A.M. Links: Romney Fundraising Successes in Illinois, Syrian Army Moving into Aleppo, Obama Pledges Support For Spain, Pussy Riot Trial "Medieval", Cheney Defends Palin

• Romney's fundraising successes continue in Illinois. The presumptive GOP nominee has raised millions at recent events, though it is unlikely that these will translate into a Romney win in the Prairie State. 
• The Syrian army in the city of Aleppo is closing in on rebels who are running low on ammunition.
• Dick Cheney has defended the choice of Palin as VP in 2008 but has attacked the "process" that McCain during the campaign. 
• Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian tycoon and Russia's most famous prisoner, has labeled the Pussy Riot trial "medieval".  
• Obama has pledged his support to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy amid the deteriorating economic situation in Europe. 
• NASA has released video of Curiosity's descent to Mars. 

Don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily AM/PM updates for more content.

Comments

[Heroic Mulatto]

Pussy Riot in concert.

[mr simple]

Wait a minute.....I think I saw them in Chicago once.

[Tim]

When you play the game of thrones you win or you die.

[CampingInYourPark]

"Emails: Geithner, Treasury drove cutoff of non-union Delphi workers' pensions"

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08.....-pensions/

[Bee Tagger]

The internal government emails contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures.

Every week I find I'm even more impressed by their incompetence (or brazenness, hard to tell) at being corrupt.

[Rich]

internal government emails contradict sworn testimony

That's nonsense. What part of "internal" do you not understand?

/Brazenness

[Anonymous Coward]

The most transparent administration in history.

Transparently corrupt.

[Restoras]

The Ends Justify the Means.
Might Makes Right.

Sic Semper Tyrannis.

[LTC(ret) John]

Who can, may.

[John]

Too bad there isn't any major media willing to look into this story.

[wareagle]

media hasn't been willing to look into ANY story that paints The Obama in a less than flattering way. I'm still waiting for someone to ask the obvious: why does an incumbent seeking re-election choose to make the election about his opponent rather than himself?

[John]

If CNN would run this story and say Solandra, they might actually attract a few viewers.

[wareagle]

at this rate, they'll be next at the bailout trough.

[Quetzalcoatl]

The Daily Show ran a piece about the War on Whistleblowers last night.

If Obama's lost Jon Stewart, he's lost left-America.

[wareagle]

he hasn't lost Stewart; that is still a guaranteed Obama vote. Yes, he occasionally calls bullshit on the left, but he is not abandoning it.

[mr simple]

But,but...Obama single-handedly saved the US auto industry and millions of jobs! And if you're not working for the union you're working for the corporashun, which as we all know is just evul!

[T]

But the union owns the corporation (in the case of GM) so does that mean the evil owners of the evil corporation are themselves evil?

It's evil all the way down. Cleansing fire is the only appropriate solution.

[Michael Palin]

We have met the evil at it be we.

[Bee Tagger]

"It wasn't aimed so much at Gov. Palin as it was against the basic process that McCain used,"

Dick Cheney tries to remain more relevant than the phrase "hate the game, not the player"

[Brett L]

Eh. Anyone who is calling the McCain campaign incompetent is telling the truth, whether by accident or not.

[CampingInYourPark]

"Four Pinocchios for Harry Reid's claim about Mitt Romney's taxes"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/....._blog.html

[Quetzalcoatl]

Four "Duh"s for that Fact Check article.

[LTC(ret) John]

+ derp

[generic Brand]

"I don't think the burden should be on me," [Harry Reid] said. "The burden should be on him. He's the one I've alleged has not paid any taxes."

Wow... Your Senate Majority Leader, ladies and gents!

[Randian]

"Harry Reid's the one I've alleged fucks sheep. The burden should be on him"

[Michael Palin]

I too have heard rumors that Harry Reid fucks sheep. Male sheep. In. The. Ass (or as the sheep call it, the reidhole.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Hey. We as libertarians need to keep the debate civil, and on the issues. People that drop by HampersandR can read these comments, and be turned off by the juvenile nature of our comments. So just cool it. Harry Reid does not fuck sheep, and we all know this. His wife on the other hand is a well known donkey raper.

[VG Zaytsev]

While I have no evidence that Harry Reid fucks sheep he has yet to disprove the widespread rumors.

At this point, the burden to disprove the allegations are on him.

Harry Reid, either prove that you are not a disgusting beastiophile or resign your position.

[Lord Humungus]

Fred Krupp: A New Climate-Change Consensus
It's time for conservatives to compete with liberals to devise the best, most cost-effective climate solutions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....on_LEADTop

Respected Republican leaders like Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Chris Christie of New Jersey have spoken out about the reality of climate change. Rupert Murdoch's recent tweet?"Climate change very slow but real. So far all cures worse than disease."?may reflect an emerging conservative view. Even Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, during public comments in June, conceded the reality of climate change while offering assurances that "there will be an engineering solution" and "we'll adapt."

Even if my outlook differs, these views may turn out to be a welcome turning point. For too long, the U.S. has had two camps talking past each other on this issue. One camp tended to preach and derided questions about climate science as evidence of bad motivation. The other camp claimed that climate science was an academic scam designed to get more funding, and that advocates for action were out to strangle economic growth. Charges of bad faith on both sides?and a heavy dose of partisan politics?saw to it that constructive conversation rarely occurred.

[Bee Tagger]

Charges of bad faith on both sides?and a heavy dose of partisan politics?saw to it that constructive conversation rarely occurred.

Sounds like charges of bad faith from the mealy-mouthed centrists mean they won't be able to have constructive conversation with the two camps.

[John]

Or that the charges of bad faith had started to stick to one side and now that side doesn't want to play that game anymore.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Lack of constructive dialogue means lack of action. That's the second-to-best thing we can hope for here.

[wareagle]

exactly. It is a lie to say that non-believers dismiss the concept of climate change. What IS being dismissed is the claim that "it is all man's fault and govt can fix it." No it's not and no it can't.

