A.M. Links: American Investigators in Russia to Speak to Family of Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects, LA Will Give Women Shot During Dorner Hunt $4.2 Million, Medical Marijuana Will Create Jobs in AZ

Credit: Laurie Avocado/wikicommons

• American investigators are in Russia to speak with the family of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

• The city of Los Angeles will give two women who were shot by police during the hunt for Christopher Dorner $4.2 million.  

• According to a recent study by the Regulated Dispensaries of Arizona Association, medical marijuana will create 1,500 jobs in Arizona. 

• It doesn't look like the Senate is that interested in CISPA, which was passed by the House of Representatives last week.

• Tennessee State's Alan Gendreau could become the first openly gay player in the NFL.
• Clashes in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have left 21 people dead, including suspected terrorists, police officers, and community workers.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The city of Los Angeles will give two women who were shot by police during the hunt for Christopher Dorner $4.2 million.

Small price for citizens to pay for almost getting Dorner that day.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

But while the Stand With Rand worldview is quite consistent?against gun restrictions, traffic-light cameras, drone strikes, anti-discrimination laws, anti-pollution laws, and other Big Brother intrusions into our private lives?it's wrong. And most of us know it's wrong, which is why we celebrate our first responders, our soldiers, our law enforcers. They're from the government and they're here to help.

[VG Zaytsev]

They helped those women collect a couple million bucks each.

[LTC(ret) John]

Zing!

[Fist of Etiquette]

And some of those hard-to-find bullets that stores can't keep on the shelves.

[Auric Demonocles]

The LA cops were only half as deadly as the Boston Bombers. You can't expect them to pay for the damages they caused when they show that kind of restraint.

[I Dug It]

$4.2 million in damages? Time magazine says they should not only get nothing; they should be GRATEFUL that our men in blue were so tireless in working to put away the bad guy.

[lilian321]

before I saw the bank draft of $5846, I did not believe ...that...my neighbours mother could actualy bringing home money part-time from there pretty old laptop.. there brothers friend has done this for only about 19 months and as of now paid the loans on there home and bourt a top of the range Mitsubishi Evo. go to, http://kep2.com/

[Virginian]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013.....p=trending

Best headline ever?

[Shirley Knott]

No.

Best headline ever was the announcement of the death of Ike Turner:
Ike Beats Tina to Death!

[$park?]

*shakes fist*

[invisible furry hand]

Not while this one exists

[Fist of Etiquette]

I think we can all agree that Oz headlines don't count.

[invisible furry hand]

You othering mofo.

How about this classic from ESPN?

Or these?

[Lord Humungus]

what is the official term for taking a perfectly sensible word and converting it into Aussie slang?

Wazagongling? (I just made that up)

[invisible furry hand]

alchemy

[Nikki makes the sign of a tsp]

"transporting"

Duh

[LTC(ret) John]

"forceably transported".

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some lingo ate your phrasing. Or waltzing idiomatilda.

[LTC(ret) John]

*shakes head slowly, leaves keyboard momentarily, returns with a sigh*

[Nikki makes the sign of a tsp]

Aw, John, where's your jolly jumbuck now?

[Dagny T.]

This is the best thing I will encounter today, Fist. Awesome.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Don't thank me, thank the rich tapestry of weirdness that is Down Under.

[Bobarian]

Othering?

[invisible furry hand]

Now you're doing it too!

[Bobarian]

Drop bear attack?

[Loki]

BERNE, Switzerland, June 26 (Reuters) - Young Boys have been forced to play a UEFA Cup qualifier with Finnish side MyPa away from their Neufeld home after European soccer's governing body UEFA refused to allow temporary seating.

Young Boys, who host MyPa in the second leg on August 28, said on Thursday UEFA has not granted either their request to allow supporters to stand or for makeshift stands to be erected at the 6,800-capacity Neufeld stadium.

The Neufeld is being used as an temporary home while Young Boys' new Wankdorf stadium, which will become the Swiss national team's home, is built following the demolition of their previous home.

Young Boys said they are in talks to play the game in Lausanne, Basel or Zurich. A decision must be made before July 8.

I think the only word of that I understood was "soccer". Is "Young Boys" the name of a team? A Band? The sexual preference of the average European soccer fan? WTF?

[Apatheist ?_??]

Like many European clubs their name comes from the group that founded the club back in the day. The Young Boys were formed as a college group and were called that to distinguish themselves as an amateur young mens club. They then developed into a professional team from there. They are one of the traditionally better teams in Switzerland but have been passed up lately.

[Raven Nation]

To be fair, the Northern Territory is to Australia what a lot of Alaska is to the US.

[Ptah-Hotep]

Not while this one exists

I think Virginian means English language headlines.

[Loki]

What the fuck does that even mean?

[Juice]

He was crackalackin?

[db]

This is kind of the inverse of Kitty Genovese. Nice to read about citizens taking action against crime.

[Stormy Dragon]

It's da Bishop!

[Fist of Etiquette]

It doesn't look like the Senate is that interested in CISPA, which was passed by the House of Representatives last week.

The United States Senate has bigger fish not to fry.

[Virginian]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013.....-death-md/

Guess he wasn't so tough.

[sarcasmic]

Teacher who showed garden tools to second grade students is suspended without pay for bringing 'weapons' to class

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....class.html

[Auric Demonocles]

But they are made of metal, not perfectly round, and in Chicago. They clearly fit the definition of weapons. And it's obvious that having a child able to see a weapon is dangerous, especially if it's in person and not even over a TV or t-shirt depiction.

[Zeb]

What the fuck do these people think "weapon" means? BY that standard, what isn't a weapon? Do they not have any other heavy or pointy objects in the school? Do the kids all have to use finger paint instead of pencils or pens?

[some guy]

Meanwhile in New Jersey a teacher is suspended with pay after actually committing an act of violence.

[Lord Humungus]

Kansas Woman Discovers Circus Tiger in Bathroom
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/.....-bathroom/

I went in to use the bathroom, and a lady came in to get her daughter out and said there was a tiger loose," Krehbiel, who was a first-time visitor to the circus, told the Salina Journal. "I didn't know it was in the bathroom, and I walked in the (open) door, which closed right after I had walked in. I saw the tiger; it was at most two feet in front of me, and I turned around calmly and walked back toward the door.

[db]

This is what happens when your neighbor buys a tiger-repellent rock.

[Ptah-Hotep]

This is what happens when your neighbor buys a tiger-repellent rock.

You laugh, but since I bought mine, I have never seen a tiger in the area.

[hamilton]

Would you be willing to sell this rock of yours?

[Raven Nation]

Biggest tax increase in history.

[Drax the Destroyer]

"Circus Tiger" sounds like a sexual position.

[invisible furry hand]

funnily enough...

[Kaptious Kristen]

Look what Warty is doing to that poor tiger! Disgusting!

[LTC(ret) John]

+1

[Warty]

Hi, hater. Bye, hater.

[Pro Libertate]

[Suddenly hears Saga's "On the Loose" in his head over and over again.]

[db]

Bird flu has jumped the shark Chinese border.

[sarcasmic]

Kathy Griffen. Yikes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/.....shian.html

[I Dug It]

Whom gay men would destroy, they first make mad.

[fish]

Finally...a photo suitable for repelling tigers.

[invisible furry hand]

Pakistanis cut off burglar's arms: police

more

[Virginian]

http://firsttoknow.com/mechani.....r-ra-27471

Terrible. One of my favorite cars of all time.

[db]

Wrecked at 55 mph. WTF? Possibly a mechanical failure.

[Lord Humungus]

lovely design. In my life I've only seen one out in the wild. It was an older drive just cruising along. Every time he shifted, there was a little puff of blue smoke out of the tailpipe. Nonetheless, I slowly passed him, my heart was full of lust.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Tennessee State's Alan Gendreau could become the first openly gay player in the NFL.

A kicker? WAY TO BE A CLICHE, DUDE.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I'd have thought he was a wide receiver. Definitely not a tight end, though.

[generic Brand]

I was going to say, doesn't Eli Manning already have this locked up anyway?

[KDN]

No, that's "first NFL player with an Down Syndrome."

[LTC(ret) John]

You are cruel and demeaning.

Kudos!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

He is gay and a college football player...but unless I am missing something, his chances of being in the NFL are still very low.

[carol]

I don't follow football (I'm a Bucs fan) but what is the big deal about gay players? It seems there is so much talk about the possibilty of players coming out and I just don't get it. Would it actually make a difference to anybody?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Yeah, the media's white-knighting him right now because he's gay, but if NFL teams don't think he'll actually be able to contribute, it ultimately won't matter.

And considering the media circus that's going to surround this guy, I can't see too many teams taking a flyer on him unless they're really desperate for kicking. We're talking Tebow levels of coverage on ESPN here. Does any team really want to deal with the PR limpouts about homophobia if he gets cut?

[GILMORE]

someone told him as a child he wasnt fit to hold the coaches' jockstrap

he became highly motivated

[SIV]

Student-teacher lesbian strap-on rape charges in Utah

If the teacher is convicted she is well prepared for exploitation movie-style women's prison.

[Loki]

Courtney Jarrell, 22, who also coached the Riverton High School girls' basketball team

A lesbian female coach. That's not a cliche at all...

[Red Rocks Rockin]

How the hell does a 22-year-old get to be the head coach of a high school basketball team?

[DesigNate]

Softcore porn?

[invisible furry hand]

Given the grief adult men have to go through if they show any interest in helping kids, it wouldn't surprise me if the hiring pool wasn't huge and the school went with what it thought was the safe option. After all, a 22 year old woman couldn't possibly wan to shag teenage girls... oh wait...

[some guy]

She's on "administrative leave". Is that with or without pay? I'm trying to compare to the link above where a teacher was put on unpaid leave for bringing garden tools to class.

[Bobarian]

They're both tools, they can both be used as weapons, what really is the difference?

[Virginian]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ds-newsxml

Syria might be gassing Kurds.

[db]

In Soviet Wisconsin, curds gas you!

[gaijin]

+1

[LTC(ret) John]

You, Ghitan of Aleppo.

Sherif?

Where do we ride?

Damascus, sherif.

Aye, but for what?

Sarin sherif!

[GILMORE]

So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people - greedy, barbarous, and cruel

[sloopyinca]

Syria might be gassing Kurds.

Simpsons Saddam did it.

[Loki]

I wonder where they got the gas?

[DesigNate]

Definitely not from Saddam.

[Lord Humungus]

6,297 Chinese restaurants and hungry for more
http://www.latimes.com/news/lo......htmlstory

Chan, 64, has eaten at 6,297 Chinese restaurants (at press time) and he has documented the experiences on an Excel spreadsheet, a data-centric diary of a gastronomic journey that spans the United States and beyond.

A lawyer and accountant by trade, the slim, bespectacled man can debate Toronto's dim sum and rate Chinese buffets in Nashville. Name any neighborhood in Los Angeles and Chan ? with a few thoughtful blinks ? will produce the name of a Chinese restaurant within a few miles.

[generic Brand]

Name any neighborhood in Los Angeles and Chan ? with a few thoughtful blinks ? will produce the name of a Chinese restaurant within a few miles.

I was impressed until I got to the above line. Couldn't any of us name a Chinese restaurant within a few miles of a town? Hmmm, "First Wok", "No. 1 Wok", "Taste of China"... it's not like they have a lot of variation in the names.

