A.M. Links: Obama Cancels Trip to Asia, Wendy Davis is Running for Texas Governor, Drone Crashes in Manhattan

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  Credit: wac6-Foter-CC-BY-NC-SA

  President Obama has canceled his multi-country trip to Asia, which was supposed to begin on Saturday, because of the partial government shutdown, calling into question the president's intended diplomatic "pivot" toward the continent. The move benefits China, which is trying to extend its influence and win favor with its neighbors. 

• John Boehner, the House speaker, apparently said in a private meeting that he will rely on Democrats to pass a measure to raise the nation's debt limit.
• The suspect in yesterday's high-speed chase between the White House and the Capitol Building has been identified as Miriam Carey. Police officers shot and killed the woman, who may have had a history of mental illness, while the FBI raided her Connecticut home.
• Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who became famous after filibustering in favor of abortion, has announced her bid to become the state's governor.
• A small helicopter drone crashed in Manhattan. The FAA said it should not have been flying so low in a crowded area, which effectively reassured nobody about the safety and effectiveness of domestic drone use.
• A cyber attack on Adobe extracted information relating to 2.9 million Adobe customers, including their names, encrypted credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, and other information relating to customer orders. A good reason to just pirate Adobe's overpriced software instead?

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives, apparently said in a private meeting that he will rely on Democrats to pass a measure to raise the nation's debt limit.

So I guess he doesn't want to be speaker anymore.

[Matrix]

I don't even know why we bother with the debt ceiling anymore. It's not even a suggestion to these people anyway.

[Andrew S.]

This. There's no point to it at all, may as well do away with it.

[Tonio]

The debt ceiling is just an excuse you knuckle-draggers use to not raise desperately-needed revenue; don't you know there's nothing left to cut?

[Doctor Whom]

In the cult of big government, it's one of the rituals.

[Zeb]

The debt ceiling seems pretty pointless and is a bad idea all around. As I understand it, before there was such a thing as the debt ceiling, Congress approved specific amounts of borrowing for specific purposes. Going back to that would be a good check on government growth.

[Tonio]

No, **** you, cut spending.

[UnCivilServant]

Is it multiple choice?

[Zeb]

I choose all of the above.

[Tonio]

Didn't know you were into the bear, Zeb.

[Zeb]

Which bear?

[Pro Libertate]

Wait a second. Hold on. Couldn't they. . .um. . .maybe I'm just confused, but couldn't they cut spending to stay under this debt ceiling?

[Brett L]

You monster! Theres NOTHING LEFT TO CUT! Why do you hate people who want to visit National Parks?!

[Pro Libertate]

I'd pay for a Smoky Mountain family pass.

[Snark Plissken]

The suspect in yesterday's high-speed chase between the White House and the Capitol Building has been identified as Miriam Carey. Police officers shot and killed the woman, who may have had a history of mental illness, while the FBI raided her Connecticut home.

"If I wasn't married to a wookie, my wife would look like Miriam Carey."

[Rich]

So, *was* he stalking her?

[Snark Plissken]

Well he gave her an iPad with all his speeches on it...you be the judge.

[Mike M.]

If she was a republican, maybe. We already know that he's willing to use the I.R.S. to go after them, and he's even willing to have people murdered if they pose a serious enough threat.

[Doctor Whom]

Even the legacy media are reporting that she was apparently unarmed. So the people who used her as a poster child for gun control will retract, right? Right?

[Rich]

"Had she been carrying an assault weapon, this incident could have turned out much worse."

[Snark Plissken]

This is why all LEOs should be driving APCs.

[SIV]

As someone else commented "She had one of those deadly assault baby's just like Vicki Weaver" In this case, a deadly black assault baby.

[JWatts]

Even the legacy media are reporting that she was apparently unarmed.

Oh, it's worse than that even:

Carey veered past a bollard, finally crashing into a barricade not far from a guard booth. She is said to have attempted to flee on foot as more shots rang out. She fell fatally wounded.

It sounds a lot like they shot an unarmed mother to death as she was running away for the crime of running into a car barrier and reckless driving.

[Ruckus]

If you engage the police in a long or destructive enough chase, you will get shot.

We had an incident a year ago where I drunk guy was causing trouble at the casino around 3-4 am. LEO were called, so the guy took off speeding away when they arrived. Police chased him through 3 counties until they finally got the vehicle stopped. At that point they had "no choice" but to shoot the unarmed man, as he "was not backing down".

[Seamus]

She was a black Infiniti, a/k/a an "assault vehicle." Private ownership of black luxury sedans should be outlawed, on account of their scary appearance. No one /needs/ a black Infiniti.

[Ska]

Thankfully I got one using the coupe loophole.

[Rabban]

You'll have to take my black Q45 from my cold dead hands, or complete mechanical failure, whichever comes first.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama has cancelled his multi-country trip to Asia, which was supposed to begin on Saturday, because of the partial government shutdown...

The shutdown's loss is Asia's gain.

[Zakalwe]

He made the decision in the heat of the moment.

[robc]

Steve Howe left Yes for that.

Chris Squire must really be that hard to put up with.

[Zakalwe]

But only time will tell who really gains.

[Snark Plissken]

You are a horrible person for reminding me of those awful, awful songs.

NEEDZ MOAR CHEEZY SYNTH!!!!

[robc]

Yes+ELP+King Crimson+Buggles = Asia.

That math doesnt work at all, talk about the whole not being the sum of the parts.

[Snark Plissken]

Yes exactly.

Court of the Crimson King, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

[robc]

The best album from the year of my birth.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I was introduced to that album at a soccer practice back in the 80s of all places. Our coaches - two brothers - were progressive rock guys and usually brought a bag of albums with them to practice to which we'd all rummage through.

All bands we were unfamiliar with from Echo to Killing Joke to Joy Division right up to King Crimson.

[BuSab Agent]

First record I ever owned was the White Rabbit 45 (can't for the life of me remember the B side) by Jefferson Airplane. First album I ever bought was Last in Line by Dio.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

YOU LEAVE ASIA ALONE!!!!

[The DerpRider]

We can never seem to leave Asia alone...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"It was the heat of the moment!" come on altogether now sing the chorus!

[db]

Sometimes the whole is less than the sum of parts.

But listen to Asia's "Wildest Dreams." It will give you some new respect for what was otherwise an attempt by some great musicians to make some filthy lucre with 80s pop.

[Snark Plissken]

You are dead to me, db.

[H. ReardEn]

I am embarrassed to say that at the age of 9, that was the first album that I ever bought.

[Zakalwe]

I bought Air Supply's "greatest" "hits." And I was old enough to know better.

[mad libertarian guy]

I bought Culture Club and Wham.

In retrospect, those were probably bad choices.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My very first single was 'Hurts so good.' I was 10. I can't remember my first album I bought which is strange seeing I have over 400 of them (over 200 singles). I do remember when my mother bought me Michael Jackson's Thriller and I wasn't all that, well, thrilled seeing I was already into The Who, The Beatles etc. and shit. My first CD (when I began purchasing CD's in the late 80s) was Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason which I bought on a whim without much thought.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Someone gave me Culture Club as a gift. I have to hunt that person down.

[Brett L]

I'm sure your boyfriends respected your choices and called you in the morning, right?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Sniff, sniff. Bad memories.

[mr simple]

The first album (cassette actually) I ever owned was The Bangles "In A Different Light" because I asked for it for Christmas. The first I ever bought was a Poison single, though I can't remember which one.

[Snark Plissken]

Saturday Night Fever on eight track.

I think I win.

[Kaptious Kristen]

First single: "Eye of the Tiger"
First album: Rio

[Tonio]

Cougar Sighting Reported in Northeast DC

My favorite comment (from another site): "Assess the situation," WTF? That's right, Lady, these people have no idea what they're talking about. You just go ahead and scream and run. There is a stock character in monster and horror films who always panics and gets killed early on; those stereotypes exist for a reason.

[Brett L]

Man, you abandon a city for 4 days, and it is already re-wilding. I think these breathless pieces on man's affect on the ecosphere may be overblown.

[Lady Bertrum]

Where I live in Jersey, deer are as common as pigeons in NYC. They shit everywhere, eat everything, and cause traffic accidents.

As soon as man goes extinct, the deer will be running around Jersey like Bison on the Great Plains pre-white man.

[Brett L]

Giant rats with hooves. Fuck 'em. They should be shot on sight as pests.

[Tonio]

Well, venison is quite delicious.

[Lady Bertrum]

I work at a soup kitchen once a week and I'd dearly love to offer the folks there a nice venison steak instead of pasta and garlic bread. Better for their health.

[pan fried wylie]

Good luck getting that past the health department.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Yeah my mother volunteers at a food bank and I've gotten some delicious ground elk from her before because they weren't allowed to give it out.

[Tonio]

My suspicion is that it was a bobcat, one of the larger domestic breeds or an escaped exotic "pet."

[Restoras]

In the 'burbs where I live there is an extreme amount of hand-wringing and pearl-clutching over an increase in the number of coyote sightings.

My ex asked me if she should be concerned when she is out running. I said no, coyotes are generally solitary and avoid human contact, especially larger humans (insert joke here). She then claimed the coyotes are running in a pack. I told her if that's true, which I doubt, and she's cornered by a pack, she's screwed.

Unless she has a gun.

Being a good lefty progtard she thinks guns bad. I could see the cognitive dissonance in her eyes. It was delicious.

[Lady Bertrum]

But someone should do something. We need a government program to capture and re-wild the coyotes. Or, maybe birth control. The female coyotes all need ortho-tricylen free of charge.

