An Inconvenient Hostage-Taker

Police: Man holds hostages in Discovery building

Another angry Tea Partier run amuck?  Not exactly:

SILVER SPRING, Md. – A man upset with the Discovery Channel's environmental programming took several people hostage at the company's headquarters Wednesday, officials said.

Police were negotiating with the gunman, who burst into the suburban Washington building about 1 p.m. wearing what seemed to be metallic canisters strapped to his front and back and waving a handgun.

...

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing said authorities have identified James J. Lee as the likely suspect. Police believe he has a handgun but have not confirmed that he has explosives, the official said.

A different official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said Lee previously protested outside the building.

According to a story in The Gazette, which covers Montgomery County, Lee was arrested there in 2008 after throwing thousands of dollars in the air outside the building.

Lee said he planned the protest because Discovery's programming had little to do with saving the planet.

...At the trial, he said he began working to save the planet after being laid off from his job in San Diego. He said he was inspired by "Ishmael," a novel by environmentalist Daniel Quinn and by former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

He presented demands online.  I like this:

Saving the environment and the remaning species diversity of the planet is now your mindset. Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels.

Of course, the squirrels.  Although my impression is that the squirrels can fend for themselves pretty well.

And lefties can rally to his immigrant-bashing:

5. Immigration: Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)

Sometimes a nutjob is just a nutjob.  [Or at least, Atrios thinks so when the nutter is coming from the left.  H/t HotAir, which has lots.]  But nothing from Dave Weigel linking Lee to Sarah Palin or Orly Taitz?  The day is young.

Comments

[Old Lurker]

No, Dave, I doubt it.

[MayBee]

O geez.

Politico is reporting that Arne Duncan is going to pay states to do away with multiple choice tests.
Micromanage much?

[Old Lurker]

Narciso "OT, btw, all of you from Hit to Dave and TC, stay safe, with earl's approach..."

Hey don't forget those who are stranded on Nantucket. My biggest problem is keeping Mrs. OL from seeing the storm tracks up on Drudge which seem to put us in the bull's eye...because she will want to move to the high school gym when the order gets issued.
Me...I'm just stocking up on tonic and limes just in case.

[Extraneus]

If you use Firefox, you can install the narcisolator and never see them, Dave.

[Extraneus]

Trapped Miner Finds Himself in Another Tight Spot After Wife Meets Mistress at Vigil

[Neo]

The TOTUS is Obama’s “blankee”, that onmipresent childhood physcological crutch.

[peter]

Neo, that clip is amazing. If Tingles is turning on Obama, can there be anyone left?

[DebinNC]

Maybee's Politico article on the new school tests, which might be ready as early as 2014, end with reporter Kendra Marr demonstrating her impartiality:

Student exams measure if schools are providing students the skills they need to succeed in college, as President Obama works to lead the world in college graduates by 2020.

[Thomas Collins]

Thanks for the thoughts, narciso. My sister, who lives in the Fort Myers area, called to check. Usually I am doing the hurricane watch on her area, but it is switched this time.

Hang in there, OL. If you decide to abandon Nantucket and can't find a hotel in the Boston area, we have floor space in Needham! Have Jane and caro visited? I hope they are safely docked.

[Porchlight]

DoT, thanks for the Caddell link. Just had to highlight this:

In 1979, as Carter’s poll numbers slid south amidst a sagging economy, Caddell drafted a memo to the president urging him to recognize that the nation was “deep in crisis.” Gazing upon today’s electoral landscape, Caddell paints an even bleaker picture. “We may be at a pre-revolutionary moment,” he says, unsmiling. “Everything is in motion.” This November, he predicts, “will be more of a national referendum than any [midterm election] since Watergate.”

Speaks for itself.

[Captain Hate]

If Tingles is turning on Obama, can there be anyone left?

Olbermann; that eggplant shaped loser is so intellectually insecure (look how deranged he got over Coulter pointing out his ag-school degree) he can't admit being wrong about anything.

[MayBee]

Student exams measure if schools are providing students the skills they need to succeed in college, as President Obama works to lead the world in college graduates by 2020.

