Reason Morning Links: The Iraq War Is Over, Obama Now Has the Power to Hold You Indefinitely, House GOP Growing Skeptical of Boehner's Deal-Making

• The Iraq War is nominally over. 
• Obama can now lawfully order the indefinite and undisclosed detention of Americans. 
• Rank-and-file House Republicans are tired of John Boehner's hunt for a "grand bargain" with Obama. 
• The first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War did not do everything the military says he did to win the award.
• A trove of classified documents about the Haditha massacre was discovered in an Iraqi junkyard. 
• The number of death sentences in the U.S. has dropped 75 percent in the last 15 years. 

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Comments

[John]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16194089

Jacque Chirac convicted of corruption. Gets suspended sentence.

[Thread Scold]

Jeez, John, you can't comment on just one provided link before going all free agent on us?

[JW]

Any relation to Black Jack Chirac?

[Almanian]

Racist

[Pantless Deviant]

Or Black Jacques Shellac?

[JW]

That's the one. Stupid brain.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I weel keel you wees zees!

[Lefties circa 2003]

But his interest in defending Saddam was ENTIRELY altruistic.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The number of death sentences in the U.S. has dropped 75 percent in the last 15 years.

The correctional-industrial complex doesn't get as much taxpayer dough if you kill off the prisoners.

[Lord Humungus]

yeah, like this will ever happen:

The Euro Zone's Double Failure
Europe needs country-by-country fiscal reforms, not a renewed push for political integration.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....on_LEADTop

The post-summit communiqu? proclaimed that each euro-zone country will enact a constitutional rule to balance its budget, will take corrective action if its "structural" deficit exceeds 0.5% of its gross domestic product, and will face penalties if its actual deficit exceeds 3% of its GDP. Chancellor Merkel had hoped that these rules would be embodied in a revised version of the current EU treaty and therefore enforceable by the European Commission through the European Court of Justice. Yet Britain's unwillingness to modify the existing treaty without additional safeguards for the British economy means that the new rules would apply only to the 17 euro-zone countries and others that wish to join them, but that they don't constitute an official EU treaty and therefore cannot be enforced by the commission and other EU institutions.

[Lord Humungus]

My Time at Walmart: Why We Need Serious Welfare Reform
http://thecollegeconservative......re-reform/

I understand that sometimes, people are destitute. They need help, and they accept help from the state in order to feed their families. This is fine. It happens. I'm not against temporary aid helping those who truly need it. What I saw at Wal-Mart, however, was not temporary aid. I witnessed generations of families all relying on the state to buy food and other items. I literally witnessed small children asking their mothers if they could borrow their EBT cards. I once had a man show me his welfare card for an ID to buy alcohol. The man was from Massachusetts. Governor Michael Dukakis' signature was on his welfare card. Dukakis' last gubernatorial term ended in January of 1991. I was born in June of 1991. The man had been on welfare my entire life. That's not how welfare was intended, but sadly, it is what it has become.

[Les Fortunate]

The man had been on welfare my entire life.

He is entitled to state-provided alcohol to dull the pain of this disability.

[Quetzalcoatl]

A dram is better than a damn.

[o3]

"...show me his welfare card for an ID to buy alcohol."
_

well thank heavens he'll be turned away from voting using a welfare card.

[Warty]

My favorite Walmart welfare incident that I've ever witnessed was the time I saw a girl buying $200 worth of garbage food on her EBT card and complaining, loudly, that the self-checkout lane was too much work. It took some self-control to not murder her.

[Rich]

You did follow her and let the air out of her Beemer, though, right?

[Brett L]

Don't worry, one of her boyfriends will eventually take care of that for you.

[Rich]

+9mm

[Spoonman.]

The weird thing is, I've seen people rejected from buying certain kinds of eggs at Walmart with EBT. So how are garbage foods allowed when fancy eggs aren't?

[Tulpa]

Reason #1 I never get in line behind a black mama. I know it's racist but the numbers bear me out in thinking there's likely to be an argument over something like that.

[Auric Demonocles]

I've changed grocery stores because I was so sick of getting behind women on WIC (all Hispanic, but the bulk of their clientele is).

[Citizen Nothing]

Ah. I think we've found out who wrote those newsletters!

[JD the Elder]

I haven't had any experiences as bad as that, but I used to live in an...um..."urban" neighborhood, and one of the most depressing things was going to the grocery store and being the only person on line who was paying with a credit card or actual cash; everyone else was paying with an EBT card. It made me sympathize a little more with conservatives who rant about a "culture of dependency": there were kids growing up in that culture where there was virtually nobody who wasn't on government housing benefits or welfare.

[Arduin Grimoire]

UK police seize computers of skeptic blogger in England
...UPDATE: I've been in contact with Roger (Tallbloke) and he tells me that he is not a suspect, and that they'll clone his hard drives and return the computers to him....

Proposed Constitutional Amendment Would Strip Pro-Business (But Not Anti-Business) Non-Profits of First Amendment Rights

[John]

The Sanders amendment is worse than even that. Read the Volokh posts on it. It would strip corporations of all constitutional rights. It would allow the government to do things like pass bills of attainder against unfavored corporations, convict them without due process and so forth. It would create a nightmare crony capitalism state.

[Arduin Grimoire]

But Sanders is a socialist, and thus our moral and intellectual superior, as proven by the fact he is intelligent enough to know he's always right, and moral enough to know he's always right.

[John]

The fact that him and the various other miscreants who sponsored this thing have not been tared and feathered says very bad things about the current state of our politics.

[Typical Liberal]

Corporations aren't people!!

[RoboCain]

Even I agree that corporations aren't people, or persons rather, but it still doesn't justify it.

[CrackertyAssCracker]

But the shareholders you are stealing from are people.

[WTF]

I'm only surprised they're going for a Constitutional Amendment, instead of just passing a bill under the almighty commerce clause.

[Me Myself and I]

I love the warmists cloning the "non suspect"'s hard drive. Why, exactly?

[Lord Humungus]

Worker-Owners of America, Unite!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12.....ef=opinion

But at another level, something different has been quietly brewing in recent decades: more and more Americans are involved in co-ops, worker-owned companies and other alternatives to the traditional capitalist model. We may, in fact, be moving toward a hybrid system, something different from both traditional capitalism and socialism, without anyone even noticing.

[T]

Counter-example: United Airlines, one of the largest "employee owned" corporations out there. Still a dysfunctional goat rope of a company, with all the smae problems it had before.

[Brett L]

Goat ropers need loving, too!

[R C Dean]

Why do you think they always chasing those goats around?

[Appalachian Australian]

Employee-owned UA eventually sold itself off to the stock market because the employees were more interested in having money than owning their employer.

Then they went on strike for better pay/benefits.

Then UA was broke and went bankrupt.

[mad libertarian guy]

Yeah.

No one is noticing how politicians have turned the state in to a whore and crony capitalist cesspool where the government bails out failed businesses (and their unions which helped bring about their failure) while telling us that the free market has failed.

Nope. No one notices.

[free2booze]

Imagine that. People in a free society can choose varying forms of socialism for themselves, without it being imposed on the rest of society.

Or should I say, without being imposed on the rest of society... yet.

[H man]

Good, in a free society people can experiment with all sorts of organizations that can help them earn their daily bread.

[John]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin.....egins.html

China's epic hangover begins. Tom Friedman and other authoritarian lovers across the world put on suicide watch.

[Brett L]

Its a temporary setback, comrade. The capitalists are bankrupting themselves to ruin us. They will bury you.

Did I miss any cliches? Oh yeah. Next year's Five Year Plan will fix this.

[db]

I actually had one of our young Chinese engineers tell me (in China) that their 5 year plans create stability and guarantee success in the economy. It was all I could do not to laugh in his face, both because he's a nice guy, he's just out of college and will learn valuable lessons on his own, and I didn't feel like going down a conversational path that was likely to get me reported to the local authorities.

[JW]

Suicide watch? All this means is that they finally get to fire up the Random Blame Generator Machine.

Not to worry though, it's very eco-friendly. It's powered by irony.

[_]

+1000

[Ron DeMupp]

Obama can now lawfully order the indefinite and undisclosed detention of Americans.

Meh. If you're not doing anything wrong, wait a sec, there's someone at the door.

[Mike M.]

It's the Nidal Malik Hasan Fort Hood Massacre Bill. This was passed specifically so that the ass-coverers in the Pentagon never have to put him on trial.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

And the populace continues to hold the military in the highest esteem for conduct and honor.

People forget that Stripes was a documentary.

[o3]

oops - hasan has already had prelim hearings so there will be a court-martial.

[Mike M.]

Oh yeah, when?

