A.M. Links: Super Tuesday Deathmatch Begins, Public Universities in California Now More Expensive Than Harvard, Yale, Obama Unveils Mortgage Subsidy Plan

• The Super Tuesday cage fight begins now. Four men will enter, only one will not cry himself to sleep tonight. 

• Ron Paul's strategy: Focus on Alaska, Idaho, and North Dakota.  
• A perfectly timed blast from Santorum's past: "We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."
• Iran to allow UN nuke inspectors after all. 
• Obama's mortgage relief plan will make it easier to refinance, cost $5 to $10 billion; won't require congressional approval. 
• The Cal State and UC systems are now more expensive than Harvard, Yale. 

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New at Reason.tv: "Racism, Ron Paul and the Battle over the Right to Bear Arms: An Interview with Adam Winkler"

Comments

[sarcasmic]

Youth is wasted on the young.

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

[Warty]

From a link on there, I see that Miss Bahamas is ridiculously hot.

[invisible furry hand]

and she wants to marry Harry, which isn't totally insane. I suspect a night out with him, Camilla and Prince Philip would be rather debauched

[Warty]

Shit, dude, I'd marry her if I were him. You think any inbred European princess is going to be as good as that? Plus, it would horrify the Queen, which would be awesome.

[RoboCain]

I've been to the Bahamas. They are generally good-looking.

[John]

There is Harry in his best skydog slaver outfit.

[wrea]

I found a great dating bisexual site DATEBI*C'O'M. It is a serious& safe dating site for the bisexual and bi-curious individuals to meet in a friendly and comfortable environment. It hopes that all members can make new friends and establish romantic relationships. I have to say DATEBI*COM the best site I have ever joined so far. They verify all members. Unlike other sites,NO scammers or fake profiles here, and you can meet many rich or mature women as well, including celebs, famous stars.BEST OF LUCK!

[sarcasmic]

John's dream girl...

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

[WTF]

No way am I clicking on that link.

[Gopher Itt]

Too bad. You're missing out on some great sideboob.

[Jerry]

So you finally managed to link to some ebony, and then this. Shame on you!

[Lord Humungus]

RACIST!

[sarcasmic]

Teacher fired over word problems.

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

[RoboCain]

How are they "racist"?

[Ska]

They made vampires look like bullies!

[RoboCain]

No really, where do any of those example mention anything at all about race?

[The Ghost of King Tut]

Egyptians are a race!

[Third-Grader]

How are they "gruesome"?

[Loki]

Those word problems were more dumb than racist.

[Priestess]

Those were awesome. How are they in any way worse than the gruesome train wreck scenario I remember from days of yore?...if a train leaves Boston going 60mph and another leaves Chicago going 40mph etc.

[Mr. FIFY]

She probably could have called Sarah Palin a "cunt", and not lost her job.

[Ryan]

I saw that retarded shit on a shit-retarded yahoo news article.

The website from which those were taken was 'Homeschooling Paradise' or something and the problems the media is covering are the 'worst' that the website has. It looks like they're using it as an excuse to bash homeschooling, and to practice their liberal douchebag mendacity.

[rather]

Gingrich wants to keep Romney from sweeping the delegates, and told his to go for Paul

[Newt Paul: "I disavow."]

I disavow all marriage vows and newsletters I've signed. Contracts are sacred, but not that shit. "Things happen."

[Too hard of questions?]

1. Is any white person's right an individual or collective right?

2. Is the right to take a negative or positive right?

"[The Native Americans] didn't have any rights to the land ... Any white person who brought the element of civilization had the right to take over this continent." ~Ayn Rand, US Military Academy at West Point, March 6, 1974

[The DIVINE RIGHT of Property]

"To date, however, no philosopher has ever successfully divorced Lockesian property rights from monotheism."

The Right to Property
by Jason Godesky | 18 July 2005
http://rewild.info/anthropik/2.....-property/

Lockean property rights theory is as valid as the divine right of kings.

[Jason Godesky]

Mmmmm donuts!

[Smell the intellectual EVASION]

the act of unfocusing your mind and inducing an inner fog to escape the responsibility of judgment
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/evasion.html

[Smell the intellectual EVASION]

I'm currently focusing on 2 liters of Code Red and inducing another binge to escape the responsibility of exercise.

[Jason Godesky]

Smell the intellectual evasion, smell the intellectual evasion, smell the intellectual evasion, smell the ice cream & eclairs, smell the ice cream & elcairs.

[White Indian loves little boys]

[Smell the intellectual EVASION]

the act of unfocusing your mind and inducing an inner fog to escape the responsibility of judgment
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/evasion.html

[Pot]

Kettle.
Black.

[Obviously too hard.]

Should I go easier on the self-styled "men of mind" today?

[In your case?]

Suicide is preferable

[Fat Indian]

Also, for breakfast: Twinkies or Ho Hos? Talk about your too hard of questions!

[RoboCain]

Barack Obama's Gay Muslim Transgender Prostitute Nanny:

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

[Psychohistorian]

That explains A LOT.

[rather]

So which characteristic do you find objectionable?

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Her competence in keeping her charge alive.

[Matrix]

Colorado Bill to loosen gun restrictions fails

[RoboCain]

"The first bill would have prohibited law enforcement officers from confiscating guns from citizens during a declared state of emergency"

How is that even legal in the first place?

[sarcasmic]

Fuck you. That's how.

[RoboCain]

"The second, informally known as the "Make My Day Better" bill, would have allowed business owners without a concealed weapon permit to shoot intruders."

Again, why can't they already do that now?

[Loki]

I think the key words there are "without a concealed weapon permit". If you're a business owner who doesn't have a concealed weapon permit, there would be no reason to get one if the law had passed, so the state could potentially miss out on concealed permit fees from any business owners who only want the permit so they can protect their businesses. When in doubt follow the money.

[RoboCain]

Unless Colorado has some awfully weird laws, you can keep a gun at your own business without a CCW.

[T]

I wouldn't assume. Gun laws vary so weirdly from state to state it's hard to generalize.

[sarcasmic]

I'm pretty sure Colorado gun laws are of the nature of everything is illegal unless you have explicit permission.

[Loki]

Actually, CO gun laws are fairly permissive (at least compared to most liberal states). Which is one thing that makes this kind of weird. But then again, we have only recently made the transition to full retard. TEAM BLUE.

http://www.rmgo.org/gun-law-faqs

[AuH20]

Well, the current "Make My Day Bill" only covers the home. "Make My Day Better" extends that home to a place of business.

[Joe M]

Good work, Colorado Bill! I knew you could loosen those fails on gun restriction if only you tried.

[Ska]

The demented thing is that "gun restriction fails" makes sense as a phrase thanks to all the memes.

[RoboCain]

The Theatre Snacks Is Too Damn High!

http://www.freep.com/article/2.....ia-theater

[Matrix]

Guess the shitbag doesn't realize that movie theaters don't make much if anything on ticket sales (sometimes they lose money). They stay in business because of the high prices of snacks.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

This is actually a myth. Pull the disclosure statements on RAVE or AMC sometime and you will see some mega-profits from ticket sales, even after subtracting the cut the studios get.

[Rev. Blue Moon]

AMC's 10K for 2011 shows this to be true. Look at Item 8.

[lolwut?]

"AMC's 10K for 2011 shows this to be true. "

NO it doesn't, did you even bother reading the link you posted?

How fucking stupid are you that you think you can drop a link that doesn't say what you claim, then slink off?

You were wrong.

[T]

They make substantial money off the ticket sales. Most of the revenue is ticket sales.

But the markup on concessions is just stupid. Almost 700% on concessions? Damn, I want those kind of margins.

[Joe M]

Scum, pure and simple. "Whaa! I want what I want." Sneak candy in like the rest of us, sheesh.

[darius404]

I've snuck in a whole pizza before. It's not that hard.

[RoboCain]

Parasitic Fluke: "I'll just say is that Americans have a long tradition of supporting companies that share the values that they have and I'm sure that they will continue to uphold that tradition"

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/j.....z1oHLye9pw

http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....dra-fluke/

[RoboCain]

"Feminist academic and "theologian" Dr. Susannah Cornwall thinks it is impossible to know "with any certainty" that Jesus was male, and that he may have in fact been a hermaphrodite."

http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....aphrodite/

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Jews of both sexes, and hermaphrodites!"

[Trudy Bleever]

All she has to do is ask Him.

[Yuno Hoo]

It is also entirely within the realm of possibility that Dr. Susannah Cornwall f***s s***p.

[Brett L]

You know, for someone, who I am sure, is concerned with the difference between sex and gender, shouldn't it be enough that Jesus identified as male?

[Fluffy]

^This.

Since Jesus at one point identifies himself as the Son of Man, Cornwall is definitely Othering Jesus by refusing to take his self-proclaimed gender identity at face value.

After all, I have been told that if Charles Barkley puts on a dress and calls himself a woman, I am not allowed to dispute his self-characterization. That means Cornwall can't dispute Jesus', either.

[John]

But Jesus was good and a lot of people like him. So in Cornwall's world the effectively prohibits his being male. No male can ever do any good. So Jesus must have been female and her gender changed by evil men later on.

[RoboCain]

Othering Jesus

[T]

Great band name for a queer gospel group.

[fish]

Dibs on "Othering Jesus" as a band name!

[fish]

Oh my god...I'm gay????

Stop Othering me!

[R C Dean]

I think you just othered yourself.

[Chupacabra]

Well, you may in fact be a hermaphrodite. We can't be certain.

[John]

I was thinking it was a better feminist theory PHD dissertation topic.

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, if I understand feminist mysticism correctly, Jesus, being oppressed by the patriarchy, would have been forced to self-identify as male.

Someone should quantify the amount of human intelligence wasted on such insane, irrelevant nonsense. Probably explains what happened to our Mars colony and flying cars.

[invisible furry hand]

And jetpacks. Where are our fucking jetpacks?

