A.M. Links: Obama Tells NSA To Curtail Spying, Sebelius To Testify Before Congress, GM Bailout Cost $9.8 Billion

Credit: White House

• President Obama ordered the National Security Administration to curtail eavesdropping on the United Nations headquarters in New York. German officials arrive at the White House today to deal with claims that the NSA monitored Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone. Bipartisan legislation was introduced yesterday to end the NSA's bulk meta-data collection.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will testify on Obamacare before the House Energy and Commerce Committee later today. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) acknowledged yesterday that Democrats knew all along that some patients would lose their health insurance plans under the law.
• The U.S. Treasury's bailout fund has lost about $9.7 billion on its rescue of General Motors Co., a report to Congress said. 
• Most currencies are rallying against the U.S. dollar. Recent Commitment of Traders data shows speculators net short the U.S. dollar for the first time since early this year.
• Video game maker Nintendo saw an $80 million loss in the latest quarter as sales of its Wii U game console continued to be eroded by a shift to gaming on smartphones and tablets.
• Chinese police say the car that crashed in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Monday was a carefully planned terrorist attack.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

German officials arrive at the White House today to deal with claims that the NSA monitored Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone.

She mobilized her Whinemacht.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

She struck with her blitzgejammer.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

FBI to Lavabit founder: 'Do you really think users trust you over us?'
...Levison said he was willing to provide the FBI limited access to what they wanted, but the bureau told him that was not sufficient, insisting on full access.

He recalls lead prosecutor Jim Trump asking, "Do you really think users trust you over us?" Levison answered in the affirmative and Trump replied that Levison was "lucky" he had not already been arrested.

"I was outnumbered eight to one," said Levison speaking of his interaction with federal agents. "They were taking offense that I was saying these things. They didn't seem to understand at all what they were doing."

Levison said the FBI responded to concerns about overreach by saying, basically, "Don't worry. We're the federal government. We wouldn't do that."...

[Tonio]

Yo, FBI, I trust Levison more than you. HTH. -Your Employer

[robc]

Ditto.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

FBI: I trust him more than I trust you. Also, if I don't trust him, I don't have to deal with him. I'm stuck with authoritarian pricks.

[The DerpRider]

There is no sugarcoating it. I would trust a guy who's first name I automatically assume is Barry to the FBI.

[CatoTheElder]

Trust the FBI more than a random US business? Tough decision, but only because entities like FBI, DoJ, NSA, US Treasury etc. routinely coerces US businesses to do their bidding. But Levison has demonstrated his sterling integrity, and is certainly more trustworthy.

Levison says he was outnumbered 8:1. Never talk to the cops without a lawyer who advises you to never talk to the cops.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

He probably couldn't have a lawyer present due to the insane terms of the Patriot Act.

[Suthenboy]

By insane I think you mean illegal.

[Derpetologist]

For sheer stomach-turning gall, I'm still going with the ATF. When the compound was burning at Waco, they hoisted their flag as though they had won a great victory:

http://platedlizard.blogspot.c.....llage.html

[Brett L]

Lavabit founder: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *cough**cough**gasp* AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

[Juice]

He should tell the FBI to start up a "secure" email service, advertise that it's run by the FBI, and see how many people sign up.

[Lord Humungus]

The GOP's budding libertarian problem

Libertarians ? who account for about 10 percent of the population ? are not a particularly diverse group. The survey, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that they are almost all white (94 percent) and mostly male (68 percent), with an average age of 44 ? three years younger than your average Tea Partier.

But those young, white males have a variety of political allegiances, with less than half of them identifying as Republican.

Those independent libertarians usually swing right in elections, meaning the GOP can usually count on their support. But at least one ongoing campaign shows that the libertarian wing of the party may be chafing at the dominance of the mother ship.

[wareagle]

damn those libertarians and their noticing that the party preaching limited govt never bothers to actually practice it.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

You've proved your point by voting for the GOPer and getting nothing in return, I guess.

POLL: VA gov race, McAuliffe 45, Cuccinelli 41, Sarvis 9. OK, Libertarians you proved your point, you're the kingmakers here. Now suck it up and prevent disaster. Hold your nose and break for Cuccinelli and finish it.

[Rasilio]

The only problem is it is a massive assumption that Savaris's support is not made up at least 1/3rd of voters who are pro drug, pro abortion, and pro gay marriage and who if forced to choose between them would take McAuliffe.

That would have the race breaking McAuliffe 48% Cuccinelli 47% at best

[Ted S.]

Instant runoff voting, baby!

(Of course, having bunches of elections on one day is a problem with a more complex system like IRV.)

[robc]

No it isnt.

One way to do true IRV is to only allow 1st and 2nd choice, like if it was a delayed runoff. Make sure your 2nd choice is one of the "top two" finishers.

This would only ever be an issue if there were 4+ people on the ballot and 3 of them were polling close to each other (and your first choice wasnt one of the 3).

[CE]

How about no voting? I'm tired of being ruled by someone just because 45% of the voters pick him or her.

[Rhywun]

they are almost all white (94 percent) and mostly male (68 percent), with an average age of 44

Spooky - they even got my age right. I feel so average now.

[Bobarian]

I'm older than that, so I guess I'm supposed to be a Tea Partier now?

That how statistics work, right?

[robc]

Ditto.

I think Im more than 68% male though.

94% white is pretty damn close if the rumors about my great-great grandmother are true.

[CE]

they are almost all white (94 percent) and mostly male (68 percent), with an average age of 44

No wonder I'm a libertarian. 3 for 3.

[Snark Plissken]

Chinese police say the car that crashed in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Monday was a carefully planned terrorist attack.

Ha ha, those silly Chinese and their knee-jerk accusations of terrorism.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I remember when civilians used to be able to stop tanks at Tiananmen Square.

[Ted S.]

China blocks portion of NHK (Japan) broadcast discussing the incident

[db]

I was at Tiananmen Square last Monday (or maybe Sunday). It was closed to pedestrians due to an upcoming ceremony to raise the national flag oflver the square. I think the flagpole was new, as I don't remember it being there the last time I visited.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Most currencies are rallying against the U.S. dollar.

And rocking Blur's "Song 2" while they do it.

[Bee Tagger]

The smart countries will use towels as currency so that citizens can wave them in an effort to keep the rally going.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Never leave home without it.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Butthurt liberals are butthurt:

LA Times front page anti-ObamaCare propaganda
...Pam Kehaly, president of Anthem Blue Cross in California, said she received a recent letter from a young woman complaining about a 50% rate hike related to the healthcare law.
"She said, 'I was all for Obamacare until I found out I was paying for it,'" Kehaly said...

[Tonio]

Nice.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Wow, I braved the Kos to see the butthurt.

You can almost see the author performing mental gymnastics and feel the repression and denial as a palpable force in this article.

[Restoras]

They love wealth redistribution until the jackboots come for theirs. The cognitive dissonance is delicious.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

From the Kos comments:

"Still wrong - let's deal in the real world (3+ / 0-)

It's simply not realistic to gamble with health costs.

Based on your medical history, you visit a doctor twice a year at $150 per visit.

So, because it hasn't happened before it won't happen in the future? That's just stupid. It doesn't add up because there is no math to back it up. It's just a warm and fuzzy fantasy.

I've seen people try that approach with plans and they wind up getting burned. That's the real world. Not the fantasy "math based" world.

That "it can't happen to me" lures in the suckers all the time.

It's lured you in too.

by Capt Crunch"

Therein lies the problem. These people are so delusional they think they "live in the real world" a term Tony uses all the time.

Notice the guy trying to knock sense into those rubes getting rocked with astoundingly retarded rebuttals.

You can't help these people and sadly, more and more legislation is being put in place to support idiots. Apparently, legislating for stupid is possible.

Moreover, it just can't be all these people now complaining about higher premiums were that ignorant about the cost of LIFE. Nothing is FREE. Nothing.

They don't seem to grasp insurance is based on figures compiled actuaries - those are not fantasy numbers. Those are the real, objective figures.

It's crazy how they spin their retardation.

[Tonio]

Thanks for that. Do please learn to use basic HTML tags so you can italicize or block quote lengthy passages.

[Suthenboy]

"She said, 'I was all for Obamacare until I found out I was paying for it,"

HaHaHa. Fuck you and your kind lady. You are a goddamn fucking thief and you deserve to have obamacare fuck you up the ass and break it off. Really, fuck you.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Why don't you tell us how you really feel, Suthen? 😛

[mr simple]

Wow. That's awesome. I love the completely fallacious arguments. Also,

And they need regular care just as any other age group does.
It's not unfortunate that they are required to be covered comprehensively - it's good for them and good for everybody.

Your low premium, catastrophic coverage is just a scam and is bad for society.

[Brett L]

Actually, I don't. I got the recommended TDaP booster shot for parents of newborns. Hadn't been to the doctor in 4 years (34 and healthy), the nurse gave me the big "Meh", when I asked if I needed a physical. It worked just fine to go to the walkin clinic and pay cash when I got an ear infection or something, about once every 18 months. Fuck them right in their knowitall mouths.

[robc]

I havent been to a doctor (except for the eye doctor) in nearly 20 years.

I really do need to get the "you turned 40" check up. Im only 4 years behind schedule.

[Mr. Weebles]

Prepare your butthole, friend.

[CE]

You can wait til you're 50.

[Mr. Weebles]

But why wait??

Not every day you get someone to ram a finger up your leather cheerio.

