COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, February 10, 2011

"I'm a very fit classy guy", "I promise not to disappoint" Rep. Chris Lee, (R) NY

"I promise not to disappoint."
Rep. Chris Lee: Craigslist Amateur
FEB 9 2011, 7:16 PM ET1 Atlantic

While high-minded sorts are tsk-tsking over what former representative Chris Lee's Craiglist flirtation means for the state of congressional marriages, Hypervocal's Slade Sohmer takes the New York millionaire to task for totally lacking any kind of game in his use of Craigslist personals. Sohmer writes:
Lee can't be proud of the mistakes he made within the sanctity of marriage, but he should be more ashamed by the following three errors:

1. He used his real name: If the first rule and second rule of Fight Club are both "You do not talk about Fight Club," then the first and second rules of Craigslist is "You're a dumb schmuck who deserves to get caught if you use your real name." Not as catchy, sure, but just as important. The only reason he's on Gawker now is because he didn't either employ a fake name like "Rusty Hardstein" or use a moniker like "CapHillGunShow@excite.com." Christopher Lee may seem like a common name, until you realize that you're a sitting congressman, and that you probably rank higher in the Google search engine than some random college kid from Tulsa or a low-grade dentist from Texarkana.

2. The unprovoked shirtless pic: Despite the fact that for a 46-year-old man Lee's got every right to show off his ripped body, there are two major problems with his shirtless gambit. Firstly, it comes way too early in the e-mail conversation, so early that she even remarked out on it. If her original post called for body pics or cock shots, then it's excusable, but she clearly states "pic for pic only," which usually implies "show me your face and I'll show you mine."

More importantly, if you're going to send an enchanting temptress a shirtless photo over the Internet, don't do so wearing dress pants and a belt while semi-flexing your biceps. It sends mixed messages. There's only one man who could ever pull that off: Patrick Swayze, and he's gone (but not forgotten).

It's also, in my experience, quite difficult to be "relaxing at home," as he says along with the pic, in dress pants and a belt. It screams desperate liar.

3. He is a lobbyist in his fantasy: It's not like she says explicitly that she's looking for a long-term relationship -- in fact, she says she just wants a man who doesn't look like a toad. But according to Gallup's annual Honesty and Ethics survey published in December 2010, lobbyists are found to possess the lowest amount honesty and ethical standards of ANY profession (well, tied at 7% with car salesman). Maybe this lass was just looking for a quick romp, therefore maybe the wealth and power of a lobbyist would come in handy, but he certainly seemed like he was in it for the long haul, a slow play involving casual talk about past dates and divorce. Why would you try to pass yourself off as a man interested in a date when most people think your (fake) job means you're a dishonest, unethical dickbag? You could be rich and powerful without being a sleazeball -- heck, even lawyers and business executives rank higher than lobbyists for honesty and ethics in the hearts and minds of most Americans (ironically, even members of Congress rank higher than lobbyists).

C'mon, Congressman. If this kind of amateur-hour effort is indicative of your legislative smarts, it's a good thing you're walking away from a job that requires some forethought.
________________________________________

June 24, 2009

GUEST VIEW: Teen Internet safety must be a priority

Through the Internet, with a few keystrokes and the click of a button, a young person can call up information for a research project, make new friends or discover new hobbies.

At the same time, responding to what may seem like a friendly e-mail or an appealing marketing offer can have serious consequences. Private information and images can so easily be transmitted to friends and strangers alike.

Indeed, for as much promise as the Internet offers young people in the form of educational resources and social connections, there is great concern about the dangers and unknowns associated with a medium that is growing by several billion web pages per day.

A 2007 study conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children documented a number of alarming trends with regards to teen Internet usage. For instance, the study found that nearly seven in 10 teens regularly receive personal messages online from people they don’t know. Sixty-four percent post photos or videos of themselves, while 58 percent post info about where they live. Nearly two in 10 teens say they have been harassed or bullied online.

It is not difficult for parents to feel helpless when their children know more about how to navigate the Internet than they do. This is a challenge communities should confront together.

That’s why I recently helped pass the Student Internet Safety Act (H.R. 780), critical legislation that gives schools the tools they need to educate students on the dangers of the Internet.

Specifically, schools will have the ability to educate students about appropriate online behavior, protect them from online predators and promote the involvement of parents in Internet usage. Preparing families for what they might encounter on the Internet will make it that much easier to stop online predators in their tracks.

This bill achieves these goals at no additional cost to taxpayers by allowing states to make use of existing federal grant programs to develop and implement Internet safety initiatives. What’s more, local schools will have the ability to tailor these programs to their students without intervention from Washington.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has endorsed the Student Internet Safety Act.