[Restoras]

This is exactly what people around here are saying. Someone has to do something. Our little yappy dogs are disappearing and our children are in ZOMG!!!! danger. What humane way can we dispose of them? They want to trap them and relocate them, because apprently they wouldn't come back. Fucking morons.

[KDN]

Oh, so you're familiar with the preferred deer population control measure of suburban NJ Democrats?

[Lady Bertrum]

Oh, so you're familiar with the preferred deer population control measure of suburban NJ Democrats?

Yeah. My preferred method would be to kill them (the deer, not the suburban dems) and feed them to the homeless, but then I'm a heartless bitch.

[KDN]

In all seriousness, I bet most would refuse to eat them. They're everywhere in my neighborhood, but in order to actually shoot one I've got to drive 15 miles to my father in law's farm. I pay a boatload of money for my new house dammit, and I should be able to shoot the fuckers from my porch.

Skinny bastards, though. Probably not as good to eat.

[Restoras]

They'd be easy to fatten up and then plink from your porch.

[BakedPenguin]

Get a crossbow and some hunting bolts. Nice and silent.

[Brett L]

What do you do if you're attacked by a pack of dogs?

shoot the lead dog first

[BuSab Agent]

Call the cops?

[Gbob]

Well, it's a good idea to be on the look out for coyote activity that may be hazardous. For example, if you see an empty wooden crate that says "ACME" on the side of the road, you might want to keep an eye out for portable holes or rockets.

[Brett L]

I lol'd.

[pan fried wylie]

Based on my track record, you probably shouldn't be too concerned.

[Juice]

Here's a Science Magazine podcast that talks about how people should be happy to see more coyotes and mountain lions around.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cont.....409.2.full

[Briggie]

We get a lot of coyotes were I am from. I hear them a lot at night, but except on a rare occasion I never see them during the day. They tend to stay away from people.

[Snark Plissken]

I thought NE DC was full of cougars.

Yes I will make the obvious joke, it was just hanging there making me nervous as hell.

[Tonio]

+1 glass of Chardonnay

[Lady Bertrum]

If you're looking to trap cougars the obvious bait is young men, drinks with umbrellas, and dance music - Lady Gaga specifically.

[SIV]

BRAVE CAPITOL POLICE RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR FREE BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Is all over the straight news.Above headline from Daily Mail

[DJF]

Did anyone else notice that the black car had remarkably little damage to its front for something that rammed into barriers? These days you hit something at 2 miles per hour and you can get $1,000 worth of damage yet the black car has minor damage at worse.

[sarcasmic]

If you look very closely you will see scratches in the paint.

[Brett L]

Compared to the cop car that hit the barricades as they came up? Yeah.

[Auric Demonocles]

I heard a similar quote from somebody who worked in the capital this morning on my drive in. I was under the impression that the "essential" personnel were all still getting paid?

[Tonio]

I don't know if those essential personnel are still in pay status, but if you're essential you're expected to work regardless.

[Zeb]

And you will definitely get paid when the budget is restored.

[SIV]

NOT PAID SINCE TUESDAY. I hope they took Glenn Beck's advice and have "Food Insurance".

[UnCivilServant]

I haven't been paid since last week - oh the humanity.

Oh wait, I'm on a biweekly pay schedule.

[Spoonman.]

I got paid today (with my new raise effective, fuck yeah!) but before that I hadn't been paid for TWO WEEKS!

[sarcasmic]

Raise? What does that mean?

[Auric Demonocles]

It's those things that if union members don't get it's a cut.

[UnCivilServant]

Please, our contract is chock full of 0%s and employee contribution hikes. Add in the tax hikes and the net pay did go down.

[Auric Demonocles]

I was paid just 9 hours ago. I'm almost out of funds!

[Mike M.]

In every "shutdown" we've ever had, everyone who was "furloughed" ended up just getting a fully paid vacation.

[Rasilio]

Not necessarily. My Mother in Law is a civilian Nurse at Fort Knox Base Hospital she has been "Furloughed" however she is contractually required to work through it unpaid anyway She could just quit but she is just 3 years away from her double dip retirement (20 years military, 20 years civil service)

[Brett L]

My heart bleeds for someone who has been picking up two salaries for one job for 17 years and is about to pick up twho salaries for doing nothing in 3 years.

[Rasilio]

Hey I didn't say I felt sorry for her, pissed my wife off something fierce when I posted jokes about the shutdown on facebook. Being a redhead that is a rather dangerous thing too

[Tonio]

No, she's picking up one "salary" from a job from which she retired, and another salary for the job she's actually doing. Hate the game, don't hate the people who play by the rules.

[Brett L]

Eh. My father is doing the same thing, only making about 75% of his current salary off his "retirement" in 2010. I'm not throwing rocks at someone else's family that I haven't thrown at my own. It's a bad system, and I don't have to agree with it, even if it is probably going to fund my children's education and keep my parents in comfortable style no matter how bad heir end years are, medically.

[JWatts]

I think your correct about that, but it's easy to misunderstand.

She probably is close to reaching 40 years of employment, 20 in the military and then 20 as a civil servant. Not 2 pensions for working 20 years as both.

[Brett L]

My complaint is that the pension has a 20 year frame on "full" funding. As if 20 years makes a career. I mean, it makes sense for active duty soldiers, who we just don't need 40 year old versions of. Everyone else should work 40 years for a full pension.

[mad libertarian guy]

It's been all over Facebook too.

"I just want all you government workers that are working without pay right now that you are wonderful and I appreciate you for all that you do in the name of public service."

It's fucking puke inducing. I'd rather spend time in Warty's dungeon than be exposed to that kind of government cockslobbering.

[Ted S.]

Is it all over the gay news too?

[Tonio]

Well, it was on the FB of a lesbian friend...

Also, you beat me to this. Bravo.

[Bardas Phocas]

How about:
Praetorian Guard miss paycheck! Begin shooting black people!"

[Tonio]

Yeah, I saw that on a lefty friend's FB. She phrased it as "the police." It is helpful to point out that many, perhaps a majority, of the cops involved in this were DC city cops (unaffected by the shutdown), not federal agents.

[Pro Libertate]

DO NOT DEFY THE NARRATIVE.

[Biden's Scroteplugs]

They are working for free as long you are implying they are heroes and only until you suggest they were violating minimum wage laws and acting as civilians without color of authority.

[UnCivilServant]

wasn't this in 24/7 a few moments ago?

[SIV]

Yes

[Tonio]

Yes. The editors must have figured I was trying for a Fist. I bet they even tipped him off.

No hat tips. Not even the dubious honor of a Fist. Sigh.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Do or do not. There is no try.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The suspect in yesterday's high-speed chase between the White House and the Capitol Building has been identified as Miriam Carey.

It looks like things didn't go well for her after quitting American Idol last season.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

*narrows gaze*

Hmmmmmm.

[sarcasmic]

'I had no idea I was so big - I was horrified': How a 214lb woman was inspired to lose weight after failing to recognize herself in a photo

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....photo.html
John has a sad.

[Lord Humungus]

TEQUILA!

Texas highway backed up due to spilled limes

[Ted S.]

Don't people just run over the limeys?

[UnCivilServant]

Shouldn't they be on the other side of the road though?

[sarcasmic]

Anything Miley can do: Kesha uploads shockingly risqu? semi-naked shots to her Instagram account

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....count.html
Urine, anyone? Urine?

[BakedPenguin]

Huh. Haven't seen Sparky in a while.

[sarcasmic]

Maybe he got a real job.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

He did say that he was going to be employed and most likely unable to visit H&R in said job.

[JWatts]

Anything Miley can do: Kesha uploads shockingly risqu? semi-naked shots to her Instagram account

I'm failing to see a problem with this.

[DesigNate]

She's pretty hot, but you couldn't pay me to sleep with that much crazy.

[mad libertarian guy]

Not bad. Nice ass.

[sarcasmic]

The rise of ANTI-Viagra: Drug that prevents premature ejaculation takes U.S. by storm
Promescent is a spray which reduces sensitivity so a man can perform for longer - it is available over-the-counter and is approved by the FDA
It is produced by a small company, called Absorption Pharmaceuticals
The CEO, Jeff Abraham, believes premature ejaculation treatments are the next big thing so is amazed no big companies have made a rival product

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hea.....storm.html
Frankie Goes To Hollywood would be proud.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

+1 relax

[Brett L]

The lidocaine in topical sunburn relief meds works, too. In fact, that's what a lot of the previous topical "stay hards" were.

[Brett L]

Ah, never mind. RTA, that's what they use. Skip the scrip, kids.

[Apple]

How is that ANTI-Viagra?

[sarcasmic]

Doctors create 'poop pills' that transfer feces from healthy people into guts of patients with infections
Stool samples taken from healthy relatives processed and packed into pill cases that dissolve when they reach the intestines
Used to treat Clostridium difficile, which kills 14,000 Americans a year
Canadian researchers tried pills on 27 patients and cured them all

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....tions.html
Eat shit and get better, motherfucker!

[Tonio]

Yeah, I've read about this. Seems to also work for people who have certain chronic digestive problems. I'm surprised they were able to get it past the FDA since they aren't sterilizing it which would kill the bacteria and render it useless. See also fish pedicures.

[sarcasmic]

Who said anything about getting past the FDA? It's being done in Canada.

[Tonio]

Didn't RTFA for this one, obviously. Last time I read about this it was being done in the US as an experimental treatment involving direct...implantation of...fluids.

[sarcasmic]

Bend ovah! Here comes the turkey baster!

[DesigNate]

"I needs to check yah asshole suh."

[Brett L]

Yeah. I seem to recall a mother basically fixing her daughter's Krohns or UC with basically the family's shit, a dedicated blender and large gauge hypodermic needles.

