A.M. Links: Eric Holder Up For Contempt, FBI Investigating Wildfires, News Corp Agrees to Split

• At least about a dozen Democrats may vote to hold Eric Holder in contempt for withholding documents related to Operation Fast & Furious. Most are facing tough re-election battles.

• At least 300 homes have been torched and 30,000 residents displaced as wildfires continue in Colorado. The FBI is apparently investigating.
• Gunmen in Syria stormed a pro-Assad TV station (are there any other kind?). Meanwhile, NATO is meeting to decide whether to respond to the Syrian downing of a Turkish recon jet last week (Spoiler: a strongly worded statement)
• A 65-year-old store clerk in New Hampshire was fired after refusing to sell cigarettes to someone using an EBT card. The man's foster mother came in to complain. The store clerk was fired after giving a week's notice but refusing to accept welfare cards for cigarettes during that time.
• News Corp's board approved splitting the company into two, an entertainment business and a publishing business.
• Clyde Drexler  says quotes attributed to him about Magic Johnson (e.g., "He couldn't play much by that time. He couldn't guard his shadow. But you have to understand what was going on then. Everybody kept waiting for Magic to die. Every time he'd run up the court everybody would feel sorry for the guy, and he'd get all that benefit of the doubt") in the Jack McCallum book Dream Team are "totally ludicrous" and not his.
• 828 days after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of the law.

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Reason.TV: Mandela, Gandhi and… Mailman? Postal Workers Wage Hunger Strike "For Justice"

Comments

[invisible furry hand]

Nine-year-old boy with gun steals electric car

http://www.thelocal.se/41704/20120628/

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hopefully it was a soldering gun.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I was shocked that he was able to smuggle a gun into Sweden, but (spoiler alert) it was airsoft.

I'm still surprised that those are legal though.

[Res Publica Americana]

Maybe when another wave of socialism overtakes Scandinavia in the near future, they'll all be illegalized.

[Isaac Bartram]

Actually, gun laws in Sweden are not that restrictive, although licensing is required for nearly all categories.

Sweden still has pretty robust hunting and port shooting communities.

IMO, Sweden will not significantly change its gun laws unless the public comes to believe that gun possession among the racial minority immigrant population is widespread.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Also: how much money would I make if I produced shirts that read "I'm with gun" and had an arrow pointing towards the hip?

I think they'd be pretty popular.

[invisible furry hand]

I'd wear one saying "Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just ready to be robbed by me?"

[Groovus Maximus]

^^Spunky!^^

[Quetzalcoatl]

Or "That's not a knife. This is a... shirt".

[Atanarjuat]

Actually, that's a great slogan. You should try to sell those to the NRA.

[Bee Tagger]

Clyde Drexel says quotes attributed to him about Magic Johnson

Did he play for the Drexler Dragons in college?

[LTC John]

Heh. Part of "Phi Slamma Jamma" at Houston, wasn't he?

[John]

He was a part of that team with Hakeem. Best team ever not to win an NCAA title.

[robc]

Kentucky 1954 disagrees.

[wareagle]

and UCLA '74 wants some of that action.

[John]

UCLA is a better argument. They lost out to a much better team than Houston did. I might give you UCLA, Walton was a better college player than Hakeem, although Drexler was better than anyone UCLA had on the perimeter.

[robc]

UCLA wasnt undefeated either.

[robc]

My theory on "best team that didnt win a title" is to start with undefeated teams.

Heck, if we are going to go your route, I suggest UNLV 1991. Im still not convinced them didnt throw the game.

[wareagle]

robc,
I think an equal theory with that version of the Rebels was having never been pushed; they had no idea what to do in a tight game. If you watch the last sequences, it's as if no one wanted to be the guy to take the last shot. Duke, meanwhile, had at least one guy willing to do it and others who would pull the trigger if necessary. You get used to blowing someone out, you lose a sense of what to when they hang around. Not discounting your theory; just suggesting a less sinister alternative.

[robc]

wareagle,

Occam's razor probably goes with your theory, but I still wonder.

Story I heard in 1986 (3 steps removed from the source, so feel free to call bullshit on it) -- a guy from my HS who graduated in 1985 was being heavily recruited by UNLV.

He went out there, one of the casinos (or a booster connected to a casino) gave him 10k in chips. Apparently most of the recruits would gamble it away so no real loss anyway. He was dumb, didnt understand how the games worked, immediately cashed in the chips, flew home, and signed with Louisville.

[John]

But they would have crushed that Kenntucky team. They just got lazy and arrogant because they had won so many games in a row. Basically the same team won undefeated national titles the previous two years.

I take it back. 74 UCLA is the best team not to win a title. Walton was just a beast in college and the NBA before his feet went bad. Maybe the best college player ever.

[robc]

Well, I dont think UCLA 74 qualifies because they won in 72-73 also.

Or UNLV 1991, since they won in 1990.

In both cases, with minor changes, it was the same team.

[T]

One of the funniest sports interviews I've ever seen was Walton talking about the Olympics. They apparently went over and just whomped up on the Thai team, and as he put it, 'were the classic ugly americans'. 30 years after the fact and he still thought it was hilarious.

[robc]

Kansas '57 should be in discussion too.

[robc]

Also Cincy '63.

They won in 61 and 62 so were similar to the UCLA team. My parents were at that game when Loyola beat them.

[robc]

Speaking of NC State, there undefeated 1973 team has to be considered also. They might be the winner.

[John]

Also to 59 and 60 Cincy teams. Any team with Oscar Robertson on it is going to be great.

[wareagle]

if we really stretch the argument, there may be a Marquette team or two from the Al McGuire era in the early 70's that get a berth in our tournament, PLUS, at least one Maryland squad from that time period since the ACC champ then was the tournament winner, not the regular season champ. And back then, leagues got one berth in the NCAA. That tournament is a big reason why South Carolina left the ACC.

[John]

The Maryland squad with John Lucas is legendary. They lost in double overtime in the ACC final to NC State. It is considered to be the greatest non NCAA tournament game ever played.

