White House Predicts Sequestration Doom, Travel Ban in the Bay State, No Warning for Women Mistakenly Shot by LAPD: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: Brett Gustafson

  The White House warns that sequestration's automatic cuts in federal spending, a policy to which the president agreed with Congress, are too terrible to contemplate.

• Massachusetts residents with travel plans in mind might want to reconsider. As snow piles up, Governor Deval Patrick has ordered cars off all roads in the state, with one year in jail for violators.
• Members of Congress will once again consider a "cybersecurity" bill that would give the government access to a lot of online data. What are you hiding?
• The owner of a new gun shop in Los Gatos, California, has received death threats — from offended gun control advocates.
• Chicago police have decided that not all 911 calls are officer-worthy. They'll take their time responding if they think the victim isn't in immediate danger.
• Two women shot by panicked LAPD officers who mistook them for murderous ex-cop Christopher Dorner say they received no warning before the hail of bullets.
• What caused that game-disrupting power outage during the Super Bowl in New Orleans? As it turns out, it was a relay that had been installed to prevent power outages.

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Comments

[Enough About Palin]

WHAT?

[Professor Booty]

Say "what" again. Say "what" again, I dare you. I double dare you, motherfucker. Say "what" one more goddamn time!

[Enough About Palin]

I was just stunned to see the P.M. Links had not been commented on when I opened the link.

[Stormy Dragon]

Que?

[Jerry on the boat]

What, In the butt?

[Tonio]

You're supposed to throw out "First" then be prepared to take your lumps like a man if the squirrels are fickle.

[Mike M.]

Now they're just screwing around with F.O.E. on purpose!

[A Serious Man]

Chicago police have decided that not all 911 calls are officer-worthy. They'll take their time responding if they think the victim isn't in immediate danger.

See? Private citizens do not need a gun.

[Libertarians4Freedom]

Black mob tortures then burns woman to death for witchcraft.

But remember, they aren't shameless barbarian savages! Liberals said their culture is just as good as ours!

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2.....-in-papua/

[BakedPenguin]

Shut the fuck up, asshole.

[Episiarch]

It's a sockpuppet, ignore it.

[Gojira]

You say that about all the sockpuppets.

I haven't been able to comment much lately, but I still follow along. I think this one is Dondero. Remember he used to have a similiar handle awhile back?

[Episiarch]

DONDERROOOOOO

[KDN]

I thought this was Gregoooooooo. He had a blog by that name when I started lurking around here.

Libertarians 4 freedom are neither libertarians nor for freedom.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Greg was a Beckerhead - complete with all the Soros CT.

[Sevo]

Episiarch| 2.8.13 @ 4:39PM |#
"It's a sockpuppet, ignore it."

Pretty sure this is a sock; it posts this constantly.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, it's SugarFree when he's on opiates, but we all know that. Not really a sockpuppet per se.

[Episiarch]

I'm not really real? This is...confusing.

[Pro Libertate]

You don't think, therefore, you don't exist. Straight out of Setracsed.

[Proprietist]

Piss off, scrotemuncher.

[Enough About Palin]

I believe there are 2 m's in scrotummuncher. And maybe a hyphen?

[Brandon]

There are no M's in scrote.

[Enough About Palin]

The more you know!

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scrote?s=t

[Chris Mallory]

They are just future hard working immigrants willing to do the jobs Americans won't do, like burning witches.

[Libertarians4Freedom]

I know Chris. There's a serious lack of witch-burning going on here. And judging from the responses above, there's a worrisome number of people who are apparently OK with the practice. I call attention to it, and I'm called names. I guess it's "racist" of me to point it out when some indiginous people do something horrible.

[Virginian]

They burn someone death for witchcraft, which is stupid and barbaric. We fire a drone missile which kills 3 terrorists and 7 innocent people, and that is civilized and intelligent.

[Brandon]

It's racist of you to call an entire race shameless barbarian savages based on a singular incident, it's stupid of you to pretend that that isn't what you were doing and act aggrieved when you get called on your boring racist bullshit.

[Libertarians4Freedom]

Singular incident? Read some of the news story links. Last year in that same land a large cannibal cult was arrested en mass for consuming the brains of "witch doctors" hoping to absorb their powers.

This crap is a daily occurance in Africa. It's really quite simple: which place has a higher standard of living: literally any nation in sub-Saharan Africa, or the United States? Hell, use Canada if you want. It's been 50 years since decolonization, and the place is even more f-ed up than it was before. To put it simply: we have to examples of nations to compare side-by-side, and they have proven that they cannot rule themselves as well as European races can.

[gaijin]

"They cannot rule themselves"

Confirmation bias much?

[C. Anacreon]

I call agent provocateur.

[Brandon]

Papua New Guinea is not anywhere near Africa, dipshit.

[Gojira]

To be fair, they ARE still black. So...I guess that was his point?

[Proprietist]

Wow, indigenous Papua New Guineans are not traditionally considered "a black mob", despite their often high melanin content, by anyone except scrotemunchers like you. Obviously, you can't condemn backwards religious murder without being pointlessly racist or turning it into KULTUR/RACE WAR.

[Apatheist ?_??]

What a fucking moron. Not even in the same ballpark racially as Africans.

[Endless Mike]

Truly, a barbaric, culturally inferior people

[Brandon]

A white guy murdered a bunch of school kids a little over a month ago. People suck. You suck worse than most.

[John]

Ignore it. It is Mary with a new handle.

[Thor Cockhammer]

I believe that one is GREGGGOOOOOOOOOO!

[Gojira]

Damnit that's what I meant up there, not Dondero. What was that guy's name again (besides the obvious Greg part)?

[John]

Lonewacko?

[Enough About Palin]

I miss that fucker. He motivated Sugarfree to write moving slash/fic.

[nicole]

Moving? Well, I guess.

[BakedPenguin]

The gag reflex counts as movement, Nicole.

[Gojira]

I'm seeing a joke in that somewhere, but it's struggling to form up in my mind.

[nicole]

I decided not to steal the "30 Rock" joke that goes something like "That really moved...MY BOWELS!"

[Episiarch]

Uh, what am I, chopped liver?

Lonewhacko: the Novel

[Gojira]

...what am I, chopped liver?

You really want me to answer that?

And 30 Rock was horrible and unfunny in every way, Nicole. I just scratched you off the list of chicks I'd "do". And here I was all set to give you a limp and a smile.

[Episiarch]

nicole really is the worst, isn't she? Liking 30 Rock is about one millimeter up from liking Two and a Half Men.

[nicole]

Uh, why do you think I didn't want to use its joke?

[Episiarch]

Now you're trying to weasel out of it? Pathetic.

[Gojira]

But you know of a joke from that show, which means you have voluntarily subjected yourself at some point to either watching it, or listen to someone else describe it. And either of those things are enough to condemn you.

[nicole]

I have watched a lot of it, and that is probably the worst joke I have seen on the show.

[BakedPenguin]

What, no love for the penguin? Fuck you guys.

[BakedPenguin]

Regarding Lonewacko...

[generic Brand]

Things were better when HERCULES TRIUMVIRATE posted here.

[John]

Herc was the best troll ever.

[Jordan]

I believe it was HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINION or something like that. I miss that guy.

[generic Brand]

Thank you. I thought it might have been TRIATHLON but couldn't remember exactly.

[Thor Cockhammer]

HERCULES TRIATHLON SAVINIEN!

Get it right! He's a LEGEND!

[Pro Libertate]

I miss him greatly. Cesar was the best, and he's gone, too.

[Thor Cockhammer]

Neil, Pro'l Dib. Neil. Episiarch likens him as bona fide genius.

Crayon had a certain panache. HURR DURR!

