Reason Morning Links: Cuba, Cocaine, and a Congressman's Cockup

• Today Mitt Romney officially enters the race.
• Attorney General Eric Holder endorses a proposal to reduce crack convicts' sentences.
• A resolution to exit Libya might pass the House -- so the leadership has delayed a vote on it.
• Cuba sentences six peaceful dissidents to several years in prison.
• A congressman accused of tweeting his penis holds a bizarre press conference.
• Save Phonehenge!

The latest from Reason.tv: "MSNBC vs Sarah Palin vs The Flag vs Sanctimonious B.S."

Comments

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

Golden Girls on Gay Marriage

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

The Golden Girls - Fan Fiction

[rather]

Sending Pictures Of Your Ass Through The Internet 101, A Course For Politicians, And Married Men

http://rctlfy.wordpress.com/20.....rried-men/

[Almanian]

HAHA! You're not going to get me to click that, SugarFree-posing-as-rather! I'm on to your little game....

[rather]

My US map board is lighting-up like a Whack a Mole game.

It is a fight between penis instructions and the proper etiquette for sending your ass pictures by email

[rather]

In case you didn't notice, I wasn't able to re-up my meds yesterday. I can't believe my Walgreens doesn't keep Thorazine in stock. 🙁

[rather]

You know, I'm going to have to google 'Thorazine' but I'm curious why you would know all these drug names.

[Nick]

You're the worst character ever, Towelie.

[zoltan]

You should add chicks who commit suicide after their sexts go public at school.

[OO]

weiner's big weiner is viral

[Realist]

OMG!
Anthony Weiner's wifes name is Huma....it just don't get better than that!!!

[John]

It is a good thing that that crack conviction laws adversely affect "his people". At least Holder will for once do the right thing even if he is only doing it because he is a racist.

[Rich]

Right. Too bad we're "a nation of cowards" when it comes to dealing with the real problems.

[John Thacker]

At least he is advocating the right thing.

Of course, unlike starting a war, this is one area where the President does unambiguously have the power to fix those sentences. Frankly, if the sentencing disparity was so bad, I see no reason for President Obama not to pardon people or commute sentences.

[John]

That would require actually making a stand and taking responsibility. And have you noticed who our President is? That is not a good role for him.

[Tulpa]

Has any president since Ford exercised the clemency power for people not part of his administration before his last month in office? This isn't an Obama thing, it's a politician thing.

[proegg antichicken]

They won't release people who had weapons of any kind at their home. So how is that justice? I didn't know a legally owned firearm condemned you to more severe punishment even when not used in a crime.

Oh, win-the-future.

[Zeb]

What the fuck? I heard that this morning too. Apparently you won't be eligible for early release if your spouse keeps fully legal firearms in the house.

[proegg antichicken]

Did you also here the Detroit lawman say something to the effect of "the law is the law, you break the law you get fucked"? It was a really nice way to start my morning.

[Troy]

I wish I could beat every cocksucker with Warty's dick who uses that tautology.

[capitol l]

Weren't the sentencing disparities originally pushed through by the congressional black caucus because crack addiction supposedly harmed "his people" proportionally?

Seems things have come full circle.

[capitol l]

Godammit all to fucking hell!

DISproportionally

[Mike Laursen]

That hard to give credit on the rare occasion when it is due?

[John]

When dealing with a racist, corrupt authoritarian fuck like Holder, yes.

[affenkopf]

I'd rather have people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons than vice versa.

[Name Nomad]

The Congressman is doing interviews with CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News to discuss the matter.

"I'm doing them in order of....something," he told reporters.

"Size," Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said, interrupting him from nearby.

"That's what I didn't need right now," Weiner replied.

Say what you will about his politics, but I bet Barney Frank would be pretty fun to hang around.

[John]

HAHA. He is a funny guy. That is part of the reason why he survives like he does. Of course this from the guy who once let a male prostitute do tricks out of his apartment and grew weed with his boyfriend at another apartment.

[Fluffy]

To me, those are the highlights of his service.

Compared to his actual votes, all of those things are A-OK by me.

If he spent his entire Congressional tenure doing nothing but scoring with male prostitutes and smoking MJ I would donate to his campaign. It's everything he does when he's not fucking or getting high that I have a problem with.

[John]

I really can't argue with you there Fluffy.

[John Thacker]

He's pretty good on trying to legalize poker.

[.]

Don't you mean poke him?

[John]

If you told me we could have a Congress full of guys who were kind of lazy and stupid, but didn't do much and generally were skeptical of everything. But took liberties with their secretaries and did small petty corrupt things like got parking tickets and the odd DUI fixed or took a few too many junkets, I would take that over what we have how.

The famous German General Paul Von Manstein used to say the most dangerous officer to have in an organization was a stupid hard working one. That describes our current Congress.

[Brian E]

But took liberties with their secretaries and did small petty corrupt things like got parking tickets and the odd DUI fixed or took a few too many junkets, I would take that over what we have how.

See, that's honest corruption that doesn't really hurt anyone. The media doesn't tolerate politicians who aren't screwing everyone over. These days, it's go big or go home.

Weiner clearly got that message.

[R C Dean]

Of course, he also got his boyfriend a cushy sinecure at Fannie (or maybe Freddie, doesn't matter).

[Joe M]

I'm guessing Fannie. no homo

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Hey!

[SFC B]

You forgot the time his boyfriend got a job at a government-supported business in an industry he was involved in regulating, and how the business eventually helped bring about the great recession.

[Brian E]

Homophobe!

[CoyoteBlue]

His role (small but crucial) in destroying the American finacial system is the highlight of his career.

[Hal A. Butt]

"Barney Frank Admits Getting His Former-Lover a Fannie Position".

http://www.freerepublic.com/fo.....5612/posts

[SugarFree]

Parents have been advised not to dress their schoolchildren in short skirts and tight trousers amid fears they could be targeted by paedophiles.

[John]

The Scots really are a special breed of busybody stupid.

[Almanian]

How do they have the time, what with all the whisky drinking and bagpipe playing? Dinny bastards...

[CaptainSmartass]

Their whole problem is that they were colonized by wankers.

[Restoras]

+1 for the Trainspotting reference. Great flick.

