Laguna's past comments

  • 0

    Laguna

    In the abstract, it makes sense as a sort of "Nixon goes to China" kind of thing - nobody would ever accuse this administration of being too liberal. To expect that it will lead to any real breakthrough, though, is foolish.

    Posted in: Japan considers talks with N Korea, surprising allies

  • 3

    Laguna

    Let me guess:

    There is kung fu fighting.

    Those cats are fast as lightning.

    And it is a little bit frightening.

    They do it with expert timing.

    Posted in: Keanu Reeves makes directorial debut with modern kung fu film

  • 2

    Laguna

    Tragedy.

    Regarding relationships between tornado strength and climate change:

    Tornadoes, violently rotating columns of air spawned by thunderstorms, occur when available energy — warm, moist air at low levels and cold, drier air above — meets vertical wind shear, which provides the source of the rotation. Climate change enhances the former, also known as "convective available potential energy,'' or CAPE, and diminishes the latter.

    In other words, the potential for larger storms exists, with vastly larger stores of energy in respective atmospheric layers, but the vector which would drive them together to create the tornado is weaker.

    Perhaps what this means is that tornadoes will not increase in number - or may even decrease - but when they do happen, will increase in intensity.

    http://www.livescience.com/34488-tornado-unknowns.html

    Posted in: At least 91 dead in Oklahoma City tornado

  • 3

    Laguna

    These devices are discouraged at takeoff and landing for the same reason that in-flight entertainment is shut off, tray tables must be securely latched and window shades open: These are the most likely times for an accident, and the flight crew wants everyone aware of their surroundings - and that means ambient light and sound.

    Also, anything that can become a projectile such as note PCs or Kindles should be tucked away.

    After that window of danger has passed, you can resume plaingy Zookeeper and listening to Slayer.

    Posted in: Many passengers don't turn off phones in planes: survey

  • 0

    Laguna

    Brings me back to my crazy youth - but, really, “no using soft wheels" - on Japanese roads?! Even I was not so foolish.

    Posted in: Kanagawa junior high school friends set out on 80-km adventure to Hakone by skateboard

  • 0

    Laguna

    Also didn't stem the tide since California embarked on the progressive blue state nirvana model of governance of people voting with there vote either to escape it.

    Sheez, Sail, I have no idea whether to agree with statement or disagree as it is totally incomprehensible.

    California sees both large influxes and exfluxes of population. Standards are set precisely so California does not become such a place as Texas, what with its exploding fertilizer factories and substandard education. As for "losing millions of its citizens to other states over the past 20 years" (I like it when you cut-and-paste; it does wonders for comprehensibility) - California has a population growing in line with its ability to afford its citizens prosperity. Those who can't make it there go to Texas.

    Posted in: White House: Obama is no Nixon

  • 1

    Laguna

    The Inspector General's report has this to say:

    We asked the Acting Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division; the Director, EO; and Determinations Unit personnel if the criteria were influenced by any individual or organization outside the IRS. All of these officials stated that the criteria were not influenced by any individual or organization outside the IRS. Instead, the Determinations Unit developed and implemented inappropriate criteria in part due to insufficient oversight provided by management. Specifically, only first-line management approved references to the Tea Party in the BOLO [Be on the Look Out] listing criteria before it was implemented.

    Of course, perhaps the Inspector General is also in Obama's pocket, and investigations should continue to clarify wrongdoing so as to prevent future occurrences. This, though, is not the purpose of the GOP witchhunt. Welcome to two years of gridlock.

    Also, regarding comparison of Obama to some of the less stellar presidents of recent US history, I'd add that both Bush II and Cheney are very careful in planning their international itineraries to ensure they do not visit countries that care about human rights and that would arrest them on the spot.

    Posted in: White House: Obama is no Nixon

  • 0

    Laguna

    Like they did in the 2010 mid-terms?

    No; like they did in 2012. Do you really have that much confidence in 2014? Ask yourself: What has the GOP done for you lately?

    Posted in: Obama calls IRS targeting of conservative groups outrageous

  • 0

    Laguna

    Educated people don't talk like that. Partisan people do.

    Or idiots, SuperLib. The jury is still out on Rep. King.

    Posted in: Obama calls IRS targeting of conservative groups outrageous

  • 0

    Laguna

    He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavoured to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposed not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be intitiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.

    I see how you boldfaced " or other income tax investigations to be intitiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner" there, Sail. You insinuate that this was instigated by the Obama administration; do you have a shred of evidence that Obama or his administration was involved in this? Even if this were true, the IRS rigorously inspecting requests for prerogatives under the tax laws is not a crime - though, and even Democrats are in full-throated support of this, it is not seemly. There is, though, zero evidence that Obama's administration even knew what was going on, and such evidence is extremely unlikely to be unearthed.

