A.M. Links: Leon Panetta Testifying on Benghazi, Looking to Romneys to Run in Massachusetts, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wants to Go to Space

• Leon Panetta will be testifying at the Senate Armed Services Committee on the terrorist attack in Benghazi; he said there wasn't enough time to respond to the attack, which lasted up to nine hours.

• Some Republicans want to see Mitt Romney's wife Ann or his eldest son Tagg run in the special election for Senate in Massachusetts.
• Mark Sullivan, the director of the Secret Service, is stepping down.
• A former cop in Camden, NJ was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiring to deny due process and conducting unreasonable searches and seizures.
• Militants disguised as Iraqi cops detonated a car disguised as a police vehicle in an attack on police headquarters in Kirkuk that left dozens dead.
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be Iran's first astronaut.
• The Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl despite a surge by the San Francisco 49ers following a 34-minute break in the game caused by power outage.

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Comments

[Way Of The Crane]

White House warns agains Photoshopping image of President Skeet Shooting

This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

[Way Of The Crane]

I'll be busying Photoshopping today.

[Rich]

Just be careful that you're manipulating electrons that belong to you and not "the photograph" itself.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Obama could shoot one of his pals in the face to prove he fired a shotgun.

[PS]

Is there any way we could move shriek's mom's basement to Camp David?

[sloopyinca]

Anybody want a good laugh? Here's Shreek's post from yesterday:

Palin's Buttplug| 2.3.13 @ 8:52PM |#|?|filternamelinkcustom

Sorry - wingnuts, birthers, skeeters.

McClatchy reported Obama shot skeet back in 2010.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/201.....n-all.html

From Shreek's Article (emphasis mine): Obama told the TCU team that he, too, practiced shooting with a rifle. "He said he practiced with the Secret Service," said Riford, who graduated from TCU in May and now works in Fort Worth.

I guess the people at McClatchey reporting on a comment Obama made is proof that he shot skeet...with a rifle, no less.

[PS]

Shooting skeet with a shotgun is for pussies. He also hit a whole-in-one the first time he played golf.

[invisible furry hand]

He should shoot some animals. And then restore them to life with his godlike touch.

[PS]

Duh, animals exhale carbon dioxide.

[Jerry on the boat]

Copyright law, how does it work.

[JW]

Fair use and free speech, that's how.

[Agammamon]

Work products of federal officers and employees are not eligable for copyrighting.

[PS]

From Twitter: "Obama is like the only person on Earth who looks less cool holding a gun."

And this one's my favorite http://moonbattery.com/obama-s.....ution2.jpg

[Way Of The Crane]

I like this one.

[PS]

We are amused.

[PS]

This one is also good: http://moonbattery.com/obama-s.....ckward.jpg

[Way Of The Crane]

Brilliant!

[EDG reppin' LBC]

The best!

[wareagle]

only shooting this guy does is either on a golf course or basketball course, but conveniently, out comes a photo selling the new Wyatt Earp.

[PS]

He's our huckleberry.

[Bam!]

What kind of clay pigeon is parallel to the ground?

[AuH2O]

At this point, it's like they're asking to be made fun of.

Which maybe they are. Seriously, any conservative attempt to spoof Obama will easily be written off by his supporters as just stupid conservative propaganda/not funny/racist, and by not finding such jokes funny, you just prove how cool and hip and with it (just like Obama!) you are!

[Ska]

I still don't understand how people in the government convinced young people it's cool to be pro-government. Mind fucking blown.

[Mike Laursen]

The trick was leveraging theiradolescent rebellion against their limited government parents.

[Gladstone]

You know who else convinced the Youth to love the State?

[lap83]

"that in any way suggests approval or endorsement"

I don't think they need to be concerned about that.

[invisible furry hand]

Michael Kiok and his partner Cissy have been in a caring relationship for the past seven years, which would be unremarkable if not for the fact that Cissy is a dog.

Angry that Germany wants to criminalize his unusual love affair, Kiok joined other zoophiles at Berlin's Potsdamer Platz on Friday to protest against new legislation banning bestiality.

more

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl...

Stupidly cementing the Steelers as top ring getters another year.

[NoVAHockey]

Sixburgh!

[wareagle]

just happy we don't have to see Ray Lewis mugging for the cameras or preaching anymore.

[Palin's Buttplug]

No shit.

Golfer Vijay Singh heard about the deer antler spray and immediately confessed to the PGA about his use of it for a back injury.

Two different types.

[sloopyinca]

The best deer'antler spray quote came from the golf world.

From Lee Westwood, who finished in a tie for fifth at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

"Deer-antler spray? That sounds like something you wax your car with, doesn't it?" Westwood said. "I've never heard of it. ? You have to be careful about what you take. I try not to take anything now, really, other than Corona and vodka."

[Ted S.]

Green Bay has 13 NFL championships.

[generic Brand]

Fuck Green Bay. Explain to me why Clay Matthews was an analyst during the pregame. Current players should not be involved in a game they have nothing to do with (e.g. the Super Bowl they didn't make it to)

[Ted S.]

I don't watch the pregame shit.

[Cavpitalist]

We're not talking about titles won in half a league.

The Steelers have 6 Super Bowls, the only titles that are relevant in football for 47 years now.

[BigT]

Talent diluted so much you never face a full team these days.

The game was forever altered when they moved the hash marks into the center of the field - field goals, wide outs, sweeps are SO much easier today.

And put skirts on those QB's already!

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Interesting article, somewhat related.

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.co.....oal-posts/

[Way Of The Crane]

A former cop in Camden, NJ was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiring to deny due process and conducting unreasonable searches and seizures.

An isolated incident I'm sure.

[invisible furry hand]

Human remains found in Leicester determined to be those of Richard III

[Tim]

Richard I was great, II was OK but by the time III came out the franchise was played out.

[PS]

Richard III in IIID?

[Tim]

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortnue leap right out of the screen!

[Zeb]

Richard IV was the funniest, though.

[Tim]

Richard IV : Rich Harder?

[invisible furry hand]

that was the porn parody. "A whore, a whore, my kingdom for a whore..."

[Brett L]

I'm pretty sure that's cut dialog from Becket where Burton and O'Toole play themselves in period clothing for the first hour.

[Tim]

What other blog offers Shakespeare puns?

[Enough About Palin]

Blogging Shakespeare?

[Enough About Palin]

My favorite was Richard V: Electric Buggaloo.

[Drake]

I always thought of Richard III when people ask how long people Obama can go on vilifying Bush. Imagine the world's greatest writer writing a smear screenplay about Bush to kiss up to Obama's granddaughter (Michelle III) a century from now.

Henry Tudor really wanted to make himself look like a good guy (he wasn't). Henry was damn lucky Richard didn't make it to him on Bosworth Field.

[Pro Libertate]

Whatever Richard III may or may not have been, we sure the heck know that the Tudors were tyrants.

[John]

Of the worst order who had no real claim to the throne. Richard, whatever his faults, at least had a legitimate claim.

[Zeb]

"legitimate claim"

As legitimate as any hereditary monarch, anyway.

[robc]

Tudors had a legitimate claim. They seized it.

[AuH2O]

Yeah, given that monarchy is as bullshit as any government, tough shit Richard the III, King Harold, etc.

You get NOTHING! YOU LOSE!

[John]

Actually Harold didn't have a hereditary claim. He was elected.

[Pro Libertate]

I believe the Tudor line to the throne could only be traced claim through illegitimacy (later made glorious legitimacy by that son of Peter) and, as a result, the heirs of that line were expressly declared ineligible for the throne. So it's a pure coup.

While we wouldn't view monarchs as legitimate at all, the people then did. Then again, this wasn't the only time someone stole the throne.

[John]

It was the most blatant. William the Bastard could credibly claim he was promised the thrown by Edward. Edward was just flaky enough to have done it but we will never know.

Henry IV, was also a grandson of the great Edward III. And Richard II really was a horrible tyrant who left the country no choice.

Henry Tudor, had a much weaker claim than Henry IV and I am not sure outside of the play, there is much evidence Richard III was that much of a tyrant.

[Drake]

Historians have been fighting over Richard III ever since the Tudors died out. It all depends on the unknown fate of Edward V and his younger brother. Did they die of natural causes or were killed by Richard? Or did the Tudors make sure they never emerged from the Tower?

