given the current nature of the clown car senate, byrd might have second thoughts about his longevity...

and how long had strom thurmond been dead before he left the senate...finally?

On a related note, a majority of Americans claim they don't want the H1N1 vaccine. I guess that'll mean more for the rest of us.

Well, for most of us, H1N1 is just a minor annoyance, probably less severe then the standard flu.

"It will cut the federal budget deficit by $127 billion over the first decade, and as $650 billion in the second decade."

And what percentage of news reports will mention this?

Thank you for your service, Senator Byrd. Now please get your dozing ass off the Senate floor and into retirement.

* Zombies as potent metaphors.

* Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) today became the longest-serving member of Congress ever.

I love the way these two items were placed next to each other. "Brains!"

If over half of Americans refuse the H1N1 vaccine it will ease the shortage, making it easier for those who have not yet received it to receive one. For whatever anecdotal evidence means, I'm finding a number of patients are refusing for bogus reasons, but no where near half. Of course it is a totally different situation when in a physician's office. Some patients start out with misconceptions but change their mind after reviewing the facts on the vaccine. This isn't going to happen during a poll.(Patients with medical problems who are already in their doctor's office are also a different population than the general public, which might also explain why I'm seeing well under half refuse.)

"...Texas may have inadvertently made marriage illegal in the state."

Wow. Even for siblings?

And zombies are about as passé as yesterday's ... uh, corpse.

On a related note, a majority of Americans claim they don't want the H1N1 vaccine. I guess that'll mean more for the rest of us.

I normally avoid getting the flu vaccine, whatever the year. The two times I actually got the vaccine, I got the flu.

Conservative lawmakers in Texas may have inadvertently made marriage illegal in the state.

I noticed that wording when I first read the amendment years ago, and thought the same thing. Serves them right if the argument holds up in court.

Gee, you would think a high-powered guy like Obama could get out of jury duty... What, He's not on KSM's jury? No, he must be, he wouldn't be so infuckingcredibly stupid as to prejudice a high-profile criminal trial where they already tainted all the evidence by torturing the shit out of the defendant. I'm sure he remembers how everybody went apeshit when Nixon said Manson was guilty, or Bush said DeLay was innocent.

Nixon. Bush. The spineless fucker's really taking his place in the pantheon, isn't he?

Holy Sacred Cow...

The report projects that if current trends continue 103 million American adults will be considered obese by 2018. That would be 43 percent of adults, compared to 31 percent in 2008, according to the research by Kenneth E. Thorpe of Emory University, an authority on the cost of treating chronic disease.

Mr. Thorpe concluded that the prevalence of obesity is growing faster than that of any other public health condition in the country’s history. Health care costs related to obesity — which is associated with conditions like hypertension and diabetes — would total $344 billion in 2018, or more than one in five dollars spent on health care, if the trends continue. If the obesity rate were held to its current level, the country would save nearly $200 billion a year by 2018, according to the study.

Sounds like an issue Congress should take up. That is, assuming we had a functioning government rather than a decaying empire. And so as expected, like timid bullfighters, Congress steps well clear of this lumbering American Heifer:

Mr. Thorpe said in an interview that the health care bills in Congress limit their attack on obesity to a few community-centered pilot programs with insufficient funding. Congress has steered clear of measures that might have a more direct impact, like taxing sugary sodas and fat-laden snacks.

The latest Army statistics show a stunning 75 percent of military-age youth are ineligible to join the military because they are overweight, can't pass entrance exams, have dropped out of high school or had run-ins with the law.

"We've never had this problem of young people being obese like we have today," said Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.He calls the rising number of youth unfit for duty a matter of national security. "We should be concerned about how this will impact this overstretched Army and its ability to recruit."

So what's the solution?

There isn't one. Fat people vote and so Congress won't dare risk offending them. If Obama opens his mouth, half the country will scream he is a socialist trying to use big government to control diets. We'd have a one week media food fight and things would go back to just the way they were. You know the routine...

My conclusion? The country as it now exists is ungovernable and has no future. The American empire is swirling down the toilet for a lot of reasons. Obesity may be a symptom or a cause. Either way, one thing is certain: Being fat is arguably unpatriotic and certainly a costly drag on our country's resources...

But no member of Congress will dare tell you this, or tax you accordingly. The dynamics are against it. Will a population that is 40% obese suffer legislation or taxation that curtails its own pleasurable consumption? Or will it demand instead the sacred right to feed itself at every opportunity?

I think we know the answer:
They'll have to pry that corndog from our cold dead fingers...

It was just dumb luck that the same ship got attacked again. This time the ship had armed men who repelled the attackers.

But this story must be made up. Guns are evil and can never do anything good.