It's crazy.
The easiest way to lead the world in college graduates (whatever measure they may be using) is to make it easier to get into and out of college. By itself, it's a pretty lame goal.

Also, much of the world uses tests not to determine if students are "learning enough" for college, but whether they will be put on the college track at all.

The Education department is clearly, at this point, just coming up with new ways to manipulate the process of teaching. So much money being spent on coming up with new ways to skin the same cat.

[Thomas Collins]

See LUN for the latest I have seen on Duke of Earl.

[Neo]

President Obama works to lead the world in college graduates by 2020

This sure sounds like the government propping up what Glenn Reynolds has been calling the "Higher Education Bubble"

Unfortunately, the capacity of the higher education market is remarkably inelastic, while the economics of the higher education market is remarkably elastic. Simply, there isn't enough supply, so it will absorb any and all money thrown it's way.

[MayBee]

Has anybody come up with a chart comparing Education Department budgets to student results over the years?

[Old Lurker]

Thanks TC!

Yes Jane and Caro were here are are now back safely. When Caro shows, get her to tell you about going to see the good ship Isabel (still anchored here...far from RI) and how she bumped into Lurch when she was snooping. Did you know Kerrey served in Viet Nam and spent Christmas in Cambodia?

[Dave (in MA)]

Me...I'm just stocking up on tonic and limes just in case.

What kind of tonic? Coke?

[Old Lurker]

Oh Dave are you one of those Run N Coke guys?

[Dave (in MA)]

OT, btw, all of you from hit to DAve and TC, stay safe, with earl's approach

Thanks. It's forecast to pass well out to sea, but maybe I should rush out and make a panic purchase of plywood, duct tape, bread and milk just in case.

[MayBee]

Did that Politico story disappear? I can't find it now.

[Dave (in MA)]

No, I was just making a reference to the Boston-area term "tonic" that everybody else calls "pop" or "soda". It's falling out of favor, though.

[Threadkiller]

DoT,

--"Under this view, Senator McCain was a citizen at birth. In 1937, to remove any doubt as to persons in Senator McCain’s circumstances in the Canal Zone,..."--

That would be nice, if he was born in the Canal Zone. John McCain was born in the Colon Hospital, in Colon, Panama. He was not born in the Panama Canal Zone as widely believed.

http://naturalborncitizen.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/mccains-bc.jpg" width="100" height="100">
Long form cert.

McCain was a U.S. citizen at birth, due to the fact that his parents were U.S. citizens. His citizenship status was, from birth, also "governed" by Panamanian law, due to the fact that he was born in Panama. By Panamanian law, he acquired, at birth, the option of becoming a Panamanian citizen.

Why did U.S. District Judge William Alsup ignore the Naturalization Act of 1795? It clearly states that this class are citizens not "natural born" citizens. Remember the change made to the Naturalization Act of 1790. Natural born citizen was changed to citizen.

More importantly, why does the myth that McCain was born in the Canal Zone continue? DoT, if you believe the facts I have presented would you change your opinion?

If the founders saw a difference, why don't we?

Having trouble resizing the image. Sorry.

[DebinNC]

Maybee, it's here in the Politico44 section.

[MayBee]

Thanks Deb.

[centralcal]

Another oil rig explodes in the Gulf!!!!

[Threadkiller]

How do you resize an image so it fits properly?

[Barbara]

Another oil rig explodes in the Gulf!!!!

Too close to the BP event to be a coincidence.

Just watch zerO try to capitalize on this.

[Rob Crawford]

How about you just don't post them?

[Rick Ballard]

Geraghty is on a roll again today while Sabato inches towards grim reality.

The ObiWan post by Geraghty suggests anticipatory retaliation as the proper tactical response to the oncoming wave of Communist Democrat October surprises. My nomination today for A Tale to Wag The Dog is an attack upon Iran. A little bird has passed on the nugget that our attack subs recently had their cruise missile stocks completely replenished - just before they all sailed off.

OK - what's your Tale?

[Danube of Thought]

Why did U.S. District Judge William Alsup ignore the Naturalization Act of 1795?