[Brett L]

Alright. Here's my cheap solution. Let's wait another 100 years and see if it is metastable or not.

[Emmerson Biggins]

Ok Fred. So what is the global optimal temperature?

[Bobarian]

I find about 74 (with low humidity)to be most comfortable... would someone please adjust the global thermostat?

[Bobarian]

Oh, and keep my wife away from the controls.

[Bee Tagger]

The Syrian army in the city of Aleppo is closing in on rebels who are running low on ammunition.

Just think how much safer the situation would be if their access to guns and ammunition was severely limited.

[Lord Humungus]

Riyadh deports 35 Ethiopian Christians for praying
29 women, 6 men assaulted while in jail for months after being detained for holding an all-night prayer vigil in Saudi Arabia.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEas.....?id=280081

[sloopyinca]

How many Ethiopians can you fit in a bathtub?

Nobody knows cause they keep slipping down the drain.

[Auric Demonocles]

Dick Cheney has defended the choice of Palin as VP in 2008 but has attacked the "process" that McCain during the campaign.

I think you accidentally out a word.

[Tim]

He's fighting global warming by conserving electron transfer.

[Lord Humungus]

Reid:

"We feel comfortable in the Senate," he said. "Where the problem is, is this: Because of the Citizens United decision, Karl Rove and the Republicans are looking forward to a breakfast the day after the election. They are going to assemble 17 angry old white men for breakfast, some of them will slobber in their food, some will have scrambled eggs, some will have oatmeal, their teeth are gone. But these 17 angry old white men will say, 'Hey, we just bought America. Wasn't so bad. We still have a whole lot of money left.'"

"So that's the only problem we have with our candidates," Reid concluded, suggesting that virtually everything, his leadership position included, could be swept away by outside cash.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....24027.html

[Drake]

Spoken like a true angry old white man.

[Tim]

The Royal we.

[Anonymous Coward]

'Hey, we just bought America. Wasn't so bad. We still have a whole lot of money left.'

Sort of like how Barack bought the White House for a $668 million.

Dammit! I keep forgetting the narrative! It's only buying elections when the other TEAM spends money

[John]

But campaign spending is noble when our team does it.

[Auric Demonocles]

That money was noble money donated by orphans who had to sacrifice and not buy a kitten to afford it.

[Whiterun Guard]

Was the kitten also an orphan?

[Auric Demonocles]

No, but it was a war-hero single mother.

[Whiterun Guard]

Kittens having kittens.

[sloopyinca]

If it's a black cat: RAAAAAAAACIST!!!!!1!111!1!!!!

[Auric Demonocles]

It's a ginger cat.

[Bardas Phocas]

their teeth are gone
In Obama's America: the Mega-Rich can't afford dental care?

'Hey, we just bought America. Wasn't so bad. We still have a whole lot of money left.'

So do they get both the assets AND the liabilities? You know, the $60+ trillion in liabilities?

[Auric Demonocles]

They're gonna go the Bain route.

[Auric Demonocles]

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Is this a Morning Links without alt-text? A Morning Fucking Links that's got as much witty captioning as a Doherty book plug?

[Bee Tagger]

some of them will slobber in their food, some will have scrambled eggs, some will have oatmeal, their teeth are gone

In fairness to better, more eloquent works, this is some awful cowboy poetry.

[Whiterun Guard]

Mothers and Fathers.
Some of them will slobber in their food,
some will have scrambled eggs,
some will have oatmeal.
Their teeth are gone.

- myspace.ravencrow-neversmile.com circa 2004

[T]

I think that was a repost from the original geocities account, wasn't it?

[Quetzalcoatl]

grrl pls: angelfire

[Brett L]

Man. The good old days of the Internet.

[Rich]

The Syrian army in the city of Aleppo is closing in on rebels who are running low on ammunition.

Look! In the Western sky! It's ... DRONZ!!

[Lord Humungus]

Taxes: The Numbers Inside a Hot-Button Issue
Amid the Debate About Whether and How to Reform the Tax Code, a Look at How the Picture Has Changed
http://online.wsj.com/article/....._pageone_2

In the 1980s, the top 5% averaged 22.6% of income and paid 28.5% of taxes.

In the 1990s, the top 5% averaged 25.3% of income and paid 34.3% of taxes

In the 2000s, the top 5% averaged 28.4% of the income and paid 40.3% of the taxes.

That doesn't mean that the best-off are living on less. The top 1% averaged income of $1,530,773 this year (up $174,083 from 2004, when the data series begins) and paid federal taxes of all sorts of $422,915 (up $20,704 from 2004), according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, a number-crunching joint venture of the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute.

[CampingInYourPark]

"'Leading with your heart is the utmost for this president,' Weinstein also said, according to the pool report. 'Fighting for Planned Parenthood and protecting women's rights, this president has fought the good fight. ... Recently in Aurora, we saw him put his arms around the people that needed him the most.'"

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....49408.html

[SugarFree]

Recently in Aurora, we saw him put his arms around the people that needed him the most.

*barf*

[Rich]

Paging barfman ....

[Rich]

or SugarFree.

[SugarFree]

Great stomachs barf alike.

[Anonymous Coward]

Of Mr. Sorkin, the president said he "writes the way every Democrat in Washington wished they spoke."

Sorkinisms. Plenty to go around.

[Randian]

Is there a more annoying clip in the YouTubeiverse? I humbly submit there is not.

[Brett L]

No. Please Zod don't issue that challenge here.

[Fist of Etiquette]

..."writes the way every Democrat in Washington wished they spoke."

Faster?

[Whiterun Guard]

I wish every Democrat in Washington spoke like Menino.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I think he means: "to resounding applause from the traditional media".

[Auric Demonocles]

NASA has released video of Curiosity's descent to Mars.

Did I watch the wrong video? Cause that was a massive disappointment.

