Reason Morning Links: ObamaCare, Tahrir Square, Stephen Colbert

• The president wants more stimulus.
• The Texas anti-TSA bill dies again.
• ObamaCare-friendly Republicans profit from ObamaCare.
• The government of Minnesota is on the verge of shutting down.
• A new sit-in begins in Tahrir Square, Cairo.
• Greece passes part of the austerity plan required to get EU aid.
• News Corp. sells MySpace.
• "What started out as a pretty funny comedy skit has kind of gotten very serious."

The latest from Reason.tv: "Fast Food Advertising and Child Obesity."

Comments

[[John]ny [Long]torso]

No Golden Girls links for you until my amazon review for Gillespie's and Welch's book is found useful by the most people and makes it to the top of the list.

[[John]ny [Long]torso]

Every day my review is on the bottom of the list as the least useful, I shoot a Golden Girl.

[Matrix]

well, that won't last long, then...

[Joe M.]

Just because they're dead, that doesn't mean you have to stop shooting them.

[robc]

Note to self: Go to Amazon, say review wasnt useful. Repeat.

[Betty White]

Hey! Leave me out of it!

[Mean Mrs. Mustard]

Hey Betty, what's that red spot on your forehead?

[TRTB]

I was wondering what your exit strategy would be. Well played.

[Hank]

5 of 42 people found the following review helpful

A rare comedy airball for JLT, but an epic airball nonetheless.

[[John]ny [Long]torso]

I'm serious. If I don't get to the top of the list the streets will run gold with blood.

[proegg antichicken]

Gold blood? If they bleed gold then you better get started before someone else taps this vein of wealth.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Meh. They're probably on so many meds at this point all you're going to get is pyrite.

[[John]ny [Long]torso]

Failure of Al Gore, part deux

[Abdul]

Only deux? By my count he had a lot more.

[Citizen Nothing]

JLT apparent missed a lot during his absence.

[Sinic]

The president wants more stimulus.

...because the last one worked so well.

[Barack Obama]

Let me clear, most economists agree that you can't prove with 100% certainty that it didn't work. And if you hire economists to try to prove that the stimulus didn't work, you'll just be proving it did work by creating jobs.

[OO]

tough to prove a negative. effing geometry, how do it work?

[Barack Obama]

I like your hip use of current internet memes and your ability to use rhetoric to cloud issues. Would you care for a (yet another stimulus-created) job?

[Top Men]

It would have been *SO MUCH WORSE*, trust us. We have models that say so.

[Alle Gorey]

The science is settled, all consensus-ist believe models are never wrong.

[Barack Obama, too]

No shit it's hard to prove a negative. You think I'm going to be able to campaign on that? How do you point to a negative? I am so fucking screwed right now.

[Matrix]

Mr. President, I have a rock here that prevents terrorists from coming near. Now, before you dismiss it, look around you. Do you see any terrorists? I rest my case. Now, I will sell you this magnificent rock for, oh, say... 120 million dollars.

[Barack Obama]

Deal! High speed rail and pet rocks for all!

Maybe folks will finally stop comparing me to that President from the 70s.

[Citizen Nothing]

It would have been worse! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORSE!

[The Gobbler]

Nixon? Because that's the one I'd compare you to, asshole.

[Ice Nine]

The president wants more stimulus.

So Michelle's getting fatter?

[Aresen]

The President wants more stimulus another fix.

Truth in advertising.

[Brandon]

The President wants to artificially prop up economic numbers until November 2012 to convince stupid people to give him 4 more years of free room and board.

[John]

This may have already been blogged since Cavenaugh is quoted in the article. But this article has completely changed my opinion about zoning. I am one of the few people on here who will defend zoning. But not anymore after reading this. Maybe 30 years ago our government was competent enough to enforce zoning laws. But they are clearly not anymore. If this is what zoning means, fuck zoning. I take back every defense I have made of zoning and admit I was wrong. This is ridiculous.

http://www.laweekly.com/2011-0.....perty-war/

[Spoonman.]

All you have to do is come to Houston and see that it's wholly unnecessary.

[John]

And every swinging dick liberal on this board ought to have to answer for what is happening out there. If the government is so wonderful and necessary, why is this happening?

[OO]

its california. chg ur depends & take ur malox.

[John]

That means that liberals are doing it. Rich California liberals are using swat teams to throw poor people out of their homes. I am sure you are very proud.

[MNG]

It's liberal because it happened in California?

Impeccable logic there John.

[John]

Yeah because conservative DAs win so much in LA county. RTFA. LA Country is doing this. Last I looked liberals ran LA country.

If it were happening in some small town in Texas, I am sure you would not assume it was conservatives doing it. Moreover, even they were conservatives, that is not the point. The point is this is what happens when you give the government power. Government officials are not and will never be your friends. And any idea that we can have rule by enlightened bureaucrat is a fantasy.

[MNG]

Another wrong assumption John, the LA county DA is...a Republican!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Cooley

Lord are you careless keyboard kommando!

[John]

So what? A Republican can't be a liberal? That will come as a hell of a surprise to people like Olympia Snow. Moreover, he is an asshole and another example of how we shouldn't have zoning and government officials can't be trusted with that power. I guess you missed or just didn't bother to read

Moreover, even they were conservatives, that is not the point. The point is this is what happens when you give the government power. Government officials are not and will never be your friends. And any idea that we can have rule by enlightened bureaucrat is a fantasy.

[MNG]

Pedal faster John, pedal!

[MNG]

It must be liberals because it is in California and it is liberal. Well, I mean, it must be liberal because it is in LA County and you know LA county is liberal. Well, I mean, it might be a liberal Republican like Olympia Snow or something.

Must pedal faster!

[Not John]

It's like Stalingrad!

[John]

And to think I thought I had you understanding analogies ananopussy. Damn. Oh well, I guess you really are as stupid as I thought you were.

[MNG]

Er, you realize Godwinning is usually done as an analogy. Still makes it hyperbole.

[Res Publica Americana]

Die in a fucking fire, you statist piece of shit. If I had the guts and power to line those fucking pieces of shit against a wall and empty a belt into their worthless asses, I would -- agents of government usurping private property and making people homeless by force. Un-motherfucking-believable.

[MNG]

They let you use the internet in there Jared?

[The Real MNG]

John,it's only poor people.
The don't know what their own interests are. They need enlightened progressives like me to help them figure that out.

Besides, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few heads, er eggs.

[MNG]

I've never defended whatever this article is about. I just criticized the sloppy assertion that it must be liberals doing it because, well, it's in California! But nice try retard.

[John]

No you just changed the subject because the article reflects poorly on something you support.

[MNG]

"the article reflects poorly on something you support."