[wareagle]

and Tom McMillen and Len Elmore, and it's a squad on a par with some Carolina teams that had multiple future NBA guys. That '74 ACC game had a good deal to do with expanding the NCAA tournament.

[John]

And they would be wrong. How many NBA HOFers on that team? One Frank Ramsey. Houston had two including one of the top 20 players of all time.

[robc]

Houston lost during the regular season.

[robc]

Who cares about NBA HoFers? They are college players. Its what they did in college that matters.

Bosh is one of the better NBA players to come out of GT. He isnt in the top 20 for his contribution during college.

[John]

That is because he went pro after one year. IN the 80s they stayed for three and four years. So their NBA careers are more relevant.

[robc]

That makes NBA careers LESS relevant, because we have 3-4 years of college ball to judge them on.

Drexler and Hakeem were awesome college players. No need to reference what they did later.

[John]

But Kentucky played in the SEC where literally half the teams were coached part time by the football coaches. It was like UNLV playing in the Big West.

[robc]

True. And that stopped them from winning the title in 48, 49, 51, and 58 how?

[John]

It doesn't mean Kentucky wasn't good, they were. It just means their undefeated record doesn't mean as much as it would have had they played in the Big 10 or ACC. Same with UNLV.

[wareagle]

and Houston lost to a highly marginal NC State team. At least the State squad that won in '74 had a player of the year in David Thompson, a 7-4 middleman, and the three other starters were all seniors who knew their roles.

Losing to Ewing and G'town is one thing; losing to Lorenzo Charles (who, sadly, died in the past couple of years) and the looking-for-a-hug Valvano is something else.

[John]

War Eagle that is the best argument for the UCLA team. Old timers in the ACC will tell you that NC State team was maybe the best ACC team ever. It beat John Lucas' Maryland team in double over time to get to the tournament. UCLA lost to a legitimately great team. Houston choked to a marginal one.

[robc]

Kentucky 1954 didnt choke at all. Not to a great team, not to a marginal one.

[wareagle]

no choking, just a rule violation. I know, that rule would not be applicable today, but you would think the likes of Adolph Rupp would be well-versed on that sort of thing. Kinda ironic, to the Nth degree, when you think about it: ineligible because players graduated. Not cheated, not violated team rules, not nothing....graduated. Contrast that with today.

[robc]

The weirdest part of the rules violation is that they werent ineligible for the regular season. NCAA basically only ruled over the tourney at the time, SEC rules applied to regular season, I guess.

[John]

They also chose not to play in the tournament because their best players had already graduated and were ineligible. And they didn't get to play the year before because of a point shaving scandal.

I am not sure they should even count on any list. And I will never understand why Rupp, an avowed racist and known point shaver, is held in such high regard.

[wareagle]

Rupp is held in high regard for the simplest of reasons - he won. Period. Winning gains forgiveness for anything outside of a live boy or dead girl.

[robc]

1. Rupp didnt point shave. Three players did.

2. Ask Joe B Hall about the racism. He thinks it is insanely overblown.

Amusingly, if Rupp had had his way, the notorious 1966 team wouldnt have been all-white. The most famous graduate (IMO, some would argue Diane Sawyer) from my High School was recruited to be the first black player at UK, and would have been a senior (I think) on that '66 team, but Wes Unseld decided to go to Louisville instead.

And Texas Western isnt even a footnote to history is Unseld is on that team.

[John]

Considering how horrible the fan base was, it wasn't his fault. And I don't blame Unseld for going to Louisville.

[robc]

I don't blame Unseld for going to Louisville.

I dont either, he didnt want to be that guy, he just wanted to dominate on the court. And he felt more comfortable playing in Louisville for many reasons, including that that fans were accepting of black players.

It would have been tough for him in Lexington.

Racism of the era colors some of the stuff, it can be hard to tell how racist Rupp was considering the options he didnt have. SEC didnt allow black players for most of his career so he coudlnt integrate anyway.

An example, outside of basketball. Georgia Tech was the first state school in the deep south to integrate without a court order (or something like that). This is something, as an alumnus, to be proud of. However, when you see the quotes of the GT president at the time, you see it wasnt a pure decision. He didnt say, "We should integrate because its the right thing to do", he said something like, "We will be forced to integrate eventually anyway, so lets do it now and do it right."

More of a pragmatic statement.

[wareagle]

there are always footnotes to that era. Bear Bryant pretty much invited John McKay's integrated USC team to Birmingham for a game in '70 to make a point. He also passed on recruiting a guy named Condredge Holloway, who went on to a solid career as a QB at Tennessee because Bear knew the faithful would not accept a black quarterback and Holloway did not want to play something else.

[Bee Tagger]

Yes, though that's before my time.

Back to his quote. It doesn't seem off-base at all given the climate at the time and Magic's deteriorating skills and not being in game shape.

[John]

It doesn't. Johnson didn't play in the 91-92 season and he was 32 years old. It makes sense that he couldn't play with the best players in the world anymore. When the level of play is that high, it doesn't take much to drop off.

[rac3rx]

/oh, but sorry about Elizabeth Warren.

[rac3rx]

Well that was fucked...it took out 1/2 my comment.

The original comment was:

Insert obligatory "eat 'em up Coogs!" here.

/oh but sorry about Elizabeth Warren (another UH alum)

[wareagle]

everybody claims to have been misquoted when old quotes that made some sense in their context seem terribly out of step today. Hells bells, folks did think Magic was going to die and he did get crowd support from that because he was a likeable superstar.

Drexler comes across as a taller Isiah Thomas and knows it - a bitter-sounding player at having been overshadowed by someone else.

[John]

Magic was a shadow of his former self. And Bird's back was bad and was a great player every other day at bust. But too bad. There might not have been an NBA or a dream team had it not been for those two guys.

[Bee Tagger]

Agreed. And it didn't matter once they were playing average college-level talent in the Olympics since they could look like we all remembered them then.

[wareagle]

Bird and Magic plus Jordan was the foundation. The rest of the roster flowed from those three. The first two were locks because, if not for them, the NBA would have remained what it was prior to their arrival - a coke-added league playing to half-full arenas. Jordan was the heir apparent to the duo.

Bird was actually reluctant about signing on due to his back; Magic sold him on the concept.

