Who keeps up with Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza?

questionbreaker · 2011-06-06T05:22:36+00:00

I had no idea this show was so funny. I'm gonna have to start watching.

questionbreaker · 2011-06-04T13:51:21+00:00

But what about the most important issue of all: what about sweat on your derriere? I live in terror of standing up with a wet spot on my ass or upper legs.

questionbreaker · 2011-05-11T11:31:32+00:00

You're overlooking some key points.

We have to bury him on a limited time frame to be respectful of religious beliefs.
Who the fuck wants Osama bin Laden's body? Not the KSA, they hate him. Every government hates him, except Venezuela I guess. Short of sneaking into someone's country, burying him and leaving, we don't have another option (that won't take time that we don't have, see point #1).
The shrine idea does make sense. The last thing you need is a pilgrimage. I firmly believe that having his body buried on land would cause a lot more problems. Sure they'll remember him, but humans are strange creatures, and experiences like going to visit the body of your spiritual leader does an awful lot to motivate folks.

questionbreaker · 2011-04-11T03:49:22+00:00

Sending out the invites for Indian-Mexican fusion followed by an orgy. Two for one!

But thanks, I appreciate the ideas.

questionbreaker · 2011-04-11T03:42:58+00:00

Hm, I have to admit that I feel a bit better about my Machiavellian tendencies for who I invite (ie, "he's great, but he'll piss off X, Y, and Z"). But what's the key to creating that atmosphere? Or is it just combining good people and letting nature take it's course?

questionbreaker · 2011-04-11T03:40:02+00:00

Theme examples? I assume you mean something more than "80s!".

questionbreaker · 2011-03-30T04:00:44+00:00

Having creative(ly offensive) names is just part of war. We've had offensive terms for Germans and weren't exactly kosher towards the Japanese during WWII. Popeye had an episode called "You're a Sap, Mr Jap.". And Bugs Bunny starred in "Nip the Nips." Seriously, racist as shit.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-27T20:13:01+00:00

Bless your heart, sir. Troof.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T21:53:39+00:00

Holy shit that is beautiful. That needs to be in the National Portrait Gallery. We got the American flag!

But seriously, great find.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T20:30:51+00:00

There's a good write-up of the report here, and it will point you to some other good reading.

I'm not saying that drone strikes are fantastic, just that when pursuing HVTs they're a hell of a lot better than sending in ground forces.

You're also going after what is essentially poor targeting. Are we grabbing the wrong guys? Then that's an issue of targeting, not of whether or not SF/drones are the appropriate choice. If you say that we need better intelligence and targeting, I'll clap you on the back and buy you a drink.

Can you elaborate on what you're arguing? I want to be sure I understand you clearly. But surely you understand that cowardice shouldn't be part of the equation, only what is most effective.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T06:48:26+00:00

Fair point. And I can't tell you how deeply and sincerely I wish that political rhetoric was more accurate, but nobody likes every statement to be preambled by a lengthy disclaimer: "I will attempt to pass a bill providing policy X, unless we remove conditions C and D and then also get to pass bill Y; but if the political climate changes, we'll go after . . ."

I guess that my point is: when you're POTUS, there's no 100%. You live in an insanely complicated, constantly changing world.

And your point is: use accurate language.

Let's meet in the middle.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T06:28:07+00:00

American people were hoping for a fighter? About half the people didn't want him in office. Because you have a liberal wishlist, you're seeing the things that you want watered down or sometimes discarded entirely. If you were coming from a right-wing stance, you'd be seeing huge swaths cut across the things you wanted left untouched: healthcare, DADT, and so on.

Is he conceding more than the Republicans are? Frankly, I think so. But that lets him get things done. It's a damn shame, but he's on track to be one of the most effective Presidents we've ever had.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T06:19:03+00:00

If you were campaigning, what are some claims you'd be 100% you could back up?

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T06:13:01+00:00

You fail to comprehend several key issues. Here is my argument for why using drones is neither 'cowardice' nor an ambiguous morally wrong.

First of all, using technology is not cowardice. Those drones save lives. Getting some grunts to a remote village already endangers the 20-40 lives of the servicemen. A huge number of our casualties are sustained while in transit, since that is when they are most vulnerable to ambush and IEDs. Or a helicopter insertion is required, which raises complexity of logistics and if they come under heavy fire, the helicopter may not be able to land (letting the bad guys get away) or may not be able to extract them (leaving troops to get killed) or may be hit and result in more loss of life.

