A.M. Links: Afghanistan's the War That Never Ends, Bernanke Promises More Intervention, NYC Not Liable for Police Sex Assault

• In case it wasn't perfectly clear President Obama was lying about the ending the war in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford told Congress at his confirmation hearing that the "narrative" of war will continue past 2014.

• Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke promises to continue intervening in the housing market.
• David Petraeus has arrived on Capitol Hill to testify behind closed doors on the Benghazi attacks.
• The Sixth Circuit Court ruled Michigan's ban on affirmative action is unconstitutional, because of the Equal Protections Clause.
• New York City can't be held liable for sexual assault committed by a detective, a federal judge ruled. Oscar Sandino forced a suspect's girlfriend to perform oral sex in a precinct bathroom.
• Encouraged by the Muslim Brotherhood, protesters in Jordan want King Abdullah to step down.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Sixth Circuit Court ruled Michigan's ban on affirmative action is unconstitutional, because of the Equal Protections Clause.

Plus it's the good kind of racial discrimination.

[DJF]

I am not a lawyer but it seems that

A anti-discrimination constitutional amendment is discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional

Constitutions are hard to change so constitutional amendments are unconstitutional.

"""US appeals court strikes down Michigan's 2006 ban on affirmative action in college admissions""'

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

[?Ex Nihilo?]

six years after state voters said race could not be an issue in choosing students.

In an 8-7 decision, the court said the 2006 amendment to the Michigan Constitution is illegal because it presents an extraordinary burden to opponents who would have to mount their own long, expensive campaign through the ballot box to protect affirmative action.

You mean the opponents didn't have a chance to vote on it in 2006. With rulings like this, it makes me wonder why people take judges seriously at all.

[wareagle]

the left considers electoral campaigns an impediment to judicial activism. The right is willing to have its own lawmaking judges, but still has a good deal of catching up to do. And why is will of the people relevant when it's so much easier to be guided by the wisdom of unelected lifetime appointees.

[DJF]

These judges want a certain outcome so they will go through an entire law library to find something to justify their rulings and if they can't find anything in the law they will make it up.

[John]

I don't think anyone takes judges seriously anymore.

[Tonio]

So, how's that working out for you professionally, John?

[robc]

Its possibly the dumbest court decision I have ever seen. Well, except for ones involving OWH, Jr.

[Number 2]

Every time I think I have read the most inane decision I have ever read, the judiciary outdoes itself.

The Sixth Circuit has ruled that a prohibition or mandate enshrined in a state constitution violates the equal protection rights of those who oppose the prohibition or mandate, because they must invoke the complex process of amending the constitution in order to achieve appeal.

By that logic, virtually every provision of every state constitution violates equal protection.

This is insanity.

[robc]

I hope at least one of the minority opinions just says "The majority is fucking stupid."

[Randian]

Full decision here.

Sutton's dissent softballed this one for the five conservatives.

[robc]

I skimmed Sutton's dissent, it is good. My version is much shorter, hence better.

[Randian]

The Sixth Circuit is getting to be more of a circus than the Ninth.

Exhibit A: the Ninth Circuit upheld this kind of ban.

When you're out doubletalking the Ninth Circuit, you need to rethink your leadership.

And guess which vaunted vanguard of "civil liberties" threw in with racial discrimination?:

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Mark Rosenbaum called the ruling "a landmark civil rights decision."

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

And then he counted from 1 to 10:

3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

For those who haven't seen the joke before it may be hard to decipher.

1: campaign finance reform

2: obvious

5: eminent domain

10: obvious

[DRM]

Actually, the ACLU was on the side of Citizens United.

[Xenocles]

Actually, I think we can spin this one our way. Why should we not apply this to all laws we don't like? To wit: getting enough seats in Congress to overturn the ACA has proven to be difficult, so the law is unconstitutional.

[Number 2]

As a matter of fact, there are a number of features of the NJ Constitution that I'd very much like to target. Starting with the constitutional provision giving public sector employees the right to unionize.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

That's the kind of stuff that leads to Operation: Mindcrime type actions.

[VG Zaytsev]

First

[VG Zaytsev]

🙁

[Ted S.]

You were too busy double-posting on the WOD thread. :-p

[Fist of Etiquette]

I have a good feeling about your chances next week, though.

[Generic Stranger]

to fail.

[Auric Demonocles]

Anyone who references being the first post has failed, even if they were the first.

[Raven Nation]

Is there a Suki exception to that conclusion?

[Auric Demonocles]

No exceptions. Cut spending.

[LTC(ret) John]

"Fuck you. Cut Spending"?

is that the first corollary to "Fuck off, slaver"?

[Fist of Etiquette]

New York City can't be held liable for sexual assault committed by a detective, a federal judge ruled.

When was the last time the Big Apple was held accountable for anything?

[invisible furry hand]

at least the cop was held liable for it, which is something

[Whiterun Guard]

September 11, 2001?

[Whiterun Guard]

September 11, 2001?

[Whiterun Guard]

11 September 2001?

[Whiterun Guard]

September Eleventh, Two Thousand and One?

[Shit-Eating Aardvark]

TOO SOON!

[Lord Humungus]

Derp!

Bernanke: Banks' tight standards hurting economy
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....nance.html

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that banks' overly tight lending standards may be holding back the U.S. economy by preventing creditworthy borrowers from buying homes.

Some tightening of credit standards was needed after the 2008 financial crisis, but "the pendulum has swung too far the other way." Bernanke said. Qualified borrowers are being prevented from getting home loans, he said during a speech to the Operation HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit in Atlanta.

[DJF]

As opposed to the banks loose lending doing so much for the economy in 2008. No doc loans for everyone!!!!

[tarran]

.... aaaaannnnnd here come the price increases that inevitably follow the inflation. All that newly created money has been sitting unloaned in the banks' electronic 'vaults' collecting interest from the Fed. The moment the newly created money gets out into the wild, up go the prices.

[Mike Laursen]

A couple of weeks ago, Russ Roberts had economist Steve Hanke from the Cato Institute on his EconTalk podcast. Hanke had an interesting take on why inflation is not occurring.

I'm still processing everything Hanke said, so I can't do it justice, but he said that the overall money supply is actually contracting because of unintended consequences of the Basel III banking regulations. So, while government-issued money supply is expanding, the larger bank-created money supply is not.

I'll post the link separately (because it's a hassle to figure out how to do so with this commenting system).

[Mike Laursen]

http://www.econtalk.org/archiv.....yperi.html

[John]

Loaning money to people who can't pay it back, the way to prosperity.

[DJF]

It is for the ones get the money and can't pay it back and for those who lend the money and get bailed out.

Everyone else, not so much.

[Xenocles]

Since all spending is the same, you get two bumps in GDP: the first when the debtors spend the money they borrowed and the second when the government spends money to get the debts forgiven.

[VG Zaytsev]

That Bernanke is a real fucking genius, isn't he.

[MP]

I was screaming in my car yesterday. How can anyone be simultaneously a genius and an utter moron at the same time!

Then I theorized that he had mind-melded with Krugabe and it all made sense.

[Jam]

Brian Caplan, one of his students, called him smart he's not a libertarian.

He just can't see behind the curtain. Jim Grant says he can't see outside the borders of the 50 states.

He actually thinks he is doing good.

[R C Dean]

Garshk, Ben, why do you think banks have such tight lending standards? Who is imposing tighter capital and risk requirements on them?

http://www.federalreserveeduca.....pervision/

[Rich]

Operation HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit

That's the situation in a nutshell.

And just who *will* replace the Bernank?

Ima say Alan Greenspan, to finish the job.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

Maybe they should have divided that $700B up and given an equal amount to everyone in the country instead of just giving it to the banks and hoping it trickled down.

[Groovus Maximus]

The deplorable state of medical care in Slavic countries.

[Ted S.]

I'd rather have competent medical care from an ugly than malpractice from a hottie.

[Whiterun Guard]

Mmm...I don't know. It's a tough decision.

[?Ex Nihilo?]

Now I see why you headed to UKR. Nice choice.

[Whiterun Guard]

Good lord, what do they dress as on Halloween?

[robc]

Slutty Chernobyl Workers.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

There's a certain glow to them.

[PS]

I've come across quite a few hot nurses, but especially doctors here in Prague. In fact the SIL was a pretty hot doctor until she popped out some twins.

[Groovus Maximus]

Indeed. Warty can attest to the appeal of some of my colleagues. -)

[Warty]

Shwing is correct, Doc.

