DBT Week in Review - 4/22/11

Eyes Above It

Check out my new project. Full website to accompany the social media sites in the works.

Eyes Above it:

http://www.facebook.com/EyesAboveIt

http://www.twitter.com/EyesAboveIt

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DBT!

Drive-By Truckers perform on Sound Opinions | WBEZ

QRO Magazine - Album Reviews � Drive-By Truckers : Go-Go Boots

Jack McBrayer and Drive-By Truckers Big To-Do Monkey Slate T-Shirt - Coolspotters

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Lera Lynn

You gotta get Lera Lynn's new record if you don't have it. Fabu.

LERA LYNN // HAPPY EVER AFTER on Vimeo

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NQ Arbuckle

My favorite Canadian band, who will be opening a show for DBT later this year, doing a couple of in-studio songs.

CMT.ca : Country Music Television : The Dakota Sessions

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Machinery of the Night

Muscle Shoals Electronica? Damn right.

Machinery of the Night :: Muscle Shoals Electronica

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Glossary

Glossary will be performing at Secret Stages in AL. This line-up is incredible. Thanks to jeremyarc7 on Twitter for the heads. up.

Lineup | Secret Stages 2011

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Music

Snoop Dogg urges fellow artists to 'tweet' : SFGate: Daily Dish:

"He says, 'I feel it's the number one key in music right now. Having that relationship with fans where it's not based on your record label, it's based on you. When you are tweeting, it's not about what label you're on, it's about you dealing with your fans directly."

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Massoud Abu Assir, Libyan Rebel Guitarist Plays On Outskirts Of Ajdabiya

David Kusek: Musicians May Be Owed Billions in Unpaid Digital Music Royalties

PBR Fixie Up For Grabs | Uptown Almanac

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Drunkest Cities

We're number 3! We're number 3!

Drunkest Cities - Galleries - The Daily Beast

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A little something for your imaginative awe:

Gigantic Storm With Huge Tail Erupts on Saturn | Wired Science | Wired.com

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And little something for you sleepy-time nightmares:

Kayakers recount deadly crocodile attack in Congo - Yahoo! News:

"With no time to do anything but say 'Oh, my God!' Coetzee was gone, hauled beneath the green water never to be seen again."

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What we need is more WikiLeaks

And that's the truth, Ron Paul. Assange is a modern day Robin Hood.

Ron Paul: ‘What we need is more WikiLeaks’ | Raw Story:

"“In a free society we're supposed to know the truth,” Paul insisted. “In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it."

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Not sure this is gonna work.... squirrel is scary, though.

Drunken squirrel to scare Russians off vodka : Hot Topics

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Please never let me get in a double-dog-dare situation with one of these.

World’s hottest pepper is ‘hot enough to strip paint’ - Yahoo! News:

"'It numbs your tongue, then burns all the way down,' he told the paper. 'It can last an hour, and you just don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. But it's a marvelous endorphin rush. It makes you feel great.'"

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In another life I would be a storm chaser.

Jaw-dropping image of enormous 'supercell' cloud in Glasgow, Montana | Mail Online

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DBT Week in Review - 11/5/10

DBT!

Drive-by Truckers’ New Video, Free Download And ‘Go-Go Boots’ Release Date � Street Date

Drive-By Truckers, Bobby Bare Jr. put on an energetic show | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Austin Film Festival, day eight: The Secret To A Happy Ending is, in fact, an ending� | Film | The A.V. Club Austin

Drive-By Truckers | Pollstar - The Concert Hotwire

YouTube - David Lowery Interviews Patterson Hood, Part 1

YouTube - David Lowery Interviews Patterson Hood, Part 2

YouTube - PATTERSON HOOD DEEP GROOVE RECORDS 10 30 2010

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Wes Freed

A Ghostly Wine Fit For Halloween | My Fabulous World In Wine

Facebook | Wes Freed's Photos - For Sale:

"We're awful proud of this Big To-Do book here at the Shop. It's got illustrations for every song from the B T-D , along with poster art , lyrics , excellent band photos by Danny Clinch , Pattersons insightful liner notes , and forewords by Ray McKinnon & No Depression editor Grant Alden. It is available now , signed (by me) , for $15 , including shipping (US).
Git ye some!

Contact Wes to place an order:

freed@mindspring.com

Also , to order a BT-D book , just send a check or MO , $15 (US) payable to Jyl Freed , to : the Freeds 1902 S. Battery Dr. Richmond , Va 23222, & I'll get one right out to you! Thanks,-Wes"

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Slobberbone/Lucero/Maddow

The Maddow Blog - Rachel's song today: Lucero's 'The War':

"As an advanced means of procrastinating over the segment I got assigned, I asked Rachel to name a song she loved. She wrote back, 'Placemat Blues.' The first person to find a video of that Slobberbone song wins some sort of imaginary prize not yet dreamed up.

Rachel, being game, sent some more -- including this one, which I'm posting, from Lucero."

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Music

Meh.

HEAR IT: Amy Winehouse Returns with New Cover! | SPIN.com

Bet not meh.

Lost Ray Charles & Johnny Cash duet found in storage : SFGate: Daily Dish

Oh, Alcohol. Is there anything you can't do?

Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine - Yahoo! Canada News

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False Equivalencies

Again, if you get your news from the TV, you are not being informed.

Conservatives/Fox has all of the traditional media so cowed at being called 'liberal' (meaning conducting actual journalism and letting the facts fall as they may) that they are forever pushing these bullshit false equivalencies.

There is no Rush equivalent on the left. There is no Beck equivalent on the left. There is not FAUX News equivalent on the left.

Calling Out Anderson Coopers False Left/Right Equivilency

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Another case in point. Dollars to donuts, after this vapors session on those dirty, dirty bloggers, I'm sure the next story by on CNN was based upon an 'unnamed administration official'.

Turn off the TV news if you want to be informed.