[Virginia]

bunch of sheep shagging mud farmers.

[Pedro Fial]

I would never target short skirts and tight trousers.

[Abdul]

I was so glad when my kids turned out to be ugly because I knew they'd be safe from sex abuse.

[Arnold Schwarzenegger]

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

[Almanian]

pwnage!!

[Lord Humungus]

Mrs. Mountbatten: "Leggy told me he'd been to see these young men in a dark cellar. He was always very interested in young men-- youth clubs, boy scouts , that sort of thing. But these he said were different."

Brian Fowl: "In what way?"

Well, their hair, their music, their presence.

He liked it?.

No, he hated it.

What did he like?

Well......their trousers.

What about their trousers?

Well they were very.......tight.

Tight?

Yes, you could see quite clearly. . .

Oh I see.

Everything. Outlines. The lot.

Oh. Yes thank you.

Clear as day.

Thank you very much.

Nothing left to the imagination.

Yes thank you very much indeed, Mrs. Mountbatten.

Not at all.

[Otto]

Great movie / album

[mr simpl]

No pics? How are we supposed to judge if a skirt is too short with no pics?

Also:
The Scottish Parent Teacher Council said the letter to parents was not needed and unwise.

Apparently someone from our PTAs needs to teach these people how to be proper busy bodies.

[John]

Daily Weiner Update.

Weiner, despite being married to a tall exotic Muslim, is quite interested in a short, blond stripper/porn star from Nashville

http://starcasm.net/archives/103321

And Huma Abedin, hot or not? In some of these pictures she is smoking. And in others she looks homely. I can't decide. I am leaning towards hot. But I have a thing for Semitic women so I am biased.

http://globalgrind.com/news-po.....ner-photos

[Abdul]

Thanks for focusing on the important issues, instead of distractions.

I'm going with "Hot" largely because you have to judge her by Beltway standards, not Hollywood standards.

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

I tell you, this Weiner thing will be huge.

[Rich]

It's growing in the telling.

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

But it could get hairy.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I think it's going to blow up in someone's face.

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

Prematurely?

Don't blow it, Weiner.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ugh. Explode in someone's face. Dammit.

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

Don't wilt on us Weiner. Stay firm. Stand tall.

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

Stay firm no matter what you've gotten yourself into. These accusations are bush league. Get a grip on yourself. Hold on tight.

If his parents had named him Richard all would be right in my world.

[John]

He should have married a woman named long dead set on hyphenating her name upon marriage.

[SugarFree]

Dick Wiener, Private Eye

[John]

I knew an old fart DOS guy in Iraq named "Dick Knabb". He wasn't well liked. Finally a Major I worked for in exasperation one day said what everyone thought but hadn't said, "what the fuck kind of a name is that? it sounds like something you tried to do with your date after prom". I loved that guy, the Major not Dick Knabb.

[xenia onatopp]

I once took a message at work from a Dick Bigwood. And didn't laugh til I was off the phone. Plus I know a man whose last name is Dickhout. The h is silent.

[John]

Dick Bigwood is the greatest ever!! If I had that name I would never fail to introduce myself with my full name.

[The Gobbler]

Once new a woman named Mai Dong.

True story.

[Realist]

Nothing beats Huma Weiner!

[R C Dean]

I dunno. I think Abedin-Weiner (gwan, say it out loud) takes the prize.

[Nick]

Tony is as close to Tiny as you can get without being obvious.

[General Buck Turgidson]

Listen to Buck, use your nuts, uh, nukes!

[Uno Hoo]

I'm a throbbing member of Weiner's fan club.

[Almanian]

Weiner was a little stiff in his new conference, but I'm betting he turns flaccid when the heat is on.

[Mr. FIFY]

Still waiting for the money shot.

[KWebb]

Damn, probably too late for this.

The University of Arkansas carves the names of every graduate into the sidewalk. Somewhere in the 1960s there is a Pradeep Dikshit.

It's in front of the law building should you ever find yourself in Fayetteville.

[John]

There is actually a lot of hot women in Washington. They are just not politicians.

[Restoras]

I bet none of them are gold-diggers.

[John]

They really hot ones marry douches like Weiner, fuck around on them, and then take them to the cleaners in divorce court. Washington is full of dorky beta male men with too much money and power. So it is shall we say a target rich environment for such women.

[Dennis Kucinich]

Hey! No fair!

[Mr Whipple???]

I think they call them "trophy wives".

[Kristen]

It's the dudes in DC that are heinous. Did you see this Weiner guy? I bet he gets strange all day, every day, despite his unfortunate genes.

DC is chock full of young chickie-poos full of faux idealism, ready to change the world and jump in bed with any penis that is 6 degrees separated from the seats (or weiners) of power.

[John]

Yup

[SugarFree]

"Dispatch War Rocket Ajax to bring back his body!"

[Scruffy Nerf Herder]

The most underrated film ever made. Thank you Dino de Laurentiis.

[SugarFree]

I've had a roller-coaster opinion of it. I liked it as a kid when I saw it in the theater, but cooled to it on video and heavy HBO rotation as a teenager. I thought it was impossibly fey in college, when I felt bloated by the "camp is awesome or you hate gays" movement. I saw it recently and realized that it isn't a great film, but it certainly managed to incorporate the energy of the old serial better than most attempts, and it is a fairly seamless work integrating costume design, stage-driven performances, and that fantastic soundtrack. The weakest part continues to be Sam Jones' performance, which takes Flash Gordon's sense of honor and twists it into a meat-headed ugly American routine. Jones' only really figures out the character in the last 10 minutes or so, which stifles the movie with a "Brad and Janet" atmosphere than slides too far into satire of the enterprise.

[Scruffy Nerf Herder]

I have to admit, I never thought about it that much. I was always just entertained by the producers taking the campy ridiculousness to the logical extreme.

Oh, and Ornella Muti.

[tarran]

Ornella Muti is proof that God exists and loves us.

She played Marissa Tomei's mom in Oscar which makes it the most awesome movie Sylvester Stallone ever appeared in.

Those flashing eyes as she angrily asserts, "If you love me... if you ever loved me... you'll find my BABY A HUSBAND!"

[John]

I just googled Muti. OMG. WOW.

