Saturday Morning

Away we go. And in recognition of something or other, I found this bit of Super Bowl trivia interesting - what two Super Bowl MVPs have the same initials?

Spoiler Alert - The answer will be all over the news all week.

Comments

[Beasts of England]

Giselle Bünchen

[Sandy--I Stand with Walker 2016--Daze ن]

Good Morning.

At a site I visit for time to time:

Crisis Magazines A Voice for the Faithful Catholic Laity

there is this new essay from William Kilpatrick:
Assuming the Worst
I like Kilpaptrick's writing, and recommend this essay in particular.

FTA:

Sometimes it pays to assume the worst. Jews who assumed the worst about the Nazis in the early days of Hitler’s rule fled Germany to safe havens and survived. Most of those who assumed that the situation couldn’t get any worse stayed put and did not survive.

The disposition to assume the worst goes against the grain for Americans. Except for a small minority of conspiracy theorists, Americans tend to be of the optimistic sort.

[MoodyBlu]

Brady and Bradshaw.

[Captain Hate]

Jerry Rice and John Riggins too.

[rich@gmu]

Deion Branch and Drew Brees ...

[henry]

Rich, with Deflated Balls we have a chance at a triple.

[MoodyBlu]

So, Iowa Freedom Summit live on CSPAN. Who do you like?

My choices:
Walker
Jindal
Perry
Cruz

Looking at the audience, which media outlet first reports "it's a bunch of old, fat, white people"? We all know it's coming.

[peter]

OK, getting a slight complex, because whenever I post from my Ipad, typepad eats the comments. Very weird feeling like talking to myself.

I've been on a French 50s and 60s black and white movie kick lately. Watched 1952 "Forbidden Games" 1958 "Elevator to the Gallows" and 1963 "The Fire Within" --all very good, and "Two Men in Manhattan" not so good.

[peter]

What Greta Van Susteran did in an elevator in Vietnam was extremely dangerous. After the elevator moved between floors and apparently got stuck between floors, she and her fellow passengers forced the door open and crawled through a two foot opening, thinking the elevator was about to plunge.. I have litigated a lot of elevator accident cases, and she could easily have been beheaded. Elevators rarely free fall. The proper thing to do is wait for help. Mechanics can manually move the elevator to the next floor.

[Old Lurker]

My daughter has a friend whose brother WAS beheaded exactly that way, Peter.

[Threadkiller]

Any lawsuits on these, Peter?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08O0xVvB_a4

[Threadkiller]

DeMint is looking and sounding good on Cspan.

Almost Reaganesgue hair as well.

[Old Lurker]

OK, THAT elevator is cool, TK.

[Captain Hate]

I'm sure he was just ministering to the needs of this troubled youth toward whom Rodham will be in the attack mode:

http://weaselzippers.us/212014-sex-slave-claims-bill-clinton-visited-epsteins-orgy-island-with-young-girls/

[Threadkiller]

No more digging pits or having cumbersome equipment rooms, Ol.

Just a lot of fingerprint cleaning.

[Jane]

Thanks for the heads up MoodyBlu. I'd say we are working on a foot of snow here - to continue all day.

[rich@gmu]

yikes ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeb-bush-previews-2016-run-promising-adult-conversations-on-big-issues/2015/01/23/783d3e86-a315-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html

is the adult conversation anything like the "teachable moments" and "national conversations" we always hear about?

>>>Bush said the Republican Party will win back the White House only if it offers an optimistic message. “Hope and a positive agenda wins out over anger and reaction every day of the week,” he said.<<<

hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.

[GMax]

Well as I walked out of American Sniper yesterday evening, noting the large crowd queuing up for the next showing, it stuck me that Eastwood has a phenomenon on his hands. Movie was well done, and sobering.

The number of theatres showing the movie continues to increase, and the cumulative box office take will approach $200MM this weekend.

Meanwhile, Johnny Depp is laying another egg. No one is going to his movie, AGAIN. When does it become apparent to studios, that America is quite and well over any Depp obsession it may have once had. How many disasterous flops now, four ( I think ). Time for a seat on Hollywood Squares, Johnny boy...

[rich@gmu]

hey MoodyBlu. Haven't noticed you in the comments for a while. Welcome back if you haven't been around for a while. Hope all is well.

[RickB]

Another Bob linked a very interesting piece last night which included an acronym - WEIRD - of which I had never heard. The piece contained a link to another explanatory piece which is also very interesting.

