time to sit back and reflect that maybe we're being a little hasty.

Just recently two zeitgeists collided when Gay Pride and Black Lives Matter crews ended up sharing the same street. Gunshots ensued. How can you be talking about changing marriage when obviously the problem is police patrolling our cities? How can you worry about Confederate flags when there are still illegal immigrants who can't vote?

I'm oppressed. No I am. No you're not, we are.

I think I blame the internet.

Science!

The headline reads:

Could LA's Big One be even bigger than we thought? 

Now explosive helium is leaking from 

massive earthquake fault under Los Angeles

Explosive helium? Helium is one of the least reactive gases there is. How can a science writer be so unfamiliar with the periodic table? 

So I searched the authors other recent articles and found him promoting Paul Erlich's "research" into our pending (again) extinction.  In that article he fails to mention that Paul Erlich is the worst extinction promoter since Thomas Robert Malthus. 

So the results are in: absolutely anyone can be a science writer for Mail Online. 

Darn It

The neighborhood watch says that walking out of the house with a smile on your (white, heterosexual) face is a micro trigger and a mini-aggression. Apparently the only way to set things right is to participate in a same sex marriage by the light of burning confederate flags.

I'm OK with that so long as there's a chocolate fountain.

Starting Salary

Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Person asked a young Engineer fresh out of MIT, "And what starting salary were you looking for?"

The Engineer said, "In the neighborhood of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package."

The interviewer said, "Well, what would you say to a package of 5-weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every 2 years say, a red Corvette?"

The Engineer sat up straight and said, "Wow! Are you kidding?"
And the interviewer replied, "Yeah, but you started it."

via

3(funny)

Other people's pictures, not mine.

Not much to say today, except that I'll be praying for the souls of those lost in that AME church shooting. Evil exists.

***Update: +1

via

Ima Make a Deal With the Bad Wolf So the Bad Wolf Don't Bite No More

Insider:

A woman recently appointed as head of a local NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington has apparently spent years "disguising" herself as black, according to the woman's parents. 

Her name is Rachel Dolezal. The Washington Times reports Dolezal, has identified as white, black and Native American.

And the house of cards wobbles:

"Ma'am, I was wondering if your dad really is an African-American man," Humphrey asked. 

"I don't understand the question," Dolezal answered.

Dolezal says she's been the victim of eight documented hate crimes in Idaho...

Call them pseudo aggressions, pretend hate crimes for pretend minorities. 

Actually, are we scandalized? Is a white woman pretending to be black that much worse than the celebrity eco-warriors who fly private jets and burn carbon like, well, like some metaphor that indicates they burn really lots of it? 

Yeah, we're in the year of the liar for the next hundred years.

"At this point, what does it matter?"

Dolezal's parents, who live in Troy, MT, say Rachel has been deceiving people. They want people to know the truth. pic.twitter.com/sS3aiUwD0H

— Taylor Viydo (@KREMTaylor) June 11, 2015

Take it from a genuine lumberjack; Your next, best, move is to indignantly ask why Colonel Saunders and Angela Merkel are pretending to be your parents.

3(XKCD)

xkcd

Evolution

Going All Godwin on Ya

via NRO

Settled Science

Good medical news:

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 1, 2015 - In a stunning discovery that overturns decades of textbook teaching, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist. That such vessels could have escaped detection when the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly mapped throughout the body is surprising on its own, but the true significance of the discovery lies in the effects it could have on the study and treatment of neurological diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis....

So, great news, and it also teaches a valuable lesson: There is no such thing as settled science except when it comes to global warming. The only question about global warming concerns the way in which it will lead to our painful and certain extinction.

The science though? That's settled. Never mind the fact that real world, well measured, temperatures aren't following the computer models. Never mind that climate-gate revealed a cabal of zealots who were willing to bend the rules in order to further their cause. The science is settled.

via

Border Sign

Of course this isn't an actual border sign. Everyone knows we don't have an actual border these days.

Two Videos and a Place Holder

This space reserved for the video announcing that, yes, we are sending troops back to Iraq.

(though, if it's on Obama's watch, it will most likely be a huge commitment of contract civilian fighters)

Biggest Banjo Ever

As you might have noticed, we try to post a banjo item every Wednesday. This might be the only time we've ever managed to do it.... and it's not really a banjo.




via

Looking for Extraterrestrials

Don't look up. They're in your garden.

via

It's Official

The rumor that's been floating around DC lately has been 

confirmed: Michelle Obama does pick out John Kerry's clothes.

A Distraction

An Amtrak train headed to New York City crashed in Philadelphia late Tuesday, and more than 50 injuries were confirmed....  So far it seems there were no deaths. So there's that.

