Reason Morning Links: Shutdown Countdown Edition

• Still no budget.
• David Prosser is back ahead in Wisconsin's judicial race.
• The Department of Justice releases a report on the New Black Panther case.
• Study: On average, master's degrees don't improve teacher performance.
• Arizona passes a law allowing guns on campuses.
• Thomas Friedman's favorite film clichés.
• Now online: FBI files on UFOs, cattle mutilators, and the Notorious B.I.G.

The latest from Reason.tv: "The Growing Libertarian Youth Movement."

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Arizona passes a law allowing guns on campuses.

But those laws were the only thing stopping gunmen from entering campuses!

[MNG]

Well, I'm pretty sure some people have been stopped and removed from campuses on the grounds of carrying a gun before such a law passes. Conservative political scientist James Q. Wilson has written about how much police use gun laws to make arrests, if the carrying were legal then no arrest.

Of course the number of people who were doing nothing but exercising their 2nd Amendment rights in carrying who were harrassed was not discussed iirc...

[hmm]

How are you "pretty sure?" I'm guessing you, and most cops wouldn't be able to visually discern if I was carrying even if you tried. Also I'd bet gun arrests are more than likely predicated by some other more obvious offense. Like a traffic violation and then finding a weapon in a car.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

You're "pretty sure"? Based on what? Gotnee data?

How would the campus cops even know a person was packing?

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Arizona does allow open carry ya know...

[TrickyVic]

Let me guess, you can open carry a gun but not a beer?

[Montani Semper Liberi]

Still not allowed to carry in school buildings, though, so effectively the ban is still in place. Who is going to be on a college campus and not go into one of the buildings?

[Nick]

The shooters, of course. They'll all be standing outside waiting for class to get out since they're not allowed inside with their guns.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

Yeah, I meant law abiding students. Obviously, the homicidal maniacs will still do their thing. Basically, if you follow the law, the only way you'll be able to defend yourself is if you are near your car so you can get your gun that you left there because you aren't allowed to bring it to class.

[Nick M.]

For the campuses in Arizona, this is actually pretty decent. ASU's, UA's, and NAU's campuses are pretty much wrapped up in the city. So you can go from city propertty to campus property without knowing. AzCDL (the organization responsible for the bill) recognizes that this is a compromise, and it is NOT what they orginally proposed. But, it is a foot in the door.

[Officer JT]

You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I'll come running to see you again

[Zeb]

Bums collecting cans?

[Matrix]

When I was still at OU, one of my teachers read a letter that the president of OU wrote to a member of our state legislature when this legislator was proposing a law to allow CCW on campus for permit holders. The president went off on him. I rolled my eyes, but I was not about to speak up in class for fear of getting slammed by all the Democrats in there as well as the leftist professor.

[kArupt]

thank you for that story or cowardice

[kArupt]

*of

[AU H20]

Clearly you've never had a really leftist professor. At a certain point, you just have to agree with some of them to just get out of their goddamn classes and get a good grade.

Am I whore? Hell yes. But I'm a whore who got a solid GPA for my troubles.

[Chupacabra]

I thought that was the whole point of our educational system?

I learned early in my high school years to simply regurgitate whatever crap my teachers believed to get an easy A. Worked even better in college.

I've had 2 teachers my entire life who actually wanted to hear people's own opinions.

[Cyto]

Actually, that is great advice for students. Part of success in college is learning to suss out what the teacher finds important. Then you can focus your efforts on a smaller target.

My favorite example of this was my sociology professor. She had an obsession with sex, so I learned to work sex into every answer. She was thrilled and I got my A and an offer of recommendation. The ultimate version of "know your audience".

[John]

http://www.salon.com/life/feat.....republican

I can't beleive my best friend is a Republican.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

I can't believe anyone still reads Salon.

[sloopyinca]

I can't believe it's not butter!

[OO======D~~`~~~]

Believe.

[Fox Mulder]

I just wanna believe.

[The 80's]

Girls just wanna have fun.

[hmm]

Right now on my Facebook page, I have linked to a New York Times article on how women's rights are being violated by South Dakota's new abortion laws. Janet has just posted on hers -- I'm not kidding -- video footage of her and her husband at target practice.

So target practice makes you a anti-liberal? Am I missing something or is this little comparison fucking retarded?

[hmm]

an...

[Zeb]

So Janet knows how to have a good time and you are an annoying killjoy. Got it.

[JD]

Obviously owning a gun makes you a Kochsucking ratbagging teafucker who thinks all women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen and all the darkies should go back to the plantation where they belong.

[Maria Chappelle-Nadal]

I'M NOT GOIN' BACK!!!

[JW]

Gee Taffy, maybe you ought to step outside of that Slaver stasis box you've dumped your awareness into for the past couple decades or so and take a big, deep fucking breath of reality outside of Manhattan yoga studios. It's enlightening, trust me.

[Pro Libertate]

I'd like a Slaver stasis box. It's hard to keep fruits and vegetables fresh.

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

I keep tellin' ya. Pyramid power...

[hmm]

That is one seriously delusional and team oriented moron. I made it half way through the insane comparisons and could go no farther.

[Otto]

Actually, as hard as it is, if you go down into the article, she makes some good points.

Janet's [the Republican friend] willingness to associate with so many liberal friends -- though I know she seeks refuge in chat rooms and magazines that share her beliefs -- makes her a better and more interesting person. She has her beliefs challenged constantly. She is more well-read and educated in her politics than most of the liberals I know. Too many liberals I know are lazy, they have a belief system that consists of making fun of Glenn Beck and watching "The Daily Show." Shouldn't their beliefs be challenged, too?

