A.M. Links: Indian Judge Bans Media Coverage of Rape Trial, Senator Threatens to Block Brennan Nomination, Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record High, McChrystal Warns Against Overusing Drones, Protests Against Censorship Continue in China

• An Indian judge has banned media coverage of the trial of five men accused of raping a 23-year-old woman who later died from injuries sustained in the assault. Two of the men will plead not guilty to all charges. 

• The nomination of John Brennan, Obama's pick for CIA chief, could be disrupted by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is threatening to block the nomination until investigations into leaks from the White House are completed. 
• The Eurozone unemployment rate is at a record high of 11.8 percent. 
• Retired Gen. McChrystal is worried about how drone strikes are perceived around the world, saying that the wide use of UAVs is fueling anti-American sentiment. 
• Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are trying to secure the release of an American tour guide being detained in North Korea.
• Protests against censorship in China have continued for the second day. 

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are trying to secure the release of an American tour guide being detained in North Korea.

This just in: Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are being detained in North Korea.

[DJF]

And some people claim that North Korea doesn't have a good side.

[Drake]

And I was just about to sign up for that guided tour of NK.

[SIV]

That's former-Great Liberaltarian Presidential Hope, Bill Richardson.

Don't make me go to the archives for the whole sordid story.At one time the OTHER NM Governor was being touted for his "libertarian" cred, right up until he "flamed out" in the 2008 Gay Debate when he suggested they weren't born that way.

[Don Mynack]

What kind of dumb ass operates tourist trips into North Korea? What kind of dumb ass wants to pay to tour North Korea?

[Corneliusm]

I find the DPRK oddly fascinating, not as in a "omg, I want to go there" way but rather "holy shit, that's fucked up" way. If I were the thrill-seeking type (I'm not), I would want to go there to witness the insanity in the same way others climb Everest just for the experience.

The North Korean episodes of Departures was awesome.

[Matrix]

Lottery winner poisoned by cyanide.

Probably his wife or kids.

[Jerry on the road]

Stay classy Chicago.

[Andrew S.]

It's like rain on your wedding day.

[sage]

It's not like that at all!

[Raston Bot]

Acid rain?

[Way Of The Crane]

cyanide rain

[Kaptious Kristen]

Chocolate rain

[GozWa]

Purple rain?

[The Dan]

November Rain?

[Lord Humungus]

Nine Beers Americans No Longer Drink
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....45945.html

After three years of declining sales, shipments of domestically sold beer are up by more than 1% in the United States this year. Sales of light beer and specialty beer, such as Budweiser Light Platinum, Shock Top, and Blue Moon, have been the driving force in the resurgence of U.S. breweries.

While sales of specialty, craft, and small-market beers have improved dramatically, many of the traditional, full-calorie beers that were once the staples of most breweries have fallen behind. In the five years ending in 2011, sales of Budweiser, which was once the top-selling beer in the country for years, have fallen by 7 million barrels. Sales of Michelob are down more than 70%. Based on data provided by Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the nine large ? or once-large ? beer brands with a five-year decline in sales of 30% or more.

[Rights-Minimalist Autocrat]

I never had a Budweiser Select to start with.

As far as Beast goes, isn't that a college-only thing? Are college students getting richer or something?

[mnarayan]

Maybe PBR took over that niche?

[RBS]

Southpaw.

[Matrix]

Anyone remember the days when drinking a light beer was considered a "woman thing"? Now it seems that's what everyone drinks.

[Auric Demonocles]

We looked at old guys and decided we'd rather stay in shape enough to keep banging women.

[Jeff]

Sounds pretty queer.

[generic Brand]

"Is this queer? Are these queer?"

/joedirt

[Ska]

Everyone that thinks drinking two flavorless, 3% alcohol by volume shitty beers is better than drinking one delicious, more potent one.

You know...morons.

[crazyfingers]

Bud is 5% apv, Bud Light is 4.2%, so it's not that big of a difference. Agree with you on the taste though.

I've pretty much given up on beer entirely and switched to vodka tonics.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I didn't even know Michelob still existed

[Auric Demonocles]

One of my sources of enduring shame is that my father will only drink Mich Light. Literally nothing else works.

[NoVAHockey]

could be worse. my grandfather drinks something called American, which is made by Pittsburgh brewing co.

[Ted S.]

If Molson can have "Canadian", why not a beer called "American"?

Anybody up for some Genny Cream Ale?

[Randian]

Ew. No.

[Auric Demonocles]

Because you're saying we should do something similar to the Canadians.

[Ted S.]

I could go for some poutine right about now.

[Randian]

Now this, Ted, I'll agree with. How is it that a dish with french fries, cheese and gravy hasn't become an American staple?

[RBS]

It has, just replace gravy with chili.

[Randian]

The chili that goes on fries is slop a lot of the time. But brown gravy might be the ambrosia the Greeks were always on about.

[Auric Demonocles]

Cheese *curds*, randian. And it's because it's Canadian, so we distrust it on principle, I think.

Getting poutine delivered at 4 AM is my favorite part of Montreal benders.

[Randian]

I know they're curds, but the word 'curd' has very little currency with your average American. I'm in sales, dammit.

[Auric Demonocles]

Well I'm not paying for any poutine made with plain old cheese.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Wow, that brings back memories of the Genny Screamers.

That shit produced the worst smelling farts on the planet!

[EDG reppin' LBC]

You've obviously never had Little Kings, then.

[Lord Humungus]

I buy Michelob once in awhile. For a fairly cheap beer, it's pretty good - especially the Amberbock, though I miss the 70s-era bottles.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yeah, I picture those squatty bottles with the foil around the neck. Or was that Lowenbrau?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Green bottle with foil was Lowenbrau. Mich was brown with subtle curving and the choice of us Georgia golfers when you could bring beer to the course.

[RBS]

Ah, you're a golfer. This explains so much.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Seriously? You're not allowed to drink beer on the course? Bummer.

What the fuck happened to this country?

[Restoras]

Socks don't drink. Or play golf.

[Randian]

Yeah, I picture those squatty bottles with the foil around the neck. Or was that Lowenbrau?

Michelob did have brown squatty bottles with foil, yes. I distinctly remember them from my childhood, stacked next to the Bartles & James.

[Ted S.]

stacked next to the Bartles & James.

I've actually seen some Riunite commercials in the past few months.

It's been years since I've seen Lancers, though.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Remember this one? It still sticks in my head every once in a while.

[Francisco d Anconia]

On the rocks...say yes.

[JW]

Holy shit, does that jingle scream late 80's.

[Restoras]

Yes, the differently shaped bottles and the paper foil wrapping around the cap lent a felling of classiness, for some reason.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I didn't even know Michelob still existed

Or Bud, Miller and Coors for that matter. Who still drinks American piss water?

[Randian]

Millions of people each day.

[Francisco d Anconia]

They voted for Obama.

[Randian]

Slander, sir!

[Restoras]

I blame thank Jimmeh Cartah.

[generic Brand]

They make a light Champagne of Beers? That's just retarded.

[SugarFree]

They make Miller High Life Light and Miller Lite. Baffling.

[BakedPenguin]

See here.

Seriously, I think it's a marketing thing. See which package the same product sells better in. My company does this all the time, albeit with a very different product.

[SugarFree]

My company does this all the time, albeit with a very different product.

The greased midget is offered in both vinyl and natural rubber outfits.

[BakedPenguin]

Some people have allergies, you know.

[invisible furry hand]

The greased midget is offered in both vinyl and natural rubber outfits.

Can I just have Greg Gutfeld in a sweater and chinos?

[Groovus Maximus]

No, you get Robert B. Reich in a gunny sack and twine.

[rac3rx]

I almost spewed my Sprite Zero over that comment, Dr. Groovus. Damn...

[LTC(ret) John]

That was nuclear weapons grade funny, doc. You are awarded the Order of the Golden Monocle.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The night belongs to Michelob--and Steve Winwood.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer whatever other people buy for me.

[Raston Bot]

Homebrew thread ACTIVATE!

I bottled a sweet stout recently.

It was 10 gallon:
18lbs irish stout
2lbs english black
2lbs cararoma
2lbs oats
2oz magnum 15% for full 60 minutes
2lbs lactose for 30 minutes
irish ale smack pack + starter
OG was 1080, FG was only 1040. We were a little disappointed it didn't drop further and are looking into it.

I split the batch and re-racked half onto 2lbs of roasted shredded coconut b/c what the hell.

Next brew is a wheat. My co-brewer wants to rack half onto satsuma. Abita has a satsuma wheat. It's a good summertime quencher.

