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18 Jul 2010 09:21

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Politics: Financial reform: It has huge rewards for Obama – later on

  • It will have relatively little positive effect on 2010. It’s something Obama can take to the voters in 2012.
  • Rutgers University political scientist Russ Baker • Noting the limited political windfall financial reform will have for Obama in the near-term. On top of the complexity of the 2,300-page bill itself, it’s something where the benefits will have to touch consumers before it becomes clear how important the bill is. “It will be a long time before people get a sense that somehow their debit cards are better protected than they were before financial regulation reform was passed,” Baker said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jul 2010 09:18

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Politics: Biden’s presidential campaign nicked: A big #O(&ing deal?

  • $219,000owed over
    violations source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 20:35

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Culture: A little too “Right”: How one guy hacked “The Price is Right”

  • Why did Drew Carey have approximately zero energy in this 2008 clip, where one of his “Price is Right” contestants got a Showcase Showdown price exactly right? Well, two reasons: One, he thinks the show’s never going to air, and two, because he thinks the guy who won it, Terry Kniess, is cheating. In truth, he wasn’t cheating – he just spent months watching the show very closely, like fellow game show hacker Michael Larson (awesomely) did with “Press Your Luck” in the early 1980s, and noticed that they kept repeating the same items (and prices). Kneiss’ spectacular win forced the show to change the way they did their prizes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 19:50

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Politics: A “Tea Party caucus”? Many Republicans won’t go THAT far

  • I don’t know about that. I’m not sure I should be participating in this story.
  • Sen. Bob Corker • Responding to the idea of joining a potential Modern Tea Party Caucus in the Senate. Who pitched this idea? None other than Rand Paul, who hasn’t even been elected yet. That said, it’s gaining a little traction – Michele Bachmann, shortly after hearing about Paul’s idea, applied to make a similar caucus for the House. Paul’s optimistic it could happen. “If we get another loud voice in there, like Mike Lee from Utah or Sharron Angle from Nevada,” he says, “there will be a new nucleus” for promoting Tea Party principles. Which is a big “if,” by the way, because they still have to win their elections. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 18:17

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U.S.: Bus driver somehow shoves himself into the abortion debate

  • what A Texas bus driver sued his former employers, claiming they biased against his religion by firing him.
  • why He would not drive women on his bus route to Planned Parenthood. We’re not kidding. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 17:03

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Music: One-word album reviews: M.I.A. disappoints the hipsters, guys

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 16:15

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Politics: Thanks SEO: Gene Weingarten laments the lost art of headlines

  • Newspapers still have headlines, of course, but they don’t seem to strive for greatness or to risk flopping anymore, because editors know that when the stories arrive on the Web, even the best headlines will be changed to something dull but utilitarian.
  • Washington Post supercolumnist Gene Weingarten • Explaining how newspapers have had to suck the life out of their headlines in pursuit of eyeballs. “Putting well-known names in headlines is considered shrewd, even if creativity suffers,” he writes. Personally, we write our headlines with some focus on SEO, but we’re totally willing to get out of the way of a good joke. One paper that does a good job of mixing SEO and classic headline art is The New York Times, probably because they can afford to. And SEO doesn’t mean you can’t be clever. See the headline Weingarten put on his story: “Gene Weingarten column mentions Lady Gaga.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Jul 2010 15:54

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U.S.: Next for BP’s oil cap experiment? More observation time

  • It’s held up pretty well so far, but they just want to ensure its safety. There haven’t been any leaks in the spill as of yet, but you know, they don’t want to force the issue. So it’ll continue on beyond the 48-hour timeframe they originally gave themselves. They also want to check the seafloor to see if any gas or oil is leaking, just to be on the safe side. Feel confident about this process, guys – they’re trying to base everything they’re doing on science, not on the whims of a bunch of idiots. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 12:36

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Offbeat: “You and Your Johnson”: A video about a guy and his boat

  • Wonder if anyone creating this video would’ve imagined how unintentionally funny it would be 40 years down the line. At one point, in fact, it says “You, your kids and your Johnson.” Which nowadays would get you arrested.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2010 11:54

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Politics: Obama thinks Republicans have disdain for the poor

  • They’ve got no problem spending money on tax breaks for folks at the top who don’t need them and didn’t even ask for them; but they object to helping folks laid off in this recession who really do need help.
  • President Barack Obama • Trying to cast the GOP as the party of the rich. The crux of his argument is that the party pushed through the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich, but are unwilling to help out the unemployed in their time of need. Or another way to put it – the GOP prefers to allow a trickle-down from the rich to the poor, while the Democrats would prefer that the government help the poor. However, it’s worth pointing out that while Bush cut taxes, he also extended unemployment – with GOP support. So take from that what you will. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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