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Topics - Brassmask

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1
3DHS / Well, well, well...What do we have here?
« on: July 20, 2019, 08:02:21 PM »
Trump supporters/Nazis?

En garde, villains.

2
3DHS / No Theocracy, Huh?
« on: April 03, 2013, 05:04:35 PM »
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/04/03/lawmakers_want_state_religion_in_north_carolina.html

Lawmakers Want State Religion in North Carolina
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina introduced a bill to allow the state "to declare an official religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Bill of Rights, and seeks to nullify any federal ruling against Christian prayer by public bodies statewide," WRAL-TV reports.



3
3DHS / Question
« on: October 09, 2011, 05:47:57 PM »
What is the difference between a right wing libertarian who wants a little government as possible (perhaps none at all) and an anarchist?



(Hello all.)

4
3DHS / Congratulations to the Right! Hillary won after all.
« on: December 09, 2010, 04:29:59 PM »
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/09/the-clinton-crew-takes-ov_n_794430.html

"The significance of this staff shift is beyond the operational. The Clinton-era alums, by outlook and experience, represent a centrist, pragmatic, pro-business "wealth-creation" wing of the Democratic Party that flourished during the Clinton presidency in the 1990s."



5
3DHS / But can it pick a strawberry?
« on: December 06, 2010, 03:06:43 PM »
Automatic Ham Boning Robot - Mayekawa HAMDAS-R : DigInfo

Until now, boning 500 hams per hour required 20 people. But using HAMDAS-R, only 10 people are needed [GW's note: with the other 10 offered to Skynet in sacrifice]. The robot's consistent processing capability also makes production planning easier. From now on, Mayekawa intends to market HAMDAS-R worldwide, primarily in Europe and Japan.

"Thinking about irregularly shaped, soft items, most kinds of food come into this category, including fish and vegetables. We'd like to build up our know-how regarding how to automate their processing, so we can construct a general-purpose system for handling irregularly shaped, soft items."

6
3DHS / Someday It Will Pick Strawberries.
« on: September 08, 2010, 08:36:38 PM »

7
3DHS / Just Discovered the Bush/Neo-Con Doctrine For Economics
« on: December 19, 2008, 03:58:14 PM »
This is probably very old news to most of you but, if I had ever heard of it, I don't remember it at all.

Bush (and the Neo-Cons) have been encouraging the economy from the wrong side of the Parable of the Broken Window.

From Wiki:
Quote
Parable story

The parable describes a shopkeeper whose window is broken by a little boy. Everyone sympathizes with the man whose window was broken, but pretty soon they start to suggest that the broken window makes work for the glazier, who will then buy bread, benefiting the baker, who will then buy shoes, benefiting the cobbler, etc. Finally, the onlookers conclude that the little boy was not guilty of vandalism; instead he was a public benefactor, creating economic benefits for everyone in town.

Bastiat's original parable of the broken window went like this:

    Have you ever witnessed the anger of the good shopkeeper, James Goodfellow, when his careless son happened to break a pane of glass? If you have been present at such a scene, you will most assuredly bear witness to the fact, that every one of the spectators, were there even thirty of them, by common consent apparently, offered the unfortunate owner this invariable consolation—"It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Everybody must live, and what would become of the glaziers if panes of glass were never broken?"

    Now, this form of condolence contains an entire theory, which it will be well to show up in this simple case, seeing that it is precisely the same as that which, unhappily, regulates the greater part of our economical institutions.

    Suppose it cost six francs to repair the damage, and you say that the accident brings six francs to the glazier's trade—that it encourages that trade to the amount of six francs—I grant it; I have not a word to say against it; you reason justly. The glazier comes, performs his task, receives his six francs, rubs his hands, and, in his heart, blesses the careless child. All this is that which is seen.

    But if, on the other hand, you come to the conclusion, as is too often the case, that it is a good thing to break windows, that it causes money to circulate, and that the encouragement of industry in general will be the result of it, you will oblige me to call out, "Stop there! Your theory is confined to that which is seen; it takes no account of that which is not seen."

