Reason Morning Links: Obama's War on Whistleblowers, Scott Brown's Flip-Floppery, Meredith Baker's Investigation

• New York Times reporter James Risen has been subpoened by federal prosecutors to testify against the CIA agent who leaked him sensitive documents. 
• Politifact declares Sen. Scott Brown flip-flopped on Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare plan. 
• A Harper's story about deaths at Gitmo "doesn't hold up." 
• After banning "narco ballads," Mexican city bans mini skirts.
• Rep. James ?Sensenbrenner writes syrupy love letter to PATRIOT Act.  
• Despite lots of noise, states decline to pass Arizona-style immigration laws.
• Rep. Darrell Issa is investigating FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker's new job. 

New from Reason.tv: "The High Value of Low Speech: Attorney Robert Corn-Revere Defends The Right to Offend"

Comments

[John]

Bin Ladin's wives are turning on each other. The old hags are blaming the young hot one for turning them in.

"The joke in Pakistan is that Bin Laden called in his location to CIA because he was being driven mad cooped up for five years with so many wives and children," said Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister.

http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler.....ff-the-us/

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I have not sought out the pictures, but can any of OBL's wife rightly be described as "hot"?

[DJF]

They wear bags over their faces and bodies, why do they need to be hot?

[John]

Hard to tell with the Burka and all. But the one was like 18. It is probably a fair bet that the typical 18 year old woman who is not over weight is reasonably attractive or maybe even hot.

[Platypus]

This is relevant to my interests.

[Solanum]

I can only imagine the size of the earth-mama weed patches on those women, since personal feminine hygiene is probably an offense to allah.

[Sean]

Actually it's common practice in Islamic culture to remove the pubic hair.

[fish]

So there is no truth to the rumor about the generic Saudi billionaire who went around the grounds of his Bel Air mansion painting pubes on all the statuary?!

[PapayaSF]

No, that happened.

[Tulpa]

Uh, pretty sure OBL's prestige in that community was high enough that he got the pick of the litter.

It's good to be the caliph.

[John]

This picture makes me want to go join the Libyan rebels. These guys have a serious Road Warrior vibe going.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new.....Libya.html

[Spoonman.]

The helicopter operation ? expected to be supported by Special Forces troops ? will take the allies closer still to a full ground operation in Libya.

Great, SF on the ground.

[proegg antichicken]

huh? I thought he was a librarian, well, good for him.

[SugarFree]

Get me outta here!

[Marshall Gill]

This operation has some serious potential. All we have to do now is get SF inside Gaddafi's house and have him make a few entries into his diary that will then be released to the press.

Death by shame! USA! USA!

[JW]

Is the Diabeetus contagious? We can take him out with Frosted Flakes.

[SugarFree]

"Nurse lingered over my colostomy bag today. I have never know more erotic pleasure."

[Marshall Gill]

For a second there I thought you were giving TMI, then I realized you were simply testing out a "hypothetical" entry.

[John]

There is that too, which is pretty depressing. But the Toyota pickup is cool.

[CaptainSmartass]

Saw one just like it going south on central expressway in Dallas this morning.

[OO]

the legionaires shoulda been in libya fm the get-go.

[Gray Ghost]

Pretty sure they've been there---whether they work for JSOC or are CIA employees/contractors---since Day 1.

Somebody has to point out which set of brown people waving guns to bomb.

[DJF]

Here is a guardian article which includes a graphic showing what forces are being used against Libya. The US provided most of the initial attacks but now with the US doing mostly support the other allies don't appear to have much firepower.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl.....st-gaddafi

[John]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/.....tball.html

Obama friend: Israel shouldn't be political football

Translation, just because we plan to go full Carter and screw Israel doesn't mean Jews shouldn't give us their money.

[MNG]

Yeah, Carter screwed Israel, spending a great deal of time and capital brokering a lasting peace with its greatest enemy.

I forgot that "screwing Israel" means "not agreeing with every single thing the Israeli government proposes"

[John]

Cyrus Vance said that had Carter gotten a second term, he planned to sell Israel down the river. Considering Carter's actions after he was President, that sounds pretty believable.

[MNG]

What actions? I've never read anything by Carter where he did not affirm Israel's right to a safe existence. He just thinks that will be gotten by a just peace with their neighbors. Is that "selling Israel down the river?"

[John]

He wrote a book called Peace not Apartheid that was so slanted against Israel several board members of the Carter Center resigned in protest over it.

William Safire has reported that Cyrus Vance acknowledged that, if he had had a second term, Carter would have sold Israel down the river. In the 1990s, Carter became quite close to Yasser Arafat. After the Gulf War, Saudi Arabia was mad at Arafat, because the PLO chief had sided with Saddam Hussein. So Arafat asked Carter to fly to Riyadh to smooth things over with the princes and restore Saudi funding to him ? which Carter did.

But here is Carter, to Douglas Brinkley, Carter's biographer and analyst: "The intifada exposed the injustice Palestinians suffered, just like Bull Connor's mad dogs in Birmingham."

The Carter-Nordlinger axis rides again (but, hang on, I've changed my mind ? had "an evolution of thought," as we say).

In The Unfinished Presidency, Brinkley writes, "There was no world leader Jimmy Carter was more eager to know than Yasir Arafat." The former president "felt certain affinities with the Palestinian: a tendency toward hyperactivity and a workaholic disposition with unremitting sixteen-hour days, seven days a week, decade after decade." Neat, huh?

At their first meeting ? in 1990 ? Carter boasted of his toughness toward Israel, assuring Arafat at one point, ". . . you should not be concerned that I am biased. I am much more harsh with the Israelis." Arafat, for his part, railed against the Reagan administration and its alleged "betrayals." Rosalynn Carter, taking notes for her husband, interjected, "You don't have to convince us!" Brinkley records that this "elicited gales of laughter all round." Carter himself, according to Brinkley, "agreed that the Reagan administration was not renowned as promise keepers" (this, to Arafat).