Richard's misshapen form depicted by Shakespeare can be attribute to exaggeration and the overdeveloped right arm of a master swordsman.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

A Vancouver Island man who won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Super Bowl in New Orleans has been refused entry into the U.S. because of a marijuana possession conviction dating back to 1981.
But when he got to Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, U.S. customs agents learned of a marijuana possession conviction in Vancouver in 1981 and told him he was not allowed to enter the country.

"I had two grams of cannabis. I paid a $50 fine," Wilkinson told CBC news.

Wilkinson said he was 19 when he was busted.

"I can't believe that this is happening, for something that happened 32 years ago."

[Rich]

Government databases FTW!

[Mickey Rat]

Is there an explanation why a guy from Vancouver was going to New Orleans via Toronto?

[Obese American]

Not surprising in the least, if the guy had to fly Air Canada as part of the deal, I'd be surprised if there are any flights to NO from Canada aside from Toronto.

[SugarFree]

I don't know about you filthy anarchists, but I certainly feel safer.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Customs is there to weed out the undesirables. Canadians should not toke our joint border for granted. It's a shame his dream trip went up in smoke, but he was destoned to watch the big game on TV.

Maybe he should have thought to himself, "Can a bus take me there?" He might have spliffed through undetected. And so on.

[AuH2O]

Except for undesirable celebrities.

I mean, how many Canadian celebs have been busted for pot or something worse (like assault) in the US but then allowed back in?

I know, rules for little people and all.

[invisible furry hand]

If they didn't dress like sluts, no-one would rape them, says Saudi cleric. Hence his fatwa requiring burqas for babies

[Way Of The Crane]

I'm sure some of them were asking for it.

[nicole]

My favorite part is how another sheik "said that he feels sad whenever he sees a family walking around with a veiled baby, describing that as injustice to children."

[Rich]

Sheikh Mohammad al-Jzlana, former judge at the Saudi Board of Grievances, ... urged people to ignore unregulated fatwas

Oh, I've been doing that for *years*.

[db]

If the Sheikh is not a dues paying member of the International Brotherhood of Imams, Sheikhs, Mullahs, and Pipefitters, you can just ignore that fatwa. Look for the Union label!

[AuH2O]

Any sensible person would. Unregulated fatwas are so fattening, and you just know that they are full of artificial preservatives.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...he said there wasn't enough time to respond to the attack, which lasted up to nine hours.

911 is a joke in your administration.

[Rich]

Easy, Fist. He obviously meant "respond" in the sense of having a credible story.

[generic Brand]

9-1-1 or 9/11?

[Pro Libertate]

"It's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?"

I guess it doesn't fucking matter who, since they won't be taking any action until after noon at the earliest.

[Palin's Buttplug]

With Scott Brown out of the special MA Senate election it looks like the Swift-boating of Susan Rice got the GOP nothing.

[wareagle]

if Obama was a man, he would have simply told Rice the job was not going to be hers instead of setting her up to look like a fool so Senator Heinz could be nominated.

[sarcasmic]

It IS Richard III: Scientists reveal DNA results confirm 15th century king's body has been found under a car park in Leicester

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....z2Jw2rvyBx

[invisible furry hand]

pwned!

[Tim]

Final score, Richard III, Star Trek 12.

Khaaaaaan!

[Bam!]

I hope this could lead to good Top Gear material.

[JW]

DNA results confirm 15th century king's body has been found under a car park in Leicester

That's going to be one helluva lost ticket bill.

[Eduard van Haalen]

They were actually looking for Jimmy Hoffa's body - which, unbeknownst to most people, is actually in a dry-cleaner's in Camden.

[invisible furry hand]

Mitt Romney's wife Ann or his eldest son Tagg

Tagg? Tagg?

[Rich]

YOU'RE IT!!

[R C Dean]

Short for Gutentag? Because fascism?

[Numeromancer]

Those are questions?

[AuH2O]

In retrospect, that should have been a bigger red flag for his chances of winning...

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Massive soccer match-fixing probe uncovers hundreds of suspicious games ? including World Cup qualifiers, Champions League matches

[invisible furry hand]

a World Cup qualifier between Liechtenstein and Finland in September 2009 was fixed

Considering neither had any chance of qualifying, I can only deduce the fixer was an absurdist, and this was some elaborate art statement

[db]

Wow, this is really going to hurt soccer's public image. I expect it to roll around on the ground holding its knee for at least a year.

[Brett L]

Winner! Additionally all non ManU teams have a new excuse. (Go Gooners!)

[Andrew S.]

If ever ManU were to be proven to be involved in match fixing, it would make me extremely happy. If it involved Slur Alex I'd be in heaven.

(and Liverpool all)

[mr simple]

Jealous much?

[robc]

Italy had a huge match fixing scandal a few years ago, big guys like Juventus got nailed in it.

[AuH2O]

For such a popular sport, soccer is terribly run.

And I just figured out why, by thinking of all the countries where soccer is most popular and comparing that to government incorruptibility.

[generic Brand]

The Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl despite a surge by the San Francisco 49ers following a 34-minute break in the game caused by power outage.

So I sent to play FIFA 13 at halftime and during the power outage, then I checked back in to the game to see the Niners were suddenly within two points. What the heck?

[Old Man With Candy]

It's very simple. Alex Smith was the invisible man. Since no-one was paying the slightest attention to him, he snuck into the electricals room and threw the breaker.

A true team player.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some Republicans want to see Mitt Romney's wife Ann or his eldest son Tagg run in the special election for Senate in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has binders full of Romneys.

[sarcasmic]

Mick Jagger's daughter ain't that bad looking. Now if she could only fix her teeth.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....z2Jw2rvyBx

[Way Of The Crane]

How cute... she has her daddy's gap-toothed smile

[Mainer2]

I've been looking forward to your opinion of the GoDaddy ad with Bar Rafaeli. Tell the truth, you're thinking a jew-fro might be a good look ?

[sarcasmic]

I don't have enough hair to make a fro.

[Brett L]

All the women in attendance at the party I attended were "Ewww. No fucking way!" All the guys were thinking, "That guy just got paid to do something I'd do for free."

[JW]

How the fuck can someone that loaded not get orthodontia?

[invisible furry hand]

she's too rich to care. With that cash she could look like Willie Nelson and still get pkenty of action

[sarcasmic]

She's British.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Can orthodontia actually fix a gap tooth?

Is fixing the gap tooth worth that much radical dental work if it can?

[Enough About Palin]

That power outage was on purpose. The NFL got a closer contest and CBS got 34 minutes to run million dollar ads.

[Bam!]

Because I think a power outage is the most interesting thing that could happen during a football game, I actually watched during that portion, and don't really remember any/many ads during the outage. Only the initial ad they cut away to after the announcer booth lost power.

I suspect there's something in the contracts that required the ads to run during under specific conditions.

[robc]

Im pretty sure they didnt run ads because the advertisers would have thrown a fit for being shown during non-game time.

[Rasilio]

Not to mention they had a set number of ad slots sold and basically none in reserve, where the heck were they going to come up with the extra ads?

I mean they could have rerun some of them for free, but which ones? Run the Budwiser ones but not the Ford ones and you have a lawsuit on your hands.

There really was no way for them to use that time to stick in bonus advertising, forget make extra money off those ads.

[nicole]

First they imprison you, then they try to take the fruits of your coerced labor:

A proposal by the Prince George's County Board of Education to copyright work created by staff and students for school could mean that a picture drawn by a first-grader, a lesson plan developed by a teacher or an app created by a teen would belong to the school system, not the individual.

Oh, it's okay, they didn't mean it:

Questioned about the policy after it was introduced, Jacobs said it was never the board's "intention to declare ownership" of students' work.

"Counsel needs to restructure the language," Jacobs said. "We want the district to get the recognition .?.?. not take their work."

[generic Brand]

"We want the district to get the recognition .?.?. not take their work."

Oh, well that makes it better.

/sarc

[Way Of The Crane]

My employer takes ownership of everything I write; the difference is: they pay me.

[Rich]

"Works created by employees and/or students specifically for use by the Prince George's County Public Schools or a specific school or department within PGCPS, are properties of the Board of Education even if created on the employee's or student's time and with the use of their materials," the policy reads.

Emphasis added. A-holes.

