The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Cyber Monday: Thanks to the Reader Who Bought the $200 Lego Set From Amazon!

Posted on | December 2, 2013 | 31 Comments

 

Today is “Cyber Monday,” the biggest online shopping day of the year, when people who didn’t find what they wanted on Black Friday go on the Internet and order from my Amazon Associates links. This has become such a phenomenon, “60 Minutes” reported about it:

If you have ever wondered what happens after you’ve clicked and placed an order on Amazon, take a look. If there is such a thing as Santa’s workshop, this would be it.
A 1.2 million square foot distribution center, the size of more than 20 football fields, gearing up for the holiday shopping season.
There are 96 of these warehouses worldwide, what Amazon calls fulfillment centers. Tomorrow, on what is known as Cyber Monday, it’s expected that more than 300 items a second will be ordered on Amazon.

Of course, not everyone who shops at Amazon does so through the links on this blog, but lots of readers do, and one of those readers bought  the “LEGO Creator Town Hall,” which has 2,766 pieces and costs $199.95. This is yet another example of those “Things You Can Buy at Amazon That I Didn’t Even Know Existed.”

Lego Creator series includes other projects like the Palace Cinema (2,196 pieces) and the Grand Emporium (2,182 pieces), so that you could build an entire Lego village. And here are a few other examples of items recently purchased via our Amazon links:

  • Keurig K-Cup Home Brewer — This is the single-cup brewing system where each cup is always fresh and there’s never a mess, because the coffee comes in pre-packaged K-cups. If you order this for someone special, you may also want to order the K-Cup Carousel and a 35-cup variety sampler of coffees and teas.
  • The Day The Universe Changed — A five-disk nine-hour documentary series in which BBC historian James Burke “looks at times when new knowledge or discoveries has altered that thinking and explores the cultural changes those discoveries effected.”

 

 

The vast selection at Amazon offers endless gift opportunities. Just click a link and shop around. You get free shipping on most orders over $35, and we get a small commission at no cost to you.

 

Category: Amazon

Ask NY Times Who Deserves More Pay: America’s Troops or Fast-Food Workers?

Posted on | December 2, 2013 | 76 Comments

In an editorial Sunday, the New York York Times argued that America’s troops are being paid too much:

Big-ticket weapons like aircraft carriers and the F-35 fighter jet have to be part of any conversation about cutting Pentagon spending to satisfy the mandatory budget reductions known as the sequester. But compensation for military personnel has to be on the table, too . . .
[T]he Pentagon is obliged to find nearly $1 trillion in savings over 10 years. Tough choices will be required in all parts of the budget. Compensation includes pay, retirement benefits, health care and housing allowances.

Got that, troops? “Tough choices,” your compensation is “on the table,” because defending your nation isn’t really anything special.

On the other hand, says New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, something must be done for America’s real heroes, retail clerks:

The last few decades have been tough for many American workers, but especially hard on those employed in retail trade — a category that includes both the sales clerks at your local Walmart and the staff at your local McDonald’s. Despite the lingering effects of the financial crisis, America is a much richer country than it was 40 years ago. But the inflation-adjusted wages of nonsupervisory workers in retail trade — who weren’t particularly well paid to begin with — have fallen almost 30 percent since 1973.
So can anything be done to help these workers, many of whom depend on food stamps — if they can get them — to feed their families, and who depend on Medicaid — again, if they can get it — to provide essential health care? Yes. We can preserve and expand food stamps, not slash the program the way Republicans want. We can make health reform work, despite right-wing efforts to undermine the program.
And we can raise the minimum wage.

The slack-jawed teenager serving french fries and the hipster grad student serving latte at your local Starbucks — we must increase their pay, says the New York Times, whereas the men and women who take an oath to serve their nation . . . “Tough choices.”