As for obesity as a symptom or a cause of the decline of the American empire...why can't it be both?

koreyel, @19:51,

Just how do you propose the Congress ought to fight obesity? What sort of legislation and taxation do you envision? Mandatory gymnastics breaks during the work hours, as they have (or had) in China?

Well, a majority of Americans ought to have: Already has a swine flu (anyone over 50 or anyone previously infected this summer) or not a risk group (age 0-4, 15-30)

For instance, I've already had the damn flu. Twice. (Being in a heavy immigrant/children area does that) It's hospitalized people from my spouse's work, and we survived. The vaccine would only have the same sample, not future mutations.

Alas, lastly, I tend to have seizures when given injections.

Unfortunately al qaeda is not "a motley group of criminals" by any reasonable measure. While I disagree with the wingnut's characterization of them as "enemy combatants" because it puts the likes of the 9/11 terrorists on the same level as the American armed forces, they are not common criminals at all. Al qaeda is most similar to the Mafia in design and intent. Both are criminal organizations, to be sure, but both have significant stratification in terms of membership and hierarchy. Bin Laden/al Zawahiri are the two capo di tutti capi and there are various lieutenants and foot soldiers that plan and execute the acts of violence. These "mid-level" members also coordinate the collection/dispersion of funds and act as field marshalls in the terrorist organization. Al qaeda isn't an army but it is much more sophisticated an operation than the Bloods or Crips. It is a mistake to underestimate them just as it is helping their cause to overestimate them.

"where they already tainted all the evidence by torturing the shit out of the defendant"

Torture doesn't taint the evidence, it taints the confession. Most of the evidence was collected before they even arrested him, so that's untainted. The strongest evidence is KSM's computer, which was seized during the arrest. The confession may well be thrown out, but most defendants are convicted without a confession. Confessions usually happen when the defendant wants a plea bargain, and that's not going to happen. About the best KSM can get is a choice of execution method if he pleads guilty to 2,500 counts of capital murder.

Steve: "Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) on Monday called Islam a 'savage religion.' He issued a qualified apology yesterday."

My family in northern Illinois should be the ones apologizing, since they're the ones who keep voting for this stupid fucking moron.

The plan extends coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans, which would bring the overall total to 94% of the population.

So who gets left out? Because health care cost increases largely because of fear of being thrown into the pool of those who are left out.

Here's Nostradamus J. Fostert, explaining to us why it's totally certain that KSM will be convicted by the sterling investigative work of the same fucking clowns who proved Saddam responsible for 9/11 and amassing zillions of nuclear warheads, and who are still obstructing justice and lying like rugs. He's right, of course. Enjoy your fucking show trial.

* Zombies as potent metaphors.

* Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) today became the longest-serving member of Congress ever.

Anybody else find the (unintentional?) placement of these two items funny?

Wait, Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama again?

Hey. Cost of Business for the owners. That's all it is.

No one counts except the owners in a capitalist society. Crew? Officers? They don't own shit. Send them back. The ship isn't damaged and insurance pays for the cargo.

I'm not sure the Texas constitutional amendment makes all marriages illegal, just those between a man and a woman.

First the amendment defines marriage:

"marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman."

Then it makes creating or recognizing marriage, or anything like it:

"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

So they can recognize or create unions of two men or two women, or a union of three or more people.

Pretty stupid stuff.

Democrats want to pass a law mandating paid sick leave for H1N1 sufferers. Business groups and their lobbyists are fighting the proposal.

This is a shift of the cost of workers being sick from the company to the worker. That's all it is.

Sorry. Illness in the workforce is a cost of production for the employer. They get the profits if the workforce is NOT ill. Entrepreneurship is taking the risk of producing and selling the product. Why else do they get the big bucks? Why should they be allowed to shift the risks to the employees?

Someone explain to me how the deal offered to the Iranians is so great ? If I were in charge in Iran, after listening to all the bullshit lies, bluster, and threats from the two most aggressive, warlike countries in the West for the past eight years, I would never go past the minimum requirements set out by the IAEA, and I would never trust anyone with the Uranium I already have, nor would I be building any more processing plants out in the open, where they could be so easily attacked by the two above-mentioned war mongering nations. The American people are once again being brainwashed in preparation for the next middle east war of convenience by the great empire of USA/Israel, and based on the knee-jerk responses of the political class in Washington, it should be here soon.
Jesus, what a bunch of unquestioning sheep we've become. Just bring on the war, people, we've got plenty of bombs !
Bombs away ! Can you give me a hallelujah !

If Republicans insist on the reading of the entire health care bill as a stall tactic (what else could it be?), then I suggest that the Democrats hire that guy who can speed-read the whole thing aloud. Should take him no more than a day.

No, terraformer; read it at normal pace. But insist that Sen. Coburn sit there for the whole thing.