The Los Angeles City Council approved a new mandate Tuesday requiring all actors in pornographic films to wear condoms during any filming that takes place within city limits. The law is the first of its kind in the country, advocates said, and could have a significant impact on what some say is a $1 billion industry.

There’s no logical argument for this whose counter-argument isn’t stronger. Yet again, gubmint is gonna save you whether you like it or not.

Source

Two points:

1.  To my fine readers, when they talk about Wisconsin and say dumb stuff like “big business” and “corporations” when talking about the bosses of teachers, they’re talking about you, the taxpayer.

2.  I love the part where all those union solidarity folks shopped at Ralph’s during their protest.  We should all boycott to show solidarity, but not them.  Got it?

Way to go, dope. It’s all about you.

And he’s a Senator.

No wonder they can’t bear to base their actions on the Constitution.

Outwardly.

*facepalm*

*facepalm*

Whether we like it or not.

Hmmmm…

Now some people, including the never tongue-tied Sarah Palin *cough* have taken this quip to mean that the President isn’t happy about the US being powerful. As is usually the case, Sarah Palin is not only wrong, but this conclusion proves how little she’s capable of going deep with an issue or statement.

In the context of what the President was saying, “whether we like it or not” was not meant to be “whether we like being powerful or not.” Here’s the full quote in context so you can see the actual words.

“It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them,” Obama said. “And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.”

Is anything about that not true?

Here’s a translation in case you’re Sarah Palin and like to boil a quote down to one sentence then devote hundreds of words to debunking that one sentence. It makes sense that we should be a nation that promotes peace as much as it promotes strength because, whether we like it or not, because of our power and strength, we get dragged into every conflict and it ends up costing us.

Again, is anything about that not true? If so, what part? Is it the part about it being good for us if there’s less conflict in the world? The part about us getting dragged into all of them whether we like it or not?

Anyone who reads this site or has read it for any length of times knows I’m no fan of the moron in the White House. I’m equally not a fan of the moron from Alaska. In this case, you have a textbook open and close case of how rhetoric can ruin discourse. There’s no reason whatsoever to disagree with what President Obama said, except that President Obama said it, and that’s what’s driving me crazy.

Of course, he later corrected himself. You know. When the truth was told.

By someone who wasn’t a self-absorbed Twitter-douche.

Adding to this volatile mix is Chris Daggett.

His ascendancy in the polls has contributed mainly to Christie’s point losses. While it is legitimate to run an independent campaign, it is also self-serving when the chance of success is so predictably low. His personal insistence on diving into the political septic tank of New Jersey politics is more about winning name recognition then a belief in winning the election..

If Christie loses, and this state ends up with the failed policies of Corzinism for four more years, we will have Daggett to thank for it.

Every time a third party makes some headway in an election, someone from the “big two” comes screaming about how they’re taking votes away from x candidate and hurting their chances. I’m sick and tired of this kind of crap and I have one thing to say to Mallow and all the others who are already making excuses for Christie’s imminent loss in New Jersey:

If Christie can’t grab a win in spite of all the corruption, patronage, and the crushed economy riddled with taxes, it isn’t Daggett’s fault, it’s Christie’s. Frankly, I’m happy Daggett is making a dent in the election in New Jersey. For too long, the Republicans have put up mediocre candidates and then not supported them and in turn, the influence of the Democrats in Trenton has gotten the state to the point it’s at today.

It’ll end, but it won’t end at the hands of Christie, that’s for sure.

And that’ll be nobody’s fault but his own.

Oh, and one last thing. About this stupid cannibalizing votes argument: who says that everyone voting for Daggett would’ve voted for Christie to begin with? For all we know, Daggett’s supporters are Democrats that are equally tired with their party’s machine politics.

Just sayin’.

Source

Seen at the Nathans in Yonkers.

At least 82 U.S. youths have died since 1995 engaging in “the choking game” in which they try to experience a fleeting “high” by cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

An unknown number of youths, mostly boys, are taking part in the practice in which they strangle themselves with their hands or a noose or have someone else strangle them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

“They hope to get a cool and dreamy feeling, as they’ve described it,” said Robin Toblin of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, who led the report.

I call it “thinning the herd.”

Yep. This is the world we face if El Insipido is elected.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

I kid you not…

Amazon.com may not offer free delivery on books in France, the high court in Versailles has ruled.

