A.M. Links: More Debt Buying, Money Creation From Fed, European Central Bank Poised to Gain New Powers, Gay Marriage Set for Legalization in Uruguay

• The Fed will continue its economic intervention, purchasing more debt and printing more money.

• Some Congressional Republicans are okay with the defense spending growth reductions set to kick in at the fiscal cliff. Shock. Awe.
• Authorities in California are rapidly ratcheting up surveillance in public spaces.
• Germany may be on board with giving the European Central Bank regulatory powers over all continental banks.
• Uruguay's lower house approved legislation legalizing gay marriage, with the senate likely to pass it too. The president says he'll sign it.
• Cuba slouches toward freedom.
• Scientists have found seven habitable planets in the galaxy so far, but not Nibiru.
• Last call for Reason's webathon!

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Fed will continue its economic intervention, purchasing more debt and printing more money.

It's due to work one of these times.

[Rich]

Anyway, we owe it to ourselves.

[Whiterun Guard]

Come on, who knows how the economy works better than The Fed?

They wouldn't be elected to their positions if they didn't know more than anyone else about how to create jobs and fix the economy.

[Rich]

My fantasy debate is two hours live televised among Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, Ron Paul, and Karl Denninger.

[Suthenboy]

"My fantasy debate is..."

Me, Bernanke, Geithner, Obama and Krugnuts. They present their position, then I knock their fucking teeth down their throats, wash my hands in bleach and walk out.

I ran hogs in the woods all night y'all so I am off for a nap.

Have fun.

[Dagny T.]

I ran hogs in the woods all night

I have no idea what this means but it sounds awesome. Especially if a moonshine bottle with X's on it was involved.

[Restoras]

Hopefully firearms were invovled as well.

[SIV]

Hog dogs would be better.

[Suthenboy]

It means finding where the hogs have been ( know where the white oaks are that are acorn rich) then setting dogs ( preferably catahoula hounds) loose on their trail. When the dogs get sight of them they bark. You are obligated to mount a horse or 4-wheeler and show up at the scene.

Yes, there are firearms involved. Yes, alcohol is involved. Last night it was Jack and my new Winchester 94 in 450 marlin.

Now I have to cut more hickory for smoking sausage.

[Tim]

"You are obligated to mount a horse "

Wow, you really know how to party.

[Dagny T.]

Well, sure, when you're out doing cool stuff like that, of course you'll be obliged to mount a horse or a 4-wheeler at some point. Naturally.

Damn, Suthenboy, way to make our cityslicker desk jobs look even lamer.

[Tim]

I can practically feel my manhood shriveling up.

[R C Dean]

Here in Texas, the ranchhands use a slightly different technique.

Packs of dogs, yes. But the hunting is done during the day, the dogs go in after the hogs, and when they have one down, the hunters dispatch them with a knife.

No guns, because hogs run in packs, and they want to get the whole pack. Any gunshots, and the pack scatters. With dogs and knives, they can clean out the lot.

I have been asked to go along on a few of these. I declined. Hogs scare the shit out of me, so going mano a mano, followed by knifing the hog, isn't something I have the testicles for.

[sloopyinca]

R C, I have a legal/medical question for you: I asked for the billing information at my daughter's dentist yesterday so I could see an itemized bill. The lady refused to give it to me and said I'd have to get it from my ex-wife since she is the one that "created the account". I reminded her that we have joint custody and that my daughter was being covered by my insurance. The idiot still refused to give me the information I requested.

Who is right here?

[R C Dean]

You are, sloopy. As a custodial parent, you have the authority to make medical decisions for your daughter (absent something in your state law that I have never seen anywhere else).

As such, you are a "personal representative" (in HIPAA lingo) for your daughter, and have the right to see her medical records. If they get all pissy with you, HIPAA also gives you right to demand access to her records, and they have to either give you that access or give you a written response as to why not.

The big stick on all this is that you can file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Justice. Nobody likes that, so if you let them know that you know that's your stop, it might improve their customer service orientation, if you know what I mean.

[sloopyinca]

OK, thanks. Next time I'm in there, I'll demand access and see if they respond properly. Then it's off to the DoJ and/or an ambulance-chaser.

Imma get paid, bitches!

[R C Dean]

Use the magic words: "HIPAA" "personal representative" "right to access PHI ("protected health information", HIPAAese for "medical records") and (if need be) "Office of Civil Rights".

[sloopyinca]

I did tell them of my rights under HIPAA, and that was her reasoning for not giving me the information. I told her we had joint custody, she was covered by my insurance (which can only happen if she is legally my dependent) and that I am responsible for paying half of the bill. and she still fell back on HIPAA not allowing her to give me the information.

I asked the office manager where they got their HIPAA training and whether it was a cereal box or a cracker Jack box. She did not see the humor in it and even admonished the lady working the desk that laughed when I said it.

I told her that she needed to look the law back up and that I'd expect the information when I returned in a couple of weeks for my daughter's follow-up (braces) appointment. Armed with the above, I should be able to either crush her spirit as she is forced to give me the information in front of her co-workers or I should be able to call her out legally. Either way...win!

[R C Dean]

I see you are well along in this process.

Tell her to review the following citations:

45 CFR 164.502(g)(1) (personal representatives "stand in the shoes" of the patient)

45 CFR 164.502(g)(3) (parents as personal representatives)

45 CFR 164.524 (right of access to PHI).

[Tim]

Well you one upped me, I was all set to describe the possum that I caught in the barn last night. Tried to set the dogs on him but damn, he played possum. The dogs won't bite him when he just lays there.

[Tim]

Opossum
Didelphis virginiana

"Stronger threats that cause extreme fear will sometimes trigger an involuntary reaction of feigning death or "playing possum." When this occurs, not only will an opossum lay motionless with mouth and eyes open, tongue lolling out, but it will also exude a noxious, putrid-smelling, green substance from its anus so that it even smells dead."

[hamilton]

I had a couple of martinis and played XCom. Um... So There?!

[Lord Humungus]

Vanilla Porter while playing Left 4 Dead 2.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Couple martini's and guitar playing.

[Almanian.]

Pretty much just had a Mountain Dew and watched Chopperlive and looked at a picture of the Smith and Wesson I'm buying Mrs. Almanian for Christmas.

DON'TJUDGEME!!111!

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, I am so glad Ron Paul was effective as House Monetary Policy Chairman for these last two years.

What did he do there, anyway?

[Jordan]

The House can control the Fed? That's news to me.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Sponsored bills to exercise some modicum of effective oversight over the Fed... bills which you and your coideologues in the Senate opposed.

[fish]

How's the day trading going Shreek. Mom make you clean the basement yet?

[Gene]

Rush finally in the hall of fame.

Bout fucking time.

[Palin's Buttplug]

The band or the ignorant prick on AM radio?

[Gene]

There's a hall of fame for dickwads?

[Enough About Palin]

Yes. It's called the T o n y Awards.

[Generic Stranger]

Is it written somewhere that anytime anyone mentions Rush humorless pricks have to bring up Limbaugh?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

He was either going to bring up Limbaugh or Bush, because drop the R and...well you get it.

[Restoras]

Just douches like shreek.

[Generic Stranger]

Humorless pricks are a subspecies of douche.

[gaijin]

D baggers one and all!

[Whiterun Guard]

Ugh, who cares about this. It's less meaningful than the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The only thing that matters is whether they're in my record collection. Which they are. Too bad they stopped making albums in 1982. Ah well.

[sarcasmic]

Someone gave me 'Test for Echo' a while back, and while I was hesitant to listen I finally did. It's actually got some good songs on it.

[Whiterun Guard]

I can't hear you, la la la la.

[sarcasmic]

Your loss.

[mad libertarian guy]

Agreed. There is life post Moving Pictures.

[Almanian.]

Just none involving new Rush tunes

[db]

Clockwork Angels is pretty close to a masterpiece album.

[Restoras]

Wow. You've really missed out. Oh well, easier for me to get concert tickets, I guess.

[gaijin]

Too bad they stopped making albums in 1982

Well, they did start calling them CDs back then. Either way, I think they've released some good stuff since Signals...Test for Echo, Counterparts and the latest, Clockwork Angels all show relevance vibrancy from a bunch of 60-somethings.

[gaijin]

f'ing commas

[Restoras]

Amen. Clockwork Angels is (and this is blasphemy, I know) perhaps their best work since Permanent Waves. Snakes and Arrows doesn't have a bad tune on it. And Vapor Trails, while a poor recording, has a lot of great music as well, and it all sounds masterful live.

Not to ignore Signals or Grace Under Pressure, of course, and even Power Windows has a bunch of great tunes.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Well, they did start calling them CDs back then.

Damn kids!

*adjusts dentures*

[Francisco d Anconia]

al?bum
/?alb?m/
Noun
A blank book for the insertion of photographs, stamps, or pictures.
A collection of recordings, on long-playing record, cassette, or compact disc, issued as a single item.

[gaijin]

No 8-tracks, mp3s or laser discs?

[SugarFree]

A collection of recordings, on long-playing record, cassette, or compact disc, issued as a single item.

Album became an intellectual grouping long ago, when the first grooved audio discs where issued in bound booklets with leaves for sleeving and as result was called an "album" because it looked like a photographic album.

[Almanian.]

Ahem!

No love for reel-to-reel?

[Francisco d Anconia]

Had them all, my friend.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Except R to R. (I was the tail end of the 8-track)

[Mike Laursen]

Checking with my fifteen-year-old self, if he's stoked about this. Nope, even he says Rush sucks.

