Obamacare Still a Great Big Mess, School Shooting May Be Connected to Anti-Bullying Film, NSA Continues to Infuriate Europe: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: Pete Souza / Foter / Public domain

  Insurance company executives are meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius today over the disaster that is the Obamacare rollout. Thousands of cancellation letters continue to be sent to people who buy their own health insurance, because their policies don't conform to what the administration says their insurance should be.

• Senator-elect Cory Booker says he wants to push for drug law reforms and is willing to cross the aisle with folks like Rand Paul to make it work.
• Students at the Nevada middle school where a teen killed a teacher, then himself say the school showed an anti-bullying video that featured a bullied girl bringing a gun to school to retaliate.
• On the European front, the NSA is denying reports it collected phone data information from the French, while the Germans now fear they tapped into President Angela Merkel's cellphone, which the White House also denies. Remember how the election of President Obama was going to "repair" our relationship with Europe?
• According to a Rasmussen Poll, 64 percent think another government shutdown is likely in January. The majority also want the budget to cut spending.
• The IRS says the brief government shutdown will cause delays in processing tax returns at the beginning of 2014.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

According to a Rasmussen Poll, 64 percent think another government shutdown is likely in January.

And it will again be the end of the world.

[PapayaSF]

Cripes, my Facebook feed is so depressing. Otherwise intelligent people who are totally convinced that Republicans want children to starve in the streets, and only Democrats can stop that from happening.

[PD Scott]

You don't remember all those times Bush would pardon the Thanksgiving turkey in front of the starving children, then laugh at them and have the Secret Service throw them out into the snow? Republicans have always wanted children to starve.

If only children could eat IOUs our government could feed them forever.

[Michael S. Langston]

Reminds me of when Republicans and Newt wanted retired grandparents to eat dog food.

It also reminds me of the racists cartoons in Palestine and other countries showing the "Joos" eating babies and drinking blood.

But if you're a leader of the D's or R's or whomever - so much better that your constituents believe your opposition to be completely evil - that way, any opposition to any of yours plans, is by default evil as well.

Just like in some countries whereby "Americanized" ideas fail simply by being tarred with the "American"-brush.

Of course regardless of how much it may make sense for leaders to have followers with such beliefs, if you're one of those who believes the other side is evil and actively wants to starve people while seeking re-election - then you're an idiot and honestly undeserving of any respect for your ideas.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

The IRS says the brief government shutdown will cause delays in processing tax returns at the beginning of 2014.

Doesn't change their 'fuck you, pay me' attitude.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Or, with the delay of refunds, it's interest free loans to the government. See, the shutdown wasn't all bad!

[RannedPall]

Aren't they always interest free loans regardless if there is a refund delay? I always laugh at my coworkers who proudly proclaim that they'll allow the government to withhold more from their checks so that they can get more back on their tax returns.

[Rasilio]

Hah, Jokes on them, for the first time in years I'll end up owing thanks to a stretch as a 1099 contractor

[BakedPenguin]

I feel your pain. In April, I'll be feeling my own.

[CatoTheElder]

Better file your quarterlies, or you'll pay a penalty anyway.

[sloopyinca]

Penaltax?

[Rasilio]

I don't know if I filed my quarterlies or not, my wife does all my bookkeeping for me.

[playa manhattan]

The beginning of 2014? I don't file until April.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Weird, because of my extension I filed my taxes during the middle of the shutdown. I just got notification from turbotax that I'll be getting my refund in the next two days.

Sounds more like a preemptive excuse for any fuckups they have.

[Brett L]

Yeah, had a friend put in an expedited passport application during the shutdown and get a passport back in 5 days.

[Dweebston]

Since you mention it, I was assured by the postal rep processing my passport renewal that I wouldn't see it before my trip in mid-November. I was notified this morning that I'd receive it on October 28th. Granted, it's not the same as having the thing in my sweaty palms, but methinks this shutdown may have been a tad overblown.

[Mad Scientist]

I just renewed mine, non-expedited. Filled out the form, send in the check and some photos. I got the new one 2.5 weeks later, during the shutdown.

[playa manhattan]

I got one for my 2 year old in 3 days. They will overnight from The National Passport Center in New Hampshire if you are willing to pay for it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The IRS says the brief government shutdown will cause delays in processing tax returns at the beginning of 2014.

Which will coincide with their participation in Obamacare?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Oh, by the way, have you seen the youtube Obamacare ad by the DHHS targeted toward the African-American community?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fun Fact: Max Julien's father was a doctor.

[Root Boy]

Didn't Fear of a Black Hat go into how a lot of major Hip Hop stars were middle/upper class kids even though they tried to act street?

Never saw that film myself.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yep.

[playa manhattan]

It's a good film.

Ice Cold has some great hits, especially "Come Pet the P.U.S.S.Y.".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7zzWLKgd_0

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Some Classic Sentences of the Left? for y'all...

I think some types of women's websites might be bad for women?ones that are overly obsessed with things I reject, like heterosexual coupling and finding a man and keeping a man, and all that stuff.

Once you concede the fact that prosperity over both the long- and short-term depends in part on competent demand management from a powerful bureaucratic organization, then it's difficult to resist the moral logic of redistribution regardless of the empirical merits of any particular government program.

Assuming for a moment that Stout is the sort of unstable anti-choice zealot who thinks Baby Jesus is a power-hungry god that derives his magic energy from the number of infant humans on Earth at any given moment, the kicker in this story is that the targeted Planned Parenthood clinic doesn't even perform abortions.

[Ethan Miller-Wright]

heterosexual coupling

I'm shocked this activity hasn't been banned.

[Rasilio]

They can have my wifes Boobs when they pry them from my warm supple lips

[playa manhattan]

And my lips too.

[Rasilio]

Well we have an open relationship so it's possible but you don't seem her type 😉

[Heroic Mulatto]

How can you surmise "type" just by how someone writes?

[playa manhattan]

I read it as "We have an open relationship as long as we both only hook up with chicks."

[Rasilio]

Actually no, to date we've only hooked up with other guys, and my wife, like most women are more into personality and who you are than what you look like.

[sloopyinca]

Wait, what the fuck?

[sloopyinca]

Actually no, to date we've only hooked up with other guys, and my wife, like most women are more into personality and who you are than what you look like.

Wait, what the fuck? Dude, how could you let another man stick his dick in your wife? Somebody did that to/with Banjos and there's be some bloodshed.

[Rasilio]

Cause some of us are wierd kinky types who don't really understand the concept of jealousy

[sloopyinca]

Cause some of us are wierd kinky types who don't really understand the concept of jealousy

Monogomy =/= Jealousy

[Rasilio]

"Monogomy =/= Jealousy"

True, but then I don't believe in Monogamy either. If I thought there was any to make it work in the real world my ideal relationship would be a line marriage as portrayed in Heilein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"

[playa manhattan]

That rules me out. I'm really good looking, but shallow and assholish....

[Tonio]

Perhaps Mrs. R's standards are driven by the quality of prose? You straight people are *so* weird.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Chicks dig poetry.

[Lady Bertrum]

-1

[Anonymous Coward]

And my axe.

[Elspeth Flashman]

It does result in high risk behavior (pregnancy).

[trshmnstr]

Notice in the last two quotes how prog logic works. They take the legitimate argument against their plan off the table. Language like "once you concede the fact" and "assuming for a moment" are easy clues that these morons are heading off into progressistan, where actions both have consequences that damn entire groups of people and have no consequences at all.

[PD Scott]

One of my professors told me that if you argue with a Jesuit you can never concede any of their facts. Progs ain't Jesuits but the lesson is the same.

[Doctor Whom]

Once you concede the fact that progs are liars, it all makes sense.

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's almost as good as "there's no sugar coating it."

[PapayaSF]

Once you concede the fact that prosperity over both the long- and short-term depends in part on competent demand management from a powerful bureaucratic organization

[Citation needed]

[BakedPenguin]

"I'm sure it would, were I willing to concede your lie was a fact."

[Doctor Whom]

Once you concede the fact that 2+2= whatever the Party says it is....

[The Immaculate Trouser]

"Once you concede that your uncle has breasts and a vagina, wouldn't it be more natural to call him your aunt?"

[Enough About Palin]

Not necessarily.

[JW]

I was once had a female friend, who I was sweet on and was also a ridiculous proglodyte, tell me "Party over people."

I wasn't so sweet on her after that.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, you'll regret that when you're rounded up by name.

[Michael S. Langston]

lol @ Once you concede the fact that prosperity over both the long- and short-term depends in part on competent demand management from a powerful bureaucratic organization

Umm... what fact? Especially since competent demand management doesn't exist and powerful bureaucratic organizations have only been in existence for a short time period and of course most of those only succeeded in killing millions for "peace and prosperity".

