A.M. Links: Pope to Resign, Dorner Target of Drones, White House and Obama Supporters Launch Campaign Ahead of State of the Union, Jihadists Take Dam in Syria, TSA Can't Take a Joke

Credit: Lawrence OP

• Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign at the end of the month, saying that he is finding it difficult to carry out papal duties at his age.

• Ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner is now a target of drones. Officials hope that thermal cameras on UAVs will help in the hunt for Dorner, who has allegedly killed three people.

• The cogs of the Obama apparatus are launching social media, fundraising, and outreach campaigns ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union.

• Jihadists in Syria have seized a dam on the Euphrates.

• French, Nigerian, and Malian forces have regained control of Gao after Islamic militants attacked the town in northern Mali yesterday.

• A man is suing the TSA after being locked up for 25 hours for jokingly remarking to his wife and daughters that his explosives were being taken away after his peanut butter was confiscated.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign at the end of the month...

Does the Vatican have a K Street to move to?

[DJF]

I bet I would look good in a Pope hat, but then again who wouldn't.

But that whole celibate thing would have to go.

[Groovus Maximus]

But that whole celibate thing would have to go.

Your Rosary Palm weeps.-)

[Anonymous Coward]

But that whole celibate thing would have to go.

It hasn't stopped priests and popes before.

[Kaptious Kristen]

But that whole celibate thing would have to go.

Aren't you cute thinking Popes are celibate!

[Jerry on the boat]

"He wants to spend more time with his family."

Nah, doesn't work.

[Ted S.]

Theoretically, he could have nieces and nephews. I had a great-aunt who was a nun.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Since the family is Catholic, it's a good bet there are tons of family.

[Way Of The Crane]

Since the family is Catholic, it's a good bet there are tons of family.

According to my wife's grandmother, we are horrible people for not raising more children than we can afford.

[deified]

I can't imagine a more obnoxious sentiment (not involving physical harm).

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I had a great-aunt who was a nun.

One of my wife's cousins is a nun. She is gorgeous, too. It is truly a waste.

[R C Dean]

They interviewed his brother about this. All I could think was "How weird would it be, to be the Pope's brother? Christmas must be spectacular!"

[Auric Demonocles]

During the Super Bowl pregame show they had on the Harbaughs' parents and their sister. My first thought was "man, it must suck to be that sister".

[mr simple]

Because she's married to Tom Crean?

[Auric Demonocles]

No idea who that is.

Because it's like being Cooper Manning.

[LTC(ret) John]

IU basketball coach.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I'd rather Ball U than IU.

#Indiana

[Auric Demonocles]

One of the benefits of having offices be for life (typically): no lobbyist jobs to retire to.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner is now a target of drones.

Predator, Reaper or the boring kind?

[Lord Humungus]

Will Dorner cover himself in mud?

[Whiterun Guard]

Should have gone with Sleep, Earth and/or the Melvins on a stoned out stage call.

[Slammer]

Throw in some Boris, too

[Atanarjuat]

That scene in the latest Bourne movie sure was prescient.

[mr lizard]

I've said this in another thread but we may be witnessing a 4 GTA star chase.

[Nuked]

Does a 4 star police chase in northern Los Santos count as an accurate simulation at this point? If so, were in for a few great police chases, a lot of dead pedestrians and police, and a finale involving a Harrier Jet dog fight over Area 51.

[Lord Humungus]

Water is always a good choice to rehydrate after working out, but researchers suggest beer is better
http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/h.....-is-better

Forget water or Gatorade. The drink of choice to rehydrate after a workout is beer.

Researchers at Granada University in Spain found beer can help retain liquid better than water alone.

[Groovus Maximus]

beer can help retain liquid better than water alone.

Bzzt. The stuff makes you piss* like a racehorse, and alcohol dehydrates the body. On the upside, beer does have some quickly utilized calories for hungry muscles.

*Or, in IFH-speak, makes you pissed like a racehorse.-)))

[Lord Humungus]

I know the old-school (19th Century) weightlifters used the stuff. But yeah, give me a few beers and I'm off to the races.

[Groovus Maximus]

Well, all the stuff that makes for a stout beer (and all the other varieties of a full, highly caloric beer. robc, care to weigh in?) is good for the heavy weightlifters and powerlifters to help build bulk. Like those caber tossers and stone throwers, for example.

I knew a couple of body builders that would drink light beer right before a competition to get more cut by dropping some water weight.

[robc]

Just got done with my morning run, am considering going with a different option than the water I was about to pour.

[robc]

Decided to go with water...may have a hefeweizen with lunch though.

[Groovus Maximus]

Hefewiezen, good choice! Boulevard would be my recommend.

[robc]

Going with my own.

[Groovus Maximus]

Even better! I wasn't sure if you were going out for lunch.

[robc]

Didnt you come down against the Guinness per day for pregnant women? Im not sure I can trust your medical advice on beer.

[Groovus Maximus]

I never said drinking during pregnancy was bad per se, and I did qualify the amount and during what trimester, robc, i.e. NO booze during the first trimester.

But since you are not a woman, and it would follow you ain't ever getting pregnant, why would care one way or the other?-)))

[Pro Libertate]

Hi, we're announcing a facially invalid research result. Please headline worldwide as a fact.

[Groovus Maximus]

Oh, Pro'l Dib, did you catch my recent missive?

[Brett L]

My understanding of the research is that one is good. Has carbs, electrolytes, etc. More than one decreases the effect.

[Groovus Maximus]

Has carbs, electrolytes, etc.

Addressed carbs already. As for the rest, Gatorade is better. Non-alcoholic beer would work well, too. It's the alcohol that's not good here, and the pull quote did not specify "one" beer. Remember, alcohol is a diuretic, Brett.

[Brett L]

Eh. I agree, in principle, but the dose makes the poison. I've read good studies showing that contra all the scare stuff, coffee contains enough water to overcome the diuretic effect of caffeine. Turns out if you drink six 12oz glasses of water instead of six 12oz mugs of coffee, you'll still be in the pisser all afternoon. Which makes sense to me. 7% ethanol and 85% water by volume. Ethanol is less dense than water. Molecularly, even if each ethanol molecule is driving out 10 water molecules, you're putting in more than you're driving out. If you have one beer, you won't end up in the pisser. If you drink 60 oz of beer in 3 hours, you'll piss all night. But again, drink 60 oz of water in 2 hours and see if you don't march back and forth to the head for a while.

[Groovus Maximus]

That's also true, Brett, as one can become over-hydrated as well. Alcohol is also harder on:

1) Cardiac tissue (keep in mind this is post work-out)

2) The kidneys

by nature of ethanol being more chemically reactive and also fat soluble as well. Also keep in mind all that lactic acid (product of fermentation) and adding booze to that mix.

I'm not saying it's terrible, horrible, bad and it will poison you to death, I just recommend other avenues first that are more advantageous and overall healthier.

[wareagle]

and the folks behind the "got milk?" campaign have been branding chocolate milk as the ultimate post-workout drink due to its nutrient makeup.

