Overnight Open Thread (8 Dec 2012)

The Fiscal Cliff And The Alinsky President.

When one strictly adheres to the principles of Saul Alinsky, you don't negotiate, you intimidate. You don't take a stand, but make the other guy take a stand and then you demonize it. You create so much static with class warfare rhetoric that it drowns out reason and fact. A good case in point is the President's insistence that the wealthy do not pay their fair share. He has been saying this for so long, it is almost an accepted fact by some. The real truth is that the top one percent of wage earners have gone from paying 20% of the total tax burden in the 1980s to 40% today. The percentage of the total income they earn is around 25%. If one extrapolates out the tax burden to include the top 10% of wage earners, the total share of the tax burden paid by that group is 70%. Their total percentage of the income earned is around 38%. These facts come straight from current IRS data.
No fair-minded person could conclude from the empirical evidence laid out in the previous paragraph, that the wealthy in this country are not paying their fair share. And yet, the President spews out this categorically false narrative and a certain percentage of the population laps it up like kittens lapping milk from a bowl. This is also what followers of Saul Alinsky practice, repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth in the minds of the masses.

Working again tonight but thankfully, I'm not doing this job. Help Wanted: Professional Fart Smeller. But it does pay $50K so there's that.

Holiday Drinks

Oh I'm so going to have some of these. 6 Christmas Themed Drinks To Get You Holiday Wasted.

The Mint Hot Chocolate Cup

◦1 quart / 4 cups / 32oz Milk or half and half
◦8 oz bittersweet chocolate (Valrhona or Sharffenberger)
◦6 oz Mint Schnapps
◦3 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
•Heat 8oz of the milk/half and half in small sauce pan in low heat and add chocolate, stir until all melted; Do not boil. Add the rest of the milk and stir.
•Take six mugs and pour the liqueurs (schanps and Godiva) into each and pour the hot chocolate into each.
•Top with freshly whipped cream and crushed candy canes (hint, break them up, put into zip-loc bags and go to town with the back of a wooden spoon on them).

Release The Tax Returns

Since Obama wants to play tax the rich game, how about we take a gander at the tax returns of The World's Most Powerful Celebrities Of 2012. It's only fair.

The Equalizer

Signs that Hollywood has run out of ideas example 5,271. Big Screen Adaptation Of 80's Show The Equalizer In The Works. With Denzel Washington? He ain't old enough for the role. Nor is he British. Oh well. The theme song wasn't bad though. Right up there with Airwolf.

Music

It's a long list, but supposedly here are the Top 1000 Song To Hear Before You Die. Perusing the list, I find a few that I wish I'd never heard. What would be your top 10?

Bizarre Execution Method

The Curious Practice Of Execution By Golden Shower. Yes. It's the same golden shower you're thinking of.

I was recently reading the first volume of John Masters’ autobiography, Bugles and a Tiger, and came across one of the more bizarre execution methods, death by drowning a person in urine.

This method of execution was used by the Pathans (also known as “ethnic Afghans” and “Pashtuns”). The women of this group, particularly in the Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns (who today primarily reside in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan), would occasionally execute people this way...

Cost Of The Lunar Flag Assembly

I cringe at the thought of how much it would cost today. Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political And Technical Aspects Of Placing A Flag On The Moon.

Cost of materials was relatively low -- the flag was purchased for $5.50 and the tubing cost approximately $75. The cost of the shroud has been estimated at several hundred dollars due to the materials involved.

Kitteh Video

Tonight's ONT brought to you by Cats That Look Like Pin Up Girls (possibly NSFW):

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