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

'Sherlock' to return January 19th

The world's biggest premiere date mystery has been solved. EW has exclusively learned the return date for Sherlock, along with some details about how the third season roll-out plan came together.
Sherlock will return to PBS Masterpiece on Jan. 19 at 10 p.m. That means the show will air back-to-back for the first time with that other hugely popular and influential Brit import, Downton Abbey (which returns Jan. 5).
This announcement caps nearly two years of rabid fan speculation about when the third season of the international sensation will premiere. This also marks first time the mystery-thriller's U.S. air date has been announced before the BBC reveals its UK premiere date (the BBC has the "first window" rights to air the show, so UK fans can at least take heart in knowing they will almost certainly get season 3 sometime before Jan. 19).

Wow, 2 years is an eternity when it comes to television.

[Ethan Miller-Wright]

When does it air in the UK?

[Tonio]

And the seasons of Sherlock are like four episodes. Lame.

[BakedPenguin]

Isn't that all BBC and CBC shows? I just re-watched Trailer Park Boys, and they had a bunch of 7 or 9 episode seasons.

[Zeb]

6 is pretty common for BBC and CBC. Sherlock only had 3 per season. But they were 2 hours each, so that's almost the same as 6.

[Lady Bertrum]

..Trailer Park Boys..

Just because of the name that's a show I need to see.

Is it on Hulu or Netflix?

[Marshall Gill]

You haven't seen TPBs? Netflix

[Pro Libertate]

Good. At this rate, though, the next series will be in a decade.

[Corning]

I like Elementary better.

*ducks

[Pro Libertate]

What? Are you barking mad? Release the hounds. . .of the Baskervilles!

[Rasilio]

I'm not sure, it's been a while since I've seen Sherlock but I might just like Elementary better too

[Pro Libertate]

More releasing! More hounds!

[Old Man With Candy]

There's Jeremy Brett, and there's everything else. "Everything else" sucks donkey dicks. Sugar coated donkey dicks.

[Lord Humungus]

^this^

[Pro Libertate]

Look, I like the original best, too, but Sherlock is a good show.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Senator-elect Cory Booker says he wants to push for drug law reforms and is willing to cross the aisle with folks like Rand Paul to make it work.

Sounds like several interested parties are going to have to sit Booker down for a little chat.

[BakedPenguin]

If Booker goes through with this, he will almost instantly have been of more use than he was in however long he was mayor.

[Eduard van Haalen]

But a progressive told me that Paul's sentencing-reform initiatives didn't matter, and Paul was still an evil meanie warmonger! I wonder if he'll say the same thing about Booker?

[Coeus]

My god, the spin is epic.

But winning a lawsuit against one's attacker in civil court is a major challenge even with a criminal conviction and even harder without one, since acts of violence against women, including rape, are difficult to fit into traditional tort categories. VAWA remedied that problem by creating a specific cause of action for victims of gender-based violence.

The Supreme Court invalidated that provision in a 5-4 decision, with the conservative members of the court backing a majority opinion penned by Judge Rehnquist. The decision largely turned on the question of whether Congress had the power under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution to offer a federal civil remedy for victims of gender-based crimes. When looking at Commerce Clause cases, the court evaluates whether the activity being legislated by Congress "substantially affects interstate commerce." That doesn't mean that legislation has to directly impact selling goods across state lines; it just has to impact commercial activity between states. The Supreme Court has, for example, upheld federal laws regulating the meatpacking industry because even though the facilities were local, the activity impacted the "current of commerce."

[RBS]

I don't know anything about this particular case but that statement you bolded is retarded.

[RBS]

In fact, rape fits very easily into "traditional tort" known as Battery.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

The problem isn't with tort categories, it's with those pesky evidentiary standards.

[John]

And remember, since you can't go to jail in a tort case, there is no 5th Amendment right to remain silent and the plaintiff only has to prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence. And these people think even that is not sufficient.

[Killazontherun]

Not a fan of the preponderance standard as it often comes no where near clear proof. Never forget to snap the neck after a little non consensual, or you may be paying for it for a long time.

[Elspeth Flashman]

+1 bizarre torts hypothetical.

[trshmnstr]

since acts of violence against women, including rape, are difficult to fit into traditional tort categories.

RANDI W. v. MUROC JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Doe v. Manheimer

And that's from 2 months of torts class.

[John]

since acts of violence against women, including rape, are difficult to fit into traditional tort categories.

That is the dumbest thing I have read all day.

[Anonymous Coward]

since acts of violence against women, including rape, are difficult to fit into traditional tort categories.

Battery works pretty well.

[Tonio]

Students at the Nevada middle school where a teen killed a teacher, then himself say the school showed an anti-bullying video that featured a bullied girl bringing a gun to school to retaliate.

Keep an eye on this one, folks. I expect schools are shredding the copies of this as we speak.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

It is the snake that eats itself.

[Rich]

Shades of D.A.R.E.

[DK]

I learned it by watching you!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...because their policies don't conform to what the administration says their insurance should be.

Don't call it central planning.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Mandy has been published in a book -- and this time, it's not filled with racist imagery!

The Book of Jezebel comes out today, and I'm one of many dozens of contributors[?] They are very funny, very sensible ladies. A word of warning: The women contributing to this, by and large, do not think of themselves as a class of subhumans put on earth to serve men.

That's a relief.

While "not hating yourself" and "believing oneself to be fully human" are considered by medical science to be evidence that one's head is screwed on straight, Mark Judge of The Daily Caller disagrees. Indeed, he finds the entire book just incredibly threatening and needs to bullshit it to death.

"Bullshit it to death"?

"The bogus 'war on women' is really nothing but liberal women acting out against bad fathers," he says, suggesting that it's only when women give up their right to have sex without getting pregnant?a right that 99% of women have availed themselves of, making the war on contraception access and abortion a pretty straightforward war on women?that they will be cured of this "anger" we supposedly feel.

69 words ? damn, can this womyn write! It's not hard to imagine why Jezebel would pay good money to print sentences like this one.

[Cont]

[The Immaculate Trouser]

It is true that the slatterns of Jezebel think contraception and abortion rights are bad ass

Other concepts Amanda considers "bad ass": stamp collecting, I-1099 forms, 2-ply toilet paper

[The Immaculate Trouser]

In the Amazon publisher's description for Jezebel's recently released book (featuring Amanda Marcotte!), feminists once more come face to face with their greatest foe: the English language

THE BOOK OF JEZEBEL is an encyclopedia of everything important to the modern woman. Running the gamut from Abzug, Bella and Baby-sitters Club, The to Xena, Yogurt, and Zits, and filled with entertaining sidebars and arresting images, this is a must-read for the modern woman.

More of a must-proofread, really.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Bonus: the only Amazon.com user review for the Book of Jezebel, quoted below in its entirety

Which is why the halfwits hate it. I expect to see a lot of reviews that boil down to, "Womenz cain't be smarter than us white christuhn males!"

Buy the book and metaphorically kick a misogynist in his baby maker. It's so worth it!

?

[#]

Sometimes I really wonder what the alternate universe is that exists in these kinds of peoples' heads

[Zeb]

That is indeed a very puzzling and frustrating question. A universe where the only people who aren't committed feminists of the Jezebel variety are white Christian males of the sort who think that women are sub-human baby factories.
There seem to be a lot of people who completely ignore all of the actual criticism of contemporary feminism and just argue with the white christian males in their heads.

[Enough About Palin]

Come on girl! Let the hate for your bad father flow!

[Killazontherun]

Or weak fathers who doted on their special little snowflake before they went out into the great big mean world.

[Elspeth Flashman]

More if a must-ignore, I think.

[Ethan Miller-Wright]

Food stamp president: Enrollment up 70 percent under Obama

[Bam!]

Change has come to America.

[Enough About Palin]

Hell has come to breakfast.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Hey, have you seen the new youtube ad for foodst....

Aww, forget it. The joke didn't work the first time.

[playa manhattan]

The 30 second ad is killing the mood.

[Andrew S.]

Obviously this is Bush's fault.

[Pro Libertate]

Holy shit. The economy coupled with an administration that is undoubtedly trying to buy every vote it can by handing out welfare to anyone who wants it. . .this can't end well.