[db]

Time to drive the bung back in the barrel.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some Congressional Republicans are okay with the defense spending growth reductions...

RINOs, I say! RINOs all! And let's just call those growth reductions what they aren't: DEVASTATING CUTS.

[Ted S.]

Fucking non-patriots, they are.

[Brian D]

Not to worry. Any and all of the committee assignments of these traitors will be revoked shortly.

Love,
John Boehner

[Whiterun Guard]

Well, everyone get your burkas ready. Or your chopsticks. Cause I don't know who's going to take us over first, the muslims or the Chicoms.

[Rich]

Why not both?

Chinese Muslim mail-order brides

[Way Of The Crane]

And let's just call those growth reductions what they aren't: DEVASTATING CUTS.

Until we have a naval fleet greater in size than the one we had in 1916, we will never be safe! The American people should be demanding that our government immediately begin construction on 7,000 new wooden steam ships and sail boats, because apparently size matters.

[$park?]

Egypt is still a friend of the US.

"The U.S.-Egypt defense relationship has served as the cornerstone of our broader strategic partnership for over thirty years," said Lt. Col. Wesley Miller. "The delivery of the first set of F-16s in January 2013 reflects the U.S. commitment to supporting the Egyptian military's modernization efforts. Egyptian acquisition of F-16s will increase our militaries' interoperability, and enhance Egypt's capacity to contribute to regional mission sets."

[gaijin]

...to contribute to regional mission sets. to whose, I wonder?

[Don Mynack]

No doubt we loaned them the money to purchase said jets.

"In addition to the debt assistance, the administration has thrown its support behind a $4.8 billion loan being negotiated between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund. Last week, it dispatched the first of two delegations to work out details of the proposed debt assistance, as well as $375 million in financing and loan guarantees for American financiers who invest in Egypt and a $60 million investment fund for Egyptian businesses. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09.....wanted=all

Well looky there. What a surprise. Who says the military/industrial complex is dead?

[Don Mynack]

Correction: Apparently we paid for these in 2010. That's right - these were a "gift" from the U.S. to our good friend Egypt!

[Tim]

Our good friend General dynamics. Imagine if Ford was still getting paid to build Pintos. That's how old the F-16 design is.

[$park?]

Institutional education sucks all over the world.

The assignment supposedly read: "You've just turned 18 and have decided to end your life. Your decision appears irrevocable. As a final effort, you decide to explain the reasons for your act. In setting out your self-portrait, you describe all the disgust you feel for yourself. Your text must bring up certain events in your life at the root of this feeling."

The Telegraph reports one parent told a local paper her son received the critique that his "suicide note" was "not precise enough" from the teacher.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Did you head over to the actual Telegraph report?

By Tuesday afternoon, an umbrella group of parents issued a statement calling for the teacher's "immediate return to his post for the good of our children". Pupils and teachers "appreciate the qualities of this teacher," they said.

[mad libertarian guy]

By Tuesday afternoon, an umbrella group of parents issued a statement calling for the teacher's "immediate return to his post for the good of our children". Pupils and teachers "appreciate the qualities of this teacher," they said.

*facepalm*

[wareagle]

Your text must bring up certain events in your life at the root of this feeling.

perhaps having had to suffer morons like the teacher behind this assignment would be the lead item, that and knowing that much of your life's labor will be confiscated to provided sinecures to the edu-class and assorted other parasites.

[mr simple]

A French teacher

Oh, now it makes sense.

[Whiterun Guard]

I know this is a joke article, but damn, does a lot of it ring very, very true.

Also better 'science' reporting than in any major publication. Including Reason, I'm looking at you, Bailey. Less than of your articles reference Norwegian druids!

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/.....1004212660

[Zombie Jimbo]

From that study:

"Volcanic ash is made up of trillions of sub-atomic particles that are irresistibly drawn to sassy little tarts who will do all kinds of mucky nonsense for a Bacardi Breezer and a fried egg roll."

I feel that this effect could be used to greatly reduce PM concentration in US cities. The EPA should get right on that.

EPA sponsored slutwalks may keep the EPA from destroying the economy.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Scientists have found seven habitable planets in the galaxy so far...

But Earth is still the most livable, right? (And by Earth I mean the America part of Earth, of course.)

[Way Of The Crane]

But Earth is still the most livable, right? (And by Earth I mean the America part of Earth, of course.)

I think that answer depends on your view of carbon emissions. I've worked with a few environmentalists who are already convinced that we are past the point of no return and life on Earth will soon be extinct.

[Brett L]

Those people should really look into the oxygen catastrophe in the first billion years of life on Earth.

[Way Of The Crane]

In their minds, the Earth is not a dynamic environment that is in a constant state of change over time; It should always be 70-80 degrees in the spring and summer months with a little light snow around Xmas.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Drastic change over millions of years is one thing. Drastic change over a century or two is quite another.

Natural selection is slow.

[T o n y]

It should be under stable conditions suitable for human life. If it dramatically changes to the extent that humans are threatened, whether by natural or human-caused forces, it pays to do something about it. Since the current crisis is entirely caused by humans, there is if anything an even more urgent moral case.

[sarcasmic]

What would you know about morals, Mr Might Makes Right?

[Lord Humungus]

fascists gotta be fascists.

[Restoras]

Unmatched socks are incapable of moral/immoral understanding, or of being statists. They are only capable of occupying space in your sock drawer.

[Enough About Palin]

STFU

[sloopyinca]

Since the current crisis is entirely caused by humans,

Wait, did I miss something? Citation required, please.

[sarcasmic]

Wait, did I miss something?

This may come as a shock to you, but a group of "scientists" who view skepticism as heresy all agree that human activity is changing the climate!
Can you believe it?
I mean, a group of folks whose livelihood depends on government grants all agree that governments need sweeping new powers to alleviate the impending crisis!
It's shocking! Absolutely shocking!
Consensus!
Conseeeeensuuuuuuus!

[tarran]

The alarmists tend to point to three things as evidence that the doom they predict will occur: 1) current observations 2) models 3) paleoclimactic observations

To date there has been only one attempt to observe climate sensitivity to CO2 and it came up with numbers much lower than the IPCC estimates (there are huge problems with making observations that make that study far from definitive). All the other observations show steady small amounts of warming in rural areas, lots of warming in urban areas and say fuck all about what's causing it.

The assertion that these observations confirm warming are predicated on a bunch of computer models which are highly flawed - flaws that likely make their predictions to be utterly worthless. Essentially the models over-simplify the climate (they have no choice: the physical processes taking place in the atmosphere and when it interacts with the exosphere and/or the surface are very poorly understood). The models are built using various different methods and schemes for modeling the atmosphere. The models all make very similar predictions, and these are used as justification of their validity. However, this is not surprising in that they are tuned by using past history (usually by adjusting the constants surrounding aerosol impacts) until they hindcast the last few decades. (cont)

[tarran]

Unsurprisingly, these models tuned to make the same prediction given identical inputs regarding the past give similar predictions given identical inputs about the future.

The last leg in the three legged stool is paleoclimate. There are two different subgroups in this field: 1) the people trying to show that the past 1000 years were a period of stability that is now out of whack with the present; 2) the people looking at timescales of millions of years.

Group 2 are doing pretty good science, but their observations can only tell a little bit with error bars of thousands of years. They are not very politicized and unsurprisingly show CO2 rises lagging temperature changes.

Group 1 are highly politicized (the Climategate scandal entirely involved that group); the dominant 'scientists' (UEA, Mann's group et al) are horrible at statistics and it shows in the very flawed papers they produce (I strongly encourage everyone to go and just start reading articles on Climate Audit to gauge how godawfully incompetent these people are). (cont)

[tarran]

At this point, I am pretty confident that there will be no catastrophic global warming due to current human activity.

The actual influence humanity is having on the Earth's climate is, however, unclear, primarily because the field started with the answer (we are killing ourselves with industrialization) rather than following the evidence. The noble cause corruption that blocked experimentation to test Svendmark's cosmic ray theories on the grounds that it might distract people from CO2 is an example that leaps immediately to mind. This is akin to refusing to test the bloody handkerchief at the scene of a crime because the cop is sure the husband must of killed the wife.

One final note:

Much of what people like Tony use to form their opinions is from the output of several massive propaganda campaigns that are organized classically along the model recommended by Bernays. The most prolific group in the U.S. seems to be an outfit called Fenton communications, who bankroll Skeptical Science (or as I like to call it 'credulous superstitions').

(cont)

[tarran]

One of the favorite tactics that these groups fall back on when told that the science doesn't back up the narrative of CO^2 induced global warming is "What else could it be?"

This is akin to people blasting those who in the late 1800's were questioning the existence of the planet Vulcan that was posited to orbit inside of Mercury's orbit based on its non Newtonian precession. Until Einstein came up with General Relativity, the guys saying Vulcan didn't exist couldn't point to an alternate explanation. But that didn't negate the fact that all the attempts to observe Vulcan were pointing to the planet not existing.

The actual state of knowledge of how the Earth's climate works is very poor. Obviously it's a homeostatic system of some kind, but the switches between ice ages and the current temperate conditions should give one pause since we don't know why they happen. The preponderance of evidence, though, points not to catastrophe but to a continuation of a very congenial climate.

[sarcasmic]

Don't forget the question begging argument that human activity must be affecting the planet somehow. I mean, how could it not?
So if someone says the climate is changing due to human activity, they must be right because human activity must be affecting the planet.

[Way Of The Crane]

Since the current crisis is entirely caused by humans, there is if anything an even more urgent moral case.

