Reason Morning Links: ICE Defends Violent and Illegal Conduct by Agents, Iran Condemns UK Riots, GOP Wins Wisconsin Recall

• "Federal immigration officials say an internal investigation of 12 incidents of alleged abuse and illegal conduct—including one in which a Cincinnati family claims its Fourth Amendment rights were violated—clears its agents of any wrongdoing."
• Iran's Foreign Ministry urges UK to meet the demands of looters and thugs. 
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to hold vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. 
• TSA Administrator John Pistole: Agency will screen in a "more informed fashion to try to recognize that the vast majority of people traveling every day are not terrorists."
• Wisconsin Democrats fail to take control of state senate.  
• Jeb Bush Jr. endorses Jon Huntsman. 
• Warren Jeffs' former guard claims that the former cult leader masturbated up to 15 times a day while in jail. 

New at Reason.tv: "Guns, Laws, and Panics: How Fear, Not Fact, Informs the Gun Rights Debate"

Comments

[some guy]

Warren Jeffs' former guard claims that the former cult leader masturbated up to 15 times a day while in jail.

Really? How is this relevant or interesting? I expect more out of my morning links...

[Jordan Elliot]

Pfft. I ran circles around that fucker when I was 12.

[Alexander Portnoy]

What am I, chopped liver?

[Sugar Free]

Only 15? Hell, I'll top that in this thread!

[Fisk of Etiquette]

Piker!

[Lousie]

Good grief, man, how much peanut butter do you eat?

[Chupacabra]

PEAK JERK OFF!

[Resto Druid FTW]

Moreover, how is it possible???

[Brett L]

"Warren Jeffs' former guard claims that the former cult leader masturbated up to 15 times a day while in jail."

Cut the dude some slack. He used to have to 'pleasure' multiple teenaged wives daily. It was probably backing up.

[Fist of Etiquette]

One would think his hand would be too old for him.

[Brett L]

He probably paints a face on each finger and pretends each is a teenaged wife.

[Suki]

He is the Mohammad of our time.

[.]

Some of them were only 12 years old - that aint teenaged.

[Tim]

The best he can hope for is a hung jury.

[Rich]

That makes no sense, but I LOLed.

[Louise]

Jeffs maintained his vigorous onanistic pace despite eating barely "enough to stay alive," ... choosing to consume only small quantities of bread, water, and peanut-butter crackers.

That's all you guys ever think about.

Peanut butter, that is.

Although I must admit, Vigorous Onanistic Pace is not a bad band name.

[Nancy Grace]

That does it...men who masturbate are obviously guilty of any crime alleged against them. No need to bother with details like evidence or proof beyond reasonable doubt. He's guilty.

And he probably conspires with Casey Anthony, too!

[Matrix]

Here, drink this bottle of Drano. It'll... uh... help you catch all the child predators out there. Yeah... that's it! All of them!

[Tango Mike]

"Men who masturbate" is redundant.

[Bardas Phocas]

Poor John Huntsman. Always the bridesmaid at the polygamy wedding.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The only Bush endorsement he can get is from one of the "little brown ones"? For a Republican candidate, I don't know if that's a plus or a negative.

[Brett L]

No better way to gain experience and credibility without threatening anyone than to work your ass off for a doomed candidate. Chairman of the National Young Professionals for Huntsman is a job that requires you shake 10000 hands, but anything you actually deliver is bonus.

[James Ard]

That's the only way this thing makes a bit of sense. But I wish he had hitched his education credentials to a higher tier candidate. Education should be a bigger issue.

[Fist of Etiquette]

An internal investigation of my Morning Links comments cleared me of any lame commenting charges.

[WTF]

And nothing else happened?

[Tim]

HAve we won in Libya yet?

[WTF]

Weeks, lots and lots of weeks.

[O2]

we've won jus like the wealthy [JOBZ] creators create [JOBZ].

[waste of O2]

becuz i always get jobs from poor people herp derp

[O2]

so the wealthy [JOBZ] creators create poor [JOBZ]?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Sure, poor people create jobs--who else is going to wash my windshield at the stoplights?

[Joe Biden]

"PRESENT!"

[Lord Humungus]

OT: From yesterday's side-thread about working out

http://www.mensjournal.com/eve.....s-is-a-lie

Since reading this 2010 article, I've gone back to old-school methods of working out - squat, bench-press and the deadlift.

[Warty]

The article relies heavily on Starting Strength. It's well worth picking up.

[Lord Humungus]

Based on the article, that's the book I bought and started using for my weight training.

[Warty]

I've been seeing a shocking number of people (i.e., 4 or 5 out of dozens) squatting to or past parallel in my gym lately. I used to be the only one. It's a beautiful thing, and I think this article is largely responsible.

[Surly Chef]

I don't believe it. Then again I lift in my basement.

[Clich? Bandit]

Damn you Warty...my reading this blog is making me healthier. So, which martial art should i study? You all seem to have an answer for everything.

[Warty]

BJJ is fun. Try that or judo. Or just box.

[Lord Humungus]

that reminds me, I have to get my punching bag back up. Boxing is a great way to relieve stress.

[Virginia]

Is your bjj place 90% law enforcement?

[Warty]

0%. Cops are not allowed.

[Clich? Bandit]

What about Jute Keen Do or whatevs? I read that it is focused practically and things like eye gouging, nut punches (maybe Balko knows this stuff), finger locks, etc. are not only allowed but encoraged. Just what I read, Bruce was a bad ass and I wouldnt fuck with him period.

[Nooge]

0%. Cops are not allowed.

That's excellent, but what's the reason?

[Warty]

Because the instructor is a black dude who grew up in the hood. It makes sense.

[Rodney King]

Yeah, Warty works harder than anyone in my program!

[ChicagoSucks]

I started Rip's program about 3 months ago. Holy shit does it ever work!

[WTF]

Great article. I've always used free weights and the basic exercises, but only because that's what my uncle (a power lifter) set me up with when I was a kid, and I always hated the idea of joining a gym. Glad to know there's a real good reason to just use the free weights in my basement other than the fact I'm a fossil.

[Alan Scott]

did you catch the article from NYT about the "best exercise?" pretty interesting

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04.....wanted=all

[Don]

Dancing is great exercise. Instead of joining a gym and paying a trainer, take some dance lessons.

[Clich? Bandit]

It is also guaranteed to either make your marriage stronger or cause a violent divorce. I think if you are considering getting married you should attend six months of ballroom lessons with your prospective spouse...if you make it through that hellacious blame game you can make it through anything.

[Bill]

Great article!

[Fatty Bolger]

Great article. I wish the section on Kevin Brown was longer. I used exactly that shoulder exercise to fix a pretty bad shoulder injury I got from lifting. None of the traditional rehab exercises the physical therapists teach worked, but that did the trick in only about a month. I still use it to keep the injury from recurring. I think I'll trying adding the other exercises and make it a regular routine.

[zoltan]

Now they need to print this article in shitty "fitness" magazines like Self and Shape and convince women to stop hitting the cardio machines for 60 minutes and doing aerobics with three-pound dumbbells.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Iran's Foreign Ministry urges UK to meet the demands of looters and thugs.

Because, believe them, you do not want the dirty laundry of how you suppress revolt tweeted for the world to see.

[Brett L]

Pediatricians in Florida told to mind their own fucking business about guns in the household of their patients. Good, sez I. Gun ownership is not a public health issue, no matter what the statists at the AAP think. SLD, I would prefer that government action not be needed, but if the AAP wants to try a falacious appeal to authority to intimidate parents into not exercising their 2A rights, I'm all for a shot across their bow.

[Tim]

They'll just get your kids to inform on you. Also once Obamacare goes through those will be official public records and evidence of your unfitness as a parent.

[Rich]

The doctor ... customarily asks parents if they have a swimming pool and teenagers if they use their cellphones when they drive.

"Also, does it hurt when you answer?"

[Ice Nine]

Well, this is a really good practice and will probably save countless lives because of course these patients are going to fill in their pools when the doctor informs them that those can can be hazardous. And those teenagers cell-phoning while driving? - that shit is over as soon as good ol' Doc explains the risky nature of that behavior to them.

[Doctor]

** writes in Ice Nine's medical record **

Patient exhibits strong sarcastic belligerence. Recommend Psy evaluation.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Look, Doc, when I need your advice on gun safety, or pool safety, or driving safety, or stairs safety, or lawnmower safety, or slippery bathtub safety, or running with scissors safety, I'll let you know. Until then, can you stick to the actual physical condition of my child, you self-important fuck? Thanks.

[Ice Nine]

Believe me, this is a small cadre of lefty MDs and other health and social pros that promote and get this stuff legislated. Most docs hate this nonsense.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Understood. I know three doctors. Two aren't members of the AMA and the other was an Obama campaign volunteer. Shocking, that.

[Lord Humungus]

I had a doctor - who I longer see - ask me if I have a Carbon Monoxide alarm. I shot him a really pissed off look and he stopped going down that line of questioning.

[R C Dean]

I had a doctor - who I longer see - ask me if I have a Carbon Monoxide alarm.

"Not with me, but I'm sure someone on your staff could pick one up for you at Home Depot."

[juris imprudent]

No, but my bullshit detector is on and working fine.

[Resto Druid FTW]

^THIS^

[Ice Nine]

We used to have to do this in the ER with domestic abuse. We were required by state law (CA of course) to ask every woman patient if she was being abused at home. It was hilarious watching the old, hand-holding, just-celebrated-our-golden-wedding-anniversary type couples look at each other and wonder if the nurse was on drugs or something.

Doubly absurd because of the fact that the women who came in who had just had the shit beat our of them by the old man would invariably refuse the cops' pleas to press charges.

[nicole]

I get asked that every time I go to my current lady-doctor. I don't know if it's an IL thing, but I was never asked before, and the first time they asked if anyone was "hurting [me] at home" I was so shocked/confused I didn't think I'd heard her right. I think that made her think I was lying when I said no...so awkward.

[Brett L]

We must protect our delicate but completely-equal-in-every-way flowers from themselves. You know women tend to make poor decisions about staying with abusive men because they're so emotional.
/sarc

[Mensan]

If I was the pediatrician, I would advise the parents that it's a very good idea to keep arms in their house in case they need protect the children. I would, however, add that out of safety concerns I would recommend that they teach the children proper use and handling of firearms as early as they feel their children are ready.

[cynical]

They're trying to ensure that they're adequately protected against parasites that walk on two legs. That's a medical concern, right?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to hold vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

I can think of someone higher up in the administration who needs that vote more than Geithner.

[Matrix]

Who? Jesus?

[wylie]

IMPEACH JESUS!

[Matrix]

We Jews tried to warn you, but you Gentiles would have none of it.

[Gentile]

Then you pulled the old move of bringing in Italians to do the wet work - that pissed us off.

[Neu Mejican]

I'll repeat: anyone in congress who tries to deflect blame onto Geithner* is a disingenuous piece of shit.

*No defense of Geithner should be inferred.

[zoltan]

Yeah, he's totally innocent guys!!!! Stop picking on him!

[DJ 9000]

Looks like those clowns in Congress did it again! What a bunch of clowns.

[Lord Humungus]

The Wisconsin Democrats did pick up the two easiest seats, but where was the groundswell of righteous indignation against the Union Busting 'pubs?