[hmm]

Loathing of your own clique isn't necessarily a good point. It's part and parcel of thinking you're better than everyone else.

[SugarFree]

You've got to get to the comments...

It sounds like your friend is in dire need of attention

the description of your friend sounds as if she has a a dire need for attention.

the fact that she would show up to a party wearing a teabaggie shirt is very

telling about just how much she values your friendship.she knows how you feel and your values are for the most part

way different then hers.she is a needler,passive aggressive in her entire approach to all that she does in life.

as you pointed out she is not a rethuglican because they believe in a strong support system for Isreal--when in fact that is one of her reasons.

she is a sh-t stirrer and everything she states she is not exactly who she is.it is all for effect and affect

she is a racist,selfish,self absorbed

narcissistic individual.she eats it up when she pisses people off.

I taught behavioral profiling at John Jay collage and all that you describe

is such a tell about you friend.

?retirednypd

I guess they never taught you about projection in any of your psychology classes.

(The original is formatted like that. I didn't turn it into a shitty free-form ramblepoem for kicks.)

[hmm]

Psychology was boring.

[Cy Chologist]

It's interesting you say that.

[capitol l]

HaHa! A New York cop teaching behavioral profiling.

"See dat guy over der, see how he's darka than me. Dat means he's behavin' black, and dat means he's behavin' wit weed in his pocket. Dat's called 'probable cause'."

[Brett L]

Well, he's pretty good at profiling. He just found someone he wanted to blame and made up a fake profile about them.

[Spoonman.]

I am actually laughing out loud.

[Spoonman.]

My 9:07 is meant to reply to capitol l's 9:00.

[Restoras]

I blame Reason's cruel Wall of Confusion

[capitol l]

The thread should get smaller and smaller until the last comment is a point like particle of infinite mass and infinite inanity.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A clear text reading of the 2nd Amendment tells us that the Founders wanted to guarantee that our voices should be freely extended rightward all the way to the King's doorstep!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Uh, with a gun, apparently. 1st Amendment, too.

[AU H20]

It is really fun to read it as poetry, especially in a more modern poetry style (I suggest playing bongo drums between verses).

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I can only hope that the race card stops getting played at some point before the heat death of the universe.

[Otto]

I took away from that "you should have your beliefs challenged, so you can better understand them and better understand those who disagree with you." and to also not be lazy about the intellectual foundations of your own beliefs.

Maybe I just feel guilty for not reading Coase and re-reading Bastiat...

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

She is more well-read and educated in her politics than most of the liberals I know.

I have found that to be the case with the majority of conservative/libertarian-minded inviduals I know versus the majority of liberal/progressive types I've met. The liberal/progressives tend to be pretty mush-headed, fuzzy-thinking, typically ending up with "well I just think it should be that way!"

[JW]

Too many liberals I know are lazy, they have a belief system that consists of making fun of Glenn Beck and watching "The Daily Show."

We know all the same people!

[SugarFree]

It reads a lot like the pop ethnographies that were big in the late 1800s. "I Dined With A Negro And Survived." And people say libertarians are in a bubble.

[WTF]

^^this^^
The article reads as though she thinks her best friend is an honest to God blood-sucking vampire - "how could someone who seems so human and likeable be so evil?"

[SugarFree]

You DON'T love everything ...

So dump the soulless hag. You're friends with this person? Why? Political beliefs go to the soul, and conservatives have none. On top of that, they are unable to grasp -- or care to grasp -- the evidence of history or the very fabric of truth and reality.

Dump. The. Hag.

And yes, 'baggers and wingnuts, here's your opening to say "SEE? 'LIBS' ARE TERRIBLE ANGRY PEOPLE!!"

Kiss our asses, you human scum.

?tangerine

Once Salon went behind the paywall, they stopped being linked to and read by normal people. It's like one of the innumerable science fiction stories about a population cut-off from the rest of humanity that turns feral and savage. In few more years, they be throughly inbred and gnawing on the cooked flesh of their pie-bald young.

[Corporate Drone]

That's why we need to sterilize them. All of them.

[wylie]

There's an App for that.

[waffles]

Fascist. I still don't understand how gun ownership is a partisan issue. But I'm willing to bet a PETA sticker on my car would draw some ire at the gun club.

[Restoras]

That PETA sticker might draw some fire, too.

[gaijin]

It seems that for many, political views are part of an ensemble, a defined character or role to play...a fashion accessory that goes with this outfit, but not that one...in this world, there is no disconnect between one's love of Apple (vs. PC) and a dislike of guns...or Teabaggers...they go together, just like stylishly matched shirt and socks.

[waffles]

Wait my socks are supposed to match my shirt!? I thought I was doing pretty well by matching my shoes and belt. I just can't win.

[gaijin]

Wait my socks are supposed to match my shirt!?

Clearly you do not work in advertising, PR or in a high profile position of academia or law? Also please tell me you do not own an iPad? 🙂

[T]

No, socks are supposed to match (or at least be complementary with) your pants.

Of course, any fashion advice from this crowd should be heavily scrutinized and confirmed with independent sources. Otherwise you'd end up out in public wearing an combat boots, an adult diaper, cat ears, and a t-shirt of Hayek.

[Restoras]

You made me laughoutload!

[Brett L]

According to Rand, socks should match your pocket square. She goes over it again and again in The Fountainhead.

[Pope Jimbo]

I'm happy when my socks match each other.

[Pip]

We go together like
rama lama lama
ke ding a de dinga a dong
remembered for ever like
shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom

[WTF]

Kiss our asses, you human scum.

Nothing like actually celebrating your own intolerance. You can't even parody these people anymore.