That Act was superseded by the Naturalization Act of 1798, which itself was repealed in 1802. The judge relied on the Acts of 1934 and 1937.

His citizenship status was, from birth, also "governed" by Panamanian law, due to the fact that he was born in Panama.

Panamanian law is irrelevant to the determination of US citizenship. Cameroon could declare that everyone born in the western hemisphere is a citizen of Cameroon, but such a law would not affect the US's right to declare its own citizenship criteria.

I can't read the certificate, but in any event I don't know that the Colon Hospital was not in the Canal Zone (the city of Colon itself was not, that doesn't mean that a hospital bearing the name was not in the Zone). The assets of the Panama Railroad Company, which appears below the words "Colon Hospital," were under the control of the Zone.

[centralcal]

Rick B: Obi Wan's take is very interesting. October surprise planning sounds like a good idea.

Janet and other MFM haters, you will just love this little tip:

"So keep an eye on ABC, especially Stephanopoulos and also First Read and Politico — they’re usually the first-wave transmitters of the White House line. Believe me, they’ve already got a pollster or two who’s ready to bend some numbers and journalists ready to write about the “sudden Democratic surge.”

[narciso]

Actually the hospital at Coco Solo, is in the Canal Zone, game set match, in the LUN

[peter]

Dave in MA, and OL, I thought that all the package stores in MA went bankrupt after the passing of Teddy Kennedy.

[Threadkiller]

--"Cameroon could declare that everyone born in the western hemisphere is a citizen of Cameroon, but such a law would not affect the US's right to declare its own citizenship criteria."-- is a non sequitur.

Can they at least pass a law regarding everyone born in Cameroon, as Panama did?

Sorry Rob. I tried to post the image because I can’t tell if the links will be opened that prove others wrong.

">http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/mccain%20birth.JPG"> Short-form Certificate of Live Birth

">http://naturalborncitizen.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/mccains-bc.jpg"> Long-form birth certificate.

That is proof that he was born in Colon, Panama.

I don’t see "Natural Born" referred to in the Naturalization Acts and repeals of 1798, 1802, 1934 and 1937. The last it was mention was 1790. Howdo you arrive that it is synonymous with "Citizen”

[Janet]

Janet and other MFM haters,

A badge of honor! Possibly in my top 5...Christian, wife, mother, conservative, MFM hater!

[Clarice]

My October surprise suggestions:
Obama is proposing a new law permitting Daisy and Imam Rauf to head the NYC death panel through the Cordoba Mosque.

Al Gore will head the newly renamed Dept of Energy and EcoTerrorism.

Obama is sharply increasing taxes except for residents of Martha Vineyard ,Chicago,San Francisco, Marin County and Manhattan's Upper West side.

[Old Lurker]

True that, Peter, but my wife discovered that the WSJ wine club will FedEx anything we need. I can store Gin in the bathtub so truthfully the only problem is staying in limes and tonic...

[Clarice]

Surprise 4..
The Middle West and South will be renamed the Pale. Unless appointed to a federal position residents of the Pale are not permitted to vote, hold land or emigrate out. Residents of the Pale will be subject to additional taxes.

[Threadkiller]

The game is in
">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Solo"> overtime due to an instant replay from the ref.

The larger Coco Solo Hospital was constructed in the summer of 1941.[2] The area containing it was transferred from the civil part of the Panama Canal Zone to the naval part when Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8981 on December 17, 1941.

Looks like it left the “civil” part in 1941. Must not have been part of the canal zone when McCain was born. Thanks for the assist narciso. ;-)

[MayBee]

ha! clarice!

[Clarice]

OL the WSJ wine club offers some very good deals.

[hit and run]

narciso:
all of you from hit to DAve and TC, stay safe, with earl's approach

Thanks. We'll miss any Earl weather here,being far enough inland and no plans to hit the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend.

We could actually use some rain. But at least these mid-90s temps are supposed to drop this weekend down to the low 80s.

Hallelujah.

hit and run jr's first year of football . . . the practices have been insufferable. For me,that is. He seems to take the heat in stride.

[Clarice]

Good to hear that, I was about to ask myself, Hit.

