A.M. Links: Biden Urges Chinese Students To Challenge Authority Figures, Hezbollah Blames Israel For Assassination of Senior Commander, SpaceX Launches Commercial Satellite

Credit: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/wikimedia

• Vice President Joe Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders. Does he have the same message for American students?
• SpaceX has launched its first commercial satellite.
• Hezbollah is blaming Israel for the recent assassination of one of its senior commanders.
• Wall Street is worried about the future of the Fed's stimulus program.
• The House has passed a bill that would require that the TSA put all of the unclaimed money collected at security checkpoints towards nonprofit military groups.
• American automakers have reported strong November sale numbers.

Get Reason.com and Reason 24/7 content widgets for your websites.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hezbollah is blaming Israel for the recent assassination of one of its senior commanders.

It's always the Jews' fault, isn't it, Hezbollah?

[sarcasmic]

62% of HIV-positive American men admit they have UNPROTECTED sex

62 per cent of those with HIV said they had had unprotected anal sex with a male partner, according to report
The report by The Centres for Disease Control, released last week, said unprotected anal sex increased from 2005 to 2011
Only 67 per cent of sexually-active men who have male sex partners reported getting an HIV test in the past year

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....D-sex.html
Ew!

[Rich]

"If you've got it, flaunt it!"

[waffles]

The most foul thing I've ever read on the internet has to be a forum of HIV positive gay men who get off on infecting others. It was also populated by uninfected men who fantasize and actively try to get infected. I thought it had to be fake, but there's a possibility it isn't. I now HIV isn't the death sentence it used to be, but what-the-fuck!?

[Steve G]

It's like the whackjobs in Germany on forums wanting to be cannibalized. Darwin couldn't work any faster in those cases.

[Tonio]

Those are called "bug chasers", waffles. Pretty fucked up.

I can tell you that failure to disclose HIV status will get you ostracized in much of the gay community.

Also, the reality is that for responsible people (everyone I know) you always use barrier methods (unless you're in a long-term committed relationship) and that you get tested every six months just in case.

[Zeb]

That's pretty fucked. But nothing should surprise you. It's the magic of the internet. Maniacs who never would have found each other before can now form weird little clubs.
Almost as fucked up is the pro-anorexia thing.

[DJF]

Don't worry, they have already managed to get the taxpayers to pay much of the bill for the consequences of their actions

[Tonio]

Uh, how so?

[DJF]

AIDS proportionally is one of the largest recipients of taxpayer money for both research and treatment of all diseases

[Ted S.]

I'd guess breast cancer is another?

[GILMORE]

Yes but SHHHHHHHHH!! Methinks hes on the homo-hatin kulturkampf thing.

Here's a interesting question =

What proportion of people claiming to endorse 'libertarian' views simply do so because they perceive it to be a-more-convenient platform from which to espouse xenophobic, racist, homophobic views? i.e. - its not that they are any better-accepted, its just they think they have a better claim to non-kulturkampf reasons for their a priori views.

Yes, I know it sounds nuts, but..."American"?

I'd probably also throw in White Indian as a case of "my anarcho primitivist nuttery' makes even less sense to other groups...' so, libertarian DEFAULT.

[Tonio]

Hello, Gilmore.

[Tonio]

Oh, and don't forget the people who claim to be libertarian but are actually here to discredit us by posting racist, etc, bullshit.

[PaIin's Buttplug]

Why is it every time someone points out the enormous amount of money wasted in AIDS research, a disease most people have because of laziness and stupidity, that there are so many of knee-jerker that come rushing out of the woodwork to insist it's HOMOPHOBIA!!!

You're like the assholes who insist that everyone who criticizes the president is a racist.

[Tonio]

OK, but how does that breakdown into reasearch versus treatment? Linkies please.

IOW, I'm challenging you to support (with references) your contention that taxpayers pay "much" of the bill for treatment of HIV contracted through voluntary unprotected sex. "Much" isn't well defined but for me it kicks in at twenty percent and goes up through 49 percent.

[KMA Too]

Well, in a vague reference, the Gates' Foundations says this on their website:
While the foundation's resources are sizable, they represent only a small portion of worldwide funding for HIV, most of which comes from donor governments and from developing countries themselves.

If that's true, and governments get their money from taxation....well, you know.

I know that doesn't address the whole "is it voluntary, unprotected sex?", but it points to a truth underlying DJF's claim.

[Atanarjuat]

A doctor friend told me that diseases like AIDS and herpes have different strains, and it's obviously not good to contract multiple strains of the same disease by assuming you can willy-nilly fuck anyone who has the same disease as you.

[Tonio]

True, but that doesn't stop the infected.

[jesse.in.mb]

There are only two common strains of herpes* and having one generally inoculates you against the other.

HIV is rapidly mutating and different strains have resistances to different drugs. Blending those strains is scary-bad.

*HSV I and II: oral and genital. The herpesviridae family is massive though and includes chicken pox, Epstein-Barr, and cytomegalovirus. To my knowledge, there isn't strain interaction that worsens outcomes.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

The possibility does exist that much of that is with one partner, you know.

[sarcasmic]

Q) What do two gay men do on their second date?

A) What second date?

[Gray Ghost]

Q) What do two lesbians do on their second date?

A) Back up the U-Haul.

[sarcasmic]

*BZZZZZT*

Q) What do two lesbians bring to their first date?

A) A toothbrush.

Q) What do they bring to their second date?

A) A U-Haul.

[Tonio]

What isn't mentioned in the article is whether the infected are only having unprotected sex with other infected individuals. My experience is that the infected pretty much stick to themselves since they're already infected, so there is disclosure and consent in those cases. Not the wisest thing to do given that there are multiple strains of HIV, but not quite what the headlines would lead you to believe.

[R C Dean]

Doesn't the math work out that a pretty sizable percentage of AIDSers are having unprotected sex with the not-yet-infected, unless over half the gay population is infected,.

[Snark Plissken]

Vice President Joe Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders.

They are getting way too free market over there.

[JW]

A couple of blasts from their shotguns ought to do the trick.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Vice President Joe Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders.

How long until Joe let's slip the term "Chinamen" over there?

[Rich]

Or "Confucius love ya!"?

[WTF]

"Stand up, let 'em see ya! Oh, you are standing!"

[Jon Lester]

Or "Irene?"

[Pelosi's Rabbit]

If he manages to come back without starting a war, he should consider it a win.

[Drake]

He might recommend a few warning shots.

[CampingInYourPark]

What's the chances of him saying this to American students?

[Juice]

I don't get what's wrong with chinaman.

