babbling blue

And so it continues. I mentioned the craziness that the anti-healthcare reformers are using to stifle debate on the issue a few days ago. And it doesn’t show any signs of letting up.

The bullshit continues, and escalates.

Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) will not be hosting any town hall events this August — instead, he’s making himself available to constituents for one-on-one meetings about health care reform — and at least part of the reason is this: His offices have received threatening phone calls, including at least one direct threat against his life.

A fistfight broke out at a Tampa, FL town hall, prompting police to close off the meeting room.

Death threats and fistfights? This is a complex issue; it’s not black or white. There isn’t an obvious right or wrong answer. It’s something that needs to be discussed, and that’s not happening because of these people. One town hall attendee stated: “They think they’re exercising their right to free speech, but they’re only exercising their right to disrupt civil discourse.”

And finally, from another raucous town hall meeting comes this very sad tidbit:

During the town hall, one conservative activist turns to his fellow attendees and asks them to raise their hands if they “oppose any form of socialized or government-run health care.” Almost all the hands shot up. Rep Green quickly turned the question on the audience and asked, “How many of you have Medicare?” Nearly half the attendees raised their hands, failing to note the irony.

Coming this Fall, from FOX: “When Trees Attack!”

I think the lesson here is to stay out of big parks.

My condolences to the friends and family of the victim for their loss.

What do I think about Obama’s health care reforms? I don’t know, really. I haven’t had a chance to properly study the matter. I think that a public health insurance option–and getting uninsured people on insurance–is ultimately a good thing, but I can’t speak to the specific details of the Obama plan.

What I can speak to is the “impromptu” mobs that are cropping up at town hall meetings and similar settings around the country. As it turns out, these impromptu mobs aren’t impromptu, but are rallied by national conservative and industry groups.

It wouldn’t be as big of a deal if they were just sending people to contribute to the discussions and speak their piece. But they are encouraging people to be loud and disruptive. This prevents any real discussion from taking place. It’s OK to disagree. It’s not OK to stifle debate with pseudo-grassroots brute force.

Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.

(Politico)

The tactics are repugnant. At one rally a congressman was hung in effigy.

All this to try to give the impression that ordinary Americans are mad as hell, and not gonna take it anymore. This editorial claims it’s good that Rep. Tim Bishop was barely able to get a word in at his town hall meeting–and then goes on to lambaste single payer health insurance.

This irresponsible behavior is not only preventing useful discussion on the health care issue, but it may also prevent constituents from being heard on other issues as well:

In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.

“I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to temporarily suspend the events in his Long Island district. “There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”

This after police were called in to escort him safely to his car after a town hall meeting ran amok.

Here are a few good editorials on the topic:
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Kansas City Star
The Washington Post

Fifteen years after Jupiter was first struck by pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, it was again hit by “another object”. Unlike SL 9, this impact was not expected and in fact was spotted by an amateur astronomer in Australia. Astronomers don’t yet know what hit the planet.

Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley of Australia, that a new dark “scar” had suddenly appeared on Jupiter, this morning between 3 and 9 a.m. PDT (6 a.m. and noon EDT) scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, gathered evidence indicating an impact.

See here for the full story and an infrared image.

After walking in the rain to get home, I got on my PC and saw that I still had weather.com open from this morning. This is what it showed for the 36 hour outlook:

First, I would describe the weather for much of the afternoon as partly cloudy at best, mostly cloudy at worst. Second, you may have caught that I walked home in the rain. And may I direct you to the chance of precipitation in the above image? Ten percent is almost as close as they get (I’ve seen 0% but it’s pretty rare) to saying “It’s not gonna rain.” Fortunately I had my umbrella with me for other nefarious reasons, so I stayed fairly dry.

So really, when it comes to predicting the weather it’s just a guessing game. I’ve lost count of how many times the day’s forecast in the morning has been wrong. I rarely bother to look at long term forecasts since I could do just as well with a deck of weather tarot cards.

Other posts in which I bitch about the same damn thing:
The Wonderful Windy City
Why Bother?
Your Spring is showing

The Sears Tower is officially renamed to Willis Tower today. Fuck that, man. It has always been and always will be the Sears Tower.

101 Muppets of Sesame Street | National Post.

This brings me back to my childhood. Which wasn’t that long ago…

I don’t know how reputable this source is, so take it with a grain of salt, but:

Over the last few days, I have received communication from people inside Google regarding layoffs, deep staff cuts and harsh working conditions.
…
Apparently, Google is laying off a large number of sub-contracted employees and full-time employees that manage those contractors. The layoffs are taking place in Seattle, WA and Kirkland, WA. Further, entire offices are being closed in Michigan and Texas with all employees getting laid off.

If this is true, it’s interesting. From here.

More funny from Savage Chickens.

It’s good because it appeals to multiple kinds of geeks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fractured her right elbow Wednesday during a fall, State Department officials said.

Clinton fell Wednesday afternoon on her way to the White House and was taken to George Washington University Hospital. She was treated and released, and will have surgery to repair her elbow in coming weeks.

From CNN.