Reason Morning Links: Rick Perry Makes It Official, Norway Shooter Reconstructs His Attacks, Pakistan Shares U.S. Military Information with China

• Texas Gov. Rick Perry is running for president.

• Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul come out on top at the Ames Straw Poll.

• Suspected Norway shooter Anders Behring Breivik reconstructs his killing spree for the police.

• "Pakistan allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter that US special forces left behind when they killed Osama bin Laden."

• Car bomb explodes next to a convoy containing the governor of the Philippine province Maguindanao.

• Mississippi Supreme Court suspends county judge for "statements in open court encouraging others to engage in vigilante justice."

Comments

[Matt Damon]

A lonely nation turns its eyes to? Matt Damon?

President Matt Damon, a reality?

[Matt Damon]

Aargh! You beat me to it! Curse your keyboard deftness, Matt Damon!

[Matt Damon]

MATT DAMON!

[MATT DAMON]

Imposter!

[Aqua-Rabbit]

He's doing God's work in some of America's toughest neighborhoods.

[Aqua Buddha]

No, God is doing Matt Damon's work in some of America's toughest neighborhoods.

[MATT DAMON!]

My mother is a God. It's a horrible job with shitty pay. She wouldn't be doing it unless she loved it.

[Matt Damon]

That's the kind of intrinsic paternalism that the oligarchy uses to make crappy actors wealthy.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

Old joe reference FTW.

[Amakudari]

Look, maybe you libertardians don't understand this, but Matt Damon is an eloquent extemporaneous speaker and he's really in touch with how normal Americans feel.

[Aqua Buddha]

FARAGO: Was CIA behind Operation Fast and Furious?
...In congressional testimony, William Newell, former ATF special agent in charge of the Phoenix Field Division, testified that the Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were "full partners" in Operation Fast and Furious. Mr. Newell's list left out the most important player: the CIA. According to a CIA insider, the agency had a strong hand in creating, orchestrating and exploiting Operation Fast and Furious.

The CIA's motive is clear enough: The U.S. government is afraid the Los Zetas drug cartel will mount a successful coup d'etat against the government of Felipe Calderon.

Founded by ex-Mexican special forces, the Zetas already control huge swaths of Mexican territory. They have the organization, arms and money needed to take over the entire country.

Former CIA pilot Robert Plumlee and former CIA operative and DEA Director Phil Jordan recently said the brutally efficient Mexican drug cartel has stockpiled thousands of weapons to disrupt and influence Mexico's national elections in 2012. There's a very real chance the Zetas cartel could subvert the political process completely, as it has throughout the regions it controls.

In an effort to prevent a Los Zetas takeover, Uncle Sam has gotten into bed with the rival Sinaloa cartel, which has close ties to the Mexican military. Recent court filings by former Sinaloa cartel member Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, currently in U.S. custody, reveal that the United States allowed the Sinaloas to fly a 747 cargo plane packed with cocaine into American airspace - unmolested.

The CIA made sure the trade wasn't one-way. It persuaded the ATF to create Operation Fast and Furious - a "no strings attached" variation of the agency's previous firearms sting. By design, the ATF operation armed the Mexican government's preferred cartel on the street level near the American border, where the Zetas are most active....

[BakedPenguin]

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel in the War on Drugs. No, really.

[Isaac Bartram]

I'm pretty sure that's the headlight of an oncoming train.

[AlmightyJB]

Nice

[BakedPenguin]

The Zetas agree with you Isaac...

[Brett L]

Great. If the CIA's involved, that means the situation is an even bigger clusterfuck than I thought.

[R C Dean]

The CIA's motive is clear enough: The U.S. government is afraid the Los Zetas drug cartel will mount a successful coup d'etat against the government of Felipe Calderon.

And they wanted to get on their good side by giving them lots of guns?

[Jersey Patriot]

There's no situation so bad that the CIA can't make it worse. Indeed, they have a knack for turning problems around the world into dead Americans. Abolish it now.

[Aqua Buddha]

The liberal commentators are out in force:
Garrett Epps rides again. Hates Electoral College because Gore would have won otherwise.

[Matrix]

I'm sure once a Democrat wins using the electoral college and losing in popular votes, they'll be loving the electoral college, and Republicans will be hating it.

[creech]

Remember Senator elect Hillary Clinton in 2001 promising to push a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college? Wonder what happened to that effort? Probably wandering around with O.J. looking for the "real" killer.

[BakedPenguin]

It was part of the term limits amendment Congress was pushing back then.

[Spnge the Dyslexic]

Just like the proposed Cali law to abide by the national pop vote winner, not state vote winner. yeah that would be a funny, great, historic day when a conservitive wins the pop vote, but cali voted against him overwhelimly. then the Cali reps to the college have to support a canadite its people did not vote for. Yeah... that would work.

[cynical]

That's what I love about progressives -- they really think about the long game, the big picture.

[anarch]

Doesn't anyone at reason have a book to sell?

[Suki]

It is for the cause. Do you have any idea how many Cosmotarians do not even have a top hat in their closet?

[Aqua Buddha]

Shut up Suki, you're dead.

[Suki]

No I'm not. Not even stunned.

[anarch]

Then you must not have read the book. Can I interest you in a copy? It's called...

[Azathoth]

So Suki's a zombie? I find that much more appealing. And all the more reason for restraints.

[Aqua Buddha]

One Thing Became Clear This Week: The Fix Is In
...Moving past the previously uncertain pronouncements that they would "keep interest rates low for an extended period," the Fed now tells us that rates will not budge from rock bottom for at least two years. Although the markets rallied on the news (at least for a few minutes) in reality the policy will inflict untold harm on the U.S. economy. The move was so dangerous and misguided that three members of the Fed's Open Market Committee actually voted against it. This level of dissent within the Fed hasn't been seen for years. ...

...It was bad enough that the Fed held rates far too low, but at least a fig leaf of uncertainty kept the most brazen speculators in partial paralysis. But by specifically telegraphing policy, the Fed has now given cover to the most parasitic elements of the financial sector to undertake transactions that offer no economic benefit to the nation. Specifically, it will simply encourage banks to borrow money at zero percent from the Fed, and then use significant leverage to buy low yielding treasuries at 2 to 4 percent. The result is a banker's dream: guaranteed low risk profit. In other words it will encourage banks to lend to the government, which already borrows too much, and not lend to private borrowers, whose activity could actually benefit the economy....

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Completely foreseeable consequences are not unintentional

[Suki]

+1

[Aqua Buddha]

Shut up Suki, you're dead.

[Dead Suki]

Oh Johnny, we'll have a swell time in purgatory!