[generic Brand]

Sounds good, although I made a stout recently with a bit of coffee undertones and didn't like it; but first rule of brewing is "Don't Throw it Out!" Fortunately one of my friends liked it quite a bit, so I'll need to figure out how to ship him some more.

My question is, what are some good ways to control the temperature when brewing? I live in Florida so the garage can get really cold at nights right now but also really hot in the day time, and we typically don't run the A/C in order to save electricity costs. Is there a way to insulate a single closet or something?

[SugarFree]

An interior closet (one that is not on any outside wall) is the most temperature stable point in a house without a basement.

[T]

Chest freezer with a cheap PID controller and a thermocouple is what some people use.

[generic Brand]

So even though it's a "freezer" you can set the temperature around 55-70F?

I saw those at Sam's Club but they were probably close to $300, which I don't have right now. I need to get a decent themometer and test the temperature stability in our hall closet.

[kinnath]

There was a guy in Arizona that built a an insulated box (using construction materials -- styrofoam sheets) with a bucket of ice in the bottom. He had thermostat connected to a small electric fan. When the temperature got too hot, the fan would force air into the insulated box over the bucket of ice.

[kinnath]

He could brew outdoors when temps were over 110 F.

[Raston Bot]

Some people love them coffee stouts. Dogfish Head has a chicory stout which has grown on me.

Fortunately, don't have that ambient heat problem. I can put the carboy in the kettle and fill the kettle with water. Then drop in icecubes if the temp gets too high. Also have an insulated cooler that serves the same purpose w/ a styrofoam lid DIY'd to fit around the blowout assembly. The storage space under the stairs is 70-72F so it requires very little icecube intervention.

For Florida w/o HVAC, Kinnath's solution sounds cheapest and effective. Cutting your own styrofoam is messy. I used lots of duct tape to pretty it up too.

[Auric Demonocles]

My coworker finally got into it over Christmas after asking me about it for a couple months. He listened to the suggestion of some guy at the homebrew store and got the same kit he did for his first one. It turned out to be a lager.

[Raston Bot]

Wait, the LHBS guy recommended his first be a lager?

[Auric Demonocles]

Apparently.

What's the L supposed to be for?

[Raston Bot]

Local.

[NoVAHockey]

I got a kit for Christmas. going to try it this weekend.

[Raston Bot]

Awesome. What are you brewing?

[NoVAHockey]

it's an IPA and is a gallon sized kit that my wife found william sonoma or some such store. total novice here. but i figure it will be a good intro.

[Raston Bot]

Their 1 gallon grain kit looks like a solid addition to the small batch market. Good luck w/ that IPA. Of course, with only 1 gallon you won't want to gift any of it to show off your mad homebrew skillz.

[mr simple]

Sales of light beer and specialty beer, such as Budweiser Light Platinum, Shock Top, and Blue Moon, have been the driving force in the resurgence of U.S. breweries.

WTF is wrong with you, America? I can understand drinking cheap, shitty beer, if that's your thing, but Shock Top and Blue Moon? Shitty and expensive? That doesn't make sense.

Also, it's strange that Yahoo Finance doesn't understand the nature of a joint venture. MillerCoors is a joint venture for North American marketing and distribution by, you guessed it, SABMiller and Molson Coors. MillerCoors doesn't brew anything.

[Randian]

I'm not seeing the "shitty" part of either Shock Top or Blue Moon.

[bmp1701]

Well, they're mediocre witbiers. To be a true beer snob, you can only enjoy Imperial Stouts, which have the look and consistency of roofing tar, hard India Pale Ales, which are share and bitter, or Eisbocks, which are sweet and tremendously alcoholic.

[Randian]

ha ha. Nice one, bmp.

[Ska]

I guess if orange flavored witbier is your thing they're fine, but I don't get the whole added citrus flavor shit. I like white beers that taste like white beers, even if it's sort of an herbal/ spice flavor.

[Randian]

That's fine, but the added citrus is a "taste" thing, not a "this is objectively shitty" thing.

[Raston Bot]

it's added to fight the scurvy.

[Brett L]

I don't like witbiers. Or most IPAs. So I guess I'm neither hip nor populist in my beer tastes. So yeah, Shock Top and Blue Moon are shite.

[Groovus Maximus]

Now those trashy Macrame Patchouli Wimminz OTOH...

[Brett L]

You code 100 programs and screw one patchouli carrying hippie...

[Groovus Maximus]

ONE?! Methinks ye doth protest too much. And if you think herpes is a permanent annoyance...

[mr simple]

Then you, sir, have not had a good witbier.

[SIV]

Michelob Light was always the best "light" beer because it wasn't really "light".

[Lord Humungus]

Steve Cohen: Minimum Wage for Interns? It Misses the Point
Yes, I did unpaid grunt work. But guess what: It was also an invaluable experience.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....on_LEADTop

[Matrix]

mandatory wages for all interns = fewer interns hired.

[Restoras]

And the beauty of this is, the lack of availalbel internships will drive more people to take more coursework to bolster their credentials. A win for "non-profit" and for-profit schools as well as the banks!

[Matrix]

and more difficult to find a job after graduation because you have no experience.

[JW]

In my last job, hiring interns as full-time was SOP. Our turnover was so high, that it made sense. One intern ended up in the #2 position in one department, after a few years in a different dept. He just left to be the Director of said department at another .org, at a substantial increase in salary and status.

Nah, we should have never had him work for no pay. Clearly not in his best interest.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Eurozone unemployment rate is at a record high of 11.8 percent.

Luckily with all those vacations and lack of work ethic no one can tell.

[Jerry on the road]

It would be 20% if they didn't have free college education. They just do it to fudge the statistics.

[Fist of Etiquette]

AND because they're entitled to it.

[Lord Humungus]

Syria: why Assad may yet claim victory

Perhaps it's not Bashar al-Assad who is detached from reality but Obama and Hague. Intervention looks extremely unlikely
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm.....n-unlikely

Reacting angrily to President Bashar al-Assad's speech on Sunday calling for an end to the rebellion, the US state department said the Syrian leader was "detached from reality". But much the same might be said of the US and of Assad's other western and Arab foes, and with greater justification. After two years of bloody attrition, the unpalatable truth is Assad is still in power, shows no sign of heeding demands to quit and is far from beaten. The evolving reality is that Assad may yet see off his many enemies and claim victory in Syria's civil war.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...saying that the wide use of UAVs is fueling anti-American sentiment.

Time to break out the Hearts and Minds UAVs.

[Auric Demonocles]

That is just crazy talk. I wonder if he retired for disability (mental).

[mad libertarian guy]

Retired Gen. McChrystal is worried about how drone strikes are perceived around the world, saying that the wide use of UAVs is fueling anti-American sentiment.

I just don't understand how people can interpret drones flying around everywhere, all of the time and dropping munitions, sometimes on first responders or weddings, killing women and children, as a bad thing.

[Enough About Palin]

People just gotta bitch. It's human nature.

[Lord Humungus]

Republicans should start acting like Obama
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

Instead of using Obama's Chicago-style, brass-knuckle approach, too many Republicans are wringing their hands today, looking for ways to moderate their approach in response to Obama's victories.

Here is a better idea: Republicans should take a page from Obama's playbook, do what they think is right, use all the leverage at their disposal and stop worrying about the electoral consequences. If they learn anything from Obama's victories, it should be this: Voters reward conviction politicians who fight for what they believe in ? even when they disagree with them. Pandering does not work.

[Auric Demonocles]

Obama believes in lying during campaigns, then keeping people locked up indefinitely and bombing brown kids?

[Matrix]

Romney got the nomination by pandering. Ron Paul stuck to his principles and lost.

[Palin's Buttplug]

This election was ideal for Ron Paul with a war weary nation also sick of the drug wars. Romney offered nothing and lost by 5 million votes.

[mad libertarian guy]

I still maintain that were it Obama and Paul in he general election, Paul would have won (even if for no other reason than it would have given many anti-war progressives a reason to stay home).

[Palin's Buttplug]

I think you are right. The margin was 5 million so only about one million votes had to be turned in swing states.

[h3k86qc35923]

a war weary nation also sick of the drug wars

Which nation are you referring to?

[Don Mynack]

Republicans have no balls. Its one of their defining characteristics. Hence the jump on the war/bombing bandwagon whenever possible, so they seem tough.

Seriously, can you imagine young Lindsey Graham in a schoolyard brawl? That guy probably ran away and hid at his piano teacher's house whenever he felt slightly threatened.

[VG Zaytsev]

If they learn anything from Obama's victories, it should be this: Voters reward conviction politicians who fight for what they believe in ? even when they disagree with them.

But the only thing republicans believe in is getting re elected.

[Bee Tagger]

5 links? That's it? Only 5 things happened since PM links?

