Obama Wants Federal Workers To Pay More for Pensions, Many Smokers Won't Be Charged Extra Under Obamacare, Background Check Didn't Catch Sheriff's Killer: P.M. Links

• 

  Public Domain

  The president's proposed budget would hike pension contributions by federal workers. Countdown to the screams of betrayed disbelief in 3 … 2 … 1 …

• The Post Office won't cancel Saturday delivery, after all. So your junk mail should arrive on schedule.
• The man who killed Sheriff Eugene Crum of Mingo County, West Virginia, had passed a background check to the buy the gun he used, despite being officially forbidden to buy firearms. Oh oh. Better pass another law.
• With its usual logic, the goverment bleeds and browbeats us about smoking on the one hand, and then makes smoking a preexisting condition under Obamacare, for which insurers in many states are forbidden to charge higher rates. Might as well light up; you're paying for it, anyway
• Lithuanian authorities are tracking construction and property sales via Google Maps in order to catch tax evaders. Why didn't the IRS— Never mind.
• Perhaps a bit fatigued from the nostalgia-laden overseas adventure, France has begun pulling its troops from Mali.
• The state of Washington is suing a florist who refused to provide arrangements for a same-sex wedding, because … a right is no good if you can't turn it into a compulsion?

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The president's proposed budget would hike pension contributions by federal workers.

So he knew when he submitted it it wasn't going anywhere.

[db]

What did I say about Bitcoin turning ugly?

[Virginian]

Yeah I never was convinced about Bitcoin. But I found a silver quarter in my pocket change today. You know something....even if you didn't know what it was, you can tell it's worth something. It just feels like it has value.

[db]

Rrrrrriiiinnnnnnnggggggggggg!

[Virginian]

yeah it sounds better, feels better, looks better.

[Warty]

A silver quarter? I'll give you 50 cents for it.

[Virginian]

It's worth 4.90 or so in melt value I think. But remember inflation is just a right wing meme!

[db]

Hey, and a gallon of gas is now worth two gallons of gas!

[Virginian]

I personally am a big fan of explaining to people that the dollar they save in 2013 will be worth, assuming trends continue, about 5 cents in 2033. They tend to dismiss that, because "dude a dollar is a dollar". Some tell me that things are actually getting more expensive in real terms. So the public schools are still working as intended.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I'd like to see that math on that one, please.

[Virginian]

assuming trends continue, about 50 cents in 2033

We need an edit button.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

You're expecting 16% inflation per year for 20 years?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

I'd like to see that math on that one, please.

No shit. 1.16^20=19.46

[CE]

No, more like 1000 percent inflation for 2 years, before they actually try austerity and debt cancellation.

[Matrix]

Virginian, I tried to explain this to my roommate, who continued to ignore me. I told him that he needs to invest in higher yield/higher risk funds for his retirement instead of sticking with government bonds with low yield. He said "A dollar is a dollar." No, it's really not.

It's why I would rather buy something on 0% interest for X months/years than pay the whole price right now. My money is worth more to me now than it will be in 5 years.

[db]

Holy shit. One of the things you learn early on in chemical engineering (at least in my program) is economic analysis of projects and how the value of money changes over time. That shit shit should be taught in high school, and it's clear thqt outside of business or engineering curricula, it's not even being taught at the collegiate level. We are indeed doomed by our fellow citizens' ignorance.

[Brett L]

$250 was ridiculous. There's something like 15M bitcoins. Nothing is worth that much in week over week value gain.

[np]

That's totally normal and expected from purely free market fluctuating spot supply and demand, as opposed to other commodities driven by futures markets.

In fact this is just on one exchange Mt Gox, albeit the largest one currently. But Mt.Gox is purging US customers in a couple months and transferring them to a US firm due to FACTA.

In fact, that's not that bad at all. You can get major swings in just one day. A couple years it experienced a very large crash. I was actually hoping for a BIGGER correction, since it's still more now than it was a few week ago.

But all of this is simply looking at this from the perspective of dollar exchange rate. The money supply of bitcoin itself is the most stable in the world among national currencies. And because of its limited supply, that is growing slower and slower until it reaches the 21 mil limit, and its unique attributes and utility, the demand will pick back up and this sell off, as it always does.

[db]

Obama has now crossed into less than 50% approval territory according to Rasmussen, his lowest score yet since his re-election.

[Rich]

If he gets his gun control safety legacy done, he won't mind being only a two-term President.

[AuH20]

Did none of his people ever hear of the concept of a lame duck, or are they such special snowflakes they can't believe it would happen to them?

[AlmightyJB]

So you're assuming there will be another presidential election:)

[Archduke Pantsfan]

The most popular car on the planet? The Ford Focus.

[db]

It's a good car.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Let me try this again. In Jeremy Clarkson's voice:
"The Ford Focus is the most popular car in the world"

[db]

Consider me your Captain Slow for the purposes of the previous comment.

[Joe M]

Shit, that's what I drive.

[db]

It really is a good car.

[AlmightyJB]

Does that include pick up trucks?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The state of Washington is suing a florist who refused to provide arrangements for a same-sex wedding...

Spite flowers are the prettiest flowers.

[DJF]

Not surprising, the whole purpose of having laws regarding marriage is so that you can use that law to force others to acknowledge that marriage.

People who want to acknowledge that marriage will do so even without a law.

[jesse.in.mb]

Sigh. We've covered this already.

Unless you can fix the nation's immigration system, stop the courts from forcing people to testify against one another and completely reform the tax code, SS survivor benefits and a great many other things, you can STFU about "the whole purpose of laws regarding marriage"

[The Immaculate Trouser]

The country really whiffed it in the 90s when civil unions were a logical and viable compromise position -- but no, everyone had to have that extra bit of jubilant triumpalist victory; that little bit of rubbing in.

I suppose that one side of the equation did end up achieving total victory for themselves -- but what a waste.

[jesse.in.mb]

I agree. I don't know that I can really fault anyone for how it played out though. SoCons had a good wedge issue and went around using it gleefully, and I don't know it's reasonable to expect gay rights activists to be gracious winners after the Federal Marriage Amendment attempts, DOMA, man-dog marriage, and the anti-gay show-trials of the '50s at this point (they're only human after all).

[DJF]

Why don't you STFU and work to get rid of these things instead of compounding them?

More laws, more people who get special privileges from those laws and so more government. Congratulations.

