A.M. Links: At Least 12 Dead in Batman Shooting, Our Golfing President, Gary Johnson at 13 Percent in New Mexico

• A gunman threw a smoke bomb into a theater in Colorado before starting to shoot. He killed at least 12 and injured 40 at a midnight premiere of the new Batman movie. A three month old was among the injured and some of the moviegoers thought the smoke bomb and gunfire were part of the special effects.

• CCTV video has been released of the person suspected to be the suicide bomber in an attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria on Wednesday. A fake U.S. drivers license was also found.
• Syria's national security chief becomes the fourth senior official to be a casualty of yesterday's suicide attack in Damascus.
• A new report shows Barack Obama has spent 412 hours in economic meetings during his presidency. But he's played 100 rounds of golf, which is about 600 hours.
• A recent poll shows Gary Johnson pulling 13 percent of support in New Mexico, shrinking Obama's lead in the state to just four points.
• Astronomers have observed a 10.7 billion year old galaxy that shouldn't exist based on prevailing galactic formation theories.

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Reason.TV: "How the Government Makes You Fat: Gary Taubes on Obesity, Carbs and Bad Science

Comments

[Longtorso]

David Brooks + nitwit fundamentalist evangelical Christianity =

The Polluted Waters of 50 Shades of Grey, Etc.
...however we try, the sexual act cannot be made into an egalitarian pleasuring party. A man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts. This is of course offensive to all egalitarians, and so our culture has rebelled against the concept of authority and submission in marriage. This means that we have sought to suppress the concepts of authority and submission as they relate to the marriage bed....

...True authority and true submission are therefore an erotic necessity. When authority is honored according to the word of God it serves and protects ? and gives enormous pleasure. When it is denied, the result is not "no authority," but an authority which devours....

[John]

You should post that on feministing.

[Longtorso]

And deny SugarFree his only joy in life?

[John]

I think David needs a top.

[Hell's Librarian]

Seriously. Glad I don't have sex with him. I pity his wife.

[John]

That whole thing reads like a Mr Garrison monolog on South Park.

[wareagle]

so when your wife comes home and basically jumps on top of you, is she still submitting and surrendering?

[hamilton]

Wives do that?

[wareagle]

it's good to be me. GA girls, actually a lot of Southern girls, get that sex is supposed to be fun for them, too. Same likely applies to Northern women but most of my life has been in the South.

[generic Brand]

How can Southern girls be demons in the sack when they can't even cut a rug on the dance floor (stupid Baptists)? Or did I just answer my own question?

[wareagle]

they ain't all Baptists and many of the ones who are, well...did you ever hear the one about the preacher's daughter?

[R C Dean]

As someone who dated a preacher's daughter, I can assure you, its all true.

[JW]

This is why I dated nothing but Catholic girls as a teen.

[Hell's Librarian]

It is true. In the words of the immortal Frank Zappa:

Catholic girls
There can be no replacement
How do they go, after the show?

All the way
That's the way they go
Every day
And none of their mamas ever seem to know
Hip-hip-hooray
For all the class they show
There's nothing like a catholic girl
At the cyo
When they learn to blow...

[JW]

I went so far as to pick up my GF at the end of her block, as she cut CCD every Monday night, so we could go off to schtup.

[Lord Humungus]

about the only joke that I can remember:

Why don't Baptists believe in sex before marriage?

It may lead to mixed dancing.

har.

[$park?]

Why don't Baptists have sex standing up?

Someone might think they're dancing.

[Lord Humungus]

I had no idea that sex was so complicated.

[John]

It is an intellectual thing. Normal people get drunk and screw. Intellectuals have to make an intellectual endeavor out of it and discuss fully what is happening as it is happening.

Yeah, the sex life of among college faculty is pretty bland and strange.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Kinkiness increases with IQ, or so I've been told.

[John]

Really? I had never heard that.

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

Sounds like you're talking to the wrong girls! (cymbal crash)

[John]

I never found top shelf white girls to be that good in bed.

[wareagle]

I never found top shelf white girls to be that good in bed.

that reminds me - you know how Christie Brinkley's husbands have the habit of sleeping with someone else at some point during the marriage? Starve a man long enough and he'll wind up in another kitchen.

[John]

wareagle,

See also Leo DiCaprio dumping Bar Rafeli, although I think in Rafeli's case the complete lack of an IQ may have had something to do with it.

[wareagle]

john,
that's the thing as you a little older, isn't it. You want them to actually be able to a carry on a conversation between romps. There is absolutely nothing sexy about stupid.

[Tonio]

I'm going to avoid the low-hanging fruit. Happy Friday, John.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

That was "big" of you, Tonio.

[Alack]

I'm going to avoid the low-hanging fruit.

No one's touching that? No one?

[R C Dean]

You can touch your own fruit all you want, Alack.

[John]

It is true Tonio. I had my share of top shelf educated neurotic women in my time. And none of them were exactly wild. The ones who were the most fun were the more down to earth ones.

[$park?]

But now you're happily married to your wife ... Morgan Fairchild ... yeah, that's the ticket.

[John]

No Sparky, I married the one who was the least crazy.

[sloopyinca]

But now you're happily married to your wife ... Morgan Fairchild ... yeah, that's the ticket.

I don't think dunphy's gonna like that!

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

Yep. And taking statins decreases libido (British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2004 September; 58(3): 326?328).

[protefeed]

Are you calling "talking dirty" "discuss fully"?

If so, I pity your sad, voiceless, drunken screws.

[John]

Absolutely not. Intellectuals discuss and ponder. They never talk dirty.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

"Clever sillies" is probably a better term for today's self-appointed intellectual sophisticates.

[Lord Humungus]

I was being semi-sarcastic. But yeah, people intellectualize the most primitive of acts.

"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good." "

[John]

I always liked that and the other great Woody Allen quote

"Is sex dirty? Only if it is done right."

[o3]

i prefer my women a little on the trashy side...

[Quetzalcoatl]

Watch out errybody, we got a Ke$ha fan here!

[o3]

hank jr

[Atanarjuat]

No, that was by Confederate Railroad.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

That's low

[$park?]

You rang?

[T]

He said a little trashy. He didn't say he goes dumpster diving for dates.

[Restoras]

Yeah, I kinda like that too..

[Francisco d Anconia]

It is an intellectual thing. Normal people get drunk and screw. Intellectuals have to make an intellectual endeavor out of it and discuss fully what is happening as it is happening.

Sounds like the movie critics around here.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

What a putz.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Astronomers have observed a 10.7 billion year old galaxy that shouldn't exist...

It smoked liked a chimney and drank like a fish.

[John]

We are not actually seeing a 10.7 billion year old galaxy. We are seeing a galaxy as it existed 10.7 billion years ago. Because light travels so slow and the distance are so vast, the farther you look out in space the further back in time you look.

[$park?]

Actually, we aren't seeing anything of the sort. A bunch of astronomers are. If you're going to be a pedant...

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

If you're going to be a pedant...

Doesn't the mere act of posting here qualify every last one of us as a pedant? One of my favorite SLMR/OLX taglines was "BBS debating: Mud wrestling for the pedantic."

[$park?]

Doesn't the mere act of posting here qualify every last one of us as to be a pedant?

[Bee Tagger]

the farther you look out in space the further back in time you look.

And here I thought that creature from Neptune I saw through my telescope was just being polite when he asked me to introduce it to my daughter, when it was actually my wife.

[Quetzalcoatl]

+A for content
-B for delivery, could use some work.

[Bee Tagger]

I accept your criticism. I spent a few minutes thinking about the wording and couldn't get it right so I gave up.

[Quetzalcoatl]

It's a fine line between making sure no one beats you to it and making sure the Neptonian doesn't change pronouns midsentence. 🙂

[Fist of Etiquette]

Neptunites (as they prefer) suddenly go genderless when aroused. So his pronoun use was technically correct.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Well that's just terribly inconvenient for them, isn't it.

[Longtorso]

All Claimed July Warming In The US Is Due To Data Manipulation

New paper blames about half of global warming on weather station data homgenization

[Longtorso]

New paper blames about half of global warming on weather station data homgenization

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

But if they don't homogenize, the heteronormatives win!