After Carter had that first meeting with Arafat, he went home and promptly served the PLO head as PR adviser and speechwriter. What do I mean? Listen to Brinkley: "On May 24 Carter drafted on his home computer the strategy and wording for a generic speech Arafat was to deliver soon for Western ears . . ." Said Carter, "The audience is not the Security Council, but the world community. The objective of the speech should be to secure maximum sympathy and support of other world leaders . . . The Likud leaders are now on the defensive, and must not be given any excuse for continuing their present abusive policies."

Carter went on,

A good opening would be to outline the key points of the Save the Children report. . . . Then ask: "What would you do, if these were your children and grandchildren? As the Palestinian leader, I share the responsibility for them. Our response has been to urge peace talks, but the Israeli leaders have refused, and our children continue to suffer. Our people, who face Israeli bullets, have no weapons: only a few stones remaining when our homes are destroyed by the Israeli bulldozers." . . . Then repeat: "What would you do, if these were your children and grandchildren?" . . . This exact litany should be repeated with a few other personal examples.

http://old.nationalreview.com/.....101102.asp

[John]

When your book is one of three recommended by Bin Ladin, it is a safe bet you are not exactly pro Israel.

President Carter's book was one of three recommended by Osama Bin Laden In a 2009 audio tape titled "An Address To The American People". Bin Laden reportedly urged Americans to "read what your former president, Carter, wrote regarding Israeli racism against our people in Palestine,"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P....._Apartheid

[MNG]

i think there is a logical fallacy in there John (bad man liked book ergo author of book is bad man/had bad idea). I've read that book and it is pretty moderate.

[John]

Jeffrey Goldberg, hardly a rightwinger, along with many others, disagrees.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ailarticle

Carter's antipathy towards Israel is well known. Is there anyone out there you would consider anti-Israel? Anyone?

[MNG]

John
I've never read anything by Carter where he did not strongly affirm his desire for a safe, secure, peaceful Israel. He travels there quite a bit and the Carter Foundation does charity work in Israel as well as Palestine.

I think youo are equating any criticism with Israeli policy with "antipathy" for Israel.

[MNG]

Unlike most of his critics Carter while President actually worked very hard and helped make Israel more safe and secure. Not only did he boost support via aid (economic and diplomatic) he made peace with their archenemey, a peace that thrilled Israel.

Let me ask you John, is there any criticism of Israel that you would accept as not reflecting antipathy towards Israel? Any that you disagree with that you would accept as not manifesting that?

[John]

Camp David is a myth. The deal was already done. As Bernard Lewis says, "they needed someone to pay for it". Carter didn't make peace.

[John]

I think writing love notes back and forth with Arafat bragging about how tough you are towards Israel counts as "antipathy" towards Israel.

[MNG]

Let's take this evidence point by point.

1. Hearsay from Safire (a pretty heavy Israel supporter)
2. I'm betting he's speaking of the first infitada there, not the second.
3. Carter imagines himself as being able to serve as an effective negotiator between the two factions, so it is hardly suprising that he worked to get to know the sides and try to assure them he would represent their side. Given the strong, and frankly deserved, belief among the Palestinians that Americans have beeen less than neutral brokers it is hardly shocking that he said things to them like "look, I'm just as hard against them!"

This (selectively chosen by NR) sampling illustrates that even when you try to stack the deck to make Carter appear to hate Israel it doesn't work.

But a nerd fight over this is silly, Carter has written quite a bit on this, if people want to know if he is anti-Israel or a person who deeply desires a safe, peaceful Israel through a change in Israeli policy they should read his stuff for themselves.

[RyanXXX]

Who cares, John? Why do you have this strange attachment to a Jewish country halfway around the world?

[Cytotoxic]

MNG
Reaffirming Israel's right to peace is the first thing Israel-haters do before tearing Israel a new one for doing what it takes to live in secure peace. SOP.

[RyanXXX]

John, Jeffrey Goldberg is the biggest Israel-Hawk this side of the Atlantic. Are you always this disingenuous?

[Just An Engineer]

Moderate by your standards?

[Tulpa]

Considering Carter's actions after he was President that John is a Republican, that sounds pretty believable to John.

So if Condi says that Bush knew there weren't WMD in Iraq all along, does that make it true?

[OO]

the wingnuts FEEL the likud coalition is infallable regardless of domestic israeli criticism & opposition.

[MNG]

I think the hard-core supporters don't want any criticism of Isreal because they think what they face is an existential crisis (and this is understandable), therefore they think any capitulation will mean the end, and they want our extraordinary support to be totally unconditional. I understand that but it makes it very frustrating to talk with them when you don't share the assumption!

[MNG]

It's just very strange to see the same folks who 1. despise foriegn aid and 2. are hyper-patriotic argue for this unconditional level of support for another nation.

[OO]

particularly when the coalition govt faces serious internal israeli criticism...which the wingnuts pretend doesnt happen

[RyanXXX]

John's had a mega Israel-boner the last few threads.

[Fluffy]

Carter hasn't exactly been a huge Israel cheerleader during his post-Presidency, sure.

But virtually every political figure in Israel that I know of was absolutely united during the fall of the Mubarak regime in proclaiming the maintenance of the Egypt treaty their #1 foreign policy priority.

It seems a little silly to accuse Carter of having sold Israel out when the Israelis themselves declare his legacy in this area absolutely critical to their security.

[Mr. FIFY]

Tell us about that brave man, Arafat, and how he took a great deal and shat upon it, MNG...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, Carter screwed Israel, spending a great deal of time and capital brokering a lasting peace with its greatest enemy.

Anwar Sadat did most of the legwork on the Camp David Accords, meeting with Begin in secret, speaking before the Knesset. President Peanut elbowed his way into the deal by "offering" them the use of Camp David, then throwing in aid money as a sweetener so he could claim a foreign policy victory.

