grabbags: ShortFormBlog

19:08 • 2 months ago

Tesla’s plan to get you to buy their cars: Kinda like buying, kinda like a lease

the deal Tesla Motors has set up financing deals for 10 percent of the down payment for one of their Model S vehicles. As it turns out, that 10 percent fits within the guidelines of an electric vehicle credit—meaning that you wouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket. After that, you can pay for the vehicle at a monthly rate which may be higher than a traditional lease, but considering you’re not paying for gas, given the right usage, you’ll end up spending less (or so they claim). And after three years, you can sell the vehicle at rates comparable to a Mercedes S Class.
the perk The company claims that the deal gives buyers the best parts of both leasing and buying a vehicle—being that you can pay a relatively small monthly amount, but after the three years are over, you have the option of selling the car, because you own it. And the buyback is guaranteed, too, so you’re not locked in. Thoughts? source

18:27 • 2 months ago

Three Republicans who aren’t helping the party’s rebranding efforts

Tags: sm politics republicans hispanics GOP gop rebranding don young pat mccroy north carolina governor north carolina governor mccroy todd kincannon rep don young grabbags gop hispanic outreach gop minority outreach 144 • Permalink

one Alaska Rep. Don Young, who landed himself in hot water yesterday for casually referring to the “wetbacks” his family used to employ. He’s since apologized—twice—calling it a “poor choice of words.”
two North Carolina Governor Pat McCroy, who today, without warning or explanation, closed the state’s Office of Hispanic/Latino Affairs, prompting an angry response from the local Latin American Coalition.
three Todd Kincannon, former executive director of the South Carolina GOP, who earlier this week told veteran Mike Prysner—now an anti-war activist—that he “should have come home in a body bag” and expressed his hopes that “the enemy splatters his brain JFK-style.”

To the national party’s credit, Young’s remarks were roundly denounced by Republican leaders, and Kincannon has basically been disowned by the state GOP. But every story like this reaffirms the exact stereotypes the party is working so hard to combat right now, and until the party can get its members under control, even a superficial rebranding is likely to be unsuccessful. The larger issue, though, is whether the Republicans’ electoral base actually wants it to change. The early evidence isn’t very promising. source

20:44 • 2 months ago

claim According to the Washington Post, a lawyer in the Dominican Republic has told authorities that the Daily Caller, the conservative news outlet owned by Tucker Carlson, paid him to fabricate a story about Democratic Senator Bob Menendez soliciting prostitutes.
denial The new org denies the charges, with Carlson saying in a statement that “The Daily Caller never paid anyone, was never asked to pay anyone and of course never would pay anyone for this story.”

There’s a wrinkle here: In its recounting of today’s revelations, the Daily Caller writes that the lawyer “blamed four news outlets — CNN, The Daily Caller, Telemundo and Univision — for allegedly encouraging him to fabricate false accusations about Menendez.” This isn’t true; according to the Post, the man only accused the Daily Caller—not the other three outlets—of offering to bribe him (the other three were mentioned as having requested to interview the man after he made the claims). The lawyer’s reliability is already shot, having reversed his story at least once, but the Daily Caller has seriously undermined its own credibility by reporting the original story in such a misleading, and indeed factually inaccurate, way. This is one of those weird news stories where all parties involved seem to have been dishonest to some degree—with the possible exception of Menendez himself.

12:11 • 3 months ago

Five things that will make you gouge your eyes out from SXSW

Tags: sxsw south by southwest sxsw 2013 es google things that will anger you grabbags worst of sxsw 52 • Permalink

one Google is showing off a new piece of footwear at its Art, Copy & Code booth. It’s a shoe. That can talk. For some reason your Reebok Pumps seem much cooler than this.
two The uh, sexy, hookup site Bang With Friends has a SXSW-specific site called “Bang With SXSW,” which should ensure that you’ll remain lonely for the rest of the year.
three Author Neil Gaiman, who’s an extremely creative guy, spoke during a SXSW panel on creativity with “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre, who’s anything but.
four As a marketing stunt, the cable network Syfy created a pop-up hotel, which would be useful as there’s never anywhere to stay in Austin during this time of year, except there are only a handful of rooms, and the network didn’t bother to tell people about the lodging space ahead of time.
five Speaking of temporary lodging, there are augmented-reality porta potties which tell passing customers how long you’ve been inside. Get ready to punch everyone around you.