[o3]

apparently the polar bears who are heading further north didnt get the memo...nor the great whites showing-up off alaska...or the swans who did NOT migrate to spain fm germany during the cooler periods which used to be called winter

[WTF]

C'mon, orrin, I bet you can make up more anecdotal nonsense than that.

[o3]

whatsa matter...not enough bear crackers in the box?

[WTF]

Good boy!

[Restoras]

So, the weather stations are producing too much carbon? How quaint!

[JerseyPatriot]

That would be interesting if we didn't have 3 decades of satellite data.

[DesigNate]

Ooooo 3 whole decades.

[generic Brand]

some of the moviegoers thought the smoke bomb and gunfire were part of the special effects.

Must have been a 3D and/or IMAX showing.

[Quetzalcoatl]

To their credit, I don't think they've done a 3D conversion on it.

[wareagle]

countdown till the gun control folks start.....

Of course, I may already be late.

[generic Brand]

Check out the Piers Morgan thread a bit further down.

[Ska]

Way too late.

[JW]

Because strict gun laws saved everyone on that Norwegian island.

[Longtorso]

All Claimed July Warming In The US Is Due To Data Manipulation

[Lord Humungus]

Awkward: Obama's job council agrees with Romney's corporate tax plan
http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/.....-tax-plan/

Obama doesn't like the Romney tax plan and, thus, that of his own jobs council. This is the Simpson-Bowles debacle all over again.

Obama particularly doesn't like the bit about switching to a territorial tax system. His campaign has been citing research that argues such a move would increase employment in low-tax countries by 800,000 workers, a claim that Obama implies would mean American would lose 800,000 jobs.

[protefeed]

Only in a zero-sum mindset would more workers employed in other countries, who thus have disposable income, seem to mean FEWER jobs in America.

It's like they think those workers are robots, earning money and then not spending those earnings.

[Alack]

Even if those workers were robots, the long-term cost savings of a high capital production method could allow prices to drop and allow Americans to increase their standard of living without having to actually do or make anything more. LIVE THE DREAM

[Longtorso]

Not sure why the squirrels hate this link:

All Claimed July Warming In The US Is Due To Data Manipulation

[Suki]

Paris surrenders, Dark Knight premier cancelled due to distant gunfire in Colorado.

[Longtorso]

Shut up Suki, you're still dead.

[Francisco d Anconia]

The French have gun control. Couldn't happen there.

[VindMooo]

If there was EVER a reason to never leave the house unarmed, thats it dude.

http://www.Full-Anon.au.tc

[Lord Humungus]

Bolton: A sneaky way to control guns
A UN treaty could curtail our rights
http://www.nydailynews.com/opi.....-1.1116335

Gun-control groups, frustrated by years of failing to impose harsh measures on American firearms owners, have pursued a covert strategy. Instead of constant defeats in Congress and local legislatures, they instead shifted their attention to the international realm, hoping to achieve by indirection what they had consistently failed to do at home.

Ostensibly, UNATT is about regulating government-to-government arms transfers or direct sales by manufacturers to foreign governments. But the hidden agenda of the gun controllers is to craft treaty language that, while seemingly innocuous, has long-range implications for the use and ownership of guns here in America.

[Suki]

That fits well with the CO story.

[John]

The gun grabbers will never give up.

[Suki]

+100

[o3]

so how many guns has obama seized? u know, gun confiscation, death panels, FEMA kamps, etc...

[John]

He only didn't do it because he can't. And he was too busy sending them to Mexico in hopes of confiscating them here.

[o3]

hurry john! buy moar guns now now now before the kenyan takes them!11!!! *the preceeding msg brought to u by real 'mericans at remington und colt*

[John]

Obama secretly sent guns to Mexican drug gangs in hopes of using that to build the political case for more gun control. He admitted himself that he was working on gun control "under the radar". The facts are what they are.

[Whiterun Guard]

BUT BUT BUSH!!!!

[T o n y]

Was that Bush's motive too when he was doing it?

[Fatty Bolger]

The operations under Bush actually attempted to track the guns and coordinate with the Mexicans so they could continue surveillance or interdict the guns after they crossed the border.

Actually track the guns? Grab them and arrest the recipients? Yeah, crazy ideas, I know.

[R C Dean]

buy moar guns now now now

This is a first: sound advice from orin.

[Mr. FIFY]

Bush sucked, Tony, but no... that was not his motive.

[T o n y]

So John's full of shit as usual?

[Mr. FIFY]

John isn't the subject here.

[Quetzalcoatl]

John is the verb.

[o3]

adverb...as in he wuz johned

[Mr. FIFY]

Typical stOOOpid remark.

[DesigNate]

I don't know how you get there Tony.

Bush = Let's give the drug cartels guns so we can ramp up the WoD/Border crap.

Obama = Let's give the drug cartels guns so we can ramp up gun control.

Two sides, same coin.

[DEG]

And they have yet another Reichstag fire to use.

[Mr. FIFY]

Yep, another excuse to bitch about capitalism and gun ownership.

[$park?]

I stumbled across this the other day:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/untreaty.asp

[T]

Yeah, snopes is not into the details on this like some of us are. The throwaway line under the third bulleted para about how the treaty is intended to tighten regulation on transfer of conventional weapons? That's your red flag, and why it'll never get approved by the US. In practical terms, that means an onerous and difficult process for 'transfer', which is usually known as 'sale'.

Anyhow, gun control in this country is closing the barn door after the entire damn collection of farm animals headed for the hills. There are too many private owned weapons to effectively control them at this point.

[VindMooo]

If there was ever a reason to NEVER leave the house unarmed, thats it dude.

http://www.Anon-New.tk

[Quetzalcoatl]

TMI:
Michele Bachmann tops a team of conspiracy-crazed clowns

[wareagle]

real unemployment in double digits, POTUS sticking both feet and a hand in his mouth, and the "story" is Bachmann. Distraction anyone?

[SugarFree]

Sometimes someone says something so stupid it has to be studied. This is one of those times.

[wareagle]

I thought "you didn't build that" had raised the bar on stupid sayings to unprecedented levels.

[SugarFree]

There's plenty of stupid to go around. Once MNG was complaining about a few of us re-posting stupid things he had put up on the board (traktor pullz! Walmartz!) I told him "The best way to keep people from repeating the stupid things you say is to not say them in the first place."

Bachmann could throw red meat to her base without sounding like a complete moron while doing it. Same goes for Obama.

Say something dumb, you get made fun of for it. Dem's da rulez.

[John]

Pretty much. Of course Bachman is a middling Congress Critter and Obama is the President. So I think the Obama gaffes are a bit more important.

[SugarFree]

Don't get your partisan hackles up.

[T]

I usually shorten that to 'be stupid, get mocked'.

[wareagle]

she is dependable for that, kinda like Biden, though the media pearl-clutching hits a higher gear with her. Not a fan beyond watching the left's hair catch fire when she speaks.

[LTC(ret) John]

"Say something dumb, you get made fun of for it. Dem's da rulez."

That should be burned into the legislation signing hands (without anisthesia) of every elected official in the US.

[JW]

The political class trying to destroy one another?

Now THAT's entertainment.

[$park?]

Yeah well, you'll all be sorry when she straps on a suicide vest and blows up Congress.

Sorry, I couldn't do it with a straight face.

[Lord Humungus]

Katie Holmes without makeup
http://www.nydailynews.com/ent.....ry-1.21019

[John]

That is what being Tom Cruise's beard will do to you. She was the ultimate girl next door coed not five years ago.

[wareagle]

maybe she should talk to Nicole Kidman, whose post-Tom life seems to have turned out well with a husband, kids, tabloid-free.

[protefeed]

No, this is what a not particularly beautiful woman propped up by makeup looks like sans makeup, plus five years of aging.

[John]

she has aged a lot more than five years.

[nicole]

I just think this is what people look like when they are tired, stressed, and make-up free. I mean, that's her on her way out of the gym, during the first visit of Suri and Tom since the split. Give the girl a break. I think she's been looking quite cute going around NYC with the little one for the past week or two--and normal. She's going to bounce back but I can't imagine her life is very calm or easy right now.