[Pro Libertate]

Instead of those, we have degrees in Education.

[lolwut?]

"Jesus, being oppressed by the patriarchy, would have been forced to self-identify as male."

And he clearly cared about following the rules...

Seriously, that dying on the cross thing seems to indicate his disregard for the desires of the ruling class

[Pro Libertate]

Not my logic, I note for the record.

[Brandon]

"Feminist academic and "theologian" Dr. Susannah Cornwall" Wants Attention, is willing to sound like an idiot to get it.

[Anonymous Coward]

It is impossible to know, with any certainty, that Dr. Susannah Cornwall doesn't fuck goats.

[oncogenesis]

it is impossible to know "with any certainty" that Jesus was male

[RoboCain]

"EPA researchers and their counterparts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins University observed a positive relationship between sand exposure and gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses as a function of fecal microbial pollution in beach sand."

http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/arti....._sand.html

[Pro Libertate]

What? Is that all sand, everywhere? I never noticed any stomach ailments after going to the beach.

[Fluffy]

What's probably happening is that when some people get sand in their vaginas the resulting crankiness mimics the symptoms of gastrointestinal disease.

[Pro Libertate]

Sand? In vaginas? Sounds slutty to me. Sluts!

[sloopyinca]

I thought that was where pearls came from.

[Brett L]

In FL, people don't shit on the beach. Well, not on the Gulf coast.

[Pro Libertate]

No, not on the Gulf Coast.

[anon]

EPA researchers and their counterparts at the ...

Next we need to ban playing on the beach. For the childruns.

[RoboCain]

Gun Control Works:

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/ne.....2_11848510

[Leftard]

See? Gun control kept guns out of the hands of this dangerous sociopath!

[Juice]

There's also a case to be made for legalization of double parking.

[RoboCain]

Politically Correct:

http://www.kmbc.com/news/30572.....z1oDSgMIIn

[sarcasmic]

Rock music causes racism.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....thers.html

[Lord Humungus]

well duh - everything causes racism.

[Sparky]

Wait, they said rock music then made people listen to Bruce Springsteen?

[Loki]

I'm calling bullshit.

The participants were ... told they had the opportunity to give feedback about how their tuition money should be distributed to four student groups - called the Centres of African American Studies, Latino American Studies, Arab American Studies, and Rural and Agricultural Studies.

Aren't a lot of Bruce Sprngsteen songs about blue collar/ rural America and farming and all that kind of stuff? How much you want to bet they also played John Cougar Mellencamp as well. Maybe they were being subtly biased toward "Rural and Agricultural Studies" because of the blue collar imagery in the songs and not because all white people are closet racists. Also "Rural and Agricultural Studies" != white people.

Yet more proof that the social sciences are pure 100% bullshit

[sarcasmic]

Yet more proof that the social sciences are pure 100% bullshit

Yup.

[RoboCain]

+1

[KMA Too]

FTFA-
"Just a few minutes of listening to mainstream rock music such as Bruce Springsteen and the White Stripes is enough to make white students focus on the interests of other whites at the expense of back people and latinos."

Oh, those damnable back people!!!

[RoboCain]

Scientific Proof That Redheads Do Anal:

http://gizmodo.com/5890532/red.....rest-of-us

http://sciencenordic.com/redhe.....-kind-pain

[Matrix]

I posted the gizmodo link yesterday!

[Amakudari]

"Scientists Discover Gingers Are Weird"

Sounds like money put to good use.

[Loki]

If those scientists got too tap some ass then yes it was.

[protefeed]

Or you could just google it, aka "Pics and it happened"

[RoboCain]

Mila Kunis: "'I'd be happy if my ass got bigger."

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

[Matrix]

Some of us would agree

[Mr. Blue]

It can be arranged.

[protefeed]

Wait a few years, Mila. That's the default.

[anon]

Where the hell is John when you need him?

[SugarFree]

I Mooched Off Friends For 44 Days To Write This Article: A Liberal Speaks Out Against Paying His Own Way With Evil Legal Tender

Lunch is also a challenge: Slatesters often make group orders, paying the delivery guy with pooled cash, so I've asked my editor to front me. She downloaded the Square app, which lets her swipe my credit card, but also excises a hefty fee. When I reimbursed her electronically for a $12 lunch, only $11.43 showed up in her bank account. That'll add up.

[John]

Slate never fails to amaze.

[SugarFree]

They're doing a whole week of articles promoting a cashless society. I guess so you can never escape the smothering embrace of the IRS.

[John]

Yup. When they were kids did they tell their parents they wanted to grow up to be a government toady?

[RoboCain]

What reason do they claim for being against cash? It's like they hate small business.

[SugarFree]

These minor bits of friction in my otherwise seamlessly cashless existence have only made me realize just how close we are to achieving a cashless utopia. I imagine it would be fairly painless, for instance, to legislate away cash-only bars, forcing them all to accept credit cards. The next vending machine upgrade at the Slate office will almost certainly usher in an era of cashless snacking. And once everyone has smartphones, we'll all be able to download various apps easing instant, electronic transactions. PayPal already offers an app that lets you exchange cash by physically bumping two phones together. We're inches away from this becoming the norm.

Fascist baby steps.

[RoboCain]

They totally hate poor people. Even ignoring all that raises prices, the elitist fucktard can't even image that some people don't have smartphones or credit cards.

[protefeed]

And they want to make waiters and other tipped people pay more to the IRS.

[RoboCain]

Or be tipped less. I'm sure for street vendors, cabs drivers, and such "keep the change" is a substantial part of their income.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

A society that doesn't commit crimes isn't of use to them.

[JW]

I see younger 20-something tards use their bank cards for transaction under $2. Are you fucking kidding me?

[Neu Mejican]

Just read The Handmaiden's Tale...it explains it all.

[kinnath]

One of the articles talks about how "cashless societies" will help to stop crime and to keep people from skipping out on their taxes.

This was viewed as selling point.

[John]

It is just a way of making sure everyone's every move is subject to government surveillance. And the liberals at Slate are all for it.

As someone once said, this is not your father's Democratic party.

[kinnath]

This series and the article on decrypting hard drives were pretty sickening.

It sad to see "liberals" go all law-and-order on us.

[John]

Yes. Although the comments on that are petty negative. So someone reading Slate still has a brain.

[invisible furry hand]

Slate's advice columnist does get some awesome problems

[Auric Demonocles]

Well the man is a half black guy. They can't stand up to him.

[Pro Libertate]

Are they advocating communism? Or am I reading too much into this?

[Anonymous Coward]

A cashless society is nothing new. They called it barter and eventually people got tired of hauling around head of cattle, bushels of wheat and gold ingots.

[anon]

There are still several Barter exchanges. I find them pretty dumb, since they keep track in US dollars.

[bosty]

reality is increasingly resembling a Bill Burr rant..

[Auric Demonocles]

Or he could like, adjust the amount her is sending her so it equals $12 after the fee.

[SugarFree]

Math is for capitalist scum like libertarians.

[Auric Demonocles]

That makes me happy that the very basis of my company is math.

[Pro Libertate]

No, no, that's unfair. There is mutual math that is socially aware.

[Auric Demonocles]

Don't worry, Bender: there's no such thing as two.

[Pro Libertate]

The commissar has tasked you with redistributing four apples to three people--one oppressor and two historically oppressed minorities. How many apples does each one get?

[protefeed]

If you know what is good for you, and do not enjoy the cold in Siberia, the commissar gets two apples, you get two apples, and the minorities get to gnaw on the core.

[Pro Libertate]

Wrong! You keep the four apples and execute all three, because one is an unmutual oppressor, and the other two are known collaborators. And the commissar gets all four apples. You get the worms.

[anon]

Time to get a grant to set up a "Social Math" class at my local high school!

In seriousness though, if I ever see that course headline, I might have to kill myself.

[Loki]

Math is "othering". So is logic, critical thinking, reasoning...

[anon]

No no, Logic is flat out racist according to some congressman back in the 90's. I forget his name.

[Joe M]

On Jan. 17, I withdrew $100 from an ATM in lower Manhattan. I don't remember precisely how I spent it. But within a week or so, those five $20 bills had floated away?mostly into the hands of bartenders and waitresses, I'm sure. Since then, I have not touched a single piece of U.S. currency.

The second sentence illustrates why this person is a worthless piece of shit. "I stopped spending money, right after I blew a bunch of it on a good time. See how noble I am?"

[Auric Demonocles]

That's where my money goes when I use a credit card too. What's his point?

[Brandon]

He also fails to comprehend that he is STILL USING CASH. He's just forcing other people to pay cash for him so he can avoid any inconvenience for the sake of his grand experiment with the preconceived conclusions.

[Joe M]

Wow, I don't think I can finish this nonsense. If this dipshit weren't going out drinking, they would find it's ridiculously easy to get by on cards only. I thought this was some sort of no spending at all deal, not just living without cash specifically. Even lamer.

[Joe M]

Nope, can't finish it. The guy is an asshole. Who the fuck is so spoiled they absolutely must buy sodas and snacks out of the vending machine every day?

[Auric Demonocles]

I don't think I've used a vending machine in about 9 months.

[Ray Pew]

I thought this was some sort of no spending at all deal, not just living without cash specifically. Even lamer.

And the article page labels it under "The End of Money". Only to Slate-tards does coins and bills compromise ALL of money. "Yeah, I've decided to forego all money and just live off my bank card." Morons!!

[Lord Humungus]

geez, Robocain, save some links for the rest of us 😉

[RoboCain]

All of that from from last night, so everything from this morning is yours!

[invisible furry hand]

aaah I was wondering how you could have missed this classic piece of EU crapness

[rac3rx]

Why is the chick wearing the Kill Bill unitard?

[RoboCain]

Tard.

[sarcasmic]

Maria Menounos is still good enough to eat...