[Janet]

OL the WSJ wine club offers some very good deals.

Whereas you cannot be a member of the WaPo whine club because you are not an illegal, a minority, a homosexual, a rap singer, a worshiper of anything other than Almighty God,...

[Clarice]

Surprise # 5:
To prevent MLK's legacy to be besmirched again by White Christians and their running dogs Obama is redoing the mall into a private MLK Presidential golf course, accessible only by the President and his invited guests.

Surprise #6, Because Jefferson and Washington were slave holders, their monuments will be bulldozed and new ones erected honoring true Americans, Oprah and Soros.

[peter]

my wife discovered that the WSJ wine club will FedEx anything we need

I prefer Gary Vaynerchuk's shop in New Jersey. Excellent deals.

[Clarice]

*legacy FROM BEING besmirched again***

[narciso]

I think you're encroaching on bgates's territory, Clarice

[Clarice]

Surprise#7
Paris Hilton will be named drug czarina...if she can find her real purse..

[Clarice]

Not even close, narciso--And I invite others to join in.

[Frau Edith Steingehirn]

Remember how Arne cleaned up the teaching mess in Chicago? Neither do I.

NO multiple choice tests? I just took one yesterday on my birthday,ahem, while renewing my license to drive. If this reform spreads, who will read all the essay answers at the DMV and *who* is qualified? Will this be a new college major? What will happen to us? Fewer legal drivers on the roads? It's not a right;it's a privilege!

BTW people were waiting in line outside in 90 degree-plus temperatures for up to 2+ hours and the survivors inside for another 1 1/2 hours. Appointments were not available, and the camera in the next county was not working so a Völkerwanderung headed west. These are the Tales of My People that will be told one day around the small camp fires. I once made a stamp that said "Hire the Incompetent" which may have been the wrong thing to suggest, come to think of it.

[pagar]

"The larger Coco Solo Hospital was constructed in the summer of 1941.[2] The area containing it was transferred from the civil part of the Panama Canal Zone"

I wasn't in the Canal Zone at that time, but
if you were in the civil part of the Panama Canal zone you were in the Panama Canal zone. If you were in the Naval part of the Panama Canal zone you were in the Panama Canal zone. They were two different parts of the same Canal Zone.

[Clarice]

Surprise#8 Michelle Obama is being given Gitmo which will become a boot camp for kids with fat behinds.
Surprise #9 The uniforms of the American military are being redesigned by narciso rodriguez.
Surprise #10 the Presidential seal is being redrawn to feature a capon facing left with arugula branches in its claws.

[Danube of Thought]

Can they at least pass a law regarding everyone born in Cameroon, as Panama did?

Yes, but no such law can affect the power of the United States to declare who is and is not a citizen of the United States. The fact that some other nation (or nations) declares that a U.S. citizen is also one of their own has no bearing on the matter.

How do you arrive that it [natural-born citizen] is synonymous with "Citizen?”

I don't. I conclude that it was intended by the Framers to be, and is, synonymous with "citizen at birth." Under the 1934 Act, even if McCain were born outside the Zone, he still qualifies.

[Clarice]

belated happy birthday wishes, Frau.

[MayBee]

October surprise:

A picture slips into the media: Little Sasha Obama, walking Bo near her White House swingset, and crying silently.

It is soon revealed that a schoolmate- the unnamed child of a mean Republican- mentioned a possible Dem loss to little Sasha during their weekly ARRA logo coloring classwork. Eventually, Sasha's Tempera paint-and-teardrop logo is also released to the media.

Who could vote for the heartless heathens who make little Sasha cry? And what kind of sick Republicans get their children involved in such partisan politics? Vote for Democrats.

[Danube of Thought]

Looks like it left the “civil” part in 1941. Must not have been part of the canal zone when McCain was born.

I read it the opposite way. Seems to me it was in the civil part of the Zone before 1941, and the naval part thereafter.

[Clarice]

Heh, those kids are on a sort of rotating track, aren't they, MayBee?-Kept private until the polls dip in which case they are trotted out and little tales whispered about them to besotted newsfolks to be leaked out tp make the family seem more human..

