A.M. Links: Flood of Santorum Support Continues, Chris Christie Vows to Squash Gay Marriage, Ron Paul PAC Plans a "Million Dollar Marathon"

Mike Riggs | 2.15.2012 9:00 AM

Santorum is leading in Ohio and Michigan; victory in both states would "destabilize" Romney.
Chris Christie shows his socon side and promises to veto gay marriage bill.
Ron Paul PAC plans a million-dollar fundraiser to by ads for Super Tuesday.
The Examiner calls yesterday's payroll tax-cut deal a win for conservatives.
Obama's Department of Energy is infested with venture capitalists.
Iran one step closer to going nuclear.

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Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

RoboCain can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are drowned in orange ink.
1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
  
  I, for one, welcome our new RoboCainiac Overlords.
2. Black drones 13 years ago
  
  we cant be reasoned with either
3. Night Elf Mohawk 13 years ago
  
  It's like it has popped the posting version Bestial Wrath.
  1. db 13 years ago
    
    Mixing idiom here, but sometimes I feel like Nevinyrral's Disk would be very usedul around here.
    1. Fatty Bolger 13 years ago
      
      I had to look that up. I assume it's a rip-off of the Warlock's spinning disc in Niven's The Magic Goes Away?
    2. Minsc 13 years ago
      
      Isn't that from M:TG?
4. Tim 13 years ago
  
  I think you hurt its' feelings...
  1. Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago
    
    Robo's like the Borg. No notice of me is taken whatsoever until I pose an actual threat. Mixaphorically speaking.
Jerry 13 years ago

Thirst.
sarcasmic 13 years ago

This just in!
Sports Illustrated puts scantily clad women on the cover!
No shit!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....cades.html
1. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
  
  Coming soon: using the Interstate Commerce Clause to mandate everyone opt out of that issue.
  1. COMMERCE CLAUSE 13 years ago
    
    IN MY BUNK!!!!!
2. PS 13 years ago
  
  They exploit them by making them wear really tight, uncomfortable bikinis!
  
  I heard this from a girlfriend all the way back in the eighties.
  1. Mr. FIFY 13 years ago
    
    Is she a regular at Feministing now?
RoboCain 13 years ago

America, Fuck Yeah!

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/b.....est-758492
1. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  You're gonna steal and repost my evening link without a hat tip? You heartless, libertarian bastard.
  1. RoboCain 13 years ago
    
    But Naked Cowgirl!
    1. Brett L 13 years ago
      
      Heartless, libertarian bastard isn't a compliment? I meant it that way.
      1. RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        But I have the heart of a child. I keep it in a jar on my desk.
    2. Zeb 13 years ago
      
      Her drunkenness seems to have more relevance to the story than her nakedness.
2. Ice Nine 13 years ago
  
  Thank god the cops saved us from nakedness!
3. anon 13 years ago
  
  Soooo yesterday RoboCain.
  
  Although I fail to see the problem with her naked in cowboy boots.
  1. D?nadan 13 years ago
    
    Boots and hat would have been okay. Just boots, c'mon, clearly THAT's the problem.
COXSWAIN HARDY 13 years ago

The Federal Reserve's Explicit Goal: Devalue The Dollar 33%

Here's The Presentation Where Jeff Gundlach Dares To Compare The US To The Roman Empire
1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
  
  The "devaluation" article blows.
2. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
  
  The Federal Reserve's Explicit Goal: Devalue The Dollar 33%
  
  Can someone remind me again why I'm supposed to be envious of the Chinese?
  1. shrike 13 years ago
    
    The Chinese love the dollar since they peg their lousy currency to it out of fear that letting it float would upend their giant trade surplus. So they create inflation on their own through pegging.
    1. RoboCain 13 years ago
      
      And I bet you know all about pegging, huh?
    2. Santorium 13 years ago
      
      Pegging?
      1. Max's Mom 13 years ago
        
        Max loves it when I peg him.
  2. Maxxx 13 years ago
    
    The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) has made it official: After its latest two day meeting, it announced its goal to devalue the dollar by 33% over the next 20 years.
    
    That's a complete joke.
    
    They've devalued the dollar twice as much in the last twenty years without even trying.
    
    http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cp.....year2=2011
3. John Thacker 13 years ago
  
  Predictable 2% inflation a year is not a bad thing.
  1. The Other Kevin 13 years ago
    
    It is when interest rates are effectively zero, and you watch your life savings dwindle before your eyes.
    1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
      
      Then don't invest all of your money in USDs.
      
      *woah*
  2. R C Dean 13 years ago
    
    Over your working life, it will devalue the dollar by something like 600%.
    
    I call that not a good thing.
  3. BigT 13 years ago
    
    Key word: predictable
    
    Not possible. If they aim for 2% we are likely to get 5+% because the pols spend faster than inflation. And peaks of 12% - remember those fabulous 70's?
  4. CrackertyAssCracker 13 years ago
    
    Predictable 2% deflation isn't a bad thing either.
  5. protefeed 13 years ago
    
    Predictable 2% inflation a year is not a bad thing.
    
    The government stealing 2% of your cash reserves every year by essentially counterfeiting is a bad thing.
    
    It is not as bad as some other things the government could do, but that doesn't turn something mildly negative into a positive.
RoboCain 13 years ago

"On February 14th I received an email from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa's (R-CA) office, containing a copy of a letter the Congressman just sent to Attorney General Eric Holder. In it, Issa points out Holder's "lack of good faith," in not complying with document requests heretofore, and to the fact that the DOJ as a whole appears "more concerned with protecting its image through spin control than actually cooperating with Congress."

http://biggovernment.com/awrha.....the-table/
1. Abdul 13 years ago
  
  "On February 14th I received an email from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa's (R-CA) office
  
  Issa sends the worst Valentines ever.
2. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
  
  That's because the DoJ IS more concerned with protecting its image.
RoboCain 13 years ago

Nancy Grace Goes Full Retard:

http://www.foxnews.com/enterta.....nderwater/
1. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  "Goes" implies that she doesn't exist there all the time.
  1. RoboCain 13 years ago
    
    Point taken.
2. o3 13 years ago
  
  obviously nancy was driven insane by the casey anthony verdict
  1. John 13 years ago
    
    It was a short drive.
    1. Karl Hungus 13 years ago
      
      I want to see Casey Anthony get a multi-million dollar book deal and play herself in a Hallmark Movie of The Week. Getting to watch Nancy Grace claw her own eyes out on live TV would be so worth it.
      1. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        I have room in my heart to despise both of them. For different reasons. One thing for Grace--she hasn't murdered her kids.
        
        I believe she's a former prosecutor--maybe from Atlanta? Like to see what her record was like.
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        "One thing for Grace--she hasn't murdered her kids."
        
        Only if you ignore genetics.
        
        Karl Hungus 13 years ago
        
        I believe she's a former prosecutor--maybe from Atlanta? Like to see what her record was like.
        
        Yep, she was a prosecutor, which explains a lot. Apparently she was embroiled in a kerfuffle of sorts over alleged prosecutorial misconduct:
        
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.....misconduct
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        I'd heard something like that but couldn't remember for sure. Not surprising, if true.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        Just read it. Holy cow. Here's something the Georgia Supreme Court had to say about her: "the conduct of the prosecuting attorney in this case demonstrated her disregard of the notions of due process and fairness, and was inexcusable."
        
        Reads like a review of her TV show.
        
        R C Dean 13 years ago
        
        With a review like that from the court, I don't know why she isn't Attorney General by now.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Pro,
        
        A friend of mine is a defense attorney in Atlanta and practiced against Grace. Understand my friend is a far right law and order type.
        
        And he says Grace was the most unethical awful person he has ever practiced against. She was generally loathed in Atlanta legal circles.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        You know, I think things were better when scumbags were ostracized after being outed as such.
        
        invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        One thing for Grace--she hasn't murdered her kids.
        
        Wow. We're really setting the bar high.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        That's the new standard.
        
        invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        But it's still cool if I murder someone else's kids, right?
        
        WTF 13 years ago
        
        One thing for Grace--she hasn't murdered her kids.
        
        Wonder if she's murdered any death-row defendants by prosecutorial misconduct?
    2. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
      
      More like a walk.
3. Joe M 13 years ago
  
  As Mr. Paul Anka would say, "Just don't look! Just don't look!"
RoboCain 13 years ago

Duh

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-20.....age-shows/
1. Joe M 13 years ago
  
  I am shocked.
2. John 13 years ago
  
  So disappointed.
3. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
  
  Disappointed!
  
  I went to see Penn & Teller (in St. Petersburg--they're on tour) last weekend, and Penn said something about skeptics actually wanting the mysterious and crazy to be true and hating all of the chaff. I think there's something to that, as I'd love for there to actually be a herd of mammoths wandering around somewhere.
  1. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
    
    By the way, the show was great. I highly recommend seeing them.
    1. Joe M 13 years ago
      
      Bullshit! is probably my favorite show of the last decade.
      1. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        Like that, too. I've been a fan of theirs for quite a long time, but this is the first time I've seen them.
  2. John 13 years ago
    
    Me too. Wouldn't life be more interesting if there was such a thing as magic and mysterious inexplicable shit did happen in daily life? Science maybe have built the world. But damn did it make it boring in some ways.
    1. wylie 13 years ago
      
      Wouldn't life be more interesting if there was such a thing as magic and mysterious inexplicable shit did happen in daily life?
      
      It's called LSD.
      
      This message brought to you by Science.
    2. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
      
      We're far away from knowing all there is to know. Our ability to deal with chaotic or massively complex systems still has definite limits, and there's plenty we don't understand.
      
      I'd love for something crazy to happen, especially in physics. Like no Higgs boson or those neutrinos really going FTL. Would wake our asses up.
      1. Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        Concur. BTW, are the London bookmakers taking wagers on FTL neutrinos?
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        It seems crazy unlikely. Even the reporting scientists said, "This is probably a screw up of some sort, but. . . ." But it would be awesome if true.
        
        Physics needs an anomaly to shake up the Standard Model and get more physicists out of string-theory-navel-gazing and back into science.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        We're about due for another Einstein, Faraday or Maxwell.
        
        PS 13 years ago
        
        IMHO Roger Penrose is the closest we've come in the post QED period.
      2. Sparky 13 years ago
        
        +1. I don't think humans will ever have the level of knowledge of the universe that they think they have.
  3. A Secret Band of Robbers 13 years ago
    
    There's plenty of mammoth DNA around. We can always make more.
RoboCain 13 years ago

Hammer Free Zone?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....efore.html
1. Ice Nine 13 years ago
  
  When hammers are outlawed only outlaws will be able to build houses.
2. smz 13 years ago
  
  Don't Touch This!
John 13 years ago

http://the-diplomat.com/2012/0.....oft-power/

Hollywood gladly signs up to be a China toady.
RoboCain 13 years ago

Stick it in his pooper?

http://moonbattery.com/?p=8089
1. Sparky 13 years ago
  
  Comment gold...
  