[BakedPenguin]

Since Warty is apparently not here.

[sasob]

Interest rates to remain the same for the next two years? Doesn't that mean that the economy isn't expected to change much during that time? In other words a very, very, slow economy and another round of Quantitative Easing (even if it isn't called that this time.)

[Heroic Mulatto]

All the Iowa poll reveals is who the Breadbasket thinks will give them the most agriculture payola.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I think RP probably doesn't fit in that category while Romney would.

[Heroic Mulatto]

That's true; however, I suspect that you're thinking more logically than most of the people who participated in the poll.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Did I read somewhere that Ohio is most demographically representative of the country as a whole?

Also, why are you checking up on what I'm reading?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Also, why are you checking up on what I'm reading?

Because I am from the future. By the way, Oct. 16, 2024, remember that date. Jus' sayin'.

Did I read somewhere that Ohio is most demographically representative of the country as a whole?
As quick check confirms that religiously, Ohio is right on with 75% some sort of Christian, 20% of them Catholic, and 17% religiously unaffiliated. As far as ethnicity, Ohio would have to take about 10% from their "White" population and move it to "Hispanic" to be closer to national average. As for socio-economic class, I'm too lazy to look that up right now.

[Au H20]

Actually, Colorado is increasingly becoming a bellwether state.

[Bee Tagger]

"WHAT WOULD you do if someone spit on you?"

That's a question asked of Philadelphia Parking Authority job applicants - because Parking Enforcement Officers get spit on. They get called filthy names. They get assaulted.

http://www.philly.com/philly/n.....=124488834

It's so hard being a bully these days!

[Abdul]

"The D.A. wants a nonjail Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. "The city wants to charge a fine for punching me in the face and call it settled?" asks a ticked-off Giusini."

So, for punching a meter maid who gave you a ticket, you basically get another ticket?

That may be the most satisfying fine ever paid.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And that's no punch line.

That's the entirety of page 2 in that article. I gave them another page load for that? Is there anything out of Philadelphia that doesn't reek of douchebaggery?

[jimmy hat]

"Can you imagine what Center City would be like if people thought there was no chance whatsoever they would get a ticket?" asks Wojcik, suggesting that cars would be parked everywhere. "You think you'd be able to walk down the sidewalk, even?"

no ROADZ without bureaucrat street trolls!!!!

[sarcasmic]

Dude shoots cop before cop has a chance to shoot his dogs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-dogs.html

[Matrix]

did anything else happen?

[Cheeseburger]

Yes, he was arrested and put in jail. He wasn't given a paid vacation while his peers did a circle jerk and announced that the shooter was following policy.

[dunphy]

troll-o-meter: .01

[Q]

Too generous.
-.007

[Cheeseburger]

Go back to your donuts, dumpy. You know that is what would have happened if the cop had shot the citizen. The double standard is alive and well. This is a very clear cut story. Cop trespasses on citizen's land. Cop threatens citizen and citizen's property. Citizen does the right thing and defends self and property. Now citizen is in trouble.

[dunphy]

i live seattle, brah

no more da kine donuts. it's muffins and lattes.

you keep on keepin' on fighting the capitalist imperialist fascist insect hegemony from yer mama's basement. the MAN (tm) is quakin' in his jackboots!

[Cheeseburger]

I happen to like capitalism. I haven't lived in my mother's house since I was 18. I also don't force others to pay my salary at the point of a guy, unlike yourself. And I am not your brah.

[dunphy]

hey, nobody is forcing you. feel free to stop paying taxes since you don't support where they go (to my pocket beyotch). after all, if i should choose not to enforce all laws i disagree with, you should choose not to financially support the institutions that made all these unjust laws.

do it for the chirrens!

[sarcasmic]

Now citizen is in trouble.

He's lucky he wasn't executed on the spot for killing a cop.

[dunphy]

for loose definition of "luck" iow in your fantasy land

[Ghost of Kelly Thomas]

I feel lucky!

[dunphy]

but do you feel vindicated?

[Cheeseburger]

Correct, now the citizen is living through hell at the hands of the biggest gang there is.

[dunphy]

"citizen". lol

[sarcasmic]

Something that's funny to observe (from a distance) is a cop's pathological need to have the last word. Probably one of the reasons they seek out that job. So they can club anyone who doesn't let them get the last word in. dunph is a cop. Keep responding to him and he will have the last word. Even if it takes him until next Tuesday.

It's pretty funny.

[dunphy]

wow. pot. kettle . black

i just like "laughing at the superior intellect" and the cognitive dissonance enhanced hypocrites like cheeseburger.

btw, i don't carry a club. it's a "tactical baton". it's all tactical and shit

[sarcasmic]

See what I mean?

[dunphy]

see what *i* mean?

lol. pot kettle black

[sarcasmic]

He's grinding his teeth as he fights through his pathological need to reply, but can't because he must prove me wrong.
It must be terrible torture for him.
🙂
Fun day!

[dunphy]

seriously. pot kettle black

if yer not here, because it's fun you take the internet WAY too seriously

hth

[sarcasmic]

*giggle*

[dunphy]

teehee. omg i'm proving sarcasmic's point. look at the big brain on him!

[shorter dunphy]

dammit, sarcasmic, STOP RESISTING!

[dunphy]

hey, i'm just followin' policy

[Crackers Boy]

One down. Five more to go (before the odds are evened).

CB

[PIRS]

"Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul come out on top at the Ames Straw Poll."

And Fox News's morning program "Fox & Friends" continues to act as though Ron Paul does not exist. In commentary this morning they had someone commenting on the fact that Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race because he came in third. The commenters and hosts mentioned other "Top Tier" candidates including some who garnered fewer votes in Iowa than Tim Pawlenty. But they did not mention Ron Paul at all who came in ahead of Tim Pawlenty.

[The Ghost of Oscar Wilde]

The rEVOLution that dare not speak its name ...

[creech]

They just mentioned Rick Santorum "attacked" Ron Paul "We report, you decide" ..yeah, right.

[Citizen Nothing]

Front of today's USA Roday declares: "It's looking like a 3-way race: Bachmann, Perry, Romney."

[PIRS]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the leftists would LOVE Romney to be the Republican nomination because if he defeated Obama and he tried to repeal or modify Obamacare in any way they could use his own support of Romneycare as rhetorical ammunition against this.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

They ought to love it because it will just be more of the same.

[PIRS]

It would be. Romney might be even closer to Obama than McObama was in 2008.

[Tulpa]

Romneycare was a state program.

Go back to federalism school.

[uhhh]

You think that matters to the media and Democrats?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The statist media hates him. Limbaugh despises him. Hannity occasionally talks to him or about him.