It isn't 'news', its 'advertisement'.

CNN anchors attack the scourge of anonymity - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

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This response is a thing of beauty:

Sick of Republican Forwarded Viral E-Mails (UPDATE: A Response)

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The Raw Story | Drinking edges up in US, with beer still favorite:

"There was also a marked difference in drinking habits by education, with college graduates topping people with a high school degree or less by 79 to 58 percent respectively.

Income also mirrored drinking levels, with 81 percent of people making 75,000 dollars per year saying they drank, followed in descending order by lower incomes until only 46 percent of those making less than 20,000 dollars said they drank.

And religion also had a bearing with people attending church regularly drinking the least -- 61 percent of Protestants, 78 percent of Catholics -- compared to 80 percent of non-religious people.

Finally, the Gallup poll found that beer was still the preferred drink of Americans (41 percent), followed by wine (32 percent) and liquor (21 percent)."

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Moon over Birmingham.

Birmingham's Vulcan emerges as long-shot basketball star; guy sinks ball from atop statue (with video) | al.com

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Takes a toll on Nation

There's a good metaphor for America\ in this story, I'm just too weary to dig it out. (Though, NC has no business being in the 'wine' business. That shit is horrible. Not even worthy of purple drank).

Weedkiller takes a toll on nation's oldest grape vine | McClatchy

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Indeed.

Daily Kos: What the **** is wrong with Republicans?:

"Are republican voters stupid? They are constantly voting against their own self interest time and time again. They buy into the republican bullshit of ONLY REPUBLICANS CARE ABOUT AMERICA.

NO THEY DON'T. Newsflash to the Republican voters: THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU. THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES AND THEIR PRECIOUS CORPORATIONS.

Jesus. Blocking a bill to help homeless veterans and their children?

I am a wife of a veteran. This is particuarly offensive to me. The fact that there exists ANY homeless veterans is a disgrace to this country. But since there is they should be helped but the Republicans block any effort to try and at least do something.

Fuck them."

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Perpetual Motion Machine | Talking Points Memo:

"Republicans block any measures to buoy or resuscitate economy, call sputtering economy evidence of superiority of Republican policies, reap political benefit. Rinse. Restart.

(Of course, help from right-leaning Dems a critical part of the equation.)"

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Eschaton:

"Depressed

Our elites are populated with significant numbers of people who truly believe that the biggest problem this country faces is that poor people have it a bit too good.

It's all very depressing."

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Still waiting on health care. This bastard bill that was passed does absolutely nothing to make health care more affordable, therefore more accessible. Every calculator I've used still prices me out even with the bullshit subsidies (or should I say Insurance bailout/buyoff money). And, the more money I make, the less I can afford it. What a deal.

So, super, you can't be denied insurance if you have a pre-existing condition. Can you afford that insurance, though?

The 2nd paragraph below is one of the stupidest things I've read in a while. Shorter "Can't afford it, but you'll have access to it".

Got a pre-existing condition? Now you can pay through the nose:

"Premiums will vary from state to state. In California, for example, the cost for a 50-year-old is estimated at $575 a month, with a $1,500 annual deductible and 15 percent co-insurance. Premiums in states with lower medical costs could be around $400 a month.

'That's still quite a lot of money, so there will be some folks who struggle to afford that,' said Marian Mulkey, health reform director for the California HealthCare Foundation. 'But it's going to mean a big jump in access.'"

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At least one good thing our gov is attempting. This has for too long been an elitist practice. Only young'uns with rich daddies get to play internship. When I was in college I had to get JOBS.

Students Chafe Under Internship Guidelines - NYTimes.com:

"But the willingness of many young people to sacrifice pay for experience has led a number of states as well as the federal government to take a close look at the legality of hiring young people to work free. In April, the Obama administration issued a fact sheet listing six criteria aimed at preventing employers from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act with their unpaid internship programs. Among the stipulations: that the training the intern receives must be similar to training that can be obtained in an educational setting, that unpaid interns don’t displace a paid employee, and that the employer does not derive any “benefit” from the intern’s work."

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Reason 1, 893,078 why we should let this hapless animal slip into history.

Panda in Chinese zoo accidentally crushes its cub

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Was it just a dream.....

Was it just a crazy dream....

15 hours of travel back to the CA yesterday. Slowly but surely returning to the land of the blogging. Should full bore a couple of days.

Lots of pictures and video to edit from DBT's Athen's shows. Stay tuned.

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After last weekend, I should be cancer free for 5 lifetimes:

Why beer is the latest hope in fight against cancer | Mail Online:

"It might be your preference to crack open a bottle of red wine at the end of a hard day but you may be better off pouring a pint.

Researchers at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg have discovered that beer contains a powerful molecule that helps protect against breast and prostate cancers"

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Martini

It is gonna take a while for this to get old.

A decade's worth of pent up sporting angst.

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Some of these are guffaw hilarious.

The Funniest Facebook Snafus Of All Time (PICTURES)

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Just when you think NorCal couldn't be any more beautiful.... it snows.

Rare dusting of snow at low elevations

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Loves me a martini.... a real martini... with gin. Not that I should have to state that, but all too often when I ask a bartender for a martini they ask 'Vodka'?. Hell no, not Vodka! If I wanted a Vodka martini I would ask for a Vodka martini. Martini's are made with gin. Ummm gin.

Martinis - it's all about technique

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Sick of being sold out by Democrats. Can you tell?

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Engorged Expenses

I think if more women got more hardcore about regulating the peen in the manner that old, bad hair white men want to regulate the va-jay-jay, then a lot of this ridiculousness would stop.

Hullabaloo:

"I don't want my tax dollars touching even one milimeter of that overly engorged expense.

I realize that many people disagree with my moral objections to men getting erections which God clearly doesn't want them to get, but my principles on this are more important to me than theirs are to them. So too bad. If you want a boner, pay for it yourself.