One way of looking at the pieces is that WEIRD people have constructed a WEIRD world using 46' standard studs and geometry based upon Pi = 3. The Gramscian based CAD program allows it and the "march of WEIRD history" demands it.

Thanks, Another Bob.

[MoodyBlu]

rich,

Been lurking but with 2016 fast approaching, I just felt like posting something. That or shovel the 6 inches of snow that fell in State College last night. Thank you for the greeting.

[rich@gmu]

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/01/22/measles-outbreak-that-started-in-california-expanding/

another gift from our open borders ...

[MoodyBlu]

re American Sniper. Wife and I attended the 4pm matinee this past MO in State a College, PA. The place was packed, standing room only. It was filled with students. Don't know if there were classes because it was MLK Day or if the buzz about the movie brought them out. And a lot of applause at the end.

Silly Hollywood liberals will never learn what will make money.

[Sandy--I Stand with Walker 2016--Daze ن]

I'll second RickB's thanks for Another Bob's posting of
The West, Islam, and the Last Stand of the WEIRD

[Old Lurker]

I'm still refiguring my drawings for 46' stud spacing and Pi = 3. That Pi thing sure makes it easier for me to do the math in my head.

Thanks Rick.

[Miss Marple]

rish,

Also a gift from the anti-vaccine people. Woke up in the middle of the night a few days ago and there was a woman "doctor" on who said vaccines were not necessary and were dangerous. After about 15 minutes of her idiocy and how she was being attacked by "agents of the pharmaceutical industry" one of the "agents" (aka a NORMAL PERSON with a reasonable IQ) called in to challenger her and said they were being irresponsible and putting out a dangerous message.

He then pointed out that smallpox and polio had almost disappeared. The woman's answer was that they would have gone away, anyway, due to better hygiene.

Then George Noury said, "We offer you the information. We don't tell you whether to vaccinate or not."

I found this so annoying that I got out of bed and sent an email to the program director at the radio station. You cannot present l life-endangering misinformation and then act like it's just opinion on something abstract.

Anyway, these morons are endangering the public with their foolishness. I am old enough to have been given the polio vaccine at school in the second grade. They lined us all up to get the series of shots, and there wasn't any of this stupidity, because we knew people who had had polio and were dead or paralyzed.

I guess we should be glad the epidemic is measles and not polio.

[MarkO]

California has banned its judges from membership in the Boy Scouts of America.

I see many recusals in many different sorts of cases.

[rich@gmu]

Moody Blu-

sorry your buried in snow. just walked outside and it is sort of snowing here too ... not quite cold enough for it to stay snow. Crappy is how it is ...

Rick-

I'll second the recommendation on that piece. They had an article a while back that is related to the themes laid out in that piece ...

http://20committee.com/2014/11/29/is-this-the-end-of-europe/

(iirc narciso has linked those pieces before as well).

[rse]

New post up for the snow bound and anyone else interested in how the think tanks intend to use education to make the actual climate change a moot point. Education will make it a 'social fact' via shared beliefs.

http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/tethering-the-logical-rational-mind-via-k-12-education-to-emotionally-grounded-experience/

Funny how Equity as a legal requirement forces the same vision. I am so tired of the bragging about using the law and a web of legislation to compel the collectivist economic justice vision.

[Miss Marple]

They just revised our forecast to snow tonight.

I wondered when I heard about that storm in the Panhandle. We always seem to get the storms that move northeast from Texas.

[Threadkiller]

Silly Hollywood liberals will never learn what will make money.

Reminds me of Hal Needham.

http://fortune.com/2011/02/09/how-smokey-and-the-bandit-was-born/

[Miss Marple]

TK,

Thank you for that link to the story about SMokey and the Bandit. Great, fun read and shows you how you can make a lot of money by paying attention to something as small as beer disapearing from your fridge.

Highly recommend your link!

[narciso]

yes, he's a good source of links, being fmr?
NSA, with internatl matters,

[RickB]

OL,

You can certainly design with WEIRD SimWorld, they're doing so in Davos this weekend. I would hesitate to break ground on a WEIRD SimWorld project due to the refusal of certain unsavory characters to accept the obvious capability of the SkyDragon to provide the perpetual motion necessary to maintain WEIRD SimWorld's existence.