  Jimbo says:
  February 14, 2012 at 5:41 pm
  
  This is getting down to protecting your family from SMUT at what ever cost. Homosexual sex acts may be deadly. Someone puts this in front of one of mine, I'll hurt him. Bad.
  
  Remember ? crap like this exported to the world is a big reason the murderous islam-bastards kill westerners and call us "Satan". Freaking homo-bastards and their filthy liberal enablers are what causes 9-11s to happen.
  
  Arm yourselves, America.
  1. Joe M 13 years ago
    
    Sounds pretty sympathetic to Islamic terrorists.
  2. John 13 years ago
    
    So much crazy in just two paragraphs.
    1. mr simple 13 years ago
      
      What do you expect from a site like moonbattery?
    2. Tonio 13 years ago
      
      Coming from you, John, that's high praise. Expert commentary and all.
      1. John 13 years ago
        
        Yes Tonio, everything you disagree with is the crazy.
  3. anon 13 years ago
    
    Fine example of the product of Government Education.
    1. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
      
      You can only get that kind of education on Sundays and at the dinner table.
      
      Public schools spout plenty of stuff that measure full retard on the meter, but religious bigotry isn't one of them.
      1. anon 13 years ago
        
        You can only get that kind of education on Sundays and at the dinner table.
        
        Someone can only accept this type of logic that is the product of a government school that doesn't teach critical thinking on any level.
        
        To make the jump from "Gays" to "9/11" requires a serious lack of any critical thinking whatsoever.
        
        Zeb 13 years ago
        
        Have you ever met people who go to private schools? I really don't think what school you went to has much to do with your reasoning skills later in life. Even less whether the school is public or private. There are idiots everywhere.
        
        anon 13 years ago
        
        Have you ever met people who go to private schools? I really don't think what school you went to has much to do with your reasoning skills later in life.
        
        I attended Catholic schools for half my life, only to be a subject of the public school system in high school.
        
        Hilarious that the "religious fundies" teach more critical thinking than public high schools, at an earlier age.
        
        Tonio 13 years ago
        
        Catholics are not generally considered "fundies" by secularists. And you're right about the critical thinking taught in Catholic schools; however, that's only one facet of the education.
        
        Zeb 13 years ago
        
        Different schools make some difference, I am sure. But I think that parents are the really important factor in education. People with parents who care about education and critical thinking skills and all will do better, whatever school they go to.
      2. An unnamed source 13 years ago
        
        Atheists are religious bigots too. No matter how much they claim otherwise.
        
        mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
        
        I agree, but they don't form their arguments that way. They would outright blame religion for terrorist attacks, but not that homosexuality here caused them to attack us. That's a wholly American Christian Fundamentalist POV.
        
        Zeb 13 years ago
        
        A non-religious person can't really be a religious bigot. And there is only one atheist belief, so it is pretty dumb to say that "atheists are ____" unless you fill the blank with "people who don't believe in gods".
        
        anon 13 years ago
        
        A non-religious person can be a bigot against religious people, though.
        
        I think it's self evident.
        
        anon 13 years ago
        
        Of course, I only think it's self-evident because of my past behavior towards some religious people in the past (which I'm not proud of).
        
        Tonio 13 years ago
        
        So? And no, I've never claimed otherwise.
        
        anon 13 years ago
        
        A non-religious person can't really be a religious bigot.
        
        I was referring to this specifically.
      3. Red Rocks Rockin 13 years ago
        
        Public schools spout plenty of stuff that measure full retard on the meter, but religious bigotry isn't one of them.
        
        In public schools, The State is the dominant religion.
  4. Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
    
    This person has a family?!?
    
    And I'm still single. There's no justice.
    1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
      
      Would you want to be married to him?
      1. Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        No, I want to be married to a combination of Jack Donaghy, Ron Swanson and Karl Pilkington.
        
        Maybe that's why I'm still single.
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        Or maybe it's because you watch too much TV?
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Nah...it's probably that I just don't like people all that much.
        
        (in my defense, I have been dating someone for over a year, so I ain't no crazy cat lady just yet.)
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        ...a combination of Jack Donaghy, Ron Swanson and Karl Pilkington.
        
        Sorry, KK. I'm taken.
        
        Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        One of these things is not like the others...
        
        One of these things just doesn't belong...
        
        WTF 13 years ago
        
        I want to be married to a combination of Jack Donaghy, Ron Swanson and Karl Pilkington.
        
        I have no idea who any of those people are.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        The first is the guy Alex Baldwin plays in 30 Rock (an NBC executive). The other two are...uh...guys?
        
        Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        The second is a libertarian Parks Dept. Director that Nick Offerman plays on NBC's Parks & Recreation. The third is a simpleton with a perfectly spherical head.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        A hilarious simpleton with a perfectly spherical bald head.
        
        Never underestimate the sexual power of hilarity, gentlemen.
        
        Proprietist 13 years ago
        
        Ron Swanson, the mustachioed boss from Parks and Recreation, duh. You watch 30 Rock and not P&R?! Ron Swanson is the coolest libertarian on the boob tube.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        P&R couldn't hold my attention through the pilot. Haven't tried it again since. 30 Rock is something I occasionally watch when an episode I haven't seen is on TV.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        P&R is worth Ron Swanson alone. The one where the little girl shadows him for the day is 22 minutes of awesome.
        
        A Secret Band of Robbers 13 years ago
        
        Give it another try. Parks and Recreation was genuinely bad for the first season, and not great for the first half of the second. If you skip to the later episodes, you won't miss much.
        
        Proprietist 13 years ago
        
        Yeah it improved bigtime. I wasn't convinced until the last episode of the first season.
        
        CaptainSmartass 13 years ago
        
        You can pretty much skip the first season or so of P&R. It really hit its stride after its midseason hiatus in #2, since then it's been consistently one of the funniest shows on TV.
    2. Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
      
      ASL?
      
      /worst chat room ever
2. Ice Nine 13 years ago
  
  The "D-word"? LOL! All you Richards have just been censored.
  1. T 13 years ago
    
    I can find 'Spicy Cock Soup' openly displayed on the shelves of my local supermarket. Who will protect the children from such blatant obscenity?
    
    Admittedly, it's about eye level for me (I'm 6'1") so I doubt too many kids are seeing it, but still. It's just sitting there on the shelf! Being obscene and stuff!
    1. RoboCain 13 years ago
      
      So why do you hate Jamaicans?
    2. Rick Santorum 13 years ago
      
      I'm on it.
WARBONER 13 years ago

ZOMG!!! Iran haz teh nukezz!!!
1. Apologies to Gene Chandler 13 years ago
  
  'Cause they're the Nuke of Oil!
  1. Timon19 13 years ago
    
    Boooo!
    
    That pun was supremely awful. Well done.
  2. db 13 years ago
    
    Oh shit, that just baroned my punmeter needle.
2. smz 13 years ago
  
  warboner - awesome name!
RoboCain 13 years ago

A Valentine for Eric Holder

http://dailycaller.com/wp-cont.....ntempt.pdf
1. John 13 years ago
  
  I love how the two people they were investigating turned out to be FBI informants and thus unindictable.
2. Tonio 13 years ago
  
  Not much in iteself, but possibly laying the groundwork for impeachment. Nice.
Rich 13 years ago

victory in both states would "destabilize" Romney.

You mean he can flip-flop *more*?
1. wylie 13 years ago
  
  *begins investigating the renewable energy possibilities in flipflopping*
John Thacker 13 years ago

It is interesting to see Team Blue decide that a tax cut that is not paid for, together with some spending that is supposedly paid for, counts as some enormous win for them. I suppose it's a combination of simply being for whatever Obama proposes, combined with revealing their preference for anything that keeps deficits and spending from going down.

For all the Democratic complaints about the Bush tax cuts, they'd much rather prefer tax cuts that aren't paid for to tax cuts that are paid for via spending cuts. Just as, of course, Republicans prefer spending that isn't paid for to spending that is paid for with tax hikes.

Fiscal irresponsibility is thus a pretty stable outcome.
1. BigT 13 years ago
  
  How does one 'pay for' a tax cut? Bribe your Congress-scum? Inquiring minds want to know.
  1. wylie 13 years ago
    
    Math, how the fuck do they work?!
John 13 years ago

Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada has remained consistent for 130 years, with no evidence that anything has changed as a result of climate change, according to a study released Tuesday.

The analysis of snowfall data in the Sierra going back to 1878 found no more or less snow overall ? a result that, on the surface, appears to contradict aspects of recent climate change models.

John Christy, the Alabama state climatologist who authored the study, said the amount of snow in the mountains has not decreased in the past 50 years, a period when greenhouse gases were supposed to have increased the effects of global warming.

The heaping piles of snow that fell in the Sierra last winter and the paltry amounts this year fall within the realm of normal weather variability, he concluded.

"The dramatic claims about snow disappearing in the Sierra just are not verified," said Christy, a climate change skeptic and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. "It looks like you're going to have snow for the foreseeable future."

http://www.jammiewf.com/2012/t.....-verified/
1. sarcasmic 13 years ago
  
  Next you're going to say Auschwitz was a hoax.
  
  Why do you hate the Joos so much?
  1. anon 13 years ago
    
    Dude
    
    Two lines linking climate change to holocaust.
    
    You're freaking amazing.
    1. 13 years ago
      
      Errr......
      
      Look at his handle.
      1. anon 13 years ago
        
        *whoosh*
2. SugarFree 13 years ago
  
  Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past
  
  CHARLES ONIANS MONDAY 20 MARCH 2000
  
  Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
  
  Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.
  
  -
  10 days, near-record snowfall
  
  December 16, 2010
  
  Ten days of unprecedented snowfall in London was expected to end Wednesday night with calmer weather through Sunday, Environment Canada says.
  
  Winds that drove squalls from Lake Huron were expected to died down, with no significant snow forecast through Sunday.
  
  "It looks as if we're heading into a stretch of quieter weather," said Environment Canada's Geoff Coulson.
  
  The break comes none too soon - London is nearing an all-time record for snowfall in a month after half a winter's worth was dumped in 10 days.
  
  Halfway through December, 122.2 cm of snow have fallen at the London's airport, a total nearing a monthly record of 134.1 cm in December 1977.
  1. Timon19 13 years ago
    
    Don't tell me you just conflated London, England with London, Ontario.
    