And I think those noxious advertisements for the drugs should be banned as well, if only for aesthetic reasons. Having to watch my baby boomer fellows wail 'Viva Viagra' is offensive to anyone who has any taste in music."

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Do these people vett anything at all?

GOP bigwigs’ health insurance covers elective abortions: report

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Good for this kid.

I've always had a weird feeling about the pledge even when I was a wee lad.

Isn't 'pledging your allegiance' to a political state kinda, well, anti-freedom?

10-Year-Old Won't Pledge Allegiance To A Country That Discriminates Against Gays:

"'I've always tried to analyze things because I want to be lawyer,' Will said. 'I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all.'"

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He's getting some support in his local rag, which is nice.

Hey, kid, you’d better make that pledge�|�Arkansas News:

The Pledge of Allegiance was cooked up by a Baptist fellow in 1892 and subsequently promoted in youth publications for recitation by school children. It is, of course, not anything our founders envisioned and is, in fact, kind of antithetical to our very principle of constitutionally guaranteed liberty.

You cannot force somebody to promise fealty in this gloriously free country.

Having our little kids stand up in public school and salute a piece of cloth to vow faithfulness to their nation is harmless in nearly all cases, like a rhythmic and memorized child’s prayer before meals or at bedtime.

But a mass forced pledging of nationalistic allegiance is, when you really think about it, a perversion of the greater notion that we love and support our country by our own choice and for the very freedoms it grants us, including the freedom not to have to spew officially required words or mantras or chants."

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D.C. should tell 'em to get bent. Government and religion do not mix.

We need to start taxing the shit out of churches.

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum on same-sex marriage issue:

"Peter Rosenstein of the Campaign for All D.C. Families accused the church of trying to 'blackmail the city.'

'The issue here is they are using public funds, and to allow people to discriminate with public money is unacceptable,' Rosenstein said.

Rosenstein and other gay rights activists have strong support on the council. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the judiciary committee, said the council 'will not legislate based on threats.'

'The problem with the individual exemption is anybody could discriminate based on their assertion of religious principle,' Mendelson said. 'There were many people back in the 1950s and '60s, during the civil rights era, that said separation of the races was ordained by God.'"

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Yawn. Another day, another FAUX lie.

Fox News host falsifies footage to make GOP protest look bigger

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Nice little racket they go going there.

US defense contractors pay insurgents millions, report says :

"'In this grotesque carnival, the US military's contractors are forced to pay suspected insurgents to protect American supply routes,' Roston writes. 'It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the US government funds the very forces American troops are fighting. And it is a deadly irony, because these funds add up to a huge amount of money for the Taliban.

'It's a big part of their income,' a top Afghan government security official purportedly told told The Nation."

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Wow.

Rockslide In Tennessee Caught On Tape (VIDEO)

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This is pretty cool. Never knew about this until this weekend.

Dock Ellis' LSD No-Hitter Retold In New VIDEO

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Yes, you can have fries with that as long as you get in the back of the car, honey.

Woman who mistook cop for Sonic car hop faces DUI

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Blockheads

I no longer have any faith that any effective health care policy will pass.

I'm baffled as to why I can not be covered by a public option. It ain't public if only 2 percent are eligible.

You know what 'freedom' really is? It is not having to work for a goddamn corporation in order to have health insurance.

But, then again, there are 3 types of lies: Lies, damn lies and statistics. - Twain.

Public Option Plan Will Cover Few Americans, New Statistic Reveals:

"WASHINGTON — What's all the fuss about? After all the noise over Democrats' push for a government insurance plan to compete with private carriers, coverage numbers are finally in: Two percent.

That's the estimated share of Americans younger than 65 who'd sign up for the public option plan under the health care bill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is steering toward House approval."

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Jesus-Fucking-Christ.

I'll be cool with this if these 'prayer healings' are the ONLY type of health care Christians get to receive. I'll pay for that. Damn right.

Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatments -- latimes.com:

"little-noticed measure would put Christian Science healing sessions on the same footing as clinical medicine. Critics say it violates the separation of church and state."

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Enjoy, douche. And Welcome.

Think Progress � Former McCain adviser nervous about moving into the individual health insurance market he once touted.:

"Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior policy adviser to Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign, “remains unemployed — and his COBRA health coverage is running out,” the Washington Post reports. “Irony of ironies, it gets worse. Holtz-Eakin, who is about to start shopping for insurance on the individual market, is 51. And he has one of those pesky ‘preexisting conditions’ that insurance companies often cite in denying coverage”:

Holtz-Eakin said he’s been paying about $1,000 a month to extend the private health insurance he received on McCain’s campaign through the government’s COBRA program, but that will expire in a few months. This is the first time in his life he has not had employer-provided health coverage. “I worry about where I go next in the way many Americans do,” he said."

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Some goodness... but not near enough. These were the gimmes that come with winning the office. Too be expected.

Democrats' Quiet Changes Pile Up - WSJ.com:

"Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), a conservative leader in the House, concedes that, in some cases, Republicans are being outflanked. 'The administration is pushing so many things so rapidly it's difficult to concentrate on all of them,' he said."

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You raised one of these 'extreme blockheads', asshole.

Nice work.

Gorbachev: Bush 41 called Reagan ‘extreme,’ said GOP supporters ‘blockheads’ :

"Vice President George H. W. Bush confided in Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that he believed Ronald Reagan was an 'extreme conservative' supported by 'blockheads and dummies,' the former Soviet leader claims.

'In 1987, after my first visit to the United States, Vice President Bush accompanied me to the airport, and told me: 'Reagan is a conservative. An extreme conservative. All the blockheads and dummies are for him, and when he says that something is necessary, they trust him. But if some Democrat had proposed what Reagan did, with you, they might not have trusted him,'' Gorbachev said in an interview with The Nation."

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Well, well, well.

