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whatsthatsound
Member

The latest in a long series of Lebron James clunkers. At a press conference after a loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals series, he took issue with a question about buddy/teammate Dwayne Wade’s play, which resulted in a serious injury to Rajon Rondo of the Celtics. The reporter wanted to give D-Wade a chance to defend himself against sentiments from the home crowd that it was dirty play. Lebron didn’t have to say ANYTHING, since the question wasn’t even directed at him. But he muttered that the question was “retarded”.

Now an advocacy group for mentally disabled persons is demanding an apology, legitimately, I feel.

Oh, Lebron. So much talent, and such a lot of dumb moves.

ADONAI
Member

He’s gotta know better than that.You can’t just throw that out in front of an open mic on live national television.

whatsthatsound
Member

The amazing thing is that he doesn’t know that. He does things like that on a pretty regular basis. He’s playing well against the C’s now, so all is forgiven, I guess. Until the next time.

Ten, nine, eight, seve…..

bito
Member

Dr. Paul Krugman nails it in one op-ed!

The Unwisdom of Elites

The past three years have been a disaster for most Western economies. The United States has mass long-term unemployment for the first time since the 1930s. Meanwhile, Europe’s single currency is coming apart at the seams. How did it all go so wrong?
Well, what I’ve been hearing with growing frequency from members of the policy elite — self-appointed wise men, officials, and pundits in good standing — is the claim that it’s mostly the public’s fault. The idea is that we got into this mess because voters wanted something for nothing, and weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.

So this seems like a good time to point out that this blame-the-public view isn’t just self-serving, it’s dead wrong. [….]
The answer is, three main things. First, there were the Bush tax cuts, which added roughly $2 trillion to the national debt over the last decade. Second, there were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which added an additional $1.1 trillion or so. And third was the Great Recession, which led both to a collapse in revenue and to a sharp rise in spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs.

So who was responsible for these budget busters? It wasn’t the man in the street.

President George W. Bush cut taxes in the service of his party’s ideology, not in response to a groundswell of popular demand — and the bulk of the cuts went to a small, affluent minority.[….]

So it was the bad judgment of the elite, not the greediness of the common man, that caused America’s deficit. And much the same is true of the European crisis.

http://nyti.ms/mSdWVo

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

But then what does he know about economics?

Abbyrose86
Member

Well according to those who barely passed high school…he doesn’t know anything! 🙂

Hi Bito!

You are right, Krugman absolutely nailed it

bito
Member

Hey, Abby, yes without charts, graphs, formulas…. he layed it out quite plain and simple. Those on the right claiming that the top need tax breaks and deregulation because they “create jobs” and get credit for it but not the blame for destroying jobs, no that blame goes to the middle and working poor.
Like the meme of “well people need to retrain because they didn’t keep their skills up.” BS, within one year 5-6-700,000 people lost their jobs because suddenly their skills became obsolete over one month, six months?
If they want credit for creating jobs, they can accept blame for losing so many not public school teachers and snowplow drivers.

Khirad
Member

Hillary Clinton Photoshopped Out of Situation Room Photo by Ultra-Orthodox paper
http://jezebel.com/5799724/hillary-clinton-photoshopped-out-of-situation-room-photo

kesmarn
Admin

If there’s one thing more depressing than being hated, it’s being erased.

And yet it happens every day in every culture. Sigh.

Will women ever stop being the people who hand fruit to the Adams of the world and cause them to be cast out of paradise?

chazmania
Guest

The Adams/CEO’s have now taken to steeling the apple out of everyone else’s hands.

Buddy McCue
Member

The article explains that Der Tzitung never publishes pictures of women, as they could be considered sexually suggestive.

Wow. I don’t make a habit of criticizing other peoples’ religions, but that just seems wrong to me. It’s kind of dehumanizing to simply Photoshop the women out of the picture, as though they did not exist.

Besides, it isn’t even very logical. Would it be okay to publish a picture of a woman that NO ONE was sexually attracted to? Would they refuse to publish a photo of the Statue of Liberty if she was in a picture of New York City, or would they Photoshop the statue out of the picture?

