A.M. Links: NYC Election Season Brings Stop & Frisk Pandering to Forefront, Tons of Pot Abandoned Along Mexican Border, EU Parliament Rejects Offshore Drilling Ban

News from the New York City Council to the European Parliament

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  • appeals to dead voters?

    The New York City Council will be holding hearings on reforming the NYPD's practice of stop and frisk, since next year's an election year in the city.

  • Authorities found 5,600 pounds of pot, valued at $3 million, abandoned along the Arizona-Mexico border at three different locations this weekend.
  • The State Department confirmed this week there were no protests prior to the attack on the consulate in Benghazi on 9/11, contradicting the Administration's prior narratives.
  • A fourteen year old girl shot in the head by the Taliban for being a rights activist will undergo surgery today
  • A court in Moscow overturned the sentence of one of the members of Pussy Riot, releasing her on probation.  She argued she needed her own lawyer as the defense attorney represented the group as a whole but she was removed from the church prior to actions that led to convictions.
  • The European Parliament rejected a ban on offshore Arctic drilling, but there will be plenty of regulations.

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Ed Krayewski is a former associate editor at Reason.

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  1. The New York City Council will be holding hearings on reforming the NYPD’s practice of stop and frisk…

    Councilpersons could use the extra sleep.

  2. sarcasmic

    Daily Fail’s obligatory Christina Hendricks pics.
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs…..emble.html

    1. generic Brand

      gaahhhhh!! Why do I click these? I don’t even think Christina Hendricks is that attractive, and Mad Men can suck a dick (NTTAWWT). I guess I just keep figuring law of averages says she has to look bangable in at least one post.

      1. Restoras

        You mean like Kirstie Ally? Time is agin’ it.

      2. Heroic Mulatto

        SHUT YOUR MOUTH HOMO!

    2. Jordan

      Dem tittays…

    3. Zeb

      She really just needs to be dressed by the Mad Men costumers all the time. She looks great in the right clothes, but seems to wear a lot of things that are totally ridiculous for her body.

      1. Yes, this. And seriously, no turtlenecks!

        1. invisible furry hand

          IIRC she does wear them in MM, and it works. I think it’s also the underwear – she needs the structure and Janie Bryant makes sure she gets it, but when she’s off-duty she starts thinking she’s Carey Mulligan’s crazy sister who doesn’t need no stinkin’ corsetry cos she’s a slip of a thing

          1. Yeah, no question there. I don’t really get it. I see her in these gowns with only like, half a top, and all I can think is “you would be way more comfortable with boning everywhere! boning! get it! it’s good!”

  3. sarcasmic

    Cop gets a case of twisted balls!
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..rrest.html

  4. sarcasmic

    Christina Aguilera eats the competition!
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs…..igure.html

    1. Rich

      Divine!

    2. Rich

      That’s Divine!

      Also, fuck the spam filter.

    3. Restoras

      I bet this isn’t what I’m hoping it will be…

    4. Chaucer

      Even the SOS wants a piece of that.
      http://www.nationalreview.com/…..illary.jpg

  5. sarcasmic

    WWE wrestler punches innocent bystander in the face. What does he think he is? A cop?
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..brate.html

    1. Are you sure that wasn’t scripted?

      1. Whiterun Guard

        You mean a worked shoot? It’s possible, but the acting seems too good.

        1. Groovus Maximus

          It never made it out of the booking committee. It has to be a shoot.

  6. Authorities found 5,600 pounds of pot, valued at $3 million, abandoned along the Arizona-Mexico border…

    Authorities were promptly charged with possession.

    1. Whiterun Guard

      Hey man, that’s not ours, we just found it.

    2. In a more just and comedic world, yes.

  7. sarcasmic

    Cops are actually charged with crimes committed while on duty. I’m shocked! But seriously, this is one messed up story.
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..sault.html

    1. Whiterun Guard

      Officer Edward “Banana-hands” Jorgensen stated only that it was policy to thoroughly search all itinerant serfs.

      You can’t say thorough without saying rough.

    2. Rich

      Obviously Officer Vagnini just snapped after being called “Officer Vajayjay” one too many times.

      1. Groovus Maximus

        What you did there, I see it. Excellent work. -)))

  8. Epiphanies from Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    The “Black Swan” theorist reflects on the most stable country in human history and the folly of the European Union.
    http://www.foreignpolicy.com/a…..YM.twitter

    The most stable country in the history of mankind, and probably the most boring, by the way, is Switzerland. It’s not even a city-state environment; it’s a municipal state. Most decisions are made at the local level, which allows for distributed errors that don’t adversely affect the wider system. Meanwhile, people want a united Europe, more alignment, and look at the problems. The solution is right in the middle of Europe — Switzerland. It’s not united! It doesn’t have a Brussels! It doesn’t need one.

    1. DJF

      “”””people want a united Europe””””

      I think this depends on which people they are talking about.

      The average person probably just wants to go on vacation in another European country without having to get a visa or to buy something cheap in another European country without paying an extra fee or tax

      The people who want a united Europe are the people who either work for the EU and so want more money or promotions or who want to use the EU to order other people to do things.

      1. Zeb

        I’d say just about all people want a united Europe in the sense that they want a Europe that is not almost constantly at war. Which they could probably have done without going quite so far as they have with the integration.

  9. sarcasmic

    Glenn Beck forgets to set the hand brake.
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..dding.html

    1. ant1sthenes

      Did the President help him get his car out of the ditch?

  10. The CEO Who Built Himself America’s Largest House Just Threatened to Fire His Employees if Obama’s Elected
    http://gawker.com/5950189/the-…..as-elected

    1. wareagle

      at last. For a time now, I have challenged those who think raising taxes “on the rich” is a good idea to go ask their boss what the fallout of an increase might be. I should this guy something for laying out the potential consequences.

      1. How long until the government goes after him?

        1. Drax the Destroyer

          15 Years. You know, it’s inefficient and all that.

        2. Rich

          For libeling the President or election tampering?

          1. They went after Joe the Plumber.

      2. Whiterun Guard

        Seriuosly. Well Augustus Busch (III?) threatened this as well when Herr Clinton threatened to raise or make a federal beer tax.

        1. robc

          The big change in the federal excise tax on beer was during Bush 1. It had been $9 per bbl since 1951, he raised it to $18.

          1. Whiterun Guard

            Yeah, I don’t know what Clinton threatened to raise it to (or even if it was specifically the excise tax on beer), just that AB threatened to shut down. This was a few years before I became politically cognizant.

            1. robc

              Considering they didnt shut down over the other one, I cant imagine Clinton could have gotten anything that extreme through.

      3. I’m not sure that’s really the best example, since a lot of people would consider Siegel, who made his money in the timeshare business, to be just short of a con artist.

    2. Suthenboy

      To the comments on the article….wow.

      1. Whiterun Guard

        “What a dick. Will someone please let me know when it’s time to storm the Bastille? I have my torch and pitchfork ready.”

        Haha, yeah buddy, ok. Seriously, is there ANYTHING funnier than a libtard getting all testosteroney? I mean maybe cat videos, but other than that, NOTHING!

        1. NeonCat

          That had damn well better be a zero-carbon torch and a fair trade sustainable pitchfork, or they’ll have some ‘splainin’ to do.

        2. Brett L

          Seeing them run away in their skinny jeans? Hipsters being outcompeted by raccoons in Brooklyn?

          1. invisible furry hand

            “They are adorable but not in your backyard when they impact your life,” DeBrango said. “When he saw at me he stood up on two legs and hissed at me.”

            Disrespected by a small mammal. My heart bleeds.

            1. JW

              We’re officially ready to be conquered.

              “It was the size of a small dog! It was horrible, terrifying, I tells ya!”

              1. SugarFree

                They wouldn’t last two seconds in KY or FL. We have a giant raccoon in the neighborhood. We don’t bother him, he doesn’t bother us. And their are possums all over the place.

                Hipster-fed Alligator would look great on a menu.

            2. When he saw at me he stood up on two legs

              Short of standing atop a football tee, could the animal make it any more obvious that the solution is to just place kick it into someone else’s yard?

              1. Gray Ghost

                …could the animal make it any more obvious that the solution is to just place kick it into someone else’s yard?

                Do you often try to kick 10-15 pound animals? Raccoons are big. Mean too. In fact, I’m surprised they only get to 20 pounds, as I could’ve sworn I’ve seen bigger specimens rooting through garbage.

                OTOH, a .22 works wonders on them, and so does an ax, in a pinch.

                1. Gene

                  Ah the raccoon and the axe, memories. You should try a shovel on a possum now there is some good fun kids.

                2. I was being facetious about the place kicking, but from dealing with aggressive geese, I know that generally speaking “mean” animals have just been trained to believe that humans will run away from them if they make a threat display. The second they think you’re coming to attack them, they skeedaddle pretty quick.

            3. Brett L

              Mayor Bloomberg intends to fight back by releasing trans-fat and salt free recipes for NYC’s newest locavore treat: raccoon. I expect coon hounds to replace pot-bellied pigs as the next hipster pet.

  11. Bee Tagger

    The European Parliament rejected a ban on offshore Arctic drilling, but there will be plenty of regulations.

    European Parliament hates being arbitrarily told that they can’t arbitrarily tell someone else what they can and can’t do.