[Janet]

In God We Trust will be stricken from the lexicon...instead we will honor rhubarb - the vegetable god.

[Rob Crawford]

Rhubarb is not the vegetable god. Asparagus is the vegetable god.

[narciso]

With only a few exceptions, they all seem plausible possibilities, lol

[MayBee]

Yeah, Clarice. They were on full display behind Obama during his Oval Office address, the obvious work of a prop stylist.

Tucker Carlson called it offensive, I call it manipulative. His kids are right upstairs from his office. Why no photos of people he can't see via a 1 minute walk? Does his Grandma not poll well?

[Frau Edith Steingehirn]

October - Stoked by conservatives, public outrage over the First Dog handler salary and canine jet costs, Bo has to stay at home alone and punishes his guardians by carping in the family quarters.

Thank you, Clarice. Despite the challenges,I passed my written multiple choice test with honors.

[Janet]

Hospitals will cease & desist their habit of issuing birth certificates. Only certifications of birth will henceforth be required for passports & other official business. The certification will just prove that you were born somewhere, at some time, & are the offspring of whoever you say. It will prove you exist.

[Threadkiller]

Which part of the Canal zone would you consider American soil? Is there a distinction?

If Cameroon can't claim all people of the western hemisphere are its Citizens, can the United States claim that all people born in the western hemisphere can have no other allegiances than American?

Rob, this is why I tried to post the image.

The link clearly shows McCain was born at Colon Hospital, Colon. We now are discussing an erroneous Wiki entry.

[bgates]

I heard Obama's going to announce a "Restoration to Citizenship through Work" program, where he'll reduce unemployment among ex-cons by hiring them to enter medical information into the new federal databases.

Also, a "Preserve Communities through Service" initiative that's supposed to encourage beautification of low-income areas via a combination of tax credits and other incentives. Basically, if you make less than $25k a year, the government will pay you to cut your own lawn, and if you make more than $75k, they'll fine you unless you drive into a slum and cut somebody else's lawn for them.

The OATC (Organizing for America Training Corps) is going to show up on college campuses next month. Not just in the Ivies, either - A&M is supposedly going to have like 5,000 cadets, mostly "re-entry" students from Austin. Unfortunately, that means their existing ROTC program is going to be relocated to San Angelo, but I guess the administration figures anybody going into the Army right now doesn't mind being suddenly moved hundreds of miles into a desert.

OATC hopes to get college student voting numbers to 100% of enrollment - in their home towns and at school, if there's still time to get absentee ballots.

[Jane]

because she will want to move to the high school gym when the order gets issued.

Do not underestimate the Nantucket HS gym OL. Lots of people pay lots of property tax to make sure it has an Olympic pool and all the amenities you could ever want.

Meanwhile, Caro says she will ride out the storm on her boat, and if anyone can do it, it is Caro.

[Rick Ballard]

The President will issue an Executive Order eliminating unemployment through establishment of the Obamacorps (please note proper Presidential pronunciation). All those formerly unemployed will exchange blank absentee ballots for ration and shelter vouchers good through November 3.

[Janet]

Happy Birthday Frau!!!!

[Frau Edith Steingehirn]

Janet, your boots are wonderful! The Sundance catalog has nothing that even comes close. If you extinguish a cigarette with them, pretend you have Madam Speaker's fingers under foot.

[Danube of Thought]

can the United States claim that all people born in the western hemisphere can have no other allegiances than American?

Yes, but such a claim would have no effect on the citizenship laws of any other nation.

[Clarice]

See, I bat it around for a couple of minutes and then bgates the master comes in --well, the rest is history.

[MayBee]

Happy Birthday, Frau!

[MayBee]

Genius.

[bgates]

In light of recent voting controversies, Obama's going to invite members of the UN Human Rights Council to send poll watchers around the country to make sure the election is conducted according to international standards.

And Rick got his story wrong - it's not going to be a strike against Iran, it's going to be a breakthrough announcement of peace with the Iranians.

Those subs are just going over to conduct the first ever joint US-Iranian military exercises.

They're calling it "Operation Tiglath-Pileser".