[John]

The contrast between then and now is amazing. I don't people in 1992 woke up and realized how fabulous the basketball in the previous ten years had been. Those players were truly beloved. The players now are nothing like that. They may be as skilled. But the "taking my talents to South Beach" generation will never be as respected or liked.

[wareagle]

the contrast extends to the play itself. Yes, today's guys are bigger, faster, more athletic. But, I contend they do not play better basketball. Much of the NBA is unwatchable. Too often, it's 8 guys watching the other 2 go one-on-one.

Contrast to the 80s, particularly Celtics/Lakers - movement without the basketball, sequences when the ball did not touch the floor after crossing mid-court, backdoor screens and picks, and on and on.

[robc]

Disagree in one area. No one seriously played defense back in the 80s, outside the playoffs.

When they changed the zone defense rules, defenses returned to the NBA.

[John]

They also stopped calling fouls for hand checks. The game was unwatchable for a lot of the 1990s. Anyone who actually enjoyed watching the Ewing Knicks teams was either a masochist or lying.

[wareagle]

to an extent, I blame SportsCenter. Everybody wants to either dunk or toss up threes to make the highlights. The mid-range jumper, outside a very small group, is practically non-existent. The pick and roll died with Stockton and Malone.

Often, the story is in the scoreline -- yeah, so-and-so scored 36 but he was 11 of 27 from the floor and got some free throws.

[Raven Nation]

"Too often, it's 8 guys watching the other 2 go one-on-one."

Not a big NBA fan but I noticed that was how ESPN.com tried to market the finals. One of their promos suggested everyone "knew" this was LeBron vs. Durant.

[OO=======D]

Way too much wall of sports on this thread.

[Whiterun Guard]

White guys arguing over basketball.

Cue Barfman.

[SIV]

It looks like the former NH store clerk has more of a problem with tobacco than welfare.

[Raston Bot]

Humor, i.e. racism, from the comments:

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, just announced that it is pleased to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps ever.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed The Animals." This is because the animals may grow dependent on handouts and not learn to take care of themselves.

[ant1sthenes]

I don't get what's racist about it? Humans are animal, right?

[wareagle]

and, like the animals, they have shown a great tendency to become dependent when given constant handouts.

[WWNGD?]

YOU JUST HATE POOR PEOPLE!

[R C Dean]

The man's foster mother came in to complain.

So, so pathetic.

[Rhywun]

I did a double-take on that line.

[Groovus Maximus]

828 days after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of the law.

Rageboner cocked...buckets ready to be filled...

[Ice Nine]

I see what...never mind.

[db]

If it's struck down will you still expatriate?

[Groovus Maximus]

Yes. Barring a death in the family or failing my language fluency exam (awaiting results), this is a go. If it is struck in toto, 50 RomneyCares.

I just want to win one for liberty.

[generic Brand]

If it is struck in toto, 50 RomneyCares.

I think that is too tough to call. Certainly the very liberal states like California will try (we can't even guess where the money will come from), but most states will just look at Massachusetts and see that it hasn't actually done much to bring costs down, and people are actually moving out of Mass (may not be an effect of Romneycare, but still a strong correlation).

[Isaac Bartram]

I'm not sure that "the very liberal states like California will try".

There was nothing stopping them before except the economic reality that they can't pay for it witout the ability to run deficits the way the federal goverment can. That has not changed.

[BakedPenguin]

Shaslivo, doc.

[Groovus Maximus]

Denied. We're all slaves now.

[sarcasmic]

90210 - never watched it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....Ibiza.html

[sarcasmic]

Kate Hudson certainly has her mom's genes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....reece.html

[wareagle]

so she was one of the few women to wear a top. Maybe the Greek isles are faring better than the mainland.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Both are on my celebrity waiver list.

[Restoras]

Nice body but something of a butterface? Plus, not sure I'd want to go where A-fraud has been.

[squarooticus]

Don't worry: I guarantee you won't get that chance.

[sarcasmic]

She only lays with men who have had sex with thousands of random strangers.

[PS]

I prefer women without the blocky midsection.

[OO=======D]

I dislike both. They make their money for doing the women are stupid and helpless blondes act. Tiresome.

[Matrix]

Scientists developing particles to allow you to live without breathing

Science be praised!

[John]

One more step towards hibernation.

[Bee Tagger]

Cordy: "I can't get this bandage to? Stop moving!"
Angel: "I'm not."
Cordy: "Well, then stop breathing."
Angel: "I don't breathe."

[Rich]

The particles are composed of oxygen gas pocketed in a layer of lipids

In LIPIDS?! Screw THAT, then!!

/Mike Bloomberg

[WWNGD?]

Well there goes the sleep apnea market.

[sarcasmic]

Who knew marijuana turned Nazis into hippies!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ppies.html

[John]

Those girls make the Olsen twins look normal.

[sarcasmic]

That's not saying much since the Olsen twins look like aliens.

[Restoras]

I think they look like Gollum's children.

[OO=D]

^^THIS^^

[Quetzalcoatl]

It apparently turned one of them into a duck.

[mr simple]

Well played, sir.

[Matrix]

I tried to have a talk with my daughter about the duckface... she was not very receptive.

[Whiterun Guard]

Matrix: You know, that face does NOT make you look attractive.
Ms Matrix: QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK

[Matrix]

there is no Ms. Matrix... or Mrs Matrix for that matter. 😛

[WWNGD?]

Duckface... not even once.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hopefully by the time my daughter is of age they'll have moved on to something less embarrassing: like the omnipresent Asian Peace Sign or something.

[Matrix]

she was doing the duckface with the peace sign. -_-

[Whiterun Guard]

I can't decide which picture of them is the sexiest.

[T]

Okay, that hitler smiley is pretty damn funny.

[Eduard van Haalen]

From the article:

"It is certainly a change of philosophy for the girls who were raised in a redneck community, where they were indoctrinated in extremist principles."

You know the American armies which defeated the Nazis? Filled up to the brim with rednecks. Redneck nazis are rarer than redneck hippies. So take your stereotypes elsewhere.