[sarcasmic]

This just in! Christina Hendricks has big boobs!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....party.html

[John]

Surprised you don't consider her fat. And man talk about princess syndrome. Look at her husband. Pretty clear she married to make sure she was always the best looking and most interesting person in the room.

[sarcasmic]

Without surgery those things will be bouncing off her knees in a few years.

[John]

Yes they will. I think her boobs are too big. A good surgeon with that much to work with could give her the most perfect tits in the world. She would be better off doing that. But I guess like Streisand's nose, her enormous boobs are kind of her signature now.

[Rich]

They probably bounce off her chin now.

[Mike M.]

Imagine how strong her back must be though.

[Brett L]

Wouldn't mind if she back down to her Firefly shape either.

[sarcasmic]

Aye!

[Brett L]

Sorry. I accidentally the verb in my distraction. insert "got" between "she" and "back".

[mad libertarian guy]

I'll be in my bunk.

[Dello]

I'll be in your bunk, too.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

There's a woman in that picture? All I see is whiskey.

[Pip]

+1 double (neat)

[RoboCain]

That guy must be hung like a donkey, or I just don't get it.

[John]

It takes a lot of confidence for a beautiful woman to marry a man as good looking as she is. Most beautiful women get their identity from being the most attractive person in the room. Marrying someone as good looking as they are competes with that identity. A lot of them can't take that. So they marry funky looking guys. This does two things. First, it makes them look even better because they are always being compared to their less attractive husband. Second, it gives them all of the power in the relationship since the guy knows he will never do even close to as well than what he has in her.

You really have to respect someone like Angelina Jolie. She is a beautiful woman who wasn't afraid to marry her equal.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

If Scarlett Johansson wants to marry me to make her look better, I am totally OK with that. Why in the world would you--as a man--want to discourage this type of behavior?

[RoboCain]

I see couples where both people are good-looking all the time.

[John]

They are out there. But I see more beautiful women with dorky men than I do equals.

[sarcasmic]

Maybe those dorks aren't arrogant pricks like their better looking counterparts.

[Brett L]

When an ugly man says he loves her for more than just her looks, he's somehow more believable. Its the one advantage we have.

[Atanarjuat]

Those dorky men are probably intelligent and have good jobs, which becomes more important to women later in life. They weren't dating beautiful women in high school.

[Evolved neanderthal]

Men are wired to look for youth and beauty, women are wired to seek out success.

[JEP]

speak for yourself

[Lost_In_Translation]

THERE IS HOPE!!

[sarcasmic]

Also there is the fact that some beautiful women are themselves dorks. They don't look like dorks, but after a conversation with them you find that that's what they are. Dorks.

Trust me on this. I married one.

[Mike Laursen]

Which is Christina Hendricks, from everything I've ever read about her.

[Mike Laursen]

You live in Washington, D.C., though. Ground zero for dorky but extremely powerful men.

[John]

Touche Mike. Touche. It is also ground zero for egotistical women who never want to be outshone by their husbands.

[JW]

It is also ground zero for egotistical women who never want to be outshone by their husbands.

As long he continues to bring home the rent-sought mega-bacon, doesn't bang the nanny in a place too obvious and doesn't interfere with her table seating plans for this week's party, she's good with it.

[Mike Laursen]

And meant to say, lots of women who are power groupies. (That might be all women, come to think of it.)

It was different in, say, L.A., where I grew up. Lots of mutually good-looking couples be side there was a disproportionate amount of good-looking people.

[Lord Humungus]

hope for the rest of us...

[JW]

"You've had the best, now try the rest!"

[Warty]

It seems the single most important asset for a woman to have to be a success in modern society is large breasts.
- Smithy, London, 15/12/2011 12:27
Click to rate Rating 12

Mmm-hmm.

[Brett L]

Not being a humorless bitch being a close second.

[free2booze]

I knew it. Christina's giant fun bags are really portable whiskey dispensers. Nice.

[Atanarjuat]

Speaking of big boobs, Did you just look at my chest?

[AlmightyJb]

Did you say something?

[AlmightyJb]

I was looking at your boobs but I was thinking about your vagina.

[AlmightyJb]

Needs less dress, more baby oil.

[P Brooks]

Senator Lindsey Graham said the extraordinary measures were necessary because terrorism suspects were wholly different to regular criminals.

"We're facing an enemy, not a common criminal organisation, who will do anything and everything possible to destroy our way of life," he said. "When you join al-Qaida you haven't joined the mafia, you haven't joined a gang. You've joined people who are bent on our destruction and who are a military threat."

What a loathesome, cowardly scumbag.

[Lost_In_Translation]

The problem is, congressmen can negotiate with the mafia. Terrorists refuse to offer proper kickbacks.

See the difference.

[mad libertarian guy]

How long until anti-administration (doesn't matter which administration) Americans are labeled terrorists?

We'll see this used in the next decade.

[oncogenesis]

terrorism suspects were wholly different to regular criminals

Due process: how does it work?

[Fist of Etiquette]

"We're in a terrible position to get anything big done," this lawmaker said, explaining that part of the frustration stems from the looming elections and nervousness among Members about getting things such as a change to the defense sequester done.

The "little victories" GOP members are worried about getting involve more spending, of course.

[Lord Humungus]

All the Hot Air in China
Cutting carbon emissions requires restructuring the economy. Which is why Beijing won't do it.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....on_LEADTop

China made ripples earlier this month when its lead climate negotiator suggested that Beijing would be willing to strike a deal on carbon emissions. It hardly matters that this willingness won't kick in until at least 2020, which is one reason the U.N. conference on climate change held in Durban, South Africa, flopped last week. Those who care about such things (we aren't among them) are nonetheless parsing the outcome for signs of whether Beijing really is serious now.

Hint: The current regime is not serious about emissions and is not likely to get serious, ever. The reasons are worth contemplating because this is at heart a business and political-economy story, not a carbon story.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

File under "No Shit Sherlock"

China is just gassing the environmentalists (pun intended) so that they cause more grief for their home states.

[Lord Humungus]

Editorial: Europe is driving U.S. economy, like it or not
http://www.usatoday.com/news/o.....51817974/1

This kind of linkage to the Old World is a hard thing for Americans to get their heads around. If one listens to President Obama, the most important thing for the U.S. economy is extending the payroll tax cut. To the Republican presidential candidates, the most important thing is denying Obama a second term.

Practically nowhere in the political world does one hear the obvious: For all the multipoint plans to "fix" the American economy, many of the events that will affect U.S. financial fortunes in the coming months, years and decades will be largely beyond the nation's control.

[Mike M.]

Sounds to me like they just demolished the case for more Keynesian style "stimulus" spending! If our fate depends on what happens in Europe, there's no need to flush any more of our money down the toilet.

[Top Men]

Haha, Mike. Seriously though, what this means is we need to TARP the world. We'll be at the offices of the IMF...

[sarcasmic]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl.....tion-obama

[Rand] Paul said there were already strong laws against support for terrorist groups. He noted that the definition of a terrorism suspect under existing legislation was so broad that millions of Americans could fall within it.

"There are laws on the books now that characterise who might be a terrorist: someone missing fingers on their hands is a suspect according to the department of justice. Someone who has guns, someone who has ammunition that is weatherproofed, someone who has more than seven days of food in their house can be considered a potential terrorist," Paul said. "If you are suspected because of these activities, do you want the government to have the ability to send you to Guant?namo Bay for indefinite detention?"

Seven days worth of food in your house is grounds to be suspected of terrorism?
WTF?!?

[robc]

We will eliminate the Mormon scourge once and for all.

[John]

God help us all if we ever get a real no shit domestic terrorist threat. They will use those laws to turn the country into Stalin's Russia.

[sarcasmic]

But it will work this time. We have the right people in charge. They're not like the others.

[SugarFree]

All Mormons are terrorists! I knew it!

[Rich]

someone missing fingers on their hands is a suspect according to the department of justice

Can anyone here cite the actual law for this? (I'm looking, but just finding blogosphere, um, chatter so far.)

[Fluffy]

It's not statutory, but the Homeland Security folks put out warnings saying people who do X or Y activity might be terrorists.

If the law says anyone even suspected of being a terrorist can be detained indefinitely, and Homeland Security says they suspect people who hoard food and ammunition of being terrorists, the transitive property says that people who hoard food and ammunition can be detained indefinitely as terrorists with no habeus corpus rights.

[Rich]

It's not statutory, but the Homeland Security folks put out warnings saying people who do X or Y activity might be terrorists.

Why should that have any more substance than Jeff Foxworthy warning "You just might be a redneck"?

I trust that DHS has vetted its entire workforce according to its own suspicions.