Nice job ignoring the sun's impact on global temps as well as contributions to green house gas levels made by volcanic activity.

[Whiterun Guard]

Well at least we won't be around to witness it.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I've worked with a few environmentalists who are already convinced that we are past the point of no return and life on Earth will soon be extinct.

Please, try to convince them there is no use waiting to see how it ends.

[Auric Demonocles]

And by Earth I mean the America part of Earth, of course.

Wow, I have been gone a long time.

[Auric Demonocles]

But Earth is still the most livable, right?

FTFA:

The Catalog uses the Earth Similarity Index to classify and rank the habitability of these planets, whittling out those that are Earth-size or physically similar to Earth, but not actually Earth-like. The criteria in the index are the variability of energy from the host star, the mass of the planet and the size of the world.

There criteria seems rather... inclusive.

[JW]

But Earth is still the most livable, right?

They'd best not fucking stop until they find Earth 2.

[mr simple]

Also in the Catalog are HD 85512b, Kepler 22b, Gliese 667Cc, Gliese 163c and HD 40307g, all of which are super-Earth planets.

They think they're better than us!

[Rights-Minimalist Autocrat]

Don't worry, there are some Luthor-Earth planets out there to keep them from becoming dictators.

[sarcasmic]

High school mascots brawl.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-game.html

[Lord Humungus]

One doctor's life for one SEAL's life: Was it really worth that?
http://news.investors.com/poli.....joseph.htm

And when it's the death of just one person, the fatal event allows those watching to personalize this awful Afghanistan war, which is ignored at home and has descended into a meaninglessness drift after a decade of deaths.

Nicolas Checque was a 28-year-old, much-decorated member of the hallowed SEAL Team 6, among the elite of the secret warriors from all the armed forces who will continue to be the discrete spear-point of the dark wars it seems we'll face for a very long time.

He died this weekend, shot in the head, rescuing a civilian American doctor, Dilip Joseph, who'd been captured by the Taliban while making his rounds to rural clinics.

[Ted S.]

Is anybody else getting sick of the word "warrior"?

[$park?]

Well, it does sound like quite a Scandal.

[Whiterun Guard]

Oh man, I was too young to know what to do with Patty Smyth, but good lord I knew I wanted to do something.

Of course like two years later she turned into 2012 Meg Ryan.

[Francisco d Anconia]

God I miss the 80s!

Do you kids know that, in the 80s, MTV played music videos all day long?

[Groovus Maximus]

Goodbye to you, Sparky.

[SugarFree]

So hot. I find myself watching that video a few times a year since I thought to look for it on YouTube,

[Groovus Maximus]

Oh, Saccharin Man, are you able to drink a finger of scotch from time to time?

If so, Suthenboy has you on The List...

[Francisco d Anconia]

Holy shit doc. I thought I was the only person in the world who used the Big Red Truck line.

Do other people get the reference or do you need to explain it to everyone? I've NEVER had someone get it without needing to explain.

[Groovus Maximus]

Do other people get the reference or do you need to explain it to everyone?

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I've NEVER had someone get it without needing to explain.

Yep, it's a quaint Okie-ism I never quite let go...

[SugarFree]

I am able, but mostly on a bourbon kick for the last decade. It should go to someone who would give it the love and attention it deserves.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I go to a live karaoke night once a month, and there is a little cutie that always sings that song. She's got a great (set of) voices.

[Ted S.]

I vote for a rather more kinky Scandal

For those of you who are prudes, you can try this Scandal.

[BakedPenguin]

Also for the prudes.

[Lord Humungus]

I admit to having this on vinyl. That is all.

[Restoras]

I less sick and tired of "warrior" than I am of the overuse of the word "hero", to the point where it is now virtually meaningless.

[Ted S.]

I got sick of the hijacking of the word "hero" not long after September 2001, when Budweiser decided to (had to?) change its "Real American Heroes" ad campaign to "Ream Men of Genius", presumably to avoid offending certain people.

That, and seeing the NY Mets take the field for their first game after September 11 in those horrible "FDNYPD" hats.

[BigT]

Earn this!

[Way Of The Crane]

I wonder if that doctor would have still been captured if the US had chosen not to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, or perform drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, etc.

[Whiterun Guard]

Probably true. But he also wouldn't be a doctor any more, since I don't think they're allowed under sharia law.

[Way Of The Crane]

But he also wouldn't be a doctor any more, since I don't think they're allowed under sharia law.

Since the doctor was an American civilian, are you implying that had we not invaded Afghanistan, the United States would be under sharia law today?

[Whiterun Guard]

Yes, that's exactly what I was implying.

[wareagle]

has anyone else noticed how Team 6 members keep getting killed. First, there was the chopper crash that took out a sizable number, now this guy.

[Restoras]

They're cursed!

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

And yet no one gushes over how brave Egyptian archeologists are.

[$park?]

Tools do start to wear down when you use them so much.

[Ted S.]

They're never going to survive unless they get a little crazy.

[NoVAHockey]

Turns out that the SEAL is a distant cousin of mine. had no idea.

[mad libertarian guy]

Nicolas Checque was a 28-year-old, much-decorated member of the hallowed SEAL Team 6, among the elite of the secret warriors from all the armed forces who will continue to be the discrete spear-point of the dark wars it seems we'll face for a very long time.

So discrete they made a movie about it.

[Whiterun Guard]

Hell, he might have even been IN one:

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

[R C Dean]

One doctor's life for one SEAL's life: Was it really worth that?

I would say yes. That's what soldiers sign up for. The SEAL, in particular, went to a lot of trouble to put himself in situations where he was likely to be killed.

In fact, if soldiers aren't willing to die in defense of civilians, they are just armed goons.

[Sy]

"if soldiers aren't willing to die in defense of civilians, they are just armed goons."
^^ THIS ^^

[sarcasmic]

Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence voted the 'world's most desirable woman'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....woman.html
Number one? Really?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

We discussed this in the P.M. links.

I am willing to reconsider my position on Emma Watson.

[sarcasmic]

I would consider any position with Emma Watson.

[Restoras]

Sign me up. Also, I think Natalie Portman should be in that discussion group.

[Whiterun Guard]

The kid she had nixes it for me. I have to have standards.

Of course, if she was willing to double up with Emma Watson, I'd give up my principles faster than a liberal.

[Palin's Buttplug]

We agree for once. At least the pre-baby Natalie. She is quite the liberal you know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5YTI4sle-M

(SNL rap uncensored starring Natalie "Kids suck my dick")

[gaijin]

It's like SNL has this rap thing they do...over and over and over and over.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

We never said we wanted to have a conversation with her.

[John]

Eva Green you homos.

[JW]

1. Jennifer Lawrence
2. Mila Kunis
3. Kate Upton
4. Rihanna
5. Emma Stone
6. Miranda Kerr
7. Kristen Stewart
8. Jessica Gomes*
9. Jessica Pare*
10. Michelle Jenneke
11. Candice Swanepoel
12. Sofia Vergara
13. Blake Lively
14. Christina Hendricks
15. Emilia Clarke*
16. Cheryl Cole*
17. Zooey Deschanel
18. Olivia Munn
19. Naomie Harris*
20. Claire Danes

*Who?

[John]

Danes is flat out homely. I have no idea why anyone finds her attractive.

[SugarFree]

Emilia Clarke in a terrible wig plays Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones.

[mr simple]

The fact that Candice Swanepoel was behind anyone on that list should bring shame to everyone who voted on it and the website.

[Restoras]

I'd amend this list with Kendall Jenner

[JW]

I'd amend this list with Kendall Jenner

I tend to draw the line with jailbait.

[sarcasmic]

I'd amend this list with Kendall Jenner

Well, shit. As long as we're going all pedo, I nominate Bella Thorne.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....thday.html

[JW]

I nominate Bella Thorne.

Just use Faye Reagan as a stunt double and you'll be fine.

[Groovus Maximus]

MEh! I have seen much better than that list of alleged attractive women.

Colour me unimpressed.

[JW]

I dunno, Groovy. I'm sure I could find it in my soul to put up with a few nights of burden with some of those rejects.

[Heroic Mulatto]

14. Christina Hendricks

You, sir, are a homosexual.

[JW]

I have never shied away for my love of her buxomness and full-bodied goodness, but she doesn't belong on that list.

[Heroic Mulatto]

But Zooey does?

What are you smoking/insufflating?

[sloopyinca]

How can that list not include Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson or Catherine Zeta-Jones (in the older category)?

[JW]

But Zooey does?

Yeah, dude, she does. Insufferably cute and coquette eyes go a long way.

I think, out of that list, I picked a good cross-section. Olivia Munn, as smoking hot as she is, is disqualified on the basis of barely tolerable personality and her sneer smile.

[iggy]

God, I despise Olivia Munn. I'm glad I'm not the only one. She's ridiculously hot, but something about her and her smug, self satisfied personality makes me really hate her.

[Ted S.]

Including being a bottom?

[mr simple]

That list was made by British men, wasn't it? They like those plain faces.

[sarcasmic]

Teens as young mother for a smoke. She says "Get a job." They kill her.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....d-job.html

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Obviously we need to make it illegal for 14 year olds to buy handguns.

[Rich]

Two of [the] teenagers posted pictures of themselves brandishing guns on Facebook hours after the crime.

Obviously we need to make it illegal for 14 year olds to use Facebook.

[Whiterun Guard]

They probably just didn't know she was a mother. I mean obviously this would have been ok if she was just some regular 22 year old woman.

[nicole]

Right on, Whiterun Guard. And twice as bad if she had been a mother of two.