Citation needed.

Another careless assertion John? Will you ever learn?

[John]

Do you not support zoning MNG?

[MNG]

Only as a necerssary evil and only in a very restricted way. It's been used in evil ways often enough that I would severly restrict it.

But more importantly, why would you FIRST assert I support it and THEN ask if I do? This is the wacky carelessness you do I'm talking about. WTF?

[ayn rand]

Evil is never necessary. And that which is truly necessary is not evil.

[Brandon]

"It's been used in evil ways often enough that I would severly restrict it."

Name one single government power that this could not be applied to.

[OO]

GOP DA sherlock. try to keep up. thx

[John]

So I guess zoning is okay then. Got it ananopussy.

[jtuf]

It's noteworthy that MNG objected to team blue getting blamed for the raid but didn't object to the raid. I'm sure he would be ranting against it without end if the SWAT team was Jewish.

[Mainer]

nothing MNG posts is noteworthy

[MNG]

It's not exactly shocking that Mainer would miss the ironic hilarity of him posting (noting) that my comments are not noteworthy.

Some of you guys can't be caricatured!

[MNG]

I don't click on links from commenters so I didn't RTFA and so did not comment. That only means an endorsement of whatever was going on in your wacky world of logic. I did see John raping logic by suggesting it must be liberals to blame because well, California and so commented on that. And it's nice to see the tired old anti-Semitic charge, the first refuge of the Likudian scoundrel such as yourself jtuf.

[MNG]

JOOS!

[Cytotoxic]

So MNG actually thinks the party label is meaningful? IN Cali? He shouldn't talk about retarded logic...or anything else.

[Lost_In_Translation]

If I've learned one thing about Houston, its that lack of official zoning does not change the fact that we still have very strict land use laws that mean doing anything to your property requires a blessing by your local bureaucrat. we're not the lawless paradise certain libertarians think we are.

[Brett L]

On the plus side, if you bribe the right bureaucrat you can do anything except build a new adult business within 100 feet of a primary school and its totally legal.

[jtuf]

Texan kids can't walk 101 feet?

[mr simple]

Not on those short leashes.

[Brett L]

Its the magic bubble!

[Res Publica Americana]

Which is absolutely abominable -- but it's a shitload better than Los Angeles fucking County.

[cynical]

COASE COASE COASE COASE

Oh shit, I'm stealing someone else's gimmick.

[robc]

That is fine. It needs to be more widespread.

[West Texas]

I would argue, however, that the nicer suburbs of Houston are considered nicer by many people precisely because they have zoning laws and have better control of development. (I live in Sugar Land, so I will admit that I am probably biased)

That said, I mostly agree with you. Houston doesn't have zoning laws and seems to work quite well without them. If only they could zone out Queen Sheila.

[Brandon]

Sugar Land is a fetid swamp populated by fat assholes in big SUV's and ugly houses. But they do have Bravo's, the greatest Mexican restaurant in existence, so I'll let it slide.

[Warty]

"Listen, I've been living over here for 22 years. And nobody has come over here to bother me."

He says a county team member replied, "Well, we're 22 years late."

Zoning has always existed purely to fuck over little people.

[X]

IANAL, but why doesn't estoppel apply?

[robc]

Zoning is the easiest thing in the world to argue against...I want a pub on my street, zoning doesnt allow it. QED bitches.

[robc]

"If it's 'vacant' land or 'vacant' property, then there's no expectation of privacy."

What the fuck? How does that follow?

[Res Publica Americana]

It doesn't have to follow -- it just has to be on the books, and the population has to be composed mostly of ignorant, government cock-sucking shitheads so that it's allowed to pass and exist as law.

[robc]

Expectation of privacy isnt about the books. Legislatures cant change that. Its a common law concept.

[Res Publica Americana]

Yeah, but the legislatures don't seem to know that -- it's not like bypassing constitutional/common-law concepts and principles through morally and practically indefensible policy/legislation is anything new.

[Zeb]

It follows because "vacant" doesn't mean anything in this case. It is just an arbitrary designation assigned to the land that has nothing to do with whether or not it is actually vacant. Which is pretty fucked.
In what sense do these people actually own the land which is supposedly theirs if they are not allowed to occupy it or do anything with it?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Eventually, they're going to piss off the wrong person and someone will get shot. Hopefully.

[robc]

Probably.

After reading the article and it being a trucker-heavy population, arranging a trucker boycott (or even just an independent trucker boycott) of LA County ought to get things changed quick.

It wouldnt even have to be a long boycott, I dont think LA County will last very long without pickups or deliveries. Maybe a long weekend?

[Citizen Nothing]

Maybe 30 years ago our government was competent enough to enforce zoning laws.
Hi-larious. How old are you, John? 29?

[John]

No CN. And I have seen zoning laws actually do some good, especially in small towns were the town where it kept the town bullies from running amuck. But for every good there seems to be 100 bad things.

[Butts Wagner]

That's why small towns have to fight the Brad Wesley's of the world from day one.

[The Gobbler]

I await MNG's arrival to now take the opposing view.

[The Gobbler]

Damn! I was too late.

[cynical]

I think MNG just showed up to make sure it was blamed on the right team, to his ideological though not to his partisan credit.

[MNG]

No, Gobby's making the mistake of logic that pretty much every conservative on the thread has already, why stop him? It must be a congenital problem with conservatives.

[Joe M.]

Houston baby!

[Anonymous Coward]

But Oscar Gomez, a zoning official on a county NAT team that took the Weekly on a ride-along in June, says such violations "bring the property value down. ... There are actually people that own all the property around them, even if they haven't built there yet."

We can't have those property taxes dropping now can we, Oscar?

[TRTB]

A shutdown wouldn't affect critical functions such as ... licensing for an array of new professionals from physicians to manicurists.

"This is going to be a tough shutdown, and people will notice," said David Lillehaug, Dayton's attorney in the case. "Anyone who says that government doesn't do anything and doesn't do it well, upon reading this order ? they're going to realize they're very, very wrong."

Uh huh.

[Sinic]

Satire?

[Matrix]

Well, he's right about the first thing. The government does plenty. But for him to claim it is wrong got say it "doesn't do it well" is... silly. The government doesn't do hardly anything well.

[cynical]

The problem is that the government represents a whole lot of different shit, so at this point saying people would notice if "the government" shuts down is about useful is saying people would notice if the whole private sector shutdown.

[TRTB]

Whoops, poor ellipsis placement on my part.

Manicurist licensing was an example of the "many services that Minnesota residents take for granted would be closed"

[Bee Tagger]

"What he's actually been doing for the last several weeks is educating his audience in how complex and convoluted campaign finance laws can be," Parnell said.