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

[RoboCain]

More my taste:

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

[Matrix]

Cell phone jammers

Using it in public should be banned. But I don't have a problem with a person keeping one in their home for personal use, so long as they aren't interfering with people outside of their property.

[kilroy]

Link seems to be missing for the mortgage bullet.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Use your imagination.

[kilroy]

My imagination isn't capable of envisioning you as useful.

Here's a link to the info if anyone else is interested.

[Lord Humungus]

Sun Times withholds information about Frawley's Obama-bribe accusation
http://illinoispaytoplay.com/2.....ccusation/

Illinois PayToPlay has learned that, since January 19, 2012, two reporters and one editor at the Chicago Sun Times have held relevant information provided by an informant concerning Daniel Frawley's claim that he gave Tony Rezko $400,000 in cash that Rezko then passed on to U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

No one at the paper has either acknowledged receipt of the information, expressed an interest in how it was obtained, nor queried the source for additional details.

just something else to be swept under the rug.

[John]

But MNG says liberal bias is just a meme. I am sure they would have held onto such information had it been about McCain.

[kinnath]

Well, this could just be Chicago politics. Why waste leverage before you really need it?

[John]

Doubtful. Why ignore a story that would sell a gazzilion copies and win you a Pulitzer?

[IRS]

We'd be interested if that story got published... we've got audit forms out the ASS, yo.

[R C Dean]

People who don't tow the Chicago Machine lion have a bad habit of taking dips in the Chicago River in the middle of winter, perhaps?

[John]

Funny they didn't just destroy it But kept it just didn't publish it. odd that. Almost as if they wanted some leverage or something.

[Pro Libertate]

Frawley Towers? Surely there must be such a thing.

[invisible furry hand]

It's a typo

[Pro Libertate]

"The Germans." Possibly the funniest sitcom episode of all time.

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Agreed, but "Mr. F" is really, really close.

[AuH20]

Paradigms of Human Memory.

[AuH20]

Also, from that same show, "Meet the Veals" is funnier.

[Matrix]

Cell jammers are in the news

Should be banned for use outside of one's property.

[P Brooks]

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE

The demonstration, billed by some as an "occupy the Capitol" act and supported by a freewheeling coalition of student groups and labor unions, was the latest sign of simmering discontent over steady hikes in the cost of attending state universities and community colleges.

Tuition has tripled at the universities over the last decade. "We're getting pushed against a wall," said Carson Watts, 23, a sociology major at UC Santa Cruz.

Whenever I need hard-hitting economic analysis, the first place I turn is the Sociology Dept at UC Santa Cruz.

[John]

Maybe if they didn't offer so many worthless degrees like Sociology, they could afford to lower tuition.

[Sparky]

You monster!

[Red Rocks Rockin]

What, John, and force everyone at the college to live without things like free wi-fi, Club Med-level gyms and fancy food courts? Not to mention the third-tier trash clerks in the bloated university administrations catering to every grievance-mongering group under the sun.

[rac3rx]

My alma mater recently poached the head pastry chef from the local Four Seasons to head up the University's food service pastry department (or whatever the hell they call it). From a school with one of the top Hotel & Restaurant Management programs in the country, surely there's an educational project opportunity?

[Lord Humungus]

Reagan Was A Sure Loser Too
Conventional wisdom about Republican presidential prospects sounds mighty familiar.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....on_LEADTop

It appears the conventional wisdom hasn't changed much. Today's narrative holds that however weak President Obama's hand, Republicans find themselves in no position to capitalize on it. A glance back to where we were at this exact point in the 1980 primaries suggests otherwise.

[Juice]

This is implying that any of the Republican candidates have one hundredth the charisma and charm of Ronald Reagan.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

No kidding. It ignores the fact that Reagan came close to getting the nomination in 1976, and he knew how to use the media to get his message across even during the times when they were openly hostile to him.

Romney, Santorum, and even Obama, for that matter, only wish they could come up with political ads and soundbites that had as much cultural impact as Reagan's did.

[Matrix]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/05/.....?hpt=hp_c2

Darn spam filter! You don't get the anon-bots, but you get me for legitimate links to CNN articles?

[Matrix]

Gah! Spam filter gets me for linking to a CNN article, but lets the anonbots invade? Grr

[RoboCain]

Really? I've posted from CNN here.

[Matrix]

trying to link to the article about cellphone jammers.

[invisible furry hand]

and to be fair anonbot is sometimes pretty shrewd

[Matrix]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/05/.....?hpt=hp_c2

[Raston Bot]

CNN is garbage and the squirrels recognized it as such.

[Lord Humungus]

I blame Koch!to!pus!

[SugarFree]

But What About The Children?!?, PART MMMIV: Can the Government Force Suspects To Decrypt Incriminating Files?

Do we really want to provide terrorists and human traffickers with an impenetrable legal shield for documents that might otherwise incriminate them? Is the greater good really served if a rape or murder suspect escapes conviction because he hid evidence?for example, digital maps of a victim's address?behind encryption? Could this legal framework allow encrypted, illegal images of children to be stored and exchanged with impunity?

Rights of the Accused, how do they fucking work?

[RoboCain]

Seriously.

And notice the author picks the most emotionally incendiary crimes possible.

[John]

If everyone just submitted to constant government surveillance, no criminal would ever get away with anything. Is it really in the public interest that a person be allowed to rape a women and walk back to his house without being detected by a government implanted GPS?

[Warty]

Is the greater good really served if a rape or murder suspect escapes conviction because he hid evidence?for example, digital maps of a victim's address?behind encryption?

Yes. Of course it fucking is, you stupid little goose-stepper.

[R C Dean]

Is the greater good really served if a rape or murder suspect escapes conviction because he hid evidence?for example, digital maps of a victim's address?behind encryption every citizen can be forced to divulge all digital data held on any electronic device or go to jail?

What do you want to bet that a majority would still answer yes?

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If you're relying on the fact that the accused had maps with the rape victim's address, you're not going to get into the same ZIP Code as "beyond a reasonable doubt" with or without decryption.

[Anonymous Coward]

Could this legal framework allow encrypted, illegal images of children to be stored and exchanged with impunity?

The Fourth Amendment is null and void when TEH CHILLUNS are concerned.

And people wonder why I hate children. Not only are they sticky-fingered little crumb-snatchers, but they make America suck just by their very existence.

[rac3rx]

I guess it's a good thing you were hatched as an adult, huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hurr Durr, you were a kid once too!

Kindly piss off and leave the rearing and protection of the offspring to their progenitors.

[anon]

But What About The Children?!?, PART MMMIV: Can the Government Force Suspects To Decrypt Incriminating Files?

There's no way this can stand up to a 5th amendment suit.

[Lord Humungus]

In GOP circles, some wonder whether the party needs to lose big to eventually win
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

While some within the party have begun to believe that the only way for the GOP to truly heal is to first bottom out, most strategists don't see 2012 shaping up that way ? particularly if the establishment-friendly Romney winds up as the nominee.

"They won't get it this year, as Romney is viewed as too moderate, so blame will go to moderates," said former Virginia representative Tom Davis, himself a leading moderate voice within the GOP. "The narrative will be McCain and Mitt are too much like Obama."

[R C Dean]

"The narrative will be McCain and Mitt are too much like Obama."

From your lips . . . .

[Pro Libertate]

It's an odd meme that the GOP is in trouble. Most likely, Romney is the next president. Perhaps even more likely is GOP control of Congress. How is it that they are in danger of extinction (which is absurd with this stupid false dichotomy we've instituted) but the Democrats are doing fine? Weird.

[John]

WAPO is just a mouthpiece for the DNC. This is just propaganda. At some point you would think that liberals would figure out that lying to themselves doesn't help their cause.

[Loki]

At some point you would think that liberals would figure out that lying to themselves doesn't help their cause.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

[Maxxx]

At some point you would think that liberals would figure out that lying to themselves doesn't help their cause.

Hopefully not till they suffer an unexpected defeat in November.

[Lord Humungus]

The Democrats are always doing fine. Any setback is merely that - just a temporarily blip on the road to power.

[P Brooks]

Americans have a long tradition of supporting companies that share the values that they have and I'm sure that they will continue to uphold that tradition

QUE?

[S C Johnson]

"A Family Company"

[Lord Humungus]

Dutch Freedom Party pushes euro exit as ?2.4 trillion rescue bill looms
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin.....looms.html

The Dutch Freedom Party has called for a return to the Guilder, becoming the first political movement in the eurozone with a large popular base to opt for withdrawal from the single currency.

[Raston Bot]

The Germans really don't want that to happen. Greece, sure, door/arse. But The Netherlands? Nein!

[Lord Humungus]

"What do you call a rich German? Dutch."

I'm not sure why this is funny, but when I told this 'joke' to a transplanted German, he laughed and laughed.

[Pro Libertate]

He's laughing because when the shit goes down, the Netherlands and their wealth will be in German hands. Inside joke.

[T]

I keep telling everybody, Pro L: the Germans are finally going to get Europe. They're going to wait until everybody else goes bankrupt, make the loans, then offer to run things for while as security for their loans. They'll get the 4th Reich without firing a shot.

[Pro Libertate]

It's the modern way.

[mad libertarian guy]

New Orleans to forgive $500k in traffic tickets issued to city workers using city vehicles on city time because they weren't told that, though they be heroes, they too must follow the same traffic laws as the rest of humanity, no matter how base and unpalatable.

Kopplin said he doesn't think it would be fair to try to go after employees who have racked up tickets because the city has not spelled out clear rules thus far.

[Ice Nine]

In all other cases, employees will be responsible for the tickets,...
If the tickets still aren't paid, Kopplin said, the fine will be taken out of the budget of the department the employee works in.

Personal responsibility - eeek! Whatever you do, don't make the individual employee pay the fine himself.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A perfectly timed blast from Santorum's past: "We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."

I blame Murphy Brown.

[Bee Tagger]

I don't get it.

[Rich]

HTH

[RoboCain]

Apparently, science is now so advanced they can somehow tell whether Tila Tequila has brain damage.

