Supreme Court Turns Back NSA Challenge, Washington Starts Accepting Pot Business Licenses, Feds Seem Accepting of Bitcoin's Existence: P.M. Links

• 

  NSA Logo

  The Supreme Court turned away a case from the Electronic Privacy Information Center to stop the National Security Agency's mass collection of telephone call metadata. There are still other challenges heading through the federal courts.

• A judge has ruled that prosecutors can use evidence from James Holmes' apartment in his trial for the Aurora, Colo., theater shootings, even though police didn't have a warrant at the time of the search.
• Washington State has started accepting license applications for those who want to legally sell marijuana in the state.
• The Department of Justice and the Security Exchange Commission seem to be accepting that Bitcoins are "legitimate financial instruments" of currency in a hearing before a Senate subcommittee today.
• George Zimmerman has been arrested again, this time on a domestic disturbance call in Central Florida.
• The high tax rates in France are leading to social unrest that could blow up even worse than it already is, according to a secret report from country's ministry of the interior.

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Comments

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

The high tax rates in France are leading to social unrest that could blow up even worse than it already is, according to a secret report from country's ministry of the interior.

Mon dieu! Maybe socialism isn't all it's cracked up to be!

[AlmightyJB]

But the government is supposed to pay for everything. Duh. Lol Frogs.

[CE]

When even the rich people are revolting, you must be in France.

[Anomalous]

I find most French people revolting.

[Troy muy grande boner]

[golf-clap] Isn't that a double pub?

[rts]

Pet peeve: High taxes != socialism.

Socialism != welfare state.

The vast majority of the French economy is private and capitalistic.

[Dead or In Jail]

Thank you. This is also a pet peeve of mine.

[wareagle]

two things which seem the piss off the French govt, at least the current one.

[kinnath]

Libert?, Egalit?, Fraternit?

Socialistic culture grafted onto a capitalistic economy with significant consequences.

[rts]

Well, perhaps, but my point still stands.

If one is going to attack socialism, then attack socialism: holding up Sweden or France or pretty much any European country as an example of a failing socialist economy is highly inaccurate.

They should be mocked mercilessly for their *welfare state* (or nanny state or regulation state as appropriate), not their *socialism* (unless you are talking about a specific industry/sector of the economy that *is* socialistic).

[kinnath]

France's economy is not socialized (if you mean the government controls the means of production). But the French economy is certainly saddled by regulation intended specifically to control private assets to achieve socialistic goals.

[#]

"But the French economy is certainly saddled by regulation intended specifically to control private assets to achieve socialistic goals."

Yeah, it's called fascism.

[Corning]

You crazy guys and your distinctions without difference.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Well their president calls himself a Socialist, but your point is taken.

I guess I could amend that to say that looting isn't all it is cracked up to be.

[Killazontherun]

What party is in charge there, hmmm. What is that one word in its name? Damn, I forget.

If Bastiat were to be resurrected today, he would know exactly what the culprit here is, and then he would kick you square in the nuts for your obfuscations.

Just because France is a wonderfully capitalistic society does not mean they are immune to socialist STDs. We are not immune to them either. Socialism is wealth redistribution, socialism is the assertion of positive rights. Both are grounded in socialist theory. Socialism is not limited only to economic planning through state agency.

[RannedPall]

Honestly, Europe is so obsessed with the socialist model. So even if and when Paris burns, I don't really think they'd ever accept a laissez faire government. No hope for the frogs.

[Corning]

I thought redistribution was designed to stop social unrest caused by economic inequality.

Now the opposite is also true?

[Gojira]

Well fellows, I haven't been around much lately. How goes the War on Everything?

[The DerpRider]

Yes.

[Rich]

Hi guy. O's, um, War on Himself is providing considerable entertainment.

[SugarFree]

Meh. It was mostly just sugarcoated Lou Reed.

[Ska]

That doesn't sound like fine, fine music.

[Brett L]

Not even Lou's life could be saved by Rock'n'Roll in the end.

[Gojira]

sugarcoated

Yikes, it must have been hell for you.

[SugarFree]

Pretty much. Warty sexted me a bunch to keep my strength up.

"What is that, some sort of combine harvester... OH GOD, NO!"

[Gojira]

So "strength" is the new euphemism for "penis"? Glad to know, it explains a lot of the emails I've been getting from Epi.

And Cytotoxic for some reason.

[SugarFree]

Do Canadians even have photography? Or penises, for that matter?

[Gojira]

Proximity to the Canadian border de-stimulates phallic growth in mammals. It's why Cyto has none, but Epi sports a micro (being in Seattle and all).

[Entropy Void]

No.

The answer is "No".

[Brett L]

It's good to be substitute, assistant, backup monarch.

London (AFP) - Britain's Prince Harry was due to arrive in South Africa on Monday as he makes his way to Antarctica for a grueling trek to the South Pole.

[playa manhattan]

I dunno, that seems like a lot of work.

[Rich]

He's carrying a lot of gruel.

[Brett L]

OTOH, no doubt they'll drop a helicopter in to rescue him if he gets in trouble. Plus, I think he's going with some chicks so he can finish his seven continents list.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

That's pretty awesome. Prince Charles is a nutjob but his sons seem like pretty cool guys given the charity work they do.

[Pro Libertate]

I thought they were Nazis or something.

[Killazontherun]

Even more odds for them to overcome. Courageous. That's what they are.

[The Last American Hero]

It's pretty much the best gig in the world. All the trappings of wealth and fame and none of the responsibilities or expectations that his older brother has to deal with (not that those are that bad either).

[Brett L]

none of the responsibilities or expectations that his older brother has to deal with

1) Produce an heir on a hottie
2) Marry her and stay that way if you want Grandma's throne.

Tough life.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

A judge has ruled that prosecutors can use evidence from James Holmes' apartment in his trial for the Aurora, Colo., theater shootings, even though police didn't have a warrant at the time of the search.

I forget, have they ruled him mentally fit to stand trial?

[The DerpRider]

Is there any doubt he did it? Why would they potentially set up a slam dunk appeal?