  12. Revisiting the Iconic WW2 Photo

    The Kissing Sailor, or “The Selective Blindness of Rape Culture”
    http://cratesandribbons.com/20…..es-square/

    Most of us are familiar with this picture. Captured in Times Square on V-J Day, 1945, it has become one of the most iconic photographs of American history, symbolizing the jubilation and exuberance felt throughout the country at the end of World War II.

    …snip…

    It seems pretty clear, then, that what George had committed would be considered sexual assault by modern standards. Yet, in an amazing feat of willful blindness, none of the articles comment on this, even as they reproduce Greta’s words for us. Without a single acknowledgement of the problematic nature of the photo that her comments reveal, they continue to talk about the picture in a whimsical, reverent manner, “still mesmerized by his timeless kiss.” George’s actions are romanticized and glorified; it is almost as if Greta had never spoken.

    1. generic Brand

      The articles even give us Greta’s own words:

      “It wasn’t my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and grabbed!”

      “I did not see him approaching, and before I knew it, I was in this vice grip. [sic]”

      “You don’t forget this guy grabbing you.”

      “That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me.”

      Hahahahahahahaha. Is this the founder of Jezebel spoofing me or something?

      1. Whiterun Guard

        Are those from Greta or Hussein after the honeymoon?

    2. Maybe she shouldn’t have been parading around in those white “fuck me” stockings.

    3. Zeb

      Kissing is sex now?

      If she really didn’t want to be grabbed and kissed, maybe some sort of assault.

      1. Apatheist ?_??

        Yes for once they are right. It turns out this was an assault. But no one is going to give a shit now.

  13. Bee Tagger

    The State Department confirmed this week there were no protests prior to the attack on the consulate in Benghazi on 9/11, contradicting the Administration’s prior narratives.

    I know the word “unexpectedly” belongs in there somewhere.

    1. Will Big Bird’s imminent demise be enough to deflect reporters from finding time to ask the Administration about this? Let’s watch.

    2. R C Dean

      What’s amazing is when you look at what the administration knew very early on (namely, no protest, highly organized attack, etc.) and what Susan Rice was saying on the Sunday shows.

      She was lying. Flat out, no fooling, highly embroidered and detailed, no waffling or weaseling, lying. Over and over again.

      1. wareagle

        and it is so bad that not even Obama’s steno corps can paint it otherwise.

  14. Michael Gerson: From Romney, a change in tone, not policy
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..story.html

    Those who urge Obama in the next debate to call Romney a liar, or close to it, are doing him no favors. It is one thing to do this on the stump, where taunting and mocking result in applause. It is another thing to try this tactic face to face, where it nearly always seems desperate and small. Because of the manner of Obama’s failure in the first debate ? by being too passive ? he will need to be more aggressive in the next. But that is a difficult trait to calibrate, particularly in a president prone to public petulance. A small turn of the faucet and the cold water suddenly scalds.

    Anger in the Obama camp is understandable. Romney seems comfortable with his new tone ? almost relieved to be back into Massachusetts mode. He is better positioned to appeal to independents in Ohio and elsewhere. And Obama is still reacting to Romney, not the other way around. Days after they parted in Denver, Romney is still dominating the debate.

    1. wareagle

      Romney, by comparison, had no issue with tactfully calling bullshit on Obama. Repeatedly. Which makes the Camp Obama post-debate claims all the more laughable. You’re left to assume that the only who did not know Mitt was lying was Barack himself, and that doesn’t look good in a POTUS.

      1. Whiterun Guard

        Shut up you racist.

    2. Red Rocks Rockin

      It is one thing to do this on the stump, where taunting and mocking result in applause. It is another thing to try this tactic face to face, where it nearly always seems desperate and small.

      Yeah, it’s always a lot different calling a guy out when he’s standing six feet away from you. As dumb as his “47%” comment was in context, his biggest ace right now is that he knows he’s not getting roughly 45% of the vote no matter what he says or does. He’s campaigning like someone with nothing to lose, and that’s bad for someone like Obama who made a political career off of being a cipher for the masses.

  15. She argued she needed her own lawyer as the defense attorney represented the group as a whole but she was removed from the church prior to actions that led to convictions.

    Way to pussy out on your fellow band members!

  16. NY stop and frisk caught on tape.

    Are you gonna arrest me? What for?

    For being a mutt.

    1. Are you sure you have the correct link? That’s just a booking photo.

      1. Oops. And a disturbing one at that. Let’s try it again:

        NY stop and frisk.

        I’m gonna break your fucking arm.

        1. You should have linked to Balko instead.

    2. Suthenboy

      “An August poll found that 57 percent of white New Yorkers supported the practice while 25 percent of blacks did not.”

      Good and hard.

      1. I think there’s a misprint in those polling numbers. It would be more logical if only 25 percent of blacks supported it.

        1. wareagle

          who knows. It’s quite likely that blacks are on the receiving end of criminal behavior committed by other blacks. They may not like the policy but they dislike being victimized more.

        2. SugarFree

          It’s extremely poor wording. 57% of whites supports SnF, but only 25% of black support SnF.

          If they wanted to write coherently they wouldn’t have become journalists.

          1. You can say that, and by “that” i mean the thing you just said, again, or, on another occassion, as it were.

            1. invisible furry hand

              Your day job is as Joe Biden’s speechwriter, I see

              1. I applied for Assistant Trans Am Detailer, ifh, but you take what you can get.

            2. SugarFree

              Years of literary critical theory and a decent knowledge base of how to use the English language to convey meaning, and I still can’t figure out what most web journalism stories are trying to say.

              My high school newspaper editor–sweet stoned guy who brought his kayak to work everyday on his car–would have beaten us with an oar if we turned in work half that bad.

              1. What my profession needs is more stoned editors with oars.

              2. Brett L

                Years of literary critical theory and a decent knowledge base of how to use the English language to convey meaning, and I still can’t figure out what most web journalism stories are trying to say.

                “Click one ad link on our page! Even by accident!”

                1. SugarFree

                  OK. At least that makes sense.

                  1. As an industry insider, I can tell you it’s quite simple: no one thinks they need a fucking editor, let alone a proofreader.

                    And they are all wrong.

  17. Bee Tagger

    Authorities found 5,600 pounds of pot, valued at $3 million, abandoned along the Arizona-Mexico border at three different locations this weekend.

    Creating a black market for a product and causing it’s dollar value to skyrocket sure is handy when you want to make headlines with busts.

    1. Groovus Maximus

      when you want to make headlines with busts.

      Just simply be Christina Hendricks: Instant Daily FAIL fodder.

      1. Bee Tagger

        Are you saying the drug war is the ultimate source of the sarcasmic/sage rivalry?

        1. Groovus Maximus

          Why, yes, yes I am! Good show, Tagger of Bees!

          1. Suthenboy

            Welcome back Groovus.

    2. Drax the Destroyer

      I wonder what 5,600 pounds of Tabacco is worth? Sans government imposed sanctions/taxes?

      1. Groovus Maximus

        Did you mean “tobacco” or “tabasco”?

        1. Drax the Destroyer

          Why not both?

          1. Whiterun Guard

            I can’t stop drinking this Tobasco despite the pain!

          2. I’ll take the hot sauce. you can have the dried leaves.

          3. Now that’s a hybrid.

        2. I think you meant TABASCO. If you don’t capitalize it, they will yell at you for making their pretty little copyright ugly.

    3. R C Dean

      Is my math off, or does that come to about $33/oz?

      1. T

        No, that’s what I get. Unusually low number for a law enforcement claim. It’s actually pretty close to reality.

        1. NeonCat

          There’s somewhere in America where you can buy an ounce for $33?! Is it any good?

          1. Zeb

            If you buy 5600 pounds, yes.

          2. Gene

            It depends who you know. Ditto Canukistan.

        2. That might even be low, or else that is some seriously shitty schwag. There may be a reason it was left in the desert IYKWIM.

          1. invisible furry hand

            IYKWIM

            As usual, no, but I will smirk knowingly and nod in an attempt to look like one of the cool kids

    4. Zeb

      At least the figure is not insanely inflated. Less than $1000 per pound is pretty cheap.

  18. ABC News scrambles to cover up Barack Obama’s attendance at VP debate moderator’s wedding
    http://dailycaller.com/2012/10…..s-wedding/

    President Barack Obama was a guest at the 1991 wedding of ABC senior foreign correspondent and vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz, The Daily Caller has learned. Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

    What does Glenn Reynolds say? Democratic operatives with bylines.

    1. Who cares if he was at the wedding – if the moderator is married to an Administration official, isn’t that enough of a conflict of interest to get someone else to do it in the first place? Slick move, agreeing to her being the mod, GOP!

      1. Ah, I followed up and see that her and the FCC tryant wannabe lasted as a married couple for all of 6 years?

    2. R C Dean

      The Romney campaign served up a giant helping of FAIL on these debates.

      Lehrer did any unexpectedly(!) good job as moderator, keeping a low profile and letting the candidates do their thang (although he’s also one of the better interviewers, for the same reason).

      Romney was a fool to agree to a town hall meeting, and more than a fool to allow somebody with a no-question conflict of interest to moderate.

