A.M. Links: NSA Scandal Could Cost Private Sector Billions, Congress Extends Undetectable Firearms Act, Border Patrol Audit Reveals Massive Waste

• 

  Credit: Creative Commons

  The National Security Administration's surveillance scandal is projected to cost private Internet companies billions as international clients take their business elsewhere.

• Congress approved a 10-year extension on the Undetectable Firearms Act hours before the 25-year-old piece of legislation was set to expire.
• A California court concluded that the Waiting Period Law burdens the Second Amendment, potentially making it unconstitutional.
• An audit of the U.S.'s border patrol enforcement indicated that despite spending billions of dollars, many projects have been failures.
• At a memorial in South Africa today, President Obama declared Nelson Mandela to have been "the last great liberator of the 20th century."
• Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that the international efforts to curtail his country's nuclear sector progress had little impact.

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Comments

[Lord Humungus]

FIST!

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Whoa...

[Ted S.]

Whoa....

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The streak ends!

FOE, you're no good. Get lost.

/bows before LH.

[waffles]

Yeah, okay. But does it really count if you don't share a link or have something witty to say?

[Sevo]

No, it doesn't.

[Slammer]

It is witty. It says FIST as a substitute for FIRST, which is only missing a letter. It's very witty.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Don't be an H&R H8R.

[Slammer]

Who's hating? I root for you to be First. It's a dependable thing in a world of insecurity.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm saying don't harsh on LH just because he got a cheap first comment. Celebrate the achievement today while I plot revenge.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Mail him his participation ribbon!

[Lord Humungus]

though hardly original. I was so giddy that I nearly froze. Instead I managed to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.

[Moe19]

Premature postulation?

[Lord Humungus]

Don't worry, we can still snuggle.

[Rhywun]

It was a lot better around here when she was arou-- wait.

[Cdr Lytton]

FIST!

Where's Johnny?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The National Security Administration's surveillance scandal is projected to cost private Internet companies billions as international clients take their business elsewhere.

New US internet companies' slogan: There's no where to run, so don't bother.

[Steve G]

Security Theater: the gift that keeps on giving...

[Doctor Whom]

This is how government protects American jobs and American competitiveness.

[Snark Plissken]

An audit of the U.S.'s border patrol enforcement indicated that despite spending billions of dollars, many projects have been failures.

So, government as usual.

[DJF]

Probably helped greatly by the fact that the Obama/Bush/Clinton/Bush administration didn't want them to work. Usual incompetence multiplied by willful incompetence.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And the audit cost $90 million dollars to perform.

[Being Waterboarded]

AND, will not lead to any real reforms... thus additional waste.

[Lord Humungus]

Mary will wear helmet in British Xmas parade in Neath, south Wales

A British girl playing Mary in a re-enactment of the Christmas story will have to wear a helmet when she parades through her town on a donkey.

Libby Doorman, eight, will have a riding hat tucked under her robes when she takes part in the church-organised nativity play through Neath in south Wales, in case she falls off.

"We've got to consider that Mary will be riding a donkey on a public highway," said Mark Barrett, 44, a youth worker at The Bridge Church in Neath, who has organised Saturday's performance.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Also, Mary and Joseph must be issued council housing but will be put on a waiting list to see an NHS OBGYN.

[Steve G]

Free contraception...you get what you pay for, amirite?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What, no helmet for the donkey?

Why won't they think of the donkey?

[Rich]

It has to be followed by someone with disposable gloves and a big plastic bag.

[fish]

Fuck the Brits.....wankers!

[Agammamon]

Wait, what's the point of a helmet 'tucked under her robes'? If she falls of do they think she'll have time to put it on before she hits the ground?

Or is this a case of poor writing?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Nuclear power would never survive without the government.......

Cory Stansbury
December 9, 2013 at 6:28 PM

I knew none of that. Thanks for the history lesson.

BTW, as someone actively engaged in designing one of the (hopefully) next generation plants, I love hearing outsiders wax poetic about our lack of creativity. Does anyone with a clue really think that Westinghouse, GE, Areva, and B&W are unaware of ANY reactor technology out there? That we lack creativity? That all we can possibly see or think about is light water with Uranium?

Of course not! However, we are not charities. If we want to make money (I know?evil profit drivers!), we have to design reactors we would actually be allowed to build. When the NRC point-blank tells a company, "You can submit a fast reactor, but it won't be looked at until everything else is done and you're going to pay us to learn about them," they are unlikely to devote hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to develop it.

If the US Government said, "We are committed to nuclear and we want to encourage development like we did in the 1960s. GE, GA, B&W, and Westinghouse, have at it," we have designs and people immediately available for other technologies.

[waffles]

But in some sense the blame goes both ways. Big companies like Westinghouse will pull a program for a small modular reactor or any technology if they feel it is unlikely to get government funding and approval.

Whoops. You're 100% right. The private sector can't really be blamed for responding to the incentives laid out for it. That is, kowtow to the NRC with painful precision or completely cease to exist.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

There is a lot of government hand-outs in the nuclear industry, but it has come down to that because the companies can't survive without it. The approval period for a new reactor design is so onerous and expensive (with a very high risk of either never finishing or not being approved) that these companies need hand outs.

There is blame to go around, the private sector nuclear companies need to start speaking out against the NRC's complete bureaucratic mess but they keep quiet. The nuclear industry as a whole is far too conservative when it comes to PR and seem to just let the FUD percolate in the media with no rebuttal.

It is like what some say here regarding arguments; the nuclear industry won't change the mind of Greenpeace etc. but to those watching the debate who are on the fence, rebuttal to the FUD thrown by the anti-nukes would help the public become more informed about nuclear issues.. even if the anti's will never actually argue in good faith.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Some of these guys get it. But there is still the disconnect between government regulation being the problem and government being the problem.

mjd
December 10, 2013 at 8:52 AM
@Cory Stansbury December 9, 2013 at 6:28 PM
You define the problem well in a big picture snap shot. However your statement "If the US Government said, "We are committed to nuclear and we want to encourage development like we did in the 1960s?" doesn't provide a workable solution all by itself. Because as you point out that was in fact done in the '60s, but it got derailed. In order to fix it, the root cause of the derailment needs to be fixed. There are several causes, Rod points out many, but one common denominator is always the NRC. To fix that problem requires revision the the Atomic Energy Act, and that is not going to happen in the poisoned dysfunctional political environment of DC. I laughed at your all too true NRC attitude of "?you're going to pay us to learn about them?"; only in the government?, anyplace else we've all worked the response would be "You're fired!"

[Lord Humungus]

Cockroach Never Seen Before in U.S. Is Identified in New York

With winter's arrival comes the kind of news that may give New Yorkers the creeps. A species of cockroach never found in the United States before has been positively identified in Manhattan.

Unlike the roaches that New York residents have known and hated for years, this variety can survive not just indoors where it's warm, but also outdoors in freezing temperatures. The species Periplaneta japonica is well documented in Asia but was never confirmed in the United States until Rutgers insect biologists Jessica Ware and Dominic Evangelista documented its presence in a study just published by the Journal of Economic Entomology.

coming soon to Washington DC.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

It was first discovered in Mayor Bloomberg's office, on his desk chair...

[Brett L]

I used that one last night!

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I must have missed it. But, great minds think alike and all that, amirite?

[Brett L]

Absolutely.

[Slammer]

There's already too much competition in DC.

[Raven Nation]

Men in Black flashback

[MSimon]

"Naked Lunch" - the movie - flashback.

[Ted S.]

Oh dear, not another immigration subthread. 😉

[Numeromancer]

My family and I just discovered a new species, too: the North American Numeromancian House Mouse. It is now believed to be extinct.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Congress approved a 10-year extension on the Undetectable Firearms Act hours before the 25-year-old piece of legislation was set to expire.

State agents must have the liberty to detect things you're doing. Freedom!

[DJF]

How about an Undetectable Government Employee Act. All government employees must wear a bright orange hat with flashing strobe light so that citizens will know if they are in danger from a government employee in the vicinity.

[Brett L]

Badges... or something more permanent?

[Emmerson Biggins]

Don't want to take away inventive to quit.

[Emmerson Biggins]

or incentive.

[Numeromancer]

The seal of the President of the United States carved into their forehead?

[Gray Ghost]

"So I'm going to give you a little something you can't take off."

[Slammer]

If it's undetectable how do they even know you have it, and are therefore breaking the law? It would be just the same to call it "The Stuff You're Carrying Around That You're Not Supposed To But There's No Way We Can Tell You're Doing That Act."

[Fist of Etiquette]

That's why we have to frisk everyone.

[WTF]

So, they've brilliantly extended legislation against something that doesn't actually exist.

[CE]

Why all the concern about the possibility of smuggling undetectable weapons through security? No one needs to try to smuggle anything anymore. Just print one out when you arrive.

[Lord Humungus]

Fed's Bullard Sees Higher QE Taper Odds as Labor Market Improves

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, a voter on policy this year, said an improving job market has increased the chances of a reduction in the Fed's bond purchases, and any cut should be modest because of too-low inflation.

"A small taper might recognize labor-market improvement while still providing the committee the opportunity to carefully monitor inflation during the first half of 2014," Bullard, a supporter of record stimulus, said yesterday in St. Louis. "Should inflation not return toward target, the committee could pause tapering at subsequent meetings."

