A*hole Test

I think a reasonable test of whether someone is an a*hole without any hope of improvement is if you sit them down and explain that:

 

1) People without the legal right to live and work in this country often bring their kids here with them.

 

2) Those kids are often quite young when they arrive. You know, babies.

 

3) Such kids also are undocumented.

 

4) In many cases they grow up not or barely speaking the language of their home countries, depending on their age and particular circumstances.

 

5) Given whole lack of documentation thing, most of these kids have never been to the country that their parents came from and don't know any of the family, if any, that are still there.

 

6) Upon becoming adults, their work and educational opportunities are complicated and limited.

 

If the person's response is, "they're illegal, deport them," then you know you've found an a*hole.

Speaking to the American Constitution Society, she predicts a number of sharply divided rulings as the court releases opinions on some of the most controversial cases on its docket. Decisions on 15 cases , including Obamacare and Arizona's "Show Me Your Papers!" law, are due this month.

Predicting "sharp disagreement," she made a broccoli joke about the issue of severability, and then she went on to point out the importance and utility of dissenting opinions for informing legislation and the like. Uh oh. I played a fair number of games of connect-the-dots as a kid, and by squinting at her remarks I can just make out the following picture: The Court will rule against the individual mandate 5-4, but severability is still being decided. There will of course be dissenting opinions, but these will have no impact on the ruling. Ginsberg can view dissents as guidance to fixing the health care law, but of course we all know that guidance will be roundly ignored by legislators on both sides of the aisle.

...here.

Make them pay.

Its an anti-Merkel party out there.

received at the time of Climategate.  No wonder he contemplated suicide at one point.

A flavour of commentary about this.

I am amazed at the preciousness of people who want to drive major changes in the way we live without any consequences. I have said before, and will keep saying, that Ministers get this stuff all the time, precisely because people think that they have the power to affect the way we live.

 

The quoted examples are typical of what a powerful politician gets all the time. No, they are not 'death threats', and yes, there are some angry and disturbed people out there.

It should be noted that these sorts of unpleasant communications are not limited to any particular kind of scientist, professional or politician. It is the perception that these people have the power to influence events that generates the hate mail. Judges get this stuff as well, as do doctors and lawyers, and public servants.

 

Judges, lawyers, public servants, doctors and politicians all manage to keep doing their jobs despite the rantings of temporarily or permanently deranged members of the public. What is so special about snowflake climate scientists, whose only crime is to promote policies that make people poorer (at best) based on questionable premises, data, and conclusions?

They, and their defenders, need to get out more. I'm afraid I don't share the revulsion of previous commenters, having read this sort of garbage very day addressed to Ministers. Boo-bloody-hoo. An old saying about heat and kitchens comes to mind.

I just got an email from you to a Turkish website. Really wish I hadn't clicked on that thing. I think this is the first time I've been successfully fished since there was an internet. No virus warnings or anything...yet...fingers crossed.

EDIT: email was sent yesterday morning.

I don't really understand people who have this as any kind of a priority, let alone one that crowds out resources for cases that might actually matter.

Is there anything less important for federal politicians and lawyers to do than investigating steroid use in major league baseball?

Clemens acquitted: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20120618_ap_rogerclemensacq...

Meanwhile we can barely get any prosecutions of bankers.

"I think the election in Greece yesterday indicates a positive prospect for not only them forming a government, but also them working constructively with their international partners in order that they can continue on the path of reform"

Anyone wanna guess whether Obama would've said something similar if a left-leaning government had won who wanted to renegotiate Greece's bailout terms?

Obama again: "Now is a time as we've discussed to make sure that all of us do what's necessary to stabilise the world financial system, to avoid protectionism." 

Because protectionism is the central problem with the world financial system? Too many capital controls? Ugh. The FT on (the myth of) financial protectionism:

"Emerging markets have fallen victim to unstable capital flows in the wake of the financial crisis. In an attempt to mitigate the accompanying asset bubbles and exchange rate pressures that come with such volatility, a number of emerging markets resorted to capital controls. Although these actions have largely been supported by the International Monetary Fund, some policy-makers and economists have decried capital controls as protectionist measures...