[Fist of Etiquette]

THERE ARE SIX LIGHTS.

[Auric Demonocles]

4, you Kirk loving heathen.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The nomination of John Brennan, Obama's pick for CIA chief, could be disrupted by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is threatening to block the nomination until investigations into leaks from the White House are completed.

To be fair, leaks aren't generally the kind of thing you want to tolerate in your spy agency.

[mad libertarian guy]

Of course leaks wouldn't have been necessary if The Most Transparent Administration Ever? were, you know, transparent.

[Lord Humungus]

If You Love Your Home, Put Some Bacon On It
http://www.movoto.com/blog/nov.....acon-home/

The average strip of bacon is six inches long, according to Moerbacon.com. Based on our own experience, we concluded that a typical strip runs about one inch in width.

That gives us the original dimensions for the bacon, but we still haven't accounted for shrinkage. Assuming that most bacon shrinks when cooked because it's packed with moisture, we arbitrarily decided that a piece of cooked bacon would shrivel to four and a half inches long and seven-eighths of an inch wide (about two and one-quarter centimeters).

This means a single piece of bacon has a surface area of 3.94 inches.

[Zeb]

That's not why bacon shrinks when itcooks.

[Bee Tagger]

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is threatening to block the nomination until investigations into leaks from the White House are completed.

It's like he's begging for the investigations to be a sham.

[Lord Humungus]

America's European moment
The troubling similarities between the fiscal mismanagement in Washington and the mess in the euro zone
http://www.economist.com/news/.....n-and-mess

For the past three years America's leaders have looked on Europe's management of the euro crisis with barely disguised contempt. In the White House and on Capitol Hill there has been incredulity that Europe's politicians could be so incompetent at handling an economic problem; so addicted to last-minute, short-term fixes; and so incapable of agreeing on a long-term strategy for the single currency.

Those criticisms were all valid, but now those who made them should take the planks from their own eyes. America's economy may not be in as bad a state as Europe's, but the failures of its politicians?epitomised by this week's 11th-hour deal to avoid the calamity of the "fiscal cliff"?suggest that Washington's pattern of dysfunction is disturbingly similar to the euro zone's in three depressing ways.

[Hollywood]

America's economy may not be in as bad a state as Europe's

Indeed, it is in a worse state.

[Francisco d Anconia]

It astounds me that we can see the end result of big government socialism, look down our noses at their inability to deal with it and vote to follow their lead.

We are doomed!

[VG Zaytsev]

But those are stinky euros. Our top men are much smarter than theirs.

[Francisco d Anconia]

And free shit!

[Lord Humungus]

EPA regulations force Ga. power company to shut down coal-fired generators
http://dailycaller.com/2013/01.....z2HLVkgL2D

Stricter environmental regulations have led to Georgia Power asking state regulators for permission to shut down 15 coal-fired and oil-fired generators, totaling more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity generating capacity.

The company expects to ask for decertification most of the coal-fired units by April 16, 2015 ? the effective date that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics rule will go into effect.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Ga Power is building two new nuclear plants here - cheaper and cleaner than coal. We don't need those plants.

[Drake]

But you will still pay for them. Enjoy.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Coal and oil fired plants should be shut down now with abundant cheap natural gas here for decades.

[John Henry]

Coal and oil fired plants should be shut down now with abundant cheap natural gas here for decades.

What do you think will happen to the price of natural gas once all the plants switch? I would rather see natgas used for transportation and coal/nuke for electrical generation. But that is just me.

[Jordan]

Then how about we let the owners of those plants make that decision? I know, I know - needs MOAR central planning.

[Drake]

The free market has absolutely nothing to do with decision. It won't have anything to do with Buttplug's rate increase to pay off GA Power either.

[Brett L]

With the particulate sequestration technologies producing valuable fly ash that improves the mechanical properties of concrete, shutting down coal plants means either (a)pouring more concrete or (b)concrete plants have to generate fly ash (by burning things) themselves. So I hope you like more expensive concrete with a shorter working life.

[VG Zaytsev]

We're' buying our concrete from the ChiComs with benbucks anyway, so who cares.

[Enough About Palin]

No. An electric utility needs to have a mix. Coal, gas, oil, wind, hydro, solar and nuclear. It's like having a diverse investment portfolio. Don't be putting all of your eggs in one basket.

[h3k86qc35923]

Just like the EPA had to ban vacuum tubes when transistors were invented.

[Stormy Dragon]

Vacuum tube manufacturers weren't dumping heavy metals onto other property owner's land without permission. I don't see why I should be legally required to let you dump mercury on my lawn just because you think you can make a buck from it.

[h3k86qc35923]

The lack of appropriate legal avenues for dealing with pollution doesn't justify EPA preemption.

[Don Mynack]

GA Power also got a fat rate increase to fund these nuke plants. Luckily, the citizens of Georgia can opt out of paying GA Power and go to a new provider in their deregulated power market. Wait a minute, it's not deregulated? And GA Power has worked with regulators to ensure it's not? Oh well. Good luck with that, GA.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Why are energy costs so high? Goddamn you Big Oil!

[Drake]

Until generation is deregulated, power production is charged on a return on investment basis determined by the utility board.

Residents of Long Island are still paying for the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant that was built, tested, and never sold a watt of electricity.

[Drake]

They have to ask permission because the company will still recover a return on investment for those plants in their rates. The cost of the EPA regulations will be passed directly to the customers.

[Restoras]

Remember Drake, it craves responses, Take them away and it whithers on the vine. Just sayin'.

[VG Zaytsev]

Under my ...plan, electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket.

[Auric Demonocles]

alt text for all

That's a protest sign I could get behind.

[generic Brand]

How was the cruise? Did you party like it was still December 20th, 2012?

[Auric Demonocles]

It was good, though I didn't like the ship as much as the previous one I had been on. My girlfriend had a really good time, though I think she spent too much of the time sleeping. My freckles are now ~30% larger.

I'm off to Dallas for a couple of days tonight. Fucking customers.

[KMA Too]

Ahh...enjoy our lovely weather!

[Auric Demonocles]

My customer said it's supposed to rain.

[KMA Too]

It is...nice and shitty, just for your arrival.

[generic Brand]

Man tries to choke people on plane, gets tied to chair for the next 4 hours

"He drank an entire bottle of some duty free alcohol," Mezane wrote on Reddit. "Then he tried grabbing the women who were sitting next him screaming that we're going to crash. Finally he started choking a guy next to him and that's when a huge crowd restrained him and tied him up. This was 2 hours into a 6 hour flight. Edit: Did I mention that he was spitting on random people on the plane!"

Remember: when it comes to flying, impromptu breast and prostate exams are okay; choking is still bad, though.

[Jordan]

You mean he wasn't thwarted by the Top Men of the TSA?

[Tim]

You mean he wasn't TSA?

[JW]

I hoped they ball-gagged the fuckwaffle, while they were at it.

[Groovus Maximus]

"Fuckwaffle" is now officially stolen, JW.-)

[Francisco d Anconia]

How many billions did we spend on TSA to fix a problem that fixed itself in under an hour?

[NeonCat]

Hey! He could have had a box-cutter and killed everyone in America with that plane! Don't you diss the TSA, doing God's work in some of the toughest airports in America.

[Bee Tagger]

Protests against censorship in China have continued for the second day.

China is against censorship, they just don't want to hear about it.

Thank you to Mitch Hedberg for putting the "I'm against protesting, I just don't know how to show it" joke in my head when I see something about protests.

[Fist of Etiquette]

An Indian judge has banned media coverage of the trial of five men...

To be fair the coverage was mostly incomprehensible singing and dancing anyway.

[Restoras]

You make me laugh, FoE.

[JW]

Day One of the trial.

[The Late P Brooks]

Apparently, after a prolonged and exhaustive search, the President has found the perfect candidate for Treasury Secretary; right in his own back yard!

Shocked, I am.

[gaijin]

Are college students more narcissistic than ever?

"Little evidence has emerged that this 'narcissism epidemic' has had any deleterious effect on the behavioral health of today's young people," he wrote.

Do elections count as evidence?

[Restoras]

Judging by the limited view I have through my niece and nephew, college kids these days have a big, big problem with entitlement. Rude awakenings are forthcoming.

[generic Brand]

Rude awakenings are forthcoming.

Probably not for another generation at least. The rude awakenings are always on the verge of happening, and then they are kicked down the road a bit further.

Student loans: leave 'em at 3%! Contraceptives: your school should provide them! Employment: you will be given a job, and at a living wage!

Fuck my generation...

[Restoras]

Perhaps. However, with total indebtedness of $50T and growing that has to be paid back out of a not-growing $15T economy, and zero interest in DC to deal with it, the fall may come sooner.