    Try to use a little logic, Sail. The Tea Party groups are manna to Obama. They do nothing to draw away moderates; rather, their existence furthers the notion of the GOP as a fringe party. To the guy worrying about meeting his payroll or delivering his goods to market, a bunch of musket-toting, three-cornered hat wearing, Gladstone-flag bearing troglodytes are nothing but annoyance. Still, the logic of the situation will be run to the GOP to its extreme: there will be hearings and accusations and investigations which will uncover nothing but will eat up hours on the clock.

    Oh, and regarding cutting the IRS budget: You've no doubt never studied economics, but of all methods for bringing in revenue to the US treasury, the IRS is by far the most cost-effective. Tax evasion costs the treasury many billions which a meager million or two could eliminate; then, the GOP is not good at math when it doesn't suit their purposes.

    Posted in: Obama calls IRS targeting of conservative groups outrageous

  • 0

    Laguna

    My point, Sail, is that those who bandy about terms such as "Worse than Watergate/Iran-Contra" and "Grounds for impeachment!" either have no idea what they are talking about or are using these incidents for purely partisan reasons that damage the country.

    Let's get this straight: The Nixon administration broke the law, knowingly and clearly. The Reagan administration broke the law, knowingly and clearly. To the cries, "At least no one died in Watergate!", I ask: How many died in Nicaragua as the Reagan administration illegally sold arms to Iran and then funneled the profits to illegally fund the Contras? But then, Nicaraguans are foreigners, so they don't count. What the GOP is trying to pin on Obama is not even in the vicinity of the same ballpark.

    Worse, the reason the Republicans are doing this is too transparent: They do not want to deal with the problems of the day. They have wanted this administration to fail from day one, and that priority surpasses any loyalty they might have to the country. Unemployment, global warming, infrastructure renewal - They will ignore these, to the nation's detriment, with such bread-and-circuses as "Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi!" It is their behavior that borders on traitorous.

    Posted in: Obama calls IRS targeting of conservative groups outrageous

  • 2

    Laguna

    This is bigger than Watergate

    But - Isn't Benghazi bigger than Watergate, too? A recent poll found:

    41% (of Republicans) say they consider this to be the biggest political scandal in American history.

    The same poll found, though, that:

    39% of (the above 41%) don't actually know where it is. 10% think it's in Egypt, 9% in Iran, 6% in Cuba, 5% in Syria, 4% in Iraq, and 1% each in North Korea and Liberia with 4% not willing to venture a guess.

    http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/05/voters-trust-clinton-over-gop-on-benghazi.html

    Of course, these are all productive members of society who would not be expected to pay attention to these details; that is why we live in a representative democracy, where we compensate with money and honor those who are fully informed of these issues. For example, Senator Marco Rubio, who has forthrightly demanded that the IRS commissioner either resign immediately or be sacked. It is hard to argue with this sentiment other than the possibility that the commissioner may have been unaware or even tried to put a stop to this abuse.

    Still, one may act in a Japanese manner and say that the head of a department accused of wrongdoing, Commissioner Donald Shulman (who was, incidentally, appointed by Bush), should fall on his sword as a matter of course. The problem is that he has already resigned - last November. Perhaps he could re-resign? There has not been confirmed a new commissioner (and may never be given the hostility Congressional GOP members have shown to any Obama appointee), but if one is confirmed, perhaps he or she could resign in stead.

    Or perhaps Rubio could think before he speaks.

    Posted in: Obama calls IRS targeting of conservative groups outrageous

  • -3

    Laguna

    Okay let's not loose sight of what happened here. Benghazi to DC - "Whe're under attack", US military- "we are ready" waiting for the "GO" command, nothing happened except A US diplomat and four others murdered hours after those initial calls. 2 ex special forces went to help, without orders, Ambassador Stevens assuming reinforcements would arrive, they also were murdered.

    This is not such a simple issue as that of "loose socks" and "lose socks" - sloppiness in writing indicates sloppiness in analysis.

    Military response to this event is complicated by multiple factors, including the necessity of maintaining security at Tripoli facilities. At any event, military commanders on the scene concluded that any response would have arrived too late to be of any significance.

    And no arrests made in this debacle.

    A total of 4,486 U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2012. That works out to 498 per year, or 41 to 42 per day over nine years, depending on how you would like to round these humans. It is amazing that no arrests have been made in this debacle - but then, as a result, Bush, Cheney and his ilk are now quite restrained in their international travel.