  19. Dying woman frisked by TSA

    he called Alaska Airlines ahead of time to request a wheelchair and to ask how her medicines should be separated for the security line.
    “I did everything they asked me to do, so I didn’t think it would be an issue,” she said.
    But Dunaj says nothing went right at the security checkpoint.
    A machine couldn’t get a reading on her saline bags, so a TSA agent forced one open, contaminating the fluid she needs to survive.
    She says agents also made her lift up her shirt and pull back the bandages holding feeding tubes in place. Dunaj needs those tubes because of organ failure.
    With other passengers staring, Dunaj says she asked for privacy and was turned down.
    “They just said that it was fine; the location we were at was fine,” she said.

    1. Groovus Maximus

      Hmmm, I am sure the good and noble people at HHS is taking notes of this exemplary display of direct patient care.

      I am sure Sebelius approves of such cost cutting measures of “waste”, “fraud”, and “abuse”. The nerve of the woman, terminally ill and using that perfectly good saline that someone else could be using.

    2. Restoras

      In other news, Agents of the State continue to act as Agents of the State, without regard for the publich they ostensibly serve, since said Agents work at the pleasure of other Agents of the State.

    3. generic Brand

      Break the TSA. These stories can only make one of the most unpopular agencies in U.S. history more obsolete.

      1. Drax the Destroyer

        And yet, the IRS is stronger than ever. We’ve been fucked for decades. The TSA is a symptom, not the disease itself.

      2. Restoras

        Would love to see that. However, Agents of the State are employed and serve at the whim of other Agents of the State. Having those Agents of the State serving as Agents of the State makes the Agents of the State feel good about themselves. So, not gonna happen.

        1. generic Brand

          It’s very disheartening to know that our only weapon is to remove a politician from power if he does not do his job correctly. Disheartening because more often than not, 51% or more of the population will say that he did his job adequately enough.

          1. Rasilio

            Even worse when you realize that removing that 1 politician is meaningless because you’d have to replace 30 – 40 in order to build enough of a consensus in Congress to get something like the TSA eliminated.

            1. Gray Ghost

              Still not going to happen, unless they lost to candidates who made abolishing the TSA their primary motive for running.

              The TSA is job insurance. For politicians. When the next terrorist attack happens, the politicians can point to the TSA and swear that they did everything to keep America safe and that they shouldn’t be blamed. With no TSA, that insurance isn’t there. And since pretty damn near every politician likes having the job more than they like adhering to some musty old things like principles and liberty, I don’t see things changing.

              Blame our fellow apes who keep falling for this shit.

              1. Rasilio

                That is what I meant, you’d need 30 – 40 congresscritters spread through both houses elected specifically with the goal of eliminating something like the TSA for it to happen.

                You “MIGHT” be able to do it by electing a strongly pro freedom President like Paul or Johnson but given how far we are from ever seeing either of those guys elected you’d probably have an easier time going after congress.

    4. $park?

      Let’s face it, sometimes people should just have the decency to die when it’s time.

      1. Groovus Maximus

        Paging Ke$ha…Paging Ke$ha…Your time has expired…

  20. Afterlife exists says top brain surgeon
    A prominent scientist who had previously dismissed the possibility of the afterlife says he has reconsidered his belief after experiencing an out of body experience which has convinced him that heaven exists.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new…..rgeon.html

    “But what happened to me was, far from being delusional, as real or more real than any event in my life. That includes my wedding day and the birth of my two sons.” He added: “I’ve spent decades as a neurosurgeon at some of the most prestigous medical institutions in our country. I know that many of my peers hold as I myself did to the theory that the brain, and in particular the cortex, generates consciousness and that we live in a universe devoid of any kind of emotion, much less the unconditional love that I now know God and the universe have toward us.

    “But that belief, that theory, now lies broken at our feet. What happened to me destroyed it.”

    1. Fluffy

      Unconditional love is an asinine concept, and the Abrahamaic religions are lying when they say their god has it, anyway.

      So as soon as you start spouting that crap I know you’ve gone off the Shirley MacLaine deep end. I bet you can find a surgeon out there somewhere who thinks the crystals he bought have magical powers, too.

      He had a dream.

      1. Speaking of crystals, I used to live in Boulder, CO back in 1990. There was a shop on the Pearl St. Mall that sold crystals and various shiny rocks. Every day there was a small crowd of people hovering in front of the display window, gathering the ‘crystal power’ into their collective outstretched hands.

        1. invisible furry hand

          “To you, Baldrick, the Renaissance was just something that happened to other people, wasn’t it?”

          1. Night Elf Mohawk

            Let me know if you ever want to move to Texas.

            1. invisible furry hand

              Thanks, will do! Lyle Lovett once sang “That’s right, you’re not from Texas / Texas wants you anyway” which I have always considered an invitation.

              1. Brett L

                Bring that strong Aussie money!

              2. Groovus Maximus

                Indeed. I knew I should have moved to Texas. Rats! Paging RC…Paging RC Dean…

                1. R C Dean

                  For a modest share of your future earnings, I could forward your application to the Right People . . .

          2. Do you, in fact, have any other purpose in life, other than the acquisition of turnips?

      2. Tim

        I love you unconditionally, in the Christian sense Fluffy, you fooking heathen bastid.

        1. Rich

          “I knew Jack Kennedy, in the Biblical sense.”

      3. John

        And conditional love isn’t asinine? Oh I get it, you have perfect knowledge and your reason will allow you to determine what said conditions should be.

        Nothing kooky about that.

        1. Tim

          Oh John, you’re a bastid too.

        2. Drax the Destroyer

          I think you both have it wrong. Love is asinine.

          1. invisible furry hand

            especially if you’re a zoophile

          2. Tim

            What is love?
            Baby don’t hurt me, don’t me…

        3. Auric Demonocles

          Fluffy’s argument there strikes me as very similar to the way a ton of bisexual people say “everyone is a little bisexual”. Because they don’t feel something, they can’t comprehend someone else feeling that way. I’m straight, but I don’t say “everyone is straight”. Some people are totally straight, some are totally gay, and some are bi. Similarly, just because Fluffy can’t love unconditionally doesn’t mean someone else (particularly an all powerful being) can’t.

          1. Whiterun Guard

            Could god make something so loathesome that even he couldn’t love it?

            1. Like cockroaches? Or Nickelback?

              1. Auric Demonocles

                Warty.

                1. SugarFree

                  God loves Warty. It’s the rest of of us that He hates.

            2. Groovus Maximus

              You are familiar with a poster who goes by the nom di blog “Warty”, no?

            3. Rich

              Could it be ……. SATAN?!

          2. Fluffy

            No, I’m saying that it’s an asinine concept because I not only don’t believe you can do it – I also think that if it turns out I’m wrong and you can do it, you’re evil for doing it.

            I further believe that there isn’t a single page in the Bible where Yahweh displays even the slightest intention of doing it. The very first humans are around for two paragraphs before he decides to fuck them up for breaking his conditions on affection.

            1. $park?

              +1 command to kill your son

        4. Fluffy

          If you “unconditionally love”, that means you equally love someone who is nice to you, and someone who tries to stab you in the eye with a pencil every time you see them.

          It’s an asinine concept because not only is it not achievable, if you magically made it achievable it would be evil if you did it.

          It’s also absurd to apply it to the Abrahamaic god because he makes no bones about eternally torturing (if not immediately smiting IRL) those who don’t obey him. Describing a being that tortures those who fail to respect him as “unconditionally loving” is truly some epic pissing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.

          1. Zeb

            So believers in a totally loving god are sort of like battered wives:

            “He only beats me because he loves me so much”.

          2. John

            No ideal is ever achievable. The perfect market is never achievable either. But I don’t hear you bitching about people trying to get there.

            That is the whole point about ideals, they are never achievable in the real world. But that doesn’t make them asinine it just makes them ideals you half wit.

            1. Fluffy

              The reason it’s not an ideal is because if you reached it, you would be a monster.

              Generally ideals are supposed to be things it would be good to do if you could do them.

          3. Trespassers W

            I love Fluffy on the condition that he continues to write stuff like this.

        5. No, Fluffy is right, and he has said this before. When people say they “unconditionally love” someone, what they really mean is that you would just have to do something really, really horrible in order to destroy that love. E.g., “I unconditionally love you…oh shit, you murdered my mom? Nevermind.”

          That said, I think some people, sometimes, really do love other people unconditionally. Some parents still love their psychopath killer children, some wives still love their beating, murdering, imprisoned husbands, etc.

      4. wareagle

        that’s why it is called faith.

      5. Restoras

        I love my kids unconditionally. Just sayin’.

        1. Whiterun Guard

          Yeah, sure you do. And then they bring home a yankee.

        2. SugarFree

          What if your son wanted to double gay marry Episiarch and shrike?

          1. T

            I’d still love what was left of him when I was finished expressing my displeasure over his decision.

          2. Restoras

            Uhhh, weeellll, I suppose that’s ok in theory….

            1. SugarFree

              And what if all three moved back in with you after your son got a $95,000 associates degree in Puppetry?

        3. Fluffy

          That means you love them on the condition that they’re your kids.

          Do you love my kids? No?

          Bingo – condition.

          1. T

            Time to cue up the dipshit ethicist who thinks you shouldn’t treat your children any differently than somebody else’s children.

