“The NHS will provide a universal service for all based on clinical need, not ability to pay; the NHS will provide a comprehensive range of services.”— credo of the National Health Service I have always admired the Brits and their great tradition of post-war humor–from Peter Sellers in ‘I’m All Right Jack’ to Monty Python’s Department of Silly Walks, to Terry Pratchett’s Swiftian satire masquerading as fantasy: British humor is

Dan Riehl (whom I am not, much to his relief) has a fascinating little bit of internet forensics up at his site, where he appears to demonstrate that one of Claire McCaskill’s advisors has been active in American Votes, and organization funded by the ubiquitous Soros, who is, as everyone knows, out of American politics, and which touts its relation to the nut-rooters at ACORN. Those of us who followed

Well, it had to happen eventually. And no, you can’t have the pink tutu! Hands off you loons!

“The Lazy Man of Laos” [originally appeared in Myths and Folk Tales Around the World, Robert R Potter, Ed. D and H. Alan Robinson, eds, Globe, NY:  1963, 1971; abridgement by protein wisdom, moments again, high on coconut rum]      In Laos, there once was a very Lazy Man who lived by himself in a one-room shack. Rain dripped from holes in his roof.  Wind gusted in from gaping holes in

Send money to Goldstein, and I’ll make it stop. DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY THIS FASCINATING OPTICAL ILLUSION NO LONGER VIEWABLE update:  While I appreciate the the thought, I don’t like blegs.  I hate doing them myself, and I hate it even more when it’s done for me when I’d rather it not be.  Thanks—Jeff

Catch it! More below the fold.

If, in a a pinch, you find yourself snowed in without either a snow shovel or the on-hand scratch to pay the two thirteen-year-old neighbor kids to do the heavy lifting for you (aside to “Billy” and “Zach”:  if you’re going to start a business in today’s market, you really need to accept major credit cards), a conspiratorial look followed by the whispered offer of a stick of vanilla incense,

A day earlier than usual, but here it is anyway. “I think he’s going to mention the you know whats…”

Danny Rolling was executed last night. Most of us living in Florida will remember his murderous spree 16 years ago. He sang a song as his last statement so I thought I would sing one just for him. to the tune of rawhide. Rolling, rolling, rolling keep the poison flowing hell is where you’re going, Danny Harold Rolling has died! Posted by sherlock from bakerstreet.

Let this be a lesson to you: Gluttonous stars trapped inside star clusters Stars fattened by stealing matter from their neighbours get trapped in the centre of the star clusters they dwell in, Hubble Space Telescope images reveal. A new study of the images also suggests that any black holes contained in these clusters must be relatively small. Massive groupings of stars called globular clusters behave like cosmic sorting machines.