Wisconsin will be interesting to watch in 2012.

[robc]

Kochtopus sighting in comments.

[Lord Humungus]

and a Devos too! (they are 'the' rich here in West Michigan).

[Number 2]

It astounds me how many public employee union types really believe that the members of the voting public go to bed at night worried about how "underpaid" they supposedly are, or that they win popular support by throwing public temper tantrums demanding to be paid more.

[Number 2]

In line two, the "they" after the word "underpaid" should be, "public employees." Sorry

[Mike Laursen]

They can be made to worry about it, provided its teachers, firefighters, and cops. Making the public care about DMV workers and prison guards is harder, but they can stand behind the others.

[Flyover Country]

The Democrats failed to take out their biggest target: Alberta Darling. In fact, she won by a larger margin in the recall election than in the regular election a couple years ago.

It's a big loss for the union statewide and nationally. They spent millions of dollars on the election and came up short of regaining control of the WI senate.

[R C Dean]

And there's two Dems on the chopping block next week.

Could turn into a complete wash.

[FlyoverCountry]

Another FlyoverCountry? Thanks for keeping a space in there

[Bob]

msnbc was treating the Wisconsin elections like it was a national election and getting all excited when one Democrat won. They really thought this was going to be a historic night while everybody else in the country just gave a big yawn.

[Pro Libertate]

So I suppose the media will now go on and on about the significance of this to the 2012 elections?

[James Ard]

No. But they will keep insisting medicare won the key election in NY 26. and they'll keep telling the Dems that that's what they have to run on to win. We'll see how it works out for them.

[Pro Libertate]

If the Democrats weren't so horrible in their current form, I'd be a little more concerned about the one party rule that's coming. But despite the GOP's myriad deficiencies, they're slightly less suicidal than the Democrats are right now.

[Chupacabra]

Have faith, Pro Lib. They'll fuck up just as bad as the Dems.

[cynical]

What disturbs me is that I can't even really envision it. I mean, will it be some kind of theocratic Norsefire shit? Will we be in a bona fide world war, draft and all? A civil war?

[Tulpa]

What disturbs me is that I can't even really envision it. I mean, will it be some kind of theocratic Norsefire shit? Will we be in a bona fide world war, draft and all? A civil war?

The GOP was in charge of both political branches from 2002-06. Not the best times for liberty by any stretch..but much, much less bad than the Dems' turn in 2009-10.

[Au H20]

Dude, government is like a knife, and whoever takes it becomes a whiny emo teen with it, feeling the need to cut themselves in order to feel anything.

[Pro Libertate]

I have no expectations except a slower demise. All we can hope for now is time for something to snap in the national consciousness.

[Doktor Kapitalism]

I think I first heard about all this after it happened.

[Fluffy]

I think it's interesting that even in a non-standard-schedule election brought on by the organized efforts of one interest group, labor still can't win. In Wisconsin.

This was an election where one side was motivated by direct economic benefit and had every reason to turn out at 100%, and the other side was motivated only by ideology or other indirect motivations, and the first group still lost.

[Alan Scott]

"one side was motivated by direct economic benefit and had every reason to turn out at 100%, and the other side was motivated only by ideology or other indirect motivations, and the first group still lost"

In an off-year election of state reps I would never discount the ability of ideology to turn out. It's the same logic of primaries dude, ideologues vote and vote and vote, no matter the occasion.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Probably because most of the motivation behind the protests in the first place came from the University of Wisconsin and the whole pozzed-out student and administrative body looking for a reason to :librage:. If this had been held during the regular school year, the results might have been very different.

[Yar]

Given that the entire UW-Madison area had no recall elections yesterday, and that Sen. Darling's district has only a portion of the UW-Milwaukee neighborhoods (and she won by 5k votes), I doubt that the timing made a difference.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Media coverage of protest activities can certainly help sway public perception, though--get a few more breathless reports of "passionate protestors" at the state capitol, a few volunteers to call voters, and it's possible to create momentum out of very little.

[Yar]

Believe me, there was no shortage of phone calls going out to voters. People I know in the recall districts (I live just outside Darling's), were getting daily calls all last week. As far as media coverage of the protestors, if it did not tilt the Prosser/Kloppenberg race, which was statewide, it sure as heck was unlikely to tilt these 6 races. Half the state might see "passionate protestors," in such coverage. But the other half sees overly-entitled whiners.

[Alan Scott]

I'd say knocking off two out of six incumbents in an off-year recall election. In 2012 they'll also have the Obama machine's GOTV and adverts going full tilt...

[James Ard]

That is, if Obama is even on the ticket.

[SFC B]

Aren't there still two Democrat state senator facing recall elections next week?

[James Ard]

Yep. And even just a split would be a demoralizing blow to the public sector unions.

[Yar]

They had the Obama the machine (Organizing for America) going full tilt for these elections, too...

[Fatty Bolger]

In 2012 you'll get regular voters showing up. These single issue elections always tilt very much for the interested party.

They just used that little trick here to get a school levy passed. It would never pass during a regular election, and in fact was shot down hard in the last major election.

[Old Soldier]

So will Game of Thrones.

[Doktor Kapitalism]

Falling Skies is back summer 2012.

[Wilfred]

That show sucks!

[Old Soldier]

Sure does, I tried to like it.

[Au H20]

Holy shit, though, is Daily Kos trying to spin this as a win. Just another step in the long fight, dontcha know.

From Kos himself:

Beyond Wisconsin, if we can enjoy a similar "loss rate" in Republican-held districts (picking up 33 percent of them), Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have a huge majority in 2013. We had a message that resonated with large numbers of working people in overwhelmingly white working-class districts that shifted hard against Democrats in 2010. GOP overreach is winning them back for us. Just think, before today, only 13 state legislators had been recalled in the entire history of this nation.

So yeah, I feel strangely energized and elated.

It's going to be a long year, and tens of millions of dollars of Koch money (in addition to hundreds of millions more from Rove and allies) are going to force us to fight like hell for every inch of territory. They won't cede it willingly or fairly. They'll do their best to cheat or buy whenever they feel they can't win fairly.

That's our challenge. I, for one, am ready for it.

God, I hope the Democrats lose next Tuesday, just to see him cry.

[PIRS]

"Iran's Foreign Ministry urges UK to meet the demands of looters and thugs."

Is Iran offering to meet the demands of its pro-democracy demonstrators?

[Rich]

+[# of pro-democracy demonstrators]

[O2]

Goldman Sachs sued by credit union watchdog
By Charles Riley @CNNMoney August 9, 2011: 4:09 PM ETNEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A federal watchdog for the credit union industry slapped Goldman Sachs with a lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging violations of federal and state laws tied to the sale of mortgage-backed securities.

The National Credit Union Administration filed suit in California district court against the financial firm for damages in excess of $491 million.

22PrintThe agency, which regulates and charters credit unions, alleges that Goldman (GS, Fortune 500) misrepresented securities it sold to the now-defunct U.S. Central and Western Corporate federal credit unions.

Specifically, the NCUA claims that Goldman's misrepresentations caused the credit unions to believe certain investments carried minimal risk, while that was not the case.

Those investments -- mortgage-backed securities -- plummeted in value during the 2008 financial crisis, leading to the downfall of the credit unions.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/0.....hpt=hp_bn3

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44....._business/
_

>NEITHER suit cites the CRA as a cause for the sub-prime crash!

>>Pls explain exactly how the CRA caused both BoA & AIG to [LIE] & [MISREPRESENT] their securities to investors & rating agencies.

[O2]

correction - pls explain how the CRA caused both BoA & Goldman to lie & misrepresent their securities to investors & rating agencies!

[Quetzalcoatl]

Siiiiigh...
One more day until Troll-Free Thursday!

[Restoras]

Indeed.

[the real oo]

so where did the [FALSE] RW meme that the CRA caused the sub-prime securities crash start?

[FlyoverCountry]

OO hasn't always used the [CAPS] method of commenting has it? Is it some new homage to HERCULE? Or just an attempt to stand out in the crowd?

[DesigNate]

Ummm, maybe cause they wouldn't have made those shitty loans to people who weren't really credit worthy if the government didn't tell them they had to?

[cynical]

">NEITHER suit cites the CRA as a cause for the sub-prime crash!"

No shit, sherlock. "I did it because the law made me" is an argument for the defendant, not the plaintiff.

"Pls explain exactly how the CRA caused both BoA & AIG to [LIE] & [MISREPRESENT] their securities to investors & rating agencies."

Wouldn't it be more likely that a problem stemming from regulatory requirements would affect numerous entities? If it was just one bank, that would make it much less likely that the law was the source of the issue.

[Brett L]

Honestly, these script kiddies whacking it in their Guy Fawkes masks are just annoying now. Did they really think Facebook wasn't selling their info to everyone regardless of privacy settings? Oh noes!

[Lord Humungus]

Progressives are betraying Obama, not the other way around
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....TopOpinion

from everyone's "favorite" James Taranto

[Mike M.]

Don't be fooled, most so-called "progressives" are still fully behind their jug-eared Jesus.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Are there better James Tarantoes out there? I'm not aware of any!

[Lord Humungus]

his evil twin brother?

[Quetzalcoatl]

I'm not sure that his evil twin is better just because he sports a goatee.

[Peggy Noonan]

Oh, great. That make's me the Captain's Woman, then.

[John]

It is really true. Clinton sold out the liberals badly on a lot of things. Obama hasn't triangulated. He stuck it to the liberals on the war and civil liberties. But that is not what they are mad about. They are mad that they lost the election in 2010. All they really care about is getting elected.

[Alan Scott]

Obama hasn't triangulated?

And what evidence supports your argument that liberals are not mad at him over civil liberties and the war?

They are also pretty mad at him over domestic policy too (dropping the public option, compromising on the tax cuts, etc).

[John]

No. Obama hasn't triangulated. If he had triangulated, he would have gotten out in front of the Republicans and given them a bigger deal on the debt and taken away their reason to run against him in 2012 like Clinton did with welfare reform and the capital gains tax in 1995.

And my evidence that they are upset about domestic policy is that their biggest bitch is that he didn't raise taxes in the debt deal. I don't see where they are saying a word about the war or civil liberties. And they certainly were not saying anything about it back in 09 and 10 when he was just as bad.

Wasn't it the liberals who were all in tears of joy over Obamacare? Now a year later that is just chopped liver?

[Alan Scott]

You don't remember the anger liberals had over him dropping the public option? I could point out numerous liberals pundits who published about that at the time. Ditto for the war and civil liberties.

Do you know wtf you are talking about?

[John]

I only know what goes on in real life not in your head Alan. Last I looked liberals were marching on Washington by the 100s of thousands and eating the furniture over the war and civil liberties when Bush was in office. And none of that is happening now. But you read some liberal somewhere write "gee I wish Obama would close GUITMO" and that clearly makes you correct and justified in being a prick.

[Alan Scott]

Public option, taxes:

NPR
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/02/.....e-he-caves

[Alan Scott]

"Last I looked liberals were marching on Washington by the 100s of thousands and eating the furniture over the war and civil liberties when Bush was in office. And none of that is happening now."

by that 'logic' the fact that conservatives did not march about spending and debt under bush shows they didn't care about it.

more supported: conservatives didn't like bush's spending any more than liberals don't like obama's wars and liberties record, but often groups have trouble moving their respective parties.

