Facemask Giveaway

 

Alaska

What are you doing Louie?

In the last couple months, the allegations of sexual misconduct against some of the most powerful people in the world have been astounding. Charlie Sheen has been accused of raping Cory Haim?

But the most surprising and disappointing has been the new Louis C.K. story that broke so hard and so penetrating that he was forced to cancel the premiere of his new movie and an appearance on Late Night with Colbert. Now I turn on the radio less than 12 hours later and the gooey details of what he's allegedly done in front of five female comedians is so sticky and gross - well, first off, I don't want to hear about that on news radio when I'm eating my burrito. Second, I've lost all respect for him simply on the story of the allegations. I mean, in the world of lewd sex acts - what he's been accused of just sounds limp and stupid. It's something a homeless guy would think twice about doing.

To think he blew his entire career on the wall like that. Disgusting. Take a Kleenex, Lou.

It's worth noting that quite out of no where the court of public opinion has toppled quite a few powerful men lately. I make the note that it's historically, and unfortunately, been the burden of the women to convince anyone of what horrible thing had transpired. And even then, she was either 'asking for it', or it's 'a normal part of that business', or 'boys will be boys.' I wonder if those excuses are gone - and that the tolerance for the locker-room bad-boy behavior is going to be corrected.

But I do warn that pushing the guillotine out too often and without any questioning of the facts will eventually be as dangerous as silence. Perhaps if in just a few years we'll see a headline where a young man is accused of sexual misconduct for merely asking his neighbor to the prom?

Rex you've been a bad, bad boy

Nancy (With the stretchable face)

Ms. Pelosi, the 76-year-old San Francisco 'progressive', was expected to easily win re-election when her colleagues voted on Wednesday. She has become the lightning rod for complaints that Democrats have failed to offer a compelling, broad-based economic message to the working-class voters in the Midwest and South who helped them capture the House 10 years ago and made Ms. Pelosi the first woman speaker.

Judging by the House Democrat's vote, it seems they've not listened or still don't understand why they're not doing well with the voting public.

(Picture lovingly borrowed from Terry Gilliam's Brazil, played by the wonderful Katherine Marie Helmond)

The Vote Tally

PELOSI voted yes!

VAN HOLLEN voted yes!

CLYBURN voted yes!

HOYER voted yes!

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ - The Chairman Of The Party - voted yes!

JACKSON-LEE voted yes!

DINGELL voted yes!

Even CLIFFORDS voted yes - and she get's slack only because she got shot in the head!

The so-called die-hard Liberal Left put up a phony front and then folded like a wet napkin!

What is the use of the Democratic Caucus in the Congress to Obama if they only bend over like a $10 hooker?

The Progressive Caucus complains about the control of the Tea Party Caucus on Congress and tie up the works - why don't THEY have the balls to assume control and tie up the works?

The Democrat solution is to turn Congress back over to the Republicans. Well, why not crank up the momentum for the clean sweep?

The Democrat Party song should be Adele's "We Could'a Had It All.... Rolling in the Deep!"

Fast and Furious Scandal Reaches Higher

"Fast & Furious" Hearings Raise More Questions Than Answers

The more information that comes out about the reckless "Fast and Furious" gun running operation conducted by the Phoenix BATFE office, the more clear it seems that knowledge of the operation, and approval for it, went a lot higher than the Phoenix field office, or even the BATFE.

There is now clear evidence, uncovered by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee headed by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) that senior Obama Administration officials were aware of this disastrous operation.

Last Tuesday, Rep. Issa conducted another round of hearings. Among those who testified were William Newell and William McMahon, BATFE Special Agents who oversaw the program in Phoenix . Those hearings revealed that senior Dept. of Justice officials, including former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, knew about the program.

~source, the NRA

Just ask one small question - if Bush had done this... what would the reaction be?

The cover up is as important as who approved it.

Uniformly Un-Uniform

An RTB sent me these pictures with a story about how this guy showed up for his Step Dad's graduation from basic training at Fort Benning dressed like this. According to our source, the MPs escorted him off post;

Some of our faithful readers are foaming at the mouth right now, and wondering why the MP's didn't draw their firearms, aren't you?

Gunwalker Worse than Iran Contra?

If you haven't been following the story, maybe it's my fault I haven't been posting about it.

Let me give you a quick ramp up on Operation Fast and Furious.

"December 14, 2010, a special unit of the U.S. Border Patrol came across a group of heavily armed suspects near Rio Rico, Arizona. The Border Patrol team identified themselves as law enforcement officers, at which point the armed men open fire.