[VG Zaytsev]

That's Obamacare's innovation???

[Aloysious]

"Boy, do we miss you," a fan called out after the crowd chanted "43, 43" when he was introduced.

I think doing this makes me a bad person. Trollish, even.

As punishment, I sentence myself to go read DU, and Jezebel.

[Andrew S.]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lets not be too hasty here.

If it's possible to self-violate the 8th Amendment, you're doing so.

[Jordan]

John Boehner, the House speaker, apparently said in a private meeting that he will rely on Democrats to pass a measure to raise the nation's debt limit.

The Orange Pussy channels the Cleveland Browns. Surprise!

[Brett L]

Well, at 3-2, I think they're the AFC North favorite, aren't they?

[robc]

I think 3 guarantees they finish above the Steelers.

[Jordan]

Too late. Their reputation is beyond salvaging.

[Gbob]

Anyone who mentions Cleveland to me today gets hit in the nose. God damn frickin Browns, always letting me down.

[H. ReardEn]

There's always the Indians. Oh, wait....

[Lord Humungus]

Dems Privately Tell Me They Want to Keep Shutdown Going

Representative Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) says that his Democratic colleagues told him they want the government shutdown to continue for political gain. "They want to continue down this, they want to keep the government shutdown as long as they can," he said on CNN on Wednesday night.

"The Democrats are giddy about this behind closed doors," Nunes said. "They think that this is going to give Nancy Pelosi back the gavel."

"They're very cocky, very confident," he added.

[Metazoan]

They're really living in a bubble, aren't they?

[Auric Demonocles]

This was one of the things that Tony said yesterday: he's happy that the shutdown is going on, even though he thinks it is doing grave harm to the country, because he thinks it will hurt the Republican party.

[Bardas Phocas]

Remember how the meltdown of Whig party, in the 1850s, gave the Democrats electoral dominance?

[Restoras]

Didn't work out to well for them.

[VG Zaytsev]

Finally some bipartisanship that works for libertarians.

[mad libertarian guy]

This was one of the things that Tony said yesterday: he's happy that the shutdown is going on, even though he thinks it is doing grave harm to the country, because he thinks it will hurt the Republican party.

That's because proggies defer to principals over principles. See their disappointment that the earth is no longer warming and that the models for global warming have been wholly wrong. They'd rather be right about the earth warming for their political gain than for the earth to be just fine and not on the fast track to apocalypse.

[Pro Libertate]

Of course they do. The GOP is taking a political gamble here, because they certainly aren't being f?ted by the press. The Democrats, on the other hand, are fine letting Rome burn (from their perspective) so long as it might hurt the GOP in some way.

Fact is, if the Democrats wanted to end the shutdown, they'd at least talk to the House leadership. Personally, I think the Democrats stonewalling so hard is going to backfire.

[Auric Demonocles]

I thought it already would have, but the prevailing wisdom is still that the party open to negotiation is the one holding it up.

[Pro Libertate]

It'll take some time, but the House is slowly gaining credibility. I'm mildly surprised they aren't yelling from a mountaintop that the Senate did pass something (originated by the House, of course) ensuring that active duty military personnel continue to get paid. So was it the Senate and president won't do anything piecemeal or they will? Why active duty and not, say, the VA?

I wonder if we'd come in under the debt ceiling without Obamacare spending? Probably not enough this early, but that's another angle the GOP should take--let's come in under the debt ceiling by cutting spending. They aren't saying that, of course, because they don't really want to cut spending that much, but it would give them a consistent theme.

[JWatts]

Personally, I think the Democrats stonewalling so hard is going to backfire.

Have you seen any of the news? Unless you watch Fox, the only thing you hear is that Republicans have shut the government down because they don't like Obamacare and probably because their racists and they hate Obama. There is not even close to a balanced presentation of the facts.

And half of the Republican comments that are being reported are from the Republicans who disagree with the shutdown.

There is absolutely no chance that this will result in anything but blame on the Republican party. The White House and the Democrats are eating it up.

[Pro Libertate]

The media doesn't control what people think, especially these days. I work with lefties who all like the political advantage they think their party is getting, but they also think it's only political. In other words, they don't care about the shutdown itself. That's horrifically dangerous territory for a party that wants everyone to be dependent on government.

[mad libertarian guy]

the only thing you hear is that Republicans have shut the government down because they don't like Obamacare and probably because their racists and they hate Obama.

This is the narrative. The Republicans forced a shutdown because they are hateful. No other reason; they just hate poor people.

[sarcasmic]

Working yoga-girl! Melanie Griffith shows off her toned pins in skin tight leggings as she enjoys a day of retail therapy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....erapy.html
This is what Meg Ryan is going to look like before long.

[OldMexican]

Re: sarcasmic,

This is what Meg Ryan is going to look like before long

Meg... who?

[sarcasmic]

A skinny white girl. Not anything you'd ever notice.

[invisible furry hand]

According to the Fail in 2007, she was fighting a losing battle with the signs of ageing. Since then Melanie has obviously discovered yoga and drinks lots of water. That's the secret, right?

[sarcasmic]

My Food Will Kill You: Heart Attack Grill's Basso

http://www.bloomberg.com/video.....bwOhA.html
At one point he holds up a bag and claims it contains the cremated remains of a customer who died in his restaurant. Awesome!
"May he or she without nutritional sin cast the first stone." Love it!

[UnCivilServant]

Uhh, yeah, it's the 'Heart Attack Grill' being lethally delicious is it's schtick.

[sarcasmic]

Siberia's most wanted man - 'Rambo of the Taiga' - who dug tunnel to escape from prison and 'can kill a number of men with his bare hands' caught after months on run
Vladimir Avdeyev, 38, was jailed for 25 years in 2006 for decapitating two migrants with a spade and setting light to four others near Irkutsk, Siberia
He and three accomplices dug a 30-metre tunnel under high security jail near Markovo, Siberia and escaped in May
Ex-paratrooper, who could 'kill with his bare hands', lived in the Taiga forest for four months, foraging food from the wilderness
Criminal, nicknamed 'Rambo of Taiga' by media, finally caught by police after foresters handed him in, some reports claim

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....s-run.html
He's badder than Putin!

[pan fried wylie]

decapitating two migrants with a spade

dug a 30-metre tunnel

Shoulda seen it coming.

[Rambo of the Taiga]

What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in Siberia, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids in the forest, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire Russian armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across Asia and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hands. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

Russian STEVE SMITH?

[JWatts]

Until you've traveled half way around the world and killed somebody hiding in their hotel with an ice pick you aren't qualified to be a bad ass in Russia.

[Brett L]

Jesus, how bad is a place when roughing it is worse than a Russian prison?

[tarran]

For one thing, the air in Siberian forests does not carry a high proportion of drug resistant tuberculosis spores.

[invisible furry hand]

so that's what happened to the Russian from the Sopranos

[Lord Humungus]

Sandy's Adventures at Yale:

Police probe Saybrook laundry incident

In the past several weeks, an unknown individual or group, who students have dubbed the 'poopetrator,' has repeatedly defecated in students' laundry, leaving many fearful about the safety of their clothes. After an additional episode was reported on Sept. 26, Saybrook Master Paul Hudak announced that Yale Police has officially joined the investigation and is seeking further information.

"We have asked our students not to leave their laundry unattended, the affected machines have been thoroughly disinfected, and we are actively seeking information about who the perpetrator might be," Hudak told the News. "That's about all we can do."

[SugarFree]

Two Girls, One Tumble Dryer

[Tonio]

No worse than using a shared washer in an apartment building where there are small children. [Shudders]

Of course the vast majority of those Yalies have never, and will never, experience that.

[VG Zaytsev]

Occupy wall streeter returns home.

[Michael S. Langston]

If Yale didn't have a bunch of kids who would be prone to rightfully object (and parents to pay for legal counsel if needed) - they could do DNA on the droppings and force everyone with access to submit 🙂

[Jordan]

There are people who pay for Adobe's bloatware?

[BakedPenguin]

Do you know of a good alternative to Photoshop?

[Jordan]

Gimp? I don't use either, so that's just a guess.

[UnCivilServant]

I've used both, I much prefer Photoshop in terms of ease of use and fewer profanities per hour at the program (my metric of frustration).

[BakedPenguin]

This. The only good thing about GIMP is the price.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I'll cop to it. Photoshop Elements has probably cost about 10 cents an hour for the enjoyment my kid has gotten out of it.

[UnCivilServant]

Ironic thing, full Photoshop actually took fewer resources and ran better on both my laptop and desktop than did Elements. I think they did a fanstastic job at hamstringing the program to encourage purchase of the full thing.

[Jon Lester]

I've been on the Creative Cloud subscription plan so I can use all of the CS6 programs for a monthly charge, because I do have need for several of them but can't really afford to buy the suite off the shelf.

[sarcasmic]

The hornets of your nightmares: Swarms of massive insects kill more than 40 and injure 1,600 in China
At least 37 patients are in a critical or serious condition in hospitals
Many survivors are now nursing bullet-sized wounds
'The more you run, the more they chase you' victims say
Species are four times the size of British honeybees

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....China.html
And here I thought being chased by a swarm of yellow jackets was bad.

[Auric Demonocles]

Sarc, try to keep up.

[Jordan]

And now they've been sighted in the U.S. Woohoo!

[BakedPenguin]

So has Krokodil.

[Restoras]

I bet Hong Kong Phooey could take care of this problem in no time.

[mr simple]

Wu-tang killer bees are on the swarm.

