Just a quick correction ... when you say "... my great^50000 grandfather was an ape" ... what you actually meant to say was that you and an ape in the zoo share a common ancestor some 50000 generations ago. You're great^50000 grandfather *wasn't* an ape, and neither was a modern ape an ape, but you both do share a common simian-type ancestor from which our two species diverged. But based on your rationale and well-composed point, I suspect you already know this. Just correcting for the less knowledgeable among the readers. [Thank you, science Nazi will now step down.]

My bad ... that roll was http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll192.xml as cited above. Tired. But he still abstained.

No he did NOT do the former ... he abstained today. You're confusing today's vote with the 2011 bill and vote. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll073.xml

Thank you for clarifying good sir. Or madam. Or cat.

Oh yes we do. Herr Harper has his own agenda of paternalistic nonsense brewing. Sending government spokespeople to monitor Federally employed scientists at climate change conferences to make sure they don't say anything that might be, you know, true. Believing the tar sands are actually made of oil and are completely an utterly non-polluting during the extraction and distillation processes. Denying climate change. Opening friendly relations with Burma on the pretext of their "slow road to democracy" when it's really about that country's decent mineral wealth. Thinking evolution's a bit wrong. Completely f-ing up the purchase of F35 fighters by knowingly hiding their true cost of ownership. At least he's terrified of the abortion issue being re-opened ... not because he's pro-choice, but simply that whatever position he'd be forced to take would wipe his political career out. Harper would love love love to emulate the "best" aspects of controlling everything said and done ... you know, because father knows best.

To become a Law in your country, doesn't a Bill first have to pass both legislative bodies with a 66% vote? It failed to pass the House with this required % because of the 15 non-voting folks so there's no real way it can become a Law, is there? Please correct my US government "how-it-works"-fu if I'm mistaken.

Ah, the mighty and breathless media not understanding (again) that reserves != recoverable. There's a lot of water on the planet but not much of it is actually drinkable or in a form available to drink. Furthermore, the process to remove said shale "gas" involves seismic activity and a nasty, nasty (and highly secret) brew of toxic chemicals.

... portrays, in ghastly purples and yellows, Lisa Simpson giving head.

Once again, OpenStreetMap highlights that Clayton Christensen's idea's about how low-end disruptive innovation works seem to hold true. (I, too, have also used Duck Duck Go for almost a year now.)

Me? I drive with my right hand on the loop-style yoke, and the left one on the throttle. Though I do need to shift the left to the yoke and the right to the gear lever after takeoff for a few seconds in the Hawker Hurricane I see myself flying in my daydreams while I'm driving.