Putin Says US Has Left Snowden Trapped, GOP Has Chance to Control Senate, Obama's Ratings Slip Further: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: scrink / Foter / CC BY-NC

  Vladimir Putin says the United States' behavior has essentially left Edward Snowden trapped in Russia with no other options.

• Nate Silver calculates that the GOP could take control of the Senate following the 2014 elections.
• President Barack Obama's approval rating continues to slump, down to 43 percent in Rasmussen's latest poll.
• Queen of anti-vaccination activism and one of Reason magazine's 45 "Enemies of Freedom," Jenny McCarthy will be taking her ill-informed opinions to The View as a new host.
• NASA has successfully tested a rocket part that was created with a 3d printer. Forget guns. I want to know when I can print my own space ship.
• St. Louis' Taxi Commission is considering whether to institute formal "clean up" fees when a passenger throws up in a cab.

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Comments

[Mike M.]

Cleveland man requests Browns pallbearers "so that the team could let him down one last time."

[Ted S.]

Fisty wasn't first for this???

[some guy]

C'mon Mike. Really?

[Paul.]

This gives me the idea to have my ex girlfriends and wife be my pallbearers.

[NeonCat]

Now, Paul., don't you think they'd feel like it should be you doing the pallbearing?

[Paul.]

Paul Beared plenty during his time... plenty. I'll bear no more.

And why do we always blame the man for the woman's 11th hour conversion to lesbianism?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The Golden Girls: How One TV Show Turned A Generation Of American Boys Into Homosexuals

[The DerpRider]

Well, Jenny should feel right at home on the View with the rest of the ill-informed opinions.

[Tonio]

^This.

[The DerpRider]

I know the low opinion most have of Family Guy, but the skit when they show the View and they are all clucking hens is priceless.

[Anonymous Coward]

When Seth MacFarlane gets down off his soapbox, he can occasionally get a little wood on the ball.

[C. Anacreon]

When I want incisive commentary on the issues of the day, the first persons I go is to former Playmates.

[Aresen]

I am hoping that one of the guests will be a parent whose child died from a disease that could have been prevented by vaccination.

[Tonio]

That parent will then most likely be a person who refused vaccinations against medical advice, so the parent bears ultimate responsibility.

The perfect storm would be a rational parent whose divorced, custodial spouse refused to vaccinate. But even that would not dissuade Jenny; she's a True Believer.

[Brandon]

Jenny: At least the kid didn't catch autism!

Crowd: WWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! JENNY! JENNY! JENNY!

Having never watched The View, I can only assume that the audience is similar to Jerry Springer's.

[Aresen]

Actually, the perfect parent would be one who did get his/her child vaccinated, but the vaccination did not take and the child caught the disease from an unvaccinated child in the school.

[Bobarian]

How about the parent of an autistic kid who died of measles?

[SIV]

Jenny McCarthy is less an enemy to freedom than is every federal, state and municipal bureaucrat.

[Mendelism]

^This. I'm failing to see how Jenny McCarthy's "activism" (however misguided and dangerous) is an affront to *freedom* at all, as opposed to science and good sense. Has she called for vaccines to be outlawed? Or for physicians to be legally barred from recommending vaccines to parents of young children?

[VG Zaytsev]

Because only an enemy of freedom would oppose the government treating the public like a herd of cattle.

/ cosmo

[Mike Laursen]

I don't understand why her stupid opinions make her an enemy of freedom, either.

[A Serious Man]

Nate Silver calculates that the GOP could take control of the Senate following the 2014 elections.

So will the Team Blue punditry turn on him if he starts prophesizing the wrong way?

[Episiarch]

Absolutely and without question.

[John]

Listening to them explain how he is really a tea party hack is going to be really fun.

[Episiarch]

It would be much more fun if they had even an ounce of self-awareness. Watching them do 180s all the time with nary an idea that they're doing it gets tiresome.

[John]

It does. But it is a tiresome age. We have to make due with what entertainment we have.

[Pro Libertate]

I bet they get dizzy.

[Bobarian]

Watching them do 180s...

If we could hook up a generator, renewable energy would finally be here.

Notice I didn't say 'green', because the byproduct has already proven to be toxic.

[PH2050]

Toxic clouds of smug will be released.

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, I'm thinking they'll have both houses. But what will they do with them, that's the question.

[Episiarch]

Something incredibly stupid, I'm sure.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, stupid and pointless. And since they'd have Obama in a totally vulnerable position, they'll act swiftly to do nothing.

[JW]

And futile! And they're just the guys to do it.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Just wanted to point out that this didn't go by unnoticed.

[JW]

Thank you. I was on a roll.

[C. Anacreon]

Probably spend all their time and energy on new restrictions on abortion and opposition to gay marriage. Nothing regarding reducing the deficit or the size and scope of government. All paving the way for a Santorum candidacy that will lose every single state and DC.

[Killazontherun]

I don't know whether to withdraw in despair or to grab the popcorn.

[Jeff]

Fuck us.

[JW]

Wait your turn, like everyone else.

[Hyperion]

Fuck up Obamas agenda.

Try to do some moar warmongering.

Pass some porkulus bills.

Am I missing anything?

[Marc F Cheney]

Constitution amendments on flag burning, sodomy and prayer in schools.

[JW]

They could combine 2 of them as a ban against sodomizing a burning flag.

[jesse.in.mb]

God damn JW, it's like you can see into my backyard.

[JW]

[gives command to drone to go into stealth mode]

[Killazontherun]

Ol' Glory Hole!

[Atanarjuat]

^Superb.

[DesigNate]

Because they totally tried to do that when they controlled both houses AND the presidency?

[Killazontherun]

They had an entirely different perfect storm of total failure to work towards back then.

[Pro Libertate]

Impeach the entire administration?

[Episiarch]

Now that would be good. But they won't. The whole political class learned with the Clinton impeachment that nobody wins (except the proles) and they all lose, so they won't be doing that again. That's why there haven't even been the tiniest calls for special prosecutors or impeachments.

[Pro Libertate]

No, they won't, but I don't think it's correct to compare this to Clinton. He was impeachable for perjury, maybe, but the scandals mounting up for Obama are reaching biblical proportions. You know, dogs and cats living together, real wrath of God stuff.

[Dweebston]

I warned you all about gay marriage, and now look: dogs and cats, living together, courting the wrath of God. It was only a matter of time!

[AuH20]

Y'know, Pro Lib, everything was fine until dickless over her *gestures at Obama* screwed it up

[John]

If they were smart. Don't impeach Obama. Impeach every member of his cabinet.

[Pro Libertate]

I impeach you last.

[JW]

Don't believe him! He lied!

[Rich]

Hah! Axelrod and Jarrett aren't Cabinet members!

[Pro Libertate]

You can impeach anyone in government. Even people in Congress.

[Dweebston]

By impeach you mean peg with rotten peaches from a modified potato gun, right?

[jesse.in.mb]

By impeach you mean peg with rotten peaches from a modified potato gun, right?

When I'm POTUS, Dweebston will be my John Yoo.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I am partial to tar and feathers for impeachment purposes. Or general chastisement.

[Hyperion]

I would settle for just 'fuck up Obamas agenda'. That's the most that we can hope for from team red. And they would only do that because you know, team, not because they give a shit about any of lowly citizens.

I wonder who will be the Senate lead if they do manage to take back the Senate(doubtful)?

[Bobarian]

Why would they need to do that? Obama has been fucking up his own agenda for almost 5 years now.