[John]

True. I can't imagine anyone would look their best under those circumstances. It still goes back to the basic question of why someone in line to be the next Meg Ryan would piss away the prime years of her career to marry Tom Cruise.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Because Tom Cruise promised to make her a big star, and she was dumb enough to believe him.

[Francisco d Anconia]

You are ALL nuts.

She looks fantastic.

[The Hammer]

She looks pretty good to me.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Scroll forward to the Faith Hill one, yikes.

[John]

She has looked like a very cheap hooker for about 15 years now.

[BakedPenguin]

Wow. Also, who knew that Jennifer Love Hewitt was really Casey Anthony?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I thought the "without" picture was Leif Garret.

[robc]

The biggest difference in most of those is professional lighting, not the makeup. The "on the street" pictures make them look pale and washed out from poor lighting.

A number look better sans makeup.

[sloopyinca]

She's a two-face?

/Jerry Seinfeld

[nicole]

Yeah, it's also clear that like half of the no-makeup pictures are taken early in the morning, and likely that for most to be "caught" without it they are already frazzled and rushed for some other reason.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Wow, Jennifer Love Hewitt actually looks younger without the makeup.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Also, looks like Jessica Biel's going for the "Julia Roberts" mouth.

[VindMooo]

If there was ever a reason to never leave the house unarmed, thats it dude.

http://www.New-Anon.tk

[invisible furry hand]

Attaboy, anonbot!

[generic Brand]

If there was ever a reason

Anon-bot drink?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Sure. It's Friday, so cheers Anon-bot!

[invisible furry hand]

A woman who got a new tattoo to celebrate her role in the Olympic torch relay was shocked to discover it had been spelt incorrectly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-e.....e-18890901

[db]

"spelled"

[sarcasmic]

Paging RC

[R C Dean]

Bzzt. Sorry. No RC'z Law on that one.

Using an archaic/Brit spelling in this case is perfectly cromulent.

[invisible furry hand]

no, "spelt" is perfectly correct my fellow lowercaser

[Fist of Etiquette]

Not on the American internet, it isn't!

[T]

I though spelt was a kind of fish, like a grunion.

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

There's a primitive wheat called spelt.

[hamilton]

In the US we prefer "quinoa".

[R C Dean]

"We call it maize."

[LTC(ret) John]

Curse you! Now I am going to have that #$% "Mazola, corn goodness!" fake Indian song running through my head all day.

[Restoras]

When my local organic food prudes tell me to eat quinoa, I reach for the Cool Ranch Doritos.

[db]

She who spelt it, dealt it.

[generic Brand]

spelt

What the hell is this? Get outta here with your horrible British English! What's next, "favourite"?
::shudder::

[Suki]

What flavour is that Brand?

[generic Brand]

Must be Royal Crown Cola

[some guy]

Perfect for when you're travelling!

[invisible furry hand]

What's next, "favourite"?

Yep, along with neighbour, glamour, theatre and aluminium

[wareagle]

let's check with the Centre for Grammatical Organisation for the correct answer.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Don't forget honour!

[generic Brand]

along with neighbour, glamour, theatre and aluminium

Aluminium? Now you're just fucking with me. What other magical ores do the Brits have? Iroun? Coupper? Tiin?

[Quetzalcoatl]

The Belgians have TinTin...

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

"Iroun," too funny.

[Lord Humungus]

the first time I heard the Brits pronounce aluminum - on Junkyard Wars - I had no idea what they were talking about... do they use a different metal than us? What, did they invent something new? What? WHAT? oh, aluminum.

[sloopyinca]

You should hear a Canuckistani pronounce "decals." Instead of "DEE-cals", they say "deh-CULLS".

It's most annoying.

[invisible furry hand]

coming from someone who probably mangles "route"...

[$park?]

Do you use a rooter to connect to the Internet? Do you travel on highway rout 5?

[invisible furry hand]

weirdly, we do pronounce router in the US fashion (or at least IT guys do). I take the same root to work every day. Rout is what I do to my enemies

[sloopyinca]

I say both "root" and "rout" depending on the word that follows. I know it sounds odd, but do this test:

Say Route 66.
Now say State Route 741.

Anybody from the midwest or the south will pronounce those words differently. Anybody from the far west will replace route with "The". And anybody from the northeast will just ask you what the toll is for either of them.

[John]

Sloopy

It is get your kicks on "Root 66" not "Rowt 66". The northeasters have it wrong.

[wareagle]

so are forms of motorized transportation VEE-uh-culs, or VEE-hickles?

[invisible furry hand]

almost like VEER-cle

[Quetzalcoatl]

what about vee-HICK-uhls?

[wareagle]

this is funny. We can barely agree on proper English ourselves and then get crazy when foreigners mangle it.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

No wareagle. The proper American accent comes from the Northern Cities Vowel Shift. The proper vernacular comes from Northern Ohio.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Wikipedia entry: Northern Cities Vowel Shift

[EDG reppin' LBC]

so are forms of motorized transportation VEE-uh-culs, or VEE-hickles?

In Indiana, they are called motor-sickles.

[DEG]

And humour too

[gaijin]

how was it spelt? 😉

[gaijin]

crap...refresh button. How does it work?

[$park?]

That's refresh boutton.

[Lord Humungus]

it's called a bidet.

[gaijin]

^^well played

[generic Brand]

This comment page--you didn't refresh that.

[Loki]

That's never gonna get old.

[Longtorso]

All Claimed July Warming In The US Is Due To Data Manipulation

[Fist of Etiquette]

But he's played 100 rounds of golf, which is about 600 hours.

Those 600 hours were less destructive, even accounting for the divots.

[Drake]

It's the time Obama isn't on the golf course I complain about.

[robc]

If 100 rounds == 600 hours, he plays too fucking slow.

Its not like he is playing a muni on a saturday morning.

[Drake]

If he was, the locals would be launching drives at his slow ass.

[Restoras]

^^Fucking THIS. This is the only reason I need to hate this douche. Hit your ball, asshole - you're not playing a qualifier for the Open.

[Loki]

Nothing irritates more than being stuck behind some slow playing asshole who doesn't understand the concept of letting others play through. Which I'm sure he doesn't. It would fit everything else we know about hit personality. What an ass.

[wareagle]

just how many mulligans does he give himself?

[Loki]

He redistributes the mulligans of all the other players on the course.

[wareagle]

and who built those golf courses, by the way?

[kinnath]

Typical round here in backwoods Iowa is 4 hrs.

[Restoras]

The way it should be. I am envious.

[R C Dean]

For 18 holes, I would expect more like 3 or 4 hours. Putting his time on the course at 3 - 400 hours. Now, throw in travel time, etc., and 600 hours may not be out of bounds.

[KMA Too]

Oh, FFS! I just got my official Libertarian starter kit with the monocle, platinum walking stick with real blood diamonds in the handle, and genuine child-labor-made wingtips with the genuine Saskatchewan seal-skin bindings.

I gotta take up golf now??? Bullshit!

[sloopyinca]

Speaking as someone who knows, when he arrives at a course, he is notorious for having the driving range cleared so he can hit balls before he plays without the attendant laughter that tends to occur when people see the "leader of the free world" power-fading the ball all of 180 yards with his driver.

Then once on course, he requires at least three holes ahead and behind him when playing so as to "get some peace and quiet for a change." Nevermind the fact that it's also Fathers Day weekend and he has the entire MP contingent called back into work at called back to duty less than 2 weeks after they got back from Iraq. Oh, and also after he had all of them change out of their uniforms and into civvies because he "sees enough uniforms" that he doesn't want to see them while he plays.

It takes a lot of time to do all of these things, so give him a break on the six hour round stuff.

BTW, he never once acknowledged the commander of the MP unit other than to tell him to make sure his men did not take photos while they were escorting him around the course. He never once returned his salute and he never once offered a photo op or asked him a personal question.*

*OTOH, Bush was always accessible when he went there to mountain bike. He always rode with soldiers. He always asked about his family and he always saluted and thanked every person he came in contact with. Hell, he still sends Christmas cards every year.

[invisible furry hand]

I'm sure this is true, but it also comes across as a golfer's version of slashfic

[Quetzalcoatl]

I can't wait to see ShuggaFree's remix.