Report: Racy sex tape ends Prejean’s lawsuit against beauty pageant:

"Carrie Prejean, the dethroned Miss California 2009 who stirred up controversy by expressing her views against gay marriage, has dropped her lawsuit against the Miss California contest because of an 'extremely graphic' sex tape, says a report at the celebrity gossip site TMZ.

'Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials -- that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork,' the Web site reported."

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Alcohol abuse.

A fork lift driver in Moscow was sampling too much of his own product when he drunkenly plowed his vehicle into the stock shelves of vodka and cognac in the storeroom where he worked. The result was a spectacular crash in which $150,000 worth of liquor rained down around him. Amazingly, he escaped with nothing but a leg injury. We doubt he can say the same for his job."

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Net Neutrality

If M and H posted everyday, I just might keep a hard link at the top of each of my posts.

They are that good.

Margaret and Helen:

"Dick Cheney has had four heat attacks. He underwent four-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting in 1988, coronary artery stenting in November 1994, and urgent coronary balloon angioplasty in December 1994. He has been treated for popliteal artery aneurysms, deep-vein thrombosis, atrial fibrillation, and most recently back problems. I wonder what his out-of-pocket expenses were. I wonder if he even cares?

Universal Healthcare in the wealthiest country on earth should have been a no brainer. And speaking of a no brainer…"

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'Cause one post just isn't enough.

Michele Bachmann’s wheel is still spinning, but the hamster is dead. � Margaret and Helen:

"Margaret, I know it has been a few years since we last made the trip across the pond, but I was wondering if anyone is still alive in Europe? I watched a little bit of Fox News this weekend and I’m afraid everyone in Europe might have died from lack of access to healthcare. What a shame. They had such delicious food and beautiful art."

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Telecoms are coming out swinging on Net Neutrality. Our job is to keep the heat on our Congress people.

Net Cemetery | The New Republic:

"This kind of discrimination threatens one of the most distinctive features of the Internet: the fact that there is no easy way to discriminate among different kinds of content, just as the electrical grid doesn’t ask whether your TV set is made by Sony or Panasonic. But, in recent years, that distinctive feature has been threatened. We now live in a world where the technology for watching what people do with their data packets is sophisticated enough to give a company like Comcast the ability to decide which packets can be shuffled into slower or faster traffic lanes, depending on what its business model dictates. And, in addition to having the technical ability to discriminate, Internet providers now have the legal authority to do so. In the 2005 Brand X decision, the Supreme Court ruled that cable broadband providers were not a 'telecommunications service' but an 'information service,' and, therefore, were freer to keep competitors off the network."

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Nothing to see here, folks.

Dawn Teo: "Kill Obama" Painted On Phoenix-Area Campaign Signs

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Good Democrat. Good boy!

Rep. Skelton To Rep. Akin: "Stick It Up Your Ass":

"WASHINGTON — Show me some civility, Republicans cried Friday after a Missouri congressman speaking on the House floor was caught on microphone apparently cussing out a fellow Missourian.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., had just finished addressing his Republican colleague Todd Akin Thursday.

Skelton then turned to the side and muttered 'stick it up your ass.'"

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Violent encounter. Check. Regrettable sex. Check.

Study urges parents to give kids booze allowance | Raw Story:

"LONDON — Parents should give their teenage children a weekly alcohol allowance at home, to help them avoid falling into the country's notorious binge-drinking culture, a study recommended Friday.

It said banning teenagers from drinking alcohol risked pushing them to buy cheap booze on the street and get into more trouble.

Health authorities have long sought to promote a more 'continental' European attitude to drinking, as opposed to the heavy boozing which brings chaos to many town centres on weekend nights.

The result of the drinking culture was reflected in the new study's findings: some 30 percent of teenagers surveyed said they have experienced violence while drunk, and 12.5 percent reported having had sexual encounters they regretted."

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A website for liars. Aren't there about a billion of these in existence?

IJustMadeLove.com: Tell The World Where, How You Had Sex (PHOTOS)

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Blame America Firsters

In which Hell freezes over.... or....

'....Lyin' sacks of shit'

Sessions: I Could Support Pro-Choice Or Gay Supreme Court Nominee (VIDEO):

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The 'Blame America First' crowd in action:

Less than two-thirds of southerners and Republicans pledge allegiance to the USA

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Northern Alabama.... blazing into the 20th century.

House supports draft beer proposal | TimesDaily.com | Florence, AL

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It is nice that there are those Democrats who are telling Reid to 'suck it'.

Update: Reporter says Specter wasn’t joking about endorsing Coleman:

"UPDATE 2: The Democratic leader in the Senate promised Sen. Arlen Specter he would retain his seniority when he jumped from the Republican to the Democratic party, Specter told CNN Wednesday, but faced “pushback” from other Democratic senators.

“Sen. (Harry) Reid said that I would maintain my committee assignments and that my seniority would be established as if I’d been elected in 1980 as a Democrat,” the long-serving Pennsylvania senator told CNN’s Dana Bash.

The full Senate voted Tuesday to strip Specter of his seniority, dropping him to the bottom of the pile on every committee he sits on."

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I guess a 'myth' wouldn't mind my foot in his ass, then, would he.

Fuck that guy.

Margaret Carlson: Rove ‘really rattled’ by Obama:

"Former White House adviser Karl Rove admitted during a debate about “the partisan divide” in Washington on Monday that the atmosphere is “poisonous,” but he refused to take any personal responsibility for the situation.

“The atmosphere in Washington D.C. is too poisonous and has been for the last 16 years,” Rove stated. However, when asked about his own role in creating this divisiveness, he responded, “I’m a myth.”"

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More shitty Democrats.

I mean, really. Your kid shouldn't be watching TV anyway.

Congressman: No Viagra before 10 p.m. � - Blogs from CNN.com:

"WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former presidential candidate Robert Dole made headlines as a pitchman for Viagra, and now a decade later a Virginia congressman wants to limit the time when ads for this and similar products can air.