[Nick]

I'll be in my bunk.

[Solanum]

Too bad Bruce Campbell really wasn't on the scene yet. He would've been a perfect Flash.

[Pro Libertate]

Flash! A-ah!

I heard a clip on the radio this morning of Shaq singing that song: "Shaq! A-ah!"

You know, despite some of his movie roles, I like Shaq. A-ah!

[Scruffy Nerf Herder]

Shaq is a blasphemer who has never been tested by the Treebeast.

[Pro Libertate]

At least he knows enough to be a heretic. How many athletes are familiar with that film?

[Mr. FIFY]

Can't hold a candle to Plan 9 From Outer Space... sorry, SF, but good try anyway.

[Otto]

That's what you would think, with your stupid, stupid brain!

[Fluffy]

Not bad for a porn chick.

Again, I totally endorse Weiner's fascination with 5' 2" 106 lb porn stars.

I'd rather have a Congressman sending junk pics to that Ginger Lee chick than sending out TinyUrl links to Obama administration disinformation and bullshit.

[John]

She is pretty hot. And she has real boobs. Of course Weiner is a classic Manhattan limousine liberal who rails on the evil rednecks west of the Hudson. I guess he thinks it is okay to fuck them even though they are all evil racist teabaggers.

[Lord Humungus]

evil tractor-pullin' rednecks that is

[jacob]

She has kind of a wholesome-ness you just don't see in a lot of porn stars.

She is hot, too.

[Brett L]

It usually burns off pretty fast. Something about screwing on command makes people cynical.

[Mr. FIFY]

Pro porn is like pro wrestling... fake and boring.

[Mr. FIFY]

AND choreographed. Forgot to add the worst part of both activities.

[Tulpa]

Pretty sure the wholesomeness is an act. They play to the first impressions people get from their appearance.

[Troy]

despite being married to a tall exotic Muslim

Linky?

[Dick Bigwood]

His wife is the women in the next link

[Tulpa]

If you're not interested in Ginger Lee there's something wrong with you.

[TrickyVic]

I think the last thing we want to do is give lawmakers the idea that it's so wrong to do it. Next thing you know, there's a law against it.

[rather]

To qualify you need to pass this

[Almanian]

HAHA! Again I foil you, SugarFree-posing-as-rather! I will NOT click on that link!

PWNAGE!!

[rather]

Referrer Views
reason.com 3,779

[proegg antichicken]

I'm not surprised you found 4000 people to follow you into your hole. You are the epitomy of blogwhore, so I expect you should have some success. Otherwise, wouldn't you just stop?

[rather]

proegg, I hate to burst your bubble but I get most of my traffic outside of Reason

I'm a hit in Western Europe, the Middle-East and Japan
-weird

[proegg antichicken]

Don't worry, I make all my bubbles out of carbon nanotubes. Unburstable.

[Almanian]

I'm not going to be 3,780. You can't make me - PWNAGE!

[Pro Libertate]

Wouldn't those count times you click on your own links?

[rather]

Pro Lib, you know damn well the host 's IP never registers

[rather]

Sorry for snapping at you, Pro Lib. I haven't had my coffee yet. Or my Haldol. Jesus Christ, I'm batshit insane.

[rather]

His IP for cash
-come on Reason, don't you need the donation?

[Tulpa]

Is that per month or per year?

[P Brooks]

A jury began hearing the county's case against Fahey last week: He is charged with 14 criminal misdemeanor counts, including unlawful use of land. L.A. County deputy District Attorney David Campbell told the paper that Fahey repeatedly ignored city officials' warnings that he was violating multiple municipal building safety and fire codes and thinks he is above the law.

"He has set up his own arrogant interpretation of the law," Campbell told the paper.

Every *sane* person knows you cannot arrogantly interpret the law for your own benefit until you win an election.

David Campbell should be bombarded with flaming bags of dog shit every time he leaves his house.

[Res Publica Americana]

Stick some dart fish into his toilet bowl.

[rbenchley]

Or the dreaded Candiru, a naughty little fish with a penchant for swimming up a man's urethra, to feed on the damaged tissue of the pitiful mass of flesh you once called your PENIS!!

[Robert]

Anybody have the details on what the specific viol'ns are?

[Abdul]

Say what you will about Cuba's revolution, but at least they have free sex change operations.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/.....ex.change/

[Some Call Me. . .Tim]

A congressman accused of tweeting his penis holds a bizarre... press conference.

I was getting excited for a moment there.

[Fake Michael Moore]

Cuba sentences six peaceful dissidents to several years in prison.

News stories like this serve only to distract from their stellar heath care system.

[More Fake Michael Moore]

I almost forgot, a higher percentage of people in Cuba are able to read this story than here.

[Fakerest Michael Moore]

We should throw dissidents in prison here. At least while Obama is in office.

[Max Stirner]

http://articles.orlandosentine.....ndo-police

"They basically carted them off to jail for feeding hungry people," Coleman said. "For them to regulate a time and place for free speech and to share food, that is unacceptable."

[CrackertyAssCracker]

I dunno. If they were feeding bears or gators in the same park, would you have a problem with this?

You feed them often enough and they begin to associate humans with free food.

[SugarFree]

Tis truly a Golden Age of humor we live in, to have the chance to hear someone utter the phrase "un-Wiener-like" on a morning news program.

[Les Laff]

Tony Weiner = A penis that is fashionable among wealthy or stylish people.

[Some Call Me. . .Tim]

"Meet the Weiners" could be bigger than The Hangover franchise.

[Tony]

I'll be the judge of that, Les.

[rather]

Poor Gaddafi is homeless

[rather]

Gaddafi slumming

[P Brooks]

I bet Barney Frank would be pretty fun to hang around.

Well, if you love fucking people in the ass, it's good to be a Congressman.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Today Mitt Romney officially enters the race.

At least his supporters don't have to worry about him immediately going on Meet the Press to surprise everyone with his love of Obamacare.

[Sarah Palin]

Good luck getting noticed, Romn

[rather]

Sorry, everyone. One of my split personalities posted that. It's beyond my control until my meds come in.

Oh god, here come the voices! Someone help me! MAKE THEM STOP!