The action, brought in January 2004 by the French Booksellers’ Union (Syndicat de la librairie française), accused Amazon of offering illegal discounts on books and even of selling some books below cost.

The court gave Amazon 10 days to start charging for the delivery of books, which should at least allow the company to maintain the offer through the end-of-year gift-giving season. After that, it must pay a fine of 1,000 Euro (US$1,470) per day that it continues to offer free delivery. It must also pay 100,000 Euro in compensation to the booksellers’ union.

Retail prices, particularly of books, are tightly regulated in France.

We keep hearing how enlightened Europe is, and yet we’re consistently shown this kind of stupidity. Amazon should just do what I would do. Pull out of France and tell them to shove their over-governing nanny bullshit where the sun doesn’t shine. France has every right to impose stupid laws, but Amazon has no obligation to do business there.

Shame they don’t have the stomach for it.

via Techdirt

Brett Petersel, the loser who wants people to set him up on a date and is willing to pay $25 for it wants to set up a faux site with he and Julia Allison (former girlfriend of Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick) acting kinda like a spoof couple.

Or something.

Anyway, he sent her a message on Facebook, and somehow Valleywag got their hands on it. I shit you not, this is what it said:

Did he really just say “garnished” some attention?

Wow. No wonder he can’t get a date. He’s a fucking moron.

Sounds stupid, right? I mean, if we’re married in one state, we’re married. Right?

Right. And that’s the way it should be.

But it won’t be if Fred Thompson has his way.

I understand where he’s coming from, kind of, but the precedent that this creates is just ridiculous. Unless the law is written in such a discriminatory way that it would be thrown out in any court challenge, that’s what the law would do; allow states to selectively ignore the legality of marriages performed in other states.

Does this really sit well with anyone? I mean, if you’re legally married in one state, aren’t you legally married in the United States?

Is this the kind of government President Fred Thompson would usher in? Hiding your disdain for an issue behind some cop-out like a desire to adhere to federalistic principles? I hope lots of people see this video and see the man for what he is. A crazy old coot.

Source

[tags]gay marriage, fred thompson, whatever[/tags]

The Clinton Campaign today announced that Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Alcee Hastings have been named national Campaign Co-Chairs.

[...]

Rep. Hastings said, “When we elect the next President Clinton, this country will be a much better place for the African-American community, Floridians and all Americans.”

Both Reps. Wasserman Schultz and Hastings serve in the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives, and Hastings is the Vice Chair of Florida’s congressional delegation.

If you could see me right now, I’m holding my head in my hands and shaking it in disgust. What the hell is she thinking?

via Dustbury

[tags]alcee hastings, hillary clinton[/tags]

1. All day Tuesday, June 12th, don’t use any of the 5 major search engines.

2. Avoid Meta search engines, since most of them include the major search engines.

3. Likewise, the specialized vertical search engines may be too narrowly focused.

4. Consider changing your homepage or downloading their toolbar. You can always uninstall everything and change back on Wednesday.

5. On Wednesday, leave a detailed comment on AltSearchEngines and share your experience with the rest of us. Which alt search engine did you chose? How would you rate the experience?

I guess if you don’t have any work to do and you want to prove just how 1334 you are by not succumbing to the temptation of using the big bad Google, Yahoo!, or MSN, this is for you.

[tags]search engines, google, yahoo!, msn[/tags]

California may become the only U.S. state to require the sterilization of pets under a bill passed by the state Assembly, pitting dog and cat lovers against animal rights activists.

“It’s a horrific bill,” said Maureen Hill-Hauch, executive director of Castleton, New York-based American Dog Owners Association, adding that enforcement of the bill in theory could wipe out California’s dog population.

The bill would require pet owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats, or face a $500 fine for each animal.

Breeders, as well as owners of guide dogs, could obtain exemptions.

The Democrat-led state Assembly narrowly approved the bill late on Wednesday. It now goes to the state Senate amid a flurry of legislation that must be passed by Friday.

Republicans in the minority in both chambers do not consider the bill a priority and say it is too intrusive. “It’s micro-managing,” said Republican Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa.

Have they got nothing better to do in Kalifornia?

[tags]neutering, neuter, spaying, spay[/tags]