Archive for July 9, 2012
New Crazy From the Crazies: Obama is a Former Pakistani CIA Agent
OMG. Here’s the latest crazy from the crazy World Net Daily.
(Image via DancingCzars.Wordpress.com)
Obama’s ‘Missing Year’ at Columbia Found?
Two separate database reports from the National Student Clearinghouse have contradicted President Obama’s claim he attended Columbia University for two years. The reports have added to the intrigue generated by Obama’s unwillingness to discuss his time at the Ivy League institution, his refusal to release educational records, and the fact that many political science students and faculty there in the early 1980s say they don’t remember him.
Swirling amid the black hole of information are a host of theories about Obama’s whereabouts – particularly during the 1981-1982 school year – including speculation he was working for the CIA in Pakistan.
Where did this “missing year” at Columbia come from? Geezus.
It’s only July. I can only imagine the conspiracy theories we’ll be hearing come September and October.
These Bridges Are For Animals
TheWorldGeography.com has compiled photos of bridges built to allow animals to cross over to the other side of the road:
Most of the structures are between 10 m (30 ft) and 60 m (180 ft) wide. They typically have soil, litter, and vegetation on top to provide suitable habitat for a range of different species and species groups. The larger structures are typically intended for large mammals ranging from ungulates (e.g. deer, elk, moose) to large carnivores (e.g. black bear, grizzly bear, Canada lynx, wolverine, wolf).
And they are gorgeous:
Ecoduct in Netherlands; The Netherlands was one of the first countries to deploy a network of wildlife crossings across the landscape. (Image via TheWorldGeography.com)
Ecoduct (wildlife bridge) on highway A1 through nature area the Veluwe, the Netherlands. (Image via TheWorldGeography.com)
Ecoduct in France (Image via TheWorldGeography.com)
More here. Check out the one at the bottom of the page…for crabs!
I love these. Mostly I love the sentiment behind them.
Americans Accumulated a Whole Bunch of Debt in May
Here is an astonishing and sad factoid, just released by the Federal Reserve:
(Image via Quizzle.com)
Consumer credit climbed more than forecast in May, led by the biggest jump in credit-card debt in almost five years that may signal Americans are struggling to make ends meet.
The $17.1 billion increase, bigger than the highest estimate [an increase of $8.5 billion] of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the largest this year, followed a $9.95 billion gain the previous month that was more than previously estimated, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. Revolving credit, which includes credit card spending, rose by $8 billion, the most since November 2007.
A pickup in borrowing coincides with a slowdown in hiring and declines in consumer confidence that indicate the job market is failing to spur big enough gains in wages to cover expenses.
So, “economists” were off by about half? They expected an increase of roughly $8.5 billion but the increase was in fact $17.1 billion? Wow. Don’t guess they have a very good handle on what’s going on around here.
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere
The Museum of Design in Zurich, Switzerland just opened an exhibit called the “Plastic Garbage Product” about the proliferation (to say the least) of plastic on our poor planet.
Here’s a photo of one of the exhibits:
And here’s a video depicting the eternal life of the “majestic plastic bag:”
More here.
(H/t Chris L.)
Would You Walk Into a Burning Building for $7.25 an Hour?
Would you walk into a burning building or risk being caught in a shootout for $7.25 an hour? Firefighters and police in Scranton, Pennsylvania are asking themselves that question this afternoon:
(Image via AP)
Amid Scranton’s ever-deepening financial crisis, Mayor Chris Doherty said his administration is going forward with a plan to unilaterally slash the pay of 398 workers to the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour with today’s payroll, insisting it is all the city can afford.
That will likely earn administration officials an appointment with Judge Michael Barrasse, who granted the city’s police, fire and public works unions a special injunction temporarily barring the administration from imposing the pay cuts after a brief hearing Thursday.
Campaign Fundraising — The Change Over Eight Years
Look at this amazing chart from BusinessInsider.com showing how much money Romney and Obama have raised since March, compared to that raised by John Kerry and George Bush over the same time period just eight short years ago:
It’s scary.
Adorable Baby Polar Bears Playing
Okay folks, here’s my Monday morning cute baby animal video; three minutes that will bring joy to your heart and make you want to scream: They are ADORABLE! (And what a good mom.)
In March of 2010, nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen traveled to Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba to photograph polar bears and their young emerging from their winter dens. Watch as these tiny, months-old cubs play and wrestle while their mother keeps a close eye on them from the den.
(Via.)
Mitt Romney — The Potential Liar-in-Chief
This happened today:
This morning, President Obama will call on Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts just for those under $250,000…
Mitt Romney responded:
President Obama’s response to even more bad economic news is a massive tax increase.
What?
It just proves again that the President doesn’t have a clue how to get America working again and help the middle class. The President’s latest bad idea is to raise taxes on families, job creators, and small businesses.
Greg Sargent over at the Washington Post explains:
When Romney describes this proposal as a “massive tax increase,” what he means is that calling for an extension of the cut for those under $250,000 is equivalent to calling for a tax hike on those over $250,000 — or, as he puts it, a tax hike on “families, job creators, and small businesses.”
But allowing the high end tax cut to expire would only impact two percent of American taxpayers, Roberton Williams of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center tells me. That means Romney is describing a proposal to cut taxes on 98 percent of American taxpayers as a tax hike, because Obama’s plan does not also cut taxes on the top two percent.
[...]
This is a candidate and a campaign who seem to proceed from the assumption that they can say literally anything, no matter how absurd or Orwellian, without getting called out aggressively by news orgs or suffering any political consequences for it. I guess we’ll find out soon enough whether they’re right.
Yes we will but I’m not going to hold my breath. Unfortunately for the country, Romney and his campaign haven’t been called out for their lies. That’s why they feel free to keep telling them.
Where is Amelia Earhart?
In the next 48-hours, the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery will arrive at the site where it is believed Amelia Earhart made an emergency landing during her July, 1937 doomed attempt to fly around the world at the Equator.
Check out this slide show at Discovery.com detailing what the Group plans to do to try to locate her airplane.
They. Are. Serious.
(Image via Discovery.com)