[Live Free or Diet]

Working toward the elusive "soft landing."

Why do I feel like someone is taking us on a snark hunt?

[Lord Humungus]

I blame STEVE SMITH:

Snowplow in Norway uncovers man in snow

The snowplow driver said he was clearing the path Sunday when he first spotted the bicycle.

"I saw some handlebars poking out of the snow," he told Aftenposten. "When I got closer, I saw that there was a man on a bike completely covered by snow. I also noticed that the man was wearing a reflective vest."

The 26-year-old unconscious man was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for a severe chill, TheLocal.no reported.

The man, from Tjome, told police he had no memory of how he came to be buried under the snow.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Not only is he outside in snow that deep, he's bike riding in it. Impressive.

[Clich? Bandit]

I am not going to sugar coat it, that man had goose bumps.

[MSimon]

Did the goose have man bumps?

[Coeus]

Microagression!!!

I expected the usual: some Michael Bay-esque graphics packages, some puerile pandering to their core demographic of adolescent boys, some Mountain Dew, some Doritos, some trailers. I can stomach that, even laugh at it. Less than five minutes into the program, however, co-host Joel McHale jokingly put the rumors to rest that Wario had "undergone sex reassignment surgery."

If you're reading this, you might know that a joke like that is politically ill-advised. It violates the comedic wisdom that one should punch up rather than punch down. It not only repeats the exoticizing focus on transgender people's genitals, it also casts transgender identity itself as something scandalous and laughable.

[Kaptious Kristen]

So this person is saying trans people are "below" Joel McHale? MICROAGRESSION!

[Snark Plissken]

It violates the comedic wisdom that one should punch up rather than punch down.

Which is why no one is allowed to mock Obama.

[Ebriosa]

The thing about microaggressions is that they're supposed to be tiny little things that aren't all that bad on their own, but when added up in either a personal or societal context, influence how people see something. So yes, sex reassignment surgery being a constant joke is a microaggression. That doesn't mean it's offensive on its own (though maybe lazy) so that one joke on its own "casts transgender identity itself as something scandalous and laughable."

Sure, humor is powerful, but one joke?

[itsnotmeitsyou]

The thing about microaggressions is that they're supposed to be tiny little things that aren't all that bad on their own made up butthurt to enable people to play the victim card at the drop of a hat

Fixed that for you.

[Ebriosa]

I'm not disagreeing, but that doesn't change what they're supposed to be. People will get butthurt about ANYTHING. Including people getting butthurt in ways that doesn't affect them at all.

[Lord Humungus]

Barney Frank vs. Dodd-Frank
Treasury moves to regulate asset managers as 'systemic risks.'

Retired House Democrat Barney Frank is the last person on the planet you'd expect to criticize implementation of the 2010 law that bears his name. But there he was at a recent event hosted by the Clearing House trade group, suggesting that regulators ought to focus on banks instead of mutual-fund companies.

According to the Clearing House, Mr. Frank said he did not favor designating such large asset managers as BlackRock or Fidelity as "systemically important" and that this was not the intent of his law. He added that "overloading the circuits isn't a good idea" and said that the Financial Stability Oversight Council created by Dodd-Frank "has enough to do regulating the institutions that are clearly meant to be covered?the large banks." Mr. Frank told the crowd, "I have not seen the argument made yet to cover" the "very plain-vanilla asset managers."

[Drake]

In simpler terms - he wrote a shitty bill.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

99.9% of bills fall into this category so the odds were not on his side.

[Rich]

"We never claimed it was a perfect bill!"

[VG Zaytsev]

Or the bureaucracy is completely out of control.

[VG Zaytsev]

Or the bureaucracy is completely out of control.

[Jordan]

Good. Fuck him.

[MSimon]

You are welcome to it.

[SweatingGin]

"Financial Stability Oversight Council"

Maybe they can pass an anti-dog-eat-dog rule.

[Raven Nation]

From what I've read, D-F may be an even bigger cluster-f than Obamacare. Among its many blessings is that it probably enshrines the very thing it seeks to end i.e. "too big to fail."

[Ted S.]

Wasn't that the point?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Looking forward to Shieks invaluable insight into these financial matters!

[WTF]

Looking forward to Shieks invaluable insight into these financial matters!

BOOOOSH!!111!!!!

There, that ought to do it.

[fish]

Needz moar CHRISTFAG!

And stupid..... not nearly enough generic TEAM BLUE shill stupid....other than that....pure perfection!

[So Conz Esq.]

sounds like Barney's boyfriend is working for a mutual fund.

[Lord Humungus]

Meanwhile in Ghana:

Snake bites man's penis

A 34-year-old man at Faaman near Mankranso in the Ahafo Ano South District of the Ashanti Region had his penis bitten by a snake while attending to nature's call.

Kwabena Nkrumah was attending to nature's call at a public toilet facility in a deplorable state at Faaman when he suddenly felt a sharp pain at the tip of his manhood.

When he starred deep into the toilet, Nkrumah, who is a porter, nearly collapsed as he saw a big black snake which was about to pounce on his dangling manhood once again.

[Lucky Jack]

"What did the doctor say?"

"He said you're gonna die."

[Bones]

"big black snake."

It's just the reflection in the water, buddy. That sting on your tip is syphilis.

[Rich]

Because militants often rely on features common to video games ? fake identities, ... , a way to conduct ... transactions ? American and British intelligence agencies worried that they might be operating there

But now NSA is in a quandary: How to infiltrate *Halloween*?

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Pretty sure that all "intel ops" of this nature are blatant cover for goldbricking.

[fish]

shut up....do you want to blow it for us....where else can i play WoW for hours on the government dime.

/slacker agent

[Lord Humungus]

There are worse dark cabins - like the fevered imagination of SugarFree as he creates another Warty fantasy

'Get me off this plane': Man locked in dark cabin in worst layover ever

"She started laughing,'' he said. "I said, 'You gotta call United and get me off this plane.'''

His girlfriend quickly called the airline.

"She says, 'My boyfriend's on that airplane, you gotta get someone to get him off,''' he said. "And he said, 'Ma'am, we sweep those planes. There's no way he's on that plane.'''

After a half hour, maintenance workers opened the door and were stunned to find him inside.

[Snark Plissken]

Honestly, I envy him his ability to sleep this hard on airplanes.

[The DerpRider]

And you can flip the bird to any stewardess who claims their #1 job is passenger safety. Give me my crappy coffee and cookie and move along.

[Lord Humungus]

Wealthy Go Frugal This Holiday Amid Uneven U.S. Recovery

It's not just low-income shoppers who are pulling back on spending for loved ones and themselves this holiday season. Wealthy folks are watching their dollars, too.

While the most well-heeled shoppers still think nothing of dropping $4,600 on an Hermes tote, cracks have appeared in the $94 billion U.S. luxury market, especially for companies that cater to "Henrys" -- High Earners Not Rich Yet. Coach Inc. has said customers plan to spend less on gifts and that mall traffic fell sharply last month. Analysts predict Nordstrom Inc.'s fourth-quarter sales may grow less than half the year-ago pace of 6.1 percent. Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter comparable sales in the Americas were barely higher. Even before Black Friday, Saks Inc., Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Nordstrom offered 40 percent off on many brands.

No Louis Vuitton for my wife this year - instead it will be Gucci. The horror.

[Lord Humungus]

Accidental shooting brings Georgia couple closer
The family of a Georgia woman wounded in a deer hunting accident last month says the bloody incident brought her closer to the man who nearly killed her.

It was love at first shot.

A Georgia woman says a casual fling grew into a full-fledged love affair after her beau shot her in the leg with a hunting rifle, according to a local report.

Audrey Mayo, 24, of Lafayette, is recovering but still in danger of losing her right leg after she was shot just below the knee in a deer hunting mishap on Nov. 21, the local Times Free Press newspaper reported.

The accidental triggerman, Matthew Tyler Webb, 23, has stuck by her side from the moment she woke up at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, and the two are now officially a couple, her family said.

[db]

Being shot below the knee /= almost being killed, generally. Losing a leg would suck enough. But leave it to the press to sensationalize.

[Lord Humungus]

America's clash of generations is inevitable

What's occurring at the state and local levels is an incomplete and imperfect effort to balance the interests of young and old. Conflicts vary depending on benefits' generosity and the strength ? or weakness ? of local economies. A study of 173 cities by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found pension costs averaged 7.9?percent of tax revenues, but those of many cities were much higher: 17 percent in Chicago, 15 percent in Springfield, Mass., and 12.9 percent in New York. Health benefits add to costs.

At the federal level, even this sloppy generational reckoning is missing. The elderly's interests are running roughshod over other national concerns . Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid ? programs heavily for the retired ? dominate the budget, accounting for about 44 percent of spending, and have been largely excluded from deficit-reduction measures.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

So basically, the public sector boomer's took as much as they could while the going was good and said fuck you to the kids who were going to have to pay for their excesses. Sounds about right.

[General Butt Naked]

Not only are they robbing the young blind but they have the audacity to engage in endless circle-jerks bitching about feckless "millenials"

[Elspeth Flashman]

Yes. The boomers suck, only think of themselves, have robbed me, and complain when I try to get ahead at all. They won't retire either! Retire already!

[General Butt Naked]

Oh, they retire. When they have a city job and quit at 50 with 110% pay and gold plated bennies they retire.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Oh, they retire. When they have a city job and quit at 50 with 110% pay and gold plated bennies they retire.