[Sy]

No kidding. Can't wait for our generation to hit the labor force. Easy pickins' out in the market.

[Scooby]

Have there ever been college students that didn't have a big problem with entitlement? I mean the ones that go straight from high school (i.e. 13th graders), not the ones that spend a while in the military or the real world before going to college.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Not really. College has been a finishing school for spoiled brats for decades, whether it was upper-crust scions during the late 19th century or today's subliterate, self-worshipping Juicebox generation. The only thing that changed is there's a lot more of them now than there were back then, and they're coming out even more mush-headed than when they entered. At least when attendance was limited to the swells the educational standards were still pretty high.

[Ted S.]

Stop debasing the word "epidemic"!

[Way Of The Crane]

Stop debasing the word "epidemic"!

Who can blame them? It's so catchy

[NeonCat]

What you did there, I see it.

[Brett L]

Right. Because the Boomers weren't narcissistic in college. No, sir.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Who do you think taught today's college students to be that way?

[gaijin]

hehe. Interestingly, one of the data points in the study showed inverse correlation between supposed communication skills and actual test results. i.e., The more you think you know, the less apparently. The 'study' has been going on annually since 1966.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Dunning-Kruger?

[MattJ]

How 'bout them Irish?

[generic Brand]

That was brutal... SEC still sucks donkey dick though.

[Ted S.]

Doesn't everybody root against the F***ing Irish?

[generic Brand]

Not when they are playing Scheduling Every Cupcake teams.

[mr simple]

That's hilarious. You see, they actually have to play tough teams when they get to conference play. What are the other conferences excuses?

[generic Brand]

Tough teams like Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn? Every conference has good teams and bad teams in their conference... not every conference schedules 3 out of 4 D2 or lower opponents for their out-of-conference games. FFS, Florida plays 7 home games, 4 away games, and one neutral-site game with Georgia every year. In college football homefield advantage is at least a guaranteed 3-5 point spread.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

not every conference schedules 3 out of 4 D2 or lower opponents for their out-of-conference games.

I'm not going to hate on the SEC schools for figuring out how to game the BCS for maximum benefit. Their method is exactly what you want to see in a system like that--play your tough opponents fairly early and schedule the cupcakes late so you can get style points in the computers and make up for any early losses.

"Traditional" college football died when the superconferences began forming in mid-1990s. The media just pretended they weren't propping up its corpse like Weekend at Bernie's.

[Drake]

But Florida and LSU proved the strength of the SEC with their non-conference bowl games.

I thought is a nice touch to invite Urban Meyer as a commentator. Gave a even more pretend feel to the "Championship" game.

[John Henry]

SEC still sucks donkey dick though.

They may suck, but they are having a hell of a run right now.

[RBS]

NO. Several SEC teams are having a hell of run.

[John Henry]

NO. Several SEC teams are having a hell of run.

True dat.

[Pro Libertate]

Alabama, LSU, Florida, Auburn. With South Carolina and Georgia knocking on the door.

It's pretty amazing how much people want to deny that the SEC is currently the dominant conference in football. It clearly is, and a playoff system will demonstrate that even more.

But this, too, will pass and other teams will emerge. One of the things I'm hoping will result from the success that Alabama and LSU have had is the reemergence of defense in football (particularly in the NFL). It's in a sad state these days.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

One of the things I'm hoping will result from the success that Alabama and LSU have had is the reemergence of defense in football (particularly in the NFL). It's in a sad state these days.

I wouldn't hold my breath on that. Both the NCAA and the NFL are pretty determined to turn reality into a video game, and the concerns over concussions are going to be a wet blanket on any Jack Tatum/Night Train Lane headhunters. The one area where improvement CAN be implemented is in tackling. Holy shit--compare some of the older clips to what's going on today and it's amazing anyone can bring ballcarriers down at all.

[Drake]

Uh, your second and third teams on the list lost bowl games against mediocre opponents.

Want me to believe you are the best? Schedule games against Pac-12, Big Ten and Big-12 teams - not cupcakes. Until then, you are overrated hype BS.

[Pro Libertate]

Overrated hype BS that keeps winning, over and over again. With different teams. And teams can and do drop bowl games when they don't mean much--there's a definite psychological disadvantage for regular contenders who, in their eyes, blew a shot at the conference or the national title.

It's not that the SEC is unbeatable, top to bottom. There's more parity than that, these days. It's just that it is better than average in most years, and its top teams are generally the best in the country.

Seriously, do you contend that a true playoff system would have teams other than SEC teams in the final? That's absurd.

[Drake]

I watched Louisville run circles around #3 Florida. Oregon would have hung 60 on them.

[Drake]

Good luck next year against the Toledo Rockets and Georgia Southern Eagles.

[MattJ]

I graduated from a university whose football team died in a plane crash.

My girlfriend graduated from Alabama.

Since I have no natural football loyalty I've been rooting for her team. Even if I were so inclined, 'Alabama sucks' is not a hill I'm prepared to die on against my 'Bama girl.

I don't get the SEC hate, though. If they suck, which conference is better? What's the criteria? Some combination of number of teams that make it to a bowl game, combined with the number of wins those teams have?

[RBS]

Much of the hate stems from fans of SEC schools not named Alabama, Florida or LSU acting like their teams keep winning all these titles.

[Randian]

I had a guy actually tell me he played football "for an SEC team". Guess which one it was?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Vandy - the oddball of the conference?

[RBS]

Kentucky?

[Randian]

Yep. Kentucky was the winner.

[Ted S.]

Kentucky? Vanderbilt?

(Although to be fair, the Packers have two Kentucky Wildcats and one Vanderbilt Commodore on their roster.)

[Andrew S.]

That and ESPN's constant fellatio of all things SEC, despite the fact that SEC teams generally build their records by playing local elementary schools and St. Mary's School for the Blind as part of their non-conference schedule.

[Randian]

In fairness, a lot of teams schedule OOC cupcakes. It's the attention to that fact that has started forcing schools to get with the times and start playing home & homes with decent teams.

[Drake]

Pac-12 schools usually schedule an easy, a medium, and a hard OOC game. The scheduling is years out so obviously things can change - bit if you are scheduling games against non-BCS teams (SEC style), you know you are getting cupcakes.

Last year UCLA played Rice, Houston, and Nebraska (and won them all). Pretty respectable. Next year, USC plays Hawii, Boston College, and Notre Dame. Next year Cal plays Northwestern, Portland State, and Ohio State. One cupcake and some real challenges in that bunch.

[Brett L]

Yeah. Notre Dame would never do that!

[Drake]

2013 Notre Dame Schedule

09/07 at Michigan
09/14 at Purdue
09/21 Michigan State
09/28 Oklahoma
10/05 vs. Arizona State (Cowboy's Stadium)
10/19 USC
10/26 vs. Connecticut (Gillette Stadium)
11/02 Navy
11/09 at Pittsburgh
11/16 BYU
TBA at Air Force

S

[RBS]

ESPN usually can't get the SEC far enough down its throat but I thought it was pretty funny listening to Musburger last night. You could really hear the longing in his voice whenever the Irish managed something productive.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Are you kidding? Bill Snyder openly admitted in the early 90s that this was a key factor in building up Kansas State. Yeah, for the most part scheduling 1-AA teams is a joke, but every once in a while they'll come up and bite the big boys.

In fact, if it wasn't for the TV money tied up in the conferences, I'd be pushing for an English soccer-type system where the top teams can move up a division if they're successful for a certain number of years, and FBS bottom-feeders like New Mexico State or Colorado get moved down.

[Palin's Buttplug]

SEC hate is based on envy. I went to UGA but don't get involved in the 'which conference is superior' wars. I really don't care.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Agreed. I don't root for the B1G. I root for Ohio State. I don't give a fuck about Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern, etc. I actively root against Michigan, and hope they lose every fucking game they play.

Which is why I hate SEC homers. If you are a South Carolina fan, does it really make you proud that Alabama won the NC? If so, you need a new hobby.

As an aside, I've responded to two of your posts BP. You are a lot cooler when you stick to subjects you understand; beer and football. 😉

[Randian]

Rationally speaking, though, it makes sense to support B1G teams in bowl games, because the better the conference looks, the better Ohio State looks when they roll all over those sacks of shit that comprise our conference at the moment.

[Pro Libertate]

I think the SEC unity is useful when it comes to recruiting. The SEC's biggest advantage is having most of the best talent-producing states (esp. Florida) under its control.

Incidentally, the homerism isn't that bad. The most potent offense I've seen is probably the Tommie Frazier (Floridian, by the way) led Nebraska team.

[Drake]

Nope - It is disgust at the media disconnect.

