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Open thread
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Dec. 16, 2006 at 1:05 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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63 Comments
Just want to say to the Jewish friends out there- Happy Hanukkah!
Polmom,Let’s not be rude and exclusive now. I just want to say to everyone out there — Happy Hanukkah! And while we are talking OT history, let us remember too that We Soon Rejoice, for unto to us a Savior is Given. (Jewish author, see Isaiah 9).
I say happy hanukkah, and I’m called rude and exclusive? WTH?
I’m going to a Channukah party tonight.It came earlier than Christmas this year. So Happy Channukah.
PMom: Thank you.
I’m going to watch The Daily Show reruns for the next seven days in honor of the season.
PMom,
I think there was a bit of sarcasm in that remark, at least that’s how I took that statement.
With that in mind;
Happy Channukah, Kwanza, Christmas, Winter Soltice, Pagan ritualistic cerimoniesand Xmas bonus “spend-it-all-at-the-mall-orgies.”
JM, I said Happy Hanukkah because last night was the first night of hanukkah. I wasn’t being exclusive. And I meant is sincerely so I didn’t appreciate the sarcasm…to me it seemed like a dig to get some way to thrust his Christianity in there (the part about the savior). When Christmas comes I’ll say merry Xmas too.
Kia, have fun at your party!
Greetings all: One great way to celebrate this holiday season is to attend this evenings “Winter Wonderland Holiday Ice Show” at the Wichita Ice Center at Maple and Sycamore at 7:30 PM. Cost is $5/ticket, less for various age groups.
Wear warm clothes for the Ice arena seating and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate during the show. It’s locally sponsored and produced by the Wichita Figure Skating Club.
I attended their performance last night and it was great, great, great. The skaters are local Wichita young people. The choreography, colored lights, costumes and music was all wonderful and the holiday imagery lingers long after the show.
So congratulations to Brenda Glidewell, director of the Ice Sports facility and show itself, and all of the people who worked so hard to make these two presentations such as success. I hope you will continue to present future ice shows — perhaps around Easter time?? JWINK
Happy Christmas – War Is Over
And so this is ChristmasFor weak and for strongFor rich and the poor onesThe road is so longAnd so happy ChristmasFor black and for whiteFor yellow and red onesLet’s stop all the fight
John Lennon 1971
So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet… …and I get on as a looper at a course in the Himalayas.A looper?A looper. You know, a caddy, a looper…a jock.So I tell them I’m a pro jock and who do you think they give me?The Dalai Lama, himself. The son of the Lama.With flowing robes, grace, bald, striking.I’m on the first tee with him.I give him the driver.He hauls off and whacks one.Big hitter, the Lama. Long!Into a 10,000 foot crevice right at the base of this glacier!Do you know what the Lama says?”Gunga galunga. Gunga gunga da gunga.”So we finish and he’s going to stiff me.And I say, “Hey, Lama! “How about a little something, you know, for the effort?”And he says,”There won’t be any money… “…but when you die, on your deathbed… “…you will receive total consciousness.”
So I’ve got that going for me… which is nice.
HAVE A NICE WEEKEND!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6627826
SURVEY SHOWS EVEN AFTER ELECTION, VOTERS STILL P*SSED OFF
Sometimes when voters get the result they want in an election, they feel better about the country. But the survey showed that although the number of voters who believe the country is on the wrong track stayed the same as before the election, the number of voters who think the country is on the right track dropped.
Bolger points out that the president’s strong approval is at 17 percent, and his strong disapproval rating is at 45 percent. That suggests that the president will be facing an increasingly difficult challenge keeping Republican members of Congress on his side.
Even before last month’s election, many Republicans were starting to break with the president; now they will be under even more pressure to do so.
Bolger and Greenberg asked voters a “thermometer question” — to measure how warm or cool they were toward the parties. For the first time in many years, the Democrats’ rating on a scale of 1 to 100 was 53; the Republicans scored 44. Greenberg points out that this gives Democrats an opportunity, but not a free pass. Bolger says Republicans are still in a hole and must claw their way back into the trust of the public.
*****
Worst President Ever is taking down his whole party.
Ride with a horse-thief. Hang like a horse-thief.
Capn: Was that an oral or a rectal thermometer? :)
I think what this shows is the majority of the country is very middle of the road. Which most likely translates as socially left and fiscally right.The extremes of the party’s and their special interests are unforunately making the decisions.Also unfortunate is I see the middle as being to blase’ to do anything about it other than flip representatives
Again, MrK, spot on. I believe the extremists of each party having control, if you will, is an unintended consequence of the use of primaries to nominate candidates. While the concept of party professionals deciding the candidates in the proverbial smoke-filled room is anathema to many, I have come to the conclusion that process actually provided better candidates, on the whole, than the primary process which, because of the zealotry of the true believer of the extreme members of each party and the special interests driving.