[jesse.in.mb]

From the earlier thread:

I don't think your position is unreasonable, GB, and I agree with it in intent, but I don't see the tax code, insurance coverage, immigration law, the 5th amendment et al lining up to be reformed in a way where marriage doesn't matter. You'll forgive me if I'm not content with "wait until we have a libertarian overhaul of many key government structures and then you can not be coerced into testifying against your partner."

[DJF]

So the answer is to increase government and use that government to drive a florist out of business?

And of course the government marriage license you get is not even your contract, the government has the right to change it whenever they want.

[jesse.in.mb]

Look, we just did about an hour of this in the other thread, and I'm not that into rehashing the whole thing again.

I have no interest in driving florists out of business. It's laudable that you're so interested in limiting the scope of government, it really is, but it's a bit frustrating that you think it's just dandy to limit it for me, but you would be perfectly comfortable invoking the 5th if your (theoretical) spouse were in legal trouble.

I have a serious problem with people drawing a line in the sand and saying "NOT FOR YOU" while you're free to get married and have access to various legal protections.

My STFU was explicitly about the fact that you were arguing there is no other reason for gays to want access to legal structures that you can take for granted other than the expansion of government to force others to recognize our relationships.

[wareagle]

here we go. And why is the state suing rather than the offended parties?

[Xlotl]

Because then the offended parties don't have to pay for it! Woohoo!

[AlmightyJB]

What would be great is if the offended parties came out and said that the reason they didn't sue is because that would be stupid.

[Episiarch]

Might as well light up; you're paying for it, anyway

OK, I will.

[Rich]

smoking a preexisting condition

With all due respect, WTF is *not* "a preexisting condition"?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Dr. Groovus getting pussy whipped?

[Rich]

It was congenitally latent.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

In Soviet Ukraine, he whips pussy.

[NeonCat]

Rigor mortis is a post-existing condition.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Apparently you can get some virus by watching Porn.

[Dweebston]

I was hoping for a Snow Crash-esque bent. I was disappointed.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Um, block the ads?

[Enough About Palin]

"Researcher Conrad Longmore found that two popular sites - xhamster and pornhub - posed the greatest risk."

xhamster? WTF?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Yeah, I was embarrassed I'd never heard of that one, too.

[a better weapon]

pssh, amateurs

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The data showed that xhamster - listed by monitoring firm Alexa as the 46th most popular site on the internet

I took a look at Alexa, and apparently Playboy's is in the top 25. It's probably the only thing still making them money these days.

[Generic Stranger]

Adblock + NoScript FTW.

[rts]

Sikhs allowed kirpans in B.C. courtrooms

Too bad handguns weren't around when Guru Nanak founded Sikhism.

[Rich]

According to the Sikh religion, the kirpan symbolizes ... the duty to stand against injustice.

"'Religion' ..... Yeah, *that's* the ticket! 'According to the 2A religion ....'"

[Virginian]

My Sikh classmate in high school had one that was welded to the sheath...or scabbard...or whatever you call it. He switched to his real one after school.

Someone should start the Church of Browning, and claim 1st Amendment violations every time the right to carry is denied.

[Restoras]

Fuck you and your heathen religion. Everyone knows the Church of Sig Sauer is the one true faith.

[rts]

Splitters!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"

Northern Conservative?Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.

[NeonCat]

Always loved that bit.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

It's a lot more believable and funny in the Muslim version.

[Virginian]

Fuck you and your heathen religion. Everyone knows the Church of Sig Sauer is the one true faith.

Oh only for people who like shitty double action pulls and decockers.

Condition One Carry is the only true way!

[Restoras]

*considering converting, checking the Church of Sig owner's manual for apostasy penalties...*

[db]

You never see Browning copying SIG designs, do you?

[shamalam]

There is only one God and Glock is his prophet!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Finland has banned Vladimir Putin.

[Brett L]

They do hate Russians, and he's the biggest Russian of all.

[db]

I feel I must disagree. Mikhail Gorbachov is Bigger and Russianer

[JWatts]

It says they 'accidentally' added him to the Criminal Blacklist. Silly Finns, VIP criminals get VIP treatment, everyone knows that.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The man who killed Sheriff Eugene Crum of Mingo County, West Virginia, had passed a background check to the buy the gun he used, despite being officially forbidden to buy firearms.

Well, I, uh, don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.

[Dweebston]

Mumble type-two errors grumble type-one LOOK SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE, RIGHT?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

The French president's camel has been eaten.

[Rich]

Toes and all.

[Restoras]

You are what you eat...

[shamalam]

+69

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Maine has a less rapey and more burglary STEVE SMITH impersonator:

Christopher Knight went into the central Maine wilderness 27 years ago.

He built a hut on a slope in the woods, where he spent his days reading books and meditating.

There he lived, re-entering civilization only to steal supplies from camps under the cover of darkness. During those nearly three decades, he spoke just once to another person ? until he was arrested during a burglary last week.

[Episiarch]

That's where Chris Knight got off to? IT'S A MORAL IMPERATIVE

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, viral marketing for the sequel. Smart.

[db]

He decided he need to go out and learn vital survival skills.

[Zeb]

Stealing is wrong and all, but that's kind of awesome.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hoax.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

The clean shaven and clean clothes part leans that way. The "moldy cash from the 90s" doesn't.

The claim his eyesight is failing is a good try, the idea that he kept a functioning pair of glasses for 27 years stretches credulity more than the idea he survived all those winters without a fire.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The most damning assertion? TWENTY-SEVEN MAINE WINTERS.

[CE]

People used to live there no problem. They even left civilization to do so because they preferred it. At least I read that somewhere last year on the Internet.

[Scarcity]

Weird. It's been a bad week for long-time outlaw survivalists.

Editor's Note: Just a few days before this story was due to hit news stands ? and after months of reporting ? writer Jacob Baynham received a phone call from Sheriff Nathan Curtis saying that Troy Knapp had been captured outside of a cabin near Ferron Reservoir, Utah. Knapp was reported to have fired shots at a Department of Public Safety helicopter but was taken into custody without injury. This story from our May, 2013, issue recounts the seven-year manhunt that led to his arrest.

http://www.mensjournal.com/mag.....z2Q5zKt28l

[sloopyinca]

Christopher Knight went into the central Maine wilderness 27 years ago.

Jesus Christ. Those Brady Bunch royalties must have sucked.