[invisible furry hand]

Look what happens when they do go for variation - there's one in Sydney called The Golden Fang

[Elspeth Flashman]

Speaking of Chinese, I think PF CHang's is totally overrated, fwtw. I have gift certificate money I could spend there and I keep putting it off. Only going there for cocktails now.

[Spoonman.]

There's one near me (it is in Jenkintown, PA) called "China Keng".

I'm not sure whether that's the proprietor's name or a typo. It has crowns on the marquee.

[invisible furry hand]

it means it's a Chinese knock-off Chinese restaurant

[SIV]

FU KING CHINESE RESTAURANT

[Bobarian]

We had a local one called Fu Kim.

And then the Vietnamese Restaurant in Seaside was Phoe King.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Panda Express. Boom.

[$park?]

That definitely sounds like a sex position.

[some guy]

There is nothing "express" about panda's though. False advertising at its worst.

[invisible furry hand]

they might be slow but you better not mess around with them. Or not buy their cheese

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah, they don't even have any fucking pandas on the menu, either.

[Ptah-Hotep]

Yeah, they don't even have any fucking pandas on the menu, either.

I have always thought the best way to preserve an animal is let people eat them. If panda tastes good, people will figure out how to breed them - like buffalo.

[a better weapon]

HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO USE CHOPSTICKS!?!?! WTF man, are you even trying!?

[Atanarjuat]

Chan, 64, has eaten at 6,297 Chinese restaurants

Gross. That stuff barely qualifies as "food".

[Zeb]

What the matter, don't like cat meat?

[Bee Tagger]

According to a recent study by the Regulated Dispensaries of Arizona Association, medical marijuana will create 1,500 jobs in Arizona.

That's how many people will be fired for smoking pot?

[sarcasmic]

Why do I strip? Dancer posts pic of the cash she makes in just ONE shift (and it's more than some people make in a month)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....month.html

[Ted S.]

Dumb move. The government will want to tax that money.

[$park?]

Who the fuck is paying a stripper with $2 bills?

[db]

Tip inflation is known to occur in strip clubs.

Also, be thankful they're not using Twonies like in Canada.

[mr simple]

I had to explain to a friend, once, why he should be using singles in the strip club instead of $5 bills, using both inflation and supply & demand.

[Bobarian]

My brother took me to the Spearmint Rhino after I finished Grad School and I can attest that there was definitely some tip inflation.

[Nikki makes the sign of a tsp]

That's some kind of a Thing. Evidently the $2 bill has come back somewhat specifically because of stripper tip inflation.

[Virginian]

The club I have been to a couple times only gives ones when they have to. If you break a 20, you get ten twos, not twenty ones.

The 2 really should be making a comeback. When's the last time you paid a dollar for something and got change, anywhere?

[$park?]

This is why I don't go to strip clubs. I'd be trying to put quarters in the slot.

[Zeb]

Strippers and race tracks are what keeps $2 bills in circulation.

[wingnutx]

$2 bills are for tipping Starbucks baristas on Open Carry Day.

[Ptah-Hotep]

The user, Menagerii, who says stripping is paying her way through an engineering degree at 'one of the most prestigious public tech schools in the U.S

Going into engineering, awesome.

[Brett L]

The only job you can do as an 18 year old and take a paycut from with an engineering degree. Well, that and maybe working 10 on 10 off on a drilling rig.

[sarcasmic]

I took home more money waiting tables three nights a week than I did in my first job as a software developer.

Though after factoring in benefits, vacation, and the "normal" work schedule, my total compensation was more.

[mr simple]

It depends on how long it takes them to get their degree. Stripping is another field where you have a short maximum earning potential window. Well, I guess that can depend on what town you're in and the competition.

[Kaptious Kristen]

In Atlanta, you can work at the Clermont until retirement age (and beyond)!

[Brett L]

Agreed, but if you get out before you are 25, you will make less your first year as an engineer than she did her first (or last) year stripping. However, the ceiling on earnings is significantly higher and as you noted, longevity is better.

[Drax the Destroyer]

With or without the stripping, she would probably have about a dozen penises thrown at her daily after she landed a job with her degree. Hell, I'm witnessing such penis throwing at the resident hot chick as I type.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Forget Vegas. Strippers are discovering they can make ten times as much dancing in the oil boomtown of Williston, N.D.

At first, the nightly tips were nothing special, but over the past year -- thanks to the thousands of men who have flocked here and landed high-paying jobs -- she has been making $2,000 to $3,000 a night, about the same amount she would have earned in an entire week in Vegas.

link

Trying to get my wife to head over and pick up some part time work. No luck.

[Warty]

Menagerii, says stripping is paying her way through an engineering degree

I thought she needed only three more credits for her nursing degree.

[Lord Humungus]

*sniff* I love a good working class girl.

[sarcasmic]

Mary-Kate Olsen and boyfriend Olivier Sarkozy pucker up during basketball match

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....match.html
*barf*

[Fist of Etiquette]

Why are you barfing? She's not that bad.

[I Dug It]

Beg to differ.

[Fist of Etiquette]

HE COULD DO WORSE.

[Matrix]

yeah... like Ke$ha

ick

[Auric Demonocles]

That Jake guy looks like Aaron Rodgers.

[Loki]

basketball match

It's called a basketball game, you stupid limey fucks.

[Ruckus]

^ this

[Virginian]

http://news.yahoo.com/governme.....4AIXvQtDMD

Obamacare continues to suck.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Feminist suggests excluding women from college who might decide in the future to be a SAHM:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm.....-home-moms

[Auric Demonocles]

I would like to find a wife who is a stay at home mom (meaning I hope that whoever I marry wants to do that), but she still is going to have a degree. That was one of the appeals of my ex.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Mine is going to transition to being stay at home. She is actually pretty bitter that she was told all her life that she needs to go to college and have a successful career in order to be a real woman.

I would chalk this up as another failure of public schools.

[Auric Demonocles]

Mine is going to transition to being stay at home. She is actually pretty bitter that she was told all her life that she needs to go to college and have a successful career in order to be a real woman.

My ideal situation is pretty much that. While we're young and don't have kids she would want to work so we can build up savings faster, then when we decided to have kids she would want to stay home to raise them, maybe returning to work after they're older.

[Pro Libertate]

My wife is doing that. She's got two masters degrees. In a marketable profession.

[Auric Demonocles]

My ex did too. It's a shame there was that whole procreating issue.

[Pro Libertate]

And it was her idea to homeschool. Originally, she was just going to go back to work.

[Spoonman.]

At the moment my wife's plan is to work part-time when the baby comes, which seems like a good one to me. And I work at home, so I could monitor a nanny.

Since my wife has a degree which confers no particular credentials other than being from the Ivy League, having continued work experience seems like it would have some value.

SLD: People should do whatever works for them.

[Auric Demonocles]

People should do whatever works for them.

I assumed that went without saying.

Where did you guys end up again?

[Spoonman.]

We're near Philadelphia.

[Pro Libertate]

I'd work at home, too, if I lived near Philly.

[Loki]

I work at home, so I could monitor a nanny.

Is that what they're calling it these days?

[Citizen Nothing]

I could monitor a nanny.

Is that what they're calling it?

[Citizen Nothing]

I swear I hit "send" before Loki.

[gaijin]

Because higher ed can only be valuable as vocational ed. sheesh. Whatever happened to being well-educated as it's own end? When did that notion get kicked to the curb? Wouldn't w well educated female possible make a better mother?

[Nikki makes the sign of a tsp]

Well that's just one thing that's actually so horrible and interesting about this piece. 99.9999% of non-STEM academics bemoaning their "lack of funding" and such in the likes of the Chronicle of Higher Ed will go on for pages about the value of education in and of itself, and how universities shouldn't be seen as the signalling-and-credentialling mechanisms they are, and yet here we have:

But in the long run, degrees from competitive institutions should serve as more than modern day charm school or debutante diplomas. Sadly, it appears some women and men see them as such, simply a piece of paper to affirm that a woman is good spouse material for yet another man to use his Harvard Law degree to make partner at a law firm, while his wife stays home, never using hers.

No, that would be all wrong?it's a piece of paper to affirm that a woman is good enough to practice as an attorney (after being properly licensed by a state-accredited agency, of course). Oh wait, I mean, it's not about the piece of paper at all. It's about the learning. Unless the learning isn't used...or even if it isn't...or...oh no!

[JW]

But in the long run, degrees from competitive institutions should serve as more than modern day charm school or debutante diplomas.

That's exactly the problem. MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) is fucking $38 a year. For ART school.

That's not college, that's a finishing school for the special snowflakes of the proglodyte Two Percenters.

[Zeb]

Sounds like a good deal.

[alittlesense]

38 dollars? That's a bargain. Is that for like 1/2 of class time?

[alittlesense]

should be 1/2 hour dammit

[SugarFree]

But let's assume for a moment that the MRS degree is real. These women are racking up enormous debt to have the opportunity to marry someone that will make enough money to pay off the debt of ensnaring themselves into marriage with a woman who was willing to gamble, say, 100K on finding a husband to pay off her debts and let her be a SAHM and make pea shoot smoothies and let the kids shit in bowls all over the house.

It's a pretty raw deal for the guy, if you ask me. Especially if her debt didn't seem so bad if she always held out that she would be working to help clear it.

I might not call it goldigging', but it certainly sounds a whole lot more attractive than working for forty years, and dropping dead of a heart attack the day after you retire.

[Brett L]

The MRS degree is real. What I don't understand is my buddy's wife who was on the path to marrying him when she was a dropout. Now she has an Art History degree, they have $25k more debt and she still is only qualified to be a SAHM or work retail.

[Virginian]

So they got married, then she went back to school for a useless degree?

[Brett L]

Yep.

[Virginian]

He let her do that?

I mean, that would be like a man putting a 25 thousand dollar bass boat on the credit card.

[Atanarjuat]

Of course he let her do that. His wife would suffer from low self esteem if she had to admit to other female suburb-dwellers that she didn't have a 4 year degree that she wasn't using.

[Virginian]

You know what, my bass boat analogy is unfair.

A bass boat has resale value. An Art History degree does not.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Also, a bass boat has real world usability.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Highly educated women are more likely to homeschool, so yes, they do make better mothers.

[Citizen Nothing]

My wife volunteers at our twins' elementary school two days a week. Today she's having a meeting with the new principal to lay down the law. I don't envy him.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Nice. My son is only 16 months old but it makes me angry just thinking about what public school might do to him and how often I would have to bitch at the school.

My wife staying home and doing homeschooling will be better for my health.

[Citizen Nothing]

Yeah -- I think homeschooling would be good, but my wife still has "socialization" concerns for them, so instead she spends a couple of days a week closely monitoring the situation in person. Our older children did the public school thing and turned out terrifically. I think that most public schools are acceptable if the parents are totally engaged and monitor the process closely and supplement the classroom with actual "learning" at home. (In other words, make the school afraid to fuck with you or your children) Few do, of course.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

When college degrees started costing $100,000.00? You'er not going to spend that kind of money for something that will only serve you a few years in the workplace.

[Zeb]

About 20 years ago, I'm afraid. At higher end private colleges anyway.

[gaijin]

When college degrees started costing $100,000.00?

