A.M. Links: Obama and Obamacare Increasingly Unpopular, Rand Paul Plans Trip to Detroit, Documents Reveal NSA's Justification For Metadata Collection

white-house-flickr-CC

• President Obama's relationship with congresssional Democrats has soured unprecedentedly since the botched Obamacare rollout. New polling shows public opinion of the president and his healthcare law have hit new lows. An Obamacare official said that 40 percent of IT systems supporting the federal exchange still need to be built.
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who previously opposed a taxpayer bailout for Detroit, will travel to there next month to offer his fix for the struggling city.
• Newly released documents show that the NSA used the legal precedence of sobriety checkpoints and mandatory drug testing to justify collecting metadata.
• Voters in Albuquerque, New Mexico struck down a proposed late-term abortion ban by a wide margin.
• Serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin was executed this morning after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final requests for a stay.
• Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei refuses to back down on Iran's nuclear rights.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

An Obamacare official said that 40 percent of IT systems supporting the federal exchange still need to be built.

Look at it this way, the other 60% of the site provides a template for developers on what not to do.

[Tim]

I don't know what's worse: you being constantly first or people like me who glom onto your post to get themselves near the top of the thread.

[The DerpRider]

I can't stand those parasites.

[The DerpRider]

Doh, didn't realize you reference yourself. Why would you do that?

[Tim]

I'm a self-hating poster.

[Marshall Gill]

Redundant?

[Elspeth Flashman]

You mean "The fool, or the fool who follows him?" /Obi Wan Kenobi

[The DerpRider]

I highly recommend the Riff Trax (MST3K guys) version of Star Wars. Download the sound file and play it along with your own DVD.

[Fist of Etiquette]

If you want to know what all the fuss about the Twilight movies was but don't think you can stomach seeing them, I suggest the Rifftrax versions of those as well. Also, Titanic was pretty good. And 300. And yes, all the Star Warses were great.

[Rhywun]

Neat - I never heard of this before.

[Tim]

"The fool, or the fool who follows Tim?"

[Marshall Gill]

Definitely redundant.

[Fist of Etiquette]

No hop-ons.

[Ted S.]

Hop off the bus, Gus.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

+1 make a new plan, Stan

[Being Waterboarded]

You called?

[Snark Plissken]

President Obama's relationship with congresssional Democrats has soured unprecedentedly since the botched Obamacare rollout.

Only the ones that are showing their true racism.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama's relationship with congresssional Democrats has soured unprecedentedly since the botched Obamacare rollout.

If you like your congressional seat you can keep it.

[Lord Humungus]

Condom maker says N.H. is No. 1 in size

In a survey released Monday, it claims that based on the sizes of condoms bought through its website, New Hampshire has the biggest male genitalia of any state in the country. Massachusetts is No. 8, Vermont is No. 29 and Maine is No. 41.

Wyoming is dead last.

the cold winters... yeah.

[Ted S.]

Don't they know about shrinkage?!

[Live Free or Diet]

Maine is No. 41.

It's all those Canadians, eh?

[Restoras]

Too much Irish extraction?

[Live Free or Diet]

Didn't have much extract, if I understood the point of the story.

[Warty]

"Oh, whoops, oh. I dropped my monster condom that I use for my magnum dong."

[The DerpRider]

The D.E.N.N.I.S. system.

[BakedPenguin]

"Yeah, dude. I'm swimming in your wake."

[gaijin]

Is NH full or norsemen?

[Rhywun]

Or horse-men?

[Auric Demonocles]

It's also entirely possible that more guys in New Hampshire buy condoms that are bigger than they need to feed their ego.

[Restoras]

Well I wonder how many are purchased while wearing beer goggles.

[Live Free or Diet]

It's also entirely possible that more guys in New Hampshire buy condoms that are bigger than they need to feed their ego.

Or they're using them to cover gun muzzles.

[Game of Gnomes]

Live Large or Die state

[Entropy Void]

Are there that many black guys in New Hampshire?

and that many Chinese in Wyoming?

/Stereotypes-R-Us

[Live Free or Diet]

Reminds me of the old joke about a guy who gets seated next to a professionally-dressed, gorgeous woman on a flight to Honolulu. They strike up a conversation, he mentions he's on vacation and it turns out she is going to an academic conference on sex, and she's speaking about "physiological and psychological anomalies across the ethnic spectrum."
"People study these things?" he asked, hoping to continue the subject.
"Certainly," she replied, "For instance, did you know that Jewish men have some of the largest penis sizes in the world?"
"Rumors have always led me to believe something... quite different."
"And Native American Indian men are the most intuitive and creative lovers," she continued. "By the way, what's your name?"
"Tonto Horowitz."

[GILMORE]

This is a play on Steven Wright's "jewish cowboy" joke?

I got on the bus the other day, and sat next to a beautiful, blonde, Japanese woman.

She appeared a little upset, so I asked what was wrong.

She said, "I can't tell you, you are a stranger."

I told her, "Sometimes it is best to tell your problems to a stranger."

She said, "Ok, I just got back from my therapist, and he doesn't seem able to help me. I'm a nymphomaniac and I only like Jewish Cowboys.

By the way, my name is Diane."

I said, "Howdy, Diane, my name is Bucky Goldstein"

[Mike Laursen]

Hmm, libertarians immigrate to state, penis size goes off charts. Sounds about right.

[Bobarian]

Maybe it's some people like shrike, who has to wear it like a hat?

[Fist of Etiquette]

New polling shows public opinion of the president and his healthcare law have hit new lows.

I guess it's a good thing we didn't know what was in it until after the presidential election.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama: We 'underestimated' difficulty of launching Obamacare portal

"We are going to have to obviously remarket and rebrand," he said. "And that will be challenging in this political environment."

While he defended the health care rollout, Obama struck an optimistic note on issues like immigration and tax reform, saying that Republicans and Democrats are "fighting inside the 40-yard lines" ideologically and that there is much room for bipartisan agreement.

"People call me a socialist sometimes," Obama joked. "You've got to meet real socialists."

[Ted S.]

[Ted S.]

Hmm. I don't know what happened to my comment. It was going to be about the branding not being the problem.

[Lord Humungus]

It had wit and verve, a puckish satire on contemporary mores.

[Slammer]

+1 Boris Grushenko

[Bee Tagger]

Obama joked. "You've got to meet real socialists."

I HAVE to? Spoken like a true socialist.

[Drake]

His parents, grandparents, teachers, and mentors?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Warren Buffett is a socialist?

You are brain-dead enough for an AM talk radio show.

[VG Zaytsev]

Well, fascism is applied socialism.

[Entropy Void]

And our current Administration is applied Fascism.

Il Douche, indeed.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Buffet: Yo B, you know how to win an election?

Obama: Lie?

Buffet: Ha, yeah, but you need a good dose of some class warfare too. Let me help you with that.

Obama: Thanks man, you're the greatest capitalist ever.

Buffet: I know, I know.