[mr simple]

Yes, it's a pretty idiotic line of thinking. I've been to a doctor exactly twice in the last 10 years: once for spraining my knee when I thought I might have torn something and the doctor told me to stop being a pussy and exercise more, and the other when I couldn't get allergy meds because of gov regs and caught bronchitis. These are people who think it's great that everyone can go to a doctor whenever they get the sniffles. They don't understand how that causes rates to go up and actually sick people to have to wait to see a doctor.

[Spoonman.]

I got the TDaP and flu at Costco. Cost me $65 or so.

Bully the grandparents of the baby into getting the shots, too.

[Brett L]

I got the TDaP and flu at Costco. Cost me $65 or so.

Apparently it is illegal for TDaP to be administered in FL without the "supervision" of an MD.

[Brett L]

And yes, all the grandparents understand that they can get their shots or stay home, and we will respect their decision either way. Her dad will whine, but he'll do it.

[CE]

Lots of people catch the flu at Costco. That's one reason I don't shop there.

[Juice]

She had coverage for $98 a month. Now it's going to skyrocket to $238 a month. OMG! What will she do? Hey... wait a minute. Ninety eight dollars a month? That's a scam insurance policy. A con. Something meant only for the dumbest of the dumb.

Said without a hint of evidence. The writer has no idea what her policy covered. Does he think California didn't enforce minimum standards so the feds had to come in and save her from a scam? And OMG! doubling her premium! What will she do? I dunno, probably drop coverage and pay the fine?

[robc]

$98 sounds reasonable if she is young. My current plan is $157 and Im in my 40s.

Im assuming her plan doesnt cover pregnancy, which is why its going to skyrocket now.

Its not at all a scam. $2500 deductible, $2500 max out-of-pocket, HSA.

[Juice]

I had $2700 ded $5750 OOP cap HSA with cheap copays. I never used it ever and that's probably why my premium was under $90 a month. Alas, no longer. If I want a similar plan I'm going to have to shell out north of $220 a month. I can get an even worse plan (that couldn't possibly be a scam) for a mere $165 a month. That's the lowest bronze plan with a $6000 deductible. These people either don't know wtf they're talking about or they're lying.

[Brett L]

That's about what I had only with the deductible at $5000, and I think there may have been a $10k OOP Max if I got hospitalized and had surgery and an MRI by someone who didn't do BCBS. I was paying $250/quarter in 2007 when I went on it, $280/quarter when PPACA passed and $375/quarter in 2012 when I went off it. And I loved it.

[MikeP]

Governor Tarkin, should you have ordered an evacuation, even in your moment of triumph?

[Lord Humungus]

Yellen feared housing bust but did not raise public alarm

Her staff alerted her that banks were overinvesting in speculative commercial real estate at a time when housing prices in the region were ballooning.

But as chief regulator in the Federal Reserve's largest district, Yellen conveyed two starkly different messages.

In public remarks across the Western region's nine states, she downplayed risks that were building in the financial sector, reporting positive economic signs even as warning signals began to emerge.

Behind the scenes at the Fed, she contends that she and her staff were "pleading with Washington" to issue supervisory guidance that would enable bank examiners to take a tougher line on risky real estate lending.

[trshmnstr]

Yes, and I predicted rain for tomorrow. My forecast says sun, but secretly I think it's going to rain.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

She obviously subscribes to the theory that it's the one tells the emperor he has no clothes that gets blamed for the nakedness.

[CatoTheElder]

Peter Schiff, who actually did predict the bust before it actually happened and was widely ridiculed for it, debunks recent stories that claim Yellen's prescience regarding housing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfLlF1vtit8

Where was Yellen, for example, when a clique of economically literate Republicans was trying to rein in the GSEs in 2003? In 2005?

She was a Fannie Mae cheerleader. After the earliest cracks in the mortgage markets appeared in mid-2007, here's what she had to say: "I do not consider it very likely that developments relating to subprime mortgages will have a big effect on overall U.S. economy performance." She's also quite famous for her denial that the CRA had anything to do with the meltdown.

What we are seeing here is a coordinated media effort to rewrite history to support Obama's woman.

[Rich]

Sebelius will testify on Obamacare

The White Witch is making her grand entrance now.

Should be fun viewing.

[Rich]

Modulo Henry Waxman.

[Snark Plissken]

And the media is addicted to Turkish Delight.

[AuH20]

So, was that stuff really supposed to be Chocolate, or was it Lewis making a heroin/opium reference?

[Brett L]

You've never had Turkish Delight? Its like powdered-sugar dusted, square jellybean insides with no shell.

[freeforall232]

You need to get some of these:

http://www.libertyorchards.com.....nd_Cotlets

[Lord Humungus]

Almanian is at home, going through his selection of scented lubricants.

[Rich]

Wow! She can sling the tech jargon!

[Ted S.]

TEAM RED! vs. TEAM BLUE! talking points is fun viewing?

[Rich]

You point is well taken. The adherence to talking points is blatant and sickening.

However, emotions are running high and there will be some interesting slip-ups.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What difference does it make at this point?

It's law now. Suck on it.

[Bee Tagger]

its Wii U game console continued to be eroded by a shift to gaming on smartphones...

Please tell me they've banned Duck Hunt in public.

[Ted S.]

How much of that smartphone gaming is women playing Candy Crush Saga or other similar games?

[Ska]

I'm slightly embarrassed when I'm on the train playing old FF or ChronoTrigger on my phone, but then I see how many people play Candy Crush.

[Ted S.]

The two games I play most are Go and Scrabble, but then I realize I'm weird compared to the rest of you.

[Rasilio]

Wordly, Scramble, Dice with Buddies, and What's The Phrase here

[Citizen Nothing]

Weird is relative. Stay strong, young Ted S.

[Ska]

I played go to the point where I was a weak 18 kyu. Finding a tabletop game was hard enough, and playing on KGS or dragonserver just wasn't satisfying for me.

[CE]

Scrabble rocks. I broke 600 for the first time this year.

[Lord Humungus]

I'm a Solitaire and Canfield junky. That's about the only entertainment use my smartphone gets.

[Atanarjuat]

I love when I'm at the college library, working on homework and waiting for a computer, which are all in use, and I see some jackass using one to play Bejeweled on Facebook.

[Tonio]

I thought that everyone had laptops or tablets these days.

[Brett L]

Which school?

[Atanarjuat]

TCC.

I have a netbook, but I'm not bringing it to school where it will get damaged or stolen (I've had cash disappear out of my backpack already) when they have 100's of desktops there. Also I wouldn't be able to print.

[Auric Demonocles]

For the children.

[Fatty Bolger]

Considering that their portable continues to outsell all consoles, I doubt it's the shift to smartphones that is hurting them with the Wii U.

[Rhywun]

I'm a huge fan of some of their games (Zelda, Metroid, etc.) but as long as they keep f*****g around with gimmicky controllers, I'm out.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Young Browns fan in training to be let down repeatedly

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The 2012 NFL Draft Was A Franchise-Altering Disaster For The Cleveland Browns

[Certified Public Asskicker]

If you trade 4 picks in order to move up one spot, you deserve to suck.

[Ted S.]

The trade Atlanta made to draft Julio Jones isn't working out either. They took entirely the wrong lesson from the playoff loss to the Packers.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Atlanta jumped from the bottom of round one to the top. The Browns moved from pick 4 to pick 3.

[Auric Demonocles]

I think the RG3 deal is going to long term be bad for the Redskins too. Going two straight years without a first round pick, as well as losing a second rounder?

[KDN]

It's a risk you have to run for a franchise QB. With the current structure of the league (rules and CBA), hitting on a franchise QB at the beginning of the first round is the biggest advantage a team can have. The Colts essentially have $15m in extra cap room by being able to play a top tier QB and pay him like a Guard.

[Ted S.]

Seattle and SF are going to be in a pickle when it comes time for Wilson's and Kaepernick's next contracts.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

It's interesting (hindsight and all that), but would they have been better off not trading to move up and still drafting Cousins in the 4th? Build around him with all the picks you didn't give away?

[Rasilio]

Hard to say, in limited playing time Cousins certainly has looked much better than a 4th round pick. On the otherhand Flynn and Cassel are perfect examples of guys who look like franchise QB's in limited playing time but turned out to be anything but.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Although he sucked last weekend when he came into the Broncos game.

BUT, in my alternate scenario, perhaps Cousins is throwing to Blackmon?

[KDN]

That's essentially what the Jets are trying with Smith. But if you are sure the guy is a once-a-decade talent and you don't have trust in your staff to groom a more developmental prospect (and honestly, does Shanahan really deserve the benefit of the doubt there? Two decent years of decent Brian Griese don't really do it for me) then it's not a bad gamble.

[Raven Nation]

Had a friend back in the 90s who was a Cowboys fan and he had a friend who was a Vikings fan. Cowboys fan told me the Vikings fan told him one day that Vikings fans loved watching the Cowboys play because they got to see all the players they would have had had they not traded draft picks to get Herschel Walker.

[Bobarian]

Herschel Walker would have worked better if the Viqueens had used him properly.

And that trade has nothing on Mike Ditka's (Da Coach) decision to destroy New Orleans worse than Katrina to get Ricky Williams.

[robc]

Except the Cowboys never used a single one of the picks they got for Walker.

They traded every single one of those picks away.

The guys the Cowboys had where the guys they got for trading the Walker picks.

[Raven Nation]

Looked this up on Wikipedia for the details. In some cases they traded the MN picks in the same draft to move up. So, you are definitely correct but MN could have used picks to get same or similar players. There is less detail on some of the picks but it appears that Kevin Smith & Darren Woodson were drafted with the straight MN trade picks.