 

"Recently-published research shows that these claims are unfounded. According to the new welfare economics of capital controls, unstable capital flows to emerging markets can be viewed as negative externalities on recipient countries. Therefore regulations on cross-border capital flows are tools to correct for market failures that can make markets work better and enhance growth, not worsen it. ...

 

"Economists such as Keynes argued long ago that capital controls are important to prevent crises and to maintain an independent monetary policy that can strive for full employment and financial stability."

Naturally, Obama was structurally forced into making these conservative remarks on economic matters.  

Except with respect to the 700k public sector workers, including hundreds of thousands of teachers, who've been fired over the past three years:

"under Section 14 b 1 the Fed has the authority to purchase any obligation of a state or local government of 6 months maturity or less. This provision seems clearly to permit a mass refinancing of state and local government debt at the current 6 month interest rate (very close to 0), which would save state and local gov’ts approximately $75 billion a year (going by the flow of funds #s for state and local interest payments). Moreover, since state and local govts do the bulk of infrastructure investing, the fed could create a program to fully fund such investment through purchases of newly issued 6 month bonds, for projects that meet criteria the Fed sets out (such as being approved by a small committee of civil engineers appointed by the regional fed branches for that purpose). Finally, under section 24 of the Act, the fed can buy from national banks loans to finance residential construction, which in effect would give the fed the ability to spur new multi-family construction (sorely needed, as evinced by rising rents) by enabling lending banks to effectively sell the loans off their books." http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rortybomb/should-federal-reserve-go-muni-market

The last time NBC tried some deceptive editing, heads rolled.

This time around, MSNBC engaged in some selectively editing to make Romney look like an out-of-touch retro man.

Except the editing was deceptive. The next day, no mea culpas and heads are still on necks.

Lesson not learned.

...to put him in jail or kill him. There has never been any doubt in my mind that the Extradition against Mr. Assange to Sweden was really to make him available for Extradition to the United States (of fascist  Amerika in this instance).

Seeking asylum in Ecuador is a smart & savvy move against the United States being entirely corrupt and dishonest in this instance.

Mr Assange said he would not be protected from being extradited to "a foreign country that applies the death penalty for the crime of espionage and sedition," Mr Patino said.

The anti-secrecy campaigner fears extradition to Sweden may lead to him being sent to the US to face separate charges relating to Wikileaks, for which he could face the death penalty.

Good on Mr. Assange I say.

Best Wishes, Traveller

Alec Baldwin attacking a photographer or having a wife named Hilaria (link). 

Wage inequality for paid anti-Romney protesters.

Neither of the representatives agreed to give their names, but two protesters said they were getting paid to stand outside of the rally, though their wage is unclear: one said she was getting $7.25 per hour, while another man said they were being paid $17 per hour.

Link.

"Almost 70 percent of the federal revenue is provided by the top 10 percent of taxpayers now. ...We have an extraordinarily progressive tax code already. It is a mess and needs to be revisited again," McConnell said in the interview, taped Monday

I'm sure he just forgot to mention that he's talking about the income tax only, not all the other federal taxes. Even focusing on essentially the only part of the "extraordinarily progressive" tax code that is progressive, he doesn't say how much income the top 10% make. This man is a douchebag.

Has someone switched my blood pressure medication with crazy pills?

I just watched a Ford commercial during the NBA finals on ABC.  It was in spanish with english subtitles and the final hook text was in spanish.  I never watch network TV, has this been happening for a while?  Well, the market has spoken.  Or at least Fords ad agency.  Good luck with the anti-Mexican immigrant rhetoric.  The gay boogeyman died the when they started showing up in big market ads.

White House declares executive privilege over documents in Fast and Furious case.

I love it when the coyote refuses to chew the leg off and sticks another one in the trap for good measure.

House panel ignores claim of executive privilege, finds Holder in contempt.

Um, Mr. President--if you and your administration knew nothing about Fast and Furious how can you claim executive privilege regarding it?

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/seeing-ourselve...

As anyone who follows U.S. immigration law knows, the first big restrictive measure America imposed was the "Chinese Exclusion Act" of the 1880s.

USC opens as 3-1 favorite in Vegas line for next NCAA Football Championship.

. . .is from Dan Gilbert sobbing like the little punk that he is over a voided guarantee. Congratulations to the Heat--and particularly to LBJ. Memo to Kevin Durant and Company--your time will come.