Morons
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It's simple, really ...
Friday, July 12, 2013
Today in History
| 1096 | Crusaders under Peter the Hermit reach Sofia in Hungary. | |
| 1691 | William III defeats the allied Irish and French armies at the Battle of Aughrim, Ireland. | |
| 1794 | British Admiral Lord Nelson loses his right eye at the siege of Calvi, in Corsica. | |
| 1806 | The Confederation of the Rhine is established in Germany. | |
| 1941 | Moscow is bombed by the German Luftwaffe for the first time. | |
| 1954 | President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposes a highway modernization program, with costs to be shared by federal and state governments. | |
| 1957 | The U.S. surgeon general, Leroy E. Burney, reports that there is a direct link between smoking and lung cancer. | |
| 1974 | G. Gordon Liddy, John Ehrlichman and two others are convicted of conspiracy and perjury in connection with the Watergate scandal. | |
| 1984 | Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale chooses Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. |
Delicious Dishes Of America’s Past
Huckleberry biscuits
You never think of huckleberries, do you? Well, this modern take on
the original recipe will work with most types of berries, but it’s
tastier—and if you want to do it the classic American way, you’ll use
huckleberries.
Ingredients:
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fresh lemon peel
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/4 cup unthawed frozen huckleberries
Toppings:
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of ground nutmeg
Directions:
1. Start by mixing 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, sugar, salt, lemon peels, and soda in a bowl.
2. Add shortening until the texture is coarse.
3. Mix the egg and buttermilk separately, and then add to the bowl.
4. Stir in frozen huckleberries.
5. Spread the remaining flour across the countertop and pour the dough mix onto the flour, kneading 6 or 7 times.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Once the dough holds together, pat it into a rectangle about 1/2” thick and then cut into circles about 2” thick.
8. Place the biscuits onto a (lightly) greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
9. Finally, mix the topping ingredients together and brush that sweet stuff over the biscuits.
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fresh lemon peel
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/4 cup unthawed frozen huckleberries
Toppings:
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of ground nutmeg
Directions:
1. Start by mixing 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, sugar, salt, lemon peels, and soda in a bowl.
2. Add shortening until the texture is coarse.
3. Mix the egg and buttermilk separately, and then add to the bowl.
4. Stir in frozen huckleberries.
5. Spread the remaining flour across the countertop and pour the dough mix onto the flour, kneading 6 or 7 times.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Once the dough holds together, pat it into a rectangle about 1/2” thick and then cut into circles about 2” thick.
8. Place the biscuits onto a (lightly) greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
9. Finally, mix the topping ingredients together and brush that sweet stuff over the biscuits.
Is Your Olive Oil As Healthy As You Think?
Want to get the most health benefits from America's grocery store olive oil? Here's how.
Did you know ...
The the repugican cabal finds a way to alienate another constituency
That a study confirms the Affordable Care mandate will reduce abortion rate
That a christian polling group finds atheists divorce less than christians
Have scientists discovered a new species of killer whale?
Boys who grow up with sisters more likely to end up repugican, and sexist
Boys who grow up with sisters are more likely to end up Republican, according to a paper published in the Journal of Politics (Word document), and reported on by PEW.The paper, by Andrew Healy and Neil Malhotr, also says that boys with
sisters end up doing less “female-stereotyped” housework as children
and adults.
And that the boys end up having more “conservative attitudes with respect to gender roles.”
For example, the study found that, “compared to men with all
brothers, men with all sisters were 3.9 percentage points more likely to
agree with the statement that ‘a woman’s place is in the home’.”
The paper did not find a similar impact on girls who grew up with brothers, however. From the paper:
It’s funny, because I grew up with sisters, but I still enjoyed
cooking from an early age. Then again, who got to mow the lawn when we
were kids? My brother and me. I’m pretty sure the girls never had to.
And that was definitely gender stereotyped.
My sisters also never had to stain the fence (that was a joy from which I’ll never recover). But boy did I get to do the dishes.