[Lord Humungus]

Which hurts more in the short run, tax hikes or spending cuts?
http://econlog.econlib.org/arc.....s_mor.html

The surprising thing is this is an IMF study that usually gets cited to show that spending cuts don't grow the economy---that "expansionary austerity" is a mere theorist's dream. But this same research also provides evidence that tax hikes cause more trouble than spending cuts in the short run.

Quick summary of the method: The economists looked at 173 "fiscal consolidations" in rich countries, times when governments decided to reduce the long-run deficit. They then checked to see whether consolidations based mostly on tax hikes turned out better or worse than ones based on spending cuts (Inside baseball: They followed a version of the Romer and Romer event study methodology, but applied it to exogenous-looking fiscal tightening instead of exogenous-looking monetary tightening).

[Fist of Etiquette]

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke promises to continue intervening in the housing market.

Just a few more tweaks and it will be perfect.

[invisible furry hand]

I only have one thing to say to the Poop Bandit: Run and hide. You haven't been caught, nobody knows who you are and trust me, this is not the kind of publicity you want. All eyes are now on the lookout for you, and if and when you are caught, the full force and power of the student body will drop the hammer of justice on you without a hint of compassion.

We may not know who you are yet, but when we catch you, just remember you left your DNA all over the crime scene.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....32341.html

[Ted S.]

What are the odds on the Poop Bandit being a cop?

[C. Anacreon]

No, it's really the principal, aka "The Mad Crapper."

[Citizen Nothing]

you left your DNA all over the crime scene.

The first lesson of being a Poop Bandit is using someone else's feces.

[Whiterun Guard]

Better yet, use several people's.

[Fist of Etiquette]

THE POOP IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!

[Trespassers W]

THEN WHO WAS PHONE?

[Rich]

a "defecating terrorist" did the deed in several rooms of the Minnesota Homeland Security building

However, the public was never in any danger, since the feces had been provided by the FBI.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I'm betting it is Jake Grafton.

[Delroy]

Years ago, someone was crapping on books that he/she disliked at the local public library. I remember a radio talk show host referring to the "bandit" as the Mad Shatter.

[Emmerson Biggins]

An actual turd burglar.

[Lord Humungus]

'We Can Make It': French Finance Minister
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....23680.html

France's economy will come through and "resist the crisis" despite worries about low growth and the need for labor market reform, its Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told CNBC.

Moscovici's comments came after France announced better-than-expected economic growth of 0.2 percent in the third quarter of the year - the same growth rate as Germany, often celebrated as the standout success of the euro zone during the crisis.

[Whiterun Guard]

Welp, I'm convinced.

Break out the 75% tax rate on everyone making over $50K here.

[wareagle]

there is a part of me that says let ALL the tax cuts expire. Let people get an up close look at how much their free ponies actually cost. It may be the only way to elicit support for genuine cuts in spending.

[Whiterun Guard]

Congress is way too...well I wouldn't say smart, but ...self-preservationist for that. It will be the whole frog in the pot thing for us.

No pun intended, but I'll accept it anyway.

[Rasilio]

Actually this would be a pretty good strategy for the Republicans.

Hold a Press conference with both the House and Senate Republican leadership and announce that "the last few election cycles have made it clear that they are out of touch with mainstream Americans. They now see that Americans want and demand the current levels of government spending and therefore the only fiscally responsible thing to do is to raise taxes enough to pay for it."

Then actually submit a bill in congress with massive across the board tax increases, a 50% increase on the top 5%, a 45% increase on the 6th to 15th percentiles, 40% on the 16th to 40th percentiles, 35% on the 41st to 70th percentiles, 30% on everyone else combined with the elimination of all tax credits.

Then actually try and force it through daring the Democrats to kill it. Either way it is a win win for the Republicans.

If it passes the tax increases will quickly lead to demands from pretty much everyone that spending get cut, if the Democrats overturn it what ammunition have they got left to fight against spending cuts?

[Xenocles]

Because they would wind up compromising by raising taxes mostly as you have outlined and still raising spending.

[Rasilio]

No, no they wouldn't.

If people actually had to pay the taxes required to fund this type of government then they would demand that congress cut spending.

Oh I'm sure that in the short term there would be some spending increases to use up some of that revenue, and I am not so blind as to think that such tax increases would generate anywhere near enough additional revenue as to close the deficit entirely, the point is to make government spending as painful for the people as possible.

[Xenocles]

The demands of the people aren't even remotely relevant for another two years. Even then, the people just voted to keep the government essentially the same for another two to four years. I'm all about painful demonstrations, I just think you're underestimating the ability of the Congress to inflict that pain and overestimating the sensitivity of the electorate to it.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

That would be hilarious, but they don't have the balls to do something like that.

Christ, Obama couldn't even get his own party to vote for his last budget, there's no way in hell the Dems would let these kinds of tax increases get through.

Even Team Blue partisans know that the Dems aren't serious about tax increases--they just want the warm fuzzy they get from being told that "the rich" are going to pay for everything.

[Jam]

ALL you have to do is repeal the withholding tax. force people to cut a check to the IRS every month (income, payroll and employer payroll) for an amount greater than their home mortgage.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

better-than-expected economic growth of 0.2 percent

I wonder how much of that was deficit spending.

[John]

In case it wasn't perfectly clear President Obama was lying about the ending the war in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford told Congress at his confirmation hearing that the "narrative" of war will continue past 2014.

Of course it will. And Obama will get away with doing it because there is no anti war movement in this country; just Leftists who pretend to be anti war when there is a Republican in office. Romney would have probably been forced out of Afghanistan by 2014 as the media and Democrats turned it into a new Vietnam. But being Democrat means going to war and never having to say you are sorry.

[Whiterun Guard]

You forgot "and also then blaming it on Rethuglicans anyway."

[PS]

Kennedy would've gotten us out of Vietnam if he hadn't been assasinated.

/my mom

[Killazontherun]

There is absolutely nothing in his record to hang that hat on.

[Raven Nation]

But, continuing the "narrative" of the war doesn't mean the war, as such, will continue. "Narrative" could mean kinetic military action.

I swear one of the things on display in the Obama administration is the triumph of postmodernism in the modern liberal arts.

[Jerry on the road]

Why are police misconduct cases worked out in federal courts?

[DJF]

Because the Constitution encompasses everything, even stuff outside the US. What are you some sort of extremist who says that the Constitution limits the Federal government?

[Zeb]

Because the states won't charge them with the crimes they committed.

[Jersey Patriot]

The 14th Amendment extended the 4th Amendment guarantee of due process to state actions.

[invisible furry hand]

Passengers left stranded on bus after driver refuses to board because of gay rights advert on the side

Read more

[Whiterun Guard]

Hrm, a rare X-ian in Ye Olde Brittainne. Well I guess they'll have to find him a new job since it's employment for life over there.

[Whiterun Guard]

Also, wouldn't 20 extra minutes in a queue be like heaven for them?

[mnarayan]

Yea but they were stuck on the bus with no one in front of them. Throw in some dentists and it would be the English version of hell.

[Whiterun Guard]

Ah, good point, I totally misread that.

Still they totally could have formed a queue to get OFF of the bus and been perfectly content.

[Lord Humungus]

5 Historical Manias That Gripped Societies, Then Disappeared
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blo.....z2COH5FRbE

1. The Deadly Dancing Mania of the Middle Ages
2. The Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962
3. Dromomania, or Pathological Tourism
4. Koro, or Genital Retraction Syndrome
5. Motor Hysteria

[John]

Can we add global warming to that list?

[Citizen Nothing]

6) Kochtopus

[Lord Humungus]

Obamism?

[Citizen Nothing]

Naw. They'll be teaching the glories of Obamism in schools for the next 100 years, just like the New Deal.

[Rich]

Didn't Clinton's Surgeon General teach the glories of Obamism in schools?

Oh, never mind -- she taught *Onanism*.

[bostonaod]

same difference really

[Raven Nation]

Dang bostonaod; glad I'd finished the coffee before I read this one.

[Jeff]

Still here, sadly.

[Ted S.]

No tulipomania?

[RBS]

Tulpamania?

[VG Zaytsev]

Mittophilia

[PS]

A mania for using tortured technicalities and intellectual dishonesty to cover one's contrarianaholicism.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

And then making it impossible for one's opponents to be able to point to specific instances of said dishonesty, giving the appearance that they're just throwing out insults when they realize they've lost the argument.

[Citizen Nothing]

Let's not forget, Dude, that, uh parking perpendicular to traffic in city limits -- uh, that ain't legal, either.