[Hyperion]

Yes, but with both houses, they could pretty much neutralize dear leader.

[jesse.in.mb]

Silly Hyperion, they should give Obama EVERYTHING HE WANTS, and nothing more.

We have passed the Obama FYTW Bill 2014. We have serious reservations about it, particularly the portion where the IRS goes to each house and forcibly eye-rapes you with a cactus, but the President was VERY insistent about it, and he is EVERYBODY'S president.

God Bless America!

[Boba Fudd]

If they were clever, they could make this work wonders. I think we might be hoping in vain.

[Hash Brown]

Forget that NSA overreach ever bothered anybody.

[SweatingGin]

Pass repeals of Obamacare that get vetoed?

Although giving Him the opportunity to get out from under it might be kind of awesome.

[A Serious Man]

Quickly marginalize and silence the libertarian-ish wing of the party.

[JW]

They already have that as an executable that can be run with the press of the enter key.

[Paul.]

Yeah, I'm thinking they'll have both houses. But what will they do with them, that's the question.

Successfully prove that government doesn't work.

[Suthenboy]

Live up to their name, of course.

[some guy]

Hopefully we'll continue to have gridlock. Blissful gridlock. As bad as the last 2-3 years have been, just think about how it could have been. Remember 09'-'10 when the Dems controlled everything?

[Hash Brown]

THIS

[C. Anacreon]

Here's what's happening in California, to show you what the results of complete Democratic control can do. They are about to pass Senate Bill 1, which declares that living in a single-family house with a yard (like just about everyone in the suburbs), is a blight. That's the actual word used in the bill, a blight.

It then says that any such blighted areas are subject to eminent domain, and can be seized to build subsidized, high-density, multifamily affordable housing. And this will be funded by siphoning off a major portion of local property taxes.

In other words, too bad about your nice house and yard in the suburbs. We're going to take it and build a housing project there. And by the way, you are going to pay us for this privilege.

And this bill is passing overwhelmingly in both houses. Everyone seems to think it's a great idea, you know, 'cause social justice and all.

Aint single-party rule grand?

[JW]

Holy fuck. They've basically just stopped pretending that they give a shit about anything other than expanding their power.

[Episiarch]

Are they fucking retarded? They don't think there will be any kind of backlash if they start doing that?

[Dweebston]

They're goaded on by the utter lack of backlash from the last few years of political hegemony.

[Rich]

Good Lord, C. There *must* be something else to it.

[Hyperion]

to show you what the results of complete Democratic control can do

Haven't we already seen what it can do? Remember Obamacare?

But yeah, in Cali, they are hellbent on turning that place into a living nightmare. It's like the Hunger Games coming to real life.

[tarran]

In my opinion, Obamacare is worse because the dems didn't have complete control, but almost had complete control.

The law wasn't properly debated because they were trying every procedural trick to stampede/cajole/bribe one Republican senator into supporting it. If they'd has a filibuster proof majority, they probably would have crafted something a little less insane.

If they had a slight majority, they would have had a longer road to travel and the bill would have gotten more scrutiny before passage.

[DesigNate]

One can only hope.

[Andrew S.]

In googling for more information about this, I came upon this fun aside from a union.

***SB 1 is also an opportunity to insert a provision into state law that will guarantee card check (when a majority of employees in a bargaining unit sign authorization forms, or "cards," stating they wish to be represented by a union) wherever a development project will provide subsidized funding for a hotel, warehouse, or retail establishment.

See: http://www.ufcwwest.org/wp-con.....-Sheet.pdf (PDF)

[Anonymous Coward]

At least we know where the first American Hive City will be built.

All Praises Be to the God-Emperor!

[Agammamon]

Meagacity 2.

[Rhywun]

I think they've been playing too much SimCity.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

It then says that any such blighted areas are subject to eminent domain, and can be seized to build subsidized, high-density, multifamily affordable housing. And this will be funded by siphoning off a major portion of local property taxes.

Gee, remember when progressives bitched about this during the "urban renewal" days?

[Rhywun]

If by "bitching", you mean "enthusiastically supported"... yes.

[AuH20]

Okay. Lex Luthor was right. Nuke in the faultline, push it into the sea.

[Tejicano]

Sometimes when I look at what is west of the San Andreas fault - and how that could some day possibly break off and sink - I have a hard time ignoring that there must have been some kind of intelligence involved in how that would work out.

[SKR]

holy crap!!! I just read the bill and it's fucking nuts. I thought you were exaggerating, but I was wrong. I am suddenly more glad I technically own a duplex.

[Rhywun]

Duplexes are even more blight-y because they're occupied by evil landlords who don't charge an "affordable" rent on the other half of their houses.

[Rasilio]

Um, abortion, tighter crackdown on drugs, boost military spending, crackdown on immigration, and impeachment hearings.

I'm betting at least 2 of these.

On the plus side I really don't think they'll waste their time on Gay Marriage so that is at least one issue we won't have to hear them drone on and on about.

[Rich]

Will they keep droning on, though?

[Hyperion]

Will they keep droning on, though?

I can just see McCain co-sponsoring a bill with some other asshat in congress to allow droning of American citizens on our own soil. And they know Obama would sign it.

[Aresen]

they'll have both houses. But what will they do with them, that's the question.

From the Team Blue perspective, the timing will be perfect. They hope to postpone implementation of the Employer Mandate until after the election (and, if they get away with it, they'll try the same with the individual mandate.)

Then, when the whole thing blows up, they'll try to blame Team Red.

[Pro Libertate]

I suppose what happens will depend on how much control they get. If it's something crazy, like a veto-proof majority (unlikely, I think), then some weird stuff might happen. Without that, probably gridlock and lots of hearings about bad guys in the administration.

[Anonymous Coward]

They will try to blame the Stupid Party and here's how they will do it: they will claim that the Stupid Party failed to "properly" implement the employer mandate and that only the Evil Party has the necessary foresight (ha!) and compassion to disincentivize full-time employment.

[Brandon]

They'll probably ban abortion and pass a circumcision mandate. And then go to work on restoring DOMA.

[Concerned Citizen]

So you're a fan of genocide? How hip and enlightened of you.

[Brandon]

Meh. Genocide used to be cool, but what I'm really into now is false choices and idiotic fallacies.

[Concerned Citizen]

Are you pro - your life?

[CE]

Yes, suddenly his flawless research will be full of holes, and his unassailable logic will be decried as unverifiable conjecture.

[Stormy Dragon]

They should have taken the Senate in 2010 and 2012 too. But I'm sure the Tea Party will round up enough O'Donnell's and Akins again to allow the GOP to once more snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Brett L]

I thought he was dead wrong about 2012, and Nate schooled everyone. If he says it, I'm not going to argue.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Silver's fame is due more to the modern obsession with technocratic "experts" than it is with the strength of his methodology.

You could have gotten the same results he did just by reading the poll aggregates on Real Clear Politics, but no one was washing their balls over their information.

[AuH20]

Late to the party, but I just thought I'd toss it in. I read the NY Times' readers picks comments on Silver's arguments. They are basically counting on the Republicans to blow it (via teh TEA BAGGERZ!), because otherwise they turn this country into a theocracy. I shit you not.

[Irish]

Left wing government worship is more of a threat to the well being of the people than Republican Bible Thumpers could ever hope to be.

[A Serious Man]

NASA has successfully tested a rocket part that was created with a 3d printer. Forget guns. I want to know when I can print my own space ship.

I fly a starship across the universe divide.
And when I reach the other side.
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again.