    Then again, London, England has had quite a heavy snow year this year while London, Ontario has probably had little like the rest of eastern North America.
    1. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      Fuck, I did. Stupid multiple Londons.
      1. John 13 years ago
        
        It doesn't matter. London, UK, got hammered with snow last year.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        And this year, though it wasn't record-breaking.
      2. SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        London has first October snow in over 70 years
        
        A Heavy Snowfall Cripples London
        
        Timon19 13 years ago
        
        That's better.
      3. Timon19 13 years ago
        
        There's a London, Ohio, if it makes you feel any better.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        Nothing about Ohio makes me feel better.
        
        Except for Urban Meyer.
        
        Restoras 13 years ago
        
        Also in Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
      4. JW 13 years ago
        
        Fuck, I did. Stupid multiple Londons.
        
        We should nuke one of them, to avoid such future confusion.
        
        Not that Tim 13 years ago
        
        Boom goes London;
        
        "Boom" Par-ee
        
        More room for you ;
        
        More room for me
  2. John 13 years ago
    
    That is just weather SF. He was talking about climate. That is different.
    1. RoboCain 13 years ago
      
      Unless the weather gets warmer, of course.
  3. Mike M. 13 years ago
    
    Uhhhhhh, polar vortex, POLAR VORTEX! Or some stupid shit like that.
  4. Ice Nine 13 years ago
    
    Noo! What would winter be without "sledges"?!
    1. wylie 13 years ago
      
      great, now what am I supposed to use to knock down snowmen? A shovel? Fuck that, I quit winter.
    2. Ethan Frome 13 years ago
      
      What would winter be without "sledges"?!
      
      A whole lot safer.
      1. Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        Good one!
  5. Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
    
    I remember one of the venerable DC weather dudes (I wanna say Bob Ryan) that said the Blizzard of '96 was the beginning of the end of big snow in DC, so we should enjoy it while it lasted.
    
    Then there was 2009-2010.
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      I remember that too. And 10-11 didn't have the snow but was cold as hell. This is our first mild winter in four years.
      1. Restoras 13 years ago
        
        We are having a wonderfully mild winter in southeastern NY. After last winter I am glad of it.
      2. Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Well, there was "Carmageddon" last winter (can't remember if it was on the '10 or '11 side of winter), when people abandoned their cars on the GW Parkway.
        
        I'm one of those holier-than-thou public transport assholes, so I had no trouble getting home that day.
        
        wylie 13 years ago
        
        I'm one of those holier-than-thou public transport assholes, so I had no trouble getting home that day.
        
        Wait, you mean you didn't get trapped on the metro due to cracked rails or electrical fires? Sounds fishy.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Not that day. But I ride the yellow line, which (knock on wood) is remarkably clusterfuck-free most days.
        
        JW 13 years ago
        
        But I ride the yellow line, which (knock on wood) is remarkably clusterfuck-free most days.
        
        Every time I have to ride the Red line, I'm reminded why I loath Metro.
        
        I drive to work and while DC traffic massively sucks, it beats taking public transport. I still have to wait in backups, but it's my own, comfy personal entertainment zone with no one smelling like ass or sneezing on me.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        I usually nap or read or knit on my way to work. All things that cannot be done while driving a car, unless you have a death wish.
        
        But don't get me wrong - as soon as Metro becomes more expensive than driving, I'll dump the train for the car. Whenever rates go up, I crunch the numbers. Metro would still have to double its fares for it to be more expensive than driving (taking into account parking, gas and wear & tear).
        
        JW 13 years ago
        
        That's already a time loser for me and about breaks even on cost. It costs me < $3/day to park at work (about 20 feet from my suite door, no less) and mileage costs for the car is about is about $14 (based $.48/mile).
        
        I'd have to drive to the garage, pay about $7 and then another $10 for Metro, not to mention all of the schleping and queuing and waiting and putting up with the smelling of ass as previously mentioned. And it would add about an additional 30 minutes, on a good day, to my 45 min. commute.
        
        I will say that there was a decent amount of female eye candy in boots (sigh) on the Metro the other day and there is that, but it still doesn't make up for everything else.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Yeah, see, I live right next to Metro, at the end of the line (so I always get a seat). The yellow line is probably the least-used on Metro. I can count on one hand the number of times it's been standing-room only the whole way. Time-wise, it's about 10 minutes longer than driving, but that's because I work in the fucking desert known as Foggy Bottom (down by the Mall, not up by the hospital). All in all, my commute is probably one of the easiest in DC. Used to be even easier when I worked at L'Enfant.
        
        JW 13 years ago
        
        My neighbor took the Metro that night and then proceeded to take another 12 hours to travel the 4 miles to his home.
        
        It took me 4.5 hours that night. 14 miles and the fuckhead in a Prius with California plates, stopping, going up a hill with no one in front. The latter is why I shouldn't carry firearms.
        
        Minsc 13 years ago
        
        I knew it was going to be a long-long time until I ever considered a non-ICE vehicle when I passed a Prius doing about 15MPH up a mountain road in AZ in the summer. No idea how the driver got themself into the position, but between the incline and the use of the AC it had drained the battery to the point where only its itty bitty 70 HP engine was trying to push its 2-ton weight up a freaking mountain.
        
        That guy might still be there for all I know.
        
        Major Tom 13 years ago
        
        What about the feral Ghouls, Raiders, and Super Mutants?
  6. Spoonman. 13 years ago
    
    The second one relates to London, Ontario. The first relates to the standard London.
3. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  I had an argument with a physics grad student Monday night. At one point he said, quote: "I haven't read the literature but..." and then proceeded to tell me (wrongly) that a)climate models are predictive b)average global temperatures are warmer than the bad predictions and c)that snowmelt was a serious problem.
  
  This guy works with one of the world's most powerful magnets. I hope his ignorance on climate indicates that he spends all of his time thinking about how to make a higher-temperature superconductor.
  1. Red Rocks Rockin 13 years ago
    
    At one point he said, quote: "I haven't read the literature but..."
    
    I'm amazed you didn't shut him down right there. Any grad student worth their salt knows not to blatantly admit they haven't read the materials on the subject they are arguing, or they'll just look like a dumbass.
    1. Brett L 13 years ago
      
      That was pretty much the end of the discussion. It took me 3-5 more minutes to finish my cigarette and disengage.
    2. CE 13 years ago
      
      "I haven't read the literature, but..." "...I can parrot the talking points of those who are pushing an agenda I agree with, based on a theory that sounds plausible..."
  2. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
    
    Magnets: hopefully that guy knows how they work.
    1. wylie 13 years ago
      
      Magnets: I haven't read the literature, but, some shit about poles or something.
    2. CE 13 years ago
      
      When I was a kid, they freaked me out.
      After studying electromagnetism in college, I realized that no one still really understands how they work.
Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

Chris Christie shows his socon side and promises to veto gay marriage bill.

Perhaps someone is looking forward to a brokered convention, after all.
invisible furry hand 13 years ago

So Christie wants to veto gay marriage eh? Why? Didn't teh gheys bribe him with enough cupcakes?
1. Mongo 13 years ago
  
  cupcakes = Triple Stackers w/extra mayo
DJF 13 years ago

"""Iran one step closer to going nuclear."''

Congratulations Iran on the peaceful use of nuclear power.

Thankfully Iran has corrected the US mistake of giving Iran a research reactor which used weapons grade uranium (93%) and has modified this reactor to use non-weapons grade uranium (20%). The US crazy policy of spreading weapons grade uranium around the world has been corrected by the peaceful Iranian government.
1. WARBONER 13 years ago
  
  Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Tehran!!!!
  
  LOLLOLLOL!!!!!
RoboCain 13 years ago

Dear Wendy: "My Boyfriend Isn't Sexually Attracted to Bison"

http://www.thefrisky.com/2009-.....hes-broke/
1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
  
  I could read more from this Wendy chick:
  
  Why is it that you skip shaving regularly in the winter, but not any other time of year? I'd suspect it's because you want to look good and put-together during the months you're baring your legs, but get lazy ? oh, excuse me, I mean embrace your womanhood ? during the months you keep them covered, right? You figure no one is seeing them in the winter, so what difference does it really make? But here's the thing: Your boyfriend is seeing them ? and feeling them (which is hopefully more than anyone else is doing with them)! Doesn't he matter? Don't you want to look and feel good for him?
  1. Leftist Behavior 13 years ago
    
    Doesn't he matter?
    
    50% of married (and soon to be divorced) American women say, "No!"
  2. Beaver and Butt 13 years ago
    
    Heh. She said "embrace your womanhood".
  3. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    The advice from that column seems to boil down to: "You're a whiny bitch. Harden the fuck up and stop being sociopathically unable to take someone else's point of view into consideration."
    
    If only more women would listen.
    1. robc 13 years ago
      
      or South Carolina GOP voters.
      1. robc 13 years ago
        
        To be fair, ANY GOP voters, SC shouldnt be made an unfair example of. For this.
2. anon 13 years ago
  
  That Wendy chick seems pretty decent.
SugarFree 13 years ago

Chloe Angyal is an editor at Feministing. She is working on her doctoral thesis on romantic comedies, and on a book on the same topic.

"I hope the irony isn't lost on you," my sister said to me one day last February, "that this would make for an excellent start to a romantic comedy." I threw a pillow at her and went back to sobbing.

It was not lost on me. On the morning of January 3rd, I had started my doctoral research, a feminist analysis of romantic comedies, skipping off to the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center brimming with excitement and pride. And barely six weeks later, on the night of February 13th, the man I was madly in love with, a great guy with ?- it must be said ?- a less than perfect sense of timing, broke up with me.

-

What could have possibly driven him away?!?
1. John 13 years ago
  
  Whose money is she using to live in Manhattan skipping between the Lincoln Center and the New York Public Library?
  1. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
    
    Fucking mine, goddammit.
    1. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      Be prepared to learn just how many jerk-off majors Princeton has...
      1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        Her hope is that ... feminists will take over the world and force women everywhere to stop shaving their legs.
        
        Fuck off, slaver! I like my hairless legs / ladyparts etc
        
        T 13 years ago
        
        You just leave the hands furry? There's something wrong there, but I'll let SugarFree parse it out for us.
        
        Loki 13 years ago
        
        Feministing Jezebellian: If you like hairless ladyparts that just means you're a closet pedophile. The mysoginistic tradition of womyn shaving their legs and ladyparts is part of teh PATRIARCHY's conspiracy to keep womyn as child-like as possible and subservient to men. Real womyn have hair on their bodies and your attempt to keep them subservient to the PATRIARCHY have not gone unnoticed and will be avenged when womyn everywhere rise up against your mysoginistic ways. I am Chewy woman, hear me roar!
        