[Coeus]

Even more proggie spin:

Texas's voter ID law took effect Monday, as voting in the first Texas election since five Republican justices killed a key prong of the Voting Rights Act also began this week. By conservative estimates, this voter suppression law will prevent 2 to 3 percent of registered voters from casting a ballot, with left-leaning constituencies such as women, students, low-income voters and people of color all feeling a disproportionate share of this blow.
Voter ID's defenders often point to the fact that states that have enacted these voter suppression laws typically offer free IDs to voters who can jump through certain bureaucratic hoops necessary to obtain one as evidence that the laws will not actually have a significant negative impact on voters, but the data in Texas suggests that these free IDs will do little to mitigate the impact of the law. Despite an estimated 1.4 million voters in Texas who lack a photo ID, Texas has issued only 41 free ID cards since last week.

Naw, couldn't be that they just don't vote anyway. That's unpossible.

[Tonio]

That's nothing. Some proggie was whining on FB the other day about how millions of Texas women will be disenfranchised because they didn't update their legal ID after getting married.

[Brett L]

So following the law is sexist now? I'm pretty sure Texas requires you to get a new ID if you legally change your name.

[C. Anacreon]

From now on, every time I hear about the "IDs are voter suppression" these days, I'm going to respond, "It's really sad that you think women and minorities are too stupid to get an ID. I can't believe how racist you are."

[playa manhattan]

If you aren't responsible enough to obtain a photo ID, you shouldn't have a say in how much of my money gets stolen.

[Tonio]

^This. Srsly.

Disclaimer: The DMV (or whoever) should have weekend and evening hours so that you can get an ID no matter what your work schedule.

[#]

I've always found this frustrating. For the most part the DMV is only open when its the least conveinient to go there.

How hard is it to have either early morning or evening hours so people who work for a living can actually make it there? Or maybe an alternating schedule? Some days open 6am to 2 pm. Other days open 12 pm to 8 pm? If you are concerned about total hours being too much.

[BigT]

Customer service from the DMV?? Why? What incentive do they have to be customer-friendly?

It's part of the two-edged sword of government inefficiency - few incentives and little accountability.

[Tonio]

^What BT wrote.

[T]

I just checked. My local DPS office has extended hours on Saturday solely to provide people with Election IDs.

[Shocked]

Those few who can't afford a free ID are probably available during DMV hours.

[Zeb]

Ad much as I'd like all voters to be responsible and informed, I really don't think that is a reasonable requirement. You can vote if you are an adult citizen (and not a felon, which I also think is bullshit.
But what do I know. I'm one of the 3 or so people here who don't think voter ID laws are totally awesome.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'm one of the 3 or so people here who don't think voter ID laws are totally awesome

So, it's you, me, and who else? It better be a hot chick.

[Banjos]

Woohoo! HM called me hot!

[Juice]

I don't think they're totally awesome, but I also don't give a shit.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I dont think it is unreasonable to require that you "prove" you are who you say are b4 u vote.

I also beleive the real reason R's like it is because it suppresses D voting more tha R voting.

So I don't know where that puts me.

[Juice]

I don't think it's unreasonable either. I just don't care though.

[Pro Libertate]

Do they require any kind of identification to sign up for extra groovy Obamacare?

[Suthenboy]

Suppresses D voting....by that you mean keeping dead people from voting early and often?

[Boisfeuras]

I also beleive the real reason R's like it is because it suppresses D voting more tha R voting.

If by "suppresses D voting", you mean by dead people, then yeah. The real reason the GOP supports voter ID laws is because of the history of rampant Democrat electoral fraud (Al Franken and Gregoire being examples within just the past decade).

[some guy]

free IDs to voters who can jump through certain bureaucratic hoops

A number of bureaucratic hoops are attached to signing up for all the various sentitlement programs. They don't seem to have any trouble increasing their roles...

[Tonio]

That reality is always ignored by proggies.

[Brett L]

If you can't afford the $20 fee for a state ID, your time is cheap enough to sit in an office and fill out forms.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's racist/sexist to demand that a person present government-issued ID in order to vote because it disproportionately impacts women/minorities.

It's not racist/sexist to demand that person present government-issued ID, submit to a background check, wait for a proscribed period of time, and pay local licensing fees in order to purchase a firearm even though it disproportionately impacts women/minorities.

Consistency is a wonderful thing.

[Zeb]

That's a good point. None of that should be required for firearms purchases either.

[CatoTheElder]

Is it racist/sexist of the Healthcare.gov website to require me to send in a copy of my drivers license (or other ID) in order to obtain ObamaCare information?

Because that's what the demand contained in a message that the system had for me. Still haven't heard back after sending via USPS.

[B.P.]

Bureaucratic hoops, you say? This is the price we all pay for civilization, Somalia, etc.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Newly discovered galaxy may be most distant yet, 30 billion lightyears form Earth

An international team of astronomers has detected the most distant galaxy yet.

The galaxy is about 30 billion light-years away and is helping scientists shed light on the period that immediately followed the Big Bang.

It was found using the Hubble Space Telescope and its distance was then confirmed with the ground-based Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

The study is published in the journal Nature.

Because it takes light so long to travel from the outer edge of the Universe to us, the galaxy appears as it was 13.1 billion years ago.

Lead researcher Steven Finkelstein, from the University of Texas at Austin, US, said: "This is the most distant galaxy we've confirmed. We are seeing this galaxy as it was 700 million years after the Big Bang."

The far-off galaxy goes by the catchy name of z8_GND_5296.

Astronomers were able to measure how far it was from Earth by analysing its colour.

And for all we know, it could have disappeared or been destroyed ages ago.

[Ethan Miller-Wright]

Book your vacation now.

[Tim]

Galaxies should not be judged by their color but by their character.

[Tonio]

The far-off galaxy goes by the catchy name of z8_GND_5296.

Why I hate journalists.

[Spartacus]

The galaxy is about 30 billion light-years away...

...the galaxy appears as it was 13.1 billion years ago.

Am I missing something?

[Metazoan]

I assume we are getting light from it when it was closer? Maybe extrapolating its current location?

[Corning]

So it traveled at least 17 billion light years in 13 billion years?

[Metazoan]

Differential geometry is not really my thing, but I imagine a changing metric would cause some abnormal results like that. I mean, space itself has expanded, not just the stuff that fills it.

[Corning]

space itself has expanded, not just the stuff that fills it.

So space grew...

So are we seeing the light that passed through that growth? If so how did that light pass through that new space at speeds faster then the speed of light?

If it passed though space before that space grew how would that light be any different then light passing through a universe that does not have "space growth"?

[Tonio]

What Meta said, and also we may be moving away from it.

[Calidissident]

You're assuming that the Milky Way stayed in the same place. If both galaxies traveled 8.5 billion light years, the distance between them would increase by 17 billion light years

[Corning]

You're assuming that the Milky Way stayed in the same place.

...

You do understand that the speed of light is a constant that cannot be broken right?

[Calidissident]

Yes. As others have explained better than I, the movement of galaxies away from each other, and the expansion of space during the light's journey, can explain the discrepancy.

[Boisfeuras]

If we were moving away from each other at a speed greater than that of light, wouldn't we not be able to see it (the light coming from it)?

[Rich]

The universe is *expanding*, DUH?

[Zeb]

What you are missing is the difference between proper distance and light travel distance. The latter is what (for some stupid reason) is more often used when talking about cosmological distances. It is the time that the light has been traveling times the speed of light. But, in an expanding universe, the space separating two distant events has gotten bigger in the 13 billion years that the light has been traveling, so the distance to the source of the light is farther away now. Popular science journalism has done a very bad job explaining this distinction (or even making it).

[Mickey Rat]

If you are right, wouldn't that mean that galaxy has traveled 16.9 billion light years in the 13.1 billion years it took the light from it to reach us? That still seems to violate known physics.

[Pro Libertate]

I vaguely recall some physicist suggesting that the expansion of space-time itself isn't limited by the speed of light.

[Corning]

Sure but how would we be able to see it?

If it expanded after the light passed through it then it would look no different...if it expanded before then the light would still have to travel that space.

Even if this suggestion is correct it would not explain how we are seeing light that is 30 billion years old in a universe that is only 13 billion years old.

[Calidissident]

The light isn't 30 billion years old

[Mickey Rat]

I suppose that the combined delta V between our galaxy and that one could be over lightspeed, but I don't think the universe is supposed to expanding at that rate now.

[Mickey Rat]

The reporter made a typo and did not catch it, possibly because the reporter does not actually know the definition of "light-year". Or there's something more interesting going on that the reporter did not twig on to because he does not know the definition of "light-year".

[Corning]

So it is 30 billion light years away yet the universe is only 13 billion years old...

and people claim I am ignorant for questioning the validity of the big bang.

[Zeb]

They sure do. And you have just provided further evidence of your ignorance.