Mr. Parnell has more respect for Stephen Colbert's audience than I do.

[-]

Colbert is still an entertainer. That some people continue to take him seriously is hilarious. The joke is on them and they don't even know it.

[db]

Ra-di-ation. You hear the most outrageous lies about it.

[Pro Libertate]

J. Frank Parnell? I didn't know he was still around.

[Michael]

Dig his last line in the video clip when he attaches the five dollar bill to his letter to the FEC. "According to Citizens United, that's not a bribe; it's free speech." It's as if he has a complete lack of understanding of the ruling in its every aspect. I can only imagine how the average Colbert fan might try explaining what Citizens United means.

[Average Colbert Fan]

Citizens United means that every election that a democrat loses from now on will be blamed on Citizens United!

[MNG]

So the Obama administration has won a big one in its efforts to defend the health reform law against the conservative legal onslaught, as a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled today that it's constitutional for Congress to require Americans to have health insurance.

The big news is that the panel included a Bush appointee who clerked for Antonin Scalia and who is seen as a major states rights advocate. In addition to that, though, the ruling takes a hard shot at the primary legal arguments conservatives have advanced against the mandate:

From the ruling:

So the Obama administration has won a big one in its efforts to defend the health reform law against the conservative legal onslaught, as a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled today that it's constitutional for Congress to require Americans to have health insurance.

The big news is that the panel included a Bush appointee who clerked for Antonin Scalia and who is seen as a major states rights advocate. In addition to that, though, the ruling takes a hard shot at the primary legal arguments conservatives have advanced against the mandate:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ml?hpid=z5

Wow, it's almost like the Court copied my posts here verbatim...

[John]

It is one circuit and it was a two to one decision. Two appellate judges agree that there is absolutely no limit whatsoever to federal power. This is surprising how?

[John]

And the tie breaking justice mostly said that the issue was not ripe. You shouldn't strike down laws until they are actually implemented. It hardly settles the subject. And even if it did, it wouldn't mean their interpretation was correct. A majority of the Supreme Court once found that separate but equal was correct. Should that have ended the argument?

[DJF]

Just wait until I am President, I will issue an executive order that anyone using the initials MNG is required to buy shrubbery every day. And not just one shrubbery, but an array of shrubbery so that it will create a pleasing arrangement.

[DJF]

And after that I will require all MNG's to buy the HD boxed set of Sarah Palin's Alaska TV show, followed by the requirement that they buy 20 lbs of mooseburgers a day.

[MNG]

I've had bison burgers and they were great, if mooseburgers are half as good that will be a fine mandate with me.

[DJF]

So you will have no problem buying 20 lbs of it a day, along with the shrubbery and the Sarah Palin video?

[SFC B]

Commerce Clause; is there nothing it can't do?!?

[DJF]

Its both a floor wax and a dessert topping.

[Almanian]

Please - make me buy online pron!

[SugarFree]

Please - make me buy online pron!

They will. But it will all be produced by me.

[The Gobbler]

It will never make Tony smart.

[Sean]

And after MNG accomplishes all these tasks he must cut down the mightiest tree in the forrest.....wiiiiith....a herring!

[MNG]

Ach, from the ruling:

Does the Commerce Clause contain an action/inaction dichotomy that limits congressional power? No ? for several reasons. First, the relevant text of the Constitution does not contain such a limitation. To the extent "regulate," "commerce," "necessary" and "proper" might be words of confinement, the Court has not treated them that way, as long as the objects of federal legislation are economic and substantially affect commerce.

[MNG]

"Two appellate judges agree that there is absolutely no limit whatsoever to federal power."

Wrong again John. From the ruling: "as long as the objects of federal legislation are economic and substantially affect commerce"

[John]

And the list of things that are not economic or substantially affect commerce is so long. Jesus Christ MNG, that really is pissing on people and telling them it is raining. There is virtually no human activity that does not affect commerce.

I understand, you want (as long as people you like are in charge) an all encompassing limitless federal government. Free country. You can want that if you like. But could you please stop lying and pretending that you want anything but that.

[MNG]

You really don't understand Lopez and Morrison, do you? It must be directly economic and substantially affect interstate commerce.

You're just trying to hide another careless comment of yours, where some limits=no limits.

[John]

"directly economic and substantially affect interstate commerce."

I understand those cases perfectly well. I hate to pull credentials, but I have a fucking JD and two LLMs. I have spent more time on the shiter reading cases like that than you have in your entire lifetime.

And those terms don't mean anything beyond "we regulate whatever we can get a judge to buy off on". And you know that. You are just too dishonest to admit it.

[MNG]

"but I have a fucking JD and two LLMs."

Sure John, and you have a hot wife, a corvette, are an ex-Navy Seal and are a Syrian lesbian woman.

[John]

I actually do. I went through this with the now disappeared Joe Boyle. Would you like to make a bet on my identity and credentials? Do you seriously want to call me on this? Think hard. I am the last person who would lie about credentials.

[Name Nomad]

Of course, your credentials are a red herring anyhow. If the limited power of government can mandate that Americans never have non-procreative sex due to it taking money away from prostitutes, as far as I'm concerned, there's no practical limits.

[MNG]

I think it highly likely that you are a Syrian woman, yes.

[John]

Stop peddling MNG, answer the question. Do you want to bet what my credentials are and have me send them to you via e-mail or do you want to take back that post and shut the fuck up? Which is it?

[MNG]

I said I'm sure you are a Syrian woman.

I don't think you could spell LLM, much less have one.

[John]

It is actually LL.M. and what is your email address. I will send you redacted copies of my transcripts. I have a JD magna cum laude, an LL.M in Environmental Law and another in military law. Here is my published thesis.

https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=23+Colum.+J.+Envtl.+L.+89&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=dffe5ba06615bf5de89355d49988d216

I have another one but it is not available online. Now take it back and shut the fuck up you hack.

[MNG]

Is your thesis on spelling in legal documents?

[John]

Follow the link. It is mine. Now be a decent human being and take it back. You never did have the balls to bet me. But that is okay. I will settle for an apology.

[MNG]

I don't click on posted links, never have. But lets say I go to the link and it is an article, even by someone named John, how are we to know it is you?

[John]

Just admit you are wrong and apologize. Or put your email up and I will send you a redacted transcript. But before I go to the effort to do that, what are you willing to bet?

[MNG]

And we know this author is you how?

Post us a picture of you writing it or I still don't buy it.

[John]

Yeah MNG, I just happened to find some guy named John who wrote a law review paper on GPS based farming and non point source water pollution, just to prove you wrong. Come on. Stop being such a dick.

