Fiscal Cliff "Mini-Deal" in the Works, Senate Reauthorizes Warrantless Wiretapping, White House Petition Demands Response to Petitions: P.M. Links

• President Obama is reportedly working on a "mini-deal" on the fiscal cliff.

• The Senate approved a reauthorization of FISA, which allows the government to conduct warrantless wiretapping at home.
• The latest White House petition demands the White House respond to petitions. It's right there in the First Amendment.
• Gun sales in California are up over the last ten years as gun-related injuries and deaths are down.
• The hacker group Anonymous is demanding the Manteca Police Department in California fire an officer who shot a parolee eleven times in his driveway.
• The IRS placed a $4 million lien against comedian Katt Williams, providing more evidence for his government is pimps theory.
• MSNBC's president says Chris Matthews is a statesman.
• France's Socialist president has declared 2013 a battle for jobs, though given the policies in 2012, it'll probably feel like a battle against them.
• George H.W. Bush is still in the intensive care unit, but his family says his condition is improving with the former president singing to his doctors and nurses.

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Comments

[A Serious Man]

India teen commits suicide after police pressure her to drop gang rape charges and marry one of her attackers.

[nicole]

And nothing else happened. Oh wait, but something did!

One police officer has been sacked and another suspended over their conduct after the assault during the festival of Diwali on November 13 in the Patiala region in the Punjab, according to officials.

Crazy!

[A Serious Man]

They may have demented and backwards cultural practices, but damned if they won't hold their cops accountable!

[VG Zaytsev]

That's their most backward cultural practice.

< / progtard

[Fist of Etiquette]

THIRD!

[Brandon]

Incorrect.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Why does everyone discount Krayewski?

[Pound. Head. On. Desk.]

Who is Krayewski?

[A Serious Man]

FIRST!

[$park?]

an officer who shot a parolee eleven times in his driveway.

Shot him in the driveway? Damn, that's gotta hurt.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

[sloopyinca]

If you're gonna be a peeping tom, erase the child porn on your laptop first.

Guess what the dumbass does for a living?

[Ted S.]

I don't know what he does now, but the headline tells us what he used to do.

[Fist of Etiquette]

MSNBC's president says Chris Matthews is a statesman.

But then, it's MSNBC, so take that pronouncement with a grain of salt.

[Randian]

MSNBC is the one of the finest examples of IRL trolling in history.

[Ted S.]

People troll the Indy Racing League?

[Randian]

You can't mock that which is unmockable.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Chris "you can raise taxes and people will just work harder to make up the difference, no biggie" Matthews. Hyuk hyuk. I'm laughing, but the joke's on us.

[Ryan60657]

Maybe of the State of Insanity

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

On my flight home the other night, the woman next to me swiped her card to pay the $5.99 for DirecTV access on the screen in front of her seat... and proceeded to watch MSNBC the entire time. Pretty sure she stole the headphones, too. I was wondering if they put me in "Idiot Class" by mistake.

[Marshall Gill]

Can't.Stop.Self.

How would you being in Idiot Class be a mistake?

[sloopyinca]

Why would you think your seat designation was an accident?

[Brandon]

Double burn.

[DJF]

War on Christmas continues

"""Saudis detains dozens for "plotting to celebrate Christmas"""'

http://english.al-akhbar.com/c.....christmas.

However not all is bad news

"""'"Christmas in Iran""""

http://youtu.be/Fos6P2TcxnQ

[Killazontherun]

Which one of those states are our allies, again?

[Enough About Palin]

Neither.

[Tonio]

Blast you EAP.

[Tonio]

Ha, trick question. Neither state is our ally. We are allies of the Saudis because we find it useful to prop up the regime to keep the oil flowing; they are not our allies.

[Killazontherun]

Frenemies?

[$park?]

Saudis detains dozens for "plotting to celebrate Christmas"

"OK Aziz, you're in charge of the tree and the lights. Mohammed, you're driving the sleigh. Ahkmed, you get in the Santa suit and get ready to hand out the presents. When you hear me start stomping on the roof, get ready to shout 'HO HO HO'."

[Timon 19]

Ugh...PressTV. I guess they managed not to make a propaganda piece out of it like they do with most news stories, so that's good. I like the reporter wearing an Argentina Football Association tracksuit. Classy!

No place in that region celebrates Christmas quite like the UAE, though. It's like if you went to a typical mall in the US 30 years ago, except you made the mall out of freakin' marble and glass and made it massive. Decorations, Santa (complete with photographer-elves), a post-box for letters, Christmas music - the whole nine yards.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...but his family says his condition is improving with the former president singing to his doctors and nurses.

Let's ask his doctors and nurses if that's an improvement.

[LTC(ret) John]

So, we may see a report of an "accidental" smothering soon?

[A Serious Man]

Our dumb media is now picking up on a "dairy cliff", where the failure of Congress to pass a new Farm Bill is going to result in a rent-seeking law dating from the New Deal taking effect and forcing the Federal government to artificially raise dairy prices.