Now, it should be noted that the study examined data from 1965 to 1997. So it would be interesting to see if attitudes have changed significantly in the past 16 years to the point where parents are more even-handed in the chores they dole out to the kids.
And that the boys end up having more “conservative attitudes with respect to gender roles.”
The paper did not find a similar impact on girls who grew up with brothers, however. From the paper:
[B]oys with sisters are substantially less likely to have performed female-stereotyped household tasks during childhood than boys with brothers. For girls, sibling gender has no effect on chore assignment. We also utilize the PSP data to show that men who grew up with sisters continue to perform fewer household chores even in middle age, suggesting the persistent effect of childhood experiences.The big difference in chores between boys and girl? Doing the dishes. Boys were less likely to be asked to do the dishes if they had sisters.
My sisters also never had to stain the fence (that was a joy from which I’ll never recover). But boy did I get to do the dishes.
Now, it should be noted that the study examined data from 1965 to 1997. So it would be interesting to see if attitudes have changed significantly in the past 16 years to the point where parents are more even-handed in the chores they dole out to the kids.
The rnc's rebranding campaign suffers Rasputin-like fate
And four months after its unveiling, the rnc's "rebranding" campaign hasn't just died a natural death; it has suffered a Rasputin-like fate, having been stabbed, poisoned, beaten, shot, and drowned.
Consider some of the headlines from the last few weeks: repugicans intend to kill immigration reform; intensify their war against reproductive rights, and vote for the 38th time to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare").
Prominent party officials are dealing with controversies related to racism and rape rhetoric, while the party becomes increasingly invested in the idea that it can thrive by focusing almost exclusively on white voters.
Sweeping efforts intended to block Americans' voting rights are unfolding at a breakneck pace.
Sarah Palin and Liz Cheney are eyeing Senate campaigns, while Rick Perry is eyeing the White House.
Birthers are being honored by repugican lawmakers, Glenn Beck is influencing members of Congress, and tea partiers are rallying on Capitol Hill.
Meet the new repugican cabal; it looks an awful lot like the old repugican cabal. Rebranding isn't a failure; it's a punch-line to an unfortunate joke.
House repugicans Use Bogus Scandal As an Excuse To Slash The IRS Budget
Every
member of the House of Representatives is required to take an oath of
office before they begin serving their term, and although it has changed
slightly since the nation’s founding, its basic premise is that
regardless of party affiliation, they swear they will “support and
defend the Constitution of the United States,” and that they “will well
and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to
enter.” For the past two sessions of Congress, Republicans in the House
of Representatives have not “well and faithfully” discharged the duties
of their office and it is a mystery whether it is because they believe
they are tasked with obstructing governance or are grossly unaware of
their duties. It is likely they know one of their primary duties
according to the Constitution they swore to support is to “lay and collect taxes… to pay the debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States,”
but it is fairly common knowledge repugicans oppose the concept of
laying or collecting taxes regardless the intended use of the revenue.As part of their aversion to taxation, and the Internal Revenue Service, House repugicans are planning on slashing $3 billion from the IRS’s already pathetically underfunded budget, and besides just hating the concept of taxation, there are several likely reasons for starving one of the most critical departments in government. For one thing, repugicans have made no secret underfunding the IRS is punitive for what they cite as “inappropriate actions” over the phony scandal when IRS employees performed their due diligence in scrutinizing political groups filing applications for 501(C)(3) “social welfare” tax exempt status to conceal dark money donors in political campaigns. In fact, slashing the IRS funding is part of a series of GOP bills to punish the IRS that includes withholding 10% of the agency’s enforcement budget until they stop investigating conservative political groups’ applications according to a so-called “taxpayer watchdog” group.
The bad news for government revenue is part of a spending bill for fiscal 2014 released by Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Hal Rogers (r-KY), that allocates $4 billion less than President Obama’s budget called for and over $3 billion less than House repugicans allotted last year. However, there is more at stake than just crippling the IRS from collecting revenue to keep the government operating and providing for the general welfare. The repugicans have panted for a means of blocking execution of the Affordable Care Act, and underfunding the agency effectively denies their request for 16,500 new IRS agents over the next decade to oversee implementation of the health law.