[Ice Nine]

>>Here is my published thesis.
https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd...

I just saw a cool aerial photo of your nice house, John. (Which is to say that I can't believe that you just posted that in a polemical internet forum.)

[Gray Ghost]

Pretty hard to be a practicing lawyer w/o a J.D., MNG. Though, why did you get 2 LLMs, John? Thought the only practical reason someone got an LLM was if they wanted to do tax law.

[John]

I have ADD and can never settle on a career. I was a private practice environmental lawyer for two years. I got bored with private practice and joined the Army. It was nuts I know. And the Army makes you get an LLM after you are in so long. Frankly, the Army LLM is not that big of a deal. But MNG pissed me off.

[Anonypussy?]

John|6.30.11 @ 9:27AM|#
I have ADD and can never settle on a career.

Now I feel bad about making fun of your overused Stalingrad analogies. And your misspellings. And your savant's knowledge of all things trivial. Tell you what: when you die, I'll see to it that you get the "J sub D" treatment. Hug?

[Cytotoxic]

Holy crap MNG is an asshole. Let me help you out here MNG: YOU'RE WRONG JOHN IS RIGHT.

[Cytotoxic]

You did all this stuff because you have ADD?!?! You make ADD look good! AMERICA NEEDS MORE ADD.

[Brandon]

And an AOL address!

[Citizen Nothing]

I know some of you think it happened long ago, but to me, right here is where MNG finally jumped the shark.

[SugarFree]

I bet you watched all of Heroes too.

[John]

Actually, CN watched all of that, Lost and Twin Peaks.

[MNG]

CN, you realize for the past two weeks you've been rehashing this meme? Are you following me or something?

[MNG]

I was a big fan of Heroes, Lost and Twin Peaks. Even Fire Walk With Me.

[Almanian]

*slowly raises hand*

I'll cop to Twin Peaks and Lost. And I was GRAVELY DISAPPOINTED in both endings.

Heroes? I lasted about 5 episodes before I gave up.

What were we talking about - oh, yes - unlimited gummint power. More please!

[John]

I gave up on Heroes when the previews kept showing some constipated Japanese man teleporting himself. Twin Peaks was good for about three months. And then I gave up.

[MNG]

TP was great througout. Only the last season of Heroes seemed to decline to me.

The worst decline was the last year of Deadwood. But it was declining from such a height I kept watching.

[Ska]

I will always hold Deadwood and Carnevale against HBO for their cancellation happy ways.

[Restoras]

+1000

[SugarFree]

Ska,
HBO can't really be held to too much blame for Deadwood. The creator wanted out, the cast wanted out, the writers wanted out. Shooting the series was reportedly miserable and really expensive. I too wish the story had been finished, but HBO can't keep a series alive if no one involved wants to keep going.

If you want to blame HBo for something, blame them for turning down Mad Men. That's a lot of top-shelf nude scenes we missed out on.

[T]

blame them for turning down Mad Men. That's a lot of top-shelf nude scenes we missed out on.

Christina Hendricks in an HBO series? Hell yeah, we missed out.

[Ska]

Good work SugarFree, now I'm actually disgusted in something I never knew I had the chance at.

Mad Men with nudity....Jesus that would be sweet.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

No, we didn't. Have you seen pictures of her when everything isn't being held in by Spanx? My FSM, talk about disappointment.

[Citizen Nothing]

I stick with a meme until it takes hold.
And how could you clowns forget Battlestar Gallactica? Greatest series of all time until Starbuck became and angel. At least that happened late...
(And yes, I stuck with LOST to the bitter end. FUCK FUCK FUCK!)

[Citizen Nothing]

I'm with MNG on Twin Peaks. Doesn't mean he's not a doofus.

[MNG]

"I stick with a meme until it takes hold."

No shit.

[Citizen Nothing]

Like a terrier! Grrrrr! GRRRRRRR!

[Citizen Nothing]

Cancel my subscription!
(Oh, wait. I'm saving that one for when the Paul Wars start again.)

[SugarFree]

until Starbuck became and angel. At least that happened late...

Late? As soon as she came back, the seeds of destruction were sewn. They didn't jump the shark so much as ass-fuck it with a water ski.

[MNG]

I'm not watching that Feminized Battlestar.

[Justin Cases]

You should, I just started it, went through 2 seasons in a couple of weeks. (Thanks for the Starbucks spoilers asshats!). It's really good.

Loved lost, hated the ending, still pissed.

[Cytotoxic]

I could tolerate that Starbuck Angel horseshit. Could not tolerate ending from hell. The writers should be forced to kill each other over that Avataresque shit.

[Matrix]

damn, I guess they can demand we buy American cars to... to help the economy.. and the children.

Also, they can demand we eat certain foods. Jews like me? EAT BACON! Help the pork industry. Hindus? EAT BURGERS! Gotta help the beef industry. Vegans? Eat a meat lovers pizza!

Obese people? You can only eat these foods in these portions and exercise 1 hour a day to lose weight. Your fat asses are too expensive. Normal weight people? Exercise for 30 minutes a day to say healthy. Underweight people? Eat a friggin' cheese burger you skinny bastards!

All you religious folks, buy pron. Gotta support that industry.

close down all private schools and illegalize home schooling. We need to support our public schools by putting every child in America in one.

[John]

Now come on. It has to significantly affect interstate commerce. That should make you feel so much better.

[MNG]

And be directly economic, so they can't tell you what to eat.

[John]

Eating and how you eat is directly economic. Perhaps they couldn't tell you, you had to eat the food. But they could certainly force you to buy it which is the same thing.

[MNG]

Your fantasy LLM course should have taught you Lopez and Morrison. Eating is not directly economic activity (WTF?), though buying and selling food would be.

Did you get that LLM from Regent university?

[John]

The National Law Center at George Washington University.

[MNG]

Then how can you not understand basic cases like Morrison and Lopez?

Or hell, English spelling or how to work the submit and preview buttons...

[John]

I understand Morris and Lopez quite well. And I also type letter perfect documents all of the time. It is called proof reading. I just don't bother to proof on here because in case you missed it, this an informal internet board.

Look, Morris and Lopez are a joke. Those terms don't mean anything. You can make a good faith argument that virtually any activity meets those terms.

[MNG]

"Those terms don't mean anything. You can make a good faith argument that virtually any activity meets those terms."

That's what the government and the dissent did in those cases and they were directly refudiated by the majority. This is the thing, LLMs or whatever you don't seem to get even the basics of what was going on in that case. You go off caricaturing the court's holding sounding just like the arguments it rejected.

[bosty]

I'm going to guess this was not an ironic use of "refudiated".

[MNG]

His law school was full of liberal Republicans, you know, like Olympia Snowe.