Perhaps this is the time for moderates in both parties to get serious and hold the party leaders feet to the fire and demand that all the nonsense in both party fringes be told to shut up. We need to let our politicians know that we are watching them and to not let up. If enough pressure is put on these guys, then maybe something will be done. After all, politicians are watching out for their hide before the party’s (usually).
Lawsuits claim Coleman warnings not enough
The families of five people who were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning say ventilation warnings aren’t clear.
hahaha Darwin Awards here they come!
Poor Coleman having to defend themselves from someones stupidity.
Yeah, Tony. I don’t usually have much use for Coleman, but it just makes you shake your head and wonder (a) how fucking stupid some people are, and (b) how unscrupulous some lawyers who would take a case like this are. Here’s what the lawyers representing these people are thinking. These cases, however absurd, have a certain “settlement value”, i.e., it would cost a lot more to defend them than throw some money at it and make it “go away”. And the lawyer gets at least a third + expenses.
What I would really like to see is some of these companies stand up and fight this bullshit, kick their asses, and then file subsequent “frivolous action” litigation against the parties AND their lawyers. A few of these successful high-profile actions would discourage the “ambulance chasing hacks” from promoting this crap, and if we’re really lucky, drive them out of the profession.
The public’s low perception of attorneys if fueled by these hacks, who, in reality, number far less than 1%, but paint the whole profession with their tainted brush. They need to be shown the door.
Correctio: ‘…publics’ perception is fueled…”. Sorry.
Agreed RM
I hope Coleman takes it all the way to a Jury Trial.
I have one of those heaters. It says to only use in a well ventilated area. Anyone with a 6th grade education knows what that means and knows it takes oxygen to make fire.
I’m sure the lawyers argument will be that since the label didn’t specifically say not to use in the back of a pickup truck with all windows closed, that they deserve a settlement.
Fucking lawyers…
Okay, the extremists on the right clearly hit pay-dirt when W = Worst President Ever stole the election in 2000.
But how have the Dems shown their “extremism”? By knocking Dean out of the primary? By have the very centerist Clinton impeached? By not being able to increase the minimum wage since 1997? By seeing wealth inequilty increase drastically since 2000? By seeing abortion providers get hounded out of business in many states? By not successfully stopping Bush Iraq invasion despite 2 million people in the streets opposed before the war began? By not having a “paid leave” law like every other industrialized country in the world? By repudiating the Kyoto accords and CO2 cut backs? By having as many as 50 million Americans without health insurance?
What liberal extremism can you possibly be talking about?
The “liberal extremists” can’t even get themselves to utter the phrase “gay marriage” and duck behind “civil unions.”
Boy, with extremists like these, no wonder the reich-wing runs rough-shod over us . . .
Tony: A FEW fucking lawyers, but a few too many!!
lol, true…. unfortunately..
Cap’n, sadly, I think Ted Rall mighta got it right:http://www.gocomics.com/rallcom/2006/11/27/
We’ll see.
Tony,
“I’m sure the lawyers argument will be that since the label didn’t specifically say not to use in the back of a pickup truck with all windows closed, that they deserve a settlement.
Fucking lawyers…”
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/296057_coleman15.html“They OPENED the windows of the trailer, ran the heater “just long enough to take the chill off” and then turned OFF the gas valve and went to sleep. They never woke up, said Mari Daniel, whose father and husband died from carbon monoxide poisoning….Playngam Ongpituk, his wife, Gintana, and his 13-year-old daughter, Kat, died after using the same model heater as Daniel and Ramiskey, their lawyers said. The King County family left the rear panel of their truck OPEN and turned OFF the heater before going to bed but died in their sleep, lawyers said.”
Morons.
I call this pure Darwinism.
Interesting…
‘Gore plans to initiate a grass-roots ‘carbon freeze’ movement’http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/12/10/gore_plans_to_initiate_a_grass_roots_carbon_freeze_movement
‘Gore implores scientists to raise alarmsEx-VP calls for research to be used for policy change’http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/15/MNGGAN08GO1.DTL&type=science
Cosmos: Take a breath here:Case of Daniel: How the hell does she know what they did? If she had been there, she’d be dead, too.Case of Ongpituk: Coleman erred by not printing warning in Cambodian?
Give us a break here. You can’t rationalize or legislate against ignorance. I suppose that if they had brought a charcoal grill inside the truck or trailer to cook their “kill” because it was snowing outside, it would be the manufacturers’ faults because “people have got to eat”?