[CE]

Herschel Walker was worth it. He should have been in the Pro Football Hall of Fame long ago. Somehow the NFL thinks "pro football" excludes the USFL.

[Citizen Nothing]

You know what's beautiful at this moment? Being a Bengals fan in a city that's 70 percent Browns fans.

[KDN]

I was really impressed on Sunday. The Bengals showed up and the Jets didn't, but being able to manhandle a great front seven like that, even on its worst day, is quite a feat. I've never been a huge Dalton fan, but with that protection and the talent around him there's no reason why you can't win with him. I think they're a year away from being on the SB short list, but it'll be a fun ride if they get into the playoffs as hot as they are now.

[Auric Demonocles]

Is there any way the Bengals don't get into the playoffs?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I am holding out hope that the Ravens can still sweep them, but even if they win the division I would have to assume Cinci still gets the wildcard.

[Raven Nation]

Two and a half game lead half-way thru the season? Hard to see how they would miss the playoffs. But..."the Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant."

[KDN]

Bad sentence rewrite time!

it'll be a fun ride if they are as hot when they get into the playoffs as they are now.

[Auric Demonocles]

Yes, that seems like a much more reasonable question.

[sloopyinca]

Hey, CN. Are you gonna be out here between the BigTen Championship game and either the Rose Bowl or NCG to do a story?

Or are you coming to the game?

[Citizen Nothing]

Sloop -- I'm planning a visit to the bowl site right after the championship game, so sometime during the week of the 10th. Obviously I'm hoping for Pasadena. Looking for a second focused "cover story" when I'm out there.
Channel Islands?
(And no, I don't ever get to go to the game itself. Waaaaa!)

[CE]

At least they'll get a very late first round pick next year from the Colts in exchange for Richardson.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) acknowledged yesterday that Democrats knew all along that some patients would lose their health insurance plans under the law.

NOTE: The term Democrats in Congressman Hoyer's statement is not meant in any way to include President Barack Obama.

[hamilton]

One does not criticize the Prophet.

[DontShootMe]

You know who else can't criticize their Prophet?

[Ted S.]

Dead people?

[trshmnstr]

Fans of Pastor Maldano?

[Bobarian]

Jooz, heretics, apostates, christians, womenz, Shias, Sunnis, Salman Rushdie, and according to Comedy Central, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

[CE]

Mormons?

[Lord Humungus]

The In-Depth Science of Why a Beer Bottle Erupts When You Whack It

"Beer tapping" is the kind of jerky thing that jerks do at bars. They walk up to you?you with your nice, cold bottle of beer, the one you've been looking forward to all day while you were working at your hard, stressful job?and they thump their bottle down on yours. Your beer erupts in a foamy mess. You can try to catch some of that quickly disappearing beer, if you want. But, really, it's gone.

But then, when you're done being annoyed, you think: Why did my beer do that?

The answer, it turns out, is super complicated, and has to do with the physics of small bubbles and the power of a reflecting pressure front.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

de bubbles

[Raven Nation]

"But then, when you're done being annoyed, you think: Why did my beer do that?"

Really. How much later in the evening would you actually have that thought?

[Generic Stranger]

They walk up to you?you with your nice, cold bottle of beer, the one you've been looking forward to all day while you were working at your hard, stressful job?and they thump their bottle down on yours. Your beer erupts in a foamy mess.

Do people actually do that? Seems like a good way to get a broken beer bottle stabbed into your jugular by a pissed off drunk.

[Brett L]

Well, my friends, I just punch in the nuts. No hard feelings.

[R C Dean]

But then, when you're done being annoyed, you think: Why did my beer do that How do I get that fucker's bloodstains out of my good shirt?

[Raven Nation]

Winner!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Bill Belichick hates fun, loves Halloween.

When did he get a hot wife?

[Auric Demonocles]

I think he wore the same costume about 3 years ago.

That baby Belichick is adorable.

[hamilton]

Girlfriend, not wife. I think that's what they dressed up as for the Randy Moss-driven halloween party like 4 years' back.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Ah, she calls herself Ms. Belichick. I guess I should have noticed the missing r.

And that makes sense. He will only tolerate Halloween if he is allowed to wear his favorite pirate costume.

[Ted S.]

I'm sure Belichick finds fucking with the media to be loads of fun.

[Bee Tagger]

The U.S. Treasury's bailout fund has lost about $9.7 billion on its rescue of General Motors Co., a report to Congress said.

They should publish that report in the Washington Times so that Obama can be in the loop.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

You don't understand. I am sure the plug will be by soon to tell you why you are wrong.

[wareagle]

Obama's not going to read the Times. WaPo maybe. See, it's not considered news till the friendlies do a story on it.

[font_of_stupidity]

+1 approved source

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

FAUX NEWS FAKE SCANDAL TEATHUGLICAN LIES

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

What difference at this point, does it make?

[Derpetologist]

Government departments renamed honestly:

http://platedlizard.blogspot.c.....estly.html

[Atanarjuat]

Housing and Urban DevelopmentSlum and Ghetto Creation

I appreciate the cut of your, uh, whatever. That's pretty catchy.

[Tonio]

+1 Blogwhore (not hating, just couldn't resist)

[Derpetologist]

Neither can I.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

The NRC/government in general fucks the nuclear industry so hard and so often that a Department of Nuclear only slightly offsets that damage.

The nuclear industry would be much better off if the department of energy fucked off and the NRC stopped destroying the industry.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Bipartisan legislation was introduced yesterday to end the NSA's bulk meta-data collection.

Which will end up somehow expanding the NSA's bulk meta-data collection to legally include content recording. Don't trust Leahy.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama administration warned about health care website

The Obama administration was given stark warnings just one month before launch that the federal healthcare site was not ready to go live, according to a confidential report obtained by CNN.

The caution, from the main contractor CGI, warned of a number of open risks and issues for the HealthCare.gov web site even as company executives were testifying publicly that the project had achieved key milestones.

[Marshall Gill]

What is fascinating is how in the hell CGI, a Canadian company with a record of failure got the contract in the first place. Ok, not really fascinating, simply more business as usual for this administration.

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....mark-steyn

[Tonio]

Ah, but since they are a Canuckistani outfit they are somewhat beyond the reach of the US Govt. I imagine that a US-based firm would be less likely to spill the beans.

[CatoTheElder]

Hope'n'Change?

Sebelius hoped that the Healthcare.gov project would change CGI's track record of failure because CGI was run by a friend of Michele Obama.

It's all part of the trademark Obama audacity of hope.

[Rhywun]

The Obama administration was given stark warnings

What does this even mean? Some flunky got a memo and tossed it out? Or that it reached the One's desk...?

[VG Zaytsev]

It got to Sebelius's desk and she ignored it.

[VG Zaytsev]

It got to Sebelius's desk and she ignored it.

[VG Zaytsev]

It got to Sebelius's desk and she ignored it.

[robc]

Like Peter she denied it 3 times?

[Generic Stranger]

The squirrels are upping their game and getting out of bed earlier.

[sarcasmic]

We are biologically programmed to take pleasure in the pain of those we envy, shows study into Schadenfreude

Princeton University studied the emotion known as 'Schadenfreude'
The study was inspired by sports fans reveling in rivals' misfortunes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....-them.html

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I don't think it's limited to those we envy.

[Raven Nation]

No kidding. I don't think I've ever directed schadenfreude toward someone I envy. Now, someone I despise is a whole other issue. In a sense, it's like the old concept of "getting your comeuppance."

[Rich]

In the latest move to snuff out smoking in New York, the City Council could vote Wednesday to bar anyone under the age of 21 from buying cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

"Snuff out smoking" sounds like a good slogan for dip.

[Auric Demonocles]

Would that stand up to constitutional scrutiny? I wouldn't think it would (agism), but considering that states "get" to set the drinking age at 21...

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

prohibition always works, everytime.

[AuH20]

And a lucrative new black market opens up to move in on!

[AuH20]

Quick question: When I become the cigarette king of New York, with my cigarette speak easies and such, which kind of hat shout I wear: the Homburg or the Fedora?

[Swiss Servator, Bow to Bern!]

Homburg, FTW!

[PD Scott]

I'd say Homburg. Fedoras are for foot soldiers. You want to be the king, wear a Homburg.

[Marshall Gill]

Where in the fuck are we?! A top hat, of course.

[sarcasmic]

English teacher, 34, arrested for having sex with 17-year-old student who was able to accurately describe her tattoos to police

Brianne Altice, 34, is a teacher at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah
She is in custody as police investigate two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor

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

[wareagle]

a 17 year old is a minor?

[SugarFree]

Wiki: "The age of consent in Utah is 18. However, it is legal for minors aged 16 and 17 to engage in sexual activity with partners less than 10 years older."

[wareagle]

rules so nonsensical that only govt could create them.

[Zeb]

That one is a bit arbitrary, but has some sense to it. It eliminates the possibility of the awful situations where someone gets charged with rape for being with someone a few years younger.

[John]

I really think this is happening more women to boys than it used to. Men have always found teenage girls attractive. But older women, because they have different criteria for attractiveness than men, generally haven't.

I wonder if the feminist drumbeat of "rape culture" and general disdain for masculinity has changed what women want at least at the margins. Before, a woman wasn't likely to be attracted to a teenage boy because women liked power, masculinity and confidence, which teenage boys don't have quite as much as older men do. No, those things are considered dangerous and wrong so some women at least find teenage boys more attractive.