[Gray Ghost]

I did like the comment from one of the articles that said basically this problem would clear itself up if you told the Chinese that you could make an aphrodisiac from giant hornets.

[sarcasmic]

Nice.

[sarcasmic]

Bet they wish they'd got a temporary tattoo! Hilarious pictures show the worst permanent body art fails

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....fails.html
Why illiterate people shouldn't get tattoos.

[Doctor Whom]

Someday, someone will invent a tattoo gun with spell check. That person will be an overnight billionaire.

[Jumbie]

No they won't. i suspect the potential market is very small. The set of people who care about spelling and the set of people who can spell don't intersect much.

[Jumbie]

*Can't* spell.

[UnCivilServant]

I was thinking something along the lines of a tattoo printer that took whatever was fed into it and inked it into the skin via computer control. There'd still be an artist to create the graphics, a spellchecker for text, and well... I didn't get past that part yet.

[mr simple]

Will it tattoo the squiggly red line under the misspelled words?

[JWatts]

Someday, someone will invent a tattoo gun with spell check. That person will be an overnight billionaire.

Or a politician will decry this terrible situation and demand that all Tattoo artists be certified and that every tattooing be performed by two certified tattooist working in a regularly state inspected facility. This will drive up the price of tattoos to the point where most tattoos will be done by a drunk friend with a lighter and a coat hanger.

The result will be an epidemic of badly misspelled tattoos with even worse art and third degree burns.

[BakedPenguin]

...and hepatitis.

[sarcasmic]

Or a politician will decry this terrible situation and demand that all Tattoo artists be certified and that every tattooing be performed by two certified tattooist working in a regularly state inspected facility.

That's pretty much the situation here in Maine.

[sarcasmic]

There are no ants in her pants! Woman keeps pet anteaters in washing machine to keep insects at bay
Angela Goodwin keeps Pua and Aurora in her home in Oakridge, Oregon
They sleep in her washing machine by day and roam her house at night
They love nothing more than raiding her fridge for their tipple of chilled ants
She says they are very intelligent and can open doors, drawers and windows

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....tchen.html
Someone watched the Pink Panther cartoons a bit much. Or was that an aardvark. Never mind.

[Rich]

Woman keeps pet anteaters in washing machine to keep insects at bay

"All he does is sit there licking his eyebrows."

[Cdr Lytton]

in her home in Oakridge

Not surprised.

[Lord Humungus]

Will the 'Young Invincibles' Buy Into Obamacare?

Earlier this year we conducted a survey of young adults and found that 17 percent of respondents who already had health-insurance coverage would drop it and pay the penalty if their premiums increased by just 10 percent. That number increased to 35 percent if rates jumped by 20 percent. Finally, 45 percent of respondents said they would drop coverage and pay the penalty if their premiums increased by 30 percent. In 2014, only two states will see rates for a 30-year-old male increase by less than 30 percent: New Jersey and Massachusetts, up 28 percent and 9 percent respectively. These lower increases reflect the highly regulated and expensive insurance market already in existence in both states prior to passage of the ACA.

Supporters of the health-care law will point out that this doesn't account for taxpayer-financed federal subsidies. However, for many of the "young invincibles" who the administration admits are so critical to the success of the exchanges, the subsidies may not be enough to incentivize coverage.

[Auric Demonocles]

I fall into that category. However, I will not be paying the penaltax for 2 reasons: I am in Massachusetts, so my premiums are already high, and I have insurance through work anyway.

[waffles]

No. We won't. Also "young invincible" is the most stupidly patronizing characterization of a young healthy person's situation it just makes me fume. Maybe I don't want to act against my self-interest to prop up a system I find abominable?

If that makes me invincible, sweet.

[Auric Demonocles]

If I was on the individual market, I actually would buy insurance... provided they hadn't outlawed the kind of insurance that makes financial sense for me (i.e. catastrophic coverage only).

[#]

^^ This ^^

The ideal for me personally is very much so to have insurance. But I want cheap catastrophic insurance to prtect against huge financial loss. I don't want a $500 a month comprehensive plan. I want more cash.

[Numeromancer]

Why, that's just like stealing from the sick and lame, you bastard.

[Juice]

I'm on the individual market and they have indeed outlawed my policy. I'll be forced to buy a much shittier policy at much higher cost.

[John]

They are not buying insurance because the economy is terrible and they don't have the money. Anything short of free is not going to do it.

[Brett L]

You mean people without assets to insure don't bother with insurance? Someone should report this. I think there could be a Nobel Prize in Economics for the person who figured out why this is!

[John]

Exactly. If you are young and get sick, just declare bankruptcy and walk away from the bills after you are better.

The biggest problem with getting sick is not paying your medical bills. The biggest problem is not being able to work. That is what puts people into poverty, not medical bills. If the progs wanted to help people, they would have universal short term disability insurance.

[Michael S. Langston]

Don't give them ideas as this could easily be seen as a future solution to the *Obamacare Gap.

Obamacare Gap - the future title which should be given to all the stories investigating the "gap" between the expectations of Obamacare and the realities.

Another prediction: Krugman's reason for the "gap" - didn't spend enough. His solution - spend more.

[NoVAHockey]

enter expanded Medicaid.

[Lady Bertrum]

This. The Medicaid expansion is going to be the sole lasting legacy of Obamacare. It will expand and expand and expand - Hurrah - single payer.

[sarcasmic]

Kenyan soldiers filmed rifling cash registers as terrorists were cornered during Westgate mall siege
CCTV footage shows soldiers filling shopping bags with money, returning for more
Soldier filmed walking out of supermarket with two big bags in direction of basement
CCTV footage also shows four armed attackers in office on mall's second floor
Police splicing together all footage to help reconstruct what happened

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....siege.html
Rape, pillage, and plunder.

[UnCivilServant]

You ahve to pay the army with something. At least it's traditional.

[Restoras]

Indeed, and better than selling captives into slavery.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

Hey, where is my h/t?!

[Tonio]

I suspect that they were electronically recorded rather than actually filmed. /photo geek

[SIV]

Miley Ray Cyrus photographed by Terry Richardson. NSFW? or SFW?

[John]

Not safe for humanity.

[Lord Humungus]

Pressure to abolish Ireland's senate in referendum

The Republic of Ireland may vote this week to abolish its upper house of parliament, the Seanad. It is a move favoured by most political parties and opinion polls suggest the public mainly support abolition too, but are the Irish people fed up with their senators - or with the political class as a whole?

[mr simple]

Is this the start of the Irish Empire?

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

Fear will keep the Counties in line.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A cyber attack on Adobe extracted information relating to 2.9 million Adobe customers...

Apparently they didn't have to get past Flash Player to get in, otherwise their attack would have crashed before it began.

[Rich]

+1 new version

[Lord Humungus]

Casey Mulligan: How ObamaCare Wrecks the Work Ethic
The health-care law, starting Jan. 1, will begin driving up marginal tax rates?well above 50% for many.

By 2016, the index exceeds 50%, which is at least 10 percentage points greater than it was in early 2007.

The 50% rate is even higher than the rates that prevailed when the so-called Recovery and Reinvestment Act's redistribution was at its peak. Without new federal legislation and a departure from the strategy of forcing workers and employers to finance everyone else's health care, the new 50%+ rate will not be a peak, but rather a new normal for tax rates.

To appreciate the added burden that the two redistribution waves put on the labor market, look at what people keep, on average, when they decide to retain or accept a job, or to take on a longer work schedule. Before the recession, a decision to work would benefit public treasuries by an amount equal to 40% of the compensation from the job. The worker and his family got the other 60%.

[JWatts]

Advocates of redistribution try to perpetuate the income-maximization fallacy that business continues as usual as long as tax rates are less than 100%, because receiving even 1% of your compensation is supposedly better than getting no compensation at all.

In other words, the Laffer curve is real. The Left keeps trying to pretend it doesn't exist, but the evidence in favor of it is pretty much overwhelming at this point.

Most Left wing economists have stopped denying it, and are now just attempting to claim it's very high. But multiple studies have indicated it's not greater than 70%.

That may seem very high, but realize that many people are paying as a group well over 50% in combined taxes already. And the Laffer curve is a curve. So rich people have a stronger motive to not work at the margin (because they don't need the extra money). So there are probably plenty of multi-millionaires that are going to start reducing their output well before the peak of the curve is touched. Indeed, the point where the poor stop working due to high taxes is obviously going to be higher than the point where the rich stop working due to high taxes.

[Rich]

All The Terrible Things That Will Happen If We Hit The Debt Ceiling

Roll that beautiful bean footage!

[John]

Somehow I doubt that the bond markets will be unable to realize that a country that collects something like two trillion dollars a year in taxes will be able to service its debts. The whole thing is such bullshit.

[UnCivilServant]

Well, with the people who are responsible for spending that money seem to think it's over 3.5 trillion, so they might not be able to service the debts.

[John]

Yes. But that problem is already there. It is not really affected by a few days or even weeks of delay as Congress and the President fight it out. The bond markets are not going to panic over that. In fact, if the shut down resulted in a bit of fiscal sanity, they would react well to it.

[Restoras]

I think you underestimate the penchant for panic in the markets. Rates would spike sharply if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Sure, rates will fall back just as quickly when the debt ceiling is raised, but in the meantime panic will rule the day.

[UnCivilServant]

I think the bond markets are in for a nasty shock when they realize they bought junk paper in the near future. (near being measured in longer than the next election cycle because I'm not a political)

[Pro Libertate]

It's just stunning that the ceiling just has to be raised. Spending couldn't possibly be cut.

[Numeromancer]

We'll all need Obamaspirins for our debt-aches!

