What Do San Franciscans Want for Christmas?

High hilarity:

What Do San Franciscans Want for Christmas? | Uptown Almanac

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Wish I lived in a country where the leaders stuck it to the people who are financially fucking us.

AMERICAblog News: Ireland to failed bank: pay bonuses and you won't get bailed out

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As far as lobbies, go, this one if flush, and I mean FLUSH with cash.

Marijuana-legalization push gets voice on Capitol Hill | McClatchy

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Can this bloody week be over, please, so I can be on my holiday break... bitches.

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SantaCon

Ain't got time for this foolishness today.

Damn commies.

Germans Get Jobs for Life as Export Boom Shrinks Worker Pool - BusinessWeek

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New boss same as the old boss.

Isn't this just special.

Citigroup Hires Peter Orszag, Former Obama OMB Chief

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Santacon. Catch it!

Is Santacon "The New Bay to Breakers"? | Uptown Almanac

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"Race" Means "Class"

Of all the domestic gripes that I have, Obama's foreign policy and counter-terrorism efforts have been excellent.

You won't hear about it on the TV or read about it dead tree news. They're too busy covering 3k Tbaggers flinging spittle and drawing silly mustaches on pictures of Obama.

The Washington Monthly:

"I realize conservatives don't want to talk about this story, which is probably why major media outlets aren't paying much attention to it.

But that's a shame because when it comes to counter-terrorism, this is a big f'in deal. Here we had a serious terrorist threat -- arguably the most important since 9/11 -- and an al Qaeda recruit who was poised to kill a lot of people. Obama administration officials thwarted Zazi's plan, took him into custody, read him his rights, and gave him a lawyer.

And the results couldn't have been better for the United States. Zazi will spend the rest of his life behind bars, but only after cooperating with federal officials and becoming a valuable source of intelligence.

If Republicans really want to debate the efficacy of Obama's counter-terrorism policies, we can start right here."

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Back to domestic issues.

Damn right! A VERY liberal SCJ. I don't think Obama can screw his base any more without effectively ending his presidency. Enough is enough with the cutesy-by-half baby splitting.

Elections have consequences. We've yet to reap any of those consequences.

Daily Kos: Anything short of a liberal Supreme Court nominee is unacceptable:

"Sorry, but progressives are owed big time for electing a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress and sweeping Obama into the White House. After being brushed aside, and certainly after seeing the damage that extremists on the Supreme Court have done, another 'well qualified nominee' who doesn’t further progressive causes is completely unacceptable and should be viewed as nothing short of giving the finger to progressives.

On the flip side, it is a GREAT way to use political capital in a way to motivate a base that is becoming more apathetic as each blow-off occurs."

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Noted:

Democratic Strategist:

"The Republican right has a deeply disturbing covert extremist agenda for the Supreme Court – end the separation of church and state, undermine the legality of Social Security and Medicare and give individuals the right to ignore any laws they choose."

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Anyone who doesn't think it is a GREAT idea to try these bastards in the city of New York is simply not being genuine.

NYC deserves to try these SOBs. In a civil court, dammit.

Holder says NYC not ‘off the table’ for trying 9/11 suspects | Raw Story:

"'New York is not off the table,' Holder said. 'The Southern District of New York, for instance, is a much larger place than simply Manhattan.'"

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Of course. Teabaggers don't really have a problem with the green as much as they have a problem with the black.

You Don't Really Hate Paying Your Taxes:

"For all the grousing about taxes these days, a new survey concludes that it's doing taxes rather than paying them that really rankles.

A plurality of Americans think they're paying about the right amount in taxes, and a significant majority say they're paying the fair amount.

There is widespread agreement that the rich and corporations are paying too little in taxes. And a majority of Americans think the Bush tax cuts helped the rich the most and should be eliminated

Americans are also vastly more concerned right now about unemployment and the economy than they are about taxes -- or deficits, for that matter."

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Daily Kos: New York Times: "Race" Means "Class":

"Their fierce animosity toward Washington, and the president in particular, is rooted in deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich."

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NY Tea Party gov. candidate sent videos of bestiality, pics of Obama as pimp | Raw Story

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Way to taint your brand, Discovery/TLC.

Cenk Uygur: Discovery Channel Insider: Sarah Palin's Show Is "a New All Time Low for Discovery":

"Last week Discovery had its annual sales conference for ad buyers for all of its 13 networks. The presentation showcases all of their new shows across the different networks. That night the presentation was on Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Our source says 'the whole thing [was] comical.' Apparently the ad buyers were not impressed. This Discovery insider said, 'When the promo was over, people (employees and buyers) were rolling their eyes, snickering, and even laughing. People were laughing and it's not even a comedy. No one took it seriously.'

