Left Oblique Comments

I just realized...

Dave — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:14:34 -0400

This is a test comment, just to make sure it still works.

Republicans unintentionally create the funniest thing on the internet.

Craig — Fri, 28 May 2010 02:26:02 -0400

Yeah, got linked this earlier. It's American Idol meets stupid online! :P

Rand Paul: private businesses should be able to discriminate.

Dave — Sun, 23 May 2010 10:28:00 -0400

I dunno about the whole Paul/Palin thing. Palin strikes me more as the female Georgre W. Bush - she can spout conservative talking points all day but is incompetent and has no grasp of the issues.

Paul is a smart guy who subscribes to a stupid ideology, like many other intelligent but un-self-consciously privileged and selfish white dudes out there. He's the nerdy kid who read Atlas Shrugged back in high school and for one reason or another just never grew out of it. It's no surprise that a Republican (!) politician described Paul's arguments as the sort of things you might overhear at 2 AM in a college freshman dorm.

Rand Paul: private businesses should be able to discriminate.

Craig — Sun, 23 May 2010 03:03:52 -0400

Rand Paul: The male Sarah Palin.

I thought about looking up what he's a doctor of, but decided I'd rather not know. Just know he's coming off as an amazingly DUMB smart person.

Rand Paul: private businesses should be able to discriminate.

Dave — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:05:42 -0400

Rand Paul: the gift that keeps on giving.

Rand Paul: private businesses should be able to discriminate.

Craig — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:50:24 -0400

Ooo...Addendum!

Now that he's removed one foot, he's stuck the other one in his mouth. Now he's actually DEFENDING BP and blaming Obama. Also, apparently it's wrong to criticize the mining company with the lousy safety record after the miners died. So, apparently, businesses should be allowed to do whatever the fuck they want and we shouldn' look close at them for things like safety and accountability.

Good times. This guy is the new Palin when it comes to boneheaded remarks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/us/politics/22paul.html

Rand Paul: private businesses should be able to discriminate.

Craig — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:53:33 -0400

I particularly loved how he kept turning the discussion towards "well then businesses should have to let people carry guns because Second Amendment!"

Um, huhwhat?

Yeah, because not discriminating based on race and making things accessible to the disabled is just the same as letting people bring guns wherever they want. Last I checked, 2nd Amendment didn't say people were able to bring guns wherever they liked (though states in the South are trying hard to make it that way. Love GA's law allowing guns in bars and placing serving alcohol and allowing people carrying to drink, but not fire. WTF?)

Additionally, I love that he had to issue a statement the following day to "clarify" what he meant.

The difference between the activist Right and the activist Left.

Dave — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:50:54 -0400

More than that, I think that it would be politically very difficult to roll back any of the health care stuff. What are you going to roll back, pre-existing conditions? Health care for kids? You can't do it - which is why the GOP was fighting so hard against it when it was up for a vote; they said themselves (in internal memos) that it would be bad if HCR passed because people would like it too much.

The difference between the activist Right and the activist Left.

Craig — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:10:41 -0400

Sure, I'd like to see more progressive things like Single-Payer, happen, but given how hard the Right push back, I'm happy things that are even moderately Left get by. What worries me is if the Right get enough to start rolling back progress made thus far come November. I don't think it will happen, since the split on the Right between the Far Right and the moderates is big enough to fly a plane through right now.

Two great tastes that taste great together.

Craig — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:58:57 -0400

I particularly liked that he's described as "the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment."

To quote Inigo Montoya, "I do not think that means what you think it means."

If he's enlightened, I'd HATE to the ignorant. They must be, literally, rocks.

Glenn Beck is a crazy person.

Craig Brooks — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:51:21 -0400

I thought this was a well-established fact from long ago.

Morning News Roundup

Craig — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:14:09 -0400

Ugh...arguing with some of the tea party folks over things in the NYT article is excruiating. I have yet to find one who can explain the hypocrisy that they want less government everything, but still take and want SSI and Medicare. You can't protest something with one hand while taking from it with the other.

Engagement ring: gift, deposit, or something else?

Brian — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:07:03 -0400

That's the last thing I can imagine the courts doing, Craig. Either it's a gift, or it's one side of a contractual obligation. There's no LEGAL (moral's another story) sense in which it should be considered a joint possession before marriage.

Engagement ring: gift, deposit, or something else?

Craig — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:33:04 -0400

From a legal perspective, I'm almost surprised that the courts don't consider the ring the first shared possession (since it kind of is the symbol of such) and order it sold and the money split.

Engagement ring: gift, deposit, or something else?

Dave — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:46:37 -0400

That's the traditional interpretation, and the one I agree with. Problem is, the courts don't always agree with us.

Engagement ring: gift, deposit, or something else?

Craig — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:38:24 -0400

Might just be me, but I think it should be based on reason for the engagement ending. In the case you cited, he was caught cheating, he pays a "slimy ass" tax and doesn't get the ring.

Hint: Text is not IM.

Dave — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:14:36 -0400

ha.

Hint: Text is not IM.

Elissa — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:53:02 -0400

Want an iPad?

Brian — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:19:01 -0400

Well, I don't know everything about the iPad, but there's an inherent assumption that if there aren't network print and fileserver drivers now, there will be.

Want an iPad?

Dave — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:49:39 -0400

A small business? How are they going to print, for god's sake? Never mind that (a) data input is unwieldy (at least according to reviewers) and (b) it's really easy for something light and expensive like an iPad to "walk off" if left unattended for even a short period of time.¹

I figure that this is targeted at casual computer users with disposable income who want to read and watch movies (while commuting on public transit? or on a plane?) Maybe even as a gift for grandma, except that it's actually a bit too heavy and bulky for grandma to use for any extended period of time (again according to reviewers).

¹ The ideal device for a small business may be an iMac, mind you, but I'm pretty sure it's not an iPad. If you need portability and business apps, a convertible tablet might be a better choice (doctors - for example - seem to love those).