[sarcasmic]

I've only known a few white supremacists, but they were all rednecks.

Sorry.

[John Thacker]

You do realize that doesn't disagree with van Haalen's statement, though.

[sarcasmic]

And I've never met a redneck hippie.

[wareagle]

and you won't because redneck implies having to work for something rather than expect it to be given to you. No one has ever mistaken hippies for people you want to hire.

[Brett L]

What? There's thousands of them in North Florida. All they want to do is fish, smoke dope, and listen to Willie Nelson.

[R C Dean]

No kidding. There are probably hundreds of thousands of them, depending on how you want to define "hippie". And "redneck".

[sarcasmic]

I've never been to North Florida.

[T]

I dunno, I think all the college educated liberals I know who sincerely think minorities are too fucking stupid to function without their enlightened overseers are more white supremacist than the rednecks. The racist rednecks I've known just don't like darkies and don't want them around.

[sarcasmic]

The great irony being that those enlightened liberals will shout "Racist!" at anyone who disagrees with their wanting to "help" minorities.

[sarcasmic]

The redneck racists I knew were caught up in the Great Jewish Conspiracy and all that.

[wareagle]

kinda depends on how you define redneck. It's not the same as white trash; it's not necessarily exclusively white.

[db]

New Zealand court rules warrants used in the seizure of Kim Dotcom's property were illegal. Also, the court ruled that FBI actions were unlawful in copying and exporting data from Dotcom's machines.

[LTC John]

Yea Kiwis!

[John]

Didn't it come out in May that they didn't properly serve him or have jurisdiction over him?

[db]

It wasn't until now that a court officially ruled on this.

[T]

The NZ court already ruled the FBI shouldn't have taken the evidence out of country. So it's nice to know that he may wlak on the charges, but he still has no company because the feds absconded with his servers.

[db]

I was under the impression they had copied the data and exported the copies. The servers should still be in NZ custody.

[T]

My readings indicated the evidence had departed with the FBI. Some kiwi judge was apparently quite upset about it. But, as I'm half the world away and relying on journalists for my info, you may be right.

[invisible furry hand]

the decision's here

http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZHC/2012/1494.html

[Fist of Etiquette]

828 days after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of the law.

What the- DID EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS BUT ME?

[LTC John]

A little early to win the thread in'nit?

[Ice Nine]

Holder cited for contempt of Congress and Obamacare shot down by the SC within a couple hours of each other - Go ahead, make my day.

[invisible furry hand]

OK, so that's two wishes Ice Nine - what's your third?

[Ice Nine]

That that reporter gets an opportunity to tell Pelosi, "Yes, I was. Yes, I was."

[Bee Tagger]

The contempt vote gives me pause. Sounds like hedging by the Repukes. That they can come out of the day with some kind of momentum regardless.

Either that or I'm trying to reverse jinx.

[John]

Last I heard 20 Dems were voting for it. The Republicans have a huge majority. Add in 20 Democrats and that makes the vote a virtual certainty even if a few RINOS back down.

[Bardas Phocas]

The Black Cauci have promised to walkout on the vote - so any action will be RACIST!

[Rich]

Any chance the Black Cauci can be charged with contem ... Oh, never mind.

[RBS]

Good lord Rich, can you imagine the uproar? Yes, this must be done.

[Drake]

Oh no! Not that!

[Whiterun Guard]

Where are my clutching pearls and fainting couch!?

[Ska]

Try the back room at Dragonsreach. Or better yet go drinking with Farkas.

[LTC John]

Quick! Someone bring a feather to burn!!

[BakedPenguin]

What? There is zero reason to back down, and a few compelling reasons to vote for contempt, especially for an (R) critter:
1) Holder is a flunky of an unpopular president, and contempt of Holder is contempt of Obama. Elections are coming up.
2) Voting against contempt will earn the wrath of (R) party flacks. Elections are coming up.
3) Elections are coming up.

4)Last - and certainly least to politicians - Holder is a mendacious, contemptible POS who doesn't deserve to be a dogcatcher, let alone Attorney General.

[generic Brand]

4)Last - and certainly least to politicians - Holder is a mendacious, contemptible POS who doesn't deserve to be a dogcatcher, let alone Attorney General.

Also, elections are coming up.

[R C Dean]

(5) Holder won't respect their authoritay. And elections are coming up.

In a way, the SCOTUS decision gives them news cycle cover. Incredibly, the first time in history an AG is held in contempt won't be the lead story.

[Entropy Void]

Holder: Worst Att'y General EVAH!!!!!11

http://www.wbir.com/news/artic.....oter-purge

[Auric Demonocles]

We had a meeting and decided not to tell you.

I also haven't invited you to share my office scotch stash.

[LTC John]

"my office scotch stash"

Remind me to stay on your good side, O Golden One!

[Francisco d Anconia]

The nine have crossed the river Isen on Midsummer's eve. Should make it to the Shire about 10 AM.

[sarcasmic]

Oh no Sharon. Oh no.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-free.html

[John]

And she was once beautiful. That is what bad plastic surgery does.

[RBS]

She looks like the Marlboro Man.

[Groovus Maximus]

What does Harley Davidson have to day about this?

[Mo' $parky]

"Don't pull it, squeeze it."

OR

*BANG* "Two dollars." *BANG* "Two dollars." *BANG* "Two dollars."

[Rich]

PSA: If you are/were a Sharon Stone fan, do NOT click that.

[sarcasmic]

Oh yes Mischa. Oh yes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....ening.html

[sarcasmic]

The Death Star is real!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....ystem.html

[LTC John]

Thats no moon...

[Pro Libertate]

It's a moon, but it's called Mimas, not Minas.

[sarcasmic]

Megan Fox is preggo!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....awaii.html

[Quetzalcoatl]

This means she'll gain at least five to ten pounds.

I look forward to you calling her disgusting and posting photos of her for John.

[sarcasmic]

As much of a callous jerk as I am, I don't poke fun at pregnant women.

[Rich]

I, however, poke fun at pregnant women's tats.

"Hey, Meagan, are those the instructions on how to open you?"

[Auric Demonocles]

I had no idea who that guy was. Though I did correctly guess that he was too old to bag a 26 year old.