[DJF]

The way for an American to judge a US president is whether or not he his good for the US, not whether or not he is good for a foreign country. It is the job of a Israeli President to be good for Israel.

[OO]

and the american taxpayer & military

[MNG]

I agree. The problem is we have lots of people who want to judge US politicians and leaders by how good they are for Israel.

[Timon19]

I guess the subject of Israel is a dog whistle for John and MNG. Man...

[Clich? Bandit]

Dude, a fart in the wind is a dog whistle to those two. I have been on LP chat lists that are less annoying.

[RyanXXX]

Usually John is pretty reasonable, but when it comes to Israel he starts having nightmares of Islamo-Nazis breaking down the doors of all Jewish people

[J[o]h[nn]y L[o][n]gt[o]rs[o]]

Thank You for Being a Friend
How much of a Golden Girls fan are you? Let's find out.

[capitol l]

I got one right, does that mean that I'm teh ghey?

[Marshall Gill]

Duh!

[Clich? Bandit]

So I thought I would actually do well. I have seen a LOT of GG episodes. Well, I guess I am only 20% gay cause that quiz was hard.

[J[o]h[nn]y L[o][n]gt[o]rs[o]]

NHS budget squeeze to blame for longer waiting times, say doctors
Latest performance data reveal number of English patients waiting more than 18 weeks has risen by 26% in last year

Doctors are blaming financial pressures on the NHS for an increase in the number of patients who are not being treated within the 18 weeks that the government recommends....

Strauss-Kahn, Exemplar of Socialism
The libertarian critique of socialism, or 'social democracy,' has usually gone something like this:

The socialist program demands a planned economy. A planned economy can result only from plans. Plans must be made by a group of experts who are not subject to the vagaries of the electoral process. To form and implement their plans, the planner-kings must know everything crucial to the economy. They must know everything significant to their own plans, and be able to predict everything significant that may result from them.

But that is impossible.

This being true, the people who become planners will be those who are either stupid enough to believe that Plans can succeed or cynical enough to care only about the personal power that can be acquired by Planning.....

[Max]

if the government makes rethuglicans wait 6 months for healthcare, i'd be happy.

[Max]

Stop spoofing me!

[SugarFree]

And people say I have a strong stomach...

[John]

Is Lady Gaga even human?

[SugarFree]

Only her gyno knows the truth...

[MNG]

She is just this generation's Madonna.

[John]

Truthfully her music is more interesting than Madonna's. Most of Madanna's music, sans Ray of Light which has aged quite well, sounds awful now days.

[MNG]

Agree on Ray of Light, good stuff that.

Madonna was/is hotter though. I've heard GaGa was essentially a performance artist most of her career, so her antics make some sense there.

[mad libertarian guy]

The big difference is that, although awful, gaga writes all her own music and is adept in various musical instruments.

She's actually a musician whereas Madonna was just a pop icon who sang.

[Tulpa]

So, Lady Gaga's music sounds better during her period of popularity than Madonna's sounds 20 years after her period of popularity. Excellent point.

[-]

They say the same thing about J.S. Bach.

[John]

JS Bach was actually pretty obscure in his lifetime. He was busy writing fugues and such when those were out of fashion. He didn't get really popular until the 19th Century.

[deified]

Ridiculous. Holiday, Borderline, Open Your Heart: these are timeless classics.

[MNG]

Not a fan of the song Open Your Heart but liked the video.

[John]

'Holiday, Borderline, Open Your Heart: these are timeless classics.'

If you are 40, gay and live in PTown maybe. But to the rest of the world, no.

[Lost_In_Translation]

*meow* (hiss, claw, etc)

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Jeezum crow, are these actual American males comparing and contrasting the relative merits of Madonna's music with Lady Gaga's?

I wouldn't know anything about either one. I don't think I've ever heard a single Lady Gaga song, and have no desire to do so. I've heard some Madonna songs and have never been impressed at all.

You want true and genuine female musical talent? Check out Brandi Carlile. I just saw her show here in Richmond, VA on Sunday night, and that woman can actually play multiple instruments, is a hell of a song writer and has an amazing voice. And she's not yet even 30 years old.

Of course, she doesn't go for the ridiculous and over-the-top outfits, makeup, stage sets and ridiculous attention-grabbing behavior. Instead, she just makes good music.

Which I guess means she'll never be a pop mega star.

[Citizen Nothing]

Alison Krauss. Just sayin'.

[John]

Nico Case. And I just said Gaga was more interesting than Madonna. I didn't say she was any good.

[JW]

Nico Case.

This. So this.

[Ted S.]

Actually, it's Neko Case. And as a movie buff, I have to give her enormous credit for getting TCM to air four of the Dogville shorts when she was Guest Programmer.

[Mike Laursen]

Thank you. Needed to be said.

[Zeb]

Pop music is music for people who don't really care about music.

[NeonCat]

What does it mean to CARE about music?

If you don't like a particular style of music, that's your business, but to suggest that pop (or rap, or metal, or polka or whatever one doesn't care for) isn't "real music" is just pretentious.

[Mike Laursen]

One word refutation: Motown.

[Restoras]

A+

[NeonCat]

It is possible to like both Brandi Carlisle and Lady Gaga, just as it is possible to like Neko Case and Brandi Carlisle or Lady Gaga and Madonna. Now, you may be justified in saying Neko and Brandi are better musicians than Gaga and Madonna, but you must admit Gaga and Madonna are better self-promoters and (possibly) put on a more interesting stage show, precisely because of the spectacle involved. I don't think there's anything wrong with being a singer-songwriter or a mega pop star and am glad we live in a world where both can be successful.

[Shocked]

Lady GaGa is actually an accomplished musician and great singer. You just can't see it in current form as her get ups are too distracting.

[Fluffy]

If Brandi Carlisle was straight, I would probably have to stalk her.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

^THIS^

She's very cute and also pretty funny. Not to mention one hell of a singer.

