StupidiNews!

• Pakistani officials say a US drone strike has killed 15, including Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Nazir.
• Some 10 states raise their minimum wages this month, affecting more than one million workers who will see a bigger paycheck.
• A disbarred Miami lawyer has been charged with trying to sell guns belonging to Saddam Hussein's son, Qusay, to a New Jersey sporting goods store.
• Arabic news network Al Jazeera has sealed a deal to buy Current TV from Al Gore for some $500 million.
• The Apple/Google map wars continue as Apple is considering reloading with social navigation startup Waze.

Last Call

And Podcast Versus The Stupid is back from holiday break with Episode 20, Fiscal Cliffmess, Happy New Year!

Listen to internet radio with Zandar Versus The Stupid on Blog Talk Radio

Bon and I tackle the Fiscal Cliff, the epic fail of the House's unfinished business, the Newtown shooting tragedy, why being near Justin Beiber is bad for your heath, Hillary Clinton being awesome, and more!

Download the episode here, or subscribe in iTunes!

The Twenty-Seven Percent's Solution

"Principled" conservative Conor Friedersdorf doesn't understand why the "Obama's coming for your guns!" section of the country is openly talking about armed insurrection and a Second Civil War.

It's one thing to argue that gun control legislation is a nonstarter, despite tens of thousands of deaths by gunshot per year, because the safeguards articulated in the Bill of Rights are sacrosanct. I can respect that... but not from people who simultaneously insist that 3,000 dead in a terrorist attack justifies departing from the plain text of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth amendments, and giving the president de-facto power to declare war without Congressional approval.

The conservative movement has a broad, textualist reading of the 2nd Amendment... and nothing else.  

I don't understand a subset of the rank-and-file either.

If you're a gun owner who worries that gun control today could make tyranny easier to impose tomorrow, I get that, and if you worry about federal excesses generally, I have no argument with you.

I think law-abiding Americans should always be allowed to own guns.

But if you're a conservative gun owner who worries that gun control today could make tyranny easier to impose tomorrow, and you support warrantless spying, indefinite detention, and secret drone strikes on Americans accused of terrorism, what explains your seeming schizophrenia? 

It's called "cognitive dissonance" Conor, and it's the hallmark of the modern GOP.    Where the hell have you been for the last five plus years, man?

Thanks.

Orange Julius Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Politico rounds up TEAM WIN THE MORNING(tm) to bring us this microcosm of Fiscal Cliffmas:

House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.

It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.

“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.

Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”

Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself."

The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans — was only one episode in nearly two months of high-stakes negotiations laced with distrust, miscommunication, false starts and yelling matches as Washington struggled to ward off $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.

So yeah, that happened just a few days ago.   But both sides do it, right?  Get to open up with Tools of 2013 tag right off the bat.

StupidiNews!

• By a 257-167 vote, the House has passed the Senate's fiscal cliff deal, but the debt ceiling fight still looms just weeks away.
• The House however did not act on Hurricane Sandy relief legislation, leaving the package to the next Congress.
• Additional taxes on the wealthy involving Obamacare also go into effect this week, which will raise $258 billion over the next decade.
• In Europe, plunging 2012 power prices will continue into 2013 as the Eurozone recession takes a big bite out of power demands.
• Scientists now say they have a reversible molecular rotor engine sitting on a "ball bearing" made of a single ruthenium atom.

StupidiNews, New Year's Edition!

• The Senate has passed a fiscal cliff deal, but the legislation faces an uncertain House vote.
• The price of buffalo wings has skyrocketed in 2012, rising 52%, and could face a similar jump in 2013.
• Congress has acted on legislation to rename a Yosemite peak after former Olympic star and Mono County, California Supervisor Andrea Lawrence.
• Japan's population shrank by a record amount in 2012 as the aging country slowed for a sixth straight year.
• The biggest storm of last year was one that most of us never heard of:  the Great Arctic Cyclone of 2012.

Last Call (Of The Year)

And we go over the fiscal cliff tonight because Republicans, who spent all of 2012 calling Barack Obama a Kenyan anti-colonialist blackity black black shiftless lazy welfare pimp daddy black person, have hurt feelings.

Republicans refused to have a vote in the House tonight.  Not Democrats.  Republicans.

That is all.

See you next year.

Zandar's 2013 Predictions

Can I do any better than 5.5 out of 10?  We'll give it a shot.  What's ahead for 2013?  Here's what I think, and I'm just some guy.