[playa manhattan]

So stupid. They already had him in custody; he wasn't going anywhere. They could have waited another 20 minutes for a search warrant.

[Ted S.]

Surely you don't expect intelligence from the popo. Why are you holding them to a double standard?

[AlmightyJB]

Why wait. Why even apply for search warrents for that matter. All deference will be to the cops anyways.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Yes, but in this case they wouldn't even need the evidence. They have at the scene with the murder weapon and a partial confession.

I suppose his defense attorney could appeal to dismiss any charges stemming from whatever illegal shit was in his apartment, but this guy is going to jail or the funny farm for the rest of his life.

[PD Scott]

How were they to know that he wasn't a evil genius who sent his clone to do his killing while he waited in his apartment/lair to continue his reign of terror?

[hamilton]

Washington State has started accepting license applications for those who want to legally sell marijuana in the state.

In other news, Sam Hurd requested a trade to the Seahawks.

[playa manhattan]

"George Zimmerman has been arrested again, this time on a domestic disturbance call in Central Florida."

TMZ already has the mugshot. He allegedly assaulted his pregnant girlfriend.

[RBS]

Why should anyone care more about Zimmerman assaulting his girlfriend than the hundreds of other douchebags that do it every day?

[playa manhattan]

A lot of people's political views today were shaped by in part what happened in Sanford, Fl. Not mine, though.

[Rich]

Because his girlfriend is Rihanna?

[Brett L]

I thought she was into that stuff?

[Mike M.]

Normal people don't care, but the leftie JournoList scum apparently is going to stalk him until the day he dies, like some creepy Fatal Attraction type woman on steroids.

Hell, even most of the professional race hustlers have moved on from Zimmerman at this point, which tells you just how psychotic our so-called mainstream media is.

[Almanian!]

ZIMMERMAN WON'T BE SATISFIED TILL HE'S KILLED EVERYONE HE'S EVER MET! LOOK AT THE PATTERN!!11!11ONE1!

[Brett L]

Listen, its not that we don't know fast-food has a lot of calories, its just that nobody gives a shit. Obviously we MUST ban high calorie meals since the proles didn't do what we thought they should.

While the high calorie counts of artery-clogging fast foods are often printed right in front of our eyes, most people ignore them and go ahead and order their burgers and fries anyway, a new study finds.

[playa manhattan]

With those new menus, I still go for the same calorie count. I just reach my goal with more fatty foods and less soda.

[The Other Kevin]

Aha! See? These are the same people we are supposed to trust to pick out their own health insurance?

[Ted S.]

Since the "nudge" didn't work, they'll resort to greater force.

[playa manhattan]

The penal tax gun barrel is never very far behind the nudge.

[Suthenboy]

^THIS

Comment of the day. You win Ted.

This should be shouted over and over from every rooftop in the country.

[CE]

Fast food portions are so small, you'd think the concern trolls would go after the restaurants that serve much larger entrees, but then, that would be where they eat.

[playa manhattan]

I believe Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory were among the worst offenders...

[db]

I was playing Fallout: New Vegas the other night, and I was struck by a thought that I've had before, but never so clearly. "What would it be like to live in a world where there is no such thing as a ban on possession of anything?"

Indeed. What would a world be like that only punished criminal actions with an identifiable victim? Has such a society ever existed, or are humans in general just so blinkered as to never as a group have imagined the concept?

[Rasilio]

'Indeed. What would a world be like that only punished criminal actions with an identifiable victim? Has such a society ever existed, or are humans in general just so blinkered as to never as a group have imagined the concept?"

Probably, as long as you exclude the issue of corruption.

That is there have probably been societies where the only crimes were ones with actual victims but that did not preclude people from being wrongly charged and convicted of those crimes nor would it preclude the society of mistakenly believing that harmless things were actually harmful (for example witchcraft)

As far as a society without prohibitions on possession, yeah lots of those have existed. The majority of societies prior to the invention of the printing press would not have had much in the way of prohibited possessions

For examp

[db]

ple, your computer has now been banned?

[Corning]

Has such a society ever existed

Yes...but it was the stone age so there was not very many useful things one could possess.

[Rich]

Without comment, the court declined to hear the case

Would someone *kindly* explain why this doesn't amount to the Supreme FYTW?

[Almanian!]

No.

FYTW.

[Rich]

I decline to hear that.

[Almanian!]

Well, you did say "kindly"

[Coeus]

Feminists. Libertarian's natural allies, right?

To save Americans' health, government must intervene in food industry
The FDA's proposed ban on trans fats is too rare and too late an intervention into food safety

[Tonio]

LOL

[Coeus]

It was the funniest article I've ever read on reason. Absurdist humor at it's finest.

[Tonio]

Well, yeah, but unconscious self-parody is inherently cruel.

[Tonio]

Oops, that was supposed to be in response to the bitstrips link.

[BakedPenguin]

It works there, too.

[RBS]

Jill Filipovic is a lawyer and writer. She blogs at Feministe and is a weekly columnist at the Guardian.

She's the anti Linnekin.

[Biden's Scroteplugs]

just mandate people not be fat. problem solved for $95.

[CatoTheElder]

Just make it a felony to provide either food or medical services to an individual with BMI over 30.

Problem solved.

[Brett L]

So, Urban, tell us again how great it is to play in the Big 10.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Whether it's the current system, which Urban Meyer called "flawed," or the playoff format that will soon replace it, the Ohio State coach isn't expecting the controversy that accompanies college football's postseason to go away.

(I like to pick, but he's really not bitching, just answering a bullshit question.)

[AlmightyJB]

Maybe if he wins 34 in a row they'll let them be in the playoffs next year. Oh no. I forgot they don't play those major powerhouses every week like FSU and Baylor do.

[Brett L]

Here's some lotion for yer butthurt. FSU and Baylor didn't have to put their starters in last weekend to stave off embarrassment against a terrible team. In fact, other than against BC, FSU's starters haven't played in the fourth quarter.