I have a feeling I likely would disagree with her politics, though, to the extent that she has any.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

Didn't Carlile do pop music when she was in The Go-Gos?

[Fluffy]

Not Belinda Carlisle, dude.

Although I suspect you are playing us with that question.

Belinda's what? 60, now?

[Ted S.]

According to Wikipedia, Belinda Carlisle is 52, having been born in the same summer of 1958 as Madonna (who is one day older than Carlisle), Michael Jackson, and Prince.

[CrackertyAssCracker]

Carolyn Wonderland

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sterling, who is black, has a long, contentious history with the CIA. He filed a racial discrimination complaint with the agency's Equal Opportunity office in 2000 and followed that up with several federal lawsuits.

You can sue the CIA? I wish I knew that a few years ago. My dentist tossed out the transmitter he took out of my molar. That was evidence. Come to think of it, my dentist and my lawyer look very similar, except for that mustache.

[John]

http://www.mediabistro.com/fis.....dia_b36292

Wow. Now we know where Tony workds. And the zombie Obama picture on this link is a must see.

[T]

More proof this administration has the thinnest skin in history. OMG, people talk mean about us on teh intertubes! We must respond!

Even if Lee is focusing only on progressives, to bring them back into the fold, he's gonna be a busy man responding to all the negativity about his boss.

[fish]

Hey....it's the Sunstein Doctrine!

[Mr. FIFY]

And the left claims the right is evil.

[sage]

Harold Camping forgot to carry a "1" in his math, says we have five months

Crazy old man is crazy. And old.

[John]

Ahmadinejad says we have until June 5th.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/ahmadinejad's-team-expects-arrival-of-12th-imam-on-june-5/

[Fist of Etiquette]

An angel told me that I will be warned two weeks in advance of the rapture, so if anyone is interested in staying informed send me money and I'll text you as soon as I get that date. The angel didn't say exactly when but it's close, so you don't have much time. No post dated checks, please.

[sage]

Will you take a second party, out of state paycheck?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yes, but fine print: I reserve the right to string you along.

[Will Nevaseeit]

Camping Obama refused to take responsibility for any pain or suffering his prediction may have caused, saying that he was merely interpreting the Bible Constitution, and that he did so incorrectly.

[Tulpa]

So God is even worse at keeping apointments than Comcast?

[God]

Your Rapture will occur between May 21 and October 21, 2011. Please be sure that someone will be home between those dates, or we will have to reschedule your Rapture.

[OO]

"The judge previously quashed a subpoena issued to Risen earlier in the case. But prosecutors say Risen's testimony would be relevant to a jury, and that reporters enjoy no special privilege under federal law to avoid testifying."
_
NYT reporters have been jailed for contempt refusing to reveal sources. One of the big differences bet professional journalists & the wannabees.

[DJF]

Unfortunately most of the NYT sources are high government officials trying to spread disinformation or engaged in political squabbles.

[OO]

the times standards requires confirmation if anonymous sources are used.

[DJF]

Like those Judith Miller articles claiming that Saddam had WMD's hidden in his palaces? All you need to do is find two liars who will confirm the lie and that standard is met.

Instead of making protection of anonymous sources to be the highest standard of journalism, it should be telling the truth to the readers. So if some anonymous sources feed a bunch of lies to the reporter the reporter should expose the liars so the readers get the truth, not hid the sources idenity

[John]

I think we should keep anonymous sources. The managers in government are assholes. Whistleblower laws are routinely ignored. And even if you later win a law suit, your life sucks for years before that.

If you are some government drone who knows where the bodies are buried how are you supposed to go to the media if you are going to get outed? Don't we want anonymous bureaucrats telling on the government? I do.

[DJF]

But the thing is, most of the anonymous sources are not some little file clerk, but usually top political or bureaucratic people trying to push their agenda while hiding their identity.

[Fluffy]

+1

[CrackertyAssCracker]

What you said. Plus the whole deal where they say "We won't prosecute you, so 5th ammendment doesn't count" is BS as far as I'm concerned. Not saying anything should always be an option.

[Restoras]

Don't forget that the NYT also has a monopoly on the truth.

[OO]

which is why the times publishes corrections & omissions. another diff bet pros & the wannabees

[Trespassers W]

corrections & omissions

Which somehow manage to fit into a tiny box! That's how good they are at getting things right the first time.

[T]

What, that the professional journalists went to jail? That's because they're stupid.

Repeat after me:
"I do not recall at this time."
"I can't remember right now."
"I have no recollection of those events."

It works for other people when subpoenaed, it can work for you.

[Pat Riot]

"these provisions ... have been the subject of many committee and subcommittee hearings, and have never been held unconstitutional."

Alrighty then.

[Boxbot]

What kind of over the top, 80's cartoon villain do you have to be to be in opposition to Latinas in miniskirts? That's like wanting to ban sunshine and rainbows.

[Dick Dastardly]

So, you'd hate me if I banned THIS???

[Boxbot]

Abusus non tollit usum.

[Lex Luthor]

Even I wouldn't stoop to that level, Dick.

[NotSure]

What a genius this Mexican politician is, soon all those teen pregnancies will be solved by his miniskirt ban. I mean who would dream of banging somebody if they did not have a miniskirt on.

[Notorious H.A.T.E.R.]

Well it's not like he can ban the Catholic church for being against birth control.

[J[o]h[nn]y L[o][n]gt[o]rs[o]]

I missed the good quotes when I posted this link earlier:

The True Story of the Financial Crisis
...The 1992 affordable housing goals required that, of all mortgages Fannie and Freddie bought in any year, at least 30 percent had to be loans made to borrowers who were at or below the median income in the places where they lived. Over succeeding years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) increased this requirement, first to 42 percent in 1995, to 50 percent in 2000, and finally to 55 percent in 2007. It is important to note, accordingly, that this occurred during both Democratic and Republican administrations....