Interstingly, organic dairy farmers are thrilled that this will make their milk more competitive with corporate farmers.

[DJF]

So we now have laws to stop other laws taking effect? Couldn't they just repeal the first law or was that too hard for them?

[nicole]

That's clearly much too hard for them.

[$park?]

They aren't allowed to say the 'R' word in Congress.

[Zombie Jimbo]

Refund? Rebate? Responsibility?

Oh, Repeal.

[A Serious Man]

Hey, Congress and the Feds are doing this country a great service by protecting us from the chaos that is cheap milk.

[Enough About Palin]

"Barack Obama's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley milk purchases, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is?and is often the only?protector of the individual rights"

You know, except for the milk thing, pretty much all of this has come to pass. FUCK YOU SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ROBERT BORK!!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!!!!1!11!!11!

[anarch]

You know, except for the milk thing, pretty much all of this has come to pass.

[anarch]

A sugar-free milk zone, apparently.

Let's try that again.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Couldn't they just repeal that part of the law?

Dear god, what am I saying?

[DJF]

In Washington that is considered to be crazy talk.

[mad libertarian guy]

Discussed and hat tip given already, goddammit!

[CE]

Why is everything a "cliff" now? Couldn't we have Cowmageddon and Longshoremageddon, like last year?

[Atanarjuat]

Dairygate

[CE]

I think they're trying to milk this dairy cliff until it's udderly dry.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Ughhh!

[Francisco d Anconia]

Poud of that?

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama is reportedly working on a "mini-deal" on the fiscal cliff.

Please please please let it only be about delaying spending cuts and not address tax increases at all. I can't have my worldview rocked at this fragile time.

[Randian]

Prediction: rates stay the same, cuts get delayed. Nothing else happens.

[sloopyinca]

Police officer charged with reckless discharge of a firearm. The officer was drunk, was shooting out his truck windows and was talking about suicide. Strangely enough, he was not taken to jail when the incident occurred and he has been "asked" to appear in court. He has since resigned from the department, but I wonder what would have happened to a "civilian" shooting his gun while drunk in his truck. I'm sure he would have been treated exactly the same.

[Ted S.]

You don't really wonder, do you?

[sloopyinca]

No, but I do wonder why you give me so much shit about the Buckeyes.

[Ted S.]

Don't you think the whole THE Ohio State University thing is a bit pretentious?

And if other posters were more open about where they went to college, I might give them some shit too. By the same token I've been known to make fun of the fucking yinzers around here.

[Mad Scientist]

The best part about THE OSU was cheap dental care from the adorable chicks in the dentistry school. Damn, I needed a lot of dental work when I was there.

[sloopyinca]

Don't you think the whole THE Ohio State University thing is a bit pretentious?

Of course not.

By the same token I've been known to make fun of the fucking yinzers around here.

Well you should. Any decent human being makes fun of those mongoloids.

[Randian]

Actually, the "the" is grammatical.

If you rearrange it, it's "The State University of Ohio".

Which makes sense, given that it's the legal flagship of the Ohio university system.

[Enough About Palin]

it's the legal flagship of the Ohio university system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrpaddHbP3o

[Enough About Palin]

NTTAWWT

[A Serious Man]

Surprise! Paul Krugman is a Luddite:

So machines may soon be ready to perform many tasks that currently require large amounts of human labor. This will mean rapid productivity growth and, therefore, high overall economic growth.

But ? and this is the crucial question ? who will benefit from that growth? Unfortunately, it's all too easy to make the case that most Americans will be left behind, because smart machines will end up devaluing the contribution of workers, including highly skilled workers whose skills suddenly become redundant.

[tarran]

Just like the invention of the gasoline powered tractor created widespread poverty due to the loss of demand for highly skilled oxen-drivers.

[Warty]

He's playing to his audience, and his audience eats up his act. He's not stupid enough to believe the shit he spews.

DeathbyInchesArkansasNYT Pick
When I was a kid I was shocked to learn that China was ignoring technological advances in production mainly because they had a billion people who must have a job. They couldn't afford to let a machine wipe out 50 jobs because there was no place to put those displaced workers.

The US is having that problem today. Recently my city replaced a lot of garbage men by buying trucks that use robot arms to grab my specially made trashcan & empty it. One of the reasons I quit college in 1976 is because starting pay for teachers was 4800 dollars per year compared to garbagemen who were making 11, 200 starting out.

[Warty]

I never wanted to ride on the back of a garbage truck, but at least if that's all you could do, it was a living wage. Those men who were laid off in my city have nowhere to go to make near the money they were making doing a hard job.

Our biggest problem is that manufacturers seeking to pay their workers next to nothing have been allowed to move their factories off our soil. The owner is the only person who profits when US factories go off shore. The US has had an epidemic of bleeding good jobs over the last 20 years & soon vast numbers of our citizens will only find minimum wage jobs. If our country builds nothing, we won't survive. My small city just lost 5000 jobs we can't afford to lose.