Certainly, though it is still possible to get a college degree for far less. This issue with the article on second look is this imo: part of what makes the 'elite' schools elite is who you meet...so if you meet someone who will enable you to be a SAHM, then your investment could be seen as well worth it. I think the author secretly abhors the idea that her elite degree is little more than what she decries...a membership card to a network of people who will win influence on her behalf.

[Virginian]

I'd argue schools still have a lot more women seeking the MRS degree then any other kind.

[Spoonman.]

I am really hoping that bubble pops within 18 years, because holy crap.

[Brett L]

May our daughters be good-looking enough to strip their way through college.

[Virginian]

And smart enough to know that the long con....er..I mean...marrying well is the better option.

[Stormy Dragon]

They don't. The average student debt for a four year degree is $26,600:

http://projectonstudentdebt.or.....e-data.php

The people who rack up $100,000 are people who are convinced they're special snowflakes, for whom only the platinum plated degree could possibly express how special they are.

It's like someone who bought a Lambourghini complaining about how expensive cars have gotten.

[Loki]

Whatever happened to being well-educated as it's own end? When did that notion get kicked to the curb?

For me I would say when tuition started to become overinflated. While there's certainly an argument for studying whatever interests you, if what interests you will only qualify you to be a barista with $100K in student loan debt, perhaps the wiser course of action would be to get a degree that will result in a good paying job, and then study what interests you in your spare time.

To paraphrase Good Will Hunting: "You can get the same education for a buck 25 in late chawges at yer local library."

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Once again, feminists reveal how much they want to make society pay for their daddy issues.

The stupid part about this suggestion is that many women change their minds once the kids actually arrive. Just because they may have been "GGRRRRRLLL POWER!!" in college and want to do the Cosmo "work full time and raise kids and I don't need a man to help me do either" sometimes grow up and realize that being around your children full time can be just as rewarding as pursuing a career.

My wife was initially going to work full-time and put our kid in daycare, but within two weeks of going back to work from maternity leave, she told me she wanted to stay home with the baby. She simply doesn't trust anyone other than herself and me to provide the proper guidance.

The funny part is that she was as liberal as the day is long when we met, and the longer we're together the more libertarian she becomes.

[Kaptious Kristen]

All of my friends with kids are married or partnered. All of them work, and not because of feminism. They need both incomes. Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom or dad is a luxury and has nothing to do with feminism.

[Virginian]

Well "need" for the lifestyle they've chosen anyway.

One of things that gets skipped over with the whole "Both parents have to work everything is too expensive" is the choices people make.

If you want nice vacations, dinners out, all the latest gizmos and gadgets, don't know how to fix your own house up, live in an expensive area, buy expensive clothes, etc etc. Then yeah you do need two incomes.

If one of the couple can stay home, coupon and buy on sale, find good clothes on sale or secondhand, if you're willing to not have the biggest TV or nicest car, if you're taking a family road trip instead of flying to the Bahamas etc.

Tradeoffs in everything.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Tradeoffs in everything

Thank you! It pisses me off when people try to blame society/the world/whatever for their "need" of two incomes.

When my wife and I started out, I worked a part time job, I was the only income earner and was only pulling in about $20k a year. We survived.

We did so by not having cable TV. I drove a shitty old car. I didn't have a smartphone. I bought the cheap generic brands. We only went out to eat for special occasions. etc...

It's about choices and priorities.

[Auric Demonocles]

Not to mention the amount you save on daycare by doing it yourself.

[Virginian]

Nah the right way to do it is have the mom go back to work so she can give all her salary to daycare and babysitters and nannies.

Makes perfect sense.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom or dad is a luxury and has nothing to do with feminism.

Sometimes. But it's possible to have someone stay at home with the kids if you're living within your means. And if both parents need to work in order to support a child, then it's not out of whack to question whether they should be having kids to begin with, because it's obviously going to put an additional strain on their finances.

[Virginian]

Boston bombers collected welfare benefits.

http://bostonherald.com/news_o.....e_benefits

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ouch.

[DJF]

Looks like the whole family was getting it at some point or another.

I thought it was only lazy native born Americans who did this.

[$park?]

Chechnyan terrorists, doing the jobs that lazy Americans just won't do.

[Zeb]

"I thought it was only lazy native born Americans who did this."

Stop arguing with the voices in your head.

[Auric Demonocles]

The radio talk around here is that they must have been part of a larger cell because how could they afford the lifestyle they had plus the guns and bombs.

[tarran]

This is no accident; welfare allows these guys the time to work on their nefarious plots. Successful people rarely go in for this stuff; it's the people who can't function who do, and people who can't function are the target demographic for welfare.

[Virginian]

Yep. All those homegrown British terrorists were on welfare too.

[VG Zaytsev]

They are LOSERS; who are unable to settle themselves and hate everyone that has

[Kaptious Kristen]

Tell it ,Fred Armisen Uncle Ruslan!

[a better weapon]

HAHA hadn't thought about it, but you're right. He's got a little Netanyahu in him also.

[Kaptious Kristen]

As I was watching the guy, all I could picture was Fred Armisen doing an impression of an angry foreigner.

[Zeb]

Successful people don't do stuff like this because they care about stuff and plan for the future. That's pretty much incompatible with blowing people up and shooting it out with the police.

[Mike M.]

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

And apparently the wife who converted to Islam was working two jobs while he became a terrorist in training. That woman must be one of the dumbest people on earth.

[VG Zaytsev]

Boston bombers collected welfare benefits.

That's impossible.

Shikha assures me that immigrants never get welfare.

[Zeb]

Nobody ever said that. Shikha says some silly things, but no one ever claims that.

[0x90]

SEE??? AYN RAND WAS JUST LIKE TERRARISTS!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

According to a recent study by the Regulated Dispensaries of Arizona Association, medical marijuana will create 1,500 jobs in Arizona.

Uh, yeah, and also about a million teen pregnancies and new terrorists.

[Virginian]

http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/0.....fsb&or=ros

College athlete skips championship to help stranger.

[a better weapon]

I was expecting it to just be him changing some single, pregnant mother's tire on the way to the track meet. Definitely wasn't expecting that! Cool story.

[Teaching Student]

That Bone Marrow, you didn't build that.

[LTC(ret) John]

Nice to see someone has good priorities intact.

[robc]

By law, Lyle and the recipient must remain anonymous to each other for one year.

WTF?

[Atanarjuat]

To keep the donor from getting a reward, which would be tainted by the stain of profit.

[Tim]

I heard this morning that the Boston bombers used gunpowder from fireworks that they bought in New Hampshire. A new reason to ban firweworks!

[gaijin]

at least they didn't use powder from gun ammo?!

[VG Zaytsev]

Progs will want to ban ammo, just to be safe.

If it saves just one life...

[Zeb]

"If it saves just one life..."

It's worth endangering thousands of others.

[Kaptious Kristen]

The biggest irony is that all of my proggy friends don't trust the police at all (one of my friends had her shoulder dislocated by a violent thug cop). Yet they want them to be the only armed people in this country.

Not one of them has ever been able to offer up a reasonable counter to that.

[Zeb]

City folk. Most of my proggie friends think it's great that I am armed and want to come over if the shit hits the fan.

[Kaptious Kristen]

If the shit hits the fan, anyone who posted anything anti-gun on my Facebook feed gets locked out in the cold 😉

[wingnutx]

AMEN to that.

[Bam!]

Just more evidence how amateurish these guys were.

I bet if you Google'd "How to make a bomb" you could find better DIY explosives.

[Heedless]

At the volumes they were working with, ANFO would have been easily doable without much risk of getting noticed. Hell, they could have used the pressure cookers to whip up some TNT. (Very dangerous, but this was hardly a Safety First operation)

[Virginian]

http://www.wired.com/business/.....-services/

Smart thermostat. I'm fully on board with saving my money. But I think connected thermostats will inevitably be managed by central authority.

[Matrix]

why do you NEED to set your thermostat to 73 degrees or lower in the Summer? You should set it at 81.

[gaijin]

noone going through menopause (directly or as an observer) will be able to use these.

[Virginian]

Observer....or hostage?

[gaijin]

...or hostage?

indeed...and all supplies of stockholm syndrome exhausted.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

It's cool, but not $500 worth of cool.

Plus, I have a dog and I'm not entirely sure the viable "away" temperatures are all that much different from what we normally use, anyway.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I've got one that does the real time reporting but doesn't do intelligent stuff. It is quite nice to see where your usage is and how much things like running the dryer costs in real time online. I don't have government electricity so I'm not really worried about it being tracked.

[Zeb]

Or you could just buy a 7 day programmable thermostat for $40.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.....case-1.php

So Corinth, Mississippi is basically Twin Peaks?

[SIV]

Liberaltarianism rises from the grave

[I Dug It]

I think what this shows is that the only Team willing to link pinkies with libertarians is the out-of-power Team.

[a better weapon]

We're the rebound guy/girl.

[LTC(ret) John]

THIS!

[Pro Libertate]

No. Move along.

[robc]

Every time Ive tried to read the Bleeding Heart Libertarian site, Ive just gotten befuddled. I recognize all the words, but he sentences and paragraphs dont form anything making coherent sense.

[Pro Libertate]

How could it make sense? It's like a blog run for the purpose of simultaneously favoring Superman and General Zod.

[robc]

I agree, I just sometimes think maybe there is something there, and nope, there isnt.

[Pro Libertate]

It's only possible if the lefties stop being statists. And if they do that, they'll be libertarians.

[Lord Humungus]

(Boston Bombers) Immigrant Kids, Adrift
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04......html?_r=0

The alleged involvement of two ethnic Chechen brothers in the deadly attack at the Boston Marathon last week should prompt Americans to reflect on whether we do an adequate job assimilating immigrants who arrive in the United States as children or teenagers.

...snip...

When asked what Americans thought about immigrants of their national origin, 65 percent of the students provided negative adjectives. "Most Americans think we are lazy, gangsters, drug addicts, that only come to take their jobs away," a 14-year-old boy in the Bay Area told us. We also found that many educators, already overwhelmed by the challenges of inner-city teaching, considered immigrant parents uninformed and uninvolved.

Having just one friend who spoke English fluently was a strong predictor of positive academic outcomes. Yet more than a third of the students in our study reported that they had little or no opportunity even to interact with native-born students, much less make close friends.

[DJF]

""""Having just one friend who spoke English fluently"""

Or they could just stay in their own country where they already speak the native language.

[a better weapon]

"should prompt Americans to reflect on whether we do an adequate job assimilating immigrants who arrive in the United States as children or teenagers."

Maybe I'm wrong, but since ever since I went to Kindergarten, schools have actively fought AGAINST assimilation. Society overall too. The NY Times were among those in the front leading the way. So is the NYT now saying assimilation is a good thing? I'm so goddamned confused.

[T]

Yeah, seperating them off in the ESL ghetto and doing bilingual education doesn't seem to be assimilation. Maybe I need to check the newspeak definition of assimilation.

[LTC(ret) John]

I SUMMON THE HEROIC MULATTO!

He's pretty up on this issue.

[Zeb]

How old are you?

When I was in school, we had a lot of Cambodian refugees move to my town. Later we had a few Bosnian families arrive as well. They all assimilated pretty well and quickly.

[Brett L]

Dear Abby,

My son is going to be neck deep in tail as soon as he mans the fuck up.

[Ted S.]

Interesting link, bro.

[$park?]

Seriously, that might have been a cool story.