This person was concerned that given the lack of interest from ad buyers that Discovery would have to dump the show to 'a crappy time slot' to cut its losses. They added, 'Bottom line everyone thought it was a new all time low for Discovery. My guess is the show is going to tank big time.'"

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Columbus Go Home!

Idiot Teabaggers. Almost too easy to punk

"Somebody is hating? Sheeeeyt, when should I start t'chantin'".

Interloper tricks Tea Party audience into an anti-European immigrant chant of ‘Columbus go home!’

Tea partiers punk’d into supporting removal of white people from US

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Winning their deformed hearts and deformed minds.

Fallujah’s infants suffer from sharp rise in birth defects | Raw Story

Remember, American youth, you only matter when you are in the womb. Once out, you better start practicing your boot strap pulling up.

Insurance Runs Out For 12-Year-Old Boy Without Arm

I wonder which state's obesity issues which are a huge burden on the health care industry are the worst?

Hmmmm. Starts with an A and ends with an A.

The Healthiest And Unhealthiest States - Forbes.com

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Thank a Dem.

Offshore Bank Accounts Revealed To IRS By 14,700 Taxpayers:

"MIAMI (AP)-- More than 14,700 U.S. taxpayers came forward to disclose billions in offshore bank accounts in 70 countries under a voluntary Internal Revenue Service program allowing most to avoid criminal prosecution as long as they pay what they owe, IRS officials said Tuesday.

A flood of people came forward in the last days before the amnesty program expired Oct. 15, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. The final total far surpasses the number who disclose offshore accounts in a typical year -- about 100 -- and comes amid a broad U.S. crackdown on international tax evasion at Swiss bank UBS AG and other institutions.

'To put it simply, this is a historic milestone for the nation's hardworking taxpayers,' Shulman said in a conference call from Washington."

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Don not thank a Dem. Geithner is the worst. He and Sumners need to go and pronto.

These guys were part of the initial problem. Why Obama thought they could fix it is beyond me.

Geithner sucks.

Geithner Singled Out In TARP Watchdog's Scathing Report On AIG Bailout:

"A brutal report issued Monday by a government watchdog holds Timothy Geithner -- then the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now the nation's Treasury Secretary -- responsible for overpayments that put billions of extra tax dollars in the coffers of major Wall Street firms, most notably Goldman Sachs.

The authoritative new narrative describes how, while bailing out insurance giant AIG last fall, a team led by Geithner failed nearly every step of the way."

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Jeez.

100 new militia groups since Obama elected; watchdog alarmed | Raw Story:

"Some 100 new militia groups have formed since the election of President Barack Obama, says the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In a re-run of the phenomenon seen when President Bill Clinton took office, gun-rights advocates, libertarians, survivalists and others are forming militias as a symbol of their resistance to what they see as an administration that threatens to restrict their right to bear arms and expand government control over the lives of private citizens."

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Makes me want to load up on Ammo and canned goods.

Ice Age Froze Europe In Months | Mother Jones:

"Freako-frakkin-nomics notwithstanding, climate change is a thing of violent swiftness. New research indicates it took only months for Europe to freeze solid 12,800 years ago.

The most precise analysis yet of the onset of the 'Big Freeze' reveals that Europe froze not in a decade—as previously thought from analysis of Greenland ice cores—but in less than 12 months."

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West side is the best side.

First U.S. marijuana cafe opens in Portland | U.S. | Reuters:

"PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug.

The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it -- as long as they are out of public view -- despite a federal ban.

'This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members,' said Madeline Martinez, Oregon's executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization.

'Our plans go beyond serving food and marijuana,' said Martinez. 'We hope to have classes, seminars, even a Cannabis Community College, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis.'"

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Oh those wacky French with their moderately funny Youtubes.

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\

Forks of Cypress

Murder? Pffft. Freakin' ACORN is signing up people to vote!

I think we know which is more important, now, don't we.

Blackwater Approved $1 Million in Iraqi Payments After Shootings - NYTimes.com:

"WASHINGTON — Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials."

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We have a problem. We really, really do.

Wonder if any tall, skinny, white military types have been chased and smashed with a tire iron b/c they were mistaken for Timothy McVeigh.

Marine reservist chases, assaults Greek Orthodox priest who he mistook for an Arab terrorist.

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Damn commies:

Foreign Parts: � AIMER: Getting Sick, Part Five:

"I gulped. 'I don't have insurance,' I told her guiltily.