[sarcasmic]

Just try and invade MY personal space! The spiked waistcoat designed to guarantee the wearer a comfortable subway commute

Design workshop at National University of Singapore tasked students with finding a way to maintain personal space on public transportation
Siew Ming Cheng decided to make a piece of armor that appeared dangerous but would not actually cause much damage
She used plastic materials sourced from a typical hardware store
Critics say that, if developed, the 'Spike Away' vest is 'a lawsuit waiting to happen'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-vest.html
Nice!

[Ted S.]

Wait until your spikes invade MY personal space!

[Elspeth Flashman]

There's a dude in town who wears spikes all the time, wherever he goes, including shin-guards and on his shoulders. It's already the Wasteland for him.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

You know Lord Hummungus?

[Elspeth Flashman]

This dude can't be LH, he's short and never gone to the gym. Or if he has the spikes cover it.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

Ah, maybe it is one of his lesser henchmen.

[GILMORE]

Ahh, "Squire Unimposing".

[Elspeth Flashman]

They must be everywhere. *looks around*

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I would have worn this every day on the DC Metro. It's not as though people would have thought I was any crazier than I actually am.

[sarcasmic]

It looks like a puddle of water with petrol glistening on the surface... but this is the mighty Niger Delta defiled by repeated spills by oil companies

Another large oil spill was reported near an ENI facility in Nigeria yesterday
The company has said it cannot tell what was behind the latest incident
The Government is now considering harsher fines for companies behind the disasters
Local communities which rely heavily on fishing have been badly affected
Theft from pipelines as well as loading accidents and decrepit infrastructure is to blame
Nigeria is Africa's most affluent nation and the tenth most oil rich in the world

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....egion.html
LIBERTOPIA!

[R C Dean]

defiled by repeated spills by oil companies

Naturally, capitalists love pouring valuable product on the ground.

How many of those spills are caused, not by the oil companies, but by attacks on the oil companies?

[sarcasmic]

My understanding is that most of the spills are caused by people tapping into pipelines to steal the oil.

[Juice]

I thought it was the wildcat distillers that did the most polluting.

[sarcasmic]

'Science' is named Merriam Webster's word of the year, beating Oxford Dictionaries' choice of 'selfie'

Merriam-Webster chose its word of the year by tracking look-ups on its website
The publisher recorded a 176 percent increase for science, compared to last year
Oxford dictionaries chose their word by tracking the jump in overall usage of a word - and found Selfie to be the word of 2013

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-year.html

'The more we thought about it, the righter it seemed in that it does lurk behind a lot of big stories that we as a society are grappling with, whether it's climate change or environmental regulation or what's in our textbooks,' said John Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster Inc., based in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Ah, they don't mean science. They mean consensus.

[Snark Plissken]

What the...? That's so wrong I don't even know where to begin. Believing in science has turned into a way for liberals who struggled through biology and geometry to signal that they are on the right side of the Kulture War.

Here's what Feynman thought about those holy textbooks, and I doubt things have improved in the interim.

[GILMORE]

I'VE BEEN BLINDED~!! ARRRRRGGGGRGRG

[Citizen Nothing]

Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!

[Rich]

Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders

and has been arrested for inciting unrest.

[gaijin]

Vice President Joe Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders. Does he have the same message for American students?

Irony. Wasn't Obama's grad speech at THE Ohio State University last spring something along the lines of "there are those who challenge the government and you shouldn't listen to them?"

[Steve G]

OSU speech

Still, you'll hear voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that's the root of all our problems, even as they do their best to gum up the works; or that tyranny always lurks just around the corner. You should reject these voices.

[sarcasmic]

Felony Shrub-Trimming: San Diego Man Criminally Charged for Pruning Plants

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/.....ium=social

[Fist of Etiquette]

SpaceX has launched its first commercial satellite.

Congrats on accomplishing something NASA has been doing for decades. Wake me when the private sector space industry reaches out to Muslims.

[Tonio]

WTF?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Exactly.

[Tonio]

OK, I assume the muslims thing was some sort of attempt at a joke, so ignoring that.

NASA didn't build and design all those launch vehicles; that was done by contractors. And it's quite possible that had NASA stepped aside earlier that we'd have a much more robust, diverse and accessible launch industry.

[tarran]

Tonio,

Fist of Ettiquette wasn't attempting attempting to make a weird joke so much as refering to something that was depressingly real.

"One, [Obama] wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math and engineering," [NASA Chief] Bolden said.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Fist of Ettiquette wasn't attempting attempting to make a weird joke so much as refering to something that was depressingly real.

WHY CAN'T IT BE BOTH?

[tarran]

ONE OR THE OTHER; A OR NOT A; THOSE ARE YOUR CHOICES!

[Tonio]

Thanks, tarran, wasn't aware of that. Ugh.

Hey, they can feel good about their "historic" contributions to STEM all on their own. Perhaps what they actually mean is give them a pass on their current backwardness by claiming that a glorious past is somehow a substitute for that.

[Snark Plissken]

SpaceX Dragon successfully docks with International Space Station, women and minorities hardest hit

[Auric Demonocles]

This just in: scientists report SpaceX satellite has left the solar system.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

+1 V'Ger

[Auric Demonocles]

Wait, a new report is just in. Now it has left the solar system.

No, sorry: Now.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I blame daylight saving time for the discrepancy.

[BakedPenguin]

It will leave the solar system in 9 hours for ifh.

Or it left 15 hours ago, I forget how that works.

[Pro Libertate]

Is there any doubt in your mind that, some centuries from now, we'll have some sort of space war over this? That is, over where the solar system ends? Humanity is clearly insane about the topic already.

[Auric Demonocles]

It will be based on some kind of space tax that is only valid inside of the solar system.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, I agree. Perhaps we should begin preparations.

[Tonio]

It keeps trying to leave, but the solar system keeps expanding its boundaries. Fight solar hegemony now!

[Pro Libertate]

Hotel Solifornia.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

*narrows gaze*

[Pro Libertate]

Isn't there an argument that the solar system extends as far as the sun's gravitational influence? And doesn't that influence technically extend many, many, many light years?

I hereby claim, in the name of Sol, possession of the Milky Way galaxy. Kneel before Sol.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I fear you are drawing us into a galactic quagmire.

[WTF]

Gigity!

[Pro Libertate]

Sol's legal claim to the galaxy are irrefutable.

[Auric Demonocles]

Actually, the sun's gravitational influence extends infinitely.

[Pro Libertate]

I was going to say that, but I wasn't sure it was correct. Gravity propagates at the speed of light, right? So how can it be infinite? Not questioning what you're saying, which I've heard before, just don't see how that works.

[hamilton]

Hence gravity waves, Einstein.