23:28 • 3 months ago

How Time Warner slowly but surely split into a bunch of little parts

Tags: time warner aol time warner es breakups corporate breakups time inc. meredith business grabbags magazines life magazine time life time warner cable 32 • Permalink

Time-Life Not nearly as big as the other parts, but people recognize the name, right? The book and music marketing arm of the company, named after the two magazines which made Time Inc. famous, was spun off in 2003 and had to start running a disclaimer that said ”not affiliated with Time Warner Inc. or Time Inc.” Sounds about right.
Time Warner Cable The first big chunk to fall, the cable company was spun off partly because it was seen as having more potential to grow under a structure different from that of a pure content company. The split, which took place over a four year period, was finalized in March 2009. (Conversely, Comcast in recent years has taken the opposite approach, buying out NBC Universal from General Electric to become a top-down cable and entertainment empire.)
AOL The digital arm of Time Warner, which was once so massive that AOL bought Time Warner in 2000, ultimately became a drag on both companies after it became clear that there weren’t enough 70-year-olds to keep the legacy AOL service at a high level of profitability forever. In December 2009, the company, whose value had declined significantly in the period that Time Warner owned it, was spun off to its own space on the stock market. It eventually made a pure-content play, which has recently brought it success.
Time Inc. While the magazine industry came first, it would not remain the key part of Time’s empire, and after a failed merger of some of the magazines with the Better Homes and Gardens-owning magazine chain Meredith, Time Warner announced it was spinning off all of its magazines into a single company on Wednesday.
Time Warner So, here’s what’s now left—the cable channels (including HBO, TNT, TBS and CNN), the film studios (New Line Cinema, Warner Bros.), and the other entertainment arms. So, really, it’s just Warner and the remains of Ted Turner’s corporate empire. Synergy doesn’t last forever, right?

16:05 • 3 months ago

Pfc. Bradley Manning pleads guilty to some charges in Wikileaks case

Tags: United States Bradley Manning WikiLeaks Whistleblowing grabbags sc 33 • Permalink

Tuesday Presiding judge Colonel Denise Lind denied requests, by Pfc. Bradley Manning’s legal team, to drop the myriad of federal charges currently filed against the 25-year-old soldier. Manning’s attorney says his incarceration violated rights guaranteed to the soldier by Article 10 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the U.S. Constitution.
Thursday Pfc. Bradley Manning entered a “guilty” plea on 10 of the 22 federal charges he faces, which carry a combined total of 20 possible years in prison. Unfortunately, the plea is not part of a deal with a prosecution, but rather a last ditch effort by Manning and his team to avoid a possible life sentence on charges of “aiding the enemy”. Charges which Manning has fervently denied throughout his incarceration. source

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19:11 • 3 months ago

Two widely differing pleas came from former politicians facing criminal charges today

Tags: Politics Crime Bribery Fraud Ray Nagin Jesse Jackson guilty not guilty grabbags sc 13 • Permalink

Guilty Former Illinois representative Jesse Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from his apparent misuse of more than $750,000 in campaign funds. Jackson and his wife made a variety of high-dollar purchases with the money, along with paying for expensive vacations and club memberships, and is expected to be sentenced to somwhere between 47 and 56 months in prison. source
Not Guilty Former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he accepted more than $200,000 in bribes and other gifts during his time in office, many from contractors hoping to land major city contracts. Several former city officials are set to testify against Nagin, who is currently out of jail on a $100,000 bond. source

01:20 • 4 months ago

Report: Newtown shooter may have been inspired by Norway shooter

Tags: Anders Behring Breivik es norway shooting adam lanza newtown sandy hook shooting newtown shooting grabbags 41 • Permalink

2011 Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik drew international attention and anger over a mass killing spree that killed 77 people, mostly teenagers, and cast a pall for weeks after the shooting. He survived the shooting and was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison.
2012 Newtown gunman Adam Lanza, whose motives were unknown in the months after the shooting, may have been inspired by Breivik’s own shooting, with some sources noting to CBS News that he may have chosen Sandy Hook because it was the closest target with a large number of people. Lanza may have left evidence showing he was reportedly “obsessed” with Breivik. source

» A caveat: Be careful not to overly lean on this speculation, however. After CBS published their story, they added this note: “In response to this piece, Lt. J. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police told CBS News that the investigation into the motive for the Newtown shooting has not been completed and therefore any statements about the shooter’s intent are mere speculation.”