'Non?' she said, sounding surprised rather than disgusted.

'Well, I have American insurance, but it won't cover me in France.'

'Non?' She stared at me sympathetically. 'I'm sorry, but I must then ask for payment up front.'

'That's okay,' I said, but I was really thinking, What's it going to be? One-hundred euros? One-fifty?

'The bill is twenty euros.'"

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Dirt Underneath

Legal Schnauzer: Republicans Try to Shoot the Messenger on Corruption in Alabama:

"Alabama Republicans, predictably, have tried to discredit GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Johnson after his statements late last week that current governor Bob Riley received millions of dollars in campaign funds from Mississippi gambling interests in 2002.

A Riley spokesman said Johnson, a former member of Riley's cabinet, never was involved in campaign fund-raising and therefore could not know about such matters. The chairman of the Alabama Republican Party called Johnson's claims 'a joke.'

But the Riley defenders forget one inconvenient truth: This story hardly originated with Bill Johnson."

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I read all of these tweets at least once a week. Never gets old. Let's see how badly CBS eff's it up, though.

Twitter To TV: 'Shit My Dad Says' User Gets CBS Comedy Deal (PHOTOS, NSFW)

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Here is my high school history teacher, Mr. Wallace lecturing about the Forks of Cypress is Buttholeville. Mr. Wallace remains one of the best teachers I've ever had. He turned a lot of folks into lifetime history buffs.

One thing not mentioned in the video is that a horse track was once on the land surronding the house. Some of the first Kentucky Derby winners came from the Forks.

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Gum Job

Some dirty fucking hippie actor writing sense.

Donald Sutherland: Stand Up, Max Baucus:

"It must finally be clear to us all that the stumbling block to successful health/disease care reform has been definitively reduced to two words. They're not 'public option' or 'single payer', they're 'Max Baucus'.

He was not elected to eliminate the Democratic Majority in the Finance Committee, but that's what he's done. It was not mandated that he exclude a representative expert on single payer from his 15-person advisory board but that's what he did. More than that, he's filled his campaign coffers with millions of dollars of Insurance Company money, for heaven's sake. Fine that he sits there holding the president's suit coat at that town hall meeting, great that he gets identified by the president a bunch of times. Great, because now we can all have a good look at who he is, sitting there squirming in the spotlight."

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It ain't all like the shitty traditional media is painting it to be.

Anecdotal, but a good read.

Daily Kos: A Small-town Texas Town Hall:

"A brief round of applause interrupted him, after which he continued, 'As far as peace goes, it seems to me that we ought to be defending ourselves when we’re attacked, not when there’s something we want out of somebody. As for justice, I’d sure as Hell like to see justice brought down on those people who’ve tried their best to ruin this country. I think any person that’s been shown to break the law, whether it’s a banker or a politician, they ought to be prosecuted and brought to justice.'"

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Damn Commies!

I want to be a commie, too.

Europe versus America: Do Longer Holidays Translate to Greater Productivity? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

For all their extra vacation days as compared with the US, workers in the EU are keeping pace -- or better -- in terms of productivity.

Much of Europe closes up shop in August. From steelworkers in Spain to technology consultants in Germany, the European Union's workers head for the coast or other vacation hot spots, forgoing the sweltering heat of Europe's cities for some rest and relaxation.

Europeans on average pocket almost 10 more vacation days than their US counterparts. That's the findings from research by consultants at Mercer, which analyzed the minimum number of vacation days that companies across Europe must provide to staff with 10 years' service, as well as the number of national holidays in each country.

The study reveals the average time off in European Union countries is now 34.4 days, compared with just 25 in the US. Overall, employees in Lithuania are entitled to the greatest amount of paid leave, with 41 holidays per year. France and Finland come a close second, with 40.

"In Europe, time off is enshrined in government legislation, so employers are forced to hire more staff to cover the gaps," says Matthew Hunt, a principal in Mercer's international team. "The US takes a different view; there's a focus on maintaining productivity."

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Drive-By Truckers:

"I never knew how it all got started
a problem with Holland before we were born
and I don’t know the name of that boy we tied down
and beat till he just couldn’t walk anymore.
But I know the caliber in Daddy’s chest
and I know what Holland Hill drives.
The state let him go, but I guess it was best
cause nobody needs all us Lawsons alive."

Reported riot in Marion, Ala., brought under control; 5 arrested - Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com:

"State Trooper John Reese said children of the 2 feuding families began arguing at the high school this morning and shotguns were found in their cars."