[Rich]

What is Yoo-hoo, chopped liver?

[$park?]

Might as well be.

[Whiterun Guard]

No, it just tastes like it.

[Rich]

Philistines.

I'll be you guys don't like Dr Pepper neither.

[Rich]

*bet*

[$park?]

Dr Pepper is awesome, Yoo-hoo is not.

[mad libertarian guy]

Fucking blasphemer. Yoo-Hoo is the nectar of the gods. Chocolate water it may well be, but it's fucking delicious.

[Way Of The Crane]

Chocolate water it may well be, but it's fucking delicious.

Have you ever actually tried adding chocolate syrup to water? It IS fucking delicious! You just need to get the mix right.

[Way Of The Crane]

Or you could just drink chocolate syrup.

[Bobarian]

More like puree'd liver

[Whiterun Guard]

Too bad you can only rent it.

[DJF]

Air Force Space Command has jumped into the sequestration panic by putting cutting their operations hours from 24 to 8 first on the list I guess attackers will have to make an appointment

This is even better for getting attention then the Parks Department policy of whenever there is a budget cut to shut down the Washington Monument first.

How about if General William L. Shelton is only going to work 8 out of 24 hours we cut his present pay which is based on a 24 hours day down to only 8 hours, that would save money too.

"""Reduce some missile warning and space surveillance 24/7 hour operations to 8/7 hour operations, impacting national missile warning, missile defense, space situational awareness, and the intelligence community"""

http://www.afspc.af.mil/news/s.....=123335768

[John]

Air Force Space Command has jumped into the sequestration panic by putting cutting their operations hours from 24 to 8 first on the list I guess attackers will have to make an appointment

Because they could never cut their staff and have people work harder. Never. Instead, lets cut the hours so the evil taxpayers pay for daring to cut our budget.

[Atanarjuat]

Or cut some other area of their budget, like F-22 development.

[John]

But that would cause contractors to lose their jobs and might prevent a general officer from getting a huge paying job upon retirement. Come one, think of the generals here.

[Almanian!]

MULTIPLIER EFFECT

[Drake]

The F-22 was done years ago. I think you are talking about the ridiculous F-35 program.

[Brett L]

Yeah, but they still have the hypoxia problem in the production unit.

[robc]

Priority based budgeting.

Ends these asshat tactics forever.

Which is reason #1 why it will never be done at the Federal level.

[R C Dean]

If I was commander-in-chief, I'd get the names of the people who were doing budget cuts in reverse order, and fire them all.

[db]

Same here. This is, on its face, obstinate and subordinate behavior. It is a great way to get fired in the teal world of business, but it's accepted practice in government.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Either what they do helps keep us safe or it doesn't.

If it doesn't, then what they do should be cut to 0 hours.

If it does, then they are subjecting people to death and injury out of spite, in which case they should be fired.

[Whiterun Guard]

If you get dead or injured anywhere in Space Command, Darwin wins.

[mad libertarian guy]

Either what they do helps keep us safe or it doesn't.

If it doesn't, then what they do should be cut to 0 hours.

If it does, then they are subjecting people to death and injury out of spite, in which case they should be fired.

This.

Though being that, from the description of the services lost or cut back in the event of budget cuts, these services provide dick to our security, let's go ahead and cut the program indefinitely.

Space Missile defense? Really? Even in the height of the cold war this technology was likely inflated as important. Now it's fucking useless.

[Ted S.]

I wish we could cut all spending by two-thirds.

[Restoras]

Eventually, one way or another, you will get your wish.

[Lord Humungus]

No, David Attenborough: Africa hasn't warmed by 3.5 degrees C in two decades
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/n.....o-decades/

It's not often one looks to the Guardian's environment pages for an incisive and thorough critique of green propagandising. But hats off ? really ? to Leo Hickman for this ruthless deconstruction of an erroneous claim made by David Attenborough on his latest BBC nature documentary that in the last twenty years Africa has warmed by 3.5 degrees C.

3.5 degrees C in two decades? That would indeed be a remarkable temperature rise in anybody's money. (Remember, since 1850 global mean temperatures have risen by about 0.8 degrees C ? and we're supposed to find that worrying and significant). Which is why, you might have thought, the BBC would have spotted so obvious an error and removed it before the programme went out.

[Whiterun Guard]

Well, I'm back in Africa, and it's still freaking hot.

Which is all the evidence for anthropologically-caused global warming I need.

[$park?]

I'll bet it wasn't hot while you weren't there.

[Brett L]

I've seen Zulu and Breaker Morant, Africa has been hot since white men started colonizing!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The cogs of the Obama apparatus are launching social media, fundraising, and outreach campaigns ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union.

Twitter is telling me that Obama has a secretary named Lincoln and Lincoln had a secretary named Obama. Weird.

[Groovus Maximus]

A man is suing the TSA after being locked up for 25 hours for jokingly remarking to his wife and daughters that his explosives were being taken away after his peanut butter was confiscated.

TULPA REVEALED!!!

[Whiterun Guard]

I'm sure they had him out in a Jif.

[Groovus Maximus]

Damn Skippy!

[Rich]

Spread 'em!

[Lord Humungus]

She has peanut butter legs - easy to spread.

[RickC]

But are they chunky?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

But are they chunky?

Ask John. He'll know!

Har dee harr harrrrrr!!!

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

Yeah, like I would reproduce.

[Lord Humungus]

Activists eye 'naked' chickens
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com......-news.html

A PETA spokesman said the organisation wants everyone to go vegan.

"We don't want to see any chickens on display, but instead want them to live natural, happy lives with their families.

"Sexily displaying the corpse of a chicken who has been bred to grow so big, so quickly, that many collapse under their own weight, is just additionally offensive."

[Whiterun Guard]

But sexily displaying the corpses of regular chickens is still ok, right?

There goes my whole weekend if it isn't 🙁

[Groovus Maximus]

Good lord! What did the hell you do in France?

I am glad you are back in one piece, WRT. You were missed.

[Whiterun Guard]

Let's just say the parts I don't remember outweigh the parts I do remember.

And I would say it's good to be back, but I'm in Liberia.

[Kaptious Kristen]

And I would say it's good to be back, but I'm in Liberia.

Quote of the day!

[db]

I wanted to ask...what's the future looking like for Liberia? As I understand it, they need some energy infrastructure development, which someone like me may be able to help with. But I also note their corruption index is high. What are the general conditions, and would there be any hope of it being a "Free State Project, Part Deux?"

[Cdr Lytton]

Liberia was the original free state project.

[db]

That is true.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Who says the Obama Administration isn't a friend to fossil fuels? This week the Department of the Interior inked plans to auction off more than 38 million acres of federally owned waters in the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling companies, reopening opportunities for energy firms to expand their offshore drilling operations.

According to government estimates, the area up for auction?scheduled to take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in late March?could produce nearly 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

http://www.usnews.com/news/art.....els-of-oil

But, but wingnuts keep saying OBAMA WON'T LET US DRILL HERE!