          2. Restoras

            You said there is no such thing as unconditional love. I claim to love my kids unconditionally. Therefore, I challenge your claim that there is no such thing as unconditional love.

            1. Zeb

              Suppose, I don’t know, one of them kills the other and then becomes a communist and rapes his mother. Still love him?

              1. Restoras

                Oy. I guess so…but would have to go with the tough love approach.

                On the otherhand…maybe not. Fair enough to say that not all humans turn out well but all humans do have parents. Wonder what Stalin’s parents think of him and his accomplishments?

            2. Fluffy

              I just showed you that you have set a condition on your supposedly unconditional love.

              That means it’s not unconditional.

              I also wouldn’t really concede that it’s single-condition love (“I love you unconditionally except for the sole condition that you be my child”) either. If you went to the hospital with your wife when she went into labor and an alien xenomorph came out of her ladyparts and hunted the hospital staff like you were on the Nostromo, I do not believe that you would “love” it.

    2. Tim

      Dumb headline on radio this morning: ” Atheists are fastest growing religious group in the US”.
      This is what passes for journalism.

      1. generic Brand

        Dumb because atheism is not the fastest growing religion?

        1. Tim

          Dumb because how can “atheist” be a religious group?

          1. generic Brand

            Atheism writ large is more or less a cult, and one that gets by with hating on the more established religions. However, individual atheists exist and have no qualms towards more formal religions. Much like Christianity can be very cult-like if you look at the Catholic Diocese or the Joel Osteens of the world, but individual Christians don’t always subscribe to those same points of view.

            1. Zeb

              Oh, no, not this again. Not believing in something is not a belief system. You don’t define Christianity by listing all of the religions that Christians don’t believe in.

          2. Atheism technically is denying the possibility of gods existing and is therefore a religion

            Agnosticism is the absence of belief due to the lack of evidence.

            Many people who identify themselves as atheists are actually agnostics. … technically.

            1. Tim

              “I don’t believe it” see what I did there?

            2. Many people who identify themselves as atheists are actually agnostics. … technically.

              Every time with this shit. Somebody has to get it wrong.

              Here you go: Athiest/agnostic matrix.

              1. Actually, the guy is making the very point I am making.

                He just says most agnostics assume that there are no gods which is fairly reasonable but still in and of itself an act of faith.

                The true skeptic would say “I don’t know if gods exist or not in the absence of evidence.”

                BTW, this is my last post on the subject because I am tired of the circular flame wars that these discussions invariably devolve into. I honestly don’t have a dog in this fight.

                I see this as being a very similar argument as to whether libertarian anarchists are really anarchists because we tolerate hierarchies that people voluntarily join and are free to leave.

                1. Actually, the guy is making the very point I am making.

                  Didn’t read it, did you?

                  1. I did read it. His argument is that most agnostics are also atheists and therefore it’s OK to use atheism as a shorthand for agnosticism. That still doesn’t change the definition of the words.

                    1. You were using those words as substitutes for each other, like many other people do. But they’re not. It’s like that “great taste, less filling” MillerLight commercial with the chicks fighting. It can be both or neither, or they can be used in combination. They are different axis, not graduations of the same phenomena.

                    2. You were using those words as substitutes for each other, like many other people do.

                      No, I am not!

                      I maintain that other people use them as substitutes for each other.

                      The person you linked to is asserting that they can be used as substitutes for each other, since – they assert – a person who is agnostic is probably an atheist. I argue that since the words mean different things it’s sloppy to conflate them.

                    3. The person you linked to is asserting that they can be used as substitutes for each other, since – they assert – a person who is agnostic is probably an atheist. I argue that since the words mean different things it’s sloppy to conflate them.

                      I agree. But very few people conflate them. Most people look at them as exclusionary concepts. Which is what I took this sentence to mean:

                      Many people who identify themselves as atheists are actually agnostics. … technically.

                      As would just about any other person reading it. Because, actually, they are both.

                      And he said an apatheist (the exact center of the matrix) would be basically an atheist, not an agnostic. That’s a footnote you keep glomming onto, not a thesis.

            3. Trespassers W

              Atheism is absence of belief in the supernatural.

              Agnosticism is a different axis. You can have agnostic theists, and theists will often (always?) retreat into agnosticism when pushed hard enough (God is unknowable).

              All discussed and argued in great detail by George H. Smith in “Atheism: The Case Against God”, which is the most comprehensive book on atheism that I’m aware of.

              1. Agnosticism is a different axis. You can have agnostic theists, and theists will often (always?) retreat into agnosticism when pushed hard enough (God is unknowable).

                Excellent. Give this man a cigar.

        2. Drake

          As Adam Carolla wrote – there are 2 kinds of atheists. The ones who don’t believe and don’t give a shit. I can deal with those atheists.

          Then there are the fervent passionate ones who are mad at God and anyone who believes anything. They want religious symbols taken down everywhere and never hear anyone mention any deity ever. That is a particularly obnoxious religion.

      2. SugarFree

        Not believing in something that has no proof is just plain irrational.

        1. Tim

          You must be one of them “religious atheists” with your robes and your incense.

          1. Burn the heretic!

        2. Auric Demonocles

          Agnosticism is rational. Atheism is not the same.

          1. SugarFree

            Is not believing that Zeus exists also a religion?

            1. invisible furry hand

              Fuck Zeus – WOTAN FOREVER!!

              1. Tim

                Ganesh will trample you.

                1. hamilton

                  “please do not offer my god a peanut.”

              2. I have to agree about the Zeus part. Little upstart mother sisterfucker.

            2. Auric Demonocles

              Depends. Are you saying “Zeus does not exist” or “I currently see no evidence that Zeus exists”?

              1. SugarFree

                Zeus does not exist.

                Unicorns do not exists.

                George Washington is dead.

                Are these statements religious belief? Are these statements irrational in some way? What is your evidence that these are irrational statements?

                1. I’d join a religion based on those three tenets. You startin’ one?

                  1. SugarFree

                    Do you denyth the Zeus and the ‘Corn? Do you reject the Washington Risen and all his zombie works? Will you send me money?

                    Join now!

                    1. $park?

                      All I have is three wooden nickles. Can I join anyway?

                2. Auric Demonocles

                  Washington is dead has evidence in favor of it. Zeus and unicorns don’t have evidence in favor of their nonexistence, there is a lack of evidence in favor of their existence. We can narrow down the abilities/properties of Zeus and unicorns. For instance, even if he exists, Zeus doesn’t show up if you say “Hey Zeus, come here” (though you might accidentally get a Hispanic guy to come over).

                  The part where they become religious beliefs is when you get to the point that you would refuse to accept new evidence that suggests they do exist. If you aren’t at that point, you’re an agnostic.

                  1. SugarFree

                    No atheist would refuse valid evidence that Jehovah exists.

                    Refuse the same, tired, continually refuted arguments? Yes. Refuse professions of faith and personal revelation as valid evidence? Yes.

                    1. $park?

                      Here’s the deal, if there suddenly came into being proof that God did exist it wouldn’t be God anymore. God would become just another function of the universe that men will try to make sense of. The Greeks and Romans believed that a god drove the sun around the sky, nobody believes that anymore and there’s a reason for it.

                    2. SugarFree

                      Here’s the deal, if there suddenly came into being proof that God did exist it wouldn’t be God anymore.

                      Which comes full circle to my original sarcastic assertion (here stated as a positive question).

                      Is it irrational to not believe in the irrational?

                    3. $park?

                      Let’s just wrap this up here and define God as the Ultimate Moving Goalposts. If evidence comes to light that proves God exists then God ceases to exist as it was and must then be redefined as something more than before.

                    4. 0x90

                      “Is it irrational to not believe in the irrational?”

                      Would you agree that there is a meaningful difference between the statements “I do not believe that X exists” and “I believe that X does not exist”? The nature of X here is immaterial, such that a logician may find your above question, as written, to be imprecise, and possibly willfully so. That is, I think, one reason you are getting some pushback.

                    5. robc

                      Personal revelation is valid evidence…for that person.

                    6. Auric Demonocles

                      No atheist would refuse valid evidence that Jehovah exists.

                      Then they’re agnostics.

                    7. SugarFree

                      I think most atheists are just agnostics that got sick of tip-toeing around the subject to spare the feelings of the religious.

                  2. Entropy Void

                    Jesus! I see what you did there, compadre …

                3. Tim

                  If Zeus doesn’t exist how do you explain Herakles? HUH?

      3. wareagle

        if it’s the same story I am thinking about, that is a total distortion of the story. The growth is in unaffiliated folks, not atheists. Small difference between not belonging to a specific church and not believing in any religion.

        1. SugarFree

          If it’s this, then you are spot on.

          It’s a category error to make the story seem more sensational.

          1. Tim

            ABC Radio. They just read headlines and give little or no exposition.

          2. wareagle

            yup, SF; that’s the story. Quite different from the radio version. Good thing we can count on a diligent media to keep us well-informed.

        2. I guess they are not including the cafeteria faithful – I know some folks that wander from church to church, never settling on one place or denomination. I think they would be counted as non-affiliated.

          1. Rasilio

            I still wanna know how they handle Unitarian Universalists in such a poll because UU’s have no set belief system and in any given UU church you could find Christians, Muslims, Hindu’s, Jews, NeoPagans, and any other assorted religions that might be present in the local populace including a not insignificant number of atheists.