    Posted in: New info on Benghazi attack fuels Republican case

  • 2

    Laguna

    Bit of advice for lil' Kim: Do not try to one-up when you're so deep in a hole your only friend is Dennis Rodman.

    Posted in: N Korea slams U.S. aircraft carrier's arrival

  • -2

    Laguna

    Ed Royce is not too bad as far as Republicans go. Notice how he ended his release with this: "These improvements seek to strengthen future ARB investigations to help avoid disasters like Benghazi." He did not say, "These changes seek to give excuse to future GOP investigations to help avoid productive and necessary congressional action such as passing a budget."

    Posted in: New info on Benghazi attack fuels Republican case

  • -1

    Laguna

    NBC Reporter Kelly O’Donnell even suggested that the controversy could lead to impeachment proceedings against the president.

    Thanks for the hint, Lizz - Googling posts like yours help me keep up with what the Free Republic is up to.

    The GOP is desperate for a scandal - ANY SCANDAL - to distract from their dismal performance and inability to accomplish legislation. They cannot even agree on whether to schedule debate on the budget because they know that, on any consequential piece of legislation, they will have to deal responsibly (and thus be called out by their base) or act radically, thus furthering the fettering of their party.

    Instead, they would like to focus on inconsequential matters. In Benghazi, four Americans were killed, and this is a tragedy which should not have happened. Obviously - in hindsight - security was insufficient, but the GOP can't go there after having forced a 10% budget cut in State Department security funding. What's left? That Clinton didn't call in the Marines, as Paul Rand has complained? (He might want to brush up on his understanding of Constitutional law and its effect on the various powers of cabinet members.) That announcements from the administration were inconsistent? - Turns out nobody is clairvoyant, and while the affair was messy, it was a result of bureaucratic infighting between the CIA and State.

    Impeachment. This has been the wet dream of every GOPer since 2008; it has been proposed in response to over a dozen incidents ranging from laughable to serious - but still laughable as an impeachable incident, as is the case of Benghazi. I am old enough to remember talk of impeachment of Reagan amidst the Iran-Contra scandal; the only factor that saved Reagan was that he was at the end of his second term, and responsible Democrats recognized the very large damage impeachment would do to the country - so they refrained.

    Those tossing around thoughts of impeachment are worse than pathetic - they are dangerous. Please, anyone here who disagrees with me: What single issue in the whole Benghazi affair rises to an impeachable offense? Indeed, what single issue was even illegal?

    Posted in: New info on Benghazi attack fuels Republican case

  • -1

    Laguna

    Nice, Sail - They SAY it was not their intent to "include it," yet they did. We'll see if they eliminate it in 2014.

    Here is a typically bizarre example of GOP critical thinking by one of our favorites, Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa: "If you link Watergate and Iran-Contra together and multiply it times maybe 10 or so, you’re going to get in the zone where Benghazi is.” (Funny how he has to channel Republican presidents to find serious scandals.)

    Here is another typically bizarre example of GOP critical thinking:the hearings are being conducted by the oversight committee, whose role is to police government corruption, and not the foreign affairs committee. Benghazi, you see, is part of a plot by Obama to weaken America. He would have taken part in it himself if he were not so busy on the domestic front trying to destroy our liberties.

    Posted in: New info on Benghazi attack fuels Republican case

  • -1

    Laguna

    It may be difficult for average voters to ... even follow the logic of Republican arguments.

    Good thing Republicans abhor logic to begin with (example: Texas GOP looks to ban critical thinking education http://www.dailytech.com/Fearful+of+Evolution+Texas+GOP+Looks+to+Ban+Critical+Thinking+Education/article25070.htm ).

    The GOP did, for example, cut in 2011 a half-billion dollars, or 10%, from what Obama had proposed for the State Department’s security; Clinton warned in response this “will be detrimental to America’s national security."

    This idea is not gaining traction because there is no scandal. "Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi!" might indeed end up helping with their base but will likely hurt them in the long term by reinforcing among moderates how myopic and hypocritical the GOP is.

    Posted in: New info on Benghazi attack fuels Republican case

  • 2

    Laguna

    A subset of graffiti is "tagging" - the act of attaching a stylized moniker referring to oneself on as many locations as possible. The photo attached to this article is a tag. Tags do not even pretend to be art. Tags are the result of deeply troubled minds.

    My dog tags, but he does so in urine, so it is not so offensive. Taggers belong far lower on the social scale than dogs.

    Posted in: Graffiti - art or vandalism?

  • 8

    Laguna

    Shear perversion.

    Posted in: Man arrested for cutting off women's clothes as they slept

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