1)  The upcoming debt ceiling fight will cost America another credit notch from one of the big three agencies.  This seems like a pretty safe bet as the Republicans are already demanding Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid cuts or they'll wreck the economy as a result.

2)  Bashar al-Assad won't be Syria's President by Dec 31, 2013.  This also seems like a pretty safe bet, as the end of 2012 sees him barely holding on as leader.

3)  President Obama will have to make a recess appointment for a Cabinet position.  That's unprecedented as far as I know.  But that's really the next step in Total Republican Opposition, isn't it?

4)  Chris Christie will be re-elected as Governor of New Jersey with Cory Booker holding out for Senate...but don't be surprised if Christie doesn't finish his term.

5)  As more Obamacare benefits kick in, it will gain majority approval by Americans.  I honestly believe this will get better as more benefits come due.

6)  Republicans will muster enough votes to split the electoral vote by Congressional district in at least one state that went for Obama in 2012.  Ohio would be the biggest prize.

7)  The Leap Motion controller turns into one of the big tech successes of 2013.  I'm feeling pretty good about this one, enough to put my money on one.

8)  Kim Kardashian's baby with Kanye West will be the story we're all sick of by the end of the year.  I'm already sick of it.

9)  Lincoln takes home the most Oscars.  Tall order, I know.  But I just see this being the big Oscar flick in 2013's awards.

10)  ZVTS makes it to the end of another year.  I still plan to be around, and Bon is concentrating on her writing these days, but you'll see more of us.  Still plenty of Stupid to fight.

So into the Future files you go then.  We'll see where we are this time in 2013.

Zandar's 2012 Scorecard

The tradition continues as I score my predictions for the year from last Dec. 31.

Seems I was right about 5 of 10 at least:

1. President Obama was reelected, quite handily.
2. The GOP kept at least one chamber of Congress (House)
3. 2012 broke box office records.
4. Sarah Palin was not the GOP veep choice.
5. ZVTS is still here.

Partial credit on:

1. The Eurozone nations didn't blow up into crisis mode, but they are in recession thanks to austerity as I did predict.

I was wrong about:

1. We got extremely close to a GOP candidate breaking the N-word Event Horizon, but no winner.
2. The GOP didn't shut down the government in 2012.
3. Syria's al-Assad is still in power, albeit barely.
4. No military incident on the Iran-Iraq border.  I was very surprised at this one, but glad to be wrong here.

So, 5.5 out of 10 is actually my best score so far out of doing these.   I'll have my predictions for 2013 later today.

StupidiNews!

• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" related to his treatment for cancer, according to officials, and is in "delicate health" at this hour.
• Mexico City has launched a recycling-for-food program to help reduce the 12,000 tons of trash the city produces daily.
• Even if the fiscal cliff is averted, economists believe 2013 will be another mediocre year for the economy.
• End of year Census estimates give more evidence that the US is on pace for its lowest population growth rate since the Great Depression.
• Microsoft is warning that Internet Explorer 8 and earlier are vulnerable to remote hacking exploits, and that users need to upgrade to IE 9.

Last Call

A couple of stories as we head into the last day of the year tomorrow:

First, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been hospitalized as a routine procedure after her follow-up exam to clear her to return to work after her recent illness and concussion turned up a blood clot.  Her docs are not fooling around on this one, and it's a good thing this one was caught when it was.  Blood clots are no joke.

Second, still no fiscal cliff deal as of tonight, and all sides seem to agree that the defense sequestration cuts are going to happen regardless, which could lead to some 800,000 defense contractors having to take some unpaid leave.  Also, no joke.

We'll see where we are tomorrow night.  I'll also pull out my 2012 predictions from last year, and make my 2013 predictions.  Hopefully, we'll have some good news for you guys on New Year's Day, too.

Stay tuned.

Null If I Know

If there's a state currently trying to nullify federal regulations because STATE'S RIGHTS and whatever, you can bet that state is South Carolina.

Claiming that the federal government lacks the Constitutional authority to regulate firearms maintained within one state, a South Carolina State Senator has introduced a bill that would exempt the state’s guns, ammo and accessories from all federal regulation.

The bill, called the South Carolina Firearms Freedom Act, cites the Ninth and Tenth Amendments for legal support, in conjunction with the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The argument goes that the two Amendments give to states all powers not specifically given to Washington, and that since state’s regulate intrastate commerce—in this case, the sale and purchase of firearms—states have the sole authority to regulate firearms manufactured and used within their borders.

The bill’s scope is specifically limited to only natively built and sold firearms to keep it from broaching the federal government’s power to regulate interstate trade via the Commerce Clause.