            1. Unitarian Universalist was specific option in the survey, full version here (PDF), see page 79. Responses were low enough as to be unmeasurable.

              1. Rasilio

                Yes but the problem is that it is bound to be undercounting UU’s because only those who identified themselves as UU would respond that.

                For example, if they asked me I would say Athiest, yet I frequently attend a UU church and honestly if the sickening smug liberal attitudes didn’t turn me off so much I’d probably be a regular attendee but my primary religous identification would remain Athiest.

      4. Drax the Destroyer

        Perhaps, the real growth is in people too lazy to waste “…half my their Sunday hearing about how I’m they’re going to Hell?”

        Homer Simpson is the prophet of the apathetic sloths.

        1. that’s how my family stopped going to church… there were just more interesting things to do on a Sunday morning.

          1. Drax the Destroyer

            Yeah, like sleep and staring at drying paint.

            1. Also Rocky and Bullwinkle were on!

              1. NeonCat

                “Watch me pull a savior out of this tomb!”

        2. Yeah — that’s why 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon is the best time of the week: It’s the longest time before more church.

          1. Rasilio

            Not to mention Football starting.

    3. It’s not rocket science.

      1. Whiterun Guard

        I have seen no evidence of rocket science.

  21. John

    http://professional.wsj.com/ar…..reno64-wsj

    Jack Welch explains why the UE numbers are bullshit

    1. VG Zaytsev

      One detail that I’d like to see a real news media look into regarding the current unemployment report is this:

      The household survey is based on contacting 60,000 households in various blocks throughout the country, mostly by telephone. But telephone surveys have had declining compliance rates for decades with this year’s average being survey completion by 9% of the attempted contacts.

      So, what is the full completion rate in the BLS survey and what is the non completion rate? Is it 9% completion of 50,000 attempted contacts for example?

  22. Rubin: Obama cultists’ crack-up
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/….._blog.html

    The left, as I suggested, may soon (if not before the election, than certainly after if he loses) reach the point in which Obama is trashed to save liberalism. It is not, the left tells us, the Keynesian record of failure that was to blame for the debate wipeout; rather it was Obama’s cruddy performance. It’s not that liberalism lacks a reform agenda that is both feasible and politically popular, you see. No, the problem was that Obama didn’t shout “Liar!” loudly enough.

    Given a choice between casting off their false idol and giving up the cult of liberalism, there is no competition. Liberals will have no compunction about dumping Obama. The last thing they want is to see what Romney-Ryan have described as a referendum on “two visions.” The Republicans call it a dependency society vs. an opportunity society. But it is really a face-off between modern conservatism and unrepentant liberalism. That’s not a contest the left can afford to lose. So, back to the Obama bashing!

    1. John

      The comments are classic. Basically it is Obama cultists having meltdowns over Rubin saying they are cracking up.

      1. Thanks to NoScript, I don’t see the comments. I think I’ll keep it that way.

        1. You show wisdom, Lord H.

    2. R C Dean

      I wonder if we aren’t seeing the long-anticipated “preference cascade” against Obama.

      Time will tell, of course, but if we were to get one, isn’t this what it would look like?

    3. VG Zaytsev

      Given a choice between casting off their false idol and giving up the cult of liberalism, there is no competition. Liberals will have no compunction about dumping Obama.

      Yeah, I don’t think so.

      People have personally invested in the Cult of Obama that can’t even describe what his policies are, let alone what modern proglodytism stands for.

      1. Red Rocks Rockin

        let alone what modern proglodytism stands for.

        “We can pay for it all, but you won’t have to pay for it at all!!”

  23. Rich

    I understand that the House Oversight Committee hearing on Benghazi will be streamed live here starting at noon.

    Think I’ll have popcorn for lunch today.

    1. I doubt there will be any real fireworks, just a bunch of grandstanding.

      1. Restoras

        Yes. Agents of the State posturing for the benefit of other Agents of the State.

      2. Rich

        “I am not a crook!”

  24. Whatever you do, don’t name your pineapple Mohammad.

    RAHS, which has opinions about freedom of expression, and which is in solidarity with other university branches of their group that have recently been disciplined by student unions for blasphemy, decided to express themselves and engender debate by bringing along a pineapple named Mohammad.

    The end result was that the officials (and I use the term loosely) of the Reading University Student Union shouted at the members of RAHS and kicked them out of the Freshers Fayre.

    1. Rich

      Mohammed is the most popular baby name in England.

      Think of all the kids who’ve been beheaded for innocently calling their stuffed animal Mohammed.

    2. “all I said to my wife was that piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah.”

      1. Right! Who threw that!?!

        1. Restoras

          No one is to throw anything until I blow this whistle!

          1. invisible furry hand

            Even… and I want to make this absolutely clear… even if they do say, “Jehovah”.

    3. Dunphy (the real one)

      “RUSU is dedicated to promoting an environment in which all students feel welcome and included in all of our activities, while at the same time being committed to our members maintaining a culture of free speech”

      when will the european-canadian-anybody but the US speech codists GET IT?

      you cannot simultaneously

      1) promote an environment in whcih all students feel welcome
      AND

      2) maintain a culture of free speech

      those goals NECESSARILY conflict and always will.

      necessarily

      and of course, it’s a greater good (and in the US a constitutional necessity at least on a PUBLIC college campus) that the rights to (2) be respected. (1) would be “nice”, but considering such innocuous but pure examples of free speech as putting a US flag in a dorm room window have led with (2) being violated and even yes… orders from campus bigwigs to remove same, it’s crystal clear that … well.. fuck (2) we’ll stick with (1) here in the US at least.

      of course, this is canada, where they even respect the right of a muslim police constable not to be assigned duties related to protecting/guarding the Israeli embassy.

      http://www.sodahead.com/united…..on-990299/

      imagine, a pro-life officer demanding to be relieved from the duty of guarding a planned parenthood that had seen protests and picketing, etc.?

      1. Dunphy (the real one)

        ugh, not canada… i mean england. or, essentially, canada without a dental plan

      2. ant1sthenes

        you cannot simultaneously

        1) promote an environment in whcih all students feel welcome

        Could have stopped right there.

    4. SugarFree

      A Pineapple Named Mohammad is the Al Jazeera children’s show response to Veggie Tales.

  25. John

    http://www.realclearpolitics.c…..tates.html

    Suffolk calls NC, VA and Florida for Romney says will no longer poll there.

    1. generic Brand

      But without polls, how will we know who is leading in that state???

    2. DJF

      Good, less polling means less calls to my home.

      1. Ha! I treat the phone like an object from a horror movie from primary season through Election Day for that very reason.

      2. One of the good things about being in New York is no ads for Romney or Obama.

        Unfortunately two of the House races in the Albany media market are close….

        1. KDN

          One of the good things about being in New York is no ads for Romney or Obama.

          I’m in NYC Metro and see Obama ads pretty often. Not as often as Linda McMahon (who is two states away), but more than Bob “I’m totally not a crook” Menendez.

      3. The simple solution: Never answer your land line. If the call’s important, the caller will leave a message.

        1. VG Zaytsev

          Better solution.

          Get rid of your land line entirely and save 40 bucks a month.

          1. If I got rid of my land line, how would it get the Internets?

            1. $park?

              Like any reasonable person does, through your cable line.

              1. What is this “cable” of which you speak?

                1. $park?

                  Barack Obama himself will be delivering one directly to your home if he gets reelected. If not, you’ll have to continue to live in the dark ages where the conservatives want you.

          2. Zeb

            I chose rather not to get mobile phone and save $50 a month.

            1. VG Zaytsev

              Yo need get Obama phone.

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Most decisions are made at the local level, which allows for distributed errors that don’t adversely affect the wider system.

    Won’t somebody think of the Central Planning fetishists?

  27. invisible furry hand

    Absurdists spread therapeutic weirdness by taking goat, giving it a hot pink pedicure returning it to bewildered owner

    http://news.ninemsn.com.au/wor…..k-manicure ?

    1. Bee Tagger

      El Chupacabra is now on the Fashion Police’s radar.

      1. NeonCat

        The Joan Rangers are doing God’s work in some of the toughest neighborhoods in America.

    2. T

      I wouldn’t say taking your date to get a pedicure before a night on the town is weird, but who knows with you aussies.

      1. Brett L

        Its all the rage in College Station, I hear.

  28. Tim

    How many points behind in the polls do you figure Obama has to fall before he authorizes a military strike on Iran or Syria?

    1. John

      I don’t see how that would help him.

      1. Tim

        So you say he wouldn’t do it? Valid but I think he’s just vapid enough.

      2. Dunphy (the real one)

        a nice distraction as well as rallying point for “america, fuck yea” to detract from his shortcomings.

      3. Drax the Destroyer

        I don’t see how that will help anybody.

        1. Whiterun Guard

          It will be worth all of the death if we can keep our guy in there.

    2. Rich

      Someone (sloopy?) yesterday opined that a poor performance in the next debate would precipitate a strike.

  29. invisible furry hand

    Colour me jealous of a childhood I wish I’d had:

    Florida Children Are Having Pool Parties With Actual Alligators

    1. Tim

      You could start an Aussie version, with crocodiles. Now that’s a party…

      1. Groovus Maximus

        “That’s not a knife….THIS is a KNIFE”

        1. Whiterun Guard

          That’s not a knife, that’s a spoon.