[a better weapon]

Link?

[Fist of Etiquette]

You get the gist.

[Tim]

The gist of etiquette?

[Fist of Etiquette]

EXACTLY.

[Brett L]

Fuck. Can't find it now. Anyhow, mom was writing in to complain that her son is so good looking at 17 that he had a table-full of college girls "aggressively making openly sexual comments" towards him. And then they touched him suggestively!!

[Lord Humungus]

noooooooo!

[alittlesense]

Every 17 year-old guy's fantasy......

[Bam!]

Pfft. Anyone can be chased by crowds of college girls if they wear a hip flask and straw hat.

[mr simple]

Here.

[Brett L]

Okay, found the actual link

He and his 14-year-old sister went out to eat after school yesterday, and when they returned it was obvious my son was upset and his sister was furious. She said a group of college girls at a table next to them were teasing and taunting my son with blatantly sexual propositions. They went so far as to touch him suggestively as they got up to leave.

[Kaptious Kristen]

And she says her son was upset by this? She's either lying or her son ain't playin' for the team she thinks he's playin' for.

[Brett L]

He is extremely good looking, after all!

[BFawlty]

Does he keep his room neat?

[Virginian]

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/.....-happened/

Real progress looks like this.

[invisible furry hand]

Man sells grandson on Facebook

more

[Virginian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?f.....9luGserh3o

Puppies and ducklings motherfucker. Puppies and ducklings.

[Brett L]

Fuck you.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Seems like a cliquish group.

[Lord Humungus]

7 Other Ammonium Nitrate Disasters
http://mentalfloss.com/article.....-disasters

As horrific as last week's fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, was, it's (sadly) not without precedent. Ammonium nitrate, the explosive compound that caused the catastrophe, is often used in fertilizer because of its high nitrogen content. It's also super soil-soluble, so it's extremely effective at seeping down to the roots of plants. The other reason it's typically mass-produced is for munitions, especially during wars. Because the stuff is so volatile, it's been the source of more than a few tragedies over the years.

ONE SCREEN - NO SLIDESHOW!

[Ted S.]

ONE SCREEN - NO SLIDESHOW!

Thank you for your concern.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

That accident has killed 14 more people than Fukushima radiation has to this date.

[gaijin]

14 more people than Fukushima radiation has to this date.

give it time, Mr Fission, give it time.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

You can give it as much time as you want, this radiation released will likely never cause a single fatality.

The radiation present in the exclusion zone around Fukushima is about the same level, or less, than the natural background radiation in Denver, Colorado.
Link

[Brett L]

Daily squee: ducklings vs puppies

[BakedPenguin]

Ah, I was wondering why you replied that way to Virginian.

[Lord Humungus]

older article, but still interesting:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.c.....on-wagons/

In 2006, CAFE altered the formula for its 2011 fuel economy targets, by calculating a vehicle's "footprint", which is the vehicle's wheelbase multiplied by its wheel track. The footprint is expressed in square feet, and calculating this value is probably the most transparent part of the regulations. Fuel economy targets are a function of a vehicle's footprint; the smaller the footprint, the tougher the standards are. A car such as the Honda Fit, with its footprint of 40 square feet, has to achieve 61 mpg CAFE, or 43 mpg IRL by 2025 to comply with regulations. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a full-size truck like the Ford F-150, with a footprint of 75 square feet, only needs to hit 30 mpg CAFE, or 23 mpg IRL, by the same timeframe.

..snip...

Unfortunately, the footprint method has the opposite effect; rather than encouraging auto makers to strive for unprecedented fuel economy in their passenger car offerings, it has incentivized auto makers to build larger cars, in particular, more car-based crossovers that can be classified as "trucks" as used to skew fleet average figures, much the same way the PT Cruiser did. Full-size trucks have become a "protected class", safe from the most aggressive targets, while compact trucks have become nearly extinct as a result.

[Lord Humungus]

I used to drive a 1995 Nissan compact truck - as a single guy it was a great little vehicle for hauling. It only got impractical when my son came along.

[Ted S.]

This is what you get for knocking up your lady friend.

[DJF]

Ford stopped making the Ranger because of these standards, they only have a limited number of trucks they can make so they make the larger ones which cost more.

[a better weapon]

God I want to own a truck so bad, I always have, but I don't want to be called for every move and weekend project. The cons outweigh the pros, unfortunately.

[Lord Humungus]

In college I drove a little '84 Nissan truck. I got so many "can you help me move, I'll make you a meal" pleas. A man can only eat so much spaghetti.

[gaijin]

seriously, weight is all that matters. Why do they have to create a stupid nightmare based on footprint, when weight is all that matters?

[Bam!]

Weight doesn't matter: consumer preference does. Government needs to stop nudging consumers to do what the overlords want and let car companies give consumers what they want.

[gaijin]

Oh I agree wrt consumers, govt.

[Spoonman.]

Why are they messing with my Honda Fit? Bastards.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

A conspiracy theorist would argue that CAFE put these standards in to ultimately kill off individual car ownership. Cars will have to meet not just these stupid CAFE standards but also the byzantine safety regulations that are in place.

Physics ultimately wins out here. We have engines now that are more efficient than anything Henry Ford could have dreamed of, yet we still can't hit a 40 MPG or greater average on gas mileage. That's because all the safety crap adds weight, and thus, decreases performance and mileage. So car companies resort to gimmicks like hybrids in order to increase mileage, even though this technology comes with its own set of issues if there's a breakdown.

[Agammamon]

Well its obvious that if we just come up with the *right* metrics then CAFE will work perfectly.

[KDN]

George R.R. Martin starts up the FIRE IDZIK bandwagon following the Revis trade. I eagerly join him.

[Virginian]

He should be fucking writing.

[KDN]

He's a Jets fan. The depression is too difficult to overcome.

[generic Brand]

Isn't that perfect fuel for a book series whose slogan is "Winter is Coming"? Not exactly a cheery place to start writing.

[Drax the Destroyer]

That doesn't even compare to Broncos-fan depression. I stopped watching football years ago and there still is an empty gouge in my soul. Fuck you, Denver. Fuck you.

[KDN]

I'd chide you for your back-to-backs, but being a Devils fan I'm aware that old glory doesn't mean much.

[Brett L]

Please. Try being from Houston. I think Cleveland are the only football fans who understand us.

[Warty]

At least you haven't had to see Bud Adams' palsied, liver-spotted hands holding up the Lombardi Trophy. Yet.

[Brett L]

But they went, goddammit. After Luv Ya Blue's surrender(s) to Buffalo in the 90s, that fucking sucked. I can't wait to piss on his grave. Hopefully, he'll die the day after the Texans hoist the trophy so I can just keep celebrating.

[Warty]

You also haven't had to see an impostor team that's even worse than the fucking Lions pretend to be your beloved real team.

[Brett L]

Only because Texans fans would literally burn the team bus with the team inside were this to happen. And gut shoot anyone who managed to make it off the bus.

[Pro Libertate]

It is somehow worse pretending that the current Browns are the real Browns. No, that's the team in Baltimore.

Should've called them something else, something Clevelandy. Like the Hitmen or the Pollution.

[Citizen Nothing]

The RiverFire!

[Pro Libertate]

The Pretenders!

[Citizen Nothing]

nice.

[Lord Humungus]

ha! DETROIT LIONS

[Tim]

I thought he was a Wolves fan?

[Drax the Destroyer]

For the most part, he's either a Lions or Dragons fan from what I can tell.

[Auric Demonocles]

I think this Revis trade was one of the smartest things they have done in recent years (assuming they weren't going to be able to resign him next year). Hopefully they waste the cap space on someone crappy, and waste the cap space on Sanchez.

[KDN]

They got a first in a weak draft and next year's third in exchange for arguably the best defensive player in the league. Yeah, he's coming off injury, but so what? Peterson had the same injury at a more demanding position (knee wise) and put up an MVP season when he got back. The mindset was correct, the valuation was all wrong.

They were afraid of getting nothing because Woody went broke putting up for that train wreck of a stadium. Between the underwhelming PSL sales and Tannenbaum hosing the team with big contracts, he just doesn't want to take the risks. Which is especially frustrating since the contract Revis got ($16m, no guarantees) isn't actually much of one.

[Auric Demonocles]

There was only one team bidding for his services, and the alternative is to get one more year of service out of him when you won't be able to make a run then get a 3rd round comp pick. So they traded one year of Revis (when they would be irrelevant with him anyway) for a first round pick and millions of dollars in extra cap space.

[Auric Demonocles]

Oh, and this isn't a weak draft. It just isn't high on skill positions. It's very strong on the line, and has some good DBs too. The Jets can beef up their lines or get a long term Revis replacement and try to solve their buttfumbling problems next year. If your lines suck it doesn't matter how good your QB or secondary are.

[Pro Libertate]

I think this is a very solid draft, just not as flashy at the top as in past years.

I think they should've worked out a deal for Revis--he's that good--but since they're firmly in rebuilding mode, an extra first round pick this year is a step to doing that. And the third next year (assuming Revis is playing for the Bucs next season) isn't chump change, either.

[Auric Demonocles]

I think this is a very solid draft, just not as flashy at the top as in past years.

It seems like this years draft is kind of like this.

I think they should've worked out a deal for Revis--he's that good-

I'm not sure they should have worked out a deal for him. He is amazing, but I think they need to rebuild. He'd be 29 by the time the new contract started, and I think it would take a couple years before they could contend even with him anyway, at which point he's in his 30s.

Basically I think if they keep him they max out at mediocre for the next 3-4 years so they might as well rebuild anyway.

[Virginian]

Right, it's a great draft for defensive players. Just not any superstar QBs like there were two last year.

[KDN]

There was only one team bidding for his services, and the alternative is to get one more year of service out of him when you won't be able to make a run then get a 3rd round comp pick.

Sign him up long term. TB just showed that it really wasn't that hard. Pay him, don't guarantee him; all he wanted was to say that he gets the biggest number in the league.

There was only one team bidding for his services, and the alternative is to get one more year of service out of him when you won't be able to make a run then get a 3rd round comp pick.

27 years old. He'll be 30-31 when the team is ready to start another run (assuming managerial competence, which is a stretch for the Jets) and likely will be better than the combined value of what they're getting (look at Champ Bailey's career, for example).

this isn't a weak draft. It just isn't high on skill positions.

The positions where it's strongest, both forms of DE and DT, aren't a need for the Jets. They're going to end up with a good OG, which is nice but something acquirable in FA, and a 4-3 DE whose conversion to OLB they will inevitably screw up. The CB's are underwhelming (Milliner excepted, but he has injury issues and I don't think he makes it to 9 anyway), I wouldn't touch a QB before round 3, and the WR's are all projects in one way or another. If you're the Jets, this isn't the first round where you want to load up.

[Pro Libertate]

I think the CBs are a little rawer than we'd like in this draft, but there is some serious potential in the top 5-6 to be stars--Milliner, Rhodes, Banks, et al.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

If your lines suck it doesn't matter how good your QB or secondary are.

Yeah, it's pretty amazing how good Alex Smith became once Harbaugh beefed up the O-line.

I think Tarkenton's the only hall of fame QB that had to run for his life all the time.

[mnarayan]

He's getting $16m. The salary cap is $123m. If he could intercept every pass to the receiver he was covering 100% of the time, I still don't know if that would be worth it.