[Pro Libertate]

Cesar was Neil.

[KDN]

I was going to say, "FEAR NOT, HERCULE HAS A BLOG!" but it's apparently been hijacked by an Indonesian spam bot.

[Gojira]

The ISRAELI-AMERICAN EMPIRE is hijacking his site to keep him from getting the truth out to the masses.

[T]

HERCULES was one of the true greats. We'll not see his like again.

[Gojira]

Herc was my fucking hero. This new crop (Chris, L4F, etc) aren't trying hard enough.

"Why are the vast majority of libertarians white people? Because minorities hate freedom!"

See, I can do it to, with no effort.

[Gojira]

Oh, and in deference to our fallen comrade: [EMPIRE]

[Thor Cockhammer]

"[CATS]! must NOT take [over]---!"

"...END OF TRANSMISSION..."

[BakedPenguin]

Oh, and CATS! HERC was awesome.

[Libertarians4Freedom]

It's easy because it's self-evidently true.

Why ARE there so few minority libertarians? Why do black people in America vote dem by overwhelming margins (and to a somewhat lesser extent, mexicans and asians?)

It's a valid question. The GOP has been running themselves ragged the last few weeks trying to figure out how to reach out to them, but it's a fools' errand. They don't WANT a limited govt, like their equally worthless counterparts, the White Liberal.

[OldMexican]

Re: Libertarians4Freedom,

Why ARE there so few minority libertarians?

Because they love slavery?

Ba-rum-rum!

It's a valid question.

Valid, yes. Relevant, not so much. But thaks for asking - how's your mother, by the way? Say "Hi!" to her from me.

The GOP has been running themselves ragged the last few weeks trying to figure out how to reach out to them, but it's a fools' errand.

Yes, and I bet they ask the same question "why are there so few libertarian minorities" with the same zeal as you do. Especially knowing how keen they are about liberarians.

[Brandon]

What's funny is Chris Mallory, who as far as I know is an actual person, agrees wholeheartedly with the ridiculous sockpuppet.

[Gojira]

That's the only thing that makes me pause in automatically assuming any poster is a sockpuppet: if other regular posters of that particular persuasion readily agree, then it might be a real person.

[Episiarch]

A sockpuppet has two purposes. The first is to get people to argue with it and waste their time. The second, but less seen one, is to get (some) people to agree with it.

[Gojira]

But if someone agrees, then how do you know it's a sock? I mean, if the opinion is clearly shared by several others who are generally accepted to NOT be socks.

[Episiarch]

All sockpuppets are patterned after real people, or they wouldn't work.

You shouldn't try to match my god-like insight and supreme grasp of this subject, JJ. It just makes you look shorter and more hirsute than you already do.

[Gojira]

...I accept this.

[OldMexican]

Re: Libertarians4Freedom,

But remember, they aren't shameless barbarian savages! Liberals said their culture is just as good as ours!

That's a lie! You are a liar, sir! Liberals never said such a blatant lie!

No, they said theirs was better than ours, you defamer!

[Heroic Mulatto]

Black mob tortures then burns woman to death for witchcraft.

Woman accused of witchcraft tortured, doused in gasoline and burned alive in Papua New Guinea

I...I...

I just don't even....

[Heroic Mulatto]

A BLACK MOB!

[R C Dean]

Two women shot by panicked LAPD officers who mistook them for murderous ex-cop Christopher Dorner say they received no warning before the hail of bullets.

I'm betting the cops didn't even hit the lights and siren before opening up. This was a pure kill on sight ambush, totally outside of any acceptable police function. They should be indicted for the full raft of charges, up to and including attempted murder.

But, I'll be surprised if anything else happens.

[John]

The tax payers of LA will pay a big settlement and the cops will go merrily on. Mistakes were made, shots were fired...

[Whahappan?]

Procedures were followed...

[Way Of The Crane]

It wasn't even the same make and model vehicle. The women were driving a Toyota Tacoma. Dorner owned a Nissan Titan. And neither woman looked like a large, armed black man from any angle.

[John]

I guess they just figured what the hell, lets shoot someone.

[Mad Scientist]

I don't see the problem. The bad guy was driving a truck. These two women were driving a truck. I mean, what are the chances?

[Death Rock and Skull]

also newspapers are scary imo

hth

[jesse.in.mb]

If there's anything I learned in school it's that any thrown item is a projectile weapon. The PD was just keeping lawns safe from the papery onslaught.

[Enough About Palin]

Isn't that pretty much what the LAPD guy on the lam was saying?

[C. Anacreon]

Hailing cats and dogs, hail the size of golf balls, hailing taxicabs,
....and now a hail of bullets.

All hail Wordsmith's noun/verb/adjective of 2013, Hail!

You know who else everyone used to hail?

[BakedPenguin]

Brutus?

[Brandon]

Caesar?

[Whahappan?]

The gang?

[John]

Miss Pennsylvania owes the Donald $5 million dollars

http://www.nydailynews.com/ent.....-1.1258527

[Enough About Palin]

Were I The Donald, I'd take payment in services. Lots and lots of services.

[John]

That is kind of what I am thinking. I am sure something could be arranged. She is spectacular.

[Episiarch]

But what if she's a Yinzer?!?

[Enough About Palin]

Tape her mouth shut. No, wait...

[A Serious Man]

You know who else is a Yinzer?

[Episiarch]

Tulpa?

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

NO!

I'm like Jane Goodall.

[Bobarian]

Hitler was a yinzer?!?

Or am I not playing the game right?

[A Serious Man]

I was thinking of a certain former Reason writer who is no longer with us.

[hamilton]

Lucy? I thought she was sent to a nice wrestling farm or something like that. (confused).

[Atanarjuat]

She looks like, as Pamela Anderson used to say, "if you put me next to a radiator, I'd melt."

[Gojira]

That's what I was thinking. I actually don't think she's that hot. It's the face that isn't doing anything for me.

[John]

I think she awesome. But I have a real thing for Semitic women.

[gaijin]

baby got back...kardashian size

[BakedPenguin]

baby got back...kardashian size

You're crazy. And this is coming from a white boy who's got to shout, IYKWIM. Miss PA is curvy, but nowhere near Kardashian ass.

[gaijin]

You're crazy.

yeah but, I dunno...'it' has the makings of a disproportionately sized boot-ay! Maybe just the angle of the pic. I think a back-to-back comparison is in order.

[Gojira]

Her body is rockin', it's just the face.

But hey, you can trot her out the next time sarc makes fun of you for only being a chubby-chaser.

[John]

I like the face. But like I said, I love Indian and Semitic women

[Gojira]

I like Bollywood Indian women. The average chick on the streets of Calcutta, not so much.

They seem to suffer from Slavic Disease, wherein they are super hot until 12:01 a.m. GMT of their 30th birthday, at which point they turn into trolls.

[Thor Cockhammer]

They seem to suffer from Slavic Disease, wherein they are super hot until 12:01 a.m. GMT of their 30th birthday, at which point they turn into trolls.

It's called THE BABOOSHKA GENE, Jimbo. UKR wimminz appear to be recessive for it and it expresses later than Russian wimminz. I put it b'twixt 35-45 when it fully expresses. (Dr. PG is slightly older than 30 and SWOON!!!!! Mat' Dr. PG has also aged very well, so Dr. PG will as well!-)

[Gojira]

I thought it was triggered by vodka.

[DesigNate]

I think you're insane, but to each their own.

[C. Anacreon]

I don't know John, "she" looks like she could be a tranny to me. Regardless of authenticity of gender, she has had a ton of surgery.

It's been quite awhile since my plastic surgery rotation in med school, but some things are always easy to spot, especially when said person is in a bikini.