        I think of a man, and then I take away reason and accountability
      2. Maxxx 13 years ago
        
        Thomas Dollar '08 was a Woodrow Wilson School major. After graduating, he worked as public health intern for Africare in Freetown, Sierra Leone, through a Princeton in Africa fellowship. He can now be found roaming the Northern Forests of our continent, touring the major cities of the Eastern Seaboard, and offering freelance punditry (requested and un) to those who stop to chat with him.
        
        The ultimate douchebag?
        
        o3 13 years ago
        
        au contraire - thomas is freely gamboling unhindered by douchism, feministing, or unsound money.
2. o3 13 years ago
  
  keypoint (recurring) - "Of course, in many ways, my life looked nothing like a romantic comedy. For one thing, in a romantic comedy, I would weigh about thirty pounds less than I currently do."
  _
  
  teh FATZ again
  1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
    
    I decided something the other day, Orrin - I like you. You should stick around and post moar. I'm not kidding, either.
    1. Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
      
      How 'bout we give him MNG's spot on the roster?
      1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        Let's stick a rifle in MNG's mouth put MNG out to pasture.
    2. Rodney Amadeus Anonymous 13 years ago
      
      He's not like the other people here in the chat room.
    3. WTF 13 years ago
      
      You know, you may have a point. Orrin used to just post idiotic non-sequiturs, but lately he's been fairly entertaining.
      1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        I want to chuck him on the chin and say "you've come a long way baby"
      2. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        I call spoofhorrea.
        It's probably Old Mex.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Maybe Orrin was never a real troll, and always a spoof?
        
        Mind. Blown.
  2. Restoras 13 years ago
    
    If she says she's 30lbs overweight I bet it's more like double that.
    1. Loki 13 years ago
      
      More like "the rule of 3".
      
      Take the number of sexual partners a woman claims she's had and multiply by 3. Take the amount a woman claims to be overweight by and multiply by 3 as well.
3. John 13 years ago
  
  It is not that she wants to write such a thesis. It is a free country. She can write what she wants. It is that she expects to make a living for doing so. At some point in the last 20 years, people came to expect hobbies to pay the bills.
  1. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
    
    ANd now that those hobbies are being shown as inadequate, those same people want me to pay the fucking bills because, well, fuck you that's why.
    1. WTF 13 years ago
      
      Hey, she's entitled to a good salary, after all, she'll have a PhD! This is why we need equal pay for equal work. Because talents like her are not sufficiently rewarded by teh Patriarchy.
4. RoboCain 13 years ago
  
  This one is a classic:
  
  http://www.washingtoncitypaper.....-friedman/
  1. John 13 years ago
    
    And if you were me, you would go the a first date, and he would ask, "So, what do you do?" My online dating profile says that I've written a book and I'm writing another one. So they ask about it. And then literally ten minutes into a first date I'm talking about rape culture.
    
    I bet she is just a ball of laughs on a date. Who is desperate enough to date these broads?
    1. RoboCain 13 years ago
      
      "From my early 20s to my mid-30s I dated exclusively women and trans men."
    2. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      I also have a couple things in my profile that are screeners, that I'm hoping will turn off people I don't want to be bothered by. I mention feminism. I say I'm a size 16. But I do it all in a flirty way, like, 'size 16 can be sexy," not in a way that says, "I AM ALL THESE THINGS. DEAL WITH IT."
      1. Leftist Behavior 13 years ago
        
        Choosing to be fat is a big warning sign to me. It basically says, "My health is not worth making any effort," and if you can't put effort into your own well being, I'm not going to believe you will put effort into making a relationship work, either.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Very true. She doesn't have to be a size two. But even if her genes are against her she can at least get down to an eight or a ten and avoid type II diabetes.
        
        o3 13 years ago
        
        and most of the moody-bitch drugs
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        Insulin resistance is a tool of the Patriarchy.
        
        SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        The islets of Langerhans? Totally populated by mansplainers.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        Is that near London?
        
        T 13 years ago
        
        Not London, TX. I can't speak to the other ones.
        
        wylie 13 years ago
        
        if you can't put effort into your own well being, I'm not going to believe you will put effort into making a relationship work
        
        this pretty much sums up my diabetes and why I'm single.
        
        Audrey the Liberal 13 years ago
        
        Hey, I'm fat, and it's not because I don't care about my health. It's because I'm lazy. Seriously lazy. Hell, I'm so lazy I almost never write a Hit&Run; post longer then a paragraph. Also, I like food.
        
        Brett L 13 years ago
        
        As long as you don't expect people you date to pretend you're neither fat nor lazy, nobody here has a problem with it. Its wanting to be treated like a supermodel brain surgeon when you're an overweight hypenated studies grad student that causes the cognitive dissonance H&R commenters find so tasty.
    3. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
      
      She skips over the part that is totally under her control: the 10 minutes between giving a brief idea of what she writes about and rape culture.
      
      Guess what, most people are geeks/passionate about something that most other people won't understand. Hide it until you've piled up enough things on the interesting and likeable side of the scale.
      1. SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        Oh, the article picture has an acute case of The Angles. Here's a less biased angle.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Is plucking your eyebrows contributing to the rape culture?
        
        SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        Well, if it protects her from people who like to rape Mexican wolf boys, it's probably a smart safety measure.
        
        invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        Jack Nicholson's ugly grandson?
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        Odd that the spam filter allows links from the Spearhead but not A Voice For Men, as I would consider the latter the much more reasonable site.
        
        SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        I really think the spam filter is biased. I've had only two links rejected as spam since it was put in place.
        
        Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        It's a spam filter, not a depraved smut filter.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        I get it when I try to use Greek words. Pisses me off. Virginia had room for fans of the classics.
        
        robc 13 years ago
        
        I copied and pasted an entire Welsh poem in without trouble.
        
        You are referencing the wrong classics, apparently.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        Greek has its own alphabet. I think that's the problem.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Dr. Cal Lightman would say that smile is full of hostility & contempt.
        
        invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        So would microaggressions.com. Speaking of which...
        
        "Your brother is such a girl!"
        
        My mother while we did Christmas shopping together, because my little brother has traditionally feminine interests. Made me feel frustrated, upset
        
        And your brother felt... ?
        
        R C Dean 13 years ago
        
        He's a male. We don't have feelings. Duh.
    4. wylie 13 years ago
      
      So they ask about it. And then literally ten minutes into a first date I'm talking about rape culture.
      
      Be honest, honey. Y'all would still be talking about rape culture even if he didn't ask about your book.
      1. Audrey the Liberal 13 years ago
        
        Rape culture is what makes yogurt taste tangy.
  2. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    Feminism is what I do with my life, it's how I spend my days, it's my job, it's not just an opinion I have among many other opinions.
    
    And her sex problem is that she's too choosy? Perhaps i don't understand the male psyche, but gentlemen, wouldn't this make you run a 1,000 miles?
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      A life of self abuse sounds a whole lot better.
    2. NoVAHockey 13 years ago
      
      She's a size 16. You'd only have to run a block. Two at the most.
    3. Destrudo 13 years ago
      
      "too choosy" is feminist-speak for "I'm bitter that the men I really want won't come near me, so I take it out on the spineless beta guys and pretend to be picky as a defense mechanism"
    4. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
      
      I would walk 500 miles
      Then I would walk 500 more
    5. Audrey the Liberal 13 years ago
      
      Believe it or not, there are feminists out there (like me) who don't blame men for our own short comings. Really, I don't think it's "the patriarchy" that's making me a looser. I just have the attention span of a...
5. Abdul 13 years ago
  
  Fat, catty, on Jezebel all the time. . . doesn't matter, dumping a girl on 2/13 is just cold.
  1. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    C'mon. Dumping her on 2/14 by sending her dead flowers is cold. Dumping her on 2/13 is, at worst, cheap.
  2. o3 13 years ago
    
    once i told a beyoch i was dating to get out the day before her birthday. i had realized i wasnt gonna get her a damn thing anyway. >bitch took my golf clubs
  3. robc 13 years ago
    
    No its stupid. You make that decision in mid-December, not between the major gift giving holidays.
    1. Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
      
      Unless you are expecting a great Xmas gift, of course.
      1. wylie 13 years ago
        
        hence mid-Dec; you should know by then.
  4. Loki 13 years ago
    
    Maybe he just didn't wnat to have to bribe his fat, bitchy g-f into "servicing his needs". Also, he probably realized he wasn't getting anything anyway, so might as well become single again just in time to hit the bars on Valentine's day looking for someone as desperate for intimate contact as he undoubtedly was after dating her for who knows how long.
6. Destrudo 13 years ago
  
  What man wouldn't want an ugly femcunt girlfriend who likes to discuss structural inequality and heteronormativity?
  1. Audrey the Liberal 13 years ago
    
    What man wouldn't want an ugly femcunt girlfriend who likes to discuss structural inequality and heteronormativity?
    
    Maybe if she's okay with anal.
    1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
      
      More like if he's OK with anal
7. Yuno Hoo 13 years ago
  
  my doctoral research, a feminist analysis of romantic comedies
  
  Pushing the boundaries of knowledge.
8. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  What was the name of the character in PCU who was doing the Michael Caine thesis? Pigman?
  1. Kant feel Pietzsche 13 years ago
    
    Caine and Hackman together in the same movie! This is my closing argument. I can stop watching TV!
9. db 13 years ago
  
  Well you know, doctoral theses are difficult and stressful works requiring intense research, writong, and chocolate-eating sessions.
  
  Seriously, my GF is finishing her Ph.D. in a scientific field and it does piss me off that people get awarded doctorates for shit like "femnist analysis of romantic comedies." It's an insult to the folks who do meaningful research for years and produce real benefit for the rest of the world.
  1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    Relax, she'll get her doctorate in rom-com studies and then find a job commensurate with her hard-won skills. Like telemarketing
    1. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      SHE IS THE 99%!
      1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        She's not that fat. Maybe 40%, with Godesky contributing the rest
  2. Leftist Behavior 13 years ago
    
    Well, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that your girlfriend is actually going to be employable in a high paying field when she graduates, while Fatty McVictimhood is going to be writing on a blog.
    1. db 13 years ago
      
      Actually the greatest benefit is that in a couple of months I'll be calling her "Doctor Girlfriend."
      1. T 13 years ago
        
        +internetz
      2. wylie 13 years ago
        
        my hot-o-meter just broke.
      3. Ska 13 years ago
        
        Hope she has the body, not the voice.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        You want her to have the body of the Time Lord?
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        Body looks good to me:
        
        http://www.bamkapow.com/tag/do.....emId=18864
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        Moar:
        
        http://www.acparadise.com/acp/display.php?c=17639
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        NSFW:
        
        http://randomfives.tumblr.com/.....ros-doctor
        
        db 13 years ago
        
        That is the case.
10. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
  
  That'll teach her to date an oppressor.
o3 13 years ago

Why military hawks are leading drug legalization debate in Latin America

Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala want to decriminalize drugs, but with a military approach. This means going after criminals and gangs with military and police force before they can regroup.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World.....in-America
1. Don Mynack 13 years ago
  
  Until the gangs buy their way into gov't. But, I don't have big problem taking out the murderous assholes, as long as possession and peaceful cultivation happens.
Pip 13 years ago

"Iran one step closer to going nuclear."