[rather]

Reason musn't need the donation. My offer still stands:

The bitches IP address for a donation

[rather]

The Reason admin just emailed me and said the IP address is my own. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SOMEONE GET ME MY MEDS.

[rather]

you are an ass but funny. How much Reason?

[proegg antichicken]

the phone call is come from inside the house!

[Mike Myers]

From my [Romney's] first day in office my No. 1 job will be to see that America once again is No. 1 in job creation.

Hold on, everyone, give me a few minutes. I think I can come up with a joke here. Remember that bathroom stall with Tom Arnold? That was high-larious.

[Mike Myers]

Crap... I can't think of anything. Why didn't anyone see Love Guru?

[Matrix]

I saw it on DVD (rented)... I want my money back!

[Red Box]

Sorry, you spent your one dollar plus tax. Suck it up, Matrix.

[Restoras]

Courtesy flush of this campaign, please.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Attorney General Eric Holder endorses a proposal to reduce crack convicts' sentences.

An endorsement he absolutely, positively will stand behind when the time comes.

[John]

http://www.tennessean.com/arti.....9/Sharing-

Sharing netflix password to be a crime in Tennessee.

[Solanum]

While those who share their subscriptions with a spouse or other family members under the same roof almost certainly have nothing to fear

A prosecutor with an axe to grind with someone would almost certainly never abuse such a broadly defined law!

[John]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.c.....ews-193116

Hollywood execs admit on tape, that yes they are leftist authoritarian pricks who discriminate against anyone who doesn't tow the leftist lion.

[DJF]

At least they don't blacklist against people with unpopular politics like those evil anti-communists did in the 1950's!!!

Oh wait, never mind.

[WTF]

All part of the long march through the institutions.

And in other news, water is wet.

[MNG]

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

Nearly two decades after a zero-tolerance culture took hold in American schools, a growing number of educators and elected leaders are scaling back discipline policies that led to lengthy suspensions and ousters for such mistakes as carrying toy guns or Advil.

This rethinking has come in North Carolina and Denver, in Baltimore and Los Angeles ? part of a phenomenon driven by high suspension rates, community pressure, legal action and research findings.

[John]

Nothing lasts forever. People do eventually learn and pull back from their insanity. Sadly, they just find new forms of insanity. But no individual form lasts forever.

[The Gobbler]

A friend of mine is attending her son's high school graduation this evening. It's a military academy so they will be in dress uniforms, which includes real swords. In this day and age that seems subversive.

[Restoras]

Funny, why don't I just see Common Sense as a reason? Oh, right, education is a jobs/welfare program first and foremost and we can't have various levels of administrators held responsible for thier actions.

[John Thacker]

Well good. The WSJ has been editorializing against this insanity for years.

[MP]

Generational shift. Those kids getting the jackboots on their throats are finally growing up.

But soon they'll have kids and the cycle will repeat.

[John Thacker]

It'll be interesting to see how both parties try to whip the Libya resolution. The Afghanistan withdrawal measure got very close to passing.

[John Thacker]

The GOP leadership probably wants these things to almost pass, but not quite, in a kind of good cop/bad cop thing to force the Administration to consult with Congress more. The Dem leadership doesn't want to embarrass President Obama.

Backbenchers on both sides are being unruly, though.

[DJF]

Also both sides don't want to take responsibility for anything so they can avoid the blame no matter what happens.

[Jerry]

I wonder how NATO and Obama are going to spin this one: Libya conflict: UN accuses both sides of war crimes.

[John]

http://www.zerohedge.com/artic.....-tragedies

Consumer confidence lower than at any time since 1987. People just don't like Obama because he is black and that is why they don't feel confident. Right?

[West Texas]

But do they have the balls (or lack of sense) to turn it into a campaign slogan?

If Americans weren't so damn racist, this economy would booming again! Quit hating on the black man and get confident, America!

[SugarFree]

DIY Big Brother; or The Self-Squeezing Orange Lashes Out

Noise Snare was invented by Mark Nesdoly, an electrical engineer from Edmonton, Canada. He was inspired to create it after a neighbor's loud motorcycle woke up his young daughter.

The system can be covertly mounted on a vehicle, which is then parked and left unattended at a location that municipalities wish to monitor. Once everything is armed, a microphone proceeds to register noise levels of passing vehicles. When a vehicle that exceeds legal noise levels is detected, a video camera captures footage of it, which is recorded - along with stereo audio - to DVD. Information such as the time, date and location of the infraction are superimposed on the footage, along with the vehicle's sound level in decibels.

[John]

I am torn. I absolutely hate douchebags with loud mufflers. And they do ruin the quality of life of others. But I hate camera tickets as well.

[SugarFree]

I hear 10X more sirens in the middle of the night than I do cars that go boom, fags, or people needing muffler repair.

[West Texas]

I agree. I detest loud music and loud mufflers (how the fuck can people cruise around in their cars with that shit pounding in their ears like that?) and how that infringes on public peace like it does but I don't necessarily like being monitored by the telescreen, either.

Unmarked police cars driven by cops who actually have the balls to stop people every once in a while for something other than speeding, however, I am a bit more favorable to.

[West Texas]

Same thing with jackasses who drive around with their fog lamps all lit up all the time.

[PapayaSF]

I've got no problem with this. It's Tocquevillian, not Big Brotherish.

[Almanian]

I bet Mark Nesdoly is actually The Derider?, and did this to rain major PWNAGE down on teh evul motorcyclists!

lulz

I really do hate the stupid loud Harley pipes. Loud 4cyl Japanese bikes are only marginally less irritating. Ducatis and Aprilias sound divine when unplugged, however...just sayin'.

[The Gobbler]

People claim that loud pipes save lives. I would submit that if your bike is that loud, you will fail to here the horn blowing on the semi that is just about ready to slam into you.

[Sean]

But Ducati people themselves tend to be insufferable. Who else would respond to someone saying nice bike with "I know". Fuck those guys.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"He has set up his own arrogant interpretation of the law," [L.A. County deputy District Attorney David] Campbell told the paper.

The prosecutor's feelings are hurt by his defiance.

Grandstanding or not, this is a definite problem with law enforcement and bureaucracy. Agents of the state taking things personally. They too often get personally invested in their transactions with the public. Malicious prosecution, police brutality and overzealous code enforcement are the result. People are only going to take so much.

