Reason Morning Links: Assassinations, Elections, and World Conquest

- Cash for Clunkers clunks to an end.

- Ted Kennedy wants to revise some rules to help his party pass its health care package.

- More information emerges about the CIA's work with Blackwater.

- Afghanistan's election sees a low turnout.

- America's largest Lutheran denomination may ordain sexually active gay priests.

- Everybody wants to rule the world.

Comments

[Tricky Prickears]

More information emerges about the CIA's work with Blackwater.

Killing innocent civilians, death squads, and now this?

But, but, but the are not a quasi-military force.

[ed]

Ted Kennedy wants to revise some rules to help his party pass its health care package

What's the Irish-Catholic equivalent of "chutzpah"?

[but but]

nothing about mexico decriminalizing a "personal" amount of drugs? ....for shame.... here's the linky
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP1GlMCOzYSi8kbAUY1lLDdqc4vAD9A763HO0

[FrBunny]

Most depressing part of the whole Kennedy piece:

Kennedy actually benefited from the former Massachusetts law. After his brother John won the presidency in 1960, a family friend was appointed to hold the seat until Edward Kennedy was old enough to run in a special election in 1962. He has served in the Senate ever since.

[de stijl]

America's largest Lutheran denomination may ordain sexually active gay priests.

Interesting things about Lutherans (my initial religious association - it didn't stick):

- They really like jello with weird shit like pineapple in it and super weak coffee.

- Martin Luther was kind of a stud for a religious type. Nail it, dude!

- Lutheranism is the predominant religion of Namibia. (I know! Get the fuck out of here!)

- Norwegians and Swedes don't really like each other very much.

- They're kind of johnny-came-latelies for the whole mainline Protestant gay clergy thing. Even though...

- My childhood pastor was pretty gay in retrospect. He didn't ooze it (he really couldn't be in early 70s small town Minnesota), but looking back he was kind of like a butchier Morrisey type.

- Confirmation classes (7th grade) turned me into an atheist. NT Jesus is fairly cool, but delusional. OT Jehovah is pretty much a straight up fucker.

[ed]

If Ole Teddy had simply resigned his seat several months ago, this point might by now be moot. Maybe they feared a Republican successor? In Massachusetts? Crazy.

[SugarFree]

Sugarlinks?

Venture Bros. Season 4 Preview

Doesn't she have to prove it is reasonable to assume that she isn't a skank for it to be libel? (With bonus "I'm all for free speech except...")

Balenced between confusion and a Pelosi. Seriously. WTF? NSFW or before lunch

[Jaes Sutter]

Wow, aint it the truth! Well said dude!

RT
http://www.web-tools.us.tc

[Teddy\'s da\' man!]

Even in his sunset years, this patrician, noblese-oblige, friend of the common man refuses to trust the working stiffs of Mass. to make the right call.

At least he's honest about what he really thinks....

[Nick]

If a "personal" amount of drugs is no big deal, why do we give a shit about the sellers of it? I fucking hate people.

[Xeones]

What's the Irish-Catholic equivalent of "chutzpah"?

It's called "whiskey."

[Ray LaHood = Dull life]

If Secretary Ray LaHood finds C4C "a thrill", what does that say about the content of his years?

When auto sales do the inverted bungee jump and snap back to earth, will that be "a thrill", too?

Why not continue the program indefinitely or expand it to other industries to keep the good times rolling?

[Nick]

From the Brickbats:

Surveillance video from a bar in Passaic, New Jersey, shows Ronnie Holloway standing at the curb when a police car pulls up. Shortly after that, Holloway unzips his sweatshirt. Holloway says one of the officers told him to. Then Officer Joseph Rios gets out of the car slams Holloway into the hood of the car and beats him with his fists and baton. Police later charged Holloway with wandering for the purpose of obtaining controlled substances, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

The revolution can't come soon enough.

[Hey, nature is our friend!]

Why's REASON trying to gin up fear of the natural world?

Everybody knows humans are the scourge of the planet!

The rest of the natural world co-exists in apeaceful, blissful balance.

[ed]

Teddy never cries.
But Kennedys die, they die.
All together: Bye!