That's not what Fluffy says.
1. robc 13 years ago
  
  "Iran one step closer to getting bombed by Israel" is probably more accurate.
invisible furry hand 13 years ago

This could describe so many people

They wear nappies, drink cola and don't know how to open a book
1. Restoras 13 years ago
  
  Sounds like a retirement home.
2. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  How dare you criticize the fact that I've based my lifestyle around Skyrim! I am a powerful, good-hearted person. In Skyrim.
3. Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
  
  Nothing a little David Brooksian "bourgeois paternalism" can't fix.
4. Chuck 13 years ago
  
  From the comments.
  
  "This is simply child neglect and teachers should raise concerns with social services who should then take action against parents who do not know how to bring up a child resposibly."
  1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
    
    Let's be like Sweden and put children in foster care because their parents hand-fed them instead of using spoons.
    1. Jumbie 13 years ago
      
      That was Norway.
      
      Sweden took away twins from a Russian mother for no reason and that's part of a larger racket of kidnapping children for state money payouts.
      
      http://rt.com/news/sweden-russ.....thorities/
5. Tim Cavanaugh 13 years ago
  
  IT'S THE SCHOOL'S FAULT!!!
Rather 13 years ago

Christie vows to squash gay marriage; lol
1. Alack 13 years ago
  
  By sitting on it, I presume?
2. Chuck 13 years ago
  
  Christie want smush-smush.
Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle's former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.

But don't apply the term "vulture capitalism" to them. They're healing the planet with your money.
Michael 13 years ago

I lurk here almost everyday, but I'm 29 with a terminal condition, and yesterday I got my marching orders. Weeks to go. I never cared much about freedom or liberty until I got diagnosed, and now that I'm going to be gone, I care about it deeply for my two kids. I just wanted to say that reading everyone's comments over the last few months have brought a smile to face. It makes me feel better to know there are people that will be here after I'm gone who still have that passion for freedom. Please don't lose it.
Adios, commentators. Thanks.
-Michael.
1. John 13 years ago
  
  Holy shit.
2. Mongo 13 years ago
  
  Switch over to The Weekly Standard site and read that -- those weeks will seem like years...
  
  Seriously - do what you can. Hope for the best.
3. Rich 13 years ago
  
  Winner.
4. o3 13 years ago
  
  see u on the other side brah
5. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
  
  Thank you for writing that. I hope you experience as little pain as possible.
6. Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
  
  Hey, dude - best to you. Say HI to J Sub D when you see him, willya?
7. Tim 13 years ago
  
  Brave Micheal. God Bless you.
8. Night Elf Mohawk 13 years ago
  
  Holy shit.
9. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
  
  Michael, I'm sure many of us are humbled that our words might have helped, even slightly, people we have never met. Best wishes to you and your family, especially your kids.
  1. Tonio 13 years ago
    
    ^This.
    
    Be strong, Michael.
10. db 13 years ago
  
  I wish your family the best.
11. Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
  
  Jesus -- that's rough. All the best to you and yours. I swear I'll continue to try to do my small part for the liberty of your kids (and for mine).
12. STEVE SMITH 13 years ago
  
  MICHAEL BRING TEARS TO STEVE'S EYES. STEVE CRY LIKE LITTLE BONOBO. STEVE DEDICATING NEXT RAPE SPREE TO MIKE!
13. Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago
  
  Good luck, brother.
14. Resto Druid FTW 13 years ago
  
  Wow. Peace dude.
15. sloopyinca 13 years ago
  
  I know there are a lot of atheists on here, but I'm not one of them. And because of my firm belief in God, I can happily say to you: Good Luck on your journey to heaven, Michael. And say hello to J sub D when you get there.
  
  Hopefully we can keep the fire of liberty burning for your kids.
16. Rather 13 years ago
  
  Michael,
  
  I wish you wrote about your condition; hope is free. It sounds like you accept your fate; as we all must.
  
  Did I drive you a little crazy too? I've never treated people who are facing their immortality any differently and I had a friend told me it was her only relief.
  
  Je t'embrasse tr?s tr?s fort,
  rather
  
  Shit, this mean like J Sub D, you will know who I am! 😉
17. Rather 13 years ago
  
  Michael,
  
  I wish you wrote about your condition; hope is free. It sounds like you accept your fate; as we all must.
  
  Did I drive you a little crazy too? I've never treated people who are facing their immortality any differently and I had a friend told me it was her only relief.
  
  Je t'embrasse tr?s tr?s fort,
  rather
  
  Shit, this mean like J Sub D, you will know who I am! 😉
18. Rather 13 years ago
  
  Michael,
  
  I wish you wrote about your condition; hope is free. It sounds like you accept your fate; as we all must.
  
  Did I drive you a little crazy too? I've never treated people who are facing their immortality any differently and I had a friend told me it was her only relief.
  
  Je t'embrasse tr?s tr?s fort,
  rather
  
  Shit, this mean like J Sub D, you will know who I am! 😉
19. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Humbled that our little kerfuffles have brought some diversion to you. God bless.
20. Zap Brannigan 13 years ago
  
  I was speechless.
  I salute your rare courage. Fair winds and following seas.
Rather 13 years ago

The bitch-fight between cousins
-it's the their family business
Rather 13 years ago

"Iran began loading domestically made nuclear fuel rods into its Tehran" and I hear Imdidit ceremoniously shoved in his first rod; I hope he can still have kids
Joe M 13 years ago

Gary Johnson gets 7% nationally as LP candidate, Ron Paul trailing Obama 49-41.
1. robc 13 years ago
  
  Roseanne Barr is getting 6% in a 3-way race, so not sure that is valid.
  
  Of course, her name recognition is MUCH higher than Johnson's. He is at 66% "dont know".
  1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    Roseanne Barr is getting 6% in a 3-way
    
    FIFY
    1. RoboCain 13 years ago
      
      Ewww.
      1. Eduard van Haalen 13 years ago
        
        Anytime she's on a date, it's at least a three-way.
        
        Because she's very large, you see.
        
        It's funny because fat people are funny.
    2. Loki 13 years ago
      
      Pass me the brain bleach, quick.
2. anon 13 years ago
  
  Gary who?
3. CE 13 years ago
  
  But when the election is actually held, Gary Johnson will get 0.7% nationally as the LP candidate. If he doesn't get 0.37%.
  
  I've realized that libertarians don't vote, based on results in presidential elections since 1976.
MNG 13 years ago

Frank Deford had a neat piece on NPR today on how Lin-Sanity shows how fallible "experts" are in general. Thought Hayekians and pitchfork-waving anti-elites here might like:

"And the fact is that nobody ? nobody in basketball ? had the perception or the guts to say: You know, I don't care what anybody else thinks, this kid Jeremy Lin has it. Whatever it is.

It's not like he was tucked away in Bulgaria. Lin was hidden in plain sight. He led his high school at Palo Alto to the California championship. No, Harvard is not Kentucky or Carolina, but he was on display for four years in Division 1. Come on.

But none of the geniuses ? not one scout, one coach, one general manager ? could see what everyone sees now when it's fashionable. None of the people paid to envision, could envision. Obviously, some of it was simply that Lin wasn't the right heritage. No, I'm not saying basketball people are prejudiced against Asian-Americans. It's just the usual common stupidity of stereotyping. It wasn't just a matter of race. Scouts tend to be uncomfortable with anything different."

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/15/.....ong-places
1. Leftist Behavior 13 years ago
  
  Well, according to the black guys on ESPN First Take yesterday, Jeremy Lin is only a big deal because he's Asian. He's nothing special.
  1. MNG 13 years ago
    
    Well, I'm glad you mention that, because I also noted these lines:
    
    "Now it's wonderful for Jeremy Lin that he finally got his chance. It's wonderful for fans that we got a lovely surprise. It's wonderful for Asian-Americans that they've got a new athletic hero."
    
    I immediately thought of the many paragons of post-racial sentiment here on H&R tsk tsking the "tribalism" of Asians celebrating the breatrhough success of an Asian NBA player...Is it horrible tribalism?
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      No because it is okay to be tribal in sports. Sports is tribal. That is one of the positive things about sports is that it gives humans a benign way to express their natural tribalism. Being proud of Jeremy Lin because his family is Chinese doesn't hurt anyone. Better that than only hiring Chinese to work at your business.
      1. MNG 13 years ago
        
        I agree I guess. I saw two ESPN commenters, both black btw, comment on how great the success of Peyton Hillis was because it inspired every white running back in high school or college by demonstrating to them, and their naysayers, that "yes, guys that look like you do are successful at this."
        
        I think this goes a long way in explaining why so many blacks loved Obama winning the Presidency, or why Catholics loved JFK, why so many Cubans supported Rubio and Mormons Romney. When a group is not represented in an area it's amazingly meaningful, at least symbolically, to see someone from that group "breakthrough."
        
        Double D 13 years ago
        
        I cried when Obama was elected. No shit uncontrollable tears of joy. My Master Chief brother tactfully steered me away from the troops, into an empty office. This is spite of the fact that I knew deep down in my soul that I would loath his every policy.
      2. anon 13 years ago
        
        No because it is okay to be tribal in sports. Sports is tribal.
        
        GODDAMNIT JOHN QUIT SOUNDING LIKE GODESKY!
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        The New York Yankees are the greatest gambolers of all time.
        
        anon 13 years ago
        
        Agreed. Fuck the Red Sox.
    2. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
      
      Yes, it is. I take issue with two recent sports talking points: 1) nobody saw this coming, so therefore sports media has somehow "failed" and 2) the Asian thing is "tribalistic"
      
      As to 1, nobody "saw it coming" because why would they? The reason that Lin is a big deal is because he plays for the Knicks (if he had gone on this run in Charlotte, you wouldn't be hearing about) and onto #2) he's Asian. Asian is "different", especially in American sports, especially in basketball. It's not tribalism that explains this: it's novelty.
      
