Reason Morning Links: GM Has an IPO, Pelosi Reelected to Lead Dems, Bailout for Ireland

• GM set for massive IPO.
• Nobel Peace Prize ceremony may be cancelled because recipient Liu Xiaobo and his wife can't escape Chinese custody to claim it.
• Nancy Pelosi elected as Dems' House Minority Leader.
• Ireland to get an EU bailout.
• First Gitmo detainee tried in civilian court acquitted on 280 of 281 charges.
• NATO rep says troops may remain in Afghanistan well beyond 2015.

Comments

[The Taxpayer]

Huh? I thought I already owned GM!

[Johnny Longtorso]

MIT's Dr. Richard Lindzen's 48-page Congressional Testimony: 'Increase in CO2 will lead to very little warming' -- 'Data is being analyzed with aim of supporting, rather than testing models'
...'Incontrovertibility' belongs to religion where it is referred to as dogma...Cicerone [of NAS] is saying that regardless of evidence the answer is predetermined. If gov't wants carbon control, that is the answer that the Academies will provide...We should stop accepting term, 'skeptic.' Skepticism implies doubts about a plausible proposition. Current warming alarm hardly represents a plausible proposition.'...

[Corduroy]

I was wondering when we'd hear from Lindzen again.

[pancakes]

The denialist scum is getting cocky and pushy. Must suck to be a slave to your corporate masters, huh?

[R C Dean]

The denialist AGW scum is getting cocky and pushy. Must suck to be a slave to your corporate State masters, huh?

Works for me.

[waffles]

I always thought AGW was just an attempt to create some kind of new secular religion. Everything points that way, now more than ever. Simply an infectious cult where the priests wear lab coats.

[DanD]

Climatologists only wear lab coats for their twice-daily photo-ops. Nothing about sitting in front of a supercomputer guessing at the right number for unknown climate system inputs requires a lab coat.

[waffles]

yeah, it's an image thing right? Lab coats lend credibility, heck pharmacy techs wear them.

[Rich]

I'd wear a Reason lab coat.

[MNG]

"I'd wear a Reason lab coat."

That's a black leather jacket dude.

[T]

Hell, I have one for when I play mad scientist in the garage. They're pretty cheap.

[Anonymous Tipster]

You don't happen to have a dog, do you?

[cynical]

They give you +5 to Science and Medicine, though.

[Timon19]

Have you been in computer labs much? It's usually colder than a witch's tit in one. Lab coats are a quick solution to shitty (human) climate control.

[MNG]

Yeah, because most religions begin through the diverse work of hundreds of scientists in various fields and nations.

I don't doubt that a lot of people might take scientific findings to use as part of their goofy "back to nature" philosophies, but the reason AGW finds so much support in people like me is because we think the group I just described probably knows more about what is going on here than a much smaller number of experts that disagree and a large number of amateurs with admitted ideological axes to grind.

[wylie]

Yeah, because most religions begin through the diverse work of hundreds of scientists scholars in various fields and nations.

Yeah, pretty much. The terminology has changed, but the result is awful similar.

[MNG]

I see, you don't think climate scientists are real scientists. You've discerned what their scientific colleagues in a variety of more traditional fields seem to have somehow missed on this point.

But more importantly I'm curious as to your denial strategy for all the more traditional fields (geologists, paleontologists, biologists, ecologists, ethologists, oceanographers,etc) that have reported findings consistent with and attributed to AGW?

[wylie]

your denial strategy

Sorry, I think you've mistaken me for someone who isn't a lazy fuck.

[waffles]

But MNG, the end of world scenarios in the book of revelations and an inconvenient truth are shockingly similar to me. Both groups are saying REPENT! They just have different ideas for how to reform the masses.

The overblown AGW rhetoric truly did a disservice to the real scientists that did real research. Their work got hijacked by doomsayers and snake oil salesmen.

[MNG]

I agree that alarmists are not helpful in any area, and that there are AGW alarmists. I don't reject the work of non-alarmists because of it though.

[Citizen Nothing]

We'll miss you, MNG, come the climate-Rapture.

[Corduroy]

Lindzen is offering facts and climate physics as an alternative to models, so I would much rather hear a rebuttal to his presentation than anything about a consensus.

[Shorter MNG]

Teh "consensus" is alls we gots!

[Johnny Longtorso]

Consensus = a small group of co-conspirators siting each other's work + a bunch of other people going along to get along

[MNG]

I find it more likely that folks like you with an ideological axe to grind regarding AGW are selective in your analysis and going along than that the thousands of scientists from various nations and organizations who have concluded AGW is happening are just being massively misled by a small cabal.

[Fuck!]

Most, if not all, funded by governments and environmental groups. No conflict of interest there though.

Governments don't really want to rule over their citizens everyday life and tax the fuck out of them, they really just want to save the world. AL Gore, the BBC et al really doesn't want to make billions in carbon trading, they just want to save the planet "for the children" of course. And of course climate 'scientist' have no bias for justifying their grants and funding in order to keep a paycheck coming, they just want to "save the planet" based on garbage in/garbage out computer modeling that belies the very definition of the scientific method.

IMO, Shexmus summed it up best:

One of the things that surprised me the most when I first dipped my toes into the climate debate several months ago was the dogmatic devotion of the AGW faithful. Indeed, the whole AGW movement stinks like a crusade.

1- The gods (Scientists)
2- The sacred texts (IPCC reports)
3- We are all sinners (Our carbon footprint)
4- We must repent (Stop using fossil fuels)
5- The end of the world is nigh! (the looming climate catastrophe)
6- The four horsemen of the Apocalypse (War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Identical to the ones AGW believers scare people with)

The common enemy of humanity is man. In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill.

from 'the First Global Revolution' by the Club of Rome, 1991 Pantheon Books

Global Warming now resembles a religion much more than a science. It even comes complete with an initial Eden-like rainforest, Mankind's fall from grace through the Original Sin of enjoying fruits from the Tree of Knowledge (the industrial revolution) and a great flood sent to destroy Mankind for our evil industry.

Making large donations to the high priests of the UN-IPCC, can wash away our collective guilt. Mankind may be saved from the apocalyptic wrath of AGW - but we must repent and change our sinful ways.

Only with a religion could you have so many of the Global Warming apocalyptic stories and "science" discredited, and yet still have true believers continuing to keep the faith.

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." -Frederic Bastiat

[MNG]

I doubt you or I have enough education and experience to know if Lindzen if offering correct "facts and climate physics" or the findings that undergird the consensus I mention is more correct and/or accounts for and answers Lindzen's points. The sad fact is that in a highly specialized society it is more safe to assume experts in relevant fields are correct than to have amateurs playing armchair scientists try to dice this out. But hey, I'm humble like that. If you think you can do a better job than people with ten times the background than you on difficult questions, then knock yourself out dude.

[Johnny Longtorso]

Shorter MNG:

Humility = a willingness to reorganize all of human society and the entire economy due to the belief he is absolutely right.

[MNG]

Acknowleding the experts are likely correct that AGW is a reality and accepting any given plan for redressing the problem are two different things. And it's not based on me being right, but on experts being right.

[Corduroy]

In other words, picking sides is more convenient than doing the homework.

[Minge]

The sad fact is that in a highly specialized society it is more safe to assume experts in relevant fields are correct than to have amateurs playing armchair scientists try to dice this out, unless we're talking about BPA in plastic bottles. But hey, I'm humble a hack like that.

[MNG]

I have not said that we can conclude BPA is harmful, I just said the consensus on BPA being harmless, as offered in that Stossel article, was weaker than the consensus on AGW. The only action I supported on BPA was labeling.

[mad libertarian guy]

Or genetically modified crops.

[nekoxgirl]

I don't know what those "hundreds of scientists in various fields and nations" have been looking at because all you need are the skills to read a line graph to see the current warming trend ain't no thing to be concerned about:

http://jonova.s3.amazonaws.com.....000-r..png

[Johnny Longtorso]

Anyone else get a predatory smile on their face after reading that the HR staff was included in the attack?

Angry Mob Of Workers Beat Their Boss To Death With Iron Rods To Protest Layoffs
A group of up to 400 workers in India allegedly used iron rods and heavy factory equipment to beat an auto company executive to death on the weekend, the Indian Express reports....

He and two other senior managers had to be hospitalized and some members of the HR staff were also attacked....

[Anarcho-libertarian]

Anyone else get a predatory smile on their face?

Oh yes. Class hate is fundamental to our cause.

[Johnny Longtorso]

Not fundamental to our cause, just entertaining.

[T]

As anyone who has dealt with most corporate HR departments can tell you, sometimes hate is justified.

[Johnny Longtorso]

California Suggests Suicide; Texas Asks: Can I Lend You a Knife?

[Johnny Longtorso]

...A vast difference in economic performance is driving the demographic shifts. Since 1998, California's economy has not produced a single new net job, notes economist John Husing. Public employment has swelled, but private jobs have declined. Critically, as Texas grew its middle-income jobs by 16%, one of the highest rates in the nation, California, at 2.1% growth, ranked near the bottom. In the year ending September, Texas accounted for roughly half of all the new jobs created in the country. ...

[waffles]

That article is awesome. California is an epic tragedy of the commons.

[Michael Ejercito]

This shows what happens when 1960's radicals gain political power.

[Pope Jimbo]

Is this new Sheriff Joe stuff?

I so hope he gets caught for $80M in fiscal mismanagement.

[TrickyVic]

""
If the Sheriff's Office is found to have spent the money on patrol, immigration sweeps, administrative costs or other expenses, county officials believe the money legally would require repayment.""

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizo.....z15eF89CWC

How much do tents, pink jumpsuits and balony sandwiches cost? If Joes has to pay the money back, what will he cut in his department? His jail operations are barebones.

[Cy Nicklefuque]

Afghanistan could experience "eye-watering" levels of violence after foreign combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan in four years' time, the Nato representative in Kabul warned today.

As opposed to the "mouth-watering" levels it experiences now?

Good thing it had those elections.

[Joe M]

This was linked yesterday, but in case anyone missed it:

Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget

[waffles]

"savings from tax increases" makes my head hurt.

[waffles]

oh but it's not all bad. that game was fun, it makes fixing the budget seem easy, cutting stuff is fun! Why can't real life be like this?

[Joe M]

Media Matters was bitching that the game is biased towards the rich and against tax cuts.

[Corduroy]

When are they not bitching about that?

[generic Brand]

+1 hahaha

[VoteMuslimNoPork]

Hey, I solved the deficit! That wasn't so hard. Fucking politicians make it seem impossible.

[Joe M]

Yeah, it's very possible to cover the deficit just through spending cuts.

What's scary, though, is that those cuts would only bring the budget down to, what, about $3 trillion per year?

[Finchy]

"Each box represents $1 billion"

I think I'm going to cry.

[Joe M]

For anyone that trades stocks, shorting GM after the hubbub dies down might be a pretty good idea.

[DanD]

Made a killing off of shorting Tesla Motors. Now I'm ready to do the same with GM 😀

[Corduroy]

What? You don't have confidence in GM's current valuation?

[Joe M]

Ha, call me a contrarian.

[P B]

.... or smart!

[Economics Teacher]

Officials said that Ms. Pelosi defeated Representative Heath Shuler of North Carolina in an internal party vote, 150 to 43.

Shuler? Shuler? Shuler?

[Kolohe]

Hey, that's a better winning percentage than he had his first year as a Redskin's starter.

[SugarFree]

In case you forgot... finding Asian women attractive is racist.

[Jasmine]

it was likely posted under the heading "interests" rather than the field's new title, "What I enjoy doing," which renders the dating preference even cruder.

He brew it.

[Cecil]

I thought not finding fat women attractive was sexist? I can't keep track.

[John]

Something about dorky white guys and Asian women. I had a friend in college who was a gorgeous Chinese woman. She said the men she met that had Asian fetishes were usually on the level of Ed Garvin Male Prostitute.

[Pro Libertate]

Fred Garvin, John. Dan Aykroyd is going to be sending you a note. . .delivered by Land Shark.

[John]

Good catch.

[Land Shark]

"Candygram!"

[Pro Libertate]

Uncle Larry, is that you?

[Pope Jimbo]

What about dorks like me? I met a Korean woman during a dorm mixer at Memphis State and ended up marrying her. I don't think I have a asian fetish (she was the only asian I ever dated).

Am I a fetishist in denial? Truth be told, being a fetishist sounds much better than race traitor.

[John]

You don't count. You met a woman who happened to be Asian and fell in love with her. That is not what I am talking about. I am talking about a certain kind of white guy who only like Asian women.

[Michael Ejercito]

I am talking about a certain kind of white guy who only like Asian women.

How many such white guys exist?

[John]

More than you think. Talk to an attractive Asian women sometime.

[generic Brand]

Are men attracted to her because she's Asian though or because she's attractive?

I just taught English in Japan for a year, and I was appalled with how many DWGs had Asian girlfriends/wives. Yeah, there were some cute Asians over there (I typically found visiting Koreans more attractive than Japanese girls), but because just about all of them were Asian it usually made me appreciate "foreign" girls more, even if they were substandard to who I would be attracted to in the U.S.

[Michael Ejercito]

I just taught English in Japan for a year, and I was appalled with how many DWGs had Asian girlfriends/wives.

It should hardly be surprising that a lot of DWG's in Japan would have Asian girlfriends.

[SugarFree]

I don't have exactly numbers, but I'm pretty sure the dorky-white-guy to asian-girl-willing-to-date-DWG is about 5,000 to 1.

[SugarFree]

Please mentally insert the word "ratio" where appropriate in my preceding post.

[Abdul]

I don't have exactly numbers, but I'm pretty sure the dorky-white-guy to asian-girl-willing-to-date-DWG is about 5,000 to 1.

Another former ex-pat in asia here, and those numbers completely flip flop in Asia. Asian chicks in Asia love DWG's.

Conversely, white women are almost never attracted to Asian guys when living in Asia.

[Michael Ejercito]

Conversely, white women are almost never attracted to Asian guys when living in Asia.

I wonder why.

Another former ex-pat in asia here, and those numbers completely flip flop in Asia. Asian chicks in Asia love DWG's.

I wonder why.

[Oso Politico]

Latinas - my fetish is Latinas...

[generic Brand]

THIS I will agree with. To me it seems that Latina women age the best, i.e. look the best when older. This is excluding women who get a lot of plastic surgery when they get older.

[Slut Bunwalla]

And if they're wise, too...well, that just takes the cake!

[Pope Jimbo]

Dammit John, I do count!

Sorry, my sarcasm didn't come through very well in my previous comment.

I think that another class of DWG is DMG (Dorky Military Guy) who is posted to Okinawa/Subic/Atsugi etc who gets a way hot girlfriend because they want to move to the States (Land of Big PX).

I know a lot of those guys.

I still want to be known as a fetishist, though, it is my only chance to be something other than a DWG. (Maybe I could be a Libertarian fetishist, is there such a thing?)

[John]

Ok ok ok, you do count.

[waffles]

why can't you be both? I went to a techy/geeky school that is nearly 40% asian, you could hardly be called a fetishist or race traitor for being unwilling to narrow your already small dating pool.

[robc]

Some say "race traitor", I would respond with "hybrid vigor".

[Pope Jimbo]

I actually call The Spawn my little Hapas (hawaiian for mixed race offspring).

[Rich]

Hey, where is Suki?

[MNG]

"Hey, where is Suki?"

Safely contained in John T's head along with Napoleon and Jesus.

[Bingo]

+lol

[Suki]

You really are one weird queer aren't you.

[cynical]

And being gay is sexist.

[Steve]

I turned down a gay (black) friend and instead married the (black) girl he introduced me to. I guess I am a RacistSexistHomophope after all!

OH, the humanity!

[Mike Laursen]

Is it OK if you are Asian? Of course, a lot of Asian guys I know have a thing for blondes.

[Pope Jimbo]

When I was stationed in Okinawa there were 3-4 tall, blond, attractive WM's (women Marines) who got in trouble because they were making a lot of money on the side as escorts for local Okinawan businessmen.

The scuttle butt I heard was that they weren't providing anything sexual, but the businessmen thought it was the ultimate status symbol to have a amazon blond sit next to them and pour them drinks.

The gals only got in trouble because they were making so much that they didn't even bother to cash in their checks from the USMC. The discrepancy started an investigation.

I don't even think they were brought up on charges, but were just rotated back home early.

[Oso Politico]

You know the president of N. Korea?

[MNG]

GOP Congressman's Appeal to Ultimate Authority on Climate Change

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44958.html

[skeptic]

Religion vs. Religion

Nothing like a good holy war.

[MNG]

Cause appeal to the Bible and appeal to pronouncements of scientific organizations on matters of science are equally fallacious!

Lord help us from people who take a logic course as their gen ed requirement and think they know wtf they are talking about in that area...

[Joe M]

Now now, you'd have a fair point if what you said were true, but we all know that environmentalism has all the trappings of religion at this stage.

[MNG]

Again, you'd be wise to separate environmentalism as a political movement and the work of scientists which they seize upon.

[cynical]

Sure, just like we should separate religious fundamentalists who deny evolution and the intelligent design promoters whose works they seize upon.

[generic Brand]

There is scientific evidence to back up a lot of what is in the Bible. Read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel; it explains in journalistic detail--the old nitty gritty kind not the new Nancy Grace kind--how the Bible is accurate in a lot of what it says.

I find that some things are still a little questionable, but being willing to admit that is far more than one could say about AGW proponents.

[Steve]

God can't be proven in a test tube; He cannot be disproven either.

[The troops]

NATO rep says troops may remain in Afghanistan well beyond 2015.

I see my light come shining
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released

[Clueless voter]

Thank god that President Obama is antiwar and commander in chief. He won't let the war drag on that long.

[Barack Obama]

How many Nobel Peace Prizes have you been awarded, sucker?

[Barack Obama]

Nyaah, nyaah. Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Peace Prize.

[J sub D]

Nyaah, nyaah. Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Peace Prize.

[John McCain]

Suck it, beyotch!

[MNG]

I think the current tally of House seats lost for the Dems is 61. Well, of course she deserves her job back, she's not finished the job there's still many Dem congressperson's left!

[spambot]

Insanity is repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results.

[John]

If they fired Pelosi they would have to admit they perhaps did something wrong the last two years besides not tell the country in strong enough terms how awesome they are.

If you post election rationalization is that you only lost because you were not liberal enough, why would you fire Pelosi? It is an interesting case of mass denial.

[MNG]

No, you could fall back on the official "it was the messaging" story and say "we need new messengers."

[John]

Good point. I honestly can't figure it out. Does Pelosi have naked pictures of all of them. It is not even like she is a nice person. I could see hanging with someone who was like Tip O'Neil or Dennis Hassert, who was considered a really kind and decent person. You could say that it was just a big wave and wasn't their fault. But Pelosi is really nasty. I don't get it.

[MNG]

Why don't they just say "hey, we aer losing America, we need a different face for the brand since what sells in San Fran doesn't sell well across the land." I thought this when Dukkakis and Kerry were nominated, is Mass representative of the nation? Then why pick someone who has excelled there to do so?

I think Pelosi was chosen because 1. they did not want to remove the "first woman speaker" (for similar reasons they can't replace Obama in 2012) and 2. she has a powerful funding and contacts network.

[Michael Ejercito]

I think Pelosi was chosen because 1. they did not want to remove the "first woman speaker" (for similar reasons they can't replace Obama in 2012) and 2. she has a powerful funding and contacts network.

I suspect the latter, mostly.

[Pro Libertate]

That's actually what I thought they'd do. In everything else, the story is not getting the message across to those dense voters.

Here, for what appears to be some entirely irrational reason, they're taking a massive liability, wrapping it around their collective necks, and jumping off the boat.

It just doesn't make sense, unless the DNC is actually being run by Karl Rove or something.

[cynical]

"The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies"

[cynical]

Or that may be a paraphrase, but it's close enough.

[Slut Bunwalla]

Of course, when they say "we didn't do a good enough job getting our message across", what they really mean is "the American people are too stupid to understand how AMAZING our plans are".

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, isn't it nice being held in that much contempt? Makes me want to run out and vote for the idiots.

No worse combination that ignorance and arrogance.

[Pro Libertate]

Than ignorance and arrogance.

[Fuck!]

I think what they really mean is that the MSM failed them and need to step it up like the MSM did for Obama in 2008.

[Fuck the Police]

Officer fined $185 for speeding in crash that paralyzed boy
By: Hayley Peterson
Examiner Staff
November 17, 2010 A Montgomery County police officer who hit and paralyzed a Clarksburg boy with his cruiser received a $185 speeding ticket and is now canvassing neighborhoods that show spikes in crime.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Luis Jovel Jr. is a quadriplegic with permanent brain damage who needs around-the-clock medical care for the smallest of tasks, including eating and getting dressed.

State officials won't say whether Officer Jason Cokinos was disciplined following the April 2008 incident in Clarksburg.

"Personnel information is subject to [state] confidentiality laws," said Patricia Via, who represented Montgomery County in the Jovel family's civil lawsuit against the county and Cokinos.

Cokinos' case qualified under the state's confidentiality laws once the county police department's internal affairs division became involved, said Lt. Paul Starks, spokesman for Montgomery police.

"When the case is referred to the Internal Affairs Division, it's considered a personnel matter," he said.

Cokinos, who was 23 at the time, was speeding at 56 miles an hour in a 30-mile-an-hour zone when he struck Luis -- who was crossing Springtown Road in front of his home.

Seven months later in November, a Montgomery County District Court judge found Cokinos not guilty of negligent driving or contributing to an accident.

Cokinos then pleaded guilty to driving 26 miles-per-hour over the limit and he paid a $185 fine, including a $25 court fee.

A police investigation concluded that the boy would not have been hit had Cokinos been traveling at the speed limit, however.

The county will pay the Jovel family $400,000 in damages. The amount of damages the family could request was limited to $200,00 per case by a state law that restricts the legal liability of local governments.

Cokinos was traveling to an off-duty job when he struck Jovel.

http://www.washingtonexaminer......z15e20GerK

[MNG]

Jesus this is infuriating...

[John]

It is but the court did rule he wasn't negligent. Suppose the kid really did just dart out without looking. And he would have hit him no matter what. Yeah, he was speeding, but who hasn't done that. It wasn't a school zone. 56 is really fast, but it is not like it was a hundred. It is a terrible tragedy. But I am not sure that this is as outrageous as any of the other 30 cop stories a day that get posed on here.

[Joe M]

You must've missed this part:

A police investigation concluded that the boy would not have been hit had Cokinos been traveling at the speed limit, however.

[John]

Then he should be up for manslaughter. Never mind. Fuck him. I hope the family hunts him down and they are finding pieces of him all over Montgomery County for the next five years.

[Joe M]

Well except the kid didn't actually die, his life was just completely destroyed. I don't know if that would qualify as attempted manslaughter, but I know it's worse than a fucking traffic ticket.

[Michael Ejercito]

The boy's injuries is nothing cyborgization a la RoboCop can not fix.

[Joe M]

At least, it should be considered something like reckless endangerment or assault with a deadly weapon.

[Timon19]

Isn't there something called "vehicular assault"?

[MNG]

" a state law that restricts the legal liability of local governments."

Tort reform?

[Joe M]

It doesn't matter, because those suits are paid out of the general fund, i.e., by taxpayers. It still doesn't punish the asshole that actually committed the crime.

[Michael Ejercito]

Why has not the neurological damage to the boy been repaired, like in that movie RoboCop (1987)?

Surely twenty-first century A.D. neurologists ought to be better able to fix these kind of injuries than twenty-first century B.C. witch

[Michael Ejercito]

...witch doctors.

[Slut Bunwalla]

If he wasn't even on duty when the incident occurred, why are the taxpayers being made to pay for this? Shouldn't the officer be personally liable?

[Michael Ejercito]

Or at least his insurance company.

[Abdul]

That was my thought, unless he was using his police cruiser to go to/from work?

[Slut Bunwalla]

"Cokinos was traveling to an off-duty job when he struck Jovel."

[cynical]

You know, it occurs to me that since police officers essentially don't answer to any law short of cold-blooded murder on tape, the most straightforward approach to achieving libertopia would be to make every citizen a police officer.

Is this doable? We can sell it to the left as a socialist measure, since we'd all get police salary and benefits too.

[Shorter cyn-drome]

When everyone's superlegal, no one will be.

[John]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....3414.shtml

"I'm wildly excited that I can walk through a machine instead of getting my dose of love pats," Sen. McCaskill said."

I just want to thank the people of the state of Missouri for voting that dumb bitch out of office.

[The Traveling Public?]

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said ... TSA was in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation

OK, then. Don't.

[J sub D]

+1

[aaron]

Um, they didn't.

[aaron]

That's referring to her being voted out of office, not damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[John]

That is right. it was Carnahan who got whacked.

[State of Mo]

You're welcome. Had to wait till the election, ya know. How about the Carnahan mistake, too?

[Angel]

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV): "There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: 'Out. Off. End. Goodbye.' It would be a big favor to political discourse; our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and more importantly, in their future."

http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....waves.html

[MNG]

"There's a little bug inside of me"

I would not have figured the Rockefellers as part of the vaccine deniers crowd...

[David Icke]

Bug is a euphemism for reptilian.

[SugarFree]

Fake doctor jailed for giving breast exams in bars

The suspect's gender is unclear. Idaho court records show that Ross was arrested for petty theft in the spring and that the arrest warrant was issued to a Kristoffer Jon Ross.

The Idaho Statesman website reported that Ross has a previous criminal record as a man but identifies herself as a woman and was booked into Ada County Jail as a female.

[Super Duper]

The joke's on Berlyn Aussieahshowna. Those weren't real breasts!

[Joe M]

So her crime is practicing medicine without a license? LMAO

[waffles]

you can go to jail for that? what kind of moron consents to a breast exam in a bar? I fail to see a victim here.

[Joe M]

Seriously. Isn't that like a cliched pickup line at this point?

[Mokers]

I guess the Female Boobie Inspector shirt worked for at least one person.

[Professional Critic]

I hope the State Bikini Inspector board doesn't come after me then...

[Abdul]

Shit, next thing you know, you'll need a license to give mustache rides.

[J sub D]

"This is a tragic wake-up call to the Obama Administration to immediately abandon its ill-advised plan to try Guant?namo terrorists" in federal civilian courts, said Representative Peter King, Republican of New York. "We must treat them as wartime enemies and try them in military commissions at Guant?namo."

IOW, Rep. Peter King asserts that trial by jury does not produce justice.

He may be right but not for the reasons he thinks. See numerous Radley Balko posts on cop trials to understand where I'm coming from.

[John]

That is the problem with trying these guys in court. An essential feature of a civilian justice system is that guilty people sometimes go free. People feel so strongly about terrorism, they will never tolerate a guilty terrorist going free. You can't conduct a traditional criminal trial in that environment. You wind up destroying the entire system by having trials with pre-determined outcomes. And once you do that for terrorism, there is no stopping the government from using that precedent on every other crime.

[Hugh Akston]

People feel pretty strong about rape and murder too, but they manage to conduct civilized criminal trials for those crimes.

[NoVAHockey]

I think people don't think those crimes will happen to them, while a terrorist attack is imminent. I have friends in upstate new york who won't visit me in the DC area b/c of terrorism.

[John]

Not the same thing. People don't feel strongly about conspiracy to commit murder or rape. It is only after the act that people get riled up. Terrorism is different. People will not tolerate a system where every terrorist gets a free act of terror before they are prosecuted. They want them caught and locked up before they do it. That can be difficult in a normal court. And "too bad that is how it works" isn't an answer. People will not take that as an answer. And they won't take "we wanted to prosecute him but we couldn't get the witnesses from Yemen and the evidentary chain was fucked up by the Saudi secret police". That is reality. Libertarians don't like it. But it is what it is. And if we don't figure out how to live in that reality, terrorism prosecutions are going to wipe out our justice system. Because once the precedent is set in one case, it will be applied to every other case.

[TrickyVic]

""People will not tolerate a system where every terrorist gets a free act of terror before they are prosecuted.""

You mean people who are labeled terrorist must be guilty before they commit a terrorist act?

Besides the guys was found guilty of supporting terrorism and faces a max of life in prison. But because it wasn't a kangaroo court willing to convict on all counts, somehow justice wasn't served.

[VoteMuslimNoPork]

So since we can't prove people are terrorists and because Americans hold a slightly bloated fear of bearded mooslim people, we have to hold all suspected terrorists (whatever that means) indefinitely. Got Ya. But why stop there, why not just let Obeezy pop a couple shots in a terrorist's turban?

[John]

If you note that is what we are doing. Rather than capturing them, we are just shooting them in the field. Makes things easier that way.

We will kill them or capture them and lock them up forever. But we are not going to give them a trial and let them go if they are acquitted. That may suck, but that is the way it is. Pretending otherwise is about as effective as jerking off. Sure it feels good but it doesn't mean a whole lot to anyone but you.

[VoteMuslimNoPork]

I love how you gloss over the whole "We Can't Prove Shit" aspect of your argument.

It's okay to kill them, because since we have simply accused them of being terrorists, that automatically makes them worthless. Fuck a due process.

[John]

Knowing it and proving it in court with the rules of evidence are two different things. We can know a guy is who he is but because hearsay exclusions or the inability to get witnesses to testify in open court be unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

We whack people every day in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Do you think we are giving them trials? That is the reality of what is going on. Pretending otherwise is just jerking off, which is what a lot of libertarians like to do.

[TrickyVic]

""Knowing it and proving it in court with the rules of evidence are two different things.""

Sure, but knowing and believing are two seperate things also.

We knew Saddam was hiding undeclared WMDs, right?

[TrickyVic]

Besides, when the government says we know it's true, do you really trust them?

[VoteMuslimNoPork]

Q:When does a Muslim cease being a Muslim and transform into a terrorist unworthy of due process?

A:When the US levies an accusation against him.

[.]

When does the US levy that accusation against him....and why? Just because he's a Muslim? I don't think it's that simple.

[John Thacker]

Civilized criminal trials of rape and murder that occurs in a war zone? Not usually, they don't.

By standard civilized standards of trials and criminal requirements, the Nuremberg trials were a travesty of justice. I'm not sure there was an alternative, but it was probably better to make them "special" than have them in normal courts.

[TrickyVic]

""An essential feature of a civilian justice system is that guilty people sometimes go free.""

How do you know the guy was guilty?

[VoteMuslimNoPork]

Cause he's a Mooslim.

[TrickyVic]

""An essential feature of a civilian justice system is that guilty people sometimes go free.""

How do you know the guy was guilty?

[cynical]

No, he's just saying that the legal system doesn't work* if you aren't allowed to introduce evidence obtained through torture. Nothing that would fundamentally threaten liberty or anything.

*Produce the guilty verdicts the government wants.

[R C Dean]

It will be hoo-larious when Obama winds up having the terrists tried by military commission in Gitmo after all.

One of the first things he did in office, like on the first or second day, was to close down the military commissions in Gitmo, even though they were already processing cases.

Not sure when "we must provide due process" began to mean "we must delay trials by years."

[wylie]

Not sure when "we must provide due process" began to mean "we must delay trials by years."

What was the quote the other day, something like "All Gov't is good at is killing people and long lines"? So, they can either execute the guys or put them in a long line.

[Virginia]

The Irish government has stressed it does not need to borrow money for public spending until into next year.

But it has a gaping budget deficit and will shortly announce another severe round of spending cuts and possible tax rises to plug the gap.

My [limited] understanding is the bailout of Ireland is not a done deal and that Irish taxpayers would rather default than bail out Euro and American creditors. Something similar to an Iceland revolt and not a Greece bendover.

[A Heartbroken Irishman]

Of course they would.

Problem is, Iceland was protected by an ocean. If Ireland told European bankers that if they want their money they can come get it, British troops could be in the streets of Dublin in two hours.

That, mind you, might be too obvious a "normalization." EU banks could simply deny credit to Irish importers of food and fuel at any price, as well as the Irish government. The 26 Counties could face months of food and fuel shortages (Ireland has no oil and little coal), and it wouldn't be long before unpaid police and army units disbanded themselves or mutinied, rendering the 26 Counties ungovernable. The arrival of EU "peacekeepers," when they finally arrived to restore order, would be seen as an act of mercy.

Best case scenario Ireland is doomed to crushing taxes and mass emigration of skilled labourers for years to come while French and German bankers feast on her capital stock. Worst case scenario is the liquidation of the Republic of Ireland as we know it.

Rev. Ian "God Hates Teigs" Paisley called in his maiden speech for a re-unification of the UK and troubled Ireland under the British crown. The old bastard must spend every free moment laughing until he pukes.

[Kant]

They do have good nat. gas production at least. That can supply power at a minimum.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Here's one ala Balko:

Cop is speeding 56 in a 30 mph zone and hits a 14 year-old boy who was crossing the street in front of his house. The kid gets permanent brain damage and is a quadraplegic who requires around-the-clock medical care and assistance for every little task.

A police investigation concluded that the boy would not have been hit had the officer been traveling at the speed limit.

The county will pay the family $400,000 in damages.

The cop got a $185 speeding ticket and is back on the job.

And the beat goes on...

[Ska]

Dude, you're an hour late.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Well dammit, man, I'm supposed to be working here! You can't expect me to keep up with everything posted at Reason and also get some actual paying work done.

Sigh.

Well anyhow, see my next one. Unless of course someone beat me to that too.

[nekoxgirl]

Speaking on behalf of the police departments that aren't completely corrupt, one in my area (I live in NC) just fired an office after he was going 60 in a 35 and hit a car pulling out into the intersection. The guy in the other car wasn't injured but they fired the cop anyway because he was just coming back from his lunch break and had no reason to be speeding.

Is it just me or does it seem like that police departments in "blue states" tend to be the most corrupt? Recently all the stories of cops arresting people for filming them, putting change in expired meters, stopping children from selling cupcakes, using SWAT teams for no apparent reason, etc. seem to be coming out of the Northeast, Upper Mid-west or West coast.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

And another:

NYC Cops arrest seven guys for playing chess in a park.

You just can't make this shit up.

[Pip]

Covered yesterday.

[Pip]

BTW, you need to find a less demanding line of work.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Well shit, then. I'll just sit over here and try to actually get some work done.

In the immortal words of Emily Litella: "Nevermind."

[Joe M]

RTFB man. Set up an RSS feed and scan the titles.

[smartass sob]

Palin says she thinks she could beat Obama in presidential election.

There! Hear that sound? It was the proverbial shit hitting the proverbial fan! She's got spunk, I'll give her that. 😉

[Tom Friedman]

Time will tell. I can tell you one thing, we will certainly beat the collection of losers the Republican establishment is going to roll out in 2012. Cristie or Rubio are the only two Republicans that would even stand a chance against her the primaries. And I doubt either of them runs.

Watch her win and chose Gary Johnson as her running mate leaving no doubt that God really does hate Libertarians.

[Ted S.]

Would Gary Johnson accept?

[John]

I think he would. Johnson is an out of work politician right now. Being a national ticket is a sure path to political relevance win or lose. And if he won, he would be in a much stronger position to run for President in the future. Johnson is still a young guy for politics.

And any libertarian who wouldn't be happy with an open libertarian like Johnson ever on the junior end of major party ticket, doesn't want to win anything.

[cynical]

But wouldn't a veep that sounds more competent than the president boost his chances at the presidency?

[P Brooks]

You don't have confidence in GM's current valuation?

Earlier this morning, on Bloomberg (CNBC has been shamelessly pumping this deal like a penny stock broker in a polyester suit and toupee), they pointed out that GM's CFO says their accounting systems are completely fucked.

[John]

The media does seem to be doing everything it can to lend GM a helping hand aren't they?

[Joe M]

Obviously, it's crucial to try to pump this scam, to preserve the illusion that somehow nationalization was a good idea.

[J sub D]

Nothing on the write-in candidate, Lisa Murkowski* winning/retaining a Senate seat? It's the first time that's happened since the Eisenhower administration and an Alaskan voter slap in the face to Sarah Palin.

* Murkowski is an awfully easy Polack name to spell. I went to school with a kid named Zaryczny.** The entire elementary school class would wait breathlessly for the substitute teacher to attempt the last name of the roll.

** Zar-ZEE-nee.

[smartass sob]

When I served on a submarine many years ago we just refered to all such persons as Ski. Musta had at least three in the black gang alone. 😉

[T]

In the army, we used to refer to guys with long/complicated/foreign names as Alphabet.

[smartass sob]

You misunderstand - we liked the guys. 🙂

[robc]

I went to school with a Chrzczon.

One sub refused to believe his name was spelled correctly on the sheet.

[Ted S.]

If he pronounced it Zar-ZEE-nee, he wasn't pronoucing it in the Polish way, as the cz is a dead giveaway for a "ch" as in "chair" sound.

[Cuddly Soft Balls of Death]

If there's anyone that Alaskan conservatives hate more than Lisa, it's Sarah. Add that to the squishy-cons, plus full-on support from all the Anchorage media, it's not surprising that Miller lost.

[P Brooks]

Meanwhile, S Ratner, the Genius Architect of GM's return to glory, is settling a small matter with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Some silly little thing about kickbacks, or bribery. You know, an honest mistake. It could happen to anybody, and it just shows he's dedicated to getting the deal done.

[Joe M]

Re: The brickbat from today about "To Kill a Mockingbird"

There's a follow-up article (Panel OKs 'Mockingbird' ), with this horrifying gem of a quote:

Carue Davis, a guidance counselor at Matanzas, said the novel is "a wonderful piece of material" that should be read with guidance from a teacher. Yet the audience could misunderstand the work if not prepared to watch it, she said.

Heaven forbid that someone actually is allowed to think about something on their own, without proper guidance. This is what is being taught in school these days. Literally, no independent thinking.

[Abdul]

Yet the audience could misunderstand the work if not prepared to watch it, she said.

My whole problem with this sentence is that the little bastards should be reading books, not watching movies based on books. That's why it's teaching and not guided film criticism.

[P Brooks]

"Carue Davis, a guidance counselor at Matanzas, said the novel Constitution is "a wonderful piece of material" that should be read with guidance from a teacher."

Because we don't want the children to learn, you know, the "wrong lesson" from it.

[????? ??????]

Thanks