[jtuf]

GWU represent!

[Enough About Palin]

"Your fantasy LLM course should have taught you Lopez and Morrison. Eating is not directly economic activity"

Neither is electing to NEVER SEE A FUCKING DOCTOR. EVER.

Man-up and die, people. Man-up and die.

[NoVAHockey]

that has to be better than wasting away in an ICU.

[Restoras]

Dude, seriously? EVERY human decision and action is economic.

[MNG]

So you agree with the government and the dissents in Lopez and Morrison? Neat.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your fantasy LLM course should have taught you Lopez and Morrison. Eating is not directly economic activity, though buying and selling food would be.

Under the new definition of "activity" it is. Substitute food with healthcare and the assumption that you will, at some point in your life, purchase it, it is entirely Constitutional for the law to direct you as to what foods to buy and how much of those foods you can buy.

God bless the Commerce Clause.

[X]

dude, your fat ass is negatively affecting the cost of obamacare.

dude, your gay relationship is negatively affecting the economics of Social Security

dude, your worthless women's studies major will negatively affect your taxable income.

[MNG]

See, this is the thing. What you are making fun of is the reasoning of the dissent and the government in those two cases, reasoning that was explictly rejected by the court.

What was rejected was the idea that anything that is indirectly economic which has down-the-road economic effects is fair game. The government and dissent reasoned like this: If people take a gun to school it may cause crime, crime will harm education, harmed education will harm commerce, therefore taking a gun to school is on the table." The majority said "no, everything has that kind of down-the-road economic effect, that would give us a commerce clause with no limit, so to provide a limit the activity itself must be directly economic not have a down-the-road economic effect."

[John]

It is called limiting a case to its facts. That is what is happening here. Sure bringing a gun to school won't be covered by federal power. But if not buying insurance is covered, pretty everything else will be.

[MNG]

"Sure bringing a gun to school won't be covered by federal power."

But wait, you just said upthread:

"Look, Morris and Lopez are a joke. Those terms don't mean anything. You can make a good faith argument that virtually any activity meets those terms."

Are you arguing with those "voices in your head" like you admitted the other day, or is this just changing your mind a la the Shirley Sherrod incident?

[John]

Limiting a case to its facts. You don't overturn it. You just rule in such a way that it only applies to those facts and no other situation. That is what is happening here. Those case you talk about have not spawned any progeny that have limited federal power. That is why they are limited to their facts and not nearly as relevant as you think they are.

[MNG]

"You can make a good faith argument that virtually any activity meets those terms"

That's right, and the government and dissent did that in those two cases...And they...lost.

[Gray Ghost]

You don't overturn it. You just rule in such a way that it only applies to those facts and no other situation. That is what is happening here. Those case you talk about have not spawned any progeny that have limited federal power.

Exactly right. When I was in Con Law, Lopez was looked at as this bastard stepchild that didn't flow from the rest of the Commerce Clause cases. It was just a, "BTW, the Commerce Clause doesn't cover restricting guns in schools. No, we're not sure why not either, but that's how they ruled. Don't expect to win making that argument in another context."

Though, since they ended up using Lopez to decide Morrison, I guess you throw it at the wall and see if it sticks.

[Matrix]

exactly. Not buying insurance has a down-the-road effect, and also and immediate effect, just like most of the things I spoke about.

[NeonCat]

Except that what you eat affects your health, so if your healthcare is paid for in part or whole by the government they really should tell you what to eat, and fine you if you won't, otherwise you're screwing over your fellow taxpayers.

[MNG]

You really didn't understand a word of Lopez and Morrison, of for that matter my 9:42 post, did you?

[John]

You are just totally dishonest MNG. I remember when those cases came out. People thought "wow the commerce clause is back". But it didn't work out that way. Those cases didn't cause lower courts to apply them in such a way that federal power was limited. Instead they have just kind of sat there. They haven't caused courts to overturn other federal actions.

That is why they are limited to their facts. Maybe it is because you are not a lawyer and just don't understand how case law works. But you read those words like they are a big deal. And indeed, the day after the cases came out before we knew how subsequent courts were going to interpret those words, they were. But it hasn't worked out that way. Morrison and Lopez have turned out to be a big dud and proven to be virtually no restraint on federal power.

[Zeb]

Seriously? You are going to claim that not buying insurance is directly economic and still expect me to believe that there is any activity that is not directly economic by the same standard? Not buying insurance is a specific absence of economic activity. Not buying something is exactly the opposite of economic activity.

[MNG]

The decision to buy or not insurance is as directly of an economic one as you are going to get, the direct effect is economic, not attenuated as in the lopez and Morrison cases.

[Azathoth]

The decision to buy or not insurance is as directly of an economic one as you are going to get, the direct effect is economic, not attenuated as in the lopez and Morrison cases.

The decision to buy or not food is as directly of an economic one as you are going to get, the direct effect is economic, not attenuated as in the lopez and Morrison cases.

The decision to buy or not shelter is as directly of an economic one as you are going to get, the direct effect is economic, not attenuated as in the lopez and Morrison cases.

The decision to buy or not clothing is as directly of an economic one as you are going to get, the direct effect is economic, not attenuated as in the lopez and Morrison cases.

[Spoonman.]

And be directly economic, so they can't tell you what to eat.

Bullshit.

[MNG]

Eloquent rebuttal Spoonie, how in the world the appeals court was not moved by such clever arguments i'll never guess!

[Matrix]

MNG, I just gave examples above, that you apparently ignored, of buying food as a direct economic effect... such as forcing Jews and Muslims to buy pork, Hindus to buy beef, and other vegans to buy any meat.

[MNG]

Tracy Morgan, the "30 Rock" star who issued a very public apology last week for making inappropriate homophobic remarks during a stand-up routine, is being asked to apologize again.

His offense this time? Making jokes about the mentally disabled.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....l?hpid=z11

Jesus, the PC police are really out to get this guy, likely because he's connected to a big network which will bully him to bow and scrape every time he offends someone. The man is a comedian, cut him some slack and stop policing everything everyone says. Sheesh.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Maybe Tracy Morgan got too far into his Tracy Jordan character.

[T. Morgan]

character?

[DJF]

Tracy Morgan should be put in jail because his comments have caused homosexuals and cripples to not attend Tracy Morgan shows and this negatively effects commerce so his speech should be regulated by Congress.

[Arcaster]

^ FTW

[Matrix]

The PC police a retarded.

[Citizen Nothing]

Tracy Morgan should be put in jail because "30 Rock" sucks. Seriously.
I just don't get it. It's not that I can't appreciate moderately "highbrow" mainstream sitcoms. I love the Office and Parks and Rec.
I just don't get the fucking 30 Rock love. Where have I made the wrong turning?