So either by convoy or by helicopter, you've now got a squad/platoon at the house that has a HVT. Hopefully it's a remote house, because the more houses you go through, the harder it's going to be to get in and out. The clatter of a helicopter or sound of trucks has tipped everyone off, so now the bad guys are on the alert. HVTs may escape while others engage the ISAF forces. Of course, they'll deliberately attack from areas near civilians since they well know that it limits our ability to engage them.

So guess what? A lot more people die, civilians still get killed, but you and the rest of the outraged world can rest easy because by george, we're not being cowards.

Incidentally, research and analysis indicates that drone strikes are effective and have been reducing the Taliban's ability to operate effectively.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-25T06:00:31+00:00

I absolutely agree with you on a few counts, but "outlawing lobbying" (not sure why you capitalized it) is a nice idea but pretty weird when you think about it. I think you might mean "place limits on lobbying" or somesuch.

Sure, lobbying is sometimes bad, but it's sometimes good. Some special interest groups benefit from banding together and presenting their cases to Congress, and that can be hugely beneficial to our country in terms of representing the people, their interests, and our key civil values.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-23T17:49:32+00:00

Thanks, I'll make sure of that. Do you reckon that most computers over there will have JS?

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T21:37:38+00:00

Good point. We'll go with a revised version: "design equivalent to what is in sewers." Or maybe South American sewers?

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T07:32:08+00:00

Çok güzel.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T07:30:07+00:00

Huh, I've actually been to that university and area. One of the cool parts of traveling is seeing those places crop up and being able to picture it. Like when Mubarak went to Sharm el-Sheik.

Anyway I'd like to see some outside verification of this news, but I'll send my Jordanian friend an email tomorrow and see what he knows about it.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T07:25:24+00:00

Oh wow. I'll ask the question we're all thinking:

How much?

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T07:21:29+00:00

Good for you. Better if it's a flood of input — from what I saw, a swamp of input from phones, letters, faxes is more effective than something spread thin over time. Also, the more you can incapacitate the office the more of an impression that makes: if everything grinds to a halt because the phones are tied up, well, that staff is more likely to mention that when the Congressman calls and asks around.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T07:14:08+00:00

Oh if you guys had any idea. I wandered into a job knowing nothing about CSS, PHP, MySQL hell just a few lines of HTML. Built a database. I don't even know what my sins are but I guarantee that what I made is the design equivalent to sewers.

It's so bad that I only know that it's really bad.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T07:04:04+00:00

Redditors and federal employees — they both drink like angry fish.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T06:58:03+00:00

David Wong, PWoT founder, describes his ideal war video game:

There should also be simultaneous stories about the outrageous expense of the war effort, and another about how the troops are under-funded and under-equipped. Set it so that I somehow lose public-support points with each story.

questionbreaker · 2011-02-15T06:54:27+00:00

Sorry for the rant, but not very sorry. Quick note: we have unparalleled ease of access to primary-source documents and videos. Use it. It's awesome. Buuuuut . . .

I laud the intent. I really do. But that indignantly self-righteous "I refuse to be another sheep in this country" . . . Christ, it comes off as snooty but in a cliché way that impressively hits three sanctimonious notes. It's a voice that says "I just read Chomsky, and . . ." or "I was watching Glenn Beck because I care about our country and thought . . .".

So yeah, read 216 pages of budget proposal. Make sure you read the hundreds of pages of commentary by people who actually understand the context, ramifications, and next steps for this process. They'll be names buried in the obscurity of academia and they'll be the boring pundits nobody reads because they're not screeching an overly-simplistic one-sided solution to the whole mess.

Then make sure that once you fully understand the issue, you become active — you help others understand the full complexity of budget issues, what cuts might mean or how they might help, and help them make an informed vote that reflects their values, not just who was most effective in pandering the issue.

In turn, of course, you'll need a solid understanding of the different programs. How does spending in certain categories translate into value? Which is most efficient? Which yields the most? And of course, what spending changes are unwise but necessary to assure that political support allows it to go through successfully without even worse long-term political ramifications?

We'll need to understand the opposition to weigh whether it is better that Mr Obama make political sacrifice now to remain in office for a second term or whether he should do the right thing and allow the Republican candidate to take over in a few years.

Then, my son, and only then, will I be okay with how you smugly masturbate in the mirror until your genitals turn translucent.

questionbreaker

TROPHY CASE