A.M. Links: Joe Biden Bumped for Bill Clinton at DNC, Dick Cheney Says Sarah Palin Pick a Mistake, Mitt Romney Talking Tough

Ed Krayewski | 7.30.2012 9:10 AM

Bill Clinton will formally re-nominate Barack Obama for President at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte and the former president was given a primetime speaking slot, relegating Joe Biden to introducing President Obama at Bank of America Stadium on the last night of the convention.
Dick Cheney, who helped Gerald Ford and George W. Bush select their running mates (Bob Dole and Cheney himself, respectively), said John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin in 2008 was a mistake. "I like Governor Palin. I've met her. I know her. She – attractive candidate. But based on her background, she'd only been governor for, what, two years. I don't think she passed that test…of being ready to take over," the former vice president said.
Mitt Romney said he would respect a unilateral decision by Israel to strike in Iran and that he would have a "zero tolerance" policy on Iran acquiring nuclear weapns.
Leon Panetta said Syria's latest attack on rebels and residents in the city of Aleppo is another "nail in Assad's coffin." The secretary of defense is spending five days touring the Middle East.
How to take Anton Scalia's observation that some gun control could be constitutional? Are hand-held rocket launchers constitutional?
Wait, there's a printer that can do that?
Homeowners hurting from water restrictions have turned to having their lawns painted green.
Divers recovered a German World War 2 era U-boat off the coast of Nantucket.
Twitter went down for reason. Via commenter SugarFree

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Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

Divers recovered a German World War 2 era U-boat off the coast of Nantucket.

I suppose Obama is going to let the Krauts off, too. Appeasement.
1. NotSure 13 years ago
  
  Complete this limerick:
  There once was a U-boot off Nantucket...
  1. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
    
    There once was a U-boot off Nantucket
    seeing a convoy they struck it
    The escorts rushed in
    and the battle begin
    Now the U-boot is an old sunken bucket
    1. Brett L 13 years ago
      
      Winner.
      1. Restoras 13 years ago
        
        By a bow shot.
  2. Whiterun Guard 13 years ago
    
    There once was a U-boot off Nantucket
    The factory "a" key was stucketh
    It's no worry, you know,
    Just replace with an "o",
    And then tell Odolf Hitler to suck it.
2. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
  
  "We shall hope and change them on the beaches..."
Longtorso 13 years ago

I was right. Media blitz, not science.
Why the BEST papers failed to pass peer review
...On July 29 2012 Richard Muller launched another publicity blitz (e.g. here and here) claiming, among other things, that "In our papers we demonstrate that none of these potentially troublesome effects [including those related to urbanization and land surface changes] unduly biased our conclusions." Their failure to provide a proper demonstration of this point had led me to recommend against publishing their paper. This places me in an awkward position since I made an undertaking to JGR to respect the confidentiality of the peer review process, but I have reason to believe Muller et al.'s analysis does not support the conclusions he is now asserting in the press.

I take the journal peer review process seriously and I dislike being placed in the position of having to break a commitment I made to JGR, but the "BEST" team's decision to launch another publicity blitz effectively nullifies any right they might have had to confidentiality in this matter. So I am herewith releasing my referee reports....
1. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  This is pretty damning stuff. Especially for TEAM PEER REVIEW. Although I commend Dr. McKitrick for saying, in essence, "if you don't want to play by the rules we've all agreed to, I won't either."
2. o3 13 years ago
  
  "None of the reviews have indicated any mistakes in the papers; they have instead been primarily suggestions for additions, further citations of the literature. One review had no complaints about the content of the paper, but suggested delaying the publication until the long background paper, describing our methods in detail, was actually published."
  _
  it triez moar harders
  1. WTF 13 years ago
    
    You really have no capacity for logical thought.
    1. o3 13 years ago
      
      quotes ol boy indicate another author.
      1. Marshall Gill 13 years ago
        
        I believe the findings in our papers are too important to wait for the year or longer that it could take to complete the journal review process
        
        Yes, quotes from Muller's daughter. Why didn't you include the above one as well? Oh, I almost forgot to whom I was addressing.
        
        The people who made the paper pinky swear that it is good science? You don't say.
  2. JerseyPatriot 13 years ago
    
    When o3 eats your lunch, it's time to hang up the keyboard, Longtorso.
    1. DesigNate 13 years ago
      
      You're an idiot if you think orrin could eat anybody's lunch. How about addressing the fact that the quote is by Mueller's daughter, and co-founder of BEST, not a peer reviewer?
      
      Guess you shouldn't be such a smug asshole, huh?
Longtorso 13 years ago

New Excitement in the Climate Change Controversy (Updated)
...I've reached Dr. Judith Curry of Georgia Tech, who was a co-author of the first four BEST papers but who declined to be listed as an author of this one. She was in an airport, and has promised me more tomorrow, but in the meantime she referred me to the New York Times Dot Earth blog and her quote...

...There is broad agreement that greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to the warming in the latter half of the 20th century; the big question is how much of this warming can we attribute to greenhouse gas emissions. I don't think this question can be answered by the simple curve fitting used in this paper, and I don't see that their paper adds anything to our understanding of the causes of the recent warming....
1. John 13 years ago
  
  You are raining on Ron Bailey's parade.
  1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
    
    I blame global warming.
Longtorso 13 years ago

NSA Boss Wants More Control Over the 'Net

Facebook Abstainers Could Be Labeled Suspicious
1. Rich 13 years ago
  
  not having a Facebook account could be the first sign that you are a mass murderer.
  
  Actually, the first sign is never having visited whitehouse.gov.
  1. T 13 years ago
    
    No facebook account and known libertarian tendencies is a dead giveaway. Some of you had best be looking over your shoulders.
    1. Francisco d Anconia 13 years ago
      
      Just lock me up.
  2. Marshall Gill 13 years ago
    
    not having a Facebook account could be the first sign that you are a mass murderer human.
    
    FTFY
  3. Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
    
    I prefer whitehouse.com
    1. Rich 13 years ago
      
      Uh-oh. That could be the first sign that you are a serial rapist.
    2. Randian 13 years ago
      
      Ah, the glory days of the internet. I remember innocently trying to show a teacher how the internet worked by navigating promptly to whitehouse.com
      1. tarran 13 years ago
        
        One of the senior managers at the steel mill delivered a blistering lecture to his subordinates where he threatened that anyone who even inadvertently looked at porn was going to lose their internet access privileges permanently ? no exceptions. Then, intending to pull up a press release on the WTO anti-dumping case that was the hot topic at the time, guess where he navigated?
        
        Ah the memories? strange fluids gushing out of patients' bodies
  4. Bobarian 13 years ago
    
    Does whitehouse.com count?
    1. Bobarian 13 years ago
      
      Damn...
      