Maybe I am reaching here. But I just can't imagine any of the hot 20 something high school teachers I had actually going for even the best looking and most mature and sophisticated of my peers back then. The idea of a hot no kidding adult woman actually going for a teenage guy, while great fodder for movies and fantasies, was really pretty far fetched. Now? Not so much it seems.

[sarcasmic]

I figure the stuff has always been happening. It's just that with social media people are more likely to get caught, and with the 24hr news cycle we're more likely to hear about it.

Stories that were once just local or kept under wraps are now international headlines.

[John]

I think there is some of that. But not that much. Women don't go for the same things as men, or at least they didn't used to. And to the extent it did happen, it was more just the one off, "oh hell lets screw" kind of thing rather than ongoing relationships like these cases seem to involve.

[Bobarian]

^^This!

It's just like 'mass shootings' and omigod 'assault weaponz' reporting.

[robc]

I agree with sarcasmic.

I knew of a few instances of it occurring back in my youth.

One wasnt exactly 34/17, more like 34/19, as it was a guy I knew in college (and she may have been younger than 34, but was in her 30s).

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I'm only 27, but when I was of that age I really did not see it either. Honestly, it doesn't make sense to me for an attractive 20 something woman to screw a young inexperienced student. I somewhat understand the male teacher going for the girls but still not really because, even to me at my age, highschool girls look like children and are mostly juvenile, mentally.

[sarcasmic]

Now that I think about it, in high school I did befriend a guy who carried around in his wallet a newspaper clipping of a story about an older woman being busted for getting a teenage boy to move in with her for a sexual relationship. The boy of course was him. But it wasn't like national news or in a foreign tabloid. Just a story in the back of the local paper.

[John]

For men it is a straight up lust issue. Teenage girls are beautiful and thus tempting to men. But women have more complex sex drives and go for more than just physical beauty. I think a woman that goes for a teenage boy does so because he is easy to control and dominate and thus less of a threat than an adult.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I got it, only because my high school had two or three scandals.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

My high school had the male teacher scandal, but no female teacher scandals.. which is too bad.

[Zeb]

That seems plausible, but it also may still be very rare, but the DM reports every single case that happens in the US. And, as sarcasmic points out, they are probably a lot more likely to get caught now from indiscreet social media postings.

[Rasilio]

"I wonder if the feminist drumbeat of "rape culture" and general disdain for masculinity has changed what women want at least at the margins."

No, I thing it is the fact that women are not financially independent and our modern civilized society has removed the need to have a strong man to physically protect you (violence against strangers is relatively rare and the police offer the illusion of protection). This allows women to select sexual partners based on other criteria than those traditionally used and on the margins has allowed them to become more attracted to sexual partners who are less masculine but still "good looking" by virtue of being younger.

[John]

I don't buy that. Just because women don't need security as much doesn't mean they all of the sudden started thinking like men. Women clearly don't pick on pure looks the way men do. So whatever is going on here, if anything, is not that.

[Zeb]

Or it could be that it is still a fairly rare thing. I'm sure there have always been a decent number of women who prefer very young men. No general change in preferences is required.

Also, the Daily Mail's obsession with making Americans look ridiculous is not a very good basis for defining broad social trends.

[Rasilio]

"Women clearly don't pick on pure looks the way men do"

The majority of them, of course they don't but as you said a small change at the margin would have a huge impact on the frequency of these types of relationships.

The combination of youthful good looks, vulnerability, and being a blank slate to be groomed into her image of a man in the way a grown man never could be would always be attractive to a large range of women. The problem is historically the reality of their situations would have prevented them from acting on those impulses very often. Today the physical and financial security needs previously supplied by a husband are already met and so on the margin more women will act on those impulses.

It should also be noted that in the past this was not exactly unheard of either

[Steve G]

OMG, they are so rarely unattractive. Well done 17-yr-old, well done...

[Auric Demonocles]

How do mugshots always manage to look so awful?

[Zeb]

I don't imagine many people are very happy when having their mugshot taken. That plus unflattering lighting and no makeup (when you have a nice head shot right next to it to compare to) probably does it.

[Steve G]

Yeah, reality was probably somewhere between the mug shot and the glamour shot, which isn't half bad for mid-thirties...

[BakedPenguin]

Dick move to tell the cops. WTF?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

My thoughts exactly.

[Atanarjuat]

Let's hope for every one where the kid tells the cops there are 99 others where the guy had the sense and decency to keep his mouth shut and Nothing Else Happened. Sex with a 17-year-old is not abuse people. (A firing offense, sure).

[Steve G]

Well, yeah true. Discretion is the better part of valor in this case, but still I would have allowed her to make the 17-yr-old version of me a man any day.

[Steve G]

I'm guessing a parental influence led to it... "7 times" doesn't make him much of a victim in my eyes.

[Raven Nation]

There's not much in the story about that but how about (a) she told him she couldn't see him anymore; (b) he got a bad grade in her class.

[BakedPenguin]

I could definitely see 1 (or Steve's point about parents). If she gave him a bad grade with what he had on her, she's almost dumb enough to deserve what happened.

[Raven Nation]

"she's almost dumb enough". That's almost a given.

[Suthenboy]

Article should read '17 year old IDIOT'.

[Lord Humungus]

Four Pinocchios: Obama's pledge that 'no one will take away' your health plan

The president's statements were sweeping and unequivocal ? and made both before and after the bill became law. The White House now cites technicalities to avoid admitting that he went too far in his repeated pledge, which, after all, is one of the most famous statements of his presidency.

The president's promise apparently came with a very large caveat: "If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan ? if we deem it to be adequate."

[Hillary's Clitdong]

It's lies, all lies!

[Auric Demonocles]

Except he didn't say that last part. They should stick with the technicality that they have to like it, and just insist that no one liked those plans.

[Ted S.]

Wel, they have suggested that what the people getting coverage dropped had wasn't really insurance.

[Raven Nation]

Valerie Jarrett apparently tweeted yesterday or the day before that it was Obamacare forcing people off their plans it was the insurance companies.

Wonder how long she's been planning that statement?

[Marshall Gill]

How could someone like a sub-par plan? They couldn't. The only reason someone would have less coverage than Obamacarousel requires is because they couldn't afford it. That or they want to cheat society by making them pay for their healthcare cost when they inevitably need "insurance".

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What difference does it make!?

Move forward.

MOVE. FORWARD!!!!

Argghh! For the children! The roads....THE roads!!!!!

[waffles]

Most currencies are rallying against the U.S. dollar. Recent Commitment of Traders data shows speculators net short the U.S. dollar for the first time since early this year.

I thought we passed a bill that saved the full faith and credit of the United States? Maybe I will buy a bitcoin.

[sarcasmic]

Chilli hot sauce company under fire after California homeowners 'have to flee fumes'

The city of Irwindale filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday
Asked a judge to stop production at the Huy Fong Foods factory
Claiming the chili odor emanating from the plant is a public nuisance

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....fumes.html
Good stuff!

[Bee Tagger]

It doesn't get used as much as Frank's Red Hot at my house, but I do love sriracha.

[sarcasmic]

Cholula. I love my Cholula.

[Restoras]

Me too, especially the Chipotle and Chili Lime. I've been using Texas Pete too.

[Rhywun]

I love the garlic one.

As for Tabasco, I like their green sauce (jalapenos). The red one is too hot to be of much use for me.

[Snark Plissken]

Weird how that stuff has gotten so successful. A few years ago, I'd never heard of it, now I can buy it easily here in Prague, which is AWESOME.

[sarcasmic]

Franks is the standard for Buffalo wings. When wings went from a waste product to a popular bar food, the sauce followed.

[Snark Plissken]

Well, I was thinking Sriracha. I don't think you can get Franks here.

[sarcasmic]

A gay friend of mine calls Sriracha "cock sauce" because of the rooster on the front.

[Snark Plissken]

Ironically, Sriracha is the only product I buy here that is produced in the US. It might be single-handedly holding back trade deficitacolypse.

[thom]

Almost everybody I've ever known has called it cock sauce, most of them straight.

[Kid Xenocles]

We always went further and called the "hot cock."

[trshmnstr]

It's all about the sambal ooelek

[Steve G]

Frank's, Texas Pete, Louisiana Hot Sauce, are all the shiz. Tabasco, although often lumped in, is a completely different animal and IMO sucks ass. Hate being at a restaurant eating something that screams for hot sauce (fried catfish, etc) and all they have is tabasco. grrr

[sarcasmic]

I'm with you there. That's why I have Cholula (pequin) and Sriracha (red jalapeno) in my fridge. Most of that other stuff tastes like tobasco peppers and vinegar.

[Marshall Gill]

Tabasco recently released a Buffalo sauce flavor which is quite good.

[Bobarian]

Tabasco has its place.

In a Bloody Mary, on eggs, or Meal, Ready to Eat.

Otherwise any of the above are far more preferential.

[Ted S.]

I'm one of those weirdoes who doesn't particularly care for "hot" food.

[sarcasmic]

When I get Thai takeout I'm not happy unless I need to mop sweat off the top of my head.

[Zeb]

Yeah, if your face and scalp aren't sweating, it's not hot. The trick with Thai, I find, is to tell them that you want it seasoned like what the people in the kitchen woudl eat.

[BakedPenguin]

I used to love food "Thai hot". Unfortunately, as I got older, my ability to digest it declined precipitously. Nothing hotter than buffalo wings these days, and even those I eat with a lot of celery (celery has a base pH).

[Steve G]

Yeah, I like hot w/ flavor vs straight hot. Thai pepper to me just burns without the payoff of good flavor. Just uncomfortable. Korean on the other hand, I can do til I'm wiping sweat...