Protecting our students is one of my highest priorities. Earlier this year, I introduced the Student Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 781.) Also endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this legislation would establish uniform rules for dealing with accusations of sexual abuse by school employees and a nationwide database of those convicted of such crimes. Schools should be a place of safety and learning, not danger and abuse, for our young people.

The Student Internet Safety Act represents an important step in our efforts to crack down on online predators, and I will continue to be a very vocal advocate for this measure while it is pending in the United States Senate. 
Chris Lee is a Republican who represents New York’s 26th congressional district, which includes North Tonawanda. (Towanda News) 

63 comments:

  1. Craiglist?

    I really don't care what he does, but I do care that we have so many stupid people in Congress.

    However this is a private matter and we should all move on.

    Speaking of moving on, Mark Levin says he will now have to change to a Democrat and run for President.

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  2. Here, all this time I thought Craigslist was for old cars, trucks and used saddles.

    Seems to be I'm just way behind the curve.

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  3. Yea, you thought getting out there to ride the pony required a saddle when all it takes is your blackberry.

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  4. Yo!

    Rufus, my man!

    Went for that drive after work today.

    I've got the numbers. After converting/crunching, here's what it is down here in Ameros/gallon:

    Unleaded - 4.75
    E10 - 4.71
    E85 - 3.99
    Nat gas - 2.47

    E85 converter kit - $475

    Nat gas conversion after rebate - $500

    Tell me what to do.

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  5. Well, that $475.00 for a conversion kit is way too much. So, I'd definitely put that on hold for awhile, Sam.

    I can't speak for the nat gas conversion. I just don't know enough about it. How available is nat gas in the area you'll be driving? What does it cost? Gasoline/ethanol is very expensive where you live. Nat gas might be the way to go. $500.00 sounds cheap, though.

    What kind of car was that again?

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  6. Holden Commodore. Holden was an Australian car invented by Mr. Holden way back in the day. But it's since been bought out by GM. It's basically a chevy. 4 door sedan with standard Buick 3.8 V6.

    Nat gas is everywhere here. $2.47/gallon. US.

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  7. What's the mileage like on that nat gas, Sam?

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  8. Yeah, not too sure on the mileage, Rufus.

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  9. Shit is expensive down here. Australia, the great socialist state. Lots of taxes. 38 cents tax on the unleaded.

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  10. per liter. X that by 3.8 for the gallon.

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  11. Thing is, Sam, you're only getting about a 15% spread between E10 and E15. You'll lose money using ethanol no matter how you use it (you might break even splash blending a bit, but then I think you'd just be encouraging bad behaviour - the overpricing of ethanol.)

    In fact, even though all three products are priced horribly, the least horrible of those three would probably be Straight gasoline.

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  12. Sam, I'd probably keep my powder dry for a while, and see how the market develops. Maybe ask the manager at the local station why he's getting $3.99 for a product that sells in the states for $2.34.

    Of course, he'd probably say, "the same reason I get $4.75 for gasoline; because I can." :)

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  13. If you do decide to splash blend a little just for shits, and grins, here's how you do it.

    Turn off the motor (Super important.) Put in E85. Drive for Seven, or Eight Miles before shutting off motor. This is just for the First time. Do NOT put in E85, and then pull over in front of the station, turn off your motor, and go inside for a cup of coffee.

    Your car's computer needs to associate the higher O2 levels in the exhaust with a "Filling Event." Then it will take a few minutes of driving for the computer to get the A/F all sorted out.

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  14. How much E85 do I put in on the initial event?

    1/4 tank of it?

    1/2?

    3/4?

    Full?

    Do I leave the motor off but the ignition on for the computer while I'm drinking that beer? (not coffee)?

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  15. Frau, the press isin wonder that he quit so fast…wait till all the other emails and photos appear!

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  16. You might try five, or six gallons to start.

    No, take the keys out of the ignition, and put them in your pocket while filling.

    After filling (remember, this is just for the first time) start your car, and drive seven, or eight miles.

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  17. I've never, in my entire life, known a man that described himself as "classy."

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  18. The day began with the once-proud House Appropriations Committee previewing what it saw as an unprecedented package of more than $40 billion in reductions from current domestic and foreign aid funding. But even as the numbers were released, conservatives at a morning caucus demanded twice the reductions. And by late in the day, the committee’s cardinals were closeted away in the Capitol, fending off talk of across-the-board cuts but also admitting they will most likely need days more to come up with an alternative.