[wareagle]

for his first four years, Obama did NOT allow drilling on public land. And this story is vague enough to let you create a dishonest talking point. If the leases are given and if the land is productive, then many here will say good for him.

[Palin's Buttplug]

That is ridiculous. There were thousands of new leases sold on federal land during Obama's first term.

After the BP disaster NEW deepwater (only) leases were suspended for a few months to insure that proper BOPs were being used.

[Groovus Maximus]

Ken Salazar disagrees. Tell me again why he was never put in shackles for openly defying a federal court order?

[Mike M.]

Don't feed the vermin.

[Atanarjuat]

Weren't they saying that before Obama auctioned off said leases, back when the administration was throwing various regulatory hurdles in front of drilling operations, causing them to pack up and head to more profitable locales? So your point is they were correct in saying that?

[R C Dean]

Getting the rights is one thing. Getting the permits is another.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Jihadists in Syria have seized a dam on the Euphrates.

Those dam jihadists!

[Whiterun Guard]

Euphrates? I barely knew hes!

[Rich]

Euripides?

Eumenides?

[sarcasmic]

Megan Fox.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....z2Kb0W52lI

[Heroic Mulatto]

Has oily skin.

[Kaptious Kristen]

She's still pretty hot, but she's starting to creep into too much surgery territory.

[Groovus Maximus]

Starting?! Also, seen and have much better!-)

[Kaptious Kristen]

She hasn't gone full Demi yet. You never go full Demi. (that's kind of an awesome oxymoron, "full Demi").

[Groovus Maximus]

Consider it coined, and you will receive full attribution, Kaptious One.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Scha-weet!

[sarcasmic]

High school girl suspended because of hair color.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z2Kb0W52lI

[WTF]

That's because she became a souless ginger.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Way back in the day, I finally got the high school dress code police to leave me alone when I casually mentioned that a short Mohawk fit their "not over bottom of the collar, not over the eyebrows, not over the bottom of the ears" mandate.

And, seriously, if that hair color makes it to the top of their "To Fuck With" list, they're in pretty good shape.

[Ted S.]

They wanted to fuck with her; this wsa just the most convenient way to do it.

[mnarayan]

Are those pictures of her dyed hair?

[DJF]

That is what I said,

She seems to have gone from normal brown to a normal red. No pink or bright red involved.

[Rich]

Wait 'til some kid gets suspended because of its *pubic* hair color.

[Atanarjuat]

Mandatory searches of all students' pubic regions!

/creepy high school principal

[Whiterun Guard]

"Not over bottom of the collar, not over the eyebrows, not over the bottom of the ears. Carpets must match curtains."

[Fist of Etiquette]

A man is suing the TSA after being locked up for 25 hours for jokingly remarking to his wife and daughters that his explosives were being taken away after his peanut butter was confiscated.

Maybe peanut butter gives the man wicked diarrhea.

[Whiterun Guard]

Maybe it was "Explosives!!" brand peanut butter.

Artisinal.

[John]

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013.....ss-murder/

Huffpo liberals get their murder on.

[Whiterun Guard]

MMmm, a nice big side order of Poe Slaw.

[mr simple]

That's nothing different than what some posters around here were saying. I think the sympathy for a murderer like him is over the top, but Wargas also goes too far in his criticism.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I think the sympathy for a murderer like him is over the top,

It's not over the top until an Appalachian folk singer pens a murder ballad about him.

[VG Zaytsev]

Has any evidence been presented that he is a murderer?

[BakedPenguin]

Besides the bodies and the note where he said he was going to kill people?

[Lord Humungus]

George Will: Time to break up the big banks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ml?hpid=z2

With his chronically gravelly voice and relentlessly liberal agenda, Sherrod Brown seems to have stepped out of "Les Miserables," hoarse from singing revolutionary anthems at the barricades. Today, Ohio's senior senator has a project worthy of Victor Hugo ? and of conservatives' support. He wants to break up the biggest banks.

He would advocate this even if he thought such banks would never have a crisis sufficient to threaten the financial system. He believes they are unhealthy for the financial system even when they are healthy. This is because there is a silent subsidy ? an unfair competitive advantage relative to community banks ? inherent in being deemed by the government, implicitly but clearly, too big to fail.

[Palin's Buttplug]

So George Will has joined the Occupy Wall Street morons?

Wow, and he was supposed to be a "smart one".

[Almanian!]

Yeah, I saw this yesterday.

WTF - et tu, Will? Et tu?

[Jordan]

End the Fed, FDIC, and regulatory state and those banks will break themselves up.

[sarcasmic]

Amanda Seyfried is all growed up.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....z2Kb0W52lI

[John]

She looks like Ann Hathaway's homely blond sister.

[sarcasmic]

Yes, yes, we know that if it doesn't have breasts so large that they cause back pain, you do not consider it to be female.

[John]

She looks like a female. She has a good body. She is just a butter face.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

She looks young for Marty Feldman's daughter.

[BakedPenguin]

This. Chameleon eyes.

Also, I don't care about Katy Perry, but I like her dress.

[sarcasmic]

That picture of Ellen is too funny.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Funny.

[Rights-Minimalist Autocrat]

Uhh...I'll take the homely one, then. Anne has a better rack, but that's about it.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

You mean Ann "I look like my gay brother" Hathaway?

[WTF]

Meh

[mad libertarian guy]

Meh.

[alittlesense]

Any of those three lovelies, Amanda, Anne or Katy, can eat crackers in my bed any time.

[Mainer2]

Heck, any of them can eat watermelon in my bed, as long as they don't spit the seeds.

[mad libertarian guy]

No one is permitted to eat crackers in my fucking bed. I could have Aphrodite in my bed, and if that bitch busts out crackers, her ass is getting kicked the fuck out.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not ugly. Not Kate Upton.

[A Mathematician]

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

[Longtorso]

Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign at the end of the month, saying that he is finding it difficult to carry out papal duties at his age.

POPE STEVE SMITH!!!

[Palin's Buttplug]

Viagra should fix that.

[Groovus Maximus]

Do tell, Limpy...

[Longtorso]

Betty White: 'I'm much sexier' at 91 than at 90

[Whiterun Guard]

Think she's had work? She doesn't look a day over 89.

[Lord Humungus]

A Brief History of the 1947 Chocolate Candy Bar Strike
http://mentalfloss.com/article.....z2KK4cZVEo

The year was 1947. World War II had come to an end, and nations across the globe were rebuilding. For Canada, that meant a return to free market capitalism after years of government-mandated freezes on wages and the price of goods and services. Looking to recover from nearly a decade of thin profit margins, companies began to raise the price on everything from vegetables to automobiles, sending inflation through the roof, and putting a crunch on everyone's pocketbooks.

When kids in the small town of Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia wandered down to the Wigwam Caf? on April 25, 1947, they were surprised to find that the nickel they'd saved from their allowance would no longer buy the candy bar they craved. The price of chocolate had gone up 60 percent, quite literally overnight, from 5 cents to 8 cents for a 3-ounce candy car.