[Coeus]

Connor at the Atlantic weighs in on the "All your kids belong to us" MSNBC promo. Many of the comments are insane. A sample:

CitizenE Knoway4 ? an hour ago ?
All I know is this: before Proposition 13 in the state of California, the harbinger of all things libertarian in our tax evasion nation, that state had the best public education system in the world. Since, well it manages to exist somewhere in the bottom ten of the United States. There you have it. Money invested in education is no guarantee, but not investing money in it has a certain outcome.

[Matrix]

But when you point out that most other countries that have far superior education systems typically spend less per child than we do in this country, they completely ignore you.

[wareagle]

more money = better results is among the tenets of the liberal faith. There is no questioning it.

[JWatts]

California still spends more money than the average state does, for poor performance. So, spending more money doesn't guarantee a better education.

However, you can guarantee that less money for education is less money in public service union pockets.

[John]

They really are insane. They are so full of hate. Liberals are the most pissed off people on earth it seems.

[generic Brand]

I don't know John. I can be pretty pissed off about how stupid liberals and progressives are sometimes.

[Virginian]

Except Utah has some of the lowest funding, but some of the best public schools.

Virginia's funding is nothing special, and the teacher's union is quite weak, but the schools are pretty good overall.

[John]

And of course California school funding is much higher now that it ever was before Prop 13.

[A Serious Man]

State law requires HALF of all revenue to go towards edu-ma-cation.

[C. Anacreon]

We just got back from the accountant and paid our federal and California state taxes. Whoever that motherfucker is who thinks we don't pay enough in taxes in this state better stay clear of me for the next few days.

Jeez, Prop 13 again? Just about anyone still significantly benefiting from that will die within the next ten years anyway.

[fish]

And of course California school funding is much higher now that it ever was before Prop 13.

Well why the fuck let facts interrupt a good lefty whinefest?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Which proposition was it that tried to keep the illegal aliens from using tax dollars for school that the courts overturned? If we're looking for one law/court decision causes...

[T]

Yup. because the budget for schools in CA decreased after Prop 13. That's all the evidence you don't need!

[C. Anacreon]

Actually, one of the big goals of the "move everyone out of single-family detached homes into stack-and-pack apartments" movement so hot in California right now would love to overturn Prop. 13. Logic: 1) Prop 13 overturned, property assessments rise to market price of house. 2) Old folks still living in houses can't afford taxes, sell house and move to small apartments. 3)Stack-and-pack apartments, which nobody wanted before, start to fill up finally. 4) Justification for more houses to be bulldozed to build more stack-and-pack houses!

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Actually, one of the big goals of the "move everyone out of single-family detached homes into stack-and-pack apartments" movement so hot in California right now

I'm down with this if they start calling the coast "MegaCity 2" and they start instituting Judges who have the power to execute people on the spot.

[$park?]

Wait, what? We need a translator for that. Where's the resident retard whisperer?

[Brett L]

First of all, kids don't "belong" to anyone. However, since they cannot uphold the responsibilities nor exercise their rights in their own best interests reliably until they have a certain amount of learning and experience, someone has to act on their behalf. It is not the same as owning them.

[Xenocles]

This. Of course, that's not where she stayed with her remarks.

[Coeus]

And the majority of the comments are along the lines of "that's not what she meant. You're being too literal". And for most of those commenters, their next comment on another article will probably involve sarcastically saying the phrase "legitimate rape".

[PapayaSF]

"If only more people had been forced out of their homes by skyrocketing property taxes, our schools would be in good shape!"

[Joe M]

Parents raising their own children as they see fit can disagree vehemently, even on deeply held values, and coexist with nothing more dramatic than incredulous bitching to their spouses about other nearby parents. Conceive of the community as ultimately responsible for raising kids and see how suddenly, intractably contentious and upsetting a formerly thriving place becomes.

This is the problem with ALL politics.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Margaret Thatcher's Funeral: An Act of Coercion

The funeral planned for Margaret Thatcher ? a state funeral in all but name ? is an act of coercion and a masquerade. It will be pretending, at a time when the social divisions of her legacy have never been more acute, that on this at least the British are at one. Worse, it will be proclaiming that image of false unity to the whole world. As if, for the space of a day, we are all meant to take time off from the cruel and increasing forms of inequality, the self-regarding ethos, the worship of money, that she left behind.

[John]

It will be pretending, at a time when the social divisions of her legacy have never been more acute,

If everyone would just shut up and go along with the hive, there wouldn't be any social divisions.

[Libertymike]

But John, there is no denying that Great Britian's embrace of totalitarianism galloped along during Maggie's reign.

Its not as if Maggie did all she could to eliminate the mounting of cameras everywhere.

Its not as if Maggie actually tried to stop the implementation of regulations by Britian's regulatory bodies.

Its not as if Maggie actually tried to end all forms of protectionism.

She was a statist, through and through. Its particularly disappointing given her family's small business roots.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

You're wrong on all three counts.

Protectionism significantly decreased during her tenure.

The security cams took off in the 90s and 00s -- long after Thatcher left office.

There were several regulatory overhauls initiated by Thatcher -- some of them were written about in Reason.

[John]

All of those things you mention were the product of Blair not Thatcher. And Thatcher objected to the EU super state.

[Zeb]

She's certainly no libertarian hero. But she did reverse some of the more awful trends toward outright socialism (by which I mean direct government ownership of major industries).

[Killazontherun]

Damn if she didn't make all the right enemies. From retarded punk rockers to Sandinista cock slurping MPs.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Seriously. I hope to have at least one leftist webpage devote a countdown timer to my death.

[EnglishCuckoo]

Along with the entire populations of Wales and Scotland, several Northern English cities, and the entire EU bureaucracy, now joined by third generation not-miners and not steel-workers, every public sector worker including the Civil Service (as remade by Blair and Brown) and the Occutard NUS (currently working to put 'Ding Dong the Witch is Dead' at the top of the music charts). Not forgetting, of course, the current government front bench and most especially the PM, Mr D. Cameron, the Heir to Blair. It's one thing being behind Millibland in the polls. It's quite another being behind a dead woman...

[tarran]

The one thing that really pisses me off about Thatcher was the seed funding she gave to the Anthropogenic Global Warming Cult.

She intended to use it to provide harassing fire against the Coal Miner's Union.

Like the Germans packing Lenin on a train into Russia, her clever idea has spawned all sorts of human misery. In this case, that includes a measurable uptick in deaths in the United Kingdom as people who couldn't afford heat froze to death thanks to the fuel poverty imposed by the crown.

