The AP has fact-checked recent Dems who have claimed that health insurance profits have been "obscene" and "immoral" while "bodies pile up" and has found them to be full of hot air if not intentionally deceptive:

http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/33470129/ns/politics-health_care_reform/

Last year, the average health insurance company's profit margin was a measly 2.2%, but after you hear Dem representatives talk about it, you'd think it was near 40%. But last year was slow right? What about the average year? That must be the obscene number they're talking about right? 6% ...

You can argue that we would benefit from a federal insurance system or not, but let's not make stuff up out of thin air and call it scary truth. You can't form and informed opinion when your information is misinformation. I'm tired of all the major arguments being based in "feelings," sob stories, and skewed numbers. Half of the arguments are deceptions and the other half are fallacies.

I don't have the answers, but I certainly have learned who not to look to for them, and they all work in the same building.

excerpt from the following article by Veronique de Rugy:

http://www.american.com/archive/2009/september/making-bush-look-like-a-piker

Based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data, the following chart shows a projection of deficit numbers for each year until fiscal 2018. Each color represents the difference between the projected deficits at different points in time. The purple bars represent the deficit numbers as they were projected back in September 2008; the black and red bars represent the difference between the projected deficits at other points in time. The black bars represent the growth in the projected deficit numbers between September 2008 and January 2009. The red bars represent the difference between the January 2009 projections and the new deficit numbers as projected in August 2009. Finally, the orange bars represent the actual deficit numbers during President Clinton’s last year in office (fiscal 2001) and President Bush’s two terms.



Here are a few interesting things about this data:

First, while President Obama is fond of promoting what he calls a "new ethic of responsibility"—in fact he named his first budget, for fiscal 2010, "A New Era of Responsibility"—that is a misrepresentation of his actual budget plan. For each of Obama’s years in office, the deficit is projected to be larger than any year during Bush’s terms.

Read entire article

Sunday, September 10, 2006
The Seattle Craigslist sex scandal

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Violet Blue has posted a comprehensive roundup of the Craigslist sex scandal making the blog-rounds since last week. Over the weekend, I solicited comment from others known for insight on privacy and life online, and will post their thoughts here as they come in.

For what it’s worth, I think what Jason Fortuny did is shameful and wrong in the extreme. But one obvious moral to this tale: your private information is as intimate as your private parts. There are serious risks to sharing either with strangers you bump into online.

Violet writes:

Last Monday Seattle resident Jason Fortuny [Ed. Note: pictured at left] (and a friend) carried out a thought experiment into reality -- one I think anyone who has surfed Craigslist sex ads has entertained. He took a hardcore Women Seeking Men ad from another city and reposted it to see how many replies he could get in 24 hours (the ad's photo at right). Then he published every single response -- photos, emails, IM info, phone numbers, names, everything, to a public wiki (Encyclopedia Dramatica -- site is up and down, check back if down). Then they went public on Jason's LiveJournal page calling it The Craigslist Experiment, inviting readers to identify the CL ad's responders and add more info ("Your Goal: identify people you know IRL and point them out. We've already had great successes here.") It has turned into quite a meme, getting posted all over the place.

(...) They got 178 responses, with 145 photos of men -- cocks, faces, more; full email addresses (both personal and business addresses), names, and a few IM names and phone numbers. One respondent used a Microsoft employee email address, another used a usar.army.mil (military) email address. They got audio, too. Since then, there has been one copycat in Portland. Respondents have emailed him asking him to take the info down, and he has simply published their requests.

Since then Jason has had *his* private info published to CL and been threatened physically, threatened with lawsuits, and has been hated on by everyone from online BDSM communities to Wired (and I saw he was interviewed by the NY Times on friday Sept. 8, so I wonder what position they'll take on all of this). Wired called him "sociopathic" while commenters are saying things like "Disclosing an email to the public is indeed a violation of privacy, and if anyone has a spine, they will take you down with a massive lawsuit that will make you regret ever doing this. You are a liar, a xenophobe, an asshole, and deserve to have your ass beaten to within an inch of your life."

Link to more on the story.

Reader comment: Anonymous BoingBoing reader says,

I'm writing to you from my real email account in order to demonstrate that I'm for real, but hoping that anything I may say will only be published anonymously.

I am a woman in my early 30s who has used Craigslist in my city to find casual sex, so I took a particular interest in the story of Jason Fortuny.

I tend to agree with Wired News: I think this is a deeply hateful act.