[Enough About Palin]

Lancaster County Ham Loaf

1 lb fresh ground turkey
1 lb ham, ground (or turkey ham)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk
SAUCE
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
Directions:

1 Grind meat (if necessary).
2 Mix ground meats, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper and milk together.
3 Shape into a loaf.
4 Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour.
5 For the sauce, mix the brown sugar, dry mustard, water and vinegar together.
6 Pour sauce over loaf.
7 Continue to bake for another hour.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Nah. Don't need to meet one - although I have. /shivers. Obama, you clearly are, at the very least, a socialist sympathizer.

And since when is 'rebranding' something the government does? I thought that's for, you know, real marketers, with real jobs in real companies. Not a bunch of incompetent hacks who refuse be accountable.

[Snark Plissken]

My wife grew up under communism and she thinks Obama is a socialist. Does that count?

[gaijin]

Oh, so now it's 'We'. That's rich.

[Rasilio]

He's right on both counts though.

The differences between the Republican party and Democrat party are far smaller than the issues they agree on. They just manage to turn those differences into existential threats in order to prevent the vast majority of voters from considering other parties.

He also is not a socialist, not even close to being one. There is no word for what he is, the closest would be Fascist except Fascism requires a heavy emphasis on Nationalism which Obama rejects outright.

So what do you call a Fascist with a strong globalist agenda?

[tarran]

So what do you call a Fascist with a strong globalist agenda?

A fascist.

[Restoras]

Communist

[tarran]

But he's not a commie.

He has no governing philosophy. Rather he is entirely reactionary. He's just a fascist... pure and simple.

[Restoras]

I beleive one of the biggest differences between orthodox fascism and orthodox communism is the nationalist/internationist angle. Communism never came close to achieving that, though you can argue it was more successful than fascism in terms of coutnries that adopted the ideology and the number of people that were forced to live under it, not to mentiuon the number of people it murdered.

And of course, in actual practice there was little difference between the two aside from preferred uniform color schemes.

[Drake]

There were some differences in implementation. Fascists like to grab business owners and corporations by the balls and give them orders.

Communists just shoot all the business people and assume ownership.

[BakedPenguin]

He does have a nationalist agenda, though. He hates this country as it exists, and wants to remake in his image. Imagine if instead of just conquering Ethiopia, Mussolini were exiled (but in power) there.

[VG Zaytsev]

I beleive one of the biggest differences between orthodox fascism and orthodox communism is the nationalist/internationist angle.

That's a theoretical difference that vanished in actual practice.

[Restoras]

Right, hence the 'orthodox' disclaimer.

[Entropy Void]

Truly, Hugo Boss was much more talented than Ivan Ivanovich.

[VG Zaytsev]

I seem to recall Obama rising to prominence with a speech about there's only one America, not a Red America or a Blued America or some such shit.

Which sounds to me a lot like

One Country
One People
One Leader

[Elspeth Flashman]

A national socialist?

[Lord Humungus]

You know who else was a na...

ah, never mind.

[SuperDuperParatrooper]

FDR?

[Teaching Student]

I'd argue there's 2 branches (or more) of Fascism: Nationalistic Socialism and Globalistic Socialism. Obama would be under the latter.

[SForza]

So, the former are Nazis and the latter are Glozis?

[CatoTheElder]

"So what do you call a Fascist with a strong globalist agenda?"

A NEP-man. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Economic_Policy

[VG Zaytsev]

we probably underestimated the complexities of...

The epitaph of socialists.

Could be Obama's if he didn't already have 'it's not my fault'

[Pro Libertate]

Such complexities are why centralized management of even sectors of the economy is a dumb proposition, even in theory.

[wareagle]

"We are going to have to obviously remarket and rebrand,"

when that's all you know, everything is a marketing problem.

[CatoTheElder]

When community organizing and campaigning are all you know, everything is indeed a marketing problem.

If Obama has underestimated the complexities of building a website, how much has he underestimated the complexities of fundamentally transforming an entire industry?

[Fist of Etiquette]

An Obamacare official said that 40 percent of IT systems supporting the federal exchange still need to be built.

Once they're done you're going to get to see all of Glitch Girl.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

+1 NSFW?

[Moe19]

Ah...a Major League motif. We shall call this one Major Fuckup.

[Bee Tagger]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who previously opposed a taxpayer bailout for Detroit, will travel to there next month to offer his fix for the struggling city.

He should just copy the reason saves Cleveland blueprint.

[Restoras]

Unattributed?

[Bee Tagger]

No, that comment is attributed to me.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

FOOTNOTEZ!

[Lord Humungus]

Sandy Hook-inspired game sparks outrage

The release of "The Slaying of Sandy Hook Elementary," which directs gamers to storm virtual classrooms with an AR-15 assault rifle in the same vein as Adam Lanza and displays a kill ratio at the end, comes less than a month before the first anniversary of the Dec. 14 massacre.

Donna Soto, the Stratford mom whose late daughter, Victoria, 27, was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for shielding her students from the gunfire during the rampage, is calling on the site's developer to pull the plug on the controversial game.

..snip..

The credits section of the site identifies the game's creator as Ryan Jake Lambourn of Australia and strangely includes links that direct visitors to gun control websites and to their elected representatives.

[Ted S.]

This almost makes me want to take up computer/console gaming.

[Restoras]

Or put Mr. Lambourn on that Bit Coin Reward list.

[Redmanfms]

Or put Mr. Lambourn on that Bit Coin Reward list.

Uh:

The credits section of the site identifies the game's creator as Ryan Jake Lambourn of Australia and strangely includes links that direct visitors to gun control websites and to their elected representatives.

[prolefeed]

and strangely includes links that direct visitors to gun control websites and to their elected representatives.

I think they've completely misunderstood the POV of the purchasers of their product.

[Rhywun]

It's not like some misanthropic asshole doesn't do this after *every* shooting.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who previously opposed a taxpayer bailout for Detroit, will travel to there next month to offer his fix for the struggling city.

Hopefully he didn't find his solution in his old man's newsletters.

[BakedPenguin]

If he did, I hope he's fleet of foot.

[Enough About Palin]

"Hopefully he didn't find his solution in his old man's newsletters."

But it's a final solution. Deserves a try.

[Snark Plissken]

It's all them gun nuts with small penises trying to compensate!

/derp

[Snark Plissken]

In reply to LH condom link.

[Lord Humungus]

As Babies, We Knew Morality
New research supports the understanding that all people are born with a sense of good and bad. What does that say about altruism, community, and the capacity to kill one another?

Studying animals is one way to learn about the origins of morality, but another is of course to look at baby humans. Human babies, before they learn how to speak and even hold up their own bodies, are capable of not only telling the difference between right and wrong, but of making morally fraught decisions, a finding that shocked scientists when it was uncovered about ten years ago.

"It knocked our socks off," says Yale's Paul Bloom, one of the psychologists behind a series of groundbreaking studies of infant morality and the author of a fascinating new book, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil. It turns out that babies, who are too young to have learned about morality, have an innate moral sense. On top of that, they show a basic disposition to goodness. They are not the little monsters that veneer theorists thought they were. Without prodding, for instance, infants start sharing after they're six months old. When they're a little bit older than that, toddlers will help a stranger in need.