[Almanian]

I'll back you up on 30 Rock.

Actually, on EVERY serial. I watch no TEEVEE series anymore. None. Nothing.

The only can't-miss TV is MotoGP and World Superbike races. That's it.

[MNG]

"I just don't get the fucking 30 Rock love."

Tru dat.

[Zeb]

I've enjoyed the few episodes I have seen.

[Shocked]

It can be really good, or really really weird, especially this year.

[Anonymous Coward]

May I go so far as to point out that Tina Fey is not funny? Not now, not ever?

[Anonypussy??]

But she got a Mark Twain Award!

[Lefty Love]

You take that back! She made fun of Bush on SNL. She's a comedy god! Then she ridiculed Palin on SNL. All the other comedy gods bow before her.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Texas anti-TSA bill dies again.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating. Go ahead and mess with Texas.

[Texas]

If you mess with us, we'll run away like schoolgirls. Yee-whaaaah!

[Lost_In_Translation]

I liked the law in that it would be a PITA for TSA to deal with, but it really sidesteps the point that both these searches and the x-ray nudie machine are both grossly unnecessary violations of the 4th amendment.

[Bee Tagger]

"If the United States government, for the first time, cannot pay its bills, if it defaults, then the consequences for the U.S. economy will be significant and unpredictable,"

He's been terrible at predicting the predictable responses of the economy, so why not try his hand at predicting the unpredictable?

[John]

Well every piece of bad economic news since January 20, 2009, has been "unexpected". So, it makes sense that this would produce unexpected results.

[Citizen Nothing]

This is for you, John. This morning NPR reported that the debt ceiling deal was being "held hostage" (their words) by Republicans' refusal to raise taxes.
The Fox News of the left, indeed.

[John]

Except Fox doesn't take anyone's tax money that I know of.

[Citizen Nothing]

Very good point, indeed.

[Reuters]

The United States would immediately have its top-notch credit rating slashed to "selective default" if it misses a debt payment on August 4, Standard & Poor's managing director John Chambers told Reuters.

Chambers, who is also the chairman of S&P's sovereign ratings committee, told Reuters on Tuesday that U.S. Treasury bills maturing on August 4 would be rated 'D' if the government fails to honor them. Unaffected Treasuries would be downgraded as well, but not as sharply, he said.

"If the U.S. government misses a payment, it goes to D," Chambers said. "That would happen right after August 4, when the bills mature, because they don't have a grace period."

Fears of a technical default have been rising after budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans fell apart in Washington earlier this week. Even a brief default by the United States would immediately increase the country's borrowing costs, weighing on the fragile economic recovery and eroding the dollar's status as a reserve currency.

On August 4, the Treasury Department is due to pay off $30 billion in maturing short-term debt.

[jtuf]

The United States would immediately have its top-notch credit rating slashed to "selective default" if it misses a debt payment on August 4, Standard & Poor's managing director John Chambers told Reuters.

That's only a problem if we raise the debt ceiling at a later date. If we don't borrow any more money, our rating matters less.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Is this the same S&P that was so on the ball with regard to risk in the MBS arena?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Protesters returned to Tahrir Square in Cairo with tents on Wednesday, starting a new sit-in to press their demands for an end to emergency rule and changes to Egypt's interim government, according to bloggers and activists.

One of the demands? Change the name of the country to New Perpetual Protestland.

[Warty]

Colbert was funny once, right? I may have just been making that up in my head.

[MNG]

I think he's still funny, immeasurably more so than Stewart for example and slightly more so than Hannity.

[Warty]

Of course you do.

[MNG]

I guess your 'logic' here would be that I find Colbert funny because he's a liberal, but then wither my lack of same for Steward who is much more liberal? But expecting Warty to have a sense of humor or grasp of logic is a lot.

[Shorter MNG]

"Warty is afraid to debate me!"

[MNG]

Er, the last thing I would like to do today is to "debate" Warty on something. He's like a retarded version of SugarFree. And Sugarfree is mildly retarded himself.

[Citizen Nothing]

MNG-PWN'D.
(Ah. Good times.)

[Citizen Nothing]

Soon, MNG's little cousin Oliver will show up to post.

[MNG]

Is it my musky smell that attracts and fascinates you so CN?

[Citizen Nothing]

I've got a thing for string warts.

[Restoras]

A+

[Citizen Nothing]

I'm just fluffing him for John.

[Warty]

You put a lot of thought into this, I see.

[T]

As always , Warty, you loom large.

[cynical]

Maybe he just thinks you have terrible taste in general?

Though I thought that Colbert managed to stay fresh well after Stewart had decided to stop being funny.

[Warty]

No, no, no. It's just because I'm a TEAM RED idiot like SugarFree.

[db]

Obama's proud his daughter can name all 57 states.

http://news.google.com/news/ur.....ters-age/1

I'm not usually into these nitpicky details but this is pretty golden.

[John]

If Palin or really any Republican woman had done that there would have been at least a half dozen thumb sucking pieces in the media about what a horrible mother she is and the terrible price her children pay for her ambition.

[Matrix]

they should be asking why she isn't in the kitchen making her husband a sandwich.

[Warty]

I have to think for a minute to remember how old I am. So I can understand.

[T]

I know my birthday. I leave it up to other people to do the math.

[db]

I agree. But public officials deserve every gram of ridicule that can be heaped on them, and more.

[Almanian]

Memory PWNAGE

[Horseshoes, Hand Grenades]

Malia is 13, Sasha is 10." Whoops -- Malia is still 12, though she does turn 13 on Monday, July 4th.

Her birthday on July 4th means that she has completed her 13th year, not started it. So Mr. Obama is close enough. She begins her 14th year on July 5th. Not that Fox & Friends will not be covering this important gaffe all day long and over the weekend.

[NeonCat]

Try legally buying alcohol, cigarettes, porn or handguns if you're "close enough".

[KDN]

Funny thing is, F&F mentioned this and quickly dismissed this as irrelevant and close enough within about a minute. They did include the (completely warranted) if someone we liked did this....

[Enough About Palin]

No. She begins here 14th yeay on July 4.

[cynical]

Seems hard to explain. Wouldn't it just be easier to edit Wikipedia to push her birthday back a year?

[Mr. FIFY]

And both John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy, were born in Iowa.

Have a horseshoe, or a hand grenade. Same difference.

[Mike M.]

He doesn't know how old his daughters are because he thinks it's still the year 2008.

And I eagerly away Reason's Hit N' Run piece on this so everyone who visits can see what a fucking idiot Obama is.

[Zeb]

Meh. She's closer to 13 than 12.