[Bee Tagger]

Clicking that link resulted in my curiosity's descent to boredom.

All week? I'll be here. And your waitresses? Tip 'em.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's like 30 frames!

[Whiterun Guard]

If it had two 18 year old chicks in it, that's all I'd need.

[Auric Demonocles]

There was some 18 dust, probably.

[Auric Demonocles]

18 year old dust*

[DJF]

That was just the thumbnail video, they are supposedly still downloading higher resolution photos from the Lander.

[Auric Demonocles]

Yeah, I know. And I'm saying this one is so boring they might as well have waited for an actual video to release it.

[Archduke PantsFan]

The problem is they're using AOL dialup to download it.

[Randian]

"In Space, No One Can Hear Your Modem"

[Auric Demonocles]

That's actually a point in space's favor.

[Brett L]

Its not like they've got a fiber backbone to route these through.

[Surly Chef]

To be fair I think the problem is that Mars is a big ball of rust and video of it just isn't all that interesting.

Anything interesting found will not be suited to video. It's really a $2.5 billion PR stunt to garner support for further massively wasteful spending.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Martians get a load of that low res camera and are going to think Earthers are a bunch of techless pansies ripe for takeover. What have they done?

What. Have. They. Done.

[Lord Humungus]

Bryon York: When 1,099 felons vote in race won by 312 ballots
http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2504163

In the '08 campaign, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman was running for re-election against Democrat Al Franken. It was impossibly close; on the morning after the election, after 2.9 million people had voted, Coleman led Franken by 725 votes.

Franken and his Democratic allies dispatched an army of lawyers to challenge the results. After the first canvass, Coleman's lead was down to 206 votes. That was followed by months of wrangling and litigation. In the end, Franken was declared the winner by 312 votes. He was sworn into office in July 2009, eight months after the election.

During the controversy a conservative group called Minnesota Majority began to look into claims of voter fraud. Comparing criminal records with voting rolls, the group identified 1,099 felons -- all ineligible to vote -- who had voted in the Franken-Coleman race.

[Auric Demonocles]

TFA answered my question: Do we have any idea what the split on the that felon vote was?

With 1,099 examples identified by Minnesota Majority, and with evidence suggesting that felons, when they do vote, strongly favor Democrats, it doesn't require a leap to suggest there might one day be proof that Al Franken was elected on the strength of voter fraud.

It didn't link to the evidence, but I guess it's just a statistical trend?

So it's plausible that on top of everything else, Obamacare was passed because of voter fraud?

[John]

More than just plausible. Also throw in prosecutorial misconduct that got Dan Young kicked out of the Senate in Alaska switching a sure R seat to a Dem one who voted for Obama care. And don't forget the vote fraud in Washington that got Patty Murrey re-elected.

[Michael Palin]

No dfoubt. They were "finding" "lost" bags of ballots in car trunks and surprise! 100% for Franken. 100%.

[wareagle]

with the stipulation that Franken's picture is next to douchebag in the dictionary, it seems that once you have "paid your debt", you should be allowed to vote again.

[Auric Demonocles]

I would agree. But as long as felons aren't allowed to, helping some register and vote is stealing an election.

[wareagle]

true..just looking beyond the story. Either way, Franken tops the list of elected official most in need of an ass-whipping.

[Archduke PantsFan]

Crazy goes to Seattle

[Lord Humungus]

Obama campaign downplays fundraising gap, but some donors are nervous
http://thehill.com/homenews/ad.....re-nervous

But some donors for President Obama's reelection bid expressed frustration on Monday that the campaign needed to be more competitive.

"I keep telling people we need to step it up a bit," said one longtime Obama donor. "Now's the time. Not two months from now.

"We're still winning in the overall game but we can't be complacent," the donor added. "We need to keep throwing in more money."

[Fist of Etiquette]

Illinois is the Prairie State?

[Rich]

Everybody knows it'sMissouri.

[Andrew S.]

I'll be in my cold cold grave before I recognize Missouri.

[Brett L]

I thought it was the Corruptest State.

[LTC(ret) John]

We in Illinois have been dueling NJ and LA for #1 Corrupt State in the Union for some time now. We have more ex-governors currently in prison (two as of today) so we are in the lead!

[Brett L]

Don't sell yourself short. 3 of the last 4 governors have been convicted of felonies.

[Lord Humungus]

Is Social Security still a good deal for workers?
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2.....r-workers/

A married couple retiring last year after both spouses earned average lifetime wages paid about $598,000 in Social Security taxes during their careers. They can expect to collect about $556,000 in benefits, if the man lives to 82 and the woman lives to 85, according to a 2011 study by the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank.

Social Security benefits are progressive, so most low-income workers retiring today still will get slightly more in benefits than they paid in taxes. Most high-income workers started getting less in benefits than they paid in taxes in the 1990s, according to data from the Social Security Administration.

[MP]

I'm amazed that this series is coming out of the AP. It blows so many holes in SS that I'm incredulous it hasn't caused more of a stink yet.

[wareagle]

acts of journalism are not necessarily rewarded by teh MSM. Oh, it'll run with the notion that the Sikh killer was ex-Army leaving that his tour ended in '99, but we cannot have disparaging of the third rail.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Everything I've seen has mentioned that he was dishonorably discharged.

It's more worrisome to me that every assumes that the guy thought those Sikhs were Muslim.

[Xenocles]

They said on the radio that he got a general discharge, which is one level below but not considered an "other than honorable" despite not being an honorable. Confused enough?

[Restoras]

I was unaware it was ever a good deal.

[JW]

A negative return on "investment" is the price we pay for civilization.

[LibertyWolf]

This article is obviously wrong, lefty troll Chad told me I'd be getting a 7-8% rate of return on my SS benefits.

[sarcasmic]

Woman gets 50hrs community service for daughter's chalk vandalism.
http://www.nbc12.com/story/191.....belle-isle

[Rich]

Mortensen will have to paint about 200 boundary posts west and east of the Boulevard Bridge.