And then depart the city/state that's paying their pension to move to warmer/more economically hospitable climes (hello, New York and California migrants!), leaving the remaining citizens to pick up the slack--so those communities don't even get the "kiss from your sister" taxes that would make the pensions somewhat more tolerable to local budgets.

[General Butt Naked]

What's even worse is that they escape these urban centers because of the problems caused by progressive policies and immediately try to turn their new rural home into a progressive nightmare.

See: colorado

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

It is really no critical thinking past face value of the law they want passed. It is mental lazyness and a whole lot of ignorance. And the overall TEAM mentality that most hold.

[califernian]

To be fair that describes basically all voters.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Oh I know, I meant it to describe most eligible voters.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

According to the WaPo comments geniuses it's a red herring. It's really about the wealthy v. the poor.

[Brett L]

Not to worry, we will be running the death panels.

[Winston]

Is there a movement to eliminate these entitlement programs or just that the old fogeys are hoarding the free shit the yutes deserve?

[Agammamon]

You mean the free shit the yutes are buying for them?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The numbers are actually even grimmer than they're putting out.

Last FY, receipts were about $2.77 trillion. SS, Medicare, Medicaid, and debt interest payments were $2.47 trillion.

IOW, all but $300 billion of last year's spending was pure deficit--and that's not counting the $328 billion that the Treasury shell-gamed to keep from going over the debt ceiling.

[CE]

Old people vote.
Libertarians take note.

[Rich]

"At first blush, it may seem reasonable that a private business should be able to refuse service to anyone it chooses," Judge Spencer said in his written order. "This view, however, fails to take into account the cost to society and the hurt caused to persons who are denied service simply because of who they are."

It seems to me this "cost to society" and "hurt caused to persons simply because" stuff could be similarly used to overturn the WoD, among other things.

Also, how does one measure "cost to society"? By the length of swatches of the "fabric of society"?

[Lord Humungus]

legal precedent, wah?

[wareagle]

what sort of individual wants to give money to a company that does not want his business? But it's not about the money, is it. It's about enforcing what govt views as correct thought.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's not about the money. It's about sending a message.

[Auric Demonocles]

The "cost to society" and "hurt caused to persons" aren't taken into account because those two actors don't have any rights in this case (or ever for society), and utilitarianism is an awful moral system.

[H. ReardEn]

How could this bakery operation possibly stay in business? Every gay person with an ax to grind will be asking them to bake them a cake. Any denial of service, wherever the reason, will be seen as evidence of discrimination.

[Bardas Phocas]

I could see how a bakery could spread rumors that they refuse gays service ... and then, the gays would be lining up around the block to demand we bake them cakes and muffins and other such items.

Could get a nice spike in business until they figure out we were happy to take their fag dollars.

Next, a rumor that we don't bake for black people.

[Agammamon]

Just get together a coalition of bakers to rotate the discrimination around.

"OK, this month Anne's gets the blacks, The Cookie Jar gets the gays, and the bakery inside the local Ralph's gets the jews - next month we rotate."

[Night Elf Mohawk]

What about the hurt of reading the fuckwittery in that order?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Why was this before the Civil Rights Commission, and administrative law judge? (the article doesn't say). If the appeal goes to a Federal circuit court, it should be overturned, because homosexuality isn't viewed with the same scrutiny as (for example) affirmative action/ race discrimination.

[Agammamon]

Its kinda weird - you'd think the ruling would have gone the other way since religion is a protected class but sexual orientation *isn't*.

[alan_s]

At any rate, it doesn't cost society anything. The person who was refused service is now free to take his business elsewhere. The person absorbing costs is the one who turned down business, to the benefit of his competitors.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

"Hurt caused to persons"--I'm sorry, but what the fuck does MUH FEELZ have to do with legality?

If these guys can't make their case on Constitutional grounds and have to rely on the judge resorting to hysterical bullshit like this, they really have no authority other than the arbitrary whims of the state to rely on.

What happens if the worm turns and they suddenly are faced with a legal system that's thoroughly unsympathetic to their hurt feelings?

[KPres]

"simply because of who they are."

What if you discriminate based on what they do? INOW you only discriminate against non-celibate gays. That would be OK according to this guy, right?

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Yeah, so, I imagine I'm not alone in this, but I'm finding that when the conversation turns to Mandela it's about as fun as when the conversation turns to Zimmerman.

People sure get heavily invested in narratives that they know jack shit about, that's for sure.

[Rich]

Obligatory.

[Lucky Jack]

I'd like his movies if it wasn't for that nervous fella that's always in them.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I actually had a productive conversation on the topic recently. A friend started talking about his death and how sad it was because we lost a great man.

Myself and another friend immediately started pulling up stories about his atrocities and showed them to him. He went from a mild disbelief to a terrible disgust fairly quickly.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

...and we jump the shark in 3...2...

[Slammer]

Mandela's getting a monument in Yankee Stadium.

[WTF]

As a Yankee fan, this really enrages me.

[Rich]

Perhaps some fan will necklace the statue.

[WTF]

That would be awesome, if someone could actually figure out how to sneak a tire into monument park.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Well Obama has been involved with murder bombing children and other innocents, giving arms to known criminal organizations used to kill Americans, intimidation of opposing political organizations via the IRS, etc. etc... and he'll probably get a statue too.

[Drake]

The outrage and hurt feelings when I mention that Mandela actually plead guilty to terrorism, murder, and planned bombings that would have included children...

[db]

Need to get.some.citations on these so we can share then with "friends."

[Drake]

Like these?

http://www.censorbugbear.org/b.....ing-record

[Kid Xenocles]

Of all that you led with the guilty pleas? Nobody here trusts guilty pleas as evidence of anything; we're too used to our system that encourages them in all cases.

[Drake]

He didn't so much plead guilty as make a long speech justifying the violence he organized as necessary. There was not much question to his guilt.

To be fair, later in life he supposedly renounced the violence (but not his violent wife and terrorist friends) and said he was glad he was caught before killing more people.

And Bob Mugabe came to the funeral to remind everyone how much worse things can get.

[#]

"And Bob Mugabe came to the funeral to remind everyone how much worse things can get."

Thats kinda my take on this. Yes, Mandela was involved in terrorism and violent political struggle and yes he and the ANC were basically communists.

But he does deserve a lot of credit for what he did in the power transition. He could have become just another African crack pot dictator like Mugabe and he could have incited widespread racial murder and theft against whites.

And because he went out of his way to advoicate agaist that after he got out of prison, the white government felt reasonably comfortable stepping down, because they felt they wouldnt all get murdered under Mandela. So even apartaid ending when it did in no small part has to do with him.

So like Washington, he set up the system well rather than becoming a Cromwell. And for that, he should be given credit, even if his earlier other details are less than ideal.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Thank you.

[Aloysious]

Thanks. Very helpful. I'm gonna attract a lot of hate with that link.

bwa ha ha

[WTF]

"At first blush, it may seem reasonable that a private business should be able to refuse service to anyone it chooses," Judge Spencer said in his written order. "This view, however, fails to take into account the cost to society and the hurt caused to persons who are denied service simply because of who they are fuck you, that's why principle of government action."

[Pompey]

Quick! Wayne Allyn Root will save the day!

[Auric Demonocles]

A California court concluded that the Waiting Period Law burdens the Second Amendment, potentially making it unconstitutional.

No, it already is unconstitutional. This just means that a government court might finally recognize that.

[Tejicano]

In a sane world the Heller decision would have uprooted 2/3rds of the anti-gun laws in California within a month. In California however, it only served to push them to dig their heels in deeper.

[db]

http://reason.com/admin/pages/.....h century"

Some may beg to differ.

[db]

Uh, in re:

At a memorial in South Africa today, President Obama declared Nelson Mandela to have been "the last great liberator of the 20th century."

[Rich]

The top 40 percent of households by before-tax income actually paid 106.2 percent of the nation's net income taxes in 2010, according to a new study by the Congressional Budget Office.

Citing this official study, a White House spokesperson then stated, "The Affordable Care Act will be funded by the 6.2% surplus."

[itsnotmeitsyou]

FAIR SHARE!! FAIR SHARE!!1!!11!

This is why it pisses me off so much when idiots try to claim that rich people don't pay enough in taxes.

[WTF]

As sarcasmic would point out, the fact that they are still rich shows that they are not paying their fair share.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Well, duh. If they had even a sliver of a heart, they would willingly give 150% of their income to the government so it could be properly used. Instead, they take their ill-gotten profits and use them to make more ill-gotten profits. (it's all ill-gotten as it's impossible to make a large amount of money without walking on the necks of the poor*)

They are just heartless bastards for stealing that money from the government and the poor, downtrodden, oppressed people that our overlords protect.

*Note: This was once said to me, almost verbatim, by someone who is no longer my friend.

[Ebriosa]

Evidently the problem is that they don't take their money and use it to make more money in the ways progressive want them to! I've seen a lot of screeds about how the rich invest in safe, boring things that don't create jobs or do that whole $1 spent by a poor person on bread magically becomes $5 to the baker who spends it on on wheat so that it's magically $10 to the farmer, which is why giving money to the poor is better for the economy because they will spend it and a rich person will horde it.

