Indefinite Detention? But I Have Soccer Practice at 4: U.S. Politics 2012

ha i knew that was haidt without you saying so

lol @ his uk book cover btw

http://www.amazon.com/The-Righteous-Mind-Politics-Religion/dp/0307377903

vs

http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781846141812

Aye, but that's just the US hardcover:
http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/1846141818/ref=tmm_hrd_title_1

http://andrewgelman.com/2012/06/stop-me-before-i-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/
http://andrewgelman.com/2012/06/cognitive-psychology-research-helps-us-understand-how-celebrated-psychology-researcher-jonathan-haidt-made-such-an-easily-avoidable-error/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_06/food_stamps_versus_peanuts038122.php

bipartisan Senate farm bill is flawed and the House farm bill is likely to be worse

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/06/22/obamas-consumer-watchdog-gets-sued/

the next ridiculous constitutional challenge that will become fully accepted by half the country in 6-9 months

A small Texas bank, together with two conservative advocacy groups, have filed suit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, claiming that its powers and Obama’s recess appointment of its director are unconstitutional.

The State National Bank of Big Spring, Tex., the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the 60 Plus Association, a conservative advocacy group for seniors, claim that Dodd-Frank effectively gives “unbounded power to the CFPB,” resulting in “unprecedented violations of ‘the basic concept of separation of powers’ ” laid out in the Constitution.
richard cordray, cfpb

The lawsuit also alleges that President Obama’s recess appointment of CFPB Director Richard Cordray was unconstitutional because it did not happen during an official Senate recess. Finally, it claims that the new Financial Stability Oversight Council is also unconstitutional for having “sweeping power and effectively unbridled discretion” to determine which banks are “too big to fail” and thus subject to greater oversight.

Bringing new meaning to 'frivolous lawsuit'.

that's what they said about the anti-mandate suits innit

i can guarantee that there is a federal judge or two who won't find such arguments "frivolous." probably in the federal circuit where this law suit was filed, not coincidentally.

lol: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/06/14/rnc-latino-site-features-stock-photo-of-asian-children

So I can't understand how Harry Reid is going to fund the school loan thing, but he apparently got Senate cooperation (and they're waiting for the House)

Democratic presidents are better for the economy.

Texas GOP opposes critical thinking

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78096.html

House Republicans cutting back on food stamp money

“Every American that I know has been in line behind the person who had pulled out the food stamp card with their buggy full of groceries,” said Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican freshman from Georgia, at an April meeting of the Agriculture panel. “They put it up there and they put it up there with their beer and their cigarettes and everything else. And whatever is covered under food stamps they pay for with the food stamp card and whatever is not, they open up their wallet and they pay for it with cash.”

I agree, this is horrific abuse of the system. Food stamps people should have to wait until all non-food stamps people have checked out before stepping into a line. Also to buy beer and cigarettes you should have to present your last paycheck.

Austin Scott may not realize that cigarettes are addictive, so the option of just stopping buying them is not exactly in the cards for most poor people on food stamps. Someone ought to explain this to him.

He'll say they should go cold turkey

To further muddy the waters:

[u]Published: August 19, 2011
Federal officials on Friday rejected Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposal to bar New York City’s food stamp users from buying soda and other sugary drinks with them.

The decision derailed one of the mayor’s big ideas to fight obesity and poor nutrition in the city. Mr. Bloomberg and the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, were quick to criticize the ruling by the United States Department of Agriculture as a disservice to low-income residents.

The decision was a victory for the soft-drink industry, which had lobbied against the proposal,/i]

that was from the NY Times

He'll say they should go cold turkey

He'd probably also make them move into carboard boxes and wear prison clothes.

He'll say they should go cold turkey

― curmudgeon, Thursday, July 5, 2012

Actually he'll say they should get jobs and pay for smokes themselves

And for everything else

“Every American that I know has been in line behind the person who had pulled out the food stamp card with their buggy full of groceries,” said Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican freshman from Georgia, at an April meeting of the Agriculture panel. “They put it up there and they put it up there with their beer and their cigarettes and everything else. And whatever is covered under food stamps they pay for with the food stamp card and whatever is not, they open up their wallet and they pay for it with cash.”