[CE]

I shot an arrow in the air....

...and then I ran like heck because I shot it straight up.

[Brett L]

Only The Highwaymen could have made the cheesy piece of shit song popular enough that I recall hearing it. Thanks for trolling us, guys. You didn't have enough fucking money? OTOH, thanks for giving Townes Van Zandt a little drinking money.

[Dweebston]

Gully Foyle is my name,
and Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
the stars my destination.

[Pro Libertate]

[Jaunts to Dweebston, slaps him, jaunts back.]

Bester rules. Wish he'd written more novels.

[Dweebston]

Been meaning to find a copy. I read it back in high school, but I was putting away several cheapy sci-fi novels a month and doubt I gave it the proper time it deserves. It stood out.

I'm reading Gibson's Sprawl trilogy after one of y'all called out my sad cyberpunk bona fides. It's decent stuff, even if his style starts off a little? labyrinthine.

[Pro Libertate]

Get The Stars My Destination. And The Demolished Man. Don't neglect his short fiction, either, which has some gems.

[PapayaSF]

Circa 1980 Oliver Stone wrote a screenplay for The Demolished Man. It's floating around the web and is pretty good.

[Pro Libertate]

His novels should translate to the screen.

[Marshall Gill]

Nate Silver calculates that the GOP could take control of the Senate following the 2014 elections.

Wow, pretty bold assertion there, Nate.

[Hash Brown]

If he actually said "following the 2014 elections" then he basically hasn't asserted anything at all.

[Tonio]

I think he was acknowledging the delay between the election and the opening of the new session of Congress.

[Rich]

Wow, pretty bold assertion there, Nate.

Hey, not so fast with the snark, there, Marshall.

He also calculated that you could save 15% on car insurance.

[some guy]

And on Quibids you could win a 50" flat screen TV for as little as twenty dollars!

[some guy]

This is actually big news considering the source. He wouldn't have said this unless he calculated significant odds of it happening.

[Saneman]

My wife could give me a blow job following the 2061 return of Haley's comet to our solar system.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://music-mix.ew.com/2013/0.....fy-pulled/

Thom Yorke is pulling his music from Spotify. I'm not exactly sure why an anti-capitalist like Yorke would have a problem with not being paid for his work so long as it benefitted the masses?

[Jeff]

Because preventing people from listening to his music benefits the masses even more.

[Caleb Turberville]

Radiohead really hitched their wagon to the whole anti-globalization fad of the late 90s. I love the music on OK Computer, but the lyrics are eye-roll inducing.

[Rhywun]

So so true - what insufferable twaddle.

And... the only reason he's doing this is because he's fucking rich and well-known already.

Ask any new artist and they will tell you they want all the exposure they can get.

[Marc F Cheney]

That does strike me as pretty bizarre, given how they released In Rainbows.

[SweatingGin]

Who?

[Suthenboy]

What's mine is mine. What's yours is mine.

/Every socialist who ever lived

[Proprietist]

Yesterday was on an elevator at Nashville airport when Rand Paul and his wife walked on board. Was not expecting that to happen, kinda got tongue-tied. But told him I appreciated him fighting the good fight and stuff...if I hadn't been caught by total surprise I would've had something better to say.

[SweatingGin]

"Praise be to Aquabudha, Senator"

[Marc F Cheney]

At least you didn't ask him where he gets his ideas from. That's just the worst.

[Hyperion]

if I hadn't been caught by total surprise I would've had something better to say

Like this:

Hey Rand, I appreciate you fighting the good fight and all, but could you stop pandering to those fucking SoCon asshats?

[Proprietist]

Confrontation in an elevator is the worst thing ever. Wouldn't do that to a senator who's my favorite despite my misgivings about his positions on certain things.

[Brandon]

Hit the emergency stop and start quoting Stranger in a Strange Land.

[Hyperion]

I forgot the /sarc.

I wouldn't do that either. I still like Rand, despite the fact that he has done a few things that disappointed me, he's still in the top 3 best congress critters. And out of those 3, he's the only one with much influence.

[JW]

Nice. Any response from him beyond a civil platitude?

My elevator surprises are limited to Mark Shields and Dan Quayle.

[Proprietist]

He said thanks and was asking us where we were from and where we were going. He was very nice about it, but it can be awkward to be on an elevator with a stranger who wants to talk to you, you know.

If I had been prepared I'd have had more substantial to ask/say...

[JW]

I once saw Holder getting into his car, and I could think of nothing pithy and cutting, quickly enough, to yell at him.

[Brandon]

Times like that are when one of those guns from the Dune movie would come in handy.

[Pro Libertate]

What movie?

Do you mean a stone burner? A maula pistol? Lasgun?

[Brandon]

The things they yelled into that made stuff explode. I don't remember seeing those in the book. Nor do I remember him saying "My name is a killing word" in the book.

[Pro Libertate]

Like I said, what movie?

[Brandon]

Come on, it happened. It wasn't great, but it had Sting, and...it wasn't great.

[Pro Libertate]

It was bad, you can say it.

I generally liked the casting, and some of the look was good. That's it.

[crashland]

You couldn't come up with flipping him the bird and yelling "fuck off asshole"...

[JW]

Ahem, pithy and cutting.

Any asshole can do that. You want them to remember it.

[Brandon]

Fuck off, slaver?

[Paul.]

.if I hadn't been caught by total surprise I would've had something better to say.

It's nice to see you taking your mother out, Mr. Paul.

[Rich]

"If you were a tree, would you be the Tree of Liberty?"

[Paul.]

Here, let me pass water on it.

[SweatingGin]

"did I detect a foot tap, Senator?"

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Questions to ask Rand Paul if ever you meet him in an elevator:

Boxers or briefs?

Kirk or Picard?

Deep dish or NY style?

And, perhaps most important of all...

To gambol, or not to gambol?

[Brett L]

"More... Libertarian... You... Fuck!"

[A Serious Man]

Next time wear Depends.

[Rhywun]

Ugh, I used to share the elevator all the time with then-atty general, current governor Cuomo. He exudes all the charm that one might imagine.

[Suthenboy]

"Jenny McCarthy will be taking her ill-informed opinions to The View as a new host."

Sounds like she will fit right in.

[John]

Not yet. She is an aging skank, but not quite an old hag just yet.

[Hash Brown]

I still think of her as hot. It's probably a good thing that I haven't seen any current photos of her.

[John]

She is hot for the over 35 mom class. She hasn't gotten fat or bad surgery. I guess I let her personality influence my opinion of her looks.

[Irish]

She's definitely still good looking. She's just a fucking idiot.

[Hash Brown]

She is hot for the over 35 mom class.

IOW, not hot.

[Suthenboy]

That is a good thing John. Personality trumps looks every time.

I used to have a poster in my dorm room. Super hot little blonde chick in a bikini rollerskating down a sidewalk straight at the camera. Caption at the bottom of the poster said;

SOMEWHERE, SOMEONE IS SICK OF HER SHIT

[Hash Brown]

+1 hissy fit

[CE]

She'll look like a friend of liberty next to those actual enemies.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Ok, then...

"The men under the influence..." adresses the recent change in roles in heterosexual relationships from the relationships of our predecessors and how those changes have affected men in particular. the photos attempt to capture men's sense of loss reference, now that women have taken a step forward and have finally come into their own as equal partners. The project consists of full-lenght portraits of men wearing the clothes of their girlfriends or wifes, taken in the space shared by the couple.

[CE]

At least we know who wears the pants.