Obviously the solution is to take the approach of the FDA "These statements" BS. Every student should scrawl across every "work" the following: "This work is specifically NOT for use by the Prince George's County Public Schools or a specific school or department within PGCPS."

[Pro Libertate]

Where's the consideration for the work-made-for-hire claim? Also, when did the kids negotiate this, exactly?

That's a taking.

[nicole]

Props to WaPo for talking to people who basically recognize that:

Peter Jaszi, a law professor with the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic at American University, called the proposal in Prince George's "sufficiently extreme."

Jaszi said the policy sends the wrong message to students about respecting copyright. He also questioned whether the policy, as it applies to students, would be legal.

He said there would have to be an agreement between the student and the board to allow the copyright of his or her work. A company or organization cannot impose copyright on "someone by saying it is so," Jaszi said. "That seems to be the fundamental difficulty with this."

Cahn said he understands the board's move regarding an employee's work, but he called the policy affecting the students "immoral."

"It's like they are exploiting the kids," he said.

[Way Of The Crane]

He said there would have to be an agreement between the student and the board to allow the copyright of his or her work.

I'm sure the county's reasoning was that as members of civilized society, the students and their parents agreed to be forced to pay for and attend their schools, and as a result, agreed to this.

[nicole]

I mean, it does scream "social contract," doesn't it?

[JW]

I'm sure the county's reasoning was that as members of civilized society,

You've never been to PG County before, have you?

[Way Of The Crane]

Actually, I'm right across the Potomac from there.

Do you mean to tell me that all of PG county doesn't look like the National Harbor?

[Enough About Palin]

He said there would have to be an agreement between the student and the board to allow the copyright of his or her work.

So minors can enter contracts now?

[Pro Libertate]

That's potentially another problem.

[Brett L]

even if created on the employee's or student's time and with the use of their materials

They've tried to insert this clause in every programming employment contract I've ever negotiated. I tell them I won't sign while that's there. I think I've had one "we can't take that out".

[Pro Libertate]

It's a little different when it's part of your employment agreement, but how enforceable that would be outside the scope of your work is another question.

[BigT]

These kids are required by law to go to school and then forced to give their rights to the school district? Is slavery in fashion again?

[Pro Libertate]

I was talking about the job scenario. It's complete bullshit with the kids, like I said above.

[sarcasmic]

Asteroid to make pass inside communication satellites' orbit.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....z2Jw2rvyBx

[Restoras]

Wish I could alter the course enough to strike Andy-boy Cuomo.

[WTF]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be Iran's first astronaut.

I thought they already sent a mokey into space?

[WTF]

mokey = monkey

[Rich]

*We* probably have.

[sarcasmic]

Russian Loch Ness monster.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z2Jw2rvyBx

[Way Of The Crane]

Looks like Sasquatch.

[sarcasmic]

The scariest looking female fitness guru I've ever seen. John?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....z2Jw2rvyBx

[SugarFree]

Nothing says fitness like giant breast implants.

[invisible furry hand]

"fit" is English slang to describe a sexually attractive female, funnily enough

[SugarFree]

Just who do you think you are talking to, lady? I've seen The Inbetweeners, thankyouverymuch.

[invisible furry hand]

but how much did you understand? Or were there American subtitles?

[SugarFree]

I do OK with British accents and slang. I'm not a BBC whore, but I watch a lot of British television.

[invisible furry hand]

I'm not a BBC whore

So you won't do anything for a boxset of Rev? That is strangely comforting to know

[SugarFree]

There is an American phenomena, especially in college towns, where Prime Assholes sniff and say they don't have a TV, and Secondary Assholes admit grudgingly to having a TV, but claim to only watch British shows on it. Tertiary Assholes watch American shows in addition, as long as they aren't on broadcast channels.

[Brett L]

Huh. I watch FX first run pretty exclusively now that Breaking Bad is dead. I'm not a huge fan of Walking Dead, but AMC is pretty quality. My guilty pleasure is Raising Hope, although that really peaked in the first season.

[Way Of The Crane]

Do Benny Hill and Monty Python still count as British Television?

[John]

Yes Way of the Crane they do.

[Tim]

In the 70's or 80's National Lampoon coined the term "pumper nipples", it comes to mind.

[SugarFree]

What does rye bread have to do with this?

[Tim]

The bit was a parody of restaurant placemats. "Can you identify your waitress's from these popular breast types". It was hilarious when I was 13.

[SugarFree]

Don't dignify my lame pun with a serious answer. I sicken even myself.

[Tim]

I was kinda hopin somebody had a link, that it was preserved out there somewhere.

[Palin's Buttplug]

National Lampoon was a treasure back then but sadly could not exist today.

The parody of Jerry Falwell was awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.....ustler.jpg

Thanks, Wikipedia.

[BigT]

Their best ever comic was Brian McConnachie's "Heading for Trouble." It was about three drunk guys in mascot costumes (Mr. Peanut, Poppin' Fresh, and the Alka Seltzer mascot Speedy).

I read every issue in the 70's, and may still have some of them around.

[Rich]

After whipping Gwyneth Paltrow into shape, it seems wise to follow Ms Anderson's workout expertise, which the actress called 'freaking awesome' Joe Flacco called 'fucking awesome'

[SugarFree]

Slate drinks deep at the oozing spigot of yellow journalism. Check out that first paragraph.

[generic Brand]

Look upon it and despair!

What does the body of a 6-year-old girl look like after a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle's high-velocity bullets rip through her? The average 6-year-old girl weighs about 44 pounds and stands around 3 feet 9 inches tall. The size of her organs and the diameters of her arteries and veins, bowel, and bones are much smaller than an adult's. But a 6-year-old girl is not a miniature adult; her organs are more vulnerable and less protected by bones. So when a high-velocity projectile like a .223-caliber bullet, traveling at approximately 2,000 miles per hour, from an assault weapon like a Bushmaster AR-15, enters her body, all hell breaks loose. If that bullet pierces her chest wall into her heart, it will cause her heart to explode, and if it passes within 3 inches of her aorta, the shockwaves will tear it open. If it slices into her arm, it will shatter her humerus into so many fragments that it will no longer be recognizable as a bone. If it spirals into her brain, the cavity and damage the bullet causes will be so extensive that her head will break apart.

Pretty sure there were some adult teachers affected just as much as the students, i.e. dead.

[John]

Always the evil AR 15. You know what a cute puppy looks like after a high velocity .357 handgun round goes through it?

Just pathetic, even for Slate.

[Drake]

If only the gunman had used a friendly hunting rifle - or a shotgun like Barry and Joe.

[generic Brand]

One of my good friends just bought an AK-47 handgun with two full magazines, a flash suppressor, and a dot-sight for about $800. It's pretty fucking sick.

[Rich]

At a show this weekend, an AR-15 was going for $2450.

[SIV]

Those Dracos were like $300 a few months ago

[Mickey Rat]

The writer's a pediatrician doing an apologia for why it is a must for physicians to ask these types of questions.

[Enough About Palin]

All the Prog sites and shows are trying to get the most bang for the buck. I mean, this shit happened in December. It's February now and they are still going at it with both barrels a'blazing.

[wareagle]

count the scare words/terms in a single line: Bushmaster, AR15, assault rifle, high-velocity bullets.

Because if someone were shot with a .22, nothing would happen. Maybe these folks should run the same test using a shotgun and criminal breaking into someone's home.

[SugarFree]

The TV report on the murder of that sniper in Texas and they said it was committed with a "semiautomatic handgun" in their best Vincent Price. My wife (who is not a gun enthusiast) asked what kind of gun that was and I told her "pretty much anything other than a revolver." I had to convince her I wasn't kidding.

[John]

And even a revolver is effectively semi-automatic. They both fire as long as you have bullets and you keep pulling the trigger.

[Zeb]

One might even argue that double action revolvers are semi-auto.

[Ted S.]

How about getting shot with a blank?

[invisible furry hand]

Not that the NRA's actions are all that great. Doctors who ask might be douchey (or might be legitimately worried about their moron patients), but curbing someone's speech is still a dick move

[John]

They are not curbing anyone's speech. They are trying to keep doctors being pricks from being medical SOP.

[invisible furry hand]

This law prohibits doctors from "making written inquiry or asking questions concerning the ownership of a firearm or ammunition by the patient or by a family member of the patient."

Which in your world doesn't curb their speech.

