Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

Tattoos Protected Speech, Privatizing Rail, Obama's Latest Overreach: P.M. Links

Scott Shackford | 9.10.2012 4:30 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
  • An Arizona court has ruled that tattoos are protected by the First Amendment. The ruling is connected to a city denying a tattoo parlor a business permit.

  • Republicans have called for a privatization of rail and an end to subsidies to Amtrak.
  • The wife of a former German president is suing Google over the search engine's autocomplete feature in connection with rumors of prostitution. Just imagine what will happen if every single celebrity ever finds out about this.
  • Italy's economy shrank a little bit more than previously estimated.
  • A third camper has died from the Hantovirus due to exposure at Yosemite National Park. Eight people have been stricken by the rodent-borne virus.
  • Protests in Hong Kong may have stopped the implementation of "patriotism" classes, but pro-Beijing parties cleaned up in local elections due to a divided democratic movement.
  • The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 may have stalled, but President Barack Obama is preparing to implement it anyway.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily AM/PM updates for more content.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: UK Demands ISPs Block Suicide-Advice Sites

Scott Shackford is a policy research editor at Reason Foundation.

Politics
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (189)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

    The ruling is connected to a city denying a tattoo parlor a business permit.

    We need a Tramp Stamp Act.

    1. Translucent Chum   13 years ago

      Do we tax the giver or receiver of the Tramp Stamp?

      1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

        Taxing the ink would be like a Stupid Tax for both parties. No tattoo ever helped a chick look hot.

        1. Rich   13 years ago

          Surely you jest.

          1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

            That is nasty.

            I was imprinted by 70's Playboy and Penthouse and this shit has gotten ridiculous.

            1. Marshall Gill   13 years ago

              That is nasty.

              Well, we finally agree on something.

              Why ruin beautiful female flesh with a fucking ink stain? I just don't get it.

            2. EDG reppin' LBC   13 years ago

              I was imprinted by 70's Playboy and Penthouse ...

              So you like big bushes, pointy breasts, and feathered hair?

              1. playa manhattan   13 years ago

                OK, I spit on my keyboard a little bit at that comment. Nicely done.

        2. Red Rocks Rockin   13 years ago

          It still baffles me that people think being tatted up like a prison thug is "attractive."

        3. Generic Stranger   13 years ago

          Oh god, I agree with buttplug on something.

          This must be what going mad feels like.

    2. Auric Demonocles   13 years ago

      Careful, that will lead to a revolution, and they'll have all the badasses.

    3. Tim   13 years ago

      Those two actually work at the Reason Foundation...

      1. Tim   13 years ago

        Now you understand why the jacket.

    4. Translucent Chum   13 years ago

      Hmm. I might have a serious question. When is the first lawsuit for wrongful termination for getting a swastika and penis tattoo on your face.

      1. Ska   13 years ago

        Dude, we used a Sharpie and that's supposed to teach you not to pass out drunk at a party.

  2. OldMexican   13 years ago

    An Arizona court has ruled that tattoos are protected by the First Amendment. The ruling is connected to a city denying a tattoo parlor a business permit

    But... but... But Kommerce Klaus!

  3. playa manhattan   13 years ago

    I just got back from vacation, so I don't know if this was already posted on Hit and Run:
    http://www.thecarconnection.co.....ty-workers

    Fucking unbelievable.

    1. Warty   13 years ago

      Nothing is remotely unbelievable about that.

      1. Episiarch   13 years ago

        Plus, it's Rochester.

    2. VG Zaytsev   13 years ago

      That's actually not surprising at all.

      The thing about automated ticketing systems, like the one described in Rochester, is that they send the traffic violation to the register owner of the vehicle. Which raises obvious problems and (in CA anyway) was made the tickets unenforceable.

      Furthermore, if the offending vehicle is registered to an incorporated entity there is literally no cost effective way to send the ticket, the infraction, to the actual driver. You could enforce the ticket against the vehicle registrant. However, that is nothing more than a circle jerk when the registrant is the entity that collects the fines for the infraction.

  4. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

    Italy's economy shrank a little bit more than previously estimated.

    Like-a the fusilli bucati in the boiling a-water. Aaaee!

  5. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

    A third camper has died from the Hantovirus due to exposure at Yosemite National Park.

    They should sue the park's owner.

    1. Xenocles   13 years ago

      Consider yourself served.

