Reason Morning Links: Americans Loathe Stimulus, Obama Finds a "Middle Ground" on Torture, Tim Pawlenty Runs Out of Friends

• MoJo's Kevin Drum concedes that the "American public hates stimulus spending."
• President Obama seeks "middle ground" on torture, authorized the capture and two-month interrogation of a Somali terrorism suspect as an "alternative" to indefinitely detaining/torturing him.
• Waste and abuse in the unemployment insurance system reaches record levels. 
• Tim Pawlenty's friends in Minnesota say their man has lost whatever charisma he had. 
• UN report accuses Israel of using live ammo against Lebanese protestors in May.
• NYT: Economic, demographic and social changes in Mexico are suppressing illegal immigration as much as the poor economy or legal crackdowns in the United States.

New at Reason.tv: "The Killing of Allen Kephart: How the Police Lost the Trust of a Law-and-Order Town"

Comments

[Aqua Buddha]

U.S. Officials Behind 'Fast and Furious' Gun Sales Should Be Tried in Mexico, Lawmaker Says
While the investigation continues into the U.S. operation that helped send thousands of guns south of the border, Mexican lawmakers say they'll press for extradition and prosecution in Mexico of American officials who authorized and ran the operation.

"I obviously feel violated. I feel my country's sovereignty was violated," Mexico Sen. Rene Arce Islas told Fox News. "They should be tried in the United States and the Mexican government should also demand that they also be tried in Mexico since the incidents took place here. There should be trials in both places." ...

8 Weirdly Sexual Products You Won't Believe Are for Kids

[John]

I meant to link to that yesterday. To all these liberals who want Bush and Chaney tried at the Hague; tell you what I will go for that if we can ship Holder and Obama off to Mexico.

[Fluffy]

I would want to agree with you here, but in this instance I think it should be LEGAL to smuggle lots of weapons into Mexico.

If Obama and Holder did nothing all day but smuggle guns, I would write a check to Mr. Hopey-Changey's re-election campaign.

There's got to be something else we can try these SOB's for.

[Au H20]

Is it just me, or does a movie about smuggling guns over the border, conducted by the President and AG, sound like the premise for a GREAT Tarintino movie?

[Ska]

Hmm....who are you casting the Jew Hunter as?

[sloopyinca]

Harvey Keitel could sure use the work.

[John]

That is a good point. There is a bit of a taste of Alinsky "make them live to their own standards" in the gunwalker scandal. Frankly, I don't care if Mexican cartels have guns. And it is not like they wouldn't have gotten them elsewhere had the BATF not smuggled them to them.

Yet at the same time, these are the same people who think all guns are evil and would gladly take mine if they could get away with it. Given that, it seems fitting that they should go down for gunwalker.

[Tim]

AT last the Morning Thinks.

[Brett L]

Riggs gives quality, but you have to wait for it.

[Lord Humungus]

...but the cronies loved Stimulus spending.

[sarcasmic]

But, but, but the government can't reduce stimulus!

Without stimulus the economy will go into a death spiral!

Just look at all the economic downturns before the Great Depression. None of them were met with government stimulus and the economy recovered in less than two years. Only when the government stepped in to stimulate the economy and end the death spiral did the recession turn into a depression and last for over a decade.

Wait a minute...

[John]

And we never had decades worth of stagflation like we do now. But oh the downturns were worse if shorter. So that makes it all better.

[sarcasmic]

According to Lord Keynes the world will come to a violent end if the government doesn't step in and stimulate aggregate demand.
The world will end I tell you!
It's the end of the world without government action!

The market does not reallocate resources to productive means. That never happens. What happens is a death spiral and the end of the world.

Look at the historical evidence! Every time the government didn't intervene resources were reallocated and the world didn't end! That's proof that we need government intervention!

Aaaauuuuuggggghhhhhhhhhh!

Why do people believe this bullshit?!?

[robc]

Ive said the same about the deflationary "spiral". Every time we have had a deflationary period, we have come out of it. The spiral theory is bullshit.

Deflation isnt bad.

[John]

Fluffy made the point well one time. There is a mathematical boundry to these things. Prices will not reach zero. Unemployment will not reach 100%. At some point prices will get so low and supply will get so low that even a meager demand will eat up the supply and end the cycle. Modern keynesians act like there is no limit to deflation when there in fact is.

[sarcasmic]

Keynesianism just another doomday cult.

[NeonCat]

Malthusian Keynesianism - there will never be enough stimulus to go around.

[Progressive Douche]

Why do people believe this bullshit?!?

It pays the bills.

Whay choice do we have? Getting a real job.....Right.

[Fist of Etiquette]

We liberals have miserably failed to make the case for stimulus spending...

Stimulus spending has failed to make the case for stimulus spending.

[Brett L]

But then ALL government spending becomes suspect. Even thinking that in passing probably had Drum clutching his pearls.

[Warty]

An America where I can't get shitfaced and buy a puppy is no America I want to live in.

Slightly higher-quality followup story on that fishy cop shooting I posted yesterday

[Au H20]

Actually, it seems like there may be some backlash against the Parma thing, so, fingers crossed there and all.

