drsmooth wrote:i see the state of GA's explicitly stamped itself a cracker shithole

pacino wrote:do you mean this?

drsmooth wrote:How's a bright ivy-league college boy like Cotton going to keep a straight face telling all those complicated lies about the omnidirectional failures of the Affordable Care Act? I mean someone with a brain just starts cracking up at the dumbassery of all that mumbo-jumbo after a minute or so, & he's gonna have to do it day after day for minutes at a time, for months

TenuredVulture wrote:

drsmooth wrote:How's a bright ivy-league college boy like Cotton going to keep a straight face telling all those complicated lies about the omnidirectional failures of the Affordable Care Act? I mean someone with a brain just starts cracking up at the dumbassery of all that mumbo-jumbo after a minute or so, & he's gonna have to do it day after day for minutes at a time, for months

Maybe he's a sociopath? He's an odd guy that's for sure. He goes to Harvard, (where he was a columnist at the Crimson, a gig which now provides occassional campaign fodder for his opponents) Harvard law, joins the infantry, serves in Iraq and Afghanistan, spends time with Straussians at Claremont (though his Wikipedia biography does say what he studied there or when he went there) but I'll infer that means he might have worked a bit with Harvey Mansfield at Harvard. He only married a couple of months ago. Rumors concerning his sexuality were out there, leading to this bizarre outburst:

http://talkbusiness.net/2012/10/gene-je ... otton-gay/

(Gene Jeffress by the way is himself a bizarre character who seemed to truly believe that singing in every Church of Christ in the 4th CD was enough to get him elected to Congress but I digress.)

Of course, many Straussians are gay, well, in the old fashioned "confirmed bachelor" sense. At least Allan Bloom was. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Now that I think about, there's a bizarre political novel here. Maybe I'll write it. On second thought, that might not be a great idea.

drsmooth wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:

drsmooth wrote:How's a bright ivy-league college boy like Cotton going to keep a straight face telling all those complicated lies about the omnidirectional failures of the Affordable Care Act? I mean someone with a brain just starts cracking up at the dumbassery of all that mumbo-jumbo after a minute or so, & he's gonna have to do it day after day for minutes at a time, for months

Maybe he's a sociopath? He's an odd guy that's for sure. He goes to Harvard, (where he was a columnist at the Crimson, a gig which now provides occassional campaign fodder for his opponents) Harvard law, joins the infantry, serves in Iraq and Afghanistan, spends time with Straussians at Claremont (though his Wikipedia biography does say what he studied there or when he went there) but I'll infer that means he might have worked a bit with Harvey Mansfield at Harvard. He only married a couple of months ago. Rumors concerning his sexuality were out there, leading to this bizarre outburst:

http://talkbusiness.net/2012/10/gene-je ... otton-gay/

(Gene Jeffress by the way is himself a bizarre character who seemed to truly believe that singing in every Church of Christ in the 4th CD was enough to get him elected to Congress but I digress.)

Of course, many Straussians are gay, well, in the old fashioned "confirmed bachelor" sense. At least Allan Bloom was. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Now that I think about, there's a bizarre political novel here. Maybe I'll write it. On second thought, that might not be a great idea.

Well I must say it's - what's the opposite of "refreshing"? - to see the reactionaries are as willing - nay, eager - to Swiftboat their own as they are any depraved Democrat.

I for one feel you should draft a 'treatment' of said novel, TV - and then set bsg politinerds loose to write its chapters

I mean, now I am really (bi)curious about the Straussians

drsmooth wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:My understanding is offering birth control generally lowers overall costs to insurers.

http://business.time.com/2012/02/14/why ... insurance/

So, really, the question you'd want to ask is, "would you like to pay more for health insurance that does not provide contraceptive benefits?"

"Yeah, well, I'm a guy and can't a have a baby so I shouldn't have to pay for baby coverage, so there, huh"

Werthless wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:My understanding is offering birth control generally lowers overall costs to insurers.

http://business.time.com/2012/02/14/why ... insurance/

So, really, the question you'd want to ask is, "would you like to pay more for health insurance that does not provide contraceptive benefits?"

"Yeah, well, I'm a guy and can't a have a baby so I shouldn't have to pay for baby coverage, so there, huh"

"You may not watch any channels outside of CSN, ESPN, and comedy central, but bundling 200 other channels together actually lowers the cost of your cable!!!"

Werthless wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:My understanding is offering birth control generally lowers overall costs to insurers.

http://business.time.com/2012/02/14/why ... insurance/

So, really, the question you'd want to ask is, "would you like to pay more for health insurance that does not provide contraceptive benefits?"

"Yeah, well, I'm a guy and can't a have a baby so I shouldn't have to pay for baby coverage, so there, huh"

"You may not watch any channels outside of CSN, ESPN, and comedy central, but bundling 200 other channels together actually lowers the cost of your cable!!!"