[Mike M.]

A couple more precious little ones right there, just like Trayvon Martin.

You don't tell our fine upstanding youths in modern America to get a job or keep an eye on what they're doing. And if you do, you will get the hell beaten out of you or possibly even killed.

[SugarFree]

Did you get an advanced degree in being a fucking cunt?

[Tim]

I can't tell if he serious or just planting shit here to make us look bad.

[Clich? Bandit]

Does Loyola offer that?

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

They actually have more racial heritage in common with Zimmerman than Martin.

[Mike M.]

I never said anything at all about race or racial heritage.

This is far more of a cultural issue than a racial issue. Something is causing children today to increasingly feel as though they're entitled to use violence (even lethal violence) at the drop of a hat. Who or what is planting this idea in their malleable little heads?

[SugarFree]

Who or what is planting this idea in their malleable little heads?

Well it certainly isn't people who are fans of unlimited military interventionism, support drone strikes on children, defend torture and would dance a jig if a billion people dropped dead tomorrow assuming they were all Muslims.

Nope. Not those people.

[Mike M.]

Fourteen year olds are walking around armed and killing people at the slightest provocation or sign of "disrespect" because our foreign policy?

Kevin Durant doesn't have a reach that long. I think the actual explanation is most likely far less ludicrous than the one you're trying to put forth.

[SugarFree]

Did you even see it sailing over your head?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fourteen year olds are walking around armed and killing people at the slightest provocation or sign of "disrespect" because our foreign policy?

Considering you've just described the Taliban....yeah.

[sarcasmic]

Who or what is planting this idea in their malleable little heads?

Probably has something to do with them and those they look up to being unable to earn sizable income outside the black market where, lacking the ability to resolve disputes like civilized people in court, they resort to violence.

[MWG]

"Something is causing children today to increasingly feel as though they're entitled to use violence (even lethal violence) at the drop of a hat."

Except that... you know... violent crime has been going down for years in the US.

[Restoras]

You guys have it all wrong.

If smoking were illegal, then the question wouldn't have been posed and she would not have been shot for expressing her libertarian views.

Also, I think every woman she arm herself. Except for gingers...that would be too dangerous.

[sarcasmic]

Except for gingers...that would be too dangerous.

Come on! My wife is a ginger and, uh, good point.

[Francisco d Anconia]

who will be tried as adults

Why do they even distinguish anymore? Aren't all murderers tried as adults?

[sarcasmic]

'Storage Wars' star Dave "YUUUUP!" Hester is a whiny little bitch!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....IGGED.html

[Ted S.]

Does anybody think any "reality" show is real?

[Way Of The Crane]

Hester is seeking more than $750,000 in his wrongful termination, breach of contract and unfair business practices lawsuit.

Wow, all this time I thought their business buying storage lockers and selling the contents for a profit. You mean to tell me they're paid to be on the show and they don't rare and valuable art, cars, antiques, etc. at every auction they attend? Color me surprised.

[BakedPenguin]

Next, they'll be telling us that all those people with unusual/weird/rare items didn't just walk in off the Vegas strip on Pawn Stars!

[Rasilio]

Eh I am certain some of them are "more real" than others.

For example, American Choppers. Obviously some of the builds they did were set up by the shows producers and would never have happened without the show but that doesn't change the essential nature of their work nor the completely fucked up family dynamic between Paul Jr and Sr that actually made the show interesting for anyone besides hardcore motorcycle geeks.

American Pickers is another one which seems to be pretty straight up with what it presents.

On the other hand with Storage Wars, even if I didn't believe that Daves claim was true in some instances it is still pretty clear they are playing fast and loose with the item valuations when the tally up who "won" and "lost" on that weeks show. I'd guess that around 80% of the so called profits would never be realized because there is just no realistic way they will get the full retail value they expect from what they find.

[Rasilio]

Oh and can someone please tell me what Brandi is doing with that loser Jarrod?

That is the real mystery of the show.

[sarcasmic]

I'm sure that the fact that they've got kids together has something to do with it. Heck, it's probably got everything to do with it.

[Rasilio]

Yes, that explains why she stays with him, not how they ended up together in the first place as she is way out of his league in both the looks and brains department.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I don't know, they seem to have pretty similar personalities, and if you have a lot in common with someone, that can be just as much of an attraction as looks or brains.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

They're from Fullerton. 'Nuff said.

[MP]

American Pickers is another one which seems to be pretty straight up with what it presents.

Oh come on. Yes, the exploratory finds seem legit. But the business model is completely absurd. Two guys driving around the country in a Mercedes van buying enough stuff that they could maybe flip for a $500 profit? It wouldn't even cover their Wendy's bill for the trip.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

On the other hand with Storage Wars, even if I didn't believe that Daves claim was true in some instances it is still pretty clear they are playing fast and loose with the item valuations when the tally up who "won" and "lost" on that weeks show.

That was my reaction after watching a couple of shows--"It would be interesting to see what they really got for all of that crap instead of their estimates." Hester, in particular, seemed to vastly overvalue a lot of things in his lockers. Furniture he said that he could get sell for $200 bucks, for example, I wouldn't have paid $20 for.

[mad libertarian guy]

Did anyone think that Dave Hester isn't a whiny little bitch?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The lawsuit alleges entire units have been staged and the practice may violate a federal law intended to prevent viewers from being deceived when watching a show involving intellectual skills.

How much "intellectual skill" does it take to stand there like a douchebag and yell "YUUUUP!!" all the time?

Keep in mind this is the same asshole that brags about running up prices during the auctions just out of spite.

[sloopyinca]

As an auctioneer, I love watching the show just to see how fucked up the process is. I know they chop up the auctions so we just get to see what the stars buy, but the entire process is obviously a setup.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Germany may be on board with giving the European Central Bank regulatory powers over all continental banks.

The European Central Bank needs breathing room.

[sarcasmic]

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

[MP]

Every time I look at her, I can't help but think of Tom Wolfe's imagery of "girls with the bodies of young boys" from A Man in Full.

[Whiterun Guard]

Wow, Tom Wolfe isn't even in the top billion things that come into my head when I look at her.

Even if she was wearing a white suit and reading to me from The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test, I doubt I'd think of Tom Wolfe.

[sarcasmic]

Olivia Wilde on the beach in a bikini.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....ikini.html

If you think she looks like a young boy, you've got problems.

[JW]

She is, what they call, "built for speed."

[sarcasmic]

John likes them "built for comfort."

[Rich]

the American Civil Liberties Union says [video surveillance camera spying in public] is stripping away privacy rights while failing to dent the intended purpose: crime.

*** rising intonation ***

What about *thought* crime?

[sarcasmic]

Anne Hathaway goes commando!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....hotos.html

[Palin's Buttplug]

Not quite the Britney Spears flap-show I was hoping for.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Please Anne, never cut your hair again.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

That short I mean.

[Citizen Nothing]

Why is that handsome young lad wearing a dress?

[Groovus Maximus]

And with those knee braces, he must have an awful case of arthritis! Poor devil...

[Hell's Librarian]

Yeah, those shoes are utterly fug.

[Groovus Maximus]

Actually, I like the outfit, it's very Goth. I had a GF of yore who dressed similar to that.

Too bad Anne isn't.

[Hell's Librarian]

I like the dress, except for that whatever-it-is on the back. FUG.

[John]

She just did it for the movie. She says she hates it and that she looks like the gay little brother she never had, which is pretty funny.

[Palin's Buttplug]

She has a gay brother. When her church refused him she and her family resigned immediately.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

When her church refused him she and her family resigned immediately.

Yeah, THAT was the straw that broke the camel's back, not the church's stance on abortion or homosexuality in general or anything like that.

[R C Dean]

I dunno. Anne Hathaway can pull off the short hair look. I doubt there's much she could do that wouldn't look good on her.

[Groovus Maximus]

Talk about being gotten by the short n' curlies...

[$park?]

It's $10,000 a month to look after someone, it's much more than that to actually care for them.

A 92-year-old with Alzheimer's was found with 57 maggots crawling in her ear while she was under the care of a nursing home costing around $10,000 a month.
...
McCann has advanced Alzheimer's so she cannot speak or care for herself. The home's staff finally brought her into the hospital after noticing her scratching and tugging at her ear.

[gaijin]

That's ridiculous...basic care for advanced alzheimers (excluding medical) should be half that per month.

[mad libertarian guy]

You have to satisfy the regulations somehow.

[Lord Humungus]

Psy & America-hate
Singer's too-revealing story
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/o.....iSda8hXLIP

So, once again: Why do they hate us so much?

For Koreans, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once told me, it's a generational thing. His peers, who grew up during the Korean War, are extremely grateful. "If it wasn't for America, I would have become a faceless bureaucrat serving North Korea," Ban often says.

But for those who grew up long after the war, America ? and especially the troops stationed in the 38th parallel ? symbolizes a sort of occupation. Since the late 1970s, Seoul's "Yankees go home" crowds have clashed with police in riot gear while shouting anti-US slogans and calling for peace with North Korea ? as if only America stands in its way.

[Brett L]

Sweet. That's all the excuse I need. Pack the troops up. Let's go the fuck home.

[wareagle]

and if we opt to leave the troops, send the Sorks a bill for protection. It's a win win.

[Ted S.]

We should't need anti-America utterances to hate Psy. Gangnam Crap is more than reason enough to lock him in a room with Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black and throw away the key.

[Groovus Maximus]

Throw in STEVE SMITH and you may have something there, Theodore.

Warty, of course, will "moderate" the goings-on.