[wareagle]

and yet, we keep hearing all this polling data that suggests POTUS is likeable, something I have never quite understood since at least half the country hates him.

[John]

It is interesting. The Secret Service loved all of the Republican Presidents on a personal level. Reagan and both Bush's treated them very well. Carter, Clinton, and Obama all three are known privately for being arrogant crap weasels who treated the White House help like crap.

Funny that.

[fish]

Nonsense! You know the dems are friends of the little people!

[Quetzalcoatl]

I thought that was TLC?

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

But he's played 100 rounds of golf, which is about 600 hours.
Those 600 hours were less destructive, even accounting for the divots.

Not the way I play. Instead of "fore!" they make me call out "flank!"

[Loki]

Those 100 rounds of golf - he didn't play those.

[Auric Demonocles]

If you got a birdie, you didn't do that alone. There's the architect who designed the course. There's the factory worker who made your clubs. There's the groundskeeper who mowed the fairway. There's the Secret Service agent who throw the ball out of the woods.

[Auric Demonocles]

Those 600 hours were less destructive, even accounting for the divots.

But what about all the broken windows?

[LTC(ret) John]

Stimulus!

[Bee Tagger]

But he's played 100 rounds of golf, which is about 600 hours.

6 hours a round? Does Barack's husband play golf, too?

[$park?]

He's the President, he can take as long as he wants to line up his lousy shot. Plus, the Secret Service will just take out anybody trying to play through.

[Lord Humungus]

CNN's Piers Morgan, First to Use Colorado Tragedy to Assault Second Amendment Rights
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012.....nt-rights/

from the popular skinhead site - oi! - Pajamas Media:

CNN host Piers Morgan wasted little time today to use the Colorado theater massacre to call for curbs on Americans' Second Amendment rights. On Twitter this morning, Morgan has so far tweeted three times in regard to the tragedy. Shortly after 6 AM central, Morgan tweeted "Horrendous details from this Colorado cinema shooting. America has got to do something about its gun laws. Now is the time."

About half an hour later, Morgan tweeted: "More Americans will buy guns after this, to defend themselves, and so the dangerous spiral descends. When/how does it stop?"

Twitter users reacted angrily, tweeting to Morgan to keep his opinions to himself.

But Morgan was not finished. Ten minutes later he retreated a bit, tweeting "Lunatics like this will always try and get guns. It should be 100,000 times harder than it is for them to do so. That's my point."

[John]

I am sure all five of his viewers were impressed.

[Drake]

Three of them screamed "go back to England you Limey Fuck!"

[Suki]

The Today Show just started inventing making the Columbine connection.

[Loki]

Columbine was in CO, this was in CO, therefore: connection!!!11!!11!

[sloopyinca]

You know who else was in Colorado? All the evil people in Atlas Shrugged. This is the fault of libertarians, just like everything else in America.

[Loki]

My God, it all makes sense now...

[Bee Tagger]

Twitter users reacted angrily, tweeting to Morgan to keep his opinions to himself.

I can only assume they took this step before going to wikipedia to inform themselves as to who Piers Morgan is.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Being a CNN personality means your opinions don't normally travel far. He made those remarks expecting from experience that no one would hear them.

[Loki]

That didn't take long. Attempts to pin the blame on "violent right wing rhetoric in 3... 2... 1...

[R C Dean]

America has got to do something about its gun laws.

I agree. Open carry prohibitions need to be repealed, as do any restrictions (including licensing) on concealed carry.

A CCW or two in that theater could have made a huge difference.

[JW]

A CCW or two in that theater could have made a huge difference.

I agree, in general, but in the chaos that was described, I doubt anything would have helped anyone but the most highly trained.

[tarran]

Dude, if you see a guy unloading on the crowd you're standing in, you probably aren't going to be paralyzed with fear that you are shooting the wrong guy.

[JW]

Smoke bomb going off? Screaming and panicking crowd? Cacophonous noise? Poor lighting?

Good luck with that.

[Loki]

Plus the guy was supposedly wearing body armor and riot gear, so anything other than a perfectly placed shot would have just pissed him off.

[tarran]

I think that's less relevant than you think. Most people using a handgun to defend themselves fire from very close range, for obvious reasons.

All those distractions are less relevant at short ranges.

So how the putative CCW bearer behaves isn't going to be too different than a non-CCW guy in the same spot:

1) IF he can escape, he's going to escape.
2) If he can't escape he's going to hide or take cover as best he can.

3) If the guy gets real close, the CCW guy will likely take a shot, whereas the non CCW guy will continue taking cover. Or perhaps not.

The thing that strikes me about massacres like this is how many people survive unscathed who are close enough to touch the gunman. In the Giffords shooting, a couple of those guys tackled the gunman (Note one of the tacklers had a handgun but eschewed it to tackle the guy because it was quicker).

Now, with that being said, I am not taking the Pollyanaish position that the guy rolls in behind his gas grenade and the allert theater gowers ventilate him.

This guy was going to kill a large number of people regardless of what weapons his victims were carrying simply because he had the initiative. I just don't agree that only highly trained people could have taken the guy out and ordinary people would have been helpless. I think both groups would be about equally (in)effective.

[JW]

It's all speculative at this point. It might have made a difference, it might not have. I'm skeptical that it would have *in this particular situation under the described conditions.*

Suffice it to say that you and I aren't in disagreement over CCW.

[R C Dean]

Frankly, I don't see much of a downside with a decently level-headed armed citizen.

Either its too chaotic to get a shot off, in which case, its no worse.

Or, you get and take a clean shot. If you miss, no worse. If you hit or scare him off, yay!

[JW]

Not arguing that there shouldn't have been CCWs at the theater. Just saying that it likely wouldn't have made a difference in this particular case, based on the the early reports (which are usually complete shit).

They can't all be Luby's.

[tarran]

You know what, JW? I completely misread what you originally said.

I think we are actually in agreement but are arguing at cross-purposes. I'm going to shut up now.

[JW]

Got it. See above, which I posted before the refresh.

[Brett L]

It is my understanding that this guy got a long gun into the movie, which is probably impossible to legally do. Why would we talk about making it MORE illegal.

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

Since we still don't know very much about the incident, he should keep his gibbering to himself. It's sad that this kind of shallow twaddle is what passes for "thoughtful analysis" these days.

Hell, for all he knows the guy could be a cop that went off the rails. What would Morgan say in that eventuality? That only cops should have guns?

[John]

http://www.rollcall.com/news/n.....ml?pos=hln

Pelosi downplays tax return demand. I am increasingly convinced Obama is not going to win this election because he and his staff are so incompetant. Did these clowns not think that if they asked for Romney's tax returns Republicans would ask for prominent Democrats' returns?

Congressman on both sides are crooks. They are all insider trading, setting their wives up with do nothing jobs with contributors and taking outright bribes. None of them want their tax returns released. Of course this was going to backfire.

[Drake]

How is anyone that stupid? "Demanding" another politician do something she is completely unwilling to do?

[John]

Living your life as a Democrat in San Fransisco will do that.

[Whiterun Guard]

Unfortunately competency isn't required for them to win again.

You can be the worst poker player in the world but when your opponent just folds before you can even bet, you wind up winning the pot.

[John]

I don't Rommney is going to fold. He may only have King high. But sometimes that is good enough.

[invisible furry hand]

Am i the only person wondering WTF a three-month old baby was doing at a midnight movie screening? Surely the film would be too loud for them to sleep through, and they'd wail like a banshee?

[John]

No. You are not. Poor thing. That is just cruel. A three month old baby needs to sleep. It needs a routine. It is sadistic to drag it to a loud movie in the middle of the night and subject it to a terrifying experience it has no ability to comprehend. If you are too poor to hire a baby sitter, you are too poor to go to a movie.

[sarcasmic]

I suggest you do the libertarian thing and ask your Congresscritter to make a law.

[John]

People are free to be retards and the rest of us are free to point that out.

[Atherton Wing]

I agree with John.

[tarran]

Hey! You're dead! I saw you stabbed!

[Atherton Wing]

The internet is forever.