Last month, Democratic Rep. Jim Moran introduced the 'Families for ED Advertising Decency Act,' which prevents erectile dysfunction and male enhancement ads from appearing on radio and television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

'This [the advertisements] is an intrusion into our daily lives that I believe has become inappropriate.' Moran said in an interview with CNN. 'There is a saturation of the television airwaves with these E.D. ads, and they have gotten more pervasive, more blunt, and less subtle.'"

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These kids are alright.

Young Americans Losing Their Religion - ABC News:

"New research shows young Americans are dramatically less likely to go to church -- or to participate in any form of organized religion -- than their parents and grandparents."

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Vindication!

Minneapolis Life in the Cubicle Examiner: The seven habits of highly effective slackers

There is a common misperception in the workplace that effective and productive people fit into the go-getter, proactive, or highly organized mold. While it may be true that these people are often rewarded for their seemingly productive ways, their productivity levels are actually well below those of the effective slacker.

Go-getters are always busy but they only focus on tasks that get noticed by executives. These tasks are usually highly visible but rarely important to the success of the company.

Proactive types are also always busy but their proactiveness leads to an eventual interference of completing higher priority work.

Highly organized employees waste their lives away inside Microsoft Project and their FranklinCovey weekly planner.

On the other hand, the effective slacker quietly performs all the duties required of him perfectly and quickly. An effective slacker always delivers on time, usually because they had it done months ago and made sure no one else was aware. Regardless, the effective slacker is the invisible engine of Fortune 500 corporations. Without them, large organizations are just a large stack of cards waiting to crumble.

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And speaking of slacking....

Though it is a Zogby poll which mean these numbers could be totally pulled out of John Zogby's ass.

Majority Of Americans Want Pot Legalized: Zogby Poll:

"A majority of Americans, in a poll released Wednesday, say it 'makes sense to tax and regulate' marijuana. The Zogby poll, commissioned by the conservative-leaning O'Leary Report, surveyed 3,937 voters and found 52 percent in favor of legalization. Only 37 percent opposed."

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Facebook Vampires

What Kos says about Specter.

I would have much rather ran a progressive (who would have won) than have Specter as a Dem from PA.

WH may have cut a 'no primary opponent' deal but that doesn't mean jack shit if someone wants to run. The netroots will fund him/her so screw all of the national Dem orgs.

It is not like Specter is going to be a 60th vote or anything.

The only good thing about this is watching Republican heads explode.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"In some ways, Specter's switch doesn't give us anything much. As his statement says, he's not switching back on EFCA, he won't be a reliable Democratic vote, and he'll probably duke it out with Lieberman to be the most obnoxious anti-Democratic voice from within the caucus.

On the other hand, he was going to lose his primary and we'd easily pick up the seat against Toomey, giving us a real Democrat in that seat. Doesn't seem like a great deal.

This move is about political survival, and nothing more. Specter's overriding concern is staying in the Senate, and he'll bend whatever conviction is necessary to make that happen. And since it was clear he wasn't going to survive a primary challenge, well, he did what he needed to do. I wouldn't be surprised, if the Dems pick up a good primary challenger to Specter, for the incumbent to suddenly re-find religion on EFCA. It's not as if Specter believes in anything beyond his title and choice parking spot near the Capitol."

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Blood is on your hands Beck/Hannity/et al.

Joshua Cartwright, Cop-Killing Gunman, "Severely Disturbed" Over Obama's Election:

"The couple started brawling in their Florida apartment. Elizabeth managed to escape and get herself to a hospital and call the police, but Joshua didn't stop raging until after he had killed two sheriff's deputies at a gun range, and police officers shot him dead.

According to the police report, Elizabeth Cartwright said her husband 'believed that the US Government was conspiring against him. She said he had been severely disturbed that Barack Obama had been elected President.'"

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Damn, damn, damn. Didn't know about this. Damn!

Winery creates buzz with dream job offer:

"(04-28) 19:57 PDT -- The dream job offer is this: Get paid $10,000 a month for six months to drink wine, learn and talk about wine, eat good food, live rent free in Healdsburg and play the occasional game of poker with a laid-back staff."

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I left you behind for a reason.

The vampires of Facebook / Could it actually be dangerous to connect with everyone you ever knew?:

"From an energy perspective, Facebook is a goddamn cord-makin' wonderland, a sort of psychic Grand Central, the place where psychic energy goes to jack itself back into the mainframe. It's tens of millions of people peeking and poking and peering into the lives of those they know, those they want to know, those they like or love or hate or begrudge or secretly want to peel the pants from and lick like a popsicle in summer.

It's a notion that struck me as I realized that nearly everyone who's ever played a reasonably significant role in my life, both past and present, has since found and reconnected with me, initially via email through the digital reach of this very column over the years, but now far more actively and vividly through my Facebook profile (or, to a lesser extent, my Twitter feed). It's sort of stunning, really.

Old girlfriends, lost loves, long-forgotten friends, high school sweethearts, band mates, roommates, old nemeses, lots of former cheerleaders turned born-again Christian megamoms, and everything in between. All those old connections, those lives and chapters and periods of my life I thought I'd left behind so cleanly, so decisively, way back when? Here they all are again, like a living scrapbook, constantly renewing and updating itself. What a thing."

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Now THIS is how one goes about a bender.

Laid-off Russian stuns doctors with drinking bout:

"MOSCOW (AFP) – Russians are no strangers to vodka, but a binge by one laid-off factory worker who consumed an estimated eight bottles in a session had even seasoned doctors gasping in astonishment."

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What a fool does in the end, the wise do in the beginning.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. April Fools.

April, May, June, July.... you see where I'm going here.... Fools:

Filibusters skyrocket under Republican minority in 110th Congress.

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Good Dem, Webb.