[Auric Demonocles]

I saw an article on this recently. I can't find it via a quick google, but it basically looked at the percentage of snaps a cornerback can have an effect.

Roughly 25% of the snaps in a game will involve your opponent running a passing play. Assuming your opponent divides up the targets even a little, one particular corner can really only affect about 12% of plays. (I think the article came up with 6% of snaps, but I don't remember the exact logic they used)

[Virginian]

Stats don't tell the whole story though. The Lions offense only exists because of Megatron. If Revis can shut him down, the Lions are a much worse team.

When playing teams that lean on a stud wideout for their offensive yards, Revis is a game changer. Especially considering the Bucs play the Saints and Falcons for a total 4 games.

[Pro Libertate]

Does that take into account that a superb corner takes out the top receiver of the other team and often provides a little more time for the D-line to take out the QB?

CB isn't always a key position, but Revis is the very best at it. I think he's got more impact than those stats suggest.

Whether he'll work out in Tampa's system or stay healthy is another matter entirely, of course.

[KDN]

There's definitely more impact than the stats suggest, but it is possible that Revis is overrated because he plays for Ryan. Ryan's island CB always looks like one of the best in the league because the defenses are designed to take away the top threat (one of the reasons the Pats always shred them: too many targets and a QB smart enough to use them). Cromartie, a good but not great CB, put up an all-pro level performance last year manning Revis Island.

[Pro Libertate]

Even if that's true to some extent, Revis has very good skills as a CB. For Tampa, anything is an upgrade, and they can always dump him and his salary if he's not worth it.

[Auric Demonocles]

Does that take into account that a superb corner takes out the top receiver of the other team and often provides a little more time for the D-line to take out the QB?

Assuming the team doesn't target their top receiver more than half the time they throw (i.e. you aren't playing the Lions), then yes it does. If the normal play was going to another receiver anyway, it doesn't really matter that the number one guy was covered.

Revis is the best CB, but he doesn't do anything when his team is on offense (or ST), he doesn't do anything when the opposing team runs the ball, and whether or not he covers his guy tightly doesn't matter if the play was normally going to the receiver on the other side of the field anyway. He might completely shut down the number 1 receiver, but if he gets 9 targets a game normally, that's only about 13% of the game snaps.

[Pro Libertate]

For the moment, the Bucs need that. They had good line and linebacker play and decent play from the safeties (which they've also significantly upgraded). CB is the key for them.

I see this as a move by the Bucs' GM to try to win right now. His job is definitely on the line if they don't win more this year.

[Virginian]

Well that all depends on if Freeman works out for them. This is put up or shut up time for him.

[Pro Libertate]

That's for sure. If he's half good, half bad again this year, he's not getting resigned.

[Auric Demonocles]

For the moment, the Bucs need that. They had good line and linebacker play and decent play from the safeties (which they've also significantly upgraded). CB is the key for them.

I think the deal is good for both sides (though I wish the Bucs fleeced the Jets). I just think no CB is really worth that much. He definitely makes the Bucs better.

[Pro Libertate]

The pay is absurd, but I think the Bucs only carry all of that if they're winning big. If not, they'll have to dump him.

[Auric Demonocles]

Pats will take him for $5 million a year and give a 4th rounder.

[sgs]

"Peterson had the same injury at a more demanding position (knee wise) "

Moronic. Do you even know what a cornerback does?

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, thanks Jets for the best CB in the league. We'll enjoy him for years to come.

[Auric Demonocles]

The deal you guys got from Revis was unbelievable. I know it's $16 million a year, which is way too much for a non QB, but absolutely NO guaranteed money? Insane.

[Virginian]

I like that the most. Revis is saying "I can play, I can perform. If I don't, you don't have to pay me".

I respect the balls to bet on yourself, unlike so many guys who want millions of guaranteed money even if they suck.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's not just betting on yourself. It's betting no one else crashes into his knee and fucks it up.

[Virginian]

Revis is a businessman. He understands at the end of the day, you gotta produce. If he shuts down one side of the field for them, he gets paid. If he gets injured, yeah hes SOL.

But coming off an ACL injury, this was the only way to get that kind of money. High risk, high reward. Gutsy move. Hope it works out for him.

[Pro Libertate]

In effect, he's got guaranteed money. He's definitely getting this year's pay, and I think he'd have to lose a limb for the Bucs to immediately cut him after another injury. So, practically speaking, he can probably count on two years.

[Pro Libertate]

That was the surprise. The picks paid for him were about what I expected (and completely reasonable, unless he breaks down again), but no guaranteed money? Nice.

It's a cap hit, but the Bucs can probably handle it. It's a great move for them, because now they have a potentially excellent secondary after having a crappy one.

[Mickey Rat]

"Well, Martin is a Jets fan, and not a happy one."

There are happy Jets fans? My impression is that they uniformly angry and miserable,

[SIV]

According to a recent study by the Regulated Dispensaries of Arizona Association, medical marijuana will create 1,500 jobs in Arizona.

Rent-seeking multiplier effect in action!

[np]

Porsche picks Maria Sharapova as brand ambassador

[$park?]

Damn she is hot.

[Ted S.]

She's overrated, and I want to rip out her fucking vocal chords every time she steps on court.

[Auric Demonocles]

She looks fairly attractive, but I wouldn't list her as even the hottest girl on my floor here at work.

[$park?]

She's a basketball player?

[sloopyinca]

Police officer who used questionable pretexts to initiate illegal strip searches avoids the most serious charges in plea deal that has angered the black community.

FTA: Assistant District Attorney Miriam Falk defended the arrangement, singling out criticism voiced by one defense lawyer in a Journal Sentinel article. She said the resolution of the case was not racist, discriminatory or insulting to the African-American community - a claim leveled by Robin Shellow, who represents one of the men searched by Vagnini. All the victims were black males.

Yeah, why would blacks be insulted? He only singled them out to be strip searched and sexually violated.

[generic Brand]

a claim leveled by Robin Shellow, who represents one of the men searched by Vagnini

Wow, the shoe's on the other foot now... how many people can say they've been penetrated by a Vagnini?

[LTC(ret) John]

*opera applause*

[Lord Humungus]

AP: Obama and Bush, distinct men with policy overlaps
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-bu.....4AfDPQtDMD

Despite vast differences with President George W. Bush on ideology, style and temperament, President Barack Obama has stuck with Bush policies or aspirations on a number of fronts, from counterterrorism to immigration, from war strategy to the global fight against AIDS.

Even on tax policy, where Bush advocated lower tax rates for all and Obama pushed for higher rates on the rich, Bush's tax cuts for the middle class not only have survived under Obama, they have become permanent.

Obama inherited from his predecessor two military conflicts, a war on terror and a financial crisis. He also inherited, and in time embraced, the means with which to confront them.

[Elspeth Flashman]

(unspoken undertone) . . . so we'll never call him a hypocrite.

[Bam!]

I really enjoy seeing the mainstream press acknowledge this.

Now, if we could get the Democrat party and the Republican party to do the same, we might be able to start moving forward. (Some former Bush advisers do acknowledge Obama has basically kept Bush's policies related to terrorism)

[$park?]

Another really cool idea not thought up by government.

A Minnesota school district where two students were killed in a 2003 shooting unveiled a new device Tuesday aimed at adding a last-ditch layer of safety for teachers and students: bulletproof whiteboards.

The Rocori School District has acquired nearly 200 of the whiteboards, made of a material touted by its manufacturer as stronger than that in police-issue bulletproof vests. The 18-by-20-inch whiteboards can be used by teachers for instruction and used as a shield in an emergency.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Does anyone really need 200 of these whiteboards?

[Ted S.]

Wait until people start using this material to mitigate getting shot by cops.

[db]

You can buy bulletproof clipboards on ThinkGeek.

[Brett L]

We looked for a bulletproof lab coat for a guy who was taking a post-doc position at Va Tach. No luck.

[T]

Market failure or business opportunity? You decide.

[Virginian]

Oh my fucking god. Panic rooms, bulletproof shit, lockdowns, steel everywhere.

How about you pay a bonus to teachers who get a CCW and carry regularly? Boom, school shootings drastically decline.

[db]

But guns!!! Evil totem! Hisssssss!!

[Elspeth Flashman]

. . . because teachers with guns would mean it's OK for people to carry, because that's what message we'd be sending to your children, and we can't do that! Heaven forbid.

[generic Brand]

Seriously, the one rational conversation that could have been had over Sandy Hook was why do we leave so many helpless individuals locked up in a "gun free zone" for 8 hours? School is mandatory in (I want to say every) most states, so it's not like they have a choice, and parents are forced to pay for public schools even if they send their own kids to private. So instead of 20 small schools with 15-20 kids each in a given area--where some are protected by CCW, some are not (parents/schools' choice), we have 400 kids in one location that has no protections against an attack other than a few signs.

[$park?]

And in the meantime, let's make sure nobody could possibly be a bit safer. Good thinking.

[BFawlty]

Airline pilots got the FFDO program after 9/11, why not teachers?

[Jerry on the boat]

Should have bought iPads instead!

[sloopyinca]

Arkansas police officers steal a pet and give it to one of their parents. Claim they were "looking out for its best interests".

Dumbasses.

[Tim]

Oh deer.

[Fluffy]

So in Massachusetts, it turns out that drug testing labs are ripping off Medicaid by testing people for drugs every day or even twice a day.

http://www.masslive.com/news/i....._paid.html

Mark my words - the evolution of "drug courts" and the mantra that we should treat drug use as a "health problem" is just the old wine poured into new bottles. If people can't use pot smokers as chattel in the prisons, they'll use them as chattel in the drug treatment system. Because the important thing is getting control and using that control to create a payment stream for taxpayer-funded parasites.

It's still the same old slaveholder lobby. They just figured out a different scam.

[I Dug It]

Kids for Cash

Excellent book.

[generic Brand]

I definitely thought Kids for Cash was going to be about the education system's cronyism, but this is still just as sad.

[John]

Yup.

[CampingInYourPark]

"Park Service posts 'Due to Sequestration' signs at closed camp"

Professionally made signs at a North Carolina campground are warning visitors that the site is closed because of an 'operational change due to sequestration.'"

http://dailycaller.com/2013/04.....z2RO1FqhRK

[Auric Demonocles]

Well, duh, the sequestration only hit their operational budget, not their advertising budget. Those are totally different. And it's not like their was anything left to cut that could have kept the park open.

[Ted S.]

I wonder how much it would cost to fund an escrow account used to keep parks going in the event of a government "shutdown" (or, in this case, "sequester").

[Auric Demonocles]

Presumably $0 since a park is a bunch of nature.

[CampingInYourPark]

Sign says it's closed due to sequestration until May 24.
This shows the season doesn't even start until May 24:
http://www.recreation.gov/camp.....rkId=74042

[Pro Libertate]

The LP should hand out signs to homeless people saying "Out of work and on your streets thanks to out-of-control government spending."

[Stormy Dragon]

"And then next thing I know some crazy guy started hitting me with a Libertarian Party sign and when I woke up, my shoes and wallet were gone."

[Emmerson Biggins]

So they aren't enforcing this though right, cause that would cost money, wouldn't it?

[Mike M.]

Woman finds extremely rare and valuable video game at a North Carolina Goodwill store.