[Whiterun Guard]

Good to see Jericoholicism isn't on that list, since it's still rampant in West Africa and Afghanistan from my experience.

[Fatty Bolger]

Jhericurlism was big in the early 80's.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I wish I could retract my genitals. I could finally wear skinny jeans.

[invisible furry hand]

The rest of us don't. The only men who look OK in skinny jeans are 19 year old rent boys

[mnarayan]

they don't wear them for you

[Fist of Etiquette]

Exactly. They're tailor-made for me.

[R C Dean]

By "they", I assume you mean the jeans?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Assume what you want BUT DON'T YOU DARE JUDGE ME.

[Ted S.]

FOE isn't a 19-year-old rent boy?

[Lord Humungus]

rent? He's the village bicycle. Only tourists pay cash.

[Francisco d Anconia]

There is a consensus. All five manias are attributable to an increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.

That is all.

[Stormy Dragon]

Wind Turbine Syndrome:

http://www.colbertnation.com/t.....th-hazards

[Whiterun Guard]

Look at Ed screwing over Loder with the Links.

[Ted S.]

People read Loder's posts?

[Groovus Maximus]

Kurt Loder left Rolling Stone?

[OldMexican]

People still read Rolling Stone?

By the way, the best thing that happened to me in a long time (besides marrying, my children and my PS3) wsa when my trial subscription to Rolling Stone finally ended. I will never make that mistake again - nothing will be enough to remove the shame.

[invisible furry hand]

the best thing that happened to me in a long time (besides marrying, my children and my PS3)

I'm sure your wife and children are touched you rate them as highly as the PS3 🙂

[C. Anacreon]

I had an accidental trial subscription as well, which came as an add-on for buying concert tix, and was very glad to see it end. The entire mag was like MSNBC -- "Republicans suck and here's why."

Seriously, can't liberals find something to talk about besides how much they hate the right?

[Joe M]

I don't know how many people remember the old Sierra adventure games, but they had a handful of differently theme series. One was called Police Quest While randomly watching some videos last night, I found this one: What Not to Do in Police Quest III Now, it's mildly amusing in places, but the important thing is that every time the player makes a very bad decision, the game ends and you get some advice on proper police procedure. The game came out in 1991, more than twenty years ago. Compare the proper procedures (safety first) and repercussions (great) of then to those of now (anything goes and none, respectively). Quite amazing.

[RBS]

I used to love Police Quest. Probably because the only time I got to play real computer games was when I went over to my cousin's house and played his games.

[Warty]

DO WE HAVE THE SAME COUSINS???

[RBS]

Did you attack yours with a bat in retaliation for him shooting you with an arrow the previous weekend?

[Warty]

No, but my brother and him once got in a fight and rolled around in dogshit while they were hitting each other. That's almost the same thing.

[RBS]

You know, if any of this happened today we would be in jail and our parents tied up in family court and DSS proceedings.

[John]

I used to play that. My mother was an addict at that game. That and Myth were the only games she ever played and she was a master at them.

[Warty]

The Quest for Glory series was the fucking shit. I remember my cousin had Police Quest, but I don't think I ever played it.

[mnarayan]

Agreed. Always thought QFG was superior to King's Quest.

[Warty]

Any game that gets you to purposefully kill your character because it's funny is a good game.

[Joe M]

QFG was by far the best series out of everything that company produced. Space Quest was hit and miss, but pretty good. King's Quest sucked because it was written by Robert Williams.

[Nephilium]

In case you didn't know, you can pick up the whole Quest for Glory series over on GoG.com for $10.

[ant1sthenes]

The makers are trying to kickstart a sort of follow-up called Hero-U, I think. Might still be going.

[Joe M]

Okay, I'll bring up two examples in the game to get the rage flowing.

There's a scene where you, the cop, have to deal with a semi-crazy guy running around in his underwear. At one point, he charges you, and if you shoot him, you lose the game, and are told that shooting a perp whose only threat is his mouth and fists is no way to behave. Your get suspended and the press has a field day talking about police brutality.

In another scene, you pull over a man who gets out of his car and is reaching for something you can't identify. If you shoot him, you find out he was an undercover agent, and you get five years in jail for killing him.

[Whiterun Guard]

That's nowhere near as egregious as the lasers making noises in Wing Commander.

I mean they're lasers. In space.

HOW THE HELL DO THEY MAKE NOISE.

[Xenocles]

If the cockpit of a space fighter is pressurized, any vibrations resulting from firing a weapon would be transmitted through the hull (spaceframe?) of the fighter to the pilot. Actually, even if the cockpit were kept in vacuum the vibrations would still go through the pilot's seat.

So while the standard movie third-person observer noise is nonsensical, it does make sense to have some sound effects for the first person perspective.

[Whiterun Guard]

Oh please, as we all know Kilrathi crystal capacitance technology means there is no vibration generated from the firing of energy weapons.

This is some Lucasfilm sound engineer rent seeking, trying to get his stupid hobby inserted into games whenever he can. They're pure Hollywood, not based in reality!

[Xenocles]

Maybe the magic weapons also make a noise that transmits through vacuum, then.

[Ska]

Christ, couldn't you guys just shoot space cats and be happy about it?

[Francisco d Anconia]

Fun fact. When a T-38 breaks away from flying close formation, it sound EXACTLY like a TIE Fighter.

[MP]

LLLATLOTLL

Played one of those 'til the end until LLL got laid. Still cracks me up. Reminds me of the sex scene in Team America.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I loved Sierra's city-building games, even though I could never get a stable housing block developed beyond 'upper middle class.' That and Age of Empires dominated my game-playing time back in grad school.

[Stormy Dragon]

I think you're thinking of Maxis, not Sierra.

[Joe M]

I think Sierra made the Caesar games.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Building_Series

[Pudgeboy]

Totally agree...Sim City and Age of Empires were incredible back in the day... the cheats were key.

[MJGreen]

That was a great game, at least from my nostalgic perspective. I also remember having fun with the SWAT spin-off.

[invisible furry hand]

Soccer no excuse for outdoor sex, Italy court rules

[Groovus Maximus]

Certainly sheds new light on the term, "Footballing."

[Jerry on the road]

I guess the match went into penalties.

[Whiterun Guard]

That's just a bit offsides.

[Citizen Nothing]

Obstruction in the box!!!! Com' on, ref! You gotta call that!

[flye]

Too much flopping.

[sarcasmic]

Kate Moss is still hot!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....dress.html

[$park?]

I think this is a fair response to Kate Moss.

[Shit-Eating Aardvark]

I don't think the word hot means what you think it means.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...General Joseph Dunford told Congress at his confirmation hearing that the "narrative" of war will continue past 2014.

Maybe we can move all the Afghans to Gitmo and fight them there, thereby fulfilling one solemn pledge while pissing all over the other.

[Lord Humungus]

The Audacity of 51%
Get ready for higher taxes and no spending reform.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....TopOpinion

In theory that means both parties have an incentive to compromise. But The Wall Street Journal wonders in an editorial if the president "really doesn't care if there's a budget deal this year that avoids the tax cliff":

By taking an absolutist line, he's basically gambling that Republicans will be more reasonable than he is and will blink. But if they don't blink and we go over the cliff, from his point of view so what? Mr. Obama then has an excuse to blame Republicans if there's another recession. Meanwhile, he pockets the higher tax rates that take effect on January 1 anyway, and he can then negotiate a budget deal next year without having to make any tax concessions.

[Pro Libertate]

"No, fuck you, cut spending."

I don't think Obama can safely do nothing. While he's secure in office for the moment, the GOP could use this to get huge gains in Congress.

There's one big factor in their favor--common sense tells people that you can't spend more than you have and more than your credit line. No attempts to cut spending could be a huge disaster for the Democrats.

[KMA Too]

Yeah, but...

There are enough progs out there that actually believe that the vice of spending what you don't have (Government edition) in order to "help the less fortunate" is a true virtue.

And, they are loud. I mean, LOUD, vociferous cock smears. Bullies, even. And they aim for whomever they think can be cowed by guilt, which works sometimes. At least, enough to get where we are today. And plenty of the ones who normally have common sense have gone along with it, because, Hey-who wants to fail in life, huh?

[Gbob]

The thing is, his legacy is pretty secure thanks to the fawning narrative and myth that surrounds him. If anything, it seems to me that losing congress would only help him as securing his place in history. Worked for Clinton.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I don't think Obama's going to have a "lightning in a bottle" type event like the dotcom boom to save his bacon on the economy. We're pretty much fucked from that standpoint regardless.