[Bee Tagger]

When they're a little bit older than that, toddlers will help a stranger in need.

Even on the way to work in rush hour traffic? I'll believe it when I see it.

[Warty]

Relevant

[gaijin]

that all people are born with a sense of good and bad.
But facebook told me that without government to tell us what is right and wrong, we would descend into anarchy. Maybe that's why dotGov treats us like children?

[tarran]

This is so funny.

Anyone who has siblings or has raised them knows that kids can be heartlessly vicious to each other.

[kinnath]

Familiarity breeds contempt

[Rasilio]

And yet what happens when a bully picks on the little brother?

Big brother instantly steps in to defend him

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Arab wisdom:

Me against my brother,
My brother and I against my cousin,
My cousin and I against my tribe,
My tribe against all other tribes.

[SForza]

Exactly.

[Rasilio]

That is because as a species we are relatively weak and one of our survival adaptations was the ability to function in groups. This innate moral sense is an extension of that

[Fist of Etiquette]

When they're a little bit older than that, toddlers will help a stranger in need.

How did scientists test this without the toddlers being kidnapped, as I'm lead to believe all strangers want to do to toddlers?

[Rasilio]

Maybe they were all women?

I mean we all know that only men are dangerous to children

[VG Zaytsev]

What utter bullshit.

[Cyto]

I think they meant to write:

"Researchers studying babies discovered cognitive bias and weak experimental design."

[The Late P Brooks]

Austen Goolsbee, so-called Professor of Economics, thinks we need more stimulus. And asset bubbles are good, apparently.

PRINT, BABY, PRINT!

[Ted S.]

Austen Goolsbee, so-called Professor of Economics, thinks we need more stimulus.

Blow up Chicago, and/or DC. The rebuilding is instant stimulus!

[Generic Stranger]

Destroying DC would probably be one of the few instances where the Broken Windows fallacy would actually be true.

[BakedPenguin]

Only if it was never rebuilt.

[Entropy Void]

Sure hope you don't live in CT, Teddy.
SWAT Teams may be on the way ...

[Restoras]

It is truly astounding how somebody so 'smart' can be so godawful stupid.

[gaijin]

As Saul would say on Homeland: "You the smartest and the stupidest f'ing person I've ever known."

In Goolsbee's case, I might challenge the 'smart' part.

[Restoras]

I don't doubt that Mr. Goolsbee is incredibly 'booksmart'. However, all that 'booksmart' does not seem to have been tempered with any real-world expereience or even a basic understanding of human nature. That is the problem with these assholes, that and they never seem to have to live within the ramifications of their decisions.

[The DerpRider]

But what did Emmett Fitzhume think?

[gaijin]

Did you hear that?
Yeah, it's a dikfer.
What's a dikfer?
It's for peeing.

[Gray Ghost]

+1 It got me through high school.

[CatoTheElder]

There is a huge gulf between knowledge and wisdom.

The gulf is at its widest when one's knowledge is confined to theoretical models that bear little resemblance to the real world.

[DontShootMe]

He's the most credentialed and stupidest f*'ing person we've ever known?

[Restoras]

Something like that.

[Lord Humungus]

Fla. congressman facing cocaine possession charge

Florida Rep. Henry "Trey" Radel is apologizing to his constituents after being busted on a cocaine possession charge, acknowledging he also struggles with alcoholism and intends to seek treatment and counseling.

The 37-year-old freshman Republican was charged with cocaine possession Tuesday after what a federal law enforcement official described as a "buy and bust" operation. Radel was scheduled to appear Wednesday in District of Columbia Superior Court.

[Gbob]

He's just trying to make this country more like Canada.

[Brett L]

We refuse to be out Floridamanned by a goddamned snowbird, and I applaud his efforts on behalf of our great state's reputation.

[Entropy Void]

Hear, hear!

[Tim]

Freshman congressman. He apparently was too fresh to realize that you hire a bagman to buy your dope, procure whores and pick up cash.

[Pro Libertate]

This is why experience is so important in elected officials and why we should re-elect them over and over again.

[Tonio]

It's like he never watched "House of Cards" or anything. Sheesh.

[Lord Humungus]

Simi Valley Pastor Finds Bibles Labeled As 'Fiction' At Local Costco

A Simi Valley pastor says he found several Bibles labeled as "fiction" at a Ventura County Costco store.

Caleb Kaltenbach was shopping at Costco, 2660 Park Center Drive, on Nov. 15 when he noticed the peculiar labeling of the holy book.

[Live Free or Diet]

Truth in labeling.

[Generic Stranger]

Probably should have been under the "fantasy" section.

[Lord Humungus]

From Red Dwarf:

Good evening. Here is the news on Friday, the 27th of Geldof. Archaeologists near Mount Sinai have discovered what is believed to be a missing page from the Bible. The page is currently being carbon dated in Bonn. If genuine it belongs at the beginning of the Bible and is believed to read "To my darling Candy. All characters portrayed within this book are fictitous and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental." The page has been universally condemned by church leaders.

[Lord Humungus]

Asda launches ?6 bottom-boosting knickers to make women's buttocks appear larger

Women have long envied celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Beyonc? and Jennifer Lopez for their shapely curves.

Now they too can have the perfect bottom - with a ?6 pair of padded knickers from Asda.

The underwear contains hidden pads high on the buttocks to make them appear fuller and more peachy.

[Gbob]

Most blatant case of false advertising since the Neverending Story.

[OldMexican]

Re: Gbob,

Most blatant case of false advertising since the Neverending Story

It felt like a neverending nightmare to me the first time I saw it...

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

They like false butts and they can lie?

[gaijin]

sisters, can't resist her

[Brett L]

British girls. Nobody is going to believe it, but it helps keep attention off her face.

[The DerpRider]

Six Mix-a-Lot is filing a class action lawsuit.

[Lord Humungus]

Woman accused of stealing adult toy, then inquiring about job

The store manager told a police officer the 23-year-old woman came into Intimate Treasures on East James Lee Boulevard and inquired about a job, leaving her name, address and telephone number. Afterwards the manager noticed an Evolved brand female sex toy was missing from its display location. She reviewed video surveillance and spotted the woman "manipulating the front of her pants and shirt, in an action consistent with concealing the device within her pants," the officer wrote in the report.

[Live Free or Diet]

And the item was no longer in a condition to be returned to the store.
No, they did not publish her phone number.

[The Other Kevin]

They called the police, who noticed she appeared to stand in a way indicating she was clenching something. Then a very thorough search was executed.

[Live Free or Diet]

Serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin was executed this morning by serial killer State of Missouri.

[Citizen Nothing]

It's serial killers all the way down.

[Mongo]

They're pretty sure (not proven) that Franklin was the Larry Flynt sniper. He also shot politico Vernon Jordan.