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports:

Seeking to increase pressure on McDonald’s, Wendy’s and other fast-food restaurants, organizers of a movement demanding a $15-an-hour wage for fast-food workers say they will sponsor one-day strikes in 100 cities on Thursday and protest activities in 100 additional cities. . . .
The movement, which includes the groups Fast Food Forward and Fight for 15, is part of a growing union-backed effort by low-paid workers — including many Walmart workers and workers for federal contractors — that seeks to focus attention on what the groups say are inadequate wages.
The fast-food effort is backed by the Service Employees International Union and is also demanding that restaurants allow workers to unionize without the threat of retaliation.

So there you have the New York Times worldview in a nutshell: The SEIU and the AFL-CIO, good. American troops, bad.

 

Category: Military, New York Times

LIVE AT FIVE: 12.02.13

Posted on | December 2, 2013 | 14 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Healthcare.gov “Night And Day” From October, Feds Claim

Insurers still unhappy with data flow

O RLY? Crucial Weekend Begins With A Shutdown



Goa Court Remands Tarun Tejpal To Police Custody
Bail rejected for magazine founder accused of rape


Four Dead As Mob Forces Thai PM To Flee
Security forces fight running battles with 30,000 protesters



POLITICS
Cardinal Dolan Affirms Catholic Church’s Opposition To Obamacare

The Cardinal speaks after celebrating Mass at St. Patrick’s in NYC

Warns of backlash

Broken Promise Of Obamacare To Haunt Dems’ Congressional Campaigns

Illinois Public Unions Target Illinois Democrats In Battle Over Pensions

Obama Hints At Staying In D.C. After Leaving Office

Congressmen Seek Medal For OSS

Obamacare Expected To Add 300K New Yorkers To Medicaid Rolls

Media Attacks Obama’s “Soviet-Style” Publicity Policy



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Rises On PRC Manufacturing Data: NYMEX $93.24, Brent $110.26
Black Friday Spending Drop Pressures Retailers
Amazon Testing Delivery By Drone
“12 Days Of Christmas” Items Top $114K
Stocks Up For Third Month; S&P Tallies Longest Win Streak Since 2004
Venezuela Takes Over Smurfit Plant
Apple Snubs Discounts, Sprays Black Friday Zombies With Gift Cards
Google’s Schmidt Calls NSA Spying “Outrageous”
Sailfish-Based Jolla Phone Debuts; Will Its New OS Fly?
Restaurant Boots Google Glass-Wearing Customer
Nintendo, Southwest Airlines Give Passengers Free Wii U Consoles



SPORTS
Patriots Rally For 34-31 Win Against Texans

Brady: 371 yards, 2 TDs

Texans’ skid reaches ten games

Giants Eliminate Redskins From Contention With 24-17 Win

Pacers 16-1 After Beating Clippers 105-100

Blazers Hold Off Furious Lakers Rally, 114-108

Phil Hughes Leaves Yankees, Inks 3-Year Deal With Twins

Stars Fall 3-2 To Oilers In Shootout

Nationals Rumors: From Cano To Furcal



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
“Fast & Furious” Star Paul Walker Dead In SoCal Crash

Good night, sweet prince

Paul Walker, 1973-2013 RIP

“Fast And Furious 7” Delayed But Won’t Be Scrapped



Maria Bello Comes Out As Gay In NYT Column

Lindsay Lohan Goes After “Grand Theft Auto V” For Image Theft

Michael Jordan & Wife Yvette Expecting First Child

My Life As A Jonas Brother



“Catching Fire”, “Frozen” Serve Up Massive Thanksgiving Feast

Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr Reunite In NYC With Son Flynn

Sharon Osbourne’s Plastic Surgery Confession

What’s The One Thing Carla Hall Hates Cooking?