Why would someone so young need so much work? She will not age well.

[nicole]

Why would someone so young need so much work?

Um, to become Miss USA? Or at least Miss PA.

[Enough About Palin]

For years I used to enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner with a former Miss Pennsylvania. I coached her kids in Gymnastics. She taught dance at the gym. Anyway, she was a beautiful, bright and charming woman and back then, they weren't all made of plastic.

[John]

All of the pageant girls get surgery. It is a sickness.

[Thor Cockhammer]

No, John, Anacreon is right. Especially the face (look at the jaw line in particular), bust, and her rump and bikini line/abdomen. She's had a lot of stuff done, and gravity will be especially unkind to her.

Her eyes and lids will be especially heavy later in life.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Mmmmm, gurl, dat azzz...

[Palin's Buttplug]

"There is no doubt we need additional revenue, coupled with smart spending reductions in order to bring down our deficit," he said. "I don't think the issue right now is raising rates."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....-cuts.html

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Obama said the government can cut health-care costs

LOL

[Brandon]

There's "no reason why we can't have really strong growth in 2013," the president said in an interview with CBS television yesterday before the network's Super Bowl broadcast.

Of course, he was talking about the government, not the economy.

[Handsome Jack]

If I can be denied a right to health care or education or a good job or not to be shot by a deranged lunatic because it imposes a duty on someone esle, how then can you support laws against murder? Against theft? Against pedophiles? Does it not impose a duty on them not to kill, not to steal, not to molest children, etc.? I think this illustrates a fundamential contradiction in the libertarian "belief" system.

FACTPWNED

[rts]

That line of, uh, "reasoning", is sadly not uncommon.

[mad libertarian guy]

No it isn't.

But it does highlight the utter stupidity of those who hold that line of thought, and it helps in being able to dismiss those who can't tell the difference between murdering someone, and not allowing the state to steal for the benefit of others.

[gaijin]

Where did this nonsense comment come from?

[CE]

Negative rights, how do they work?

[Brandon]

Wait, was he actually just making that comment? I thought, given the block quotes, he had copied it from somewhere else. Surely no one is actually stupid enough to seriously think that that is a "line of reasoning," or to call that spiel a "Fact."

[Brandon]

It's customary to post where the absurd stupidity came from, Jack.

[rts]

Mom calls 911 after daughter pocket dials from horror movie

Const. Mike Russell says Victoria's 911 communications centre received a call from a frantic mother who got a call from her daughter's cell phone and heard terrified screams.

It turned out the daughter was at a horror movie and had inadvertently called her mother.

[Episiarch]

Just one more reason to turn off phones at the theater.

[Enough About Palin]

In naming Sally Jewell as Interior secretary, President Obama lauded the REI boss as a woman who "knows the link between conservation and good jobs." Tell that to Kevin Lunny.

Mr. Lunny runs an 80-year-old California oyster business that had the bad luck decades ago of being enclosed in a federal park. On Monday, as Ms. Jewell polished her acceptance speech, a federal judge ordered the business evicted. Among the organizations working hardest to destroy the livelihood of Mr. Lunny and his 30 workers was the National Parks Conservation Association. Ms. Jewell is vice-chairman of its board.

The press is just wild about Sally, feting the president's nominee as everything to everybody. She's never held office. She's the CEO of a successful outdoor retailer. She's a woman. She started as an oil company engineer. She is a "committed conservationist." What's not to love?

Far from a creative choice, Ms. Jewell is just the newest addition to Mr. Obama's second-term team of loyal ideologues. It is in fact Ms. Jewell's (relatively unknown) history on the environmental fringe, and her liberal policy prescriptions, that surely made this an easy Obama call. The president knows he can rely on Ms. Jewell to do for the federal government exactly what she's done at an activist level: Lock up land, target industries, kill traditional jobs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....LEFTSecond

[John]

Limousine liberal green. Fuck you poor people. Get on welfare like you are told. I hike in those hills. Nasty cunt.

[Enough About Palin]

It really is obscene.

[gaijin]

Plus, her company got an Obamacare waiver according to the 24/7 headlines...it's a public-private partnership for the win!

[John]

Her conformation hearings should be quite entertaining. So why did you deprive your workers of health insurance?

[Killazontherun]

They burned the wrong witch.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...are too terrible to contemplate.

Cats and dogs living together.

[gaijin]

I will veto any effort to get rid of the automatic spending cuts - Barack Obama, November 21, 2011

The President will urge Congress to come together and act to ensure these devastating cuts to defense and job-creating programs don't take effect. - White House statement, February 5, 2013

wtf? black is white, up is down. truth is whatever it needs to be at the moment.

[Enough About Palin]

It really is obscene.

[Brandon]

Aren't you supposed to link to some site at the end of your comments? You're the worst anonbot ever.

[Pro Libertate]

Shit will catch up with him eventually.

[Zeb]

Some time in 2017.

[Fist of Etiquette]

As it turns out, it was a relay that had been installed to prevent power outages.

Installed by... AL QAEDA!

[Loki]

No, I'm guessing it was installed by Halliburton using feneral grants after Katrina. BOOOOSH!!!! DARTH CHENEYVADER!!!1

[oncogenesis]

An idiot "friend" on Facebook posted this:

Time for a New, New Deal. When an international sporting event shows how bad your infrastructure sucks to the world its time to pump some money and manpower into it.

[Proprietist]

George W. Bush is a much better painter than he was a president. I actually really like his self-portraits that were published with his hacked e-mail. His style is obviously influenced by the Impressionists.

[John]

I don't think he was a bad President. Oh to go back to the days when crooked bankers were actually sent to jail and we actually had budget agreements that worked.

[Brandon]

He was a terrible President, except when compared to the successor.

[Rights-Minimalist Autocrat]

He's getting better every year he's out of office.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Do you know what other political leader was a painter?

[Stormy Dragon]

Ogg, Chieftan of the Neandertal?

[Proprietist]

The art critics already Godwinned that discussion. I've seen multiple critics use him as the example instead of leaders-turned-painters like Churchill or Eisenhower.

[Stormy Dragon]

You know who else became a unitary executive after a failed attempt at becoming a painter...

[gaijin]

BIll Clinton...best face painter in the Oval Office, evah!

[Proprietist]

It's especially funny to read obviously left-wing art critics label his art as
trash and Godwin the discussion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....p_ref=arts

http://slog.thestranger.com/sl.....-awareness
"Bush has no grasp of perspective, or anatomy, or what makes a painting interesting to look at, but these paintings are really sort of touching, like art you'd find on the walls at a school for troubled youth"

Picasso and Monet are also trash since they never followed perfect perspective.

[Thor Cockhammer]

Picasso and Monet are also trash since they never followed perfect perspective.

Bullshit! They were both exceptional artists and both followed perspective whence early in their training.

Picasso's main flaw was the immense amount of work he produced and his talent diluted with each piece.

Monet, OTOH, main flaw was the level of abstraction he employed, most likely D/T his declining eyesight and unsteady hands.

Bush's works are actually pretty darn good, IMNSHO.

[Proprietist]

Of course, I was just mocking the critic's idea that art needs to follow some pre-conceived notion of perspective, anatomy, etc. which both strayed from to great effect. Art should be emotional, not technical.

[generic Brand]

And artists should be ready to accept that some people think their stuff sucks.

[Redmanfms]

And artists should be ready to accept that some people think their stuff sucks.

So far Bush hasn't responded to the criticism of his art work (nor will he ever in all probability).

I wasn't a fan of Bush's policies but it was kind of nice to have a President who didn't turn into a whiny fucking vag anytime he received even the slightest criticism (much less the withering naked, and highly publicized, hatred Bush got).