[PIRS]

I have not heard him for almost a year because my work schedule changed. I remember at one time he claimed to be somewhat libertarian. He even had libertarian economist Walter E. Williams substitute for him when on vacation sometimes.

I assume his primary beef with Paul is foreign policy, right? What is he saying about him?

[PIRS]

Limbaugh I mean.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Limbaugh despises his foreign policy. He'll barely even talk about him except when pressed. Refers to him as the nut and his following of nutjobs.

[PIRS]

I wonder, if Paul gets the nomination will he endorse Obama? Or run as an independent?

Remember "Operation Chaos"? During the Democratic primaries in 2008 after it was asured that McObama got the Republican nomination he encouraged his listeners to register as Democrats and vote for Hillary Clinton to lengthen the Democratic nomination process. His theory was that McObama would be unwilling to attack Obama but Clinton would be.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Hannity gives more time to Rand than Ron. However, the general opposition to Paul from the AM talk radio circuit stems from his declared intent to scale back the military and foreign adventurism.

[sarcasmic]

And most of the AM talk radio folks fully support the war on drug users.

[PIRS]

True, even a couple of whom were once drug users themselves. There are some exceptions. Boortz I think is at least skeptical of the WOD and the hosts of Free Talk Live all oppose it outright.

[sarcasmic]

Boortz totally supports ending the war on drug users. I haven't heard of FTL.

[PIRS]

Sarcasmic, FTL is an interesting show. They are unapologetically libertarian.

http://www.freetalklive.com/

[PIRS]

I am glad to hear Boortz opposes the WOD.

[PIRS]

Hmm, sounds like Hannity might be becoming more open minded than he once was. A couple of years ago I would not have expected Hannity to give time to either of them. He was more of an establishment Republican type.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I've been surprised by his willingness to talk to the Paul's on air. He's not quite as much of a neoconservative asshole as I thought.

[PIRS]

He may be aware the mood of the country is changing and is more willing to at least acknowledge that than some other talk show hosts.

[Old Mexican]

Re: PIRS,

And Fox News's morning program "Fox & Friends" continues to act as though Ron Paul does not exist.

And Chris Wallace et al. It's the same story over again. In America's Newsroom this morning, they treated Herman Cain as if he had shared second place or something.

And the rest of the networks? Fugged about it!

[Aqua Buddha]

Gunwalker: U.S. Attorney Won't Grant Victim Status to Murdered Agent's Family
The family of the most prominent U.S. murder victim of Operation Fast and Furious is being victimized again ? this time by the very DOJ officials that could one day face felony charges connected to the gun smuggling operation:

In a surprise move in a controversial case, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona is opposing a routine motion by the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry to qualify as crime victims in the eyes of the court.

The family asked to intervene as victims in the case against Jamie Avila, the 23-year-old Phoenix man who purchased the guns allegedly used to kill Terry. Such motions are routinely approved by prosecutors, but may be opposed by defense attorneys.

However in this case, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke argues because the family was not "directly or proximately harmed" by the illegal purchase of the murder weapon, it does not meet the definition of "crime victim" in the Avila case. Burke claims the victim of the Avila's gun purchases, "is not any particular person, but society in general."...

[Bee Tagger]

He allegedly said in open court in 2008 that his relative's case should have been handled "down on the farm" instead of in the justice system.

I don't see what sex with animals will help.

[Aqua Buddha]

Your Spiked Online links:

London's burning: a mob made by the welfare state

Climate-change alarmism: you couldn't make it up

[Slap the Enlightened!]

The Enlightened? are not going to like this!

A landmark article went online a few days ago in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The study was prepared by a team of 32 researchers headed by the University of Edinburgh's Gail Davies and entitled "Genome-wide association studies establish that human intelligence is highly heritable and polygenic." The study's methods do not lend themselves to easy explanation unless you're at home with SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and inverse variance weighted models used to capture "the variance in the trait that is due to linkage disequilibrium between genotyped SNPs and unknown causal variants." But the bottom line of the article is reasonably simple. Using nothing but genetic information, the team of researchers was able to establish that the narrow heritability of crystallized intelligence (the kind that can be more easily affected by education) is at least 40 percent. The narrow heritability of fluid intelligence (the kind that involves pure problem-solving ability, independently of acquired knowledge) is at least 51 percent. Note the at least. The study's authors explicitly state that these estimates are lower bounds.

Shelves of books and articles denying or minimizing the heritability of IQ have suddenly become obsolete. Those who continue to claim that IQ tests don't measure anything real inside the brain also have their work cut out for them.

I can hear the spin cycle starting already!

[Janeane Garofalo]

That's racism, straight up.

Exactly. I'll wager not one of Davies' team is Black.

[Matrix]

I dunno. They're perfectly content with giving some minority groups extras because they are "disadvantaged".

[Heroic Mulatto]

When I return to work from vacation, I'll have to stop by the library and read that article, assuming it carries that journal.

However, I must admit that I am a skeptic of the existence of a single g-factor, which this study assumes. The fact that intelligence is heritable doesn't surprise me.

Unfortunately, as this article is picked up by news outlets and scaled-down for the layman, the concept of heritability will be misunderstood. heritability refers to phenotypes, that is a genotype plus environmental effects. For example, height is heritable; however, if you take the child of two six-foot plus parents and feed the child only thin gruel for his/her entire childhood, do you think the child will grow up to be tall? Of course not.

As such, I maintain that culture (i.e. environment) is just as important to the development of intelligence as genetics.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Don't bother, Slappy's just looking for proof that the white yobs that are burning London are racially superior to the black and Asian businesmen whose stores they're looting.

[dunphy]

iow, both matter. duh. the point is that tabula rasa leftists have long claimed that genetics DOESN'T matter, that it's ALL about environment. which is stupid

[Kreel Sarloo]

Yes, but Slappy wants to use this to prove that the limey yobs rioting in London are racially superior to Thomas Sowell or Walter Williams.

[dunphy]

proving that the fact that leftist tabula rasa peeps are morons doesn't take away from the fact that slappy is too

PLENTY o' room in that big tent

[Night Elf Mohawk]

As such, I maintain that culture (i.e. environment) is just as important to the development of intelligence as genetics.

It seems to me that culture can make a genetically gifted individual stupid but it can't make a genetically flawed individual brilliant. Both are important but if they were "just as important" it seems like they'd be a little more interchangeable.

No amount of good environment whatsoever was going to make me 6'9" or able to skate through college and law school while perpetually buzzed and absent if it weren't in my genes. However, given that these potentials were there, even a fairly modest environment would likely have been sufficient achieve those ends. As such, I maintain that genetics is the more important factor.