[SugarFree]

Ahem. Atherton did not receive life-threatening injuries from Malcolm Reynolds. Inara even points this out when noting that she will black-list him in the Companion client database.

/nerdpwn

[tarran]

I bow to your superior nerdcyclopedic knowledge.

[squarooticus]

+1.

[Quetzalcoatl]

As someone with a two-week old:
1) They can sleep through almost anything
2) and are probably awake at midnight anyways

That said, I agree that's it's a really strange thing to do.

[Spoonman.]

As someone who just spent a week with a three-month-old, I can also tell you that if something sets the "off" they're inconsolable for hours.

[Spoonman.]

sets them "off"

[Hell's Librarian]

Mine had colic for three months. I wanted to blow my brains out every night from 5pm - 1am.

[Robert S]

I'm from Aurora. The baby's mother is probably 15.

[sarcasmic]

No babysitter?

[R C Dean]

So don't fucking take your little scream machine to a movie.

[R C Dean]

Arrgh. Should be: So don't fucking go to a movie if it means taking your little scream machine.

[sarcasmic]

I haven't been to a movie since my two year old was born.

[fish]

Wow. So much has happened in those two years...you know that movies have sound now?

[sarcasmic]

No shit?
You mean that poor piano player up front is now unemployed?
Obama was right! Technology is putting people out of work!
Luddites unite!

[Drake]

If you go to a midnight premiere of a superhero movie, you are sure to be very annoyed - even if you don't get shot at.

[generic Brand]

Surprisingly, the crowd at my theater was pretty tame. I felt like I might have been the biggest fanboy there, and I haven't even followed comics in 5 or 6 years.

[Quetzalcoatl]

So what's your spoiler-free review?

[generic Brand]

Awesome. Bane comes across as Sean Connery through a voice modifier, but by the end of the movie it actually seems alright. I kept thinking the entire movie, "This is terrorism." And in reality, that is what Batman villians are all about. They make regular people second-guess themselves, they cause a panic while simultaneously making people think they are in control... It was superbly done.

A couple of plot twists keep things interesting, and as always, Christopher Nolan knows how to cast for his movies. Really sad that the series ended (and sadder still that on IMDB a Batman reboot is already listed on Nolan's page), but this was a great way to go out. Unlike Spider-Man 3.

[Drake]

Was a Batman a pussy who could have killed the bad guy 30 minutes into the movie but didn't?

[generic Brand]

Was a Batman a pussy who could have killed the bad guy 30 minutes into the movie but didn't?

Without saying too much, I don't think they even interact with each other until an hour to an hour and a half in, so no. A lot of story-telling build up, which Nolan is pretty good at, in my opinion.

Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is great in this.

[Drake]

Alright - that scene in the last one where he crashes rather than just running over the Joker took me completely out of the movie.

[sloopyinca]

Please go no farther in discussing the details of the movie.

Pretty-please.

[generic Brand]

Fair enough. I thought I did pretty well avoiding any actual details. But I am silenced and will only discuss how much I love every movie Christopher Nolan has ever done.

Seriously, Prestige, The Batman Trilogy, Inception, Memento... this guy doesn't know how to make a bad movie as far as I can tell.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I've been rereading Dark Knight Returns and Knightfall before seeing it, and it isn't until quite late into Bane's plan that Bruce Wayne runs into him in person. So that much is accurate.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I've been rereading Dark Knight Returns and Knightfall before seeing it, and it isn't until quite late into Bane's plan that Bruce Wayne runs into him in person. So that much is accurate.

[Whiterun Guard]

That "reboot" is just a permanent in-development project so that they retain the rights.

[Mensan]

Sean Connery? WTF!? How does one get a Scottish accent when his native language is Spanish?

[generic Brand]

I thought it was Portuguese, no?

[Auric Demonocles]

My crowd was mostly hipsters, as I guessed it would be. The theater even had some live music randomly play for the 20 minutes leading up to the show. There were a few times that people called or cheered which annoyed me because I missed the following lines.

[T]

Yes. And that's why I go to the movies on Tuesday nights or Sunday mornings, if at all. Fewer jackasses.

[Atanarjuat]

When I saw The Dictator, a family was there with very young kids. Oddly, they seemed unconcerned with the cursing and inappropriate jokes, but when a chick got topless they made all the kids cover their eyes.

[T]

Asian woman took two kids to the South Park movie when I saw it in the theatre. She was gone halfway through "Uncle Fucker", which is what, the first 5 minutes of the movie? Apparently figuring out what movie you're about to see is too hard.

[invisible furry hand]

Ever seen Almodovar's "What have I done to deserve this"? I have. It started with Carmen Maura fucking a guy in a shower. A few minutes later she's watching her whore neighbour getting fucked. It's at this point the old woman behind me realised this wasn't a good film for the grandkids and removed them.

Runner-up: The mother who brought her kids to Bad Santa.

Research the fucking film, people! At least look at the goddamn rating!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The mother who brought her kids to Bad Santa.

That's one way to tell your kids about Santa.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Back when Braveheart was in theaters, I remember a couple bringing their 5 or 6-year-old kid to one of the screenings I happened to be in at the time. The little shit spent nearly the whole movie asking questions about the non-kid-friendly scenes, like the battle of Stirling Bridge, and damn near ruined the movie-going experience.

Take your kids to dumb cartoon shit like Madagascar, not rated-R awesomeness like Braveheart, people!

[generic Brand]

I saw a mother walk into my showing with a newborn too. I thought, "Seriously?" I'm as big a fan of letting people do what they want as anyone else, "but" I wouldn't be opposed to movie theaters making a rule that no babies after a 10:00 PM showing or something.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

If the theater does it, it's fine.

[Whiterun Guard]

Alamo Drafthouse chain.

Learn it, love it, live it.

[Apatheist ?_??]

+1, no one under 18 and they are finally building one inside the loop in Houston. Only thing I miss about Austin.

[Tonio]

I'm not sure they can, Scruffy. Something about age discrimination, or discrimination against families with small children. John, RC, anyone?

[generic Brand]

Even if it's after "reasonable" (drink!) hours for children?

[robc]

Serve drinks and you can limit it to 21+.

[John]

You would have to serve drinks or allow smoking or something.

[R C Dean]

Not sure, Tonio.

Back in ye olden days, they had a separate room with a big window so parents could remove their squalling brats and not ruin the movie for everybody else in the damn theater.

Nowadays, of course, little concept of manners can penetrate the monumental self-absorption of parents, so they literally (literally!) think nothing of ruining the evening out of dozens of other people.

[Loki]

little concept of manners can penetrate the monumental self-absorption of parents

^THIS^ There are few classes of people as narcississtic and lacking in self awareness as the average new parent.

LOOK AT ME!@!!!!!11!! I HAD A KID!!!!1!!!

Good for you, you fullfilled your primary biological function. Now could you please remove your loud ass fucking scream and shit machine and stop ruining things for everyone else?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I'm sure the theaters would get sued, but really, they wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on. They wouldn't be the first business to impose an age limit, and with rare exceptions, most parents don't take their kids to anything later than the 7-8 pm showings on a routine basis anyway. Exceptions are the midnight screenings of stuff like Harry Potter, but that doesn't happen often.

[NoVAHockey]

The baby is alive, right? please?

[hamilton]

yeah. just hospitalized briefly.

[db]

I read that the three-month-old was treated and released, thank god.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

As an occasional movie-goer, it pisses me off. I've got three kids, I go to adult movies to get the hell away from kids, not listen to them scream during the expository monologues.

[Reformed Republican]

Don't you know how hard it is to get a babysitter to watch a kid at midnight?

[Tonio]

Easy, actually. There are 24-hour childcare ("daycare") providers in most cities. These cater mostly to shift workers.

[VG Zaytsev]

Someone that would take a baby to a midnight screening probably thinks that leaving him/her in the car during the movie is an acceptable alternative.

[Restoras]

Yeah I wonder that too. I've seen it around here too - parents think they are entitled to do whatever they want irrespective of what is expected of a good parent. Sad.

[Loki]

I once saw someone at a showing of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back holding a baby. Kid of surreal, especially if you're familiar with the begining of the that movie*.