[db]

My Dad had an old Timex-Sinclair computer complete with thermal printer and tape drive back in the early '80s. It was all in the original packaging. In the late '90s, I stumbled across some collectors of old computer memorabilia and found out the system was worth as much as $5,000 to collectors. I figured I'd pick it up the next time I was home and split the proceeds with my Mom. Of course when I next made it home I found out she had emptied the entire attic and gave the contents, except for some Legos, to a church rummage sale. I never had the heart to tell her what she missed.

[sloopyinca]

I'll use the actual story's lede for this one.

More charges laid against officer accused in cheese smuggling

[db]

Charges are pending in a related salami-hiding case.

[$park?]

Police are going to be raiding sausage parties all over town until they find it.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Cheese smuggling sounds like a disgusting sexual act.

[Enough About Palin]

Yesterday morning I discovered my 32-month-old cat dead on the basement floor. The night before, she showed no sign of trouble. A day earlier, I was marveling at her amazing athleticism. This was a cat that was feral that was live-trapped by a neighbor. I decided to keep her and had everything done to bring her up-to-speed (vaccinations, eliminating parasites, ID chip, etc.). She never went outside after that. Her passing was a total shock. I suppose I could have had her autopsied, but dropping a few hundred on a dead cat seemed financially wasteful. Anyone else have a cat just up and die out of the blue like that?

[Virginian]

My condolences. Losing a pet kind of sucks.

[Enough About Palin]

Thanks.

[I Dug It]

Nope. Was she peeing regularly?

[Tim]

That's sad. Do you have a CO alarm? Could your basement be trapping gas from a defective boiler or furnace?

[Lord Humungus]

hmm... interesting point.

[Enough About Palin]

Yes, I have a CO alarm. Her cat companion is just fine.

[db]

Yeah you should check on this.

[Spoonman.]

Excellent point.

[db]

Also, do you have a basement floor drain that may be connected to an old sewer? I have seen cats die from hydrogen sulfide poisoning. H2S is a toxic gas that can cause respiratory arrest/paralysis in extremely low concentrations. Exposure to concentrations as low as 300ppm can be lethal to humans, even hours after exposure. This gas can bubble back up into your drains if connected to sewers. Many old homes had this kind of drain.

[Citizen Nothing]

Definitely check for CO. We had our five-year propane-line test this weekend and a leak was found. Apparently too small to even smell, but a bit scary. Our cats (and kids) are fine, however.
Our two cats both adopted us out of the wild. Savage hunters. They vigilantly keep the compound free of vermin. One caught a baby rabbit yesterday. A good nature lesson for the kids.

[db]

That's terrible. Is it possible she ate a poisoned rodent?

[Enough About Palin]

It's unlikely, but can't be ruled out.

[Warty]

Can't say I have. That blows, dude.

[Warty]

Well, I guess I did. I came home once from a weekend trip to find a cat unresponsive and curled up in the closet, with watery cat shit all over the house. The vet thought he had eaten some string and it was twisting his intestines, so I paid for the surgery to get it out. It turned out he had ischemic colitis and his colon has completely necrotic, so they had to put him down. That was $1000 well spent.

So I hope she didn't suffer, and at least you didn't have to pay for her to die expensively.

[sarcasmic]

We have a rescue cat ourselves. Not the most social animal, but one heck of a killer. Sorry to hear about that.

[Tim]

My wife tried to rescue a feral cat once, cat was unable to be indoors and would violently try to break out, we were afraid she'd break her neck. She ended up living under the deck because that was the best we could manage. Found her run down in the road not long after.
You can't do much for ferals.

[sarcasmic]

This one hid under the bed for the first week or two we had her. Then I came down with the flu and was in bed for two days, and it finally came out to give me a sniff. Since then it accepts attention, but only on its terms. Try to pick it up and it turns into a Taz, Warner Brothers style. Good mouser though.

[$park?]

We brought in a feral about a year and a half ago now. It took about 3 months for him to stop hiding in the basement. He's still a bit skittish when people make sudden movements, and he runs and hides when strangers come over, but he's otherwise adjusted to us.

[sarcasmic]

We named her "Boo" because she's afraid of everything.

[Enough About Palin]

She was only 9-months old when my neighbor trapped her. She was born in August of 2010 and by October of that year, was enduring one of the most brutal Minneapolis winters on record. You would never have guessed shed been born outside. She was super friendly. She loved to curl up at your feet and play with the dog. I figured she was the first pet I had that would likely outlive me.

[Lord Humungus]

the one feral I owned was very anti-social. She just hid all day long. I got to pet her maybe 1-2x a month. Any sudden movement and she would be off in a run to hide again.

[SugarFree]

One theory about cats is that they aren't actually domesticated. By feeding them therir entire lives, they never have to mature and essentially stay kittens forever. That's why taming a feral is so difficult. It's like forcing an adult to go back to acting like a child all the time.

[sarcasmic]

That's funny that you say that. Our feral cat has started acting like a needy kitten the last couple years. She'll jump up and purr and body slam for attention. Of course she's still feral, so any sudden movement or loud noise and she's running away, only to be back a minute later.

[SugarFree]

I LOVE YOU!!! OMG NOISE!

Our Maine Coon is like that and he was never feral. He's just, well... Let's put it this way, if Takashi was a human he'd hug everyone way too hard.

[Brett L]

You saying his mom might've gotten into some anti-freeze while she was pregnant with his litter?

[SugarFree]

Or paint chips.

[$park?]

if Takashi was a human he'd hug everyone way too hard

Heh. We have a cat that I think is part Maine Coon, he's exactly the same way.

[Lord Humungus]

I've owned a few cats - all of them at least lived to age 12. They tended to die from cancer or diabetes complications.

But don't feel bad, I once spent over $1k on a kitten. She needed emergency medical attention after a botched surgery to 'fix' her. She's still around, but it was hard spending that kind of money on a stupid cat.

[$park?]

I spent close to $1k having a plate welded onto one cat's leg when he broke it jumping out of a tree. My wife wouldn't have let me hear the end of it if I hadn't.

[Enough About Palin]

I dropped $2.5K to get an MRI of my dog's brain at the University of Minnesota School of Veterinarian Medicine after a vestibular episode. The cost was due to an anesthesiologist having to monitor her for four hours. Worth every penny, because on a laptop you can surf around through a 3-D image of her brain.

[sgs]

"a vestibular episode"

This happened to my dog, absolutely horrifying experience. Dogs eyes were rolling around uncontrollably, and she was vomiting and laid out on the floor. I spent 2 months treating her like a baby, hand feeding her and physically carrying her outside to go. She still isn't right several years later.

[Drax the Destroyer]

My landlords cats started dropping dead after going in the basement. I think they determined it was some sort of bug/rat poison concoction they were using to clear the vermin out of the basement. Fucking sad...

[Kaptious Kristen]

That sucks, man. I'm so sorry.

I just had my 19-year-old putty tat euthanized a few weeks ago. It's quiet in the house with just me n the dawg.

[SugarFree]

That's how my 2nd Maine Coon died, right down to the basement. He was 4 and frightening smart. Came home for lunch to hang out, and there he was. It's terrible.

In his case, it was a heart valve defect. There is a genetic defect in some Maine Coons that make it very common. They are getting close to breeding it out. Our current Maine is from a breeder certified to not use that breeding line.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Yeah, my cousin's cat died in his sleep suddenly at the age of 10 a couple weeks ago for no apparent reason.

I suspect he actually may have had a heart attack of some kind, because he was pretty chunky and 10 is getting up there in age, but he hadn't shown any signs of distress up to that point. He just lay in his favorite chair and the next morning he was dead.

[Virginian]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l.....ewyorkpost

Remember when New York was a symbol of freedom?

[Ted S.]

No; I don't.

[Matrix]

damned terrorist!

[Tim]

Not really. Early last century maybe ?

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm not old enough to. Pro Lib might remember, if he's in one his more lucid moods.

[Pro Libertate]

I don't remember even reading about such a time. They have that statue, but even that is relegated to some obscure island.

[Citizen Nothing]

We finally really did it! You maniacs! You blew it up!

[Pro Libertate]

So where exactly was Ape City, anyway? Taylor rode north, right, since the ocean was on his left. New Jersey, maybe?

[Pro Libertate]

Sorry, not his left, his right. Stupid fingers.

[Auric Demonocles]

Clearly not a lucid mood.

[Capt Ace Rimmer]

I don't remember.

[Capt Ace Rimmer]

They have a range of about 140 to 300 feet and can cause flesh wounds at a close range, sources said.

"It's very scary to know there were guns one floor below me. I had no idea," said one of Goal's co-worker.

[db]

Seriously?

[Virginian]

"It's very scary to know there were guns one floor below me. I had no idea," said one of Goal's co-worker.

This person probably considers themselves to be a very intelligent and enlightened being, much smarter then any idiot redneck.

[John]

This is why I hold these people in such contempt. It is bad enough they are stupid, provincial and narrow minded. But what makes it worse and so unforgivable is that they think they are anything but.

[db]

Rednecks are too stupid to shit their pants when they see a gun.

[John]

That or they know something about weapons and have some common sense. If there is anyone here that is too stupid, it is most certainly not the rednecks.

[Brett L]

Reminds me of one of the better Justified episodes.

Givens: "Do you know where I'm from, asshole?"
Robber: "I don't give a shit"
Givens punches out robber
Givens: "I'm from Harlan county, where we know the difference between dynamite and a goddam road flare."

[John]

That is awesome.

[Virginian]

I love that show.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Yeah, last time I read about the Utopian cartoon New York in the Atlas Shrugged.

[VG Zaytsev]

"It's very scary to know there were guns one floor below me. I had no idea," said one of Goal's co-workers,...

Holy shit,

The asswipe was scared that an airsoft gun was in the same building as him.

[CampingInYourPark]

"WASHINGTON (AP) ? Newly released documents show that the Obama administration was warned as early as 2010 that electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. was not meeting milestones set up for a half-billion dollar government loan, nearly a year before U.S. officials froze the loan after questions were raised about the company's statements."

http://washington.cbslocal.com.....r-failure/

[a better weapon]

I laugh whenever I see someone drive one of these. So many other, better cars to spend that kind of coin on.

[The Late P Brooks]

It's still the same old slaveholder lobby. They just figured out a different scam.

And this is why I laugh every time somebody tells me the country is on the verge of marijuana legalization.

[a better weapon]

Security preparations began this morning to prepare for all 5 living US presidents to visit SMU for the dedication of the BOOOOOSHH!!HHH! library. Started at 5am and I get to drive by there each morning. Surprisingly the commute was no different then usual. I'm sure tomorrow will be god awful though.

http://www.pegasusnews.com/new.....opening-g/

[Virginian]

There is only one living President.

There are four old guys who used to be President. They aren't anymore.

[a better weapon]

I thought they still carry the title after being in office.

Looked it up, you're right. You just call them Mr. ______

http://www.formsofaddress.info.....ormer.html

[Virginian]

Fuck that. It flies in the face of republican values.

You leave the office, you leave the title. In the good old days, before the rot sunk so deep, the departing executive walked from the Capitol to Union Station, where he purchased a train ticket for home.

[Pro Libertate]

I agree with this. I despise the whole concept of addressing an ex-politician as anything other than Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms/Asshole.

[Emmerson Biggins]

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States.

[Ted S.]

My condolences.

Can you just get a day off from work tomorrow? April 25 is Anzac Day, after all.