      That said, if you cheer for Lin because you're an Asian and because he's Asian, you're a dope.
      1. John 13 years ago
        
        I think if you don't cheer for Lin because he is Asian, you are a dope. But if you are Asian and are happy to see someone who looks like you do well, I don't see anything wrong with it.
      2. MNG 13 years ago
        
        You think if an Asian player was dropping 20+ a night for Charlotte that wouldn't be news? Granted, not as big as doing it in the Big Apple, but that would be news...
        
        "if you cheer for Lin because you're an Asian and because he's Asian, you're a dope"
        
        What if you cheer because you are happy to see a hitherto unrepresented group now represented? And especially if you are a member of that group?
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        What if you cheer because you are happy to see a hitherto unrepresented group now represented? And especially if you are a member of that group?
        
        What the fuck is Yao Ming, chopped egg roll?
        
        Also, yes, if you cheer for someone because they share the same superficial characteristics as you, you're a tribalistic dope.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        Well, when you are aware that those sharing those "superficial characteristics" are absent in statistically improbable numbers you might not.
        
        I don't think anyone goes "yay, that man with oriental skin color and features is doing good!" they are going "hey, it's great that finally someone from that hitherto unrepresented group is excelling at this!"
        
        Like I said about the Peyton Hillis comments, that kind of thing sends a powerful symbolic message to naysayers and members of that group alike.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        I don't think anyone goes "yay, that man with oriental skin color and features is doing good!" they are going "hey, it's great that finally someone from that hitherto unrepresented group is excelling at this!
        
        That is the exact same thing. "Yay, a person with X eyes, Y skin, and Z other physical features is doing something where there are not as many X eyes, Y skins, and Z OPFs."
        
        You think that's intelligent commentary?
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        Yes. It's recognizing an inspiring breathrough that will actually lessen racial stereotypes and thinking.
        
        The problem with many of the "post-racial" saints here is that they turn on the post-racial thing in response to underrepresented groups suddenly benefiting from people thinking about race...Nice, that.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        The problem with many of the "post-racial" saints here is that they turn on the post-racial thing in response to underrepresented groups suddenly benefiting from people thinking about race...Nice, that.
        
        This is totally incoherent. Your evidence that we're not "post-racial" is that we express "post-racial" sentiments when people talk about the relevancy of race?
        
        Wow, that's real fucking falsifiable there, MNG. "See, you only talk about post-racial theories when someone brings up race! You're not really post-racial at all!"
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        Yes, see, your attitude is simplistic to the point of being childish.
        
        When a group is underrepresented in something that in itself gives rise to stereotypes that the members of the group must be unable to do what needs to be done. This falls not only on members of that group, who can be demoralized, but on everyone else who then make those expecations come true to some extent.
        
        So noticing when someone is excluded and cheering the reversal of that can, yes, lead to LESS exclusion than simply going "I don't see race, who is excluded?"
        
        Colbert does a brilliant send up of what you do.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        Colbert does a brilliant send up of what you do.
        
        Oh, I bet that clever bastard does. Boy howdy, too bad I don't get my news from that paragon of humor.
        
        When a group is underrepresented in something that in itself gives rise to stereotypes that the members of the group must be unable to do what needs to be done
        
        Only due to tribalistic thinking in the first place. Which I also rail about, but you only bring up postracialism when trying to call post-racialists "secret racists".
        
        you know what? You got me again, MNG. Congrats - successful troll is successful. Now go away; you're never interested in being honest.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        "Only due to tribalistic thinking in the first place. Which I also rail about"
        
        I don't see that much to be honest. But more importantly you're missing the point, and then whining about the other person being "dishonest", which is classic around here. Of course someone who is missing the point thinks the other person is being dishonest...
        
        The point is that whether you recognize race or not it has and is still well recognized by many, and in ways negative to many races. That has created disadvantages and stereotypes that are very real. When you go into your "I don't see or think in racial terms" you ignore all that, and ironically, help perpetuate it.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        The point is that whether you recognize race or not it has and is still well recognized by many, and in ways negative to many races. That has created disadvantages and stereotypes that are very real. When you go into your "I don't see or think in racial terms" you ignore all that, and ironically, help perpetuate it
        
        Trollin' trollin' trollin'
        Though your head is swollen'
        Keep those insults rollin'
        NiceGuy!
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        Like I said, you should keep such juvenile taunts ready at hand for all the "dishonest" people you meet that fail to argue on your terms and according to your axioms...
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        I think this conversation is very instructive of this "hey, you're being dishonest" thing that goes on here. Basically you think your point is SO OBVIOUS that only a dishonest person would fail to see the truth of it and continue to argue otherwise. I mean, if thinking racially is bad then thinking racially is bad, right? Only a dishonest person could say otherwise, it's so obvious!
        
        But of course the person is arguing a different nuance, a different level of generality. When you don't get that it will come off as "dishonest."
        
        Fucking waah, man. Lots of people hold that view I expressed, you better to be ready to meet hordes of "dishonest" people in your life buddy.
        
        Heroic Mulatto 13 years ago
        
        When you go into your "I don't see or think in racial terms" you ignore all that, and ironically, help perpetuate it.
        
        But what if you honestly don't see or think in racial terms? All I see when I look into the mirror is a man. Usually a man in need of a shave, but that's beside the point.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        That's great. It's not the not seeing color, it's the not seeing that many people do have a problem with color and so some people are going to see when people with color over come that as a good thing.
        
        But to the simplistic, that is "equally bad seeing things in terms of color."
        
        Oh, and "DISHONEST!"
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        All kinds of groups are under-represented beyond all statistical probability in many important areas. Certainly at least PART of that is due to demeaning group stereotypes and treatment. People cheer when someone from that group overcomes that, and decrying that cheering by saying "tsk, tsk, cheering because a member of group X did well there is the same racial thinking that caused the problem" is simplistic at a childish level.
        
        And then that is compounded by saying that your childish view is so obvious that only a dishonest person could find otherwise.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        But what if you honestly don't see or think in racial terms? All I see when I look into the mirror is a man. Usually a man in need of a shave, but that's beside the point.
        
        Ha ha, HM. If you claim that you don't see or think in racial terms, that's just proof that you're trying to downplay "breakthroughs" by people who have a certain color of skin, you Big Racist You.
        
        Loki 13 years ago
        
        What the fuck is Yao Ming, chopped egg roll?
        
        Nope, retired.
        
        Mr. FIFY 13 years ago
        
        I am confuse. Were Asians *prohibited* from playing basketball until Lin came along?
        
        Double D 13 years ago
        
        Rev, I like you (or, at least most of your outlook). I really do. But there ARE glass ceilings, and people DO get passed over because of "superficial characteristics." It is natural to feel happiness and inspiration when someone who shares your "superficial characteristics" breaks into a field against incredible odds, conventional wisdom, or cultural norms. Even if you don't particularly like the person.
      3. R C Dean 13 years ago
        
        I thought the point of the whole Lin thing was that he didn't fit the template, so nobody looked at him.
        
        As DeFord says, this demonstrates that most experts get that way by following a template, and are bound to miss things.
    3. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
      
      I immediately thought of the many paragons of post-racial sentiment here on H&R tsk tsking the "tribalism" of Asians celebrating the breatrhough success of an Asian NBA player
      
      I can only assume that you either a) don't believe that postracialism is a noble or desirable goal or b) that those of us who claim to be postracial really aren't.
      
      Either way, fuck your sarcasm.
      1. MNG 13 years ago
        
        I think many profess the former because of the latter, yup.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        Right, and the evidence for that is because they are libertarians, right? Or is it an "instinct" thing with you?
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        It strikes me as akin to the bully who gets people's lunch money and then, when confronted, starts to go on about how "yes, it was wrong, all stealing is wrong, including any stealing anyone is thinking about right now!"
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        libertarians are bullies now? Why don't you sketch that one out a little more for me...
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        I didn't say libertarians were in general who I was thinking of when I mocked the "post-racial" paragons here...
        
        But what I'm talking about are people who are members of groups that have benefited from past coercions waxing on about the evils of any remedial coercions...
        
        sloopyinca 13 years ago
        
        groups that have benefited from past coercions
        
        What, you mean like every group that ever existed?
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        Look here, sloopy, that's just Wal-Mart Traktor Pull kind of thinking. How much money do you make anyway?
        
        Olson Johnson 13 years ago
        
        All right... we'll give some land to the niggers and the chinks. But we don't want the Irish!
  2. Ice Nine 13 years ago
    
    according to the black guys on ESPN First Take yesterday, Jeremy Lin is only a big deal because he's Asian.
    
    According to me he's "not a big deal" to them only because he's getting attention in pro Bball and he's not Black.
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      He is a big deal because he plays for one of the flagship franchises, came from nowhere, and had the greatest first four games of any player in NBA history. He could be purple and people would be going crazy.
      
      Assholes.
      1. MNG 13 years ago
        
        This is the same dynamic I saw among several black ESPN commentators regarding Tebow...
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        So how does all the Christian love for Tebow work into the equation?
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        But Tebow was hardly the first Christian to get big in sports. He is no bigger of an overt Christian than Reggie White or Kurt Warner.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        It goes both ways. A lot of love for Tebow is simply because a group identifies with him, a lot of the hate likewise.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        There is also this weird reverse cynicism going on. Tebow seems to actually be what he seems. And I think some people want him to turn out to be a fake for some reason.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        I totally agree. It's a horrible cynicism. He seems like a nice kid, trying to live his dream while living up to something he believes in. Good for him.
        
        anon 13 years ago
        
        Yeah, I admire Tebow for basically saying "Fuck you" to people trying to change him.
        
        What can you do, haters gonna hate.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Tebow meets with sick kids or adults with various problems before every game. He picks someone out and flys them to the game, meets with them before the game, gets them a ticket, and talks with them afterwards. Every game.
        
        After the Buffalo game, he met with a guy who had some terminal heart condition or something. So he walks in, after getting totally shellacked and all the talking heads saying his career was over, and says "well that didn't go as planned". Wasn't angry or bitter. Still took the time to talk to the guy. Was his normal self.
        
        He is a better man than I.
        
        Loki 13 years ago
        
        He is a better man than I.
        
        This. IMO the real problem a lot of people have with Tebow is that he's a better man than most. It forces them to realize just how douche-y 99.9999999% of the rest of the human race really is. And the fact that he's unaplogetic about his faith and refuses to change who he is just to accommodate anyone else really pisses them off. In other words, he shines a big spotlight on "the haters" own inadequacies.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        There is also this weird reverse cynicism going on. Tebow seems to actually be what he seems. And I think some people want him to turn out to be a fake for some reason.
        