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

[Loki]

I didn't there was a microscope powerfull enough to image her brain directly.

[Thor]

Pot. Kettle. Black.

[anon]

I wonder when their observational skills because so astute. Maybe they'll be able to tell us that the sky's blue next.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Despite receiving multiple death threats, American Atheists will move forward with plans to erect billboards proclaiming, "You know it's a myth? and you have a choice" ? one in the heart of a predominantly Orthodox Jewish community in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, N.Y. on Tuesday, and another on Wednesday two blocks from a mosque in Paterson, N.J., which is home to a large Muslim population....

"Threats made against Silverman's life, which he described as "anti-Marxist and anti-Semitic," are currently being investigated by the Cranford Police Department."

http://thedc.com/zebbyT

[John]

If he has the balls to do it to Muslim Community, at least he has balls.

[Ice Nine]

The signs are also intended to increase awareness about the upcoming "Reason Rally," which Silverman called "Woodstock for atheists."

You say they placed the sign in a Muslim neighborhood? Hmm, guess maybe I'll be skipping the ol' Rally.

[John]

It is his right. And anyone who threatens him is an asshole deserving of criminal prosecution. But frankly, I don't see why people can't just leave each other alone.

[Tonio]

Comedy gold, John, just not in the way you intended.

[John]

There is nothing comic about it. I can say something is your right to do. I can say that you have a right to do it unmolested. But that doesn't mean I can't also say I think it is a bad idea. Basically, you have every right to be an asshole without fear of retribution. But everyone else has a right to call you that.

It is a dickish thing for this guy to do. Leave people alone. But the people who are threatening are much worse dicks.

Why is that so difficult for you to comprehend?

[nicole]

John, are people assholes who put up religious billboards with evangelism directed at people of other faiths or no faith? I would be surprised if you thought so.

[John]

If they do it specifically for the purpose of fucking with people and do the bill board in the most offensive way possible, yes Nicole they are assholes.

If went out to Utah and put up a a billboard that said "you know Joseph Smith was a liar, join the real church", I would most certainly be an asshole.

Note this guy couldn't put up a sign that said something positive like "embrace Reason". Nope he had to put up some douchebag comment instead. That is because atheists tend to be annoying gadfly douchebags. Atheists who are not that way tend to not want to admit that the majority of their brethren are annoying as shit. But it is true.

[Mr. FIFY]

Wow. When did "anti-Marxist" become a hate-based crime?

[rac3rx]

When American elected a Marxist as President?

[Mr. FIFY]

We're probably on his enemies' list, though we're pretty far down the food chain to get audited by the IRS.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

If I was going to put up a sign like this, I'd make sure I lived in a state that allows concealed carry. I hope this guy at least has a safe room like the cartoonist in Denmark when the ax-wielding jihadis come looking for him.

[Theo van Gogh]

Why did I get murdered, again? I'm STILL confused.

[anon]

If I was going to put up a sign like this, I'd make sure I lived in a state that allows concealed carry.

I think most citizens have long quit caring. Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

[Matrix]

since when are anti-Marxist remarks bad?

[Barack the Jaunty Future King]

Oh... about three and a half years ago.

[Loki]

"anti-Marxist and anti-Semitic,"

So, he identifies as a Jew when someone makes a death threat yet he's atheist? Either he's atheist or he's Jewish, not both. Also, is marxist now a protected class for hate crime purposes?

[KDN]

Either he's atheist or he's Jewish, not both.

Incorrect. Jews have historically been ethnically and culturally distinct from the populations in which they live. Not practicing the typical religion doesn't make you any less of a Jew, genetically and culturally speaking.

I prefer to separate out the two terms so I don't have to keep having this argument, but when you tell people you're half-Ashkenazi they look at you like you have two heads.

[KMA Too]

Then how about Hebrew? Jew is technically a follower of Judaism.

[KDN]

"Threats made against Silverman's life, which he described as "anti-Marxist and anti-Semitic," are currently being investigated by the Cranford Police Department."

Egads! Getting the state's elite on that one. This could be bad, though; however will the CPD stop people from going 32 in a 25 with this dramatic draw of resources? They better go out and hire 6 more patrols just to be safe. After all, it's for the children.

[SugarFree]

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Clicketh Here...

[RoboCain]

Even I wouldn't link to that!

[invisible furry hand]

and yet, there will be someone here who would hit that

[SugarFree]

No mercy. No surrender.

[WTF]

Her fiance is completely insane if he doesn't get that kid paternity tested.

[JW]

If it breeds, we can kill it.

[Eduard van Haalen]

If Snooki gets married, she'll be smarter than the cool single mothers.

[John]

It would be funny if Snookie all of the sudden got religion and took child birth as an excuse to get married and live a normal life.

[Rich]

"Anyone subject to raging hormonal influences is not fit to be a mother."

[Loki]

So... no woman anywhere, ever?

[Foghorn Leghorn]

That's a joke, Son.

[John]

Poor kid. Talk about not having a chance in life.

[Loki]

Do people still give two shits about Snooki (or anyone else on Jersey Shore)? My capacity to give even one shit was tapped out a long time ago.

[anon]

What's a snookie?

[rac3rx]

WTF is that twat wearing on her feet?

[Bee Tagger]

A perfectly timed blast from Santorum's past: "We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."

I don't know whether I'm more fearful of a President Santorum or the now-inevitable resurgence of Candace Bergen's career.

[P Brooks]

Is the greater good really served if a rape or murder suspect escapes conviction because he hid evidence?for example, digital maps of a victim's address Marmaduke cartoon bestiality porn?behind encryption?

Is it?

IS IT?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Texas congressman will be on the ballot in all 10 states today, but he's focused his resources on three with caucuses ? "fertile political fields," he calls them ? where low turnout could give his motivated supporters greater influence.

An energized voting public didn't do the country so well in last presidential election, maybe apathy will save the day this go-round.

[Lord Humungus]

Teacher Suspended Over Chicken Nugget Incident
School district official says substituting a preschooler's lunch was against district policy
http://www.carolinajournal.com.....Q.facebook

[SugarFree]

Wait... someone (who was it?) said this story was an hoax and we were confirmation biased fools to believe it. Gee, I wonder who that was?

[John]

Did he have a three letter name?

[SugarFree]

Yes... but which three letters? WHICH THREE LETTERS?!?

[John]

Let me guess. I will take a G Pat.

[Auric Demonocles]

Sorry, that's only 2. And Pat is a name, not a letter.

[John]

I will take a "G". Pat.

[Warty]

I dunno, man...that sounds like a pretty substantive argument.

[invisible furry hand]

where's the Wow and the link to your anon site?

[Warty]

Wow, man, LOL http://www.anonocrypt.com

[db]

No, no, see, it was against policy, see? That makes it all OK. The fact that the school has the power to do this is completely mitigated by the fact that the power is restrained by policy! See? All better.

[Brett L]

See, this pisses me off. The district doesn't say that they don't have the power to do it, just that its "against policy". Fuck that. Don't touch my kid's lunch, you nannyist fucks.

[John]

And I guarantee you, that women didn't do that on her own. She was told to do it by the higher ups. And then when it turns into a national embarrassment, they throw the poor drone under the bus.

[Loki]

That's what drones are for, to throw under the bus when the shitstorm hits. What's the point of being an authoritarian assfuck if you don't have minions to take the fall for you?

[db]

If only I had scrolled down, like, five lines.

[Grand Mom]

"We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."

Darn it!

[sloopyinca]

Well played.

[Tebo Mayo]

OK wow, this makes a lot of sense dude, Good stuff indeed.

http://www.Go-Anon.tk

[Matrix]

see what I mean? I can't link to a CNN article, but the anonbot gets a free pass. The spam filters SUCKS!

[Fist of Etiquette]

What are you doing for Tebo de Mayo this year?

[RoboCain]

I feel your pain.

[Chupacabra]

Needs moar bi-curious

[Bee Tagger]

It's Super Tuesday. What did Morning Joe spend the first 10 minutes doing? Fawning over HBOs Game Change with perma-smug John Heilemann.

[P Brooks]

Also, in Sacramento:

The activists spent much of the afternoon debating what their demands should be. They shouted out several, including a tax on millionaires that some education activists hope to place on the November ballot.

"What do we want?"

"Who the fuck knows?"

When do we want it?"

"NOW!"

[AuH20]

"What do we want?"

"Free shit!"

is really what it boils down to.

[RoboCain]

This.

[Matrix]

Minnesota Governor vetoes 'Castle Doctrine' bill

What a turd...

[Rich]

It would have done away with a person's duty to retreat when facing a threat in public places

"*Duty* to retreat"? WTF?!

[RoboCain]

I know, it's just so unbelievably stupid and morally grotesque. The anti-gunners want more people to die in order to reduce the number of defensive gun uses.

[Matrix]

So, basically criminals intent on doing people harm have more rights than their victims.

Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Drop that criminal where he stands.

[Auric Demonocles]

...

[The Pointer-Outer]

It's only okay to defend yourself if you're either a Democrat in public office, or a Democrat celebrity, and only then if you have armed guards doing the dirty work of fending off would-be attackers.

Everyone else should just roll the dice and hope there was sufficient evidence for the crime-scene investigators to find who did it.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

It appears he confused "retreat" with "redeploy."

[anon]

Minnesota Governor vetoes 'Castle Doctrine' bill

I can't imagine that going over well with Minnesota voters.

[Comcast Sucks (Coxswain Hardy)]

Steven Greenhut: What's a little fraud to save the Earth?

[Comcast Sucks (Coxswain Hardy)]

Why Alarmists Can't Be Trusted
...I overlaid RSS satellite data on to the bogus graph. Temperatures peaked 14 years ago, and are cooler in 2012 than they were in 1980....

[Bee Tagger]

Patricia Heaton expresses an opinion, gets compared to Rush Limbaugh:

http://www.newser.com/story/14.....tfinds_rss

[Mr. FIFY]

She's not Team Blue.