          1. SugarFree

            “I see you’ve played knifey-spoony before.”

  30. SugarFree

    Gawker family blogs hostile to evolutionary anthropological explanations of human behavior, unless it’s being used to go after Ayn Rand.

    Let the 120 minute hate begin.

    1. Brett L

      IO9 proclaiming to understand science is too rich. Jerking off to Dr. Who is the only thing they have any credibility on. Or at least, that was the case when I quit reading it a couple years ago.

      1. SugarFree

        Yeah, the science reporting is either “COOL! (but huh?)” or “This supports our political biases.”

        And, seriously, fuck Dr. Who.

        1. NeonCat

          You are welcome to your dumbass comment. Dr Who will continue to be beloved long after you and your insufficient Islets of Langerhans are but a dim memory echoing down the halls of Hit-ampersand-Run.

          1. SugarFree

            I think Dr. Who is a great children’s show.

            1. So was Ren and Stimpy. Both transcend their target audience.

        2. NeonCat

          But yeah, io9 sucks. It’s a gawker site, after all.

        3. And, seriously, fuck Dr. Who.

          Fuck you in your pancreas. Bow-ties are cool.

          1. invisible furry hand

            As are Stetsons.

            1. I love that reply of his. Probably because it’s basically the same one I use when someone asks me about my leather duster and walker hat that I wear when it’s raining when I go to work (it looks really pimp over a suit).

    2. generic Brand

      I don’t see why it’s so hard to grasp that human beings are selfish, but if altruism serves their interests better in the short term they will go along with it. That is why Homo sapiens is the “thinking man”, because we can play the long game and don’t have to go from “what am I going to eat in 3 hours?” to “where am I going to sleep in 6 hours?”

    3. DJF

      “”””What he has found is in direct opposition to Ayn Rand’s selfish ideal. For example, in 100 percent of “Late-Pleistocene Appropriate” (LPA), societies-ranging from the Andaman Islanders of the Indian Ocean archipelago to the Inuit of Northern Alaska-generosity or altruism is always favored toward relatives and nonrelatives alike, with sharing and cooperation being the most cited moral values. “”‘

      Which probably is a good explanation why these societies today are still Late Pleistocene Appropriate societies. The societies which did not share equally have long since moved out of the Late Pleistocene.

      1. SugarFree

        Getting at the heart of my objections to anthropology. It’s like going to junk yards in order to learn how best to drive a car.

        1. generic Brand

          You object to all aspects of anthropology (that being cultural anthropology, archaeology, bio-anthropology) or just to studying primitive cultures in order to extrapolate information on humanity at large?

          1. SugarFree

            Just the last part. But I wonder at the extent that it colors every other aspect, considering that it seems to be where a lot of the assumptions are generated.

            1. generic Brand

              At least for me, not much. Biological anthroplogy was more or less a study on the development of the human body from our ancestors, and I took human osteology courses and studied casts of other hominid bones. Inferences are made, but it is a bit more objective than with the cultural side. My only objection to the biological anthropology was the insistence on categorizing any bone found in Africa as some sort of hominid along the chain in human evolution.

              Archaeology is more or less studying ancient cultures based on the artifacts they leave behind. From the evidence they find they try to piece together how they lived, so this one is open to more interpretation from assumptions on how we think they lived.

              Cultural anthropology is just pointless in my book. Either the indigenous tribes in the Amazon or Congo like being indigenous and have survived that way for thousands of years, or they will eventually adapt to a growing technological world and assimilate. It’s pointless to study them and their way of life.

              1. VG Zaytsev

                Cultural anthropology is just pointless in my book. Either the indigenous tribes in the Amazon or Congo like being indigenous and have survived that way for thousands of years, or they will eventually adapt to a growing technological world and assimilate.

                Or they are developmentally retarded, which is why they haven’t followed the development path of 99.99% of humanity.

                Or maybe, their retrograde and are less like successful Pleistocene humans than we are.

                Really, the claim that primitive tribes represent early modern human societies is exactly like claiming that humans evolved from chimps, instead of realizing that we both evolved in different directions from a common ancestor.

                1. generic Brand

                  Really, the claim that primitive tribes represent early modern human societies is exactly like claiming that humans evolved from chimps, instead of realizing that we both evolved in different directions from a common ancestor.

                  Basically how I feel about the subject. If they haven’t adapted this late in the game, they should not be indicative of all of humanity.

                  1. SugarFree

                    Biological anthroplogy was more or less a study on the development of the human body from our ancestors, and I took human osteology courses and studied casts of other hominid bones. Inferences are made

                    Do you ever try the line, “Nah, baby. It ain’t like that. I just want to study your bones… from the inside… for science.”

                    1. Groovus Maximus

                      Do you ever try the line, “Nah, baby. It ain’t like that. I just want to study your bones… from the inside… for science.”

                      Works like a charm for Radiologists and X-Ray techs.

            2. Whiterun Guard

              I object to all of it. It’s just asking for trouble from mummy curses and gateway to hell artifacts and what not.

              1. generic Brand

                I object to all of it. It’s just asking for trouble from mummy curses and gateway to hell artifacts and what not.

                But without Pandora’s Box being opened, we would not have Hope?, and without hope we would not have Obama… oh shit.

              2. ant1sthenes

                You should talk. Your whole nation’s economy is based on excavating old tombs.

        2. Zeb

          Or you could look at it as finding out why other people have done so well. But I suppose not too many in academia would look at it that way. Personally, I just find it fascinating to see what still existing primitive cultures are like and that there are still people who are basically uncontacted by the outside world.

      2. VG Zaytsev

        Which probably is a good explanation why these societies today are still Late Pleistocene Appropriate societies. The societies which did not share equally have long since moved out of the Late Pleistocene.

        Talk about a lack of awareness.

      3. MJGreen

        Seriously. “Your behavior in this complex, modern market economy would not have served you well in tribal, hunter-gatherer society!” First, duh; I also wear clothing in the tropics that would not serve me well in the arctic. Second, why should we want to emulate the norms of – by definition – a backwards people?

        1. Red Rocks Rockin

          The irony is that most of these goons pine to inhabit a world based on medieval feudalism every time they do their stupid LARPer get-togethers.

    4. Warty

      Noah: Hey guy, my field is anthropology.
      Rip: Haha good luck with the job hunt.
      Archer: Right?
      Noah: Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to teach.
      Archer: Anthropology?
      Noah: Well, yes.
      Rip: To anthropology majors…
      Archer: Thus continuing the circle of “Why bother?”

  31. News crew interviews local student about bullying. While filming, a group of kids comes by and starts hitting him on camera.

    1. Jordan

      Why the fuck did this kid’s parents not call the police instead of the school administrators??

      1. At least they believed him. I used to get a lecture and grounded for giving some tools a well deserved ass-whompin’.

      2. Whiterun Guard

        Why didn’t they follow them home and burn their pets and torture their parents to death in front of them.

        1. Matrix

          No, what you do is tell the kid’s parents that a donkey was being tortured and they should go rescue it. Then you tell the owner of the donkey that some crazy folks are going around town raping and killing donkeys. Then when the farmer shoots the parents as they attempt to rescue the donkey, you take the bodies and process the meat… mix it in with chili and have a chili eating contest. Invite the kid to the contest and have him sample the chili you made of his parents meet and then laugh over him while licking his salty tears as he cries about his dead parents.

          That’s what Eric Cartman would do.

    2. generic Brand

      His mother, Cheryl Deener, said Preston has been picked on since sixth grade for his appearance

      Kid’s got a penis head; can’t be helped.

      1. Whiterun Guard

        “Mrs. Deener, normally we’d be on your side, but come on, have you seen your kid’s head?”

      2. rac3rx

        Calling some kid with a penis for a head “Peener Deener” isn’t bullying, it’s teasing. Beating the crap out of him is a different story.

        1. Exactly. I get so tired of people cheapening the very real violence that goes on in schools by conflating it with name-calling.

          No, your precious little angel who killed herself because no one invited her to the party wasn’t bullied. She just wasn’t invited to the fucking party. See that kid over there? The one who’s getting stomped on the head by 5 guys? He’s getting bullied.

    3. Chris Mallory

      Mama needs to buy her boy a weight bench and some boxing lessons.

      1. He fought back a month ago. They suspended him. Not an uncommon occurrence. Bullying rarely disrupts the class. Fighting back does. Prison is the same.

        1. Gray Ghost

          Prison is the same.

          It’s weird and disheartening when you tally up the similarities between a Club Fed-style minimum security prison and a school in an urban district like HISD. Metal-detectors? Check. Fence with razor wire on top? Check. Cameras? Check. Students are locked in during the day? Check. Inmates are the ones that actually run the place? Mostly check. And so on.

          Different world than 25 years ago, even if you leave out the 18 year olds allowed to smoke on campus, and the hicks who’d go duck-hunting before class and leave the guns in the truck.

  32. John

    http://riehlworldview.com/2012…..-rape.html

    The girls at feministing discover famous world war II photo and figure out kissing is rape.

    1. Auric Demonocles

      Already a subthread up here.