[Threadkiller]

--"Yes, but such a claim would have no effect on the citizenship laws of any other nation."--

So America cannot remove McCain’s Birthright allegiance to Panama.

[Frau Edith Steingehirn]

Thanks all for the good wishes. I have put another wrinkle on my birthday suit, as the song goes.

[Frau Edith Steingehirn]

"So America cannot remove McCain’s Birthright allegiance to Panama."

TK- Quatsch!

[centralcal]

oh, golly, late to the birthday party!

Happy Birthday, Frau and may you have many more.

[narciso]

Happy Birthday, Frau, bgates if it's not in fluent Austrian, he wouldn't name it so

[MayBee]

President Obama will introduce the Justice in Salaries Act (JIS Act), which will authorize the Department of Labor to give a ranking of social importance to all jobs. Also incorporated into the ranking will be a factor representing whether success on a particular career path requires real talent, just plain luck, or exploitation of those who are less successful through no fault of their own.

The ranking will then be used to determine the legal salary range for each segment.

Authors, Public Servants, and Political consultants are expected to be high on the JIS scale.

[Janet]

If you extinguish a cigarette with them, pretend you have Madam Speaker's fingers under foot.

Hahaha...consider it done!

[Janet]

In the interest of unifying the nation, we will all be issued a Crow Indian name and be adopted by a Crow Indian family....thus we will all finally be real Americans.
signed this day
in the year of our rhubarb god 2010,
Barack Black Eagle

(now circle 3 times, throw your hands in the air, and chant "grow, rhubarb grow!")

Congratulations, you are now a member of the Crow Indian Tribe.

[Threadkiller]

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Frau!

--“Quatsch!”--

Ich habe nichts daran zu beanstanden.

Unscharfe Logik einer DoT.

[Jane]

Happy Birthday Frau!

[jimmyk]

Also, much of the world uses tests not to determine if students are "learning enough" for college, but whether they will be put on the college track at all.

True, Maybee, but they also have competent elementary and secondary education, so that most high school graduates are actually, you know, edumacated. The return to going to college in the US is actually very high, but that says more about the state of our high schools than about the fundamental need for so many people to go to college.

[Ignatz]

--They're calling it "Operation Tiglath-Pileser".--

Heh.

[boris]

I conclude that it was intended by the Framers to be, and is, synonymous with "citizen at birth."

I assume it was synonymous back then. The category "citizen at birth" has since been modified to include members that the Framers likely intended to exclude. Anchor babies for example.

The explicit removal or "natural born" from the NA 1790 seems like evidence they intended to draw a distinction between the categories.

My claim is changing the meaning of the constitution by changing the definition of some words or terms can not be done without amending it. The government does not have the authority to unilaterally make that kind of change without participation of the public, as required in the amending process. That is my basic objection to gay marriage redefinition also.

Since the term "citizen at birth" has been changed it can not be considered a definition itself. Therefore it is invalid to say natural born citizen is defined as citizen at birth. It would be more reasonable to claim natural born citizen shares the same definition that citizen at birth had when the constitution was written

That definition which they shared back then remains the definition for natural born.

The definition for citizen at birth has (again) been changed to something different.

[Captain Hate]

Happy birthday Frau.

[Rick Ballard]

Happy Birthday Frau.

[Threadkiller]

--"It would be more reasonable to claim natural born citizen shares the same definition that citizen at birth had when the constitution was written."--

Good point boris. This is the same argument used by John Eastman and Mark Levin. They believe that the newborn must be free of all other allegiances to gain citizenship. That ties directly to "natural born citizenship."

The fact that citizenship has been molested so much does not mean it never had the same meaning as natural born.

[daddy]

"...four Greenpeace protesters had to be rescued from an offshore drilling rig in Greenland because of severe weather caused by an early onset of Arctic winter..."

Matt,

The scientists have determined that last year's horrendous winter was ">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11152077"> "Weather", but I think you are jumping the gun saying this new bout of super freezing is "Weather", because until the Scientists analyze it it might in fact simply be "Climate Change". Let's run it through Al Gore first.