Free Trade gives us the freedom to starve. Obama must fix this in his 2nd term or we'll be forced to move to Mexico, though the new workers make nothing. Death by profit is no good.
Dec. 28, 2012 at 3:48 p.m.RECOMMENDED10

[Ska]

Ten other retards recommend this.

[$park?]

Obama must fix this in his 2nd term or we'll be forced to move to Mexico, though the new workers make nothing.

Wait, what? Are all the Mexicans coming here because all the work is in Mexico?

[VG Zaytsev]

Obama must fix this in his 2nd term or we'll be forced to move to Mexico

Yes, please do. I'll buy you the ticket.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Our biggest problem is that manufacturers seeking to pay their workers next to nothing have been allowed to move their factories off our soil.

Yeah, I mean it's not like they could do something like, say, completely shut down and leave the Strong Union Factory Worker without work regardless.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

If our country builds nothing, we won't survive.

Gee, you mean over 30 years of you dipshits trying to shove everyone and their brother through a college program because "everyone needs a degree!!" might have some residual effects--like leaving a country with a workforce so utterly lacking in blue-collar skills that there's no one who can competently fill the gaps when the older, more skilled workers retire?

[sloopyinca]

If it were up to assholes like Krugnuts, we'd all still be wearing animal skins and chasing our meals.

Fuck him.

[$park?]

The New America, starring Paul Krugman as White Indian.

[Thane of Whiterun]

Paul Krugman gambols?!

[nicole]

Needz moar window-smashing

[CE]

A couple more major hurricanes and an alien invasion and some REAL stimulus spending ought to put the economy back on the right track!

[Marshall Gill]

Now I know what we should do with all of those icky nuclear weapons! Two birds with 100 megatons!

[Atanarjuat]

I think in his ideal world, we'd all be toiling to create a massive stone pyramid for himself and other TOP MEN.

[VG Zaytsev]

If it were up to assholes like Krugnuts, we'd all still be wearing animal skins and chasing our meals.

Well, you didn't see any unemployed cave men, did you smart guy.

[sloopyinca]

Not since Ringo Starr.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Cars?

Think of the damage to the economy from all the out of work blacksmiths.

What a maroon!

[CE]

Because we'd all be better off without the industrial revolution taking away our jobs hunting and gathering and subsistence farming?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The latest White House petition demands the White House respond to petitions.

Very meta.

[R C Dean]

Once it hits the magic number, can we start a petition demanding the White House respond to petitions demanding the White House respond to petitions?

[Mensan]

That is the plan. But it needs 150 signatures before it even becomes visible/searchable on the site without a direct link.

[CE]

I'm thinking of a petition to allow the president to continue to ignore the secession petitions, despite hundreds of thousands of signees.

[Mensan]

I disagree. Clearly Obama is opposed to succession. He needs to explain where the federal government is granted the power to force states to remain in the union.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

Article I, Section 8: "To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;"

[sloopyinca]

Secession =/= Insurrection, dumbass.

[Mensan]

Typing "& n e" without spaces produces ?

[Dr. Frankenstein]

You learn something new everyday

?

[sloopyinca]

If you enforce stupid laws, don't be surprised when you get caught breaking stupid laws.

[Mad Scientist]

Where do you find all these uplifting stories, Sloopy?

[sloopyinca]

The internet.

[Brandon]

The what?

[A Serious Man]

FBI declassifies files on Marilyn Monroe, reveal that they were concerned she was a communist agitator.

[DJF]

If I had been old enough I would have been concerned that she was not agitating on me

[R C Dean]

Uh huh. That's why all those G-Men were trailing her, bugging her bedroom, and taking telephoto pictures.

Her politics.

[Stormy Dragon]

You know who else agitated the communists?

[sloopyinca]

Hitler and the Nazis?

[VG Zaytsev]

FDR

[LTC(ret) John]

Trotsky?

[mad libertarian guy]

HuffPo huffing and puffing over The Most Unproductive Congress?, not because Congress is generally made up of glorified sacks of shit who seek only to steal from us for their own gain, but because they didn't pass enough fucking laws.

As 2012 comes to a close, the 112th Congress is set to go down in American history as the most unproductive session since the 1940s.

According to a Huffington Post review of all the bills that hit President Barack Obama's desk this session, Obama has signed 219 bills passed by the 112th Congress into law. With less than a week to go in the year, there are currently another 20 bills pending presidential action. In comparison, the last Congress passed 383 bills, while the one before it passed 460.

Congress didn't "intend" hard enough for those who appreciate only intentions.

[tarran]

Labor theory of value, baby! Labor theory of value! 🙂

[Randian]

I can't even imagine what a mind that thinks "more bills = more gooder!" must be like on the inside.

[Mad Scientist]

They want every goody they can get while they have a Dem senate and president. Not enough bills means not enough ponies.

[Randian]

I don't think that's it. I think there's a vague sense that Doing Something is a good unto and of itself.