[John]

http://www.insidehighered.com/.....ked-resign

The slow bizarre train wreck that is America's number one male feminist continues. Now we have a DUI that resulted in an injury accident. Injured a woman no less.

[SugarFree]

Comedy gold.

[John]

It really is. And the feminists are so gullible they let this nut right in their ranks. If you tell them what they want to hear, they will ignore anything.

[SugarFree]

Jezebel had one article on all this, and it was short and provided no links. Their own commenters tore them apart over it.

I tried to find it, but the Kinja system is shit for archive searches.

[tarran]

I think ol Hugo has a pretty straightforward version of Borderline Personality Disorder.

The remarkable thing about BPD is ... people who have it are very adept at reading people to ID the specific buttons that will make those people like them.

When you meet someone with BPD, odds are that they will make a great first impression, and you will be fast friends with them after 15 minutes in their presence. Then over time, little warning flags pop up that something is not right. But the warning flags have to build up over a very long time before that first impression is nullified.

[SugarFree]

I've become pretty adept at spotting them, for whatever reason. There will be this person that everyone loves and they just raise my hackles. And over time everyone else sees what I did in the first place.

Maybe having a girlfriend poison me during her manic phase gave me superpowers.

[tarran]

Wow, so not only have you been shot, you've also been poisoned?

Dude, when they do the biopic of your life, demand that Sean Bean be hired to play you...

[SugarFree]

Yes. She OD'd me on her antidepressants because I "seemed sad" and I had a fortunately mild episode of serotonin syndrome: Agitation, uncontrollable muscle spasms, hyperthermia.

Only sport fuck redheads, never date.

[SIV]

You're a regular Rasputin.

[SugarFree]

A guy at work tried to get that nickname going, what with the beard and going bald.

I've never been strangled, hung, hit by a car (at a dangerous speed), stabbed, severely burned or frozen, crushed, fallen from a great height, or gotten in a fist-fight since 8th grade. I've never even had a cast, just breaks either too minor or too major for one.

[invisible furry hand]

Did Boney M do a song about you?

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

Curse you, SIV, for beating me to this!

[Numeromancer]

He's Rasputin + Aspartame...he's Rasputame!

[Rasilio]

Wait I married one

[SugarFree]

Wait I married one

The call is coming from inside the house!

Just joking. I'm sure there are some redheads out there that aren't completely nuts.

My wife had a redheaded friend in high school that used to go off the deep end all the time. The wife's theory is that redheads experience incredible psychic pressure from everyone wondering if the carpet matches the drapes to the point that they eventually just crack.

[JWatts]

I think he actually means "crazy women". They actually can't be identified by their hair color. You actually have to talk to them and listen to what they say.

A good way to tell if they're "get the hell away" crazy is get them drunk (probably going to happen anyway, right?) and make up a story about how you destroyed someone's shit because they "wronged" you. Laugh about it, and then ask them what's their best story about getting revenge. If they've got a really "good" story, then "get the hell away".

[SugarFree]

Just getting anyone drunk often works. Alcohol is a key that can spill out the contents of a broken mind very easily.

[Rasilio]

"I think he actually means "crazy women".'

I did that too, but that was the first wife and I got out lucky.

Current wife is only a little crazy and not in the dangerous way and fortunately she got more of the kinky sex side than crazy nuts side from the red hair.

Now if I could only get her to be a better housewife than Peg Bundy

[Brett L]

Until you've had a couple of crazy experiences. Then you just become immediately suspicious of anyone who "clicks" with you too easily. Which is fine, because really you shouldn't be gviing out trust so promiscuously.

[JWatts]

Wait, how is this a problem? Isn't a Professor of Women's Studies who is sleeping with his female students just doing research? I mean I could understand it if he was gay, because that would just be fraud.

It sounds like a lot of the females in his classes are probably getting a much better return on their money than the average Women's Studies student.

[Snark Plissken]

From this article, this leapt out at me:

A Capitol police officer was hurt as he was speeding to confront her and hit a barrier that popped up in the street. The two injured officers were exempt from the government shutdown and required to work but were not being paid.

So the bonehead cop who drove into a barrier in order to stop an unarmed women with a baby was required to work for free because he was "essential"? Wah.

And I saw the video, the barriers didn't 'pop' up, they were raising from left to right and should have been avoidable to anyone paying attention.

Not to mention the fact that all these heroes workers know they will be getting paid as soon as the shutdown ends.

[sarcasmic]

Dude! He got his disability meal ticket! He's financially set for life!

[John]

The women was clearly crazy but not dangerous. Of course they shot her. Like we would expect anything else. But that doesn't make it right

[carol]

The woman was as good as dead the minute she clipped the Secret Service agent. There was no justification for shooting her but the videos clearly show that the LEOs opened fire as soon as they got her stopped. Every time someone referred to the cops as 'heroes' last night I wanted to wretch.

[sarcasmic]

Totality of the circumstances!
Disobeyed a lawful command!
Feared for their lives!
Furtive movements!
Saw a weapon!

Did I miss anything?

[carol]

Could have planted a bomb in the baby's diaper?

[UnCivilServant]

Procedures were followed.

[Ted S.]

Wait until single-payer requires doctors to work for free.

[Tonio]

I actually have a problem with forcing them to work without pay. Involuntary servitude and all that.

[sarcasmic]

They'll get paid. Besides, they're cops. They'll happily shoot unarmed single mothers for free. That's the whole point of the job. Waiting for an opportunity to kill someone.

[Tonio]

I'm one of those assholes who believes in actual rule of law even for people I don't like. I defend the FA rights of Westboro Baptist even though they'd burn me at the stake given the chance.

While I fully expect them to get paid, there is no actual guarantee.

Also, there are lots of non-LEO federal workers in the same boat. I know those people aren't popular here, but if we abandon rule of law and contractual promises then we're no better than those other people we regularly decry for ignoring the law to achieve their desired results.

[sarcasmic]

There is no such thing as rule of law. Never has been. Never will be. The only difference between rule of law and divine right of kings is that under rule of law the king divines his power from "The People" instead of God. That's it.

[Brett L]

They can go get a new job any time they want. Nobody's going to make them work at gunpoint. Delayed compensation is not non-compensation.

[Snark Plissken]

Yeah, you have a point.

[Pro Libertate]

I'd fucking find another job if my employer did that.

[sarcasmic]

Yeah, but what if your employer let you kill unarmed women in front of their children? Would you stay on for that?

[Lord Humungus]

BOOSSSSHHHH!!

Bush, who looked relaxed and was wearing the U.S. red and navy uniforms, was a popular figure at the opening ceremonies.

"Boy, do we miss you," a fan called out after the crowd chanted "43, 43" when he was introduced.

Hunter Mahan, who was playing in the first match with Brandt Snedeker, found his wife Kandi and baby daughter, Zoe, in the crowd and brought them over to Bush, a fellow Texan.

Bush slipped back into politician mode and bent over to kiss Zoe, who was born in July, then posed for pictures with the entire family.

[Aloysious]

Mood music. Definitely metal.

[Ted S.]

Not metal. Not at all.

[Aloysious]

I like that. Damn you. You are evil.

[Lord Humungus]

Forget budgets, debts: What Obama's real goals are

Last year Obama told the Russians he'd have more flexibility after his final election. Apparently, such flexibility does not apply to domestic affairs. A growing number have become convinced that his cynicism, arrogance and intransigence are proof that results in the form of a budget, a debt limit hike or some such item are not Obama's real goals.

His real goals are to exacerbate and inflame divisions, tensions and conflicts across American society. It's a fundamental tenet of community organizing that if everyone is fighting each other, they have less opportunity or energy to resist the organizer's larger goals. And if people feel they're living in chaos, the organizer's alternative of a stronger central organization may well seem more attractive.

Looking back over Obama's first 1,717 days in office, that style and reach become painfully obvious. Which indicates even more painfully that what lies ahead in his remaining 1,205 days will be tumultuous at best.

[Mike M.]

It's good to see that more people are starting to get it.

[John]

I don't give him that much credit. I don't think he intends it as much as that is the only thing he knows how to do. I honestly think he has no clue who the other side thinks and has no idea how insulting and divisive the things he says and does are. I bet you he wakes up every day thinking that he is a uniter and a totally great and reasonable guy.

[Spoonman.]

I am more and more starting to buy in to your thesis that he is completely in a bubble and that everybody tells him his ideas are great. It's the only reasonable way he got creamed by Romney in that debate - it sure as hell wasn't Romney's charisma or different policies.

[John]

You have to look at his background. He went from Ivy League to Chicago. He has never been in a place where anyone but hard core Progs had any power or influence. So, he has no idea how to deal with non progs. And the media has made it worse by being so protective of him. They have kept him from learning from his mistakes.

[Spoonman.]

If you have any interest in engagement there are plenty of non-proglodytes in the Ivy League. But it's definitely possible to shut yourself off from opposing views (only if you're a prog).

[John]

He knew nonprogs. But they never had any influence.

[Eduard van Haalen]

I think he's just drifting. In '08, he uttered some poll-tested bromides about Reaching Across the Aisle and Making Washington Work Again. To him, it was just reassuring noises he needed to make to get the swing voters.

As soon as he moved into the White House, his base - the progressives - started waving their arms and going "bawk bawk bawk - chicken!" and accusing him of letting the Republicans have their way with him. Being thin-skinned and attentive to his base, he decided to keep them loyal by staging fights with the Reps. Then he found that he could get re-elected without appealing to centrists - just boost the turnout among his supporters. So he's dropped any pretense of bipartisanship, because he found he doesn't need it to stay in power.

