CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-25 05:16:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"IN the 84 years that the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has been calculated, it doubled during the terms of only four presidents before Barack Obama’s election in 2008. This month that number rose to five as the index climbed to more than twice what it was when he took office."

Obama's socialism is just destroying the economy, just destroying it. Never mind the fact that unemployment is dropping, GDP growing, inflation is low, and real interest rates are negative. Corporate profits are at an all-time high, and thanks to President Obama's bail-out, the U.S. auto industry is very strong including Tesla which paid back its stimulus loan 10 years early.

Oh and the stock market has doubled since President Obama took office.

All of this in the face of republican obstructionism designed to prevent his re-election. That is the most amazing thing aboutthe... more »

2013-05-25 05:08:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"Senate Republicans are locked in a widening internal dispute over future budget negotiations, splitting along generational and ideological lines on the party’s approach to the central issue that drove the conservative surge in the Obama era: how to deal with the federal debt.

In full view of C-Span cameras trained on the floor this week, Senators John McCain of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine jousted with a new generation of conservatives — Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky — over the party’s refusal to allow the Senate to open budget talks with the House despite Senate Republicans’ long call for Democrats to produce a budget.

It was the Old Guard versus the Tea Party, but with real ramifications, as Congress careens toward another debt limit and spending crisis this fall with seemingly no one at the steering wheel.The newer... more »

2013-05-25 02:23:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Happy Birthday Maru!

#caturday

2013-05-24 19:54:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

A great post by +Ezra Klein on Josh Barro (@jbarro) and the radicalization of the republican party:

"I know Josh Barro. Josh Barro is a friend of mine. Josh Barro does not climb trees and throw coconuts at you, as the Atlantic’s graphic alleges. But he really, really, really likes talking about state pension systems. That part is true. And, these days, he doesn’t come across as much of a Republican. That part is also true.

But is that his fault? Or the Republican Party’s? [...]

Health care is the most obvious example. The basic architecture of the Affordable Care Act is, as has been pointed out ad nauseum, a Republican idea. It was first proposed in a 1993 plan that had 20 Senate Republicans as co-sponsors. It was passed and implemented by Gov. Mitt Romney in Massachusetts. It was supported by Newt Gingrich. Through much of this time, Democrats viewed it withskepti... more »

2013-05-24 17:04:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Obamacare is looking good in the largest state in the nation. And if California can make Obamacare work, it'll be proof that every other state can, too. #healthcare

2013-05-24 04:12:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

“Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue,” Mr. Obama said in the speech at the National Defense University. “But this war, like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. It’s what our democracy demands.” [...]

Mr. Obama did say that he does “not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any U.S. citizen — with a drone or with a shotgun — without due process.” Nor, he said, “should any president deploy armed drones over U.S. soil.” He also said that he had informed Congress about every planned drone strike outside of Iraq and Afghanistan and that he had ordered his administration to prepare a strict, written set of rules for targeted killings in the future. (Still, it was disturbing to hear that the rules would be in a classified document, not be shared with the public. It’s hard to believe that someversion could not be decl... more »

2013-05-24 01:18:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I am impressed by Kevin Durant's generosity.

2013-05-23 22:09:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

LeBron's Game Winner!!

2013-05-23 21:47:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Celebrate Memorial Day with a red, white and blue dessert that no one will be able to resist.

What's on your holiday weekend menu?

2013-05-23 04:48:58 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Eddie Van Halen, please take a seat.

2013-05-23 01:34:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"The explosion struck a chord with 18-year NASA veteran Homer Hickam, a former lead astronaut training manager for Spacelab, and later for the International Space Station. In the late 1950s, Hickam had a brush with law enforcement for allegedly starting a forest fire. State police came to his high school and led him and his friends away in handcuffs, but his high school physics professor and school principal came to the rescue, clearing him of wrongdoing."

2013-05-22 20:58:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Would you be willing to try a bacon cocktail?

Beauty and Essex in New York likes to think so. Watch the video for our taste test, reactions, and thoughts on how much we love people who love bacon.

2013-05-22 05:48:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Induction Powered LED backlit Diamond Engagement Ring. Or, why you didn't spend enough time on your engagement proposal. :)

2013-05-22 04:15:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

New Superman Man of Steel trailer hits.

2013-05-22 01:53:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

This is really awful and people need to know about it. #politics  

2013-05-22 01:49:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

so ugladorable.

2013-05-21 06:22:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This sounds just stupid:

"The tornado damage near Oklahoma City is still being assessed and the death toll is expected to rise, but already Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he will insist that any federal disaster aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere."