[Alan Scott]

Civil liberties:

Mother Jones:

http://motherjones.com/kevin-d.....-liberties

ACLU:

http://reason.com/blog/2010/10.....-with-obam

[John]

A few editorials don't mean a whole lot Alan. So what? Where are the anti-war protests? Why didn't the liberals in Congress do something? Where is the primary challenger?

Yeah, a few people at Mother Jones and NPR whined. BFD. Meanwhile, go back and look at Obama's approval rating among liberals.

[Alan Scott]

Overall approval ratings tell you little about how they feel about specific actions. They can like him overall and oppose his stances that you note, they do, loudly.

"Why didn't the liberals in Congress do something?"

Some did. they've pushed to condemn much of this, but there are not that many liberals in congress. by the same logic the fact that conservatives did not march against bush and the conservatives in congress 'did nothing' to stop w's spending and debt would prove conservatives approved of that.

[John]

"'did nothing' to stop w's spending and debt would prove conservatives approved of that."

They did in a sense. They thought the war was more important than controlling spending. So they swallowed their objections to the spending because they were afraid they would not get the policies on the war they wanted if Bush lost in 2004.

It is the same thing here. Liberals care more about domestic policy than they do about war and civil liberties. So, they forgot their objections to Obama's policies on those subjects in hopes he would give them what they wanted domestically.

[Mike Laursen]

Yeah, I remember all the disappointment on Huffington Post, too. The talking point was, "Why are the Republicans opposing Obama when his plan is such a compromise."

[Mike M.]

They are also pretty mad at him over domestic policy too (dropping the public option, compromising on the tax cuts, etc).

In other words, they're fucking morons who either think we live in an absolute dictatorship, or wish we did.

[John]

Exactly. There is nothing he could have done that would have made them happy. Obama is a lot of things. But sellout is not one of them. The guy really has tried to give liberals what they want. But their policies don't work and are unpopular. Rather than admit that, liberals pretend that Obama somehow sold them out.

[Alan Scott]

So your position is that liberals should be more mad at Obama and that Obama has tried his best for liberals.

OK. Beck U logic courses?

[John]

That doesn't even make any sense you dimwit. And can you make a post or two without mentioning Beck, whoever the fuck he is. It is not helpful.

It is real simple, Obama has to govern and people who are not liberals have power too. I would say Obama has gotten liberals about as much as any President could have gotten them. It is not Obama's fault that leftist policies have made the economy worse and are generally unpopular. Liberals have no right to claim he sold them out. They only do so because to admit he didn't means having to admit that their policies don't work and are unpopular.

Why is that point so difficult for you to understand? You seem to listen to this Beck a lot. Does he explain it differently? Maybe in a more simple way that you can grasp?

[Alan Scott]

" I would say Obama has gotten liberals about as much as any President could have gotten them. It is not Obama's fault that leftist policies have made the economy worse"

so you admit he didn't get them what they asked for but then say what he got them can be labelled leftist policies and the current woes can be blamed on them

beck u logic indeed

[Alan Scott]

Because leftist policy is so unpopular Obama could only get some fraction of it through, but we can then blame such fractional leftist policy for our woes, but leftists should of course be happy about that.

or something.

more about the caliphate please

[John]

Alan, you make MNG seem intelligent and reasonable. That is a good trick. I don't know how else to explain it to you. You are either too stupid or too dishonest to understand what I am saying. And anyone who screams Beck or Limbaugh or any other bugaboo is just trolling and wasting everyone's time anyway.

[JoJo Zeke]

You are either too stupid or too dishonest to understand what I am saying.

False binary. Based on all the available evidence, there's no conceivable reason it can't be both.

[John]

Jesus Christ you are stupid Alan. When a politician goes to the wall for you and gets you everything that is politically possible, you have no right to call him a sellout. The fact that large sections of the country don't want your policies and use their votes to keep some of them from being implemented, doesn't make your guy a sell out. It just makes him President rather than dictator.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

beck u logic indeed

Is Beck still the primary leftist bugaboo or is that just your personal preference?

[Bill]

Bush tried the same policies and they did not work for him either.

Most "conservative" politicians don't follow their own advice once they get in office, Alan. As you should know.

[sarcasmic]

Fifteen times a day?
Good luck finding any hard evidence of that. After fifteen times there's no way it will stand up in court.
Seriously though. Fifteen times? No wonder the guy started a polygamist sex cult. No one woman would put up with a guy who wanted it fifteen times a day. He should have used that as part of his defense. You know, a physical ailment that causes him to ejaculate fifteen times a day, and doing so by hand would rub the skin clean off. So he needed multiple wives. And he needed them to be young and brainwashed so they wouldn't know how fucked up he is.

[Ice Nine]

Lopez said agents handcuffed him and ran him 10 feet across the living room, slamming him into a wall. The 3-foot crack and collapsed drywall remain, covered now by a calendar.
"I felt like they didn't respect me," Lopez, 26 and a native of Guatemala, told The Enquirer

You know, I think this guy is onto something.

[Ice Nine]

Kill squirrel

[Bill]

He had 15 wives and they were all 15 years old.

Nuff said.

[PIRS]

"Wisconsin Democrats fail to take control of state senate."

Rather then merely having an occasional "recall election" why don't we just have elections every two weeks. This will allow people to change their vote based on the most recent sound bites and newest bumper stickers.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Well, look who hates democracy all the sudden.

[PIRS]

I'm an ancap. I hate all forms of coercive government.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I think it's safe to bet biweekly elections would lead to anarchy.

[PIRS]

Exactly why I recommend it.

[T]

I thought we had to ratify the decisions of the executive officer biweekly. Did that change?

[robc]

Come see the violence inherent in the system!

[PIRS]

You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship.
A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes--

[some guy]

I think they would just lead to very low voter turnout. We'd be ruled by the fanatical.

[PIRS]

"We'd be ruled by the fanatical."

So no difference then you figure?

[Quetzalcoatl]

I know I'll regret asking what on earth an "ancap" is.

[Nipplemancer]

Anarcho-Capitalist = ancap

[Nipplemancer]

Anarcho-Capitalist = ancap

[PIRS]

an anarco-Capitalist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism

[Quetzalcoatl]

Oooooooooooooooh...
People keep talking about the frustrated anarchist contingent at H&R, but this is my first actual sighting!

[SugarFree]

People One deranged troll keeps talking about the frustrated anarchist contingent at H&R, but this is my first actual sighting!

FTFY

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hence my surprise at encountering one!

[PIRS]

SO do you have any questions?

[SugarFree]

Quetzy, It's not that there are no anarcho-capitalists here, just that not all members of the board are ancaps (the typical statist strawman argument aside), instead most are miniarchists. Additionally, ancaps are not for Hobbesean chaos, either (another strawman typified by SOMALIA!!1! whining.)

[PIRS]

Sugarfree is right, in fact when I fist came to the boards I was a minarchist. I gradually moved to supporting anarcho-capitalism after encountering more and more information about what the ACTUAL views of ancaps are.

[nicole]

[raises hand]

Hi Quetzalcoatl! Now you know two.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Whazzaaaaaa

[Nipplemancer]

For years I felt kind of guilty for my anarchist views. The "You don't want chaos, do you?" argument made me think that perhaps my logic was wrong. Black Block retards in Seattle and elsewhere kind of cemented that thought process.
Fortunately through the magick of the intarwebs I realized that I was not the only one who came to this logical conclusion based and embraced anarchy as an acceptable, if horribly misunderstood philosophy. Oddly, it has almost always been leftists who gave me more shit for my ideas than any rightwinger ever did which is why libertarians do loosely align themselves with Team RED in the hopes of finding common ground (sadly, whatever commong ground there is isn't enough to bridge the incomprehensible gap between minarchy and total statist fucktardery)
The tiniest minority is the Individual. As long as there is a state to arbitrarily deny and gift rights, we are all fucked. Minarchists are so close to being right, but hobbled by their desire to be seen as sane by others IMO. Fuck them (others, not Minarchists). Join the dark side and give up your statist tendencies.

[MJ]

"Additionally, ancaps are not for Hobbesean chaos, either..."

Just because the "ancaps' do not realize that what they want is a utopian fantasy does absolve them of what will actually happen if their ideas are ever implemented.

[MJ]

"Additionally, ancaps are not for Hobbesean chaos, either..."

Just because the "ancaps' do not realize that what they want is a utopian fantasy does absolve them of what will actually happen if their ideas are ever implemented.

[Bill]

It's not that something bad will necessarily happen if their ideas are implemented that bothers me. I don't have a pessimistic view of human nature.

It's the fact that we can't even get 1/1000th of the way there (see recent debt limit debacle). It's so unlikely to happen that it's ludicrous to even get excited over it. And if people think you are crazy, they won't listen to you and you can't even begin to gradually come closer to minarchism.

[Tulpa]

Hobbesian chaos won't last long -- after the dust settles the strongest 'security company' will just begin acting like a govt, probably a more tyrannical one than the one that the ancaps used to rail against.

[sarcasmic]

Google is your friend

[Fist of Etiquette]

DON'T CLICK THAT LINK! It's takes you to a picture of a penis.

[sarcasmic]

Are you trying to use reverse psychology to get Tony to click the link?

[Amakudari]

And all the links I see go to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Haha, I make a habit of not clicking tiny'd urls at work.

[sarcasmic]

It's a link to Let Me Google That For You.

Harmless. Mostly.

[Trespassers W]

Something to do with spiders. Look it up in the Monster Manual.

[Fisk of Etiquette]

An "ancap" is somebody who thinks anarchy can co-exist with capitalism. You know...a moron.

[PIRS]

I am now convinced because I do not want to be called that name. Thank you for the reasoned and well thought out argument. You have changed my mind.

[robc]

An "ancap" is somebody who thinks anarchy can co-exist with capitalism. You know...a moron.

FTFY.

[Fisk of Etiquette]

An "ancap" is somebody who thinks anarchy can exist

Also true. The "cap" part makes it even more moron-ey.

[sarcasmic]

An "ancap" is somebody who thinks anarchy can co-exist with capitalism.

There are basically two political camps. Just two. One camp doesn't care about controlling other people. That camp could easily form a functional anarcho-capitalist society and function no problem.

The problem is the other camp. This camp includes liberals, conservatives, royalists, communists... all the people who want to control other people for some "greater good". They understand that by acting together as a collective they can conquer the anarcho-capitalists and force their lofty goals upon them from within or without.

If history is any guide, the collectivists always beat the anarchists in the end.

[PIRS]

"If history is any guide, the collectivists always beat the anarchists in the end."

In the past, governments have successfully disarmed the productive members of society. If we prevent ourselves from being disarmed we can succeed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

If we prevent ourselves from being disarmed we can succeed.

Certainly, there's no real chance to succeed once you agree to be disarmed.

[sarcasmic]

Step One: Registration. All new purchases are registered.
Step Two: Confiscation. Armed men take known arms by force.
Step Three: Prohibition. The remaining arms become contraband.

Agreement is not necessary.