[JW]

I don't get it. All that hording has to be stimulative in the short run. The Commerce Dept. should be handing our medals to those people.

[TrickyVic]

"can be detained indefinitely as terrorists with no habeus corpus rights.""

Well that will be interesting to see. There have been a few SCOTUS rulings on people at Gitmo. The last I remember is those in Gitmo have a right to challange their detention in federal court. But of course, the executive can postpone military trials and play a time game.

I do think it's BS and we have stepped into very anti-freedom, and anti-American territory. I doubt they will run out right away and use that authority. Mission creep has a slow tempo.

[Brett L]

Because its a sign of international gangsterism. The Japanese and Russians both have gangs that take fingers. Or people who work around power tools. Who are probably competent and therefore dangerous to bureaucracy.

[robc]

Or people who work around power tools. Who are probably competent

I question the latter. If they were competent, they would still be able to count to 10.

[Brett L]

Actually, I know a master pipefitter who ran one of the Intel plant installs and built his own house (damn well) who can only count to 9.5. He was always competent, but he's also learned to be vigilant.

[Rich]

I know a guy who had a close encounter with a threading machine. He can count to 10, but has an *awesome* scar.

[WTF]

They forgot to list reverence for the Constitution, and suspicion of government.

[Tim]

Sometimes I have seven days worth of food on my plate...

[Metazoan]

hahaha +1

But what about people who grocery shop less than once a week? Might they have more than 7 days of food stored at some times?

[T]

What's even more fucked about it is it contradicts the governments own advice. If you don't have at least 3 days during hurricane season you're stupid, and the .gov explicitly recommends 'at least' 3 days. Given when Ike rolled through, my neighborhood was without power for 2-1/2 weeks, having shelf stable food for a week is just common sense.

[robc]

When Ike rolled thru Louisville, I lost power for a week.

Of all the disasters I thought possible, I really didnt think I had to worry about Hurricanes. Tornadoes? Of course. Earthquakes? New Madrid isnt that far away. Floods? Well, Im on relatively high ground, but they happen locally anyway. Ice Storm? Yep, one took out my deck (well, the tree took it out, but due to the ice storm). But a hurricane? Im safe from those!

[Tulpa]

It wasn't a hurricane when it got to Louisville, was it?

I mean, flyover country gets the remnants of hurricanes all the time.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Another reason to stay in flyover country. We do get snowstorms, ice, hail, (see October - April weather) and tornados (rarely).

[The Government]

What's even more fucked about it is it contradicts the governments own advice.

OK, you're on the list.

[T]

Please. The .gov has been through my business backwards, forwards, and sideways multiple times. I'm in the system in so many ways if they don't know me and have me flagged, they're incompetent.

Oh, wait, never mind...

[mad libertarian guy]

Someone who has guns, someone who has ammunition that is weatherproofed, someone who has more than seven days of food in their house can be considered a potential terrorist . . .

Apparently most of the people I know are terrorists.

[Bill Hicks]

"Frustrated rock musician, lots of guns, thinks he's God, tries to fuck everything that moves. I'm not sure Waco is going to be an isolated case."

[H man]

What if they have six fingers?

[Clich? Bandit]

The prepare to die.

[RoboCain]

A must read: Emily Gets Her Gun

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/guns/

[Brett L]

Good trigger discipline in the photos. Also, no pointing of gun at cameraman. I approve.

[Tulpa]

Trigger discipline is rule #2.

Safe direction is rule #1 and she's violating that in half the photos in previous articles.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Latest poll shows Gingrich in free fall in Iowa

[robc]

But, but, John said there is no evidence of that!

[John]

Maybe he is. But if so, then so ends the "Tea Party doesn't care about small government" meme.

[robc]

That meme was always stupid. Although my view on who was a TP "member" had a true scotsman tilt to it.

Amongst Romney/Gingrich/Paul its impossible for a TPer to support anyone other than Paul.

[RoboCain]

I tend to agree, now that Cain is out of the race, and Huntsman and Johnson don't seem to have a chance.

For a more conventional candidate, I'm surprised Huntsman didn't get more support. It just shows you that the Republicans aren't that conservative, when Gingrich and Romney are the two most likely winners.

[John]

Huntsman didn't get more support because he is a smug prick who spent most of last spring making the media rounds telling beltway liberals what dumb hillbillies the Tea Party is. If Huntsman had been anything but a prick, he could have picked up a lot of the Tea Party and SOCON vote as a religious successful governor from out west.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I honestly believe that Huntsman's Mormon faith is a sticking point with many in the GOP. Although Romney is also a Mormon, the perception may be different because he isn't from Utah.

[Tulpa]

It's pretty easy for a GOP governor to be "successful" in UT.

Not so in MA.

[mad libertarian guy]

I don't think that it is a bad meme.

Since the TP aims to compartmentalize small government, room is left for TP supporters to ALSO believe other things about government and prioritize their belief structure with small government not being the most important.

This is why vast swaths of the TP is nothing but a fraud; they are for small government until it comes to immigration/drugs/terrorism/*insert conservative value here*.

[John]

I guess that is why it looks like large numbers of them are going to vote for Paul. Do you have any proof of your allegation beyond the voices in your head? You know like polls or actual election results? Last I looked the Tea Party had a lot to do with Rand Paul being in the Senate.

[mad libertarian guy]

I don't know about the TP, but I know I had something to do with Rand being in he senate.

But you misconstrue my argument, and as a result argue that the most important priority to ALL TP members is small government. Were that true, Paul would have far more support than he does.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Depends, Romney is up 11 from the last poll in the latest, so maybe the TP is just heaving a sigh, holding their nose and voting for the flip.

[robc]

Looking at that poll trend (since August), Romney is basically flat (he has yo-yoed up and down between 17 and 23 percent), Cain took support from Bachmann and Perry and Paul. When Cain crashed, his support split between Gingrich and Paul and now Gingrich is giving it back.

Based on the Bachmann/Cain trends, come next month, Gingrich will be in the low teens at best. Perry crashed much faster than the other 3.

Im gonna guess, Paul and Romney in mid 20s, Gingrich/Perry/Bachmann fighting it out for 3rd-5th in the 8-12% range.

[Tulpa]

You're neglecting the possibility of a Santorum streak being revealed in the coming weeks.

[Lord Humungus]

"He Hates Wearing a Condom"
http://dearwendy.com/columns/y.....-a-condom/

My boyfriend and I have been together for almost two years, and we have had recurring problems with our sex life because of my personal health problems and sexual abuse in the past. When we were first together, it was casual, and we would, of course, always use condoms. I was also off the pill for three months when we met, but otherwise I have regularly used the pill since I was 16. Once we became exclusive and talked about it, we stopped using condoms and relied on my pill as our primary form of birth control. However, I began getting recurring UTI's and other health problems due to sex ? we're talking 5+ UTI's in the span of a year. My doctor told me to always use condoms to help prevent as much friction/skin-on-skin action as possible (I also take cranberry pills).

Now we've been regularly using condoms for a few months and my boyfriend is always huffy and argumentative about it. We had a huge fight a few days ago about how he doesn't like using condoms because we're in love and exclusive and he hates the limited sensation and says sex is not the same with them. While I don't love them either, I really really don't love rushing to the doctor in agony with a UTI every month...

etc.

[SugarFree]

Sounds like he needs to find a different girlfriend.

[Brett L]

Or just to shower before sex.

[SugarFree]

And pee after sex.

[Ken Toldit]

Instead of during.

[Devil's Advocate]

Hmmm. They both seem unimaginative.

[WTF]

I have regularly used the pill since I was 16

So she's been banging every other guy raw dog since 16, but wants current BF to use a condom. I don't see why that would bug him at all.

[sarcasmic]

A lot of users of the pill do so so they can control when they have their period.

[Tulpa]

Uh, she didn't say that, and the fact she made him wear a condom before they went "exclusive" suggests it's not the case.

[Tim]

Follow this simple rule:

First front, THEN back.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

Does her butt get UTIs, too?

[RoboCain]

Stick it in her pooper?

[Lord Humungus]

that's your answer for everything!

[WTF]

You mean it's not the answer for everything?

[Tim]

Just don't go back to front or there will be consequences.

[mad libertarian guy]

Not back to front.

Ass to mouth, man. Ass. To. Mouth.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Yet another concept that eludes me. That's just plain nasty and disgusting - not a turn on. One or the other, or both, but in the other order.

[mad libertarian guy]

The only thing I can gather is the utter humiliation of the bottom (being as ATM needn't be strictly a woman thing).

The concept is nasty as a shitty cock in the mouth.

[Devil's Advocate]

I have to admit that this occurred to me as well. >_>

[Ice Nine]

Yeah, why shouldn't he get the UTI instead of her?