[RBS]

I liked him on The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I think it makes up for being on 90210.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Henninger: The President That Time Forgot

They're right about that! I don't think I've even heard about President Henninger!

[John]

He served right after Mallard Fillmore.

[invisible furry hand]

The president of my company just pantsed someone at work. How do I report this?

http://www.slate.com/articles/.....ingle.html

[Abdul]

Call any plaintiff's employment law firm, and prepare to get a fat settlement.

[rac3rx]

The pantie wearing red toe polish dude and man bun letter is also quite good.

[Matrix]

KFC releasing chicken sandwich with cheese on top of the bun

[Quetzalcoatl]

KFC: where "innovation" means "assembling sandwiches out of order"!

[Restoras]

I laughed out loud exclamation point

[generic Brand]

Just bring back the Double Down, damnit!!!

[Auric Demonocles]

That was the only thing I've eaten at KFC in years.

[Ice Nine]

KFC releasing chicken sandwich with cheese on top of the bun

That'll make a great fly catcher.

[mr simple]

To be fair it is in the Philippines. Maybe they just haven't gotten the whole sandwich thing down yet.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Actually, now that you mention it, cheese-topped buns (like rolls, not burger buns) are a popular foodstuff over there.

[Teenage Girl]

cheese on top of the bun

Eewww!!

[R C Dean]

Oh, for God's sake. Its got cheese. Nothing to complain about.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Gunmen in Syria stormed a pro-Assad TV station...

They pulled a Russell Edgington?

[ant1sthenes]

No, a V. Did they leave the station manager dressed up as one of them so the pro-Assad forces killed him on taking it back?

[sarcasmic]

Airheads?

[Ska]

Assad wiped his ass with his own contract...

[Mint Berry Crunch]

I feel less heterosexual every time somebody makes a True Blood reference and I understand it.

[T]

I feel more heterosexual, since the only reason I understand them is because my wife watches it.

[Ska]

Vampire Jessica is there to let you know that watching TrueBlood isn't gay.

[Bobarian]

A ginger and a vampire...

No soul^2.

[Fist of Etiquette]

At least about a dozen Democrats may vote to hold Eric Holder in contempt...

I forget, what's the real world consequence of being held in contempt of Congress?

[Whiterun Guard]

They revoke your rights to use the Captitol Hill gym.

[Francisco d Anconia]

You look bad in front of 535 of the biggest idiots on the face of the planet.

[db]

Whatever it is, it's really hard to enforce due to the sheer number of Americans holding Congress in contempt.

[Rich]

The Amish shun you.

[PS]

They will be very angry with you, and they will write you a letter, telling you how angry they are.

[R C Dean]

what's the real world consequence of being held in contempt of Congress

Good article here:

http://public.cq.com/docs/news.....09057.html

(1) He could be arrested and imprisoned through the end of the session.

(2) It provides a basis for a civil suit, which, if Holder loses and defies the court, could lead to contempt of court and imprisonment.

(3) The DOJ could investigate him.

[John]

Mrs Suderman takes down FDR

Maybe you like precious schoolchildren lisping loyalty oaths to government programs more than I do. But even so, not this program. The NIRA was based on a lunatic confusion of cause with effect. President Roosevelt had noticed, along with everyone else, that prices were falling and people were being thrown out of work. So he decided that if businesses would just stop lowering those darn prices, everything would be okay. . . . This is like thinking that the way to deal with your drinking problem is to just stop vomiting and blacking out so much. Prices were falling because the banking system had collapsed, which was sucking the money out of the economy like a gigantic national vacuum. Even if the cartels managed to keep prices from falling, people still weren't going to have enough money to buy the goods they wanted, because their savings accounts were shut down and they couldn't roll their loans over, and neither could the people who bought their merchandise or wrote their paychecks. With too little money in circulation, fixing prices artificially high would just mean that even more people would be going without necessities. . . .

http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....court.html

[John]

I'm not trying to get liberals to concede that 80 years of Supreme Court jurisprudence were all a hideous mistake. But thinking that the healthcare law should be allowed to stand does not require romanticizing FDR's conflict with the court, which mostly used bad methods to defend bad laws

[NoVAHockey]

that was all kinds of fun.

[Quetzalcoatl]

This is what she does while Mr. Suderman plays violent video games.

[generic Brand]

At least 300 homes have been torched and 30,000 residents displaced as wildfires continue in Colorado. The FBI is apparently investigating.

The only thing I can think of the FBI "needing to" investigate is now that people have abandoned their homes they have free reign to go in and raid them. But that's more DEA/ATF's role than the FBI.

It's a warm summer in an area with dense underbrush. There, FBI. I saved you thousands of man-hours.

[xenia onatopp]

Besides, Bill McKibben says that the fires are all the fault of climate change, and also off-shore drilling, the (non-existent) Keystone pipeline, and the failure of Rio +20. I learned all of that from facebook this morn

[The Hammer]

They think the CO Springs fire was arson.

[invisible furry hand]

Re the woman fired for refusing to sell cigarettes to someone using an EBT card, this quote:

"I made the statement, 'do you think myself, that lady and that gentlemen should pay for your cigarettes?' and he responded 'yes,'" Whiton said.

Well, where could he ever have got that notion from?

[Fluffy]

Right, but one reason that lady quit is because she is now planning to go on Social Security.

So now you and I and that gentleman over there can pay for HER crap.

[Groovus Maximus]

Six on one, half dozen the other.

[PS]

Isn't this nullified under the Ayn Rand exception?

[RGaines]

Father in custody battle with hospital because he didn't fill out forms correctly.

WTF???

http://gma.yahoo.com/north-car.....geNumber=1

[generic Brand]

Monackey said the hospital is seeking to appoint a third party to advocate for Lempe, and that the hospital would not assume guardianship because it would be a conflict of interest.

"In this case, it is the patient's right to have the financial resources offered by Medicaid."

It doesn't say anything about whether the father has been unable to pay for expenses up to this point, or is incapable of paying after. It's mostly just the hospital's side stating "we want to get reimbursed through Medicaid, but we can't assume guardianship ourselves because that would be a conflict of interest." WTF, indeed!