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was hit in the pelvis by a single bullet and died the next morning. One of the suspects was captured, and two AK-pattern semiautomatic rifles recovered at the scene were identified by serial number as weapons that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) — acting in concert with and with the blessing of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) — allowed weapons smugglers to purchase at U.S. gun shops.

The weapons were just two of more than 2,000 firearms that ATF supervisors and the highest levels of DOJ management allowed to be “walked” across the border to narco-cartels in Mexico, in a scandal that promises to be more damning and deadly than Iran-Contra. …

The more than 2,000 weapons that the Obama Justice Department allowed to be delivered to Mexican narco-terrorist cartels are thought to have been used in the shooting of an estimated 150 Mexican law enforcement officers and soldiers battling the cartels. Two American law enforcement officers have also presumably fallen prey to these weapons, along with an unknown number of civilians on both sides of the border."

The question remains - how did ANYONE think this was a good idea? Let the little fish go, nab the bigger fish... But I've heard from fairly reliable sources, that the program was designed to mandate new Federal gun control rules, and the damn thing exploded on them.

Whatever their 'good' intentions were, there needs to be a full investigation and punishment needs to be dolled out with layoffs, arrests, and complete dismantling the ATF.

And to add fire to the firearms - The Justice Department (allegedly) obstructed Justice by witholding key information from Congressional investigators. That's bad.

It's also worth mentioning that Congressional hearings are forcing the Main Stream Media has been forced to follow this story as well. Never mind that it's been going on since Feb.

Oh, and one last note - the Fast and Furious investigation did not yield any big name arrests, like a Cartel.

Don't Mess with Toys For Tots

Click the picture to make bigger. The last paragraph, tells the whole story.

Utility (almost) Charged City For Memorial Flags

I'm not an expert with Public Relations - but I'm going to say this is was not well thought out.

Officials on eastern Long Island are fuming that the local power authority charged a $5 per pole fee to fly American flags along a parade route honoring a local soldier killed in Afghanistan. (WABC/ABC News)

New York Utility Charged for Hanging Flags From Its Poles At Memorial for Slain Soldier

The folks on Shelter Island, N.Y., were furious after they held a memorial parade to honor Lt. Joseph Theinert, a town resident who was killed in Afghanistan. The service included having members of Theinert's old unit march along a flag draped street that was named after Theinert.

Then they got the bill. The Long Island Power Authority charged them for hanging the American flags from its utility poles.

Read more ....

Update: New York Power Company Criticized for Charging American Flag Fee Says It Will Cover Cost

IL FOID Card Release Update

The Illinois State Police stood their ground today after the state's attorney general determined the agency must disclose the names of people authorized to own guns in Illinois to comply with public records law.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's public access counselor issued a letter Monday night rejecting state police arguments that releasing the information is an unwarranted invasion of privacy prohibited by the state public records law or that its disclosure would automatically endanger the lives of gun owners or those who don't have firearms.

State police determine who gets Firearm Owners Identification cards but have always kept the information confidential. Despite the decree, the names likely won't be uncloaked soon.

A state police lawyer indicated in a letter Tuesday the agency planned to ask a judge to decide the matter. And Republican lawmakers have filed legislation to make names permanently private.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press requested in September the names of each FOID cardholder in the state and the expiration date of each card. State police denied the request, prompting the public access counselor's intervention.

Illinois AG: Make List of Gun Owners Public

In a showdown over the privacy rights of gun owners, the Illinois State Police are refusing to release a list identifying all firearm permit holders in the state after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan determined that the information "must" be made public.

The dispute, which soon could come before a judge, has been building since last fall when a reporter for The Associated Press made a Freedom of Information Act request to the police for the names of cardholders as well as information about the weapons each permit holder is authorized to carry.

But the state police, who safeguard that information, resisted as lawmakers and others raised privacy concerns. Critics questioned what public interest it would serve to let neighbors look up each other's potential weapons cache -- further, they warned that publicizing the information could put both gun owners and those who don't own guns at risk.

If the state publishes a list of gun owners, Republican Rep. Ron Stephens said, "You are by design also publishing a list of everyone who doesn't" carry a firearm.
That could be comparable to publishing a list of everyone who has, or doesn't have, a car alarm or home-security system, at least in the eyes of those who want to keep the records private.

"My gun ownership is none of your business," Stephens, who is pushing a bill in the General Assembly to lock down that list, told FoxNews.com. "I don't know what Lisa Madigan doesn't understand about that, but obviously she's confused."
Madigan's office, though, issued a detailed legal opinion Tuesday explaining why the state police should release the registry to The Associated Press.