      1. John

        Rats

      2. Dunphy (the real one)

        i searched up an old thread where i debated those morons back when the duke “rape” case was first starting to be exposed as complete hogwash. the level of cognitive dissonance and the ‘we will stick to our metanarrative no matter how compelling the evidence to the contrary” is staggering. also, the “even if they didn’t commit rape, they deserve to see what it is like ot be less privileged and accused of a crime they didn’t commit” like happens with the oppressed classes every day.

        oh,and also they were drinking underage and hired strippers, so they got what they deserve.

        those are some wonderful people over there.

        1. Auric Demonocles

          oh,and also they were drinking underage and hired strippers, so they got what they deserve.

          That guy was opening his door in the middle of the night with a gun in hand so he got what he deserved.

          1. Dunphy (the real one)

            wonderful, but entirely not what i said in that thread.

            but nice troll attempt

            (note: the continual munging of two concepts

            1) shooting X is justified or not

            2) person being shot DESERVED to get shot

            as in many lawful but awful shootings, (2) does not follow from (1)

            see, for example, the sanderson shooting….

            CLEARLY justified (civilian shoots civilian) but clearly, the dead student didn’t “deserve” to get shot.

            again,weak troll sauce

            http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/3992776.html

            http://thefiringline.com/forum…..hp?t=35934

            and many others… google his name, and shooting UW and/or LSD.

            and again, for those incapable of understanding the relevant factors in a UOF (whether by cop or “civilian”), whether a UOF is justified is completely tangential to whether somebdoy “deserved” to get shot.

            fortunately, under rule of law, the question of whether they “deserved it” is never the question whatsoever as to justification.

            1. So where does the “fuck him” come in on that? That how you always say “the shooting was justified but he didn’t deserve it”? Seems an odd thing to say about an undeserved murder victim.

              1. It’s dunphy. He’s changing his story to please his audience. When cops do it on the stand they call it “testilying”

                1. Dunphy (the real one)

                  nope, no change

                  the shooting was most likely justified with idiot who came tothe door with the gun

                  i nevfer said he DESERVED it

                  nor did sanderson

                  however, i said it was most likely justifiied

                  again, i’ll say this AGAIn

                  FUCK HIM.

                  he got shot most likely justified for stupid choice(s) he made. JUST like sanderson

                  if you, night before halloween dress up in a burglar costume and pull a gun on a buddy of yours who is walking up to the party dressed as a cop

                  but … oops. it’s not your buddy. it’s ofc. krupke who LOOKS exactly like your buddy. and he caps your ass.

                  thinking you are drawing a real gun on him

                  did you DESERVE to get shot?

                  no.

                  was it justified?

                  fuck yea

                  and fuck you for being such an idiot.

                  and again,we’ve addressed this ancient shooting ad nauseum. i get it . many others disagree. i hope the shooting board does/did a full review, i hope they look at all the evidence, and if it turns out moron came to the door with gun in hand and created his own demise… fuck him.

                  1. and if it turns out moron came to the door with gun in hand and created his own demise… fuck him.

                    Any other perfectly legal actions he can do in his own home that would justify his death to you, you facist fuckstick?

              2. Dunphy (the real one)

                simple.

                he, just like sanderson et al most likely creeated the situation where presented the shooter with a shoot/don’t shoot scenario and brought up his own demise.

                JUST like sanderson

                fuck him

                because he came to the door witht he gun in his hand after it being knocked on and presented a situation most likely where his shootign was justified. fuck him.

                did you “deserve” to get shot? no. it’s tragic and stupid

                but it’s JUSTIFIED.

                again, sanderson (nimrod) case, (nimrod) who comes to the door that is being knocked on/bell rung, with gun held in hand.

                in all three cases, the shootign that ensued- tragic

                but the first two CLEARLY lawful.

                the last one, as i said, i don’t KNOW it’s lawful, but it’s entirely reasonable to presume, GIVEN his coming to the door with the gun in HAND, that the police responded jusitifiably. fuck him for being such a stupid horse’s ass and presenting such a terrible decision and bringing about such awful circ’s

                and that’s it. i’ve discussed THAT case ad nauseum. i have no idea if it WAS justified, but it clearly appears that it LIKELY was, based upon the fact he came to the door with gun in hand.

                same position i have held. lawful but awful

                1. Actually, fuck the cops.

                  If the place was so dangerous that they were justified in having their guns out ready to shoot, then it was dangerous enough that the resident was justified in having a gun on hand when strangers are pounding on his door in the middle of the night.

                  The entire violent conflict was initiated by trigger happy thugs who had itchy trigger fingers.

                  And you know what Buckaroo, fuck you for defending those murderers. You are an utter, worthless piece of shit, and the world will instantly become a better place when you die.

                2. the last one, as i said, i don’t KNOW it’s lawful, but it’s entirely reasonable to presume, GIVEN his coming to the door with the gun in HAND, that the police responded jusitifiably. fuck him for being such a stupid horse’s ass and presenting such a terrible decision and bringing about such awful circ’s

                  So it’s his fault for answering his door, legally armed, when cops bang on his door for no reason after midnight and don’t announce themselves? Yep. “facist fuckstick” about covers it.

            2. Auric Demonocles

              Dunphy (the real one)| 7.16.12 @ 12:09PM

              and he has nobody to blame but his stupid ass-dead self

              Dunphy (the real one)| 7.20.12 @ 4:17PM

              he was the aggressor and fuckstick got justifiably shot

              Yeah, use of “fuckstick” really backs up your argument that you didn’t say he deserves it.

              1. Dunphy (the real one)

                you can lie/troll all you want

                i said it was most likely justified

                and “fuck him”

                i stand by both those comments

                JUST like the sanderson shooting.

                i never said he deserved it. that[‘s a moral judgment when i am speaking decriptively as to legal justification

                sanderson didn’t DESERVE to get shot

                the last person i can recall that clearly DESERVED to get shot was maurice clemons (in regards to police shootings).

                neither sanderson nor chucklenuts who came to the door with gun in hand DESERVED to get shot

                they JUSTIFIABLY got shot

                1. Auric Demonocles

                  “Fuck him” is a moral judgement.

                2. Auric Demonocles

                  you can lie/troll all you want

                  I directly quoted you, twice, with links to your post. How is that lying? I’d have done more if I had more time and reason didn’t have such a crappy search feature/limit of two links a post.

                  1. It’s lying because the quotes contradict what he’s saying now, Auric!

                    NASA should vivisect dunphy to understand how he generates that intense reality distortion field to help them with the warp drive they are designing.

                  2. sarcasmic

                    I directly quoted you, twice, with links to your post. How is that lying?

                    People who challenge Dunphy with the truth end up on his iggy list.

            3. VG Zaytsev

              wonderful, but entirely not what i said in that thread.

              but nice troll attempt

              Dude, just admit that you fuck up on that thread.

              1. Ain’t just that thread. He really believes this shit. Ask him about the guy who got shot in his own parking lot. I’ve already tried, it’s ridiculous.

                Q. Was he legally in the right to try to remove the trespasser from his property?

                A. Yes, but he escalated the situation, he should have waited on the other cops.

                Q. Was he legally required to do so?

                A. No, but he escalated the situation.

                Q. Was the cop required to remain on the property?

                A. No, but he had a valid reason for being there. (note, that has not been verified)

                Q. Why was the cop justified in escalating the situation by not leaving, even though he was trespassing, but the owner was not justified in throwing the cop off his property after the cop refused to leave, even though he was well within his rights to do so?

                A. He knew it was a cop, so it’s his fault.

                I give you: Dunphy logic, ladies and gentlemen.

                1. sarcasmic

                  I give you: Dunphy logic, ladies and gentlemen.

                  Shorter Dunphy logic:

                  Rule #1: The cop is always right.
                  Rule #2: When the cop is wrong refer to Rule #1.
                  Rule #3: Fail to obey Rule #2 and you deserve whatever you get.

              2. That thread was (and his reaction now) was where dunphy lost me for good. I cannot assume good faith on his part after all that/this. The blue wall of righteousness matters more than having a heart or a soul, I guess.

                If one of my soldiers ever acted and spoke that way, I’d have had them out of the service, at first opportunity, as unfit.

                1. agreed – I now just scroll by the magnificent Derphy.

        2. DJF

          “”””and hired strippers”””

          No, they hired Woman Artists who were performing personalized interpretive dances based on the Vagina Monologues

          1. Dunphy (the real one)

            right. that’s the best part

            when defending mangum, it is according to feministingidiots, WRONG to ever consider her choice of career in any way, shape or form. she is to be respected for her career choice

            however, people who HIRE strippers are NOT to be respected for their choice to hire same.

            again, BEING a stripper – a choice to be respected

            HIRING a stripper – a choice to be condemned

            rinse, lather, repeat.

            1. wareagle

              and focusing on her career choice gives the amen chorus license to ignore her lying. After all, they were snobby kids playing a preppy sport at an elite university and she was just a black single mother trying to get along. They had to be guilty of something.

              I lived in NC at the time; it was groupthink on steroids, particularly among the faculty, a large group of whom instantly convicted the players. Even when proven wrong, they refused to back down and Duke never did anything to any of them. Many got promoted.