[Virginian]

Like the Germans packing Lenin on a train into Russia, her clever idea has spawned all sorts of human misery.

Yeah that was one of the bigger blunders of all time.

I really hope the green thing doesn't end up like that.

[Libertymike]

Ah, some of you are regurgitating the propaganda which has been spoon fed to you.

The state got bigger and more intrusive under Thathcer. Any asseveration to the contrary is pure poppycock unsupported by the record.

Take socialized medicine. What did she do to eliminate it? Did she have the stones to take on the biggest protectionist racket in the Empire, the NHS? No, she cowered.

Privitization is crony capitalism. The objective for one truly devoted to liberty is to eliminate the expenditure - its not a step towards liberty to farm out the government activity to a "private" sector crony capitalist.

When Maggie left office, the "official" misery index was close to 20%.

[Virginian]

Do you have a newsletter I could subscribe to?

[Libertymike]

Rothbard on Thatcher:

"Thatcherism is all to similar to Reaganism: free market rhetoric masking statist content."

"Mrs. Thatcher's departure from British Rule befitted her entire reign: blustering in rhetoric accompanied by very little concrete action."

"While Thatcher has engaged in some privatization, the percentage of government spending and taxation to GNP has increased over the course of her regime."

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Yes, that was poorly done.

[Zeb]

Well, duh. Everything the government does is an act of coercion. But somehow I doubt that is what the author means.

[Coeus]

Does the second paragraph propose making her day of passing "Hugo Chavez Day"?

[Rasilio]

"Perhaps a bit fatigued from the nostalgia-laden overseas adventure, France has begun pulling its troops from Mali."

Are they going to wait until after their surrender is finalized or just dispense with the formalities and get it overwith now?

[Rich]

So your junk mail should arrive on schedule.

Why does anyone *need* junk mail?

[Zeb]

Fire starters?

[Rich]

*** Rising intonation ***

I don't think so ...."

[Zeb]

But junk mail is free. (Fatwood is pretty cool stuff though)

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Here's your firestarter

[Xenocles]

Jobz.

[jesse.in.mb]

100% the letter carriers' unions freaked out when they talked about eliminating saturday service. Absolutely freaked-the-fuck out. It actually would eliminate an entire category (T6) of carriers.

[PapayaSF]

The Postal Service needs it. It's one of their few profitable activities.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Planning the Thatcher "death parties"

Ms Blythe, 45, has been rallying fellow protesters through a group on Facebook she has set up called The Witch is Dead, which has more than 5,000 members and calls for "demonstrations of disapproval" across the country.

[Episiarch]

The totemization of their perceived enemies is epic. These people are flat out animists.

[John]

How long before they dig up her body like the French did to the royal tombs at the St. Denis?

[Episiarch]

I don't know. The woman hasn't held power for 20+ years, but man they know they hate her, even if they weren't even born when she did hold power.

Fuck, partisans are tiresome.

[Warty]

Well, how long did it take for the English to hang Cromwell in chains?

[rts]

Not sure what animism has to do with this...?

[Episiarch]

She's dead, and is therefore just a "thing", to which they still ascribe almost supernatural powers of evil to.

[rts]

Ah. That one went right by me.

[Zeb]

It's just fucking retarded. Why now? Wasn't she just as worthy of disapproval when she was alive? It's just plain nastiness.

[NeonCat]

She could bite back with her fearsome cobra powers. Or something, who knows with Britiots.

[A Serious Man]

She's been out of office for two decades now and all their problems since then can be attributed to Labour and the economic integration with Europe.

What a bunch of losers.

[Coeus]

Not allowing cameltoe in middle school is rape culture.

This bullshit dress code does just the opposite: it teaches boys that there are certain circumstances under which they don't have to respect their classmates' bodies and boundaries. And it teaches them that if god forbid they violate those boundaries, they won't be held fully responsible: it'll be her fault for wearing yoga pants, or a belly shirt, or for drinking too much, or for walking alone, or for insert violation here. Finally, it teaches them that you just don't expect that much of them. You don't expect them to be able to control themselves, to treat their girl friends like human beings, to ignore "distractions" and focus on learning.

This is how you teach rape culture to 12-year-olds. And if you're teaching it, don't be surprised when, one day in the near or distant future, one of them commits an act of sexual violence. We sure as hell won't be.

[Matrix]

rape culture is about to be another phrase, which used by someone I'm speaking with, that will make me just walk away and ignore them so I can resist the urge to punch them.

[Brett L]

But shorts on over leggings. Worked for my ex-gf's 15 year old -- who would've been a distraction to me when I was 15.

[Brett L]

s/but/put

[Restoras]

She was a distraction to you more recently too, bro. It's ok, you can admit it here.

[Jordan]

RAPE CULTURE

[Virginian]

Rape culture. Oh is there anything more insane in the feminist land then rape culture.

Actually, don't answer that.

[Dweebston]

The patriarchy trope is at least as senseless as "rape culture," although arguably both are flavors of the same snowcone of lunacy.

[NeonCat]

Massive overlap between The Patriarchy and rape culture. If you pressed them (and for goodness' sakes, why would you?), they'd probably say The Patriarchy is the patricians holding the wimmins down and rape culture is the proles version.

[PapayaSF]

It's a classic example of how terminology can be used to distort a discussion in the direction you want.

I was recently in a long discussion about this term. I said it defamed both men and the culture, because most men are not rapists, and do not approve of rape, and the culture as a whole has a strong and distinct negative attitude toward rape and rapists, and the legal system has strict laws against it. I said I would not object to the term "rape subculture," but they would not go for that. No, even though most of the culture is against rape, it's a "rape culture."

[Dweebston]

Don't be surprised when, eventually, a statistical outlier manifests on the left-hand side of the criminality bell curve.

/shockedface

[$park?]

Fuck it, everyone has to be naked from now until the end of time. That's the only way to stop rape culture.

[Episiarch]

Well, that was the solution at the end of The Puppet Masters.

[Coeus]

Which, as we covered yesterday, is bad news for tall growers.

[Enough About Palin]

Here's what I don't get about yesterday's coverage - I got the flacid 3" thing hands down, but am just average in height. Do I average the two or what?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

No, if your hands are pulling it down it doesn't count.

[John]

Speaking of insane. Letting flaunt their sexuality does nothing to encourage the rape culture. Nope. Not a thing. Best to have young girls strip naked and lie in front of young boys with their legs spread so we can teach said boys that women are never available no matter what they do.