Now, if she had called Sarah Palin a "cunt"...

[John]

http://www.powerlineblog.com/a.....-versa.php

Pauli Kruginuts greatest hits. It is quite a record really.

[invisible furry hand]

the crazy eyes are a giveaway

[RoboCain]

Wow.

[Paul Krugman]

How dare you rubes criticize me! I'm Paul Fucking Krugman! Now kneel before Zod my magnificence*!

*"Magnificence" is my pet name for my cock.

[anon]

Now kneel before Zod my magnificence*!

*"Magnificence" is my pet name for my cock.

Obvious spoof. Way too awesome to be Krugnuts.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"We are coming close to pricing out many of our middle-class students," said Rhonda Johnson, Cal State East Bay's financial-aid director. "Now we're seeing a disadvantaged middle class."

Obviously, the only way to repair this problem is federal subsidies.

[Random Liberal]

Federal subsidies repair ALL problems.

[rather]

Feds Will Recover Money From Bankrupt Green Energy Firm? I wonder if it includes all the failure/executive bonuses 😉

[John]

Doubtful. Unless you can prove that it was an insider transaction to avoid paying creditors, that money is gone. And I seriously doubt the feds will have much interest in pursuing such a claim.

[Comcast Sucks (Coxswain Hardy)]

Why I am so rude to Warmists

http://autonomousmind.wordpres.....eal-issue/
...Ultimately if it is not climate change it will be some other vehicle connected to 'sustainability' that will be used as a means of controlling the population and redistributing wealth from the industrialised world to the developing world in a way that enriches the corporates....

[Why I'm rude to KOCHsuckers]

Hardiness Zones
See Changes From 1990 to 2006
http://www.arborday.org/media/map_change.cfm

[White Indian loves little boys]

[George Soros' Secretary]

Your check is in the mail, Mr. Godesky.
Mr. Soros sends his thanks as well.

[shrike]

Where's MY check? And why won't George accept the love letters I send him?

[Tony]

Mine too!

[invisible furry hand]

Kochsuckers? Homophobe!

[Maxxx]

Wow, the climate really changed in the last century.

Unlike the 45,000,000 preceding centuries that earth has existed.

[P Brooks]

Okay- I read the first few paraphs of that Slate "cashless living" article.

When did the "Let me tell you what a stupid obnoxious hipster douchebag I am" become a standard fixture in contemporary American magazine writing?

[Brett L]

Slate's always been at the front of the "Let me tell you what a stupid obnoxious _______ douchebag I am" style. Its kind of their thing.

[John]

What Brett said. Reading Slate is actually kind of essential. It is like getting a short peak in to the mind of the neurotic Blue State liberal. Most of their articles are beyond parody.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

My SWPL professor friend and his wife love it, and they are exactly as you describe.

[John]

Liberal talk show host laughs at midwestern tornado victims because they are just fundies from flyover country. All five of his listeners cheer.

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.....ogies.html

[RoboCain]

But they are for multiculturalism!

[Tony]

It's okay when our side does it.

[anon]

To be fair, I don't really care. They built their homes in fucking "Tornado Alley." I'd bet that 75% of them have been destroyed before. Over half the world's tornadoes occur there.

It just seems like someone building a house in Antarctica and then wanting sympathy for dying from hypothermia.

[John]

The chances of any particular house being destroyed is pretty small. And everywhere in the world is susceptible to natural disasters. You are taking a chance no matter where you live.

[anon]

Yeah, but it's significantly higher in Tornado alley. I'm serious, over half the ENTIRE WORLD's (observed) tornados.

Tip: If you buy a house in a place called Tornado Alley, buy insurance against having your home obliterated by a tornado.

[Shorter anon]

People should only live where I tell them to!

[mad libertarian guy]

Anyone who thinks that Eastern KY is somehow tornado alley is a fucking idiot.

It's Not. Even. Close.

[Amakudari]

That area has a lot of tornadoes. But the real nasty tornadoes, which not only are more powerful but near population centers, extend a good bit east of that map. There are just fewer tornadoes in total to the east, so the definition of Tornado Alley is a bit fluid.

[Fatty Bolger]

The important thing is that Rush called somebody a slut.

[Ice Nine]

from Santorum's past: "We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms."

What, we're supposed to mock this? It's not particularly well-worded but it's true. There is plenty of Santorum mockery fodder out there and I generally embrace it. But, this just isn't part of it.

[John]

Yea, women having kids they can't support or control might just be bad for society.

[anon]

But not for the welfare budget!

[oncogenesis]

single moms ? kids they can't support or control

[Brandon]

Psst. John. Your neocon is showing.

[Kwanzaa Cake]

No, no, millions of fatherless kids is great for our country. In fact, it's super awesome.

[Matrix]

Yeah. Even Jezebel says that single mothers are great for all of us.

[RoboCain]

The vast majority of violent criminals -- including rapists -- are from fatherless homes.

[John]

According to jezzebel the vast majority of rapist are rich white men.

[RoboCain]

Which is why almost every rape they talk about turns out to be bullshit.

[Joe M]

Their very existence rapes society.

[Neu Mejican]

The vast majority of violent criminals -- including rapists -- are from fatherless homes.

So, how does this work on a societal scale. With the number of female headed single family households increasing dramatically over the last 40 years, we should predict that crime rates should continue to go up over that period of time.

How's that blame theory working out for ya?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

How else is Maury Povich going to keep his show going?

[Invisible Finger]

So why does Rick Sanctimonium blame the moms instead of the dads? I'd venture the say most single moms didn't set out to be single moms but it was a better option than taking beatings.

[Fluke]

See, they were denied acces to contraception!

[John]

And by mocking Santorum you by implication buy into the feminist idea that men are unnecessary. I think men and women are very necessary. And having a mother and father is usually a good thing.

[Brandon]

No, by mocking Santorum you by implication reveal that his blaming "single moms" for the nation's problems is logically incompatible with his opposition to birth control. In other words, he is nothing more than a kneejerk socon idiot.

[Neu Mejican]

(^_^)

you by implication buy into the feminist idea that men are unnecessary

No one individual or type of individual is necessary in this context.

http://www.livescience.com/607.....-show.html

[MNG]

I think the problem is this: for a good chunk of society, the better off, a single mom can raise a kid pretty well, and probably better than they could in a terrible, arguing family.

But for the less well off it's been a disaster for our nation.

When Santorum or any socon attacks "single moms" in general the former group is rightly upset.

It's not so much Santorum's fault, since if he specified "poor single mom's" he'd catch even more flak.

[Neu Mejican]

What, we're supposed to mock this? It's not particularly well-worded but it's true. There is plenty of Santorum mockery fodder out there and I generally embrace it. But, this just isn't part of it.

Think about how the blame arrow is pointed here. Who is to blame if a mother is raising a child solo? The single mom is the one that has taken on the responsibility...while someone else, who might be expected to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, has decided to remain absent from the picture.

It should be mocked.
You have to be an idiot to say it or believe it.

[MNG]

Hm, good point NM.

[Ice Nine]

It is understood by everyone - including of course those who chose to make hay out of it - that the problem he was referring to is the myriad children born out of wedlock and the resulting single parent households. I said it was poorly worded.

[MNG]

Yes, but as NM says, a big part of the out-of-wedlock fault goes with those fathers...He should stick to saying "how can we encourage and support stable, two parent families via marriage" instead of the single mom talk.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

He should stick to saying "how can we encourage and support stable, two parent families via marriage" instead of the single mom talk.

Perhaps, but that's a road that can't really be traveled on anymore. The culture of this country is hard-wired now to view single motherhood as a noble pursuit and denigrate fathers at every opportunity. Just look at television--how many of these shows have a father figure who isn't a clueless putz that needs constant guidance from the various female figures in his life? How often are marraiges between people who aren't over the age of 60 shown to be stable, healthy, and functional?

And this is the result of decades of social welfare policies finally coming home to roost. When people expect the government to essentially raise children, then a two-parent family no longer serves any purpose.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

To continue, it's the state substituting itself in arenas that used to be handled within the family structure, but because that kind of self-reliance is a threat to social engineers, it had to be squelched the minute they took power in the 60s and 70s.

Obama can talk all he wants about the necessity of having fathers involved with their kids (and he should know as well as anyone), but he's telling the barn not to burn down when it's already been set ablaze.

[Neu Mejican]

Well, you are clearly ignoring the best single dad show ever, Louie.

But you are acting like the depiction of life on prime time is somehow an accurate reflection of the attitudes of real people. Real people know that it is HARD to raise a child by yourself no matter who you are (father or mother). Heck its hard even for a couple. So a single parent who is willing to take on the challenge and does it well IS deserving of praise. Santorum is attacking those individuals in his comment.

[Neu Mejican]

And, even if we take RRR's spin on it...

"the myriad children born out of wedlock" - I believe something like 50% of single parent households got that way via divorce. And we can probably safely assume that many of those "single parent households" have a shared custody of some type.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

But you are acting like the depiction of life on prime time is somehow an accurate reflection of the attitudes of real people.

I fail to see how these shows would be popular otherwise. Just because Hollywood shows a prismatically distorted view of family life doesn't mean there isn't a reflection of truth in the portrayal.

So a single parent who is willing to take on the challenge and does it well IS deserving of praise.

Oh bullshit. A single parent isn't deserving of praise for doing their damn job. And I say that as someone who was raised by one.

[Neu Mejican]

A single parent isn't deserving of praise for doing their damn job.

People don't deserve praise for doing their damn job? What do they deserve praise for then?

[Neu Mejican]

This has been a long discussion in our society. The concept of the nefarious welfare mother is a constant meme in that discourse. It was, even, injected into the discussion in this very thread at 9:33 am. The statement is mock-worthy because it invokes and sustains this tired out trope.

[JW]

"I must have caught the pregnant from the doorknob!"