[Pro Libertate]

The sun is what, 4 1/2 billion years old? So if gravity propagates at the speed of light, how does it extend throughout the universe?

Again, this is a question, not a challenge.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's the difference between Newtonian physics and general relativity.

[Pro Libertate]

I demand a unified field theory that answers all of my questions the same way!

[Auric Demonocles]

That's true. Effectively infinite might be a more accurate way to say it. We've currently got a circle about 10 billion light-years* across under our control. Those places the sun hasn't affected yet are currently undergoing annexation.

*I am not bothering to adjust for the expansion of space over this timeframe, which would add to the size of our claim

[Pro Libertate]

I think that's fair. So Sol has absolute political hegemony and legal ownership of a volume of space roughly described as a sphere with a radius of 5 billion light years.

[Auric Demonocles]

...For now.

[Pro Libertate]

I know. That's the best part. Our influence is growing, and nothing can stop it. Well, except the destruction of the sun, but we'll make sure that doesn't happen.

[Auric Demonocles]

Even if the sun explodes, it's mass will still be there. We actually might be able to use this logic to extend the start of our claim further back in time (when it was just a gas cloud it still had a gravitational influence!), which would in turn extend the distance of our current claim.

Also, even if the mass was entirely destroyed, the effect would still have to propagate out before we lost control.

[Pro Libertate]

Another excellent point. So we're good for a while yet.

I, Pro Libertate of Sol, demand tribute from all of the peoples within 5 billion light years of Sol! We'll start with power rings and move on from there.

[Auric Demonocles]

Actually, even if the mass is destroyed our claim would continue to grow over time. The outer edge that was expanding would always be adding more volume than the smaller inner edge that was being lost. We would just have to keep moving with it.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm thinking I should go by Pro-El, once I get my power ring.

[Auric Demonocles]

That would explain why you are potentially immortal, here in this yellow sun solar system.

[Pro Libertate]

You're right. I'm going to go jump out of my office window right now to test my flying powers.

[Auric Demonocles]

Make sure to stand by it for a minute first to charge up with some vitamin D.

Incidentally, I will be heading down to Florida to do that soon. I'm attending the Pats@ Miami game.

[Pro Libertate]

It's like 80 today. Unseasonably warm, even for here.

[Agammamon]

The sun, *as a star* is only around 5 billion years old - the matter that makes up the sun has been around since the creation of the universe.

[tarran]

We should come up with a rational value for what constitutes the boundary for gravitational influence.

Should it be based on absolute potential energy relative to infinity (eg -30 J/kg), or acceleration (.001 m/s^2) or the General Relativistic curvature of space (.0000002 (dimensionless))?

I think we should debate what is the objectively correct number, and denounce those who disagree with our particular camp as being anti-life collectivists. 😉

[Pro Libertate]

Well, it's quite simple. Sol's influence extends either billions of light years or infinitely, so the ancients are right--we are the center of the universe.

[tarran]

... the question is do we have the pure strength of will to assert our claim?

[Auric Demonocles]

I saw we respond to those who challenge this claim with the only correct response to a disagreement about gravitational influence:

Kinetic bombardment.

[Pro Libertate]

Or we could deny them our gravitational essence.

[Auric Demonocles]

I prefer the version where we overwhelm them with it.

[Pro Libertate]

Whatever works.

[robc]

^^THIS^^

Everythings gravitational influence extends forever.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, but at the speed of light. [Stomps foot.]

[hamilton]

Historically, Cygnus Alpha has always been part of the Solar System.

[Pro Libertate]

You mean Deneb?

[hamilton]

That's what you Occupy Cyngus Alpha people call it, yes.

[Auric Demonocles]

I call it Farpoint Station.

[R C Dean]

Better call Sol!

[waffles]

Wall Street is worried about the future of the Fed's stimulus program

As they should be. It's just about the biggest welfare program for investors ever. Even a whiff of policy change makes the stock market tremble.

[Ted S.]

Why did you light the Shreeky signal? 🙁

[waffles]

I don't worry about the buttplug. Is he for low interest rates? Against them? Stimulus? Who cares!?

It's almost as if the trolls here don't argue in good faith and should probably be ignored. I know, crazy talk.

[Mike M.]

We're not going to be seeing the vile scumbag Weigel trolling here nearly as much as we usually do. Apparently he's writing a book, if you can believe it. No word on whether or not it's written in crayon.

[Lord Humungus]

Men and women have different regrets about sex, study shows

The three main regrets for men: being too timid to approach a possible partner, not being more sexually adventurous when young and not being more sexually adventurous in their single days.

The main regrets for women include losing their virginity to the wrong partner, cheating on a present or past partner and moving too fast sexually.

"The consequences of casual sex were so much higher for women than for men, and this is likely to have shaped emotional reactions to sexual liaisons even today," Haselton said in a statement.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Know what? Has pretty wild as I was for a time, I still regret not going after it more. I left a lot of women on the table.

[Ted S.]

I'd think sleeping with your sister-in-law like Marty Brodeur did is the gold standard of wild for you Quebeckers.

(You are the H&R regular in Montreal, right?)

[KDN]

To be clear: it wasn't his wife's sister, it was his wife's brother's wife.

I consider that a bit less creepy, but that could just be the Devils homer in me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yup. Montreal.

[John]

It is like Joe Bob Briggs says. Some day you will be old and no woman will sleep with on a thousand dollar dare. So when the opportunity arises always go for it.

[Juice]

I left a lot of women on the table.

I've passed on a few here and there and then later regretted it, but then I compare that to the times where I had second thoughts and went through with it anyway only to regret it later. So, maybe those times you passed up an opportunity, it was for a reason.

[Ted S.]

Men and women have different regrets about sex, study shows

No shit, sherlock.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I used to regret losing my virginity to the wrong guy. But now I am over it. My regrets now are more that I didn't sleep around more, actually. So I don't fit the study I guess.

[Ted S.]

There's nothing stopping you from sleeping around now. I'm sure there are a lot of H&R regulars who would help you in this matter.

(This is why there are no female libertarians....)

[Drake]

Flashy always suspected you were a little strumpet.

[Lord Humungus]

Regrets...I've had a few

[The DerpRider]

Too few to mention I see.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The House has passed a bill that would require that the TSA put all of the unclaimed money collected at security checkpoints towards nonprofit military groups.

Agents still get to keep all those spare iPads, though.

[Rich]

Do they get to keep the iPads they find while searching your parked vehicle?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Those go to supervisors.

[Lord Humungus]

Jury rejects claims witnesses mistook man's penis for novelty pen

A former Tasmanian teacher who claimed witnesses had mistaken his genitals for a novelty pen has been found guilty of indecency.