[wareagle]

Jameis is the man. I'm okay with what my school has, but I would not tell that Winston no.

[Brett L]

Good thing, because according to TMZ, he doesn't take no for an answer.

[Biden's Scroteplugs]

sic 'em next week wareagletigers.

[Almanian!]

But what's their stance on deep-dish abortion circumcision craft beer?

[Enough About Palin]

That it could cause a civil war?

[Pi Guy]

It's all mayonnaise to me

[AlmightyJB]

I don't have a problem with where OSU is ranked. My problem is the lack of recognition of the weakness of the other major conferences. It's not just the Big Ten that is down. FSU may well be playing Duke in the ACC championship. Baylor beat Oklahoma and that's it. Oregon gets crushed by Stanford? Alabama beat MSST by 14? But all you hear all day long from ESPN is that OSU needs to drop in the polls. I'm just pointing out the obvious.

[Jazzizhep]

Thank-you for acknowledging the obvious. Too often OSU and Big 10 fans believe scraping by a 6 loss team in NW, and pulling out a victory against Wis is better than beating the 10th ranked team.

P.S. For sarcasm to work, it is best to not simply state what a a majority of CF fans outside of the mid-west know.

[Ted S.]

God I hope somebody beats them in the Big "Ten" championship game.

[KDN]

Of course it's not going to go away. That's what happens when you wait 15 years to fix an obvious problem and do it in an incomplete manner.

[db]

I though Obama fixed the college football postseason problem years ago!

[trshmnstr]

Radical fix to the BCS that would be tons better than the BCS-lite playoff that is coming next year.

1) *Split into twelve 10 team conferences.
* Play a round robin schedule (9 games)
* The 4 best teams for each conference get into single-elimination conference playoffs
* The 12 conference champions, along with 4 at-large bids make a 16 team playoff, which are played at various bowls.
*As teams are eliminated, they are eligible for invites to less prestigious bowls.

[Robert]

Why would you play 9 games to eliminate just 6 of 10 teams, and then eliminate 3 more in just 2 games? Couldn't you eliminate 9 out of the 10 in the round robin?

[The Last American Hero]

It would be fine if he'd schedule a tougher preseason game than Wellesley.

[KDN]

They tried to, and usually do. I don't think the athletic department anticipated an up-and-coming Cal program completely falling off a cliff when they agreed to the home and home, though.

[BigT]

Vanderbilt was on the schedule, but backed out. Not that Vandy is great, but the schedule is beyond Meyer's control for a few years yet. And it's not Ohio State's fault that Michigan, Penn State, and Nebraska have fallen so far.

[Biden's Scroteplugs]

maybe someday the Big 10 will win a Rose Bowl.

[Almanian!]

Bring back The Big Two and The Little Eight! Those were the days...

[Palin's Buttplug]

GOP considering early Midwestern Super Primary to lessen influence of Southern SoCons.

Most significantly, the party is considering holding a "Midwestern primary" featuring Great Lakes states such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin that would come immediately after the votes in the traditional early primary states. Also being weighed and thought likely to be approved when the Republican National Committee meets in early 2014 is a plan to shorten the primary season considerably by holding the party's convention in July, almost as soon as the last primary ballots are cast. The move toward a "Midwestern Super Tuesday" after the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida appears aimed in part at wresting control of the nominating process from social conservatives in the South in an effort to produce a nominee more likely to carry the election in November.

http://thevotingnews.com/repub.....ily-beast/

[The Last American Hero]

The Socons had their chance at the wheel. That's why Barry had the trifecta at the start of his presidency.

[Mike M.]

If only the republicans would finally nominate some moderate softie instead of those fire breathing far right-wing socons like Mitt Romney, they might win for once.

[#]

The midwest is also where the bulk of the swing states are. A candidate that can do comparably well there, likely wins the general.

[Restoras]

This is, like, the biggest news in weeks! Much bigger than anything else going on...amiright?

[Coeus]

Everyone who reads this article?

Who said feminists have no humor? While some have lamented the takeover of Bitstrips on their Facebook newsfeeds, I found myself literally laughing out loud to a series of Bitstrip comics with a feminist twist my friend was posting. I asked one of the co-creators, Everyday Feminism contributor and blogger at Womanisms Patricia Valoy, about #FeministBitStrips:

[The Other Kevin]

Those were the worst attempt at humor I have ever seen. I really wish I could get back the 30 seconds I took to read those.

[SugarFree]

Crushingly unfunny. And she doesn't understand that the vast majority of English speakers read right-to-left.

[SugarFree]

"left-to-right" Jeez. It was so unfunny it broke my brain.

[hamilton]

Oh, I thought you were being sarcastic. TOO HIGH EXPECTATIONS.

[Brett L]

Your brain went RTL in an effort to protect you.

[VG Zaytsev]

This line was pretty funny:

"Wagatwe was once deemed an "exceptionally articulate African-American student" by an Obama administration member."

[Jordan]

I'm pretty sure that Bitstrips don't include morbidly obese character templates, so there can be no feminist Bitstrips.

[Anomalous]

Anybody who finds these funny is seriously deranged.

[General Butt Naked]

I found myself literally laughing out loud...

My gawd, how fucking fried yer brain must be.

The weird part is that the characters in the "comics" were just parroting dipshit, feminist banalities, so how would a dipshit feminist find that funny? I doubt it's a playful poking at themselves, because if there's one thing that feminists lack, it's the self-awareness required for self deprecating humor.

[Mad Scientist]

So wasn't literally laughing out loud. That's just what she would like the other feminists to believe. This is nothing but loudly admiring the Emperor's clothes.

[Suthenboy]

I did not see anything there resembling a joke.

[MJGreen]

But... they're not even jokes. What is funny about them?

Except for laughing at them for being so blunt and unimaginative, that is.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

People think things that are supposed to be funny (but are not) and that reflect their personal beliefs are funny. Feminists think feminist humor is hilarious, regardless of how funny it actually is. Feminists think female comedians are funnier than they actually are simply because their women. That's why you get women like that Australian comic (who isn't funny) held up as comedic geniuses. Which isn't to say there aren't funny female comedians, because there are plenty.