      Day late, dollar short.
2. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
  
  "Facebook Abstainers Could Be Labeled Suspicious"
  
  No Facebook account? There's a tax for that.
Longtorso 13 years ago

Doctor Shortage Likely to Worsen With Health Law
...Health experts, including many who support the law, say there is little that the government or the medical profession will be able to do to close the gap by 2014, when the law begins extending coverage to about 30 million Americans. It typically takes a decade to train a doctor.

"We have a shortage of every kind of doctor, except for plastic surgeons and dermatologists," said Dr. G. Richard Olds, the dean of the new medical school at the University of California, Riverside, founded in part to address the region's doctor shortage. "We'll have a 5,000-physician shortage in 10 years, no matter what anybody does."...
1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
  
  "We'll have a 5,000-physician shortage in 10 years, no matter what anybody does."...
  
  Um, if it takes 10 years to train a doctor, why would there necessarily be a 5,000 doctor shortage in a decade? I can see there being one 7-8 years from now, but if they anticipate the shortage, why not expand the openings in medical schools this fall by, oh I don't know, 5,000 students.
  
  I know rent-seeking and credentialism are two of the major problems, as are our refusal to allow doctors trained in many other countries. This asshole is likely a part of the problem since he refuses to acknowledge and implement the easy fixes that are right in front of his face.
  1. wareagle 13 years ago
    
    are you questioning the Top Men whose numerology produced this result?
  2. Whiterun Guard 13 years ago
    
    If we do away with enough non-doctors, the numbers should sort themselves out.
  3. R C Dean 13 years ago
    
    why not expand the openings in medical schools this fall by, oh I don't know, 5,000 students.
    
    It would take more than a month to open up the pipeline that much, for starters. You're talking about a 25% increase in total capacity.
    1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
      
      Then increase it by 12.5% this year and the remaining 12.5% next year. And open a dozen new medical schools across the country next year as well.
      
      Oh, and we could allow doctors from other countries that are currently blacklisted if they pass an examination.
  4. Jordan 13 years ago
    
    I think the real problem is residencies. If I recall correctly, the AMA limits the number of residency programs available.
    1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
      
      Fuck the AMA. Doctors aren't required to be members, are they?
  5. Francisco d Anconia 13 years ago
    
    Hey, hey...
    
    ...never question someone trying to invent a crisis to further their agenda.
  6. Scarecrow Repair 13 years ago
    
    Possibly because some doctors retire, and some quit when the bureaucracy rises past their tolerance level.
    1. Bobarian 13 years ago
      
      This^^ is the real problem; who wants to be a Dr? The overhead from insurance and student loans is already crippling, to the point where many types of Doctors are paid for shit. The potential increase in restrictions and beauracracy that Drs face are causing a significant portion to resign/retire from the profession and decreasing the desire for young people to go into the field.
2. Restoras 13 years ago
  
  I question the timing.
3. Cdr Lytton 13 years ago
  
  "except for plastic surgeons and dermatologists"
  
  Gee, what a shock. The first is unlikely to be covered by insurance for many procedures. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the same for the second.
  1. The Hammer 13 years ago
    
    You guess right. Laser eye surgery and plastic surgery, two fields that are relatively lightly regulated and not covered by insurance, have seen dramatic increases in quality and decreases in price in the past decade. But surely that is just a coincidence.
  2. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
    
    ^^THIS^^
    
    I hardly find it surprising that the place where there are a glut of doctors, are areas which have 1) actual market forces (people WANTING and CHOOSING particular procedures, and 2) areas in the medical field in which health insurance plays very little part.
John 13 years ago

http://pjmedia.com/victordavis.....r-is-here/

California's central valley, from the food basket of the world to road warrior all thanks to socialist policies.
Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

Twitter went down for reason. Via commenter SugarFree

One of his tweets are probably what did it somehow. I'm sure he can disgust the Reason feed into nonfunction in under 140 characters.
1. Randian 13 years ago
  
  I assumed that reason's server squirrels had hit the big time.
2. SugarFree 13 years ago
  
  SugarFree is going to be insufferable all day about this. Ugh. Can't he just take a day off?
  1. T 13 years ago
    
    He's usually insufferable. This changes what, exactly?
  2. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
    
    Excellent - referring to Sugarfree in the third person. You have graduated the Isiah Thomas School of Public Commentary with highest honors!
    1. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      SugarFree is just going to go out there and help SugarFree's team as much as SugarFree can. That's just what SugarFrees do.
      1. Tigger 13 years ago
        
        Hey! Don't forget Tiggers! Besides bouncing its what we do bestest!
    2. Bob Dole 13 years ago
      
      Bob Dole finds nothing wrong with this.
  3. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    SugarFree is going to be insufferable all day about this
    
    Refresh my memory - which commenter is he again?
    1. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
      
      The one who never fouls up a link.
      1. Bobarian 13 years ago
        
        'SugarFree is going to be insufferable all day about this'
        
        So... no change?
  4. gaijin 13 years ago
    
    I am surprised that you are, apparently, ok with the title 'Reason Commenter'. I would have thought something much grander would have been called for...
    1. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      Scarps from the table is better than going hungry.
      1. SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        *scraps* stupid typing
      2. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        You can act cool, but clearly your humiliation is welling, nay, surging, within you, to explode in a few months' time in an orgy of revenge slashfic, starring the poor fools at Reason who slighted you so casually.
3. Marshall Gill 13 years ago
  
  Is it something like that game show where they played a few notes of a song and you had to guess the song?
  
  "Nutra-Sweet can disgusto-crash that server in 72 characters"
invisible furry hand 13 years ago

I felt so proud of my country when I read this:

A Northern Territory man may be flown to Adelaide after a party trick involving setting off firecrackers between his buttocks went badly wrong.
1. Night Elf Mohawk 13 years ago
  
  Went badly wrong? I guess I'm not clear on what a success would have been.
  1. Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago
    
    High Earth orbit.
  2. Ice Nine 13 years ago
    
    As they say, "Blowing it out your ass."
2. SugarFree 13 years ago
  
  Alcohol was a possible factor involved in the stunt, police said.
  
  A resounding "No shit." echoes clear around the globe.
  1. Rich 13 years ago
    
    "No shit."
    
    I see what you did there.
  2. Ice Nine 13 years ago
    
    Possible indeed. In my trade we have a saying: Trauma is not a random event.
3. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
  
  I guess when you live in a country where everything is trying to kill you, it takes a little more to get an adrenaline rush.
4. Isaac Bartram 13 years ago
  
  Tasmanians breathed a collective sigh of relief and murmured "Thank God for the Northern Territory."
  