Pamela Anderson’s New Nude Shoot

“Betrayal” Cast Faces Tech Problems

Hamptons High Flyers Screen “Saving Mr. Banks”

“Anchorman” Ferrell Hosts News Show

Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino’s Book Hits NYT Best-Seller List

My Life As A Call Girl



FOREIGNERS
Thai PM Rejects Resignation Demand
Feinstein Blasts Karzai Over Refusal To Sign Pact
Ukrainians Blockade Government Buildings After Clashes
Iran FM Urges Saudis To Work Together For “Stability”
Chicoms Launch First Moon Rover Mission
RCMP Charge Ontario Man With Spying For PRC
Police Clash With Morsi Supporters In Tahrir Square
Karzai Accuses US Of Cutting Military Supplies



BLOGS & STUFF
Dead Republican Party: Obamacare Advent Hymn – Required Usage
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: Another Lefty Viral Story Turns Out To Be Fake
American Power: Ted Rall Is RAAAAACIST!
American Thinker: New PRC Study Proves Abortion-Breast Cancer Link
Don Surber: Daily Scoreboard, December 2
Jammie Wearing Fools: Dissent Is The Highest Form Of Tax Bracket
JustOneMinute: Declaring Victory!
Pat Dollard: Obamacare Website Designer Also Runs Failed Army Program
Protein Wisdom: Palate Cleanser – Having That Talk At Thanksgiving
Shot In The Dark: The Real Roots Of Gun Control
The Jawa Report: HuffPo Newspeak – “Terrorists” Out, “Activists” In
The Lonely Conservative: Get Ready For The Democrat Party To Move Farther Left


Category: Live at Five

Guardian Losing $50 Million a Year?

Posted on | December 1, 2013 | 37 Comments

These numbers are mind-boggling:

Guardian News & Media has lost nearly £200m in the past six years as it pursues its ambition of being the “world’s leading liberal voice”.
GMG already enjoys advantages over some of its commercial media rivals. Ownership by the Scott Trust means it does not have to answer to shareholders. The group has a cash and investment fund of £254m. Those other assets such as its 50 per cent stake in Trader Media Group and a 33 per cent share in Top Right are security for the loss-making news business. . . .
Two years ago, as he committed GMG to a “digital-first strategy”, Mr Miller warned staff the newspaper’s losses were so great it could run out of money in “three to five years”. The latest losses of £31m for the year to the end of March were an improvement on the £44m of the previous 12 months and he took succour from a 28.9 per cent rise in digital revenues.

Converting pounds to dollars (£1 = $1.64), you find £200 million equals about $325 million. Divide that by six and you find that they’re losing money at a rate in excess of $50 million a year. The £31 million the Guardian group lost in the most recent year is more than $50 million. The £44 million they lost in the previous year was $72 million.

Seventy-two million dollars in losses in a single year!

This is not a business strategy. It’s insanity.

 

Category: Journalism

Administration Says ObamaCare Site Is Working; CNN Finds Otherwise

Posted on | December 1, 2013 | 58 Comments

Elise Viebeck at The Hill reports:

The Obama administration claimed victory Sunday for making HealthCare.gov workable for the vast majority of users, a standard that will be tested as millions of people flood the site in the next three weeks.

Uh, do you really think “millions of people” will “flood the site”?

Or is that just what the administration is claiming? You might want to double-check, because claims by the Obama administration have a predictable way of turning out to be false:

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So tell me about what happened, because we’re getting another error message here, and it’s supposed to be running smoothly. . . .
MATT SLOANE, CNN MEDICAL PRODUCER: I got through. I picked my state. I put in all of my information and I got through the whole process in eight minutes. And then it said my status was in progress. So I went to refresh it and I got the error message.

The Lonely Conservative:

Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters wonders how many other news outlets didn’t bother to test the site and simply took the administration’s word that it’s now working just fine.

Honesty has never been a requirement for employment with the Obama administration — or with most of the media, either.