[Jordan]

"If it wasn't for America, I would have become a faceless bureaucrat serving North Korea," Ban often says.

Instead, I became a celebrity bureaucrat serving every dictatorship on Earth.

[Way Of The Crane]

"If it wasn't for America, I would have become a faceless bureaucrat serving North Korea," Ban often says.

As opposed to the useless tool he is today.

[db]

I like how Ban basically admits he would have become not just a peasant in North Korea, but an active employee and enabler of its totalitarian nightmare. So, Mr. Ban, what agency of the North Korean government would you have displayed a particular talent for? Food maldistribution directorate? Political prison management? Maybe domestic secret police intelligence?

[sarcasmic]

Cop caught on camera remarking that there "is no Fourth Amendment" while conducting an illegal search.
http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?ID=4538
Will anything else happen? I doubt it.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

There is no fourth amendment, only Zuul.

[hamilton]

I thought that amendment was that nobody should be caught not drinking.

[Matrix]

That's the Fifth of Jack amendment.

[Lord Humungus]

How To Carve An Elephant
http://www.weirduniverse.net/b....._elephant/

Then, again, we are given minute instructions for the carving of beasts whose flesh was esteemed by the ancients. "In partes of Asia and Africa," we are told, "the oliphant is eaten, not as the Romans and Egyptians were wont to do, sparingly and only as pertain'd to his feete, trunk, and tayle all of which were great delicacies, but his entire carcase is carved and consumed." For the benefit of those who might happen to possess an elephant and be tempted to eat him a chart of carving instructions accompanies the text.

mmmm...oliphant chili

[Fist of Etiquette]

Uruguay's lower house approved legislation legalizing gay marriage...

More like Urugay, am I right? They're not shaming America into anything.

[mustard]

The Fed doesn't print money, morons. The Burough of Printing and Ingraving does, they are part of Treasury. Get your facts straight.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Sadly, most libertarians get their knowledge of the Fed from that quack's book called 'Creature from Jekyll Island'.

[Rich]

Where do *you* get your knowledge, BP?

[Restoras]

Why, from that most fabulous of all capitalists rent-seekers the Sage Fraud of Omaha, of course.

[Citizen Nothing]

Given his handle, my guess is "from Palin's asshole".

[Ted S.]

I would have guessed Andrew Sullivan, myself.

[fish]

You're right shreek it's not nearly as scholarly as Keynes bilge! Well done!

[Lord Humungus]

holy pedantic derp-a-tude.

[Rasilio]

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

If it is it kinda fails because there is no hint of it and unfortunately there are actually people who believe this.

If not, let me educate you, while your statement is technically correct (spelling aside) in popular parlance the term "printing money" refers not the the relatively meaningless act of printing little pieces of paper but rather the much more esoteric process by which banks may create new "money" out of thin air, money which exists quite independently from the little scraps of paper produced by the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Commercial banks don't print money either. They extend credit based on existing reserves.

[T]

Fractional reserve banking, how do it work?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Much better than full reserve.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

They extend credit based on existing reserves.

That's the theory, anyway.

[some guy]

They do extend credit based on existing reserves. The credit they can extend is limited to some multiple of their actual reserves. This is why every fractional reserves system is guaranteed to eventually fail. The higher the multiple, the sooner and more spectacular the failure.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The credit they can extend is limited to some multiple of their actual reserves. This is why every fractional reserves system is guaranteed to eventually fail.

Well, yeah, when you extend credit beyond what you actually have in reserve, sooner or later that's going to blow up in your face.

Shrike's dishonesty here is the implication that banks can't lend beyond their resources. Shit, if that was the case, the savings and loan, dotcom, and housing bubbles never would have happened.

[some guy]

Rasilio never said Commercial banks "print money". He said they create it from "thin air". In reality, that's not even true. Air, at least, has some actual value, no matter how thin it is.

[R C Dean]

When a bank extends credit under fractional reserve banking, it is creating money out of thin air.

Wiki has a good explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.....ve_banking

Bottom line:

The table below displays the relending model of how loans are funded and how the money supply is affected. It also shows how central bank money is used to create commercial bank money from an initial deposit of $100 of central bank money. In the example, the initial deposit is lent out 10 times with a fractional-reserve rate of 20% to ultimately create $500 of commercial bank money.

Dollars created out of thin air by the Fed, and dollars created out of thin air by fractional reserve bank lending both spend the same.

[R C Dean]

The Fed doesn't print money, morons.

True, it has subcontracted the printing of actual specie to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.

It does, however, create money. Out of thin air. Most money doesn't exist as physical coins and notes, you know.

Saying that the Fed "prints" money is an acceptably accurate shorthand, unless you are referring to the actual creation of physical coins and notes.

[Lord Humungus]

answers to questions that nobody is asking?

How to Sail a Boulder Across Lake Titicaca on a Reed Boat
http://www.environmentalgraffi.....sAUqGjS.99

On the southeastern shore of Bolivia's Lake Titicaca stand the ancient ruins of the city of Tiwanaku. Here, the remains of monolithic rock sculptures and buildings over 1,500 years old can be seen. What makes this site so incredible is not merely the size and weight of the stone used by these pre-Inca builders, but the fact that much of that stone originated far from the ruins ? around 55 miles (90 kilometers) across the wide blue lake!

How these huge rocks, some of them weighing 40 tons, were transported across the famous lake ? home to many indigenous tribes who live on its shores and in its floating villages ? has long been a mystery. Some, including photographer Chris Knutson, who took these photographs, speculate that the heavy boulders were ferried across the lake in reed boats. In fact, Knutson wrote an undergraduate thesis on the subject while he was at the University of Pennsylvania.

[Groovus Maximus]

How to Sail a Boulder Across Lake Titicaca on a Reed Boat

Being my, at times, juvenile self, I couldn't get past the lede without snickering. -)

[Whiterun Guard]

What the hell. Why were the ancients so dumb?

Were there no boulders on the side of the lake they were on?

And if not, why not build like right next to where the boulders are. Sheesh.

[wareagle]

Why were the ancients so dumb? why not build like right next to where the boulders are?

maybe those are the questions research gurus should be asking.

[Whiterun Guard]

Well I can't blame them, I mean I'd much rather build boats out of reeds and play around on Lake Titicaca all day than do research or whatever.

[Zeb]

If you are going to ask that, you should also ask why build anything monumental at all?

[Whiterun Guard]

No, obviously they need a monument to commemorate their awesome boulder moving technology.

[SugarFree]

Boredom and a few deaths among the laboring classes takes pressure off the food supply.

[Rhywun]

Duh, they used up all the boulders on their side building stuff and left the ones on the other side of the lake alone - just to mess with our heads.

[Lord Humungus]

Animal Lovers rejoice!

Lawyers for donkey-sex suspect challenge law's constitutionality
http://www.gainesville.com/art.....?p=1&tc=pg

Carlos R. Romero, 32, declared last week that he wanted to take his case to trial. He is accused of sexual activities involving animals, a first-degree misdemeanor, after he allegedly was found in a compromising position in August with a female miniature donkey named Doodle.

In the motion filed in Marion County court on Dec. 6, the assistant public defenders handling Romero's case ? Joshua Wyatt, Scott Schmidt and Joshua Lukman ? wrote that the statute infringes upon Romero's due process rights and violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

[Brett L]

There are lots of people living in Ocala watching this with bated breath, yearning to come out of the stall with their love for a behooved companion.

[Rich]

"The classification of zoophilic acts as first-degree misdemeanors is grossly out of proportion to the severity of zoophilic acts."

Too bad Doodle can't speak about the diddle.

[hamilton]

This would definitely deter the DA from denying defendant's Doodle-diddling days.

[Lord Humungus]

say that ten times fast!

[Christina]

was found in a compromising position in August with a female miniature donkey named Doodle.

Isn't this a violation of rape shield laws?

[Jordan]

Authorities in California are rapidly ratcheting up surveillance in public spaces.

Yet more evidence that California is populated by "classical liberals" according to shriek.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

If surveillance of public spaces by the government violates rights, doesn't surveillance of private property by the owner violate the same rights?

[Jordan]

Who said anything about violating rights? The fact that something is not a violation of a person's rights doesn't necessarily mean libertarians shouldn't be opposed to it. A police department owning an attack helicopter isn't a violation of anyone's rights either.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Dude, you're the one claiming that classical liberals must oppose public surveillance.

I think some libertarians' obsession with issues like this, where no rights are violated, is creepy and distracting them from real rights violations, but if they want to oppose cameras, fine.

[mad libertarian guy]

I think some libertarians' obsession with issues like this, where no rights are violated, is creepy and distracting them from real rights violations, but if they want to oppose cameras, fine.

Besides: you're probably committing a crime anyways.

/derpy

[SugarFree]

In TulpaLand the police are good and wise and the government always has the best intentions because there are no illegitimate laws. Also, a flock of songbirds help dress him in the morning.

[T]

Does a rat scrub his bathroom with a toothbrush, too? Because I saw that movie, and if Tulpa looks like Amy Adams, I'm disturbed.

[Groovus Maximus]

Also, a flock of songbirds help dress him in the morning.

Flock of Jonathan Tulpington Seagulls, perchance?

[Groovus Maximus]

SF'd. Grrrr.

[SugarFree]

Did you think that even on the other side of the world you could escape me?

[Citizen Nothing]

If surveillance of public spaces by the government violates rights, doesn't surveillance of private property by the owner violate the same rights?

Good one.

[Way Of The Crane]

If surveillance of public spaces by the government violates rights, doesn't surveillance of private property by the owner violate the same rights?