So he can just yield to his narcissistic impulses, bang his spoon on the high-chair, knowing he won't be called on it except by the guys he beat last year.

[JWatts]

Then he found that he could get re-elected without appealing to centrists - just boost the turnout among his supporters.

The Tony's of the world think that's true of all Democrats. That at this point, they've won. Maybe, that's the new demographics, as the Left keeps saying. But I suspect a good chunk of the gain is just Barack Obama's charisma. We'll see in 2016.

[Ann N]

the media is another effect upon the public, but it hasnt lost credibility yet. fox news has lost credibility according to the mainstream narrative, but its still there to gather the stragglers into 1 viewpoint/strawman.

obama's charisma is a double edged sword for leftists. it increased his popularity and allowed his bad policies to take more root than otherwise, leading to negative consequences his followers really arent ready to swallow.

he's a victim of his own slick lies.

[waffles]

I, for one, feel inflamed. If it were intentional I could at least feel righteously indignant instead of frustratedly impotent. I better stop watching the news cycle for a few weeks.

[Mike M.]

What's happening in this country isn't intentional like the decision to try and barricade off the World War II Memorial wasn't intentional.

Everything this cretin does is completely on purpose, and done with a very specific goal in mind.

[JWatts]

Or that the IRS's refusal to grant conservative groups permits in a timely manner was just a bureaucratic snafu?

I still chuckle when I see a Leftie claim that because 9 or 10 Liberal groups were also delayed (for a shorter time period) than 300+ conservative group, that proves there was no intentional bias.

[Mike M.]

Exactly.

[andarm16]

I think he's probably more like FDR, trying to make a name for himself, but completely clueless as to what to do in that regard. The worst part? He also has FDR's slowly but inexorably building sense that the only way to avoid being a laughing stock is to become a war president.

[Spoonman.]

Does it worry anyone else that John Kerry is saying "we need to try diplomacy first" re:Iran? What other options are there? Tomatohorse doesn't really think we're going to invade Iran, does he?

[UnCivilServant]

Proghawk: "Well, we got enough nukes to level the planet eleven times over, and we can launch them from the gulf - they'll never know what hit them."

[andarm16]

When dealing with the Serious People, it's best to assume the worst with regards to war. There are undoubtedly many factions throughout the government that would see an invasion of Iran as a very good thing.

[John]

He is different than FDR. FDR was flexible to a fault. One of the reasons the New Deal was such a disaster was they never stayed with anything. FDR could be talked into trying virtually anything. So, there was never a set policy for the economy to adjust to. Obama in contrast will never change anything. He is too dogmatic and insecure.

[andarm16]

I'll agree with you here.

[VG Zaytsev]

His real goals are to exacerbate and inflame divisions, tensions and conflicts across American society. It's a fundamental tenet of community organizing that if everyone is fighting each other, they have less opportunity or energy to resist the organizer's larger goals. And if people feel they're living in chaos, the organizer's alternative of a stronger central organization may well seem more attractive.

Looking back over Obama's first 1,717 days in office, that style and reach become painfully obvious. Which indicates even more painfully that what lies ahead in his remaining 1,205 days will be tumultuous at best.

The large goal in this case is looting as much money as possible.

[Lord Humungus]

Man arrested for taking bite of 9-year-old's birthday cake

Even with three sheriff's deputies at the metal detector, the cake wasn't safe from the hands of Robert Eric Fredrickson. He just dug right in - no knife, no fork, no plate.

Deputy Connor confronted Fredrickson at a drinking fountain as the man tried to wash the cake off his hands.

"I said 'stand right there, don't move.' I went to get some towels to clean him up before I dealt with him and no sooner had I turned my back on him and he was back on the cake again. And then all hell broke loose," Connor said.

[sarcasmic]

Another deputy grabbed Fredrickson's cake-covered hand and he resisted. The table went down, the cake went flying and it turned into a story these deputies will be sweet on for at least the rest of the week.

He resisted so they destroyed the cake and the furniture while beating the shit out of the dude. For eating cake.

[Zeb]

Stealing cake. I have no idea if the use of force was appropriate, I can't watch the video. But the cake eater was not entirely innocent.

[JWatts]

There are plenty of stories of police over-reaction and abuse. This isn't one of them. The cop sounds like he was being pretty reasonable,

""I said 'stand right there, don't move.' I went to get some towels to clean him up before I dealt with him and no sooner had I turned my back on him and he was back on the cake again."

The cake eater was just an ass looking to make trouble.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

"You might be screaming 'No, no, no' and all they hear is 'Who wants cake?' Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake."

[Lord Humungus]

How Your Old CDs Can Turn Sewage Into Drinking Water

Good news, fans of terrible 90s bands?your unhealthy obsession with Hanson, Sugar Ray, or Creed could turn out to have a happy ending. No, their music will never be palatable, but the actual CDs on which their tunes were laser-printed, the very same audio discs currently collecting dust in your mom's basement, could be used to make dirty water potable. At least this is the potential new use for old CDS recently proposed by a team of Taiwanese researchers.

"Optical disks are cheap and readily available," said lead researcher Din Ping Tsai, a physicist at National Taiwan University, in a press release. "Close to 20 billion disks are already manufactured annually, so using old disks for water treatment might even be a way to cut down on waste."

[Spoonman.]

Meh. Creed didn't deserve to be as popular as they were, but "My Own Prison" isn't a bad song.

[Spoonman.]

I'm going to get shat on for weeks for this, aren't I?

[Lord Humungus]

Shit 'n' Feathering!

[Aloysious]

Yes. Especially since your screen name is the same as a cool Soundgarden song. As punishment, you must wear a flannel shirt.

[Spoonman.]

I am listening to the Sevendust channel on IHeartRadio at the moment. Does that help?

I should get some flannel shirts. It'll be cold this winter when the baby comes and I bet she'll like me holding her more when I'm wearing them.

[Aloysious]

Congrats on the baby. Just don't let her listen to Creed. Scott Stapps lack of talent will stunt her growth.

[Brett L]

Is flannel naturally baby vomit resistant or is there something we can spray on it to make it so? Asking for myself.

[Spoonman.]

I don't know, but my wife ordered flannel crib sheets, so I will definitely know by Christmas.

Obviously that doesn't help you much.

[Zeb]

They are easy to wash. That's probably about the best you are going to do unless you want to wear a raincoat whenever you hold the baby.

[H. ReardEn]

Teflon Fabric Protector

[Ted S.]

You listen to IAnusRadio?

[Spoonman.]

Well that can't be unseen.

[Brett L]

I hear Scott Stapp needs a place to live, maybe you can put him up in a corner of your basement.

[Jordan]

AOL ought to be able to provide filters until the end of time, then.

[Bardas Phocas]

A case for Canadian-American unification.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/a.....r?page=0,0

[Restoras]

Why bother with that when we can annex it anytime we like?

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

Except Quebec, right?

[Restoras]

Definately.

[Jordan]

They pretty much declared war when they sent Nickelback and Justin Bieber our way.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

You don't count Celine Dion as the first shot?

[SugarFree]

Anne Murray.

[invisible furry hand]

according to Wikipedia:

In 2006 Murray received a tremendous honor when the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame chose her and Leonard Cohen as recipients of the Legacy Award for their extraordinary contributions to and support of the Canadian songwriting industry.

Can't say Canadians don't have a sense of humour

[SugarFree]

Cohen should have walked in there with a suicide vest on.

[Gbob]

That was Nagasaki and Pearl Harbor combined, man. Celine Dion is a god damned war crime in any just world.

[#]

They did give us the Shat though.

[Lord Humungus]

Fail Leviathan
It's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature.

Apple responded by firing the guy responsible for the maps mess. And then it fired the head of its mobile-software operations and fired its retail chief. There are companies that just like firing people; Apple isn't really one of them, though it maintains a relatively formal internal standard of individual accountability. But sometimes things go so wrong so spectacularly that somebody has to go.

But don't expect Kathleen Sebelius to be walking the plank over the exchange rollout. That's not a bug in the political system ? it's an undocumented feature. The ability to command other people's capital and resources with no direct market accountability is the single most attractive feature of a career in politics; indeed, it may be the only attractive feature.

[John]

One of my favorite questions to ask the Obamabots I know is "Obama has been in office for five years, can you name a single person who has been fired or held accountable for a mistake?" It drives them nuts, especially if it is a followup to "Has Obama ever done anything wrong or been mistaken in your opinion". The answer to that is always yes. But they can never name anything specific.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm surprised none of them tried to use Hilliary. Not that she would actually fit the criteria, but I don't expect them to know that much.

Then again, I guess that they would need to know she was out of the position, or think that Benghazi was something that required accountability.

[tarran]

Hah! They give me specifics:

1) Obama caved into the Republicans in agreeing to the Sequester

2) Obama tried to get the Republicans to back him up on humanitarian missions in Libya and Syria, and the Republicans stabbed him in the back.

They have a bunch of criticisms that really are Obama was forced to (bomb Libya, bomb Yemen, enrich Goldman Sachs) because Bush put him in a situation where he had no choice.

I try not to debate politics in meat-space because telling upper management that they are full of shit is not a good idea. 🙂

[Spoonman.]

This is exactly why I can't talk about the organic food scam at work.

[UnCivilServant]

Let me see, lower yield, more pestilent, no difference in flavor or nutrition and costs more? I may be mad, but I'm not crazy.

[sarcasmic]

Yeah? But it makes you feel like you're saving the planet!

[UnCivilServant]

By starving four billion people?

[sarcasmic]

Well, yeah! Humans are parasites!

[UnCivilServant]

Why is it when I kill parasites I get lauded, but killing humans gets me jail time?

[Spoonman.]