[Zeb]

Tabasco is good, but more of an ingredient than a condiment.

Franks is my favorite for general use. Just chili, garlic, vinegar, salt. No sugar or unnecessary crap.

[H. ReardEn]

Tabasco is for Bloody Mary's only. Trappy's Red Devil for most everything else.

[thom]

Tabasco is for eggs, and eggs only.

[Drake]

Fuck those homeowners, I love me some Sriracha.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I had a really delicious hot sauce at Rocklands a couple weeks ago, Really hot, but also fruity. I'll see if I can figure out what it is next time I go there.

[Slammer]

I've only ever known it as Rooster sauce.

I'm sure Texas would be happy to have the factory.

[Enough About Palin]

Imma just leave this here

[Kaptious Kristen]

I am outraged that there is more outrage and attention paid to the spying on Merckel than there is spying on John Q. Public.

Fuck the media. Fuck the NSA. Fuck the shiny object-loving sheeple. Fuck Angela Merckel.

[Shirley Knott]

Amen.
And the projectile vomiting commences when they talk about exempting '[foreign] government leaders and heads of state'.
Nothing makes more stark the thinking of those who believe in 2 laws -- one for 'us', one for 'them'.
As Lord Julius put it in the title of a panel discussion: Us and Them -- eliminating Them.

[sarcasmic]

Well, yeah! She's part of the political class! They have rights!

[Elspeth Flashman]

Agreed. Foreign leaders everyone else, is the thinking. Which is infuriating

[Elspeth Flashman]

I guess you can't use the greater than symbol Foreign leaders (greater than symbol) everyone else.

[Lord Humungus]

the greater/lesser than symbols are for html code.

[trshmnstr]

I haven't found a way to do greater than (the standard code doesn't work), but you can do < by typing &lt;

[Tonio]

[Tonio]

That was a test to see if amper gt worked for the greater than symbol.

You can always go oldschool (FORTRAN, bitches) and use .GT. .GE. .LT. .LE. .EQ. .NE.

[Lord Humungus]

I still use that for ksh

[Lord Humungus]

It's raining snakes in Phuket Town

Recent heavy rainfall has led to a jump in large snakes being nabbed in Phuket, with four rounded up in Phuket Town in the last 24 hours.

One of the four giant snakes, a three-meter python, made a dramatic entry into a Phuket Town bedroom by tumbling through a vent.

"I heard noise that sounded like something had fallen off my roof into my bedroom. I got up and went to take a look ? it was a huge python," the resident, Somporn Kankanok, told the Phuket Gazette.

[Tonio]

Why is it always the thermal ports?

[Swiss Servator, Bow to Bern!]

They are only ray shielded.

[Apatheist ?_??]

One of the four giant snakes, a three-meter python

3 meters isn't that big.

[BakedPenguin]

"I have had with these mother Phuket snakes in this mother Phuket town."

[Kaptious Kristen]

Atlanta Mayorship is a monarchy. Can ignore courts with impunity.

[Restoras]

Time for some regicide? Just Kidding!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will testify on Obamacare before the House Energy and Commerce Committee later today.

It will be a de facto pleading of the 5th as she doublespeaks her way around the committee's substance-free questioning.

[sarcasmic]

Banksy donates his latest artwork in New York City thrift store.. and the bidding reaches more than $201,200 in just hours

British graffiti artist 'vandalized' painting from a charity shop and then returned it to the same store
It is now a part of a two-day auction for the charity, Housing Works
Reached more than $201,000 in bids in just a few hours
His addition shows a Nazi officer looking out at a rural landscape and he titled the piece 'The Banality Of The Banality Of Evil'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ficer.html
I'd never heard of this guy until someone tried to sell a Banksy buck on Pawn Stars. Now I think what he does is kinda cool, even though he is technically a vandal.

[waffles]

I agree. Though it is possible that Banksy is some kind of artist Dread Pirate Roberts. How do you verify a "real" Banksy? I dig tasteful vandal art though. I live around lots of it.

[Jordan]

He's also pissed off Bloomturd, so it's kinda hard not to like him.

[sarcasmic]

Nanny B has made catching him a top priority for the police.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

He's also pissed off Bloomturd, so it's kinda hard not to like him.

This times eleventybillion!

I heard of Banksy through one of my friends who adores his art. I didn't think much one way or the other until I found out he is a major thorn in Bloomturd's backside. Now, I'd probably send him a Home Depot gift card to buy more paint.

[Rhywun]

Cite, please. I live in NYC and have heard nothing but fawning praise from all corners.

[Rhywun]

OK, I found one reference to Bloomberg saying that "running up to somebody's property or public property and defacing it is not my definition of art."

And: "The New York Police Department denies it is actively searching for the mysterious street and graffiti artist known as Banksy, according to a spokeswoman."

Which could of course be a lie but frankly, as petty as Bloomberg is, this whole thing is way below him.

[Zeb]

He's pretty interesting. I have no problem thinking that he is both an interesting artist and a vandal who would deserve what he gets if he gets caught decorating property without the owner's consent.

[Raven Nation]

Another take here:

http://www.city-journal.org/20.....alism.html

[Brett L]

At this point he runs around raising the value of the property he defaces. SLD, consent is imperative, but as most mechanisms for reolving vandalism include replacement cost plus some value, he's in an interesting gray zone.

[Juice]

$200K? Do they think it will appreciate? Idiots.

[Lord Humungus]

In new U.S. budget talks, Republican proposal has flipped the script

Republicans have fiercely resisted tax increases on the wealthy for decades, but their fiscal standard-bearer suggested a few weeks back that the two sides might find common ground by getting affluent retirees to pay more for their Medicare health coverage.

President Barack Obama also floated the idea last spring. But his Democrats, who generally support measures that would close the gap between rich and poor, are cool to the idea.

[wareagle]

I could give a shit about this income gap, but I give a big one about subsidizing wealthy old folks. What could possibly go wrong with blanket, one size fits all entitlements.

[Brett L]

Once the mask comes off and its a poor-folks measure, see if the COLA and such are as important. If they split the old people, it will hull the old-style one.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The Democrats will never go for it because the AARP will oppose it.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Brutal: The "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan" compilation clip

[Rich]

Sebelius is addressing this right now.

[Restoras]

Really? She isn't spinning furiously in an extreme effort of deflection?

[Rich]

Of course! That's what "addressing" means in this context.

[Raven Nation]

There's also a pretty good collection of "it will reduce your premiums by about $2500/year for the average family."

[Lord Humungus]

San Francisco Library Urinator Damages $3,000 Worth of Books

The Philosophy of Language section at the San Francisco Public Library will never be the same.

A 33-year-old man was arrested last week after he urinated on three shelves of books in the aforementioned section, causing $3,000 worth of damage, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

take that, Philosophy of Language!

[BakedPenguin]

Ha! Fuck you, Jacques Lacan!

[Rhywun]

I see the neighborhood city hasn't changed since I lived there 20 years ago.

[Drake]

Obama decides to show up in Boston during rush-hour before Game 6 of the World Series and shut down Faneuil Hall. He wants to make sure that there is nobody left who doesn't hate him and his shitty health plan.

http://bostonherald.com/news_o.....head_quota

[waffles]

Is the herald some kind of anti-globe? That tone just seems a bit National Review for the Boston Metro Area.

[Drake]

The Herald is relatively conservative and Howie Carr is the resident pain-in-the-ass to libs who run the state. He particularly had it in for the Bulger Brothers.

I believe it is the same ownership as the NY Post.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I listen to Carr. Conservative all the way. But he does a great job exposing the utter, corrupt, hypocritical rot that is liberal Democrat politics in that state.

Carr's forte is books and reporting on the mob in Mass. Good stuff. The Bulgers are pure evil - one was a criminal, the other a politician.

[Drake]

Both were criminals - one was a politician.

[hamilton]

Yes.

[Auric Demonocles]

Your season tickets are in 305, right? If ticketmaster had cooperated I would have ended up there for this weekend.

[hamilton]

Yup. I'll actually be there this weekend, astonishingly. Maybe we can meet up.

[Auric Demonocles]

Ticketmaster was a huge pain with the ticketexchange yesterday, so I didn't get the pair in 305. I ended up down in the 200s, which are actually my favorite (though more expensive).

[Restoras]

Fenway traffic sucks regardless...but I will say that I went to a game a few summers ago that happened to coincide with Fat Fuck Murderer Ted Kennedy laying in state at Beacon Hill and traffic was epic bad. Made me despise him and his clan even more...so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing anyway?

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm not happy about this. If I feel better later I want to head down to Back Bay/the Fens to watch the game at a bar.

[Juice]

http://bostonherald.com/news_o....._political

"Faneuil Hall as setting is a political master stroke"

[BakedPenguin]

Guess what, dildos - Obama's penchant for picking the right symbolism will mean fuck-all for people who have been forced to pay double for their health insurance. Dicks.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

No More Success Stories: University of Georgia Students Protest Excellence for Social Justice Week
... It seems like whenever a minority identifying individual "succeeds", he or she is identified as a "success story." We will be featuring successful members of different minorities speaking of their own story and success, with a focus on how this idea of "success story" shouldn't exist. The idea that minority success is "outstanding" means it's not the norm?we don't want "success stories." We just want stories.

This event will feature different success stories from UGA, Athens, and Georgia, because we believe that hearing stories from our neighbors and friends is truly the most impactful way to humanize these issues....

[trshmnstr]

I think this is just a cover for the fact that there was no excellence to be found on that campus in the first place.