[Zeb]

Soon they will start to support the enslavement of republicans, as they are clearly sub-human creatures who will never be able to direct themselves in any useful endeavor.

[Atanarjuat]

Garrison Keillor wrote, in one of his crappy op-eds, that Republicans should be banned from getting healthcare since they want to keep others from getting HC. Presumably he was being facetious but some of the online commenters agreed with him.

[John]

Yeah. James Toranto at Best of the Web nailed this woman.

It's a fascinating psychological struggle. Taffy is torn between the angel on one shoulder urging her to value Janet and respect her point of view, and the devil on the other shoulder encouraging her to "think again about how deep our differences run, mine and Janet's, and . . . wonder if this is all worth it."

The angel represents the spirit of open-minded toleration. The devil represents contemporary liberalism. That they are pulling Taffy in opposite directions tells you all you need to know about what liberalism has become.

[capitol l]

I hope the "pulling Taffy" thing was written on purpose, because that's pretty funny.

It'd be even funnier if her husband's name was 'Laffy".

[Mainer]

and they had a daughter named SweeTart

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

John, you're stepping dangerously close to Nutrasweet's turf, I'd watch your back.

[SugarFree]

The stupidity of the web is for all to link and enjoy.

[Restoras]

[clapping softly and genteely as if I were at The Masters today...as if...}

[AU H20]

SO sayeth the Prophet Nutrasweet!

[Porkys II extra]

So sayeth the flock.

[JW]

"He's not the Messiah. He's a very sick and disturbed boy."

[Zeb]

A lot of liberals seem to have convinced themselves that anyone to the right of them (or to whichever direction libertarianism is in) must either be dishonest or stupid. Either they have been duped into voting against their own self interest, or all they really care about is making money for large corporations and killing poor people.

[JD]

Don't forget racist and inbred.

[waffles]

What about making poor people and killing corporations? That's more or less the creed of the purported anarchists 'round these parts.

[Chupacabra]

THEY DON'T TOLERATE [INTOLERANCE]!!!

[cynical]

I wonder what the response would be if she said "Muslim" instead of Republican. When it comes down to it, modern political parties and organized religion are both a mixture of sociopolitical organization and a worldview focused on defining/promoting a set of personal ethics and ideal social order.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

All my best friends are pretty much hardcore Marxists. All I can say is that I'm glad I got to know them during the Bush years when we agreed that the government sucked and I was marketing libertarian elements to a disenfranchised audience. Had I been at my radical college these days, I'd probably be the most hated person on campus. I would, of course, savor that to some degree.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Study: On average, master's degrees don't improve teacher performance.

See? This is a prime example of what's wrong with education system. The children should get the master's degrees and then see if teacher performance improves.

[Brett L]

Next up. Education degrees of any level don't improve teacher performance. You heard it here first.

[WTF]

Brett L|4.8.11 @ 9:04AM|#
Next up. Education degrees of any level don't improve teacher performance. You heard it here first.

I actually have a teachers certificate, which I used very briefly out of college until I went into private industry, and I can attest to the truth of this.

[Fist of Etiquette]

With other smaller errors in Waukesha County, Prosser gained 7,582 votes over his challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg, leaving the sitting justice significantly ahead for now amid ongoing official counting.

I'm guessing this margin no longer equals a voter mandate.

[Restoras]

Exactly. And cue Shrike whining about fraaaauuuuudddddd.

[hmm]

Lets not cue shrike...

[Otto]

No, let's. Take your pick...

[Chupacabra]

bushpighitlercristfag!!!!!!!!!

[Draco]

Oh, you don't need to cue Shrike. Just go over to HuffPo. That's what I did last night when I found out about this development on NRO's The Corner. I wanted to watch the dismay and hysteria on the HuffPo comment boards "live." I was not disappointed. The agony and panic were palpable. They were already calling for a Federal Case to be made out of it, and some were saying "the only way to resolve this is to run the entire election again!"

The tears of HuffPo liberals are so, so sweet.

[Restoras]

Indeed, those are among the sweetest tears one can enjoy.

[Citizen Nothing]

MNG|4.7.11 @ 10:13AM|#

Well duh, screaming election fraud is what the GOP does whenever they get results they don't like.

Hehehe

[Fist of Etiquette]

That's what I did last night when I found out about this development on NRO's The Corner.

That's Draco's passive/aggressive way of saying Reason Morning Links got scooped on the story by National Review faster than Cherry Garcia at your local B and J's.

24-hour morning links! Who's with me?

[MNG]

Re: the Wisconsin thing, I'm appalled that many states elect their justices. Judicial independence, we don't need no stinkin' judicial independence!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

So justices should, what, be appointed by elected officials? Heaven knows that couldn't help but lead to judicial independence, right?

[Pip]

Lottery.

[AlmightyJB]

Death Race or Rollerball

[Zeb]

We have real world examples we can compare here. While neither approach is perfect, it seems to me that appointed judiciaries are more independent. The appointments are still political, but the judges don't face re-election and so have a lot less motivation to pander to political trends and are far more free to act independently.
The selection of the judge is political in either system, but when they are elected, they have to stay in a highly political realm.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

...so have a lot less motivation to pander to political trends and are far more free to act independently.

And far more free to impose an unassailable agenda on people who can do nothing about it.

[AU H20]

Well, given that most voters are retarded, I'd rather take a judge who I don't agree with but is at least more intelligent than 99% of the voting public than anything else. That's why I love me the Supremes.

Cue the HnR hate... NOW!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If the voters are too retarded to vote for judges aren't they too retarded to vote for the guys who appoint judges?

Also, I think you gravely overestimate the intelligence of judges.

As far as the Supremes, I was never that big of a fan. I prefer Sam Cooke.