[Troy]

People are only going to take so much.

We are talking about Americans here. some of the fattest pussbags (not to disparage, in any way, the vagina) on the planet. American are so fucking conditioned to genuflect to authority that they will bring their own KY Jelly.

[jocuri barbie]

And they do ruin the quality of life of others. But I hate camera tickets as well. jocuri barbie

[P Brooks]

"It's really a policy of being against him (Obama)," Ackerman said. He said Republicans "are making a choice between Moammar Gadhafi and Barack Obama."

Yup.

[John]

Hold it, Ackerman has never so much as held a weapon let alone served in the military. Can I call him a chickenhawk now? Please?

[R C Dean]

"It's really a policy of being against him (Obama) Bush," Ackerman random Repug douchebag said. He said Republicans Democrats "are making a choice between Moammar Gadhafi Saddam Hussein and Barack Obama George W. Bush."

Funny, I don't recall hearing that during the arguments over the Iraq war. Of course, I guess it could be because plenty of Dems voted for the Iraq war.

[MNG]

But being a jerk, even on an Edwardsian scale, is not a felony, which is what federal prosecutors have been pursuing for more than two years. The original theory of the case was that Edwards misused campaign funds to support his mistress, Rielle Hunter. That would have been a serious matter, except the theory fizzled.

Some prosecutors would have stopped there. The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, George Holding, did not.

The current case against Edwards, the one for which he is on the verge of being indicted, rests on a novel and expansive reading of what constitutes a campaign contribution.

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

[John]

It is total bullshit. DOJ needs to be reigned in. Just because Edwards is an asshole doesn't mean he should be hounded to jail. This is where the media totally falls down on the job. They should be shaming these prosecutors. Instead they just cover it as a soap opera.

[Cyto]

I don't know if I'd call it "total bullshit". The story is that a single large political donor ponied up 3/4 of a million bucks as a gift to take care of a problem for Edwards.

Let's take sex scandal out of it. What if the political donor had given Edwards $750,000 to build a vacation home? Or what if he paid off that amount of (legal) gambling debt?

It most certainly is a gift to Edwards to pay his mistress a huge pile of cash. I don't think you can buy a million dollar house for a Senator - at least not legally. If you owned a print shop or a TV station you could not have offered him $750k worth of fliers or TV spots (gift in kind).

It doesn't sound like all that much of a stretch to me. In fact, I'm surprised they aren't pursuing a tax evasion angle on the cash. If those checks were of personal benefit to Edwards (they were) they are reportable as income. He might be entitled to deduct the full amount as dependent expenses, but maybe not.

[John]

So I can't give him 700K to pay his gambling debts but I can give 700K to his campaign. I am frankly not seeing the difference.

[Cyto]

I don't think you can give him $700k for his campaign. I think that counts as hard money, and is subject to the individual limit - I think that's $2,500. See FEC chart here

[JoshINHB]

Who says that you can't give him 700k or a larger amount for whatever reason you want?

Just report it as a gift and he pays IC tax on it.

BTW what is stopping someone from doing that, with the recipient then self funding his campaign with the gifted money?

[Fluffy]

He and Hunter were not related.

So if I buy Vernon Jordan a house, I have made a campaign contribution to Bill Clinton? Is that what you're saying?

[sloopyinca]

Serious question but mMaybe I'm picking nits here: if the donor bought the house for Hunter and her bastard kid, well that kid is a relative of Edwards and the law would apply for gifts to a Senator's immediate family.

Is this a stretch?

[Fluffy]

I don't think illegitimate children count as immediate family.

But I suppose that depends on the state and the decade.

[sloopyinca]

Gotcha. Of course, my illegitimate kid is considered part of my immediate family for purposes of child support to the tune of nearly $1000 a month.

By the time he's out of his mother's house, I will have paid over $200k for him after taxes (and will never have seen him past the age of 6 months).

Since support was never court ordered in his case, I think Edwards should be off the hook here.

[R C Dean]

Why? Whether the mother went to court to get support or not is irrelevant to whether Edwards' admitted spawn is a member of his immediate family.

[Tulpa]

Depends on whether Clinton was involved in the process of getting you to buy the house.

[Tulpa]

And also Clinton holds no office and isn't running for one, so it's not the greatest analogy.

[Fluffy]

OK, so we jump in a time machine and do it during the Clinton administration.

The fact remains that you're starting to declare that it's bribery to do something nice for anyone a politician likes, which strikes me as absurd.

What if it's not a house? What if I take Rielle Hunter to a Red Sox game? In many states, giving a gift of the dollar value of Red Sox tickets directly to a politician is either illegal or requires disclosure. So if John Edwards calls me and says, "Rielle is feeling kind of down!" and I take her to a Red Sox game and listen to her crazy New Age freak talk for 3 hours, have I bribed John Edwards?

This is the problem when you try to move past direct, class quid-pro-quo bribery and try to legislate against politicians being "influenced".

[PapayaSF]

The dose makes the poison: small enough gifts aren't bribes. Of course you can find grey areas and edge cases, but still.

[Tulpa]

Except in the NCAA.

[Tulpa]

Ah, but in that scenario Edwards is not clearly profiting from your donation to Rielle.

If he called and said, "take her to a ball game, she's driving me nuts at the office" that would clearly be an inappropriate contribution.

[West Texas]

Yeah, as odious as Edwards is and as bad as he behaved, I don't think he broke the law. And if he did, it's a bad law.

But most laws around campaign finance are bad because money is fungible, despite the efforts of politicians and prosecutors.

[John Thacker]

And yet she finishes the op-ed by calling for more campaign finance regulation to restrain the "gushers of undisclosed money poised to pour into the 2012 campaign."

Heavy and confusing regulations lead to "pond scum" and other people being targeted, and mean that ordinary people fall afoul because they don't have expertise in the game.

Contrary to her claim, she's been all in favor of the criminalization of politics.

[Mr. FIFY]

Will she be critical of the "gushers of undisclosed money" to the Obama re-coronation fund?

[John Thacker]

It's very difficult to avoid violating campaign finance laws (and still run a credible campaign), particular for an amateur, and it's impossible to conduct a campaign in a way that a vigorous prosecutor couldn't at least come up with credible charges.