It would be awesome if she "painted" them with chalk.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Why don't they just make her clean off the chalk her daughter used?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Because the elements already did that. It's chalk.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I think we all know what the REAL crime was here:

in court, the officer who reprimanded her back in March says she responded with an attitude and curse words.

[mr simple]

There's also this:

Back in 2010, court documents show the same officer issued Mortensen a summons for destruction of property on Belle Isle.

I'd like to know what that was about.

[sarcasmic]

Yup.

Contempt of cop.

[mr simple]

I agree it's a silly charge and the punishment is overly harsh, but this comment from the post shows what happens when you get too clever with the insulting nicknames:

America, where have you been hijacked to by OweBaMao Bin Lying and the Fascist Demonrats, took over America, with an agenda to destroy it ?!

Who? What?

[Quetzalcoatl]

That is fantastic, grade a foam from teh wingnutz

[sarcasmic]

Police tase deaf lady, bloody her face, charge her with assault, lie on reports... and nothing else happened.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/new.....tim/nP9mZ/

[John]

I posted that on the AM links yesterday. Lesson number 100 in the ongoing series Never Call the Cops.

[Matrix]

drawn and quartered. I think that would be a fitting punishment.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

"Can't she read lips?"

[sarcasmic]

Smells like fish. Tastes like fish.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....urant.html

[Rich]

'I have a very good-looking staff,' he told the TV station

, 'and the nude models aren't bad, either.'

[Lord Humungus]

wait, wasn't this idea in a shitty Dolph Lundgren Brandon Lee movie?

[Lord Humungus]

ah - Showdown in Little Tokyo

[JW]

Rising Sun as well.

[DJF]

Nice little blog article about how the US Army is doing everything possible to keep open bases in Europe even after the US Army reduces its forces down to one combat brigade. They are playing musical chairs with support units to try to keep open bases that formerly held combat brigades which are now disbanded. This is even though these bases are not even located in places that are good for defending Germany, Europe or for deploying elsewhere. Looks like some generals have gone native and think that their job is to keep foreign bases open and foreign workers employed.

http://www.g2mil.com/baumholder.htm

[Whiterun Guard]

Have you seen where Army bases are located in the US?

I can't blame them for this.

[T]

Got to keep them open so officers can have their nice European tours. Nobody wants to face the prospect of spending their entire career shuttling between places like Ft. Leonard Wood, Ft. Sill, Ft. Polk and Ft. Irwin.

[sarcasmic]

I remember when I tried to enlist (childhood history of asthma kept me out) they recruiters couldn't stop talking about German pussy.

According to them if you walked into a German bar in a uniform, you were guaranteed to get laid.

What mean spirited person would want to take away that recruiting tool?

[Quetzalcoatl]

You know which other German loved uniforms?

[mr simple]

Gisele?

She's of German decent.

[Michael Palin]

I have something she can descend on.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Diane Kruger?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Got to keep them open so officers can have their nice European tours. Nobody wants to face the prospect of spending their entire career shuttling between places like Ft. Leonard Wood, Ft. Sill, Ft. Polk and Ft. Irwin.

Pretty much, and it's likely the same with the Air Force. Better to do time in Aviano and Ramstein than in Minot, Vance, or Laughlin.

[LTC(ret) John]

We need only three things in Germany - Ramstein, Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern. The rest should close ASAP.

We can close the remaining three as soon as we get replacements in cheaper places that are more relevant such as Romania, Bulgaria, etc.

[sarcasmic]

Bar Refaeli is still hot!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....cover.html

[CampingInYourPark]

"A new ad from a super PAC supporting President Obama ties former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to a family's loss of health insurance and a woman's subsequent death from cancer."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/....._blog.html

[Fist of Etiquette]

...has attacked the "process" that McCain during the campaign.

That McCain used? Bungled? Shat out? No one should have given Cheney HBO in his hospital room. Game Change was not necessarily a documentary.

[Auric Demonocles]

Ha! I've Fisted you!

[SugarFree]

"Okay. You know what you do? Buy yourself a tape recorder. Record yourself for a whole day. I think you're gonna be surprised at some of your phrasing."

[Auric Demonocles]

Well that one's out of context.

...

Nothing wrong with that.

...

Auric, you blowhard!

[Lord Humungus]

Dispelling gun myths
Perpetuating untruths about firearms with the Colorado tragedy
http://www.washingtontimes.com.....gun-myths/

Though it is one of the most popular rifles sold to civilians, the AR-15 is rarely used in crimes, presumably because it's not readily concealed. The most recent FBI figures show just 358 of the 8,775 murders by firearm in 2010 involved rifles of any type. By comparison, 745 people were beaten to death with only hands that year, but no one has called for outlawing fists.

[Bee Tagger]

but no one has called for outlawing fists.

How about Etiquettes?

[Fist of Etiquette]

No one dares ban me!

[Auric Demonocles]

I ban thee.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You have to say it three times, which you didn't. The ban is banned.

[Auric Demonocles]

But you didn't ban the ban three times.

I ban thee. I ban thee. I ban thee.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Where'd FoE go?

[Auric Demonocles]

Oh fine. I unban thee. I unban thee. I unban thee.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Finally.

[Rich]

but no one has called for outlawing fists.

It's just a matter of time. Pointing one's finger like a gun is already effectively illegal.

[Auric Demonocles]

"The suspect pointed his finger like a gun, so at that point I feared for my life. I responded with deadly force."

[Zeb]

"Pointing one's finger like a gun is already effectively illegal."

Huh?

[wareagle]

it's true. Many a schoolkid has been suspended for that dastardly offense.

[LTC(ret) John]

Zero tolerance!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yep.

[Ken Shultz]

President Barack Obama on Monday pledged U.S. support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's efforts to get Spain's economy back on track

"Pledged U.S. support"?