[Cabeza de Vaca]

I like that my state elects Judges. I always get to vote no to retain them.

[Gilbert Martin]

What the politcians are really afraid of is the government will "shut down" and no one will notice the difference.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...and the loss of that paycheck.

[robc]

During the mid 90s shutdown, a friend of mine who worked for the patent office was pissed off that his job was considered "essential". He wanted the unpaid vacation.

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

NPR is already starting the parade of the poor downtrodden federal employees.

My favorite so far, the Smithsonian photographer who lives paycheck to paycheck.

[Corporate Drone]

awww... wait, he's a federal employee who lives paycheck to paycheck? Hmm... that's still better than being unemployed.

[robc]

Exactly how much does a Smithsonian photographer make? Because Im going to call bullshit on the paycheck to paycheck. Not that I dont believe that part, but I think its a lifestyle problem, not a lack of income problem.

[Corporate Drone]

With regard to the pay scale of a 'Smithsonian photographer', it seems to me that the free market has spoken.

[Chupacabra]

I've known people who make $300K a year live paycheck to paycheck.

[Kristen]

I'll see your Smithsonian hand-to-mouth photog and raise you Federal Hand-to-Mouth IT Manager. From the local DC news.

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

NPR is already starting the parade of the poor downtrodden federal employees.

My favorite so far, the Smithsonian photographer who lives paycheck to paycheck.

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

damn squirrels

[MNG]

Report: 9 Million Americans Estimated to be Friends of Dorothy

In an attempt to encourage more research into the health and well-being of gay people, a California demographer has estimated that more than 9 million Americans are gay or bisexual, a number equivalent to the population of New Jersey.

Wouldn't Masachusetts be a better reference?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....l?hpid=z10

[MNG]

Did he factor in the number of women who act bi to get the attention of men in a bar or club?

[Restoras]

Wait, what??

[SugarFree]

The number one reason I hate young people.

[Ice Nine]

What? There are so many better ones.

[Silent Lamb]

The number one reason I ate young people.

[AU H20]

Really? As a young person, there are so many better reasons.

The insufferable arrogance, the know-it-all liberalism, the seeming need to make a horses ass out of themselves. But I think the number one reason has to be this:

The three biggest female artists in the business today, the ones who can fill an arena instantly, are Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.

[Old Mexican]

Re: MNG,

Did he factor in the number of women who act bi to get the attention of men in a bar or club?

You mean the women who come to the club in packs and refuse to have a drink or dance with you, from which you somehow construe that the reason is because they're lesbians?

[Brett L]

I've got MNG's back on this one. It's all hip for girls to make out with other girls in bars. My ex was all about this trend, but wanted no part of going home with those girls, with or without me.

Although, there was one time she kissed the wrong dyke and I was pretty sure she was going to get sexually assaulted in the ladies' room. I was not going to interfere with that lesbian, either. She was bigger, meaner, drunker, and on a mission.

[Old Mexican]

Would she have minded if she kissed her?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EDFq...../Aleida+Nu?ez-86.jpg

[Brett L]

Oh, I think you misunderstand. Said angry lesbian felt that she had been teased. She wasn't angry about being kissed, she was angry that my ex wasn't going home with her.

[Old Mexican]

Modern married life can be complicated at times...

[bosty]

All women are 3 glasses of wine away from lesbian antics. Except my mom, she's a saint.

[Friend of Onan]

Meh.

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

Damn Golden Girls reruns.

[hmm]

So no voters victims coming forward equals no crime? I guess the DOJ isn't going to prosecute another single obscenity case or drug case where the victim is the the state and society...

[Tim]

I blame the shutdown...

[hmm]

# Study: On average, master's degrees don't improve teacher performance.

That's because a Masters in Education is like a Masters in Walking.

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

Not equivalent unfortunately, a masters in walking would be less detrimental. I have a neighbor with an education masters. She is the walking, talking epitome of everything that is wrong with education.

She put her kid in a private school because that particular school does not believe in consequences for failure. She was very specific about it. No consequences at all, because she wants to inspire her child's creative side.

Needless to say, her kid is a brat.

[Matrix]

and these people are breathing our air? Fucks sake!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Wouldn't consequences for failure inspire her kid to be more creative so as to avoid those consequences?

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

Logic is lost on these people. It's all about feeeeeeeeelings.

[Matrix]

it's a tragedy we can't shoot them.

[Restoras]

Disagree. We need 'em to laugh at and point out to our own young 'uns the way to not live/think/act.

[Zeb]

Yeah, I don't know where people get the idea that creative people need to be all flaky and fluffy.
Ever met anyone who went to a Waldorf school for their whole education? Fucking hopeless.

[SugarFree]

Walking is useful and rewarding when done properly.

[waffles]

I agree, walking is a lifestyle choice I will defend to the death. Down with wheelchairs! Down stairs even!

[Brett L]

Can we smash the Segways first?

[Stephen Hawking]

[in that voice]

They can take my wheelchair when they pry it from my cold, dead body.

[WTF]

David Prosser is back ahead in Wisconsin's judicial race.

And cue Team Blue lawsuit in 3...2..1..

[Draco]

Go over to HuffPo and feed on the panic, dismay, and moon-bat vitriol. I've been drawing sustenance from the tears of the HuffPo lefties since last night.

[John]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....dded#at=41

Anyone else see Eva Longoria on David Letterman? Oh my God Tony Parker is a moron. He gave up that just to text some other player's wife.

[Cyto]

Like the old saying goes, no matter how hot the chick, somewhere there is a guy who's tired of banging her...

[kda]

Preach it. For the life of me, I will never understand how Christie Brinkley has been divorced three times, and cheated on by at least one of those dudes. She's been the standard since I was 7 years old!

