Fuck its silent in here.......

[morpheus]

What the Health Care discussion was missing...

I thought for sure you'd say this.

[Tinker to Evers to Chance]

What the Health Care discussion was missing...

I thought for sure you'd say this.

I may have to reassess my opinion of the British healthcare system.

[Slaky]

Lots of funny stuff here.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622?print=true

*starts thinking of what it would be like to live in Norway*

Dark.  Cold.  Expensive.

*Is never actually moving to Norway*

[PenPho]

What the Health Care discussion was missing...

I thought for sure you'd say this.

FUCK

[Brownie]

Lots of funny stuff here.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622?print=true

*starts thinking of what it would be like to live in Norway*

Dark.  Cold.  Expensive.

*Is never actually moving to Norway*

How about Minnesota? It's like Norway, only less potent beer and a close-up view of the Viking Apocalypse, now with Samurai Mike.

[Slaky]

Lots of funny stuff here.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michele-bachmanns-holy-war-20110622?print=true

*starts thinking of what it would be like to live in Norway*

Dark.  Cold.  Expensive.

*Is never actually moving to Norway*

How about Minnesota? It's like Norway, only less potent beer and a close-up view of the Viking Apocalypse, now with Samurai Mike.

It's also colder. No joke. And Minnesota is kind of the reason I would leave for Norway in the first place. We've come full circle.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

[Gilgamesh]

CT, I need an irony ruling on this: http://www.avclub.com/articles/to-catch-a-predators-chris-hansen-caught-by-hidden,58335/

[R-V]

Apologies for the HuffPo link, but while reading this about the shitty negotiating done by the Democrats during this debt ceiling clusterfuck:

So once again, just like in the government shutdown debate, Obama and the Democrats are fighting to get what the Republicans and the right-wing economic think tanks originally proposed they should do, and the GOP just keeps walking the goalposts to the right.  If this comes down to the constitutional option, I hope everyone remembers that the Democrats have actually proposed doing exactly what the Republicans and the right-wing economists originally asked for.

I had no idea what the constitutional option was and found this. Let's set aside the wisdom of this option. What say you about its validity, lawyers and notlawyers?

Growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling, Democratic senators are revisiting a solution to the crisis that rests on a simple proposition: The debt ceiling itself is unconstitutional.

"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law... shall not be questioned," reads the 14th Amendment.

"This is an issue that's been raised in some private debate between senators as to whether in fact we can default, or whether that provision of the Constitution can be held up as preventing default," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), an attorney, told The Huffington Post Tuesday. "I don't think, as of a couple weeks ago, when this was first raised, it was seen as a pressing option. But I'll tell you that it's going to get a pretty strong second look as a way of saying, 'Is there some way to save us from ourselves?'"

By declaring the debt ceiling unconstitutional, the White House could continue to meet its financial obligations, leaving Tea Party-backed Republicans in the difficult position of arguing against the plain wording of the Constitution. Bipartisan negotiators are debating the size of the cuts, now in the trillions, that will come along with raising the debt ceiling.

[CT III]

CT, I need an irony ruling on this: http://www.avclub.com/articles/to-catch-a-predators-chris-hansen-caught-by-hidden,58335/

Funny, yes.  Ironic?  No.

[Gilgamesh]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/flight-risk-for-boeing/2011/06/17/AGH9Q5bH_story.html

Employers who engage in unfair labor practices should be penalized. But the NLRB's move goes too far and would undermine a company's ability to consider all legitimate factors — including potential work disruptions — when making plans. It also substitutes the government's judgment for that of the company. This is neither good law nor good business

Yep.  The editors of the Washington Post get it.

Or they don't.

Legitimate business factors are fine.  Illegal and unlawful business considerations are not.  It is against the law for an employer to retaliate against employees for choosing to engage in protected concerted activity.  Striking is precisely that.

Besides, I imagine this would make you more angry: http://hosted2.ap.org/NMSAN/Politics/Article_2011-06-21-Union%20Elections/id-40d9ec7ff4424f5badcd864c0b16a6bc

The law forbids employers from discriminating or retaliating against employees for lawful union activity. To prevail, an aggrieved party typically must show that the retaliation resulted in demotions, dismissals, wage reductions or other punitive measures. In Boeing's case, these reprisals are absent; the company also claims its collective bargaining agreement gives it the explicit and exclusive right to locate work where it wishes.

The allegation that the company "transferred" jobs out of state is unconvincing because the jobs in South Carolina are new. The company has not cut jobs in Washington, nor has it demoted or slashed the wages of union workers. Boeing has added about 3,000 — albeit temporary — jobs in Washington since it announced its South Carolina plans and says it is likely to add more to keep up with demand for its commercial airliners.

You seem so sure of yourself, and yet the facts of the case seem be so unsupportive... you use that word "retaliate" but I do not think it means what you think it means.

Strike one...http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/06/30/nlrb-judge-denies-boeing-motion-to-dismiss-case/

[Gilgamesh]

God bless America.  Happy 4th of July, folks.

[BH]

God bless America.  Happy 4th of July, folks.

I'm surprised you celebrate the 4th of July.

[PenPho]

God bless America.  Happy 4th of July, folks.

I'm surprised you celebrate the 4th of July.

He doesn't hate America, just everyone who lives in, supports, protects, and generally embiggens America. 

[Bort]

God bless America.  Happy 4th of July, folks.

I'm surprised you celebrate the 4th of July.

He doesn't hate America, just everyone who lives in, supports, protects, and generally embiggens America. 

Hey! It's a perfectly cromulent viewpoint.