So rich people are deliberately hurting the economy they claim to love because they won't spend their money or invest it in green technology or something. So since they're not doing the right thing with their money, we should take it from them.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

106%? Is that it?

Why are people so greedy?

[Lord Humungus]

The New York Times' 'homeless' hooey

Begin with the family at the center of this story. The mother, father and eight kids aren't really homeless at all. True, they live in housing meant for "homeless families." But their 540-square-foot unit gives them a solid roof over their heads, in addition to city-provided meals and services.

One city official tells us Elliott and the Times ignored many key facts about the family and that its situation is "atypical."

"New York City provides families in need, including this one, with subsidized health care, child care, shelter, job-training, counseling and placement services," as well as cash assistance, a spokesman said.

[Rich]

homeless hooey

Nice band name.

[Lord Humungus]

How to Keep Workers Unemployed
Another 99 weeks of jobless insurance won't create more jobs.

House-Senate negotiators are close to a modest budget accord to avoid another government shutdown, but suddenly the White House is introducing a last-minute demand. Five years into an economic recovery that President Obama often hails as miraculous, he wants to extend unemployment benefits one more time.

Maybe it's time to consider whether the big expansion of unemployment insurance has increased joblessness. In 2009 the Obama Administration and Congress extended jobless benefits for up to 99 weeks. The point was to help people through the recession, but now the jobless rate is 7%, down from 10%, and the White House still wants another extension.

[Rich]

It's extensions all the way down.

[OldMexican]

Another 99 weeks of jobless insurance won't create more jobs.

Oh, these conservatives are just being mean.

No, really, that is what the progressives are saying now: that trying to get people off their butts is being 'mean'.

[wareagle]

well, if those people get off their butts, they may become self-reliant, some may question WTF govt is doing handing out money, and the left loses its dependency class of voter. None of which answers why you hate helping people.

[Winston]

Authoritarianism! /Chomsky

[Ken Shultz]

"A California court concluded that the Waiting Period Law burdens the Second Amendment, potentially making it unconstitutional."

Excuse me, are they saying the Second Amendment is unconstitutional?

This is a California court we're talking about. It wouldn't surprise me if they ruled that the Second Amendment is unconstitutional.

[Rich]

I was thinking basically the same thing, Ken.

"And even if it's not, we'll *deem* it unconstitutional."

[Auric Demonocles]

Since time is money, this is just a tax. It's the waiting peritax.

[Loki]

That court was probably just packed with a bunch of rethuglikkkan Schwartzenegger appointees who hate children and love it when innocent people get mowed down by assault rifle armed madmen, aka "typical gun owners." /prog-derp

[Ken Shultz]

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that the international efforts to curtail his country's nuclear sector progress had little impact."

Little impact on their economy?

Yeah, they just came back to the negotiating table because they had nothing better to do that weekend.

[Loki]

He probably means it had little impact on the ruling mullahs or the TOP. MEN. such as himself. Other than giving them a handy way to wave the flag and blame someone else for their people's misery.

[Ken Shultz]

Honestly, if using sanctions to force them to the negotiating table had no significant impact on their nuclear program, then that means the way the Obama Administration is handling this is completely incompetent.

They've burned through their reserves. They cannot continue without access to the financial markets. They need those sanctions lifted--or else.

I hope this is all bluster on Iran's part, but it still looks to me like the Obama Administration is angling for utter capitulation. And needless capitulation at that!

Obama just sees it as another victory to tout in the media. I don't think he sees Iran as anything but a chance to spin a much needed victory for himself in the media.

[Agammamon]

I would like to point out that Cuba has had sanctions since 1960 - while they have had incredible success helping destroy Cuba's economy (though, to be fair, Castro did all the heavy lifting there) it hasn't forced them to the negotiating table very often.

The thing with sanctions is they don't really work for their stated purpose - getting a government to change its policies.

[Brett L]

Are you ever going to have a more incompetent set of bunglers on the other side of the table?

[Agammamon]

Yeah, that's probably the real reason the Iranians are negotiating *now* - they're afraid the next administration might be somewhat competent.

[Lord Humungus]

Can You Even Keep or Afford Your Medicine Under Obamacare?

"The out of pocket caps on consumer spending only apply to costs incurred on drugs that are included on a plan's drug formulary," Gottlieb wrote. "This is the list of medicines that the health plans have agreed to provide some coverage for."

"If the drug isn't on this formulary list, then the patient could be responsible for its full cost (with little or no co-insurance to help offset that cost)," he continued. "Moreover, the money they spend won't count against their deductibles or out of pocket limits ($12,700 for a family, $6,350 for an individual)."

Gottlieb used the drug Copaxone for multiple sclerosis as an example, saying someone with a bronze plan would be responsible for paying 40 percent of the drugs out-of-pocket costs, or about $1,980 per month. Under the platinum plan, the out-of-pocket cost would be $792 per month.

[The Late P Brooks]

The Bloombergers are all aflutter this morning. GM has thrown off its government shackles, and emerges as a beautiful profitmaking butterfly. The Government Motors figurehead will retire, and a WOMYN shall reign o'er them. Hosanna, hosanna!

As usual with affirmative action promotions, it is entirely possible she is the best man for the job, but....

[Agammamon]

Wednesday's headline - "GM in the red, asks for government backed loan".

[OldMexican]

At a memorial in South Africa today, President Obama declared Nelson Mandela to have been "the last great liberator of the 20th century."

This coming from the "you didn't build that" president...

[Winston]

Who are the other liberators? Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Che, Ho Chi Minh, FDR and LBJ?

[BardMetal]

Well Obama certainly wouldn't pick a man like Winston Churchill.

[Ken Shultz]

"At a memorial in South Africa today, President Obama declared Nelson Mandela to have been "the last great liberator of the 20th century."

That's high praise coming from the the first great liberator of the 21st century.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Liberating us from the shackles of free-market capitalism and bringing us into the nurturing bosom of authoritative government.

[Ken Shultz]

He led us from the ashes of greed and hate to a new day of cooperation.

He also used drones to target American citizens abroad, put the entire country under NSA surveillance, and sicced the IRS on the working poor for not being able to afford health insurance--but let's not get distracted.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Someone should build a statue of him in Yankee stadium

[Enough About Palin]

Twerking Medella's

[thom]

I'm surprised he didn't find a way to take the credit.

[Ken Shultz]

Well, it's pretty clear that the torch has been passed.

With Obama's speech in South Africa, the mantle of the last great liberator of the 20th century has been placed on the head of the first great liberator of the 21st century.

Let the healing begin.

Obama wants to love you, thom...but you have to let him into your heart.

[The Other Kevin]

Mandela is being buried with an iPod loaded with Obama speeches. He will be able to listen to them through all eternity.

[Loki]

He will be able to listen to them through all eternity.

Talk about a fate worse than hell...

[The Late P Brooks]

Another 99 weeks of jobless insurance won't create more jobs.

Think of the jobs created for gravediggers if we let them all starve in the streets! Why do they hate gravediggers?

[Enough About Palin]

This is just political BS and the Repubs are dumb enough to bite.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Sticking it to the man: Naked man fights with officers, send three to the hospital

A 26-year-old man accused of assaulting three police officers Sunday after roaming naked at a condominium complex faces six felony and misdemeanor counts in connection with the incident.

Meridian Township police said three officers were treated and released from a local hospital for injuries sustained while trying to restrain the man.

http://www.freep.com/article/2.....lice-fight

[WTF]

Turns out he was smart to be naked. The cops couldn't claim they thought he might have a weapon and just shoot him.

[Lord Humungus]

Swordfight!

[Loki]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that the naked guy had a much longer "weapon" than the cops.

[Elspeth Flashman]

And being naked wasn't a deterrent to him using physical violence, which was all he had.

[Coeus]

Nice bookend to the OMG!! Somalia!! retardation.

[General Butt Naked]

I got an error.

[anomdebus]

Just copy/paste the url.. Its just a hotlinking policy.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Adam Sandler, determined by Forbes to be the Most Overpaid Actor:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/.....s/3916647/

[OldMexican]

That should be award-winning overpaid actor.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I'm thoroughly convinced he has a running bet with studio honchos that he'll deliberately make the stupidest movies ever and still make buckets of money on them.

[Loki]

Anti-theists (not to be confused with atheists) put up a festivus pole in Florida capital. Because "OMGZ, NATIVITEE SCEENE!!!11!!!! SEPARASHUN OF CHURCH AND STATE!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!1!

"I still chuckle, I literally can't believe there will be a pile of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans in the state rotunda," said Chaz Stevens, a Deerfield Beach resident who applied to the state Department of Management Services to put the Festivus pole on display.

Stevens, who operates a blog that focuses on South Florida politics, said the intent of the Festivus pole is to make a political statement on the need for the separation of church and state.

Of course it's made from PBR cans...

I find it much more likely that the intent is "LOOK AT MEEEEEE!!!!!" hipsterism combined with being an obnoxious douche nozzle.

*Lights the anti-theist douche signal*

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Jesus fucking Christ, man. Seriously?

It's not anti-theism at work here. If it were anti-theism, they would be demanding that the Nativity Scene be completely removed, not that they get to put up their own holiday display.

Is it silly, yeah. But so is only representing a single belief system at a government building. If Jews wanted to put up a Menorah, would you be as outraged? If some black people wanted to put up Kwanzaa decorations, would you be outraged?