Assistant Public Access Counselor Matthew Rogina, citing federal court decisions as well as Illinois law, wrote in a letter to the state police attorney that disclosing the names "cannot be characterized as highly personal or objectionable." He wrote that there is a "public interest" in releasing the information, citing the example of an individual who may have become ineligible to carry.

"Therefore, even if disclosure of the names and expiration of the (Firearm Owner's Identification Card) card owners did constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, this fact is outweighed by the public interest that exists in ensuring the integrity of the (police) database," he wrote.

The police had argued that they should not have to release the records because of an exemption for "information that would endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel or any other person."

Madigan's office disagreed. It was the second time the office had rejected law enforcement's rationale for withholding the records.

In response, the police issued a brief statement saying the force "respectfully disagrees" with the opinion. It urged the public access counselor to issue a "binding opinion so that the issue may be resolved through the judicial process."

A spokeswoman in Madigan's office said the ball is still in the court of the state police, describing Rogina's opinion as a "detailed legal analysis" of the dispute.
But while the state police weigh their options, Stephens is trying to short-circuit the disagreement with legislation. Though he claims Illinois law already bars the police from making the gun permit registry public, he's pushing a bill that would clearly prohibit that information from being released except in connection with a criminal investigation.

Stephens' bill narrowly failed in committee on a 5-5 vote Wednesday, but under state law, the committee can reconsider it. Stephens said he'll bring it back for a do-over in the next couple weeks.

"This is an important issue about freedom. ... We will persist," Stephens said.
National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said his group would do "whatever we can" to stop the attorney general decision from being enforced.
"There's no reason for the names of law-abiding gun owners to be released to the general public," Arulanandam said.


Read more: Please comment.

I think today will be the day I get a lifetime membership in the NRA.

Internet Kill Switch Bill Back in Action On the Same Day Egypt’s Internet Was Shut Off

After making it through the Homeland Security Committee in December, Senator Susan Collins ‘Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010 faded from view during the mid-term and assumptions were that it would stay faded away.

Unfortunately, Wired Magazine was informed by the bill’s sponsor on Friday that Collins plans to reintroduce the “internet kill switch” bill to a Senate committee again. Friday, of course, was also the day that Egypt shut down it’s own internet in a futile effort to stop mass protests. (An action that, if it continues past Sunday, may be significantly damaging to Egypt’s economy.)

The bill itself can be found here (PDF). Collins said of it:

My legislation would provide a mechanism for the government to work with the private sector in the event of a true cyber emergency…. It would give our nation the best tools available to swiftly respond to a significant threat.

And she of course makes sure to say that the bill would not give the President free reign to shut down every ISP, as has happened in Egypt.

But, there are still some significant worries about the bill. Wired puts it best:

An example, the aide said, would require infrastructure connected to “the system that controls the floodgates to the Hoover dam” to cut its connection to the net if the government detected an imminent cyber attack.

What’s unclear, however, is how the government would have any idea when a cyber attack was imminent or why the operator wouldn’t shutter itself if it detected a looming attack…

…The proposal prohibits the government from targeting websites for censorship “based solely on activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

Oddly, that’s exactly the same language in the Patriot Act used to test whether the government can wiretap or investigate a person based on their political beliefs or statements.

Of course, this is a bad idea. And since it does violate the first amendment - it'll be struck down. However, that'll take thirty years (See the second amendment vs. Washington DC and also Chicago Illinois).

Most of this story is a cut'n'paste from Geekosystem

Yogi, Help!

I wish this was the remake of Yogi Bear... instead the world got Dan Akroid and a CGI nightmare.

I may have watched this already. Yeah, it was called Grizzly Man.

Spider-Man Broadway Animated Re-Cap

The Spiderman musical. It's cursed! Or at least very poorly conceived. Either way, to get cartoonishly caught up on everything that's gone tragi-hilariously wrong with Julie Taymor's über-expensive production of Turn Off the Dark, look no further. [NMA]

Super plus good.

Frivolous Facebook Meme

Long story short, in case you’re not current on the latest Facebook meme, people all over the world have been changing their profile pics to cartoon characters from their youth to “raise awareness” for violence against children.

So how is this helping abused children? Folks participating in this meme aren’t doing a thing to raise awareness for actions their friends can take to support this cause, just merely pointing out the fact that children are being abused while letting everyone know they once had a thing for Smurfette?