[$park?]

This is what happens when politician becomes a career choice and not a civic duty.

[mad libertarian guy]

I think there's a vague sense that Doing Something is a good unto and of itself.

Ding ding ding!

[Mad Scientist]

I agree, but I don't think they'd be so annoyed if the bills landing on Obama's desk came from a predominately TEAM RED congress.

On the other hand, I used to live next door to a lefty couple who complained about how many vacation days Bush had taken that year. So, I'll amend my remark: Doing Something == good, TEAM BLUE Doing Something == very good.

[Ted S.]

I could swear I posted this link about Politicians' Logic within the past few days.

[Stormy Dragon]

It's the Politician's fallacy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vidzkYnaf6Y

[Ted S.]

At least we know you don't read my comments.

[nicole]

I can't imagine what a mind that thinks "we should have more than one bill passed for every day in the year" must be like on the inside.

[CE]

I think L. Neil Smith's proposal for a 100-year ban on any new laws would be a good first step.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Constitutional amendment requiring a repeal of 3 laws for each new one for a period of 30 years or until the amendment is repealed.

You could easily get rid of 5% of the dumbest ones on the books.

[Heroic Mulatto]

It's like bukkake, but with legislation.

[sloopyinca]

Ask those shitheads how many bills the House sent to the Senate but were not even taken under consideration.

[mad libertarian guy]

Ask those shitheads how many bills the House sent to the Senate but were not even taken under consideration.

Those are bills written and approved by Republicans, so they don't count. Only Team RED can be obstructionist.

[sloopyinca]

Chicagoland police chief picks up second DUI charge in three years.

[Ted S.]

I'm sure he was only following procedures.

[sloopyinca]

I wonder how much shit the officer who pulled him over is getting in the stationhouse? Or barracks? Or whatever military name they've given their office.

[R C Dean]

I believe its the SturmGruppenHaus. No umlauts; this is America, dammit!

[Rhywun]

That word would not have umlauts in Germany either. Well, not the singular form.

[mnarayan]

did anyone train him not to drink and drive?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The IRS placed a $4 million lien against comedian Katt Williams...

Better than against William Katt's home. That man is an American Hero, some might even say the greatest.

[$park?]

Believe it or not, he's walking on air. I've even heard that he never thought he could feel so free.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Flying away on a wing and a prayer...

[Ted S.]

This subthread is useless without vintage 80s video available on Youtube.

[Jesus H. Christ]

Believe it or not, I"m not hooooommmmeeee!

[Ted S.]

I've never even heard of Katt Williams.

[Redmanfms]

I've never even heard of Katt Williams.

You aren't missing much.

[A Serious Man]

Fun fact: William Katt very nearly got the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars while Mark Hamil nearly got the Katt's role in Carrie.

[Killazontherun]

Title still remains in Jon Lovitz hands for breaking Andy Dick's nose.

[CE]

Hey, if you had to rescue Connie Sellecca every week, you'd think you were great too.

[$park?]

the former president singing to his doctors and nurses.

I bet they're wishing the old bastard had just died right about now.

[Karl Hungus]

The Thrill of Flying the SR-71 Blackbird

(by a former Blackbird pilot)

"To my amazement, [cruising at 84,000 feet]I saw a bright light outside my window. As my eyes adjusted to the view, I realized that the brilliance was the broad expanse of the Milky Way, now a gleaming stripe across the sky . . . To my surprise, with the cockpit lighting still off, I could see every gauge, lit by starlight . . ."

[Atanarjuat]

Cool.

[Fist of Etiquette]

France's Socialist president has declared 2013 a battle for jobs...

Unfortunately for France, the battle for his job isn't until 2017.

[sloopyinca]

Is he preemptively signaling France's surrender in the battle, or will he wait until Jan 1?

[R C Dean]

Soon to be followed by France's surrender in the battle for jobs?

[R C Dean]

Dammit, sloopy!

[sloopyinca]

Too slow!

[Sevo]

Fist of Etiquette| 12.28.12 @ 4:45PM |#
"France's Socialist president has declared 2013 a battle for jobs..."

And the French battle flag is a white cross on a white background.

[A Serious Man]

Pelosi and House Democrats announce intention to introduce legislation banning 'high capacity' magazines as their "do something" law.

Of course there are exemptions galore for cops, former cops, and licensed security personel for the rich and political.

[R C Dean]

Ya know, I have plenty of high-cap mags already, but I have this nigh-uncontrollable urge to buy more (if they are even available).

I expect before the weekend is over, I will, in fact, have bought another fistful of the damned things.

[mad libertarian guy]

Glad I got my new firearm with 3 "high capacity" mags today. 3 mags of 45 ACP goodness for a whoopass pistol. I should probably order a couple more mags.

[R C Dean]

Cool, a threaded barrel.

What's the capacity on those mags?

Did you get the Flat Dark Earth version?

[mad libertarian guy]

15 mag capacity.

No. I got the black.