[RoboCain]

A longer urethra is one reason men rarely get UTI.

[RoboCain]

A longer urethra is one reason men rarely get UTI.

[Hank Hill]

What about a narrow urethra?

[Anonymous Coward]

Solution 1: Different condoms, different lube, different methods.
Solution 2: BUTTSECKS.
Solution 3: Different woman.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.eurasiareview.com/1.....eaty-oped/

Why US Should Be Concerned About Domestic Effects Of UN Arms Trade Treaty ? OpEd

"Negotiations for a new U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) are supposed to be finalized in July 2012. Some of its supporters argue it would have no 'impact on the ability of individuals within the United States to acquire and possess firearms.'[1] Even if this is true, it is not the only reason to be concerned about the treaty. But if the treaty comes before the Senate, its domestic effects will be of central importance. While the treaty is not yet complete, analysis of the current draft demonstrates that there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about its potential domestic effects." ...

[o3]

where does one send patriotic donations?

[rather]

WH can hold you indefinitely; even slaves had manumission

[Solanum]

Women moving ahead of men in education and income; feminists pissed at the prospect of "marrying down."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12......html?_r=1

[WTF]

Women moving ahead of men in education and income;

Women, minorities hardest hit.

[RoboCain]

I blame the patriarchy.

[Restoras]

Or in other words, Women Find Something Else To Complain About.
This is news?

[Fluffy]

This is a result of two factors:

Women get a lot of fake degrees in nonsensical areas like education and social work.

Women then proceed to get government sinecures using those fake degrees.

All we need to do is abolish all social work administration of the welfare state and go straight to direct income support using the EITC model and this "poor women now have to marry down" shit all goes away the morning that every social worker in America gets their pink slip. But I don't think they'd like it if we solved their "problem" that way.

[John]

Their time is coming. When the higher education bubble bursts and the government finally can't borrow another buck from the Chinese, those pink slips will be coming. The only government jobs that will be left at that point will be defense and law enforcement. And then we will be hearing about how sexist austerity is.

[Matrix]

Not sure where you're getting your numbers regarding social workers, but the pay for social workers is shit.

[Atanarjuat]

Even if the pay is shit, you still have a government job, which means a guaranteed paycheck no matter how shitty the economy is, and a pension.

[RoboCain]

It's still a cushy office job that pays better than the grunt work many men do.

[Fluffy]

It's a female-dominated field that employs hundreds of thousands if not millions of people nationwide, and it requires a fake degree.

ALSO, most states provide tuition reimbursement if their social workers go out and get Master's Degrees (because if a fake Bachelor's is good, a fake Master's is even better) just like they do for teachers.

And then once you have your fake Master's you get a big raise.

Teachers' and social workers' career paths and compensation patterns HAVE TO be warping the statistics on the number of women holding advanced degrees, and HAVE TO be warping total earnings for these "educated" women.

And just about everybody in social work, Master's Degree or not, has a job where they point at a form and tell a client "Fill your name in here". These are McDonald's employees we're effectively talking about. Take every social worker in America, strike their degree, and adjust their salary to that of a McDonald's worker, and then re-run the numbers and tell me if women are "overeducated" and "earning too much" compared to men.

[RoboCain]

""Some of these women had learned the hard way that when they went to bars, they were better off lying about what they did ? saying that they were a cosmetologist or music teacher rather than a software consultant or lawyer," Ms. Mundy said."

Yeah, that's a good way to start a relationship.

[Auric Demonocles]

Lies are okay when the girl does it.

[Tulpa]

I can't describe how violated I felt when that girl I slept with because she said she was a social worker turned out to be a software engineer.

[R C Dean]

Some of these women had learned the hard way that when they went to bars,

If you're going to bars to meet men, you are either

(1) Looking for a quick and dirty pickup or

(2) Doing it wrong.

[Apple]

FTA: "40 percent of births in the United States each year are now to single women"

Good God.

[Tulpa]

I blame sloopy.

[P Brooks]

Elements of the law are so legally confusing, as well as being constitutionally questionable, that any detentions are almost certain to be challenged all the way to the supreme court.

Malinowski said "vague language" was deliberately included in the bill in order to get it passed. "The very lack of clarity is itself a problem. If people are confused about what it means, if people disagree about what it means, that in and of itself makes it bad law," he said.

That's okay; once the title page has been signed by the President, some functionary at DoJ will fill in the blanks.

DEMOCRACY WORKS!

[robc]

Malinowski said "vague language" was deliberately included in the bill in order to get it passed.

Ignoring the content of the bill, just based on that, everyone who voted for the bill should be removed from congress.

[robc]

And by "removed from Congress" I mean "sent to Gitmo for life".

[Rich]

Right on.

And "vague language" should immediately disqualify a bill from being brought to a vote in the first place. Of course, that might put a lot of lawyers and judges out of a job.

[JW]

Exactly. When this thing first broke, "there are 500 some odd terrorists that I know about" popped in to my head.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

I thought by "removed from Congress," you meant "lined up against a wall and shot".

[Res Publica Americana]

http://newyork.ibtimes.com/art.....lights.htm

A New Yorker's Opinion: Figoski Killing Highlights Need to Crack Down on Illegal Firearms

... "The point: It is easy to point to self-defense as a good reason to allow people to carry guns around. But a lot harder to point to times when they actually served that function. Especially in our crowded cities, there seems to be less-and-less reason, or justification for allowing the public to go armed. And, in any case, localities should be allowed to determine the gun laws that suit them best."

"And I think most people, save for the most extreme pro-gun elements, would agree with that." ...

-------

Submitter's Note: You are correct sir, this extremist does not agree any more than he would agree that localities should be allowed to determine the racial segregation laws that serve them best. A civil right is a civil right and you may not have mine regardless of where I live.

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

Shitty freedom-hating proto-cunt is shitty.

[WTF]

Completely ignoring the fact the guy was a habitual offender, was wanted on a felony warrant that NYC failed to enforce, and therefore was in violation of the law by having the gun anyway. But sure, another law about him not being allowed to have a gun would have worked. Fucking idiots.

[RoboCain]

Exactly.

"Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the weapon that killed him was an illegally owned semi-automatic pistol."

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

OMG! A SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOL??? WTF does any law-abiding citizen NEED one of THOSE for? They're killing machines, with no purpose other than randomly spraying a hail of bullets across schoolyard playgrounds!!

[mad libertarian guy]

It's not another law not allowing him to have a gun that this statist wants, but another law not allowing ME, someone who isn't a criminal offender with a bench warrant, to have a gun.

[RoboCain]

"localities should be allowed to determine the gun laws that suit them best"

But these same assholes are for more federal anti-gun laws.

[WTF]

Tell the assholes that "localities should be allowed to determine the abortion laws that suit them best" in response and watch their heads explode.

[RoboCain]

That too.

[Anonymous Coward]

And, in any case, localities should be allowed to determine the gun laws that suit them best.

In other words, your rights should be subject to the whims of the public. Please find a bridge, doesn't matter which one, there are a few choices in New York, and dive off of it.

[rac3rx]

Typical of statist idiots who don't understand the simple fact that natural rights are automatic, aren't granted to us by governments, and thus may not be taken from us by governments...

[l0b0t]

Here in Brooklyn, last Labor Day, we had a shooting on my block. Two young men had an argument at the parade earlier in the day, one saw the other walking down the street and rushed out of a building and took a shot at him. Due to the parade, there were NYPD at every corner in the neighborhood. A group on our corner (5 cops) started shooting in the direction of the initial gunman (IIRC, 76 rounds fired by the police), they killed him, they killed an old lady sitting on her porch, and they shot out the windows of 4 apartments in 2 different buildings. A couple weeks later (on what would have been the lady's birthday) a neighborhood association held a rally in front of the building, it was attended by a dozen or so local pols, police senior command, and a very earnest beardo from a gun-control organization. EVERY SINGLE FILTHY SLAVER that spoke that day took the opportunity to barber for more and stricter gun-control. It damn near brought me to tears. I handed out almost 1000 copies of the excellent GOA fact-sheet (http://gunowners.org/fs0404.htm). To neighbors and city council members.

[Fist of Etiquette]

While there's no indication that the White House knew that Obama was narrating an embellished story ? to an audience of several hundred Meyer family members, top officials, lawmakers and service members ? the revelations could tarnish one of the signature moments of his time as commander in chief.

The Big O should probably shy away from politicizing his military's deeds. It hasn't gone very well for him.

[WTF]

So now the Obama administration ahs managed to tarnish the fucking Medal of Honor. Amazing.

[o3]

cause obama was in that afghan valley & witnessed first hand?