Yeah that makes sense.

[Zeb]

Does anyone really get raped because they dress too revealingly? That's always seemed like nonsense to me. Though not being a rapist, I guess I wouldn't know.

[John]

Of course not. But women do get raped by getting drunk and making out with some guy they barely know and then deciding at the last minute it is a bad idea to be there. That does happen. And denying that reality is pretty much job one of every ding bat feminist.

[PapayaSF]

Eh, I'm not so sure. I suspect some rapists choose victims based on how sexy they look, just as car thieves wanting a joyride are more likely to steal a fast-looking car than a boring economy car.

[Enough About Palin]

Rape is about violence, not sex, which is why what these feminists are saying is ass backwards.

[Virginian]

Eh, rape is complicated from an evolutionary/biological point of view. Certainly it is at least partially about sex.

[califernian]

Rape happens in the non-human part of the animal kingdom all the time and it is about sex and reproduction. Hard to believe we are a unique snowflake where all the rapists of our species are just too lazy to show power through violence in some other way.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Rape is using violence to get sex. Just as robbery is using violence to get money or other property.

Does anyone say that out of respect for robbery victims, we should pretend robbery isn't about money?

[Rasilio]

Actually it depends on your definition of rape.

Forcible stranger rape, no not likely, date rape I'd suppose it could happen by making the guy (who is probably not all that good at reading cues to begin with) misread what her intentions are. Whether his actions should or should amount to rape would of course vary on the specifics of the situation and the one making the decision.

[NoVAHockey]

"or for insert violation here"

I thought they didn't want that.

[AuH20]

That's not rape culture; it's slut shaming!

Get your own terms right, feminists. God, it's like us men have to fix everything you do wrong!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Teaser posters for Netflix's new season of "Arrested Development"

[Dweebston]

And for this I may well subscribe to Netflix. YOU HEAR THAT, HBO? THIS IS HOW YOU DO TWENTIETH-CENTURY CONTENT DISTRIBUTION.

I guess. I CBA to find out.

[Dweebston]

I was going to correct 20th for 21st but then decidedthat's just how backward premium TV is.

[Brett L]

Does the t-shirt babe in the ad have a license for that knife?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

How did Lilo get over crying on Letterman? She went out and partied of course.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

The Elysium trailer looks badass. They're basically living on a giant monocle in space, people! I think the bad guys win, though.

[$park?]

Looks like you're right, because MATT DAMON!

[rts]

Jodie Foster's edit.

[Scarcity]

YOU LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE'S NOT YOUR HONEY BOO-BOO!

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

People, this is the greatest trailer since Prometheus!

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Jezebel's obit for Thatcher is predictably terrible.

Thatcher was undeniably a trailblazer for women in politics (and inspired a lot of great music), but that doesn't mean we should celebrate her reign. "If she was a women's champion, I am Meryl Streep," writes Paul Routledge in a Daily Mirror op-ed that focuses more on her for-profit politics and war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands than her general resilience. "And if anyone is inclined to remind me that one should not speak ill of the dead, let me remind them that she had nothing good to say about us while she was alive."

[Virginian]

Of course she didn't. She was educated in an actual discipline, and actually produced results in a difficult field. Instead of whining about privilege, she put in the work to achieve her goals. She was the antithesis of the Jezbellian: intelligent, resourceful, educated, logical, hardworking, and not given to flights of hysterical nonsense.

[John]

In other words, she was a normal productive person. Something the Jeezies just wouldn't ever understand.

[John]

The girls at Jezzy would gladly walk to their deaths in a general purge aimed at women if they were convinced it would advance the leftist cause.

[AuH20]

Well thanks for my new project: compiling every so called feminist site's obit of Thatcher. And then make it a blog post or something to just a have a place to point as a perfect example of their mask slipping. These sites arent feminist-they're leftist, they just corrupt feminism as they do liberalism so that they can hide behind sexism when you counter their arguments

[AuH20]

Well thanks for my new project: compiling every so called feminist site's obit of Thatcher. And then make it a blog post or something to just a have a place to point as a perfect example of their mask slipping. These sites arent feminist-they're leftist, they just corrupt feminism as they do liberalism so that they can hide behind sexism when you counter their arguments

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Another one for the pile:

Overall, Thatcher can be remembered for proving that women can be as heartless as men. Which may be a feminist victory, but not one that I'm particularly proud of. And she did make history as a woman, but went on to use her power to work against the most vulnerable, including women and their children.

[AuH20]

So, why does Gawker do a redesign every few weeks? Jezebel's new design is so bad I can't even use it to find articles to torture you.

[Pro Libertate]

Because they're fucked up?

[Episiarch]

Thank Jeebus.

[Matrix]

yeah. I think Kotaku and iO9 were the first sites to implement it. I hate the new design. Fortunately, Gizmodo has not transitioned over.... yet...

[Trespassers W]

Oh oh. Better pass another law.

Everyone has to pass TWO background checks to purchase a firearm.

[Rich]

Hey, you gave me an idea, TW.

Make it a requirement to have a bachelor's degree to purchase a firearm.

We'll be safer *and* more educated.

[0x90]

Stop giving them ideas.

[Trespassers W]

That is some keen insight into the progressive mind.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Pro-foreskin protesters to target Oprah at Hamilton appearance

How would Oprah respond if a skin cream for men hit the market that was made using cells from the genitalia of little girls? I think she would be absolutely disgusted and appalled, and rightly so. So it's crazy that she's doing the opposite," said Glen Callender of the pro-foreskin advocacy group the Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project.

[John]

I think the men of the Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project are a bit too aware of their foreskins.

[Coeus]

Quiet John. You have no dog in this fight. The skin cream isn't even kosher.

[Raston Bot]

speaking of Oprah, I'm only about 10% into The Incorporated Man but the reference to POTUS Winfrey isn't her, is it? that's a cruel future.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"the Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project"

C-FAP?

[jesse.in.mb]

Alternately Can-FAP.

[AuH20]

But folks, real champions, like myself, don't let obstacles get in our way.