[Corning]

Yup you do and every time you do you only toss ad hominin around and say nothing that counters my argument.

[BakedPenguin]

Galaxies move.

[Corning]

At speeds faster then the speed of light?

That would be some trick.

[Corning]

Especially considering we are seeing the light of them even though they are traveling away from us at a speed faster then the light we are seeing.

[Kid Xenocles]

Submitted without comment. Because I don't fully understand it either.

[Lord Humungus]

she can do the kessel run in 13 parsecs! (or whatever the damn quote is)

[Bo Cara Esq.]

SoCons Name the 'Dirty Dozen:' 12 Top Facilitators of Pornography Today

On the list:

Eric Holder-Mr. Holder refuses to enforce existing federal obscenity laws against hardcore adult pornography, despite the fact that these laws have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and effectively enforced by previous attorneys general.

The Defense Department-The Pentagon has a serious pornography problem, and it is doing next to nothing to combat it. In fact, it seems to be embracing pornography. Morality In Media receives a steady stream of comments from servicemen and women and their spouses regarding the widespread availability of pornography in the US Military.

Barnes & Nobles-This Fortune 500 company, operator of 689 retail bookstores and a very active website, is a major supplier of adult pornography and child erotica. Nearly two dozen porn magazines are currently for sale at one store we randomly checked.

See the all here: http://pornharms.com/dirtydozen/

[Hillary's Clitdong]

Morality In Media receives a steady stream of comments from servicemen and women and their spouses dependopotami regarding the widespread availability of pornography in the US Military.

[BuSab Agent]

I lol'd. The most accurate neologism I've seen in quite a while. The dependopotomi will of course be so much happier when the spouse stops masturbating and starts buying hookers.

[Tonio]

Gentlemen, are we on this list? And if not, why? Harumph.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

Also, not that I would personally know anything about this, but I've heard rumors that Bing's video search is awesome for searching for exotic videos.

[Fist of Etiquette]

More like Boingggg! video search.

[Fist of Etiquette]

No, wait, I looked it up. It is Bing video search.

[Bobarian]

My Barnes & Noble barely has any good porn anymore.

WTF?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I frankly had no idea Barnes and Nobles sold porn.

[playa manhattan]

More surprising is the "child erotica" claim. Are they trying to get sued?

[PD Scott]

Probably insisting that any photos of unclothed minors are child erotica. Unless they mean Judy Blume books, etc.

[John]

DOD is caught in a horrible vice of idiot feminists screaming about the "rape culture" and idiot SOCONS screaming about the evils of porn. Yeah we are really going to tell a bunch of young men and women for that matter, they can't look at porn. That will work.

[playa manhattan]

Not clicking the link, but did "The Internet" make the top dozen?

[Anonymous Coward]

Before we laugh too hard at the Bible-thumping yokels, here's a piece from "serious" news network, ABC.

James Deen is lurning teen girls into porn because he's too pretty.

[Thane of Steelport]

James Deen is lurning teen girls into porn

Hopefully*

*The 18/19 kind

[Coeus]

Works for me. The sooner they get exposed to S&M (the majority of his work) the better. Though the training period can be fun in it's own way.

[C. Anacreon]

When I click on "play" on this I get a message saying ABC news took down the video. But I'm wondering from the still photo seen here in Reasonable -- is the girl sitting on the couch supposed to be a real-life version of Meg from Family Guy?

[Coeus]

yup

[Thane of Steelport]

Also, that guy is dreamy*

*no homo?

?NTTAWWT

[playa manhattan]

So now "teen" means "twenty something but still living at home"?

[Virginian]

HAhaaha is that porn parody of Family guy?

[Troy muy grande boner]

I can't believe none of the sites I visit are on there. And when is the last time you got any good MILF porn from the DOD?

[Irish]

Eric Holder-Mr. Holder refuses to enforce existing federal obscenity laws against hardcore adult pornography, despite the fact that these laws have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and effectively enforced by previous attorneys general.

Holy shit. They're trying to make Erich Holder worse than he already is?

[Kid Xenocles]

"a steady stream of comments from servicemen and women and their spouses regarding the widespread availability of pornography"

The best part is that the following hypothetical comments would contribute equally to that steady stream:

"It's awful how much pornography is available! There ought to be a law!"

"I'm so glad we have all this porno! Hell yeah!"

[Bobarian]

"Remember how the election of President Obama was going to "repair" our relationship with Europe?"

It has, the relationship has returned to how it used to be in the early 1940's.

[Bobarian]

And something about Hitler and Bunkers...

[CatoTheElder]

I don't think that Obama has the same degree of comradeship with Putin and Cameron that FDR had with Stalin and Churchill.

Otherwise, it's similar to the late 30's. Obama hasn't actually declared war on a European state yet.

[Thane of Steelport]

20 Colleges with the Worst Return on Investment (deslided)

I talked to a cute girl from Oberlin once.

...that's the whole story.

[Ethan Miller-Wright]

needs more milf sex.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Someone should have clued the Daily Beast in on the fact that the purpose of a small private liberal arts college isn't to train you for a job.

[Thane of Steelport]

the purpose of a small private liberal arts college isn't to train you for a job

Sure, but a huge number of people seem to think otherwise

[Heroic Mulatto]

Well, after a good liberal arts education, you'll be able to understand the phrase "caveat emptor".

[Metazoan]

True, though I understood it after 7th grade Latin...

[BakedPenguin]

Say, you wouldn't know anyone who works at a small private liberal arts college, would you?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Heh.

I've always thought of SNHU as more of a B-school, at least as opposed to St. A's, NEC, or Thomas More.

[BakedPenguin]

Ah, I didn't know. My father actually went to whatever it used to be called in the late 60's, early 70's. And yes, St. A's is basically a stereotype of liberal arts schools.

[BakedPenguin]

Also, I think my 5:09 came off as more dickish than funny. Sorry about that.

[playa manhattan]

How did Depauw not make the top 10? Anecdotally, all 3 of my friends who went there are 6 figures in debt, and after 10 years, still don't have careers to speak of.

[Invisible Finger]

Apparently taxpayer investments don't count.

[BigT]

My daughter graduated from Oberlin with a music degree. Four years at $35k/year. I could have bought a nice condo in Fla.

[Thane of Steelport]

Did she come out indoctrinated?

[BigT]

She was already quite the lib. But she's also extraordinarily adventurous and has been involved in lots of real-world activities and was appalled at much of what went on there. Now teaching music part-time.

[C. Anacreon]

I went to one of the colleges on that list, and strongly considered Oberlin in my teen ignorance until I found out they didn't allow fraternities. I actually went to a concert last night with some former Oberlin people who were pretty cool (albeit super-lefties, but it's hard to find anyone who isn't here in the Bay Area.)

My college did a great job getting me into med school, which was the reason for going there. Had I not been planning for grad school, though, I would have never gone there. I wonder if these figures only calculate the value of a degree and doesn't include those who go on to graduate programs -- as so many small liberal arts schools grads do go on to.

[C. Anacreon]

Speaking of that school, the alumni email this week bragged that they will be having this:
____________________________

11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Memorial Center -- Equal Pay Bake Sale -- Sponsored by Feminism:Equality Matters for the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, baked goods will be sold in a salary comparison to the white man's dollar:
- White men pay $1.00
- White women pay $0.81
- African American men pay $0.76
- African American women pay $0.68
- Hispanic men/Latinos pay $0.67
- Hispanic women/Latinas pay $0.59
- Asian American men pay $1.20
- Asian American women pay $0.88
- Subtract $0.10 if you identify as LGTBQ
________________________

It's funny how Affirmative Action bake sales usually cause College Republicans to get suspended, but the same thing about the false comparisons of pay scales (not factoring in that people work different jobs, or correct for education, experience, or whether people are full-time)are so wonderful the school boasts about them.

[Heroic Mulatto]

White men pay $1.00

- African American men pay $0.76

- Asian American men pay $1.20

So what the fuck do I do? Pay the average of all three? (Assuming they include South Asian under "Asian American")

[The Immaculate Trouser]

You live in Uncle Tom's Cabin until the left needs an example of a race traitor to keep the others in line.

[playa manhattan]

Are there sub-categories for white? If you were raised Jewish, be prepared to cough up a little more dough...

[BuSab Agent]

As I understand it, blackness trumps all unless your hair is not kinky, then you must be white.

[Thane of Steelport]

Are you serious? You should send that to Campus Reform or College Insurrection or something.

[C. Anacreon]

Are you serious? You should send that to Campus Reform or College Insurrection or something.

I'm not familiar with those organizations? Why send it to them?