How about this crazy idea: doctors be free to ask whatever stupid questions they want, and patients free to take their money elsewhere?

[John]

Would you be okay if the AMA came out and said it should be SOP to ask every patient if they were gay? If not why not? Being gay does create a risk for STDs. If the anti gun nuts can do this, why can't the religious nuts declare being gay a mental illness again and make it so all doctors ask every patient about their sexual habits?

[invisible furry hand]

Can't answer that without knowing the penalties for a doctor who doesn't follow the AMA's views on SOP. What happens? Is it only relevant if there's a medical negligence claim?

[John]

It doesn't matter. It is all part of professional organizations being corrupted for political ends.

[invisible furry hand]

It does matter, because the proposed solution here is to increase the state's role in regulating speech.

If the AMA can suggest an SOP, and my doctor can choose to follow or ignore it without repercussion, fine. He can ask the question, I can tell him to stick it.

If he has no choice but to ask the question, then passing a law to force him the other way (ie to never ask the question) also infringes his rights to choose what he wants to say, just in a way that you find more palatable.

[John]

You doctor has no business asking the question. And the only way to stop the AMA from bullying him into doing so is having the government step in and make it illegal.

Sorry, if the AMA doesn't want the government stepping in, they ought to stay out of politics.

[invisible furry hand]

You doctor has no business asking the question.

So speech is free only if it's relevant?

And the only way to stop the AMA from bullying him

Which is why I asked a serious question about the consequences above - as that goes to the issue of how effective the AMA's bullying could be, and hence whether legislation is the only way to counteract it.

[Kant feel Pietzsche]

Join us next week for another installment of "Say, who's the real Scotsman here?"...

[Zeb]

You should look up "no true Scotsman". It means something different from what you think it does.

[Zeb]

I wouldn't be OK with it, but I don't think it should be against the law. I suspect that if that happened, there would soon be a new dominant medical association.

[wareagle]

how is speech being curbed? It's not my doc's business to ask about guns any more than it's the mechanic's business to know about my health.

[invisible furry hand]

because free speech means the right to ask stupid questions. You don't have to answer them.

[wareagle]

doc/patient is a power relationship. No, you don't have to answer stupid questions but how many people will not think of that?

[Way Of The Crane]

because free speech means the right to ask stupid questions. You don't have to answer them.

We're just assuming that the doctors won't take a refusal to answer the question as an affirmative, kind of like how cops view your right to remain silent or your refusal to consent to a search.

"If you have nothing to hide, just answer the question." Of course get lying to the doctor and it's a whole new can of worms.

[Zeb]

How is speech not being curbed? Someone is forbidden by law to ask certain questions.

[wareagle]

employers are prohibited by law from asking a host of questions to applicants. Yes, you can try various work arounds but point remains, asking some things means inviting a lawsuit.

A doctor is in a power position; not that many folks instantly think "none of your damn business." They just answer what they are asked. Yes, I know; bad on them. But taking advantage of your position to ask intrusive stuff is not what free speech is about.

[Zeb]

Well, I see what you mean. But I still don't think it should be criminal. I think that the big problem is people seeing doctors as authority figures at all, rather than just someone providing a service like an auto mechanic or plumber. It sucks that doctors have decided that they should be the managers of all risk factors in people's lives (even those that have nothing to do with disease, like wearing a seat belt or having guns).

[Drake]

I've been asked the same question by a Pediatrician and given the same answer.

I don't tell the doctor how to do his job and he isn't going to tell me (10 years between the Marines and Army National Guard) how to do mine.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I guess it was a dick move when I told my daughter's pediatrician that it was none of her damned business whether we had guns in the house.

[Zeb]

I'd say that was an appropriate response. Though I suppose it depends on how you said it. But you didn't curb anyone's speech. Dr. asked his question, you declined to answer. Everyone's free speech is intact.

[Brett L]

"Go fuck yourself."

[nicole]

He told her that if there was a gun in her home, it should be locked and any ammunition also locked and kept separately.

I'm so glad doctors are now being licensed as gun safety experts as well.

[John]

The gun should always be kept in a way that it is completely useless for self defense.

[tarran]

But John, if you defend yourself, think of all the homicide detectives and evidence techs and prosecutors who are deprived of a job!

[sarcasmic]

Self defense is vigilante justice!

I mean, there is no difference between shooting someone in the face as they attack you and shooting someone in the back a week after they attack you!

In both cases someone who was not a government employee used a gun, which is the definition of vigilante justice!

/derp!

[John]

A rape only lasts a few minutes, a gun death is forever.

[Proprietist]

Well, at least knife death is temporary.

[Eduard van Haalen]

John was using a joke slogan which is a parody of gun-banner thinking - albeit a plausible parody.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If by "locked and ammunition kept separately" he means, "unlocked with a full magazine and a round chambered and sitting on the table next to me" then I should be good to go.

[Slammer]

Doctor: "Do you have any guns in your home?"

Patient: "Do YOU?"

[Tim]

Ima gonna remember this. Thanks.

[SugarFree]

Doctor: "Do you have any guns in your home?"

Patient: "Only the one I masturbate with."

[invisible furry hand]

Your Hello Kitty bubble gun doesn't count, unless you then take it to school

[Eduard van Haalen]

Sure doctors should have free speech. They can say, "this isn't relevant to the practice of medicine, and I won't charge you for this question, it's simply a matter of personal curiousity, but do you you have a gun? And, what about them Ravens?"

[mr simple]

He recalled an incident in his exam room when the mother of a patient denied the presence of guns in her home. "Yes, there is," her teenage son interrupted. Unbeknownst to her, the father was keeping a loaded gun in the house. Schechtman counseled the mother on the safe storage of guns. He may have averted an episode of needless gun violence in his patient's home.

He may have saved this boys life, who knew of a gun being kept in the house and so probably would have been playing around and gone on a rampage before killing himself. There's your proof that this works, you blood-thirsty gun freaks. Why do you hate children?

[John]

What a piece of shit son. The doctor should have slapped the little ungrateful disloyal bastard.

[Fatty Bolger]

He may have averted an episode of needless gun violence in his patient's home.

Or while we're mindlessly speculating, we could also say that the doctor may have caused a divorce. Or he may have caused the the entire family to be murdered when the mother forced the father to get rid of the gun weeks before a burglary gone bad.

[mr simple]

I love the blatant way they couch the arguments in their favor:

Since the Newtown, Conn., massacre, it appears as though the NRA is weaker than it has been in decades, and gun control is finally being debated seriously. President Obama has issued 23 executive actions on gun control. But the NRA, through its friends in Congress, has many ways to block meaningful action.

It's only being debated seriously when bans are considered and by opposing the bans the NRA is blocking meaningful action. Can they be more mendacious?

[John]

And this bit

Since the Newtown, Conn., massacre, it appears as though the NRA is weaker than it has been in decades, and gun control is finally being debated seriously.

Actually the NRA's membership is booming. The NRA is stronger than it has been in decades. If anything the NRA had fallen by the wayside as people started to trust the Democrats on guns again. That whole statement is a complete lie told to rally his supporters and demoralize those on the fence. The NRA is weak you see. It is a fringe organization. You wouldn't want to support them.

The whole paragraph is mendacity at its worst.

[Restoras]

Not only that, but Newtown has since decided that armed gurads at its schools aren't such a bad idea.

[Anonymous Coward]

it appears as though the NRA is weaker than it has been in decades, and gun control is finally being debated seriously.

Wishful thinking/propaganda masquerading as "journalism."

President Obama has issued 23 executive actions on gun control.

Some of them might even be legal or justifiable.

But the NRA, through its friends in Congress, has many ways to block meaningful action.

How dare the NRA petition the government for the redress of grievances!

[bostonaod]

Astoundingly, the NRA was also responsible for a provision in the Affordable Care Act. Into this landmark health care law, NRA-backed legislators quietly inserted "Protection of Second Amendment Gun Rights." This section bans doctors, health care programs, and insurers from "collection of any information relating to the presence or storage of a lawfully possessed firearm or ammunition in the residence or on the property of an individual." This provision stifles research in gun violence, and it is so vaguely worded it could be interpreted to prohibit doctors from asking patients about guns. This provision was so alarming to the AAP and other child-advocacy groups that they wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services "vehemently" rejecting this provision in the ACA and urging the department to "craft policy" to "limit the harmful impact of this section of the Act."