[Lord Humungus]

Yes, men really do ogle women's bodies

The eyes don't lie: Men really do look at women's bodies more than their faces, according to a new study that used eye-tracking technology to prove what many women have long observed.

But it's not just men who do it -- the study found that women look at other women's bodies, too.

PATRIARCHYYY!

[Zeb]

Was there ever really any doubt?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Not in my opinion. I check out women frequently. But a study was clearly needed.

[Drake]

"Those bodies with larger breasts, narrower waists and bigger hips often prompted longer looks."

Unexpected!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yeah - what about women who ogle other women? Because if Kate Upton (or a lookalike) comes into my field of view I'll be taking a look. Will the feminists cry "MATRIARCHY! FEMALE GAZE!!!"?

[tarran]

IT depends:

do you part your red lips, rest your forefinger on the lower one, and exhale softly while toying with your hair with your other hand?

[Kaptious Kristen]

No, it's more like this

[tarran]

You're doing it wrong...

[Kaptious Kristen]

No, I'm doing it contrarian.

[hamilton]

Go on...

[Lord Humungus]

I do believe I need some fresh air.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Nothing can be considered a fact until a social "science" study confirms it. If we go by common sense, these people will lose their phony-baloney jobs!

[Juice]

Men really do look at women's bodies more than their faces

Depends on the body and the face.

[Mr. Weebles]

This study brought to you by the "Department of Yeah, No Shit."

[Rich]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Tuesday that he will move to block Dr. Janet Yellen's nomination as the next Federal Reserve Chair unless the Senate votes on his legislation which allows the Fed to be audited

Yet *another* so-called "scandal".

/sarc

[sarcasmic]

Manufactured outrage! "Fed" is a racist dog whistle! He's sexist for blocking the nomination of a woman!

[Palin's Buttplug]

The Fed is fully audited each year by Deloitte.

Rand Paul is pulling a bait and switch on that bill.

[sarcasmic]

It has been explained to you that that audit you refer to is about as objective as an internal investigation by the police. "Nothing to see here. Move along."

[Jordan]

"Fully audited".

Audits of the Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks may not include:
transactions for or with a foreign central bank or government, or nonprivate international financing organization;
deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters;
transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; or
a part of a discussion or communication among or between members of the Board of Governors and officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System related to items (1), (2), or (3).

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yes.

deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters

This is what R/R Paul hate. Congress is far too inept to handle these duties though.

Far better that a handful of Senate-approved economists do this than 435 idiots in the House.

[Jordan]

Yes, True Classical Liberals believe in central planning.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Tell us again how Apple only releases sales reports at quarter end and how it would be insider trading to have this knowledge.

CUPERTINO, California?September 23, 2013?Apple? today announced it has sold a record-breaking nine million new iPhone? 5s and iPhone 5c models, just three days after the launch of the new iPhones on September 20.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Your misrepresentation of the goals continues unabated.

[Restoras]

Dave's not here, man.

[trshmnstr]

Introducing Troll Theatre

Today, a handy *giggle* tip about how to drain your lawn mower.

[Brett L]

Lol.

[Brett L]

Lol.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Under Pressure From The White House, NBC Throws Its Reporter Under the Bus and Censors News That Obama Wrote Regs to Disqualify and Terminate Health Insurance Policies

[Lord Humungus]

Covered California chief, Peter Lee, defends delay of enrollment figures

As a publicly funded entity, Lee said, Covered California should be held accountable and be as open as possible. But only three weeks into the enrollment process, he said, "let's have reasonable expectations."

In a nod toward a Silicon Valley icon, Lee said Apple does not release sales of its products on a daily or weekly basis.

"They don't jump up and down with how many iPhones (were) sold today," Lee said. Instead, he noted, sales figures are usually released on a quarterly basis.

[Jordan]

"They don't jump up and down with how many iPhones (were) sold today," Lee said. Instead, he noted, sales figures are usually released on a quarterly basis.

Yeah, I'll bet the Apple bosses are kept in the dark on sales figures until end of quarter.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

A. I'm pretty sure Apple releases sales numbers on new products before the end of the quarter.

B. What is these motherfuckers' obsessions with Apple? Is it some retarded freshmen-level psychology attempt to link the two in people's minds?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Actually, they don't release those figures and trading on such info not released is criminal insider trading.

Obama went to Silicon Valley where he has tremendous support. You have to get into fundie turf for his support to erode noticeably.

[Jeff]

What an Obamafag you are. Tell us again how you voted for Gary Johnson over your fucking Messiah, you pathetic douchenozzle. I'm sure we'll believe you this time.

[Jordan]

He only voted for Johnson because Obama's victory was a lock.

[Jeff]

Please. The closest he ever came to voting for Johnson was voting for Obama's johnson.

[Moe19]

This. Is. Awesome.
(and true, too)

[Restoras]

It's hard not to be a dipshit when you just fluff Obama and the Progtards at every opportunity.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

CUPERTINO, California?September 23, 2013?Apple? today announced it has sold a record-breaking nine million new iPhone? 5s and iPhone 5c models, just three days after the launch of the new iPhones on September 20.

apple.com

Apple's quarter ended 9/28.

On October 28, 2013, Apple announced results for the quarter ended September 28, 2013.

You really are a goddamned mendacious retard, aren't you?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Those numbers are not coughed up on demand when the press butts in though.

"Cook, what are the goddamn sales figures? I want to know now!"

Replace Cook/Jobs with "Sibelius".

[Zeb]

So what? Who cares what fucking Apple does? The government should provide any information requested by any citizen unless there is some very compelling national security reason not to.

[trshmnstr]

The second installment of Troll Theatre

Men who lie in wait don't find what they're looking for.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Oh, fuck you.

You said, "Actually, they don't release those figures..." They sure as fuck do. You're so goddamned wrong, again, that it's laughable.

Apple doesn't require the press to butt in to release their sales numbers. And if Apple didn't release them, the implication would be clear. Sort of like when the government won't release these numbers.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Those numbers are not coughed up on demand when the press butts in though.

That's because Apple has sales figures they can actually brag about, and are more than happy to show them off without prompting.

PB = "Never correct"

[Elspeth Flashman]

1. There's a difference between these two things (Apple compared to Covered California) that can't be ignored.

2. The continued use of Apple as a reference for Obamacare must be annoying the hell out of Apple. Should that be part of their next ad slogan? "Apple. we're not Obamacare."

[Palin's Buttplug]

Apple is not filled with Bushnecks.

[Lord Humungus]

you're mailing it in again. You're the most boring troll.

[Restoras]

BOOOOOOSSSCH!!!11!ELEVNTY

[Palin's Buttplug]

Actaully, Steve Jobs supported Obama and offered to run his PR for him since he thought Obama's big problem was in marketing his ideas.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Yeah... Steve Jobs is dead, as in he is no longer at Apple, as in this is no longer Steve Jobs' Apple, as in even if it were his Apple, you can't now know how he would have felt about the Administration using Apple in reference to their Obamacare failure, as in fuck off already.

[VG Zaytsev]

Steve Jobs death just proves that even the mighty need Obamacare.

[Marshall Gill]

HAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!

He would actually have to have "ideas" for someone to market them. Oh, you mean the centuries old ideas that he has parroted that have killed tens of millions.

[VG Zaytsev]

The last time Jobs met Obama he called him an idiot that was driving manufacturing out of the US.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What fucking ideas? What ORIGINAL thought does Obama possess?

[AuH20]

Have you seen the Covered California ads? So goddamn annoying.

[Lord Humungus]

Again?

U.S. Obamacare data hub 'experiencing an outage', Connecticut says

The U.S. government's Obamacare data hub was "experiencing an outage" on Tuesday evening, the Connecticut state healthcare exchange, "Access Health CT", announced. It was the second such outage in three days.

The data hub operator, Verizon, said it was doing maintenance on the system.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Well, it IS Verizon. I used to have a DS3 line through them that, like clockwork, would go down around the beginning of the month and not come back up until a day or two later.

Verizon Business may be one of the few companies that is nearly as incompetent as the Federal Government.

[Rich]

How badly does Google want to keep under wraps a mysterious project taking shape on a barge in San Francisco Bay? Badly enough to require U.S. government officials to sign confidentiality agreements.

Adding to the mystery, a second similar barge was recently spotted in Portland, Maine

Well, apparently they're not concentration camp barges.

[Steve G]

+1 FEMA train

[Juice]

...require US government officials...

How do you do that?

[Brett L]

Offshore code monkey containment systems.

[Palin's Buttplug]

You have to admire the tenacity of conservatives. They lost the House and Senate votes on the ACA, they lost the SCOTUS decision, and they got their asses beat in the Nov 2012 "referendum" on the ACA and they are still crying and lying about it.

[Jeff]

You're a buttplug.

[waffles]

Ah Buttplug, you are like the worst character ever.

[Drake]

It's like an annoying humming sound.

[Jordan]

Code Red!

[Auric Demonocles]

2012 was the referendum on Obamacare? You aren't even trying.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

-1 2010 election

[John]

It was a referendum on a policy that hadn't taken effect yet. This is the face of liberalism. "Sorry America you voted in 2012 on this, it doesn't matter that we lied and you had no idea what the policy actually was".

Shreek is a nasty retard. But he does serve the purpose of showing us just how mendacious and horrific these people actually are.

[Auric Demonocles]

2010 was the referendum. 2012 might have been a second one if Romney didn't get nominated.

[Drake]

Just like 1916 was a referendum on WWI.

[Swiss Servator, Bow to Bern!]

+1 "He kept us out of War (temporarily)"

[Marshall Gill]

he does serve the purpose of showing us just how mendacious and horrific these people actually are.