[R C Dean]

So much is . . . very strange in that article.

For starters, I would strongly, strongly advise my hospital to never be the guardian for any patient. But it sounds routine at that hospital.

Second, why can't the hospital just fill out all the damn paperwork so the father just has to sign?

Why won't the father sign? Once the kid is on Medicaid, he can't be billed for anything.

[Matrix]

Holder contempt citation is all theater.

Juan Williams seems to think that this is just the GOP getting back at DOJ for not supporting DOMA and attacking states' laws.

[Bee Tagger]

I have no doubt that most of the time anyone in either party does anything close to the right thing they have ulterior motives, but that doesn't make it the wrong thing to do.

[John]

Exactly. Maybe if Holder had been anything but an arrogant prick for the last three years Congress would be more sympathetic. That is called life.

[KDN]

Maybe if Holder had been anything but an arrogant prick for the last three years Congress would be more sympathetic.

It's not like this is a new thing from Holder. Fish gotta swim, etc.

[Drake]

The problem with Juan Williams is that he thinks everything in DC is just theater. He never seems to see through the posturing to the actual issue.

[db]

Re: the wildfires, I think Tuccille's publisher has gone a bit too far in its guerrilla marketing campaign for his new book.

[Bitter Taxpayer]

Heh heh heh.

[SugarFree]

Excellent, db.

[Groovus Maximus]

You sir, what you did there, I see it.

So very well played.

[Brett L]

By the way, I read the book whilst travelling this weekend. I heartily recommend it. It pretty much hits all of the H'n'R tropes except for Steve Smith and slashfic.

[R C Dean]

It has monocles in it? I may have to, erm, acquire a copy.

[db]

I ordered it from Amazon the other day. Should be on my doorstep Saturday.

[Bobarian]

Do you suppose he's saving STEVE SMITH for the sequel (or maybe it's a prequel)?

[Matrix]

Judge refuses to block voter registry purge in Florida

[Troy muy grande boner]

The Obama Administration doesn't seem to do very well in Federal Court. Where did these fucking idiots go to law school?

[generic Brand]

What's the consensus position on the voter purge? I am mixed; on the one hand there are people who shouldn't be registered and are; also it really isn't that difficult to check if you are correctly registered and if not to re-register. On the other hand, it is pretty untimely this close to the election and I don't know if steps are being taken to show which names are being removed so that people can know if they were suddenly unregistered.

Some of my liberal friends have decried it as "taking away people's ability to vote" and I asked "How so?" and their answer was "by literally taking away their ability to vote." So there's that in Rick Scott's favor as well (not disenfranchising people, but that the people against it can't come up with a cogent argument).

[T]

They do this everywhere. In fact, a lot of states share information. We had a particularly amusing run-in on election day with some munter who swore up and down she was registered to vote and conspiracy to disenfranchise and blah blah liber talking point blah. Finally got through to the voter office. She'd been purged because she had registered to vote in Oregon and never reregistered in Texas. She STFU up real quick.

[Brett L]

gb: it is pretty untimely this close to the election.

When should they do it if not the year of the election? Look, we're talking about 3600 people here on the whole list. Of whom some fraction are probably eligible. The consequence of being on the list is that you get a provisional ballot on election day.

You have to have some system in place for maintaining the integrity of the rolls. FL purges dead people, too. And some folks, including our current governor, have been told they were dead when they went to vote. They also were allowed to vote provisionally. This is a giant non-issue.

[R C Dean]

What's the consensus position on the voter purge?

Long overdue? Right before a big election is exactly the right time to tune up your voter rolls? The "ability" to vote is irrelevant, its the right to vote that matters?

[generic Brand]

Haha point taken. I have basically summed it up as something that needs to be done as well. And I suppose the year of the elections does make more sense than the year following an election, since people could move in that 2 (or 4, for prez elections) years between.

I for one am in favor of beginning some sort of same-day registration, although. I think some states have it and it actually helps with voter turn-out. We have the technology, we can rebuild [the voting system].

[rac3rx]

You should volunteer to be a clerk and work a few major elections at the precinct level, then come back and let us know if you still support that view.

[Matrix]

New Zealand judge rules that warrant to seize Megaupload's hard drives was not legal

[ant1sthenes]

That's a truly fucked up case. Someone needs to reign in the content assholes. Speaking of which:

News Corp's board approved splitting the company into two, an entertainment business and a publishing business.

Does this mean their entertainment business won't actually publish products, and that their publishing business will only publish products that don't entertain?

[R C Dean]

I think they are isolating the doomed print division so it doesn't drag down the lucrative broadcast division.

[Jam]

Houston city council approves $5 per 'head' strip club fee
http://blog.chron.com/houstonp.....-club-fee/
the Paulite who sits on council was only to vote no

[John]

They have gone full feminist retard. The tax is to pay for DNA identification in rape cases. They think strip clubs should pay for it because they create an atmosphere of rape. No kidding.

[Jam]

comment:
Now how about a $5 per member fee to enter a Catholic church to help priests rape victims?

[John]

They kind of already have done that in the form of huge civil judgments.

[T]

What's even worse is the strip clubs should pay for the untested backlog because the city can't do one of its core functions (run a fucking police department) effectively. Somebody else needs an additional tax imposed on them to fix teh problem! How about, I dunno, not paying some twaffle to run sustainability initiatives for the city? I'm pretty sure there's some fat in the CoH budget that can go towards fixing the numerous, well-documented problems with crime evidence in this town.

Houston, like all other large American cities, is terminally infected with dumbass politicians.

[Brett L]

No amount of money is going to solve the HPD forensics departments problem. Burning with cleansing fire and starting afresh with people who have no previous association is the only way.

[R C Dean]

So are the strip clubs going to have their guests stuff a fiver into some cop's tighty whiteys?

[rac3rx]

Now that might make the new tax fun!