  6. fried wylie   13 years ago

    The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 may have stalled, but President Barack Obama is preparing to implement it anyway.

    Because, just in case your elected representatives who I'm bypassing with this move haven't already told you, Fuck You, That's Why.

    1. Warty   13 years ago

      You must be mistaken. He pledged to end signing statements.

    2. Tim   13 years ago

      Smithers! Release the drones.

    3. Alack   13 years ago

      Hey, if you can do it for the Dream Act, you can do it for other shit too.

  7. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

    The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 may have stalled, but President Barack Obama is preparing to implement it anyway.

    At least he's against signing statements!

    1. Episiarch   13 years ago

      Oh, FoE. You got so very PWN'D. Does it sting?

      1. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

        You can't talk to me like that. I got first comment. Anything that happens after that is meaningless. FIRST. COMMENT. I'm King Cheese on this post.

        1. Episiarch   13 years ago

          get over yourself. you aint king here. you don't speak for anybody, and you can go back to your stupid pop culture references, contentless posts, and meaningless, uninspired sad little life, ok?

          hth

          1. Warty   13 years ago

            It's not POWERLIFTING, you dope, it's weightlifting. You are such a sad little insecure man.

            1. Episiarch   13 years ago

              I'm just going to keep posting grammatically retarded walls of text in a dead or dying thread to prove to you I have a super life, OK?

              Just a few dozen more posts...

              1. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

                I'm beginning to suspect you two are using my comment as a springboard to attack someone else. This is supposed to be a safe place, free of judgment, where all viewpoints are equal.

                1. Loki   13 years ago

                  all viewpoints are equal

                  BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!

                2. Episiarch   13 years ago

                  wow . star trek. that's so cool

                  foe ... continuing his teenage years for all to see

                3. T   13 years ago

                  This is supposed to be a safe place, free of judgment, where all viewpoints are equal.

                  All viewpoints are equally subject to mockery, perhaps.

                  1. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

                    "And some are just natural jumpers."

  8. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

    Wingnuts cancel Birther Gala

    Not even the promise of crooner Pat Boone singing oldies from a spinning stage could save what was intended to be the premier birther event of the year later this month in Arizona.

    Organizers of the gala, which would have featured Boone alongside Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and some of the nation's other prominent conspiracy theorists, broke the news online Friday that it was canceled "due to inadequate ticket sales."

    http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi.....hp?ref=fpa

    1. $park?   13 years ago

      "due to inadequate ticket sales."

      This is obviously proof that the birthers are everywhere.

    2. Joe M   13 years ago

      I thought that said Birther Gaia, which I was really enjoying imagining. Too bad.

  9. playa manhattan   13 years ago

    I thought the tattoo issue was already settled on a federal level.
    Johnny Anderson v City of Hermosa Beach
    http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/da.....-56914.pdf

  10. AuH2O   13 years ago

    Is there a commissioner of a sports league with a more punchable face than Goodell? God, I hate that prick. Sanctimonious while at the same time sweeping under the rug the fact that for all his piety, he and the media (which never criticize the NFL as much as they should and always tow the party line so they don't lose TV contracts) were all for glorifying NFL violence until a few years ago when suddenly it was, "Oh, shit, these guys have severe brain damage."

    And I think Gooddell is going to end up causing a massive labor stoppage by the players. And, seriously, I don't blame them. The guy is insanely arbitrary in his handling of suspensions and fines, and creates new rules whenever it satisfies him to do so. I think eventually, he's just going to piss the players off so badly that they don't care about a few missed paychecks.

    Seriously, such a douchenozzle.

    1. Episiarch   13 years ago

      That's all well and good, but the Seahawks almost didn't choke yesterday. Now that's news.

      1. Brett L   13 years ago

        They fucked me in the pick'em. Along with both Manning brothers and RGIII. Seriously? The Redskins might be relevant?

    2. Romulus Augustus   13 years ago

      Meanwhile the NCAA is penalizing innocent kids who were in grade school when some douchebag assistant coach was showering with young boys after hours in the team locker room.

      1. The Hammer   13 years ago

        No, the NCAA gave those kids the opportunity to transfer to a decent, non-pedophile-supporting school without penalty. The NCAA is punishing the institution that prioritized a child-rapist over his victims.

        1. BarryD   13 years ago

          Does the school where they transfer have to PROVE they're non-pedophile-supporting? That could be difficult. The Penn State culture of coverup is not unique. The fact that they covered up pedophilia was sick and it was shocking, but the general approach is SOP.