Tanning is a white person problem

This is a significant gender-specific finding. There are lots of factors to be taken into consideration in this soaring number of skin cancer diagnoses, but we're ready to argue that this is, above all, a beauty issue. This isn't an issue of ignorance or lack of education on the harmful effects of sun exposure or indoor tanning. This isn't an issue of young white females just absolutely loving UV rays more than their white male counterparts. This isn't an issue of girls desperately seeking more vitamin D while boys are less interested. This is an issue of Caucasian girls and women being totally convinced that having tanned skin is equivalent to looking more beautiful, and that beauty is worth every risk. "Having tan skin makes you look thinner," "Having tan skin gives you a radiant healthy glow," "Having tan skin gives you confidence." Yes, confidence that you look beautiful, because if you're not tan, you're "pasty white," "ghostly," "pale" or ? if you're a famous actress but not a regular shorts-wearing high school girl ? "a peaches and cream complexion."
/block

[The Immaculate Trouser]

It's tragic that the plight of upper class white college girls is given such short shrift in this country.

[0x90]

Kids -- you noticing all this plight?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Roll 'em up!

[Virginian]

Except you know....lots of people find pale girls attractive.

[Episiarch]

How dare they imply that I don't seek out tanning for vanity reasons!

[Dweebston]

Sorry, that wan pallor only looks good under freckles and red hair.

[Trespassers W]

Um, is that even true? I think it's pretty well-known among women that tanning ages your skin prematurely.

You can't blame some kind of culture around female beauty for risking some women's lives, when the same culture around female beauty causes other women to avoid the same risks.

Put another way, some women tan because they think it makes them beautiful. Other women don't tan because they think it keeps them beautiful. So it does in fact sound like a problem of short-term vs. long-term thinking, and not ideas about beauty.

[Warty]

I used to get made fun of for being so white. The mental anguish was so severe that I tanned in a tanning booth until I died of tanning-booth related complications. Weep for me.

[Episiarch]

Shut up, you pale-ass Mick pussy.

[Warty]

Well, at least you didn't call me a Polack.

[Episiarch]

Does your submarine have a screen door?

[Warty]

Yeah, but I always keep it closed. Dumbass.

[Matrix]

I'll leave this here... to give you nightmares

[PapayaSF]

She looks like she's wearing blackface makeup.

[Pro Libertate]

That's funny, because I was thinking recently (while reading about Alexander the Great being near the Caucasus Mountains) that I hadn't heard whites referred to as Caucasian in a while. There is much to be considered before I return to launch point. I must re-evaluate.

[AuH20]

Boy, Epi, do I have a deal for you.

Live the complete "Girls" experience!

[Episiarch]

As if I would ever live in Brooklyn. Idiot. UPPER EAST SIDE REPRESENT

[John]

My few experiences in Brooklyn showed me that the white people who live there suck. I have never found New Yorkers to be nearly as big of assholes as they are made out to be. That was until I left Manhattan and went to Brooklyn. The black people were nice enough. But the white people were assholes, I mean total, begging for an ass kicking assholes.

[Episiarch]

Try going to Staten Island, John.

[Restoras]

I'm sure the hipsters will ruin what's left of Worcester. If only we could get them to see the irony of living in Detroit.

[Libertymike]

Just to exclamate your point - you would rather live in Worcester, Mass than Brooklyn!

[Trespassers W]

I want to live all alone in the desert.
I want to be like George O'Keefe.
I want to live on the Upper East Side
And never go down in the street.

[0x90]

What's with that picture? Like the Joker and a bad drag queen Bettie Page got scrambled in the transporter...

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Dancing Dad

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Cats used as sports balls.

http://sportballsreplacedwithcats.tumblr.com/

[John]

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/20.....doff-case/

The SEC did nothing about Madoff and was completely negligent. But remember, if we didn't have an SEC crooks would run wild.

[Jordan]

Not only did they not get punished, but they got more power and almost certainly a bigger budget. Government agencies have every incentive to screw up, and none to do their jobs. Reason number gazillion why private regulation is superior.

[John]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_.....oncussions

Because people who chose to play in the NFL did not assume any risk or anything.

[Virginian]

ESPN's concern trolling get's so tiresome. Like how every fucking Masters story has to be full of sanctimonious shit about the membership policies of Augusta.

[John]

They can't quite decide what to do about the Masters. One story is all about how racist it is. The next is a pile of pompous bullshit about how it is a tradition like no other. Look they serve palmetto and cheese sandwiches and they have a par three tournament. Wow.

[Restoras]

My least favorite of the majors. I like the US and British Opens. Not sure why they still play the PGA.

[John]

Get rid of the PGA and call the TPC the fourth major. It just annoys me. Mostly the media and the constant barrage of bullshit annoys me. It is not that great. It is not even that great of a course anymore since they Tiger proofed it. Now it just plays like any other PGA course.

[T]

Palmetto?

[Killazontherun]

I just can't watch ESPN at all. They are ridiculous.

[Killazontherun]

I just can't watch ESPN at all. They are ridiculous.

[John]

http://cnsnews.com/blog/joe-sc.....bs-casinos

$43,000 of KS welfare money withdrawn at strip clubs and casinos.

[Virginian]

I used to be with Milton that if we were going to have a welfare state, then money was the best way to do that. I've totally changed my mind.

[John]

The bottom line is that giving people money rarely helps them. No amount of money is ever enough. And no amount of money will ever get them to change the bad habits and decision making that put them where they are.

[C. Anacreon]

But if someone works hard, saves money, postpones luxuries, and ends up with a nest egg later in life, they are an oppressor who won life's lottery. The poor fellow who gambled, called in sick all the time to work, spent money faster than it came in, and is penniless and unemployed later in life is an unfortunate individual who you right-wingers exploited.

[Dweebston]

It's indirect welfare financing of the poor women working those poles. Why do you hate working mothers, John?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace talks about her first year as a woman.

[John]

She needs to sue her plastic surgeon for her money back.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

AGRARIAN ALES
After transforming their Oregon family farm into a traditional farmhouse-style brewery, Agrarian Ales became known for their full-bodied brews. The guys are able to make their beers using only the finest ingredients by growing all their hops and other bittering agents themselves. Hopstories travels to the rural brewery to get the full story on how it all got started, and to drink a few beers of course.

[Raston Bot]

Damn I bet that's good beer.

Milling about 30lbs of two-row tonight after the youngins go down. Stepping up the yeast tomorrow.

[Killazontherun]

Sierra Nevada is building a brewery in Asheville. Can't wait to tour the facilty.

[Raston Bot]

That is good news. The closer, the fresher.

[Raston Bot]

speaking of beer, our resident pro brewer Robc was possibly securing financing for his brewery last week. maybe that explains his absence from the threads lately.