[narciso]

here's another piece,

http://20committee.com/2015/01/24/russias-emerging-holy-war/

I proffered on the other thread, that Prince Salman, or his scheduler, doesn't suffer fools gladly,so Solon and the Upper class twit is out,

[Jack is Back!]

Finaly able to get a photo of Beast's boat:

[narciso]

Western Europe is an artificial construct, only previous attempted by Charlemagne, Napoleon and Hitler, the lack of a common culture, is the main problem, in addition to the economic disparities,

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/23/us-netherlands-wilders-election-idUSKBN0KW1YD20150123

I would have said, make the government more responsible to the people, but from a certain point of view, this means the same thing,

[Man Tran]

Buckeye X 3:

Tal - I have the Crossroads DVD. The only thing worth watching on it is Tal's performance. Wow! I loved the way JB turned around at the end and bowed in that 'we're not worthy' way.

Bromberg - my fave upright bassist. His Caravan hooked me right off. Haven't heard much of his electric stuff.

Cowlumbus - our Venn diagrams have to overlap in a few places. Lived there from '72 to '09. Not a Buckeye, but like Mrs. daddy, Mrs. MT is one (along with a Capital MBA). MT Jr. was a 'Tangy grad, as was Ann's lovely daughter.

TK:

I worked with Hal in '72. Had the privilege or trying to kill him several times by smashing him around in cars. (Failed to even bruise him, but the cars were all shouldering junk!)

Ignatz:

A buddy up here just sold his Ford GT on eBay for $225k. Sold in three minutes.

[rich@gmu]

Posted by: narciso | January 24, 2015 at 12:42 PM -

thanks for that. i should read more from there-good stuff. got me thinking that the KSA drive to push down oil prices might have something to do with conflicts within the royal family (at least the 2000 or so who matter) as much as it has to do with international affairs and North Dakota (which I think is a minor concern overall).

[rich@gmu]

mm-

that too, but it wouldn't be such a hazard if we didn't bring the third world to us. suppose it is another data point regarding self preservation.

for me to enroll at gmu had to get my shots ... good grief i was sick for a month after.

[Threadkiller]

Anyone enjoying Trump's speech as much as me?

[rich@gmu]

if you hadn't mentioned it tk, i'd be blissfully unaware of the speech.

[narciso]

true, Abdullah, gave them a much smaller punchbowl, there are still things that don't add up, this opening the spigots has to cause enormous downside stress on the Kingdom, in 2005, when King Fahd passed, the country was nicely floating on an sea of oil, that was appreciating, the Skydragon syndicate had something to do with it,

[Jack is Back!]

Did he call Obama a muslim?

[pagar]

Over in the left hand Memo column we have another of those (real) concerned articles. (and I think someone here touched on it last night )if Sarah Palin was interested in running for President she shouldn't announce it standing behind a sign that says xxxx you Michael Moore.

IMO, we need a lot more people refusing to cater to the leftists and I believe the crowds viewing "American Sniper" show that there are a lot of Americans who believe that.

May God bless Sarah Palin and the United States of America.

[Danube on iPad]

And to think they had to talk Jerry Jones out of drafting this useless fool:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24986501/report-teammate-said-johnny-manziel-was-a-100-percent-joke

[peter]

Another thing I tried to post several times was congratulations to rse for being "Maggie's-Farm-launched" yesterday.

[rich@gmu]

narciso-

my thinking is that some factions within the Allegiance Council can withstand better the financial hit the kingdom will take with the drop in oil. once some factions are bankrupted the stronger players can more easily buy support and pay tribute.

seems odd that our commander in chief would be blissfully unaware that Saudi Arabia is being surrounded by enemies, and manipulating oil prices seems a desperate strategy, and that a nuclear Iran ain't gonna help.

[Man Tran]

Bah! Autocorrect shouldering > smoldering.

[peter]

LUN is the link to Maggie's Farm wherein rse is mentioned. Congrats again.

[narciso]

Curiosly that novel I've been referring all week, by that Marine col, Anderson Harp, set within a short time of the Abbotabad raid, involves the Ba'yah council, and even references then mere princes Salman and Mutaib as swing votes,

[MoodyBlu]

Marsha Blackburn is one saucy lady. Enjoying her speech.

[narciso]

the problem with the Medici, is he forgets his own brother's path to the nomination,
was by promising the reverse the current administration's policies,

[Jane]

Scott Walker speaking right now.