You have to pass it to find out what's in it, and such.

[sarcasmic]

Itsy bitsy sailboat sailed past the water spout.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z2Jw2rvyBx

[Kaptious Kristen]

I'm back, bitchez! Oh, you didn't notice I was gone? 🙁

[Archduke Pantsfan]

yes?

[SugarFree]

I felt as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced, but I figured that just meant Warty was applying for a car loan.

[Warty]

Turned down??? WARTY SMASH!

[Way Of The Crane]

I noticed... I just assumed you were wasting your life away at Tiffany's Tavern.

[sarcasmic]

I figured you had finally gotten a real job.

[Kaptious Kristen]

All of the above

[Kaptious Kristen]

Except Tiffany Tavern. I was actually wasting my life at Prohibition Pig.

[Way Of The Crane]

So they still don't have the internet in VT yet?

[Tim]

Bill Clinton installed the first intern net in the oval office in 1992.

[Kaptious Kristen]

They have internet, but not cable TV (what kind of backwater heathen place doesn't have Bravo or AMC or HGTV, ferchrissakes.)

[generic Brand]

How'd your impromptu interview go?

[Kaptious Kristen]

It went well enough that I'm terrorized by the thought that they might offer me a job. As much as I want to live in VT, getting out of the rut, or over the hurdle, of making such a big change is scary.

[Tim]

It was ten below zero the other night and the wind blew so hard it tipped over the porta potty at the barn. You can imagine what that looked like.
If you get a chance to leave, I say take it.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Errr...I'm talking about leaving DC, going to VT! Low temps = white gold at any rate.

[Tim]

Ok, when you lay freezing to death in an overturned portolet, don't say you weren't warned.

[Zeb]

A few places in VT do have indoor plumbing, or so I hear.

[db]

Sometimes changing jobs can be wonderfully energizing. Good luck!

[invisible furry hand]

People usually don't have the balls to do it. You should do it - you will at least have bragging rights. And not just because we want a maple syrup connection

[Kaptious Kristen]

I can totally hook you up - my Ma used to bring an empty milk gallon to the barber and my Pa would bring it home full when he went in for a cut.

[invisible furry hand]

Excellent! When the dentists and obesity lobby finally get it banned, you can stand on the corner with little sachets, softly calling out its street name, whatever that is

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Various "street names" for maple syrup include: mape, surp, sweet, sap, tree, tree juice, Aunt Jemima, Jemima, auntie, pancake, waff, waffles, and floon.

[nicole]

You forgot "sizzurp of the forest."

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Sizzurp of the forest? That's that high-quality shit that only rock stars, supermodels, and politicians can afford. It's definitely not the schwag Kristen would be slanging on the street corner.

[Kaptious Kristen]

tree blood, sweet blood, tree piss, tree cum.

[Zeb]

"tree cum"

That happens a little later and covers your car with yellow dust.

[NeonCat]

"O Canada"

[Zeb]

Nah. Maple syrup is like the fancy coffee of sugar. It's OK because it is expensive, unlike HFCS or Monster energy drink.

[Enough About Palin]

"Juice"

[Ted S.]

Cross-dressing mechanic elected to parliament in Liechtenstein.

[invisible furry hand]

no pictures!

[Way Of The Crane]

Perv!

[Way Of The Crane]

Seriously though.... I was thinking the same thing.

[Mickey Rat]

We need to know if he's blond and pissed.

[Rich]

Cross-dressing mechanic

Nice band name.

[Mickey Rat]

"Banker and previous VU parliamentarian Harry Quaderer heads the Independents, whose website claims they are not a party.

Their platform covers a broad range of sometimes seemingly conflicting issues, including providing affordable housing, not raising taxes and balancing the state budget"

They have a "head" and a platform, how are they not a party? Is it like Starfleet is not a military?

[Jerry on the boat]

Maybe they don't have a party-line regarding parliamentary votes.

[John]

http://theothermccain.com/2013.....ate-donor/

Apparently it is very good business to be the guy who provides Bob Menendez with his underage hookers. A billion dollars good.

[Ted S.]

"Hookergate"?

I'm sick and tired of the fucking -gate suffix.

[John]

Me too. Call it what it is, Democratic Senator from New Jersey turns out to be a kiddy didler.

[Ice Nine]

OK, OK, Kiddydiddlergate.

[VG Zaytsev]

Call it what it is.

Dem pol business as usual.

[Restoras]

I'd go with all pol biz as usual. The only difference between Republican and Democrat here is the Republican would have been forced to resign by now.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I have a friend that works for him. Her Facebook profile pic is her holding a Menendez yard sign. People inside the political game seriously have no shame. Or are suffering from massive cognitive dissonance.

[Matrix]

I had the perfect body and I hated it

Alternate title: Women are never satisfied.

[Way Of The Crane]

Or: There is not cure for low self-esteem.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Wingnuts turn on Sports Illustrated citing anti-religion "liberal bias".

http://pjmedia.com/andrewklava.....scription/

[Drax the Destroyer]

Hit N' Run commentariat doesn't give a shit about Sports Illustrated . Footage at 11.

[Restoras]

This sock is getting lamer by the day. Well done, commentariat.

[sloopyinca]

Cop busted on video stealing from a home he had been sent to check on. I guess it took them five months to review the video evidence and charge him. Either way, I'm sure it was the first time he'd done anything like this and the judge really needs to give him a break. Because, you know, it's a stressful job and stuff.

[sarcasmic]

She pointed to a village website that says the average salary of a patrol officer is about $122,000, which includes a base salary of $83,767 with benefits.

Those poor, poor, underpaid police officers, resorting to theft to support their families. What a shame.

[Jerry on the boat]

Five months of billable hours...

[John]

http://pjmedia.com/andrewklava.....scription/

Has anyone else noticed how liberals seem to have an extra hard on about Ray Lewis? Now I think Lewis is a clown who was guilty of obstruction of justice (though not murder). But in the pantheon of sports clowns he is a bigger clown than average but hardly unprecedented. Yet, every liberal friend I know, even ones who don't pay much attention to the NFL normally, seems to have a stick up their ass about Lewis. I am left to wonder if they would be so angry about a 12 year old murder case if it wasn't for Lewis' "God led us to victory" shtick, which is another thing that is hardly new or unique to Lewis.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Not surprisingly, you missed the point of the article (which I posted 3 minutes before you did).

Maybe you wingnuts can start Sports for Conservatives and embiggen that bubble you live in.

[John]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weu-R_bgmU4

[Warty]

As long as people hate Ray Lewis, I'm OK with whatever rationale they like.

[NoVAHockey]

The Post ran a story that was just bizarre. They found the dead guy's mom and tried to manufacture sympathy, but it didn't' really work. the reporter even drove her out to the grave to document it. it was just odd.

[Mike M.]

It's becoming more apparent by the day that left wing America-haters (but I repeat myself) have put the entire sport of football itself squarely in the crosshairs and are targeting it for major government regulation, if not total elimination. See shithead Steve Chapman's gleeful piece on this themse from a little while ago.

[John]

Yup. Anything unacceptable people enjoy must be destroyed. It is all they know how to do.

[Zeb]

Uh-huh. Because there aren't any liberal football fans.

I rather think that it is a genuine intention to protect people from harm (along with the NFL not wanting to get sued by all the retired players). Which is just about as bad when it is about risks that people willingly take on.

[VG Zaytsev]

The Cosmos will get on board if they frame it as an 'equality' issue.

[Zeb]

The entire Cosmos? That is impressive.

[SugarFree]

Zeb? Have you ever seen The Universe drink a glass of water?

[VG Zaytsev]

The entire Cosmos?

All 32 of them.

[R C Dean]

Has anyone else noticed how liberals seem to have an extra hard on about Ray Lewis?

Racism, straight up.

[Rasilio]

I don't know that it is just liberals who have a thing about Lewis.

My brother, who thinks Billy Graham is too liberal, has been ranting for 3 weeks about how horrible it is that ESPN is promoting a murderer like Ray Lewis.

Personally I find Lewis to be a brilliant inspirational speaker and his god talk aside an exceptional role model for the way he turned his life around.

[John]

I don't mind him. No one ever worked harder than Lewis.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I've seen plenty of liberals loving on Ray Lewis the last month or so. They're all from Baltimore, though.