[Brett L]

"'They want you to think that the tea party is made up of toothless hillbillies coming down out of the hills wearing red, white and blue. But the fact is, they should be afraid of the tea party,' Bachmann said at a campaign rally in Iowa."

A politician tells the truth. Can I get a ruling from our hillbilly contingent? Are there toothful hillbillies?

[SugarFree]

It's rare that the common hillbilly (vulgar rednecki hillbillicus) is completely toothless. It is more likely that they simply do not have a full complement of teeth, usually less than 80% of the standard 32.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I hear tell that dentistry in Kentucky has advanced to the point where the average brother-sister/"cousin" pairing can hope to have a full set of teeth between the two of them.

[sarcasmic]

Q: Why do so many Kentucky murders go unsolved?

A: No dental records and everyone's go the same DNA.

[sarcasmic]

*got

[Mainer]

They have the same problem in Maine.

[sarcasmic]

I heard it first as a joke about The County.

[Ice Nine]

It's really all a matter of tooth-to-tattoo ratio.

[Brett L]

My brother has all of his teeth, but I'm betting tooth:tattoo is probably about 0.5. I'm not saying he's all class, but I don't think he owns enough guns or dogs to be a hillbilly.

[T]

When I lived in the Deep South (as opposed to Texas) those were referred to as "summer teeth": summer here, summer there, summer missing, summer not. A typical comment was something like "Yeah, she's cute, but she's got summer teeth real bad."

[robc]

I would guess your typical middle class non-redneck has about 28 teeth, as most have their wisdom teeth removed.

Your average hillbilly might have MORE teeth than your average yuppie.

[Pro Libertate]

I retain my wisdom teeth and defy you mutilated folk.

[Sparky]

Finally, the hero we wisdom teeth retaining folk need to stand up for us!

[robc]

You either have a freakishly large mouth or pussy wisdom teeth. Or, you are a hillbilly and proving my point.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, no and no, but I am from the South--ipso facto a hillbilly.

[robc]

ipso facto a hillbilly

Not true. You can be a southern flatlander.

[Pro Libertate]

My family is from the hills and mountains of Tennessee.

[Lord Humungus]

where do gold teeth fall into this equation?

[robc]

Teef are teef.

[oo]

thanks to michelle, i now know iowa has hills...& billies live up yonder!

[JW]

The Angry Hillbilly God will not tolerate toothfullness amongst the faithful.

[Brett L]

+1, I forgot about Angry Hillbilly God. Must be all those teeth I have.

[SugarFree]

They keep you from knowing him in your heart. But all you have to do to feel his love is chug a 2-liter of Mountain Dew.

[robc]

3 liter.

Hillbillies stop at those stores that carry the 3 liter bottles of Dew.

[SugarFree]

Your hysteria fundamentalism is what keeps Angry Hillbilly God from going mainstream.

[KDN]

So New Jersey is using our friendly neighborhood paramilitary to crack down on the scourge of unskilled labor. Why do we need licenses for an activity that can be performed by three drunks and a U-Haul?

[Brett L]

Because many unions consist of drunks that can barely manage a U-Haul?

[oo]

those are state licenses moron.

[Brett L]

Yeah. Who could have lobbied for state licensing for movers?

[KDN]

Unions aren't involved here for once, this is just another case of the state's protection racket in action.

My favorite part was the justification: "Last year alone, the Division of Consumer Affairs received nearly 160 consumer complaints against moving companies." Not even unlicensed moving companies, all of them. The DCA can't even handle 3 complaints per week without siccing the stateys on the industry for a credential check.

At least it keeps the bastards from enforcing our increasingly anachronistic speed limits.

[JW]

Without licensing, movers could dangerously place your davenport right next to your divan.

[SugarFree]

That's exactly how my great-uncle died, you asshole.

[JW]

That'll teach him to reject the loving touch of a chesterfield.

[John]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....ght-police

A law that says you can't discriminate on the basis of race is ruled unconstitutional as discriminatory. Orwellian is such an over used word. We need a new word to describe this stuff. It is getting beyond even Orwell's imagination.

[Citizen Nothing]

doubleplusOrwellian.

[Sparky]

doubleplusone

[Citizen Nothing]

Only after learning Esperanto did I realize that it was probably the inspiration for Orwell's Newspeak.
Malrava, dude. Malrava.

[Sparky]

Maybe a new scale needs to be invented. The measurement unit would be called Orwells. A story like this might merit a rating of 6 Orwell units, depending on the scale of course.

[Au H20]

No, Sparky, this problem can only be solved through SCIENCE!

Namely, we need to invent an Orwell detector.

[Sparky]

I'm afraid at this point in time such an invention is doomed to fail. As soon as it became operational it would overload and self-destruct as a way to save itself. Any further attempts to build a device with sufficient safeguards to prevent self-destruction would of course result in Skynet.

[Lord Humungus]

I was part of the 58 percent majority. Bastards.

[Pro Libertate]

Morwellian, natch.