    3. sloopyinca   13 years ago

      Is there a commissioner of a sports league with a more punchable face than Goodell?

      Jesus, I was sweating after the first few words. Especially after putting a peat down on you in Week 1 of the JsubD.

      1. AuH2O   13 years ago

        Going in, I was really hopeful that the Vikings weren't lying when they said they'd use Gerhart a lot. But apparently, Toby Gerhart is too white to be a featured RB.

        That's right, sloop- I lost to you because of racism!

      2. AuH2O   13 years ago

        I may not win fantasy this year. But Graham Gano is sure as hell gonna avenge it.

        1. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

          I may not win week 1, but I'll win some other week

          1. AuH2O   13 years ago

            That was actually a reference to my Pick 'Em team name.

        2. BakedPenguin   13 years ago

          What, are the Violent Femmes going to play at your "I lost Fantasy football" party?

          1. Brett L   13 years ago

            That's harsh.

    4. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

      I submit to you Gary Bettman

    5. Marshall Gill   13 years ago

      Is there a commissioner of a sports league with a more punchable face than Goodell?

      Stern.

      1. wareagle   13 years ago

        oh my god, yes, Stern. The NBA channel is ate up with cause ads of late, begging money for one left-wing activist group after another.

        1. AuH2O   13 years ago

          See, Stern has become to me at this point like Vince McMahon. He ate up the boos during the draft for god's sake.

          He totally rigged the lottery in New Orlean's favor.

          I may love watching the Bulls, and was a kid at the best time to be a Bulls fan, but the NBA is increasingly comic in its officiating and general veracity as a sport.

        2. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          What the fuck is an "NBA"?

          1. wareagle   13 years ago

            it's the place where the game that used to be known as basketball has gone to die.

            1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

              You mean Miami?

              1. Generic Stranger   13 years ago

                No, Portland.

  11. BarryD   13 years ago

    Spin off the Rio Norte line, as a proof of concept.

  12. Death Rock and Skull   13 years ago

    I am all for fully deregulating, privatizing, and eliminating all government involvement in passenger rail, but I am also all for fully deregulating, privatizing, and eliminating all government involvement in highways and all other transportation. Which happens first, I don't give a fuck. You can't use "how can you support subsidized highways and not rail" on me, because I don't support either.

    1. Lost_In_Translation   13 years ago

      amtrak is a senators toy, not a company. and god forbid you tell a senator to give up his toys.

    2. Bobarian   13 years ago

      I think you came to the wrong site, if your looking for that argument. If you would like some abuse, however...

      SHUT YOUR FESTERING GOB, YOU TIT! YOUR TYPE MAKES ME PUKE! YOU VACUOUS TOFFEE-NOSED MALODOROUS PERVERT!!!

    3. R C Dean   13 years ago

      There's a difference, of course, between highways and a railroad company.

      I see no reason why one couldn't say "I support government involvement in the building and maintenance of highways, but oppose government support for companies that use the highways."

      1. Death Rock and Skull   13 years ago

        Supporting government involvement in highways is support for subsidizing the interests that use the highways, who have an advantage over companies who construct their own infrastructure. This is the kind of argument I came here for.

  13. AuH2O   13 years ago

    All that being said, Charles Pierce is still insufferable.

    http://www.grantland.com/story.....nfl-week-1

    And, of course, his league opens its regular season while engaging in a massive nationwide act of consumer fraud, using scab referees in games that count in the standings, and for which people paid to attend, and, most important, in games that people (I am told) wager on, for reals.

    1. Ska   13 years ago

      Is the parenthetical really necessary? There is this place called Caesar's where I've even seen it with my own eyes.

      1. AuH2O   13 years ago

        It's this dumb, cutesy thing people have started doing with football gambling.

        "If gambling were legal, I would take the points on..."

        WE GET IT! YOU HAVE A BOOKIE EVEN IF THE STATE YOU LIVE IN DOESN'T ALLOW IT!

        You know, this wasn't an issue back in the 50s- it was assumed that you may know a guy if you wanted to put some money on a team. I don't know if its sportswriters that have changed, or our culture, or maybe its just that the government now considers this an affront, or all three.

        I think the gov. definitely plays a role though- by gambling when it is not allowed, you are defying the great and mighty state, and depriving it of revenue.

