PA GOP, Furries, and Sexual Predators

Pennsylvania GOP Senate Whip Jane Orie recently fired one of her top aides for being a furry, or maybe just for being a sexual predator. Apparently the guy, a member of that scurge of the internets - Furries, was trying to make arrangements with a 15 year-old for some "yiffing." What is yiffing? you might ask. With any luck, this video will help you.

Coup in New York Senate

At 3pm yesterday, the New York Senate Republican caucus and two Democrats staged a coup in an effort to change the chamber's leadership. This comes amid controversial pending legislation, including a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage and another involving tax increases that would balance the state's budget. The Democratic leadership asserts that the vote was illegal as the Senate had already ajourned and intends to fight the coup in court.

Why the black box should die

The black box was developed in the 1960s. With iPods now possessing thousands of times of the computing power of the Apollo lunar lander, Clive Irving asks why we don't let the black box die and move on to a newer, safer future with digital compression and realtime transmission of airplane data.

Commission: poor oversight for war contracts

An independent commission has concluded that oversight for wartime contracts has been abysmal. There is no central database for keeping track of contracts - who they've been awarded to, for how much, and what they're doing. The new Wartime Contracting Commission reported to Congress that, since 2001, there has been "poor management, weak oversight, and a failure to learn from past mistakes as recurring themes in wartime contracting."

Of great concern is the poor quality resulting from some of these contracts - brand new buildings that went way over budget with cracks in the foundation and generally shoddy workmanship. KBR alone billed the US $100 million for private security in spite of the fact that the contract specifically prohibited for-hire guards.

This article is just a small part of a laundry list of wasted taxpayer money and abuses.

The end is near for Minnesota senate race

The Minnesota senate race has been dragging out for months as appeal after appeal is filed. The Supreme Court of Minnesota is now reviewing the case and legal experts more or less agree: it's not looking good for Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

XKCD: Period

"413 nanohertz, by the way."

Domestic terrorist warns of further attacks

Domestic terrorist Scott Roeder, alleged assassin of abortion doctor George Tiller, called the AP from prison and warned that more violence was planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal. Sounds like an imminent threat against the lives of Americans - so does this mean we get to waterboard him to find out? He's probably just crazy, but his computer indicates he was in daily communication with anti-abortion groups, providing him with Tiller's movements, and better safe than sorry...

Ironic Poem About Prostitution

Thank you, George Orwell.

When I was young and had no sense
In far-off Mandalay
I lost my heart to a Burmese girl
As lovely as the day.

Her skin was gold, her hair was jet,
Her teeth were ivory;
I said, "for twenty silver pieces,
Maiden, sleep with me".

She looked at me, so pure, so sad,
The loveliest thing alive,
And in her lisping, virgin voice,
Stood out for twenty-five.

I'll see your netbook and raise you one xpPhone

How would you like a phone with an AMD CPU, gig of RAM, 64 gig SSD hard drive, wifi, touchscreen, camera, and 5 hour battery?  Oh, and it runs a version of Windows XP.  Ladies and gentleman - the xpPhone.

Oops - Republicans "accidentally" reveal state secrets

After a closed-door Intelligence Committee hearing on the interrogation of terror suspects, Republicans revealed some of what had been discussed - a big no-no for a closed hearing about classified information.  The Republicans are touting that information presented at the hearing indicated that waterboarding yielded valuable information, but Democrats won't comment because it was a closed hearing.

Oops - US accidentally releases nuclear secrets

In a bid for the 2009 Bonehead Move of the Year award, the U.S. government accidentally released documents containing "highly confidential" nuclear secrets, including an exhaustive list of civilian nuclear sites and stockpiles.  While it's probably not a big deal, it was a stupid move all the same.

GOP, White Voters, and Southern Strategy

In which Nate Silver takes a look at political party demographics and finds that the GOP has always been overwhelmingly white.  He also mentions Southern Strategy, and this contributor never realized the extent of racism used in politics - chalk it up to a little idealistic naivete.

The Truth About Abortion

Abortion is a divisive issue that incites strong emotional responses from all sides.  The problem is that many people don't really know what they're talking about.  Abortion is a relatively rare procedure that is only available in 13 percent of the nation's counties.  Where it is available, there are often many restrictions, some of which rely on political pseudo-science to scare off would-be patients (e.g. requiring counseling that tells girls that abortions increase the risk of breast cancer when no such link has been established).

The recent assassination of Dr. George Tiller, one of the last doctors still performing late-term abortions in the United States, demonstrates that domestic terrorism is still alive in this country.  Furthermore, it has put the Obama Administration in an uncomfortable position after the DHS released a report finding that it was highly likely that domestic terrorism might be commited by “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion."

As one of the few remaining providers of late-term abortions told MSNBC, “the only difference between the Taliban and the people who kill doctors in the United States is 8,000 miles.”

Salinger surfaces for a suit

Reclusive author, J.D. Salinger is suing an author by the pen name John David California who penned a sequel to his magnum opus Catcher in the Rye.  The new book, titled 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, features a 76 year-old man named Mr. C. (presumably Holden Caufield), after he escapes from a retirement home.  The novel is dedicated to Salinger, who even makes a cameo appearance.

If it makes it, the novel will be published in Britain in the summer and the U.S. in the fall.

Canada: Land of Beautiful People

10 handy phrases for your next trip to Japan

This is a list of ten useful phrases in Japanese for your next visit to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Number 3 is the clear winner:

"3. “Ara! Onara suru tsu-mori datta keh-do, un-chi ga de-chatta.”

The literal translation of this useful phrase is “Oops! I meant to fart but poop came out”.

Saying this useful phrase never gets old, especially in public places, especially on a first date and most especially if it’s clearly one of only 10 Japanese phrases that you’ve memorized.

When in Southeast Asia, I especially enjoy muttering in Japanese about crapping my pants while walking past Japanese tourists. The reactions are priceless."

86 rules of drinking

86 Rules of Drinking - a few personal favorites:

"29. If you owe someone twenty dollars or less, you may pay them back in beer.

65. Before you die, single-handedly make one decent martini.

68. If there is a line for drinks, get your damn drink and step the hell away from the bar.

71. It's acceptable, traditional, in fact, to disappear during a night of hard drinking.
You will appear mysterious, and your friends will understand. If they even notice."

Dutch prison crisis: too few prisoners

The Dutch are faced with a crisis - they don't have enough prisoners to fill their prisons.  The sub-sea level country may be forced to shut down prisons and lay off over a thousand workers.  There is a bright light - Belgium currently has an overpopulation problem and the two countries are working on a deal to keep some Belgian prisoners in Dutch prisons.

XKCD: Designated Driver

"Calling a cab means cutting into beer money."

SCOTUS, the GOP, and the Latino vote

The L.A. Times explores the implications of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation process for the future of the GOP with regard to regaining lost ground with the Latino vote.  While George W. Bush won more than 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, Obama won more than two-thirds of the vote this past election.

"The [Republican] senators seemed to be taking their cues from quieter voices within the party who cautioned that opposing the country's first Latino Supreme Court nominee would amount to political suicide."