[robc]

The lack of a separation of school and state argument is noticable.

[Au H20]

Indiana to stop teaching cursive, start teaching typing.

Great, now I'll look even weirder using only two fingers.

A Maureen Dowd column about the Twilight Zone and Twitter or something. Anyway, let's just use this as an excuse to talk Twilight Zone.

Favorite Twilight Zone ep? Mine has to be "It's a Good Life."

[SugarFree]

"Where is Everybody?", but I've always been fascinated by Last Man stories.

[Citizen Nothing]

Speaking of Last Man, I recently had to buy reading glasses. So I've been empathizing with Burgess Meridith in Time Enough at Last.
"That's not fair!!!"

[SugarFree]

"Wait, my eyes aren't that bad; I can still read the large-print books!"

[Au H20]

"Well, thank god I taught myself to read Braille.

[Citizen Nothing]

In the sequel, he slams both hands in a door.
"That's not fair!"

[Ska]

Hah, very nice.

[robc]

Ive never seen that episode but am well familiar with the plot. Was he too blind to stumble to the local Walgreen's and "steal" a pair off the rack of reading glasses?

[SugarFree]

His glasses were comically thick and he was trapped in a bank vault when the bombs fell. Everything was rubble when he got outside.

[Au H20]

Except the library... somehow.

[SugarFree]

Most libraries were rated as bomb shelters. I work in one that still is. As foolish as the concept was...

[Abdul]

Good lord, when the big one finally comes, the world will be repopulated with bankers and MLIS's?

[SugarFree]

There has to be someone to wear the assless chaps, Abdul.

[Lord Humungus]

quick hint for wearer of glasses: If you need to read something but don't have your glasses; by making a peephole with your fingers, you can read words by peering through the hole*.

*no sexual innuendo intended

[Citizen Nothing]

I'm crushing your head!

[G. Costanza]

*squinting*

Ooh, a dime!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Weren't most Twilight Zone episodes "Last Man" stories? The writers used the plot device to warn audiences the dangers of Communism. Or gays maybe.

[SugarFree]

While many of them played with the idea, only a few really committed to the bit before the twist. "Two" is pretty much the only one that suggests a literal Last Man On Earth, but it's Charles Bronson, so we could be doing worse as a race. But the twist makes it a Shaggy God story, which is a degenerate form of Last Man On Earth story.

"Time Enough At Last" doesn't explore the notion that Burgess is the only one left, just the only one left in the vicinity. "Stopover in a Quiet Town" plays with the characters being the last humans, but the introduction of the artificial environment subverts it. "Third from the Sun" has last group of humans flee their planet before is destroyed, but it is a form of Shaggy God story, much like "Probe 7, Over and Out" which a lone man is marooned on an alien planet. "The Lonely" also features a lone male protagonist, but he is stranded alone as a form of punishment.

[Citizen Nothing]

What's the clinical word for the compulsion to organize things into categories? (If there are more than one, please list them alphabetically.)

[robc]

Diabetic Archivist.

[SugarFree]

Would you like to know what category you are in?

[robc]

What Can You Say About Chocolate Covered Manhole Covers? is my favorite shaggy god story. And would have made a good twilight zone episode too.

[Tim]

The best epsiode has to be that one with the two women and one's all like: "Dish washing liquid?" and the other says:
"YOU'RE SOAKING IN IT!"

I still get the shivers.

[JW]

"Where is Everybody?", but I've always been fascinated by Last Man stories.

I just showed that episode to the boy the other day. He ate it up.

It's the first TZ episode, from what I can tell.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I like the episode where the astronauts crash on a desert asteroid and promptly start killing each other for the limited resources they brought with them, only for the last one alive to stumble upon a road. It turned out the asteroid had a road system and other people on it for some reason.

[Au H20]

No, it turns out that they never left earth, you numbskull.

Episode: I shot an arrow.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

"The Dummy"

[Ska]

I like that one a lot too.

[Sparky]

SyFy just had a holiday marathon of TZ episodes. Some of my favorites:

"Deaths-Head Revisited"
"The Monsters are Due on Maple St"
"To Serve Man"

[Pro Libertate]

Was it Night Gallery or The Out Limits where the guy survived the extremely painful process of an earwig eating its way from one ear to the other only to find that it had laid thousands of eggs in his brain?

[Pro Libertate]

Outer--sorry.

[Sparky]

Sources say Night Gallery.

[Sparky]

That series was much more into Fridge Horror than Twilight Zone.

[robc]

Fridge Horror

Are you a diabetic archivist too?

I have no clue what that sub-sub-genre means.

[SugarFree]

A twist ending that takes a while to settle in.

[CaptainSmartass]

http://tvtropes.org/ Read and learn.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Night Gallery.

[Pro Libertate]

You know, a shrewd businessman would air that episode over and over again and sell earwig protection services. I think that would work, despite the actual harmlessness of earwigs.

[Au H20]

See, Lisa, the bear patrol is working!

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, that's about right. But earwigs are scarier.

[Resto Druid FTW]

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

"The 7th is made up of phantoms."