Rather than accept the price increase, the kids decided to do something about it. They hastily scrawled signs, and began marching up and down the street, singing an impromptu protest song:

[sarcasmic]

High school bans friends of dying teenager who overdosed on prescription pills from selling wristbands to help her parents raise money for medical bills because it 'would glorify drug use'

Kerrigan Brandon, 15, overdosed on prescription drugs in January and now only has days to live
But school principal won't let her friends raise money for her family as it could promote drug use

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z2Kb0W52lI

[John]

He is supposed to die and his parents go bankrupt as a warning to others. Didn't you know that?

[Ted S.]

Government schools are the biggest bullies of them all.

[mad libertarian guy]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has defaulted to calling the schools in the school system by their proper name of government schools.

[Marshall Gill]

Since they are completely based upon the idea of from each according to his ability, to each according to his need I have started calling them socialist schools.

[$park?]

Something I'm sure a public university will never do.

Graduates who make less than $20,000 a year will be reimbursed for the entire amount of their student loans. The graduate's benefit will be decreased proportionately as they approach the $37,000 threshold. The assistance continues until the graduate's income rises past $37,000 or the loan is paid off.

The school says it will cover federal students loans, private alternative loans and parent PLUS loans.

Enrollment in the program is free, but graduates must work at least 30 hours per week after graduating to be eligible.

[Ted S.]

So if they can't get a job at all they're ineligible?

[Auric Demonocles]

There's always retail.

[robc]

A good idea, but I can see a loophole: Trust fund kid works a low paying job to fulfill his liberal cred sheet and to dodge paying the loans. Gets the big job with Daddy's company after 10 years of building up "credentials".

[mad libertarian guy]

It's a pretty safe bet that a trust fund kid of a rich daddy didn't qualify for Federal loans, and that private loans were never sought.

[robc]

But its now a reason to seek the private loans, as long as you get the ones the school will pay back.

[mad libertarian guy]

True enough. But I still like the idea of a university putting its money where its mouth is.

[R C Dean]

Aside from the unpleasantness and hard work of low paying jobs, he'd probably come out financially ahead to take the nepotism sinecure and just pay the loans.

[robc]

Financially, sure.

But that 10 years working for that non-profit gets him elected to office.

[Auric Demonocles]

I see this as more likely to be gamed by people near the bubble than the rich.

[Lord Humungus]

Dana Milbank: 'Trust me' is not enough on drone warfare
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

Brennan is the architect of the drone warfare program, an extraordinary assertion of the executive's powers. In this new, hidden warfare, unelected officials, without the blessing of a court, or anything else, order killings of suspected terrorists ? even American citizens, perhaps on U.S. soil.

It's an expansion of presidential authority crying out for congressional oversight, and this week was the Senate's big chance to explore in public the policy of targeted killing using unmanned aircraft. But the only drones in evidence Thursday afternoon at Brennan's confirmation hearing were the lawmakers on the dais. With few exceptions, they weren't prying, and Brennan wasn't volunteering.

[John]

Jennifer Granholm says otherwise. Obama is dreamy and you can trust him.

[Groovus Maximus]

Just the tip, John. Just the tip.

[Longtorso]

The Relentless March of the U.S. Police State
...Turley does not say much in this article about the other rail of the Police State Railway that Americans are riding to hell: the drug war, with its massive arrests, prosecution, and imprisonment of people charged only with victimless crimes and its militarization of the state and local police all over the country. (On the militarization of the police, see especially this research paper, a revised version of which will appear in the spring issue of The Independent Review.) This massive bloating of police power and legalized oppression and the corresponding suppression of individual rights have brought down to the lowest level the threats to life, liberty, and happiness that the war on terrorism has created in what most people view as a more remote and less threatening venue?"out there" somewhere, in drone-istan.

Each day, the U.S. police state grows larger, more powerful, more pervasive, and more menacing. When will the majority awaken to the realization that this threat has nothing to do with party politics, that it makes no difference whether a Republican or a Democrat occupies the presidency while our freedoms are demolished?....

[Palin's Buttplug]

Turley was despised by the GOP 2001-09.

[wareagle]

the GOP never minded the police state. Seems now that neither do the Dems. That mean the left will hate him, too, or is it okay when liberals do it?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Turley is consistent and so is the ACLU (whom I donate to since I don't have to tithe).

I can't refute either.

[wareagle]

to bad the Dems as a whole do not share that same consistency. But you already knew that. Yet, you support them anyway.

[Lord Humungus]

Gun Owner Shames Knife-Wielding Robber: 'Just Leave Your Knife Here and Leave'
http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....d-he-does/

A knife-wielding criminal attempted to hold up a convenience store in Millcreek, Utah on Monday, but left with no money and no dignity. After the robber pulled out his knife and demanded the contents in the register, the store owner said "no," drew his handgun and generously offered the crook the chance to run.

[Ted S.]

Police would have shot both guys, and their dogs.

[Restoras]

There's still time!

[$park?]

Donald Duck doesn't care about black people.

10 News reports the White family of San Diego says they complained to the park after a person dressed as Donald Duck refused to take a photo with their son, instead interacting with white children.

Nastasia White says the character made a deliberate move away from her 5-year-old son Razzi, as he ran towards Donald yelling his name, to play with a baby in a stroller.

[Almanian!]

Interesting - saw this same report on the RedEye a couple days ago, but it was the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland who wouldn't interect w/the little black children, and their family name was Black.

I smell a rat (or is that a mouse?)

[Whiterun Guard]

Wait, the headline says black people, but he wouldn't interact with the White kid.

[sarcasmic]

Apparently there was like some awards show on or something.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....z2Kb0W52lI

[mr simple]

In an apparent dig at her former British love, the singer adopted an English accent as she pretended to speak on her phone mid-performance during a rendition of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Wow, Taylor Swift is really trying to kill her love life by playing all of her drama out in public.

[Cdr Lytton]

No shit. Nice to look at, but stay the fuck away from that girl.

She's the combination of "don't stick your dick in crazy" and "never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel".

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Many singers discuss their love dramas in their songs (see Synchronicity and Tunnel of Love, for example), but what makes Swift's use of it particularly crass is that there's no discretion or subtlety in her songs. The whole basis for her fame is now writing these blatant "Fuck you"s to all of her ex-boyfriends. It's like a teenage girl setting her diary to music--superficial, histrionic, and hyper-emotional. And because we live in a superficial, histrionic, hyper-emotional age, Swift makes millions with this approach.

[Whiterun Guard]

The Obama Apparatus sounds like a John Le Carre novel or something.

[Longtorso]

Obama's non-closing of GITMO, kind NYT headlines, and US government irony
...The New York Times' Charlie Savage reported yesterday that the State Department "reassigned Daniel Fried, the special envoy for closing the prison at Guant?namo Bay, Cuba, and will not replace him". That move obviously confirms what has long been assumed: that the camp will remain open indefinitely and Obama's flamboyant first-day-in-office vow will go unfulfilled. Dozens of the current camp detainees have long been cleared by Pentagon reviews for release - including Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, a 36-year-old Yemeni who died at the camp in September after almost 11 years in a cage despite never having been charged with a crime. Like so many of his fellow detainees, his efforts to secure his release were vigorously (and successfully) thwarted by the Obama administration....