[Zeb]

There is cetainly something to be said for good draftsmanship, but that is not sufficient or necessary to make good art.

[Proprietist]

And by the way, a man who signed one of the biggest government invasions of personal privacy in the history of the country richly deserved the hacking. I have no sympathy for him. But he's a good artist.

[A Serious Man]

Wow, liberals are pathetic: British hacker hacks private email containing George Bush self-portraits, liberals react with scorn and derision.

[John]

They are nasty angry people. They are always pissed off. It is all about hating the other.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Hilarious.

[John]

Says the most hateful nasty deranged sock puppet ever created.

[Enough About Palin]

It really is obscene.

[gaijin]

do you get points for these? 😉

[Red Rocks Rockin]

"Brought to you by Carl's Jr."

[nicole]

Art experts and critics contacted by The Huffington Post were perplexed by the images.

"It looks like a very naive approach to painting," said Michael Weiss, associate dean for fine arts at Maryland Institute College of Art, stressing that it was difficult to comment on a digital image of a painting.

Uh...well, yeah, it doesn't shock me that someone who is totally not a painter has a naive approach to painting, but thanks for that expert commentary, guy.

[John]

+100 It is almost these painting were done by someone who wasn't a professional and took up painting as a hobby late in life or something.

[Proprietist]

Still, I'd argue the bathtub painting is better than most modern or folk art I have seen (and I've seen a lot of it). He really captures the "feeling over technicality" aesthetic of the Impressionists well.

[John]

I don't think it is bad at all. I have seen a lot worse for sale in coffee shops.

[Proprietist]

It's better than anything I've ever seen for sale at my local coffee shop. But then again, the crap they are selling there is unbelievably horrible.

[John]

But it was lovingly made by proper right thinking progs not some evil old rethuglican. Of course it is better.

[Death Rock and Skull]

Tone mapping is apparently the way to make every photograph art worthy now. No matter how crappy the composition and subject is.

[BakedPenguin]

I have seen a lot worse for sale in coffee shops.

I work with some people in the creative department. When the creative director hired a writer (who turned out to be a mythical female libertarian), she commented on some of the items he had on the wall.

"Oh, you like outsider art?"
"No, I made those myself."

I almost lost it when she told me this.

[Zeb]

Whenever I hear "outsider art" I think of my favorite line from the Simpsons ever:

"Why must life be so hard?! Why must I fail in every attempt at masonry?!

[Episiarch]

As if committed partisans who conflate the personal with the political are ever, ever going to give an honest assessment of someone's work instead of basing their assessment on what TEAM the artist is on.

Even asking them is an utter waste of time.

[Enough About Palin]

This is true. If someone took GHWB's art and used it in a story claiming it was Joe Biden's work, the Progs would all cum in unison.

[Killazontherun]

In my opinion, his best creation is in that first picture. Please ignore the Wookie-Klingon hybrid standing beside it.

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/.....9_free.jpg

[ThatSkepticGuy]

It's only wrong when Rupert Murdoch does it.

[generic Brand]

Massachusetts residents with travel plans in mind might want to reconsider. As snow piles up, Governor Deval Patrick has ordered cars off all roads in the state, with one year in jail for violators

I'd like to say this can't be legal, what with freedom of movement and such, but I've put up with 10+ years of the TSA now so I know to check that statement.

[Jordan]

Yeah, seriously. What the fuck?

[Enough About Palin]

It really is obscene.

[C. Anacreon]

You know it when you see it.

[tarran]

They tried this shit with Sandy, and nobody protested, so they are going to keep doing it.

It's not like the judges here will put up a fight.

[Sevo]

Christie will be at the white house, hat in hand. Damn snow shovels won't pay for themselves.

[John]

States have general police power. Governors have powers that would make President Drone Strike himself envious. Basically, states can clear the roads if they want to.

[generic Brand]

So they are telling people they can't leave? Even if they have friends and family willing to take them in further south?

"Hope you like freezing to death! Muwahahahaha!" - Governor Patrick from his well-insulated and back-up generator fueled home.

[DaveSs]

I'd really love to see the specific section of the Mass. Code that gives him this power.

[John]

http://www.massresistance.org/....._1950.html

It is the civil defense act. Every state has something similar. It is how they can do forced evacuations and other such things.

[ThatSkepticGuy]

This is Massacrat logic at it's best. They'll preach hellfire and brimstone abiout Rethuglicanz overcrowding prisons with nonviolent offenders, and then they'll turn around and pull shit like this.

Patrick Deval is fucking dogshit.

[Brandon]

Patrick, Deval.

[CE]

Seriously? A year in jail for driving when the weather MIGHT turn bad?

Next they'll shut down a whole city the day before a tropical storm just to pad the economic impact stats...

[Zeb]

God I fucking hate Massachusetts.

I want to know what the fuck happened. When did everyone become such a pussy about snow? Seems to me it used to be that if people had somewhere to go, they went, snow or no. Now everything gets cancelled 2days in advance. Maybe I'm just becoming an old fart, but it seems like this has changed a lot in my lifetime.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Record petroleum exports helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit in December to the smallest in almost three years as America moved closer to energy self- sufficiency, a goal the nation has been pursuing since the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

A surge in U.S. oil production has made the nation the world's largest fuel exporter.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....ports.html

[R C Dean]

Yet the economy still shrunk that quarter, even in nominal terms.

Its a mystery, I tells ya.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Sandy, fiscal cliff scare, year end inventory runoff.

-0.1 is no big shrinkage.

[R C Dean]

I'll take your word for it, shrinkage expert that you are.

[tarran]

Why are you talking to the crazy urine-reeking homeless guy like he's a human being with interesting insights?

[BakedPenguin]

Wait until it unexpectedly shrinks again this quarter.

[Gbob]

Now, c'mon. We've only had unexpected shrinkage for the past 16 quarters. You can see how something like that would still catch us by surprise.

[Enough About Palin]

Governor Deval Patrick has ordered cars off all roads in the state, with one year in jail for violators.

So governors are just like the President, ruling via fiat.

[gaijin]

"Governor". Think about that word. ANd then think about that word in Walking Dead. Then apply it to Massachusetts. And you understand.

[ThatSkepticGuy]

Dude, the Governor's colony in both the comic and show are Libertopia next to the shithole of corruption and authoritarianism that is Massachussetts.

[John]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2520974

El Paso safest city in America despite sitting across the river from one of the most dangerous cities in the world. El Paso must have some really strict gun laws. right?

[robc]

Plus the locals actually support their bowl game.

I have heard nothing but good things about the Sun Bowl the last 2 years. Of course, USC players whined about it this year, but then they got their ass handed to them like they deserved.

[Gojira]

That was hilarious. I've hated LK for a long time, and seeing the disintegration of the team this year, and of having to tactfully fire his old man, was delicious.

[C. Anacreon]

We went to the Sun Bowl in 2005 when our Northwestern Wildcats played UCLA. It's at a pretty cool stadium surrounded by mountains, and you can see Mexico and the trickling Rio Grande easily from much of the stands. The town did a good job hosting, there was plenty of convenient space for tailgating, and overall UTEP has a pretty nice campus. I'd definitely recommend a visit to El Paso if you ever have a reason to go.

[Bananafish]

I lived there for two years when I was in the army. It's a pretty cool city. One of my biggest regrets is that I stupidly did not take advantage of my time there to achieve fluency in Spanish, but I was too busy experimenting with drugs and was living with a Puerto Rican woman who introduced herself to me as "Peaches N Cream St. Claire." I brought her back to Mississippi when I left El Paso and she subsequently left me for a bowling alley mechanic when I started law school. I still have a complex about it.