The two best episodes EVER IMHO.

[Sparky]

Did they make a TZ episode based on Owl Creek Bridge or was it just a short?

[SugarFree]

It was a French short film shown as a TZ ep.

[Resto Druid FTW]

Correctomundo.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Following up on AUH2O's Naomi Wolf link from yesterday, this is either the greatest piece of ramblecrazy on a "respectable" site, or... well, you just have to read it.

The Battle Plan II: Sarah "Evita" Palin, the Muse of the Coming Police State

[John]

Wow. What a pile of stupid. Is there anything these people can't project on Palin?

[Brett L]

I think she just recycled a bunch of her 2006-2008 columns and changed the names 'Bush' to Palin. Thus her citation of the Rove-Cheney cabal. Who the hell still believes Karl Rove has any power?

[SugarFree]

It's a 2008 September 22 column, a last convulsive push to get Obama elected.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Sure is a good thing that we elected Obama -- we really dodged a bullet on that whole police state thing!

[Tim]

THE WAR IS (not) OVER! YAY TEAM BLUE.

[HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN]

MEXASFORNIA

THE AMERICAN SOUTHWESTERN EVOLUTION MEXASFORNIA

[THE PILLARS OF SOCIETY]

So, what are the pillars of society and not being a lettered
man or a social engineer, and not really interested in being
one but only an observer at the ending of life, we have noticed
from living in various social environments, that some things
seem to be unique to all neighborhood's and would have to
apply to the greater social engineering of society, and those
would have to be;

* Common Language: Well it make's it a lot easier in a local
neighborhood if you can speak to the other guy, growing up
before the growing evolution of the North American
Continent, we had [DP 's] Displaced Persons from [WWII]
World War Two Europe primarily, and the parents would
scream at the kids we are in America now, we are American's
you Speak American, plus a few ear pulling and open handed
smacks to the face, but the message got thru, but it didn' t
apply to Grandma or Grand-dad . So a common language
seems to be a key, the movie Pillow Book is a good movie to
demonstrate how important a common language is.

* Common Regional Area with Geographic Boundaries: The
boundaries were set in the city by streets generally, but could
be divided by factory areas, parks, commercial areas, but
generally there had to be a common regional area of safety, if
you want a better idea get the movie Warriors, basically a
Gang called the Warriors had to fight their way back to their
turf Common Regional and Geographic Area, thru others turf.
So a common area where you have the advantage of Regional
knowledge and supremacy is a must.

* Common Race: Now this is the point when all the liberals get
up in your face and call you a racist and that in today's society
race has nothing to do with anything, that the Israel-American
Empire is going to be a Black-African Heritage based society,
the answer to that is well maybe. The Empire is in the process
of social engineering the creation of a mix race society,
portraying it as the new wave. Now, these things have a way
of working themselves out we sort of figure, but we have lived
long enough to have seen it ain't gonna work, or the price can
be very high. Fiddler on the Roof was a good example, the old
Jew with all the daughters when along with pretty much
everything and saw change as well it happens, but when it
came to marriage outside the Religion and Social Group, Get
Out And Never Darken My Door Again. Try being a Red Headed
Whiskey drinking no prospects Catholic Irishman dating a dark
haired, dark eyed brain Greek Orthodox, chick you don't see to
many My Big Fat Greek Wedding, like that's going to happen.

* Common Religion: The Jewish Religion has to be the proof of
the pudding when it comes to the Common Religion. The
Protocols' of the Elders of Zion, a written method of keeping a
nation without a Common Regional Area with Geographic
Boundaries, and Common Race locations, a people who had
decided on a [1 ] One True God Deist Religion, built an entire
dogma, and social engineered group around it, that takes the
cake, they did it and are still doing it, and it works.

[THE EMPIRE]

The Israeli- American Empire only consists of the [2] Two
Metropolis City, which really combined is a Mega-Metropolis of
[NYC] New York City, and Washington, D. C. [District of
Clowns], which have many if not all of the pillars of society
Common Language Money and Power, Common Race Green
Back Dollar Green, Common Religion Greed, and of course
common regional area, plus most are inter-married or at least
having intercourse with each other over money or physically,
and now they are trying to do social engineering to preserve
themselves in power, but this should have been started in
[1492] when Columbus decided to sail the oceans blue, well
they sort of did the GOLD was in South America, so all the
basic's of society a Common Society exist South of the Boarder
between Mexico and the Yankee North. But the North
American Continent is in a period of Evolution, Secession or
Breaking Apart into at least [8] Eight Geo- Political Regional
Common Regional Area's with Geographic Boundaries:

* The Republic of Alaska

* America: The Confederate States of America

* America: The United States of America

* The Republic of California

* The Republic of Cascadia: Carved out of Northwestern
Washington State, and the Canadian province of British
Columbia.

* The Republic of Hawaii

* The Mormon Republic

* The Republic of Texas

* The Republic of Vermont: Carved out of the New York State
Adirondacks, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

[The Collapse from Within]

The Israeli- American Empire failed to even, begin to build the
pillars of society that ensure its being a lasting one.