Lower yield has a ton of "unseen" environmental impacts. By lowering yield you require a lot more land to be farmed. Naturally that will be the less fertile land which will require more resources to produce - so even if you reduce the impact on one field, you increase the impact overall.

[JWatts]

Hah! They give me specifics:

Your Lefties missed the big one. The biggest mistake of Obama's according to the Lefties I've asked, is that he didn't push for Single Payer health care (Medicare for all!).

Every complaint about Obamacare is greeted with, well Obama bent over backwards to legislate a Right Wing health care plan.

Just ask Tony. I'm sure he's got the talking points on that subject handy.

[Michael S. Langston]

So their argument is the most brilliant, progressive, well meaning, decent, pragmatic leader of all time - is bombing a bunch of countries because he's unable in 6 full years of his Presidency to circumvent international situations "caused" buy Bush, the the stupid, pathetic, weak, chimp, Bush?

lol - I love how with so many Bush haters they hold those mutually exclusive ideas that Bush is both a complete moron and an evil genius who can control everything he wants. Even in retirement he continues to even control the current administration.

[Michael S. Langston]

I should sleep more... buy by - too many evens... point is there I think...maybe

[Ted S.]

Those aren't mistakes. Those evil Republicans are forcing the folks in the Obama administration to do these things!

[All-Seeing Monocle]

indeed, it may be the only attractive feature.

Hardly. Surely the ability to control the people themselves is equally attractive to many.

[sticks]

FUCK YOU SINEAD.

I had no idea she hated women and women doing with their bodies as they wish so much. The more you know.

[tarran]

Dude, she grew up in a Catholic orphanage.... in Ireland.... where she was sexually abused by the priests.

I pity her; few people have the mental fortitude to unscrew up their minds after something like that.

[Ted S.]

We already fucked her in yesterday's AM Links. :-p

[sticks]

good to know!

[Rich]

"We see no reasonable connection between fluctuating penis size and public protection."

Just wait until you encounter STEVE SMITH!

[OldMexican]

Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, who became famous after filibustering in favor of abortion, has announced her bid to become the state's governor.

In a state where the last Democrat to be elected was elected only because she was lucky enough to have a Republican opponent who made a major political boo-boo when he talked about what a rape victim should do. The same state that could not have voted her out of office quickly enough.

Wendy has my vote for the greatest failure ever, as long as the Republicans don't say anything utterly stupid. Filibustering in favor of abortion doesn't help you score happy points with enough people in this very red state.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Abbott is going to beat her like a tied up goat. So to speak.

[John]

The contrast between how the major media treats her and how they treat Ted Cruz is appalling. Ted Cruz is a grandstanding nihilist for daring to filibuster Obamacare. Davis is a hero for doing the same against an abortion bill.

[OldMexican]

Re: John,

Ted Cruz is a grandstanding nihilist for daring to filibuster Obamacare. Davis is a hero for doing the same against an abortion bill.

Because it's about giving children affordable healthcare, and getting them before they can leave the womb. That is all what this is about.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I think W. should run again. I miss having him around. Maybe he should run for Senate.

[JWatts]

Maybe he could give some speeches railing against raising the debt ceiling. Something like this:

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a Sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. ...Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here'. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and Grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.

I miss those kind of speeches from a bright, young Senator. Tragic what happened to him.

[Gray Ghost]

Yeah, Abbott's going to win. But I don't think it'll be the runaway you're projecting. A lot of people have moved to Texas from blue states, these last few years. Plenty of people in the squishy middle also didn't care for Perry calling two special sessions to ramrod the 'sensible regulation of abortion' act. Is there enough disgruntlement for Davis to win? I don't think so. Mainly because the GOP isn't silly enough yet to try and run someone like Dan Patrick. (No, not the ESPN guy.) But I do think the trend in Texas is for it to get a touch blue-er. (Cut to Coloradoans nodding sadly.)

I'm curious to see how close this'll be.

[JWatts]

That trend is happening all over the South East. You have northern immigrants move in, complain about how high taxes were and how bad the roads were from where they came from. And then they start voting to raise taxes and organizing unions.

[#]

Yes, northern/CA liberals are like locusts. They run to reder states in search of jobs, cheaper housing and lower taxes and then they just immediately start voting in people to destroy their jobs, make housing more expesnive and rais their taxes.

See VA, NC, NH, NV, CO

[Winston]

American is that you?

[Lord Humungus]

And here comes the media's hail mary pass:

Not Planning to Buy Health Insurance? Here's What's Going to Happen to You

It may seem like a clever idea to save yourself cash by not purchasing health insurance, but with Obamacare kicking in, you'll have penalties to pay, which could cost you big bucks in the long run.

Not only are you playing financial Russian roulette ? you could be forking out tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars if you're injured in an accident or become seriously ill ? you'll also have to pay a penalty to the federal government for flouting the law, costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars more.

A wiser decision if you're uninsured is to start shopping on your state health exchange, which opened Tuesday ? with glitches ? as a key part of health care reform.

Yahoo comments (yeah, I know!) are worth a short gander.

[Rich]

There are some limited exceptions, such as for those who ... are members of certain religious groups

However, not only are these people playing financial Russian roulette, they are playing *spiritual* Russian roulette.

[Tonio]

Hmmm...I wonder if it would work to found a religion whose tenets forbid participation in...

[VG Zaytsev]

So much for caring about the poor, poor uninsured that are forced into bankruptcy by medical debts.

[Fluffy]

Next year, if this goes through, this will destroy the Democrats.

The only state with a mandate right now is Massachusetts. And lots of people are fucked by the mandate. But the Globe doesn't care about the type of people fucked by the mandate, and the Herald leaves it alone because it was Romney's idea.

But when people start getting fucked by this in states that aren't Massachusetts, the papers will have a field day.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

It's funny because I seriously don't think it ever occurred to anybody that they would *forced* to buy health insurance. Now, I know the word "mandate" was flying out there as an abstract concept, but once it takes root onto somebody, it's going to be a whole different ball game.

[JWatts]

I seriously don't think it ever occurred to anybody that they would *forced* to buy health insurance.

You emphasized the wrong word.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Here's a fact I am sure won't remain true for long either:

You'll only be able to buy insurance on your state health exchange through March 31, 2014. After that, the open enrollment period will run from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 each year.

So, just what the hell happens to someone who is sick and missed the enrollment period? You fine them, and then tell them to screw off? That will play well.

[VG Zaytsev]

And lots of people are fucked by the mandate. But the Globe doesn't care about the type of people fucked by the mandate,

Young hipsters, working class families, that's a lot of people for politicians to not care about.

[Fluffy]

The stories I've seen revolve around men, who have seasonal employment or who are small contractors and such.

The Globe hates those people. There is no way - no fucking way - that the Globe will publicize the fact that self-employed men who are being forced to buy overpriced (for them, actuarially) insurance or pay a fine are being fucked. Fucked with tax liens, since this is what the fines are. Nondischargeable tax liens, that can lead to asset levies, the whole nine yards.

[Restoras]

Fucked with tax liens, since this is what the fines are. Nondischargeable tax liens, that can lead to asset levies, the whole nine yards.

The power of the state is truly disturbing and ugly to behold.

[#]

Also MA already had a much lower unisured rate than most states for a variety of reasons. The amount of people that the madate effected their was less. Also the MA Connector system was not nearly as complex as this fuck up is.

[SFC B]

If you're seriously injured in an accident, and you're not at fault for it, the person who is will likely wind up footing the bill.

There are very illness which are going to be very expensive to treat and quickly fatal.

If you're young and develop a freak cancer, you can likely live with it until the next time you can sign up for insurance.

There is almost now long-term downside for a young person, or even not-so-young, to blow off getting insurance and just taking the penaltax.

[Michael S. Langston]

Which is reasonable if you didn't have to pay a tax for failing to register in such a small window of time.

At minimum, like tax returns, they'll have to give out "extensions".

It's the Obamacare Gap (the difference between Obamacare expectations and realities).

[Rich]

Squirrel alert for the Drug War post!

[Lord Humungus]

She obviously deserved a death sentence!

Conn. driver in DC chase was sued over condo fees

The Connecticut woman who was shot to death by police after a car chase in Washington had been sued by her condominium association for failure to pay fees.

The complaint filed in November by the association for the Stamford building said Miriam Carey had failed to pay her fees in full since August 2010 and owed the association $1,759 in addition to collection costs. The lawsuit was settled in February.

that's some fine reporting there, Lou.

[Gray Ghost]

As I said yesterday, we're going to hear about every possible skeleton in this woman's closet, especially any of the mental health variety. For those of you saying there's video of the end of the chase, do you have a link? I'm really curious about whether they shot at her as she was still driving, or whether they didn't shoot until she got out of the car (and hence no longer had the deadly weapon apologists are using to excuse the po-po.)

I've no idea why the cop at the Capitol didn't just pin her car between his bumper and the bollard her car was next to. Then they could have taken their time with breaking out her window, etc... and not shot up an unarmed mother. What a mess.

[Tonio]

And remember, the next time a proggy whines at you about shuttered Head Start programs, ask them why the state and local governments aren't picking up the slack. Because if it's really about the children they'd be on the phone with their governors, state representatives and local officials about keeping those programs going. Or holding bake sales or whatever to privately fund them. But if all they're doing is whining about the federal government shutdown they're more interested in politics than the children.

[OldMexican]

Re: Tonic,

But if all they're doing is whining about the federal government shutdown they're more interested in politics than the children.

Why... You... Cynic!!

[Tonio]

+1 Gin and Tonic (heh)

[John]

Come on Tonio. You know Progs think every school is struggling and underfunded. Good luck explaining to them how much money we actually spend on education in this country.