[Nipplemancer]

SF - i thought it looked like henry waxman.

[cmace]

"...wandering for the purpose of obtaining controlled substances..."

Is that really a law?

[SugarFree]

i thought it looked like henry waxman.

I thought so too until I remembered that Waxman doesn't have a penis.

[ed]

It needs a pig nose. A pig nose would make it.

[jayjayhawker]

Thanks SugarFree,

Go Team Venture!

[James Ard]

Although I think religious leaders are almost always gay, I don't understand how supposedly bible believing Christians would even consider gay ministers. It's fun to watch the collapse of the mainline churches. Socialist whores.

[sage]

? More information emerges about the CIA's work with Blackwater.

From evolution we've been killing each other; I'm thinking man should have it down to a science.

[Amber Waves]

"Ted Kennedy wants to revise some rules to help his party pass its health care package"

That should read Ted Kennedy's staff. Currently, Ted Kennedy, the man, is a drooling, braindead idiot. But they'll keep him on life-support as long as they can.

Worse still is that he wants MA to change the law to enable the governer to appoint an interim senator as opposed to waiting 145 days for a special election.

What a piece of shit.

I say we do a Ted Kennedy death pool. I'm going with December 28, 2009.

[SugarFree]

I can't figure out where the "A-gauge (1cm-7.5cm) entry port" is.

And did you notice the weight? The "loner" model is 110 lbs, the "double wide" is 198!

[Amber Waves]

"Worse still is that he wants"

Correction: that should have read "Worse still his staff wants"

We regret the error.

[Tricky Prickears]

SugarFree

How the fuck do you ind this stuff?

[Tolkien]

Not all who wander are trying to obtain controlled substances.

[Amber Waves]

"he really couldn't be in early 70s small town Minnesota"

What town?

[jesse]

I want to rule the world.... is that bad? I would be a nice ruler, free cake for all!!! And boobies

[Tulpa]

West Virginia's venerable Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd also is seriously ill and frequently misses votes.

If St. Bede the Venerable were alive today, he'd be seriously pissed about his title being thrown around for the likes of Robert Byrd.

[SugarFree]

How the fuck do you find this stuff?

I go where people I don't like are complaining. Then it finds me.

It was part of a freakout on a feminist blog. As was this disturbing device. Again, NSFW

[jesse]

So feminists have their groups and blacks have their groups. What about white guys? Is there a WET station like the BET station? Is there a white history month? Is there a college for only white guys? And they say we are the racists

[de stijl]

"he really couldn't be in early 70s small town Minnesota"

What town?

Stillwater

[Amber Waves]

"Stillwater"

I was there in the early seventies and then again about 10 years ago. Sadly, it had changed for the worse.

[de stijl]

What about white guys? Is there a WET station like the BET station?

FOX News

Is there a white history month?

Every month except February (funny that February is the shortest month)

Is there a college for only white guys?

BYU

😉

[Jesse Walker]

So feminists have their groups and blacks have their groups. What about white guys? Is there a WET station like the BET station? Is there a white history month? Is there a college for only white guys? And they say we are the racists

This is a pretty tired complaint. There are plenty of men's groups out there, and the various white ethnic groups have numerous organizations of their own. If blacks had immigrated to America as volunteers rather than slaves, we'd probably see the Ibo, Zulu, Ashanti, etc. equivalents. Indeed, where blacks have immigrated voluntarily, they've founded Ethiopian, Jamaican, etc. organizations. But that wasn't an option for people whose families were forcibly ripped apart.

[Zeb]

"I don't understand how supposedly bible believing Christians would even consider gay ministers"

Why? Not all Christians are hateful fucks. There is a ton of stuff in the bible that people don't pay attention to.

[Johnny Longtorso]

It's fun to watch the collapse of the mainline churches. Socialist whores.

PCUSA official supports government-run health plan
http://layman.org/news.aspx?article=26247

Obama rallies 'Religious Left'
http://www.layman.org/news.aspx?article=26287

[jesse]

de

Thats not even close but nice try

[de stijl]

There is a ton of stuff in the bible that people don't pay attention to.

Like 99% of this.