[GBFM]

There is always another one commin' along that is younger, hotter and tighter. And if you are a pro athelete you get to taste it all.

[Tim]

Does the shut down mean that the internet off switch will be switched off?

[Spoonman.]

Obama's smarter than to incite a revolt.

[hmm (Obama)]

I support the reVolt. We need a sustainable something blab blah blah blah middle class blah blah blah gas, energy, blah blah blah I plan to blah blah blah let me be clear blah blah...

[Restoras]

Not sure about that.

[John]

http://www.jsonline.com/genera.....5391546001

Looks like the Republican really did win in Wisconsin. Could the Republicans in Wisconsin really have been so smart that they held back 7000 legitimate ballots to dump them out right after the Democrats cheat just enough to think they have won?

[Brett L]

And we think the Republicans never learn.

[Restoras]

They sometimes learn - until they are back in power and then they revert to type, like all useless/feckless/narcissistic/greedy/power-hungry assholes.

[WTF]

Accidental, I'm sure. The Republicans are not knoewn as the Stupid Party for nothing.

[Nick]

I doubt it, but if that were true it would be fantastic. Not that I care about success of R's, but that would be some serious gamesmanship worthy of my respect.

[cynical]

No, but stupid and lucky works too.

[xenia onatopp]

The Friedman movie quotes are a hilarious yet painful primer on what it takes to beat the legendarily stiff competition for the title "worst op-ed writer at the New York Times."

Incidentally, the Matt Taibbi piece mentioned is one I remember well as possibly the funniest, most accurate and most vicious

[xenia onatopp]

Fucking touchscreens. Anyway: the end of my previous post should've been ...most vicious book review of the last decade.

For good measure, here's the link: http://www.nypress.com/article-11419-flathead.html

[Restoras]

Could have been worse - you could have typed viscous.

[Spoonman.]

I am not sure why I hadn't managed to read this for the past six years, but it's great.

[SugarFree]

Taser Grenades

There's a video of dude getting shocked by the thing after the jump, which is more than a little anticlimactic considering they don't actually fire it at him (it's typically deployed from a special rifle) and instead just shock him with the innards of one. 50,000 volts? Pleaaaaase -- I've been struck by lightning before. And that, dear reader, is why you never call Zeus a Santa-bearded pussy.

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

My first thought at seeing the picture was "What kind of f'ing suppository is that?"

[Scruffy Nerd Herder]

From the video - "Taser: Protect Life" by shocking the living shit out of it.

[cynical]

And I thought taser shotgun shells were awesome.

[Dois Mos]

Should be interesting to see how it all turns out. Wow.

http://www.being-anon.int.tc

[John]

http://blogs.dailymail.com/don.....ives/31946

Looks like Maxine Waters might be headed for the bar hotel. That is if Eric Holder decides that it is in the interests of "his people" to pursue the matter.

[John]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics

Looks like Maxine Waters might be headed for the bar hotel. That is if Eric Holder decides it is okay to prosecute one of "his people".

[Corporate Drone]

Won't happen.

[Old Mexican]

David Prosser is back ahead in Wisconsin's judicial race.

"In an incredible turn of events, and after all that salivating and 'in your face, biatch!' attitude from leftists and unions..."

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

MORE ON Obama's scoffing at high gas prices' impact on Americans.

Can't Afford Gas For Your Car? Trade It in, Rubes Says Obama

[John]

If the media covered Obama the same way they cover Republican Presidents, that comment would have been the "Bush I super market scanner" moment times ten.

[Old Mexican]

Re: John,

that comment would have been the "Bush I super market scanner" moment times ten.

They would never do that, him being the Greatest Literary Genius Of All Time - it would be akin to blasphemy to criticize him.

[Old Mexican]

Arizona passes a law allowing guns on campuses.

"Campuses to issue 'reasonable' limits to whom can carry, for instance: 'Guns are permited on campus except on days that begin with the letter R.'"

[Old Mexican]

Study: On average, master's degrees don't improve teacher performance.

"You can't fix 'Stupid.'"

[Mike M.]

Botched NATO bombing raid attacks the wrong convoy and kills 13 of our fine Libyan allies.

[Brett L]

Good thing the US wasn't involved. I'm sure there will be zero ill will among the rebels aimed at us because of this, right?

[John]

I said in another thread our bombing campaign seems to be rather random

[hmm]

It's not random. It's color oriented. Brown gets bombed, that's it.

[NATO]

Crap, they all look alike!

[Smart Bombs]

We're not as smart as people think!

[Tim]

Four out of five randomly bombed citizens say they prefer American Defense!

[Old Mexican]

What happened to those very helpful strobes that mark and identify our allies...

... you know, on Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare???

[Tim]

The bomber was probably the single rusty MiG contributed to the NATO campaign by Slovenia or Slavonia. Whatever.

[Ska]

Looks like someone hacked cold blooded pro, and now we can't read anyone's gamertag.

[Restoras]

If by 'fine Libyan allies' you mean 'unvetted, possibly al-Qaeda operatives' then I'm not sure how much I care.

[Old Mexican]

The government meddling in the market, part 1,202,334

Federal Communications Commission passes new data roaming rule

Commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new data roaming rule Thursday for wireless broadband carriers designed to drive competition in a market that is currently dominated by AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

The rule, approved on a 3-2 vote, requires large carriers to provide access to their networks to smaller carriers who do not have networks or service in rural areas. The new regulation is largely seen as a response to the recently announced merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.

Critics, however, are blasting the FCC's action as one that violates the free market, is outside the agency's authority, and may be flat-out unnecessary.

