Welfare State: Military Leeches Edition
indecentspeech.
Posted to Politics on Wed May 22, 2013 at 08:15:40 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Two U.S. lawmakers urged Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to ensure that the Air Force complied with a law requiring the service to buy three high-altitude Global Hawk unmanned planes built by Northrop Grumman Corp that it had tried to cancel.
Representatives Buck McKeon, the Republican who heads the House Armed Services Committee, and Jim Moran, a Democrat from Northrop's home district in Virginia, sent Hagel a strongly worded letter in which they accused the Air Force of ignoring congressional mandates by failing to procure the spy drones.
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Commander in Chuckles
port1080.
Posted to Politics on Wed May 22, 2013 at 08:15:19 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Obama tells funny joke. What's your favorite joke told by a President? This is one of my favorites.
Originally subbed by Ephraim Gadsby, accidentally deleted by my fat fingers in the process of trying to push it to the front page
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Update: Shots for Tots
indecentspeech.
Posted to Politics on Fri May 17, 2013 at 11:02:28 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
The grandfather of 2 year old shot to death by her 5 year old brother is advocating for gun safety:
"You don't pick up the gun and use it as a toy. Because at 5 years-old that's what he was doing. He grabbed it up and played with it like it was a toy," says Robinson.Robinson is a hunter, and he says people should exercise more caution when they have guns around children.
"When you get to the back door with a gun the best thing is to unload the gun. Never bring it in the house until you've completely checked it," he says.
(29 comments, 1101 words in story) Full Story
Oh Canada, this is why you'll never be cool
tjb.
Posted to Politics on Fri May 17, 2013 at 11:01:54 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
You always try so hard, but crack smoking mayors were so 23 years ago. Maybe if your mayors banned big gulps or put a limit on coffee servings at Tim Hortons we'd let you hang with us, but in 2013 our mayors would only consider smoking crack for its irony and retro appeal.
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We heard Richard Nixon say, "I've gotta go but you can stay"
gerrymander.
Posted to Politics on Tue May 14, 2013 at 02:00:02 PM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
In 2009, the recently-sworn President Barack Obama joked over a basketball prediction failure, "I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS."
Within a year, the IRS began to target Obama's political opponents for extensive audits. Using a phrase popularized by the Nixon administration, the IRS explains this as "mistakes were made".
(66 comments, 244 words in story) Full Story
Transparent.
pO157.
Posted to Politics on Mon May 13, 2013 at 06:31:29 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
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One Marathon Bomber Dead, Second Bomber...
thefadd.
Posted to Politics on Fri Apr 19, 2013 at 09:17:16 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Update: Dan Drezner has collected some of the best reporting on the suspects and the ongoing situation.
Update: Some reports suggest police are also looking for two accomplices
Update 4/19: After their pictures were shown, the two brothers who appear to have been responsible for the bombings (update: ABC news is reporting that the federal officials have stated the brothers told their carjacking victim that they were responsible for the bombings) decided to take to the streets. They robbed a 7/11, killed an MIT police officer, dropped IEDs all around the Boston suburbs, and then one of them died in a gun battle with the police (evidently while wearing a bomb vest). Suspect 2 is still at large, and the entire Boston metro area is currently under lock-down while police search for him door-to-door. Obviously he is considered armed at extremely dangerous. At this point the evidence strongly suggests that the two suspects were Muslim extremists - they self-identified as Chechen, and railed about the lack of values in the world and lamented about not understanding Americans in an interview conducted when one was competing in a boxing tournament (more on the suspects here).
Original Sub: Shortly before midnight local time, a 7-11 in Cambridge, MA was robbed, an MIT officer was killed, a police van was jacked, grenades and pressure cooker bombs were deployed, and a whole bunch of other shit that may or may not be confirmed at this point. Apparently the marathon bombers saw themselves on TV and decided to go Waco on Watertown, MA.
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So at what point do we worry about Best Korea?
port1080.
Posted to Politics on Wed Apr 10, 2013 at 10:16:11 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
N.K. is "testing" a missile launch over Japan. S.K. is trial ballooning the idea of getting its own nukes. Japan is showing us how easy it is to make stupid mistakes in crisis situations. Is the shit about to hit the fan, or just more of the same? Thoughts?
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RIP Margaret Thatcher
HidingFromGoro.
Posted to Politics on Tue Apr 09, 2013 at 07:18:32 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died at age 87 following a stroke.
(28 comments) Comments >>
Political correctness gone wild! Will Arpaio flee in panic?
HidingFromGoro.
Posted to Politics on Fri Apr 05, 2013 at 07:35:10 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Associated Press guidelines no longer permit terms like "illegal immigrant" or "illegal alien."
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"Teen" mob violence
joshv.
Posted to Politics on Wed Apr 03, 2013 at 09:35:19 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/19190474-418/several-arrests-in-gold-coast-disturbances.html
So a mob of "teens" hit downtown Chicago yesterday, one witness said there were 500 of "teens", committing acts of random violence and theft. This was supposedly organized by social media.
Not a single mention of the race of the teens in the media coverage I've seen thus far, though the video doesn't lie. They weren't a mob of Polish teens.
(33 comments) Comments >>
The New Welfare
Milo.
Posted to Politics on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 08:17:57 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Pretty compelling article from NPR: Unfit for Work: The Startling Rise of Disability in America. Basically, ever since we instituted welfare reform, states have been shifting people from welfare to disability, so the feds have to pay the bill.
The two big disability programs, including health care for disabled workers, cost some $260 billion a year.
(27 comments, 164 words in story) Full Story
Health Insurers Warn on Premiums
Ephraim Gadsby.
Posted to Politics on Sat Mar 23, 2013 at 11:22:30 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
"Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation's biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans."
DHHS said Obamacare would "make health-care coverage more affordable and accessible", now the opposite is happening. And, "the CBO also suggested the law would lead to consumers buying more expensive plans, largely because it requires coverage to include certain benefits and limit charges such as deductibles", which is the opposite of what sensible health care reforms would encourage.
(33 comments, 112 words in story) Full Story
NJ Child Protective Services Out of Control!
pO157.
Posted to Politics on Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 08:33:03 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
Man posts a picture of his kid on face book holding a firearm. Somebody calls NJ's Child Protective Services folks who then show up at the house demanding access to the place and his firearms. When he refuses entry without a warrant they allegedly threatened to confiscate his kid.
(84 comments) Comments >>
Ten Years Ago... A Day that Changed the World
pO157.
Posted to Politics on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 04:59:28 PM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
This is the thread where we discuss the Iraq invasion occurring exactly 10 years ago today and what has changed since then and where you feel the country is going, or whatever else you want.
(15 comments, 514 words in story) Full Story
Pounded Podiums Project Paul Pronouncements
thefadd.
Posted to Politics on Wed Mar 06, 2013 at 06:22:20 PM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.
All my liberal friends on facebook. Like Rand Paul today.
(11 comments) Comments >>