What about the men in the photo? Those men might be sexually attractive to women or to gays, right? Come to think of it, people can find all kinds of things “sexually suggestive.” What if there was a material like satin somewhere in the shot? Some people might see it and that might lead them to thinking of satin sheets, which might lead them to thinking about sex…

The whole thing doesn’t make much sense to me. You can’t prevent people from thinking about sex.

Buddy McCue
Member

About Photoshopping girls and women right out of a photograph because looking at a photo of a female person might cause impure thoughts in men…

Frankly, I had never heard of such a thing. It still boggles my mind.

I found another good example of this, published by the Sociological Images website:
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2008/08/08/getting-the-girls-out-of-view-literally/

Another example from the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7982146.stm

I find this truly bizarre.

kesmarn
Admin

Those are very interesting examples, Buddy. Especially since the on involved removing images of little girls! Bizarre — and beyond — is the word for that.

I had a friend who worked at Yeshiva University in New York as an associate dean. There were quite a number of rules she was expected to follow: all clothing had to cover the elbows and the knees, no book was to be placed on top of another if the one underneath was any sort of commentary on the scripture, and — most especially — she was not suppose to shake hands with male students, nor do anything like give a congratulatory pat on the back for an accomplishment. The “boys” were not even supposed to attend any concerts at which there were female singers, because the sound of the female voice would arouse sexual feelings.

I’m always baffled as to why the subject of sexuality seems to pre-occupy the minds of all the fundamentalist-extremist wings of virtual every world religion. Judaism certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on this. We have Christian fundie women with their long skirts and hair, and the Mormon splinter groups with their “Little House on the Prairie” outfits and seclusion, and conservative Islam with burqas. It’s everywhere.

Why is sexuality so terrifying to them? Why are women the scapegoats (as well as the gate-keepers) in the realm of male sexual self-control? Are women assumed to be fundamentally without any libido — since the men don’t have to cover up and stay indoors? It’s as though sex is regarded as a sort of pollution — or, at best, a necessary evil.

What a grim view of existence.

I really don’t get it. If one believes in God, why would one believe that the same God had provided for the propagation of his creatures by way of some means that was essentially “dirty”?

It doesn’t make sense to me.

jkkFL
Guest

Kinda makes you question how they procreate, doesn’t it!

KillgoreTrout
Member

You have to remember, in Genesis, God booted Adam and Eve out of the garden, and essentially blamed Eve for corrupting Adam. (of course the snake was completely innocent) 🙁

jkkFL
Guest

Patsy and wts:
Since Cher only left the cheap stuff, and ordered you to leave the place spic and span; look what I found:
http://www.savvysugar.com/How-Get-Rid-Mold-Stains-15907075
Want pics of the look on her face when you tell her you cleaned with vodka! 🙂

whatsthatsound
Member

My place always looks spic and span after I use vodka! A couple vodka martinis and the world is a beautiful place!

jkkFL
Guest

LMAO wts.. why did I expect that answer from you- Even when/if it recommends Cheap vodka !!

Khirad
Member
funksands
Member

Idaho School Bill passes

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/apr/02/idaho-school-bill-passes/

Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, said, “This plan … does replace teachers with technology. No amount of rhetorical tap-dancing can change that.”

Rep. Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, countered, “Did the microwave replace the cook in the kitchen? It did not, in the same way that technology is not going to replace the teacher in the classroom.” He said technology allows education to transform from “the sage on the stage to a guide by the side.”

(sigh, this guy is the rep from my home-town)

Idaho lawmakers unveiled the new version of school reform legislation Friday, and it’s a lot like the old version that stalled in the state Senate – it calls for phasing in new laptop computers for every Idaho high school student, diverting school district funds to online course providers, and shifting funding from teachers to technology.”