Another twist in the federal campaign finance case against the conservative author Dinesh D'Souza: prosecutors in the case are relying on a secret recording made by the husband of a woman who has been romantically involved with D'Souza.

The woman, Denise Joseph, was one of the two alleged straw donors D'Souza used to funnel $20,000 to the Senate campaign of Republican Wendy Long, who challenged Sen. Kirsten Gillbrand (D-NY) in 2012. The donations led to D'Souza's indictment in January on one count of making contributions of more than $10,000 in the names of others and one count of causing false statements. D'Souza has since maintained his innocence.

According to the Times, prosecutors have also said that they have obtained a secret recording made independently last October by Joseph's husband. Joseph was "recorded as saying that Mr. D’Souza had told her that if he were charged he might plead guilty, but would initially plead not guilty because that 'gives him a window of opportunity to get his story out there,'" according to the Times.

But if the federal government has moved on, Mr. Bundy — a father of 14 and a registered Republican — has not.
He said he would continue holding a daily news conference; on Saturday, it drew one reporter and one photographer, so Mr. Bundy used the time to officiate at what was in effect a town meeting with supporters, discussing, in a long, loping discourse, the prevalence of abortion, the abuses of welfare and his views on race.

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” the rancher began as he described a "government house" in Las Vegas where he recalled that all the people who sat outside seemed to "have nothing to do."

“And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he said, as quoted by the Times. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”

The Times reached out to spokespeople for Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Dean Heller (R-NV), who have spoken in support of Bundy, and for Texas Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott (R). Those who responded distanced themselves from Bundy and his remarks.

Mr. Bundy’s case is clearly divisive. About 16,000 ranchers across the country pay relatively modest fees for their herds to use public land. The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, while expressing sympathy with some of Mr. Bundy’s complaints, pointedly did not endorse his methods.
“This should not be confused with civil disobedience,” Mr. Mrowka said. “This is outright anarchy going on here.”
Mr. Bundy disputes the legitimacy of both the bureau and the courts that have ruled against him. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to honor a federal court that has no jurisdiction or authority or arresting power over we the people,” he said.

But Alan O’Neill, who had a similar struggle with Mr. Bundy when he was superintendent of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, expressed concern that the government had backed down.
“He calls himself a patriot, and says he loves America,” Mr. O’Neill said. “And yet he says he won’t follow any federal laws. You just can’t let this go by, or everybody is going to be like, ‘If Bundy can break the law, why can’t I?’ ”

pacino wrote:]Cliven Bundy said some more crazy shit:

But if the federal government has moved on, Mr. Bundy — a father of 14 and a registered Republican — has not.
He said he would continue holding a daily news conference; on Saturday, it drew one reporter and one photographer, so Mr. Bundy used the time to officiate at what was in effect a town meeting with supporters, discussing, in a long, loping discourse, the prevalence of abortion, the abuses of welfare and his views on race.

“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” the rancher began as he described a "government house" in Las Vegas where he recalled that all the people who sat outside seemed to "have nothing to do."

“And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he said, as quoted by the Times. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”

The Times reached out to spokespeople for Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Dean Heller (R-NV), who have spoken in support of Bundy, and for Texas Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott (R). Those who responded distanced themselves from Bundy and his remarks.

FREEDOM!!!! JUST NOT FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY CANT CONTROL THEMSELVES!

What to expect from people who don't recognize the federal government at legitimate and then play the national anthem and wave the American flag?

Mr. Bundy’s case is clearly divisive. About 16,000 ranchers across the country pay relatively modest fees for their herds to use public land. The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, while expressing sympathy with some of Mr. Bundy’s complaints, pointedly did not endorse his methods.
“This should not be confused with civil disobedience,” Mr. Mrowka said. “This is outright anarchy going on here.”
Mr. Bundy disputes the legitimacy of both the bureau and the courts that have ruled against him. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to honor a federal court that has no jurisdiction or authority or arresting power over we the people,” he said.

But Alan O’Neill, who had a similar struggle with Mr. Bundy when he was superintendent of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, expressed concern that the government had backed down.
“He calls himself a patriot, and says he loves America,” Mr. O’Neill said. “And yet he says he won’t follow any federal laws. You just can’t let this go by, or everybody is going to be like, ‘If Bundy can break the law, why can’t I?’ ”

why indeed

TenuredVulture wrote:

Werthless wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:My understanding is offering birth control generally lowers overall costs to insurers.

http://business.time.com/2012/02/14/why ... insurance/

So, really, the question you'd want to ask is, "would you like to pay more for health insurance that does not provide contraceptive benefits?"

"Yeah, well, I'm a guy and can't a have a baby so I shouldn't have to pay for baby coverage, so there, huh"

"You may not watch any channels outside of CSN, ESPN, and comedy central, but bundling 200 other channels together actually lowers the cost of your cable!!!"

That analogy makes no sense.