A.M. Links: Obama, Reid Were Against Nuclear Option Before They Were For it, Saudi Police Arrest Men For Offering Free Hugs, Miley Cyrus' Parents Not Worried About Her Drug Use

Credit: United States Department of Energy/wikimedia

• Yesterday, Senate Democrats invoked the so-called nuclear option to prevent Republicans from filibustering most presidential nominations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, President Obama and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were against the "nuclear option" before they were for it.
• Officials in the Philippines have raised the Typhoon Haiyan death toll to more than 4,900.  
• Religious police in Saudi Arabia have arrested two men for offering free hugs.
• Miley Cyrus' parents are not worried about her drug use.
• The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for the third year in a row.
• A Tennessee county judge has said that drug testing judges would be a waste of taxpayers' money.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...President Obama and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were against the "nuclear option" before they were for it.

We've reached hypocritical mass.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I hope you're not this fast in bed.

Ahem.

[Fist of Etiquette]

When you're this good, it doesn't matter.

[gaijin]

Likewise, if you are the only one in the bed!

[Fist of Etiquette]

I wouldn't kick me out of bed for being first.

[Bee Tagger]

You mistook all of the boat and ocean metaphors as ultimately about the America's Cup race?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Nuclear option, hypocritical mass? Does no one see it? I am wasted on you people.

[gaijin]

vini, vidi

[Auric Demonocles]

If we see, are we required to point it out? Doesn't that ruin it?

[Fist of Etiquette]

No and yes and yes and no.

[BakedPenguin]

Okay, okay.

[Pro Libertate]

They're obviously more concerned about shoving ideologue judges on to the bench more than political consequences, which tells me that they fully expect to lose control of the Senate. Which is likely true, but I'm mildly surprised they realize it.

[Lord Humungus]

el Ted Cruz says the Dems are trying to stack the courts to protect Obamacare.

http://thehill.com/homenews/se.....-obamacare

[BakedPenguin]

I was listening to conservative talk radio in the car, and that was a topic of discussion.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Do they honestly think the continuation of Obamacare is going to be good for the party? Is that why they're no longer calling it Obamacare?

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah, it seems crazy to me. It's as if they want to hand all three branches to team red for the next 8 years.

I can't believe they really think they're going to fix Obamacare. Something something polishing a turd.

[Enough About Palin]

The court they would need to stack is the SCOTUS.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

5-4 already allowed penaltaxation. I cannot see the Dread Pirate Roberts doing anything else other than invent some way to defer to the other branch(es).

[GILMORE]

"they fully expect to lose control of the Senate. Which is likely true, but I'm mildly surprised they realize it.

Same here. It seems a tacit admission = get as much shit passed that allows us to function as a minority because this ship is a sinkin'.

The part that surprises me is the rush to get it done. Meh. Whatever. No one outside of the semi-informed will understand, and that minority has been planning their underwater city for the last decade already.... like they care! (puts on snorkel)

[Fist of Etiquette]

A Tennessee county judge has said that drug testing judges would be a waste of taxpayers' money.

Sentencing people to prison for victimless crimes? Money well spent.

[Doctor Whom]

One rule for the rulers, another for the ruled.

[Francisco d Anconia]

The problem is the ruled are confused as to who the rulers are. Have been for about 80 years.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Yet probably see no incongruity for drug testing welfare recipients?

[Killazontherun]

One takes public money, gets tested; the other takes money, doesn't get tested. Yes, I think I see it.

[sarcasmic]

In love behind bars, Charles Manson, 79, and the 25-year-old woman he's going to MARRY as America's most notorious serial killer reveals he's bisexual... and STILL claims he's innocent

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ocent.html
Lots of pictures in this one. That's some fucked up shit.

[Aloysious]

Well, that's a sewer of fucking crazy.

[Rich]

But it could have a happy ending:

Star has announced that she is to marry Manson, and that her parents not only like the killer but have offered to put him up in their home - albeit the basement - if he is ever released from prison

[Drax the Destroyer]

Wut...

[invisible furry hand]

Is her surname Cartman?

[JW]

There really *is* someone for everyone out there.

[Ted S.]

All Eyes on Sharon Tate

(I didn't watch that link, but it should be a promo for her film Eye of the Devil.)

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Fine piece of ass. Too bad she was murdered.

[Lady Bertrum]

From the comments:

"Sigh... that feeling when you realize that even a 79 year old serial killer can get a girlfriend and you cant... _

[Jordan]

Look at it this way: Manson is doing you a favor by filtering out the batshit insane ones.

[SKR]

yeah, I suppose when you are locked away forever, jumping on a grenade seem like a pretty good option.

[thom]

Even Hitler had a girlfriend.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Wow, a tailspin of crazyness in that link.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Nuts. Just fucking retardedly insane.

[hotsy totsy]

I thought he said he was bisexual at his trial.

[invisible furry hand]

Brooms for Beer: Amsterdam Enlists Alcoholic Street Cleaners

Amsterdam has begun employing alcoholics to clean the city's streets, paying them in cash, tobacco and beer. City authorities say it's solving the problems related to public drunkenness. Critics question whether the program unethically enables addiction.

[gaijin]

No offense, but this story seems to have appeared here 4 days running.

[invisible furry hand]

none taken. My defence is that I haven't been here for a week

[Tonio]

IFH is Australian. It took the news two days to reach them and another two days for her post to reach us. So she's posting it in real time, it just seems delayed to us.

[gaijin]

My apologies. I should have remembered that digeridoo transmissions are not digital. 🙂

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I say didgeri"don't".

[GILMORE]

"gaijin|11.22.13 @ 9:04AM|#

No offense, but this story seems to have appeared here 4 days running.

So what~! Its a JOB LISTING. So, if you'll excuse me... (puts blackberry brandy bottle in pocket, grabs broom)

[Tonio]

Funny, I thought all the Puritans had left the Netherlands for North America like 400 years ago.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

They are still there...outnumbered but muttering Calvinist curses behind their scowls. Well, at least the part of my family that stayed in Frisia are...

[JW]

Kramer already tried that approach with rickshaws.

Fairly predictable antics ensued.

[Lord Humungus]

Stay away from the shore:

Moose-eating shark rescued in Newfoundland harbour

Derrick Chaulk said he was driving down a road by the harbour in Norris Arm North this past Saturday when he saw what he thought was a beached whale.

When Chaulk went closer to investigate, he realized it was a shark, which he estimated was about 2.5 metres long, and weighed about 115 kg.

The animal was still alive and had a large chunk of moose hide protruding from its mouth.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Shark vs. Moose - this fall on CBC!

[Rich]

Chaulk said another local man, Jeremy Ball, arrived on the scene and starting pulling on the moose chunk.

"A couple yanks and it just came right out."

The two men then set about getting the shark back in the water.

The shark then set about getting the two men into its mouth.

[Rich]

Oh, and moose chunk is a nice band name.

[gaijin]

hmm. There is a casino nearby called Ho-Chunk. I wonder...

[Francisco d Anconia]

The two men then set about getting the shark back in the water

Because, saving a shark that has shown it will come all the way out of the water to feed on something the size of a Moose, seemed like the right thing to do.

Anyone seen Alex Kintner?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There's gots to be a Newfie joke in there somewhere!

[JW]

The moose was the lucky one.

[SugarFree]

Greenland sharks are rarely seen on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. It is a lumbering bottom dweller that spends most of its long life blinded from parasites feeding on its corneas.

Way to make me feel sorry for a remorseless eating machine, CBC.

[invisible furry hand]

You know who else was a lumbering bottom dweller...

[Rich]

LOL

[SugarFree]

She was talking about you, Rich.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Alright, alright I'll say. Hmpf, it always takes a Canadian to tell the truth...

Obama?

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

STEVE SMITH WITH SCUBA GEAR?

[Elspeth Flashman]

That was the first thing that popped into my mind too.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Captain Nemo?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Lindy West at the water park?

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Zing!

[Emmerson Biggins]

Chris Christie?

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Too buoyant.

[GILMORE]

Sir Mix-a-Lot?

[Atanarjuat]

Well, it's possible a moose carcass sank down to the depths where that shark lives, but since they said it was just moose hide...sometimes hunters skin their catch and toss the hide in the water to dispose of it (especially when taking a deer without the king's permission?). I've seen bunched-up, very fresh deer skins float by. That may what the shark got ahold of.

[SugarFree]

Please stop. Lunch isn't for two hours and I'm already starving.

[Lord Humungus]

nice way of destroying the magic that is the imagination.

[Atanarjuat]

Scratch that last post. What I meant to write was:

Like the Great Whites hunting seals off the coast of South Africa, this shark jumped clear from the water, grabbing the unsuspecting moose in its jaws, twisting its head as the prehistoric killing machine's teeth rent flesh from bone, dragging it back down into the abyss.

[RBS]

Actually, I was reading about them last night and some marine biologists suspect they sneak up on sleeping seals.