  🙂
  1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    through all three nostrils
    1. Isaac Bartram 13 years ago
      
      😮
      
      I just watched Dying Breed this weekend. Great Tassie scenery and stereoptypes woven into a generally stock horror pic plot.
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your kids can use:
Kids Can Open Gun Safes With Straws and Paper Clips, Researchers Say

The real kicker is that all of these safes are certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
John 13 years ago

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

Batman and the politics of resentment. I had no idea that Bain is basically a stand in for every murderous socialist demagogue from 1789 on.
Bee Tagger 13 years ago

Twitter went down for reason.

Dinner was purchased first, right?
1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
  
  No, it was the selected readings from Declaration of Independents that did the trick
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your kids can use:
Kids Can Open Gun Safes With Straws and Paper Clips, Researchers Say

The real kicker is that all of these safes are certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your kids can use:
Kids Can Open Gun Safes With Straws and Paper Clips, Researchers Say

The real kicker is that all of these safes are certified by the Cali DOJ.

The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
sloopyinca 13 years ago

We're gonna have to charge you with vehicular manslaughter. But don't worry, you're still gonna get paid.
1. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
  
  I always want to start humming Look for the Union Label! whenever one of these guys gets put on "administrative leave" after killing someone.
2. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  At least he's getting charged. That seems like progress to me.
  1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
    
    I'm sure the prosecutors are fighting tooth and nail to get this case just so they can prove how "tough on crime" they really are.
John 13 years ago

http://theothermccain.com/2012.....l-farmers/

Zoning, the closest thing to fascism most Americans will ever know.
1. VG Zaytsev 13 years ago
  
  Basically, Martha Boneta's attempt to run a small business on her property has been outlawed by a new ordinance that retroactively restricts land use under the business license she received last year.
  
  She didn't do that...She didn't make that happen.
  1. wareagle 13 years ago
    
    Boneta's experience is exactly the type of fuckbucketry that any non-liberal should be highlighting.
    1. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
      
      Boneta's experience is exactly the type of fuckbucketry that any non-liberal should be highlighting.
      
      The problem is that Team BLUEers don't fucking care. It's what she deserves for trying to make a buck.
Mike M. 13 years ago

George Washington could have been McCain's running mate and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have mattered once the economic shit hit the fan.

Also, just shut the hell up Cheney. Nobody cares what you think anymore.
1. John 13 years ago
  
  Even Cheney's daughter is telling him that. It is just one member of the good old boy club protecting another.
2. wareagle 13 years ago
  
  the irony in this is how the left will lap up Cheney's words about Palin's resume while totally ignoring how even her slim level of experience was greater than that of POTUS.
  1. Drake 13 years ago
    
    They will also ignore the fact that McCain's poll numbers went up after she was selected - then he went and voted for the bail out and sealed his fate.
    
    The real mistake was selecting McCain and the top of the ticket. What a terrible candidate.
3. NotSure 13 years ago
  
  Actually I doubt Washington would be even allowed to run nowadays, its more likely he would be thrown into jail for hate crime.
4. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Just another chapter in "Establishment Repubs hate Tea Partiers with the intensity of a thousand suns; would rather see a Dem in office than a Tea Party "radical".
sloopyinca 13 years ago

Nothing to see here. This kind of thing happens all the time. Move Along. Move along.
1. kinnath 13 years ago
  
  http://www.kcrg.com/news/local.....42255.html
  
  So what's your point?
  
  Actually, this stuff doesn't happen all the time in Iowa.
  1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
    
    Yeah, I know it doesn't happen all the time. Most people transported to jail don't mysteriously die on the way there.
    
    And from your linked article: Saldivar reportedly became verbally agitated and hit his head against the door armrest as he was being handcuffed
    
    How does one hit their head against a door armrest, which is inside the car, while being handcuffed? That sounds odd to me.
    
    Also, Police said Saldivar remained combative while he was in the back of the squad car, but became quiet shortly before arriving at the Linn County Jail. The officer parked at the jail and realized Saldivar was unconscious.
    
    So the police officer driving him didn't think anything was odd about a combative man going suddenly silent? It didn't warrant a look in the rear view mirror? Peculiar.
    
    Finally, Kietzman said Wednesday officers did not use a Taser or other less-than-lethal weapon while taking Saldivar into custody. b
    1. VG Zaytsev 13 years ago
      
      Clearly they didn't take any less than lethal action.
2. kinnath 13 years ago
  
  The really amazing thing is that a drunk hispanic dude being verbally abusive to a white cop didn't end up a shooting victim.
Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

Mitt Romney said he would respect a unilateral decision by Israel to strike in Iran and that he would have a "zero tolerance" policy on Iran acquiring nuclear weapns.

Consistency.
Bee Tagger 13 years ago

Dick Cheney ... said John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin in 2008 was a mistake

Remember when Cheney was supposed to give people more confidence to vote for Bush because Cheney would bring maturity and experience? Between the two, who is mature enough to realize to keep their mouth shut after leaving office?
Rich 13 years ago

the use of helicopter gunships will prove to be "a nail in Assad's coffin."

Sheesh, Assad should just *nuke* the rebels so that his regime is finally finished off.
/sarc
1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
  
  If you're not careful, you'll end up in the next "Best of reason" video. Minus the sarc-tag, of course.
2. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Remember when an authoritarian regime using helicopters against doughty rebels was a humanitarian nightmare that required the US and NATO to wipe the skies clean?
  
  Neither does Barack Obama.
  1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
    
    He really wants another Peace Prize, so he can use them as bookends.
    1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
      
      After four years of killing people he's certainly done enough to deserve another one
Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

Bill Clinton will formally re-nominate Barack Obama for President at the Democratic National Convention...

Obama is playing with fire.
1. John 13 years ago
  
  I am thinking Bill might "accidentally" tell the truth or something.
  1. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
    
    Bill Clinton will make an effort for one thing: he will be adored more in November than he is now. Whether this occurs through helping Obama is very much up in the air.
2. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
  
  I do wonder if ol' Bill will take a moment to launch into a description of how good it was when he was the Top Man.
  1. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    I'm expecting him to speak extensively about the benefits of welfare reform and working well with a Republican congress.
    1. wareagle 13 years ago
      
      still wondering how come no reaction from Bill re: the welfare thing. Or from Noot.
      1. Brett L 13 years ago
        
        Bill has been off the reservation too many times already. He's saving up now for the final coup de grace at the convention.
        
        Newt is probably still sulking and refusing to do a damn thing to help Romney get elected.
        
        wareagle 13 years ago
        
        surprised that Noot's ego would allow one of the accomplishments from his time - did you know that he was House Speaker? - to be trampled without a peep. Meanwhile, can you simultaneously nominate someone AND put them down? Now, that would be an Olympian finishing move.
        
        LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
        
        "an Olympian finishing move"
        
        If anyone can pull it off, it is The White House Shagster in Chief.
        
        Brett L 13 years ago
        
        Say what you will about ol' Billy Jeff, he's definitely capable of doing that.
        
        Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        Of course he can: he's a Southerner!
        He'll say what he thinks of Obama, and just end it with "bless his heart".
        
        Ice Nine 13 years ago
        
        Newt is probably still sulking and refusing to do a damn thing to help Romney get elected.
        
        Thereby doing the best thing he can to help Romney get elected.
sloopyinca 13 years ago

Good old Seattle PD. They must be the most blissfully unaware (or unaccountable) department in the nation.

Protip: when engaged in road rage, remember to confiscate all the cameras of people filming and be sure to threaten them as well to make them look paranoid when they give their statements.
SugarFree 13 years ago

Even Computers Think Pop Music is Getting Worse

Here's how the study worked. The analysts ran 464,411 recordings from all genres of popular music from the period of 1955-2010 (called the "Million Song Dataset") through a complex set of algorithms to analyze three metrics: harmonic complexity, timbral diversity, and loudness. The results indicated that, on the whole, popular music over the past half-century has become blander and louder than it used to be.
1. John 13 years ago
  
  I go to a weight lifting class three times a week. All of the music in it is non hip hop top 40. I generally don't listen to top 40. So all of the music is stuff I have never heard. And it is appalling how bad and unimaginative it is. Even the worst bad pop from 30 years ago, sounds like Leonard Cohen compared to this crap in terms of sophistication and originality.
  1. MP 13 years ago
    
    Do they have pink dumbbells?
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      No it is brutal. It is one hour of torture and trauma. The first day I did it, I was so sore the next day I could barely get out of my car.
      
      It is similar to P90X.
      1. Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
        
        I stopped doing P90x when my dumbass induced a pinched nerve in my neck which caused me weeks on unending pain. Some people aren't meant to be in shape.
        
        Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
        
        on = of
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        I don't like doing pull ups. And Tony drives you over the edge after a few weeks. You can only listen to his bad jokes so many times. This is a good class. The great thing about circuit weight training is anyone can do it. You just use lighter weights.
        
        Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        You just use lighter weights.
        
        I think that's what MP was implying with the "pink" comment.
        
        MP 13 years ago
        
        Well, to be fair to John, the current cross-training fad is not conducive to classic muscle hypertrophy exercising. You need lighter weights in order to keep the mandated pace.
        
        In fact, if I could find a good cross-training class, I'd consider doing it. Although I'd probably end up with a Drax like pinched nerve (I've done that before doing squats...cost me four months of PT).
        
        But there are still the 80's style "weight training" classes out there with ankle weights and itty-bitty dumbbells.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        This is done with a long bar with various weights on it and a couple of hand weights. That is it. It is one hour of endless reps with breaks only long enough to change weight. You will find muscles you didn't know you had doing it. It is brutal.
        
        And the thing about using lighter weights is that keep doing it and the weights you use won't be so light anymore.
        
        JerseyPatriot 13 years ago
        
        P90x is terrible. Everyone gets hurt.
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        Jersey,
        
        I think the old P90 is better. The original one was light weights and a ton of squats and pushups. I bought a copy of it second hand a few years ago and in three months was doing 80 pushups in two minutes. I bought P90X and never really used it.
      2. Warty 13 years ago
        
        You're a Crosstard now, John?
  2. SugarFree 13 years ago
    
    Pure Barre blasts Top 40 pop in my wife's classes, so she knows all the songs but not the titles or the artists. We'll be out somewhere and hear some garbage and she'll go "I know that shitty song!"
    
    She says even when they have 80s music classes, they use speeded up and auto-tuned versions. Disco meets robot Alvin and The Chipmunks.
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      My wife is a semi trained singer. she has turned me into the worst music snob. I will listen to this music and go "my God this woman has a four note range and she just totally screwed the pronunciation of that lyric". It is just so flat and boring.
      1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        This whole "Call Me Maybe" thing befuddles me. I was sure that it was just another "Friday" and people were enjoying it ironically, but apparently the vast majority of them really like it!
      2. sloopyinca 13 years ago
        
        My wife is a semi trained singer.
        
        So, does she sound like Megatron?
        
        sloopyinca 13 years ago
        
        Fuck. I meant to say Optimus Prime. Nevermind, the joke is dead now.
        
        Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        It's alright, I was going to say "a little training is a dangerous thing". So you can use that as a backup if you want.
  3. Pi Guy 13 years ago
    
    While I share your lack of enthusiasm for non-top 40 hip-hop, you have realize that, once you invoke Cohen as a musical reference to authority, your credibility on any music after the Vietnam Era is pretty well useless.
    
    Yeah, it sucks. But Leonard Cohen? Jeebus, you might as well have said Elvis moves his hips too much.
2. Mike M. 13 years ago
  
  "Well, it's one louder, isn't it?"
  1. gaijin 13 years ago
    
    all the way up to 11 I'd say!
3. Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
  
  So...why did we need computers to tell us this regarding pop music?
  1. SugarFree 13 years ago
    
    Because science, that's why.
    1. Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
      
      I think my unasked question was more to the tune of "So...we have an answer for why things suck musically, now what are we going to do about it? Set up a bloated bureaucracy to control such shit?"
      1. wareagle 13 years ago
        
        Top Music Men
      2. SugarFree 13 years ago
        
        Meh. It's all cyclical and subjective. Everyone has to go through periods where what they can stand is unpopular. It's really only getting as bad as it seems because of market fragmentation, the death of broad-spectrum radio and the ease of finding non-popular acts.
        
        Piracy is playing it's part as well. Record sales are based on people too stupid to just steal music. There are entire swaths of music where the digital versions of songs are give-aways to drive concert sales. (Which were always the long-tail of musician's revenue stream anyway.)
        
        Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
        
        And for most of civilized history, most musicians (actors/artists/etc.) were barely par with prostitutes in the eyes of society and in terms of wealth. It wasn't until the invention of new entertainment mediums (radio, tv, records, internet porn) that musicians who were not benefactors of European oligarch wealth could amass small fortunes and armies of sluts on their own. Now, with the death of physical media, I feel like the balance is returning, and unless musicians can keep touring or making music someone somewhere gives a shit about, they are dead in the water. As it should be.
  2. wareagle 13 years ago
    
    why do you hate science drax?
    1. Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
      
      Science killed my father and raped my mother.
      1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        I was going to say, no, that was STEVE SMITH, but he would have raped your father too
        
        Francisco d Anconia 13 years ago
        
        Rimshot
      2. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
        
        Project much Oedy?
        
        Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
        
        If by project, you mean reference a South Park joke, then yes.
4. Lord Humungus 13 years ago
  
  for my own synth crap I churn out, creating melody is the most difficult part.
  
  With plenty of modern music - especially pop - I hear very little melody, but more rhythm-based chops. But I'm not really into top-40 stuff...
5. NotSure 13 years ago
  
  Makes sense, I would assume that people like Lady Gaga because she wears clothing made out of raw meat, because her music is shit, it sounds like something a bored schoolboy conjured up randomly while playing with his electric keyboard.
  1. Randian 13 years ago
    
    I rise in defense of Lady Gaga.
    1. SugarFree 13 years ago
      
      I think Gaga is a fantastic capitalist. But the music is mostly warmed-over Cher.
    2. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
      
      Oh God, I should hope not. Oh, I see, double entendre - carry on.
      1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
        
        here is one of my favourite jokes:
        
        A woman walks into a bar and asks for a double entendre, so the bartender gives her one
        
        Francisco d Anconia 13 years ago
        
        groan
        
        Francisco d Anconia 13 years ago
        
        Are you proud of that?
6. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  The analysts ran 464,411 recordings from all genres of popular music from the period of 1955-2010 (called the "Million Song Dataset")
  
  Sorry, but any analysis that doesn't comprende the difference between 464,000 and [pinky to corner of mouth] one MILLYUN isn't worth the pixels to publicize it.
  1. Fluffy 13 years ago
    
    They should zip that database up and torrent it
7. Kaptious Kristen 13 years ago
  
  This reminds me - I gotta gussy up for the Dick Dale concert tomorrow.
8. BakedPenguin 13 years ago
  
  To be fair, the Beach Boys probably skewed it all by themselves. I'm personally not a big fan, but I can't deny how harmonically rich their music was.
9. Ted S. 13 years ago
  
  There hasn't been anything new in music since the death of Josquin des Prez.
Bee Tagger 13 years ago

As examples they use Norwegian shooter Anders Breivik, who used MySpace instead of Facebook and the newer Aurora shooter who used adultfriendfinder instead of Facebook.

Ah, the binary world of bureaucracy. The entire purpose of the internet is to eliminate the phrase "instead of" from our vocabularies.
1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
  
  So, they could reword the story to say, "Users Of Social Media More Likely To Go On Psychopathic Rampage", right?
  1. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
    
    It's also quite funny that they view adultfriendfinder as a replacement for facebook. If I go to espn.com 3 times a day and deadspin.com 2 times a day, they would conclude that if it wasn't for deadspin, i would go to espn 5 times a day.
    1. Bobarian 13 years ago
      
      The real question is how many times a day do you go to adultfriendfinder?
invisible furry hand 13 years ago

Germany's Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled that the laws governing elections in the country are unconstitutional. The verdict leaves Germany without valid voting laws just over a year before the next scheduled general elections.

http://www.spiegel.de/internat.....46558.html

So much for German efficiency
1. John 13 years ago
  
  Germans love following rules more than they love efficiency. This is the country that still lovingly hand made the leather seat covers on fighters in the last months of World War II even though the fighters had a life expectancy of a few missions. The rules said they were made that way and that is the way they were made.
  1. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
    
    Alles muss in Ordnung sein.
  2. Isaac Bartram 13 years ago
    
    But they still managed to turn out their equivalent fighter using about sixty percent of the manhours that the Brits used to build a Spitfire.
2. Bee Tagger 13 years ago
  
  The trains that will take elderly people to the polls better be on time!
  1. Restoras 13 years ago
    
    They are good at transporting trainloads of people to specific destinations on exacting time schedules. Or they were.
3. T 13 years ago
  
  They've got a year to fix it. The Germans can accomplish a lot in a year. Why, it only took them 4 weeks to...
  
  Wait, never mind. Bad example.
  1. Isaac Bartram 13 years ago
    
    Listen, don't mention the war!
4. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Everything that happens in German politics these days can be understood as goink accordink to plan if you understand that the plan is to say nice things about saving the Euro and bailing out other countries, without putting up a single pfennig.
  
  This advances that goal by making it harder for pro-Euro types to get get past Merkel.
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your kids can use:
Kids Can Open Gun Safes With Straws and Paper Clips, Researchers Say

The real kicker is that all of these safes are certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your children can use!

Kids can open gun safes with straws and paperclips, researchers say

The real kicker is that all of these safes were certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
Fist of Etiquette 13 years ago

Homeowners hurting from water restrictions have turned to having their lawns painted green.

Drought restrictions are the invention of Big Dye.
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your children can use!

Kids can open gun safes with straws and paperclips, researchers say

The real kicker is that all of these safes were certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your children can use!

Kids can open gun safes with straws and paperclips researchers say

The real kicker is that all of these safes were certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your children can use!

Kids can open gun safes with straws and paperclips, researchers say

The real kicker is that all of these safes were certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

Erm... misposted in the Romney comment section.

McCain's hypocracy

From a piece about his spat with Cheney, McCain responds:

"Look, I respect the vice president. He and I had strong disagreements on whether we should torture people or not. I didn't think we should have. But the fact is that I'm proud of Sarah Palin, I'm proud of the job she did, I'm proud of the job she continues to do.

Can't he see the contradiction between those two statements!?
Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago

News your kids can use:
Kids Can Open Gun Safes With Straws and Paper Clips, Researchers Say

The real kicker is that all of these safes are certified by the Cali DOJ. The manufacturer must have some great lobbyists!

I would link the article, but it keeps getting spamfiltered.
1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
  
  http://www.wired.com/threatlev.....gun-safes/
2. T 13 years ago
  
  I looked at several fire safes with electronic locks. The electronic locks on the low end safes are, to be nice, a fucking joke. A paper clip is overkill.
3. John 13 years ago
  
  Even if they get into the safe, the guns are not just going to go off and kill them. Kids had access to firearms for centuries in this country. And the world didn't end with five year olds going on killing sprees or shooting each other.
  1. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    The specific impetus for this study was a 3 year old who opened a safe and shot himself while his parents were home.
    1. John 13 years ago
      
      I would say the larger problem is they are leaving the three year old unattended for so long, he can open a gun safe and shoot himself.
    2. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
      
      Yes! That's the link! I was trying to link the Wired version though, so maybe that's the problem.
    3. waffles 13 years ago
      
      But how does a 3 year old load a round into the magazine and then into the chamber? The gun was not stored safely, being in a safe has nothing to do with it.
  2. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
    
    The issue for me is less about who is able to access the safe and more about the fact that certified safes are apparently so easy to break into.
    1. R C Dean 13 years ago
      
      I passed on the keypad for the Dean safe. Old-fashioned spinny wheels for me. Plus a key that locks the spinny wheel.
      