WTF does that mean?!

[DJF]

The US printing presses are going to go from ridiculous speed to ludicrous speed.

[Rich]

Did you mean "lucrative" speed?

[DJF]

Only for some, and certainly not for me.

[Ken Shultz]

Holy shit!

Somebody call the cops.

Or the guys with the nets! Obama's completely off his rocker.

Obama just waltzed right in and did pledged support--something Germany doesn't wanna do--why?!

[Restoras]

I don't think there is anything to worry about. We are already over the cliff and now just waiting to crash into the valley floor below. There is nothing for us to give Spain except the phone number of the Chinese Central Bank. If Spain actually came to us for aid President Dipshit will have to withdraw his promise.

[Rich]

If Spain actually came to us for aid President Dipshit will have to withdraw his promise.

What?! And lose the Hispanic vote?!

[WTF]

Oddly enough, Spaniards don't actually count as Hispanic.

[Xenocles]

Of course they do. Haven't you heard of "white Hispanics?"

[tarran]

If Obama promised you he was going to stop attacking other countries unilaterally, would you believe him?

IF Obama promised you he was going to help you get medical care, would you believe him?

If Obama promised to help you with money to get out of debt, would you believe him?

[Restoras]

It means the President is so completely and utterly clueless that he has no idea the US is broke and has absolutley no financial stature or leverage with which to make a real promise.

Empty promises - well, that's what politicians are best at, right?

[Ken Shultz]

I'd like to think he just misspoke.

It's just that in the past--I thought I must have just misunderstood him.

And I was wrong.

On the subject of "U.S. support", he always seems to mean exactly what he said.

[Restoras]

Well maybe. I could be wrong but I think the kind of bail-out Spain needs is beyond our ability to provide.

[wareagle]

hasn't stopped him from loaning money to a South African 'clean energy' comapny.

[Restoras]

Maybe he would do it - wouldn't surprise me. Just saying that we don't actually have any real wealth to use for this kind of thing anymore.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Obama has pledged his support to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy amid the deteriorating economic situation in Europe.

Is this going to be another pyramid scheme? Because I'm not pledging my support to Obama.

And what form did this pledge take? Because if it's just a bow I'm less troubled by it.

[Ken Shultz]

That's what I'm saying!

"Pledged U.S. support"?!

I remember when Obama "pledged U.S. support" for Wall Street--it meant giving them a chunk of my future paychecks.

I remember when Obama "pledged U.S. support" for the UAW--it meant giving them a chunk of my future paychecks..

No he's "pledged U.S. support" to Spain--just before an election?!

This should be bigger than his "You didn't build that" gaff.

[Auric Demonocles]

If you've got a pledge of support, you didn't pledge that. Somebody else made that happen.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Maybe it's just a shoulder for Spain to cry on. Share a pint of ice cream with while watching rom-coms. Help Spain move a sofa or a lift to the airport. Maybe hold Spain's hair back when Spain is hunched over the toilet.

[Auric Demonocles]

Dude, I don't wanna get friendzoned by Spain.

[Rich]

He didn't pledge that.

[Quetzalcoatl]

He will put his arms around the Spaniards who need him the most.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

That would be the Spanish Women's Volleyball squad.

[PS]

Kim Dotcom was assaulted by police who, coincidentally, apparently want to have all footage of the raid suppressed by the courts.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technol.....over-raids

[sarcasmic]

Wouldn't want the truth to get in the way of the official narrative.

Cops are the same everywhere.

[John]

http://www.theatlantic.com/pol.....er/260669/

The always brilliant Phillip K Howard (If you haven't read The Death of Common Sense, you should) on government as a "deviant subculture".

[John]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2504163

Looking more and more like the Dems flat out stole the Al Frankin Senate election. At least 1099 known felons voted in a race decided by 312 votes.

[Lord Humungus]

already posted, brother.

[John]

KAHN!!!!

[Clich? Bandit]

I have no problem with felons voting...only people who are still in the system. I have always believed in the founding principle of "paid debt to society" so anyone who was convicted, served, and then released should be fully restored. If you don't like it then convince the gubmint for a longer sentence (at sentencing, though guidelines, or even legislation though that is my least preferred method)

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If you don't like it then convince the gubmint for a longer sentence...

I wonder how many felons think not being able to vote is a perfectly fine tradeoff for not getting that longer sentence.

[Randian]

It's the principle of the thing. Do we want to live in a Republic where we can create a permanent underclass of disenfranchised and marginalized individuals or do we want to restore citizens who have transgressed back to full citizenship after the debt to our society has been paid?

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Oh, I agree for the most part, but the "give them longer sentences if you don't like it" rationale doesn't persuade me much.

How many convicted felons would rather have a, say, five year longer sentence in order to preserve their right to vote? I'm guessing the number approaches zero.

Taking away their right to vote seems very taxation without representationy. Now, many people, felons or not, would give up the right to vote if it meant no taxes?

[Tulpa Doom]

That's not a problem if felons are a rarity. A problem that can be solved by the two prongs of law and order libertarianism: reduce the number of criminal laws and increase the use of capital punishment.

[Zeb]

I agree. In fact, it is very important that felons be able to vote as they have first hand experience about how criminal laws work and how fucked up the system is. And it's not as if the people that felons vote for could be any more criminal than the people who already get elected.

[Zeb]

Also, forbidding felons from voting is a good method to potentially disenfranchise large portions of the population since we are probably all technically guilty of some federal felony at some point in our lives.

[wareagle]

yup..paying your debt means just that. The rub here is that it's still illegal for felons to vote, not that this would get in the way of a Dem.

Apparently, party policy is ignore laws you don't like and make up new ones to fit your aims.

[Brett L]

I don't know how it is in Minnesota, but FL has an established process for restoring civil rights that mostly involves completing your sentence. There may be some sitout period in which you may not be charged with a new felony, but it is short, 1-2 years. After that you simply file a petition and if you meet the standards, you're good.