[Bee Tagger]

But Obama, invoking the example of how his daughters Sasha and Malia do their homework, told Congress to get cracking: "They don't wait until the night before. They're not pulling all-nighters. They're -- they're 13 and 10. You know, Congress can do the same thing."

I, like most, think the President's children should be essentially off-limits to the press. But am I wrong for thinking that the flip-side of that coin is that the President shouldn't invoke them while making substantial policy speeches?

That's an honest question. Am I off-base with that?

[John]

I don't think you are off base at all.

[Not John]

Obama vs. the press. Communists vs. Nazis. It's just like Stalingrad!

[John]

You are getting the hang of this whole analogy thing. Keep at it, you can do it. Check plus.

[Warty]

Did anonopussy just make a funny? It did, holy shit.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Do Sasha and Malia respond "present" when asked to hand in their homework?

[Almanian]

Oh, snap!

[Brett L]

It seems to depend, as they had no problem pillorying the behavior of Jenna and Barbara Bush, but those two were adults at the time. I happen to think you're right. Children should be off-limits, both as targets and assets.

[Zeb]

Anyone with minor children who runs for president should be done for child abuse.

[Hugh Akston]

Actually, Obama checked with his lawyers, and they all said the same thing.

So he went out and got some new lawyers.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Do Sasha and Malia spend more money than they have?

[Mr. FIFY]

I said this earlier, Bee,um, downthreadish, but... I feel sorry for Obama's offspring, as the actions of their parents have ensured they will never have a normal life.

People with under-18 children, should not run for president.

But, yeah, what a president or the spouse of one says ABOUT their kids, is fair game.

[Joe M.]

Obama calls for more tax breaks, construction loans

Why not cut to the chase and call for demolition loans too?

[P Brooks]

Parnell, who was interviewed by Colbert for a segment that the show hasn't yet aired, says the point that Colbert was trying to make -- that Citizens United was a bad decision -- has been undermined.

"What he's actually been doing for the last several weeks is educating his audience in how complex and convoluted campaign finance laws can be," Parnell said.

Imagine my surprise.

[[John]ny [Long]torso]

I have now taken Suki hostage. If my amazon review for Gillespie's and Welch's book does not immediately get better ratings, so help me God, I'll release her.

[Suki]

Help me! He's just crazy enough to do it! He's giving me the Clockwork Orange treatment with Golden Girls episodes! It burns!

[MNG]

I'm on it JT, just please don't do something drastic.

[Mean Mrs. Mustard]

Are you really daring me to sign in at Amazon and trash your review, Mr. Torso, 'cause I'll do it.

Where the hell did I write down my password...

[Mean Mrs. Mustard]

6/44, you masochistic bitch!

[Arcaster]

Excellent review, JLT.

[cynical]

So that's where she went.

[Mr Whipple]

"The president wants more stimulus."

Well, Sarkozy told Obama that in order to be stimulated he'd have to drop some more bombs on Libya before he'll let him see Carla Bruni again.

[SugarFree]

Police refuse to help women recover stolen iPad

She should have told them she saw the occupants of the house with a nickel bag of weed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

If you watch a lot of crime dramas, you might think this is the part where police sent out a swat team to bust in the door. Or maybe just a single officer to politely inquire about the device's whereabouts.

Jerry Orbach is dead.

[Almanian]

That made me snicker.

Do teh childrenz still call them nickel bags? Or has inflation taken that to a fitty bag or something?
Fuck - this makes me realize how long it's been since I bought teh illeegull druggz...god I'm old

Thanks a lot, SugarFree, you bastard...

[Ska]

I haven't seen less than a thirty bag for nearly ten years.

Maybe in the shittiest of shitty neighborhoods you can still find them, but I doubt that too.

[Almanian]

Yeah, I have no fucking idea. This made me realize I haven't bought pot in...carry the 1...about 30 years.

I can't wait to retire - I plan to start smoking pot again the day I do.

[SugarFree]

Get a vaporizer. Expensive for what it is, but totally worth it.

[Brett L]

I found out last night what the kids pay for a quarter now. Holy shit. I could've bought a quarter pound 15 years ago. (Although, I think they get better product too. Probably not 16x better by weight)

[JW]

If only she had a big, hairy, patriarchal misogynist around to protect her and her stuff.

[Hugh Akston]

Coming soon: seatbelt laws for dogs.

[MNG]

Well, if we are going to be marrying them soon as Santorum predicted with the passage of gay marriage then we might as well make 'em wear seatbelts.

[Not Making This Up]

You will not be able to smoke in the car with your new canine bride in New York.

[Gray Ghost]

So does this mean I have to strap down the rest of my chattel property when I drive somewhere? Like a laundry basket, or a suitcase, or groceries?

And of course, like the original human seat belt law, this won't ever be used by the cops as a primary reason for a vehicle stop.

[JoshInHB]

About 89% of pets traveling in cars last year weren't secured properly, says Christina Selter, founder of advocacy group Bark Buckle Up who collects national data from police and fire agencies. Still, it's an improvement from 2008, when 98% were unsecured. Currently, there are no federal or state laws requiring pets be secured inside vehicles, Ms. Selter says.

Don't you love this new progressive meme that you are breaking a law or taking advantage of a loophole, when engaging in legal activity.

"We don't like it so we're going to act like it's illegal until it is."

Fucking Assholes.

[Mike M.]

Britain is becoming the new Greece, as 750,000 lazy, worthless government employees go on strike.

[OO]

careful - the military are govt employees

[And?]

[Mike M.]

From the article:

"Union organizers said that more than 750,000 public employees ? including teachers, lecturers, court staff, passport officers, and other civil servants ? walked out during the one-day strike over proposed changes to their pension system."

You'll notice that there's nothing at all in there about military personnel going on strike. Which is probably not surprising, considering that they would probably be court-martialed if they tried.

Care to try again, and maybe come up with something better?

[Colbert]

"lazy, worthless government employees go on strike."
_
ur words hoss.

[T]

Met any Brit soldiers? Replace "lazy, worthless" with "usually drunk".

Of course, that applied to the American Army when I was in, so I should probably shut up.

[OO]

i served joint assignments w brit officers & NCO's who were as professional as they come. and US military personel are NOT drunks...usually or otherwise. sounds like u were a draftee once upon a time.

[cynical]

Are they also lazy and worthless? If so, fuck em.

[Joe M.]

Calling Margaret Thatcher!

[Joe M.]

Where's Margaret Thatcher when you need her?

[JoshInHB]

... as 750,000 lazy, worthless government employees go on strike.