[trshmnstr]

B+

NEEDS MOAR SHARKTOPUS!!!!

[GILMORE]

you forgot to add:

"And thus nature's cycle continues..."

Next week on Lorne Greene's WILD AMERICA, we'll be watching Penguins fuck.

[Kid Xenocles]

That shark was lucky. Moose bites can be very nasti!

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Relli?

[sarcasmic]

Gift firm under fire for selling mints that look like Breaking Bad's crystal meth calling them crystal MENTH
Online retailer Firebox is selling its 'Blue Sky Candy' in 130g (4.5oz) bags
Mints look like TV series Breaking Bad's blue-coloured crystal meth
Methamphetamine is now one of the world's most addictive drugs

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....mints.html
Peppermint candy is the new gateway drug!

[Doctor Whom]

Novelty candies named after bad puns: Not even once!

[Zeb]

Methamphetamine is now one of the world's most addictive drugs

And blue colored sugar crystals are not. I like the "now" in there too. Has meth become more addictive recently? Or some other drugs less so?

[sarcasmic]

There have been some stories lately of some really pure stuff on the streets.

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah, from Thailand, of all places. Don't they know they're only supposed to export heroin?

[Enough About Palin]

...and Thai stick.

[Zeb]

Is that still a thing?

[Zeb]

I suppose that could be what they mean. I've also read things that suggest that people are more likely to get addicted to really pure meth.

[sarcasmic]

I've also read things that suggest that people are more likely to get addicted to really pure meth.

That's like saying liquor is more addictive than beer.

[Zeb]

Which I don't think is necessarily false. Addiction depends so much on individual personality, setting and other social and psychological factors.

I would certainly say that pure cocaine is more addictive than drinking coca tea, for example.

[GILMORE]

sarcasmic|11.22.13 @ 10:43AM|#

""I've also read things that suggest that people are more likely to get addicted to really pure meth.""

That's like saying liquorgrain alcohol is more addictive than beer 12 year old scotch.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Miley Cyrus' parents are not worried about her drug use.

Her publicist assures them it's all going to plan.

[DJF]

Her publicist assures them that Miley has her own supply and is not stealing theirs.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

How else to be on the cover of People about how she 'overcame' her addictions and found God while watching Fritz the Cat?

[JW]

Miley Cyrus' parents are not worried about her drug use.

That makes at least 3 of us, then.

[Doctor Whom]

That makes 7 billion, minus the number of journalists, of us.

[sarcasmic]

'Because life is NOT Photoshopped!' Plus-size women post photos of themselves in lingerie to celebrate 'real beauty'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....eauty.html
John pron!

[JW]

You can never be too false consciousnessed or patriarched.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Wasn't this on Huff post a days ago or so? I am disappoint, sarc.

[sarcasmic]

Wasn't this on Huff post a days ago or so?

Wouldn't know. I don't go there.

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's purely awful and I would rather I hadn't gone there. The website was more offensive to me than this link. But I have seen worse in women's locker rooms, trust me. And those are things I can't click away from.

[sarcasmic]

California town bans people smoking in their own homes if they have a shared wall
California's San Rafael has passed a strict smoking ban
The ban prohibits smoking inside any residences that share a common wall
The ban applies to renters and owners alike
Other rules include no smoking in parks or the downtown area
San Rafael officials have called the new rules the most stringent anti-smoking ban in the country

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-wall.html
Land of the free.

[waffles]

Does this apply to tobacco only or all combustibles? Californians often believe green is good while spurning the brown leaf.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I remember when people were concerned back in the day when all this smoking hysteria began sometime in the late 80s that we'd embark on a slippery slope. I even thought that. We were all told we were crazy and the smoking was a dangerous, foul habit.

Guess what?

The slippery slope is nice and slippery.

[Francisco d Anconia]

And we said shit like, "What's next, they gonna ban food they think is bad for ya?"

Often, the slippery slope is NOT a fallacy.

[robc]

Shouldnt that be a Bo-style SoCon post?

[Tonio]

Hi, robc, glad you're here. Followup from the other day:

Are you now or have you ever been state married (gotten a marriage license from government), and if so have you and your spouse ever filed taxes jointly, owned property jointly (without forming a corp), made medical decisions or gotten medical info for the other (without filling out special paperwork)?

[robc]

I saw that too late to respond.

No.

[robc]

Also, I dont think that matters. I oppose social security too, but if I ever receive a check I damn well will cash it.

I drive on roadz too.

Even unconstitutional interstate highways.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Zod forbid you use the stuff your money was stolen from you to pay for.

[Tonio]

Yeah, I don't know where that came from. I would never call anyone out for using a government service to which one is entitled and for which one has paid.

[robc]

I assumed from your question, you were going to call me a hypocrite if I had ever been in a state-licensed marriage.

If I ever get married (and the chances of it happening in 2014 are much higher than I would have guessed 4 months ago -- at that time I would have put it at 0%, now probably north of 90%), it probably will involve a state license. Since Im paying for the service, might as well use it and avoid the lawyer fees.

[Tonio]

And on that date I will call you a hypocrite. Because you are actively trying to keep other people from taking advantage of that program.

Now, if I find you are trying to keep others from driving on those roadz, or from collecting SS, that would be another matter. As far as I'm aware you're only being hypocritical about the marriage.

[robc]

Im trying to keep EVERYONE from using the program.

[robc]

Im also opposing the building of new federally funded interstates too.

[Tonio]

Then start by taking the moral high ground and setting an example.

[robc]

Then start by taking the moral high ground and setting an example.

I have for 44 years.

[Tonio]

So were you tribal- or religious- married, but not state-married, at any time during that period?

[robc]

There are people who live in areas that dont currently have interstate access.

I oppose the building of interstates to their areas.

[robc]

If you are in a state that has passed gay-marriage, go for it, take advantage of it. Im not trying to stop you.

If the road has been built, drive on the damn thing.

[sarcasmic]

Because you are actively trying to keep other people from taking advantage of that program.

Really? By posting his opposition to the redefining of marriage on some anonymous blog he's actively trying to stop people from getting married? That's some powerful blogging! Go robc!

[RBS]

In Tonio's world everyone who opposes state licensing of marriage opposes all marriages.

[Tonio]

No, RBS, I've never said that. Challenge you to show where I have.

[Tonio]

Still waiting, RBS. You got anything? I post a lot on here. Surely you could find something...

[Tonio]

Really.

And robc has claimed here that his posts here constitute actual organized opposition to state supported marriage when I've pointed out that there are plenty of organized groups such as NOM who actively work to keep the homos from being able to marry, but, somehow, there is no actual organized effort to get the state out of marriage*.

But I'm used to you people trying to have it both ways.

(*)Duly noted that this is a plank of the Libertarian Party, but I don't see any actual effort going into this.

[robc]

Duly noted that this is a plank of the Libertarian Party

Its good to see you have stop lying about there being no organized groups opposing state marriage. Even if only in a footnote.

robc has claimed here that his posts here constitute actual organized opposition to state supported marriage...But I'm used to you people trying to have it both ways.

Ive never tried it have it both ways. Im not sarcasmic.

Its robc's 2nd rule of libertarianism all over again.

[sarcasmic]

Ive never tried it have it both ways. Im not sarcasmic.

?

I've never claimed that my posts here have any power, nor have I given money or support to NOM.

[robc]

I've never claimed that my posts here have any power

That was my point. I claimed my posts have power.

[sarcasmic]

So how am I trying to have it both ways?

[robc]

So how am I trying to have it both ways?

You arent.

Tonio is conflating our opposite views and collectivizing us.

"WE" are trying to have it both ways, because we disagree on the power of posts.

[sarcasmic]

So he's an idiot. OK. That makes more sense.

[Tonio]

[Squirrels ate my previous response, here goes again]

robc, I believe I've been fairly consistent about stating organized groups actively opposing state marriage. Two-prong test. If you want to credibly accuse me of lying I challenge you to produce the posts.

The LP is indeed an organized group but one statement on a static webpage is not active opposition; it's pro-forma, and very passive. It is also noteworthy that, the LP official position notwithstanding, the most successful (percentage of votes won) recent libertarian-identified candidates (Johnson and Sarvis) have both been in favor of equal marriage rights.

NOM has a membership of thousands and a budget of millions. They are all over the op-eds, lobbying, testifying before legislatures, lawsuits, paid advertisements. Active opposition and certainly an organized group.

robc you post a bit here about your opposition to all state marriage, so you are making an effort, if only a bit of one. But to turn sarc's argument around on him, you guys are only a few anonymous voices on a website. Ever had an op-ed piece published? Ever tried to publish one? Anything resembling an organization?

[robc]

Im organized and active.

Hell of a lot of posts today, thats a type of activity.

And fuck op-eds? Who reads newspapers?

[Tonio]

Hey, you want to follow through on that lying thing?

[Tonio]

Nothing, eh?