[Isaac Bartram]

Florida requires five years crime free after completion of all sentences and probation plus payment of all costs (eight years for firearm rights) before aplication will be processed by the clemency board.

[PS]

Nice guest post at Steve Landsburgh's blog by Dave Bergeron (relation to Harrison unknown) about the stupidity of solar energy subsidies. Bergeron also happens to own a company that sells solar-powered fridges using a process he invented after apparently watching Mosquito Coast.

http://www.thebigquestions.com.....-diogenes/

[Brett L]

Solar power fridges should work pretty well. In fact, I know Walmart had experimented with them. Because how great would it be for Walmart if they had ice and cold stuff when your whole county's power has been out for three days?

[Randian]

That's just further proof of Wal*Mart's exploitative, profiteering nature. They should build those fridges and then give away all of their inventory in the event of an emergency.

[Brett L]

Honestly, WalMart has been pretty good about that kind of stuff (shipping in and giving away ice and water) in emergency situations.

[LTC(ret) John]

I saw that three outfits got to post-Katrina NOLA/LA Coast quicker and more effectively than others (and I exclude us in the National Guard, it was a CF) - the Salvation Army, Wal-Mart and the COast Guard.

Saw more Wal-Mart trucks than anyone elses.

[Auric Demonocles]

I believe the traditional pledge in Spain consists of swearing on the soul of your father then attempting to kill the other person in a sword fight once your technical pledge is fulfilled.

[Auric Demonocles]

Oops. Reply to Fist above.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And now it appears you've been fisted by your own commenting hubris.

[Auric Demonocles]

I fell victim to one of the classic blunders.

[Lord Humungus]

never get involved in a land war in Asia?

[Auric Demonocles]

Never go against a Fist when honor is on the line.

[PS]

You keep using that button. I do not think it does what you think it does.

[Auric Demonocles]

You're no match for my brains.

[Restoras]

How do you like these new chains?

[John]

http://twitchy.com/2012/08/06/.....-reaction/

Left, duped by Onion parody, condemns Michele Bachmann for reaction to shooting

[Auric Demonocles]

If you've got a racist quote, you didn't say that.

[John]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/da.....-and-more/

Douchebag lied himself onto ABC, MSNBC and NYTimes as an "expert" quoted on various subjects he knew nothing about.

[Randian]

Are you kidding me? That guy is a hero. Don't we admire the plucky con artist who thumbs his nose at the stolid institutions that have gotten too lazy to even bother running a Google Search?

[John]

He is the press agent for Tucker Max. That is epic douche bag territory. But he most certainly did a heroic act. Even douche bags can be heroes.

[Randian]

Ah yes, he is a doucher for sure.

[T]

Seriously. If these organizations can't do some minimum amount of work to vet their 'experts', it's on them.

[John]

If you tell them something that fits the narrative, you are in. Of course if you tell them something that doesn't, then you are vetted.

[Randian]

The best one is where he faked being a vinyl collector and everyone acted as if that was some great acting accomplishment.

My god, look up a few collector boards, listen to NPR, and act really smug. Boom instant collector.

[NoVAHockey]

this pisses me off to no end. you pick up the phone and do some actual legwork to find and vet a source. you don't post on message boards and solicit comment. unless you're exceptionally lazy

[John]

http://mobile.reuters.com/arti.....6?irpc=932

Obama "America needs soul searching on gun violence". No it doesn't. It needs you and others like you to shut the fuck up.

[Auric Demonocles]

Why "gun" violence? We don't need to search our souls about stabbings? Or shovel-beatings? Those are A-OK?

[John]

Would you feel better little girl if they was pushed out of windows?

[Auric Demonocles]

Depends. Was the window up to code?

[Byron]

At least that would create jobs!

[sarcasmic]

Because all those violent guns are scary.

You see, absent government training, guns compel people to use them.

If you own a gun then there is a very real possibility that you will be overcome by its magical powers of persuasion and kill someone.

The only people who can be trusted with guns are police because they have had proper training to withstand guns' magical powers.

[wareagle]

seeing as how most gun deaths involve one young black man shooting another young black man, his search for soul should be a bit more targeted.

[Rich]

Carney reiterated, however, that Obama remained in favor of renewing an assault weapons ban but pointed out "there has been reluctance by Congress" to pass it.

"Therefore, I am issuing yet another Executive Order ...."

[Auric Demonocles]

The Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the President has dissolved the council permanently.

[Lord Humungus]

ah, back to the glory days of Rome.

[sloopyinca]

Grand Moff Tarkin was a Roman?

[Auric Demonocles]

He certainly wasn't Romulan.

[Lord Humungus]

everything of note can be compared to Rome.

[Tulpa Doom]

I find your lack of faith distrubing.

[John]

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/.....s-68-50971

Marvin Hamlish dead at 68. Sad.

[mr simple]

I read his autobiography a few years back and found it fairly interesting, especially about the writing of A Chorus Line.

[John]

They Olympics has forced me to watch a few commercials. I saw an Obama add with a bunch of women with their perfectly practiced butt hurt faces on talking about how radical Mitt Romney is and how they just had to have their contraception paid for by someone else.

It had to be the most insulting commercial to women I have ever seen. Women are all these poor victims who could never make a decision on their own or get through life without the help of the government.

[wareagle]

that's the strange thing with the left - its adherents claim to be so much smarter than thou but down the line - from women to blacks to other favored groups - they accept being condescended to and patted on the head.

Maybe teh GOP should counter with an ad of how women have for years been able to solve the riddle of contraception without the govt's help.

[Auric Demonocles]

I don't understand my girlfriend. She pays for her own birth control, and she's still in school for the next 2 weeks. What's wrong with her?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I think I've seen that one--"It's a pretty scary time to be a woman." Yeah, because you might be forced to take responsibility for yourself for the first time in your life.