What I'm puzzled by is why Ray Lewis is seen as some sort of idol, and OJ is vilified. They both got away with murder, except OJ was actually tried and acquitted, whereas Ray plead down and was convicted of a lesser charge.

[Rasilio]

Actually this is not the case at all.

First off, Multiple people not associated with Ray Lewis testified that he acted as a peacemaker at the confrontation and did not have a knife on him.

Second the 2 guys who did have and use knives were acquited of murder on self defense grounds because, again according to ALL of the eyewitness testimony the 2 guys who ended up dead started the fight and attacked Lewis's group by hitting one of them over the head with a glass bottle.

In otherwords, it was a couple of 2 bit thugs trying to make a name for themselves by picking a fight with the big time football star and things didn't work out quite the way they planned. I suppose it is arguable that Lewis's buddies should have served time for Manslaughter because of the asymetrical use of force, but the DA decided to go for murder charges and it was a pretty clear cut case of Self Defence on that front.

[The Late P Brooks]

But when he got to Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, U.S. customs agents learned of a marijuana possession conviction in Vancouver in 1981 and told him he was not allowed to enter the country.

"I had two grams of cannabis. I paid a $50 fine," Wilkinson told CBC news.

Wilkinson said he was 19 when he was busted.

What are the chances our NEW! IMPROVED! universal background check system will result in thousands of gun purchase denials based on thirty year old minor pot possession (or similar bullshit) convictions?

And somebody yesterday (all those morons start to sound alike, after a while) was bleating about how we need to criminalize illicit attempts to purchase firearms; that is to say, anybody who flunks the background check should be ARRESTED.

[Ted S.]

What are the chances our NEW! IMPROVED! universal background check system will result in thousands of gun purchase denials based on thirty year old minor pot possession (or similar bullshit) convictions?

Surely you realize this is precisely the point.

[R C Dean]

You can already be denied (or prosecuted for perjury) if you have a medpot card, with absolutely zero basis for concluding that you have ever actually used it or smoked pot.

But, a lifetime of guzzling meth derivatives (ADHD drugs) and anti-depressants (with a proven risk of making some people go batshit and shoot up crowds of schoolchildren or mallgoers) - no prob.

[sloopyinca]

21 counts in a rape indictment will get you paid leave while you're in jail.*

*It must be his days off from work, hence there are no unexcused absences.

[invisible furry hand]

it says he was immediately fired upon being charged

[sloopyinca]

I rarely read the headlines, and the story said he was put on leave with pay. My mistake.

[invisible furry hand]

thought you might have linked to another rapist cop story with a different outcome. You always have so many

[Kreel Sarloo]

Actually, the story says that he was put on paid leave as soon as the complaint was lodged (Jan 22).

He was fired as soon as he was arrested (last week), IE, as soon as it was determined that the complaint had merit.

[John]

http://www.thegatewaypundit.co.....n-college/

How long before we have that long needed national conversation about post modern and anti-colonial scholarship? How many more people need to die before we enact common sense college course control?

[Way Of The Crane]

I'm sure he would have passed what ever background check we put him through. Maybe we should have limited his semester's credit hours to 7. I bet that would have done the trick.

[Matrix]

I don't even remember this story. Was it all over the national news? Is this being charged as a hate crime?

[John]

It was a one day story when it happened. Nothing since. If the guy had so much as attended a Tea Party, it would be a 24-7 story ever since then.

[Zeb]

"Mass Shooter" seems like a bit of hyperbole if he shot 3 people, killing only one.

But that certainly is a conversation that academia needs to have.

[sloopyinca]

I guess we found out if it's legal for a cop to ask people to hand over their prescription drugs to him without a warrant. Hint: it isn't. Now we just need to see if the same applies to records of prescriptions and third parties.

The officer is currently serving a vacation.

[Ted S.]

Officer Pavo already appeared in court. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to undergo drug testing.

You mean government agents aren't forced to submit to drug testing as a matter of course? God knows they want to inflict it upon everybody else.

[R C Dean]

Now we just need to see if the same applies to records of prescriptions and third parties.

It may be valid under search and seizure law, but if the pateint is a suspect, its not legal under HIPAA without a warrant or subpoena, unless:

(1) It is to be used to identify or locate the suspect (unlikely, for pharmacy records);
(2) It relates to a crime committed on the premises (unlikely, unless the pharmacist was defrauded in some way); or
(3) It is required (not authorized, required) by state law. State courts notoriously get this one wrong, and allow disclosures that are merely authorized but not required by state law. State laws on controlled substance disclosure are all over the map.

[The Late P Brooks]

How about this crazy idea: doctors be free to ask whatever stupid questions they want, and patients free to take their money elsewhere?

"Do you have guns in your home?"

"None of your fucking beeswax."

"Hmmmm. Anger issues. Lack of respect for authority figures. Poorly developed social skills. Poor impulse control."

[sarcasmic]

Obviously a danger to himself and others. Better call Big Sis.

[nicole]

You forgot "Time to call CPS."

[NoVAHockey]

that's actually, maybe not a fear, but a concern of mine. more to do with school and PTA nonsense when my son gets older.
ideally, we won't be in public school.

[R C Dean]

Probably the safest course, if you have kids, is to simply lie. You're not under oath after all.

And then change doctors.

[sloopyinca]

Ohio family settles police abuse case that was brought about when a cop thought their special needs kid didn't give him the proper respect. The cop then chased the boy home and shot him in the back with a tazer and proceeded to beat him with batons.

The kid wasn't suspected of any crime and was not being detained when he chose to ride his bike home and ask his mother to speak to the police for him. The officers were not charged in the case.

[John]

I am surprised Dunphy didn't already link that as an example of good police practice.

[sarcasmic]

Don't turn your back to a police officer and go away without expecting a good beating. That's just one step short of answering your door with a gun in your hand (which is a crime punishable by death).

[Andrew S.]

Anyone who has done nothing wrong who rides their bike away from a police officer is an idiot who deserves what's coming to them.

And if you'll excuse me, now I have to go puke after writing that sentence.

[bostonaod]

A report exonerated Hooper and Howard of any wrongdoing.

Oh, well then okay

[sloopyinca]

This is one fucked up love triangle. Deputy charges woman with arson. He proceeds to have a sexual relationship with her. Her husband, another Sheriff's Office employee files for divorce and lists her adultery with the other cop in the divorce papers. No charges are filed except for the arson, as it's apparently not illegal to initiate a sexual relationship with someone you have charged with a felony.

[John]

Watch the documentary Cocaine Cowboys 2 sometime. It is about a Colombian woman who was one of the original cocaine kings back in the early 70s. She walked away from a huge federal drug case because one of the secretaries at the Miami US attorney's office (the wife of a Miami Dade Cop) had an affair with the star witness against her. I am quite sure it was just love and the cop and his wife were not on the take from the Columbia drug gangs or anything.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Bush's Brain (Karl Rove) declares war on the Tea Party.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/rov.....g=politics

Hilarious.

[John]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weu-R_bgmU4

[VG Zaytsev]

Stop posting clips from MSNBC.

[The Late P Brooks]

The kid wasn't suspected of any crime and was not being detained when he chose to ride his bike home

The baboon is hardwired to view flight as the behavior of a prey species.

[sloopyinca]

Settlement reached with man arrested for saying "Don't forget your constitutional right to remain silent." while cops arrest another man in 2011. The court threw out the charge against him. No word on whether or not the officer was charged with wrongful arrest, assault or excessive force. And it's also safe to assume he won't be responsible for the $43,000, but rather the taxpayers will be.

[XTSee]

Jesus, you and your tiresome crusade are tiresome.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

What exactly is tiresome about pointing out the daily abuse of the citizenry, and the abuse of power and privilege that law enforcement and the courts perpetuate?

[Eduard van Haalen]

Which of Jesus' crusades do you mean?

[NoVAHockey]

sloopy - i think you were asking about this case.
suspiscious vechince check ended in a death -- officer gets 3 years.
http://tinyurl.com/az4fx9j

[sloopyinca]

Thanks. Yeah, I saw that over the weekend and sent it to Riggs. He said he was going to do a bit of research and post something today.

I'm curious where the civil suit is headed now that her husband has died and her estate is continuing the case.

[Caleb Turberville]

I'm not that hateful towards Ray Lewis; I just think he's been passed his prime for about a decade now, and that more than a handful of his most recent Pro Bowls have been on reputation alone.