[Cyto]

That sounds very true. I remember some stories about homeowner's associations and even neighborhood groups running afoul of campaign finance laws the last election cycle.

It seems that if you want to get together with a couple of friends and publicize an issue that is of mutual import - say a road expansion near your home - then you have to set up some sort of legal entity - like a PAC. Even if you don't collect money, just the act of donating paper and markers for fliers is apparently reportable.

[CaptainSmartass]

It's too bad there isn't some law that allows people to speak out on political issues without interference from the government.

[Cyto]

At least three whole clauses that are primarily directed at protecting this very activity from any government oversight. (speech, assembly, petition government)

Good thing it's a living document that can respond to important policy considerations, huh?

[R C Dean]

Interesting. I must say, it would be a little weird to have your contributions to a campaign capped because large contributions would have undue influence, but be allowed to stuff unlimited amounts of cash directly into the candidate's pockets.

[SFC B]

Somewhere Trent Lott is taking a drag on a cigarette and saying "I warned you bastards".

[MNG]

Attorneys for an Oklahoma City pharmacist began work Friday on the appeal of his murder conviction, while some stunned supporters asked Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday to pardon him.

Defense attorneys said he was a hero who protected himself and two female co-workers during an armed robbery.

The security camera recordings show Parker and a friend, Jevontai Ingram, then 14, rush into the drugstore. Ingram points a handgun at the two female workers who flee to a backroom. Parker, who does not have a gun, tries to adjust a gray mask. Parker drops to the floor when the pharmacist shoots him in the head.

The recordings show Ingram flees from the store. Ersland follows the fleeing robber outside, then returns to the store, walks by where Parker has fallen, gets a second gun, walks back to Parker and shoots five more times.

"When convicted of a crime, an individual has the right to petition the Pardon and Parole Board to request his . sentence be commuted. If a majority of the board votes to recommend a commutation, that case then heads to the governor," said Fallin's communications director, Alex Weintz.

"After conducting her own review that takes into account all the facts of the case, the governor may then decide either to grant or deny the commutation," Weintz said.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/vi.....-Shooting/

[John]

My heart is with this guy. But my head says you can't say it is okay to just whack someone you have already incapacitated.

[John]

He should have just told the jury he thought he was reaching for his taser. It worked for the BART cop.

[Fluffy]

I think we need a category of Temporary Legal Insanity for people who are engaged in resisting a violent crime.

Failing that, AT LEAST what happened here should be looked at as diminished capacity manslaughter and not murder.

How did they manage to prove to a jury that the first shot wouldn't have been fatal on its own? If the first shot is "righteous", and it's a head shot, how did they prove that the subsequent shots were the proximate cause of death and not the first one?

[John]

I am not sure. But my guess would be that his defense was the guy was still a threat and he was still acting in self defense. If he makes that defense, then the prosecution probably made him stipulate to the guy still being alive when he shot him. Also, there was video of the event. The guy maybe was still moving or something.

To me it is clearly diminished capacity. No way is that murder. But most smart people get out of jury duty.

[Brett L]

I think that's a prosecutor's call though. I'm not sure the jury can find for a charge that isn't brought. If the prosecution brings murder, its murder or nothing.

[R C Dean]

Fluffy, that was my question. While its not legal to shoot a dead body, its also not murder.

[Fluffy]

Exactly.

And if the first bullet created a fatal wound, the subsequent bullets were superfluous. Even if the death wasn't instantaneous. If it would have killed him eventually, it's the proximate cause of the death. Isn't there ample case law that says that if I shoot you and you die in the hospital from the wound, my shot is the proximate cause, no matter how much time has passed in between? And that would mean that there would be reasonable doubt about which bullet was the cause of death, unless the prosecution could prove that the first bullet wound would not have been fatal even months later?

I just don't get it.

[SFC B]

Wasn't there a case where a guy shot someone, the victim lived but the bullet was left in him. Many years later something happened to dislodge the bullet and it caused him to die so the original shooter was charged with murder?

Or am I thinking of an episode of Law and Order?

[Tulpa]

Even if they were superfluous, the shooter didn't know they were superfluous (and of course neither do we). If you shoot a person who is in the midst of falling 30 feet onto a concrete sidewalk, that's still murder even though there's a good chance they would have died anyway even without being shot.

[Fluffy]

I would not agree, if I was the one who pushed him off the building and my action at that time was legal self-defense.

Otherwise, the defense in any murder case could just argue that the state has to prove that the victim didn't die of a heart attack a nanosecond before the bullet entered their skull.

The proximate cause of a death is determined in murder cases all the time.

"Otherwise", if someone was decapitated in a car accident, and I walked up and kicked the head while it was still screaming, I would be a murderer. And that's kind of insane, don't you think?

[Tulpa]

If the head is decapitated you know the person is already dead. So it's a totally different situation.

[Tulpa]

Shooting a person who is not known to be dead is murder.

Otherwise, the defense in any murder case could just argue that the state has to prove that the victim didn't die of a heart attack a nanosecond before the bullet entered their skull.

[R C Dean]

Its an interesting question, probably varies by state.

However, if the person was already dead in fact, then murder would be impossible, regardless of whether you knew he was dead or not.

Impossibility is a defense to criminal charges. Again, devil, details, etc.

In this case, it might come down to just how bad the head wound was. If the citizen was packing a serious caliber, so that bone chips and brain matter were scattered around after the first shot, I would say he should have a decent impossibility defense.

He'd still be charged with lesser offenses (abuse of a corpse, negligent discharge, etc.).

[Tulpa]

I think we need a category of Temporary Legal Insanity for people who are engaged in resisting a violent crime.

Curious, would this apply to police officers responding to a violent crime too in your formulation?

[Fluffy]

Actually, yes.

If a suspect was, say, shooting at a police officer, and the officer double-tapped someone after they went down, I would look for a way to put the best possible face on that incident.

My problem with cops is more of the "I thought his cell phone was a gun" variety. Or of the "He was squirming when we were all jumping on him while he was down, so I decided to shoot him in the head" variety.

[Tulpa]

I have a feeling the tone of this board would be quite different if it were a cop who shot an incapacitated criminal rather than a pharmacist.