A Supreme Court jury has found Mark Andrew Triptree, 47, from the Launceston suburb of Waverley guilty of performing indecent acts in his car in March last year.

Triptrees' lawyer argued two witnesses were mistaken and had actually seen Triptree writing with a novelty pen.

[Juice]

Pen is mightier.

[Lord Humungus]

Peak toilet problem puts brakes on northwest development

But that's basically it for new growth in an area encompassing a dozen entire communities, new suburban growth areas and parts of other northwest communities.

In a city where growth strains are often discussed, the "peak toilet" crisis means the system can't handle more flushes until a second sewer trunk is built through Bowness in 2017.

"Obviously it's a mistake and we have to rectify it as quickly as possible," said Coun. Ward Sutherland. Ward 1, which he represents, is almost entirely covered under this freeze.

"I realized it impacted development. But I didn't realize it impacted many individual houses."

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Peak Dump is a myth.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I thought peak derp was a myth.

[Lord Humungus]

Who was standing behind Obama today? White House won't say

There were 18 other people standing with Weeks and the president on stage. Obama began his remarks by saying, "Thanks to Monica, thanks to everybody standing behind me." A little later, criticizing Republicans who have pronounced Obamacare a failure, the president said, "I would advise them to check with the people who are here today and the people that they represent all across the country whose lives have been changed for the better by the Affordable Care Act."

But Obama never said who those people were, and, unlike other events, the White House did not release their names or biographies. A spokesman later said the White House would not provide the information. A pool report called the group "19 individuals whom the White House said benefited from health care reform." Beyond that, their connection to Obamacare remains unknown.

[Steve G]

HIPAA and all that...

/derp

[DJF]

Is anyone else tired of the crowd of people they put behind the politicians when they speak? If a politician is going to give a speech should he be looking at the people he is talking too, not using them as props?

[Steve G]

The sad reality is they giddily go home and for the rest of their lives get to say they met the president and were on TV.

[Rich]

Is anyone else tired of the crowd of people they put behind the politicians when they speak?

Yes. It is bullshit. I imagine they're rounded up on the taxpayer's nickel, too.

[WTF]

Union flunkies paid to stand there while he speechified, most likely.

[Lord Humungus]

Please, there is a better way to help workers than the minimum wage, and everybody knows it

What's more, a 2010 study "Will a $9.50 Federal Minimum Wage Really Help the Working Poor?" by researchers Joseph Sabia and Richard Burkhauser found that a federal minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $9.50 per hour ? higher than the $9 that President Obama has proposed ? would raise incomes of only 11% of workers who live in poor households. Even Coy and Berfield acknowledge some of the policy's imperfections, writing that "a higher wage floor would undoubtedly price some marginal workers out of the market."

These studies aren't some secret. So why do so many smart people keep advocating for a higher minimum wage? The best answer I can come up with is that they think it is more politically likely than the better economic answer: wage subsidies.

[sarcasmic]

Minimum wage advocates never intend for low-skilled and young people to be priced out of a job if they can't produce enough value for an employer to justify hiring them at the arbitrary minimum wage, so pointing out that that is the result is just plain mean!

[Pro Libertate]

Here's my solution: Massive deregulation, gutting of Leviathan, serious reduction and simplification of taxes, all resulting in a nice, real economic boom, where we all get richer.

[R C Dean]

Sadly, Pro L, we won't all get richer. Your program would impoverish cronies and rent-seekers.

Hater.

[Pro Libertate]

You're right, and I accept chastisement. Perhaps we could form a charitable organization to provide food and shelter to such people.

[Rasilio]

"These studies aren't some secret. So why do so many smart people keep advocating for a higher minimum wage? The best answer I can come up with is that they think it is more politically likely than the better economic answer: wage subsidies."

Asked and answered...

The Center for Union Facts analyzed collective-bargaining agreements obtained from the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards. The data indicate that a number of unions in the service, retail and hospitality industries peg their base-line wages to the minimum wage.

http://online.wsj.com/news/art.....1000422454

In other words there are vested interests who get pay raises automatically every time the minimum wage is increased without having to bargain for them. Those interests produce junk studies designed to confuse low information liberals into believing that minimum wage hikes have no downsides. Those poor slobs who are priced out of jobs are just collateral damage

[Invisible Finger]

wage subsidies.

We could lower income tax rates. Or have a realistic standard deduction per dependent at least.

But no. Making a complicated system even more complicated is what TOP MEN are there for.

[Invisible Finger]

Of course, the reason TOP MEN propose what they do is to present the illusion that they are helping people with lower incomes when in fact the actual goal is to make them more dependent.

[The Late P Brooks]

The House has passed a bill that would require that the TSA put all of the unclaimed money collected at security checkpoints towards nonprofit military groups.

Ummm, whut?

[DJF]

But who gets all the nail clippers that were confiscated?

[Andrew S.]

Now, now. According to them, they don't confiscate anything. People merely voluntarily hand their possessions over to the TSA. Just like we do when we pay our taxes.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

I like Fisher House as much as the next vet...but, I am a bit WTF? too.

[Tonio]

FTFA, this isn't consiscated cash, it's the coins that people leave in the baskets.

[Tonio]

"confiscated"

[R C Dean]

I left a pocket knife in briefcase once, and the TSAers demanded that I hand it over.

I said, no, I'll put it in my car. Didn't have time for that, so when I was out of sight, I threw it away. Damn nice knife, but I'd rather trash it than give it to some jumped-up mall cop for his personal collection.

[Invisible Finger]

Now I know what OJ did.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

[Let down] Cleveland Browns Fan Sings Christmas Carols with a Depressing Twist

[Auric Demonocles]

I will be letting down Cleveland Browns fans this weekend by bringing them to the Pats game.

[Lord Humungus]

Unions' Disarming New Tactics

Well, here's another exhibit in the trend: The Service Employees International Union is sponsoring ballot initiatives in California and Oregon that would cap executive pay at hospitals and limit how much customers can be charged. But what does this have to do with the workers? you will ask. The answer is nothing, directly. Instead, the ballot initiatives are bargaining chips. If the hospitals will "work with" the union, the SEIU will back off the ballot initiatives, which threaten hospital profits.

There are all sorts of reasons not to like unions, or any other group, that use the initiative process this way. There's no theoretical limit to the terrible initiatives one could come up with, and then drop, in exchange for firms "working with us." They don't even have to be initiatives with a high chance of passage, just things that you can force the other side to spend money opposing -- at which point, it might be less bother just to give you what you want.

[Ted S.]

The doctors should all just move to other states.