[WTF]

I didn't expect you to read or comprehend the article, so I will overlook your stupidity.

senior Marine Corps officials conceded the pressure to award more medals, and to do it quickly.

The president's version drew on materials the Marine Corps provided but it was written in the White House

[o3]

so the marines provided incorrect info to the president's office?

[Army Guy]

Give WTF time o3. He'll comprende eventually. Civilians...

[WTF]

Actually, o3 claims to be a vet, so theoretically he should know better.

[rac3rx]

The same Big O, who apparently believes the entire Navy is composed of zombies (corpse-men)?

There is no hope for that fucking idiot.

[Gray Ghost]

For more "the plot thickens", the MoH winner Mr. Meyer is suing his former employer, BAE Systems for defamation. He's claiming that BAE told a potential new employer that he's a drunk. He claims they got pissed at him for e-mailing his supervisor to express his disapproval over a weapons sale to Pakistan.

Who knows what Meyer's lawsuit has to do with people walking back his MoH activities, but I'd bet they aren't completely unrelated.

[Mr. Mark]

It isn't Obama's military, it's the military of the United States.

In any case, I don't think Obama has any idea what he's reading. He just wanders around up there, the idiot figurehead of a kleptocracy.

[Mr. Mark]

Reading the "McClatchy Newspapers" report, I have to wonder why the reporter's name is not listed. It's a pretty big thing to accuse someone like Meyer of bullshitting about that experience, and if a person is going to make the accusation, they ought to be willing to say who they are.

[Ice Nine]

Oh-oh, watch Newt's numbers tank now.

[Bee Tagger]

If Busey v. Gingrich isn't the title card on Fox's next Celebrity Boxing, I have severely overestimated Fox and Gingrich's unquenchable thirst for attention. And Busey's manic brilliance.

[Bee Tagger]

Human rights groups accused the president of deserting his principles and disregarding the long-established principle that the military is not used in domestic policing.

I should give up hope that these people will ever realize that Obama may have never held the principles they wanted him to hold.

[Tulpa]

...before endorsing him for 2012 because the Republicans question the human right to free health care.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....e-law.html

New York City Probe of Internet Gun Sales Finds 62% Will Break the Law

"A New York City-sponsored private investigation of 125 gun sellers found that 62 percent would agree to commit felonies by selling the weapons on the Internet to individuals who said they wouldn't legally qualify as purchasers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today." ...

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

Yeah, those disgusting, monstrous abominable sex-offending bottom-feeding scum that urinate on the side of the road? Selling guns to people like THAT? And without state APPROVAL? HOLY FUCK, DUDES -- SEND IN THE 101ST!

[o3]

so its ok to sell guns to minors on the intertubez?

[RoboCain]

No, and that's already illegal.

[RoboCain]

"Seventy-seven of 125 individuals agreed to sell pistols and assault rifles to people who told them they probably couldn't pass a background check, Bloomberg said. "

No, they didn't. Assault rifles are NFA weapons. Anyone who has a legal select fire rifle isn't going to sell it illegally at a fraction of its market price.

[T]

What about illegally at a substantial increase?

It still frosts me that the shittiest automatic weapon the US has ever made (the M3 grease gun, for those not paying attention) goes for about $5K for a legal NFA registered one. It is literally $50 worth of parts, but because of the goddamned Hughes amendment, they're worth more than a TRG-42. WTeverlovinF?

[RoboCain]

I'm not familiar with the TRG-42, but yes. A legally registered full-auto capable AK-47, crappy stamped receiver and all, is not only worth many times more than an illegal full-auto AK-47, but stolen/smuggled full-auto rifles of much higher quality.

After Clinton signed the assault weapons ban, people were buying Type 56 with fucking termites just so they could register the receiver before it took effect.

[T]

TRG-42 is a Finnish long-range sniper rifle. Runs about $3800, and will do sub-MOA at 1600m. The level of workmanship involved is light-years past an M3, but the M3 cost more because of artifically induced scarcity.

[RoboCain]

Oh, basically an AW but made by Sako? I was trying to think of something full-auto. Anyway, yes, that's why all these references to "assault rifle" sales are bullshit.

[db]

I haven't seen an M3 advertised for less than $10k in years.

[db]

Dealer samples notwithstanding

[db]

Dealer samples notwithstanding.

[T]

$14,900 for a Guide Lamp? That's insane. No wonder I never shop for select fire. It'd just make me depressed and/or angry.

[JD the Elder]

You know, they keep trumpeting "selling weapons on the internet", but I've yet to see any evidence of that. Are folks actually taking payment over the internet and shipping across state lines (to a non-FFL-holder)? Because that would be a serious felony. But somehow they skip right from "advertised on the internet" to letting people assume that the actual sales are done over the internet. Of course, Bloomturd & Co. have trouble understanding that in places like Louisiana or Arizona, it's perfectly legal to sell a gun to your fellow citizen, and perfectly legal to advertise it, and that has nothing to do with NY or Federal law...

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....48497.html

Not that anyone is supposed to be selling guns on Craigslist. The website, which depends on self-policing, claims to ban firearms sales yet thousands of guns were found listed for sale there, according to the report." ...

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

Why the fuck would Craigslist ban firearms sales? Got pressured, or something?

[John]

But but the childrenz!!! Fucking superstitious morons. Who cares if they are selling guns on there.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Craig's list has long banned sales of weapons. PC, and all that.

eBay is worse, because the auctions are more moderated - I've seen stuff pulled, and I actually had an auction pulled years ago. I was selling a WWII Nazi officer's dagger, and the pics of the item showed the swastika on the side. So they killed the auction, because it showed a swastika. I had to alter the photos to blur out the swastikas.

Fucking idiots.

[CaptainSmartass]

That's thanks to a lawsuit they lost to the German government some years ago.

[Scooby]

Craigslist was started in and is based in the Bay Area- an area full of anti-gun hysterics. They don't use local community standards for what they allow and don't allow.

[Brett L]

Body hair good for preventing bed bug bites, pelts not so much. Sorry STEVE SMITH.

"He found that more layers of both longer visible hairs and finer, 'vellus' hairs near the surface appeared to work as a deterrent to the insects, with the finer hairs also acting as an early warning system...

He added that extreme hairiness might also be more of a disadvantage than an advantage."

[Lost_In_Translation]

not being infested with bed bugs also helps.

[Brett L]

You don't think STEVE SMITH has done NYC?

[rather]

Another reason men need to groom

[Koan]

Here's a nugget of fascism, wrapped nice and tidy like a Christmas present from our favorite Protector of America, Senator Lindsey Graham: "It is not unfair to make an American citizen account for the fact that they decided to help Al Qaeda to kill us all and hold them as long as it takes to find intelligence about what may be coming next. And when they say, 'I want my lawyer,'you tell them,'Shut up. You don't get a lawyer.'"

[RoboCain]

Lindsey Graham should be replaced with Lindsay Lohan. She has more respect for the law.

[_]

thread winner

[Serious Question]

Why does Riggs bother with his own links?

Anyway, here's a link to a woman with large knockers.

http://tinyurl.com/6tomyjb

[Fluffy]

If even the Rasmussen GOP establishment push poll now has Romney, Gingrich and Paul clustered around 20% in Iowa, those bitches are DONE.

I really can't wait for caucus night.

I'm particularly psyched that as an added bonus my wife can once again make a "Santorum Loses" cake, like we had back when he got his ass kicked out of the Senate. "Santorum Loses" cakes are de-lish.

[John]

The Paulites are nothing if not motivated. I suspect Paul will do better than he polls. But if and when he wins in Iowa, the media will spin it as an anointment of the third place Romney as the nominee.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Or...if Romney comes in 2nd, just wait for the cake walk as Gingrich's team falls completely apart.

[robc]

Fox has already declared that if Paul wins Iowa it means Iowa doesnt matter.

[WTF]

But only if Paul wins, mind you.

[robc]

Gingrich will finish 3rd in Iowa. And NH. Fork him.

[Lost_In_Translation]

How yummy are his frosted tears?

[WTF]

"Santorum Loses" cakes are de-lish.

Recipe?

[H man]

First, make some santorum with the wife.

[T]

Then bake it in a cake? Ewww.

[Ray]

There's a book called natural harvest with nothing but semen based recipes. Don't ask.

[db]

I suppose I could see it as an ingredient, but as the basis of a recipe? That's a lot of work.

[Audrey the Liberal]

Recipe?,/i> A frothy mixture of powdered sugar and egg yolks?

[Audrey the Liberal]

[Mike M.]

Did anyone catch Obama's big speech yesterday where he was going on and on about what a great thing it was we did in Iraq? This after years and years of calling a stupid war and a waste of time and money. What a piece of work this guy is.