It is almost as if they were not real. But someone has their hand in the sock.

[Fatty Bolger]

Patients, employers shop for better health care deals

Insurers, employers and individuals are shopping around for health care as they try to tame rising health care costs. Companies are doing things like paying for workers to travel if they agree to have a surgery performed in another city where the cost is cheaper. They're also providing online tools to help people search for better deals in their home market.

And some patients are bargain-hunting on their own. Through a website called MediBid, people who pay out of pocket are soliciting doctors, hospitals and medical centers to bid to perform knee surgeries and other non-emergency procedures.

[Jordan]

WRECKERS!

[Jordan]

But John told me this would never happen! Healthcare demand is simply too inelastic!

[John]

Notice they are not forgoing healthcare. Sure they will take a better deal if offered. Just becuase it is not totally inelastic, doesn't mean healthcare is like cars.

Supply and demand, easy to learn difficult to master.

[Bobarian]

"if they agree to have a surgery performed in another city"

Juarez? Tiajuana?

[SugarFree]

Blaming the victim, Slate style...

BlueEyes_Austin 7 hours ago
Sounds like a completely untenable situation and that throwing the Tripoli team into the mess would have simply led to more deaths.

DeenoC 7 hours ago
@BlueEyes_Austin That would have pleased the conservatives to no end. Then they'd have more corpses to carry around and use as cudgels against Obama.

BlueEyes_Austin 1 hour ago
@DeenoC @BlueEyes_Austin My take on Bengazi is that the Ambassador's death is on his own head. He's the one who made the choice to go to an unsecured CIA location out of Tripoli during a civil war.

Only thing that I blame Obama's folks about was when they lied about that film being the reason.

dexterpoint 31 minutes ago
Yeah, F Stevens! He got what he deserved, and so did that no good film maker!!

[Zeb]

I have to believe that that last one is sarcastic.

[SugarFree]

It is, but it was too funny to leave out.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah, that girl so totally asked to be raped. Besides, it wasn't 'rape-rape.'

Liberal/progressives. Evil Pure.

[Rasilio]

Stop bringing Paula Jones into the discussion

[Swiss Servator, Bow to Bern!]

-1 Kathleen Willey

[AuH20]

He should have known better than to go out in that short, bullet proof vest!

[Ted S.]

For Jesse, if he reads this far down the AM Links thread:

I asked about the pearl-clutching photo Jesse posted in yesterday's PM Links over on the Turner Classic Movies boards, and one of the sharp-eyed posters there says the woman in question is an actress named Isabel Jeans from Alfred Hitchcock's Easy Virtue.

[AuH20]

*pssst* I... uh... I don't believe jesse is all that interested in actresses, if y'know what I mean...

[jesse.in.mb]

Look at me impacting your non-H&R internet life. Muahaha.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Keystone Kops

On a completely unrelated note, we met our new FOO (Friend of Obama) boss yesterday. I think he may have had some role in healthcare.gov, but can't be sure. His words about it were interesting, though (I won't say what because it was an internal team meeting), but there's no sugarcoating it - his words were not complimentary.

[AuH20]

Kristen, this is why you need to find a young, hairy chested journalist to leak this kind of stuff to!

[SugarFree]

Sibelius: n. (medical) An infected genital skin tag, often a source of pain and swelling, can burst during rigorous manipulation of the area.

[Tonio]

Nice.

[sticks]

Is there an organized movement to provide Reason(online) with proof readers?

[Tonio]

Proofreaders? I mean, the proof of our blood goes up when someone posts "for a magazine called Reason..."

[The Late P Brooks]

Clown show in progress. Waxman drops by from whatever alternate universe he routinely inhabits to list the many and varied successes of the Obamacare. Also, Republicans are to blame, those assholes.

Nobody laughs.

[Hillary's Clitdong]

He comes from the Molemen alternative universe.

[Juice]

Whatever universe he inhabits, Obamacare is going swimmingly there.

[The Late P Brooks]

Poor Minister Sebelius- she is unaccustomed to being so rudely handled.

[a better weapon]

Well, woke up to find my catalytic converter had been sawed off the bottom of my Element (popular model for this kind of theiving).

Any recommendations for anti-theft products? I'm already going to have the new converter welded to the frame.

[Jordan]

"If you like your catalytic converter, you can keep it."

[John]

Damn. I guess it is for scrap and selling the various rare earths in it? I don't think an alarm system would go off if you cut at the exhaust system. Really, a lock garage is about the only answer.

[Zeb]

They use palladium and sometimes platinum, I think.

[sarcasmic]

The catalyst in a catalytic converter is platinum.

[Juice]

It's usually platinum and rhodium, two of the most expensive metals.

[KDN]

A lot of converters contain platinum. I don't think the scrap is worth much of anything, thief was probably snagging a bunch and trying to get lucky.

[Bobarian]

The scrap is worth a lot. Converters can contain platinum, gold, rhodium and/or paladium.

http://www.nationwide.com/catalytic-converter-theft.jsp

[a better weapon]

Really, a lock garage is about the only answer.

The woes of apartment living. That's why I'm having it welded. I'm not enough of a grease monkey to know if that's a solid deterrent or not, but its what a buddy recommended.

[Lord Humungus]

what kind of neighborhood do you live in?

[a better weapon]

North Dallas. While there are some more unsavory apartment complexes nearby, mine isn't one of them, and the Texas Instruments campus is within spitting distance which keeps cops patrolling A LOT to keep the large employer happy.

[Tonio]

Garage.

Motion-sensor alarm but you will be real unpopular with your neighbors if it repeatedly goes off while you're on vacation. I wouldn't put it past thieves to deliberately set those off on targeted vehicles until the owner disables them...

[John]

This whole thing with people getting their policies canceled thanks to Obamacare is just a replaying of what happens whenever socialists ever get actual power. Socialists are incapable of understanding that people can act in their best interests and thus won't like having what they have replaced by what socialists thing they should have. The talking point now is "those are bad policies that are being replaced by better policies thanks to us socialists. Come on America, don't you like the plan the party gives you?". This happens every single time. Socialists are popular as long as they just cut checks. Even a a socialist can't fuck that up. Everyone loves cash. But whenever they get real power and start doing things beyond just stealing and giving away money, it is always a disaster. These are the people who were bitter and angry that people wanted to live in suburbs rather than the concrete block apartments they planned to build for them. And they are totally shocked that a 50 year old woman doesn't want to pay for birth control coverage or a single man isn't excited to finally get those free mammograms.

[Raven Nation]

I'm in general agreement with this. However, I would extend it a little further (i) almost any big organization ends up making decisions for everyone and so pissing off people; (ii) "Socialists are incapable of understanding that people can act in their best interests." Actually, I don't think it should matter whether people act in their best interests or not. We learn by making mistakes. Sometimes they are small mistakes (like me being a Mets fan for a few years) and sometimes big (like buying a house with nothing down.) But few of them are terminal and almost all are learning curves.

[John]

My assumption is that if you did it, you think it is best for you or to the extent that you don't, you know better than anyone else will.

[The Late P Brooks]

Absolutely committed to protecting the privacy and security of the American people.

Republicans are still evil.

RED HERRINGS!

[Rich]

The Washington Redskinherrings!

[The Late P Brooks]

Palone works for Sebelius, apparently.

[The Late P Brooks]

How much ill it cost?

AS MUCH AS IT TAKES, YOU REPUBLICAN ASSHOLE! WE'RE REWRITING HISTORY, HERE.

[Rich]

*Confidently* rewriting it, to boot.

[John]

http://m.washingtontimes.com/n.....rs-race-p/

Shock poll, Mcauliffe only up by four points. I wonder if a lot of the people who say they are voting L will when faced with the prospect of Mcauliffe actually winning vote to stop him. Protest votes are great when they really don't affect anything. I also wonder if Bloomburg coming down to campaign for him woke a few people up to the fact that his winning puts gun rights in serious jeopardy.

[BardMetal]

but but Cuccinelli isn't 100% libertarian!!!! And (insert random line about the lesser of too evils, and some sort of sarcastic comment about battered wife syndrome and voting Republican)

I'm all for sending the Republicans a message when they nominate a McCain or Romney, but sometimes this uncompromising attitude becomes self-defeating.

[AuH20]

Eh, I think sometimes, you have to remind people that you're a king maker. Also, maybe Cuccinelli should have, I dunno, learned to shut the fuck up about consensual sexual relationships between adults that are none of his goddamn business, and then he wouldn't be dealing with it?

[John]

Or maybe people shouldn't vote either way on those dumb ass issues? I really don't care what either candidate thinks about sodomy.

[CatoTheElder]

I agree with you, John, but this is Reason. To a lot of folks here, celebration of sodomy is a libertarian litmus test.

[BakedPenguin]

There's also the fact that he's a drug warrior. Between those two items, I'd say fuck him, let the scumbag win and give Virginia voters an expensive lesson in not being douchebags who ignore the best candidate because he's third party.

[Kid Xenocles]

Celebration of not jailing people for it certainly is.

[CatoTheElder]

I had no idea that this guy was trying to reinstate sodomy laws. And he's a drug warrior, too. I have to agree, between those two items, I'd have to vote, and vote L. But, when I bother to vote, I usually vote L anyway.

[Tonio]

Because nothing says principled support for freedom and individual rights like supporting only the non-icky rights.

Pwned, bitches.

[Marshall Gill]

you have to remind people that you're a king maker.

You can't be king maker when you never make a king.