There is a special place in hell for people like you.

[Citizen Nothing]

Yes, but is hell a public or private space?

[Way Of The Crane]

I believe that it qualifies as a non-discriminatory private enterprise that accepts everyone who walks through the door. They just lock the door behind you and set the place on fire.

Regardless, I'm pretty sure they have some sort of surveillance system in place.

[Rich]

IR cameras?

[T]

Private. Hell is a wholly owned susidiary of Lucifer, Inc., which is in turn a subsidiary of Morning Star Enterprises. Keep going back into the records far enough and it's all some organization called GODCO.

[$park?]

Lucifer, Inc has an excellent motto: "I too was created by eternal love."

[R C Dean]

That's the old one.

They updated it recently:

"Don't be evil. That's our job."

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Which circle of hell is it where questioners of groupthink reside? My Dante is a bit rusty.

[mad libertarian guy]

derp

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

That's quite a sophisticated argument. I'm sure your welfare case worker would be proud.

[Citizen Nothing]

...questioners of groupthink..

Good one.

[SugarFree]

He's the last sane man, dammit! If only you blind fools would see the light! He's like if Socrates and Diogenes had a super-awesome baby!

[Groovus Maximus]

Tulpy-Poo is PLATO?!?!?

[JW]

The circle with concern trolls and annoying pedant fucks? Same one.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

So you would have me stand idly by, while your circle jerk and echo chamber led you to destruction?

[SugarFree]

He's here to save us from destruction, dammit! Bravely standing in the road, waving us down to save us! Destruction! DESTRUCTION!

[Groovus Maximus]

Yes, Tulpa is a regular Guy Montag, isn't he?

[JW]

So you would have me stand idly by, while your circle jerk and echo chamber led you to destruction?

I'm sure that someone, somewhere else, is having fun, Tulpy-poo. You should go seek them out and correct their errant ways.

[Way Of The Crane]

Which circle of hell is it where questioners of groupthink reside?

You think too highly of yourself. This does not make you a questioner of groupthink: If surveillance of public spaces by the government violates rights, doesn't surveillance of private property by the owner violate the same rights? It makes you one who is ignorant of private property rights and the difference between government surveillance and a citizen recording events on his property in order to protect it from people who seek to damage it or steal from him.

[Lord Humungus]

Prescott and Ohanian: Taxes Are Much Higher Than You Think
The combined levies on labor income and consumer spending have seriously reduced the hours that Europeans work. The U.S. isn't too far behind.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....on_LEADTop

High tax rates?on both labor income and consumption?reduce the incentive to work by making consumption more expensive relative to leisure, for example. The incentive to produce goods for the market is particularly depressed when tax revenue is returned to households either as government transfers or transfers-in-kind?such as public schooling, police and fire protection, food stamps, and health care?that substitute for private consumption.

In the 1950s, when European tax rates were low, many Western Europeans, including the French and the Germans, worked more hours per capita than did Americans. Over time, tax rates that affect earnings and consumption rose substantially in much of Western Europe. Over the decades, these have accounted for much of the nearly 30% decline in work hours in several European countries?to 1,000 hours per adult per year today from around 1,400 in the 1950s.

[VG Zaytsev]

The work 19 hours a week?

WTF

[some guy]

Why wasn't "official promotion of laziness" a potential solution in the Report from Iron Mountain? It seems to be working...

[BigT]

Galt's Gulch in Belgium

[Francisco d Anconia]

These individuals are leaving "because they want to get even richer," he said. "We cannot fight poverty if those with the most, and sometimes with a lot, do not show solidarity and a bit of generosity," he added.

I could swear I read that line in AS.

[Brett L]

And so it begins. Obamacare tax opposed by Democratic senators.

Sixteen Democratic senators who voted for the Affordable Care Act are asking that one of its fundraising mechanisms, a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices scheduled to take effect January 1, be delayed. Echoing arguments made by Republicans against Obamacare, the Democratic senators say the levy will cost jobs ? in a statement Monday, Sen. Al Franken called it a "job-killing tax" ? and also impair American competitiveness in the medical device field.

The senators, who made the request in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are Franken, Richard Durbin, Charles Schumer, Patty Murray, John Kerry, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Joseph Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Robert Casey, Debbie Stabenow, Barbara Mikulski, Kay Hagan, Herb Kohl, Jeanne Shaheen, and Richard Blumenthal. All voted for Obamacare.

Well, good thing we can just print money. All of these people should be tarred, feathered, and ridden out of DC on a rail.

[$park?]

They had to pass it to see what was in it, you know.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

So this tax only, is a job killer?

[AZ]

Yes, because Franken represents Minnesota, home of Medtronic and with significant presences by many other device manufacturers.
All politics are local. And corrupt.

[BigT]

These hypocrites want to take credit for helping people get healthcare for free when they are running for office and are appealing to the low-info voters (LIVs), but finally realize that their 'help' is a job-destroying tax. What a bunch of manipulative a-holes.

[wareagle]

I question the "finally realize.." portion of your comment. They knew all along; it was just not convenient to say so when the measure was up for vote. And they counted on those same LIVs to not know the difference.

[BigT]

Fair enough. Some probably knew exactly what was going on, but many simply followed Dear Leader.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Solved by eliminating the need for Senators to worry about running for reelection.

[Jordan]

Sen. Al Franken called it a "job-killing tax" ? and also impair American competitiveness in the medical device field.

Warren Buffett says that this is not possible.

[Tonio]

I'm surprised that Sen. Franken could utter the phrase "job-killing tax" with a straight face.

[NoVAHockey]

The problem is that it will be a "cost" if they delay or repeal the device tax. And they need an offset.

[Rich]

All of these people should be tarred, feathered, and ridden out of DC on a rail.

This. With their injury claims denied.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

All of these people should be tarred, feathered, and ridden out of DC on a rail.

Along with 410 of their co-workers.

[John]

The GOP needs to tell them to fuck off. We had N wow took and ObamacRe won. Live with it bitches.

[MP]

Stop with the phone comments. You're making my brain hurt.

[Citizen Nothing]

I never had N wow took, but I'm willing to try.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Is that the African American version of ShamWow?

[Lord Humungus]

it all starts slow and graceful, like a subtle ballet of lithesome creatures dancing on the hood of your pickup truck. However, towards the end, the mind is reeling with panic. Wait, wut?

[sloopyinca]

I never had N wow took, but I'm willing to try.

Why did this song immediately pop into my head when I read that?

[R C Dean]

The Repubs should take them up on this:

"Sure, we'll vote to get rid of that tax. In a bill with dollar for dollar reductions in current spending, taking effect immediately. Whatever you want; draft it, get some Dem sponsors, and we'll bring it to the floor."

[BigT]

Scientists find cause of gayness.

NTTAWWT !!

[Way Of The Crane]

Don't tell the Pray the Gay Away crowd. They're still convinced that gay people are just making bad choices.

[Rasilio]

Yeah the problem is that if this research proves out they will convert from "pray the gay away" to "Lets call it a communicable disease and cure the fuckers, by force if necessary".

[Tonio]

Worse, they'll start aborting the gay fetuses. Srsly.

[Rhywun]

This was a plot device in a Philip Jose Farmer book I read decades ago - there were a couple of gays in it who were like "this is who we choose to be, bitches, deal with it".

Ever since then I have resisted the thinking of the "we're born this way, it's not my fault!" crowd - whether true or not.

[BakedPenguin]

Here's a fun idea: if someone tells you sexuality is a choice, ask them if they think God created us. If they say yes, and sexuality is a choice, then that means they believe God created everyone bi-sexual.

[John]

Back in the day gayness was. Choice because to say otherwise was to say there generic defectives. Now you can't call it a choice either.

[tarran]

John, stop posting on a smartphone. Please... I think I almost sprained my brain trying to parse that.

[Restoras]

Just read it like its a haiku.

[Rhywun]

I just laugh my ass off and move on to the next post without trying to parse it.

[Tonio]

John can rant incoherently without recourse to a smartphone, Tarran.

[Tonio]

Epigenetics ? how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks ? appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs.

See, it all comes back to Epi.

[SugarFree]

I knew it!

[Matrix]

NORKs fire long range rocket

Gotta have a reason for our bloated military spending, right?

[Brett L]

For sloopy.

STARKE, Fla. (AP) ? A former police officer who murdered nine people during a 1986 crime spree was executed Tuesday after his attorneys' last-minute appeals were rejected.

[BigT]

Sick minds think alike.

[Auric Demonocles]

Off duty?

[BigT]

Killer cop executed.

Calling sloopy, dunphy.

[Brett L]

Gotta be just a bit quicker.

[Auric Demonocles]

You precognisant bastard.

[Matrix]

Doomsday preppers increase gun sales

So after December 21st, what's the next "end of the world" date?

[Tim]

Sometime in 2020?

[Generic Stranger]

I don't think doomsday preppers are causing the vast majority of the surge. I think it has more to do with reelecting the Firearms Salesman of the Year (four years running)...

[Brian D]

In the year 2525 Or maybe after.

[Ted S.]

God damn you, Brian! Now I need to come up with a competing ear worm. How about this?

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

If the world ends I don't think having a gun is going to help. Though I have noticed a massive increase in the number of preppers I run into during the past year or so. I could see the impending economic collapse as a good reason.

There were two guys next to me at the range a few weeks ago with an air rifle, said to be more powerful than a .22 gunpowder rifle, and they were going on and on and on about SHTF this and WROL that etc.