*Jay and Silent Bob as toddlers in front of the Quick Stop, Jay's mom goes into an F-bomb laced tirade, after which toddler Jay starts shouting "Fuck" over and over again.

[Restoras]

That was hilarious.

[Loki]

Surely the film would be too loud for them to sleep through, and they'd wail like a banshee?

Maybe that's what really set the guy off. I've been in movie theaters with little screaming shit factories and the temptation to snap is almost too much.

[Fist of Etiquette]

CCTV video has been released of the person suspected to be the suicide bomber...

And it turns out to be Weird Al Yankovic.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Or in this case, Wired Al Yankovic, if you will.

[Atherton Wing]

Whoever it was, that was one funny suicide attack!

[Lord Humungus]

GHEI: Crop cronyism
Trillion-dollar farm bill is the latest example of what's wrong with our economy government
http://m.washingtontimes.com/n.....-cronyism/

Combine a Midwestern drought with pointless ethanol mandates, and the supplies of corn inevitably dwindle, driving prices sky high. Politicians like Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, are citing the crop crisis as an excuse to ram through a near-$1 trillion farm bill. While a bit of that cash might find its way to a small farmer, the bulk of the loot will be transferred to individuals who are anything but poor. Like the bank bailouts and TARP, the farm bill illustrates the capture of the legislative process by special interests.

The last farm bill in 2008 was the focus of $173.5 million in lobbying expenditure, according to a report released Tuesday by Food Water Watch. This is all money spent on what the Mercatus Center's Matthew Mitchell calls "unproductive entrepreneurship" where people are organizing and expending their talent to become rent seekers, and the end result is wealth redistribution, not wealth creation. Real entrepreneurship innovates in ways that are socially useful. Cronyism diverts resources ? both money and talent ? into a system that rewards privileges to favored groups. In the case of the 2008 farm bill, recipients of subsidies of $30,000 or more had an average household income of $210,000.

[gaijin]

It's a frickin drought...isn;t that what crop insurance is for? And futures market?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Having grown up in East Central Indiana, I can tell you that every year, farmers cry about their crops. Last year they were crying that it was too wet. This year it is too dry. Funny thing is, every October, they proclaim that they had the best crop yield in history. Hooray!!!

And yes, that is why we have crop insurance and a futures market.

[John]

that is what farmers do. And the other thing is that when it is good, it is great. And when it is bad, it is horrible. So you have to save money in the good times to get through years like this. The ones that didn't or are too leveraged to survive a bad year really don't deserve to be in business anyway.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

And now we have federally subsidized crop insurance.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

You don't expect private businesses to protect their assets with private insurance do you? What kind of America do you want to live in Scruffy?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The one that only exists in my mind?

[generic Brand]

lol, ^This.

That is the extent to which I can argue with my girlfriend about politics. Libertarian ideology, where people are (call me crazy!) responsible for themselves, is just not feasible in this world, she says. She tells me to move to Portugal since I talk up their drug decrim a bit; personally I'd rather fight til I die to make America free "again".

[wareagle]

nothing highlights the bipartisan nature of money squandering like farm bills. The dirt farmer barely scratching out a living only exists in a Steinbeck novel.

[LTC(ret) John]

I was driving through a southern WI county (Greene?) and every farmer's house could swallow mine up or use it as a mother-in-law addition. Farm Aid ain't coming to any farmers near me.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Communion on the Moon: The Religious Experience in Space

The author waste quite a bit of time being shocked (shocked!) at how many astronauts are religious, but the second half is much better, featuring some pretty good quotations from the astronauts themselves, and amusing descriptions of how religious ceremonies must be adapted for spacelife.

[Tonio]

Why yes, it is rather shocking when you're looking at it from outside the bubble of religion.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Considering the percent of humans that are religious, especially the percent of Americans during the height of our space program, it shouldn't be surprising at all.

Unless those outside the bubble of religion believe that being a Muslim or Eastern Orthodox contains or is correlated with some trait that disqualifies a person from spaceflight.

[invisible furry hand]

Calls for conjugal visits for teenagers at Bimberi are a surprising and ''provocative'' distraction from more pressing needs at the youth justice centre, the children's rights commissioner says.

http://www.canberratimes.com.a.....z21AR2BAQ9

[Brett L]

I'm somewhat sympathetic. I spent my entire teens trying to convince women that I deserved conjugal visitation.

[Quetzalcoatl]

How d'ya think the invisible furry hand got so furry?

[Lord Humungus]

Corn and soybeans hit record highs, stir food crisis fear
http://www.reuters.com/article.....U120120719

Corn and soybeans soared to record highs on Thursday as the worsening drought in the U.S. farm belt stirred fears of a food crisis, with prices coming off peaks after investors cashed out of the biggest grains rally since 2008.

Corn prices crossed into uncharted territory above $8 per bushel -- about three-and-a-half times the average price 10 years ago of $2.28. Soybeans punched past $17 for the first time -- also three-and-a-half times the 2002 average.

[John]

Using food to make gasoline causes food prices to rise and especially during a drought. Who would have thunk it?

This doesn't really affect the US. But it is going to destroy the third world if something is not done about it. Just add to the butchers bill of the fucking greens.

[wareagle]

what's amazing is how many of the "drill here, drill now" crowd are also in on the ethanol scam. All those Midwestern Repubs eager to bend over for farmers who also talk about govt waste.

[John]

That is what being the Senator from Archer Daniels Midland will get for you. Ethanol was a truly unholy alliance of corrupt rent seekers and greens. It was bound to end in tragedy.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Unfortunately it hasn't ended yet

[wareagle]

does any ill-conceived govt program ever end...
If anything, look for more federal dollars to be poured to help those "impacted."

[Restoras]

It'll end when the money spigot closes - just like everything else.

[Spoonman.]

If only we didn't have the ridiculous food subsidies in the first place, there would be existing capacity in Africa to produce food for the world when North America gets screwed.

[Alack]

Huh, it's almost like all that talk about fostering domestic production is just nationalist jingoism that makes the whole world poorer and less able to respond to localized crises!

We know that's not true though: you've got to keep all your eggs in one basket- otherwise, what would you do if someone stole one of your baskets? Just keep the one you have under tight watch and nothing bad can happen. Ever.

[wareagle]

there is already existing capacity in Africa but the do-gooders here and at hte UN would rather send money that the local dictators and warlords steal. Then amazingly, startling 'news' that the population is again starving and the process is repeated.

[Spoonman.]

The land's there, sure, but the Africans don't have the infrastructure to farm it the way Iowans do because they've been loss-led by subsidized North Americans.

[WTF]

This doesn't really affect the US. But it is going to destroy the third world if something is not done about it. Just add to the butchers bill of the fucking greens.

But their intentions are good. So it's okay that millions of brown people have to die so the lefty nut jobs can feel good about themselves.

[Lord Humungus]

Crony Nation
http://spectator.org/archives/.....ony-nation

The index measures how corrupt government officials are perceived to be, and is based on sample questions about things like bribe-taking and the use of public office for private gain. A similar measure of corruption, by the World Justice Project, ranks the U.S. tenth out of 12 peer countries in North America and Europe. Moreover, this likely understates America's corruption problem, when corruption is understood to include wasteful lobbying. What bribes are for poor countries, lobbying is for rich ones: a means of obtaining political influence with money. No other country has anything like the number of American lobbyists, who load up legislation with interest-group bargains.

AMERICA'S RANKING ON MEASURES of corruption is nothing to write home about, and we can expect it to get worse before it gets better, for three reasons...

[Fist of Etiquette]

Does anyone know what Sarah Palin tweeted before the The Dark Knight Rises premier?

[invisible furry hand]

"Fans of the The Dark Knight Rises are what's killing this country. If they were a moose I'd shoot and field dress it"

[John]

Wasn't it supposed to be propaganda for the Obama campaign? I bet this guy was a tea bagger. Tony told me so.

[Mike M.]

No official word yet on whether James Holmes has ever written any correspondence saying mean things about: Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, the Department of Education, the SEIU, or taxes.

[John]

God fucking help us if he has.

[Atherton Wing]

Doesn't matter. Low-lifes of all political stripes will try to make hay out of it.

[NoVAHockey]

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-J.....t-Shooting

already started. ABC news is making the tea party connection

[John]

They really have no shame.