[Threadkiller]

DoT, I think we both read it the same way.

From me:
"Looks like it left the “civil” part in 1941. Must not have been part of the canal zone when McCain was born.

And yours:
I read it the opposite way. Seems to me it was in the civil part of the Zone before 1941, and the naval part thereafter.

[Janet]

it it might in fact simply be "Climate Change". Let's run it through Al Gore first.

or it might be 'marriage' if we run it through Judge Walker. Ah those crazy mixed-up definitions!

[anduril]

Yes, Michael Snyder is all doom and gloom all the time.

Yes, his use of stats is highly tendentious.

Nevertheless, he has some worthwhile points.

The acid test: Will the GOPers do something about tax treatment for hedge fund managers after they get control? If they don't, you'll know the fix is in and Pat Caddell will be able to point to a reason to justify what he says:

“Unless Republicans can find some way to screw it up, they will win big, even though nobody really likes them, either.”

30 Statistics That Prove The Elite Are Getting Richer, The Poor Are Getting Poorer And The Middle Class Is Being Destroyed

Not everyone has been doing badly during the economic turmoil of the last few years. In fact, there are some Americans that are doing really, really well. While the vast majority of us struggle, there is one small segment of society that is seemingly doing better than ever.

This was reflected in a recent article on CNBC in which it was noted that companies that cater to average Americans are doing rather poorly right now while companies that market luxury goods and services are generally performing exceptionally well. So why aren't all American consumers jumping on the spending bandwagon?

Well, it seems that there are a large number of Americans who either can't spend a lot of money right now or who are very hesitant to. A stunningly high number of Americans are still unemployed, and for many other Americans, there is a very real fear that hard economic times will return soon. On the other hand, there is a significant percentage of Americans who are blowing money on luxury goods and services as if the economy has fully turned around and it is time to let the good times roll. So exactly what in the world is going on here?

Well, in 2010 life is very, very different depending on whether you are a "have" or a "have not". The recent article on CNBC referenced above described it this way....

Consumer spending in the U.S. has turned into a tale of two cities in 2010, with an entire segment of consumers splurging confidently on the finer things in life, while another segment, concerned about unemployment and with little or no discretionary income, spends only on bare necessities.

So why is this happening?

It is happening because the rich are getting richer and they have plenty of money to buy stuff and the poor are getting poorer and have less money to spend than ever.

In case you haven't been paying attention over the past couple of decades, what we have in America today is a system that is designed to funnel as much wealth into the hands of the elite as possible.

This isn't capitalism that we have in America in 2010. Instead, what we have created is a system where the laws are set up so that the power elite and their big, dominant corporations always win.

Why do you think so many of America's largest corporations pay so little in taxes?

Why do you think so many of them are showered with government subsidies, tax breaks and bailouts?

It's not about competition anymore.

It's about rigging the game in your favor.

The power elite and the giant corporations they control spend millions and millions on lobbying and campaign contributions and they expect a big return on that investment.

Let's take a look at one example. Many people think that Barack Obama and the Democrats are supposed to be anti-business, right?

Well then why are some of Barack Obama's biggest donors the very same corporations that are receiving giant bailouts, making record profits and paying their employees billions in bonuses?

Goldman Sachs was Barack Obama's second biggest donor. Microsoft was number four. Citigroup was number six. JPMorgan Chase was number seven. Time Warner was number eight.

Are you starting to get the picture?

Every single year, the U.S. Congress passes law after law after law that makes it easier for big corporations to dominate and makes it easier for the rich to get even richer.

America's economy is not about competition anymore.

It is about eliminating competition.

And unfortunately for middle class Americans, the giant predator corporations that now dominate our economy are realizing that they don't really need nearly as many American workers anymore.

Instead, they are slowly but surely shipping our jobs off to the other side of the world where workers are willing to work for about a tenth as much.

And yet we still run out to the "big box" stores and fill up our carts with a bunch of plastic crap made on the other side of the world by these giant corporations.

Meanwhile, those giant corporations are taking the profits they make out of our communities and they are taking our jobs and are shipping them overseas.