Careful Neu. You're making Santorum appear credible by comparison.

[Neu Mejican]

An odd quote. How is that relevant?

[R C Dean]

Based on my limited exposure to single moms, many of them have absolutely no desire for the father to be involved with their kid(s). So, its pretty much a joint decision.

Not surprising, really, when you're talking about teenage mothers. Seriously, who would want a teenage "boy" involved in raising child?

But, I've seen this even with adult single mothers. They make a decision to have a kid, with someone they don't want to marry, don't want to live with, who they know isn't even good for a monthly child support check.

The fathers shouldn't get a free pass, of course, but the decision to have a kid, who to have it with, and to not involve the father post-insemination, is pretty much the mother's.

[RoboCain]

Many just go get pregnant, and don't have any relationship or any intent to have a relationship with the biological father.

[R C Dean]

We see an absolutely appalling number of women (and girls) in our hospital who don't know or care who the father is.

No question, there's a subculture of men out there who want to father as many shorties as possible, with no responsibility.

But that subculture would be meaningless without a subculture of women out there who want to have babies without caring who the father is, and don't want the father involved at all. When you get right down to it, its up to the mother whether the child happens or not, and on what terms the father is involved.

Here we have an area where the woman is definitely in power. Why not hold them accountable for their decisions?

[Neu Mejican]

Are you envisioning some sort of political - government intervention to address this problem that you perceive. 'Cuz that is what Santorum is talking about?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who is to blame if a mother is raising a child solo? The single mom is the one that has taken on the responsibility...while someone else, who might be expected to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, has decided to remain absent from the picture.

Hmmm, going to say no to this. There are plenty of absentee fathers in America, but there are also fathers who are victims of the equity courts and various Child Protection Services of the several states, in that they are denied access to their child or children and any unable to do any child-rearing they might have otherwise done.

[R C Dean]

And, unless they are or were married, the father has no real way to override the mother's decision to cut him off from his kids.

[Neu Mejican]

That is a whole-nuther issue, but the numbers involved here are small in terms of the reason for single parent households. And of those who are in this situation, only a minority are denied this access without cause.

[RoboCain]

Bullshit.

[Neu Mejican]

Are you saying that this is the major cause of female led single parent households?

Are you saying the MOST child protection orders are unfounded?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

And of those who are in this situation, only a minority are denied this access without cause.

When all it takes is for the mother to imply that the father is a threat to the child's well-being, this is a specious claim to make.

[Neu Mejican]

I have worked with children and families for my whole career. There are certainly cases where a father is denied access without cause. There are far more where there is a substantiated claim of harm/endangerment.

But these types of cases are vastly outnumbered by families where the decisions are made entirely without the courts.

But hey, I've only worked in 3 states in three different regions of the courty, so maybe my experience is atypical

[Anonymous Coward]

Mmmm, tastes....anecdote-y.

[Neu Mejican]

Indeed.
You want to give me some numbers on the counter claim...

Child Protection orders being unwarranted as a general rule rather than as an exception.

[Neu Mejican]

http://www.census.gov/populati.....hhfam.html

Most single parents have either never been married or are currently divorced. In 1994, about 38 percent of single parents were never married, and about an equal share were divorced.

So, how many of these fathers are denied access despite wanting it?

How many of these households have a dad who was falsely accused and denied access?

The numbers are small. Those father's it applies to (including - btw - my nephew, so I know these cases exist) - deserve better treatment. And it is an important issue. But if your goal is two-parent households...you won't get there by blaming the mother's that are taking care of the kids. By and large, dad's are the ones that need to step up and take responsibility.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

By and large, dad's are the ones that need to step up and take responsibility.

And as I pointed out above, why should they when society only deems them important when the child support check is due?

[Neu Mejican]

And as I pointed out above, why should they when society only deems them important when the child support check is due?

Blame it on society?

Okay. You sure you wanna go down that route on this one?

[Anonymous Coward]

The numbers are small.

Care to share with the rest of the class?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

You want to give me some numbers on the counter claim...

You haven't even given numbers on the original claim, so why should AC provide the counter-refutation?

[Neu Mejican]

He doesn't need to.
I am willing to have a discussion based on anecdote and opinions. He seemed to have a problem with that. If he wants this to be based on numbers, let him do the leg work. I am pretty comfortable with the fact that the trends I have seen over the last 30 years are close enough to accurate for THIS discussion...i.e., comfortable enough with them to feel sure it ain't the single mom's that are the problem.

[Anonymous Coward]

I am willing to have a discussion based on anecdote and opinions. He seemed to have a problem with that. If he wants this to be based on numbers, let him do the leg work.

Opinion, I have no problem arguing. Anecdotes, especially anecdotes from Joe Random schmuck on the internet I do have problem with. Especially fact-free anecdotes from an "expert" whose "worked with child and families for 30 years in three states."

Basically, I do not accept your claim of expertise based solely on your claim of expertise.

[Neu Mejican]

You haven't even given numbers on the original claim,

The original claim, btw way is the one Santorum put forth...and then the next original claim was not put forth by me, but was put forth by JW.

So...who is it that is responsible for backing up their claims?

Or all we all just talking about an issue the intertubes?

[Neu Mejican]

Just for accuracy... not JW...RC.

"Bullshit" to an obviously true claim...the extraordinary claim is the one that needs empirical support in this kind of discussion.

[Anonymous Coward]

When did I say Child Protection orders were unwarranted as a general rule?

Or is stick in your hand for the strawman you were planning on beating?

My statement was in regards to that sweeping generalization that "The single mom is the one that has taken on the responsibility...while someone else, who might be expected to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, has decided to remain absent from the picture."

[Neu Mejican]

AC,

When did I say Child Protection orders were unwarranted as a general rule?

You didn't.

My statement was in regards to that sweeping generalization that "The single mom is the one that has taken on the responsibility...while someone else, who might be expected to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, has decided to remain absent from the picture."

I realize that. And I said that, yes, indeed, you brought up legitimate counter examples. I don't think those counter examples are the general rule. If you don't want to accept my claims of expertise, I have no problem with that.

[Neu Mejican]

And just some basic numbers (Brown 2005, might be a place to start, there are some good studies out of Canada, etc...)

Only a very small minority of abuse allegations are determined to be intentionally false. Less than one percent in the US in the states that track that (5 states, iirc), and research estimates in various countries put the number overall a nothing higher than 5% of cases.

While most allegations of abuse are unsubstantiated (because the bar for substantiation is typically fairly high), the evidence in research points to Father's be MORE likely to make unsubstantiated claims against mothers of abuse or neglect than the other way around.

The numbers on this are not even a little bit ambiguous. Father's who want access to their children being denied access to their children is a very small percentage of the cases where a child is raised by a woman alone.

[Neu Mejican]

And, yeah, I am just pulling those numbers from memory. I didn't look them up. As someone who deals with this, I read this stuff regularly. If you want to know more about it, the data ain't hidden.

[Neu Mejican]

And AC,

The first half of my generalization is, by definition, true. The second half is overstated as some dads don't choose to remain absent...but are forced to remain absent by circumstances or forces beyond or outside or their control.

Santorum is blaming the ones that ARE taking the responsibility. And this is the reason his statement should be mocked.

[Neu Mejican]

Hurrumph...

[Anonymous Coward]

but the numbers involved here are small in terms of the reason for single parent households. And of those who are in this situation, only a minority are denied this access without cause.

And that means a lot to me because you said it.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The single mom is the one that has taken on the responsibility...while someone else, who might be expected to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, has decided to remain absent from the picture.

Or, the mom could have decided she "didn't need no man to raise no child," and left the father high and dry when she got bored with being married.

Not all single moms are paragons of virtue, and often pursue custody out of sheer spite.

[Neu Mejican]

True enough, I suppose. Do you see this as the typical case?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Depends--do you have evidence which backs up your own claim, which is that most single fathers are deadbeats of some sort?

[Neu Mejican]

I didn't claim that most fathers are deadbeats. I said that most single family homes are led by mom's and that when there is an absent parent that absent parent is a dad.

iirc over 80% of single family homes are led by mom's...about half were never married to the dad, about half are divorced. The number of father's in that sample that are involved is not clear from any survey I have seen. But the idea put forth that the dad's aren't involved because of the mom's choices...well, it happens, but it ain't the rule.

[Neu Mejican]

when there is an absent parent that absent parent is a dad.

Should read

when there is an absent parent that absent parent is more likely to be a dad.

[protefeed]

"Yes, those damn single mothers are totally causing any problems one might want to bitch about."

WTF?

I know some single mothers who are doing fine. Sometimes you just want to kick the arsehole guy out of the house because he's more trouble than help.

[Neu Mejican]

Also true.

[R C Dean]

My point exactly: mom made the decision to have a kid by the arsehole guy who is more trouble than help.

[Neu Mejican]

And...this is her fault that he is more trouble than help? It's her fault that she wasn't able to predict that he would not step up to his responsibilities. In some cases, sure, it was probably obvious, but...

[Matrix]

LulzSec 'leader' ousts other hackers

[John]

Media mutters has a new black list. I guess I will have to now go buy something from as many of these businesses as possible.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201203050019

[Mr. FIFY]

Fuck MediaMatters. If they died in a fire, we'd be better off.

[anon]

They really do make it easier to choose where to shop.

[P Brooks]

Law enforcement organizations strongly condemned the proposal, saying it could risk officers' lives.

Dayton made his veto by letter without commenting publicly.

In his veto letter, Dayton said, he had to honor the opposition of law enforcement.

"The MN Police and Peace Officers Association, the MN Chiefs of Police and the MN Sheriffs Association represent the men and woman who risk their lives every day and night to protect the rest of us. When they strongly oppose a measure, because they believe it will increase the dangers to them in the performance of their duties, I cannot support it," Dayton wrote.

Law enforcement... lobbying? Attempting to influence the legislative process to enhance or maintain their monopoly on force?

Inconceivable!