[sarcasmic]

How do you prevent yourself from being disarmed without being killed?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Technically you and your would-be disarmer haven't reached agreement.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I made up a political ideology once too!
It was college, those crazy days. I called it Constitutional MANarchy.

[Ice Nine]

So you were a conman?

[Bill]

+1

[PIRS]

Quetzalcoatl, are you interested in learning what my actual views are or in mocking that which you do not understand?

[Quetzalcoatl]

Well, I'm going to get some coffee now. But if you write 'em out I'll give 'em a read-through once I get back.

[PIRS]

"Well, I'm going to get some coffee now. But if you write 'em out I'll give 'em a read-through once I get back."

So you prefer to mock that which you do not understand.

IN case you change your mind this might give you some insight on what it actually is.
http://mises.org/daily/1778

[Quetzalcoatl]

Quetzalcoatl, are you interested in learning what my actual views are or in mocking that which you do not understand?

Can't I do both?

But seriously, I was actually telling the truth about the coffee. Thanks for the links, I'll check 'em out.

[Zenmaster]

You mean an ettercap? Have not played in ages.

[Trespassers W]

Yep. I'm tickled that someone got my horribly oblique reference!

[CrackertyAssCracker]

An ancap is somebody who thinks stealing is wrong, even when you dress up it all pretty like and call it "taxation".

All the rest of the stuff is just implementation details.

[Tulpa]

Sort of like the process of building a perpetual motion machine is "implementation details".

[CrackertyAssCracker]

Politics/Rulership/Government is always changing, so perputual motion is possible in your analogical universe. So you analogy sucks ass.

[Alan Scott]

Devoted fan of Andy Capp, lovable lil' scamp.

[robc]

wikipedia can be your friend. I almost made and idiotic post becuase I confused Andy Capp and Al Capp.

Which is understandable, same industry.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Oh, Andy Capp, you lovable, wife-beating drunk."

[Ska]

Worst snack food ever.

[Flyover Country]

The unions don't have enough money.

[PIRS]

George Soros could help.

[squarooticus]

Why does any government organization ever bother conducting an "internal investigation"? Most people nowadays know a priori that these things are fucking jokes.

[Drake]

Because it allows them to hire "investigators". Then you have to train them, schedule some offsite meetings and luncheons. Allocate other "workers" time to meet with the investigators, maybe pay some travel expenses to meet - preferably at the Hawaii office...

Obviously if a manager now has investigators added to his staff, he needs a promotion and bigger office.

It's fun to think like a bureaucrat.

[Sparky]

If by "most people" you mean an almost insignificant slice of the American populace then yeah I guess you're right.

[sarcasmic]

An investigation into law enforcement breaking the law found no misconduct?

I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you! The system never gives law enforcement a pass like this!

Shocked!

[Rich]

this fall, [Pistole]'s going to try to introduce just the slightest bit of intelligence and flexibility into his agency's system.

I can't wait to see what TSA comes up with. Maybe "just the slightest bit of intelligence" should be applied to our economic situation instead.

[Nipplemancer]

Everyone must fly nude without luggage. You will be allowed one carry-on in a clear 5"x5"x1" container. Cavity searches will be mandatory for anyone who questions the procedures - even if you're not flying.

[John Pistole]

Thanks, Nipplemancer! You just saved me a lot of thinking.

[SugarFree]

The History of AutoFellatio

Autofellatio, the subject at hand?or rather, not at hand at all?is the act of taking one's genitals in one's mouth to derive sexual pleasure. Terminology is important here, because at least one team of psychiatrists writing on this subject distinguishes between autofellatio and "self-irrumatio." In nonsolo sex, fellatio sees most of the action in the sucking party while irrumatio has more of a thrusting element to it, wherein the other person's mouth serves as a passive penile receptacle. (Hence the colorful and rather aggressive-sounding slang for irrumatio?"face-f*cking," "skull-f*cking," and so on.)

Sadly, no word on that friend of your girlfriend's cousin's nephew that broke his neck while so engaged.

[Brett L]

I saw this yesterday on the sidebar to an article I was reading. However, being at work, its best if I don't click on any link about the ultimate situp. I knew it would end up here eventually.

[Rich]

Terminology is important here

So, drop the asterisk crap!

[Warty]

Ow, my back

[Fist of Etiquette]

Herbie the Love Bug, Lightning McQueen and KITT are disappointed by this definintion.

[Nipplemancer]

I'd never heard the word Irrumatio until this article. My vocabulary is now complete.

[SugarFree]

In case you missed it:

Intercrural sex (from "inter-" and Latin "crura", legs), also known as femoral/interfemoral sex/intercourse, is a type of non-penetrative sex, in which a male places his penis between his partner's thighs (often with lubrication), and thrusts to create friction.

[Nipplemancer]

There's even a technical term for dry-humping? jesus these people have too much time on their hands.

[Lord Humungus]

hmmm... many years ago I read a book on Jack the Ripper. Apparently it was common practice for Victorian-era prostitutes to pleasure their er, customers in such a fashion - reducing the chance of pregnancy, STDs, etc.

[Mensan]

It was a common part of ancient Greek pederasty too.

[sarcasmic]

Does this definition also apply to rubbing one off between large jugs?

[Lord Humungus]

that's one of my favorites!

[SugarFree]

Titty-fucking or just masterbating onto large breaats.

Titty-fucking is a form of irrumation: irrumatio covers thrusting between any part of a partner. If focused exclusively between the breasts, Mastoirrumation would fit (although I just had to coin it.) If it must be large breasts, Macromastoirrumation.

[WTF]

This is why I love H&R, for the arcane knowledge I could never get anywhere else.

[Warty]

at least one team of psychiatrists writing on this subject distinguishes between autofellatio and "self-irrumatio."

Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo,
Aureli pathice et cinaede Furi,
qui me ex versiculis meis putastis,
quod sunt molliculi, parum pudicum.

[Fillmore Butz]

Pedicabo irrumabo you and I, PRECIOUS STONE SODOMITE Furius and Aurelius, putastis me of my verses, TENDER as they are, is not chaste.

[sarcasmic]

I knew a guy who claimed he could bob his own knob.

I was strangely jealous.

[Drake]

Don't be jealous - speak up and offer to do it for him!

[Bee Tagger]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to hold vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

What a coincidence, I'm holding my own vote of no confidence today on the efficacy of votes of no confidence.

[Quetzalcoatl]

It worked for Palpatine.

[sloopyinca]

So, does that make Rand Paul a modern day Padme or Jar Jar?

Either way, [sigh].

[Neu Mejican]

If RP is Padme, who is pulling the strings?

[The Left]

IT'S THE KOCH BROTHERZZ!!! ZOMGWTFBBQ!!!1!!11!one!!1

[Quetzalcoatl]

George Lucas, duuuuuuuuuuh.

[Neu Mejican]

No. It would be someone that is actually RP's enemy. So I am thinking it is part of a subtle plot by Paul Krugman.

[Bill]

This is a great idea. It will allow our wise leader to appoint someone better.

A top man.

[SugarFree]

I present you this blast of pure crazy:

Elect No More Spys!

Sarah Palin's siblings names are Heather Heath Bruce and Molly Heath McCa(n)n. Palin's daughter "Piper," also the name of a plane, shares a birthday with actor Bruce Willis who played "John McC(l)ane," the guy who fights the terrorists in Die Hard who were really about robbing the place. This code appears to date back for decades and right now is when the last piece of the puzzle was about to fall into place.

Sarah's entire background is fabricated. I'm not sure how they did it, but Alaska is about half the size of the continental United States. It's also one of least densely populated, most remote areas in the US, like Hawaii in some ways. It wouldn't be difficult to build a background for her, and swap her name in anywhere the real Alaska Governor's name existed. The feds had several months to pull this off. When Sarah was announced as McCain's running mate the voice they used was similar to the voice used in video of a seminar to announce Dan Kennedy, another online expert claiming to be a copywriter.

Sarah's last name is short for palindrome. McCain's favorite band he claims is ABBA, a palindrome. So who's name is a palindrome? SOROS. George Soros has been credited with collapsing several nations currencies in Europe. Soros has spoken publicly several times about a "new world order." He's also behind hundreds of companies and foundations that appear to employ and empower radicals. The feds appeared to act as the research arm to Glenn Beck's show helping explain the connection Soros has to organizations such as; The Tides Foundation, The Apollo Alliance, Open Society, and hundreds of others. He's also connected to over 30 major news organizations. Even Mark Cuban, posing as the Rich Jerk on Youtube, can be seen wiping his butt with $100 bills. To most people, this would appear that he just has so much money. To me it has double meaning. It represents the devaluing of our currency.

[Nipplemancer]

It all makes sense no(w).

[SugarFree]

Last, through endless interrogations it's been implied that the person who wrote the sales pitch at the Rich Jerk website is Tina Fey. Sarah Palin's "mother in law" is named "Faye" Palin. I believe that Tina Fey didn't play the look alike for Sarah Palin, but Sarah Palin was chosen as McCain's running mate, whoever she is, because she's the look alike for Tina Fey. This isn't the only reason though, she was also picked to play the average American hockey mom who could pass for a Miss Alaska pageant contestant. It looks like the only thing "Sarah" is being used for is to discredit the media. A media that is being heavily controlled now by the feds.

[Warty]

McCain's favorite band he claims is ABBA, a palindrome. So who's name is a palindrome? SOROS.

This is too perfect to be true. This is an art project.

[Pro Libertate]

Why can't we get quality trolls like that?

[Fisk of Etiquette]

Because we suck?

[Pro Libertate]

Or maybe we don't pay enough?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Always read carefully.

[John]

The only thing missing is the part about how agriculture is slavery.

[robc]

Here ya go

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm not sure how they did it, but Alaska is about half the size of the continental United States.

Unless you look at a globe instead of a map. Then it's about 1/5th.

Other than that, I can find no other fault with his reasoning.

[SugarFree]

The Mercator projection was created by SOROS (spelled backwards) and the gelatinous replicoid known as Nilap Haras!

[Nipplemancer]

Nilap Haras is in fact a Tlielaxu Face Dancer

[Pro Libertate]

That's why it's okay to conflate her quotes with Tina Fey's--they're both the same entity.

[Nipplemancer]

I wonder how many Face Dancers have infiltrated our society. (i'm this close to sounding like David Ickes)

[Pro Libertate]

We're all Face Dancers.

[Pro Libertate]

If you measure it in three dimensions it is half! Mein Gott!

[robc]

Alaska is 1.5 dimensions?

[SugarFree]

It's basically a bumpy line.

[Tim]

What about Baked Alaska?

[Fillmore Butz]

Dude!

[squarooticus]

The modern conspiracy version of numerology. Fabulous.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Meh.
It wouldn't even make a good movie.

[robc]

On a related note and a call back to yesterday's morning thread, Im now completely convince that a Gil the Arm TV series would be an absolute winner.

Was that ProL's idea? Genius.

[Pro Libertate]

The TV show was my idea, but Niven wrote the stories.

[robc]

Ummm...considering I own just about everything Niven ever wrote, Im quite aware of that (unless you were just clarifying for the general audience, then nevermind).

[Pro Libertate]

I just didn't want anymore hate mail from Larry.

[robc]

more?

[Pro Libertate]

I'm kidding. We're like brothers.