[sarcasmic]

I actually did submit a letter to the local liberal rag mocking the redefining of marriage by comparing a marriage between a man and a woman to a yin yang, and then demanding that in fairness solid black circles and solid white circles should be called yin yangs as well. Didn't get published.

[Tonio]

Hmmm...I wonder why?

[sarcasmic]

Hmmm...I wonder why?

Like I said, it's a liberal rag. Being a beacon of tolerance they only publish letters that swoon over the liberal agenda. Likewise in the comments section. Anything critical gets immediately censored. Tolerance in action.

[Redmanfms]

robc you post a bit here about your opposition to all state marriage, so you are making an effort, if only a bit of one. But to turn sarc's argument around on him, you guys are only a few anonymous voices on a website. Ever had an op-ed piece published? Ever tried to publish one? Anything resembling an organization?

Which has what do with what?

Are you actually arguing that that lack of "organized" opposition to state licensing of marriage thereby invalidates robc's position? Logic fail much Tonyo?

And what's with the "hypocrite" hurling horseshit? You are the last guy here who should be tossing that chestnut around. Even if he is a hypocrite and chooses to get a state marriage license that doesn't invalidate his position either. So that would just be another logic fail.

Face it Tonyo, he holds a position you cannot (not for lack of trying) label as anti-gay or anti-liberty and it pisses you off that you know his position is the one of greater liberty you have to attack him.

[Tonio]

I don't see that you've raised any actual points, so nothing to respond to.

[Redmanfms]

I don't see that you've raised any actual points, so nothing to respond to.

I wasn't expecting a response. I'm pointing out that you don't have any actual points.

But the truth is, and I'm pretty sure you know it, is your arguments on this issue have degenerated to such a degree that you have nothing left but fallacy. You tripped up because you are a doctrinaire gay activist who sees any opposition to "gay marriage" as being anti-gay regardless of the motivation and you've spent the last couple days frantically attempting to walk it back by directing attention away from your (anti-liberty) position.

With that in mind you attack robc's position because of the lack of "organized" support, which I'm certain you are smart enough to know is a ridiculous red herring. You also try to angle an ad hom (damn is that familiar) by asking if he's married, which you also know is not germane to the discussion.

You are more like Tony than mere similarity in name.

[Tonio]

Here's the thing, Beechnut, I don't see why you are invested in what I think. If my arguments are without merit, and I'm a bad person to boot, why would you even care what I say?

[sarcasmic]

why would you even care what I say?

Concern troll's concern is noted.

[Redmanfms]

Here's the thing, Beechnut, I don't see why you are invested in what I think. If my arguments are without merit, and I'm a bad person to boot, why would you even care what I say?

You are a duplicitous hypocrite.

I'm not invested in your accepting this, but it is gratifying for me to be able to call you out on this for the edification of others.

[Tonio]

As far as "that" and ad homs go, here's a little turd you dropped on that thread:

I gave you the answer you were secretly hoping you'd get poofter.

So, bluster and insult all you want. Claim that valid points are red herrings because they're inconvenient.

[Redmanfms]

Claim that valid points are red herrings because they're inconvenient.

They aren't "valid points" they are bluster and insult.

Whether "organized" groups take the position of ending all state-issuance of marriage licenses has zero bearing on the validity of robc's argument. It's bluster.

Any potential for hypocrisy is also irrelevant to the argument. It's insult.

[Redmanfms]

As far as "that" and ad homs go, here's a little turd you dropped on that thread:

I gave you the answer you were secretly hoping you'd get poofter.

On that...

I never claimed purity, nor do I claim a person's argument is invalid because they themselves are hypocritical, nor do I blatantly misrepresent another's argument to attack them for that bigoted strawman. You do all of these things. Frequently.

[Tonio]

Duly noted. You still raise nothing worthy of a response.

[Redmanfms]

You still raise nothing worthy of a response.

Because you have no response.

You argument has degenerated to the indefensible and you know it. This is a pattern with you.

[Tonio]

robc has maintained that his posts here opposing state marriage represent organized opposition. An army of one, or something.

[robc]

An army of one

Ive almost used that exact line the last time this came up.

[Tonio]

Me, too, but glad I got in first.

[Tonio]

Thanks for the reply.

[robc]

Does my lack of state marriage make me more right or anything?

[Tonio]

It only means you're not being hypocritical on this issue.

[robc]

See above, re: roadz.

Am I being hypocritical for driving on the interstate?

[Tonio]

Uh, no. That's implicit in my 9:58 post above.

[robc]

Then why would you call me a hypocrite if I was state-married?

Im still wondering the purpose of the question if you dont think it hypocrisy to use a state service.

BTW, hypocrisy is a tough word to spell. I tried about 15 versions that werent right. I dont think I would have got that one right without looking it up.

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's only hypocrisy if _you_ use it robc. Tonio is like the vegan who gets mad at other vegans for wearing vegan Doc Martens, because it somehow encourages shoppers to buy leather shoes.

[Tonio]

Well, not just robc, but anyone who claims to be against it yet takes advantage of it. Because they have the option of getting married in their religious or cultural tradition and foregoing state recognition.

And, yes, this is different from roadz, because they are not trying to keep others from using those roadz and there is no parallel private system of roadz.

[robc]

Im not trying to keep anyone from using the marriage laws either. I just dont want to build new ones.

Its exactly the fucking same as roadz.

[robc]

I would cut off SS today if I could and continue to allow current users to finish out while not allowing any new ones in.

But, if its still around in 25 years or whatever, Im cashing the checks. And I will still after that point while Im collecting the checks try to cut it off from any new users.

[Tonio]

I consider your roads/marriage analogy to be flawed.

[robc]

they

You hit a key word there.

In my religious tradition, marriage is a 3-way street. And all 3 would have to agree to forego state recognition.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

A person's hypocrisy has no bearing on whether they are right or wrong. Or, what sarc said.

[Tonio]

Because you are a hypocrite.

I accept that you don't understand or don't accept this. I'm not sure that it is possible to explain to you why this is so in any useful fashion. I have no interest in trying to do so because it would only waste my time and annoy you.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Here, I'll stipulate that I'm a hypocrite, for the sake of the argument. Now what?

[robc]

Ive never understood why being a hypocrite is a bad thing.

At least hypocrites are right 50% of the time, either in action of in words.

That is better than being consistent and wrong on both.

[Tonio]

Which isn't to imply you are being hypocritical (or not) on any other issue.

[sarcasmic]

Tonio, bravo for the textbook example of an ad hominem fallacy!

[Emmerson Biggins]

They are in California. So they can't be SnoCones.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I watched a movie last night filmed & set in the later 70's, and there was a doctor with a freaking cigar in the halls of the hospital.

[sarcasmic]

When I was a kid people could smoke in the grocery store.

[Elspeth Flashman]

And an older friend told me about when she got pregnant. (She's about 60? I guess.) The doctor told her the test was positive and asked if she smoked. She said yes. The doctor offered her a cigarette. In the exam room.

[invisible furry hand]

I read that initially as your friend got pregnant at 60. Which must means I should go to bed. Nighty-night

[Francisco d Anconia]

+1 Dr. Sherman Cottle

[GILMORE]

Elspeth Flashman|11.22.13 @ 9:46AM|#

I watched a movie last night filmed & set in the later 70's, and there was a doctor with a freaking cigar in the halls of the hospital.

That's nothing. In Portugal, I was in the emergency waiting room (where 'emergencies' go to wait their turn... not a joke) and a guy chain smoked, shared a 6 pack of beer with me, and *sniffed heroin* right next to me. He was there because he'd blown a vein shooting up. I was there because one of his junkie friends stabbed me.

Good country, Portugal.

[Azathoth!!]

In some old buildings there are still elevators with built in ashtrays.

Some of these are in hospitals.

[Francisco d Anconia]

NO.

[sarcasmic]

Outrage after Miami official mocks Walmart's 'typical customers' in offensive email that was leaked as the mega-retailer pushes to build store in city center

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....enter.html
Someone must be living under a rock if they've never heard of 'People of Walmart'

[OldMexican]

The pics are funny to look at but the comments from that urban development bureaucrat are incredibly offensive. I mean, badly-dressed fat people are human beings, too!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Not to say anything, but the Wal-Mart near my house looks nothing like this. You'll see more good looking soccer moms with their Range Rovers.

Going to Wal-Mart could be a good place to pick up women - married, bored whatever.

I guess it depends where it's located.

[Rich]

A Tennessee county judge has said that drug testing judges would be a waste of taxpayers' money.

Heh. What's *he* smoking?

/Captain Obvious

[sarcasmic]

Giggling Jessica Chastain is caught in an awkward squat in public parking lot as she rifles around for missing car keys

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-keys.html
Yummy ginger.

[BakedPenguin]

That's awkward?

[gaijin]

It almost looks staged. Like its designed to get someone to snap it and put it on the internets for attention.