[John]

We only did great things after January 20th, 2009. Before that it was a horrible international war crime.

[John]

And just imagine if the parties were reversed and Bush were a Democrat and Obama a Republican. The media would be hailing Bush as the greatest President since Roosevelt.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Obama would be an isolationist then, typical of the republicans....

[o3]

just imagine the flying elephants if they had wings.

[John]

Truth hurts.

[WTF]

It doesn't hurt o3. He has an impenetrable shield of ignorance which repels all truth and knowledge.

[o3]

u mean john's hypotheticals are the "truth" ? maybe john's confusing some wrestlers ringname

[John]

If George Bush had been a Democrat he would be beloved by the Left for passing Medicare Part D, NCLB, spending more on world AIDS programs than any president in history, passing McCain Feingold and liberating millions in the Middle East. You just hate him because he has the wrong letter after his name.

[WTF]

I'm sure that didn't get through, either.

[o3]

simple fact is nixon was NOT hailed as a hero for ending vietnam. so ur hypothetical doesnt hold up

[John]

It holds up perfectly. Nixon, like Bush, was a liberal Republican. He did lots of things like ending Vietnam and starting the EPA that liberals should have loved. But they hated him just as much as they hated Bush. Why? Because he wasn't in their tribe. Same thing going on in both places.

[Audrey the Liberal]

And just imagine if the parties were reversed and Bush were a Democrat and Obama a Republican. The media would be hailing Bush as the greatest President since Roosevelt. Also, imagine Obama could fly with his enormous ears, and Nancy Pelosi was a gorgon (thou in that case, imagination isn't necessary). Then, we can imagine all of D.C. being consumed in a cleansing fire only a vengeful god can deliver.

[John]

Yes Audrey. Don't respond to the unpleasant fact the George Bush did more liberal things than one could care to admit. Just ignore it and say something stupid. Since you admit to being a liberal saying something stupid is what everyone expects.

And by not providing any argument why this wouldn't be true other than invective, you are admitting it is true and you just don't like it.

[Tim]

That stuff about Haditha is gruesome, certainly reminded me of why we need to be the Hell out of there.

[P Brooks]

Why the fuck would Craigslist ban firearms sales? Got pressured, or something?

Never mind guns; Craigslist must be forced to end their "Help Wanted" section, because that one guy in Ohio used fake ads to lure his victims.

[Almanian]

"If even one person's life is saved..."

[Jerry]

Chris Wallace: A Ron Paul win in Iowa would 'discredit' state's caucuses

And guess who is moderating tonight's debate.

[Fluffy]

So every state that voted for someone other than McCain last time was also discredited. Right?

As was every state that voted for Clinton on the Dem side. Right?

Because any state that votes for anyone other than the eventual nominee is discredited thereby. Right?

[Joe M]

Any state that is won by a candidate with "no chance" is discredited. If you go for a loser who has been anointed as a viable choice, you're okay.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Principles be damned, this is an election, goddamnit.

[Lost_In_Translation]

A Paul presidency would obviously discredit the democratic system then, IHO.

[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]

The United States must not be allowed to have a Paul presidency.

[Lord Humungus]

I hate to even ask this, but has M N G come back to debate Holder, F&F, etc?

[Devil's Advocate]

Apparently he is still holed up in his hotel room recovering from his hot weekend.

[Restoras]

Haven't seen him so far. Maybe he's on an overland trek from Nepal to Tibet and doesn't have internet access?

[RoboCain]

Not that I've noticed. I haven't seen Honky Engine around lately either. Not that I'm complaining.

[John]

That is a interesting coincidence.

[P Brooks]

She has more respect for the law.

Smarter, too.

Looks-wise, it's pretty much a tossup.

[RoboCain]

She would be absolutely gorgeous if she just started living healthy.

[P Brooks]

has M N G come back to debate Holder, F&F, etc?

He's lying in a ditch, somewhere; DEAD!

You heartless monster.

[Joe M]

As long as he's not perpendicular to traffic.

[Joe M]

Gingrich pokes rivals in new TV ad

Gingrich's ad says America needs solutions in these challenging times. Without mentioning his opponents by name he says: "Others seem to be more focused on attacks rather than moving the country forward. That's up to them."

No, others are focused on substance, not platitudes...

...and they probably make more money than you, Newt.

[Lost_In_Translation]

I dunno, whores make pretty good money.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Gingrich pokes rivals

He pokes "friends", too.

[Old Mexican]

Obama can now lawfully order the indefinite and undisclosed detention of Americans.

Smart move... Just in case the vote goes, shall we say, "unfavorably."

[Chicago ballots]

whadda mean unfavorably?

[Joe M]

Any smart engineer knows you always have redundant failsafes.

[John]

James Toranto had the actual turn in your Republican friends email on best of the web yesterday. It read as follows

Everyone's got that special conservative in their life.

Maybe it's your dad, who forwards you every chain email about the President's birth certificate, or your neighbor, who just put up a Mitt Romney sign.

Dealing with these folks can be . . . frustrating.

This holiday season, we're giving you a chance to have a little bit of fun at their expense. Let a Republican in your life know they inspired you to make a donation to the Obama campaign--chip in $3 or more today.

When you give to the campaign, simply enter your Republican friend's email address and they'll get a note letting them know that they motivated you to donate--which will surely make their day.

Have you ever read anything that better exemplifies the smug douche bag liberal than that?

[o3]

$3 aint smug...maybe 100

[Almanian]

Yes - Urine is the authority on what level of giving defines "smug".

Thanks, Urine, for once again sharing your unique brand of stupid with the rest of us.

Try not to choke to death on your zwieback...

[o3]

regardless $3 aint smug unless buying a big mac w fries qualifies

[Lost_In_Translation]

Have you ever read anything that better exemplifies the smug douche bag liberal than that?

Difficult to say, but most days the Daily Kos manages to pull ahead.

[Mike M.]

Could you imagine if George W. Bush (or any republican politician for that matter) started collecting the e-mail addresses of liberals so that he could spam them with unsolicited, harassing e-mails? They would be completely outraged, and they would be totally justified in feeling that way.

Obama is one the most vile, slimy gutter rats that has ever infested our country.

[T]

Thought: why not sign up every whitehouse.gov email address you can find?

And all the house.gov and senate.gov emails, too, just for fun?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

Condescending is the word that comes to mind. But then again, "condescending" pretty much is a synonym for "liberal douche bag."

Oops. "Douche bag" is redundant.

[Auric Demonocles]

Putting up an election sign for a candidate is obnoxious? So we won't see the Obama campaign selling any this election, right?

[Old Mexican]

The first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War did not do everything the military says he did to win the award.

It's all subjective anyway, like a pageant.

[Bill Hicks]

I feel bad for the dude. By all accounts his actions were "in keeping with the highest tradition of the Marine Corps". And nobody puts himself up for the MoH. Still, it would probably be good if the US didn't have to give combat Vs with their Medal of Honors.

[Brett L]

Stupid joke handle. You make no sense here and Mr. Hicks probably wouldn't approve of this posting.

[robc]

MoH has an entire history of political motivation, unfortunately.

[GILMORE]

My favorite line of the morning...

"We think this is just a tremendous waste of taxpayer resources," said Lenzo, 30, a computer programmer

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....55873.html

...regarding the decision to prosecute OWS, themselves a significant sucker-up of 'public resources'. They seem to think 'taxpayers' exist whenever they're actually suddenly beholden themselves. I guarantee you that some of these people in 10 yrs will be screaming red-blooded conservatives because they actually want to *keep their money*! I will still think they are dicks, regardless. Ideological convenience. loathsome.

[LIl Jayne]

So, why did the US ever go to Iraq in the first place? Oh yeah, Bushes lies. I forgot.

http://www.AnonWebToolz.tk

[o3]

how appropiate; link fail for war fail

[WTF]

Seriously, o3, you don't recognize the anonbot?

[Almanian]

Urine really is that stupid

[The Art-P.O.G.]

Maybe 03 is responding tongue in cheek to anon-bot, but I'm probably giving 03 too much credit.

[mad libertarian guy]

Nope.

He is that stOOOpid.

[Audrey the Liberal]

Bush was the worst president ever, until Obama. Who is really just Bush with a tan.

[Old Mexican]

Ron Will Upend Newt.... But "we" all know that (wink, wink) he can't win the nomination

Windbags bow to the inevitable yet still cling to hope... In a weird way.

As I've said before, former Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond coined the phrase most applicable to winning in Iowa ? "Organize, organize, organize, and get hot at the end." Newt is testing that formula by having little organization but is still trying to be hot at the end. Paul, on the other hand, has been organizing there for at least a year, and now it appears he is getting hot with a wider audience than ever before. If he wins in Iowa, it wounds Gingrich and helps Romney a lot, but probably doesn't have much effect on any other candidate.