        John, be honest: what is wrong with the sentiment "if something seems too good to be true, it probably is"? If my daughter brought Tim Tebow home, it would take me months to be convinced he was legit.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Yeah RBM but you wouldn't hope that he was a fake. And I think some people actively hope Tebow is found in love nest with Tiger Woods and three strippers.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        Well, see, they are hoping that Tim Tebow does have a skeleton so the adage is confirmed. It would severely shake some folks' conceptual foundation for someone to be completely and totally wholesome.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        er, and that is exactly what cynicism is BRM, which is what John talked about...
        
        invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        If he is, he'll probably be convincing them of the error of their ways
        
        Heroic Mulatto 13 years ago
        
        Lin is a "born-again" Christian as well.
        
        Jus' sayin'
        
        sloopyinca 13 years ago
        
        [Citation Needed]
        
        I thought all Asians, especially the Chinkies, were Godless heathens.
      2. Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        Well, if you recall, Bird was "only a big deal" because he was White, according to the brothers. It took Magic a long time to acknowledge that that wasn't true, and then only halfheartedly. When they can't acknowledge Bird for what he was, don't expect anything from them on Lin.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Yeah. Isiah Thomas' crack that if Bird were black he would have been just average. I hope Bird cracked a smile when the dream team was named and Isiah was left off of it because no one could stand him.
        
        Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        Crack a smile? Larry Bird?
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Did you listen to the Bill Simmons interview with him Ice Nine? It was great. Talk about a no bullshit guy. You really get the sense that Bird was totally unaffected by his fame.
        
        Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        He was the real deal. Just a working class hero kind of guy. Didn't see that interview. Did you see the documentary "Magic & Bird"? If not, do it.
        
        R C Dean 13 years ago
        
        Bird moved back home to podunk, IN, after he retired, and had no qualms about leaving his fame behind.
        
        I was in Boston at the height of his career. Spent a very entertaining lunch eavesdropping on him at the next booth. A bunch of real estate sharpies were trying to get him to invest in a shopping mall. He turned 'em down.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        For me the classic shot of Larry Bird was when he was coaching the Pacers in the 1998 conference finals against Chicago. In one of the games Reggie Miller hit a game winning three pointer with about two seconds left. The roof nearly came off of Market Square Arena. And there is this shot of the bench when Miller hits the shot. The bench goes insane. And there is Bird just standing there watching. No emotion, nothing. Balls of steel. It summed up exactly why he was such a clutch player.
        
        Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        French Lick
    2. Black Kid (aka MNG) 13 years ago
      
      According to me he's "not a big deal" to them only because he's getting attention in pro Bball and he's not Black.
      THAT'S RACIST!
  3. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
    
    That's dumb. Too things at play here: (1) out of nowhere and (2) plays in New York.
    1. Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
      
      Asian has a very small part (npi) to play in this too, I think. Just not an overwhelming one.
      1. Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        It's a novelty, but I think the story plays for the other two reasons even without it.
    2. Proprietist 13 years ago
      
      The "out of nowhere" part is because he's already been in the league for a year and a half and showed very little besides potential. The Asian and New York thing certainly amplify the media response, but technically, he gets the attention based on the fact that he's got the highest average in his first four starts of any player in NBA history. After going undrafted, and never receiving an athletic scholarship. He has led a team that was floundering on to a five game win streak without their two superstars, with basically Tyson Chandler and a roster of scrubs. This sort of thing does not happen every day.
      1. Proprietist 13 years ago
        
        Oh, and don't forget the first Harvard grad ever to play in the NBA. Although I'm not a huge Harvard fan, I like him because his degree is in Economics.
        
        Fuck off already 13 years ago
        
        "Oh, and don't forget the first Harvard grad ever to play in the NBA."
        
        Wrong.
        
        http://www.databasebasketball......University
        
        Proprietist 13 years ago
        
        Should have said "since the merger." That basically created a new league, so I wasn't counting players in the 40s and 50s.
        
        Fuck off already 13 years ago
        
        http://www.google.com/url?url=.....R6-C_qVm6w
2. John 13 years ago
  
  I saw that. Sports scouting is an inexact science. But they do seem to make the same mistakes over and over again.
  
  First, they assume every coach at a lower level is an idiot. They see a kid that has physical gifts but no fundamental skills and assume they can coach him up that somehow is coach isn't teaching him properly. Well, maybe. Or maybe his coach is doing quite fine and it just isn't taking. It is usually the latter.
  
  To go along with that they totally underestimate the mental side of the game. Just because you have the physical skills doesn't mean you are smart enough to play it at a high level. Someone like Kobe Bryant isn't just physically gifted and works hard. He is also brilliant and sees and understands things about basketball mere mortals do not see. If you don't have that, you will never be a great player.
  
  Third, they assume that just because someone is good at something that they like doing it. To play at the highest level, you have to love doing it. It can't be a job or you will never work hard enough to succeed. Some people are very gifted at a sport but just don't like doing it that much. Doesn't mean they are a bad person. But it does mean they will never be great. See, Derrick Coleman, one of the most physically gifted basketball players in history and genuinely nice guy but a total might have been as an NBA player, as an example of this.
  
  Overall in basketball in particular, they just don't look at skills and intelligence enough. They get too in love with physical skills. To play in the NBA, regardless of how physically gifted you are, you have to be able to;
  
  defend your natural position (if you can't you will never get on the floor);
  
  and have at least one above average NBA level skills, be that shooting, rebounding, passing, shot blocking or whatever.
  
  If you have more than one above average skill you can be a star. But one and the ability to play acceptable defense at your position (i.e. not try to be a six two off guard or a six four PF who can't defend the bigger people playing his position), you will have a career.
  
  In Lin, they missed how smart and hard working he was. And ignored the fact that he has two above average NBA level skills (shooting and passing) because they were so obsessed with his small stature.
  1. MNG 13 years ago
    
    "they assume that just because someone is good at something that they like doing it"
    
    Deford had a good piece the other day about the over-the top hate players like Reggie Williams get when they say they don't care all that much for the game. According to him because fans so want to play sports and love it so much they can't stand that type of thing. To the extent that many scouts are wanna-be pro sports players the same thing might be going on...
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      People hate Derrek Coleman. He never got in trouble. He never beat his wife or anything. And he does a ton of charity work. He is by all accounts a good person. He was just a lazy basketball player. He did just enough to make his money. He wasted his talent. But it is his talent not mine. So I don't see how anyone has a right to hate on the guy.
      1. MNG 13 years ago
        
        I agree. Hating a man over sports is something I find hard to do...
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        I, too, agree. Unless it's Tom Fucking Brady.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        Is that an anti-Michigan thing, an anti-Patriots thing, or both?
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        It all aggregates into One Giant Black Hole of Douche.
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        A bit of the Michigan thing, but mostly the impotent rage and envy of a lifelong Bengals fan.
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        I should probably save that hate for Roethlisberger, but he's got the MAC pedigree going for him. Besides, teh Yinzers are just so dang pathetic in every other way.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        WTF is up with the Brady hate? Envy?
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        He's a whiner on the field, a carousing, Ugg-wearing fuckface off the field, and only won Super Bowls because Bill Belichik cheats. He constantly tries to draw the penalty flag, and because his oh-so-perfect little knee got messed up in football, where such things are apparently unheard of, we have to suffer through an entire rule made just for him.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        I don't see any more whining than anyone else. Damn near every WR who misses a pass looks over at the ref and does the little flag gesture...
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        While there are exceptions to this, I fucking hate wide receivers.
        
        robc 13 years ago
        
        because his oh-so-perfect little knee got messed up in football, where such things are apparently unheard of, we have to suffer through an entire rule made just for him.
        
        Carson Palmer?
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        I'm a big Pats fan, and it does annoy me on the occasions that Brady tries to get a flag (though from a pure trying-to-win-mentality it is the smart thing to do). However, he's far from the worst. Both Mannings do it far more from what I've seen. There should be way fewer calls on hitting the QB. This year I felt like the NFL was trying their best to drive me away with the way they were treating QBs like glass ballerinas.
        
        RoboCain 13 years ago
        
        And the Tuck Rule.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        I don't hate Brady. I think he's an excellent QB. About the only thing about him--and it isn't his fault--that annoys me is the idea that he's a good as Peyton Manning. This idea that QBs get you to or win Super Bowls all by their lonesome is silly.
        
        Best QB I've ever seen was Dan Marino. Don't care how many rings he doesn't have. He did what he did with no running game, little defense, and no special rules to juice the scoring.
        
        Ska 13 years ago
        
        Peyton Manning is the only reason the Colts ever had success. It's not a completely ludicrous theory.
        
        It's not that defense doesn't matter, or that the O-line doesn't matter, or that running backs aren't important - it's that if there's one position on a football team where an overachieving individual can have the greatest impact on their team, it's the QB.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        About the only thing about him--and it isn't his fault--that annoys me is the idea that he's a good as Peyton Manning.
        
        What's the argument that he isn't? You can ignore the Superbowls if you want, but he's still got crazy personal stats.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        I must've heard fifty times after the Super Bowl how Eli was now THE Manning. It's not even close, which makes that sort of talk all the more ridiculous.
        
        One thing that really impressed me about Peyton was his ability to get rid of the ball so quickly. Marino did that, too.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        Well duh, that is retarded. Eli vs Peyton is stupid. No MVPs for Eli. Threw 25 interceptions last year. Both of his playoff runs have been fueled almost entirely by a defense that was firing on all cylinders. Passer rating is in the low 80s.
        
        I'm not sure why you think Brady vs Peyton is a dumb argument. 2 MVPs (both arguably the best season any QB has ever had- though for different reasons). Has had some of the worst defenses imaginable the past 2 years and still got the number 1 seed both years. Actually has a better career passer rating than Peyton. While not as much of the OC as Peyton, still one of the smartest QBs you could get.
        
        I'm not saying that you have to agree that Brady is better than Manning (though I think that's the case), but you have to agree that it's a valid argument between the two. I'd say on a scale on 100 they are both like 98s (if only they weren't the slowest guys ever!).
        
        Ska 13 years ago
        
        Dude, I'm a Giants fan and I just shake my head when people say that Eli Manning is better than Peyton Manning. It took four years for me just to stop saying that Eli sucks. The Super Bowl win in 2007 was great, but Manning was still mostly bad that season. 2011 was the first season where I could say Manning played like a top tier QB.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        There are several picks at the end of the game that the Pats dropped (but should have caught) that would have left Eli with the legacy of losing the Super Bowl for the Giants.
        
        Ska 13 years ago
        
        But that didn't happen....and Eli did have a great regular season, and was mostly great for the playoffs and Super Bowl. I'm sure you can look at almost every Super Bowl and say if.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        I was talking 07, where he didn't have a great regular season. I was actually agreeing with you that he was overrated that year.
        