[BakedPenguin]

I can believe it happened without staging, as paparazzi follow celebrities around constantly. I just didn't think it looked that graceless.

[Kid Xenocles]

Yeah it's awkward. Look at her left leg, it's caving in. She'll never be able to get her numbers up with that sort of form. I bet she didn't even hit parallel. Decent back angle, though.

[Steve G]

Wow. Awkward squats=news? Even for tabloids, thats weak. What's next, celebrities putting on their coats with the left arm first? !!

[JW]

I'd do her Zero Dark.

[Atanarjuat]

Libertarian women, if you really do exist, apologies in advance, but...

That chick is fugly.

[Redmanfms]

That chick is fugly.

Yeah, I don't really get the fascination with her either.

She does have really nice tits though. Nice body, meh face.

[SForza]

It's a Viking face. I think her face is hot, but I can understand why many don't. It is a soft, gentle face.

[SForza]

*isn't* a soft, gentle face.

[waffles]

Miley Cyrus' parents are not worried about her drug use

No one cares. Stop trying to make people care about shit that doesn't matter. Derp.

[Bee Tagger]

Miley Cyrus' parents are not worried about her drug use.

Just, please, don't tell their hearts.

[Elspeth Flashman]

their achy breaky hearts?

[Lord Humungus]

Older Hill aides shocked by Obamacare prices

Veteran House Democratic aides are sick over the insurance prices they'll pay under Obamacare, and they're scrambling to find a cure.

"In a shock to the system, the older staff in my office (folks over 59) have now found out their personal health insurance costs (even with the government contribution) have gone up 3-4 times what they were paying before," Minh Ta, chief of staff to Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), wrote to fellow Democratic chiefs of staff in an email message obtained by POLITICO. "Simply unacceptable."

aww...

[Drax the Destroyer]

Schadenfreude. Gotta love it.

[Brett L]

I was worried about schadenfreude acclimation, but it gets ever more sublime. Welcome to the hoi polloi, bitches.

[CatoTheElder]

They get a 75% subsidy as an employee benefit, and they're still complaining over the 25% they have to pay.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I forget...

Are predictable consequences predictable or not?

[invisible furry hand]

Vaginas Are Like "Little Hoover Vacuums," and Other Things Abstinence Lecturers Get Paid to Tell Teens

more

[Doctor Whom]

Don't have sex. Ever. That'll be $6,000, please.

Oh, yeah, and nothing left to cut.

[DJF]

This is why women are so good at house cleaning

[Rich]

Could be the Swiffer.

[Enough About Palin]

Marcus_from_the_North ? 4 days ago
I want to meet the girl who has a vagina like a Hoover vacuum.. That would be AWESOME!

[db]

"It's like that Electrolux all over again."

[robc]

The five bolded "factually inaccurate" points seem to mostly opinions or non-provable (or disprovable). I may not agree with them, but I dont think a single one is "factually inaccurate".

Lets take them one by one:

1. "God made guys as leaders."

Technically a factual-type statement, but entirely unprovable. So it really becomes an opinion.

2. "Girls...only lift the veil over your body to the spouse who is worthy."

Opinion.

3. "If you take birth control, your mother probably hates you."

Silly, and clearly weasely and not really a factual thing.

4. "According to your health textbook, and all of the medical textbooks, and science textbooks, and biology texts, conception is when life begins."

I think that is probably factually false in that the books dont really say that. But none of those books would disagree with a fertilized egg being life.

5. "Girls are more feelings-oriented, and boys are more facts-oriented."

Duh? Stupid generalization, but, ummmm...yeah, Im okay with it.

They couldnt find the really stupid things these people say to highlight?

[Metazoan]

Nice takedown. This reminds me of a pet peeve of mine. I hate "life begins at conception" (not because I disagree with what they're actually saying, though I do disagree), because, as you pointed out, it's indisputable that a fertilized egg is life. Hell, an unfertilized egg is living, too! When "does" life begin? I don't know, presumably in a primordial soup of RNAs on a planet rich in organic materials.

[Tonio]

Um, there's a difference between an opinion and a command. These may be the presenter's opinion but they are clearly being given as commands. These presenters are set up as authority figures by virtue of being paid (presumably because they are experts), and because they are brought into the schools to lecture the kids. Ie, this is a coercive situation.

[robc]

And, yeah, I oppose that aspect of it.

But the article claimed factual inaccuracies. Im picking on the author at Mother Jones for writing a poor article. I guarantee every one of these 5 people said something clearly factually untrue. But those arent what they highlighted.

And since when does Mother Jones oppose coercion?

[Kid Xenocles]

"And since when does Mother Jones oppose coercion?"

They've always opposed coercing people into doing things the staff of Mother Jones opposes.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for the third year in a row.

Bum fight earnings being put toward rent. It can't last.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Without a living wage?

Not unimpossible!

[Tonio]

Many of the homeless do indeed work. Temporary jobs are the most common form of employment (ie, the guys you get when you call Labor Pool).

When I was involved with a church we hosted a shelter and a couple of the guys had full-time jobs - parking attendants and fast food.

[Tonio]

Oops. In the case of the temp workers, you can raise the hourly as far as you want but that doesn't guarantee the hours will be there.

The deal with the homeless is that the higher functioning ones, ie the ones who can hold down a full-time job, are incapable of dealing with the complexities of rent, utilities, etc.

[BakedPenguin]

And I totally trust the Obama administrations numbers on this. Without reservation.

[Tonio]

Meh. I can see that they'd be motivated to claim they reduced homelessness. But I can also see a constant or growing homeless population as justifying more social programs, and of course blaming the problems on previous administrations.

[BakedPenguin]

The veneer is slipping for all but the truly insane O-bots. 5 straight years of economic malaise, non-participation in the labor force, unemployment, the Obamacare nightmare, etc. I think they're starting to get that people aren't going to buy the shriek-like "IT WUZ BOOOSH" BS anymore. They need wins right now, badly.

That said, it's possible, given the record amounts of welfare they are shoveling, that some people might actually benefit. But coming from an administration that could fuck up a wet dream, I'll believe it when it's independently verified.

[Tonio]

They need wins right now, badly.

Yes, they do. And if history is any precedent he's going to go on a foreign policy initiative of some sort. And let's hope they don't gin up a war.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Dacnvjf8A#t=81

Biden on Nuclear Option....in 2005. I think the GOP refrained in the end.

[JW]

What was that you said about a slope upthread?

The Stupid Party might be beginning to realize that they should stop bringing knives to these fights votes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Beginning to realize? That would infer they have principles. Pretty optimistic guy you are.

[JW]

Pretty optimistic guy you are.

Delusional, really.

[Lord Humungus]

San Jose State students accused of tormenting black roommate are charged with hate crimes

First, his white roommates nicknamed him "Three-fifths," referring to the way the government once counted blacks as just a fraction of a person. When he protested, they dubbed him "Fraction."

Then they outfitted the four-bedroom dormitory suite they shared with a Confederate flag. They locked him in his room. They wrote the "N-word" on a dry-erase board in the living room. They fastened a bicycle lock around his neck and told him they lost the keys, then tried it again a few weeks later.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"First, his white roommates nicknamed him "Three-fifths,"

Admission.

I chuckled.

[Lord Humungus]

If you're going to be racist, at least keep it classy by being historical. AmIrite?!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If you chuckle only at classy jokes, you're 1 in about 7 billion.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Is anyone from the Reason community African-American? Just curious. A black libertarian would be Shaft-like cool. I'd picture him with an eye-patch, a leather coat (like Gillespie), and a metal claw and shit while listening to Edwin Starr's '25 Miles' and reciting Bastiat.

[Lord Humungus]

Heroic Mulatto?

[Francisco d Anconia]

But that doesn't count, he's half white.

Er...hey...wait a second!

[Ptah-Hotep]

Is anyone from the Reason community African-American?

Does Sudanese count?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Okay. Fine. Is anyone black? Including Aboriginals, Carribeans and Al Jolsians.

Forward!

[Ptah-Hotep]

Rufus,

I assume everyone on these boards are white. Except me.

[Ptah-Hotep]

*this board*

[BakedPenguin]

IIRC, occasional posters Mister Darque (duh) and Miss Malevolent both said they were black. So is Art-POG, but he hasn't been here in a while.

[GILMORE]

Rufus J. Firefly|11.22.13 @ 9:50AM|#

Is anyone from the Reason community African-American?

My soul is blacker than Dakimbe Mutumbo, but unfortunately the rest of me is more Will Rogers.

[wareagle]

but I keep hearing it's only southerners who do such.

[darius404]

Obviously, these people must be southern or the children of southerners. I'm pretty sure racism is heritable.

[Jordan]

They wrote the "N-word" on a dry-erase board in the living room.

Niggardly? Naggers?

[Auric Demonocles]

Nasal.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'Ndragheta?

[Jordan]

Since "N-word" is in quotes, I'm going to assume that's what they actually wrote.

[Rich]

"Nice."