[Threadkiller]

Trump did very well. He slammed Mitt and Jeb succinctly.

He also bashed the use of teleprompters in a way that will make it difficult for any of the speakers that follow his to use them.

I missed his opening salvo. My wife said he was killing it.

rich, I don't know why you would be full of bliss to miss someone speaking in terms of the greatness of our country.

[Threadkiller]

follow him

[Jane]

Walker speaking without notes. Audience seems disinterested, but I love him.

[rich@gmu]

more good news from the socialist paradise

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/robbers-target-food-delivery-trucks-shortage-hit-venezuela-125312857.html

TK-

not sure of the event (Iowa?) or the context. glad he did well.

[narciso]

well there you go,

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/23/exclusive-cia-s-top-spy-steps-down.html

[rich@gmu]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/01/24/palin-say-shes-seriously-interested-in-2016-campaign/

and this ought to get all the right people hot-and-bothered.

[narciso]

and this is different from how they behave how exactly,

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/curtis-houck/2015/01/23/fncs-kurtz-pans-obamas-youtube-interview-maybe-its-how-he-wants-wh

[narciso]

this is a grim metric, even Zarquawi stopped publicizing beheadings, so the campaign against ISIS can be considered 'flawed' except for the Kurdish offensive, which is cutting like a kris knife

[Strawman Cometh]

:The woman's answer was that they would have gone away, anyway, due to better hygiene."
It was modern hygiene that btought on the polio epidemic.

[narciso]

what is striking is there is little pushback against these claims,

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-frank-kamenetsky-open-letter/26805995.html

for every reference to Afghanistan and Iraq, a mention of Chechnya, for Gitmo filtration camps, when you mention Abu Ghraib, well you get the picture,

[Threadkiller]

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4525004/donald-trump-iowa-freedom-summit

[PDinDetroit]

anonamom - I am pretty much convinced that my migraines have to do with inflammation. They are always worse when there is LOW BAROMETRIC/ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, which I believe allows for MORE INFLAMMATION. Right now, the pressure has dropped from 30.13 to 29.26 over the past 16-18 hours (Tracked with Home Weather Station and DS Barometer Android App on my Galaxy S5 Active). Even with this new medicine regimen, if pressure drops too quickly or is below 29.50 for any length of time, I start wishing for a drill bit and a steady hand for the Back Right Lower Area of the head where the holes are needed (joking, of course). Since I am still here after all that I have been through, I am supposed to be here and will not harm myself although I have just about every popular firearm/caliber that would do the trick (they do not call these "suicide headaches" for nothing). To consider using Medical Marijuana, even with me having 25 years clean/sober, should be enough to know the severity of the headaches and my resolve to overcome them. There are writings about handling pain at these levels for addicts/alcoholics, one is entitled "In Times of Illness" and my copy is well worn.

I will begin adding Nasacort to the medicine regimen as soon as I can discuss with my doctor (OTC Medicine). It appears to target more than just histamines for inflammation. Should be no issue, as I have been prescribed Nasal Sprays in the past.

When the migraines get really bad in succession, my neurologist and even regular doctor prescribes Prednisone for a high dose and long taper period (usually 20 days). I have gotten so used to it, I barely even get angry anymore (steroids do bring out aggression!). Prednisone can definitely reduce inflammation, but boy do I gain weight on them.

While food sources can be factored out with dietary changes, I have a few other factors that come into play to be considered that are much more likely:

1. Meniere's disease, which came on and was diagnosed just about the same time as Migraine without Aura. Both my Neurologist and ENT agreed that there is interplay here between Migraines and Meniere's (even something called MAV - Migraine Associated Vertigo or Vestibular Migraine). I was on a water pill called Dyazide, which helped the Vertigo but not the Migraines, until I was able to balance out Salt and Potassium Levels in my diet and no longer need this medicine. I have Antivert (Meclizine - same as in Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula) to help manage when I have dizziness but the extreme hours-long vertigo is thankfully gone. The Panic Attacks that come with a Meniere's Episode are only managed by Valium at the present time (and hate taking it, but it manages the dizziness better also). The Migraines always start on the Right Side, which is the same side Ear affected by the Meniere's.