[Invisible Finger]

Racketeering is not a new tactic, it's the only one they have ever used.

[Lord Humungus]

The Curious Case of the Exploding Pig Farms

Around the same time that foaming manure became a problem, farmers also started feeding their pigs more and more distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a cereal-like byproduct of ethanol production. DDGS is full of plant fibers and long-chain fatty acids?plausible surfactant candidates. Since the US provides huge subsidies for making ethanol from corn, DDGS was cheap and plentiful source of animal feed. It makes economic sense, at least.

DDGS has been a suspected culprit of foaming manure from the beginning (one magazine called it a "pig bang theory"), but experiments are still inconclusive. A comparison of manure from different diets with and without DDGS did not find the manure of DDGS-fed pigs to be particularly foamy (pdf). This lab experiment, however, only looked at manure incubated in bottles for up to 40 days.

[Snark Plissken]

one magazine called it a "pig bang theory"

That one wrote itself.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

But kudos for them getting it into print.

[Rich]

[culprit of] foaming manure

Nice band name.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The Revolt Against Urban Gentry
...This approach to urbanism draws some of its inspiration from the likes of Richard Florida, whose "creative class" theories posit the brightest future for "spiky" high cost cities like New York. But even Florida now admits that what he calls "America's new economic geography" provides " little in the way of trickle-down benefits" to the middle and working classes.

Some other urbanists don't even really see this as a problem. Harvard's Ed Glaeser, a favorite of urban developers, believes De Blasio should celebrate the huge gaps between New York residents as evidence of the city's appeal; a similar argument was made recently about California by an urban Liberal (and former Oakland Mayor) Jerry Brown, who claimed the state's highest in the nation poverty rate reflected its "incredible attractiveness".

Couched in progressive rhetoric, the gentry urbanists embrace an essentially neo-feudalist view that society is divided between "the creative class" and the rest of us. Liberal analyst Thomas Frank suggests that Florida's "creative class" is numerically small, unrepresentative and self?referential; he describes them as "members of the professional-managerial class?each of whom harbors a powerful suspicion that he or she is pretty brilliant as well."...

[Lord Humungus]

Intrepid eagle steals video camera, shoots selfie in Australia

A brazen bird snatched a video camera that was recording crocodiles in northwest Australia and captured fascinating footage of its 70-mile journey across the country's remote landscape.

Wildlife rangers in Western Australia's Kimberly region released video on Monday that reveals the sea eagle's caper. The bird's flapping wings can be seen as it grabs the device and takes off, and the eagle later poses for a selfie, poking its face into the camera lens.

[Lord Humungus]

For Democrats in 2014, the Web site is not the problem

In other words, Democrats who are obsessing over the failure of the Web site are focused on the wrong problem. Americans are not just angry about a broken Web site; they are angry about a broken promise. They are angry about being told they could keep their health plans but finding out that pledge was never meant to be kept. They are angry that just a few weeks before the end of the year, they don't know if they and their families will be insured on Jan. 1. They are angry about rising premiums, growing deductibles, losing their doctors and being forced into Obamacare plans they don't want.

They are angry about being lied to.

That is why Democrats need to worry in 2014.

[WTF]

Americans will all love Obamacare if the One just explains it better!

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

Rebranding!

[Bones]

Good. But sadly, the Republicans will take the win and somehow think that means people hate gay marriage.

[Lord Humungus]

Dropped Coverage
How the media missed the two biggest Obamacare screw-ups.

What the public knew or thought they knew about the ACA came from sound bites and polished phrases repeated in the media. About 160 million people had insurance from employers, and what they heard the president say in a talk to the nation in September 2009 was that his plan would not require anyone to change coverage or doctors and that Obamacare would "make the insurance you have work better for you." A couple months earlier, in a televised address, Obama promised those who liked their coverage "more security and more stability." For the uninsured and small business owners, he said they could choose a "quality affordable health plan" through a health insurance exchange.

The line "affordable quality health care," repeated in the media, was in fact a carefully framed, focus-group tested message designed in the shop of pollster Celinda Lake to reassure Americans that what reformers had in mind was not the dreaded "socialized medicine" that might scare them away from buying in to reform. Lake was consulting for the Herndon Alliance, a group of advocacy organizations, think tanks, foundations, businesses, health-care providers and individuals.

[Ted S.]

How the media missed the two biggest Obamacare screw-ups.

The media didn't miss the screw-ups; the media ignored them.

[WTF]

^This. They blatantly shielded Obama and the Democrats from mention of these things.

[wareagle]

did the media even see these as screw ups?

[Auric Demonocles]

American automakers have reported strong November sale numbers.

And American alt-texters have reported awful December numbers.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

Indeed - it has been a bear market here at H&R 🙁

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Low-Information Leadership
...And this president wasn't. I think part of the reason he wasn't careful is because he sort of lives in words. That's been his whole professional life?books, speeches. Say something and it magically exists as something said, and if it's been said and publicized it must be real. He never had to push a lever, see the machine not respond, puzzle it out and fix it. It's all been pretty abstract for him, not concrete. He never had to stock a store, run a sale and see lots of people come but the expenses turn out to be larger than you'd expected and the profits smaller, and you have to figure out what went wrong and do better next time....

...From what I have seen the administration is full of young people who've seen the movie but not read the book. They act bright, they know the reference, they're credentialed. But they've only seen the movie about, say, the Cuban missile crisis, and then they get into a foreign-policy question and they're seeing movies in their heads. ...

[WTF]

You mean, it was a bad idea to take a guy who never ran so much as a candy store and put him in charge of the country?!

[country bumpkin]

well said

[Steve G]

Leadership vs management. Leaders have the dreams, the speeches and the charisma. Managers execute the vision, or at the least tell the leaders when their visions are stupid.

[Rich]

Obama's uncle contradicts White House, says Obama stayed with him in 1980s

More on that zany Uncle Omar

The White House said following Omar Obama's arrest that he and the president had never met.

So, who are you gonna believe: a repeat deportation absconder who has ignored two court orders to leave the country and is also a deadbeat who owes thousands in back taxes and a fraudulent Social Security card-holder who has managed to evade authorities for half a century, or the President?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Who are you going to believe: a repeated law breaker with a murky past, or his uncle?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Oh, tough question. Who has more incentive to lie, I guess?

[Rich]

"In your testimony, you stated 'I don't recall' a staggering 80 times in full or partial response to the Committee's questions. Your failure to recollect important aspects of the Committee's investigation suggests either a deliberate attempt to obfuscate your involvement in this matter or gross incompetence on your part."

[BakedPenguin]

...either a deliberate attempt to obfuscate your involvement in this matter or gross incompetence on your part.