16:31 • 4 months ago

How Republicans reacted when Obama’s immigration bill leaked

Tags: grabbags obama obama immigration es undocumented immigrants guest workers 26 • Permalink

Sen. Rubio “If actually proposed, the president’s bill would be dead on arrival in Congress, leaving us with unsecured borders and a broken legal immigration system for years to come.”
Rep. Ryan “Leaking this out does set things in the wrong direction. By putting these details out without a guest worker program, without addressing future flow, by giving advantage to those who cut in front of the line…that tells us he’s looking for a partisan advantage and not a bipartisan solution.”
Sen. McCain “There are groups in the House and Senate working together to get this done. and when he does things like this, it makes it much more difficult to do that. And that’s why I think this particular move - very counterproductive.”
Sen. Paul “I will support it on one condition: That we have a report that says the borders are being secured … (it has to be) a report and comes back and is voted on in Congress. I won’t do it on a promise from President Obama, that he will secure the borders.” source

By the way, it’s worth noting that the bill is intended as a backup plan, in case members of Congress fail to come to a bipartisan solution on the issue.”We’re doing exactly what the president said we would do last month … which is we’re preparing. We’re going to be ready,” said White House Chief of staff Denis McDonough.

17:21 • 4 months ago

Syrian rebels continue to gain ground in their war against President Bashar al-Assad and those forces that remain loyal to the Assad regime.

Tags: Syria Syrian Conflict Syrian National Council Syrian Rebels Bashar al-Assad Damascus Taqba Dam Jobar grabbags sc 18 • Permalink

Taqba Dam The country’s largest dam has been seized by rebel forces, giving President Bashar al-Assad’s opposition control over the country’s largest source of hydro-electric power.
Damascus The Assad regime has been forced to send tanks to defend loyalist positions in the district of Jobar, in an attempt to halt rebel momentum, following a series of opposition victories which allowed the rebel forces to push closer towards the city’s center.
Next steps Negotiations finally appear to be considered a legitimate option by the Assad regime. According to the Syrian government, national reconciliation minister Ali Haidar will meet with the head of the Syrian National Council to discuss the country’s future. source

Top Marine general takes over in Afghanistan

Tags: marines afghan war afghanistan es Joseph Dunford John Allen International Security Assistance Force grabbags 9 • Permalink

what U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford has taken full command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and will shepherd the troops during what is to be expected to be the final two years of war. Dunford replaces departing Marine Gen. John Allen.
why “Today is not about change, it’s about continuity,” he said during a change of command ceremony. “I’ll endeavor to continue the momentum of the campaign and support the people of Afghanistan as they seize the opportunity for a brighter future.” Allen left months after finding himself the subject of an investigation related to the scandal that took down CIA head David Petreaus—his predecessor. source

17:39 • 4 months ago

10-year-old anti-terrorism legislation used for the first time in Washington D.C.

Tags: Politics Crime Family Research Council Floyd Lee Corkins Washington D.C. Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002 Terrorism Shooting grabbags sc 21 • Permalink

2002 Washington D.C. passes the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002 which establishes a number of terror-related crimes in the U.S. capital.
2012 Virginia resident Floyd Lee Corkins infamously enters the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington D.C. with several firearms, but is wrestled to the ground by building manager Leo Johnson before he could take a single life. He later claimed that his goal was to intimidate gay rights opponents, and he planned to smear Chick-fil-A sandwiches in the faces of potential victims.
2013 The law is used for the first time as Corkins pleads guilty to committing an act of terrorism while armed, interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition, and assault with intent to kill while armed. source

17:01 • 4 months ago

New figures for Felix Baumgartner’s record-setting “spacedive” have been released by Red Bull.

Tags: Red Bull Stratos Felix Baumgarnter Skydiving World Records grabbags sc 17 • Permalink

October 2012 Skydiver Felix Baumgartner took part in the now world-famous Red Bull Stratos “spacejump” which saw the 42-year-old daredevil set world records for the highest manned balloon flight and highest freefall.
February 2013 The Red Bull Stratos project released new figures which reveal that Baumgartner didn’t fall quite as far as previously believed (127,852.4 ft. instead of 128,100 ft.); however, Baumgartner apparently fell notably faster than previously reported. While it was originally believed that Felix reached a top speed of 833.9 mph, the Austrian actually reached a maximum speed of 843.6 mph. source

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