Webb Crime Bill Gets Unlikely Support:

"Webb couches the effort in fairly straightforward terms. 'Let's start with a premise that I don't think a lot of Americans are aware of. We have five percent of the world's population; we have 25 percent of the world's known prison population,' Webb said on the Senate floor when introducing the bill.

'There are only two possibilities here: either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.'"

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This is very weirdly cool. I want to see what this kid can do when he grows up.

CTV.ca | Rare condition gives toddler super strength:

"'I would hold him up by his hands and he would lift himself into an iron cross. That's when we were like, 'Whoa, this is weird,'' Hoekstra said.

Liam has a rare genetic condition called myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy, or muscle enlargement. The condition promotes above-normal growth of the skeletal muscles; it doesn't affect the heart and has no known negative side effects, according to experts.

Liam has the kind of physical attributes that bodybuilders and other athletes dream about: 40 percent more muscle mass than normal, jaw-dropping strength, breathtaking quickness, a speedy metabolism and almost no body fat.

In fitness buffs' terms, the kid is ripped."

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I never knew that Lloyd Wright's son created Lincoln Logs.

mental_floss Blog � The Quick 10: How 10 Classic Toys Were Invented:

"1. Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright’s son. The original instructions included a how to construct a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s cabin, but also how to construct Uncle Tom’s cabin.

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Inspiration snuffed out by the man.

Ohio man charged with drunken driving on bar stool

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Great to be Alive - Happy Birthday Hood!

A big-ass Happy Birthday to Patterson Hood!

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I'm having a very difficult time accepting that BSG is over.

Fingers crossed that the spin-off 'Caprica' lives up to the standard.

How will 'Battlestar Galactica' void be filled?:

"An executive at another ad-supported cable channel once wisely said that if 'BSG' had another million dollars to spend on each episode it wouldn't be any good. What he meant was that tight budgets forced the writers to shy away from stereotypical space battles and bluster, focusing more closely on the actual storytelling. And that's precisely why 'BSG' managed to appeal to mainstream TV audiences and not just sci-fi fans. The series deftly balanced the kind of mythology that fuels sci-fi fans with dramatic arcs that enthralled admirers of more terrestrial fare."

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Very interesting read.

LET IT DIE: Rushkoff on the economy | ARTHUR MAGAZINE - WE FOUND THE OTHERS:

"I started writing a book three years ago through which I hoped to help people see the artificial and ultimately dehumanizing landscape of corporatism on which we conduct so much of our lives. It’s not just that I saw the downturn coming—it’s that I feared it wouldn’t come quickly or clearly enough to help us wake up from the self-destructive fantasy of an eternally expanding economic frontier. The planet, and its people, were being taxed beyond their capacity to produce. Try arguing that to a banker whose livelihood is based on perpetuating that illusion, or to people whose retirement incomes depend on just one more generation falling for the scam."
.......

An economy based on an interest-bearing centralized currency must grow to survive, and this means extracting more, producing more and consuming more. Interest-bearing currency favors the redistribution of wealth from the periphery (the people) to the center (the corporations and their owners). Just sitting on money—capital—is the most assured way of increasing wealth. By the very mechanics of the system, the rich get richer on an absolute and relative basis.

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Fuck Dick Cheney.

Obama fires back at Cheney on 60 Minutes:

"'... The vice president is eager to defend a legacy that was unsustainable,' said Obama, characterizing Cheney's politics as a line of thought which 'has done incredible damage to our image and position in the world.'

'I fundamentally disagree with Dick Cheney,' said Obama. 'Not surprisingly. You know, I think that Vice President Cheney has been at the head of a movement whose notion is somehow that we can't reconcile our core values, our constitution, our belief that we don't torture, with our national security interests. I think he's drawing the wrong lesson from history. The facts don't bear him out.

'I think he is ... That attitude, that philosophy has done incredible damage to our image and position in the world. I mean, the fact of the matter is, after all these years, how many convictions actually came out of Guantanamo? How many ... How many terrorists have actually been brought to justice under the philosophy that is being promoted by Vice President Cheney? It hasn't made us safer."

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Barry the KopBuster adventures at SXSW.

The Raw Story � Barry the Luminary:

"Barry was pissed, in a manner of speaking.

'Hey, you know who I am, right?' he barked. 'I'm Barry Cooper. I make a living off busting cops.'

One of the officers stopped in his tracks. 'Yeah, I know who you are,' he said. 'I've seen your videos.'

'Good!' Barry yelled back. 'I'm going to run for Texas Attorney General. You better enjoy this while you can 'cause when I'm running the show, pulling sh*t like this will get your asses fired!'"

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Very cool.

Teens capture images of space with �56 camera and balloon - Telegraph

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Really, not good for anyone involved.

Suspected drunk driver rams home, exposes pot farm

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Sexy Weed

If you didn't see it, watch Stewart hand Cramer his ass.

Stewart to Cramer: 'It's not a f**king game'

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Don't they do this in China? Isn't China a Communist country? Wouldn't this be a form of socialism?

Oh, Newt.

Pay teenagers not to get pregnant, Republican says:

"The man who dubbed Vice President Joe Biden a socialist last September for arguing that paying taxes is 'patriotic' appears to have some government redistribution ideas of his own.

Newt Gingrich, often cited as a Republican prospect for president in 2012, says the state should consider paying teenager girls not to get pregnant."

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Typical rough day for a Republican.

Getting his ass beaten with a guitar is a nice twist.

Police report: Skoien with two prostitutes :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicago Crime:

"Inverness Police say former Cook County Republican Chairman Gary Skoien admitted having two prostitutes in his children’s playroom when his wife walked in on him early Sunday morning.

The allegation is in a domestic battery report from Skoien, 55, against his 36-year-old, 5-foot-4-inch, 110-pound wife. He said she beat him with her fists and an electric guitar."

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I was wondering about all of those vapors wafting from North Alabama.