        1. Ska   13 years ago

          Oh, well in that case, *barf*.

          Good to know sportswriters can acknowledge that bookmaking exists, but can't perhaps include how retarded it is that it's mostly illegal.

          Do they still print the line on each game in newspapers? Do they write FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY underneath them?

          1. BakedPenguin   13 years ago

            I've seen "Las Vegas line". Because, of course, no one bets in Peoria.

            1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

              Unless you can make it down to the tavern at the corner of...oh, wait.

  14. AuH2O   13 years ago

    Lastly, it has been getting really creepy the way Feministing and Jezebel have gone from, "Voting Democrat because we have spent 2 months going full on hate-mode towards Romney and now Ryan, culminating in the convention" to "We are now fully in the tank for the Democrats because they talked about abortion and Obama got hugged on stage by his family."

    It's really fucking creepy.

    Also, related note: Sandra Fluke should totally tithe some of her future income as a professor of something that gets regular spots on liberal talk shows to Rush, correct? I mean, that woman has a political career solely because he said some mean things about her, and she didn't build that on her own, right?

    1. Episiarch   13 years ago

      Of course it's creepy, the TEAMs are slowly but surely morphing into cults.

      1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

        TEAM RED seems more like a multi-level marketing scheme, and TEAM BLUE is more like a cult.

  15. Death Rock and Skull   13 years ago

    Its pretty sweet that I can start typing almost any celebrity or politician's name in Google, and it will automatically complete the name and include 'gay' as a possible search term I might be interested in.

  16. A Serious Man   13 years ago

    Jay-Z criticizes anti-capitalist message of Occupy. I really like how he's made money selling Occupy themed merchandise to these people.

    1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

      About 90% of Dems think OWS anti-capitalists are idiots.

      These nuts are real anti-capitalists in the strict sense of the term.

      I have to add that here - because anti-capitalism on HnR means supporting a token regulation or two.

      1. Kwanzaa Cake   13 years ago

        And pro-capitalism to liberals means the government owning GM, using bakruptcy laws to bail out Chrysler unions at the expense of bondholders, and generally using bute politcal force to get the results they want in all situations.

      2. BarryD   13 years ago

        Where do you meet these 90% of Dems?

        Seems like the Team Blue people I know think even the most egregious idiots in OWS are doing God's work.

        1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

          I worked in high-tech for 20 years. Go to Apple, Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm and others and they are filled with liberals earning bucks who love capitalism.

          My company's meglomaniac CEO is a liberal (Oracle).

          Creative people are most likely liberal. Stoop into the gutter of business to find the conservatives.

          1. wareagle   13 years ago

            Larry Ellison and his ilk are the worst types of liberals. If they want govt squander their money, let them; but, when they think it should squander everyone's, that's a bit much.

          2. Kwanzaa Cake   13 years ago

            These are called limo liberals, and they are nothing new. And are you saying that creative people work for Microsoft? That's news to anyone who has actually followed the company over the past 20 years.

          3. T   13 years ago

            Creative people are most likely liberal. Stoop into the gutter of business to find the conservatives.

            And yet most engineers are libertarian. But I don't guess you consider that a creative profession, do you?

            1. BarryD   13 years ago

              Engineers have to make stuff that actually works. "Creative people" hate being so constrained.

              1. T   13 years ago

                Yup. It's so much easier to not have constraints like reality to deal with.

                This also explains electoral success in this country, doesn't it?

          4. BarryD   13 years ago

            In the Bay Area, "Democrat" is the default label, like "Catholic" in Italy.

            I'm talking about places where people choose their political alignments, not where they're just born into the Democratic Party and haven't had a conversion experience.

            1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

              How about Nebraska and Berkshire Hathaway then?

              The GOP disgusts rational people.

              1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

                I thought you said conservatives were in the gutter and then you bring up Warren Buffett as an example of the opposite? Jesus H. Christ! He's like the worst cronyist out there in modern history.

                1. Marshall Gill   13 years ago

                  Buut, buutt but, Koch!

      3. OldMexican   13 years ago

        Re: Palin's Buttplug,

        About 90% of Dems think OWS anti-capitalists are idiots.

        And that is just your guess. Imagine how many of them are there really.

        I have to add that here - because anti-capitalism on HnR means supporting a token regulation or two.

        No, supporting a regulation or two turns you into an arrogant bastard who presumes to know better than everybody else. But not particularly anti-capitalistic.