      I'm guessing it would take at least an 8 year old to break in.
      1. T 13 years ago
        
        Yeah, in the price range I was looking at, the electronic locks are shit. You need to be spending well over $5K before the electronic locks resemble anything secure.
        
        Besides, when the EMP weapons go off, I want to have access.
      2. R C Dean 13 years ago
        
        I was planning my next safe to have some kind of eyeball scanner or sci-fi shit like that.
        
        Good point on the EMP, though. Probably just stick with the good old-fashioned spinny wheel. The next one will be set in concrete, though.
o3 13 years ago

scalia [THE ORIGINALIST] said to chris wallace that states can enact reasonable limits to the 2d amendment.

asked specifically if states can ban semi-auto weapons and large capacity mags, scalia said a case would (obviously) have to reach SCOTUS in order to reach any finding.

is scalia full of brocolli?
1. VG Zaytsev 13 years ago
  
  Duh.
  
  Scalia's a top man.
2. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  That interview is just horrifying, and confirms that Heller is much more for show than anything else.
  
  Read the opinion, and its clear that there is very little gun control SCOTUS wouldn't uphold. Scalia just confirms it here.
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

Pelosi: Republican Jews just want to save on taxes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/....._blog.html

In a pot-stirring interview with Al Hunt, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that Jews who oppose President Obama's treatment of Israel are faking concern over the Jewish state. The comments are bound to stir anger among pro-Israel advocates. Pelosi argued that "many of the Republicans are using Israel as an excuse, what they really want are tax cuts for the wealthy."
1. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  Just so I'm clear, its okay to be an anti-Semite as long as you specify that the Jews you hate are Republican and pro-Israel? That seems like a lot to parse.
  1. wareagle 13 years ago
    
    while Pelosi's inanity speaks for itself, I have lost sympathy for Jews who continue to vote Dem but are surprised by the party's policies. Same with Catholics. When you vote against your own self-interest, I refuse to carry your water.
    1. Zeb 13 years ago
      
      Voting against your own self interest for team loyalty is dumb. But doing so out of principle seems admirable to me.
    2. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
      
      What's the Matter with Jews?
  2. mad libertarian guy 13 years ago
    
    Just so I'm clear, its okay to be an anti-Semite as long as you specify that the Jews you hate are Republican and pro-Israel?
    
    Well, duh.
    
    Just like it's okay to be racist as long as you specify that the black guy you're denigrating is a house nigger or Uncle Tom or Lawn Jockey who deigns to agree with thought not approved by the Team BLUE Litterati.
2. VG Zaytsev 13 years ago
  
  Is there a more loathsome figure in American politics that Nanny Pelosi?
  
  And what fucking other politician would look at that steaming pile of shit and think that's who I want representing me.
  1. John 13 years ago
    
    What is worse is that she is still minority leader. This after leading the Democrats to the biggest election disaster since the civil war. It is not so much that she is awful. There are lots of awful politicians. It is that there is an entire major party who thinks she is great.
    1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
      
      Being well-known is often confused for being great by simple minds.
    2. mr simple 13 years ago
      
      They can't get rid of her because she's a woman. If the replaced her all of the women in the dem party would interpret that as saying the dems hate all women and blame them for their failures. You've seen Jezebel. You either kowtow to them or you're a mean misogynist.
    3. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
      
      It is that there is an entire major party who thinks she is great she's got the goods on.
      
      FIFY
  2. Francisco d Anconia 13 years ago
    
    Is there a more loathsome figure in American politics that Nanny Pelosi?
    
    Bloomberg
    Schumer
    Obama
    Reid...
    
    I miss Bubba.
3. wareagle 13 years ago
  
  you would think that even the head of an Obama dogwasher like Al Hunt would explode upon hearing this level of stupidity. That a person so obtuse can rise to such heights in the Dem Part is not something for the party to tout.
  1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    is "Al Hunt" rhyming slang?
    1. wareagle 13 years ago
      
      I sense DJ Furry Mix conjuring up the next Grammy winner.
4. ant1sthenes 13 years ago
  
  Is that a dog whistle for Nazis?
invisible furry hand 13 years ago

Colour me shocked

Sweden reveals myth of EU healthcare 'freedom'
1. wareagle 13 years ago
  
  speaking of stories you will never see reported by the American mainstream press.
2. tarran 13 years ago
  
  Wow, how did we miss this gem?
  
  Swede's bottom impaled in freak funfair mishap:
  
  A 31-year-old father of two is in hospital struggling against blood poisoning after a freak accident at a Swedish theme park on Sunday where a tow hitch on a children's ride penetrated his rectum.
  
  Picture of vehicle for reasonable users (SFW).
  1. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    "Rectum? Damn near killed 'im."
  2. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
    
    Funfair, my ass!
  3. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
    
    http://images.hollywood.com/si.....Circle.jpg
  4. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
    
    http://images.hollywood.com/si.....Circle.jpg
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

WHAT IS CRONYISM?

What is the difference between free markets and cronyism? In free markets, buyers and sellers are free to agree on price; no government agency restricts who can buy or sell, and no one is told how or what to produce.[1] In contrast, under cronyism the government rigs the market for the benefit of government officials' cronies. This takes various forms. Governments sometimes grant monopolies to one firm or limit the number of firms that can compete. For example, most U.S. municipalities allow only one cable company to operate in their area even though there is no technological reason more could not exist. The same is true for most other utilities.
http://mercatus.org/publicatio.....y-cronyism
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

Keystone Pipeline - the effects:

In a draft letter to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Sen. Schumer writes:

I respectfully urge you, in your capacity as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to withhold approval of this transaction to ensure U.S. companies reciprocal treatment.

Similarly, Rep. Pelosi is now sounding alarms of concern. In a statement, Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hamill said:

This deal prompts great concern about the Chinese government's continued attempts to use its state-owned enterprises to acquire global energy resources.

Saying "I told you so" offers little solace to concerned Republican lawmakers.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-P.....n-Oil-Deal
1. John 13 years ago
  
  Not approving Keystone was probably the dumbest thing Obama has done in his term. It was really a no brainer. Even Carter would have been smart enough to do that. What a fucking moron.
2. o3 13 years ago
  
  why do republicans hate existing american owned pipelines?
  1. wareagle 13 years ago
    
    today's strawman alert is brought to you by o3.
    1. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
      
      see also:
      
      "why do libertarians hate the poor / the old / black people / babies / puppies / rainbow unicorns that poop icecream"
      1. Brett L 13 years ago
        
        Who wants their ice cream eating experience ruined by thinking about it touching a unicorn's ass?
        
        Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
        
        Bronies.
        
        Brett L 13 years ago
        
        Its a fair cop, guv.
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

Will America Abandon 'Hope'?
As the election approaches, most voters think the country is on the wrong track.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....TopOpinion

Americans are frustrated over today's economy and worried about the direction of our country. To some degree they blame Mr. Obama for the weak economy and his policies for stifling economic growth. But our nation's overall dissatisfaction can also be attributed to a disappointment in the way that this president has governed. The Obama administration has forced policies either by ramming them through Congress or implementing them unilaterally when lawmakers refused. And Mr. Obama's politics, contrary to his promise of postpartisanship, have been the most partisan and cynical we have seen in a long while. All this is obvious in many matters:
1. wareagle 13 years ago
  
  if only there had been some evidence that The Obama was not The Messiah; if only there had been some clue as to who this man is.
invisible furry hand 13 years ago

French boss goes on hunger strike over crippling taxes

http://www.thelocal.fr/page/vi.....-staff-pay
1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
  
  This won't go over well.
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

U.S. construction projects in Afghanistan challenged by inspector general's report
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ml?hpid=z1

A U.S. initiative to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on construction projects in Afghanistan, originally pitched as a vital tool in the military campaign against the Taliban, is running so far behind schedule that it will not yield benefits until most U.S. combat forces have departed the country, according to a government inspection report to be released Monday.

The report, by the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, also concludes that the Afghan government will not have the money or skill to maintain many of the projects, creating an "expectations gap" among the population that could harm overall stabilization efforts.
1. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
  
  This crap drives me nuts - in 2004-2005 I never did anything project-wise that wasn't designed by Afghans, built by Afghans, and maintained by Afghans. We aren't going to turn the place into a giant suburb of Boston by shovelling US taxpayer money at wasteful #$% the locals can't do.
  
  Cut it off now.
2. DJF 13 years ago
  
  """the Afghan government will not have the money or skill to maintain many of the projects,""
  
  The Afghans won't have the money to maintain the Army and Police force we built for them either.
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

Central re-election agency
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/o.....RChRMLoPiP

The CIA last week "discovered" a long-sought stash of documents detailing its dangerous ? not to say embarrassing ? leaks to Hollywood about the takedown of Osama bin Laden.

Despite a court order to come clean, the spooks had "inadvertently overlooked" a 5-inch stack of records showing how closely they've worked with the folks behind "Zero Dark Thirty" ? a film about the dramatic SEAL Team 6 operation that dispatched the arch-terrorist last year.

It's no state secret that the White House wanted to see the movie made. It was originally set for release this October ? its nakedly political timing meant to burnish President Obama's national-security record on the eve of the 2012 elections.
1. John 13 years ago
  
  You know who else used his country's film industry to push political propaganda?
  1. o3 13 years ago
    
    ceasar?
  2. LTC(ret) John 13 years ago
    
    Enver Hoxa?
  3. WTF 13 years ago
    
    FDR?
  4. invisible furry hand 13 years ago
    
    Bill Clinton?
  5. Kaptious Kristen 13 years ago
    
    Queen Elizabeth II?
  6. Enough About Palin 13 years ago
    
    Citizen's United?
Ken Shultz 13 years ago

From a "How's the Constitution doing?" perspective, George W. Bush picking Darth Cheney was the worst vice-presidential pick ever.

Hell, if the horrible stink Cheney left on the vice-presidency hadn't been so noxious, maybe McCain wouldn't have felt it necessary to pick the anti-Cheney...

Remember, the reason Obama won in the primaries against Hillary was because Obama was against the Iraq War, where Hillary wasn't.

And the reason McCain lost the election and Obama won was because the country was so sick and tired of the Cheney Administration--McCain certainly didn't lose because of Sarah Palin.

Don't be such a dick, Cheney.
Lord Humungus 13 years ago

US Gov't Says They Can Still Freeze Megaupload Assets If the Case Is Dismissed
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/.....-dismissed

"The government also argued that it could keep Megaupload in legal limbo indefinitely. 'None of the cases impose a time limit on service,' the government's attorney told the judge. Therefore, the government believes it can leave the indictment hanging over the company's head, and keep its assets frozen, indefinitely. Not only that, but the government believes it can continue to freeze Megaupload's assets and paralyze its operations even if the judge grants the motion to dismiss. That's because in the government's view, the assets are the proceeds of criminal activity and the prosecution against founder Kim Dotcom will still be pending. The fact that the assets are in the name of Megaupload rather than its founder is of no consequence, the government claimed."
1. Brett L 13 years ago
  
  You know, the DOJ is going to get its ass handed to it on this issue in a way that will greatly curtail their current power if they keep on this path. The courts will write hard rules on when assets can be frozen and/or seized and it will be much different from the way they currently operate. If I were running the place, I'd tell them to shut the fuck up and quit digging. But the best way to predict the actions of a bureaucracy is to pretend it is run by a cabal of its enemies, so I expect they'll fight this to the bitter end.
  1. R C Dean 13 years ago
    
    Yeah, this isn't the case to try to get a sweeping precedent on if you're DOJ. The victim defendant here is very well funded, outside their jurisdiction, and has nothing to lose, so he will fight like a Tasmanian devil.
    
    Essentially, DOJ here is saying they can freeze anyone's assets indefinitely, period, just by getting an indictment and never serving the victim defendant, even if the case is dismissed.
    
    I can't see even DOJ's dogwashers at SCOTUS buying off on that.
Brett L 13 years ago

I fucking love what-if.xkcd.com.
sloopyinca 13 years ago

Inside the mind of Scalia: He said it may be possible for states to enact some restrictions to gun ownership, and when pressed on it said the cases would have to come to the court.

Could this all just be an epic troll to get some gun control advocates in a Blue State to bring a "sensible" restriction to the Supreme Court, only to slam the door on gun control once and for all? And the coup-de-grace would be him writing a scathing majority opinion.

If so, I applaud him because this could be LULZier than anything I've seen come out of the government in a while.
1. o3 13 years ago
  
  except that scalia did speak of reasonable limitations on the 2d
  1. John 13 years ago
    
    Go for it dipshit. Make the entire Democratic party the party of gun control again. Good luck with that.
  2. sloopyinca 13 years ago
    
    except that scalia did speak of reasonable limitations on the 2d
    
    I didn't see the entire interview, so could you perhaps enlighten me on which ones he specifically said would be constitutional? Please provide links as well, kthxbai.
    1. R C Dean 13 years ago
      
      He wasn't specific, other than a wink-and-nod on AK-47s and extended magazines.
2. Mike M. 13 years ago
  
  But isn't it now officially "settled law" that blanket bans on gun ownership fail to pass the constitutionality test?
  