(Not that I don't think a few other middle linebackers like Derrick Thomas and Junior Seau got by on reputation in their waning years.)

[John]

He is still effective, just hasn't been a star.

[Caleb Turberville]

I wonder if one would consider John Elway passed his prime in 1997 and 1998. I just looked at his stats from those seasons, and they look kind of good for 37-38 year old:

1997: att 502 comp 280 yards 3,635 td 27 int 11 rush att 50 yards 218 avg 4.4 td 1

1998: att 356 comp 210 yards 2,806 td 22 iny 10 rush att 37 yards 94 avg 2.5 td 1

They're not flashing (especially 1998), but they were damned efficient. The league hadn't yet become the pass-happy league it became in the 00s, and the true star of the Denver Broncos in the late 90s was Terrell Davis. But Elway managed to find a way to put up some of the prettiest stats of his career.

[The Late P Brooks]

Bush's Brain (Karl Rove) declares war on the Tea Party.

Oh, no!

And I always had such respect and admiration for him.

[Mickey Rat]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_.....most_viral

"...maybe the least attractive aspect of this commercial, and GoDaddy's ad campaign in general, is the participation of auto racing driver Danica Patrick. Why does Patrick, the most successful female driver based not on buzz but on actual skill, undermine her real chops in a male-dominated sport by working with those schmucks at GoDaddy, renting out her gender to provide the company cover for whatever foolishness is happening on screen?"

[invisible furry hand]

because girlfriend needs to get paid.

[John]

Maybe she enjoys being hot and showing it?

[Mickey Rat]

She was wearing her racing suit in that commercial, Patrick was only hot under rule 34 in that spot.

[John]

She is still cute even in the suit. And she has done other commercials where she was wearing less. I think she likes having that image. How dare a woman choose to be sexy!!

[R C Dean]

For a full dose of Patrick's hotness, don't miss the Sports Illo photo shoot. Yowza.

[Mickey Rat]

She's still pretty, but I draw a distinction between that and "hot". The suit is rather shapeless.

[sloopyinca]

What will the protected class in Philadelphia do when sent to traffic court, now that nine judges have been charged with corruption for ticket manipulation?

[John]

I bet a lot of powerful people are sweating it out this morning. How long before the "these people got their tickets fixed" list comes out?

[AuH2O]

And while regular police brutality might not be enough for a revolt, something as mundane as ticket fixing might be.

People tend to be able to easily digest small corruption- the corruption that our government regularly engages in is often simply to large to fathom so people shut down. Add that to the fact that traffic tickets are a universally reviled cost of civilization, and I could see more politicians losing their jobs over this than any bankruptcy or horrific mismanagement could ever do.

[Spoonman.]

Ugh. I despise everything about Philadelphia.

Great for a tour of falling-down buildings of vintages from the 1800s and beyond, though.

[sloopyinca]

California DOJ helicopter used to deliver football to officer's son during homecoming football game, and the commentators over at PoliceOne think "civilians" should shut their mouth about it.

Yeah, it's not like the taxpayers have a right for their money to be spent wisely or anything. Hovering over a high school football game and tossing a football to your kid is both safe, cost-effective and a wise use of resources, dumbasses.

[John]

The price for running a helicopter is around $5000 an hour. How dare people complain about misuse of such.

[Andrew S.]

I really need to stop coming to Reason in the mornings. I know I don't post much, but I read, and between the main post links and the links posted in the comments, I spend the whole day angry. Blah.

[AuH2O]

Why Feminists are so angry:

It's not that I'm angry.I'm exhausted.The war on reproductive health and autonomy feels absolutely never-ending.In 2011, there was a record number of anti-choice laws enacted across the states and in 2012, we saw more than forty new state laws restricting women's access to abortion.

The restrictions ranged from TRAP laws and ultrasound mandates to waiting periods and mandatory counseling?all of which end up hurting the most marginalized women in the US by making legal medical care more costly and harder to get.So while I'm thrilled that we're celebrating Roe's fortieth anniversary?if women can't access abortion, then it's not really legal for all of us.

If the Hyde Amendment still exists, then Roe doesn't mean anything for the woman who can't afford care.And if one woman in Texas can't get the care she needs, then Roe isn't fulfilling its promise

...

So it's not that I'm angry.It's that I'm shocked.Shocked at the extreme lengths some legislators will go to to limit women's reproductive freedom

..

I'm shocked that in 2012, that there could actually be a controversy over birth control?something that we thought was a done deal decades ago. I'm shocked that in one county in North Carolina, the county board of commissioners unanimously voted to turn down a state grant that would cover birth control.

[John]

If even one woman has to take responsibility for her actions, Roe has lost all its meaning.

[R C Dean]

The war on reproductive health and autonomy feels absolutely never-ending.

Most of that war, over the past decade at least, has been around forcing other people to pay for your recreational and lifestyle choices.

Get your hand out of other people's pockets, and they might not be so pissy about your hobbies.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Their mistake is thinking this issue now, at it's core, is a war on "reproductive health." As Dean said, stop making religious sex-starved(being dick here, yes) people pay for the slutacular "liberation" of women. They don't like it.

I couldn't care less who fucks what and how as long as I don't have to pay for it. When you get out the guns, and cross that line, THEN you've got an issue.

[Mickey Rat]

It is not a "mistake". It is deliberate propaganda. They want to conflate gains in a negative into creating a positive right.

[Drax the Destroyer]

I think it's deliberate for those who get on MSNBC and talk about the neverending KULTUR WAR. For those deluded quims commenting on the likes of Jezebel, I think they honestly do not know the difference between allowing women to scramble half-formed almost people in their guts and making other people pay for it against their will. Then again, the red runs strong in those circles so I'm sure they don't care about the difference.

As usual, we be fucked.

[Zeb]

Yeah, sadly a lot of people really fall for it. Someone I know earnestly told me before the election that republicans wanted to disenfranchise women by making abortion illegal. People are ready to believe some stupid shit.

[Kreel Sarloo]

I love the claims that Republicans want to ban contraception and make rape legal.

Still, the mandatory ultrasound law that Florida (and some other states) has passed is totally bogus since, it does, in fact, impose an unnecessary expense on women seeking abortions and is clearly intended to make abortions harder to get.

[Way Of The Crane]

The war on reproductive health and autonomy feels absolutely never-ending.In 2011, there was a record number of anti-choice laws enacted across the states and in 2012, we saw more than forty new state laws restricting women's access to abortion.

How long has "reproductive health" been a synonym for abortion? In my mind the phrase implies "healthy pregnancies and child birth. Granted, I'm sure having it performed in a hospital by a professional is "healthier" than with a coat hanger in some "back alley" (those dumpsters are filthy), but can we stop renaming these things and just call it abortion?

[Drax the Destroyer]

I do think "reproductive health" could also encompass contraception, but paying for a condom is actually affordable and even most deadbeats should be able to shell-out for box as opposed to abortions which should (according to them) be paid for by people dumb enough to save their money and delay their gratification---hence, why contraception rides in the backseat.

[R C Dean]

"Gun safety" is to gun control as "reproductive health" is to abortion.

I'm sure examples can be multiplied ad nauseum.

[db]

Don't you dare call for a National Conversation on common sense restrictions on the sacred right to publicly funded abortions, now.

[Bam!]

Why men are angry: Feminists.

[nicole]

I'm shocked that in 2012, that there could actually be a controversy over birth control?something that we thought was a done deal decades ago.

It pretty much was a done deal, until people like you tried to change the deal by making other people pay for it.

[invisible furry hand]

why do you hate women nicole?

[nicole]

Because a bunch of them created a fucking controversy about some shit that was a done deal, and make it look like people who support actual access to these things are all slavers.

[XTSee]

Guilt by association? Why do you care if it doesn't pertain to you? Only collectivists judge individuals by their sex or race or religion, etc. Why do you care what collectivists think?

[AuH2O]

Someone needs to redo a feminist rant like this from the perspective of Darth Vader.

"I'm exhausted. I'm tired of fighting people like Lando Calrisian, who don't accept that Cloud City would be better off under the benevolent rule of the Empire."

[Kreel Sarloo]

I'm stilling waiting for a complete list of Republican candidates who are in favor of making contraception illegal and rape legal.