* A Common Language? NO!

* A Common Religion? NO!

* A Common Race? NO! But, now the social engineering is
built upon the idea of having a mixed not Black, not White,
non descript racial identity as the North American Race, with a
combined racial identity, this idea hasn't work either way it
turned into either a White with Black features or a Black that
has White features, much like a fashion statement in the
[60' s] the Jackie Syndrome, in the [21 st ] Century the Imperial
Media Messiah President Syndrome look, but there are many
who do not want to live in a mixed race society, and you can
see this in any city, some cities are all Black, this goes beyond
just Color, the Irish neighborhood, the Italian neighborhood,
the Jewish Ghetto, the Korean, Japanese, Little China Town,
etc. etc. etc. Love seems to have its own agenda and rules, but
it has to be understood it can come at a very high price.

* Common Geographic and Regional Areas; NO! Again people
who don't want to be around other groups separate
themselves into enclaves which each side knows what and
where the boundary lines are, its Apartheid, and all
communities and nations have some form of it.

[A Time of Empire Evolution]

The Empire has lost its moral authority, intellectually,
financially, militarily having reached the point of being
unsustainable, ungovernable, and is unfixable, governed from
the Mega-Metropolis of [NYC ] New York City, and Washington,
D. C. [District of Clowns], by an oligarchy of jaded pros, the
permanent inter-married residents locked in the Beltway
whose only movement is from Pennsylvania Avenue, when
they are in office, to K-Street when they are out and back
again. The Empire has begun its decline from both without
and within, the Southwest is in rapid Evolution as a Society
based upon A Common Language Spanish, A Common Religion
Roman Catholicism, and Common Heritage are in fact bring
about the creation of what will be at least [1] One if not [2]
Two New Republics on the North American Continent; The
Republic of California and The Republic of Texas or [1] Large
New Republic of what combined with the United Mexican States is Republic of Mexasfornia. Make no mistake the
Evolution is in progress, caused by the weakening of prolonged
Wars of Economic Stimulus without maintenance of social
structure or inter-structure, an a failure to get its Pillars built
first, the New North American Continent will;

* Evolution into an Afro-American Heritage Society in some
regions

* Evolution away from an Afro-American Heritage Society in
other regions.

* Evolution into Socialism from Capitalism in regions, while
others seek Communism, or other form of economic system.

* Evolution into English, French [Republic of Vermont] , and
Spanish Speaking Republics [Republic of California/Texas or
MEXASFORNIA]

* Evolution into Roman Catholic, Mormon, Jewish and other
Republics.

No matter what you choose to call it Change, Collapse,
Evolution, Secession or Revolution, The PILLARS OF SOCIETY
were never put into place, a piece of cloth on a pole, or a
piece of paper behind bullet proof glass in a hermetically
sealed environment, or long speeches are not substitutes for
the Pillars. All Men are NOT created Equal, they were created
Different and they choose to be among others who share
those individual traits that make them different and unique,
the State of Arizona is simply wasting its time, a New Republic
in the Southwest in being born carved out the Empires
Southwest.

HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN

[PantsFan]

a thing of beauty

[Montgomery Burns]

Excellent.

[Pro Libertate]

I suggest repurposing the song "Hotel California" for your needs. "HOTEL MEXASFORNIA"?

[Au H20]

The Daily Beast on the threat of white Supremacist candidates.

9 whole candidates is now a deluge.

White House Twitter manager is Tweet stalking some of its critics.

Tweet stalking is a thing, right?

[John]

I love how they quote directly from the SPLC in that article. That is like writing on immigration and cutting and pasting lonewacko. And despite millions of dollars and years of obsessive looking, all the clowns at SPLC can come up with is nine candidates nationwide. I bet I could find more openly communist candidates than that. Just pathetic.

[P Brooks]

We liberals have miserably failed to make the case for stimulus spending, and as a result conservatives have spectacularly succeeded in reverting the American public to its default state of believing that the federal books should always be balanced, the same as household books. On this score, we've just been flatly outplayed over the past couple of years.

Typical political analysis. "What's wrong with those people? Maybe we just haven't properly 'managed their perception'. They're awfully stupid."

[Au H20]

Yes, I really enjoy the liberal response of, "It's not our policies that are wrong, it's how we sold them!"

It's kind of the counterpoint to the conservative, "I'm not a bigot- I just think homosexuality can be cured. Y'know, like a disease."

[Pro Libertate]

Why is government immune to sane budgeting? Because it can simply steal the money it needs to pay the bills. When it can't steal enough today, it steals from people in the future.

Businesses and individuals can't do that. At some point, living off of debt becomes unsustainable, and they can't print money or steal from others to prolong the agony.

[Au H20]

The Daily Beast urges the President to trigger a Constitutional Crises.

Why?

"I'm not quite prepared to say I relish seeing it. But this past weekend, as I reflected for some moments on the vulgar hijacking of our constitutional heritage by a bunch of brigands who use revolutionary attire and rhetoric to clothe what is essentially a selfish, I-got-mine-Jack worldview, I wonder if a constitutional crisis isn't exactly what we need."