To Coburn it doesn't really matter what the human toll or cost is of a Natural Disaster, just as long as we balance the Federal Budget.

2013-05-21 05:32:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

#musicmonday  

h/t +Rosa Golijan 

2013-05-21 03:46:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"75 percent of all tornadoes on Earth occur in North America."

2013-05-21 03:34:39 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

For information on ways to help those affected by the severe weather in Oklahoma, visit: http://wh.gov/oklahoma

2013-05-21 02:31:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2013-05-20 19:42:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

From giant fish to key lime pie and tropical fruits, we head to Miami Beach to discover Florida cuisine.

Subscribe to our channel at http://youtube.com/zagat

2013-05-20 19:33:44 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is totally a Wall of Shame. Some excerpts:

"Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that humans are contributing to climate change, Rep. Benishek has said that climate change is “all baloney” and “just some scheme.”  Pointing to his background as a general surgeon, Benishek claims he’s “a scientist” who has the expertise to know that climate change is “unproven science stuff.”

"Global warming is scare tactic used by groups with a political agenda. [sic]" (Rep. Blake Farenthold)

“There isn’t any real science to say we are altering the climate path of the earth.” (Sen. Roy Blunt)

""There is also some disagreement among scientists as to whether global warming – regardless of its cause – would result in a net benefit or detriment to life on earth. Scientific studies demonstrate overwhelmingly that humans tendto fare better during warmin... more »

2013-05-20 19:13:58 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Want to learn to read Chinese? (6 minutes long and INCREDIBLE)
This is how I love to learn. Wow.
#tedtalks   #plusyourlife  

2013-05-20 05:54:05 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Federal deficit is significantly down this year; stock market is up; corporate profits are at a record high; unemployment is steadily decreasing (albeit slowly).

Yes the prospect of Obamacare is completely wrecking the economy and throwing the precious "job-creators" into a state of breathless uncertainty. Perhaps they are uncertain about whether they should take their vacation this year in the Cayman Islands or in Switzerland.

#Obamacare   #ACA  

2013-05-19 21:54:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Wow the key to the Shaq-Kobe championships was getting Kobe to play unselfishly within the Triangle:

'I reviewed the demands that the triangle offense placed on each team member, then concluded: "You can't be a selfish player and make this offense work for the team's good. Period." When I opened the floor to comments, there was complete silence, and I was about to adjourn the meeting when Shaq spoke up. He got right to the point, saying, "I think Kobe is playing too selfishly for us to win." That got everyone fired up. Some of the players nodded in support of Shaq, including Rick Fox, who said, "How many times have we been through this?" No one in that room came to Kobe's defense. I asked him if he had anything to say. Kobe finally addressed the group, and in a calm, quiet voice he said he cared about everyone and just wanted to be part of a winning... more »

2013-05-19 21:24:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Yeezy!

2013-05-19 21:21:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Wow this is insane. For profit hospital (run by private equity types) jacking up prices so that they can bilk private health insurance companies. 

2013-05-19 20:51:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Weekday breakfasts: prepare ahead or make on-the-fly throughout the week?

One batch of Ina's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins makes a great grab-and-go breakfast that lasts all week.

Get the recipe >> http://bit.ly/189ZBOs

2013-05-19 18:24:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Recipe of the Day: 5-Star Lasagna

Get the recipe >> http://bit.ly/189MWeC

2013-05-19 05:36:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Wow the commercial self-driving car is coming closer to reality. In my opinion, getting the last 20% (before cars go fully autonomous) is going to be a major struggle but in the meantime there is a lot of value that can be added:

"The 2014 S-Class, which goes on sale in September at an estimated starting price of $100,000, is a significant advance in the development of autonomous autos. That is, while it still requires a human behind the steering wheel, in the right conditions the car can steer itself through city traffic or drive on the highway at speeds upward of 120 miles an hour using an array of radar, infrared and optical sensors to track lane markings or the car ahead — even around curves.

“It marks the beginning of autonomous driving,” said Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz.

There might be an element ofhyper... more »

2013-05-19 05:32:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is a nice NYTimes Magazine profile on Phil Jackson. One thing it conveys is his mastery of X's and O's. I always felt that that the X and O part of his coaching was underestimated while the zen stuff was overestimated (in terms of importance).

Ultimately, what made him a great coach in my opinion (one of the all-time greats) was his gifts as a teacher from his commanding presence and authority (he won 2 rings as a player) to his knowledge and passion for the game to his vision of basketball as a team sport (he convinced MJ to play within the confines of the Triangle and the rest was history) to his pretty straight-up character, and let's not forget, his iron will to win. Plus he has charisma which helps, something lacking in some other great basketball coaches (e.g. Pops, Thibs, Sloan) with the exception of Pat Riley.