They refuse to play meaningful non-conference games, but the sports media refuses to call them on their cowardice. Instead they pretend they are better for some reason than the best teams from other conferences.

[Pro Libertate]

You have to ignore games to come to that conclusion. Florida, for instance, plays Florida State every year. Tennessee historically played PAC-10 teams early on for quite some time (maybe still does).

The fact is that the SEC has eight conference games, with only three nonconference games. And a few teams tend to be locked in with other opponents pretty frequently--Florida-FSU, Georgia-Georgia Tech, South Carolina-Clemson.

[Drake]

Tennessee is the exception to the SEC cupcake practice (and has often taken a loss for their trouble).

[generic Brand]

Yeah, RBS pretty much nailed it. The conference love makes no sense to me, and actually disgusts me to the point that I hate all members of that conference.

If Oregon had beaten Stanford and ended up playing in the Championship, I do not think Stanford, USC, or Oregon State fans would be cheering for the Ducks. And yet with the SEC you have most Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, and Ole Miss fans cheering for Alabama for the "sake of the conference". If the Packers win again this week, you wouldn't find a single Bears fan in the world wishing them luck in the NFC Championship to represent the NFC North division.

[T]

Since we've ended the era of static conferences, it doesn't much matter. Schools are going to jump to whichever conference gives them a perceived better deal whenever the contract runs out. Claiming loyalty to your school's hired marketing group is just stupid.

[Matrix]

Big 12 fans often cheer for one another in bowl games and OOC games as well, unless they are your rivals. Gooner fans will almost never cheer for Longhorns or Cowboys, and the Longhorns will almost never cheer for Gooners. But Cowboy fans sometimes do. I did once upon a time, and have regretted it ever since.

SEC will often cheer for their rivals, if begrugingly. I know many Auburn fans that pulled for Bama, and Bama fans that pulled for Auburn a few years ago. Even UGA fans will sometimes pull for Florida in bowls.

[KMA Too]

Gooner???

Fucking Philistine...

[Matrix]

fuck OU

[KMA Too]

Spoken with all the elegance and panache` of a Longhorn. ;)~

And, this is coming form someone unaffiliated with either

[wareagle]

this isn't rocket science, folks. People like to have a rooting interest in games and they tend to pull for teams they're familiar with. It's no more complicated than that. And there is this stubborn thing called southern pride.

[Pro Libertate]

It's interesting that everyone has forgotten Auburn's national title. What was that, 2010?

[Drake]

Matrix - I disagree. I'm an USC alumnus. As much as I hate Oregon and Stanford when they play USC, I was rooting for them to win their respective bowl games. I was disappointed they didn't get better match-ups, maybe some SEC teams. It is fun to watch teams from other conferences go through the hell of playing those two. They are nightmares and I would put either team against anyone.

(I was glad to see UCLA beaten repeatedly after those motherfuckers hurt Matt Barkley)

[Pro Libertate]

That is why you fail.

[Pro Libertate]

Obviously, the SEC is better at the moment. And has been for a while. People don't like that sort of thing, longing for some sort of enforced parity like we tend to see in the NFL now.

Personally, my college allegiances aside, I really like Alabama's style of play. Crushing defense, power running, and aggressive play-action passing. Executed properly, that will beat the high-powered passing teams with shitty defenses every single time. Saban deserves a lot of credit for what he's done, though that's also been LSU's style to a lesser degree.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Personally, my college allegiances aside, I really like Alabama's style of play. Crushing defense, power running, and aggressive play-action passing.

Mark Schlereth called it "big boy football," and that's exactly what it is. It's a Bill Parcells-type power philosophy bent on brutalizing your opponent through attrition rather than quick strikes and spacing. An Oregon-Alabama game would have been amazing just for the contrast in styles.

[Pro Libertate]

Those games almost always go to the power team. Parcells is a good example--recall the Giants and Bills.

[Brett L]

Best FB post of the night:
"On the bright side the Catholics have some experience with being sodomized."

[SugarFree]

Warrrrriioooorrrs... Come out and pllllaaaayyyy...

Can you dig it?

[Ted S.]

I sense a scandal brewing....

[SugarFree]

aeneidvirgil
Back when videos? meant something.

taichi29 1 month ago
I agree? with you. Back then videos told a story with the music.

Is this a joke?

[Ted S.]

I wouldn't know. I don't read Youtube comments.

[SugarFree]

Yeah, yeah... And you probably don't have a TV either, right? Fucking hipsters.

[Jordan]

Youtube comments are deadly serious. Avert your gaze before it's too late.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Do they still make music videos?

[Groovus Maximus]

Only on YooToob, ala the "AMV".

[invisible furry hand]

Stan Cohen, the guy who coined the highly useful term "moral panic", also carked it. Can you name a song for him?

[SugarFree]

That's easy...

[invisible furry hand]

You don't even try anymore, do you

[SugarFree]

I'm too depressed...

[invisible furry hand]

see if this cheers you up

[Stormy Dragon]

The actual real history behind The Warriors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabasis_(Xenophon)

[Lord Humungus]

Our Cars' Weight Problem
How government is making our cars lighter, and more dangerous
http://www.nationalreview.com/.....t-e-norton

There are approximately 42,000 motoring fatalities each year in the United States. That is a large number, and it has remained stubbornly at that level. Why, with all the technological innovations that have occurred in so many key areas, such as electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, and air bags, have we not reduced those numbers significantly? The major reason, I believe, is the smaller vehicles our government has been pushing in order to support the environmental agenda.

[kinnath]

Mandatory safety requirements have been driving the weight of vehicles upwards for a decade or so. This is the primary reason that gas mileage has remained mostly constant even though technology has made engines far more efficient.

[Ted S.]

I don't know if the books are being cooked (although it's a bit tough to cook statistics that involve dead bodies), but the number of motor vehicle fatalities has gone down while the population has gone up.

[h3k86qc35923]

I'm all for getting government out of cars, but fatalities have been consistently dropping for the last decade by every measure.

[h3k86qc35923]

Ted S. beat me to it. Curse me for checking Wikipedia's references.

[Matrix]

Maybe they'll use the same logic as they do with guns. Outright ban on private ownership of automobiles and make us all use taxis or mass transportation.

[Zeb]

Getting people to mostly wear seat belts and not to drive drunk are probably the only real changes that have made a big difference.

And if the absolute number stays the same while population grown and people drive more, that's good. The number they should look at is fatalities per mile driven.

[VG Zaytsev]

Getting people to mostly wear seat belts and not to drive drunk are probably the only real changes that have made a big difference.

No way.

A couple of years ago I was T-Boned by a car going 40, I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, my car was totaled and I walked away with a few minor injuries.

[JW]

Getting people to mostly wear seat belts and not to drive drunk are probably the only real changes that have made a big difference.

that's part of it, but the automakers have been engineering the cars' unibodies to more readily absorb and redirect energy from the collision. There's been serious advancement in that direction, along with the passive features (airbags, etc). People are still just as big of idiots as they were decades ago; even more so with all the gadgets to distract them.

One strike against the automakers in this regard is letting their interiors designers do away with simple controls that allow you to adjust climate and radio without taking your eyes off the road. Way too much in the way of buttons and haptic controls. Gimme some fucking knobs, damn you!

[Trespassers W]

Because the safer cars get, the more aggressively people drive?

[The Late P Brooks]

Yes, I did unpaid grunt work. But guess what: It was also an invaluable experience.

But that would require you to a) consider the knowledge and experience of others to be superior to your own, and b) be willing to defer compensation to some point in the future, when your knowledge and experience have gained value.

THAT'S NOT FAIR!

[hamilton]

Krugnuts wants to mint the platinum coin.

I vote we put Kim Kardashian on the obverse and Goatse on the reverse.

[Jeff]

Why not put Krugman on the reverse?

Oh, wait. That's what you said.

[Restoras]

I vote for Kei$ha on the obverse and a Weimar Eagle on the reverse.

[Tim]

Obama's face on one side and Obama's ass on the back. What's the latin translation of "Kiss it"?

[Enough About Palin]

Osculamini eam?

[SweatingGin]

No! Ed Meese! Has to be Ed Meese on the trillion dollar. Reagan goes on the quadrillion dollar bill (or coin).

[LTC(ret) John]

+1 Snow Crash reference

[VG Zaytsev]

The should put Reagan on the front and a carrier battle group on the back for a maximum fu to republicans.

[The Late P Brooks]

government is making our cars lighter

Seriously?

[The Late P Brooks]

I shouldn't be so adamantly opposed to this magical platinum coin. After all, it will raise the value of mine, right?

I'll be rich!

[The Late P Brooks]

I vote we put Kim Kardashian on the obverse

You guys are nuts.