[SugarFree]

I can easily believe that your parents were morons, Slappy.

[capitol (trip) derpington III]

Watch it, man, or slappy will link to that squirrel clip on youtube. You'd be really sorry then.

[Narrator]

The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources
where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections.

[Cheeseburger]

If it lasts more than four hours, go to the hospital!

[Gibby]

Oh nurse...

[dunphy]

the same left that claims without question that sexual preference MUST be 100% GENETICALLY DETERMINED consistently ignores the mounting metric assloads (heh) of evidence that IQ has a large genetic component

the idea that the left is any better at SCIENCE(tm) than the right is laughable. either side will ignore it with impunity when it conflicts with ideology

[Tulpa]

That means as much as TicTacToe performance being genetic, since IQ is not a reliable measure of intelligence.

TBH we have no agreed-upon precise definition of what intelligence is anyway, hence the focus on IQ because it condenses the very confusing and complex nature of intelligence down to a number.

Sort of like BMI being used to determine how healthy a person is, despite its intended application being a measure of population health rather than individual health.

[Bee Tagger]

Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter

Oh no, the last thing we want to feel is indebted to China.

[People?s Republic of China]

We are just getting a return on our investment.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Apparently the article is top-secret as well because when I go the link I am assaulted by a demand to register at ft.com. The truth will not be hidden from the public behind free registration!

[BakedPenguin]

Hey! FoE is right!

[Tulpa]

Obama: keeping us safe once again by leaving cutting-edge helicopters behind in hostile territory.

[NotSure]

The Chinese clearly like America waging war all over the world. First they got the stealth bomber shot down in Serbia, now they got the secrets to the stealth helicopter shot down in Afghanistan.

Just like they recently released their stealth fighter, they will in a few years release their own stealth copter.

[The Chinese]

You so naive. We just hack your computer!

[Matrix]

or just buy our secrets from certain presidents.

[Fake Buddhist Monks]

We can help you with that!

[Charlie Trie]

So can I!

[Al Gore]

But...but...but.......

[cynical]

Joke's on them. All our stealth fighters are grounded. We're just forcing them to waste money on expensive, useless military hardware.

[Fist of Etiquette]

8:00 AM Morning Links now? I am fed up with the Reason crew putting up links early just so they can get to their Washington D.C. cocktail parties on time while the rest of us are driving our unlicensed cars to our free trade coffee shops on the way to our privately-owned heartland businesses and can't comment. Also, Root?

[Lord Humungus]

Bomb squad called to John Boehner's office
http://news.cincinnati.com/art.....dyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

[Lord Humungus]

but only papers found inside.

[hmm]

Lets pray there's no premature explosion in Boehner's office.

[PantsFan]

Warren Buffett: Stop Coddling the Super Rich
http://www.reuters.com/article.....3V20110815

[Bee Tagger]

"That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income - and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent,"

Tax revenues and funding government aside, it blows my mind that someone would see that supposed tax discrepancy and conclude one group should pay more instead of the other group paying less. Then again, I often wish we all were blind instead of wishing my blind grandmother could see again, so who am I to talk?

[Matrix]

People should spam his inbox with:

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782

[R C Dean]

But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income - and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office.

And he knows that how?

[Maxxx]

that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent,"

Why doesn't anyone challenge this obvious bullshit. Those may be their top marginal rates, but there's no way in hell that those percentages represent what they actually paid.

[anomdebus]

Those percentages could be combined Federal, state, local and medicare.

[H man]

If you want to tax the rich, get rid of the corporate income tax which is paid by the consumers and employees and treat dividends and capital gains,which is how the rich get their money out of corporations, as normal income.

[Lord Humungus]

US apologises for diplomat's 'dirty' Indians comment'
http://news.yahoo.com/us-apolo.....51304.html

[Bee Tagger]

who spoke of "dark and dirty" Indians

told Indian students on Friday that her "skin became dirty and dark like the Tamilians"

Dear AFP, if you're going to distort what the person said, don't include more context for the quote in the next paragraph.

[isaac Bartram]

It was still a grammatically clumsy statement. It is not at all surprising that some people took offense.

[BakedPenguin]

Well, calling anyone "dirty" is going to sound like an insult. That's why Biden made sure to mention he thought Obama was clean.

[Isaac Bartram]

Not to mention, articulate and bright and nice-looking.

I don't think she actually meant the "dirty" to apply to the Tamilians, just the "dark".

Like I said, it was a grammatically clumsy statement that was asking to be misinterpretted.

[BakedPenguin]

There's a woman for the Slapster.

[Lord Humungus]

Meanwhile, in that paradise called China
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0.....abdc0.html

"Chinese authorities ordered a petrochemical factory to close on Sunday after more than 12,000 demonstrators confronted riot police, demanding the plant's relocation over health fears."

[Brett L]

NIMBYism comes to China. Or else someone from the town visited Pasadena, TX and saw their future.

[T]

Nothing wrong with Pasadena, Brett. Aside from the still prevalent racism, I mean.

[Brett L]

Did you lose your sense of smell in a horrible accident? Because if so, I will feel bad about how hard I laughed.

[sasob]

If you think it smells bad now, you should have sniffed it fifty years ago when I was a kid.

[Crackers Boy]

Fuck Pakistan. Or better yet, cut them off.

CB

[Aqua-Rabbit]

Christians [CHRIST-FAGS] are plotting to take over America and make us marry women ... or something. It's kind of confused. Just make sure embrace a good mixture of fear and religious bigotry.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....me_oneline

[Heroic Mulatto]

Michelle Goldberg confuses me. In one picture she'll look really Bo-ho, I'm studying film at NYU hot and in another she'll look like my mom.

Is she a shape-shifting lizard person or is my subconscious just being oedipal again?

[John]

The first one is an older picture. She is one of those Jewish girls who was kinda hot in her 20s but hit 30 and turned into someone's mom.

Her stupidity is a constant though. She occasionally does a bloggingheads with Ann Althouse. The stupid is just overwhelming with her.

[BakedPenguin]

To pile on to what John said, a little Photoshop can go a long way. Also, even before you get there, good lighting, etc. can make a huge difference.

[Mongo]

Lighting is everything.

Those bogus look-how-beautiful-models-are-sans-makeup pics that you run across every so often are professionally lit & photographed.

[John]

Look to see more of this kind of stuff than usual. Obama has nothing to run one except not being "the other".

[John]

Look to see more of this kind of stuff than usual. Obama has nothing to run one except not being "the other".