Cutting the IRS budget, especially enforcement and collections, is starving the government of much needed revenue, especially when repugicans are in a debt and deficit cutting frenzy. In 2006 alone, the IRS was so pathetically underfunded, and understaffed, they left $385 billion in owed and uncollected taxes primarily from corporations and the rich. The repugicans’ deliberate underfunding serves more than just punishing the agency for doing its job policing phony “social welfare” applications and thwarting the Affordable Care Act’s implementation, they are letting their wealthy contributors off the hook for taxes they owe. Plus, as a value-added benefit, starving the government of funds is part and parcel of their oath to lobbyist Grover Norquist to assist him in cutting “government down to size where he can drown it in a bathtub.” What better way to underfund the government than neutering the agency responsible for executing House repugicans’ oath to “lay and collect taxes… to pay the debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States?”
For the past four-and-a-half years repugicans have openly campaigned, and worked diligently, to “limit the size of government” they claim is their mandate from their masters the Koch brothers, ALEC, and various belief-tanks, but they swore an oath to the Constitution to “faithfully discharge the duties of the office” and according to the Constitution their primary duty is to “lay and collect taxes;” not underfund the agency tasked with collecting revenue so necessary to “pay the debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.” But that is the real issue; repugicans have shown a predilection for not providing anything for the general welfare of the United States that historically has been a number of national interests ranging from federal courts, policing, imprisonment, and national security to social programs, environmental protection, and education.
According to Eric Cantor, slashing the IRS budget serves what he calls “a growing sense of distrust of what this administration and what Washington is doing, and that’s why we in the House this month will be taking up a package of bills to stop this government abuse and put the American people first.” For the record, the public’s distrust is for repugicans in Congress as evidenced by their pitiful 10% confidence rating just a month ago, and who could blame them as they have spent no small amount of time and energy obstructing any and all legislation to provide for “the general welfare” of the United States or the people. They did, however, enact severe sequestration cuts, attempt to repeal the ACA, and block a variety of bipartisan Senate bills that did, in fact, provide for the people’s general welfare.
Slashing the IRS budget is more than just vindictive retribution for IRS employees scrutinizing perjury-laden applications for social welfare status, or obstructing implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or preventing the wealthy from paying taxes, or even fulfilling their pledge to Grover Norquist; it is dereliction of duty. The repugicans, like every member of Congress, swore an oath to “faithfully discharge the duties of the office” that includes “laying and collecting taxes” they are effectively thwarting by underfunding the Internal Revenue Service. Their actions are particularly egregious for withholding 10% of the funding specifically for enforcement of IRS codes to prevent repugicans’ campaign donors from paying their taxes or concealing their dark money donors.
Americans should be outraged their representatives are deliberately undermining this government’s operation by starving it of funding while protecting the wealthy and their corporations from paying their fair share. There is no telling how many hundreds of billions of dollars go uncollected, and if in 2006 the figure was $385 billion, it is likely closer to $1 trillion in 2012 and if repugicans were as frantic to reduce the debt and deficit as they claim, they would double the IRS budget. However, that would reduce the deficit, fund the Affordable Care Act, provide for the general welfare and foil Grover Norquist’s plan to drown the government in a bathtub that may be the real reason they are cutting the IRS budget.
Government Agency Smashes Computers to Get Rid of Viruses
A
couple of years ago, the Department of Homeland Security notified NOAA
(the weather agency) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA)
that they had a potential malware problem in their computer systems. The
two agencies reacted in very different ways.The NOAA isolated and cleaned up the problem within a few weeks.Read more at Ars Technica.
The EDA, however, responded by cutting its systems off from the rest of the world—disabling its enterprise e-mail system and leaving its regional offices no way of accessing centrally-held databases.