[Pro Libertate]

. . .who never met.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I read one o' them Niven books once.
Some guy traveled with gypsies or something and they had to shoot a lot of sharks... it was a while ago.

What's the recommended starting place/series for his work?

[Pro Libertate]

That's one of his newer books. Go back to his great stuff--The Mote in God's Eye, Ringworld, A World Out of Time, and so on. He also has a lot of really good short stories, which you can read in any number of collections (I especially like the ones involving Gil the Arm).

[robc]

Neutron Star is a good short story collection. Its 1/2 Beowulf Shaeffer stories, who is another interesting regular character of Niven's.

On the novel side, other than what was already mentioned (except, ugh, on WooT), I really like Protector. Its basically two novellas slammed together, but it still works.

[Pro Libertate]

Protector is good.

[Gray Ghost]

The story is meh, but Niven's The Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring are set in one of the most unusual settings you'll ever find in sci-fi: a gas torus around a neutron star. The gist is humanity in free-fall with life evolved for free-fall. Neat series.

[Fatty Bolger]

Some guy traveled with gypsies or something and they had to shoot a lot of sharks

Destiny's Road?

[JoJo Zeke]

Makes about as much sense as anything Markos Moulitsas has dribbled, lately.

[Joe M]

I'll submit a general question to the honorable assembled. I have a friend who used to be a libertarian, an objectivist as a matter of fact, back in the 1990s. He moved away to a another city for college and ended up getting a PhD in philosophy maybe five years ago. We kinda lost touch for a number of years.

Then, through the magic of Facebook, we got reacquainted. Somewhere along the line, a horrible transformation took place, and I found out that not only had he voted for Obama in 2008, he actively campaigned for him, going door-to-door and handing out fliers!

Just yesterday, he posted links on FB to Ballooon Juice and Ezra Klein! He regularly reads Paul Krugman. My question is, how could something like this happen? He's still big on civil liberties, but the guy who once approvingly quoted Mises is now a Keynesian.

[SugarFree]

Did he have a kid? Some liberty-loving people become statist dillholes after that.

[Pro Libertate]

Hey now!

[robc]

Dont worry, you are still a libertarian dillhole.

[SugarFree]

I said some. And it happens too often not to consider it in this case.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I'm still waiting for that sudden urge to replace parenting with legislation... hasn't happened yet!

[sloopyinca]

This reminds me: Any word on how far along the production of the "Logan's Run" remake is coming along?

[SugarFree]

I can't see a baby-boomer that runs a studio green-lighting that. Or a re-make of Wild In The Streets.

[Drake]

We can't even fantasize about killing all the Boomers? Come on!

[Pro Libertate]

Is it a remake of the film or a movie version of the book? The book is a little weird--not sure a faithful adaptation of it works on celluloid.

[Ska]

More importantly - who's being cast as the hot green?

[SugarFree]

I'm going to go with... some chick that can't act and won't take her clothes off.

Fuck PG-13.

[Quetzalcoatl]

She probably has time now, since they kicked her off of Transformers.

[Bill]

If it hadn't been for those meddling kids ......

[Pro Libertate]

[Tears mask off of Bill's face.]

[Warty]

Does he have a brain slug? You'd better check him for a brain slug.

[robc]

He lost all his money in the tech bubble? Has a house that is 50% underwater?

Those would be my guesses.

[Quetzalcoatl]

He's probably just afraid because of the poor economy, so he's clinging to the liberal equivalents of "guns and religion".

[Joe M]

He's a philosophy professor. He doesn't have any money.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, wait, of course. For the grant money. He's studying the aesthetics of statist hegemony.

[Pro Libertate]

It's either a woman or it's an epistemological crisis. Or both.

[Rich]

He's still big on civil liberties, but the guy who once approvingly quoted Mises is now a Keynesian.

I vote "woman".

Perhaps Joe M will ask his friend and post the answer.

[Joe M]

Actually, his (now ex-)wife was a conservative religious type who became an atheist.

[Fisk of Etiquette]

Why are you asking us?

[Joe M]

Why not? I thought it would make for interesting conversation, and perhaps puke up an answer or two.

[Marshall Gill]

Sounds to me like the guy is simply a follower. When he was a libertarian, did he hang out with you? Now he is surrounded by people who are a part of the looting class, he follows their leads.

[Fatty Bolger]

That's my guess, too.

[squarooticus]

Ask him if the lobotomy hurt.

[sarcasmic]

PhD in philosophy is what did it.
During the course of getting that degree, the only possible way of getting approval from superiors and peers would be a full conversion to a religion that holds The State to be god.

[Pro Libertate]

It's certainly not from philosophy itself. I've read plenty, and I'm no less libertarian than I was before I started.

[John]

But you read it. You didn't have it taught to you by some leftist shitbag tenured prof. There are two words that tell you all you need to know about the quality of philosophy majors at the well known universities, "Matthew Yglesias".

[sarcasmic]

There is a difference between learning and being taught.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, sure, I agree that the indoctrination in the classroom is a far different thing from the subject matter. I just meant that reading philosophy alone shouldn't make one a socialist or a statist.

[sarcasmic]

The irony here is that the stated purpose of a philosophy degree is to learn how to think, while the goal of most academics is to teach the students what to think.

[Pro Libertate]

I agree absolutely and completely with this. It was the one thing I actually liked about law school--even in classes with doctrinaire professors, the focus of the material and of the course was on warping our minds to be able to spot and analyze legal issues. Not so much on telling us what the conclusions should be.

Of course, I did not attend a political law school. Mr. Dean and others here may have had a different experience.

[Mensan]

I guess I lucked out with the professor I had for the single philosophy class I took in college. He never took a side in a discussion; he just presented a counter-argument for any statement that a student would make. He never even gave a straight answer to a question. He would just ask you another question (usually just a rephrasing of your original question) and guide you to a conclusion. It didn't even seem to matter to him what conclusion you reached so long as you used reason to get there.

[Joe M]

That's my current preference. He was mocked and derided by his "enlightened" profs, and, well, peer pressure is a motherfucker.

[sarcasmic]

Collectivists do have one thing correct.
Persuasion can be difficult.
It is much easier to just take what you want, and you stand a greater chance of getting away with using violence, coercion and fraud if you do so as part of a group rather than as an individual.

But that doesn't make it right.

[the real oo]

obviously his politican maturation is the result of an advanced education

[O2]

objectively he got a high colonic which discharged all the randian toxins

[O2]

i got a high colonic once but my head is still up my ass

[the real O2]

^quit thinkin about my ass^

[T]

Quit showing it every time you post and maybe he will.

[the real oo]

But that's where I get my best ideas.

[Trespassers W]

It's not Will Wilkinson, is it?

[John]

My roommate from college was good friends with Wilkinson when they were both in grad school. Wilkinson is a total phony. An absolute self promoter who believes in none of the crap he puts out.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Why, oh why did I read this as Wil Wheaton...

[sloopyinca]

Why, in "Future "Imperfect" did Riker not know it was a setup from the start when his "son" showed up and was incapable of acting? And the kid had a Wesley Crusher haircut. And Worf and LaForge stuck around for 16 fucking years and had only made it to Commander rank?

C'mon. That was the worst episode (without Wesley Crusher and Tasha Yar) evar!!,

[Fatty Bolger]

Come on now, Tasha Yar did have that one good episode.

[Alan Scott]

Maybe he thought about it all?

[Ice Nine]

I think he moved to Marin County.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Okay, brother, you ask this:

My question is, how could something like this happen?

But don't see the connection with this:

have a friend who used to be a libertarian, an objectivist as a matter of fact, back in the 1990s. He moved away to a another city for college and ended up getting a PhD in philosophy maybe five years ago.

Stockhom Syndrome seems the most likely explanation.

[Mensan]

It seems to run counter to (what in my completely unscientific obsevation seems to be) the usual path of development for political philosophy.

Stage one: Complete apathy. Registered Democrat, not registered at all, or registered but doesn't know own party affiliation (only votes in presidential election, if they remember and there isn't a line).

Stage two: Passing attentiveness to politics, but no actual comprehension of the issues. Registered Democrat.

Stage three: Interested in politics, and seeks information beyond the mainstream media. Realizes Democrats are full of shit. Registered Republican.

Stage four: Realizes that the Republicans are full of shit too, and that both team red and team blue are statists. libertarian (NPA, Republican, or, rarely, LP).

[Invisible Finger]

Must've got a government job.

[cynical]

Pussy-whipped, probably.

[Bee Tagger]

Jeb Bush Jr. endorses Jon Huntsman.

This one might be tougher than W's cocaine habit to explain away during JBJ's inevitable presidential run.

Or he could just say it was the alcohol talking.

[Brett L]

It gives him a chance to network without having to deliver a winner (or at this point even a contender). Smart if you ask me. He'd have no chance of being the national chairman of anything in one of the viable campaigns.

[Dekedin]

>vote of no confidence
America has these? I thought it was something made up in the Star Wars prequels.

[Some Internet Lurker]

Congress votes on many bullshit issues that are non binding resolutions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.....resolution

[John]

http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com.....ma-is.html

Dems beginning to fear Obama is unelectable. Suppose for a moment that the white douche progressive crowd run a primary challenger and stick a knife in Obama's back. Then Obama either loses the nomination or goes on to lose the general election in 2012. What are black people going to think about liberal Democrats after they torpedo the first black President?

What are black people going to think about liberal Democrats after they torpedo the first black President?

"That was mighty white of you."

[Tim]

Obama's problem is that he's no executive, people have been pulling out the chair for him all his life, telling him how great and special he is.

[John]

He has never been in an environment where the other side could fight back and had to be accommodated. He has spent his whole life in college or as a Democrat in Chicago.

[Maxxx]

..people have been pulling out the chair for him all his life, telling him how great and special he is.

He really is like some retarded kid in that way.

[Alan Scott]

Suppose they nominate a unicorn.

[Quetzalcoatl]

They'd get the Brony vote.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

They'd get the Brony vote.

Would they interrupt their cartoon masturbation sessions to get out of the basement long enough to cast a ballot, though?

[Quetzalcoatl]

Only if they had someone in a unicorn mascot outfit at all of the voting centers.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Someone I read made a comment that they need to come up with a jock pony called Chad Yoobecha that steals all the sorority girl ponies, so that these broken nerds can't even use cartoons to escape real life.

[Brett L]

That is fucking cruel. And awesome.

[Joe M]

The party faithful was upset that the President agreed to widespread cuts in government spending without winning any revenue increases in exchange.

What the fuck is up with that ridiculous claim?

[John]

No kidding. What kind of a fucked up delusional reality do you have to live in to think the Republicans in Congress are anti-government radicals? If only!!

[Joe M]

Oh, and it of course includes the euphemistic "revenue increase" phrase.

Sorry, I got sidetracked on that an missed the main thrust of the article. I don't think there's a chance Obama will face a primary challenge. It's just not done.

[WTF]

What are black people going to think about liberal Democrats after they torpedo the first black President?

What are they going to do, vote republican?

[Matrix]

Reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons.

Man: Well, I'll vote for a third-party candidate.

Kang: Go ahead! Throw your vote away!!

Everyone laughs and become enslaved by the aliens.

It would be funny if it wasn't so true. *sigh*

[cynical]

"Suppose for a moment that the white douche progressive crowd run a primary challenger and stick a knife in Obama's back."