    It is not seen that as our shopkeeper has spent six francs upon one thing, he cannot spend them upon another. It is not seen that if he had not had a window to replace, he would, perhaps, have replaced his old shoes, or added another book to his library. In short, he would have employed his six francs in some way, which this accident has prevented.

I submit that they have been wanting everyone to spend money to prop up industries that have to do with all the major corporations who have gained power, maintained power and mortally depend on their being in a position to make billions by repairing their versions of "broken windows" i.e. illness, construction, defense, etc.

In short, the Bush "administration" has all about making sure that glaziers stay in business.  They basically been going around breaking windows for 8 years.

8
3DHS / Latest Election Numbers (53% to 46%)
« on: December 09, 2008, 05:06:40 PM »
Nearly 10 million people more wanted Change.

Let's Hope they get it.


   Barack H. Obama   Joseph R. Biden, Jr.   Democratic    69,058,185    52.84%    365    67.8%
   John S. McCain, III   Sarah H. Palin           Republican    59,700,776    45.68%    173    32.2%
   Ralph Nader           Matt Gonzalez           Independent         733,760      0.56%    0      0.0%
   Bob Barr                   Wayne Allyn Root   Libertarian         520,488      0.40%    0      0.0%
Y   Other (+)   -    -                                                                 679,406      0.52%    0      0.0%

http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/

9
3DHS / Dem Governor of IL ARRESTED
« on: December 09, 2008, 11:09:44 AM »
Is it possible that Obama blew the whistle?  I think so.



http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html

Updated at 9 a.m.: Blagojevich is slated to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan today at a time that has not yet been scheduled, according to Randall Samborn of the U.S. attorney's office.

Updated at 8:57 a.m.: On the issue of the U.S. Senate selection, federal prosecutors alleged Blagojevich sought appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.

Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of Blagojevich in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.

Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts.

"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.
"They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."

 Updated at 8:48 a.m.: Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

10
3DHS / Bloom Coming Off The Obama Rose
« on: November 26, 2008, 03:14:40 PM »
It might delight some of you to know that there is a brewing schism at the DailyKos.

It has developed into a We Can  Question vs We Can Give Him A Chance type of debate.  ( http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/26/81449/747/575/666595 )

As it stands right now, everyone is still onboard the Obama Express full steam ahead but there are also lots of folks like me who are "guarded but hopeful".

There is great concern that he has hired too many old hands from the Clinton era.  Some feel that it is a good thing and defend his choices as being the best and brightest.  Some feel that he has been hoodwinked and he's going to be made a figurehead by the Clintons (who many feel are just left of center neo-cons).

Personally, I'm holding out till after the inauguration then if he screws the left over, it will be Katy bar the door.

11
3DHS / Obama Landslide
« on: November 19, 2008, 05:15:56 PM »
http://www.dailykos.com/

Quote
President-elect Obama Now Over 67 Million Votes... Hotlist
by Jed L
Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 12:54:28 PM CST

...and John McCain under 46%. Here's where the numbers stand right now:

    Obama: 67,065,042 (52.7%, 365 EVs)

    McCain: 58,420,587 (45.9%, 162 EVs)

Brassmask says:
That's a difference of 8,644,455 votes.  6.8% difference.  Mandate anyone?

12
3DHS / Irony on the Bailout
« on: November 18, 2008, 09:11:27 PM »
So, the execs from the Big 3 automakers (American-made big three 'cause last I heard Toyota had moved into number one or two) were in DC with their hands out insinuating that the unions had driven their American auto industry to ruin while they were turning out cars that only got 18city/22highway.

The right is out there pushing the unions meme and the idea that Chapter 11 is the best way to go (ironically, I again), letting the auto industry implode in America.  My point about the irony in this position is that, as usual, the right is thinking ideologically which has been proven, in the last 8 years, to be the opposite of rationally.

Yes, allowing the auto industry to implode would serve their ideological tenets: free markets rule(!), unions have destroyed this nation by driving up costs(!), disaster allows certain people to make billions(!); but, what they fail to understand is if the auto industry is out of business in the US, that will put nearly 3 million people out of work if you count all the dealerships, mechanics, etc.