"Great Sex" Sermons Cause Controversy In Alabama:

"GOOD HOPE, Ala. — It's one thing for a church in a big city like Dallas or Atlanta to tackle the ticklish topic of sex. It blends in with the urban scene.

It's another thing when a small-town congregation puts up billboards with the phrase 'Great sex: God's way' on rural highways to promote a sermon series. You can't even legally buy beer in Cullman County, and a preacher is talking about S-E-X on Sunday morning?

Daystar Church, whose congregation has grown dramatically under pastor Jerry Lawson, has run up against the sensibilities of a conservative north Alabama community with a monthlong focus on sex."

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Move to Oregon?

'Socialize' it? Oregon may grow, tax and sell medical marijuana:

"In most states, the issue of medical marijuana is not on any legislative docket.

In Oregon however, a state which already allows medical marijuana, socializing the weed is being pitched as a bipartisan cause celebre.

Maybe socializing is the wrong word.

'House Bill 3247 would direct the state to establish and operate a marijuana production facility,' reported Oregon's KGW-TV. 'The state would control potency and pharmacy distribution.'"

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How do you make Ron Paul seem less bat shit crazy? Pair him with Stephen Baldwin.

Now don't get me wrong, Paul has some very reasoned, progressive/libertarian ideas that I agree with, one being the repeal of marijuana prohibition. Paul and I are good-good on that one.

It is only his economic/foreign policy/loving the religious fundies hypocrisy that makes him oh so bat shit crazy.

Ron Paul: Congress 'drinks a lot of alcohol' but won't legalize pot

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Alabama Icons and Assholes

Vote for DBT and Jason Isbell in today's first round!

Choose Alabama's Top Music Icon: Vote Now - Reports from The Birmingham News - al.com

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Troy King needs to be behind bars. Alabama politicians... stupid is as stupid does.

Federal Grand Jury probes actions of AG - Inside al.com - al.com:

"A federal grand jury met in Montgomery last week and according to sources close to the investigation heard testimony from a number of witnesses in what appears to be an investigation of Alabama Attorney General Troy King. King, questioned Monday, denies any knowledge of the investigation."

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George Jones?

Police: Man driving with 3 tires charged with DUI:

"Authorities charged a man with driving under the influence early Monday after police pulled him over for driving a car with only three tires. Police said an officer spotted a 27-year-old man driving without a rear passenger tire."

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Funny headline... not so funny article.

`Fight club' bouts probed at home for the retarded

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For the geeks. Can't wait to see what technology will be like in 20 years.

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No-mo-hibition

Lots and lots of articles currently floating along the etherweb regarding the repeal of marijuana prohibition.

I wonder what's the over/under for this to become a reality. 10 years?

Daily Kos: Legalizing Marijuana More Popular Than Republicans

FiveThirtyEight.com: Politics Done Right: Americans Growing Kinder to Bud

Could be sooner in California.

The very first month I lived in San Francisco back in '99 I went to see Tom Ammiano debate SF mayoral icon Willie Brown. Ammiano was on the city counsel but previous to that he was a stand-up comic. And he's gay, too. Willie isn't a slouch when it comes to a retort either. That was the most hilarious debate I've ever witnessed.

Tom is currently serving in the state legislature and he introduced this piece of loveliness yesterday. If California really takes the reigns on legalizing marijuana we could see it happen across much of the country much sooner than 10 years.

Calif. lawmaker introduces bill to legalize pot:

"Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, introduced a bill Monday that if approved by the California Legislature would put pot on the same legal footing as alcohol. Adults over the age of 21 would be allowed to buy it, and driving under the influence of marijuana would be prohibited.

Under Ammiano's proposal, which has been endorsed by some law enforcement officials, pot would be taxed at a rate of $50 per ounce and bring an estimated $1 billion into state coffers."

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Tough times call for the repeal of stupid Sunday blue laws.

Will the Recession Doom the Last Sunday Blue Laws?:

"A handful of state legislatures have declared it's closing time for Sunday alcohol sales restrictions, saying an extra day of sales could give their foundering budgets a much-needed shot of revenue. Those states - Georgia, Connecticut, Texas, Alabama and Minnesota - enjoy overwhelming voter support for an extra day of sales, but face opposition from members of the Christian right, who say that selling on Sunday undermines safety and tears apart families. 'During times of economic stress, our families are under enough pressure,' says Jim Beck, the president of the Georgia Christian Coalition. 'I don't think we need to add even more pressure to those families by passing this law.'"

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Umm, HELL NO!

GOP: ISPs, Wi-Fi Must Keep Logs For Police, Proposed Data Retention Law Covers All Internet Providers, Even Your Home Wi-Fi Access, To Combat Child Porn - CBS News:

"CNET) Republican politicians on Thursday called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points - even hotels, local coffee shops and home users - to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations.

The legislation, which echoes a measure proposed by one of their Democratic colleagues three years ago, would impose unprecedented data retention requirements on a broad swath of Internet access providers and is certain to draw fire from businesses and privacy advocates."

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When is incest not really incest? When you're in Alabama, apparently.

Not blood related. Both of age. Yet, incest.

Two charged with incest - The Times Daily | Florence, AL:

"FLORENCE - An east Florence man and his stepdaughter have been charged with incest after their sexual encounters were reportedly videotaped and photographed, authorities said.

Heather Ann Montanez, 20, 3202 Huntsville Road, Florence, and 43-year-old Kenneth John Trieber, 4702 Huntsville Road, Florence, have been charged with four counts of incest, authorities said.

Incest is a felony in Alabama and can involve people who are not blood relatives. The law states that having sex with a stepchild or stepparent is considered incest."

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The kids are all right.

Amid the grieving, a rare act of sportsmanship

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Now this is some change I can rub one out to.

NSFW... so that means you really, really want to click.

Nude Carnival Queen, Viviane Castro, Bodypaints Obama On Her Leg (NSFW PHOTO)

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Thank jeebus for science.