The dude hated teh blacks, man.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Congressman blames alcoholism for his fondness of cocaine:

"I struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and this led to an extremely irresponsible choice. As the father of a young son and a husband to a loving wife, I need to get help so I can be a better man for both of them."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/l.....eral-sting

He must watch South Park too.

[Capt. Rimmer]

What the fuck's he supposed to say? Everyone knows you admit everything to the Inquisition.

[Rasilio]

"a husband to a loving wife"

One has to wonder whether this was a statement of fact or a plea for it to be true

[Elspeth Flashman]

Makes me think of the "Little Britain" sketches where the public figure leans in to kiss his wife after a brief press conference about how he "accidentally entered another man's body."

[Elspeth Flashman]

Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY6_9Qvj8I4

[Brett L]

"Listen, the cokehead on House of Cards got to be governor. And frankly, on or off drugs, I think I would be better at it than the current governor or his immediate predecessor."

Never explain, never complain, never equivocate.

[lap83]

If...my friend went on murderous rampages every time he drank could he use alcoholism as an excuse too?

[Lord Humungus]

Mexican president denies meeting Justin Bieber

Mexico's president has denied a tweet by Justin Bieber saying the singer met with the president and his family prior to a show.

It was the latest sour note in Bieber's controversy-filled Latin American tour.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Q: How do you solve a city wide rat problem?

A: You give low income neighborhoods trashcans with tracking devices.

[Ted S.]

Q: How do you solve a city wide rat problem?

A: Kill all the politicians.

[Snark Plissken]

So the real problem is thievery.

Feckin teeves!

[KMA Too]

+1 ARSE!!

[Live Free or Diet]

Saying Maryland has a rat problem is like saying the The Enterprise (CVN-65) has a gray paint problem.

[The DerpRider]

Call Charlie Kelly?

[Tonio]

Meh. The tracking devices are to deter trashcan theft. FTFA these are large "wheelie bins" aka supercans such are already in use many other places.

Next up: vastly expensive "education" campaigns to explain to these people that you actually have to close the can lids to deter rats.

[The Late P Brooks]

The credits section of the site identifies the game's creator as Ryan Jake Lambourn of Australia and strangely includes links that direct visitors to gun control websites and to their elected representatives.

Totally not a false flag attack.

[Enough About Palin]

You know what else might be a false flag? Zimmerman's girlfriend. The left wants this fucker in jail. What better way then to get a woman to set him up? If you listen to both 911 calls, she's claiming that he's busting up all of her stuff. He's saying she's going crazy. Well maybe she was the one who was actually destroying her property. It's possible.

[PD Scott]

Clearly Zimmerman should constantly record his life.

[Emmerson Biggins]

Zimmerman needs to realize that anybody that wants to be his girlfriend right now is obviously crazy. He needs to just chill for a while. Change his name and move.

[Lord Humungus]

Like no one predicted this:

Early Obamacare data show older Americans more apt to sign up

The Obama administration is aiming to enroll about 2.7 million 18- to 35-year-olds in the exchanges by the end of March, out of 7 million total, or about 38 percent.

Early data from Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington and Maryland show that so far more than 20 percent of the 23,500 combined enrollees in private insurance plans are 18 to 34 years old, ranging from about 19 percent in Kentucky and Connecticut to about 27 percent in Maryland. About 36 percent of enrollees across the four states are 55 to 64 years old. Additional demographic data is expected from California on Thursday.

[SugarFree]

About 36 percent of enrollees across the four states are 55 to 64 years old.

[pacman dying noise]

[prolefeed]

About 36 percent of enrollees across the four states are 55 to 64 years old.

Are you telling me that an insurance scheme hatched by people who don't understand insurance appears to be heading into an adverse selection death spiral?

That seems unpossible.

[Restoras]

That's right, human nature is either completely random or only always works according to wishes of wonks and weasels inside the beltway.

Interestingly, the progressives cousins, fascists and communists, understood human nature better.

[BakedPenguin]

This is really becoming schadenfreudelicious.

[Restoras]

Becoming? We've been drowning in sweet, sweet salty ham tears for weeks and the spigot is only gowing to flow faster. We are going to drown in those tears.

[Brett L]

I'm worried this will become like porn where I have to watch weirder and weirder... Wait. I mean, I hear that some people feel the need to push the boundaries when watching porn because they acclimate to the stimulus of nakedness. I am concerned that I may need ever greater amounts of schadenfreude to enjoy myself.

[Rasilio]

So you're saying that the Obamacare navigators are going to have to be Furries?

[Elspeth Flashman]

. . . go on . . .

[Butts Wagner]

scheissenfreude?

[Lord Humungus]

The Obamacare time bomb

If Obama's fix fails, a humanitarian disaster will ensue. Come Jan. 1, millions of Americans could find themselves without the health coverage Obama promised they could keep. Suddenly, the horror stories we are hearing today of people getting cancellation letters will be replaced by horror stories of cancer patients having their treatment disrupted and sick children being cut off from their doctors and hospitals. The outrage Americans are expressing today will pale by comparison to the outrage that will ensue when people who had insurance before Obamacare can't get medical care they are accustomed to because they lost their plans.

But let's say, by some miracle, Obama's plan does work, and many in the individual market now losing their plans get to keep them for a year. That just means they will start getting cancellation letters 90 days before the end of the year. In October 2014. One month before the midterm elections.

That is a political disaster for the Democrats.

[Restoras]

Isn't that also about the time the employer mandate kicks in? That will be interesting as well.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Barring any change, I expect to have our company health insurance eliminated within two years.

[BakedPenguin]

What's really bad about that is that you work for an insurance company.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Doubly depressing - but at least it shows they know how to manage their costs.

[VG Zaytsev]

What happens when masses of people loser their health insurance and the world doesn't end?

Could that ultimately lead to a real market for healthcare?

[Ted S.]

No, because Obamacare has made the real market illegal.

[Restoras]

There will be a full blown repeal within the year.

[Lord Humungus]

Really? I see a spigot of subsidies and insurance company bailouts.

[gimmeasammich]

There won't be any repeal. The government's solution is never to get out of the kitchen, it's to throw more gas on the fire.

[CatoTheElder]

You guys are overlooking the possibility of health care industry wage and price controls by Executive Order.

Sure, it's stupid, but it's not unprecedented. Nixon and Carter did it by EO in the 1970s. Don't forget that the progressives admired Hugo, and look what's happening in Venezuela.

If the article is correct about "humanitarian disaster", it could very well be that the entitlement society support such nonsense because the-government-has-to-do-something.

[VG Zaytsev]

Not a market for insurance.

A market for healthcare - where you {gasp} pay for services provided like you do with everything else.

I think that millions of middle class people are about to learn that you don't actually need insurance to get healthcare.

[SuperDuperParatrooper]

I have VA "healthcare"/insurance. I chose years ago to barter and/or pay cash to like-minded docs to get my medical care (even after losing my business and fine motor skills). Amazing how reasonably priced this method is when you take the .gov and insurance crap out of the equation. This includes imaging and surgeries (all done in-house).

[Rasilio]

Not yet it hasn't.