[mad libertarian guy]

College: teaching students the art of pilfering from the population and living on the dime of others.

ELECTION season is approaching, and aspiring student body presidents are drafting platforms, posting fliers and plotting ways to capture votes. For last February's election, with the $1,000 cap on campaign spending lifted at the University of South Carolina, Kenny Tracy unleashed "Kenny for Carolina" T-shirts, sunglasses, koozies and "mood cups" that turn his campaign color, blue, when liquid is added. Mr. Tracy won after spending about $2,200.

That kind of investment may pay off. A survey by the American Student Government Association found that 71 percent of student leaders are compensated. But pay, perks and budgets vary wildly, as does the position's power and visibility.

Below, student body presidents share some of what they get for their labors (they work 30 to 40 hours a week) and give back.

[Virginian]

Damn ten grand a year? Parking? Football tickets? Now that's worth campaigning for. Note how the NYT considers meeting the Michelle Obama a "perk".

[mad libertarian guy]

Note how the NYT considers meeting the Michelle Obama a "perk".

The level of fealty the media pays to The First Family? is fucking sickening.

[SIV]

Holy Shit! Vandy elected a cosmotarian.

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY (Tenn.)

Student president: Maryclaire Manard, who represents 6,800 students, with a budget of $3.7 million.

Perks: None.

Issues: Bringing food trucks to campus; making course evaluations available before students select classes;LGBTQ concerns about the sale at the "Munchie Mart" of Chick-Fil-A (corporate stance: against same-sex marriage).

[Proprietist]

Show us on the doll where the bad cosmotarian man touched you, SIV.

[Virginian]

Breath in now breath out
Hands up now hands down
Back up back up
Tell me what you're gonna do now

Keep trollin' trollin' trollin' trollin' (x4)

[A Serious Man]

The Patriarchy: Boys outperform girls in the math and sciences in the US.

[BakedPenguin]

Wow. the top 5 countries where women outperform men in science and math are all Islamic. I would not have guessed that.

[DesigNate]

They have some of the most educated repressed people in the world.

[robc]

I read the comments (yeah, yeah) and there was one actual good one, that pointed out the huge vertical skew and the tiny horizontal skew.

Basically, worldwide, there is little difference between male and female scores (with exceptions in the middle east) and HUUUUUUGE difference between countries.

The sex access is mostly plus/minus 3%, the nation axis plus/minus 15%.

A few outliers beyond that in both directions.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

The sex access is mostly plus/minus 3%

that seems about right for mathematicians and scientists.

[John]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....00456.html

Looks like Hegel may be done.

[Proprietist]

Hegel or Hagel?

[BakedPenguin]

His comments are understandable over 20% of the time, so it can't be Hegel.

[Proprietist]

I have to admit a small soft spot for Hegel. Unlike Marx, at least he understood that free trade was the best way to promote global equity and break the third world countries out of the cycle of exploitation.

[Proprietist]

Not that he deserves a whole lot of credit for coming up with something so obvious, but...

[Palin's Buttplug]

Lost on John. He is searching hard for another nasty insult.

[BakedPenguin]

Fair enough. when I read John Kenneth Galbreath's last book, and he wrote that free trade was a powerful force for promoting peace between nations, I had to give up a lot of hate for the guy.

[generic Brand]

Bagel.

[robc]

Why would any care about the Defense Secretary's views on abortion?

[Stormy Dragon]

"He has the votes, but not much else," writes Ricks

Um... in a Senate confirmation, if you have the votes, what else is there to muchly need?

[A Serious Man]

Jesse Jackson Jr. is going to jail.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Who? Why are you focusing on some isolated incident involving some random, totally non-influential member of Congress? Didn't you know that Rush Limbaugh is a racist?

/Progtard

[db]

Under the terms of the deal Jackson signed,he pleads guilty and his fate ?as to jail time ?would be in the hands of a federal judge,not yet assigned.

So is it a good thing this was handled in secret proceedings with no involvement by a jury, or a bad one. I can see arguments either way.

[R C Dean]

What's the over/under on his sentence?

I'll go two years.

Isn't it nice that Our Masters capped their potential sentences for this sort of thing at 5 years?

[A Serious Man]

I say 2 years but he only serves 16 months.

[Enough About Palin]

Well it's not as if he was cutting off Amish beards.

[A Serious Man]

^Winner

[nicole]

As corrupt and generally politician-shitty as JJ Jr is, I have to say I am sad about his public demise. He was a rare pro-gun voice here in Chicago where he recognized that poor blacks in bad neighborhoods should be able to defend themselves.

[DaveSs]

JJJ pro-gun....I don't think so.

Maybe for 'important' people like him

[Trespassers W]

I don't remember seeing any Chicago-area representatives getting anything other than an F- from Gun Owners of America.

[Jordan]

A corrupt Chicago politician. Never would have expected that.

[Juice]

"Our Public Service Will Continue:" Rev. Jackson

"Oh yes, thank you for all that service," The Public

[A Serious Man]

Rand Paul to give Tea Party response to State of the Union address.

[Enough About Palin]

"Rand Paul to give Tea Party response to State of the Union address."

But he won't be doing it in Spanish. Fucking Tea Party Racist.

[John]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article.....evaluation

Venezuela devaluing currency. One of these days we will get the right people in charge and socialism won't cause inflation and mass misery. Some day!!

[Sevo]

Prolly too little, too late (from the article):
"In black market street trading, dollars have recently been selling for more than four times the official exchange rate of 4.30 bolivars to the dollar."

[John]

It would have worked if it hadn't been for the hoarders and wreckers.

[Left-Libertarian]

Chavez opposes The Amorineokkkan Empire so his devaluation is libertarian and good you neocon baby-killer.

[Juice]

They're an oil-rich member of OPEC and they're going down the economic toilet. What are the emirates doing that Chavez isn't?

[Heroic Mulatto]

What are the emirates doing that Chavez isn't?

Importing a gazllion Indians, for one.

[Brandon]

Venezuela is out-devaluing us? That's hard work.

[Death Rock and Skull]

I always point and laugh when I see Seg-Gay cops go by. Its even funnier when some of them have three wheels like a little gay scooter with a dumbass Vespa-looking headlight on the front.

[nicole]

There are so many Segway cops in Chicago. And guys on four-wheelers, but the Segways are more popular. That dude is way too skinny to be a real Chicago cop, though. And almost all of them wear bullet-proof vests over their shirts. And they don't ride Segways on Michigan Ave. So I call bs on the photo.

[Episiarch]

SPD put a few cops out on Segways and then stopped, I'm pretty sure because it's fucking comical. In the summer they still do bike cops, too, but that's not nearly as laughable.

[nicole]

I'm mostly confused about what they're for. You typically see them riding around the Millennium Park vicinity (our main central downtown park), which is also where a lot of tourists rent them. But in other places in the park (which runs the whole length of the city along the lake) they're just like "shit, cars totally fit on the bike path, why would we not drive?"

[Death Rock and Skull]

I think is to keep their fat asses from having to walk. If they actually had to chase someone, they would be better off ditching the piece of shit. How are you going to negotiate a Seg-Gay through a crowded sidewalk or some slightly technical terrain? Even if you don't care about running people over, a couple of bodies in the way are going to knock the cop off his Seg-Gay.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Why don't they all just ride horses?

[nicole]

They do that too

[A Serious Man]

Feminists offended by frat boys who wear t-shirts that say "Please Don't Feed the Sorority Girls".

[Eduard van Haalen]

OK-please *do* feed the sorority girls. Including letting them eat my [expletive deleted].

[Death Rock and Skull]

"Fathers, thank you for your daughters!"