[mad libertarian guy]

I marijuana legalization, the worst thing for gun rights is the gun rights crowd.

[R C Dean]

If the world ends I don't think having a gun is going to help.

Can't hurt. Well, it can if you're on the wrong end of it, but you know what I mean.

[VG Zaytsev]

So after December 21st, what's the next "end of the world" date?

January 20, 2013.

[Matrix]

NRA should support gun control

NRA does not have a great track record, which is why I'm not a member. But why should they support gun control?

[Brett L]

The NRA does support gun control. They teach classes all over the US about how to safely handle a firearm and hit what you're aiming at.

[nicole]

the five Second Amendment-lovers on the Supreme Court already overturned Oak Park's longstanding (and very popular) handgun ban ? thanks to outside intrusion by the NRA.

Oh, gag me with a spoon.

On Nov. 21, we carried Dave's response in Viewpoints: "I heartily endorse your position that those of us who support the Second Amendment have a clear responsibility for meeting all legal and moral requirements for owning/using firearms, and we certainly recognize 'that something needs to be done to keep madmen from having such easy access to firearms.'"

For all I know, this could be the first public statement of this kind from any supporter of gun ownership/Second Amendment rights. At any rate, it's the first I've seen.

In other words, you're a jackass who's so underinformed he has no business writing anything at all about guns. Color me surprised.

The right to free speech is inalienable because without free speech, our humanity would be diminished. Freedom of worship is inalienable because freedom of conscience is essential to human dignity. Guns are tools. They are not essential to who we are as human beings. And the right to keep and bear arms is anything but inalienable.

Oh, and one more thing: Fuck off, slaver.

[Ted S.]

the five Second Amendment-lovers on the Supreme Court already overturned Oak Park's longstanding (and very popular) handgun ban

I'm sure rounding up Japs and putting them in internment camps was very popular at one time, too.

[nicole]

Fortunately, the Supreme Court recognized just that in Korematsu.

[tarran]

Jim Crow was very popular too.

[Tim]

Well there is a reason that chickens were domesticated and not eagles, it has nothing to do with speech.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Birds of prey taste like shit.

[Auric Demonocles]

Let me condense that last point:

[tools] are not essential to who we are as human beings

[mad libertarian guy]

Neither are journalists.

[Tonio]

I'd put tool-using pretty high on the list (but not a requirement) for determining whether a species is sentient or not. Homo Sapiens after all.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

the five Second Amendment-lovers on the Supreme Court

I thought everyone on the Supreme Court was supposed to "love" all the amendments, along with the original constitution?

[nicole]

Well they're certainly not supposed to love the tenth!

[R C Dean]

Guns are tools.

As are computers, printing presses, radio and TV equipment, etc. Which I guess makes that whole "free press" right "anything but inalienable", as well?

Here's the deal. The right to self defense is just as essential to your "humanity" and "human dignity" as the right to blather on or make sacrifices to a deity. Tools that allow us to exercise these rights, whether guns or printing presses, are included within the scope of the right, because a right you are prohibited from exercising is one that has been infringed, yes?

[mad libertarian guy]

It's tough to be a law and order fellating institution if you aren't for gun control. And the NRA is a law and order fellating institution.

The 2nd Amendment Foundation is miles better than the NRA.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Here we go with realism vs. doctrinairism.

If it weren't for the NRA we would have UK-style gun control here by now. Commanding political influence requires compromises. No Democrat politician is afraid of SAF or GOA or Pink Pistols or whichever "real" gun organization you want to give props to.

[mad libertarian guy]

No Democrat politician is afraid of SAF or GOA or Pink Pistols or whichever "real" gun organization you want to give props to.

Yeah. No democrat politician ponders just how the 2aF was able to get both Heller and McDonald through the supreme fucking court, accomplishing what the NRA couldn't after decades (a legal recognition that the RtBA and the use of firearms for self defense is an INDIVIDUAL right), all while trying to minimize the NRA at every turn.

Fuck off.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Heller was a crapshoot. NRA was trying to prevent it not because they favor gun control or law and order or whatever, but because it very easily could have gone the other way which would have been a huge setback for gun rights. If Justice Kennedy sides with the liberal wing, which basically said the second amendment is meaningless, we're in a totally different landscape right now.

I'm referring more to the ending of the assault weapons ban and the expansion of concealed carry laws in the past 25 years. Look at this animated map and tell me the NRA isn't a force for good.

[R C Dean]

That's the position the NRA took, yes.

I happen to think it was wrong; they were willing to let the 2A be eroded without attempting to defend it, and fight all their battles on purely political grounds.

A rational decision, but not one that I would have made in their place.

[Virginian]

Eh, he's got a fair point.

If the SAF can play Malcolm X to the NRA's Dr. King, that works.

Remember, politicians don't have principles. Schumer doesn't care about gun control because he believes in it, he cares because supporting it gets him more votes from his constituents then the opposite position would draw. By making guns a bipartisan issue, and supporting even the most leftwing politicians if they have a good record on guns, the NRA has made federal gun control an impossibility. I don't know if they have the desire to actually roll back all the shit that's been passed since 1934, but they've certainly done a big part of the work of stopping Leviathan on this one issue.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Curious, which organization do you think has a better "track record" on behalf of gun rights?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Miami mega-fundraiser for Obama arrested by federal agents - property seized.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi.....fpnewsfeed

[Tonio]

Remember, Latex Spindle, arrested is not the same as convicted.

[R C Dean]

Funny how they couldn't quite take action on this case until well after the election, no?

[Rich]

Cocaine breast implants

Hookers and with blow?

[Rich]

Hookers Hooters and with blow?

[flye]

Paging Mr. Maher, Bill Maher to the white courtesy phone.

[Rhywun]

European authorities routinely submit passengers arriving from Latin America to stringent checks to combat drug smuggling.

For a continent that can't shut up about "ending racism" at its sporting events, its drug warriors seem to have no trouble practicing it at the airport. For the children, of course.

[Dagny T.]

"Teens fall pregnant for grants".

[Rich]

"Fall pregnant"?

Sheesh, speak English!

[Dagny T.]

I love that phrasing. It implies succumbing to a mysterious, ominous affliction.

[John]

They are just victims. It is like catching a cold.

[Tim]

foreigners.

[nicole]

Dagny, this is just the latest piece of evidence that we are doin' it wrong.

[SugarFree]

I'm thinking that they jumped off a ladder.

[Dagny T.]

Or tumbled to their ruin a la the Mad Men opening scene.

[nicole]

Um...but I thought that's just what pregnancy was?

[Rasilio]

Does that mean they'll let you knock them up for just $50?

[sloopyinca]

He's coming right for us!!!!!

Moreno Valley, CA police shoot man inside his own apartment for charging at them with a weapon. What was the weapon, you say? Who knows. The police will not say, other than that it was a "metal object. The policeman whose weapon "discharged and struck the man" is on paid vacation.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

Maybe it was a metal buttplug and they don't want to injure delicate sensibilities.

[sloopyinca]

$20 says it was the remote control to the TV set and they shot him for refusing commands when they busted down his door for a "possible medical emergency".

Also, no warrant, no entry. Another report that the spam filter keeps kicking out says the police were responding to a call at another unit in the complex and this guy told them to go away when they knocked on his door.

[Draft Tulpa 2016]

"Go way, batin!"

[sloopyinca]

And Tulpa waits until December 12th to make his post of the year. Well done.

[sloopyinca]

Peeping Tom Cop due back in court on charges of secret peeping and indecent liberties with a minor. I guess the child porn they have on the department computer wasn't enough and he craved to see the real thing.

The police are not releasing any details of the case, as they would if it were a regular human being.

[sloopyinca]

Question: what happens when you put a cop in charge of the evidence locker with no oversight?

Answer: the cop starts stealing money and narcotics, duh!

In her defense, she may not have been specifically trained not to help herself.

[fish]

In her defense, she may not have been specifically trained not to help herself.

Excellent point Sloop! It took me seemingly forever to keeps the dogs out of the dog food bag. Eventually they got it though!

There is hope for this valiant public servant!

[sloopyinca]

There is hope for this valiant public servant!

Of course there is. She'll get a letter in her employee file, some "treatment" on the taxpayer dime, and her job back (with a promise that the letter will be removed if she doesn't steal any more cash or drugs for a whole year!).

[some guy]

That's the way it is for all public servants. If you weren't trained to do it, you aren't allowed to do it. If you weren't trained not to do it, then go for it. Laws, common sense and morality be damned.

[sloopyinca]

It's a fucking shame when the Feds have to step in and charge a police officer with "civil rights violations" when they rape an arrestee in their custody and only get hit with simple assault when their buddies investigate them.

The new charges make it possible that this rapist will spend life in prison.

[Groovus Maximus]

OJ! FEMEN is at it again! If only Boner was so lucky... Such a wild and crazy land, UKR is. -)

(SFW! I know, "DARN!", right?"

[Groovus Maximus]

BLIN! Ja dalju teper'. Izvinite vsjo.

[Ted S.]

Am I missing something, or are both of those the same link?

[Groovus Maximus]

Dammit, I can't link to the proper one. Gets marked as spam any way I try to post it.

Enjoy their LiveJournal, however!

[Ted S.]

The picture is of a protest march in Paris, yet everybody has English signs. 🙂

[Whiterun Guard]

I almost thought they should have ridden their sand worms into the parliament.

They could certainly, uh, ride my sandworm, if you know what I mean.

[sloopyinca]

Uniformed and armed officer threatens minor with arrest and tells him he must suck his dick to pay off a debt. He is given five years of home confinement and the penalty will be reviewed after one year.