And nothing Algore has to say is interesting.
I hearily disagree with that (Ben can detail some of the reasons why)).
I was furious with the man for indulging his wife’s dangerous, neurotic power trip, for indulging a moronic attack on religious freedom in 2000, and other things. But there’s more to the man than meets the eye.
rm, why don’t YOU take a breath?
All I did was post a link stating that Tony’s “all windows closed” probably wasn’t true.
I’d guess that whoever discovered the bodies (the sheriff or ?) found the windows [rear panel] OPEN and the heater OFF.
If you disagree, go argue with the people who found the bodies, sheriffs dept., etc.
Any evidence that the language of some warning was at issue, or is rm (as I suspect) just talking out of his ass?
Hey, just asking! ;)
No, you idiot. I’m simply saying that we can’t legalize for or legislate against what people like you do to yourselves, and then try to blame it on innocent parties, because that’s where the “deep pockets” are.
rm,
Of course you don’t find Al Gore interesting. You probably prefer to believe politicians tied to fossil fuel, instead of the world’s top scientists.
And I’d guess you prefer to deny the large impact that humans are having on our Earth. Ohh… we’re so puny and insignificant…?
Actually, I don’t believe any politicians. And having been associated with the oil business for 40 years, I’m quite interested in fossil fuels.
Deny the impact of humans living on Earth? Whatever the hell that means? Where are we supposed to live? Of course, there is an impact. So what? I suspect there would be an impact if we lived on Mars. Hate to break it to you, but “That’s Life” — some of the impacts are good, some are bad. Live with it.
rage,
Since the Ongpituk’s seem to have left the rear panel of their truck open (for ventilation), I don’t think “language” was the problem.
rm,
“some of the impacts are good, some are bad. Live with it.”
No, die with it.For example global warming is heating the oceans. A warmer ocean has fewer phytoplankton, which supplies the ocean’s food chain — dead ocean.
Some people care about the future of our only Earth… and some don’t.
The Coleman lawsuit is nothing else but about money. It’s like hitting the lottery for the average person. And these companies will settle rather than pay to fight it in court. Bingo – the average person gets a settlement but their lawyer gets an even bigger chunk of the settlement.
There is no justice anymore and especially and especially not in a judicial system. It’s a game of chess and the best lawyer wins.
‘Climate Warming Reduces Ocean Food Supply’http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/warm_marine.html“In a NASA study, scientists have concluded that when Earth’s climate warms, there is a reduction in the ocean’s primary food supply. This poses a potential threat to fisheries and ecosystems.”
It’s also a positive feedback: less phytoplankton = less CO2 absorbed by ocean.
the grand experiment continues …
Have you republicans not noticed the change in climate? Of course there is global warming!! We need to fix this soon or there will be no way to do so. Yet we have a president who is still not sure we have a problem!! We can develop alternatives to oil and we’d be better off. Come on. Wake up!!!!
Have you republicans not noticed the change in climate? Of course there is global warming!! We need to fix this soon or there will be no way to do so. Yet we have a president who is still not sure we have a problem!! We can develop alternatives to oil and we’d be better off. Come on. Wake up!!!!
Brenda … that is what I refer to as the grand experiment … actually a fellow scientist did that in 1990 …
If global warming really eists, does that mean my gas bill will go down? :) Seriously, Brenda, we need alternatives to fossil fuels. I’m no scientist. All I can do is use as little as possible, i.e., not drive a Hummmer, make one trip for errands instead of three and plan my itinerary to drive less miles, etc. What about you?
rm – I would expect your winter heating needs to go down – can’t say about the bill if the cost/unit goes up. On the other hand, summer …
Have you ever noticed that there is a warning on the sun screen that you put inside the windshield. That states you should not attempt to drive with the sun screen covering the windshield? Farther that if left in place you will not be able to see to drive. Remind me why humans are called the most intelligent species on earth? Oh yeah, because we are the ones determining what species is the most intelligent!
Viva Delia Garcia!!!
I had a comment or two on the hot coffee issue in an earlier thread, but I never got around to posting anything.
Here goes. I would highly recommend that anyone with small children, old people, hell any people measure the temp of your hot water. Several reasons, safety being the most important.
If it is over 125 degrees I’d lower the thermostat on your hot water heater. Ussually a setting of 115 to 120 is good enough. 130-135 can cause second degree burns. A lot of hot water heaters come from the manufactuter set at 140 or higher. If you are a baby or an old person the elevated temp causes the burns faster.