2. Lactose Intolerance. Back in 1981, I was sick most of the time with gastric issues, gastroenterologist just about gave up on me until my mom remembered that I was a "colicy baby" and cried when I had "mothers milk". Doc immediately suggested I might be Lactose Intolerant, so we went and took a Lactose Tolerance Test (like a Glucose Tolerance Test: drink a 20 oz bottle of sugar water and take blood samples every 30 minutes for 3 hours). I was so sick during this test, found out that none of the Lactose made it into the bloodstream. It was tough then to find out what products contained Lactose as the FDA had no "labelling rules" for such (found out why McDonalds French Fries were so good - browned with Lactose!). I can have some food items with Milk/Lactose in them today and use Lactase (aka Lactaid) when I know I will have something that might bother me. I did remove all the Milk/Lactose out of the diet for 1 month this past Summer - had no effect on the migraines.

3. Mold/Dust Allergies and Asthma. I used to take inhaled and nasal spray medicines to manage the conditions/symptoms. I found that having a good Vacuum Cleaner, a HEPA Filter Machine running in the bedroom, and managing the Household Humidity Levels allowed me to discontinue daily medications and only have a Ventolin Inhaler for rescue needs (needed only once every 2 months). I did go back on the daily medicines (Advair and Flonase) for 2 months during the Fall, but had no effect on the migraines nor the Meniere's.

4. My Blood Pressure and Triglycerides/Cholesterol are way up from what it has normally been. One medicine for the Cholesterol, Tricor, makes the headaches much worse and sets off vertigo episodes. For the Blood Pressure Levels and as a possible headache preventive, I was prescribed Corgard which took the Blood Pressure down to my normal levels (110/60), but actually makes the headaches much worse. No solution yet for these other than the Mega Red Krill Oil (which I have not yet been on long enough to gauge effects, but has helped the headaches somewhat).

I have been prescribed all kinds of different meds that have been "found" to possibly help with migraines, but not their main reason of creation/prescription. Have had varying levels of success, but all have eventually failed.

Right now, most of the headaches are managed with OTC Excedrin Migraine and I am very grateful for EVERY SECOND the headaches are lessened. Unfortunately, with the Barometric Pressure still dropping through the floor with storms on the way, Fioricet with Codeine and sleep in a dark/quiet room is the only chance I have to make it through this one.

[Dave (in MA)]

Brady and Bradshaw.

At least Brady hasn't been naked in a Kathy Bates movie.

[Dave (in MA)]

PD, you have my sympathy. I get migraines, but apparently not as frequent as some, since I still have 1 pill left on my prescription filled in 2011.
I find that the best thing I can do is drink strong coffee and run hot water over my scalp. Sometimes it's hard to keep the coffee (and the pill) down, though.

[PDinDetroit]

Posted by: Jack is Back! | January 24, 2015 at 12:48 PM

All Beast would have to do is paint "After You" on the back of the boat. He could tell every "catch" that he named his boat "After You" and would always be right (in more than one way: nod-nod, wink-wink, know what I mean, nudge-nudge, say no more).

Shameless Monty Python Video

[Jack is Back!]

If you have a few minutes, I have fond a similar documentary short like "Finding Vivian Meier. Takes place in Europe during WW2 and features a Yank flying a Spitfire. You'll have to sit through some Daffy Duck kind of narrator though.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ie3SrjLlcUY

[daddy]

Good Morning. Just caught a discussion on FOX's Journal Editorial Report with Gigot as Host and in the discussion of the "Obama's 'Robin Hood' Tax Plan was nice to see the 3 panelists comments on the Pres:

Gigot: Dan Henninger, do you have a sense if any of this is going to pass?

Henninger: None of it is going to pass. It's a Republican controlled Senate so there's no chance whatsoever, raising the question of what exactly is Barrack Obama doing. I think he's an obsessive Presidency, he gets these ideas in his head, he wants to spread the...look, Obama is basically a Socialist.

Gigot: Really?

Henninger: Oh c'mon. It's so obvious. People have been shouting that to us in e-mails for years. It's clearly true. Second point: Barrack Obama has no understanding of how the private economy works, no experience of it, he's never been around it...

[Porchlight]

Catching up from last night.

boatbuilder: Had he said "ISIL" I would be joining the mob calling for him to be suspended and stripped of his MVP awards.

Ha - great point. "ISIL" is so awful.

GUSPALOOZA sounds like a blast.

Do you think Clint Eastwood might consider campaigning with the eventual GOP candidate in 2016? Because the American Sniper audience sounds like they may be an important voting bloc. And they're not all Republicans.

