Contributed by: filbert Tuesday, August 02 2011 @ 09:46 AM CST
Debt-ceiling bill passes the House [*1] — “By a margin 269 to 161, with 66 Republicans voting no and 95 Democrats voting yes, the House passed the debt-ceiling increase with the accompanying package of cuts.” Note that “cuts” in Washington, D.C. aren’t really cuts at all, in the sense that you and I would consider a cut. If your employer chops your salary by 5%, that’s what we in the real world call “a cut.” If your employer raises your salary by 5%, that’s what we in the real world call a “raise.” But in the fantasyland that we call Washington, D.C. it would be a “5% cut” if you expected a 10% raise and only got a 5% raise instead. Keep that in the front of your mind the next time you hear somebody complaining about the eeeeevil Republicans and their plans to barbecue and eat Granny.
TODAY’S FEATURE ARTICLE
The Winner of the Power Line Prize Is… [*2]
Five minutes of common-sense win. Old Message: Compromise and Bipartisanship Are Super-Important; New Message: It’s Okay For Democrats To Play Political Games With The Debt Ceiling [*3] — Washington Democrat politicians are really beneath contempt. I don’t understand why anyone votes for these amoral power-crazed lying assholes. I really don’t.
10 Things You Shouldn’t Keep in Your Wallet or Purse [*4]
MSNBC Writer: The Double-Dip Has Already Begun [*5] — For an awful lot of people, the first dip never ended . . .
The New Tone: Biden Says Tea Partiers “Acted Like Terrorists” [*6] — Strangely enough, a lot of Tea Partiers seem to be of the opinion that the Terrorists are currently in charge of the Executive Branch . . . they’ve certainly put terror into the heart of a lot of good, decent Americans . . .
Biden: These Republicans certainly have acted like terrorists; Update: Biden denies [*7] — Oh, I don’t know . . . it’s right in line with a lot of really, really stupid things Biden has said in the past. Because he’s a deeply stupid man. But his boss is even stupider–or at least, more politically tone-deaf.
July UAH global temperature, up slightly [*9]
Quick summary of the Budget Control Act [*10]
Understanding the Budget Control Act [*11]
Strategic analysis of the Budget Control Act [*12]
Budget talks in a word: ‘Ridiculous,’ ‘disgusting’ and ‘stupid’ top poll [*13] — Actually, I think you can use those words to refer to almost all of the media’s coverage of the issue, too. Which is a huge part of the problem. Most of the media, along with a large segment of the politicians, are economically illiterate.
Althouse: Why do Democrats want high taxation as their brand?[*14]
Will We Ever Have a Fully Digital Brain?[*15]
Royals Prospects Progress Report [*16]
The dreaded RTS [*17] — from the always amusing Angry Pharmacist . . .
Royals Bibliomancy: Lesson Five from The Realm of Prester John by Robert Silverberg [*18] — From the sometimes very, very strange Royals Review . . .
Baader-Meinhof terrorist may have worked for the Stasi [*19] — There are also strong suspicions that Pakistan’s rogue ISI intelligence service has supported Al Qaeda [*20] . . . the world is a dangerous place, filled with people who do not have your best interests at heart . . .
Dems eat Satan sandwich, GOP looks to next course[*21]
Dems Plan Pivot to Jobs [*22] — The only thing Washington Democrats know how to do regarding jobs is how to destroy them . . . so pardon me if their renewed attention to the issue fails to fill me with breathless anticipation . . .
America Held Hostage: 41% Self-Identify as Extremist Fringe Tea-Bagging Terrorists [*23] — if a “fringe” starts closing in on being a majority, then you have to start asking just exactly who is the fringe and who is the mainstream?
The Questions No One is Asking About the Turkish Military [*24]
The collapse of America’s middle class [*25]
‘Totalitarian Movements Use Democratic Institutions to Destroy Democracy’ [*26]
Matthew Yglesias on Raising Social Security Retirement Age: “Quite Horrifying” [*27] — No, Mattie boy, what is horrifying is the fundamental, structural unsustainability of Social Security in the first place, which you are so desperately defending.
Tea Partiers: Good Cops and Bad Cops [*28]
The Smurfs is the Worst Movie Ever [*29]
7 Female Behaviors That Baffle Men (Explained!) [*30] — Including “#2. Why Do Women Have so Many Shoes?”
6 Beloved Characters That Had Undiagnosed Mental Illnesses [*31]
Fine! Call My Bluff! Obama maximizes his losses by going all in on a weak hand. [*32]
The Tax Expenditures Muddle [*34] — The muddle begins and ends with the nonsensical, incomprehensible phrase “tax expenditure.”