The ONLY appropriate person for the face of that coin is Charles Ponzi.

[SugarFree]

The regular feature wherein Jezebel trolls itself for page hits.

Say you met someone on the internet, had a blast and knocked it out of the park in the sack (his words?) You want to do it again, but it wasn't implicit that you'd hang out or contact each other afterwards. How do you indicate you want to fool around again without sounding crazy or like a pathetic hobag? It's been just over a week and I think it's time to refresh his memory!

Well, it's not rocket science darling. You should text him and say, ""My mouth is wet just thinking about you. I want to feast on your semen." That's the default text I send to all the new people I meet. Or, if you want to go a more classic route, you could text him, "Hey, I had a lot of fun with you. Want to get dinner?" This may seem complicated, but just breathe, I believe in you. Think of it this way: if Eli?n Gonz?lez can navigate his way to America on a crappy life boat, at the age of six, with no wi-fi, then I'm sure you can handle sending someone a text message.

[generic Brand]

If Jezebel was like this for every article they would get me to read them a bit more often.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I guess Eli?n Gonz?lez was a kind of success story.

[hamilton]

Much like "The Great Gatsby".

[Bee Tagger]

if Eli?n Gonz?lez can navigate his way to America on a crappy life boat, at the age of six

He was only 6 and you're already declaring his life crappy? He's a 6 year old with a boat (your words), doesn't sound too crappy to me.

[Restoras]

Anyone with a yacht can't lay claim to a crappy life.

[Enough About Palin]

John Kerry has a yacht and I wouldn't trade places with him.

[Francisco d Anconia]

It's no fun, being an illegal Eli?n.

[LTC(ret) John]

Now I wish the Janet Reno directed guns had been pointed at you, instead of him, for that remark!

[John]

Well, it's not rocket science darling. You should text him and say, ""My mouth is wet just thinking about you. I want to feast on your semen." That's the default text I send to all the new people I meet.

Just because that line works with Warty doesn't mean it will work with anyone else.

[Randian]

That line would work on me. I think that line would work on any red-blooded American male.

[John]

Coming from a woman sure. But coming from a diabetic libertarian male in Kentucky?

[SugarFree]

Randian would be lucky to have me.

[Tim]

This is what happens when you replace math and science classes with "self-esteem".

[Groovus Maximus]

FEh. I wouldn't fuck any of you with Shriek's dick.-D

[hamilton]

Obvs not, you're surrounded by teh hot Ukranian babez.

[Groovus Maximus]

Like in Highlander, there can be only one...-D

[Francisco d Anconia]

Speaking of which, how's it going with the one? Meet daddy yet?

[Groovus Maximus]

Yes, and that was...yikes. He loves his little girl very much, and gave me the third degree privately over vodka. Basically, he wanted to make sure I am not some Yank Gigolo Sleazeball, and said, in English, "Do not break her heart, or I will find you."

He also made me arm wrestle him, and pretty much kicked my ass (and I am no pussy), but I refuse to give up, and he respected that. It was almost like a bad episode of Seinfeld.-D Family ties here are taken pretty seriously.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Well, sounds like you're all in. No going back now. Not that you ever intended to. 😉

[gaijin]

arm wrestle him? wtf, you aren't in the Ukraine, you're in 1915!

[Brett L]

Eli?n Gonz?lez can navigate his way to America on a crappy life boat,

WTF? They took him away from his refugee parent. If he'd navigated here on a boat on his own, he would clearly be eligible for asylum.

[mr simple]

She can't get into the mood any more, so it's been about six years since we've had sex. Of any kind. She feels that if I have sex with her when she's not in the mood that I'd be using her.

Here's a relevant question: how much of an effort is your wife making to change her situation? Withholding sex from your spouse for six years is simply unfair.

Wait, did Jezebel just imply that this man is not dead wrong to think that he has some sort of "right" to sex with his wife? Do they think he owns her vagina or something? Check your privilege.

[Warty]

Although I'll admit I'm speaking as someone who lives in Williamsburg ? a place where the vast majority of men are effete, frightened little flowers. I imagine there are other places in the world where the men still act like men, but here it's the lesbians who assume that role.

Jezebel's just fucking with us now, right?

[Randian]

Woah, wait a minute, what the fuck is going on over there?

when you're married, sometimes you have to take the d even if you're not "in the mood," to prevent your spouse from railing someone else.

[nicole]

As SF said, they're trolling themselves. Check out the comments--a bunch are super offended by that phrase (though a bunch are also defending it).

[Randian]

Alright, guys, this is going to blow your mind. Here's one the responses basically supporting the man's right to sex:

AmandaMarcotte an hour ago

He shouldn't pressure her into sex. But is [sic:if] marriage isn't about sex, why should she care if he has a girlfriend that has sex with him? You can't have it both ways. Either marriage is about sex, which means sex is present in it, or it's not, and one is free to sleep with others.

My advice? Give her a chance to figure it out, and if she's done with sex, divorce her.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Holy shit.

[Groovus Maximus]

Good SOD! Are they suggesting, GASP, FIDELITY!!!!!!

Servants! Fetch mah smelling saltz and faintin' couch!

Also, it's not "preventing" anything. Spouses can cheat whenever they wish: it's a voluntary marriage arrangement, not slavery. You're just an incredible pile of shit if you cheat ubeknownst to your spouse, and in direct violation of the marriage vows (legally enforceable, by the by.)

[Randian]

I mean, Amanda Marcotte said something sensible and not anti-man. I just have no idea what to do here.

[nicole]

Well, I guess you could text her about how your mouth is wet or something...or maybe, in this case, dry?

[LTC(ret) John]

You, madame, have just thrown the Thor's Hammer of zingers there. I was flattened just being in proximity to that remark.

[MJGreen]

"My mouth is wet just thinking about you. I want to feast on your semen." That's the default text I send to all the new people I meet.

Like business acquaintances? Your kids' school friends?

I also enjoy the casual insult of "pathetic hobags." You're a woman who enjoys and wants more sex? Pathetic.

[The Late P Brooks]

Jezebel trolls itself for page hits

They have to make up for my complete and utter lack of interest somehow.

[John]

Has anyone else read the Elizabeth Wurtzel "I never grew up and it sucks" article in NYMAG?

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/0.....-help.html

If you like schadenfreude and train wrecks it is a good read. I was once very much in love with a woman who ended up in a similar situation to Wurtzel. Never would marry me but then immediately changed her mind after it was too late and I had decided to marry someone else who brought less drama and was (gasp) willing. High end college but aimless career despite being very intelligent in many ways.

[John]

What strikes me about these people (and I am sure there are men just like them) is how spoiled and entitled they are. I am sure Wurzel could have gotten a full ride at a lower ranked law school but went in debt to go to Yale because she couldn't lower herself to go to a lower ranked school. She made a very nice living as an associate a big NY Law firm but left it and is now broke because, bless her heart, she just didn't like the work. Who likes their job? I can honestly say I have abjectly loathed most of the jobs I have ever had. But the thought of leaving a job without having another one and facing the prospect of not being able to support myself was just unthinkable. Quitting a job because I hated it or didn't like the boss before getting another job was something I did in high school not after I was an adult and was on my own. But people like Wurtzel and my old girlfriend don't think like that. They really do think that the world not only owes them a living but also a living they enjoy. I blame them, but I also blame our narcissistic self entitled culture that told them throughout their entire youth how special they were and how they were entitled to whatever they want. Women, sadly, are often the worst victims of this bullshit. And unless you are an heiress, you either learn to suck it up and do what it takes to get by or you end up like Wurtzel and 44 and broke with no prospects.

[invisible furry hand]

Christ, that is a car crash of an article. She has a crazy landlady who breaks in and steals her stuff. She works for David Boies, "the smartest person I have ever met, and it is a steep fall to second place." When she asks him for advice he says "You need to move right now." Oddly enough, I'm an idiot and I would have said that too.

John, I hate you for linking to that

[SugarFree]

Maybe if she had living up to her author contracts and--judging by the article picture--stopped being a drunk, she would have more financial stability.

[John]

She is 45. I don't think she looks to bad for 45. I don't like her because I hate puffed up lips. But if you like that sort of thing, she would be alright.

[Randian]

If you go Google Image her, every photo looks like the cover of a Fiona Apple album. And she's 45? Jesus, get a life.

[Groovus Maximus]

That poor, poor thing! My heart, bleeds for her it does.-P

[Solanum]

She causes you to have acute mitral valve regurgitation? You'd better plan a trip to one of the local pig farms and shop for a valve replacement.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Christ, that is a car crash of an article.