State Sen. Lee Bright (R) pre-filed the bill earlier this month for the state legislature to take up the issue in the coming session. Bright filed the same bill during the current session, but it never reached a floor vote.

This is really a clever plan to create jobs by attracting the rocket-propelled grenade industry, right?

"If we make it and sell it within the state then the Feds can't touch us" is something that's been used before in legal arguments over the decades in the US, and for the most part, it hasn't worked.  But good luck for trying to have your own firearms industry, guys.  Maybe you haven't thought this through, but I'm sure gunmakers have.

Just declare nullification and secede already.  Worked well for you last time, I understand.

Press The Meat With POTUS And Fluffy

President Obama sat down with David "Fluffy" Gregory of Meet The Press and spent half an hour or so kicking Gregory's ass up and down the block, along with the collective asses of the GOP.




It's a very informative interview as President Obama makes his case for trying to work with both Republicans and the press, both of which have been less than respectful to him.  POTUS kindly informed Gregory exactly what he thought of that, and Gregory knew pretty early on he was being called on the carpet, and deservedly so.

Meanwhile GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham was on Fox News Sunday all but signalling a GOP cave.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday morning that he believes the odds are quite good that Senate can pass a narrow measure to avert the “fiscal cliff” and prevent taxes from rising for most Americans.

Graham said on “Fox News Sunday” that the odds are “exceedingly good” a deal can get done. “I don’t think people want to go over the cliff,” he said. Graham added that such an outcome would be a “political victory” for President Obama.

Graham also said he spoke with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Saturday night about the deal, and Panetta said it wasn’t likely to address the defense sequester, the automatic reduction in military spending set to take place early next year.

It's looking more and more like the GOP is tripping over itself to try to give President Obama a deal good enough that the President doesn't go over the cliff and leave the GOP broken at the bottom of the ravine.

We'll see.

An Ugly Crime Tied Up With A Pretty Bow

It appears that the NYPD have a suspect in this week's bizarre subway murder, where a man was pushed in front of a 7 train at the Lowery Street Station on Thursday.  Only the suspect raises some more ugly, ugly questions.

The woman, Erika Menendez of the Bronx, has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime, Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney, said. 

“The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter’s nightmare,” Mr. Brown said in an interview. “Being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train.” 

Mr. Brown said that the woman was motivated by hatred, telling the police, that she “pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.” 

Ms. Menendez conflated the Muslim and Hindu faiths both in her comments to the police and in her target for attack, officials said. 

The victim, Sunando Sen, was born in India and, according to a roommate, was raised Hindu. 

So yes.  She's being charged with a hate crime because she thought she was killing a Muslim in cold blood.  Turns out her victim was Hindu, and she was too stupid to know the difference.  And a man died anyway, senselessly, tragically, because...why?

Because he looked like a Muslim.  And where were people in the NY subway getting the idea that Muslims were dangerous people who had to be killed pre-emptively?

Why, they saw ads like that daily thanks to our old friend, Pammycakes.

Anti-Islam activist Pamella Geller's "Support Israel, Defeat Jihad" ads didn't go over very well with subway riders, so she's is trying a different tactic. Her new ads, which go up next week, feature the Twin Towers engulfed in flames, along with this out of context quote from the Koran: "Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.” The New York Times reports that she's also made a much bigger ad buy, placing a sign beside each of the 220 clocks hanging in New York's subway stations. Geller notes that this time would-be vandals "would have to get a ladder." So when riders are accidentally covered in spray paint by activists aiming for the ads, we'll have Geller to thank.

That was earlier this month.  It seems this week Geller's ads claimed their first victim.  Somebody who had committed the crime of looking like a Muslim.   Did Geller push the man off the platform?  No.  Did her ads help?  Free speech, vile speech, only goes so far.

Perhaps as Adam Serwer suggests:

I await the NRA's press conference urging all Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans to buy guns nytimes.com/2012/12/30/nyr…
— AdamSerwer (@AdamSerwer) December 29, 2012

Won't that be fun.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Senate leaders are trying to work out a last minute fiscal cliff slope deal to avert tax hikes and spending cuts effective Tuesday.
• The Pakistani Taliban leadership says they are open to talks with the Pakistani government and US forces.
• A new proposal in California's legislature would shift coastal shipping lanes away from endangered whale breeding grounds.
• Russia's Foreign Minister says there's no way to convince Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to quit power peacefully.
• The US Senate has renewed warrantless wiretaps for another five years in a 73-23 vote.