    More than any single event in the new Congress, the standoff captured what’s become a rhetorical nightmare for GOP leaders — having pledged to cut $100 billion from spending this year but then single-mindedly targeting just one narrow segment of the budget covering domestic programs and foreign aid.

    The whole intellectual framework for the $100 billion pledge was based on rolling back these same programs to the 2008 appropriations levels set in the last year of the Bush administration. Two bites were always expected to be needed, and the $40 billion in reductions represents a major down payment. But that 2008 marker is largely ignored now in the devotion to $100 billion, a number that has taken on a currency of its own and seems to defy any effort by the leadership to rationalize a lesser figure.

    Republican freshmen, having just returned from their recent recess at home, complained at the morning meeting of being embarrassed now after telling their constituents that the $100 billion target would be met.

    “The first rule of politics is when you are explaining, you are losing,” Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) told POLITICO.


    GOP cuts deep as right revolts

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  19. 'Classy', yar, shore is weird.

    Man, I am both ripped and tired. I'm goin' to bed. Thanks for everything you do, Rufus.

    'D' man is right. You are a treasure.

    Adios until tomorrow.

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  20. ... by late in the day, the committee’s cardinals were closeted away in the Capitol, fending off talk of across-the-board cuts ...

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  21. BBC News -

    Striking doctors and a host of other workers have joined thousands of anti-government protesters in Egypt. Medics wearing white coats streamed into Cairo's Tahrir Square alongside demonstrators who continue to call for President Hosni Mubarak to resign

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  22. Thanks, Rat.

    Read that whole one.

    It is interesting to contemplate what would've happened if we had just let Russia take Afcrapistan. And just stayed the fuck out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Fox News - ‎

    Hackers working in China broke into the computer systems of five multinational oil and gas companies to steal bidding plans and other critical proprietary information, the computer security firm McAfee said in a report.


    To conflate those multinational oil and gas companies with the United States, an error.

    ReplyDelete
  24. We need your help – today.

    Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-Wis., recently issued his fellow Members of Congress a “Dear Colleague” letter, asking them to sign on to his proposed legislation to block our nation’s only viable alternative to foreign oil: U.S. ethanol.

    We need you to contact Rep. Sensenbrenner today to let him know you oppose his efforts to keep our nation addicted to foreign oil, to halt the expansion of jobs in a renewable, domestic fuel industry, to keep sending American money to economies overseas when we need to put it to work here today.

    Here is the contact information for Rep. Sensenbrenner:

    2449 Rayburn House Office Building
    Washington, D.C. 20515-4905
    Telephone: (202) 225-5101
    Fax: (202) 225-3190

    Write today, or send him an e-mail. Tell Rep. Sensenbrenner:

    * His legislation to block EPA’s approval of E15 would turn back the clock to the 1970s, when OPEC first put this nation over a barrel.
    * We need a domestic source of renewable fuel, and his legislation would mandate that we continue to rely on foreign oil to fuel our automobiles – when we can produce more ethanol here today and reduce our reliance on Middle East oil.
    * Domestic ethanol creates American jobs. Foreign oil drains American money out of our economy – and puts it to work in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Caracas. We want jobs in Milwaukee, Green Bay and La Crosse, and only American industries – like U.S. ethanol – will create those jobs.
    * Ethanol is a food-and-fuel industry. Wisconsin’s ethanol plants produce livestock feed as a co-product of ethanol production – all the protein, oil and fiber from the corn kernel goes right back into the food chain. Don’t believe the ‘food-v-fuel’ hype.

    When Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act in 2007, it was to secure America’s energy independence– and help America’s economy – not the economies of OPEC nations.

    Any time you contact a Member of Congress, remember to be polite and respectful, and remind them that you are a resident of their state or district. Members listen to their constituents.

    Thanks for your help. As always, you can follow Growth Energy on Twitter, Facebook, and on our Growth Energy blog.

    Sincerely,
    Chris Thorne
    Public Affairs Director, Growth Energy

    ReplyDelete
  25. What an asshole and I don't mean the man.

    Universal law # 1 don't kiss N' tell…Loose lips sink ships…what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…blah blah blah

    Although, he's not the brightest star in the sky, for using Craig's LIst and not the many on line dating services out there. Hello…Craig's List killer. Dumb shit!

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  26. I think I'm going to have to ask for a raise.

    :)

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  27. DR: To conflate those multinational oil and gas companies with the United States, an error.

    There's a lot of that going around.

    Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism

    Semite = Jew

    Isolationism = Nazism

    Pollard = Hero

    Vanunu = Traitor

    Israel doesn't have to sign the NPT but Pakistan does.

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  28. Has this become a Neo Nazi Site in my absence?

    ReplyDelete
  29. I took my shirt off in front of two men yesterday.