[Auric Demonocles]

"What if I had to pay for my own birth control and I couldn't afford it? I'd have to go without! What if I couldn't afford an abortion? I'd have to carry to term! This is a scarier time to be a woman than ever before in history!"

[Brett L]

Its not like women have to buy drinks. Why should I put up for the cost of food, drinks, incidentals AND condoms. Women, I say to you, if you are truly the equal of men, you take care of the birth control and we men will take care of the other costs of dating. Then you can have your crappy feel-good job and live like a princess!

[Isaac Bartram]

You know what's kind of funny to me is how many of these people say they want "Canadian-style" health coverage. They will then go into a rant about not being able to afford contraception or drugs or a trip to the dentist.

Guess what. None of those things are covered under Canadian Medicare.

Most provinces have separate plans for contracption for women on public assistance and drug cost are price controlled but in general none of them are paid for by Medicare.

[ant1sthenes]

"My body, my responsibility."

A slogan you will never hear a feminist utter.

[Randian]

Just skylarking here, but does anyone read Reason 24/7?

[wareagle]

skim the headlines when coming to teh site but do not often go into a story. One reason could be that only three at a time appear so seeing something that grabs interest is due in large part to timing.

[Auric Demonocles]

Nope.

[Proprietist]

Nope. If they wanted it to be effective, they'd have the newsfeed scrolling down the right hand column of the blog so we wouldn't have to leave to check the headlines.

[Auric Demonocles]

And use up that whitespace? Never!

[Proprietist]

I guess is is kinda pretty, like a snowy field. I withdraw my request.

[John]

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08.....-meltdown/

Holder refuses to charge cronies in 2008 financial meltdown.

[The Late P Brooks]

This is how you write a headline, boys and girls.

Gibson Guitar Corporation admits to importing endangered wood

Federal prosecutors on Monday announced a deal to drop a criminal case against Gibson Guitar Corporation after the instrument maker acknowledged its importations of exotic wood violated environmental laws.

Nashville-based Gibson agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty, forfeit claims to about $262,000 worth of wood seized by federal agents and contribute $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote the conservation of protected tree species.

"The agreement is fair and just in that it assesses serious penalties for Gibson's behavior while allowing Gibson to continue to focus on the business of making guitars," U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin said in a statement.

--------

"We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve," CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said in a statement late Monday night.

Alternate headline:

Gibson Pays Ransom, Kidnappers Kill Hostage Anyway.

[wareagle]

what the CEO said should resonate with everyone - we paid the extortion money to prevent the company from going under.

This shit happens all the time - settlements of spurious claims because it far more cost- and time-effective to pay than to go to court. Just once, though, I would like to see a deep-pockets firm take a BS suit to court, win, counter-sue, and drive the original plaintiff over a cliff.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

If Bill Gates had any balls, he would have done that when Microsoft was being investigated for anti-trust violations. It would take a really big corporation like Microsoft or WalMart to make it happen, but you could probably pull it off.

[Gray Ghost]

It may be out of date, but I thought that WalMart was renowned for not settling most of their tort claims? Granted, it's probably different when the Fed is suing you, and not some guy with a slip n fall or false imprisonment claim.

Sad thing is, as monstrously corrupt as Obama's Administration has been, do we think it'll be that much better under Romney? (Assuming Romney even wins. Last time I looked, you've got to discount Obama's state poll number by about 5% to get a Romney win.)

[John]

Romney would not be able to just call out the dogs on his enemies the way obama does. The media would actually cover it as a scandal.

[Gray Ghost]

That is true. A benefit of a Romney Administration would be a media that would mostly remember how to do their jobs again.

Hell, going back to honest graft would be an improvement.

[Kaptious Kristen]

allowing Gibson to continue to focus on the business of making guitars,

Translation: "Those are some awfuly nice guitars you make, there. Shame if anything were to happen to them"

[John]

I don't know why the local Cosmotarians at Reason were ripping Wayne Allen Root for this. There must be something embarrassing in Obama's transcript. It can't just be bad grades. Everyone knows he is an affirmative action baby. That story would blow over in a week if that. The only possible explanation is that he attended Columbia claiming he was a foreign student. Root is right.

[NoVAHockey]

i'm surprised they just don't destroy the records.

[sloopyinca]

Root may be right, but what's the point? Calling out a black liberal with "Chairman of the National Libertarian Party" doesn't do libertarians any good at all. It puts a face to us. And that face is of a racist douchebag that would question the integrity of the sitting black President.*

*At least that's how the media will portray it, and by extension us.

[Randian]

Of all sides to pick, I have to reluctantly side with John and WAR here.

First of all, I have no doubt that the President was born in America. There are HI SOS documents and newspaper reports that prove it beyond all doubt.

Regardless, I think what is going on here is that being foreign and exotic not only gets you a lot of cred with people, especially on college campuses, but it gets you scholarships and attention.

Remember how some girls were LUGs at your school? It's the same dynamic. Did you ever lie as a kid about what your parents did or where they are from so people would find you 'interesting'? Same thing.

WAR is right in his article: it cannot be bad grades.

We already have that weird author biography anomaly that is explainable by the "I Am Foreign and Interesting" phenomenon.

[Tulpa Doom]

I'm not clear on why something embarrassing on BO's transcript is any of our business at all.

If I were BO, I would refuse to provide any personal documents whatsoever except those required by law. He fucked up by releasing his birth certificate, that only put blood in the water.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Like I said before when that was released, "son of an American anthropologist and Kenyan finance minister" sounds a hell of a lot better than "bastard child of a fling between an underage teenager and a foreign college student."

[Bardas Phocas]

It's also more distraction.
The D-Statists have one goal in this election - don't talk about the War Economy.

Queers, lady parts, fried chicken, old tax returns, bad grades, old and new wars, sheep fucking -- all distractions.

Try to pay attention.

[Auric Demonocles]

I was really surprised by the tone of the article and the comments.