[Rasilio]

Hell even in here I'd bet that most people don't realize that we spend about the same and sometimes a little more on K-12 education than we do on the Military...

Data is here

[Night Elf Mohawk]

There are plenty of federal programs that are refusing state and private aid. It's so transparent it takes a sociopath to do this stuff with a straight face.

[The Late P Brooks]

Fuck instagram, and whatever idiot thought it would be cool to have an endlessly downloading link to it.

[Lord Humungus]

Jeezus:

Almost all voters -- 88 percent -- say "the government is in charge of the people." That includes 83 percent of Democrats, 88 percent of independents and 94 percent of Republicans.

Only 8 percent feel "the people are in charge of the government."

[Eduard van Haalen]

Are the 88% *wrong?*

[Lord Humungus]

no... but disheartening in a philosophical way.

[VG Zaytsev]

Not really.

[Pro Libertate]

They make it "correct" by their idiotic attitude.

[tarran]

The question is: are the polled voters being normative (this is the way it should be) or descriptive (this is the way it is).

I don't think the govt should be in charge of anything, yet I pay 'my' taxes...

[OldMexican]

Re: Lord Humungus,

Almost all voters -- 88 percent -- say "the government is in charge of the people."

Can you blame them for thinking that? Most Americans spend their formative years in government schools that were basically created and developed by Fascists. My wife and I have to spend out afternoons deprogramming my son.

[VG Zaytsev]

Blanche Lincoln is on Chucky Todd's show.

WTF is that thing?

[invisible furry hand]

Just saw these guys play. They're great

[a better weapon]

woman in DC chase may have thought Obama was stalking her

Oh please, honey. He stalks everybody.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_new.....s-say?lite

[invisible furry hand]

So how are you all coping now that the US has turned into Somalia?

Most people here think you are all nuts, but there is this refreshing commentary:

THE US government shutdown provides a timely juncture to consider one of the principal maladies afflicting modern democracies: the growth of "bullshit jobs".

[Pro Libertate]

One thing that's telling--whole agencies are practically shut down, but almost all of the hue and cry is around superficial stuff, like parks and monuments, when it isn't about how mean the House is for refusing to stop acting in a completely legal and constitutional manner. The power of the purse was intentionally given to the House for this purpose, among other things. It's an inherent power.

[Tonio]

Very bad, Missus. You won't see this on our heavily censored media, but the streets are littered with dead grannies and packs of feral children roam the cities.

You can't just drive through the mobs of the displaced and starving; the neighborhood gangs have started using fake mobs to block the streets. When you start to drive through they scatter, revealing the one guy with the RPG.

Send vegemite...

[SugarFree]

Send vegemite...

There are simpler ways to end it all, Tonio.

[invisible furry hand]

I'll only send the Vegemite when you can confirm that the dead envy the living

[invisible furry hand]

or indeed the living envy the dead.

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

We long for the release that death will bring...

[Tonio]

Heh.

[Pro Libertate]

Has anyone ever combined Nutella and Vegemite?

[invisible furry hand]

Given that there is no end to the stupidity of humanity, I suppose the answer is yes. It would probably be utterly vile. Also they ave different consistencies - Nutella will flow generously, whereas Vegemite is grudging and mean and only tolerable when thinky scraped over a lot of butter on toast (IMO, anyway)

[Pro Libertate]

What if you combines those with Potted Meat Product and Velveeta?

[invisible furry hand]

The mere thought just killed my taste buds stone dead. I shall have my revenge on you Pro Lib, in this world or the next

[JWatts]

And cougars and deer are roaming the streets of north DC. Don't forget the cougars. It's a scene right out of "I am Legend".

[Tonio]

I covered the cougar sighting upthread. 😛

[BakedPenguin]

In addition to the outright bullshit jobs, there are jobs that only exist because of government regulations. Tax attorney / accountant / preparer; Medicare billing coder, etc. etc. The people doing these jobs provide zero actual productivity for creating goods and services people want, but most of them are not the total waste of space that bureaucrats are.

[Sevo]

"Tax attorney / accountant / preparer; Medicare billing coder,"

Coming soon to an office near you:
Obamacare Fixer!

[Sevo]

"President Obama has canceled his multi-country trip to Asia,"
So he can stay home and act infantile?

[invisible furry hand]

the onesie fad has to stop!

[SIV]

Nooooo!

[sarcasmic]

My eyes! I can't unsee it! Aaauugghhh!

[invisible furry hand]

Lena Dunham finally wears a great outfit, doesn't seem to understand how much better she looks

[OldMexican]

Do you want to do her hair, too, while you're at it?

[invisible furry hand]

it's not spectacular, but it is OK for that outfit. One challenge at a time...

[Sevo]

"Who'd lose health coverage if GOP got its way now"
Lefty hack masquerading as business columnist doesn't know, but that doesn't stop him from writing a press release.
http://www.sfgate.com/business.....867015.php

[invisible furry hand]

You've got the monocle and the top hat, but what about the cane?

Pimp My Walk: Canes were the 22-inch rims of 19th century cruising culture

[sarcasmic]

Back in Boulder CO, right before I left, walking canes had become a fad. While no one had actually used one as a weapon, the cops thought it would be fun to confiscate them anyway. They claimed that unless you had a note from your doctor, that cane was a weapon and you could hand it over or receive a beating. Those things aren't cheap either! I'm sure that plenty of cop relatives got nice walking sticks for the holidays that year.

[Gray Ghost]

You're just a one man chamber-of-commerce for the city of Boulder, aren't you? I might have wanted to visit it before----mmmm Avery---but screw it, I'll just drive to Longmont instead. Or Ft. Collins.

[Mustaf Herod Apyur Poup'r]

Fuck Avery...go to Crooked Stave in Denver and Oskar Blues in Longmont and Odells in Ft Collins...

[Tonio]

Were they doing that to old people, too, or just young able-bodied people?

Also, fear of hidden blades.

[sarcasmic]

There aren't any old people in Boulder, if that answers your question.

[invisible furry hand]

Why not? Are they exposed in the mountains when they reach 60?

[Swiss Servator, Kneel to Zug!]

Cast adrift on ice floes.

[Michael S. Langston]

I disagree - the main population of Boulder is older, rich, liberal, and retired.

But it's small compared to CU's college population.

Recall Boulder was one of the first cities to ban smoking. They first passed a law requiring separate ventilation systems - so bars and restaurants closed where under maintenance for an entire summer only to ban smoking completely within a year or two (I think).

How they made news though was by ticketing a guy for smoking. At the time he lit up - he was acting in a play where his character was smoking.

Then there was the crackdown on underage drinking which caused a semi-riot/unrest/overturned cars/etc.

Because, well, at least when I lived in CO, Boulder was (I assume still is) a college town, whose residents absolutely hate college students.

[Tonio]

OK, ethics quiz for you people. Lets say you see a 12 yo kid begging on the street outside some fancy restaurants. The kid is decently dressed, well spoken and his pitch is perfect even saying a polite "thank you" to people who don't donate. What, if anything, do you do?

[sarcasmic]

Ask him if he's got any cigarettes.

[Tonio]

Nice.

[Gray Ghost]

The rote answer, that won't play well here, is to call the cops for a welfare check on the kid. Me? I probably ignore him and his overage handler off to the side, who's probably going to take pretty much everything the kid gets.

In Libertopia, I might offer the kid a job, or mention that the restaurant could probably use a dishwasher.

[Tonio]

I don't think the cops would have been a bad answer, GG.

But the best/worst case scenario is that he'd be placed in foster care or a group home and probably escape and rejoin his handlers.

I assumed he was a pro, probably part of a travelling group. So the only thing intervention would do would be to burn my tax dollars but not actually help him.

[Tonio]

I did nothing. I assumed from the amount of polish he had that he was a pro. I looked around for a handler, but didn't see one (not that that means anything).

I saw one woman give him money, and later saw him with a take-out box, presumably donated. By the time I left he was gone.

I considered calling the police but didn't. It seemed unlikely that "intervention" would improve his life in the long run.

[sarcasmic]

What was the kid's race?

[Tonio]

Why do you ask? I'm not being accusatory, but I don't see that it matters. Also don't want to summon Merkin.

[sarcasmic]

Just curious, that's all.

[Tonio]

Read my reply carefully. The answer is implied.

[sarcasmic]

Gotcha. Gambol on.

[Brett L]

Yeah, don't call the cops.

[Brett L]

Is he begging for the Boy Scouts?

[Tonio]

I didn't hear his actual pitch, but he wasn't in uniform.

He: Excuse me...excuse me...excuse me, ma'am [directed to the women with me]...thanks anyway [in a tone of perfect, guilt tripping resignation].

[Brett L]

Nice. Ask him if he has a handler yet, imply you'll give him a better deal than he has right now.

[Tonio]

As curious as I am, the best thing with grifters is to avoid them completely. It is possible this was part of a multi-layered scam.

[lilyhi]

I just want to add my story. I get paid over $87 per hour working online with Google! I work two shifts 2 hours in the day and 2 in the evening. And whats awesome is Im working from home so I get more time with my kids. Its by-far the best job I've had. I follow this great link ,, http://www.Pow6.com

[JWatts]

Oh hell, it's illegal to even shoot rattlesnakes now. Western civilization is doomed, when morons can make rules like that.

[invisible furry hand]

Yeah, the Vanguard in Newtown, which is tiny and thus the bar prices are fucking outrageous. They played a set and then came back as the band for Hugo Race, a man who always seems like a Costco Nick Cave - but for 23 bucks, who cares?