[mr simple]

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I refreshed.

[mr simple]

No, they literally wrote "N-word".

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Nyarlathotep?

[Zeb]

You know what's silly? People who think that the 3/5ths thing meant that slaves were only considered partial people. The whole point of the compromise was to give slave owners and slave states less political power, not to make a statement about the status of black people. And the better way (from an anti-slavery perspective) would have been to count slaves not at all.

[#]

^^ This ^^ Slave owners wanted them counted fully for district allocation purposes.

[Tonio]

The South wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted slaves counted because that gave those states more congressmen. This also offset the congressional power of the Northern states which tended to be more populous.

Not counting the slaves would have been politically advantageous to the North, but would also have put the abolitionists in an awkward position.

[Zeb]

Hmm. Hadn't thought about the awkwardness of the position for abolitionists. I suppose they would then be in a situation where if slavery were ended, the southern states woudl suddenly get a lot more power in congress.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Outside of these dicks being a bunch of feces-filled cunts, several of their "pranks" sound like assault and kidnapping regardless of the racial motivations. A summer in a federal rape hole sounds like a proper penalty.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Religious police in Saudi Arabia have arrested two men for offering free hugs.

Allah would rather they charge?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Maybe, but Mohammed may have preferred fondling.

[Lord Humungus]

What's He Really Like? Check the Lulu App

On Lulu, women can rate men in categories ? ex-boyfriend, crush, together, hooked-up, friend or relative ? with a multiple-choice quiz. Women, their gender verified by their Facebook logins, add pink hashtags to a man's profile ranging from the good (#KinkyInTheRightWays) to the bad (#NeverSleepsOver) to the ugly (#PornEducated). The hashtags are used to calculate a score generated by Lulu, ranging from 1 to 10, that appears under the man's profile picture. (The company's spokeswoman declined to explain the ratings algorithm.) Men can add hashtags, which appear in blue, but these are not factored into their overall score.

Since it was started last year by Alexandra Chong, who has a law degree from the London School of Economics, the service has provided a sort of "Take Back the Internet" moment for young women who have come of age in an era of revenge porn and anonymous, possibly ominous suitors.

[DJF]

I feel so othered!!!!

[invisible furry hand]

#othered

FIFY

[gaijin]

And IF guys had a site like this it would be called...?

[darius404]

DemTits.com

[darius404]

DatAss.net

[tarran]

It exists. 4Chan

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

"in an era of revenge porn and anonymous, possibly ominous suitors"

Truly we live in the era of STEVE SMITH, Warty and SugarFree's dungeon.

[Drax the Destroyer]

This isn't our era. It's theirs.

[Tonio]

And if men set up a women-rating site with pictures and reviews that would be totally OK, right?

[SugarFree]

#hobovagina #queefer #manglednipples

[Drax the Destroyer]

#watersports #scatqueen

[SugarFree]

#discharge #oozingdischarge #smellydischarge

[invisible furry hand]

not that you have any issues with women...

[SugarFree]

The ability to think like bad people doesn't make someone a bad person.

[invisible furry hand]

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

Or should that be #abyssgazesbackintoyou?

[SugarFree]

The abyss has been staring at me for years.

[gaijin]

#dishonorabledischarge

[SugarFree]

#electricaldischarge

[Drax the Destroyer]

#waitisthatcheese #ohgodno

[Drax the Destroyer]

I have to register? Fuck that.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I am in the dark as to what "revenge porn" is. But I feel fine with that, so please don't enlighten me.

[Lord Humungus]

Have a GF, take nudies of her or make a sex video. Break-up ensues. Release pix & videos to the wide world.

[robc]

Its easy.

Its posting the naked pics and sex tapes you made while together to the internet after the breakup.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Got it. Thanks. So the woman is supposed to feel shame for that, I guess.

[Drax the Destroyer]

I think there is an important lesson here. Namely, allowing yourself to be photographed or filmed while naked/having sex is risky and could lead to embarrassment.

[SugarFree]

If she didn't, it wouldn't work.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Ok, right. It's not like they call it "celebration porn."

[Lord Humungus]

Pennsylvania town to celebrate New Year with giant mushroom

A Pennsylvania town will celebrate the changing of years this New Year with a 700-pound stainless steel mushroom.

The town, Kennett Square, accounts for about half the U.S. production of mushrooms and calls itself the mushroom capital of the world.

[Tonio]

That's a clever way to hide a flying saucer.

/conspiracytheoriesinhonoroftoday

[Francisco d Anconia]

Happy Hobbits.

[BigT]

A giant phallus? That's so ..... whatever.

[invisible furry hand]

Italian paper thinks comparing Berlusconi to JFK is a good thing

[gaijin]

Berlusconi is dead?

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

He used methadone?

[OldMexican]

He had Marilyn Monroe sing "Happy Birthday" to him while drunk, too?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In the religion, womanizing, and wealth departments perhaps I guess they are comparable.

I think the article makes a point I'm sure a lot of us have observed. The left overlooks when one of their own misbehaves but when it's a conservative (which is what Berlusconi is), they attack.

[Jordan]

Well, both are scumbag politicians. Close enough.

[BakedPenguin]

They're also fairly incompetent politicians, too.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah but Berlusconi owns the most trophied soccer team in da world...

AC MILAN!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Officials in the Philippines have raised the Typhoon Haiyan death toll to more than 4,900.

But on the plus side, their economy has got to be booming now!

[DJF]

The glass makers are saying it will be the best year ever.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Time to put money into funeral homes. May this golden age never end!

[Lord Humungus]

Applicants Find Health Website Is Improving, but Not Fast Enough

Despite weeks of work by a small army of software experts to salvage HealthCare.gov, navigators in states that depend on the federal insurance exchange say they still cannot get most of their clients through the online enrollment process.

Those navigators said they had seen improvements in the system since its disastrous rollout on Oct. 1, particularly in the initial steps of the application process. But the closer people come to signing up for a plan, the more the system seems to freeze or fail, many navigators said.

[GILMORE]

That headline is tantamount to,

"Married Couple trying to get Pregnant Finally Getting to '3rd Base'"

[waffles]

The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for the third year in a boat.

How does this get measured. Homeless people aren't easily accounted for. Are people magically pulling themselves up by the bootstraps? Dying of of smallpox? Victims of a nationwide homeless genocide?

The homeless population in Sacramento didn't seem diminished but burgeoning. Hmm.

[DJF]

Its obvious that there are less homeless, the President is not a Republican

[Tonio]

How does this get measured[?]

Good question since presumably they don't get counted in the census.

My best guess is that this is based on reporting by people who run shelters, who have an incentive to count high since funding is based on services provided.

And if the numbers were embarrassingly high for this administration you can rest assured that this would be labelled a problem inherited from previous administrations.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

They do get counted in the census.

[Tonio]

How does that work? I'm guessing the census sends people to the shelters, but do they make an effort to go underneath the bridges and to the hobo camps?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Yes. I know here in Long Beach an army of volunteers, coordinated by census takers, spent about two weeks going under bridges, into freeway medians, and pretty much anywhere you might find the homeless "in the wild".

[Drax the Destroyer]

Maybe they take off their homeless clothes after a long day of begging, go home, and sit in bed while binge-watching netflix.

[Enough About Palin]

They are counted by volunteers.

[Tonio]

Thanks, EAP. That link is to a Minnesota group so YMMV in other states, but I assume the other homeless agencies and charities use similar methodologies.

However, FTFA: The study includes counts and estimates of the number of people who are homeless, and a survey of homeless people. The survey involves more than 1,000 volunteers who interview individuals and families throughout the state living in shelters, transitional housing programs, drop-in service locations, and non-shelter locations such as encampments and abandoned buildings. [Emphasis mine]

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Writer CS Lewis has been honoured with a memorial stone in Westminster Abbey later, 50 years after his death.

"The stone has been placed in Poets' Corner, alongside renowned literary figures including Chaucer and Dickens.

"Former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams - a fan of his work - gave the main address at the ceremony."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ente.....s-25031909

[Eduard van Haalen]

Photo:

http://bit.ly/18tuY9a

[BakedPenguin]

Paging robc; paging robc

[robc]

Good for him.

Fucking Oswald.

[robc]

To live his life in his own way, to call his house his castle, to enjoy the fruits of his own labour, to educate his children as his conscience directs, to save for their prosperity after his death --- these are wishes deeply ingrained in civilised man. Their realization is almost as necessary to our virtues as to our happiness. From their total frustration disastrous results both moral and psychological might follow.

Willing Slaves of the Welfare State

[CampingInYourPark]

Good stuff

All this threatens us even if the form of society which our needs point to should prove an unparalleled success. But is that certain? What assurance have we that our masters will or can keep the promise which induced us to sell ourselves? Let us not be deceived by phrases about 'Man taking charge of his own destiny'. All that can really happen is that some men will take charge of the destiny of the others. They will be simply men; none perfect; some greedy, cruel and dishonest. The more completely we are planned the more powerful they will be. Have we discovered some new reason why, this time, power should not corrupt as it has done before?