He's part of the Obama administration. I'm pretty sure it's both.

Although when I first tried to make this comment, I did so on another thread, so maybe I shouldn't talk about incompetence.

[The Late P Brooks]

the better economic answer: wage subsidies.

Wrong.

Create a new infrastructure to take from Peter and give to Paul, run in a wildly inefficient and wasteful manner by the government? No thanks.

[KDN]

Isn't that just referring to the EITC? If so, there's nothing new about it.

Also, "better" is not synonymous with "best." Increasing the EITC is clearly better than a minimum wage increase, and more politically feasible than the best option. Choosing between the two is like the 2012 Presidential election all over again, though.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

ObamaCare and the Totalitarian Mindset
...We find it not only wrongheaded but sinister (in every sense of the word). Waldman argues that journalists have a "responsibility" to provide "audiences with practical information that could help them navigate the new system"--and not just that, but to provide such information "repeatedly or people won't get it."...

...Is there any doubt that Waldman wants ObamaCare service journalism to serve a hortatory purpose, not merely an informative one? That is, he wants news organizations to encourage their audiences to sign up because that would boost the likelihood that ObamaCare proves successful (politically, economically, or by whatever other measure one might devise).

Any self-respecting journalist, no matter how liberal, will recoil at that notion. Service journalism whose purpose is to serve the government is not a "responsibility" but an abomination....

[Ted S.]

...We find it not only wrongheaded but sinister (in every sense of the word).

What's left-handed about it?

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

Waldman is a southpaw?

[Pro Libertate]

He meant Sinistar.

[Lord Humungus]

I live! Run Coward!

[Pro Libertate]

I AM SINISTAR.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Fit Pride Isn't 'Hate Speech'

However, in this new normal, being healthy is shocking. We've become a trophy-for-each-kid kind of culture. We don't want to applaud those who follow the rules, do their homework and achieve their personal goals. It's easier to say someone is a bad parent or a bad person (as people said about me after I posted my picture) than it is to take personal responsibility for why you choose not to make health a priority.

I agree with most of what this woman says. Being fat or overweight isn't something to be proud of anymore than being underweight from malnourishment. On top of that, *most people don't find an overweight person nearly as attractive as someone who is in shape and slim.

Being overweight/out of shape is, in the vast majority of cases, a personal decision, not some sort of unchangeable characteristic of ones self like a persons race is. There is nothing remotely "Hate Speech" in what she posted on her Facebook.

*John being an exception

[Rhywun]

What "new normal"? Our culture is more obsessed with health and fitness than at any previous time in history. Frankly I wish both sides would just shut up.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama, in speech, to focus on income disparities

Amid public doubts over his stewardship of the economy, President Barack Obama is putting a renewed focus on the income gap between rich and poor as he pushes for short-term congressional action and begins setting the domestic agenda for the remainder of his presidency.

The president plans to deliver an address Wednesday to argue his case that income inequality and wage stagnation are threatening upward mobility and retirement security. The speech comes amid growing national and international attention to economic disparities ? from the writings of Pope Francis to the protests of fast-food workers in the U.S.

Obama is not expected to propose any new policy initiatives. But the White House says he will reiterate his call for an increase in the minimum wage and promote possible economic benefits of the troubled health care law.

[Rich]

promote possible economic benefits of the troubled health care law

"I'd like you, uh, all to meet Mary Smith. [applause] Mary easily signed up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act and will, uh, as a direct result be able to give her kids a holiday tree this year in, uh, anticipation of her additional subsidies."

[WTF]

But the White House says he will reiterate his call for an increase in the minimum wage and promote possible economic benefits of the troubled health care law.

Because raising the cost of labor as well as the cost of health insurance will surely improve the economy!

[The Late P Brooks]

a similar argument was made recently about California by an urban Liberal (and former Oakland Mayor) Jerry Brown, who claimed the state's highest in the nation poverty rate reflected its "incredible attractiveness".

This made my head hurt.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Yeah. We may need sarcasmic to interpret that one for us. A little help here, sarc?

[itsnotmeitsyou]

You're attributing the wrong aspects to "attractiveness".

You see, as a productive member of society, an attractive area for you would be a place where there are lots of economic opportunities, resources you can use to make things, etc.

For the people he's talking about, an attractive area is one with lots of government handout opportunities, resources people can give you for free, etc.

[Bobarian]

Like flies drawn to shit?

[Invisible Finger]

It must be attractive otherwise the poor people would leave.

/progLogic

[Ken Shultz]

"Vice President Joe Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders. Does he have the same message for American students?"

He's certainly no John Kennedy.

And It's hard to imagine Biden having even less pull with Chinese students than he does with American students--seeing as he doesn't have any pull with American students or any other Americans either.

I don't know anybody who thinks we should do anything just because Joe Biden says so. That's why covering Joe Biden's pronouncements is such a joke. They're trying to make it look like it matters what Biden says--just because they're covering it--but he's only famous for being famous. In the real world, what Snookie says is more important than what Joe Biden says.

And nobody gives a shit about Snookie.

[Ken Shultz]

I give you people gold.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

We wanted bitcoin...

[PD Scott]

Yes, but it's gold about Biden, who you are arguing isn't worth covering. It's kind of a contradiction.

[country bumpkin]

I appreciated your comment, Ken

[CampingInYourPark]

They're trying to make it look like it matters what Biden says--just because they're covering it

I've been trying to search this statement. Is it an actual quote? Did Biden actually say "Challenge your government, teachers and religious leaders"?

[Ted S.]

Vasa fights battle to keep shipshape

For about twenty minutes, it was the pride of the Swedish Navy. As it set sail from Sweden in 1628, the Vasa, held the hopes of a nation at war - but it sank in Stockholm harbour as crowds of well-wishers looked on.

The Vasa lay where it sank, remarkably well preserved in the mud and silt of Stockholm harbour, for 333 years, until it was brought to the surface 52 years ago.

Since then, the Vasa has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sweden, and, according to the museum, is Scandinavia's most visited museum.

But now, the Vasa is facing a new threat: its wooden structure is showing signs of stress from bearing its own weight. Dr.Marika Hedin, Vasa Museum Director:

"Wooden ships are not designed for dry land, they are constructed to be in water," Hedin says.

[Snark Plissken]

For about twenty minutes, it was the pride of the Swedish Navy. As it set sail from Sweden in 1628, the Vasa, held the hopes of a nation at war - but it sank in Stockholm harbour as crowds of well-wishers looked on.

And Sweden hasn't been to war since.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

Sez you!

/Charles XII

[Snark Plissken]

Oh yeah, THAT was the last time they've been to war.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

WRONG!