[SIV]

Stupid bitches and their stupid "eating disorders"

It's not the culture Honey, it's YOU.

And how delirious do you have to get from self starvation to think Gwyneth Paltrow is anyone's standard of beauty other than your own?

people don't seem to understand that even Gwyneth Paltrow basically starves herself to look so "good."

She is a "celebrity actress" because of nepotism , not her looks.

[Marshall Gill]

While I often don't think she looks all that good, she looked pretty fucking sweet in Shallow Hal

[Coeus]

Don't you see? It's violent:

(from the original article)

But now I don't feel safe or wanted in the fitness center. I chose to go to AU because of its culture of public service and activism; a large student organization advocating the most lethal mental illness to girls for the sake of "campus beautification" is objectifying, misogynistic, even violent. It's not as if it was just one random guy in a gross shirt; someone in his fraternity came up with the shirt, and enough "bros" wanted it that the frat ordered it and stamped its letters on it and its members wear it to the gym. It's indicative of an unsafe culture, where sorority sisters are worth little more than the cute donkeys and elephants dotting the campus. We're just here for aesthetics, but only as long as we're starving.

christ on a cracker.

[Numeromancer]

A girl has a problem. She tells herself: "I know, I'll empower myself!" Now she has two problems.

[Professor Booty]

So I just picked up Borderlands 2. Anyone have any class/build recommendations?

[Thane of Whiterun]

Epi and I are partial to Siren class.

[Episiarch]

How do you have yours configured? Almost all my skill points are in the Cataclysm branch for maximum damage dealing. Then usually a SMG mod and various relics and a terminal adaptive shield.

[Thane of Whiterun]

Mostly cataclysm too, with a few in whatever the far-left branch is.

[Episiarch]

Motion. Yeah, you fill out Accelerate and Ward over there and that's it.

[Professor Booty]

I was leaning towards this, guess I'll go with her.

[Episiarch]

Siren is fun and is probably the most versatile class, and NutraSweet (who did a Siren first) says the Gunzerker is a fucking blast.

[R C Dean]

I've gone Commando. My tricked out turret is a freakin' meatgrinding machine.

[Enough About Palin]

"I've gone Commando."

TMI, RC. TMI.

[Jordan]

I'm running a Siren with a sniper build. Basically, I just take talents that increase crit damage or flat damage. Enemies go down real quick. But I go down quick as well.

I played around with the Commando and loved the turret too.

[Death Rock and Skull]

"Patrick has ordered cars off all roads in the state"

Roads used to be treated more like use-at-your-own-risk common property. This is what happens when you restrict the free movement of people in favor of making some specific form of travel more convenient at the expense of all other forms.

[gaijin]

driving is a priveledge...granted by those who govern!

[John]

I read something really funny the other day. One of the original backers for Meatloaf and Jim Steinman's Bat out of Hell record was Todd Rundgrun, who later produced it. He heard the demos and thought the songs were hilarious and a parody of Bruce Springsteen. And when you think about songs like Paradise By the Dashboard Lights and You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, that is pretty much what they are.

[Killazontherun]

I'd put Alice Cooper's Killers in a similar category of off beat over the top good shit from that period of time.

[A Serious Man]

So I need a reasonably affordable (ie under $30) whiskey/bourbon not named Jack of Jim. Any suggestions?

[Mad Scientist]

Eagles Rare

[Zeb]

I second that. Or Bulleit. I've really been enjoying that lately. They have an excellent rye too, which I am drinking right now.

[John]

Isn't Makers Mark right around $30? That always worked for me.

[SweatingGin]

I used to drink Maker's all the time. When Maker's 46 came out, the guy at the liquor store said "You're the first one I thought of when this came in".

What a horrible thing to say.

[nicole]

Knob Creek

[db]

Seconded.

[Palin's Buttplug]

George Dickel.

Whisky.

[B.P.]

Very good bang for the buck is Corner Creek at around $21, if you can find it. Comes in a wine-looking bottle, but the stuff inside is good.

[mad libertarian guy]

Buffalo Trace

[Apatheist ?_??]

seconded

[Alack]

Thirded

[robc]

Best value/$ ratio is Evan Williams SINGLE BARREL.

[Coeus]

seconded

[Marshall Gill]

I used to drink Evan Williams when I was a young man but was not aware they made a single barrel whiskey. I will have to try it.

[T]

Old Forrester. It does not have a lot of complexity to it, but it's probably the best inexpensive bourbon out there.

If you're in Texas and have the money, I'll recommend Garrison Bros, but it's way over your price point.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Love Garrison Bros.

[SweatingGin]

I've really been loving Redemption Rye. It's about $29 in MI, though. Much harsher than a bourbon, though.

Bulleit Bourbon/Rye are both pretty good.

Maker's is an old favorite.

[Trespassers W]

Old Granddad.

[Thor Cockhammer]

^This^

[Xenocles]

Woodford Reserve - sometimes under 30, usually close to it.

[Proprietist]

Go up about $10 and you can find some decent single malts. Totally worth it.

[Nephilium]

Tullamore Dew, if you're a fan of the Irish.

[B.P.]

On this Christopher Dorner thing -- If I'm a black guy and the subject of a highly publicized manhunt, I think I would choose somewhere other than a ski resort to hide out.

[A Serious Man]

Well so far he has the police baffled. They are beginning to worry that he may have escaped the dragnet.

Of course he could be held up somewhere in the wilderness freezing to death.

[tarran]

I strongly suspect that the dropping of his wallet and the burning of his truck in such disparate locations are to get the people hunting him going in wrong directions.

[Episiarch]

And he also knows their tactics because he was one of them.

"I was hunted once. I just came back from 'Nam. I was hitching through Oregon, and some cop started harassing me. Next thing you know, I had a whole army of cops chasing me through the woods! I had to take 'em all out. It was a bloodbath!"

[A Serious Man]

Based on what I've read about his unremarkable military record I'd say he's no Rambo, but who knows? Maybe he'd been preparing for something like this.

[John]

That is a good point. They are cops. They are going to follow a set of procedures. This guy knows them and knows exactly where they are going to look.

[Xenocles]

The circuits that cannot be cut are cut automatically in response to a terrorist incident. You asked for miracles, Theo. I give you the F. B. I.

[Sevo]

If I'm a black guy anywhere near LA, I stay out of pickups and away from cops. Dangerous.

[Generic Stranger]

If I'm a black guy a person of any race or gender anywhere near LA, I stay out of pickups and away from cops. Dangerous.

FTFY.

[Loki]

The owner of a new gun shop in Los Gatos, California, has received death threats ? from offended gun control advocates.

Perhaps they should all go down there and try to storm the place. Unarmed of course, wouldn't want them to be hypocrits now would we? Yeah, I'm sure that will go well.

[Loki]

The White House warns that sequestration's automatic cuts in federal spending, a policy to which the president agreed with Congress, are too terrible to contemplate.

THEN WHY DID YOU EVER AGREE TO THE CUTS IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!

*rips hair out, runs from room screaming*

[R C Dean]

Why the idiot Repubs don't start referring to them relentlessly as the "Obama Sequestration", purely as a matter of political jujitsu, I have no idea. He didn't just agree to it, he freakin' proposed it.

[mad libertarian guy]

They aren't called The Stupid Party for nothin'.

[Endless Mike]

Same reason they didn't praise the President for attempting to preserve at least part of the "Bush Middle Class Tax Cuts"

[mad libertarian guy]

THEN WHY DID YOU EVER AGREE TO THE CUTS IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!

Because it was politically expedient at the time, or was used specifically to set up a budget battle down the road, after his lemmings would have forgotten that he agreed to them, as a means to paint TEAM RED as a group wanting to kill jobs.