[db]

I'll be brewing my first beer in months later this weekend after returning from the spring Knob Creek MG show/shoot. Can't wait.

[Virginian]

I will go one day. To see the glory of the night shoot.

[db]

It is quite impressive. However, after seeing it enough times, you end up doing other things on Saturday night. Louisville is a fun town.

[Sidd Finch]

http://econlog.econlib.org/arc.....on_65.html

Please accept our sincerest apologies. Due to changes in the California Proposition 65 at this time we are not able to ship products containing Licorice to California.

[Dweebston]

If the facts were more convincing, however, then I wouldn't have a problem with prohibitive laws, even though they curtail some of our freedom. Freedom is nice, but without some stability and order it can't be enjoyed in the first place.

The econlib commentors never fail to surprise me. For a blog with a liberty bent, it's rife with statists.

[Bam!]

For a blog about economics, there's surprising little talk about economics.

[John]

According to her wiki, Katheryn Winnick, the blond woman on Vikings, "Winnick began training in martial arts at age 7 and obtained her first black belt at 13". I think she is pretty much taking the title of most all around desirable woman on TV.

[Episiarch]

Damn.

[John]

And she is 35 almost 36 and looks like that. If the date fairy came down and said I could have one date with any Hollywood starlet, I am thinking she would be my choice.

[Episiarch]

She aged even better than Lena Headey. You realize that Cersei on GoT is 40, right?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Lena Headey is attractive but she looks her age. I don't think she'd be a convincing 30 year old.

I'm a big fan of Headey ever since the tragically underrated Sarah Connor Chronicles.

[Episiarch]

I fucking loved that show. I was so pissed when Fox canceled it...after two whole seasons. WTF?!? And yeah, Headey looked great in it.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

She's great as Cersei, but IMO she *was* Sarah Connor. Really good show, killed in the prime of life. And damn, that last episode was awesome.

[Episiarch]

Her natural hair color is way better for her than Cersei's hair.

[Virginian]

You know what other show Fox canceled way before they should have?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

The Simpsons?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Could have been Married With Children.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Lilyhammer? (Think about it.)

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Titus?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Parker Lewis Can't Lose?

[Killazontherun]

Heady s nips from 300 were fucking incredible.

[Virginian]

Hmmm...

There's two or three on Thrones alone I'd do terrible things to. I also love me some of Fillion's little redhead daughter on Castle.

Is Vikings any good?

[John]

It is really good. They did a good job on it. They actually got the Viking culture down pretty well. It is a bit of a soap opera. But it is still good. I really like it.

[Raston Bot]

WWE soap opera or General Hospital soap opera?

[Rasilio]

Yes, it is REALLY good, both from a writing/directing/acting standpoint as well as from a realism standpoint, they really did a very good job of showing what the vikings were like, both from a technical (architecture, gear, etc.) as well as a personality standpoint.

[Virginian]

So it has hot women and historical geekery? Right up my alley.

[Episiarch]

Serious question: how the fuck do they know? I don't recall the Vikings leaving a lot of written materials behind. It's it mostly conjecture? I mean, with the Romans and the Greeks we have tons and tons of literature, at least. The Vikings? Not so much.

[Virginian]

I mean with the Greeks and Romans we have like...one guy from each generation, right?

Didn't the Vikings leave rune stones all over the place?

[Episiarch]

Sure, but all the runestones said was "for a good time call Virginian's mom" and "nicole is a total whore", so they weren't very useful.

[Virginian]

My mom is dead, asshole.

[Episiarch]

Exactly. The Vikings were totally into necrophilia.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

One of them slapped her too hard, huh?

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

I really don't see what's not useful about that information.

Oh, you mean to people hundreds of years later. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Episiarch]

It was a prophesy in your case, nicole. And it came true!

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

So then it's totally useful! Get it straight.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

It's only useful if the guys you banged had read the runestones, and we all know they can't read anything.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Hagar the Horrible comics.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

There are actually many eyewitness accounts from various sources -- Vikings got around, so there's scads of material about Vikings from various texts in the British Isles (particularly priests and such), as well as accounts from merchants and travelers to Viking lands. The Sagas are another significant source of knowledge -- they are where our understanding of the Icelandic system of governance comes from, for example. Finally, there's tons of archaeological data that is remarkably well-preserved -- there's a nearly intact longboat that was frozen in a Scandanavian lake, for example.

The paucity of sources is not the problem; rather the reliability of those sources is. Oral histories can be... difficult, and accounts from victims of the pagans or from those not part of the culture present their own problems.

[Virginian]

Summa pia gratia nostra conservando corpora et cutodita, de gente fera Normannica nos libera, quae nostra vastat, Deus, regna

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Exactly. A trembling priest's fractured recollections of the Dublin slave market are useful, but it's difficult to know what parts are wheat and what parts are chaff.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Episiarch, relative to the Vikings, yeah, there's lotsa literature. But strictly speaking, we don't have a whole lot on Rome and Greece. I learned that in one of my Classics courses in university.

Shit, we still don't know who the Etruscans really are.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

It seems like a lot of our understanding of Roman life and culture is based on what was preserved at Pompeii.

[Rasilio]

As others have said, there are plenty of contemporary sources as Vikings basically ranged from North America through Byzantium and while they may not have left a ton of written documents from their early period everyone they encountered did, and those were not all trembling priests, for example they often served as mercenaries in the Byzantine army and then there was this guy

Also while they did not originally have much in the way of written records they caught on to the trend pretty quick once they started bumping into people who did, remember much as they were portrayed as blood thirsty barbarians their lead god sacrificed his eye to gain knowledge and their leaders were expected to be as skilled in the law as they were in battle.

[Not an Economist]

She was on one of the best episodes of House but wasn't too popular on Bones when she got in between Booth and Bones.

And she is hot.

[Coeus]

Feminist New Zealand bans Carl's Junior commercial.

Comments have US feminists creaming their pants. For example:

'...thanks to the country's ban on using "sex appeal in an exploitative and degrading manner and the use of sex to sell an unrelated product."
Squeeee... I was lucky enough to live in NZ for a year, and it's a magical utopia over there. Just need a little bit better food, and some better weather (Windy Wellington) and it would be perfect.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Was this a feminist-inspired law or a SoCon law? Funny how difficult it is to distinguish between the two.

[Virginian]

No one white knights harder then SoCons. The girl I went with for a while who's parents were SoCons was one of the more insatiable ones.