If that happens, we will be back where we started. Every conversation in Washington will begin with the question, "Is it going to be Paul?" And everyone who knows Paul [who???] knows that he has a ceiling and could never be in the front-runner position.

[Joe M]

Old Mexican, you should read the article more carefully. I saw that last night, and the writer is actually being awesomely sarcastic at the end.

[Old Mexican]

And smear we must! Evenif the smear is infantile and blatantly stupid! So there!

Thomas DiLorenzo 12/15/2011

The neocons are in a Code Red State of Alert over the fact that Ron Paul is in a dead heat with Newt "I Love Freddie Mac" (and apparently Big Macs too) Gingrich in Iowa. So they are doing what comes naturally to every neocon, namely lying about Ron's political positions. The memo has apparently gone out to start lying about what Ron has said about 9/11. Last night Blackjack Bill Bennett told Hannity that Ron was guilty of "conspiracy theories" and was therefore not a legitmate candidate. An emailer informs me that the same lie was told on NationalNeoconReview Online. The memo has gone out. Of course, Ron has never endorsed any of the conspiracy theories, and has blamed the inherent incompetence of government bureaucracy, in addition to the fact that the FAA prohibited pilots from arming themselves in the cockpit.

Fred P. writes to predict: "If Ron wins in Iowa Bill Bennett will need emergency surgery to extract his foot from his mouth and his head from his ass."

[John]

Bill Bennett completely lacks any propriety or decency. This is a guy who got rich preaching values all the while being a secret compulsive gambler. I don't blame him for the gambling part. I don't even blame him too much for the duality of preaching values while gambling away his family's well being. But what I do blame him for and despise him for is the fact that he didn't have the good sense and class to leave the public stage after his duplicity was revealed. That phony bastard just goes on rubbing his chin telling the rest of us how to live like his own depravity never happened.

[WTF]

That phony bastard just goes on rubbing his chin telling the rest of us how to live like his own depravity never happened.

I think this is actually why fucksticks like Bennett want to control the rest of us. They assume everyone must be just like they are, and therefore they can't be trusted to control themselves, so they require an outside agency to control their base impluses, for their own good, of course.

[Funny]

"He didn't have the good sense and class to leave the public stage."

Maybe he's a narcissist.

[T]

How about fuck Bill Bennett because anybody who heads up ONDCP is, by definition, a worthless scumbag? I could give a shit about whatever doublespeak he spouts about values. Actions speak louder than words, and heading ONDCP pretty much screams duplicitous statist.

[John]

I don't think so. I don't agree with drug policy. But I do think it is possible to be a moral person and support it. You are mistaken but you are not necessarily duplicitous or a hypocrite.

[T]

To head up ONDCP means heading an organization that refuses to admit error, ignores or suppresses any contrary evidence, and tries to shut down people with opposing viewpoints. Hard to claim 'moral' when you're running that organization.

[John]

Because you believe in the policy and don't think that the contrary evidence or other view points are correct. That is how. Not every difference of opinion is malicious.

[T]

John, when you try to supress people's 1st Amendment right to criticize drug war policy you've crossed the line from 'believing in your position' to 'duplicitous scumbag'. It also implies you are so insecure in your position you won't tolerate any discussion of dissent. You can claim moral and not malicious but there's 30 years of poor behavior out of ONDCP that says otherwise.

[tarran]

John,

Every 15 years or so, the ONDCP comissions a research project that seeks to 'prove' that drugs are harmful and should be outlawed.

When the study invariably doesn't come out that way, they supress it.

Then within a decade or so, the institutional memory of that failed study is gone, and they start thinking, "hey, we should totally prove that those stoners suck" and the cycle begins anew.

The fact that the ONDCP doesn't resign en masse, and instead lies and objuscates (nto to mention interfering in local elections by campaigning for proponents of the drug war), means that everybody who works for that organization is tainted.

It's like people in the SS; sure, some were file-clerks who didn't do anything that a Wermacht file clerk didn't do. But only people with a depraved level of indifference are unaware that they are working for a nasty organization.

[John]

Now heading up ONDCP while you are a compulsive gambler in private makes you a duplicitous scumbag. How the hell do you sleep at night throwing people in jail for addictions when you are an addict yourself?

[The Art-P.O.G.]

He must be some sort of narcissist or something. Either that or a sociopath.

[Yup]

Making pronouncements all day long in a public forum doesn't make one a narcissist, does it?

Wait, who are we talking about again?

[John]

I am sorry your too stupid to contribute to the conversation. Sometimes it is hard to be the retarded kid. But running around spreading your own shit on the walls doesn't help things.

[Joe M]

Here ya go, the ultimate conservative scare story: Would a Ron Paul Win in Iowa Hand the Election to Obama?

[John]

See if Romney or Gingrich win the nomination you are supposed to swallow your principles and vote for the good of the party. If Paul wins the nomination, the establishment is free to leave the party and do everything they can to torpedo his candidacy.

And never forget, it is the free market small government insurgents who are the fanatics who won't compromise no the establishment.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

My take - If Gingrich, Romney, or Obama wins the Presidency, we're financially screwed for the long term. So there's no benefit at all to sucking it up for the Party is Gingrich or Romney wins. I hope Paul wins Iowa and continues to roll, I can hear their howls of furor already.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I heard the Bennett bit on Hannity yesterday. It was like they were having an "oh fuck" moment as they are just starting to realize that Paul has a chance against Newt "Flavor of the Day" Gingrich. They're freaking out, which is a good sign as far as I'm concerned.

[Neu Mejican]

Why doesn't a news story have a link to the text

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/.....7:e451482:

[T]

I do have to agree with you here, NM. If you're doing an online story about a piece of pending legislation, the Thomas link should be in the damn story. Tell me your interpretation, sure, but link to the primary text. It ain't difficult.

[John]

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....rialPage_h

Karl Rove snivels in the Wall Street Journal about Donald Trump being mean to him. Jesus Karl you are supposed to be some kind of evil genius. This is just pathetic.

[T]

I wish everybody would quit taking Trump seriously about politics. He's possibly the world's most notorious attention whore and has about as much credibility on politics as a duck does on thermodynamics.

The proper response to Donald Trump is "Yeah, whatever, Don, don't you have a bankruptcy to file?"

[Maxxx]

The republican establish is fucking stoooopid.

Vote for Mitt, he's electable.

Rove is a genius.

Jesus fucking christ.

[Ray]

In case you haven't seen it, the trailer for the Expendables 2 is out. Chuck Norris and Van Damme join the cast this time around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utXVexiJU9E

[RoboCain]

I thought the first one was crap.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Then just wait to you see the next one!!!!

I here Stallone had a fiber rich lunch before he worked on this one.

[John]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.c.....miserable/

Facebook is making us unhappy by making everyone else look really, really happy."

Author Daniel Gulati blogs for Harvard Business Review. He says all that shared information is creating a subconscious "ranking" among friends as our curated selves broadcast online are compared in real life.

"Facebook is bringing down a lot of people's daily sense of well-being."

It makes us miserable. That is why we use it. Is there anyone associated with Harvard who is not a buffoon?

[Ask/Receive]

Here you go, John!

http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/gop/

[John]

They look like buffoons too. Sorry.

[Ask/Receive]

But they're Republicans! Like you!

[John]

So what?

[tarran]

I think the guy is a collectivist and can't understand that one can be affiliated with an organization yet be apart from it.

[Ray]

Of course it was crap, but it was very good crap. I mean, it's an excuse to get these guys together and do nothing but kill bad guys. I'm a bit of a film snob, but these films were pure action movie nostalgia from my days of watching 80s action films.

[Auric Demonocles]

The Iraq War is nominally over.

joe will be back any minute.

Obama can now lawfully order the indefinite and undisclosed detention of Americans.

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

[Yup]

joe will be back any minute

You know who else they keep saying that about?

Yup. Jesus.

[P Brooks]

I thought by "removed from Congress," you meant "lined up against a wall and shot".

535 heads, neatly stacked, on the front steps of the Capitol.

[T]

Pyramid of skulls, P. Brooks.

[CaptainSmartass]

Never underestimate the artistry of a head on a stake. DC has some lovely bridges that could be lined with the heads of Congressmen and bureaucrats.

[sloopyinca]

OK, I didn't share this last night because I wanted the full spectrum of commentators to give their opinion.