...This is the claim that Fannie and Freddie became insolvent because, seeking profits or market share, they "followed Wall Street" into subprime lending. This idea neatly avoids the question of why Fannie and Freddie became insolvent in the first place, and focuses the blame again on the private sector. The statement, however, as the following quote from Fannie's 2006 10-K report makes clear, is untrue:

[W]e have made, and continue to make, significant adjustments to our mortgage loan sourcing and purchase strategies in an effort to meet HUD's increased housing goals and new subgoals. These strategies include entering into some purchase and securitization transactions with lower expected economic returns than our typical transactions. We have also relaxed some of our underwriting criteria to obtain goals-qualifying mortgage loans and increased our investments in higher-risk mortgage loan products that are more likely to serve the borrowers targeted by HUD's goals and subgoals, which could increase our credit losses....

[DJF]

The reason why Fannie and Freddie became insolvent is because politicians of both parties had the idea that having a house makes a person economically successful and stable when in fact it is economically successful and stable people who can afford a house. Giving a person a mortgage on a house when they are not economically successful or stable is just going to lead to foreclosure and failure.

[Restoras]

A+

[Cargo Cults]

What a bunch of backward dumbfucks.

[SFC B]

Everyone knows that correlation equals causation.

[CrackertyAssCracker]

Also, stationary families are much easier targets for the permanent bandit class.

[Restoras]

A+

[MNG]

Frank Bailey joined Sarah Palin's campaign for governor of Alaska in its earliest days...In Palin, he found a leader who elegantly fused faith and politics. She exuded charm, energy and idealism, and, most important, she inspired trust. Bailey was politically smitten: "In my mind, God had chosen her, and this was His will."

But God had his own plan for Frank Bailey. The political novice spent nearly four years at Palin's side only to wind up disillusioned by his "Ronald Reagan in high heels." In "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin," his political kiss-and-tell based on more than 50,000 Yahoo account e-mails that he wrote or received as a campaign and administration staffer, Bailey paints a portrait of an erratic, vindictive, unethical politician. Palin emerges as a woman far more interested in power, fame and fortune than in the day-to-day grind of governing.

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

[John]

She didn't give him a job. And it is not like he would be getting fawning reviews in the WAPO if he had written a positive book. There is always a place for conservatives willing to go left so the left can say "see even one of your own thinks you are nuts".

Meh.

[OO]

i sincerely wish that palin gets the nomination to end her 15 mins

[NotSure]

Shocking - absolutely shocking, a politician who is interested in power.

[Atanarjuat]

Exactly. If only all politicians would recieve the same scrutiny and mocking.

[OO]

many do. palin aint above it

[CrackertyAssCracker]

Frank and Dondero should get together sometime and tell stories about thier crappy ex bosses.

[Warty]

Mandatory black boxes in cars are inevitable.

Arnold likes uggos.

[SugarFree]

Girls With Low Self-Esteem

[Warty]

They're the best and the worst at the same time.

[fish]

Arnold likes uggos.

Arnold likes uggos Pluggos.

FIFY

Mildred makes my teeth hurt.

[NoVAHockey]

Re: the black boxes - I assume these could be used for mileage-based taxes?

[fish]

I think you can count on it.

[Warty]

You think governments give a shit about liability in car accidents?

[SugarFree]

It's sad that those people in the wired are allowed to vote.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I have a buddy who owns several vehicles, the newest of which is a 1976 Ford F250. The oldest is a 1935 Chevrolet.

He points out that there's nothing on any of his vehicles he can't fix himself, in his own driveway, with standard mechanic's tools.

Not so with, for example, my 2005 F150, with all of its electronics and computers and such.

I'm starting to see the merit of his thinking. If the gubmint is going to mandate black boxes on new vehicles, allowing the gubmint to track any data about my car at all, looks like I won't be buying any car newer than 2011 for the rest of my life.

[John]

Everyone should have at least one vehicle that is immune to EMP attack.

[fish]

Dodge diesel 4x4, manual transmission, with the mechanical fuel injection...preferably in white....I like to keep a low profile.

[Tulpa]

Uh yes, it's called a bicycle.

As long as you depend on spark plugs to start it, you're not immune to EMP.

[Lord Humungus]

my wife once drove an '81 Malibu with the computer disconnected. With a new Holley on top to replace the computer-controlled Quadrajet, it was a surprisingly reliable car. I had to replace the starter once...

[MNG]

Manal al-Sharif, 32, one of the campaign organizers, was detained Sunday in the eastern city of Dammam for up to five days on charges of disturbing public order and inciting public opinion by twice driving in a bid to press her cause, said her lawyer, Adnan al-Saleh.

Ms. Sharif was arrested after two much-publicized drives last week to highlight the Facebook and Twitter campaigns she helped organize to encourage women across Saudi Arabia to participate in a collective protest scheduled for June 17.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05.....?_r=1&hpw;

[Fist of Etiquette]

Women drivers... Am I right, fellas?

[MNG]

the 64-year-old Mr. Kucinich, who first gained fame as the "boy mayor" of Cleveland in the 1970s, is delicately examining the idea of running for Congress here in Washington State next year. Given Ohio's loss of two House seats, his district is likely to disappear when new map lines are drawn.

But Washington is gaining a seat, and Mr. Kucinich figures his aggressive brand of antiwar, pro-working class politics could sell well in a solidly blue state where he has ideological allies and was popular in his White House bids in 2004 and 2008. It is a somewhat novel idea that could be summed up as: Have seniority, will travel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05.....h.html?hpw

[OO]

gerrymandering will take on a whole new meaning

[P B]

In bid to remain in the ruling class, power-hungry maggot goes shopping for a safe district.

[Restoras]

Pretty much.

[Tulpa]

The bizarre thing is he doesn't even have much power. Heck, Ron Paul probably has more power. It's the status and attention he craves, I suspect.

[West Texas]

This.

But that's all any of them want and is why we're in such shitty shape as nation.

[fish]

If you've seen Mrs. Kucinich it begins to make sense.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

Washington's loss is Ohio's gain.