I guess they don't have firearm enhancers, under color of authority clauses or assault with a deadly weapon on the books in West Virginia.

[Tonio]

The minor got off pretty easy, then. We can't have people disrespecting authority, after all.

[Groovus Maximus]

She may need a Green Card, fella. Perhaps one of you charitable souls can find this wayward devushka a home?

[T]

3 kids? Pass.

[Christina]

Nice, her husband got her into the biz. I don't get that. Is he into cuckholding or something?

[Brett L]

He might just be into not holding a day job.

[sloopyinca]

Coxsaskie (yeah, that's really the name of the town) police officer arrested for pointing his weapon at an acquaintance while off duty.

FTA: According to Albany police spokesman Steven Smith, officers responded to North Pearl Street and Sheridan Avenue for reports of a man with a handgun.

Meanwhile, the unexplained rise in rapes in upstate New York, and specifically in Coxsackie, continues unabated.

[nicole]

Actually it's Coxsackie, which is probably funnier.

Also, the only place I've ever gotten a speeding ticket!

[Ted S.]

And yet you misspelled Coxsackie [pronounced roughly cook-SOCK-y] the first time you typed it.

There are a lot of places 'round these parts with fun Dutch names thanks to Henry Hudson. How about Schaghticoke or Coeymans?

[nicole]

If it doesn't end in "-kill," it's not as fun as it could be. Spuyten Duyvil is the best anyway.

[Tim]

I've driven through (or past) coxsackie. Big pine tree forest, real STEVE SMITH territory.

[Ted S.]

I think anybody who's been on the NYS Thruway has gone past Coxsackie, since it's one of the exits.

[Auric Demonocles]

If you're living in an area near Steve Smith, I think you need more than just one handgun.

[Tim]

I'm in Vermont, the smell of all that putrid socialism keeps him west of the lake.

[Auric Demonocles]

If you're in Vermont, you should have more than one handgun too. That's where both my rifle and shotgun are located.

[Tim]

Vermont's reached Swedish levels of liberalism but anybody can carry. No permit, open or concealed. Of course we have almost daily murder sprees and shoot outs sparked by disputes over parking spaces.

[Auric Demonocles]

A guy I knew did use his tractor to run over some cop cars. WE NEED TRACTOR CONTROL!

[Tim]

All the deputies are inside the building "doing paperwork" while there is this monster machine outside rolling over their cars, and nobody hears anything or looks out a window. Talk about condition white.

[Pro Libertate]

Beer nog recipe. Episiarch claims to have had some before.

[Groovus Maximus]

"Ah, come on! It's Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid!!!!"

[Pro Libertate]

Have you ever read Doon, the Harvard Lampoon parody of Dune? It uses beer in place of spice, with Paul inventing a beer liqueur.

This reminds me of that for some reason.

[Groovus Maximus]

"I require a young boy, a pumpkin, and a Schnauzer, only then will I wish to be depraved!"

[Pro Libertate]

Precisely.

Fun, Pall thought. That most dangerous of seductions.

It was a path, true enough--a path towards stagnation and poverty. As by reflex, he tensed to repel the attraction he felt toward it. "Let the inferior of the race prattle about fun," his mother had once told him. "It's the path of the loser."

Then, invoking his mother's Boni Maroni discipline, he repeated the Litany Against Fun: "I must not have fun. Fun is the time-killer. Fun is for children, customers, and the help. I will forget fun. I will take a pass on it. And while it is going, I will turn a blind eye toward it. Where fun is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain--I, and my will to win. Damn, I'm good."

[Tim]

If you're going to start believing what he tells you, you might as well quit now. Like the time he told us he farted the Aurora Borealis into being while panning for gold in the Klondike in 1879.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, it could be true. It's not like he claimed to have invented it. At least, I don't think he so claimed.

[sloopyinca]

You might be thinking of another poster from Washington State. I know one that was a big wave surfer, rock star, physics master, chess grand master, superstar actor, olympic weightlifter and all around great guy that gave up those things so he could make us all safer.

[SugarFree]

He also has a cure for AIDS, but he lost in it some room of his giant mansion.

[Pro Libertate]

Does he live in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle?

[Almanian.]

Don't forget the Cold Fusion Reactor? he invented that he's holding in reserve until just the right moment.

[sloopyinca]

I'm sorry, but keeping drugs illegal really is the way to go. How else are cops supposed to supplement their income?

[Pro Libertate]

Pimping out whores, what else?

[Auric Demonocles]

Protection money.

[Pro Libertate]

You're right, how silly of me. So they can fall back on--

* Protection rackets
* Pimping out whores
* Turning tricks
* Armed robbery
* Burglary
* Enhanced civil forfeiture

[Auric Demonocles]

Would traffic ticket payoffs and similar things fall under protection rackets, or should there be a separate bribery section?

[Pro Libertate]

Certainly, there are local variations.

[R C Dean]

Let a thousand flowers bloom.

[sarcasmic]

I knew a guy who bragged about breaking into a cops' houses to steal guns and drugs.

His attitude was 'What are they going to do? Everything I steal is illegal! Ha!'

[Pro Libertate]

They'll kill you and cover up the killing? I rather suspect that's the worst person to steal from--a openly corrupt cop.

[sarcasmic]

I didn't know him that well so I can't vouch for his honesty. Then again I didn't know him for that long. One day he stopped coming to work and to the bar.

Hmmmmmm...

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, it's okay. They liked his spunk and made him a cop. After a good beating, of course.

[Whiterun Guard]

"All the world will be your enemy, prince with a thousand enemies. And whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you..."

[Tim]

+ 1 El Ahrairah

[Auric Demonocles]

What are they going to do? Everything I steal is illegal! Ha!

Put out a press release a few days later that "We have no leads on this week's horrible beating. We'll have to drop the case."

[Pro Libertate]

Where are the Blues Brothers when we need them the most?

[mr simple]

Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki accused of 'racist' impersonation of Serena Williams by stuffing bra and pants.

Because anything that can be seen as less than the highest esteem for a person of color is racist.

[Pro Libertate]

Before they open that door, rumor has it that the "victim" in question is not the most pleasant of people.

[sloopyinca]

Agreed. Had she made fun of Venus, I could see people giving her shit, because Venus is generally liked and respected by her peers. Serena, on the other hand, has always been thought of as an asshole.

[Ted S.]

Wozniacki should have threatened to shove a fucking ball down a line judge's fucking throat.

[Clich? Bandit]

HOLY CRAP! This is awesome! Ayn Rand, the proto-internet, and world wide conspiracy...Shake, add a sprinkle of Yoko Ono and Jim Henson and serve immediately 34 years later.

[sloopyinca]

That was...strange.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Very cool. Nolan and Rand come off as intelligent. Henson as an entertainer at heart, and Ono as an idiot.

[Spiny Norman]

Authorities in California are rapidly ratcheting up surveillance in public spaces.

The Wired article referenced appears to be from 2007. I don't remember what year it is currently, but I don't think it's that one.

[Eduard van Haalen]

The Pope makes his first tweet:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/l.....fex-tweet/

[Pro Libertate]

"I'm wearing my big hat. Bitches love big hats."

[HazelMeade]

You people have to read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/book.....-economics

Paul Krugman explains how his understanding of economics is like Hari Seldon's understanding of "psychohistory" in the Foundation trilogy.

Behold the hubris!

[HazelMeade]

Choice quotations:
Now that I'm a social scientist myself, or at least as close to being one as we manage to get in these early days of human civilisation, what do I think of Asimov's belief that we can, indeed, conquer that final frontier ? that we can develop a social science that gives its acolytes a unique ability to understand and perhaps shape human destiny?

Well, on good days I do feel as if we're making progress in that direction. And as an economist I've been having a fair number of such good days lately.

I know that sounds like a strange claim to make when the actual management of the economy has been a total disaster. But hey, Hari Seldon didn't do his work by convincing the emperor to change his policies ? he had to conceal his project under a false front and wait a thousand years for results.

[GILMORE]

Some Congressional Republicans are okay with the defense spending growth reductions set to kick in at the fiscal cliff. Shock. Awe.

I'm guessing this is on the order of Obama's bold and decisive action in drawing down US forces overseas... on exactly the same timetable GWB had left in place.

i.e. I'd suspect the 'reductions' they are OK with are things they were planning to phase out anyway. Just as democrats are OK with 'cuts'...as long as they are modifications to the areas of growth already planned for.

[GILMORE]

My favorite progtarded meme re: "Why Economic Growth For Others is Like, Super Fucking Terrible and Must Be Stopped"

The (Growing) middle class could wreck the whole planet

http://www.marketwatch.com/sto.....2012-12-12

The global economy ? despite its many challenges ? will lift billions of souls from poverty, according to the "Global Trends" report released Monday by the National Intelligence Council...

...The rising middle class, you see, will eat more food than ever. They will consume more energy and produce more waste. Yet they will hardly feel satiated. ..

...They will have cable TV and Internet phones. They will see lifestyles of the rich and famous forged amid the world's rising trade imbalances. They could be left feeling as restless as ever...

...Individuals and small groups, organizing in cities, will have better access to weapons and the tools of cyberwarfare, gaining "the capability to perpetrate large-scale violence and disruption," the study says...

...Nobody will be in charge. The U.S. will lose its hegemony as China becomes the world's largest economy

God, that sounds horrible. Almost like what happened in the United States in the 20th century... which we all can attest was absolute disaster.

[American]

I wonder why these links often get more comments than the articles?

[Clich? Bandit]

Market forces.