[playa manhattan]

They will get the issue the attention that it deserves.

[Thane of Steelport]

They are both conservative sites that cover this kind of shit. They will make a big deal of it (if that's what you want).

[Calidissident]

I guess Native Americans don't exist

[Elspeth Flashman]

In Anacreon we trust?

[Heroic Mulatto]

those who go on to graduate programs -- as so many small liberal arts schools grads do go on to.

In a perfect world, liberal arts would be another name for pre-Law.

[Tonio]

Or elementary school teacher.

[kinnath]

Who the fuck takes 6 years to get a liberal arts degree?

[Rich]

Well, to be fair, it was an Associate's Degree.

[sloopyinca]

The story on the California cops murdering a kid with a toy gun has made the rounds. Now, prepare yourself for PoliceOne's response.

A lot of "sad for everyone" and "I feel for the cops", but only ONE poster, and that's a notorious troll on there, that says it is fucked up. Go back later tonight and I'm sure it will be a lot worse.

[RBS]

Sad for all involved. I'm waiting for the "family" to step up with their "attorney" mouthpiece.

How dare they hire someone with experience to give a shit.

[Tonio]

The shock quotes are truly bizarre.

[Fist of Etiquette]

They instructed him to drop his weapon, but since he didn't have a weapon to drop...

[Mad Scientist]

Mattingly! Get rid of those sideburns!

[Andrew S.]

This is PoliceOne, where they excused Jon Burge torturing suspects because the people he helped torture were bad people, and probably guilty anyways. Nothing they say is surprising, which is why I refuse to click on their links no matter how many times you post them.

[Tim]

My dad's private insurance was canceled. they sent him a letter saying he canceled it. Of course he did no such thing. His doctor thinks it's Obamacare and that the insurance company isn't going to say that in writing so they made shit up. Nice.

[Tonio]

Anecdotal! Wrecker!

[trshmnstr]

I've reported you to the secret reincarnation of Attack Watch on the healthcare.gov website. It happens to be the only part of the website that actually works.

[Ethan Miller-Wright]

The risk from saturated fat in foods such as butter, cakes and fatty meat is being overstated and demonised, according to a cardiologist.

[Bam!]

It seems like every "good for you" food policy has been reversed at least once (except smoking). Makes me think we know little more about the human body than we did 50 years ago.

[Tonio]

Or that at least the medical branch of science has learned the dangers of making shit up, and of being a mouthpiece for hysterics.

[Steve G]

"a cardiologist" Yeah, it's a little bigger than that. It's just getting a lot more mainstream

http://paleophysiciansnetwork.com/

[sloopyinca]

I guess Vegas cops are conducting tryouts for the LAPD now.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

How can you sleep while their beds are burning?

[sloopyinca]

They'll all just start Livin' next door to Allan.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

the Germans now fear they tapped into President Angela Merkel's cellphone

Finally, the Merkel-Berlusconi transcripts will be released!

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Penis grows where?

Penis.

[playa manhattan]

"Ms Armstong, who suffers from body dysmorphia,"

There's no sugarcoating that.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

There's no sugarcoating it, the Cleveland Browns have let down her femininity.

[Steve G]

The 'roids gave her a mean case of duckface

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Have you had a talk with your son about #RapeFace?

My son has grown up with a mother who works in the women's movement and he proactively calls out sexism, initiates discussions about why it's not cool that the most popular song of the summer was about date rape (thanks, Robin Thicke) and he's won prizes for raising money to end violence against women.

So what is the big deal? He and his friends don't literally mean that they want to rape someone by using that hashtag. They are not intentionally trying to make fun of rape. They are 12-year-olds who are just being silly. Lighten up, mom.

But that is precisely why it is a big deal. A very big deal. That 12-year-olds would think it was normal, innocent and even funny to tag a photo of themselves #rapeface goes to the heart of how entrenched rape culture is in our country. Canadian Women's Foundation studies show that victim blame is alive and well in Canada.
[...]
But here's the thing, words are powerful. Words have consequences. When a word like rape is used as a joke, it trivializes sexual assault, it normalizes the issue and it creates a climate where rape is accepted. By using a word like rape in colloquial slang, we have become desensitized to its real meaning and that invalidates the experience of the hundreds of thousands of women each year who experience sexual violence.

Teenage years won't be kind to that kid.

[PapayaSF]

"OMG, we talk and talk and talk about how bad rape is, and how it's everywhere, and now these kids are making jokes about it!"

[Night Elf Mohawk]

When a word like rape is used as a joke, it trivializes sexual assault, it normalizes the issue and it creates a climate where rape is accepted.

It's also trivialized when you use it as a metaphor for actions you just don't like.

[Root Boy]

You guys read too much feminist crap. Lets get back to making fun of Obama and Pete King.

[Brett L]

"Son, don't be an asshole."

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

I think there is a fine line between teaching your son to respect women and boundaries and teaching him to read rape culture and Patriarchy into everything.

The former means he'll be popular with girls, the latter means he'll be the sub in any relationship he fumbles into.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

There's no fine line at all, as those are completely seperate concepts.

"Son, don't stick your dick in a woman's pee-hole unless she wants you to" =/= "Son, all societies everywhere are designed by a shadowy cabal to perpetuate male prerogatives and your unthinking participation in them is tantamount to rape"

That said, your popularity with girls from middle school to college has nothing to do with your understanding of rape and consent.

[Andrew S.]

"Son, don't stick your dick in a woman's pee-hole unless she wants you to"

I'm not sure if I should question your knowledge of female physiology or be very, very disturbed.

[Coeus]

Google "sounding".

[The Immaculate Trouser]

LOL. I do read Marcotte regularly, if that answers your question...

[The Immaculate Trouser]

A fuller explanation: Marcotte in one of her articles (writing about abortion, natch) said that opposition to abortion had something to do with conservatives "not liking it when men stick pleasureable things into sluts' pee-holes" (quoting from memory). That tickled me, and the phrase sort of stuck as an inside joke.

[Tonio]

Lighten up, Francis.

[Calidissident]

I guess we know IT isn't packing much downstairs

[Coeus]

Odd, never heard this outcry over killface.

[0x90]

"The IRS says the brief government shutdown will cause delays in processing tax returns at the beginning of 2014."

"Of course we have to collect before we pay out, else we mightn't be around to pay out at all!"

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Cotton Mather's misbegotten children strike again...

Jamie Leigh Jones, a young employee for defense contractor KBR in Iraq, captured our national attention when, in 2007, she claimed to have been gang raped by her colleagues and then locked into a shipping container by KBR officials intent on keeping her from going public[?] It felt symbolic of everything that had been going wrong in Iraq[?] Turns out, it may all have been a lie[...]

Mencimer paints feminists who defended Jones as too blinded by ideology to see that they were getting taken for a ride. That may be the case, but that's only because we've all seen the "bitches are crazy" defense lobbed at so many authentic rape victims.

There is no doubt that there are women who make up rape to get attention and sympathy, as I've written about here before. But the takeaway from Mencimer's piece should not be that women lie about rape. It should be that this woman lied about rape.

Mencimer seems annoyed that Jones' fake case led to real legislation protecting the rights of rape accusers, and that politicians who voted against that legislation were, in her words, "vilified."

Don't worry Marcotte, I'm sure you'll land an innocent man in prison someday.

[PD Scott]

Call me crazy, but if you wanted to "keep someone from going public" in Iraq, couldn't you just take them out in the desert and leave them in a shallowish grave? What is locking them in a shipping container going to do but provide investigators with a body?

[BakedPenguin]

Better 100 innocent men go to prison for rapes they didn't commit, than 1 rapist goes free.

[Metazoan]

innocent man? LOL

[Bo Cara Esq.]

SoCons Ask:

-What would you do?

You see an indecent window display at your local shopping mall.

You see a suggestive billboard as you drive to work.

You're in line at your grocery store and notice a provocative magazine on display.

You're comfortably watching television with your family when an indecent scene surprises you.

You rent a movie at the video store and see a rack of sexually explicit videos.

All of us have been in similar situations. Many of us want to speak up and make a difference, however we're not sure who to contact or what to say.

Now you can combine your voice with the voice of others to promote a higher standard of decency in our communities.

http://womenfordecency.org/spe.....cency.html

[Rich]

You're comfortably watching television with your family when an indecent scene surprises you.

"Kids, don't look at that fucking shit!"

[Invisible Finger]

That's what I say when the news comes on.

[Root Boy]

Yep, kids, some people are scummy and want you to be that way. Be smart enough to see through the crappy advertising.