There is nothing in Obamacare which says that actual Doctors are required to accept insurance or prevented from taking cash payments

[Gray Ghost]

There is nothing in Obamacare which says that actual Doctors are required to accept insurance or prevented from taking cash payments

Wait. Doctors operate under a monopoly regime granted by the State(s). Nothing says the states can't alter the terms of that deal. If the states run out of doctors willing to work under the new insurance guidelines, the states just might.

[Rasilio]

And short of both a republican take over of both houses and the Presidency combined with their pulling their heads out of their asses and putting forth some form of health care reform more brilliant than simply repealing Obamacare (it is undeniable on the grounds of the impending Medicare meltdown alone that our health care system is in need of some serious overhaul) I am certain that one day they will.

[Azathoth!!]

There is nothing wrong with healthcare in the US--it is some of the best in the world.

The governmental intrusions into medical insurance are falling apart. Let them. Get government out of medicine.

[gaijin]

Could that ultimately lead to a real market for healthcare?

Back alley blood pressure checks, tongue depressors wielded under cover of night. Surgeries performed for cash.

Damage, destruction, terror and mayhem!

[Eduard van Haalen]

US Supreme Court says Texas can continue to enforce a key anti-abortion law while waiting for the outcome of a legal challenge. The law requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....trictions/

Four liberal dissenters complain about the horrible consequences of letting Texas enforce its own law, even temporarily:

The Supreme Court decision "leaves 24 counties in the Rio Grande Valley . . . with no abortion provider because those providers do not have admitting privileges and are unlikely to get them,"...Applicants assert that 20,000 women in Texas will be left without service [i.e., abortions]....The longer a given facility remains closed, the less likely it is ever to reopen even if the admitting privileges requirement is ultimately held unconstitutional."

http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/.....-19-13.pdf

[tarran]

They don't call the republicans the stupid party for nothing.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Because Texas Republicans passed a law by which abortion doctors need to have access to a nearby hospital?

[tarran]

Yep. It's a pretty straightforward attempt to put a bunch of abortion clinics out of business.

Admitting privileges in hospitals have a whole bunch of requirements, including actually admitting a minimum number of patients to the hospital.

Unless the clinics are hiring butchers who routinely cause women to have life threatening complications, there is no way for an abortionist to meet the requirements.

This is like the original prohibition of Marijuana, where they didn't outlaw it; you merely had to get a tax stamp that was almost impossible to get.

And it's stupid.

[Eduard van Haalen]

If the Republicans' intent is to limit abortions, it doesn't seem stupid at all. At least not according to the butt-hurt moaning of the liberal Justices.

[VG Zaytsev]

It's had the nice unintended consequence of forcing proglodytes to admit that regulations have destructive results.

[Auric Demonocles]

Only when it's done by evil Rethuglicans!

[SugarFree]

It's had the nice unintended consequence of forcing proglodytes to admit that regulations have destructive results.

And to show that the paleocons objections to regulatory burden has never been a principled stance.

[Eduard van Haalen]

The greater includes the less - they want to ban abortion altogether, but instead they're putting some limits on it.

Wanting to ban abortion can only be wrong if their prolife premises are wrong, and this has nothing to do with arguments about the impact of, say, Obamacare regulations on small (or large) businesses.

[SugarFree]

instead they're putting some limits on it.

Limits? I thought all this was about their concern over the health of women. They've been bearing false witness this entire time? What a shock.

Red shrike, you are the worst.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Limits? I thought all this was about their concern over the health of women."

If you had the imaginative capacity to understand people who disagree with you, you would understand how it's possible to want to protect women and children *at the same time.* It's your side which considers this an either/or proposition.

[SugarFree]

It's your side which considers this an either/or proposition.

Or you and they were lying, like always, red shrike.

[Eduard van Haalen]

I have carefully considered your argument and the evidence you offer in support of it, and I remain unpersuaded.

smooches

[tarran]

Put in limits as effectively make it against the law to perform abortions.

Dude, you do realize that nobody is falling for your spin right?

This isn't putting limits on it any more than a garrote puts limits on a persons ability to inhale.

We know it, you know it, and decency requires me to inform you that it's sophistry like this which makes you such a laughing-stock here.

People want to like you, but you make such an ass of yourself that they can't help but mock you.

[SugarFree]

People want to like you

Citation please.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Put in limits as effectively make it against the law to perform abortions."

I would *love* to believe you, I really would, but if you consult the 5th Circuit decision below, you'll see that's not the case.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"We know it, you know it, and decency requires me to inform you that it's sophistry like this which makes you such a laughing-stock here."

So, explain why the 5th Circuit is wrong and why its opinion should be a laughing stock.

[Eduard van Haalen]

So I agree with the 5th circuit that this law does not ban all abortions. This position, you say, is sophistry. Since it's not only my position but that of the 5th Circuit, you're going to need to explain where the sophistry in their opinion can be found. I await your reply with interest.

[SForza]

I like you, EvH, even though I think any abortion before the 20th week-- and maybe as late as the 24th week-- should be completely legal.

[Tonio]

^This.

The achilles heel of the self-righteous is their inability to conceive (!) that others don't buy into their bullshit. Let me see, where have we seen that "intents trump all else" mindset?

[Redmanfms]

The achilles heel of the self-righteous is their inability to conceive (!) that others don't buy into their bullshit. Let me see, where have we seen that "intents trump all else" mindset?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Says the self-righteous lying sack of shit who turned the Cooch affair into only being about "teh gayz" and relies on special pleading and comparing animals to children to support his crusade against "animal cruelty."

Eat shit Tonyo.

[Rasilio]

So you are saying the means doesn't matter as long as the ends is justified?

If artificial regulations on a business are wrong, they are wrong, even if passed to achieve something viewed as a positive result

[Eduard van Haalen]

"artificial regulations on a business"

I suppose that depends on your definition of "business." If your definition includes chop shops, fencing operations, Hire-A-Hit-Man-Inc, or abortuaries, then of course I support regulations on those businesses, to the extend the federal courts permit.

Perhaps you could explain your definition of "artificial?"

[tarran]

The pathetic thing is that this is not going to survive the courts.

So all the Texas Republicans will have accomplished is to hand more ammo to the Democrats to use to keep women from voting Republican in less conservative states.

Granted, we expect stupidity from politicians, and even greater stupidity than average out of Republicans, but this is "I thought NAMBLA was an association of Marlon Brando look-alikes" level of idiocy.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"the pathetic thing is that this is not going to survive the court."

What do you know that the Fifth Circuit doesn't know? According to them, Texas "has made a strong showing that it i
s likely to succeed on the merits" - that is, that the law will be upheld.

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/usca5-stay.pdf

[Apatheist ?_??]

I agree tactically (and because I oppose regulations of businesses). They should have passed the 20 week limit and been done with it. That limit isn't even being challenged.

[OldMexican]

Re: Tarran,

So all the Texas Republicans will have accomplished is to hand more ammo to the Democrats to use to keep women from voting Republican in less conservative states.