  Oh, I forgot, laws are only considered to be "settled" when liberals agree with the decision.
  1. o3 13 years ago
    
    reasonable =/ blanket bans
    1. Mike M. 13 years ago
      
      Yes, we know full well that scumbags like you will never stop looking for sneaky little ways to make it impossible for people to own guns. It's what you guys do.
John 13 years ago

http://en.mercopress.com/2012/.....aign=daily

Vegetarian diet blamed for poor performance of Chinese Women's volleyball team.
Brett L 13 years ago

Pussy Riot on trial.
1. Drax the Destroyer 13 years ago
  
  Wait...is that a new album name for a ridiculous hair metal band named "Pussy Riot?" I'm afraid to click on the link.
  1. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    Pussy Riot is a Russian girl punk band who got arrested for protesting Putin. The three members are literally on trial for defaming Pooty-Poo.
The Late P Brooks 13 years ago

It's no state secret that the White House wanted to see the movie made. It was originally set for release this October ? its nakedly political timing meant to burnish President Obama's national-security record on the eve of the 2012 elections.

Wait- I thought they hated Citizens United.
1. Quetzalcoatl 13 years ago
  
  Hollywood: The Original SuperPAC.
The Late P Brooks 13 years ago

And the coup-de-grace would be him writing a scathing majority opinion.

Yeah, right. Because Scalia is such a stalwart champion of freedom.
The Late P Brooks 13 years ago

Scalia believes the Constitution permits Congress to bar growing a (harmless) weed in your own back yard; what could possibly lead anyone to believe he would hesitate to uphold sweeping restrictions on private gun ownership?
John 13 years ago

"At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions..."
"before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission, according to an explosive new book scheduled for release August 21...."

The Daily Caller says it's seen text from the book, which is "Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisers Who Decide for Him.

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2.....ident.html
1. sloopyinca 13 years ago
  
  Great. What we need just before a contentious election is a book that labels the sitting President a pansy.
  
  I can see it now: Obama, needing to secure his bona fides as a good war-wager, decides to bomb the fuck out of Iran, Syria or some other country, while Romney says he will bomb them even harder if he's elected. Meanwhile, back on planet earth, our economy continues to spiral out of control, unemployment continues apace and the world continues to hate the shit out of us.
  
  Fuck-fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck.
  1. John 13 years ago
    
    First, Iran gets to decide if we go to war with them. And they are a firm to definite "yes". Second, the truth was always obvious in that you knew anything the White House said was a lie. So this book should come as no surprise to anyone.
    1. Fluffy 13 years ago
      
      "Poland gets to decide if we go to war with them."
      
      Somebody said that once; I can't remember who.
      1. Tulpa the White 13 years ago
        
        Lots of people, actually. Though probably not in English.
      2. John 13 years ago
        
        I know fluffy, Obama plans to invade Iran and exterminate its population so Americans can have living space.
        
        You people absolutely refuse to ever admit that any event that happens in the world isn't under the complete control of the United States.
        
        Tulpa the White 13 years ago
        
        Going to war with Iran isn't under the control of the US?
        
        John 13 years ago
        
        To a large degree no. We can't control what Iran does. If they choose to attack us or build a bomb and attack Israel, we will be at war with Iran whether we want to or not.
        
        We get peace when our enemies are willing to give us peace and not a moment before.
        
        Fluffy 13 years ago
        
        If they choose to attack us or build a bomb and attack Israel, we will be at war with Iran
        
        Oh, OK. That's different. I misunderstood you.
        
        I thought your statement was, "Iran gets to decide if we go to war with them. If they do exactly what we say in the enrichment dispute, they won't get attacked. Therefore it's up to them."
        
        Which is pretty much the same as saying, "If Poland just surrenders the Polish corridor, we won't attack them. Therefore it's up to them."
        
        Fluffy 13 years ago
        
        I know fluffy, Obama plans to invade Iran and exterminate its population so Americans can have living space.
        
        No, I'm saying more that we're making a demand with no real legal basis and then claiming that if the other party refuses that demand it means they are "forcing" us to attack them.
        
        "Why you no give us Polish corridor? Now you start war!"
        
        http://img.ibtimes.com/www/dat.....e-face.jpg
      3. T 13 years ago
        
        Grand Duke of Moscow, probably.
  2. VG Zaytsev 13 years ago
    
    Great. What we need just before a contentious election is a book that labels the sitting President a pansy.
    
    I can see it now: Obama, needing to secure his bona fides as a good war-wager, decides to bomb the fuck out of Iran
    
    That's already baked into the campaign Sloopy.
CampingInYourPark 13 years ago

"Now, with China's state-run oil company CNOOC poised to cut a $15.1 billion deal--the largest ever foreign acquisition for a Chinese company--with Canadian oil company Nexen, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are in full backpedal mode."
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-P.....um=twitter
1. Tulpa the White 13 years ago
  
  Doesn't sound like they're backpedaling, they're just China-bashing at every opportunity. Nowhere are they reconsidering Keystone XL.
2. R C Dean 13 years ago
  
  Strikes me that, from a global stability perspective, there are worse things than China securing a big new source of non-ME oil.
  
  I'd rather we have it, of course, but I won't be shedding many tears if this deal goes through.
BakedPenguin 13 years ago

Not news, but capsaicin increases the lethality of cocaine. So those of you who partake, do not eat spicy foods. Also, stay away from cops.
Brett L 13 years ago

I completely agree with Jezebel that pretty girls are not dressing up in cosplay outfits to blue-ball geeks and there is no shame in being a professional booth babe.
1. hamilton 13 years ago
  
  I completely agree with Jezebel" is not a comment that is likely to be found on HampersandR very often, I would think.
  
  I, for one, take issue with their not supplying sufficient or appropriate images for evaluation.
  1. Brett L 13 years ago
    
    Booth Babe SFW.
Your Old TV 13 years ago

Charles Murray: Why Capitalism Has an Image Problem
The Late P Brooks 13 years ago

We can't control what Iran does.

"I was just poking that dog with this stick, and all of a sudden he bit me. For no reason!"
Proprietist 13 years ago

Is anyone else as psyched as I am that Javier Bardem is the new Bond villain? Since playing Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, he's been my favorite modern actor.
Todd S. 13 years ago

An earlier (and more detailed) argument about the end of gun control via printing technology from Clark at Popehat:

http://www.popehat.com/2011/10.....n-control/
Brian from Texas 13 years ago

I bet if Obama could he'd dump Biden and make 'Wild Bill' Clinton his running mate. I'm usually not one to agree with Cheney but Palin was probably the worst running mate McCain could have picked.

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