 

Category: CNN, Health Care

Rule 5 Sunday: Quiet Splendor

Posted on | December 1, 2013 | 18 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

For the benefit of those reading Rule 5 compilations for the first time, or who have forgotten since last time: some of the links below are most definitely Not Safe For Work and could contribute to the pollution of your precious bodily fluids. Please exercise discretion in the timing and placement of your link-clicking.

First Street Journal leads off this week with a reminder that Even Sweden Has An Army. Goodstuff observes the convergence of Hanukkah, Thanksgiving and Good Friday, Randy’s Roudtable brings the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and Reaganite Republican puts you some cultural knowledge about the Race Queens of Japan and Korea. Ninety Miles from Tyranny has Women With Weapons, Morning Mistress, and Hot Pick of the Late Night, while Fishersville Mike gets started early on the Christmas Rule 5. Blackmailers Don’t Shoot celebrated Thanksgiving with Rule 5 and a massive linkfest; Laughing Conservative this week has Katerina Ivanova.

EBL’s herd of heifers this week includes Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders with a side of beefcake, more NFL cheerleader action with the Broncos/Patriots game, hominid breeding (has cavegirl content), Katy Perry and others turning Japanese, Holocaust-A-Go-Go, Pilgrims and squaws, and Oona O’Neill.

A View From The Beach sent Saffron Burroughs, Happy Thanksgiving, The Naked Weathercast, Perky, No Plan B For Fat Chicks, Mummer’s Dance, How Fall Striper Fishing Ought To Be, and Were Denisovans The Original Sluts And Bad Boys? (more cavegirl content)

Soylent Siberia offers your morning coffee creamer, brunch buffet, Morning Motivationer Chrissy, The Ultimate Tuesday Titillation, Ginger Mermaid, Humpday Hawtness Jayne, O Canada, Drive By St. Mary’s Place, A Soylent Thanksgiving, Leftovers Anyone?, Corset Cranberry Sauce, T-GIF Friday, Happy Hour Aperitif, Weekender Kiera, The Odd Formal Affair, and Overnighty Wilde Honey.

Proof Positive’s Friday Night Babe is Katie Vernola, his vintage babes are all about Thanksgiving, and there’s also Sex In Advertising, the obligatory 49ers cheerleader, and a bonus Packers cheerleader. Dustbury brings the Taylor Swift and Chanel Iman, Three Beers Later has Laura Bell Bundy and Danielle Bradberry while at The Camp of the Saints it’s extra helpings of the Rule 5 News, Zoe Alexandra, and Marina Lombardo.


Thanks to everyone for their linkagery! Deadline to submit links to the Rule 5 Wombat mailbox for next week’s Rule 5 roundup is Saturday, December 7.


Category: Rule 5

Public Education News Updates

Posted on | December 1, 2013 | 26 Comments

Colorado Springs, Nov. 22:

A Widefield High School teacher accused of sexual assault apparently had the habit of talking to male students about homosexual sex, grabbing their nipples and touching their crotches in a way that several students referred to as “cup checking,” according to an arrest affidavit.
Lee Edward Riddle, a 29-year-old German language teacher at the school south of Colorado Springs, was arrested after being placed on administrative leave Nov. 15 when the school heard of the accusations. El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies, including the school’s resource officer, followed up on the case and interviewed several male students who made similar claims.
According to the affidavit, deputies spoke to a 17-year-old senior, a junior and a sophomore about their interactions with Riddle.
The 17-year-old told a deputy that Riddle grabbed the boy’s nipple in class and repeatedly called him “Cutie,” the court document said.
Another boy told investigators about the teacher’s habit of “cup checking” boys. A deputy learned “cup checking” means striking a male in the crotch with the back of an open hand. The boy, however, told investigators that Riddle used the palm of his hand and did it to determine the size of the student’s genitalia.
According to the affidavit, Riddle asked multiple students if they were sexually active. The document said the teacher also engaged in conversations with the boys about homosexual sex.
One boy told deputies that Riddle had given him a ride home from school and they talked about “gay sex.”