It's in a similar vein to the article that Kate Bolick wrote for The Atlantic a few months ago. Wurtzel spends a whole article pointing out how unhappy she is now, while at the same time trying to justify the choices that led her to being so unhappy.

This isn't healthy emotional behavior--it's a form of low-grade insanity, and it's going to become increasingly common, because the elites are now giving voice to it.

[Restoras]

I'd also point out the career culture of the past 30 years or so that seems to emphasize doing something you love and it'll all work out. That's great and all, and god bless if you can figure it out, but if I had followed that route I would have been building model airplanes, crafting D&D adventures, and reading nothing but fantasy and military history my whole life.

And it would have been a short life since I would have had no money to feed/shelter/clothe myself.

[John]

Yeah. My dad told me when I was I got my first job that I needed to understand that the more a job pays, the more it is probably going to suck. If the job were so great, they wouldn't have to pay people very much to do it. I didn't get it at the time. I was a dumb kid and thought the more a job paid the better it was. But now that I am older, I realize that like most things, the old man had this one right.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I watched my Pa climb the ladder at IBM and watched him hate his job more & more every year (he went from being an engineer to a manager of engineers). I figured out that there is a sweet spot where you're getting paid as much as you can while still maintaining your sanity. My sweet spot is pretty low on the totem pole. I think project management is about the max I can handle. I would never, ever go into management-management (like, executive stuff, dealing with personnel and all that bullshit).

[John]

I watched my dad do the exact same thing in AT&T. In many ways he was probably happier in the 70s making $10,000 a year working on microwave equipment than he was in the 90s making almost six figures in management.

I would imagine your father like my father watched all of the people who actually knew how to do things and knew the business get passed over for MBAs who knew nothing except how to suck ass and manage figures.

[BakedPenguin]

My friend told me about his cousin. The guy worked his ass off getting a Master's in chemistry, then a Pharm D. He went to work for one of the bigger Pharma companies, and worked his way up to a VP position, which was his goal.

Now he sits in his car for 30 minutes each morning in the parking lot, psyching him self up to go inside.

[John]

There are a million stories like that. My roommate in college's father was a no shit genius engineer. Worked for Dowell Slumberger and had a ton of patents to his name. Life was great right up until they promoted him to management. Survived his last fifteen years and retired the first time they offered him a buyout.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yeah, my Pa retired at 55ish, from Alcoa (he quit IBM after 28 years to work for a little startup division of Alcoa, which ultimately failed). He now works about 10-12 hours a day doing engineering stuff on his own - he taught himself C sharp and made a design program that sends data to a milling machine. Kind of like a 3D printer, but not really in that there are no molds. And couldn't be happier. It's hard to believe he's been retired for almost 20 years already.

I have no hopes of retiring until I'm ancient, because I don't have those IBM stock options and pension plan from the early 1960's 😉

[JW]

I can say that I found my niche, in IT management, and am very happy with it.

Upwards mobility is nil and the jobs aren't exactly plentiful, but I like what I do, don't hate my job and I get paid fairly well for it.

[wareagle]

looking for my niche...even went back for a Master's at 50. The degree is now earned and I'm open to all things communication - PR, marketing, sales. Willing to relocate, too. Ironic thing is I really liked the job, the co-workers, and the industry I was in prior to leaving to return to school. And to care for two terminally ill parents.

[LTC(ret) John]

WE - check http://www.zurichna.com, under the careers tab - you see anything that looks ok, email me at [e-mail] - I can look on the inside and tell you more about the job.

[Lord Humungus]

yeah, my mom - of all people - warned me that full-time work is a soul-sucking venture that I would loathe with time. And she was right! On the other hand, my old man loves work, no matter what it is. When he retired at age 55, he went and became a bank clerk(!) just for the hell of it. I never understood why since he didn't need the money or the stress.

[John]

I could see liking a job a lot more if I were already retired, could choose what I wanted to do based on how I liked it and how much it paid and knew I could leave anytime I didn't like it. That makes a huge difference.

[Lord Humungus]

'true that. My old man would call the president of the bank - who he knew from his previous job - to complain about policies.

[Restoras]

I could see that too.

[Brett L]

My father will die immediately if he's ever forced to not hold some sort of job.

[Lord Humungus]

I think that's the case with my dad - he just keeps going as long as he stays busy. Give him a moment of rest and that's it - game over.

[NoVAHockey]

"doing something you love and it'll all work out"

that's backassward. I work so I have the resources and ability to do something I love on my own time.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I would have been building model airplanes, crafting D&D adventures, and reading nothing but fantasy and military history my whole life.

And it would have been a short life since I would have had no money to feed/shelter/clothe myself.

Or you could have had a blast working for Osprey Publishing.

Jus' sayin'

[tarran]

John, I think you go too far:

Take that whole business with the quitting of Red Sox manager Epstein c. 2005. He quit and walked away on principle. He had set up his finances to support such a move.

To me, the appropriate course is to become financially independent (6 mo's savings in the bank, etc), while manoeuvring myself into a job that I like.

Yes, these people are douchebags because they didn't save, but how upset can e get. They are told *not* to save.... The govt encourages a complaisant Fed to debase the currency. To many people, saving is a losers game.

[John]

If I had a seven figure job, I would have a lot more freedom. And for the record I do have about six months in savings. But there is no guarantee I could get another job in six months, especially with the Kenyan village idiot in the White House and this economy. And who is to say the next job will be any better?

Sure if I were being asked to do illegal things or something really extreme, I would leave. But I won't leave a job just because "I don't like it". I wish I had the money to do that. But I and most people who are not GMs of major sports franchises do.

[tarran]

Point taken.

[Zeb]

Sure, if you have enough money and are smart with it, you can do what you want. But most don't have that luxury.

[Groovus Maximus]

Once again, this proves to me why I will NEVER entertain the thought of marrying an American woman.

[kinnath]

How was Christmas?

[Groovus Maximus]

Pleasant and...quite interesting.-D It was nice celebrating Christmas with her family since I don't have any here, though I am still not quite sure what her father thinks of me, but he did I say, for an American, I was top shelf. Though as far as drinking tolerance, I am clearly outmatched. Otherwise, a gentleman never kisses and tells...

And it's official, she is now Dr. Podruga Groovova. (Means exclusive GF in Russian)

[kinnath]

Excellent news. Congratulations.

[Groovus Maximus]

Thank you and thank you for asking, kinnath. She's pretty bad ass. Wicked chess player too. She's even read Dune!

[kinnath]

After the weekend thread, it was impossible not to ask 😉

It sounds like you are settling into the Ukraine just fine.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Huh? Read?

[LTC(ret) John]

"She's even read Dune!"

We expect a wedding announcement....soon.

[Brett L]

She's not broke, broke. She has two formerly best-selling books that still generate royalties. Also, NY Magazine will still apparently pay her to be self-absorbed.

[John]

But publishing is pretty lean. How many copies of those books are actually selling? I would be surprised if she gets more the 20K a year from those. That would be nice granted. But that won't pay for much of a lifestyle.

[SugarFree]

She also had a book optioned in a movie. She pissed away enough money to last us Normals a lifetime.

[John]

It is amazing how people can piss away money.

[nicole]

Yeah, that's the part that kind of made me want to stab her. But mostly that she was just so pathetic, and happy about it.

[MattJ]

Who likes their job?

When I was 12, I wanted to build rocket ships.

I got an aerospace degree, then a Master's, and now I design rockets. Different than what I expected at age 12, but as challenging and interesting as I could hope.

It also pays well, and the people I work with are all awesome.

I've only ever had one job I disliked, and after I gave it 3 months, I called back my old boss (I had left on good terms) and got my old job back.

[John]

Good for you. But it doesn't work out that way for most people.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Women, sadly, are often the worst victims of this bullshit. And unless you are an heiress, you either learn to suck it up and do what it takes to get by or you end up like Wurtzel and 44 and broke with no prospects.

And what's even more pathetic is that she's so used up now that no stable man would want to be with her except out of sheer pity. Her whole life has been spent in pursuit of some narcissistic goal of "self-fulfillment," and--shock of shocks--she's now alone and miserable.

[iggy]

I hadn't read that particular New York Mag article, but New York Magazine is a haven for infantile narcissists so the article doesn't exactly surprise me.

I remember the time a New York Magazine reporter wrote about how upset she was that trolls on Gawker made fun of her wedding announcement in the New York Times. Like I said, everyone writing for that magazine is a childish narcissist.

[mr simple]

This is the best comment that describes it better than I could:

FIGHTINGIRISH
This piece reads like the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party.

[The Late P Brooks]

She made a very nice living as an associate a big NY Law firm but left it and is now broke because, bless her heart, she just didn't like the work.

Wait; Perry Mason wasn't a documentary?