But you're right about the narrative--it's going to be like Scooby-Doo. "I would have been able to do more if it hadn't been for those meddling Republicans!" Personally, I can't wait to see what his 2nd-term curse scandal is going to be.

[sarcasmic]

Cop gets four years for beating a retard to death.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....spect.html

[Whiterun Guard]

Just mentally disabled. You can't beat a retard to death, it's impossible.

[Drake]

They prefer to be called Progressives. Show some respect.

[Ted S.]

He beat himself to death and got four years in prison for it?

[Lord Humungus]

Revealed: How heroic veteran killed by an oncoming train during parade saved his wife by pushing her off the wounded warriors float moments before the collision
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....erans.html

[Tim]

"Happier times: The Michael family live in San Antonio, Texas, where the 4-year-old father of two worked as a real estate agent "

[Whiterun Guard]

He's a quick starter.

[RBS]

I don't understand how this thing even happened. Trains run on schedules right? So the planners knew that a train might come by or the train people knew a parade was going on (or should have known) or have the even in a part of town away from the tracks.

[tarran]

The crossing gate arms didn't come down.

Electrical faults on those things are really widespread, and there is no systematic process for fixing them as they happen. IF the arms are up, it doesn't mean it's safe to cross.

[RBS]

True, so why have the parade near the tracks? This seems completely avoidable.

[Whiterun Guard]

Probably the only place they could get permits for.

[tarran]

They were on the main street.

Dude, if this is anything like West Ohio, there is a little town, and the train tracks run through the center of town as does the main street.

This was an accident.

They happen.

It's highly unlikely anyone did anything wrong.

[Citizen Nothing]

Trains are gonna hit the occasional parade float. These things happen.

[Whiterun Guard]

Obviously the solution is to start an open-ended working group to study all train/parade interactions of the past and make recommendations on how to prevent them in the future.

There's been a huge increase in their incidence over the past 5 decades, and I, for one, will not stand idly by while this happens.

[Citizen Nothing]

I'm sure the solution somehow involves more regulations/tases on trains, or parades, or things that float.

[Citizen Nothing]

regulations/taxes.
Although I'd love to see some cops try to tase an oncoming train.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Obviously the solution is to start an open-ended working group ...

Spare no expense. If it saves just one parade float, it will be worth it.

[tarran]

If it was the first time the crossing arms failed (and let's face it, everything that breaks down has a last time it worked right and a first time it didn't), then yes, these things happen.

[Randian]

Dude, if this is anything like West Ohio, there is a little town, and the train tracks run through the center of town as does the main street.

This is any town in Ohio other than the cities.

The cities have more tracks than just one running through their center.

*rimshot*

[CE]

It's highly unlikely anyone did anything wrong.

Well, if you're driving a slow-moving vehicle packed with people across the train tracks, and you didn't look both ways before crossing, you did something wrong, malfunctioning crossing gate or not.

[Srynerson]

@ RBS: (a) It was a freight train. They don't really run on schedules. (b) Trains have the legal right of way and the laws of physics prevent them from stopping on a dime, so it's the responsibility of anybody planning on crossing railroad tracks to make sure they get out of the way. If the crossing gates failed to come down, that's a problem, but the railroad had zero responsibility to avoid its trains traveling on the track or to travel at specially reduced speeds.

[Citizen Nothing]

Doesn't crossing-guard maintenance fall to the railroads?

[Srynerson]

Yes, it does. That's why I said it was a problem (i.e., for the railroad) if the gates didn't come down. Sorry that I wasn't more clear.

[RBS]

That was my point about not having the parade at the tracks in the first place.

[sarcasmic]

Olivia Wilde is still hot!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-gala.html

[John]

What a fat pig.

[Ted S.]

So she's right up your alley?

[John]

No Sarcasmic has converted me. He just puts up pictures of women like this that I know he thinks are cows to test my conversion.

[alittlesense]

Kirstie is right up his Allie.

[Francisco d Anconia]

[Warty]

Something about her seems off. I don't know what it is, but she does nothing for me.

[RBS]

Probably the fact that she looks like an alien.

[invisible furry hand]

That wouldn't stop him

[Warty]

That's not it. I mean, I like Sasha Grey, except for her dead eyes.

[Whiterun Guard]

She has eyes?

[Joe M]

The dead eyes are the best part.

[Jeff]

She was pretty hot in that alien autopsy video way back when.

[gaijin]

she looks pregnant

[Lord Humungus]

Pregnant alien?

[Whahappan?]

"The 28-year-old, who has previously claimed she can speak Swiss"

Are the Daily Fail writers really this stupid? Yesterday, they couldn't tell the difference between a chimp and a gorilla, now this?

[John]

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news.....71291.html

Raw sewage pours into NY Harbor. If we had a free press, maybe it would get some coverage.

[Whiterun Guard]

The Poop Bandit strikes again?

[Lord Humungus]

a gang of bandits.

[robc]

Arent you linking to press coverage of it?

[John]

Yes. But where is the lynch mob we get when anything bad happened in the past?

[Zeb]

I think you are trying just a little too hard.

[Whiterun Guard]

Not really, if this had happened at the end of Katrina, they'd have been off the freaking rails about it.

I mean I can't remember how many stories I read about the toilets overflowing in the Superdome. Poop stories SELL. Yet this is buried somewhere it's impossible to find.

[Zeb]

Yeah, maybe. I tend to tune that shit out pretty quickly. And it hasn't been all that long since pumping raw sewage into the harbor was the normal and accepted way to get rid of it.

[Fatty Bolger]

His point is valid. This is local coverage. Where is the outrage from the national media?

[Zeb]

Should there be more now, or should there have been less around Katrina? I tend to go with the latter. When big disasters happen, lots of bad things are going to happen. I hate how everyone is always looking for someone to blame. NYC got flooded. Some shit is going to end up in the harbor. Why is anyone surprised?

[Fatty Bolger]

It's both. There are a lot of important stories ignored because they might hurt a Democrat in the White House. OTOH, the press went nuts with insane rumors reported as fact during Katrina, and that's no good either.

[Lord Humungus]

Nissan CEO abandons 2012 electric vehicle sales target
http://www.detroitnews.com/art.....les-target

Nissan Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn finally admitted the automaker will not meet its sales target for its all-electric Leaf ? in another sign of the broad struggle of the electric vehicle industry.

"The forecast we have given ourselves for the year will not be reached," Ghosn told Bloomberg Television in Mexico City on Thursday.

Despite months of lagging sales, the Japanese automaker has steadfastly refused to acknowledge that it could not double sales in 2012 to 20,000 after selling nearly 10,000 in 2011.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...protesters in Jordan want King Abdullah to step down.

What part of "king" don't these people understand?

[Citizen Nothing]

I thought Jordan was just like Naboo.

[Tim]

You know who else was from Naboo?

[mnarayan]

Jar Jar, Natalie Portman, and Kiera Knightley?

[Rasilio]

Those second two almost make up for the first.....

Almost

[KMA Too]

Roy Orbison?

No, wait...

[Lord Humungus]

"It's good to be king."

except when it's not.

[John]

Edward II, Richard II, Richard III, Charles I, Louis XIV would all disagree that it is good to be King.

[Tim]

Rodney King?

[Ted S.]

Louis XIV reigned for 72 years and died of more or less natural causes.

[John]

I flipped the V and I. Louis XVI. And Louis XIV was nearly murdered as a child, so I am not sure he wouldn't agree as well.

[Whiterun Guard]

Don't forget Kong.

Though he had it pretty good for a while.

[robc]

Charles I

Sigh...back when England had sensible ideas about how to treat a King.

Has anyone pointed out to the Prince of Wales the treatment given to all odd numbers Charleses?

[invisible furry hand]

Charles II was deposed and had his own wanted poster, and then wandered around Europe poor and horny for a decade, so it's not as if even-numbered Charleses had it all their own way either

[robc]

poor

For a king.

Its not like he was in danger of starving to death or anything. He had to rely on the kindness of continental royalty.

[invisible furry hand]

not starving, but he was really a glorified sofa surfer

[Zeb]

Sounds like more fun than being King of England.

[Stormy Dragon]

I'm reminded of the Landor poem:

George the First was always reckoned
Vile, but viler George the Second;
And what mortal ever heard
Any good of George the Third?
When from earth the Fourth descended
(God be praised!) the Georges ended.

[Whiterun Guard]

I think the odds are that they're going to do some kind of succession thing if the QM gets sick. I think I've got as much chance as Chucky does of becoming K of E.

[Ted S.]

QM? Queen Mary?

[Whiterun Guard]

Mum.