[Virginian]

That cunt probably considers herself a champion of free expression.

[AuH20]

She'd probably just go with "Corporations aren't people! They can't have a right to free speech!" but if she was smarter she'd go with commercial speech isn't protected.

[Scarcity]

WTF is "squeeee" supposed to mean or represent? Is that the sound of a feminist trying as hard as possible to not acknowledge an orgasm?

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

Imagine the sound I might make seeing a tiny tiny baby bunny or something. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Scarcity]

So tiny tiny baby bunnies make you cum? To each their own, I suppose.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

For some of us not everything is about sex. I mean, like, 99% of things, but not baby animals. Unless I'm crushing them under my stiletto for Warty.

[Warty]

Psst. Hey. Psst. nicole. Over here.

[Episiarch]

Dude, that cat's eyes are, like, glowing. What the fuck, is it possessed? You can't even post pictures of kittens without fucking it up.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

It's an alpha cat. Not knowing that is sooo beta.

[Warty]

ALL HAIL THE HYPNOCAT.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

HERE NICOLE

[jesse.in.mb]

Unless I'm crushing them under my stiletto for Warty.

Is this before or after he's rectally inserted them?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

No, you're thinking about Rachel Gere.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

Now explain the Archeresque "sploosh." Be detailed.

[Virginian]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Squee

[cavalier973]

The burgers aren't that bad; although I thought their "steakhouse" burger was much, much better.

[The Late P Brooks]

$43,000 of KS welfare money withdrawn at strip clubs and casinos.

Pardon me while I cannot be bothered to give a shit.

Would you be in a tizzy if they said that money was being spent on guns, or bass boats?

[John]

Yes.

[Virginian]

Eh, we can make judgments on welfare dollars. If someone is using the EBT for nutritious meals versus the old "buy steak and lobster then sell it for cash", then I consider the former to be morally superior.

And yes, that's arbitrary, but I don't really care. Waste your own money at strip clubs and casinos.

At least a bass boat will still be worth money in the morning.

[T]

All money is fungible.

Doesn't matter what you do, if you give poor people money you are supporting idiot spending decisions, be that hookers and blow or eating every meal at CiCi's Pizza. Get over it or quit writing welfare checks.

[Coeus]

Ya know, it could just be ugly strippers withdrawing money for the grocery store before they go home.

[Enough About Palin]

"because ... a right is no good if you can't turn it into a compulsion?"

^^THIS^^

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

Fed "accidentally" releases minutes 19 hours early to Goldman, Citigroup, congressional staffers, and trade group lobbyists

Banks including Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., along with congressional staff members and trade groups, received potentially market-moving Federal Reserve information 19 hours before the public in a release the central bank called accidental.

Brian Gross, a member of the Fed's congressional liaison staff, distributed the March 19-20 minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at 2 p.m. yesterday Washington time, according to an e-mail obtained by Bloomberg News. Gross referred questions to Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith.

Seems more likely to me like that the only "accident" was that they got caught this time.

[The Late P Brooks]

All money is fungible.

Doesn't matter what you do, if you give poor people money you are supporting idiot spending decisions, be that hookers and blow or eating every meal at CiCi's Pizza. Get over it or quit writing welfare checks.

I agree. If you give Momma a card which enables her to buy milk and diapers, that just means she has that much more cash for whiskey and cigarettes.

Hell, if some enterprising welfare queen figures out a way to turn a profit on the deal, good for her (him).

[Coeus]

More rage for those who don't understand statistics. And their lying enablers. Note the conflation of jobs and professions.

97 percent of full-time working women report to jobs that typically pay more, according to an analysis of 2011 data by the Center For American Progress. Of the 534 professions listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women on average earn more than men in only seven of them.

[Virginian]

They're either morons, or liars. I mean, how can you seriously not understand that just the fact that women work fewer hours per year then men will automatically drop their average income below men.

It's that fucking simple.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

They are just angry that the real world involves tradeoffs.

[The Late P Brooks]

Freedom is nice, but without some stability and order it can't be enjoyed in the first place.

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

[NeonCat]

We have always been at war with ourselves.

[hamilton]

Kate Upton is dating Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Diddy is 43.

I am 43.

My life has value again.

[A Serious Man]

You'd still want her after she's been with Sean Combs?

[T]

And when you have as much money as diddy, you can date hot youngsters. Do you feel better now?

[Episiarch]

Guys, guys, don't burst his bubble so soon. No, the proper thing to do is wait a little so he actually gets his hopes up, and then dash them. Don't you know anything?

[hamilton]

You're such a bastard. But an entertaining one. Now let me enjoy my daydreams of Kate in peace.

[Scarcity]

Sadly I'm afraid only Diddy's half-billion dollar net worth has value.

Kate, I thought you were pure. You broke my heart.

[hamilton]

No, I'm telling you, this is a sign she's totally into older slightly-pudgy dudes. Possibly the libertarian and asian thing will add even more spice to it. You'll see. You'll all see!

[The Late P Brooks]

They are just angry that the real world involves tradeoffs.

NOT FAIR!

[Coeus]

Former Tenn. Lawmaker Allegedly Drove 90 MPH While Masturbating Out Window

Witness Deanna Dykes said Blakely was "waving, grabbed his shirt, kind of pulled it up."

"He was taking his hand, wetting his mouth, and masturbating," witness Deborah Sturgill said.

Witness Kelly Street offered a similar account.

"At over 90 miles per hour, he had his penis out [the window]... he was masturbating... and that's when it got really, really bad. I wouldn't look over any more, and I wrote his tag number down on my hand, which I believe he noticed, and he exited very quickly," Street said.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

I'm glad you posted this a third time after yesterday's PM links and this mornings AM links.

NEVER FORGET!

[Coeus]

Odd. I didn't even see it on the pm links. My bad. I do like how the women are offered up as victims of.... something or other.

[BigT]

These ladies must have really good eyes - did you ever see what someone was doing in a car moving 90 mph? Or were they in the same car? That's the only way i can imagine that they really saw much.

[joeedick]

Jace. I agree that Alexander`s rep0rt is really cool, on sunday I got a gorgeous Volkswagen Golf GTI after bringing in $9229 this past five weeks and-in excess of, 10-k this past-munth. it's by-far the most-financially rewarding Ive had. I actually started three months/ago and almost immediately began to earn over $78 per-hour. I use this website,-- Gig60.?OM