I don't think this is a phenomenon limited to feminists; everyone is susceptible to it, including libertarians (though I can't seem to come up with an example of it off the top of my head).

[Irish]

I don't think this is a phenomenon limited to feminists; everyone is susceptible to it, including libertarians (though I can't seem to come up with an example of it off the top of my head).

All of our jokes about the orphan diamond mines.

I'm sure that a non-libertarian who stumbled on one of those threads would be confused as hell.

[Irish]

Oh, it's this woman again!

Wagatwe was once deemed an "exceptionally articulate African-American student" by an Obama administration member.

I'm still trying to figure out whether she realizes this is racist and is posting it ironically or doesn't realize it's racist and is flattered to have been patronized by a white guy.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Methodist pastor who officiated son's gay marriage now stands trial before church for breaking church laws

The Rev. Frank Schaefer of Lebanon, Pa., entered a plea of not guilty as the trial of the United Methodist minister who officiated at his son's same-sex marriage began on Monday. He is accused of breaking church law barring same-sex marriages and his defense is that he just took God's love and extended it to his son when he officiated at the 2007 ceremony in Massachusetts.

The church has set aside three days for the trial, though a verdict could come sooner. If convicted, Schaefer could lose his standing in the church. On Monday morning, a crowd of observers lined up outside a United Methodist retreat center to show support. The trial is being held at Camp Innabah, in Spring City, Pa., and although the proceedings are public, no electronic equipment is allowed in the courtroom.

On Sunday night, Schaefer told supporters he was encouraged but added he doubted that he would be acquitted and the worst punishment would be for him to be defrocked.

"I want to make a strong statement that what I did was in good conscience," he said, according to press reports.

[playa manhattan]

"I want to make a strong statement that what I did was in good conscience,"

Then why plead not guilty?

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

I assume they'd kick him out of the church he ministers at.

He'd have to find employment elsewhere or start his own church.

[Ted S.]

Strating one's own church seems to have worked for Creflo Dollar and Joel Osteen.

[Enough About Palin]

The man's last name is Dollar, FFS. How big a hint does G-d have to provide some people???

[Rich]

his defense is that he just took God's love and extended it

"That's what they *all* say."

the worst punishment would be for him to be defrocked

What about having to wear his frock as a diaper?

[Floridian]

Why not change religion to one that accepts his son instead of giving the middle finger to his current church?

[Enough About Palin]

I still can't get over the fact that Rev. Martin Luther King was arrested for protesting segregation at the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida. Don't like America, reverend? Move your ass to Canada.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://tinyurl.com/qftppue
Alabama school apologizes for Trail of Tears banner.

McAdory High School played the Pinson Valley Indians Friday night and cheerleaders held up a sign saying their opponents should "get ready to leave in a Trail of Tears."

[Ted S.]

What does it say about me that I laughed?

[Bam!]

Politically incorrect cheerleaders? Yippee.

[Rich]

Principal Tod Humphries says ... the cheerleaders who made the sign will face disciplinary action.

A good spanking, perhaps?

[PD Scott]

They'll have to have a waterless car wash.

[Brett L]

"Wipin' 'em off here, boss!"

[Rasilio]

And after the spankings the oral sex?

[wareagle]

some days I miss living in Alabama where the PC rot has not infected everyone.

[db]

That's nothing. When I was in high school they hosted a pep rally where the students were invited to spraypaint slogans on an old car and all the football players took turns beating on the car with sledge hammers. The rally took place the night before a game against a local school from a wealthy township that conventional wisdom held hosted many of the Jewish members of the community. Some jackass spraypainted "Kill the Kikes" on the car and it made its way all the way through the rally before anyone noticed. Some coaches and teachers also took a few whacks at the car.

If that had happened today, the internet would probably catch on fire and teachers', coaches', and administrators' heads would roll. As it was, I don't recall much happening outside a bit of embarrassment.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://tinyurl.com/kogxmrn

TVA shuts down their Colbert County, Alabama steam plant. Predictably, the editorial board for the local newspaper believes broken windows can stimulate an economy.

[Ted S.]

Then blow up the entire Shoals area. Instant stimulus!

[Caleb Turberville]

If the TVA employed 2,800 people to go around blowing up Colbert County, and then cut those jobs, I'm sure the local newspapers would decry the loss of 2,800 jobs.

[Coeus]

How can she even reconcile this with her politics? The double-think is insane:

Reading this, you get the distinct impression Hemingway thinks she should be able to put a camera in your bedroom to make sure even your most private sexual choices conform to her notion of how things "should" be.

To which I clearly say fuck the fuck off. It is not obvious to decent people who know how to mind their own business that this couple "should" have a baby right now. Here's how mature adults who know how to stay in their own lane respond to that video: "They seem like a nice couple. It's terrible that some stupid law is making life so difficult for them right now. I'd really hate it to have a bunch of people who don't know me or my life trying to come in and meddle with it as these folks have been meddled with."

[MJGreen]

Because it's clear that "they," as with "I", are smart, right-thinking people. It's all those other idiots who need to be told what to eat, what to buy, etc.

[PD Scott]

Rare Libertarian Party member sighting on WSB. For some reason their videos lack the titles that accompanied the story as broadcast. Note that the kookie LP ideas are nicely bookended by the reasonable small businessman who wants other people to build a stadium near him in hopes of increased business for him.

Those silly people in Cobb Co objecting to the stadium! Only business taxes will go up, regular people shouldn't be affected at all!

[Cytotoxic]

I watched Thor: The Dark World on the weekend and it was great. I liked the first Thor and this was a lot better. I don't want to spoil anything but...Agard 9/11. There. And once again, for the umpteenth time, Fuck You Kurt Loder. Your movie reviews suck balls.

[Caleb Turberville]

What's wrong with Loder's reviews? I don't read them.

[Cytotoxic]

His reviews can be summed up as 'it was fun so I hated it'. See also, STiD thought that might have been Suderderp.