[Suthenboy]

Oh for fuck's sake. I have to go puke now.

[Episiarch]

OK, I actually looked at the pics, and they are funnier than I would have thought possible. The first guy has the same expression on his face that a a cat does when someone dresses up the cat in something ridiculous.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Oh, they're great. Scroll to the left to see even moar...

[Episiarch]

Well, I do have a limit to how much pathetic I can view before I'm done. And I'm pretty much done here.

[Bobarian]

Some of those pictures looked emasculating, but others just made me think 'hipster douche'.

[Anonymous Coward]

"It was all Mrs. Bumble. She would do it," urged Mr. Bumble; first looking round to ascertain that his partner had left the room.

"That is no excuse," replied Mr. Brownlow. "You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these trinkets, and indeed are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of the law; for the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction."

"If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass- a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience- by experience."

[Xenocles]

A Cleveland astronaut built his coffin out of 3D-printed parts so that NASA could "let him down one last time."

[Brett L]

California police chief takes sensible tack. I expect to find pods just outside Rialto. I mean, he acknowledged the citizens can legally recored on duty police officers AND advocated for always on audio and video.

William A. Farrar, the police chief in Rialto, Calif., has been investigating whether officers' use of video cameras can bring measurable benefits to relations between the police and civilians. Officers in Rialto, which has a population of about 100,000, already carry Taser weapons equipped with small video cameras that activate when the weapon is armed, and the officers have long worn digital audio recorders.

But when Mr. Farrar told his uniformed patrol officers of his plans to introduce the new, wearable video cameras, "it wasn't the easiest sell," he said, especially to some older officers who initially were "questioning why 'big brother' should see everything they do."

He said he reminded them that civilians could use their cellphones to record interactions, "so instead of relying on somebody else's partial picture of what occurred, why not have your own?" he asked. "In this way, you have the real one."

[Suthenboy]

Long overdue.

[playa manhattan]

Serious question: What drug did the guy from Glee most likely OD on? It says in the news that he went to rehab, but nobody seems to know any more beyond "alcohol and substance abuse"...

[Hash Brown]

I think they're doing the autopsy today.

[kinnath]

He had said in the past that he did anything and everything in large quantities.

Apparently multiple trips through rehab didn't stick.

[Brett L]

What? This can't possibly be!

[John]

Most likely some kind of opiate, either pain pills or straight up heroin. It is pretty hard to kill yourself on booze and impossible on pot. Most people who OD take too many opiates or mix them with too much booze.

[kinnath]

Uppers means heart failure; downers means respiratory failure. He looked like a reasonably healthy young guy, so I would get downers. But Len Bias has an alternate theory.

[playa manhattan]

I'm thinking that his tolerance went way down after rehab, and he went for his regular dose of whatever and couldn't handle it. The same thing happened to one of the guys in my fraternity (his parents sent him to rehab for 2 months, he got out, went to get high, and died that very night).

[Not an Economist]

If you stuff enough pot down somebodies throat, they are choke to death so it is possible to die from pot.

[Auric Demonocles]

NASA has successfully tested a rocket part that was created with a 3d printer. Forget guns. I want to know when I can print my own space ship.

Quit thinking so small. 3D-Printed space elevators.

[CE]

Still too small. I'm gonna 3D print a whole new planet, and then I won't have to fly there.

[Hash Brown]

How long before we can 3-D print foodstuff? Because that would seem to have the potential to cut living expenses way down for people who aren't too picky about what they eat.

[Stormy Dragon]

They're working on it:

http://www.space.com/21250-nas.....pizza.html

[Hash Brown]

Even if it tastes like shit, that is awesome.

[PH2050]

"potential to cut living expenses way down for people who aren't too picky about what they eat"

Already here.

http://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body

[CE]

Did you write about liberty between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013? Reason welcomes you to enter this year's Bastiat Prize for Journalism, with a total prize purse of $16,000.

Can't you just compile my comments on H&R and enter those?

[robc]

I tried that last year.

I really thought COASE repeated a hundred times would win, foolish me.

[JW]

rob--So, the electric company came by to install their power rationing device on our AC, when I wasn't home, to which the wife happily agreed to do. Fucking hell.

We get 80 bucks back as a carrot in the deal and more next summer and all I could think of when I heard this was COASECOASECOASECOASECOASE.

Damn you.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I know you were all waiting breathlessly for Marcotte's reaction to the Zimmerman acquittal, and here it is in all its glory!

Absent racism, there would be no debate over who is the "thug" in this situation.

Uh. Huh.

we do know more about the victim and his killer, and every step of the way, it's become clear that Zimmerman is the violent thug, and he and his meathead family are a bunch of simmering rage machines that have built up paranoid visions of the world to justify being hateful and, in Zimmerman's case for sure, violent.

Ok, sure.

The gun industry knows that violent, paranoid people are a steady source of profits for them, and therefore they have lobbied hard to make sure that said people can continue to give them money without being impeded. If the Florida government wasn't in the thrall of gun manufacturers' remorseless pursuit of profits over human life, Trayvon Martin would be alive today.

Hmm...

Under common sense gun regulation, Zimmerman would have permanently lost his right to concealed carry when he assaulted a cop.

I love that Amanduh is so analytical, but how does she really *feel*?

[Hyperion]

And now that the Z has his gun back, and has surely carved another notch in it, he'll soon be prowling a neighborhood near you, looking for his next victim. Better hope none of your kids look like Obamas son.

She left that part out.

[Irish]

If the Florida government wasn't in the thrall of gun manufacturers' remorseless pursuit of profits over human life, Trayvon Martin would be alive today.

This sentence makes me think that Rawstory is involved in the remorseless pursuit of page hits over basic human sanity.

[Brett L]

Listen, the only people FL lawmakers are in the thrall of is Disney, and maybe some private prison corporations (and the sugar industry).

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, I recognize no tyrant but the Mouse. All hail the Mouse and his high-priced government services.

[B.P.]

Bonus: "Warning to trolls: I'm very low on patience today, so don't even bother. Take your racist garbage elsewhere."

[Eduard van Haalen]

And I hear that Zimmerman plays lacrosse!

[Anonymous Coward]

Absent racism, there would be no debate over who is the "thug" in this situation.

If you argue with me, you must be a racist.

Amanda Marcotte is always so respectful and persuasive.

[A Serious Man]

Jason Whitlock often says stupid stuff, but I do admire him for calling out Jay-Z and hip hop culture as a major factor in young black men being treated like criminals.

To my surprise, one very important person was not offended at all. Dahveed Nelson, formerly David Jordan Nelson, the driving force behind The Last Poets, emailed me to praise my column. Nelson and The Last Poets are the fathers of rap/hip hop music. The politically charged, pro-black poems they performed over drumbeats in the late 1960s and early 1970s birthed rap music.

"Jay-Z is getting well paid," Dahveed told me Sunday during a 90-minute Facebook Skype. "He's one of the most wealthy people in America, certainly one of the wealthiest blacks and most influential, for being a n*gger, for putting on blackface and coo*ing. That's what he's getting paid for."

It's going to be hard for anyone to argue that Dahveed Nelson is an Uncle Tom and a sellout. The Last Poets were so militant and progressive that President Nixon had them placed under FBI surveillance. Nelson's infamous poem, Die N*gger, inspired the title of Black Panther member H. Rap Brown's autobiography. The rap group N.W.A. sampled Nelson performing the poem at the beginning of one of the group's songs, Real N*ggaz Don't Die.