Until this action actually does something to diminish your religion or discriminate against it, stop manufacturing butthurt. Seriously, it only makes Christianity look bad and you look like a fool.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Yep, this is the nativity people poking the atheist activists in the eye then getting upset when they get poked right back.

[OldMexican]

If some black people wanted to put up Kwanzaa decorations, would you be outraged?

I would regard the implication as racist, sir! Here's my gauntlet! Pow! Pow!

[Loki]

If Jews wanted to put up a Menorah, would you be as outraged? If some black people wanted to put up Kwanzaa decorations, would you be outraged?

No because those are at least real religions. Festivus is a retarded fake holiday they made up on Seinfeld. Furthermore, I think it's obvious that the dude's real intention is to be an obnoxious douchebag. I doubt he would have done anything if there were a menorah, a quanza display, or a crescent moon to symbolize Islam, or any other religious display. But a nativity? OMGZ CHRISTIAN TALIBAN!!!

Also, I suspect the reason why there aren't any of those is because no one had applied to put any of those other symbols up. The fact that they approved his stupid ass pole suggests that they'll let anyone put anything up so long as their paperwork is in order (within reason, I doubt they'd allow a life sized version of pisschrist, or anything with nudity, for example). As well they should, I might add.

As for "manufacturing butthurt," it's the hipster asshat from the story who got all butthurt in the first place over a nativity scene. He could have just gone about his business and not looked at it or cared one way or the other, like most normal people would.

But whatever, I just thought it was a retarded thing for someone to do, and pretty clear that his intention was to mock those silly ass believers.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Careful, you're ignorance is showing.

No because those are at least real religions. Festivus is a retarded fake holiday

Festivus

First, ALL holidays are made up at some point. There is no such thing as a "natural" holiday. Every single one was designated a holiday by a human being at some point. Festivus is no different, but it IS widely celebrated by the secular crowd. Saying "it's a retarded fake holiday" just because you don't recognize it is willful ignorance at best.

I doubt he would have done anything if there were a menorah, a quanza display, or a crescent moon to symbolize Islam, or any other religious display. But a nativity? OMGZ CHRISTIAN TALIBAN!!!

You have no evidence that this is even remotely true. As it happens, Christianity is the largest religion in this country, so yes, it is going to be the primary target of atheist activity. Christianity also is pretty much the only religion to be widely represented on government property.

Yeah, probably no one in other religions cared enough to fill out the paperwork. That doesn't make this guy a douche for spreading the word about lack of religion.

Regardless of whether the guy in the story is butthurt, further piling on of manufactured butthurt only makes you look like an ass.

[Loki]

First, ALL holidays are made up at some point.

A fair point.

One last attempt to try to explain why this story bothered me:

In a nutshell, this is a story about a Christian group of some kind who applied for and got approval to put up a nativity display at the capital. Since the first ammendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." there really shouldn't be any 1st ammendment issue, so long as the state doesn't discriminate by denying other religious groups (which, AFAIK, isn't the case here).

(cont'd)

[Loki]

Some atheist sees it, and despite the fact that the nativity scene causes no harm to him or anyone else, says "OMGZ, SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE... 1ST AMMENDMENT" (because he obviously hasn't bothered to read and understand the plain text) and then he decides "I'll show those EVUL CHRISTFAGS! I'll apply for my own display. A festivus pole, made out of empty beer cans! That'll show them!"

He could have just ignored it and gone about his business like 99.99999999% of the population, but chose instead to provoke. Despite the fact that the display did no actual harm to him or his beliefs (or lack thereof). And the end result of all this will most likely be that next year the state decides to forbid ALL religious displays of any kind on government property. So no one will be allowed to express their faith, which is a 1st ammenment violation, all because some asshole couldn't just let it go.

[Loki]

One last thought: in truth, the best way for the Christian group that originally put up the nativity to handle this is to do/ say nothing. Just ignore it. As I stated above, I suspect the atheist from this story is deliberately attempting to provoke a confrontation. Don't let him have it. Unfortunately, they probably will react to it, with the end result as I described above.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Again, you are applying a double standard. To you, it's perfectly fine when Christians exercise their First Amendment rights, but when some evil atheist dares to attempt the same thing, you get all up in arms!

WAR ON CHRISTMAS!! THE CHRISTIANS ARE OPPRESSED!!! OMG ATHEISTSSTSTSTS!!!!!

You keep saying that you believe in the First Amendment rights of all, while saying that this uppity heathen needs to shut his damn mouth.

[Loki]

*Scans previous posts*

Hmmm, I don't see where I said anything about "WAR ON CHRISTMAS!! THE CHRISTIANS ARE OPPRESSED!!! OMG ATHEISTSSTSTSTS!!!!!"

Again, ONE LAST TIME, this guy is NOT simply making a display about his lack of faith. He's trying to make a political statement about "seperation of church and state." He even says so himself in the orginal fucking article. He's deliberately attempting to provoke a confrontation so that he can achieve a political goal, which I can only conclude is the elimination of religious displays or expressions from public property. That's what makes him a douchebag.

But, maybe there's something to this. Perhaps relionists of all stripes should just keep their beliefs to themselves. Afterall, we see what happens when they don't.

[Loki]

*religionists*

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Festivus is no different, but it IS widely celebrated by the secular crowd.

Oh please--this is the equivalent of the schools changing "Christmas Break" to "Winter Break" in the early 80s.

Everyone knew exactly why we were getting those two weeks off of school, and it wasn't for Hannukkah, Kwaanza, Festivus, or anything else.

Also, this was LOL from the link:

The celebration of Festivus begins with the "Airing of Grievances", which takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served. It consists of each person lashing out at others and the world about how they have been disappointed in the past year

I guess I shouldn't be surprised this was conceived by an Irishman.

[tarran]

If some black people wanted to put up Kwanzaa decorations, would you be outraged?

No because those are at least real religions. Festivus is a retarded fake holiday they made up on Seinfeld.

Kwanzaa is a retarded holiday invented by a kidnapper and torturer turned Afro-American studies professor.

[Loki]

Kwanzaa is a retarded holiday invented by a kidnapper and torturer turned Afro-American studies professor.

True, but I'm sure half the commentariat here has now labeled a dirty, dirty, icky BELIEVER!!!!! (FWIW, I'm not really all that religious, I just find it annoying when people get all butthurt over public displays of faith. Who the fuck cares?)

Pointing out that Kwanzaa could also be considered a "fake" holiday would probably get me labeled a RACIST!!!!11!!!! as well.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I just find it annoying when people get all butthurt over public displays of faith. Who the fuck cares?

So, getting butthurt over a display of lack of faith is totally different and you are totally justified in getting all butthurt over it?

There's this thing that intelligent people do. You see, they read/think about what they're saying and make sure it's consistent with the stuff they JUST SAID 5 MINUTES AGO! You seem like an otherwise intelligent person based on your posts. You should try this neat little trick sometime.

[Loki]

And I'm trying to explain, in several posts that, in essence, I don't think this guy's intention was simply to make a display of a lack of faith. His intention was to mock those filthy believers because "How dare they, Church and State are seperate, DERP."

He even said, in the original article, that he was trying "to make a political statement on the need for the separation of church and state." IOW, his intent is not to simply make a statement about his beliefs, or lack there of, but to deliberately be confrontational for explicitly political reasons.

[General Butt Naked]

For someone who doesn't celebrate Festivus your post is dangerously close to being an airing of grievances.

OT OT:

Why does my browser sometimes go to the last page I was on when I hit the backspace key? It does it randomly and usually right at the end of a long ass comment that took, literally, minutes to write.

[alan_s]

God just didn't want you to type that comment.

[Brett L]

If you aren't in a textbox, that's the default behavior on a number of browsers. Maybe you click out, then hit backspace?

[Apatheist ?_??]

As much as I think these kinds of things are a waste of time, they could be avoided if the didn't put a fucking nativity scene in the Capitol building. How hard is it to not put that up?

When something like the 10 commandments has been sitting at a courthouse for a 100 years or something you know whatever leave it alone but something like this is just begging for the atheist to make a stink, and they are just as big of douches as the guys putting up a festivus pole.

[Loki]

Your right, how dare those Christians put up a display that expresses their faith. What a bunch of douchebags.

something like this is just begging for the atheist to make a stink

Right, they totally should have known that it might piss off some anti-theists so they should just keep their mouths shut and keep that religion shit to themselves for a couple hours every Sunday, behind closed doors.

FWIW, as I stated above, I think the state was right to approve the display of the pole. Likewise, they should approve if any other religious group applies to put up a display symbolizing their faith.

If they had denied his application, or denied a Jewish or Musim or Buddhist, or any other religious groups application to have a display, then that would be a problem. The problem with this kind of shit is that in the future, the state will simply make a blanket ban on any kind of religious display at any government building.

Now, maybe some people would be OK with that, but the first ammendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...", and there's nothing in there about banning all religious expression from public buildings.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

FWIW, as I stated above, I think the state was right to approve the display of the pole

You lying sack of shit. You said nothing of the sort.

"The fact that they approved his stupid ass pole suggests that they'll let anyone put anything up so long as their paperwork is in order" is FAR from an approval of his action. It's openly mocking of it, in fact.

You DID, however, call the guy a hipster, a douchebag. You called the holiday a "retarded fake" holiday.