Uh....uh... uh-huh.

New IMF Chief to take ethics class before taking post.

Lesson number 1? If you want to fuck, you best pay the bucks.

[John]

The faux pretenousness of the Daily Beast pisses me off. Yeah, Tina, we know it is from a Waugh novel that no one reads anymore. Big fucking deal.

And yeah, these people would burn down the Congress and blame it on Palin if they thought that would keep them in power.

[Brett L]

No Godwin?

[Isaac Bartram]

John, the pretentiousness of The Daily Beast is not the least bit faux.

It's some of the most authentic pretentiousness on display anywhere.

[John]

True. I actually like Waugh and have read most of his novels including the one referenced in the name. But I find naming your publication The Daily Beast and thinking yourself clever for doing so to be pretentious beyond belief.

[Isaac Bartram]

I remember hearing an interview with Lester Thurow some years ago, probably after one or other of the periodic business scandals we have, and one of the questions had to do with MIT business scholl adding a mandatory ethics class.

His reply was that he though that if anyone had not developed a well grounded system of ethics by the time they were a graduate student one semester of instruction was unlikely to help.

I agree, so I will suggest now, in the case of Christine Lagarde, if a fifty-plus year old woman has not developed a sense of ethics over her lifetime, will a few hours now with some ethics coach help?

[Au H20]

Hey now, that ethics class comes with a certificate! That's how you know it's legit!

[Jerry]

Une association marseillaise dirig?e de 2003 ? 2005 par Xavier Giocanti, le compagnon de Christine Lagarde, a ?t? condamn?e par une ordonnance de la Cour europ?enne de justice ? rembourser un million d'euros de subventions europ?ennes suite ? des "irr?gularit?s".

I don't think one class will be enough for her.

[Au H20]

The Conservative Case for Higher Taxes.

Basically, if people want bigger government spending, they should have to pay for it, and feel the effects of that payment. This includes the lower and middle classes.

Six weird free speech issues from around the world.

This kind of stuff makes me glad to be an American, and to have a first amendment.

[Ice Nine]

this poll does pretty clearly tell us two things: (a) most people probably don't link stimulus spending with helping the economy to recover faster, and (b) large majorities are pretty obsessed about cutting the national debt ? and those large majorities cut across practically every demographic subgroup. ...We liberals have miserably failed to make the case for stimulus spending, and as a result conservatives have spectacularly succeeded in reverting the American public to its default state of believing that the federal books should always be balanced, the same as household books. On this score, we've just been flatly outplayed over the past couple of years.

Yeah, that's it! They've simply been outplayed. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with their demonstrably flawed pet economic theories that they've been shoving down the throats of those very pollees for the last couple of years.

[Au H20]

Dudes create infographic about boobs, Jezebel reacts as expected.

Hey look, a group of joyless fucks!

Issa to hold hearing on for profit college regulations.

Damn straight! I will not have my alma mater, Devry, disparaged like this. Ah, those halcyon days on the Devry campus, the sports games when we sang the fight song...

[T]

I love the knots of stupid the Jezebel wenches tie themselves up in.

Our bodies are not yours to comment on.

I was unaware I had to own something to pass judgement or issue commentary on said object. But by this logic, I can only comment on something I own.

[Au H20]

Thanks to the market in human trafficking, I own several women.

...Fine, and orphans. Sweet, delicious orphans.

[Brett L]

I always like to make sure I share a blood-type with my orphans. Just in case. Steve Jobs isn't the only one to keep extra body parts on demand.

[Brett L]

So I never have to hear about pro/anti-chest hair on men at Jezebel again? Or the male beer gut being a form of oppression because we aren't judged as harshly for having one, right?

[DesigNate]

Don't be silly. It's perfectly okay for them to objectify and discuss men because they have been oppressed by male dominated institutions all their lives. And $0.70 on the dollar, blah, blah, blah...

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Am I the only person who hadn't heard about the Casey Anthony story until this week? I'm amazed that people can stand the media dog and pony show for more than 15 minutes -- that's all I could take before shutting the TV off.

[Au H20]

I first heard of it last month... but yeah, WTF mate.

[DesigNate]

Oh my god, you should see facebook and twitter. Every single mother i know is ready to riot in the streets like it was 99 and OJ had just been aquitted.

[Au H20]

In the wake of the corporate jet tax, the Hoover institute ponders if we would ever ground Air Force One.

Well, no, but maybe we could ground Air Force Two and let Choo-Choo Biden use his preferred mode of transit.

If it was good enough for Lincoln, then it is good enough for you.

NY Times: Studios not giving new film graduates as many chances to contribute to creative side of film.

Where will our pretentious movies come from now? I don't want some Mexican film school graduate coming over here, and taking our pretentious director jobs.

[SugarFree]

"Then get me his Mexican, non-union equivalent!"

[C. Montgomery Burns]

Pish posh! Listen, Spielbergo, Schindler and I are like peas in a pod! We're both factory owners, we both made shells for the Nazis, but mine worked, damn it!