[Citizen Nothing]

Could he take Cleveland with him?

[OO]

but not the tribe who continue to tear-it-up babieee

[Citizen Nothing]

The Columbus Indians. I like the sound of it.

[Citizen Nothing]

We could work a cartoon Chris Columbus in with Chief Yahoo. Hijinks ensue!

[Rev. Blue Moon]

They could beat each other up along the first base line every single game.

During the Seventh Inning, Captain Columbus could give Chief Wahoo a "gift" blanket.

[Timon19]

Wahoo. It's Wahoo, you philistine.

[cynical]

If any city should get to call its Native Americans "Indians", it's C-bus.

[West Texas]

And what about other Congressmen losing their seats? Blue ones go to Washington and Red ones go to... Texas?

FWIW - By my estimate, Massachusetts is the only other state that's guaranteed to lose a Dem Congressman, since Mass loses a seat and the delegation is 100% blue. Maybe Bwarney Fwank can go to Washington too for an idiot statist showdown with Kucinich?

[Fluffy]

I hate his progressivism, but if he actually moved to Washington, ran, and won, he would have the distinction of accomplishing TWO of the ballsiest, most arrogant campaign wins in US history.

That first Cleveland win is still a high water mark for sheer gall. Kucinich running for mayor that first time was about as arrogant as me, say, deciding to run for NY governor at age 11. And then winning.

[PapayaSF]

Not to mention totally blowing it as mayor (some historians once voted him one of the worst mayors in American history) and then running for Congress.

[MNG]

Is the Mavericks year?

[Spoonman.]

Hopefully Dallas won't be silly enough to plan a parade before the Mavericks actually win the championship this time.

[MNG]

+1

[Tulpa]

Nope. Bulls in 5.

[Chairman of the Bored]

So many links, so little time. Or interest.

[Tulpa]

Utah makes gold and silver legal currency

...and MSM "commodity experts" display usual ignorance.

gold has been on a tear for decades -- currently hovering above $1500 an ounce -- and has held up in the midst of tumbling silver

Yes, "tumbling" from triple its value two years ago to only double.

But, as you can imagine, Aaron and Henry are quite skeptical. "Are we going to start walking around with huge bags of coins," Aaron quips. "Is that the future of America?"

A "huge bag of coins" would be currently worth tens of thousands of dollars if the coins are silver, and around a million dollars if they're gold. So unless you're walking around with those amounts now, no, you won't be carrying around huge bags of coins.

As the law stands, Utah retailers are not required to accept this new form of currency. Probably a good thing since placing a real-time value on gold coins would be particularly tricky, as Aaron and Henry also note.

Uh, placing a real-time value on the dollar is damn tricky too...we're just used to it.

[NotSure]

Apparently in the 1960s the economists of the day, and that includes Friedman, all predicted that once the gold standard was gone, the gold price would drop to a very low number (I think it was $6). Not in their most preposterous dreams could they see the price getting to where it is now.

[Tulpa]

LBJ's combination of ridiculous domestic spending with ridiculous military spending was a creature they had never seen before...but would see much of after.

[fish]

LBJ's Obamas combination of ridiculous domestic spending with ridiculous military spending was a creature they had never seen before...but would see much of after.

What am I today the FIFY patrol?

[Zeb]

I liked the original better.

[mad libertarian guy]

Good. Because I hate walking around with a shitliad of heavy coins. It's one of the drawbacks of visiting Canada. By the end of the day I have $30 worth of fucking loonies and in my pockets threatening to expose my junk by pulling down my goddamn pants.

[John]

It looks like Bill Richardson is a first class crook.

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....lenews_wsj

Earlier this month, the new leadership at New Mexico's State Investment Council filed federal and state lawsuits against political donors. The suits allege that during Mr. Richardson's two terms, tens of millions of dollars were invested by the agency not to maximize returns for taxpayers, but to reward the governor's top political contributors.

[SFC B]

Clearly the WSJ meant to write Palin's name. Everyone knows that someone who was nominated for an executive position in the Obama position could not possibly be a corrupt, power-seeking, thief.

[John]

Back in 07 he used to get a lot of love on here as a "reasonable Democrat". Sure enough he has turned out to be a crap weasel just like that other Reason Democrat crush Jim Webb.

[Chupacabra]

To play it safe, I just assume that every politician is a crap weasel.

[John]

It is a pretty good bet.

[HL Mencken]

"The only way to look at a politician is down."

[Au H20]

Wait, let me get this straight: A politician from New Mexico, where the corruption is probably more pervasive than Chicago, was being corrupt? And not in a useful way?

Yeah, Welcome to New Mexico.

[Tulpa]

Oh noes, more people are renting in the face of ridiculously overpriced homes! What ever shall we do?

Rental housing is giving builders more work just as construction of single-family homes has dried up. Still, that economic lift won't make up for all the single-family houses not being built. Apartments account for only about one-fourth of homes. And renters are outspent roughly 2-to-1 by homeowners, who pay for items from lawn care to remodeling and help drive the economy.

Because as we know, rental properties are never remodeled and have lawns that are never cared for.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

If consumers do not have a property to leverage into a HELOC for little Johnny's overpriced B.A. in Mayan Architecture, then we have failed as a nation.

[Restoras]

A+

[John]

A++

[Tulpa]

A += A;

[Grade Inflation]

-A

[Rev. Blue Moon]

"Our math shows that the bird is equal to or greater than the word!"

"CHECK IT AGAIN!"

[West Texas]

I've noticed this quite a bit lately: those extolling renting point out how it's "cheaper" because renters don't have to pay for all this stuff... but then no one finishes the story by pointing out that that stuff still has to be paid for by someone and that perhaps rents are low right now because landlords have the capital to eat that cost in anticipation of stronger demand in the future.

So what I'm getting at, the people who are talking about how great renting is right now are very likely going to be bitching in the future when the rent goes up about how "greedy" the landlord has become.