      4. ant1sthenes   13 years ago

        About 90% of Dems can't distinguish between corporatism and capitalism. The rest think corporatism is awesome.

  17. DEG   13 years ago

    I tried posting this earlier, but it looks like the squirrels not only ate it but logged me out.

    I got back from vacation. The TSA must think I'm sexy because they groped me three times; their standards must be low. Oh right, that goes without saying.

    I went through security at three airports (MHT, CVG, and AUS). I refused the porno scanner at each, and got groped. I didn't get the twenty questions routine. I noted that unless you were of a special class, everyone that went through security without going through the porno scanner got groped. The special classes appeared to be: families with small children, military personnel in uniform, and the elderly.

    Interestingly enough, at AUS the TSA didn't run me through the metal detector, but at MHT and CVG I had to go through the metal detector.

  18. John   13 years ago

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/.....nd-known-p

    Rare photo of Emily Dickinson found.

    1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

      She looks kind of like the Fluke chick.

    2. JW   13 years ago

      That glassy stare is the 19th century ducklips.

    3. RedDragon6009   13 years ago

      Love ? is anterior to Life -
      Posterior ? to Death -
      Initial of Creation, and
      The Exponent of Earth -

      1. A Serious Man   13 years ago

        To think if they had just had valium back in those days all of that beautiful, tortured poetry would have likely never been written.

        1. T   13 years ago

          You can sing Emily Dickinson's 'Death' to the tune of Gilligan's Island, which has to be the most useful fact I've ever learned from reading xkcd.

          1. Ska   13 years ago

            A movie star...and the rest...

            Fuck, can't stop singing it now.

            1. Night Elf Mohawk   13 years ago

              OMG, no. "And the rest" was deprecated in favor of "the Professor and Mary Ann."

          2. EDG reppin' LBC   13 years ago

            I heard you could sing all of her poetry to the, "I'd like to buy the World a Coke, and keep it company" jingle.

            Try it. It works.

            1. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

              "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

          3. Voros McCracken   13 years ago

            Amazing Grace also fits the Gilligan's Island theme.

    4. VG Zaytsev   13 years ago

      who's the Dog
      and Why? is she
      dressed like a Fag.

  19. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

    Steroid use among police officers has been an issue across North America for some time. This summer, body-builder and convicted drug dealer Reiner Ruska told a Hamilton court that he had many police officers among his clients who purchased steroids and in turn provided Ruska with information about investigations and assisted him with tickets.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2.....69855.html

    1. Warty   13 years ago

      Roid rage is a myth. Other than that, fuck dunphy.

      1. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

        HUGS NOT DRUGS!

      2. BakedPenguin   13 years ago

        I wonder if it comes from the confusion of anabolic vs. cortico steroids. Cortico steroids will definitely negatively affect your mood.

    2. AuH2O   13 years ago

      He's gonna have an accident being transferred to prison.

    3. Red Rocks Rockin   13 years ago

      Back in high school in the early 90s, we had an all-conference linebacker who was obviously a juice-head. The guy weighed about 240 pounds (by comparison, his brother who played center, weighed 185), possessed a voice with the same pitch as Donald Duck's nephews, and was massively strong, but it wasn't defined muscle.

      Fast forward 20 years, and he's now a cop in the local police department and fat as a walrus.

    4. sloopyinca   13 years ago

      "troll-o-meter=.001"*

      *It does deserve the ellipses, right?

    5. Brett L   13 years ago

      When I worked for FLDOC (on contract!) we had several guards go down for running a steroid ring, in which, I believe they were buying them from prisoners.

  20. A Serious Man   13 years ago

    The Wall Street Journal on the disturbing case of Brandon J. Raub, who was abducted by the Virginia state police and Federal agents and forcibly committed to a psych ward.

  21. Matrix   13 years ago

    Smoking pot linked to testicular cancer?

    The men of South Park, CO had it wrong! They don't need testicular cancer to get pot. They need pot to get testicular cancer!

    1. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

      According to Tom Green, whacking off caused his testicular cancer.

      1. Matrix   13 years ago

        If that's so, every man is in trouble!

        1. Rich   13 years ago

          Even the 2% who are lying.

      2. JW   13 years ago

        They said that it would make my hand turn black and fall off!