[Almanian!]

=I don't read them

That may help. Me - I like his reviews alright.

[RBS]

I get the sense that he doesn't really enjoy any of the movies he reviews, same with Suderman. They almost sound pissed that the even had to sit through them most of the time.

[Cytotoxic]

Exactly. They should just stop hurting themselves and us.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The problem is that the type of person who is attracted to being a professional movie critic is the type of person who thinks pretentious Lars von Trier bullshit is the sole definition of cinema. However, unless they write for the NYT or the Village Voice, the majority of films they will be sent to review will be genre potboilers.

[db]

This is why I don't watch movies. I genuinely don't enjoy watching almost all of them. There are some I like but frankly I usually have more interesting things to be doing. I would write movie reviews that are not useful to people who enjoy watching movies.

[Ted S.]

How dare Kurt Loder not have the same taste as Cytotoxic!

[Cytotoxic]

I know right? So much wrong in this world.

[Brett L]

Yes. Apparently asking a SFF movie to have something resembling a plot is monstrous.

[Cytotoxic]

STiD? It had a plot. Next time, try to comprehend it instead of wallowing in sadness at the obvious inferiority of ST:TOS

[Heroic Mulatto]

Now you're just trolling, Cyto.

[Brett L]

I actually don't give a shit about ST. They are all equally worthless. I just find Abrams movies formulaic at the expense of plot and characterization. If that makes me a monster (like hating pugs), I'm okay with that.

[Corning]

Did you notice that the Judge Dredd actor is in Abrams new show "Almost Human"?

I really liked the new Dredd movie and seeing the actor who played him in an Abrams TV show was really depressing...but I guess he has been in Abrams stuff before so it was pretty much expected.

[Ted S.]

For fucks sake, that's a point I made when I blogged about the 1960 George Sanders version of Village of the Damned -- it's at least as important to have a good plot as it is to have special effects. Hell, even more important.

[Brett L]

Nazi Supermen allusions weren't clear enough in the original. So they put Superman in the remake, just to be sure.

[BakedPenguin]

The Bloodening!

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Man of Steel Lex Luthor rumors add another bald actor to list: this time Terry O'Quinn

Talk of a Superman movie inevitably spurs rumors about Lex Luthor involvement, and the latest of these has Lost's Terry O'Quinn at their center. Well, he is an older white man rocking the bald look with some serious glower power. Superman Super Site (via JoBlo) says sources close to the production being mounted in Detroit MI--which will serve as Gotham City in the Man of Steel sequel, Batman vs Superman--say O'Quinn is on director Zack Snyder's short list for the role of Luthor. But SSS itself says to take this rumor with a grain of salt.

At a live fan event, Snyder himself has confirmed Luthor will appear in Batman vs Superman. But when it comes to who might play the part, he's been understandably tight-lipped. In August, Bryan Cranston was rumored for Luthor, but the Breaking Bad star was quick to shoot that down, though not before fans came up with a spec trailer. Still, considering he'd spent years playing a critically adored and fan-loved villain, this casting possibility made sense.

Don't tell Lex what he can't do!

[Cytotoxic]

Bryan Cranston was rumored for Luthor

DO IT DO IT DO IT. Seriously, that would be guaranteed box-office dynamite, even if the movie sucked.

[Caleb Turberville]

I actually liked the Bryan Cranston speculation. Cavill had very little range in Man of Stee, and you can already guess what you're going to get with Affleck, so Cranston could've given the cast at least some life.

[Cytotoxic]

Affleck was good in Argo and some other films. Cavill's supe was just a boring guy. I guess that's how you turn out if you're raised in (BARF) Kansas. MoS was...stupid anyway so whatever.

[Corning]

You do realize that no actor can make the new Superman vs Batman movie good right?

[Shirley Knott]

What do you mean 'even if'?

[Robert]

Lyle Talbot really nailed Luthor in Atom Man vs. Superman way back: a great combination of superciliousness and utter contempt; too bad the other actors in that serial were mailing it in by then (they were better in the 1st serial). Either Terry O'Quinn or Bryan Cranston could be great too, but not better than Talbot had it.

[PD Scott]

No mention if it makes the kids want to have sex with jazz musicians: NBOMe spreading to GA.

And what do new scary drugs do besides kill you dead if you look at them funny?

Director of the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency Rick Allen:
"People that have taken it, it has taken three or four police or EMTS to get the person in handcuffs," Allen said. "You could have a heart attack before it was all over with if you've gotten too aggressive with it."

[Ted S.]

Last night when I was watching The Amazing Race the local CBS affiliate wheezily shried about some special report coming up on tonight's 11:00 news about the latest scary drug. I wonder if this is it.

Sadly, I can't be bothered to stay up to watch.

[Almanian!]

That sounds like a lot of fun. therefore, it must be banned.

[Rich]

"All it takes is one little slip up, one little dip too much, and someone could overdose and die from it."

And *that*, my friends, is why we must ban swimming pools.

[Brett L]

So if we legalized the less lethal alternatives...

[PD Scott]

Madness! Nothing more psychedelic than a Brach's peppermint is safe and those are right out because of the sugar!

YOU'LL EXPERIENCE CONSENSUS REALITY AND YOU'LL LIKE IT!

[Coeus]

Cops in some Ohio communities could ticket drivers more sober than themselves

Until recently, police in Lebanon, Ohio, were permitted to suck on a breath mint before they were tested for alcohol, but they're still allowed to work and avoid discipline even if their blood-alcohol content is 0.04, about half the legal limit for most drivers in the state.

Drivers younger than 21 can be cited for drunken driving if their BAC is higher than 0.02, so they could theoretically be issued a ticket by an officer who was less sober than they were.

[Heroic Mulatto]

You know you fucked up when you pissed off Michelle Malkin and Randi Winegarten at the same time!

Conservative commentator and Common Core foe Michelle Malkin scolded Duncan.

