Link roundup for 5 June 2010
Four Dinners continues to have fun teaching student drivers. It looks like somebody here needs a driving instructor.
I think this Portland coffee shop is about to lose a lot of business (sent by Ranch Chimp).
Animal abuse is fun.
Yes, the Confederacy was all about slavery.
Republican candidates in Maine are backing away from the state party's nutty, teabaggerized platform (found via Oliver Willis).
In a rebuke to Rand Paul, Kentucky's state senate -- including Republicans -- affirms its opposition to discrimination. A new Rasmussen poll shows Paul's support dropping. But he does have some allies.
Most US economic growth in the first quarter was due to private-sector spending, not government spending.
There is a persistent myth that Congressional pressure on lenders to provide housing loans to poor people who couldn't afford them was a major cause of our recent economic woes. Paul Krugman addresses that myth here (found via Green Eagle).
Stark photos drive home the fate of birds in the Gulf oil disaster (found via Oliver Willis). Americans know who is to blame. PZ Myers proposes retribution.
Some have proposed sealing the oil leak with an atomic bomb, but that's probably not a good idea.
A foreign government is helping its citizens violate US law.
The Gaza flotilla incident isn't the first time that Turkey's Islamist-leaning government has deliberately stirred up tensions.
A top Chinese banker warns that China's economy may be headed for trouble.
Paul Gill has been walking across Ireland to protest that country's new anti-blasphemy law, and he has attracted a lot of support (Ireland's Justice Minister has promised a referendum on the law this year).
Pharyngula has a song about priests and deaf boys, and a tale of a priest pensioned off.
Pat Condell has some more choice words about religion.
48 state governments have joined Albert Snyder's lawsuit against the Westboro Baptist Church.
Bay of Fundie visits the New Age fair in San Francisco.
Both in the US and globally, the pill remains the most popular form of contraception.
Stereotypes discourage women from becoming scientists -- in more ways than one.
Technology enables an eight-month-old baby, deaf since birth, to hear (found via Oliver Willis).
I think this Portland coffee shop is about to lose a lot of business (sent by Ranch Chimp).
Animal abuse is fun.
Yes, the Confederacy was all about slavery.
Republican candidates in Maine are backing away from the state party's nutty, teabaggerized platform (found via Oliver Willis).
In a rebuke to Rand Paul, Kentucky's state senate -- including Republicans -- affirms its opposition to discrimination. A new Rasmussen poll shows Paul's support dropping. But he does have some allies.
Most US economic growth in the first quarter was due to private-sector spending, not government spending.
There is a persistent myth that Congressional pressure on lenders to provide housing loans to poor people who couldn't afford them was a major cause of our recent economic woes. Paul Krugman addresses that myth here (found via Green Eagle).
Stark photos drive home the fate of birds in the Gulf oil disaster (found via Oliver Willis). Americans know who is to blame. PZ Myers proposes retribution.
Some have proposed sealing the oil leak with an atomic bomb, but that's probably not a good idea.
A foreign government is helping its citizens violate US law.
The Gaza flotilla incident isn't the first time that Turkey's Islamist-leaning government has deliberately stirred up tensions.
A top Chinese banker warns that China's economy may be headed for trouble.
Paul Gill has been walking across Ireland to protest that country's new anti-blasphemy law, and he has attracted a lot of support (Ireland's Justice Minister has promised a referendum on the law this year).
Pharyngula has a song about priests and deaf boys, and a tale of a priest pensioned off.
Pat Condell has some more choice words about religion.
48 state governments have joined Albert Snyder's lawsuit against the Westboro Baptist Church.
Bay of Fundie visits the New Age fair in San Francisco.
Both in the US and globally, the pill remains the most popular form of contraception.
Stereotypes discourage women from becoming scientists -- in more ways than one.
Technology enables an eight-month-old baby, deaf since birth, to hear (found via Oliver Willis).
posted by Infidel753 at 4:32 AM
8 Comments:
Ranch Style Greeting's Mr.Infidel!
Good Morning Sir.... just wanted to comment on a few item's here.
First of all .... Mr.Pat Condell's piece was absolutely hilarious with my morning V-8, just the way this guy put's stuff get's me to laughing up a storm every time I watch him!
Nice (funny in a frank way)read from Frum Forum on nuking the oil leak. Actually I was on a website a week or so ago that was talking about that, and I commented ... saying something like "sound's good to me!" ... but I was just joking .... I actually was thinking in my head that if we actually nuked it, that something like a tsunami may happen, I'm sure as Hell not real scientific, so I cant say .... but that was my first thought.
I sent the video clip on the PDX cop being thrown out of the cafe, because I actually cant recall ever seeing a cop kicked out of a business like that. But thought, if it happened anywhere's, it would be a town like PDX, dont get me wrong, I absolutely love PDX .... what I am saying is it is a unique enough town to have a mindset like that.
The Onion piece was enlightening with a sort of twist. I have never gave much thought to the abuse of animal's actually as perhap's I should, although I have been a tad concerned over some ape species over several year's, because oddly I kind of look at them like human's. But I havent even seen much on animal cruelty until I bought my first computer here a lil over 2 year's ago. I have alway's enjoyed the circus (it's been year's though since I attended one) and I am a pretty big rodeo and cattle drive fan for year's, having done alot of work for a local rodeo for over 6 year's and knowing several of the cowboy's. It's just these piece's make me think of thing's I never even thought before.