You took an instance of someone OTHER than a Christian trying to get a little of this so-called "religious freedom" as an attack on Christianity and got your panties all in a bunch when we called you out on it.

[Loki]

You lying sack of shit. You said nothing of the sort.

The fact that they approved his stupid ass pole suggests that they'll let anyone put anything up so long as their paperwork is in order (within reason, I doubt they'd allow a life sized version of pisschrist, or anything with nudity, for example). As well they should, I might add.

FWIW, as I stated above, I think the state was right to approve the display of the pole

OK, so maybe I didn't use the exact same words, but anyone with the reading comprehension skills of a 3rd grader should be able to figure out that it means the same fucking thing.

[Eduard van Haalen]

No comment.

[Brett L]

So the State of FL honors the Constitution by allowing anyone who petitions for a religious display to do so? I mean, the DMS guys helped him fill out the form.

I am pleasantly surprised.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I know, right? How evil of them to allow a person who's NOT A CHRISTIAN!!11!1!!! to have equal access to government property. A travesty really!

You're always gonna have dipshits doing stupid shit on either side, but allowing someone with differing views than you to display them equally certainly isn't one of those times. That's called "tolerance"

[The Late P Brooks]

Gottlieb used the drug Copaxone for multiple sclerosis as an example, saying someone with a bronze plan would be responsible for paying 40 percent of the drugs out-of-pocket costs, or about $1,980 per month. Under the platinum plan, the out-of-pocket cost would be $792 per month.

Bending the cost curve, motherfucker!

[sarcasmic]

Caught on camera: Moment officer shoves POLICE DOG through window of suspect's car after high-speed chase
Officer Stafford Brister gave chase after Johnnie Williams fled a drink-driving checkpoint
13-minute pursuit through streets of Wilmington, North Carolina
Dog attacked Williams, causing injuries to his face and shoulder
Williams indicted on charges including assault with deadly weapon and traffic violations; Brister placed on

administrative leave

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....chase.html
And nothing else happens. Well, that's not totally true. The guy the police dog mauled will likely go to prison for a decade or more.

[Loki]

The guy the police dog mauled will likely go to prison for a decade or more.

Especially if he tried to fight off the police dog. That's assaulting a police officer. STOP RESISTING!!!!!1!!!!

[The Late P Brooks]

but suddenly the White House is introducing a last-minute demand. Five years into an economic recovery that President Obama often hails as miraculous, he wants to extend unemployment benefits one more time.

It's almost as if he's explicitly admitting, "Those jobs; they're not coming back."

[Winston]

Libertarian Era!

[sarcasmic]

Police say 23-year-old student shot to death in traffic stop stole police officer's baton and started attacking him with it

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

Cpt Carter eventually got the baton back and told Redus four times to stop fighting him or he would shoot.
That's when Redus turned around and charged at Carter with his arm raised to strike, and Cpt Carter took out his .40-calibur semiautomatic gun and shot six times at Redus, hitting him five times in the chest, neck, eye, arm and thigh.

So he didn't really fear for his life. He was just tired of being disobeyed.

[WTF]

While the camera on the police cruiser was out...
Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

[Jordan]

Um, if a guy charges at you with a baton, then you are justified in killing him. Assuming the story is true, of course.

[Brett L]

Even after you've taken it back from him? It would seem to me that the peak danger had passed and you could -- and I'm just spit-balling here -- hit him with that stick you just wrestled away from him and see if he still wants to fight about it.

Cpt Carter eventually got the baton back and told Redus four times to stop fighting him or he would shoot.

[Jordan]

I missed that part. Still, I shed no tears for someone who gets capped trying to start a fistfight, whether his target is a cop or civilian.

[Brett L]

It doesn't seem curious that he "got the baton back" before he shot the guy? It sounds like complete bullshit to me.

[Jordan]

I don't know about that. I think the audio supports the officer's version of events. On the other hand, I think his background says otherwise. I could go either way on this one. Hence my caveat above.

[sarcasmic]

I think the audio supports the officer's version of events.

The audio supports that the kid wasn't obeying the cop. It may or may not support the part where the officer "feared for his life." Unless he fears for his life when people don't do what he tells them to do.

[sarcasmic]

"This punk just won't quit. Well, I've got the camera disabled, so fuck it. Kill the fucker. The union's lawyers will come up with a good story. They always do."

[sarcasmic]

Did you read the part where he'd gotten his club back?

[sarcasmic]

The horrific beating of an innocent man that led to 18 Los Angeles jail officers being indicted
Gabriel Carrillo allegedly beaten after asking why he couldn't see his brother
Four deputies then tried to charge him with resisting an officer
His complaint led to a wider FBI investigation into allegations of abuse
U.S. Attorney says pattern of abuse has become 'institutionalised'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....icted.html
Will anything else happen?

[sarcasmic]

Selfie sabotage: Gun-toting Instagram selfies lead to 142 charges for 19-year-old accused of jewelry theft
Depree Johnson, 19, was arrested on suspicion of theft and possession of a firearm, among other things
Police obtained a search warrant for his home after he posted pictures of himself on Instagram with incriminating evidence
They recovered $250,000 worth of stolen goods including two guns and ammunition
Police say Johnson is the leader of a gang that carried out up to 40 burglaries
The gang targeted retirement communities, stealing valuable jewelry

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....theft.html
Morons.

[sarcasmic]

Sweet... but Shameless! Emmy Rossum bares her cleavage from every angle in stunningly sexy Esquire magazine shoot

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....shoot.html
Waaaaaaay to skinny for John.

'I've lost 50 pounds!' Notorious yo-yo dieter Ajay Rochester has successfully slimmed down and shows off the results by getting back into her American flag bikini

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....sults.html
John pron!

[Brett L]

I don't know who this Emmy Rossum is, but she appears quite healthy. Further investigation is warranted.

[sarcasmic]

The coldest place on earth: Antarctica sets new record with minus 135.8F

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-zero.html
Global Climate Change!

Deadly winter storm has New York City in its sights as more than 6,000 flights are canceled and three people lose their lives
The massive winter storm that left parts of the Southeastern United States in a deep freeze is set to hit the East Coast and New York City overnight
More than 1,650 flights for Monday have already been canceled with more expected
The storm canceled more than 6,000 flights since Saturday and delayed thousands more
The winter storm that moved towards the east coast Sunday caused a foot of snow to fall in Newark, Delaware
The New York City Department of Sanitation has issued a 'snow alert' for Tuesday, December 10, 2013 starting at 6 am
Icy weather has caused mass pile-ups of traffic across the country killing three people
Deadly sheet-ice falls from apartments in Texas - destroying cars

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....celed.html
Global Climate Change!

[sarcasmic]

Harassed boyfriend jumped to his death after his girlfriend insisted on going into another clothes shop
Tao Hsiao was shopping with his girlfriend in Jiangsu province, east China
After five hours Tao finally had enough and demanded to go home
When she insisted they go into another shop the 38-year-old chucked the bags to the floor and jumped over the balcony

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

[General Butt Naked]

I'm glad my girlfriend hates shopping and crowds. I could never put up with that shit.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I just don't join my wife when she goes. Sometimes I get a shirt or a sweater out of it, sometimes, but I always get some free time.

[alan_s]

Seriously? He couldn't just leave his girlfriend?

[Brett L]

China, man. Women have all the power.

[sarcasmic]

King of spy satellites: Huge 68ft device that will record zoom-able HD video of 40% of Earth's the surface SIMULTANEOUSLY
Membrane Optical Imager for Real-Time Exploitation (MOIRE) uses a massive web of thin membranes instead of heavy lenses
It is being developed by Pentagon's DARPA future weapons agency
Satellite will have 68-foot lens - dwarfing Hubble, which is only eight feet

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

[Kid Xenocles]

I don't think they mean it can record HD video of 40% of the earth simultaneously. That's a lot of data to downlink via RF.

[Swiss Servator, Alps avast!]

You should see the screen it sends the feed to...

[Gray Ghost]

~ 3 ft. resolution if they park it in geosync orbit, if I'm doing the math right. Pretty much HD if they stick it in a typical LEO. All this assumes the atmosphere allows for good seeing.

[SugarFree]

Slate resident Wood Elf uncovers a shocking state of affairs in higher education: Women are being forced to read male authors!!! OMG!!!

"I remember putting On the Road down the first time a woman was mentioned. I was just like: 'Fuck. You.' I was probably 15 or 16. And over the coming years I realized that it was this canonical work, so I tried to return to it, but every time I was just like, 'Fuck you.'"

[General Butt Naked]

I read the entire article and my penis is now 4 inches wider.

What the hell was the side trip into bitching about hanging out with dudes playing music? Ummmm, leave you dumb fucking cunt.

[Coeus]

Yeah. "Pity me because I only fucked guys with an acoustic guitar in college. Oppression!!! Patriarchy!!!"

And I love this:

Greif was upset that he was promised a male narrative that didn't pan out. What he didn't consider is who was on the other side of that promise. (Not mattering might be even worse than not getting laid.

No. It's not.

[General Butt Naked]

Yeah that shit about Roth was like 3 steps away from an actual harm, and one of those steps was a delusion bought upon by a pathological victim complex.

[SugarFree]

By the way, a woman is mentioned in the every first sentence of the book. The line that so outraged this woman that said had to put the book down was:

"I first met Dean not long after my wife and I split up."