"Ohhhh yes, the red blood underneath my brown skin is boiling. This Obama educrat has stepped in it. Big time. Race card-wielding Education Secretary Arne Duncan is nothing but a corrupt and bankrupt bigot," Malkin wrote.

Tweeted Randi Winegarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers: "Arne-if u are reading- you shld walk this back..very insensitive-and not right-moms care abt their kids!!

[Jordan]

The President of the American Federation of Teachers types like an illiterate buffoon.

"arne u r mean u shld totes say ur sorry lol"

[Heroic Mulatto]

Think of it this way, the President of the AFT writes like a Teamster goon, which is what she is.

The brain hurts less that way.

[playa manhattan]

This is consistent with my understanding of the public school system.

[PD Scott]

Government program wastes money: spends more on fixing up houses than the houses are worth, sells then at a loss.

One house on Hillside Avenue sold for $74,900, but the county spent $163,000 to renovate it. That's 118 percent more than the sale price. Another house on Barberrie Lane sold for $89,900, but the county spent nearly $177,000 on it ? 94 percent more than the sale price.

Altogether, DeKalb spent nearly $900,000 NSP dollars on six homes that sold for just $535,000. Total costs were 65 percent higher than the combined sales prices.

[BigT]

Location, location, location!

[Bam!]

Krugnomics.

[Bobarian]

Well when you install the windows and then break them and install and break and continue to repeat, the labor you're creating makes up for the loss...

/DERP

[playa manhattan]

"(Did it make a difference?) Yes, it made a difference. (Did it save the neighborhood?) No"

Sounds pretty scientific to me. It made a difference!

[lap83]

JOBS!!!11

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Seattle's avowed socialist council member speaks

In the best case scenario for you, the day that capitalism ended in the United States ? how would that happen, what form would that transition take?

It would be difficult for me to lay out a blueprint of that. But ? we can think about what it will require ?

Capitalism is a system where it's extremely productive, and productivity rates are at an all-time high, but the gains of the productivity are delivered almost exclusively to a very tiny elite at the top ?

Boeing has an enormous factory, [as well as] all the auto factories that are lying defunct right now in the U.S. ? they all have enormous capacity for production. And there's any number of workers with the skills, and people who have the potential of learning those skills. And instead we have a situation where, because we don't have a say in the production, either the machines are lying idle, or the machines are being used to produce destructive machines like drones.

So what we need to do is to take the machines and the factories into democratic, say, democratic ownership ? and the workers can contribute rail cars or buses, something like that, something that is beneficial to society. And that's something that creates jobs ? it will create living wage jobs ?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Repeat after me "economics professor"

Economics.

Professor.

[BakedPenguin]

Wow. I thought you were kidding.

[Bobarian]

"and the workers can contribute rail cars or buses"

To load up the kulaks and wreckers for movement to the reintegration centers?

[PD Scott]

Production for use! If it was good enough for the killer in His Gal Friday it's good enough for America!

[Ted S.]

You mean His Girl Friday. Or The Front Page, take your pick. 😉

[PD Scott]

His Girl, d'oh.

[Bam!]

Where do you even begin with someone like this?

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Look, who do you trust to efficiently allocate scarce resources?

The mythical "FREE MARKET!!!" or a highly unionized workforce with an incentive to award themselves contracts building stuff that nobody wants but is vaguely 'socially useful'?

[paranoid android]

I don't live in the city any more and couldn't vote in this election, but from what I followed this lady is basically the distilled essence of the Occupy movement's idiocy. And there is really no understating just how clueless these people are. We're talking about people who actually think that we should be raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour to stick it to those evil corporations, and any attempt to explain the absurd folly in such a line of thinking gets you branded a brainwashed capitalist enemy.

It's pretty terrifying they were able to amass enough votes to get this shill elected, although I don't know much about who she was running against.

[Heroic Mulatto]

And there is really no understating just how clueless these people are.

She's a professor. A professor of economics.

Ponder that.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"I don't know much about who she was running against"

For the sake of those who voted for her, I hope she was running against the candidate of the Let Babies Smoke Crack Party.

[Suthenboy]

By asking them if it has ever been tried before, and how it turned out. This is the same old tired bullshit that socialists always trot out and is demonstrably disasterous.

[hamilton]

Step 1: Nationalize industry.
Step 2: .....
Step 3: Profit Living Wage Jerbs!

[barfman2013]

*barf*

[Rhywun]

the gains of the productivity are delivered almost exclusively to a very tiny elite at the top

Just... wow.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://www.al.com/alabamafootb.....er_default

Mark Richt's downfall will be Nick Saban's triumph. Prime Directive: "If it's 4th and 18 at the end of the game, you knock the damn ball down."

[wareagle]

I disagree. Richt's coaching was spot on. 🙂

[PD Scott]

The UGA-Auburn game was painful to watch. Well, it was okay except for the part where the UGA defense played volleyball for the nice Auburn receiver.

[Palin's Buttplug]

A real player wants that pick!

[Caleb Turberville]

I watched the video of the tip in slow-mo. It looked like #25 was trying to bat it down, while #28 for Georgia was going for the interception. Had #28 assisted #25, the ball would been on the turf.

[Brett L]

Some day, the Dawgs will stop exclusively calling dive plays on first and second down and the SEC will be in trouble.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I am no Richt fan but he has been far more open to pro-style passing than I thought he would be. Of course you would get trampled in the SEC if you can't play downfield when you need to.

Vince Dooley days are over - like when UGA beat Notre Dame for the title with one pass completion.

[Brett L]

I'm being slightly tongue in cheek. But really, the OC for UGa does seem to run a remarkable number of runs between the tackles. Run some jet sweeps and reverses, just to keep the linebackers a half-step back in the basic run formation.

[SugarFree]

Much of what is wrong with American education is right there in the mangled English of Randi's response.

[Heroic Mulatto]

That was my first thought! She writes like a 13-year-old moron.

[SugarFree]

It turns out that the most accurate vision of our future in science fiction was Riddley Walker.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Arefu!

[Palin's Buttplug]

The Robots Are Here - Libertarian Tyler Cowen predicts declining middle class due to automation.

