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20 Apr 2011 09:53

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Politics: Obama’s new deficit-reduction group an ultra-partisan mess

  • I remain skeptical that the administration will take this effort seriously, especially after it all but ignored its previous debt commission and President Obama had to be dragged kicking and screaming to consider minimal spending cuts for the rest of this fiscal year.
  • House Minority Whip Eric Cantor • Offering a soft touch to the news of the president’s new deficit reduction group, which was supposed to include 16 members, eight from each party. Instead, it includes six — two Republicans and four Democrats. (The “gang of six,” by the way, was left out in the cold.) Cantor’s on the list, along with a bunch of other folks known for their partisanship. If you ask us, it sounds like he’s just pissed that he had to do something he didn’t really want to do. We know, Eric, we hate meetings too! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2011 09:40

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Biz, Tech: AT&T proves analysts wrong, does OK post-Verizon iPhone

  • -83k the number of subscribers analysts expected AT&T to lose this quarter, after losing their exclusive iPhone contract
  • +62k the number of subscribers AT&T actually ADDED this quarter, which was totally unexpected; eat your crow, analysts
  • +400k the number of subscribers AT&T added in the previous quarter, which shows how steep the iPhone drop-off still was for AT&T source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 21:25

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U.S.: The only successful hand transplant video we’ll probably post today

  • Meet Emily Fennell. Five years ago, doctors amputated her hand after it was crushed in a very scary car accident that involved an open sunroof, a raised arm and a rolling vehicle. Six and a half weeks ago, a completely different set of doctors gave her a completely different hand. Here’s a clip of the 26-year-old getting used to her new hand as she goes through rehab. She’s very optimistic about her future with the new appendage. “That’s my goal — to just be able to function with it and not be able to think about it,” she said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 21:06

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Politics: Offshore online gambling sites do lots of lobbying work

Fun fact about that Barney Frank thing we posted yesterday — Barney Frank gets a lot of money from online gambling sites, thanks to the help of this lobbyist. It’s not working so well. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 17:23

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Culture: About time: Papa John’s unveils their royal wedding pizza

  • The Royal Pizza: Ubiquitous pizza chain Papa John’s enlisted the aid of a food artist to create this topping-heavy monstrosity ahead of Britain’s royal wedding. We’d love to get one of these, freeze it in a lock box somewhere, and see how much value it accrues over the next few decades. After all, people seem to love royal family memorabilia, and pizza, so it’s a slam dunk. (In other related news, we friggin’ love the URL on this story. Actually, go here.) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 16:53

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Politics: Iowa GOP voters wouldn’t mind seeing that birth certificate

  • When the fringe becomes the norm: The past couple years, the birther issue has been a touchy one in Republican politics; it’s a dangerous internal wedge issue for them. Say he was born in Kenya (or merely imply your doubts), and you look like a kook of the highest order. Say he was born in Hawaii, and you’ve alienated a non-negligible amount of your traditionally ravenous base. If the GOP Presidential field had managed to stay in the middling, “I take his word for it” zone, averting the problem — no Republican would have disdained their party’s strongest looking candidate because he didn’t think Obama was foreign. But with Donald Trump diving into the deep end of the birther pool, this constituency becomes volatile and impossible to predict. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 16:39

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Politics: Rep. Allen West didn’t much like that Obama speech

  • What you continue to see is a third world dictator-like arrogance, that’s what I saw in that speech last week…This whole talk about shared prosperity I mean that really gives me the goosebumps because I’m starting to believe that a community organizer is nothing but a low-level socialist agitator.
  • Rep. Allen West • Speaking to conservative radio host Laura Ingraham about President Obama’s speech on the deficit last week. This is an extreme example of the general tenor of conservative criticism since he made the speech (another point being that he specifically invited Paul Ryan to the speech, only to trash his plan publicly). This isn’t surprising, as you can usually count on Allen West’s rhetorical style to be intensely hard-right, as well as loaded with hyperbolic drama — dictatorial arrogance normally has a higher price than speechifying. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Apr 2011 15:45

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U.S.: AZ Gov. Jan Brewer surprises gun-rights front with veto

  • AZ Gov. Brewer vetoes campus gun carry bill: In a move much to the chagrin of the gun rights movement, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have allowed firearms on school campuses. Brewer complained the bill was “poorly written,” and that while it’s said to only affect colleges, the exact language refers to them only as “educational institutions,” which speaking literally would include K-12 schools, violating most state and federal laws. With a Republican governor, in a state with some of the loosest gun laws in the nation — they probably thought this was a slam dunk going in. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 15:23

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World: Syrian protests cleared out by live fire, teargas

  • The dangers of nightfall in Syria: A sit-in was held in Clock Square, in the city of Homs, but come nightfall the Assad government decided it was time to clear the square. The methods employed seem to be teargas and live gunfire. Be forewarned — while the video is a bit jumpy and hard to see clearly, it’s nonetheless very unpleasant and disturbing. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2011 11:23

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Tech: Microsoft’s patent case hits an unsympathetic Supreme Court

  • It’s a bad thing not to give protection to an invention that deserves it; and it is just as bad a thing to give protection to an invention that doesn’t deserve it. Both can seriously harm the economy. What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to get a better tool, if possible, to separate the sheep from the goats.
  • Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer • Offering a very smart insight during yesterday’s arguments in the Microsoft/i4i patent case which has been floating around the ether for a couple of years. Microsoft’s pushing to make obvious patents a little less patentable, and they have a lot riding on the case. See, i4i owns a key patent involving custom XML in a document — something Microsoft used heavily in Word until the patent case came up. They could end up owing hundreds of millions otherwise. Other justices, particularly Antonin Scalia and Elena Kagan, weren’t so kind to Microsoft’s case. Fun fact: Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself from this case because he owns Microsoft stock. If the vote goes 4-4, the lower court ruling stands and Microsoft loses. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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