[a better weapon]

So its basically veteran's day for the Kiwis and Aussies?

Do I HAVE to drink Foster's though? Because I'd rather not.

[Ted S.]

Ask IFH.

I'm sure there are other Antipodean alcoholic beverages, though.

[invisible furry hand]

we don't drink Foster's. And I don't drink beer at all.

I'm staying awake so I can get to the Dawn Service at 4.30am at the cenotaph in the CBD, so no booze for me. Anzac Day is the only day two-up is legal, so i might hit the pub later and gamble to honour our diggers' sacrifice. But still won't touch bloody Foster's

[Ted S.]

And I don't drink beer at all.

Now you've done it: you've pissed off most of the commentariat.

(I don't drink beer either, because I don't like carbonated beverages.)

Foster's. Australian for piss.

[sarcasmic]

I once did a blind taste test between Fosters and Bud. Could barely tell the difference.

[a better weapon]

My wife visited Australia and everyone there said they sent their shit beer to America. Just curious if there were other, better brands widely available here.

[invisible furry hand]

there are tons of small boutique beers, but the decent ones most likely to be on tap at the pub (or exported) are probably Cooper's, James Squire, maybe James Boag.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Same is true of America - all the shit beer goes overseas. That's what Euros think we make such awful beer, when that couldn't be further form the truth (at least since the Carter Admin)

[John]

But Kristen, the Euros love awful American beer. They sell the shit out of Budweiser in Germany and the UK. Why, I have no idea. But they do.

[Kaptious Kristen]

They may buy it and drink it, but the bitch about it unrelentingly. Without fail, every time I go to Europe, Euros love to tell me how shitty American beer is. I get to tell them exactly what was said above - "we only send you our piss water beer". Puts those weasels in their place.

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's true! I have a friend who married a German, and he thinks (or thought) Miller Genuine Draft was a really good American beer.

[sarcasmic]

I read someplace that Ireland consumes more Bud than Guinness. It's an import you know.

[Atanarjuat]

Probably the same reason Bud sells so well in America, it's cheap, easy to drink, and it'll gitcha drunk.

[Tejicano]

And then there is XXXX - which an ozzie buddy tells me is how they write "lager" down under.

[generic Brand]

Who gets the win when we both have 10:53?

[Kaptious Kristen]

The tiebreak is who has the most h/t's.

[Brett L]

Yeah, but go watch Gallipoli sometime before saying that lightly.

[Pro Libertate]

That war was so fucked up. "Say, this isn't working--maybe we should withdraw. No, send more cannon fodder. We've got boys to burn."

[BFawlty]

I just watched Beneath Hill 60 on netflix, pretty good movie.

[generic Brand]

4X is a decent Australian beer.

[Spoonman.]

It's probably the most exciting thing the Highland Park police have gotten to do in decades.

[Bam!]

Why the flying fuck does Bush have the second largest presidential library?

I bet Obama's will be a frickin' skyscraper.

[invisible furry hand]

you're thinking small. A sphinx with his head sounds rather more likely

[db]

*Sphinx!*

[The Late P Brooks]

Remember when New York was a symbol of freedom?

No. Why?

[sloopyinca]

Chicago cop accused of sexually assaulting another cop at a party put on desk duty pending trial.

FTA: While defendants charged with similar crimes are often ordered to relinquish all firearms as a condition of their release, Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil allowed Belmontes to keep his.
"These are allegations," Ciesil said. "I don't want [this case] to prevent him from working."

So, the judge imposes the double-standard so a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman can remain armed. Fucking Chicago.

[Ted S.]

He did this to another cop, and they didn't just shoot him?

[Drax the Destroyer]

Shooting is for the stupid rubes (and their dogs) sitting in their houses minding their own business.

[Ted S.]

You mean like Dorner?

[BFawlty]

No just women delivering newspapers.

[Kaptious Kristen]

It was a female cop. She's, like, 1/2 a real cop or sumpin.

[Agammamon]

3/5th's - cops are very traditional.

[Virginian]

http://www.nydailynews.com/lif.....-1.1288710

Chelsea Clinton's massive apartment. Remember when this country didn't have royalty?

[Ted S.]

Isn't she married to the scion of some wealthy family?

[a better weapon]

Yikes, he better not be wealthier than her! If so, why Chelsea?

[Drax the Destroyer]

If she has Daddy issues, she is probably a disgusting dick-snapping hose-beast in the sheets. On an unrelated not, I'm going to throw up for a couple of hours.

[John]

Is there anyway she could not have daddy issues? And if she took after her father, she probably is pretty freaky. All and in all, it is a good bet she has some charms.

[mr simple]

I'm sure being the son-in-law of two of the biggest names in the Dem party has its benefits, too.

[Ken Shultz]

"The city of Los Angeles will give two women who were shot by police during the hunt for Christopher Dorner $4.2 million."

When will the police who shot them be indicted?

What is it with these rich people who think they can buy their way out of justice?

[Loki]

Tennessee State's Alan Gendreau could become the first openly gay player in the NFL.

You mean Jeff Garcia hasn't come out of the closet yet?

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

[hamilton]

Conor Friedersdorf asks what would you add to the Billof Rights.

[db]

How about BOLD print and some real penalties for violating the existing Amendments?

[John]

Nothing. I would just ask people read and interpret the thing as it was intended.

[sarcasmic]

" I believe the Constitution should be amended with a clause which states that neither the federal nor any state government shall make any activity that does not violate, through force or fraud, a persons right to life, liberty or property, a crime. "

-Neal Boortz

[Agammamon]

Simply - an amendment clearly stating that human rights do *not* come from the government, that they are inherent to being human, along with a disclaimer that the bill of rights is not to be considered a comprehensive list of human rights (only a quick guide to some of the most important ones, ala the 10 commandments) and that the federal and state governments *are* ones of enumerated rights and don't get to unilaterally expand their areas of coverage.

Oh wait, that's already in there.

[Juice]

I would rewrite the whole thing to be more absolute and take out all loopholes and vagaries. For example, the 4th amendment would require a warrant for any and all searches and that warrant has to be based on probable cause and be presented in writing at the time of search. Eminent domain would be prohibited. No one would be forced to testify in any court proceeding, ie no subpoenas. There would be a lot I would change.

[Fatty Bolger]

A budding libertarian? 3rd-grader is perfectly honest about his apathy toward Earth Day

[a better weapon]

I just hope he doesn't get suspended for it.

[Drax the Destroyer]

They'll isolate him in a cabin in the woods and force him to watch Fern Gully and Avatar non-stop until he submits or rips his eyes out and stuffs them in his ears.

[John]

That is one of the best answers ever given on a school exam.

[tarran]

^^^ This!

[H. ReardEn]

I gave an similar answer to the question of the importance of a liberal arts education in my freshman orientation class.

[grylliade]

Um, that's Middle Tennessee State, not Tennessee State. Tennessee State is an historically black university in Nashville; MTSU is a much larger university in Murfreesboro.

[Ken Shultz]

"According to a recent study by the Regulated Dispensaries of Arizona Association, medical marijuana will create 1,500 jobs in Arizona."

It'll move them out of the shadows.

Interesting read from the WSJ, recently, about how hard it is to make a profit these days growing marijuana:

"Prices for pot, meanwhile, have plummeted, in large part because of growing competition."

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....07452.html

1,500 legitimate, out in the open jobs may be created in Arizona, but in the future, there will be fewer people involved in marijuana production and distribution than there are today.

Just as libertarians predicted all along, ganja is quickly becoming a low margin business everywhere it's legal.

[gaijin]

ganja is quickly becoming a low margin business everywhere it's legal.

Soon, only WalMart will be able to make a profit on it.

[Ken Shultz]

I suppose a lot of progressives really would rather suffer gang violence than see Wal*Mart make a profit on anything.

That's why progressives are America's most horrible people.

[Tim]

The big One!

"Hubble Snaps Photos of Approaching CometApril 24, 2013

NASA released the photos of the Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) taken on April 10 by the Hubble Space Telescope, when it was slightly closer to the Earth than Jupiter. Plus, later in this gallery, we'll show a surprise comet finding from Jupiter.

Why is this so special? This comet could actually outshine the moon as it approaches the sun, getting closest on November 28 this year. It could also be spectacular in the northern hemisphere on its return trip to the outer reaches of the Solar System."

(24/7)

[db]

"Surprise Comet" should be one of the most terrifying phrases in any language.

[LTC(ret) John]

Lucifer's Hammer?

[Drax the Destroyer]

You guys want to form a cult and "beam" ourselves up to this comet when it gets close? Free drugs and sex.

[$park?]

I'm in if you include orange juice.

[gaijin]

Count me in...if I get to wear a free pair of Nike kicks...can they be Jordan's?

[hamilton]

Do we get castrations too? Because all the cool cults have those.

[hamilton]

This is clearly a portent of doom for the Emperor. Or maybe a sign that the new dynasty is rising. Can't someone study some chicken innards and tell us the REAL truth?

[Tim]

this is a 13 year and yeah, some people will freak out.

[Brett L]

I wish

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday equated the Tea Party to a non-violent "anarchist" group because, in his mind, Tea Partiers don't believe in any form of government. He was speaking about the sequester and other financial issues on the Senate floor.

[John]

He forgot to call them nihilists.

[VG Zaytsev]

Hate mongerers.

[LTC(ret) John]

"evilmongers"

[BFawlty]

racists

[$park?]

When you're as hardcore as Harry, everyone else looks like an anarchist.

[Auric Demonocles]

Spending 1% less is exactly like Somalia!

[gaijin]

well, at least he said 'non-violent'. THat's a shift isn't it?

[db]

If they're nonviolent and have little money to donate to campaigns, they can be safely ignored.

[Agammamon]

He is obviously confusing Tea Partiers (people whose only connection to each other is that the want lower taxes) with Libertarians and libertarians.

They obviously can't be anarchists because every anarchist I see on tv is crying for more government control so they can get some free stuff.

[John]

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

Abortion activists express outrage over the Gosnell trial, mention their outrage about everything Gossnell did, except kill live children. Infanticide apparently is just a personal choice.

[Tim]

That the guy is a monster means nothing in terms of the larger agenda.

[John]

It is like talking about how Tim McVeigh is horrible because he broke federal explosive laws.

[CampingInYourPark]

I don't see why any pro-abortion advocate would defend Gosnell. Isn't the main reason for legal abortion women's safety?

[John]

it is not that they are defending him. They are smart enough not to do that. It is just that the only thing they see wrong about what he did was endangering women's lives. The killing children part doesn't seem to be an issue worth mentioning.

[VG Zaytsev]

Isn't the main reason for legal abortion women's safety?

No, it's to launder money through planned parenthood for democrat pols.

[John]

http://ideas.theatlantic.com/2.....rt_iii.php

An old interview but a really good one. And an absolutely brutal take down of "libraltarians".

It's not death to the state these libertarians want, it's the state as cool parent, with a stripper pole in every pot. I've actually had one good libertarian friend argue straight-faced that the solution to the drug problem is a monopoly partnership between Washington and Walmart. Well, with solutions like that, who needs problems? And of course you get that kind of institutionalized approach from fans of legal prostitution. It's almost as if libertarians are willing to let the state regulate everything so long as everything's decriminalized.

I haven't seen a better description of douche bags like Will Wilkerson.

[sarcasmic]

Dude erects quite the straw man.