[invisible furry hand]

ah, you mean Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Charles will be king. I'd happily put money on that

[Groovus Maximus]

I see your wager and raise you a ticket to Donets'k.

[invisible furry hand]

Cool. Ticket to Donets'k if I win, a ticket to Sydney if you do. Bet's off if he dies before his mother

[Groovus Maximus]

One and done. Either way, there are no losers. HA!

[Ted S.]

The Queen Mother has been dead for about a decade.

[Whiterun Guard]

You fell right into my trap you limey scum.

[Zeb]

Queen Mother is the mother of the ruling monarch (assuming she has the title of Queen).

[invisible furry hand]

it's actually just a bit of bullshit QEII invented for her mother.

[Ted S.]

The correct title was actually Queen Dowager, once George VI died. Before that, she was Queen Consort. Elizabeth II is Queen Regnant.

[Whiterun Guard]

You too, Redcoat heathen!

[John]

But Charles II came back in the glorious revolution, which set up what I think is the best constitutional republic the world had ever seen. And I am not sure Cromwell is my idea of an ideal leader or the commonwealth any place I would want to be.

[robc]

No, the glorious revolution was when William and Mary booted out C2's younger brother James II.

[robc]

Cromwell had one good idea.

Loppity loppity.

Other than that, I agree with you.

Other than you screwing up the rest of the history.

[John]

That is a black hole of my knowledge of English history. I read a lot of medieval and a lot of 19th Century. But the 17th Century gets lost.

[Ted S.]

Forever Amber

[robc]

But the 17th Century gets lost.

Honestly, I only know it due to reading The Baroque Cycle. I then read enough history to figure out what Stephenson got wrong (some was obvious).

I highly recommend them if you like historical fiction. It probably helps if you have read Cryptonomicon. Its 20th century, so obviously The Baroque Cycle can be read without it, but the way some of the details from Cryptonomicon are set up in The Baroque Cycle are very amusing.

The source of the Samurai swords that Randy glimpses in the trunk of the Shaftoes' car, for example.

[invisible furry hand]

John, if you want non-fiction, Ronald Hutton is highly recommended for Charles II, but you might want to start with something top-level starting with the late 16th century to get a proper grasp of the political and religious issues that spark the Civil War

[Zeb]

John, You should listen to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ1yPz14LrU. It's all accurate and catchy too. Actually helped me remember dates on some English history exams at one point.

[Lord Humungus]

Cromwell (the movie) is a fairly decent flick.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Waaaaaaaaaay wrong.

[Drake]

Edward II of England had the most fitting end of any shitty politician.

He was actually found guilty of "incompetence" amoung other things and sent into exile. (Imagine if that was still a crime.) Then he was allegedly "assassinated by having a red-hot poker thrust into his anus."

[Groovus Maximus]

That's half-correct, as Edward II suffered from haemorrhoids, and that was the preferred method of cauterizing them at the time.

[John]

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/.....e-laid-off

How can people be this stupid? When the company says "take the new contract or we are going out of business", who votes with the union and says "I will take unemployment?"

[NoVAHockey]

I wonder if they thought Hostess was bluffing.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Oh yeah? You can go bankrupt. We'll continue our strike!

[kinnath]

18,500 loose their jobs, because 5,000 went on strike. The Teamsters are pissed at the Bakers. But I'm sure there will be no repercussions.

[Groovus Maximus]

Have the Butchers and Candlestick makers weighed in on this?

[gaijin]

hmmm...maybe Twinkies would be a good place for the US Government to invest some of it's profits from the GM stock it bought. er, wait...

[Clano'6]

No bailouts for Hostess, they contribute to childhood obesity.

[Whiterun Guard]

Why wouldn't they. Now they'll probably get paid close to the same amount for doing absolutely nothing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It's really a shame when unions go off the rails. That union was claiming to not only be working in the best interest of the Hostess employees "but for all unionized workers across North America who are covered by collective bargaining agreements."

I think the bankruptcy court still has to approve the decision.

[John]

but for all unionized workers across North America who are covered by collective bargaining agreements."

That is the answer. The unions didn't give a fuck about those employees. They were concerned about overall union power and setting a precedent of giving in. So those people lost their jobs.

[Whiterun Guard]

The question is what percentage of them learned anything from the whole situation?

1 or 2?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The workers blindly followed the union leadership and now they're going to have a very bad Christmas. And so are the other employees who didn't strike.

Maybe someone will buy the brand and restart the operations and they can get jobs there with no seniority and no benefits.

[VG Zaytsev]

Maybe someone will buy the brand and restart the operations and they can get jobs there with no seniority and no benefits.

Why would anyone that bought the brands hire back those morons?

[Drake]

The brands will definitely be bought during the liquidation proceedings. No way will they ever run those plants again.

[Randian]

The union should pool its resources and run the glorious People's Twinkie Collective.

I feel like there's an allegorical story that would project exactly how that would go, but I can't...

Oh yeah.

[Tonio]

They'll probably have great Christmases, Fist. Unions have strike funds to cover this sort of thing. Now the new year will be grim unless they have a really big war chest, or the national union pitches in (anyone know how that works?).

[Xenocles]

Do unions pay from the strike fund when there's no more job to strike for?

[Tonio]

That's a good question, Xeno. I don't know. And if the job truly disappears they'd also be eligible for unemployment (I think).

[VG Zaytsev]

Yep.

It's kind of amazing that the dumbfucks are willing to sacrifice their well being to enhance the power of union bosses.

[MP]

Is their power really enhanced after this kinda mess?

[Fatty Bolger]

18,000 fewer union employees makes me think... no.

[Spoonman.]

Hey, they beat Eastern Air Lines.

Except Frank Lorenzo still had a mansion in River Oaks and they didn't have jobs.

[R C Dean]

who votes with the union and says "I will take unemployment?"

One unionista yesterday was saying that they would do better on unemployment.

The deal the company was asking for was an 8% cut in wages, increased contributions to health and welfare plans. Not sure what the net was, but I'm guessing a cut of around 12 - 15% in takehome.

Unemployment benefits are 85% or more of takehome pay? No wonder we're so fucked.

[Drake]

It's a suicide pact with layers.

[Greg83]

Doesn't unemployment run out after a while? Or is that not a thing anymore under The One?

[Rasilio]

No, not even in Massachusetts (by far the most generous state with Unemployment benefits) is it anywhere near 85% of your take home.

Generally the formula ends up being somehere close to your highest and lowest earning quarters in the prior year added together and divided by 52 a week. So basically half your average paycheck in the last year. Then on top of that there are maximum and minimum benefit levels and in at least some cases additional allocations based on family size (that's what makes Mass so generous).

I suppose it is possible in the case of lower wage employees with multiple children that their unemployment check could be larger than their take home pay since taxes are not withheld from it (although they are still owed) but that would be offset by their no longer having any benefits either.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

But problems with several unions -- including the Bakery, Confectionery, and Tobacco workers and the Grain Millers International Union -- have prevented the company from moving forward.

Who knew there is tobacco in Twinkies?

[Citizen Nothing]

Ew, daddy! It tastes like grandma!

[wareagle]

add caffeine and it becomes the perfect food. Already has sugar and lard; what's a little baccy?

[Shit-Eating Aardvark]

Yeah, I know it's in the newsfeed:

Twinkies Maker Hostess Going Out of Business
"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," CEO says.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/nat.....43161.html

[John]

I hate to say people deserve to lose their jobs, but they told those people they couldn't stay in business. Did they think they were bluffing?

[Chloe]

18500 people out of work now. God, I hope they burn down the union leader's house.

[Citizen Nothing]

I hope they burn down the union leader's house.
Sorry. By contract, only members of Arsonists' Local 815 can do that job.

[Randian]

I hate to say people deserve to lose their jobs, but they told those people they couldn't stay in business.

I don't hate to say it.

This is the market at work. When you bluff big time and the bluff blows up in your face, you deserve the consequences.

I don't hate this any more than I would hate to watch someone lose a million dollars at poker. You played the game and you lost.

[Ted S.]

Is there some running joke causing people to repost this story to every fucking thread?

[NoVAHockey]

Tell him about the Twinkie.

Dr. Peter Venkman: What about the Twinkie?

[Clano'6]

Say this Twinkie represents the collective bargaining power of a huge national union.....now animate it and set it loose on the free market system.

[Slut Bunwalla]

Wonderful.

[Tim]

It's deeply relevant.

[db]

The union thought the management would just go out and get the company further into debt to pay them while they "negotiated" for higher wages and extended benefits. Suck it, union. The Galtian strike will bring you to your knees.