I got a Trijicon RMR sight for it too. Can't wait to get it mounted and taken to the range.

[R C Dean]

I love Trijicon sights. I would get one for my high-cap .45 (a Para-Ordnance), but it already has an internal laser.

I change the batteries on my sighting lasers and my smoke alarms every January 1, so I'll have to head to the gun store (again, dammit) this weekend.

[mad libertarian guy]

My Trijicon RMR is the dual illuminated version. No batteries required. It uses fiber optics when there is ambient light, and tritium when there isn't.

[Marshall Gill]

my smoke alarms

You have dogs and you still feel the need for smoke alarms? Aren't the dogs in the house?

I can't imagine my dogs sleeping through a fire. They wake up in the middle of the night when a cat or squirrel walks across the front yard.

[Warty]

Jesus. Lookit them sights.

[mad libertarian guy]

They have high profile sights so that you can co-witness with an RMR.

[A Serious Man]

You men and your guns are all just insecure patriarchial oppressors that are posioning society with deadly phallic obsessions!!! #MarcotteRage

[R C Dean]

How dare you obsess over your long, hard barrels, your thousands of cylindrical bullets, your high-capacity magazines that let you shoot over and over and over again, your endless firepower, your steely, fearless dominance . . . #MarcotteEnvy

[Ryan60657]

Why does Pelosi stop at only a 10-round max capacity? Think about how many more lives would be saved with a 9-round max. Or a 5-round max. Or a 1-round max. Or a zero-round maximum capacity.

[GILMORE]

Ahh, sexy T-shirt girl is here today. Hello Tshirt girl. I honestly don't know which half of you I like better.

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

President Obama called on Republican leaders Friday to support his plan to let taxes rise on income over $250,000 a year or to offer a clear alternative for averting the year-end "fiscal cliff"

That sentence both implies Obama's *starting* proposal a) was in fact a valid way to "avert the fiscal cliff", and that b) previous Republican proposals weren't "Clear"

As everyone watching has noted, neither party has even bothered identifying actual spending cuts in their 'proposals' (they allude to overall $ reductions).

I'm not sure if major newspapers have gotten *worse* in their blatant bias over recent years, or if I'm just so hyperattuned to it that its all i can see anymore.

The latest White House petition demands the White House respond to petitions

Shit, I'd be happy if they even acknowledged that the sky was blue and that ducks quack. I haven't heard anything except ass-covering bullshit for the last 4 years. "Most transparent ADMIN EVER!*" (who will fire as many generals as needed to keep questions about Benghazi quiet)

[John]

Pass two bills. One bill that keeps tax rates and spending the same and avoids the cliff for a few months and one that gives the President the tax increase on those making over 250K but also authorizes the Keystone pipeline and prevents the EPA from regulating CO2 or outlawing fracking.

Let them chose, tax the rich or keep your regulatory sacred cows.

[R C Dean]

I would make the tax increase conditional on Congress passing a budget for FY 2013 that caps spending at FY 2012 levels. Not a cut, just a cap.

Maybe also on Congress passing a budget for FY 2014 before the start of the fiscal year that, again, caps spending at FY 2012 levels.

And that cap is global. Increases in SocSec, Medicare, etc. have to be funded by cuts somewhere else.

Because these are slippery fucks, add a provision that the tax increase is revoked and refundable if any spending occurs during FY 2013 (or 2014) that is over the cap.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

It would never be brought to the floor in Dingy Harry's icewater mansion. And the media would pretend it didn't exist.

[VG Zaytsev]

Boehner is the lamest, sorry assed, no-game loser that I've ever seen.

[John]

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2.....crime.html

Ann Althouse destroys Howard Kurtz.

[nicole]

I can't believe (I know, I know) how full-retard progressives/media people have gone about this David Gregory business. I mean, especially in context of the wider gun control debate. We want to ban (some) guns and magazines because a bad man killed some people. This will mean good people cannot have those guns and magazines even though they did nothing wrong and have no intention to do anything wrong. David Gregory has an illegal magazine. But he hasn't done anything wrong and has no intention to!

So how the fuck do you think your gun bans are supposed to work, if you don't prosecute people who "aren't criminals" (even if, by virtue of only your gun laws, they are criminals)?

[John]

They really don't understand what "rule of law" means. It is totally emotional, laws only lock up the bad people, for them. The whole idea of the rule of law goes right over their heads.

[VG Zaytsev]

They've got a half-assed understanding of incentives.

They think that making high cap magazines illegal will nudge people into voluntarily giving them up. With no one actually being prosecuted solely for possessing one.

[Mad Scientist]

They're no different from the OWS idiot who couldn't believe the cops would rough up a skinny poetry student like him. His beef was't that people were roughed up, but that the wrong people were roughed up.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

High capacity magazines don't kill people. Boring news show hosts do.

[sloopyinca]

High capacity magazines don't kill people. Boring news show hosts do.