[John]

But I thought he just needed the freedom of a second term and he was going to make everyone's civil liberties dreams come true? You mean he lied to us?

[Almanian!]

Apparently he told Putin the truth, anyway.

[DJF]

Could you look into those big blue eyes and lie to Putin?

[Rich]

Officer Spencer Newman slapped the cuffs on Hannibal and charged him with falsely reporting an incident, a felony.

Not sure I can fault TSA for this one.
"Hannibal"? "Crazy Richard's"?
Better to err on the side of caution.

Seriously, if "falsely reporting an incident" is a felony, start the *high-level* handcuffing already!

[$park?]

More teachers behaving badly.

A Texas teacher is back at school after serving a suspension for pouring pencil shavings into a student's mouth.

Marquis Jay, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Boles Jr. High School in Arlington, said the incident happened in January. Jay said he was sitting with his head tilted back and mouth open when the teacher walked by and poured pencil shavings into his mouth, CBS 11 News reports.

[Groovus Maximus]

I don't buy it. No one uses pencil sharpeners anymore, what with iPads, laptops, smertphones, tablet and stylus, and mechanical pencils.

[Whiterun Guard]

Yeah, but since there's no union official to remove the sharpeners, they're still in the room. Probably still containing shavings.

[Groovus Maximus]

Wouldn't that be some sort of Green sin or EPA violation?

[Whiterun Guard]

Public schools have bought enough indulgences to last to the end of Obama's third term.

[$park?]

It's a middle school, they still have sharpeners all over the place. Just like the one my son goes to.

[Groovus Maximus]

Sorry Sparky, I don't have children, so I haven't seen the inside of a middle school since, well, since I was a wee lad.

I figured using wooden pencils was a sin against Gaia or something. Mechanical pencils are more common in UKR-landia.

[mad libertarian guy]

Sorry Sparky, I don't have children, so I haven't seen the inside of a middle school since, well, since I was a wee lad.

I NEVER saw the inside of a middle school. I went to junior high.

[Groovus Maximus]

Meh, it was my first year of school in OK, then I went to Jr. High.

[Marshall Gill]

Where did you go, Doc?

[Groovus Maximus]

Well, it wasn't Methany.-))) One of the upscale suburbs outside of Tulsa.

[Marshall Gill]

I have a neighbor who told me that people camped out, in line, for two weeks to transfer their rugrats into Bethany Schools.

[Tim]

I don't know what a smertphone is, but it sounds russian.

[LTC(ret) John]

Smersh-phone?

[Ted S.]

I presume this is another government-sector school.

[Don Mynack]

They just used to break a ruler or yardstick over your shoulder if you slept in class. Sad to see what this world is coming to.

[$park?]

Ambulance service bills for unneeded service.

A Washington, D.C., man whose father died while waiting for an ambulance says he feels "upset" and "disturbed" that he's being billed $781 for the service.

Durand Ford, Jr., said his 71-year-old father, Durand Ford, Sr., had trouble breathing on New Year's Day, News4 NBC Washington reports. He made a 911 call at 1:25 a.m., but by the time the ambulance arrived at 1:58 a.m. -- more than 30 minutes later -- his father died.

[Whiterun Guard]

If it was Domino's it'd be free.

[Rich]

Should have called the cops. They show up in *20* minutes.

[John]

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/1....._activist/

John Brennan is a secret Muslim. Well, since no one kills Muslims like other Muslims, that would explain his role as Dr. Death in two administrations.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama to Propose Spending to Boost Jobs in State of Union
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....peech.html

President Barack Obama will use his State of the Union address this week to focus on job creation and the struggles of American families, marking a renewed emphasis on the economic issues that defined his first term.

The president will offer proposals for spending on infrastructure, clean energy and education, according to a senior official briefed on the speech. He will also stress the agenda laid out in his inauguration address, pushing Congress for action on immigration, gun control and climate change.

You can lead a horse to water...
Broken record...
etc etc

[John]

Stealing and giving to his cronies is what he knows. It is his move.

[sarcasmic]

Stealing and giving to his cronies is what he knows.

Politicians are politicians.

[Almanian!]

As someone else said, Bigorati gonna bigorate.

[SweatingGin]

They can save money by just re-passing the stimulus. Give another load to Solyndra, this time it will work out just fine.

[sarcasmic]

Ke$ha is still a weirdo.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....z2Kb0W52lI

[Groovus Maximus]

Good job, now you'll summon Sparky's wrath...

[$park?]

Meh, I know he's just a jealous nelly.

[sarcasmic]

I'm jealous that you've got the hots for a weirdo?

That doesn't even make sense.

[Rich]

Judge approves birth certificate listing three parents

What is the government doing in the birth business?

[John]

Because they have to determine who to stick with the child support bill once the bull lesbian runs off with someone else. What a maroon that guy is. He just asked the court to please ensure that he is on the hook to pay for the kid.

[Almanian!]

This is the work of Big Birth

[Rich]

Word. They didn't even have the decency to list the midwife.

[$park?]

Is that the new Sesame Street character?

[mr simple]

Have we discussed this yet?

Animal-Semen Attacks On Teen Girls In United Kingdom Happening AGAIN

[Teenage Girl]

Eewww!!

[Ted S.]

Meanwhile, in Iceland, they give animal semen to seven-year-olds.

[Rich]

Just try explaining *that* to TSA!

[Almanian!]

Thank God for the Reason in the morning. This goddamned conference call is a good substitute for a sleepin pill (like most conferece calls).

[John]

http://www.wired.com/threatlev.....-seizures/

I actually did some work on this issue back during the evil Bush Administration. And they were reluctant to assert this because they new the media would go insane if they did. But we can trust Obama to claim the right to seize and search every electronic device found at the border on no suspicion at all. He will just do that to terrorists and tea baggers.

[mr simple]

"We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits," the executive summary said.

Your rights get in the way of our police state, so we decided they don't count anymore. That's definitely not news. Who could have a problem with this?

[Almanian!]

i took a shit in that Vatican once.

[Rich]

Holy shit! What a moving experience!

/Captain Obvious

[Almanian!]

I used to love watching Captain Obvious when I was a kid!

Wait - that was Captain Kangaroo. Same thing - whatev.

[Rich]

Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear, Grandfather Clock, Mr. Moose, Mr. Green Jeans, ....

The Banana Man FTW, though!

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Captain Sensible? Wot!

[Rich]

You have a First Amendment right to a workplace gun for hunting.

[Matrix]

City governments drumming up fees for parking

Legally parked? don't matter. We'll change it while you are parked!

[John]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02.....html?_r=1&

Bob Menendez, meet the bus. Both Party Organs (the WAPO and the NYT) have now decided that his being a crook, but not a pedophile is worth noticing. Over under on when the good Senator is told to step aside?