[Brett L]

So, sloopy, when are you taking Butts Wagner as a second wife? Or does he get to be the husband this time?

[Raston Bot]

I'd be curious to learn how much the EdX folks are covering Brito's et al Copyright Unbalanced in their free-to-the-first-500-enrollees Copyright class taught by Harvard's Fisher. Particularly their solutions.

Fisher proposes replacing much of copyright and digital rights management with a government-administered reward system. Under such a scheme, movies and songs would be legal to download. Authors and artists would receive compensation from the government based on how often their works were read, watched, or listened to. The system would be funded by taxes.

[The Late P Brooks]

Christ, that is a car crash of an article.

No kidding. But what should you expect after seeing the "glamour shot" which makes her look like a gruesome, bitter hag?

I wasn't tough enough to hang in there and find out what it is she actually does, other than engage in bitter, pathetic self-recrimination. Whatever it is, she should just give up and start giving blow jobs.

[invisible furry hand]

I got about half-way through before realising life is too short, but it seems she actually holds down a grown-up job, using the law degree and working for a litigator. Sounds like the smack and wild sex days are behind her and all she's left with is the $20,000 handbag she spunked her royalties away on. Or would, if the crazy landlady hadn't stolen it.

[kinnath]

David Frum could have saved her from all her bad decisions if we would just let him.

[John]

The crazy land lady is the one part that I feel sorry for her about. New York housing sucks. You can't just break a lease and move out. A landlord can ruin your credit and make it impossible to get another apartment. That crazy bitch would have made me seriously consider murder. Certainly if New York had been a castle doctrine state, I would have just shot her claiming I mistakenly thought she was a burglar.

[Randian]

I would have at least slapped a restraining order on her. Sounds to me like the psycho wouldn't have even had the gumption to challenge the damn thing.

[nicole]

The entirety of the living situation is what makes Wurtzel so hateable. She talks about how she's renting, not owning, like a "real grownup" or whatever, but her problem isn't renting, it's subletting from a crazy person. I mean she's living in the kind of rental situation my drunker college friends would have been in...when we were like 18. I basically know people who could tell very similar stories...about when they were 18. And they're still all renting, but even before age 30 they've figured out a much better way of doing it.

[John]

That kind of goes back to her being spoiled. Look at where the apartment was. It was a kick ass brownstone in the village. Those are hard to get. There was probably a reason why the rent was cheap and it was available despite being in one the most desirable neighborhoods in New York. But little Elizabeth couldn't be expected to live on the upper West Side, much less Brooklyn or (gasp) Queens.

[nicole]

Yes, John, for sure (and 9 out of 10 of those friends I have in mind now live in BK or Queens, or equivalents in other cities). And I just loved that her way out of it was just to call up Corcoran and be like "find me an apt, yes I'll take the first one you find." If you can do that, what the fuck are you doing living in some crazy hooker's apartment before? It's like she just wants her life to be unstable. Which is fine, but don't complain about it, you know?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yep....every drama queen I have ever know bitches ad nauseum about their life, but they get restless and bored if the shit isn't hitting the fan. To the point where they make the shit hit the fan on purpose so they can get their fix.

[Groovus Maximus]

Yep....every drama queen I have ever know bitches ad nauseum about their life, but they get restless and bored if the shit isn't hitting the fan. To the point where they make the shit hit the fan on purpose so they can get their fix.

Yet another full contact sport worthy of your average American wimminz (you and nicole and the other wimminz who post frequently here). Though not exclusive to American wimminz, it does appear much more rampant in the USA, if for no other reason than there are more of them.

[Groovus Maximus]

"...post frequently here excepted" That came out wrong! APOLOGIES! ACK!

[Groovus Maximus]

Ah, the myth of, "Home ownership makes you an adult." I seem to recall much financial wreckage favouring such a policy, and extends, not coincidentally IMHO, to the Higher Ed. industry, something else that has consumed this horrid shrew.

[Randian]

Sorry, GM, but the current crop of bad financial news does not unmake the general wisdom that home ownership domesticates us.

[Groovus Maximus]

Oh, in principle and actuality, I heartily agree. I still own property, as does Podruga Groovova, and live in detached housing here (I refused to live in a tiny flat).

But the notion that "home ownership" instantly grants financial wisdom and validity of mature adulthood is a farce. I know plenty of people who exclusively rent for the advantages it does have, and are far from overgrown adolescents.

[nicole]

Meh. I would like to own someday, I think, but I also think it's overrated and not something that should be subsidized (that's taking my anarchist hat off, and even lifting my libertarian hat a few inches above my head). Seems to do too much to discourage people from moving to follow work.

[Brett L]

No heroic LEO would pad their stats by pulling people over for DUI without probable cause, right?

According to the suit, filed Dec. 14 in District Court in Salt Lake County, Ms. Steed made a career of pulling over drivers who she claimed were driving drunk or under the influence.

There was only one problem. Some of the drivers Ms. Steed arrested had not been drinking, or at least not enough to be reasonably impaired, according to the lawsuit, brought by a group of Utah lawyers on behalf of two plaintiffs.

[John]

I read that. What is amazing is that someone would think they could get away with framing people for DUI in Utah. Most of the people there are Mormons and don't drink. If you are going to frame people for DUIs, do it in Wisconsin or New Orleans where everyone is a drunk. You don't do it in Utah. Eventually when you arrest your 20th total teetotaler someone is going to get suspicious.

And you got to love how she just was fired and instead of going to jail for perjury. All of those arrest reports are subject to perjury.

[Randian]

ha ha. Everyone really is drunk in Wisconsin.

[John]

It is so cold up there, what else is there to do? Milwaukee has more bars than any city I have ever seen. And I have been to places like Prague and Dublin.

[Randian]

A story from an acquaintance goes like this:

"I was doing a trial in the UP (Michigan, but basically Wisconsin AKA Canada's Mexico) and I wanted to screen out biased jury candidates. I asked everyone who had interactions with law enforcement, such as an arrest and/or conviction, to raise his or her hand so that they would be excused. A few did. Then one guy raised his hand and said 'Wait, does a DUI count?' I told him that of course it counted. More than half the room subsequently raised their hands"

[BakedPenguin]

Too drunk.

[John]

That's because prosecutors generally have an easier time than defense attorneys getting private information out of Facebook and other social networks, as highlighted in an ongoing Portland murder case. In that case, the defense attorney has evidence of a Facebook conversation in which a key witness reportedly tells a friend he was pressured by police into falsely incriminating the defendant. Facebook rebuffed the defense attorney's subpoena seeking access to the conversation, citing the federal Stored Communications Act, which protects the privacy of electronic communications like e-mail ? but which carves out an exemption for law enforcement, thus assisting prosecutors.

http://www.wired.com/business/.....-in-court/

Have a kick in the nuts. Of course in the Portland case, that would be Brady evidence and the prosecutor is duty bound to get it and turn it over to the defense. But due process is such a quaint thing.

[The Late P Brooks]

Entrepreneurship in the twentifirst century:

Former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely wounded two years ago in an Arizona shooting, is launching a group aimed at curbing gun violence and raising enough money to challenge the well-funded gun lobby.

--------

Her group has set up a political action committee for donations to "raise the funds necessary to balance the influence of the gun lobby," it said on its website.

"Until now, the gun lobby's political contributions, advertising and lobbying have dwarfed spending from anti-gun violence groups. No longer," Giffords wrote in an opinion piece published Tuesday in USA Today

She added: "winning even the most common-sense reforms will require a fight ... Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources."

Gimme your money. Support me and my ostentatious good intentions.

Creating things of tangible value is unnecessary and old-fashioned.

[db]

Sounds like a shakedown group. She can probably get Sharpton et al to consult on methods for getting businesses to cough up cash for her cause on the threat of legal action.

[LTC(ret) John]

That was Jesse Jackson's M.O. too. Used "housing" shakedowns in the city and some of the suburbs.

[db]

I've been on the wrong side of environmental shakedown groups too. It's infuriating when you realize they're only suing you to get you to settle to finance their next suit against someone else, while paying themselves a nice salary.

[Enough About Palin]

Love the brunette:

http://www.i4u.com/video-galle.....Texas?nr=2

[mnarayan]

All I have to say is "Wow". Actually I have more to say. She's unrealistically hot...I think its a setup.

[mr simple]

Swimsuit model's 1,200-hp Supra stolen and chopped to fans' outrage

[John]

Gotta love a beautiful woman who is a gearhead. But who over the age of 18 and not from rural Kentucky wants a custom built 1200 horsepower 94 Supra? You have all that money and that is what you do with it? Really?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Gotta love a beautiful woman who is a gear gives head.

FIFY