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Sony introduces a new product. I've so got to get one of these. (dirty words. NSFW)


Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

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Warped Sister

Pitchfork has posted one of the songs from the upcoming Booker T/DBT/Neil Young collaboration "Potato Hole"

Via Jenn

"Warped Sister" [Stream] | Pitchfork:

"For Potato Hole, his first solo album in a really, really long time, Stax house organist and MGs frontman Booker T. Jones recruited the Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young as his backing band. Wisely, they don't shoot for the in-the-pocket grooves of the MGs: Very few groups, instrumental or otherwise, have ever sounded so preternaturally tight. Instead, on 'Warped Sister', the scratchy guitars churn steadily while the rhythm section chug away reliably. Trucker drummer Brad Morgan is crucial here: His beat is unflappable, and his cowbell guides the song through its false ending and out the other side. Despite the high-profile support players, Booker T. clearly takes the lead, opening with gigantic chords before coaxing out a surprisingly catchy melody from his organ. He gets so much texture and nuance out of his instrument that it sounds like it's actually forming words."

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This probably interests no one but me, but....

Woot!

'They got a name for the winners in the world....'

Alabama wins another recruiting national title:

"When it was crunch time, Alabama coach Nick Saban pulled out the Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer and pounded his way to his second consecutive Rivals.com recruiting national championship."

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Krugman is about the only Traditional media type that's worth reading these days.

Bipartisanship is for suckers.

Never saw the media so concerned with 'bipartisanship' during the BushCo years.

Bipartisan bromides - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com:

"But the part that really got me was Broder saying that we need “the best ideas from both parties.”

You see, this isn’t a brainstorming session — it’s a collision of fundamentally incompatible world views. If one thing is clear from the stimulus debate, it’s that the two parties have utterly different economic doctrines. Democrats believe in something more or less like standard textbook macroeconomics; Republicans believe in a doctrine under which tax cuts are the universal elixir, and government spending is almost always bad.

Obama may be able to get a few Republican Senators to go along with his plan; or he can get a lot of Republican votes by, in effect, becoming a Republican. There is no middle ground."

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Geez, nobody could have predicted that this conservative kiss-ass give away would never work.

They're building freakin' ramps to jump over the wall. Made a game of it.

So stupid.

What did Reagan say about 'tearing down' some wall?

US border fence found remarkably ineffective and difficult to complete

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Horrible story. But that's not what caught me eye. After 7 or so paragraphs detailing the horrors this boy endured, the article ends weirdly:

Shackled Tracy boy stumbled on means of escape:

"Among the items seized from the home were knives, bottles of Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort, and chains attached to a sports punching bag hanging in the garage, where the boy also apparently stayed, authorities said."

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Julio is a good friend of my old roommate. He use to come over for house parties and Tommy's is probably my favorite Mexican restaurant in San Francisco.

Tommy's has more different types of tequila on hand than any other SF restaurant.

Bay Area distillers play around with Tequila:

"Julio Bermejo, a Tequila expert who runs the bar at Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in the Richmond District, has an entirely different plan that involves regular travel south. He's almost done building a distillery that he expects to open by the end of the year in Jesus Maria, a town near Arandas in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico."

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No further comment needed.

Hippo Swallows Dwarf!

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We Won

I'm liking this...

Obama to GOP: 'I won' - Jonathan Martin and Carol E. Lee - Politico.com:

"President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. 'I won,' Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation."

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....but whether the Dems can act like they 'won' is another issue entirely.

Amen, amen, amen to what Duncan writes:

Eschaton:

"Bipartisanship Sucks

I actually hope every Republican votes against the stimulus package, and I hope that instead of trying to please them the Obama team comes up with what they think the right package will be. The Republicans should lay out a competing vision, which won't pass because they aren't in charge. Then, 2 and 4 years from now voters can judge the results and if they aren't pretty they'll know who to blame and decide that the competing vision would have been a better one.

With bipartisanship you'll not only get a compromise that sucks, when it's time to throw the bums out no one will be quite sure which party should be blamed. Then what new candidates do is just run against some generic 'Washington.'

Democrats have the presidency and big majorities. Instead of hiding behind the spread-the-blame-around tactic, they should announce their vision and run with it."

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Great profile on Rhambo

Partisan, Playful and Profane, Obama Aide Tries to Hold It In:

"How will the feisty, bombastic and at times impulsive former congressman blend with the cool, collegial and deliberate culture of Obama World? And one that is trying to foster bipartisanship? This is someone who once wrote in Campaign and Elections magazine that “the untainted Republican has not yet been invented” and who two years ago — according to a book about Mr. Emanuel (“The Thumpin’ ” by Naftali Bendavid) — announced to his staff that Republicans are “bad people who deserve a two-by-four upside their heads.”"

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No would could ever of predicted.... oh, wait, yeah we did predict.

Former NSA Analyst: NSA ‘Monitored All Communications’ Of Americans, Targeted Journalists:

"Last night on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” former analyst for the National Security Agency Russell Tice revealed that the NSA had collected “monitored all communications” of Americans and specifically targeted journalists."

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Sacrilege.

And Trader Joe's is the finest grocery store in existence.

Tax hike would put Chuck over its famed Two Bucks:

"Is this the end of Two Buck Chuck?

A proposal to raise the state tax on wine to a level more than six times higher to help close California's giant budget deficit would kill the $1.99 price for Charles Shaw wine, said Fred Franzia, who created the famous label sold by the Trader Joe's grocery chain."

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Cool.

NASA discovers evidence of possible 'life on Mars':

"WASHINGTON (AFP) – Plumes of methane gas detected on Mars could be a sign of geological or biological activity -- and possibly the latest indication that life can be sustained on the Red Planet, according to a study released Thursday."

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Via Shayne. Heart attack goodness... with pictures.

Bacon and Cheese Roll - FoodProof

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