I can see was she was so an angry.

[Brett L]

Listen, I'll take that trade in a heartbeat. No more Bronte sisters, no more Zora Neale Hurston, no more George Eliot? Deal, bitch. Absolute fucking deal.

[Sevo]

Nomination for dumbest poll question EVAH:
"Should Government Enact Policies to Make the City More Affordable?"
Why, yes, yes it should. But given it's being asked in SF, I have a feeling the Policy in question would be something along the lines of "Outlaw Poverty".
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/.....049659.php

[Lord Humungus]

recursive tax policies!

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Does scrapping standing by-laws and regulations count as "enacting policies"?

[Sevo]

"Does scrapping standing by-laws and regulations count as "enacting policies"?"

That's certainly what I had in mind. Something along the lines of 'No city law or regulation shall interfere in contractual arrangements between two consenting adults'.
But that would empty most of the pages.

[Slammer]

No tailgating at the Super Bowl. In fact, you won't even be allowed to WALK to the Stadium.

[WTF]

Fun will be prohibited.

[Mike M.]

There aren't any real football fans at the Super Bowl anyway.

[Drake]

It's snowing right now in NJ. Tomorrow night it will be 11 degrees. Who the hell wants to sit in a snow bank drinking beer?

I'll be 40 miles away watching at home if the game interests me.

[Auric Demonocles]

People who understand fun.

[The Late P Brooks]

I remember putting On the Road down the first time a woman was mentioned.

Huh. I never even got that far.

"This book sucks. I don't care what those idiots say."

[Brett L]

To each his own. I happen to like his writing, but its not magical. I like The Dharma Bums better.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I got about 50 pages in and put it down out of boredom.

[Lord Humungus]

Last night I watched "The Conjuring"

Too many ghosts/demons or whatever they are. Also the characters were a bit flat and I had very empathy toward any of them. A little more family background would have helped. Near the end I started to lose interest and ended up washing beer bottles for today's bottling.

Definitely not as scary as The Changeling or The Woman in Black.

[Libertymike]

What about Bears - Cowboys?

[Swiss Servator, Alps avast!]

Fairly frightening, if you had money riding on the Cowboys, I suppose.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Michael Tomasky sets you straight:

Did you know? Conservatives opposed the American Revolution and supported slavery.

"Liberals and reformers and radicals" have always supported "personal liberation and de-concentration of political power."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....hings.html

[Winston]

Sheldon Richman is Michael Tomasky?

"Liberals and reformers and radicals" have always supported "personal liberation and de-concentration of political power."

News to the Jacobins, the Bolsheviks, Labour, Democrats, etc.

[Drake]

The word "Liberal" has been twisted horribly over time. His statement is correct for classical liberals.

[Winston]

Reminds of the days of Imperial Germany when the left-liberal Progressives opposed the Bismarkian welfare state.

Oh and aren't the American Left rather Anglophilic? That certainly puts them more in common with the Loyalists than the Right.

As for slavery, well the Democrats who were until around 1896 a classical liberal party, opposed Lincoln who was from the mercantilist Republicans.

[Libertymike]

The mass-murdering mercantilist Republicans.

[Zeb]

Of course that's what conservatives of the time supported. That's what conservative is. As W.F. Buckley put rather well "stand athwart history shouting 'stop'". So a conservative from a particular place and time will not believe the same things as one from another place/time. So it is absurd to suggest that contemporary American conservatives have any connection at all to the conservatives of the Revolutionary war or Civil War eras.

[Donut-san]

Well said. That's why it's so infuriating to hear liberals utter John Stuart Mill's "stupid people are conservative" quote or see one of those "Jefferson was a Democrat" bumperstickers; as if those words mean the same exact thing now as they did two hundred years ago.

[Winston]

Or the "Bastiat sat on the left" articles from Richman.

Jefferson was a Democrat

This statement also depends on thinking that Andrew Jackson's Party is the same as Jefferson's

[The Late P Brooks]

Great, now some dumb bitch from the Center for American Progress is using the Precautionary Principle to justify Dodd Frank.

"Well, maybe proprietary trading didn't cause the last blowup, but it might cause the next one. We should ban it, because I don't really know what it is. And we just need really really smart regulators who can make up rules on the fly, because Top Men From The Government are always and everywhere to solution to all our problems."

[Sevo]

How 'bout we just ban everything until she gets a chance to look it over and allow it?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Sounds like the nuclear industry and the NRC...

[The Late P Brooks]

That Which is not Mandatory is Prohibited.

[Mike M.]

Global warming shuts down the federal government.

[OldMexican]

Weather is not climate!

(Except when it is.)

[Coeus]

Jezebel talks about dating short guys.

This sums up the comments quite nicely:

GhostjointUPaintedTrollop101L
It's quite hilarious witnessing the mental gymnastics you all will go through to convince yourself that your instinctual female desires to date someone taller than you is actually not biologically based. Yesterday 9:49pm

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Being 5'6, the "I don't date short guys or guys shorter than me" mentality of most women is obvious when out at the bar. I understand and don't really fault women, I prefer a girl shorter than me too. Right now I'm sleeping with a girl 3 inches taller than me though so there are tall girls who don't care.

One thing I find is that, being short, if you get angry at anything or act really in any way jerk-like, it is obviously because you have a "short guy complex". What else could it be right? That mentality held by girls is probably what pisses me off the most about being short.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Yeah, I'm 5'4" and I understand the biological attraction to guys taller than me. I'm also one of those really short guys that *gasp* makes fun of my own height. I laugh at people when they get all nervous like they're going to offend me when anything related to height comes up. I get sideways glances as though they're ready for me to explode in a burst of rage because someone ordered a "short" drink at Starbucks.

Now, I've met guys who have a serious "short guy complex". Those guys are just insecure douches and would probably be angry about something else if they were average height.

[Lord Humungus]

The Napoleon Complex - as a 6'2" fellow, I've had a number of short guys who've wanted to fight me for no particular reason other than my height. It's thankfully rare though - especially as I get older.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Absofuckinglutely they exist. I once had a guy who was maybe 5' try to fight me for no reason. He got up in my face and started screaming about how I think that cuz I'm taller than him, I'm tougher.

I laughed at him which caused him to take a swing. You'd think someone that eager to fight would know how to throw a punch. He barely grazed me and broke his hand on the wall I was leaning against.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Usually the guy who wants to fight for no reason sucks at it, in my experience. Which has always blown my mind since you'd think they would get better after having their ass kicked so many times.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I really haven't gotten into many fights in my life so I have no idea why that is.

A) I'm tiny and the little martial arts I know is purely defensive.

B) I just don't see the point. I'll defend myself ferociously against physical attack, but I'm not about to fight you because you insulted my sister or my height. I generally don't give a fuck what people think they know about me.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I haven't been in a real fight in about 6 years. Even though sometimes I would love nothing more than to pummel someone, it is against my moral code to initiate force, when it comes down to it. And there are too many bad outcomes to a fight. Legal charges, brain injuries, etc.

Defense, is a different story. Although, in Canada, protecting yourself isn't always viewed as *legal*. Fucking bleeding heart fucks in Canada, I can't stand it.

[Warty]

I'm a fellow 6'2"er, I've never had that happen. Maybe you need to look scarier.

[Lord Humungus]

or maybe I'm just assuming that short guys have it in for taller guys.

I used to have a high scare factor: buzzed hair, doc marten boots, powerhouse legs, and a flight jacket. But getting glasses really took the edge off - I've noticed that homeless guys, who would never spare change me in the past, suddenly started asking for $$.

[Lord Humungus]

picture from last summer
http://www.blogger.com/profile.....6155103138

all smiles and sunflowers here.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

You have a neck. See Warty's comment below about necks.

I can't see the rest of your build, and no offense, but you don't look particularly intimidating. Height certainly plays into it, but I have a friend who's 6'6" and only weighs 15 lbs more than me. Nobody is afraid of him.

[Lord Humungus]

the sunglasses hide the eyes of hate.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Well there's your problem. The little assholes are assuming that your hatred of ALL is specifically directed at THEM.

You should have Warty teach you the "eyes of death". Much more effective at repelling would-be attackers.

[Warty]

I call it my neutral face.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

So "faces of death" is really a documentary about your different facial expressions?

[Warty]

*stares at INMIY*

[itsnotmeitsyou]

You have to be more specific on WHICH expression you're staring at me with. I need to know if I should simply drop dead, be driven insane and rip out my eyeballs, or burst into flames.

Come one man, your stare is powerful, but having a few counties between us provides a decent buffer.

[Rabban]

Imagined you as soo much older and fatter than that. Congrats.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Dude, you're like 6'2" in both height and breadth. Rhinos give you the right of way. There's a difference between being an asshole "little man" and being suicidal.

[Warty]

It's amazing what having a neck thicker than your head will do for you.

[Brett L]

On the other hand, your tiny fists hurt more and its a straighter shot to the ovaries, amirite?

(Just having a little fun. I am definitely right at the fat part of the bell-curve, so I'm not special.)

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Hehe, my body may be tiny, but my fists are certainly not. My wife calls them "puppy paws". My hands and feet would fit nicely on a guy about 6'. On me, they just look ridiculous.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet right?

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Dude wears big shoes.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

WHAT THE FUCK YOU PUNK FUCK. YOU WANNA FUCKIN GO ME BRO??

