Saturday Morning Open Thread

It's another beautiful day.

I put a link to the Perter Bocking RIP thread over in the "Private Collection" sidebar on the right.

Comments

[Jim Ryan]

Will Nancy let Perriello vote no? The degree of certainty that he's toast if he votes yes is about 99.99%.

60-40 last Tuesday, Tom. Ouch. Creigh Deeds, Steve Shannon and Jody what's her name still can't sit down.

From Albermarle Country through Lynchburg and all the way down to Danville, we are going to make you a one-termer. You better hope Nancy has enough votes to give you a walk on this one.

Just kidding. You're already toast for voting yes on Crap and Tax and for supporting this bill in the first place.

Have a nice day.

[Ranger]

Not to harsh the mellow, but the new chart comparing actual unemployment to Team Barry's claims when they Rahmed the porkulus through is http://michaelscomments.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/october-job-losses-accelerate-again-10-2/>out.

He also points out that if we really are going to have unemployment hovering around 10% for a few years, as even Team Barry economists are starting to predict, then the porkulus was a abject failure.

But forget the quantitative treatment for a moment and consider what the Obama team’s graph said on a qualitative level. The graph says that within a couple of quarters, the stimulus package will stop the increase in unemployment and reverse the employment trend. That was the real mission of the stimulus. Stop job loss. Get the private sector hiring again.

Even if unemployment comes down to 9.5%, and hangs there for the next "few years," that is 5% higher than all the administration ecnomists said would happen even if we did absolutely nothing.

[centralcal]

Thanks, Tom, for the permanent link.

[mockmook]

Do you mean your "other right" Tom? :)

[narciso]

I think we would need Lt. Colonbo, to explain to the President the reasons for the Ft. Hood shooting, sheesh.

[anduril]

Byron York has the text of Obama's address today re Fort Hood:

"We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing."

That's it, as far as talking about Hasan. The rest is all about diversity. And I suspect the whole drill is intended to keep us from asking obvious questions. Democrats hate America.

[clarice]

Thanks, TM for the link. Jack is Back reports back that PUK's Manchester friends are amazed at the outpouring of love from here.

An interesting item I just blogged...a freeper has closely examined a video of a GW tape of a HSPI (Homeland Security Policy Institute) conference featuring Israeli Ambassador Meridor. Seated in the second row of the very small conference room is the Ft Hood shooter, Major Hasan. The topic of the event was counter terrorism measures.

How this man was allowed to remain in the army and keep treating troops with all that was apparently known about him--and even promoted to major--is something that demands investigation.

[clarice]

You guys laughed when I said something w (a poll I think) was on the right from inside the page but on the left as you viewed it..TM just did the same thing. If you are looking for the permanent PUK link, it's on the left as you read this.

[anduril]

clarice, there's no need for an investigation. we all know the reasons--they're staring us in the face. investigations of something like this are for coverup and cya. all we need to do is speak the truth.

[Neo]

Roughly 30,000 years ago, the Neanderthals disappeared, although pockets might have survived until as recently as 24,000 years ago. Since they vanished just as modern humans were emerging there, scientists have long speculated that we might have driven their extinction.

Sounds like a clear case for reparations

[laura]

Clarice,
where is your blog post?

[narciso]

Come on, it was the black oil that did them in, everyone knows that. In the LUN, Stephen
Schwartz, illustrates what Imam Khan, means by devout Moslem

[clarice]

I sent it to AT--but I never know when or if it will be published. Yesterday I sent in bgates marvelous riff on Obama Dancing with Indians but the editor was ill and didn't get to see it until today.

[laura]

Thanks,
I'll keep an eye out

[glasater]

It's interesting to me to watch the evolving conservative thinking coming from Greta especially regarding the situation in Honduras which I've been following pretty closely.

From her blog:

At the very outset, and with little fact finding (none?) as to what the United States should be doing and who our country should support and to what extent, our government punished the people of Honduras by cutting off millions of dollar in aid. The cut off of aid was also used as a means to force a solution -- a solution not well thought through or investigated. (This point proven by its failure.)

And worse? We have now hurt (destroyed?) their main form of income: tourism. We killed their tourism trade with our government's comments about their country.

Chalk it up to another travesty committed by this administration.

[PD]

Sounds like a clear case for reparations

Except that all the modern knuckle-draggers are on the right, to which the Democratics would be loathe to remunerate.

[anduril]

i've been down in the dumps this a.m. over the way things are going in these u.s.a. one of my nieces, who happens to live in TM's neck of the woods, emailed this:

"i was out with the girls from playgroup last night, and ***** (totally jap from Long Island) says to us all...ok_ so anyone else here think obama is a
total socialist/commie?"

progress, one at a time, i guess. gotta talk to people.

[Jane]

How this man was allowed to remain in the army and keep treating troops with all that was apparently known about him--and even promoted to major--is something that demands investigation.

We've gone back to 1993, Bill Clinton and the first WTC bombing. I'm waiting for Jamie Gorelik to take over our intelligence operations.

[anduril]

OK, open thread, so here goes...

"Computer trouble" seems to be a recurring theme around here. Me? Don't know what it means. I'd like to just share a bit of my experience with Linux and why those of you who mostly work inside a browser with maybe some word processing and spreadsheeting and other typical chores desktop should consider Linux.

I started with Linux in 1997 and used a dual boot (I think with Windoze 95) for about a year before dumping Microsoft totally. I use, my wife uses it, the kids do when they're home. Ain't no big thing--anybody can do it. What are the advantages?

1. Security. Windoze was never designed to be part of a network and can never be secure. That's why NSA came up with SEcure Linux--not that that's the be all and end all, but their explicit reasoning was the windoze can never be made secure and that national security will increasingly depend on information security.