[Matrix]

Is renting really cheaper? I doubt it. In fact, I know it's not.
For one, you're paying the mortgage, taxes, and insurance on the home, and probably extra for those under property management... and still more just as a little profit/upkeep.

Not only that, but the insurance is tied in with the property itself. It does not cover YOUR belongings, so you will have to get renters insurance on top of it.

The homeowner can get tax deductions on the mortgage interest and the property taxes. None of these are seen by the renter. So, really, the renter is not ahead in the game.

[Fluffy]

You're assuming that all rental property is fully leveraged.

The total market for rental property includes both properties with mortgages and properties that are owned free and clear.

Within the set of properties with mortgages, there will be a wide distribution of levels of indebtedness.

The market rental rate is set across that entire set of properties.

So you can't just say, "It's got to be cheaper to own, because if you're renting you're paying somebody else's mortgage". I might not be. Or I might be paying someone else's 10% LTV mortgage from 1997. If I don't have 90% to put down, I can't duplicate the mortgage payment my landlord is currently making.

[Lord Humungus]

I'm planning to sell my house so I can rent my next one - it's all about flexibility.

[Zeb]

This is the thing. If you need to be flexible and are likely to move in the near future, renting seems like the best option. If you want to live in one place for 20 years, buying is the obvious choice.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Good morning, Reason!

Here's your daily dog shooting story.

Off-duty cop shot the dog because he "thought" it was a "pit bull" and claims it "lunged at him."

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

P.S. - in addition to shooting the woman's pet four times, the cops gave her a citation for violating a city ordinance against allowing a dog to run loose.

[Lost_In_Translation]

surprised the cop didn't charge her for the bullet usage.

[Tulpa]

Here in Pittsburgh a dog actually bit a cop and lived to bark the tale.

[NeonCat]

Musta bit his shootin' hand?

[fish]

There needs to be a test. If a cop can't tolerate being around a sloppily happy dog without reaching for his sidearm he is deemed to chickenshit to be a cop.

Barney Fife laughs at you fucks.

[sage]

Everything you wanted to know about Tractor Pulls.

Interestingly, the article does not mention Wal Mart at all.

[John]

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/new.....110523-lgf

Reason number 1,450,000 why all store clerks should have access to a shotgun.

[SugarFree]

If a donut shop doesn't have police protection, what hope do other businesses have?

Also...

A $2,000 hot chocolate machine was reportedly destroyed in the attack.

?

[John]

Restaurant equipment costs a fortune. I have no idea why. But take what you would think it should cost and multiply it by ten and that is what commercial grade restaurant equipment costs.

[SugarFree]

I know, but unless it's the case where you put cocoa beans and a cow in one end and get hot chocolate out the other, that's insane.

[db]

I looked into getting a commercial frozen drink maker so I could have on-demand margaritas and pi?a coladas, but the cheapest one I could find was about $1500.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

But, hey, it could be worth 90 trillion if the headless chicken lands right.

[T]

Low volume production and a lot of it is designed for maintenance, not manufacture. You can replace just about everything on commercial equipment.

[Matrix]

Anyone read the comments on the article? It's like the KKK just took over the comment board.

[SugarFree]

Behold The Terror of Rule 34!

[John]

She would be cute to.

[Warty]

Google Translate suggests it says, "The barbers are fed up." WTF? Are barbers striking or something?

[SugarFree]

"We're sick and tired of barbarians. And cheap beard glue."

[Mr. FIFY]

Is that a poster on Feministing?

[SugarFree]

Protest against the pro-rape coverage of DSK in France.

[Mr. FIFY]

Same thing, SF, in a way.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

Is that 1990s era Al Roker behind her?

[Citizen Nothing]

David Mamet has a book on politics due out June 1.
I'm interested, especially because Publisher's Weekly has this to say: "It feels a couple of decades tardy and, despite its author's characteristically terse yet pensive prose, too at-the-knee of the usual neoconservative icons, including Hayek."

[Tulpa]

I think they mean Salma.

[Citizen Nothing]

Coffee is for closers.

[BigBob]

The good news is you're fired.

[CrackertyAssCracker]

Ya Bill Kristol and Santorum and Darth Cheney are always going around quoting Hayek.

[PapayaSF]

To many on the left, "neocon" is an all-purpose epithet that covers pretty much anyone non-left.

[John]

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

The comments to this are disturbing. It is mostly, we need to keep an eye on these damned right wingers. These people are down right creepy.

[John]

Sadly this guy is serious and not a troll.

"dierd1944
Here is another perspective. Lets say a right wing group intent on undermining the administration's program goals underbids all other bidders who are only interested in doing the work. Lets say they can underbid because some rich sponsors, lets say the Koch brothers, makes up for their underbid by subsidiing them with other contracts that are granted at above market prices to offset their loss on the federal contract. Lets say the winning contractor then does all they can to avoid performing the work called for in the contract. Lets say they have smart lawyers who can thwart the government's efforts to enforce the contract' terms. The result is a waste of taxpayer money and an ineffective implementation of the administration's agenda. Unlikely you say? I think not."

WTF? And it is recommended by three readers.

[Tulpa]

Koch reference ==> thumbs up

[Col Dubois]

Assume a spherical teabagger.

[Lord Humungus]

moving at the speed of light

[John]

In a box with a Geiger counter, and a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small that perhaps in the course of the hour, one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges, and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid.

[db]

On a frictionless surface.

[JW]

Sounds like this guy has a too intimate understanding of how standard gummint contracts work.

[#]

+1

[Trespassers W]

Apparently the new mantra of the Democratic Party is "by any means necessary"?

[Fluffy]

The funny thing is that the editorialist assumes the intent here is to chill free speech.

I think an equal aim of the policy is to chill bidding on government contracts.

Too many bidders lowers margins.

If you make it a big enough pain the ass to bid, only companies specifically created for the purpose of bidding on federal contracts will be able to bid.