[Mike M.]

It's disappointing that Brian Ross would throw something like out there before verifying the veracity of it. For a media guy he's usually a pretty straight shooter.

[wareagle]

we don't know if it's the same Jim Holmes.

well, goddamn it, don't you suppose the basic tenets of journalism require to know before saying anything? Call me crazy, but I am sensing that anything goes among the media if it can be spun into a help-Obama-win angle.

[Lord Humungus]

I imagine Jim Holmes is a fairly common name.... ?

[Mike M.]

It's especially irresponsible to pull shit like this when you take into account what a common names Holmes is.

I just did an Internet white pages search on "James Holmes" in the state of Colorado, and thirty freaking names came up.

[John]

Mike don't let the facts get in the way of an important narrative.

[Whiterun Guard]

Babies died Mike. The people need to know about this tea party madness. There's no need to check facts that we already know are true.

[wareagle]

seriously....news folks are repeating tweets from politicos like someone gives a shit what they have to say about this.

[db]

The best part about Twitter for politicians is that it has the potential to allow them to say really stupid thingsin public that get widely distributed and are hard to retract, witg less oversight from their image managers.

[Lord Humungus]

something about Bain Bane, targets, er, ?

[Whiterun Guard]

Wait til they get a load of Holmes.

[Lord Humungus]

I see what you did there.

[SugarFree]

It looks like the last thing she tweeted was about the "You Didn't Build That" meme on Bristol's Blog. So you have a lot to choose from in the blame department: Bristol, teenage pregnancies, blogs, making fun of Dear Leader, Sunshine Upon The Crop Of Our Love For Him...

[John]

No way. Please tell me you are kidding Sugar Free.

[SugarFree]

No, that's really her last post. Where the blamethrower is going to be pointed will depend on what Holmes posted.

But let's be honest about what's going to happen... if he has an on-line presence, the odds that he will be a pro-government, pro-Obama, Pelosi-lovin', pure-capitol "D" Democrat are very, very low. Those people are in ascendance and unlikely to engage in personalized, random violence at a pop culture movie event.

He's probably--like the Giffords' shooter--a deranged nutball without any real political stance. But even insane white males with guns are usually going to fixate on at least some things that conservatives/libertarians/anarch-capitalists either agree with --or agree with in the the left media's self-serving interpretation of our beliefs.

There are very few scenarios that don't result in the national conversation about this incident being biased against non-left-wingers.

[John]

They will put out the myth that he was a vicious right winger inspired by Rush Limbaugh knowing that by the time the facts come out it will be too late. Hell, I still meet people who are convinced the Giffords guy was a Tea Party terrorist. It is all about creating a myth to tell themselves. Kind of like the right wing killing Kennedy.

[sloopyinca]

Kind of like the right wing killing Kennedy.

Does anybody think that? I thought the conspiracy nuts were all about LBJ being behind it. Or that Satan called his contract due.

[John]

Yes. Run a google search for "right wing killed Kennedy" and you will find the phrase used in news and opinion articles to this day.

[sarcasmic]

The simple fact that he used guns is proof that he's a right-wing nut-job.

Any good left-winger knows that guns belong only in the hands of government employees who have the proper training and knowledge to use them properly.

[T o n y]

It, among many other incidents, should inform a conversation about gun proliferation in this country.

I expect the NRA to be out with a proposal to allow infants to open carry.

[SugarFree]

Fuck off, cuntpuppet.

[T o n y]

I don't see anything in the second amendment excepting infant children.

[T o n y]

I don't see anything in the second amendment excepting infant children.

[sloopyinca]

I don't see anything in the second amendment excepting infant children.

Does the term non compos mentis mean anything to you, Tony? And I'm not talking about infants, by the way.

[WTF]

And I don't see anything in the first amendment excepting total fucking morons, so I guess T o n y's in luck.

[JW]

Why do any of you not filter this fucktwattle and actually respond to what it says?

Jebus fuck. Life's too short for that kind of joyless suck, literally.

[gaijin]

Fuck off, cuntpuppet.

^^it's worth having Tony around just to get these linguistic gems 🙂

[Mike M.]

It, among many other incidents, should inform a conversation about gun proliferation in this country.

Just like Operation "Fast and Furious" was designed to do. Right, asshole?

[T o n y]

You mean that single time the right was concerned about the proliferation of guns (which don't kill people)?

[R C Dean]

My contribution to that conversation:

Obviously, we don't have enough of the right people carrying guns. We need to lift restrictions on open and concealed carry.

[T o n y]

Clearly we must extend the right to children. What if someone tries to shoot up a daycare?

If we give enough good people guns, eventually there will be an instance in which a horror is prevented. And that will justify all the horrors it causes.

[sarcasmic]

If straw men had dicks, Tony would suck them.

[T o n y]

If sarcasmic had a dick, etc.

[Mr. FIFY]

Or... we could take away ALL guns.

Including the Secret Service, the military, and all law-enforcement minions.

Bet you can't be for that, Tony.

[T o n y]

I'm not even for gun prohibition. Just types of guns that can serve as weapons of mass destruction.

[sarcasmic]

Just types of guns that can serve as weapons of mass destruction.

So you're only against guns that shoot stuff out the end of the barrel.

[Restoras]

Tony worships power and sucks the cock of statism. This is all we need to know.

[KMA Too]

Remember, Tony-"breathe through your nose".

Wouldn't want you to choke to death.

[Loki]

Just types of guns that can serve as weapons of mass destruction.

That would cover pretty much anything other than water guns, air soft (although I'm sure someone could come up with a way to modify those to be lethal, thereby necessitating a need to ban them), BB guns (ditto on the modification thing), and Nerf guns.

[Loki]

*Depending on how one choosed to define "weapons of mass destruction", which typically refer to Chemical, Biological, or Nuclear weapons. I'm pretty sure those are already illegal for private citizens to own.

[LTC(ret) John]

"Just types of guns that can serve as weapons of mass destruction."

As a former Ordnance Corps officer, I am marveling at the world spanning stupidity of that remark. Pray, do tell what kind of "guns" can serve as "weapons of mass distruction"?

[LTC(ret) John]

Phaser? Phase plasma rifle in the 40 watt range? Atomic bomb pistol?

[Mr. FIFY]

If you're not for gun prohibition, then why are you commenting on it at all?

[T o n y]

My main question is how do you propose for infants to protect themselves from violence, if not by exercising the fundamental right to vigilante killing you claim is present in the constitution.

[Mr. FIFY]

Absurd notion. Infants - the vile creatures expelled by breeders - can't use guns.

You're supposedly an intelligent person. Why not show it?

[Loki]

Their parents are responsible for defending them dipshit.

"This must be what going mad feels like."

[R C Dean]

Just types of guns that can serve as weapons of mass destruction.

Pretty sure civilians aren't allowed to own artillery any more, so, mission accomplished, right?

[JW]

I'm guessing that the connection between his choice of shooting venues and the Bane the uber-terrorist theme isn't happenstance, in his shit-curdled mind.

[sarcasmic]

It's Romney's fault. I mean, he headed Bain Capital, right? How could this not be his fault?

[Almanian 1]

Now we see the violence inherent in the system.

[generic Brand]

**No Spoilers**

The worst thing about what Rush said the other day, trying to make a connection between the election and TDKR, is that Bane and company come across more as OWS, and Bruce Wayne/Batman has the privileged rich man status like Romney. If Rush wasn't an idiot, he could have made that reference and Republicans could run with it.

[Atherton Wing]

Maybe, but do Republicans really get pop-culture as a political philosophy? How do you sex-up Conservatism and not make your audience giggle?

[wareagle]

sure they get it. Invariably, the greedy tycoon in a movie, or the crooked unfeeling pol, or the evil preacher is a right-winger. It's formulaic. Look at "The Newsroom."

And Rush DID make the reference generic mentions; it just got lost in the Bane/Bain part, which was pointless and self-defeating.

[Atherton Wing]

Yeah, but it's all liberals making those shows. How many Conservatives have made successful TV shows? Conservatives just don't get pop culture as a viable political philosophy. I mean, they still take Jesus seriously, for Christ's sake.

