Pfc. Bradley Manning’s Article 32 hearing, also being referred to as his pre-trial hearing, will begin on December 16 at Ft. Meade, Maryland. The hearing could potentially last until Friday, December 23.

An Article 32 hearing, according to the Defense Department, is “closely akin to the civilian grand jury investigation.” When the hearing closes, the “Article 32 officer” will make “a recommendation” on “the disposition of the charges.” Or, as David Dishneau of AP clearly and concisely puts it, “The proceeding is to determine whether the Army intelligence analyst will be court-martialed for allegedly leaking government secrets.”

In a surprise move, Paul Ryan found a Democratic partner to propose a new Medicare plan that does not fully privatize it, but instead keeps fee-for-service Medicare as an option alongside a premium support plan. This is the same proposal that the front-running Republican Presidential candidates have made.

And how much money are you getting from the SOPA lobby, Mel Watt?

A variety of links to articles/interviews on current topics that may, or may not, be of interest.

Just as they get ready to cheer for a government shut down they will simultaneously blame Obama and the Democrats for (like the latter group won’t cave anyway), FoxNews is making sure they get all their current dislikes out there right away. Next up, FoxNews reports Lowe’s signs an endorsement deal with Tim Tebow.

Leningrad Cowboys and Russian Red Army Choir — Those Were The Days.

Gaze upon their immaculate fur and happy expressions, and let all the cares of the day melt away. Woof!

Most politicians in South Carolina have a history of getting sexy (or dreaming of getting sexy) with one person or another, but it took current Governor Nikki Haley operating on a whole other level to screw both the Federal government and the citizens of her own state with hair-tossing, hip-thrusting wanton abandon.

Local NBC afflilate WJAR channel 10 hit Occupy Providence to get some reaction to Time Magazine’s Person of the year pick. The Occupy Supply gear was in full view during the NBC interview.

“Our elected-official targets are so amenable to our corrupting influence, we can accomplish what our clients want so quickly, that the hourly rate system is outmoded. Congresspersons are so eager to meet our demands, and in such record time, that the actual moments involved no longer accurately represent the value to our client. Going forward, we’ll take a percentage of the cash value to our clients instead. If we save a client one hundred million dollars in taxes over ten years, we’ll take ten percent. If we game the system so that our client earns that sum in one year, we’ll take our cut all at once.”