Also, it saves a lot of energy. Your hot water heater is one of the biggest energy wasters in the house. The amount of energy it takes to hold your hot water at the desired temperature in your hotwater heater rises exponentially as thermostat setting on your HWT increases.
Second degree burns over 50% of your body can be fatal, especially if you are a baby or old and infirmed. Don’t trust the dial on your thermostat, actually measure the temp at a faucet after the hot water has run for a minute or so.
Just a TTBOI for your safety.
Hank
PS I know how much J R likes links, so here are a few:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13090
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/boilhw.htm
I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize what I think is the very first sensible, honest, informative and useful post from Hank Price. Call it a chrismas miracle if you believe in such things!
And so for the first and hopefully not last time….
Well said Hank!
Actually, most of Hanks recent posts mention me. It is flattering in an uneasy way. At first? I thought it was a “summer thing”. But as it is now December and still going on? I think Mickey and Sylvia said it best…….
The biggest majority of warnings on products are there because someone actually did whatever it was BEFORE the label was there. THAT’S how many people there are without common sense.
People like me, rm?
Hahahahaha!
Awesome!
mnusSlIáelIá.
You might also consider “kMsaksMxan´CageK.” Thank ye’, Hoss!
Right, RD.
Take for instance all those kids who grew up from 1920 to 1980 who didn’t have the common sense not to play outside in air and soil contaminated by lead from gasoline.
Or the people who don’t have the common sense not to eat beef contaminated with mad cow.
Or the people who just don’t use the sense that God gave them when they get on a DC 10 in which the cargo bay doors routinely open in flight.
Or the roll-over Ford Explorers. Or the exploding Ford Pintos. Or the genetically modified food which has never been proven safe but is cross-pollinating and invading our food supply nontheless.
Common sense says that the government will step in and protect people from products that are unsafe.
CapnAmerica,
What labels are in place on products because of the things said?
I think RD was talking more about the types of labels on blow dryers telling you not to shower while blow drying your hair.
Those are the idiots with no common sense.
Warnings on products are there now because of the liability of the companies. One would think that common sense should kick in when a person purchases a product and then uses it. But in today’s judicial system, the more warnings on a product is a way to protect the company’s deep pockets.
And don’t blame the lawyers for the lawsuits. If they were not winning these lawsuits, there would not be any further lawsuits filed.
Yeah, they cant make a 3 foor step ladder anymore because of all the warning labels.
Attention, gung-ho “stay and spin” war supporters–
Who does this sound more like: Bush or the anti-war crowd?
Asked if victory was possible, Powell said, “If victory means you have gotten rid of every insurgent, you have peace throughout the country, I don’t see that in the cards right now. What we are going to have to do is try to bring a sense of order and security to the country, even if there continues to be low-level violence and insurgency.”
Victory, he added, “is not in the hands of the American government or the American president. Victory, to be achieved or not to be achieved, as I have just defined it, is increasingly in the hands of the Iraqi leadership.
“If they can’t pull it off, if they can’t demonstrate the political will and means to go after the militias, to create a military force that is answerable and confident in the government, and to root out the corruption that exists in the police forces — if they are unable to do that, the United States is not going to be able to do it for them.”
Answer, anti-war crowd. It’s what I’ve been saying since before we invaded, based on the last quagmire we won militarily and lost politically, Vietnam.
The quote is from Colin Powell this morning.
If you break it, its yours. And now Saudi Arabia is threatening to arm the Sunnis in their civil war. This will vastly strengthen Saudi-based alQuada.
rmThere have been alternatives developed but without funding it can only go so far. As long as the oil and energy companies have the politicians in their pocket no funding will come from the govenment. As far as your heating bills going down, that won’t happen because big corporations continue to have clout and so they lie to us and the regulators so the price will continue to go up.Ben,I don’t know what is grand about this. I also wonder what the world will be like in 20 years when it’s my turn to retire. If cost continue to escalate as they have in the last 20 I’ll have to just die at work because I won’t be able to afford to quit working.
Brenda – ‘grand’ does not mean ‘good’ in this context.
WS Broecker, 1990:
“The inhabitants of planet earth are quietly conducting a gigantic experiment. So vast and so sweeping will be the impacts of this experiment that, were it brought before any responsible council for approval, it would be firmly rejected as having potentially dangerous consequences. Yet, the experiment goes on … “
Thank you, Nathan. I’m glad somebody understood.
I see our Tsunami monies went to a good cause…the local Islamists are using it to beat women and aid workers.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2508262,00.html
Money is being to pay the local Aceh Islamists to police women if they are working to help the tsunami victims.
The NGO’s dont have a big enough stick to keep them away.