Here’s an idea: How about skipping the silliness and plugging an anti-child abuse charity instead? This is a good one. This is another good one. As is this one.

Facebook has the potential to be a powerful catalyst for social change. But these frequent Facebook charity memes are meaningless exercises in futility. People don’t need to be made aware that breast cancer exists or that child abuse is a problem. What they need are real things they can do to support individuals battling these scourges.

Like memes? Here’s a good one: Things that actually make a difference. Feel free to spread it around.

The Delusion

If were to actually ask a conservative, a real one, about the Bush years, you might be surprised and get an honest answer - that the Republicans f*cked everything up. They will blame Bush for spending recklessly, and expanding the wars - and TARP. Occasionally you'll even get an ear full about the Patriot Act. Some will bitch about Cheney opening up the treasury for all his buddies, others will complain about McCain. The real conservatives will explain it's all these things why they got their ass handed to them in 2006 and 2008. They did a lousy job when it was their job.

However, listening to the stories and the narrative being written right now, the Democrats have not owed up or even contemplated why they're about to get slaughtered. And this as their aids are laying out the plastic sheeting in anticipation of their bloodbath.

Which, seemingly, shouldn't make any sense at all. The Republicans were (practically) unable to stop the Pelosi/Reed/Obama agendas and projects. They passed: The stimulus, expanded bailouts, financial reform, Cash for Clunkers, the student loan takeover, and Health Insurance Reform.

Obama pulled the reckless reigns of foreign policy from the idiot cowboy and won the Nobel Prize for his amazing turn around in policy -- or something like that. Mr. Obama handled a major disaster in Louisiana completely differently than the Fortunate Son, and now the Democrats are so powerful they can get bills that haven’t even been read, they've appointed numerous czars that are above recall and oversight, oh, and they can spend like there’s no tomorrow - with zero consequences.

Guess who’s been running on this agenda? Yeah, the displaced and rebuked un-electable Republicans. And isn't it strange that the Democrats aren't even mentioning their records, or even running away from them at this point?

"My name may not be on the ballot, but our agenda for moving forward is on the ballot, and I need everybody to turn out." -- Barack Obama

Last night Jon Stewart should have told him to quit saying this, as it's a rally cry for his enemies.

My point is, rather than realizing that their Rahming of a slipshod agenda through America's oversized gut was their undoing, they're too busy blaming everything and everyone else - from foreign money, to Bush (still), and that Obama being too nice, or the laziest - that the American people are irrational and racist....

And now they're already bullsh*tting themselves that the Republican landslide is going to be a GOOD thing for Obama and his agenda.

“Delusion arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down when reasoning is destroyed.” ~Bhagavad Gita

The real fun will be when the n00b Republicans announce, casually, on week six that they, "...had no idea the enormity of the problem..." and snuggle into the lobbyists and the backslapping backroom deals that all that came before them ALL fell into. THAT's when things are going to get really funny.

3 Trillion

(CNSNews.com) - It's official: The Obama administration has now borrowed $3 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

It took from 1776, when the United States became an independent country, until 1990, the year after the Berlin Wall fell signaling victory in the Cold War, for the federal government to accumulate a total of $3 trillion in debt, according to the Treasury Department. It only took from Jan. 20, 2009, the day President Barack Obama was inaugurated, until Oct. 15, 2010, for the Obama administration to add $3 trillion to the federal debt.

The overall debt of the federal government, according to the Treasury Department, is now $13.666 trillion.

Yep, started with Bush, and was accelerated downhill with no breaks by Pelosi/Reed and Mr. Obama.

Now here's an illustration that compares the built of an average human being against a stack of $100 currency notes bundles.

A bundle of $100 notes is equivalent to $10,000 and that can easily fit in your pocket. 1 million dollars will probably fit inside a standard shopping bag while a billion dollars would occupy a small room of your house.

With this background in mind, 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) is 1000 times bigger than 1 billion and would therefore take up an entire football field – the man is still standing in the bottom-left corner.

Related: Visualize Units of Measurement

The United States has borrowed three of these.

Synergy Failure

ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also happens to own Marvel Entertainment, so it’s only right to combine the two — right? Yeah, great idea...

Because comic books and jock cultures meld SO well in real life? Perhaps because you CAN do a thing, doesn't necessarily mean you SHOULD do a thing?

And if we're really going to nitpick - why would heroes be fighting each other on the court? They're all Avengers... which means they're all on the same team fighting the bad guys. Shouldn't Kobe be Dr. Doom or some nonsense?