[wareagle]

saw a CNN show yesterday where teh panelists were agog that anyone would take the prostitution allegations seriously since they came from an icky right-wing source like the Daily Caller.

Then, with a total lack of self-awareness, one of the participants noted his having lost the NYT, which a Dem just cannot afford to do.

[John]

It is not like the Daily Caller had hookers and actual witnesses or anything.

The only reason they are admitting that the corruption is true is as a way to keep people from noticing the underage girls.

[Groovus Maximus]

They can't throw stones, John. It would not surprise me if some of those high-powered journalist types have equally sick fetishes.

[wareagle]

the commentator just kept going on about "it's the Daily Caller, and you know who they are", totally oblivious to her later basically saying the same thing about teh NYT.

[John]

Not like a rag like the National enquirer was ever right about anything.

[VG Zaytsev]

The Daily Caller's run by some shady Mexican billionaire, right?

[Palin's Buttplug]

You will be wrong again, President Romney. The august Senate will lightly censure their esteemed colleague.

(See Senator Dave Vitter (R) - the diaper shitter.)

[wareagle]

like the House covered for Charlie Rangel? Or will it be more like what happened to Anthony Weiner? Funny thing about you Dems - you don't much care when someone steals, but your knickers get in a twist over sex.

[Groovus Maximus]

Limpy Shriek doesn't get any, so it's projection (of many, many kinds) on his part.

[John]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuGtxt84wPQ

Yeah shreek, we know. You think pedophilia is just great as long as your side is doing it.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I wonder how long until my friend who works there jumps ship, if ever?

[Mickey Rat]

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/.....rgent#more

"I had an old fashioned belief that you should not settle if you have done no wrong. As it turns out, that is indeed old fashioned.

Our company is not large enough to risk a worst case judgment. In this action the government accused five publishers and Apple of conspiring to raise prices. As each publisher settled, the remaining defendants became responsible not only for their own treble damages, but also possibly for the treble damages of the settling publishers (minus what they settled for). A few weeks ago I got an estimate of the maximum possible damage figure. I cannot share the breathtaking amount with you, but it was much more than the entire equity of our company."

[John]

And lawyers know that. Big companies like Wall Mart that a notorious for never settling anything and having the money to go to trial, get sued much less than smaller companies who settle.

[R C Dean]

We've pretty much cowed the local malpractice bar with that very approach. You want to sue my system, you have to go out of town. Waaay out of town.

[John]

That can go the other way too. A lot of insurance companies are notorious for screwing legitimate plaintiffs by waiting them out.

[LTC(ret) John]

No such thing in mass tort/toxic tort litigation - as the hundreds of BK companies littering the landscape attest to.

(ie. how many asbestos manufacturers left?)

[sarcasmic]

Extortion is fun!

[wareagle]

hospitals settle all the time, purely because it costs far less that going to court, even if they are totally in the right.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I wonder if a long series of "it costs far less" incidents add up to far more over the long term than telling plaintiffs' attorneys working on contingency to pound sand, they aren't getting a nuisance settlement.

[Mickey Rat]

It likely does, it is just that fighting is an "all-in" bet.

[Groovus Maximus]

No, because it affects their insurability over the long run and one of the main reasons hospitals profit margins are so low. Either way, the hospital pays either the underwriter or the patient.

The new rules for CMS and JCAHO WRT "never events" meaning medical mistakes that can be avoided make this even worse, since CMS will no longer pay for these and will not pay for a repeat admit for the same condition within 30 days.

Add into the fact that ObamneyCare now requires insurance coverage if you are in possession of a pulse, guaranteed coverage, and 26 year old children is going to make this problem worse. By design.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

No, because it affects their insurability over the long run and one of the main reasons hospitals profit margins are so low. Either way, the hospital pays either the underwriter or the patient.

So incentives don't work here? If you make it harder on the plaintiffs' lawyers, why wouldn't there be fewer nuisance suits?

How does refusal to pay out every suit make them less insurable?

If there are legitimate questions of liability, that's a whole 'nother question.

[Groovus Maximus]

So incentives don't work here? If you make it harder on the plaintiffs' lawyers, why wouldn't there be fewer nuisance suits?

Not in med-mal claims, as the payouts can overcome difficulty to bring suit; AKA "Juries". Hospitals may not have a ton of disposable cash, but their insurers do, and complaints can affect a hospitals overall rating. Underwriters don't like hearing about lots of complaints, whether there is a payout or not.

How does refusal to pay out every suit make them less insurable?

Depending on the case, if mistake occurred, but not life-threatening, not paying out a shakedown suit can affect the reputation of both the hospital and the practitioner.

If there are legitimate questions of liability, that's a whole 'nother question.

Once again, depends on the case.

[R C Dean]

Nightie, our experience is that it costs far less to have a rep for squeezing all the profit out of making a nuisance complaint.

We're self-insured, BTW, so we don't have to deal with an insurance company wanting to sell out our reputation to protect their short-term financials.

[Groovus Maximus]

We're self-insured, BTW, so we don't have to deal with an insurance company wanting to sell out our reputation to protect their short-term financials.

RC, that's for the hospital proper (assuming a private hospital that doesn't accept CMS), but the nuisance also comes back on the practitioner as well. But that's why we are also self-insured. Well, those in private practice and not employed directly by the hospital proper, that is.

But even being hauled into court for the express purpose of a successful settlement can affect the reputation of the practitioner. It's in the best interests of the practitioner to fight at all costs if no malpractice has taken place.

I've fended off two cases total in summary judgement, and the judge in the second case was demonstrably hostile towards doctors (my atty. did recommend at first to settle for this reason; "Groove, bad news, we drew the wrong judge") and I refused, as I did nothing wrong. She is basically RC Dean in a skirt (and wasn't hard on the eyes either). It was expensive, particularly the second one (thank SOD for documentation) but one CANNOT buy back a reputation. I told her to, "Leave their case a smoking hole in the ground!" And she did.-))))

[Night Elf Mohawk]

It's in the best interests of the practitioner to fight at all costs if no malpractice has taken place.

I guess I'm missing how that is inconsistent with what I said.

[Groovus Maximus]

I guess I'm missing how that is inconsistent with what I said.

Practitioner, unless directly employed by The Hospital =/= The Hospital.

[Groovus Maximus]

Another way of putting it, NEM, is The Hospital is a bigger target and generally not going anywhere, and neither are sick people. The physician is more easily replaced (relatively speaking).

[Night Elf Mohawk]

What malpractice do hospitals, qua hospitals, commit that can't be tracked to a practitioner? Don't hospitals expect practitioners to indemnify them for any losses caused by the practitioner?

[Groovus Maximus]

What malpractice do hospitals, qua hospitals, commit that can't be tracked to a practitioner?

Practitioner, in this context, is the doc.

Nurses* and other staff employed directly by the hospital, such as medication administration errors (a big one, since most docs don't ever admin their own meds), mix-ups in records, infection control (also a biggie), equipment malfunction, and other issues that are under the purview of the hospital itself.