Political acumen requires self-awareness. When you literally believe that everyone already agrees with you and that all Republican congressmen were cloned in vats by evil corporations rather than being elected by people that share their views, you aren't going to replace Obama, unless you can find someone even more extreme.

[P Brooks]

ended up getting a PhD in philosophy

Industrial-grade nonsense takes a terrible toll.

[John]

Yes it does. I got an under graduate degree in Philosophy. But fortunately I got it at a backwater university that was pretty much immune from the nonsense that was going on at the more well known ones. But even there as you got to the more and more advanced courses, the bullshit became undeniable. I refused to read anything written after 1500 and just read the ancients. At least they tried to make sense of the world.

[Tim]

The flat world. The world on top of the turtle.

[T]

It's turtles all the way down, man.

[Zombie Kid]

I LIEK TURTELS

[Quetzalcoatl]

You take the good, you take the bad...

[Wilfred]

The turtle moves!

[Matrix]

T-U-R-T-L-E POWER!

[Mr. Saveloy]

The Great A'Tuin smiles as he swims through space at your resistance to the Omnians.

[Au H20]

Side note: How fucking sad is it that Terry Pratchett has early onset Alzheimers?

And God wonders why He only has a 52% approval rating.

[Sparky]

I think God would say Mr Pratchett deserves it for being a non-believer.

It is a shame really.

[Lord Humungus]

I've got a minor in philosophy (and math - go figure). My profs, at least at the 100-300 levels, didn't do politics.

[John]

I did economics and philo. And my profs never were political. But the ones that taught modern taught nonsense. You start reading people like Heidegger and they start talking about "the language" and the "technical terms" and after a while you start to realize that the terms don't mean a God damned thing.

[wylie]

after a while you start to realize that the terms don't mean a God damned thing.

That's the beauty. They mean whatever you want them to.

[Lord Humungus]

I'll gladly admit that my interest in philosophy started to wane when I realized it was mostly a bunch of intellectual gibberish. But hey, it was an easy minor to get.

My wife has a double major in Philosophy and English. Right out of college she started working as a dance instructor! Heh.

[SugarFree]

I got a philosophy minor purely for the lulz.

[John]

I love the ancients. And also if you do ancient and medieval you get to read Homer and all of the Greek tragedies. And that is some great stuff. Basically, there hasn't been anything interesting or important said on the subject since the late 19th Century when Tolstoy, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky were writing. Everything after that and most everything else at the time is just nonsense.

[Pro Libertate]

I tend to agree, though I wouldn't sweep aside all modern philosophy. Some interesting ideas pop up now and again. Like with Wittgenstein, Popper, and William James (really more 19th century, I suppose, but still).

I think one problem in particular with current philosophy is that today's philosophers feel limited by the accomplishments of science. Before, one could just throw ideas against the wall and mentally pursue them in all directions. Now there are some concepts that can be empirically tested.

What surprises me is that the one area where physics and other sciences really leave open--metaphysics--isn't a more major area of study today. Seems like we're more focused on epistemology and ethics.

[John]

I forgot about Wittgenstein. You are totally correct about the dearth of metaphysics. I think there are two reasons for this. First, is just pure careerism. You get tenure by writing small technical pieces. So that is what philosophers write. Second, if you start talking about metaphysics, you might start believing in God. And deviating from the scientific atheist dogma is about the quickest way to end your career as an academic philosopher. As a result, modern philosophy produces endless amounts of technical drivel and never addresses the big questions.

[Pro Libertate]

Now that I think about it, string theory might be the new metaphysics. Which means physicists have hemmed in philosophers yet again!

[John]

String theory is most assuredly not science.

[Pro Libertate]

To be fair, some parts of physics are getting exceedingly hard to test, so even a correct theory may go through a vague, wishy-washy phase like this.

What I don't like about the various permutations of string theory right now is that they're almost the only avenue of research being funded. There are alternatives that are no less worthy of investigation--quantum gravity for instance.

I think what could be a very interesting time for physics is coming up, especially if we don't find evidence of the Higgs boson. That could shake up the Standard Model and open up more avenues of research.

[Brett L]

"Now that I think about it, string theory might be the new metaphysics."

It sure isn't science.

[Zeb]

I actually got a lot out of Heidegger. Which probably means I was doing it wrong.

[Pro Libertate]

Nazi!

[Zeb]

As another philosophy major, I would agree that what areas you get into really determines the level of bullshit.
But I think that the biggest determining factor in how full of shit a student of philosophy will become is whether one sees the purpose of philosophy as being description or prescription. Philosophy is great if you are trying to figure out what is going on, what is the nature of experience and existence, what it is to be moral. But once you decide that you have things figured out so well that you can tell people what they should do, you've gone too far.

[CrackertyAssCracker]

I only took one Philosophy class. We so thoroughly beat the crap out the "Mind Body Problem" for the first half of the class that I really hate talking about it to this day. After that there was something about "brue" and "gleen" that .... didn't really impress me that much.

I do kind of Consider Nassim Taleb a modern day philosopher that is actually worth reading.

[John]

The picture of the losing union mob in Wisconsin on Drudge right now is classic.

[SugarFree]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Tim]

"It didn't go in, it just impacted on the surface"

[Joe M]

Haha excellent.

[Old Soldier]

Does the dumb blonde's shirt say "Union Thug"? It sure looks that way.

[P Brooks]

Does the term Suckers' Rally mean anything to you?

[T]

I was thinking dead cat bounce, but that's just me.

[Joe M]

Yeah shrugged off that ridiculous surge from yesterday immediately. I couldn't figure out what the hell people were thinking? How does Bernanke saying, "Uh, we're not changing anything," count as some kind of positive news?

[Pro Libertate]

It's actually negative news, as they also made it clear that they think the economy will be in a coma through 2013.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Probably a bear trap to screw the shorts out of some cash, and then back to reality.

[Fillmore Butz]

"Wisconsin Democrats fail to take control of state senate."

Suck it, bitches!

[Hmmm]

This is like the worst chat room ever.

[John]

The lesbian f4f threads come on after midnight.

[NotSure]

So is that before are after you joined ?

[Hmmm]

Collectivists join. I'm just a temporary rider on this short bus. I observe and laugh and think about when I used to teach Special Ed kids. Good times.

[NotSure]

So you are temporarily here on a permanent basis.

[SugarFree]

This is why you don't feed trolls. They will keep coming back looking for hand-outs. Eventually, they riot.

[Joe M]

http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_170x135.260156642.jpg

[NotSure]

Seriously, the world would be a poorer place without trolls, so it is only right to feed them.

[SugarFree]

so it is only right to feed them into a volcano.

[wylie]

the cookbook classic, "How To Serve Trolls...To Volcanos"

[Anthony Weiner]

How ya doin'?

[Ice Nine]

I guess the small differences made us tolerable to you then, right?

[John]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ntrol.html

UK Riot pictures. Since some of them are younger and probably not quite as fast, you probably shouldn't lead them as much before you pop the little bastards.

[Brett L]

I'm noticing that all of the people that are boarding stuff up and protecting their things seem not to be of Anglo-Saxon descent.

[John]

I guess they are immigrants and haven't been in the country long enough to be pacified by the British nanny state. Perhaps mass immigration is Britain's only hope.

[Kreel Sarloo]

I have tried to make this pont many times.

Immigrants in the last quarter of the twentieth century who have played in reinvigorating the British economy. They have become the backbone of the small business retail sector.

I think that what you'll find about the rioters is that if they are black or asian they are the children, or more likely grandchildren of immigrants who arrived post WWII and met intense racial discrimination in addition to encountering a welfare dependency culture that set in for generations.

Like their white yobo counterparts (of which examination of riot photos and videos will reveal many) they have lived in a wlfare dependency culture where family members have not had any gainful employment for generations.

There parents grew up with a paternalistic government that said this dependency was OK. The children have simply learned this lesson from them.

Immigrants arriving since the seventies have no such disadvantages since that arrived mostly since most of the worst programs were dismantled or, at least, radically altered in terms of eligibility criteria.

[Anne Archist]

"Bastards"? They're heroes! Sticking it to The Man and his collaborationist property owners!

[Warty]

Sale: A box of 40 Apple iPhones in somebody's bedroom that were listed for sale on Monday evening. They could have been legally obtained

Yeah, Daily Mail, I guess they could have been. Jesus Christ.

[Ska]

Chavs - still dressing like it's 1991.

[FlyoverCountry]

That's what struck me - kids in central Kansas don't even dress like that anymore. C'mon Britain, it's 2011, like, seriously

[John]

http://www.infowars.com/dhs-fu.....-sf-buses/

I love the new DHS wireless spycams. No one will ever hack a wireless device or anything. Fucking assholes.

[wylie]

No one will ever hack a wireless device or anything.

That's, like, a HyperMegaDoubleFederalOffense, punishable by multipledeath. Surely no one would risk such penalties.

[Wilfred]

"Due to the imminent collapse of society we regret to announce we are closing at 6 pm tonight"

Got to luv the Brits 😉

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.examiner.com/gun-ri.....tan-speaks

Embattled Brits buy bats, Gottlieb touts 2A, Skyway Samaritan speaks

"As London descends into anarchy and British citizens are reportedly buying American-made aluminum baseball bats by the bushel, Bellevue's Alan Gottlieb says the situation shows a need in civilized society for the right to keep and bear arms."

"He will probably get no argument from the armed Good Samaritan who intervened in the Skyway shooting over the weekend, and has now come forward to tell what happened ..." ...

[John]

http://pajamasmedia.com/instap.....thGuns.jpg

Reasons why such rioting if and when it occurs in America will be confined to certain inner city areas and never spread.

[Res Publica Americana]

My neighborhood would defend itself that way, I'm proud to say, but AR-15-style weapons are by far the most popular, so shotguns and hunting rifles wouldn't be common.

[John]

That is why the riots in the late 1960s never spread out of the inner cities. The suburban neighborhoods were armed. You don't hear much about it, but the better neighborhoods in LA did much the same thing in that picture during the Watts riots. That is why they didn't spread.

[Fluffy]

There's that whole "walking is hard" thing, too.

Some people are just too lazy to walk five miles for a free TV. Those people are statistically overrepresented amongst rioters.

[John]

True. And that is another dirty little secret about the 1950s and 60s. They built freeways to encircle the bad neighborhoods to make it harder for people to walk out of them to the good neighborhoods and commit crimes.

[Old Soldier]

Communities around LA also had their cops tasked with keeping the rioters out.

During the '92 riots, the Beverly Hills cops lined Pico and La Cienega - were the border is dangerously close to the unsavory areas. Rioters trying to cross into Bervely Hills would be shot on site.

The CA National Guard also shot a lot of rioters in fringe areas - right after the news teams left to do the 11 pm reports.

Big talking gangsters were talking about rioting in the upscale neighborhoods if the 2nd King trial didn't go their way. It would have been a bloodbath. The Korea town shopkeepers had all upgraded from pistols to AK's after the first riot.

I was hanging out in Playa del Rey with a loaded HK91. The cop downstairs told his wife to give me some of his guns if the shit really hit the fan.

[Nah]

Reasons why such rioting...will be confined to certain inner city areas and never spread.