[Tulpa Doom]

John, you realize this is exactly the argument Harry Reid is making about Romney's tax returns, right?

[Proprietist]

But Reid's on team Blue and therefore obviously evil and lying.

Team Red (or whatever color Team Red swine that infiltrate the LP are) is always in the right when evoking the same baseless speculations.

The Birther thing was a brilliant political play on Obama's part. He let the nutjobs hang themselves with their own ropes.

[Auric Demonocles]

But I haven't seen claims that Romney is a selfless saint donating unnecessary money to the Treasury by refusing all deductions.

[Tulpa Doom]

It's not BO's fault that people make ridiculous claims about him.

[Proprietist]

You're getting really tedious, John. This is Reason, and we aren't interested in participating in Team Red sycophantism, for which there are plenty of other forums on the internet for spewing irrational anger and baseless speculations.

The funny thing is, the GOP shouldn't need any of this ad hominem garbage to beat Obama in November. The economy and his policies alone should be enough. But because Romney is mostly indefensible himself, I guess they've got no choice but to try to prove that Obama is definitively worse by catering to voters' worst instincts, which is pretty pathetic in and of itself.

[Tulpa Doom]

The economy and his policies alone should be enough.

His approval rating has been hovering in the mid to high 40s for months now. That has zilch to do with Romney.

The only conclusion is that people are stupid, apathetic, or care more about nice stories (omg we have a black president lol!) than they do about decent governance.

[John]

The conclusion is that a certain portion of society is afraid to outright dislike a black man. His strongly disapproves are 45%. His strongly approves are in the low 20s. That is unlike any other President in history. The only way to explain the soft approves is that people tell pollsters that because they are afraid of being racist.

[John]

So what, we should ignore the truth? Obama pretty much lied his way through his entire life. His biography were all fictitious and he is a fraud. I don't know if that will flip the election. And I don't really care. But I do think it is the truth and thus should not be avoided. The facts are what they are.

I am just not like Tulpa and afraid some liberal somewhere might not like me because I asked some kind of question.

[Michael Palin]

Emails obtained by The Daily Caller show that the U.S. Treasury Department, led by Timothy Geithner, was the driving force behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 salaried retirees at the Delphi auto parts manufacturing company.

The move, made in 2009 while the Obama administration implemented its auto bailout plan, appears to have been made solely because those retirees were not members of labor unions.

The internal government emails contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures. They also indicate that the administration misled lawmakers and the courts about the sequence of events surrounding the termination of those non-union pensions, and that administration figures violated federal law.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08.....z22rvBTnNx

[sarcasmic]

The internal government emails contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures.

Just as video that contradicts an officer's sworn testimony is wrong, these emails are obviously wrong as well.

[sloopyinca]

I look forward to the prosecutions...

...of the people that leaked these e-mails to the DC.

[Tulpa Doom]

ATFPAPIC you have a point.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

fwiw, several reason commenters have asked "what the hell is a "fact pattern?"" as if this term is somehow arcane, invented, bizarre or whatnot.

from the online legal dictionary: A concise description of all the occurrences or circumstances of a particular case, without any discussion of their consequences under the law. The fact situation, sometimes referred to as a fact pattern, is a summary of what took place in a case for which relief is sought. The fact situation of one case is almost always distinguishable from that of another case.

When one case with a particular fact situation has been decided, an attorney may use it as precedent and relate it to another similar case on which he or she is currently working.

----

i've preferred fact pattern to fact situation, and at least at volokh.com, it appears the preference is common there too

[Eduard van Haalen]

That's because Volokh is a legal blog.

[Eduard van Haalen]

And AFAIK Volokh doesn't use the acronym ATFPAPIC.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

when discussing legal shit, i think using legal terminology is appropriate, since the terms aren't "fuzzy"

and i am aware comenters don't use ATFPAPIC.

it's a term i invented, becaus it is tiresome to type "assuming we take the claims in the article made as correct, for the sake of argument, so we can discuss the legal issues"

iow, reasonoids will always assume given an anti-police claim that same claimants are telling the truth and the cops are lying.

my point is that , like in a UOF situation, it is helpful to say "ok, let's assume the claims made by party X are correct. GIVEN that, was this case excessive force? was it criminal assault? etc."

because ime, without making such qualifications, the discussion becomes confused and people operate from different ASSUMPTIONS, and thus , to paraphrase t. sowell, they argue past each other, based on different premises

before we discuss the validity of an argument, it helps to agree on some basic premises.

it's like trying to discuss geometry, without agreeing that parallel lines never meet or what the angles in a triangle sum up to

[The Late P Brooks]

The internal government emails contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures.

Yeah, but it wasn't PERJURY perjury.

[mr simple]

Michael Phelps wins more than gold for being a famous athlete.

Call me a cynic, but I find it suspicious when a bartender, aspiring model/actress hooks up with anyone famous, has to send public tweets because she cant pm or text, becomes very public with info when he is not, and makes sure to get pictures taken with him.

[John]

It is a symbiotic relationship/. She gets publicity. And he gets access to the goods. I will give it to Phelps, she looks pretty good. As long as he doesn't marry her or get her pregnant, it looks like a mutually beneficial relationship.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

perqs of being an athlete.

btw, pretty funny article at jezebel the other day on why lochte is (allegedly) a douchenozzle, even though he's dreamy cute.

athlete tend to get great ass. any guy who tells you that he didn't consider that it might help him get more ass when he took up sport X, is probably lying.

imo, this is THE STUD alpha male who probably gets more kazakh ass than any man in history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdBanFCD7C4

my man-crush on ilya ilin is scary

[Matrix]

It is pretty sad that a famous athlete or actor cannot find a non-famous person to have a relationship with without someone suggesting that the other person is just in it for the money/fame.

They would either have to be with someone they were with before all the fame and money, or they would have to find someone who was independently famous/rich to be with.