The irony is when those 3 million go jobless, that would lead this country closer to if not all the way into a depression.  Arguments about what technically indicates a recession would be totally moot.  The right is demanding because of their irrational ideology a New Depression.

The Dept of Labor has this to say:

Quote
   The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 6.5 percent in October,
and the number of unemployed persons increased by 603,000 to 10.1 million.  Over
the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.8 mil-
lion, and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.7 percentage points.  (See
table A-1.)

So what's another 3 million, right?

Well, with nearly 14 million out of work, that would give us an unemplyment rate of about, what, 9%?  That's what it was in 1930.  What's interesting about that is this question.  What was the US government's eventual solution to the Depression?

Answer:  The New Deal

President-elect Barack Obama has already indicated that he is totally in favor of creating jobs by fixing our infrastructure, or by possibly building a national power grid.  What makes right-wingers think he won't go further?  Is there some kind of easiness felt for national infrastructure projects that right-wingers don't feel with national health care projects?

IMO, the auto industry should be allowed to crash and burn for the piss-poor way its been run for the last 20 years.  Continually they have mass produced crappy vehicles with HORRIBLE gas mileage then demanding that we pay exorbitant prices for upkeep and repair.  They've lallygagged on hybrids and electric cars. They've purposely undermined and destroyed hybrid and electric car technologies for unknown reasons claiming that they don't have the technology while thousands of Prii pour into America getting 48 miles to the gallon.

Big picture, though, it will be just another inch towards socialism in America.  It won't be RBE, but it will be closer.  Keep on keeping on, GOP!

13
3DHS / French Revolution
« on: November 12, 2008, 07:31:33 PM »
Has anyone here done any extensive reading or even general reading on the French Revolution?

I've been reading a little about a guy named Joseph Fouche' and I'd really love to have some discussion with folk that know more about the Revolution than I do.

Just curious.

Brassmask

14
3DHS / 50 Fun Facts About Barack Obama
« on: November 10, 2008, 09:33:08 PM »

Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know
Fifty things you might not know about Barack Obama

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics  (This was the only reason I posted this!)

• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball

• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili

• His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed

• He has read every Harry Potter book

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream

• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars

• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia

• He can speak Spanish

• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead

• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea

• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn't

• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia

• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs

• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name

• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister's fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived

• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy

• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books

• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck

• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.

• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees

• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date

• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker

• He doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol

• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician

• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine

• His daughters' ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)

• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside

• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal

• His house in Chicago has four fire places

• Daughter Malia's godmother is Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita

• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry

• He uses an Apple Mac laptop

• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300

• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits

• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes

• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)

• His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire

• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers

• He was nicknamed "Bear" by his late grandmother

• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso

• His speciality as a cook is chilli

• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins"

• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life

• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government

15
3DHS / Dean to Step Aside
« on: November 10, 2008, 04:52:24 PM »
From Huffington Post:

Quote

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/dean-prepares-to-step-dow_n_142614.html

After four years at the helm of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean is preparing to relinquish his chairmanship.

Dean, who has been serving in the post since 2005, has said in the past that he would serve only one term, though his successful work with the Obama campaign had led some Democrats to wonder whether he would stay on into the next administration. This won't be the case, officials at the DNC confirm. He will serve as chair until his term ends in January. The party will settle on a new head when it hosts a meeting during the week of Obama's inauguration.

The article goes on to explain how its really not his choice and I could easily get the feeling this is simply Emanuel's revenge for Dean having stood up to him over the 50 State Strategy.

The night of the election, Chris Matthews was interviewing Governor Dean and Matthews asked if Dean had gotten any thanks from Obama for laying the groundwork for using the internet and the 50SS. I blurted out that Howard Dean was John The Baptist and Obama was Jesus. Right after I got it out, Matthews made the same exact comparison.

As far as I'm conerned, Howard Dean should receive a major amount of credit for Barack Obama's election. I'm not saying ALL the credit or that Obama owes Barack Obama BIG TIME. I'm just saying, Obama ran on some of the framework that Dean built.

If Obama should want to make Dean a part of his cabinet, I'd be willing to start saying the Pledge of Allegiance again.

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