[mr simple]

"We have to do something to help the 4,000-plus women, children and men who have been sexually assaulted,"

I really hate it when idiots throw out numbers with no units or identifying information. Is that 4000 assaults since the beginning of time? Is it limited to Houston? Who knows. Usually when people do this it's just some number they read and they're too stupid to know it's meaningless information without units.

said Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, the author of the ordinance, which she modeled on a similar law she got passed as a state legislator. "I think we've waited long enough." Cohen is the former CEO of an organization that runs a women's shelter.

Yep.

[SugarFree]

"Awake!" Paul screeched, after a few seconds of tugging on Ezra's chain and receiving no response.

"Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D demands that you awake!"

Matt looked up from the opposite side of the chaise lounge, his sad beard dripping. He had fallen asleep in his water bowl again. Soon he felt the yank of his own chain.

"Matthew! Wake up, Matthew! Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D demands that you see why Ezra will not attend me!"

Matt pulled himself of the cushion he slept on. The morning was already hot and the leather pouch Paul let him wear was already filled with sweat. Matt sniffed the air cautiously. He smelled old chicken salad and death. Edging around the flailing bulk of Paul, he could see Erza face down on the patio, his bare ass presented to the sky.

"Dr. Krugman," Matt ventured, "I think something is wrong with Ezra."

"Wake him. Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D demands his morning pail of mimosas."

Matt nudged Ezra's side with his foot. Ezra toppled over, a thin river of blood, shit and semen dribbling out of his gaping asshole.

"Dr. Krugman, I think he's dead."

[SugarFree]

"Nonsense. Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D never told him he could die. Quickly, Matthew bring Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D his computer. Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D must blog about this tragic failure of the disgusting American for-profit health care system before the Supreme Court rules! SCOTUS must know! Damn you, Scalia!"

Matt found the laptop, half-buried under the pile of empty Chardonnay bottles, fast food wrappers, squeezed-out lube tubes, and raw cookie dough hunks melting in the merciless sun that was always piled up next to Paul. Matt made no move to clean them up. Paul would just scream at him if he removed it before his questing fingers scraped the last of the cookie dough from the deck.

Paul grabbed the laptop from Matt greedily and balanced it on his distended, hairy stomach. The computer slid off and Matt caught it.

"Sweaty. Damn this heat! Matthew! Remind Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D to write another column about the global climate change crisis! Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D must find away to get through to those rednecks and fucking teabaggers that it shouldn't be hot in late June. We are doomed, Matt! Doomed! Take the bus! Matthew! Buy Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D an electric limo. Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D demands an electric limo!"

[SugarFree]

"Dr. Krugman, should I call an ambulance for Ezra?"

"Most certainly not. An ambulance trip costs, what three, four million dollars? Just roll him off the side of the deck. The poor and the downtrodden of the city can find a use for every part of him, like when dear Elizabeth dresses a buffalo."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Krugman."

"And where are Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D's mimosas? You know He must write! Only He can save this country!"

"Right away, Dr. Krugman."

"Wait, Matthew. My darling Matthew. First call UC Santa Cruz and find a replacement for Ezra. Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D is sure they have someone as honest and loyal and intelligent and thin and beautiful as he was in the student body. Have him brought to Nobel-Prize Winner Dr. Paul Krugman Ph.D immediately!"

Matt scurried off to find a telephone, his chains clanking, bare feet slapping on the rooftop. Quietly, too quietly to be heard over the furious hammering of Paul's typing, the bruised lips of Ezra whispered, "Go Banana Slugs."

[Groovus Maximus]

Now THAT!!!! THAT'S THE STUFF!!!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Don't encourage him. He's just acting out because they didn't make him moderator.

[SugarFree]

Green is not a good color on you, sweetie.

[Fluffy]

First call UC Santa Cruz and find a replacement for Ezra.

Thank you for brightening my morning.

[invisible furry hand]

the leather pouch Paul let him wear was already filled with sweat

Dear Lord...

[Fist of Etiquette]

The commenting character limits were specifically designed to stop him from posting his fiction here, but threaded comments have opened up a kind of black market, allowing him to peddle his sick wares outside the Reason law.

[T]

Free minds, free markets, Fist. The market has made a demand for SF's product. Who are you to stand in the way of freedom?

[invisible furry hand]

Be fair, SF's product does manage to arouse many people's inner Bloomberg

[Eduard van Haalen]

Nonpartisan law professors telling it like it is:

Early 2008 - Law professor Karl Mannheim suggests an individual mandate might be unconstitutional - a position which, at the time, put you on the side of Obama against Hillary Clinton.

http://articles.latimes.com/20.....oe-court24

Today - Mannheim says that opposition to the mandate is basically Jim Crow all over again:

http://ow.ly/bSWF6

Each time, Mannheim happened to support Obama's position - but at least he's not a political hack like Scalia!

[Eduard van Haalen]

Oops - Manheim with one "n."

[T]

No steamroller for him.

[BakedPenguin]

Then he might be worth listening to.

[SugarFree]

Johnny Depp's penis is magic.

Warning: There are no penises visible at the link.

[invisible furry hand]

Most girls will do anything if you buy them a pony

[db]

Cut or uncut?

[Rich]

All she needed was for Johnny Depp to buy her a horse.

"Buy her a horse." Is that what the kids are calling it now?

[bostonaod]

Has anyone brought up Rand Paul's abortion (fetal personhood) amendment on the Flood Bill and/or Harry Reid's sad sack reaction?

Given his father's antipathy towards things like taxpayers subsidizing housing costs in flood prone areas, is Rand just trying to blow up the bill or is something else going on?

[John Thacker]

1) He probably does believe this, but also
2) If he kills the bill, the entire program does stop without reauthorization.

However, 2) isn't really likely.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Article in Politico:

http://ow.ly/bSXE9

The Pauls have made little attempt to conceal their prolife views - no sign of their soft-pedaling those views just to accomodate their prochoice libertarian supporters.

Incidentally, does anyone have a bill number so we can look it up and check out the text of the amendment?

[Eduard van Haalen]

In any event, this is a way for the Senate minority to criticize the priorities of the majority.

From the standpoint of someone like Rand Paul, defending the unborn has a higher priority than pork for people in flood-prone areas.

And it is a way to measure the Dems' priorities - are they so desperately supportive of abortion that they'd rather torpedo one of their precious pork bills than allow a vote which threatens their particular sacrament?