  22. Rich   13 years ago

    the executive order ... would put the Department of Homeland Security in charge of conducting privacy assessments of the information that the government collects.

    Um, let me guess. The White House will be in charge of conducting privacy assessments of info collected about DHS employees.

  23. John   13 years ago

    The new CNN ORC poll has Obama up on Romney 52 to 46 among likely voters. But then it has Romney ahead by 14 points among independents. WTF? No one could be ahead by 14 points among independents and still be behind. Cant' fucking happen.

    http://www.nationalreview.com/.....ina-trinko

    1. RedDragon6009   13 years ago

      CNN counts its poll results the same way the white house does its budget numbers.

    2. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

      Gallup has Obama up by four and with a 52% favorable.

      Even right-wing Rasmussen has Obama up by four.

      Obama leads eight of the nine swing states. Will you kill yourself when Romney loses?

      1. John   13 years ago

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v0fT90fBog

        1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

          Go back to Free Republic where they/you wanted Santorum, you dipshit.

          1. John   13 years ago

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v0fT90fBog

            You tell em Shreek.

      2. OldMexican   13 years ago

        Re: Palin's Buttplug,

        Will you kill yourself when Romney loses?

        Not me, I am all for it - he won't be able to blame his predecessor when the shit hits the fan (that is, right after QE3 fizzles out.)

        That will put the final nail in the coffin of Keynesian interventionism once and for all - or, at least, we will come closer to that with an Obama 2nd term than with a Romney administration because, if Romney wins, the media will blame Romney seven ways to Sunday for the Greater Great Depression instead of blaming his predecessor.

        1. Brian Combs   13 years ago

          Nope. We'll be told Obama didn't adhere to "true" Keynesian ideas.

          1. VG Zaytsev   13 years ago

            That and the insidious republican conspiracy thwarted him.

    3. JW   13 years ago

      What's the most ridiculous thing about all this is that a president as incompetent as Obama has been, should be polling above 30%. Seriously, any president who has been as terminally bad as this one has been would be getting his ass bounced out PDQ, but he polls ahead of his challenger? Fuck me.

      Was Carter polling this high, 2 months before the election?

      1. John   13 years ago

        Yes. Carter was up all the way into October.

      2. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

        Dumbya fell to an all-time low poll of 18% in 2008 during the financial crisis.

        The electorate knows more about bad presidents than you do - you moronic tampon eater.

        1. BarryD   13 years ago

          What do you care if the tampons he eats are smart or not? Fucking bigot.

          1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

            I know when a low-info wingnut shows up by his Carter comments.

            Carter did nothing as POTUS except deregulate. He should be an LP hero.

            You stupid rednecks are taught by redneck AM radio to say "Carter" without knowing how to critique his scant policy.

            1. John   13 years ago

              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v0fT90fBog

            2. T   13 years ago

              Carter did nothing as POTUS except deregulate.

              Public Law 96-185. Yup, a libertarian hero signed that shit, setting the stage for an even bigger bailout 30 years later. Libertarian hero cred, rigght there.

              1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

                A minor infraction 1/700 of TARP - and Bush still worst by 700 times.

                1. Whahappan?   13 years ago

                  And Obama voted against TARP, and used the super powers of the unitary executive that he denounced, and then embraced to circumvent it, right?

        2. wareagle   13 years ago

          bush was not running in '08. In '04, however, he was above 50%.

          1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

            I'm glad Bush won in 2004 so that we could see how bad eight years of GOP is.

            1. John   13 years ago

              Shreek comes with video now.

              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v0fT90fBog

            2. sloopyinca   13 years ago

              Oh shit, you got us good Buttplug! Those of us here at NationalReview are gonna be hurting from th...

              Wait a minute, this isn't NationalReview? FreeRepublic? WeeklyStandard? No, then shut the fuck up and go troll those assholes.

              1. Palin's Buttplug   13 years ago

                I have the right to tell some dumbass that thinks an LPish Carter the worst to fuck go himself.

                Carter was more LP than any POTUS since Coolidge as he deregulated three big swaths of our economy, didn't start a war and didn't raise individual tax rates.

                1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

                  True, but you're confusing two subthreads, retard. I never said shit about Carter but was commenting about your glee at Bush the Lesser getting a second term so you and your dumbass lefty pals could blame him for everything from the recession to the falling of the wall at Jericho.

