Hostage FAIL

What's the difference between left and right-wing nutjobs? When right-wingers bring their guns to a protest, they make sure they're in full compliance of federal, state and local laws. When left-wingers bring guns, they take hostages.

Spoiler Alert: SWAT team kills the bad guy. Everybody at Discovery Channel lives and has something cool to post on their Facebook page tonight.

Beats you need....

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Why you should still buy a house

Five reasons why buying a house is still a good idea.(Wallet Pop)


Here are the two that matter:
2. Forced savings
3. Fixed rates at historically low levels

That crazy liberal Obama

Starting today, for the first time, the entire 2000 mile border(Boing Boing) with Mexico will be patrolled by drones with day and night vision cameras. Maybe now some Americans can find a job.

Stupid Pakistanis

This seems like a bad joke(Time), but it isn't. A group of 9 senior Pakistani military officers is traveling to the US to meet with the CIA to discuss operational coordination. On the flight, one of the Pakistanis says he 'hopes this is his last flight.' A woman on the plane overhears this, contacts security, and the man in question is pulled aside and questioned at DC's Dulles airport. The issue is resolved in about 2 hours, but the Pakistanis were summoned back home upset at how they were treated. It is my opinion that a special responsibility lies with Muslims to not scare the hell out of non-Muslims...at least on planes bound for DC. I seem to remember something bad happening about 9 years ago involving 4 planes and a pack of crazed Muslim terrorists that killed 3000 Americans, and a promise from the leaders of that group promising sustained and more spectacular attacks.....

Bacteria make gold

Two forms of bacteria, immune to the effects of heavy metals, collect microscopic gold and deposit(Discovery.com) it in other places, some times forming nuggets or greater concentrations of gold. Find the bacteria. Find the gold.

Stock Market Explodes into September

After an awful August, upbeat data about the US and World economies made the markets jump today(CNBC). The S&P500 jumped 2.95%.

Friday, a double dip recession was likely. Today at 4PM, all the sudden the likelihood is gone. Who knows what is going on but good, not great, data continues to come in. Things aren't red hot, but they are on an upward trajectory. For example, the number of planned layoffs dropped to the lowest levels in ten years. The conspiracy theory in me says that the markets rally the moment the GOP captures the House as Wall Street's payback for the Democratic financial overhaul.

President Obama Iraq Speech

 On now....

The President's full remarks. Video when I can...

Here is how the speech closed:

Two weeks ago, America's final combat brigade in Iraq –the Army's Fourth Stryker Brigade –journeyed home in the pre-dawn darkness. Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles made the trip from Baghdad, the last of them passing into Kuwait in the early morning hours. Over seven years before, American troops and coalition partners had fought their way across similar highways, but this time no shots were fired. It was just a convoy of brave Americans, making their way home.

Of course, the soldiers left much behind. Some were teenagers when the war began. Many have served multiple tours of duty, far from their families who bore a heroic burden of their own, enduring the absence of a husband's embrace or a mother's kiss. Most painfully, since the war began fifty-five members of the Fourth Stryker Brigade made the ultimate sacrifice –part of over 4,400 Americans who have given their lives in Iraq. As one staff sergeant said, “I know that to my brothers in arms who fought and died, this day would probably mean a lot.”

Those Americans gave their lives for the values that have lived in the hearts of our people for over two centuries. Along with nearly 1.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq, they fought in a faraway place for people they never knew. They stared into the darkest of human creations –war –and helped the Iraqi people seek the light of peace.

In an age without surrender ceremonies, we must earn victory through the success of our partners and the strength of our own nation. Every American who serves joins an unbroken line of heroes that stretches from Lexington to Gettysburg; from Iwo Jima to Inchon; from Khe Sanh to Kandahar – Americans who have fought to see that the lives of our children are better than our own. Our troops are the steel in our ship of state. And though our nation may be travelling through rough waters, they give us confidence that our course is true, and that beyond the pre-dawn darkness, better days lie ahead.

 UPDATE: CNN Video...

87k?

Is it good or bad for America that Glenn Beck got 87,000 people(CBS) to attend his dumb rally on a summer weekend? I say bad.

"Independent"

Iraqi PM says that today Iraq is independent.(BBC). Hopefully now we can focus our full attention on Afghanistan and the war on Al Qaeda.

"Dr.. Copper"

A CNBC analysis/opinion piece that says Wall Street is missing something because of recent signs of strength in the economy.

Golfer starts 12-Acre fire

After hitting a rock while swinging in the rough(ESPN), a golfer started a 12-acre blaze.

Hitchens Takes on Beck Revival: "The Waterworld of White Self-Pity"

As some would say from his deathbed, Christopher Hitchens pens a piece (Slate.com) on Glenn Beck's rally that's worth a read. Delves into the white self-pity of those in attendance and how they are attempting to paint themselves (and their religion and political beliefs) as the persecuted minority.

Money quote:

In a rather curious and confused way, some white people are starting almost to think like a minority, even like a persecuted one. What does it take to believe that Christianity is an endangered religion in America or that the name of Jesus is insufficiently spoken or appreciated? Who wakes up believing that there is no appreciation for our veterans and our armed forces and that without a noisy speech from Sarah Palin, their sacrifice would be scorned? It's not unfair to say that such grievances are purely and simply imaginary, which in turn leads one to ask what the real ones can be. The clue, surely, is furnished by the remainder of the speeches, which deny racial feeling so monotonously and vehemently as to draw attention.

Newsweek Poll.....Majority of Republicans think Obama is a terrorist

In this Newsweek poll, people were asked if they thought Obama was a Muslim; if he sympathizes with Muslims, and if he supports the goals of Islamic fundamentalists like imposing sharia law. 52% of Republicans believe that Obama supports imposing sharia law. The fun starts on about page 8 of this http://nw-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/1004-ftop.pdf.