[Aqua-Rabbit]

With the Romney-related "Mormons are wierd" and the Perry and Bachman are christian supremists, it really looks like the (D)s are going to run Obama's re-election campaign based on religious bigotry. Hey, it worked for Nixon in '60.

[Mr. FIFY]

Imagine if - somehow - a Republican Muslim got into the presidential sweepstakes... Team Blue would have to find some way to attack HIS religion, and yet make it look like anything but an attack.

[mad libertarian guy]

Should I look twice?

[Fluffy]

When people openly say they're in a conspiracy to impose Biblical law on the US, it's perfectly fair to take them at their word.

If we take Islamist rhetoric seriously, why not Dominionist?

[John]

So are you saying the people who say such things about Islamic law have a legitimate concern? If so that is certainly a departure from what you have said in the past. And if not, then you would have to agree that both theories are the product of paranoia right?

[Fluffy]

No.

I am saying that if Mr. X says he wants Islamic law, you are entitled to repeat later the true statement, "Mr. X wants Islamic law."

There is currently no scenario or set of circumstances that could actually lead to the successful imposition of Islamic law on the US, so Mr. X in our example would just be a chump, like any number of gutter neo-Nazis or academic Marxists (or maybe us, too), dreaming of the imposition of their beliefs but not really being much of a threat to anyone at all on the macro level.

The people who founded institutions like Liberty University and Oral Roberts University and who created the other "shadow cultural institutions" say up front that their goal is to de-secularize the United States. That means we are entitled to point at those people and their soldiery and say, "Hey! Look! It's people trying to de-secularize the United States!"

I don't think that particular goal is attainable, either, but it's a lot closer to attainable than the imposition of Islamic law is.

[John]

"shadow cultural institutions"

What a fucking horseshit phrase that is. Last I looked starting a college was exercising your freedom. Shadow to what? Is it your position that the only legitimate cultural institutions are secular and everything else is "shadow" what ever the fuck that is?

Most institutions were religious in nature for the majority of the history of the US. They didn't go secular until leftists took them over in the last 70 years. Places like Harvard and Yale were explicitly religious places with religious missions for most of their history. I don't see how people starting new colleges to replace the ones that had been secularized is some kind of conspiracy akin to wanting to enforce shria law or something justifying such a pejorative term as "shadow institutions.

You really do have a problem with freedom and freedom of association when it comes to religion don't you?

[MNG]

"You really do have a problem with freedom and freedom of association when it comes to religion don't you?"

No, it's the people fluffy has a problem with that have a problem with that. The institutions he speaks of talk about instituting Biblical law, prayer in schools and other policies that are not pro-freedom.

[Fluffy]

Well, let's look at something more innocuous. Like Christian Rock, for example.

When you sit down and say, "Let's come up with an entire music industry that will exist parallel to the current one, aping its forms and appropriating its language, but ours will be devoted to spreading the message of Jesus" that's a shadow institution, John.

It doesn't matter if you think it's a pejorative term. That's what it is.

If parallel institutions arise organically, maybe it would be a pejorative to use that term. But when people document themselves as they sit down to deliberately plan a parallel set of institutions dedicated to a particular goal, that's a "shadow institution".

[John]

There is nothing parallel about Christian Rock. It is just a music industry. Are record companies that sell Reggie or African music and other niche genres a "parallel music industry"? Only if you want to make stupid and meaningless distinctions they are.

[Fluffy]

It's not the same.

The motivations aren't the same.

When people sit down and say, "That evil rock music is polluting our young. But you know what we could do that would be brilliant? We could take basic pop music and change the lyrics so that they extol Christ! That way, we could get our kids to stop listening to that evil devil music, and they'd open their hearts to Jesus instead!"

That's worlds, worlds apart from saying, "Gee, people buy lots of records, maybe they'll buy reggae music records if we make some."

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

Fluffy, we agree on a lot of things. And I appreciate you having my back the other day.

That said, I think you're stretching this one a little bit. There's a simpler explanation: "The kids just don't seem to be digging the 200 year old hymns for some reason. What if we update the content a little bit? (Gospel, X-tian Rock, X-tian Metal, et al) More of them might listen to music with the message we are shooting for."

That doesn't seem particularly sinister to me.

[SFC B]

How is a genre of music a shadow organization? This metaphor seems to be full of fail.

[Barry Soetero]

There is currently no scenario or set of circumstances that could actually lead to the successful imposition of Islamic law on the US

Stop complaining, I'm working on it.

[Audrey the Liberal]

John translated: Because Jee-zus!

[WTF]

If we take Islamist rhetoric seriously, why not Dominionist?

Because 'Dominionists' don't blow shit up and murder people in the name of their religion?

[Fluffy]

So what?

If Communists were winning elections in the US, and doing so perfectly legitimately, I would still say, "Oh, snap, looks like we better start getting ready to fight these motherfuckers!"

The fact that they weren't blowing shit up wouldn't really make any difference to me.

When you're a member of an open conspiracy to impose Biblical law on the US, you don't get to whine and complain and call it "bigotry" when someone writes an internet article claiming that's what you are.

[Barack Obama]

If Communists were winning elections in the US[...]

What do you mean "if"?

[Gibby]

^^THIS^^

And while I have no intention of voting for Rick Perry, I really liked his use of the phrase "central planners in Washington" during his announcement. The people in DC are not Liberals and they are not preogressives. They are Central Planners and should be referred to as such from here on out.

[John]

There isn't an open conspiracy that I can see outside of yours and people like Goldberg's head. I can't call you a bigot. But I can call you a paranoid nut. And further, when wanting your own institutions becomes "an open conspiracy" and other such pejorative phrases that you would never use in other contexts, the person using such phrases is just a hate filled kook or a bigot or whatever you want to call them.

[Mongo]

It's akin to voting for a new public-monied football stadium because you like the NFL but are opposed to a MLB stadium because you don't like baseball and its economics.

[MNG]

"wanting your own institutions"

This is not what these institutions claim to be about, they are pretty explicit about establishing their institutions in order to effect change in their world and society. And the type of change they want to effect is one that does not seem to respect religious liberty but rather to impose their religious views on the society.

It's not like Falwell, Oral Roberts and Pat Roberts for example hid these views John.

[MNG]

From the mission statement of Regent U:

"The combination of committed leaders and diligent students at Regent has produced alumni who occupy strategic positions in a multitude of venues worldwide. As we continue to nurture a vibrant academic community fully engaged in excellence, integrity and innovation in every sphere, Regent stands ready to equip a new generation of Christian leaders to change the world."

For gluttons for punishment read Pat Robert's book The Secret Kingdom, he's quite explicit about what he wants.