[Senor Spielbergo]

Si, but Senor Schindler es bueno. Senor Burns es el diablo!

[Au H20]

The 2009 Superintendent of the year, from Atlanta, oversaw a regime of systematic cheating.

STOP! Slow clap time!

Jennifer Aniston uses the word "faggot" in Horrible Bosses, concern troll is concerned.

See, the difference I see between faggot and nigger is that the former has a history of shifting its definition, while the latter has always been for blacks. Also, I kind of wonder if, in the modern day with is strong political correctness, if we would have ever gotten the terms "dumb" "stupid" and "idiot" all of whom were once terms for the mentally impaired. It seems as though words in any number of places are now more static, not less. It is not a cromulent situation, I tell you.

[robc]

ahem

[Virginia]

My guess is thedailybeast's gist is if homosexuals are the only ones with the free time and disposable income to see your shitty movie, then maybe rewrite to not offend your cash cow. It's a sound business decision.

That's what thedailybeast said, right?

[P Brooks]

Speaking of Air Force One: how much have we spent jetting the First Lady, her kids, and five hundred of her closest friends and confidantes, and a "necessary" security and diplomatic corps contingent all around the globe?

Couldn't we just have sent them to Lion Country Safari?

[John]

You know where people go on Safari? RACIST!!!!

[Sinic]

The case represents the Obama administration's attempt to find a middle ground between open-ended detentions in secret prisons, as practiced by the George W. Bush administration, and its commitment to try as many terrorism cases as possible in civilian courts.

Now we just practice open-ended detentions in non-secret prisons and the AG says that terrorism suspects can be held indefinitely even if they are acquitted. Things like this make me wonder if we're still the good guys in the world.

[Au H20]

Slate: Capitalism is bad for sharks.

Hmm, Wall Street slang would beg to differ, but...

Gay Marriage in New York hits a snag: Forms still say that one partner must be bride, one must be groom.

Am I wrong not to care? I'm straight, but if my marriage form ended up listing me as bride and future-wife as groom, I would just find it funny, and make it the source of long running jokes.

[John]

The new forms will say "Pitcher" and "Catcher"

[Au H20]

Instead of being married, you'll be Butt Buddies.

[Au H20]

Why Teens have Summer Jobs less.

Yeah, they don't really focus on the end of the article, which is that the economy stinks for the young.

Lady Gaga, Jezebel, no longer BFFs after her stylist refuses to dress fat people.

To be fair, fashionistas are assholes.

[John]

Instapundit published the following letter from a reader regarding old people taking teens jobs. I think it makes sense. And I think there is a lot of money to be make running a business that hires predominately retirees.

As a business owner, I maintain a policy of hiring grandpa over teeney, twenty, and definitely 30-ish. For our Nanny State (thank you Mayor Bloomberg, etc.), and although there is an ocean between abuse and discipline, somehow all these kids who were never told "no," had their butts swatted, or received any harsher punishement than having their iphones removed, cannot show up on time, take direction, t-h-i-n-k (duh) or process through random challenges. There seems to be this prevailing concept that they granted me the privilege of paying them, wee socialists. Gone are the 80?s wiz kids. And, therefore today's 20-year-olds also from working in my business. That leaves 30-year-olds with a sense of entitlement and kids of their own. Fat chance: Those are the ones who act pious for being stupid, irresponsible, not showing up (my child (who is 14) needed a ride to play practice) or otherwise not doing their job ("I am on the phone. Now, Brenda, Mommy is sorry School wasn't fun today?"). I never hire illegals. So, if that means sending a recruiter to a nursing home, so be it. Business is business.

[Au H20]

Yeah, fair, but as a person who just graduated in May and is one month into the job hunt, that attitude is incredibly annoying.

I mean, aren't these the same older workers who voted for a massive, unsustainable entitlement state? Responsible my ass.

[John]

Fair enough. And of course not all 20 somethings fit the stereotype. But old people often don't need health insurance or benefits and have no small children to run home too. There are a lot of advantages to hiring geezers.

[capitol l]

I have to wonder what sort of business the letter writer is in though. Sure kids are lazy, but would it make sense to hire the elderly to work in landscaping, or at a fashionable boutique?

[Ice Nine]

Don't know but it certainly isn't the business of writing clearly.

[Zeb]

THough I think that this is not very fair to the many hard working dick-in-the-dirt people in their twenties and early thirties, it is amazing how many people do see it as not a big deal to show up late for work or blow it off with a flimsy excuse. It is really sad. But I think that if confronted with "work or starve" most of them would catch on pretty quickly.

[Au H20]

Video Games (maybe) save a man's life.

"live in Joplin, MO. As many of you know, we had a massive tornado go through our town. It killed a lot of people. I was planning to be in downtown Joplin right where the tornado hit when I left work that Sunday afternoon around 3:00. I stopped by my house at 3:30, had something to eat and was going to head towards Academy to pick up some stuff. Instead I decided my time would be better spent playing Black Ops. I logged in around 4:30 that afternoon. The tornado came through and hit Academy directly around 5:30, as well as 30 percent of town. I had no clue what had happened until the power kicked me off the game. I feel that my love for Black Ops may have saved my life that day."