[robc]

Like I said yesterday, and many times before, his writing is primarily responsible for me being a libertarian.

As a yute I thought I was a conservative. But his writings made me question what the conservatives were saying about many things.

[Lord Humungus]

some semi NSFW pix here:

The Happy Hooker: Confessions of a Satisfied Sex Worker

"Having spent so much time in a position that allowed men to unload, I was often exposed to a uniquely honest perspective that most women never experience. Kind of like a reverse priest. What my clients revealed to me about sex, love and relationships is something I'm truly thankful for. Men aren't pigs. Like women, they just need to be appreciated, loved, listened to and not judged. They need to be touched and adored. They need to be with someone who puts effort into maintaining all the things that attracted them in the first place. It seems simple enough, but these things so often go neglected by their wives and partners. My insider understanding of what makes men tick and what turns them off is something I've found endlessly helpful, both socially and in my personal relationships."

[gaijin]

spent so much time in a position that allowed men to unload,

poetry

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Those are some nice looking women.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Having spent so much time in a position that allowed men to unload,"

I was hoping she'd describe the position.

Other than that, give that editor a raise! Or at least a chance to unload.

[Enough About Palin]

Westward Ho

LOL

[Ted S.]

Why can't old people fight over Matlock?

Fight over Ram Insemination Book at Elderly Homes

Unfortunately, the claims of fights are only alleged, if you read the actual article:

It is not only sheep farmers who read the book, Torfi Bergsson, who works at the West Iceland Sheep Insemination Station, told mbl.is. "I have heard stories that people at elderly homes are fighting over the book."

[...]

All the rams are equal without any of them standing out, Torfi said. Thirty out of 47 have horns.

[Lord Humungus]

Study: Men With Attractive Wives More Satisfied In Marriage

A study of more than 450 newlywed couples over the course of four years found that men with physically attractive wives remained much more satisfied in their marriage than men who did not. However, the attractiveness of a woman's husband played no part in the satisfaction that women felt from their marriage.

[sarcasmic]

However, the attractiveness of a woman's husband played no part in the satisfaction that women felt from their marriage.

Whew! That's a relief!

[Auric Demonocles]

However, the attractiveness of a woman's husband played no part in the satisfaction that women felt from their marriage.

And nicole tries to convince us that women are rational.

[BakedPenguin]

As P Brooks pointed out downthread, they might have found a correlation between female happiness and bank account size.

So bitches may not be crazy after all.

[Auric Demonocles]

Crazy old Brooksie, always downthread. (Seriously though, keep up the good fight!)

But there should still be a correlation between appearance and happiness. Even if the one between wealth and happiness was stronger. A rich spouse would be good, but a hot rich spouse would be even better.

[Enough About Palin]

Miley Cyrus' Parents Not Worried About Her Drug Use

Nor am I.

[Ted S.]

Thousands of dead fish show up in New Zealand river. Government radio presenter desperately wants her interviewee to blame some large business or another

(That link is to an audio file, about 1MB and 2:30 in length.)

[invisible furry hand]

about 1MB and 2:30 in length

You monster!

[Ted S.]

Hey, I gave you a warning. And it gives you a chance to make fun of Kiwis.

(Since you said you were away for a week, you must have missed the story about the idiot who tried to ride a paddlebike on pontoons across the Cook Strait.)

[invisible furry hand]

Link please!

[Ted S.]

I think this is the link.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Probably Fukushima radiation or something

[Rich]

China has tested its first stealth combat drone

Next up: The list of HVTs.

[OldMexican]

We're getting close to the point of really living the world of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Ooh, the BBC has found some Dallasites who talk about how their city has finally bounced back from the horror of 1963.

[DJF]

Yes, for many decades Dallas was abandoned, but now a brave few have returned to try to rebuild the city into something that JFJ would be proud of.

[Auric Demonocles]

Here in Boston, we're just now recovering from the molasses flood.

[Apple]

I assume the footage is from early 1964.

[Pro Libertate]

Really, I'm sorry someone murdered Kennedy, but what the heck is up with this insane level of coverage? He wasn't a great president or great man--in fact, more the opposite--and his politics were, by today's standards, pretty conservative.

Be nice if people mourned the deaths of noncelebrities with as much enthusiasm.

[Francisco d Anconia]

But...but...he was sooooo dreamy.

[BigT]

Yeah, right. Presidents are gunned down every day. What's the big deal?

Oh, right.

[Pro Libertate]

It's not that it's not sad or significant, but it's not the biggest thing that happened in the last fifty years, which you wouldn't know from the coverage. I bet this gets more news time than the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in 2019 will get.

[Emmerson Biggins]

So what you are saying, is that we need more 9/11 coverage?

[RBS]

The real question should be how will the bounce back from the horror of the Tony Romo led Cowboys?

[The Late P Brooks]

"In a shock to the system, the older staff in my office (folks over 59) have now found out their personal health insurance costs (even with the government contribution) have gone up 3-4 times what they were paying before," Minh Ta, chief of staff to Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), wrote to fellow Democratic chiefs of staff in an email message obtained by POLITICO. "Simply unacceptable."

The Nomenklatura should not be expected to pay for the privileges and dividends of power.

[CatoTheElder]

That's after the 75% government subsidy.

Cry me a river.

[Lord Humungus]

Fraud at Obamaphone, Inc.

The federal government's $2.189 billion Lifeline program, which is supposed to provide subsidized phone service to the poor, has become notorious for fraud and abuse. Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission reported the results of an audit of the top five Lifeline providers: It found 41 percent of beneficiaries ? approximately 6 million subscribers ? hadn't proven their eligibility.

[Eduard van Haalen]

They're registered voters, aren't they? What better proof of eligibility do you want?

[Jordan]

I wonder if that dog in Colorado who signed up for Obamacare also has an Obamaphone.

[BakedPenguin]

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

[JW]

You win again, entropy!

[Pro Libertate]

Don't buy entropy's claims that he's just really skillful. The game is rigged in his favor.

[Auric Demonocles]

If they had to prove their eligibility that would be racist.

[Auric Demonocles]

Nothing* can survive the nuclear option. Not even alt-text.

*Exceptions obviously include Pro Lib, and possibly Warty

[Aloysious]

I'm pretty sure they are not human. Or maybe superhuman. Going by their reputations.

[Auric Demonocles]

Well, we don't want to discuss what Warty is.

But Pro Lib is perfectly human, with the exception that as far as anyone can tell he is immortal and is quite possibly the first human.

[darius404]

Pro Lib is Vandal Savage?

[Auric Demonocles]

Except older and not evil. Well, he is a lawyer, but not that evil.

[darius404]

What about the cannibal part?

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Enoch Root

[Pro Libertate]

That's why I laugh at the Paleo Diet. The real secret to early man's lifestyle was not getting eaten, running around all of the time, and gorging on whatever marginally edible foodstuff you could find. Oh, and mating a lot with anything it fit in.

[Auric Demonocles]

What if you found a marginally edible foodstuff that you could also fit in?

[robc]

Fuck it, then eat it.

[darius404]

Sloppy second helpings?

[Pro Libertate]

Yep. We were a simpler, fuckier people then.

[The Late P Brooks]

The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for the third year in a row.

The scourge of illegal unregulated flophouses must be stamped out!

Those people deserve silk sheets, or nothing.

NOTHING!

In abundance.

[Rich]

White House blocks access to Obama events, news groups say

White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended the release of photos and videos, saying the practice helps Obama live up to his pledge of transparency by allowing the public to have greater access to the inner workings of the administration when it's not feasible for news media to be in the room.

"Josh Earnest", indeed.

[gaijin]

Josh Earnest...helps Obama live up to his pledge of transparency

He's just joshin'

[Aloysious]

I hope DumbO's ears are photo-.shopped to a more normal size.

Just pointing out the elephant in the room.

[invisible furry hand]

they're not ears, they're radio dishes

[Lord Humungus]

Days before launch, Obamacare website failed to handle even 500 users

In the last days before the botched October 1 launch of President Barack Obama's healthcare website, the team in charge was seeing alarming results from performance tests, according to internal emails released by Republican lawmakers investigating the rollout.

HealthCare.gov was unable to consistently handle 500 users at once in the testing, and tests failed with 2,000 users over a three-day period, according to a series of emails between members of the information technology team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

FORWARD!

[Rich]

Lean Six-Sigma Forward!

[CatoTheElder]

The Audacity of Hope.

So, like DMV, everybody waits in line.

[Raston Bot]

Despite a recent amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing they'll lose, the "city" of Alexandria plans to use eminent domain to take part of a parking lot and turn it into a bike path.

The process is the punishment.

[Ted S.]

If I were a state legislator, I'd submit a bill to use eminent domain to take the city concillors' homes and turn them into parks.