[Fluffy]

Here's the mission statement of the Liberty University School of Law:

Liberty University School of Law is founded upon the premise that there is an integral relationship between faith and reason, and that both have their origin in the Triune God. Thus, from this perspective, legal education that purports to prepare individuals to pursue justice should skillfully integrate faith and reason as a means to the formation of law and a just society.

Such a legal philosophy was once the dominant one in America. The vision of Liberty University School of Law is to see that point of view renewed.

The proficient use of reason informed and animated by faith and a comprehensive Christian worldview is the means to revitalizing what is central to the American legal system?the rule of law.

The vision of the School of Law is to see again all meaningful dialogue over law include the role of faith and the perspective of a Christian worldview as the framework most conducive to the pursuit of truth and justice.

http://www.liberty.edu/academi.....m?PID=3813

[MNG]

Just imagine the Fox News shitstorm if some wealthy muslim started a large university in the US with the following mission:

"founded upon the premise that there is an integral relationship between faith and reason, and that both have their origin in the glory of Allah and his prophet Mohammed. The vision of Submission University School of Law is to see that point of view established in this nation".

[John]

They want to teach a particular world view? So what? If that is a conspiracy to implement bible law on the world, whatever that is, then every religious institution in the world is part of such a conspiracy and indeed any institution that seeks to promote any world view is a conspiracy to implement (insert belief here) law.

It is a free country. they have a right to train people in their world view without being accused of engaging in a conspiracy to take over the world. What you are saying is just chickenshit authoritarianism. "I won't say they can't do it, but I will imply that what they are doing is really really bad and leave it to you to decide".

[MNG]

They don't want to just "teach a particular worldview" they want to impose it on the world.

"Such a legal philosophy was once the dominant one in America. The vision of Liberty University School of Law is to see that point of view renewed."

"Regent stands ready to equip a new generation of Christian leaders to change the world."

[MNG]

From Patrick Henry College's page:

"The Vision of Patrick Henry College is to aid in the transformation of American society by training Christian students to serve God and mankind with a passion for righteousness, justice and mercy, through careers of public service and cultural influence."

[Rev. Blue Moon]

Observe how the wild John lashes out when cornered...his blind and frenzied attacks on strawmen cause his enemies to retreat; not because they cannot win, mind, but because the effort is not worth it.

[John]

No Blue Moon. If anyone is lashing out it is Fluffy, who is convinced there is a Christian plot to take over the world. It just proves the point once again that libertarian atheists are incapable of thinking rationally about religion.

[Fluffy]

As usual, John now wants to talk about something different without first admitting that he was completely wrong in the first thing he said.

Here's a quick summary of this subthread:

AquaRabbit said: "Look at this article! It's fear and religious bigotry!" The link is to an article claiming that Christian Dominionists want to impose Biblical law on the US.

I post to say, paraphrased, "Well, the claim in that article is true."

John goes crazy, "Wah wah wah you're full of shit nobody is doing that." (Paraphrased.)

Now that he can't claim that any more, he wants to now argue that there's nothing wrong with Dominionists wanting to take over the US, because after all everyone wants to take over the US.

What I could do here is say, "Well, sure. But I don't want to live in Zion, so I'm going to make sure to mention it when some crazy surrendered wife wants to be President." But I'm not going to say that. What I'm going to say is:

First fucking say you were wrong and then I'll talk about this subordinate point with you. Otherwise just climb up on your moveable goalposts.

[MNG]

"As usual, John now wants to talk about something different without first admitting that he was completely wrong in the first thing he said."

It's what he does, you have to respect that.

[MNG]

I would say I don't think you have John's dodge down. I read it as "noone wants to do that" and when that has been refuted the switch was to "well, they have the right to teach a particular worldview!"

Of course noone was saying they don't have a right to do this, hell, they have a right to try to capture this nation's institutions and try implement their vision.

But don't get all backed up when people call them on what they are doing and oppose it.

[John]

No MNG. You are too stupid and pigheaded to understand the argument. RC understood exactly what I meant and makes the proper distinction below. So do everyone a favor and get off the thread. You don't understand the conversation and you just clutter it up.

[John]

No Fluffy. What I am saying is that you are taking the definition of "Dominationist" to such a broad level, that pretty much anyone with a world view counts as such. And that is bullshit. The texts you give say nothing other than, "we want to train people who integrate faith into X". So what? That is hardly some conspiracy.

And STFU MNG. No one was talking to you. And you add nothing to the conversation other than insults.

[R C Dean]

Just to chime in, here.

I think there is, or at least can be, a distinction between "integrating faith and reason as a means to the formation of law and a just society" on the one hand, and an explicitly theological legal code on the other.

[John]

Exactly. And the mission statements given are an example of the first. But, in Fluffy's view, anyone holding a religious view and letting that influence their political thinking is some kind of threat to the world order.

[Fluffy]

If you examine the history of these institutions (particularly the law schools), their founders sat down and said, "We need to train people to go out and have careers and then move into things like judgeships and political office, so they can then use those positions to make Jesus lord of the US." They made no bones about it.

They knew it might take decades, but they were willing to invest the time.

The historical example of the Jesuits was out there, so they copied it.

Considering the way John takes a shit in his pants whenever he thinks anyone ever even stood in a room with a copy of one of Alinsky's books, you'd figure he'd be sensitive to the concept of deliberate academic recruitment, indoctrination, and post-graduate follow-through in pursuit of a unified political goal.

Of course noone was saying they don't have a right to do this, hell, they have a right to try to capture this nation's institutions and try implement their vision.

Apparently, to John, I'm violating their right to free association by pointing out that they're associating and naming the object of their association.

Because that's just not fair.

[John]

No, you are completely misreading the object of their association fluffy. And you are doing it in a way you would never do with anyone else. Oh My God, people want to train Christians to be judges. They must want to implement a theocracy. No, they just want to offer a legal education from their perspective as an alternative to what goes on in every other law school. Big fucking deal. If they started an Islamist law school and someone said "the Muslims are trying to take over the country", you would laugh them out of the door Fluffy. But when the subject turns to Christianity, your rationality and perspective goes out the window.

[Fluffy]

No, you are completely misreading the object of their association fluffy.

No, I am repeating what they openly say they want to do and taking it literally.

No, they just want to offer a legal education from their perspective as an alternative to what goes on in every other law school.

That's not what they specifically and deliberately SAY they want to do.

They make quite expansive statements about their hopes and goals.

You're essentially demanding that I ignore their statements, because "everyone knows that's not really serious" or sentiments to that effect.

Nope. Too bad. I get to rely on their explicit statements.