Later Guy ........
I also wanted to say that the piece from the Examiner(Washington) was interesting because I am very familar with you can say .... "undocumented guest's" from Mexico/ Central America, and familar with Catalina Island and have spent plenty of time living in Los Angeles. So this may sound fictionally entertaining to some, but I am one who buy's it. Uhh .... Let's just say this also would really make some local's who create counterfeit ID's while you wait a tad upset, because it take's business away. Many also find it hard to swallow that even the new and more straight shooting President and government of Mexico may actually do someting like this, but let me explain briefly here, knowing so many Mexicano national's personally. Understand that the country of Mexico depend's so heavily on the American dollar, also understand how many are here working that send dollar's back to their country, in my neighborhood in NW Dallas for instance which is heavy Latino immigrant, we have these day's at least a half a dozen neighborhood check cashing and Western Union type places that run 24/ 7/ 365 and are alway's busy, just cashing check's and sending money to Mexico to their familia's, you can pay your bill's there, get pre secured credit card's, open account's, even get cell phone service's or land line's with no need to even have an ID. Also you have a array of place's all over the DFW Metroplex (as well as LA Area) usually in the Bazzar's (market type place's) that will make ID's while you wait, I think it take's between an hour to two, the technologies are so abundant these day's .... even Texas Driver's Licsenses which are illegal counterfeit's. Now I am only mentioning two town's here .... this is how heavy it is across urban America. This is also why I cant say what is the solution to illegal immigration, other than shutting down the border .... I frankly have no idea how to handle any of this it is so common and widespread in this nation, and is why I alway's just thought that Mexico should become a state. Many American's/ Texan's/ Californian's ( I assume in Arizona as well) go to Mexico daily as well for their prescription's, dental work, medical, what have you, and many retiree's drawing social security that are Americano's stay in Mexico as well. This is NOT an easy thing to deal with and much larger than many may realize. And so touchy that hardly any politician actually want's to deal with it, if they can avoid it.
I know if I've missed something during the week I can always rely on your Link Roundup to fill the holes.
I hope the paranoid Portland coffee house owner doesn't get broken into or invaded by a local gang. Doubt if he could expect much help from those law enforcement types who make him feel uncomfortable. An apology and a week of free coffee for the guys in blue.
I did see that tear producing video of the baby's reaction to hearing his mom's voice. Very, very touching.
RC: On a reliable ID system, my feeling is this: When you walk into a store and buy something with a credit card, the clerk runs the credit card through a machine and gets a response in seconds confirming whether the card is valid or not. The machine will even reject the transaction if there isn't enough available credit on the card. Forgers don't seem to be able to make fake credit cards that will fool the machines. However that works, it must be possible to set up a similar system to verify whether somebody is a legal resident and entitled to work. If the government can't do it, they should sub-contract the job to Visa or MasterCard.
TNLib: Portland is a very "by the book" place, and if that coffee-shop owner were the victim of a crime, I bet the cops would come down and take his report and investigate it exactly as they would with any other crime victim. They might well make a few snarky remarks to him, though.
Absolutely Mr.Infidel .... it is not difficult at all to create an ID system, bio or card carrying to work out alot. Just like after year's of such easy counterfeiting of US Currency, they finally decided to really redesign currency, it was just so easy to copy due to available tech's. Actually I was thinking myself before, that if everyone was so serious about identifying US citizen's .... why not have a national ID system? Some folk's whined about it, as if it was a privacy invasion ... I did a post on privacy invasion .... it's silly, there is no goddamn privacy hardly left to begin with. Frankly right now I cant do a damn thing without presenting some kind of card, and I'm a born bred Americano .... licsense, ss number, or what have you, never had a problemo with it, so I seen problemo nada over some kind of national ID card of sort, frankly I am not sure if anyone want's to get serious about immigration policy? I even have thought of a solution to the Arizona Law ...since the arguement is they will target only people who may look latino .... just run immigration check's on every damn person pulled over regardless of ethnicity, exclude no one. Notice the police report DFW Police, on the gal (Villasana)at DFW Airport who crashed her car, more than once according to the report it ID's Ms.Villasana as a "white female" ... she is actually hispanic .... that there as far as I'm concerned is inaccurate and possibly discrimimatory, is it not? Folk's are so full of shit!
I even have thought of a solution to the Arizona Law ...since the arguement is they will target only people who may look latino .... just run immigration check's on every damn person pulled over regardless of ethnicity, exclude no one.
That's a good idea, and I hope they adopt it. About a third of the illegal aliens in the US aren't even Hispanic. If the police do use ethnicity to decide whose immigration status to check, they'll miss some illegals for that reason.
Speaking of the police...you know my history of harassing(?)/monitoring(?)/disrespecting(?)/overseeing(?) local law enforcement. Last night I had to give them a call because someone broke some windows in my apartment building. They were very professional about it. They came in & checked out the building & everything, I didn't even get tasered.
IMO, the Coffee shop owner didn't do anything wrong. Some of us know the police can be bullies & overstep their authority. It's nice to know we live in a country where a person can have some control over the bounds of arbitrary authority.
The coffee-shop owner was within his rights, I suppose, but unless he knew that that specific police officer had done something wrong, his action was both repugnant and, from the viewpoint of other customers' likely reactions, bad for his business. Yes, some police do abuse their power -- but as you mentioned concerning your own experience, they mostly do their jobs well, and we do need them.
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