The Senate passed this bill in addition to another bill eliminating tenure for new teachers, and establishing merit pay for all existing teachers. The new technology will be paid from a pool of funds that teacher salaries are drawn from, effectively resulting in lay-offs though not explicitly calling for them.

jkkFL
Guest

These dumbasses are Killing public education.
FL enacted a bunch of idiotlaws as well- I think Cher referenced them earlier.
I cannot believe how easy it is to destroy rights within states.

kesmarn
Admin

Not at all your fault, but I wish I could have read the whole article, funk. I’m trying to infer the RW meaning of some of these changes and I think I’m getting it, but would like some sort of confirmation.

So… if we switch over to online education, we save loads of money on bricks and mortar buildings, desks, books, etc. AAAAND we make it ever so much easier for homeschooled kids to get a public education (complete with legitimate diploma) while remaining in an at-home religious and political environment? Is that it, you think?

I am in no way dissing home-based education which I think can actually work quite well if the kid is not kept in bondage to a pre-determined set of religious and political values. If the kids can really explore, it can work.

Somehow, I suspect that’s not what these folks are aiming for, though…

funksands
Member

The original bill was designed to enact mandatory layoffs of 700 teachers, and effectively rendering some school districts over 50% on-line only.

There was such an outcry over that that the Senate proposed a new bill authorizing “technology upgrades” paid for with money allotted for teachers.

It’s simply part of the coordinated attack on the unions. Wisconsin eliminates collective bargaining, Idaho forces “improved technology” to be purchased using money set aside for teacher salaries. A very sneaky way to accomplish layoffs since the local districs are forced to figure out how to pay for the new mandatory laptops.

chazmania
Guest

The beginning of the matrix, I hope my pod is roomy.

Haruko Haruhara
Member

Cher, while you were gone…

Osama bin Laden is still dead.

escribacat
Member

What on earth is there to “thumbs down” on this comment? Please explain and/or go get some therapy for passive aggression.

kesmarn
Admin

I feel like I’m in one of those “Family Circus” cartoons as the ghostly presence always labelled “Not Me!”

I’m wondering if there’s a way to get rid of the “thumbs” altogether? Anyone have thoughts on this?

escribacat
Member

It’s really too bad, kes, because we’re generally a pretty functional family around here. Trolls are not welcome, even anonymous passive-aggressive trolls! Go away, whoever you are!!!

kesmarn
Admin

Yes, I’m totally cool with folks expressing differing opinions. Most of us are not so fragile that we can’t handle that. It might sting a little, but learning and growing can result, too.

So my feeling is go ahead and say what needs to be said. Post and run or hit-and-run results in little light and more heat.

Don’t know if we really need the thumbs up/down buttons at all…

Artist50
Member
Artist50

Kes. I like the button because you can affirm or disagree when you really have nothing to say. I’m usually on my phone when I come here so it is easy to make a mistake with that thumb, however I also then make a comment to say it was an error.

Haruko Haruhara
Member

Shoo!

AdLib
Admin

We can bar people from being able to use the stars and thumbs system if they abuse it. Haruko’s comment could have been a joke on the Daily Show, it is far from offensive IMO.

And a number of thumbs down look more like mischief than honesty.

In any case, HH and the legit members here know when there are honest disagreements and dishonest thumbs down so the dishonest ones just don’t matter.

bito
Member

When I read it I thought of the old SNL and “This just in ‘Generalissimo Franco is still dead'”.

Remember one can always disagree with the thumbs down and give it a thumbs up to negate it.

AdLib
Admin

You’re right, Bito, that was indeed a bit on the old SNL.

FYI, this kind of abuse of the star/thumbs system by non-members happens from time to time so I’ve now instituted moderation now on non-members using the system. Everyone can still use it but votes by non-members will need to be approved by Admin from now on. Whether thumbs up or down, 10 stars or 1 star, all will be approved as long as they aren’t part of a pattern of abuse.

kesmarn
Admin

AdLib, this is really a great solution to the “thumbs” problem! (so sorry it took me 3 days to find your reply 😳 )
You’re always on top of things around here — even when folks like me have lost our grip and fallen off!

jkkFL
Guest

Thank You, e’cat! Agree.
I tried to vote thumbs up- and couldn’t get anything to register- hadn’t even noticed it before.
There has been a rash of that on Current as well, so I’m wondering if it’s gypsy trolls, popping around websites and being asses?