[Fluffy]

I think there is, or at least can be, a distinction between "integrating faith and reason as a means to the formation of law and a just society" on the one hand, and an explicitly theological legal code on the other.

So are you claiming that if we had a political and legal system that was everything the founders of these institutions wanted without exception or opposition, we wouldn't have a dramatically different country?

[R C Dean]

I have no idea what the founders of those institutions may have said.

The quoted mission statement, although it may be so much maskirovka, is easily distinguished from sharia, though.

[Isaac Bartram]

I think there is, or at least can be, a distinction between "integrating faith and reason as a means to the formation of law and a just society"...

Actually, that's pretty much what members of the more liberal churches say when they enter politics advocating for the welfare state and other "progressive" causes.

Not to mention that a similar sentiment was the foundation of Dubya's "compassionate conservatism".

While I tend to agree with those who are disquieted by the millenialism common among the GOP candidates, none of them is anywhere near as extreme as Rushdoony. I'm pretty sure any candidate who actually came out with his platform would be soundly rejected. Frankly, there aren't that many people who've heard of him in the first place.

[Fluffy]

By the way, the entire concept that such a thing as "religious bigotry" can exist is moronic.

Other than the single exception of anti-semitism, which usually has an ethnic or racial component.

It's like saying you can be "bigoted" against Communists.

[MiNGe]

JOOS!

[sarcasmic]

By the way, the entire concept that such a thing as "religious bigotry" can exist is moronic.

Many dead Irishmen would disagree.

[Fluffnuts]

They don't count because they are christfags.

[Fluffy]

I don't dispute for a moment that internecine religious hatred can exist.

Bigotry is not a pure synonym for hatred.

As far as I'm concerned (and I'm going to ignore any bowdlerized inane web dictionary links you give me, so don't bother) "bigotry" is when you are biased against someone's intelligence or character based on a characteristic that has nothing to do with intelligence or character.

"Black people are stupid" or "Hispanics are lazy" would be examples of bigoted statements.

Since one's religion is one's thoughts, you can't claim that they aren't reflective of at least some component of your intelligence or character.

Demanding exemption from judgment for being a Christian (or an atheist, for that matter) is like demanding exemption from judgment for being a Communist.

We got used to the idea that religious "bigotry" could exist because of the overlap between religion and ethnicity. "I hate those damn Papists!" was often just a different way of saying, "I don't like those Irish or Italian people who are immigrating here!" And so we got used to talking about religious "bigotry". But it's really a ludicrous concept on its own out of that context.

[sarcasmic]

What about "Adults with invisible friends are in serious need of the services of a mental health professional"?

Would that be an example of a bigoted statement?

[MNG]

"Since one's religion is one's thoughts, you can't claim that they aren't reflective of at least some component of your intelligence or character."

+1

I always chuckle when that Donohue guy screams about "anti-Catholic bigotry." Me finding your ideas about the nature of reality silly is not bigotry..

[Rev. Blue Moon]

"Since one's religion is one's thoughts, you can't claim that they aren't reflective of at least some component of your intelligence or character."

Yes and no. If you really believe that one's religious beliefs are one's thoughts, then you do not encounter a lot of self-professed Christians on a daily basis.

Religion to most Americans is a cultural institution, rather than one of pure faith/thought. I would not assume that the hot chick talking to me at the bar would not be up for the down and dirty just because there is a cross hanging betwixt her teats.

[Mike M.]

Obama poll numbers finally sink into the 30s.

I guess even a modern day jug-eared Jesus can only withstand so much horrible news after all. The real wonder is that it took so long.

[John]

HE had the media running interference for him. IT took two years of a depression before someone finally noticed that him and Michelle love taking really expensive vacations on the tax payer dime and that perhaps in a time of double digit unemployment that is in poor taste.

[Gibby]

What pisses me off are all of the fucking Whitehouse concerts. Those must cost a fortune.

[Mongo]

Ha! -- nice....

[Lord Humungus]

Messiahs take longer to fall but have a harder time getting back to the heights they once inhabited.

[Brett L]

"Here lies a toppled god
His fall was not a small one
We did but build his pedestal
A narrow and a tall one."
-Tleilaxu Axiom
(Frank Herbert)

What the Bene Tleilax did on purpose, the Left has done by accident, but the results may be the same.

[Mr Whipple]

PROOF that Pauly Krugnuts is out of his fucking mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....ture=share

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The Broken Planets Fallacy brought to you by Krugabe.

[Amakudari]

Every once in a while there's a YouTube put-down that does make me laugh:

This guy is a fucking psychopath, why? do people listen to him again? Hell, why was he even born?

[SugarFree]

why was he even born?

Market failure.

[db]

Imperfect information. Like, a missing chromosome.

[BakedPenguin]

Or one too many...

[Maxxx]

Shorter Krugnuts

"War is prosperity.

You build wealth by wasting money and destroying capital."

[Auric Goldfinger]

No, but you increase the value of your own holdings, if you destroy that of others.

[auric goldfinger]

You build wealth by wasting money and destroying capital.

No, but you can increase the value of your own holdings by destroying that of others.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Google is buying Motorola's handset division.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035.....topStories

[Tricky Dicky]

Today Is The 40th Anniversary Of Nixon Ending Gold Standard And Creating Modern Fiat Monetary System

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Nixon - Oh where would we be if it weren't for him?

[Old Mexican]

May he be nagged to eternity by his fundamentalist mom... in Hell.

[Gibby]

Hey The Truth. Go suck a dick:

Mass protest forces Chinese factory to close.

Chinese authorities ordered a petrochemical factory to close on Sunday after more than 12,000 demonstrators confronted riot police, demanding the plant's relocation over health fears.

Public anger in the north-east Chinese city has erupted after the Fujia Chemical Plant, which produces the toxic chemical paraxylene, or PX, came close to being inundated with sea water during a tropical storm last week.

Hours after the protest began, the Dalian government issued a statement, saying it had ordered the chemical plant to close immediately and pledging to relocate it because of public fears that it was prone to toxic leaks.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/92a7.....abdc0.html

[Jooooos!]

Neo-Nazis ready to 'step on gas'

Germany's Far-Right National Democratic Party accused of creating deliberate reference to Holocaust in Berlin election poster

BERLIN ? Just a month before the Berlin state elections, the German capital has been flooded with posters issued by the far-Right National Democratic Party (NPD) with the shocking slogan: "Step on gas."