[Pro Libertate]

This shows where my mind is that I read that and thought Egypt first, not Virginia.

[The Late P Brooks]

the attractiveness of a woman's husband played no part in the satisfaction that women felt from their marriage.

His thick, bulging wallet, on the other hand...

[tarran]

As long as we're going nuclear, we might as well go whole hog.

That which has been seen, cannot be unseen. You have been warned people!

[Rich]

Well, Charles Manson *did* say he's bisexual.

[Andrew S.]

So I'm going to admit something about myself that I probably shouldn't here. But whatthefuck ever, I'm not ashamed.

I am a fan of that show. I was in Baltimore earlier this year for a major convention for that show. I also attended a convention locally where several of the voice actors showed up. I've seen all kinds of cosplay.

That link creeped me out badly.

[tarran]

Shriek!

[Auric Demonocles]

This might be a fact worth tagging...

[Andrew S.]

Eh, go for it. Like I said, I'm not ashamed. There's no sexual interest (that's a tiny part of the fandom, FWIW), it's just a fun show I enjoy watching with my daughter, and I enjoy the artists and musicians in the fandom.

[JW]

My formerly Yu GI-Oh obsessed she-spawn scoffs at you Bronies. Scoffs!

[KDN]

There's no sexual interest (that's a tiny part of the fandom, FWIW)

Maybe small, but active and intense. Back when my sister was responsible for editing the show's Facebook page she figured she had to remove roughly 1/4 of the posts for being pornographic.

Hasbro dispatched her to the first (or one of the first) Bronycon's in NYC to do a little reporting and offer a recommendation on if it's something the company should get behind. She told them to stay the hell away until further notice. Don't know if things have changed, but in the early days it was pretty vile stuff.

[Andrew S.]

It's gotten better as the fandom's gotten bigger. There were ~8500 people at Bronycon this year. There was one tiny room for the fursuiters... think I saw less than two dozen, and a similar number signed up on the sign-up sheet for the role playing (I have no clue what went on at the latter. I didn't want to know).

[Lord Humungus]

You're a Brony?

*edges towards the barn to get the pitchfork and torches*

[Andrew S.]

I don't like to call myself that because the connotation of the term (mostly thanks to some of the weirder fans) isn't good. I like the show. Most of the fans (that I saw in Baltimore) were good people. But... lets say there were others that I stayed far, far away from.

(and some of you guys might change your tunes if you saw some of the women cosplaying there..)

[JW]

(and some of you guys might change your tunes if you saw some of the women cosplaying there..)

Yeah, but all you had to do was wait for Otakon and skip the all the Brony shame.

[invisible furry hand]

Brony Shame would be a great band name

[Andrew S.]

Is Otakon really any less shameful than Bronycon? I've been to anime conventions as well. It's just as weird...

[GILMORE]

OK, I live in a cave = what the fuck is a Brony? in one sentence. And why should I care. In a few words.

[Auric Demonocles]

A Brony is a grown man who is really into My Little Pony. And you should care because we can pick on Andrew about it.

[Fatty Bolger]

I always expected Rainbow Dash's cock to be a little less prominent.

[SugarFree]

What's wrong with just being gay? As much as I support the love that two (or more) men can have for each other, I just can't accept this.

[BakedPenguin]

...I just can't accept this.

Everyone should keep in mind the source of this quote while determining the amount of crazy in that pic.

[The Late P Brooks]

By the way, JFK cut those income tax rates because he was a Keynesian. Trying to portray him as some sort of deranged trickle down supply sider is stupid, and a taint on his glorious memory, and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Thought you'd like to know.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Keynesianism is more credible than supply side.

In reality there is only one legitimate reason to cut taxes and that is to let the person who earned it keep it.

[sarcasmic]

Hey everyone! Check it out! PB has his own cooking show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWDfa90DT3U

[darius404]

What, do they cook with shit these days?

[DesigNate]

Hey, the second sentence in his shit throwing is actually right.

[sarcasmic]

Broken clocks...

[Auric Demonocles]

In reality there is only one legitimate reason to cut taxes and that is to let the person who earned it keep it.

I am worried, as I find myself agreeing with something buttplug said. Fortunately, I think we may disagree with the implications of the statement.

[Jordan]

The Keynesian track record:

1. Predicted DOOM when government spending was slashed after WWII.
2. Said stagflation was impossible.
3. Fought deflation in Japan for 2 decades, producing the highest debt-to-gdp ratio in the developed world and eviscerating the savings rate.
4. At best, failed to spot the housing bubble. At worst, cheered it on and helped engineer it.
5. Predicted unemployment would be under 6% now, even without the stimulus.

[Andrew S.]

Unemployment might be under 6% soon if things keep up as they are. Of course, that's going to be because of historically low labor participation numbers, but nobody actually pays attention to those, do they?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Does anyone think Palin understands that not even Keynes would accept how is theory is being applied these days?

[Jordan]

I don't think he understands much of anything.

[Mike M.]

He understanding the art of trolling and the Big Lie technique. His entire life and career has been built around it.

[robc]

These days? Keynes didnt accept how it was applied in his day.

There is the famous meeting in DC where he said afterword that he was the only non-keynesian in the room.

[#]

Yeah that's the funny thing. What we call Keynesian is mostly what a bunch of post WWII people formalized, like Solo and Samuelson - not what he actually thought. Also, he had a tendency to change his mind a lot. He went through a lot of different periods of his thinking. So even Keynes often didn't agree with Keynes.

[#]

Theres also a lot of things he did that were quite ground breaking. Libertarians tend to write him off because of what people who claim to be Keynsians do, but he had a lot of insights on things such as risk premium on investment returns, sticky wages, relationships between long and short interest rates and so forth. The guy was very smart and has a much broader intelectual legacy than is known in political speek. Also he basically forsaw the german hyper inlfation and resulting political upheaval following the WWI peace.

[Mike M.]

No question he was right about certain things, but he was completely wrong on his central thesis regarding having people dig holes and fill them up if necessary; the crap that the Paul Krugscums of the world expect people to believe.

[Enough About Palin]

OT, but you said Palin, which reminds me of the MSNBC guy who said someone should take a shit in Palin's mouth. Given how progressives project, I take that to me that he would love to have Palin shit in his mouth. That also means that Palin's Buttplug would like a buttplug up his ass.

[tarran]

That also means that Palin's Buttplug would like a buttplug up his ass.

That's not too far off the mark. When he initially started posting here, he used the moniker 'Shrike', and he dropped numerous hints about being molested analy by a Republican.

My sense was that it wasn't factual but more the expression of some fantasy he desired to come true.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

The boss once asked his good friend Megan McArdle to shove a buttplug up his ass. Instead she gave him a picture of Obama riding a unicorn, and I've barely had a decent vacation since.

[KPres]

Absolute garbage. Reagan maintained revenues despite gigantic tax cuts. Similarly Clinton's capital gains cut increased revenues. Obviously the current rate matters, but the effect in indisputable. There is no other credible explanation for this:

http://media.hoover.org/images.....size=large

Meanwhile, Obama's stimulus made unemployment worse.

[BakedPenguin]

The Laffer Curve is (IMO) slightly off, in that at 100% tax rates, the government will collect something. They will do this by dispossessing their starving people. For the most past, however, it's a tautology. It can't not be true.

There are also downstream effects which leftists like to completely ignore, such as the compound interest of higher growth as well as influxes of capital toward low tax countries.

[KDN]

You're probably right in most cases. But the Laffer Curve is a simplistic illustration of what should be an obvious concept; the specific points on the curve are subject to economy-specific factors.

[robc]

Neu Mexican used to argue that the Laffer Curve wasnt smooth, that it was actually chaotic.

BTW, what ever happened to him?

[BakedPenguin]

I think in the real world, it would be chaotic. At the very least, there would be break points for things like I mentioned above, influxes of capital toward low tax countries and that sort of thing.

I have no idea where he is. Maybe check grylliade.

[BakedPenguin]

"I have no idea where he is."

I realized after I posted it that it could sound insulting. No offense meant.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

He's not over at grylliade!

[KDN]

If we're talking about what the Laffer curve is on 11/22/2013 for our Federal government I would disagree. If you're trying to plot it over time or factor in multiple territories, I'm sure it would look very chaotic.

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|11.22.13 @ 9:34AM|#
"Keynesianism is more credible than supply side."

Yeah, almost as credible as communism, and for the same reason: It requires unicorns.
What an idjit!

[Eduard van Haalen]

"The eclipsed celebrity death club

"...* Mother Teresa died on 5 September 1997. Six days had passed since Princess Diana's car crash - not enough time for Teresa to escape her shadow.

"* Founding fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other on 4 July 1826, the 50-year anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence."

More -

Jean Cocteau/?dith Piaf - October 11 1963

Yul Brynner/Orson Welles - Oct 10, 1985

Milton Berle/Dudley Moore/Billy Wilder - March 27, 2002.