I foresee a large increase in the number of contracts won by shell companies located in HUBzones that appear on paper to be owned by black female service-disabled veterans who make no political contributions, and who employ large numbers of handicapped Native Americans as consultants.

[TiggyToo]

Wow OK thats kinda crazy when you think about it. Wow.

http://www.privacy-online.us.tc

[Solanum]

Your tugging-at-your-heartstrings Kittah Morning Link

[SugarFree]

Cat: "Dammit. I thought I was finally free."

[John]

http://www.catsparella.com/201.....-ever.html

None of the cats look happy to be home.

[Warty]

First up is Zeus, a 14-month-old cat from Connecticut who was was missing for fifteen days after a neighbor found him in her yard and dropped him off outside of an animal shelter located 3 miles away.

What the fuck? Who takes an animal out of someone else's yard and dumps it outside the pound? "HURRR I iz doin the good deedz!"

[John]

Someone who wants an ass kicking.

[SugarFree]

The cat was in her backyard, but the whole story makes the neighbor out to be a shitball...

Zeus, a 14-month-old black long-haired cat, went missing earlier this month after a neighbor, Patricia Bailey, allegedly found the cat in her backyard one night and took it to the New Fairfield animal shelter on Route 37, where she reportedly threw it into the fenced-in area used as a dog run.

The cat escaped the pound and found his way home.

[John]

What a bitch.

[The Cat]

Anonymous note on woman's porch, composed of letters torn from magazines:

"Your kid will be on someone else's property someday, too. Sleep tight."

The reason this is cool is because it would totally terrify her for YEARS even if the note creator never had any intention of doing anything to the kid. Fear is good like that.

[Warty]

That's even worse. I'd beat the shit out of anyone who did that to any of my animals.

[JW]

Were that my cat, Mrs. Bailey would find her landscaping with a broad-spectrum herbicide mysteriously applied repeatedly each night.

That, and her phone number listed with shiesse fetish ads.

[SugarFree]

To be fair, very few cats ever look happy.

[Sean]

This. Being happy is beneath their dignity.

[MJ]

Villians are rarely happy.

[Warty]

The cat purring against her microphone was a nice touch.

[John]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ml?hpid=z3

Shock, people who major in things that can get you a job make more money than those who don't. Who would have thunk it?

[gaijin97]

some defenders of the humanities have said that their students are endowed with "critical thinking" and other skills

you know, valuable and massive stuff and such...like magical thinking and delusions of grandeur.

[T]

My favorite quote?

It would be a better world if we all studied the humanities.

No, because then the fucking plumbing wouldn't work and we'd have no electricity.

[Fluffy]

Want to study the humanities?

http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-.....0147503078

Buy the set of every Penguin Classics book and read all of them.

You will be better educated than 99% of the humanities graduates in the US for around 13 grand.

[SugarFree]

Think of the savings if you used gutenberg for the public domain versions.

[Fluffy]

True.

I guess I could have said, "Buy a Kindle for $114 and download all the public domain titles in the Penguin Classics library."

That would be 13,300 cheaper, and would have the salutary side effect of sparing you the shitty US material that is still under copyright, like the Steinbeck.

[Fluffy]

I am going to do this and blog about it.

Fluffy Vs. Gutenberg. Who will emerge triumphant?

The smart money is on Gutenberg.

[T]

I wish you luck. I don't read much of the classics because frankly, they bore the shit out of me. So your tolerance for tedium is going to be the factor here, IMHO.

[T]

I've said this for a long time. Why do you need to go to school for an English lit or philosophy degree? Take your ass down to the library and start reading. It's free!

If you don't mind the fact you have to associate with people like SF. So I guess it does cost you some of your humanity...

[Zeb]

I've never understood why so many people who don't know what to do with themselves choose an English major. Seems to me math should be the fall-back. If you have any talent for it, it is pretty easy to half-ass it through a math major.

I think that all the major areas of study are legitimate, the problem is that there are just too damn many people studying the useless arts and humanities (and going to college at all).

[MJ]

"Seems to me math should be the fall-back.'

There is a large overlap in the sets of people who "don't know what to do with themselves" and "are scared shitless of mathematics". It's not that difficult to understand, you cannot bullshit your way to a good grde in math.

[EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy]

If you are very lucky, the ghost of J sub D might be there too.

[Johnny Clamboat]

Wet-Pants Sensenbrenner:

"Additionally, no civil liberties have ever been violated."

Apparently Sensenbrenner has allowed his Reason subscription to lapse. What a POS.

[fish]

James Sensenbrenner: bringing Wisconsin flavored hysterical cowardice to you for the last 25 years!

[P Brooks]

Rep. James Sensenbrenner writes syrupy love letter to PATRIOT Act.

ps- I promise I won't cum in your mouth.

[P Brooks]

No, because then the fucking plumbing wouldn't work and we'd have no electricity.

Not necessarily; a so-called Humanities degree does not prohibit you from understanding how stuff works.

However, I would absolutely advise all persons of college age and younger (like my nephews) to learn how to DO and MAKE things, and not just think about them.

Not merely because they might one day need to figure out why the water won't stay inside the dishwasher, but because there is an immense benefit to the psyche when you point to something and say, "I made that. I turned lead into gold."

[T]

Well, troubleshooting something basic like a sink is a lovely skill you can build into that "problem solving" thingy they claimed humanities grads have.

And I agree. There's is an immense sense of accomplishment when you can point to something and say "I made that." It's one of the reasons I'm an engineer.

[Fluffy]

^This.

I read somewhere that you can tell if you're actually engaged in the process of learning by testing how difficult something is for you to do on your first try.

That means that when I take the cover off of the tank of the commode to see why the water won't stop running, I'm learning. When I read some asshole's column at HuffPo talking about the crisis in the humanities, I'm not learning.

[Cytotoxic]

Wait...Reason links an article SKEPTICAL of abuse at Gitmo? Mind=blown.