[A Serious Man]

[...]
"The message of my poem was just the opposite," Nelson told me. "The message was for n*ggers to die so the real black man could be resurrected and seek salvation. This whole hip-hop generation, it's the devil. It's Satan. It's hedonism. It's the pursuit of pleasure. There's no soul. They've captured our medium."

[John]

I do too. But to do that would prevent people from thinking that the whole thing is the result of white racism. And black people don't want that because it requires them to look at their own behavior. And white liberals don't want that because it prevents them from looking down on other whites. So no one does it.

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean glorifying crime and incarceration in the name of being "a real nigga" might lead to negative consequences?

This is some revolutionary shit, my nigga!

[DJF]

""""Jenny McCarthy Enemy of Freedom""""

Yes because freedom is all about everyone having the same opinion.

[John]

she is not an enemy of freedom. She is an enemy of children.

[Sidd Finch]

and good boob jobs

[Hash Brown]

She's free to express her opinions, and we're free to call her an enemy. Get with the program.

[Tonio]

Yup. World-class bimbo. Enemy of reason. Public idiot. But not anti-freedom.

[21044]

But this is a funny scene no matter what:

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

[Sidd Finch]

I'm going to re-post this just in case anybody thinks Andrew Sullivan has an ounce of sense left.

http://dish.andrewsullivan.com.....f-trayvon/

I'm not going to second-guess the jurors, except to say the obvious: if that were a jury of Trayvon's peers, then I'm a heterosexual.

[Rich]

But when an all-white jury in America finds a "white" man innocent of killing an unarmed black man, the resonances are simply undeniable.

And how exactly was this "all-white jury" chosen?

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, ha! The prosecution was in on it, too! I knew it! [Rushes out to riot in the streets.]

[Irish]

The people complaining about the jury makeup at this point seem to not understand that the prosecution has a hand in who gets picked for a particular jury.

If the prosecution thought these people were capable of rendering a fair verdict, then who is a random asshole like Andrew Sullivan to disagree? I don't think he was involved in jury selection.

[DJF]

That is assuming that Sullivan wanted a "fair verdict". He appears to have wanted a guilty verdict.

[Bobarian]

Sullivan doesn't give a fuck about the verdict, he's just trolling to get people to talk about him.

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, the prosecution, who could see and talk to the juror candidates during voir dire, who did everything they could to select the jury most likely to crucify that white Hispanic murderer, they. . .what, exactly?

I'm appalled yet again at the ignorance of our system at play here. It's better that 100 guilty people go free than 1 innocent person gets convicted. Remember that one? It's why the burden of proof is so high. And if idiot lefties suddenly think the burden needs to be lowered, let me remind you that minorities are rather over-represented as defendants. Rather.

[Brett L]

In their defense, they did try to strike all the white people.

[Pro Libertate]

That's okay. That's always okay.

[Irish]

Andrew Sullivan does not seem to understand that 'jury of peers' means 'fellow citizens' not 'people taken specifically from the neighborhood of the victim.'

Plus, by Sullivan's definition, none of those women were Zimmerman's peers either.

[robc]

Not only that, but isnt the jury of the peers for the defendant, not the victim?

Mixed-race hispanic males would have been the proper jury if we follow Sullivan.

[MJGreen]

Yes. Why would the jury be Martin's peers? Trayvon Martin wasn't on trial.

Fuckin' Sullivan. He has no clue.

[Generic Stranger]

The concept of "Jury of peers" does not exist in American law. Notice it's distinct absense in the 6th amendment (which lays out the right to a jury trial).

The phrase is a holdover from English common law, where nobles had the "right" to be judged by their peers; IOW, other nobles, rather than by commoners. As such, it has no place in America's egalitarian legal system.

[BigT]

We are all equal in the law; all are your peers.

[Generic Stranger]

Well, that's one way to look at it, but it still makes "jury of your peers" contain unnecessary verbiage, since all possible juries would be composed of your peers.

[Suthenboy]

".... if that were a jury of Trayvon's peers.."

I dont have a clue who any of the jurors were but I am sure the prosecution tried hard to get that jury. I remember some hoorays from the race baiters, and 'Zimmerman is fucked' comments from others.

They couldnt even sell their bullshit to that jury, so it must be the jury's fault.

[Irish]

There were an awful lot of sexist comments during the trial from people basically arguing that getting an all woman jury was a coup for the prosecution because they'd be more likely to be swayed emotionally by a dead teenager.

It's sexist nonsense, but some of these arguments were coming from the left. Prior to the verdict they thought that it was a good jury for them, then they lost and all of the sudden it's because those damn white women didn't check their privilege.

[Hyperion]

I was one of the 'Zimmerman is fucked' commenters.

We all have to be wrong sometimes, it was my day.

I am still surprised at the verdict, although I agree with it. Obama and the media, and even the judge in the case, did their best to get this guy convicted, and failed miserably.

That's the sweet part of it. They stooped so low that they could have crawled under an ants belly, and they still failed.

[C. Anacreon]

Now the peers are supposed to be peers of the victim, not the defendant? Then who would he have wanted to be on the jury in the Michael Vick trial?

[Sidd Finch]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dro7.....y+Dogs.jpg

[C. Anacreon]

nice

[Xenocles]

See, even if peerage were a thing in the US, which it's not, it's the person who is facing the prospect of being punished by the state who is entitled to a jury of his peers. Not the victim of the alleged crime.

I didn't know HIV was a brain disease.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Is he still "investigating" Sarah Palin's vag?

[Gbob]

I love the fact that he thinks the jury of your peers mean people who believe the same way you do. That means from now on I can expect a jury of cranky libertarians to serve on any jury for me. Now I can get away with anything!

[Atanarjuat]

Well, anything except violating the NAP.

[A Serious Man]

Zimmerman's attorney is now proceeding quickly with defamation lawsuit against NBC News.

The not guilty verdict torpedo's NBC's defense of being essentially truthful when the doctored the 9-1-1 tape to make him sound like a racist. I hope he bankrupts that cesspool of lies.

[Pro Libertate]

He'd actually have had a cause of action even if he were convicted, given what they did. It's just that no one would've prosecuted the civil suit, then.

[Hyperion]

Can he sue our brainless leader also for running his mouth and trying to incite a race war?

Come to think of it, since a race war would affect all of us, can we all sue dear leader?

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, let's do so. The People vs. The Idiot.

[Hyperion]

Also, sue some folks in Hollywood for calling for his death, and trying to incite someone to do it.

[Paul.]

I would say he'd especially have a cause of action if he were convicted. The media literally manufactured a narrative on this case that was in near direct contradistinction to the facts.

This race bullshit is a multi-billion dollar industry for the MSM, they'll not let it go easily.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, I was thinking that, too, but the problem is that then the plaintiff is a murderer. That doesn't play well with the jury.

[Mike M.]

If there's justice he'll get millions from those lowlife shitheads, but somehow I doubt that will happen.

[Paul.]

Good on him. That was some pretty low shit from NBC news.

[Suthenboy]

I get the notion they do that kind of shit all the time. I dont watch them, but over and over I have seen it reported where they have been caught telling straight-up lies to fit their narrative.

[The Last American Hero]

Good. When he's done with NBC, he should go after the DOJ for violating his civil rights by trying to stir up a lynch mob.

[VG Zaytsev]

He should definitely sue FL for the shenanigans pulled by the special prosecutor.

[VG Zaytsev]

The not guilty verdict torpedo's NBC's defense of being essentially truthful when the doctored the 9-1-1 tape to make him sound like a racist.