/napoleon complex derp

[Brett L]

My last roommate in my first try at college was about 5'5" and a gigantic dick. I never assumed that one was related. But seriously, a female friend once said of him that he never met a woman he couldn't offend in five minutes. And he never, never had a girl over.

[lap83]

I think girls and guys both hold that mentality, because everyone has known a handful of short guys who match that stereotype.

[Auric Demonocles]

In fact, 5'7 is probably the average height of most leading men in Hollywood, so ? SPECULATION ? maybe Nick Rizzo's personality is the problem?

Uh... the US average is 5'10. Unless Hollywood is only filled with Mexicans, this is wrong.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

But, she used the weasel words "probably" and "speculation" so it's ok to lie and not do a cursory Google search. I mean, that's just too much work.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I questioned this as well. Sure, I would say a lot of male actors are probably average heightish and made to look taller on screen, but to say most are Tom Cruises is stupid. Sounds like she is just looking to get a dig in.

[Warty]

Precisely. She's a cunt.

[Warty]

"It's just a fact of life that most women taller than me aren't willing to date me," Brooklynite Nick Rizzo, who is 5'7, told the New York Post. "Maybe they're worried about how it will look to other people."

First of all, it's a bummer if that's the case. Height bias is a real thing, but at the same time, 5'7 is not that short. In fact, 5'7 is probably the average height of most leading men in Hollywood, so ? SPECULATION ? maybe Nick Rizzo's personality is the problem? Or maybe not. (I'm sorry, Nick, and I'm sure you, like most people quoted in the New York Post, are very cool.)

They'll believe that every single rape accusation in the world is true, but they automatically assume that this sad sack can't laid because he must be an asshole. And for the record, 5'7" is puny.

[Auric Demonocles]

I think that 3 inches is between 1-2 standard deviations, and it's below the mean so he's in the roughly 15% shortest group of men.

[Warty]

US mean heights:

Country/Region Average male height Average female height Stature ratio (male to female) Sample population /age range

U.S. 1.776 m (5 ft 10 in) 1.632 m (5 ft 4 1/2 in) 1.09 All Americans, 20?29
U.S. 1.763 m (5 ft 9 1/2 in) 1.622 m (5 ft 4 in) 1.09 All Americans, 20+ 91.0%
U.S. 1.780 m (5 ft 10 in) 1.632 m (5 ft 4 1/2 in) 1.09 Black Americans, 20?39
U.S. 1.706 m (5 ft 7 in) 1.587 m (5 ft 2 1/2 in) 1.07 Mexican Americans, 20?39
U.S. 1.789 m (5 ft 10 1/2 in) 1.648 m (5 ft 5 in) 1.09 White Americans, 20?39

So yes, he's fucking puny.

[Lord Humungus]

Tall guys aren't very rare here in West Michigan - lots of Dutch people running around. I don't get any extra female attention for my height.

But once, when I was in Chicago waiting outside a restaurant for my friends, I had two cars go by, each filled with women who were catcalling me. This never happened at home.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

My 3 housemates are 6', 6'2, and 6'3. I'm bringing down the average.

From my experience living with these guys for 3 months, as long as your semi-cool and that height, girls will flock to you. It's a god damn rotating door of women coming into my house.

[Lord Humungus]

There is something that I call the "Laurel and Hardy" effect - ahem, larger women want to go out with tall guys with the idea that it will make them look smaller (?).

At least that's a combination I notice here. So if you're tall and tastes run to John's, then you're in heaven.

[Loki]

It's a god damn rotating door of women coming into my house.

Do they at least let you have their cast offs and throwbacks, or are you SOL while they're swimming in poon?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I have my own resources. Living in a college town right in the heart of where the college kids live, there is easy pickins for all shapes and sizes.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

From my experience living with these guys for 3 months, as long as your semi-cool and that height, girls will flock to you.

Aye. That's where the little guy syndrome assholes go wrong. I really never had a problem attracting women. I may not have had as wide a variety as I would if I were taller, but my longest dry spell was only a few months.

Women who wouldn't date me solely based on my height can go be superficial elsewhere. I'm not gonna waste time and energy trying to convince them to sleep with me. I'm gonna go hit on some other girl I'm attracted to that might actually care what I have to say.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I don't have a problem with finding girls, but these guys blow my mind in quantity and quality.

When you're just out for a random bang, being tall is to your advantage. It is just the way it is.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

"I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller"...

Yeah. I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that I don't wish I were at least average height. I probably wouldn't have had to work as hard to get girls and I wouldn't have to roll my eyes at stereotyping. At the end of the day, though, you deal with the hand that life deals you and don't be an asshole about your shortcomings. (pun TOTALLY intended)

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I live me life a quarter inch at a time.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I live me life a quarter inch at a time.

Sorry about your dick, dude. (I KEED, I KEED)

[lap83]

I think height is the one physical area that women consistently care about. There are evolutionary reasons behind it. Tall people tend to be smarter (which is why men score better than women on IQ tests, unless you control for height) and earn more money.

Of course, there are exceptions..and for short men there are plenty of shorter women.

[Entropy Void]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy ...
The further adventures of Alan Grayson.

http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....in-scheme/

[Winston]

But he's anti-war!

[Entropy Void]

Anti-war, my ass. He made millions suing those contractors ... no war no contractors, no lawsuit.

[Mike M.]

Grayson, a former trial attorney, said he has had a long record for picking winning stocks, which formed the basis for his personal fortune.

I'll be damned, he has the same exact schtick as Dave "Shrieking Idiot" Weigel. Does Grayson also claim that he worked for Oracle?

[Steve G]

6-yr old suspended for sexual harrasment

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-G.....ing-a-girl

Really?

[Warty]

TEEEEEA PARTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

ohboy23 ? 14 minutes ago ?
Absent the executions, what is occurring the Republican party is similar to what happened in the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution.

Perhaps the Republicans will return to sanity when its more radical members/leaders/shills (Stockman, Cruz, Limbaugh, Hannity) are figuratively sent to the guillotine.
2

This sounds like a fun game. "Absent the unemployment rate, the ecnomy is great!" "Absent the war, Hitler was a pretty gnarly dude!"

[Winston]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_terror
On 9 September the Convention established sans-culottes paramilitary forces, the revolutionary armies, to force farmers to surrender grain demanded by the government. On 17 September the Law of Suspects was passed, which authorized the charging of counter-revolutionaries with vaguely defined crimes against liberty. On 29 September the Convention extended price-fixing from grain and bread to other essential goods, and also fixed wages.

Among people who were condemned by the revolutionary tribunals, about 8 percent were aristocrats, 6 percent clergy, 14 percent middle class, and 72 percent were workers or peasants accused of hoarding, evading the draft, desertion, rebellion.

Sounds like the Jacobins are more like the Democrats!

[Winston]

And note to Tomasky and Richman that the Jacobins were the original Extreme Left.

[Auric Demonocles]

There's no sugarcoating it; that simile is not an absolutely perfect match.

[Warty]

Nice hospital you got here. Be a shame if something happened to it.

[The Late P Brooks]

Um, if a guy charges at you with a baton, then you are justified in killing him.

Try that without a badge, and let us know how it turns out. Maybe the prison library will have teh intertoobs.

[sarcasmic]

I think if you could afford a decent attorney you could get out of that one.

[Brett L]

What if its your baton and you get it back before shooting him?

[sarcasmic]

Better hope you remembered to disable the security camera.

[Brett L]

Well, the cop did remember the first rule of a "good shoot": Only have one side of the story able to be told.

[The Late P Brooks]

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The city's two big hospitals should be paying the Cleveland schools more than $20 million in taxes -- or at least a negotiated portion of that money -- the Cleveland Teachers Union, Common Good Ohio and Policy Mattters Ohio said Monday.

The three groups took aim at the more than $1.6 billion in property that the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals own in Cleveland -- more than $2 billion across all of Cuyahoga County -- and the millions in property taxes the non-profit hospitals don't pay because their properties are exempt from the tax rolls.

Policy Matters said in a report it released Monday that the hospitals would pay at least $43 million more combined in taxes countywide annually, if most of their property was not exempt. About $34 million of that would come from just their Cleveland properties -- $20.5 million of which would go to the schools.

Look at how much taxes those guys would owe, if they actually owed taxes.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

The most idiotic thing about this is that CPS scores near the top when you look at how much they spend per student. WAAAAAY above national average, but they consistently score extremely low in actual performance . But throwing more money out the window would totally, for sure help them out.

Of course, if we started taxing religious organizations, and activist organizations, and every other non-profit organization we could pay off our debt and balance the budget. And if only those rich greedy bastards would pay more than 40% of their income, we could do all this too.

Fuck you, cut spending.

[Agammamon]

Congress approved a 10-year extension on the Undetectable Firearms Act hours before the 25-year-old piece of legislation was set to expire.

Who knows, maybe this time we'll actually have undetectable firearms by the time its expires the second time.

[Andrew S.]

It's not adblock. I'm on my work computer, which means I'm using IE8, no adblock, and it still gave me the error.

(Given how much Fark seems to hate Reason, I'm wondering if they just have it set to redirect any direct links to there...)

[Coeus]

Nope, the photobucket account is gone now. That was quick. And I can't find one on google images either. Basically the exact same pic as the somalia comic, but with north korea instead.