[SIV]

At least there is one less thug running around out there.The pharmacist should've kept his mouth shut and lawyered up once he realized the state was trying to pin murder one on him.

[John]

I tell my wife if anyone ever breaks into the house, keep pulling the trigger until it doesn't fire anymore and tell the cops you don't remember anything that happened. It was too traumatic.

[SIV]

Or at least yell "Stop Resisting!" until you can't reload and fire anymore.

[Res Publica Americana]

I'm a pretty cool guy and a decent shot, so I doubt I'll ever need to do that, but if some armed thugs break into the house and charge me, I sure as shit would agree with that -- empty the fucking magazine.

[Res Publica Americana]

* *shades*

[R C Dean]

Good advice, John. Exactly what more than one CCW instructor has recommended.

In a self-defense situation, you aren't shooting to warn, you aren't shooting to wound, you are shooting to kill. So once you pull the trigger, make damn good and sure they are dead.

And, of course, dummying up when talking to cops is good advice in any situation.

[Brett L]

Bullets are cheap. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting again.

[Tulpa]

In a self-defense situation, you aren't shooting to warn, you aren't shooting to wound, you are shooting to kill.

Bzzzt. You're shooting to stop. Warn, wound, or kill is not your concern as long as it stops the aggressor.

But once the aggressor is incapacitated (and it is clear to you that they have been incapacitated) your right to self-defense comes to a crashing halt.

[Tulpa]

SIV|6.2.11 @ 9:32AM|#

At least there is one less thug running around out there.The pharmacist should've kept his mouth shut and lawyered up once he realized the state was trying to pin murder one on him.

Bookmarked for the next cop-shoots-suspect thread.

[Tony]

Here in Oklahoma we go by Zombieland rules, but kick it up a notch.

Rule#2: Quintuple tap.

[Res Publica Americana]

Fucking die, pinko mother-fucker.

[West Texas]

This whole story is terrible. Going back and getting a second gun to finish him off seems egregiously wrong, but at the same time, the punk came into his store with a gun and tried to rob him. Once he's "incapacitated" he's no longer at risk of losing his life from his own illegal actions?

Fuck the police and fuck the legal system. This was a - essentially - a private matter between two individuals and one ended up justifiably killing the other as was his NATURAL RIGHT to do so. Cry me a fucking river.

If I was the governor, I'd pardon him in a heartbeat and give him a medal, but unfortunately I don't see that happening in this case. At best he'll get his sentence commuted but remain a felon for the rest of his life.

[Tulpa]

the punk came into his store with a gun and tried to rob him.

Parker didn't have a gun. I'm not even sure how the pharmacist could be justified in shooting him in the first place, as this isn't a home invasion.

This was a - essentially - a private matter between two individuals and one ended up justifiably killing the other as was his NATURAL RIGHT to do so

You don't have a right, natural or otherwise, to kill someone who cannot plausibly pose a threat to you. The first shot? Maybe the guy thought he was armed, so maybe there's some leeway there -- I'd have to know more details. The subsequent shots are indefensible, though.

[Mr. FIFY]

Dead Right There. Drop a criminal in his tracks, and he won't do it again.

[Tulpa]

It's going to be fun copying and pasting some of these comments into the next death-by-cop thread.

[Ronnie]

Yeah, if he had fired five shots from the same gun, I could see man-slaughter(heat of the moment type of thing), but getting a second gun and shooting him five more times premeditated.

[Tulpa]

The pauses are the problem. If you fire five shots in quick succession and the first one incapacitates the target, while the following four killed the target, there's nothing wrong with that because it's plausible that you didn't know he was going to be incapacitated by the first shot.

But when you shoot him once, pause and see him laying motionless on the floor, and then go back and shoot him again...that's a problem. It's not plausible to say you didn't know he was stopped.

[Cyto]

What does media bias look like?

Let's see - here's all the articles linked on Drudge today:

Washington Wire (WSJ):Rep. Anthony Weiner
Washington Times: Rep. Anthony Weiner
CBS New York: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner
Real Clear Politics: REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D-NY)
Politico: Rep. Anthony Weiner
New York Post: Rep. Weiner

We have one who identifies the party with the name. Two others identify party later in the article. I noticed because the articles I read last night didn't discuss party at all - although they did mention that Weiner was friends with Jon Stewart and Clinton. I had never heard of the guy, but my amazing deductive reasoning abilities let me conclude that he was a Democrat based on the available information.

For comparison sake, let's go back to the last pic scandal. Here's the first few articles I found using google and "Christopher Lee Picture":

MSNBC: Republican Christopher Lee
ABC News: Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y
CBS News: New York Republican Congressman Christopher Lee
Washington Post: Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.)
Daily Mail (UK): married Republican Christopher Lee

Wow, what a difference. Everybody puts the party directly adjacent to the name.

The robo-moderator won't let me include all the links, but you can check drudge for the first half. It appears that only Real Clear Politics has a hard and fast standard on naming politicians with party.

[John]

See also Glenn Reynolds running tabulation of how bad economic numbers always are described as "unexpected". The word "unexpectedly" was rarely used in stories about bad economic news under Bush. Once the Black Jesus took over, every piece of bad news became "unexpected".

[John Thacker]

My general assumption is when there's a scandal and the party doesn't appear, it's a Democratic Party politician.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Wow. Pretty interesting. And very observant of you to notice.

[P Brooks]

It's very difficult to avoid violating campaign finance laws (and still run a credible campaign), particular for an amateur

This is, of course a "feature".

Imagine a world in which people like David Axelrod have no place.

Terrifying.

[DJF]

Its because Republicans are evil and any scandal by a Republican directly proves the evilness of Republicans

While on the other hand Democrats are pure hearted agrarian reformers who want nothing but the best for the world so any scandal that happens to a Democrat is just a mistake and has nothing to do with being a Democrat

[MSM]

Mistakes were made.

[Koan]

Photographer detained in Baltimore for taking pictures of trains.
Officers cite Patriot Act!

[Lord Humungus]

I once took a photo of Thomas the Tank engine - never knew I was breaking the law.