*Nurses may or may not carry their own liability policies at their own risk; there are pros and cons to this strategy.

Don't hospitals expect practitioners to indemnify them for any losses caused by the practitioner?

Only if the hospital is specifically named in a suit and it goes to trial, and another reason my liability/med-mal insurance is so high in the USA.

In both my cases, the hospital was not on the hook as it provided me the OR space, but the OR is, for all intents and purposes, mine, and I am responsible for everything associated with that case as the surgeon, pre-op, intra-op, and post-op. The other people in the room at the time were named (SOP), but were dropped as they either didn't have liability insurance or it wasn't worth going after them (also SOP).

I told you before, every time I pick up a scalpel, I am THE potential target.

[Whiterun Guard]

Wish they'd just have folded up the company and fired everyone, very publicly.

But I guess that's easy for me to say.

[Rich]

"... so God made a liberal."

[SugarFree]

The Adventures of Florida Man

You know all those stranger-than-fiction news headlines detailing the bizarre exploits of someone identified only as "Florida man"? Imagine that all of those headlines referred to a single person, and that this person is superhero who causes mayhem wherever he goes.

Twitter account @_FloridaMan collects the wackiest "Florida man" headlines, creating a chronology of a superpowered guy who just can't win.

[Groovus Maximus]

creating a chronology of a superpowered guy who just can't win

Steeep right up! Taking bets now on which member of our commentariat this is!

It should be noted that Pro'L Dib, Brett L, and Mensan all live in FL...

[Brett L]

I've read the Evil Overlord list, so I'm not the lame super-villain listed here.

[Stormy Dragon]

CNN anchor asks Bill Nye if asteroids are caused by global warming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObU7awpJctQ

[Rich]

"It's all science!"

[Stormy Dragon]

To be fair, I'm not sure how else he segues from a line like that to what he was actually there to talk about.

[Mickey Rat]

Nye walked a fine line between politely ignoring the asinine nature of the question or blowing up the segment by explicitly pointing it out.

[Loki]

Of course he did. Pointing out the stupidity of a CNN anchor is a good way to never get invited to speak on CNN again.

[Bardas Phocas]

You can't explain that.

[John]

So on the radio this morning they had a guy who has written several books about sports fixing talking about the European soccer scandal. The guy made a great point I hadn't ever thought of. He said the reason why the soccer scandal came to light and the people involved prosecuted was because Europe has legal sports betting. That means the betting is done through legitimate corporations who have every reason to want to expose fixing and are in a position to notice and report suspect betting patterns.

The US in contrast, sports betting is illegal outside of Vegas, which only does like 1% of the actual book. As a result, there is no one to notice or report suspect betting patterns. And amazingly enough, there hasn't been a confirmed case of fixing games in the professional ranks since 1954. His point was that the big sports leagues in the US fight against legalized sports betting not because they want to protect the integrity of their game but because they know that a good number of their games are compromised and want to preserve the appearance of integrity.

[Whiterun Guard]

If American pro sports were fixed, there would be much better matchups in the championships than there have been in the past few years.

Also Dusty Rhodes would still be World Heavyweight Champion.

[John]

Like the mafia and the people who fix sports care what makes a good matchups. We are not talking about the leagues fixing games. We are talking about organized crime fixing games. It happens in every big money sport in the world, except amazingly for American sports.

Do you really think that is because those dirty ferhners are just more likely to do such things? Or is it more likely we just don't know when our games are fixed because nearly all our sports betting is underground.

[robc]

Also, most of the fixing in Europe is done in matches no one is paying attention to.

In tennis, for example, it would be between two 100+ ranked players playing in the 1st round of some dinky non-grand slam tourney.

If #105 loses to #195, its an upset, but not that unusual.

[John]

Apparently they managed to fix over 800 soccer games including world cup qualifiers and a few Champions League matchups. You don't think they could fix a first round NBA playoff game or some game in Utah in mid February?

[robc]

World Cup Qualifiers: It was Finland vs Someone else who wasnt qualifying.

That is like fixing a first round Big Sky basketball tourney match.

Now, Italy did have match fixing in Serie A, but I dont think that was gambling related, but teams buying off refs or something.

The match that made me an Everton fan in 1994 was almost assuredly fixed. The dramatic comeback (Everton was down 2-0 and won 3-2 late to avoid relegation) and situation put far too much attention on that match.

Had it been a month or even a week earlier, probably would have never been discovered.

[robc]

Lichtenstein turns out to be that someone else. And the ref who fixed the match was from Bosnia.

So, that was more like the NBA situation with Tim Donaghy.

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah, but they fixed matches like Finland vs. Liechtenstein.

[BakedPenguin]

Or what robc said.

[Loki]

You don't think they could fix a first round NBA playoff game...

Hell it's almost accepted by some people as canon that the NBA playoffs are rigged. It's pretty much a known fact that superstar players get deferential treatment from the refs (the "Jordan rules"). Also the league will assign shitty referees to work games that they want the home team to win because bad refs are more likely to allow themselves to be swayed by the home crowd whereas a more confident ref will be more likely to call the game fairly.

And then of course there was that scandal a few years ago when that one referee was discovered actually fixing games for the mob. I doubt very much that he was alone.

[John]

Fixing is the most plausible explanation for the results of the 01 Buck 76ers series and the 02 Lakers Kings series. Sorry, no refs are that bad and even if they are, no way do all of the bad calls happen to go against one team.

[Cyto]

the "Jordan Rules" are not about refs deferring to superstars. Chuck Daly coined the term as a way for his Pistons to defeat the Bulls. Any time Jordan drove into the lane, Daly wanted him planted into the floor. Hard fouls for Jordan, all the time, every time. Hard bumps on cuts through the lane. Anything to tire him out and make him think twice about coming in the lane. As a bonus, the refs would be less likely to call "incidental contact" fouls for Jordan.

"Jordan Rules" pretty much means exactly the opposite of what you are trying to say. Not that you don't get an extra half step when you are on the Wheaties box....

[Groovus Maximus]

Also Dusty Rhodes would still be World Heavyweight Champion.

That man had the biggest mewbs... Bladed like a motherfucker, too.

[Auric Demonocles]

What is a bigger proof that either God doesn't exist or he's a dick:

1) The Pope has to retire cause he's too weak.

2) No alt-text in the AM Links.

[RBS]

Feeney needs to get with the program.

[invisible furry hand]

Destroying Australia, one stupid rule at a time:

Kids will be banned from blowing out candles on communal birthday cakes, under strict new hygiene rules for childcare

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ne.....6571089528

[Whiterun Guard]

That's ridiculous. Every one of those kids walked past 50 creatures way more dangerous than MRSA or whatever on the way to school.

It's freaking Australia. Trying to make it safe for kids is like trying to make the sun safe for snowmen.

[Anonymous Coward]

I was under the impression that the Aussies prided themselves on not being pussies.