[wareagle]

you asked if they get it and the evidence is clear that they do and given the perpetually sagging ratings across most of the tv spectrum, viewers get it, too. Have you simply missed conservatives in H'wood talking about being blackballed or keeping their ideology to themselves to avoid backlash, or have you chosen to ignore that?

The left lean of most things media is a key reason behind Fox's success and it's why talk radio is dominated by conservatives.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Bible pics sell well, even today, even when they're about Jesus.

[Loki]

How much bank did The Passion make again?

[Randian]

Rush did not say what you think he said.

[some guy]

John Tamny on why LIBOR wasn't the real scandal:

http://www.realclearmarkets.co.....99778.html

"The notion of "Too Big to Fail" continues to inform the economic/business discussion given the false view that banks are an essential form of finance. They're not, but if one believes they are, it's essential to cease all bailouts. The heavy fine paid by Barclays and the sacking of its top executives lends credence to this view because absent it being beholden to a British government that saved it not long ago, it doesn't cave like this."

[R C Dean]

Corporate fines and another trip through the revolving door aren't going to put a stop to the rampant fraud in our financial system.

Jail. Lots of jail. For lots of financial execs. That's what we need to see.

[Lord Humungus]

"Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen."

[DesigNate]

Don't forget their enablers in congress.

[db]

A woman from San Diego ID's herself as shooter's mother; says "you have the right person."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mass-.....Ak50v2iO6U

[Fist of Etiquette]

At first I thought that meant she knew her son could be a mass murderer, but I suppose it could just mean she had a son named James who lives in Colorado.

[db]

I toom it as you did at first. I think she probably knows something about his motivation and/or mental state, assuming she really is his kotber.

[db]

WTF is a "toom?"

[invisible furry hand]

a GMO shroom

[LTC(ret) John]

A mushroom for the Choom Gang?

[db]

Wow, that has more typos than I thought.

[ant1sthenes]

Why the fuck was there a three-month-old in a movie theater for a midnight showing of Batman?

[sticks]

stupid breeders

[ant1sthenes]

I have a three-month-old. But if I can't find a babysitter, then I'm not watching TDKR. It's a little thing called respect for other people.

[John]

Someone at the Romney campaign must have a brain. This is absolutely shocking. I can't believe he actually came up with this. Rommey's "you didn't build that" ad

Obama: "If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, 'Well, it must be 'cause I was just so smart.' There are a lot of smart people out there. 'It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.' Let me tell you something: If you've got a business, that--you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

Jack Gilchrist on the factory floor.

Gilchrist: "My father's hands didn't build this company? My hands didn't build this company? My son's hands aren't building this company? Did somebody else take out the loan on my father's house that financed the equipment? Did somebody else make payroll every week and figure out where it's coming from? President Obama, you're killin' us out here. Through hard work and a little bit of luck, we built this business. Why are you demonizing us for it? We are the solution, not the problem. It's time we had somebody who believes in us--someone who believes that achievement should be rewarded, not punished. We need somebody who believes in America."

That is actually pretty good.

[Alack]

Well, they couldn't have built it without the loan from the banks, and the payroll could only be made because of people's consumption of the product. That's why we need to make sure banks have adequate capital on hand (through TARP-like measures) and why we need to increase consumption by stimulating demand with temporary tax cuts and handouts. Gosh, John, you're such a wingneck.

[Mike M.]

Yep. Romney and his people ought to focus most of his campaign around this theme.

I'm not sure that Obama and his Obamabot followers truly understand just how many middle-of-the-road type small business owners there are in this country.

[Kaptious Kristen]

It shouldn't just be this one ad...they should go around to successful small businesses and just hammer away again and again.

So should Gary Johnson, with that cool mil that PAC received. That ought buy a few minutes of cable ads.

[Paleo-ConAvenger]

They're too busy making barely audible commercials with Gary speaking mysteriously in the background.

Johnson ought to hire Paul's commercial producers.

[DEG]

In a bizarre form of name association, I was reminded of this guy earlier this morning. The association was based solely on name, not on any actions, but it struck me as odd.

[John]

One thing we won't hear on the coverage of the shooting; the idea that if someone or preferably several people, had just had a conceal and carry permit, shooting those people wouldn't have been so easy.

[NoVAHockey]

if you do, it will only be to note that such a scenario is crazy and will result in crossfire and the police shooting the wrong people.

[wareagle]

raising that angle will draw the opposite reaction: "why it would have been the wild west with hundreds, maybe even thousands, dead. You can't have regular folks armed; it'll be pandelerium."

[Randian]

"Panderlerium" should be the name of the element in Avatar 2: Dances with Smurfs.

[John]

Best just to lie there and let the guy kill you. Never try to defend yourself. That pretty much sums up the liberal attitude towards the public doesn't it?

[gaijin]

Best just to lie there and let the guy kill you. Never try to defend yourself.

Certainly makes it easier to be a victim!

[sarcasmic]

But, but, but it would have been total mayhem as everyone started shooting everyone else!
I mean, concealed weapon holder A would have shot at the gunman, then concealed weapon holder B would have shot at concealed weapon holder A, then concealed weapon holder C would have shot at everyone, and finally when the police arrived they'd shoot at everyone with a gun!
The proper solution is to put up signs that say "Gun Free Zone"!
They're magic!

[I, Kahn OClast]

Well, I live in New Mexico and I have been polled three times so there's a triplicate of my endorsement of Gary Johnson. I wonder how many others have done the same.... Of course if that were common then the same could be said for people who support those other meat puppets.

[Restoras]

Aaarrrgh. Teh guy in the cube next to me is a germophobe and is busily windexing every surface. Freaks, one and all.

[CampingInYourPark]

"PELOSI THREATENS MEDIA: 'MAYBE THE PEOPLE WRITING THESE STORIES' SHOULD RELEASE THEIR TAX RETURNS"
http://www.breitbart.com/Breit.....ax-Returns

[RPR2]

4506T forms for everyone

[John]

Sure Nancy. You can look at my tax return and the written record of the ass raping you and your ilk give me every year any time. In return I want to see every crooked insider trade, free lunch, do nothing job for your idiot children and so forth you have ever received. Deal?

[Tulpa the White]

She really needs a therapist.

[CampingInYourPark]

"'Sessions earlier raised this concern after reviewing a USDA radio ad miniseries called "Hope Park.' In it, the characters were shown persistently trying to convince a character named 'Diana' to go on food stamps even though her husband works and she doesn't think she needs it."

http://pprnnews.prepperpodcast.....z21AoMRqbg

[CampingInYourPark]

"Sessions earlier raised this concern after reviewing a USDA radio ad miniseries called 'Hope Park.' In it, the characters were shown persistently trying to convince a character named 'Diana' to go on food stamps even though her husband works and she doesn't think she needs it."
http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....z218mpIJAE

[Mr. FIFY]

So, let's recap. The fault for this shooting lies with:

The NRA
Shooter passed by a radio and heard five full seconds of Rush Limbaugh that one day
Republicans
His mother
Violent video games
Violent music
Lack of gun control
The Dark Knight Rises
Violent movies
Shooter is not a Democrat
Being bullied at one time
Girls not liking him

That about cover it?

[db]

It will, of course, turn out to be a very simple, clear-cut, and by-the-book case of TOO MUCH FREEDOM! DERP!

[Mr. FIFY]

That's "FREEDUMB". Leftists hate it as much as so-cons do.

[WTF]

You forgot the Tea Party.

[CampingInYourPark]

"When asked what he thinks about Romney as a candidate for president, Paul responded, 'Compared to whom? He certainly offers different things than the current president. But the current conditions make it rough for anyone. They are going to have a very though job.'"

http://www.dailypaul.com/24545.....for-romney

[Mr. FIFY]

The stoopid... it burns...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014171910

[Mr. FIFY]

Sorry for the DU link; this time, the HuffPo just didn't have enough weapons-grade stoopid in their comment section on this story.

[Loki]

"No, this is what going mad feels like."

[Mr. FIFY]

I'm sure by now HuffPo has enough "shooter had to be a right-winger, no way he could be a leftie" comments up now... but, shit, look at the time. I've got a cat in the oven.