Protesters blocking the entrance to the Capital Hilton. Sigh. Is this a next level protest. http://t.co/KtQJgzfe

29 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@upsetthesetup

upsetthesetup

Photo: Protesters blocking the entrance to the Capital Hilton.

I didn’t need a mic check to thank the 5 dcpd officers for their service and praise them as a testament to this city and their profession

25 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@upsetthesetup

upsetthesetup

ThankThePolice. Ha, the irony

25 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@upsetthesetup

upsetthesetup

That gathering smelled like feet and tofu

24 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@upsetthesetup

upsetthesetup

The Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a Chinese netizen lexicon. For example:

The term grass-mud horse, which sounds nearly the same in Chinese as “f*** your mother” (cáo n? m?), was originally created as a way to get around, and also poke fun at, government censorship of vulgar content. After netizens created an online video depicting the grass-mud horse at war with and eventually defeating the river crab, a homonym for "harmony," a propaganda catchword, the idea caught fire and the video became a viral hit. Netizens continually expanded the lore of the grass-mud horse by creating catchy songs and fake nature documentaries on YouTube and other video sharing sites.

ABC:

Radiation-blurred images taken inside one of Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactors Thursday showed steam, unidentified parts and rusty metal surfaces scarred by 10 months' exposure to heat and humidity.

The camera recorded the inside of the No. 2 reactor for about 30 minutes and Tepco officials learned two main things: The temperature inside was 112.5 degrees Fahrenheit, about what they were expecting. But the amount of water inside the reactor "appears to be less than what has been estimated up to now," Tepco official Junichi Matsumoto told Reuters.

Or who knows: Votes from 8 precincts missing.

Total kabuki. They're not even trying any more.

In Tuesday's charlotteobserver.com:

Obama to speak at Bank of America stadium
Officials to confirm Panthers' home will host nomination acceptance.

By Jim Morrill
jmorrill [at] charlotteobserver [dot] com

Posted: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012

On the final night of this fall's Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech at Bank of America stadium, party sources told the Observer on Monday night.

That reminds me of a song:

Retired D.C. teacher says he was thrown out of ed data summit

Guy Brandenburg, who writes the GFBrandenburg’s Blog (which is subtitled “Just a blog by a guy who’s a retired math teacher”) describes in a post how he attended the National Data Summit in Washington D.C. — for which he had signed up to attend — and started handing out a pamphlet he wrote criticizing data-driven school reform.

Worse:
Summers, Larry: Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University
Unemployment:

“Empirical evidence shows that two causes [of long-term unemployment] are welfare payments and unemployment insurance. These government assistance programs contribute to long-term unemployment in two ways.”

“First, government assistance increases the measure of unemployment by prompting people who are not working to claim that they are looking for work even when they are not. “

“The second way government assistance programs contribute to long-term unemployment is by providing an incentive, and the means, not to work.”

Worser:

Lawrence H. Summers, Treasury Secretary

Repeal of Glass-Steagall (1999):

''Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century,'' Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. ''This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy.''

From today's Bloomberg:

Obama Said to Consider Summers as Successor to World Bank Chief Zoellick

By Hans Nichols - Jan 18, 2012 11:01 PM CT

President Barack Obama may put his mark on the World Bank by nominating Lawrence Summers, his former National Economic Council director, to lead the bank when Robert Zoellick’s term expires later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Aloe Vera in Bloom

Your typical all purpose, everyone should have one, Aloe Vera plant. What amazed me was the bloom on it. Close to 5' tall and shaped like it was ready to just pull up its roots and walk off.

See below the fold for full size pic.

As announced in THE HILL yesterday:

Obama warns left: You won't like budget
By Alexander Bolton - 01/17/12 05:30 AM ET

Top White House officials are warning liberal and labor leaders to brace themselves for President Obama’s budget proposal.

Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, sought in meetings last week to lift the left’s gloom about Washington’s crackdown on spending by promising that the president this year will focus on job creation rather than deficit cutting.

Tonight on the NewsHour I watched Dennis Ross (former administration Mideast adviser) with a straight-face assert that we very well may be “sliding into war with Iran” -- actually, being FORCED into such a scenario -- because of Iran’s threat of nuclear enrichment.

Only let’s bottom-line it. “Iran’s NON-EXISTENT bomb” is the non-justification justification for a strike against Iran that would set off a deadly conflagration of God knows what intended and unintended U.S. and Israel imperialistic profits-over-who-gives-a-shit-how-many-dead-or-maimed-or-displaced-people consequences!

Non-existent weapon of mass destruction? Has a familiar ring to it, nes pa?

Occupy DC mike checks the Capitol building. #j17

Occupiers stream onto Rayburn balcony#j17

This very interesting succulent had a tag on it that says it is a Rhodiola, also known as Roseroot or Stonecrop. I have my doubts, I think somebody switched tags since I can't find anything that looks like this that is called Rhodiola. I really liked this one, with its twisty stem.

So consider this a mystery plant. Please confirm or deny in comments. ***********************************************

Two videos of Kevin Zeese being interviewed in front of a protest at the Federal Reserve.

Voice of the People, More with Kevin Zeese, Occupy FP, Washington, DC (talking about the demonstrators from Amarillo who got thrown off the bus.

Voice of the People, Kevin Zeese- Occupy Freedom Plaza, Washington, DC (talking about the protest at the Federal Reserve and then the upcoming actions.)

Voice of the People, Occupiers Prep for March to Capitol

"Washington, DC—On January 17 Americans from across the nation and the world will assemble in the shadows of a broken system to participate in real democracy.

Smoke bomb tossed over White House fence

Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie told Fox News Channel authorities were investigating and no arrests were reported as a result of the incident.

hoo boy

A Federally-Funded Jobs Program? Lessons from the WPA

Cullen Roche continued his extensive and multi-faceted critique of the Job Guarantee policy and the Modern Monetary Theory approach to economics with a piece attempting to distinguish “theory” and “fact.” His piece is based on the common sense idea that there’s a distinction between them, and Cullen tries to use it in his argument. There is, but, unfortunately, the common sense notion of the distinction has long been put aside in the philosophy of science, and in most of the sciences a decade or so later, because of its incoherence. So, in using it, Cullen’s argument shares this incoherence.

The “Theoretical” and Something Else

... so, gosh, does the teebee morning news sound weird.

Agave attenuata

Foxtail or swan's neck agave

About six weeks ago, this same flower was featured in Plantidote, but the buds hadn't opened yet. Now they're starting to -- what a difference! Ever so slowly, each one of those green, pod-like things is turning into a white flower.

I've come to loathe MLK day.

Erased from our memory of the 1963 March on Washington is the fact that it was really called "The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom"; something that our beloved Job Creators™ have successfully have thrown down the memory hole.

Is the JG a Price Anchor?

More on Cullen Roche’s claims about the JG, this time a discussion of his price anchor vs. price buoy post.

Let’s begin with: