Reason Morning Links: Rifts, Riots, Ryan

• The president of the U.S. breaks with the president of Yemen.
• Big Media gang up to kill an app.
• Death threats hit Michigan's Mackinac Center.
• Afghanistan's Koran riots continue.
• BP wants to start drilling in the Gulf of Mexico again.
• A rift is revealed in the Libyan revolt.
• Rep. Paul Ryan will unveil a new spending plan tomorrow.
• Scientists identify five genes that increase the risk of Alzheimer's.
• Debunking "Facebook depression."

The latest from Reason.tv: "The Tea Party vs. John Boehner."

Comments

[J[o]hnny L[o]ngt[o]rs[o]]

Would 'The Golden Girls' Survive ObamaCare?

[Suki]

Reason makes the New York Times on how Steinbeck made up "Travels With Charley: In Search of America"

In the current issue of the libertarian monthly Reason, Bill Steigerwald, a former journalist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, writes that not only is the meeting with the actor made up, but on the evening in question, Oct. 12, Steinbeck wasn't anywhere near Alice. He was in Beach, N.D., more than 300 miles to the west, staying not in the camper but in a motel.

[Bear Grylls]

Hotel, outdoors, Alice, or Beach what's the big deal? Entertainment is entertainment, not reality

[affenkopf]

Would 'The Golden Girls' Survive ObamaCare?

Medicare is Obamacare for old people. There would be no difference for them.

[Fatty Bolger]

Untrue. Medicare floats on top of and is indirectly subsidized by private insurance. Take that away and Medicare changes drastically.

[J[o]hnny L[o]ngt[o]rs[o]]

Obama, Libya, and Me: A Followup (Drum wasn't making an April Fool's joke

Foreign Banks Tapped Fed's Secret Lifeline Most at Crisis Peak

[Almanian]

I think this commenter pretty well sums up The Drum Affair:

"What is ambiguous about 'I'd literally trust his judgment over my own?'"

Drum, you p'wned yourself.

[Warty]

I'm sorry, but when you take a single sentence out of a several hundred word post (plus an equally long follow-up) and use it to insist there's only one message to be taken away... Well, the only word I can think to describe such twisted rationalization is "Rovian." That's not generally considered a compliment.

You got totally super reverse counterpwnd, Almanian.

[Almanian]

Yeah, I saw that one, too.

Fucking Rovian!

[SugarFree]

Just because you have new bogeymen doesn't mean you have to let go of your old bogeymen.

[Mr Whipple???]

Foreign Banks Tapped Fed's Secret Lifeline Most at Crisis Peak

Zerohedge had a complete spreadsheet

http://www.zerohedge.com/artic.....-2008-2009

[DJF]

Can they really be called banks if they lend money when they do not have money? If they actually had money they would not need the FED to bail them out.

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

Fucking fractional reserve banking, why doesn't it work?

[DJF]

I think it has something to do with lending lots more money then you actually have.

[robc]

Ummm...they have the money. Otherwise the recipient of the loan would be receiving air.

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

Which is what happened, in substance.

[Citizen Nothing]

Here's the main takeaway:
Responding further usually just turns into a pissing match that accomplishes nothing.
Amen. That was always my philosophy when I was doing the column thing. I always responded to individual letters and e-mail, often at length, but can only remember one time when I answered criticism of a column in another column. Take the time to write what you mean the first time, dude.
-- but I also wonder if I would have changed my stand given today's world of Internet commenting/linking/blogging.

[Citizen Nothing]

Fuckin' nested comments, HDTW?
That was in response to l'affaire Drum.

[J[o]hnny L[o]ngt[o]rs[o]]

Wisconsin Unions Get Ugly

'Climate Change': the new Eugenics

[Lost_In_Translation]

Nice to see unions are living up to their movie portrayal. But seriously, how is a boycott from a soon to be extinct group gonna effect anyone. They waited to long to bring these local businesses in line. Poor planning.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

That's a nice business you've got there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it. Now, I'm not suggesting anything, but sometimes fires happen.

[Mr Whipple???]

Unions have always hated small businesses.

[Old Mexican]

[A] popular 50s environmentalist called Harrison Brown in a book called The Challenge of Man's Future (1954), discussing how to make the human species healthier:

"Thus we could sterilize or in other ways discourage the mating of the feeble-minded. We could go further and systematically attempt to prune from society, by prohibiting them from breeding, persons suffering from serious inheritable forms of physical defects, such as congenital deafness, dumbness, blindness, or absence of limbs."

Brown, you'll have gathered, was a keen eugenicist. Well, fine: so were lots of people back then, despite the setback their junk-science philosophy experienced with the end of Nazi Germany. But the point about Brown is that he was not just some ordinary bloke of no consequence: he was and is revered by many in the modern green movement as a key philosophical guru.

Enviros will take umbrage to the pointing out of their fascist roots.

[Brett L]

Its why I'm a skeptic. Any solution that starts with "kill a billion or more people who aren't like me" has mis-identified the problem.

[R C Dean]

I agree. Too many words. The problem can be identified and solved thusly:

kill a billion or more people who aren't like me

[Almanian]

Let me be clear - Johnny, there are those who say your obsession with the Golden Girls is disturbing. Good morning anyway!

[J[o]hnny L[o]ngt[o]rs[o]]

Those who say that lack imagination. There will be no place for them in my new world order. I'm in the process of building my temple now. A golden roof, with one Golden Girl at each corner. Three of them will have to be upsized to hold up my 4 story roof. Bea Authur will, of course, need no such artistic license.

The new national anthem: "Thank you for being a friend".

[cynical]

Friendship is magic!

[John]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

Richard Goldstone now admits his infamous report on war crimes in Gaza was a lie. No word from Andrew Sullivan and the other usful idiots who believed it.

[DJF]

What about the useful idiots who believed the original report was a lie and the new report is the truth?

[John]

You mean the people who knew the truth all along?

[Ice Nine]

"The allegations of intentionality by Israel were based on the deaths of and injuries to civilians in situations where our fact-finding mission had no evidence on which to draw any other reasonable conclusion."

"So we simply shit-canned the fundamental requirement for evidence. No problemo." A fine legal mind at work, there.

[Fluffy]

The Israeli government openly admitted that the operations in question were undertaken to "make Palestinians suffer".

The quasi-public debate in Israeli policy circles at the time was over how much suffering would be enough to accomplish the policy goal.

On that basis, I am entitled to view ANY AND ALL civilian casualties as intentional.

That's the price you pay when you openly state your policy aim in that way.

It's like when we openly state that we are going to engage in black operations to destabilize the government of Iran and to undermine their nuclear programme. After you say that, if an Iranian nuclear scientist gets hit by a bus, or if a bomb goes off somewhere in Iran, I get to say "CIA Black Op!" and you don't get to deny it. Want to be allowed to deny that something in some country is a black op? Don't have any black ops in that country. Or shut the fuck up.

[Fatty Bolger]

OK, then, using your logic: Every civilian death in Israel - EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM - must be caused by Palestinian terrorists. Want to be allowed to deny that something in some country is terrorism? Don't have any terrorists in that country. Or shut the fuck up.

[Fatty Bolger]

And a corrolary: Every single Israeli action is a valid and direct response to terrorism. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Want to be allowed to complain about Israeli attacks? Don't have any terrorists in Israel. Or shut the fuck up.

[Fluffy]

And a corrolary: Every single Israeli action is a valid and direct response to terrorism. EVERY SINGLE ONE.

Well, no, this doesn't follow at all.

There is nothing in my argument above that serves to inform you of the range of morally acceptable actions to take in response to a terror attack.

[Fluffy]

Actually, this is fair.

If a bus is driving down the street in Israel and aliens blow it up from space, anyone who sees it blow up and says, "Those damn Palestinians!" is not doing anything wrong.

Since the Palestinians routinely blow up Israeli buses, and have openly stated their intention to continue to do so, they don't get to complain if they get blamed when aliens blow up an Israeli bus.

When the Israelis say, "We are going to punish the residents of Gaza for supporting Hamas!" and then start military action, if someone says, "Israel caused these civilian casualties deliberately!" they just don't get to say, "You can't legally prove that we did that thing we just said we were trying to do! You need better proof than you've got here! Merely watching us say we want to hurt civilians and then watching us bomb civilians doesn't prove causality!"

When you tell me your intentions up front, you can blow me if you want to get me to accept some positivist argument about causality later. Hit the bricks, Hume baby.

[Ice Nine]

When the Israelis say, "We are going to punish the residents of Gaza for supporting Hamas!" and then start military action

You are under no obligation to provide a cite for that just like anyone who reads it is under no obligation to believe that Israel stated that as its reason for that military action. But you could if you wanted your argument to be convincing. Frankly, I don't believe it, having never heard of it and having just finished looking around unsuccessfully for corroboration. It looks to me like a personal interpretation with a healthy dose of extrapolation or exaggeration. My doubts likewise need not matter to you. It would though be interesting to know if your notion is true or not. C'mon, indulge a brother.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

The president of the U.S. breaks with the president of Yemen.

Four. Four Middle. Four Middle East Wars.

[John]

Yemen is the shit. There really are Al Quada running around Yemen.

[Lost_In_Translation]

...riding around Yemen...on camels

[Almanian]

That's just how they roll

[SugarFree]

Dey see me camelin', dey be hatin'.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Is there any way to ride a camel, other than dirty?

[db]

Afghanistan is technically outside of the traditional definition of the Middle East. I prefer to think of it as "Three land wars in Asia with a side of Africa."

[Alexander the Great's Ghost]

"Three land wars in Asia with a side of Africa."

Tasty!

[Pip]

Supersize them, please.

[Brett L]

Somewhere along the line, "never get involved in a land war in Asia" became "never get involved in one land war in Asia".

[Clich? Bandit]

wait a sec...is Death on the line? Are there any Sicilians? I am starting to get worried here.

Fezig, Are there rocks ahead?

[Vermont Gun Owner]

Don't worry, soon we'll fill in the gaps and it'll be back to just one.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Obama didn't bow deep enough for Saleh's liking?

[John]

Lefty vows to follow Obama anywhere.

So what should I think about this [i.e., the first six paragraphs of his post, in which Drum had listed Obama decisions that have surprised or disappointed Drum and his fellow lefties]? If it had been my call, I wouldn't have gone into Libya. But the reason I voted for Obama in 2008 is because I trust his judgment. And not in any merely abstract way, either: I mean that if he and I were in a room and disagreed about some issue on which I had any doubt at all, I'd literally trust his judgment over my own. I think he's smarter than me, better informed, better able to understand the consequences of his actions, and more farsighted. I voted for him because I trust his judgment, and I still do.

http://beldar.blogs.com/beldar.....eader.html

[Old Mexican]

Re: John,

Lefty vows to follow Obama anywhere

Like the girl from the Virgin mobile commercials...

[Fluffy]

I wouldn't quite follow her anywhere, but I would follow her quite a long distance.

[John]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

Chinese artist ai weiwei arrested. The Chicoms must be very nervous.

[John]

But we are told in the comments that

"The complete failure of the so-called jasmine revolution indicates that Chinese have awaken up to regard the Amercan idea of freedom, democracy and human right are just tools used by American to cause troubles in other countries for the benefits of America...China loves its people and gives them a lot of freedom but will harshly treat those who try to wreck the social harmony and abuse their freedom."

That is scary

[Lost_In_Translation]

Shorter message

"we're all one big happy stockholm syndromed family"

[Mr Whipple???]

Whenever I tried to "wreck the social harmony" of my family, my Dad would get out the belt. "BOY...."

[Adonisus]

I am absolutely convinced that the Chinese government pays certain people to comment on online news stories so as to make them look better.

[Almanian]

Re: Libyan rebel "rift" -

[Gheriani] said "This is the position of the council today. The situation is fluid. .?.?. The political viewpoints change frequently."

Shocker! Tune in tomorrow to see what The Council's position is!

PS Who could have FORESEEN something like this happening? I mean, really?

[Tim]

I'm gobsmacked.

[DJF]

I guess the US's glorious NATO allies were not ready for conducting a war on the weekend.

"""""NATO has asked the U.S. military to continue flying airstrike missions over Libya through Monday, extending the previously announced timeline for U.S. participation in that mission by two days"""

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2.....afi-holds/

[Brett L]

Just wait 'til they take the month of August off.

[Tim]

+ un

[Fluffy]

To be fair, you could say the same things about both the Obama administration and NATO.

[Almanian]

Let me be clear - there are those who say you are right. I am among them. That is all.

[mr simple]

protests across Afghanistan against the burning of a Koran by a militant fundamentalist Christian U.S. pastor

We want the preacher who burned the Holy Koran to get a severe punishment," said 20-year-old protester Jalil Ahmad. "He is not a human being, he is a brain-dead animal.

Science H. Reason, the fucking disconnect in these illogical, retarded animals is astounding. I don't care enough about the book burning to condemn it and the preacher has every right to express his free speech as he sees fit. The fact that Obama, Petraeus an every world leader or public voice is bending over backwards to renounce this act and kowtow to these backwards people is ridiculous. I hope everyone of these people that got violent over this incident dies from a horrible disease that would be easily curable in the west.

[Tim]

If they don't pacify the mob, people might start asking difficult questions like : " Why are we spending a trillion dollars to build them a country ?"

[Rich]

I had a similar discussion this weekend. Conclusion: Have a world-stage announcement detailing all the infrastructure improvements, schools, etc. that have been built, then pull out immediately and completely, spraying everything with pig blood.

[affenkopf]

: Have a world-stage announcement detailing all the infrastructure improvements, schools, etc. that have been built

Only if you subtract all the infrastructure improvements, schools, etc. from it.

[affenkopf]

Only if you subtract all the infrastructure improvements, schools, etc. *that have been destroyed* from it.

[R C Dean]

You seem to be under the impression that the destruction of roads and schools in Afghanistan was conducted by the US, not the Taliban.

[DJF]

More from the forgotten war in Afghanistan

"""""Afghan Policeman in Northwest Shoots Dead Two U.S. Soldiers"""

http://www.businessweek.com/ne.....diers.html

[Tim]

Maybe we could just leave and NOT tell anybody. Would that be easier?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

the preacher has every right to express his free speech as he sees fit.

True. And he also should expect the easily foreseeable and well-known repercussions from his actions.

BTW, where is the line drawn between "speech" and "actions"? That's one aspect of the SCOTUS First Amendment jurisprudence that has bugged me for a long time. SCOTUS generally treats "expressive acts" - i.e., actions that someone performed to express a general feeling or viewpoint about something - as "speech." This "pastor" (I use the term loosely and only because that's what he calls himself) performed an act - he set a book on fire. Is that "speech"? And if so, what does it say?

Like the infamous flag burning case of Texas v. Johnson, in which C. J. Rhenquist in his dissent wrote, it is little more than "an inarticulate grunt or roar."

I'm mostly just sort of ruminating out loud here. Sure, free speech, say and do what you want, etc., as long as it does not interfere with someone else's rights, but also know the reactions your speech or actions might elicit in your targets - which seems exactly what stunts like this are meant to do - i.e., elicit a response. Basically pot-stirring.

[Fatty Bolger]

It's speech, unless he burned somebody else's book.

Free speech is all about pot-stirring. Or did you think the point of the 1st Amendment was to protect the right to say something that everybody already agrees with?

[Citizen Nothing]

I favor motherhood, apple pie and cute bunnies! See, the First Amendment works!

[mr simple]

But bunnies are unclean! Bah! You and anyone I feel is similar to you shall be punished!

*goes into murderous rage*

[mr simple]

But why are violent, murder filled riots an acceptable response to the burning of a book? It was just a stupid publicity stunt that should be treated as such and roundly ignored. He didn't break any laws. Our leaders shouldn't be condemning him just because people got pissed off, they should be condemning the people who's overreaction is to murder people. Condemning the preacher to appease the crazies is cowardly and insinuates that there is cause for their actions.

[Mr. FIFY]

Burn a Bible, and Christians will get really pissed and maybe even write a scathing letter to the local newspaper.

Burn the Koran, and people get beheaded.

Yeah, that's equitable.

[mad libertarian guy]

The burning of the Koran was NOT done i isolation; it was the ending to a mock trial which condemned the Koran.

If that isn't speech, nothing is.

[mad libertarian guy]

You ain't lyin'.

It amuses me when "we" feel the need to excoriate our own freedoms in order to spread them.

Fuck off Obama. Fuck off Petraeus. Instead of apologizing for a backwoods pastor's exercising of his god given rights, why don't you start apologizing for DROPPING FUCKING BOMBS ON THEM.

[Ice Nine]

In one of the calls to the Mackinac Center, the caller said, "Scotty Walker is dead. So are you. We know where you live." She then recited the center's address and said, "We are coming to destroy you."

Civility, We hardly knew ye.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Killed in its infancy. I blame post partem depression.

[Ice Nine]

I blame Dem Party depression.

[Trespassers W]

I blame the Tea Party. Glenn Beck might as well have made the calls himself.

[JohnD]

Well, aren't you the fool. Sounds like Tony.

[Fatty Bolger]

Pretty sure that's sarcasm.

[Trespassers W]

It was sarcasm.

[Almanian]

I blame Bush

[Facebook Depression]

(meekly raises hand and sobs quietly)

[Tim]

What'd we tell you guys about shooting in the air?

(from the link)
The strike, which killed 13 rebels and injured seven, illustrated the hazards of conducting an aerial bombing campaign against a fluid and fast moving front line. Several cars and an ambulance were also incinerated, and opposition leaders said rebels may have been responsible for the bombing because they had fired their guns into the air in celebration.

[waffles]

No, you told me I'd shoot my eye out. Nothing about shooting in the air. But this is indicative of why Libya has distant odds of being any sort of unparalleled success. It will become increasingly difficult to tell the sides apart. And what is to prevent rebels from commiting atrocities of their own?

[Rich]

The United States, which long supported ____________ president, even in the face of recent widespread protests, has now quietly shifted positions and has concluded that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms and must be eased out of office

Fill in the blank.

Also, awesome set of links this morning, Jesse.

[Barack Obama]

Let me be clear.

I know what you're thinking, but you can stop it right now.

[John]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/.....e.accuser/

Duke Lacrosse rape accuser arrested for stabbing her boyfriend.

[Ice Nine]

And she was so genteel up to this point...

[Rich]

Given the name Crystal Mangum, she was obviously destined to go down this path.

[Ice Nine]

To become a fellating meth head?

[Crack Urbaryl]

fellating meth head

Nice band name.

[Mike M.]

The Durham Dirtbag strikes again, huh? What a piece of work that whackjob is.

[Restoras]

Gee, what a shock.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

Why would anyone date her after this?

[Mr Whipple???]

I came across this, over the weekend.

America's true reason for attacking Libya becomes clear with new central bank

http://www.examiner.com/financ.....t=31429431

[Rich]

Interesting. But I thought the rebels are "the good guys".

[John]

http://thehill.com/blogs/hilli.....egislation

This is a fucking kick in the nuts.

[Arrrrr Crumb]

Fucking receiving stolen goods, how does it work?

[Old Mexican]

Ideas (and bits) are not goods, asshole. You can't "steal" ideas just like you can't steal sunshine.

[Arrrrr Crumb]

Then you won't mind me putting my beach umbrella ... HERE!!

[Old Mexican]

Put it wherever you want. If you put it in my lawn, you will be shot.

There's a difference between PROPERTY (rivalrous, exclusive) and faux property invented by the government, or what you would call "IP."

[Pip]

I spend 15 years developing the cure for cancer and the moment I make it public, some fuck like you just snatches it up saying, "This isn't yours it's community property."

OM, you are a fucking communist.

[generic Brand]

That's not what he said at all. How would it be any different than taking the drug you make and reverse engineering it to produce it himself?

It's a feature of non-free markets to encourage IP protectionism. "Well, I have a good idea, but I am afraid of having to innovate on it beyond the first trial, so I claim IP rights and you can't have it. Nah-nah-nuh-nah nah."

[Pip]

I stand by my assesment.

[Pip]

I spend 15 years developing the cure for cancer amassing a big pile of gold and the moment I make it public, some fuck like you just snatches it up saying, "This isn't yours it's community property."

OM, you are a fucking communist.

[cynical]

In an IP-based system, it's at least a fair criticism. In a society without IP protection, you wouldn't bother doing it for reasons of profiting from IP rights in the first place. You might keep it a secret and start a chain of specialty cancer-treatment hospitals. You might just do it for the prestige, if you were wealthy or had philanthropic patrons. But you would have no reason to feel cheated if someone copied your work, because you knew the score going in.

[Nick]

Here we go again. Wheeeeeee!

[Fluffy]

This discussion gets tedious after a while, but honestly the concept of ownership of land is much more absurd than the concept of ownership of IP.

What could you possibly do to morally deserve the ownership of unimproved land? Nothing. It's black magic. It's NECESSARY black magic, in a Hobbesian sort of way, but it's still black magic.

I can understand morally why Keith Richards owns I Can't Get No Satisfaction and I don't very easily. He wrote it; I didn't. Understanding morally why the state of Vermont owns the parks and I can't chop down wood on them is much more difficult and requires a much higher number of assumptions, buy-ins and compromises.

[robc]

Im not sure what "own" even means in terms of IP.

Keith Richards will always be the author of I Can't Get No Satisfaction, even after it moves into public domain, just like Willie Shake is still the author of MacBeth and Mark Twain is the author of Huck Finn (well, the version with "nigger" in it).

I dont think that is controversial at all.

If I play Satisfaction on my guitar in public, do I owe Mick 9 cents? That is the question. It doesnt seem obvious to me at all that I should. If I dont commit fraud and claim to be the author, then Mick is getting 100% of what he deserves -- credit.

[robc]

And yes, I managed to switch between Keith and Mick in the same post without realizing it.

Whichever.

[Billy Shakespeare]

"... just like Willie Shake is still the author of MacBeth...."

I prefer to be called "Billy."

I banged out Macbeth on an old Apple IIe, back in the day.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

At least to me, part of ownership implies use of/access to a scarce (eg finite) resource.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You can't "steal" ideas just like you can't steal sunshine.

Len disagrees. (Try getting that out of your head after a few minutes of it.)

[SugarFree]

Ah, Go... a simpler time, when Katie wasn't in a cult, raves weren't played out as cultural shorthand, and Timothy Olyphant didn't walk like he has a garden rake taped to his spine.

[Brett L]

Tim is pretty much rehabilitating Kentucky's image single-handedly with Justified. Although, I'm pretty sure the KY Atty General used scenes from the oxy bus episode to spice up his editorial in the Orlando Sun-Sentinel in favor of the pill database.

[SugarFree]

I'm not going to demand that they film here, but they could do a better job keeping palm trees out of shots.

[robc]

I dont know why they dont shoot here. cost of living in Pi(k)vul has got to be cheaper than Hollywood.

[Brett L]

18 weeks/year spent in KY? 🙂

[robc]

I spend about 50 a year in KY. I dont see the problem.

[Brett L]

A little gentle teasing. I spend 45 in North Florida, whose only redeeming value is being 1.5 hours from some awesome beaches.

[mad libertarian guy]

I love Justified, but do have serious problems with the whole "everyone in KY who hasn't been "saved" by the federal government is the least sophisticated and most ignorant person you will have ever met" meme they have going.

Favorite line (Boyd while in an interview with 2 Feebs): "Now I know you have an investigation to conduct, but if you disrespect Ava one more time, I'm gonna come across this table."

[capitol l]

Remember when life was so simple that we had to make up stuff to worry about, like eating disorders.

Could you imagine that today, watching the news and seeing "WAR, ISLAMISTS, NO JOBS, REVOLUTION, NO JOBS, rich bitch doesn't like to eat, YOUR HOUSE IS WORTHLESS, NO JOBS..."

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Dawson's Creek wasn't a cult? How can you explain Van Der Beek otherwise? You can't.

[SugarFree]

"AH DON'T WANT YOOR LIFE!"

[T Hee]

Try getting that out of your head after a few minutes of it.

Or this!

[Fist of Etiquette]

You think I don't have that url memorized? No click.

[capitol l]

I only listen to that song on Friday; it gets me pumped for the weekend.

[capitol l]

The supporters of the legislation don't even go through the trouble of making up realistic statistics.

They assert that online piracy in America costs 100's of billions of dollars and millions of jobs. Really?

"Last year illegal downloads of camcordered versions of Rush Hour 7: Fuck It, We've Make Another One cost American companies a reported $72 billion, industry analysts say."

[Brett L]

Hell the RIAA made a bid for $75T against LimeWire. At what point to judges and juries start to catch on to the scam? Oh, wait, I know why they're sponsoring this law.

[Old Mexican]

Re: capitol I,

They assert that online piracy in America costs 100's of billions of dollars and millions of jobs. Really?

Externalities!!

[capitol l]

There are also assertions that despite the language of the bill allowing for internet censorship that it won't happen because that is not the intention of the new law.

I believe there is a RC'Z law covering this.

[R C Dean]

Tut, tut. Cap L.

There is one RC'z Law: Typos frequently make a post funnier/more insightful.

There are a handful of Iron Laws, including:

Foreseeable consequences are not unintended.

[capitol l]

Now I'm not some fancy big city lawyer who knows all of these "laws", I am just a simple country attorney* who knows what's right...

*paid spokesperson, not an actual attorney

[R C Dean]

You think I keep track of all these laws personally? No way. I have people for that.

[Vermont Gun Owner]

Now I may be just be a simple country Hyper-Chicken from a backwoods asteroid...

[Fatty Bolger]

We don't have time for this shit right now.

So naturally it's a priority for Congress.

[Rich]

rebels may have been responsible for the bombing because they had fired their guns into the air in celebration

Just as I had surmised! Seriously, what is it with that (ammo-wasting, life-endangering) shooting into the air stuff? Is it "an Arab thing"?

[John]

Yes it is an Arab thing. The night after they captured Usay and Ebay or whatever the fuck Saddams murderous spawn were named, they killed like 25 people in Baghdad from falling bullets.

[Brett L]

I think its a "people not formally schooled in physics" thing. Some of the immigrant neighborhoods in Houston used to experience a couple injuries a year from reckless discharge. I think a couple generations of having huge percentages of males in well gun disciplined armed services have driven it out of the American culture, but that's more a function of the draft than any inherent cultural superiority.

[waffles]

Well, we have stupid people with guns here too, just not a densely packed. Second day at the range, saw someone try to one-hand a 50cal revolver. They hit the rail about 3 feet out and showered everyone nearby with little bits of shrapnel. I was behind the glass, fortunately. The illusion that everyone is fastidious about safety has been throughly shattered.

[Ahmed]

You mean the bullets don't go all the way to heaven and turn into virgins?

[Pip]

" or whatever the fuck Saddams murderous spawn were named"

Bacon and Spareribs Hussien if memory serves.

[Marshall Gill]

they killed like 25 people in Baghdad from falling bullets.

I don't think so. Mythbusters did a show where they fired several guns into the air and determined that the bullets didn't fall with enough velocity to kill, can't remember if they thought that they could injure or not. A bullet is too light when compared with it's wind resistance to achieve a deadly velocity.

[Karl]

If it's fired straight up, then the bullet will reach terminal velocity on the way down and not kill someone. However, normally when shooting in the air, people don't shoot directly up but at some angle. In that situation, the bullet can remain on a ballistic trajectory and that will kill you when it comes down.
-K

[The Dan]

Hatcher's Notebook covered this too.

[Mongo]

Anybody go outside at midnight on New Year's? I live in a large city, and you can hear the reports of gunfire going off in the 'hoods!

When I'm with friends, I tell them about the plans to go outside and listen to the gunfire, as nearly everyone's inside --it's the dead-of-winter where I live -- when the countdown hits midnight and can't hear it.

I did it this past New Year's, but we stepped outside into a raging blizzard and didn't hear anything...

[Ice Nine]

It is a see-how-big-my-dick-is thang.

[Ralphie's Mother]

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

[Latin American rebels]

(whistlintg) uh, si, senor, it is an Arab thing only....

[Ska]

I got an email from the WSJ about Obama putting up his first 2012 reelection ad on his website. Thought it would be worth mentioning.

[Barack Obama]

Let me be clear.

[Ska]

Alright buddy, next time don't hide behind a line of orange text!

[SugarFree]

Our favorite impotent male feminist is back.

The Damaging Expectation Of Higher Male Desire

[Rich]

It's hard to hear one's own "still, small voice" of longing if you've been raised to be a people pleaser!

Good stuff! Hey, 'fess up, SF -- you ghostwrite for Jezebel, don't you?

[SugarFree]

I wish. I keep submitting articles under the name Lisa-Ann Smithworth, but they never get back to me. 🙁

[Jordan Elliot]

We demand to see snippets of these submissions.

[SugarFree]

Joke, dude. If I was going to write of any of the gawker blogs, it'd be io9... but since the main qualifications for working there are to be a) a woman and b) completely ignorant of science fiction beyond Dr. Who and its spin-offs, I guess I'm SOL.

[Brett L]

You've got the hypen in the wrong place. They probably think you're some GRITS faux feminist.

[SugarFree]

The hyphen is a symbol of patriarchal demi-oppression. Lisa-Ann kept her own name, thankyouverymuch.

[Warty]

ZemarSea Urchin Fri 01 Apr 2011 2:12 PM
Just do what I do, guilt him into fornicating with you. Make sad face, then in a soft quiet voice tell him how rejected you feel. He should drop his pants in no time.
Now if this doesn't work because he has a headache, or is tired, or stressed, or whatever flimsy excuse he throws your way then tell him he owes you. And owes you BIG! Then make him buy you ice cream. After which complain that all this ice cream in lieu of sex is making your jeans tight. Trust me ladies, one way or the other he'll jump when he's told.

A fat virgin pretending not to be either is a sad thing.

[mr simple]

I don't know how you make it through most of these articles. Also, have these women considered that maybe they're just not that good at it?

[Fatty Bolger]

This is fairly common, but only for a relatively short time. Lifetimes are spent in the reverse situation, but the couple of years where a woman might want slightly more sex than the man is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT!

[Lost_In_Translation]

So women really just need to pay it forward more?

[Old Mexican]

Scientists identify five genes that increase the risk of Alzheimer's.

And quickly forgot where they put them...

[Jordan Elliot]

:clapping: Well done.

[J[o]hnny L[o]ngt[o]rs[o]]

Part of the problem is that the American distrust of intellectualism

List of health reform waivers keeps growing

[Old Mexican]

Intellectuals killed by the millions in the 20th century, and it actually takes the sophisticated training of "education" to work yourself up into a state where you refuse to count that in the books.

Intellectualoids don't like it when they're reminded of the fact that Pol Pot was an intellectual. And Goebbels. And Allende. And Mussolini...

Fortunately for US, the "Greatest Literary Genius Of All Time" is not.

[Old Mexican]

Death threats hit Michigan's Mackinac Center.

"Spokesman Michael Jahr told the Free Press that the calls appeared to come from one or two women and made repeated references to 'The Rachel Maddow Show' on MSNBC."

Two BURLY women.... they have to be clear about it.

[DJF]

"BURLY woman" with crew cuts

[Old Mexican]

Afghanistan's Koran riots continue.

They take their hypocrisy very seriously over there...

(Seriously, they can defile churches and kill Christians with impunity but when one asshole burns a book, they get outraged.)

[Rich]

OM, careful with the "a book" cavalierness -- you *know* how they get.

[Brett L]

Obviously the anti-flag-burning side didn't kill enough innocents in their campaigns during the late 80s.

[Old Mexican]

Re: Brett L,

Obviously the anti-flag-burning side didn't kill enough innocents in their campaigns during the late 80s.

Indeed, as Da Press does not seem to like pussies. They always go ga-ga for the killer types: Comms, Revolutionists, Islamists, and "Intellectuals."

[Muhammad]

Burn away. It's okay. I shit out a new one evey 15 seconds.

[Plate-O]

Don't forget the leader of the Taliban dynamiting the Bamian Buddha. I think that resulted in thousands of Buddhists having selfish feelings of vengeance for a couple of days.

[Mongo]

I gave my Buddhist girlfriend a great deal of crap over her forgiving response to that incident.

[Old Mexican]

BP wants to start drilling in the Gulf of Mexico again.

In other news, people are going to work this morning, because that is what they do, also.

[Old Mexican]

The president of the U.S. breaks with the president of Yemen.

He texted the Yemeni president that they were no longer BFF.

[Old Mexican]

Debunking "Facebook depression."

Finally. Somebody had to debunk it, so I would not feel depressed about the issue!

[Mongo]

Ol' Mex is on a roll!

[Warty]

I must break socialism

The story about the Xerox is awesome.

[kinnath]

Thank you for that link.

[R C Dean]

The administration's pattern in the Mideast continues:

If you are a US ally with protests, you will be the first to be disowned.

If you are a strategically insignificant regime with protests, you are at risk of being bombed.

If you are an enemy of the US that is actively engaged in supporting terrorism and attacking US troops and their allies, we won't say a fucking word about your protests. Well, maybe something supportive of the regime.

[Brett L]

The US is setting up a scenario where the regime in Saudi Arabia has no choice but to acquire nuclear weapons.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Luckily they don't need to develop nukes, they can just purchase them on the open market with their amount of onhand cash.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Bullshit. We ain't said shit about Bahrain, Saudi Arabia or Jordan. Some allies are worth more than others. Its just realpolitik in action.

As for not criticizing Iran, Syria and other assholes for how they're treating their people, how many times can you repeat your distaste for their regime before you're blue in the face? Everyone knows we're not happy with the way they run their country. but they're on the in crowd, so we're not gonna mess with shit. Lybia pissed off everyone locally so that's why the UN felt safe enough to intervene.

Granted, one would think we're a bit busy in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Hopey McChangealot probably thinks we can just call time out there to throw some more bombs on north africa.

[R C Dean]

As for not criticizing Iran, Syria and other assholes for how they're treating their people, how many times can you repeat your distaste for their regime before you're blue in the face?

Once would be nice.

We ain't said shit about Bahrain, Saudi Arabia or Jordan.

I didn't say it was automatic.

I was just pointing out the common threads in our miscellany of responses, and now they seem to not align with our national interests.

[RyanXXX]

The American government has condemned the Iranians a million times over, including for their treatment of protesters.

Also, there is the possibility that America and Israel don't want the Iranian protesters to win. The "Green Movement" would still want to acquire nuclear energy, meaning they would still be a problem for Israel

[Dongo Monog]

Wow, kinda crazy when you think about it.

http://www.anon-tools.no.tc

[Mongo]

We're related.

[Gus]

WHITE CITY, Ore. (AP) ? Cynthia Willis calls up and down the firing range to be sure everyone knows she is shooting, squares up in a two-handed stance with her Walther P-22 automatic pistol and fires off a clip in rapid succession.

Willis is not only packing a concealed handgun permit in her wallet, she also has a medical marijuana card. That combination has led the local sheriff to try to take her gun permit away.

She is part of what is considered the first major court case in the country to consider whether guns and marijuana can legally mix. The sheriffs of Washington and Jackson counties say no. But Willis and three co-plaintiffs have won in state court twice, with the state's rights to regulate concealed weapons trumping federal gun control law in each decision.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04.....z1IZ9Wd7Lq

[Chupacabra]

I wonder if she has a permit to drink beer, too?

[RyanXXX]

Two scenarios should be enough to keep people up at night:

-One, if Yemen's president stepping down (which seems inevitable without American support) leads to political chaos in that country, Al Qaeda will assert itself even more and could very well use it as a base. Then you will hear calls for American intervention. Maybe things will go like they did in Egypt, but maybe they won't.

-Bahrain looks like it could be the beginnings of a coming Saudi-Iranian war. Which might actually be a good thing - who knows.