                  Listen closely: almost none of us are Team Red cheerleaders.* We generally despise Bush and his moronic policies as much as we hate Obama's. They are a pair of nitwits. Why you don't seem to get that is fucking beyond my powers of reasoning.

                  *Why you would feel the need to troll a small minority on this site by making outrageous statements and applying labels to most of us incorrectly is a mystery.

                  1. Mad Scientist   13 years ago

                    He's in it for the smug he feels erecting his straw men.

                  2. Lord Humungus   13 years ago

                    that's just how he argues - poorly.

      3. BarryD   13 years ago

        Higher.

        Dukakis, also.

        1. JW   13 years ago

          So, polls are shit.

  24. Loki   13 years ago

    The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 may have stalled, but President Barack Obama is preparing to implement it anyway.

    Didn't the big 0 have some rather specific things to say about BOOOSH using Executive orders to circumvent congress? Apparently he's every the lying shitbag hypocrit I always took him for.

    I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

  25. A Serious Man   13 years ago

    Gay couple sues Massachusetts church after it refuses to sell them a mansion, supposedly out of concern that it may be used to host gay weddings.

    1. AuH2O   13 years ago

      The gays do realize that there are more religious people than there are of them, and eventually picking fights with religion will be a losing battle?

      1. A Serious Man   13 years ago

        Or why can't they just issue a statement saying that while they're disappointed with the church's decision, they ultimately understand that it's a contentious issue for them and that the church, like any other property owner, should have the discretion to sell to whomever the want.

        I think that would give the gay rights crowd more popularity, wouldn't it?

        1. Kwanzaa Cake   13 years ago

          Because the gay rights movement doesn't give a shit about anyone else's rights. Their rights trump yours, end of story.

        2. Eduard van Haalen   13 years ago

          I don't know if most gay people support this kind of suit.

          Even if 99% of gays were against such shenanigans, the law lets the remaining 1% file this sort of suit - in order to defend the dignity of gays everywhere.

          1. Eduard van Haalen   13 years ago

            And the goal of such suits isn't popularity, but forced acquiescence.

    2. Rich   13 years ago

      That was just a cover for the true concern about hosting animal weddings.

    3. OldMexican   13 years ago

      Gay couple sues Massachusetts church after it refuses to sell them a mansion,

      Private property rights - how does that work, again???

  26. Dr. Frankenstein   13 years ago

    Why didn't I hear about this earlier?

    Russian Arms Legend in Trouble

    http://www.spiegel.de/internat.....53915.html

    1. T   13 years ago

      Some form of idiot wrote that article.

    2. BakedPenguin   13 years ago

      How do you lose money making AKs? The branding on the product is incredible.

      Also, I used to work with a guy who had a signed copy of Kalashnikov's autobiography. His wife had lived in the same Russian city.

      1. OldMexican   13 years ago

        Re: BakedPenguin,

        How do you lose money making AKs?

        You make them more expensively than your competition. That's how.

        1. Heroic Mulatto   13 years ago

          That and your biggest users counterfeit them.

          What, you think the Chinese are going to start paying for licencing just because Russia turned capitalist?

          1. Dr. Frankenstein   13 years ago

            Be careful of the ones that Kalashnikov spelled incorrectly on them. You know it's a knockoff.

            1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

              The ones spelled Karashnikov are obviously Chinese.

              1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

                The Afghan militias always gave the Chinese knockoffs to their worst troops - figured they wouldn't lose any good weapons when they ran away or lost 'em.
                How piss poor at quality control do you have to be , to be outperformed by the Soviets?!

              2. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

                Lacist!

  27. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

    Class warfare:
    His business empire makes some of the most iconic products in France, so when the country's richest man announced he would take Belgian citizenship it was bound to ruffle feathers. But when set against the backdrop of a controversial new wealth tax, criticism of Bernard Arnault quickly turned toxic.
    ?
    In a jarring front page Monday, the daily newspaper Lib?ration said "Get lost, rich bastard." It was a play on a comment by former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who said "get lost, poor bastard" at someone who refused to shake his hand.
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....le4532993/

    1. Eduard van Haalen   13 years ago

      So France will hold an "insult the Belgians" contest?

      1. T   13 years ago

        How many times can they say that word in a serious screenplay, though?

        1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

          Enough to win an award! The Norwegians will counter with one for fiord design.