But of course the real tragedy here is that these guys, blood on their faces, in a turned over train car, are now temporarily not thinking about the plight of poor poor Michelle Obama, who is pretty sure nobody wanted her in a museum when she was a kid. And maybe even someone potentially mistook her for the help at some theoretical cocktail party. Well, it could have happened. And these guys are momentarily not feeling guilty about it. 

I'm sure once the dust settles we'll all go back to lamenting the plight of this woman who has a professional grape peeler on staff. This poor downtrodden soul who gets blamed for being an angry scold just because she scolds us angrily. 




***Update:
I now see there were fatalities. Of course this is more important and more serious than any bogus grievance from the ridiculous first lady.

If You Don't Feel Welcome It's Because of How You Dress

From the Daily Caller:

In her speech, Obama said: 

You see, there are so many kids in this country who look at places like museums and concert halls and other cultural centers and they think to themselves, ‘well, that’s not a place for me, for someone who looks like me, for someone who comes from my neighborhood.’ In fact, I guarantee you that right now, there are kids living less than a mile from here who would never in a million years dream that they would be welcome in this museum.

And growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I was one of those kids myself. So I know that feeling of not belonging in a place like this. And today, as first lady, I know how that feeling limits the horizons of far too many of our young people.

She doesn't say what it is about museums and concert halls that deters black children. What do we need to change to make these areas more welcoming? Right, I can't think anything either.

"Feeling of not belonging"? Well, yeah. I think that's what prompted this latest complaint about the country. But the problem is that Michelle sees a new crop of inner city aggrieved and knows that that is the group she doesn't belong to. Michelle has victim-envy. 

Listen Michelle, you grew up in the middle class. You got a great education. You had nothing denied you.  

From the Archives

and

OK, I'm Confused

Cool way to make coffee, for sure, but I don't understand several things going on here...

If the point is to make the coffee in the cup hot as possible, isn't the coffee in the cup cooling just as fast as it would were it filled with boiling coffee all in one go? Also, if the sand is so hot, why isn't it too hot to hold your hand over?

Maybe this all has to do with boiling the coffee for a longer period of time, but wouldn't simmering work just as well? Or maybe this helps to keep the grounds out of the cup. I dunno. It seems the more I learn, the less I know.

via

NRI Ideas Summit

The Corner has got videos from the NRI Ideas Summit. Come for the Krauthammer, stay for the Fiorina.

(on many of the videos you have to move the slider to get to the content)

Savage Chickens

Sure, now. Now it's a desert.

savage chickens

I'll Name It What I Like

Weird News

News of the Weird:

-- Raising Our Most Delicate Generation: In preparation for the National Union of Students Women's Conference in Solihull, England, in March some attendees requested that clapping for any of the speakers be discouraged, but that approval from the audience be expressed by "jazz hands" -- open hands, palm directed to the stage, and the fingers extended wildly. Using "jazz hands" would show compassion for attendees who have anxiety and other disorders, and for speakers who might be distracted by the din of approval. [BBC News, 3-24-2015]

President Hillary

Hillary wants to improve the lives of the 99%. Sure she does.

And to do this she'll have to topple the 1%. But wait, aren't the Clintons part of the 1%? Well, yes, but they're not capitalist exploiters. They didn't get their money through providing goods, or jobs, or paying taxes. (like those filthy capitalists) No, selling out the country isn't the same as selling goods or services.

From the NYT, for goodness sake:

As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.

At the time, both Rosatom and the United States government made promises intended to ease concerns about ceding control of the company’s assets to the Russians. Those promises have been repeatedly broken, records show....

Ponder Ponder Ponder

Someone had to ask the question that threw me into infinite loops back in school: What would happen if I dug straight down, at a speed of 1 foot per second? What would kill me first?

Well not that question in particular threw me into brain disharmony, but what happens to air pressure at the center of the earth. Not just me either -- from Scientific American circa 1920:

Googling only makes the confusion worse, but it's comforting to know that many people have thought about this question.

My best guess is that enlightenment may be down the path of analyzing the forces that at on a molecule of gas at the center of the earth, then on a molecule 50 feet "up" then one 50 feet further... all the way to the surface.

But it's all too much for right now, I have a tax extension to get in the mail.

Question, what forces are acting on that envelope? The pressure question is pulling it away from the mailbox even though the question has no mass or gravity.

This is Going to be a Long 574 Days

But I Like It Too*

via

* or as they say on the internet, "I like it two"

Bees Disrupt Presidential Storytelling

Sure, you delight in the ruination of the event. But you have no appreciation for the hard work that I put into training those bees.

Nobel Peace Prize for John Kerry?

His boss got a Nobel for perfect attendance in his first week as president so John Kerry thinks anyone can get one. Maybe he's right.

But the only way I'd give John Kerry the Nobel Peace prize is if it turns out that he's the one been beating up Harry Reid.