[invisible furry hand]

Americans in Switzerland called John spit the dummy over FATCA

http://www.thelocal.ch/page/vi.....RjZ8R2zeSo

[Groovus Maximus]

"Offshore tax evasion costs the US jobs and billions of dollars each year, and it puts an unfair burden on the average American taxpayer to make up the difference," Senator Max Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and sponsored the legislation, told the New York Times last year to explain why FATCA was needed.

Yes, Sen. Baucus, you motherfucking vampire, if you weren't raising taxes and implementing ObamneyCare, I wouldn't have had to leave. BTW, expats are on the hook for worldwide holdings and we do pay our taxes, there are just treaties against double taxation; I merely consolidated and decreased my tax exposure. All within the rules.

[Mickey Rat]

Groovus, you should know by now that if you escaped the amount of taxation the Baucuses in this country think you should pay by playing by the rules they create, then you were cheating. It is unfair!

[mad libertarian guy]

Yep.

See the notion that gun manufacturers were "circumventing" US gun laws, when in actuality they were COMPLYING with the law.

[Mickey Rat]

"Greetings from Paris.

I know you came here to read the Switzerland news today, but I hope you won't mind a little news from France first."

Actually, I do.

[invisible furry hand]

beyond parody:

Leading members of Germany's socialist Left party are backing an initiative to shorten the country's workweek to 30 hours without lowering wages in a bid to create more jobs.

No word yet on demands for rainbow unicorns who shit icecream

Bonus: picture of scary socialist!

http://www.thelocal.de/politic.....RjZpR2zeSo

[H. Reardon]

Bontrop told the Tageszeitung he was aware that union bosses would be skeptical of the move because they believed their employees would be too scared about a pay cut and having to do the same amount of work in less time.

"My experience is that a fundamental knowledge and awareness is lacking," he said, adding that many union leaders "don't get first-semester economics. You have to limit labour otherwise you can't raise wages."

The stupid. It burns!

[Kaptious Kristen]

A super-duper anti-war, anti-drone liberal friend of mine posted a pic on her Facebook of Barry O. looking in a mirror and seeing GWB in the reflection. Then another super-super liberal friend replied "that's offensive and unfair!".

I hope they keep fighting among themselves.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for word on whether I can get the fuck out of the DC hellhole and disappear into the great white north.

[John]

I went to a going away party last night for a woman my wife works with. Her friends were mostly late 20 something Washington hipsters. There were a couple of people who had seem to really turned on Obama. The rest were so angry about it the others daring to question Obama they refused to even talk about it.

[mad libertarian guy]

There were a couple of people who had seem to really turned on Obama.

In their rhetoric, sure.

But I'd be willing to bet that every single one of them voted for him in the last election. Every. Single. One.

[John]

One guy claimed to have voted for Johnson, but only because he just knew Obmaa was going to win Virginia.

It was frankly shocking how stupid and uninformed they all were. For example, none of them knew what I was talking about when I referenced Nixon's war in Cambodia. None of them had any idea and refused to believe that the Obama administration practices rendition or that very few people were actually waterboarded under Bush.

They were poster children for the low information voter, which would be okay except they all thought themselves so cool and so informed. It was scary.

[Auric Demonocles]

My girlfriend is talking about how much she wants to move back to DC (did a semester there in undergrad). She doesn't seem to understand why I'm willing to move somewhere with her, but if it's DC we're breaking up.

[Kaptious Kristen]

A semester in DC in one's early 20's cannot possibly give anyone an idea of what it's like living here. I went to college here and I had a great time. All that changed when I gradumacated and started working here.

[RBS]

I lived there for 2 years after college and had a blast. Now I have a family and I think it would be terrible.

[Auric Demonocles]

Some of the reasons she gives for why she liked it there seem very very weak. I think she is viewing it through rose colored glasses.

There's dozens of free museums to go to?

OK, we go to the 5 or so we're interested in over the span of a year. Now you think we're going to go back that much?

It was easy to meet people there and they'll all invite you to other parties and to hang out and stuff when you were hanging out with your roommates? People do that up here in Boston too (and really everywhere). I ended up a random blizzard party on Friday and am going to trivia with a apartment full of people I met there. You just have to have someone outgoing with you, which is probably who your roommates were.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I couldn't tell you the last time I went to one of those dozens of free museums. And the most interesting one, Udvar-Hazy, is not free in that they make you pay a shitload for parking, which the attendants pocket.

[Virginian]

Yeah the only place in the world you can be looking at a Space Shuttle, then turn around and see an SR-71. Coolest freaking aircraft hangar ever.

[SugarFree]

but if it's DC we're breaking up.

So you'll do anything for love, but you won't do that?

[Groovus Maximus]

You're a horrible person, Saccharin Man.

[mr simple]

My first thought as well.

[Auric Demonocles]

Or be celibate.

[BakedPenguin]

No pope hat for you!

[Auric Demonocles]

If I was pope I could change things!

My girlfriend and I are even both Catholic (but non-practicing)!

[jb4479]

But,

...the word was CELEBRATE!!!!

[Loki]

Truly public school teachers are TOP. MEN. Take this fine example:

Teacher films child porn at school where he worked.

Lowlights from the article:

In December 2001, Brooks accepted a friend request on the peer-to-peer network. That person was an undercover agent who was able to access and download graphic videos and images.

Why the fuck has it taken ~12 years to get a guilty plea from this shit stain? Was this piece of infectious human waste still on NY public schools' payroll and put in a "rubber room" during this time, or is this what a NY city public school teacher has to do to get fired? Inquiring minds, blah blah blah, etc.

[Whiterun Guard]

Leftists demand 100% tax on the rich. In Germany.

"We are suggesting that no-one should earn over 40 times the societal minimum," said The Left's co-leader Katja Kipping in the party's draft election platform, which was seen by regional newspaper the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.

[sarcasmic]

Socialists believe in force, not incentives.

So they simply do not understand that taking away incentive to create wealth will result in less wealth being created, and will likely demand that force be used when this policy fails.

[Auric Demonocles]

But how could this possibly remove the incentive to earn money over the limit? That doesn't even make sense! The intent of the law would be to get more revenue, not get people to stop working.

[db]

Yes. This is more lilely to result in business owners downscaling production to comply with circumvent the law than to gain additional revenue for the government.

[Mickey Rat]

As Tom Sowell points out, the actual wage minimum is zero, so 40 times that is zero as well.

[Loki]

Germany: setting new benchmarcks in Full Retard since 1932.

[Sevo]

"The cogs of the Obama apparatus are launching social media, fundraising, and outreach campaigns ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union."

The man simply cannot stop campaigning.

[Loki]

The man simply cannot stop campaigning.

Well it is pretty much the only thing he's ever succeeded at.

[Sevo]

Keep doing what you do well!
I remember that advice.

[Mickey Rat]

As Tom Sowell points out, the actual wage minimum is zero, so 40 times that is zero as well.

[Enough About Palin]

Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign at the end of the month, saying that he is finding it difficult to carry out papal duties at his age.

It's Hard Out There for a Pope.

[Brett L]

C'mon, the correct song reference is "Popin' Ain't Easy".

[db]

Pope my Ride.