"Do we actually have a problem to solve?" one industry source told The Daily Caller. "I honestly don't know."

Commissioner Meredith Baker, who voted against the rule, even pointed out in her dissent that "I agree that consumers expect the ability to access their voice and data services nationally [...] most consumers have that ability today. National, regional, and new entrants all advertise prominently on their websites nationwide data availability."

Basic economics, 101: Never mind the fact that, as demand goes up, entrepreneurs and businesses fill the gaps left by the suppliers that have the more wherewithal. There's NO NEED for the FCC to play Santa Claus.

[capitol l]

All of your email are belong to us

Obama administration wants unconstitutional access to your email because it isn't stored on your hard drive but on a server.

[Matrix]

So, I guess that also means they can raid my safety deposit box because it's at a bank and not at my house? DOJ can fuck off and die.

[Zeb]

Yes. And if you rent, they don't need a warrant to search your home.

[Old Mexican]

"Do as I say, not as I do" department...

NY Democratic councilman and Happy Meal critic sneaks in Big Macs

If you want a big example of how not to eat, just take a look at City Councilman Leroy Comrie, his wife told The Post.

The super-sized Queens Democrat seeking a ban on McDonald's Happy Meal toys is himself a cautionary tale on the consequences of scarfing down too many Big Macs, Marcia Comrie said.

[Wealthy Russian Businesman]

No pain, no pain.

[Baby Giraffe]

*Smooch*

[Ska]

I think we all watch too much Adult Swim.

[pancakes]

haven't had cable in two years and I am plenty aware if kissing miniature giraffes. My girl and I have this role play where we gather miniature animals, dress as the jolly green giant, and then terrorize the living shit out of them. What happens next is best left to the imagination.

Ah, that was. Cathartic.

[Brett L]

I have a sad confession, too. I will stop fast-forwarding the DVR to watch these commercials. Every time.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If by "watch these commercials" you mean "gawk at the midsection of the chick by the chair and the ass and legs of the one on the treadmill" then I "watch these commercials," too.

[Brett L]

*shakes head ashamedly*

No, its all about the tiny giraffe and the wee treadmill and the giant safari on the TV in the background.

[robc]

I hate those commercials, but the giraffe on the treadmill makes me laugh every time.

[wayne]

there's a TV in the background?

[Zeb]

Well, he obviously can't resist the Big Macs because of the toys. He's just an illustration of how serious the problem is.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Are there really no better burgers than Big Macs in NY? McDonalds' breakfasts are great, but their burgers are amongst the weakest of all. Geez, if you're going to add the lbs, at least eat something worth adding them for.

[P Brooks]

Study: On average, master's degrees don't improve teacher performance

Get the defibrillator ready!

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

Standby for 72 hours, while someone with a M-Ed writes a "task-oriented" syllabus for using the damn thing.

[Solanum]

WaPo shits the bed about TLC's 'Extreme Couponing'

This column reads like a parody of the modern day "progressive" mindset.

[capitol l]

Care packages of what? (Febreze? Apple Jacks?) The last thing "Extreme Couponing" exhibits is a sense of caring ? to say nothing of sharing.

What a dick. I watched the show and not only did they have the lady who sent the care packages, but the article doesn't mention the guy that donates thousands of dollars worth of food to his church and local food bank.

Guess those poor people shouldn't eat because the author finds this all so distasteful.

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

Care packages of what? (Febreze?

The poor do tend to smell bad.

[Nick]

It was interetsing to watch. Only one of the four people in the pilot bought stuff she was actually planning to use. The rest would buy and stock up on shit they couldn't possibly use in their lifetimes just because they had a coupon and deal that gave it to them for free.

[John]

But TLC cleverly allows the women (and the occasional man) featured in "Extreme Couponing" to boastfully present themselves as newfangled heroes of the Great Recession, rather than as the piggy stockpilers they come off as, who voraciously amass paper towels, pancake syrup, spaghetti, deodorant, ketchup and more.

Jesus Christ on a crutch. They might as well be Marxist screaming about evil hoarders. That article is disturbing.

[Clich? Bandit]

that has got to be one of the stupidest articles I have read in a while. I want to watch the show now just to say "FUCK YOU WAPO"

[Pro Libertate]

Okay, this is funny: I read that as Extreme Coupling. There's an important lesson to be learned about our zeitgeist when the station formerly known as "The Learning Channel" could be perceived as running a show about extreme coupling. It's totally plausible, after all.

[Old Mexican]

Well, back in the day, TLC did start as a Learning channel... They did rerun those old 70s "Connections" shows and a great 6-part documentary on the Revolutionary War, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss; had morning kiddie shows that sucked; had "Trading Spaces" which was 1/2 and hour too long each episode...

[John]

Those were the days. The Learning Channel kicked ass. And those Connections shows were awsome.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

"And now we see how one man's desire to grow better tomatoes led to the hydrogen bomb."

[Pro Libertate]

Nice program--used to watch it regularly.

[Cyto]

I wish they'd bring that one back. I don't know where you'd find the writing talent, but that show was as good as it gets.

[Cyto]

Trading Spaces had Page Davis. 'nuff said.

Strangely, they kicked her to the curb because she flashed a little skin at an unrelated public event. I doubt today's TLC would pretend to be so prudish.

(and yes, I'm married and she does control the remote, why do you ask?)

[John]

Paige did and does have one hell of a nice body. But she is so annoyingly perky.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

The mental image of James Burke fondling a plow will remain with me always.

[Brett L]

Can't be on TLC. You might actually learn something from that show.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I suppose the "extreme" could mean "extreme disparity in size", which is more in line with their programming.