I pray for a strike here, but CA's "public servants" are smart enough to know that they wouldn't be missed in a strike

[Justin Cases]

To be fair, the UK has had generations of of worthless lazy bums on welfare that they should think about cutting first. At least government employees might do something for their money.

That said, the NHS is the worlds third largest public employer so yeah, there's some cutting that needs doing.

Just think, when the US Single Payer system comes it'll probably be the worlds 1st larger employer (given that the US population is about 5 times bigger than the UK).

[Res Publica Americana]

"Whoops -- Malia is still 12, though she does turn 13 on Monday, July 4th."

The tyrant's little girl was born on Independence Day? That's just gold.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for Texas and/or arizona to secede. DO I DELUDE MYSELF?

[SugarFree]

The tyrant's little girl was born on Independence Day?

Are you going to take their word on it? RELEASE THE REAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Muslims will stop at nothing to thumb their nose at Old Glory.

[Res Publica Americana]

She probably has the Communist Manifesto tattooed on her back.

And now I'll randomly say the word "nigger" to attract the PC police.

[PC Police]

How would you distance yourself from others in an effort to feel superior if we went away?

[Res Publica Americana]

I don't feel superior at all -- I just pissing politically correct people off. Nobody said you had to feel superior to do that.

[PC Police]

So you must want us to increase our presence then. The more words that offend us, the greater opportunity for your joy.

Clearly, Res Publica Americana supports and appreciates the PC Police.

[Res Publica Americana]

There's a limit to that, since if more of you keep popping up, joy's going to turn into irritation, and then fury

[Pro Libertate]

As revealed in a thread yesterday, he can't do that, because his birth certificate shows that his real name is Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman. The goof will be more apparent (though never confirmed) when Jerry Lawler attacks "Obama" at a fundraising event in November.

[John]

That would also explain why he doesn't release his college transcripts and no one seems to know what he was doing in the years between 1974 and 1982. You may be onto something Pro.

[Citizen Nothing]

Here I come to save the daaaaaay!

[Pro Libertate]

That's why Andy faked his death--to take on this new persona. Obama was actually "born" in 1984, after Andy got back from a series of special operations in Switzerland.

[Barlatka Gravbama]

Let me be clear, Louie... I intend to take this cab out on the streets, and use it to make a difference for the children.

T'ank you veddy much.

[JW]

We need Andy Kaufman, now, more than ever.

[Pro Libertate]

Dude, we have him. In the White House. I'm not making this up.

[Mr. FIFY]

I feel sorry for the li'l Obamas. Thanks to their selfish-assed parents, they will never have a normal life.

[Enough About Palin]

I wonder if one of them is a lesbian.

[Mr. FIFY]

Hopefully, they won't be totally fucked up when they grow up.

Like, say, the Olsen twins, who might be lesbians for all I know.

[Joe M.]

I have the same birthday at our fearless leader -- August 4.

[Ice Nine]

That's what Colbert...has been going for all along: poking fun at the FEC...

A worthy objective, and possibly obtainable - You just never know when Colbert might start being remotely funny.

[Colbert]

sorry for the big words

[Ice Nine]

You suppose that's it? And here I'd always thought it was your clever irony that I didn't get.

[Warty]

Ewwwwww

The body of a Fall River woman was discovered floating in a state run pool late Tuesday night, two days after she apparently drowned in that same pool.

[SugarFree]

A relative of an in-law had a girl who OD'd on the floor of his living room for two days before anyone found out. She had crawled under some coats and died.

[John]

Something tells me she wasn't the only one in the house using drugs.

[cynical]

I don't think an excuse like that is going to keep Marcellus off their backs.

[tarran]

What can I say, it's Massachusetts State Government, putting the F in customer service!

[Warty]

Juke the stats

Possibly bullshit, but interesting.

[John]

I think it is bullshit and here is why. He gives the statistic "deaths among the non deployed" and assumes all of those guys died from injuries suffered in Iraq. That is not true. A guy getting killed in a car accident counts as "deaths among the non-deployed". He seems to have an interesting point about not counting people who die of combat wounds in a hospital in the rear as a "combat death". That probably would raise the death toll some. But not to the extent he says it would.

[Warty]

Yeah, that was more or less my take. Still, it reminded me of The Wire. Turn rapes into assaults, make thefts disappear. Juke the stats.

[jtuf]

Facebook is the internet version of academia: it's designed to keep adolescents amused, it excludes any nonmember from even seeing what is inside, it forbids the publication of Mohammed cartoons or pornography, and it bills itself as universal and open minded.

[Not Making This Up]

Didn't Facebook? also usher in the New Era of Peace and Harmony? in the Middle East? Or was that Twitter??

[jtuf]

I'll give the devil its due. Facebook was one technology that helped. So did the internet, the mobile phone, and the camera phone, and Islam. A large portion of the protests were on Fridays after morning prayers. Islam, like most religions, serves as an ancient social networking system.

[Pro Libertate]

I thought it was fax machines.

[P Brooks]

Apparently, a Nigerian man hopped a flight from New York to Los Angeles using somebody else's expired boarding pass. A simple case of "theft of services" which is being huffed and puffed about as a "security breach".

[brotherben]

Saw an article online about 30 minutes ago that said the gubmint is making a billion dollars available for loans up to fifty grand for folks behind in their mortgage. Some that qualify won't have to pay the money back. Damned if I can find the link now.

[cynical]

If you don't have to pay it back, it isn't a loan. It's a good thing my wife is a registered Democrat, I could use some free money.

[Warty]

William Bennett: We need to ban gambling for my safety

Wait, that's not what he said. Close enough.

[Warty]

Bonus heroically stupid comment:

Ripemanew1 I don't like the fact that criminals live off of drug sales. But legalizing poison is worse.
And besides the drug war industry supports a lot of good people.
1 minute ago | Like | Report abuse

[JW]

Did you report his abuse of intelligent beings everywhere?

[Why not?]

Concoct a reason guns and crime affect interstate commerce and pass a law requiring every citizen own a gun or pay a fine.

[Brett L]

We don't need interstate commerce. The 2nd Amendment says nothing about the right NOT to keep and bear arms. Same argument. Allowing the positive implies we can prohibit the negative.

[cynical]

I think we should convince Team Red to do it, if the PPACA mandate passes Constitutional muster. Amend the Selective Service requirement for voting to also include gun ownership and training (disabled persons excluded). And include women this time around.

[Matrix]

I think there is a town in GA that requires everyone to own a gun in their home.

[edward]

I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for
$94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by fed3x. I will never again pay expensive r3tailprices at stores.I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to
my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website
we using to get all thisstuff,b?zzsave. c0m.......

[Matrix]

OMG No wai!!! You gots an Xbox 360 for 32.67?!