[John]

It shows how much cops have changed in the last 40 years. It used to be cops were happy to see a citizen shoot a criminal. Less paper work than an arrest. Now, they have totally bought into the total state all citizens must be victims mentality.

[SugarFree]

It's not just that. The castle doctrine means that someone might have a defense against home invasion at the hands of The Thin Blue Line Gang. They are worried that No Knock might become "pop, pop."

[R C Dean]

Now, they have totally bought into the total state all citizens subjects must be victims submit without resistance mentality.

[R C Dean]

Fuck.

[sarcasmic]

Nowadays people have more reason to fear the police than they do criminals.

[anon]

We're all criminals now.

[J_L_B]

While I understand this sentiment, I fear that it has become true partially because to say the opposite to be called a racist.

[R C Dean]

represent the men and woman who risk their lives every day and night to protect the rest of us.

Sorry, not buying it.

[John]

No. They risk your life so that they might enforce the laws.

[sarcasmic]

They risk their life so that they may commit acts that would be criminal if they didn't have a badge.

Face it. Being a cop is fun.

What could be more fun than causing terror as you point a pistol at someone and threaten them with death, beating up anyone who shows you the slightest disrespect, kidnapping people, even committing murder, and knowing the whole time that there will be no consequences for your actions?

[anon]

What could be more fun...

Hookers and blow?

[sarcasmic]

Hookers and blow?

Work vice squad if you want to do that without consequence.

[anon]

That's right, I forgot about the stories about cops raping hookers.

Why the fuck would anyone rape a hooker? Holy shit that's dumb.

[sarcasmic]

Why the fuck would anyone rape a hooker?

Perhaps they're a cop who gets off on using force against people.

What's a hooker going to do if she's raped by a cop? Call the cops?

[Loki]

When they strongly oppose a measure, because they believe it will increase the dangers to them in the performance of their duties and threaten to withdrar campaign contributions, I cannot support it

[P Brooks]

The anti-gunners want more people to die in order to reduce the number of defensive gun uses.

The police want more people to die in the name of OFFICER SAFETY.

[Fluffy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ent.....-1.1033800

[John]

Was it any good?

[R C Dean]

No.

[Fluffy]

Yeah, gotta say no.

[Fluffy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ent.....-1.1033800

[Fluffy]

Sorry about that.

[Fluffy]

I had a joke prepared about how Rick Santorum's Terra Nova would have succeeded, since it would have included cavemen riding the dinosaurs like horses. But the browser ate it and the moment is gone.

[MNG]

Is there birth control for the dinosaurs, or would that just be a grant of sexual license for them?

[Fluffy]

You could do a brisk time machine business buying contractor garbage bags in the present and selling them in the past as dinosaur condoms.

[MNG]

Would that make the dinosaurs sluts?

[Fluffy]

Yes. It would undermine their entire society, and probably ruin their personal relationships with OogBoog the dinosaur creator god.

And of course you know those damn shiftless duck-billed dinosaurs, they would demand that the tyrannosaurs be taxed to pay for free contractor garbage bag condoms for all. Despite the obvious conflict of conscience this would create for OogBoog fundamentalists.

[MNG]

To me, the funniest thing about the Rush meltdown over the condoms was not his equating of a person using subsidize birth control as a slut or prostitute. I actually listen to about an hour of Rush a day and I heard him say that stuff. But on the same day he had a MUCH better line, he went off on this rant about how the Democrat party just wanted to get the vote of "those people who just want to hand around and have sex all day."

I thought, wow, he didn't know it but THAT was the line the Dems should have picked up on and pitched out there.

[protefeed]

he went off on this rant about how the Democrat party just wanted to get the vote of "those people who just want to hand around and have sex all day."

Well, sure, Democrats would like to have a bigger chunk of the male voters, but not gonna happen.

[Fluffy]

That gives an idea for a sci-fi short story:

Scientist invents time machine, goes back in time. Discovers that the Creationists are right, and there are cavemen riding on dinosaurs. Decides to fuck some shit up to change the timeline - conquer the world with caveman dinosaur cavalry armed with muskets or some such shit. Ending: Hand of God Steven King type intervention to stop him.

Given what some of the Amazon top 100 lists look like, I think there's a market that buys that as a short.

[SugarFree]

Needs moar vampires. Or maybe you could just rip off a Japanese novel.

[John]

How about this. People invent a time machine. Go back and find out that Jesus really was one terrifying dude with incredible powers. The government then has a secret program to kidnap him and bring him to the present to use his powers for covert actions. The CIA kidnaps Jesus and keeps him at a secret compound kind of like Hell Boy. Then the whole thing ends with some kind of Steven King type hand of God intervention.

[Fluffy]

Dude, write that. You would sell a million of those.

Picture the movie trailer.

[MNG]

Talk to that fig tree about how Jesus powers were all just for healing and stuff...

[My God Wants U Burning in Hell]

sinner

[Fluffy]

Actually, an online acquaintance of mine had great success with a novel where vampires are trying to kill Jesus during the time frame from Palm Sunday to Easter.

There are lots of narrative dead spaces in the gospel accounts where you can hide stuff like that.

So you could do it so the CIA abducts Jesus by time machine, but he keeps escaping back to Jerusalem, so that all the gospel accounts still happen as depicted - there's just all this spy shit happening in the margins that no one sees.

[MNG]

What is up with vampires? I went to buy a book for a tween-age girl relative's birthday and about 80% of the section the clerk showed me were about vampires.

When did they replace unicorns and horses as the desire metaphor for young women?

[Fluffy]

When somebody figured out that teen girls like shirtless brooding teenage vampire boys more than horses with spikes on their heads.

[MNG]

But why vampires? Why not fallen angels or what not?

Maybe it's a mass unconscious metaphor for our entitlement society that bloodsuckers are now the primary teenage fixation?

[AuH20]

Actually, MNG, you have given me an idea for a story about a fallen angel who works as a security guard, going to various musuems, private collectors, and occasionally people and protecting them from the supernatural.

A little bit of Warehouse 13, a little bit of Dresden Files, and boom goes the dynamite.

[SugarFree]

Unicorns only have one giant penis metaphor, vampires have two smaller ones that might not hurt so much going in.

[invisible furry hand]

As a former teenage girl, I can say with some confidence that the horse / unicorn thing is not really for teenage girls - younger girls maybe. Teenage girls have moved way beyond metaphor. But then again I went to a Catholic girls school

[MNG]

OK, lol

[Mr. FIFY]

That's actually a very good comparison, MNG, but the real-life bloodsuckers are the politicians, not their thralls.

[RoboCain]

Get her one of those Barrack Obama dildos.

[Michelle Obama]

I just love mine!

[Loki]

There's this book/ movie series called Twilight you may have heard something about on one of your trips out from under your rock. The short version: teen age girls have even managed to ruin vampires.

[RoboCain]

Except True Blood is still awesome.

[RBS]

No, it is not.

[John]

Off Fluffy the top of my head, here is your plot.

The lead character is a well meaning scientist and his love interest who invents the thing. In secret they go back in time and have some fun. And then they decide to get brave and go back and see if Jesus was real. Well, they do it and sure enough, he is running around healing people. But he is not some nice hippie teacher. No, he is something entirely different. Awe inspiring and terrifying with the ability to do unbelievable super natural things. So word of this adventure gets back to the government. And one day the CIA shows up and takes scientist and love interest to secret compound. And the plan is revealed. At first it is a "we just want to show the world Jesus was real" kind of thing. But gradually it becomes apparent they have malevolent motivations and want to harness his powers.

[John]

So you have a whole detective story trying to figure out how to kidnap Jesus. Finally they figure out that they have to do it right after he arises from the crypt and shows his disciples he is alive. That way there is still a Christianity and you don't erase your own existence by changing history.

So they grab him right before he ascends to heaven. The smarmy government bureaucrat in charge is delighted.(Think the corporate villain in Alien). But the scientist and the love interest are puzzled. How did we pull this off? Why is Jesus letting us kidnap him so easily? So Jesus waits in his secret compound. You could have some sort of play on the Grand Inquisitor during this stage.

[John]

Finally, they are ready to get Jesus to use his powers for a mission. The big CIA head comes out to talk to him. And when he does you have a big scene where the CIA head asks him to reveal himself and help them. And then it ends with something similar to the last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark with everyone getting theirs and the scientist and the love interest not looking in order to avoid divine retribution.

[SugarFree]

Chapter One

Some place called Arlington. These pale bastards have had Me for nearly forty days. I have to get back to Galilee. Back to Mary. Pale bastards. I knew them even when they were in the womb. And neither of their mothers thought to marry the men they spent wanton nights with. Dad would drown them in a lake of blood. I have to forgive them. Forgive my jailers.

They tell me The Temple is gone, that Israel is a land of strife. Apparently they never read The Torah. It has always been a land of strife. I don't know what they expect me to do about it.

[John]

Should you write in a scene where Jesus is taken to the White House to meet his black counterpart?

[Al from AL]

It should be written David McCollough style, as a series of letters and journal entries.

[Jesus]

Letter from a Quantico Jail

[db]

Walking out of Hell that Sunday morning, I thought I heard Satan chuckling. All of a sudden, pitch black. Clammy skin. Grinding stone, and then blinding lights bobbing around. Faces half obscured by shiny visors: more Romans? In the Tomb? Shit, the Tomb! They sweep Me up, burial wrappings exchanged for more rigid restraints. A ball gag jammed in My mouth and a mask over my nose, and agin--blackness.

[db]

Peter Jackson directing to get the creepy-awesome-godlike-powers Jesus vibe right.

[John]

yeah. That is one of the things about modern Christan iconography that drives me crazy. Jesus some nice hippie. He told people to love him more than their family. The bible on multiple occasions describes his followers as being terrified of him. And from a Christian perspective that makes sense. He was the living embodiment of God on earth. That is as they say some serious shit.

[Michael Bay]

I'd have a slightly different approach to this story, John...