I'm sorry, can we just go back to this for a second so someone can explain to me why I should care about this scenario, which sounds like it is operating the way it's supposed to?

your hard-earned money is being used to pay for black people to live a life of ease

Years ago I had to ask a friend to entertain the possibility that the man or woman might have gotten the cash as a weekly handout from a child or relative.

black people are literally driving buggies into the grocery store to buy their traditional food of beer and cigarettes, and whatever their ebt card doesnt pay for they use cash money that they literally took out of your bank account

Rep Scott apparently believes that if you are not utterly destitute and penniless, then you do not deserve any public assistance. But if you ask him who does deserve it, he'd probably have objections to anyone getting it.

your hard-earned money is being used to pay for black people to live a life of ease

lol, the best thing about that statement is everyone I've ever seen in my 21 years of urban living who has done what was being described in that snippet was whitey mc super white

http://prints.encore-editions.com/500/0/two-african-american-men-sitting-in-horse-drawn-carriage-bakery-and-other-commercial-buildlings-in-background.jpg

I'm trying to think actually, I've seen black ppl with public assistance cards maybe a total of five times in my time in Boston? (largely due to the neighborhoods I've lived in as opposed to them not existing) Cambridge and Somerville definitely have a large contingent of white Americans on food stamps tho

when you're poor sometimes you need some beer and some smokes to take the edge off how bad it sucks to be poor & I mean that seriously & anybody who doesn't actually know that in his bones is my fuckin enemy, getting all aggro about "they're on food stamps but they bought beer!" is some miserable human being shit

dudes like this do make it easier for me to pull the level for the Dems so I appreciate that anyway

lever

tbh it would make more sense if dude was getting incensed about ppl buying soda with food stamps than it does to get incensed about buying beer with not-food-stamps

lotsa people on ilx have pretty much said the same thing as the republican dude

just always w/r/t white poor people

What is so extra dipshit about the shocking "buying beer with leftover money scenario" is that it is so irrelevant to the larger issues. IT HELPS THE FUCKING ECONOMY WHEN POOR PEOPLE HAVE MORE MONEY TO SPEND ON STUFF BESIDES JUST BASIC SUSTENANCE.

Buying beer, or any other damn thing, is economic activity. Of which there is not enough.

Toploading the economy (tax cuts, tax deals, tax incentives, tax shenanigans) doesn't work as an economic stimulus. However, all money that goes to (or stays with) poor people - or lower middle class people, or even middle-class people - instantly begins circulating through the economy. Even rich people benefit, they just have to wait for the less-rich people spend it.

It's not about who "deserves" it, it's about a more vibrant economy means more money for everybody.

Hey Democrats. Try making this argument instead of pretending that you are "free-market" and "anti-deficit" too. Go on, you can do it. Lord knows you use up enough airtime.

when you're poor sometimes you need some beer and some smokes to take the edge off how bad it sucks to be poor & I mean that seriously & anybody who doesn't actually know that in his bones is my fuckin enemy, getting all aggro about "they're on food stamps but they bought beer!" is some miserable human being shit

This is so fucking OTM. These shitheads have no idea what a working poor lifestyle is like. Some one who can't comprehend how you feel when you're down and out and broke; are they even human ffs?

Via Amy Sullivan at TNR, we read this amusing story from the Livingston Parish News:

Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, says she had no idea that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s overhaul of the state’s educational system might mean taxpayer support of Muslim schools. “I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” the District 64 Representative said Monday.
“I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school,” Hodges said.
Hodges mistakenly assumed that “religious” meant “Christian.”

I am guessing that in Louisiana it will mean Christian, unless the ACLU intervenes.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/leaving_it_to_the_parents_in_l038357.php#

More on Bobby Jindal's voucher plan. Ugh

yup it's gross: public schools/public teachers will have their work evaluated on the basis of their students' standard test scores. the voucherized schools? not at all.

so the solution to poorly performing schools using taxpayer money with not enough oversight or direction is... give taxpayer money to schools with no performance record at all with zero oversight. liberty!!!

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/louisiana-gives-us-taste-mitt-romneys-education-policy

scary stuff

more scary stuff from the Head Bomber:

http://www.esquire.com/features/obama-lethal-presidency-0812

Last night I heard about 6 seconds of James Carville on the radio before I could hit the off switch. Still recovering.

How horrible.

my thoughts & prayers are with you doc

so, the NYC BOE finally certified Rangel's primary win after 2 weeks! A comedy of ineptitude.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/07/6134025/whats-board-elections-going-do-about-elephant

When I mentioned I am going to get rid of Obamacare they weren’t happy, I didn’t get the same response. That’s O.K, I want people to know what I stand for and if I don’t stand for what they want, go vote for someone else, that’s just fine…

But I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy — more free stuff.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/romneys-free-stuff-speech-is-a-new-low-20120713#ixzz20W4lNIPp

Out of the mouth of a rich man's child.

Your ENTIRE LIFE is built on free stuff, you asshole.

good morning!