[?Ex Nihilo?]

How can people be this stupid? When the company says "take the new contract or we are going out of business", who votes with the union and says "I will take unemployment?"

If they think the company is bluffing, they would do that. Of course if the company IS bluffing, they just screwed up big-time.

[John]

They must have thought that. But that is the Union's fault. Part of union negotiations is to look at the company's books and see if they are telling the truth. The Union had to see the books and know they were not bluffing. Completely stupid.

[?Ex Nihilo?]

Completely stupid

Yep.

[Lord Humungus]

yeah, the one uber-union guy I know looks at companies as endless pits of money.

[Ice Nine]

Well, they are CORPORATIONS aren't they? And you know about Corporations.

[wingnutx]

They full of that Koch money.

[RBS]

Yeah, they probably assumed the company was lying about their finances as a means to screw the poor workers. Because everyone knows corporations just print their own money.

[VG Zaytsev]

More like the union officials assumed the company was lying about their books because the union does.

[R C Dean]

Hostess was in fucking bankruptcy court, with a liquidation petition filed and scheduled for approval on Monday.

What kind of idiot thinks that's a bluff?

[Groovus Maximus]

You have your answer in live and living colour.

[Randian]

Go read the comments in the Chicago Tribune. You still ahve people saying that this was a good call:

Robyn Morton
They're out of work, which sucks. But at least they aren't being treated like slaves, where the company trades its employees ability to make a living for keeping the company itself going. If a company cannot pay its workers fairly, it should go out of business. The workers got caught in the middle, and now are catching all of the blame.

[Zeb]

Slaves that get paid, only have to work 8 hour shifts, get offered health benefits and others and who get to go home every night, or just stop showing up for work altogether if they feel like it. Yeah, that sounds like slavery to me.

[Randian]

They took a stand against the greedy Kochporations, Zeb. They're just fallen heroes in the glorious Proletarian Revolution.

[KMA Too]

^THIS^

Not hyperbole, unfortunately.

[invisible furry hand]

A typical libertarian response. They have to spend that time creating junk food that the masses eat (it then turns their brains to mush and they don't listen to NPR) instead of spending it creating underground puppet shows that speak truth to power. WHERE ARE THE SUBSIDIES?

[MJGreen]

They're slaves, because their only hope of getting out from this shitty job is that the company goes out of business and they're all fired.

[?Ex Nihilo?]

What kind of idiot thinks that's a bluff?

A union idiot. I heard one the other night talking about how he would be glad to work for the new owners once the company finished liquidating. My wife looked at me like "does he know what liquidate means?"

[Randian]

Will The One illegally rewrite the bankruptcy laws this time?

[Tonio]

What kind of idiot thinks that's a bluff?

Why, the very best sort, of course.

Really, RC, disappointed in you. Harumph.

[tarran]

I went through this at LTV Steel.

The union management doesn't care if one company goes bankrupt - they reason that if they cave to one company, the other companies will also traipse into court and all those hard-won concessions will go out the window.

The union management gets paid out of the dues of employees, and they want to maximize that income stream. If all the companies in the sector adopt lower-paying contracts, the revenue stream goes down. IF disgruntled workers whose actual pay and expected pay diverge express their views at the ballot box, the union management can find the lucrative salaries going out the window.

They figure that if they hold the line, the company is liquidated, another big corp buys the factory, hires some of the union workers back and they take a smaller hit.

At LTV, the USWA fucked over the workers using this reasoning - the rank and file were openly discussing their willingness to work something out while the leadership kept trotting out Kucinich to accuse the company of bad faith.

[The Late P Brooks]

Greenspan is on Bloomberg right now, mumbling a lot of standard issue Greenspan-speak. "It wasn't MY fault."

Somebody should knock that octogenarian bullshitter right off his chair.

[John]

I know. I have seen him and his creepy wife around town. If I didn't have so much to lose, I would love to just slap him upside the head, not punch him. But slap him. He is unworthy of a punch.

[tarran]

Get a copy of "Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal".

Bring it to his table and ask him to autograph his pro-hard money essay. He'll recognize that it's a big fuck you.

[robc]

Ive said it here before, but if I ever meet him, Im going to ask him why he took the job that Galt turned down.

[Xenocles]

Probably because all those things you hate when they're done to you or in the abstract become more attractive when you get to do them. It happened to Adams and Jefferson, why should we be surprised that it happened to Greenspan?

[robc]

Im not surprised, I would just like to hear what he says.

[John]

That is a good idea. The problem is I have only seen him twice. I need to find a pocket copy of that essay and carry it around. If nothing else, Murphy's law will ensure that I never have to look at him or his creepy (and she is really skinny, wrinkled and creepy looking in person) in person again.

[NoVAHockey]

you have to take these opportunities when they come. I'm still kicking myself for not speaking up when i shared an elevator with Sen. John Kerry after he lost. I wanted to ask "why the long face, senator?" but didn't have the stones to do it.

I tell myself that it's because he waived me into the senators only elevator, but that's a lie.

[Xenocles]

I'd stick with that story - it seems like a reasonable one. It seems poor form to accept a favor and return it with assholery.

[R C Dean]

I heard part of that interview.

After he told the dimwitted interviewer "In no way, shape or form can any kind of tax increase solve this problem. It has to be entitlement reform."

Her next question was "Should they raise rates, or cut deductions."

After saying SocSec is not analogous to a pension plan, and we have to stop talking about it that way, he then proceeded to talk about it exactly that way. Pathetic.

[Rich]

a "clear and compelling narrative of commitment"

nar?ra?tive/?nar?tiv/ Noun:
A spoken or written account of connected events; a story:
"The administration's narrative of what really happened in Benghazi"

[Chloe]

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

[The Late P Brooks]

I wonder if they thought Hostess was bluffing.

This seems to be a recurring theme in the stories I have read. The union "leadership" (who, of course, will not be losing their jobs) have apparently been telling the rubes there is a buyer waiting in the wings to swoop in and rescue them. Who wouldn't want to latch onto that tar baby?

"Stand firm, Comrades! The train will stop!"

[Chloe]

Watch the buyer be from China

[Ted S.]

They probably think, like Canute, that they can stop the tide from coming in.

[Xenocles]

Canute made that command to demonstrate the futility of it, not out of actual belief it would work.

[The Late P Brooks]

Bring it to his table and ask him to autograph his pro-hard money essay. He'll recognize that it's a big fuck you.

That would be awesome.

[Lord Humungus]

The Incredible Shrinking Sugar Bag
Manufacturers are hiding food price increases by shrinking the size of the packages. Why that's bad for consumers, and the economy.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....r-bag.html

[Ted S.]

Somebody at reason (drink!) posted about this several months ago, at least in relation to the "half-gallon" of orange juice now being only 59 oz.

I remember commenting to Xenia Onatopp about where to find a real half-gallon of ice cream. What happened to her?

[OldMexican]

She got hunged up.

[Zeb]

In jail for driving without a license?

[Randian]

I have noticed shrinking packaging on whole bunch of stuff. I read everything and have a weird memory for this stuff, but all of the cans of vegetables, jars of pasta sauces, the aforementioned juices, etc. have all gotten smaller.

[Zeb]

They do it in sneaky ways too. Jars of peanut butter, for example, have really big dents in the bottom now (like a champagne bottle), so the jars look the same size as they used to.

[Tonio]

That dent is called a "punt" Zeb. At least on bottles of bubbly. At least there it serves a useful purpose (reduces bursting of bottles due to internal pressure).

[Zeb]

Well, I learned a new word today (or at least a new meaning for a word). I knew what they were for, but not what they were called.

[The Late P Brooks]

Also- as I said in the other thread:

I would be perfectly happy to see Hostess put out Help Wanted ads and hire permanent non-union replacement workers to staff their bakeries.

Fuck you, Comrade.

[Auric Demonocles]

I would be happy to see that too. But it's probably illegal.

[Lord Humungus]

OT: my friend bought the Beatles vinyl box set and then promptly returned it the same day.

He's a Beatles fanatic and already owns the Mobile Fidelity set, two 'Blue Boxes' (one from Japan) and several (sets!) of original Parlophone pressings.

According to him, the new vinyl (U.S. version) pressings are just plain awful - noisy and warped. The mastering is rotten too with obvious heavy compression and rolled off highs. So just a little heads up if anyone wants to spend the dough.

[NoVAHockey]

thank -- that was on a short list for a gift. i'll punt to something else.

[Lord Humungus]

apparently the EU pressings are better. The U.S. were done by Rainbo, which aren't known for high QC standards.