              1. Dunphy (the real one)

                and the true heroes in that debacle?

                the duke WOMEN’s lacrosse team

                the duke boys weren’t heroes, just hapless innocents

                caught in bad circ’s

                the duke womens’ lacrosse team were true heroes (heroines).

                they stood by their fellow lax’ers despite immense pressure from campus speechniks, ESPECIALLY feminist groups, etc. and said they believed their teammates were innocent

                duke women’s lacrosse – HEROINES!!!

                they took the unpopular, politically dangerous position, but the one supported by evidence.

  33. Gotta do something to scare up the base:

    I know we’ve said it over and over again on this site but once more with feeling: If Mitt Romney is elected the end of legal abortion is only a matter of time. It Mitt Romney gets to replace the likely first to retire, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, legal and safe abortion is over.

    1. Drax the Destroyer

      What’s wrong with illegal abortion? No one likes throwing themselves down the stairs? Pussies.

      1. Drake

        Plant some tansies in the garden, just in case.

    2. invisible furry hand

      and one back atcha:

      The CEO Who Built Himself America’s Largest House Just Threatened to Fire His Employees if Obama’s Elected

      1. Groovus Maximus

        This is has already been posted, lass. But your link seems so much spunkier for some odd reason. -)))

        1. institutional bias, I say.

      2. Why sould anybody want to talk about crap like that?

      3. invisible furry hand

        aah, just saw Lord H beat me to this. Damn him. May his bespoke stereo turn into an iPod and $40 dock

        1. I just got in some Spica TC-50 speakers – temporary replacements for my now smaller listening room.

          1. invisible furry hand

            those look well naughty, but I heard that the bass is a bit MIA. What’s the sound like in that space?

            1. definitely not “Thunder of the Gods” bass from a 6.5″ woofer. But the new listening space, especially with the tacked on paneling, would be overwhelmed with my big speakers.

              The Spicas do image well though… not quite Quad ESL-63 imaging, but a po’ man’s version.

      4. 0x90

        Went to huffpo yesterday for the first time in months…they had (still have, just checked) this story, under the front page headline:

        Super-Rich CEO To Workers: You’re All Fired If Obama Wins.

        Clicking through, the actual article was titled:

        David Siegel Email To Workers Threatens Layoffs If Obama Is Reelected.

        In the article, they get around to mentioning the actual quote:

        “If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company.”

        1. How dare he cave to reality. Clearly a republican douchbag. A democrat would never bow to reality.

        2. ant1sthenes

          Actually, later he said he would retire and shut the company down. Not sure why he wouldn’t sell it, but anyway.

    3. John

      At some point you would think they would get tired of working themselves into a frenzy over abortion.

      1. Auric Demonocles

        But John, it’s abortion. The most fundamental right that exists. If we didn’t have abortion rights, women would be treated like the Middle East… or maybe Ireland.

        PS: War on women!

      2. Dunphy (the real one)

        there was recently controversy here in the people’s republic of king county where i live.

        apparently, one of our candidates for county sheriff (an elected) position had , years ago, held an elected state position in the midwest several years back. state congressman iirc. anyway, he was pro-life at that time and ran on that platform. people here thought that this should be a disqualifying factor in his run for COUNTY SHERIFF here.

        seriously.

        there are a lot of factors one should consider in electing a sheriff, but i am pretty sure their stance on abortion is 100% irrelevant. but that’s how much abortion is a religion to these people. they want, even their chief law enforcement officer to be ideologically pure, despite the fact his position on abortion has about as much relevance to his ability to be county sheriff or in how he would execute his duties, as his position on the income tax, or his position on our continued presence in afghanistan.

        again, this is a religious litmus test for many people. even when ENTIRELY irrelevant, it’s reason enough to not vote for somebody if they hold the WRONG position

        1. Auric Demonocles

          Dude, if he continued to be a cop with his profile views, he’d clearly start arresting every women who had a miscarriage.

        2. generic Brand

          Well sure. The voters want to know if their pregnant dogs will be safe from the Sheriff’s Department or not.

          1. Dunphy (the real one)

            hey, this is WA . we only recently made it illegal for people to have sex with dogs. dogs’ right to choice is not yet established.

      3. wareagle

        but they wouldn’t be able to have the war on womynz without it. Anyway, abortion hasn’t gone away under previous Repubs, but can’t stir up the roots with that.

      4. robc

        Even if they are right, all it would do would return it to a state decision.

        And a large number of states would keep it legal.

        1. invisible furry hand

          Some might even make it mandatory.

          1. Whiterun Guard

            We don’t care how you do it up north.

  34. CampingInYourPark

    “President Barack Obama has refused to extend to victims of Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana the same relief he criticized former President George W. Bush for withholding from New Orleans residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.”

    http://dailycaller.com/2012/10…..z28u3BSUKo

    1. Well, the “bush did it first” retort they’re gonna use kinda writes itself on that one, don’t it?

  35. SugarFree

    It’s a giant Reese’s Cup of cultural apocalypse.

    1. invisible furry hand

      Dunham also happens to be the daughter of Carroll Dunham, a “painter of “overtly sexualised pop art”, and Laurie Simmons, a photographer who “creates ‘disquieting domestic’ scenes with dolls”.

      Uh-huh.

      1. SugarFree

        “creates ‘disquieting domestic’ scenes with dolls”

        I do that and have never managed to make a living at it.

        1. Whiterun Guard

          You’re filing for the wrong kinds of federal grants…

      2. Mongo

        Oof! – those Dunham paintings are bad.

        1. SugarFree

          He’s painting from life. I mean, doesn’t everyone bend over in a field and stick a gun in their butt all the time? Right?

          1. Groovus Maximus

            It happens more often than you might think, Saccharin Man.

            1. SugarFree

              Do you do an ER rotation? If so, in your experience, what was the night of the week where more people came in with things stuck in their butts?

              1. Groovus Maximus

                Yeah, I did. My final rotation weekend was last weekend, in fact.

                Umm, probably Thursdays, oddly enough. Either that or Sundays. Don’t ask me why, but that is what I seem to remember. You’d think it would be Fridays or Saturdays, but alas, no.

                1. SugarFree

                  Thursdays makes a twisted sort of sense. They wanted to want for the weekend, but the urge overcame them. Sunday too. They tried all weekend to find someone to stick something in their butt, and Sunday night is the disappointment abatement solo round to get ready for the work week.

                2. Rasilio

                  Thursday is payday for at least a plurality of not outright majority of people meaning more people go out getting drunk on that night than even Friday (cause that is when they got the money) and more drunks means more freaky visits to the ER.

                  Sunday’s however I am at a loss to explain unless it is because the events that lead to the insertion began on Saturday and it was Sunday before they realized that they were going to need assistance with the extraction.

            2. invisible furry hand

              and what percentage claimed they slipped in the shower and -would you believe it? my crazy luck! – directly onto a bike handle?

              1. Groovus Maximus

                and what percentage claimed they slipped in the shower and -would you believe it? my crazy luck! – directly onto a bike handle?

                Exactly one. The bike handle was not attached to the bike.

              2. Azathoth!!

                Kickstand.

                Said he fell onto a bike kickstand.

                This was a call. He didn’t want an ambulance.

                Said he fell down a flight of stairs and landed anus first on a kickstand.

                To this day I can hear his voice.

            3. Brett L

              It never ceases to amaze me the drive of the human animal to put things in their holes and put their projections into ill-advised places.

              1. Groovus Maximus

                It never ceases to amaze me the drive of the human animal to put things in their holes and put their projections into ill-advised places.

                I ceased amazement a LONG time ago, Brett.

      3. Brett L

        Huh. I’ll have to check that out. One of our local bars has an art installation right now that looks like paintings straight out of China Mieville’s New Crobuzon. Disturbing. Well done, but not something I want in my house.

  36. Dunphy (the real one)

    oh HELL YEA!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?f…..3vfUuTq2oE

    with the added bonus of Skun Anasie soundtrack.

    note for PURE athleticism, skip to 3:02 and watch at quarter speed (option in bar at bottom of player/screen).

    that is PURE ferocious power upwards (note the explosion after knee rebend) and then the fastest multijoint full body motion in ANY sport- the squat under.

    the squat under substantially faster than gravity could ever drop the body down. all power.

    note also the pleasant lack of “beach muscles ” e.g pectorals. sure, he’s built, but these are functional, not “show ” muscles – traps, quads, spinal erectors.

    and this video make me the Sad because i need to build back 30 lbs bodyweight and can’t lift more than 10 lbs now per doctor 🙁 i has sad.

    otoh, ILIN!!!!!!!!!

    fuck yea!!!

    1. Dunphy (the real one)

      norik vardanian showing that OLers has the hops!!!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtXKllfwV-w

      more OLer hops

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?N…..=endscreen

      1. Dunphy (the real one)

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOm6aq3VzqM

        very funny commentary on 2000 olympics by Roy and HG. they are the best at what they do. their gymnastics stuff is hilarious too.

        the MULLET!!!!

  37. T. Monocle Underbitington

    Authorities found 5,600 pounds of pot, valued at $3 million, abandoned along the Arizona-Mexico border…

    …all 4,400 pounds were delivered to the evidence locker.

    1. Dunphy (the real one)

      i lol’d.

  38. The Late P Brooks

    Smells like baboon shit in here.

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