[rse]

http://www.discriminations.us/2015/01/jeb-bush-channels-michael-dukakis/

It does sound like jeb intends to run as someone who will govern in a party where the typical voter does not want any pol governing them. It also sounds like jeb sees government as some sort of project he looks forward to experimenting with. Keeping the idea that something is now a public services, but anointing favored cronies to be the lucrative provider.

[narciso]

hail hydra:

http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/012315-735953-fcc-plan-to-route-911-calls-through-russian-satellites.htm

[rse]

narciso-a school district recently explained that 80% of the cost of its broadband service was getting picked up by the feds. We are borrowing from the Chinese to give revenue to at&t, comcast, cox, etc and then the school kids will have muddled minds that prepare them to go along with collectivism without noticing.

Then we get to hear how "business wants". Of course they do. Hard to imagine with all the tech money his foundation has taken thAT jeb does not see e-rate as just a swell deal for the taxpayer.

[Captain Hate]

And to think they had to talk Jerry Jones out of drafting this useless fool

There's always a bigger idiot to be found. I'd be surprised if this worthless drunk ends up on any team's roster. Browns fans had already turned on him before this came out, which only confirmed what everybody was thinking.

[Captain Hate]

Bush said the Republican Party will win back the White House only if it offers an optimistic message. “Hope and a positive agenda wins out over anger and reaction every day of the week,” he said.

Reagan's message was always one of optimism. Is that what he meant?

[Jane]

This is it folks; the wheels are finally falling off the media’s rampant Deflate-Gate slandering of the 2015 AFC Champion New England Patriots.

Scientists came forward on Friday and basically said that it was the weather, not the Patriots, that was responsible for deflating 11 of New England’s 12 balls. The officials tested them before the game at room temperature indoors, they were used outdoors where the significantly colder temperatures caused a decrease in PSI, and finally the deflated balls were used by the media to cast Belichick & Co. as the Legion of Doom

The Colts’ balls weren’t deflated because they clearly over-inflated them from the get-go. End of story. In case the naysayers want to blast that as a week argument, here’s the probable league MVP saying that just as many quarterbacks prefer over-inflated balls as those that prefer theirs under-inflated. Every team wants to give their quarterback the type of ball they like.

Seriously, Aaron Rodgers said all of that. I think he’s a pretty credible source.

But, I digress.

“Patriots-Hater-In-Chief” ESPN was caught back-pedaling BIG TIME from their Ball-ghazi finger-pointing; the Internet realized on Saturday that the media-giant pulled a video from it’s popular “Sports Science” segment off its website.

Thankfully, it’s 2015 and someone was able to upload the video to YouTube before it was taken down.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/24/espn-pulls-sports-science-deflate-gate-clip-exonerating-patriots-video/

[daddy]

To cheer up our Stephanie.

[matt]

Anyone read Currency Wars by Jim Rickards? Well, events are confirming that we are in one or several.

All of those trillions of dollars and Euros and Yen and RMB's liquidity injected into the system and still no growth. I don't think that worked out too well.

Two months ago the central banks were talking about inflation and tightening. Now the spigots are open.

The Chinese are rumored to be considering the RMB to float, which would play havoc with a lot of manufacturing.

Davos is all aflutter, so the next few weeks will be interesting.

I think the Saudis really hope to damage the Iranian economy deeply out of all of this. No moolah, no weaponry or pay for the Hezbollies. Same with Russia. The sanctions are tightening and eventually stability will be threatened.

In the meantime the Russians have broadened their offensive to Mariupol in Ukraine. The EU is paralyzed.

[James D.]

Every word out of Jeb's mouth just confirms my feelings towards him. The WaPo piece about his speech in Iowa is a great example.

Not a word about having an adult conversation about WHAT government ought to be doing (or not doing).

And rse at 2:29 sums it up nicely.

If I want to vote for a statist who considers me little better than a serf, there'll be a Dem already on the ballot. I'd really prefer it if the R's don't nominate one as well.

[Captain Hate]

week argument

Rocket surgery in progress

[Miss Marple]

Well, Jane, I remain unconvinced.

We will just have to see how well Mr. Brady does with the Super Bowl balls, which will be inflated with about a bajillion witnesses and thrice- tested and guarded by Seal Team Six.

The proof is in the pudding.

[Miss Marple]

Bellickick new conference on now.

Says he and his organization have followed every rule to the letter.

Said he didn't know as much as he thought he did, they have interviewed everyone.