[John]

Keep your filthy paws off my novel you philistine.

[Closet Michael Bay Fan]

But MOAR EXPLOSHUNZ!!!11!!!!!!11!! makes anything better!

[RoboCain]

So would Verhoeven.

[John]

No!!!

Only a German could do this properly. Preferably Werner Herzog or if he is not available Wim Wenders.

[invisible furry hand]

If Herzog's doing it, could we put some chickens in it?

[John]

Anything Herzog does is by definition awesome.

[RoboCain]

You can tell Dutch and German people apart? The entire state of Pennsylvania couldn't even do that.

Anyway, they are both great.

[John]

Dutch is a mispronunciation of "Deutsch", which is German for German and what the Pennsylvania Germans called themselves.

[Sparky]

You know what would be a better ending? Iranian terrorist seize control of the time travel device and use it to go back and get Muhammad. They bring him back specifically to stop Jesus and it ends with a massive battle on the Plain of Megiddo.

[Fluffy]

Holy crap dude.

We should crowdsource this and have everyone here write a few paragraphs in sequence.

[Sparky]

It needs a title. My suggestion is "War for Prophet".

[SugarFree]

Get to know the market: The Last Days of Christ The Vampire

[T]

That'll be a train wreck. I'm in.

[Ice Nine]

Herc would screw up the whole project.

[SugarFree]

Screw up? We are counting on Herc for most of the action scenes.

[robc]

Here is my contribution. During a test, there is a part where the machine screws up and sends back loaves of bread and fishes over and over and over again.

Sort of a replicator screwup from Star Trek kind of thing. Or a glitch in the matrix.

The apostles are befuddled and keep looking to Jesus, and he just says "Keep handing them out".

And then winks at the time travelers.

[RoboCain]

LOL

[Fluffy]

Actually, it would be hysterical if we explained all of the miracles that way.

John has pointed us to another opportunity:

So they grab him right before he ascends to heaven.

Ideally, they grab him and that is what the apostles believe is Jesus ascending to Heaven.

[John]

That is exactly what I was thinking. But you can't explain all of the miracles that way since that would mean he didn't have supernatural powers and thus there would be no point in kidnapping him.

His disciples thinking that the time travelers is what keeps the historical continuity and keeps the time travelers from erasing the their own existence. He actually ascends to heaven during the Raiders of the Lost Ark final scene. But history never knows that.

[robc]

But you can't explain all of the miracles that way since that would mean he didn't have supernatural powers and thus there would be no point in kidnapping him.

I think Ive got the plot:

The CIA thinks he has supernatural powers, but the team of travelers doesnt, but dont like the CIA blackmailing them into the kidnapping, so they help Jesus fake the miracles (which show up looking like supernatural powers to the CIA) using late 21st century technology. So, replicators for the feeding, pharmaceuticals for raising Lazerus (time machine helps here) and healing others. Etc, etc.

Eventually, the CIA discovers the truth and cancels the project. Only after he has been returned just in time to ascend to heaven, the traveling team discovers he hasnt actually been using their help at all.

[robc]

This doesnt explain the miracle, it just shifts it. Hence the wink. The miracle isnt the serving of 5000, its a 1st century carpenter haxoring a 21st century machine.

[rac3rx]

Who is compiling this national treasure?

[St?phane Dumas]

A bit off-topic but I spotted this French article who mentionned an article from the Washington Post then Larry Flynt wants to give 1 million if someone find a sexual scandal? http://bigbrowser.blog.lemonde.....le-sexuel/

Strange timing he chose to decide. I wonder if his million came from a bailout he asked a while ago?

Then, what if someone replied to his offer by offering 2 millions for a sexual scandal in the democrat side?

[P Brooks]

the CIA abducts Jesus by time machine, but he keeps escaping back to Jerusalem

I see God sitting at a console, repeatedly rewinding videotape, while muttering, "Quit that, you bastards!" while Satan snickers in the background.

[Citizen Nothing]

I'd watch the movie if you could get Terry Gilliam to direct.

[MNG]

And if Nic Cage played Jesus.

At the very least, he obviously needs the money...

[R C Dean]

I think I just damaged my brain trying to imagine Nic Cage in a Terry Gilliam movie.

[Raston Bot]

Hellenic Republic creditors form group to hold out.

http://sfgate.bloomberg.com/SF.....2EH2DC0REJ

Investors in Greece's Swiss franc bonds have formed a group to fight for their rights...

Hard default?

[Nadine]

50% of people are gay. Most don't realize it.

[RoboCain]

Good, then we can stop coddling them like special snowflakes.

[anon]

Hopefully a portion of them are hot women that choose to make vids and post them online.

[P Brooks]

Hard default?

LEAN FORWARD!

[P Brooks]

We are counting on Herc for most of the action scenes.

There Will be CATS

I smell OSCAR, baby.

[John]

Jesus destroys the modern cult of the cat.

[AuH20]

Actually, the Roman Empire did have a lot of mystery cults, including the Cult of Isis. Well, what if there was the Cult of Bastet, that Jesus had to fight against?

They could be all cloak and dagger and assasin-y. Sort of an ancient counterpoint to our modern CIA.

[P Brooks]

What happens when Jesus arrives at the White House, and the President says, "Him? That's Jesus? He looks like a Mexican gardener. I thought he'd be taller; and blonde."

[John]

No it would be "Reverend Wright told me he would be black. You sure you got the right guy?"

[Al from AL]

Then Farrakhan shows up.

[John]

You could go serious sci fi or make it a black comedy. Both would be equally good.

[Loki]

Why not sci fi black comedy? I'm not sure there have been many of those. People are probably itching for something like that, even if they don't know it yet.

[John]

Totally. I would have a hard time writing black comedy though. I would keep veering off into making it some kind of Russian novel. No way could I resist rewriting the Grand Inquisitor scene. Of course that also lends itself to high comedy as well.

[anon]

Why not sci fi black comedy?

I don't think those two things can be combined.

[Mr. FIFY]

*ahem*

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069945/

[Fatty Bolger]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/

[Mr. FIFY]

Forgot that one, Fatty. I am embarrass.

[P Brooks]

During a test, there is a part where the machine screws up and sends back loaves of bread and fishes over and over and over again.

Nice. But what if:

The slob genius lab assistant who is incessantly eating as he works leaves a donut in the machine. When it goes back, it has become dense and hard-crusted. A baker finds it, is intrigued, and reverse engineers it, to great acclaim.

And that, boys and girls, is how bagels were born.

[anon]

Guys, I hate to burst your bubble, but the entire backwards time travel thing never works right. It's like trying to plan an economy, only everything else too. Haven't you guys seen The Butterfly Effect?

[robc]

Wrong. It doesnt matter what you do, you arent going to change history, because you have already done it.

Calvin would understand.

[invisible furry hand]

Please let this be a real problem:

Q. [snip] A distant relative graciously let my teenage daughter and myself move in with them and work on their family farm... Now for the problem; I saw their teenage son and his friend engaging in sex acts with the livestock. I'm mortified! I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should talk to his parents or not. This is now my place to live and my employment, but I can't imagine staying here, whether I tell them or not. I don't want my daughter around these boys, but I don't have the means to move again or belongings to furnish it, not to mention how that would affect my daughter.

[John]

See this one?

Q. Annoying BIL: I can't stand my husband's arrogant brother. He thinks he's better than everybody because he has a Ph.D. and occasionally lectures at college. Last week I was writing a note and misspelled something. My BIL yelled, "Don't you know how to SPELL?" He grabbed the note and walked around showing everyone my error, even after others told him it wasn't funny.

[Mr. FIFY]

The annoying BIL is Tony?

[John]

I can't stand the way he brags about his achievements, and the monologues about politics or history, usually brought up to highlight his extensive general knowledge. My in-laws are pretty easygoing, so his behavior is something of an inside joke amongst them, rather than a source of major conflict. The problem is, his birthday is coming up pretty soon. I have a tradition of giving each family member a beautifully presented basket of baked goods for their birthday. But the BIL's spelling remark was the last straw to years of obnoxious behavior. I still want to give his twin sister the gift basket, but not him. I'll leave it up for my husband to buy something for his brother, even though he's a terrible gift buyer. (I'm expecting a last minute trip to the mall for some ill-fitting underwear.)

[John]

My husband thinks I should just make another gift basket to keep the family peace. But I don't want to give something homemade without any love behind it. Am I petty for excluding my BIL from the gift baskets from this point onward?

Oh WTF.

Hey MNG, you sister in law is writing to Dear Prudence.

[Matrix]

Cal SC rules that game wardens don't need warrant to stop and search vehicles

"The need to protect wildlife for future generations outweighs the minor intrusion of a vehicle stop, said state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in June."

Holy fuckballs. It's not like that rationale could be used to justify any removal of constitutionally protected liberties.

[GILMORE]

California, dude. I find it hard to believe they even *allowed* hunting at all....

ah, actually having read the story now - the case was about Fishing...

Yeah, if it was about Bambi-killers instead of Lobster-poaching...they'd approve shoot-on-sight, not just car-searches.

[GILMORE]

re: "Iran to allow UN nuclear inspectors"

Operation Ayatollah Takedown*

Act 1

- UN inspectors, enter stage right

- 6 month debate ensues when they find nothing, but insist that "full disclosure is not forthcoming"

- US Goes to UN with Flimsy Proof of Iranian posession of Weapons of Mass Destruction

- Speech made justifying attack

- War begins

Act 2 & 3 = Everything goes wrong

(*remake of 2003's, Operation Iraqi Freedom)

[db]

Epilogue

- "Operation I-a tol' ya so."

[Mike Laursen]

The Cal State and UC systems are now more expensive than Harvard, Yale.

Hmm, they kinda stacked the deck in the statistic they quote in that article. About $20-ish a year isn't bad at all for a UC degree. We pay in the neighborhood of that for a high-end preschool for our 4-year-old.