I've posted a few "Casual Encounters" ads at different times looking for various things. The first ad alone received over 300 replies. Some of them were beyond repugnant -- the bestiality proposition springs to mind. The majority were unappealing but mundane -- people who just didn't dance the same way I do, mentally speaking, didn't know how to compose a well-thought-out email or articulate themselves attractively. Those were ones like the one-liner "yo, hit me on MSN", that kind of thing. I received a lot of dickpix. Then, there were a tiny fraction that drew me in and showed me that as much consideration had gone into their reply as I put into my original post. Those were people I connected with, corresponded with (from a gmail account), and eventually met.

As a writer I have put a lot of thought into how I could use these experiences in my work. But even though I have a goldmine of material in my gmail account, I would *never* reveal these people's identities or post their personal information. It simply breaks a very basic implied trust. Now, the situation with Fortuny is different because he's just taking the piss for his own amusement. But I think that makes it even worse.

It's a big ol' world and there are intelligent, worthwhile people in the Craigslist personals... *real* people. They're (mostly!) not much different from you in that we all have the same needs and desires and cravings. This is just one manner of fulfilling them. My experiences have brought me much joy and a small measure of sorrow, but ultimately they have made my life unquestionably richer. The fact that this jagoff thinks that he is above these feelings, that he is pissing all over CL personals posters -- by extension pissing all over me -- is to me simply repugnant.

taken from- http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/10/the_seattle_craigsli.html

Thoughts?

I copied these from the interwebs. I refuse to read a 1000+ page bill. But, even if a third of these are correct, then I don't want any part of it. Thoughts?

... more inside ...

What kind of response does this deserve then?
http://www.videosift.com/video/Ann-Coulter-More-Lies-About-Obama-s-Health-Plan#comment-832086

"I heard from a reliable source that QM sucks dick left and right."
-budzos
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not trying to be a prick about it and I have my disagreements with QM as much as anyone else; but if personal attacks like this are being tossed around and QM is made to be on the receiving end of them, open and honest discourse degenerates into a food fight in a middle school lunchroom.

I'm all for a heated debate, but we need to keep it civil, and it should be frowned upon especially in cases where the community is in strong opposition of the opinions of those being attacked.

It's because our Federal Government doesn't know SQUAT about small business. I do. I run one. Did anyone ask me?
Bailing out GM is just treating a symptom. That's just idiotic. Why don't we solve the problem?


"...The stimuli plans were supposed to be job plans. The auto/bank bailouts cum nationalizations were supposed to be about saving jobs, not 'Wall Street'. So given two record breaking stimuli within two years, why isn't America hiring?

America isn't hiring precisely because of government policy. Small business owners, who are usually the first into and the first out of the job pool, are standing by the fence and watching. They are paralyzed by regulatory uncertainty. If they hire someone who ends up doing poorly, will they be able to fire that person? Will they have to pay their health care bills after they've been terminated? If so, for how long? Who will pay for all these stimulus checks? If it will turn out to be small business, why would they hire instead of keeping costs low to prepare for the big tax bill? Where will the market move? Are you in the right business or are your clients in a politically disfavored industry? Are your clients in health care (being nationalized), autos (already nationalized), banking (somewhat nationalized) or any energy production process which uses carbon (pulverized)? Until you know, you don't grow, and until you grow your market, you don't grow your payroll.

Jobs aren't languishing despite the government's best efforts. They're languishing because of them.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31692578



"...Owning a small business has always been a challenge — half wind up failing within the first few years. But the financial crisis has dealt them a one-two punch, as big banks cut the credit card lines that many entrepreneurs were forced to lean on when a once-abundant supply of loans dried up.

As of April, 59 percent of America’s small firms relied on credit cards to help finance their day-to-day operations, up from 44 percent at the end of last year, according to the National Small Business Association."

"...“The way that the economy is going to come out of a recession is not by big business hiring but by small business hiring,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, who is championing the measure. Denying small businesses access to credit is having “spiraling” effect on the economy, she added."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31445083



Why aren't the stimuli working?

"...White House adviser David Axelrod urged patience for President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package in the face of sliding poll numbers. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a past and potentially future presidential candidate, said the spending was ill-designed and served only to expand the size of government.

Republicans have seized on the public's growing unease over government debt and spending to challenge the popular president. Sensing their own vulnerabilities, Obama's top advisers have ramped up their defense of spending that is incomplete and going slower than many had hoped.

"You know, we take the long view on this. Look, when the president signed the stimulus package - the economic recovery package - he said it's going to take a while for this to work," Axelrod said. "And we're going to go through some rough times, and unemployment is going to go up, and ... we have to work our way through this."

Some economists and business leaders have called for a second spending bill designed to help guide the economy through a downturn that has left millions without jobs. Axelrod said it's too early to know if more spending would be needed or if the administration would seek more money from Congress.