[Gabby]

This could result in an arrest?

http://www.railpictures.net/vi.....?id=216246

[[MNG]]

A congressman accused of tweeting his penis holds a bizarre press conference.

Oh, I get it now. Weiner, like in penis. Sorry, not having one, I didn't understand the jokes at first.

[Koan]

Fuck. I am a hyperlink retard.
Here It Is.

[zoltan]

Now that is just offensive, Koan! We call that a "SugarFree" around here.

[Almanian]

Yeah - leave the retards out of this, Koan!

Also - RACIST!!! Or something.

[Koan]

ok, ok . . . but does SugarFree own up to his retardation? Hmm?

[SugarFree]

Uh. Duh.

[SFC B]

I always grim when Sugarfree goes "I me'd a link".

[R C Dean]

No, no, a "Sugarfreed" link is one that is botched.

C'mon, people.

[Troy]

Hey man, when I first got here, I thought "Sugarfreed" meant getting caught with a sheep, two midgets, and a 5' 2" porn star in a public park. Give the guy a break.

[Ska]

Someone's got to help keep midgets employed, lest we have a dwarven (dwarfen?) uprising on our hands.

[CaptainSmartass]

'round these parts, we call that "Tuesday night".

[The Shat]

KOOOOOAN!!!

[The Gobbler]

Off-topic, but this weekend, I saw my first Jessica Alba film (Good Luck Chuck) and I was impressed with her ability to do broad / slapstick comedy.

[Almanian]

Mostly, I'm just impressed with her body.

[CaptainSmartass]

Alba's comic genius to second to none. I would to love to nuzzle her comic genius, maybe slap it a bit (not too hard) and pinch it, before making sweet love to it.

Wait, did I say "comic genius"? I meant "ass".

[P Brooks]

The pharmacist should have told the court he was just unloading the weapon in the interest of "officer safety" in preparation for the arrival of the Thin Blue Lion.

[WazWoo]

Oh wow, I never thought about it like that before.

http://www.privacy-web.no.tc

[PapayaSF]

You lie. You only think about one thing, anonbot.

[P Brooks]

Bloomberg "business" reporter:

"Can Washington fix this economy?"

No, you stupid cow.

[Almanian]

I have it on good authority that Sandi took a shit in Washington once.

[Res Publica Americana]

All it would take to fix the economy is a megaton of thermonuclear explosives, planted somewhere in DC. 🙂

[Tony]

Patriots don't incinerate their country's capital.

[Lord Humungus]

or their capitol.

[Mr. FIFY]

Obama's doing his best to incinerate our capital, Tony... he burns through money like Teddy K. used to burn through whiskey.

[cynical]

Why not? It's clearly for the good of their country.

[West Texas]

Can Washington give me lasers to shoot out of my eyes?

[P Brooks]

DC is chock full of young chickie-poos full of faux idealism, ready to change the world and jump in bed with any penis that is 6 degrees separated from the seats (or weiners) of power.

Wait, whut?

This does not fit the narrative; if it were true, that would mean Monica Lewinsky was...gasp!... not a victim.

[Fluffy]

Linda Tripp was the victim.

[Dick Bigwood]

Come on fluffy. It is okay to violate someone's privacy and leak embarassing information from their background check as long as a liberal does it for the right reason.

[John Thacker]

And possibly all the super idealistic interns that thought that they could get ahead in Washington without sleeping with powerful men.

[AlmightyJB]

We can't actually do any work because our budget isn't large enough.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43.....news-life/

[Platypus]

I'm going to try that line on my boss!

[CaptainSmartass]

^budget^balls^

[Mike Laursen]

Let's how long it takes for the blame to be put on libertarians and "teabaggers".

[P Brooks]

Patriots don't incinerate their country's capital.

Exactly; although "principal" might be a better term to use.

[P Brooks]

Also, via Bloomberg:

"Goldman Sachs is TOO BIG TO PROSECUTE."

[Spoonman.]

Just want to say that the special prison issue was excellently done and incredibly disturbing.

[Koan]

Patriots don't incinerate their country's capital.
That's correct . . . politicians are responsible for incinerating their country's capital.

[PantsFan]

Union drive raises ire of U2
"The road manager for the world's biggest rock band is threatening never to return to Manitoba after an international stage union chose this province to launch an attempt to certify workers employed by U2's Ireland-based management, as well as Winnipeg's largest film production company"

[Mr. FIFY]

And Nancy Pelosi uses non-union labor to pick her fucking vineyard grapes.

Nothing shocking here.

[John]

Fuck it, I am going by Dick Bigwood from now on.

[Dick Bigwood]

Back off buddy, name's taken.

[Brett L]

Wired has an article about a website where you can buy pretty much any mind altering substance using Bitcoin as the medium. I assume it will be wholly colonized by the DEA by the end of the day, but interesting nonetheless.

[SugarFree]

THUS SPAKE SUGARFREE!

[Troy]

Fuck, here we go!

[sloopyinca]

I saw something on that yesterday somewhere.....oh, yeah. It was here.

PWNAGE!!!!!

[Brett L]

You guys don't expect me to read reason outside of business hours do you?

[proegg antichicken]

I've ordered lots of thing online that you wouldn't think you could, but this is exceptional. I didn't think there was much merit to bitcoin but I'm warming to the idea. There's something really sexy about the subversive nature of it all.

[TrickyVic]

You don't see this one often.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....today.html

[Barack Obama]

I'm fucking God!

Obama Administration issues new rules for for-profit colleges

http://www.startribune.com/business/123022608.html

[Res Publica Americana]

Kiss my Caucasian ass, Obama.

[R C Dean]

The fact remains that you're starting to declare that it's bribery to do something nice for anyone a politician likes, which strikes me as absurd.

Fuckit. If a politician likes you, then you are dead to me, and casting you out of polite society bothers me not one bit.

[TrickyVic]

TSA pays out in breast exposure suit.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/d.....ure-034978

Yeah, it's not much at all, but guess who foots the bill when the TSA screws up. We do. The joke is on us.

[R C Dean]

I have a feeling the tone of this board would be quite different if it were a cop who shot an incapacitated criminal rather than a pharmacist.

Shooting an incapacitated but obviously alive person v. shooting someone who is (arguably) obviously dead. Yeah, no distinction there.