Now going over the process. I am not going to transcribe, recommend watching to get your questions answered.

[Jack is Back!]

Jane,

If your 2:53 is true then it is the Colts who broke the rules since in order to maintain the rule of 12.5 to 13.5 psi under the same ambient weather conditions, they would have had to inflate their balls initially above the league limit of 13.5psi.

I wonder then why the officials who inspected the Colts balls didn't note that they were over-inflated?

I am afraid that considering the weather tempurature and wind conditions were exactly the same for both teams and that the balls were all inspected for pressure by the officials the scenario your 2:53 post doesn't pan out for me.

[Danube on iPad]

"I'd be surprised if this worthless drunk ends up on any team's roster."

That's the way I see it. Which means he'll never get a fat contract. And he's sure not headed for the broadcast booth.

[Danube on iPad]

Why doesn't the NFL tell us the psi measured on the Colts' balls before the game?

[Captain Hate]

If I can't ridicule Belichick and Goodell, the terrorists have won.

DoT, regarding Manziel, it's one of the few times I've appreciated the lack of guaranteed contracts in the NFL.

[Captain Hate]

Please, anything but another James Joyce boatbuilder Molly Bloom's Giselle Bünchen's Soliloquy.

[narciso]

so it's better to go 'Sgt Schultz' than to be complicit,

there has to be a zero barrier, by which point the oil price is toxically low,

[James D.]

I haven't read anything or watched any of the various press conferences and so forth about Tom Brady's deflated balls.

But my entirely uninformed belief is that every team tries to find little advantages on the edges of the rules, or outside them but where they likely won't be caught. Belichek (and Brady) just do it more systematically. And there are a lot more people gunning for them and just salivating over the chance to stick it to them, and this is it.

[James D.]

Totally OT, can someone who's Apple-wise on here explain to me why iTunes occasionally "loses" my music library, and I have to manually tell it where it's gone upon startup? It's not the end of the world, but it is very annoying.

I'm running iTunes 12.0.1.26 on a Windows 7 PC, if that helps.

[Captain Hate]

The Joe Gibbs Redskins were never accused of cheating in any of their three Super Bowl victories and there were plenty of fans in Dallas, Philly and NYC who hated them.

[Captain Hate]

That's never happened to me, James, I run 11.1.3.8 on a Windows 7.

[Miss Marple]

What I learned from the Bellichick press conference:

There are cars that give you your tire pressure on the dashboard.

I didn't know hat. LOL!

[narciso]

yes I'll hold:

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Iranian-general-was-killed-in-Israeli-strike-because-he-didnt-turn-off-his-phone-388779

[sbw]

I'm running iTunes 12.0.1.26 on a Windows 7 PC

Forget it, Jack. It’s Windows.

[pagar]

Last night on the thread at 10:38PM
Miss Marple highlighted:
"The Times Of Israel is reporting that a team of negotiators led by White House adviser Valerie Jarrett has been conducting secret talks with Iran about it’s nuclear weapons program for the past year."

"She does not appear to have any foreign policy experience or history of being involved in such high level negotiations of this nature."

Than looking at the Surrender to Castro talks we find:
"“negotiations” between Obama’s bumbling functionaries (one a speechwriter, the other a Foreign Service water-boy) and Castro’s snickering KGB-trained apparatchiks had been ongoing for 18 months by the time of that State Dept. press release, it’s obvious that the Obama team had long established the equivalence.

“It wasn’t State Department officials,” an astounded Marco Rubio disclosed regarding our negotiators. “It was National Security Council officials…You sent unqualified people to negotiate with hardened, brutal spies and representatives of tyrants. It was negotiated at a secretive level involving agencies under the complete control of the White House, as a political move"

http://townhall.com/columnists/humbertofontova/2015/01/16/obama-brings-knife-to-gunfight-with-castro-n1944250/page/full

With these types of negotiators IMO we are not negotiating, we're just give giving those countries every thing they want.

[Captain Hate]

Btw, James, any Winter's Tale updates coming soon?

[sbw]

Jebbabble: “Hope and a positive agenda wins out over anger and reaction every day of the week,”

James D describes it succinctly: Not a word about having an adult conversation about WHAT government ought to be doing (or not doing).

I’m coining the verb “To Oblather” -- To offer Hope and Change meaning nothing. Example: “Is Jeb Bush Oblathering again?”