[The Late P Brooks]

a lifetime of guzzling meth derivatives (ADHD drugs) and anti-depressants (with a proven risk of making some people go batshit and shoot up crowds of schoolchildren or mallgoers) - no prob.

Something tells me (laPierre's whining about the intransigence of the evil "medical lobby" aside) that will soon be a thing of the past. I suspect everybody who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants will end up on the No-Buy List.

[Drax the Destroyer]

What about those poor fools who were prescribed anti-depressants for their "side-effects"/ancillary effects? Most likely a minority, but I doubt they'll be exempt like Unions under Obamacare.

[AuH2O]

Yeah, we're going to get a boring drug-pushing government like in Equilibrium not a cool one like Brave New World.

BTW, doesn't Brave New World now seem like the wet dream of a current former 60s radical, such as Steinem or Jesse Jackson or Pelosi or whomever? Its a society full of sex and drugs, but also perfectly controlled and ordered by TOP MEN. It seems like a proggie fantasy.

[nicole]

anti-depressants (with a proven risk of making some people go batshit and shoot up crowds of schoolchildren or mallgoers)

Does that mean we can disband the FDA yet?

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I suspect everybody who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants will end up on the No-Buy List.

Gee, I wonder if there are any unintended consequences to that.

[The Late P Brooks]

the most successful female driver based not on buzz but on actual skill

Does that include Marco Andretti?

[Kaptious Kristen]

What about Michael Waltrip?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Oh. Snap!

[AuH2O]

Horrifying tale of an OB-GYN "Fat Shaming" her patient:

...When I went to my doctor in December and mentioned to her that my husband and I would be trying for baby #2, she immediately told me that I should lose a little weight because I was carrying a little too much and that it would help me get pregnant.

I felt terrible about that for several weeks. I have been trying to get back to my personal ideal weight of around 135 since baby #1, and it's been a struggle, even though I pretty easily got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 150. I also resented the fact that she brought up my weight when talking about pregnancy since my husband and I have never had any problems with fertility. (Three pregnancies within a month of starting to try, with one healthy baby, one miscarriage and my current pregnancy). I weighed about 150 pounds all three times. My doctor was basing her comment on absolutely nothing that had to do with me, as she doesn't know my eating habits (very nutritious) or my exercise habits (I run 12 to 20 miles per week).

[AuH2O]

Capper:

I sobbed in my car for 10 minutes and I am now feeling like I'm doing nothing right. I have already switched doctors, but this woman's bugaboo about weight (when again, she knows NOTHING about my level of cardio health, nutrition, etc) has really hurt me and made what should be a joyful time stressful and unhappy.

[Zeb]

For fuck's sake. One person suggesting that losing a little weight is enough to set her sobbing. If she is in good shape like she says she is, just ignore it.

[Drax the Destroyer]

I wouldn't be surprised if she is from the leading edge of the "Everybody-gets-a-trophy!" generation.

[Way Of The Crane]

Her real beef is that her doctor looks better in a bathing suit than her.

[John]

Depending on how tall she is 150 is really that bad for an over 30 mom. Could she be thinner? Sure. Is she all that physically? No but most over 30 moms aren't. But she is not morbidly obese or so fat that she deserves shit from her doctor.

[sarcasmic]

Shorter John: "I'd fuck her."

[Zeb]

How did I know that was coming?

[SugarFree]

5'4", 153 pounds. 26.2 BMI, which is slightly overweight. That's probably all the doctor was going on.

(Yes, yes, everyone. BMI! Harglebargle!)

Also: My doctor was basing her comment on absolutely nothing that had to do with me, as she doesn't know my eating habits (very nutritious) or my exercise habits (I run 12 to 20 miles per week).

Cool story, bro.

[Mickey Rat]

How is your doctor advising you on what your ideal weight should be a cause for resentment? That would seem to be part of the job.

The doc may be wrong about what the ideal weight is, but that is a different issue.

[AuH2O]

Oh, I fucking hate doctors, and in most of my encounters with them I walk away going, "Yes, asshole, of course we should run 50 miles a day and subsist on quinoa and kale. I know that. Now, because I live in the real world, I sometimes have a fucking cheeseburger when I'm not supposed to."

But I don't whine about my doctor fat shaming me. I just figure that they are a non-surgeon, and therefore cut from some cloth of assholishness.

...

I mean, Groovus, you and your gf have a pass, but it doesn't extend beyond that.

[SugarFree]

When they tell me I need to lose weight, I have to fight the urge to look down, let out a scream and starting ranting about how "they" switched my body.

[invisible furry hand]

I have to fight the urge

Why fight it? What is it with the kowtowing to doctors on this thread today?

[SugarFree]

Because I have a pretty good relationship with them at this point. It's very hard to find a doctor that can handle both my medical knowledge (without considering me a hypochondriac) and my sense of humor.

For example, not many docs would bend over laughing at "Go easy on my ear canal, doc. It hasn't seen much action lately."

[invisible furry hand]

if they can handle your sense of humour then they can handle the little prank you describe above.

I asked a surgeon about to operate on me if he was drunk. "No. "Well why not?". He laughed.

[R C Dean]

When I had my eyes lasered, I was doped up on something (forget what), but still conscious. When the doc pulls up to do the work, I asked him "What's my name?"

He chuckled, thinking it was the drugs. I said "You aren't touching my eyes until I'm sure you've got the right patient. What's. My. Name."

He realized I was dead serious about not wanting the wrong prescription burned into my eyes.

[SugarFree]

"SAY MY NAME, BITCH!"

[EDG reppin' LBC]

A dude I used to work with got the wrong Px burned into his eyes. It sucks. Big time.

[Ed]

So we're headed toward a world where a doctor criticizing your weight is inappropriate but asking you about guns and how you store them is part of his job. Ugh.

[NeonCat]

Is it okay if the doctor asks how fat your guns are?

[mr simple]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be Iran's first astronaut.

So he signed up for the Axe contest, too?

[The Late P Brooks]

this woman's bugaboo about weight (when again, she knows NOTHING about my level of cardio health, nutrition, etc) has really hurt me and made what should be a joyful time stressful and unhappy.

If Weepy MacSobster ever actually grows a spine, she'll weigh even more. Oh, no.

[DEG]

Sometimes a glimmer of normality and sanity appears in deepest, darkest, most uncivilized New England.

Lone Pine Hunters Club to raffle 30 guns in 30 minutes

[Zeb]

Too bad the author didn't look up the definition of "assault rifle". Not surprising for the Telegraph.

[DEG]

I didn't notice that while I read the article, though I did note some sloppy use of English from the Telegraph writer. I am more interested in the raffle. I might just buy a ticket for it.

[Isaac Bartram]

We're talking New Hampshire here, not Taxachusetts or CONnecticut.

Vermont is likewise good on gun laws, in spite of it's super crunchy liberalness.

[The Late P Brooks]

What about those poor fools who were prescribed anti-depressants for their "side-effects"/ancillary effects?

I'm sure the appeals process will be streamlined and efficient, and heavily weighted toward the presumption of innocence.

You know, just like the TSA's list of known terrorists, which will also be folded into NICS, because it doesn't make any sense that terrorists who can't fly on an airplane can just waltz into Cabela's and buy bullet spewing assault weapons capable of firing thousands of rounds of ammo in seconds.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Just listened to an interview between Peter Schiff and Doug Casey. Schiff noted that his father Irwin, a convicted tax "cheat", is also branded as a terrorist. I'm not sure if he meant that in the metaphorical "de facto" terrorist-sense, or in the actual some fiefdom of government has Schiff's face plastered on a list of playing cards-sense. Either way, it's depressing and I'm sure a good portion of whipped Americans would consider Irwin an enemy of the state.

Is it too early to start injecting Wild Turkey into my eyeballs? I think not...

[Zeb]

Takes too long through the eyes. You need to try butt-chugging.

[SugarFree]

"You drink vodka with mouth?!?"

[db]

Cripes, who knows where that bottle's been.

[The Late P Brooks]

Is it too early to start injecting Wild Turkey into my eyeballs?

Never.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be Iran's first astronaut."

They can make him part of the first wave of colonization of a new planet. They can send the Iranian telephone sanitizers, too.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Very nice.

[Enough About Palin]

Doctor: Do you have any guns in your house?
Me: Would that include SAM's?