AdLib
Admin

You deserve the west and wewaxation! Enjoy!

ADONAI
Member

I would step in to help with the news but I don’t think anyone is interested in the new Nintendo video game console or 49 million year old ant fossils.

They found a full queen ant fossil the size of a hummingbird! It was huge!

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/73880/title/Giant_ants_once_roamed_Wyoming

Oh, and happy vacation Cher!

Buddy McCue
Member

They said it was 5.1 centimeters long… so let’s see… (punches calculator keys) that’s a little over 2 inches (to those of us who are not on the metric system.)

Yep. That’s a big ant.

ADONAI
Member

Indeed Buddy. Twice the size of the biggest ants around today. And we have some pretty big ants on the planet right now.

PatsyT
Member

Cher, have a wonderful break
WTS,
great Idea!
Let’s have fun while Cher is away at the spa

[imgcomment image[/img]

chasethis
Member
chasethis

Cher–That’s it. I’m boycotting the news until you come back to work. Are we paying you while you’re off? ;>

(Puppy is freaking adorable.)

Sabreen60
Member
Sabreen60

Have fun – get rest.

Abbyrose86
Member

Enjoy your vacation! WE will miss you! 🙂

kesmarn
Admin

Have fun, Cher!

If you have any spare time, though, couldja photoshop me a PhD diploma from Harvard? Psychology (sub-specialty: crowd psychology 😆 ) would be great. Thanks.

Buddy McCue
Member

You could always get your PhD from Thunderwood College! It only takes a few minutes.

http://thunderwoodcollege.com/

They point out that being a completely non-accredited university, a degree that you can print out from their website is no different from degrees that many other “professionals” have, people who specialize in fields such as Reflexology, Parapsychology, Naturopathy, Intelligent Design, and Magnetic Therapy.

kesmarn
Admin

Oh my god, Buddy! I am laughing out loud. Honestly!

And what a great name. THUNDERWOOD College

Screw Oxford! Fear the mighty Thunderwood! (TM) degree!

jkkFL
Guest

LOL! Maybe we could all become Thunderwood alumni and meet somewhere for a big Class Reunion!! 🙂

kesmarn
Admin

Why do I have the subtle-but-persistent feeling that most of the Thunderwood alumni meetings take place at Taco Bell, jkk? 😯

choicelady
Member

Oh kes – we can do better than THAT! Applebees!

jkkFL
Guest

C’mon kes!
We all have class- I was thinkin Outback or Red Lobster! 🙂
Love the prom idea!!
c’lady- you have Lady in your ”name”, you plan the prom!!

choicelady
Member

Can we have a prom?

kesmarn
Admin

A prom! Great idea, c’lady!

What would the prom theme be for Thunderwood College?

Let’s see… “A Look to Your Future, With Your Thunderwood Degree”

?[imgcomment image[/img]

KillgoreTrout
Member

Thunderwood sounds like a good name for a male porn star! 😉

Buddy McCue
Member

I never thought about that, but you know… you’re right; it does.

jkkFL
Guest

Would you two be volunteering???? 😉

KillgoreTrout
Member

Thunderwood Johnson!

Buddy McCue
Member

Hey, I framed my Doctorate that I got from them and proudly hung it on the wall.

Why not?

jkkFL
Guest

What is your Doctorate in?
Aha- Art History??

kesmarn
Admin

I like the sound of “Doctor Buddy.”

jkkFL
Guest

In the interim, kes- you can just print one from Thunderwood College! 😉

choicelady
Member

Cher – have a great vacation! We promise not to read any news while you’re away so you can compile whatever the hell you want when you’re back.

BTW – I love the photo! I’m normally not terribly fond of animals dressed in human clothes, but that’s just funny and adorable. Thanks for posting. May you get as much rest as the pup! See you when you’re back!