/Georg Karl von D?beln

[Lord Humungus]

Some Reid staffers exempt from Obamacare

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of Obamacare's architects and staunchest supporters, is also the only top congressional leader to exempt some of his staff from having to buy insurance through the law's new exchanges.

Reid is the exception among the other top congressional leaders. GOP House Speaker John Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have all directed their staffs to join the exchange, their aides said.

[Elspeth Flashman]

One law for them, another law for us. . . .

[Lord Humungus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI0EbuXOOHE

[Elspeth Flashman]

Exactly.

[The Late P Brooks]

The president plans to deliver an address Wednesday to argue his case that income inequality and wage stagnation are threatening upward mobility and retirement security.

So, he's going to call for more bank consolidation?

[Eduard van Haalen]

Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer, says he spied for Israel over several decades, helping the Israelis develop their nuclear program.

"Milchan, who still works in Hollywood, has produced over 120 full-length films including "Natural Born Killers," "Heat," "Pretty Woman," "Fight Club," "L.A. Confidential," and "The Fountain."

http://www.businessinsider.com.....am-2013-11

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

First rule of Spy Club is don't talk about Spy Club!

[Ken Shultz]

Chuck Barris said he was a hit man for the CIA.

Casting couch first timers know better than to believe what Hollywood producers say.

[Tonio]

You know what other US citizens gave our nuclear secrets to another country?

[Pro Libertate]

Huh. So Hollywood is a nuclear power?

[PD Scott]

They've had so many bombs...

[Pro Libertate]

Good point.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Consumer Reports Changes Verdict on Obamacare Website, Tells MSNBC: 'It's Time'

After advising consumers to steer clear of Healthcare.gov in October, Consumer Reports health care expert Nancy Metcalf told MSNBC's Chuck Todd Tuesday morning that the federal health care exchange website was improved enough following the Obama administration's frantic month of repairs that users could confidently use it.

Consumer Reports had earlier told its readers not to even bother with the website through the first month, a provisional verdict it later said had been misrepresented.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/con.....-its-time/

Talking points need to be revised now.

[Ken Shultz]

It thinks the problem with ObamaCare is the stupid website.

[Marshall Gill]

It thinks

No, I don't believe that it does.

[Tonio]

Talking points need to be revised now.

Uh, no. Though perhaps the trustworthiness of CR should be reevaluated.

[WTF]

Though perhaps the trustworthiness of CR should be reevaluated.

Especially considering that IT experts have testified that the 'fixes' have made the website even less secure than before.

[robc]

If you care about security at all, you wont use it regardless of how well it "sells" insurance.

[John]

What Tonio said.

[tarran]

Consumer Union has always been a bit weird. They started out as a union funded voluntarist organization, and did some very interesting stuff (eg. drug testing before the FDA nationalized that aspect of charitable work).

On the political front they have always advocated for policies that favored labor unions. Thus the question wasn't when Consumer Union was going to switch to supporting The Lightbringer but when. I think we should give them credit for having enough integrity to tell their subscribers not to touch the website; I, for one, was pleased at their willingness stick their necks out politically like that.

[Drake]

Sounds like CR is saying the site is usable. Not that they think the insurance plans it contains are a good deal.

Launching a usable web site for $billions isn't an achievement to brag about.

[The Late P Brooks]

Talking points need to be revised now.

That's pathetic, even for you.

[Lord Humungus]

Pathetic spawns pathetic.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

No, no! It was self diagnosis!

[Kaptious Kristen]

More eminent domain abuse. If you want to be successful in business, just get some good government contacts. Then you have your own private army to put others out of property you covet!

(hat tip: Institute for Justice. I can give hat tips too!)

[CampingInYourPark]

"Orders for mistletoe pour in after Oregon girl told she can't sell them, but can beg for money at city park"

She was with her father at the time next to the Skidmore Fountain in downtown Portland, where the city holds a weekly market. A security guard told her that she had to stop selling due to a city ordinance that bans such activity in a park "except as expressly permitted under the terms of a lease, concession or permit," KATU.com reported

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013.....cant-sell/

[waffles]

This anti-government sentiment is getting out of hand.

[The Late P Brooks]

I can give hat tips too!

Are you a member of Coatcheckers and Hattippers Local 638? If not, expect a visit from a representative of SEIU.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Are you a member of Coatcheckers and Hattippers Local 638

Um, cha! And let me tell you...our pension and health benefits are real and they're spectacular

[The Late P Brooks]

"Orders for mistletoe pour in after Oregon girl told she can't sell them, but can beg for money at city park"

All those people should tuck the mistletoe in the back of their belts and go to the mayor's office.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Boom goes the dynamite!

[Scarcity]

Nothing about Illinois' pension fix vote yesterday? It's a pretty big deal for the worst-funded system in the country.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....0497.story

[Scarcity]

A trillion or so slips twixt the cup and the lip, but still:

"The changes are projected to erase a $100 billion pension shortfall over three decades. If no changes were made, the state would be on the hook for about $374 billion in pension payments over the next 30 years. With the proposed changes, the state's price tag over that same period would drop to $214 billion ? a savings of $160 billion."

[R C Dean]

The changes are projected to erase a $100 billion pension shortfall over three decades.

IOW, there's plenty of time to undo it, and/or, the fix is too little too late to solve the funding crisis.

Not sure what their assumed rate of return is (the higher the assumed rate, the lower the level of current funding that is needed), but historically these pubsec plans have had unrealistic assumptions. If they don't fix that, they haven't fixed anything.

[Invisible Finger]

Yep, it's nothing but a giant kick of the can. In less than 5 years IL pensions will be in even worse shape than now.

The only real story here is that the state did slightly more than nothing.

[Palin's Buttplug]

ADP says +215,000 private sector jobs added in November.

[John]

That barely covers the population increase. A decent economy should be adding three times that

[Andrew S.]

Why, it's almost like the retail center ramps up hiring in November, just like every other year.

(And 215k still isn't near enough to keep up with needed jobs. But that's okay, we can keep showing that lowering unemployment rate and ignoring the extraordinarily low labor participation numbers)

[Lord Humungus]

and last year's November print was 276k. Forward!

[Tonio]

Big whoop. It's the holiday shopping season. Many of those jobs are seasonal and will disappear come Jan 1.

Are you even trying anymore?

[KDN]

Are you even trying anymore?

Was he ever?

[The Late P Brooks]

Speaking of the minimum wage...

I watched part of Kudlow's show last night, and that was the topic du jour. Some frothing-at-the-mouth liberal was pooh-poohing the notion of job losses, saying, "All respectable economists agree! blah blah blah."