2013-05-19 03:19:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2013-05-18 21:21:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The Smartphone Physical

A new wave of apps and devices make it possible to check most of your vitals with just what you carry around in your pocket all day.

2013-05-18 20:40:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Nothing but admiration for Angelina Jolie for her bravery & commitment to helping others as well as herself http://virg.in/ajs

2013-05-18 08:45:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Adele!

2013-05-18 06:43:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Really great article about the +Data Sensing Lab project at Google I/O in the Economist Babbage Blog.

2013-05-18 06:29:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

From +Ezra Klein:

"On Tuesday, it looked like we had three possible political scandals brewing. Two days later, with much more evidence available, it doesn’t look like any of them will pan out. There’ll be more hearings, and more bad press for the Obama administration, and more demands for documents. But — and this is a key qualification — absent more revelations, the scandals that could reach high don’t seem to include any real wrongdoing, whereas the ones that include real wrongdoing don’t reach high enough. Let’s go through them."

Ezra seems to have omitted umbrella-gate (http://goo.gl/MsUPF) but perhaps the republicans already have too much on their plate.

2013-05-18 00:12:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Sounds like good advice to me:

'The viewer said she was having difficulty forgiving her husband for cheating. Robertson said the “secret” was to “stop talking about the cheating. He cheated on you. Well, he’s a man. OK.”

Robertson went on to suggest the woman focus on why she had married her husband and whether he provided for her needs and those of their children, adding, “Is he handsome? Start focusing on these things and essentially fall in love all over again.”

“Males have a tendency to wander a little bit. And what you want to do is make a home so wonderful he doesn’t want to wander.”'

2013-05-17 19:49:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"Nature takes the long view, mankind the short. Nature picks diversity; we pick standardization. We are homogenizing our crops and homogenizing our people. And Big Pharma seems intent on pursuing a parallel attempt to create its own brand of human monoculture.

With an assist from an overly ambitious psychiatry, all human difference is being transmuted into chemical imbalance meant to be treated with a handy pill. Turning difference into illness was among the great strokes of marketing genius accomplished in our time."

I don't think it is as simple as this. There are undoubtedly many cases in which "eccentric" people are treated unnecessarily with pharmaceuticals, but there are also undoubtedly countless cases in which people with mental illness are able to manage their condition more successfully with the assistance of pharmaceuticals. 

It is a... more »

2013-05-17 19:32:32 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Comparing Kobe to MJ? Gimme a break.

Despite their comparable physical talents, Kobe was (and is) about Kobe winning whereas MJ was always about #DaBulls  winning.

2013-05-17 19:13:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Recipe of the Day: Pizza Pot Pies

Get the recipe >> http://bit.ly/Z10zfu

2013-05-17 18:39:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Don't let NOBODY take the mic from you! (even if it knocks your teeth out)

2013-05-17 17:55:28 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

This is interesting. Amnesty International accesses your Facebook information, and determines what types of crimes you could be convicted of around the globe.

http://www.trialbytimeline.org.nz/

(H/T +Alison Marlowe)

2013-05-17 04:18:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"The Internal Revenue Service, according to an inspector general’s report, was not reacting to political pressure or ideology when it singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny in evaluating requests for tax exemptions. It acted inappropriately because employees couldn’t understand inadequate guidelines. The tragedy in Benghazi, Libya, never a scandal to begin with, has devolved into a turf-protection spat between government agencies, and the e-mail messages Republicans long demanded made clear that there was no White House cover-up."

2013-05-17 04:11:16 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 0 +1s)

"Based on our abstract ratings, we found that just over 4,000 papers took a position on the cause of global warming, 97.1% of which endorsed human-caused global warming. "

That is about as close to unanimity as you will get in the scientific community.

#AGW #globalwarming

2013-05-16 20:37:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

2013-05-16 20:30:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The White House seems to be having a little fun with the #ObamacareInThreeWords  hashtag being floated around Twitter by some top Republicans.

2013-05-16 20:30:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Healthcare for all #obamacareinthreewords

2013-05-16 20:29:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The White House is kicking off #WeTheGeeks , a new series of Google+ Hangouts to highlight the future of science, technology, and innovation here in the U.S.

Our first hangout includes an extraordinary panel of innovators from around the country who will discuss the elements of an "all hands on deck" effort to pursue Grand Challenges.

Tune in today at 2pm ET: http://at.wh.gov/l4lUD

#hangouts   #hangoutsonair