My son has a trumpet that came from the school. It was stolen from the school cafeteria last Thursday/Friday (not totally sure which day). My ex-wife put up flyers that listed a reward of $100 if anyone found it. Someone called her from a blocked # and told her husband that he'd give it back, but they wanted $200. He said no, then they, after a background conversation in Spanish saying they would just sell it at a swap meet and that he had no proof they had taken it, reiterated their demand. (He is from PR, and speaks fluent Spanish) They said he would have to meet them at a BoA parking lot in an hour to make the swap or no dice. So, my ex-wife called the cops and explained the situation to them and requested they go to the bank and ask the people what was going on. They refused and said they could fill out a police report, but that was it. She explained the background conversation and the cop said that was just her word.

Anyway, my ex-wife's husband drove to the bank and gave the guy $200 and got the trumpet back. He told the guy (in his 20's and on a bicycle) that what he was doing was wrong. The guy rode off on his bike with the $200.

What a pussy. All he had to do was ask to see the trumpet first and when the guy showed it to him, grab a baseball bat and ask him if he'd like to make a trade. I doubt the crook would call the police and have to explain how he came across the trumpet in the first place, or show his ID and have his record pulled up.

Anyway, what would you guys have done?

[sloopyinca]

P.S.: The trumpet is worth $800 replacement cost to the school.

[John]

Beaten the living shit out of him. That is when you bring three of your friends, make the exchange and then take the money. He would have never called the cops. Worthless piece of human garbage.

[db]

Probably not the best idea seeing as the dude has your phone number. I wouldnt put it past them to call the cops. Assault and battery >>>theft.

[T]

Dirtbag's word against yours. And if it ever makes it to court, claim he tried to grab your wallet as you were getting out the reward money.

[sloopyinca]

Yeah, and I'd be willing to bet his prior record ain't as clean as my ex's husbands. See below.

[Tulpa]

Awesome, now we have multiple commenters advising the filing of a false police report and eventually, committing perjury.

[T]

Baseball bat? Nope. If you're gonna escalate to use of force, go big or don't go.

[sloopyinca]

I would imagine the sight of the bat would have gotten the guy to shit his pants and flee.

To make matters worse, my ex-wife's husband is a marshal for the DoD. The fucker has a badge and can carry wherever he wants. And he was too show that badge as he opened his wallet?

[R C Dean]

Anyway, what would you guys have done?

Gone to the parking lot, pointed a gun at him, and told him to leave the trumpet and his driver's license on the ground, or I would shoot him dead and tell the cops he tried to rob me.

As far as my word against his, well, if this goes wrong, he's not talking, is he? And if he tries to rat me out after, first he has to explain about the stolen trumpet, so I'm not worried.

[R C Dean]

Plus, the cops aren't going to be too excited about making a big deal out of this, since they blew off the call asking them to do their fucking jobs. Bad publicity, you know?

[Tulpa]

Internet tuff gai FTL.

or I would shoot him dead and tell the cops he tried to rob me.

I would think a lawyer would know that self-defense is an affirmative defense to murder charges. ie, you have to prove that you were acting in self-defense. Which would be tough to do, considering it wasn't self-defense.

BTW, you're advocating committing murder AND lying to the cops about it.

[Tulpa]

I mean, just basics, if the guy doesn't have any lethal weapons on him, which is possible, you're screwed.

[sloopyinca]

But the trumpet could be considered a weapon. My son assaults my ears every time I hear him practice.

[Tulpa]

Uh, you have no proof that the trumpet in question was stolen (unless there's some trumpet registry I'm unaware of). You threaten assault you're in deep shit.

And yes, criminals have been known to call the cops when their attempted crime is forcibly thwarted. Same reason you better call 911 immediately from your cell if you ever scare off a mugger by showing him your gun.

[sloopyinca]

There is a registration # etched into the trumpet from the school. And the trumpet is kept at the school unless signed out, which it wasn't.

And as far as them calling the cops, I sincerely doubt the cops are going to take their word over a federal marshal.

[Tulpa]

Ah, well that changes the landscape a bit.

Now we have both the parallel sets of laws for LEOs and the fact that you'd have evidence it was stolen.

I would still go with the baseball bat level of force you suggested rather than the firearm level as others suggest.

[Mr. Mark]

Criminals, trash, meth-head losers are the absolute, 100%, top-all-challengers KINGS of false accusation and running to mommy government for everything in their lives. I think it's because they've spent so much time in prison and on the government dole that they've come to view the cops as family or something.

[Tulpa]

Oh, and I'm sure you already did this, but the main priority for how you or his stepdad should approach this is to impress on your son (by perhaps undisclosed methods) the importance of not leaving $800 objects laying around in the cafeteria.

[sloopyinca]

Yeah, but that's where they are kept. The cafeteria serves as the bandroom on Tuesday and Thursday after lunch. The instruments are stored there when not in use or signed out.

[db]

I thought our schools were now so locked down you can't enter or exit without going through a metal detector? How did someone manage to smuggle the trumpet out? Maybe the thief was a fellow band member?

[sloopyinca]

I'm sure it was a student there. But, to your other point, I walk into my son's campus all the time...right past the office and onto the playground. I do coach the track team, but I've done it when they had subs in the office and never been stopped.

[Mr. Mark]

"Anyway, what would you guys have done?"

Lost my temper and beat the hell out of him, then been arrested.

[Neu Mejican]

Anyway, what would you guys have done?

Let's see...John is gonna beat the guy up...RC is going to murder him. I am thinking none of this is worth the trouble.

The school's insurance covers the lost trumpet...and they are not going to have a legitimate claim against your son...particularly since it was stolen at school. So...

Tell the school the trumpet was stolen and that they need to find out who stole it. Refuse to pay the replacement fee, go to a pawn shop and get your son a Trumpet for 50 bucks.

[P Brooks]

Is there anyone associated with Harvard who is not a buffoon?

Mankiw.

He's at least MOSTLY not a buffoon.

[John]

True. And they are always protesting him and trying to run him off.

[Auric Demonocles]

The bartenders in their student union aren't too bad. They were a bit slow, but I was wearing Cornell colors and being a douche about the hockey game Harvard lost an hour before.

[P Brooks]

what would you guys have done?

As appealing as the "baseball bat" option might be, something tells me the same useless pigs who couldn't be bothered to take an interest in the original theft would be beating down your door in no time flat.

[sloopyinca]

Brooksie, I haven't seen your name on the H&R College Bowl Pick-em yet. We're already at 26 people. I want to see 40 by the end of the day tomorrow.

Link: Hit & Run College Bowl Pick-em

Password: liberty

[Auric Demonocles]

Why do you want to make me register, you fascist?

[sloopyinca]

You can hide your e-mail address during registration.

[sloopyinca]

Why do you want to make me register, you fascist?

Put the glasses on! Put em on!

[Brett L]

If we have to go through this epic fight scene for everyone, the bowls will be over before we make quota.

[Viscount Auh20]

ZEE GLASSES! THEY DO NOTHING!

[Mad Scientist]

Sorry, Sloopy, those cops had important traffic citations to dole out. Recovering stolen property is a job for, um, some other agency.

I think I would have also handed the guy a couple of hundred dollar bills freshly minted from my inkjet printer. He would have likely been too nervous to notice until it was far too late.

[Tulpa]

It's never too late if he has your phone number.

And counterfeiting? We're really upping the ante on this shit. Murder, perjury, counterfeiting... who's the law-abiding citizen here again?

[Mad Scientist]

Please, Tulpa. Giving funny money to a crook is better than he deserves. And even if the guy does have your phone number, so what? He's not coming over to "collect" without getting an ass-kicking and he knows it.

[PantsFan]

You could have gotten around the "he has your phone number" by getting a prepaid cell and using that number. He probably used one of those to call you on.

[sloopyinca]

Well he did call from a blocked #, so that's an attempt to deceive right there. And my ex's dumbass husband should have said he would have to call back, but he was afraid they'd just give a fake # and sell it at the swap meet.

He could get the # of the guy who called him (and his address) from the cellphone company...if the cops so chose to. And they could easily get PC by asking the school what their storage and take-home policy for instruments is.

[CaptainSmartass]

Wait, if your ex's husband is a Federal marshal, why didn't he just arrest him himself? Isn't there a Federal law about using telephones in furtherance of a crime?

[rather]

WTF is with all the female bashing? Is it alimony Thursday again?

[Viscount Auh20]

Tebow>Jezebel

God, they almost make me like him out of spite. Also, can we get over, as a society, thinking that because someone disagrees with us, they are bad people? I mean, some certainly are, but I honestly think most people I disagree with are legitimately smart people who just prioritize shit differently.

[Viscount Auh20]

Also, I think, as the one who put it forward, I will take the bullet and watch Nicholas Sparks to keep the TBA reviewer honest.