Kudlow then claimed the way to increase wages at the bottom rung was to get rid of the corporate income tax, because corporations don't pay taxes, they collect them; from their employees. Now, I'm perfectly willing to see the entire tax code thrown on the fire, but I have to confess, I had a pretty hard time following that particular argument.

[Andrew S.]

I guess an argument can be made that the corporate income tax is actually collected from employees (in terms of lower wages) and customers (in terms of higher prices), but I'm not sure that's what they meant.

[sarcasmic]

Income tax on corporations is simply an expense that gets factored into the price of the goods and services they provide.

[R C Dean]

Its overhead that is very hard to manage. So, you look for other places to reduce costs.

Like wages and staffing levels.

[sarcasmic]

Corporations will pay unskilled employees more than they are worth if the government cuts corporate taxes? Derpaliscious!

[Sevo]

"Kudlow then claimed the way to increase wages at the bottom rung was to get rid of the corporate income tax, because corporations don't pay taxes, they collect them; from their employees. Now, I'm perfectly willing to see the entire tax code thrown on the fire, but I have to confess, I had a pretty hard time following that particular argument."

I think she is confused (I'm being kind). She is correct that employers 'collect' individual income tax from their employees via witholding, and she's certainly stupid enough to confuse the two.

[KDN]

Kudlow's an old cokehead, but (usually) a pretty astute economist. It's unlikely that he was referring to withholding. He's probably making the case that the increased profits corps will make in the absence of taxation and compliance will be passed back to employees in the form of wage hikes, profit sharing, dividends, and increased hiring.

It's probably overly optimistic, but just about anything will bring about a better fate for the most marginal workers than a minimum wage increase.

[Rasilio]

Corporations have no inherent capital, everything they earn comes from the inputs of their suppliers (which for this purpose includes employees). Therefore everything the spend must come from one of those sources or be borne as a cost by their customers.

What this means is corporate taxes are always borne by some combination of...

- Customers
- Owners
- Suppliers (including workers)

Given that customers are very price sensitive and owners will not continue to invest in a venture that does not return a minimum level of profit it stands to reason that suppliers will bear the brunt of the cost of paying corporate taxes.

When Economists study the behavior of real world companies they find that about 80% of the taxes paid by the company would have gone to higher employee compensation if the taxes had been eliminated

[Agammamon]

Corporations *don't* pay taxes - never have - they merely collect them for the government.

Some combination of shareholders, employees, and customers pay those taxes.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Lots of good ATC listenin' at MSP today. Pilots and controllers are making their bones today.

[Sevo]

"Vice President Joe Biden has urged Chinese students to challenge government, teachers, and religious leaders"

I'll bet Biden would spit nails if Xi Jinping came here and suggested the same to US students.

[Enough About Palin]

The many talents of Kate Upton

[Kaptious Kristen]

GodDAMN she's hot

[hamilton]

Damn me.

On a related note, this reminds me of a comment I read elsewhere: "Terry Richardson is the human equivalent of an unmarked white panel van parked near a playground."

[R C Dean]

I can think of two talents right off the top of my head.

[hamilton]

I would love to have those two talents on the top of my head.

[Auric Demonocles]

The ability to pick awesome boyfriends like Mark Sanchez?

[The Late P Brooks]

Also, it amazes me to hear people who should know better completely ignore the massive ripple effect which would result from raising the minimum wage.

Unless, of course, they have completely bought into the Fed's desperate wish to get some for real inflation going.

DEMAND KURVE!

[Sevo]

I'm gonna wear this out, but the GOP needs to push the MW to $50/hr.
The poor would still have to get along with only two flat-screens (at $25K ea), but they'd be paying the top marginal income tax.

[The Late P Brooks]

Kate Upton? Isn't she that pudgy girl with the grandma tits?

[Bobarian]

What are you? Sarcasmic's doppleganger?

[The Late P Brooks]

the GOP needs to push the MW to $50/hr.

"Empathy? I'll show you empathy, by Gadfrey. A CHICKEN IN EVERY POT. A CADILLAC IN EVERY GARAGE."

[Auric Demonocles]

"Chicken? That's it. You monster. An OSTRICH IN EVERY POT!"

[PowerBottom]

CNN's LZ Granderson:

"He should have been more forthright with how the Affordable Care Act was going to impact the country. But with that being said, all Americans know politicians lie. The question is, which lies can you live with? And, time and time again, Americans have said,

'We can deal with the lies that President Obama tells us because we believe in his heart, he has the best interest for the American people.'

Every president is going to lie to you. Every politician is going to lie to you. The question is, which lies can you live with?"

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-J.....ician-Lies

[Pro Libertate]

I have an idea. How about we don't tolerate any lies or other dishonest and unethical behavior? What a ridiculous notion it is that these mental and ethical inferiors to most of us are somehow above us is absurd. All they have is power they shouldn't have, not a lick more.

[Auric Demonocles]

This kind of strikes me as similar to a discussion I had less night about a proposed set of football replay rules. It would have allowed coaches to challenge when they think a specific penalty call should have been made, but wasn't. In response to "But then the coach could get them to call holding on any play", I proposed what was apparently an insane idea... Maybe the offensive line should stop holding.

[Pro Libertate]

Just wait until we have totally computerized officiating. There's holding on most plays right now.

[Invisible Finger]

The #1 reason football sucks: too many goddamn rules. It's the federal government of sports.

[Swiss Servator, referendiffic!]

NEEDZ MOAR RUGBY

[Proprietist]

I can live with the lies my side tells, and you should too. It's the other side's lies that are unacceptable.

[The Late P Brooks]

Kudlow's an old cokehead, but (usually) a pretty astute economist.

I used to think Kudlow was pretty sharp, but after he completely vanished up GWB's asshole for eight years, I have no use for him.

[mr simple]

Yes, he was a good source when I was just learning about economics, but now he's nothing more than a GOP cheerleader. Also, his born-again-ness leads him to be pro government force to stop people from doing things he couldn't control.

[The Late P Brooks]

When Economists study the behavior of real world companies they find that about 80% of the taxes paid by the company would have gone to higher employee compensation if the taxes had been eliminated.

Which employees?

[Rasilio]

Hard to say, All the theory says is that corporate taxes depress worker wages in general. Whether that happens evenly across the board for all employees or whether the wage depression is concentrated on certain employees I do not know.

[Bobarian]

You have to figure that very little of it would go to your unskilled low wage proles, because as someone pointed out above, you currently have 20 people in line for those jobs at that current wage. Increases would go to the people that you get performance from. Most of the money would likely go to mid-level skilled labor, but leadership would likely see the largest single percent increase.