The election ad shows party leader Udo Voigt sitting on a motorcycle, wearing a black leather jacket (a popular piece of clothing among Neo-Nazis due to its resemblance of SS uniform), with the words "Gas geben!" ? literally translated as "give gas".

http://www.ynetnews.com/articl.....52,00.html

[R C Gillespie]

a black leather jacket (a popular piece of clothing among Neo-Nazis due to its resemblance of SS uniform)

Imitation, flattery, etc.

[Aqua Buddha]

a black leather jacket (a popular piece of clothing among Neo-Nazis due to its resemblance of SS uniform)

You sir have just slandered The Jacket.

[Mongo]

Woman spends 12 days in jail for heroin false-positive in old motor oil can -- it turned out to be old motor oil.

http://www.startribune.com/local/127660733.html

[PantsFan]

and nothing else happened

[T]

I read that somewhere else, probably off Balko's twitter feed. WTF kind of crappy test returns a heroin positive for motor oil?

[Mongo]

Living near the Canadian border, I'm half-serious when I say that that US border & customs punish people for having the nerve to visit Canada.

[Isaac Bartram]

RTFA.

She was arrested by the Mounties and held in a Winnipeg jail.

She was going to Canada when she was arrested.

[Mongo]

Yeah -- but you have to return to the US.

I'm very familiar with those Border clowns.

[Isaac Bartram]

From the liked article:

Goodin was actually arrested twice: first by the Border Service, which performed the field test, and then by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which took over her case from the Border Service.

The Border Service won't explain how they made the mistake. But Sgt. Line Karpish of the RCMP said her agency used "reasonable grounds" based on information it got from the Canadian Border Service. She noted that drugs are smuggled into Canada by all types of people. "We find it in diapers, we find it on old ladies, young ladies, beautiful ladies," Karpish says. "You can't let 'grandma' cloud your judgment about the police force. That's why terrorists use kids."

There seem to be people laboring under the misapprehension that Canada is not fighting the War on Drugs. This story should show that they are.

While it's true that sentences for drug offenders are lighter in Canada, so are sentences for all other offenses.

And the tolerance for MJ use is considerably lower in the country at large than it is within the city limits of the three biggest cities. It is also lower within the ranks of all law enforcement departments, although, admittedly they don't shoot as many dogs.

[dunphy]

canada does generally impose less stiff sentences as you say. i've worked and trained with RCMP who gave me a general idea of their sentencing matrix.

otoh, canada is far far more restrictive in regards to food supplements etc. since they don't have DSHEA or its functional equivalent. heck, AMINO ACIDS are routinely seized by customs canada.

[Isaac Bartram]

And yet, I can buy painkillers containing codeine (though due to an allergy I wouldn't) and antibiotic eardrops that are only available by prescription in the US over the counter in Ontario.

And almost all Canadian provinces have liquor laws about on a par with Utah's. < /hyperbole > [but not by much] 🙂

[dunphy]

correct. iow, it's DIFFERENT. in some ways, it's less restrictive, in other ways it's more restrictive.

that was kind of my point.

wanna buy aminos, or any # of dietary supplements? a lot of that stuff is banned or not for sale in canada, but available in the US.

otoh, codeine is OTC (in preps with other things).

codeine is a prodrug btw, so it is somewhat limited in terms of enzymatic pathways etc. as compared to non prodrug opioids.

[Pip]

"canada does generally impose less stiff sentences as you say. i've worked and trained with RCMP who gave me a general idea of their sentencing matrix."

And then I went home to my wife...Morgan Fairchild.

[dunphy]

righ t. i mean RCMP's attend classes in the PAC NW all the time, god forbid any would show up south of the border for training ... in their "girly red uniforms and try to tell me how do my job"

[mad libertarian guy]

I've smoked pot in plain view of the fuzz in Vancouver AND Montreal. Once at a marijuana rally immediate after Marc Emery's arrest where hundreds of people were openly smoking pot in a public park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Can you imagine what would happen if hundreds of people gathered together and openly smoked pot in plain view in a public park is a city like Chicago? Or New York?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/c.....050534742/

[dunphy]

i can tell you what happens in seattle, for example at hempfest.

nothing.

here's a hint, btw. vancouver and montreal, iow large cosmopolitan liberal cities are not the same as CANADA in general.

iow, stuff varies geographically WITHIN canada as well. as any cursory look at voting patterns would confirm

heck, parts of alberta make idaho look like a liberal strong

[B.P.]

You mean like they do in Denver every 4/20?

http://www.thedenverchannel.co.....etail.html

[dunphy]

stoners are often excellent at unwitting self-parody

"Outside, most of the political messages coming from speakers on a stage were lost on the crowd. Instead, people toked up, played Frisbee, joined drum circles and shopped for glass pipes.

Protest-goers said they supported legalizing marijuana even for recreation use. But many seemed uninterested in calling a lawmaker to talk about it.

"It should be legal for recreational use. It should be sold like cigarettes -- weighed, taxed and kept away from minors," said Brandi Dunn, a 41-year-old Denver resident attending her third 4/20 rally. Asked whether she'd ever gotten involved with political activity to promote that idea, Dunn grinned. "Um, no," she said. "I don't see the point.""

[Isaac Bartram]

Ask the RCMP. They probably sent it to the same lab that said Saccharin causes cancer.

[Johnny Tammos]

Looks like its gonna be a very interesting news day.

http://www.real-privacy.au.tc

[Bee Tagger]

Are you threatening us?

[P Brooks]

Dear Grandpa Buffett-

Please note:

How do you make a contribution to reduce the debt?

There are two ways for you to make a contribution to reduce the debt:

* You can make a contribution online either by credit card, checking or savings account at Pay.gov
* You can write a check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and in the memo section, notate that it's a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

Get back to us when you have a canceled check in hand.

kthxbai

[R C Dean]

Suspected Norway shooter Anders Behring Breivik reconstructs his killing spree for the police.

What was the point of this? He's already confessed. He's gonna get convicted. Why are the 'Wegians wasting time and money "reconstructing" the shootings?

[Brian D]

For the eventual movie.

[Aqua Buddha]

Starring Matt Damon.

[Dempy]

Hey Reason, try posting links to articles that I can read without signing up for something please!

[Old Mexican]

Re: Dempy,

Hey Reason, try posting links to articles that I can read without signing up for something please!

Just because your IP has been banned from almost everywhere else does not impose a responsibility upon Reason to link to those places they still dare accept you, D!

[he he he!]

[Dempy]

Shoot! You got me there.

[Mr. FIFY]

OT blast from the recent past:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE6ufDzUTa4

Look at her eyes close to the end of the clip.

[Betty Wilkinson]

Good article more useful to me, I will continue to pay attention, and I love discount evening wedding dress,I hope you lot just my site! discount aline wedding dresses