You're more correct than you think, Tulpa.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I just love all the "manufactured outrage" pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain lines on things like this, F&F, Benghazi, etc. Boo hoo, the lamestream media is unable to ignore or frame the issue in the way that meshes with the political beliefs of its members, so just call it a non-issue and maybe it'll go away.

[Mad Scientist]

If you're not ignoring the correct issues, you're just not serious.

[Coeus]

I like Althouse, but to be fair, destroying that argument of Kurtz's is easier then banging Lindsey Lohan when you've got an 8 ball in your watch pocket.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

"Gregory had no intent to commit a crime; he was committing journalism instead." "Gun owners often say they want the government to leave them alone; why then are some clamoring for Gregory to be prosecuted?"

I see no evidence that David Gregory has ever committed journalism. I'd definitely acquit on that charge.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

"Gun owners often say they want the government to leave them alone; why then are some clamoring for Gregory to be prosecuted?"

Because if we have to suffer, so do you.

[Coeus]

The Economist discovers female hypergamy. Then, predictably, completely misses the point.

[John]

I love how when men made more than women, it was a huge societal evil that had to be eliminated. But now that women may earn more than men, it is just a fact of life that has to be dealt with.

[A Serious Man]

Despite being scourge of much of the media, 54% of Americans view the NRA favorably, according to a new poll.

[sloopyinca]

Cop who brutalized a woman will have to face his horrible misdemeanor plea date in another four weeks.

I'm sure it's common practice for a misdemeanor case to be continually put off for a civilian. I mean, it's just an arraignment. He should be dragged before the judge the day after he's charged and a trial date set, right? (Any FL attorneys here to answer that question?)

[DJF]

Plan to supply the Afghan Air Force with Italian military transport aircraft has been cancelled after only spending half a billion US taxpayer dollars. It was a double failure of not getting enough of the aircraft and not having enough Afghan pilots. However don't worry the US government is working on a new plan since how else will the Afghan government be able to transport its vital opium crop.

http://militarytimes.com/blogs.....to-expire/

http://defensetech.org/2012/03.....g-running/

[R C Dean]

Plan to supply the Afghan Air Force with Italian military transport aircraft

Sounds like the plot for a Mel Brooks movie.

[Ted S.]

The Italians aren't very good with passenger transport aircraft either.

[sloopyinca]

What an asshole. Of course he won't face assault charges, brandishing a weapon or terroristic threats charges. Those are reserved for when a "civilian" does something stupid like this.

[R C Dean]

Back in the day, you could hire a private attorney to bring criminal charges if the DA wouldn't do it. Pretty sure that's been done away with. A shame, really.

[Killazontherun]

The New Professionalism somehow resembles a guild from the late Middle Ages.

[Auric Demonocles]

Given that I'll be on a cruise starting Sunday, will someone carry on the alt-text and edit button crusades while I'm gone?

[DJF]

Chanting, fist in the air.

"No Alt-Text/Edit Button, No Peace, No Alt-Text/Edit Button, No Peace, No Alt-Text/Edit Button, No Peace"

Does that help?

[Ska]

I was going to ask for creepy pictures of his sleeping partner as compensation first.

[DJF]

Darn it, I always forget to ask for payment before the protest.

[Auric Demonocles]

That's a start, but if you want those pictures you'll have to add in some more snark.

[sloopyinca]

Police officers butthurt that they don't get to investigate themselves. It started when two of them beat the shit out of a drunk at a bar.

[A Serious Man]

Welsh woman quits modern life to live a Hobbit-like life in a mud hut in the forrest.

[Francisco d Anconia]

With a face like that, living in the woods is a good idea.

BTW, what did everyone think of the Hobbit?

[sloopyinca]

It was tolerable. I had to see it in 3D because no 2D times were coming up. Once I moved to the 3rd row and was able to focus with the glasses properly, the effects were good.* The plot was kept running until the 45 minute chase scene at the end. And I still can't get past the eagles flying in to rescue them but somehow being incapable of just flying them to the Lonely Mountain from the get-go.

*It really does have too fast a screen rate. I like film better than digital like Jack Horner. (Which reminds me of this wonderful scene)

[Francisco d Anconia]

I liked it, but 2D had issues as well. Whenever the camera panned the scene was blurry and hard to follow. I assume it was either a byproduct of it being filmed in 3D or the limited capability of our "state of the art" Great Falls theater.

[Brandon]

There was a giant dragon in the Lonely Mountain, Sloop. Dragon trumps eagles.

[Auric Demonocles]

They still could have flown them to the same place they did, but starting in the shire instead of on an orc infested cliff.

[Brandon]

The eagles only saw them when they were in the trees that were being set on fire. Any prior logistical failings were on Gandalf. Or the fact that Tolkien wanted to talk about Rivendell.

[Auric Demonocles]

Any prior logistical failings were on Gandalf.

This was the point I think sloopy was making. I've also heard the same point made with LotR.

[sloopyinca]

I especially enjoyed the serious comments from the nerds.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Improper application of airpower.