It's not because we're armed. It's because most Americans are docile and civilized and not inclined to violence.

[Res Publica Americana]

Both.

[Pro Libertate]

So this rioting in Britain is good for America?

[wylie]

It'll set back GeorgeIII's invasion plans at least a year. So, yes.

[JW]

See? SEE? Broken windows *do* work!

[Pro Libertate]

Especially other people's broken windows.

So, if they break their windows and other things with American baseball bats, can we also benefit in repairing the windows and other things?

[Brett L]

Just like WWII, but on a tiny scale. We really should bomb everyone else's industrial base back to nothing and then sell it back to them again.

[not my actual position]

[Chupacabra]

Marshall Plan 2.0!

[Pro Libertate]

This time, though, it's Wilbur Marshall's plan, not George Marshall's.

[Fatty Bolger]

Nobody ever said it was bad for the glassmaker.

[Inisible Finger]

I can finally get rid of my -5's with stress cracks. I feel like Orson Welles in The Third Man.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.ammoland.com/2011/0.....ck-heller/

John Snyder Interviews Dick Heller (video story)

"John Snyder interiews Dick Heller on the significance of the Supreme Court decision in the District of Columbia v Heller case."

"The decision affirmed the individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and declared unconstitutional a DC law prohibiting private handgun possession." ...

Too bad it had huge drawbacks, ain't it?
--------------------------

http://www.mailtribune.com/app...../108080320

Medford man returns handgun to Medal of Honor Winner

"A historic Colt .45-caliber, semi-automatic pistol stolen more than 30 years ago from a Medal of Honor winner in South Carolina has been returned to its rightful owner."

"The gun and owner were reunited after a history buff in Medford, who bought the old handgun in an online auction last month, tracked down the retired Marine whose name is engraved on it." ...

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.detnews.com/article.....of-suspect

MI: Attempted carjacking in Detroit ends in death of suspect

"A would-be carjacker died Monday night after allegedly being shot by the car's owner on the city's west side, police said."

"A preliminary investigation found the 19-year-old suspect took a man's car at a gas station about 8:30 p.m. near McNichols and Evergreen, Sgt. Eren Stephens said."

"The driver, who had a concealed pistol license, then pulled out a gun, Stephens said." ...

gunz kil ppl -- we must PROHIBISHUN!!!!!!

[Res Publica Americana]

http://onlygunsandmoney.blogsp.....ay-to.html

An Unarmed Populace Will Find A Way To Defend Themselves

"British laws virtually outlaw armed self defense with a firearm. ..."

"Riots which began on Saturday night and continue today have left one man dead, many homeless, and innumerable shops, pubs, and other business establishments looted and destroyed. As Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, has commented, 'Unlike L.A., there are no Korean shopkeepers with AR-15s to help contain the looting.'"

"With the police response under great criticism ... people are starting to take matters into their own hands with what is available."

"In the sports and leisure section of Amazon's UK site, the biggest percentage movers for the past 24 hours have been 'aluminium' baseball bats. ..." ...

Hey, that reminds me -- we could have a dual win, dudes, if the Capitol AND the Parliamentary buildings in London all burn the fuck down in session AT THE SAME TIME!

[robc]

Proof of american superiority: Baseball bats >>> Cricket bats.

[Res Publica Americana]

Imagine just how much it would suck if we became the same sort of universal pussies that they are -- I fucking hope not, but it's already happened in a lot of places in the country.

[wylie]

Baseball bats >>> Cricket bats.

I dunno. I don't think the comparison is valid unless there are also aluminium (for the limeys) cricket bats on the market.

[Ska]

C'mon man, basic aerodynamics.

[Drake]

What if you swing the cricket bat turned sideways - striking with the edge?

[Res Publica Americana]

http://politics.gather.com/vie.....4979860018

Ron Paul's Support Base Still Expanding

... "Yesterday, the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign announced its 'Gun Owners for Ron Paul' coalition that is designed to bring together supporters of the Second Amendment. The National Association for Gun Rights scored Paul a perfect 100 percent on its Presidential survey, a survey that he was first to return among all the candidates. Voters who view the Second Amendment among the most important of all personal freedoms can count on Ron Paul's support for their right to bear arms."

"This is not a new position for the Texas Congressman. ..." ...

[Mr. FIFY]

I managed to choke down almost two whole minutes of Ed Schultz trying to whip the Wisconsin rabble into a rioting frenzy last night.

I would give a whole months' pay if he had managed to start a violent uprising there. Would have proved it's the left that's causing similar riots in England and Greece.

[O2]

but since wisconson rioting did NOT happen...it proves the UK riots were NOT caused by "the left" - using ur logic

[Mr. FIFY]

Uh, yeah. Sure.

So, are you saying the thugs burning and looting and destroying in the UK... are right-wingers?

[Res Publica Americana]

The closest thing to a right-winger you'll find among those rioters is probably a Stalinist.

[the real O2]

no i didnt say either way but u sure did. and ur "logic" forces u to conceed that "the left" did NOT cause the rioting in london since "the left" did NOT cause rioting in wisconson...ur reasoning not mine.

[Mr. FIFY]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....c;omments;
You'd probably agree with this, OO.

The Wisconsin protesters are largely leftists by default. So are the looters and pillagers in the UK.

You just can't bring yourself to admit liberals resort to violence.

[the real O2]

"First there were flash mobs of bankers and mortgage lenders picking pockets, looting businesses, taking over homes and torching jobs. Now come the young marauders ? using a crude version of the same tactics, striking out in anger over the theft of their futures. Outraged that some would even blame them for the loss of their economic prospects."
_

FIFY - fm ur link.

[Mr. FIFY]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6iLggKf1qM

Game and match, OO.

Bonus U.S. version of stoopid:

http://www.nj.com/business/ind.....eting.html

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp6cB7BGj48

Go to NK, and I'm sure Dear Leader would love a defector!

[Mr. FIFY]

but since wisconson rioting did NOT happen... yet...

If it does, we should blame fucktards like Ed Schultz for fanning the flames, although it will be up to the -ahem- individuals* in Wisconsin to NOT resort to violence.

*liberals do not recognize the word "individuals"; I use it here in its proper context, however.

[Fluffy]

I saw a picture of Sikhs, many of whom had axes, but one REALLY COOL MOTHERFUCKER had some kind of ornamental scimitar.

[SugarFree]

Talwar

[John]

That is just awesome. The problem with British immigration policy has been too many Pakistanis and not enough Sikhs, Kurds and Gurkhas.

[Heroic Mulatto]

As someone of part Gurkha blood, I keep my khukri right next to my bed. It's leaning up against my Mossberg.

Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali!

[cynical]

Note to self: never fuck with HM.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.omaha.com/article/2.....0809682/-1

Talk about a paramilitary police state on parade, huh?

"At 7 a.m. Tuesday, heavily armed federal agents in paramilitary garb boarded a gray assault vehicle and led an 11-vehicle convoy from 30th and Ames on a 12-block parade west."

"Morning commuters watched the procession from sidewalks and cars. They'd witnessed the launch of a large-scale operation against illegal guns."

"More than 100 federal agents and Omaha police SWAT officers barreled into houses across the city, part of the first blow in a larger effort aimed at combating violent crime citywide." ...

[Brett L]

Agents inside the vehicles were seen masturbating furiously.

[Old Soldier]

Omaha? Was it a cow-tipping ring?

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.newsmax.com/US/Broo...../id/406665

NY: Officer Sues NYPD Over Desk Duty for Shooting Man

"A Brooklyn police officer is suing the New York Police Department for denying him overtime while he is relegated to desk duty after shooting and paralyzing an unarmed man, reports New York Daily News."

"Officer Daniel Hernandez has been denied work as a street cop since he shot an unarmed man three years ago. In his complaint filed in the Brooklyn Federal Court, he claims that he 'has suffered economically, humiliated, emotional distress and conscious pain and sufferings' because of the punishment." ...

"But Hernandez is facing his own legal predicament: Ahmed Evans, the unarmed suspect he shot and paralyzed in July 2008, is suing him." ...

What the fuck?

[Res Publica Americana]

I mean fucking seriously, what the fucking shit is this son of a bitch thinking?

[wylie]

"Well, I gotta sue the dept. to pay for the lawsuit against me."

[Res Publica Americana]

I hope he gets his ass kicked afterwards for filing a frivolous lawsuit. Fucking power-abusing piece of shit.

[Ray]

Best and brightest.

[Rhywun]

I might as well just hand over my wallet now. The city rolls over every time when some idiot sues it.

[Rhywun]

I might as well just hand over my wallet now. The city rolls over every time when some idiot sues it.

[P Brooks]

My wife has a double major in Philosophy and English. Right out of college she started working as a dance instructor!

That means you can write off all your "gentlemen's club" expenses as market research, right?

[Lord Humungus]

sadly no - it was ballroom dance.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18640745

CO: Denver deputy gets 24 years for child abuse, attempted sex assault

"A veteran Denver County sheriff's deputy today was sentenced to 24 years in prison, according to the Denver District Attorney's office."

"Mark Davis, 49, pleaded guilty earlier this year to child abuse and attempted sexual assault on a child involving two victims: a 12-year-old boy he abused between August 2002 and June 2006 and an 8-year-old boy abused between June 2010 and September 2010." ...

--------------------------

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44.....kG6B2sYYkU

UK: MP calls for BlackBerry Messenger suspension over UK riots

"A lawmaker called on Tuesday for BlackBerry's instant messaging service to be suspended after rioters used it to mobilize in London and other British cities."

"David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham, where London's worst riots for decades began on Saturday, appealed on Twitter and on BBC radio for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion to suspend BlackBerry Messenger." ...

Disgusting, spineless little serfs.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.samizdata.net/blog/.....e_pol.html

... "One of the more depressing things about these riots is the way that the only thing that the Police can think of to say to us non-looters and non-arsonists is: 'Don't join in' and 'Let us handle it'. If the bad guys start to torch your house, let them get on with it. If they attack your next door neighbour, don't join in on his side. Run away. Let the barbarians occupy and trash whatever territory they pick on and steal or destroy whatever property they want to." ...

I carry a gun with me most of the time -- do any of you guys? Would you be prepared?

[O2]

because in europe, property crime is victimless, covered by insurance, & does NOT justify the use of deadly force.

[John]

So I can steal your shit and you are not a victim of a crime? Can you give me your address? You might own some stuff I want.

[the real O2]

ive had 2 break-ins w property theft in 10 yrs. i wasnt hurt (wasnt home) & insurance made me whole. i then upgraded my electronics. some crime

[John]

Oh ok, since insurance companies print their own money, there was no victim. You and everyone who pays your insurance company is a victim of that crime.

[the real O2]

so insurance co profits justify deadly force? whoohoo - just another corporate statist

[John]

My God you are amazingly stupid. The more theft there is, the higher the insurance rates will be. That is not profits. That is every person who buys an insurance policy. The greater the risk of theft, the higher the rates.

If you want to give your shit away or do nothing to defend it, that is your business. But I don't want to pay higher insurance rates because of nitwits like you.

You are great example of where liberal thinking leads. "You should just learn to live with crime and people taking your things and burning your home down. We just buy insurance and everything is just fine".

You wonder why everything goes to shit when you and your ilk ever get any power?