  28. WrangVoo   13 years ago

    lol, wow I never thought about it like that dude.

    http://www.Anon-This.tk

    1. RedDragon6009   13 years ago

      Learn SEO best practices. Stop posting your link to "Do-Not-Follow" comment threads, they do you no good. And ditch the Tokelau domain registry, it makes you look illegitimate (which I'm convinced you are since your business address is a UPS store in Bartow, FL). To top it all off, you're padded keyword density and poorly written content make you a pariah to Google SERPs.

      1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

        Since LimpoSimpo retired, the anonobots have really slid downhill.

  29. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

    Sir Terry Pratchett: "I thought my Alzheimer's would be a lot worse than this by now"
    With a new book just out, Britain's highest profile Alzheimer's sufferer and right-to-die campaigner, Sir Terry Pratchett, tells Elizabeth Grice how his diagnosis has given him a new lease of life.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lif.....y-now.html

    1. AuH2O   13 years ago

      Finish the third Moist von Lipwig book then, you bastard!

      But, seriously, love me some Terry Pratchett.

  30. Archduke Pantsfan   13 years ago

    This is almost as much fun as Dear Prudence.

    How do you deal with an irrational parent? I'm 30 years old and have been living back at home with my parents while I train for a new career.
    The three of us were getting on well until last weekend when I invited a girl friend (a friend who happens to be a girl) from Belgium to stay for the weekend while my parents were away. Nothing happened between us, but when I told my parents my father almost had a heart attack. He said he couldn't believe I would invite girls to stay "unchaperoned" and that my behaviour was undignified and a disgrace.

    1. wareagle   13 years ago

      one way of dealing with such parents is having your own place. While their rules seem a bit arcane, particularly for a 30-year old, this is a 30-year old living with mommy and daddy.

      1. Heroic Mulatto   13 years ago

        Or you can do what they do in countries where it is common for people to live with their family until they're married....use a hotel.

    2. Kwanzaa Cake   13 years ago

      How do you deal with an irrational parent? Moving the fuck out of his house would be a good start.

  31. OldMexican   13 years ago

    Republicans have called for a privatization of rail and an end to subsidies to Amtrak.

    But swear to keep the popular features under a new and improved system!

  32. sloopyinca   13 years ago

    Check out this shit.

    The comments are about 50% "cop should be in trouble", 25% "I can't tell what happened" and 25% "too bad he didn't waste him"

    1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

      Threadwinning comment: Posted by lawman1214 on Thursday, September 06, 2012 01:10 AM Pacific Report Abuse
      You guys are overreacting a little, don't you think? He just forgot to index his finger before pistol whipping the suspect. This is simply a training issue regarding pistol whipping with a three finger /thumb grip and the index finger properly placed parallel to the trigger guard along the frame. This is what happens when you take a cop's sap gloves away! For you youngens' those were deerskin gloves with powdered lead sewn in around the outline of the fingers. and thumb. This was a highly effective tool but far to politically incorrect in today's law enforcement of social justice for the criminals.:")

      dunphy would be so proud...

      1. Brett L   13 years ago

        Fuck you, sloopy. Quit ruining my evenings with this shit.

        1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          Sorry. Will this make up for it a little bit?

          1. sloopyinca   13 years ago

            Or will I have to go this far?

            1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

              That made my evening better.

        2. sloopyinca   13 years ago

          Poor pup popped by prick patrolman.

    2. BakedPenguin   13 years ago

      Did Prince George's County hire Stasi as cop trainers after the Berlin Wall fell?

      1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

        Did you expect them to remain arbeitlose forever?!

  33. sloopyinca   13 years ago

    Are any of you big readers of the fantasy genre? If so, this might appeal to you.

    Warning: this video will not appeal to anybody.

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

Bob Menendez Does Not Deserve a Pardon

Billy Binion | 5.30.2025 5:25 PM

12-Year-Old Tennessee Boy Arrested for Instagram Post Says He Was Trying To Warn Students of a School Shooting

Autumn Billings | 5.30.2025 5:12 PM

Texas Ten Commandments Bill Is the Latest Example of Forcing Religious Texts In Public Schools

Emma Camp | 5.30.2025 3:46 PM

DOGE's Newly Listed 'Regulatory Savings' for Businesses Have Nothing to Do With Cutting Federal Spending

Jacob Sullum | 5.30.2025 3:30 PM

Wait, Lilo & Stitch Is About Medicaid and Family Separation?

Peter Suderman | 5.30.2025 1:59 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!