2. Stability. Like I said, I reboot a couple times a year just for the hell of it. If Linux is good enough for major web retailers like Amazon, major banks and stock exchanges (London just dumped windoze for Linux) then you know it's rock solid.

3. Diversity--yeah! As I said yesterday, I have five browsers and numerous other redundancies in my applications. I use them for specialized functions, or just for a change. The point is, you have choices.

4. Transparency. Once you've seen a chart of the Linux file system everything falls into place.

5. Ease of use. That's right. Yes, when I started out I had to write my printer config files myself as well as my internet connection files. Those days are long gone. A Linux install is simple, the system is intuitive for anyone with an open mind, and the interface choices are all straightforward. When friends of my kids come over they sometimes use my computer. I show them the menu and away they go.

6. Flexibility. You can customize as much or as little as you want. I like to waste time by coming up with new styles and themes, but every distro will give you numerous choices. If you like tinkering with text files you can do that, too, but there are excellent configuration tools available for all distros now.

7. Limitations. OK, full disclosure. One of my brothers won't use Linux because he pays his bills with Quicken and Linux money programs don't do that. Whatever. He also likes Access, and most databases available for Linux aren't toys of that sort. But for almost any other common tasks it's more than adequate. It's true that there's a lot of custom software out there for special needs of businesses and so forth that aren't available in Linux versions, but I'm betting that for most of you that's not what computer use is about. There is one helluva lot of software available, however. Oh, you may not find your favorite windoze games. I can't help that, but I like my mahjjong and patience games. There are lots of others, but that's not my thing so I can't talk about it.

How to start? Get a live CD of some reliable Linux distribution--there are lots of them: SUSE, Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint, etc. You can boot into the distro from the CD without installing. If you like what you try out, you can install. There are also places that will sell you preloaded Linux boxes for the desktop (I've used Los Alamos Linux in the past for their great service). Learn a bit about what you're doing with a simple book, like a dummies book.

[hit and run]

As I mentioned in the Mickey thread,Miss Manchester got in a pub brawl with the http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,572526,00.html?test=latestnews>reigning Miss England,forcing the beauty contestant to step down.

And now who is taking up http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8348243.stm>the mantle of Miss England?

L/Cpl Katrina Hodge:

http://famewatcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/katrina-hodge2.jpg>

And yes,for the talent portion of the Miss England pageant,she performed a rifle drill.

[bad]

WOW, she's hot!! DIBS

[Jim Ryan]

Dear Ms. Hodge:

In the event we should both find ourselves single in the future, please know that you have a standing offer of marriage, humbly submitted, with affection, from

Yours truly,
Jim Ryan

[centralcal]

hit - PUK would be so proud of the new Miss England, doncha think?

[anduril]

probably a linux user.

[bad]

Too late, Jim Ryan. I have her dibbed.

[AKA Sgt. Munley]

For Miss America, Kim Barbour, the perfect cop.
=============================

[daddy]

Neo,

Concerning your link above to humans having sex with Neanderthals:

Last night after the gym was at the Moose's Tooth enjoying a pint, and finishing up "Remarkable Creatures--epic adventures in the search for the origins of species." Was on chapter 13, "The natural History of Human's Chapter," and just at the part, page 261, at the discussion of humans having sex with Neanderthals:

"Or did homo sapiens and Neanderthals meet in some French or Spanish cave for a little Ice Age Romance? Is there a little Neanderthal in all or some of us?"

The barmaid caught me chuckling, and since I'm a regular, demanded to know what I was laughing at. Told her I was reading about how scientists were trying to figure out whether humans had ever had sex with Neanderthal's. You can guess the rest---She burst out laughing. "Hey Sara, ever had sex with a Neanderthal? That's what his books about."

Anyhow, many laughs later, the answer from some of my favorite bar-gal's in Alaska is a resounding "Yes".

[DrJ]

probably a linux user.

Can't be. Looks like she has a life.

[hit and run]

Rule 301.b, ¶(b)(9) of the JOM Rules of Order clearly states:

The action of embedding a photo within a comment into a thread at Just One Minute, the subject of said photograph an individual person, constitutes a clear declaration of "dibs" for the subject of that photo, unless the photo is accompanied by a renunciation of the right to "dibs" by commenter at the point of posting.

Those wishing to contest this rule should see:

Rule 405.c, ¶(1)(a)

Turning to Rule 405.c ¶(1)(a) we find:

Neener neener!

She's mine.

[Jane]

So now I have to learn how to embed photo's hit? Is there a public option?

[Jim Ryan]

Is there a public option?

Why, yes, Jane. Yes there is. Take my wife. Please!

[bad]

RATS!!! Foiled again...

[hit and run]

Jane, you don't have to embed photos to call dibs, if you call dibs before a photo is embedded.

Or, should I say, em-bad-ed!

[Melinda Romanoff]

hit-

I like the blanket approach. Very thorough.

You realize, of course, this means war.

[hit and run]

bad:
RATS!!! Foiled again...

There's always Dick Morris...

[bad]

GAAAAAAK!!!

[hit and run]

Melinda:
You realize, of course, this means war.

Global thermonuclear, yes.

[Thomas Collins]

Let's not jump to conclusions. See LUN.

Is it true that Hasan is on life support? I may have to rethink my opposition to death panels in all circumstances.

[1rs]

http://www.washingtonwatch.com/blog/2009/11/06/chasing-the-headlines-electronics-in-cockpits-edition/

[Thomas Collins]

Sorry, Rachel Alexandra. Maybe you could have done it if your handlers had let you run, but Zenyatta's performance in the Breeders Cup Classic should wrap up Horse of the Year for her. See LUN.