Not only that but NBC actually employs a race hustling conman (Al Sharpton) that is agitating for state violence against Zimmerman.

A defamation suite is a slam dunk - I see a 7 figure settlement in the near future.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Yglesias is still breathtakingly mendacious...

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has gone from GOP rising star to national embarrassment in a flash as it's become increasingly clear that both he and his wife have been accepted large cash payments from Jonnie Williams, the CEO of Starr Scientific and also a campaign donor. Alexander Burns write for Politico that "The question everyone's raising now is: How on earth did McDonnell let this happen?"

I myself had the same question. If you want to know why a member of congress is taking bribes, it's usually pretty simple?he wanted money.

Said in a tone that would suggest that he didn't support (and doesn't still support) Eliot Spitzer and Jon Corzine.

[Irish]

Yglesias has also now published the personal information of two different Daily Caller reporters.

I don't think he has the right to call anyone else incompetent, unprofessional, or evil, since Yglesias himself is all three.

[Suthenboy]

Not surprising to see a lefty behave that way.

Lots of people have made exaggerated remarks about american lefties putting us all in camps or in front of firing squads.

I submit that it is no exaggeration.

[Hyperion]

There were plenty of posts over at HuffPo after congress failed to pass more gun control legislation, things like 'let's set up all the gun shows so that when people leave, we round them up and put them in a prison camp'. And they were dead serious.

Right now, over there, they are calling for the murder of the jurors in the Zimmerman trial, and they are serious about that too. They want their addresses so they can post them online, so that someone will go to their homes and murder them.

The left are sick, really sick.

[SweatingGin]

I proposed a KosQuotient (or similar) on the weekend. Maybe HuffCamp. Need a catchier name.

How many posts a thread goes, on average, before they start talking about putting their opponents in camps (or similar).

Tempted to put some software together to analyze that.

[Pro Libertate]

Really, I think the leadership, including the media, don't realize the fire they're feeding.

[robc]

Looking at the senate election map, its interesting how many solid D states arent in the cycle this time around.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Matt Yglesias is still lazy as hell, Pt 26,973 in a continuing series...

I don't quite know what they were thinking, but McDonalds and Visa teamed up to create a pamphlet encouraging low-wage workers to set budgets for themselves and came up with a pretty ridiculous sample scenario

They start by assuming that you're working two jobs (this comes out to a bit over 240 hours a month at minimum wage) and then that your monthly budget doesn't include money for extravagances such as heat. Then your $27 dollars a day needs to cover your gasoline, and minor details like food and clothing along with entertainment.* Fortunately, McDonalds promises its crew members free uniforms and free or discounted food so during the heat-free summer months you're in good shape.

* Correction, July 15, 2013: An earlier version of this post suggested that McDonalds had left food and clothing out of the budget, when in fact they're classifying them as daily expenses rather than fixed monthly ones.

That's the blog post in its entirety, guys. You can't make this shit up...

[Irish]

Then your $27 dollars a day needs to cover your gasoline, and minor details like food and clothing along with entertainment.

I make quite a bit more than minimum wage, and I could unquestionably spend $27 or less on food, clothes and entertainment a day.

How much money do liberals spend on food that they don't think stuff like this is possible? Do they do nothing but eat out at expensive restaurants? It is not that hard to make sandwiches and meet your necessary calorie intake for a hell of a lot less than $20 a day.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I'm easily upper-class (as far as income goes, anyways), and spending $27 in a single day for food, entertainment, and gas is far outside the norm for me.

Hell, even if you ate 3 $5 meals a day at a fast food restaurant, that leaves you with $12/day for gas and entertainment.

[Brett L]

I burn about $12/day on my commute. OTOH, that's less than the daily differential between the old and new jobs. So... Math wins!

[Irish]

Obviously there are people with long commutes and such. However, most people making minimum wage at a McDonald's are going to live relatively close to that McDonald's. A good percentage are also going to be city dwellers, in which case all you need for any transportation is a monthly bus or subway pass.

If you have to drive 40 miles to your job at a McDonald's, you've probably made some poor decisions.

[Rhywun]

My 2-train commute (NYC subway and one stop on the NJ PATH) is 10 bucks a day. But even if I were poor I think I could pretty easily stretch out the other $17.

[PH2050]

I live on $700/month so fuck those pussies for complaining.

Man up and discard the hyperbolic discounting monkey shit that gets so many in debt.

[A Serious Man]

The Derp is with you young Ygelesais, but you are not a Jedi Bullshiter yet...

Krugman: The GOP feels positive glee in making people suffer.

To fully appreciate what just went down, listen to the rhetoric conservatives often use to justify eliminating safety-net programs. It goes something like this: "You're personally free to help the poor. But the government has no right to take people's money" ? frequently, at this point, they add the words "at the point of a gun" ? "and force them to give it to the poor."

It is, however, apparently perfectly O.K. to take people's money at the point of a gun and force them to give it to agribusinesses and the wealthy.

Now, some enemies of food stamps don't quote libertarian philosophy; they quote the Bible instead. Representative Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, for example, cited the New Testament: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." Sure enough, it turns out that Mr. Fincher has personally received millions in farm subsidies.

See young Padawan, the trick is to start out with a legitimate critique (GOP hypocrisy on corporate farm welfare) and then pull a bait and switch by calling it a libertarian philosophy.

[Paul.]

The GOP feels positive glee in making people suffer.

You know who else associated with Glee has suffered?

[Mickey Rat]

I thought everyone associated with Glee has suffered?

[Rhywun]

Only those who have watched it. Well, plus that one guy who was in it.

[Episiarch]

No, to people like Krugnuts and the low foreheads who actually read his shit, GOP == libertarians, and libertarians == GOP.

They're not really capable of any thought sophisticated enough to rise out of the TEAM RED TEAM BLUE paradigm.

[Pro Libertate]

For many years, I could refer to myself as a libertarian to members of either major party, with nothing much more than a grunt. Now, of course, I'm evil incarnate. To both.

[Episiarch]

Well, you are a lawyer, ProL.

[Pro Libertate]

It's funny, but the one comment I did get (from a leftie) was that I must be "right of Attila the Hun." Who was an attorney.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Attila the Hun was an attorney?

That monster...

[Pro Libertate]

Yes. You know how gays say everyone in history was gay? Lawyers do the same thing. Jesus? Lawyer. Gandhi? Lawyer? Moses? Lawyer. The Ice Man they dug up? You know it.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Gandhi was a lawyer.

[Pro Libertate]

Was not.

[JW]

At a cookout with the wife-unit's family yesterday, I had to endure the octogenarians going on and on about how great FDR was and how evil the republicans are, opposing those good and pure democrats like they do. They're loyal NYT regulars and everything they know comes from there.

I just smiled and nodded. It's really sad that my M-i-L is one of them, because she's intelligent and cultured as hell and pretty fucking cool otherwise.

[Pro Libertate]

FDR? Lawyer.

[tarran]

I actually had a girl break things off with me over my libertarianism.

It was really funny.

[Irish]

You dodged a bullet there. Anyone who allows politics to encroach on their personal lives to that degree is only a few gender studies classes away from becoming a deranged, pathetic harpy like Amanda Marcotte.

[Calidissident]

How do we know it wasn't Amanda Marcotte?

[tarran]

She was pretty, and had dated a naval officer stationed in Newport in the past.

[Irish]

How do we know it wasn't Amanda Marcotte?

A man was willing to date her.