Probably trained in the US Army.

[sloopyinca]

Hey, my dad was a Cobra pilot (3/17 Silver Spur). I take offense to that comment.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Well, as an ex AF pilot, I'd like to point out to your dad that the proper use of the eagles would have been in a primary role of dropping the ring into Mt Doom, rather than the supporting role of picking up the ground pounders after the mission was over.

[sloopyinca]

He flew gunships, so he would have been more likely to have hovered in front of Sauron's tower with his canopy open while the guy in the front seat shot his sidearm trying to draw fire.

And FWIW, my dad was the second guy to fire a laser-guided rocket from a chopper in the US Army. His went off-target unfortunately.

[sloopyinca]

He claims to have done this on a few occasions. Their ROE's were to only fire their .50's or rockets if fired upon first, so a few of them got the bright idea to open the canopy and fire their sidearms (the front-seater) into the trees in an attempt to draw fire. I'm pretty sure this happened and is not an exaggeration.

[Francisco d Anconia]

No offense. Army is notorious for thinking the only use for an airplane is supporting ground troops.

[sloopyinca]

I was just kidding. Besides, he said any retard could be trained to fly a fixed-wing craft.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I flew B-1s...

...swing wing. 😉

[sloopyinca]

Nice.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Well, as an ex AF pilot, I'd like to point out to your dad that the proper use of the eagles would have been in a primary role of dropping the ring into Mt Doom, rather than the supporting role of picking up the ground pounders after the mission was over.

Considering Frodo was the only one who could carry the ring, an infil/exfil mission would be more appropriate.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

It's a children's book, plus a bunch of filler to stretch it out to three movies. What do you expect?

I'm sure we'll see Aragorn and Legolas as toddlers and Treebeard as a sapling in the second movie. They already blew through a few of the mandatory appearances by people from LOTR who weren't in the book version of the Hobbit.

[Brandon]

Aragorn was in his 20's during the Hobbit, and Legolas was in the book as an adult.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

Really? It's been a while since I read it. But we can rest assured they'll be there.

[Auric Demonocles]

Aragorn gets to live really long cause he's got that fancy blood of ancient kings or whatever.

[Brandon]

This. He's also very tall.

[hamilton]

that's Dunedin to you commoners.

[Zombie Jimbo]

If she weighs the same as a duck, she's a witch.

[DJF]

" She turned me into a newt!....I got better"

[Francisco d Anconia]

But she has got a wart!

[Fatty Bolger]

It was great, and my son loved it, too. We're big fans of the LOTR books and the movies.

Tech details: Saw it in 3D 48fps on a ginormous screen. The high frame rate takes a little getting used to, but overall I liked it. Easier on the eyes IMO, and the level of detail is amazing. I could see where it might be a problem if your special effects or production values are shaky, though. You see everything. I also think they don't have the lighting quite figured out, but in time they will.

[sloopyinca]

So....she's basically gonna live like all the other people in Wales then?

[Auric Demonocles]

That is only a "hobbit-like life" if you're talking about poor hobbits.

[sloopyinca]

This sounds like a lot more than aggravated domestic battery and unlawful restraint. Oh, I hadn't looked at what the guy did for a living. Carry on then. Nothing to see here.

[Almanian.]

Mrs. Almanian and I just got back from the range. She still likes my Glock better than the Smith and Wesson I got her for Christmas. She's scary good with the Glock...I mean SCARY good...

Son of a BITCH that was fun! Shot till we ran out of ammo, bought some more, kept shooting. Good times!

PS Just TRY to find Glock mags, AR mags...or AR's, for that matter. At least in my neck of the woods, shit is just GONE. Got on Midway USA - "Out of Stock" on, like, everything I want.

What a time to be a gunsmith/seller! If I didn't know better, I'd say Pelosi, Feinstein and the Bamster were getting ready to unload a shitton of stock in firearms/supply companies.

Fuckers.

[Coeus]

I'm really jealous of you guys who enjoy shooting. When I go to the range, it feels more like doing the dishes or changing the oil in the car. Just one more chore.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Try something fun like IDPA/IPSC-style shoots, where it's more of a game than just plinking while keeping still in your lane?

[Coeus]

My dad used to run the training for the Sheriff's department. Pneumatic targets and all sorts of fun stuff. Still felt like work.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I like the range, because I always select this target. Then I spend the afternoon targeting his groinal area. Because I think it would be funny to be able accurately shoot someone in the dick.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

I was just glad I got my BX-25s before the mad rush for everything hicap.

Forget Glocks and ARs. Midway is out of magazines for my cheap-ass Hi-Point 45. Think about that for a minute.

[AZ]

The weekend before Newtown, I went to a gun show.

The only thing that wasn't either fucked up (looked hard at a Hi-Standard Duramatic then discovered it had no extractor and the seller had no idea about the rest of the internals and history of the gun) or wildly overpriced was one seller with bins of PMags. So I picked up a couple even though they hadn't been a priority when I walked through the door.