So in the final analysis, is it any wonder why the income inequality gap is growing?

Without small businesses having a legitimate chance to compete and without good jobs for American workers, the middle class in America is going to continue to get chewed up and spit out.

The following are 30 statistics that prove that the elite are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is being destroyed in 2010....

[Captain Hate]

Why did anybody bother to rescue those Greenpeace idiots? Shouldn't they have to accept the consequences of their ridiculous actions? If you persist in treating individuals like petulant children, they'll react accordingly.

[Threadkiller]

DoT, I see the difference now. I thought you were talking about the time line. It does read an all-inclusive zone.

I defer to my trump card. His BC says he was born in Colon at Colon Hospital, outside the zone altogether. Not at Coco Solo. Strange huh?

[Rick Ballard]

Jim Ryan Makes The Difference

Anybody here know how to clone?

[anduril]

Why you'll all be Linux users soon--the desktop has been redefined and Google is at the head of the pack:

Steve Jobs Is Stunned (And Scared?) By Android's Growth

Google To Steve Jobs: No, We Aren't Lying About Android Activations, And, Yes, We're Going To Kick iPhone's Ass

During yesterday's iPod/Apple TV event Steve Jobs (all but) literally said he cannot believe how fast Android is growing.

He boasted of Apple's success with iOS devices (iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone) saying Apple sees 230,000 new activations of iOS devices on a daily basis.
That's pretty impressive, as it gives Apple a run rate of 84 million iOS devices on an annual basis.

After throwing out Apple's stats, Jobs said, "we think we're ahead of everyone else," because, "we think some our friends are counting upgrades in their numbers."

In other words, Steve Jobs is saying, "I can't believe that Android is growing so fast!"

Google says it has 200,000 Android devices activated daily. Google has since responded saying, “The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services.”

When you consider that Jobs iOS stat includes iPads and iPods, it's safe to assume Google is activating more phones each day than Apple.

Of course, Jobs could be talking about Nokia which says it has 300,000 devices activated daily. In which case, this whole thing is a misunderstanding!

Sad Nokia Wants You To Know It's Activating 300,000 Smartphones Daily

Google's Android Is Making Boatloads Of Money, Says Schmidt--Way More Than It Costs To Make

Nokia's open source smartphone software platform Symbian wants to un-bury a nugget of news for everyone.

Earlier this week Canalys released a report on the state of the smartphone market. The big bold headlines focused on Android's 886% growth rate on year over year basis, and the fact that Android blew past RIM and the iPhone to take the lead in U.S. smartphone sales.

Adding to the Android momentum, Eric Schmidt said Google is now seeing 200,000 Android phones activated daily. That's an impressive 73 million annual run rate.

Pshaw to all that, says Symbian. The company points out that according to Canalys' research, there's 300,000 Symbian devices activated on a daily basis, which equals 109.5 million phones activated annually.

It's an impressive figure, but let's not kid ourselves. Android is a heat seeking missile coming right after it.

Canalys said in its release, "Nokia’s market dominance is not as unassailable as it once was, with its performance outpaced by growth in the smart phone market as a whole." It also calls the U.S., "the largest smart phone market in the world by a significant margin."

There is NO excitement or momentum around Symbian in U.S. Internationally, it doesn't seem much better. When we talk to mobile developers from around the world -- India, Korea, the UK, the US -- none of them ever talk about working on projects for Symbian.

[rse]

Guess who's heading up the drive to get rid of multiple choice tests?

Linda Darling-Hammond a woman whose social justice mantra sends shivers down both my and Steve Diamond's spines.

I spent the morning analyzing so none of you have to.

Guess who underwrote LDH's work on this? the Sandler and Ford Foundations. On the Sandlers I kept seeing Saturday Night Live.

The idea is that we will go to subjective school-based tasks, embedded in the curriculum to measure what students are learning.

So research projects, science investigations, development of products, and presentations about these efforts all now count as performance based assessments and that's how we will measure American schoolchildren.

Lots of group work. Plus it's going to be really hard to have any more politically pesky cheating scandals.

If only Beverly Hall and Atlanta Public Schools can make it to implementation.