[Episiarch]

Yes, Irish is very correct. Never get involved with someone for whom politics is personal.

[SweatingGin]

Next stop: waking up with your dick superglued to your stomach.

Because patriarchy.

[Rhywun]

Yikes, I don't want to know the story behind that.

[JW]

Same here. Too bad, she was cute.

[Rhywun]

No, to people like Krugnuts and the low foreheads who actually read his shit, GOP == libertarians, and libertarians == GOP.

I would say that Krugs knows exactly what he's doing, which is lying to his readers: most of whom are indeed too stupid to know it.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Hey, you don't get to be a NYT economic columnist by being a bush-league dissembler.

[Bobarian]

you get to be a bush-league dissembler by being a NYT economic columnist.

[Anonymous Coward]

It is, however, apparently perfectly O.K. to take people's money at the point of a gun and force them to give it to agribusinesses and the wealthy.

Paul Krugman is the Ike Turner of strawmen everywhere.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Matt Yglesias is still stupid...

I think this kind of polling that has no issue content whatsoever is pretty useful.

Of course you do...

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Matt Yglesias is still dumber (and less useful) than a bag of dildos...

One of the worst habits of political journalism is that since the people writing it are very well-informed about the details of the political process they sometimes skip the basic steps of explaining to the broader public what's going on.

After all, as Steve Benen writes the sensible way to figure out whether the Gang of 8 bill has majority support in the House would be to hold a vote on it. What Stephanopoulos knows?and what other veteran political reporters know?is that this isn't how the House of Representatives works.

You don't say.

[NeonCat]

Georgia PSC tells GA Power to add solar by 2016.

My WTF? moment:
The Georgia Tea Party Patriots, which rallied conservatives behind the solar expansion, vowed to fight Georgia Power over a proposed rate hike set for a vote in December. The increase, designed to pay for new pollution controls on coal-burning power plants, would add about $8 to the typical residential customer's monthly bill.

[NeonCat]

Because I didn't know the Tea Party cared about solar power.

[Irish]

The Tea Party is such a diffuse organization that anyone can call themselves a Tea Party group, even if they disagree with a lot of what other Tea Party groups believe.

This is why people like Stormy can come up with stupid as shit reasons why the Tea Party is evil by pointing out individual Tea Party groups doing bad things.

[Stormy Dragon]

It's also why people like Irish can pretend the Tea Party is primarily libertarian no matter how many examples of Tea Party support for big government you bring because "no true scotsman, etc."

[Stormy Dragon]

And I don't think the Tea Party is evil. I think the Tea Party is phony.

[gaijin]

Because I didn't know the Tea Party cared about solar power.

duh. How do you think they make sun tea?

[The Late P Brooks]

Nate Silver calculates that the GOP could take control of the Senate following the 2014 elections.

Speaking of which, Brian Schweitzer (former governor of Montana and widely regarded as a shoo-in inheritor of Max Baucus' Senate seat) has officially announced he will NOT run. Too many skeletons in his closet, some say. Democratic Party is apparently in some disarray. Republicans' chances are greatly improved, but they will probably run an unelectable idiot like Rehberg again.

[Killazontherun]

He will be forever stuck in my head as the guy that tried to make Romney-Tron's polygamist great grandfather an issue in the race where his guy was a mere generation removed from his own father's polygamy.

They had no idea what they were running when they nominated Obama. He enunciated well and looked good in a suit.

[A Serious Man]

I have been expecting this.

For days now I have thought that without the connection to the suffering and direct insight and sensitivity about the plight of those who have been and are still "the hunted" in America, a jury might just might find some doubt and free George Zimmerman.

The truth is, a country or state that allows an ambitious community watchman to carry a gun and hunt an innocent child is the one and only definitively guilty party. When our laws ill-affect one community much more then another they must be challenged. I join the Trayvon Martin Foundation in their fight to end every law in America that creates the environment for a tragedy like to this to ever happen again.

Trayvon, rest in perfection, know that in your memory, your family has already saved hundreds, perhaps, thousands of lives and I am confident that they will save many, many more in the years to come.

God bless you little brother. Rest in peace.

~Russell Simmons

Truly there are no individuals. Every person merely represents a group so we should change our antiquated legal system and the ridiculous notion that specific fact set be used to decide a verdict. Martin was black, Zimmerman was not, black people took offense, so fry the bastard.

[Episiarch]

carry a gun and hunt an innocent child

Wait, so Trayvon was actually Ice-T?

[Dweebston]

I'm interested in studying the philosophy or a philosophical critique of collectivizing or tribalizing or Marxizing narratives. This seems to be the reigning paradigm of the modern age: peoples and nations and movements aren't merely amalgamations of various self-interested parties but reflections of some universal, cryptic set of values. All events and the people involved cast long shadows, such that Trayvon's killing comes to represent the inherent racism of American culture despite its figuring into the incident in no categorically discernable way.

I'm not certain whether I'm describing a broad intellectual movement, a rhetorical technique, psycholinguistics, or something anthropological, but if anyone has read something that sounds similar to what I'm describing I'd be interested in hearing about it.

[Episiarch]

What you're describing is tribalism. However, tribalism used to almost exclusively be linked to location because of the nature of human movement and communication. However, with widespread communication through the internet, completely new tribes can form because like-minded people can share their ideas and create giant feedback loops for each other, and location no longer matters. In fact, the internet makes it worse because a person can completely insulate themselves from anything but what they want to hear from their tribe with complete ease.

[Dweebston]

Tribalism is a fine word, but I'm hoping to tap into an extensive work on the subject, someone's Grand Unified Theory of intellectual contortions agglomerating Marxism, feminism, racialism (both supremecists and race hucksters), etc. They're all infused with the same collectivist view of humanity.

Needless to say, my own reading of philosophy is limited.

[The Late P Brooks]

I join the Trayvon Martin Foundation in their fight to end every law in America that creates the environment for a tragedy like to this to ever happen again.

Er, whut?

[A Serious Man]

Laws against burglary, larceny, and battery.

[Suthenboy]

He wants your guns and your right to defend yourself taken away, thats what.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Mary loses her shit.

[tarran]

Wow... she's on grylliade now? Poor bastards.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Eh, we mostly ignore her. I just wanted to share this with you guys because it cracks me up.

[tarran]

I know, but it's like having an orc show up in Vallinor. Really sad.

[Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)]

+1 Silmaril

[Pro Libertate]

Weird. I mean, really weird.

[SweatingGin]

Really disappointed I didn't make the top 4 there. Setting that thread aside to check later.

[A Serious Man]

I'm done with Zimmerman related links for today, but I must post this reminder that while Jezebel is awful on guns, they are also painfully unfunny.

Luckily, Florida is a special place, a place where killing doesn't count as murder if the person doing the killing can convince 6 white ladies that he was scared before he did it. (And if you're an adult man who is desperately, pitifully scared of black teenage boys, well then ? looks like someone gets to shoot to their heart's content.)

[...]

At this point, as a feeling person, you may be wondering BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GUN?! What about the precious, precious gun?

Good news, you sentimental saps: Zimmerman and his gun ? the very same Kel Tec-9 pistol he used to kill *BUT NOT MURDER* Trayvon Martin ? will be back together soon; Florida law entitles men like Zimmerman to reclaim their firearms. Picture, through a romantic Instagram filter, Zimmerman and his gun running toward each other in a field of flowers. They've been apart for so long, these two; they've got a backlog of stories they're bursting to tell each other. Imagine them lovingly embracing, Zimmerman looking into his gun's glinty eyes, and telling the gun he'll never leave it again. "I love you so much," whispers Zimmerman in much the same way that Trayvon Martin's parents probably wish they could whisper to their son.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Her Royal Blimp Lindy West, right?