Maybe they'll keep Democratic women from voting Republican, because most polls show that Americans favor restrictions on late-term abortions.

If you look at the recent polls in Texas, for instance, Wendy Davis is very popular outside of her own state, because inside she's really not. And let's not forget, the woman is NO libertarian.

[Gray Ghost]

but this is "I thought NAMBLA was an association of Marlon Brando look-alikes" level of idiocy.

Nice. I hadn't heard that one before. Stealing it.

[OldMexican]

Re: tarran,

Yep. It's a pretty straightforward attempt to put a bunch of abortion clinics out of business.

Not as snazzy or sexy as fighting a whole civil war to end slavery(*), to be sure.

(*) If one believes the court historians' version of it.

Unless the clinics are hiring butchers who routinely cause women to have life threatening complications, there is no way for an abortionist to meet the requirements.

Butchering healthy and viable fetuses must be a never mind to you, I guess. I consider it savagery and butchery but, hey, I'm just a humble believer in the N.A.P.

This is like the original prohibition of Marijuana, where they didn't outlaw it;

Ha ha ha! No, no, no. Marijuana harms NO ONE except the person that VOLUNTARILY uses it, so the incrementalism is just as incidious as an outright ban when it comes to personal freedom. Abortion is aggression, it is force, nothwithstanding the red herring that it is a "woman's body," so any effort to curb such a barbaric practice on another human being cannot be compared to banning marijuana or other voluntary actions.

[Tonio]

Well, at least you've moved beyond "innocent little children". Baby steps (!), OM, baby steps.

[Redmanfms]

Well, at least you've moved beyond "innocent little children". Baby steps (!), OM, baby steps.

But using "innocent little children" in support of prohibitions against whatever you arbitrarily define as animal cruelty is a-OK, right Tonyo???

[Lord Humungus]

Brussels widow 'slept with husband's corpse for a year'

A Brussels widow slept next to her mummified husband's corpse for a year, her landlord said after making the macabre discovery during an eviction, a Belgian daily reported Tuesday.

The newspaper, La Derniere Heure (The Final Hour), published striking pictures of a shawl-wrapped, emaciated body with a long white moustache, sunken eye sockets and protruding rib-cage, covered in a film of dried skin.

that sounds like me after a night out.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Isn't Dr. Evil from Belgium?

[Loki]

He was adopted by a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery and his mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet.

[Auric Demonocles]

Misleading headline.

[Brett L]

How very Faulknerian.

[Tim]

"If you like your husband, you can keep him."

[Lord Humungus]

+1 internetz

[gaijin]

she just liked him when he was stiff

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Common core website sucks too?

The county teachers have complained that they've been working long hours because the lesson plans have not been available until just weeks before they are to be taught and the website to access those lessons has been difficult to use.

[Eduard van Haalen]

But Duncan and Time magazine assured me that Common Core was all about being all advanced and cutting-edge and stuff!

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Britain's Communications Act 2003 prohibits the broadcasting of any "advertisement which is directed towards a political end." In London Christian Radio Ltd. v Radio Advertising Clearance Centre, (Ct. App., Nov. 19, 2013), the England & Wales Court of Appeal in a 2-1 decision held that a proposed ad from a publisher of Christian magazines that was to be run on a Christian radio station violates this ban."

http://religionclause.blogspot.....stian.html

[Rhywun]

In possibly related news, UK politicians-for-life laugh at silly Americans and that "freedom of speech" nonsense that keeps coming out of their pieholes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My question is when will CGI be questioned for this whole mess? Why did they get the contract? Was it patronage/cronyism? The failure of the roll out is soooo epic one would think everyone involved needs to be held accountable. Not Obama of course. He needs his nap.

And oh.

Republican obstructionism!

[Tonio]

I don't see why they would be. They were just doing what they were told. If they didn't produce an acceptable product on schedule then they were in violation and you can be damn sure the finger of blame would have been pointed at them.

I suspect that if this is ever investigated that we'll start to uncover a trail of "this will not work as the customer seems to think it does" memos.

[Root Boy]

Don't you dare question Michelle's college roommate!!!!

[Lord Humungus]

Hawaii Health Exchange Sign Ups Dismal, Costly to Taxpayers

Taxpayers have spent $200 million to establish the network for the Affordable Care Act in Hawaii - $53 million on just the Hawaii Health Connector web site development and management alone.

However, so far, just 257 individuals have secured healthcare through the exchange.

...snip...

The current cost breakdown is about $778,000 in federal funds for each individual who successfully signed up for healthcare.

[OldMexican]

Hawaii Health Exchange Sign Ups Dismal, Costly to Taxpayers

But why would they need health insurance exchanges? From all the brochures I've seen, it would seem like everyone living on the Hawaiian islands is very fit and healthy.

[Snark Plissken]

Too much spam.

[BakedPenguin]

SPAM!

[Fatty Bolger]

Anatomy of a shakedown: J.P. Morgan and Its 'Victims'

Another problem with this settlement is that even though the government says that institutional investors were the victims, much of the $13 billion is going elsewhere.

For example, Morgan will pay a $2 billion fine to Justice, apparently for harming itself. Justice hasn't said exactly how it arrived at this figure, but prosecutors seem to be employing a trendy legal interpretation of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act. Government lawyers claim that under the "self-affecting doctrine," Morgan can be guilty of harming Morgan through its alleged misdeeds. One wonders why Morgan doesn't therefore deserve at least some compensation from Morgan.

Another $7 billion goes to settle various civil claims brought by federal and state agencies. And the remaining $4 billion, according to Justice, will go to "consumers." These payments "will take various forms, including principal forgiveness, loan modification, targeted originations and"?get this?"efforts to reduce blight."

And if the bank doesn't spread enough of the wealth around in this manner it must pay "liquidated damages in the amount of the shortfall to NeighborWorks America, a non-profit organization and leader in providing affordable housing and facilitating community development."

[Ted S.]

And the remaining $4 billion, according to Justice, will go to "consumers." These payments "will take various forms, including principal forgiveness, loan modification, targeted originations and"?get this?"efforts to reduce blight."

Coupons for five dollars off your next loan.

[Capt. Rimmer]

Maybe these Bankers will wake the fuck up and realize police state USA eats everyone.

[Restoras]

Not as long as it doesn't put their bonus pay at risk or put them in jail. The bankers and the politicians will remain joined at the hip, too much money and power is at stake.

[VG Zaytsev]

Yep, besides they've made many times the amount of the fine from the carry trade and IOER. This fine is little more than a kickback.

[Restoras]

At the end of 2012 JPM had at least $550 billion in cash. $13 billion is about 2.5% of that and I wouldn't be surprised if the company has insurance against that kind of risk.

[Drake]

How is Jon Corzine doing?

[Entropy Void]

He is all broken up over this.

[Loki]

...if the bank doesn't spread enough of the wealth around in this manner it must pay "liquidated damages in the amount of the shortfall to NeighborWorks America, a non-profit organization and leader in providing affordable housing and facilitating community development.

I wonder how much NeighborWorks America donated to the Obama campaign? I'm guessing "a shitload."