[Randian]

Is something the matter with MP3s?

*snickers, runs away*

[Lord Humungus]

HEATHEN!

[Randian]

Bwa ha ha. Tweaking audiophiles is just the easiest thing evar.

[Lord Humungus]

nah, I don't get crazy 'bout it anymore. It's the equivalent of Ford vs. Chevy or some other stupidity. It really doesn't matter unless you care.

[Citizen Nothing]

I'm trying to figure out what is the cheapest 5.1 surround sound receiver/speakers combo I can get away with in my new 12x16 media room. Any suggestions?

[Lord Humungus]

On the budget side, Pioneer has a well-reviewed pair of speakers - model SP-BS41-LR - that often gets heavily discounted on NewEgg. Free shipping too. There is also a powered subwoofer and smaller monitors for the rear.

I use the smaller BS21s for my home studio.

[Zeb]

LH, I think you would appreciate this guy: http://www.humanspeakers.com/.

Unfortunately I discovered him right after I bought some new speakers, but I really want to build something using his drivers at some point. I haven't done too much building of audio equipment, but looking at the pics of your projects makes me wash I was. Maybe after I'm done building my house and have some money again.

[Slut Bunwalla]

That site's constant emphasis on the word "HUMAN" leads me to believe these speakers are actually made of humans. That guy is totally a murderous psychopath.

[Zeb]

Ear cartilage makes the best tweeters.

[?Ex Nihilo?]

Is something the matter with MP3s?

All the cool kids use FLAC or Ogg Vorbis.

[Zeb]

That's surprising. You would think that vinyl records at this point would be pretty good quality as the market is pretty much audiophiles and DJs. No one is buying vinyl who isn't looking for a high quality recording.

[Lord Humungus]

from what I can tell reading various reviews and forums, the box sets pressed in the US are spotty. Some are good, some are bad.

[db]

So Reason's not going to tell us about the Twinkie?

[Chloe]

They're still mourning, give it time.

[$park?]

What about the Twinkie? Did something happen?

[db]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V13CZnUCOaQ

[Shit-Eating Aardvark]

St. Paul police kicked a man in the face as he lay on the ground and tried to explain that his mother couldn't quickly get to the ground because she'd recently had surgery, a lawsuit says. Police then shot a "flash-bang" grenade directly at the woman, setting her afire and seriously burning her legs, according to the lawsuit.

The St. Paul City Council is slated to approve a $400,000 settlement in the lawsuit Wednesday, Nov. 7, equaling the largest payout in a St. Paul police lawsuit, according to the city attorney's office.

Six other police misconduct cases have led to nearly a half-million dollars in payouts this year, according to the St. Paul city attorney's office. The city also recently settled for $385,000 a data privacy lawsuit involving St. Paul officers.

An investigation continues into a separate case in August in which a St. Paul police officer was seen on video kicking a suspect who was on the ground.

http://www.twincities.com/loca.....ost_viewed

[Fatty Bolger]

omg omg omg its here its here omg omg omg im freakin out i cant stand it EEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[RBS]

So much stupid:

"But, in the wake of the devastation caused by climate-change-fueled Superstorm Sandy, it shouldn't be much of a choice at all."

http://act.credoaction.com/cam.....50-sms1u1x

[$park?]

I heard some nitwit calling it a Superstorm last night too. It was a Cat 1 hurricane! What the FUCK is super about that?

[Pro Libertate]

Florida gets pummeled by Cat 2,3, and 4 storms every few years, but one Cat. 1 hits the Northeast, and it's like real wrath of god stuff. Cats and dogs living together.

The size of the storm did magnify the problem considerably, but I think the lack of preparation for an event that was known to be possible was a much more significant factor.

[Trespassers W]

What is this, Ghostbusters Appreciation Day?

[Groovus Maximus]

There is only Zuul.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Every day is Ghostbusters Appreciation Day, you heretic.

[invisible furry hand]

Perhaps they meant it was super, thanks for asking

[$park?]

Big Gay Al is not as retarded as the newscasters in Mass.

[Auric Demonocles]

Literally every reference I've heard on the radio (Boston) since it happened has used "superstorm Sandy".

[Timon 19]

After a while, AJE must have thought it sounded pretty retarded to continually say "Superstorm!!!!!" all the time, so they just took to calling it "Storm Sandy", which sounded weird in its own way.

[Zeb]

It was a very large storm with hurricane winds extending way farther than they usually do. Your typical cat. 3 storm would have done more damage in a much smaller area, but this storm spread it around a lot more. It also had one of the lowest recorded pressures of any storm at the center. The higher categories mean higher wind speeds and nothing else. Most of the damage from hurricanes is usually from rain and storm surge. So this storm was worse in most ways that a higher category normal hurricane would have been. It was an unusual and remarkable storm.

[Zeb]

Though I do agree that "superstorm" is a little silly. Better than "Snowtober", though. That was the dumbest weather even name ever.

[Timon 19]

Have you seen the latest thing where the Weather Channel is now naming winter storms? What the fuck?

[invisible furry hand]

Now that would be a good name for a storm

[Ted S.]

Weather Channel i sall about self-promotion, not about the weather.

[KDN]

The higher categories mean higher wind speeds and nothing else. Most of the damage from hurricanes is usually from rain and storm surge.

There was very little rain this time; Irene was significantly worse in that respect. The damage was almost entirely storm surge.

One thing that I found interesting was that the center of the storm went right over Philly and its suburbs, but there was basically no damage there. But reading this explains a bit of that.

[Xenocles]

Would you rather have Ivan Drago punch you once, or Apollo Creed punch you for an hour?

[Randian]

I think I'll take the one that never killed anybody.

[Xenocles]

I'm just saying there's more to it than wind speed. How long is the wind blowing for? What's the terrain doing for storm surge, flooding, etc?

[$park?]

It was a hurricane. A relatively weak one at that. Hurricanes happen every year at this time and now and then blow shit over and cause lots of destruction. Was Katrina a Superstorm? How about Andrew?

[Xenocles]

I'm not a weather-guesser, so I don't know the specific details. All I'm saying is that there might, just might, be more to it than one variable.

[Timon 19]

Well, it DID merge with a pretty intense Western/Canadian storm (because there was a really strong high over the N. Atlantic pushing it inland where hardly any storm ever goes). It was a strange situation, and by the time it hit the East Coast full bore, it was basically two strong storms as one.

[Zeb]

It was only weak by the metric of maximum wind speed. By most other relevant measures it was pretty damn strong. Pressure differential from the center out is probably just as meaningful measure of the strength of a storm as the maximum wind speed. And I think this one beat all known Atlantic hurricanes on that anyway.

[KDN]

Apparently it's a superstorm in the sense that it hit a noreaster after it made landfall instead of just being a straight-up hurricane. Plus, terming it a "superstorm" instead of a "hurricane" enables more people to file insurance claims.

I don't know the truth of any of that, but that's been the scuttlebutt around here.

[OldMexican]

The Sixth Circuit Court ruled Michigan's ban on affirmative action is unconstitutional, because of the Equal Protections Clause.

So the equal protection clause gives validity to a policy of open discrimination in favor of minority groups.

Sounds like one of those old New Twilight Zone episodes from the 90's where some dude was becoming horrified as people around him slowly changed the words that used to mean one thing, to mean something else.

[Groovus Maximus]

You mean like "access", "rights", "benefits", "racism", and all sorts of other taffy-pulled terms?

[Auric Demonocles]

I don't think I saw that episode.... Anyone know the name so I can find it?

[OldMexican]

Could've been "Tales from the Dark Side" but I don't think so.

[KMA Too]

Wordplay...The Twilight Zone

Robert Klein, bless his statist ass.

[Tonio]

Over at "Rolling Stone" (yeah, I know) Matt Taibbi has published the results of his Write Like (Thomas L.) Friedman contest. The results are hilariously awful - just like TLF himself.

[Groovus Maximus]

Are they in the obligatory Mandarin? Or was that just for bonus points?

[invisible furry hand]

If 2006 has taught us anything, it's that 2012 is 2006 on steroids, minus steroids, in 2003.

Friedman will swipe that for his next column

[Randian]

Over at "Rolling Stone" (yeah, I know)

Then you should know better.

[bostonaod]

I still find it hard to top TF himself. From this week:

There is no outside power willing to fall on the Syrian grenade and midwife a new order.

hard to believe, right?

[db]

Yes, midwifery is one of the most hazardous occupations there is. I can see the parallel.

[Brett L]

Tough to midwife anything after you fall on a (presumably live) grenade.