It's funny how these channels start off decent and slowly descend into hoi polloi hell.

[rather]

Jesse, unless Brendan Nyhan
gives hellacious head, there is no other reason to use his blog as a morning link

[Nick]

I think we're starting to break her, fellas!

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

She was already broken when I saw her. Swear to Zog.

[Cunt Vomit]

EOM

[Ice Nine]

The report from DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) found that Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perrelli told Loretta King (the then-acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division) that he "would accept any outcome in the case so long as the entire case was not dismissed outright.

So one Asst AG tells another Asst AG (who, being of equal rank was presumably not the former's subordinate) that he would not accept dismissal of the Black Panther intimidation case. Really impressive, huh - the case was subsequently dismissed. So, uh, BFD - what is the story here, exactly?

The bias of this story, which was published in Talking Points Memo, is apparent from its general tone and from the overt gibes. OK, fair enough; just always consider the source. This source incidentally is the recipient of The George Polk Awards in Journalism. Here is the list of the other winners of that award:

Recipients of the George Polk Awards include: Eddie Adams, Christiane Amanpour (multiple winner), Roger Angell, James Baldwin, Red Barber, Erik Barnouw, Donald L. Barlett (multiple winner), Richard Behar (multiple winner), Larry Bensky, Ed Bradley, Jimmy Breslin, Joel Brinkley, Robert Brustein, Walter Cronkite, William O. Douglas, Stephen Evans, Leila Fadel, Stefan Forbes, Thomas Friedman, Fred Friendly, Anne Garrels, Henry Louis Gates, Amy Goodman, Adam Gopnik, Michael R. Gordon, Philip Gourevitch, Alan Cowell, Roy Gutman, David Halberstam, Michael Hastings, Seymour Hersh (multiple winner), Peter Jennings, Pauline Kael, Matthew Kauffman, Murray Kempton, Ronald Kessler (multiple winner), John Kifner (multiple winner), Ted Koppel, Joshua Kors, Charles Kuralt, Joseph Lelyveld (multiple winner), Norman Mailer, Mary Ellen Mark, Jim McKay, Carey McWilliams, Chris Mortensen, Bill Moyers (multiple winner), Edward R. Murrow, Lisa Myers, Allan Nairn, Jack Newfield, John Bertram Oakes (multiple winner), Gayle Reaves, James Reston, Leo Rosten, Morley Safer, Harrison Salisbury, Diane Sawyer, Daniel Schorr, George Seldes, Eric Sevareid, William Shawn, William Shirer, Howard K. Smith, Red Smith, Edward Sorel, Susan Sontag, James Steele (multiple winner), Joe Stephens (three-time winner), I. F. Stone, Studs Terkel, Nina Totenberg,

[P Brooks]

The angel represents the spirit of open-minded toleration. The devil represents contemporary liberalism.

It's as if the term "liberal" has lost all semblance of meaning.

[Tim]

Liberalism is just another buzz word like Jumbo Shrimp and Newt Gingrich.

[Old Mexican]

Collateral damage, according to loony Democrat:

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said [Thursday] that the new Republicans elected to the House of Representatives last November came to Congress "to kill women." She also likened Republican efforts to prohibit federal funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is endangered to actions taken by Nazis.

[Godwin's Law]

score!

[JoJo Zeke]

She also likened Republican efforts to prohibit federal funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is endangered to actions taken by Nazis.

The leftist mind-set, in perfect miniature: any attempt whatsoever to remove even so much as a single, solitary teat from the eternally sucking mouths of their constituent leeches -- for any reason, at any time whatsoever -- is the moral/situational equivalent of the Third Reich.

Rep. Slaughter's fucking brain stem, how does it work...?

[Zeb]

THe brain stem seems fine. The rest is rather questionable.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

"Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain." --Bastiat, The Law, 1850

I'm sure this ridiculous argument will still be made hundreds of years from now.

[Zeb]

I'm about as pro abortion as they come, but federal funding for abortion? Fuck. If you can't come up with $400, you shouldn't have sex seems like a reasonable rule of thumb.

[pancakes]

Yeah, if you want to kill it should cost money. If I have to pay for bullets to shoot your barking dog that you left out all night in the rain then you should pay for your killing needs too!

[T]

Everybody pays, pancakes. One way or another, everybody pays.

[Otto]

Plan B is about $5.

[Kristen]

Well, more like $20...but, yeah. And it's OTC.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

It's strange logic - I'm generally pro-choice, but abortion itself admittedly kills far more women than cutting abortion funding except for when the life of the mother is endangered would. Does she think the non-aborted babies will send enough mothers with post-partum depression to murder-sucide to make up the difference?

[troll]

Poll: 46 percent of Mississippi Republicans want interracial marriage ban

[rather]

Republicans and Liberals shouldn't marry-it fucks up the kids

[Old Mexican]

Re: rather,

Republicans and Liberals shouldn't marry-it fucks up the kids

... which explains you.

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

While I don't have a duh-gree in Sigh-cology, I believe she is the result of an intermarriage between a narcissist and a masochist.

[Old Mexican]

Re: troll,

Poll: 46 percent of Mississippi Republicans want interracial marriage ban

I believe that marriage between ugly people should be banned.

[Obama]

I believe that marriage between ugly people should be banned.

Now you've done it OM! They won't leave you alone till you show them your birth certificate picture

[cynical]

I remember that Alabama officially dropped its interracial marriage ban (via referendum) around the late 90's or early 00's. Although I suppose it probably wasn't enforced anyway, as that would be a pretty clear SCOTUS smackdown.

[Cyto]

Well placed handle, Troll. That article is an exceptionally lame hit piece. If they really want to find the segment of the population that objects to interracial marriage, I suggest they segment by race.