        This year he did play quite well, though one year isn't enough to say he's as good as Peyton or Brady (or even Brees or Rodgers).
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        ...mostly the impotent rage and envy
        
        WTF is up with the Brady hate? Envy?
        
        Ya can't make this stuff up.
        
        Rev. Blue Moon 13 years ago
        
        ...mostly the impotent rage and envy
        
        WTF is up with the Brady hate? Envy?
        
        Ya can't make this stuff up.
        
        Our Special House Moron Liberal.
        
        sloopyinca 13 years ago
        
        WTF is up with the Brady hate? Envy?
        
        1: He went to Michigan.
        2: He's a crybaby.
        3: He plays for a dirty, cheating franchise.
        4: He went to Michigan.
        5: He let his woman tell him how to dress and cut his hair.
        6: Tuck Rule Game.
        7: That school up north.
        
        Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
        
        Don't hate Brady for the Tuck Rule Game. Don't even hate the refs who called. Hate the league for making a dumb rule.
        
        R C Dean 13 years ago
        
        He just rubs me the wrong way. Smug pretty boys do, so I hates 'em.
        
        The Patriots are the only team that will root for anyone to beat, anyone at all. Even the Iggles.
        
        And I just watch the Iggles so I can be there when Michael Vick suffers a career-ending injury. I also hate him, because he's a sadistic fuck, BTW.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        You almost won one. How do you feel about Joe Montana?
        
        Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        How do you feel about God?
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        How do you feel about Joe Montana?
        Surprisingly placid. I suppose it's because at the time (I was in college) I figured we'd certainly win at least a couple of the things BEFORE I FUCKING RETIRED!
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        Sam Wyche helped turn the Bucs in the right direction, though the real heavy lifting came later.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Everyone but Cowboy fans love Joe. How can you not love Joe? He was never big for his position. He didn't have all the physical skills. But it didn't matter. He was Joe Montana. Coolest guy ever.
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        I do wish Ken Anderson could have won one. He had some mad skilz, I tells ya.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        I wish Dan Fouts could have won one. I loved that San Diago team he played on. And their year was the year the Bengels went. Too much to expect a team to play the double over time game in the Orange Bowl one week and then play in Cincinnati in the coldest game in NFL history the next.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        "I wish Dan Fouts could have won one."
        
        +1
        
        And Marino. Two of the best in the game without rings.
        
        But hey, it is a team sport.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        I re-watched the Chargers-Dolphins classic a while back. My favorite piece of that game is Winslow making a catch, being helped off the field like he's never going to play again, and coming back and making another catch.
        
        Ska 13 years ago
        
        Giants fans do not like Joe Montana.
        
        I can respect his greatness and respect. But don't think I don't have some hate in there for him. Or that I can't recall in my mind that Leonard Marshall hit in 1991 that completely obliterated him.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        The Giants stole that game. The Roger Craig fumble was a miracle.
        
        Loki 13 years ago
        
        Actually I'm a Cowboys fan (I grew up in NE Texeas, it was required), but Joe Montana is probably my favorite QB.
        
        Montana in the huddle before superbowl winning drive: [points to stands] Hey, isn't that John Candy?
        
        Fucking awesome.
        
        Konfounded Kristen 13 years ago
        
        Joe won me over with the "I'll be in my room masturbating" SNL skit.
        
        jacob 13 years ago
        
        Joe won me over with the "I'll be in my room masturbating" SNL skit.
        
        It was a classic.
        
        Bee Tagger 13 years ago
        
        I'm a longtime Bengals fan and my first memory of them is the Boomer Esiason Super Bowl. It's like my spouse started beating me the day we got back from a honeymoon at the beach where it rained most of the time and I refuse to get a divorce or leave.
        
        Pro Libertate 13 years ago
        
        There was a span of time where Boomer was pretty damned good. I saw a game where he was just throwing completion after completion.
        
        MNG 13 years ago
        
        Boomer is still pretty good, come on, he came into the Raiders mid-season unexpectedly.
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        That's funny!
        
        Citizen Nothing 13 years ago
        
        Yeah. We though it'd be Ken Andersons and Boomer Esiasons forever. Instead, we got years of Jack Thompson (although you gotta love the nickname "Throwin' Samoan", David Klinger, Jeff Blake, Neil O'Donnell, Akili Smith, Jon Kitna.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Neill O'Donnell is living proof most NFL franchises are stupid. Even when he was at his best in Pittsburgh it was obvious he was lousy and only succeeded because he played on a good team. That both the Jets and the Bengals threw money at him is proof of how stupid the NFL is.
        
        Loki 13 years ago
        
        But when he grew out his beard he looked a lot like Fouts, so that's got to count for something, right?
        
        BTW, I'm sure Larry Brown would agree with you whole heartedly.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        If you watch the America's Game on that Cowboy Super Bowl team, there are like four different Cowboys who talk in amazement at how Larry Brown was the MVP of the game. He wasn't even in the right spot on one of those interceptions. He was just standing there watching the game and O'Donnell threw it to him. If you didn't know any better you would think O'Donnell was on the take and had parlayed the Cowboys winning with Brown getting the MVP. Those plays were just that inexplicable.
3. Restoras 13 years ago
  
  Groupthink is pervasive no matter the setting.
rac3rx 13 years ago

Po' people don't use public transit any more than anyone else...

http://www.newgeography.com/co.....ns-commute
1. Leftist Behavior 13 years ago
  
  Well, the places that have better public transit (NYC, Boston, DC, SF) show a higher share of low income workers using public transit, so one could argue that you're simply seeing that bad public transit options leads to fewer people using public transit.
  1. robc 13 years ago
    
    The gap between All and Poor in NYC is 8.3%.
    
    The gap between All and Poor in Louisville (no subway, crappy bus lines) is 6.1%.
    
    That isnt that impressive a difference.
    1. robc 13 years ago
      
      That is the car gap, the mass transit gap is actually LARGER in Louisville than NYC... 2.1% vs 1.0%.
  2. Auric Demonocles 13 years ago
    
    I'm not poor at all, but I live in Boston on the T (subway). I drive to work and just use public transit on the weekend so I can get drunk without having to drive.
  3. Zeb 13 years ago
    
    I think that the real lesson is that public transit works well for some cities and not for others, for any number of reasons. And in places where it works well, more people of all economic status use it.
P Brooks 13 years ago

Frank Deford is still alive?

Dammit!
Spartacus 13 years ago

"Flood of Santorum" would be a good name for a band.
1. Loki 13 years ago
  
  "Flood of Santorum" would be a good gay name for a band.
  
  FIFY
2. John 13 years ago
  
  Best name for a band
  
  The Joe Wilson Implosion.
  1. Alack 13 years ago
    
    I'm a fan of "Resale Ronnie and the Deep Deep Discounts"
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      Rotell and the Hot Tomatoes.
Old Mexican 13 years ago

Ron Paul PAC plans a million-dollar fundraiser to by ads for Super Tuesday.

The campaign managed to raise the million in one day, yesterday.

By the way, there are very serious (and very credible) allegations of voter fraud during the Maine caucuses.
1. Matrix 13 years ago
  
  but I thought only Democraps commit voter fraud to get their desired outcomes.
Sandi 13 years ago

I took a shit in London once.
1. o3 13 years ago
  
  who's shit was it?
White Indian 13 years ago

Santorum 'n leidende rol in Ohio en in Michigan, oorwinning in beide lande sal "destabiliseer" Romney.
Chris Christie toon sy socon om om kant en beloof om gay huwelik wetsontwerp te veto.
Ron Paul PAC beplan om 'n miljoen dollar fondsinsameling deur advertensies vir Super Dinsdag.
Die eksaminator vra gister se betaalstaat belasting-cut deal 'n oorwinning vir die konserwatiewes.
Obama se Departement van Energie is besmet is met die onderneming kapitaliste.
Iran 'n stap nader aan gaan kern.
Wil jy warm skakels en ander rede goodies wat twee keer 'n dag na jou posbus afgelewer? Teken hier vir Rede se oggend en middag nuus.

Nuwe by Reason.tv: "Wende Museum: 'n Argief van die Koue Oorlog"
White Indian 13 years ago

Santorum ?sht? duke udh?hequr n? Ohajo dhe Mi?igan, fitore n? t? dy shtetet do t? "destabilizonte" Romney.
Chris Christie tregon an?n e tij socon dhe premtimet p?r t? v?n? veton projekt-ligj homoseksual martes?s.
Ron Paul PAC planifikon nj? milion dollar?sh fondesh p?r nga reklama p?r Super mart?n.
Examiner e quan taksa prer? e djeshme list?n e pagave t? b?jn? nj? fitore p?r konservator?t.
Departamenti i Obam?s i Energjis? ?sht? i infektuar me kapitalist?ve sip?rmarrje.
Irani nj? hap m? af?r p?r t? shkuar b?rthamore.
A doni lidhjet e nxeht? dhe goodies arsye tjet?r dor?zuar n? kutin? tuaj dy her? n? dit?? Regjistrohu k?tu p?r m?ngjes e arsyes dhe p?rdit?sime lajmeve pasdites.

I ri n? Reason.tv: "Wende Muzeu: Nj? Arkivi i Luft?s s? Ftoht
White Indian 13 years ago

Santorum es l?der en Ohio y Michigan, y la victoria en ambos estados podr?a "desestabilizar" a Romney.
Chris Christie muestra su lado Socon y promete vetar proyecto de ley del matrimonio gay.
Ron Paul planea una recaudaci?n de fondos PAC millones de d?lares para los anuncios para el Super Martes.
El Examinador de llamadas ayer la n?mina de reducci?n de impuestos mucho una victoria para los conservadores.
Departamento de Energ?a de Obama est? infestado con los capitalistas de riesgo.
Ir?n, un paso m?s cerca de ser nuclear.
?Quieres v?nculos activos y otras golosinas Raz?n entregados a su bandeja de entrada dos veces al d?a? Inscr?base aqu? para recibir la ma?ana de Reason y actualizaciones de la tarde de noticias.

Nuevo en Reason.tv: "Wende Museo: Un Archivo de la Guerra Fr?a"
White Indian 13 years ago

Damn'it Reason, why are you blocking my posts.
henry 13 years ago

If you didn't know any better you would think O'Donnell was on the take and had parlayed the Cowboys winning with Brown getting the MVP.I wanna share a good news to you.My best friend ,she just has announced her wedding with a millionaire man who is a celebrity !Cougarkissing.C ?M ..it is the largest and best club for celebrity and their admirers to chat online.You do not have to be rich or famous. ,but you can meet one , It?s worthy a try,Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends!

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A.M. Links: Flood of Santorum Support Continues, Chris Christie Vows to Squash Gay Marriage, Ron Paul PAC Plans a "Million Dollar Marathon"

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