[trshmnstr]

It's scary how with just a few tweaks, this looks like it was lifted from late 19th century Progressive movement literature.

[Doctor Whom]

It's funny how, with a few tweaks, the rants of the socon right and the radfem left become so hard to tell apart.

[Eduard van Haalen]

OK, let's Turing-test this.

Which of these is from a rad-fem and which is from a socon?

First example:

"Admittedly, I am inspired by country music's unapologetic expression of love for God and country and its simple tributes to farmers and factory workers, small towns, summer days, football, and plain ol' appreciating what you've got.

And I am grateful that ? for the most part ? country music doesn't embarrass me in front of my kids or require me to turn off the radio or television to avoid exposing them to profanity and misogynistic, sexually-degrading lyrics or behavior....

"Call me crazy, but I'm more comfortable singing along with my kids to songs about drinking or the fury of a lover scorned than to songs that glorify drug use, uninhibited sexual promiscuity, or abusive relationships."

http://bostonherald.com/news_o.....nd_country

[Eduard van Haalen]

Second example:

"Welcome to the [name of organization omitted]'s Social Security Birthday Blog Bash! Strengthen Social Security

"For 78 years, Social Security has been a lifeline for millions of Americans. Currently, there are 56 million beneficiaries; 70% are retirees, 11% are survivors of deceased workers and 19% are disables workers and their families. While Wall Street is notoriously risky, Social Security has never missed a payment."

http://www.now.org/news/blogs/.....l-security

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Short answer: Slut-shaming, also known as slut-bashing, is the idea of shaming and/or attacking a woman or a girl for being sexual, having one or more sexual partners, acknowledging sexual feelings, and/or acting on sexual feelings. Furthermore, it's "about the implication that if a woman has sex that traditional society disapproves of, she should feel guilty and inferior" (Alon Levy, Slut Shaming). It is damaging not only to the girls and women targeted, but to women in general an society as a whole. It should be noted that slut-shaming can occur even if the term "slut" itself is not used. "

http://finallyfeminism101.word.....t-shaming/

[Eduard van Haalen]

"No matter what Sinead O'Connor, Amanda Palmer, or Annie Lennox say, Miley owns Miley's body, and she can do with it what she pleases. In fact, if she wanted to stand on the street corner and set up a Sex Box booth, I'd tell her to go on with her bad self. I've said it before, and I will keep on saying it: Sex work is a legitimate career, so stop dogging it. "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....78373.html

[Eduard van Haalen]

"The word "Redskins" is so apparently offensive they've made the team sound like a porn film. Here is the insanity: They'd be less offended -- and in some circles of the libertine community, openly supportive ? if Snyder renamed the team the "Foreskins.""

http://www.mrc.org/bozells-col.....y-redskins

[Eduard van Haalen]

"ccording to the YouGov poll, the college educated and those without a high school degree are about equally likely to believe in the Devil. As Scalia explained to [interviewer Jennifer] Senior, "Most of mankind has believed in the Devil, for all of history. Many more intelligent people than you or me have believed in the Devil!""

http://dailycaller.com/2013/10.....z2iagzMk4M

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

WaPo writer has discovered Obama's biggest problem

President Obama's biggest problem when it comes to selling the American public on the so-far rocky rollout of his health-care law isn't John Boehner or Mitch McConnell or even Ted Cruz. It's Jon Stewart.
[...]
President Obama and his administration have made it quite clear that one of the big beneficiaries of the law should be young people. "Already, millions of young adults have been able to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26," Obama trumpeted in a speech defending the Affordable Care Act on Oct. 1. On Monday, in an address designed to calm worries about the problems with the HealthCare.gov Web site, Obama specifically referenced three young people standing behind him who had been able to stay on their parents' insurance until they were 26 and added: "Millions of other young people are currently benefiting from that part of the law."
But, these same young people tend to get much of their news ? and therefore have their opinions shaped ? not by places like The Washington Post or the CBS Evening News but rather by Stewart. He is their Tom Brokaw, their David Brinkley. So, what Stewart says matters ? a lot.

I'm glad he's mostly wrong, because the idea that Jon Stewart informs the youth of America is depressing.

[DJF]

Look at the bright side, it could be worse, they could be getting their news from CBS or even MSNBC.

[Boisfeuras]

President Obama's biggest problem when it comes to selling the American public on the so-far rocky rollout of his health-care law isn't John Boehner or Mitch McConnell or even Ted Cruz. It's Jon Stewart.

Deviationist!

[Rich]

Wrt today's Sebelius meeting, I hope at least one of the company executives made her choke on "Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement ...."

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Racism? From Russian Soccer fans? You're kidding.

[sloopyinca]

Perjury? Wrongful arrest? False official statements?

Why, I guess you need a two-week vacation.

[John]

http://www.commentarymagazine......m-reality/

6. There's a reason reporters who cover the White House say that top aides and even the president are deeply unsettled. It's not just that what he considers his legacy achievement looks to be imploding before our eyes, which would be bad enough. There's something else going on as well.

The Affordable Care Act or close approximations of it is something liberals have worked toward for generations. It has been, for the left, a kind of talisman; to have had it codified in law ranks as one of the great liberal achievements in American history. Or so the left thought. They probably should have been more careful in what they asked for. As Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker put it, "The ACA is the most important liberal project in decades. If it fails, it is a complete disaster for liberalism."

[Rich]

"If it fails, it is a complete disaster for liberalism."

Well, then they had jolly well better deem it a success!

[John]

The progs need to come here more often. The opinion of many on here is that the bigger disaster this thing is the more people will want single payer and full on progtopia. I don't quite understand why Progs are so down about this. Don't they know this just means that people will love them more?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Yep. My job is full of braindead lefties, and not a single one of them (even those who wanted single payer) thought ObamaCare would be anything but a success. All of them have completely shut up about politics except for muted references to how much they are getting fucked by their new insurance rates -- and if you've ever worked in a place dominated by lefties, you know that getting them to shut the hell up about politics requires nothing less than an act of God.

[John]

Facebook seems to be a lot less political than it was during the shutdown. Funny that.

[PapayaSF]

I. Love. It.

[VG Zaytsev]

It's kind of like a Christian going to heaven and finding out that Mohammed was right.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

The Tea Party is hardly Jeffersonian

This was exactly the point that frightened Alexander Hamilton most. He summed up his opponents' view quite accurately: "As human nature shall refine and ameliorate by the operation of a more enlightened plan," based on common moral sense and the spread of affection and benevolence, government eventually "will become useless, and Society will subsist and flourish free from its shackles." Then Hamilton, the greatest conservative of his day, dismissed this vision of shrinking government as "a wild and fatal scheme."

The Republicans who now control the House obviously have a very different view of what it means to be a true conservative. But that doesn't mean they have become Jeffersonians. Not by any means. In many ways they would be closer to Hamilton, who scorned Jefferson's trust in human nature.

The Tea Party et al. don't defend their call for less government by claiming that we are all born with an innate sense of benevolence and sympathy toward all other people. On the contrary, they claim "the most sacred right to be left alone" largely because they don't trust people outside their own familiar circle, so they don't want those strangers meddling in their affairs.

So is he suggesting that progressives have a more positive view of human nature? Because authoritarianism is predicated on the opposite belief.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I like how he labels Marx's argument for a dictatorship of the proletariat through a dialectic view of history as "common sense":

For the rest of us, it seemed just a matter of common sense. The innate sense of sympathy, as well as direct contact with the marrow of life, had been stunted for far too long by a society that valued profits and material goods above people. It would be many years before everyone's genuine needs would be fully met by spontaneous acts of benevolence and love.

Until then, government should fill the gaps, since only government has the resource to make sure all are filled.

[John]

Until then, government should fill the gaps, since only government has the resource to make sure all are filled.

Because government is some kind of entity that is both separate and better than the people who make it up. Yeah, that is sure common sense alright.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Don't forget John, the government would only be necessary until utopia on Earth was achieved.

That's just common sense and not Communist mysticism. Totally.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Just don't ask which of your gaps the government proposes to fill. It will be painful.

[John]

Authoritarianism requires you to believe that there is a special elite that are different and better than the average and thus fit to rule over and prevent the average from harming themselves. This is why it is so appealing to intellectuals. That is also why all Christians who take the idea of original sin seriously ought to be at a minimum libertarians and probably full on anarchists.

If all men are sinful and debased, no one but God can be trusted to rule over other men. It is funny, of all the comenters on here, the most morally Calvinistic is Episiarch, an avowed atheist. He believes people are naturally base and will always abuse power and thus any government is going to end up evil no matter how restrained or well designed it is. And that is the logical conclusion of the Calvinistic view of man.