Lee Riddle

Houston, Texas, Nov. 24:

Houston police say they have arrested a high school teacher who is accused of inappropriately touching at least three male students in a scandal that has embroiled three administrators.
The Houston Police Department says Spanish teacher Ysidoro Rosales-Motola was arrested Friday at a hotel in Katy, a suburb of Houston. The 56-year-old teacher has been charged with two counts of an improper relationship with a student and one count of indecency with a child.
Rosales-Motola has been working at Sharpstown High School for two years. He has been working with the Houston Independent School District for 12 years, including stints at other area high schools.
Police have also filed charges against the high school’s principal and two other administrators for failing to report allegations of sexual abuse.

Pensacola, Florida, Nov. 26:

A former teacher with the Escambia County Department of Alternative Education was arrested Friday for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Shannon Marie Maddox, 42, has been charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor in connection to a March incident. She is believed to have slept with an underage male at her home, the report said.
Maddox admitted to the act on Aug. 29 while speaking to sheriff’s investigators about an unrelated incident, according to the report. On Sept. 11, the alleged victim also admitted to investigators that he had intercourse with Maddox at her home.
At the time, Maddox was employed at the Drug and Alcohol Adolescent Residential Treatment Center in Pensacola.

Shannon Maddox

Titusville, Florida, Nov. 26:

A substitute teacher from Titusville is among 28 individuals recently arrested by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office on various child sex charges.
Kristopher Gilbert of Titusville, a substitute teacher in Brevard Public Schools . . . [was] arrested in the undercover sting. . . .
Gilbert was charged with attempted sexual battery, attempted lewd and lascivious battery, two counts of traveling to seduce a child for sex, two counts of use of a computer to solicit child and two counts of use of a computer to solicit a guardian. . . .
Earlier this school year, Gilbert substituted at two Titusville elementary schools: Imperial Estates on Aug. 15, 16, 19 and 23, and Coquina on Sept. 5 and 13, according to Brevard Public Schools.
Brevard Public Schools Spokeswoman Michelle Irwin said that Gilbert started substituting in April 2012.

Kristopher Gilbert

Miami, Nov. 29:

A 22-year-old substitute teacher was arrested Friday and is facing several charges for his alleged lewd acts with a 13-year-old.
Michael Vivanco, 22, according to Miami-Dade Police Department Special Victims Bureau, engaged in conversation via a mobile application with a 13-year-old male. . . .
The 13-year-old, upon meeting, engaged in consensual sexual acts with Vivanco.
Vivanco, a substitute teacher at Felix Varela Senior High School, is facing one count of Lewd and Lascivious Battery, one count of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct and two counts of Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor.

Michael Vivanco

 

It’s almost like there’s a pattern here or something . . .

 

Category: Crime, Education, Sex

‘Why Couldn’t It Be Scott Walker?’ Feminist Tweets After Paul Walker Killed

Posted on | December 1, 2013 | 67 Comments

Paul Walker, star of the Fast and Furious action-movie series, was killed at age 40 yesterday in a car accident. Reacting to the news, Erin Gloria Ryan, news editor of the feminist site Jezebel, decided to take a cheap partisan shot at the Republican governor of Wisconsin:

To answer the question: Because he can’t afford a Porsche. But death-wishing Republicans is just a “dumb joke,” says Erin Gloria Ryan:

Erin Gloria Ryan, Jezebel News Editor,
Wishes Death on Scott Walker
After ‘Faster and Furious’ Actor Dies
— American Power

Jezebel editor on Paul Walker’s death:
Why couldn’t it have been Scott Walker?
Update: Tweets deleted
— Twitchy

Paul Walker of Fast and Furious dies
— leftists wish it was Scott Walker
— Fire Andrea Mitchell

There will be no consequences for Erin Gloria Ryan. Saying rude and tasteless things about Republicans is part of her job description.

 


Category: Celebrities, Feminism
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