[mad libertarian guy]

I was at a gun shop in Lexington today picking up a transfer. While I was there, one of the guys who works there called a local AR manufacturer (Doublestar) because he had a customer who wanted to place an order for multiple complete lowers. He asked for a quote including cost and, of course, wait time.

The wait time quoted was 24 weeks. And that wasn't firm.

New ARs are made of unobtanium right now. Even in the venerable Buds Gun Shop, where there used to be hundreds in stock on virtually any given day, you can't find any.

Mags are the same.

I was fortunate to get a handful of mags from C-Products before they ran out. They have a wait time of multiple weeks as of now. Finding PMags right now is about impossible unless you're willing to pay lots of money on eBay or gunbroker. Brownells was taking backorder submissions for PMags, but who knows when those will be ready to ship, if ever.

[Almanian.]

HELP ME!! GOD, PLEASE!!! THEY'RE WATCHING "PITCH PERFECT" - IT'S CRUSHING ME!!!

I hate when Mrs. A and the girls get to the big TV before I do...

"Pitch Fucking Perfect" - gayest thing since gay came to gaytown. NTTAWWT...

[sloopyinca]

I didn't even know what that was until you said it. What's pathetic is that the critics have generally given it positive reviews.

Thanks for bringing that into my life, asshole. Oh, that's right. You're from Michigan, so I should have expected this.

[Ted S.]

And you complain about people giving the Buckeyes shit....

[sloopyinca]

Since I refuse to research Pitch Perfect in any more detail, I don't and won't know what you are referring to.

[sloopyinca]

I just bit into a BB that was lodged in the breast of a duck we had for Christmas dinner. What the fuck?

[Mad Scientist]

Your neighbors' kids are assholes.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

sloopy's Senatresses are on the case right now.

[mad libertarian guy]

Your neighbors' kids are assholes.

This.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

Does this have something to do with a cop? You've got a streak going.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

That reminds me of the rogue baboon dissection on one episode of Inside Nature's Giants, where the baboon is just completely riddled with shot due to being extremely aggressive around humans.

Disclaimer: the first season of that show is pretty factual, but somebody decided to dial the "mankind and industrial civilization are evil" environmentalist editorializing knob way up in subsequent seasons.

[mad libertarian guy]

Duck?

What the fuck, man.

I had Buffalo Prime Rib. Best bit of red meat I've ever had. Fucking glorious, and any asshole can cook it.

[sloopyinca]

I raised the ducks, I killed the ducks and I cooked the ducks. Your Prime Rib sounds fantastic, but there's something to be said about raising, butchering and preparing your own Christmas dinner.

[Brandon]

You probably should've come up with a better method of killing than BB's to the breast. Would've saved a lot of toothache, and probably some time. But, you know, 20/20 hindsight and all that...

[sloopyinca]

I've finally been caught. Yes, I was the dumbass that shot it, but I thought I only shot him in the head. And I scanned the hell out of their carcasses when I was plucking and cleaning them.

I've since learned the whack-in-the-neck-with-a-light-pole method since these are wily fuckers that are next to impossible to catch, which I employed on duck #2.

[mad libertarian guy]

I know that. I'm just fucking with you.

It was seriously the best red meat I've ever eaten though. Couldn't have been easier to cook either.

8lb buffalo prime rib
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
8 minced cloves of garlic

put rib in roasting pan fat side up
combine the above and rub it all over the fat evenly
put in over at 500 for 20 min
turn oven down to 325 until internal temp is 145
let it sit for 10-15 min before slicing

Eat and drool at the goodness.

I grow a good chunk of my own veggies, and hunt about 1/2 of my meat intake (the other half is buffalo). I don't quite know the "I raised my own meat" feeling, but I spot, track, kill and gut mine, and grow most of the veggies that go alongside them on the plate, which is close enough.

[sloopyinca]

. I don't quite know the "I raised my own meat" feeling, but I spot, track, kill and gut mine, and grow most of the veggies that go alongside them on the plate, which is close enough.

You're like the White Indian to my civilized human being. Nice work.

Seriously, though, hunting and killing your own is something I've not been able to do unless you count fishing or chasing a chicken or duck around the farm and chopping its head off. I look forward to it as a rite of passage.

And I'll throw this out again for those of you out west that missed it earlier. We're gonna raise about 30 turkeys or so in 2013 for Thanksgiving. It'll be a nice mix of domesticated and wild birds from efowl.com's turkey page. Anybody that wants one needs to email and let me know sometime. We'll be happy to deliver if it's within a few hours or so of home (central California).

[CE]

Here's a fiscal cliff mini-deal:

CUT SPENDING!

[The Late P Brooks]

The New Professionalism somehow resembles a guild from the late Middle Ages.

I'm pretty sure the guilds actually cared about the quality of their work, and expelled the incompetent.

[waaminn]

Anyone else getting sick and tired of these bought and paid for politicians?

http://www.Anon-et.tk