Having lived in an interracial marriage for 15 years, I can tell you from experience that it is invariably the minority community that feels threatened by intermarriage (dominant genes notwithstanding).

Don't believe me? Then you've probably never talked to a Jewish mother ("You should go out with Ayal. He's a nice Jewish boy, he's going to be a doctor!") Or to judge by one of my high school crushes, a Korean mom - although I'm not sure where her mom though she was going to meet a nice, proper Korean boy in our small town... Or my ex-mother-in-law. Even though she came to love me more than most anyone, I was still "that fucking white boy" until the day she died.

[troll]

There's a difference between not wanting your child to marry someone from another race and wanting the state to outlwaw interracial marriage.

[cynical]

"If they really want to find the segment of the population that objects to interracial marriage, I suggest they segment by race."

They segmented by party, which I imagine works about as well in MS.

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

I was reading Kos to enjoy their tears, and noticed that some liberal bastard stole my handle.

[rather]

WOW! Someone has the same name? What are the odds?
http://www.google.com/search?q.....1I7ADFA_en

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

But I'm the only one who realizes the truth about The Golden Girls.

[pancakes]

I didn't know that you are christwire. I think more people than you suspect know the truth. Though you are truly on the great prophets of the message.

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

Christwire is only the tip of the iceberg. If you don't hear from me next week, it is because I got too close to the Koch/Soros/Golden Girls connection and had to be silenced.

[Cyto]

Don't worry, you are safe until you discover the secret that links Bea Arthur and Vladamir Putin. That's what drove me underground...

[P Brooks]

hat story about the Ascended One at the "town hall" meeting is awesome.

"Just go buy another car."

What a maroon. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the guy who's going to referee the federal budget debate.

[John]

He really is stupid. If you think about it he has never released his grades from under grad. He got into Harvard because he was a politically savy lefty black guy. Once there, they don't really expect that much. And also, which prof at Harvard is going to grad down the Marxist black dude in the middle of row 4? Not happening. So his grades got him on law review. And then his political skills make him editor. Once he was the "first black editor" he got a book deal based on it and had someone else ghost write the book. Then he moves back to Chicago and hooks up with reverend Wright. And the rest is history.

When you really think about it, he has never really done anything intellectual or impressive beyond self promotion.

[pancakes]

but it is seriously impressive self-promotion. He is an inspirational figure of sorts. If I could be 1/100th as self-aggrandizing...well, if only.

[Jersey Patriot]

And also, which prof at Harvard is going to grad down the Marxist black dude in the middle of row 4? Not happening.

Harvard doesn't have blind grading? Are you sure about this?

[Cyto]

Did anyone have blind grading 30 years ago?

[Entitled Slacker]

When you really think about it, he has never really done anything intellectual or impressive beyond self promotion.

So in other words, he's Paris Hilton minus the STDs.

[P Brooks]

I think we all watch too much Adult Swim.

I don't know about that, but Archer was pretty fucking awesome last night.

[AU H20]

Meh, two episodes ago was better.

RAMPAGE!!!!!

[Old Mexican]

The Department of Justice releases a report on the New Black Panther case.

The report from DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) found that Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perrelli told Loretta King (the then-acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division) that he "would accept any outcome in the case so long as the entire case was not dismissed outright (because a man with a nightstick at a polling place appeared to present a case of voter intimidation) and the proposed relief did not violate the Constitution."

Uh... "Told"?

Unfortunately, I can't see the report because it's blocked by the Websense filter...

[P Brooks]

I guess that also means they can raid my safety deposit box because it's at a bank and not at my house?

Just wait 'til they decide they can conduct random warrantless searches of private homes because the mortgages are guaranteed by an agency of the federal government.

Paging John Yoo!

[[J]ohnny [L]ongtorso]

Hey, you still owe 2010 taxes on your house, so as a part owner, of course the govt can enter.

[capitol l]

Why not just use eminent domain. Seize the house, then search it.

[P Brooks]

He got into Harvard because he was a politically savy lefty black guy.

Something tells me they never even looked at his transcript after they saw the "letters of recommendation".

[P Brooks]

If you can't come up with $400, you shouldn't have sex seems like a reasonable rule of thumb.

Hey, she spent all her money on Chocolate Martinis; how do you think she got into this mess?

[Brett L]

I may be in favor of providing govt subsidized contraception to the drinkers of Chocolate martinis.

[P Brooks]

There's an important lesson to be learned about our zeitgeist when the station formerly known as "The Learning Channel" could be perceived as running a show about extreme coupling. It's totally plausible, after all.

Dude, the cars in those High Speed Rail trains have to be hooked together really well, or there could be a major tragedy.

[Pro Libertate]

You scoff, but I bet a TLC executive just ran to Discovery headquarters with a new show concept after reading this thread. And I don't think locomotives are the motivation.

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

Study: On average, master's degrees don't improve teacher performance.

My oldest daughter is currently finishing up her M-Ed (yes, I know, I'm so ashamed). She freely admits that her only motivation for doing so is to buff up her resume for the pay bump.

[T]

I know someone getting one. He freely admits he's tired of dealing with children and their parents and wants to move into administration. A master's degree is a practical requirement for that.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Game of Thrones is going to be incredible.

http://tv.ign.com/articles/116/1160072p1.html

[Mr. Chartreuse]

Hodor!

[Vermont Gun Owner]

My oldest daughter is currently finishing up her M-Ed (yes, I know, I'm so ashamed). She freely admits that her only motivation for doing so is to buff up her resume for the pay bump.

My older sister finishes her Master's in a couple weeks (she's gonna beat me by 6 days!) She makes the same admission.