Yeah, California, take that!

And, lastly, for some Good News:

7 pieces of good news no one is reporting.

Among them, the Gulf of Mexico is coming back pretty quickly, and other kind of nice stories to hear.

[sarcasmic]

Two leading progressive are totally at sea when asked whether Congress has the constitutional power to require obese people to sign up for Weight Watchers.

[Au H20]

The lack of a video made that less enjoyable.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Boil the frog some more and I'm sure their objections will melt away.

[John]

The scariest answer was "it is open". To me that is worse than saying yes. To quote Walter Schlobchek, "say what you want about National Socialism, but at least it is an ethos". If he had said yes, it would show that he at least was honest with himself that the clause means something. But saying "it is open" is just saying, the clause means whatever the fuck judges and the government decide it means. And that is even worse. My God these people are insane.

[sarcasmic]

But saying "it is open" is just saying, the clause means whatever the fuck judges and the government decide it means.

I think of it as a self worshiping form of Humanism.

These people will say "We are government" and believe it. They, like Bastiat's socialists, do not distinguish between society and government. They also worship governmental authority. They will prostrate themselves to government. But they also believe they are government. So they are worshiping themselves.

Like everything religious it defies rationality.

[Michael]

I think I'm actually more disturbed by the blonde bobblehead and her obfuscating non-point about how the "debate" they're having is "what the Constitution is all about" or something. It's a truly penetrating insight that can only come from an esteemed professor of American history at Harvard.

[P Brooks]

the economy stinks for the young.

That's because they don't have licenses. How can they ever expect to find work without being licensed by the state?

[NY Cynic]

They're supposed to clap their hands three times and wish for a job?

[P Brooks]

So while fewer kids are scooping ice cream and bagging groceries for the summer, more are spending their weeks off on schoolwork or unpaid labor. Youth employment might be down, but we hardly need to be wringing our hands about the laziness of the next generation.

Kids who do that stuff are altruistic liberals. Kids who work for actual wage income are more likely to become (GASP!) money-grubbing conservatives. To people like Annie Lowrey, that would be a national tragedy.

[NY Cynic]

I would prefer them becoming money grubbing Libertarians.

[robc]

I dont know what it says about anything, but my nephew who just finished his freshman year of high school has TWO summer jobs -- one of which is paying him something like $12/hr.

[Au H20]

DAY-UM. What fields?

[Brett L]

That was the tradition in my family. Summer means there's time for 2 jobs. I spent one summer furnishing a new community college during the day and working in the grocery store nights and weekends. I think I made $6/hr moving and $4.25 in the grocery store. I could work my ass off and make $325 per week after taxes. I had to pay my parents 1/3rd of my take home. They had this crazy idea that if you work you should help pay the rent or something. Hadn't thought about that in years. No wonder I'm a heartless libertarian.

[Fluffy]

When I was growing up in NY that would have been illegal for a 13 year old. Unless it was all under the table.

[Brett L]

Richard Florida, still full of shit.

"I've heard from people who are in the process of resetting their lives. Young people just out of college tell me that they don't want their parents' suburban lifestyle; they'd prefer to find an affordable rental apartment in a city they love where economic opportunities are better. They don't want to go into hock buying a big house and a big car, just so they can endure a long commute.

"Young parents tell me they've had to defer their dream of buying a bigger house with a backyard, either because they can't afford it or don't qualify for a mortgage. Instead, they've decided to stay put and renovate their city apartment or fix up their small house in an older, closer-in suburb."

Everyone wants to be hip and live in the city before they have kids big enough to run around. Bad economy means people can't get a mortgage. Do people really pay for these bromides?

[Valkyrie927]

WHAT THE HELL does MAX BAUCUS know about clearing out government waste and oversight?? Can someone please explain this to me? I am completely lost...

[Michael]

Who the hell comes up with this shit?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....7103.story

[sarcasmic]

The guy who wants to feel for a detonator.

[Zeb]

You know, if someone goes to all the trouble of implanting a bomb in their bodies, maybe they deserve to succeed in their evil plot. Probably not. But maybe.

[Michael]

Via Drudge:

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news.....39.html?dr

...which leaves us with today's million dollar question - what exactly is "an ethnic slur related to Independence Day"? Best I can come up with is "limey".

[sarcasmic]

At least the article refers to the holiday as 'Independence Day' instead of 'The Fourth of July'.

[R C Dean]

what exactly is "an ethnic slur related to Independence Day"?

Tough one. In the Deep South, "yankee" is still an ethnic slur, if that helps.

[P Brooks]

The idea of surgically implanting bombs has been examined by intelligence agencies in the past, but new information has suggested that terrorist groups are seriously considering the technique, officials said.

The Dark Knight is being shown on basic cable, now. The Joker sewed a bomb (and a CELLPHONE!) in that guy's belly, so now it's totally plausible.