[kinnath]

that is the logical conclusion of the Calvinistic cynical view of man.

[John]

You miss the point.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

That is also why all Christians who take the idea of original sin seriously ought to be at a minimum libertarians and probably full on anarchists.

But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Matthew 20:25-28

[DJF]

Maybe my reading of history is wrong but I never heard that Jefferson had anything to do with the Tea Party. And why quote Hamilton when talking about Jefferson or the tea party? Hamilton and Jefferson were opposed to each other.

This idiot does not realize that the Revolution had different factions and ideologies and were not in lock step

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

He seems to think Hamilton, with his penchant for centralized banking and a powerful Federal government, is more like today's Tea Party conservatives.

It boggles the mind.

[General Butt Naked]

And also people that, presumably, advocate charity and good works over the guns of the government have little faith in their fellow humans.

What a maroon.

[Eduard van Haalen]

No, from the quote it seems to be saying that Jefferson, the naive supporter of the French Revolution, is like the Tea Party, and Hamilton is one of those Responsible Conservatives people like the writer like to concern-troll about when saying how much worse modern conservatives are than their predecessors.

[Virginian]

^ Yep. One of the metrocons at National Review went on a Hamilton kick last year I think.

[CatoTheElder]

I think that the good Professor Ira Chernus is confused about the Tea Party. First, his overall political paradigm is the old one-dimensional left-right model.

Second, he is confused about what the Tea Party really is. He seems to think that it is an unthinking populist movement rather than an unorganized convergence of diverse small-government types. There are organizations that have "Tea Party" in their name, but they are not the Tea Party. The Tea Party is comprised of the various groups that philosophically or viscerally opposed TARP, the stimulus, boundless QE, and ObamaCare. This includes conservatives, libertarians, and some anarchists. Their opposition to such government expansion may be rooted in different philosophies -- natural law, natural rights, utilitarian, NAP, Burkean conservatism, etc. -- or they might just feel that way. They disagree on all sorts of social issues, on the existing scope of the welfare state, and on American belligerence. They may actually loathe each other's ideas about such things. Since the Tea Party is so diverse, any analysis of its sympathizers sentiments on non-essential issues suggests that it is incoherent. It coheres only on the small-government theme. It does not lend itself to the left-right model.

The Hamilton quote is Hamilton's characterization of the the Jeffersonians.

[General Butt Naked]

This is not even good enough to be wrong. I don't even know where to start.

Jesus.

Oh, and was hamilton considered conservative? I would think that he's the father of modern big government liberalism(with a dash of the french revolution and a pinch of marxism).

[CatoTheElder]

Unlike most Americans, Hamilton was quite Burkean in his skepticism regarding the French Revolution.

It is one of the few issues where he was right and his opponents were wrong.

So, yeah, he was a big-government, Rockefeller-Republican-style conservative.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Uh-oh, looks like Matty's angling for a raise at Slate:

The recent strike of Bay Area Rapid Transit workers looking for a raise has prompted a fascinating window in the (often-dark) souls of privileged Bay Area high-tech workers. That, in turn, has prompted an outpouring of self-righteousness from East Coast writer types about the evils of the privileged Bay Area high-tech workers. But at the end of the day, a strike at BART or any other mass-transit agency isn't about privileged high-tech workers it's about the mass-transit system.

And here's how I think you should think about these cases. Imagine that you woke up one fine morning to find yourself as the head of your metro area's mass-transit agency. You're a bit confused, and then when you get to the office something even more confusing happens. Your assistant tells you that the agency's accountants have discovered a ton of extra money that was just randomly lying around in the broom closet. You need to decide what to do with it. Do you:

1. Pay your existing staff more?
2. Cut fares?
3. Hire more staff?

The economics and business correspondent evidently has no understanding of the difference between an increase in stock as opposed to an increase in flow.

[PD Scott]

Worse, I think he thinks businesses/agencies actually leave physical cash laying around in broom closets. Sure, with most people you'd realize it was a metaphor, but this is Little Matty we're talking about.

[Invisible Finger]

Apparently capital investments are out of the question to that idiot.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

There's a lot that is wrong with Yglesias' view of the world, most of it having to do with his loathing of the topic he is covering. I am truly baffled that a nationally syndicated magazine would hire as their business correspondent,

1) a Philosophy major, who
2) has worked at nothing but blogging and writing since graduation and
3) doesn't like business types,
4) doesn't hang out with business types,
5) doesn't run a business,
6) hasn't tried to start a business,
7) and who has never worked for a real business.

Only at Slate, would being retweeted by Paul Krugman and Ezra Klein be considered a reason to hire someone as their business correspondent.

[playa manhattan]

"in the (often-dark) souls of privileged Bay Area high-tech workers"

(often-dark) = libertarian?

What a dick.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Guess who said it?

yesterday Apple hit on the correct price?with Web-based software distribution, the marginal cost of shipping an additional copy of Mavericks is essentially $0, so the sale price should be $0.

No seriously, guess.

[Rich]

Kruggie?

[Andrew S.]

Hm. Somebody who thinks he knows a lot about economics, who actually knows nothing, but writes anyways. Yglesias?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Ding, ding. Your prize is a previously-owned Jezebel Gardens Penis Guy Trap -- use responsibly!

[Corning]

google is awesome...just cut and paste into a search and i got this:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/mon.....burger_bar

So gratz you are correct sir.

[trshmnstr]

"marginal cost of shipping an additional copy of Mavericks is essentially $0"

[citation needed]

[playa manhattan]

I didn't know Akamai gave away bandwidth for free...

[Corning]

I like how he waves away development costs as "sunk costs".

"Why bother to build Mavericks at all? It's obvious?building the OS upgrade is a sunk cost, an investment in the future of the Macintosh platform."

[The Immaculate Trouser]

When reading Yglesias, I am often left wondering whether his limited knowledge of economics and business lead him to write these things, or if instead his poor communication skills are responsible for him so badly mangling whatever point he's trying to make.

[Sidd Finch]

So all non-rivalrous goods should be free? If there's a more charitable interpretation, I sure don't see it.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Jezebel: Free birth control could save America $12.5 billion a year

Braying idiot Rush Limbaugh once said that taxpayer-funded birth control is akin to "paying women to have sex." I've talked to (and been angrily tweeted at by) dozens of conservatives who think the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate is AN OUTRAGE because ladies be needing to pay for they sex themselves. Problem is, in no draconian reimagining of the US Constitution must poor people earn a certain amount of money in order to be allowed to have sex. And because low income people will have sex regardless of whether they have access to birth control because they are humans, just like rich people, the public must either bear the cost of preventing pregnancy, bear the cost of unplanned pregnancy, or allow poor women to bleed and die in the street. Which one is the most pro-life and fiscally conservative?

Of course, this isn't to imply that assistance for low income mothers is a waste of money; just that empowering low income women to prevent unplanned pregnancies will benefit their families and the country's bottom line. There's nothing less pro-woman or pro-family than policies that severely limit women's reproductive options and then punishes them once their children are born.

So much contempt for individual responsibility.

[John]

So much contempt for humanity. They underlying assumption is that a poor child always costs society more than they are worth. You could also save the 12.5 billion dollars a year by just killing that many poor people.

[Metazoan]

Well, I can't imagine being willing to plan out someone's entire life at gunpoint unless I hated that person.

[Mad Scientist]

And because low income people will have sex regardless of whether they have access to birth control because they are humans, just like rich people, the public must either bear the cost of preventing pregnancy, bear the cost of unplanned pregnancy, or allow poor women to bleed and die in the street.

Because low income people will have sex the public must bear the cost... Funny how that sounds like a correlation, even though it isn't.

[John]

What cost? It is only cost if you assume poor kids are not worth the trouble.

[Rich]

low income people will have sex regardless of whether they have access to birth control because they are humans

***coughJapancough***

[Coeus]

I'm sorry, was the free birth control giveaway limited to poor women? Must have missed that memo.

[Invisible Finger]

Someday we'll hear of a warehouse full of free, unused birth control in Detroit.

[Heroic Mulatto]

And Progressive White women return to their Eugenicist movement roots.

"[W]e do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

--Margaret Sanger in a letter to Clarence Gamble (of Proctor and Gamble)

[Invisible Finger]

So much contempt for individual responsibility.

They want people to be empowered, but want to prevent them from actually having to make decisions.

Sounds like a typical proggie - loves poor people so much they don't want them to reproduce.

[Corning]

Who the fuck can't afford birth control?

[BuSab Agent]

This is what I wonder. I have always been able to find free condoms, even in horrible SoCon infested flyover country.