[A Serious Man]

Congressman Raul Labrador fires staffer after he tweets his appreciation for Kat Dennings rack.

Well at least he recognizes the only two redeeming things about that show.

[Episiarch]

Clearly this guy is worse than Hitler.

[Coeus]

My absolute favorite of all the celebrity cellphone leaks. Those puppies are astounding.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Beth Behr's shiksa caricature is fairly charming.

[mad libertarian guy]

Get a major in Murder Droning!

Dozens of colleges with aviation programs now offer courses in unmanned aerial systems, and several universities have recently added majors. The University of North Dakota was first, in 2009, and has about 120 students in the field. Last May, Kansas State University Salina graduated its first student with a Bachelor of Science in unmanned aircraft systems. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University started offering the degree in 2011 at its Daytona Beach, Fla., campus, and now has 89 U.A.S. majors. More programs are rolling out: Indiana State University plans to offer a major this spring.

Today, the biggest use of drones is by the military and the Central Intelligence Agency, which operate hundreds of them around the world. Only military personnel pilot armed drones. But government contractors do much of the scouting in advance, conducting surveillance missions over countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. Mr. Taylor, who graduated in August, has been offered a job by a private contractor and is waiting for his security clearance.

[Loki]

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University started offering the degree in 2011 at its Daytona Beach, Fla., campus

Apparently they don't want me to contribute to the alumni fund. I think I'll add them to my spam filter.

[mad libertarian guy]

Bloomberg being intellectually honest?

ur mayor being true to himself, Michael R. Bloomberg journeyed to Albany last week to lecture state legislators on his decision to blow up negotiations with our teachers union and so lose $240 million for New York City schools.

If only school officials throughout the state were as principled as he, he suggested, they would admit that teachers unions are fundamentally incapable of agreeing to measure their members honestly. And they too would blow up their negotiations and forfeit many hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid.

"Everybody is just interested in getting money and committing what I would call a fraud," he told legislators.

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan of Queens is a ferocious advocate for the city's schools. She leaned forward and squinted at the mayor, as though convinced either that he was daft or that she was deaf. "Maybe I'm losing my hearing a little," she said. "Don't you feel some responsibility for this disaster? And it is a disaster."

The mayor pursed his lips and wagged his head. "Money," he explained a bit later, "is not the answer to everything."

Is there a chilly breeze making its way through hell right now?

[T]

Petty tyrants really hate peoplea nd organizations that dare stand up to them. Look at it through this lens and see what conclusion you come up with.

Also, don't ask if any of this benefits the kids that are supposedly being educated, because fuck them.

[Coeus]

You must tip your server at least 20%, regardless of the level of service. Why? Well because it's probably a woman.

And you need to tip even if your waitress isn't as pleasant as you'd like, and even if the service is imperfect. It is a gender issue, and servers (who are disproportionately female) need tips to make a living wage. I also suspect that female servers are more often on the receiving end of a bad tip for not adequately stroking a diner's ego ? not laughing enough at his jokes, not flirting back, not smiling. So tip! Yes, 20%, even if the service was mediocre.

[Episiarch]

It is a gender issue

What isn't at this point?

Obsessers gonna obsess.

[nicole]

WTF--fired-from-Applebee's waitress apparently wrote:

I've been waiting tables to save up some money so I could finally go to college, so I could get an education that would qualify me for a job that doesn't force me to sell my personality for pocket change.

"Sell my personality"? Waitresses are the new prostitutes, folks.

[Trespassers W]

She only had like two or three pieces of flair.

[Loki]

Clearly we need to ban waitressing. For their own good, of course.

[nicole]

Seriously, what in the hell is wrong with people?

As Sarah Jaffe says in her essay in In These Times, perhaps what Welch "was fired for was daring to publicly express dissatisfaction with her job." She continues, "even outside the workplace, emotional labor doesn't stop. (Just ask any woman if she's ever been told to 'smile' by a strange man on the street.)"

Perhaps withholding tips for perceived bad service is the equivalent of being told, "Fuck you, you're ugly anyway!" when you don't smile back on the street? Maybe it's another way to keep women in positions of physically and emotionally draining service in return for earning 70 percent of their male counterparts.

Work makes you tired. Holy fucking shit.

[General Butt Naked]

Here's a tip about service workers that rely on tips: those that complain that the pay is too low suck at it. Remember that.

[Zeb]

Indeed. My wife used to make a few hundred a night waitressing and bar tending. And servers tend to take a good part of their tips tax free. It can be a good paying job if you don't suck at it. And smiling is part of being good at it. What a silly thing to complain about.

[General Butt Naked]

Oh yeah, and when you take into account that in that type of job you eat and drink for free.

I did a lot of restaurant and also construction work. I'd get an opportunity to do construction at better pay and it wouldn't last long because eating out and booze eats up a lot of pay.

[A Serious Man]

I wonder if they would be in favor of stopping the government from taxing tips?

[Coeus]

Give me something to sign and I'll sign it. Put it to a vote and I'll vote for it.

[Virginian]

physically and emotionally draining service

I worked construction one summer, and landscaping the two before that. In Virginia. I dug a koi pond, 12x20 and 8 feet deep, by hand because we couldn't get a digger in without fucking up the clients yard. Every single shovelfull of Earth, I was thankful I didn't have to really suffer by slinging plates.

[B.P.]

So my takeaway is it's emotionally draining for some people to be pleasant and tolerable at their service jobs.

[Juice]

Believe me, it is. When you have to constantly be nice and pleasant and kiss the asses of the most horrid of people, it's draining.

[Sheriff of Fistingham]

"Believe me, it is. When you have to constantly be nice and pleasant and kiss the asses of the most horrid of people, it's draining."

You were a journo-pundit on MSNBC?

[General Butt Naked]

Dang, people hate tipping. You get some that just don't feel it's part of the expense of eating in a restaurant, and some that want a shitty "fair" system that pays a living wage, whatever the fuck that it.

I tip big, because I'm a big shot with enormous genitalia.

[Virginian]

I tip well because I like my food delivered while it's still hot. I've worked with drivers who forgot my name on a regular basis, but they also remembered the good tippers addresses.

[db]

Same here. Plus, I am also a big shot with enormous genitalia.

[A Serious Man]

It is a gender issue, and servers (who are disproportionately female) need tips to make a living wage.

I don't tip because society says I have to.

[OldMexican]

You must tip your server at least 20%, regardless of the level of service.

I normally tip them more than 20 degrees - that's enough to go "Timbeeeeeer!"

[Tonio]

Anyone who tells me that I need to do this or that has already lost me for arrogance alone.

[General Butt Naked]

Agreed. You need to just ignore people like that.

[OldMexican]

Re: Tonio,

Anyone who tells me that I need to do this or that has already lost me for arrogance alone.

You need to breathe! I am telling you, I know what's good for you!

[SIV]

Unless she is politically incorrect. Then you should stiff here regardless of the quality of service.

If your waitress makes a racist joke or something, then yeah, no tip there either.

All those people are 100% insane

[General Butt Naked]

What should one do if their waitress is a cosmotarian?

[SIV]

Tell your mom to get off my dick.

[General Butt Naked]

That doesn't even make any sense.

Sooo, if I fear that my server is a cosmotarian, I should tell my mom to get off your dick? That's silly.

I'm looking for real world solutions to dealing with cosmotarians here.

[Virginian]

Glance over their shoulder and say "oh man check out that gay immigrant couple running a food truck in commemoration of Aaron Swartz". Then, when they turn in excitement, walk away.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

I'm looking for real world solutions to dealing with cosmotarians here.

It involves drones and cocktail parties.