Our future will bring more wealthy people than ever before, but also more poor people, including people who do not always have access to basic public services. Rather than balancing our national budget with higher taxes or lower benefits, we will allow GDP growth to falter and the real wages of many workers to fall, creating a new underclass. But this polarization notwithstanding, America's political collapse is much less likely than the pessimists imagine, between the general aging of American society and the way new technologies are improving basic living standards.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazi.....z2l2LyfQDc

[Bam!]

Back in the day, everyone thought computers would become as big as houses. They were right: Google has warehouse-sized computers. But they failed to see a much more important part: That computers would also become smaller and, therefore, more ubiquitous.

This guy is essentially making the same mistake. He looks at one component of the present, automation, and extrapolates it out. He's failing to see the opportunities that it'll bring.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Father claims Google Maps aerial view shows son's dead body

The father of a murdered teenager wants Google to delete a Google Maps satellite image that the man believes shows the dead boy lying along railroad tracks near his California home.

The jarring image shows a body splayed near tracks in Richmond, a city in Contra Costa county. A police car is seen nearby, while other figures--presumably cops--are steps away.

While the date the satellite image was recorded is unknown, Jose Barrera believes that the photo shows his son Kevin, 14, who was murdered in August 2009. Investigators found the teenager's body along the Union Pacific railroad tracks.

Barrera has said he will petition Google to remove the image, which is seen above (click to enlarge).

According to Sergeant Nicole Abetkov, a Richmond Police Department spokesperson, Barrera's body was found on August 15, 2009 in the 1100 block of Hensley Street, which roughly coincides with the location shown in the Google image. The teen's murder remains unsolved.

Yeah that's pretty awful.

[db]

Yikes.

[playa manhattan]

Streisand, Barbara.

And now I've seen the picture of the body too.

[Enough About Palin]

George Zimmerman has been arrested again, this time on a domestic disturbance call in Central Florida.

One. Dumb. Fucker.

[SugarFree]

Supposedly a domestic on his pregnant girlfriend.

Some conditions are self-correcting.

[playa manhattan]

She claimed to be pregnant, which automatically escalates the charge to a felony. Sneaky move. According to the Seminole County Sheriff's Dept, he is not eligible for bail:
http://webbond.seminolesheriff.....1300012785

[SugarFree]

At least it looks like he finally got his appetite back from after the trial.

[Jordan]

Well, she also claimed he had a gun last time, and later recanted after nobody - including the police who searched him and the family members who were present the entire time - was able to produce one.

[SugarFree]

That was his wife.

[Coeus]

He sure can pick 'em, can't he?

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Apple's Siri is a Ron Paul supporter

Siri what are your political views?

Siri, the personal assistant feature in Apple's latest smartphones, appears to lean libertarian. Ask the iPhone the above question and you'll be taken to a Wikipedia page for Ron Paul, implying that Siri and Ron go together like peanut butter and jelly.

The libertarian connection, first noted by the Daily Caller and confirmed by FoxNews.com, could come from the fact that Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul recently defended Apple's tax practices, and called on Congress to apologize for berating "one of America's greatest success stories," the site suggested.

It could also arise from a mere coincidence: Ron Paul supporters are a vocal, tech-savvy group, making the politician's name particularly likely to pop up in search results.

Well that explains why she described Usain Bolt as 'fleet of foot'.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Perhaps Siri can be "Siri-bombed" like Google could - prioritizing search results by users.

[MJGreen]

Well that explains why she described Usain Bolt as 'fleet of foot'.

Well, you got the biggest laugh from me today.

[Brett L]

I'll bet no regular here can read this without cursing and/or breaking something.

How saving endangers the economy ? and what to do about it

Featuring people like Larry Summers and Paul Krugman, who I am certain have more than a few years' capital tied up in non-productive things like... houses.

[JW]

Let me guess...confiscate the savings and convert them into safe and patriotic T-bills?

[Redmanfms]

How saving endangers the economy ? and what to do about it

The Fed is already on that savings crisis, by QE-ing the money into worthlessness.

Krugman is fucking retarded.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

WaPo: Democrats will not fold on Obamacare repeal

Interpreting the vote last week as a prelude to repeal is the wrong interpretation of what's happening. The correct interpretation is that Dems want to have it both ways ? they are simply decrying the costs of Obamacare while standing behind its benefits. There is no indication whatsoever that they will suddenly lurch from their current stance to a completely different position.
All of this will still apply even if Healthcare.gov isn't working very well next month Indeed, it will probably be true even if Healthcare.gov isn't working well in the entire first year of the program. Yes, that would cause some political stress (although whether it would have a real electoral effect is impossible to know), but not nearly as much as an attempt to abandon the exchanges at this point. The reality is that the electoral incentives for Dems work heavily against them abandoning the law.
It is still possible that the exchanges will collapse ? that in the long run, when fully implemented, the policy really won't work. But even then, repeal almost certainly won't happen; instead there will be major changes that build on the law.

Good point, which is why smart Repubs will press vulnerable Dems on the repeal issue next year.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Science:Women like big penises

[Bam!]

I could've told you that.

[Heroic Mulatto]

It's not science until it's a double-blind, randomized study of big penises.

[db]

Wait, double-blind implies that the bearer of the penis should have no idea of its size.

[Bobarian]

Double blind would mean that the tester and the person being tested would have no idea of the size of the penis...

How you conduct that test, I'm not sure.

But it Sounds like a job for STEVE SMITH.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Girth is more important than length.

[SugarFree]

No one wants to hear about your hockey puck penis again.

[Enough About Palin]

You speak as someone who's intimately familiar with this...

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

It's simple anatomy. A woman's vagina is only sensitive for the first few inches, after that length doesn't enhance the experience.

[Paul.]

A woman's vagina is only sensitive for the first few inches

This is true. My experience is it's the first eight or nine and half. After that, it's diminishing returns.

[Kid Xenocles]

A woman's vagina...

What about a man's vagina?