[Lord Humungus]

Popular restaurant denies using human faeces

"All our customers from all over Malaysia know about the matter. What had been posted on Facebook has nothing to do with us, it's merely a misunderstanding," he stressed.

He added, the allegations were intended to hurt his business.

"Why are they only jealous after 55 years of conducting my business here? Do we add human faeces in our dishes? We ourselves eat what we cook here. Our customers include VVIPs and VIPs such as the Singaporean President, tourists from Thailand and Australia. This matter does not only tarnish the restaurant's image but the state of Perak as a whole."

[Snark Plissken]

Martin Bashir's favorite restaurant?

[OldMexican]

Not unless they also include urine.

[The Late P Brooks]

The Obama administration is aiming to enroll about 2.7 million 18- to 35-year-olds in the exchanges by the end of March, out of 7 million total, or about 38 percent.

I am aiming to marry the girl who played James Hunt's wife in Rush.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Your odds are better.

[Lord Humungus]

Keystone Foes Seek to Thwart Oil Sands Exports by Rail

"Debating rail or pipelines is like debating which kind of poison you want," Daniel Kessler, a spokesman for 350.org, an environmental group, said in an interview. "There is a substantive effort under way in many places to block rail."

Environmental groups including 350.org oppose Keystone because they say it would promote development of oil sands, a type of crude that releases more greenhouse gases in its production and refining than other forms of oil. Canada, the biggest foreign supplier of oil to the U.S., has lobbied hard for the pipeline to promote growth of its energy industry.

[Fatty Bolger]

I appreciate their honesty in saying the real reason they are against it.

[Loki]

Environmental groups including 350.org oppose Keystone because they say it would promote development of oil sands

A little more honest this way. They're against any and all development, no matter what.

[Enough About Palin]

Michelle O: Husband 'in the bathroom all the time just singing'

[KMA Too]

Well, he likely had a good teacher

[Jon Lester]

Toure gets punked by fake congressman.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

JOKE ON THEM! STEVE SMITH NOT IN CONGRESS OR IN GEORGIA.

[Ted S.]

US REP. STEVE SMITH RAPE BODY POLITIC!!!

[Snark Plissken]

n the above tweet, Fake Smith calls MSNBC afternoon host Toure "boy." Then Toure replies to call out the racist remark. Ezra Klein, of the Washington Post and MSNBC, retweeted it and added "wow."

Since they are truly convinced the entire Republic party is racist it can't be hard to punk them.

[Jon Lester]

Toure earns getting called "boy" not because he's black, but because he's dumb enough to get on TV and complain about gerrymandered U.S. Senate districts.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Obama administration: We don't have to allow religious exemptions, but private businesses have to!

While refusing to allow religious exemptions from their HHS rule about compulsory birth control, sterilization, etc., the Obama administration just cut a deal with a car dealership which tried to enforce a dress code which doesn't allow Sikhs to have beards. The dealership must pay $50,000, submit to a pro-Sikh injunction, and provide "anti-discrimination training."

http://religionclause.blogspot.....t-car.html

[Ken Shultz]

"Mr. Obama's disapproval rating is 57 percent -- the highest level for this president in CBS News Polls."

It's time to start really pressing the Democrats in Congress to start undoing some of the damage Obama had done.

[The Late P Brooks]

prosecutors seem to be employing a trendy legal interpretation of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act. Government lawyers claim that under the "self-affecting doctrine," Morgan can be guilty of harming Morgan through its alleged misdeeds. One wonders why Morgan doesn't therefore deserve at least some compensation from Morgan.

Declare a special dividend!

[Lord Humungus]

Minn., Mass. Officials Say They Will Not Follow Obama's Advice On Fixing Canceled Policies, But N.C. Does

The Associated Press: Dayton: No Extension Of Existing Health Coverage. Gov. Mark Dayton announced Monday that Minnesotans will not be able to keep existing insurance coverage under the federal health-care law, despite saying last week that he supported President Obama's plan to allow it.

The Associated Press: Massachusetts Consumers Cannot Keep Health Plans
Massachusetts' top insurance official said Monday that the state won't allow consumers to keep health insurance policies that fall below the minimum requirements of the federal health care law. State Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy said in a letter sent Monday to the Obama administration that substandard insurance policies are "virtually non-existent" in Massachusetts because of its first-in-the-nation health care law that took effect in 2007.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

How inactive are the children?

On average, it takes children 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Heart-related fitness has declined 5 percent per decade since 1975 for children ages 9 to 17.

[Snark Plissken]

Wow, 90 seconds off a mile is a lot.

The American Heart Association...

Oh the cocksuckers who still recommend canola oil and heart-healthy grains? Go fuck yourselves guys.

[mad_hominist]

Wait, Canola's bad for me now?

[Snark Plissken]

Lard, ghee, any sort of SFA is way healthier for cooking and olive oil is fine for non-cooking things like salads. Canola is mostly n-6 which we aren't adapted for eating as our main fat source. Plus polyunsaturated fats are less stable and more susceptible to heat.

[Gray Ghost]

Wow, 90 seconds off a mile is a lot.

Depends on how fast they were running it in the beginning. The article mentioned a 15% loss of fitness between then and now. Naturally, neither it nor the AHA's own website bother to link to the study so we can read it instead of taking their summary on faith.

I shudder to think how long it'd take me to run a mile these days. Long time since I brought up the rear in HS X-Country.

[Sy]

"Fitness is "pretty poor in adults and even worse in young people," especially in the United States and eastern Europe, said Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway.'"

Because he says so.

[Tonio]

Because parents no longer tell their children to "go out and play". They encourage sedentary activities which keep kids close to home out of overblown safety concerns.

[The Late P Brooks]

On average, it takes children 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago.

I blame "Shelter in Place".

[Lord Humungus]

A few visits by STEVE SMITH will get those little chubby legs pumping again.

[Tim]

Miles were shorter back then.

[SugarFree]

Here come the Expanding Earth nutters to shit up the thread.

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, the whole universe is expanding, SF.

[SugarFree]

Oh, great these people are here too, with their red shift nonsense.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Dopplerist!

[Pro Libertate]

The best part is that since we, too, are expanding, along with our yardsticks, this expansion is unmeasurable except in very abstract ways.

[Fluffy]

So in a sense you could say that my dick is getting bigger AND I am getting more hair.

Awesome!

[Pro Libertate]

It's absolutely true. In fact, those ads for enlarging whatever--breasts, penises, acreage--should not receive FTC or FDA scrutiny, because such claims are true. Technically. Though not due to the products themselves, no. Perhaps not that true. But truthish.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

And it is much harder to run when you are drugged to treat your ADHD.

[gaijin]

well, when you had to walk to and from school, uphill both ways, you were most definitely in shape.

[Brett L]

"Because you are a disgusting fat-body!!"

[Restoras]

"Get off my obstacle!"

[Loki]

"Oh that's right, Private Pyle, don't make any fucking effort to get to the top of the fucking obstacle. If God would have wanted you up there he would have miracled your ass up there by now, wouldn't he?"