[Coeus]

Virtual sexual harassment.

Earlier this month, a version of Beyond: Two Souls, a new video game that stars the motion capture versions of Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, came under fire for featuring detailed, realistic nude depictions of Page's character. According to reports, the game allowed players to see the actress' naked body by shifting camera angles, due to either a glitch in the system or a debug by a developer or gamer.

While the regular version of the game wasn't meant to show Page fully naked, her nude body was completely designed, and all one had to do to see it was change the camera's direction. It's unknown if Page was aware of this prior to the images being posted online, or if the lawsuit ? assuming there is one ? is extremely recent or has been ongoing behind-the-scenes for weeks. Regardless of these factors, though, the real problem at hand is the issue of virtual sexual harassment. In an age of uber-realistic video games and technological innovations, can a person's motion captured likeness be violated?

[Coeus]

The answer is yes, and the repercussions of what that means are frightening. Sexual harassment is no longer limited to reality; virtual reality, an ever-growing field that's capable of featuring impressively high levels of detail, is now in the mix. People like Page who lend their likenesses to video game companies are now subject to the same type of issues that have long existed in the real world, including sexual harassment.

[Root Boy]

These people must never have seen celebrity porn fakes or cartoons of Pam Anderson. I guess it's fake compared to motion capture, but not much different in my mind.

[PapayaSF]

How is this essentially different from someone wanking over a picture? You can't "sexually harass" an image, still or moving, 2D or 3D.

[Tonio]

The scary implication is that you can sexually harass someone by whanking to a 2D still - publicity shot, bikini/underwear model, etc.

Thoughtcrime, straight up.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

I doubt the game developers meticulously scanned Ellen Page's naked body, so how is it any different than a body double being used?

[Corning]

I doubt the game developers meticulously scanned Ellen Page's naked body

You would be wrong.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Really? How did they do that?

[Corning]

They took pictures of her naked body....and payed her for it.

[Andrew S.]

You can think of that yourself. Slowly. Carefully.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

The Most Interesting Interview in the World: Esquire talks to Dos Equis spokesman Jonathan Goldsmith

ESQ: I bet it can also become burdensome to be so recognizable.

JG: Oh sure. Sure it does. Some guy in St. Louis followed me into the toilet, put a note over the stall: Mr. Goldsmith, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you please autograph this napkin? [Laughs] It was in a famous rib house. And yeah, there's a moral there: Never shake hands in the men's room. [Laughs]

ESQ: Have you ever wished you could stop being known as the Most Interesting Man in the World?

JG: Well, I'd rather be known as the Most Interesting Man than the Most Interesting Proctologist, sure. [Laughs]

ESQ: What about as pope? I mean, with your wanting to help the blind and the life saving?screw it: Would you ever want to be pope?

JG: Absolutely not. I don't need that kind of notoriety, thank you. [Laughs] And I don't want to ride around in a bulletproof donkey cart. No, no. [Laughs] And besides, I enjoy women too much.,

Seems like a fun guy.

[Sidd Finch]

The ridiculousness of Obamacare summarized in two tweets.

soncharm ?@soncharm 54m

What those people have, that Obamacare enabled, is a subsidy. i.e., government aid. i.e., welfare. What they have 'signed up for' is welfare

streetwiseprof ?@streetwiseprof 50m

@soncharm Real exchanges=double auctions. 2-sided markets. Bids & asks. http://Healthcare.gov & state "exchanges"=eBay designed by a moron.

[Coeus]

Proggies love victim blaming.

A Republican lawmaker who advocates responsible gun ownership had a rifle stolen from her home last week.

Police said an AR-15 rifle was among items stolen Oct. 15 from the unlocked garage of U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) after some family members went target shooting.

Officers said the rifle, which belongs to Ellmers' college-age son, was leaned against a gun safe and the garage door left unlocked.

[Coeus]

Bethany Wade ? 4 hours ago ?
Another 'responsible' gun owner, so I guess the world will be needing a 'good man with a gun' to counter the criminal that is now armed with an assault, (yes, I know that gun-nuts will say it isn't an assault rifle it is just another semi-automatic) rifle that with the right clip, can blast an entire school away in just a few minutes.

14 1 ?Reply?Share ?
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Cthulhu0818 Bethany Wade ? 3 hours ago
When the makers and marketers of the weapons call them "Assault Rifles", they're assault rifles:

debunking-the-conservative-myth-on-assault-rifles
1 ?Reply?Share ?
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Libertas Bethany Wade ? 3 hours ago
The right clip? You don't have a clue.
9 ?Reply?Share ?
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Bethany Wade Libertas ? 3 hours ago
So inform all of us, regal us with your knowledge.
1 ?Reply?Share ?
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smallbear Libertas ? 3 hours ago
You sure as hell don't.
4 ?Reply?Share ?
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ProChoiceGrandma Bethany Wade ? 4 hours ago
Don't just show a picture, you need to show this video of an AR-15 that CAN rapid fire multiple rounds like a machine gun. It's called "bump-firing":

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

I won't tolerate the gun nuts who claim semi-automatics are not assault weapons.
8 1 ?Reply?Share ?
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scubydoo ProChoiceGrandma ? 2 hours ago
Especially the AR-15 (AR stands for Assault Rifle)!!
1 ?Reply?Share ?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I guess the world will be needing a 'good man with a gun' to counter the criminal that is now armed with an assault, (yes, I know that gun-nuts will say it isn't an assault rifle it is just another semi-automatic) rifle that with the right clip, can blast an entire school away in just a few minutes.

...isn't this the viewpoint of any leftist who thinks that the police (i.e., men with guns) can defend against such?

[Coeus]

I am just frankly amazed. I have been told, by numerous authorities, that rape is the only crime where people blame the victim. Yet there are hundreds in the comments, and apparently even a law in SC that punishes the victim. Someone should tell the feminists. I'm sure they'll change their rhetoric promptly.

[Boisfeuras]

Especially the AR-15 (AR stands for Assault Rifle)!!

Did anyone think to tell Eugene Stoner of ArmaLite, Inc.?

[CatoTheElder]

If that's true than the AR-30 is a bolt-action assault rifle.

[sloopyinca]

What's the best way to teach young children about gun safety and trusting the police?

Why, have a cop come to their school for "red ribbon week" and shoot his pistol, injuring some of them.

Idiots.

[playa manhattan]

You should email that to Drudge. It deservers far more publicity than the local section of the LA Times.

[playa manhattan]

Scratch that. I found the tip submission page and passed the link along.

[sloopyinca]

Yeah, I sent it in anyway, so I get the fucking credit if they post it, man!

[sloopyinca]

Like Drudge is gonna listen to little old me.

[Coeus]

That seat was asking for it...

The BART operator testified that when she looked back to see if it was safe to close the doors, she noticed Bailey on his knees, thrusting his hips into his BART seat.

Bailey, who appeared not to notice the operator, continued to rub against the seat until the train reached ... the Civic Center Station. He reportedly ran off the train, then rushed back on board just before the doors closed. Bailey walked back to his same preferred seat, where he gyrated on his stomach while his feet dangled into the aisle, according to the Public Defender's Office.

The operator testified that Bailey then rolled from his belly to his side and appeared to be masturbating and smoking crack cocaine simultaneously. She called dispatch who then alerted BART police of the one-man love fest.

Presumably satisfied by his ride, Bailey exited the train at the next stop, which was the Powell Street Station. Perhaps not feeling quite done, he reportedly walked up to the train operator's window, apologized for smoking on the train, and begged to let him back on BART. As he begged, Bailey's penis was partially exposed beneath his shirt, the operator said.

[BuSab Agent]

Some people really do love trains.

[Tonio]

Boo!

[Winston]

64 percent think another government shutdown is likely in January. The majority also want the budget to cut spending.

There's no sugarcoating it: the public has views that are not completely compatible.

[Winston]

There's no sugarcoating it: You Know Who Else was let down by Cleveland browns?

[Killazontherun]

Now that's the harshest case of a lonely, futile existence I have ever seen. Eight years, no one even noticed?

http://www.france24.com/en/201.....near-paris

[sloopyinca]

Looks like Property Wars may have finally found a way to get viewers to actually give a fuck.

[sloopyinca]

Oh, and insert obligatory "Frenchmen are so stinky they can't even smell the rotting corpse of their neighbor" comment here.

[JeremyR]

It is kinda true, though.

[Michael Price]

"On the European front, the NSA is denying reports it collected phone data information from the French, "
Why bother? It's not like anyone sane will believe them. Of course if the French hadn't deliberately set up the crypto on their phone system to be weak the NSA might have actually had a problem bugging them.