Elvis Presley/Groucho Marx - August 16/19 1977

Ronald Reagan/Ray Charles - June 5/10 2004

Gerald Ford/James Brown - December 2006

http://www.independent.co.uk/v.....57192.html

[Andrew S.]

They missed one of my more memorable ones. Jim Henson and Sammy Davis Jr., both died May 16, 1990.

[Apple]

Was about to mention that same one.

[Ted S.]

Farrah Fawcett died less than 24 hours before Michael Jackson.

[GILMORE]

There is some confusion here =

Gerald Ford and James Brown were, in fact, one being fragmented into its respective Yin and Yang components.

I mean come on. Soul Brother #1, and Whitest Man on Earth? What didn't give that shit away?

[gimmeasammich]

John Ritter (September 11, 2003) and Johnny Cash (September 12, 2003).

[Fatty Bolger]

PB&J = white privilege

[invisible furry hand]

"What about Somali or Hispanic students, who might not eat sandwiches?"

Heaven forfend children should learn about anything outside their immediate experience

[Zeb]

And anyone who has been in the US for any amount of time knows what a fucking sandwich is. Or do they think that Somali and Hispanic students are all retarded.

[KDN]

Hispanics don't eat sandwiches? Buh?

[hotsy totsy]

How could you get to be the school principal and never hear of a Cuban sandwich?

[Enough About Palin]

If Somalis and Hispanics don't know about sandwiches, then what the hell do their women do in the kitchen?

[Zeb]

Duh. They make pita or torta.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Last Wednesday, the first day of the school year for staff, for example, the first item of business for teachers at Scott School was to have a Courageous Conversation ? to examine a news article and discuss the 'white privilege' it conveys"

Yes, witness the raw courage of public school teachers talking about white privilege, despite the risk that the Klan would break in and lynch them all!

[Andrew S.]

Click through to the original news story. It's so, so much worse than PB&J somehow being white privilege.

[Zeb]

Holy fucking shit.

vehemently rejects any suggestion that it is discrimination to offer a club catering to minority boys.

"When white people do it, it is not a problem, but if it's for kids of color, then it's a problem?"

What is that supposed to mean? A club for white males only is perfectly OK with people? Yeah, no one would consider that discriminatory and demand that something be done about it.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Old one. Came across that a few months back. Still worth it though. Insanity has no statues of limitations.../Kramer.

[OldMexican]

The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for the third year in a row.

Activist for the homeless, in fear of losing revenue, are asking federal government officials to redefine "homelessness" to mean someone living in anything less than a $120,000.00 house. Or in an apartment (if one is renting then one is "homeless" - get it?)

[Eduard van Haalen]

BBC "debate" on the causes of the economic crisis. Was it deregulation or income inequality?

[OldMexican]

So they're debating fantastic theories. Next thing, they will be debating if angels have genitalia or an anus.

[Andrew S.]

They have neither. Haven't you seen Dogma?

[0x90]

You libertoids and your binary thinking -- clearly, it was both!!1!one1!11!1

[Snark Plissken]

22 year old Norwegian punk wins World Championship with draw in the last game.

[Auric Demonocles]

Go with the Data strategy.

[Snark Plissken]

Emotion chip?

[Auric Demonocles]

I am disappointed in you.

[robc]

As I said previously, too easy to get a draw for Anand to have a chance.

[Snark Plissken]

Carlsen actually looked like he was going to win, but made a blunder.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

He got into a land war in Asia?

[gimmeasammich]

The other guy must have been Sicilian.

[OldMexican]

Religious police in Saudi Arabia have arrested two men for offering free hugs.

The indictment was for price dumping. Hugs should at least be $2.00 a piece, fair market value.

[Fatty Bolger]

I look forward to the upcoming Saudi movie, Dirty Hugging.

"Nobody puts Habibi in a corner!"

[invisible furry hand]

+1

[darius404]

+1 Hugging Instructor.

[Eduard van Haalen]

The BBC is covering Alabama's pardon of 3 of the "Scottsboro Boys" - well timed, since the Scottsboro Boys musical is playing in London. Yes, of course, there's a Scottsboro Boys musical. They're not playing in the US South because it's too sensitive!

A black guy plays Leibowitz, the Jewish lawyer.

[Eduard van Haalen]

I wonder if the musical covers how the NAACP fought with the Communists for control of the case, thus turning the NAACP into anti-Communists?

[Sevo]

"A black guy plays Leibowitz, the Jewish lawyer."
In white-face?

[Kid Xenocles]

He's just a black Jew, like Sammy Davis Jr. Or Jesus.

[Swiss Servator, kirsch anyone?]

Please...Savior of Color is the preferred term.

/PC

[GILMORE]

golf claps

[Lord Humungus]

shedding orange tears

Boehner enrolls in ObamaCare

The Speaker said he encountered an error message after putting in his personal information. After resolving that issue, he tried to sign up for coverage but faced a screen displaying the message: "Error 500- Internal Server Error."

"Despite multiple attempts, I was unable to get past that point and sign up for a health plan," Boehner wrote. "We've got a call into the help desk. Guess I'll just have to keep trying ..."

A Boehner spokesman said Thursday evening that 45 minutes after the Speaker's blog post was published, he received an email from the D.C. exchange telling him he was successfully enrolled.

Boehner had received a call back from the exchange a few hours after his first call, after two more tries on the website, officials confirmed he had enrolled.

[OldMexican]

" Boehner crashed the site! It's the Republicans' fault!

Yeah, that has a nice ring to it. Put it in the press release, pronto."

[Fatty Bolger]

he received an email from the D.C. exchange telling him he was successfully enrolled.

Another happy customer!

And he absolutely will be counted in the next round of enrollment statistics. I wonder how many people have truly enrolled through the federal exchange. 10,000? 1000? None?

[OldMexican]

Miley Cyrus' parents are not worried about her drug use.

They don't love her anymore. By the way, keep looking for even more outrageous displays that will be categorized by arm-chair psychologists as "cries for help."

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Al Gore, continuing to be a breaming example of the hypocritical environmentalist.

Ms. Wynne and Mr. Gore will trumpet that by moving to close down coal plants and fund billion-dollar wind and solar farms across the province, thereby doubling electricity rates, the McGuinty/Wynne Liberals have miraculously and dramatically reduced Ontario's carbon emissions, and helped save the planet from climate change.

Which is simply not true. Ontario's carbon production has dropped dramatically, true, but closing the coal plants and going green via wind and solar had nothing to do with the reduction in emissions. They were nuked.

Saying that solar/wind has caused CO2 emissions to lower anywhere is a bold faced lie, especially in Ontario where nuclear power has increased to provide 56% of Ontario's electricity. There is no level of dishonesty that "Greens" will not sink to to push their idiocy.

[BakedPenguin]

Anyone who claims to care about global warming and refuses to talk about thorium reactors is not worth talking to.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Meh, thorium is something that will definitely be around in the future but I do not see a huge reason to invest in it currently. U-235 is cheaper as a fuel currently and the fission path has been thoroughly studied and tested in thousands of online reactor hours.

Economics is the reason thorium isn't used currently. Developing a new reactor tech. takes a lot of money, especially using a new fuel. The regulators heads will collectively explode the day a thorium reactor (or anything outside of the solid fuelled light water reactor type) is submitted for review.

[Andrew S.]

I'm getting rid of my iPhone. Ordered a Nexus 5.

Any of you made that move? Really love the look of the Nexus, like the Android OS. But it'll feel weird.

[Jordan]

I have a Nexus 5, and my wife has an iPhone. The Nexus feels a lot less restrictive.

[GILMORE]

Aren't those the replicants we can't tell from humans?

[OldMexican]

Officials in the Philippines have raised the Typhoon Haiyan death toll to more than 4,900.

They shot a few stragglers here and there to make it to a number nice and pretty, like 5,000.

[Clich? Bandit]

If you like your weed YOU CAN'T KEEP IT, FYTW!!!
Fed's raid Denver MJ Shops

[Sevo]

CA insurance dude says "Nope" to Obo (but Obo meant well...)
"California won't extend canceled health policies"
http://www.sfgate.com/health/a.....999805.php
Oh, and the graph shows (SURPRISE, SURPRISE SURPRISE!) that the enrollment isn't skewed to what's required to fund the mess.

[robc]

If all the states are going to run their own programs, why did we need federal law?

[Sevo]

So Obo can duck the blame when the stuff hits the fan?

[Agammamon]

". . . to prevent Republicans from filibustering most presidential nominations."

I don't understand why they bothered.

1. Obama would just do a 'recess' appointment if anyone stands in his way.

2. The 'recess' appointment he has *already* done is still standing, basically unchallenged. Sure there's finally a court case going through as to whether or not the NLRB appointments will stand - and it will be completed somewhere around the time then next president *leaves* office.

[Dave Krueger]

A Tennessee county judge has said that drug testing judges would be a waste of taxpayers' money.

Since when has that been a factor in anything a legislative body does?