[Rasilio]

"but but Cuccinelli isn't 100% libertarian!!!! And (insert random line about the lesser of too evils, and some sort of sarcastic comment about battered wife syndrome and voting Republican)"

I'm sorry but Cuccinelli isn't even 10% libertarian and with how close his social views are to the Taliban's it is very easy to argue that McAuliffe is the more libertarian candidate between the two of them

[Juice]

When will Dems and Reps get it through their thick skulls that libertarianism isn't some flavor of conservatism?

[robc]

it is very easy to argue that McAuliffe is the more libertarian candidate between the two of them

Ummm...no.

I would be voting for the libertarian if I was in VA, but that statement is fucking insane.

[Juice]

but but Cuccinelli isn't 100% libertarian!!!!

fixed

[AuH20]

Also, there are just AWFUL stories coming out about McAullife. That can't help either.

Also, I do take some pleasure in seeing the Libertarians as king makers in this race. Hmmm, Republicans, maybe you should not treat us like shit. Unlike Nader voters*, we aren't going to be guilted into eating your shit sandwich because THE OTHER GUYS SO MUCH WORSE.

*BTW, isn't it hilarious how mad Democrats still are at the people who voted for Nader over Gore in 2000?

[John]

It is all fun and games Goldwater until the GOP runs a libertarian candidate and the SOCONS go third party. Then it will be all about telling the SOCONs to be team players.

[AuH20]

Yeah, but who was the last candidate the SoCons were told to be team players for? Romney kind of, because of the Mormonism thing? Even that one is kind of weak.

[Tonio]

Why yes, it will be delicious to see the socons get a taste of their own medicine.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Uh, I think they already did, good and hard. You think they liked Romney? The guy who promised Mass. voters he wouldn't upset the abortion status quo? Or the Republicans who limit themselves to press releases about DOMA and then forgetting all about its de facto repeal?

I believe John has already pointed out - Repubicans who are squishy on the social issues tend to be squishy on the economic issues, too. I'm not claiming that the reverse is true - there are economic squishes who are strong social conservatives. But There's a lot of Republicans who combine social conservatism with a decent amount of economic libertarianism. Certainly more than the number of Democrats who combine social libertarianism with economic sanity.

But by all means indulge your cultural hatreds - and go looking for more pure allies vs the big spenders and central planners.

[tarran]

The notion that socons are *not* squishy on economic issues is hilariously clueless.

If you want the state to freeze cultural norms via legislation and subsidization, you aren't going to limit your social control to non-economic measures solely.

And so' nuff' guys like Santorum are quite happy to wade in on economic issues to bring about their kingdom on earth.

[tarran]

It's hilarious bordering on scary.

I made a joke about it a few months ago in the lunch room, and the really proggie manager (the one who racistly congratulated my coworker for "her people putting Obama back in the white house") started shrieking about how Gore really won the election.

Due to the wild look in her eyes I thought it prudent to back up to the knife drawer.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Suck that Team Red cock, John!

[John]

Little shreeky is butt hurt. I guess Reason is doing the same thing since they just posted it on Hit and Run. How dare anyone question the revolutionary truth.

[Rasilio]

Why are you going to have a competition to see whether team blue or team red cocksuckers can suck more cock?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.newsmax.com/newswid.....dgetphase1

[Jordan]

Cronies gotta get paid first.

[AuH20]

Gawker sneers at the idea of asking Texans for governing advice

Yes, Texans would know NOTHING about governing well. Only Californians and New Yorkers, and possibly Detroitians, should be asked such a question.

I dunno, Gawker bugs me more than Jezebel. At least with Jez, you can laugh at how pathetic they are as people. Gawker just seems WAY more... smug, about everything.

[BardMetal]

Well they are progressives AKA people who know whats better for you then you do. So by their very nature they are smug.

[Juice]

Texans would know NOTHING about governing well.

The replies they showed indicates that this is correct.

[Brett L]

That's why Texans don't let themselves be governed except for 120 days in alternate years.

[KMA Too]

Maybe it's time for gay libertarians to create a hard-core/Gawker parody site.

They could call it Cawker, and re-spin Gawker articles, but include pictures of guys wearing a Shreeky mask* smokin' poles throughout each section.

Kinda a social satire publication!

*If the masks cause erections to fade, maybe just his name tag

[jesse.in.mb]

Maybe it's time for gay libertarians to create a hard-core/Gawker parody site.

Really? I would've jumped to the lady libertarians before gay libertarians on this one, and by lady libertarians, I mean Nicole, and maybe Hugh, but he defies categorization, so it's ok.

[KMA Too]

Well, understand that my idea had more to do with Gawker=Shreeky comparisons than anything else.

[Dave Krueger]

President Obama ordered the National Security Administration to curtail eavesdropping on the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Obama out loud: OK, guys. Stop spying on the UN.

Obama in a whisper: Just kidding. Just don't get caught.

[John]

I thought he didn't know about anything they were doing?

[AuH20]

Well, John, now that's he's found out- he's furious!

This has really hurt his ability to vacation in Europe after he leaves the Presidency, and you know Obama is all about the vacations! If this thing doesn't blow over, he might have to actually deal with Michelle, instead of being able to send her off to Spain or wherever!

[Sevo]

He didn't. Bush has been doing this behind his back for 5 years!
Oh, and the buck stops somewhere well over there.

[Steve G]

Yeah, how will he know when they've stopped???

[Rasilio]

"President Obama ordered the National Security Administration to curtail eavesdropping on the United Nations headquarters in New York"

Um, curtail, not stop? Who exactly does he think he is placating here?

[Raven Nation]

Although, technically, if you're spying on UN HQ it's not domestic spying.

[Tonio]

I have long suspected that the NSA is only marginally responsive to the president, courts and congress. I don't think they involve themselves with every facet of government, but are a permanent, secret and wholly unaccountable agency. I'm sure they have enough dirt on congress (etc) to keep the money flowing and the oversight minimal.

My fear is what happens when an agency head decides to go beyond this traditional role.

[Raven Nation]

You get this guy?

http://www.scifidimensions.com.....ingman.jpg

[The Late P Brooks]

Who is responsible?

NOBODY.

[Ken Shultz]

"The U.S. Treasury's bailout fund...would need to sell its remaining shares in [GM] for an average of $147.95 to break even, a report to Congress said....The U.S. [government owns] 101.3 million shares. If it sold those for yesterday's closing price of $35.80 a share..."

Fuck the UAW.

They say they're fighting for the middle class, but then they steal money right out of working people's paychecks...

I hope all the UAW's members starve to death.

[Derpetologist]

And one more- Awesome Fat People: Daniel Lambert

http://platedlizard.blogspot.c.....mbert.html

[Ken Shultz]

"He taught swimming and could swim with two men riding on his back."

That isn't impressive.

Fat people float. If you ever find yourself in a tsunami, just tie your foot around some fat slob, and you'll float to the top.

It would have been impressive if he'd sunk. ...if he'd sunk and somehow swam his lard ass down to the bottom of the sea. But a fat slob floating isn't impressive.

Two guys riding on the back of 700 lbs of blubber isn't impressive either. I've seen cement canoes handle two passengers, and they weighed a lot less than 700 lbs...

http://www.salemnews.com/local.....ompetition

With 700 lbs of buoyant fat ass, you should be able to shove a stick up the fatso's ass for a mast? Use a sheet to make a sail, use a paddle as a rudder, and sail his fat ass to the New World with a passenger list the size of the Nina, the Pinta, or the Santa Maria.

[Swiss Servator, Bow to Bern!]

I am not going to sugarcoat it. Ken is a bit disappointed in floating fat men.

[Tonio]

+1 Tales of the Black Freighter

[Citizen Nothing]

This is why there are no fat libertarians

[Sevo]

"GM Bailout Cost $9.8 Billion"
So how does that pencil-out in $/vote? Would it have been cheaper just to tell those voting for Him that He's send a couple of Jacksons?

[Suthenboy]

Watching the hearings.....These stupid fuckers really think that people are going to believe them and not their own lying eyes.

I remember one summer in my early childhood my grandfather and his friend took my brother and I fishing at Toledo Bend.

Grandfathers buddy overloaded the boat. Water began coming over the side. Buddy was standing in the boat, Grandfather, my brother and I were standing on the dock.

As the water began topping the sides my grandfather told his buddy the boat was sinking and to hop out of the boat onto the dock. The guy was standing in the center of the boat and just kept repeating " It'll float! It'll float!". He kept repeating that until the boat was on the bottom and he was chest deep in the water. He actually said "It'll float!" at least once more after the boat was sitting on the bottom.

[The Late P Brooks]

These stupid fuckers really think that people are going to believe them and not their own lying eyes.

"It's just a scratch!"

"I've cut your arm off."

"No, you haven't!"

[Tonio]

No, the socons are incapable of realizing that others don't buy into their worldview. They know their guy is righteous, how could everyone else not see that?

[Brett L]

Ace was always more of a "cause trouble but stay within" guy, at least when I stopped reading the tow the lion blogs about 5 years ago.

[alittlesense]

Actually, neither the socons or the progressives are capable of realizing that others don't buy into their worldview.

[Suthenboy]

It seems unlikely that the bear was one like the photo there. When you are in the presence of a full size grizzly you have a moment of vertigo. Your mind has trouble grasping the scale of what you are seeing. You also get a rush of blind primal terror.

I am guessing it was probably a brown european circus bear.

[Mr. Weebles]

A couple of heroin addicts were doing this at some train station commuter parking lots on the North Shore of MA last year. They were caught and released on bond until their court date. While out on bond they were bagged again.