[CampingInYourPark]

More gun control fodder

"VILLAGE OF MANCHESTER, Ill (KSDK) - Five people are dead and one injured in a shooting in the Village of Manchester, Illinois, according to Mayor Ronald Drake."

http://www.ksdk.com/news/artic.....s-shooting

[John]

One of the effects of Newtown is going to make these incidents less effective political props in the future. Newtown was so horrible and such a huge issue was make of it, all other shootings are going to seem minor now. I am not really sure how you could ever get a mass shooting worse or even approaching what happened in Newtown. So people will not be nearly as shocked by future shootings.

[Virginian]

But they are pushing them. I see an awful lot of two and three death shootings popping up on the top of my Google News page.

[John]

Law of diminishing returns.

[tarran]

In the near-term maybe.

In the long-term, absolutely not. How many people are aware of that bombing that blew up that elementary school in the 40's? Damn few. It's as if it never happened.

[John]

The 1940s didn't have 24/7 TV.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Remember the national anthem at the end of the broadcast day? I think I last saw that in the early 1990's on some cheapass network, like UPN.

[tarran]

It did however have newspapers published multiple times a day fed by telegraphs.

The bombing was nation-wide news. It got huge coverage. It had the same impact then that the something on youtube now.

Face it, anything that happened more than a decade ago is a distant memory. My parents grew up in an age when people could and did bring rifles into the cabins of commercial airliners. Yet, if one were to propose the idea now, it would be seen as a mad, untried, novel one.

[NoVAHockey]

"anything that happened more than a decade ago is a distant memory"

my sister-in-law, age 27, had no idea there was a place called "East Germany"

[Bam!]

Big deal. It's Illinois. In the summer time, something like 20 people die in a weekend from gang violence in Chicago. 5 people is amateur hour.

[CampingInYourPark]

When will the Russians implement some common sense gun legislation?

"MOSCOW (AP) - Police have apprehended a man accused of killing six people in a shooting spree in Russia's southwest earlier this week."

http://www.whig.com/story/2206.....a-detained

[invisible furry hand]

This can't be right. The media here say this is solely an American problem

[Kaptious Kristen]

But aren't pretty much all guns illegal in IL?!?!? How could this possibly happen?!?!?

[John]

http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....e-reduced/

Majority says legal immigration should be reduced. Here is what Republicans don't get about liberal constituencies. Republicans think if they are just nice to liberal constituencies and give them half a loaf they will like them and stop voting Democrat. But that is not how they thing. Liberal constituencies want shit from the government. And they vote Democrat to get it. When they don't that shit, they get demoralized and angry and either vote on other issues or more likely don't show up to vote at all. When they do get their free shit, they think "wow, the Dems defeated the evil Republicans and got our free shit". Giving into them doesn't make them less enthusiastic Democrats it makes them more enthusiastic. So giving Hispanics their amnesty is not going to vote Republican. It will just get them to love Democrats more as the party that finally forced the Republicans to give in. Not giving them amnesty will not make Hispanics angry at Republicans, it will make them angry at Democrats for not coming through with the free shit as promised.

[Stormy Dragon]

So not getting hassled by the state as you go about your business == "getting free shit".

[mad libertarian guy]

Alec Macgillis' tears are so salty, yet sweet and full of nourishment.

But not as nearly as nourishing as those of Bill Daley of the Chicago Political Machine.

I want my money back. Last October, I gave $2,500 to support Heidi Heitkamp's campaign to become North Dakota's junior senator. A few weeks later, she won a surprise victory. But this week, Heitkamp betrayed those hopes. She voted to block legislation to make gun background checks more comprehensive. Her vote ? along with those of 41 Republicans and three other Democrats ? was a key reason the measure fell short of the 60 votes needed for passage.

Polling has shown that nine in 10 Americans and eight in 10 gun owners support a law to require every buyer to go through a background check on every gun sale. In North Dakota, the support was even higher: 94 percent. Yet in explaining her vote, Heitkamp had the gall to say that she "heard overwhelmingly from the people of North Dakota" and had to listen to them and vote no. It seems more likely that she heard from the gun lobby and chose to listen to it instead.

Mmmmmmmm. Tears . . .

That said, you can bet that as soon as North Dakotans heard of the dastardly gun bill, they wrote in force to their new Senator and let her know exactly what was up. There are some places where one cannot be anti-gun; ND is one such place.

[Kaptious Kristen]

eight in 10 gun owners support a law to require every buyer to go through a background check

99% of bullshit statistics are bullshit.

[Virginian]

I actually think that's a relatively accurate number.

Of course, anyone who has bought a gun from an FFL in the last four decades or so has filled out a Form 4473. So....yeah...they are screaming and panting and crying about the lack of fierce moral urgency to pass a law that already exists.

It's like if people were penning opeds and news stories (are they still different at all?) calling for pensions for the aged and free medical care for the indigent.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I had to fill out some B.S form at the gun show and go through an instant background check, so yeah, I don't know WTF they even want.

[Virginian]

Yeah that's the bullshit. It's a federal government agency with a giant computer database. It's a felony to lie on the form.

It's exactly what they're asking for.

[Agammamon]

*I* don't think its an accurate number outside of the large cities on the coast.

I can tell you that in my house 33% support background checks, 33% are opposed, and 33% couldn't giveafuckI'mtryingtoplayavidoegamestoptalkingtome.

[Spoonman.]

Hey Brett, has your GF gotten all of the pregnancy blood tests yet? Holy shit do they take a lot of blood!

[Brett L]

Yeah, I didn't have to go with her. She bitched about it, but she hates having blood drawn. I may have to actually credit her now.

We've done the whole ultrasound/heartbeat thing. The parasite is apparently 100% nominal at this point.

[invisible furry hand]

i had no idea you were about to replicate your mummy issues upon another generation. Well done! Have you started devising idiotic names yet, or are you going to be depressingly sensible?

[Virginian]

Auction off the name. If we keep doing that, eventually it will become another example of how crazy libertarians are.

[Brett L]

She likes hippie names, I don't. So we're probably going with a staid given name and something weird as a middle name.

My favorite example thus far is that she has never seen the movie Willow, and so was very hurt when I gut laughed when she suggested that one. Then I explained that if we have a child with dwarfism, I will totally go with Warwick Willow L.

[Virginian]

The issue, IMO, with hippie names is that the kid either embraces it fully or is resentful about the teasing that develops.

I suggest Vivian Nebula Snow.

[BFawlty]

Seven

[Spoonman.]

We're doing the ultrasound thing on Monday.

My wife had to lie down after they took blood - it really makes her queasy and she's a small woman. I knew that was coming so I went with her.

[Brett L]

Hmm. I almost feel bad about working through that. Almost.

[The Late P Brooks]

I linked to that Daley thing over the weekend. The only thing worse than money in politics is when your money doesn't buy the result you want.

And-

as soon as North Dakotans heard of the dastardly gun bill, they wrote in force to their new Senator and let her know exactly what was up. There are some places where one cannot be anti-gun; ND is one such place.

That can't be true. This morning on Morning Joke they said 99% of NoDaks wanted those background checks. NINWETY NINE PER CENT! Why haven't they hanged that traitorous bitch yet?

[The Late P Brooks]

I actually think that's a relatively accurate number.

I think you're wrong. And I especially think that number falls completely to pieces when any specifics are attached.

90% might wish for some ethereally perfect means of keeping guns out of the hands of deranged babyslaughterers, and a large subset of Americans would be completely unaffected so they couldn't give a shit. But a solid, legitimate 90% popular support? No fucking way.

[Virginian]

eight in 10 gun owners support a law to require every buyer to go through a background check

[Virginian]

I think that is pretty accurate. Even if you only support it for convicted violent felons, that's still a background check.

[Fluffy]

The problem is that people are stupid, so they don't think through the implications of such a bill until someone holds them by the hand and walks them through it.

Joe Dumbass might think, "Sure, any sale or transfer of a gun should require a background check," but when you try to actually transform that sentiment into legislation, you discover there's no way to right a bill criminalizing "transferring" a gun without a background check that doesn't criminalize handing someone your weapon to feel the weight at a shooting range. Or leaving your gun home with your girlfriend when you go out. Or letting a valet park your car when you have a gun locked in your trunk.

There's a reason the original background check legislation was restricted to sales by licensed dealers. It's because all these prosaic exceptions arise when you try to write legislation with a blanket statement requiring a gun owner to never allow their immediate literal hands-on control of an object for even a moment.

[Fluffy]

"to write"

"to lapse"

Sorry.

[Virginian]

Exactly. It's a push poll, it's designed to be very gauzy and vague and inclusive. The number of people who favor absolutely no control of weapons whatsoever is astonishingly small.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I'm sure 90% responded yes to a question like this: "If background checks could keep guns out of criminals hands and not infringe at all on your ability to buy a gun, would you support it?"

A fantastical question. In a perfect world where background checks kept guns out of criminals hands and no abuse of the law or ridiculous reason for forbidding someone from buying a gun was part of the background check, yeah most people may support it. In the real world though, background checks don't keep guns out of the hands of criminals and will definitely be abused, and stupid reasons for forbidding someone from buying a gun will restrict legal gun ownership

[Virginian]

"If a law were proposed that did not raise costs or affect the government deficit in any way but gave millions of uninsured people health insurance, would you support it?"

[Agammamon]

I'd still oppose it - the number of people who snap and shoot up a place is an infitesimal fraction of this country's population.

I think in aggregate the burden (however slight) placed on the majority outweighs the damage caused by a few crazies.

[Virginian]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....24/as.html

Today's creepy Republican statism article.

[The Late P Brooks]

EVERY?

I think not.

[invisible furry hand]

Luis Suarez has been given a 10 game ban for biting and must eat all his greens

[robc]

Seems about right.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Hmm. Suicide? Vigilante? Government cover up to hide the "true" bombers?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013.....n-student/

[$park?]

Missing 'brown' student? Straight. Up. Racist.

[Brett L]

Thank God he wasn't from an Ivy League school. Too soon?

[lap83]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codes.....ike?live=1

Psychologists make groundbreaking discovery that people play favorites with those they like.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Woah! No way!

Next you're going to tell me that people tend to eat food that they like too...

[Agammamon]

Obviously we'll need new civil rights legislation to deal with this sort of entrenched bigotry.

I'm thinking a p[arellel state and federal beauracracy to oversee and approve all hiring, promotions, and vet who gets the best assignments.

[lap83]

Good idea. Everyone knows that government bureaucrats have no souls and are therefore incapable of the emotion required to "like" people in order to give them preferential treatment. We'll just have to hope there are no policies in place that intrinsically favor certain groups, but that would never happen.

[Joe M]

For most people, this would have been so obvious and self-explanatory it would have required no further thought. Of course, we might think. Of course we'd help someone with whom we have a personal connection.

For Banaji, however, it was the start of a psychological exploration into the nature and consequences of favoritism a flimsy excuse to go begging for grant money

[Joe M]

Turns out this cold spring we're having is totally predicted by global warming, as of a month ago.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

But the way weather works isn't so simple

Except climate isn't weather, except it is, but it isn't, except when we say so...

[Joe M]

Didn't you hear? An unseasonably warm spring followed by an unseasonably cold spring is the strongest proof yet for climate change.

[Stormy Dragon]

Climate change! It's both a dessert topping AND a floor wax!