It then recruited in an outside security contractor to look for malware and provide assurances that not only were EDA's systems clean, but also that they were impregnable against malware. The contractor, after some initial false positives, declared the systems largely clean but was unable to provide this guarantee. Malware was found on six systems, but it was easily repaired by re-imaging the affected machines.
EDA's CIO, fearing that the agency was under attack from a nation-state, insisted instead on a policy of physical destruction. The EDA destroyed not only (uninfected) desktop computers but also printers, cameras, keyboards, and even mice. The destruction only stopped—sparing $3 million of equipment—because the agency had run out of money to pay for destroying the hardware.
New poll suggests more Americans see Snowden as whistleblower, not traitor
Scott Shane in the New York Times:
"It is still unclear whether Mr. Snowden, the 30-year-old former N.S.A.
contractor now holed up at a Moscow airport, will escape punishment.
But he has succeeded in opening the government spying’s trade-offs
between civil liberties and security to the broadest and best-informed
public debate in many years, even as intelligence officials are
horrified at the exposure of their methods and targets." A new poll out
this week suggests that up to 55% of Americans see Snowden as a
whistleblower, rather than a traitor.
New NSA leak documents show how the US is bugging its European allies
From Raw Story
US intelligence services are spying on the European Union mission in New York and its embassy in Washington, according to the latest top secret US National Security Agency documents leaked by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.
One document lists 38 embassies and missions, describing them as "targets". It details an extraordinary range of spying methods used against each target, from bugs implanted in electronic communications gear to taps into cables to the collection of transmissions with specialised antennae.
Along with traditional ideological adversaries and sensitive Middle Eastern countries, the list of targets includes the EU missions and the French, Italian and Greek embassies, as well as a number of other American allies, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey. The list in the September 2010 document does not mention the UK, Germany or other western European states
US intelligence services are spying on the European Union mission in New York and its embassy in Washington, according to the latest top secret US National Security Agency documents leaked by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.
One document lists 38 embassies and missions, describing them as "targets". It details an extraordinary range of spying methods used against each target, from bugs implanted in electronic communications gear to taps into cables to the collection of transmissions with specialised antennae.
Along with traditional ideological adversaries and sensitive Middle Eastern countries, the list of targets includes the EU missions and the French, Italian and Greek embassies, as well as a number of other American allies, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey. The list in the September 2010 document does not mention the UK, Germany or other western European states
Money Thoughts Lead to Evil Actions
Quick, think about money. Feel more evil yet?According new research by Maryan Kouchaki at Harvard University and Kristin Smith-Crowe of the University of Utah, merely thinking about money can make someone more evil:
In four separate studies, they found that people who were first primed with money-related words or images were more likely to make unethical decisions or lie than those who had seen neutral ones. Thoughts about money made the study’s participants more likely to agree to things like hiring a candidate because he had confidential information that could benefit the company, or stealing a ream of paper from their employer for their home printer.Simone Foxman of Quartz explains: Here.
So, pretty much, thinking about or seeing a greenback might make you a Scrooge. “It’s pretty amazing to us that these subtle cues, environmental cues have this big of an effect,” Smith-Crowe told Quartz in an interview. “[Participants] were conscious that they were seeing words related to money but they were not conscious that these things were actually affecting their decisions and behavior.”
The Resort Where You Can Swim in Beer
Do you love beer so much that you want to feel it all over your body? The Starkenberger Brewery in Austria can give you that experience:
Residing in the old fermentation brewery, there are seven total pools in a Turkish-bath-like room, each of which are heated and contain 12,000L of water enriched with 300L Biergeläger (remote yeast). Fun fact: ever since the days of ancient Egypt when Cleopatra bathed in beer while Mark Anthony was off conquering empires, beer bath's have been rumored to have a healing, restorative effect.You can do this cheaper in your bathtub with a couple cases of Bud Light, but the ambiance is different.