"Most of the stimulus money - the economic recovery money - is yet to be spent. Let's see what impact that has," Axelrod said. "I'm not going to make any judgment as to whether we need more. We have confidence that the things we're doing are going to help, but we've said repeatedly, it's going to take time, and it will take time. It took years to get into the mess we're in. It's not going to take months to get out of it."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/29/politics/main5120588.shtml

Indulge me on an experiment if you will. I'm curious to see if multiple flaggings of a genuinely hateful video on youtube has any effect, or if Mormon hatred gets preferential treatment.

There is an extremely ignorant and bigoted video on youtube that needs to be flagged:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp76ly2_NoI&feature=related

Leave a comment below after you've flagged the video so we can get a tally.

Slashdot has an article up that is fairly funny. Videosift by proxy maybe an accessory to terrorism.

This stuff comes from "intelligence" gathered. So, so, sad. I get the feeling that these guys still send chain emails and receive them. Unlike most people of that type, they only believe half of them rather then all.

Has anyone seen this informercial? It's one of those "This book can tell you how to do everything for free! Get people to do what you want against their will! How to be a better lover!"

http://www.insideinfobook.com

I mean, his picture is right there.

I just woke up so I can't tell if this is actually a joke or not.

It's the whole fucking base:

http://www.starcraft2.com/features/terran/terratron.xml

Why auto-replace the word "sift" with "grate"?

I get what you're trying to do, but please, it must end immediately. Don't mess around and make me start a poll about this shit!

Conclusive proof that Edeot is actually in the service of the siftbot.

... more inside ...

Taco Bell Launches New 'Morning After' Burrito

"Taco Bell officials are excited about the offering. 'In the past, before Roe v. Wade, young women literally had to 'make a run for the border' to terminate an unwanted pregnancy,' Taco Bell public relations director Grant Lesko said. 'But now, women can make that same run for the border at over 7,300 convenient locations right in their own hometowns.'"

"'We are in no way advocating any particular view on this most sensitive of issues,' he said. 'We simply want to offer this option. And, of course, we fully respect our customers who decide to carry their babies to term. In fact, I'd like to point out that Taco Bell offers a wide variety of non-contraceptive menu items that can provide the crucial nutrients—such as mild sauce, shredded cheddar and beef—that a growing fetus needs to develop properly.'"

I was reading this article and came across something I haven't heard before...that emergency workers have a harder time getting you out of a hybrid or electric automobile.

Where in the world do people come up with this stuff?

This is a memorial thread for UsesProzac, who we suspect was tortured to death in Siftanamo Bay.

She was handcuffed in the middle of the night, denied a lawyer, never given a trial, evidence was never reviewed by a jury, and nobody has heard from her since. She protested her innocence until her final moments.

Today, and every day for the rest of your life, wear a black ribbon next to your username to show you remember UsesProzac and you don't think she deserved to be taken from us by the Dark Ones.

Now will you freaked-out neocons stop taking your talking-point orders from Rush & Hannity?

Probably not. You'll probably just move on to the next fake scandal. (i.e; birth certificate, "whitey" tape)

--

"President Obama opposes any move to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, a spokesman told FOXNews.com Wednesday."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/18/white-house-opposes-fairness-doctrine/

Jesus Christ I thought I couldn't hate this cunt any more than I already have, but she is now trying to kill net-neutrality by slipping it in the stimulus package in conference.

Everyone needs to call her offices, and use the word cunt as much as possible.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/11/feinstein_stimulus_amendment/


DC Office:
(202) 224-3841

SF Office:
(415) 393-0707

LA Office:
(310) 914-7300

SD Office:
(619) 231-9712

Well, I don't have a blog anymore so I thought I would vomit this harrowing tale for all of you here.

I was just sitting in front of the computer, minding my own business, looking for a new dvd burner when all of a sudden my penis starting getting wise with me .. "hey asshole, wtf .. I know you saw that porno banner! Don't even try to tell me you didn't see that shit!" I told my penis no I didn't see the porn but he called me a liar and tried to spit in my face.

At this point, I tried to lift my penis and move it to one side of the room to avoid the argument .. but it was attached to my nuts. Finally, I abused the hell out of it and then took a nap.

Long story short, we're getting along fine now, but I wouldn't be surprised if this happens again tomorrow. I'll be sure to post here when it does.

I thought I'd sift an article by Robert Fisk published yesterday on The Guardian. Robert has been a middle east correspondent for the last 30 years, he is one of the few that has managed to interview Osama Bin Laden(3 times).

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-why-do-they-hate-the-west-so-much-we-will-ask-1230046.html

Today Israel attacked a UN car convoy, I'm intrigued if they will claim that Hamas was hiding in the convoy..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fisk

This very interesting and enlightening article in yesterday's Telegraph should spawn some good discussion.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/3982101/2008-was-the-year-man-made-global-warming-was-disproved.html