[Mike Laursen]

de stijl's depiction of Lutherans is 110% accurate.

[de stijl]

jesse,

I wanted to use St. John's University instead of BYU, but that's a pretty regional reference.

Did you see the smiley at the bottom?

[James Ard]

Zeb, I have respect for believers that actually believe the whole deal. I don't think they are hateful, wrong probably, but not really hateful.

[Nick]

There is a ton of stuff in the bible that people don't pay attention to.

Most Christians have not read the bible. People think that God is as exactly as they would be if they were the ruler of the universe - they ignore the parts of the bible they don't agree with and chalk it up to "Jesus changed everything" or "it was written by people, but the gist of it is love your neighbor until he doesn't mow his lawn."

[Johnny Longtorso]

There is a ton of stuff in the bible that people don't pay attention to.

For the left, this includes the parts where David refuses to prove his dedication by making burnt offerings that cost him nothing (2 Samuel) - soak the rich, anyone? - and that bit in Luke where Jesus refused to make someone split an inheritance 'fairly' at the demand of a third party, because he didn't want to be a club to beat others into submission, even over finances. (That part is just before "consider the lilies of the field" if you're looking for it).

[jesse]

de

Sorry i didnt pick up on it at first, keep up the good work. Damn us racist whites

[J sub D]

The Detroit governance morning link -

Where did $13 million go? New questions about ex-Detroit police watchdog

Detroit taxpayers shelled out more than $13 million to a federal monitor over the past six years to clean up the troubled Police Department, but documents released Thursday fail to detail what residents got for their money.
...
Wood was forced to step down from her position in July when the judge overseeing the police reform effort concluded she had engaged in an improper personal relationship with ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

[DJF]

Instead of Massachusetts changing the law depending on whether or not the governor is Republican or Democrat, why not just have a law the only Democrats or even better only Kennedy's can be Senators

[P Brooks]

Dear Senator Kennedy,

Please die, you loathsome homunculus.

[J sub D]

"...wandering for the purpose of obtaining controlled substances..."

Is that really a law?

Of course it is. All LEOs now have mind reading abilities so they can easily discern excatly when walking is "wandering" and the reason someone is doing it.

[Amber Waves]

Report: Some Metro Gang Strike Force members seized property for personal use:

They were an elite unit charged with investigating gangs, but they often took cash from "suspects" never linked to gangs - and hauled seized property like big-screen TVs home for their own use.

If some Metro Gang Strike Force officers stopped someone with a lot of money, they "typically" seized it, said a report issued Thursday. And "these encounters almost always involved a person of color."

Of about 35 members, roughly 10 to 12 Metro Gang Strike Force employees engaged in misconduct and some in criminal acts, former federal prosecutor Andy Luger said.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_13168719

[Kolohe]

@11:01
I thought the Shield had finished its series run?

[Not a Libertarian but You Migh]

So Lutherans have priests?

[J sub D]

From Amber Wave's link

"I find it shocking and really unconscionable what has gone on with the Metro Gang Strike Force," said Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, chairman of a House public safety subcommittee. "All I can do is hope we are able to find out what went wrong and how this kind of behavior went on for such a long period of time before it was finally uncovered, so we have much better oversight to ensure that these task forces a re accountable and following procedures."

Who'd have thought that asset forfeiture laws would lead to this kind of abuse? Like Katrina beating the crap out of New Orleans, this was completely unforeseeable.

[J sub D]

Not trying to offend anyone, but Amber Waves would be a really good name for a porn actress.

😉

[T]

J sub D,

Ya think?

[Jesse Walker]

So Lutherans have priests?

I believe both "priest" and "pastor" are permissable terms in Lutheranism.

[Amber Waves]

"Ya think?"

I honestly had no idea. Wow!

[de stijl]

Amber Waves,

Please rent Boogie Nights. It's amazing (and really not very porny at all - Rated R).

The character Amber Waves has some very compelling scenes.

[Rhywun]

Lutheranism is the predominant religion of Namibia

Well, they didn't call it S?d-West Afrika in the colonial days for nothing.

+1 on Boogie Nights--one of the best movies of the 90s.

[han]

In examples that have just come to light,