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

+1 I will motivate you

[Sy]

"I will PT you 'til you DIE!"

/Ermey '16

[Loki]

Another mother of the year nominee: Tamika Williams Crashed Car, Threw Baby, Punched Officer

A Florida woman involved in a car crash last week is accused of throwing her 2-year-old daughter at a cop and punching a different cop in the head.

Florida's new state motto: "Shit Rolls Downhill!"

[Restoras]

Are you sure it wasn't the father? I have been assured by jezzies and progtards that wymin are incable of such atrocious behavior.

[Andrew S.]

Florida: The only place where the further north you go, the further south you are.

[Entropy Void]

... and we LIKE it that way!

[Pro Libertate]

Huh. That trick didn't work in Prizzi's Honor.

[Snark Plissken]

Samsung pays their billion dollar fine to Apple in nickels.

[tarran]

Snopes says this is a hoax

[Pro Libertate]

Fake nickels, huh?

[Loki]

Bummer, I was hoping it was real. I doubt Samsung, or anyone else, would have the cajones to actually do something like that.

[Rasilio]

It is a Hoax and while it would have been AWESOME had it been true anyone should have known that it was false as soon as they read it.

There simply couldn't be much more than 20 billion nickles in circulation, certainly not enough that taking 20 billion out of circulation would not cause massive shortages of them (and likely an investigation by the Treasury)

[Gray Ghost]

Is there even $1B USD in currency in circulation, never mind whether it's in coins or not?

After googling: shit, I was way off. Try 1.22 trillion USD, as of W3 October 2013, 1.17 of it in Fed Reserve Notes. Still, 50 billion dollars in coins?

[Loki]

That's fucking awesome.

[The Late P Brooks]

Samsung pays their billion dollar fine to Apple in nickels.

They should have sent a fleet of dump trucks filled with one Yen notes.

[KDN]

Not notes, aluminum tokens. And people there are even more wasteful with them than we are with pennies.

[KDN]

Also, since Samsung is Korean they should have done it with even more worthless Wons, as it would be extra annoying.

[robc]

SoCons approve Sunday alcohol sales against wishes of business owners

[robc]

Warren Co 2012 presidential election results:

Romney 60.1%
Obama 38.3%
Johnson 1.1%
Stein 0.3%
Terry 0.2%

And, yes, its also Rand Paul's home county.

[SugarFree]

Understanding liberty 90 years to late is better than not understanding liberty at all.

[robc]

They are about 5 minutes behind Louisville and Lexington.

Which isnt saying much, of course.

[SugarFree]

I'll say the same thing about Louisville and Lexington as well. That it took that long to get rid of a small portion of our backward booze laws is a continuing embarrassment to the entire state.

Country Boy is going to start canning soon and West Sixth has a restaurant actually in it. Blue Stallion is getting popular (and their hefe is a favorite of mine.)

Are there any breweries in BG yet? I haven't seen a beer from them at our local beer events so far.

[robc]

I was at West 6th last saturday.

I ate at the new restaurant. Not technically in it, but the restaurant doesnt have tables, so they will deliver to your table in W6.

No BG breweries. Apparently there was a brewpub some time in the past, but it didnt work out.

[robc]

Of course, Warren Co is still technically dry. But no one cares because Bowling Green is wet.

[BakedPenguin]

Surprised it took this long. Who the hell wants to lawn bowl sober?

[robc]

BG has been wet forever.

They are just now considering adding Sunday Sales (it passed first of the 2 required votes).

[BakedPenguin]

BG has been wet forever.

Okay, then.

Keep us up on your progress, BTW.

[Andrew S.]

Randal Cochran, general manager for Chuck's Liquors, told the City Commission that extending liquor sales to Sunday will not really increase revenue for liquor stores but will increase operational expenses.

That extra money could potentially come from business payroll budgets as well as charitable efforts, he said.

"I don't believe there's an independent retailer in this town that wants to be open on Sunday," Cochran said.

So... the ordinance forces you to be open on Sunday, does it?

[robc]

This same argument comes up every single time somewhere tries to pass Sunday sales. It happened in Louisville, it happened in Lexington, Ive seen it in other states too.

They are mathematically correct, in this gets them little to no extra revenue at an increased expense. And they do "have" to open, as it would cost them 1/7th of their current revenue to be closed when everyone else is open.

But boo fucking hoo. Thats business.

Its as stupid as the "if we max hours at 35, more people will be hired" argument.

[Rasilio]

I'm not sure why the wishes of business owners are relevant here.

They approved Sunday liquor sales, not mandated it. If a store doesn't want to sell liquor on Sunday they are still perfectly free to refrain from doing so.

[SugarFree]

I think they do have an argument, I just don't think it means there should be a law.

Most people without Sunday sales get used to buying all their alcohol needs for Sunday on Saturday, so the increased business on Saturday was much cheaper for them to handle than to be open Sunday as well.

Now all the Sunday drinkers will no longer accept going without and give their business to the open store, and people will eventually get out of the "buy more for Sunday" mindset, making it smart for all liquor stores stay open in order to compete.

[robc]

The "logical" conclusion is that liquor stores only need to be open 1 day per week.

That would minimize the expenses for the owners and the revenue would be the same, people would just have to stock up on booze on Tuesdays (or whatever day).

[Cdr Lytton]

Farmers distillery market?

[Emmerson Biggins]

Who wants to work a whole day. Lets just do Tuesdays from 12:00 to 12:45.

[Rasilio]

Oh I didn't mean to imply there were no good reasons for them to oppose the law. The reason you mentioned is one, the other is that stores which have liquor licenses (like many grocery stores) and are already open on Sunday will now be able to sell that liquor all but forcing the specialty stores to open on Sunday or lose business.

That said the government does not exist to protect businesses from competition (stop laughing) and therefore the opinion of those liquor stores should be irrelvant save in the votes their owners cast

[The Late P Brooks]

SoCons approve Sunday alcohol sales?

It must be a TRAP.

[Cdr Lytton]

Saw on CNN that Obama is freeing 16 serfs today. Or mayne it was giving them exit visas. Something about granting freedom to 16 lucky people anyways.

[Loki]

Something about granting freedom to 16 lucky people anyways.

He revoked 16 people's US citizenship?

[Raven Nation]

Recent Krugman statement (quoted at Mises):

"The problem is that Germany has continued to maintain highly competitive labor costs and run huge surpluses since the bubble burst ? and that in a depressed world economy, this makes Germany a significant part of the problem."

[CatoTheElder]

Obama: 'We're Going to Have to...Re-market and Re-brand' the Affordable Care Act

Obviously he doesn't like having his name incorporated in the branding of PPACA.

I guess we're going to have to stop calling it ObamaCare.

[Rasilio]

Just wait until all those people who really can't afford the $100 a month premiums but sign up anyway discover that they're not actually covered for anything till they get to $6000 in bills, something the majority of them will never reach in any year before they are Medicare eligible.

[ibcbet]

haha.. confused thinking about that