[Ken Shultz]

Biggest story of the day?

Hostess Brands moves to liquidate--becasue of the unions.

For those of you who haven't been keeping score, Hostess Brands has been suffering a strike by some of its workers--which appeared to be a game of brinksmanship by some of the unions to get the Obama Administration involved.

The unions were using the UAW playbook that led to the nationalization of GM.

"Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of iconic treats such as Twinkies and traditional pantry staple Wonder Bread, said Friday it is shuttering its plants and will seek to liquidate the 82-year-old business.

The company, which filed for Chapter 11 in January, said it has requested bankruptcy-court authorization to close the business and sell its assets.

A victim of changing consumer tastes, high commodity costs and, most importantly, strained labor relations, Hostess ultimately was brought to its knees by a national strike orchestrated by its second-largest union.

...

[The CEO] said the company will 'promptly' lay off most of its 18,500 employees and focus on 'selling its assets to the highest bidders.'"

http://professional.wsj.com/ar.....42670.html

[invisible furry hand]

seriously Ken, this is either an elaborate joke or you should search the page first

[Ken Shultz]

Was this already mentioned?

Shit!

It's happened to me before.

It'll happen again.

[Groovus Maximus]

Shhhh...it's the dementia setting on. Just let him be and let him have his Woobie and juice box.

[Ken Shultz]

"seriously Ken, this is either an elaborate joke or you should search the page first"

Seriously, it's such a big story, and there isn't a mention of it in the AM links. No story of its own yet!

And it's a perfect demonstration of why Obama's stupid economic policies are stupid.

The story's irresistible!

[invisible furry hand]

the Krayewski kiddie might have missed it for AM Links, but that doesn't mean the rest of us did. Hell, it even inspired this

[Ted S.]

Woohoo! People are linking to my comments!

[Randian]

If the rumor mill on what Petraeus is saying is true, it's going to be a no good very bad day for Obama.

[Ken Shultz]

Okay, well I'm obviously out of the loop and need to get caught up...

What's the rumor about Petraeus?

[Randian]

That he knew within 24 hours that the video story was a lie.

[R C Dean]

Raising the next question:

Why did he perpetuate that lie?

[db]

Because he was a team player and he wasn't aware of the affair investigation yet? Just speculating, don't know the whole timeline.

[Ken Shultz]

Because that's the CIA's job?

[Ken Shultz]

No word yet on whether the Obama Administration is getting involved.

I hope the Obama Administration doesn't get involved.

...but it's not like them to sit idly by and watch 18,500 union related jobs disappear--and that's not counting all the teamsters who work for outside trucking companies distributing their products.

[OldMexican]

The best thing I've heard so far about this case is how the union really thought the company was bluffing. Imagine trying to call a bluff that even a child could see wasn't there.

[Ken Shultz]

People just don't feed their kids Twinkies like they used to.

I bet most of their sales are eaten by adults.

Feeding Twinkies to children is almost considered child abuse in some parts of the country now--and selling that stuff to kids was their whole business model.

[Ken Shultz]

Seriously, I think that's the way unions run, though.

They never take their boots of management's neck until they stop breathing.

That's what the city of Detroit is all about. The unions are still in charge there. Haven't budged an inch.

[db]

Some other nodes of discussion on this.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/11.....nt_3385041

http://reason.com/blog/2012/11.....nt_3385348

[Ken Shultz]

Thanks.

Obama is a jackass, and if his unions are destroying the economy...

It's a big fuggin' story!

[Sevo]

"How many of you have ever heard of Melanesia?" When no one recognized the Oceanic region of his birth, Brown called out, "I thought so! Which is why we need ethnic studies here!"

See? If you can't identify Melanesia, it's cause you didn't major in griefer-studies!
http://www.sfgate.com/educatio.....042549.php

[Ken Shultz]

I know Polynesia, from Hawaii to Tahiti.

I know Micronesia is around Fiji.

I think those Melanesian islands are pretty small.

He's lucky if any of them can point to Vermont on a map and not New Hampshire.

[Ken Shultz]

I was wrong, turns out Fiji is Melanesia...

I don't know how I made all my money without knowing that!

[Xenocles]

The Melanesian Islands are commonly known as "The Freckles of the Pacific."

[db]

I think I see what you did there.

[invisible furry hand]

Fiji, the Solomons and PNG are all part of Melanesia. But WTF you would need to know this if you're not part of the region is beyond me. Unless they get the bomb or something, of course

[Ken Shultz]

I've always wanted to do a bareboat charter down there...

So, obviously, we need ethnic studies! Otherwise, how are people like me gonna know where we're sailing when we charter pleasure craft down there?

[Groovus Maximus]

Or if you are one of the Kennedy Clan.

[Sevo]

nvisible furry hand| 11.16.12 @ 10:46AM |#
"Fiji, the Solomons and PNG are all part of Melanesia. But WTF you would need to know this if you're not part of the region is beyond me."

Not sure about needing to know, but I knew roughly where Melanesia was from goddam H?S/ geography.
This guy needs griefer-studies to find them? Bullshit; he need remedial geography.

[Sevo]

H/S replaces H?S/

[bostonaod]

City College has more than 60 academic departments, often with fewer than 10 instructors. Asian American Studies has nine instructors. Asian Studies has two. Philippine Studies has three. Each has its own chair, released from teaching at least one class to do scheduling, program reviews and other tasks that other colleges hand to deans.

And the chairs get special stipends. WTF do you do with a degree in Philippine Studies?

[Lyle]

Fighting native Americans appeared to be a never ending conflict for years and years.

[Hell's Librarian]

Well someone had to stop them from gamboling across the plains.

[Clano'6]

So now they gamble along the plains (groan)

[The Late P Brooks]

Speaking of money holes, there is a 400 million dollar one in Florida today. Another F-22 bit the dust.

The best and brightest minds are on the job.

[db]

Wired puts the cost of the plane at $678 million.

Thankfully the pilot reportedly ejected and is safe.

[db]

The Air Force claims the cost per plane is only $120 million. They must be averaging that over the projected completed number of planes.

[db]

Sorry, $190 million, and the number comes from The Air Force Times, which I'm not clear is really an official source.

[Rasilio]

The difference is probably that the actual construction cost is in the $190 million range but if you average in the development costs over the 110 planes actually built then it balloons the cost up over half a billion each.

[DRM]

Definitely not official. Air Force Times is a Gannett (USA Today) paper.

[Another David]

A war in Afghanistan is tough to finish off? Holy shit, if only there'd been some hint that this would be the case!

[R C Dean]

We've known since Alexander the Great how to finish a war in Afghanistan. We just aren't willing to do it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but its not like its a total mystery.

[Ken Shultz]

Maybe it's not that the Afghans have kicked everybody's ass since Alexander.

Maybe it's just that since Alexander, there's never been anything in Afghanistan worth fighting for.

[Joe M]

Never get involved in a land war in Asia!

[The Late P Brooks]

I just saw the Wired story, db. Much more/better info.

Also contains this little nugget:

The same day, the Air Force copped to an earlier accident involving the stealth fighter, which costs as much as $678 million per copy (depending on how you crunch the numbers). On May 31, a student pilot on his second solo Raptor flight at Tyndall neglected to power up his jet's engines fast enough after retracting the landing gear.

"Without sufficient thrust, the aircraft settled back to the runway, landing on its underside," the Air Force explained in its official report, released on Thursday.

In June, 325th Wing spokesman Herman Bell said the incident would likely be categorized as a "class A" accident costing more than $2 million to fix.

In fact, the repair cost totals $35 million, the Air Force said yesterday. That could put the damaged stealth fighter out of action for years, assuming it gets patched up at all.

FORWARD!

[Ted S.]

"Settled"?

[Lyle]

What's the Muslim Brotherhood thinking in supporting Hamas?

[ant1sthenes]

You can't earn a spot on any good Axis of Evil without helping kill a lot of Jews?

[Lyle]

Yep.

[db]

Anonymous hacks Greek Finance ministry, finds combinations an idiot would use on his luggage.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

michigan doesn't HAVE a ban on affirmative action as the article claims. they have a ban on preferences, a distinct subset of affirmative action

AA encompasses a LOT more than just racial or gender preferences, but michigan does not ban it on the whole, just the giving of preferences

[CE]

Did you guys hear Hostess is going to shut down?

[Eduard van Haalen]

No, do you have a link and some quotes from the story?

[db]

Tell us about the Twinkie!

[Pagan Priestess]

Well if this twinkie represented union stupidity, it would be 35 feet long and weigh 600 pounds.