[ant1sthenes]

is Rand just trying to blow up the bill

Yes. But he is pro-life. I don't think he actually expects results there.

[John Thacker]

Complaining that not enough people are dying in plane crashes, so they can't pass new rules.

"If anyone wants to advance safety through regulation, it can't be done without further loss of life," said William Voss, chief executive officer of the Alexandria, Virginia-based Flight Safety Foundation.

[ant1sthenes]

For some reason I just imagined regulators as the legion of brooms from the Sorcerer's Apprentice. No actual demand-side check on their output, so they just keep making more and more rules until the entire nation is drowning in them.

[rac3rx]

Wow, Ann Coulter actually pulled Mitt Romney's dick out of her mouth long enough to put together a decent commentary on Fast and Furious.

[Groovus Maximus]

Hers is bigger.

[invisible furry hand]

it's like Ava Gardner saying of Sinatra "There's only ten pounds of Frank, but there's 110 pounds of cock"

[T]

There's a mental image I didn't need: a skeleton blowing a robot.

[SugarFree]

Upside: No moisture to short him out.

Downside: The grinding noises and dust clouds.

[Mo' $parky]

Another downside: It's all teeth.

[T]

Also, an opportunity to quote Ann Romney's therapist: "Earth women who experience sexual ecstasy with mechanical assistance always tend to feel guilty."

[Spoonman.]

scotusblog "parsing healthcare opinion asap"

[Fist of Etiquette]

The SCOTUS clerk should come out and stand in front of the cameras and silently extend his hand and hover it in between a thumbs down and thumbs up position. Make everyone wait an excruciatingly long time.

[invisible furry hand]

Obamacare struck down

[invisible furry hand]

sorry, some conflicting reports. Seems it's upheld under taxing authority.

[Spoonman.]

Amy Howe: The individual mandate survives as a tax.

[Eduard van Haalen]

And it's struck down!

Like smoke before the fire, so let the ACA vanish, like wax before the flame!

[Eduard van Haalen]

Wait - supposedly they're upholding it on the taxing power.

[robc]

Medicare expansion struck down.

[Jerry on the road]

STRUCK DOWN.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Gentlemen, start your tweets.

[Spoonman.]

So the mandate is constitutional. Chief Justice Roberts joins the left of the Court.

[LTC John]

Grah - bad SCT decision.

[Spoonman.]

NOT STRUCK DOWN.

[Spoonman.]

Tom: The bottom line: the entire ACA is upheld, with the exception that the federal government's power to terminate states' Medicaid funds is narrowly read.

[Spoonman.]

Fuck.

[SugarFree]

Dirty son-a-bitches.

[kinnath]

Fuck SCOTUS

[robc]

If it doesnt have the word tax in it, how can it be upheld as a tax?

[invisible furry hand]

Doesn't work like that. If it looks like a tax, walks like one, etc, it's a tax, even if you call it the Unicorns Shit Rainbow Icecream Law.

[Brett L]

What if you explicitly say its not a tax in the Congressional Record as one of the co-sponsors?

[invisible furry hand]

Sponsors might explicitly say their bills are constitutional too. Doesn't make it so. Gotta look at substance, not form. Now, I haven't read the decision yet, so I cannot say whether the majority's characterization of the mandate as being within the taxing power is wrong.

[Mo' $parky]

Wait a second, if you're in the future right now how come you didn't know about this hours ago?

[invisible furry hand]

I did, but could not reveal my knowledge because, my dear Mo' Sparky, as another distinguished time traveller once observed, "crossing into established events is strictly forbidden, except for cheap tricks"

[Brett L]

Interesting. Congress does not have the power under the Commerce Clause, but the USSC allows them to claim the same power under taxing authority. Talk about threading the needle a little to fine.

[Jerry on the road]

Talk about Obama not raising taxes.

[LTC John]

Well, it always was "a Republic, if you can keep it". Guess we couldn't keep it.

[SugarFree]

So, what? It's basically a sin tax on not having insurance?

[Spoonman.]

Now, behold as health care becomes enormously more expensive while insurance companies become inefficient, frustrating assholes to deal with (more than they already are).

Libertarians to get the blame for both of the above, naturally.

[kinnath]

At 55, I'll probably die before the US completely collapses. But my children and grandchildren are completed fucked.

[Mo' $parky]

I'm only 38 but I told this to my children the other night. We were talking about the future and I told them they should expect the US to have a different form of government before they die.

[kinnath]

Amy Howe: The Court does not reach severability issues, having upheld the mandate 5-4.

So Roberts completely fucked us all.

[Groovus Maximus]

Do svidanija SShA.

[LTC John]

Shit. Now I have to pin my hopes on stupid TEAM RED winning and actually repealing this monstrosity. Bah.

[kinnath]

That's not going to happen.

[Matrix]

which they won't...

[kinnath]

Lyle: In opening his statement in dissent, Kennedy says: "In our view, the entire Act before us is invalid in its entirety."

Kenndy votes to wipe it all out, and Roberts crosses over to save it.

[ant1sthenes]

On the plus side, now Team Red gets to paint Obama as massively raising taxes, and no one on the left can argue with it.

[Eduard van Haalen]

The line will be: This law ought to have been upheld under the Commerce Clause, but Roberts used the taxing power as a sop to the teabaggers and racists. But we all know in our hearts that this is valid under the Commerce Clause, not as a tax, meaning that Obama has kept his promise not to raise taxes on people making under $250,000 a year, and anyway we won, nyaah nyaah nyaah.

[kinnath]

Terrorism crushes civil liberties and Heath fears crush economic liberties. We are all socialists now.

[Eduard van Haalen]

The opinion is up now:

http://ow.ly/bSXE9

[Eduard van Haalen]

Wrong link, here it is:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/op.....93c3a2.pdf

[Eduard van Haalen]

Roberts wants to play the statesman. We had a warning of this a few years ago in an article by Jeffrey Toobin (won't look for it now) suggesting that Roberts might fulfill the part of his judicial oath about playing well with others and preserving the institutional integrity of the Court (well, it's not technically in the oath but commentators seem to think it is)