    Now one of them wants to enter my inner thigh.

    ...with a catheter.

    Wish me well.

    Next time I'll use "CL"

    Was't the Crapper Tapper named Craig?

    Maybe that's what's so scary about Craigslist?

    (CL)

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  30. They took pictures, btw.

    Haven't seen them posted on the Net...
    yet

    ReplyDelete
  31. Beck says Mubarak will step down tonite.

    ...worth 70 Billion.

    I've made him an offer to move in w/me.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thanks, Ruf,

    I promise not to disappoint.

    ---

    OBAMA:

    "Democracy" in Egypt, good.

    In Iran, not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  33. US District Court Judge Martin Feldman of New Orleans has found the Department of Interior in civil contempt for continuing the Gulf drilling moratorium against his orders.

    Drill, baby, drill!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Why do we pay Mubarak $1.5 Bil every year? What do we get in return?

    No attack on Israel.

    It's protection money.

    ReplyDelete
  35. CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of dramatic mass uprisings across the nation.

    NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.

    Egypt's military announced on national television it had stepped in to secure the country and promised protesters calling for Mubarak's ouster that all their demands would soon be met.

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  36. Murbarak just left Egyptian air space.

    They will play his recorded message shortly. The military is large and in charge.

    ReplyDelete
  37. It looks like Egypt is going to be a nasty place given Mubarak's speech.

    ReplyDelete
  38. It's begun with the traditional shoe waving, Ash.

    Where will it all end?

    (waving, tho less dramatic, does not diminish your ammunition stores, as does throwing.)

    ReplyDelete
  39. btw:

    Egypt was a fairly nasty piece of work BEFORE his speech, fwiw.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Isn't it rather unsettling that one of our govt agents like the Frau could be so misinformed?

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  41. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  42. Even our boy Leon was confused:

    "CIA Panetta Confused: Said Strong likelihood Mubarak would 'step down tonight'..."

    Even when you come from the Garlic Capital of the World, "our" Capital on the Potomac confuses.

    (btw, the Salinas River boasts one of the largest underground flows in the country)

    Water for our Garlic runs deep.

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  43. Doug I'm just a number like everyone else around here. The only difference is that I'm number one.

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  44. If Mubarak had moved any closer to understanding the demands of protesters, there was little sign of it in his speech — he barely acknowledged that personal "mistakes" might be the cause of Egyptian anger.

    Indeed, both Mubarak and Suleiman — who spoke to the nation following the president — hinted at a growing intolerance with the ongoing protests. Suleiman appealed for the protesters to "go home."

    Mubarak said further demonstrations would severely damage the Egyptian economy.


    Position of Strength

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  45. Put your Hosni in
    Take your Hosni out
    Put your Hosni in and shake him all about
    Do the Hosni Pokey and turn yourself around
    That's what it's all about!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Mubarak said in the address that the demands of protesters calling for his immediate ouster are just and legitimate. He said he would lift hated emergency laws when security permitted.

    Mubarak also vowed to punish those behind violence over the past two weeks and offered condolences to the families of those killed.

    He also said he will not leave Egypt and will be buried in the country.


    Refuses to Step Down

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  47. Two cannibals just finished a big meal and one turns to the other while rubbing his stomach with his fist and say, "You know, I just ate my mother-in-law, and she still doesn't agree with me!"

    ReplyDelete
  48. Why won't cannibals eat divorced women?

    They're very bitter.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Insurance claims following the Queensland floods have reached the $2 billion mark.

    Reach $2b

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  50. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  51. Krauthammer: Egypt at a ‘tipping point,’ predicts ‘explosion’ when the mosques empty tomorrow

    Mubarak: "I will not leave Egypt until I die."
    Egypt: "WE CAN TOTALLY HELP YOU WITH THAT."

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  52. BOYKIN: I will look at you now and say, we are going to see an Islamic republic in Egypt, and it is going to be an Islamic republic where Sharia law is the law of the land. And regardless of what the leadership of our country says, and what our intelligence community says, the Muslim Brotherhood was created to establish global sharia law.

    Islamic Republic in Egypt

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  53. On Jan 28, under orders from the Mubarak regime, Egypt's four main internet providers cut off service, in a bid to break the protesters' momentum. Vodafone, its main mobile phone provider, said it was also forced to block its signal.

    Twitter and Google teamed up to allow activists to continue Tweeting by making phone calls, but considerable damage was done to the online side of the protest movement.

    Five days later, after global condemnation of Mubarak's censorship, the services were restored and the activists were back online. But by then the revolution had outgrown them.


    Sparking the Protests

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