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I'm just surprised that a woman from South Carolina had 13 teeth in her mouth to pull.

Hey-oh!

Woman awarded $2M after dentist pulls 16 teeth:

"A South Carolina woman has won a $2 million jury verdict against a dental clinic that mistakenly pulled 13 teeth. The State reported that 28-year-old Elizabeth Smith wanted three teeth pulled when she went to the Sexton Dental Clinic in Florence in 2006. Her lawsuit said a dentist at the clinic pulled all 16 of her upper teeth."

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Bring it. I'm ready for science fiction to become science reality regardless of the hell it could potentially release.

Life to order: Man-made organisms will be here in four months, say biologists | Mail Online:

"Artificial life will be made to order in the laboratory within four months, a controversial biologist has claimed.

U.S genome expert Craig Venter, said his team have overcome a vital obstacle in the development of new man-made organisms.

The scientist, named as one of the most influential people in the world, said the first 'synthetic species' could be created this year."

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Next Week on 'Death Panels'......

What Duncan says:

Eschaton:

"Deep Thought

Nobody could've predicted that electing a black man president would drive this country completely fucking insane."

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This is hilarious and point on. Must read.

Commie Countries 101.

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Not All Socialist Countries are Alike:

"The really weird thing about Canada is, even though the government is paying the bill, they aren't actually providing the health care itself. Instead, they have private doctors for that, just like we do here.

I know this might be confusing for some of you, so let's try an analogy. This is a VISA card:"

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Yup. Damn Limey Commies killing their genius cripples. Just like our death panels will do.

Man, I sure would like the head job on that 'death panel'. I could do some real good for the world.

Stephen Hawking: "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS.":

"When Investor's Business Daily attempted to scare readers away from 'socialized medicine' by claiming Stephen Hawking wouldn't be alive today if he relied on the British health care system, they neglected a couple of things. 1) Hawking does rely on the British National Health Service. 2) Hawking can speak for himself.

'I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS,' he told us. 'I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.'"

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Well, then, VPILF seems to have been creating her own 'death panels' in that job she just upped and quit on .

Troubled Alaska health programs face federal restriction: Health | adn.com:

"State programs intended to help disabled and elderly Alaskans with daily life -- taking a bath, eating dinner, getting to the bathroom -- are so poorly managed, the state cannot assure the health and well-being of the people they are supposed to serve, a new federal review found.

The situation is so bad the federal government has forbidden the state to sign up new people until the state makes necessary improvements.

No other state in the nation is under such a moratorium, according to a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services."

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For it before he was against it.

Matt Taibbi - Taibblog – Newt Gingrich Changes What’s Left of his Mind on End-of-life Care - True/Slant:

"He’s pretty unequivocal here. Well, what happens when suddenly the Republican party decides it wants to scare the shit out of a bunch of old people by telling them the new health care bill is going to include a provision in which “death panels” ask them “when they want to die”? Now all of the sudden Gingrich is violently against the same programs he was so windily praising earlier this year."

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4 B4 against.

Daily Kos: Dubya's 1999 Texas "death panel"

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Neat.

NASA Spacecraft Reveals Mysterious Object Punching Through One Of Saturn's Rings:

"What is going on with Saturn's rings? It appears that recent images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal what seems to be a small object that has ripped through one of the planet's otherwise flat rings. The purpose of the NASA mission, the BBC explains, was to observe 'an equinox on Saturn, in a bid to learn more about the gas giant's ring system.'

Discover Magazine's take on it:"

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China or Bust

At least we'll have health care under our future overlords.

China plans universal health care - The New York Times:

"BEIJING — China announced that it intended to spend $123 billion by 2011 to establish universal health care for the country's 1.3 billion people.

The plan was passed Wednesday at a session of the State Council, the Chinese cabinet. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao presided.

Xinhua, the state news agency, said the authorities would 'take measures within three years to provide basic medical security to all Chinese in urban and rural areas, improve the quality of medical services and make medical services more accessible and affordable for ordinary people.'"

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Or, hell, just move to it.

The air sucks, but the food is the best.

Shut Out at Home, Americans Seek Opportunity in China - NYTimes.com

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Ammo to fight Teh Stoopid.

Daily Kos: ACTION: Stop Health Care Town Hall Disruptions In Their Tracks

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Yup.

Op-Ed Columnist - Averting the Worst - NYTimes.com:

"So it seems that we aren’t going to have a second Great Depression after all. What saved us? The answer, basically, is Big Government."

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Great viral email being passed around at the moment:

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.

I'm a conservative Shithead.

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