[Irish]

The fact that Jezebel actually calls their user submission blog 'Group Think' is quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen.

The lack of self-awareness is wonderful.

[Andrew S.]

You know, the always great TumblrInAction subreddit requires that any Jezebel/Gawker links be in the form of a screenshot instead of a direct link, lest those idiots get a fraction of a cent of advertising revenue from our clicks. I think that would be a very good rule to institute here.

[Sidd Finch]

"gun's glinty eyes" God that's awful. Somebody needs to put that fat cunt out of her misery.

[Brett L]

She just has the same problem as most writers without editors. They get caught up in their own "brilliance".

[Episiarch]

Or she's just an absolutely terrible writer.

[Irish]

She's a bad writer who is so bad that she writes for blogs that don't even bother with editors. This forces her into a kind of Bad Writer Spiral in which her terrible writing and bad habits go uncorrected and she makes the exact same, easily fixed mistakes over and over again.

Even a mildly competent editor would have broken her of the run on sentence habit she has. She doesn't have an editor though, so instead she continues writing barely comprehensible, 110 word sentences with so many independent clauses that the reader's eyes start to bleed.

[A Serious Man]

The thing is, they use the same joke over and over and over again. Yes, we get it: you're convinced people only own guns because they have some pseudo-Freudian fetish.

If we would all just assimilate into the Collective we would never deviate from orthodoxy.

[Episiarch]

And there's also the fact that there is no "Kel-Tec 9". There is the PF-9 (and I own one), but one cannot ever expect gun grabbers to actually know a fucking thing about what they want to ban.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I keep seeing the all-white jury thing being repeated but there was a hispanic lady right?

[Sidd Finch]

CNN described her as "Hispanic or black."

[Bobarian]

If GZ was a 'white hispanic', why can't she be a 'black hispanic'?

I forget my racial hierarchy, which one takes precedence?

[Coeus]

Whichever one fits the narrative.

[jesse.in.mb]

Mexican caste system.

I used to have a chart that mapped out how they ranked, but I've long since lost it.

[ant1sthenes]

You know, with waterboarding and force feeding, we had celebrities volunteer themselves to be subjected to it to prove or disprove how terrible it was.

Can't we have a few celebrities volunteer to have a young man beat their heads into a concrete sidewalk to see how legitimately scared they feel?

[The Late P Brooks]

that Jezebel actually calls their user submission blog 'Group Think' is quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Who beat them to "Hive Mind"? HuffPo? Kos? Democratic Underground?

[Dweebston]

The hive cluster is under attack!

[Episiarch]

The Borg.

[A Serious Man]

Ayn Rand called her circle 'The Collective' but that was deliberate irony.

[Coeus]

White Supremacy, Meet Black Rage.

They really wanted that riot.

And the feminists, not to be outdone: If Trayvon Martin had been a woman ?
We would probably never have heard of her. The lives of black women are valued little by white society or the black community

[Irish]

If Trayvon Martin had been a woman ?
We would probably never have heard of her. The lives of black women are valued little by white society or the black community

If a man had shot a woman, he almost certainly would have been convicted because it would be much more difficult to convince a jury that it was self-defense.

[A Serious Man]

Beat me to it. No way a jury believes a teenage girl was going to beat man to death with her fists.

[Sidd Finch]

So whites have a society and blacks have a community?

[Eduard van Haalen]

I stopped reading after the first sentence:

"Yesterday, six women in the state of Florida, five of them white, made clear that the inherent value of black life and black personhood is legally indefensible."

On the positive side, though, in the state of Pennsylvania, a jury of 12 in the Gosnell case made clear that the lives and legal personhood of black babies are defensible.

I'm sure *Salon* would agree, right?

[Suthenboy]

Zimmerman is not white. It was not an all white jury.

I see these people getting more and more racist all the time. I guess now if you arent black, your are white. There are no Hispanics to them, no Asians, no Amerindians. They really do see the world as black and white. It is fucking pathological.

[Episiarch]

Well, of course. This is inevitably where collectivism leads.

[Pro Libertate]

I really wish it would reduce down to just us and them, so we could get it all over with.

[Coeus]

Zimmerman is not white. It was not an all white jury.

They're gonna do their level best to obfuscate that fact.

Second, it requires that the panel judging whether or not a crime has taken place include not a single member of the victims' racial background group. It really doesn't work without that condition. The odds that anyone in the jury room openly rejected the arguments of "reasonable racism" -- i.e., that enough of these people are criminals that it is basically OK to treat them all as suspects till they prove otherwise -- went from low to near absolute zero when a singularly nondiverse jury was empaneled, as was true in Simi Valley. As a result, there was almost certainly nobody there who would say during the deliberations: "No, it is not OK to view me, a law-abiding black person, as criminal. It is not OK to ask me, in my own neighborhood, if I 'belong,' 'what I'm doing' or 'where am I going.' " And it certainly is not OK to do so armed with a gun and in a presumably threatening manner. This is why diverse juries are critical to achieving justice in a case like Zimmerman's.

[Sidd Finch]

It's sorta impressive how much factual and logical wrongness is in that paragraph.

[Calidissident]

Even if Zimmerman was racist, that doesn't make him guilty of murder

[jesse.in.mb]

Black and white have been the primary dividing line in American race for a long time. For a while the Irish were considered more black than white (which is odd because like vampires they are pale and burst into flames when left in the sun), Asians have their model minority status and apparently now white Hispanics are white (but not pale hispanics are black?)

If we cross the border into Mexico their racial hangups are more along the white and indigenous line and everything else is built around that.

Of course it's all horseshit, but what are you going to do.

[Sidd Finch]

For a while the Irish were considered more black than white

We've been through this. Nobody could provide a single example of an Irish person being considered non-white. How is it possible that you still believe this?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Progressives are in full circlejerk rage-mode and seeing who can blow the biggest wad of outrage the farthest.

[Killazontherun]

AC, I found this Totem of Immaculate Word Craft lying around the yard a little while ago, after that line, I am going to assume it belongs to you.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm hoping that once The Jacket has consumed the life-force of Nick Gillespie, it will find my prose satisfactory and consider me for its next host.

[Killazontherun]

All this time I thought Nick Gillespie was powered by the need to make up for modeling his persona after that homophobe Holden Caulfield. So it is the jacket that does that to you, instead.

[Killazontherun]

Is there anything better than a cold Hoegaarden after mowing a yard? Jeez, this is delicious right now.

[Sevo]

Killazontherun| 7.15.13 @ 5:44PM |#
"Is there anything better than a cold Hoegaarden after mowing a yard?"

Yes. A cold one after NOT mowing the yard.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Yes a Celis Wit (which apparently is being brought back again).

[Killazontherun]

I accept that challenge! It is now on the bucket of beers list.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Read up on Pierre Celis, he was the founder of Hoegaarden and the grandfather of modern wit beers. He lost his factory to a fire and the predecessor to InBEV "helped" him out and eventually took the brand. He moved to Austin and started another microbrewery. That got bought by Miller and then closed. They sold the naming and recipe rights to Michigan Brewing and they did a good job (hard to get but many carried in Texas because of the history). Michigan Brewing just went bankrupt and Celis' daughter just bought back the rights at the auction and is reopening in Austin.