[Nipplemancer]

John, why are you arguing with H&R's dumbest of the dumb?

[Quetzalcoatl]

Troll-Free Thursday is tomorrow.

[Nah]

People who are inclined to argue with strangers on the internet will do so, regardless of whether the opponent is an outside troll or one of the resident crackpots (also trolls, but who will never admit it).

[Zeb]

DO you know anything about anything? Rates are higher because of successful theft. Insurance companies profit in either case. They don't just say "oh, well, less profit for us" when there are a lot of claims.

[the real O2]

im not using deadly force to protect insurance co revenue then

[O2]

i fucked a goat and liked it

i hope the spca dont mind it

[the real O2]

^weak spoof^

[NotSure]

Property crime is victimless ? So someone comes into your house, steals the family jewels, you would clearly not be a victim ???

[the real O2]

in the EU yes

[Res Publica Americana]

Roflm-fucking-ao. Fuck the EU all the way to the depths of Satan's ass.

[NotSure]

You clearly how zero clue what the EU is about. Despite the Eurocrat intentions, there is no single law for all the countries on property crime.

[Res Publica Americana]

Clearly, the high violent crime rates in Europe are just such a plus! Property crime is so totally victimless, dude!

[WTF]

Wow, that's fucking idiotic even by O2 standards,

[Fluffy]

In London, apparently, if you suffer a property loss due to "riotous behavior" the cops have to pay you for it, even if you aren't insured.

If I was immunized against loss in that way, I might follow their instructions and bail. Since it's their dime and all.

I'm not saying you should be obligated to flee. If you want to protect your property "just because", you should be entitled to do so.

[John]

The problem with that is two fold. First, the law may say that but in a really big event promises can be broken. I really wouldn't want to bet my livelihood on the government coming through for me after a big disaster. Second, even if they "make you good", it sucks having your home or business burn down. There are sentimental values too.

[the real O2]

im not shooting anybody to protect insurance co profits.

[John]

Because insurance companies would never raise their rates as a result of increased losses. You really are this retarded aren't you?

[the real O2]

my rates have decreased overall despite the claims einstein. why r u arguing w the EU definition of victimless crime since it doesnt apply stateside? weird

[Fluffy]

The person who steals from me or destroys my goods for fun or a thrill is debasing me as a human being.

I would gladly shoot anyone who would seek to do that.

As I said above, the fact that the Met writes checks when they fail to do their job and prevent rioting might lead me to act with prudence. But the dollar (pound) loss really isn't the only issue.

[Res Publica Americana]

Here's the thing -- if I find somebody digging through my shit in the garage or the living room, I'll try to scare them away before using force. But understand that if the intruder threatens me, I will not hesitate to use deadly force.

The pacifistic shitheads willing to permit the destruction of their own property and persons can do whatever the hell they want, as retarded as it may be. I'm sticking to rationality.

[Don]

Check out Walter Block on restitution versus prison for non-violent crimes. You'll have to google it.

[Mike M.]

Is it any wonder that Europe went from the cradle of civilization to a giant toilet bowl in less than 100 years?

[the real O2]

i live in the EU for 5 yrs. they live just fine

[John]

At about half the standard of living we do. I lived there too. So don't feed me your bullshit that most providential Americans who have visited Paris and think they know Europe will buy.

[the real O2]

dont know where u lived but i lived in the NL, mons belgium, and 2 locations in the FRG. typical middle-class urban homes & lifestyle. comfortable life. and in the EU, property crime is victimless.

[Res Publica Americana]

England, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain. Lived in Britain, Germany, and Russia (discount the ex-USSR, if you so wish). I'm firmly and unequivocally agreeing with John. Not even fucking close.

[Zeb]

"property crime is victimless."

That is absurd on its face. I don't think you understand what the word "victimless" means.

[Leftist]

it means whatever the fuck we tell you it means, rube. go back to the fucking trailer park until we need your kids to fight wars and pay taxes.

[O2]

guys i think i just did it guys! i did it! my iq's now in the single digit range! holy frekking shit guys im so hapy!

[the real O2]

it means no human was hurt moron

[WTF]

Is it any wonder that Europe went from the cradle of civilization to a giant toilet bowl in less than 100 years?

the real O2|8.10.11 @ 10:48AM|#
i live in the EU for 5 yrs. they live just fine

Why am I not surprised?

[Mike M.]

i live in the EU for 5 yrs. they live just fine

Yeah, I can tell from the news just how wonderful everything over there is these days.

[the real O2]

so rioting in london defines the whole EU in ur mind?

[Res Publica Americana]

You're not even trying anymore.

[the real O2]

take it up w mike who implied the london riots define the whole EU. jeesch

[Mr. FIFY]

It implies the mindset prevalent in the EU... property rights = nonexistent, and handouts = a God-given human right.

Happens here, too.

[Fluffy]

Buh-bye Dow Jones

[John]

Is it crashing more today?

[Fist of Etiquette]

We have our first broker hit the pavement.

[Mike M.]

If there was ever a time when Rational Market Theory made some sense, it most certainly doesn't any longer.

Yesterday's rebound was based on absolutely no news or anything that makes any sense. I don't know if this craziness is being driven more by people or by the computer algorithms, but whichever one it is has become completely unmoored from reality.

[Pro Libertate]

Yesterday was probably people picking up some bargains. Today is people still freaking out that our government seems perfectly willing to replicate the failures of Japan and Europe. Not to mention the Fed unnecessarily stating that it thinks the economy is going to continue sucking for the next two years.

[Brett L]

You assume you are party to all of the information the market is.

[Lord Humungus]

silly question - Is 'our' Dunphy the same as this Dunphy?
http://www.nationalreview.com/.....ack-dunphy

[John]

No. I asked our Dunphy that. And it is two different guys.

[WTF]

Our dunphy did say his handle was an homage to National Review's Dunphy, but yeah, not the same guy.

[Lord Humungus]

thanks - just thought it odd that they both used the same names,

[Fist of Etiquette]

Too much capitalization in that article.

[Na na, whataver]

Scrap the cops, vigilantism always works:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/three.....47500.html

I don't know if "three men killed" will be enough to convince anybody here that maybe the best move to take is to de-politicize the police force rather than scrap government and create an every man for himself free for all of violence in which if you risk death if you want to protect your property.

If the only thing three death creates here is snarky comments and fuck offs (and I'm guessing that's all it will create) I'm not going to waste my time trying to talk sense into anybody.

[Zeb]

Huh? So you shouldn't protect yourself against violent thugs because they are violent thugs?

[Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]

Err, they're dead. Some good "protecting themselves" did there. Maybe if Teh Big Bad Guvmunt actually did (or was allowed to do) it's job of providing security instead of leaving us open to this free for all of violence that gets basement dwelling libertarians so wet these people would still be alive. Guns and nail-studded-cricket bats are not going to bring these people back from dead.

[Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]

* the dead.

[cynical]

If the cops actually took the necessary steps you're advocating, there would be more dead cops too. More importantly, these guys wouldn't have been out on the street in the first place.

If the police start doing what they're supposed to, then the people won't feel the need to take security into their own hands. If they don't, then the people's fear of chaos, combined with righteous anger, will overcome their personal cowardice and the result will be vigilantism. It's as simple as that.

[Res Publica Americana]

I love 1911s, and Para USA removed its only major fault for the uses of today -- its capacity. I'm getting myself a Para 1911. You should get a gun, too, if you haven't already got one.

In case you were wondering, nobody's taking your advice. Sorry.

[Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]

Are you a spambot?

"I love 1911s, and Para USA removed its only major fault for the uses of today -- its capacity."

The fuck does that mean?

[Res Publica Americana]

For the price of a Para 1911, you can pay a crackpot to shoot you in the fucking head and make the world a better place! *commercial music*

[Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]

Suicide spam, eh?

[Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]

I have to say spambots are becoming smarter but you've hit a false positive here: all this talk about the awesomeness of anarchy and how evil our parents and the guvmunt are might have lead you to believe this is an emo blog; it isn't, it's a libertarian blog. Sorry about that.

[Res Publica Americana]

What the fuck are you supposed to be? Witty, or something? You a progressive?

[Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]

Fuckin' rich! And no, I'm not a "progressive".

[mediageek]

Para Ordnance makes high-concept guns that would be really cool if they weren't utter mechanical crap.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

I'm not going to waste my time trying to talk sense into anybody.

Pretty sure this attitude is the only thing about your post that will create snarky comments and fuck offs.

[Citizen Nothing]

Refused rapi-scan at CMH airport this AM. Discovered that the TSAr is now using a gentler, back-of-hand feel-up again. My junk hardly got touched. What up with that?
(I said "junk hardly...". Heh heh. Heh heh heh.

[SugarFree]

You don't have to sound so disappointed.

[the real O2]

ISAF forces conduct airstrike against insurgents responsible for downing CH-47
Stars and Stripes Published: August 10, 2011
Coalition forces have killed the Taliban insurgents who recently shot down the helicopter that killed all 30 U.S. troops on board, 25 of whom were special operations forces, according to a military news release.

Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the shot that downed the helicopter were killed in an airstrike on Tuesday in the Chak district of Wardak, the release said.

http://www.stripes.com/news/is.....7-1.151723

[cynical]

What, do they have a dossier on every random Talib or something?

[Zack Metyers]

No doubt its gonna be a crazy news day. WOw.

http://www.real-anonymity.us.tc

[H.T.]

If Rand Paul is looking to throw these scum bags out of office, in all of which should be ran out on a rail. Personally, he should start with Ben Benbernake - the head of the Federal Reserve. His time is to go is overdue.

[NotSure]

It is not the individuals that are the problem it is the institutions that have been set up that are the real problem.

[Bill]

So, Rand wants Obama to hire someone who will do something?

Here comes Super-Stimulus IV.

[Anderson Cooper]

Warren Jeffs' former guard claims that the former cult leader masturbated up to 15 times a day while in jail.

Well, duh! You'd have known that already if you'd watched part 34 of my 60-part special report on polygamy.

[Res Publica Americana]

Anderson, why the hell do you always get a certain "I'm constipated as fuck NNNNNNNNGGGGGGG NNNNNNNNNN RRRRRRRRGGG" look when you're trying to feign outrage while reporting on stuff concerning Republicans?

[the real O2]

because wingnutz cause gas & loose bowls. duh

[Res Publica Americana]

Much like the puerile bullshit dripping from your ears.

[Mr. FIFY]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaG4A0Bm8c4

[the real O2]

and dripping fm ur keyboard eh?

[Mr. FIFY]

Did "wingnutz" cause Barney Frank to fart on live television?

[OO]

i dont care to get into that

[Mr. FIFY]

C'mon, you fuckin' coward.

[Invisible Finger]

more informed fashion to try to recognize that the vast majority of people traveling every day are not terrorists

Um, 99.999999999% is not the definition of "vast majority". It's the definition of "almost nobody".

[Mike Laursen]

You're forgetting all the Tea Partiers that travel by air. They're all terrorists, aren't they?

[Yob]

It seems like none of these rioters are worried that they are being watched on surveillance cameras.

[Brett L]

What are the polis going to do, give them ASBOs and send them on their way?
The Sun has a better way.

[island yob]

Sucks to your Ass Bow.