Get Cynical

From the NY Times Op-Ed:

As for countering what she sees as the empty Obama brand of hope, she offers only a chilly void: Abandon hope all ye who enter here. This must be the first presidential candidate in history to devote so much energy to preaching against optimism, against inspiring language and — talk about bizarre — against democracy itself. No sooner does Mrs. Clinton lose a state than her campaign belittles its voters as unrepresentative of the country.

Bill Clinton knocked states that hold caucuses instead of primaries because “they disproportionately favor upper-income voters” who “don’t really need a president but feel like they need a change.” After the Potomac primary wipeout, Mr. Penn declared that Mr. Obama hadn’t won in “any of the significant states” outside of his home state of Illinois. This might come as news to Virginia, Maryland, Washington and Iowa, among the other insignificant sites of Obama victories. The blogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga has hilariously labeled this Penn spin the “insult 40 states” strategy.

Related:
Clinton Mocks Obama During Campaign Rally.

Hillary’s Inner Tracy Flick

This is my binoscope that I have making during 3 years. It is not finished but operational. The primaries diameter are 400mm (15.5″) and the focales are 1900mm.
The eyepieces, Nager 22 with Paracorr, give 100x magnification for 50 arc minutes field. The focus and IPD are motorized and memorized for 32 users. The type of the mount is altazimutal, motorized in futur with personal GOTO (1500 objects) and tracking. For carriing the scope, there are two movable carriages. The total weight is about 200 kg. For finding objects, there is an optical finder and an reflex HUD. The looking throught this instrument is ABSOLUMENT fabulous!!!

I’m going to have to take up knitting.

(via Boing Boing)

From ruralvotes.com:

Texas Republicans have worked overtime to make it harder for key Democratic voting groups to vote and be represented fairly. The redistricting games they’ve played are infamous. And for the Prairie View A&M University precincts, they put the early-polling place more than seven miles from the school.

So what did the students in this video do? They shut down the highway as they marched seven miles to cast their votes on the first day of early voting.

From News.com.au:

PROSPEROUS pastor Benny Hinn flew into Brisbane a multimillionaire. He left, 28 hours and three shows later, an estimated $800,000 richer.
The Queensland capital was a goldmine for the flamboyant televangelist who left with cash, cheques and the bank account and credit card details of more than 50,000 Australians fans.

Some attendees, who travelled from as far away as Hong Kong and Perth, handed over gold earrings and wedding rings instead of cash.

An Australian Taxation Office spokeswoman said Pastor Hinn’s Australian haul – part of an estimated $110 million donated to the World Healing Centre Church each year – was seen as a “love offering”.

“The tax office is unable to comment on individual tax matters,” the spokeswoman said.

Basically:
“We will kill anybody who doesn’t agree with us that Islam is the religion of peace!”

SURABAYA – MUSLIMS protested in two Indonesian cities on Saturday over cartoons in Denmark portraying the Prophet Muhammad, with some calling for the artist to be put to death.

‘Enough is enough. They have to stop insulting Islam,’ said Muhammad Djabir, one of about 1,000 protesters in the mostly Muslim country’s second-largest city, Surabaya.

Others in the crowd outside the Danish consulate shouted ‘Death sentence for the cartoonist!’

From PhysOrg:

New research from Stanford and the University of California, Santa Cruz suggests that there is a method to theaters’ madness–and one that in fact benefits the viewing public. By charging high prices on concessions, exhibition houses are able to keep ticket prices lower, which allows more people to enjoy the silver-screen experience.

The findings empirically answer the age-old question of whether it’s better to charge more for a primary product (in this case, the movie ticket) or a secondary product (the popcorn). Putting the premium on the “frill” items, it turns out, indeed opens up the possibility for price-sensitive people to see films. That means more customers coming to theaters in general, and a nice profit from those who are willing to fork it over for the Gummy Bears.

Indeed, movie exhibition houses rely on concession sales to keep their businesses viable. Although concessions account for only about 20 percent of gross revenues, they represent some 40 percent of theaters’ profits. That’s because while ticket revenues must be shared with movie distributors, 100 percent of concessions go straight into an exhibitor’s coffers.

Bush said it best about this back in 2004:

“Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.” —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

I contacted Peggy to learn more about what was going on with the doctors refusing to perform pap smears and she responded by saying that in one case it is actually the doctor’s receptionist who won’t allow her young unmarried friend to make an appointment for a pap smear saying that she is too young and doesn’t need one (she was 19 at the time of the incident). The second instance deals with a couple who are doctors, whom run a practice together. Known for their religious and anti-choice beliefs, these doctors will not prescribe contraception. The doctor whom refused to perform the pap smear works in the same practice.

So when did a test that is used to screen for disease and cancer suddenly become a procedure which doctors can “object” to do? Am I naïve in thinking that pap smears are a medically necessary part of a women’s yearly physical? I wonder if the same doctors refuse men prostate exams on religious grounds, or does morality only apply to women?

If you only catch one movie with bigfoot fighting skeletons in Nigeria this year, make sure it’s this one.

(via PoeTV)