Do you understand how crazy that is? Over half of all Republicans believe our President is a terrorist. The level of hate and stupidity necessary to convince yourself that the United States of America is astronomical.

This is what Fox News has knowingly wrought.

"He is the cotton picking president!"

The subconscious is a cruel mistress, as Rick Sanchez found out today live on CNN. If I could find one person to fire on TV, it wouldn't be Beck or Hannity, it would be Rick Sanchez.

3200 Mexican cops fired

Fired for corruption or failing to do their work.(CNN)

You can't stop progress, you can only hope to contain it

Embryonic stem cells are going to be injected(WaPo) into patients with a form of blindness and those with spinal cord injuries. These will be the first humans, that we know of, with the stem cells injected.

Just remember, the moral argument for side effects goes out the window when the patient consents. Embryonic stem cells are one thing, but there is no way the issue should be clouded with 'should we are shouldn't we' even do this. If we wanted to drastically lower our healthcare costs, we would be pumping billions into this research and encouraging/demanding its advancement.

I'm not a scientist or a doctor - I only play one on TV - but I believe things work like this....1. A new therapy/drug/treatment is developed. 2. It is tested in humans. 3. Those humans get some small benefit and side effects, some good outcomes and some bad outcomes. 4. Therapy/drug/treatment is tweaked to enhance benefits and decrease side effects until said therapy/drug/treatment because the accepted medical practice.

Stem cell treatments are going to be no different. The first people who use them will have a radically different experience than the people who use the refined product a decade from now.

NBC News President Obama Interview

Katrina anniversary, gulf oil spill, coming elections, and the U.S. economy:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Yes, there was at least one miracle

After spouting that his "Restoring Honor" religious revival would include numerous miracles, Glenn Beck's revelation today appears to have been the only miracle so far. On Fox News Sunday, Beck told Chris Wallace that regrets calling Obama a racist (Yahoo! News).

Money quote:
"He is a guy who understands the world through liberation theology -- which is oppressor and victim. Racist was, first of all, shouldn't have been said. It was poorly said.....that's just not the way people should behave. And it's not accurate."

I guess when God himself failed to show up and make the anti-Obama headlines Beck and his thousands of sequin-clad Teabagger followers were hoping for, Glenn had to make some news himself.

Beats you need....

Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the devil

Thought of the day....

How many of the attendants at this Glenn Beck rally today have ever heard or seen the "I have a dream" speech?

Buying/Selling

Selling: NFL preseason games
Buying: The Lingerie Football League

Rare Footage From Behind Enemy Lines

A Norwegian journalist, Paul Refsdal, spent time embedded with a Taliban commander in early 2010. It's quite amazing, if for no other reason than because it's such a rare look at the war in Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of the Taliban. You get a sense of just how much this is a war of religion to these fighters, but also a glimpse into their daily lives, interactions, and vantage points when attacking coalition forces. At the beginning of the video, they're rather guarded with the journalist. By the end, they're singing songs, brushing their hair, and laughing.

Watch the movie here (SBS One via Wired).

Just the tribal regions?

Map showing the extent to which floods are affecting the entire country of Pakistan (Foreign Policy Watch via The Daily Dish).

Much more than just the the tribal regions, which some use as an excuse to bolster the idea of denying aid to an entire country of people. .......

Republican witch hunts

Republicans, if they take control of Congress, plan on using their rise back(Politico) to power by investigating the White House and any of its Democratic allies for meaningless Fox News/Tea Party pet projects. This sounds to me like they are saying "the President is black. He has to be doing something wrong." Do you really want your government functioning like this? I sure don't.

Warrantless GPS Tapping

A federal appeals court ruled, in effect, that it is OK for police to come onto your property without your knowledge and secretly place a GPS tracker(CNN) on your vehicle without your permission WITHOUT ever getting the OK from a judge. This is where the tea party needs to be burning Garmins in the street instead of protesting Obama's birth certificate.

How was the boar?

A BBQ dinner for President Bush 4 years ago is at the center of a German lawsuit. The BBQ dinner of wild boar cost 8.7 million euros. A German citizen sued(WaPo) for a breakdown of expenses saying he was overcharged.

So Operation Iraqi Freedom is over?

Last combat troops leave Iraq. Obama to speak next week and say he kept his promise. I hope the American people, specifically the wacko liberals, give him some credit instead of immediately saying 'yeah, what about Afghanistan.'

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Obama pushing illegals to sea

Isn't this where all the new drones and techniques learned in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq come in? Because of Obama's heightened border security down south which makes land crossings much tougher, illegals are now going out to sea to get into the country.(AP)

Hey Glenn Beck

I didn't know America lost its honor.

Sir, that toy tiger just moved

A real tiger cub was found in a bag of toy tigers(Wired).

What did I learn today?

In Tanzania, with doctors use the body parts of albinos to bring luck and good fortune to people seeking power.

800-plus credit scores

First, this is a great article about how your FICO score is determined(CNN Money) and what you can do to raise it above the 800 level and save yourself thousands of dollars in interest. But second...isn't it wrong that a stay at home dad, i.e. unemployed with no income, can get an 813?

Beats you need....

David Allan Coe - Jimmy Buffett doesn't live in Key West anymore

Taliban planning on attacking aid workers

The Pakistani Taliban is planning on attacking(Fox News) aid workers who are coming to the country to help in the aftermath of the devastating floods that have hit the Indus river and its tributaries. The US government also says that the terror groups are using charity and flood aid to expand their reach farther into Pakistan.