[Corning]

It's simple anatomy. A woman's vagina is only sensitive for the first few inches, after that length doesn't enhance the experience.

I am pretty sure if a dick is bumping into a woman's diaphragm she will feel it.

[Coeus]

Who uses a diaphragm any more?

[Kid Xenocles]

Well, every time she breathes...

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Let's see, our funding is running low again, what stunt will be pull next?"

"A study about whether men like big breasts on women?"

"I think we've done that one already."

"OK, what about big butts?"

"Sir Mixalot beat us to it in the Journal of Fanny Size Studies."

[Invisible Handjob]

The glass ceiling illustrated in one 'meet the staff' web page

And there's this.

[playa manhattan]

Don't worry, I'm sure the government will somehow get involved.

[MJGreen]

What a disgusting company, employing 27 women. The war on women continues.

[Paul.]

David Bowie is "Fixed Line Director"? I don't even know what "Fixed Line Director" is.

[Paul.]

Oh, and say what you will about management vs. senior management, the management looks like they pulled the cast from some tween disney show. Is there anyone there over the age of 12?

[Paul.]

And there's this.

Check out Ms. Thickness in the back.

[lap83]

About the 'meet the staff' web page.

1. Where are the men trying to climb the ladder? The very few men present are at the top. Do the feminists think they were born in those positions, or could there be a reason they don't hire any more men.

2. All of the women seem to be at least moderately attractive.

3. In conclusion, it seems less a case of keeping women down as it is a hiring policy of a few d-bags in charge only wanting to hire something they want to look at. Also, what feminists don't realize is that there are only a few executive positions in any given company. These guys probably think that not hiring men is one way of stifling competition. I had one manager who said he never hired a man who was better looking or taller than him.

[lap83]

btw, I'm not saying that prejudices exist in companies as an indictment...I'm just stating a fact. Yeah, a lot of executives are prejudiced self-interested assholes. That's kind of the nature of business.

[Paul.]

Washington State has started accepting license applications for those who want to legally sell marijuana in the state.

Zzz...

[Eduard van Haalen]

Tomorrow is the sevenscore and tenth Gettysburg Addressversary. What is Ken Burns doing to commemorate this famous speech? Glad you asked:

"To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, documentarian Ken Burns, along with numerous partners, has launched a national effort to encourage everyone in America to video record themselves reading or reciting the speech.The collection of recordings housed on this site will continue to grow as more and more people are inspired by the power of history and take the challenge to LEARN THE ADDRESS."

http://www.learntheaddress.org/

[Coeus]

TSA abandons all pretense of security

The TSA is funding the rollout of exit pods at major airport terminals across the country that temporarily detain passengers before they are allowed to leave, another example critics say of how the federal agency's policies treat travelers as prisoners.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Now it's time for another round of...What if a Republican Did This?

"Education Secretary Arne Duncan apologized this evening for using "clumsy phrasing that I regret" when talking about opponents of the Common Core academic standards.

"Duncan told a gathering of state superintendents of education on Friday that "white suburban moms" were upset because their kids were doing poorly on new, more rigorous exams linked to Common Core."

http://www.politico.com/story/.....00017.html

[Eduard van Haalen]

Wait, this was already discussed above, never mind, carry on.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Great-great grandson of the anti-Gettysburg-Address editor whose paper recently repudiated him reflects on the reactions to Lincoln's speech:

"Here's the Chicago Times, a leading Democratic paper: "The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly flat dishwatery utterances of a man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States."

"It wasn't just the Democrats. Here's the Times of London: "The ceremony [at Gettysburg] was rendered ludicrous by some of the sallies of that poor President Lincoln."...

"To radical Northern Democratics, Dishonest Abe was pulling a bait-and-switch. His speech was "an insult" to the memories of the dead, the Chicago Times fumed: "In its misstatement of the cause for which they died, it was a perversion of history so flagrant that the most extended charity cannot regard it as otherwise than willful." Worse, invoking the Founding Fathers in his cause was nothing short of libelous. "They were men possessing too much self-respect," the Times assured its readers, "to declare that negroes were their equals.""

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.co.....z2l2qoM4X0

[Killazontherun]

The SNL bit linked there is hilarious.

[Coeus]

More examples of feminist humor.

So bad, I'm not even gonna pull a quote. but here's a comment:

#bearenting ? 6 hours ago
I'm reading these out to my husband and boyfriend, and nearly crying with laughter, to the point where they're starting to become concerned for my health, cos I can't even speak for laughing.

The only possible way these could be improved would be to change "menstruating companion" to something less essentialist, cos I personally know several men who menstruate, as well as both cis and trans women who do not.

The matriarchy must be perfected. More so I mean, as it's clearly already perfect.

[Eduard van Haalen]

How many feminists can screw in a light bulb?

That's not funny!

What do you call...

That's not funny!

Uh, uh, so a woman feeds her husband into a woodchipper while he begs for his life...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, oh, stop, I can't breathe...

[Eduard van Haalen]

Wait, I just looked at the "jokes" - they really are murderous beyond parody!

My mockery is useless against this!

[Eduard van Haalen]

And I thought it was simply a myth that feminists are man-haters. So maybe the other parts of the stereotype aren't myths, either.

[Corning]

Ring around the rosie
Pockets full of posies
Ashes, ashes
Only the men fall down. We have engineered a virus to kill all the men on earth, like in Y: The Last Man and it's AWESOME.

[Entropy Void]

"I'm reading these out to my husband and boyfriend" ...

WTF???

[Live Free or Diet]

The Supreme Court turned away a case ... to stop the National Security Agency's mass collection of telephone call metadata.

Anybody know how to build EMPs?

[Killazontherun]

I sometimes come across EMP 'nads on my daily romps through, oh, just about anywhere, subway platforms, boats sunken off the dock at Liberty Island, Parisian catacombs, you name it.

[verlighsoncno1975]

I am in fact grateful to the holder of this web page who has shared this enormous paragraph at at this place.

http://www.wde.de/emmerlich/ug.....ick-69.php