You've gotta make reservations in advance but for $298/ pool (and an additional $6.50/ person) this could be you sharing a beer pool with blonde coeds. Your two hours of beer bathing also come with beer crackers and a "Tyrolean meat spread" plus one non-swimmed-in bottle of suds per person; because actually drinking the pool beer would be insane... right??
Traffic fumes in cities linked to increased cancer, heart disease risks
Air pollution, most notably from traffic exhaust fumes in urban areas, is correlated with an increased risk of lung cancer and heart failure,
according to two new studies. Smoking's still deadlier, but smoke
cigarettes behind a car tailpipe and you're really in business.
Weird beach fashion ...
The 'Face-kini' growing in popularity
The full-head mask — dubbed "face-kini" by bloggers — has become increasingly popular at Chinese beaches. They are billed as protecting against sunburn, insects and jellyfish. Some wearers also say they wish to prevent tanning. The beachgoers pictured below are on a public beach in Qingdao, northeast China's Shandong province.
Scientists 'Discover' The Secret Of Humor
Comedians, actors, writers and psychoanalysts have long sought to
discover the secret of what makes something funny. Sigmund Freud thought
humor stemmed from a feeling of superiority or incongruity, while Mark
Twain suggested that its secret source was not joy but sorrow.
Now, scientists at the University of Colorado claim to have put an end to the argument once and for all. Humor, they say, stems from a benign violation of the way the world ought to be. People find an incident humorous when it goes against the normally accepted way of things, providing it is harmless.
Now, scientists at the University of Colorado claim to have put an end to the argument once and for all. Humor, they say, stems from a benign violation of the way the world ought to be. People find an incident humorous when it goes against the normally accepted way of things, providing it is harmless.
Human News
Language and modern speech are not unique to our species -- Neanderthals could talk to each other too.
In 2008 at Hohle Fels, a Stone Age cave in Southern Germany,
archaeologists discovered what is thought to be the oldest example of a
man-made musical instrument: a vulture bone flute dating back to the
[...]
Massive Waterspout in Florida
If
you live in Florida, this is called 'normal'. A waterspout--a tornado
in the water--came ashore on Monday near Tampa causing light damage.
You'd better start running before it gets to you.More (warning: auto-sound)
Earth News
The deadly wildfires torching the western U.S. and other
regions may add to climate change more than previously thought.
As climate changes, what can we expect for our daily lives?
Many vertebrate species would have to evolve about 10,000 times
faster than they have in the past to adapt to the rapid climate change
expected in the next 100 years, a study led by a [...]
New research has shown surface ice melt will be the dominant
process controlling ice-loss from Greenland. As outlet glaciers retreat
inland the other process, iceberg production, remains important but will
not grow as rapidly. The [...]
Normally, each week I start my blog with an amusing anecdote
seemingly unrelated to anything scientific in order to lure you in to
the extraordinary world of climate change science. I wrote about aliens
in [...]
Alien-looking creature found in South Africa baffles locals
This unusual creature was discovered at The Crags outside Plettenberg
Bay in the Western Cape Province of South Africa yesterday morning.
Update: According to Dr Magdalena Braum, of The Crags Veterinary Clinic who carried out an autopsy, it's the body of a baby baboon that had died from being bitten in the head and that its body was elongated because its grieving mother had carried it for weeks after its death.
Update: According to Dr Magdalena Braum, of The Crags Veterinary Clinic who carried out an autopsy, it's the body of a baby baboon that had died from being bitten in the head and that its body was elongated because its grieving mother had carried it for weeks after its death.
Comet Tail Blazes from Solar System's Derriere
Scientists have long suspected that the solar system sports a
tail, much like a comet flying through space. Now they've found it.
The Venezuelan poodle moth
The moth was first discovered and photographed in 2009 and is believed to be a new species. It's thought to belong to the lepidopteran genus Artace.
And the real McCoy.
Animal News
Some sharks slap fish to death, killing up to three or more fish with just a single slap.
In New England, invasive green crabs started by pinching
scallop and mussel populations. Now they may move on to lobster.
These Alaskan breeds show no European heritage in their genes.
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