[Apatheist ?_??]

The entitlement in the comment section is sickening. It takes a lot to make me drop below 20% but of course if the service is awful I'm going to. The commenters seem to believe you should do it regardless.

One brave soul suggests they not work in the service industry if they don't want to rely on tips and apparently they are all slaves who can't quit.

[General Butt Naked]

Most of the comments I read were in favor of a euro (because everything euro is fuckable) method where servers are paid a 'living wage' and people don't have to tip; which is every good server's nightmare.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Like this one:

I don't know? The one benefit of this system is it actually is the closest thing to a "meritocracy" for servers. There are still a lot of problems with it, but as a young waitress in New York, I would never ever be able to make a living off even $12 an hour ? rent is just too high.
When you're a good server, better restaurants hire you, and at those restaurants servers can WALK with $300, even up to $500 in one night. But, you have to be damn good at what you do, completely flawless and able to orchestrate drinks, apps, mains, desserts, checks, and all the clearing/if someone wants ketchup with their sirloin between a good 10 to 15 tables. So 20-35 people.
I'm still getting the hang of this skill, as it IS really difficult to manage 12 tables at once and know exactly when one of those 30-some people are done eating, which are in a hurry, and which want to take their time, so my job is more middle rung at $130 a shift, on a decent night.

Point being ? a job with a wage would come nowhere near paying my bills. And as you get better at doing this, your earning can and do increase, if you play your cards right and look for the correct place to work. But it is a difficult, tough skill, and the only people who make that kind of money have been doing it for 8+ years. At least in New York.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Who got this for her trouble:

Right, but it's not just being a good server that gets you hired in more expensive restaurants. It's also having the "look" that high end restaurants are looking for (and if high end restaurants in NYC are like high end restaurants in Toronto, that means generally white, thin, able bodied, and meeting a certain definiton of being attractive). I'm not trying to diminish the work and skill of experienced servers, just noting that the ability to make a decent income through tips is also dependent on a lot of privilege.

[General Butt Naked]

Who got this for her trouble:

Which is bullshit. A high end restaurant worries about service number one, if you look good on top of that, excellent. But, if you aren't competent then you're gone.

[Stormy Dragon]

I dunno how it works in NYC, but around here the waitresses at high end restaurants tend to look like your grandmother, but that's because they've been doing it for 30-40 years and know how to do the job right.

[General Butt Naked]

I was anecdotally gonna mention the same thing, but didn't know if my experience was universal.

I worked in a place that was owned by former chefs from the highest end of places and their server friends would come in, and they were all middle aged.

[General Butt Naked]

Not only that, but the good servers would be given the harder shifts while making the same amount as the new guy working monday lunch.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I'm sure servers only get the higher paying shifts because of privilege.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

When did tips go from 10% to 15% to begin with? Inflation shouldn't apply to % points.

[General Butt Naked]

When did tips go from 10% to 15% to begin with?

1913

Inflation shouldn't apply to % points.

How do you define inflation?

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

I think he's trying to make a pun with Treasury Inflation Protected Securities.

[Brandybuck]

Los Gatos: Hyper affluent, rows and rows of trendy boutiques. So of course they're shocked that there's a gun store in town. They're still trying to recover from the stress that the owner is Asian.

[waaminn]

Gotta love those bought and paid for politicians. Wow

http://www.Go4Anon.tk

[Heroic Mulatto]

Chapter 3,410,657 of Things the American Media Will Never Publish:

Open Letter to President Obama

[db]

Yeah, that one's going straight to the circular file in most American newsrooms.

[db]

I do not write you today to ask you to condemn the repressive policies of the current regime, or to ask you to urge President Mohamed Morsi to "cease" using excessive force and violence against Egyptians, ... I write you not to ask for troops to protect political protesters in Egypt, or to suspend, freeze, or reduce military or economic aid to my country, or even to impose conditions on that aid. My request is quite modest: that spokespeople and officials in your administration stop commenting on developments in Egypt.

...

When in December I met Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for human rights and that rare person in your administration who is motivated by human rights concerns, I asked that he pass on this modest request to administration spokespeople: that as long as they cannot speak the truth about what is happening in Egypt, they keep silent.

In other words: "Dear Mr. President: If you aren't going to help, please STFU and stop hurting the situation, if only your ego will let you."

[Heroic Mulatto]

Jokingly, you noted that despite being a guest in the White House, I was audacious enough to criticise the president in his presence. I responded that the act required no courage at all in light of what happens when we try to criticise Arab presidents back home, at which the hall erupted in laughter.

"Jokingly"....sure....

[db]

Yeah, I liked that one too. Odds that Obama will name check Mr. Hassan in an obscure press conference, that will be brought to the attention of the Egyptian authorities?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Well, if the petulant fuck and his sycophantic courtiers can find the summary arrest, torture, sodomization, and possible execution of Arab dissidents to be funny, I wouldn't be surprised if he personally orders a drone-ing.

[Josua]

I put the Massachusetts story together with the various Bloomberg fatwas, the cult-following of Democrat presidential candidates, and active hostility toward the Bill of Rights, and I then I hear transplants from the Northeast tell me how the South and the Midwest are just so horribly ignorant and backward.

[Heroic Mulatto]

South and the Midwest are just so horribly ignorant and backward

No, but they do seem have a gigantic chip on their shoulders.

[mad libertarian guy]

If, as in the south's case, you had what most considered an actively hostile army attack your country, burning most of the infrastructure to the ground, killing large chunks of your able bodied people in the process, then treating you like second class citizens for the better part of 150 years now, you'd have a big fucking chip on your shoulder too.

[John]

No but I will.

[Stormy Dragon]

I dunno, SOTU responses seem to be the political kiss of death lately.

[Loki]

It helps to have a sycophantic media immediately pile on to whoever gets tapped to deliver the response (funny, I don't recall the SOTU response being nearly as much of a "kiss of death" back when BOOOOSH was president). It does make you wonder if the "establishment" Republicans have noticed that tendency are setting Rand up to be sacrificed.

[John]

Rundgren was the original backer. But he thought it was a parody record at first. He thought it was "just so out there". I always had a soft spot for that record, not because it is all that great but just because it is just so damned strange and different from anything anyone else was doing then or now.

[Not an Economist]

I always thought of Meatloaf (and Steinman) as Broadway rockers. They both had backgrounds in Broadway or Broadway like( RocKy Horror Picture Show) shots.

[Stormy Dragon]

I don't recall the SOTU response being nearly as much of a "kiss of death" back when BOOOOSH was president

When's the last time you heard from Richard Gephardt, Gary Locke, Tom Daschle, or Timothy Kaine?

[Stormy Dragon]

And I think it's more just the terrible optics. You just had the President standing before both houses of congress, getting one standing ovation after another. You then have to follow that up by appearing on what amounts to a webcam inside the Capitol broomcloset. You're inevitably going to end up looking a bit silly.

[nicole]

I just gotta say, I love "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." And the Boss. I think there is something in the water in the tri-state area; I had no choice.

[Endless Mike]

I always saw Meatloaf as at least part parody in general (Humongous Rock Star of the Universe?). That doesn't mean parody can't still be GOOD...

[Loki]

All true, and point taken wrt Gephardt, Lock et al above. Although it's likely they were done in by other factors as well. So few people other than the media and hard core political junkies actually bother watching the response to the SOTU that it pretty much allows them to spin and/ or ignore it at their leisure.

[Brandon]

This is true. Rand should hold a SOTU Response Rally.

[Endless Mike]

That's a great point. They would be better served to deliver the response to a room full of supporters.

[Killazontherun]

He may be a dumb, lump of clay, but Kaine has a weird way of turning up and coming back.